Froyo, Newyo, things I gotta show!

WHAT’S that you say? A day without rain? Why yes, my friends, it has finally stopped raining in my corner of the world. We’ve been blessed with lovely sun today, and I’m sure that I will be going for a long walk later, if possible.

I was also blessed with this Smile You’re Beautiful award, from Lenna! 

 1. Smile!

new heart sunglasses!

Done and Done.

2. Write 3 things you like about your looks.

Exhibit A: I like my curly hair!

ice cream + laughter!

Exhibit B: I like how when I smile, I look truly happy:

Oxford, Summer 2010

Exhibit C: I like my arms.

clubbing in Oxford?

3. Write 3 things you appreciate about your personality.

I’m am intellectual

I think of others and enjoy giving joy to other people

I love adventure

4. Write about something you find beautiful in other people (looks, personality – whatever)

I value honesty, a good sense of self  and awareness to the world around you

5. Award as many other people as you like and let them know!

I chose YOU (any of you that you like. Cause you’re beautiful. Duh)

The last couple days….okay, so maybe it was two…saw this happen:

better not turn it on!

I saw a mouse in our kitchen so my Mom immediately told me to put everything in the microwave? Hm..okay Mom, whatever you say

When Dad picked me up last week from school, we stopped at WF on our way home (LOVE IT!) and I picked this new find up: Sunsational Non Dairy Milk made from….sunflower seeds!

yum?

I was looking for the new unsweetened Coconut Milk by So Delicious, but I found this instead. Who could resist when I love sunflower seed butter as much as I do?

told ya

It had a darker color than most milks I’ve tried

kind of the color of sunflower seeds?

but like I’ve said before; I’m down for anything but dairy milk! The stats on this drink aren’t stellar (ie: lower in protein and calcium than others), but I had fun drinking it and it tastes good. Verdict? I think it tastes really good. Kind of like what you’d expect the milk version of SSB to taste like and thus a winner. It’s creamy as well, which is a nice.

I also found myself this Liberte yogurt.It was new so I had to try it. Well….that and the fact that it was Date and Fig flavored. Seriously guys, two of my favorite dried fruits AND yogurt? I’m IN!

ooowie!

I really liked this as well, but it was a bit sweet. Don’t judge based on me though; I tend to be super sensitive to sweet things and therefore not like them as much. The yogurt itself had a really nice flavor, not just plain but as if it had a bit of the flavor infused into it- a really nice touch. The fruit on the bottom was more like apple butter texture- so like figdate butter texture? It was quite sweet (as dates and figs are) but I can see eating this yogurt with toast and then spreading the fruit on the bottom on my toast with nut butter!! Next time, my friends.

Had me an awesome protein shake. I’m really feeling these lately.

sprinkled with cinnamon, of course

This morning my family went to  help sort plants that my 4th grade sister G and her class sold to help the victims of the tragedy in Japan. I didn’t get any pictures because we were moving and organizing plants from 9-11:30, but I actually had fun!! Good thing I fueled myself a delish brekkie!

NOM

GCW (Ginger Cracked Wheat)
1/4 cup cracked wheat + 2 cups water, cooked overnight in my lovely mini crockpot
1/4 tsp ginger- this even ended up being too much and overpowered the oats, sadly
dump sprinkle on the cinnamon
2 tbsp Sunsational Sunflower Milk 
blob on the greek yogurt
2 tbsp maple syrup (I added this in a desperate attempt to balance out the ginger)

Like I said, the ginger totally overpowered the taste of the cracked wheat. I really have been getting into cracked wheat lately because I love the chewy texture it lends to my breakfast.

what a glow

Of course eaten with bites of SSB and SNB. When do I NOT dip other foods in these??!!

After we got home and ate lunch, I finally got to finish my project from last night:

pink of perfection

I made Strawberry Froyo!!

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
1 cups greek yogurt
1/2 cup strawberry yogurt
1 cup milk (I used skim here, because I wanted to share it with my family)
2 tsp strawberry extract  (or the rest of the bottle, which wasn’t that much…)
1/2 a banana (this added creamy texture)
1 tbsp arrowroot powder (for thickening!)

This all went into my blender because we still don’t have a food processor

*insert annoyance and foot stomping here!*

and then it went into our ice cream maker.

y.u.m.

Pretty much a success, I’d say. My mom liked it!!
ps: it tastes great with SSB and SNB- I told you I ate it with everything!!

