Vertuccio Farms

U-Pick peach season is here in Phoenix. Thanks to a recommendation from Samara, we decided to try Vertuccio Farms right down the street from our house. WOW! This hidden gem is right off of Power Road between Warner & Elliot. Who knew it was so close and so awesome! We went to pick peaches and we found our very own local famers market, open 7 days a week! Love this place. They will be seeing a lot more of the Hendricks'.

Scrumptious Sundays

Stuffed Portabello's

No meat here! It really isn't much to the recipe and it seems hard to believe this would fill you up. But even Jason gets full on just veggies. It really has great flavor!

Saute garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes (with juice), and one small eggplant (diced and peeled). Cook down for about 20 minutes until most of the juice is gone.

Prepare mushrooms: clean, scrape out centers, sprinkle with salt & pepper and drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar. Cook mushrooms: 5 minutes each side on the BBQ/grill. Just to soften them up enough that they are cooked rather than raw.

You need probably 2 bags of fresh spinach (depends on how many mushrooms you are making). 1 bag cooks down to about enough spinach for 4 mushrooms. It looks like a lot of spinach, but once you saute it, it really, really shrinks down.

Assemble your masterpiece. Place mushrooms on a baking sheet top side down. Fill the shroom with the tomato/eggplant mixture, then a layer of sauteed spinach. Top with a slice or two of fresh mozzarella.

Bake in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes, just enough to get the cheese to melt.

We serve with a side of pasta and more veggies. Pasta is tossed with olive oil and parmesan cheese.

Simple and delicious!!

Marathon Man Turns Triathlon Terminator

As you may remember Jason completed a full marathon in January here in Phoenix. With no urgency to complete a full marathon again, he decided to take on a new challenge...a triathlon. He doesn't take on new challenges lightly. Jason doesn't own a bike, but he borrowed one from our friend Jeff and tried to get in as many practice rides as he could. He would go to the pool twice a week and get in a swim. And then of course on all the other days he continued his running. Sunday May 15th he competed in the Seville Sports Club Maxi Sprint Triathlon: 300 yard swim, 15 mile bike, and 2 mile run. Sure it may not seem like much compared to running 26.2 miles...but you try getting in the pool and swimming 300 yards - holy cow!! Then you follow that with a ride and run.

His first triathlon ever and he came out on top - we all knew he would. Jason actually placed first in his age division. FIRST PLACE in his FIRST RACE. What a superstar!! We are all so proud of him. He is an amazing swimmer and really stepped up his pace in the run. He is, of course, now hooked and looking forward to entering many more triathlons in the future.

Next goal - working on that tan!!

He was a little too nice during some portions of the swim; he got caught behind a few female swimmers and didn't push them out of the way...what a gentleman.

Determined and focused. (it was so hot as a spectator, Gavin and Barb got sunburned...forgot the sunscreen)

The final leg, finishing strong.

And a first place metal to go home with. GREAT JOB JASON!!

Fit Tip Thursday's

Week #8 Tip - Accountability

We all know the benefits of exercise, we can't escape the constant reminders. But...how do we get motivated to move? Change in anything we do is challenging, but life would be boring without challenges. I find when I can't motivate myself to find someone to help hold me accountable. Find an accountability partner - a neighbor to go for a walk with, a friend to meet you at the gym, a personal trainer to whip you into shape, a spouse or child to do physical activity with. Someone, somewhere can help hold you accountable and you can do the same for them. There are plenty of mornings that skipping your workout and staying in bed sounds much more appealing - but if you have someone counting on you to be there, you will most likely roll out of bed and stick to your plan...and guaranteed you'll be glad you did.

At our house we are all each other's accountability partners. Gavin keeps us moving all the time!! But even he has days that he wants to watch "Mickey", that's when it's time for us to step up. We offer to go to the park, go outside and play baseball, or go to the pool. It's a win-win for all of us. Whenever we can we try to work out together, it really keeps us motivated, especially when one of the two of us is wanting to sleep a little longer.

Probably the single most motivator for us is races. If you sign up for an athletic event (doesn't have to be running) it really helps keep you focused. You have a goal, and it cost you money. Find a local walk, run, jog, bike, or swim competition - there are tons out there, just Google it! Good Luck!!

Cute As A Button Update

Progress!

I've made progress, slowly but surely. Check out my Facebook Page, my Etsy site, and my new BLOG on Blogger.

http://hendricks-cuteasabutton.blogspot.com/

Fun in the Sun

Downtown Gilbert is such a great place. It's quaint, unique, small, and just so darn cute. Great place to walk around. We don't get down there much, but will be going more often now. They have a Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings from 7am-11am. We've only caught the tail end of it, but it looks great. We plan on going several times this summer. Right next to the Farmers Market is the water tower and the water fun! Of course we weren't thinking about this so we didn't come prepared with water attire. It didn't stop Gavin. We took off his clothes and let him run wild. He loved it! What a great way to have fun outside even in the AZ heat.

courtesy of Google images

His own personal playground

Decided the decorative water fixture was a swimming pool

So smiley and cute!

Just wish we could all be kids again, life is so great every single day!

Scrumptious Sundays

Peach Salad

So simple, so delicious, so refreshing!

Aunt Sue gave us this recipe, but we altered it just a bit for our liking.

3 fresh peaches

Fresh Basil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Fresh ground pepper

Kosher Salt

Plate and drizzle with EVOO (this is where we put our favorite part in)

Queen Creek Olive Mill is where we buy all of our olive oils. They have a vanilla olive oil that is just a touch sweet and so perfect for salads. It topped this one off just right.

Sue's recipe calls for red onion as well. Not a fan of raw onions so I omitted that and put some fresh blueberries on the side to add some color.

The Baca Family

Read our friends story below, and donate if you can. Who can resist helping children and Infant Toddler Services sounds like a great organization.

Fit Tip Thursday's

Week #7 Tip - Lymphatic System

Your lymphatic system is responsible for cleansing toxins but it does not have a pump. The only way is with exercise! Research shows bouncing on a stability ball for 2 min helps your lymphatic system flush toxins, cellulite & waste products thus improving immune function. Sit on ball & keep feet in contact w/floor, bounce for 2 min. Boost immunity & bounce your way to optimum health!

Side Note for the Ladies: I recently learned that antiperspirant (not deodorant) has aluminum in it. Articles in the press have warned that antiperspirant with aluminum can cause breast cancer; the aluminum can be harmful as it is absorbed through the skin into the lymph area (near the breast). Before throwing away all of your deodorant note I did a little research and neither the National Cancer Institute or the FDA are aware of any conclusive evidence linking the use of underarm antiperspirants to the development of breast cancer. If you want to play it safe check out some men’s deodorant, many of them do not include aluminum. Or stick to a deodorant only (no antiperspirant), something like “Toms“ or “Adidas Aluminum Free”, they do not include aluminum. More info read this article by the NCI: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/AP-Deo

Tom's & Adidas are aluminum free

Check the back of your deodorant - most of them show the active ingredient is Aluminum ☹

Gardening with Grandma

Doesn't get much better than time with Grandma in the dirt. Gavin had so much fun. He even loves looking at the pictures and talking about his dirty hands. Soon he'll be pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, and trimming the trees at our house!