Beans, Beans, Beans...

Is everybody's Saturday turning out to be a good one? I hope so - I feel like mine was pretty productive!

Started out with a relatively simple bowl of pumpkin hot cereal:

I felt it was time to go back to basics again :)

Today incorporated pumpkin puree and a couple slices banana while cooking, and topped with some pumpkin chia-seed yogurt pudding for topping, as well as some toasted coconut, toasted walnuts, raisins, banana, wheat germ, raspberry preserves, and almond butter. 

Delicious no matter whether simple or complex!

The morning was then spent getting some groceries with mi madre and then I went into town to clean the office and finish my valentine's day shopping. We're not big Valentine's Day people obviously, but we usually tend to get each other random cutesy nick-nacks. I was back by noon (I love waking up early and getting the "grunt work" over with before it's even the afternoon!) and opted for a small snack incorporating this beautiful creation:

Ahmahgaw. Sooooo good. I received my Naturally Nutty order yesterday, but didn't try any then, and nor did I have it with my breakfast this morning - will power, I tell ya! But when I got home I needed a snack (I like eating lunch later) so opted for an orange and had just half a Joseph's Flax Pita left after last night's dinner. So I made a quick little PB&J panini! White Choco Coconut + Pomegranate-Cherry Jam + Soft Flax Pita + Panini Press = Heaven. This isn't Jess talking right now, it's her spirit. The end.

Have you tried any of the Naturally Nutty line? What's your favorite?

I also got two other flavors - but you'll have to wait and find out what they are :)

After getting some schoolwork done for an hour or two, I was ready for lunch.

After last night's Garlicky Butter Beans & Scallops with Bacon, I had a big spoonful or two left-over that I added to. Normally if there's such a small amount left I don't bother saving it (It's just a tease!) but I knew I'd be using more of the beans for a wrap for lunch today (whole can open!) and thought I could just add more beans and veggies to the already-deliciously flavored mixture. Worked great! I just heated last night's mixture up in a pan, added some more butter beans, dijon and garlic, and spooned that over a pita that had some romaine and red onion. Tri-Fold and Press!

Delish. Other snackins included this Luna Cookie:

It was on clearance for 90 cents at P-Chop. Couldn't resist.

The verdict? It's basically a brownie Clif Z-Bar but with peppermint icing! I definitely think it's the same recipe, haha. Which, since as you all know, isn't a bad thing because I love Z-Bars. But I was definitely expecting something more like a cookie! The peppermint icing made it not too chocolate-y though, which was my only issue with the Choco Brownie Z-Bar. I heart chocolate peppermint.

I have made so much progress organizing my recipes! I am finally getting things out of my over-crowded bookmarks online, and organizing and printing from Word. I feel like my web-based collection is too small now,though! Gotta start bookmarking again.

Dinner tonight was...you guessed it...more butter beans! I actually don't think I'd ever used butter beans much prior to last night, but they may very well be one of my new favorite beans. Of course, since I love all beans I don't know how valid that statement is. I opted for a Butter Bean Curry with Homemade Naan!

Okay, so my Naan is nowhere near as gorgeous as Jen's is, but I tried! I'd never made Naan before, and I was terrified after having a failed Roti attempt not too long ago. I wasn't sure how thin to roll them out, and I am pretty sure I went a bit too thin, but it actually came out really delicious! I'd type out the recipe, but I want you to go read it on this amazing blog instead! Jen has so many amazing recipes, and she's not lying when she calls it "Ridiculously Easy Naan." A few notes, however: I halved the recipe, used 1 c. bread flour and 1 c. whole wheat flour, used garlic salt with parsley in place of the salt, used half almond milk and half water, and used olive oil rather than canola. Mmmm!

The bean curry was helped along by the Good Housekeeping Coconut-Chile Curry Sauce that I've mentioned on here previously. I sauteed butter beans, carrot slices, red pepper, diced plum tomato, and onion in minced garlic, added 1 T. of the Curry sauce, and seasoned with ginger, curry powder, cumin, and pepper. When it was all done, I topped with some shredded coconut (key!!) and had a side of sugar snap peas, as well. The craving for them hit - I used to have them on a daily basis, ya know!

A simple, easy dinner...but definitely hit the spot. The curry was perfect scooped up by the Naan! You really must make it. If I can, I'm pretty sure anybody can. 

I'll leave you on this note:

I've got some Moguls and speed skating to watch!

