healthy-ish {paleo} living

i know, i haven't posted in months... 

we decided to turn our internet off for the summer

because we were both out of town more than we were in town this summer. 

i shouldn't complain that i was able to go to the beach 6 times this summer, several times with work and a few days with my husband as well. but i definitely disliked living out of a suitcase and am very convinced that although i LOVE traveling, i am a bit of a home body and i really missed being at home with my husband and our puppies. and i missed my kitchen more than i should admit.

my favorite trip this summer was definitely our trip to iowa to visit family.
{we decided to take the dogs, which was quite an adventure}
we had a family camping trip with about 25 family members. it was such a fun week with so many fun memories.

here are a couple of my favorite pictures



after 17 hours in the car together they were the best of friends.
this is just the sweetest picture of my puppies

uncle dave's girlfriend, krista got this awesome picture of amos at the campsite

paisley loved the easy access to nature.

 there were so many things that she could chew on .

this is most of the collogan clan at the campsite

and this is my favorite! 3 generations of collogans- topher, lyle, and jim

this summer has been anything but relaxing, but despite the craziness, i have been busy with projects and cooking and baking here in our own kitchen.

my husband and i had both gained a little weight in the last several months. 

and a few months ago my husband decided that he wanted to join crossfit and he assured me that he was more than serious about living a healthy lifestyle, so i bought him a membership at one of the local crossfit gyms. he has been incredibly dedicated to it for several weeks now and i am so proud of him. i know that i don't need to lose much weight, but i also know that i need to 

work on eating a healthier diet and i am training for my first race... and i decided to start with a big one. i am hoping to do a half-marathon at the end of october, so i would appreciate any support and insight that any of you runners might have for me.

i am doing my best to encourage my husband to continue in his workouts and to make healthy dinners for us.

we have been trying to stick to the paleo diet as much as possible.

and honestly, the meals that we have had since we started eating more healthfully have been delicious!

the only thing that i have really missed has been cheese. i am pretty sure now that i could live without sugar, bread, and pasta, but cheese is definitely my guilty pleasure.

several of our favorite paleo recipes so far (which i will attempt to blog in the next few days) have been zucchini hummus (which i must say, i could not even begin to imagine that it would taste so much like hummus), eggplant stacks = amazing!!!!, and tilapia with peach-mango salsa, which i think was our favorite.

tonight i made the HUGEST batch of paleo marinara sauce, which i plan to use in 3 of our dinners this week.  i know that i am probably a little prejudice, but it was incredible!

****note: this makes an EnORmOUS batch of marinara,

but it is SO worth it.

i sauteed 

1 large red onion

5 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 1/2 T. olive oil

for about 5 minutes,

then add

2 carrots, grated

1 large zucchini, grated 

and sautee for 3-5 minutes

add

3 T. fresh basil, chopped

2 t. fresh oregano

1 t. red pepper flakes

4 packets splenda

salt and pepper, to taste 

( i added about 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper)

then add 

1 - 35 oz. can roma tomatoes (i used Nina, roma tomatoes from costco), chopped, with juices

let simmer at medium heat for 30 minutes to 1/2 hour.

tonight we had grilled chicken marinara 

(a grilled chicken breast, seasoned with balsamic vinegrette, salt and pepper), 

and it was everyone seemed to enjoy it. 

omorrow we are going to try paleo 'spaghetti' with julienned zucchini 'noodles' and marinara...

i will let you know the results. 

the latest around our house

i realized a few weeks ago that it's been months since i posted pictures of our 'kids.'

can you tell amos has grown? :)

they have been LOVING the warmer weather and all of the extra outdoor time that they have been getting. 

and i will admit, i probably enjoy our walks as much as they do. 

paisley has adjusted very well to having a 'little' brother... and she also doesn't seem to have noticed that he is no longer little. 

it has been ridiculous watching amos grow. we often have to remind ourselves that he is still a puppy.

he is 7 months old and 100 lbs of sweetness. he is so incredibly affectionate. 

i never thought that he would be so BIG this soon, but he really has no idea that he is big. 

he still tries to sit on my lap 

and he doesn't seem to notice that he towers over his sister.

paisley is so sweet and patient though. she has actually become a little more snuggly, probably because she has competition for attention... and is rather jealous after being the only child.

she definitely fits the 'needy' characteristic of the weimeraner breed. 

