Is tomorrow really Friday?
Am I moving again on Saturday?
Is it really already September?
Ahhhh
Since 2001, this is my 9th time moving.
Okay. Breakfast.
I inhaled this deliciousness, to the point where I looked at my plate in shock… “seriously, where did it go?”
I was worried it wouldn’t fill me up because I was still hungry from eating it so fast. However, after about 15min I was full. Why haven’t I made this before?? I might need to make it a triple decker next time.
Nothing revolutionary here. I know it’s been done before. But it’s seriously, amazing.
Nut Butter Grilled Banana Samich
- 2 pieces of bread, lightly buttered
- 3/4 medium banana [eat the rest
] - 2-3T nut butter
- 1T jelly
The bread I used, was a deeelicious 14 grain bread from the farmers market. It toasts up so nicely.
I put the nut butter on both sides + a light coating of jelly. Putting the pnut butter on both sides, helped keep the jelly from leaking through. I put banana on one side, topped with the other slice of bread and cooked it away just like a grilled cheese. It was done in about 7min and eaten in about 3.
Oy.
Onward!! I went for an intense interval bike workout at the park today. Around + around I went!
Ride – 18 miles
- 6.75 miles at my normal pace
- 7.25 miles, with [10] 1min sprint intervals at 80-90% max effort, resting at normal pace in bt/n each interval until I catch my breath, then GO again with the next interval
- 4 miles normal pace
Why did I do that when I knew I was going up + down stairs all day? Your guess is as good as mine.
Then I biked to Whole Foods. Double oops. Hellooooo tired legs. I had to grab some essentials.
- I don’t typically buy TP at Whole Foods, but we’re out, and I wasn’t about to bike to Target.
- We’re out of toothpaste.
- I needed some protein! Fage 2% is SO freaking delicious. I like it a lot better than plain Oikos. Now only if it were organic. I’ll keep buying Oikos though because it’s cheaper. These were on sale though.
- The blue bars are Dr. Bronners peppermint castile soap. They were on sale for $2.50!!! They’re typically $4-5. Total score, especially because I use these for my homemade laundry detergent. [which I LOVE]
- Dryer sheets – well, I had a coupon and this brand is my FAVorite.
- Kaia Foods fruit leathers – They were on clearance. Hence, essential.
- Heirloom tomato – SALE!!! It was hard to only buy one.
- GoRaw banana bread bar – It was on clearance, and I wanted to see how it compared to Angela’s “Liberate” banana bread GF/Raw bar.
- fiCoCo – Fig + cocoa fruit spread!!!! – This was on sale for $2.99 and I just couldn’t pass it up.
I told you. Just the essentials.
I’m pretty sure this is going to be excellent on oats.
I tried the Vanilla Pear fruit leather today. It was tasty, but pretty hard to chew through. The pear was noticeable with the texture but the flavor was more banana. Fruit leathers are pricey, in general, for what you actually get. I probably won’t buy these again, unless they’re on clearance 
I was excited about the goraw bar. I tried Angela’s Liberate bar back in June. It was seriously amazing. The texture + flavors were spot on.
Well, I tried this bar it and threw it out. The description I’m going to give you is pretty gross…but I just have to tell you. At first, I swear it tasted like BEER. Then, I am not joking, it tasted like vomit with a hint of banana. It was not good at all, and I would never ever eat it again. I took a few more bites but it did not get better. Banana barf. No thanks.
For lunch I made…
Hot Mess In a Wrap, That Had To Be Eaten With a Fork
- Ezekial sprouted grains wrap
- tomato paste
- ricotta cheese
- zucchini
- peppers
- TJ’s grain mix
- sweet tater
- heirloom tomato
- spring mix lettuce
mmm.
With a side of Fage + LGF granola + 1t maple syrup. Adding a touch of maple syrup to Greek yogurt is one of my favorite things.
Dinner. The rest of my low + slow sweet taters, reheated with a nice blob of homemade pnut butter.
And the most delicious, packaged soup I’ve ever had.
