WOW! Did I get lost?

Wow  has it ever been a long time since I have posted on my blog! Am I ever sorry!!! I had not meant to neglect this blog, time just seems to slip away......

So the last few weeks have been busy with renovations. The kitchen is still a work in progress. The tile was finally installed by my husband (Craig) and our friend Bill. Wow does it look fantastic!! Watch for pictures coming soon!

The bathroom also got a glossy new coat as the tub surround was removed and an updated, and badly needed, new one was put in! I would love to show pictures of my husband caulking it all, as he did a masterful job, but alas I came home to a "fait accompli"! It does look good though!



As for the weight loss project, things have been coming along rather slowly, I have however, dropped from a size 18 in November to my current size 14!! Not yet svelt, but moving forward to my goal of single digit sizing!!



As for my ETSY shop, lots of new things have been added (see the shop listing on the right!) and I am continuing to create and add new items daily. I have several new products I will be launching through March and April, so stay tuned.

So far in 2011 I have added Organic Millet Hull Pillows and Travel Pillowcases to my offerings. I am planning to added at least 3 more new products to my regular line up before the end of April! I am also excited to acknowledge that I can currently be found in 63 Treasuries on ETSY!!



I am going a little stir crazy these days as the cold weather has continued through the last month or so and I have been mostly stuck at home! However with a change in temperature and a thermometer that is rising, my thought are beginning to turn to Spring. There is so much to do in the yard once the snow melts! It will, however, be at least another 6 weeks before anything can really be done! We have a lot of snow here and temperatures are still -9 to -15 C at night!


That is the brief update to let you know where things stand. Tune in next time for some renovation photo updates!!!


Till next time....Keep it "Natural"!
Ritzy

Now it is the bathroom's turn!!!

As renovations in the kitchen continue onwards (yes - this does seem to be the renovation project that takes a decade!!!), my husband has decided to expand the home renovations to the bathroom. More specifically, the tub.

You see, our tub has had a funny bulge developing in the barker board that surrounds it. My husband did go and purchase new board to fix it with, but had not yet begun the project.

Yesterday, however, he was foiled in his attempt to complete the project he was working on in the kitchen - the instillation of new ceramic tile. While waiting for the local lumber yard to deliver supplies, he decided to see what lay beyond the expanding barker board. Both of us were somewhat concerned with that lay "beyond". Turned out our fears were mostly unfounded. While there was some moisture and water damage, there was no mold.

It turns out that when the bathroom was renovated by the previous owners who-knows-how-far-back, it was done incorrectly. This had caused the board to come unstuck from the adhesive holding it to the wall. Rather than remove it and correct the problem, they had punched nails into the barker board and tried to seal them. That meant that water was able to go into these holes and get behind the boads. Not the recomended way to repair a shower/bath!!

So currently, we are without shower or bath facilities while it dries out and is CORRECTLY repaired!!!

In the meantime, tiles are being installed in my kitchen! I look forward to posting new pictures of my kitchen next week!

Until then, keep it "Natural"!!

Doin' a Duathlon Race

I am excited about my new challenge!
I will be participating in a Duathlon race this spring!!

I have begun training for my first ever Duathlon race, to take place in May of 2011. This Duathlon consists of a 2.5 km run, a 20 km bike and a 5 km run.

With only 16 weeks training time til the race, every day counts!

Biking has always been my strong suit, so I am less concerned about that. My main concern is the run portion of the race which, you will notice above, happens at both the beginning and again at the end. My main concern with this portion of the race is that I have asthma and running has always been a trigger for my condition.

To train myself to run, I have begun a walk/run interval program on the treadmill.
I am starting out as follows:

Warm up at an easy walk for 5 minutes.
Run 1 minute                  
Walk 2 minutes to recover
The walk/run above constitutes 1 interval and is repeated 8 times.
Cool down at an easy walk for 5 minutes

Total Work out is 34 minutes.

Next week, Monday Jan. 31, I will be moving up to a 1.5 minute run and 2 minute recover time. It will take about 6 weeks before I am doing anything that really resembles running!!!

So welcome to the beginning of my race training!
I look forward to getting my road bike into the house and set up on the trainer so I can begin bike training!

