I don’t think I ever told you about this miracle. 

They’re twins. 

They built my faith.

We call them Noah and Nadia. 

At 18 weeks in the womb I went in for a routine appointment and assumed I would receive a sonogram.

To my surprise, my doctor told me it wasn’t time for a sonogram.

So I did as any pregnant lady would, I cried.

I kept crying.

Then I cried some more. 

Little did I know my male OBGYN didn’t like to see me cry.

He did it…the sonogram. 

I was dilated….really dilated, and at 18 weeks pregnant, I needed a Cerclage. 

The Cerclage worked….. but not for long.

Noah and Nadia were born at 25 weeks 4 days gestation.

Noah weighed in at 1lb 12 oz

Nadia a tiny 1lb 8.5 oz. 

There were even more tears.

I cried a LOT!  

But something happened and it was quite the miracle!

John 4:48 Jesus said unto him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe”

Buying an old house as a young and near penniless couple is not such a good idea. How do I know you ask?

We were that young and penniless couple when we first purchased our circa 1958 brick ranch in Richmond Virginia. We knew nothing about taking care of a massive yard, or changing out ac vents monthly, or that an old house can suck everything including the soul out of you! 

When we first bought the house, we stayed in our apartment until the major things like our kitchen, painting, and deep cleaning were complete. Other than that there were little things here and there that I wanted to complete but I was so excited when it was time to move in.

But with a husband who can easily work 60 hours a week, twins, more pregnancies, work,  and life, we got comfortable and let that long wish list fall to the wayside. 

Now are little house is just a little too small for our growing family, and I need  to add some functionality and overall freshness to our space. We don’t plan on being here forever, but I would like to feel happy and comfortable while we’re here and I’m not there right now.

You know that show on HGTV with the brothers who kind of hate each other and help people sell their old homes so that they can buy a new home. We do plan on being here for at least a few more years so ours will be a little different. I want to make the space attractive to buyers but I also want to have it more functional and comfortable for our family at the moment. Now that’s killing two birds with one stone. 

I’m documenting the transformation and wanted to share a little of what we are currently working on. Which is our over grown and UGLY yard.

Curb appeal anyone? It’s kind of important when selling a house, plus I want somewhere me and the family can cool it comfortably outside. Since it’s cooler outside and my hubby hates bugs (yeah I just blamed it on him) we figured it was the perfect time to take on this task. 

First things first was tearing down and pulling out all the old. 

I thought we could have a little fun, tie a chain around these trees and pull it out with our SUV.

Hubby and the manager at Lowes didn’t think that was such a good idea. So he bought this little Chainsaw for just 50 bucks.

Just for a second, Que in on that not so pretty storage house. When we first moved here I had some grand idea to turn it into an office, lmbo! Obviously that never came to pass.

Another picture of all we have to cut down.

I want pretty green grass only.  

With a bunch of trees and shrubs like this I’m not sure how long it will take us to clear out everything but I can’t wait til it is! 

Biscuit break for my sweet husband. 

We did get a good amount of small trees and old shrubs down the first day.

Our yard was so full of the debris we decided to chop up and remove what we had cut down before we started cutting down more. 

Looking at these pictures I feel embarrassed so let’s even the score a bit!

Tell me something that you would be embarrassed to share a picture of at this moment?

Please don’t leave me hanging, I really need to feel better about myself.

Classic Collard Greens

Lately I’ve been posting a bunch of grain free/Paleo recipes.

Every time I try  explaining  why I’m not devouring cupcakes or traditional fried chicken at a party, and I respond with Paleolithic I get the oddest looks. 

It’s sounds more complicated than it is.

I’ts a lifestyle I found that allows me to enjoy good food, without counting calories, sugar contents, or points. I may not be able to enjoy those grocery store cupcakes but I can still enjoy a batch of delicious and healthy ones from my own kitchen.

I get to eat good food and maintain healthy skin and weight. I ended up losing more weight than I ever wanted, and my skin is cleared. 

I attribute the weight loss to getting rid of wheat. Wheat can actually stimulate your appetite. You can read more about that in the New York Times best-selling book Wheat Belly. Which I found very informative and a great look at the effects of wheat on the body and it answers the why.   

