My appetite was ravenous today!! We were supposed to go to the mountains, however I woke up with a crazy pain in my neck! Not the dogs or Chris 
I’ve woken up with a stiff neck before but this was pain. If I turned my head to the right or down it hurt really bad. It wasn’t just a “sore” feeling but kind of like someone twisting a pencil in your neck? Yah, weird…I’ve had the heating pad on it all day and it’s let up like 20%. Hopefully I’ll wake up feeling better tomorrow!
On to my day! I received an awesome opportunity to create my own custom gluten-free cereal with the great people over at Custom Choice Cereal. It is similar to a lot of the custom cereal companies you have seen, except all of their ingredients are gluten-free! While I do not stick to a GF diet, I do feel eating GF can help with digestion. I’ve had many other delicious GF cereals, so I was excited to get to make a combination of my own!
I chose the Good Morning Flakes as a base and added:
- apricots
- goji berries
- coconut
- walnuts
- almonds
I was really happy with the amount of fruit + nuts that was in the mix. Their site is easy to navigate and the nutrition facts add up as you add each ingredient. It’s always fun getting to name your mix too 
I topped my oats with this today but am excited to get my CRUNCH on with some milk. Downsides? Well, custom cereals are expensive, but this doesn’t seem more expensive than the other similar companies out there. The apricots may have been coated with sugar…which is probably used to help prevent sticking. The sugar content was still really low, but I prefer my dried fruit au naturel
Look, only 5g sugar for 2/3c. That is pretty impressive! And for only 129 calories per serving it is pretty dense with fiber + protein. Woop!
Bonus side of baking with peanut butter is that yield more empty peanut butter jars at a much very fast rate I have another one waiting in my cupboard..muahaha..AND my favorite pnut butter ever [organic PB unsweetened] from Whole Foods has a $1 off coupon in their “whole deal” booklet. Check it out!
Oh yeah!! I tried something new with my oats that I have been meaning to try but always forget. I added applesauce! However, I also added egg whites and I DON’T think the two should be combined It was good but not my fav. The applesauce fluffed up the oats even more. I’m excited to give it another go!
I wrote my 2nd article for Natural Food List today and wasn’t getting up for lunch until I finished! I was starrrrving! [there were snacks bt/n bfast + lunch]
- Leftover quinoa topped with black beans
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1/2 head of kale salt + vinegar style
With a side of…pumpkin yogurt + cinnamon + 1t chia seeds
THICK.
The other day I got a package from Bertolli! I had no idea this was coming my way…fun! The flavors sounded awesome.
Four Cheese Rosa + Arrabbiata
Before dinner I found a hiding cupcake in the fridge from Natalie’s bday. The huz and I split it…I love section cuts through food..which is the Architect in me speaking, hehe.
See how the pnut butter ball sank inside? It was still delicious though
I wanted to incorporate the Arrabbiata sauce in dinner. Time for a pasta bake! WF had these cute organic sweet mini peppers on sale. I sauteed them with 1, 1/2 bulb of fennel and 1 shallot.
Veg-tastic
- I cooked about 3/4lb of pasta for about 5min [very al dente]
- Drained the pasta and put in a 9×9 baking dish
- Mixed in the veggies and the whole jar of sauce
- Covered and baked for 30min at 350*
- Uncovered + topped with fresh mozz and cranked the oven up to 500* for a few minutes
An example of something that tastes delicious but photographs terribly. I mean, daylight would help…but the mozzarella looks like melted marshmallows…hehee
I steamed a HUGE pot of broccoli that we ate along side this.
Thanks again for everyone that participated in the Amazing Grass giveaway. I wish I could have entered myself! I wanted to give all of you AG fans a heads up that the Whole Foods in my area has a HUGE sale on AG products. I have no idea if sales are the same in every state [I’m doubting they are] but it’s worth checking!! The 8.5oz jars of GreenSuperFood were on sale for $17.99 which is over a $10 savings!! Their plain wheatgrass was on sale and at least one jar of their supplements. Check it out!!
Also..I didn’t mean to come off demanding that you all comment more [from the last post]. The BOLD CAPS were intense, haha. But you all had some great ideas and lots of hilarious comments…so keep ‘em comin
I also got a slew of comments in yesterday’s post about my “guns” LOL!! I honestly didn’t even notice…I’ll discuss my arms in another post? I feel weird about that, hahaha..in an embarrassed kind of way. We really only have 2 small mirrors and I haven’t had tank tops on at the gym with lots of mirrors so I really didn’t even notice the Whittle My Middle was not only whittling my middle but my ARMS…whoa! They have always been toned but I think WMM did a number on them! Anyway..more on my workouts later
ONE more thing..can you stand it? I’m playing with the blog and changing a few things around…like my header images..and I moved “ota.bars” and “food + architecture” under MY STORY. If there are any major changes I’ll let you know. If something seems weird, I’m probably just testing things out.
