Excuses, Excuses

Excuses. We all have ‘em. They can be a convenient way to get out of something we don’t want to do. But sometimes, they can really hold us back from doing something we want or need to accomplish.

I admit it, I’m an excuse-maker. I make excuses about small things, like why I didn’t clean the bathroom. But excuses I make about my health and well-being are a lot more important and unfortunately, I make them all too often.

Excuse #1: I can’t eat as much as ____ or I’ll gain weight…OR I can’t eat ____ without being unhealthy.

I’ve thought these things to myself a LOT throughout my recovery process, especially lately as I’ve been sharing my struggles here. It’s all really a comparison game for me. I see people in my real life and online who either do eat more than I do, or at least claim to eat a lot, and I always think “Well, good for them that they can eat that much and have an amazing body and life. Too bad I’d balloon up if I ate that much.” I know I’ve gotten countless comments on here about how I eat so little but it’s so hard to see for myself when it seems normal or even healthy to me. Four years ago, when I was at my worst, I was eating only a few hundred calories a day. Now I’ve finally gotten away from obsessively tracking every morsel that enters my mouth so I can’t say for sure how much I am eating but I know it’s way more than I was. I also know that it may not be enough, especially since I do workout pretty much every day. And I know there have been many success stories of people maintaining or even losing weight eating more than they used to, so it’s something I do want to ease into myself. It still seems crazy to me that I could be eating much more than I am now and still be the same size.

I might be eating more variety and incorporating more fats, but I still might be lacking in calories.

Excuse #2: I don’t look ‘sick’ so I must be fine.

At my worst, I was a good 15-20 pounds lighter than I am now which is definitely unhealthy, even for someone who’s only 5’1. I didn’t see it then, but looking back at pictures from 4 years ago I can see a definite difference and it makes me sad. Now, I’m at my highest weight ever and honestly, it scares me. I’ve never been in the triple digits so being so close to it is really scary to me. I always rationalize that I ‘need’ to be underweight to look halfway decent because I’m so short. I think that’s just how my disordered mind sees my body, though. I certainly don’t think I look underweight, or sick, or in need of help. But maybe I still am. And there are a few, rare days where I look in the mirror and actually think I look good, or maybe even a little thin, but those days aren’t often. Because I see myself in this distorted way, I tell myself that it’s okay to obsessively eat clean and rarely take a day off from exercise because if I don’t, all hell will break loose (aka I’ll gain weight). But you don’t have to look sick, or be at your lowest weight to need help. You can still be sick while barely underweight or even at a normal weight.

I may not think I look too skinny but maybe I am…

Excuse #3: I need to workout everyday or I’ll lose my fitness.

I always praise other bloggers for taking rest days when they need them, but when do I take a rest day? I’d say once or twice a month. It doesn’t matter if I have a headache, am feeling a little sick or am really busy, I will squeeze in exercise almost every day. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is when I don’t listen to my body. And it’s also not good when I feel guilty for not exercising. Take this weekend, for example. I’m heading back up to my apartment with my parents to load up all the bigger items I couldn’t get on my trip home Wednesday and cleaning out my apartment so they can lease it out for the summer. I’ll be gone from Saturday afternoon til Sunday afternoon, and besides running errands and taking things up and down the stairs multiple times, I won’t be getting in much traditional exercise. I’m already stressing out about it. Not good. However, I’ve reached my breaking point with this. I’ll be busy this summer with my internship, a 4 week online summer class and just wanting to have fun. So I want to plan out 1 or 2 rest days per week, so I’m not a ball of stress figuring out when I can work out. And taking a day or two off won’t just not kill me, it’ll also benefit me and my energy levels.

I still want to play a lot of tennis this summer, but I won’t stress out when I take a rest day (even if it’s unplanned).

Have you ever made any ‘excuses’ that you ended up tossing out? 

WIAW: Adios, Junior Year

First things first–yes, I did change my blog design after at least a year and a half with the previous one. I just needed something new, plus I like the sidebar ‘about me’ things everybody has and the old design wouldn’t let me do that! 

I’ve been waiting for this day all year. Well, maybe not, but I’ve definitely been for at least the past month or so! The last day of my junior year of college is TODAY…and how crazy is that? I remember when college felt sooooo far away, and now I’m really close to graduation. Scary stuff.

