The majority of my day was spent cleaning out the piles of sacred treasure (okay, trash) in my room. We’re getting close to moving day and I’ve still got a ways to go . I know I know, it seems like I’ve been cleaning/packing for ages. I really wasn’t kidding when I said it is my most despised task. I swear I need someone to just blindfold me and throw everything away!

I made quite a bit of progress today, that is, until I stumbled across the most sacred treasure of all: my diaries.

Fun Fact: I used to write in a diary every single night, without fail (unfortunateIy, I stopped near the end of high school and never picked it back up. I suppose blogging is sort of like writing in a diary….?)

Most of the entries were about what happened that day, who I talked to, or what I bought at the mall. However, some entries left me a bit heavyhearted. Don’t get me wrong, I was an incredibly happy gal growing up but it was quite evident that I had body image concerns starting at a young age.

It was fun to relive my high school years though. An abundance of silly drama and gossip that was at times unbearably embarrassing to read .

I also found several letters and notes that I received from my friends (and even one from an ex-boyfriend).

Not So Fun Fact: I did more reading and reminiscing than cleaning!

***

A Breakfast Burger

I had a major hankering for pancakes this morning. I’m talkin’ MAY-jor. I think it’s safe to say my hankering came from reading a few blogs as I was getting out of bed! I knew pancakes would be perfect for using up our going-soft blueberries. One problem: we were out of eggs! I could have used a ‘flax’ egg, but I was in the mood for super fluffy, cakey pancakes.

So I made a breakfast ‘burger’ instead. It wasn’t actually a burger at all, it just sorta looked like one.

A brown rice English muffin with Greek yogurt, banana soft serve and blueberries. Even though they weren’t pancakes, they did a fine job at satisfying my craving.

As you can see, I got really into taking photos of my breakfast burger this morning. That and I just couldn’t choose which photos to use!

Afterwards, I finished off the gigantic tub of Greek yogurt (from Costco).

While cleaning, I snacked on an apricot, some dates w/ almond butter, and plenty of Quinoa Banana Bread Granola. A big shout out to reader Katie who made this last night…just hours after I posted the recipe!

Workout:

I played tennis with my dad for ~50 minutes. We were just lightly hitting around before he joined up with some other folks to continue playing. Thus, I drove back home and hopped on the elliptical for 50 minutes.

***

Beets. A Love Affair.

While I was at the gym, my precious little beets were roasting in the toaster oven. I am having a serious love affair with beets!

Fun Fact: Peel beets under cold running water. I read this tip in a magazine recently so I gave it try….

…it made it so much easier to peel! It also rinsed off some of the excessive beet juice so my fingers weren’t stained afterwards.

I decided to use the beets 2 ways tonight–in a Kale Salad and a Kale Smoothie.

Steamed kale, avocado, goat cheese, and roasted beets.

This might sound dorky, but I love when beets dye goat cheese crumbles pink!

…it’s the little things in life.

Beet Blueberry Kale Smoothie

People drink beet juice so why not blend it up in a smoothie? I added some protein powder, plain yogurt, and stevia to what you see here.

The result? FANTASTIC! Wow it added such a sweet, pleasant flavor. It tasted a lot like a strawberry smoothie (and it sure looked like one too).

Usually when you mix green and red you get brown. This just shows how strong the red color is of beets.

Dessert: A bowl of Breyer’s Cherry Vanilla ice cream with my QBB granola!

***

That was a long post! Believe it or not I actually cut out some material. Hmm perhaps I should start writing in a diary again…it might cut down on some rambling .

Tell me: Did/Do you write in a diary? With whom/what are you having your latest love affair?

I was not the least bit hungry when I woke up this morning thanks to my carrot cake baby. I decided to take advantage of that by drinking a cup of coffee and hitting the gym. I ellipticalled for 53 min. and ran for 7 min. I didn’t have my shin sleeves on but I just had an urge to run for a bit. Unfortunately, I couldn’t run for a long time because my right ankle was feeling very tight (it’s always something, right?). I really do want to get back into running again sometime soon though because I sure miss it a lot.

I refueled with none other than a humongo green smoothie.

