Indian Summer Dinner

The weather today in Michigan was glorious!  Low 70's and not a cloud in the sky.  Later this week temps are predicted to reach 78 degrees - a little warmth was just what I needed!  Ahhh, an Indian Summer.  To be specific on what exactly that means an Indian summer is, according to Wikipedia, a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the autumn.  It refers to a period of considerably above normal temperatures...Hey, I'll take that! 

Tonight's meal was inspired by the warmer temperatures.  A salad loaded with veggies combined with a little outdoor grilling.  I look forward to soaking up this sun and food alike the rest of this week...take it in while you can friends!

Organic Michigan Grown Cabbage -
I'm not exactly sure of the type but it was fantastic

Salad Made with Love - Spinach, Cabbage, Green Peppers, Red Onions,
Avocado, and Shaved Carrots

 Lots of Ground Pepper and a Splash of Balsamic Vinaigrette

Add Grilled Chicken and a Sweet Potato to the Mix

Mmmm so GOOD and Oh so CLEAN!

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat

Country Smoke House

On our travels back from the weekend wedding festivities,  Mr. & I were both were feeling rather lethargic.  We had a three hour drive ahead of us and all I wanted to do was click my heels and be home!  About 20 minutes into our route along M-53 just north of downtown Almont, Michigan, we simultaneously noticed a gigantic steer statue standing near the road.  Neither of us said a word, we both just knew that this was a stop for us!  

Turns out the place is called Country Smoke House - and we quickly learned it was well-worth the visit.  Getting out of the car, I instantly felt better.  I was so overly stimulated - not knowing where to look or what to touch first.  I literally wandered the market a good 15 times before settling on what I was bringing back with me.  Thankfully, I always travel with a cooler and they just happened to sell ice - nice! 

Finding high quality meat - as I always say, "Raised with Love",  in my area is no easy task. Having relationships with farmers you trust is key, but you are on their schedule - with limited choices.  I, unfortunately, do not have a "Whole Foods" in my backyard.  And, unless Mr. hunts/fishes it, finding fresh wild game is nearly impossible.  This place had you covered...a variety of meats including a whole slew of wild game!  From fresh wild caught fish to pheasant, to venison, and SO much more - they had all my desires covered.

Not everything in the store was "clean" by any means BUT a big part of eating clean includes eating a lean protein at every meal.  I'm ULTRA picky about meat and refuse to support farmers who treat their animals like lab rats! Not only does the mistreatment of animals break my heart, but I also have no desire to consume the added antibiotics and/or hormones. Unless I know the details - where it came from, the overall day to day treatment, how it was killed, cleaned, packaged...I won't eat it.  Needless to say, I was so excited to be able to bring home new protein choices to add to the menu - ones I can feel good about consuming! 

If you are ever in the area, I highly suggest you stop in and load up on goodies to stock the freezer. Everyone is super friendly, helpful, and will answer any question - trust me I asked enough to know!

Don't forget the cooler! 

I, of course, ran right for the produce! :)

It's a bit fuzzy, but this is shot from when you walk in the door.  I was so overly stimulated...wasn't sure where to start!

Huge variety of "Raised with Love" meats & wild game - wish I would of had a bigger cooler on me!

Mr. placing a order from their roadside outdoor BBQ hut.

It's surely hard to miss the place!

Mr. surprised me by picking up this "Wild Game Simple" cookbook.  While the recipes aren't all necessarily clean - with just a few tweaks I know I can make them "my" way easily!

Mmm Smoked Wild Caught Whitefish! And, no I'm not really going to eat it like this :)

Showing the inside of the smoked whitefish...

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,

Mrs. Skinny Fat

Circle of Healthy, Happy Friends

Every year, our circle of friends venture to Higgins Lake, Michigan to celebrate Labor Day weekend.  More so this year than any other, I was moved by how much we have grown over the years to become the people we are today.  While so much has changed since college, our values remain the foundation, and from that, we have each in our own right built what stands a unique individual. Even with life's changes and our individual molding, it amazes me that we still fit rather perfectly - together. 

There are without a doubt many traits that make our group of friends great.  However, during this most recent gathering, I was awestruck in our shared belief to actively pursue a healthy lifestyle.  While we each have our own definition as to what living a healthy lifestyle looks like, we seem to naturally respect each others' beliefs as it's all towards the same end goal.   Even more so, we support each other - and that support was reflected time and time again during our weekend together.

I was overcome with so many moments of pride - here we are a group of twenty-something year-olds (okay, okay, all closer to thirty) away together for "vacation", yet we all packed food and ate as if we were at a "Get My Body Back" Bootcamp Retreat.  Other than alcohol consumption, we were all pretty much clean eating saints.  Especially us girls.  Not only did we eat clean, the entire time, we moved our butts.  We got in our morning runs and made for an upper body adventure with the kayaks! Us girls made the kitchen a creative cooking studio - and with contribution from the guys - we whipped up some amazingly fresh, mouthwatering meals.   

It was the ultimate weekend away; satisfied bellies, achy muscles, loads of laughs, a little gossip, blue skies, bluer water, sun-kissed faces, and a bottle of memories to remind us just how blessed we are to have so many like-minded souls in our corner. 

Mr & Mrs. soaking in the sun's rays and enjoying the beauties of Pure Michigan.

The girls. Without any prior arrangement, we all packed food that made for the perfect combination. It was pretty impressive!

Below is just a sampling of our many tastings! Fresh was the underlying theme! 

 

Us Girls venturing out on the kayaks while the guys sailed... 

Does it get any better than this? Soaking it all in!

"It was the ultimate weekend away; satisfied bellies, achy muscles, loads of laughs, a little gossip, blue skies, bluer water, sun-kissed faces, and a bottle of memories to remind us just how blessed we are to have so many like-minded souls in our corner." -  MSF 

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat