Happy Little Accidents

So tonight y'all I attempted to make one of me and my kiddo's favorite Korean foods. Steam Dumplings! Oh so yummy! I learned the recipe from Maangchi on YouTube (You should go check her out! So awesome!) But, going paleo I can't use wheat based flour and I can't use soy sauce! How in the world can us Paleo folks go without Asian Cuisine!?!? Well, I don't know about you, but I cannot!

And quite frankly, we do have soy sauce but as I've mentioned I've been having terrible reactions to gluten since going gluten free! You know on those weak moments and you slip up and have a hand full of cookies...Yes, I regretted that the next morning with labor pains of a gluten baby!!!!

Well the dough made with Brown Rice Flour was a big ole flop!!!!!! AGGHHH!!!!!!

But, I can't just throw 3 cups of expensive flour in the trash y'all. We aren't made of money and the money tree died a few years ago. :)

So what did I do? I did dumplings a different way. I took the dough, as crumbly as it was...Got it as smooth as I could....rolled it out like play dough snakes. Sliced them on the diagonal, fried them in a pan, a splash of water, quick lid...2 minutes and BOOM! Fried/steamed dumplings....Throwing it in what was going to be the filling turning this happy little accident into a new creation!

Innovation! Creation! WOO! (I'm high on innovation! That's legal right???)

I will try later to come back and work some magic on figuring out what in the world I did. I'm sitting here with the finished product in my lap and it is yummy!!! Best of all, I won't regret it in the morning.

So when you feel like you made a big boo boo and are about to trash supper...Kick down the sides of the box and venture out. See what you can do!

Hope you are all having a wonderful evening!

Happy cooking and bon appetite!

-Ami M. Lee

New Vlog up!

So here it is...How it's really been going. Hand movements, funny faces, rambling, and TMI. You can watch above or head over to youtube.com/finalcountdownvlog and while you're there don't forget to click that like and subscribe button. It makes me very happy!!!

Happy, happy, happy!!!

-Ami M. Lee

Transitioning to Paleo....How I feel When I Don't Eat Clean...

So we're still in that transitioning phase of the paleo lifestyle. My husband is having a difficult time giving up his chocolate milk. I am definitely having sugar withdraw. Luckily, kids are doing great!

I'm tippy typing away here while making breakfast for lunch....Sneezing my head off! WOO!

Sunday was Easter. We don't necessarily "celebrate" Easter, but we did go over to Mamaw's house (mom in-law) to eat and hide Easter eggs with our four (3 kiddos and 1 niece-ee-poo). She even warned me that all diets were supposed to be left behind. Of course, me and my big fat mouth blurted out...Well I might get sick if I over do it.

I talked at length with my husband last night. I hate being so high maintenance and I'm always worried that someone will be offended or take it personal that I don't want to eat whatever they choose to make. I LOVE eating! I love cooking and I love good food! The problem is the next day where I lose all my energy, I can't concentrate, I have awful experiences in the bathroom, and a low-grade headache/migraine making me nauseous all day long.

It hasn't helped that I've realized I'm not only allergic to paprika and shellfish, but I'm also allergic to ham. I haven't had a food allergy in my life! Paprika hasn't been a big deal and I found that out in about 8th grade. Easy to keep away from most of the time, especially if you cook your own food and don't buy it. I just recently found my shellfish allergy while on vacation, and I realized I had the same reaction (if not worse) last year when I ate ham. I confirmed with my mom in-law that it was even a different brand of ham.

I have also come to the possible conclusion that dairy doesn't so much affect me as much as gluten does! Cutting out gluten in the majority of our diet, now every time I have a gluten-ous product I get very sick. I cramp and feel like getting sick.

It's one of those things that I want to be okay with. If I get sick every time I eat something with gluten and I get sick...I'll train my mind pretty quick...If you eat THAT *insert gluten laden product* you're going to get sick. And not just sick...You'll be in pain. The pain so bad you compared it to labor pains! However, that's pretty extreme. I'm okay with it guys. But, I think it's almost helped identify why I may have kept this weight on no matter what I've done. If I have a gluten sensitivity and didn't know it, I could just keep on that weight.