Spinach, wheatgrass, blueberries, banana, yogurt, stevia, protein powder and ice.

Mr. Magic Bullet did a nice job on the frozen spinach today!

The rest of the afternoon was spent grazing, watching tennis on TV, and just relaxing.

I had a cinnamon raisin English muffin with laughing cow cheese (unpictured).

An apricot and some blueberries.

Green tea latte

Dates….

…dunked in hurrr.

A piece of whole grain bread.

We’ve been loving this bread lately. It’s super soft and the ingredients are pretty decent.

I also made my mom a blueberry banana yogurt smoothie and helped her slurp some down.

(I’m encouraging her to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which I read in my Food and Energy class last semester).

We went to the grocery store, bought a trunk load of produce (more beets and kale!!) and sampled some eats including tofu!

By the time dinner rolled around, I wasn’t too hungry and just wanted a nice refreshing salad.

Mini peppers, avocado and goat cheese with balsamic vinaigrette….almost the same salad that we had yesterday.

I’ve got the rainbow going on over here!

I think I’m gonna go find some protein in the form of a perfectly fried egg and/or some Greek yogurt.

I’m also getting geared up for The Next Food Network Star!! Anybody else watching it? Who are you rooting for?

***

Check back tomorrow for the winner of the $60 CSN Stores giveaway and a special treat!

This morning I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I had a crazy dream and felt very sleep deprived, despite getting a full 8 hours of sleep. Hmm.

Enter: 72% decaf.

(It’s like we’re talkin’ about chocolate here or something).

The Smooth and Really Mellow Blend did the trick and I felt much better afterwards. Thank Coffee!

Pre-Workout Breakfast:

Sunny-side up egg on a cinnamon raisin English muffin with expired laughing cow cheese.

A few of you have asked how I make my egg so perty-ful. Allow me to let you in on my trick….

In order to avoid having an overcooked bottom or undercooked top, I keep the pan covered and allow the steam to cook the top of the egg–that way I don’t have to flip the egg!

Ta da!

Runny yolk, just the way I like it.

On the side I had some strawbs.

My latest combo of choice–sunflower seeds and raisins.

While I might be in Sunflower Seed Butter rehab, no one said I couldn’t have some seeds, right?

It’s called bending da rules

***

Workout: Elliptical 60 min. while watching a E! Specials on J. Biebs and J. Aniston.

And then the Kale Smoothies continued!

In the MB:

• 4 strawberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup plain 1% yogurt
• 1 cup kale, steamed
• 1/2 scoop wheatgrass
• water, stevia ‘n’ ice

Topped with ze lovely combo, most of which sank to the bottom.

The MB was being testy today, hence the green bits. I think it was getting jealous with all my talk of getting a Vitamix. Don’t worry, MB, that’s a looooong time comin’!

+whole wheat toast w/ almond butter.

***

Beets. It’s what’s for dinner.

This was my first time making beets. You know, other than opening a package from TJ’s.

I wrapped them in foil and roasted them at 375* F for about an hour.

Peeled (for the most part).

Obligatory shot of the beet-stained hands.

Steamed kale topped with beets, goat cheese and toasted pecans. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Wow. I just have one question…where have beets been all my life?

The roasting felt like an eternity. I was hovering over the toaster oven like a 5 year old girl waiting for her birthday cake!

It was well worth the wait though.

And for dessert? Look what my dad brought home from the grocery store (after I finally finished off the last carton of ice cream and no longer had to have it staring at me all day).

He claimed he had to get 3 cartons to get the savings. Uh huh.

Can you guess which flavor I had a [giant] bowl of?

Yep. How’d ya know?

We’re Redbox-ing The Bounty Hunter tonight. Has anyone seen it?

So a double dose of kale and a double dose of pecans and a double dose of Ms. Aniston…all in one day.

***

Tell me:

1) What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? I love cookies and cream.

2) How do you like yours eggs cooked (if you eat ‘em)? Sunny-side UP.

3) Have you entered my giveaway? Do it!

Another first for me….

A Kale Green Smoothie! I’ve heard kale in smoothies is pretty foul-tasting not for the faint of heart but I had to give it a try for myself.

