Monthly Archives: February 2017

• Coffee and Compadres

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on February 21, 2017

  Last Wednesday I celebrated another year of life. 365 more days of sunrises and sunsets, 365 more days of coffee sips and cupcake eats, 365 more days of snuggles with my cats, and 365 more days dreaming of the mountains.

  

  I’ve never been one to take off of work for my birthday, however I don’t work Wednesdays right now. I decided to spend “the day my mom blessed the earth with my presence” by combining three of my favorite things: coffee, cupcakes, and hiking.

  

  My hiking partner, who also happens to be my work partner, but most definitely not my life partner, took the day off of work to spend the day with me exploring. We left at 07:00 and we were stuck in traffic far longer than either of us would have hoped.

  As one of the many cars aggregated together on the road I found multiple reasons to smile, the most obvious being that I was not on my way to work like the majority of those around me. Another reason was the delirium that started to take over my brain from sitting too long. A pit stop at Starbucks nearby our destination was in order to fill up my tumbler.

  Waiting until we were close to our location ensured the coffee was still warm upon our arrival at the summit.

  

  

  The forecast called for rain, and despite the fact I never quite know if this is going to be true in Washington or not, it did indeed rain. In fact, it was somewhat of a downpour most of our hike. Thankfully it was warm enough outside that the rain wasn’t uncomfortable.

  Dare I say it was fun?

  

  My right hand man was kind enough to stow my cupcake in his pack because I carried the coffee in mine. In all my years hiking I’ve yet to drink coffee at the summit of a mountain. It was time for this to change, and a birthday seemed like the perfect day to change this.

  

  

  Hiking alone is great, and I often prefer it, but when I’m alone I don’t have anyone around to capture my true beauty as these candid outtakes showcase. The rain was a nice touch giving me a true drowned rat look.

  

  

  My name is Brittany, I am 28 years old, and I have zero shame. 

  I chose an easy hike, only 4 miles RT taking two hours of our time. This time of year I tend to stay away from the snow packed peaks, I’m still traumatized from this adventure.

  

  I’m humbled when I embark on a hike that was once easy as slicing pie, and find that it winds me. Instead of letting this destroy my mental peace I use it as motivation to get back to a place of strength that I know I am capable of. This hike was doable, and I surely could have kept going, but there were moments I found myself out of breath.

  A few days prior I embarked on a local 9.5 mile RT hike, one that took 4 hours. This hike was tiring, but in different ways. Just as running challenges different muscles than swimming, hiking trails of differing elevations and distances challenges different areas of my body. My birthday hike challenged my heart rate more, and the longer local hike challenged my hip flexors more. I love variety.

  

  Local hike views.

  

  I bought myself a new pair of day hike shoes thanks to REI’s garage sale. They were worn maybe once, and returned because they were “too heavy.” Similar to my previous day hikers I snagged these hideous pink/red walkers for $100 less than what they would have been brand new. Sold. I tested them out on the 9.5 miler, because I like to test my pain threshold.

  

  I love birthdays because they remind me that life continues to fly by, even when we feel like it’s stagnant. It’s never too late to take control of what we want to do with our time, who we want to spend it with, and how we plan to achieve happiness.

  As each day passes for me I become more in tune with what I want my life to look like, but my favorite part is that I become more accepting of the inevitable changes life entails. The ups and downs are all necessary, the emotions and trials we experience are normal, and the gut feelings we have are usually right. They all work together to write the stories of our lives. Are you living yours in a way that others would want to read about?

  Q: What’d you do for your last birthday? Post hike I ate my body weight in Thai food, and regret nothing. Autoimmune diseases take a back seat on birthdays. HA.

  

  | 75 Comments Tagged Birthday, Coffee, Cupcake, Explore, Hiking, PNW, Rattlesnake Ridge, Vegan

• Banana Buckwheat “Hikecakes”

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on February 17, 2017

  So this happened last week. 

  

  The thing is I used to really dislike when it snowed. Borderline despised it. The snow either put a damper on my plans, or caused me anxiety because I “had to drive in it.” Before my current HR job with Starbucks I’d worked in customer service. When you’re scheduled to work in a job like that, your team relies on you to be there. There were many times I drove to work in the snow when I should have stayed home.

  I had momentary thoughts that there wasn’t quite enough snow for me to call out. How often do we tell ourselves something isn’t enough, when really it has far surpassed any quantifiable amount? Or rather it’s not something that needs a defining amount at all?

  It’s not that my job now doesn’t need me, or that I enjoy abandoning my team, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized it’s OK to put your safety before anything else. My commute to Seattle would have made for a treacherous adventure in this, and despite the twinge of guilt I felt for staying home, I relished in the joy of this white blanket of death.

  

  I slowed down. I savored coffee. I reflected. I found the beauty in the snow. The above photo pointed out the multiple difference species of trees that surround my house. There are five showcased in this photo, but there are more in the surrounding panoramic view. I stared at these trees for many long minutes, thinking about how thankful I am to live in a place like this.

