First I want to send out apologies for not posting in such a very long time!!  I think I’ve finally got the hang of my schedule this semester and I’m able to balance everything a bit better, so my posting should be fairly regular from now on.  But I’m going to post some recipes this afternoon to make up for my lack of blogging!

So what’s been going on lately?  It’s been super crazy around here.  I got hosed by financial aid this year, so I have to have a job now.  It’s been really really hard balancing working and studying.  Because of that I had to drop a class.  A&P got the ax.  I felt bad for dropping it because I did really well on the first test (well above the class average!), but I put a lot of thought into it and logically that was the one that needed to go.  I’ll take it next semester instead.  It may put me behind a semester, but it’s all good.

My classes are all going very good so far this semester- I have all A’s so far!!  My goal is a 4.0 this semester and I’m well on my way to meeting that goal!  My favorite class is life cycle nutrition.  Love the teacher- she is an excellent lecturer.  She makes things interesting that would typically be pretty boring (except for all the hormone stuff- there’s not much that could make that more interesting, LOL!)

Anyhoo!  I’m going to post some recipes really soon, and I’m also about to add some more stuff to my open sky shop!  Stay tuned!!!

This is not- I repeat, NOT the stuff from the Campbell’s can!  This is for real, from scratch cream of mushroom soup.  And it is amazing!  And you should make it right now.  I adapted and veganized this from a Rachael Ray recipe.  Here’s the recipe…now get to cooking!  (I didn’t take a pic of this one because it’s not very pretty.  But it IS delicious!!)

Cream of Mushroom Soup

(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance, divided
1 1/2 lbs baby bella mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
One 4 ounce baking potato
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/4 cup almond milk (you could use soy if you want, but I like almond milk because it’s thick like whole milk whereas soy milk is kind of thin)

Directions:
In a pot, melt 1/2 Tablespoon of Earth Balance.  Add the mushrooms and sauté them until browned.  Transfer to a bowl.

Add the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of Earth Balance to the pot and add the onions.  Cook the onions until they are golden brown and tender.  Meanwhile, slice the potato thinly.  Return the mushrooms to the pot, add the potato, vegetable broth, and 1 cup of water.  Simmer for 10 mins.

Puree the soup in a blender and return to pan.  Stir in the milk and 1/2 cup of water.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat through over medium heat.

Serve with some awesome rustic whole wheat bread and maybe a salad.  This recipe makes 4 generous servings.

Enjoy!

Well, school is going good so far!  I’m really enjoying my nutrition classes!!  I think I’m going to learn A LOT in my Nutrition Through the Lifecycle class!  I’m still dreading A&P lab, which isn’t till Thursday, so the dread increases considerably each day.  *gulp*

Anyhoo, in the interest of keeping things real I wanted to make a confession.

Confession of a nutrition student…I can’t count calories!!  Seriously, I think I’m unable to do it!  I swear any time I try to count calories I GAIN weight!  I don’t know what it is, but my brain is just apparently unable to do it.  In saying that I’m also announcing that I rejoined weight watchers today.  I’m a lifetime member from way back.  I’ve gained a bit of weight back (too many vegan cupcakes this summer!!!) and I KNOW that the program works for me, so that’s what I decided to do.  Plus my acid reflux is back with a vengeance and for me it’s weight related.  When my weight is up it’s bad, but when my weigh is down it goes away. 

I’m not one of those people that can just eat healthy and I’ll magically be at a healthy weight (if you’re one of those people that can…more power to you!  But most of us aren’t like that).  I’m someone that needs some structure.  A plan.  And weight watchers is easy and realistic for me and it works. 

That just goes to show that it’s not only the quality of the food you eat (which in my case is extremely healthy) but it’s also the quantity!  If you take in too many calories you are going to gain weight.  Yes, even if you eat healthy foods.  So now I will try to focus more on controlling my portion sizes.  And now that my broken toe is well on its way to being mended I’m going to try to get back into the swing of working out again.  I’m going to restart my p90x and I’m also going to start running again- I want to do the 10K at the Cowtown this year!!!

And now I’m going to go re-organize my office- Laura has inspired me!

Later gaters!

Hey guys and gals- I’m adding a few new things to my shop today!!

First is this little beauty…

It’s the Artisana Cacao Bliss raw chocolate coconut butter!   And OMG it’s SO good!!!

It only has 3 ingredients: cacao powder, coconut butter and agave nectar.  That’s it!  It’s rich, chocolatey, and coconuty all at the same time.  I can’t get enough!!

My favorite way to eat this deliciousness is to just put a big ole blob right on my oatmeal!  Mmmmm!

Buy it now!

Or look for it in my shop!

The next thing I’m adding to my shop are the Coco-Zen Vegan Truffles!!  They are for serious chocolate lovers- strong dark chocolate deliciousness!  My favorite flavors are mint, and dark chocolate!  The Coco-Zen Truffles are made from organic ingredients and they’re also fair trade

They come in the cutest little tins!  Which are totally re-usable BTW!  These make a great gift for a chocolate lover or even a wonderful treat for yourself!

Buy the mint truffles now!

Buy the dark chocolate truffles now!

Or check ‘em out in my shop!