I’m officially in the midst of wedding-week madness. But besides a minor breakdown on Friday (it was just a very emotional day) I think I’ve been handling everything pretty well. Others may disagree. ;)

Yesterday was filled with last minute errands and I declared it a day for myself! :)

The day started with some coffee and a gorgeous sunrise. I’m definitely going to miss this view.

Then it was time to drop off the Taster at work (we are a one car family) and start my other errands:

  • body work appointment
  • drop off dress to be pressed
Breakfast: In between the commute and errands I had a Two Moms in the Raw Bar – Gojiberry Granola – much better than I had expected although the first ingredient was agave and I’m not really a fan of that. :(
10:30 Yoga Sculpt – I was at a different studio than normal and it was a great class – I felt wonderful and the class flew by. Love those. :)
Snack of mini Lemon Zest Luna Bar that they had at the studio. Yum and needed energy.
12:00 Real Ryder Spin – A spin class that is on bikes that turn – One of the studios has the Real Ryder Bikes and I’ve been meaning to take a class for the last few months. “Turning” was really hard – have you ever heard of Real Ryders? (Part of my me day was being able to take two classes, a treat!)
Lunch: Another part of what made the day special was lunch out at Ecopolitan, a Minneapolis raw restaurant. I’ve been there many times, but not recently and I thought some raw food would be good nourishment. I went with my standard Raw Notchos – lots of raw kale, marinated mushrooms, peppers, cucumber and spicy notcho sauce and cashew sour cream. Delicious, why didn’t I get on my raw food kick this last summer?!
More errands:
  • proofing the wedding programs (really happy with them!)
  • get ring cleaned and sparkling
Then I headed to Caribou to work on the computer and go through emails while I waited for the Taster to finish work. The weather really feels like fall today and a Chai Tea Latte sounded perfect.  (2% Milk, 1.5 pumps of Chai) I wish someone would invent a chai tea latte that doesn’t require a lot of sugar. I’ve used some almond milk + chai tea bag + stevia in the past, but it just isn’t the same.
At some point during the day I realized that I needed sushi. Well, ok, I think I just really wanted to go on a date. With all of the craziness going on with the wedding I feel like the only thing we talk about is what needs to be done, what hasn’t been done and yada, yada.
So we headed out for sushi happy hour – originally we were going to go to the spot in our neighborhood, but it ended up being closed so we went to one of our favorites, Fuji-Ya. We realized it would probably be our last time going! Ah!
Dinner: We sat at the sushi bar, which turned out to be a really good idea – complimentary cucumber salad (tasted a lot like mine!) with fried fish and then pineapple with raspberry sauce at the end of the meal. We ordered goyza (I HAVE to!), spicy salmon, spicy tuna and soft-shell crab rolls and the Taster had some sashimi as well.
It was great to take a break from the week and the wedding was only brought up once. Just what we both needed.
My Mom and Aunt arrive this afternoon and then the rest of our families will be here Thursday – let the festivities begin!!!
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categories: breakfast, dinner, gluten-free, lunch, salad, seafood, vegan, vegetables, wine18 comments

I’m a huge fan of coconut oil. And it always helps when it is organic and fair trade like Kelapo. I have a little more work before I’ve completely convinced my Dad that it isn’t as bad as it might outwardly appear (he works in Cardiac Rehab and they really don’t take too kindly to those high saturated fat levels) but I’ll be patient. :)

On the outside, coconut oil has gotten kind of a bad rap, but it’s rather dated information in my opinion. Many studies have been done and show that coconut oil can actually promote heart health, act as an antimicrobial, absorb nutrients and minerals and help fight the signs of aging. (And you know I’m a believer in everything in moderation anyway.)

I use coconut oil in many different ways – for popping pop corn, on Hemp Bagels, in baked goods, in stir-frys as well as in smoothies.  The flavor is slightly sweet and the texture luxurious. Summer is a perfect time for a tropical-tasting smoothie, full of good fats, don’t you think?

Orange Strawberry Smoothie

  • 3/4 cup frozen strawberries
  • 3/4 cup almond milk
  • 3/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil

Blend ingredients together until somewhat smooth. The coconut oil will harden in little chunks, but I kind of like them while drinking my smoothie. When I’ve made it with a banana instead of berries it reminds me an orange julius.  :)


Have you tried coconut oil? Like it?

Disclaimer: Kelapo sent me coconut oil to review. The opinions are my own.

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categories: coconut, fats, vegan, whole foods14 comments