I smell fall in the air.....Or do I?!?

Despite the 80 and 90 degree weather around Santa Cruz recently, I still going full front on my fall festivities.  I've been using a lot more with canned pumpkin, buying my first round of squash, makin' more soup, etc.  Oh how I love fall, regardless of our "late summer" recently. I don't sense fall in the air; however, I sense it in all the grocery stores, now having an abundance of on sale canned--and fresh-- pumpkin, locally grown winter squash and all the summer produce saying goodbye.  I'll miss you corn, zucchini, watermelon and tomatoes (and much more), but I'm ready for mah apples, pumpkins and winter squash :)

Oh, how I love fall.  I'll still create in my own environment, even if people are out boogie boarding and soaking up the sun:)  Despite being a sun lover and cold-weahter hater, I'm really excited actually for the weather to start cooling off and getting my uggs, scarfs and warm, poofy jackets out of my closet!

What are your favorite parts of fall?  Do you get excited when squash and pumpkin go on sale and you see fall start to bloom?  I sure know I DO :)!

As I've said, a lot more of my meals have been more "autumny"-- aka, pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, apples, etc.


   Not so fall-like of a meal, but it was tasty and warm, so that's all that matters.  Oat bran cooked in wholemade coconut milk, cinnamon and ginger and topped with hemp fudge and coconut.

By the way, I bought this Hemp Protein awhile ago because I've heard quite a bit about the nutritional benefits of hemp protein-- loaded with dietary fiber, iron, protein, omega-3s, MUSFA, etc.  It's definitely an amazing superfood.  There's a "but" though-- as some food bloggers have said, some hemp products can taste like "dirt".  After trying this Nutiva brand of regular, unsweetened hemp protein, I have to say I'd agree.  I've had tons of unsweetened protein powders, whether they be soy, pea, rice, whey, and even hemp.   Their quite yummy and my preferred choice for protein powder, as I don't like added sugars.  When I found the Non-Dairy Queen's recipe for hemp fudge, I definitely sprang to give that one a shot.  I combined it with a packet of stevia, 2 tablespoons of hemp protein and 1 tablespoon of coco powder.  It was good, but still pretty earthy tasting-- I'll definitely try a bit more stevia next time.
                                          
Ok, enough of my hemp story, onto lunch...


 I made a really good wrap yesterday despite hurrying since my cleaning lady had just arrived.  I used a brown rice tortilla from TJs and filled it with hummus, roasted mediterranian-type veggies and a bit of avocado.  Roasted, but cold, veggies and hummus are an EXCELLENT combo.  I also had a couple mini homegrown apples and cashini butter.



This morning, while doing homework, my mind drifted away and got me thinking about Heather's cornbread re-make that I really wanted to make again to see if it would be better than the last batch I made.

And I did-- and it came out wonderful.  Thanks so much for the tips, Heather.  I used eggs this time, un-veganizing it and the results were  moist and delicious.  I also used 2 heaping spoonfuls of pumpkin in place of one of the eggs.


With cinnamon added on the top :)

I was planning on having the cornbread with the chili I made tonight, but I could not wait-- I wanted some with lunch.  How can you resist not trying freshly baked cornbread?!?  
   I made a simple egg salad with hummus, paprika and dijon mustard and layed a top of spinach.  I added some carrots for color, crunch and extra nutrition.  Aside is a piece of the warm, fresh-baked cornbread with a bit of WF brand peanut butter atop.

  


    Mmmmmm, it wasn't (by "it", I mean the fabulous cornbread) that sweet either, as I only added about a tablespoon of agave.  The PB atop was enough to sweeten it, though.


    I got home from an appointment late, so I quickly made a big ole' bowl of almond butter chili...and of course accompanied it with more cornbread.
Into the mix of almond butter chili went 1/2 can of diced tomatoes, onion, carrots, 1/2 C. kidney beans, red bell pepper and a tablespoon of Almond butter added and infused at the end.  It was quite filling and yummy, however, I managed to burn my tongue at first bite.  Dangit.



Well goodnight, lovelies.  I hope your weekend gets you all have a fabulous Friday :) xx

Do blondes REALLY have more fun?!?