I know my blogging’s been pretty sporadic anyways for the past few weeks but it’s gonna get even more infrequent in the next week or so. First of all, I’m moving back a lot of my stuff this afternoon and moving home for the summer. Then my family’s driving back up here this weekend to load everything else up and my mom will be doing some epic cleaning (maybe not that dramatic) so I can turn in my keys to my complex for the summer and end my lease. It’s a pain to have to move everything out, only to move it back in again in August, but I’d rather not pay the extra rent just to keep my stuff here for the summer. And then next week is when I hopefully start my internship, so it’ll be a whirl of paperwork, a drug test and plenty of excitement. And there’s a doctor’s appointment thrown in there as well, so it all makes for quite a crazy several days. So I’m really sorry if I don’t post here too much or comment on all of your blogs but I will be back as soon as the craziness dies down.

What wasn’t too crazy was the meals I enjoyed over the past week. Well, unless you consider a lot of random experimenting to be crazy, but all I know is it was delicious. And I had plenty of fun, despite finals week and moving out looming. Hey, I only had one actual final exam this semester, so paper writing and projects were the name of the  game, and a little less stressful than studying.

Bringing back an old favorite from last summer: pineapple ‘fried’ quinoa.

I’m doing my best to embrace the healthy grains again. I have to say I prefer the ‘ancient’, gluten free, psuedo-grains such as quinoa and buckwheat, for their stellar nutritional profile and higher protein, not to mention their deliciousness. I had some leftover quinoa in my fridge from a couple of weeks ago, and I remembered how much I used to love this random stirfry I threw together for the first time last year around my birthday. The best part about it is it’s totally customizable, so I threw in the last of my frozen edamame (I’m trying to finish up or toss things that aren’t as easily transportable before I move home), orange cauliflower, spinach, curry powder, coconut aminos (way better than soy sauce!) and fresh pineapple was a given. Not too far off from the original, and topped with sprouted pumpkin seeds and cashew butter, it was a total winner dinner.

Pineapple fried quinoa leftovers in a nori wrap, side of Thai lemon curry cashews.

And the little bit I had leftover made the perfect nori filling for lunch one day. I think I’ve been loving on the Asian and Mexican flavors a lot lately, between my homemade guac obsession to constantly resupplying my pantry with those addicting Thai lemon curry cashews. Maybe I could combine the two and create a Mexican stirfry or an Asian taco…

Poooool time. Pool > studying. Sorryimnotsorry.

My apartment complex does have a pool, but they’ve been slacking on opening it up (uh, kinda late there, management. Almost everyone’s moving out this week…) so when my friend invited me to her complex’s pool on Monday, I jumped on the chance to lay out. Honestly, I usually just lay out by the pool versus actually swimming, but I did go in it a few times just to cool off. Guys, I’m so happy. We finally have my dream weather, aka 80s and sunny. With afternoon thunderstorms. Basically, it’s finally summertime in Colorado.

A not-so-pretty carrot cake protein pancake (mix of garbanzo flour+peanut flour with shredded carrot and cinnamon in the batter) topped with chopped dried fig and coconut butter crumbles.

I don’t get how some people make their protein pancakes look so perfect. I do okay with multiple, small-sized pancakes but a full size one is just asking for trouble. I thought I waited long enough to flip, but part of the top crumbled off so I cooked it in two pieces. It luckily didn’t burn, but it certainly wasn’t round or anything, and parts of the inside were still undercooked. It tasted great, but my pancakes skills need some work…

Quinoa flour+chocolate Sunwarrior protein waffle. Topped with strawberries, cacao nibs and coconut butter.

…which is why I stick to waffles. Sometimes they don’t quite hold up, but if I get the ratios just right, they turn out pretty perfect and intact. This one was a bit crumbly, but it mostly stayed together, and it tasted great, which is what really counts. Protein waffles are hard to make vegan, so I’m proud that most of mine aren’t complete disasters.

I love the sun.

I’m glad I stuck through the crappy weather we got in April (and foot of snow on May 1st…thanks but no thanks, Mother Nature!) because it is absolutely gorgeous now! Like I said, 80 degree temperatures, lots of sun, minimal wind (but enough of a breeze to keep you cool) and the trees are blooming after being freaked by weird cold weather. And the grass, at least here in my college town, is nice and green after getting enough precipitation last month. If you’ve ever been to Colorado, you know that the grass here is generally brown because it’s basically a high altitude desert. I’ll be going back to brown lawns today (my hometown wasn’t blessed with as much snow) but I’m hoping we get some nice afternoon rains to keep the fire danger low and makes the grass nice.

