Belinda Olsen Photography » Utah Wedding & Portrait Photographer | Logan, Utah | 435-881-2184

PINIMAGE

My sister in law Charisse shared this amazing recipe with me for Greek Orzo Salad and I wanted to share it with you.  It’s really delicious!

Greek Orzo Salad

3/4 lb. orzo, cooked al dente
1 large cucumber, seeded, quartered lengthwise, and sliced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 c. chopped fresh dill (sometimes I substitute dried dill, it’s easier, but add less!)
3 T. dijon mustard
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb. feta cheese, crumbled
16 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I like it grilled)

Combine orzo, cucumber, green onions, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Place dill, vinegar and mustard in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the viniagrette over the orzo mixture and stir well to combine. Gently fold in the feta cheese. Can serve either warm or cold.  Enjoy!

**I’ve made this salad several times with fun varieties.  My favorite is to add artichoke  hearts, kalamata olives and roasted red peppers to the original recipe. Oh, and if you don’t like shrimp I’ve substituted other meats or even without any meat at all.

EMAILPOSTShare onfacebookTweetPOST

At the beginning of the year I wrote this blog post about being comfortable in my own skin.  It was really theraputic and honest for how I felt at the time.  I’ve mulled over those words and feelings over and over.  After visiting with doctors and having them put me on several medicines I decided enough was enough. I want to be as healthy as possible and try to be as medicine free as possible.  I decided to work on my bucket list goals 93 and 94, meet with a nutritionist and personal trainer.

I have been working Mary Dimmick for the last three weeks at the Sport’s Academy and she is wonderful!  She is honest, candid, direct, encouraging and a lot of fun to be around.  These two goals of mine have intimidated me for years.  I decided enough was enough and it was time to push my fears aside.  My first meeting with Mary was harder than I thought it would be….but each visit after that gets not only a lot easier, but enjoyable.

I go to the gym nearly every day, taking a quick Instagram photo each time. (some of my faves below) I eat as many whole and unprocessed food as possible.  The best thing…I’ve never felt better!  I actually really love and look forward to my time at the gym, riding my bike or doing something active.  Facing this fear has been really rewarding and I’ve learned a lot about my potential.  It’s really rewarding to see what can be accomplished when I believe in myself.

PINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGEPS If you like Zumba, you really need to come with me to Mary’s classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I have a couple guest passes to the Sports Academy 🙂

EMAILPOSTShare onfacebookTweetPOST
  • Sarah P - Very well put lil B. I also started in the same journey and am drug free as well, for the first time in 13 yrs! I’ve never felt better and I am so happy you feel the same! Zumba tonight?ReplyCancel

  • Brittany Brown Wall - I want to go to Zumba with you and make a fool of myself. 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Whitney Butterfield - So I creeped on you after you gave me your email. :]
    I would love to try Zumba!
    Also, have you ever done a cake smash photo shoot? It’s a long way off, but I want to get one done when Ethan turns one next June. :]ReplyCancel

  • Belinda Fanjul Olsen - Tell me when you want to come!ReplyCancel

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Utah companies, Paper Coterie.  Their company creates a large variety of products that you create using your photos: wall art, growth charts, recipe books, cards, and one of my favorites, memory keepers.  I’m a person that doesn’t love clutter.  I love to keep little momentos from various things but hate having clutter and papers I don’t know where to put.  My favorite solution has been these memory keepers. They are large enough to fit in full sheets of paper and several inches deep and hold a wide variety of items.  I have been giving them out as baby gifts and wedding gifts.  I love how mine looks on the bookcase with the beautiful photos from my friend, Kristin.  I wanted to share this with you because they are offering a promotion for $40 in credit by using the promo code, ‘WELCOME2012’ toward any product of your choice and all you have to pay for is shipping.  I hope you love your memory keeper as much as I love mine 🙂
PINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGEPINIMAGE

EMAILPOSTShare onfacebookTweetPOST