Have I noticed a difference yet? Not really...to be completely honest. Then again....you know what happens to us women (sorry TMI!) and we won't be able to tell if we lost a single ounce for a while. I do feel like my collar bone is more pronounced. Me and my body, any time I have lost weight, the first place it usually "shows" is my collar bones and my face.

I have started having allergy issues. Tea and honey and LOTS of water have become my drink of choice. I find it difficult to have long conversations. My body is going through some wacko change. I'm wondering if it's the change in my eating. But, I guess I have to go through hell to get to heaven right?

It's weird to be okay with being in a lot of pain...having such strong withdraw. The panic attacks over food. It's just what I have to go through. It's what I went through with sodas! 107 days I began a very tough journey! I am so proud of that number! Over 100 days without soda or energy drinks!

I feel the same way going off of gluten. Again, dairy (very surprisingly) hasn't been an issue. Now, I am still working on getting rid of our cheese. But, I kind of mix the mostly lactose free cheese (we'll switch to fully gluten free soon, it's just $4.50 for a tiny little chunk!) with the regular cheese. Mark seems to be doing much better. He's my lactose intolerant baby. Trust me, you can tell when he's had cheese or milk. He actually got pretty sick the day after Easter, but has already rebounded.

And...I guess I'm rambling aren't I? Just a lot of things on my mind today. I never thought in my wildest dreams I could realistically have such a big dietary change and be okay with it. I don't feel deprived. I eat. I eat well. My kids eat well and I don't have to be a short order cook to feed them! I'm getting more excited to "Paleo-fy" more meals and foods we like. It doesn't always work but we're figuring it out. Chicken strips and orange fries have been a hit! Kids did great on cheeseburger night with gluten free bread and veggie cheese. Although tonight...I'm not sure what we'll do. I'm thinking baked chicken with lemon, basil potatoes, green beans, and leeks! (I LOVE LEEKS!)

So I hope y'all are having a great day. Again, sorry for the long ramble. I just felt like letting it all out! It's good for the mind and soul. <3

Lots of love and peace to you,

Ami M. Lee

Happy Easter or Happy Sunday!!!

Okay...This post will start off with a warning. I will be discussing something quite controversial. Aka Religion. As a Buddhist and a Southern Gal I please ask you that if you can't saying anything nice, don't say anything at all. :) And just wait till the next post. <3 This is simply my views and I choose to respect anyone and everyone. I think this could be a good story for some of those that have fallen out of grace with the Christian community but are trying to seek that place where you aren't bitter or angry any more. Because for a time I found myself angry. In the end, I think I was more angry at myself than the poor examples I saw around me. So let's start shall we?

Today is Easter! I realized today was the first Easter I will spend as a Buddhist. It is really weird because most of my family is Christian and my in-laws are pretty hard core Christian. You're wondering how a person surrounded by so much Christianism grows up to be a Buddhist? My husband put it this way, that I was more Buddhist than anything most of my life, I just didn't know it.

When I first had this realization I was happy and devastated at the same time. When I officially "let go" of Christianity I felt free and as if I was able to breath! I didn't have to hold myself to ridiculous standards that no one understood or couldn't have one understanding of. I felt I didn't have to look to God to heal my suffering or my problems. I was in control of my destiny. While I cannot ignore the invisible hand of fate that guides us through life, it's unexplainable. The Buddha, when asked about these grand questions of where we come from, is there a God or higher being he'd simply remain silent. It wasn't of importance to answer such great questions because it is beyond ourselves. I like that. No one really has solid proof that any God(s) exist. And that's okay! Bill Nye the Science Guy really impressed me in the debate with Ken Hamm. He often said if you can bring us proof, the scientific community would welcome it and accept it! I wanted to do that. I wanted to model my ideas around this idea. To respect every religion and if someone else can change my mind, great! If not...I'm just gonna go on being good ole' Ami!