Random but surprisingly good snack: half an avocado sprinkled with stevia, topped with organic crunchy PB, cacao nibs and coconut shreds.

I can’t remember where I first saw the idea for a sweet avocado, but I was really intrigued by it. I’ve really only used avos in guac, and had them raw in salads, but topping my avo with something other than lime juice or salt seemed weird. But I decided to try it with one of my favorite flavor combos (PB+cacao nibs+coconut) and it was actually really amazing. The key is a perfectly ripe avocado, so the flavor isn’t too overpowering. I still don’t like avocados plain (to me, they either need salt or something sweet to taste like anything) but now I have a new way of enjoying them!

Peanutty kelp noodles with romaine and carrots.

Kelp noodles are still a favorite of mine, but especially now that it’s so warm and I prefer to do as little cooking as possible. I love that kelp noodles are raw, and they work out perfectly in salads, like this one. I used up some of my PB2 for the dressing (I finally finished the jar, and I’m glad it’s over because I did not like it, especially compared to real peanut flour), and added in carrots and romaine lettuce, aka the last of the produce I had until I went grocery shopping later that day.

Always need to have an awkward selfie.

The problem with poolside selfies is that A) I’m wearing a bikini which is super awks in a photo (and already sporting a sunburn) and B) I can’t really see my phone screen in the sun, so I end up taking them from a weird angle and usually have a weird face in them. #firstworldproblems

The best dessert/breakfast ever. Coconut cream (scooped off top of full fat coconut milk from fridge) blended with chocolate Sunwarrior protein powder and frozen banana chunks, topped with fresh strawberries and half a crumbled chocolate coconut Kit’s Organic bar.

This is like a super-rich mousse, but the best part is that it’s perfectly acceptable for breakfast, because it’s protein-packed. There was 16 grams alone in just the Sunwarrior, plus a few extra grams from the other ingredients and toppings. It’s also no added sugar, just the natural sugars from the fruits (the Kit’s bars are just date sweetened, like Larabars) and the stevia in the Sunwarrior, so it makes for a healthy dessert option that isn’t too sweet. And it’s so easy to make if you have a food processor, just add in the protein powder, coconut cream and frozen bananas (optional, but add a little sweetness and coldness) to the processor, blend, and top away! I’ve enjoyed this twice this week, once as a dessert and once as breakfast and it was perfect for either occasion. I only wish I had more coconut cream to make it again!

Any new breakfasts you’ve been trying out? What’s your ideal weather conditions?

WIAW: Almost Summer (Or Not)

It’s finally May! Can you believe it? This year has already flown by, and I’ll be packing up to go home for the summer in just about 2 weeks. I’m not sure if you’re as much of a weather nerd as I am (actually, pretty sure you’re not since I’m pretty obsessed, but hey, it is my job!) but if you’ve been keeping up with the national forecast, good old Colorado is getting yet another snowstorm today. Yep, May 1st. Snow isn’t totally unusual here, but since we’re supposed to get around 6 or more inches (writing this on Tuesday when it’s still raining, not snowing yet and hopefully won’t), that’s way more than normal. Can you believe we were at 80 degrees on Monday? This is just insane, and really not fair.

Anyways, I’ll stop my weather complaints and move on to better things…namely WIAW! This one will be fairly wordless other than captions, but full of recent food photos so enjoy!

Fully loaded kelp noodle stirfry: kelp noodles, peanut flour/curry/coconut aminos sauce, pineapple/mango, spinach, red cabbage, pan fried tofu, coconut flakes and sprouted pumpkin seeds.

Homemade blueberry infused, watermelon stevia sweetened water.

Horestooth Reservoir and the mountains. One of the biggest lakes in Colorado is in my backyard. Nothing better than mountains+water!

‘Guacachoc’ PB protein mousse, aka avocado mousse. Recipe to come!

More clean nachos! Sprouted sweet potato chips, red cabbage, homemade guac, sweet potato, black beans and sprouted pumpkin seeds.

Grain free protein pancakes. Mix of chocolate Sunwarrior and garbanzo flour. Topped with PB, homemade pumpkin grainless granola and dark chocolate chips.

Beautiful weekend weather in the 70s.

