Author Archives: Brittany

• Rice Rice Baby

  Posted at 10:24 AM by Brittany, on April 3, 2012

  For the past week, many of my meals have revolved around rice. Brown rice of course, specifically the brown rice medley from good ol’ Trader Joe’s.

  

  The protein/fiber content is great, and the addition of the radish seeds gives a nice crunch to the mix. Of course I don’t pummel spoon fulls of just rice into my mouth, I make a rice pile and fill the sides with tree’s and bushes.

  

  This meal happened a few times: Rice, asparagus, red bell pepper, vegan sausage, zucchini, Brussels, beets, and broccoli.

  Another ricerific meal that was duuhh-lish-ous included this..

  

  I really only bought this to have an excuse to say “punjab” multiple times in one hour, but this stuff was so good. I didn’t like the packaging, and I didn’t like the heating option. Instead of heating the foil like packet in water on the stove, I emptied the contents into a pot and then put it on the stove. Heating foil/using a microwave are two warming options I avoid. I need to get an invincible hamster to run hours on a wheel to produce heat for my food, that would be ideal.

  The final product..

  

  This time I made a rice mote, and filled the punjab in the center. Then surrounded the outside with trees and plants.

  Moving forward. I have found a veggie (and vegan) friendly peanut sauce to make up for my oops moment, when I bought peanut sauce with anchovies in it. Unfortunately the sauce I bought this time lacked in flavor and punch.

  

  Fortunately I had enough peanuts to make up for the sauce.

  

  As you can see, I put my math studies to good use by using geometry on a daily basis to make a circle out of my meals. That’s really all it’s good for.

  As for my vegan update, I have successfully completed one week eating a vegan diet, and I have to say the week FLEW by. I only thought about cheese once and that was the first day of being dairy free. Since then it’s been easy (given it’s only been a week) and I plan to continue eating vegan for a little while longer. I will write a post dedicated to my thoughts and physical state after a bit more time.

  I’ve also completed one week cutting out sweets (except the extra jelly I’ve been adding to PB&J’s) and this was a bit more difficult. I thought about cake multiple times throughout the week, but I persevered. I deserve a medal for this I swear. I might even go longer than the week. I’m exuding God like strength with this task.

  Running is great, Saturday I ran 5 miles at a 9:52 pace and each mile felt better than the one before it. Cycling is good, Thursday night spin classes are becoming my favorite. Monday nights not so much. Those are all the updates I have for now!

  Q: How do you eat your brown rice?

  

  | 52 Comments Tagged Brown Rice Medley, Cake, Food, New food, Running, Spinning, Trader Joes, Vegan

• Dairy Free

  Posted at 11:32 AM by Brittany, on March 26, 2012

  Before I jump into the topic of this post, I want to share a quick and easy Thai inspired meal. You’ll need four items: Rice noodles, peanuts, a sauce, and a vegetable (Or go balls wild and have multiple vegetables!)

  

  Real quick side note, this satay peanut sauce is NOT vegetarian friendly. I somehow missed this while skimming the ingredients. I read the ingredients to a similar product from a different store, and that one was vegetarian friendly. I assumed TJ’s was too. Mistake. Lesson learned- never skimp on reading the ingredients! Regardless, the meal was delicious and the peanut sauce has been donated to a non vegetarian. If you are a carnivore, omnivore, or even a pescatarian (the sauce has anchovies in it) you’ll love it!

  

  After making a head of broccoli hair, I had to resist the urge to make a peanut face. 10 minute meal. Boom.

  Onto the Brussels and potatoes of the post. Over the past six years I have evolved into a happy, healthy vegetarian. I started as more of a carb-o-tarian, which is what I call those that give up meat, but replace the meat with carbs instead of fruits and veggies. I have fallen in love with fruits, vegetables, and cooking over the past three years and have never looked back. I don’t crave meat, I find excitement in new recipes, and I enjoy telling people about my lifestyle (until they criticize and are ignorantly closed minded.)

  One question I often get is, “have you tried being vegan?” The answer is “sort of.” I have never fully committed to becoming “vegan,” but I have had my experimental weeks, two at the most, of eliminating any and all animal products from my diet. I LOVE cheese, and occasionally eat eggs, and along with this I eat products made with dairy. Although I may not drink milk directly, I am ok with using it in recipes, and eating foods made with milk, cheese and eggs.

  I’ve decided to give this vegan thing another go. However, I will not be calling it “vegan,” rather, “dairy free” because I am not going to be picky about where or how the food products are made. If the bread I buy is made somewhere that milk and eggs are present, but not included in the ingredients, I am ok with that. My diet over the next week, two weeks, or however long I plan to try this for will consist mainly of fruits, and veggies, along with the proteins, fats, carbs and other nutrients I will need. I will be completely dairy free including products made with dairy.

