Author Archives: Brittany

• The Final Harvest

  Posted at 7:52 AM by Brittany, on October 1, 2012

  I harvested the beets from my wine box garden. These were the last to be harvested.

  

  Baby beets. This was what my parents called me when I was a small drooling child. Beeters, beets, and on taco night–beaners. I have no idea where I get my odd quirks from. My favorite harvested beet was the largest of the bunch.

  

  They may be small, but I am still proud of these bite sized beets. I must admit, pulling these final veggies out of the final wine box was a bit sad. With the final harvest comes the complete reflection of the garden. It was a complete success, and I couldn’t have asked for a better first time. One last reflection…

  1. Swiss chard came first. This was eaten for months until finally the deep green faded from the leaves, and the stalks grew tall and frail.
  2. The onions were the next to be harvested, however the first harvest was simply to “thin” out the wine box to make room for some of the onions to grow larger. These were harvested over the course of a few months, and finally at the final harvest I had three giant onions that lasted for days!
  3. Next up were my carrots. These took their time to grow and were harvested twice. Once to thin them out, and one final harvest to finish off the box. I may have bragged about that carrot the size of my hand.
  4. Lastly, are the beets seen here in this post. Smaller than I hoped for, but bigger than the seeds they started as.

  I can’t wait to start another mini garden. Right now I am trying to grow jalapenos. I actually planted these a few months ago, and they are moving pretty slow. Stay tuned for the progress on this.

  Random pumpkin photo in 3..2..1..

  

  It reminds me of Cinderella, or Jack and the Beanstalk, or a pumpkin with a funky stem. I love it. YAY FALL!

  Q(s):

  • Did you garden this year?
  • Favorite inspirational quote of the week?
  • Any funky pumpkin sightings?

  

  | 25 Comments Tagged Fall, Gardening, Pinterest, Pumpkin, Wine Box Garden

• Pumpkin Lentil Soup

  Posted at 6:09 PM by Brittany, on September 24, 2012

  The first pumpkin of the season has been consumed by my face.

  

  TJ’s pie pumpkin, whopping price of $1.99. This happens to be the same price as the canned pumpkin. Why buy a can when you can use the real thing? This pumpkin was sliced, diced, chopped, emptied, and eaten like it was my job. I was able to get three uses from this bad boy.

  

  Coconut oil and sea salt pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds happen to contain a variety of minerals, vitamins, protein, fiber, and are low in carbohydrates. Ideal snack for my vegan diet.

  Half the pumpkin was saved for the next mornings breakfast, pumpkin pancakes.

  

  Early morning shadows

  I have missed my pumpkin pancakes. I do prefer canned pumpkin for pancakes because it’s much creamier than fresh pumpkin. My favorite part of this pumpkin was the deliciously spicy soup it was initially purchased for.

  

  Pumpkin Lentil Soup

  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 small cayenne pepper (or if you don’t like spice, a mild pepper works too)
  • 1tsp cumin
  • 1/2 pie pumpkin
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup red split lentils (I used the ones from TJ’s)

  –The first thing I did was cut the raw pumpkin in half (actually Manfriend did, I’m a wimp) and bake the halves at 350 until the pumpkin was pliable. When the pumpkin was done I set it to the side and started getting the other ingredients ready.

  –Dice up the onion and pepper into a pan to saute. Add the cumin and cook until the onions turn translucent. Once these are done you can then add the vegetable broth, water, pumpkin and lentils (make sure your pan/pot is big enough.) The lentils need a few minutes to cook. Once the lentils are done to your liking, pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.

  This is the perfect fall soup. I knew I had to start the first day of fall the right way with pumpkin, pumpkin, and more pumpkin. I even tried my first pumpkin spice latte (soy) from Starbs! I hope to find plenty more fall inspired recipes over the next few months!

  Q: Favorite ingredient that reminds you of fall? Pumpkin…and cinnamon. 

