i like it raw

I’m feeling a little under the weather today.  Nothing too bad though.  My head feels cloudy/heavy, tired, sore throat.  I haven’t really been sick in over 1.5yrs.  Hoping this is gone in a day or 2!  I really tried to knock it out of my system today with the following:

• emergen-C immunity defense packet
• mango Kombucha
• chocolate Amazing Grass
• Rishi Japanese green sencha
• healthy food

The morning started off with some chia packed oats.  It was my usual mixture of oats + milk + 1/2T chia seeds + vanilla + cinnamon.  However, today I used Oat Milk.  Have you guys seen or tried this?  It literally tastes like liquid oats.  It’s thicker and more flavorful than almond milk.  Pacific is the only brand I have seen that makes it.  It has natural protein, fiber, and calcium unlike almond milk. 

You can check out the product and nutritional info here.  I think my favorite milk subs are Oat + Hemp milk.  They are thick and flavorful.

Topped with:  1/2 banana + 1T pnut butter + 1t cacao bliss + coconut granola

ch ch ch chia sEEds in my oats

With some Japanese green sencha on the side.  I wasn’t a huge tea fan until I found this.  I really love it’s earthiness.  I don’t add anything to it at all.

My friend Lauren drove over from Boulder and we headed to the Denver Urban Homesteading farmers market.  I hadn’t been there in weeks and was really looking forward to it.  When we got there, there were a LOT of new vendors and so much stuff to check out.  We did one loop just to see what all was there and then went around again to make our decisions.

A reader asked to see what all was at the market…so here you go!

A pie bakery.  SO good.  Didn’t take a sample today though..I focused more on cheese

Lauren and I tried RAW COW’S milk for the first time today.  It was amazing.  I would say the thickness was comparable to 2% milk but the flavor was incredible.  I cannot even believe I drank skim milk my whole life.  There is some controversy with raw milk but we got a lot of good information from the farmers about how they test each batch, etc. 

We also tried RAW goat’s milk.  I really didn’t think I was going to like goat’s milk but I did.  It had a little tang like goat’s cheese but was super rich and creamy.  Not sure I would buy this but it was tasty.  I would have really liked to buy the raw cow’s milk but it’s illegal to buy raw milk in Colorado unless you’re a share holder with the company.  So you have to “buy in” for $50, which they will refund you at any time, and then sign up for their monthly milk program.  Anyway, it’s just a little too much $ right now. 

Onward to the cheeeese!! This was from the same farm that sells the raw cow’s milk.  It had so much flavor and a great texture.

Really pretty soap.  I adore how they are decorated.

mmmm carbs

The pasta company!  We’ve bought 2 different kinds of pasta so far and today I bought something new to try.  Chris used the rosemary garlic linguine with our valentine’s day meal.  So far I have been really impressed with the flavors and quality of this pasta.  See all of these boxes..multiply by about 2-2.5 and that’s how many different varieties they have.

Cute little herbs.

Chicks!!  I would love to one day have a few chickens.  Weird…maybe..but think about all the delicious eggs!!  And I could make sure they live a happy life, hehe

This guy was craZy looking.  He was double the size of all the other chicks, super fluffy, and mean looking.  Not sure what was going on with him!

Love this.

Local wine + me in the mirror

Cooler full of raw milk.

Beauty products.

It was absolutely gorgeous outside today.  Lauren + I really wanted to go for a walk at Wash Park but I knew it was not a good idea for my foot.  It was about 55* and I was HOT with what I had on. [warm hot…haha]

Super bright sun = squinty faces

So what did I buy??

Herbed pasta – I forget the type of pasta it was…basically like an angel hair fettuccini. 

1/2lb = $3.50 We’ll get about 3-4 servings from this.  When we talked to the man selling pasta he gave us some great cooking tips!  He said it is a common misconception to put oil in with boiling water to prevent the noodles from sticking.  He said the oil just coats the noodles and makes the water not penetrate through fully.  He said the key to not making them stick and to cook properly is to really agitate + stir them for the first minute of cooking.  Who knew!?

GORGeous local eggs.  I can’t even begin to tell you the HUGE difference in fresh eggs.  The vibrancy in the yolk, the way they cook and taste are all different…in a good way of course.

1 day old FRESH eggs = $4 and worth every.single.penny.

I love all the colors.  It’s like easter eggs without the chemicals from food dye   Did you know you want to see variety in the eggs in your carton?  size/color/specs/shape/etc.  Variety is good!  It is a good indicator that it’s not a factory type of operation, housing carbon copies of the same hens that are crammed in cages, pumping out eggs.  And brown eggs are not healthier, they just come from a different breed of chicken!

Organic Arugula – $2 for about 3-4 small salad’s worth.

There was a new vendor selling about 6 different varieties of goat cheese.  I went with an aged cheddar style goat cheese.  Man was this DEElicious.  It was $8 for about 3/4lb I think.  I don’t use a lot of cheese, so this will last me awhile as toppings on salads, eggs, etc.

Those were all my fun finds at the market today.  It makes me so excited going to the market…such a dork!! hehe

Got home and made herbed garlic bread for the boys.  Chris + Chris were watching the OSU basketball game.  GO BUCKS!  I used leftover seeded multigrain dough from Whole Foods and topped it with: olive oil, rosemary, basil, oregano, herb roasted garlic, salt and pepper.

Wow was this good.  Flavorful + Crunchy.

…buBBles…

Can’t you just SEE the difference with these eggs.  The texture is silkier and they are thicker and more intense in flavor.  The yellow is definitely more intense.  I used 2 eggs and did my pour/poke/spread method of cooking.  Check out how they usually look with organic eggs from the grocery store.

I topped it with a little of my cheddar goat cheese and had 2 slices of the herb bread.

Along with a twist on my chocolate coconut green [brown] monster.

Choco-Coco Strawberry Monster:

• handful of ice
• 1 scoop Chocolate Amazing Grass
• scoop of avocado [makes it so thick + creamy]
• 1/2c coconut kefir
• 1/2c almond milk
• 1t unsweetened cocoa
• ~8 frozen strawberries
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• 2T unsweetened shredded coconut

Better than a milkshake and quite a bit healthier

Hoping I feel better tomorrow!!  You can look forward to an EXCITING giveaway that starts Monday!  Also don’t forget about homemade week starting Monday.  Let me know if you have any last minute ideas!!  

Night!

~Ashley