Hi Bloggie Friends! What’s happening on Hump Day for you? I had a blogger meetup with Madeline today. We met at a Starbucks. And Skylar managed to fall off this chair.
Nothing quite like the sound of your child’s skull hitting the tile floor and screaming ensuing. Makes for a “relaxing” coffee date. Not!
After the ker-plunk fall, she had a serious case of the wiggles and have-to-touch-everything-fragile going on.
Madeline is such an amazing sport. When I was in my mid 20’s and childless, I know I would not have been as patient!
It was great seeing Madeline before she takes a little vacation. Madeline has been one of very few bright spots during my 9 months in Phoenix and without her friendship, I don’t know what I would have done. I love this girl!
But I am Moving On…
As always, Madeline, it was fabulous and I don’t know what I am going to do without our weekly coffee clutches. Madeline, you must come visit me in San Diego. Lord knows I am not coming back here! Skylar demands a visit and promises not to fall off any chairs. And I will need a dose of girl talk!
To touch on yesterday’s post and my announcement that we’re moving back to San Diego
Thank you everyone for your huge outpouring of support for my decision! I am truly blessed to have met so many amazing friends and people from my blog. The vast numbers of you who left comments to tell me that you are so happy for me, meant the world.
And I am so happy for me!!! This is truly such a “Right Decision” for me. It just feels so very right and I can’t wait to get back. If anyone wants to come help me pack, feel free to c’mon over. Kidding. I have gotten pretty good at it in my dozens of moves I’ve made over the years.
I was also pleasantly surprised how many of you know when to Tough Something Out vs. Giving In or Quitting it. I thought I was going to open a slew of comments from people who were trying to be “heroes” and “tough out” a situation, but it was so lovely to read that most of you seem to know “when to say when” and “give in” when warranted. Yay for knowing your limits and listening to your inner voice!
Thanks for the compliments on the dress I wore in my photoshoot photos. I still don’t have the pictures back, but I will keep you posted!
Moving On…
After my coffee date with Madeline, I came home to find that my order from iHerb.com arrived.
*Use Code AVE630 To Save $5 at iHerb.com*
I just placed the order on Monday, and bam, Wednesday, it’s here. And the shipping was free.
I got 1 Pound of Organic Cinnamon for 5 bucks!
And I refilled my spice jars. I was able to fill 7 jars. If you were to buy one jar at Whole Foods or even the regular grocery store, at about $5 Bucks per jar, that would be $35 worth of cinnamon. I scored my one pound of cinnamon for $5 by ordering online and saved at least $30 bucks.
I always douse it on my Chocolate Coconut Oil Protein Popcorn with Nooch
And I put Cinnamon in my Chocolate Brownie Protein Oats
With additional Tips Here
Cinnamon is a star ingredient in my Raw Vegan Apple Crumble
Also from iHerb.com I got the Biggie Size, 22 oz, of Nooch for 11 bucks. At my WFs, the smaller 12 oz size is about $14.
Nooch goes into my my Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups: Chocolate + PB + Nooch
And Here’s my List of a Dozen Nooch Recipes!
From Kale Chips
To One Pot Gluten Free Vegan Mac-N-Cheese with Nooch
To Raw Cheddar Dipping Sauce for Veggies or as a Salad Dressing
Also in my Order were my Probiotics. If you missed my post on Why take a Probiotic and the other Supplements I find helpful, Click Here
If your gut is not healthy, you’re not healthy. Our immune system largely resides in our guts, not the lungs. So, keep your gut healthy and you’ll stay healthier and get sick far less.
If you want to try your hand at making your own Countertop Vegan Coconut Milk Kefir, a fermented food with tons of healthy and helpful bacteria, check our my Vegan Coconut Milk Kefir
New Recipe Time!