Raw snackplate. Cacao nib macaroon, organic strawberries, southwestern ranch kale chips, orange rosemary pecans, Thai lemon curry cashews, currant flacker with homemade blueberry vanilla chia jam.

Green-ish grass and sunny skies (and my Alejandro behind the power box).

Socca-style taco filled with raw red cabbage, black beans, sweet potato, homemade guac and sprouted pumpkin seeds.

Is is almost summer where you are (school wise, or weather wise)? What’s the best thing you ate this weekend?

College Vegan on a Budget: 2 Weeks & Counting

One clean-eating college girl’s goal to save as much money as possible at Whole Foods and beyond.

Well folks, there’s just over two weeks left until I’m officially done with my junior year of college (it’s also just under 3 months til I’m 21, but who’s counting ). It actually feels so weird to be saying that–I feel like I was just in 5th grade. It’s crazy to think that a year (or less) from now, I could be at my first big-girl job. Wow.

Like I mentioned in my last CVB post, this little series will be taking a hiatus over the summer as I transition back into life at home with my family. Obviously I’m looking forward to that, and also to be taking a break from budgeting! I’ve learned a lot, but I’m ready to have my parent’s financial support again for a few months. Considering that I may be living completely on my own in a year, it’ll be nice to rely on my parents for a little while to save up money for that!

I went to both Sprouts and Whole Foods this weekend, but I’ll only be listing and photographing my Whole Foods buys here, as I feel like I’ve come a long way with my budgeting skills there. Not too long ago, I was spending at least $80 there per week, sometimes upwards of $100. Yikes. Lately, I’ve been reigning in my impulse purchases, and it’s helped me stay below $60 almost every week there. I even spent under $40 there the other week…and who says it’s called Whole Paycheck? You really can shop there on a budget (maybe not a super-tight one), you just have to watch what you’re buying. I even buy more expensive things there sometimes, and still come in below $60.

Whole Foods produce

*=organic

Whole Foods

What I Got: baby spinach*, lemons x2, romaine lettuce*, Ataulfo mangos x3, strawberries*, watermelon, bulk section almond flour, bulk section coconut flakes, bulk section raw cashew pieces, grind-your-own raw cashew butter, coconut aminos*, Thai curry cashew mix*, Vega One bar, Vega vanilla chai protein powder sample pack, Theo dark chocolate orange bar*, Tessemae’s paleo BBQ sauce (on sale, and the only BBQ sauce I know sweetened only with dates), Skinny Crisps cinnamon (like grain free graham crackers!)

What I Spent: $58.48

Verdict: I bought a LOT of produce this week (most of it organic) and it still didn’t eat up my budget! As I’ve said before, produce is typically about 1/3 of my budget per store and trying to stick with the Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 guidelines can help me save money and decide what really needs to be bought organic when I have the choice. Buying from the bulk section in only the amount I need saves me a lot (for instance, I bought 1/3 a pound of almond flour for only $1.88!) and looking for deals helps when I make impulse buys. I like the Tessemae line of dressings, and when I saw their new BBQ flavor was on sale for about half the usual price, I had to try it, especially because I’ve been looking for a clean BBQ sauce. Some things, like the coconut aminos, cost a lot upfront (at least more than traditional soy sauce or even tamari/Bragg’s) but the quality ingredients and taste are worth it to me, and it lasts me a few months too. Basically, I try to make tradeoffs and figure out what the ‘real’ cost of an item is (good ingredients, how long it’ll last, etc.)

Other Whole Foods buys.

Are better ingredients/nutritional benefits worth it to you over low cost? How much does the organic label matter to you?

College Vegan on a Budget: Makin’ Changes

An occasional series on my trials and successes in grocery shopping for myself for the first time while on a college budget.

It’s getting to be that time of year ago–finals week. Okay, technically it’s not for another 4 weeks, but close enough, right? With that being said, these CVB posts will probably be on hiatus soon for the next few months, as I move back home for the summer and hopefully go back to my parents paying for most of my groceries. I’m excited for that, but truth be told, I’ve been having fun and learning a lot doing this budgeting thing and I don’t plan on going crazy with the groceries once my parents are doing the purchasing.

