Tag: Vegan

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 7:13 AM by Brittany, on March 24, 2015

  1. I often struggle with the idea of being still. A day off from work usually means I must do something productive, find a mountain to climb, or even embark on an unplanned long run. Heaven forbid I actually use the day off to relax.

  

  

  2. Thanks to an overwhelming urge to bake, I took one of my days off last week and enjoyed the simplicity of a calm morning with good coffee and freshly baked muffins.

  3. Despite being sweetened with nothing but the natural goodness of dates, apples, and sweet potatoes, I ate half the batch for breakfast which left me maxed out for bread consumption. This meant getting creative with snacks.

  

  Bread-less PB&J. Mixing coconut oil into freshly ground peanut butter is a total game changer.

  4. My coworkers are seriously the best. I’ve never worked at a place where there is literally ZERO drama and it’s fantastic. When our bananas get “too brown to sell” they save me giant piles to take home because they know I love alllllll the bananas.

  5. For St. Patrick’s Day I ate all the greens. That’s actually a semi lie, I always eat all the greens, regardless of small men in green tights.

  

  

  6. As I write this post my cat is practicing his stair sprints. He’s fast, and I’m impressed.

  7. I was convinced there was a pine cone hanging from my tree by naturally occurring circumstances. When I got closer I realized it was hung by man. Dreams shattered.

  

  8. I didn’t run a half marathon I was registered for. I skipped it for a few reasons, one being that I didn’t want this to happen again. I got sick, stopped running, and despite training for two months I felt wildly unprepared. I had no regrets.

  9. I’ve been craving pizza so hard lately, and Pi day was THE day.

  

  My crust was a total random mash up of two zucchinis, gluten free flour, baking powder, olive oil, and salt. My sauce was blended edamame, kale, garlic, basil, olive oil, and pepper. Topped with none other than my favorite roasted root vegetables.

  Finished with sprinkles of rosemary from my garden.

  

  10. Thanks to a good ol’ fashioned random number generator (because I still write a blog created in the 18th century) the winner of the Ray-Ban Sunglasses give away is…

  Jessica! Email me at blissfulbritt@yahoo.com so I can get your deets.

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 46 Comments Tagged Confessions, Explore, Hiking, Run, Vegan

• Sharing Secrets

  Posted at 6:03 AM by Brittany, on March 10, 2015

  I have two secrets that I am willing to share with you all at no extra cost. Ready? Just because a chip is made with flax seeds and coconut oil doesn’t mean you can eat five servings, and just because you’ve run “all the miles” doesn’t mean you need to eat all the cookies. You’re welcome for those tips.

  In an attempt to earn back the respect of my uncomfortably snug fitting pants I’ve swapped the processed sugars for fruit, started moderating my intake, and am focusing on smaller daily workouts. I was sick for a week and it totally threw me off my game.

  Rude. 

  

  Blueberries are rocking my world right now. One of my all time favorite snacks will forever be rice cakes with nut butter and fruit. Throw some hemp hearts on there for good measure and we can call it a day.

  

  

  I’m also loving the Whole Foods hot/cold bar, and homemade roasted potatoes.

  

  

  Adding fresh rosemary from my yard took this above and beyond.

  The moment I knew I was serious about my sugar break, (because I am notorious for claiming to “cut out foods I don’t need” for a bit and then quickly turning around to eat a sleeve of cookies), was when I did a coffee tasting…with no pairing.

  

  This was one of the reserve blends served at the Starbucks Roastery that I HAD to try. Exclusive to the roastery, meaning you cannot find this coffee anywhere else. I had every intention of pairing this with some sort of sugary treat, but alas I did not.

  

  

  This coffee was good, but I probably wouldn’t order it again. The tiered notes were more apparent as the coffee sat. The first few sips were smooth and chocolaty, and 5 minutes later the lemon notes started to sing. I don’t like singing lemons.

  I do however like singing desserts made from fruit. Fruit sugars are wonderfully satisfying when they’re your only sugar intake. Dates, coconuts, and raw cacao.

  

  Eat good, feel good.