That’s where this whole Paleo diet comes in. Paleolithic diet is an adaption of what our Cro-Magnon ancestors. 

In simpler terms I have adapted in some forms a cave man diet. 

This diet is based on the fact that our agricultural system has evolved far faster than the actual genetic makeup of our bodies. We have cultivated crops and used laboratories to make these crops more available and cost-effective which in turn has expanded incident of diseases and waistlines. 

I say I’ve adapted some form of the diet because I don’t limit my foods to what was available in the Paleozoic time era completely,

and even if I did I can’t actually hunt and gather my own foods,

and if I did go and try to hunt and gather all my own foods I wouldn’t  be able to enjoy this delicious tropical Mango smoothie on a cold autumns day in central Virginia.

The only parts of the Paleo diet I am strict about are my consumption of pastured raised, free of antibiotics, and hormone meat. And no grains. No grains for me ever. I am allergic to all grains which makes that portion pretty easy and is the reason I discovered this way of eating in the first place.

I was searching for desserts that didn’t use wheat flour, rice flour or any type of corn product.

But what I discovered was loads of people who had already adopted this kind of diet for health reasons. Than I found the AIP or Autoimmune Protocol which I followed for over 90 days straight and had healing and relief of my eczema. Awesome! 

Plus I lost over 30 Lbs! That’s a whole other story, but let me just show you a chart of what you can and can’t eat on the Paleo and Autoimmune Paleo Protocol. Than I’ll tell you what I actually allow for myself. 

  Paleolithic Diet Dos and Don’ts……..

                                           Allowed  

Vegetables

Fruits

Nuts (Did you know peanuts are actually a legume? Therefore they are not allowed.)

Eggs

Seeds

Pastured Raised Animals

Wild Caught Seafood/Fish

Oils and Fats (Avocado, coconut, olive, macadamia, flaxseed, fish oils, leaf lard, ghee)

                                            Not Allowed

 Dairy

 Excessive Salt

 Carbonated Drinks 

 Processed Foods (including soy and soy derivatives)

 Refined Sugars

 Legumes

 Refined Vegetable Oils

 Grains (wheat, rice, corn, oats, bulgur, faro, sorghum, spelt, barley, amaranth)

 AIP Protocol goes on to be even more restrictive. This is a healing diet which in my short experience works! If you have an autoimmune disorder this might be the diet for you ( with physician supervision). I’ve read countless testimonies of how the AIP Paleo diet has healed or lessen symptoms of an onslaught of Autoimmune diseases, with the root cause an inflamed gut.

The current standard American diet is overall pro inflammatory. AIP Paleo lifestyle in anti-inflammatory so this can help anyone who suffers from a plethora of ailments to include general lethargy and eczema all the way to Multiple Sclerosis or Crohns disease.  This diet can be helpful for anyone who simply want to feel better.  

I would suggest reading the Paleo approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal your body by Sarah Ballantyne PhD if you suffer from.

This takes the Paleolithic diet further and includes a few more restrictions.

AIP Paleo

                              Continue to eat…..

Vegetables (Taste the veggie rainbow, and eat up!) (except nightshades)

Fruits (limited to about 1-2 a day)

Pastured Raised Meats (organ meats are the best)

Pasture raised Poultry

Wild Caught Seafood/Fish

Fermented Veggies, coconut milk kefir, coconut milk yogurt 

              In addition to Paleo eliminate……

Grains (including potential gluten cross reactive foods)

Seeds

Nuts

Eggs

Nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, paprika L, peppers, tomatillos, eggplants)

Alcohol

NSAIDs (click link for a list of the drugs) 

Non-nutritive Sweeteners and Stevia

Any known food allergies or sensitivities

After playing around with my diet this last year I find that I feel much better without grains. My skin has improved eczema, hyper-pigmentation and dryness included. 

I consume a fair amount of fatty foods, such as avocados, bone broth, salmon, and coconut oil. I’m sure this has a lot to do with the overall suppleness and glow of my skin. 

Eliminating Dairy is not something I will continue to do! I’ve never had a dairy intolerance and it is one of the common allergies that I tested negative for. I do however limit my intake of dairy. I notice my skin complexion has improved and those “that time of the month” breakouts don’t happen anymore.  