  

  | 32 Comments Tagged Fall, Pumpkin, Recipe, TJ's

• Brace Yourselves

  Posted at 11:33 AM by Brittany, on September 20, 2012

  

  I AM SO FREAKIN EXCITED!! Need I say more!? It’s happening folks, pumpkin is coming. I don’t think I have ever used the word folks before. Something about using it makes me feel like a mature english teacher. I am rambling..

  I purchased my FIRST pumpkin the other day. I literally squealed when I saw it, I probably would have peed had I not just emptied my bladder..too far?

  

  BABY pumpkin!!! I had to pose with it, and with other pumpkin decorations. My favorite decoration is my Mickey Mouse pumpkin head from Dland.

  

  I specifically bought this pumpkin to sit on my windowsill so I can stare at it all day. Soon I will buy a pie sized pumpkin to eat, and a large pumpkin to carve.

  

  I am so jazzed. Along with pumpkin comes..OTHER SQUASH!

  

  I am going to turn into a squash this year, you just wait and see. I want to find a vegan spag squash meal.

  Monday I did something I haven’t done in a while. I worked 4am-11:30, came home to change, got on a ferry boat, and went to Seattle to celebrate my best friends birthday.

  

  I even had a drink, WHOAAaaA there.

  

  My partying days have long been expired, so it was fun to put my party pants on and spend time with my homies. Needless to say on the 9:00 ferry ride home I passed out. It was a long day. That’s about all the wildness I can handle for now.

  Oh and lastly, I caved..and I made a Pinterest account. I made a side bar link right under my bio, or just click here. You should follow me..if you want.

  Q: WHO’S EXCITED FOR PUMPKIN!? Have I mentioned that I am excited?

  

  | 32 Comments Tagged Birthday, Halloween, Pinterest, Pumpkin, Squash, TJ's, Trader Joes

• Farmers Market Finds

  Posted at 6:03 PM by Brittany, on September 18, 2012

  September is half way over, which means the farmers markets are going to come to an end very soon. In order to start my last “hoorah’s” of the summer, I made a trip to the farmers market to get some inspirations for dinner. I didn’t know what I wanted, but as always I found more than I needed. I needed something to go with polenta. I have never made polenta before, so this was new for me.

  After walking a few laps around the market, I settled on a handful of hot peppers (like..cry your eyes out hot!!!!), a blue bell pepper, 2 beets, and a peach the size of my face.

  

  I ended up making a pico de gallo style mix with the peppers, some tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and salt/pepper.

  

  I pan fried the polenta into small disks, and topped them with the pepper mix.

  

  I have to say these turned out really good. I was surprised. I paired them with zucchini lentil boats.

  This was my first time making zucchini boats too, the zucch was grilled and then filled with lentils. Along with some marinara served on the side for extra flavor! Since no meal is complete without something sweet, that giant peach was then grilled with brown sugar and cinnamon!

  

  I liked the addition of the manly arm in the photo so I left it. Grilling and farmers markets! I also feel the need to mention that TJ’s has a new seaweed salad that is awesome.

  It tasted just like the ocean.

  On the running front, I feel a little lost now that my half marathon is over. I have been experiencing the post run blues. After working up to this since January, having it be over is sad. I need to find another half to run so that I can continue with my running schedule. I find myself having motivation only for 3mile runs. During a 3miler I had last week I discovered it’s best to run with your eyes shut.

  

  That would be a small fly. I had to run with it for about 2 miles. It wouldn’t come out. Gross.

  Q: Who’s ready for fall!?!?! I AM! 

  

  | 24 Comments Tagged Farmers Market, Running, Trader Joes, Vegan

• Balance

  Posted at 11:27 AM by Brittany, on September 12, 2012

  There’s been a lot of running talk on these streets lately, and for good reason. I just finished my first half marathon and am still jazzed about it. (And thank you all for your kind words on my half marathon post!) In order to live by my favorite word, I need to balance this blog with a post dedicated to some food! While I was in California I went on a last minute trip to LA (GIGI I LOVE YOU I’M SORRY!) I had my heart set on trying some of the famous cupcakes made at Babycakes NYC. I have been DYINGGG for a good cupcake, and being vegan tends to limit the options.