I mixed in the TJ’s grain mix that I’ve been trying to use up. Needed a little more carby substance for dinner. Honestly though, this tomato veggie soup was amazing. It was a frozen soup, which I’v enever had. It was packed with veggies AND they were crisp. The soup was perfectly seasoned. Wow. Totally impressed.
The ingredient list was very Ashley approved as well.
Water, Diced Tomatoes in Juice (tomatoes, tomato juice, salt, calcium chloride, citric acid), Ground Tomatoes (tomatoes, salt, citric acid), Zucchini, Summer Squash, Onions, Yellow Beans, Green Beans, Carrots, Celery, Olive Oil, Rice Flour, Scallions, Corn Oil, Spices, Sea Salt, Garlic.
Also great nutritional info. [source]
Sold!
My back is EXhausted, along with my legs + brain.
Tomorrow is the last day to get things squared away! I made a ton of progress today and even started to get some cleaning done. The packing is pretty much done, except for maybe 1 large “completely random” box. We get the moving truck early Saturday morning and will hopefully be in Ft. Collins by late afternoon Saturday.
Besides my morning oatmeal, the kitchen is now closed. We have a pizza coupon we need to use for dinner + I think I heard Chipotle’s veggie bowl calling my name for lunch.
Roar!! Bed.
<3 Ashley
PDF 
I found that ficoco spread at TJ Maxx about a year ago! It’s been sitting in my fridge for awhile. I almost forgot about it. I made some coconut oat bars with them awhile ago–it’s great. Good luck packing it up!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Coconut oat bars? Yum. Good luck to you too!
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Oh my gosh I bought one of those goraw bars a couple weeks ago and thought it was good!! I’m glad I didn’t get the kind you got!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
It must have been the banana….yaaak.
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Fig and cocoa. Wow.
FYI – that hot mess is the most beautiful “mess” ever.
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Thanks Christine
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I love the looks of your breakfast. I had a PB&J today, but it was not nearly as ediblicious!
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9 times!? Woah that’s a lot! I’ve moved once in my entire life!!
Fig/coco spread? Good gosh that sounds good! But as for the banana bread bar – I soooo nearly bought that when I was at the HLS; I’m glad I didn’t now, thank you
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:02 pm
I’m so glad you didn’t!! I also hate how it has the whole flax seeds on top. Our bodies can’t digest whole flax [needs to be ground], so I don’t see the point!
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Breakie looks awesome.
Figs and cocoa spread? I wonder how it tastes like
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:02 pm
I hope it’s delicious and not too sweet!! We’ll see!
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This is such a great idea!!! I have that TJ’s grain mix and I’ve been trying to come up with a way to use it. I love that you pulled a “Sandra Lee’ with the semi homemade soup!
Looks delicious!
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oh i want to know how that ficoco is!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Don’t worry…I’ll let everyone know
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That is an awesome idea – adding the grain mix to soup! I’m totally going to do that.
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:01 pm
LOVE that grain mix!
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he he he at your WF purchases. like you, i limit my time there (super expensive!) but, sometimes, stuff goes on sale/clearance and it becomes a must have!
the frozen soup looks awesome, but i personally wouldn’t call it nutritious. look at the sodium content: 760 mg per serving. yikes!! i’d be drinking liters and liters of water after consuming it (I’m sensitive to salt).
the sodium content perplexes me. if it’s a frozen soup, why the need for all that sodium (i.e. for preserving it)? dun dun dun!
good luck with the move tomorrow!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:01 pm
It definitely is high in sodium, but that is typical of store-bought, non low-sodium soups. When I know I’m going to be eating something higher in sodium, I just try to watch my intake throughout the rest of the day. A lot of canned soup has even more than 760, and usually has 2 servings per can. This soup was a much bigger portion than 1/2 can of soup. I thought that the fiber/protein/sugar/calories were really good!
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That breakfast DOES look good. There are so many times when I am like, “okay, where did my food go? Why don’t I remember what it tasted like?”
I need sweet potatoes in my life again really soon!
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That sandwich had me drooling. I have been craving a PB&J lately but have been too lazy to buy jelly. Have a great move. I know it can be tiring but it is worth it in the end.