I think there is this common misconception that if you aren't Christian that you're an atheist. If you're not "with them" you're "against them." If you're not Christian you're an alcoholic, a drug addict, or you are miserable and suffering in your life. (It couldn't be FURTHER from the truth!) I just cannot accept that type of mentality. However, this is so unfortunate because it drives so many good people to bitterness against a whole group of people. That's not good either! So why am I rambling about this? Here's my point.

Thinking back on last year the song "Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace" by Big and Rich came to mind. I struggled. Oh how I struggled. I was so scared of the reactions of my family. I was scared especially of my in-laws, probably still am, but I'm a little more at peace about my decision now.

So to the point maybe? Hee hee hee.....

Today is the day we celebrate a man that rose from the dead after being brutally beaten and crucified. Hung out on a cross to die. The image in my mind makes me sick. I was not a child inspired by movies like The Passion. I cried and was so thoroughly disturbed that humans were capable of such violence. But, I find myself trying to find something. Something to take away from this story. Something so that when my in-law's and family are praying over Easter lunch...What can I think of? Where can I be thankful for this story? Where can I relate? Because I've learned the beginnings of compassion and love for ALL people starts with understanding and being able to find even the tiniest thing to relate to.

So today is Easter. I've always related more the Maundy Thursday. Back with my R Street Family I learned and invited people from our community (AKA a couple from our church since I was new to this concept) to join us for a meal just as Jesus had done. Now, that's something I like. Community and feeding people. Are y'all surprised!? As I mentioned, the crucifixion itself just disturbs me to my core. But, I've read many a story like that. I don't want to hold onto that negative thought. Ironically...this is where I found a relation. It's funny how that happens. It comes where you least expect it. Christians believe that Jesus sacrificed his life so that they would not have to offer animal sacrifices any more for their sins. The ultimate pure blood was shed so that we could all have the opportunity at an eternal life so long as you believed that Jesus had done this and was the Son of God. We used to do this liturgical study...I forget what it was called. But we took one passage and read it several times and tried to identify what stuck out for us and what we thought it meant. (I actually really liked this.) What stuck out to me was sacrifice.

It is a really honorable thing that one man would sacrifice himself for others. But, as a Non-Christian I am reminded that Jesus is not the only story to celebrate this sacrifice. There are so many stories and ones that can be celebrated whether you are or are not any kind of religious. There are people who fight every day to keep our country free! There are men and women who walk out their door, give their significant other a kiss. One is going out to protect the streets from crime, or is going to a building trying to keep all of the criminals where they belong. Their partner is just praying they come home safe that night. There are men and women that run into burning buildings for the sake of rescuing and saving other peoples' lives at the chance they could lose their own.

So...all in all.....What this really long (probably controversial) blog post is about is getting past my bitterness. Instead of rolling my eyes like a child when someone posts 1,000 pictures about Jesus' resurrection, I'll just smile and relate. All in all, I just want to encourage people no matter who you are and what you believe that we all are on this one tiny, little planet! We have to live this life together. Instead of living it with bitterness and possibly hate or disdain, let's celebrate our differences and find ways to relate to each other. Let us love each other because we do, not because we think we're obligated in some ancient text! When I sign off my posts or vlogs that I am sending you love and peace, I truly mean it deep inside my soul! Why? Because I do...It's what I'm called to do. This is my True Religion! Kindness and Love and Compassion!

So if you've made it this far, thank you! I hope this can give some insight into my beliefs. At the end of the day my goal is to grow as a person, be the best mom, wife, family member that I can be and to encourage everyone around me (or in my audience) to live a positive life in whatever manner you think will lead to the highest amount of good! There are bad people in every group, but I would like to think more on that there are great people out there whether they are Christian, Atheist, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, or any other religion.

So to all my Christian family and friends, Happy Easter! To everyone else, Happy Easter! Some people still do Easter egg hunts and have fun so happy Easter to y'all too! If not, if you just don't celebrate Easter at all...Hey! That's so okay! Just happy Sunday! I hope you all have a great week no matter what you're doing. And as always, I am sending you all lots of love and peace to you and your journey.