I know, stupid title-- it really has nothing to do with my post tonight.  However, it does have to do with a random, stupid obervation I made today while in math class.  No, I didn't enquire an blondes today who have more fun, rather I made my own stupid, blonde observation :)

The last few days in Santa Cruz have been STEAMING!  It seems like our summer has finally come-- In Santa Cruz it usually doesn't come till August and September as those are our nicest monthes.  Weird, huh? Yesterday was a record braking temperature since 1970 [!!!!] of 105 degrees.  Unfortuanetly, I didn't make it to the beach since I had lots and lots of homework...and my foot was bothering me since I went to my swim class yesterday and we worked a lot on dolphin stroke :)  Anyways, us Santa Cruzians have really had an indian summer the last few days-- I just wish I could make it to the beach!

I couldn't even concentrate in english and math today--in fact, in both of my classes today half the class was missing.  I suspect they ditched class and went to the beach.  There was NO air conditioning in either of my classes today and everybody was sinking in sweat in their chairs, including muah.

You know what I thought of while on my break from math?  Maybe schools aren't in session during summer and winter (the main, long breaks) due to the extreme weather occurrences.  Possibly superintendents, college presidents...or whoever schedules the school breaks.... etc., aren't just arranging time off for the means of a "break".  It's probably so students aren't so distracted by the extreme heat (ahem, sweating and not listening), coldness from snow, hail, etc!  Extreme temperatures REALLY make it distracting and make students really not want to learn.  For my college, I'm thinking whoever schedules our breaks should make school start in October, when fall really comes.

Okay, okay, I'm done with my random observations.  But doesn't it sound like a dumb blonde observation?  I sure think it does :)

Do you make any funny and stupid observations ever?  

I DID think a lot today, but I also devoured some scrumptious meals while at it.

Oh, one more observation I made today, but it's in no way surprising: I eat nuts in at least every meal, including snacks. But that's no weird observation, it's actually quite normal for those of us foodies who love anything nutty!


   Since I finally bought peanut flour--which everybody's raving about on their blogs-- I decided to make Serena's oatmeal peanut butter waffles!  I topped them with almond butter, cinnamon and roasted banana.  I also had a glass of coconut milk.  They were indeed yummy and moist, but when I was deciding what topping to put on my waffle, I forgot that there already was peanut flour in the batter, so I topped it with almond butter.  Who says you can't have two nut butters at one meal ;)?


    Mmmm, don't you want waffles now?  You SHOULD make them :)


    For lunch, I was craving a big ole' bowl of roasted (& raw) veggies.  So that's indeed what I made.  I roasted zucchini and carrots in the oven then sauteed some shrooms and kale with coconut oil and garlic.  I added some raw spinach, almonds and honey sesame cashews to the mix.  I also had Katie's "3 ingrediant alfredo soup" on the side-- except I used coconut milk when making it, which was sweetened a bit with stevia, so it was a bit savory and sweet.




     So extremely creammmmmy!


   I was in NO mood to cook when I got home from class at 5, so I quickly made another salad.  A greek salad, for that matter.  It consisted of carrots, tomato, roasted red pepper (except, I roasted my own pepper-- it was not out of a jar), artichoke hearts, goat cheese and hummus.  Greek yogurt with pecans accompanied the salad :)

And my Clean Eating magazine came [!!!!!!]. I've only been waiting 2 months since the last magazine.



 And no, I don't get it for all that diet and loose weight crap. I am in NO way, shape or form trying to loose any weight.  Simply I get it for their yummy recipes and insights on eating natural and healthy.  Do ignore the "flatten your belly" and instead fix your eyes on the "Clean Eating", that I do believe :)

Well, I'm off to do some textbook reading on "how we learn".  Goodnight!

A new found love

 Tonight, after my mom and I got home from some mall shopping-- In the 100 degree heat, thank you very much.  Summer comes a little late in Santa Cruz-- fog was our friend ALL summer.  Anyways, i'll stop digressing and go back to my story.  We both came back famished and HOT.  Lucky for me, I whipped up some acorn autumn soup in my free time earlier, so I was set-- all I needed was a quick salad on the side.  Keep reading for the recipe for my "acorn autumn soup"....it was DEVINE, do make it people.   My mom had no dinner and didn't want to cook something that would take along time, as she had a meeting at 7:30.  By the way, my mom's one of those typical (well, not all actually) mom's who thinks healthy eating "takes much too long" and vegetarians "don't get enough protein and vitamins" and "vegetarian food doesn't taste good".  But sorry mom, all that is wrong.  All of those statements can be proved wrong, but i'll go into that in another post :)

To make a long story short, I offered to make my mom dinner.  She was tired from school--she's a 2nd grade teacher, it takes it ALL out of you-- and wanted something "hot" despite the 100 degree weather we had earlier, which was cooling off.  I made her one of my favorite, quick but healthy dishes-- lots of asian-style veggies stir-fried with coconut oil, garlic and ginger and I mixed in dijon mustard (thanks, Heather-- the idea derived from Y-O-U!) and topped it with a little bit of crumbled goat cheese.  I then microwaved-- I know, i know their better baked, but it was already 7-- a sweet potato and topped it with luscious coconut butter.  She absolutely LOVED it.  I was so excited; i'm glad she found that healthy food doesn't need to taste bad, take along time or be nutrient-rich deficient.  She kept asking, "what's in it?" and "how did it taste so good?"  The secrets are in the sauce, my friend.

