Hit or Miss

We all know food can tend to be a hit or miss. This is especially true when it comes to trying new products or just trying a different brand of the same product.

And we all know there’s nothing worse than excitedly digging into something new only to be let down. Okay – maybe it’s worse that we then have a whole jar/bottle of whatever that is nasty.

Breakfast: HIT!! Base: 1/2 mashed banana, ~1/2 c. quick oats, 1/2 c. almond milk, chia seeds, cinnamon (and lots of it.) Vanilla chobani mixed in in the morning.

It’s hard to ever know for sure what you’re getting into with new stuff, too – just because one person loves it doesn’t mean you will, and just because they hate it doesn’t mean you will.

Topped this morning with peanut butter sauce, raisins, walnuts, wheat germ, and maple syrup. And some mo' banana.

I think a good case in point is that Banana peanut butter I picked up the other week. I was so excited about it at first, but now I find myself using more and more of it just because I want it gone already so I can move on to the good stuff. Luckily – I can’t really taste it’s plasticy taste when it’s made into a peanut butter sauce or birdseed bars.

HIT! Store-brand peanut butter!

Ironically, “the good stuff” is just $3.69 Price Chopper brand organic crunchy peanut butter. Who’s a thought?! I’m also loving locally made jams as well as random dented can store finds like this Holiday jam.

MISS: Once Again Sunflower Seed Butter.

Another recent disappointment? This Once Again Sunflower Seed butter. I had high hopes – I mean, give me a spoon and a jar of sunflower butter and I’m a happy girl. I love it even more than peanut butter, even though (and I just realized this) you rarely see it on this blog. Usually I buy the Full Circle brand, though Sunbutter is just as good. The only brand the co-op had was Once Again – but it’s oddly gritty and salty? Not a fan. I can’t wait for it to be over so I can buy some of the good stuff! It does get brownie points for having a really cute mascot, though.

Lunch: HIT!! And I thought the wraps I've been having are the best wraps ever...add tempeh to the mix, and you'll be in heaven!!

I grilled the tempeh on the panini press before wrapping it in a homemade pesto wrap with tomato “sauce” (leftover from last night), garlic hummus, feta, and mozzarella, and panini’d away. So. dang. good.

MISS.

I’ll probably get tomatoes thrown at me for this, but this Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla was a gigantic miss for me. I might as well have been pouring water over my cereal, except this might have been worse.

This was the first almond milk I’d ever had, back when healthy eating was hardly much of a passion. It was gross to me then and made me think all almond milk was gross, and it still is. I think it made my tongue even go a little tingly.

HIT!

This (sweetened) original Silk Pure Almond, however? ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! Even though I’m not a fan of really sweet things, the Almond Breeze was just not doin’ it for me. I don’t find this milk to be too sweet, and I can use it in sweet or savory baking and/or cooking.

I’ll take the bit of added sugar if it means enjoyment! I should note – I do enjoy the original sweetened Almond Breeze. The deciding factor of whether I get Silk or Almond Breeze is dependent on which store I’m in and which is cheaper. Usually, Almond Breeze is cheaper only by a quarter or two, but is only in one store I sometimes go to.

HIT!

I dusted the date brownies from yesterday with some confectioner’s sugar to sweeten them up a bit for work. They were enjoyed! Although one boss said they needed more chocolate…crazy, if you ask me.

HITS!

The Organic Whey and Tera’s Whey are both great powders, but I’m thinkin’ The Organic Whey takes the ultimate cake. It’s unsweetened, unflavored, organic, and rBGH free…you can do whatever your little heart desires with it! Tera’s is great – but it’s already flavored and sweetened. Good for when you’re mixing it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk or when you want your bars to be very vanilla-y, but not if you’re aiming for a certain flavor. Other than bourbon vanilla, that is.

And, if you click here and enter your e-mail, you can get on the list for all sorts of big specials and savings!! I’m always getting emails for 3 pouches for $99, free shipping, and so on and so on. And neat tips!

Reasons to be careful and research your protein powders before purchase:

Reason #1 Whey protein comes from milk. If the milk contains growth hormones, antibiotics or pesticides then the resulting whey also contains these harmful ingredients. 99% of whey protein available today comes from milk that contains all three harmful elements.

Reason #2 Whey loses most of its natural goodness when it is processed using acids or high temperatures. Most major protein brands sell whey which is acid-processed because that is the most cost-effective method for industrial production. The companion nutrients in whey-things like lactoglobulin- are very tender and are destroyed in this processing.