The Combo:

• 1/4 cup Blueberries
• 1/3 Banana
• 1 cup Kale
• 1 scoop wheatgrass
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup plain 1% yogurt
• stevia and ice

The verdict? I actually thought it was pretty good. It tasted similar to a regular ol’ spinach smoothie to me. It may have helped that I used steamed kale instead of raw….?

Did I just call spinach smoothies ‘regular’?

I even added a scoop of wheatgrass powder to give it an extra kick.

My Magic Bullet can never finish the job with green leaves. Good thing I don’t mind the little green specks in my smoothies. Speaking of blenders, my Momma and I saw a Vita-Mix demonstration at Costco on Saturday.

She said she would buy one for me as my wedding present.

Anybody wanna get married? ANYONE?!

We could elope and make kale smoothies together. Romantic, no?

My Magic Blender did, however, make a wonderful homemade apple sauce. I needed apple sauce for a recipe and realized there was none to be found in our house.

To make the applesauce, I simply microwaved a peeled, cored, and chopped apple for 2 minutes. Then I blended it with some cinnamon. I may never buy applesauce in a jar ever again.

See? If you marry me, we could also make all-natural baby food for our offspring…in the Vita-Mix no less!!

***

I needed the applesauce to bake some cookies for the winner of my Blogday Giveaway, Jenny. Not just any cookies though. These are the Pecan Chocolate Chip cookies I made several times last fall + winter (the difference between the photos I took with my point + shoot camera and now with my DSLR is pretty crazy!).

There was taste testing going on left and right.

I also made 4 batches of AllieBars (1 for Jenny, 1 for us). One of my roommates from school’s mom (Hi Claire+Christina!) requested 8 batches….so I’ve got 6 more to go!

***

Head Chef, Peter, was back in the kitchen yesterday while I was busy baking. He whipped up….

A corn, tomato, and green pepper salad with cilantro and onions, tossed with rice wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Salmon with green onions

And a tofu, shrimp and leek stew-ish.

After dinner, I walked on the treadmill while watching The Next Food Network Star. I had a late night dessert of ice cream with a handful of toasted pecans and an AllieBar.

So…what do ya say? You + me + Vitamix = to love and to cherish ’til death do us part?

…and really, it is just yogurt.

A long time ago (circa March), CSN Stores sent me a Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker to review (my choice of product). Having seen countless recipes for ice-cream makers online and in recipe books, I knew it would be a useful and fun appliance to own.

I had never seen nor used an ice cream maker before so I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was anything that could make ice cream in 20 min. was bound to be pretty cool! No pun intended…ha. ha. ha.

NuNaturals also sent me a lifetime supply box of Nustevia products. I am a stevia supporter (I even did a presentation on it in my Nutrition class) and use it to sweeten my coffee and smoothies. I was most looking forward to the Baking Blend and ‘non-bitter’ taste that they claim is unique to the NuNaturals brand.

[Disclaimer: Both of these products were sent to me free of charge, however my opinions are entirely my own.]

***

I decided to put both products to good use by making a Homemade Tart Frozen Yogurt.

(Remember when I ate loads of Greek yogurt? Well, it was because I made frozen yogurt but didn’t get a chance to document the process. I’ve already made red bean frozen yogurt and green tea frozen yogurt with both Greek yogurt and regular yogurt.)

Yesterday, I decided to make plain or what froyo shops call ‘original.’

I mixed together 2 cups TJ’s European Style (for the tart flavor), and 2 cups plain lowfat yogurt. I also added about 15 drops of NuNaturals Pure Stevia and 1 tsp xanthan gum. The first two times I made it without xanthan gum, so it is certainly optional.

After freezing the bucket overnight, I inserted the arm (plastic white thing), poured in the yogurt, and turned on the machine.

Whirling away!

After about 20 minutes of stirring (and 20 minutes of me sticking a spoon inside for bites of frozen yogurt), I got magically smooth and fluffy frozen yogurt reminiscent of the tart yogurt you’d find at a shop.

This is not the whole batch!! I ate about 1/3 of it in the process of stirring .

Can you believe this is just pure yogurt? No additives and no artificial flavors. Talk about a protein-filled treat also!

