birthday crepes

when I was little, my mom would make me crepes for my birthday breakfast. With jam, sprinkled with sugar. I’m more of an eggs n bacon kinda girl now, but just looking at this photo makes me drool.

(via petitplat)

Do you have a birthday tradition?

new bacon-ings

It’s mornings like this I’m glad I discovered the wonders of bacon. Local, organic bacon (and eggs) from places like this and this.  Nom.

let them eat meat

 

Well, the cat (or should I say the chicken?) is out of the bag. I’m eating meat.

That’s right… after 10+ years of being a vegan/vegetarian, I’ve given up. Given in to my barbaric instincts. Thrown my eco-friendly, animal-loving tendencies out the window. Or have I? Follow me on a journey between ‘Kate, you’re making a bigger deal out of this than you need to’ and ‘Kate, this decision dictates who you are and what you believe in’…

I didn’t just wake up one morning and mow down on a drumstick. It was actually really, really hard to make the switch.  The weird thing is, the decision I made back int he day to go vegetarian was pretty damn easy. Help animals, help the environment, be healthy. Done and done. Can I still do those things if I eat cute little animals?

I want to be strong, vibrant, and socially-aware. I feel this change in my lifestyle will lead me there. First and foremost, I’ll say this. FACTORY FARMING IS BAD BAD BAD.  There are many reasons I’m choosing to go carnivore, but please note that my plans include local, organic, sustainable farming. My money is going to local farms that are doing it right. I can still be all the things I want to be and not feel like a total hypocrite.

Why am I sharing this with you? Well, it’s a big life decision, much like getting a tattoo or chopping off my hair (hear me out.) Being vegetarian was so much a part of my ‘me’. People assume certain things about you when you assign a label to yourself (republican, rastafarian, Gleek).  So now, I guess I’ll just have to find other ways to let people know who I am. I’ll worry about that later. For now, just welcome me back to the circle of life.

I don’t care what the calendar says

It’s SPRING in our house!

So what do you do when it’s 50 degrees and sunny in early March? Buy a bike of course.

It was too big to fit in the back of my car, so I had to ride it home from the bike shop. Then for dinner, Kyle got his grill on. Here’s what we ate.

yes, there's still snow in the yard

more grok talk

Well, today is day 6 of my veggie-paleo experiment. I feel slimmer around the middle, stronger, and overall have more energy. My skin and eyes are clearer. I’m not hungry all the time and I don’t ‘crash’ at some point during the day. In short, I feel f*cking amazing. So why am I still skeptical? Well, it was way too easy.

Hilary Swank (via weheartit)

On traditional Paleo, you eat meat, meat and more meat because that’s what our caveman ancestors did. Since I still can’t stomach eating anything with fur or feathers, I’ve instead upped my seafood and nut consumption. I’ve also (gasp) started using oil to cook with. This part was really hard for me… there’s still a nagging voice in the back of me head telling me ‘Fat is bad!’ ‘Fat makes you fat!’

Here’s what a typical day has been:

Breakfast: Veggie Scramble: Egg Whites plus what ever veggies I can find (kale, onions, peppers, tomato paste, spinach, asparagus)

Snack: Walnuts and Almonds

Lunch: Salad with shrimp or leftover breakfast scramble

Snack: Lara Bar*, apple or tangerine

Dinner: Salmon with lemon, garlic, shallots and kale or brocollini

I also grabbed some almond butter at Costco and coconut oil at Whole Foods. I don’t think I’d be able to do this with out Farm Fresh Delivery… otherwise I’d be driving to the grocery store twice a week to stock up.

In my endeavors, here are some great (and cleverly written) blogs I’ve come across:

Melissa 'Melicious' Joulwan

• The Clothes Make the Girl
• The Label Says Paleo
• Whole 9 Life
• The Fresh Meat Beat: My derby sister Sookie Smackhouse is a friggin’ super hero. Read about her adventures in Paleo, Crossfit, roller derby, and the police academy.

I’m still looking for a catch… but to sum it all up again, here’s a clever video:

*I love Lara Bars because aside from being nummy, they only a handful of ingredients and not a sketchy one in the bunch.

take me out tonight

I’m actually DOING something tonight. What a strange thing.

***EDIT***

We went to Food Con at the Harrison Center and then hit up Big Car for First Friday. Fun was had by all: check it out here on my BFF Rebecca’s blog (along with some vegetable porn.)

groktastic

(via huntgatherlove.com)

So, I guess I’m still on a food kick. I’ve been reading up on the Paleo Diet for athletes. In a nutshell (ha) Paleo suggests eating like a caveman: meat, fish, veggies, fruit (no dairy, grains or processed foods that weren’t available to cavemen way back then)… And while I don’t think I’ll ever start eating meat again, I’m completely fascinated by its philosophy. It really makes a lot of sense to me: eat the foods our bodies were designed to eat.