  Q: What food(s) do you tend to mindlessly eat? Sugar, all the sugar. 

  

  | 89 Comments Tagged Raspberries, Reserve Roastery, Run, Starbucks, sugar, Vegan, Whole Foods

• Beautified

  Posted at 6:57 AM by Brittany, on February 27, 2015

  I like to think I’m not a picky person. There is only one vegetable I don’t like, I happily go on adventures that others choose, and if you served me gas station coffee…I’d drink it. Maybe…unless I had another option, but that’s beside the point.

  

  When it comes to beauty products I’m as challenged as an anesthetized cat. I wear some color on my eyebrows because I was not blessed with much of any, and I lightly brush my lashes with mascara when I have to work…because it’s fancy.

  I keep things pretty simple in the beauty department, so the products I use follow suit. I’m slightly picky here as I try to avoid added chemicals, and buy vegan friendly options when I can find them. I recently discovered the LUSH shampoo bar and to put it bluntly, I’m obsessed. I guess this means I’ll actually wash my hair now.

  

  While they’re not perfect, they’re simple and I love them. I would have never imagined washing my hair with a circular disk. I’m also in love with their mascara. I was sold when I discovered it was infused with wheatgrass. Plus, it’s vegan. 🙂

  It’s pricey upfront, but lasts for a while. I love the non clumping aspect, and it stays put whether I’m pushing caffeine at work, or exploring the mountains after work.

  

  

  However, because I can’t feel completely balanced until I use something 100% plain in its most natural state, I’ve been exfoliating in the shower with…coffee grounds. No combination scrubs of coffee and oils – JUST coffee, straight from my French press.

  

  Once I finish my morning cup(s) I simply gather a shot glass full of the used grounds and bring them with me into the shower. The natural oils from the coffee beans are amazing for moisturizing! I don’t use lotion, so this has made my skin very happy.

  Note: This is messy, but worth it. You’ll want coarse grounds, which is why grinding your beans for a French press is perfect. Most at home grinders grind the beans in the middle, but if you’re beans are ground too fine the exfoliation won’t be as good.

  Long story short: I’m a simple kind of gal that lives a simple kind of life. I do what I can to keep things clean inside/outside of my body, and despite my desires to be “au naturel” sometimes it’s fun to splash a little color on my face. Color meaning black.

  Like my soul.

  Q: What’s your beauty routine?

  

  | 87 Comments Tagged Beauty, Hiking, LUSH, Make Up, Vegan

• Hibernation is Over

  Posted at 6:56 AM by Brittany, on February 24, 2015

  The calendar says February, but the atmosphere says April. Washington has had exceptional weather lately, and despite the fact that this is TOTALLY NOT NORMAL AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO BURN THIS SUMMER, I’m enjoying it.

  I’ve hung up my parka and brought out my hiking shoes. The sun makes me itchy for activity, and that consists of anything that gets me moving. Things like…

  Running

  My latest weekend “long run” was a success. This is always a good thing.

  

  Burning 800 calories before 10 am meant two desserts that day. In an attempt to prevent over indulging in sweets, I’ve been eating dessert…every day. This daily consumption also motivates me to move more. What’s similar to running?

  Walking

  In nature.

  

  

  

  Nature walks tide me over long enough until I can do my favorite outdoor activity…

  Hiking

  

  

  Pre hike fuel from my favorite local GF/V bakery. Blueberry scone.

  

  I made it out for a solo hike on Sunday, and despite the weekend crowd it was delightful. An extra mile up the mountain resulted in complete solitary. 5 moderately simply miles earned me a kick ass view, and over a pound of food for my belly.

  Not including dessert

  

  

  Thank you Whole Foods, your vegan cupcakes make my mountain loving heart flutter.

  My dear friend Lily painted me a mountain scene for my birthday, and I adore it so very much. Also, can we just take a moment to talk about how dapper my wall looks with my new poster? Mountains, tree’s, and leaves OH MY.

  

  As you can see, I clearly have impeccable decorating skills.

  It’s time to donate my layer of blubber to a seal in Antarctica, hibernation is OVER.

  Q: What are your favorite outdoor activities?

