it's 2014 - let's get real

gotta send 2013 out with a bang, right!?

the first pic was taken in 1997ish and the second two pics were taken in 2010.  (i had my mom show the kids my blond pics the other day at dinner and they all asked, "who is that, grandma!?"  HA!)  let's get one thing straight - i have always been comfortable with myself.  i've been an athlete my whole life (go NUSB!), gained and lost 150lbs through three pregnancies and was quite content at 148lbs (it was my college weight!).  i was and still am a human garbage disposal.  i will always love food.  i just didn't really care what i was putting into the kitchen sink.

until my neighbor went to a nutritionist one day because he needed to eat healthier and gain.some.weight.  i asked for the information he brought home because i had never been to a nutritionist.  that was over three years ago... tommy was about to turn two.  i started to clean up my eating because my friend and neighbor shared his "water-drop".  mark, thank you for that epic conversation on our beach.

the picture of me lounging in "eddie" the airstream was taken by my lucky bunny.  she and i will never forget that moment:  "click" - she looked at me and said, "we are changing.your.hair".  then she pulled up this weird website called "pinterest" and showed me a picture of this gorgeous victoria's secret model with dark "ombre" (what!?) hair.  i remember reacting incredulously to the idea of changing my locks.  slowly then, over the next two years, i began to evolve, inside and out.  hellerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  yes please.  thank you.  really!?  will do.  love you.  (i smack her around sometimes too:)

so now you know a little prelude before i found my rope and swung into the mullies.  how my personal success with real food + golden friendships (oh chimmie you're a HUGE part of this too!) gave me some gumption when i had to drastically change abbie's food and eventually my entire family's food in sept/oct 2012.  it's a good story.  it led me to become an ambassador for the food revolution.  it's a story full of messes and successes (you wouldn't believe how real food has helped my parents!), of blunders and bloopers and it certainly has been worth it.  we're still evolving, back pedaling and lunging forward.   i hope you enjoy my new guest post for the food revolution blog entitled, "the evolution of a food revolution". 

water-drops make waterfalls.

sliding doors happen so many times in a life, every blink one takes.

do i jump or not?

should i or shouldn't i?

regret reigns when you stand still and let the world spin you on a collar.

bring it on babies - 2014 is ours to embrace.  find someone lovely who wants to ride on a bright yellow tandem with you.

7+7=14

2014 is my double lucky number and i hope it's yours too.

become a food patriot and join the food revolution.

unplug yourself from the matrix - your butt and brain won't regret it.

i love this article via foodday.org on making good food resolutions that you can actually accomplish.

and here are my top 7 real food "rezzo's" to chew on for 2014:

1.  pitch out the artificial colors & artificial preservatives.
overwhelmed with the amount in your fridge and pantry of these little bombs?  start with a category: condiments, sauces, jarred items, dressings etc and then to a perishable category.  when you run out of something, replace it with a brand that's clean.  take it slow or fast, whatever you can handle.  need a structured plan of attack?  this 6-week plan is awesome and you don't have to be battling with ADHD to try it!

2.  limit processed foods (aka the middle isles of the grocery store) & eat unlimited vegetables and fruits (organic when you can).
easier said than done with the vege - i've been at it for over a damn year.  not giving up...  the taste buds and preferences take time to evolve.  strive to eat 90% real, whole foods that come from the ground, the water or the trees.  it's not about perfection.

3.  know how & where your meat/poultry/fish is farmed so you can buy the best quality available (no antibiotics please).
yup, it's more expensive.  so we eat less animal products.  it has been eye opening and an adventure learning to cook more vegetarian and vegan meals.  who knew that plants=protein too?  jeeesh.

4.  be a nerd and educate yourself.  (read robyn o'brien's "do-onething" & the food babe's investigation page.)

5.  cook & play like there's no tomorrow. (make sure it's to loud.bad.ass.music whenever possible.)

6.  feeling pretty good with your real food?  look at your household chemicals and beauty products next.  meet saferchemicals.org to help you get your other cabinets in shape!

7.  love love love this article by kris karr... take in 2014 with "ease" and let go of monstrous resolutions!

there's no if.and.buts.about.it

happy.best.new.year.of.your.life.

to the mullies we go...

xoxo



ps

i just thought of peter pan and wendy flying when i typed that...  so silly i know...

a 2013 christmas holiday in pictures

one must be silly everyday.

and it's only saturday:)  i hope this is the longest.holiday.week.ever.  

i wonder what is on the horizon... such a lovely fog.  it's just the way i like it.