Night everyone :)

What's your favorite Indian dish?

Overboard

Is everyone super happy it's Friday? I know I'd be lying if I said I wasn't! I'm also super excited for the start of the Olympics. Finally something good on television!

This morning started with another ridiculous bowl of Toasted Coconut Gingerbread Oats with Choco-Mocha "Icing". I think it's safe to say I've been going a little overboard with the toppings as of late, no? hehe.

At least it's still kind of healthy though, right? It just feels like cheating :P

I'm totally loving the whole molasses/gingerbread flavor. And hey - blackstrap molasses just so happens to be an excellent source of iron and calcium! How ya like them apples?

The usual mix with heaping 1/8 t. each ginger, nutmeg, ground clove, and cinnamon; vanilla extract, and 1.5 t. molasses. 

Topped with 2 t. coconut (toasted) toasted walnuts, goji berries, crystallized ginger, banana, wheat germ, raisins, and a maraschino cherry, just for good measure!

The Chia-Seed Yogurt Pudding "Frosting" of the day was brewed coffee, almond milk, chia seeds, greek yogurt, unsweetened organic cocoa-powder, and a splash of agave. 

*deep breath* phew! that was a mouthful!

Lunch was a repeat from the past couple days, yet still hasn't gotten old! I actually froze the meatballs so they kept pretty well. Still enough for one more delicious turkey buffalo wrap, too. 

Work actually went by pretty quickly today, just slowing down towards the end of the day so I ended up leaving a half hour early. It was a beautiful day outside so I took the opportunity to walk a package down to the post office. I love being able to take a short walk during work, even though the wind did get quite chilly after a couple minutes! Oh, well. The sun was gorgeous, and I can't help but to smile when it's out. The weather has such a huge impact on my mood, I think moreso than most people.

How much does the weather affect your mood?

I came home to a surprise!

Aside from my Naturally Nutty shipment coming in, my mom was thinking of me when she saw these at the Discount Foods Store! Sure, the cans are dented but who cares? They're not expired yet, and will certainly be consumed before that date, anyway. I was mourning to her about the pumpkin shortage awhile ago, but she remembered...and I've been dying to try the S'mores Z Bars. 

She's too good to me :)

Dinner tonight was a good one, too! Even though I only got home about 20 minutes earlier than usual, I just felt like I had so much more time to cook! It was quite nice. This is another "how is this healthy" meal from me, haha. Sure, I'm not saying it's a prime example of health food by any means, but food can certainly get much junkier than this, too. And I've finally finished those scallops! hah.

Garlicky Scallops & Butter Beans with Bacon

For One

Ingredients:

2 slices raw bacon

~3/4 c. raw scallops with their juice

1/2 c. canned butter beans, undrained

1/8 c. each: diced scallions, diced red bell pepper, diced red onion

2 sundried tomatoes, diced

1.5 t. minced garlic

1 t. honey mustard

salt & pepper

EVOO

Destructions:

1. Defrost scallops in microwave, do not drain liquid from bowl. Microwave bacon on paper towel-covered plate for 45 sec, blot away excess grease, and chop into medium-sized pieces, trimming away excess fat.

2. Over low heat, begin sauteeing the minced garlic in a non-stick pan drizzled lightly with olive oil (alternatively, I'm sure you could omit the EVOO and microwaving the bacon, and instead use the bacon grease in place of EVOO. I declined on the notion.) Add the scallops & their liquid as well as the bacon, scallions, pepper, and onion. Season with honey mustard, salt and pepper, and allow scallops and bacon to finish cooking thoroughly.

3. Once thickened some and scallops and bacon is cooked, add the beans and sundried tomatoes.

4. Plate!

I cut and then toasted a pita with some garlic, and served with a side of "burnt broccoli," as well, and topped with some parmesan. Delish!

If only burnt broccoli looked as appetizing as it tastes. It's my favorite way to eat broccoli! So much better than just steaming or microwaving it.

This was a really good meal. Next time? I'll be making some homemade Naan rather than the pita!

Is anyone else excited to have the Olympics to watch?

What sport are you most looking forward to?

I  can't wait to watch the snowboarding. Ice skating is exciting, too. ( the racing )

Subliminal Messaging

Did everyone else get to enjoy beautiful weather today? Vermont was certainly graced with some beautiful sun and warm temperatures! Given the time of the year it is I should be crying that it was nearly 40*. Lately all I've been wanting is snow, snow, snow. We have none! But since beautiful sunshine came along with the warmth, there was no way I could complain.

