It's been a while since I've done a WIAW!  Time to re-join the party!! (And I do have a recipe, but it will have to wait until I get a picture... I don't know about you, but a picture is what the seals the deal for me!)

The day began with a scrumptious breakfast consisting of this lovely bake and an apple.  I loved the bake even more this time around!  Seriously, make it.  Of course, I really don't have any control over if you make it or not, so perhaps I should ask in Spanish??  Hágalo, por favor.  Or we could just pretend that I do have control over you - I'll ask in English, and you will make it.  Your choice.  But personally, I suggest the latter.

My breakfast was eaten pretty late since I actually slept in (!!!), so by the time lunch rolled around, I wasn't very hungry.  However, this little lunch plate filled me up perfectly!  (Sorry for the awful picture!)

A hearty slice of whole foods bread (don't remember which kind) topped with gruyere cheese (<3) and a hard goat milk cheese (<3 <3), steamed veggies, and chia pudding (made with a little over a tablespoon of chia seeds, 1/4 cup almond milk, one teaspoon cocoa powder, and about four drops of stevia) were the stars of the lunch.  Along with.....

Love in a bottle.

My family and I went out to dinner to celebrate the end of my high school career!  I picked the place - a little Ethiopian joint.  We'd been there before, but not for many years.

Traditional seating!  They had regular tables too, but how boring would that have been??

This bread was brought out while we were waiting for our food and was so interesting!  It smelled like garlic bread, but had such a different texture.  It was wonderful!

Okay, my only complaint was that the proportions were tiny!  The picture below is what we ordered for all of us.  It may look like a lot, but it wasn't!  It was delicious though!  Mine is the red glob in the front (butternut squash), the green glob behind it and slightly to the right (collard greens), and half of the yellow glob to the right (yellow split peas).  And of course I had some of the carrots and greed beans in the center.  Like I said delicious!!  And the cool thing is that no silverware is allowed to this party!  Everything is scooped up in injera, a spongy bread made from teff flour.

Although we didn't leave with full bellies, that was okay because there was a cake waiting patiently at home. (Remember? Food has feelings in my world.)

For the actual cake part, I used the "basic chocolate cupcake" recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  I doubled it, used whole grain pastry flour, and subbed melted coconut oil for the canola oil.  I've made these substitutions before, and it has always turned out super moist (sorry) and incredibly tasty.  This time was no exception!  In between layers, I spread raspberry fruit spread, and then I topped the whole thing with cream cheese frosting also from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but I subbed real butter and cream cheese.

Cake close up: (and a demonstration of my awful plating skills)

Best cake ever?  Um yes, yes it was.

What is your favorite cake flavor?

You know when you dream up a recipe that makes your mouth water by just thinking about it? And then you make it, but it never lives up to your expectation?  That's exactly what happened to me last weekend.  (Please tell me I'm not the only one!)  You see, I wasn't slacking on posting - at least it wasn't my fault for slacking.  Just talk to my failed Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes if you don't believe me.

Fortunately, my last recipe testing was nothing less than a huge success.  It sounded good (not literally, obviously - to my knowledge, food doesn't talk), smelled good, looked good, and by golly tasted good!  I was slightly surprised at first (thanks to my last testing), but then my thoughts trailed off to something else.  That something was this:

Sunny Surprise Oat Bake
I'm sure you can substitute a different nut butter for the sunflower seed butter, but personally, I can't imagine this any better.
Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter
• Heaping 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 7 tablespoons almond milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the banana, sunflower seed butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and baking powder.
3. Stir in the oats and almond milk.
4. Spread evenly into a greased (I used coconut oil) ramekin.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes.

This bake will put the silver lining on each and every cloud.  My future beholds many silver linings.  Yes, I can tell the future.

Hey everyone!
Here I go again - putting off recaps and recipes.  But oh well.  This is what I wanted to do today so this is what I am doing!  I will return to recaps and recipes eventually, but that's for another day. ;)

Someday, I hope to do a WIAW (What I Ate Wednesday) post, but for now, I'll just show you guys what I ate Thursday instead (gotta start somewhere, right?).

After seeing Ellie have OIAJ, I knew that that was what I wanted for breakfast!  It's been forever since I've had OIAJ, and it was time to bring back an old favorite!

So into the not-very-empty jar of peanut butter (there was a lot of peanut butter left on the bottom... mmmm) went a very heaping serving of steal-cut oats.  I take steal-cut oats over rolled oats any day!  The only complaint: the serving is 1/4 cup.  Um, what?  Definitely not enough for me, hence the very heaping serving. ;)  On top of the oats...