So I’ve been doing a great job at keeping my weekly Whole Foods trips at around $60 or under, but I’ve failed at keeping my whole weekly grocery budget at around $80. I shop at Sprouts on a weekly or every other week basis and keep my costs to around $30 or under, but I get into trouble when I go crazy over their Larabar selection, or when I hit up yet another natural foods store in the same week (as I did last week, going to Natural Grocers and spending $20 on some super-expensive coconut flour bread, dark chocolate and cappuccino Larabars that were on sale) or when I buy food online from iHerb or Amazon (as I did two weeks ago). So for the rest of the semester, I’m going to be limiting those purchases as much as possible, probably only making one more purchase from iHerb to restock my peanut flour. And since I’ll be moving out of my apartment in a month, I need to get rid of some of the pantry staples I have, like beans and flours, so I’ll really be watching my grocery list and eliminating unnecessary purchases.

Sprouts buys.

*=organic

Sprouts

What I Got: ALT  and Uber Larabars, Kit’s bar*, chocolate Kale Krunch* (not planned, but I’d never seen it before and was intrigued), cherry cola Zevia (on sale for only $2.99!), pineapple, Gone Nuts chipotle pistachios, unsweetened applesauce*, avocados x3*, serrano peppers

What I Spent: $32.70

Verdict: The raw nuts and kale chips were the only things not on my list (and the two most expensive by far) but I bought them because I’ve never seen them anywhere else and wanted to try them. I stocked up on the Zevia (a new-to-me flavor) even though I have some others in my pantry because they were a steal at just $3, compared to the usual $5 or $6. The avocados were bought organic because they were the same price as conventional and buying organic whenever possible is always best.

Whole Foods purchases.

Whole Foods

What I Got: Gone Raw Thai curry cashews (it’s a problem, I’m obsessed), raw cashew butter (this stuff is AMAZING, and only getting a little bit from the bulk aisle saved me tons of money), bulk unsweetened coconut shreds, bulk white Turkish figs*, Medjool dates*, Veggie-Gos fruit and veggie strips*, canned green olives, Tom’s kids toothpaste (I had a coupon, and have been looking for a more natural toothpaste), cherry chocolate Vega One bar, plain Skinny Crisps (for an upcoming recipe), eggplant*, watermelon (yes!), 1 lb. strawberries (finally we’re getting into berry season), Ataulfo mangos X2 (tastiest mangos ever!), baby spinach*, fair trade vanilla extract (on sale and one of the only clean extracts I could find), Hail Merry raw chocolate tart (another thing I need to stop buying, I love it too much!), bulk fair trade 65% dark chocolate chips*

What I Spent: 60.76

Verdict: I have gotten SO much better at spending less at Whole Foods while still getting a lot. Produce is usually about 1/3 of my total purchase, which is really decent, especially for such great quality and sometimes organic produce. I still got a few fun purchases, but I’ve been better about not buying all my favorite splurges all the time. 

What fruit are you most excited to eat this summer? What’s the best grocery store deal you’ve encountered lately (for me, it’s either the Zevia, or the Larabars I found for under $1 each)?

Wants & Needs

I’m totally guilty of mixing up needs with wants. Especially when it comes to clothes. “Oh, but I need those shoes!” “I really need to buy that cute shirt.” #firstworldproblems. So maybe some of my needs on this list aren’t really needs but they’re definitely a lot more important than the swimsuits on my wishlist or the new food products I want to try.

I still want… this dress from American Eagle.

Adorable, and it’s finally on clearance!

I know you can’t tell from the picture, but the dress has little birds all over it…cute, right? I’ve been eyeing it since I first saw it in February (side note: I hate how stores stock all their spring clothing in winter when I can’t wear it for another 2 months). It’s finally on clearance…well, if you count 10% a discount. Maybe I’ll wait until it’s even cheaper.

I need… to stop getting sucked in to good deals at Target.

Darn you Target and your amazing items.

Who else gets sucked into the black hole that is Target and emerges half an hour later with half the store in your cart? I mean, you’ve gotta admit they have some pretty good clearance offers and even their regular priced stuff is a steal, but it’s an issue when I can’t leave the store without at least one impulse buy. This time, I was planning on just buying contact solution, but I left with a pair of aqua oxfords (to be fair, I’d been wanting them for awhile) and a sample mini-bag of cinnamon nut coffee. But shit, it was 99 cents It was literally only 99 cents and I thought it was cool that they offered samples of their flavored coffee so I didn’t waste $6 on a full size bag. At least I didn’t buy any of those clearance watches I was eyeing…or the mini dipping bowls…or the nail polish.