I’m allergic to most nuts so those will stay on my no touch list.

No Soy or soy products ever!

No Processed Foods!

No refined vegetable oils. ( except for 100% pure canola oil) 

No refined sugars. 

Absolutely no inhumane massed produced, hormone & antibiotic injected meat or poultry!

I’m constantly evolving as a home chef, and learning new information on health and nutrition daily. 

I am obsessed with finding the perfect balance for enjoying good food and optimum health. 

Yummy Zoodles!

 Disclosure: There are Amazon affiliate links within this post. 

When I started food blogging last year, I was dealing with some pretty bad eczema. I’ve suffered with eczema as a child which was treated with weekly steroid injections at the allergists. The injections worked and I’d built an immunity which let me go on for years eating everything under the sun without incidence.

Then suddenly during my second pregnancy, the Eczema had come back and with a vengeance. I switched to all natural and organic products, I stopped using perfume, I changed my sheets 4-5 times a week, I cleaned insistently, but nothing worked.

I was accustomed to Hydrocortizone creams, Benadryl, and some pretty intense prescription drugs courtesy of my Dermatologist becoming apart of my daily routine. Eventually I started evaluating internal changes I could make that may get rid of the Eczema as a whole instead of simply treating the symptoms. I tried everything including an awful apple cider vinegar mixed with baking soda concoction daily, yuck! 

It had to be something I was eating.  So I finally decided to go back to the allergists and low and behold I’m allergic to everything outside, inside, and worst inside my refrigerator. This was not an easy fix I was allergic to some of my favorite and most often prepared foods.

Let me just give you an idea, apples, watermelon,cantaloupe, strawberries, eggs, wheat, rice, corn,nuts, oats, barley, cottonseed, onions, garlic, green beans, and the list goes on. When  I first learned I was in denial, I was upset, I was confused. I told myself “I have to enjoy life”, and if that meant enjoying these foods despite what the tests proved then so be it.  I couldn’t even imagine having to get rid of these things.

Well, to make a long story short it’s taken some time but  I am slowly but surely off all grains, and most of the other allergens.

Garlic is one I’ll probably never give up, and regardless of my garlic obsession I’m seeing marked improvements in my skin, energy and overall health. I feel amazing. My body feels great, I’m having increased stamina, and my”mommy brain” is no longer a thing. I’m sleeping better and less cranky. Plus I’m losing weight.

Well I think I’m losing weight, I don’t get on a scale but my clothes are fitting just a little looser and all without really putting much effort elsewhere. So grains are no more apart of my life, which is kind of like a paleo/primal diet, but I’m not off dairy, and refined sugars as of yet. I always thought I would eventually be vegan at some point in life, but with soy and legume allergies this is nearly impossible.

Meat is my main source of protein and I can eat it to my heart’s content without my immune system going into overdrive. However, I am a conscious meat-eater, we buy grass-fed organic beef, and my poultry is free range and organic as well. 

I’m changing the way I buy, prepare, eat and ultimately see my food. Still every now and then I just need a sweet treat besides a piece fruit, and this recipe is it! 

I’ve seen tons of grain free cookie recipes that look pretty promising, unfortunately many use almond flour which is just another food my immune system has determined is harmful and will trigger an immediate histamine response. With a few experimental batches of these grain-free/nut-free cookies I finally reached the consistency and flavor I was going for.

It’s made with coconut flour which provides great nutrition, but it also lends a great coconut flavor that you can imagine is incredible in a chocolate chip cookies. These things are pretty close to the real deal. My kids (who are not grin free) ate them as if it was a traditional chocolate chip cookie, no complaints. Someone with a more mature palette may find the texture a bit of putting but not a total deal breaker, I promise.

Overall these cookies are a great substitute for the real thing!eciphttp://asoulfultwist.com/wp-content/uploads/Cookies-texture.jpgard

Just a quick update, if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may already know that my camera is Broke! Not like a little broke where I can have my husband make a few adjustments to make it work, but it’s all the way finished. I have a Nikon D3200 and there aren’t many qualified Nikon technicians on this side of the Atlantic so I’ll have to send mine off for at least 90 days

It has put me in quite a tizzy. 

