Painting with feeling

~~Just a little bit of a sneaky peek to prove that I've been working, lol. I've been pulling my easel into the living room to paint since it seems to be the central "spot" in our house. I also like being next to the window because the light is better.
~~I've posted this video before but I've been thinking about it again recently after reading another artist's post the other day.
"Realism and Emotion"
I love and admire all different styles of art but have always been drawn to realism. The challenge of creating something accurately always excites me. And yet I've never been interested in work that is simply photo-realistic and empty of emotion.
~~In the video clip Steve Hanks talks about how you can portray emotion in so many ways; the setting, the subject, etc. It's the reason that I only work from my own references. Paintings for me start with an idea and a feeling. Then I work to get the reference shots I need to help me. And from there I work to infuse the painting with emotion and feeling. I may change the overall color tone or emphasize some parts while pushing back others. The end result, I hope, is a painting that, while being realistic, is more about bringing out feelings and connections with the viewer.
~~The reason I've been thinking so much about this is because realism seems to get such a "bad rap" among artists. It's true. The blog post I read pretty much summed up the feelings that a lot of artists have. She said that, as a beginning artist your goal is to learn to draw accurately. But eventually, as you grow, you want to break away from that.
I just don't completely agree.
~~When Dustin and I went on our anniversary trip we watched a movie called Local Color. It was such a great "art movie" and it covers this subject so well.
~~Well, back to work for me! :)
Happy Thursday.

Recipes and Resources

~~I've been thinking a lot about what to write concerning nutrition. Like I mentioned, it's become something that I'm personally passionate about so I could probably write for days. But don't worry. I won't!
~~One of the biggest things that I would like to share is that eating whole, natural foods is not a "diet." I hate that word. It brings up so many negative feelings for most people. Even if one of your goals is to lose weight you should approach healthy eating habits as "lifestyle changes," not a diet.
~~Another point is that I don't believe you should cut out foods in your diet. Instead, you should focus on adding in more whole and natural foods. Let me explain:
~~We are always hearing about the latest fad diet. Most of them are about eliminating certain foods or food groups or laboriously counting calories, fat grams, points, etc.
By their very nature diets cause you to over-focus on food.
~~How many times have you declared that you're no longer going to drink soda or eat fill in the blank? And what happens? You go a few days, maybe even a week, but before you know it you've given in. And all during that time period you're thinking about that forbidden treat you can't have.
~~Another problem that is rarely addressed is the fact that most Americans are actually addicted to processed foods, refined sugars, and simple carbohydrates. You may not feel like it but your body is driving you to eat these foods. (You can read more about that in Thrive.)
~~So, what is the solution? Instead of focusing on giving up bad foods, start adding in the good ones.
* Have fruit for breakfast or oatmeal with cinnamon and agave.
*Experiment with Green Monsters and have one a day. My favorite combo: almond milk, 1 frozen banana, hemp protein powder, 1 Tbs almond butter, 1 Tbs carob powder, and a whole lotta spinach.
*Have one big salad every day. Experiment with new combinations. My best advice is to buy a big box of organic salad mix. Then keep your favorite salad toppings handy in the fridge. You can add any combo of: avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, bell peppers, sprouts, broccoli slaw, nuts, seeds, beans, etc. Make up your own healthy dressings. (I'll give some recipe book and website ideas later in the post.) One that I enjoy is: one part olive oil, one part hemp oil, and some garlic powder.
*Make it a game to try new fruits, vegetables, etc. As your tastebuds start coming back into balance you'll find yourself very sensitive to the flavors of food. And don't be afraid to "re-try" things that you didn't think you liked. I don't believe that anyone should ever force themselves to eat something they don't like simply because it's healthy. Yet I found that as my tastebuds changed I began to like foods that I once wouldn't eat. Like avocados which are now one of my favorite things.
~~As you begin to add more and more whole foods into your diet you'll find that you begin to lose your cravings for processed foods. Believe me. It works. I was the girl who had to have a Diet Coke every day. And I never forced myself to quit. But as I began to eat better foods I found myself, first not needing it and finally, not wanting it. Now I actually cringe at the thought of putting those chemicals into my body.
~~Approach changes in your nutrition as an adventure. Have fun trying some new recipes. And speaking of, I thought I'd share some different resources that I've been finding helpful.
~~I mentioned Tosca Reno and her Eat Clean books. These are great resources for those who still choose to eat meat and dairy. I won't go into the "meat issue" right now but one big problem is that meat today is not the same as it used to be. Just yesterday I heard of another major meat recall. (Watch this.) If you do choose to keep those things in your diet I would definitely look for hormone/steriod free, free-range options or even search out a local butcher or meat processor.
This is one of the first books that I started with.