  This is not a lifestyle change, more of a fun challenge to test my creativity and willpower to resist cheese. Along with cutting out dairy, I am cutting back on sweets. OHH MY HOGSQUASH this will be hard. I love my cookies, but I need a serious detox from sugar!! Notice I said cutting back, not cutting OUT.

  With all this said, dinner last night was a dairy free success.

  

  This plate looks like something I eat anyway, but throughout the day my desire for a string cheese and wheat thins was ever so present. This meal made my nagging cheese beast disappear.

  Breakfast this morning was egg-less, but better than ever.

  

  Skittle rainbows have NOTHING on my color wheel of food. I will be including cheese, greek yogurt, and cookies back into my diet very soon, but for now I will enjoy the challenge of trying new things! This will also challenge me to figure out exactly what the items listed on the ingredient lists are. The sugar, and cheese beasts in my system need to be tamed for a bit. Did I mention I love cookies?

  On a random side note, but along the lines of challenges (running is a challenge I accept daily) check out this race photo from my 10K last week. 

  

  I’m pretty much a celebrity because this photo was an example photo on the website before the others were even uploaded. This is why there isn’t a giant PROOF written across the photo to ruin it unless you choose to buy it. Of course I was caught getting my Garmin ready.

  “The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he’s dead.” -Bette Davis

  Q: What’s challenging you this week? Not eating cookies. 

  

  | 30 Comments Tagged 10K, Challenge, Food, New food, Running, Trader Joes, Vegan, Vegetarian

• DIY: Wine Box Garden

  Posted at 8:10 AM by Brittany, on March 23, 2012

  The mini garden I have been wanting to start has been completed. It was super easy, and a lot of fun. To start things off you will need the following:

  • Wine boxes
  • Soil
  • Plant starters/Seeds
  • Frost/Critter blanket
  • Wooden steaks (if your boxes are flimsy)
  • Something to prop the boxes on once complete
  • Power tools
  • Love and patience

  If you have sturdy wine boxes, you will not need to reinforce the box like I did.

  

  See that bucket in the background..the clout laundry detergent bucket? That was my front row seat to watching my friend do all the work. As I mentioned, these boxes were collected from Trader Joe’s. I had eight boxes total. Hoarding starts at a young age my friends. This is what the boxes looked like originally.

  

  Now you see why I have eight, these boxes are gorgeous. Despite the boxes good looks, the sides were not very sturdy. Insert a woodworking friend to fix the problem.

  

  Those 4 wooden pegs were nailed in to keep the sides from splitting. Now the box is ready to go. Next step-Drill holes in the bottom for drainage.

  

  I am the mastermind behind these six holes. I can be hired with the promise of cookies as my pay.

  Now the fun part-Time to get dirty! Pour your soil(s) in to the boxes and plant your goods! We used two different “dirts,” one as a base soil, and one with a fertilizer to nourish the plants. From top to bottom: Walla Walla onions, beets, swiss chard, and carrots!

  

  If you live somewhere that has the potential of getting frost still, like we do in Washington, a frost blanket is suggested. This also acts as an insulation while protecting your goods from creatures, slugs, passing neighbors, and slugs. Did I say slugs? I hate slugs…

  

  Lastly make sure the boxes can drain.

  

  We set the box ends onto left over wood for elevation. I ended up moving the wood under the box near the center more to evenly distribute the weight of the soil within the box.

  There you have it, making a wine box garden is THAT easy. You just need to find some sturdy wine boxes and the rest is simple. I do suggest using some form of a label to indicate which vegetables are in which box. You can spend money on something like this:

  

  Or you can be cheap like me and use parts that came inside the boxes, saw them into pieces and use a sharpie to write on the pieces of wood (see upper right corners of completed boxes.) OR you could make something like the poop stick by using a kitchen knife, and a hot glue gun to attach a label to the knife. Perhaps this will be another DIY post for the future.

  Growing a mini garden, or growing a small potted plant in your house is both fun and rewarding. Watching your plants grow is like watching your child complete grade school..I think. I don’t have children, except for my cats..but they don’t attend school. Either way it’s extremely satisfying doing this yourself!

  Q: Are you planting anything this season? If so..tell me what!

  

  | 49 Comments Tagged DIY, Gardening, Trader Joes, Veggies, Wine Box Garden

• St.Paddy’s Day 10K

  Posted at 3:31 PM by Brittany, on March 19, 2012

  Saturday morning I pulled my money makers out of bed to stand in the freezing rain for 30 minutes, and to run 6.2 miles. I was cold, I was crabby, and I was nervous. I was angry it was raining. I usually love the rain, but I was tired and did not want to be soaked like a can of soggy beans. I arrived early to get my race packet.

