Little Prince

Lovebugs, I am thrilled for having an appointment tomorrow (summon the happy dancing)...BUT

{does anyone else wish they could dance so carefree too?}

I am also a little scared. I cannot help it. What if the doc tells me I cannot eat chocolate or coffee or dairy for a super long time? What happens when I tell him all the crazy cravings & happenings from my food diary? I feel really torn between relief that some part of this will be over and then again that some part of this may have to continue. (there- I typed it)

{i ♥ the Little Prince.}

I miss oats. I miss corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, chili powder and curry! Bread would be nice, but I can live off of macarons if the need arises. :) Hee hee.

{nom nom nom}

Even though I want to eat it all, I noticed some good things. Not eating some of the spices, potatoes, and other random vegetables has really helped my joints. No more aching lower back, no more painfully tender knees, no more onset of rheumatoid arthritis as far as can tell. Does this mean I need to be a caged animal, tied to a boring diet just to live without that pain??? Bahhhh. 

I would generally turn to chocolate at times like these, but no sauce. Instead, I turn toooooooo

{happy thoughts never hurt a body}

♥ cute





*images: dance, little prince, chocolate, crackers, world, cheer

From Whole Foods to Your Door

Reunited girls! I am reunited! My favorite nut butter of all time is Maple Almond Butter by Justin's and oh. my. gracious. if I am not thrilled to have my own little snack-pack stash! Check it out:

Now, there is a bit of an embarrassing story to go with this. I must have been a little dyslexic this morning, because I thought the snack pack sale (4 for $5) was cheaper than getting a box of 10 for $9.99. Yeah... I asked the guy at the cash register if I could get the "deal" price and only pay $8 (thinking dyslexic: $4 for 5). Wrong.

He kindly helped me realize the difference and then offered me the 10% discount for buying the box. How awesome (even though I felt soo stupid)!

{need. more. mental math. doh!}

As I mentioned last post, I am SUPER excited to try out rice cakes and after looking at my options in the store, I decided the best way to go was the sweet way...

{Nice huh? I also found some ELIM DIET FRIENDLY bars on sale! whoop}

These Boom bars look marvelous and one even has 8g of protein! A kick in the butt for Larabar, though a few more calories I guess in comparison. Now to see if these can hold water in the flavor test (are you a skeptic? me too. Lara is incredible.)

After grocery shenanigans, I did something really cool today. I think you all should try it out kind of cool. You do not need to use my method, but I find that walking on a treadmill gives me a million ideas. Perhaps that would be the boredom... or maybe the giant glass windows for city watching!

 {I wrote out a bunch of dreams! To plan on! Yippee!!!}

I promise all the elementary school teachers out there that my handwriting is not that crappy. I was not drunk either. Walking and writing is just a little tough on the penmanship. The rest of the dream goals are on the other side of the sheet because big sloppy handwriting can do that to a girl. Work it.

So I dare you. To write it all out. Let it all hang out. Be courageous about it. 3 year goals/1 year/this month/whatever. Will you share? I'll tell you mine...

*images: nerd

Inspirational Plans & Featured Treats

I don't know about you, but sometimes I need inspiration with this whole meal-planning thing. I am trying to eat the good stuff and not cave. I know I need to be practical and not plan to cook all that often. My largest beef (heh, vegetarian) right now is the allergy diet, but I think some other things come up too for us single ladies. What about single servings, right?

Well, I refuse to leave you hanging there. Recipe round up of all things that looked tasty today:

Kaitlyn @ The Tye Dye Files presents us: Single Serve BAH-mazing!

 {gah! just look at this! perfect breakfast idea or what? and yeah, I did make up the corny name. sorry}



I found a single+ serving vegan Pumpkin Bread @ Hungry Hungry Hippie:

{just look at this dense mess. oh moma! more than a single serve, but we can manage...}


I suppose you may be wondering what else I eat beyond breakfast and snacks when I'm "planning" out my culinary life? Well, I eat real food too. Like this!

Diet, Dessert, and Dogs offers fantastic food in general. I prefer a modified version of her French Green Soup recipe. Just leave out the end part with lemon juice, almond milk, etc. and I bet you never knew greens could taste so hearty and amazing. Ricki is quite the genius.


Vegetarian Times. Quinoa Stuffed Peppers. Fabulous professional (VT) photos. Cannot resist!