... wheat germ!!  What's shown times about 20.  I'm absolutely loving the wheat germ on oatmeal combo!!  My OIAJ were devoured along with green tea and fresh mango (normally store-boughten mangos are just okay, but this one was more than just okay -  SO good!! :D).

And yes, that is a snowman and Christmas tree on my mug.  Who says you can't enjoy cute snowmen in the middle of summer?
A close-up of the mango:

After breakfast, I went and rode my horsey!  He was such a good boy, and it was so much fun!
For a snack when I got back...

PEANUT BUTTER FILLED PRETZELS!!!!  I think I'm addicted to these things.  I don't even want to tell you how many I eat on an average day.  Can we just leave it with lots?  Okay.  Moving on...
Lunch:

Love my bowl, don't you?  Haha, it's actually one of those big heart shaped serving bowls.  So much fun to eat from!  It it is steamed veggies (carrots, broccoli, zucchini - from my neighbors garden, and sugar snap peas), a heaping serving of cooked bulgar (I always make heaping servings when it comes to grain - I never think their serving is enough!), and a whole bunch of Katie's Crazy-Good Ranch.  The name described the dressing pretty well, but it doesn't quite do it justice.  Maybe Incredible-ForgetTheSaladAndGrabASpoon Ranch would be a bit better?  Yes, I think so. ;) Love that dressing.  Great on veggies/grains and by multiple spoonfuls (not that I would know or anything... okay maybe I would know, but that's beside the point. ;)  
Lunch was served with more fresh mango.  Nom, nom.

A little later in the afternoon, my brother and I went and played tennis!

We had so much fun!  We hit it back and forth a bit, and then we got into some trick shots.  My brother did a behind the back, and I did an under the leg.  It was epic.  AND I only hit the ball out of the court once, so I considered it a major success.  
After tennis, we hit the grocery store and then went home and had dinner.  After seeing Ann Claire use an english muffin as a hamburger bun, I knew I had to try it!  So I cooked up a Sunshine falafel burger (love that flavor!), and served it on a whole grain english muffin with avocado and fresh sliced cucumber and bell pepper on the side:

And a close up of the burger:

Even though it's hard to tell, the english muffin was spread with pesto!  Yum!  Given the chance, I think I would choose an english muffin over a hamburger bun any day.  Sooo yummy! :)
Dinner was followed by dessert - Chocolate Macadamia Oat Bar!!

Questions:
Do you like wheat germ?  Ever had it on oatmeal?
Do you like steal cut oat?
Do you make heaping servings of grain?
Ever had peanut butter filled pretzels?
Do you like to play tennis?

Wow, a lot of questions!  I was just trying to, um, give you lots of choices.  Choices are always a good thing, right?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!! :)

<3

Honestly, I am not a procrastinator.  At least not when it comes to school.  I've never waited until the last minute to study for a test or been up late to start a project the day before it's due.  But like I said, that's school.  As far as household chores go... well, let's just say I put them off for as long as I can.  I finally de-weeded my garden after the weeds had grown about four feet (not even joking), and cleaning my shower, well that's still a work in progress (actually, it's not even a work in progress - more like a work that needs to be in progress...).  Something else I procrastinate on?  Blogging.  Not so much writing posts, but more things like the seven or so other recaps I have.  Or recipes... stuffed spaghetti squash (still trying to find where I put that recipe...), peanut butter spelt bagels (I promise to post the recipe sometime, but I actually think I want to rework it a bit since they tasted a bit too "healthy"), baked pasta dish, and I even have a few quesadilla recipes that I want to post.  It's not that I don't want to do the recaps or I don't like the recipes (I love them or I wouldn't even think about posting them), but I think it's the thought that they're there to do that turns me away from them.  Sometimes, I just want to post about the present.  And sometimes, recipes are just so good that I simply can't put them off at all.  I mean, I know you at least got a little excited when you read the post title.  Right?  Chocolate, macadamia nuts, oats... some of your favorite foods, right?  If not, I completely wash my hands of you (just kidding... kinda ;).  So anyway, enough babbling, well maybe just a little more ;).  Where did this recipe come from?  Well, my mom and I were standing in line at the grocery store, and we saw this:

