First food post! Avocado pasta

So, since I told you I am on a journey for health, I should also tell you I've been doing a lot of research about how to eat and feed the body rather than my face. :) Since starting this healthier diet, my nails have gotten stronger, my skin has been clearer, and I have had nearly abundant energy. Green smoothies have been a really easy way to get veggies in first thing in the morning. It also has changed the way we feel about how food tastes. I've noticed that when I skip veggies and fall back into bad eating habits, I get sick easily and get tired and feel yucky. Since February, our diet trends have been increasingly more healthy and each day I learn a little more about what to eat and how.

Today's little slice of yumminess was an avocado pasta recipe. I found it on Pinterest, like most yumminess out there.

http://www.blissfulbblog.com/blog/2012/2/16/blissful-eats-with-tina-jeffers-creamy-avocado-pasta.html

I followed the directions at this blog, but changed a few things. I used one more avocado than they called for, I also probably used a bit more spinach, we didn't garnish with basil and cheese and I used a box of noodles, no idea if it was a pound or not. I wasn't particularly worried. Oh, and I used three jalapenos instead of 1/4 of one. They're early in the season, so they weren't hot at all, but added a nice flavor.

Avocado Pesto Pasta just after I made it.
I am no pro at photos, but it looks pretty tasty.

This meal is gluten-free. I used Quinoa noodles. I have a picture of the box of noodles above. We get them at Whole Foods and find them more hearty than regular pasta and really prefer the taste. They have just as many carbs (which our bodies need anyway, just in the right distributions, and not simple carbs, but I digress), but they're more work for your body to break down because they're not made from just wheat flour.

Anyway, this meal was amazing. I could really taste the fresh flavors. I have a really REALLY small food processor, so this took like 3x as long as it should have, but it was really pretty easy anyway.

Enjoy!

My yard before anything got done to it. It's not the best view of the yard,
but you'll see how different it looks in later pics.
This is one of my main projects for the year.

Sprouts growing on my window sill. We have covers
for them so they are in their own mini-greenhouse, but
we got a little mold, so they're airing out.
These little guys are Cantaloupe. They are supposed to grow
indoors until July when we can plant them here.
All around them are tomatoes, jalapenos and celery.

So, this (to the left) is my BIG project for the year. That and my garden. I am giving gardening a good old first-run this year. This weekend, we're breaking ground on it. Can't really plant much more than carrots until after the frost. This last week, we got a decent frost and our yard looked like it had been attacked by the laundry. We covered everything and it made it just fine, but there's no reason to make it harder on ourselves. :) The garden is starting indoors. We got these little pallets. They're really brilliant. You sprout seeds in them and then the containers come out and you can plant the plants and reuse the containers. The tray on the bottom lets the plants drain and then these plastic covers convert it into a little greenhouse biodome thing. It's excellent. We have lettuce and carrots and cantaloupes sprouting right now and several more on the way.

Some of my very favorite memories growing up are of gardening with my dad and picking strawberries with my mom. My dad did all the hard work (tilling and fertilizing the garden and he dug the furrows and little holes for the seeds) and then he'd tell us how many seeds per hole in the ground and we'd plant them and cover them up and water them with him every day. Later in the summer, of course, it was my dad doing the weeding and us eating radishes, cherry tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries in mass quantities, but we were "helping." Gardens are for eating, right? Well, my dad and mom are coming for Easter and they're going to help me start my first garden of my own this weekend. It's going to be really fun.

Yes, my husband routinely closes his eyes for pictures and the dog usually looks away, that means we have a LOT of pictures like this. This was one of our early hikes this year. We are looking forward to getting a lot more of these in!

My other favorite passtime lately has been the hiking of the amazing and lovely hills that I live near. I am thankful for the mountains and for the chance to enjoy them. We have our tent ready to go and plan to spend a weekend out camping soon. Hope you are enjoying Spring.

Remember the mantra and live each day a little better than the one before.

God bless you.