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You know what? I LOVE a grilled nut butter sandwich and it has been SO long since I had one! I really need to get back on that train. Easy & delicious.
And that Ficoco spread… looks amazing!
xo
Kris
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That breakfast sammy is one of my favorites. I love melty, oozy peanut butter.
Good luck moving!
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Sounds like a serious workout yesterday! How do you like cycling intervals? Were they hard to figure out. I’m into sprint intervals on the treadmill and on the track but I’ve not tried cycling ones. Let me know if you have any tips ( when life is a little less crazy)
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:58 am
I like it a lot. This was only my 2nd time doing it. Not hard to figure out at all. I just did a nice warm-up ~15-20min, then I did my first sprint for 1 minute, then cool down at your normal [or a little easier] pace until you catch your breath ~2min, and sprint again for 1min. I just did that until I had sprinted 10 times. Then I did a 15 cool down. I do this in the pool too. Sprint 50m, easy 150m, and so on. I found the spring biking is definitely easier in a loop type situation. I prefer to do it at the park on the 2.5m loop, rather than the more narrow bike path that I do my longer bikes on. Hope this helps a bit! Caitlin’s dad [healthy tipping point] just wrote a guest post, a few weeks back, on how to do bike sprint intervals. That is what gave me the idea to try it out!
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Recently Evan at FMFF posted about moving into the dorm. It caused me to open up an excel spreadsheet and list out all of my roommates since college started. (by the way, I’m at 32. Which is remarkable considering I lived in a single room my freshmen year, by myself currently, and my first apartment was a single as well.)
Today, when I read that you’ve moved nine times since 2001, I decided I had to do the same. I remember one 8 month period that was ridiculous with the moving especially, in 2003, but basically, for the sake of Friday, I will now be sharing this with you (and your readers) because clearly, you have time for this kind of crazy length comment right now. (or something.)
When I started college, I moved into Regina Dorm, floor 2 at Edgewood College in Madison. (this is why you may occasionally hear me say “R2-4Life” as being a group of 18-19 year old girls, we thought this was the coolest thing EVER.
After the school year ended I moved home for a month.
Then I moved to the Wisconsin Dells and lived in an apartment above the old Pumphouse bar & pizza place.
Then I moved to employee housing for Noah’s Ark (America’s Laaaaaaaaaaaargest Waterpark) where I was working.
Then it was August and I moved back to Edgewood, to an on-campus apartment, in the Siena building.
Then at semester I became and RA. Meaning I moved into my new room in January.
Then in May, I moved home.
Then in July, my family moved to Texas.
Then in August, I moved to my dorm room at Louisiana College.
Then in December, I left school and moved to my parents house again.
If you are keeping track, in 2003, I moved five times. Three states. It ain’t no thang.
Then in February I moved into a house with three other girls. Which then became two other girls. Which then became four other girls. Which then became two other girls. Which then became two other girls and one boy. Which then became one other girl. Which then became me. I stayed there for over a year.
Then I lost my job, and I moved back in with my parents.
Then my parents move to the Dallas area, six hours away, so I got my first single girl apartment.
Then my former fiancé and I got an apartment together. Then we broke up, and throughout the next year I had six other roommates in and out of the apartment. Well, six and a half, if you consider the pregnant friend who lived with me for a few months. Then I got engaged.
So my roommate Kelly and I moved into the townhouse with my former fiancé and his best friend.
Then we moved to New York and stayed with my former fiance’s parents.
Then we rented the bottom level of a house. With four other boys. (kill me.)
Then we rented the “marriage apartment.” Where I now live, as a single girl.
So, let’s tally…..drumroll please……. 19. Nineteen freaking times. And 32 roommates. I am the opposite of normal.
i will now go read the remainder of your post, as I clearly only got to “since 2001, this is my 9th time moving” before I started this rambly life-story of a comment……
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:54 am
Lordy woman. That is intense. You have me BEAT!
Just wait until you’re married and then see how much stuff you have [4 bikes, 4 snowboards, 1 set of skis, 2 sets of golf clubs, computers, kitchen appliances, ahhhh]. We had to get the 26′ truck. Yahh….
