Caramel Apple Weekend

Dolly Parton knows what's up

Dolly Parton has her Hard Candy Christmas, I have my Caramel Apple Weekend…it’s kind of the same thing except with less singing and dancing prostitutes.  So actually, it’s not the same thing at all.  But I still think I deserve a song!

This was a whirlwind of a weekend!  So first off, how did the Herbalife go?  Well, I would say mixed (or shaken, as it were).  Honestly, I only had 1 shake all weekend and didn’t take any of my pills…whoops!  Friday night I cooked dinner for a friend, shwarma seasoned chicken, homemade faluffins (falafels baked in a mini muffin tin…delicious and adorable!), green beans, hummus and pita bread.  So then Saturday morning there was one little chicken thigh left and that became breakfast.  I did end up with a shake for lunch, which worked better than I thought.  Honestly I got really hungry, still had to round up laundry, do dishes, go shopping, all this weekender stuff and nonsense and just started worrying about what I could throw together with what I had around without even thinking about the shakes, and when I did think about them I figured I was way to hungry for a shake to be satisfying.  But I caved (mostly because I had nothing easy to make or clean to make it in) and made myself a peach cobbler Shakey Shake, drank it while I was doing stuff around the house, and it was delicious and astonishingly filled me up until dinner!  I know, I know…I was skeptical, but it worked out and so it will make it that much easier to keep transitioning to that mind set going forward.  Of course part of the thing with weekends is that I really don’t have a set schedule that makes “breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks” a thing like it is on the weekdays.  If I am getting up around 11:30am, I am usually eating around 2pm, then maybe a snack later, but probably not much until dinner time and maybe a snack late night depending on how things go, but a third meal usually doesn’t happen and the chances of me being out are much higher.  Sometimes a shake is going to work in there, sometimes it isn’t.  But I do have the trust in them now that they can be quick, satisfying, and worth it if the other option for lunch at home is a box of mac and cheese or take out once I hit the road. 

***Peach cobbler Shakey Shake recipe – scoop of peach jam, big sprinkle of cinnamon, 2 scoops Vanilla Formula 1, carton of peach yogurt.  YUM!!!  Seriously, the good peach jam I got from the Greek market totally made this!  Tasted just like a big scoop of peach cobbler icecream or something. 

I actually did a lot of cooking this weekend.  My friend Jessica came over Saturday and I made salsa chicken (thin cut chicken breast filets, in pam, smothered in salsa, sprinkled with cheese, baked), roasted broccoli with balsamic/olive oil/Italian cheese/smoked sea salt, wild rice pilaf, and a very burned batch of cornbread mini muffins that we picked the centers out of because what wasn’t toasty was tasty :-P  I normally make cornbread from scratch, but for ease I had just picked up a box of Jiffy mix and a can of creamed corn…mix, bake, don’t burn, enjoy!  I obviously forgot one of those steps, oh well. 

Call them "Rustic" - they are still delicious!

I also made the aforementioned Caramel Apple Tarts of heavenly delight!  They got a little crazy because I didn’t have a top crust and the caramel went EVERYWHERE – oven is going to smell like burning sugar for awhile!  But they were super tasty and I am restraining myself from just sitting down and eating the pan!  Next time there will be more apples and a top crust to contain the caramel-ly goodness, but this was a winner of a dessert.  Recipe?  Ummmmm…make a pie crust, put it in your tart pan of choice, chop up a buttload of apples, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and lump them into the tart pans, put a glob of caramel in each one, sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar, bake at a hot temperature that seems about right for your oven (375ish for me) for about 30 minutes or until the pie crust looks golden brown.  Cool for as long as you can stand to keep out of them and then DEVOUR!!!!  I know, super scientific, right? This is why I am not a regular baker.