All the best,

-Ami M. Lee

Hold the Phone Y'all...Blackened Sweet Potatoes

Okay...So this is a secret I've been holding onto for a while y'all.

You may have seen a few of my other shared recipes, but this is truly a genuine Ami M. Lee Recipe creation of epic proportions. But, let's back up just for a minute. I promise not to ramble too long.

As a child, I HATED sweet potatoes...Mainly because the only way I was exposed was through nasty marshmallow covered crap in a baking dish. But alas, a few years ago, I tried to find a way to like sweet potatoes. They are pretty cheap and good for you. This is the recipe that I am still several years later, obsessed with! I, straight up, could eat a whole cookie sheet by myself.

Now, pay good attention to my next few words. FOLLOW THIS RECIPE TO THE EXACT LETTER! I have tried it many ways, with similar but not the same ingredients and it is not the same at all!

Blackened (Roasted) Sweet Potatoes

What You'll Need:

Sweet Potatoes (I usually do one really large or two small for my family of 5.)
Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs Organic Paste (Krogers near the fresh herbs in a tube. Yes expensive, but don't complain if you don't follow this tip and it doesn't turn out that great.)
Fresh Garlic (NO GARLIC POWDER!!!)
Olive Oil (This is the only place you can save, but it HAS to be OLIVE OIL!)


Directions:

Peel your sweet potatoes and chop them into bite size pieces.

Put it on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil. (Helps with clean up.)

Squeeze out some Italian Herbs Paste over the top. Four to five little blobs. Don't go over board.

Take a microplane (or handheld mini cheese grater) rub the unpeeled garlic to mince the garlic easily all over the sweet potatoes.

Drizzle olive oil well. Don't go crazy, but make sure there is enough for all pieces to be coated and to kind of coat on the aluminum foil to prevent sticking. Also prevents having to use those chemical sprays. Please don't use those things instead of olive oil!

If you don't want to use your hands to mix them up, tongs work pretty good. Just be careful and don't tear the aluminum foil up if it's metal tongs.

Here's the hard part...Waiting! LOL

Set your broiler to high. Yes, this is a little intimidating at first. I have a gas oven. I can't stress this enough. WATCH THIS DISH! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO THIS ALL IN ONE TIME PERIOD! FOLLOW THESE NEXT STEPS EXACT!

As I mentioned, I have a gas oven so my broiler is on the bottom of the stove. If you're lucky and have an electric oven this may be a little easier, but keep in mind, times could differ. KEEP AN EYE ON IT! (I can't stress this enough guys!)

Set the cookie sheet under the broiler for five minutes. Remove and stir the potatoes around. This is really to prevent sticking and to ensure that it "blackens" on all or most sides.

Do this until they are the desired darkness you like. I did mine a little lighter tonight and I did this four times (20 minutes total). I like mine pretty dark and crispy. I guess I may just be weird like that. As I said, keep an eye on it. You may not need 20 minutes.

I call them blackened mainly because I get mine way too dark to be roasted. I am reminded of the old Nickelodeon show "Salute Your Shorts" and one of the characters would say, "Roasted...Toasted...And burnt to a crisp." That is the way I like it, but as I mention, feel free to do it how YOU like it. Your house, your kitchen, your rules.

So go rock out some awesome blackened sweet potatoes. Even my kids eat them. Enough blogging....I'm going back for seconds!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Peace, Love, and Sweet Potatoes

-Ami M. Lee

Paleo...How's the transition going?

I realized it had been a while since I've written here. I've been a bit busy, quite stressed, and quite behind on school stuff. As always.

Lot's of things are happening and I don't really want to get into everything on my blog because a lot of it is personal.

But, Paleo transitioning is going well!

We have rid ourselves of bread. I had a failed attempt at paleo bread. It was awful...but there are more recipes to try. Dairy is in the works. We're almost out of cheese. It's funny...it's taken longer than I thought because most of our suppers are paleo without cheese! lol

Have I already messed up? Of course! Anyone surprised? LOL Here's the thing...I knew this already, but it just was more obvious. I ended up making supper the other night with noodles I've never used before and they were awful!...The meat and veggies were good...But me and Nick were still REALLY hungry...So we indulged poorly.

The next day...it got late and we had nothing for lunch...So we got fast food...I wasn't prepared for those times. Our cupboards are pretty much bare except for meat and veggies. I'm still a little confused as to what to eat for lunch because my kiddos aren't too fond of salads every day. Especially Mark...and they're kiddos and need a lot more calories than we do. They are in no way in need of calorie restrictions. I am that weird mom that feeds her kids 100x healthier than herself, so they have no issues as of now.

My poor son Rylan who isn't used to eating these healthy things and having to eat what is fixed is having a hard time. Then again...I could have been more prepared and fixed something he could recognize, but was still paleo.

Again, I refer to puzzles. So many puzzle pieces. If they aren't in order there are a lot of risks for failure. But, I don't let that get me down and go buy some bagels and nutella. I keep on working and keep these issues in mind as learning experiences.

I read that another family took about six months to transition to completely paleo, so I'm not worried that we didn't drop everything in a week. Although...I did try to quit coffee. Coffee has it's health benefits, so it's not really that I thought it was bad. I'm tried of the constant struggle of going without caffeine and having migraines a few days after stopping. It's one of those control issues. I think I'll just stick with my coffee for now since we're transitioning through so many things.

I've never been so certain that this may be the key to our success. My husband has been such a good sport even though I have messed up. I know I'm a good cook, you just sometimes get a products that isn't so great or a recipe that just isn't well thought out.

So how is it going for you? I hope you are all finding this well and happy. I have been doing a lot of make-up tutorials on the youtube vlog...Why? They're sooooo fun! I see why so many people do it. SO if you want go check that out. I'll try and upload a new one I did today soon. Found my old camera, so I'm hoping they'll be better quality images as well.

Sending you all lots of love and peace to you and your journey.

Always,

Ami M. Lee

90 Days without Soda!

Can you believe how fast 90 days has come and gone? Yesterday made officially 90 days!

It's funny, my goals before have been for 90 days and I went right back to soda before. I went right back to drinking whatever and not making water the most important drink in my diet. 90 days used to be so hard that I eventually gave it up. Maybe the key to my success this time is not giving up on only a few months.

The key was a bigger goal and having a way to keep myself accountable. It's not over yet. A year is quite a long time. A year of detoxing and trying to get off such a hardcore drug. Something so legal and so easy to obtain. It is now such a shame that I ever allowed such a thing to enter my body. To allow a substance to destroy the well-being of my body. Call me extreme, but that is a literal look at what these chemicals are doing to our body.

You might think it's acceptable. That's okay. I'm not here to condemn anyone and the choices they make for themselves. I can't make the choice for you. There's just a right time. My husband and I were discussing this last night and how he has been wanting to quit smoking. There is a right time. Most of the time it needs to be as little stress as you can get in your life. When we're stressed, we're more likely to fail. We all have our vices and we aren't all so strong willed as to will it into fruition.

I had a set back myself last night. I have been very scared of stopping caffeinated coffee. I have been trying to kick my caffeine habit for YEARS! The problem that arises is the most awful headaches, down right migraines when I go more than four to five days without caffeine. I know a cup of coffee a day has it's benefits, and I sure do love my coffee. But, the pain I endure is so tremendous I almost feel as if I don't have a choice. Last night I had my husband go buy me a cup of coffee because I couldn't handle the pain.

I'd love to say that the last 90 days have been the easiest of my life, and in truth...they may be the vanilla version of my life, but definitely not easy. I've faced harder truths, and fell even harder. But, I can feel better knowing that my goal is still ahead of me and I haven't failed. As many temptations as I have endured over the last 90 days, I haven't given in.

Have I lost weight from dropping sodas? Nope. But, as I've mentioned, there are several pieces to the weight-loss puzzle. Do I feel better? Most of the time. Do I still struggle? Sure...I have this great soy candle that doesn't have to be lit on fire. (Great for having kiddos around.) I love the lemony sent of it, but it smells like a Mellow Yellow.

