Friday Five Favorites: I GET to live and love life.

 

Five reasons this week was great

1.  Getting homework done (again!). I even got reprimanded for turning my homework in too early. Sorry but these one per month classes go by too fast and I get too anxious turning in work too close to the deadline.

2. Mug cakes for breakfast (and at night). Easy and filling.

3. Midday coffee run for my co-workers and getting out of work at 12:30. :)

4. Discovering "Family Tree." Chris O'Dowd, will you marry me? I know, he's not "hot," but watch him! Have you seen "Moone Boy" or "The I.T. Crowd?"

5. Meeting these 4 silly boys. Long story short, they asked if I would take them with me wherever I go. :)

Five crafts

1. DIY nail polish storage made from a shoe box and the gift wrap paper I purchased for the holidays (and beyond).

2. Gingerbread house! Check one off my "December to Remember" list!

I picked the Dancing Deer kit for $13.99. Lots of extra frosting and cookies - you build around the box.

 

My cousin helped decorate it.

 

I did the top two.

3. I could make this myself. I love ya Yancey!

4. Someone invite me to an ugly sweater party!

5. My friend says it's cold out. I suggested this:

Five recipes

1.  Pumpkin pie cheese & crackers were served at the holiday baking party.

2. Holiday stout gingerbread

3. After making pumpkin whoopie pies, I want to make some gingerbread whoopie pies with lemon cream cheese. Whoopie pies are my speciality. :)

4. Sweet potato fritters with yogurt chive dipping sauce

5. Cranberry pinot noir meatballs

BONUS: If you haven't seen this... Joy, you're killing us: Gingerbread Speculoos & Dark Chocolate Cake!

Five workouts

1. Sandbag here and here with my makeshift bag filled with clothes and some weights.

2. Resistance band workouts are all over the place including here.

3. Stability ball, which I haven't done yet but is on the schedule for tomorrow.

4. Walking every night because I don't have to plan and I did all my homework during the day!

5. Dancing - easy Latin and Bollywood.

Five links

1. When did Fullerton become one of the prettiest towns? I may have to revisit during the day...

2. 33 clever Christmas food hacks that are easy and ingenious!

3. How it would look if all humans were bodybuilders

4. 15 reasons why Costco is simply the best

5. I don't have to do anything. I get to workout. I get to go to work. This post seriously changed my life.

Five exciting events

1. Holiday baking party at work. My group make pumpkin whoopie pies and French chocolate truffles.

2. Peter's [surprise] birthday dinner tonight. It'll be a drive for some shabu - I'll explain what that is later... I should get him something though.

3. Indulge L.A. with my friend Julie. I heard there's so much sugar (and drinks) that it's impossible. We'll see about that.

4. Resolution Run, but I'm still not sure if I'm running it or volunteering. Have I told you how much I hate running and I've only ever run one 5K... and I had to train for it?

5. Holiday baking exchange with a Meetup group I joined. It's 20-somethings reading books. I'm thinking about making eggnog thumbprints, but please GIVE ME IDEAS!

Your turn:
What's your go-to cookie recipe?
What's your favorite cookie?

WIAW: Another phase of recovery? + paleo chocolate chip cookies

I'm not 100% sure if it's working yet, but I'll update you anyways. 

The past few weeks and possibly a month now, I've lessened my consumption of protein powders minus the occasional Quest Nutrition bar.

Since my weekend trip to L.A. and my weeklong vacation in Asheville, I've pretty much stopped meal planning. I have to stop myself often by reminding myself how much time I'm wasting by doing that. I know how to eat healthy. Calorie counting is obsessive. While I try to eat intuitively, I'm mostly just eating when I feel like it, mostly when I'm hungry but sometimes when I'm not.

I've also been to the gym a total of 5 times since mid-December. Instead, I've worked out at home with 30 minute cardio/strength combos and yoga.

Because I haven't had to hit the gym and abide by a schedule, I get to sleep!

And while the scale shows just a little, I fit into all my clothes better. Even coming straight out of the dryer.

My whole body looks and feels firmer.

And the best part, my mind is more free. Sure there was/is some sadness from missing all my friends and stress of work post-vacation, but I'm a little happier.

On Christmas Day, I...

• Slept a little less than usual
• Woke up to text my friends (after calling them yesterday) my photo
• Went out with my mom and aunt
• Caught some of the Laker-Knicks basketball game
• Worked out real quickly with Jillian Michaels' Killer Abs
• Baked healthy gingerbread that turned out too bready but was still fun to decorate
• Ate non-traditional Christmas food of boiled veggies & straight-up beef
• Watched "Home Alone" & fell asleep

At least the dogs like the gingerbread men...

A gift from my mom. Now I'll never have to search for my skillet.

Next up is New Years. Resolutions aren't happenin'. If you're looking to make some, here's an infographic guide.

No more unnecessary lists for me unless it's a list of reminders for today:

• Print out CTEL scores & send out
• Upload transcripts from USB
• Deposit $ at the bank
• Buy almond flour
• Make paleo chocolate chip cookies

You read that right. I was entranced by all the paleo Christmas cookie links that I decided to try my hand at a paleo choc chip cookie. Well, there were quite a few recipes with similar ingredients. I eventually went with the Northwest CaveGirls' Paleo "BEST" Choc Chip Cookies because they were so insistent it was the best one.

Verdict: Use 50% power on the microwave for ~1 minute (30 seconds on/off) and flip for a little more. These yield a much better cookie than in the oven because the almond flour burns quick!