Fry 'em up!! Om nom nom

Sunday night was another cooking adventure.  I had bought a little package with 2 Butterfish at the store because they looked interesting, I have heard some tasty things about Butterfish, and they were only $3.  I see they have the heads on but that’s no biggie.  Of course what I DIDN'T see until I opened the package is that they also were still completely intact and had not been gutted or cleaned!  I had to laugh and think about how many of my friends would have freaked out at this, and instead I grabbed a knife and got into the good squishy stuff and then sent my dad a text thanking him for teaching me how to gut fish and not be squeamish about it when I was a wee youngin’ learning the outdoorsy ways.  Cut a deep X in the side of each of them, rubbed liberally with smoked sea salt, flower pepper and Greek oregano, dusted with whole wheat flour, and pan fried them in a cast iron skillet with searing hot coconut oil.  Took about 5-6 minutes to cook them through then I squeezed a generous half of a lemon on them and HOLY MOTHER OF YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!  Seriously, these little buggers (maybe 5-6 inches long once the heads were off) were so meaty and tasty and crispy and delicious!  I will be buying and cooking these all the times in the world because I am totally in love with them.  Plus, wild caught and small so low on the food chain = low in mercury…such a great and tasty way to get more fish into my regular diet.  Another batch of roasted broccoli, a glass of red wine, a tear jerker fest of catching up on Nashville and Glee it was a perfect Single Girl Sunday.

The Art of Pathetic

Had to deal with a sick doggy this weekend L Poor girl got into something that I can’t figure out and had a sad tummy all weekend (which means she also had a sad mommy who was tired of cleaning up after her because she wouldn’t tell me she needed to go out!!)  but she seems to be back to about 80% today.  Got a haircut for the first time in 12 months…I think he took off about ½ of my hair in bulk, it feels so oddly light now!  The very chic stylist also complimented my hair color and dye job, and since it comes from a $6 bottle of Garnier Fructis and my bathroom and this was a high fashion Aveda salon I felt pretty good about that…haha!  I am also way too excited about a memory foam bathmat I got that makes you feel like you are walking on clouds, and a snazzy double decker drying rack that tucks back into the corner of my TINIEST KITCHEN IN THE WORLD when not in use.  Seriously though guys, this kitchen is ridiculously small…I will share pictures at some point, but I am still learning to work around it and not drop things off my little 2 inches of ledge of prep space on one side of the sink and about 2 feet of counter on the other side.  I need a table or skinny island or something!  This will definitely be my biggest challenge to figure out how to cook well in this little bitty space.  But hey, if My Tiny Paris Kitchen and Mark Bittman can do it, so can I!  

A new haircut and a can-do attitude!

Bacon and Beer...mmmmmm...

So after Day 2 I am still feeling pretty good with this whole Herbalife thing.  Honestly, I have already spent

probably $40-$50 less on food this week than I would have and I don’t feel deprived or hungry at all so far.  Again, I am not being obsessive about what I eat when I’m NOT drinking the shakes, although because I also am focusing on keeping my digestive system happy I am not really eating a ton of junk or anything anyway, but for my main meal I am eating whatever I damn well please because falling back into disordered behaviors and thinking is WAAAAAAAAAY too easy when I start moving towards the “diet” mentality.

Anyway, yesterday was pretty easy.  Blendy shake** for breakfast tropical style with pineapple yogurt, shredded coconut, coconut milk, baby spinach, vanilla Formula 1 and water.  I snacked on some mixed nuts and tea halfway through the morning.  Lunch was a Shakey Shake** with almond butter, raspberry yogurt, coconut milk, chocolate Formula 1 and water plus I got a little cup of chicken soup (which was sadly mostly broth thanks to the noodle and chicken pirates of Au Bon Pain!!  Take your proper ratio of chunks to liquid ya jerks!!) to have something warm, and more nuts and tea in the afternoon.

(* Blendy Shake – includes greens, ice cubes, things that need a blender to combine.  **Shakey Shake – powder, liquid, maybe yogurt…can be mixed up in a shaker cup faster and on the go)

I was meeting up with a friend for dinner in the East Village, but I had about 2 hours to kill, so I walked

around for awhile and just soaked in the energy of a fall evening in the city, and then when I got cold sat down in this funky little indoor Belgian beer garden and had a YUMMY Tripel Karmeliet beer while waiting.  The best part was, because I am not holding any same or restriction around my food I was able to enjoy a beer, a salad, some French onion soup, and a very Greek diner plate of Bolognese and not feel like I had to stuff my face because it was my one food of the day, or restrict excessively because I had to be “good” (and then go home and stuff my face in hunger and frustration).  And because I am only spending money and stomach space on one “meal” a day I also have no issues making it the best and most fulfilling food I can, which is better for my body in the long run too.  Winner winner chicken dinner! (or pasta, as the case may be)

