good good news

Here we gooooooooooooo. 

Our book is going to print! 

Whitney Ingram's The Family Flavor 

will be in your hands so soon! 

Can you taste it? 

We will let you know the exact date as soon as the big guys let us know--but we are talking within the next few WEEKS!

The book will be available to order on Amazon. 

We are so excited to share this project we have been working on for so long.....here is a little peek....

a quick phone snap of our "after cover shoot feast"

cover shoot in April. photo by Ashley Thalman

I will have more juicy details to share over the next few weeks as we prepare for our release.....we can't wait!

all about hemp seeds + chocolate protein shake

In the last year or so, I've been hearing more and more about the health benefits of hemp......so I just had to check it out. When I hear the world "hemp", I think of the dimly lit little store in the mall in 1998 that sold incense and hemp and beaded jewelry.....right?

But it turns out these little seeds are 

PACKED with all kinds of good stuff. 

-all 20 amino acids, including 9 ESSENTIAL amino acids that our body can't produce itself. Amino acids are the "building blocks" of protein. They are responsible for strength, repair, and rebuilding inside your body." -source

-high source (in fact, nature's highest source) of essential fatty acid

-excellent source of Omega-3s and Omega-6s, for cardiovascular health and a strong immune system

-excellent source of protein--11 grams of protein in just 3 tablespoons, and it's 100% digestible protein

-source of vitamin E, iron, magnesium, and zinc

-hemp is not genetically modified like soy can be

source-Nutiva

source-The Nourishing Gourmet

Ok--so hemp is amazing.....now what do we do with it? 

It has a very mild, nutty flavor so really you can add it to just about anything. If you follow me on instagram  ( _sheenarae - come find me!) you'll see that I add it to many of my breakfasts. 

-it's great in oatmeal, either hot, or soaked raw oats. (check out THESE raw oats)

-add it to your smoothies

-sprinkle it over your granola

-add it to your waffle or pancake batter

-sprinkle it over your salad

Make your own protein shake!

Chocolate Protein Shake

1 cup vanilla almond milk

1 banana

1 heaping spoonful of natural peanut butter

2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder

1-3 TBS hemp seeds

handful of ice
edited to add: I now add a spoonful of chia seeds too!

put all ingredients in a blender and BLEND until smooth

I love this drink after a run. 

Hemp seeds can be found online or at health food stores--I get mine in the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

How do YOU eat hemp seeds?

buy your hemp seeds HERE

learn about chia seeds here

Friday Q&A

Let's see if this works.........

Every week I get questions from all my kind/sweet/funny/adventurous/super cool readers via comments/emails/instagram/facebook and as many of you have learned I have the HARDEST time getting back to you. I just can't sit on my computer all day answering questions......call me crazy. 

For frequently asked questions (camera talk, etc,) check out the FAQ (which most likely needs to be updated.)

If I have questions related to specific posts/photos that apply to everyone, I will try my hardest to post them here every few weeks. ....how's that sound?

a-a-ahem, here we go.

Where is your green jacket from (from THIS post):  Patagonia. 

Favorite camping spots in Utah: That's like trying to pick a favorite ice cream flavor....it's impossible! You really can't go wrong--I love camping in the dessert around Moab in the spring and fall--there are TONS of campgrounds there (and they all look like THIS!) We love the Uintas in the summer time, and there are many established campgrounds around the lakes off Mirror Lake Highway, or you can hike a few miles (in basically any direction) and find your own spot.

What ice cream maker do you use (recent ice cream post HERE): Our ice cream machine is the same one that we got for our wedding.....and it's on it's last leg. Are we the only people still making our ice cream the old fashioned way with ice and rock salt? We are in need of one of those new fancy schmancy robot machines that makes ice cream in 30 minutes or something. Who can recommend one?

WHERE IS "THIS"? Ok ok, here is the deal. I am ALL for sharing great hiking/camping/exploring spots that we find, and mostly I give you all kinds of juicy details. 

BUT. 

There is something really awesome about having "secret places" that not many people know about. So if I DON'T give specific details of exactly where I am, I have good reason.
For specific trail info, check out some of my "On the Trail" posts.
Do a little exploring for your own secret places.....they are fun to have.

*these questions were from the last week only. did you ask a question a million weeks ago and never heard back? try again here.

question for YOU: After updating my "Where to Eat" page, I realized I have yet to find a good cupcake in Utah. Where do I need to try??!! I'm not a fan of Sweet Tooth Fairy (sorry.....basically everyone), but there has to be something I'm missing.......anyone? bueller?

and......a quick thank you:

In addition to questions, I also get THE most amazingly thoughtful comments and emails from so many of you. I always think it's crazy that people take time out of their lives to read my silly words, but to know that they are encouraging even one person out there is the best feeling, and it's why I keep at it. 