So today, I hope I can encourage you...Not with astounding numbers of pounds dropped. Not with the health benefits or the "because this study says so." But, I hope to encourage you through my resolve to set such a large goal and to meet it! Yes, goals need to be realistic but sometimes pushing yourself is needed too. Look within yourself. Ask yourself, are you doing all that you can really do?

I'm looking forward to the next 90 days. We're about a quarter of the way day. 1/4 doesn't seem that bad aye?

I hope you are all doing well out there today. It's been rainy and cold. We're looking forward to some better weather soon.

As always, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know how your journey is going.

All the best to my friends,

Ami M. Lee

The Photography Blog

http://purepiecesphotography.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/some-words-of-encouragement-from-me-to-you/

Hey guys,

I decided to try out a new platform after I deleted all three of the blogs to condense them to a better format. So here it is! Go click the like and follow button. Leave me some comments. Today is a good one. It's just telling you how beautiful you are...So go! Everyone wants to know they're beautiful.

Hope you are all having a great day! <3

New Vlog up on the YouTube Channel

Hey Guys!

I got back from my walk to the store with the kiddos. Here are some thoughts...Explaining a little bit on Paleo and why we're doing it and how we're going on the transition.
We're on the tail end of our "non-paleo" food. Check out the video. If you like, hit the like button if it was helpful or you enjoyed my funny faces...etc. There's a subscribe button so you can be updated on future videos. And as always, I appreciate your love and support for this journey of mine.

Hope you are all well out there. Comments are always welcome!

Have a wonderful day,

Ami M. Lee, Journey on the Final Countdown

Working on the clean out...

Hey guys!

So I wanted to take a few minutes to kind of vent. The other day, in preparation for the upcoming gluten and dairy free home, I organized our cabinets into safe and bad foods. I couldn't believe the amount of things we had hidden in the cabinet that need to go.

We can't afford to give away or throw away most of these items. So, I'm trying to use them up and not buy anything else with gluten or dairy. It has been very difficult. I'm already having panic spells about it. Sometimes I feel myself just pacing back and forth between the living room and the kitchen. I know we're not "off" yet and I'm already having issues.

Did I expect these feelings? Yes... If you haven't read my previous blogs or seen vlogs on my issues, I have hard issues with panic and anxiety. I did the same thing when I started my journey with A Year Without Soda. (Which btw we're 5 days away from 3 months! or 90 days!!!!)

I think that dropping sodas and what I've been through with that has prepared me for the upcoming battle. I know this battle is going to be like carrying a boulder up a steep hill. The exercise won't be the issue (I don't think.) The issue is going through withdraw from all of these products. I used my last bit of coffee yesterday. From now on...decaf only.

I just keep repeating to myself that this is for our health. This is so we can take control of our life. I'm working so incredibly hard mentally to stay positive.

Although, it was very pleasing tonight when I made some vegan pumpkin scones and my kiddos kept coming back for more!!! I made some really little ones for them so it was okay to have a couple. It lets me know that my kids can eat vegetables and be happy. My kids can be happy on a healthy food diet (I don't mean diet as in lose weight...I mean diet as in what we eat.).

A lot of the problems I've had in the past with me trying to lose weight is not knowing how to deal with feeding my children different. My kids do not need to be calorie restricted. And yes! I'm a very picky Mom! My kids loved when we were juicing...but they can't just juice. It was expensive to buy different meals and I am not a short order cook.

So with this lifestyle change, I think the whole family will see the benefit. I am trying to stay excited and keep positive.

We still have a way to go. It'll be much better for my son who can't have dairy because he's lactose intolerant. It can help my husband and I stick around for our children's lives and feel great and be able to do great things with them. I'm struggling mentally, but I think in a few weeks of transitioning I'll be fine. Or at least I hope so. I'm ready to get started and get the hard part over with. LOL <3

I hope you are all doing well out there. Are you having any struggles you'd like to share? Leave them in the comment section below and I'll bust out my pom poms and cheer you on! <3

Sending lots of love and peace to you and your journey.

-Ami M. Lee, Journey on the Final Countdown