I had already been looking into getting an upgrade, but it would be a pretty big investment. If you know anything about Nikon cameras the 3000 models are the most affordable out of all the series, and it works great. However the 500 models are amazing, I mean it does everything……and some more.

Either way I’ll have to figure all this out over the next few weeks but in the meantime I plan to stay busy here on the blog regardless. 

I’m still going to post pictures of what’s currently happening in my kitchen. It will be very casual and laid back! I’ve been trying tons of  healthy and grain free dishes and want to share some of that as well.  

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

And remember….. keep all your valuable items in a safe place!

 It’s Spring time and I’ve been busy cleaning! This season bring so much newness!  The sun shines, the temperature rises, flowers bloom, and I wake up with the sound of singing Blue Jays!

This year the weather hasn’t been exactly what I expected or wanted for the first days in Spring but the show must go on.

I wanted to give you a little insight into what else is being cleaned over here at Casa De Christina.

1. Cleaning house

I let some of my house work get behind, and now that spiders are coming out for the season I’m working on cleaning, behind under and on top of furniture, walls, and floors  making sure no dust is left behind. No dust, no webs, no spiders!

2.Cleaning out my closets 

I’m purging my tiny closet of old clothes, too small clothes, and things I will never wear again…ever. It’s getting ridiculous,  I have given away so much stuff,  jeans, favorite shoes, winter coats and the list goes on!  I hold on to things if I know I spent too much on them just so I won”t feel guilty.

That’s not working and my husband is annoyed now that things are spilling into his closet!  I had piles of clothes I was meaning to sale on EBAY( my side hustle years ago)  but never did. Someone is going to hit the jackpot at our local goodwill store, cause I donated EVERYTHING!

Honestly I have not been shopping for clothes in a good while, and it’s because I already had useless clothes hogging all the space. This will give me some space to reassess what I already have and what I really need. Also preventing wasteful spending! 

3. Cleaning out my budget

This one is pretty self explanatory. I’m being more cognizant of what and how I’m spending and stop spending on things I don’t need. 

4. Cleaning up my goals

Our family has long term goals but I need to set and follow through on our short term goals. We set a three year goal to sell our house and buy a new one two years ago, but that’s it. I wish we would of set more short term goals to keep us accountable for the things that are important for a successful sale and purchase to happen.  I need to set short term goals and hold myself accountable as I go along. This is important when it comes to blogging as well! It’s difficult with the little ones but I’ve made a commitment to set short term goals and follow through.  

5. Cleaning out my body

 I went to my Doctors Appointment this past week and have one more appointment coming up. I am having an unbearable time losing these last 15 pounds and I really cant figure out why. It’s not like me to have this much trouble dropping a few pounds. I had some blood work done and I’m praying it’s just my diet and the low intensity of my current workout regimen that’s causing the stall in weight loss.

I’ve already started adding a LOT of cardio! .

I found a Bikram Yoga studio that’s less than five miles from my home and I can’t wait to take my first class! I’ll be sharing my experience with that soon!

6. Cleaning out my mind

This just means I’m staying positive in my thoughts and controlling where my mind wonders more often. I’ll have so much going on in my mind that I have to backtrack several thoughts just to find out how I got there.

It never makes any since and most the times I forget. I’ve been doing small meditation sessions and controlling and/or stopping all the thinking and personal conversations going on in my brain.

Sometimes I wonder does my head size have anything to do with all the thinking, I mean seriously before I started meditating it wouldn’t stop! 

If you have a larger than average head as do I, please let me know if you too are plagued with endless thoughts as well?

7. Cleaning out my soul.

Prayer still works! Hallelujah I’m focusing on all my blessings and my relationship with the Lord. I started Lent a few weeks ago and it’ll be a wrap this week coming up! I’m excited to celebrate his Resurrection, and I’m pastel and church lady hat ready! 

I’m in constant meditation and initiating positive thinking throughout the day! I’m excited to start this new yoga class, not just for fitness but also for the way it connects mind, body and relaxation! 