Reason #3 Protein companies then add artificial/natural flavors and sweeteners to mask the strong taste of chemicals present in whey after it is subjected to industrial processing.

Reason #4 In the whey business, all companies buy whey from blenders who source it from the cheapest source in the world at that moment. Whey protein companies don’t know where their whey is coming from and therefore, can’t tell consumers where it is coming from or how was it processed.

HIT!

Both my mom and I love these birdseed bars!

HIT!

And I’m loving my new water bobble, too. It’s a water bottle with a filter!

I was a little bummed at first because I thought it was going to be as large as a Nalgene bottle, but the disappointment wore off when the coolness factor kicked in 😉 Although – surfing their site I see I just got one of the smaller ones Bummer! Buying a larger one is in order. When you first start using it, don’t be surprised if it’s really difficult to draw from – once the filter gets a couple uses on it it’s not as much of a bother!

Here’s a great article!

HIT!

I’ve raved about this Organic Valley pourable yogurt before – but I’ll reiterate. I love it!

HIT!

As well as Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt. I enjoy the plain, too - but since having Vanilla, I've been having a hard time switching back ;)
And, last but not least...

DOUBLE WHAMMY!!

Uhhhh, yeah...I may or may not have been thinking of this waiting for me at home all afternoon ;)
What are your recent hits and misses?
(These opinions are my own and I am not being paid or reimbursed in any way. In fact, all of these weren't even sent to me except for The Organic Whey - but you all knew that already.)

Accident Waiting to Happen

I am practically an accident waiting to happen today.

Ever since 10:30 last night, I’ve been dreaming up what my project is going to consist of for our first photo assignment. Seriously – why do creative vibes always come at the least convenient of times? I was thisclose to popping out of bed right then but knew if I actually went through with what I was thinking, I wouldn’t get to bed until after midnight.

Not late for some people, but when you wake up at 5:30,6 it is.

I couldn't focus my camera this morning to save my soul...but at least I bought a new flash diffuser today!! Regardless - this was a divine bowl of mashed banana overnight oats, with a plum, maple syrup, cashews, and peanut butter sauce. Yum!

So of course all the while I drove to and from work today, guess what I was thinking. I was actually a little concerned for my own safety for once. I really need to work on that.

It didn't help that it was such a dreary day...as I was getting dressed I saw Mouse made himself at home in my bed. He really made me want to crawl back into it!!

Maybe I’ll play around with it tonight. I bought a new flash diffuser and an infrared remote today which will make my life easier 🙂

The best. wrap. ever. Pesto wrap with roma tomato, garlic hummus, feta, and mozz.

Another interesting portion of my nutrition reading that I was doing yesterday involved the body and its food. You’ll probably all read this and think, “d’uh, Jess,” but for some reason – I’ve never thought of food in this way, and it just made so much sense to me! But, basically, it talked about the energy that the body gets comes indirectly from the sun. Plants capture the sun’s energy so well, right? Well – when we eat those plants, we get that energy to use and store! It works the same way when you eat animal tissue – though a little more indirectly since they’re like us in that they get it from the plants (…who get it from the sun.)

Vanilla chobani with dried figs and banana.

So, lately while I’ve been eating my veggebulls, I’ve been thinking about the power the sun gives me 😉 It also made me really question the low-carb, low-fat diets…I mean – they are the most important when it comes to energy! I know everyone differs so I’m not going to make a blanket statement…but it just confirms my love of the carb 😉

homemade CRACKuhs.

Anyways. I’ll stop regurgitating information to you now. Although, I do wanna share some new stuffs I’ve started taking. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately and looked into getting some multivit and calcium supplements. In the past I’ve sort of been of the belief that all of this can be achieved through a sound diet – but food lately, even whole, has become much less nutritious than it used to be. And really, I don’t have many foods that are calcium-rich, anyways.

I stumbled upon various different supplements, and finally settled on these from Peter Gillham: Organic Life Vitamins and Osteo Calm.

Let me prelude this by saying I am a five-year old at heart and would prefer gummy vitamins, drinkable vitamins, or something fun rather than something to swallow. Otherwise I’ll just forget.  But hey, that’s okay!