The issue came this morning actually, because I had failed to prep my Blendy Shake last night for breakfast, and I was running short on time and I only have the bottle space right now to make 1 Shakey Shake.  So whatever, if I have to substitute oatmeal and yogurt for one shake my life won’t come crashing down!  I figure it is closest to what a shake would be (and a whole lot cheaper) rather than having the shake for breakfast and going out to lunch.  But getting to work was a bitch and a half – bus was running over 20 minutes late, I got a different bus, which took me to a different train, which dropped me at a station that is twice as far away from work and doesn’t have a bus directly to the hospital.  So even though I raced to get out on time, I was still almost 30 minutes late to work and walked twice as far as normal.  Granted, it is only a mile, but I was cold and grumpy and annoyed and then I caught a whiff of the most beautiful smell in the world…

BACON!!!! 

Oh man, there is just something about the smell of bacon in the morning that is better than any other smell and better than bacon at any other time of day.  I didn't end up going and getting it, but it sure did trigger some happy and envious breakfast thoughts!

So, I am about to head into my first weekend on The Herb(alife) and trying to figure out how I am going to handle it.  I am not really telling anyone that I am doing this just because I don’t want to make it a big deal or have to explain or justify myself, or hear all the “good for you”s that I know would come and I think are wholly unnecessary and obnoxious.  Most likely I will just make good choices, try to choose light for any meals where I am with other people and not able to do a shake, and continue to not stress out over it because honeys…if you aren't enjoying your life (and the food that accompanies it) what’s the point??  Bottoms up boys and girls! Let’s make this weekend another new adventure!

Attack of the Turkey Sandwich that ate Manhattan!!!!

So here is a snapshot of my day yesterday with the Herbalife and the theatre and such:

Woke up at 7:45am – 15 minutes to get ready and get out the door for work…I had pre-prepped my shake so all I had to do was add water and blend and get on the road. 

Shake Recipe: mango yogurt, peach jam, egg, baby spinach, cinnamon, Vanilla Formula 1 Powder

Verdict: Pretty yum, but very sweet…would probably reduce the amount of peach jam

Snack at 11am – handful of mixed nuts as my tummy was getting rumbly before Lunch.  Also had a cup of the Herbalife instant tea in here at some point.  Definitely satisfying and wasn’t crazy starving or anything at any point

Lunch 1pm – Turkey sandwich, macaroni salad, cranberry sauce…finished about ¾ of the sandwich and the monster got the better of me!  I am glad I didn’t cave to my urge to also get soup…Those sandwiches are a city of meat unto themselves!

Snack at 4pm – more mixed nuts, more tea.  Honestly wasn’t terribly hungry, just wanted something munchy

Dinner at 6:30pm – Shake on my way to the theatre, also took an aloe juice to the theatre and sipped on it throughout the evening.  I like nomming on the little bits of aloe leaf, feels like a natural bubble tea!

Shake Recipe: Banana yogurt, pumpkin, egg, spinach, cinnamon, 3 dates (for natural sweetness), handful of chocolate chips, Chocolate Formula 1 powder

Verdict: Very tasty, but the chocolate chips didn’t blend well and ended up clumping and blocking the straw L probably wouldn’t use them again. 

Snacks at 11pm and 3am – so I was at the theatre for callbacks and casting discussions until after 2am, and needless to say my little shake had worn offity off!  Fortunately I brought some cheese sticks with me to the theatre, so I ate 2 cheddar cheese sticks then and made myself 2 cheese quesadillas with salsa on corn tortillas when I got home.  Probably too much cheese, should get myself some mixed nuts or fruit for home so I can have more balanced snacks like I do at work.  The sensitive lotus flower that is my stupid stomach wasn’t thrilled this morning but I don’t know what triggered it since I made so many changes all at once yesterday (Herbalife shakes, pills, aloe juice, metric fuckton of cheese, etc.)