I just thought I'd share the highlight of my day with you :)  I love showing friends and family that the kind of food I eat--healthy, whole, nutritious-- is not hard to make or tasteless.

As for my foot-- I was able to do my swim class today, which was a plus-- however, it still hurts.  No running or long walks yet, but it's doing better.  For that, I'm grateful.

Onto my eats....

No pic of bfast since I quickly consumed a sweet potato smothered with almond butter before running out the door for swim (at 7:40 am).


    For lunch, I made a salad with tomato, carrots, shrooms, cucumber and hard boiled eggs topped with "hummy-mustard dressing".  I also had two pieces of TJs sprouted grain bread with coconut oil-- Yum.





At school, my tummy rumbled at about 3:30 again, so what did I snack on to hold me over?  Oh, an Artisana coconut butter squeeze pack, of course.  And it did quick the trick-- esp. for my tastebuds :)

After having lunch, too, I made a quick (I say quick much, too much) acorn autumn soup with the leftover acorn squash I had sitting in the fridge.


        
 
Acorn Autumn soup


Serves 1.

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small apple of choice, chopped and diced

Half of a cooked acorn squash

Curry powder (a few shakes)

Salt, pepper

Cinnamon (a dash)

1/2 white beans

1 C. vegetable broth

Coconut oil, or your choice of oil

Method


In a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat, add oil and cook onion and garlic till soft.  Then when soft, add chopped apple, scooped out (from skin) acorn squash, curry powder, beans, cinnamon and salt and pepper--sauté till soft; add veggie broth.  Cover and simmer till soft for about 25- 30 minutes, depending on the consistency you like.
Add more water to thin, or if you like it thick like me, leave as is.  Top with more cinnamon and walnuts or cashews-- enjoy!

It's like Fall in a bowl-- it was SOOO scrumptious.  Do try, people, you won't be guilty.


   My din-din: Acorn autumn soup and sauteed, garlicky kale with honey-sesame cashews atop.  It was one heck of a meal!


     Don't you love the colors?

Goodnight-- off to get some homework done and dive into bed!

~Em

"Hip to the not-so-hop"

Happy (almost) Monday, everybody!  I'm sorry I've been idle since last Thursday-- when you hear what happened to me you'll understand why, until now, I have not had the patience or energy to write a post.  So my apologies.

At the conclusion of my morning run last Friday morning, my poor, poor foot twisted in.  Yep, that's right-- I've got a "twisted foot/ ankle (it's not really my ankle, however, so I choose to say my "inside foot" got hurt).  Luckily, I wasn't miles away from my house or anything, but right in front of it.  I slowly hopped to my grassy lawn when I hit the ground in a matter of seconds.  And yes, I started sobbing, as I knew what I was in for: a hurt, disabled foot.  And what did that mean?  No running, biking or let alone doing much for a few days to a week.  I had a class an hour after my foot-accident and boy is there A LOT of stairs and walkways on my campus so let's just say it wasn't the fondest walk up to class :)

Friday was overall TERRIBLE-- I had to drive literally three minutes to school...I usually actually always bike to school... and call in work sick for that afternoon I was scheduled to work.... and the worst part, which is REALLY hard for me to do: Sit on my butt (sorry to use such specific language) ALL day watching movies, icing my foot and basically doing nothing.  No exercise, no social or work life, NOTHING at all.  It made for a sad, sad day.  Never in my life have I EVER injured any of my bones, except a minor rib fracture last year.  I've really never known what it feels like to injure a part of the body that's muy importante, which for me is my feet-- they take me everywhere!

