#makinsmores

banana brown sugar & cinnamon steel cut oats

Changing it up because they’re steel cut oats instead of rolled - which retain more fiber and protein because they’re not steamed and rolled out. 

A friend was telling me that your brain only has the capacity to make a certain amount of decisions during the day before getting “tired.” So the less decisions you make in the morning about what you’re going to eat, what you’re going to wear, how you’re going to do your hair, etc., the better. I guess you can consider my brain primed for the entire day because I haven’t made a decision about food in about a month. Oatmeal it is and always will be.

What made me think that avoiding blogging (/all responsibilities) would make me feel better and less anxious about my lack of doing anything productive in the world? Waking up is hard to do when your job starts at 2:30 in the afternoon. Then again, this morning sleeplessness that creeps up on me at about 5 every morning would beg to differ. So I got up this time. And cleaned, and made coffee, and decided to blog. 

The thing is, I have always insisted on two things for my blog: First, it would never control me. My blog is my blog is my blog. If I want to blog, that’s great, if I don’t, I will let out my creative genius elsewhere. I don’t blog for readers, just me. Which brings me to number two. My life shouldn’t revolve around my blog. Although things happen to be much cleaner and my refrigerator is stocked much better when it does… I always figured that if something in my life is worth blogging, super. If not, there’s always tomorrow/next week/next year.

But now I’m sitting here on the couch, happily, at 7 in the morning wondering to myself why not blogging is ever an option. I put my camera away, I avoided the blogosphere, etc etc. and my enthusiasm level looked pretty much like my blog stats on the right side of my screen.

So I am just going to blog and not be embarrassed that I’ve had the diet of a five-year-old lately. And I’m not going to pretend I didn’t just walk gingerly into my room with a brimming cup of latte just to snap that photo and then make the just as dangerous return to the couch to write this post about posting.

coffee

baked peaches + cinnamon + vanilla almond milk + little bit of brown sugar

I was craving peach cobbler because a mommy blog on pinterest spammed my home page with gorgeous desserts… not complaining… it just made me really crave buttery gooey yummy cobbler. so i made this. 

The sole mission going to the grocery store this past Saturday afternoon was to gather as many Greek and/or Mediterranean staples as fast as I could before being lured into purchasing all the specialty items that are all too appealing to a shopper whose stomach started rumbling 30 seconds after she left for the market. 

I managed to escape with minimal damage to my bank account. I consider my $15 Malbec an investment in my wine education - with it’s origin of a stony terroir and proclamations of deep cherry and black currant…

I got all the things I needed to eat Greek for about five days, or maybe a week if I water down the tzatziki a little lot. 

To prep for the week, I chopped up cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and red onion, added a small squeeze of lemon juice, tossed and refrigerated to use for Greek salads. 

Central market has an excellent array of Mediterranean side dishes in its to-go section, so surely I could replicate at least one of those with ease. Couscous with spinach and feta. Cook couscous, add spinach while warm, toss in some feta while cool. Refrigerate. Meh.

What did turn out fabulously was the tzatziki sauce, with a little help from Ina Garten.

1 container Fage plain nonfat Greek yogurt + ½ cucumber, grated + juice from ½ lemon

Cut cucumber in half, then cut lengthwise to scoop out the seeds. Grate one half, wrap in paper towel, and gently squeeze out excess water. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate to allow the flavors to come together.

What I love about the Mediterranean diet, other than getting to play up my nostalgia for days spent traveling through southern Italy and Greece, is that I am always satisfied. Plenty of lean meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, protein-packed Greek yogurt. This is most likely a base description, but I’m happy, my wine glass is happy, my kitchen is happy, and due to my habit of playing Italian opera loudly when I cook, my neighbors most likely are not too happy.

The “fiesta” part is probably not very pc of me.. but it was basically a party in a bowl, so I will stand by my title.

• ½ chipotle-lime chicken breast (from Central Market) // grilled 
• guacamole // avocado + green salsa + diced onion + diced tomato + chopped cilantro 
• ¼ cup corn // roasted in a hot pan for a couple minutes 
• mixed greens // whatever floats your boat

** I later added more salsa because I used a kale mix and it needed a little extra something to hide the.. kaleness. to be perfectly honest

I have been complaining about being alone this weekend because everyone is out of town (and by everyone, I mean by roommate and my boyfriend). But really, it has been nice to have nothing to do except cook and workout and then blog about it. I guess it’s just weird not having homework to avoid - it’s making procrastinating less enjoyable since, well, it’s no longer procrastinating. You win, universe. You win. 

