I couldn’t stop thinking of yesterday’s banana mash oat topper and was craving a banana scramble samich this morning. I picked up some sprouted Ezekiel english muffins for the first time. I love their tortillas and wanted to try out another product. They have stellar nutritional facts and a great ingredient list. They are nice + hearty and I loved them. So did Chris!

A few people that have made the banana scramble, said that when you flip it, the scramble doesn’t stay together. I think it has to do with a few things, like how much liquid you use, what you use to bind it all together + what type of pan you have. I have a stainless pan and I think that really helps brown it so I can scoop and flip. Although, if yours is not flippable, it will be just as delicious browned + mashed around in the pan for a few minutes.

Coco Chia Oat Pnut Banana Scramble

1T chia seeds
1/2 banana
1T unsweetened coconut flakes
~3T rolled oats
1T pnut butter
~3T unsweetened coconut milk [or any other milk]

Mash with a fork until thick.
Let sit for a few min and the chia will help soak up a little moisture. You could sub in 1T of ground flax meal instead have a similar affect.
Add more milk if needed.
Heat + grease a pan on medium heat.
Plop down scramble + cook for about 3min.
Flip or mash around and cook another 3min.
Top on whatever you please!

I toasted the english muffin, topped with jelly + cacao nibs. It was OVERflowing with the scramble.

SO freaking delicious.

I got back in the pool today for a kick-butt swim.

Warm-up

50m kickboard – legs only
50m buoy – arms only

Swim

500m freestyle [20 lengths]
500m breast stroke
500m back stroke

[I sprinted 1 length for every 10 lengths that I swam. So I did 6 sprints total]

Cool down

100m freestyle

Total workout time: 45min

I had a big handful of almonds before swimming but by the time I got home [including a .75m walk x2, to the park and back] I was ready to chew off my arm.

New glass + new straw! It’s a reusable stiff plastic straw. It came in a pack of 3 orange + 3 pink and I’m excited about them. I always end up with smoothie on my face, which Chris tells me about, hours after it’s been there.

It was good. Sort of. I bought this pack of Vega recently. It was the vanilla chai flavor. I’ve seen so many other bloggers rave about it, I wanted to give it a try before investing in a tub. Good thing I tried it out, because I did not like it.

Vega Purple Slurple

1 packet vanilla chai Vega
2 handfuls ice
1/2-3/4c frozen blackberries
1/2 small banana
1c + hemp milk

The texture was great and the first few sips had a great flavor. But then, I noticed what I was hoping I wouldn’t. Stevia. BLEGH. I am not a fan of stevia. I do not enjoy the sweetness at all and the aftertaste is even worse. I’ve had stevia in a few other things and can always detect it. Not.A.Fan. I would rather just use real sugar, sparingly. I really am not sure why they put stevia in this anyway? It seems like it would be better without it and usually people are blending this up with fruit anyway, which helps with the sweetness. Boo Vega. Just my opinion though :)

I slurped it down anyway, but really hated it towards the end.

Eaten alongside a gigantic salad. This bowl is the size of a dinner plate, just for reference.

local organic romaine
1/3 avacado
2 carrots
scoop of leftover Israeli couscous mix from dinner
1T sesame seeds

Garlic Scape Pesto dressing

1T garlic scape pesto
1T tomato paste
1T balsamic vin [I use a 4% acidity, with has a very smooth, thick + sweet taste]
2T apple cider vinegar
s+p

I want this salad every.single.day. I love the texture of Israeli couscous!

There are two homemade non-food products I’m making this week and here is the first one! Guesses?

Deodorant! Ever since a good friend of mine made + sent me a jar of natural deodorant, I have been obsessed with it. It has worked better than any other deod I have ever used. I swear that the store-bought deodorants actually make me sweat more. I want to get away from using as many products with toxic ingredients as possible. We use a natural toothpaste, natural cleaning products, and natural deodorant.

I got the recipe from an amazing blog called Passionate Homemaking. I did some other research too, to find out that a few essential oils actually have natural antiperspirant qualities. One of them was lavender, a perfect summery scent!

I emptied out an old deodorant container and cleaned it out, as much as I could, with a paper towel.

The recipe says to use the coconut oil at room temp, but I don’t think that really matters. My coconut oil was a little soupy [turns to liquid at 76*] so I just went with it and then let it “set” in the fridge.

I used unrefined coconut oil, by mistake. Unrefined is great for cooking/eating because it retains all of it’s nutritional benefits and mild coconut flavor. Refined coconut oil, processes out the flavor and retains less of the nutrients. However, it’s sometimes used in cooking for it’s higher cook point. It’s also great for soaps or deodorant, if you don’t want the coconut scent. It still has a lot of great benefits for your skin, even when refined.

I have a jar of refined but forgot to use it. So now I have coconut lavender deodorant. I’ve been smelling my pits all night :) It’s actually pretty nice! hehehe

I also found that adding a little vitamin E is also great for the skin and helps reduce water loss from the skin! Umm…perfect! I have been out of this homemade deodorant for about a month and have been missing it SO MUCH. Seriously, I’m so hooked on this stuff! It might cost a little to get all of the initial ingredients, however, for how much you can make it will be worth it. I use arrowroot starch, baking soda, and coconut oil ALL of the time. I will use the vitamin E capsules on my bike wounds, so they don’t scar and the lavender essential oil can be used for a bunch of things, like adding in to my homemade cleaning products :)

Homemade Deodorant in 5min [adapted from here] – enough to fill 1.5 typical deodorant containers

1/4c arrowroot starch [or cornstarch but I prefer the more natural + less processed arrowroot]
1/4c baking soda
6T coconut oil [refined or unrefined depending if you want the coconut scent]
~8-12 drops of lavender essential oil [or other scent]
2 capsules Vitamin E

Combine all ingredients.
Mash with a fork until smooth or until completely combined. [if you’re using coconut oil in solid state it won’t really be “smooth”]
Add more essential oil if wanted.
Crank down empty deodorant container until it’s all the way at the bottom.
Pour in mixture, cap, and refrigerate.

*Remember – It will become very soft around 76* from the coconut oil. Store in a cool place or even in the fridge.

*Also – The best type of container will have a solid push-up plate on the bottom. Mine didn’t and it took a few minutes on tinkering, but I finally got it to push up. I’m sure you could also stick a piece of cardboard, covered in foil, in the bottom that fits exactly to use as the plate. Don’t forget to cut a small hole in the middle to fit over the screw stick!

Lindsay, from Passionate Homemaking, answered a lot of questions on this post about the deodorant. Make sure to check them out!

All I can say is that I’ve been using this for about 8 months and completely love it. If you don’t want to put it in a deodorant container, just put it in a tupperware container or jar. You’ll have to spread with your fingers, but it’s not that bad. That is how I applied it up until I made this batch. It can get a little messy this way and make sure to rub it all in so there is no white mess :) The tub is also nice in case it does get too warm, it’s better contained in a tub-like container. In stick form, it’s more likely to ooze out.

It has a few quirks [like not being 100% invisible] but to me, it’s so worth it! My pits + body are thanking me and I smell better than everrr :)

If you want to get fancy or make these as gifts, here is a link to empty, push-up containers!

Night!

Ashley