Yesterday, I was again scheduled to work, and although my foot was better, it would still be hard for me to work since it still hurt to walk.  I decided to suck it up and try to do my scheduled 8-hour shift (!), quite worried it would make it worse though.  There's a lot of walking back and forth in my job!  I got through 6 hours of it, then I had to talk to my manager to let me go home.  Yesterday no exercise either-- I did do a few ab exercises, however--if you've got no workin' feet, why not work the abs? :)

Today it's better-- slowly but surely my foot is healing.  It was a very nice day today in good ole' Santa Cruz-- 85 degrees or so, for that matter (which is hot for SC if you're wondering).  I was able to swim as I was definitely exercise deprived-- yes, two full days of no exercise makes me deprived :)   I have a swim class manana so besides the exercise, I wanted to see if I was able to swim.  Turns out I was-- and I did for about forty minutes--and layed out, can't miss that-- but it still hurt to kick and I couldn't do my norm speed.

I hope it's A LOT better tomorrow-- I have classes, work and other events that I need to use BOTH my feet for :)  Do send good wishes that it'll heal completely very soon.  I'm really grateful it's about 10Xs better than Friday as I could barely stand on Friday.

Have you ever broken, sprained, twisted or fractured a bone?  Was it hard for you to not "do your norm"?


Despite being crippled and lack of exercise the last few days, I still did have my raging appetite. I'll show you a few pics as I didn't snap them all....


   Breakfast before work yesterday: 1/2 C. oats cooked in water and topped with an over-easy egg, basil and hummus-- lovely and as per a recipe Heather shared.


    Lunch Friday (which I made in literally a second as it hurt to stand on my feet):  Pita stuffed with leftover baked tempeh, vegan majo, avocado and lettuce; apple with PB; cucumber and almond milk.


    *My appetite doesn't go away, even when I'm crippled and can't exercise--weird, huh?  It seems like I've been more hungry laying around than on my feet all day.


   Dinner Thursday, before my foot injury: Greens topped with white bean and black bean "burgers" made with hummus, oats, and veggies topped with organic ketchup; polenta.  It was SUCH a tasty meal-- when I could cook longer, that is :(





   Bfast this morning (I know, none of my meals are in order here): "PB&J" smoothie with almond milk, strawberries, peanut flour (my NEW find at TJS, I love it already), stevia and xanthum gum; topped with shredded coconut and wheat germ.


   Dinner last night:  My favorite comfort food, scrambled tofu with spinach, onions and shrooms; sweet potato with coconut butter :)


  A snack: Yogurt with honey sesame cashews (another TJ find, as per Caroline), shredded coconut, banana and a *little* bit of coconut butter...oh, and cinnamon :)  LOVE that combo


   Dinner tonight, which was beyond-amazing: Baked (a little too-baked, as you can see...haha, I just made a joke and I didn't even realize it.  Get it, "too baked"?) acorn squash stuffed with zucchini, onions, white beans and A LOT of oregano.

With that, I bid you goodnight.  I'm going to have a snack....can you guess what it is?  Yep, sweet potato, that's right :)  Gots to get lots of rest to heal my foot and for my swim class manana!

A cashew walks into a "jar" and meets a sesame seed.....

Yep.  That's right.  If you're thinking what I'm thinking, then you're thinking of Artisana's new "Cashini Butter".  All it is what I call love in a jar: Cashews, sesame seeds and sea salt :)

                                                   

Like I said in my last post, I was welcomed with a little package from Artisana upon getting home from class.  I was SOOOOO excited-- I knew the package was coming, but I just could not wait to tear open that box.  Upon opening it,  I found 10 assorted nut butter squeeze packs (love um-- already had 3 of um'), a 16 oz. jar of their new Cashini Butter and last but definitely NOT least, 8 oz. jar of my favorite coconut butter. 

                              

                             
*One pack is missing, as I couldn't resist before I snapped this photo.  Macadamia nut butter, to be exact*

And since I snapped this photo, I also tried the walnut and cashew.  And of course I've already made a pretty big dent in the cashini butter-- I love it!

*Please excuse the water glass and foil in the back :)*

I know this picture is blurry, but I'm trying to give you a picture of how much of this glorious new Artisana creation I have already consumed...and happily, for that matter!

I do love tahini-- there's no shame in that.  However, you can't really eat it by itself, like you do nut butters.  It's a bit strong and bitter tasting eaten on it's own, but mixed into things like amazing hummus (my favorite tahini add-in), dressings, stir-fry and other concoctions, it tastes good.  It's SOOO nutritious, too.  But I'm not talkin' about tahini today, although I did receive a tahini squeeze pack from Artisana.  I'm talking about the new creation, Cashini Butter.  It's NOT bland, bitter, or over- the-top tahini tasting.  It's super creamy--and not chunky or bland like some raw nut butters.  Upon first bite, you fall into taste bud love :)  The creaminess of cashews added with the sesame seeds makes a wonderful combo.  I would probably not make a PB&J sandwich with it, as they say on the bottle that it's a "great PB substitute", however I would make my a hummus- cashini butter sammie.  

