Mooooving day!

Hey guys!! In the event that anyone still reads this blog, I thought you might like to know that I am trying again!! Lets leave this past behind and start fresh! Check me out 

 

toearthwithlove.wordpress.com 

 

then follow me on instagram too!! @to.earth.with.love

 

I make no promises that this new blog will survive, but I’m gonna try!! (i miiissssss yooouuuuu!!!!!!)

There was a small blogger…

There was a small blogger

Who lived in her room

She had so many obligations she didn’t know what to do

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She started the year off with high hopes for her site

Yet never logged into WordPress, though she tried with all of her might.

With an hour to spare early one Saturday morning

She figured it was time for an update, no matter how corny.

Rhyming is hard but she had commited herself now

Consider this a late valentine for her readers, she loves you (and how!!)

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She still eats lots of squash

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And veggies and fruit

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But saves room for dessert, often a few times a day to boot!

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Her latest obsessions include elephants and the color purple

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That was a bad choice, nothing rhymes with purple.

She has been spending lots of time with the people she loves

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And is waiting to hear back from the College Gods above!

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Disneyland was awesome, from happiness she cried

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And in Nature Center she is having a blast teaching kids about the Circle of Life

While this is by no means an end to her blog of a year and a half

It is neither a promise to post more often (lest someone else wants to, on her behalf)

She is learning to prioritize and, for her future, to prepare

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If you miss her, stalk her Instagram (@laceylittlebit – but she is a weirdo, so beware)

That is all for today, just wanted to let you know she hasnt died

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In fact this small blogger is better than ever –

so thanks for your time.

🙂

2013 Year in Review!

Sooooooo 2013 is almost over….Blogging did not go as planned hashtagoops. But you know what? 2013 was still a really good year! So I thought I”d do a little recap and be different just like all the other bloggers 😉

Firstly how about Christmas?

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I spent Christmas enjoying the day with my family, and didn’t take many pictures, so I have some explaining to do haha! I went to Christmas Eve service with my mom and grandma and stepdad, and it was beautiful as always -traditional hymns, a beautiful tree, the organ playing, and ending the service with Silent Night sung by candle light. My favorite! Then we went over to my grandmas house for cookies and a few gifts (and being thoroughly amused by her hyperactive dogs). Christmas day was super relaxed. I spent the whole morning finishing wrapping presents and attempting to bake cinnamon rolls for brunch. When my siblings finally arrived we went to my dad’s house for presents ( I made everyone hot cocoa mix and put it in mugs for them) – and my little sister showed me her writing skills from kindergarten! We went back to my mom’s house for brunch (cinnamon rolls, gingerbread, tofu scramble, fruit) and finished the day going up to Grass Valley for dinner with family. End scene.

So now, about 2013…

It was the year I embraced my awkwardness. That about sums it up.

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It was the year of chocolate (remember when I wasnt a chocolate person?)

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LOL.

Funfact! Those cookies are actually the first recipe I posted in 2013! Triple Chocolate Magic Cookies

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I stopped going to the gym and decided to take care of myself with more love

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I did my fist ever review and had more throughout the year

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I ate alot (like more than ever before in my life probably) of nut butter and then started making my own cuz its cheaper. Then Veg News pinned my recipe and it got 240 repins!!!!!!

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I celebrated my birthday with sprinkles and gave you guys 6 birthday cake themed recipes in 6 days (ice cream, cookies, baked oats, a smoothie, pancakes,and a parfait

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I also defied logic and ate kabocha squash all year long.

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I took awkward pictures with mermaids.

I mean I went on a college tour in So Cal.

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and discovered acai bowls, which became my favorite thing to eat for breakfast over summer.

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I went to a summer camp that changed my life

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Baked an impressive cake

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Started my senior year of highschool

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Got a job…and then I disappeared for a little while

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I ran my first ever half marathon in 2:01, and never did the recap I promised because I lost the pictures and also I’m kinda lazy. But it was awesome

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I turned in my college applications after many many many essay revisions and tear sessions

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and continued my smoothie obsession well into winter… Sometimes I bring my own smoothies to work at Jamba Juice – is that weird?