We began guessing what the enchiladas were stuffed with.  We had our guesses, but I just had to know for sure.  So I snatched up the magazine and peered inside.  Recipes like Pumpkin Pesto and Spinach and Olive Melts immediately drew my attention.  The magazine eventually made its way into the cart... I didn't even realize it was a diabetic magazine until we got into the car!  Then, that night I was looking through it, and I saw a recipe for Chocolate Orange Pistachio Bars.  I had no oranges and not a lot of pistachios, so I revised the recipe to make it suitable for what ingredients I did have and, in the process, made the bars gluten-free, low sugar, and vegan.  Please tell me you're excited by now. ;)


Chocolate-Macadamia Oat Bars
Adapted from Diabetic Living's Chocolate Orange Pistachio Bars

Ingredients:
1.5 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped (measure first, then chop)
2.5 tablespoon brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons almond milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons agave nectar*
5 drops stevia*
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Heaping 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used 60%)
2-3 tablespoons (I filled a 1/3 cup measuring cup half full) macadamia nuts, finely chopped

*These bars aren't really sweet (which I personally like), but if you want a sweeter bar, you can add more agave, stevia, or probably even a dry sugar.  If you increase agave, you may need to decrease the almond milk, and if you add dry sugar, you may need to increase the almond milk.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease an 8x8 inch pan (I used coconut oil), and set aside.  
Combine the oats, 1/3 cup macadamia nuts, rice flour, and baking soda.  Then add the almond milk, coconut oil, agave, stevia, and vanilla extract and mix well.

One good thing after the next!  Wait, there's only one recipe there!!  Right, let me explain.  It's actually quite simple: Katie's Cookie Dough Dip!  Unfortunately, my camera was dead (had run out of battery), but there's always good ole' Photobooth to save the day!

Then, I got into the effects!  First, I tried to make the bowl bigger (bigger bowl = more cookie dough = very good thing).

Got into some swirl fun...

And finally, did something I really wish I could do.

Make TWO bowls of it!!  So I think you get it by now... it was soooo delicious!!  A winner without a doubt, and something I will definitely make again! :D  Great as a dip...

In a sandwich...

AND by the spoonful. ;)  It was also great on oatmeal.  A little to great for a picture, if you know what I mean. ;)  So if you haven't made Katie's cookie dough dip before, um make it!  I do have one complaint - it only made one bowl.  As seen above, I tried to fix that, but sometimes there's only so much I can do. ;)


Questions:
Are you a procrastinator?
Do you like macadamia nuts?

Have a great week everyone!

<3

Hello everyone!!  It's the weekend at laaaaast!!  This week went by slowly and quickly all at the same time.  I hope it went amazingly well for each and everyone one of you!!

I wanted to thank you all for your warm birthday wishes on my last few posts.  You guys are the SWEETEST!!!  I did have a wonderful birthday - my friends and I went bowling!  We aren't very good, but it was really fun anyway!  Although this guy bowling a few lanes down got nine strokes in a row.  It made us feel like really bad bowlers! ;)

Since I promised the sprinkle recipe a week ago, I'll start with it first (best for last isn't always true ;)

Mmmm... I LOVE stir frys!!  Something else I love?  Meals like the following:

Steamed veggies over a bed of brown/wild rice, fresh raspberries, and a sweet potato with coconut oil and carob chips.  To me, that's the ultimate comfort meal!

Have any of you ever tried soba noodles?  If not, change that!!  They're incredible!  Especially when they make an appearance in these Japanese Soba Noodles from Vegan Fire and Spice!

Next up are the Katie meals of the week!  (Yes, they deserve their own section ;)  First, I finally made her Hot Cocoa Fudge Babies!

Why, oh why, did I wait so long???  Fudge? No.  Better than fudge?  Yes.  Very much yes!!  Please don't make my mistake and don't wait to make these.  Make. Them. Now.

And while you're in the kitchen, why not make some Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies?

You won't be sorry, and my dad can attest to that.  "THOSE. ARE. GOOD." were the exact words he said when I came home from school to find many missing cookies.  He them went on to say how very lucky I was that there were any left.  If that's no proof of how amazing they are, I don't know what is ;)

Just one more...

I've been dying to make Katie's Oatmeal Pudding, and I finally made it!  Does anybody know Katie's secret?!  If they do, I want to know it ;)  Hehe, that's code for "that breakfast was incredible and I want it again RIGHT NOW!!"


And now, I want to thank the sweet, lovely Kathleen for nominating me for the following.....

1) Tell you guys who nominated me (done!)