The nutrition facts are another perk, along with the taste, to this creamy, luscious nut and seed butter. It's got a whopping 5 grams of protein for two tablespoons, along with many omega-3s and healthy fats.  Also, for two tablespoons, you get 4% of the RDA for calcium and 7% of the RDA for iron!  Sounds like some pretty awesome stuff, and that tastes good too :)!

I've enjoyed this nut butter already in many ways and am very excited to use it more in the future!

Oat bran cooked in almond milk, ginger and cinnamon topped with more cinnamon, shredded coconut and Artisana's Cashini butter.

Topped on a lovely sweet potato, eaten alongside black beans with onions and broccoli with greens.

In a omelet with avocado, alongside cornbread with TJs raspberry preserves and OJ.

*Not my favorite combination :(*

Topped on whole-made cornbread with avocado alongside lentil soup and veggies.  Now this was a rocking combo-- try it!

The combination possibilities are endless!  Do let me know your ideas-- the best ideas with receive a couple squeeze packs in the mail.  Simply leave a comment of your favorite combo, or if you haven't tried this crack in a jar, write what you think would go good with Cashini Butter.  Do this by next Tuesday (9/28) by midnight.  Can't wait to see what you offer up :)!

As for the coconut butter they also sent me-- only 8 oz., though--well, let's just say i've enjoyed that amazing Artisana concoction in MANY ways.  It's no new butter to me.  Me and Mr. Coconut Butter have long enjoyed each other :)

On top of overnight oats with cinnamon and raspberries.

Straight up with a whole- wheat pita

A top some kind (?) of smoothie mixture with Tjs raspberry preserves.

And SOOOOO many more ways that I have not captured because I couldn't wait to suck in the goodness of that stuff!  

I <3 you, Coconut love butter.

It's SUPER good for you, too!  Omega 3-- all natural, healthy fats.  Yes, there's a lot of saturated fat, but it's the good kind, not the "animal kind".  Fiber, calcium, magnesium and lots of other good amino acids.

The squeeze packs were all-- all the ones I've tried so far, that is-- incredible, too!  Similar nutrition facts and wonderful tastes, as everything with Artisana's butters and oils.  Thanks you SO incredibly much, Premier Organics, for sending me the samples of your nut butters to try.  I love them all and their all SOOOO me.  You've created just what I need, love and want-- on a daily basis.  I'm excited to continue to use your nut butters in many ways, shapes and forms :)

I leave you with a picture of dinner from last night, as this post is all devoted to Artisana :)

I made cajun spiced tempeh with creamy grits from Vegan Soul Kitchen.  It was really good-- a bit too peppery for me-- but overall it made for a tasty supper :)  I had a salad with the last (*tear*) of my homegrown tomatoes!  Oh well, tomato season is over and no onto fall (ahem, pumpkin and winter squash).

Again, thank you Artisana.  Hope you have a lovely rest of the week, lovelies :)  Be back soon.

~Em

"Hold up, bug in the eye!"

Quite funny.... over the last few days while running or on my bike, some kind of bug has entered into my eye every single time.  I thought it was just once, but no, it's happened at least a few times in just the last three days!  I'd just be happily riding my bike when, "wham!", the bug darts into my eye.

A couple times I literally had to either stop my bike or start walking, when I was running, because I thought the reminisce of the bug glued to my eye.  After a few blinks--actually, many-- the creature would usually be gone out of my eye.  Still, the thought of the dirty, egg- carrying creature hitting me eye just grosses me out.  And it hurt, too!

Have you ever had a bug or some kind of creature, living or non-living, hit your eyes while exercising or just outside?  It's definitely NOT one fun experience....

Despite bugs touching my precious sense--sight-- I was still able to whip up some tasty meals....and bake for that matter, too!