So even though blogging has taken the backseat in the past few months, I’m completely OK with that. Life has taken over, and different things are becoming important to me. I’ve changed alot in the last year -shoot the last 6 months even. I’ve relaxed some things while becoming more passionate about others. And I’m very slowly starting to figure myself out. I’m not making any resolutions in 2014, but I have alot of things I’m looking forward to.

2014 is the year

  • I get to go to Disneyland with my musical theatre family
  • I get to teach little kids about the environment in a Nature Center class
  • I graduate Highschool
  • I go to college
  • I start making new decisions
  • I continue to grow and learn and make  mistakes and memories

2014 is the year I’ve been waiting for and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

What are you excited for this year?

Recipe Redux: Lucky Sweet Corn and Citrus Muffins

Well Hello There!! Long time no see eh? (…as I’ve begun every post since school started. Sorry) This year has been crazy! But I couldn’t pass up another month of recipe making for you!!! I am officially on break – so hopefully I can put forth a couple of posts soon! For now -enjoy these muffins!!

The theme for December’s Recipe Redux was ringing in the New Year with lucky foods!

Good Luck Foods: What will you be serving to get the New Year started with a little luck? Be it black eyed peas and greens, Chinese noodles or even a special family recipe you serve on New Year’s Eve or Day. Please share your good luck dish to start off 2014 in a healthy way.

Well if I’m going to be perfectly honest, I’ve never really done much as far as traditional or lucky foods for NY (except for some sparkling cider in a champagne glass to feel fancy), but of course thats nothing a little research cant fix!

Lets see….lucky foods include: fish (ew), pork (babe), lentils, greens, noodles….ah! Cornbread! And round fruits! I could work with those!

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But, if you know me, I am a baker at heart and a lover of sweets. So cornbread became sweet corn muffins!

We have a satsuma tree out in our backyard, which gives us the bestest, most amazing satsumas ever. Have you ever eaten a satsuma orange straight off the tree? Its divine. This year we harvested over 30 pounds from the one tiny tree. AKA we have (delicious amazing) Satsumas coming out of our ears. Sooo those got put in too.

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Then I added some coconut extract for a buttery flavor, and some chocolate chips because chocolate should always be considered lucky. I mean, don’t you feel lucky when you eat chocolate? Also -what better way to start the new year than with chocolate? There isn’t one. Ergo chocolate is lucky.

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Anyway. I was completely playing around with this recipe. And I have never ever ever had good luck with cornbread. But I created these as my first official baked good of break (which is an important position) and they were a complete success!! My stepdad even ate 3! HAPPYDANCELACEY!!!!!

So pretty -and the house smelled amazing!

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Sweet and buttery from the corn and maple syrup, with the essence and pop of fresh oranges (slash satsumas), brought together with the depth of dark chocolate chips and a hint of coconut. The texture is simply perfect too! Fluffy yet still hearty, like a corn muffin should be! These babies came out amazing. Its a small batch recipe (it makes 7 -LUCKY NUMBER ALERT), but considering the fact that there are only 2 left after 12 hours and a family of three, you miiiiggghhtt want to double the recipe 🙂

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Lucky Sweet Corn and Citrus Muffins

(makes 7)

  • 1/2 C. Spelt flour
  • 1/2 C. fine corn meal (like Masa)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp orange zest (satsuma, mandarin)
  • 3 T. raw sugar
  • 3-4 T. almond milk
  • 1/4 tsp vinegar
  • 1/2 C. fresh orange juice (satsuma, mandarin)
  • 3 T. maple syrup (could probably sub honey)
  • 1 T. ground flax seed
  • 1/2 tsp coconut extract (or vanilla)
  • 1/3 C. corn kernels (frozen or canned)
  • 1/4 C. chocolate chips
  • orange slices for topping

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a muffin tin. Mix together the flour through sugar in a medium bowl. mix together the vinegar and almond milk, set aside for a few minutes to sour. Now mix together the almond milk, OJ, syrup, flax, and extract. Pour into the dry mixture. Fold in the corn and chocolate chips, then distrubute batter into the pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes (tooth pick test!). Allow to cool before eating.

