DIYing and Spring Loving

Hey guys! Hope you all had a great Friday! Now you can join me in the weekend…hope you don’t mind that I got started without you! ๐Ÿ˜‰ If you missed yesterday’s post, you may want to check that out first! I promise it’s drool-worthy!

My plan was to sleep in today since I had the day off, buuuuuuuuut you all know how that goes…old lady syndrome strikes again! Even after staying up until 1:30am, I rolled over and was wide awake at 7 on.the.dot! Oy!

I started my day out with some OOIAJ (obviously I’ve been a little obsessed with these lately):

I’ve decided that peaches and almonds go together like PB&J!
I have a feeling Namaste Gurl would agree!

This was basically the same mix I used here only with a combo of coconut milk + water instead of almond milk (all out…so sad) and peach flavored Siggis instead of Chobani.

Topped with a little graham cracker action!

If you follow me on Twitter…and if you don’t, you really should ;)…you know that today was spent DIYing it up in the bathroom. I am my father’s daughter for sure. “Why pay someone to do something that you [can Google and] do yourself!”

I installed not one, but TWO bathroom faucets all by myself today! And if you don’t think that’s something to pat yourself on the back for, then YOU try doing it!

It may have taken me a couple of hours AND a trip to Home Depot, but by the end of it all, it went from this:

To this:

x TWO!…BAM!

Sorry for the yellowish pics. Too proud of myself to take the time to change my camera settings. ๐Ÿ˜‰

FYI: I don’t recommend jumping into this task on a full stomach! Drain gunk is nasssssty! Pfew!

After being cooped up in the house for half the day with this task, I felt the itch to get out and enjoy some of the 70 degree weather we had today! Love!

I enjoyed a 2.5 mile run followed by a little over a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood. It was SO nice to enjoy the feel of the sun on my skin after being stuck in the hospital for 10 hours a day for the last 4 days. I can’t believe how many trees have started blossoming! Did you realize that it’s only two more days until the first day of Spring?! Yay!

When I got back to the house I didn’t want to go inside just yet so I let Tiger come out and explore while I played around with my camera.

Warning: Springy photo montage is about to take place!

Experimenting with focus

Yep, those would be my ghostly white legs! ๐Ÿ˜‰

On the prowl!

My favorite!

After our little photo shoot, Tiger and I headed inside and I hopped right in the shower…nothing like crawling around in the grass trying to get your cat to actually look into the camera to get you all nice and itchy!

Didn’t do any packing today, but it was totally worth it to get to spend a little time outside. I’ve seriously been needing a good solid dose of Vitamin D lately!

Well, I’m off here! Netflix just sent me Dexter Season 3 and I’m all about spending the rest of the night drooling over everyone’s favorite serial killer!

“See” you guys tomorrow and I promise to have some foodage for ya!

Any other Do-it-Yourselfers Out there? Brag on yourself a bit! What have you done?

Posted in Breakfast | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Mint Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus

Wooo! How bout that for some title bait?

Yes, I did in fact make a recipe JUST to have something green to post about for St. Paddy’s Day.

Yes, it is simple…delicious…and can be made in a blender, food processor, magic bullet, or if you don’t mind it being a little chunky…fork it up!

No, it does NOT taste like beans.

Yes, it makes a perfectly acceptable dinner…hey, I’m part Irish AND it’s St. Paddy’s Day!

Mint Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus:
Inspired by the Wannabe Chef’s Peanut Butter Dessert Hummus

  • 1 cup white kidney beans
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3/4 teaspoon mint extract
  • 6-8 drops green food coloring
  • 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces (or chips)

1. Combine beans, almond butter, and maple syrup in food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Add in the mint extract and food coloring and process.
3. Stir in chocolate pieces.
4. Lick the food processor clean with a rubber spatula…yes, that is the MOST important ย  ย  ย  step in this process!

I made this recipe small since it was a first time experiment, but feel free to double…or even triple it…you WILL want more once this is gone!

