Enjoy the simple things in life. In the end, that’s what makes life worth living.

And, really, this life is worth living. This is my new roommate.

Along with this fella, of course. (He was busted looking at himself in the mirror)

We’re a happy, little, “granola” family and we get excited about green juice and being offered tofu at restaurants.

Like I said, it’s the simple things…

Why am I just learning about this??

Yep.

Here’s a brief synopsis for those that are wondering why I fell off the face of the Earth.

Let’s start with the new job that I alluded to in my previous post. It was a good change. It has proven to be a new challenge, a place where I can grow, meet new people and gain more experience. So, let’s just say I like the new gig. Obviously, with the start of any new job there are stressors. So, yes, this has been one cause of life-changing stress; however, there was also a breakup thrown into the mix around the same time. I debated on whether or not to even mention the breakup on the blog, but it’s a part of my life and is a part of why I am where I am and why I am doing what I am now doing. It needed to be stated in order to move forward. No one wants to have to talk around a big elephant in the room.

So, with that, the hiatus was due to my life being turned upside down, shaken around, and having the pieces fall all over the place.(Another person, who is definitely not me , wrote a pretty good blog post related to breakups and picking up life’s pieces. Finish reading this then check it out.) It has been an experience to say the least. However, sometimes having your life turned upside down offers a new perspective on the life you were living. Maybe it was good or maybe it needed a lot of improvement, but sometimes it’s nice to look at our lives from a different angle. Many times we become so focused on the little things that we forget to see the big picture of what is going on around us.

There is currently a lot of good in my big picture and I look forward to seeing what gets added to it.

Goal #1 for summer: continue blogging

Work
Celebratory drinks and dinner
Sleep
Work
Celebratory drinks and dinner
Sleep
Work
Celebratory drinks and dinner
Sleep
Etc., etc. you get the picture.

This weekend was much needed to say the least. It’s interesting how often 20-somethings change jobs. I know I’m not alone due to seeing my friends follow similar paths. We leave college all bright-eyed and optimistic, hungry and desperate for that first gig only to find out that, well, it’s not all that we thought it would be. This is often coupled with the notion that our generation feels that we cannot possibly settle on a career until we’ve back-packed around Europe for a while (I wasn’t one of these people; however, that dream is still out there for me) However, we stick with it in hopes that we will leave the days of living on Ramen noodles behind us and become what society deems as responsible and successful. Truth is, it’s a rough world out there and most of the time what you spent years in college preparing yourself for doesn’t translate into the “real world”.

This scared me initially and made me feel like I was doing something wrong, like maybe I wasn’t cut out for the job world because I wasn’t happy. However, if you think about it, finding a job is a lot like dating. We go through a couple of not so thrilling “dates” (jobs) and we begin learning and building a list of things that we would like in a mate (career).

Take the time to build this list. Figure out your deal-breakers and stick to them. I’m a firm believer that this will pay off in the end. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

In the meantime, you know what they say,

“you’ve gotta kiss a lot of frogs”.

Remember these from last year? I was definitely tempted to make them again for St. Patty’s Day this year. But I have a donut pan now.

So, naturally, these babies were born.

If we’re being honest, the line between cupcake and donut is pretty blurred. Really, this was just my justification to open a Guinness and eat cake for breakfast. My way of doing kegs and eggs, except with cake. On St. Patty’s Day, anything goes. Most people are drunk by breakfast.

Chocolate Stout Donuts
Makes 12 donuts
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup almond milk
1/2 cup dark beer (I chose Guinness)
2 Tbsp butter (or Earth Balance)
3 oz dark chocolate (I like using Lindt 70% cocao)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and lightly spray donut pan with non-stick spray.
2. Combine flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine eggs, vanilla and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Whisk in milk. Whisk in beer.
4. Gradually add flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated.
5. Melt chocolate and butter in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each time until fully melted. Gently fold chocolate into donut batter until fully incorporated.
6. Spoon batter into donut wells. Be careful not to over fill or your donuts won’t have holes.
7. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until set. Let cool completely before frosting.