I got home around 2:30am and had my snack, almost fell asleep in the living room, got my lazy butt in the shower, prepped my shake for the morning and got to sleep around 4am.  Do you want to know what is a very sad sight?  The notification from your phone that your alarm is set for 3 hours from that point – it made me want to cry but the life of a temp means losing 20% of my week’s pay because I want to sleep just isn’t the grown up or responsible thing to do.  So what if occasionally when typing an email I end up with a mysterious row of R’s typed across the screen where I dozed off while typing?  Caffeinate…hydrate…crash like a beast tonight.

Snacks?

So one of the things I have been looking at in my move towards losing weight and also towards saving money, as how to handle snacks. I think that because I have a history with using food for so many reasons OTHER than being hungry, I have a tendency to reach for snacks throughout the day just out of force of habit or boredom or stress. Sometimes, I will even FEEL hungry when I know there is no earthly reason why I should!

Case in point - I made a fabulous green monster smoothie for breakfast this morning and drank it in my first class at 8am. Now I have calculated the calories on this before just to see about where it stands on the complete breakfast food chain, and with the protein powder, spinach, soy milk, flax seeds and fruit it averages around 400 calories and a good dose of protein and nutrients. Very healthy for a full breakfast, and no reason why this shouldn't last my tummy a solid 3-4 hours until it is time for lunch. BUT by around 10am I started to feel like I wanted to eat something. I had about an hour until my next class, I was sitting down to read, I was a little bored, and I almost felt like my tummy was rumbling for food. But how could this be? It had been LESS than 2 hours since I had my smoothie and really was it that difficult to wait until lunch at Noon? But I swear to you, I spent the next 2 hours going back and forth on if I wanted my string cheese that I had brought for an afternoon snack now, or maybe a bottle of soda (what?? I don't drink soda anyway! Why now??)

So what I ended up doing was telling myself to suck it up, that my tummy being a little hungry for the last 1/2 hr before lunch wasn't the end of the world (that in fact I SHOULD be going to lunch a little hungry!) and that I could wait and I wouldn't die of starvation - and it turned out to be true. I was just the right amount hungry for lunch at Noon when I got to work, and I saved my string cheese for my afternoon snack around 4pm when I actually WILL be hungry and looking for something to sustain me through the bike ride home and the couple of hours until dinner.

But I find myself facing this issue a lot. I don't just nibble because I am bored, my body will actually make me feel PHYSICALLY HUNGRY when there is no biological reason I should. For example, I eat a healthy sized lunch at 12:30, and 1-2 hours later I get bored and then feel starving. Am I really starving?? No way! I am just bored and my body is kicking in anticipating the food it knows I will most likely consume to distract it. Because as soon as I am busy the hunger goes away, so I know it wasn't really "I need fuel" hunger, it was just "You are bored which means I am getting a snack soon and I am going to find a way to make sure of that" hunger. Even now typing this post and THINKING about snacks I am feeling that fake hunger starting up in my tummy even though less than 2 hours ago I had homemade minestrone soup, a slice of sourdough bread, a container of greek yogurt, and a dish of peaches. In other words...my tummy in no physical way needs food but my mind is trying to convince me that it does. AUGH!! So I LITERALLY cannot trust my body to tell me the truth?!?! How do you listen to your body's natural signals if the signals it is sending are fake???

So I am thinking for both health and for budget I need to get better about planning my menus for the day. Just write it out, "this is what you are having for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and evening snack if you really want it and this is what time you are eating each of those items". That way, I am not digging into my lunchbag and downing my afternoon snack at 10am out of boredom. Saves money because I am not eating a ton extra than I need, helps with health and weight loss for the same reason. As long as I am regular about planning this out in advance and making sure I pack my lunchbag properly before heading out every day this should be a good thing.

So although it is a little late, here is my plan for today:
Breakfast - Green Monster (8am)
Lunch - Soup, bread, yogurt, peaches (12:30pm)
Snack - string cheese, orange slices (4:30pm)
Dinner - leftover Mexican casserole w/veggies, sauteed bananas (7pm)
Snack (optional) - mini bag of popcorn(10pm)

There - now I am accountable and everything is already packed and ready for consumption until I get home. I will plan tonight for tomorrow, and so on and so forth and hopefully this will help greatly with my budget and overall feeling of health and wellbeing!