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Oh, LOVE grilled NB+J+B (?) sandwiches! I could easily eat 3 in a row if I let myself! & Sounds amazing to bike on a beautiful day…I’d love to get into biking, but I just don’t know where to start! Maybe inflating the tires lol.
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:51 am
I probably would have had 2, if I didn’t run out of bread!
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Okay, banana barf doesn’t sound good at all
But it’s one of the best descriptions I’ve read lately. Too funny.
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EW, banana barf? YUM…jk
I like fruit leathers too, but I agree their pretty expensive for the amount you get. I usually get the ones at Trader Joe’s (60c) if I get them, if I’m have a sweet tooth moment they are a good substitute.
That fig and cocoa spread looks amazing! Never seen that before, but I’m looking forward to hearing out how it is. Maybe that’s something you should try to make at home!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:51 am
The TJ’s fruit leathers are the best. I love apricot!!
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That sandwich looks awesome! PB&J used to be my go-to meal but I haven’t had one in the longest time. My mom used to make something for me and my brother she called “peanut butter banana french toast,” which I think is essentially what you made, minus the jelly. The bread looks good and hearty.
Your WF haul is def the essentials! The fiCoCo includes chocolate which is always a necessity in my book. I’m curious to hear what you think about it. Isn’t it amazing how you ALWAYS leave that store with more than you were planning to? Ridiculous.
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:51 am
I’m a french toast LOVER. That is a brilliant idea! I’ll definitely let everyone know what I think of the ficoco when I try it out!
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I was just reading this post and your amazing sandwich caught Billy’s eye and he asked me to please make him one asap!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:50 am
Hahaha..nice!!
Have a great weekend Dorry!
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I LOVE that figcoco… so delicious, and yes, it’ll be great on oats!
I tried the goji fruit leather the other day… it was weird tasting… I’m happy you said the pear had good flavor, because I bought one of those also and … it’s just sitting there.
I love Dr Bronners Peppermint.
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:50 am
It tasted “okay.” The banana stuck out more than the pear. I just had the orange/goji and it was TERRible. They are just so hard to chew through too! I actually had to throw out the orange one b/c it tasted so bitter.
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All of your eats today literally made me drool on the keyboard. Awesome and yet not at the same time
Believe it or not, though, I have never tried a hot [grilled] banana sandwich. I feel this needs to change immediately. I will try one soon, will. Looks wonderful!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:49 am
Ahhh, yes you must try it!
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This is a VERY delicious looking post. And I agree with the best tasting grilled samich. Although I’ve never tried it with jelly. And your wrap looks so very, very YUMMY. Going to give that one a try this weekend. Have fun moving! {happy, happy, joy, joy}
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Grilled PB&J WHAT!! Umm.. that looks unbelievably delicious. I would eat it and immediately want another, I am 100% sure. I could probably be happy with that as a my birthday cake, with a candle in it, it sounds so good.
So ANYWAY (whoa!). Your hot mess just keeps looking great! Well done.
And good luck to you with the countdown to move! I’ve moved 3 times in as many years and it makes me want to die every time. So I feel for you guys. :-\
OH and btw I have many times ogled that fig spread in stores and wondered how fantastic it surely is… unfortunately I’ve not encountered it on sale (YET) so I’ll be curious to see how you use it and what you think!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:49 am
HAhaha…it seriously was as good as cake! I’ll let you know how the fig spread is for sure!
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Mmm, I love roasted sweet potatoes, especially with a dollop of nut butter. During a totally random day of eating, I actually topped mine with Extra Whipped PB Banana Soft Serve
I was a fan. http://aroadmorebalanced.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/a-naked-pantry-left-to-my-own-devices/
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Wow, that sandwich looks AMAZING.
Good luck with the move!
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I like the new banner! Very clean.
Ooooh those sandwiches are SO SO good. I made one for the first time a few months ago and completely forgot about them, so thanks for the reminder!