Other yummy recipes include:

• Detoxinista's Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies with less ingredients including NO EGG.
• Similar Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie from Elana's Pantry, also sans egg.
• The Unrefined Kitchen's Almond Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie but I'd rather not use all my delicious almond butter.
• Chef Katelyn's Sweet & Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies
• The Urban Poser's Paleo, Vegan, Egg/Grain/Dairy-Free Snickerdoodle Cookie
• PaleoOMG Nut-Free Giant Vanilla Bean Chocolate Chunk Cookie

I'll be experimenting with more paleo, especially since I got my bag of almond meal from Trader Joe's and a bag of Enjoy Life chocolate chunks.

Found this book hidden in one of my drawers. It'll be interesting to browse through.

Are you on vacation? If you are, what are you doing?

How did you spend your Christmas? Any baking?

What's For [Thanksgiving] Dinner?

Be proud! I bought real food this week because I wanted to make myself a Thanksgiving meal. That meant buying [ground] turkey, quinoa, chicken sausage, etcetera. No worries - I did also find molasses to make some gingerbread goodies too.

Groceries - $39.22

• Eggs - $1.89
• Trader Joe's organic red quinoa - $3.99
• Bananas - $0.57
• Trader Joe's chicken jalapeno sausage - $3.99
• Oat flour - $3.49
• Luna bar (w/ coupon) - $0.49
• Shirataki noodles - $0.99
• Dried cranberries - $1.08
• Pure almond extract - $2.99
• Ground turkey - $5.49
• 3 lbs organic sweet potatoes - $2.50
• Chicken broth - $0.59
• Molasses - $2.27
• thinkThin bar - $0.50
• bulk 'n buy - $4.74
• Frozen yogurt + tip - $3.65

 Other - $18.56

• Send package - $11.35
• 6-pack soda - $3.46
• Starbucks - $3.75

Gas - $40.00

Total - $97.78

Breakfasts
Almond joy pancakes

Gingerbread pancakes
Apple pie protein waffles

Entrees
Fitnessista's Cranberry Quinoa "Stuffing"

Browned butter sweet potato casserole
PBFingers' Thai turkey meatballs with savory blueberry jam

Snacks
My Favorite Ginger Tea Bread from the former Bake It Pretty owner

Spunky monkey pumpkin pie
Trader Joe's peanut butter Fiberful bars

Bonus recipe I'll make this week! *I can't buy every single cookbook and magazine so I'll take pictures of the recipe and file them away. Make sure to note the publication for later, just in case.

 

I few treats I spied at the stores:

• Theo gingerbread chocolate

(source)
• Apple cider caramels

What's on your Thanksgiving menu? How many are you feeding? I'm just cooking for myself. I'll be eating turkey, sweet potatoes, and maybe cornbread for the week!

MIMM: Changes!

The end of daylight savings might be my favorite time of the year. Instead of sunless Saturday mornings, I'll be greeted by Mr. Sun. Though it'll take me a few days to get used to the eerie feeling of a pitch-black 6 P.M.

Following the time change, I made a few changes of my own:

Since it's Monday, I got to sleep in till 8 and made a fantastic breakfast from the Tupelo Honey Cafe cookbook: "Fit for a King" peanut butter & banana sandwich using Julian's Bakery carb smart cinnamon bread and honey from my October foodie penpal. The recipe calls for mayonnaise... ew? Once upon a time, I liked mayo but now gag at it.  

Another change? Dinner. I like no-frills meals like spring rolls, salads, or anything put into a tortilla.

Since the weather's cooler, I made a pot of vegan sweet potato & quinoa chili. I made this recipe once and loved it.

I usually have sweet potatoes and quinoa, and the rest of the ingredients are super cheap (black beans, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock). The batch feeds me 6 times!

What's your favorite dessert?
Cookies are fast becoming my favorite. I used to be a cookie hater.

Cakes, especially cupcakes, were my jam back in 2009-2010. I frequented the cutest hole-in-the-wall bakery in Asheville: Short Street Cakes. I also went to the weekly farmer's market to visit my friends over at Take the Cake. I knew my bakers on a first-name basis.

Maybe it's cupcake burnout. Maybe it's my discovery of the wonders of browned butter. Yep, I think that's it.

Browned butter is super easy and makes the cookies extra delicious and chewy.

Nutella-stuffed chocolate chip cookies have been on the top of my Pins for a little while and decided to make them last night.

It's easy but took more time than usual.

I ran out of chocolate peanut butter so stuffed some of them with regular peanut butter.

I used to bake all-the-time as stress relief from my crappy job. I even knew my baking supply shop owners on a first-name basis, went to their birthday party, and joined their bake sale.

Next, pie. I mostly just like pumpkin and fresh apple pie. What's your favorite pie?

Other changes
Craving for stevia-sweetened soda. Need to print out the coupon for a 6-pack strawberry Zevia!

New pantalones for working out. I got these for 70% off! These Fit Squad capris are meant to be loose up top, but since I've got a little more in the back, it fits me comfortably and perfectly! :) 

How did you enjoy your extra hour? 
What changes have you made with the cooler weather?

It's Ok Thursday: Cake making & semi-studying

It's Ok

• that my cake balls were not as pretty as the cake pop my student gave me.
  
  
• to make a mini layer cake that looks more like the Leaning Tower of Pisa
  
• to take a 2 hour nap
• to call back a friend a week after she called. We talked for 30 minutes.
• that I didn't get dinner until after 8. Not obsessing over eating is a good thing for me. :)
  
• to fall down in yoga (on Sunday)
  
• to start studying now. I finished section 1 and am just getting to section 2.
• to watch "Dexter" while studying. :)
• to be obsessed with tea!
  
• to have leftover cake batter (strawberry cake mix + Greek yogurt + water) in the fridge. I microwave a little each night to accompany my yogurt.

What's your favorite tea?
What snacks do you make and keep in your fridge?