Watch for up coming pictures and updates to my training regiment!!!

Thank you for reading, and, until next time, KEEP IT "NATURAL"

Starting 2011 a Little Late!!

Well, better late then never they say!

Sorry it has been so long since last I updated you on things in my world. I am afraid the last 6 weeks have been very hectic, what with craft shows, Christmas, travel, New Years, Flu season, my "day" job.... You get the idea.

So now I am making the effort to get back on track with things. Today is just a quick update of where I am and where I am headed in 2011!

So here is a recap of 2010 projects:

Kitchen Renovations - stalled out after the very successful, and good looking, custom built pantry. It was painted and put in to use immediately and I have been enjoying all that space for several weeks! I will be updating pictures again soon!

90 Day Challenge - I am afraid I fell off the wagon on this one BIG TIME! I did manage to lose 10 LBs and so start the New Year somewhat lighter, but still a long ways from my goal! Christmas didn't help matters either! 

My Shop on Etsy - Christmas was a very successful time for the  Ritzy's All Naturals Etsy shop. I was kept very busy and was able to send items all over the world! It is always a thrill to know that my handmade items are being used by people in the UK, Australia, The USA, Canada and elsewhere around the globe! A special thanks to all of you who sent me such great emails/convos about how my items are helping you in your everyday life! They are so wonderful and encouraging to read!

So where am I headed in 2011?

I am still defining goals and setting things in motion, but there are so many things in the works to share.

First, I will be introducing new products to my Etsy shop over the next 6 weeks. I am still in the testing faze on some items, so watch for new items and new ideas to emerge through out January and February.

Fairs and Shows - I will be setting up my summer shows and fairs over the next 10 weeks and will update you with my schedule soon!

Projects - the on going renovations.... watch for the installation of a new counter, backsplash tile and flooring in my kitchen! My husband will also be building me benches for the eating area, and I will be learning how to upholster them!! I look forward to adding that to my knowledge base and to the blog!

90 Day Challenge - I have not given up yet!! I will start this anew very soon. I look forward to sharing new recipes and strategies for healthy living with you!

Du-Athlon - I am starting to train for a Du-Athlon! The race will take place in May and consists of a run, bike, run progression. I am planning to complete a 2.5 km run, followed by a 20 km bike ride, followed by a 5 km run. My goal is to complete the race in 1 hour. I will be letting you know how I am training to meet the challenges of this race and how I feel along the way!!

I hope your 2011 is off to a great start and I look forward to traveling with you through the coming months.

Take care and...keep it "Natural"!

90 Day Challenge Update - Week 4

Well, unfortunately, week 4 was not the success I had hoped for.

Not only did I fail to get all the work outs in I had hoped for, The scale wasn't my friend this week either. Yesterday's weigh in says I have actually gained a pound this week!!! A whole pound!!!


Gaining a pound puts me off of my target weight loss by 3 pounds in total. The two pounds I SHOULD havd lost this last week, plus the pound I gained... :(

Goal for week 4 = total loss of 8 lb
Actual for week 4 = total loss of 5 lb

So I am trying to get back on the band wagon this week.
I started today off on the right foot....

Breakfast
♦Quinoa with hemp hearts, sesaeme seeds, cinnamon and soy milk.

Coffee Break
♦Boiled Egg
♦Carrot Sticks

Lunch
♦ 6 Bean and Wild Rice Chilli
♦ Mandarin Orange

Afternoon Snack
♦Veggies

Supper
♦1/2 baked potato
♦ Baked Chicken
♦ Raw Veggies

Snack
♦Banana

Hopefully, I can get back on track this week and regain my momentum....
Wish me luck!!

In the mean time...Keep it "Natural"!

Amazing Quinoa Brownie Cake

I have been cooking and eating Quinoa for quite some time, but I have been wanting to try a new recipe I read about for some time. I wanted to make Chocolate Quinoa Cake. This cake is made using Quinoa seed, no the flour.

If you haven't heard of Quinoa yet, its time you did. Quinoa is the current media favorite. You see it cropping up in all the magazines and cook books, and for good reason! Quinoa is gluten free, making it suitable for those with Celiacs. It is a low glycemic-index carb, which makes it great for diabetics. Quinoa is a complete protein - great for the vegetarian in your life.

