what I eat...

The most common response when I tell people about my new diet is "What DO you eat?"  Rest assured, I eat a lot, and I eat very tatsty foods.  If my hummus recipe didn't look tasty enough to you, here are a few more...well, not really recipes for all of them, but ideas :)

By the way...I can eat tomatoes and potatoes now...WHAHOOOOO!

For breakfast, I eat a lot of rice, interestingly enough.  This day, I tried to branch out a bit and had a scramble, avocado, strawberries and blueberries!  In the scramble, there was gluten-free, all natural/preservative-antibiotic free wellshire chorizo sausage, green peppers, onions, tomatoes and eggs of course.

Here's a tasty supper for you: swordfish with a balsamic/olive oil/raw honey & dijon mustard glaze, steamed collard greens/kale mix sauteed with garlic and olive oil, and buckwheat pasta with pine nuts, roasted red peppers and olive oil.  (I eat a LOT of olive oil)!

Here is a simple meal of wild caught salmon with a balsamic glaze, steamed peas, rice with olive oil and curry, and salad.  YUMMY!

Last but not least, my first attempt at this chili recipe!  I made sure to use organic grass-fed beef, I added about 2 times the amount of seasonings that it calls for + red pepper flakes, I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes because I didn't have tomato paste, and ... wow, was it good!  I'll have to make more next time.  We ate it with kettle chips on our patio, because Seattle has decided to grace us with some summer weather finally :) 

Hope I didn't make you too hungry!!!

San Diego

On the last leg of our trip, we headed south to San Diego.  The zoo was awesome!  Lots to see and photograph of course.

My favorites were the pandas and flamingos!  I don't think I have ever seen Pandas at a zoo before.  The line was long to see them, but worth the wait.  Look at how cute and cuddly they are :)

The flamingos were so interesting.  The way they sleep, bend, and the baby grey ones were super cute!

I always love otters.  These river otters were super cute!

I could share many more photos, for sure, but here are a few more of my favorite :) 

Dorks :)

Next up: beach time!  We attempted to watch the sunset, but the clouds rolled in just in time.  Too bad, but it was still pretty :)

Last but not least, we visited the downtown area gaslamp district for dinner...

And that's a wrap!  Super enjoyed our trip and thanks to Blayne and Megan for being such wonderful hosts. 

Lighthouses!

You may remember that Tyler and I enjoy visiting lighthouses.  We saw 4 real lighthouses and the not-so-real Disneyland Lighthouse on our trip.  :)

San Pedro is home to Pt. Fermin Lighthouse, built in 1874, and the beautiful surrounding park and gardens. 
After a delicious breakfast (huevos rancheros) on Redondo Beach, we ventured to San Pedro.

Beautiful views awaited us. 

Seeing the lighthouse was well worth the hour long wait.  It was very beautiful and unique.

The view from the second floor window...we climbed to the top (fifth floor) in the guided tour.

Fun stairs...

View from the fourth floor...amazing!





What a lovely group!  Here we are at the top.

While we waited for the tour, we climbed the hill to the Korean Friendship Bell.

The bell has a pretty nice view, I'd say...

Tyler surveying the land...

We caught a surprise glimpse of the Angels Gate Lighthouse from the top of the lighthouse and the hill.
 

On the last day of our trip, we visited Cabrillo State Park in San Diego.  Turns out, this was cousin Sandi's old stompin' grounds...she went to college nearby. 



Here is Old Point Loma Lighthouse:

And nearby is New Point Loma Lighthouse...

The views of downtown San Diego from the park were incredible.  Not sure if my camera really captures it well. 

I tried to capture the beauty on video for your viewing pleasure...



One parting ocean view for you to enjoy :)

Fun times!