hooked.

/

What a change.  I had to be at WORK this morning at 8am, eeeek!!  I’m not quite used to having to BE somewhere by 8am, hehe.  I get up at a pretty decent time, for having been unemployed, usually around 7:30-8am and typically go to sleep between 12-1am.  [I have alwaaaays been a night owl..just like my momma’ ;)]  I left myself 45min to get ready + be out the door.  I of course made time for my fluffy oats!  Definitely didn’t make the steel cut this morning though!

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I think GREEN has become my new favorite color.  I used to love blue..but green is SO much more fun in photographs.  You don’t see too much blue food ;) 

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Chia studded oats:

  • 1/3c rolled oats
  • 1/2c rice milk, 1/2c water
  • 1 medium banana
  • 1/2tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2T chia seeds

When I make the rolled oats all of that gets thrown in at the beginning.  I stir to combine and then give the mix a whip or 2 to break up the banana a bit. 

Toppings:

  • Apple Cran Granola
  • Heather’s jam
  • ~1T pnut butter

I’m hooked on oats.  For sure.

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I’m in training right now and today was a short day.  My stomach was growling 2hrs later..soooo annoying!!  I came home had a quick snack then walked to the gym, which was re-opened today :)  I had a looong + intense workout.  Totally awesome after a week off.

Then I came home and made my first hemp protein shake. 

Again, I’m hooked.

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I was nervous about the hemp protein after a few readers said they didn’t like it.  This Living Harvest Vanilla Spice was perfection.  You can check the nutrition out here. I couldn’t detect a weird texture or any flavor at all except deliciousness.  I’ll try mixing it with ice + milk sometime and see how it really tastes.

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Pumpkin Pie SlurpEE

  • 1/4c Living Harvest hemp protein
  • handful of ice
  • ~1/2-3/4c milk or choice [I used rice milk]
  • 1/2t cinnamon
  • ~1/2c pumpkin puree
  • ~1/4c plain Greek yogurt

This honestly tasted like a pumpkin pie milkshake.  I was sad that my face couldn’t fit in the mug to lick it all up.  There will be a post on protein powder options in the next week or so and why I love hemp products for so many reasons.

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A mini sorbet cup that I stuffed with ice cream.  The cup is about 3” tall…it’s a baaaaby and so so adorable and it comes with it’s own baby spooooon.  hehehe  It’s from Create + Barrel and comes in 4 pretty spring colors!! 

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I wanted to photograph the ice cream in daylight.  The light was a bit weird today but good enough :)

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Definitely took a few bites but then got on with the rest of my lunch!

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Oh yes.  Low + Slow sweet potatoes. You know that something is AH-mazing when you see me making it multiple times in one week. 

Completely hooked.

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I changed it up a little bit this time.  I kept the cooking the same but thanks to a reader suggestion, I coated the potato slices with a light coating of coconut oil.  It gave it a subtle sweetness with a sliiight hint of coconut.

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After they were done cooking I dusted them with cinnamon + salt.  The combo was freaking delicious.  I promise you.  No maple syrup or sugar needed..just a little cin + salt.  GAH, I want it now!!!

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And now for an actual HOOK.  bahahah [I’m lame..but I know it]

I finally got around to making Teri’s Whole Wheat Flax bread.  Bread seems SO scary + intimidating to make.  However, no need to be scared.  Seriously.  It takes about 20min of actual hands on work and other than that, you let the mixer + oven do everything.  You just need a couple hours of time with the rising and whatnot. 

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Ooooh I finally got around to trying the Sheep’s Milk Yogurt.  How adorable is this container???  I really liked the nutritional information of this yogurt. 

160 cals – 8g fat – 11g sugar – 8g protein -  While the protein isn’t the highest, the sugar count is really low.  The maple was very mild and the yogurt was extremely rich and creamy. 

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There are a lot of benefits to Sheep’s milk yogurt.  Here are a few of MANY from their website.

  • Protein in sheep’s milk yogurt is double that of yogurt made with cow’s milk.
  • Calcium content is 50% greater than cow’s milk yogurt without the danger of growth hormones.
  • Has the lowest sugar content and is 1/3 lower in sodium when compared to leading yogurt brands.
  • Calories in Old Chatham Sheepherding Company sheep’s milk full-fat yogurt are similar to most low-fat yogurts and has significantly fewer calories than full-fat cow’s milk yogurt.
  • 100% natural, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company yogurt is made with only sheep’s milk and live, active cultures.
  • Does not contain gums, fiber, gelatin, pectin, powdered milk or stabilizers.
  • No refined sugar, preservatives, artificial flavors or colors added.

It’s consistency reminded me of Wallaby Australian style yogurt, which I LOVE.  It is much creamier/smoother than cow’s milk yogurt.

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I have a LOT more bread photos which I will show + talk about on tomorrow’s post.  Making bread is SO much easier than I thought.  Plus it’s just so rewarding making your own bread, knowing each + every ingredient that went into it. 

I might get hooked on making my own bread!  Thanks Teri!!  You know I had two slices fresh out of the oven, with my Irish butter.  You would have done the same.  Trust me.

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This is the 3rd-4th time I’ve made In a Jiffy Spelt Burgers that Angela had on her site awhile back.  These literally take no more than 15-20min max to throw together and pop in the oven.  From there you just have to flip once, with a total cook time of 25min.  I follow her recipe to a T.  I had 1 veggie burg on top of FRESH BREAD with a huge smear of tomato paste.  Yes, tomato paste..sooo good…and obviously a side of salt + vinegar kale chips.  I’m hooked on this whole meal :)

Bleggggh kitchen lighting ;)

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Off to bed!!  I have 3 full days of training ahead and then my MOM comes on SATURDAY, weeeeeeee :)

~Ashley

Oh yeah…I found this article from a tweet from A Month Without Monsanto – It is REALLY frightening and definitely worth reading.

Monsanto’s GM Wheat Campaign

an excerpt….

“Organic and conventional wheat in America will inevitably become contaminated and threatened as organic soy and corn are now endangered species (up to 80% of all organic soy products in the U.S. are contaminated with GMOs, according to independent scientific tests). The same would likely happen with bread, pasta, noodles, and baked goods. The traditional Staff of Life that has sustained thousands of generations of our ancestors will become history.”

SICK.