Okay..night!
~Ashley
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Check out my article on Chia Seeds!!
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PDF 
hehe, I noticed those guns too! I wanted to ask you what your routine was.
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Hope the neck pain goes away. It’s probably just how you slept on it but keep an eye on it.
The only time I ever add applesauce to my oats is if I am adding an apple or a pear to the mix. I’m so traditional, I know, but I think Pumpkin will always be my favorite mix in.
Have a wonderful Friday Ashley!!
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
better today..hopefully even more so tomorrow!
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So sad but in Europe Chia Seeds caanot be bought since apparently the EU doesn’t think it’s a safe product or something
..just like Stevia. Such a shame,I woould love to try them but I guess I have to stick with flaxseed for now!
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
That is NUTS b/c chia seeds have been around and eaten since the aztecs + myans in Mexico! I will however, never trust a zero calorie sweetener
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i love your choice of cereal mixins…great combo!
the cut open shot of the cupcake looks really neat, too!
I tried applesauce in my oats awhile back and i wasn’t a fan either. oh well, we’ll always have pumpkin!
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Thanks girl! I think i’ll like the applesauce but just not w/the eggs! Eeeek
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what a fun way to eat your veggies and pasta! yum that looks great!
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I love how these personalized cereal and granola companies are popping up. It’s brilliant but a wee bit $$ for us. Still a fantastic treat, nevertheless!
Delicious casserole!!!
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Ashley, I’m relatively new to your blog but I love it! So many gorgeous pictures and delicious recipes. I love your focus on vegetables and simple, wholesome meals! Thanks for all the ideas!
Your photography is stunning. I wanted to pick each food off the screen!
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Thank you so much for your compliments!! Too sweet
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hope your neck feels better soon! wow, that granola’s nutrition really is impressive, looks great!
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Hi lady! Sorry if I made you feel self-conscious about your arms! not intended…but I hope you take it as a compliment.
I was REALLY excited about GF cereal, so I checked out Custom Choice, but as per usual it seems that Canada is out of bounds. Bah
I’m beginning to feel like there is a business opportunity here, with all the healthy fun stuff that Canadians want and CANT get from the US! haha.
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Haha..not in a bad way…it’s just a little embarrassing..people are always like “LOOK AT YOUR ARMS”….I know I should probably be like “YEAH HERE THEY ARE” but I’m not
Maybe I’ll start flexing for the camera more!
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and CONGRATS on your second article! yay!
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Thaaaaaaaanks
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Okay pasta is looking yummy!!!
With your cupcakes… did you ever think of baking the cupcakes normal and then putting a peanut butter mixture in a piping bag and piping it into the middle? It would only indent a small hole but would fill up the entire middle. The mixture would have to have a more frosting/fluffy type consistency, but would work.
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Ooooh good idea! I do know that the PB ball worked for some because I Have seen photos…I’m blaming it on the altitude!
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[...] pain in my neck! « the edible perspective [...]
I hope your neck is feeling better. Just get the hubs to massage it.
Your custom cereals looks delish. Someday I’ll be able to afford custom cereal and it’s going to be awesome. And someday I’ll have a cute black swirly spoon like you.
And I think you’re PB cupcakes look amazing, even with the sunken PB ball.
Happy Friday!
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
I can’t afford it either! Freeebi
LOL the spoon is from World Market and was maybe $3? You are my PB cupcakE!!!
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dude…I know how to use “your” and “you’re” properly, I swear.
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Bahahah….sure you do
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Okay, I have to chime in on this one a little late. I NEED to know what moves you’re doing to get those arms. No… seriously. lol. There is no need for modesty!
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
LOL..ok ok I’ll post about it…but you probably aren’t going to like it!
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that’s pretty much the combo i was looking at making for some custom cereal too…YUM! also, i love the pb ball cupcake…the little space in the middle is actually really cool!
p.s. i hope that WMM2 does the same thing for my arms as it did for yours…YOWSA!
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
WMM2 definitely helped the arms…which I’m now noticing. I seriously haven’t really looked in the mirror much at all! No full size mirrors in the house!
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You and your readers might want to check out Amazon for Amazing Grass products. I saved about $6 per item with no tax or shipping.
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Ashley Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Sweet thanks!!
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that’s weird, I commented but it got eaten! Sorry about the pain in the neck! I guess Chris has to give you an extra long backrub!
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Hi Ashley!
Yours reminded me of those. Anyway, have a great weekend! 
thanks for the sweet comment you left on Mama Pea’s site re my guestie post! That was so nice of you
your food looks great over here and recently i made cupcakes/brownie things and plopped a reese’s pb cup in the middles. They were not vegan, not GF, but my husband sure begs me for those things
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