It tasted just like this!

Thoughts, Comments, and other Tidbits:

The NuNaturals Stevia did not taste bitter to me. Keep in mind that I don’t think other brands of stevia taste bitter either–I suppose I am quite used to the taste. I’ve been using both the NuNaturals liquid and powder forms the last couple of weeks and have thoroughly enjoyed them both.

When I finish the shipment sent to me, I would definitely consider purchasing the NuNaturals brand. It would most likely come down to the price compared to other brands. However, I must say the NuNaturals Pure Stevia is much stronger than other brands I’ve tried (i.e. one small scoop is about twice as sweet as one scoop of the other brands I’ve tried). Be sure to keep that in mind when comparing prices.

***

As for the Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker. Overall it is pretty fabulous, as you’ve seen. It really does work! I love that I can turn pure yogurt into frozen yogurt in 20 minutes. I haven’t tried it with ice cream recipes, but I’m sure those would be fabulous as well.

Now, a few of the not-so-great aspects:

1. Some of the mixture freezes against the side of the tub and you have to wait about 20 min. before it melts so you can clean up. It’s not a large amount–I’d say about 1/2 a cup or so.

2. You have to freeze the tub for at least 6 hours (preferably 24 hours) before you can make anything. I’m quite impatient and if I want to make ice cream, I want to make it immediately. In order to avoid this problem, I keep the tub in the freezer at all times. After I make a batch, I wash the tub and put it straight back into the freezer. That way I can make ice cream/froyo whenever the heck I want.

***

Get ready for more ice cream and frozen yogurt recipes!!

I’ve been cramming words into my little skull all day (exam on Tues.) and this is all I’ve got left…

This morning, I stretched out my super tight muscles with a Dave Farmar yoga podcast. I lasted about 17 min. before I skipped to pigeon pose and foam rolled. I kept his voice running in the background though. Dave Farmar is a funny guy and Allie is out of yoga shape.

Before down doggin’ I had a small snack: banana w/ sunflower seed butter. Spooky photo, huh?

After yoga stretching, I made a Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothie:

• 1 packet Chocolate Green Superfood
• 4 strawberries
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• splash of 2% milk
• stevia

I poured it into this jar because I think the Magic Bullet cup is ugly. As if this jar isn’t…

I also had a slice of millet bread with Greek yogurt and pumpkin butter.

I ate this last night but with cottage cheese and it tasted like pumpkin cheesecake. Sadly, I polished off the container of cottage cheese last night.

After a couple forkfuls of sunflower seed butter, I finished the jar. I’d say it was about 3 TBSP?

While studying, I made myself some Decaf Hazelnut Cream coffee. I’m not sure what the ‘artificial flavors’ are but I’m not sure I care either. So ‘licious.

I added cinnamon, stevia, and 2% milk. Hum dee dum.

Hungry again. Enter an AllieBar.

Still icing my left butt bone. These Galaxy Granola bags are awesome for icing because they’re so sturdy. I know what you’re thinking….same shorts as yesterday?!

Yep same shorts. No shame.

This one I ate. I had a big handful as a pre-workout snack.

I had been sedentary all day long and I needed to get my leggies moving….

• 60 min. elliptical (low to moderate intensity)
• 15 min. arm weights
• 15 min. abs ‘n’ stretch

***

Post workout BUFFET:

Tower of Protein:

• 2% cottage cheese (restocked!)
• Amy’s Veggie Burger
• 4 egg whites
• Millet bread

This was my first time eating millet bread savory style! Pretty stinkin’ good. I’ll admit I would’ve given anything for a tortilla to wrap this baby up though.

Dippers.

No greens. Already ate drank ‘em for breakfast. Boo yaw!

My roomie brought me back an extra boxed lunch and inside I found fruit and a ‘jumbo’ apple spice muffin. Pshhh, more like ‘teeny tiny!’

It was a little dry but that’s what the microwave is for .

I’m sure as soon as I crack open my textbook again, I’ll be foraging for a cookie.

Enjoy the last bit of your weekend!

As I mentioned yesterday, Friday was a sweet day (no pun intended)! Let’s get to it, shall we?