  

  | 75 Comments Tagged Adventure, Gregory Alan Isakov, Hiking, Mountain, Rattlesnake Ridge, Running, Vegan

• Music for the Soul

  Posted at 6:56 AM by Brittany, on February 19, 2015

  Music is a powerful thing. We all have our styles and reasons behind the types of music we enjoy, but every so often we come across a song, an album, or an artist that completely changes our world. For me that artist would be Gregory Alan Isakov.

  

  LIVE at Benaroya Hall!!

  I had always enjoyed his music, but it wasn’t until nearly two years ago I really immersed myself in his magic. Listening to him helped me not only blossom after a breakup, but gave me a sense of hope that I hadn’t had before.

  OK enough mush, time for a recap! From the top.

  

  These treats were actually mine, brought to me by my wonderful boss all the way from Portland. I resisted the urge to eatallthesugar and saved half for my mom.

  As if my birthday weekend wasn’t enough, my mom happened to be born two days after me. Well two days, and a few years ago or so. For Christmas I selfishly purchased two tickets to see Isakov play with the Seattle Symphony, because when you’re already a fantastic artist having the symphony back you up just happens.

  

  Her birthday fell on the day of the show, but to ensure that this was not her birthday gift, we made a day of it. Starting with the coffee and treats from above, followed by a hop, skip, and a twirl over to Seattle for a trip to the Roastery, Pike Place, & dinner.

  

  

  

  Drinking good coffee makes you glow. It’s a fact.

  

  After satisfying my monthly sugar quota with a vegan cinnamon roll the size of my face, we wandered like two lost souls in search of a land filled with glistening eggplant and oven crisped potatoes. Isakov will want to hire me after reading that sentence.

  Lyrical genius.

  

  HOLY yum to my face. Glazed Tofu Banh Mi: Glazed 5-spice tofu, char-grilled eggplant, house-pickled carrots, white cabbage. Fresh jalapeños, basil, cilantro, mint leaves.

  Dinner knocked my non existent socks off. I felt the overwhelming urge to roll around in a sea of mint and basil leaves. This flavor combination was insane. Equally insane? The inside of Benaroya Hall. It was a shame I left my opera glasses at Walmart.

  

  

  I was excited enough to take an awkward bathroom selfie. And the concert?…

  He was fantastic, and he is the most humble artist I’ve ever met. Yes…met. Shook his hand and everything. I wanted a photo with him, but we weren’t allowed. It was a shame I had already broken all my allotted rules for the day.

  

  He.Is.Adorable. His poster had trees on in and we talked about gardening while he signed mine.

  His performance was so fantastic my eyes started to swell at times and this liquid stuff filled into the corners. I also looked like a fearful cat thanks to the hairs on my arms standing up from the chills the acoustics gave me. What an experience.

  Q: What’s the best concert you’ve been to?

  

  | 73 Comments Tagged Coffee, Gregory Alan Isakov, Music, Seattle, Starbucks, Vegan

• My Kind of Party

  Posted at 6:46 AM by Brittany, on February 16, 2015

  Just like that another year has been added to my timeline. Yesterday I celebrated my 26th year of life with a lovely morning shift at work full of coffee and good company, followed by a run, and ended with a mom cooked vegan meal.

  I like to keep it casual these days when it comes to my birthday, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t do fun things the few days leading up to yesterday. Birthday weekend.

  Thursday – Took a trip to Seattle to visit the Starbucks roastery again, and it was just as fun this time as the last. I made sure to stop by Pike Place Market for a muffin to pair with my coffee, because coffee tastings happen anytime, anywhere.

  

  I got a cup of west java preanger. When a coffee has tasting notes of milk chocolate you drink it. It’s the only milk chocolate flavor that will pass through my facial orifice.

  

  Friday – Ran 6 carefree miles and reflected on my years of life. Said goodbye to the dog, and settled back into life with my cats. Oh how I missed them.

  

  

  Saturday – Worked 5:30a-2p and was immediately whisked away for a valentines day adventure. We ate good food and saw a movie. I’ll let you guess which movie. 😉

  

  My hot date.