2014 here we come...

to the mullies we go!

xoxo

a very kolachki merry christmas

i can feel my grandma millie smiling down at me.  i made her famous kolachki yesterday and surprisingly rocked it. i have been horsing around with jamie oliver's 15 days of xmas instagram contest: #jamieschristmashp.  yesterday's challenge was to make mince pies... so i made mince pie::kolachki's... errrrrrrrrr close enough, right?:)

i altered her recipe to be gluten free and casein/lactose free.  we have not completely banned dairy, we simply limit it as mac was highly allergic to milk as a baby and everyone feels better with just little bits here and there.  we're getting along fabulously with plain sheep's yogurt, ghee and sheep/goat's milk cheese.  i do keep some high quality, grass fed butter in the house for certain things that just.need.real.butter.  why more ghee than butter in the mullies?  i personally like ghee for it's higher smoking point and lack of casein and lactose.

my mom and dad stopped in this morning and tried my kolachki.  i knew i nailed it when my mom wanted seconds and my dad sighed, put his head down and said,

"oh lindsey, these taste just like my mom's".  sniff sniff.

this recipe was tweaked thanks to the help of peter & kelli bronski's kolachki recipe.  i was super nervous about combining the dairy free cream cheese & ghee in this sacred prezell family recipe.  i am so glad i got some gumption and went for it!  heck, if it wasn't for this instagram contest, i probably wouldn't have even made them.  thanks j-dog, contests always help me put my game-face on - it must be the jock in me:)

oh grandma, i miss you and grandpa so much.  i haven't attempted these darlings since she taught me how to make them with her in 1999.  i do hope to make you proud - the mullies kitchen was built in honor of you both and the 40+ years you lived here before us on.the.lake.

mullie & millie's apricot kolachki

1 c organic ghee (it's already soft since you can leave it in your pantry)
8 oz of daiya brand plain cream cheese style spread
2.5 c (313 g) gf flour blend
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
organic powdered sugar
apricot preserves (i also remember her making these with raspberry, cream cheese and poppyseed fillings)

preheat oven to 350 degrees.  cream the ghee and cream cheese spread together in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.  in a separate bowl, mix the flour, xanthan gum and salt.  add the flour mixture gradually to the butter/cheese mixture. wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour to firm up.  generously dust your surface with powdered sugar and roll out to your desired thickness (i put plastic wrap over the top so the dough doesn't stick to the rolling pin).  i used a small juice glass to make circles and then cut out triangles for the tops.  be creative and make them look fancy pancy!  bake for 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown ever so slightly.

i like to eat mine with a lovely latte.  how will you eat yours?

merry merry christmas to you my dear mullie reader!!!

may rudolf's shiny nose find his way into your cozy home - now you have a very special cookie to leave him & santa baby:)

now i'm off to a most "fashionable" ugly xmas sweater party...  thanks for letting me borrow your sweet "jumper" jenn!!

xoxo

dark chocolate peppermint popcorn is to.die.for

it's holiday party tiiiiiimmmmmmeeeeeeeee!!!

this popcorn is super crazy fantastic.  it combines my three loves:  popcorn, dark chocolate and peppermint.

so you can do one of two things:  shake and bake some popcorn on your own (it's so fun and delicious and i prefer hot and homemade) or cheat like i did this time and buy some great quality popcorn (with no fake ingredients please!).

the best dark chocolate peppermint popcorn ever
(this makes about 20 sandwich bag size servings)

3 bags trader joe's organic olive oil popcorn
2 bars high quality organic dark chocolate chocolate (i used trader joe's dark chocolate truffle)
1 handful (about 25 pieces) trader joe's peppermint candy (no artificial red thank.you.very.much!)

make a double broiler to melt your chocolate:  fill a small saucepan with water and place a bowl on top over medium heat.  put the chocolate in the bowl and melt away.  spread out your popcorn on five cookie sheets.  muddle & crush the peppermint candies until you have a nice chunky, powdery consistency (no mortar and pestle?  put it in a sturdy gallon plastic bag and pound it good).  once chocolate is creamy take a spatula and just wiggle waggle the chocolate over the top of the popcorn, all over the place.  with your hand, pinch up the crushed peppermint and evenly dust the top as much as you want...  it's your popcorn!!!  let it dry and try not to eat the whole damn tray... i dare you.

be warned, this stuff is amazeballs and you really must make it for your holiday parties.

now i have a 3rd grade party to crash.  i hope they like what i have in store for all of them:

dark chocolate peppermint popcorn
gluten free banana chocolate muffins
clementines
green holiday smoothies:  2-3 handfuls of packed spinach, 1 banana, 1/2 pear, juice from 1/2 orange, juice from 1/2 lemon, frozen mixed berries/mango, water - zoom zoom

that's right, i'm making green smoothies for them for them to try.  i did this in abbie's halloween party and it was a huge.monstrous.hit.  well, for most of them;)

i'll report back, you filthy animals.

xoxo


ps

have you ever played chubbie brussels?  you really must try it:)