Tomorrow is my last day of being housebound!! or rather, my mom’s last day of not being able to drive/intense recovery from her surgery!! WOOHOO!! I forsee trips to the two natural food stores around, Fresh Market and the new Super Target with grocery section in my near future. And a farmers market, for sure

Hope you’re all having a cheery day full of sun. If you’ve ever made ice cream or froyo, what flavors did you make? What was your “trick” for making it come out right? 

Love, Hannah

Starting with M…more survey!

Today is just going to be a light survey for you…the other half of Amanda’s! 

For the record, I love surveys. So much that I’d think about becoming a professional survey taker? hm….it’s a thought….

M: is for Milk, what kind do you like (flavor, source, etc)?… I am pretty sure I used to at least like dairy milk but now I can’t stand it!! I usually stick to soy milk. I will actually drink any sort of non dairy milk. I’ve tried oat, hemp, rice (this is my least favorite- where’s the calcium and protein?), sunflower (bought, but not yet tasted), soy. As soon as I’m tested for nut intolerance, I’m going to get on that almond milk!

N: is for Nuts, what kind are your favorite?…See above. I’m unsure whether I’m allergic/intolerant to nuts. I was when I was younger and grew out and into it again. Perhaps this time will be the charm? That said, I can’t wait to try peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc. I’ve been eating soy nut butter and sunflower seed butter, which are delish though, so I can’t complain.

O: is for Onions, do you eat them?…yes! I love onions. I love them roasted, boiled (like St. Patrick’s Day!) and caramelized, grilled, etc. Basically any way except raw. Give them to me raw and I might cry. Literally.

P: is for Protein, what is your favorite source?…I love yogurt. Give me the greek or the regular any day. Gotta be plain though, or perhaps vanilla. I’m not a fan of flavored yogurts, I prefer to add my own flavor or just enjoy the creaminess on its own.

this

or this

or yogurt cheese!

Q: is for Quiche, what 4 ingredients would you like in yours?…I’ll admit to not being a huge fan of quiche. It’s a bit daunting but I do know my mom makes a mean one! I’d probably like peppers, zucchini, carrots and spinach. and mushrooms. (I’m a cheater…)

R: is for Restaurant, what’s the name of your favorite and what type of cuisine does it serve?… I prefer to cook at home, just because it is easier for me to make a choice. I don’t think I have a favorite restaurant, but I sure do love me some Whole Foods Hot Bar!! Does that count?

bein' silly

S: is for Spices, name 4 that are in your kitchen right now that you have used in the past 5 days?… I really love cinnamon! and I also like nutmeg (in coffee, seriously, it is good!) For the savory spices, I like curry powder and chili powder. Anything with spice.

T: is for Trick or Treating, what 5 candies does your bag contain?…Chocolate chocolate and more chocolate. And I use a pillow case. Well, I did. I haven’t been trick or treating for a couple years. I’m pretty sure it is still there somewhere. Basically I don’t like most conventional chocolate; gimme the expensive dark stuff!

chili dark chocolate anyone?

U: is for Universal, what is your favorite type of cuisine from around the world?…I love…cuisine from the very own island of my own kitchen! This involves SSB and SNB on everything, veggies, fruits, oats, etc. I’ll eat most everything though, although I’m not a fan of pasta or rice.

some oaties?

V: is for Vitamins, do you take them, and if so, what kinds?…I take a multi and calcium as well as omegas. I love taking chewy vitamins, of course. Gotta stay young and keep it fun!

W: is for Water, do you drink bottled, spring, tap, sparkling, etc?…I’m a sparkling water snob, admittedly…

X: is for Xtra special, what food holds a special place in your heart?… Soy Nut Butter and Sunflower Seed Butter hold that special place. They literally saved my life in my recovery. I’ve gone through jars and jars when I thought I could never touch fats. My hair, skin, heart, hormones, etc, thank me.

Y: is for Yogurt, you can only afford 1 cup, what kind do you purchase?…just…*gasp*…one? Probably Fage 2%?

Z: is for Zero guilt, what food can you enjoy over and over without any guilt?… Working on this. Lately it has been the nut butters. Amazingly. I am in awe of how much of these I can eat and just feel awesome.

Newman’s Own Organics sent me these delicious soy crisps to review. They sent me Cinnamon Sugar and White Cheddar, which I would probably have chosen any way. Good job NOO! They also come in Lightly Salted and BBQ flavors for all of you traditionalist and down south folks.

Here they are...miss America...?

I love any sort of soy crisp. These are like a nice cross between a rice cake and a protein cracker? The crunch is just to die for and the flavors are perfect.

white chedder//cinnamon sugar

Some mini rice cakes *quaker* are too sweet and just taste like sugar covered cardboard. Not these! They pack a flavor punch without being dusted with the sweet stuff.

and 8g protein per serving? I would take that.

the inside look

Not gonna lie. I opened up both bags at once. Who said sweet and savory couldn’t mix? 5/5 NOO! 