  

  This place is 100% vegan so I just haddd to try their goods. Driving around LA was sketch..I mean..SKETCH. There were transients everywhere and I was having a hard time imagining a cute cupcake shop in the parts I was driving through. Fortunately the location I made it to was less sketchy than the first. Once I arrived I was shocked by the prices..$4.75 for a cupcake the size of my pinky toe?! Then my hawk eyes found a two for one deal on day old cupcakes. Two cupcakes for $4.25…deal.

  

  Red velvet and Vanilla banana

  Visually I was not impressed. How hard is it to make the icing look nice? Foul number one. Texture was that of a muffin..UGH. All I wanted was a MOIST, fluffy cupcake! These cupcakes sucked, and were NOT worth the money. They flavor was mediocre, but my biggest complaint was the density of the cake. I could have made these at home for $0.25 each. Fail.

  

  Thankfully I found a cheap vegan restaurant that saved the afternoon.

  

  I shared a Pineapple “chicken” burger, and a Seitan wrap. Both of which were deeelicious, and the bill was a whopping $14.

  

  

  
  So. Good.

  That night I then feasted at the Spaghetti Factory to carb load for my half marathon. I got up the next day, ran 13.1 miles, went to the hotel to get cleaned up..and set out to find some more food. This is about to be my favorite part of this post. Prepare yourselves. After the run, I was walking like a wounded wildabeast. I was emotionally hurt from the cupcake experience the day before, and I was desperately needing something douched in chocolate.

  In order to prevent cramping or muscle tightening, we went to walk around some shops to keep the movement in our legs going. It just so happened we went back to whole foods for some more PB. This is where I saw it, the most magical sight I have ever laid my eyes on. The most gorgeous vegan cupcake with a simple, but CLASSIC icing job.

  

  

  The icing to cake ratio was perfect..simply perfect. The cake was MOIST, chewy and tasted just like a naughty grocery store cupcake! THANK YOU WHOLE FOODS! I have been gawking at these pictures for a week now, I just can’t stop thinking about this cupcake. I am lucky the closest WF is over an hour away, or I would purchase one daily. The moral of the story is, if you find a shitty cupcake don’t give up hope..just go to WF!

  

  Q: What’s one experience you’ve had with recently with food that left you with disappointment on your face and pain in your heart? Sorry Babycakes, your muffin cakes aren’t for me.

  

  | 29 Comments Tagged Cake, California, Food, Half Marathon, Running, Vegan, Whole Foods

• Disneyland Half Marathon

  Posted at 3:44 AM by Brittany, on September 9, 2012

  

  One of the most memorable and amazing weeks of my life has come and gone in the blink of an eye. September 2nd was I day I will never forget. All the training, the tears, the pain, the struggle, the whining, the complaining, the food, the running, has all paid off because I am officially a half marathoner. My goal was to run/jog the entire time..no walking. Goal complete!

  

  
  4:00 am came and I hauled myself out of bed. I struggled getting to sleep the night before. I was panicked that I wouldn’t wake up, and that I would miss the race. This caused me to toss and turn like the ocean. This was the first race I have done where we started in the dark. It took 20 minutes after the initial gun shot for my corral to start because this race had 17,000 people. At about 6:05, I was off.

  The first 3 miles were magical..I am so corny right now, but I don’t know how else to put them. I was able to run through Disneyland and California Adventure, with hundreds of other people that shared the same passion for running and Disneyland. My only complain with these miles was the congestion of people. It was stop and go for almost the entire time, this was a hassle and a slow down.

  Miles 3-7 were neutral. I started to get some stomach kinks at mile 7 due to the fact that I hadn’t used the bathroom prior to running, so I had to stop and let the gut beast out.

  At mile 9 I was given a Gu shot..aka the TAR shot. It was chocolate flavored, so it tasted good…but was SO thick that I thought I was going to choke. I couldn’t eat it. At this mile I ran through Angels Stadium which made me feel like a BAMF.

  Miles 10-13 were tough. I had to turn my brain off and chant the word, “run.” I was tired, and excited all at the same time. I finally made it to the finish line..and I might have cried. OK I cried. I was tired, I was excited, I was proud, and I was amazed. This was a moment I will cherish forever. I earned my first running medal and I couldn’t feel more proud.

