Martha's So-Called Life

personalized menu planning

Good morning friends!

I have decided to experiment with some personalized menu planning for others.  What does that mean for you?  Well, I'm looking for one person who wants to try this out with me at an introductory rate of $50 for one month.  

You'll get a whole months worth of menus (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks), recipes, and shopping lists, as well as email support from me as needed.

My vision for this is to help people transition to a more whole foods approach to eating.  This transition can be as gradual or as abrupt as needed, and would depend on your current needs and way of eating. 

Please let me know if you are interested.  I'm only taking on one client at this time, but hope to be able to do this on a more widespread basis soon!  

Email me or leave a comment and I will get back to you regarding details, first come first serve on this one.  If you are interested and don't make the cut this time, I'll keep you posted about when I'll be taking on more clients!

september book report

I read a lot of books in September...I'm a fast reader, but I'm not sure how I managed to pull off a 5 book month while also reading school books and working...but I did...and it was awesome.  

First Comes Love Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown-Waite // I was intrigued by the title of this book, and then by the premise.  Girl falls in love with a Peace Corps poster boy, and lives abroad to make him happy.  It was a super quick read, funny, and really interesting.  I'm sad that she hasn't written anything else nor does she really have much on her blog.  As someone who suffers from a serious case of wanderlust, I want to read more about their life abroad!

City of Lost Dreams by Magnus Flyte // I read the first book of this series, City of Dark Magic, on the way home from Africa because I needed something entertaining and relatively mindless to get me home.  I got exactly that.  I didn't like the second book as much as the first (and the first was ok, not superb, but better than average), but it served it's purpose.  Sometimes I get stuck in a reading rut and can't finish a book (I often read more than one book at once) until I find something mindless to read.  Definitely out of the rut.  

The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg // I bought this book because it sounded decent and was only $4.99 for Kindle.  I needed something to get me through until I could get back to the library.  Again, it definitely served it's purpose.  I read it in about a day.  I was not thrilled with the story, but I didn't hate it.  It was an ok story, but I'm not exactly sure who the intended audience is.  It seems a little too mature at times for young adults (maybe not for older young adults), but a little childish for adults.  

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen // Carl Hiaasen is always a good read...and this book was no exception.  It was a little repetitive at times, but overall an entertaining story and a quick read!

Mr. Penumbra's 23-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan // A little bit sci-fi and a little bit mystery.  Overall a good story with some good plot twists.  An entertaining and mostly upbeat read.  

weekend reading

Why you should stay home from work when you are sick.  

Super awesome knit cowl pattern.  

A playground for adults in Boston!

If Lucille Bluth quotes were motivational posters.  

Need help mastering dinner?

How designer dogs are made.  

Trying to figure out how these tights might fit into my wardrobe.  

Have a great weekend!

currently

Making metaphorical lemonade out of the lemons life has handed at to me.

Loving my homemade pumpkin spice lattes.

Anxiously awaiting my long stretch of upcoming travel adventures.

Looking forward to having snow on the ground again.

Trying to keep my motivation for increasingly boring school work.

Enjoying my low-key exercise non-plan.

Happy fall!!

the easiest whole chicken recipe ever

Need an easy Sunday night meal that will leave you with leftovers for the whole week?  Cook a whole chicken!  

A lot of people are intimidated by roasting a whole chicken (it's not as hard as you think), but this isn't a recipe for a whole roast chicken...this is a recipe to cook a whole chicken in the crockpot! 

Depending on the size of your crockpot, this will works best with a 4-5lb chicken.  

 

Sunday Night Crockpot Chicken

// grain-free // gluten-free // dairy-free //

Ingredients:

• 4-5lb. whole chicken
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:

1. Place the chopped onion in the bottom of the crockpot.
2. Mix spices in a small bowl (you can really use any spices you want) and then rub onto chicken.
3. Place chicken in crockpot.
4. Cook for 4-5 hours on high.

When the chicken is done it just falls off the bone. Not quite the same as crispy skinned roast chicken, but certainly easier! Have some for dinner and then use the rest for chicken salad or in wraps for lunch all week!

crap-free pumpkin spice latte

I LOVE pumpkin spice lattes and I have tried many times to replicate them at home but have never succeeded. I have always wanted a less chemicaly, healthier, cheaper option, but have never been able to get the flavor exactly right...until last week...

Enter the Crap and BS Free Pumpkin Spice Latte (CBSFPSL, as one of my friends deemed it...good call Brenda!)

I slightly adapted a recipe that was posted on the Balanced Bites Facebook page.

