Avocado Veggie Pita

As most of you know, we majorly cut back on our gluten intake. We'll indulge occasionally, usually on the weekends, but it's usually no breads and such most of the time. But, of course, there will always be exceptions. And this meal is an exception.

The original recipe is called the Florida Avocado Summer Wrap. And I think it's a wonderful meal for lunch. It's light but the avocado gives the yummy fats to help you get full, so when you are finished you don't feel heavy. 

However, I did several tweaks to the ones I make. Instead of a wrap, I put everything into a pita (whole wheat). I'm also not a fan of vinegar so I omitted that in the mix for the tomatoes and onions (the onions are for David, I hate raw onions). I used regular red tomatoes instead of the yellow ones and I added red bell pepper to the pita. Also, hummus because hummus is delicious. Honestly, I think you can put in whatever you want and it will still be delicious. The reason I like the combination I made is because the red bell peppers give a nice kick while the carrots give that snappy sweetness. The tomatoes are just sweet enough to bring out the avocado and the hummus just grounds everything. Man that was technical. Bottom line, I think they balance each other well.

All the pieces you will need

I slice everything up ahead of time for the week and store them in separate tupperware containers. Except for the avocados. Because they go brown (not bad, just brown) quickly, I'll slice one at a time and cut more during the week as needed. Then when it is time to build the pita, I can do an assembly line thing.

I start with spreading a layer of hummus, then carrots, tomatoes, red bell peppes, onions (if you insist on using them) and then the avocado. I throw in a side of kettle chips and it's the perfect lunch.

Let me know how your turns out if you use other vegetables besides the ones I mentioned!

Garden of the Gods

It is such an awesome name for a national park, Garden of the Gods. It was absolutely beautiful and huge! We went yesterday morning and our friend Joe joined us. So we were a trio of monk, cleric and rogue. We hiked for a good 3 hours straight and we only tapped the surface of all the trails that you could take. 

The entrance

The view from where we parked.

The weather was a little cloudy but not freezing so it was bearable. And there were a lot of people visiting the park. You can do almost anything here: hiking, running, cycling, mountain biking, horseback riding, rock climbing... it's just awesome. We saw a slew of people doing all of those things, except for the horseback riding.

The beginning of our trail

We were a little concerned when we started the trail because, as you can see, it is paved. Which is fine but we wanted something more challenging. We wanted to climb, jump and leap over stuff. Luckily, as you went along the trail, there were places you could deviate off the path. It was mostly for rock climbers but there were paths where we could hike through without needing climbing equipment. Apparently you need to have a permit in order to climb the rocks, there were signs everywhere warning people. So we each got a permit (it's free...). We definitely don't have any experience, but now if we want to frolic in those areas, we won't have to worry about getting fined.

That's how we ended up in this crevice

Then we accidentally ended up on a trail we really weren't supposed to take. (We misread the signs)

You would have thought this would have been a sign.

It was really fun though. We got to go through narrow crevices and jump over fallen trees, trek through brush and avoid horse crap. Oh, and we met the man (Zebulon Pike) who discovered Pike's Peak after we ate lunch at the visitor's center.

Pike's is right behind them

One day we will go and hike up there. I seriously can't wait for spring to come back to all these places. Since it's winter, most of the animals are hibernating and all the plants are dead. It has to be so exciting when things are growing and bounding around.

Click here for more Garden of the Gods photos.

Our First Hiking Trip: Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater

A lot of fun things to talk about! Aside from the awesome and fun hiking trip we went on today, we also discovered an awesome pizza place yesterday.

Normally, I cook our lunch and dinner for the week ahead of time on the weekend so we just need to heat up our food during the week. I love this way of eating on many levels. The most important... we don't have to bang our heads to figure out what to eat for lunch and dinner everyday. And it's a great way to eat healthy. You're going to eat what you have already made, right? So you cook a healthy meal for the week and you're guaranteed to healthy for the week. It does seem kind of boring at first, but that's what the weekend is for. Sometimes the food goes into the weekend but not always and that's how we end up going out to eat at least once. I could cook extra food but you never know what will happen on the weekend and I don't feel too comfortable eating something more than a week old. I did think about cooking a whole new meal just for the weekend but that's way too much work for me.

So anyway, we had no food in the apartment and that's how we ended up going to a pizza and wine restaurant Saturday night. And even though it was chilly, it was within walking distance, so we hoofed it. It's called Pino's Neighborhood Pizzeria and Wine Bar. And all my friends would love this place. The pizza that we had was delicious! It was so delicious there was no time for a photo. Taking a photo was an afterthought. AND they had a room that you could see from the restaurant that was full of wine. I don't drink a lot of wine but we have a lot of friends who love to enjoy a glass of wine. The vibe was great and the maitre d' busted out into opera when we entered (it was a coincidence). We will definitely be taking our friends there when they come to visit.

Even before we moved here, we kept talking about hiking the mountains when we finally got to Colorado. Sure you can hike in Florida but there are no mountains in Florida. And I wouldn't dream of hiking in the summer. Way too humid and gross and buggy. I could totally see myself hiking in the summer  in Colorado though.

So we went to a place called Red Rocks Park.Not only is it a park but they have a gorgeous amphitheater where they hold concerts. It is absolutely beautiful there!

This formation is one of the first things you see when you get into the park.

