My Summer In Recipes
All throughout the year, I’ve had a tiny list of a few recipes I’d like to try. Well, when I realized I was home and had the whole Summer before me, that list kind of… exploded. Thanks to all of your suggestions and more, here is what I hope to make and bake over the next few months.
- Vegan peanut butter fudge
- Falafels
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Gluten-free Killer Cornbread
- Vegan Break-Up Bars
- Chickpeas From Dry
- Bob’s Red Mill GF Vanilla Cupcakes
- Chocolate Sorbet
- Raw Cashew “Ice Cream”
- Nut Milk
- Raw Chocolate Brownies more like Grezzo’s
- Sprouted Almond Butter
- Tart Frozen Yogurt
- Pomegranate Syrup
- Raw Vegan Chicken Salad
- Maple Pecan Ice Cream(or something of the like)
- Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Wow. I better get cooking, right? Thankfully, I have.
Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
Microwave Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup no-stir peanut butter*(smart balance recommended)
- 3/4 cup natural vegan butter substitute(earth balance recommended)
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder OR 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract**
In a bowl, microwave the vegan butter until melted. Add in the peanut butter and stir until fully incorporated. The mixture should be a thick liquid at this point. Whisk in the sugar and vanilla while slowly adding the milk as needed. Once all the ingredients have been mixed together, pour into a shallow square pan. Keep in the fridge loosely covered for at least 12-24 hours before cutting into.
*If the peanut butter is not solid at room temperature, the recipe will not set properly
**The powder is recommended because the alcohol in the vanilla extract will hinder the setting process somewhat
Good thing I’ve been running too…
14 Miles
I hoped to run 14 miles today, but honestly I did not know that I would. I put myself out on the road, and after the first few miles things just felt good. At 6.5 miles, when I could have cut it short, I knew I had it in me to keep going and going and made it all in under 2 hours. Wahoo! I was excited, and ready to eat a good meal for lunch.
Chickpea Salad
Chickpea Salad
Ah, nothing feels more refreshing than a Summer salad. I dressed spinach in this dressing and then mixed together chickpeas, golden raisins, raw cheddar, and a little maple syrup. The maple and sea salt really draw out the flavor in the cheddar to the point where it is too good for words. Have you been following your salads for salad a day?
Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge And Vegan GF Chocolate Cupcake
Dessert was the 2 things I’ve been holding in my head all day: A piece of vegan peanut butter fudge and a Sweet Utopia vegan GF chocolate cupcake. The fudge isn’t quite set to where I’d like it, but I couldn’t help digging in with a spoon; the flavor is dead on. This plus Tivoed Bobby Flay made for a perfect afternoon. Do you think I could get into a fudge throwdown with him?
Oatmeal With 365 Crunchy
I also had for the 2nd day in a row a bowl of oatmeal with 365 crunchy. What can I say? I’m obsessed. I like the crunch, but so often pre-flavored nut butters are smooth. So now that I’m on a 365 kick, I expect to be crunching away!
Organic Red Delicious Apple
Plus an organic apple for a good serving of fruit before dinner.
Sweet Chili Tofu With Broccoli, Basmati Rice With Coconut And Lime
For dinner I tried out this recipe.
Sweet Chili Tofu With Broccoli
I think I’ve got you matched here, Whole Foods. This was pretty fantastic. Sure, it wasn’t fried. But the flavor was nice and spicy. For the rice, we just cooked it normally and then drizzled with coconut milk and lime zest at the end. Magnifique! So simple and yet rich and flavorful.
What recipes do you hope to make this Summer? Or maybe you shouldn’t tell me because then my list will grow longer…
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 19 so far )Special
You might think someone who’s willing to post such a large portion of their life on the world wide web would live for attention. I don’t. In fact, in life I really hate being “special” in any way or getting extra attention at all. But some days that’s hard to avoid. Some days, you just stand out whether you’d like to or not.
Organic Red Delicious
Like this apple. It was probably the biggest piece of organic fruit I had ever seen. It held me over 2 and 1/2 hours. I love it when organic fruit is humongous; it gives me hope for organic farming.
Avery's 4th Birthday
We drove to New Hampshire for my cousins birthday party. It was at a local raquet club where the kids could swim in a pool. I conveniently forgot my bathing suit and went out to pick up the pizza with my father and grandfather. Of course, I didn’t want to be “special” but I couldn’t eat the pizza because of the crust. On the way back, we stopped at a natural food store where I found a salad bar.
Stir-Fried Greens, Pineapple, Organic Chicken
I was having a good vegan streak this weekend and wanted tofu, but chicken was what they had 
It was very tasty chicken, I must add. I also had some greens and pineapple, and ate off to the side trying not to seem “special”(though it was pretty obvious). I must add: pizza still smells really good even when you can’t/won’t eat it, and the one with pineapple and marinara sauce was tempting me.