~~As I began learning more about the vegetarian and vegan way of living it made so much sense. (Watching Food, Inc. reaffirmed that.) So I began looking for family friendly vegan/vegetarian resources.
~~I'd like to mention Thrive again. It's an awesome book. But the recipes can feel a little overwhelming when you're first beginning to transition into whole foods. Brendan uses a lot of harder to find ingredients and super-foods. These are all great but don't think that you have to eat complicated things to be healthy. Tim VanOrden of www.runningraw.com says that he only eats things that can be found in any local grocery store. And you should check out his awesome accomplishments!
~~One of the best resources I've found is Dreena Burton and her wonderful cookbooks. She has a blog where she often posts recipes.

I have both Vive le Vegan and Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. Even if you don't plan to cut out meat you should definitely check out her books. And I have to say that she's the wizard of vegan cookies. Every single cookie recipe that I've tried has blown the traditional egg, white flour, white sugar recipe out of the water!
~~Blogs are another great resource. You'll find people with many different styles of eating from completely raw, to vegan, to vegetarian, to pescatarian, etc. There are so many out there but here are a few that I can think of:
~Pure2Raw (I was able to meet Lori and Michelle and they're super sweet.)
~Fitnessista (I also met Gina at the same blog meet-up. She's fun.)
~Heather Eats Almond Butter
~Peas and Thank You (Super Veggie Mom who will make you laugh every day.
~Oh She Glows
~Dani Spies
~Ani's Raw Food Kitchen
~Choosing Raw
~Say Yes to Salad
~Passionate Homemaking

~~And, as always, my best resource is Google. Seriously. If you've got an idea for a recipe then Google can probably help you find a vegan or healthy version.
There are also recipe websites like:
Vegweb.com
Chooseveg.com
PostPunkKitchen
Engine2diet (Another awesome and highly recommended book, by the way.)

~~See....I said I could go on forever, lol. But seriously, I always welcome any thoughts, ideas, or questions that you have. And feel free to email me happymommykasie (at) yahoo.com

~~Well, it's getting late and I've got to get my little munchkins ready for bed. :)

Time for tea

~~It's an unusually warm and gorgeous day here. Savannah had fun morning at school and is now having a tea party in the back yard with her stuffed animals, dressed in their finest. (Have you ever seen a dolphin in a dress?)
~~I truly appreciate the comments and emails about my food post. I didn't expect to get so much support or interest. Some of you have asked questions about recipe books, websites, etc. I have a lot of great ideas and resources that I can share; things I've picked up and learned throughout this year. So I'm going to try to take the time this week to put together some posts that are nutrition related.
~~Today I'm in paint mode. I've been absolutely itching to paint and it's driving me crazy! Last week was so busy with school parties/etc. So today I'm trying to take advantage of any spare moment I can get.
~~I had to laugh when I read Kal's post today about sharing sneak peeks of art in progress. I completely understand what she's saying. I've always had a hard time sharing my work in progress with anyone because I feel like my poor painting is "naked." But I will let you know that I'm extremely excited about this piece because it's something new for me. It's a way to challenge myself and push my limits technically. It's still very much my style and subject matter, just in a new and different way.
Curious yet?!
Maybe I'll share a peek after I'm farther along. :)

~Hope your Monday is a good one. Better get back to my easel.

A Little Sunshine

The Food Issue

(I'll warn you ahead of time. This is going to be a long post!)

~~Okay. I've debated on whether I should say anything about this issue on my blog. Especially since I write mainly about my life as an artist and Mom. But cooking, recipes and food have always been a part of this blog and I'm sure some of you have been noticing changes.
~~For my family and friends it's the "elephant in the room." They know that there have been changes for our little family this year but I don't think anyone has ever come right out and asked us about it seriously.
~~One of the reasons that I've been so hesitant to bring it up is because I have learned the hard way that food and eating habits are extremely sensitive issues. Simply eating differently yourself and not even saying a word about it, for some reason, causes people to become defensive and upset. Dustin and I have been picked on and made fun of even though we've never tried to push our way on anyone. Which is another point I want to bring up. I'd like to share with you the journey that we've been on this year but in no way am I saying that our way is right and others are wrong. This journey started for health reasons and has simply become something that we're passionate about. Health is a journey and this is still a learning process for us.
~~At the beginning of this year I was not in a good place health wise. I've struggled with health issues for a long time. My Great-Grandma was hypoglycemic and I've had blood sugar problems off and on throughout my life. I can remember times when I would temporarily black out or almost pass out after eating.
~~My daughters are two of my greatest blessings in life but my body never really seemed to "settle" after having them. Since their births I've had thyroid and hormonal imbalance issues.
~~Back to January of this year....I was just so tired of being tired. It was a struggle to make it through each day and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I very clearly remember searching on the internet for some sort of vitamin because I thought that I must have been deficient or lacking in some way.
~~I also was starting to gain a little weight. It wasn't that noticeable to others but I felt the difference. And the irony was that the more I worked out and exercised, the more I seemed to gain. Everyone would say things like, "Your metabolism slows down when you reach 30. It's just a fact." But I wasn't even 29.
~~Around February I stumbled upon Tosca Reno and her idea of "eating clean." In a nutshell it means to cut out the processed food in your diet and get back to natural foods. The less man has messed with something, the better. It's amazing how much of the American diet is made up of processed foods. Just adopting those principles made a big difference in how I felt. She advocates choosing meat that is hormone/steroid free and buying organic as much as possible.
~~As many of you know, my husband is a competitive cyclist/duathlete. He and I both began wondering how food affects athletic performance. I bought the book "Thrive" by Brendan Brazier and we read it together.

