That's a wrap!

We've got outside our comfort zones and we've been experiencing new flavors!  And here's what' we've got...

...I discovered a new on-the-go wrap with peanut butter, fruit and granola,  We marinated chicken tonight that had so much flavor and I made a Kale Smoothie with my new Vitamix.  All which I've finished.  All in 1 week.  I'm so excited to be sharing all this with you.  Make sure you follow me on  Pinterest and let me know what you think of the recipes.

Vitamix.

So.... I got a VitaMix blender.  They run at about $400 and up, but they are top of the line blenders.  As Kris Carr would said, "they can blend a boot."

We used a 20% off coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond and walked out of there at $320 after tax.  Now, this was an early birthday present from my husband.  My "big" gift to be specific.  So we brought it home and tested it out.

For the first 2 weeks or so you'll have the smell of the motor, but it's just breaking itself in.  It's an extremely powerful motor.  We've already used it for a fruit smoothie, vegetable smoothie & pancake mix.  This thing is incredible.  It can make soups and ice cream.  I'll be exploring (and blogging) about it more over the coming months.

Tonight, my friend Luci came over and we tried out a new recipe.  One we made up on the fly.  It had the following:

• 1 Cup Water
• Kale
• 1 Apple
• 1 Banana
• Frozen mixed berries
• Ice

It was actually pretty good.  You couldn't taste the kale, mostly the banana.  However, it did turn a horrible green/brown color.  You can check out all my smoothie recipes here.

Healthy Eating Doesn't Have to be Expensive

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Above is a picture of our fridge.  We just went to HEB (grocery store in Texas) and stocked up for the week with our plan for food.  Some people have the perception that eating healthy, fruits & veggies, is expensive.  Below is my grocery list from tonight to show you that it doesn't have to be.

VEGETABLES:

Hearts of Romain: $2.88 ($0.72/serving)

Organic Baby Spinach: $5.98 ($1.19/serving)

Kale: $0.98

Broccoli Crown: $0.67

Canned Green Beans: $0.68 (that's my husband's deal)

Artichoke: $1.50

Organic Celery: $1.14 ($0.19/serving)

FRUITS:

Grapes: $2.18 ($0.44/serving)

Bananas: $1.49 ($0.25/each)

Strawberries: $4.98 (they're out of season, but that's a personal splurge for me.)

Lemons: $1 ($0.25/each)

Apples: $1.32 ($0.33/each)

MEATS:

Sausage: $2.50 ($0.83 serving)

Chicken: $8.53 ($0.95/serving making 6 servings total)

SNACKS & OTHERS:

Organic Air Popped Popcorn $1.79

Organic Plain Yogurt: $2.98 ($0.59/serving)

Potato: $0.81

Reddi Whipped Cream: $1.94

So when you really break down how much you're paying per serving, the numbers are incredible.  Average, we spend $90/week on groceries.  That's for 2 people.  Occasionally we'll have higher cost items like olive oil, dog food, seasonings etc.  But that breaks down to $6.50/per person per day for food.  If we eat all three meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) then it's $2.14 per meal per person.  You can't beat that!  What are your grocery numbers looking like?  Tweet me @PBJsSincePreK or @Rocky_Bush.

We are having a watch party for "Hungry for Change" tomorrow at 7pm.  I'm so excited to share what I've learned through an awesome documentary with some friends.

For an update we celebrated our dog's 4th birthday over the weekend.  She's a pure breed Siberian Husky (right).  She enjoys running with her mommy (me!), going hiking and chasing sticks at the local river and eating of course.

We went to a local soccer field and kicked the ball around for the afternoon.

EXCITING NEWS:  My Evansville purple aces women's soccer team won in PKs in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference.  They'll be hosting the MVC tournament this upcoming weekend.  Let's go ladies!  You need to clinch the title like we did in 2008!

Here's the breakfast I had this morning in honor of my purple aces family.

Crazy & Sexy

It's been a crazy sexy ride, but I'm loving it.  Here's the latest update:

I tried one of the pre-packaged salads from HEB.  It came with lettuce, grilled chicken, pita crackers for a little crunch and a little bit of cheese and all organic.  There was dressing of course, but I just used light olive oil.  It was the best take-home salad I've tried.  However, there's nothing like & as fresh as a restaurant salad.

That's why I enjoy ordering salads at work now.  Before, I used to have the mindset that I was a bunny eating grass (salad).  Now, I think of how it's nourishing my body and fueling my soul.  I'm at the stage where I order a chicken caesar salad, but with chicken tenders.  Eventually I'll get to the point of grilled chicken and more veggies, but until then it's better than a PBJ.

The fun part now is that I'm starting to somewhat learn how to cook is dressing it up!  I like adding a dab of whipped cream to a smoothie or dessert and some fresh strawberries.  It always makes things look more tasty and enjoyable.

Not everything in this kitchen is hunky-dory.  We've failed several times, but that's how you learn.  We

tried Spaghetti Squash on Monday and we didn't finish it.  We cooked the whole spaghetti squash in the oven for about 1 hour, then scrapped out the seeds and pulled the spaghetti looking squash strings out.  We mixed those in with butter, parsley, salt, garlic and butter.  It smelled divine and looked delicious.  However, that was not the case.  It was more crunchy and not tender like regular spaghetti noodles that we know and love.

There's a new book that I read in 1 week time.  And I DO NOT like reading!  It was amazing and I've learned so much.  It's called "Crazy Sexy Diet" by Kris Carr.  She is an inspiration, a warrior leader and a nutritional goddess.  She has such character that shines through the pages in her book.  I highly suggest it.

In the picture is a juice and we tried something new at my mother-in-law's.  We juiced:

• 1.5 lemon
• 1 large celery stalk
• 1 large carrot
• Spinach
• Cranberries
• Apples
• 1 orange

I just got her newest book "Crazy Sexy Kitchen" with some recipes to try. I'll post on pinterest when I try them; including the juicing recipes.

Now for some fun stuff...

At work we had a baby alligator of an event and I got to hold it.  Check out the pics.....

Have a blessed day!

Our Siberian Husky

I would like to introduce you all to our dog, Faith.  She's a 4-year-old Siberian Husky and she loves to play in the river in Georgetown, TX.  She'll never bring back a stick, but she did this one time and it was a large stick.  Larger than her!  If you listen closely she'll whimper and it's just too cute.

She's a great family dog.  We run together, play together and we enjoy taking her on adventures. 

Advice if you're thinking about getting a siberian husky:  They shed.  A LOT!  Daily, you'll find clumps of hair everywhere.  Forget about wearing the color black because you'll be covered from head to toe in dog hair.  Other than that they're fantastic family dogs.  If you can, get them young so you can train them.  Huskies are from the wolf family so the more trained you have them, the better.

New Smoothie Recipies

I have new smoothie recipes posted HERE...


And I have a new Pinterest board that reviews all the recipes I've tried from Pinterest and how they worked out.  Check it out HERE.


And remember to follow on Instagram.  You can use #PBJsSincePreK if you want to share something with me.