I hear ya on the moving front. I just moved out of my parents’ place, into a house with my friend and 2 other people. Then, in a month James will be getting here, and we’ll be moving AGAIN to a place for just the two of us. Crossing my fingers that will be it for a while….
xox
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:48 am
Thanks Darryn! Good luck w/your moving madness too!
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Why on earth do you move so much!
I’ve moved like 3 times in my entire life haha! Do you move just within the same town or like all over the place?
That sammich does look insanely yummy. Have a splendid day : )
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:47 am
Hahaha. Well, in college, I moved once every year..so that’s 4 times and then I moved in with my b/f, now husband to make 5 moves in 5 years. Then we moved to Charlotte, NC for grad school. Lived there for 3 years, then moved to Colorado. We lived with my husband’s bro + wife for a few months and then moved from there into the house we’re at now in Denver. My husband finally got a job but it’s 1hr north and the commute is terrible…so again, we’re moving for the 9th time. Can’t wait until we can buy!
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Ficoco rocks on oats! It pretty much rocks on a spoon! Enjoy!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:46 am
Sweet. I am excited to try it!
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Good luck on your move!
I just moved cross-country this week and it is such a relief to only have unpacking left to do
Just stay calm and remember that everything will get done.
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:45 am
So glad we’re at least not moving cross country again!! That was insane!
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september is SO the start of soup month. well as long as this heat wave passes first haha. seriously i love tjs butternut squash soup and can’t waaaait to have a huge honkin bowl of it and add so much stuff into it
i’d prob go home and do it now if there wasn’t a heat wave haha
good luck with the move girl!
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ugh! i’ve totally had an awful raw bar experience too! my work sells two moms in the raw granola bars and since i’m vegan and not much else at starbucks is edible for me, i thought ‘hey! i’ll give this a go!’ one afternoon. oh.my.god. worst decision EVER. it tasted like vomit, without a doubt. it was disgusting. must be a raw foods bar thing? dunno.
regardless, the rest of your eats look basically amazing
have a safe and wonderful move!!!!!!
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:45 am
Funny! That is a local company here and I’ve tried a bunch of their products at the farmer’s market. Haven’t had any “barf” tasting things yet. haha But I don’t think I had any of their raw bars either..just the granola.
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Good luck with your move, Ashley! If you want to squeeze in a chat — let me know. I’ll be in NJ, but am bringing the laptop with me. Also, I might just have to declare the whole PBJ my favorite sandwich. I can’t stop eating it — in all its various forms. Can’t wait to try the grilled version with bananananananasssss <3
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Ashley Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:44 am
Sweet! I’ll shoot you an email, whenever we get it up + running. Tomorrow + Sunday are going to be crazy. We don’t get the truck until tomorrow morning and then have to bring it back Sunday morning. Blah! It would be great to video chat though!! I can show you the new casa
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mmm that sandwich looks SO good! I bet it would killer with the new fig jam too!
grain–>soup–>amazing idea!
good luck with the move!
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Mmm…it’s definitely getting to that point where I want to bust out the crockpot and make something hot and delicious smelling (and tasting). A grain addition is a nice idea.
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Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap is my favorite!
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OMG i’d be all over that fig cocoa spread!! WOW!!!
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FiCoCo is such a cute name that it must be delicious:) I always tend to buy stuff based on the packaging and i love that it is plain but cute! The peanut butter on sweet potatoes is a must try! I spend the first 21 years of my life HATING sweet potatoes and its only been in the past year that i forced myself to try them again and i love them:)
Chipotle veggie bowls are delish! I normally go for the salad cause its the same as the bowl PLUS you gets some lettuce:)
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Your banana sandwich looks to die for
YUMMM
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Oh my gosh heirloom tomatoes on sale… drooooooool.
Best of luck with the move tomorrow. I’ll be out to fix up my room soon!
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All of your food looks delicious! SO glad I found your blog! I have to give that grilled nut butter and banana sandwich a try
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I just found your blog (from neverhomemaker) and I love it! Looking forward to reading more (and that fig and cocoa spread looks awesome, I want some!)
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Thanks so much for saying hi
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[...] Such a yummy breakfast. If you want the recipe head over to this site. [...]