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So we are in agreement then? Lets start the new year with pretty muffins and chocolate!!!

Don’t forget to check out the other lucky recpies this month!

MIMM: Turkies, College, and Inspiration

Happy (yesitsfinallyfallbreakitshereitshere!!) Monday!!!

Before we get to all the Marvelousness, I’d like to (finally) announce the two MARVELOUS readers who won an AMAZING giveaway!!

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Vangie

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and Jordan!

Congrats ladies!! Email me (laceybug96[at]gmail[dot]com)  with your name, email, address, and flavor choices and I will send it on to Amazing Grass for your prizes!!

And now, onto the marvelousness!!

Marvelous is…1391822_655966667759657_824858009_nFall finally coming in full force to CA!! Its even below 65 degrees AND it rained last week!!  (hahaha thats such a big deal here!)Marvelous is…photo-12photo-13How amazing the kids at my school are! I’ve been having alot of trouble getting my YEA Club up and going, but I set up a table at our school’s Fiestaval the other night and look how much interest I got!! Students really do care!! I had this ‘magic wand’ poster for people to write on, pieces of PB&J with info on how a sandwhich can save the world (check out Well Fed World’s PB&J campaign), and a flyer with YEA’s tips for an Empowered Holiday. I’m so pumped to get back to school and get this REALLY moving now!!Marvelous is…photo-17pizza night. Sometimes it’s just gotta happen. My brother was over and said how his favorite childhood dinner was my mom’s BBQ chicken pizza she used to make, so we ordered a vegan pizza from Papa Murpheys (thin crust, BBQ sauce, all veggies no cheese/meat), and my mom topped it with BBQ tempeh (and beyond meat for brother) and homemade vegan ranch sauce. As much as we try to do healthy, homemade, whole foods etc, I have to admit this was pretty darn good. Memories are delicious.Marvelous is…photo-11Kabocha and apple butter. Cant. Get. Enough. Seriously. I roasted a large squash yesterday for me and my mom/bro. I ate a good third of it at lunch, noshed on left overs after work, and finished it off with my nighttime snack. I must have eaten at least half of the entire, very large squash yesterday. Woke up with MAJOR squash belly. Miiiiigggghhttt do it again today. #myaddiction. no wonder I’m orange…Marvelous is…photo-14Going up to Animal Place to celebrate the turkies and getting to see my baby Harold!! (thats not his real name, just what I call him haha). 2 years ago I saw him, a newly-rescued veal calf, then the next year I saw him again. Look how big he’s gotten!!! So cute!!!Marvelous is…1476345_662975853725405_1401181009_n1465399_662966460393011_506303025_nphoto-151455197_662915063731484_2104450893_nFamily all together for Thanksliving at the farm! // the newest member of Animal Place -he was so chatty!! ❤  // the turkey’s feast!! //  The turkey I fed was really excited about the pie and pecked it right  out of my hand! I thought better than trying to pick it back up haha.Marvelous is…photo-16Finally having a free moment to finish my college apps!! Of course, this has been my view for the past few hours, but all I have left is revising my personal statements and then going over them one more time with my friend’s mom (who is a school counselor) before sending them off! I’m applying to UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly SLO, and Sonoma State. They are due on Saturday so I’m a little anxious right now.photo-1Buutttt I’m excited to go to college and major in tree hugging. (I mean environmental studies) ;)Happy Monday!!

WIAW: Sorta kinda just desserts

Happy WIAW!!

Today is just gonna be a shorty post. as I type it is increasingly late on Tuesday night and I have procrastinated on hw to the point where if its not due tomorrow, its not getting done.  I need sleep and fast!!

At my house, we almost always have some form of dessert around! Between cravings and a love for sweet cooking, this comes as no suprise. Its a daily occurance. We typically keep them on the healthier side, but do indulge now and then! As evidenced by this week’s photos, the dessert monsters are in full force lately. I think we have at least 3 options in the fridge right now….