  The snow held strong the following few days, and by day three I was ready for it to go. For me snow is best kept in the mountains, where I have a choice to spend time with it or not. Regardless I enjoyed my extra day away from work, giving me a total of six days off. Oh how I love working part time.

  

  Slowing down and staying inside inspired me to test out a new pancake recipe. I don’t often create new recipes these days for a myriad of reasons, but I was determined to find one that my body would handle. I often have to trade presentation and texture for taste, or vice versa, but I found a combination of ingredients that made my soul sing.

  Living with an autoimmune disease is a constant adventure in determining what foods will work with me, and what foods won’t. I’m at a place now on this journey where I no longer work myself into a tizzy of stress over my new lifestyle, and instead I take each challenge as a test of character. The best part about the pancakes I’ve been making is that they’re vegan, gluten free, and refined sugar free, yet they don’t taste like cardboard.

  

  They’re easy, they hold well, and they’re tasty. What they’re not is low calorie, but the beauty of using real food is that the calorie count doesn’t matter. These are my new go to hiking fuel, and for that I call these “hikecakes.” They won’t taste like pancake house cakes, but they do the job.

  All you’ll need are six ingredients, and a high speed blender (or food processor.) I wanted to find a combination of ingredients that allowed me to avoid adding sugar, and to avoid adding baking soda/powder. The sodium content of both baking soda and baking powder adds up quick and sodium is not something I handle well. A scoop of plant based pea protein provided enough sodium to give a good texture, without the added facial swelling.

  

  Banana Buckwheat Hikecakes

  Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk (from a can with NO added ingredients)
  • 1/3 cup + 1.5 tblsp H20
  • 1 medium overripe banana
  • 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1 scoop pea protein (I use this brand because it’s one ingredient)
  • cinnamon (I don’t measure this, it’s dependent on preference IMO.)
  • coconut oil (for the pan)

  

  Directions

  Combine coconut milk, water, and banana in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients one at a time in the order listed above, blending each before adding the next. Add more water in half tablespoon increments if necessary. Depending on the size of your banana you may need more water. Be careful not to overdo it with the water though, your hikecake texture should be thick, but it should still move.

  

  Heat a non stick pan with a glob of coconut oil and pour batter into pan, batter makes around three circular cakes slightly larger than a sand dollar. Be sure not to overdo it with the oil in the pan, but put enough to ensure the cakes won’t stick.

  Tasting notes: because these are only sweetened with a banana I added some frozen berries to mine with a drizzle of pure maple syrup. The maple syrup is optional, but I find it necessary. If you’d like to sweeten the cake itself you can swap out the tablespoons of water for maple syrup. If you don’t want to use protein powder you can add a couple tablespoons more of flour, but I make no promises on texture.

  

  Optional pairing: A piping hot cup of coffee, preferable a Latin American blend with a full body and strong cocoa and nutty notes. I’ve been pairing my hikecakes with Starbucks Organic Yukon Blend and the balance of flavors work wonderfully together.

  That’s all I’ve got for today! Just helpin ya’ll out for the upcoming pancake Sunday.

  Q: What’s your go to pancake recipe?

  

  | 46 Comments Tagged Gluten Free, Pancakes, Plant Based, Recipe, Snow, Sugar Free, Vegan

• Green Wedding Cats

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on February 6, 2017

  I’ve been feeling pretty good lately, aside from the occasional fatigue (which is just a part of my life now) I’d say things are moving and groovin over here in BB land. This is no new discovery for me, but I find that often the cure for whatever ails me is always green.

  • Avocados have become my savior. Since announcing my current dietary changes I’ve been able to find a happy balance of intake. The only non plant based food I’m partaking in is fish because it has such powerful anti-inflammatory properties, but I only eat it here and there. Insert fats on fats on fats.

  

  • Outdoor activities always fuel my soul, and I live in a state that’s surrounded by trees. Praise. Even the green algae growing on abandoned sheds makes me smile.

  

  

  • My watch is green when I put it in workout mode. Coincidence? I think not. Spin class has been rocking my world lately. I keep the classes around two per week because my body ain’t what it used to be. Those endorphin’s though, can’t beat em’.

  

  • Coffee starts out green, so it’s only fair I include my love for the bean. Coffee caused a lot of extra stress on my system for quite some time, so adding it back into my life has been immensely rewarding. I must moderate it, and my system will flare up if I overdo it, but overall it’s been OK. The boost it gives me is an added bonus. I busted out the ROK espresso maker after I shamefully tucked it away a couple years ago.

  All I can say is wow. The flavor, ohh the flavor. The extraction with this maker is beyond words. The rich, full bodied flavor is so smooth it’s like drinking full fat coconut milk. I’m currently loving Starbucks Organic Yukon Blend. This multi region blend provides the Latin American beauty of cocoa and nuts, with a balance of Indonesian spice.

  C’est magnifique.