Whiskey Glaze
Ingredients:
3.5 oz dark chocolate (again, I used Lindt 70%)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp whiskey of choice

Directions:
Melt chocolate and coconut oil in 30 second increments in microwaveable bowl. Stir after each time until melted. Stir in whiskey. Dip donut tops into chocolate until each is evenly coated. Let chocolate set before storing.

That glaze has a kick! Grab a beer, or a green smoothie, and enjoy a happy St. Patty’s Day!

I have been seeing Irish Soda Bread all over the place recently. It’s been in my face just like the cabbage. So, since I’ve never had the stuff and I’m a sucker for homemade breads (especially ones that don’t require a day’s worth of baking), I decided to give it a whirl.

Irish soda bread is a quick bread that requires no yeast and is generally made with a soft wheat flour. The use of baking soda and buttermilk react to leaven the bread. This was discovered by the Irish, which is why they are credited with the name. Many times raisins or currants are added to the bread; however, I went for a plain version due to not having any dried fruits on hand. This is honestly one of the easiest breads you will ever bake.

First, the recipe and my thoughts on the bread follow. I chose a very simple recipe with minimal ingredients, but there are plenty of them out there to choose from.

Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup almond milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the almond milk and lemon juice together and let sit for a few minutes to curdle. This serves as a sub for buttermilk in order to make the recipe vegan. You could use buttermilk in place of the almond/lemon juice.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
4. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and gradually add the curdled almond milk, stirring just until ingredients are mixed. Do not over mix.
5. Dough will be very sticky. Using a tiny bit of flour, form dough into a round ball and place on baking sheet. Create a shallow X on the top with a knife or pair of kitchen scissors for the classic criss-cross appearance.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and firm.

So here’s my take on Irish Soda Bread. This is a very basic recipe and can be very versatile in that sense. We used it to accompany the stuffed cabbage rolls and slathered it with Earth Balance and used it to soak up sauce. In my opinion it is pretty plain on it’s own, but could be sliced for sandwiches, topped with butter, nut butters, or preserves. The addition of raisins or currants would be pretty good and I think I will definitely add them next time. Hopefully you enjoy this as well.

Have a great St. Patty’s Day this weekend!

I can not say that I have even had cabbage rolls ever in my life. I had no idea what was involved, what they consisted of, or what they tasted like. For some reason, however, I have wanted them. And, of course, I wanted them vegan. Honestly I think it’s due to all the cabbage I have been seeing inside grocery stores lately. I get it, marketing people, St. Patty’s Day is coming and you want us to eat corned beef and cabbage. Sorry, I won’t be one of those people. However, I will try to stuff the green leaves with some sort of vegan meat alternative.

After searching around the world wide web for a bit, I came up with an interesting recipe. If you have ever eaten stuffed cabbage rolls, these probably don’t do them justice. Then again, I wouldn’t know. So I guess I’ll let you be the judge.

Here is what my version entailed:

Vegan Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients:
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup mixed herbs and spices (thyme, oregano, onion powder, salt, pepper)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 cup ground almonds
6-8 cabbage leaves, rinsed
marinara sauce of choice

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil and garlic in a large pan. When garlic become fragrant, add mushrooms and saute until tender.
2. Add vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, and mixed herbs/spices and bring mixture to a simmer. Continue simmering mushrooms until most of the liquid is gone.
3. Transfer mushrooms to a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the ground almonds and pulse until mixture is well combined.
4. In the same pan you sauteed the mushrooms, pour marinara sauce and heat to a simmer.
5. Heat about 4 cups of water to a boil in a large stock pot. Place steamer basket in stock pot with 3-4 cabbage leaves at a time. Steam for 4-5 minutes or until tender enough to be rolled, but not too much to where they will rip. Continue steaming in two batches. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
6. Lay a cabbage leaf flat. Spoon a couple tablespoons of the mushroom mixture onto leaf about one inch from the bottom. Fold in sides and begin rolling, similar to the way you would roll a burrito.
7. Lay filled cabbage rolls, seam down, into the simmering sauce. Cook for 30 minutes and serve immediately.

These cabbage rolls would be great atop mashed potatoes, rice, couscous or other grains. I chose to serve them up with homemade bread. Enjoy!

“Change is not death, fear of change is death.”