Holy Super Sweet Smoothie Batman!

Oh my GOODNESS!! My sweet taste buds are going wacky this morning! So I made my normal green monster smoothie with one BIG difference - I had run out of milk so I opened a can of light coconut milk and used about 1/2 a can of that alone with some water to make my smoothie. Holy moly it was amazingly good but CRAZY sweet...Honestly, when I first tried it I thought I had died and gone to heaven, but about half way through I realized that it was in fact too sweet for me. I think I am going to repeat this coconut milk experiment, but I am going to cut the amount by about half and make up the liquid with more water. It will still be super creamy, tasty and sweet, but a little lower in fat/calories/tooth aching sweetness.

On that same note - I am seriously considering going at least vegetarian and possibly vegan again. I haven't decided for sure, but there are a couple factors coming into play here for me.


1) I am poor and beans and rice and stuff are cheaper than meat
2) I am EXTREMELY opposed to industrial factory farming and for the past couple of years I have been very adamant about only eating local, organic, humanely raised meat and dairy products. However, referencing factor #1 I am no longer really able to afford those things anymore. I have caved on my principles the last couple of weeks and bought standard meat items and honestly, felt like total crap and a complete hypocrite about it.
3) I have a very sensitive stomach - I had my gallbladder removed when I was 22 and my system hasn't been the same since then. Eating a ton of animal protein just doesn't settle well with me in general, eating lower fat and lots of veggies makes me feel better on a day to day basis.
4) I have been vegetarian and vegan in the past for varying lengths of time and felt GREAT while doing it

So I haven't fully decided yet, and on a practical note I have a pound of ground beef, a pot roast and a package of chicken quarters in my freezer that I can't really afford to let go to waste. So I guess the question is, just jump in and do it? Work on phasing it out while eating meat for the next month it will take me to get through the meat in my freezer? I mean, on a practical note I eat quite a few meatless meals anyway...my lunches for this week were tortellini and broccoli salad and baked tofu with brown rice and green beans, so it's not like going meat-free is going to be a huge shock or change (however my chicken enchilada casserole would have to get altered - no more chicken, sour cream or cheese although the refried beans and collard greens and homemade salsa could stay)

Any of you who are reading this who are vegetarian/vegan or have made that switch in the past - what do you think? Any suggestions or ideas on how I should move forward?

Oh yeah - My birthday was also this past Tuesday September 14th...I am now officially 29 and on the homestretch to 30!! I celebrated by going to school, working, going to rehearsal, and then taking myself out for karaoke :-) And I am still recovering...I must be getting old, it wasn't this hard to bounce back after my 21st birthday!! It's time baby, I am almost 30...the time to be healthy has arrived and it can't wait any longer!!

Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

So after a great first week of school, I set myself up for the second week...to fail. Ok, so maybe failure is a harsh word. But I ended up NOT going to the grocery store yesterday to replenish my important basics of yogurt, almond milk and frozen spinach. I also fell into the trap of not falling asleep until late last night which means I overslept this morning and only had 20 minutes to get ready and out the door.

So what does that mean? It means that fortunately I had muffins still that I grabbed for breakfast, but no protein smoothie which means I need to be aware if I am more hungry than usual later today. It also means no morning snack of yogurt and granola, so again...lighter eating this morning means I need to be aware of my body later if I feel more hungry than normal. It also means I didn't have time to pack a lunch so I will have to buy something from the fast food wasteland that is campus. And being aware of my overly carb happy breakfast, I probably want to go with something more protein packed for lunch so that I don't TOTALLY crash this afternoon.So yes...this boys and girls is an example of "When you fail to plan, you plan to fail!" We will pretend I did it on purpose so at to serve as a valuable lesson to you all ;-)

So how am I salvaging this day?
1) I still rode my bike to school so I am still getting exercise.
2) I grabbed 2 muffins, one for breakfast and one for an afternoon snack so I don't fade too badly
3) I am going to make the healthiest lunch choice from the options available - possibly a veggie burrito or sushi and fruit
4) I am going to the grocery store after work to get those things I am missing
5) I am going to turn off the super awesome Quantum Leap reruns at a decent time tonight and get some real sleep (Did I just reveal what a geek I am? Because I totally have had a thing for Dean Stockwell since I was like 10 years old!)