Before my Culinary Cultures class, I had a Green Tea Latte in my <3 XOXO Love Tumbler!

XOXO FOREVER

I got a new brand of stevia. I usually purchase stevia from Trader Joe’s but I found a new one from Whole Food’s to try (on the right). It taste’s very similar to the TJ’s brand. I think it might be a little sweeter though. Good, so I can use less of it for the same sweetening effect.

I served the Pumpkin Coconut Pecan Granola that I brought to class with yogurt. Of course I had a sample for breakfast to make sure it was up to snuff

Another student brought in Arepas, a Venezuelan dish. It is essentially a cornmeal + cheese muffin stuffed with cheese. I had about 1/2 of it.

Then, Pheobe Lawless, a local baker came to do a pie-making demonstration as well as to talk to us about her career. She owns her own business called Scratch Seasonal Artisan Baking and she recently purchased space in downtown Durham to open a bakery/cafe! She currently works out of her home and sells her sweet and savory pies at the local Farmer’s Markets as well.

She did not attend culinary school–she learned most of what she knows through hands-on experience. You better believe I’m even more inspired now.  She did mention that working in the kitchen is not as glamorous as the food industry makes it seem–for one, you make close to nothing for many many years.

But what’s the point in making a lot of money if you don’t enjoy work/life? That’s how I see things, at least. I just want to NOT dread going to work every day. Is that too much to ask for?

Anyways, she baked Shaker Lemon Pie from scratch and served it with fresh whipped cream.

Now I have to write 1,000 words on Phoebe Piece of cake pie, right?

***

My sweet day continued when I went to the gym. I took Thursday off so my legs were fresh and ready to go. I banged out 3 miles on the treadmill and then 30 min. on the elliptical. I was surprised my stomach didn’t start cramping since I had pie in my tummy!! I can’t wait for the weather to warm up so I can go running outside. I had to muster up some serious mental strength on the treadmill!

Then I did 30 min. of strength training. I mixed it up with some new exercises and I am sore….it feels great though!

***

Post workout I had a brewski…

Gotcha!!! Actually, it was a Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Shake. Doesn’t the foam make it look like a pint of beer?

• 1/2 packet chocolate whey protein
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach
• 1/3 banana
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup PUMPKIN

My professor joked that I was going to put the leftover pumpkin from my granola in a smoothie. She joked right

For dinner, I made an appanini!!

That’s a Brie and Apple Panini….work with me here!

Plus an apple walnut salad with tofu, avocado and other veggies.

There were many different flavors going on in this salad but it made for a fun meal to eat. I’m pretty sure anything can be eaten on a bed of lettuce.

I spent the rest of the night watching some of the Olympics Opening Ceremony, and going through my entire inbox.

All the while, I had:

• 1/2 Ezekiel English Muffin
• 2 slices Kabocha Squash
• Kefir + Tart froyo + Pumpkin bowl

x2

My hunger came back at around 11pm, so I eased it with a Luna Bar. It felt weird eating a bar at 11pm but I knew my body needed it.

A sweet ending to my sweet day!

***

Quirky Q’s (it’s been forever since I asked these!)

1. What’s your favorite pie? Mine is pecan pie, duh!

2. Which Olympic event are you most looking forward to watching? I’ve had a love for ladies figure skating for as long as I can remember.

3. If money didn’t matter, what job/career would you pursue?

…is my new name. I am most definitely the reigning queen of SNAX.

I didn’t have class today….YAY! I did have a paper to write though…NAY! Twitter, Bobby Flay <3 and a plethora of snax helped me through it. No worries.

***

Breakfast, in one word, was drinkable! I guess I was thirsty this morning or just too lazy to chew

Kefir Green Tea Melon Monster

• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1/2 cup of watermelon and honey dew
• 1/2 Amazing Grass Packet
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk

The Lock Ness Monster was just waiting to creep outta that foam!

Green Tea Latte!

I used to make these a lot last winter. I simply microwave a cup o’ almond milk, stevia and either instant green tea or a green tea bag.

So creamy.

I continued my hydration fest with cafetiere coffee. See my paper being written?