Moral of this WIAW: Life’s short, eat dessert first. And also for lunch/breakfast/dinner/snack. You know what? Just eat some dessert now kay? (bonus if it has hidden veggies, like most of mine do, and its a healthy habit then right?)

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Heather’s Pumpkin Pie French Toast became a brunchy-lunch (Yes, I had more. It was delicious)

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Post-run on Sunday I decided to refuel with, well, dessert. Chocolate-pumpkin avocado mousse and a pumpkin scone (twas a mix)

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A new recipe in the works for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies! They were allllmost there! Just need more sweet, but were awesome topped with pumpkin butter!

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Okay you caught me, I do eat savory food (sometimes) and veggies. Like this (weekly) salad from Dos Coyotes! A rainbow of fresh, local veggies atop beans and corn tortillas plus cranberry salsa. The staff knows our order by heart. Oops 😉

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And this one night when I got really ambitious and made a homecooked meal! We’ve been vegan almost 3 years and this is the first time we’ve made the stereotypical lentil loaf haha! I bumped it up by adding some good spices, quinoa, carrot, fennel, celery and mushrooms, and made 2 batches so 1 is in the freezer for our Thanksliving celebration! Also, mashed potatoes with chickpea gravy and veggies. Comfort food on rainy days at its finest!

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And potatoes. Always

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Ever dipped kabocha in apple butter? Please, please do. Heaven.

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Look! I even had a wheagrass shot at work!

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…and leftover chocolate cake from a potluck for when I got home. #balance 😉 

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This was OK, but not my fav flavors for chocolate. I’m gonna bake with it instead hehehe

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And last but not least, Pumpkin Pie. My mom is trialing our Thanksliving spread, so we currently have an awesome pie in our fridge (love you so much mom!). Buuut I don’t have a pic, so you get the recipe for last year’s Un-Pumpkin pie!

Why do I keep calling it Thanksliving?

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Because we are giving thanks for all life this holiday. On saturday we are going to Farm Sanctuary to celebrate the turkeys that lived and give them a feast of their own! So excited!

ALSO! My laptop died on me (whomp whomp) So I am transfered to my desktop for now, meaning my race recap is further pushed back die to photo storage (sorry). Plus I missed the date to pick winners for my AMAZING GRASS GIVEAWAY, so I am extending it to this weekend! YAY more chances to enter!! Good luck!!

Sweet or Savory??

WIAW-Orange you glad it’s Fall?

Happy WIAW!!

Wow, I think it’s been over a month since I last participated. It’s been a little busy (still) around these parts. I’m a senior, I’m in school, I have a job and dance shows, forgive me.

 

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(wow my mirror is dirty. Ignore that please. On the other hand I find it humorous that my uniform is about 3 sizes to big. Apparently “Adult-Small” doesn’t include 17 year olds who are a size “6th-grader” #shortgirlprobs)

So why am I actually posting today? Weeelllll apparently doing the whole “GOGOGOGOGO!” thing, without much sleep, takes it’s toll because I am home sick today. Bleh. (I think every one is getting sick, the other day at work the #1 smoothie ordered was the orange-c booster, and everyone else got immunity in their drinks haha!)

On the plus side, being sick gives me a chance to catch up on some Z’s, college applications, homework, aaaannnnddd blogging! (although I’m gonna need to take a nap soon -I’ve been up for 3 hours and all I’ve done is eaten breakfast and baked something, and I’m about to collapse from exhaustion).

Aaannnny who, on to the food!!

breakfasts wiaw

(I decided to ‘collage’ my pics today, because otherwise this post would be too long and you would fall asleep too)

I’ve fallen into a bit of a (surprisingly not-orange) breakfast rut known as zucchini-bread oats. So what you have here is zucchini oats with pear and almond butter in a bowl and in a jar (3 times), representative of what I’ve had for the past month. Literally. Aaaannnd that lovely bowl on the far right is what I made today, trying to boost my immune system: Zucchini oats with lucuma, maca, camu-camu powder, and a scoop of Amazing Grass on top of chopped apples. Work your magic, super foods! I can’t miss more school!!

snacks

 

On the snacks side of things, we have a test-batch of pumpkin muffins, green smoothies, cinnamon apples, and the first satsumas from our tree! I am a mandarin snob, can’t stand cuties because this tree has spoiled me since 3rd grade. The BEST oranges ever, especially when you eat them right off the tree!

