Grand Canyon Hike or Bust

By on May 8, 2013 in { health & beauty }, { travel & adventure }

Grand Canyon National Park

Where’s my Visine?  It’s 3:15 am Hawaii time.  I just landed in LAX, while waiting for my connecting flight to Phoenix.

Phoenix marks the beginning of some adventurous fun.  Starting off later today where I’ll hook up with my big sisters, and our sweet cousin, Corri and her family for some pre-hiking fun.

Then, next Monday, together with my two big sisters, Carrie and Peggy, we will arrive at the south rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.  Our goal, to hike to from the top of the rim down to Phantom Ranch, where we’ll spend the night, and then ascend back to the Canyon’s rim the next day.

I have hiked our beautiful Grand Canyon of the Pacific, Waimea Canyon on Kauai, but never the Grand Canyon National Park.  After over a year of planning, the three sisters are very excited for it all to begin.

I am feeling ready to blast through the steep trails of our Grand Canyon hike, thanks to Gabby Reece’s butt-kicking classes I’ve been attending on Kauai’s northshore since November.  Thanks Gabby for all those squats and lunges that I moaned and sweated through.  I have no doubt the strength they built in my bootie and legs will pull me up and over the top of the Canyon’s rim.

 

Stay tuned for the pictorial post of our Grand Canyon hiking adventure next week.

Grand Canyon Hike or Bust, here we come!

 

Photo courtesy of the Grand Canyon National Park Service

 

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Green Smoothie Love

By on March 29, 2013 in { family & friends }, { food & drink }, { health & beauty }

greensmoothies

Every morning at 6 am our kitchen comes alive to the sounds of our blender, blending up a batch of fresh green smoothies to start our day.

And I have to say, I am absolutely in love with them.  At first it started as a way to sneak fresh green veggies into my anti-veggie eating boys.  But now they are a part of our everyday lives, making us so much healthier because of them.

 

meetus

Not too long ago, my youngest daughter Jadah, and her friend Jen, founded Simple Green Smoothies.  Their common passions to raise world-changing kids in their young families, and educate others about healthy choices, has made them both rockstars of green smoothies and ambassadors of healthy living.

Once Jadah encouraged me to start making my own green smoothies, I ditched Jamba Juice, because I found by making your own green smoothies, not only do you save money, but also you are in charge with what goes into them, making them tastier, fresher, and even healthier.

 

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Many of our family and friends have been around us enough to know about the Jonah household’s morning green smoothie ritual, and many now subscribe to the same ritual in theirs.  

But if you’ve never tried making green smoothies on your own, here’s a great way to get started. Join Simple Green Smoothies 30-Day Challenge.  Your body and taste buds will be so happy you did.

In the words of Simple Green Smoothies‘ founders…”Peace, Love and Leafy Greens.”

 

All photos courtesy of simplegreensmoothies.com

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Rustic Cooking Obsession

By on March 1, 2013 in { food & drink }

Rustic Chickpea Soup5

I am obsessed with rustic Italian cooking right now.

I found David Rocco on the Cooking Channel, and his show Dolce Vita.  In the newer episodes of his shows, he and his wife, along with their twin baby girls, live in a 500 year-old Tuscan farmhouse. David often cooks outside with twins in tow, and shows how simple and delicious rustic cooking can be.

This recipe was the first of David’s I tried, and is now one of my favorite go to comfort foods, and so I had to share it.

So easy, so amazingly flavorful, healthy, and just plain yummy.

 

Rustic Chickpea Soup Recipe

Start out with these simple ingredients…

  • 1 can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
  • A couple springs of fresh rosemary
  • 1 medium onion
  • Good olive oil
  • Salt & fresh ground pepper
  • About 2 cups of water

 

Rustic Chickpea Soup

Chop the onions, and pull off the thistles from the rosemary.  Heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in medium sauce pan, and add onion and rosemary.

 

Rustic Chickpea Soup1

As the onion and rosemary are crisping up, add salt and pepper.  Continue cooking until the edges of the onion begin to get a light crispy brown.

 

Rustic Chickpea Soup2

Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas.  Pour them in with the onion and rosemary.  Then using a fork, mash about a third of the chickpeas.

 

Rustic Chickpea Soup3

Add about 2 cups of water, and stir.

 

Rustic Chickpea Soup4

Bring to boil, and then turn down to simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  You may drizzle with a little olive oil, or add grated parmesan cheese when you serve.  But I like it just as is, and the flavor gets even better if you can find yourself able to save any for later.  Very hard for me to do.

 

Cooking is truly one of life’s pleasures.  

You don’t have to be a chef, but making delicious food sure makes you feel like one.

 

 

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