My mom has been bugging me about my recovery today. I’ve been thinking so much about it lately but I’m in the place where I want it SO BADLY that it’s even harder to act on. Does anyone get this? I went to the doctor yesterday for my pre-camp employment physical and had a Hep A shot and some blood tests done. Today I feel like I’ve been poked and prodded, not only on my arms, but also in my soul. Things like this that bring me into consciousness about my recovery hurt a bit, but they are good for you, like shots. I NEED to think about the scary things that happen if I don’t recover. I NEED to think about the amazing things that happen when I do. There is seriously so much for me to live for; I’ve always been a girl with big dreams, now I just need to make them come closer. With 1.5  more years of college left, it’s coming at me faster than I thought it would. I’m being less and less at home, which means I am more and more in control of my own life. I need to take that control and not only find myself an internship and jobs, make friends, find a significant other (isn’t this part of adulthood?) but also take the time to tune into what my body needs and wants. If this means I serve myself that super scary bowl of cereal, then goddamn it, I’m going to do it. If I’m thirsty, why shouldn’t I have a glass of soy milk instead of some water. I did this morning. It’s a start.

I feel terrible about talking about my mom like this because she means the world to me and we are really very close, but I need to be honest when she upsets me. She just came into the living room where I am sitting with my bag of chia seeds in her hands. She then proceeded to say that my eating of them was eating disordered and that they had no benefits other than fiber. Could you guys help a sister out and tell me some other, great benefits of Chia seeds and why YOU guys eat them? I know that many people eat them daily (those recovering/ed or not) and swear by them. The girl who recommended them to me doesn’t even have an eating disorder, as I pointed out to my mom. I guess I’m just frustrated. How am I supposed to enjoy what I’m eating if I never get validated from it. Yes, it should come from inside of me, but it’s also more difficult.

Note: this shouldn’t reflect badly on my mom. I love her more than anyone and she puts up with anything and everything, listens to me complain, rejoice, etc. She is just recovering from surgery and she’s tired. She just came in and told me that she thought my eating disorder was on the point of collapse. I think she’s right. I’m just angry at her. Is that okay?

enough depressing things, now for some hope!

Sarah does something great at the end of her posts. She congratulates herself for having done something good each day, no matter how small. I love this idea and I’ve got to think of how I can do something like it. It could be one challenge per day or a re-thinking of a negative thought. Or just one little thing that I was grateful for or made me happy that day. I’ll think on this.

Today though, I’m thankful for all of my readers. It means so much to me that you care enough to read my ramblings each day

Love, Hannah

ps: Picky Nicky is having an aweomely awesome life saver spread (nut butter) giveaway!

WIAW!! My First!

Hi guys!!

I’ve decided to do a WIAW today!! It’s late, however, because I’m not really sure how to do it. Is it supposed to be what you ate on wednesday or can it just be any full day of eats? This is what I ate today, May 18th, 2011, but perhaps next time I’ll pick another day of the week so I can actually get it up in a timely fashion….

<center><a href=”http://peasandcrayons.blogspot.com/”><img border=”0″ src=”http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f210/klutzycutie16/SUSHIbutton12-1.jpg&#8221; /></a></center>

Breakfast began with a Banana Berry protein smoothie. So excited!

yummilicious

I love Spirutein Shakes. They come in so many flavors!

this sucker was huuge

1 packet spirutein Berry Banana Gold protein powder
1 cup Silk Soymilk
guar and xanthan gums

Perfection in a glass.

I loved this so much, that I had to make another one as a morning snack.

can you tell what flavor?

I made this one chocolate by adding unsweetened cocoa powder to a vanilla protein powder + silk.

frothayyy

These were tasty, but I still miss the spinach element. The spinach I had turned all mushy on me

Lunch was OOIAJ (overnight oats in a jar!) …or rather, two jars

these were about ready

Filling? Chia Seed Oat Bran!

a la crock pot

Jar One: Chocolate Soy Nut Butter 

Jar Two: yogurt cheese

all filled up!

I was super psyched about this. The weather outside is frightful (sorry) but the oats were mmmmm delightful

Jar Number One

Contents: 1/2 the oat bran, sliced strawberries, honey rice puffins, barbaras oat squares, soy nut butter, banana vanilla tofu pudding (a wonderful addition!), 1/4 a sweet potato, chocolate soy nut butter

Jar Number Two

Contents: 1/2 oat bran, barbaras oat squares, honey rice puffins, TJs Sunflower Seed Butter, yogurt cheese, 1/4 sweet potato and banana vanilla tofu pudding

So. Good.

lovely layers

I ate one of these at lunch time and saved the other for an afternoon snack. They were quite filling, as you all know

fini

I guess I didn’t like it or anything….