  In other news, I took my old man kitty to the vet last week. What initially seemed like a clean bill of health resulted in blood work determining he has severe kidney disease. Despite this diagnosis I am in awe of his thirst for life. He has so much love to give still, and we won’t be going out without a fight. He will be 20 this year!

  

  My other cat has been sneaking out at night to partake in nude modeling for picture books.

  

  He’s rebelling because I’ve been giving my love to others. 

  

  Lastly, I was able to save a few photos from when I dressed up for Halloween as a girl. AKA when I put on some fancy digs and helped Gigi walk down the aisle. The below photo is my favorite, and all these girls are amazing. Four of us are bloggers, and became instant friends. Blogging has been one of the biggest blessings of my life because it has allowed me to meet so.many.amazing.people.

  

  Q: What’s your favorite color? Green 

  

  | 62 Comments Tagged Autoimmune Disease, Cats, Explore, Plants, Spinning

• The Grand Forest – Making Friends with Ferns

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on February 2, 2017

  I arrived at the forest around 10 am. I would later discover this time was comparable to the third bowl of porridge that Goldilocks tasted-not too hot, and not too cold. This arrival time was not too early, and not too late.

  

  Arriving at 10am meant there were other cars in the lot, but still a few spaces left. The parking is minimal here, and although I wouldn’t mind parking on the street, I do enjoy securing a space within the confines of an area where fast moving cars cannot nick the side of my vehicle. Other cars in the lot meant there were other people exploring the woods, which is a comforting sign for a solo adventurer.

  Cars in the lot, but a space left for me. Not too hot, not too cold. 

  

  I’d not yet explored this forest, but upon my arrival I was immediately overcome with feelings. Feelings of joy, feelings of excitement, feelings of energy, feelings of adventure. How had I lived so close to this forest, yet never stepped foot on its soil?

  

  These woods provided the illusion of being deep within the heart of a forest nestled below the mountains, but with a close proximity to the nearby roads. A common fear of solo adventurers is being so secluded that if something were to happen no one would know. These woods engulfed my being, but provided the comfort of safety should I need it.

  

  I arrived at the forest planning to walk, but the abundance of energy I received provoked me to run. Not hard, and not far, a simple thirty minutes which turned out to be one of the best runs I have had in a long time. The depths of the forest has a way of slowing down time. I didn’t focus on pace, I didn’t focus on distance, I simply focused on movement. What felt good, what didn’t? Time moved quickly and slowly all at the same time.

  

  The trails of dirt wove in and out of each other, reminding me of my childhood reading. I used to read books that allowed me to choose my own ending. “Go to pg. 167 for this kind of ending, or go to pg. 285 for this kind.” It allowed me to read and reread these books with a new story each time. The paths of this forest gave options that allowed me to cross similar paths from different angles, providing the continued illusion that this forest was larger than it really was.

  

  I crossed paths with a few people, but there was so much space between us all that it was easy to feel alone. My favorite. This came in handy for me when my run took a turn for the worse. Everything felt great, but I had consumed a beautifully balanced cup of coffee before arriving at the trail. I gave no extra thought to this decision as I allowed the full bodied notes of cocoa and nuts slide off my tongue. It was a harmony of flavor I tend to get lost in.

  It had been a while since coffee and running decided to scheme against me, but on this day they had. 

  

  There I was in the heart of this forest, with nothing but my car keys and a sense of endearment for my surroundings when the stomach discomfort hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no where to go but deeper among the trees. I prayed that the corner of earth I chose to stake claim of would provide me with enough privacy to release the demon within my gut.

  Runners trots are no joke my friends, there is no shame in this game. 

  

  I grew a new appreciation for ferns this day, we bonded on a level I hope never to bond with them on again. I can still feel the spores on my skin. I left a piece of me in the forest that day, and we are tied together in a way I’ll remember forever. Thankfully for the forest, ferns have the ability to absorb pollution. I love plants.

  

  Post expulsion I wandered the woods for another hour before calling it quits. I came upon abandoned sheds, the above tiny house nestled in the bushes, trails I didn’t get time to step foot on yet, and the below viewpoint. As I approached my car, others were waiting to claim my spot. Others had arrived to partake on their own adventure, I wondered if theirs would be similar to mine.

  I look forward to my next adventure in the Grand Forest, the trees and winding paths quickly became a local favorite, but next time I think I’ll finish my coffee before I leave.

  

  Q: Have you ever become one with the forest this way? Insert the *laughing with tears* emoji.

  

  | 33 Comments Tagged Adventure, Explore, Hike, PNW, Running

• 

• 

• Search for:
• BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalistic nomad striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long hikes, deep connections, exploration, and lots of potatoes.

• If this blog does not meet your standards, please lower your standards.

• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

• ¿Quieres Más?

  Like my witty attitude and delightful charm? Enter your
  e-mail below for the party to come straight to your inbox!

  Email Address:

  Follow the adventure

  Join 4,726 other subscribers
• 

•