Happy Birthday To....

Evening, friends!

Whew, what a weekend! If you couldn't tell from the oh-so-nonchalent title of this post, yesterday was my BIRTHDAY!!! Yup, I'm a Labor Day baby!


Friday = Goodbye :(

Friday afternoon, a super-sad, yet super wonderful event took place. A good friend of mine is moving to boarding school up North, and she came to visit us during lunch at school :( I'm going to miss you, Maya!

Sunday Shoppin'!

 

 

After church on Sunday, my dad took me for a VERY exciting excursion (My new favorite word). We went birthday present shopping! Yay!

 

Since my siblings and I have been growing up and becoming more "opinionated", its a bit harder for my parents to get us birthday presents. Guess you can't just go buy a Barbie and call it a day, anymore, huh?

 

I was thrilled, because we headed to Academy for some workout clothes! My addiction.

 

Mah Burrf-day

Not going to lie, Monday was kind of my favorite :)

I ended up waking up nice and early. I was excited! Unforchunately, 5 AM isn't exactly the best time of day to celebrate birthdays, no? However, my hunger got the best of me, and so I managed to sneak downstairs for this little rockstar.

Oh Trail Mix, thank you for always being there for me :)

I managed to fall back asleep for a few more hours, before being awoken at 8 AM by a very enthusiastic family with a very delicious breakfast in bed. Whoo!!

There were also some blueberry muffins involved. Unforchunately, they just weren't fast enough to make it for the picture ;)

 

I happened to really enjoy my birthday mocha, served out of this special mug. Yes, I am in fact a lefty!



Around 11, I walked outside to my mailbox, and found this lovely card from one of my best friends. Love you, Anna, thank you!

 

We headed out for (what else?) Mexican for lunch. Alyson and I split some veggie enchiladas. All that's left over on that plate? GONE by the time we left.

 

Full belly....ohhh....

 

Friends give the BEST cards!

...and bundtlets. I recived a mini CAKE from another one of my best friends. CAKE. Have you seen that frosting?! Oh dear, did they spoil me! I'm so blessed for the amazing people in my life :)


Photoshoot

On Sunday evening, my sister took out a friend of mine and I for a photoshoot. Alyson is interested in photography, and is trying to widen her portfolio and experience, soooooo...what better fun than to be a model!

 

 

What an amazing weekend! I'm so thankful for all the wishes, gifts, memories, and moments. I'll cherish them forever, and I love each and every one of you amazing people!







August Favorites

Morning, friends!

Wow, what a month! August has been crazy, but so fun! Check out my favorite posts from the month of August!



Gettin' All Girly'ed Up






Central Market and I are Best Friends






No Fun, But a New Family Member!





I Love Birthdays :)





Good News and Bad News





Take That, Two-Ingredient Pancake!



What are your favorite August memories?

Take That, Two-Ingredient Pancake!

Morning, friends!

Well, I did it. That's right, I successfully cooked a two ingredient pancake! Holla! Not gonna lie, this is a serious accomplishment for me. As we all know, my cooking skills are still...."so, so" ;)

Last night I was in the mood for some "Desayuno para Cena" (I meant to say, "Breakfast for Dinner," in Spanish. Spanish speakers, would that be correct?) So, of course I plopped down at my computer and searched through differnt blogs for some good eatin' ideas. And, to my excitement, something fabulous showed up on Trading Up Downtown. Tina (she's also the author of Carrots 'n Cake) had created a simple pancake using only two ingredients. TWO. That's all it takes. Can this get more simpler? I don't think so!

Please enjoy Tina's Two-Ingredient Pancake!

Two-Ingredient Pancake

Ingredients:

• 1 banana (NuVal score: 91)
• 1 egg (NuVal score: 33)

Directions: Combine ingredients well and cook in a fry pan just like you would with regular pancake batter. Top your pancake with fresh fruit (blueberries get a 100 on the NuVal scale), nut butter, or other favorite toppings.