Midafternoon, I took a break from cleaning/organizing my room to catch up on some of your WIAW posts and downed my other OOIAJ, cold from the fridge.

real classy-like

I like them both warm and cold, it turns out.

chillin' with the blogs

I made a compromise because of the weather and walked home only from my doctor’s appointment. I read like Freya while I walked

I couldn’t even decide what I wanted for dinner when I got home. Half of me wanted  a quesadilla….

melt!

and half of me wanted chili. I settled for both!

perfection.

I steamed some fresh green beans and accompanied the meal with mustard dippage and salsa. Two of my favorite condiments, of course.

mmmmmmmelty

I loved this meal, let me tell you.

protein+fat+carbs=happy body

.

and of course, I had a salad with carrots and balsamic on the side. as per usual, I love my salads!

.

I had a couple spoonfuls of banana vanilla tofu pudding and yogurt with SSB and SNB for dessert. You know how I do.

All in all, a perfect delish day.

SIDENOTE: Not moments after I posted yesterday’s post, detailing how much I loved my Pufferfish Mug, I heard a huge crash from the kitchen. Yes, it was indeed my younger sister breaking my mug.

I cried.

for about twenty minutes

then I went to meditate for an hour and felt a bit better.

Rest In Peace

I’m going to miss it

Hope you guys all had a terrific wednesday,

Love, Hannah

Patty Cake Patty Cake….(TWO recipes!)

Bake me some cakes as fast as you can!

I got home from college for real for the summer last night and made myself a nice latte in my Pufferfish mug.

Mexican Organic Dark Roast, Soymilk, whirled up in our latte maker!

a joyful reunion ensued

although I look kinda serious...

Yes, my friends, I have been baking up a storm here on the home front

It is p.o.u.r.i.n.g. outside, and with my mom’s post-surgery bed/house rest mandate, I’m house-bound for about a week

No fear though, I’m all set with plans to keep me busy! I’m going to be doing some cooking, of course, as well as taking lots of walks (if the rain lets up a bit…), drinking lots of tea (duh), dancing around, cleaning my room, hand washing all my knit-wear, taking some bike rides (again, rain conditional) and walking to my doctors appointment on wednesday!! I’m really psyched for this last one, because it is a super long walk and I’ve never actually done something like this before. Where I live isn’t really near to anything so walking a half marathon distance to an appointment is a biggie!! Gonna fuel up right.

Today I woke up and “slept” until my sibs got on the bus to avoid being in our *tiny* kitchen while they were scrambling to get ready for school. Mom called “thank you for waiting!” after they’d gone, and up I got. Shower, dressed while dancing (a MUST DO!) and hopped downstairs to make myself the brekkie I’d planned out the night before:

Sweet Potato Protein Cake
-1/2 sweet potato
-1 tbsp wheat bran or flour (I use wheat bran)
-1 egg white or egg substitute (I am going to try to veganize this, I imagine you could use Ener-G egg replacer? I’ll try this)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp nutmeg
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tbsp soy milk
-1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Pop into a bowl  

like so

it was quite large!

comparison?

and microwave for 3 minutes, or until done. Will be kinda spongy? 

delish

Makes ONE LARGE cakey for one hungry Hannah

mmmm

But you’ve gotta plate it right girlllll

4 strawberries, soymilk/greek yogurt dippage

see the rain?

cut yourself a wedge and dig in!

perfection

wedge-less

Sorry. The pics were all too pretty to not put on here.

Of note: this thing sits well in the stomach. Very filling and very proteinous. 11g? I think yes!

I may have mentioned about my friend who is teaching in Korea. We met last summer while we were both studying on a program at Oxford University and I really miss him. I recently asked him in a oh so secret way what his favorite cookies were. He replied by sending a blog recipe (!) of some chocolate oatmeal freezer cookies. My mom said non-cooked cookies don’t send well (and neither do cookies, for that matter) so I decided to make him chocolate bar cookies, modeled after the recipe he sent me.

bad picture butttt

Chocolate Oatmeal Squares
~based off of these recipes  

**these are not vegan because I made them for this friend and I wanted to make sure they were guaranteed to come out perfect. also I don’t eat vegan 100% of the time, although I often do

