26BOOKS Twenty-Twenty

Ginger Miso Salad Dressing

We received a huge bunch of curly kale and about a pound of brussels sprouts in our CSA box last week, so I used those to make an Asian inspired salad with this dressing and it was really good! I was also making my Teriyaki Chicken and cauliflower rice, so I didn't add any meat to the salad, but it would be great with shredded chicken or turkey. In the salad bowl I threw: shaved brussels sprouts, chopped kale, shredded carrots, chopped green onions, cilantro and mint, and one diced Serrano pepper. Right before I dressed + tossed the salad, I topped it with ginger wonton strips and sesame seeds. Looking back, I wish I would have also added red bell pepper and some purple cabbage...but this salad was a hit with the whole family so there will be a next time! 

GINGER MISO DRESSING
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger 
2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 table spoon seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon Tamari (I use to be GF, but you could sub low sodium soy sauce)
1 1/2 tablespoon miso paste (I used THIS ONE) 
2 tablespoons honey

Combine everything in a bowl and whisk until smooth. ENJOY!

January Reads

I'm going to try and post at the beginning of each month a handful of book releases I am looking forward to. (I know. I know. I said I was going to do this last year and I failed. Miserably!! But I aim to be better in 2017.) The hope is that I get around to reading these titles too. Maybe these posts will help you round out your TBR lists or fit a #26BOOKS prompt you have yet to fill.

Lucian Divine by Carlino (Jan 7th) - "Evelyn Casey's life is at a standstill. She's in her mid-twenties, struggling with the dating scene in San Francisco. Nothing seems to be working out, and she’s starting to think that she’ll live out her days in her crummy apartment with her overbearing roommate, Brooklyn. It's absurd, but sometimes Evey longs for a guardian angel to show up and save the day. And then he does." // Carlino is a one-click author for me. I have loved every single one of her books. I will be devouring this read this week while it storms outside. My kind of Heaven! 

Could work for: Published this year, With an epic romance, You choose because of the cover, Reputation for being "un-put-down-able," You can finish in a day

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Johnson (Jan 10th) - "The wealthy enclaves north of San Francisco are not the paradise they appear to be, and nobody knows this better than the students of a local high school. Despite being raised with all the opportunities money can buy, these vulnerable kids are navigating a treacherous adolescence in which every action, every rumor, every feeling, is potentially postable, shareable, viral. Johnson’s kaleidoscopic narrative exposes at every turn the real human beings beneath the high school stereotypes." // My own children will be entering an environment very similar to this one soon and I am all too aware of the inescapable influence social media has (will have) on them. I am intrigued to see how it all plays out in this fictionalized form.

Could work for: With yellow on the cover, Published this year, Outside of your comfort zone, Reputation for being "un-put-down-able

Carve the Mark by Roth (Jan 17th) - "On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?" // My admiration of Roth's Divergent series is no secret. I absolutely fell in love with the reality she created and the characters she shared. And then she devastated me with the final book. So, while I am thoroughly excited to see where her creative mind takes me next, the Fangirl in me is proceeding with caution! CLICK HERE to read the first chapter for free.

Could work for: About a place/time you wished you lived, Published this year, In a genre you generally avoid, Set in the future

By Your Side by West (31st) - "When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble." // Booknerd gets locked in the library with hot jock for the weekend? This book is bound to be full of ridiculous stereotypes and cheesy moments and that is exactly why I want to read it.

Could work for: You can finish in a day, Published this year, With an epic romance, Takes place someplace warm (they are bound to heat up that library, right?!) 

I hope you enjoy these titles! If you read any of them, please come back and leave a comment on your thoughts...I'd love to hear them. What books are you looking forward to reading soon?

Pressed Juicery 3-Day Cleanse

In August I made a major life change and went gluten free, sugar free, caffeine free and (except on special occasions like birthdays or holidays) alcohol free. What precipitated this change is a story for another post, but I have never felt better. It hasn't been easy, but the way I feel is reason enough to keep me on track...At least when it's not Christmas and New Year's!! 