2) Share 7 facts about me

3) Nominate 15 (8..) other bloggers 

7 facts about me:

1) I used to be allergic to peanut butter (and all other nuts).  It wasn't until about a year ago that I got tested and found out that I'm no longer allergic.  How did I ever live without peanut butter?!

2) I'm a science nerd.  I love all things to do with science and plan to major in either chemistry of physics in college.

3) I volunteer at a vet because I love animals and wanted to be a vet since I was a little girl.

4) I HATE yellow mustard!  I love honey mustard, but I just can't stand yellow mustard.

5) I love teaching!  I've tutored my friends in math, mentored elementary kids for a science fair, and help my classmates at school all the time.  I LOVE it!! :) (Maybe I could teach science? ;)

6) I live to ride my horse!  We live at a house where he can live at our house, and it has been the best experience of my life.

7) I make my own lunch for school every day (random, I know ;)

Kathleen already nominated many of the blogs I love, but here's a few more:

1. Nicole @ Of Cookies and Carrots
2. Ryan @ Aloha Appetite
3. Rachel @ Tea and Chocolate
4. Ellie @ Fit for the Soul
5. Whitney @ Vegan Sunshine
6. Ann Claire @ The Flourishing Foodie
7. Molly @ Molly Runs Fresh
8. Emma @ Sweet Tooth Runner

I hope everyone has the most amazing weekend!!

<3

Good morning, everyone!!  Just a quick post to tell you guys...

Happy Earth-day!

And to tell myself...

Happy Birthday!

Yep, it's officially official!  Good-bye 15, hello 16!  (Gosh, I feel old! ;)  And since I was born fairly early in the morning (maybe that's why I get up so early? ;) I was 16 as soon as I hopped (more like rolled...) out of bed!  Now, birthdays just can't be celebrated without sprinkles, and here' proof:

Recipe to come!!  Fifteen was a wonderful year for me!  I learned a lot both in terms of academics and about life in general and how amazing it is!  But most importantly, I started this blog and met all you lovely people :D
In remembrance of the great 1-5:

By the way, that's not my dog; she's my best friend's dog, Tulip. (Isn't she adorable?!)

I'll be back later this weekend with a real post.  I hope you all have an absolutely fabulous weekend!!! 

<3

I am freeeeeee!!!  I don't even have to think about school for over a week!!  Mid-terms are officially OVER!  Woooohoooo!!  (Can you tell I'm excited ;)

And, even more exciting, I will be in California in less than 48 hours!  I'm hoping to be able to post Sunday morning before I leave, and I might even take my computer and blog from California, but if not, this will be last post until next Thursday (I can't think of it - too depressing!)  Instead of contemplating that, I will move on into my top eats of the week (although honestly, I love mostly everything I eat!)  

I didn't have a lot of time to cook due to finals, but I did manage a few different eats.  Take this yummy pizza for example:

For my brother's birthday (which, by the way, I wanted to thank all you amazing people for wishing my bwudda a happy birthday - I got a genuine smile from him when I told him about your comments :D ) we made pizza!!  We bought fresh pizza dough from Whole Foods (I used the whole grain variety) and topped mine with pesto, fresh basil, tomatoes, olives, onions, and LOTS of broccoli (and cheese, of course)  Homemade pizza is way too good!!

Another yummy eat?  How about my banana scramlette?

I love this even more every time I eat it!!!  And it's the perfect post-workout snack! :)

And I just found my second favorite sandwich (pesto still comes in first)

I topped a piece of Rudi's 14 grain bread with baked sweet potato, coconut butter, carob chips, and another piece of bread.  Wooooow you guys!!!  That was out of this world amazing!!

We also made spring roles this past week!!  I <3 spring roles!  But my favorite part?  My Creamy Peanut Sauce!


Creamy Peanut Sauce
(Adapted from Vegan With a Vengeance)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Asian chile oil
Peanut butter (i just add spoonfuls until it gets kind of thick and creamy)

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.

Spring rolls are way too much fun! :D

Then last night, I threw together something really quick, and it turned out to be one of my favorite dishes that I'm sure I will make again and again (and again... ;)


Quick, Cold Pasta

Ingredients:
1 serving cooked pasta
A handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced
A handful of fresh basil, torn
1 ounce of goat cheese, crumbled
Olive oil, to taste (I recommend a generous amount)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste)

Directions:
Place all ingredients together in a bowl...

.... and give a good mixin'!