8. Cleaning up my relationships

Relationship with friends and (extended) family has taken a back burner in my life.  I just want everyone to stay connected and enjoy each other. Sometimes it doesn’t work like that. Relationships take work and time and overall I’ve been neglecting my relationships with everyone outside of our home. It is taking a toll on me and my productivity as well. I need to spend more time with my friends and other relatives.

I blame the technology! It can be a great tool to stay connected to far away loved ones but for me anyways I am neglecting all of the people right here in my own community and environment! It’ easy getting updates and checking on family and friends by simply logging onto Facebook, but what about spending time together….maybe even in the same ROOM?! Wouldn’t that be something? I know I’m missing out on a lot by staying so intertwined into my own little world that I forget about old friends and miss opportunities to make new ones. 

I plan on getting together with some old friends and being more active with local social groups I’ve joined but haven’t followed through with.  

9. Cleaning out my schedule

I’m completely cleaning out my schedule of space being filled with worthless activities that deserve no attention. For example, spending precious time getting caught up in NAY- NAY and the rest of the Drama on RHOA is not productive. It fills my mind with a bunch of BS that I can’t use and won’t help me reach my goals. Reality T.V is my most guilty pleasure I have developed when I started staying at home with the kids full-time. I record the episodes and watch it late at night when the rest of the family is sleep, which sounds harmless enough but in reality I could be doing something more productive. Even if it’s just reading a good book, I want to feed my brain with good and positive things instead of polluting it with the mundane! 

It’s about time I find something more productive to do with this time! 

10. Lastly I’m looking for someone to clean out my blog

I want a clean and easy to navigate site. I love the simplicity of what I have going on right now, but it’s not loading correctly across different internet engines, my pictures aren’t doing what I want, and it moves slow as snails.  I need to find someone to help get this all together.  My family and friends always call me for recipes they may have seen on my blog and I’m like,” just go to the blog”.

Well easier said than done. I’ve noticed it’s not only difficult to navigate it’s really boring and blah! If you have any suggestions for a good wed designer/developer that won’t take my arm and leg please shout them out! 

Can’t wait to get this whole cleaning party started!

Please follow me on Instagram and Twitter! I want to connect with every single one of my readers so if you find me I’ll  follow back! 

Next week I’ll be back posting some more mouth salivating recipes!  

I just wanted to pose a question for all my fellow bloggers!

What do you do about all that SPAM?! I mean seriously it’s getting out of hand.

I’ve installed a Plugin, but I still have to go through the majority of the SPAM and comments being very careful not to erase comments from “real” people. 

If you’ve ever made a comments and it was not approved, I might have accidentally erased it on one of my select all and trash rampages! :/

Most times I log on to my dashboard dreading the amount of SPAM, I’ll be greeted by.

I want comments to be posted as soon as there made, without moderator approval. If you have any good spam checker comment plugins please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated  

If you are a blogger, are you having the same SPAM problems? 

If so how do you sort, mark and delete SPAM?

If you have any other plugin recommendations please shout them out below!

Dating can be a lot of work by itself, when you throw in kids a mortgage, a long marriage, stressful jobs, and did I say kids, it becomes even more of a hassle.  It’s so easy once you’re married and “settled” into life to complete the daily duties without much passion or variety. There so much to do it can feel impossible to give extra time and attention to anything, let alone a marriage that is working just fine.

Is “just fine” enough?  I mean we talk, we have no major issues, we kiss in passing, and routinely say “I love you”, but I want our love to be extraordinary not ordinary. I’m big enough to understand it’s not reasonable to expect college years carefree love. Because we have a bunch of care now. However, I think we can conjure up a bit more passion within our marriage. 

Between practices, homework, cooking and cleaning, I feel a bit anxious at home, like there is always something I need to be doing. It’s best I remove myself from the environment to get fully relaxed. 

So for our date, to grandparents house we go. Luckily my peoples live about an hour up the road. So the plan was dropping the little ones off at my parents house and the hubs and I having a foodie adventure in Washington DC. 

We wanted to take the metro from Springfield, VA which is how we normally do it, but it was almost 8 PM when we reached the metro station, and the cupcake shop I just had to go to closes at 9pm.