The last two weeks of December I fell off the wagon with a thud. Cookies, cinnamon rolls, flour tortillas, soda, wine and gin. All the gluten-y, sugary, caffeinated, alcoholic things! Within hours of eating gluten, I feel bloated and lethargic. If I don't immediately get back on track, within 48 hours, my joints ache, I have trouble sleeping and I get a persistent dull headache. You can imagine how I felt after 2 weeks of being off track! Compound that with the weight gain and energy loss that accompanies a diet of sugar and alcohol...I was desperate to feel better as quick as possible. 

Jan 2nd I marched into Press Juicery and bought three days worth of their Cleanse 1. I have never done a juice cleanse before, but did spend the better part of December learning about intermittent fasting and am used to drinking only liquids for an extended period of time.

What I liked about Pressed, is the accessibility. I appreciated being able to commit and implement without any prep or wait time! Knowing very little about what I wanted, other than to feel better, the girls at the shop were very helpful. They suggested I start with their cleanse for beginners and even offered to let me sample some of the cold-pressed juices I would be purchasing. If there was one I didn't like, they would switch it out for a comparable juice of a different flavor. Nice! I was sold. 

Cleanse 1 includes an almond milk in the morning, rich in proteins and complex carbohydrates to help keep first time cleansers feeling fuller longer. Cleanse 2 includes a juice in place of the morning almond milk and is marketed as their "most popular." Cleanse 3 is recommended for experienced cleansers, being their most intense and lowest calorie.

The juices that came in Cleanse 1 were:

#1 Vanilla Almond (almonds, dates, vanilla bean, sea salt)

#2 Greens 2 (kale, spinach, romaine, parsley, cucumber, celery, apple, lemon)

#3 Roots 2 (carrot, kale, romaine, spinach, parsley, apple, ginger) 

#4 Citrus 2 (pineapple, apple, lemon, mint) 

#5 Greens 3 (kale, spinach, romaine, parsley, cucumber, celery, apple, lemon, ginger)

#6 Chocolate Almond (

The cleanse also comes with aloe vera and chlorophyll waters. I had never tried either before, and honestly, these were the hardest of the cleanse for me to drink! The aloe helps soothe your digestive system and you are are supposed to drink it each night before bed. I felt like I was drinking pool water. The chlorophyll helps keep you full while detoxing and while its taste is mild, I felt like it was something out of the City of Oz. It is BRIGHT EMERALD GREEN!

The juices themselves all tasted fantastic. We own a Breville juicer and I make several bottles of "Mean Green" on a weekly basis. Several of these juices were similar in flavor. I am not a fan of beets, and I was afraid I was going to have to "grin and bear it" for at least one bottle over the course of the day, but I didn't! The Citrus 2 downright tastes like candy.

Day 1, I was surprised that I didn't feel hungry. In fact, I had to make myself finish all 8 bottles of liquid. I didn't work out this day and went to bed a reasonable hour. I flooded myself with water, afraid of a detox headache...but it never came. All things considered, it was an uneventful, easy start to my first cleanse.

Day 2, I woke and went to my 5am crossfit class. I expected to have less stamina than normal but that was not the case. I was definitely more hungry by midday than I had been on Day 1. I am pretty good about drinking at least half my weight in water each day, but I found myself reaching for it more often to curb my hunger. When it came time to cook dinner for the family, I was ravenous and tired. I ate a 100 calorie pack of cashews and half a cucumber sliced up to satiate myself. 

Day 3, it felt like I settled into a "new normal." I wasn't hungry. Perhaps because I knew real food was around the corner? I ran on the treadmill for 40 minutes in the late afternoon and it was laborious but doable. Interestingly - I began to crave the chlorophyll water. Enough so, that I went online and bought a bottle of chlorophyll drops for future consumption! 