I want… to have enough extra money to buy all the cool food items I see at Whole Foods.

I could spend all day browsing the aisles of WF, and it’d be even better if I could stock my kitchen with all the foodie products I spot there. Things like fruit-flavored balsamic vinegars and fresh-made juices and endless salad bar lunches and raw cashew gelato and all the fancy chocolate bars. I try to stick with one or two ‘splurges’ per trip (less expensive things like kale chips and raw desserts) but if I ever have the money, I’ll definitely be trying some of those fancier things.

I need… it to stop snowing every week.

Come on Colorado. It’s April, get your act together and stop snowing on a regular basis. It makes me mad and messes up my week. I don’t appreciate it snowing, and then melting the next day, warming up for a day or two and then snowing again. I know that April is technically one of the snowier months, but I’d appreciate it if it’d start feeling like spring most of the time, instead of once a week. Thanks!

I want… an iPhone when my plan expires in December.

Totally jealous of the endless selection of cases for the iPhone.

I currently have a Droid, and love it for the most part, but the only reason I got it instead of an iPhone is because my family has T-Mobile and up til now, they didn’t offer any of the iPhones. Well, rumor has it that that’s going to change soon, hopefully before our contract expires, because I really want in on the iPhone trend. Mostly for the cute cases, but also because I’ve heard such good things about the phone.

I need… to figure out my summer plans.

Right now, I know I’m going to be doing another internship at a different local TV station (this time, it’ll be in their weather department, which is where I want to get a job after college) and I’m super excited about that. But after signing up for classes for what’s hopefully my last semester of college in the fall, I realized that I’m still 2 credits short. I’d rather not take an extra semester to finish those up, so I’m probably going to end up doing an online class over the summer. I’ve just gotta figure out which one sounds the most interesting and hopefully easiest.

What are your current wants or needs? Do you have an iPhone, Droid or brick (aka super old phone)?

 

The Liebs(ter Award)

I’ve been seeing the Liebster Award popping up all over the place lately so I was thrilled when the lovely Lacey over at Life Hands You Limes nominated me for the award. Thanks, girl

Rules:

1. Write 11 random facts about yourself
2. Answer the 11 questions given by the blogger who nominated you
3. Create 11 new questions
4. Nominate 11 bloggers and mention them in the post
5. Thank the blogger who nominated you and tell the bloggers you nominated

Random Facts About Me

1. I am a super klutz. Seriously. I haven’t had too many major injuries, other than a fractured ankle in 4th grade, but I’m constantly tripping, randomly injuring myself and spilling all over the place. Yeah, I have issues…
2. I have a tooth that grew in backwards. Right before I got braces in 9th grade, I had my last baby tooth pulled so I could get braces. The tooth didn’t grow in by itself so when I got my wisdom teeth pulled a year later, they also had to pull my adult tooth out from under the gums. Turns out, it was growing in facing the wrong way! My orthodontist wanted to try to turn it around to face the right way but that would have caused more dental issues so I just decided to leave it in backwards. It’s one of my molars so no one else can tell that it’s facing backwards.
   

   Brace face

3. I am totally OCD about some things. Before I go to bed every night and before I leave my apartment, I make sure the stove and oven are off and I check and re-check the lock on my front door to make sure I actually locked it. Hey, you can’t be too careful!
4. I got my ears pierced when I was 11 but haven’t worn earrings since. About 6 months after I got them pierced, one of them got infected and I had to go to urgent care to get the earring taken out and my ear sterilized. Since then, both me and my sister have had no interest in having pierced ears, it was kind of a gross and traumatic experience!
5. I am a procrastinator, but also not. I would freak out if I had to pull an all-nighter to finish a 10 page paper or cram for finals, so I’m not that bad of a procrastinator but I definitely don’t usually start assignments right when they’re assigned, especially if I have a month or two to do it because then I figure I have plenty of time!
6. My voice doesn’t match up with how I look. People always think I’m still in high school because I’m small and sometimes wear kids clothes and my face is really young looking. But my voice is kinda low for a girl–I think it should be higher pitched but whatever!
7. I love the taste of onions, but I think I’m somewhat allergic to them. I used to only have breath issues after eating really onion-y salsas and stuff but now when I eat dishes with onions in it, they hurt my stomach. Bummer, because so many things have onions in them so I try to just pick around them. Garlic, on the other hand, I love!
8. I think I’m more sensitive to cold weather because I was born in Arizona…in the middle of summer. I think my mom said the day she had me, it was like 115 degrees or something crazy like that. I’ve been in Colorado since I was 2 though and I live for the winter days that are like 60 degrees. I’m pretty much always freezing inside my house and I love cranking up the heat when I’m in my car. I think snow is pretty but I like warm weather, thank you very much!
   

