Summer Update and Big Annoucement!

Hey all! So I thought I would do an update for you all, seeing as how I’ve apparently taken a hiatus from here. I do want to apologize for not being consistent this summer, but life really was crazy. July fourth until this weekend we’ve been jammed! Thankfully, life has settled down a bit for us. So what have we been up to? Well, business as usual with lots of visitors and trips too. It’s been a great summer though, I’m sad to see it go, but I’m also extremely excited for the fall! 

Here's just a peek at what we did this summer:

• We went to Boston (you've seen all those photos) :)

•  My friend Audrey Visited

• My Sister-In-Law Visited:

We went to a Tea House

A little blurry, but I think it's cute. :)

• My Parents Visited:

 

Down at the Oceanfront.

At The Nauticus. This is the Battleship Wisconsin.

My Brother. Haha.

Touring the Battleship!

• We Celebrated our 3rd Anniversary with a trip to DC. We did lots of things, but here are some highlights:

WWII Memorial

We did a Scavenger Hunt thing through lots of the Smithsonian Art galleries. We loved the contemporary galleries. :)

Mark Rothko

Jackson Pollock

Tomb of the Unknowns

Hope Diamond

• We ran away from Hurricane Irene to spend a weekend in Asheville. We also celebrated my Birthday there. I made my own carrot cake and it was so so so so so yummy.
• I met for coffee with my friend Lindsey. This was part of the Asheville trip, but it was so important it needed it's own bullet. :) Also, I forgot to add this the first time I posted this... I am a lame friend.

So what is my announcement? Well, in light of the fact that I am joining a fitness program at work and the fact that I discovered I have high cholesterol, Brad and I have decided to make some changes to our diet. We are going to begin the Eat Clean diet (which isn't so much a diet). Basically, it's not that big of a jump from what I already do. You eat five to six times a day, each time consuming a lean protein and complex carb (veggies, fruits, whole grains). You also cut out lots of unhealthy fats and all processed foods and sugars. The theory is to keep your blood sugar levels low, and from spiking through out the day.

We've already made huge steps to cut out these types of unhealthy foods. The biggest change will be eating more often and being more mindful of our protein intake. We also have a few processed foods and sugars to eliminate. I (and Brad) decided to do this primarily for managing my cholesterol better (yay non-meat sources of protein!) but also because as I increase my mileage running I notice that I HAVE to eat that many times a day. Don't worry, I'm not doing this for weight loss, but I am doing it for my health. You should check out her books and the Eat Clean Diet website for more info. I plan to follow it pretty closely, but not totally strictly. For example, I don't think I'm going to give up my coffee creamer or all sugars. The key is moderation there!

So what does this have to do with my blogging? Well, I am bringing back "What's for Dinner?" and will be sharing my eat clean recipes with you. Lots of them will be adapted from the Eat Clean Cookbook, but some of them will be my own too. You'll notice I'm going to be incorporating lots of flax (helps lower cholesterol), oats (also helps lower cholesterol), and lots more veggies (just bought pea shoots for the first time!). I'll be doing a lot more veggie meals and maybe even feature some vegan substitutes. It's going to be great! I'm hoping some of you will also choose to Eat Clean with me. If you do, let me know and we can swap stories. :) My first recipe should go up on Tuesday of next week (so September 13th), if not this Tuesday.

WHEW! Thanks for reading that whole post!