Birthday Cake
Thank God for birthday cake, because I could have sworn he was turning 4! 8-| Obviously, I passed on this, but not on this…
Gluten-Free Vegan Midnight Chocolate Cupcake
The cupcakes I made were a hit, even though I really didn’t care for the frosting. Even my older cousin who doesn’t care for chocolate loved them. My aunt, in trying to describe them, gave them every “special” title in the book: vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, organic. I was surprised she didn’t add Jesus made them. They weren’t 100% organic, but they were all-natural.
Organic Baby Carrots And Orange Zevia
Coming home, I was really torn whether to try and go back to campus tonight or not. I was tired, not prepared, and overall a grouch, so that made the answer pretty simple after chewing on the last of some baby carrots and an orange Zevia. And since no one felt like cooking, it was out to dinner.
Coconut Curry Tofu And Veggies
I had such a coconut milk craving last night, you wouldn’t have believed it. We went to Big Fresh Cafe. After explaining why wheat noodles wouldn’t work for me in this dish, and that I’m just not a fan for rice, my plate was a big bowl of veggies, tofu, and coconut curry sauce. I’d rather get a big bowl of “special” ordered food I love than not eat 1/2 of it. And I loved this; I could have drank the sauce, but I didn’t. Come to think of it, that may not have been vegan if they used eggs or anchovy in the sauce. Regardless, I need to make curry more.
Endangered Species Deep Forest Mint
I bought this chocolate bar while at Whole Foods and started digging in with some mocha teeccino. It may be a project cleanout fail but it wouldn’t be much longer I could get a decent mint chocolate bar for $2.
And I finished up with the emotional roller coaster that is Brothers & Sisters and a bowl of oatmeal with almond butter, which photos my camera is withholding It’s probably just as well since I didn’t bother to photograph the 2 fingerfulls of almond butter and handful of almonds I had afterwards. I think I was on an almond kick, especially after baking these.
Recipe Test: Midnight Chocolate Cupcakes
As I’ve mentioned several times, Book Pub Co. sent me the vegan dessert cookbook Sweet Utopia to read and review. I talked about my first impression here, but this weekend I got to test my first recipe. What a fun task that was! I immediately eyed the midnight chocolate cupcakes for my cousin’s 3rd birthday party today. I confess to making the following substitutions to the recipe:
- All-purpose gluten-free flour and xanthan gum for the flour
- Teeccino in place of the the coffee
- Almond milk for the soy milk
Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream And Crumbled Cupcake
Two cupcakes suffered an, err, unfortunate oven accident, but their crumbs were still good for eating, so I made a cake and ice cream sundae with So Delicious vanilla bean ice cream. I am such a cake and ice cream person at heart. I can’t wait for the Summer since the grocery store near my home sells these ice creams for a dollar less than the Whole Foods near my school 🙂
The cupcake was impressively moist and “cakey”; I wouldn’t have thought that would be easy to recreate without eggs. The moisture must come from the fat ingredients, which seemed to work well. Overall, I think this recipe relies on a lot of sugar to be good(there are at least 4 sources of it), when in fact this makes an impressive cake all its own and doesn’t need to distract with sweetness. I would definitely give this one a thumbs up.
Red Delicious Apple
I snacked on a red delicious watching Sherlock Holmes. In truth, I was paying more attention to my work and didn’t see most of the movie. I just like having British accents playing in the background. Can I get a white noise CD like that?
Oatmeal With Turbinado Peanut Butter
And I fashionably finished off the night with oatmeal and peanut butter. This one almost tasted like Garden Grille‘s, except the chunks of sugar didn’t dissolve and made this really crunchy. I’ll discover you yet!
Chocolate Frosting
I think the best thing is when you get to wake up and first thing make frosting. Run? Coffee? Breakfast? That can all wait. Chocolate first.
Midnight Chocolate Cupcake With Frosting
Perhaps surprisingly, I wasn’t a fan of this frosting recipe. It came out so thick, it was like fudge! It just wasn’t very spreadable or much more than melted chocolate. It would make for a good ganache filling, but it certainly didn’t come out like a “frosting”. I have to say, it was super simple to make, though. Believe it or not, I didn’t eat a cupcake for breakfast.
Oatmeal With Plain PB, Siggi's Orange Ginger Yogurt With Chocolate Chips
That’s more nutritious. I topped oatmeal with some 365 brand peanut butter(see, I practice what I preach). I also tried my very first Siggi! I chose the orange ginger flavor, since it sounded so exotic, and topped it with the vegan chocolate chips(you would too if you’d been handling them for 2 days). It was good, but it was a tad undersweetened for me; maybe I just have a sweet tooth to rival Averie’s. But what a fun flavor. And it’s so thick! Love it.