The Liquid Revolution

No matter how good the vitamin or mineral supplements are that you start with, they are only as good as they are bioavailable. Supplements must be absorbed and assimilated into the bodyand be available at the proper area in order to be of use. All pills and capsules have to dissolve into liquid form before they can be absorbed and assimilated. Some people with weaker digestive systems (and digestive ability often weakens with age) don’t fully break these down and the result is only partial or no absorption, so the pill or capsule doesn’t do much, if any, good.

I wouldn’t say that that statement is 100% true, only because it makes it sound like pills are a waste. In reality, a good pill will break down in your system just fine!

Because it contains so many nutrients, you won’t have to purchase and take numerous pills and capsules in order to give your body what it needs to stay active and healthy. And, unlike pills, Organic Life Vitamins contains no binders and fillers. The original Organic Life Vitamin formula blends the finest ingredients including organic ACTIValoeTMwhole-leaf aloe vera, organic noni juice, multiple vitamins, ConcenTrace® trace minerals, a full range of amino acids, antioxidants, OptiMSM® MSM and chromium picolinate. The improved formula enhances the original formula with an additional 24 whole food antioxidant veggies, superfruits, berries and fruits including acai, mangosteen, goji berry and organic pomegranate. [click]

And the other, OsteoCalm.

We hear a lot about calcium and how important it is to our bones. But what we don’t hear is that the balance of calcium and magnesium is a critical factor not only to bone health but to overall health in general. Magnesium helps the body absorb and transport calcium into the bones and makes bones stronger and more flexible. Approximately 50 percent of total body magnesium is found in bone.

There you have it, folks. I am not condoning the use nor commending the use of dietary supplements…rather, putting this out there. From what I’ve read and had I can say they seem to be a great option for someone looking into starting on a supplement – but to each his own! (footnote: don’t believe the “lovely taste,” claim – they’re not gross, but they’re not lovely, either!)

And, lastly – I was glad to have leftovers for dinner so that I could get right to finishing my business homework afterwards! I loved this Mexicana spaghetti squash, tropical salsa, cornbread and corn on the cob (which was right from our garden!) I think everything was even better the second time around 😉

Do you take any vitamins? Why or why not?

Another Weekend Down

I think weekends off are going to start being the norm 😉 Even though blogging never feels like a chore to me – it was nice to take a break…namely because of all the work I had lined up! Okay – so there wasn’t actually a ton of work lined up, but I shot a senior portrait yesterday and going through them all lasted all night/into today. Especially since we had such gorgeous weather yesterday and going through them kept getting delayed!

Since the shoot wasn’t until 10, I had some time to kill at home before I had to leave at 9. This was done best by some serious yoga! It’d been far too long, and it felt so good…especially this morning 😉 Teddie play time took place afterwards and then I had some other shenanigans to tend to until I finally made it home.

Today was a bit of a dreary day, and I didn’t get to make it out to see Teddie.  The weather was a large factor – I really wanted to work with the ponies here before it rained this afternoon, and I didn’t think the weather would hold out for both Teddie and taking “the girls” on a walk down the road! Add to that some schoolwork, and I just stayed home.

It was nice to stay home and not have tons of work to do like we’ve been doing – just the usual caring for the horses! Without further uh-doo: my weekend in a nutshell!

Of course you knew there’d be waffles. In classic cold-month tradition, I brought back the act of sauteeing the fruit on top. Remember when I always did this for my hot oats?! Lately I’ve been nuking the fruit just for the sake of time – and so I forgot how much of a [wonderful] difference there was when you take the time to sautee. I usually just start simmering my fruit of choice in some almond milk an a drizzle of maple syrup or honey before starting my oats or waffles. Usually by the time I’m done it thickens a bit and gets just like a pie filling!

This was pear sauteed in almond milk, maple syrup, raisins, and cinnamon…

…and this morning’s carrot cake waffles were a little less aesthetically appealing but just as delicious – grated carrot and half a peach sauteed in almond milk and maple syrup with some raisins, as well.

This accidentally ended up being lunch yesterday. I figured I’d get home a little later than usual, so grabbed this 9 Bar sent to me from across the pond by the lovely Nicky because it was the “biggest” bar I had – protein, cal, and carb wise. Little did I know I wouldn’t get home until 3…but it did so well keeping me full I wasn’t even hungry when I got home. And, well, Dunkin Donuts was calling to me…they were in the gas station I stopped at for free air since my tires needed some. Caffeine was necessary 😉

As a side-note: does anyone else get a kick out of putting air in your tires, reading the pressure gauge and all, all by yourself while guys stare like they’e never seen a girl inflating her tires before? No? Oh…

Oh, yeah – back to the bar. I had the original 9 bar this time. You may remember when I raved about the pumpkin – and this was just as impressive. I was skeptical when I first saw how much carob coating it had, but it ended up not being a turn-off at all! It was sweet, nutty, seedy, and perfection all in one. And don’t forget how long it kept me satisfied for! I think they call it a 9 bar because a normal person could stay full from it for 9 hours. Too bad I’m not normal, though it’s still an impressive feat considering I eat just about every two hours.