   Me as a baby in good old ‘Zona.

9. Caffeine doesn’t really have much of an effect on me, unless I have too much of it. I’ve figured out that I can order a tall at Starbucks and feel just fine (it doesn’t wake me up or energize me though) but anything bigger than that gives me a giant headache and makes me feel nauseous. Oh, and coffee makes my pee smell like coffee (TMI!)
10. I’ve preferred dark chocolate over milk chocolate since I was a little kid. One year for Christmas, my dad got the family a bunch of fair trade dark chocolate bars from all over the world and I loved even the super dark ones.
11. I have a problem when it comes to shopping. I get way too excited about new products and new clothes in stores and I just have to have them. I’m a little better with clothes and try to stick to buying the clearance stuff in my favorite stores because the full-priced stuff tends to be expensive (that way I can buy more stuff!) but with food, I usually don’t care how much it costs–if it sounds delicious, I’ll probably buy it. Case in point, I just ordered a few things from iHerb and couldn’t resist buying some raw lemon pie macaroons that were like $7 for a bag of 8. They’re really good though, so I don’t care!

These are delish and well worth the price.

Lacey’s Questions

1. What is your idea of the perfect December night?

Other than summer months, December is my favorite month, it’s just so festive and cozy. My idea of the perfect night would be bundling up and driving around town to look at Christmas lights, grabbing a skinny peppermint mocha from Starbucks, watching Christmas movies and playing board games with my family.

2. What pets do you have?

None at the moment, sadly. My family used to have two hamsters, Peanut and Princess, and a couple hermit crabs a long time ago.

3. What 5 words describe you the best?

Sarcastic, sensitive, independent, fashionable and responsible.

4.What is the one thing you can’t live without?

My family, for sure. I have always been really close with them, especially my younger sister, and they’ve always been there supporting my dreams. Now that I’m in college and live 2 and a half hours away from them most of the year, I really treasure the times I get to spend with them (like right now!)

We’ve been best friends forever!

5. Why did you start your blog?

I started AlmostVegGirlie in May of 2011 because I was starting to consider veganism at the time and I really wanted to share my recipes and cool food finds with people. Now the name of my blog doesn’t quite fit anymore as I actually am vegan but I still love talking about food, fitness, fashion and life in general.

6. You just win a billion dollars, first dollar goes to???

First of all, this would be amazing! I think my first dollar would go towards paying off my college loans. Totally boring, I know, but I really would love to help my parents pay off the loans so they don’t have to go into debt and if I had a billion dollars I wouldn’t have to worry about getting a great job to pay it off.

7. Chocolate or vanilla?

This is actually a hard question, since I love both. But I’m going to cheat and say I prefer vanilla-flavored things over chocolate-flavored things, but I like actual chocolate in general.

8. What’s your favorite time of the year?

Either right now (Christmastime) because it’s so festive and exciting, or summer because there’s no school and it’s warm and my birthday’s in summer.

9. What is the one thing you wish you could do, but have never done (or tried)?

Snorkeling! I’m scared to death of scuba diving but I think snorkeling would be fun because it requires less equipment and you get to look at all the cool fish and sea life.

10. When was the last time you did something completely on a whim and what did you do?

I bought a pair of sparkly Converse-style shoes on Cyber Monday, just because they were on sale and cute. I normally don’t like tennis shoes, and I don’t buy stuff online a lot (other than stuff from iHerb) but I just couldn’t pass these up.

Aren’t these too cute?

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

A meteorologist (weather anchor) for a TV station in Arizona or California. It’s my dream job (that I’m going to school for) in my dream location!