Enjoy.  There's quite a bit of photos since I haven't blogged the last few days...not all of my eats, as I consume quite a  bit and forget to grab the camera, but enough to last you for this post ;)

SUNDAY



I made cornbread--with the mention of wholemade, whole- grain cornbread from my blogger friend, Heather, i whipped up a batch using Bob's Red Mill cornmeal, Rice Milk, flax (for the eggs).  Unfortunately, the batch, as you can see, turned out VERY crumbly and dry :(  I believe it was due to the course cornmeal I used and not enough moisture.  I didn't want to throw the batch away, since it still tasted really yummy, hence a large portion of it being gone (above).  I forgot to snap a photo right when it came out of the oven, so I snapped one with two pieces taken out-- I couldn't get enough, it was so good :)!

Also hence me making a parfait out of it for breakfast.  Why waste perfectly tasty (abeit, crumbly and dry) cornbread when you can make a parfait out of it?  I added cottage cheese, strawberries and good ole' PB to the mix.  It was quite yummy, despite it's texture.





    Para lunch, I made "cheesy white bean dip" from ED&BV...i tell you, Dreena takes the cake.  She's one amazing cookbook writer.  Love the way she thinks..quite similar to me and a lot of us food bloggers :)  With it, I have some steamed broccoli and brussel sprouts, as well as carrots tomatoes and spinach.  I also had a whole wheat pita on the side for dunkage.   It was pretty delish-- the dip--albeit salty and filling.


   For dinner, I was supposed to have "Mellow- sniffy lentil soup" again, from ED&BV, however I started cooking it too late and I was hungry, so I whipped up something quick.  This consisted of MORE cornbread topped with peanut butter, coconut butter and the rest of my tempeh bacon.  On the side I had some steamed garlicy cabbage and zucchini fries.  I tell you cornbread, bacon and PB make quite a tasty combo!
   MONDAY


 Before swim, I made The Non-Dairy Queen's papusas!  I found corn flour-- tons-- in my pantry leftover from whole made corn tortillas in the past, so I made a couple.  I topped them with mozzarella cheese, pesto sauce and spinach.  They were SOOOO good, thanks for reminding me, Heather!  I also had a strawberry-orange smoothie on the side.
*I know, this is one TERRIBLE picture--agreed.  I was in a rush for making it to swim and this is the only picture I captured.  Sorry.*


   For lunch, I made a big salad with spinach, more homegrown tomatoes, white beans (they're hiding!), and homegrown green beans drizzled with Annie's Goddess Dressing. I also had a whole wheat pita, wholemade almond milk (yes, this is what I end up using my homework time doing! YIKES), and an apple with peanut butter.


  :)


   I DID not use a cheesecloth to drain the almond pulp, as you can see.  I love me some pulp.  Hey, that's where all the vitamins are :)




             Hummus dunkage for la pita


   .... And I made another batch of cornbread using a different recipe and my newly found corn flour :)  You know when you know something will come out good since it has for someone else?  Well, that's my reasoning for making another batch.  I knew it'd come out better if I tweaked it a bit.  And I did.  I used Polly's recipe, but used 1 tablespoon of agave, instead of honey, and used my the wholemade-pulpy almond milk and a bit of rice milk, to thin it out.  To ensure enough moisture, I added some coconut oil and a little bit of vegetable oil into the mix.  Since I still don't have eggs and wanted to vegan-ize the recipe, I used Energy Egg replacer.  This batch turned out  A LOT better-- more moist and naturally sweet from the nut milks.


   After cutting it, this is what it looked like.  Again, sorry for the bad quality, my camera ran out of batteries-- *again*.  So i turned to my not- so nice camera phone to back me up.


    My snack this afternoon consisted of *more* of my wholemade almond milk, TJs raspberry preserves, WF peanut butter and a big piece of my cornbread.  I dusted the whole thing off with cinnamon, it was SOOO yummy :)


  I packed the lentil soup I made last night, along with a side salad, for work


   And when I got home from work, I discovered a package from the kind people from Artisana-- Premier Organics- that of which contained a jar of Cashini Butter.  So I made a big bowl of oat bran cooked in the last of my almond milk (I drank the whole thing in a course of a day!),  ginger and cinnamon.  I topped it with Artisana's Cashini Butter and shredded coconut.  It was some scrumptious
stuff.  It made for a lovely, hearty snack before bed.

The bowl of oats topped with Artisana's Cashini Butter is just a preview what's to come.....

I'll definitely have pictures and be reviewing all the samples Premier Organics-- Artisana-- sent me in my next post.  So be looking forward to a post devoted solely to Artisana, my favorite nut butter products.

Thank you Premier Organics for sending me those amazing samples to review and try.  I can't wait to try them all, I'm quite excited :)!

Goodnight-- I'm off to bed to get some rest for a school- packed day tomorrow.

xoxo,
Em