  

  It was official, I was running a 10K. I had never run more than 5 miles at once..so this is where the nerves came in. I knew one more mile was attainable, but having never done the distance before I had some worry. I had hoped for a leprechaun wombat to run with me if I needed an extra boost. No such luck.

  Fuel in the form of sugary candy, should I need it.

  

  Turns out I only ended up eating one. That one the arrow is pointing to, I ate that whole thing..I even ate the wrapper like a savage wild animal. My hands were frozen to the point I couldn’t feel my fingers, without working fingers I couldn’t unwrap the sugary treat. I panicked, fearing my energy would dwindle and without thinking, like a homeless monkey..I ate the wrapped candy. I have yet to see the wrapper come out the other end..this must mean it was digested by my ferocious stomach acid. 

  Long story short, the course had some wicked hills..and the first 3 miles were painfully cold. After mile 3 everything started to feel better, including my body. I finished the run with a 10:15 pace (WAYY faster than I anticipated) and an overall time of 1hour and 3minutes. Thank you spaghetti feast, you helped my buns of steel power up those hills. 

  Post run I wolfed down a delectable sandwich.

  

  Overall I felt a sense of accomplishment for my new PDR. It’s moments like this that make the painful days worth it. My March race is complete, and I can eat Reese’s Eggs guilt free for a few more days. I’ll keep you concerned cats posted on that Starburst wrapper..

  Q: Embarrassing running stories? Eating that wrapper is my top as of right now..One day I’ll be a real runner like those marathoners that shat themselves. 

  

  | 33 Comments Tagged 10K, Running

• Brown Thumb Turned Green

  Posted at 6:39 PM by Brittany, on March 11, 2012

  I have a habit of talking the talk, but failing to walk the walk. I talk about many things I want to do in my life, thinking of them as more of a dream than a reality. I’ve made excuse upon excuse ranging from, “I don’t have time” to “I don’t know where to begin.” One of my goals in life, aside from owning chickens and walking on Pluto, is to have a garden. I have longed for the satisfaction of harvesting my own fruits and veggies for years, but have yet to take the plunge..until now. 

  I salvaged a few wooden wine boxes from TJ’s and I am planning to grow some vegetables in them. With little to no knowledge, I decided to visit a nursery for ideas and inspiration. The nursery had so many fun and exciting things. Every loop and corner had a new ocular adventure.

  Food: Fruits, potatoes, onions, herbs..the food plants were the most exciting. I imagined having a backpack with soil for a portable garden/lunches on the go.

  

  Flowers: A nursery would be incomplete without trees and flowers. 

  

   

  Pottery: For those that want variety, decoration, or aren’t lucky enough to have a lot of land to plant in.

  

  Those are all great, but I’d rather have one of these. 

  

  Imagine growing a veggie in that. Broccoli, and Brussels, and kale OH MY!

  Randoms: Garden trinkets, scenery, plants.

  

  This nursery also offers free classes on certain gardening topics. I signed up for veggie gardening 101 (which I went to earlier today!) 

  

  The nursery adventure both inspired and exhausted me. I needed to refuel my tank, and then refuel my brain. Tank first: Cinnamon rolls from the market. 

  

  Brain second: An at home experiment with alien growing garlic. 

  

  Watch out Ciscoe, there’s a new green thumb in the making! 

  Q: Any gardening tips for a first timer!?

  

  | 29 Comments Tagged Adventure, Gardening, Veggies

• New Digs

  Posted at 6:17 PM by Brittany, on February 10, 2012

  If you were to tell me a year ago that I would end up running more than I bake, I would laugh in your face. I started running to challenge myself with a sport many people steer away from. As I’ve increase my mileage I have realized my beloved five fingers aren’t going to be enough for my longer runs. With that said, I buckled down and bought a pair of running shoes. 

  

  I had my heart set on the bright blue and green pair of Brooks, but when I found out the running shop didn’t have a single pair of Brooks in my size, I opened my mind to something else. I tried on at least 5 pairs of shoes before buying the first and ugliest pair I had tried on. 

  

  My immediate thought when I put these on was, “these look like old lady shoes.” Despite the hideous yellow and grey, these shoes felt the best..or so I thought. I ran a couple miles in these and while I was running they felt fine, but then when I was walking around after my run I felt as if my foot was folding into the inside of the shoe. I am new to running shoes like this so I don’t know what I should be looking for. My feet are comfortable in the shoe, and while running I felt ok..so I am torn on how to decide if I love them. These weren’t cheap and I want to be sure I love them so I can get some serious mileage in. 