I should have known it would end up being a beautiful day after seeing the subliminal message in this ridiculous bowl of banana cream pie breakfast:

Anyone else see the heart?!Not intentional.

This craziness involved the usual whipped banana bowl of grains, topped with more banana, coconut, walnuts, raisins, and whet germ. The chia-seed yogurt icing had some mashed banana, too! And almond butter and a maraschino cherry, just for good measure, of course.

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven after eating this.

I grabbed the buffalo turkey wrap out of the fridge that I'd made for lunch last night, an orange, a carrot, and a Z Bar and made my way to school for classes.

After my first one I learned of two amazing facts: 1. Int. to C.J. was cancelled, and 2. Photo would just be a "work day" if we so chose! Luckily I learned both these things in e-mails, so decided to do my own photo class by driving round Rutland and finding sketchy places to take photos. Strangely, I've never just walked around downtown with my camera with the intent to take photos. I learned that sometimes you overlook some of the neatest places!

I've got quite a few photos to go through to keep me busy tonight, tomorrow, and the next day! Hopefully I got one or two good ones. 

While I was in town, I took advantage of the time to explore our co-op! I've never actually been in there - another shocker, right? I told myself I wouldn't buy much. And I did great until I got to the bulk section, where everything...uh...sort of added up. There's so many fun things, and still feel like I hardly got as much as I wanted! haha. Finds included goji berries, other dried fruits and nuts, almond "mozzarella," oikos, applegate farms turkey hot dogs, some bars, and some cookies! What I really wanted to find was coconut butter, but no such luck. My other stop was my favorite little organic deli/cafe, the Back Home Again. I about lived there all summer long, until I started school. (Then "Jess's Budgeting Act" cut-off so much buying of meals, and encouraged the making & packing of meals. It's ridiculous how much I spent a week buying lunches rather than packing my own!)They make amazing breads, and I needed some Spelt bread. They also sell yerba mate and mate energy bars, which are amazing. So I picked some of those up as well. Bliss. 

By the time I was done spending money and taking pictures, it was around 1:45 and I had only eaten all my snacks. They held me over so luckily I wasn't so tempted by any of the delicious wraps and sandwiches at the BHA and decided I'd just enjoy my wrap grilled once I got home!

Look familiar? It hasn't gotten old...but I'm almost out of those meatballs! I do miss hummus and veggie wraps though, so it's all good :)

Dinner was to incorporate one of my interesting co-op finds!

I had planned on just getting some really good marinated mozzarella when I went grocery shopping this weekend (I am picky about my mozzarella. Go big or go home. No skim over here.) but was quite fascinated when I saw this! Never even heard of it before, so of course I had to give it a try. I'm not lactose intolerant, vegan, or anything requiring me to avoid real cheese, but I was quite intrigued. And it's quite good! But we'll get to that.

On the agenda tonight was a Sausage Polenta Bake. I'd been tossing ideas around in my head all morning, and initially wanted to do sausage-apple, but wasn't sure what veggies I had that would go well with that.

So, for 1-2 servings (my mom and I shared it but each had another sausage & sauce on the side) I prepared the bottom polenta layer with:

1 Pesto-Chicken Bilinski Farms Chicken sausage, diced

1/3 c. polenta/corn grits

1 c. water

minced garlic

diced scallions, red pepper, and yellow pepper.

garlic salt, pepper, and basil

I just prepared the polenta as usual and when it was beginning to pull from the sides I added everything in. Poured and spread into a mini casserole dish, and baked at 400* for 20m.

Pre-baking:

Then I decided on a middle veggie layer:

baby spinach - 1 c.?

broccoli crown, chopped

1/4 c. cream of broccoli soup

minced garlic

dijon mustard

salt, pepper to taste

Sauteed in a pan until cooked down & soup about evaporated. By this time your polenta should be about done, so go ahead and put this layer on top.

Top with some sort of marinara/tomato-based sauce on top, and then some mozzarella shreds. (or, in my case, almond mozzarella)

I initially thought I was going to have to make my own "sauce" with diced tomatoes and seasonings like I usually do, but my mom actually had a pot of spaghetti sauce on for some pasta and sausages she was making, so I just stoled some of that. Convenient!

