Sweet Puppy Love

There is something about the presence of a dog.  You never feel alone, and though its cliche, it's true that they offer the most unconditional love.  Baxter is 6 but still runs around like a maniac puppy dog. I love him. My whole family loves him. We do crazy stuff for him like hand feed him food, or heat up left over chicken breast just for him even when no one else is eating. We walk him, take him for "bu-bye" rides, and let him romp all over the beds. He's the King, no doubt about it. I mean, how can you resist this face!?

I think my favorite aspect of having a dog is you can come home after the longest day ever, and they will greet you with such joy and happiness. Then you can leave to run an errand for 10 minutes and return, and they still greet you with the same amount of happiness, like they haven't seen you in years even though it has been minutes. A pup always gives you something to look forward to.

I came across an article on Facebook about what is really in our dog's food and it got me thinking.  I grabbed Baxter's bag of bones and looked the the ingredients... wheat, sugar, salt, chicken flavor?...and a ton of ingredients I couldn't even pronounce.  I'm not saying it's all bad, but why all the extra stuff?? So I did some research and came across a few recipes and ingredients totally safe for dogs, so I gave it a go! These were SO EASY and cheap... you have all this stuff at your cabinets at all times anyways (minus pumpkin, but easy to pick up at the store).  So here goes:

3 cups flour, 1/2 cup oats and 2 tbsp cinnamon, mixed in a bowl

Then, combine a can of pumpkin (15oz), 3 tbsp of natural peanut butter and two eggs

Mix wet with dry to form the dough. It's so stick so I had to flour my counter top first before rolling them out with my marble rolling pin.

I wish I had dog bone cookie cutters but I don't so I used candy canes--half for the holiday season coming, and half because Baxter really likes long treats he can hold on to.

I baked them for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, and done! It made about 25-30 biscuits!! And the ingredients all together cost less than $10.  They were easy and they made the kitchen smell great! The best thing is, I know with confidence that I could take a bite of them and it's all natural food that's good for my pup! You could alter the recipe and add chicken pieces, apples, sweet potato, or other "dog safe" ingredients. I wanted to make a yogurt frosting but didn't have plain, fat free yogurt on hand... maybe next time!

I thinnnkkkk they were a hit!!

So to all the dog lovers out there, give these a try! You'll save some money and make your dog very happy!

In all it was a good weekend, and I am excited to continue my cake & cake pop order for a boy's 11th birthday, details soon!!

-Elena

The Art of Balance

I wake up on Sunday mornings and the first thing I do is cook turkey burgers… nice, thick, juicy (surprisingly!) turkey burgers with garlic, basil, red pepper flakes and some feta.  I get them going on my big stationary skillet, then I boil my brown rice and in one hour I have a delicious, 310 calorie, high protein lunch for every day of the week! Meal prep at its finest!

Then I wash all those dishes, and get started on cakes.  I bake nearly 4 cakes a weekend, some to use right away and some to freeze for upcoming events.  Cherry cake made with fresh maraschino cherries… or double chocolate cake with pudding in the recipe so it comes out so moist it’s sinful…  If I have to make cake balls, or cookies, I use my weekends. It’s therapy.  Free therapy.

I’ll admit it. I am a walking contradiction.  An oxymoron.  I know it.  I count my calories, shoot for a perfect protein/carb/fat ratio diet every day, and I don’t stray from it Monday through Friday (ok maybe the occasional Reese’s PB cup but when your coworkers have jars of them on their desks it’s hard to always say no) but I eat super clean all day, and then at night I’m baking cakes and drizzling things in chocolate and filling the kitchen with the most unhealthy foods, because I love to create desserts. Do I test them? Sometimes.. but I’ve had enough cake pops to know what they taste like.  I can create all the unhealthy food my heart desires, but I don’t have to eat it. Most of it I don’t, but some if it I do…because life is about balance.

Balance. I balance well… work with play, relationships with alone time… and I balance what I need with what I want. Oh and I balance on one leg.  Sometimes I balance on my forearm, leg in the air.  I am working towards balancing on my head.   Balance, Balance, Balance. It’s everything yoga is teaching me.  I wandered into the studio last May and had no idea what I was in for, but that class sparked something inside of me that I think was always there but never surfaced. A sort of, mental being.  A voice. It has changed me.  The physical part is hard… no one enjoys pigeon.. if you were naturally born with flexible hips that can get you into a flat split, congratulations! That’s not me though.. but I am getting there.  Yes it hurts but the mental part is tougher.  To tell yourself that you are going to stay in this pose, body wobbling around, in a 95 degree room.. to tell yourself your body is strong and this will better you… to set an intention for your practice at the beginning, holding on to it for 1 ½ hours, then leaving the room and carrying that intention with you.. is exhausting.  But I am learning the balance of life through it, and I am so thankful for it.

So that is why I don’t find my lifestyle weird, despite how others view me.  Hypocritical is not the word (I’ve been called that).  I am simply balanced.  I don’t SAY I eat healthy then make a ton of desserts and chow them down.  I actually eat super healthy and stay that way until I have a stressful day and need a friggen piece of cake. Or a glass of wine. Or hell, both! And that’s ok, because you need to treat yourself.  So I will go on making beautiful little cakes filled with calories and fat, and burn just that off my body at the gym and yoga, not gaining weight, only self-enrichment and empowerment. 

-Elena