pizza pizazz

Who needs delivery?  Not me, I have a kitchen.  I am always trying to find ways to turn delicious foods that are not usually labeled as”healthy” into a more guilt-free cuisine.  This attempt was for pizza, and it was highly successful.  The Whole Wheat Pizza Crust was spot on topped with Fresh Basil Pesto and the toppings fit both my needs and my boyfriend’s (we went half and half).

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hiking the summer away

On to the finale of my summer “vacation.”  I say “vacation” because I was vacationing in the colorful state in which I attend school, Colorado.  I am so blessed to call this amazing place my home away from home.  The beauty and wonder never ceases to captivate me.  On the final day in Glenwood Springs, my family and I went off the beaten path to a more than less popular hiking trail, but it did not disappoint by any means!  It was full of gorgeous views of the river and falls and if it were not for the Grizzly Bear encounter (yes, GRIZZLY BEAR!!!), then we would have kept hiking the afternoon.

when in colorado

When in Colorado, you have to spend as much time as possible outside. There is really no other way.  After moving back up via a two day road trip, I was itching to be back in the sun and back in nature.  The day after I got back (when I was still residing in a hotel), I made it out to Horsetooth Resevoir with my boyfriend to go kayaking.  It was so much fun!  A nice way to work those arms and shoulders without even realizing.

omelet us catch up

I apologize for being so behind on my posts, but now that things are slowly settling into place after the move, I can go through all of my recipes and pictures and turn them over to this blog.  The last thing I did before moving back to Colorado was have brunch with a really really good friend of mine before we went our separate ways again.  He is one of those people that you can not see for months and pick right back where you left off, which is 100% our case.  He let me pick my favorite brunch place at home, La Madeleine.  That omelet was the beginning of a new obsession of mine.

back in action

Greetings everyone!  It has been a long time and I am in blog withdrawal. Over the past weeks I have been traveling across the state  of Texas back to Colorado in preparation for the beginning of classes again.  It has been a great summer and these past weeks have been a perfect finale to the whole ordeal.  I have a lot to catch up on with my trip, activities, recipes, and even some loose ends to tie before I even left Texas.  So here goes nothing… 

trader joe’s

One weekend ago I visited Trader Joe’s for the fist time ever.  I have always heard glorious stories about it and how it is deemed “the poor man’s Whole Foods.”  Well, I love Whole Foods (obsessed really) and I am a poor college student… so I thought I would go check it out while I was home in Houston for the summer!

almond butter & banana oatmeal

Almond Butter and Banana Oatmeal

Ingredients

♦ 1 ripe banana

♦ 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

♦ 1 tbsp natural almond butter

♦ ½ dried fig

Mash half a banana into the oats and heat for 1.5-2 minutes.  Stir up the oats and top with the other half of banana, almond butter, and dried fig.  I like to mix the almond butter into the oats after the heat melts the almond butter a bit.  It is delicious!  

E N J O Y

paleo snickerdoodles

So, I have been on a “cookie craze” recently.  For some reason, I have been craving cookies, and I am the type of person that believes in satisfying your cravings—in moderation of course.  I find that if I do not allow myself what I really crave, like cookies or a cupcake every now and then, then I will eat a whole bunch more trying to fulfill my craving, only to give in to it later after all of the other food I stuffed into my mouth.  The gluten-free dark chocolate chip cookies shown above are the result of my friday night cookie craving.  Once I have perfected the recipe, I will definitely post it! The cooking craze did not stop there though.  Over the weekend, I made Paleo Snickerdoodles for my gluten-free-eating dad when he came home from his work trip.

blueberry banana egg “pancakes”

Who doesn’t love pancakes?  I know I am a huge fan.  I have fond memories of my dad and I making pancakes together every weekend when I was little.  He taught me the secrets of flavoring a good pancake. My mom always got on to him about “not following the recipe,” but they always turned out magnificently.  I remember for every Father’s Day, Christmas, or Birthday that I always wanted to gift him something pancake related such as a new mix or spatula.

egg-cellent protein source

Eggs.  I used to despise the taste and texture of eggs.  Slowly though, I have come to realize that the texture problem I had was because of the yolks, so I began to ditch those on most occasions, and the taste aspect? Who knew most restaurants (and sometimes my family) add milk and cheese into their scrambled eggs?  No wonder I have a negative bias towards eggs, me being lactose intolerant and what not.  No, eggs are not vegan (I do buy cage-free and free-range though), but they are packed with protein and have done me wonders this past week.