Last year I wrote a post that I come back to quite frequently and the term “lizard brain” gets thrown around a lot in our house. Change is something I struggle with, we all do. It’s hard and uncomfortable. I go through changes kicking and screaming, but in the end it always turns out fine. It’s hard to take that leap, but if we continue to keep ourselves in a box how will we ever know what we are capable of?

Below is a previous post where I threw out the question, “do we all have a lizard brain?”

The answer is, yes we do. Only some of us are better at quieting it or ignoring it all together. Thanks to Chris for bringing this idea of a lizard brain to my attention and Seth Godin to bringing it to his. Seth Godin talks about how we all resist change, and this resistance is referred to as our lizard brain. The lizard brain holds us back from doing what we really desire or dream about doing. It’s why we bomb a job interview when we say we want a new career, it’s why we overeat when we say we want to be thin, and it’s why we continue with our day to day job even when it makes us miserable. We all naturally resist change even though we desire it. We may say we want something different in life, but yet we continue on where we are because it’s comfortable and the easier option. Change is scary and brings about uncertainty so our lizard brains keep us in our comfort zone and tells us to slow down and back off. The thing we must realize is that we must embrace change in order to grow and succeed. The only way to move ahead in our careers, follow our true passions, and achieve the goals we have set for ourselves is to quiet our lizard brains and jump into the unknown. This is much easier said than done, but will be so worth it if you can accomplish it.

Will you take a step forward today or will you let your lizard brain hold you back from realizing your true potential?

I thought a lot about this today. I think I’m the queen of this actually. Even on days like today where I’m dealing with a little stomach bug I’m thinking, “Why didn’t I do that yesterday? Well, there’s always tomorrow.” It’s never ending. I can’t remember where I’ve ever thought about doing something and then actually did it that day, in the present moment. Obviously spontaneity is not my forte.

So, this has me thinking. Maybe it’s time to stop planning and time to start living.

A Friday night out with friends. A few drinks. A lot of laughs. Good times. Good sleep. A lazy Saturday morning. Pancakes. It’s a great cycle, go with it. You work hard and deserve it.

Did anyone celebrate National Pancake day this past Tuesday? I sure did. I don’t really need an excuse to eat pancakes, but it’s nice to have one sometimes. Most of the time, the fact that it is a Saturday or Sunday morning is enough of a reason to whip up a batch of fluffy, delicious pancakes. Eaten in bed is optional, but preferred.

Fluffy Saturday Morning Pancakes
makes about 5 pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup whole wheat flour (if you don’t like the taste of baked goods with solely whole wheat flour you can sub half all-purpose)
1 Tbsp organic sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-2 tsp cinnamon (Depending on how much cinnamon you like. I like a lot)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla
mix-ins (you can add anything you wish, such as blueberries, strawberries, apples, bananas, chocolate chips, nuts, seed, shredded cheese, etc)

Directions:
1. Spray griddle or pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.
2. Combine milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle for a few minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt).
4. Once milk has curdles slightly, add applesauce, olive oil and vanilla and whisk.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry and combine just until all dry ingredients are moistened. Batter should still be lumpy, don’t over mix. Fold in mix-ins.
6. Pour or spoon batter onto hot griddle, wait for bubbles to begin forming on pancake, flip and cook other side. Cooks for about 2-3 minutes per side. Continue with remaining batter.
7. Top with syrup, honey, agave, nut butter, powdered sugar, or whatever you prefer on your pancakes!

Pancake stack topped with a mix of honey and PB2.

That’s how you start a Saturday. This song doesn’t hurt either.

There is something about the change of seasons that renews me. This past one threw me for a loop though. What was that? Winter? Fall? Spring? I guess I can’t complain because it was the mildest winter I have every experienced; however, the inconsistency sent my moods on a roller coaster ride. Spring will be welcomed. Sunshine will be welcomed. Not looking like I’m auditioning to be a member of the Cullen family in Twilight will be welcomed.

Speaking of looking out of the ordinary (who knows what ordinary actually is), get ready, Columbus. This weekend will be filled with a lot of this…

and this..

Yep, get your spandex ready and do some push ups. The Arnold Sports Festival is in town.