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I had to pick up some new-to-me products at Whole Foods the other day (it was my first time at WF in about 3 months and I was really excited to go hahaha), including Lucuma powder (i’ve had my eye on it for ages and I finally have my own money to buy it!), a seasonal Larabar, pumpkin spice Amazing Grass, and these Lily’s chocolate chips! I saw them on Ashley’s blog a little while ago, and the next day spotted them at WF! So exciting because they are stevia sweetened but not sickeningly sweet (so they don’t hurt my teeth like sugary chocolate chips do), they are super dark, and they are vegan + Fair trade!! We watched “The Dark Side of Chocolate” documentary a little while ago, and are trying to only buy fair-trade chocolate from now on. We even ordered some fair trade, black cocoa powder online to replace our beloved (and evil) Hershey’s Special Dark.

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I’m pretty sure we go through at least 3 kabochas a week, and if not kabocha we are eating sweet potatoes. Yes I am incredibly orange right now haha!! Clock wise from the top we have kabocha pre-cooking, Kabocha topped with garbanzo -cookie dough dip, more kabocha, and a fall inspired meal of sweet potatoes, roasted beets, and a lentil-portobello-brussel sprout mix.

fancy dinner

 

Sometimes we have variety (ish) though! My mom and I found a place with vegan sushi, and went for a mother-daughter , fishy free sushi date (YUM), and another time went to Baagan (a vegan cafe) to split their veggie burger and indian masala panini (also YUM). On the bottom I made a honey mustard, avocado massaged kale salad with roasted veggies and chickpeas plus roasted squash (all topped with cranberry sauce after), and a ‘toastada’ with refried beans, kale, avocado and sweet potato on top of a GF Udi’s spinach tortilla with salsa and pepitas.

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And of course, you can never miss dessert! Whether it be soy yogurt topped with Cascadian Farms cinnamon crunch, more cookie dough dip, pudding (of either the pumpkin of chocolate variety) ooorrr brownies, I’m pretty sure we never go a day without. Of course, it’s on the healthier side (I’ve been experimenting with cauliflower as our pudding base), but still! Oh, and btw, my mom made those brownies for Halloween (chocolate with a pumpkin swirl), and the FULL 9×11 pan was demolished by my family of 3 in less than 3 days. Oops! hahaha!

So there you have it! A glimpse into some of the more photogenic meals of the past crazy months! Keep in mind most meals have been in tupperware due to crazy schedules sooo I didn’t picture them!

Don’t forget to enter my Amazing Grass Giveaway!

An AMAZING Review!!

Welp. My whole “I won’t disappear again this month” thing kinda fizzled. Oops. Forgive me? I’m just gonna stop promising it’s the last time because obviously my current schedule hates me haha! This is the first weekend I’ve had ‘off’ in about 2 months sooo….HEYLOOKAGIVEAWAY!! 

A few weeks ago, the AMAZING people at AMAZING GRASS sent me a package of their AMAZING product to review!

I was expecting just a few samples, but woah! They were so kind and generous! It was like Christmas came early! (speaking of which, 45 days!!!!!) Plus they sent a cup! I was so happy about the cup!! (I’m such a weird teenager)

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I was so excited! My brother was over at the time the package came, and he asked if my mom was going to use it in the smoothie she was making, but she said “Nope. Lacey won’t let me. She has to take pictures of them first and then try them for her blog.” <–she so gets me haha

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At the time I got the package, it was about a week before my half marathon and so I was avoiding chocolate and caffeine. I was not, however, avoiding green smoothies….

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The Green Superfoods packets (my favorite products they sent), whole food blends of wheat grass, alfalfa, greens, maca, acai, probiotic enzymes, fiber, and more (seriously, you should see the ingredients on these!) blended in seamlessly into my smoothies (pumpkin pie has been my latest obsession) and made me feel AMAZING!