Then I proceeded to snack my face off. Snacking is definitely a symptom of paper writing for me. I also didn’t have anywhere to go so I knew I could graze at my disposal .

Ezekiel English Muffin w/ almond butter and banana slices

Pretzels.

Finally at around 4pm I had a quasi dinner:

Leftover salad w/ a hard boiled egg and avocado

Side of panini-pressed sweet taters and ketchup.

Close-up on the char marks.

Graham cracker, dried apricot, almond butter….still snackin’.

Groceries from Kroger:

• Silk Pure Almond (1/2 gallon for $2.44!!!!!). That can normally only get you 1/4 gallon.
• THE ONLY CAN OF PUMPKIN IN THE WHOLE STORE. I refuse to pay $3 at WFs for pumpkin.
• Whey protein powder….$1 each. Kinda sketch…

Then I had ~1 cup of Country Spice Pumpkin Granola from the bulk section at Whole Foods.

I’m 100% sure this is Trader Joe’s Granola….there is absolutely no doubt about it. Weird that it was in the bulk section at WFs, huh?

***

I worked out while watching the Duke vs. UNC basketball game. We WON!!!!!! I was confident we would win but it got annoyingly close in the middle.

Chocolate Berry Recovery Shake:

• ~1 cup almond milk
• 3 strawberries
• 1/2 packet chocolate protein powder
• ice

It tasted like a milk shake!! I like the Silk Almond Milk (50x better than Almond Dream…blegh). It is sweetened though so it has a higher sugar content (7g of sugar) than unsweetened Almond Breeze.

It has a lovely almond flavor and is very creamy!

I also made another decaf Green Tea Latte, this time using a tea bag!

Mmmmmmmmmm.

What’s with me and liquids today!?!?

Alright gots to go!! I have to wake up early so I can pee because our water is being shut off from 10-4 tomorrow!! Guff.

***

Tell me, what’s your favorite snack!?

…name that movie!!

I had a great workout yesterday on an empty stomach. I really don’t know where in the world my energy came from. I walked the 20 min. to the gym (no parking on weekdays allowed for low-lifes like me!) ellipticalled for 50 min. Afterwards, I randomly decided to do a 35 min. full body strength training workout using mostly dumbbells, body weight, and a few machines. Lastly, I walked the 20 min. back to my apartment. WHEW!

I finally decided to crack open my vintage can o’ pumpkin! I got 3 of these on clearance last year from Target after Thanksgiving. I’m so glad I saved one because of the pumpkin shortage this year….is that still in effect?

I decided to make the easiest microwave pumpkin pie that I definitely ate several times a week last fall/winter. I got the inspiration from one of Kath’s recipes way long ago!

• 1/2 cup of pumpkin
• 1 egg white
• pumpkin pie spice
• stevia

Mix well with a fork and microwave for 2-3 minutes!

Voila!! I topped it with yogurt and pecans this time for a faux cream cheese frosting!

When hunger finally struck, I had TJ’s European Style yogurt with Kashi Puffs, bananas, strawberries, pecans, and dried cranberries.

Little Bear wanted you to see that there really was yogurt hiding underneath!!

Also, it was a dreary day so my bed was the ONLY place I could get any decent lighting.

Warning: it was quite a snackie day! I don’t have classes on Mondays, so I don’t have to eat around any classes or meetings–I can just snack away!

I had a Pecan Pumpkin Butter Cookie…more like a bite/chew/patty.

Next up, I decided on a veggie snack plate. I tried to make it as pretty as those of Gliding Calm’s.

Getting in my rainbow Like my sheets?

I also had a Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar throughout the night. I had little nudges of it at a time. That’s the last of these Clif Bars. Now that I’ve tried the Fall flavors, I need to take a break!

Half a cranberry+brie+almond butter BANINI. Look at the little banana butt stickin’ out!! This combo was perty good if I do say so myself

I decided to butcher my butternut squash too! Can you tell I was totally procrastinating work?!?!

Anyways, cutting him open almost led to some fingers getting cut off in the process….and a process it WAS.

I ate about 1/4 of the squashie and then had another snack: Brie, almond butter, cranberry, butternut squashadilla! Not the greatest photo but definitely the greatest tasting!!