I Whipped Up a new Recipe that reminds me of my Peanut Sauce Recipe a Bit…
Vegan Soy-Free Peanut Sauce I made Here
That I flood over my:
Raw Zucchini Noodles with Tossed Veggies and Homemade Peanut Sauce
Averie’s Roasted Coconut Ginger Peanut Butter Carrots
1/3 c Peanut Butter (I used chunky because it was open)
1/3 c Coconut Oil (Olive, Hemp, Grapeseed, would also work)
2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1.5 cups carrot sticks
Optional: Cumin, Salt, Pepper, Pumpkin Pie Spice.
Also use this marinade/coating for any semi-hearty root vegetable such as rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, cauliflower, etc. I only had carrots on hand or would have thrown other veggies in. I have also seen similar recipes for nut-butter roasted veggies here and here. And I’m sure there’s many more!
Directions:
Combine all ingredients except the carrots in a bowl and mix
Add the Carrot Sticks & Stir to Coat
Bake at 425F for about 30 Minutes.
After Almost Burning Baking
They Didn’t Taste Burned. I would like to think it was the Sugars in the Peanut Butter Carmelizing
Scott loves well done food. He’s the cooked food guy, and I am the Raw Foodie. For him, they were perfect. And Skylar loved them too. I mean, What’s not to like, Peanut Butter and Oil with Cinnamon & Ginger.
Dessert is a reminder to make High Raw Vegan Chocolate “Turtles”
Gym & Weights Workout Today from This Tab is my Day 2 – Back/Abs
Tip of the Day: Did you See who Won the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Hair Treatment Give Away?
Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil
Questions
1. Do you take a probiotic? Or consume fermented foods like miso, sauerkraut, kombucha, or kefir? Do you notice a difference in your overall health from your digestion to your respiratory health to just general overall health being stronger and better with a probiotics or healthy bacteria added?
I sure do!
2. Can you tolerate burned foods? Or well-done?
I know there’s a difference between them but for me, I don’t really even like cooked foods, let alone well-done or burned foods. Veggies for me must be crunchy and crisp. It’s my opinion that many people “don’t like vegetables” because they are eating veggies that have the life cooked out of them and are all mushy and limp. I am definitely a raw veggies and raw food person and burned food is just a way to get extra charcoal, i.e. carcinogens, into my system so I avoid anything burned. But I know Scott and others enjoy the charcoal-ey taste of burned foods. What about you?
3. Favorite thing to order online that saves you time and money?
Mine is dry goods and non-perishables like I showed you from iHerb.com. And I also know a certain style of Nike shoes fit me like a glove and would rather order them than march out and go athletic shoe shopping with Skylar in hand, so I like to order those. What do you like to order?
4. Saying Goodbye’s. How good are you at this? When you say goodbye to someone who’s moving away, or you’re leaving a school or job or a close classmate or co-worker is moving on, and you say your goodbye’s, is it hard for you? Do you believe you will ever really see this person again? Do you fake it and pretend that you will “reunite” all the while knowing you really won’t?
I know in my heart I will see Madeline again and I also knew when I left San Diego 9 months ago that some people I would see again, but that others, well, not really. Now, it turns out I will see some people from my past I never thought I would, but that’s beside the point.
When I said goodbye to some people, I truly did wish them good luck, for a lifetime, because I was fairly confident I would never see them again. I did it from the heart and with positive conviction and intention and now, as fate would have it, I will see them all again. For the record, I don’t keep in touch with anyone from my grade school, high school, or college days except a couple childhood friends and don’t even remember saying goodbye to classmates other than I knew that I would never see them again. Frankly, I was happy about that…haha!
Who have you said Goodbye to? Was it Hard? Was it a Forever Goodbye or Not? If you knew it was forever, did you pretend like you’d reunite, knowing you really wouldn’t?
Stay Tuned For Vegan Quesadillas…
What kind of dish would I bake this in? And do I put foil in the dish? Thank you, and merry Christmas.
An 8×8 or 9×9 pan will work. And yes, I’d line with foil. Makes cleanup easier.