There are several different types of Quinoa, most of which grow high in the mountains of South America, the native home of Quinoa. South American varieties include White Quinoa, Red Quinoa and Black Quinoa. Due to its unique growing requirements, Quinoa does not grow in the USA and only one company grows it in Canada. I am using the Canadian Grown Golden Quinoa, purchased from Northern Quinoa Corp. in Saskatchewan, Canada. It can be found at http://www.quinoa.com/. While most Quinoa is rather tasteless (like white rice), Golden Quinoa has a nutty flavor that lends itself well to baked goods!

So lets get cooking!!

The first step in this amazing concoction is to cook the Quinoa. Since I am using Golden Quinoa, I am jut boiling my Quinoa with equal amount of water until done. The water cooks off and you can see the little "tails" of the Quinoa seed uncurl.

 Golden Quinoa cooking away!

Once the Quinoa has cooked and cooled, I began to assemble the rest of the ingredients. They were pretty simple, soy milk (family is lactose intolerant!), water, eggs, extract, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and butter.

The rest of the ingredients!

To assemble the recipe:

I blended Soy Milk, water and rum extract in the blender until smooth. I added the cooled Quinoa and butter to the blender and blended until smooth.

I then mixed the following dry ingredients in a bowl: sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the ingredients in the blender to the bowl and mix well.

Mixed ingredients poured and ready for the oven.

Once ingredients are well blended, pour them into a greased pan with parchment paper on the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until done.

Just out of the oven...

Cut and about to try it out.....

Yummy!! Wow is that rich!

This cake ends up with a very brownie-like texture and it is VERY rich! So how did it go over? Only Two hours after coming out of the oven, the cake was almost entirely gone!! I saved a few pieces for morning lunches, but I had to fight to get those!!

The recipe is easy and quick to make. It is a wonderful alternative to the typical wheat chocolate cake and way richer. If you did not tell people what it was made of they would never know that it didn't have flour. But they would rave about the taste!!

So here is the Recipe.

Chocolate Quinoa Cake

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/3 cup soy milk

1/3 cup water

4 eggs

1 tsp rum extract

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 & 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Mix soy milk, water, eggs and rum extrat in blender until smooth. Add Quinoa and butter and blend until smooth. If thick, add a bit more water to mixture.

In bowl blend cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add contents from blender and mix well.

Grease baking pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Pour batter into pan and bake for 40 - 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Let the cake cool completely and the turn upside down on plate and remove parchment paper before cutting and serving. 

Decorate as you wish, though this cake doesn't need it!! It is amazing all on its own!!

PLEASE NOTE: This is a variation/modification of a recipe found in "Quinoa 365" by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming.

90 Day Challenge - Week 3!!

Well I am happy to report that week three is over and I am still on track with my goals. I am currently down 6 lbs!!! I do have to admit, however, that I am having more problems with the eating plan than I wish to admit. While the first week was very clean, my old eating habits seem to be coming to the forefront once again.  Specifically, I am having trouble with eating out too often. Life seems to get hectic and suddenly I find myself saying "Let's just grab something on the way...." This is never healthy, especially where I live. This is burger and Fries country.

I will be trying to tighten up the eating this week. I need to take an evening to prep foods for the week, and while that should have been Sunday, I was unable to do it then. I will have to go home tonight and get some meal prep done and packaged so I can grab and go for the rest of this week.

My treadmill and I have been getting along though. I have continued with my work outs and plan to begin my HIIT training tomorrow. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. I will start my program with a 5 minute warm up and will then cycle through a Run/Walk workout. I will run as hard as I can (about a 9 on a scale of 10) for 30 seconds and then walk to recover for 90 seconds. Each cycle is 2 minutes, so I will try to do 10 of them in a row, and then finish with a 5 minute cool down. I have done these before and they are very hard for me, but they yield results! And results are what I am looking for!!

I also want to try some new recipes this week, so watch for new postings and pictures of some yummy and healthy foods!!

I will see you later in the week....

Til next time....Keep it "Natural"!!