Pop back in the oven until your cheese is melted, and dig in! (Caution: Contents Hot)

Basic, but good :) I still like my sausage-apple polenta casserole idea, though. Soon!

Now, however, it is time for dessert round 2 (round 1 was a mate bar!): chia seed pumpkin pudding!

If you have a local co-op, what's your favorite find there? 

Or, if you're grocery shopping, do you end up trying way more new things than you went there with the intention of purchasing? 

I know I'm guilty of having a grocery shopping new-foods problem!

'Night everyone!

Back to Basics

Happy Humpday, everyone! Belated Humpday, almost...

This morning started off with a Back to Basics bowl of brekkie.

[Can you tell I have no idea what to call my breakfast mix? It's not oatmeal...and I'm not calling it porridge. Porridge sounds so unappetizing. So it's a bowl of brekkie. Ya dig? haha]

The normal mix con shredded coconut, choco-chia "icing," raisins, rasperry jam, chopped walnuts, and almond butter.

I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted so I decided I'd just do the normal whipped banana bowl. No matter how simple or how complex, it is always so good, wouldn't you agree?

I never really looked at walnuts for their health benefits - I always thought almonds and peanuts were superior! So I was shocked when I learned that Walnuts are actually king! This is because they are loaded with omega-3s, and an insane amount of antioxidant activity levels. They are also a large part of Meditterannean diets because they are very heart healthy, helping to reduce total as well as bad cholesterol, increase artery elasticity, and help to keep the hardening of arteries at bay. [Source]

Work and car-ride eats, in case you were wondering:

My wrapping skills are becoming better by the day.

Repeat of a buffalo turkey meatball wrap, ranch dressin' on the side, carrot sticks, orange, Z Bar, and crack. Remaining nanner and some spelt toast with almond butter just for good measure.

Buuuut, I was able to print some of my film today :) Nothing super impressive, but a couple fun ones:

and....the downside of film:

A big ole scratch, right on my emulsion! Ah well. 

Dinner tonight was simply superb. Planning out meals has worked so well. I was hesitant about doing so, since my cravings can change by the second, but I've found that when I look at what I've got planned for dinner the night before or the morning of, I start off just wanting that anyway! I'm allowing some mixing-up of meals; it's more of a "here's 5 meals ideas, here's the ingredients, now just cook them whenever." lol. And all the look-up work has been done when I have time to do it (versus when I get home from work - because that wsn't happening. hah!), so I'm going through all these recipes I've been wanting to try, too! I'm also getting better at knowing when to make extra for leftovers, and when not to. The meatballs worked out great for lunches this week, so besides the strata, I've been making just enough for dinner. Go me! haha. [okay, sometimes there's a littttle left, but not enough worth saving. as you can imagine, Kaia isn't complaining.]

How do you go about your meal planning? On a whim, or planned in advance?

Anyways, back to tonight's Pumpkin-Honey Curry Chik'n!

Served with sweet potatoes and baby spinach.

Ingredients:

-1 c. Quorn Chik'n Tenders, or 1 cup chopped, cooked chicken

-1/2 carrot, chopped

-1/4 c. each chopped yellow and red bell peppers

-1 T. honey

-1 T. honey mustard or dijon mustard

-1/3 c. almond milk 

-1 t. Curry Powder

-2 T. pure pumpkin puree

-1 sweet potato, sliced into rounds

-salt and pepper

-baby spinach

Destructions:

-Place sliced sweet potato rounds on panini press/grill, spray with non-stick spray, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cook.

-Meanwhile, combine chik'n, veggies, honey, mustard, milk, pumpkin, and curry powder in small frying pan. Allow to simmer until sauce thickens slightly/chik'n absorbs it.

-Plate baby spinach, top with sweet potatoes, and then the curry mixture.

Enjoy!

In addition to your meal planning strategies, what is your favorite go-to meal?

'Night everyone!

Rejuvenated

Today I woke up feeling so rejuvenated! 

And no, it's not because I went and got a free Denny's Grand Slam :P Pretty sure if that was the case, I'd be feeling dead. lol.

I ended up going to bed relatively early last night, around 10, and slept really well, too! Usually I wake up a time or two, each time wide-awake and ready for it to just be morning...and then a little groggy when 6am does roll round.