I blogged about this pancake on my personal blog, Carrots ‘N’ Cake, and a few people had trouble getting it to turn out right, so here are some tips for the perfect two-ingredient pancake:

• Make sure you use a small banana + a large egg. If the banana is too big or the egg is too small, the pancake won’t stay together. If you have an especially big banana, try using two eggs instead of one.
• Use medium-low heat. I can’t stress this one enough because if you cook the pancake too fast on high heat, it will burn, stick to the pan, and fall apart, which, of course, is no good. Be sure to use medium-low heat to cook your pancake.
• Cook the pancake very slowly. Once I pour my pancake batter into the fry pan, which I first coat with cooking spray, I occupy myself with something else for awhile, like emptying the dishwasher or reading blogs on my phone, so I don’t wait impatiently by it and flip it too soon. The pancake needs to cook very slowly, so it doesn’t fall apart.
• Be patient. Before I flip the pancake, I wait for the middle to start bubbling (all over) and the edges easily pull away from the pan with a spatula. Once it’s good to go, I flip it and let it cook on the other side for just a couple of minutes. Once you get the first flip, you’re home free!

(Disclaimer: This is Tina's recipe, I take no credit for it)


Mine oddly turned out pretty good! I understand why it she said to cook it slowly. It took FOREVER. I've never had a pancake take more than 2 minutes to cook, and this one took TEN. Oh well, it was worth it and turned out fantastic. Give it a try!

What's your favorite "Desayuno para Cena" recipe?

Bringing Healthy Back

Morning, friends!

It's good to be back! After almost a week of no blogging, I missed it!

I'm not gonna lie, this past week was filled with yummy, foodie indulgences. You know, those foods that are delicious and are perfect in moderation, but if you have too much, they aren't exactly good anymore? Well, I sorta enjoy them a bit....too much. Oops. A slice (or two) of cake here, a spoonful of cookie butter there, possibly 500 a couple handfuls of chocolate covered pomegranate seeds...

Oh well! I'm back, and ready for some healthy eating! For me, I love sweet foods, and especially love indulging in them, which is perfectly acceptable. However, I always think it's extremely important, that after those indulgences, to really try to jump back on the bandwagon. I know that I always feel a bit sluggish after a couple days of sweets, so anything I can do to get my body going at its full potential as soon as possible, the better!

Gettin' Back on Track

1. DO NOT beat yourself up. Whether you're trying to lose weight, or simply want to have a healthy lifestyle, don't beat yourself up over the occasional indulgences. You're human, and you're gonna have cravings for sweets. So enjoy 'em! In fact, I encourage you to indulge every once in a while. You work hard and deserve it! The important thing is to always get back on track. If you can do that, you're ready to go!

2. Guzzle Up. Drink plenty of water. Chances are, if you were busy with the sweets, you didn't exactly do a lot of water-drinking. Start aiming for those 8 cups of water a day and you'll see a big difference in how you look and feel. Water helps clear out the toxins and junky parts of the indulgences, so you'll feel good and peppy in no time!

3. Eat a Protein-Filled Breakfast. First thing in the morning, cook yourself up a nice protein-y breakfast. Protein will help you're muscles with you're workout, and keep you nice and full, curbing those possible sweet food cravings. Some eggs, oatmeal, or nut butter (keep portions in mind with that one, I am HORRIBLE at stopping at 2 tbs. Oops!) I found this recipe for Protein Pancakes at The Undressed Skeleton, and it's perfect for a power-filled breakfast. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/3 Cup Skim Milk or Soy
• 2 Egg Whites
• 1 Container of Non-Fat Flavored Chobani Yogurt (I used Peach)
• 2 Packets Truvia
• 1 Tsp Canola Oil
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Potassium Salt
• 1/2 Cup Diced Peaches
• 1/2 Cup Raspberries and Blackberries
• 1/4 Cup Blueberries

Directions:

1. In a mixer beat egg whites, milk, vanilla, oil together and add in all the dry ingredients slowly.
2. Beat until smooth.
3. Add in all fruit and mix with a spoon.
4. Heat Skillet on medium and spray pan with cooking spray.
5. Measure 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.
6. Cook about 1 minutes on each side

Serving Size: Two Pancakes.

Calories 164, Protein 9g, Fat 1.5g, Carbs 25g, Fiber 4g

 

4. Fit in a Workout. Even if it's just a quick, 20 minute walk, find something active to do. Not only will this jumpstart you're muscles to utilize you're foodie foods, but exercise also gives you endorphins (endorphins make people happy! And happy people just don't kill their husbands. They just don't. Legally Blonde, ya'll!), which not only will make you're body feel better, but will make you feel better. And who doesn't want that?