 

Crap-Free Pumpkin Spice Latte

// grain-free // gluten-free // dairy-free //

Ingredients:

• 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
• 2 shots of espresso or 1/2-1 cup coffee
• 1 teaspoon ghee or butter
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• maple syrup to taste

Preparation:

1. Brew coffee. While coffee is brewing, heat up coconut milk in the microwave until warm but not too hot.
2. Put butter/ghee in the blender. Add coffee, coconut milk, pumpkin spice, and maple syrup (if using).
3. Blend on low just long enough to froth milk and melt the butter/ghee.
4. Enjoy fall in your cup, guilt-free!

I ended up not using maple syrup the second time I made it and it was not quite as good. All you really need is a tiny dash to give it some extra flavor (like 1/2 teaspoon). Seriously...this is amazing...and good for you! Try it, you won't be disappointed.

whole30 2.0 - week 1

After spending over a week being sick...and a little too much indulgence over the last couple of months, I decided to start another Whole30.  It might end up being more like a Whole27 since we leave for Vermont on Oct. 12, but we will see and I will do my best.

Rather than post my daily eats, this time I decided to do weekly recaps.  

Day 1 // Monday September 15

Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Coffee w/ coconut milk, sauteed broccoli slaw and cabbage, 2 fried eggs, grapes	Smoothie - banana, coconut milk, frozen berries (blueberries and cherries), dark chocolate powder, and cinnamon	Skipped it...oops!	Apple with cinnamon and cashew butter	Pan-fried salmon, sweet potato, green beans, and cucumber + tomato salad

Day 2 // Tuesday September 16

Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Eggs and sauteed veggies (peppers, onions, mushrooms), bacon, coffee with coconut milk	No snack!	{out} GF pizza	No snack!	Chicken fajitas with napa cabbage wrap

Ok, I know GF pizza is NOT Whole30. Day 2 and I'm already slipping. Day 3 // Wednesday September 17

Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Beet, carrot, & sausage hash, greens, 2 eggs, coffee with coconut milk	Carrots with cashew butter	Leftover fajita chicken on greens	Trail mix	Salad with shrimp and veggies

Day 4 // Thursday September 18

Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Greens, sausage, 2 eggs, coffee with coconut milk	Trail mix	Carrots and cashew butter	Smoothie - berries, banana, coconut milk, and greens	Leftover GF waffles with cashew butter

Ok, for some reason I'm having a difficult time with this. I think I'm tired and uninspired in the food department. No, GF waffles are not Whole30, but yes, I ate them for dinner after going to a meeting and then spending two hours at my Advanced Cardiac Life Support checkoff. Day 5 // Friday September 19

Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Sausage, greens, 2 eggs, coffee with coconut milk	No snack...too busy at work!	Leftover salmon, sweet potato, and green beans	Apple with cashew butter	No dinner...

Day 6 // Saturday September 20

Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Sausage, greens, 2 eggs, smoothie	Trail mix	Salami, carrots, and cashew butter	No snack	Chili and sauteed green beans

Day 7 // Sunday September 21

Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
GF pancakes and PSL	Trail mix	Leftover chili	No snack	Sablefish with olives and peppers; salad

Yes, GF pancakes. Nope, not Whole30. But the PSL was!! I'm selling my secret for $5 (it tasted exactly like a PSL from Sbux) if you want to know.

Overall I feel like I ate pretty well this week even though I was not 100% with the Whole30. I'm having a hard time preparing things in advance, which is the key to success here. Maybe the timing is just not right for this. I'm thinking I'll come up with a new challenge, but I'm not sure what to call it, Whole30-ish? My goal is to eat more veggies and fewer "junk" foods (GF pancakes, etc. constitute "junk" these days).

weekend reading

These shirts are awesome!

These guys came to Alaska and made a vlog...it's awesome.  They're awesome.  (2 parts, 30 min each)

On not having kids

How to hardwire a light fixture.  

Check out all the new stuff I put in my shop!

Have a great weekend!

around here

Things have been pretty low-key around here.  I was sick with the plague for almost two weeks and had a stay-cation at home as a result.  

I have been busy working out the kinks for our new scheduling process at work and finishing up some time-sensitive knitting projects.  

Other than that, Kiva and I have just been waiting for winter and snow!  

I can't believe that September is almost gone (less than two weeks) and October...(i.e. the start of my marathon travel schedule) is almost here!  

Happy Friday!

new in the shop

I've listed a few new things in my shop over the past week that I wanted to share!  

Last week I shared my winter inspired, limited edition "let it snow" print.  

I also have a square "seek adventure" print, available in multiple sizes.  

And the first in what I hope to be a series of "nature is calling" prints.  

All of these are my own photos and hand lettered text.  

Also, on a side note, I know I mentioned awhile back that I wasn't planning on selling on Etsy anymore related to the fees that they charge for listings and sales.  I decided that for the time being (i.e. while I'm in school and kind of busy) that it's worth the small amount of extra in order to have things easily accessible and organized.  The other options are much more labor intensive and right now I would rather spend my extra time creating, not trying to code things to look right.  

Thanks for looking!