-3 cups oats
-1/2-1 cup flour- depending upon how much your oats decide to stick together for you
-1/2 cup sugar
-4 tbsp cocoa powder
-1 cup butter
-1 egg
-2 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 cup chocolate chips
-dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350°
Mix the butter and sugar together in a fancy mixer thing a la above!
Add the egg and vanilla, mix well
Combine dry ingredients and mix. Add to the wet and whip around until combined.
Add in chocolate chips and spread into a pan (medium sized, this doesn’t fit in an 8×8″)
Bake for 60 minutes, until it passes the knife test. 

chocolately chocolate

I think they came out quite well.

now for your close up

It is coming down out there. Gosh, if we could harvest -and clean- all the water that is pouring into my backyard right now, I bet we could solve the world shortage problem. Either that, or this is the reason we have that problem. I’d be happy to share!!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful day. I’m going to go read now and perhaps check off some of the things on my to do list- namely the cleaning the room part. Does anyone else have trouble with this? 

I want to do a Q&A post, so ask me some Qs!!–>HERE

Slackage

Hi y’all.

I’ve been slacking with my posting lately which is mainly because I’ve been strung between finals and home and being back at school to record for a cappella 6 hours a day. Needless to say, I’m exhausted and can’t even make straight thoughts.

Today’s recording session was awful. Our pitch yelled at me again and this time I broke. I apologized to her between hands I held to my face as if they could stop the tears. She didn’t even apologize or listen to me. She walked away.
I left the room and found another member of our group outside who sat me down and rubbed my back while I tried not to lose it completely.

I’ll give A (the pitch) the benefit of the doubt. I was having low energy (I have NO energy today and yesterday….) and because of that, I might have not had the most positive attitude. But I also hate feeling needy or drawing attention to myself, so I wouldn’t  tell anyone even if I was feeling seriously ill for fear they wouldn’t care or would think I was trying to get attention. During recording, I could barely keep my eyes open, but I said nothing. Not to mention that I kept falling asleep on my feet. I was just miles away.

As you know, the struggle between this pitch and I is not a one time thing, it has happened before. Perhaps it all stems back to my general lack of social abilities, I don’t know. But it is certainly making spending multiple hours with my a cappella group- a pastime I used to so enjoy- kind of dreadful.  I’ve been thinking a whole bunch about what it is that makes people drop me. I don’t have any answers yet, but I’m trying to be mindful of how I act around others so I can read their signals if I’m doing something wrong. Regardless, I don’t think she has any right to berate me every time she’s feeling down. She does it in private, maybe so people can’t stick up for me. Luckily, a. she is graduating on sunday and b. I still know that I’m a worthwhile person. You all follow my blog, so I must have some redeeming qualities. haha.

Do you have any advice? 

Our glee club had the senior banquet last night. I went, sat with K and C, ate 2 plates of salad, buttered broccoli and mashed potatoes (poor veg options!) and then we left. We just weren’t feeling it and it was C’s birthday so we walked around in town a bit before going to get her the free Sundae that you get on your birthday from  our local ice cream joint.
Town hosts two markets each week which is really fun. The saturday morning farmers market and a smaller scale tuesday market which is the one we encountered quite by accident while walking the back way so as not to walk around the restaurants huge glass windows and be discovered/shamed for our leaving the banquet. Wow that was a long sentence.

freeee

I love free samples, so we tried some different spreads. I think this one was like maple gooseberry? I liked it. I’m not sure K did though…

maybe not?

that face says I'm just smiling for the photo

C liked it!

smiles!

and the best part was that there was a cute little black lamb for petting/nuzzling. I did the latter, of course.

nuzzlewuzzle

but it walked away and wouldn't pose with me

We tried some cheese. I have got to say, anywhere where samples are, samples of cheese are my favorite. Whole Foods shout out??

although I wasn't so fond of these

something funny happened; I tried some goat cheese that I liked!! Strange, I usually find it too bitter. It contained honey, which I usually find too sweet, but this cheese was to die for, seriously! There may be hope to me visiting the land of goat cheese yet!

C for her birthday sundae.

very cute

and some chocolate all over her lips.

lick!

All in all, we agreed it was better than just sitting at senior banquet.

Time for retro pictures!

Sunday began with a run. I was feeling ambitious/not tired as usual, and woke up to some nut butter covered dates- of course!

best combo ever!

is there even a date under there?
It was sunday and E and I (being the earliest risers in the house) made breakfast in bed for my mother on Mother’s Day. Guess what I made?