Not today! I was ready to be up, bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 6am. Unfortunately, it's my day to "sleep in" until 7, but I decided tojust browse the web and watch the news and relax until then. It was quite nice! I love waking up ready to go and in a good mood. The good mood definitely carried on throughout the day, too. I think this repeat bowl of brekkie helped that :

More gingersnap oats! This time I used a little more than 1/4 t. ground ginger. I'd be lying if I said my tongue wasn't a litttttle tingly by the end! Mmmm.

And some food for thought: did you know that 

"Ginger is an anti-inflammatory, which means it may be useful in fighting heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and arthritis. Plus, it's high in antioxidants that fight all kinds of diseases."

Pretty cool, huh? Click here for the source, as well as other tidbits about the 7 most potent disease-fighting spices. I'd like to start "showcasing" random facts about stuff I utilize...mainly foods, spices, etc, but I'm sure some photo stuff will work it's way in here, and some soc. stuff :) Whatcha think?

Today's new bar was a Kashi GoLean Crunch Bar in the chocolate caramel flavor

How is this bar so healthy? It baffles me. It's got some seriously awesome ingredients, and tastes just like a peanut buttah rice krispies! That's probably just me, though, because it is not actually peanut-butter flavored, but I always combine peanut butter with caramel. I dunno. Don't ask.

But! This made an excellent mind-refresher in between classes. Why is it that I get way hungrier and tired sitting at a desk listening to people talk than I do on my feet all morning at work? 

Does that happen to anybody else?!

I was super-duper ready to come home for this, though! It took my already great mood (don't you love being in a good mood for no given reason?) to entirely new levels

Buffalo Turkey-Meatball Wrap!

Two summers ago I just about lived off of Buffalo Chicken wraps. For some reason I have let an entirely too-long period of time before having a buffalo something wrap. And those buffalo turkey meatballs were just the ticket! I mixed up a version of Clean Eating's homemade ranch dressing sans buttermilk with just some greek yogurt, dill, chives, garlic salt with parsley, black pepper, and onion powder. Better than ranch dressing, I say. In addition to that, en la wrap es sliced meatballs, more franks, red onion, half a cheese wedge, romaine, dill pickle, and tomato. Oh. So. Heavenly.

Con carrot y the rest of the tomato and dressin' for dippin'.

Afterwards, Kaia and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful sunshine and slightly warmer weather and go for a leisurely walk! I've never been much of a gym person. I much prefer getting my exercise by working outside, going for walks, helping with the horses (or, soon, riding horses, lol) going for a run down my road or doing some cardio kickboxing or pilates. I guess it kind of works out, since - I don't have much time to spend at the gym! I am thinking about getting a membership and starting swimming, though.

What's your favorite form of exercise - be it intentional or unintentional?

I didn't dress very appropriately (yes - I live in Converse, no matter the weather, and I also forgot gloves) because I failed to recognize that yes, while it was quite warmer than it had been, 25* is still pretty chilly.

So, we were only gone about 30 minutes. It was quite refreshing, though. I was cooped up inside most of the weekend, and like going on short ganders whenever the weather is enjoyable :)

Before our walk, I had thrown together some almond milk, pure pumpkin, greek yogurt, chia seeds, cinnamon, and a dash of cheesecake pudding mix and refrigerated to create this delicious pudding that I enjoyed before leaving for class once again:

Gah. So good. Love the chia seeds!

And then this was waiting for me after class:

Not photographically pleasing. But oh-so-good. Lately every meal I've eaten I say to myself after "okay. I never want to eat anything else ever again." Somehow, I keep coming through for you guys and creating new things :P haha.

Leftover strata and some "burnt broccoli" and carrots with a raspberry-honey dijon & balsamic vinegar glaze/dressing. And some parmesan. Perfection.

Aaaaand, that's about it from me! I hope everyone else's Tuesdays were as equally terrific!

(ah, I get it...I need to stop with the corny alliterations.)

Super Strata

mmm....the smell of gingerbread in the morning!

Gingerbread Oats, that is!

Thinking about a gigantic bakery gingersnap cookie my mom brought home with her the other day, yet left me with just a tease of a taste, I decided I could make my own gingersnap cookie this morning! I love how I always make my favorite desserts into breakfast, haha. And I think I may just like them better - because oats are involved!