Are you a cake, brownie, or cookie person? I’m all about the cake, which is why cupcakes seemed perfect for this birthday party. I just love the light and airiness to the dessert! If I want something dense and chewy, I’d rather just eat a chocolate bar.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 13 so far )Why Fish For Lunch And Tofu Is Local
It’s the last Friday in Lent and I didn’t slip! Not on eating meat, not on eating “prepared soy”, not on anything. Trust me: There have been some times when I almost threw it all by eating bacon peanut brittle on a Friday(only I could make this mistake…), but not today. Of course, my biggest challenge came on the last day…
Avocado Kale Salad With Roasted Cashews, White Fish With Lemon
I ended up eating lunch at Whole Foods again, this time with my dad on the way to Boston and then home for Easter weekend. When I got to the salad bar, all I could find was meat and tofu. And it looked goood. The one fish I was able to find had a wheat cracker coating, so I brushed that off and added a lemon wedge. It was totally overcooked and tough; in a phrase, it was Lent.
Avocado Kale Salad With Roasted Cashews
Trilogy Kombucha
Of course, I had to have more of that amazing kale and avocado salad; I can’t wait to try to make this myself! And kombucha is on sale this week so I had a trilogy flavor to wash that all down. Yum!
Green & Black Cherry Dark Chocolate
Actually, before lunch I went for a run. My “prerun fuel” was 4 more squares of Green & Black cherry dark chocolate. Would I fuel with anything else 😉 I did not feel like I had energy the first 3 miles; in fact, I thought of cutting it short early just because it felt like I was “chugging along” and not really running. I may not run pretty, but I have good endurance and I convinced myself I could “chug” the full 9.5.
9.5 Miles At 8:12 Pace
When I got back, my jaw almost dropped looking at my watch. I “chugged” the 9.5 mile route 3 minutes faster than I had so far this year. Apparently, I don’t know my own speed! That kale and avocado salad from yesterday must have been my running magic, which is why I took it again today 😉
"The Vegan" Cupcake
I don’t suppose it would surprise you if I told you we went to another Whole Foods after passing through Boston, would it? This cupcake was part of my birthday celebration; it’s “chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips, a chocolate ganache center and chocolate frosting” and all vegan. It’s made by Kickass Cupcakes, so it’s all-natural, but it’s not gluten-free. I’ll just be paying for that last part later.
Cupcake And Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream Sundae
First thing we grabbed at Whole Foods was chocolate So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream, a spoon, and a cup. There’s something so amazing about buying a pint of ice cream and eating it on the spot. When that was devoured, we got almost all our groceries for Easter Sunday, and headed across the way to the 2nd most glorious place on earth:
Trader Joe's
I can’t believe this must have been the first time I went in to a Trader Joe’s in over a month! There were some new goodies to gawk at, but I wasn’t there to dilly-dally. My favorite fun find was milk chocolate peanut butter eggs(!!). I’m thinking/hoping these are going to be like the Reeses’ eggs.
Organic Fuji Apple
Putting away the groceries, I snacked on an organic apple. The coconut milk I was trying to bring home totally went bad after 5 hours in the car 😦 Good thing we got a new can. We also wanted to eat out for a birthday dinner but the restaurant had nothing free tonight. Double 😦 Good thing we had groceries for dinner, too.
Maple Baked Tofu, Roasted Broccoli And Sweet Potato Chunks Drizzled With Maple Syrup
I did what I always do when I feel like a simple meal; I threw maple coated tofu, steamed broccoli, and raw sweet potatoes in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes. At least I know I couldn’t go wrong here. And you really do learn something new everyday. At dinner, my mom told me the man who started Nasoya lived two doors down when we first moved in(I would have been 2 or 3). I’ve always known Nasoya’s a Massachusetts company, but I didn’t realize we were that close. I like to think that means I’m eating local whenever I have tofu 😉
And now, as you might have guessed, I’m at home. Man Vs. Food is on the Television. I completely embrace the crappy and addictive shows whenever I can get them. Happy Friday and do enjoy whatever is your “guilty television programming” 😀
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 12 so far )Oopsies, Daisies, And Half Marathons
I was going to right a post about added sugars(which were not my crowning glory the past 14 hours), but then I accidentally ran a half marathon. Oops. I’m hoping that’s more interesting, as I look at the other “oopses” that led to that happy accident.
Peanut Butter Q.Bel Wafer Roll, Coconut Oil Chocolate
As you must know, I’m addicted to Survivor; I’ve watched every season! Last night, I was so enthused to see a reward for–what else–chocolate. Apparently, I must think I’m a contestant this season, because I went ahead and made a chocolate plate of my own to rival the prize. Oops. It was certainly tasty, though. The coconut oil chocolate got a little soft at room temp, but was fine with a spoon to finish it off.
Peanut Butter Q.bel Wafer Roll
I forgot how much I loved these peanut butter wafer rolls from Q.bel;; I should read my own reviews more often, haha. They taste so much more peanut buttery than you’d think, and it’s all natural! I only wish they’d be gluten-free, which I forgot they weren’t. Oops. As you can(and will) see, I’m awful about eating how I should.
Oatgurt With Vanilla Chobani And Nuttzo
I’ve never been one for oatgurt, but I thought I’d give it a shot since I was craving oatmeal and greek yogurt. Pouring salt over all of this was a BIG oops and made the yogurt taste nasty. After I scooped that off, it wasn’t half-bad, but still wasn’t half good. At least the Nuttzo didn’t have any added sugar thankfully? I’ll take a win in the nutrition department where I can get it. Perhaps this wasn’t such a big flop since it really nutrient-loaded me for the morning.