{this works so well when you want to make something fresh and hot and yeahhh for dinner}


One thing I think is most motivating when meal planning is the spontaneous snack! I mean, who eats like a robot? Sure sure, there are little kicks we get into (*cough* beans and rice *cough* story of my diet) but eventually we are on the prowl for new discoveries! Right?


Here is the last little photo sharing moment. A trail off the beaten path.

{rice cakes happen to be inspired by the Sweet Tooth Runner - I really want to try these!}

There you have it. Live evidence that the sweeter life contains rice cakes. And no, I have no idea if I will like them. I'm still willing to gamble it anyway! :D

Is there anything you have found a worthy gamble? Do you even meal plan? Maybe I'm just nerdy...

 

*images: all images belong to the blog linked to except beyonce, the green soup & rice cakes

Sparkle

Restart. Refresh. Renew.
Finished the first midterm and now I am rolling into more economics homework and another midterm come Tuesday. Sometimes, a mental break sounds pretty sweet. Hoping Monday will have the sweet news that I can end a segment of this food allergy elimination diet and reintroduce one of my allergens!

Still wishing for a brand new camera. I really want something I can call mine and take lots of pictures with. Gah. Finances.

I am computered out after spending so long redesigning the site. Next week's groceries will be figured out on shopping day {tomorrow morning}. I got nothing left tonight.

Life Update

Still eating those dates and imagining them as donuts. No lie.

Seriously, has anyone tried them yet? I cannot get enough of them. I really can't. :) It may be that I worked out my muscles today and needed to replenish some body with some sugar. But I think the dates themselves work well enough attracting my taste buds.

My taste buds do the happy dance. Often. Hee hee.

I finally made an appointment today with my naturopath! Oh my gracious I felt so much frustration when I learned my school schedule conflicts with their office hours. I mean, when can a girl get in to end the worst diet ever??? (Well, technically best diet ever for you, but pah! Still nuts to continue on.) Apparently Monday will be the day of reckoning. Perhaps you have experienced what I did: after a few rounds of phone tag (where messages are left with no human connection on the horizon), you finally manage to call at an odd hour and catch the receptionist, only to find that you will still have to wait longer than you thought *cough* wanted *cough*.

Meh. I should be glad it will be on Monday. I just really want to have oatmeal or chocolate or caffeine back in my life! Dark chocolate, my soul calls out for you.

After all, nice hot coffee flavored goodness paired with a little bit of chocolate cures everything. Right now, I am experiencing allergies for the very first time. It is like a drippy nose cold, but you cannot sneeze for some reason. That, and the throat feels something peculiar. Dry and sore-like. Now I understand better why so many people dread "allergy season." This is gross.

If I were a cute little teddy bear, I think I would prefer not to have my face stabbed with a giant pink fake-o-meter. Messes up the fur.

Tomorrow is my first midterm. I think I will do really well and on that note, I am off to finish my studies and sleep really well!

xoxo


*images: eat heart out, starbucks, teddy bear

Tips & Treats for Allergy Testers (sans nut allergies)

While removing the allergic foods from your bod, there is a rather large list of no-nos. Generally, the no-nos are favorites because when you are allergic, you love them. The body loves to eat what it loves to fight apparently.

Some tasty items you can enjoy instead...
{for those of us in the thick of it!}

Note that these are not the only okay flavors, but I happened to LOVE these in particular. Unlike me, a few of you might be able to have certain foods {sugar alcohols, certain spices, caffeinated products...} My doc said no. A heavy detox instead. BOO.

What about a tasty recipe treat though? Packaged is nice, but you might want something homemade. Something to remind you that summer is going away and fall is here.
May I present:

Le Petite Pumpkin Cider Charmeur 

{I made it fancy just because.}

You Need...

Directions: Combine in a blender and serve!

This skinny indulgence rounds out to 130 calories per cup. Be prepared to double the amounts if you need a serious beverage (thinking breakfast, what have you). For those avoiding sugar, I used a So Delicious Sugar Free Coconut Milk. {Most alternative milks use a LOT of sugar in them.} I was surprised. Regular milk does not need sugar so...? Beats me. Still delicious.

Well, I am off to search for a cheap foodie camera on the internet and I have a question for you all out there: Have you seen the Help? It looks pretty good to me, but I was curious about anyone's opinions on it. Like... chick flick? Inspirational maybe? Let me know.

xoxo