Day after the Cleanse, I woke and went to my 5am crossfit class and felt like I had rocks in my shoes. I was definitely dragging. I couldn't wait to get home and EAT REAL FOOD! I weighed myself and I had lost 8lbs in 3 days. That's kinda crazy. I had a poached egg over roasted cauliflower and kale for breakfast, veggies and baked chicken for lunch and another juice for dinner. I was so full within a few bites each meal. 

Final Thoughts - within two days, I had gained back 4 of the 8lbs I had lost. Which is understandable. I didn't eat for three days! I think the cleanse was relatively easy for me because of the diet changes I had made prior to starting. Having already eliminated caffeine, gluten and refined sugars made it much more enjoyable! I think if you were used to your cup (or four) of coffee each morning, giving that up would be extremely hard. Regardless of the weight loss or gain, the cleanse was worth if for me because it was a legitimate restart for my system. I haven't felt any sugar or carb cravings since finishing and the bloat is GONE! Thank goodness. I am, once again, motivated to eat well and stay on track with my workouts. I am thinking about starting each month with a 3-day cleanse...it was that doable and beneficial.

MollyB LOVED the Vanilla Almond...so much so, I went and bought her her own on the final day of my cleanse. No way I was giving up my ONE taste of creamy goodness!!

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Fueling My Run

These are the songs on my January17 Running Playlist...

Starboy - What is this song even about? I'm scared to ask considering what The Weekend likes to lyric about. Even after googling the words I can't explain it you...all I know is that it makes me want to pop my shoulders mid run. And a well placed curse word every so often can be very energizing. // "Star Trek groove in that Wrath of Khan. Girls get loose when they hear this song." 

Only One - I am sucker for a song that has a strong beat and a builds to a pounding pace. This radio edit does not disappoint. // "We're moving fast, but time is slow...Baby you got me feeling like the Only One."

Just Hold On - I blame this one on my shameless love of One Direction and going to high school with Steve Aoki. I had to buy it. It's actually pretty fetching. // "So what do you want them to say when you're gone? That you gave up or that you kept going on?"

Fresh Eyes - Running side by side (in life and on treadmills) with the same person for the last 21 years of my life...the lyrics of this song speak to my heart. May we all see our partners with fresh eyes. // "Appreciation, well it comes and it goes. But I'll ride this wave with you. It's human nature to miss what's under your nose."

Play That Song - Because Chopsticks. And because we all have "that song" that makes us go all night long. // "Play that song...the one that makes me think of you."

Castle On The Hill - whuuuuut? Ed Sheeran dropped two new singles yesterday and this one is all the heart eye emojis I can type. Driving beat + great hook + beautiful bridge = my new favorite. It's one of those life affirming power ballads that only Sheeran's raspy voice can lend legitimacy to. // "I'm on my way, driving at 90 down those country lanes. Singing to 'Tiny Dancer'...and I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real." 

Don't Wanna Know - I. Can't. Stop. Singing. This. Song. What is about Levine?...every damn song is so damn catchy. It must be the repetition. And the tattoos. // "I don't wanna know, know, know who's taking you home, home home and loving you so, so, so the way I used to do, do, do."

Let Me Love You - because my 2016 Resolution was to never lose faith in The Biebs again and it's the only resolution I've ever managed to keep. "Don't fall asleep at the wheel. We've got a million miles ahead of us." 

Water Under The Bridge - When I wanna quit I turn this one up. Adele has a way of schooling her subject without sounding angry. She is woman hear her roar. It makes me squint my eyes and mouth the words and punch the air and push through those last 3 minutes at an 10% incline. "It's so cold out here in your wilderness. I want you to be my keeper, but not if you are so reckless." 

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Matt and I were on side by side treadmills yesterday at the gym, but he didn't want a picture with me. You think it was my attire? LOL Can Baby Girl release some new music please?