I honestly can’t get over this combo. Get ready for more to come!

Needless to say, my tummy was pleasantly happy from all those little snacks! It was not the most productive day on the work front. I just can’t seem to buckle down until it’s seriously crunch time. Not good. Not good.

Today’s a pretty crazy day full of classes and Initiation for my sorority, which will take 2+++ hours!!!

Quirky Qs

1) What is your favorite combo of flavors? Currently mine is brie+cranberry sauce….reminds me of T-DAY!

2) Do you prefer to eat 3 square meals or many snacks? It depends on my schedule for the day. If I’m lounging around the house (by lounging I mean hard at work!!), I like to snack away. If I’ve got a busy day, I like to eat larger meals so keep me satiated. I HATE being hungry in class and not being able to do anything about it!!

*Last call for the Oikos Giveaway!  Midnight tonight!

Have a fab day!

My ability to eat went out the window today after a visit to the dentist!! I went in for a check-up/cleaning and the 2 cavities I had from last time were still there. My dentist always says ‘we’ll take care of it next time’ as if they’ll go away (?!?). But today, he finally had the time to fill them so I said a reluctant ‘okay’ as I surrendered my life ability to eat.

I got not one but TWO horrendously painful shots of novocaine, one on EACH side of my upper gums. He went a little bit low so my entire tongue was numb and I could barely talk. I definitely had a lisp and started drooling when I was talking on the phone to my BFF, Katherine. Attraaaaactive!!

Before getting my poor little toothies drilled I had a Multigrain Butternut Squash Banana Pancake Breakfast for one! Say that 5 times fast!!!

My pancakes basking in the morning sunshine

I made the pancake batter from scratch using these ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Rolled oats (ground to a flour consistency)
• 1 Egg white
• 1/6 cup of Whole wheat pastry flour (the mysterious bag in the photo)
• 1/2 cup Butternut squash puree (leftover from muffin making)
• 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Water (didn’t have milk!)
• Stevia

I used my Magic Bullet to grind the rolled oats (YES, I brought this guy home with me for the weekend. Very necessary.)

The batter! I could have popped this in the microwave for some oat bran-like porridge….

But I didn’t.

TA DA!!!

I topped the 4 pancakes (can you spot the 4th pancake!?!?) with pumpkin butter, agave nectar, almond butter drizzle, and some berries for perty-ness!!

With a side of glowing honey dew and papaya!

All together now:

.

.

.

Then came the death of my mouth for a span of 5 hours. I got out of the dentist’s office expecting to be starving but had absolutely no appetite. My mouth was in so. much. pain. and I was dizzy and had a massive migraine (?) It felt like I had surgery or something!! I couldn’t OPEN my mouth. It was that bad.

So I chatted mumbled with my parents while waiting for the pain to subside. I had some (unpictured) kefir chia pudding that I coincidentally made last night. My mouth (and stomach) liked that one! I’ll make it again for y’all to see.

I went downstairs and ellipticalled for 60 min. while watching [Hey Y'all] Paula Deen add 2 sticks of butter and a cup of sugar to everything she made. I also watched Bring it On All or Nothing. Some things should just go un-blogged

I came home and made myself a salad but my teeth were still a bit raw from earlier. So I made a massive Green Monster instead. Virtually the same thing just in liquid form right?!?

• Frozen spinach
• Frozen berries
• Greens+ Superfood Mix
• Kefir
• Stevia

I also baked up the rest of the sweet potato fries with a light coating of EVOO and ate them with some organic ketchup I found in the fridge.

Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm!! Nice and soft for my toothies!

I snacked on some papaya and honey dew while writing this up. My hunger is definitely catching up now that my gums aren’t screaming at me. I think I’m gonna go venture off to find some more grub!

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Quirky Qs

1) Have you ever had a super-painful dental experience? What did you eat? I had head gear and braces back in the day so I had my fair share of soup and yogurt only WEEKS.

2) What’s your favorite pancake flavor/recipe? What are your favorite add-ins? The pancakes I made today were definitely high on my list!

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I’m off to go prepare my BSI post!!! Coco chose me to be the next host!! I’m super excited for this…stay tuned for the secret ingredient.