Happy Monday everyone!

Pictures!

Ok folks, so I took some pictures to share with you today to make up for Tuesday's picture-less post.

First - a couple pictures of the lovely, tasty and nutritional powerhouse green monster smoothie! I drink a little bit while getting ready and put the rest in my water bottle and take it to school to drink during my 8am classes.


Also a picture of my yogurt and granola all ready to be mixed and consumed before my 11am class :-)

Now I have LOVED these Oikos individual organic greek yogurt cups with honey and they are perfect for bringing to school. However, my budget will no longer allow me to buy them so I am probably going to just be switching to regular plain yogurt and premixing it in my lovely 1 cup liquid-tight tupperware containers with my homemade granola. Oh the sacrifices of a poor student!

And here is a picture of the illustrious Blue Bomber - my trusty companion to and from school and all over campus.

Please note the helmet hanging from the handlebar (normally on my head) because safety is important and I have had a couple of bad bike accidents in my past (if you launch headfirst over the front of your bike and catch a handlebar in the gut you may end up with a face full of pavement, a lacerated spleen and internal bleeding...I'm just sayin'!), the backpack and water bottle with WATER in the basket up front, and the water bottle with smoothie in the handy dandy water bottle holder. Much like running, I may not be the fastest one in the pack, but by god I am going to get there!

For a couple of new items may I present my new breakfast goodie - pumpkin spice muffins!

"Now wait a moment!" You might be saying..."I thought there was no canned pumpkin available in the stores right now because of the big pumpkin harvest rotting last year!" And you would be right. For those of you who don't know, all the commercial pumpkins last year basically rotted on the vines and there has been no canned pumpkin available since Christmas last year until the new harvest ripens this year. So I did what any enterprising cook who wanted muffins would do, I baked sweet potatoes used the mashed meat from those instead. Voila! Made with whole wheat flour, sweet potato, applesauce instead of oil, and studded with cranberries and almonds. A not-too-sweet but oh so delicious breakfast item to keep in the fridge and grab all week. I will do a separate post with the recipe and nutrition info.

Note to self however - do NOT attempt to balance said muffin on the backpack in the above pictured bike basket and expect it to stay in place when going over a speed bump...1/2 a muffin was sacrificed to learn that lesson today. Will adjust for tomorrow :-)

Also a pic of my sandwich today. Tuesday/Thursday is my day that I have 10 minutes to eat lunch because I have class from 11am-2pm with only that short break in between. Last time I brought tuna and dill dip and crackers, and decided that eating pungent tuna before going into acting class was not the greatest idea. Last night I made some lemon dill hummus and turned it into a hummus/sprouts/cucumber sandwich for lunch today. Will let you know how that goes, but it sure looks yummy!

By the way...any suggestions or ideas on 10 minute lunches would be greatly appreciated!

Biking and Cooking

So - This whole riding my bike back and forth to school thing may possibly kill me before it gets me in shape! Ok, maybe not, but going from basic couch potato all summer (with one good 9 mile hike) to riding my bike all around campus does feel pretty intense and was definitely feeling more tired on the ride this morning than I did yesterday. I am taking it slow, not pushing myself, taking rests when I need to, and just knowing that if I keep it up it WILL get easier and I WILL get in better shape before I even realize it :-) In the meantime though...even with a padded seat (and a padded rear) my backside hurts! I just keep telling myself that I will get used to it and it is only day 2. And honestly, the good feelings, the exercise, the endorphins, the cured insomnia and the flexibility to get around campus without looking for parking is worth the trade off so I will keep the whining to a minimum.

So - I promised recipes yesterday and today I shall deliver! And both are vegetarian and I will note the easy substitution to make it vegan.

Granola:
I LOVE making granola...it is so cheap, you can make it much lower fat and lower sugar than the stuff you buy in a box or bag, and you can add whatever you want to it! I see that Bear Naked granola selling for $7 a bag and it makes my head hurt because I could make the same amount of granola for about $2 and it tastes even better.