  

  So proud I wanted to wear it all day.

  

  This thing is like solid gold. I felt like a king. The run was tough near the end, but if I could do it all over again I would. I’m sad that it’s over, but so glad that it happened! Thank you to everyone that wished me well before the run.

  

  Q: Tell me something that you accomplished this past week!? A HALF MARATHON BABAY!

  

  | 52 Comments Tagged Disneyland, Half Marathon, Running

• DLand Expo

  Posted at 3:23 PM by Brittany, on September 1, 2012

  Yesterday I went to my first running expo. For all the races I have run thus far, I was able to pick up my packet and tshirt the day of the race. This race is different in the fact that if you don’t pick up your stuff early, you don’t run. I also had to sign a waiver explaining that if I die of heat stroke, the wild pigs are able to eat my leftovers.

  

  After what felt like a half marathon of walking, I found the expo. There were so many people here it was unreal. The booths were fun to look at, and I was able to snag some samples of Clif Bloks which I really liked. Fortunately for me they will have some at mile 9.

  

  I snagged my running bib (which is THE coolest one yet) and headed to the expo. There were multiple times I felt someone’s sweaty armpit on my shoulder, arm, and hands..I wanted to die. I don’t like other people touching me that I don’t know! I was a bit disappointed that there were no freebies at this expo. I paid $150 for this race and they gave me a tshirt and a baby clif bar. I still love you DLand.

  

  I really can’t believe that in less than 24hrs I will have completed my first half marathon. In Disneyland. I am so jazzed, and tonight I am going to have a spaghetti feast at my all time favorite restaurant, The Spaghetti Factory. I am going to run like the wind tomorrow, and I know my man Buzz will be there carrying me to infinity and beyond!

  

  Move over woody, it’s my turn to be spooned.

  Q: Best expo you’ve ever been to? I’ve mentioned this once before, but I went to a women’s expo where I was given the most amazing tongue scraper. Any expo where you get free stuff is a good expo.

  

  | 22 Comments Tagged Buzz Lightyear, Disneyland, Half Marathon, Running

• 8M,9M,10M…13.1M

  Posted at 12:31 PM by Brittany, on August 29, 2012

  I never blogged about my last three long runs on my half marathon training schedule. I blogged about my 7miler, which still holds the title of best run I’ve ever had. The 8miler I had scheduled for the next week was tough. Mentally I was out of it, and the run was painful. I won’t elaborate much more than that, but I can assure you I looked something like this.

  
  The 9 miler was better. I stopped worrying about my pace, and just let myself run. My time was a lot slower than my 7miler, but I finished without a struggle. The only complain I had was during the last mile. My knees started to bother me, but I can thank my 9hr work day for that. I looked more like this.

  

  Slow and steady.

  This what I would look like as an animation, with a cauliflower arm.

  The 10miler I ran this past Sunday was the final long run before the half. I was worried. I have never hit the double digits and although it was only one mile further than the week before, I was nervous. Mentally I was psyching myself out. Finally I just went for it, and I felt great the entire run. EVEN with the ridiculous hills. Almost an entire 5miles of the run were uphill..ugh. It was a slower pace still, but I felt like THIS..

  

  Yea I was pretty much flying. I did it, I ran 10miles without stopping.

  This Sunday is the big day, I am running my first half marathon and I couldn’t be more excited. Be ready for some California based posts for the next few days! California here I come!

  

  Q: Tell me something exciting you have recently accomplished!! It doesn’t have to be fitness related, tell me anything! 

  

  | 29 Comments Tagged Disneyland, Half Marathon, Running

• This Is How I Show My Age

  Posted at 7:25 PM by Brittany, on August 27, 2012

  Every year I go to the county fair with my best friend. Every.single.year. The game plan has always been the same, get a wrist band in order to ride sketchy rides all day long. I like to get my money’s worth, and going to a fair or a theme park isn’t cheap. Therefor I like to stay all day long and suck the park dry. This year started out no different than the last, and I looked forward to the fair all week long.