I’m going to try incorporating it little by little and I’ll let you know how it goes… anyone have experience with it?

talk veggie to me

Everyone has something that they get abnormally excited over. One might even use the phrase ‘geek out’… so what makes this girl giddy?

Vegetables.

Colors, textures, tastes (AND they’re good for you!?!?!)… I’ve never come across a veggie I didn’t like. And I’m not the only one- check out this post from super-fit-bad-ass Melicious:

Are you in a produce rut? I challenge you to eat at least one new veggie or fruit this week… and try to sample from a few color groups. There’s a whole world of beautiful veggies and fruits out there, just waiting to jump into your tummy.

What do you geek out over?

when in Paris

10 common ordering mistakes people make in Paris

(via ritacrane)

must remember these. You know, when I live there.

the dirty dozen

click to enlarge (via audreyhepburncomplex)

I’m not a germaphobe*. I don’t obsessively wash my hands and don’t get grossed out by touching things like feet or door knobs. Because of this, I’ve never really been one to scrub my fruit and veggies clean before I pop them in my mouth. In my recent go organic efforts, I’ve become hyper aware that the waxy coating on my apple is a nasty chemical. Here’s what I found about getting those pesticides off:

Rule number one: Wash your fruits like you wash your hands: “Use soap, Jimmy!” Mom and Dad were right: just running your mitts or your munchies under tap water does little to remove oily grime. Agricultural pesticides do not come off in water, either. If they did, farmers would have to apply them after each rain or even a heavy dew. That would be both labor-intensive and expensive. So petrochemical companies make pesticides with chemical “stickers” that are insoluble in water. They do their job and stay on the fruit, rain or shine.

Soap, or detergent, is more effective in removing pesticide residues than you think. Rinse until the water is clear. When you handle the detergent-washed fruit, you will also notice that it feels different, too. We are so used to fruit with chemical coatings on it that when we touch truly clean fruit, it’s a new tactile experience. Go ahead, try it. Nobody’s looking. (via doctoryourself.com)

(via weheartit)

Or make it easy on yourself and buy produce that is less contaminated.

12 Most Contaminated (aka the Dirty Dozen)

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes (Imported)
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

12 Least Contaminated

• Onions
• Avocado
• Sweet Corn (Frozen)
• Pineapples
• Mango
• Asparagus
• Sweet Peas (Frozen)
• Kiwi Fruit
• Bananas
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Papaya

*spell check offered ‘hermaphrodite’ as the correct spelling of this word. hm.

special delivery: fresh produce and victory

I had an eventful weekend to say the least. It kicked off with my very first farm fresh delivery. Eating organic and local is something I really want to do more of.

I already eat mostly vegan, but for too long I’ve favored saving money over buying organic. FFD is an (insanely) easy step in the right direction.

kale, pears, garlic, apples, and a blood orange

Saturday was derby, derby, derby. This was my first home bout as a Tornado Siren. I only jammed once, but I scored 14 points! (photos via Marc and Tom)

The final score: Sirens win 225 – 18 over Derby City (Louisville, KY) Go Team!

Were you at the bout? What did you think?

currently obsessed with…

nutmeg

our new roku player

on which we watched this movie:

eating local and organic (more on this later)

michael cera

’tis the season

cookies and snow doth holiday time make

first, the easiest cookie recipe EVER…

make cracker and peanut butter sandwiches, dip in melted chocolate, and sprinkle with er, sprinkles.

Done and delish.

I’ve tentatively coined them ‘quick ‘n dirtys‘ because they’re so simple to make, but so damn rich and yummy. You’re welcome.

screw cheezburgers…

I can haz STAKE?

 

me hungry

daylight savings time has my eating schedule all messed up

is it affecting anyone else?

eating animals

Natalie Portman has been a vegetarian for twenty years, but was recently inspired to become a vegan by Jonathan Safran Foer‘s first nonfiction book, Eating Animals. Portman wrote an essay for the Huffington Post in which she compares the book favorably to Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma (previously on the blue), and makes this specific criticism of the latter book:

But he reminds us that being a man, and a human, takes more thought than just “This is tasty, and that’s why I do it.” He posits that consideration, as promoted by Michael Pollan in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which has more to do with being polite to your tablemates than sticking to your own ideals, would be absurd if applied to any other belief (e.g., I don’t believe in rape, but if it’s what it takes to please my dinner hosts, then so be it).

[via metafilter]

note to self…

take wrapper OFF english cucumber before slicing.

knife will be less prone to bouncing off and maiming you

bounty

I made good on my promise and biked to the Broad Ripple farmers market this morning. I don’t know if it was the time of day or the month- but it was BUSY!

They had a good selection of both summer and fall favorites. This picture makes me excited for autumn… I love pumpkins

I was tempted to buy cockscomb, but not sure how to transport it on my bike.

my favorite bouquets

and of course, lots of dogs

I returned home with three gigantic honey crisp apples. I ate one for breakfast and it was simply amazing.

omg omg omg omg omg

It’s APPLE SEASON, people!

perhaps a trip to the farmers market is in order?