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Oatmeal!

all trayed up

My mom shares my love of oatmeal, which makes everything easy
we didn’t want to make Dad feel bad, so we whipped him up some rather ugly lookin’ pancakes from the leftover batter in the fridge. Sounds terrible, but I tried one and they weren’t bad.

a tad lumpy

Then I went on my run.

sweatyyyyy

I love my mother photo bombing in the background.
Had myself a delish vanilla protein shake.

thick and creamy and cold

I was amazed at myself. I’ve been feeling really tired lately, but since I’ve been home I’ve been eating better (more carbs!) and I did my whole run without stopping which was pretty big for me and the fatigue I’ve been feeling. I knew I wanted a big refuel when I got home!

fooling around....

Yes, I looked terrible and put on some snazzy sunglasses

I had another one later.

ommmmm

Do you ever get on two smoothie day kicks?

Now I’m going to go get some lunch and read a bit before our senior banquet tonight- a cappella style! I hope it turns out okay. I’m singing “Slow Pony Home” by The Weepies which is the senior song. I have the solo but I’m not sure how comfortable I feel singing it to A. I feel like maybe I’m not the one she’d choose….ugh feelings! slow pony home. Nice song, really.
See you tomorrow!! a review of some yummy things is coming, as well as a recap of senior banquet!

Love, Hannah

After long silence

So hey guys, remember me? I’m finally done for the year, which is such a relief, and I’ve got a couple days worth of photos for you!! I’m going to just do a bit of recap with photo captions and then tell in glorious detail the things that need telling, of course.

one pale green monster- check!

eating some SNB

desk before moving out

desk after moving out

I seriously notice a clothing-color trend...remember this shelf? empty!

home, sweet home!

I thought I wouldn't open this. WRONG.

Crock around the Clock!

Good Morning! I always start like this and should change up my greeting, don’t you think? But in all seriousness, it is a good morning. I spent all night in a room that smelled lightly of cinnamon. Why? Because I’ve been crockin’ around the clock!

first time used!

also a first!

I was so so so excited for these Chia Seeds but I told Tessa I’d try them this weekend so I took a break for it and just did it!

major excitement right there folks

ain't she a beaut?

I honestly had no idea (and really still don’t) how to use this thing but I tried anyway!

this stuff has a nice chew to it

Overnight Crockpot Cracked Wheat! 

-1/4 cup Hodgeson Mill Cracked Wheat Cereal
- 2 cups water
-1 tbsp Navitas Naturals Chia Seeds

Into the pot overnight on low with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

in they go!

I actually cooked it a bunch in the evening, turned it off out of paranoia for peace of mind while I slept and then turned it back on this morning. 

a bit later?

I’m a really bad example of “a watched pot never boils” and the proper use of a crockpot. I couldn’t help but take off the lid and see what was happening to the chia seeds!

this morning!

I scooped these into a nearly empty Once Again Sunflower Seed Butter (to die for!) and layered it with about 2 tbsp Stonyfield Farmsyogurt.

check!

But it actually wouldn’t all fit in the jar!!

improvise!

So I definitely ate it for awhile out of the pot with a couple bites of banana. Finally, I put it into a little bowl.

much better

I know Kathdid a video post once about making perfect oats and mentioned that she always liked to eat the film that is left at the end- I do too!!

tasty

Back to the jar.

love this stuff!

see that glob?

What does the test panel say?

thumbs up!

Chia seeds? People are right, they don’t really taste like anything at all but they add majorrrr volume to your breakfast. Sign me up.
Cracked Wheat? I’m a big fan of oats, and I don’t think CW will be taking their place anytime soon, but it did have a really nice, wheat-like flavor and a bit of a chewy texture to it that I really liked and that complemented the chia seeds.  I’d have it again, especially since I have a box….Hodgeson Mill doesn’t disappoint either; they’re pretty serious about their grains. Gotta love it!

I will admit to being a little nervous about this breakfast.
1. Chia seeds? Something new, a nutrient dense thing that added *gasp* calories to my breakfast
2. Carbs!! (I’m having a thing with them lately) in such a small serving size.
3. Nut Butter? Always scary but always worth it
4. Would I feel full? I always worry about this for no reason.

Some answers for myself.
1. Chia seeds are amazing and I don’t know where they’ve been all my life, honestly. Welcome to the breakfast club, Chia. And those calories? They’re just energy. I’m burning them all off laughing at myself now anyways.
2.  Carbs = brain fuel. I’m writing essays today and they’re gonna be FAB because of all the carb-y goodness I had this morning. Also of note: the serving size was perfect- I don’t know how it multiplied so much, but where can I get some more???
3. Nut Butter? This stuff is great and I’m still the same size after I’ve eaten so many jars. I’m fine
4. Yes. I feel full. And my thoughts are not consumed with thoughts of food? What? Sometimes I wonder if I know what full really feels like and how to respond to it properly.