Fudge Mint Back To Nature Cookies
I set my alarm purposefully 10 minutes earlier, knowing if I wanted to get a long run in(still unsure how long), this would be easier than extending it 10 minutes later. While sipping some coffee and changing, I snacked on 3 Fudge Mint Back To Nature cookies. What can I say? When a cookie is a 10/10, you’ve just gotta munch on it 🙂 Plus, I was sure those added sugars would help me just a little bit(Note: These are also not a gluten free food, proving moreso my awfulness in that respect. Oops).
13.1 Miles In 1:57:39
I think it helped me to run 13.1 miles that there was always somebody else on the treadmills around me; that kind of atmosphere is so much more encouraging. I had planned for 12, but when I got there and it wasn’t even 9 o’clock, I figured why not go for it?My record(also on the treadmill) is 1:46:28. For my race(in 16 days), I’d hope to run it in 1:40, though won’t be disappointed by anything. It’ll also be my furthest distance ran outside!
Chocolate Avocado Pudding, Vanilla Chobani With 1/2 A Gluten Free Cupcake And Butter Toffee Peanut Butter
Vanilla Chobani With 1/2 A Gluten Free Cupcake And Butter Toffee Peanut Butter
And then there was refueling. As silly as it may sound, I didn’t have oats this morning in part because I didn’t want to have to look at one of those green plastic bowls again 😦 I can’t wait to buy a real one. Who needs oats, anyway, when you have flavors like these? I topped a vanilla chobani with my last Bob’s Red Mill gluten free vanilla cupcake–I think that deserves a moment of silence right there–and some butter toffee peanut butter ala Naturally Nutty. I made my standard chocolate avocado pudding with Xagave in place of stevia. After 13.1 miles of rough labor, I’d rather give my body a caloric sweetener rather than risk confusing it. Now if only I had measured or used a little digression on adding that sugar …
So there you have it: Fueling for an accidental half marathon. I think this goes along with the emphasis in this post that if you’re a regular exercisor, you really need not worry about overdoing it. Of course, there are exceptions to be said about any statement. But extra energy sure will show out in your workout. Now, you can enter here for a raw chocolate giveaway, or here for a Fresh & Fit carry container! And even though I don’t have classes on Friday(whoopee!) I have somewhere I need to be soon and am under-prepared for(Oops). Happy Friday!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 17 so far )No Crying Over Dropped Oatmeal
It’s a Wendesday! You know what that means… new Whole Food circulars! I get excited about Wednesday for all the wrong reasons 😀 But–if you’re a Providence reader–you simply need to get out grocery shopping today. It’s the last day kombucha and organic avocadoes are on sale at Eastside Market, and now at Whole Foods you can get organic broccoli, Kerrygold butter, and brownies all for more than cheap! I’m going to *try* to get to at least the former today.
Gingerade Kombucha
Speaking of kombucha, last night after supper I had a Gingerade kombucha. This is probably my favorite of the Synergy flavors. I just love anything ginger, and this is so robust! I sipped on this doing work and watching the Biggest Loser; last night’s episode just seemed “meh” to me. It also made me remember how much I hate when they lose weight but aren’t happy with how much. Every little step towards being healthy counts! Big changes don’t need to be made overnight, and–in real life, at least–there is no “game” to play. So often on that show they lose sight of what matters.
Soy Yogurt With Milk Chocolate Peanuts
For a dessert I mixed some agave into a So Delicious soy yogurt and crumbled a few too many Sunspire milk chocolate peanuts on top. I love that I can get these peanuts from the bulk bin; it’s all that saves me from going poor having to buy the individual packages. The yogurt not surprisingly wasn’t too sweet because I used agave instead of vanilla stevia I think there’s a time and place for both–this would have been a stevia moment.
Pumpkin Oatmeal With Chocolate Peanut Butter And Chunky PB
Afterwards, I was definitely feeling a little nutty. I whipped up some pumpkin oatmeal and added a spoonful of Justin’s Chocolate Peanut Butter and 365 brand crunchy(which you can get for $1 with the new Whole Deal flyer. If I went overboard on the peanut butter, it’s because this combo was fantastic. It reminded me of eating a crunchy peanut butter cup(do they even make those?). So good.
I happily woke up this morning after 8 hours of sleep right with my alarm at 6:50 and the sun shining in and did not feel like running at the gym; it just seemed like too much work, and I have enough of that. Instead, I spent the first few hours in bed with a good book(read: homework book), some coffee, my laptop and breakfast. This was definitely the way I needed to start today. This, however, was not.
Shattered Bowl And Oatmeal
Why did I title the post how I did Because I totally want to cry. I had just put the toppings on my oatmeal, and randomly decided to carry it back to the microwave for reheating. It was so hot I lost my handle and, well, the rest was history. At least the bowl was only from the ever exclusive Targe and I can probably get another one easily. Call me crazy(please don’t), but I even made an effort to save what peanut butter I could; I hardly had any left of the cookie dough peanut butter and I’m not sure if P.B. Loco exists as a company. After that fiasco, I remade the oatmeal in something I couldn’t possibly break.