Another awesome formation

We drove up to a lot next to the trading post, which is near the amphitheater, and started on a trail that began there. It was just over a mile and a half but it was pretty amazing. The trail was definitely defined and there were stairs that were put into it, but it was still a decent workout. And we were strolling more than doing a brisk walk.

The beginning of the trail

Stairs!

When we got close to the end of the trail we came across the entrance for the amphitheater so we decided to go have a look. Oh man, you either climb a ton of stairs to get to it or climb a ramp all the way up. I was out of breath by the time we got to the actual entrance to the thing. And I don't know about David, but I was expecting to catch a glimpse of the amphitheater and then just enjoy the view from up there. Not true.

The amphitheater is open to the public when there is not an even going on! There were a TON of people working out or walking around.

People milling around

Some were running up and down the rows, some were running across each row, there was even a workout class on the stage working out! I was very impressed. I know I'm not there yet (Thanks thin air). There were a lot of steps to the top and I was getting winded halfway up. I have a long way to go.

My low level athleticism aside, this weekend was a lot of fun. We found a great place to eat. And our first hiking adventure was a success. In closing, all our friends need to come and visit so we can share these awesome things!!

If you would like to see more photos from the trip here's a link to the album: Red Rocks Park

First Week in Colorado

     It's been one week full week since we have moved here. Weather aside, it has been really different than living in Florida but really great. So far, we are really loving it here.

     I now work remotely and it's been fantastic! There were some concerns, like, would I be as productive as I was when I worked in the office. Or if I would even get up at a reasonable hour to work since my boss wanted me to have a set schedule. Luckily, there has been no problems so far and I plan to keep it that way. We converted our den into an office so I have a place to work and keep focused. And since I take David to the station for work, it keeps me motivated to stay on schedule. Now when the weather gets better and he decides to bike to work, that may change (it'll be fine). Haru keeps me company most of the day and the window is right next to me so I don't feel too cooped up.

Haru keeping me company

          Our neighborhood is pretty quaint but not tired. If that makes any sense. The neighborhood we lived in in Florida was tired and old. The people weren't awful but the vibe is completely different.

     This past weekend has been extremely cold. But, from what I learned, it doesn't get this cold very often. And when I say cold, I mean single digit cold. It also snowed Friday and Saturday. Nothing blizzard-like but still. It will be a little more reasonable this coming week. 

SNOW!!!

     Friday, David and his co-worker and boss went to a bar after work and I was invited. I was really on the fence because it was really cold that day and it snowed, but I decided to go since I wanted to get out. It was actually still snowing when I was at the station to catch the light rail to where they were. His work people introduced us to a great bar called The 1Up. It's more of a dive bar but the awesome thing is that they have a bunch of old arcade games from Pac Man and Q-Bert to Street Fighter 2 and Area 51. And from what I understand all games cost a quarter. So awesome. Definitely worth going again.

     We didn't really do much this weekend as far as exploring goes. We were focused on getting clothes that were warm. Sure this was a freak cold snap but we still didn't have anything that would help us be prepared for the weather. On that note, I now have a few workout clothes that will help me deal with the cold better if we decide to workout outside. I had a shirt and a nice thin warm jacket but I had not workout pants that were long enough. They were all capris. That's all you need in Florida. Not so much here so getting a few things will hopefully help me out.

     Seeing how things go during the week, we may do some exploring next week. I hope so anyway. I have heard about a lot of things we can do so I hope to talk about them very soon!

Introducing Myself

     Hello! Sue here as the newly Wedded Hippie Geek! After a lot of contemplating, I have decided to continue my blogging adventure. I started out blogging about my engagement and the process that my husband and I went through to bring our wedding together. I had so much fun blogging about our experience and sharing all the things I was working on with my family and friends that I wanted to continue on.

Us on our wedding day

     However, the problem after the wedding was I didn't really have anything to blog about; or rather, I didn't have a focus. There were a lot of things I would love to have blogged about but I didn't want to only talk about one thing. Then it came to me, I can just blog about the things that I enjoy and make it more like a life experience blog and make it encompass me: the Wedded Hippie Geek. Not only that, but my husband got a new job and now we moved from Florida to Colorado! So I plan to blog about our adventures adjusting to Colorado life and about the things I love.

     So, to start off, what will you expect with this blog? Not only the things we learn as we settle into Colorado life, but posts about interesting, fun and, hopefully, informational topics. Hence, my name!

     Firstly, I am a HUGE geek. Anime, movies, TV shows, books, music, video games and cartoons... I love it all. Obviously, I love certain shows and genres, but it will all be revealed as I continue on. I will start by saying that I have been on a BBC kick the last few months.

 The current Doctor. Still one season behind...

 One of my favorite franchises. Final Fantasy is also another

It makes me a little sad that this now in the classics category. I'm so old...

     Secondly, I am kind of a hippie. We are fairly conscious of what we recycle and what green products we buy. We also love to eat healthily. Sure there are those times that we will eat not-so-healthy foods but for the most part we are pretty good. I love to cook and it has been pretty interesting cooking foods that contain more wholesome foods than processed foods. Along that line, we are very health-conscious and try to lead general healthy lives.

     Lastly, we just got married in October and sharing about our journey being together may be interesting. Especially when we hit those big milestones in a marriage: buying a house and children.

     I like sharing the knowledge I have learned and fangirling with others with the interests that we share. So I am really looking forward to posting to this blog!

And with that, I would like to present a more normal picture of myself:

...with sangria =)