But I won with this bowl. Because it’s awesome. 

Thank goodness I already received my diploma. Based on this post it would be difficult to convince anyone I actually received a college degree. 

things were grilled. we grilled chicken. what else can i say about the events of last night? we also grilled whole red peppers. and we drank wine while doing so. my boyfriend made guacamole again. we made tacos. it was freaking amazingly delicious. all of it. 

The weather was perfectly warm, the sun was setting, and my wine glass never ranneth dry. If anyone is in college or just happens to get a little sloppy after their first glass, these are perfect. I rave about them to everyone and they have saved me a pretty penny for not having to replace my glassware every time we have people over.

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Grilled Chicken Tacos

chicken breasts marinated in Italian dressing // whole red bell peppers // corn tortillas // guacamole // onion tossed with cilantro and lime juice

grill chicken 2 minutes per side on high heat & 8 minutes per side on indirect heat. grill whole bell peppers on high heat rotating when grill marks show. 

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a perfect start to summer :) and now I have to petition my boyfriend not to go up to Wichita for the week so he can stay and cook for me some more

Okay so I have pretty much stopped blogging altogether and have contemplated getting back into cooking and blogging, but let my lack of motivation, planning, and time management prevent me from taking that first step.

I just got back from a “work trip” in Napa and San Francisco photographing for a blogger. We treated ourselves, ate well, but in moderation, and tried to walk when we could, but I still felt I could have made more healthy decisions. Now, this Saturday my husband and I will be leaving for Rome, and I’m just thinking about how much I should be working out to compensate for splurging for the past week, well, couple years.. 

So, in the name of moderation, mindfulness, and trying to get back to wear I was in my nutrition and exercise, I’m just going to try to keep posting. To any of you long-time followers I’ve lost touch with, I’m so excited to start paying attention again to food trends, new workouts, and tapping back in to everyone I used to love following! 

How many times have I revisited my blog vowing commitment to healthy eating and exercise? Finally settled in the new apartment, enjoying married life, can afford a gym membership, and diving head first into life as a photographer… and still I feel some unsettled anxiety, like I’m ready for an imminent life-changing event to happen again.

Really, all it takes is taking things day by day and getting my self to the gym. Tomorrow I’ll check both off my list and consider it a victory. 

After living at my current residence for about seven months, I just went grocery shopping for a full week’s-worth of meals for the first time yesterday. With work, classes, wedding planning, etc. I not only neglected my little blog (which I am ok with) but also managed to forget all the good habits I created for myself: 

1. enjoy preparing and cooking my own food - it makes the meal that much more satisfying when I’ve taken the care to make it myself

2. buy clean, whole foods, and plenty of fruits and veggies to snack on

3. shop for yummy healthy food that I can look forward to cooking up - and it doesn’t have to be elaborate (the real meat and potatoes of this post)

After years of eating pretty clean, exercising regularly, and being mindful of keeping my mind, body, and spirit healthy, I for some reason thought I had to change what I was doing to improve, 

(Read: “wedding diet” was on my mind as was toxic)

I know what works for me and maybe I can switch things up a little bit, but I like what I eat on a daily basis AND it leaves me satisfied and nourished.

 I posted my grocery list however long ago and haven’t strayed too much.

+BREAKFAST: oatmeal or poached egg on ezekiel bread

+ MORNING SNACK: vanilla almond milk latte

+ LUNCH: big salad of the week

+ AFTERNOON SNACK: apples, peanut butter, bananas, grapes, hummus, carrots

+ DINNER: soup or sweet potato scramble

And that’s basically it… but it works for me and it takes some decision making out of my day. I can come home from work and know there are a few things I can prepare that are healthy and nourishing instead of swinging by Trader Joe’s and picking up whatever they are selling as a free sample (they get me EVERY time!) 

SPARKNOTES VERSION: find what works for you and stick to it. If you get bored add one or two new recipes for the week and then stick to your main staples. The body responds to changing things up but not if it’s adding stress to your life (ie meal planning?!) stock your fridge with yummy whole foods!