Note: Mint Chocolate Chip Hummus sandwiched between two graham crackers tastes JUST like a Thin Mint without all the saturated fat or the pain in your wallet!

Seriously, why are you still reading? Go to your kitchen and make this right now!

Did any of you “green up” your eats for St. Paddy’s Day?

Posted in Desserts, Snacks, Vegetarian | Tagged , , | 51 Comments

WIAW: Vegan Broccoli ‘n Cheese Sauce

Helllllllllllloooooooooo everybody! I can’t believe how fast this week is flying by…it’s already Wednesday? Wha?! I hope you have all had a wonderful Hump Day filled with delicious foods and things that made you smile! ๐Ÿ˜€ <- Like that! Haha!

So here we are for another round of What I Ate Wednesday, hosted by the lovely Jen of Peas & Crayons! It’s her birthday today so why don’t you stop by and leave her some comment love?

I seriously had NO clue what to make for breakfast this morning! I kinda wanted oats…I kinda wanted eggs…I really wanted a green smoothie, but guess what…no spinach! ๐Ÿ™ Challenge or no challenge, Heather is going to the store first thing on Friday for some greens!

The best way to use up veggies: Salad

The best way to use up veggies for breakfast: Omelet!

Breakfast (7:15am)
1 egg + 2 egg whites omelet, bagel thin topped with light cream cheese, mini peps, and garlic gold, and a cup of 1/2 caff qua-fee! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Omelet stuffings: steamed broccoli, nooch, and TJ’s roasted red pepper & eggplant spread and topped with scallions and cilantro

And of course I had myย candy vitamins for dessert!

Lunch (12:oopm)
Salad Trough…this bad boy polished off almost ALL of the produce left in the fridge!
16 ounces water

What’s in the bowl:

  • green leaf lettuce
  • corn
  • mini peppers
  • shredded chicken breast
  • a “hidden” mound of refried beans
  • salsa
  • avocado
  • nooch
  • black olives
  • Mrs. Dash Chipotle
  • and some of Garden of Eatin’s Red Hot Blues (because I can!)

Snack (4:30pm)
So I found these triscuits in the cupboard…I have no idea how long they’ve been up there, but surprisingly they’re not stale…alright! Snacktime! ๐Ÿ˜‰

I enjoyed my little snack with some hot lemon ginger tea…the others were also consumed at various points in the day…the ONLY thing that keeps me warm in fahreezing hospital temps!

And now for dinner…

For the past few days, I’ve been thinking about what to do with the 3 pound bag of broccoli I picked up on my last trip to Sam’s. I’ve done well polishing off about half the bag, but being a week and a half out from moving means it’s time to get serious!

Dinner (8:00pm)
Whole wheat mac topped with vegan broccoli ‘n cheese sauce

and

…a side of broccoli to kiss on!

Do you ever dream about future recipes? Because I totally had a dream about this last night and it came out EXACTLY how I imagined!

Vegan Broccoli ‘n Cheese Sauce

  • 1 cup soaked cashews, drained
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 cups steamed broccoli
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
  • salt to taste (I used Mrs. Dash Table Blend instead)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasonings as needed to taste.

I LOVE making cashew cream sauces! This tastes just like a bowl of cream of broccoli soup!

If you’re curious about more cashew sauces, check out these two recipes of Spabettie’s!

Wow, looks like I had a nooch filled day! Haha! What’s not to love? If you are unsure of what nutritional yeast is exactly, it is a deactivated yeast that is frequently used as a cheese substitute due to the cheezy, nutty flavor that it has. It is packed FULL of wonderful B-vitamins, protein, and fiber! It can be purchased at most health food stores or you can buy it online here.

Haha! I just realized this recipe made it just in time for St. Paddy’s Day!

Don’t forget to wear your green tomorrow! You don’t wanna get peenched!

Nutritional yeast: yay or nay?

Posted in Breakfast, Entree, Vegan, What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , , | 38 Comments