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And my two favorite flavors of the Green Superfoods (pineapple lemongrass and orange dreamsicle) lent delicious flavors all their own to my smoothies! (tropical and, orange dream, respectively).

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Of course, It has been cooling down and I am always up for trying #strangebutgood combos, so naturally I used a cacao superfood packet mixed with some warm almond milk and water, plus a touch more of cocoa powder, and had super-cocoa!! (I have officially overcome any aversions I had as a child to green foods, especially drinks, in any form haha). I was wary, seeing as I generally prefer the mix-ins into a smoothie as they blend better, but I really liked it! ….didn’t work as well when I tried it again with a berry flavored packet though…

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The Amazing Meal packets are packed with all of the green goodness of the Green Superfoods, plus 10g of plant protein and 6 g of fiber! While I would say they didn’t blend in quite as seamlessly (they had a bit of that protein-powdery flavor), they were still awesome!. Yes, another pumpkin smoothie (pumpkin chai that is)

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My favorite of the Amazing Meals was the Cafe Mocha, which was part of my pre-race breakfast for my half marathon! I’ll save the race recap for later, but lets just say I didn’t sleep well at all the night before, and ate this at 4 in the morning  mixed into raw oats and coconut milk because our hotel had no microwave or fridge, and it was still awesome! I’m sure even better blended into a mocha shake! But it gave me exactly the energy and nutrients I needed to rock it on my race!!

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Plus the sweet and savory almond bar, made with nuts and seeds and green super foods covered in chocolate, was the perfect post-race snack! I’m glad I brought it with me, since they were handing out non-vegan Luna protein bars afterwards and I was HANGRY after the 13.1 miles! This was delicious and perfect to hold me over till I could find my team veg mates for lunch! Deee-licious! My favorite of the bars.

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The other Green Superfood bars were completely different! These were more lara-bar esque, especially the berry bar. They sent five bars total, but the peanut butter one had whey in it so I gave it to my brother. Of these three, I liked the berry one best, the fruity-ness worked with the green foods and reminded me of a cherry larabar. The chocolate one was my second fave, (duh, its green super foods covered in chocolate), but did have a ‘green’ taste to it. I wasn’t a huge fan of the chocolate -coconut bar, the green flavor overpowered the coconut flavor and generally didn’t work too well for me. But hey, 3/4 is awesome!!

I didn’t get pictures of everything I made with the AMAZING package, (this post would be way too long!!), but I was so pleased with the products that I went out and bought their seasonal pumpkin spice Green Superfood! It’s awesome, and I want to try the chocolate peppermint next!

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So, basically I’ve been feeling AMAZING lately, and Amazing Grass wants you to feel AMAZING too!! They have offered to send two lucky readers each two 8.5 oz containers (the size of the above pumpkin spice GSF) of the Green Superfoods Flavors of your choice! How AMAZING are they!?!

To enter:

You get one entry per task (but you can only win once, sorry haha!) and I will pick a winner next Sunday (the 17th)  Open to US and Canada.

Good luck! Have an AMAZING Day!!!

Recipe ReDux: Frosted Pumpkin Pudding Bread

I can’t believe a whole ‘nother month went by already! I am so sorry I haven’t been very present, but I promise promise I will make it up to you! My work load has lightened up considerably, and I have so much to tell you all about! My job, recipes, MY RACE that I just did yesterday! aaahhhh!! So please accept this fall deliciousness as an apology for my unintentional blogging break, and give a big thank you to Recipe Redeux for giving me the kick I needed to get my butt back in the kitchen!!!


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This month’s Recipe ReDux was all about slowing down for fall….

The No-Casserole Crock Pot: Some of us grew up on casseroles out of a slow cooker – but now home cooks are using that same slow cooker to roast a chicken, bake bread, make homemade yogurt and for other creative dishes. Show us how you are using the slow cooker to craft a new healthy recipe. And if you don’t have a slow cooker, borrow one from your neighbor or pick one up at a second hand store!

I can’t even tell you how long it took me to decide on a recipe to create. I thought about oatmeal, but its been done too many times by now (I also already have a recipe for desserty crock pot oats).. I also thought about apple sauce (or pear sauce), but thats too easy.