Without taking the chance of getting there too late we decided to drive into Georgetown, and hoped to find some sort of parking.

Well we made it in time but the line was wrapped around the building. When I first saw this line I thought to myself “ain’t no way”!

Although I had no interest in waiting in line, I did want to take a picture of all the other silly folks waiting for a CUPCAKE! I reached for my DSLR and strategically positioned my camera to get a high view of all the waiting cupcake lovers, picture perfect with one mistake. I left my memory card at home! Well at least I could still use my cell phone…not!

My phone was completely dead and I had no way to charge my phone in the car. 

Without my camera and phone I had no way to document our foodie adventures and no way to reach our planned food spots without the GPS. I couldn’t waist an entire night so I figured I might as well get some famous cupcakes.

Now I was one of those “silly folks” waiting for the cupcakes! We waited over an hour for a Georgetown Cupcake.

The cupcakes were good…would I wait an hour again? No, but they were good.

More importantly after being completely disconnected from all technology I was able to talk and connect with my husband while waiting in that line. We just talked, and laughed and laughed and laughed.

We have a great time together and he cracks me up! My husband could care less about some cupcakes but he waited in that line with me and didn’t complain. He cracked a few jokes on me and the rest of the cupcakes geeks but he never complained. I could tell he was enjoying me as well. 

He did request that we make one more stop to The Famous Ben Chili Bowl. We had just enough charge on his phone to get there and we made it. I had a chili cheese hot dog and he had a chili cheeseburger with chili cheese fries. My husband said it was good but not as good as mines,  he’s such a sweet talker. He knows just how to get me going.  

After we  ate at Ben Chili Bowl we rushed back to our car, it was sort of unclear whether it was parked illegally or not, but we took the chance and parked there anyways. Well DC parking enforcement made it clear when they slapped a $100 parking ticket on our windshield that we were illegally parked. They even checked the “towing requested” box! A couple more minutes and we would have been stranded in DC without a car. 

Regardless of the hiccups throughout the night we enjoyed spending time together.

Connecting one-on-one without distraction was refreshing. 

When I explained all of the nights occurrences  in the most dramatic way possible to my parents my father very subtly pointed out the hickey on my neck. Then he joked that the date couldn’t have been THAT bad! Embarrassing! 

Luckily despite our late night we got up in time for church. My brother and his fiance received the right hand of fellowship at church, which was awesome. They are still dating and watching them gives me a reminder of how my husband and I used to be and how “I want that old thing back!” 

I’m happy we are realizing how important it is to stay connected. Rather than waiting for the kids to go off to college, I plan to live my best married life right now in the present with my main man. 

What’s some ways you try and stay connected to your loved ones?

Check out the Ladies responsible for this link up here….

Baby Teems

Miss Dre

ChicSAHM

The Green Eyed Lady Blog

February marks a year of blogging for me!

 Maybe because I’m just blogging for fun…or maybe it’s because I blog about good food and then I get to eat that food, SCORE but it’s been so much fun!!!

Besides the occasional loathing over my less than stellar camera skills, or the often times burnt food (I always forget to set timer) this first year in blogging has been such a stress free (stress reliever even) project for me.

I’m geeked that I’m actually getting a few visitors and comments now

Thanks to all of you who have commented….it really can just put a pep in my step throughout the daily grind, of parenting, cleaning, cooking, laundry and all the in between things that I have on what seems like an endless to-do list, to hear an adult voice is great, even if I have to just imagine it while reading your comments!

This month in an effort to challenge myself and celebrate a year in blogging, I have decided to post recipes daily for and entire month!

Yes! Every single day, the entire month of (Thank God the shortest month in the year) February! 

The recipes I’ve planned are delightful dinners! Full and complete nutritious meals to serve your friends and family.

When I feed my family I don’t pay attention to calories much, I want them to have a complete and balanced diet and to me that means, a complete protein, some seasonal fruit and/or vegetable, fat and some sort of carbohydrate.

The recipes chosen have been kid, mommy, daddy tested and approved.

I’ll have recipes for most everyone, some grain free, a few low-fat, a few vegetarian, but most importantly these meals will be in the boring free zone!