I just have to share a few:

Ashley Sjuts says......"I cannot tell you how much your blog has inspired me to get out and get moving. I am a couch potato by nature but your posts and pictures really make me want to get out there and be active. I have a one year old and the happiest days she has are when we get out and get into nature and the world. Thanks for inspiring me to get off the couch and explore, even if it is just around our area of the world with a lot of corn : ) 

 The sweetest email from Molly Haas

"thank you for posting inspiring blog posts over and over again --- I sense that every time you urge your readers to get out and explore, another person internalizes that message. And while you may be getting tons of these thank you emails a day, I wanted to do my part by voicing that appreciation. Though our society often trivializes blogging, I hope you know that you’re doing incredible work through yours, and that people’s lives (even nineteen year olds’ lives in California) are changing for the better because of it. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"
Thank YOU Molly....... :)

lastly:

Ali and I got up before the sun on Wednesday morning and ran up Timpanogos........the BEST way to start any day. Everyone needs a friend they can climb up mountains with.
I have never ever ever in my life seen wildflowers like this--even more impressive than last year. Photos just don't do it justice....

AND. 

After your morning hike, head down the canyon and find the WaffleLuv Truck....YUM

all photos taken on my iphone and edited with PicTapGo

Want to hike Timp? You should! Here are the details:

via Timpooneke Trail (up American Fork Canyon) 

just under 15 miles round trip. 

11,749 ft high (6126ft gain) 

lots of fast hiking, running a little up, all the way down, and a little scrambling to the top--nothing too serious or scary.

This trail gets CROWDED so I recommend starting as early as you can and avoiding Saturdays all together.

4hrs 43 minutes for us.

Happy Weekend!

get your summer on

Have you heard the talk around town? 

Things like "coming to an end"

"winding down"

and the worst........"back to school"

I refuse. 

Refuse to give in, refuse to play along. 

Refuse to say those terrible words. 

Our summer is still alive and well. 

Every extra minute will be spent on summer. 

Mountains. Lakes. Friends. Hot dogs over the fire. Wild hair. No bedtimes. Summer.

Don't give up! Get your summer on.

where to eat: UPDATES!

I just added lots of new places for you to eat! New places in Utah, Montana (like this ice cream shop above), California and the absolute best nachos ever.....in Idaho!

Check out the page HERE

Don't see your favorite on the list? Tell me where to go--we love to try new places!

meanwhile, back at the ranch

I picked a tiny jalapeno from our garden the other day.......the saddest little harvest.

Last summer was the year of the vegetable......by this point in summer we were feasting on all types of veggies--lettuce, tomatillos, carrots. Tomatoes still warm from the sun and so much zucchini we were eating it three meals a day. 

I could go out and pick our dinner right off the vine.

This year due to this and that, I planted late.......and boy has it just been hot for those poor little plants. 

We have green tomatoes that we check every day to see if they are starting to turn.....and we are celebrating our zucchini blossoms that finally decided to show up.

Maybe someday, (like right before it frosts) we will have a little garden.

I start to get discouraged, but then I remember.....

our little chickies are big girls now and we are hoping to be seeing eggs maybe as early as next month!

While the kitten doesn't provide us with anything to eat......I just know she's going to take care of the mouse I just saw run across my bathroom floor. And come on, she's just cute. 

So in replace of a flourishing garden, we have just continued to acquire animals that really make it feel like we are living on a farm sometimes (don't be surprised if we end up with goats and turkeys one day). I'm kidding, and I'm not.

(pictured: fanny, hermione, wilma)

And while it wasn't OUR cow, we have been enjoying beef we purchased from a local farmer--with cows so close I can almost hear them from my house--now THAT's the kind of burger you want to be eating. 

Blue Cheese Bacon Burger

-good grass fed beef (it REALLY makes a difference, I promise) seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled to perfection

-bacon

-a big heap of blue cheese

-mayo

-greens

-tomato

-toasted bun

I'm hoping next year we can really get it together and have our garden and our farm animals producing all at once....how great would that be?!

What's your thing--garden, farm animals, or both?

washington coast

oh where to begin. 
this post is so big it just might break the internet. 

It all started about two months ago.
A late night of conversation and dessert led to talk of adventure. 

Where to go. What to do. How to do it.

We decided we wanted to explore the Washington coast, you know, because it's so close to Utah (it's not. at all. oh well.)

We made travel plans, gathered gear, got time off work, and crossed our fingers for sunshine (it worked!)