So here is the basic recipe:
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
2/3 cup honey (or agave nectar to make it vegan)
1/3 cup nut butter or oil (choose your favorite nut butter, peanut, almond, sunflower, cashew...it all good!)
1 Tb. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup seeds
1/2 cup dried fruit

-Spread the oats out on an ungreased baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes stirring often and watching carefully to make sure they toast, not burn.
-While the oats are toasting in the oven, in a small pan on the stove bring the honey, nut butter and vanilla just to a simmer so it all melts together and remove it from the heat.
-Once the oats are toasted transfer them to a large mixing bowl and add the cinnamon, nuts, seeds and dried fruit and mix well.
-Pour the honey/nut butter mixture in with the oats and mix well so that the oats are all moist.
-Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the mixture evenly over the pan and return to the oven
***At this point I usually just turn the oven off and let the granola sit in the cooling oven for a couple of hours or overnight to crisp up. You could also turn the oven down to 250 degrees and let it bake for 30-45 minutes, stirring often until it is toasty. I think leaving it overnight is easier, less chance of burning it on accident, and then it is crunchy and ready for breakfast in the morning!***

Now, that is the basic recipe and it is endlessly customizable to your taste and depending on what you have in your cabinets. Almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried mango, dried apples, dried cherries, dried cranberries, grated coconut, chocolate chips, orange extract, almond extract, flax seeds, anything and everything you can think of would taste GREAT in this. You can even cut the honey in half if you want it to be a little less sweet and I find it is still enough stickiness to hold the granola together well. As an example, for my most recent batch I didn't have any peanut butter or seeds in the house but I wanted granola so I used 1/3 cup honey, 1/3 cup Earth Balance spread, and vanilla extract for the liquid. Oats, pumpkin pie spice, cocoa roasted almonds, orange flavored cranberries and unsweetened coconut for the granola base and it is totally AMAZING. Not overly sweet, tons of flavor, perfect to mix into my plain yogurt with an extra drizzle of honey. So try it out, use your imagination...it is a very easy, quick recipe and will make tasty granola for pennies of what you would pay in the store.

Smoothie:
I am also making a smoothie every morning as my breakfast because it is easy to make and I can put it in a water bottle to take to school and drink during my 8am class. I absolutely love my smoothies so I wanted to share that recipe too.

Tina Version of a Green Monster Smoothie-
- 1 scoop protein powder (I use unsweetened chocolate flavor)
- 1 Tb. ground flax seed
-1/2 frozen banana
-handful of frozen fruit
- approx. 1/2-1 cup frozen spinach (to taste)
-2 Tb. 100% pineapple juice frozen concentrate
- 2 dashes cinnamon
-1 cup almond milk
- water as needed for consistency

I just put all of this into my blender and blend away until it is smooth and green and yummy! You don't really taste the spinach but it is a great boost of veggies and nutrients in the morning. The pineapple juice concentrate adds some natural sweetness. I add a little extra water if it is feeling too thick with just the 1 cup of liquid from the almond milk, you could also use more almond milk but I like my carton to last the week and a little water really doesn't change the flavor. Super yummy, super filling, super natural energy!

So that is my morning recipes right now. I apologize for there being no pictures, I was in a rush this morning and forgot to take any. I will try to update this post later to include some pictures so you can see my granola and green goodness and a picture of the Blue Bomber Bicycle that is transporting me every so faithfully around campus and kicking my butt into shape!

Have a great day everyone :-)

I'm Back!

Hi there folks (for anyone who may actually be reading this). Sorry for the long absence but my dad's lovely little pug knocked a glass of healthy, antioxidant filled red wine on my laptop and now a few vital keys are no longer working! Rather than copy and paste every single A, S, D, and W into a blog post, I had to wait until I could come use the computers at school. So, hopefully I should be able to stay a bit more on top of things now that I will be on campus every day and will have access to fully functioning keyboards :-)

So, since today is the first day of school I figured I would kick off with my healthy approach to school post! First off, I am not your typical college student in many ways. The fact that I am not 18 would be a big indicator of that. I went to school full time for a year when I was 19 at Rutgers University in New Jersey and then quit and started working and taking classes online at the community college for several years. I have spent most of the last 8 years working in finance and am just now going back to pursue a degree in my passion, acting. So needless to say, my 28 (almost 29) year old self stands out a bit next to all the fresh faced recent high school graduates! Also because of that, I am not living in a dorm and I am not on a meal plan.