I’m cooking fun recipes,  some traditional with new school twist, and some out of the box Christina Crazy but good!

I have quite a few mouths to feed, so the majority of the meals are fairly budget friendly!

If you know any mama’s or daddy’s looking to cook more at home or just switch it up in the kitchen with some fun and new recipes please send them over . 

Next month is a full commitment for me and will consume a bunch of time so to prepare I wanted to do something easy-going this week, I’m posting my favorite recipes from this past year in blogging! 

A Few Faves!

Appetizer 

These Fried Mac and Cheese Balls were everything! I mean we very rarely have leftover mac and cheese and if we do it isn’t for long, but if ever you want a cheesy and crunchy fried  ball of deliciousness this is the route to go!

Veggie 

This honey coated and sautéed yellow Cauliflower were both beautiful and tasty, and with the addition of bacon this dish becomes a sweet and savory delight, I  had no troubles getting the kids to eat their veggies this night!

Entrée  

Buffalo Chicken and Bleu Cheese Biscuits sounded so good, and luckily it was! This hit all the spots during my Bleu cheese cravings!

Dessert

So choosing a dessert was more difficult than the rest, I’m a classic girl and I like my pecan pie, but the families favorite was the  Sweet Corn Buttermilk Pound Cake! Oh and I can’t forget the Craisin and Peaches Bread Pudding, that was awesome too!

See you later!

This post is about all the times I have an amazing recipe but no matter how many times I prepare it, or the amount of pictures I  take it just looks nasty on camera?! 

Well it seems I’m having a lot of that lately, I feel like I need to brush up on my camera knowledge or maybe read a few photography books, because these pictures lately have been looking less than appetizing.

Now don’t get me wrong the food tastes awesome, and the recipes have been Flawless, it’s the pictures that don’t come out so flawless.   

My creativity for backgrounds, props, and lighting are just way down.

My camera came with a bunch of videos and manuals, and when I first got it I went through and watched most of the videos, I learned a lot….but now it seems I’ve forgotten a lot.

Now let’s talk about these pics of my (not so tasty looking)tasty dishes.

Let’s start with this classic Steak and Cheese on a Hoagie, I mean this is one of my husbands favorite meals…but who would believe me after looking at this shot…

No Bueno

The color is wrong the plate is wrong, the meat looks dry and where’s the cheese?

Let’s just move on…

This plate of Lo-Mein Noodles was delicious and topped with sweet honey glazed marinated flank steak strips…

sounds better than it looks…

I tried to dress it up and combat some of the ugliness with some sesame seeds, but what a waste.

 Yep here it is again folks…that sorry looking steak and cheese,

I thought “maybe a close up would capture the deliciousness that is this sandwich” 

Thought wrong…

Should of just kept it moving.

Now check out these pork tacos, with spinach, tomatoes, and cumin beans.

It was delicious but capturing all that flavor was a task to big for an amateur food photographer such as me.

It sort of reminds me of…trash… just trash

Look at this oldie but goody with  a cheesy twist, I made a delicious cheddar country gravy, over the classic chicken fried steak. 

It’s a shame such a delicious dish ends up looking like a deformed chicken nugget covered in DNA, then topped with a tree branch!

…and because I’m no quitter I tried to do that text over picture thing, to cover up the unsavory sight.

look I put the whole dang recipe on the Picture!

FAIL

…you can just smell the DESPERATION.

And last but not least this lovely plate-bowl, or whatever it is…

filled with  classic fried green tomatoes, topped with a honey Dijon sauce served next to some

wilted parsley…

and they just fall apart! :/ What a sad sight.

 Yeah so this has been a tough couple of weeks I’ve been trying to keep up with my fitness regimen while preparing meals for my family and for this blog, but as I write this out at 11:45 pm, and all the kids are asleep hubby in bed, and me here typing in my zone it is all worth it!

Blogging has brought me tons of joy, and has been an excellent outlet for me to express myself without needing any approval, I can really do whatever I want on here.

Thank you for reading and commenting and sharing this experience with me.

Please let me know of any good books, website, and other photography resources that may be helpful.

 What do you do when you get in a rut, or start feeling less than inspired.