Oatmeal With Cookie Dough Peanut Butter And Strawberry Jam, Chobani With 1/2 Gluten Free Cupcake
There’s definitely something to the thought that we eat with our eyes; even though this was the exact same amount of oats and everything, it looked 10 times less appetizing(the first bowl was a real beauty). Shame, too, because the flavors of vanilla and strawberry were really uplifting and reminded me of Summer.
Chobani With 1/2 Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcake
At least this yogurt couldn’t possibly have been a failure. I am really loving these gluten-free cupcakes more and more and definitely want it as my full birthday cake; Bob’s Red Mill makes a fine product!
I had planned to go for an 8-9 mile outdoor run in about an hour. Now I just don’t know what the morning holds. The night, on the other hand, looks a little better; I have another one of those 6(now 7) extracurricular things but this one should be a goody 😉 And definitely a boost I need to make it through this week. Lastly, check out this double giveaway from Iowa Girl!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 17 so far )Candy, The Oscars, And Other Lies Your Mother Told You
I don’t think anything but the first 3 words of that title are really fitting, but it sounded nice 🙂 Up first, the candy!
Jokerz Go Max Go Foods Candy Bar
I knew I wanted something “special” for Oscars night, so I picked out this all-natural candy bar from Whole Foods earlier in the day. It’s 1 of 4 Go Max Go Foods makes, it’s vegan, and it involves a layer of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts wrapped in (vegan) milk chocolate; sound heavenly, anybody? Well, I was really hoping it would be after dropping $2.50 on it.
Jokerz Go Max Go Foods Candy Bar
Food porn alert! The Jokerz bar was everything I could have hoped for and more; because I really wanted to describe it to you well, I even made up a review page for it. Even though you practically had to claw the $2.50 out of my hands to get me to pay for this at first(yes, that’s right, $2.50), I’m already planning when I should buy another. I figure it’s not that bad either if you think of it less like a candy bar and more like going out to get frozen yogurt with 10 different toppings, especially since I’d probably rather have this.
Oatmeal With Chocolate Peanut Butter
Of course, I was watching The Oscars all throughout, and made this oatmeal with Justin’s chocolate peanut butter at some point. I thought Steve and Alec were some of the funniest host of any show in years; what less could you expect of them? But oh my God did the show drag on! At 11:40, after the best actor award, I had to throw in the towel.
Homemade Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
I really should have gone to bed when I was tired at 11; staying up an extra hour when you already have troubles sleeping sometimes is not productive. But I really wanted to see the show, which then caused midnight snack cravings including this homemade Reeses’ from Valentine’s day. The secret for me for a good homemade peanut butter cup is a) milk chocolate, b) powdered sugar, c) salted peanut butter. It’s as simple as candy making 🙂
Apple
When my alarm went off at 6:50 this morning–well, that was a big fat no thank you. I can not do with 7 hours of sleep; I did that and less through most of high school and I’m enjoying the full 8 hours I get these days, thank you very much. I slept in another 45 minutes, and got to the gym 35 minutes behind planned(how I gained those 10 I have no clue). I grabbed an apple to eat fast beforehand, too.
12 Miles in 1:45:59
Well, I got just what I wanted, on the TV that is. I really wanted to hear all the Oscar buzz and recaps and see what I miss, and that was all over The Today Show. I’m so happy for my Hollywood crush, Sandra Bullock! She definitely deserved it. Now if only I’d see that movie… To be honest, these 12 miles were tough. I really wanted to quit after 8, and for no other reason than time. But then I thought about the Oscar winners, who put the time into what they wanted and got great outcomes from that. That thought and simply not looking down at distance pushed me through.
Butter Toffee Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Greek Yogurt With Vanilla Cupcake And Jelly Beans
After powerwalking to the campus cafe and back, showering, pressing tofu, shoving laundry in the machine, and fuddling with the microwave, breakfast was served; gotta love Mondays. I quickly threw some in with a little too little water and topped that with a big scoop of butter toffee peanut butter by Naturally Nutty. That tasted like candy, but actually candy found its way onto my yogurt.
Agave Sweetened Greek Yogurt With 1/2 Vanilla Cupcake And Jelly Beans
The combination here might seem weird to some, but it makes perfect sense to me. We always have celebrated my birthday and Easter together with the relatives(and more recently my baby cousin’s birthday), so cake and eggs? Sure, why not. Throw in a milk chocolate bunny, too, while you’re at it. I sweetened the plain yogurt just with some Xagave; I don’t know how other bloggers can do it but truly plain yogurt does not sit well with my taste buds.