However, in many ways this is a great thing when it comes to healthy living. I gotta tell you, when I did go to college when I was 19 I FULLY indulged in the crazy cafeteria eating that freshman can be so famous for! Can you say large soda cups full of soft serve ice cream and Reese's Pieces?? Oh yeah...I did it. So when I had lunch in the cafeteria here during orientation and was surrounded by basically the equivalent of fast food for $8 a meal I just said "No" and have decided to keep it in house. Now, when I was working in corporate America I packed a lunch just about every day and kept a cabinet full of healthy breakfast and snack options to eat at my desk. Oatmeal, tea, nuts, dried fruit, all the good stuff. I also had a fridge and a microwave to keep perishables and heat up my lunch. Of course, when I have nothing but a backpack to bring to school every day those are no longer options so I have to reevaluate my choices based on lack of cooling/heating and more limited space.

So here are the things I am doing immediately, and some medium term goals that I will be pursuing to make my return to school also conducive for maintaining and improving my health!
1) I am biking to and from school every day. I live about a mile from campus, and 1/2 mile is straight uphill and the other 1/2 mile is straight downhill so it is a great workout going both ways! It takes me about 15-20 minutes so right there is 2 miles and 30-40 minutes of exercise 5 days a week.

2) I am eating a healthy breakfast and packing a morning snack and light lunch. I have all morning and early afternoon classes so I have to leave fairly early and am on campus for lunch every day. I am planning on a piece of toast and a green monster smoothie at 7am in the morning, a small bowl of plain yogurt with honey and homemade granola for a morning snack, and a light lunch of leftovers, a sandwich, or some sort of homemade dip/spread and crackers with a fruit or veggie for lunch. Compact, easy, doesn't require reheating, portable. Today I had my slice of toast and smoothie, brought a container of greek yogurt and granola for a snack, and packed some whole grain pasta with homemade tomato sauce that I filled with shredded veggies for lunch.
*** I will do a separate post tomorrow with the recipes for my smoothie and granola with real pictures***

3) I am cooking and prepping in advance so that it is easy to have healthy food already portioned and ready to grab in the morning. I made granola last night, I packed leftover pasta in a single serving tupperware, I had my waterbottle for my smoothie clean and ready to go. I wish I could think of a way to prep my smoothie the night before, but I really like the texture from having all the frozen fruit, and I think if I prepped it and kept it in the fridge instead it would lose that nice milkshakey texture for me.
***Any ideas here readers on how smoothie prep might be shortened or done in advance?***

4) In the more medium term goal I am going to start going to the gym at school in between classes. I have a nice hour long break every morning that would be perfect for doing a 1/2 hour strength training routine to supplement my biking and dog walking. I need to figure out the best way to pack my exercise clothes in addition to my textbooks and get it all here on my bike, but I would like to start that next week once I get settled into a routine and actually KNOW where all my classes are!

5) I am allowing myself small treats as I go so that nothing seems overly painful or restrictive. I bought a bag of individual Ghirardelli chocolate squares that are in my freezer and I have one in the evening with a glass of wine so that I have a high quality, yummy treat while I am watching a movie or reading a book (or doing schoolwork as I will be starting now!) I really appreciate that little bit of sweetness and I am finding that when I savor it and enjoy it I am not running back to the freezer to bust open the rest of the bag like I might if I was just scarfing down a gas station candy bar!

So there you have it! And I have to tell you, I am feeling great right now...I have been focusing on eating healthy, eating moderate meals, enjoying my food, indulging in great seasonal produce (I just LOVE living so close to Georgia and getting the sweetest, juicy peaches for $0.50 a lb!) and working on treating myself with kindness, caring and appreciation every day.

Now I just need a LITTLE more sleep (but hey, falling asleep at 11:30pm instead of 3:30am is an improvement!) and a job and I will be set! If anyone has any other suggestions on easy to pack, healthy, natural options for snacks and lunches it would be greatly appreciated or fast breakfast options. Thanks y'all :-)