Something's fishy...

My dinner!
Thought I'd share this dish I made that I'm rather proud of.
Spicy cod filet with okra, tomato and onion on top of brown rice pilaf.
I baked the cod wrapped in tinfoil with some peppers and onions plus spices.
The okra and tomato topping for the rice was okra, tomatoes, onion and jalapeños sautéed in a pan.

In the spirit and theme of "fishy"....

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (Mark 1:17 KJV)

Will you drop everything and follow him?

Respect, Class, and a Chicken Sandwich.

All this talk about chick-fil-a is starting to get really nasty, and honestly I am appalled by the way the national conversation about this has become a national argument. It is arguments like these that have divided our nation.

We live in a broken, sinful, world. While I do have my personal opinion about the situation, in the end I know that I am not of this world, and I am not called to love the sins and temptations of it.
What I AM called to do is: Love God and let his will be done in my life, and share God's love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all.
I believe in the love story that God has written for us.
The bible is a not only a guidebook but a story of God's pursuit of the hearts of the human race. And our constant ignoring of a loving father who sends his son to overcome death so with faith in him we can be saved and transformed.

A lot of people have been offended by Dan Cathy's comments about his beliefs and faith, and opinions.
Others have been offended by the backlash against his statements and business.

I am proud of the rights we have as American citizens to use our freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly (among others).

Both sides of this argument have fully used these rights, and I will fight for the right for any group to protest, voice their opinions, or worship whatever they please, so I can retain my rights to do so as well.

The main things that are lacking in this controversy is RESPECT and CLASS.
Respect for Dan Cathy's RIGHTS of speech and religion.
Respect for the LGBT community's RIGHTS of speech, and to protest or to boycott if they want.

Can we please inject some class into the conversation, and stop name calling? Using derogatory terms toward The LGBT community, or terms like "bigot" and "homophobe" all hurt the same... And only pour salt in wounds.

Words can be healing, or dividing. And right now what our country needs is healing, and something to remind us that our differences don't have to tear us apart. In order to keep America strong, we need to be united as a nation, not divided by economic class, political parties, or gender. Differences don't have to be divisive, instead they can be the very glue that holds us together.







I encourage an intellectual and civil conversation on the issues at hand, because I believe that is the only way this issue can be solved.

Raw goodness

The past few weeks I've been experimenting with raw veganism. No, it's not a cult. My best friend was a vegetarian for a year and chose to cross over to raw veganism. Basically, the diet consists of eating pure, uncooked fruits, veggies and nuts. I was not consistent on this, I tried my hardest to see the benefits that my friend experiences from it with an open mind. As a pageant girl, fruits are something that are kind of demonized when in preparation of a diet regime to get in shape, merely because they are high in sugar, and sugar can be the cause of weight gain in a lot of circumstances. What's so interesting about raw vegan is that over half of your diet relays on fruit in a given day. We'd have fruit smoothies with kale, watermelon, plums, berries, and normally a huge salad for dinner. And dessert was probably the biggest surprise of them all to me. FIG AND DATE PIES. Guilt free. The crust was walnuts, almonds, dates and coconut oil. Filling was purred fresh figs, dates, and agave nectar. Paired with coconut milk, it was probably the most satisfying dessert ever, because I knew exactly what I put in it was fresh.

THE CONSENSUS
this diet is a cleanse diet, and while I can't say that I'm completely a raw veganist now, I definitely have a new understanding that pure food is the best food, and all the added chemicals and preservatives that we consume in a day really do drag us down.

THE CHALLENGE
try one or two raw vegan recipes, or one day eating a fully raw vegan diet, plan out your meals for the day, and if anything, do it for the cleanse, because Your body will thank you for it.

Summer Shares!

Here are some cute must have items for summer: via Modcloth!

I'm loving the wide array of swimsuits were seeing this year from one piece, one shouldered, and high waisted!
Also swingy dresses as well as simple shift dresses with funky assessories!

Baked Zucchini Fries

Oh pinterest!
I modified a recipe for Zucchini fries because I REFUSE to eat breadcrumbs.
So here's a heart healthy recipe for your fry fix:

1/2 cup oatmeal ( quick, old fashioned or rolled)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated ( or substitute wheat germ/ crushed almonds)
1beaten egg with water
Spices of your choosing ( I used crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning)

Turn your oven onto 425
Throw your oatmeal into a food processor and process until it looks like a coarse flour. Add cheese ( or substitute ), and spices and process untill dispersed.
Lightly coat a cookie sheet with olive oil .
Set up your coat station with strips of your zucchini and two separate bowls for your beaten egg and oatmeal crumbs. Dip zucchini in egg, then coating, and place on pan. When done bake 10-15 mins , flip, then another 10-15. Enjoy with marinara sauce or tzatziki sauce. ( a cucumber yogurt sauce)


Hope y'all enjoy this, I LOVE baking things coated in oatmeal.

the R- Word

The events I'm invited to as Miss Tarrant County's Outstanding Teen vary from charity events, sporting events, Galas and formal benefits. And I enjoy every event I attend, because whether I interact with adults or children, I learn so much from each appearance I make.

But not until this month have I attended any events that have touched me like the Little Miss Sweetheart Special Needs pageant and the Special Olympics have. They have not only humbled me to no end, but they've given me a new understanding for an often overlooked group of our worlds population. The disabled.

The Special Needs pageant I attended  had an organization there who were getting attendants to take a pledge, and sign a banner. This organization was called The R-Word. After hearing what they had to say, and seeing what the organization was all about, I too pledged not to use the r-word.

My platform "Revaluating Rubies: Building Self Esteem" describes the four needs to build healthy self esteem.

1. Strong Foundation-
You are a valuable human being, wonderfully made.

2. Ample Support-. Everybody needs at least one mentor and role model who can encourage them.

3. Quality Materials- When you know that you are valuable, that is when any "self improvement" can occur. if you attempt to hide low self value or attempt self improvement in a negative mental state, it's destructive.

 4. Finally, the fourth element is an Open Door- Get involved!

That's my platform in a nutshell and my door is opening wider and wider as I volunteer and experience life with so many people, now including those with disabilities. Bullying or tearing down somebody is not acceptable. Indirectly insulting someone or putting "no offense" before or "just kidding" after a statement does not justify saying it. Attacking self value is attacking a person who feels and thinks the same way you do. So with all this being said, using an originally medical term in a derogatory and demeaning way is not acceptable either. I urge you to take the pledge to not use the r-word.

http://www.r-word.org/

Motivation

Well well well,

I'm back!

Recently (approximately one month ago) I made a HUGE lifestyle change.
I began going to the gym. One of my pageant directors told me that physical fitness is the one thing you can control come Teen Texas. I totally agree. While it has been a rocky road, with ups and downs, I am quite satisfied with the results so far, and I feel amazing... the other day I did 100 squats. ONE HUNDRED! I could hardly do 10 a month ago without being beat. After the intial shock of the sweating and pain, I kind of look forward to my workouts!

I encourage everyone to get active this week. I promise, you will feel great after. Nothing like the feeling of acheivement!

1 Corinthians 9:27     

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.