Truly amazing!!!  Especially when accompanied with lot's of steamed brussel sprouts! :)

Now lets take a look at some recent breakfasts....  
Here we haves some cold cereal!!!!  SO exciting, I know ;)
But actually, it is kind of exciting for me since I only eat it like once a month.  I find if it kind of funny that most of my friends would give anything to not eat cold cereal in the  morning, and I find it exciting :)

1/2 cup kashi go lean granola + 1/2 cup Ezekiel golden flax + a handful of roasted peanuts = an amazing mess of goodness swimming in a pool of almond milk.  Have you ever had peanuts in your cold cereal?  If not, then do!!!  Really, it's AMAZING!!

Oats in a jar.... amazing as always!

And I also did a spin on oatmeal using Katie's blended grain technique!!

Sweet Potato-Peanut Pudding Oats

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
Liquid for cooking the oats (I used about 1 cup of water)
1/2 cup cooked sweet potato
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A spoonful of peanut butter (probably about 2 tablespoons?)
2 tablespoon to 1/4 cup almond milk (depending on how thick you want it)


Directions:
Cook the oats according to package directions.  Next, dump the oats and the remaining ingredients into a blender and blend away!  

There's nothing like pudding for breakfast!!  Thanks, Katie, as always for your amazing recipe ideas!!!  And I'm definitely making your cake batter milk shake tomorrow!!! :)  SO excited - I know it will be absolutely fabulous!  Your recipes ALWAYS are!! :D

And finally, I took my breakfast to shcool this morning!!  I went early to start my chemistry final, and I knew I couldn't do it on an empty stomach.  So I made my breakfast the night before, stuck it in the fridge, and away it went with me the next morning!

I'm probably the only one at my school who gets excited about taking their breakfast to school ;)

Oh, oooooone more thing, if you aren't bored to tears yet (I really hope you aren't!)  I finally tried a (wait for it)....

I think it's very safe to say that these little guys will be making frequent appearances in my life! ;)

Ok, enough about me, what about all of you wonderful people?  How was your week?  Did you have finals?  Any particularly fabulous eats?


Have a great weekend everyone!!  Love you guys!

Happy day off!! (If you live in the U.S., that is.  If you don't then just, Happy day!)  So, what have I been up to lately?  That generally translates as what have I been eating lately, so let's take a look.
I told you Friday evening that my mom and I were having a girls night, and I'm sure that you can guess that food played a part in that night.  I had one of all time favorite pizzas (can you tell I'm on a pizza kick lately?)

Of course, I added a few toppings of my own including a ton of garlic powder, fresh basil, and sliced cherry tomatoes.  I did mention that this was one of my favorite pizzas, didn't I? ;)
Ice cream was in order for dessert.  I tried something that I imagined would be disgusting, but turned out to my one of my absolute favorite ways to eat ice cream!  Behold, coconut milk ice cream drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with roasted peanuts.

Ohhhhhhh yes!!!  It was fabulous, just plain fabulous!
I've also been enjoying some chia oats dumped into a nearly-empty jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams:

And, as always, I'm still eating my mass amount of veggies!

And this morning, I tried something completely new......


Mango Curry Oats

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup almond milk
Pinch of the following spices: garlic powder, onion powder
1/8 teaspoon of the following spices: garam masala, coriander, turmeric, cumin
Salt, if desired (I didn't use any)
About 1/2 of a medium-sized mango, cut into chunks


Directions:
Combine the oats, water, and milk together in a small pot and cook until almost done (about 7-8 minutes).  Just before the oats are done, stir in your spices.  Finish cooking the oats and then stir in the mango.

And a close up

Oh SO good!!!  I LOVE curry!


And now, Happy Birthday to my beautiful Mom!

Aka, one of the sweetest, most supportive people on the planet (my dad is one of the others :)  She supported me when I decided to go vegetarian, and continues to make sure I get all the nutrients I need (she also makes sure that any place we go out to eat at has something vegetarian that she knows I would like! :)  She also supports and encourages me in school both when I do really well and when I struggle.  And, she helps me take care of my many pets when I'm really busy.  I could go on forever, but for now I just want to say, thank you Mom!  I love you and hope you have an excellent birthday!

My goals for next weekend:
1) Make a post on how to grow an avocado tree (I'm so sorry I didn't get to it this weekend :(
2) Make Olivia's chocolate french toast!

The daily question: Do like curry?  
Sometimes, I think I could eat curry three meals a day!  Other days, I know I could eat curry three meals a day! ;)