What’s Poppin’?

I hope everyone is enjoying your Saturday!  Since next weekend is Labor Day, this is kinda the last weekend of summer.  Boo-hoo…where did summer go?

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday’s post and glad to see there are some other medjool fans as well as vegan shoppers readin’ along.  Thanks to those of you who leave comments, it really helps me stay inspired!  Much love to ya!

I am getting ready to meet up with a girlfriend I haven’t seen in awhile but thought I’d mention what’s been poppin’ up in herrre.

Made a yummy bowl of raw overnight oatmeal: 1/3 c dry oats, 2/3 c vanilla almond milk, 1 small nanna diced into pieces, & some dried mango pieces went into hibernation in the fridge for the night. 

Coming outta da fridge totally raw.  Totally raw, totally fine, but…

I zapped it in the micro and then added a little cinnamon, dash of stevia, garnished with some golden raisins and the morning was off to a tropical banana-mango-licious start.

Yestereday I decided to Get Poppin’!
As long as I took the Fitnessista up on her healthy raw breakfast cookie idea and have been enjoying them sooo much, I thought I’d pilfer her healthy popcorn tip  while I was at it.

Why pay for greased up nastiness when you can do the same thing at home, for healthy and cheap?  Enter organic kernels and brown paper bags.

This is where my recipe makes a sharp detour from what Miss Fitness probably imagined.  Sorry chica, didn’t have any nutritional yeast laying around to make the cheesy version that you suggest, which I want to try when I get my mitts on some nutritional yeast.  Who loves their brand of nutritional yeast and where do you get it?

After 90 secs in the micro

And then, I figured a couple tablespoons of brown sugar & about twice the ratio of agave to create a lovely “caramel” sauce for camel corn wouldn’t be that bad.  Ok I’m rationalizing. 

But hot diggity, it sure was good.  Skylar’s fingers were stickier than Winona Ryder’s after indulging.

I also made a  2-banana, dash of vanilla almond milk, sprinkle of cinnamon, & Sun Warrior Vanilla BRPP Smoothie that I shared with my Lil Precious.  Goin’ in…

And comin’ outta the VitaLove

Did I mention we go through more bananas around here than Paris Hilton goes through Louis Vuitton bags?

Lately, I’ve been trying to get more into tea and not be quite as into coffee.  Not really sure this plan has been working too well but the folks at Equal Exchange were kind enough to send me a couple varieties of their fair trade, organic teas to jumpstart my tea plan.

My thoughts on the Green Magic Tea are that it’s really light and if you’re a green tea drinker, you’ll probably dig this one.

The Rooibos Tea doesn’t have any caffeine so if you don’t need the jolt, this is a nice light-n-fruity tea.

However, for me, tea will just never replace morning coffee.  Not in my current lifetime.  That could all change but for now, tea is nice, but after I’m done, I still need to pour a cuppa coffee.  You can read more about my coffee thoughts in this post.  Maybe when the weather cools off a bit, a cup ‘o tea in the afternoons will hit the spot.  We shall see.

Dinner last nite was standard rabbit fare.  B.S., yellow squash, greens, zukes, cukes, tomatoes, red pepps, and dressed with juice of 1/2 an orange, agave, and crack black.

Moving right along to Yoga Time!
Lately I’ve been getting lots of great, reinforcing comments about my yoga practice.  Sounds like my yoga practice inspires some of you, too, which is a really awesome feeling for me.  

But I just want to let you know that I didn’t always drop back into backbends or hover in the air in arm balances.  When I first started doing yoga, I didn’t know what a downward dog was, I had such pathethic tricep strength I couldn’t even hold a chaturanga for months, and I followed up yoga class with lots of hydration…of the alcoholic variety.  So yeah, times have surely changed and I just keep on practicing yoga, both on and off the mat, for sure, and it all works out.

So if you’re new to yoga, I just want to say, keep trying, keep practicing, try to be as consistent as you can be and if you fall off the yoga wagon for awhile, no worries.  Just take 5 minutes the next time you have a chance and do some breathing or bust out a few sun salutations, or do a pose that’s speaking to you.  It’s all about creating your own flow, what works for you and your body.

Here’s my yoga shot du jour
Kukkutastana

:)
Averie

Tip of the Day:  Coconut Oil, despite me not really liking it in food as we’ve already established, is great on everything from dry skin to dry lips, for preventing sunburns in lieu of sunscreen (if you don’t like to slather yourself or your kids with the chemicals that are found in regular sunscreens with SPF’s other mamas I know swear by it for sunscreen).  Plus, coconut oil can help skin that already got burned heal faster, kinda like aloe can.

So mine is coconut oil, but what’s your best double-duty use tip for something you buy that you don’t use as it’s intended but you can get tons of mileage out of using it for another purpose?

P.S. Reminder on the Vita-Mix GiveAway to go check that out!!!!   Winning a Vita-Mix?  There is a God after all.

And stay tuned for a GiveAway of my own.  Details in a few days….