I want to move to the UK…you guys have the best bars and snackage!

Today, though, lunch was a bit more proper, with the assemblage of my newest favorite wrap-ish ever. I even made one for my mom! Nuked sundried tomato pesto wrap with garlic hummus, italian herb mozz, feta, and fresh tomato slices. omnomnom.

Due to yesterday’s subpar lunch, however – hunger struck all of a sudden and I needed dinner fast! Enter: my beloved broccoli bowls. This one starred roasted broccoli, roasted carrots, garlic hummus, fresh tomato, feta and scrambled eggs (2 eggs, almond milk, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella, tomato, salt, and pepper). I actually sort of bombed at making the scrambled eggs since I added fresh tomato to that, too, making them too watery – but they still tasted delicious. Or I was just really hungry.

It’s anybody’s guess.

With the colder weather, we’re trying to get everything in out from the garden. I’ve got more spaghetti squash than I’d bargained for and quite a few tomatoes and ears of corn! As excited I was about having red peppers out the wazoo – I didn’t get more than that one mini one 😦

While I was reading the bible looking for recipes this afternoon, my mom brought in a very suspicious package. (I realize ther’es no mail on Sundays – we forgot yesterday!)

If I didn’t know what was inside I would have been uneasy about this sticky brown substance oozing from my mail. I knew it was just a harmless coffee grinder!

Hah! Syyyyke! I apologize for the poor photography – but this was not a time to bring my prize to the window to photograph. The sink was where this belonged!

…but what is it, you ask?! Date syrup. Or at least, I’m pretty sure – that’s what Mo and I had arranged for, at least – but everything was too coated in brown sludge for e to be totally sure 😛 Does anyone else think the parcel workers were up to some shenanigans for this one? I mean – this is how I found it. How does the cover get completely unscrewed and wind up next to it?! Especially since I’m (assuming) there was some sort of seal on it, anyways.

A letter?! To me?! All I could make out was “spoon to get syrup.” I think that’s what made me most sad – I love reading the notes!!

Don’t make fun of my finger, I was trying to not get it all over me! haha. Needless to say, none of it was salvageable 😦 I actually almost kept licking my fingers (I mean – doesn’t everybody do that when they’re cooking and get syrup/pb/whatever on their fingers?) out of habit and then remembered that probably wasn’t a good idea.

Mo – now I’m afraid you’ll have a pumpkin explosion on your hands! TI hope the food Gods aren’t upset with me for smuggling all of Vermont’s canned pumpkin out of the state. For everyone concerned, Libby’s has you all wrapped around their little finger. There is no such thing as the pumpkin shortage. They just don’t know how to harvest pumpkins.

Surprisingly, my baking and cooking bug wasn’t in full swing today. Probably because I have a freezer ful of bran muffins? I decided chili was a good idea, and was thisclose to making Ashley’s Chili but when I saw the bible’s recipe for spaghetti squash mexicana I figured that was a good compromise of having chili and using a homegrown s’ghetti squash.

I still decided her cornbread was a must-make, though! It was heavenly. I made a few minor changes – spelt flour for the flour, a flax egg for the egg, mixed vegetables for the corn (I would have used corn if I’d had it! I actually really wanted to use corn and dried cranberries or peas and dried cranberries but I didn’t have dried cranberries. Would that have been weird?) and 2 T. pumpkin butter for the 2 T. sucanat. Don’t look at me like I’m crazy, you can’t taste it. Oh, and I just greased the bottom of the dish with butter rather than melting 2-3 T. in it.

So. ir. re. sist. uh. bull.

I had to read the first chapter for intro to nutrition, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to read for class. Right now it’s sort of “meh” just because it’s reiterating what I’ve been reading for a while now: what humans first existed on were basic foods. Vegetables, grains, meat – that kinds of things. Now, the public is greeted by tons of processed food, usually not in a good way, either. And yet – the food that remains most nutritious are those basic foods.