  

  This is what I’d look like as the smartest farm animal.

  In all my years of adolescence I’ve been proud of my strong stomach, and my willpower to go on rides until the park closed. I should have known something was changing when I was the one that requested to leave the water park last month. Manfriend was prepared to continue on for a few more hours, but I pulled the plug and wanted to go eat. Who am I?

  Right off the bat at the fair my stomach started to flop. The very first ride had me feeling funny. I tried to tell myself it was the toothless smiles I received from the carnival operators, but it was indeed the ride.

  

  I ignored the sensation and continued on. Ride after ride and the puke feeling only grew. Once my other half started telling me she had a headache and her back hurt I knew what was happening. We were turning into old ladies. Gone were the days of rolling with the middle school kids (we had to be the oldest people at the fair without children.) We continued on though, until finally I needed something to eat.

  

  Slim pickings for vegans at the fair, but I had my heart set on these curly fries since last year. I am proud to report that basket went into the trash empty. With only a slight amount of help from my homegirl, I polished off the entire batch. Spinning rides and a stomach full of grease called for a mellow next hour. Time to look at the farm animals. I have been obsessing over chickens for the past month, and I have found two new types I MUST HAVE.

  

  Two chickens representing two different eras. On the left we have 1970’s chicken proudly sporting a full head of hair in the Afro puff. On the right we have 1990’s chicken proudly sporting the punk rock grunge look. Must have both.

  I think my favorite ride of the day was the children’s roller coaster that went no faster than 2mph. It was shaped like a worm.

  

  Either this or the fun house, both of which went easy on my stomach. I am a sucker for the funky mirrors in the fun house. No where else can you distort your body image in that many ways. I take that back, Photoshop is pretty powerful too.

  

  Be careful little girl, on the left is what you’ll look like if you keep eating Cheetos.

  Overall my day at the fair was fun and eyeopening. Gone are the days of my 15yr old body enjoying the spins of county fair rides. My 23yr old body needs more mature rides like roller coasters and towers of terror. Good thing I leave for DLand on Wednesday!!!! YAHOO!

  

  My other half

  Q: How do you handle spinning rides?

  

  | 24 Comments Tagged Curly Fries, Disneyland, Fair, Old Lady

• Lean Green Machine

  Posted at 10:10 AM by Brittany, on August 25, 2012

  Green is my favorite color. It’s a neutral color, and doesn’t imply that I am manly nor girly. I tend to migrate towards green foods, possibly because I like the color and because of the nutrients in them. I had a green themed evening the other night and it all started with these.

  

  These crisps, are unreal. I hadn’t had them in years and I decided…it was time. They are SOSsososSO good. Don’t believe me?

  

  I think this photo speaks for itself. Three servings in the bag obviously means you have three times the opportunity to eat them within 20 minutes.

  Dinner for the night was all green as well. I cooked my asparagus in this stuff, which happens to be a new to me item.

  

  The oil itself was clear, and didn’t have much of a flavor. I liked it because it allowed the asparagus to really POP with its natural flavor. Cool stuff this oil. I then put my Blendtec to use for the first time making something other than a smoothie.

  

  This is my poisonous sludge. Touch it and you will die.

  

  Wheat gnocchi with vegan pesto, brussels, and asparagus.

  Vegan Pesto

  • 2 cups of spinach
  • 6 large basil leaves (or more!)
  • 2 small/medium cloves of garlic
  • 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of cashews
  • salt & pepper to taste!

  Combine all ingredients into a food processor (I used my blender) and combine until you get a desired consistency! I added water to mine to thin it out.

  This stuff was great, a fun new sauce to spice up my pastaaaaas.

  On a completely unrelated note, this is what my front porch looks like.

  

  No green..but LOTS of fall colors. I am so FrrEaKinN excited!! I LOVE FALL!!

  Q: Are you ready for fall!? YESS!! CORN MAZE, pumpkin patch, hot tea, snogging, squash, cool temp running, winter clothes! 

  

  | 34 Comments Tagged Fall, Recipe

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

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• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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