Our day started at 4am when we loaded up the car and set out on our 1200 mile adventure. 

22 hours later, exhausted, delirious, and laughing at everything, we arrived. 

kind of. 

....we still had to hike. 

We  grabbed our packs, flipped on our headlamps and hit the trail in the wee hours of the morning.

Through the rain forest with shadows darting across the trail, we made our way down to the beach. As we got closer--we couldn't see it, but we could hear the roar and crash of the waves. 

We climbed up and over piles of driftwood, navigated our way around a dead whale (yes really), tossed up our tents and called it a day (we'd all been up for over 24 hours at this point....)

The next morning I woke up to this out my tent door

We ate our breakfast as the waves rolled in, loaded up camp and hit the trail again. 

breakfast:

at home I pre mixed rolled oats, almonds, coconut, chocolate chips, flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and brown sugar. We boiled some water to add to our oats and threw in some cream packets I grabbed at the gas station.

We climbed up off the beach and into the rain forest. 

Every shade of green you can imagine--in every direction--with a leafy canopy overhead.

Back to the beach.....we basically had it to ourselves. We'd pass another hiker every now and then, a tent here and there, but for the most part, it was all ours. Bald eagles soared overhead and we even saw a deer run down the beach.....a deer! We see them every day here in the mountains, but it looked so odd and out of place on the beach to me.

We climbed over rocks trying to beat the tide rushing in.....and made it out salty and soaked up to our waists. 

We stopped for lunch in the sunshine where the forest met the beach and tried to take it all in...impossible.

lunch: 

smoked salmon and cream cheese on bagels

Rainforest, beach. Rainforest, beach. Repeat. 

We wove our way in and out for about 10 miles--crossing creeks, climbing ropes and feeling like we were in a foreign country.....it was just so....

beautiful, perfect......everything.

Camp.
We let our packs fall to the ground, shoulders and hips aching, but all the pain forgotten as we looked out over the bluff at our view of the ocean. It was all worth it.
We reluctantly dipped ourselves into the freezing creek for a quick wash and bundled up as the sun set. A fire was started, dinner was enjoyed as we overlooked the water.
Dinner:
I found a rice and bean mix to add boiling water to, and we put it in tortillas with some avocado and hot sauce. It tasted the like the best taco I'd ever eaten after a day on the trail.
We watched as the sun turned pink and sank into the sea, and then gathered around the fire to warm ourselves before bed.


Sleeeeeeeeep.
We had a fairly easy day of hiking planned--just 5 miles this day so we slept in and took it slow in the morning. Breakfast (oatmeal again) on the bluff, and then we packed up and headed out for our next campsite.

My favorite day.
( I blogged more of the details HERE, along with the craaazzzzzy sunset)
Our campsite was right in the trees, a few steps away from the beach. We hung out in the sand, acted like kids exploring in the beach grass and driftwood, froze ourselves in the ocean and played played played until there was no light left in the sky.
We gathered around the fire again with the best conversation and stories and laughter while we ate our late night dinner.

lunch in the sand: 
apples, pistachios, jerky, Probars.
dinner around the fire: 
good old fashioned "just add water" soups. Teriyaki and Szechwan raman. 
Surprisingly delicious after a long day, and so easy for a quick late night meal.

We woke up the next morning, still a few hours of hiking left to do, but just a little bit heavy hearted that we had to say goodbye. I fell in LOVE with this place.
To say it was magical would be completely cheesy......but so true.

all photos taken on the coast of Olympic National Park in Washington.
50mm f/1.4. I felt limited that I couldn't shoot wide but I wore my camera the WHOLE time--it was so much lighter and smaller as I was climbing up ropes and crossing creeks than one of my bigger lenses would have been.
I'd like to thank my lovely and talented model friends and husband for letting me have my camera on them non stop. Robby, Mike & Ali, Shane & Monica you're the best.

other snacks:

chocolate. so much dark chocolate every night before bed. it just tasted so good.
lara bars. 
almonds. 
apples. 
THIS jerky is awesome
we had extra tortillas from our tacos and I had brought some small packets of Justin's nut butter to put in the tortillas and we never ended up making them. 
dehydrated berries to eat with chocolate and put in our oatmeal.

This trip renewed me. To walk through a corner of the earth this beautiful....I just felt lucky. 
And to do it with the best of friends was even better. 
Robby and I haven't been on a trip together in years--it was so good to spend time together, and made me love and appreciate my kids so much more as I missed them.
I came home with a new appreciation for my family, a heart full of thankfulness, and a greater desire to live life more simply.

.....so.....a pretty good trip.