I decided to highlight what I found blog-worthy because otherwise if I highlight what sounds important, I end up highlighting everything. Does anyone else do that?! Anyways – this random thought stood out to me – the Healthy People 2010 Nutrition Objectives include increasing consumption of vegetables, one-third being dark green or orange. They didn’t offer an explanation, and I just found it sort of…odd. Why dark-green or orange? So I googled. Which turned out to be a difficult thing to google, and took a while…and finally relied on Yahoo Answers. Which is lame and not necessarily always accurate, but I’ll take what I can get:

Dark green and orange vegetables and fruit contain more vitamins and cancer-preventing antioxidants and should be a large part of your diet.

There you have it. I was really hoping for a long explanation. I was let down.

But at least the bible didn’t let me down. Why I don’t just rename my blog “A Tribute to Veganomicon,” I will never know. Enter: Spaghetti Squash Mexicana with Tropical Salsa.

I pretty much followed the recipe for the s’ghetti squash – but mixed up the salsa a bit. I will say – at first I wasn’t going to make it cause it sounded too weird. (tomato, pineapple/mango, avocado and cilantro? meh.) I was just gonna slice a tomato on top. But I’m so glad I did more! I mixed chopped garden tomato, dried pineapple, dried mango, dried cilanto, salt, green pepper, and lemon juice and let it chill while I made dinner. When I took it out I saw the other half of my peach from this morning and thought that would be perfect! So – the peach was peeled, chopped, and added. It made it perfect!

I ha it all with a big hunk of cornbread, plus seconds of everything 😉

So – how was your weekend?!

Strangest combination of foods you’ve had and loved?!

Fun Facts

Fun Facts of the Day:

• Prairie Voles are one of the only mammals that are monogamous
• Running isn’t so bad when you don’t have an awkward camera/camera bag around your neck and your ears are warm
• It’s really baffling me that I can’t locate my belt, as there are only two places in this house where I would be taking off such a thing
• I am currently drinking tea. Tea means fall is upon us.

These waffles this morning were out of this world good. I added loots of cinnamon to the usual recipe, and topped it with fresh banana slices – which was a change from my usual nuked banana slices – dried figs, cashews, and peanut butter sauce. The combination worked so well…especially because my peanut butter sauce was amped up! I mixed some monkey business with organic valley vanilla yogurt, chia seeds, and maple syrup. I wish I could say I love this new peanut butter – but the more I have it, the nastier it is It was fine in this combination, though, and mixed into things in general – just not plain. Too…artificially.

Anyways. Enough about breakfast. I went for another runwalk before it, though! I just…keep getting so inspired to run! I think the weather changing has a lot to do with it, as well as inspiration from everyone I read. I know Sunday’s wasn’t overwhelmingly amazing, but I erased any memory of it and set out. Which is ironic, because this morning was really crappy weather, and usually that puts me in a reclusive mood, not a “rah, rah, run!” mood. It was sprinkling, even!

But I had fun. My revelation: if you wear really dorky headphones, they cover your ears enough that the tips don’t get cold, which is always my biggest complaint. And having a working iPod definitely helps. And no bulky camera at your side.

Oh, those ears...my favorite part of him 😉

After breakfast, though, I went to see loverboy. We had such a good ride! I don’t think his little legs had ever moved so fast before our little gallop up the hill 😉 We did some work in the outdoor despite the less-than-stellar weather and then moved onto messing around in the meadows before haulin’ butt home. Not the best thing to teach him to run home, but we’ve gotta live a little, you know!

I feel much less stressed about him lately – I was sort of freaking out about whether he would “work out” where he is now, especially when winter sets in and we do indoor work. But you know…whatever happens, happens. I don’t think I’ve ever had a horse that I’ve been so content to just do whatever with…but I am with him. Even if all I do is brush him and give him his belly rubs…he’s just so much fun to be around.

Buuuut then the party was over and I got home to get some school work done. Enter: prairie voles.

Backtrack.

First, I called my mom and requested onions and peanut butter while she was at the store. How bizarre of a request is that? Onions…and peanut butter. Hmm.

and lunch was definitely not anything to be skipping over, either. Holy wow are these wraps good!

especially when you nuke them, smear them with garlic hummus, feta cheese, and roasted red pepper and then nuke a bit longer.

It was oozy, creamy, nommerful deliciousness.

With some vanilla chobani, pineapple, and energy chunk crumbles for some more protein-age and deliciousness, too.

