The Great Adventure

Hello hello and greetings from the Sunshine state! I’m going to be backtracking a bit though and showing you some new things I tried during the week before heading down south.

Inspired Breakfast

Cinnamon + cottage cheese + NuNaturals vanilla extract on an English muffin; I’ve seen many bloggers prepare this little combo a la K–I love the ring of that! I topped it with Mymoune’s Crème of Dates with Almonds. Check out the whole almond. On the other half of the English muffin I spread on some good old butter and the berry preserves Holly sent me awhile back. I also made a smoothie which entailed: hemp protein powder + blueberries + banana + almond milk. This was a simple yet so delicious breakfast.

Frozen entree worth mentioning

I tried another Amy’s frozen entree and I was not disappointed. My tummy was feeling funky earlier that week and I figured Indian food would help settle it down a bit. This was the Mattar Paneer entree and I loved that there were plenty of cumin seeds. After I snapped this picture I mixed it all together and added in some coconut oil and voila! No fuss meal.

Coconut Macadamia Ball… m’mm good

I remember on this warm and sunny day (spring is finally moving winter aside) I wanted to snack on something that reminded me of Florida. So I went for Betty Lou’s Coconut Macadamia Butter Ball, and I put it in the freezer so I could have it cold. I just love biting into these. There’s something so satisfying about biting into a yummy ball of nut butter.

Speaking of Betty Lou’s, here are some other goodies I’ve tried. Let me start off with the Krispy Bite. Holy yum!!! I think this may be my favorite little snack of theirs, and I think that’s saying a lot because I like everything hahah. But seriously, there is no eating like a turtle when I munch on these. They disappear faster than it takes me to open the wrapper up.

Close-up

Next up is the Almond Butter Ball. Doesn’t it remind you of the top of a Drumstick sundae cone? I love the denseness and it’s not overly sweet either. They also have a High-protein variation as well, but as far as taste goes… I prefer this one.

Tapping into my inner Renaissance woman.

I was actually able to go out with just this on! Hooray for warmer weather.

I always forget about these shoes!

Brought OIAJ to class the other day.

I am racking up the OIAJ, aren’t I? This was the last of my MaraNatha cashew butter and I knew how I wanted to bid it farewell–with a tropical flair. I cooked the oats with a tea masala (ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, nutmeg, and mace), banana, and almond milk. Then I threw in some mango bits. A little trick I learned is to pour a bit of hot water in the jar before you mix in the oats to soften the nut butter a bit. Then I stir it all together little by little with my special spoon (the one with the long handle). I definitely savored it because these nut butters cost an arm and a leg!!!

Road trip time!!!

This was my first time driving to Florida without my parents and it was so exciting!

Matilda can make herself comfortable anywhere.

I packed a sandwich–fontina + rosemary + sun-dried tomatoes

Speaking of sandwiches, I completely forgot that the grilled cheese sandwich included one of my latest finds–white truffle oil. So good! Anyway, this sandwich was yummy, and I was able to heat it up in the microwave at a gas station. We snack on these awesome pita chips, Sabra hummus, Pirate’s Booty, granola bars, sunflower seeds–hippie food! But whatever, we eat what we like. We drove through a torrential downpour that lasted most of the second half of the trip. Oh and there was an undercover cop that just pulled in to the highway from the side of the road and cut me off. If I didn’t move over I would’ve collided into it! But we finally made it to my parent’s place!

We finally got to my parent’s place and my mom prepared dinner.

Acorn squash, parsley, and cilantro soup

German Pan-fried potatoes + Stir-fry

Fresh fruit + Greek yogurt + cinnamon

My mom has been cooking for us a lot lately, but I’ve been helping her out too. I love cooking, but it’s nice to have someone make things for you for a change though, you know? Especially if it’s your mother’s cooking.

The weather down here has been wonderful, but the wind is not our friend. Every time we’ve gone to the beach, we’ve ended up being brutally attacked the sand. But we will return to Virginia as bronze goddesses, no doubt!