  I want this shirt to go with my new shoes.

  

  Somebody beat me to it…

  Q: All you running babes out there..how do you know when a shoe is perfect for you?! 

  

  | 24 Comments Tagged 5K, Race, Running, Shoes

• Kombuchaaaa

  Posted at 10:07 AM by Brittany, on February 1, 2012

  I don’t drink wine, I don’t drink beer, I don’t drink soda, I don’t drink juice (unless I make it myself) and I don’t drink anything in between. Basically I keep it really classy by drinking Dihydrogen Monoxide day in and day out. On the rare occasion that I want to get wild, I will buy myself a Kombucha. Drinking a Kombucha makes me feel like Cinderella was mysteriously pushed off the face of the earth, and I magically took her place. It’s kind of a big deal. 

  I posted a few days ago that I was ever so blessed with THREE free GT Kombucha passes. This allowed me to try flavors I had never tasted before, go places I had never been before, and buy bottles I had never saved before. Buckle your seat belts and prepare yourself for this adventure I am about to take you on. I call this: The Kombucha Review. 

  First and foremost, Kombucha has been said to have various different health benefits. If you are interested in what those may be you can go here, here, and here. Along with these benefits come individual benefits with each flavor you choose. Each flavor I will discuss has the main kombucha ingredient, a variety of probiotics, and their individual ingredients which I will break down nutritionally. 

  Multi-Green.This flavor has been, and always will be my favorite. If you want to feel like you are deep sea diving your body into a pool of feel good, this is the flavor for you. The flavor is very “green” and if you like wheat grass, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, and algae you will like this flavor. In this green foggy wonder there is kombucha, klamath mountain blue-green algae, spirulina, and chlorella. 

  Spirulina and Chlorella are both superfoods. Superfoods are known to have high phytonutrient contents, as well as high concentrations of essential nutrients. If you want to learn more about Spirulina and Chlorella you can go here, here, and here.

  Gingerade.This flavor is amazing for an upset stomach. Similar to a ginger ale or any ginger based beverage, the ginger “ade” really helps to settle any uproar or parties the flora in your belly might be having. In this orange sunshine-y fog there is kombucha, and ginger juice. If you like ginger ale, ginger beer, or anything with ginger you will like this flavor. It is a mild ginger flavor for those of you that think ginger can be a bit “sharp” tasting, myself included.  

  Ginger has a variety of different health benefits such as gastrointestinal relief as I stated earlier in simpler terms, anti-inflammatory effects, immune boosting properties, and menstrual cramp relief (can I get an AMEN!). If you want to learn more about ginger you can click here, here, and here.

  Mystic Mango.

  I include this flavor for those of you that are scared to try Kombucha. This is the mildest tasting Kombucha I have tried. It almost tasted like juice. Kombucha has a strong fermentation flavor and a bubbly kick to it, yet this mango flavor was calm and refreshing without the kick in the pants. I love the kick in the pants, but some people might not. Inside this amber city of tropical goodness is kombucha and mango puree. 

  Some of the health benefits of mango are improved digestion, lowered cholesterol, high in iron, potassium, fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6 (hey hey you vegetarians!) Vitamin C, phytonutrients and many..MANY more. Click here for more nutritional information on mangoes. 

  Along with these three flavors I also tried one of the chia seeded Kombuchas. These ones are even more mild than the mango flavor and I hardly tasted any kind of bubbly. I prefer the bubbled fermented flavor, so I won’t be buying the chia seeded Kombucha again, despite the health benefits of chia seeds. If you want to learn more about chia seeds you can click here.

  As you can see, I am a fan of the Kombucha. I would like to thank Amanda with Synergy Drinks for giving me these three free passes. All of these opinions are my own, and the nutritional information is based on my own research. If you are a Kombucha fan..high five. If you have never tried Kombucha there are PLENTY of flavors out there and I suggest starting with the chia or mango flavors. Happy fermenting! 

  

  | 31 Comments Tagged Review

• Breakfast Of Champions

  Posted at 12:27 PM by Brittany, on January 12, 2012

  We have all been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It breaks our overnight fasting, and jump starts our day. On days that I am able to casually wake up, I like to make a breakfast fit for a nutrient craving king. 

  The plate must start with half fruit. 

  

  Apple and orange

  Then add protein.

  

  Eggs and peanut butter

  Lastly add the pleasurable item of the meal, because what is a good meal without something to indulge in. 