 

What's your favorite way to get back on track after a week of indulging?

 

 

Crazy Week = Random Picture Monday

Morning, friends!

This week was absolutely CRAZY. Exactly the reason I couldn't blog. SOOOOOOOO, in order to get back on the right foot, enjoy "Random Picture Monday"! And yes, many of these are sideways , cause sideways is cool.

 

A common theme was also "self-portraits," if you hadn't noticed :)

Sweet Po-Tah-Toe Fries

Afternoon, friends!

So yesterday's dances went well! It was great to get to catch up with everyone, seeing as I don't have classes with quite a few people. Needless to say, when I came home and my head hit the pillow, I was OUT!

Sweet Po-Tah-Toe Fries

So this morning while making breakfast before church, I looked over at our kitchen's produce basket, and saw something beautiful. Yes, that would be correct. I saw...SWEET POTATOES.

Now naturally, my first thought was, "Oh my gosh, I MUST make something with those!" So, of course, I made my way over to the little ol' 'net, and found a yummy-looking recipe for some Sweet Potato Fries!

Sweet Potato Fries

serves 2

Ingredients:
1 medium sized sweet potato
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp Garlic powder or 1 small garlic, mashed (optional)
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp oil, any

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 deg F(220 deg C). Line a baking with with a parchment paper.

Wash, peel, and cut the sweet potato just like you cut the potatoes for the French fries (cut it a little thin if you want a crispy fry).

Now toss the potatoes with the rest of the ingredients and spread them on the lined baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake them at 425 deg F(220 deg C) for 15 to 20 minutes. Few more minutes if you like it crunchy. Do keep an eye so that it doesn't get burned.

Enjoy the fries with a little ketchup!

Does that not sound ridiculously easy?! I think we all know just how ungifted I am in the culinary department, but even I could make these! I especially love the different spices involved. Bring on the flavor! I found this recipe on the The Cooks Collection blog, and thought it was perfect! I am soooooo making these tonight :)

What's your favorite way to cook sweet potatoes?


Good News and Bad News

Morning, friends!

Well, there's good news, and there's bad news. Good news first, obviously.

Good News

My school got a new chef! And may I just say, his food is fantastic. EVERYTHING a healthnut adores. Now, the food that was served last year was by no means bad, but the quality of the lunch now is just unbelievable! The cafeteria now has 3 seperate lines: Pasta, Soup and Salad, and then the Entree of the Day. The Entree line has been SUPER LONG for the past 2 days, so I've always opted for the Salad line. Not that it disappoints! The variety is amazing!

My very oddly angled plate. I went back for seconds too :)

The sad part about this new lunch plan is that it costs $5 a day. Ouch. Every once in a while is fine, but when I know that I could just pack my lunch for somewhere around $1 a day, the five bucks seems really overwhelming. I think I'll make a plan to buy once a week based on if I really want what's being served that day. And of course, I'll make sure to let ya'll know what it is. Mmmm...now I'm craving salad...

Bad News

Our game got rained out! Yesterday afternoon/evening was supposed to be our school's first football game of the season, but the lightening alarm went off literally 2 minutes before kickoff. Unforchunately for safety reasons, everyone had to go inside the gym and wait for 30 minutes. Our cheer coach had all the cheerleaders stay in the locker room to keep together. Of course we found ways to entertain ourselves :)

And "surprise surprise", my mom decided to bring Bentley in to hang with us! Of course everyone had to pass him around and take pictures. Got to say, he is pretty, stinkin' cute.

The game ended up being completely cancelled because of the storm. Bummer! Oh well, it'll just make our next game even more exciting!

Dance the Night Away

More good news, though! Tonight is our school's "Welcome Back" dance! The theme is U.S.A Olympics, so I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with to wear!


QUESTION:

Ok, guys, what would ya'll like me to post about? I love blogging, but since I'm farely new, I really don't know what ya'll like to read about. Email me at: texasteenkeepslean@gmail.com, or leave a comment below! Thanks!