So all in all, I’m really proud of myself although I’m currently resisting the urge to use this newfound energy to go for a run. My ankle is still wrapped in it’s ace bandage of glory so that won’t be happening. Perhaps a walk later is in order? I think yes.

oh, and I forgot to mention:

I think she liked it

Love ya!

Hannah

What are your favorite things to do with Chia seeds? Any good recipes for me to try?? 

Ring Ring Ring!

Potato Phone!

todayyyyy
It began with hearing E running around the mud room before his MRI appointment at 530am. I’m an early riser as you know, but Daylight Savings Time has thrown me a bit on top of being home for spring break (Spring? it is SNOWING) and so I was a bit groggy. I rolled over and muttered, “What time even is it????” and went back to sleep until 7 when I had to wake up to put G on the bus. I said goodbye to her and ran to answer the phone! My breakfast was calling!

What is it?

Hello?

(Ignore the daylight savings time morning-glazed look)
I’m funny like that; I choose my sweet potatoes based on whether they look like something. I once bought one that looked like a bird.
Popped that baby in the microwave (I know, I should have baked it, but it was urgent!) for 5 minutes and DING it was done in a jiffy! Now….how to eat it….AHA I know! With some Chocolate Soy Nut Butter and Once Again Sunflower Seed Butter. This stuff tastes so different than the SunButter brand, but I like it!

I scooped some Chobani into a bowl and topped it off with Sprinkles a la Megan. The sprinkles were old or something, but they were sure pretty : ) We bought this Chobani at BJ’s yesterday and oh. gosh. I love a big tub of the stuff!! I haven’t tried many of their other flavors but I always find I’m partial to plain yogurt anyhow (that way, I can dress it up!)
It was snowing like crazy this morning! I don’t know what’s come over the Northeast but spring is definitely NOT as close to coming as I thought it was. 

Although if I look outside now, the snow has melted enough to see little patches of green where the Starlings are pecking at the bare earth with their little golden beaks!
Mom, Dad and E came home and all took a nap. I guess being at the hospital is exhausting. I had lunch while they slept.

hot and spicayyyyy

Have you ever had Green Mountain Gringo Salsa? If you haven’t and you like delicious salsa with big chunks in it, this stuff is for you. I could seriously eat an entire jar. Needless to say, they don’t last long around here

I really like that leaf of lettuce!

it just kinda....sticks up!

mmm finished off a bag of leafy greens, salsa, south west egg beaters, carrots, mustard and some pretzel thins which were the end of the bag so I sprinkled them on top. Savory sprinkles!

omnomnom. Mom, E and I watched The Princess and The Frog. Such a cute movie!! I loved the sparkle visuals and the feel good songs. It totally made my day. But it definitely had some scary themes….Disney, of course.
I think I’m going to go do some more seminar reading now. *sigh* see you later!
Hannah

 

Do you like sweet potatoes for breakfast? Do you have a favorite Chobani flavor? Do you think Disney films have frightening elements? How have you been reacting to daylight savings time?

Sunday sweet Sunday

wow. Blog I do late at night, huh? I need to figure out how to do this stuff guys.
Today was sunday and I usually really hate sundays for some reason.
Nothing to do, maybe. yes, shake your heads, but I really like having something to do!
Got up and made these for my sister:

angle shot, for good measure!

“Big, Fluffy Pancakes”
(I halved the recipe; my changes in red)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt I omitted this by accident and they turned out okay…
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon I made these on a whim and didn’t have a lemon, so I left it out.
1 stick of butter, melted
2 1/2 cups whole milk mixed with juice of 1 lemon, left to sit at room temperature until thickened or microwaved for 30 seconds to 1 minute until thickened wow this is complicated. I just used coconut milk because that’s what I had. It seemed to be fine and you couldn’t even taste the coconut when they were done!
confectioners sugar, for dusting and marmalade for serving I guess this was for the Harry Potter aspect?

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Drizzle in the melted butter while whisking vigorously. Whisk in the milk.
2 Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Whisk the two mixtures together briefly until just combined. The batter may be lumpy. Take care not to overmix or the pancakes will come out tough.
3. Spray an 8-inch skillet with cooking spray. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Pour 1/2 cup of batter into the skillet and cook until the surface bubbles and the bottom is golden brown (check by gently lifting with a fork). Cook on the other side for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden. Remove the cake from the pan and repeat until all the batter is used up, spraying the pan with cooking spray between each pancake.
4. Dust the pancakes with confectioners’ sugar or serve with a dab or marmalade.