Well, lastly it’s time for some lies 🙂 Astra and a bunch of you have tagged me for the 7 lies meme and so I’m finally throwing in the towel and giving it a go. You can also enter Astra’s contest here to win some peanut butter along with guessing her lies! Can you spot the truth? I’ll leave this running through tomorrow. And, in lieu of tagging anyone because I have no clue who–if anyone–hasn’t done this, consider yourself tagged if you haven’t but really want to. Now, my laundry is definitely ready to switch machines, and I’m having too much fun with jelly beans(it rhymed!).
1. My favorite candy growing up was Snickers!
2. I was debating between going to Princeton, Stanford, and Brown. While I think I might have got a better education at Princeton, I stuck more local to be near my family.
3. I’ve been on every continent but Antarctica(I’m coming for you, glaciers ;-)).
4. I left my passport on a plane on a school trip to Greece, but thankfully we got it before the plane left the gate
5. I speak fluently 3 languages.
6. My parents were extremely strict on anything electronic growing up, so I never owned a video game console until I got one as a High School graduation present.
7. The first time I had greek yogurt was in Greece on restaurant sidewalk with peaches and honey.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 12 so far )Go Ahead, Overdo It
It’s snowing! I just had to let that one out. It’s not going to accumulate to much, if anything, but I’m always so happy to see the white stuff 🙂
Last night, after posting, I went to the dining hall to grab some yogurt. At dinner you can use your meals to pay for some instead of points, and they sell Chobani. I couldn’t decide what/how many I would reasonably need without filling my fridge unnecessarily. I decided to grab 3: 2 pomegranates and a vanilla(they never have any plain). I thought this might have been overdoing it. Clearly, as you’ll see all 3 in this post, I was wrong.
Pomegranate Chobani With Organic Endangered Species Dark Chocolate
While watching The Biggest Loser, I made a reasonably healthy snack of pomegranate Chobani with a few squares of Endangered Species‘ organic dark chocolate. Not to be confused with this one I reviewed, these came from a full sized bar my dad paid for from Whole Foods. If I were reviewing it, I’d actually score it slightly less than the 1.4oz; the flavors the same, but I really like the notion of a quality, organic chocolate bar that’s single-sized. HUGE chocolate bars seem to be one place where overdoing it is not a cool thing
I loved The Biggest Loser last night and that it’s back on air. The challenge in the first half was pretty great, if you ask me. But really, what’s 2000 calories when you’re in a gym all day with Bob and Jillian? I feel like the contestants have probably eaten that much extra junk at one time without even realizing it. They might have overdone it a bit, but at least they were self aware and could kick their own butts next time.
Carob Chip Perfect Foods Bar
I started winding down the evening with a carob chip perfect foods bar. I still enjoyed this one, but I think I got even less of a carob/chocolate flavor than the first one I ate. Maybe carob just doesn’t work for my tongue? That’d be weird. I do seem to love my chocolate 😀 Still, the honey and peanut butter flavors in this are fantastic. After a “meal replacement” bar and some light history reading, I’d have thought I’d be full and ready for bed…
Pomegranate Chobani With Chocolate Covered Almonds
Apparently not! Last night, I really felt like I could eat a horse and a half. And I’ve felt like this a couple of nights looking back. Taking the rest day really helped me realize what I need: more time off, and more fuel. A lot of exercise kills hunger(ironic, isn’t it?) so I’ve come to think been listening to my hunger too well in the morning and throughout the day until it strikes right back at night; the brain can know best. At least in my repeat of pomegranate Chobani I tried something knew.
Organic Chocolate Covered Almonds
I just love Tierra Farm and all they’ve sent me that I’ve tried so far, so I was happy to try another new thing from them. The fact that these were chocolate covered made me 10 times happier 😀 These chocolate covered almonds were nothing fantastic, per say; they tasted a lot like chocolate and almonds, but didn’t really pull together the way macaroni and cheese do. But I loved that they’re organic and vegan. I used to eat up Emerald’s cocoa almonds until I saw sucralose(aka Splenda) on the ingredient list–not on my nuts! I would happily take these in lieu of those.
Apple And Coffee
This morning, I woke up knowing that I very well could need more time off than 1 day to recover from overtraining. That being said, I felt pretty good. I wasn’t particularly hungry from last night’s greek yogurt feasting, but I grabbed an apple. In light of overdoing things, an apple was the least I could eat before a good run. I can’t wait until it’s actually bright and sunny when I wake up again!
11 Miles In 1:38:49
On my run this morning, I truly felt fantastic. At first I was a little nervous, not because of anything running related but because some television channels changed their a.m. line-up; what the heck? I was gone for 1 day! Back to the run, this was where overdoing it really paid off. I felt energized, relaxed, and ready. I was only planning for 8-10 but overdid it and went for 11, partially because I felt so damn good and also because Lady Antebellum was on The Today Show performing then.
This gave me time to think about how there might really be 3 types of bloggers. I don’t mean to offend anyone; on the contrary, I think there’s a lot to be praised about some of you. I’m sorry in advanced if this gets taken any other way.
Type 1: You eat “healthy” and are extremely athletic–an energized and bubbly person. You know any fuel you take in will go to good use, and the overdoing it is just good fueling.