Then I thought about chili, soup, and other warm dishes. Too mainstream. I want to be different and put pumpkin into something like everyone else! 😉 (…also while I had my eye on main dishes, my mom insisted on a dessert and that sounded like more of a challenge!)

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So I decided to make pumpkin bread, in the slow cooker, because why not? Its not like I didn’t already have two batches of pumpkin bread/muffins in the fridge already. This would be different!

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And it would have icing. Like, ohmygollyguys this icing. Like, I thought I made too much (and I probably did) but all was well and fine and delicious and you can eat it with a spoon and I even ate carrots dipped in this icing. Yeah. Keep an eye out for more things topped with this frosting (like pancakes)…

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It was my first time ever ‘baking’ in a slow cooker and I have to say, I had a little anxiety over the fact that I was baking but the oven wasn’t on. (the same thing happens when I use the dehydrator). But after a little while, the aromas kicked in and all was well in kitchen world!

I wasn’t quite sure how it would come out, bread like, cake like, fluffy or rubbery. But huzzah! It came out like a super dense bread, almost bread pudding like in texture. You know when you bake a loaf of banana bread and the bottom part stays all gooey and delicious? Yeah, like that. mmmmm….

Its pumpkiny and spiced-y and has these little bursts of sweetness from the raisins (which I usually hate but I’m so glad my mom persuaded me to add them because they plumped up and actually got delicious). Almost like pumpkin spice cinnamon raisin bread. Sooo good.

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So anyway, I think I’m going to have to start ‘baking’ in the slow cooker more often, since all you have to do is mix up the batter and pour it in and forget about it. Its more forgiving than the oven, when it comes to cook time! And, despite being called a ‘slow cooker’, its actually pretty easy and quick to make, which is a good thing since there are only 3 people in my house and this didn’t even last two days.

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Pumpkin Pudding Bread with Cinnamon Caramel Icing

Bread:

  • 2 C. whole spelt flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 T. Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 7 dates, pitted and softened*
  • 1/3 C. unsweetened almond milk
  • 3/4 C. pumpkin puree
  • 1 T. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp maple extract (optional)
  • 3/4 C. baking stevia
  • 1 TB ground flax seeds
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 C. raisins
  • Optional: Try adding other dried fruit, nuts or even chocolate chips!
  • *to soften the dates, I like to stick them in a mug, cover them with water, and microwave them for a minute or so, then leave them to quick soak while i get everything else ready. Then just drain out the water and put the softened dates in your blender!

Line your slow cooker with foil (i.e. lay one large piece one way, and another crossed over, so that you can lift the cake out) and spray it with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix flour through cloves. In a blender or food processor, blend dates through   cider vinegar for a minute or so, until smooth. Mix the wet ingredients into the flour blend, mix well, and then stir in raisins. Pour into the foil lined slow cooker and cover. Cook, covered on high for 3 hours, its done when a tooth pick comes out clean and the edges are pulling away from the sides.

For Icing

  • 1 C. dates, pitted
  • 1 C. unsweetened almond milk
  • 3 T. almond butter
  • 1/2 TB Vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • dash of salt

In a mug, put the dates and almond milk together and microwave for 2 minutes. Put in blender along with almond butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, and blend on high until smooth. Taste and adjust salt/cinnamon to your preference. Try to save some for the cake 😉

photo 5-81

 

See that gooey pumpkin bread deliciousness? I can’t decide if I like it better warm or cold out of the fridge, or with the icing warm or cold either. It really is delicious all four ways (CC, WW, WC, CW -I’m in AP Statistics.) And the bread itself isn’t too sweet (the frosting is, but in a good-no tummy ache kind of way, more in an addicting, eat it every which way sort of way). This can be a snack, dessert, breakfast, breakfast-dessert……

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I couldn’t even restrain myself during the photo shoot guys. You just can’t take me anywhere (or let me eat on nice (white) table cloths). Oops 😉

Go check out the other awesome slow cooker recipes this month, and fill your house with delicious smells!!