  

  Morning star sausage patty with sharp cheddar on a homemade biscuit

  ALWAYS save the best for last. Even if it’s just one bite. 

  

  Homemade biscuits 

  • 2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup milk

  1. Preheat oven to 450.
  2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add coconut oil and mix until dough resembles a crumb like texture.
  3. Add milk and stir with fork until the dough pulls away from the bowl.
  4. Roll, knead, and love the dough on a floured surface until no longer sticky. Roll into a log.
  5. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Cut dough log into 1/2 inch thick pieces, or larger if you desire, and place onto the baking sheet. Spray or rub olive oil on the tops of the biscuits and put into the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
  6. Enjoy!

  

  | 26 Comments Tagged Breakfast, Recipe

• 5 Reason 5K

  Posted at 5:33 PM by Brittany, on January 3, 2012

  Sunday morning I awoke at 5am to set out on the journey of completing my second 5K race. I was out the door by 6 in order to catch the 7:20 boat across the water to Seattle. It was cold, windy, and dark. Little did I know that the weather would turn around to be something wonderful. Instead of boring you all with every last detail of the day, I will sum it up to 5 key reasons as to why it was a great run.

  Reason 1: Location–The park where the course was set had scenic paths and the trails were twisty. The last stretch of the run was along the water. 

  

  I assume we looked something like this.

  Reason 2: Chili–Post race, everyone was given a bowl of hot chili. Vegetarian chili was offered, and the line for the meatless option was three times shorter than the line for the meat chili. We walked up to get our bowls and waited less than a minute. 

  

  Reason 3: Free Loot–Along with the free chili, we snagged free coconut water(s), fruit,  and baby Lara Bars. 

  

  Do not be fooled by this photo..I grabbed at least five more handfuls of the Lara mini’s. 

  Reason 4: Unique race–Most races don’t have a wet and dry option. Choosing wet meant I signed up to run the last few hundredths of the race sopping wet. I took a detour into Lake Washington for the Polar Bear Plunge. I swore my body weight doubled after pulling myself out of the lake to finish the run. 

  

  After..

  The plunge took the breath out of my lungs because the water was so cold. Though the dive into the lake was refreshing, I felt slightly immobilized when I could no longer touch the ground. 

  

  Swim around the end of the line, dunk your head, and run out of the water.

   Reason 5: A friend-Having someone next to me made the time fly by. They grabbed my arm when I felt like I couldn’t swim, and they trotted to the finish with me dripping wet. 

  I finished 3.17 miles in 32:43. The pace was nice, and the weather was ideal. Sunshine and blue skies. I would most definitely do this run again. 

  The chili feed was not enough for my cheetah appetites so I ended up getting some more grub.

  

  

  Another piece of wall art to continue the collection.

  Q: What is the most unique race you have done? Definitely this one..jumping into a lake was fun. 

  

  | 26 Comments Tagged 5K, Race, Running, Whole Foods

• Just Keep Running

  Posted at 7:49 AM by Brittany, on December 4, 2011

  It’s official, I am in the running club. I have finally run my first “race.” Yesterday I participated in my first 5K. I woke up to have an energetic breakfast of skittles, cake, and coffee..but my mom said that wouldn’t be a very wise option. So I had pancakes and eggs instead. 

  I got to the event early to see all the people and booths along the streets. It was 40ish degrees so we had to go back to the car to thaw out a few times..but you’d never know we were shaking in out boots..OK I was shaking in my boots and was whining inside like a little girl. I couldn’t let my cold bones show with all these children around..they would surely point and laugh at me. 

  

  Pre race snap shot. I of course looked like this after the run too, but not really..more like a wet rat that was excited after finding a scrap of cheese. My cheese was obviously finishing the run within my goal. I wanted to finish 3.1 miles in under 30 min, and I finished in 29:13. PLUS there was some incline for at least half the race..me and hills are not friends but I suckered through it. 

  

  Let the running number collection begin! 

  

  Post race (and post shower) I rocked my new t-shirt and headed out to eat some salad mountains. 

  

  Two salad mountain faces and 4 breadsticks later I was in the most rewarding food coma. Fun fact: I hate when anything other than salad touches my salad..the plate is reserved for salad and salad toppings only aka lettuce’s, veggies, cheese’s, and croutons. Other salads like pasta salad and potato salad must have separate plates or containers. Otherwise I get angry and smash through walls. 

  My plan of running one race a month is still in play. I want to make a dress out of all my running numbers and wear it everyday to high end parties and jazz clubs. 

  Q: Do you care if your food touches? 

  

  | 31 Comments Tagged 5K, Fun fact, Manfriend, Running, Salad mountains

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• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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