Type 2: You eat “healthy” and workout to a moderate extent to lower your weight or for some other health related reason that you need to get control of.
Type 3: You yourself would call yourself type 2 when a lot of your fantastic readers realize just how healthy you are and would easily put you as type 1.
95% of the blogs I read I would say are type 1 or type 3. It kills me to read a blogger who I think looks perfectly happy and healthy and is amazingly athletic talk about wanting to lose weight or be another way. Restricting your diet when you’re an active person is restricting all that you can be. So go ahead! Overdo it! And the results will show up in the gym, or on the scale but in a good way.
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix
Breakfast was another thing I gave a lot of thought to on the treadmill. In particular, there’s one nifty bowl I’ve been wanting to give a try ever since picking this up and baking with it over the weekend.
Pumpkin Oatmeal With Butter Toffee Peanut Butter, Birthday Cake Chobani
Birthday Cake Chobani
My real birthday isn’t for about a month, but I can celebrate early, right 😉 In the vanilla Chobani, I added 1/2 a serving of the mix, and then crumbled 1/2 a cupcake on top. Yum! This wasn’t quite as good as any cake-flavored ice creams I’ve tried(I’ve yet to find a really good, all-natural brand :-/), but it was really really yummy all things considering. And then, because that had only about 1/4 tablespoon coconut oil in all of it, I had pumpkin oatmeal with a big plop of Naturally Nutty butter toffee peanut butter on it. I just opened this 15oz jar a few nights ago and I’m already thinking I might need to place a new order soon! Great…
OK, so maybe if you’re lined up to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser, you shouldn’t overdo it; otherwise, dig in. All that fuel will show up as performance. Now the one area in my life I haven’t been overdoing it this week seems to be homework, particularly History. So if you’ll excuse me…
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 17 so far )Priorities And Directions
Good evening. I’ll just mention now that I’m bloggin’ from another state! But more on that in a bit. When I was wrapping up the post from this morning, I was thinking how much I really wanted to walk to Whole Foods, but didn’t have a lot of free time. Where are my priorities! I’m scarily good about doing what “should” be done, but not so good about always doing what I “want” to do. At that point, I let the dishes be dirty, the emails go unanswered, and stepped out the door. I know, I’m a rebel 😉
Groceries
I grabbed the typical stuff for next week: soy yogurt, beef, condiments, etc. The only thing they didn’t have was any soft tofu >:-( We got that a little later on in the day, though. And I say we because my dad met me at Whole Foods to pay for this and pick me up(double score). I just really felt like I needed a trip home this weekend after a lot of work and 3 weeks of not being in my own bed. So I packed up and was out of there!
Buffalo Chicken, Broccoli, Snikiddy Cheddar Cheese Fries
On the way back to good ol’ MA, we stopped a different Whole Foods to grab some lunch. I grabbed buffalo chicken off the food bar, a bag of new chips that were on sale, but broccoli out of the produce section(!!). This is the trick to eating at Whole Foods without breaking the bank: get the things that are cheaper raw and cook them in the microwave–it’s so simple and instead of $7 a pound broccoli was $1.50 a pound.
Snikiddy Cheddar Cheese Fries
These were the chips that were on sale made by Snikiddy and oh my God were they brilliant! I had never tried any of their products, but if it’s on sale I’ll definitely give them a taste. Cheddar Cheese Fries says it all; these were like straight up Cheetos. Heavenly. Unfortunately, Whole Foods didn’t have one of the Bob’s Red Mill products I was looking for, so we went across the way(literally, right across the street) to Market Basket.
Bob's Red Mill Products
Check out that selection! And it’s all super cheap because nothing costs much at Market Basket(granted, most of the stuff they sell I wouldn’t want to touch with a 10-foot pole). I definitely need to keep this place in mind more often.
Red Delicious Apple
After I found what I wanted, I snacked on this apple until we got home safe and sound, where mom and Montana were waiting to say hello. Apparently, it’s been snowing in MA all week, or at least moreso than it has at all at school. Now, for the big unveiling…
GF Vanilla Cake Mix, Coconut Oil, Eggs
What I wanted to pick up was Bob’s Red Mill‘s gluten-free vanilla cake mix! God, I really need to lay off the exclamation marks in this post. Normally, I wouldn’t use a mix, but since I know so little about gluten-free baking I felt like I needed to the first time. But Bob’s is a good one because it uses whole grain gluten-free flours(very important to me). I used 1/2 the bag to make 8 cupcakes. And, while it called for vegetable oil, I asked myself “WWFLBD?” or “what would fat-loving bloggers do?” and swapped that out for an equal amount of coconut oil. Is there anything coconut can’t do?
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcake With Coconut Oil Vanilla Frosting
I couldn’t wait longer than 30 minutes for them to cool; these smelled too good. And they tasted too good, too! So perfectly light, airy, and sweet. The texture was a bit chewy, but I think that’s just the general way of gluten-free flours and eggs. For a frosting, I mixed powdered sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla extract–heavenly. But you know what they say about cupcakes…
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcake
1 is just not enough. At least I didn’t frost this one? It may have been a bit more sugars than I’m used to in an afternoon, especially an afternoon where all I did was find TV shows like Friends on channels I haven’t had in a while, but no regrets; when there’s cake around baked fresh, you better eat it up! To compensate, there at least was a vegan dinner.