Every person should read this book! Brenden has done so much study and research into nutrition and yet he lays it our in a way that is easy to understand. We began to learn about the acidic/alkaline affects of foods, how what you eat helps or hurts your recovery as an athlete, the idea of the protein myth, and so much more. We began to cut out meat in our diet and add more greens, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains. People think that vegetarians/vegans must eat boring salads all day but we started discovering the most amazing and delicious foods. It was almost like our taste buds came back into alignment and we could actually taste the flavors of what we were eating instead of the generic sweet or salty of processed foods. And speaking of salads......we learned some tricks to make some pretty awesome ones. We're not talking about soggy iceberg lettuce with tomatoes and ranch. Nope. These are flavor-filled salads with things like avocado, peppers, dulse, sprouts, and broccoli slaw, or wilted kale salads with olive oil and sea salt. We both now find ourselves craving salad.
~~Another step in our journey was seeing the movie "Food, Inc." We had naturally become more interested in food and where it comes from. "Food, Inc." is a movie that every person should see. It doesn't try to change your eating habits. It's not about becoming a vegetarian or vegan. It's simply about awakening consumers to the knowledge of where our food comes from. We're so used to going to the store and seeing things in boxes and packages. We've become very out of touch with any connection to food. It's a life-changing movie. It was hard to watch. But I cannot recommend it enough.~~Our youngest daughter, Savannah, was born with severe milk protein allergies. She wasn't just allergic to dairy but also the milk proteins casein and whey (which are in so many processed foods!) As she's grown her allergy has turned into more of a sensitivity but we've always tried to avoid too much dairy with her. Sierra also has always had a dairy sensitivity and both girls have struggled with eczema since they were babies.
~~As we kept learning more about the affect of certain foods on the body I naturally began to replace our recipes with vegan or vegetarian ones. Amazingly we've found that we all love the vegan recipes more than the traditional ones. They focus so much more on flavors and spices. And, as a Mom, I can feel good knowing that the girls aren't eating the things that cause their tummies to hurt.
~~Like I said, it's still a journey for us. I heard someone say that "Health is a life-long journey," and I like that. I don't like labels and as a family we don't really fit under any certain one. We eat highly vegetarian and often vegan, especially me. Yet we will, on occasion, have seafood or chicken. I buy the girls hormone/steroid free turkey or chicken and free-range organic eggs. We eat a lot of raw food but I can't say we're raw foodists. Our overall attitude is to stay close to what God made. I am a Christian and I have to say that learning about food has greatly inspired my faith. Our God has provided us with the most wonderful, nourishing, health-filled foods. If you read or study about any fruit, vegetable, seed, nut, legume, etc, you will find out that each one has it's own unique health-boosting properties. They're filled with all the vitamins, minerals and enzymes that we could ever need. It's truly amazing!
~~So.....for those who worry, I have to tell you that I feel better than I ever have in my life. I have more strength and energy. My endurance in running/jump-roping has improved. That baby fat that I used to fuss over has melted away.

~~I feel that I am a better wife, Mother, and artist because of the changes that I've made/am making. If I have to endure some teasing or ridicule for that, well, it's more than worth it to me.

~~I would love to continue to share recipes on my blog. Not as a way to push anything off on anyone but as my way of sharing the exciting things that I'm learning. And don't let a label, like vegan, deter you from trying something. I promise you, these recipes are good!
~~I'd love to know your thoughts on what I've shared.
~~Whew! It feels good to spill the beans!!

***If you're interested at all, I highly recommend signing up for Brendan Brazier's free 30 day online program called Thrive in 30. It's free and very informative. It's basically a break-down of his book.