Makes 11 large pancakes.

again, I mentioned that I halved the recipe, and I added Butterscotch Chips at the request of my ten year old brother, E, who is getting an MRI tomorrow for his Neurofibromatosis. Please send him fond thoughts.

The pancakes were from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook and were well received. This cookbook is cute and definitely a winner for someone as big on Harry Potter as G and E are right now. It has all the recipes for everything you wanted to make (Butterbeer anyone?) and recipes for things you really don’t  (Blood pudding? ew) plus little tid-bit facts about the recipe itself. Really a nice book.

After I was done with these I decided I was still in a cooking mood.
What…shall….I….make….
aha! I remembered that I had a thing (tupperware?) of black beans left over from yesterday’s Black Bean Brownies. Off I went to the fridge to get them; I knew just what I was going to make.

mmmmm

Chocolate Black Bean Dip/Spread
~1/3 cup black beans
~3 tbsp Chocolate Soy Nut Butter (or other chocolate nut butter of choice)

Plop these two in a food processor, whizz and BANG: You’re done!
This is super delish and I can’t wait to have it on something….tomorrow…. haha

For a snackie I ate one of my Black Bean Brownies with a little Strawberry Yogurt Cheese and some Apple Slices. mmmm mmm good.

yeah…this totally looks like 2 pieces doesn’t it. Just so ya know, it is one broken in two. Which is technically still 2 isn’t it….

Definitely worth it.

Now I’ve seriously got to go to bed and read. I’ve got more than 5 books to read over break for my seminar and different papers. Not complaining though, they’re all super interesting!

What do you do with leftover ingredients? Have you ever made a sweet bean spread?  Are you a Harry Potter fan? If so, what was one recipe you’ve always wanted to make?

See you all tomorrow ♥
Hannah

My Superfantastical Day

getting a bit artsy....

and yes, I am aware that “superfantastical” is not a word, however, I cannot think of a word to describe yesterday better than one that combines too good words. So “superfantastical it is.”

The day began with a good breakfast. Carbs in their best form: sweet potatoes, and fats in theirs: nut butters

Talk about DELISH

The meal featured the two along with another favorite, yogurt and wheat germ.

I could see myself in the spoon!

gotta have my staples too: Vanilla O’Soy, Soy Nut Butter (this time it was chocolate!), and Once Again Sunflower Seed Butter!
and remember yesterday’s post about the full fat Greek incident? I made Chocolate Covered Katie’s Banana Butter with it!
1 container full fat greek yogurt (or whatever yogurt)
1 whizzed up banana
a couple spoonfuls of nut butter of choice
blend and voila!

no, I didn't eat it with a fork : )

JUMPING to the end of the day now.
So I’m sure you all knew that last week was NEDA week. It was all over the blogosphere and for good reason. My school hosted an event last night and I decided to go. Afterwards, I hung around and introduced myself to a couple people I simply couldn’t let get away after I’d heard them speak up. I wanted needed these inspiring people in my life. Being here has left me feeling a bit alone, like I can’t share my history/experiences with people. I did with two and they’ve since stopped asking me to hang out. That hurts.
Before long, I found myself walking down the stairs of the campus center with three other girls who got me. They were headed into the campus center cafe at 8:45 pm and, of course, asked me to come along. Whoa. Wait. What does this mean? Does this mean I have to buy something? Does this mean I have to *gasp* have a snack?
well yes, and it turns out that it wasn’t so bad, in fact, I had the best fun I’d had in awhile and made three friends in the process.
My new friends challenged me to a non-planned snack and I chose Very Vanilla Silk Soymilk (an old friend from treatment days….) and I was SO surprised at how delicious it was! Creamy and smooth and So very good for me. I’m pretty sure I would have licked the inside if I could have
I got a picture to commemorate the moment :

good friends, good fun

(I’m the one with the soy milk, obviously!)
Next thing I know, we’ve begun reminiscing about treatment days and laughing our heads off. Not to mention we’ve got NEDA balloons floating all over the place and they keep popping loudly (which only brings more laughter).
Long story short, we’re going on a Pizza Challenge on  sunday for dinner. I practically did skip home on the most wonderful natural high I’ve had in weeks.
Of course, I’m still nervous about the Pizza, but it’ll be great to share it with people for whom it is also a big deal.
More on that to come, of course.

I’m off to Boston tomorrow to visit my German Pen Pal from way back who is an Au Pair here, and then my cousin who lives in Cambridge. Should be a fun day!!

Love,
Hannah

Have you ever gotten to the point where you needed to let a friend/friends go? How did you feel and how did it go?
What is your favorite nut butter?