but she is clearly happy to have a playmate.

i will admit, that i never imagined that SO much of my time would be consumed by dogs, especially after growing up without ever having a dog. 

i did manage to find a little time to do other things this month though.

about a month ago a did a little work on the front porch.

i will admit that i have never had good luck keeping plants alive. pets and children are so much easier... or maybe not.

but every year i do manage to keep my hanging plants alive. 

this year i planted them really early. i ususally just plant sweet potato vine (both purple and bright green), but since spring (high 80's and 90's) started in february this year, i couldn't find those yet. so, i planted 2 kinds of ivy and impatiens...

but i was REALLY excited to find ranunculus(es)!!!

{my VERY favorite flower}

they didn't last very long, but they made me smile every time that i saw them

aren't they so fun? they were in the middle of my hanging baskets, 

but didn't make it till i remembered to get pictures

i was also really excited to get our porch lanterns. 

i love world market!

we spend at least part of every summer evening out on the front porch, so it is so fun to have our 'nightlights'

we LOVE our little downtown porch

i think that new house numbers might be an upcoming project. ;)

this cute little guy showed up to watch over our garden

i have wanted a gnome for years and my husband got me this little guy on our anniversary trip. 

isn't he cute?

this weekend my parents and i went to the local farmers market to get some produce and some tomato plants. i was so appreciative to have my dad's gardening expertise.

i actually ended up getting 4 times as many plants as i had planned to get.

i planted a whole salsa garden-

4 kinds of tomatoes, 3 kinds of peppers, tomatillos

& cucumbers and okra

[both of which were starts from my dad]

don't you love the gaping hole in the masonry? 

the joys of old homes... and renting. (sigh)

and an exciting little happening on our front porch this week was the appearance of a nest in one of the hanging lanterns from our rehearsal dinner.

my mother-in-law got these lanterns to decorate the tables at the rehearsal dinner

and this weekend i noticed that there was a little nest inside one of them 

here is the mama bird sitting on her nest. :)

she is rather anxious when we bring the dogs out on the porch, but we are enjoying getting to watch the whole process.

Grilled Pizza

Several weeks ago my boyfriend's parents were in town. We had just gotten a new grill, so I was anxious to use it. I did something that I realize now was very risky when cooking for the future in-laws; I tried something new. We made pizza on the grill. I have used the dough recipe many times in the oven, but it turned out a little different on the grill. I actually like it a lot better grilled. :)
It was very easy and absolutely delicious. Definitely a new summer favorite.

Pizza Crust

3 3/4 c. bread flour
1 T. yeast
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1/4 c. cornmeal
1 1/3 c warm water
1 T. olive oil

Combine all ingredients until they form a ball. Knead for about 3 minutes. Cover and let rest in an lightly oiled bowl until doubled in size (about 15 minutes). Punch down dough and knead lightly several times. Divide into equal portions, however many pizzas you desire, I made 4. Stretch and press dough onto foil covered pizza pans to form small circle or oval crusts.
Preheat grill to medium heat. Place crusts on grill for 3 minutes. Flip crusts and top with sauce and whatever toppings you desire. I used pesto for our sauce and fresh mozzerella, spinach, grilled chicken, artichoke hearts, tomato slices, olives and parmesan cheese. Grill for 3-5 more minutes. Check often to make sure the crusts don't burn. The first batch of crusts were a little over-done, but the second attempt came out perfect. Yum!!!

salsa recipe

With much encouragement from my sister and my mom over the past few months I finally decided to make my first post. :)
The past few saturday mornings my boyfriend and I have gone to our local Downtown Farmers Market. It had been about 3 years since I had gone and I was more than pleasantly surprised by how much it has grown. We picked up a few things each time, but one of my favorites is definitely the salsa recipe that I sampled while we were there. I made a few adjustments, but it is so easy and completely addictive. I have made 2 big batches already. It's been a great way to use up some of the fresh tomatoes from my porch "garden".

Fresh Salsa Recipe
1 pound fresh tomatoes
1 small onion (I used red onion)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
3-4 jalapeno peppers (or any variety) hot peppers, seeds and veins removed
juice from 1/2 fresh lime
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. garlic powder
2-3 cloves garlic
1 t. salt (or to taste)
dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients in food processor and puree. Chill for about an hour for flavors to combine. Enjoy!