  Sunday – Birthday! Was greeted at 5:30 am by a cup of delicious Sulawesi Pango Pango (my Starbucks doesn’t sell this coffee, so it was a real treat.) Two chocolates in the shape of coffee beans, and a blueberry protein oatmeal courtesy of Starbucks.

  

  Came home from work, got my workout done, and prepared for my feast.
  

  

  My mom > Your mom. A side of steamed broccoli and raw bell pepper to keep room for all the chocolate.

  Homemade buns, burgers, and cake – all gluten free and vegan. My mom is the best.

  

  

  As you can see I’ve been hibernating in an attempt to become the next Snow White.

  

  That cake…ohhh that cake. We ate over half between three people. Chocolate w/a hint of lavender. I had my cake with strawberries, because that made it healthy.

  Tomorrow you can find me at the Seattle Symphony being serenaded by my future husband, rounding out the perfect week of events. Life is good.

  Q: What do you typically do for your birthday? I usually enjoy running a race for mine, but figured my half marathon next month was close enough. 

  

  | 93 Comments Tagged Birthday, Cake, Cats, Coffee, Run, Starbucks, Vegan

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 6:30 AM by Brittany, on February 12, 2015

  1. I haven’t talked about running much in these parts lately, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. It is…it is happening. 3-4 x a week. Half marathon in 30days.

  

  Soggy 7 miler

  2. On the run pictured above I got a bloody toe, and both my hands cracked and bled. Uhhh…hot mess much? I’ll spare you photos. I’m ready for spring running.

  3. My mom made a raw strawberry cheesecake and left me a slice to find on my car. I found it at 5am before work last Saturday. I think I’ll keep her.

  

  Coffe + pie = blissfulbritt. <—I had to.

  4. I’m craving change. I hope something crazy happens soon. Hey atmosphere, throwing it out there!! I’m READY!

  5. I’ve been living off of the Starbucks brown rice salad. I get one everyday – no joke. I bring it home and add more greens. It helps that I get them FOFREE.

  

  kale+spinach+peas+butternut squash+broccoli+sundried tomatoes+cabbage+brownrice+allthesalsaaaaa.

  6. My photos are awful lately. Taken inside – aka away from natural light. Meh.

  7. I’m obsessed with this vacuum. Obsessed.

  

  8. I had the most lovely conversation with two customers at work last week. 15 minutes of pure coffee geekery. I love sharing coffee knowledge with others.

  9. These Starbucks cups make my single heart swoon.

  

  10. If a dog poops in the dark and no one is around to see, did he really poop? Ultimate confession: I was walking the dog the other night and not a single fiber in my body wanted to pick up his poop, so I left it. In my defense I went to pick it up the next day, along with someone else’s poop! By someone I mean something…a dog.

  I hope. 

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 79 Comments Tagged Confessions, Half Marathon, House Sitting, Raw, Run, Running, Starbucks, Vegan

• NO MORE CATS

  Posted at 6:27 AM by Brittany, on February 5, 2015

  This week I’m spending some quality time with this guy.

  

  I’m house sitting until the 13th, which means I will be hanging up my crazy cat lady apron and going on multiple daily dog walks instead. I house/dog sat this guy back in October so we’re already lifelong friends. House sitting meant making a trip to TJ’s.

  

  That’s all I bought. Just kidding. I wanted to highlight/share the new hemp seeds they’re selling. Fantastic purchase. I also picked up the usual 15 lbs of produce, along with a new to me treat. When I worked at TJ’s I was in charge of the cookie order (go figure right) yet I never actually tried these cookies…until now.

  

  These chocolate cats are pure evil, they’re straight from Satan’s bowel movements. I cannot stop eating them. The tub has 15 servings and I ate HALF the tub in two days. As if it couldn’t get any worse I also thought this would be a good idea…

  

  …it was not. The PB jar is also half gone in two days.

  

  The cat made me do it.

  No more cats. NO, get them away from me.

  There is one positive outcome from this gluttonous cat adventure I embarked on. Both days I ate the cat/pb combo I had insanely good energy for my evening spin class. I could hear the cats crying as they dripped from my pours. That sounded gross, sorry.