My 11 Questions

1. What fruit or vegetable best describes your personality?

2. What is your earliest memory?

3. Would you rather live in the mountains, on the beach or in the desert?

4. What is your favorite non-major holiday (like Fourth of July, Mother’s Day, etc.)?

5. What is the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

6. Salty, sweet or spicy?

7. What are you most proud of and why?

8. If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life, what would it be?

9. What’s one food you just can’t stand that a lot of people seem to love?

10. What’s your weirdest quirk or habit?

11. If you could change your name to anything, what would you change it to and why?

I’m going to tag anyone who hasn’t already filled this out who wants to do it! Have fun

Do you have any weird dental stories? What’s your favorite time of the year?

WIAW: Still Summer

I know people think fall started on September 1st, or that Labor Day weekend marked the end of summer, but not in my world! Or, technically, in the real world either, since fall actually starts in a couple weeks. And here, there aren’t many signs of fall coming–it’s still hella hot and sunny every day, but I’m not complaining. I don’t want my favorite season to go away, ever.

This week’s WIAW is pretty random (aka not all from one day) but is pretty representative of what I’ve been eating lately. And in trying to keep with this month’s theme, I have one goal I want to work on for this month. Now that I’m in my own apartment, with an actual kitchen, I want to make one new-to-me recipe per week. Sure, some of my week days are busy busy busy but I have some downtime on the weekends and on some evenings and I want to use them wisely. I might not post any of the recipes, especially if they’re basically the same as the one I was inspired by, but look for updates on how I enjoyed the new meals. And keep an eye out for more college budgeting posts–I’m so glad you guys like them!

Protein micro muffin. Peanut flour. Buckwheat flour. Ground flax. Raisins, cacao nibs and almond peanut cashew butter.

I’m still loving the protein muffins. They’re such a great way to get in protein and healthy fats, plus they’re an easy breakfast or lunch for busy days. Since I bought coconut flour a couple weeks ago, I’ve been putting that in my muffins along with the protein powder and it adds a great, fluffy texture.

I love my snacks! Cashew ginger & spice KIND bar. Fresh mango. Edamame. Mini sweet peppers. Homemade trail mix. Sprouted toast with peanut flour paste.

This assortment of snacks/mini meals was from last Tuesday when I was covering the Obama visit. I had a couple other unpictured things but luckily, this was all able to keep me satisfied for the 9 hours I was on campus.

Maggie Pond in Breckenridge before the big race.

As I said in my last post, I was up in the mountains on Saturday for Breck’s annual rubber duck race. Yeah, I’m a 5-year-old, but it’s always so exciting to watch the thousands of ducks race down the river. This year, it wasn’t as sunny and hot as it usually is, but it was a good break from the heat we’ve been having back home. And isn’t the town gorgeous? I would so live here, if it wasn’t so snowy most of the year. Guess that’s why it’s a big ski town!

Selfie #noshame. Dress from Forever 21.

The mirror in my apartment bathroom is perfect for selfies. I promise I’m not that self-centered. It’s just fun to take outfit shots and make funny faces. I also promise I have a life

Another Whole Foods salad bar. Can’t even remember everything in it.

I got Whole Foods salad bar twice over the weekend! Yes, I am super lucky. This pic above is from Friday, but I also got a delicious assortment on Monday night. The blackened tofu with pineapple salsa and raw kale salad with cranberries and almond slivers were the highlight of that box. Would you roll your eyes at me if I told you I plan on getting another salad box this weekend?

Snackplate…for lunch. Almond peanut cashew butter with chocolate chips. Kale massaged with creamy garlic dressing. Grapes. Salted edamame. Dark mint chocolate square. Sweet potato multigrain chips.

If I’m not having snackplates for a snack, I’m having them for lunch. They’re great for those times when I’m indecisive and have to leave for class in half an hour. I tried to get a good mix of nutrients with this one–greens, protein, healthy fats (nut butter and dressing), whole grains (chips), fruit and some fun with the chocolate.

The best veggie burger ever. Udi’s g-free bun. Handmade three bean patty. Fresh avocado. Grilled pineapple ring. Harissa ketchup.

Saturday was my first experience with a food truck and it was also a very memorable experience. The one I went to was focused on sandwiches and burgers but they had plenty of veg options. I ordered this one sans cheese and when they accidentally put it on (and my dad and I had to make the trek back across town to get it fixed) they were super nice and apologetic about it. I didn’t mind having to speed walk back once I tasted this bad boy. It was the best veggie burger I’ve ever had, period. And it made me a ketchup and avocado lover. I want this again.

What’s the most fun thing you did over the weekend? Have you ever had a life-changing veggie burger?