And I just had to make something today, of course! Since I was going to still be a good student, I kept it short and sweet with homemade crackers…

mix of: 1/4 c each: sunflower seeds, chia seeds, milled flax, cashews, plus some sesame seeds and BBQ rub. Numnum.

Not really necessary, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep studying diligently if I didn’t just make some banana soft serve to get it off my mind. Pure creamy, heavenly deliciousness in a bowl. I blended frozen banana, frozen raspberries, and some almond milk for pure bliss.

Enter: online classes. I’m lucky it was a dreary day, because otherwise I never would have been so diligent about reading all about prairie voles and their monogamous preferences.

Oh yeah, and cleaning out the ponies. I feel sort of bad that we haven’t done much with the lately except brushing and ground work…but at the same time, I guess it’s okay because when winter sets in we won’t be able to ride them much anyways. So hey…if they hangout and just get doted on and look cute  ’til spring it’s not the end of the world.

And to wrap this up (man, why am I so boring lately?) dinner was fabby, too:

I had a cashew-pineapple-quinoa stir fry from veganomicon, though switched up a hair just based on what I had. Initially, as I was making it…I was concerned there were too many flavors and that it would never work. But it was a-ok and was even mother approved.

Cook as instructed some quinoa.

Saute diced onion and garlic in peanut oil. Add in a pinch of ground ginger. Keep stir frying, and then add in sliced carrot, diced bell pepper, and frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper, stir frying, then add in fresh mint and fresh basil. Stir, Stir, Stir! Then add in sliced pineapple and your cooked quinoa. I chose to add some black beans for a bit more oomph, too.

Top with chopped cashews!

I’m off to go find my belt and read about the variation in color in ladybugs. I bet your night won’t be this crazy!

What’s your favorite stir fry meal? I’ve never made a real stir fry, I don’t think…but I don’t know why not!! So I want to hear all your crazy concoctions. I know there’s a few of you that enjoy them quite often 😉

Give me your most bizarre factoid!! Or self quirks. I can write a whole blog post no problem, but when I’m done and need to add tags and categories, I get so lazy and it just seems like so.much. work.

Lesson Learned

I totally forgot to type flax up as an ingredient in yesterday’s wrap recipe (wrecipe?). My bad. All is fixed now, but…I wanted to point that out.

Look how flexible they stayed!

I mean, I shouldn’t act like I was expecting a brick…but I thought they’d be a little hard or fragile to bend without nuking first. But no! It was this pliable right out of the fridge, and this is actually one that I cooked bordering on too long. Sure – they’re not your super-soft store bought wraps…but these don’t have preservatives. Can you pronounce everything in those store bought wraps, anyways?!

I stuffed it with garlic hummus, black beans, roasted broccoli, and roasted red pepper. I chose to panini it, but I think I’d have liked it better on the less-crunchy side.

And while we’re talking about lunch, check out the rest of it:

The last of my raspberries, a peach and some pineapple. So refreshing. Not that this chilly day needed it!

Although, I did need refreshment after going to the post office. Guys – I dealt with a crazy person. I wish I was kidding. First he rails on me for having the wrong date on a package. The date on the package was not wrong – he just didn’t know today was the 8th, not yesterday. Okay, no big deal, misunderstanding. I rarely know the day, too! I politely correct him, and he apologizes profusely for about five minutes. Okay – I wasn’t too upset. Not a big deal.

But this minor incident unleashed his inner demon, and he goes on this huge vent to me, telling me how much he hates his job, he’s not treated like a human, he’s owed money, he’s planned trips to other countries but can’t go because of that, on and on and on. Of course, the funniest part was that in between all of his ranting, we’re still mailing my packages. It went a lot like this:

“…and I mean, I’m not even treated like I’m a human here, do you want delivery confirmation? I meant it’s just awful.”

“..uh, yes please.”

“Okay so this one came to $11.55, I mean I’ve got trips planned to Costa Rica…”

ahah. After that ordeal, I needed to restock my peanut butter while I was downtown. After taking what felt like a million tries to parallel park (don’t know what my issue was) I found this in the co-op:

I had my mind on the Green Mountain Goodness and was seriously excited to try it. I’ve been seeing this brand on my co-op trips but always restrain myself since I’ve had plenty of peanut butter at home. Lately, though, I’ve been flying through jars.