  Seriously though, I’ve never ended a spin class with a higher watt (power) output than I had at the beginning. So maybe the cats can stay…no…yes…no.

  Moral of the story: do not purchase cat cookies when you’re house sitting alone.

  Q: Have you tried these cats? They also make them cinnamon flavored….

  

  | 72 Comments Tagged Cats, Peanut Butter, Trader Joes, Vegan

• Real Talk

  Posted at 7:47 AM by Brittany, on February 2, 2015

  I finally broke into the box of Halloween Joe-Joe’s I’ve been hoarding for the last four months. As I stated on my Instagram, I’m a self proclaimed minimalist. Clutter makes me anxious, and if I’m not going to “use it” then it’s time for me to “loose it.” However, there are almost always exceptions – like this box of Joe-Joe’s.

  Halloween in January never tasted so good. Real talk.

  

  I finally got a waffle maker. I’ve used it twice, and both times I got something other than waffles. What’d I do wrong? Coconut flour. I love the stuff, but it can be tricky to play with. Thankfully despite my non waffle like waffle, this mush tasted so good.

  Sometimes ugly food tastes the best. Real talk.

  

  Even the photo is ugly, ugly lighting, ugly colors, just…ugly.

  **UPDATE** I gave up on waffles for a few days and tried my hand at scones. They were PERFECT. So perfect I settled for mediocre iPhone photos.

  

  I finally found a Starbucks Reserve coffee that I love. The last five blends I’ve tried have been MUCH too bright and acidic for me. My boss bought a bag of Sulawesi Pango Pango from the roastery when we visited last week. I had three coffee tastings.

  Coffee is more fun when you talk and write about it. Real talk.

  

  Talk about fresh, roasted on 1/18 and consumed on 1/23.

  I finally made my first batch of pico de gallo. I know, I know…it took me far too long. My “dressing” of choice on all my salads/grain bowls is salsa. All the salsa. I was about to buy some locally made pico at the store when the light bulb finally went off.

  Pico so good I ate over half in one sitting. Real talk.

  

  I finally got myself a cupcake..or two. Actually my mom did. She wins everything.

  Cupcakes taste better in multiples. Real talk.

  

  I finally branched out of my ice cream bubble. 99.9378% of the time I buy ice cream I get vanilla. Why? Because it’s a universal flavor. I can pair it with any and everything. I decided to try something new and bought Almond Dream Praline Crunch.

  I took one bite and had a revelation. Pretzels + praline =  Real talk.

  

  Q: What’s your real talk moment of the week?

  

  | 65 Comments Tagged Coffee, Food, Halloween, Random, Trader Joes, Vegan

• Does it Make Me…

  Posted at 6:04 AM by Brittany, on January 23, 2015

  Does is make me obsessive if I can’t stop with the creamy/crunchy combo?

  

  Pretzels and almond butter

  -OR-

  

  Yogurt/blueberry/banana mush WITH CRUNCHY GRANOLA.

  Does is make me immature if this text message was the highlight of my week?

  

  Does it make me impatient if I say I AM SO OVER WINTER. The dry skin, and constant static cling alone are enough to make me a hot angry mess.

  

  Silver lining – at least there’s no snow. Knock on wood.

  Does is make me lazy if I haven’t made any time to buy a new SD card for my dSLR? I’ve been using my iPhone for all my photos.

  Does is make me motivated if I’ve not purchased a treat in…far too long. I’m starting to dream about donuts dancing with sprinkles.

  

  Does it make me earthy if this is my toothpaste? It’s made of…clay.

  Does it make me a bad student if I plan to skip class today (something you would have NEVER caught me doing last quarter, learning to be lenient), because I’m too excited about finally going to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery??

  Coffee playground here I come.

  

  Click photo for more awesome pictures.

  Brace yourselves for some Instagram photos. Happy weekend!

  Q: Fill in the blank: “Does it make me ________?”

  

  | 86 Comments Tagged Coffee, Does it Make Me, Food, Instagram, Random, Starbucks, Vegan

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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.

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

• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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