The Haps

So lately I've been extremely busy- Who isn't right?

Work has been off the hook with gold tournaments galas and video shoots. I am so excited because our shoot for Hike the Halo finally came together and can be found here:

http://sca.cff.org/climb

Please register if you live in the Orange County/LA area! It will be a fabulous event and we have so many vendors we are bursting at the seems!

So lately here is my life in picture:

Last week we had a golf tourney for work called "Parr Wars" it was all Star Wars themed which was so fun. It was held in Palos Verdes a the Trump International Gold Resort which is a completely breathe taking location. It was a nice day out of the office and because it was held on a Friday I didnt have to give up my weekend for it!

Also last week and yesterday i made a couple of fabulous dinners for guests  :) I loved how this pic came out from last week- last nights din I forgot to snap  :(

This is quinuoa with peppers, cucumber tomatoes and avocado with a citrus glazed salmon. Dessert was my peach and blueberry cobbler from my last post!

Last weekend was hard because my cousin and best friend Neal was in the hospital. I spent most of my time with him and his wife Steph whom I love. I was glad to be there with him in support and in the end we got some really good news about his disease...

Also I attended my Grandpa's obon which is a Japaneses Buddhist memorial service. I love the Buddhist religion. I feel connected to my heritage and completely in a calm tranquil state when I am at the church. I love that the religion centers around enlightenment and human nature. I also believe in rebirth. I think about my Grandpa often and know his soul is watching over me. I miss him so bad my heart aches every time I think of him, but feel so grateful and blessed that he was part of my life for so long.

He inspires me to work hard and be a good person. I want to make him proud and even though he's not with me in the present I feel him all around me every day.

I am signing off to start working on our Gala for this week. I had a nice week overall and I'm excited to take vacation next week. My family is going to Lake Tahoe where we will bury my Grandpa. I get to see my bro and spend time with the fam which I'm really looking forward to.

Barefoot Contessa's Blueberry Peach Crisp

My grandma has a ton of ripe peaches right now, and with a little dinner party planned last night, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make a special dessert. Since Ina Garten is my hero, I always turn to her in moments like this.

It turned out yummy, but the crumble topping ended up sinking in to the peaches and blueberries a bit. I will have to per-fect it next time!

Ingredients 

For the fruit:
2 pounds firm, ripe peaches (6 to 8 peaches)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the crumble:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily (I found it easier to immerse them for about 90 secs).  Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, 

granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups (I put it all in one giant Corningware dish).

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it's in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly (I cooked 60 min). Serve warm or at room temperature.

Overall - served with vanilla bean ice cream- NOTHING BETTER!!  :)

Oh and here's a pic of dinner:

Workout Week July 3-9th 2013

My personal goals: 
It was a holiday weekend, normally I would use this as an excuse to pig out. Not this year. Instead I used it as an excuse to CHALLENGE myself to stay in control. To push the envelope I added in a cleanse which definitely kept me accountable and on target. It was my personal goal to finish the cleanse and drink lots of water.

Overall personal goal analysis: I am SUPER proud of myself this week. I set out to complete a cleanse and even though I wasn't perfect, I pushed myself further than I ever have before and I was really happy with the results. It was agonizing but SO worth it.

Here’s how my workouts went:

Wednesday:  bootcamp in the early AM. It's getting easier and easier to wake up for this because I enjoy the class and my instructor so much! This day I got off early from work for the holiday weekend!

Thursday: Fourth of July! One of my fav holidays. I started the day off right by going for a long hike with my mom followed by lots of errand running and Angel game. No other place I'd want to be on the 4th than at Angel Stadium eating a hot dog and watching fireworks!

Photo courtesy of Angels Baseball "The Halo Way"

Friday: Started the day off with pilates and MAN how I miss not taking that class regularly. It is sooo great for your core and mental well-being. I love pilates. Afterwards I went swimming and to the movies. My mom and I had a fun day of movie hopping. We saw Monsters U and Superman- both were mediocre. I liked Monsters U slightly better but I have higher expectations from Pixar.

That evening was a night out in LA

Saturday: I started the day off right with a good workout.  Afterwards was shopping and Angels.

Sunday: I went to the gym in the early AM and in the afternoon prepped and began my cleanse. The next two days I didn't and couldn't do too much physically.

Monday: Was back at work after the long holiday weekend and barely made it thru the day.

Tuesday: Having more energy made all the difference working out. At work I had a video shoot for my event Hike the Halo on November 10th.  The shoot was super intense with lots of burpees running and stair climbing - I am so sore! In the PM I went line dancing.

Overall a great week and a lot to be proud of. And I'm just going to wrap it up with that positive note!!!

Dr. Oz's Two Day Wonder Cleanse

I am currently in the midst of Dr. Oz's Two Day Cleanse.  When reading about this cleanse and even saying it in my head now- TWO DAYS. Easy right? WRONG! Hardest thing I've done in a LONG time.  I am dying and not because I am in pain, the cramping headaches and side effects aren't that bad. It's more the struggle against the mental battle to snack graze etc.
This cleanse is specifically designed to rid our body of toxins.  Dr. Oz describes it as a physical and spiritual transformation.. I dont really know about that but I am skeptical by nature  :)

You can read about it here:
http://www.oprah.com/health/Dr-Oz-on-Cleansing-Do-You-Need-a-Cleanse/1

Day 1: (Yesterday)
In the AM i had oatmeal with peanut butter because I was about to do a big workout and I couldn't last without something, so I went to spinning after my breakfast, and then began prep:
I went to Trader Joe's and Sprouts and bought the following items- (some things needed for the cleanse I already had) This was tough because my mom was doing it with me so I had to double all ingredients
- Cabbage
- Fennel
- Cucumber
- Frozen Pineapple
- Caraway Seeds
-Cayenne pepper
- Kale
- Flax Seed
- Shittake Mushrooms
- Prunes
- Almond Milk
- Sauerkraut
- Celery
- Red Onion

Then I got to work prepping my food. It was nice to work with my mom. We doubled all the batches and decided to make all the food for both days immediately and just tupperware it all.

For Breakfast: Quinoa and Prunes:

Not too bad- super filling. In fact my mom and I had a hard time eating all of it. The prunes add a natural sweetness to the power packed quinoa and the nutmeg was a nice spice. Kind of like eating a bowl of oatmeal with a slightly different texture. This is the meat of the cleanse and from here on out it's mostly liquid.

Snack (drink 2x a day): Pineapple Kale Juice

This had kale cucumbers, mint, lemon and pineapple in it. Not very sweet, very healthy tasting, but not the worst. If you can get your mind around the fact that you're drinking something good for you and really boosts your digestive system, you can get past it...

Lunch: Fruit Smoothie

This had a 1/4 banana, blueberries flax seed and almond milk in it. If you look at the ingredient measurements this is not much at all. I had to bulk it up with more ice. Not very filling but full of antioxidants, vitamins and enzymes... 

UGH at this point in the cleanse, the 2pm lull, it gets super hard.

Dinner: Veggie soup broth with a side of sauerkraut and sliced apple

Here is my prepping- my mom had a huge awesome pot which was perfect for this because it requires so many veggies, esp when you double the recipe

The end result which is the broth isnt very beautiful, just looks like chicken stock.  This was pretty bland because of the lack of salt. It wasnt horrible tho and the parsley added a nice fresh touch.  The recipe on the website makes  A LOT of broth.
Next post will be about my feelings and experience with this cleanse.
Stay tuned!