a few eats, and product review

hello lovelies!

my computer crashed (AGAIN FIFTY THOUSANTH TIME!), so i lost a terrific post on dietary fat i had saved in a document for you guys. i will post that this week :)

how was everyone's weekend??? eat anything good?

mine was ok. i ate sushi, so how bad could it be!?

foodie review: coconut oil

first up, i HAD to share my favorite body product ever with you guys. i just recently got turned on to coconut, in body care and in food. i've been missing out!!! my lovely mother bought me some cocnut oil from wf a long time ago for my hair (when it was down to my belly button!), and i used it - once. i HATED putting thick, oily stuff in my hair and then SITTING around forever... anyone else against hair masks??? anyways, a couple of months ago i was looking for something to soothe my rough, wintery hands (thanks virginia weather) and out of desperation, i grabbed the jar and smoothed it on.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

thank you whole foods for saving my skin! i use it everyday now on my hands and feet during the winter to help rough skin. the oil absorbs into your skin, but protects you for days. try it please!

now, fooooooooooooooooooooooooooood.

friday night snack - homemade refried beans with jalapeno hot sauce and salsa! ole :). as my dipper, half of a leftover panera whole grain baguette (love 'em!)

om nom nom.

apparently, i was on a bean kick this weekend -

i think this was first lunch on saturday, but i lose track! bell peppers, beans, onions, tomatoes, raw almond butter... still working on that jar of nut butter!!!

made a salad for my sister... i'm the mastahh.

spinach, arugala, apple, sun dried tomatoes, crackers, carrots, mushrooms, and raisins.

snack on saturday night - strawberry-lime chai pudding!!!

frozen strawberries, chia seeds, juice from 1 lime, water, ice, stevia

and..........

because my brain is NOT FUNCTIONAL today, i can't really remember what else i ate. i had a big salad on saturday, and some sushi that wasn't earth-shattering, and a random pear.... i don't remember. sue me:)

and todayyyyyyyyyy,

i'm a really intelligent person and thought it would be cool if i went to the bathroom while i was microwaving my oats.

clearly, it was in fact, not cool.

however - the salvaged oats turned into this!

OIAJ!!!

i got them twice this week! i finally finished the trader joe's raw almond butter!

you guys don't even know. it's been in the fridge for probably 2 months... steadily getting less and less. i don't move too quick through the nut butters but i really enjoyed this one! i love the wholesome taste the raw nuts gives it (how lame am i?)

to make this beauty, i used this -

raw almond butter, waldon farms caramel, 1/2 cup oats, pinch salt, stevia, vanilla, and cardamom

twas sooooo tasty... even if i did christen the microwave.

hey, my momma taught me to share.

before church, i had an egg white wrap with avocado, scallions, and spinach.

you guys, i am SOOOO on a wrap kick right now. i seriously eat two a day.

also, an apple. yes, i ate the apple, but i forgot to take a picture until this point.

oops. i'm a greedy monkey.

HEAVENLY salad for first lunch. o.m.g............

feta, strawberries (YAY SPRING!), roasted chickpeas, red onions, salt, spinach, slivered almonds, and mandarin oranges.

(see the computer in the background? my dad's in IT and was desperately trying to remedy it's stupidity. no such luck.)

second wrap for second lunch.

hello, my name is rebekah, and i'm an addict.

the green innards - spinach, onions, garlic

innards already hiding in pan - sunflower seed butter, salt and pepper, quinoa, and kidney beans

viola - she is finished.

i love the ONE defiant bean that hopped out.

you go, girl.

so, there's some of my eats. i PROMISE i will start mixing it up some... i know you guys are tired of oats, wraps, and smoothies!

weekly workouts -

this week, i got in some really good workouts. two interval runs, three days of good full body lifting, and a chill day on the stationary bike.

the plan is to up my miles GENTLY as i get back into running shape so i can do some longer runs once the weather cooperates! keep me accountable, guys!

i hope you guys had a great weekend! since this month is eating disorder awareness month, i just want to let you guys know how BEAUTIFUL it is to be different.

you know that part of your body you hate? try looking at it in new eyes. it's yours, it works, and it's unique... what could be better? NO ONE ELSE has it!

- rebekah

this is a random post. you've been warned.

happy friday blogosphere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


first, i wanted to let you guys in on some things i had been thinking about randomly:
1. i am still really unfamiliar with blogger. please pardon my ignorance.
2. i haven't felt super the last couple days, so i have a few pictures, but not many.
3. i just got my computer fixed and back from the shop (i had been using my mom's) so i messed with my pictures on my edit software. so no, i don't normally photoshop my food :)
4. i have been reading a book called "Foods That Fight Pain" by Neal Barnard, M.D., so i will give you guys a little review in the future.

OK - the eats!
here's the deal with the eats. the meals i've eaten at home this week have basically all been the same... so i'll save you guys scrolling through 1098403 of the same pictures of oatmeal. basically, every day i've eaten oatmeal, a salad, a wrap, and some other stuff i took pictures of. so i've eaten more than what i put up... i just wouldn't insult you guys like that!

I DIGRESS. without furthur ado -

 

cinnamon caramel oats... made like wednesday's with egg whites. heaven!

then i was off to the gym for my last day of the week! it was a full body day, and it's safe to say now my FULL BODY feels it :)

 workout recovery - strawberry, peach, flax, hempmilk, carrot, spinach, ice!

again... any of you guys use hempmilk!? love it! i got it on sale at kroger for $1.99.

that's all the eats i have from yesterday (told ya it was a bad day.) i also ate amazing black bean soup, one of my kitchen sink salads, MORE oatmeal, an apple, and veggie wrap. i didn't take pictures 1) because i didn't feel like it, and 2) because you guys have seen them before!

and p.s. - i'm avoiding dairy because i think i'm sensitive to it... but last night i hadn't eaten NEAR enough calories, and i didn't feel like eating anything, so i kinda made myself eat something (check out the bottom of this post). i ended up eating reese's ice cream because i had craved peanut butter, but it was GROSS. i think i've lost my sweet tooth, which is helpful in avoiding sugar :)

on a more positive note, here's today's eats.

brekkie - i made an sweet-egg white burrito (wrap, egg whites, vanilla extract, stevia, pinch salt, cinnamon), but was so hungry i didn't take a picture. which is just as well because it looked gross... but tasted OMGGG.

a bit later, i made some cookies as a thank you to a friend of mine. he lent me his stephen king book "under the dome." it was pretty good! dark, but good. he is a creative writing major at vcu and wants to do a guest post soon! (he's also a closet foodie!)

BANANA-WALNUT (OR PEANUT) CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

(recipe courtesy of martha stewart, my changes in italics)

Makes about 3 dozen

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (i used an extra 1/2 c white flour)
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (i'm not gonna lie, i just dumped some in there)
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks (i used tj's semisweet baking bar)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted (i used left over salted peanuts from my little sister's science project... hey, she didn't experiment with those!)
• (i also dumped in a about 1/4 cup white chocolate chips because they were sitting there from something my mom made last week)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

i have no idea what the junk i did to formatting of these, but here they are.