Simply Great

~~There are times that I feel as though I should wait for some "special event" to blog. But then I realized that most days are filled with special moments disguised as "ordinary." It's those special little things that make up our lives and if we aren't careful we'll overlook them.
~~The morning started off like most school days do; with me trying to juggle making breakfast, getting my sleepy-headed girls dressed and combing their hair. Then I double-check the homework/permission slips, pack Sierra's lunch, make sure the teeth get brushed and that the jackets aren't forgotten. Whew! It's no wonder that most of the time I take them to school with my hair pulled back in a clip and no make-up on, lol.
~~I came home and drank a beet-romaine-carrot juice while finishing up some cleaning and paperwork. The morning seems to fly by so quickly and before I know it, it's time to pick up Savannah. (She only goes half a day.)
~~Today was a special day because I had planned to have lunch with Dustin. He works in a town about a 30 minute drive away. I love having lunch with him and I also get a chance to pick up some of our groceries at the neat little health food store there.

~~It was a bit chilly today so soup sounded like a great lunch choice. I had tomato soup in a sourdough bread bowl. Yum! I love getting to spend time with my favorite guy during the middle of the day.
~~Savannah and I then headed over to Nature's Supply for some raw cashews, brown rice noodles, tamari, an organic lollipop....you know, the necessities, lol. Next was Wally-World for the rest of our groceries and then back home to pick up Sierra from school.
~~Maybe it was the busy day or maybe the sound of the rain on the windows, but Savannah crashed on the way back.

~~I found a spot in the car-rider line and pulled out the latest issue of VegNews to read while Savannah napped. Mmmmmm. I see black bean tamales in our near future.

~~Picking up Sierra is always a bright spot in my day. She usually jumps in the car mid-sentence and then proceeds to fill me in on all the "2nd grade happenings." Today she was very excited to tell me about "haunted gym class." She also wanted to show me her chia pet that had been grown in class. She has plans to give it a haircut and a ponytail. :)

~~The rest of the afternoon was spent putting away groceries and preparing supper. I had a really nice run yesterday and was planning to get weights in today. The problem is that if I wait until evening after homework, baths, cleaning up the kitchen, etc, I'm usually pretty beat. My goal is to get back into the habit of waking up before everyone else and getting it done. I miss that.
~~Today has been a simply great day; the kind that I enjoy. The leaves outside are painted in many bright colors. The quiet rain makes our home feel especially cozy. I have a new drawing in progress as the start of a painting. My little family is healthy and well again.
Yes. I have so much to be thankful for!

Twenty-Nine

~~Hello Monday morning!
I'm ready to start this new week, although I have to admit that it was a bit hard to crawl out of my cozy bed this morning. Fall days are like that and flannel sheets are oh-so-wonderful!
~~We had a great weekend as a family. Saturday we took the girls to see a movie at the theater. It's a rare treat for us so it's always so exciting for them. We watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and both girls giggled through the whole thing. It was cute and silly and right up their alley.
~~Sunday was the beginning of my last year as a 20-something. Yes. My 29th Birthday. I'm honestly not so terrified at the thought of turning 30 and yet something about this being my last year in the 20's makes me feel like I should make it extra special. I think I need to make a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30 and dream big.
~~After Church I had dinner with my family. It's always so nice to get together with all of them. We had oriental food and my fortune cookie said, "Don't be afraid to take the next step." Hmmmm.
~~The afternoon was beautiful and fairly warm for a Fall day. Dustin and the girls worked together to carve a pumpkin while I baked some pumpkin oatmeal cookies. Okay, in reality Daddy did all the carving while the girls watched and cheered him on. They were quite grossed out by the inside of the pumpkin, lol.
(I think Daddy did an awesome job by the way!)

~~In all it was simply a truly nice day made even better by the fact that we are all healthy. Thanks for all the "get well" wishes.
~~And since they turned out absolutely delicious, I thought I'd share the Pumpkin Oatmeal cookie recipe with you:
Happy Fall!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

*2 Cups whole wheat flour
*1 1/3 Cups rolled oats
*1 tsp. baking soda
*3/4 tsp. sea salt
*1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
(If you don't have pumpkin pie spice you can use 1 tsp cinnamon & 1/2 tsp nutmeg.)

*1 2/3 Cups unrefined sugar (I used sucanat.)
*2/3 Cup canola oil
*1 Tbs. molasses
*1 Tbs. maple syrup
*1 Cup pumpkin
*1 tsp vanilla

*1 Cup pecans
*1/2 Cup raisins (Soak in hot water and drain first. This makes them moist and plump.)

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets or use parchment paper.
~Mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spice.
~In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, molasses, syrup, pumpkin and vanilla until very well combined. Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, folding to combine. Fold in nuts and raisins.
~Drop by Tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. They can be placed fairly close together since they don't spread much. Flatten tops with your fingers to press them into a cookie shape. Bake fro 16 minutes. If you are using 2 cookie sheets, rotate the sheets halfway through for even baking.
~Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Enjoy!