I just bought this Saturday! I did quite a bit of baking, but still. Sort of a pain. I’ve become really simplistic when it comes to nut butters lately – I just want a simply salted and lightly sweetened chunky peanut butter, and my sunflower seed butter. So I was sort of bummed that the Green Mountain Goodness just so happened to be out of stock!

Look at that protein! I wasn’t giving up, though, and decided Monkey Business was gonna have to be the winner. They have lots of other flavors, too! I had a taste a couple minutes ago, and so far my socks aren’t knocked off, though 😦 I think the banana is a little too artificial for my liking. But, it made sense when I looked at the ingreds again.

I’m not saying those are bad ingreds – I just think itd be better with, say – dehydrated bananas, not extract. Definitely not giving up on the brand, though, and it’s by no means bad.

Our eight flavors all have 100% Whey Protein Isolate added to provide additional, natural, healthy & pure protein. Our Plain Creamy and Chunky peanut butters do not. We wanted those to just be what they should…Organic peanuts a little sea salt for taste…period. We also do not add any refined sugar, preservatives or other yucky and unnecessary chemicals to our products. The pinch of salt we use is a Low Sodium 100% natural sea salt. The sodium in our nut butters is so low it is virtually sodium free. If you are a vegetarian, you will be happy to know our products do not have lactose except for the “trace” (1gram or less) of lactose found in whey. Our products are all gluten free and contain NO trans fats and NO hydrogenated oils!

So proud of my lil’ state, makin’ peanut butters and err’thang!

Did you know there’s 800 peanuts in one jar?! Thasss a lotta peanuts!

Speaking of finishing things, I polished off these puppies today.

as well as my plaintain burgers (…I froze one for future use, though 😉 )

I paired it with some bulgur tonight – plantain bulgur! Bulghur brought to a boil with 1/4 of a diced plantain, which I mashed up a bit. Seasoned with salt and pepper and then added in baby spinach and some diced mozzarella. Stirred with some BBQ sauce and voila!

Due to my “best for last” tendencies, I’m slooowwwly eating my way through these Boomi and Prana Bars that Nicole sent me a while ago.

Divine Foods believes that satisfying our taste buds with healthy food satisfies mind and body. Divine Foods manufacturing facility is free of wheat, cane sugar, GMO’s, meat, eggs and peanuts ensuring our products are gluten-free, soy-free and vegetarian.

Divine Foods manufactures two lines of all-natural energy bars that are superior in taste and contain no artificial additives, preservatives or sweeteners. Divine Foods’ Boomi Bars are 100% all-natural, gluten-free and contain no GMO, sulphured fruits or hydrogenated oils

Such simple ingredients! And surprisingly, not redunkulously sweet even though the first two ingredients are quite sweet on their own. I love the texture these have – soft and gooey from the dates, but with some crunch from the sesame seeds.

And I think the tidbit about enzymes is really interesting!

Enzymes are specialized protein molecules facilitating most of the body’s metabolic processes – such as, supplying energy, digesting foods, purifying your blood, ridding the body of waste products etc.

Without enzymes in your body, you could have the best nutritional plan around, and supplement your diet with a host of vitamin supplements, but without these humble workers we call enzymes, the vitamins will not be absorbed into your system.

They assist in fighting aging, weight loss, lowering cholesterol, cleaning the colon, breaking down fats, strengthening the immune system, improve mental capacity, detoxifying the body, building muscles from protein, eliminating carbon dioxide from the lungs etc.

[source] So – how to get more, without following a strictly raw diet? Well, watermelon, Kefir, apples, dried fruit, and banana splits are just naming a few! There’s some really great information here, though – a good read if you are interested!

And this bar was quite enzymingly excellent! I can’t say it was entirely pear-ginseng-y but it was still very flavorful. I find bars with dates need a lot of the other flavor in order for it to taste like that other flavor, though – this was certainly more datey than pear-y, which could be either good or bad depending on your preference! Regardless, though – these bars are a definite treat!

And, because I don’t want anyone to make the same mistake I did, don’t think that just because baked apple chunks are perfect on stovetop oats they’ll be good on overnighters. It just doesn’t work. Probably my first disappointing bowl of overnight oats to date.

I guess you just don’t mess with a classic. I consider baked apple oats to be classic – they’re good no matter what. But – especially comforting on rainy mornings or fall or winter mornings. Which, naturally, means hot oats – not cold ones!

Lesson duly noted 😉

What have you recently discovered doesn’t work as well as you’d initially hoped?