To make this yourself, just replace your water with brewed coffee (if I was really on-the-ball, I would have brewed some of the Green Mountain Gingerbread coffee I have. I didn't think of it 'til after!), whip in half a banana (more for sweetness and volume - you can't much taste it)lots of cinnamon, ginger, and ground clove, splash of vanilla extract, and 1 tsp dark molasses. Top with crystalized ginger, raisins, chopped walnuts, banana, and Chia-Seed Yogurt "icing". I added a teaspoon of organic light brown sugar, as well...I thought it would need the added sweetness, but it turned out being unnecessary, lol. 

Another winning bowl! Next time I'm adding even more ginger, though :)

After getting ready for work (Involving packing an amazing lunch involving a sundried tomato & feta turkey meatball wrap, an orange, carrot sticks, oat bran pretzels, and a kashi bar) I was so on the ball that I prepared tonight's dinner! 

Any guesses what I made? Anyone? Anyone?

Turkey Meatball and Apple Strata!

If you've never had strata before...you're seriously missing out. Seriously. 

It's funny, because up until now, Strata has always been a once-a-year occasion: Christmas morning. In my mind, Strata=Christmas Brunch. Nothing else! My mom has always made up a huge, cheesy, sausage breakfast strata. This year was the first year I joined the fun, and made up a healthified version to go along with hers! Our "showdown" was tons of fun, but none of us could choose between the two. The traditional was, of course, delicious (be it greasy!) and mine was healthy and delicious. 

It's funny because it's not necessarily as much as a holiday meal as my mind has ingrained it to be. And after seeing Brandie make it so many times recently (re: not a holiday, Jess!) I realized I, too, should be enjoying this delicious dish during the week! Preferably multiple times :)

My favorite thing about strata is how versatile it is. You could make it differently every time, but my favorite - which I just discovered this past Christmas, during my mom and I's strata showdown - incorporates sausage and apples, and feta! Another awesome thing about strata is that while it easily can be a "guilt" meal, it doesn't need to be. It'd be great to bring to a get-together. No one would be any the wiser! (Okay, that, and - how cool is it that I could throw this together in 15 minutes before work, refrigerate for the day so the bread soaks up the egg, and just call home when I left work for mom to pop it in the oven? Pretty cool...)

Sausage and Apple Strata for One or Two

Ingredients:

-2 slices Spelt bread, lightly toasted and cubed (or whole wheat, day old french, etc. Use what you've got!)

-4-5 Sundried Tomato and Feta Turkey Meatballs, crumbled (alternatively, it's very good with chicken sausage)

-1 apple, chopped

-1/4 c. scallions, diced

-1/8 c. red onion, diced

-1/8 c. red pepper, diced

-crumbled feta or shredded mozzarella

-2 eggs or 1/2 c. egg beaters

-1/3 c. almond milk/soy milk/milk

-salt and pepper

-garlic powder

-1-2 c. baby spinach leaves

-raspberry dijon mustard, 1 tsp or so, to drizzle on top

Destructions:

In a large liquid measuring cup, combine milk, eggs, cubed bread, scallions, red onion, red pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and spinach.

Pour this mixture into a greased mini-casserole dish.

Over this, crumble your meatballs or other pre-cooked sausage, followed by the chopped apple, and then the feta/cheese of choice.

Garnish with a few dices of scallion and drizzle with some raspberry dijon mustard.

Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight/over"work".

When ready to bake, bake at 350* for 30m covered, then uncover and bake at 425* for an additional 10m.

Oh. mah. gaw. So good! Just like Christmas morning :) haha.

I had half with a biiiig salad. Tomorrow's my late night at school, so this will be the perfect leftovers! It reheats quite well - might just get better with age!

If you don't care for feta, it would be really good with provolone or mozzarella, I bet. Some nutmeg in there with the spinach might have been nice, too.

And I am now enjoying a delicious bowl of pumpkin yogurt chia pudding. Greek yogurt + pumpkin + chia seeds + cinn & nutmeg + almond milk + cheesecake pudding mix = amazing. The end.

In addition: It's been awhile since I've done a Fun Flickr Photo Feature!

Check out Rowena R. on flickr!

Amazing use of lighting, and I love the color and post-processing. Subtle but effective - sometimes "over photoshopped" images run rampant these days, but it's all in how it's handled! 

She is undeniably talented...definitely something to strive for - amazing motivation in her stream. So, take a look-see!

Alright bloggies. That is all from this end of the world...but not before I thank you all for another FoodBuzz Top 9! Too cool...I hope everyone makes that French toast now :P

Question? Do you have any meals that remind you of certain occasions or holidays, yet aren't necessarily widely received as such when you really think about it?