Lolli's Ramblings: Cake, Coffee, and Heat.

We don't eat sugar in our home anymore. We don't eat gluten. We don't eat dairy. We don't eat anything that isn't natural and we strive for as much organic food as possible. 

So how might we have had cake in our home the other day?

The recipe that I used for the cake was gluten free, dairy free, soy free, refined sugar free, and natural. It was divine, the most moist and delicious cake I have had. Seriously. The icing was a recipe I came up with myself. I cannot wait to share it with you. 

Hubby and I couldn't remember the last time we had cake ( aside from our gluten free dairy free wedding cake on our anniversary back in December). We were delighted to scarf this down.

On another note, I have been loving this heat. Many people around me have been complaining about the heat, but I think it is marvelous. As long as I stay hydrated, it is wonderful. Of course, we keep Baby A lathered in sunscreen and in the shade as much as possible! Hubby and I both have noticed our healthy lifestyles allow us to enjoy the heat more than in previous years when we were not as healthy as we are now.

Giving up coffee and drinking green tea is working out. It has only been a couple of days, but I am loving it. The green tea has so many numerous health benefits. It is pure green tea that we brew at home. The stuff in the bottles with all the added ingredients is no good.  Hubby inspired me to do this and I have to say THANK YOU. I find green tea much more refreshing. 

I cannot say that I won't have coffee from time to time, as I believe in moderation plain coffee is great for you.

Another thing I wanted to mention, was that spreading out Baby A's shots has been working marvelously. We only get one at a time, and she hasn't gotten sick or had a fever or anything. She's been 100% healthy the entire 32 weeks since she has been born. I am really happy about that! Not to say that other people should do it this way, but it is what is working for us!

What are you all up to this week?

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

Lolli's Ramblings: 4th of July, juicing, and more!

I hope that you all had a wonderful 4th of July! 

We had a great holiday! We spent the entire day at the beach with Baby A! It was her first time seeing the water. A lake beach was a nice way to get her used to the water before we take her to the ocean. She loved the sand & especially loved splashing in the water! 

She didn't want to get out of the water.

We took all of our snacks with us (the snacks I made will be posted on the blog soon!) , we didn't need to worry about what to eat. There was plenty of food everywhere, but none of it was tempting. In fact, after seeing so much junk food, I discovered I am not even hungry for it anymore, it actually looked gross to me.

This was the swim suit Baby A wore:

We loved the ruffles!! 

Her swim diaper:

I wore a bandeau style bikini top and Hubby some black swim trunks.

It felt good to get outside and get some sun! The weather was absolutely beautiful & in the 90's.

After the beach we came home and had teriyaki stir fry for dinner, and some cucumber juice that I made with our Breville Juicer. The juicing is going well, we are still trying to find more recipes, but the juice that comes out of the Breville is fantastic.

We watched fireworks from our back porch and on tv, both Macy's and the Boston Pops. Since Baby A is only 7 months old I thought she might be startled by them, but she wasn't. She really enjoyed them! 

How was your 4th of July?

In addition I have joined Hubby in not drinking coffee. I do not see coffee as a bad thing, I actually think plain coffee has wonderful health benefits, however, I do find myself a bit of a coffee addict. So I have switched to green tea for the next few weeks to see how I feel. We already drink green tea in the evenings, so I figured why not drink it in the morning too?

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

Lolli's Ramblings: Foreign Language & Catching Up!

Hubby and I went to the library and picked up some Spanish and Japanese CD's  to learn to how to speak them.

We would love for our daughter to speak other languages.

I know a little Spanish but in listening to these CD's I have discovered I didn't know as much as I had thought. 

Aside from that we have just been busy. It seems as though once you have a child you get busy with "stuff"....errands, whatever. It's funny because I feel like I am constantly doing something yet doing nothing at the same time.

Any other mom's feel this way?

I have been doing well with my workouts! Hubby and I got new running shoes, which I cannot wait to write a blog post about, once we have used them for a while. They are too cool. 

My body is mostly back to where it was pre-baby. I am still working on my abs, and my hip bones didn't go back. There isn't much I can do about the hip bones, but I am still working out hard to get my abs back :) 

How are you all? 

What is everyone up to?

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

Lolli's Ramblings: Father's Day Weekend & Juicing

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Father's Day weekend! Happy Belated Father's Day to all of the father's out there! 

Baby A & I tried to spoil Hubby yesterday. It was his first father's day!!!!!!!!!!!!!Too bad the weather wasn't any good for us to go to the golf course...it was a wonderful day anyway!

I also used Father's Day to remember my amazing father who passed away.

I am very excited to share that we got our juicer this past weekend! It is the Breville Juice Fountain MultiSpeed. It is wonderful! I am still trying to figure out which setting to put some fruits and veggies on, but the juice that comes out is fabulous. I have used it twice already & am very happy with the results. We will be saving the fruit & veggie pulp for smoothies! This way none of the fruits & vegetables go to waste. 

Want to learn about the juicer we are using?

Watch this video.

We already love our juicer! 
We didn't have a recipe the first time we used it, I just threw in a bunch of different things to see how it would turn out, not bad!
We want to do the Reboot from this website:http://www.jointhereboot.com/
I of course will be blogging when we try the reboot :) 

The other thing I am really excited about is that Hubby and I have started our container garden. Living in an apartment it can be difficult to garden, unless you use containers! So we planted seeds and our sprouts have been growing! A few are ready for big containers and to go outside onto the porch. We have hot pepper plants, tomatoes, green/multi colored pepper plants, spinach, and a strawberry plant. We didn't plant the strawberry plant though, a kind friend gave us trimmings from her strawberry plant. 
How did you spend your weekend? What are you most excited about this summer?
Be Happy Healthy & Strong,
Lolli