Asparagus, Snobby Joe Mix
I actually love green lentils. Too bad they aren’t more dorm-room friendly. For the mix, a little ketchup and mustard and a lot of steak sauce and voila! It’s so good! And I couldn’t imagine a more homey meal. On the side was asparagus grabbed from Whole Foods because, well, they really keep this house bare. And now it’s already almost 7:30; how did that happen? I need to get a move on things! I can’t wait to hear what people think of the cupcakes once they eat them for dessert(obviously, I hated them ;-)).
Here’s a popchip giveaway! Perfect for fueling my addiction.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 23 so far )My Cupcake’s Been Drinking
Let me start off by saying this is the 5th post I’ve written today so if I sound a little blogged out and speedy with my words that’d be why. But I don’t mind because I love it 🙂
Prepared Dinner
After blogging earlier I wanted to get a start on dinner, which I figured either I’d be making or it’d turn into a mishmosh of instant soups. I dethawed frozen wild salmon filets and rubbed them with thyme and lemon, steamed some broccoli for roasting, and scrubbed and wrapped some sweet potatoes. I swear this cooking thing isn’t nearly as much of a chore as my mom makes out sometimes 🙂 After all that, I figured that people wouldn’t be home for quite some time(not like they actually call to say when they’re coming…) so I made a protein packed snack.
Chobani 2% With Peanut Flour, Salt, And Turbinado Sugar
Yum! Adding a touch of salt is definitely the trick when working with peanut flour. Just like I rarely eat unsalted nut butter after having tasted the salted variety, I doubt I’ll go back to not salting my yogurt. Weird? In theory. But delicious at heart. By 6 I finally got around to doing things I’d been meaning to all day. Like shave. Wouldn’t have going to NY with a stubbly face been fun? I could have blended in with the homeless men. First my mom came home and then only 40 minutes late my dad, so that we could have dinner.
Lemon And Thyme Salmon, Sweet Potato, Broccoli Fries
The salmon was a bit overdone and the broccoli a bit under but all in all it was good enough. I portioned out 3oz of meat for myself and was set with that(although I really wasn’t even in the mood tonight so I might as well have dove into the 1/2 eaten can of chickpeas in the fridge). The sweet potato was nicely roasted, but I showed some restraint because I knew there’d be dessert. After cleaning up we called my mom down to celebrate her birthday.
Kickass Cupcakes
My dad got cupcakes from a Boston bakery called Kickass Cupcakes. We used to always get a cake from a Chinatown bakery but these are all all-natural so we could all enjoy them. He got the Yule Nog, Banana Cream, Mojito, and Caramel Macchiatto. I also gave out all my presents(which were sort of Christmas presents but I wanted to get them done with). My mom got a Beads For Life bracelet and my dad a jar of NuttZo(he is like me and was very easy to shop for lol). After making some coffee, I grabbed this as my own.
The Yule Nog
The Yule Nog is described as a “gingerbread cupcake with brandied egg nog frosting dusted with nutmeg”. The base was just OK, except when I got a bite of whole ginger which was WOW. The frosting… when is frosting ever bad? 🙂 Especially when it has brandy 😀 I have no expectation of this holding me over very long, so I expect to be making oats with peanut butter and pumpkin in a little bit.
Like I pointed out in this post, I’ve been a bit forgetful today. So forgetful in fact I forgot I should pack a plethora of snacks and entertainment for tomorrow. We’re leaving at 7:15 to drive to a Connecticut train station to ride into New York for 11. Then we’re meeting friends at this restaurant(which, as I look at the menu, am not so enthusiastic for) and seeing a play(tbd). Then we’ll probably mosey about, check out Times Square, eat a cheap dinner and be home by midnight(I’ll be so dead by this time I won’t know what’s going on). That doesn’t mean I won’t be “posting”; check back tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon for the down low on a little known condiment and a new technique for your repertoire.
Edit to add: I’m psychic.
Pumpkin Oatmeal With White Chocolate Wonderful And Honey Maple Peanut Butter
That or really predictable. I actually think it’s the latter. At least this used up the last of the can so I don’t have to think about that growing older while I’m away. And the white chocolate wonderful was… wonderful 🙂 I also packed the food for tomorrow.
NYC Trip Food
Let’s not point out just all the craziness I pack. Honestly, I’d love to just go to NYC with nothing(except what I’ll need for breakfast and snacks for 8 hours of transportation) and really live it up in the city as a foodie. Unfortunately, the people we’re meeting are not likewise thinkers, so I expect foodie touring to be to a minimum and going to a lot of places where my menu options will be limited. That’s why I ended up packing so much and a variety to choose from for my taste buds. Can you tell that my “dream trip” to New York would involve visiting this restaurant? I would be over the moon.
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