colonel sanders ain't got nuffin' on me

ello poppets, happy 'weenie! twss.

how are we today? I would be better if the sun were shining, or if my dad didn't wake me up to "Monster Mash" at 7:00 this morning. Halloween is totally his thing though, so I amused him... crankily.

Yesterday however I was less cranky because I had a fabulous day with my mamabear. I started off this morning with something new in honor of this weeks make it happen goal.

Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme

so much twss potential

I think this "creme" is intended to be comparable to fluffernutter but I liked it much much more. I was never a fluffernutter fan as a tot but after seeing this store I figured hey, why not? Have I mentioned I have impulse buyer syndrome?

This creme was more vanilla-y (let's pretend that's a word, kay?) and not as thick as fluffernutter which made me happy

I made a PB, r-mellow, and 'nana sandwich (with Nuttzo nut butter ♥...this stuff keeps getting better each time I try it)

After breakfast momma and myself put our working hats on. Remember a few months ago when my sister moved to Florida? Well her room as remained vacant and empty since then.

though I love using it for my own personal yoga studio, it's time for bigger and better things -- aka, me moving in there. What's great is that the room is already lavender - so it will match all of the accessories I have in my purple palace perfectly. Oh alliteration!

So as I was saying, yesterday mama and I moved my clothes around, dusted the room, yada yada yada, then remembered we needed to get candy for the little youngins! Costco it was. Momma went a little crazy - I have never seen so many airheads in my life. Then she proceeded to buy a completely unnecessary new toaster. Need I explain where my IBS (that's impulse buyer syndrome, not irritable bowel syndrome) comes from?

I got home and though I wanted a yogurt mess, my belly was telling me other things. 'Twas dinner time for me and I opted for one of my favorite meals as of late. Remember last week when I told you I got some samples of the Kay's Naturals goodies? Well, it hit me like a ton of bricks that the Lemon Herb protein chips would be an absolutely perfect coating for some lemon herb fried chicken. Oh yeah, I went there...

But first, if you are so inclined, check out my videw on the Kay's Naturals Lemon Herb Protein Chips...

for some reason it says "nutridel review" but it ain't.. I guess my computer loves nutridel cookies as much as I do. Understandable. And pardon my hair, 'twas one of those "not showering" kind of days.

Lemon Herb Fried Chicken (with corn, english muffin, and cottage cheese - I'm such a country gal)

Recipe (for one 40z piece of chicken)

• 1/4 cup of egg whites
• lemon juice
• about 1/4 cup crushed Kay's Naturals lemon herb protein chips
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Season the chicken as you like. Mix some fresh lemon juice and the 1/4 cup egg whites in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken in to the egg white/lemon mixture and allow the excess whites to drip off of the chicen. Then douse the chicken in the protein chip crumbs. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. That's all, folks!

Easy peazy lemon squeezy, no? and oh, so fantastically good.

After dinner one of my best girlfriends who is home for the weekend (!!) and I went to starbies to see one of my best dude friends who is also home for the weekend (!!) play guitar. Not gonna lie, whenever I watch him play I get a mini crush on him. What is it about broski's who are musically talented that makes us biddies swoon?

The show was over relatively early so my girl and I headed back to my house and watched the Hannah Montana movie. I cried.. and developed an uncontrollable desire to go to Tenessee and rangle me in a cowboy. Perhaps make him lemon herb fried chicken?

Then I headed home and fell asleep to Diners Drive ins and Dives.. I dig.

Today I don't have too much on the agenda... probably just humoring dad as much as possible with his Halloween shenanigans and listening to "Thriller" an unreasonable amount of times.

What are your plans for this halloween? Costumes? spill!

Have a safe and happy holiday, all!

I'll be your girl for all seasons

Oh you guys! you are too much! Your luck and support for my education meeting yesterday was much appreciated and I am thrilled to announce it went muy bueno... But I'm getting ahead of myself..

The weather was nothing short of perfect here in CT yesterday. My bowl of oats however? not so perfect.

Exhibit A:

This was the "bratty younger sister" or oats.. annoying and messy, but you love it nonetheless.

On school days I am usually short on time so don't have the time to indulge in stove top oats, so opt for the microwave instead. Normally I go for 1/3 cup oats which works out just fine, but yesterday I knew I'd be busy busy so 1/2 cup oats were definitely necessary. Unfortunately, this bowl just wasn't feeling it. I salvaged what I could but I'm pretty sure I only ended up with 1/3 cup oat bran anyway. Cruel irony.

all dolled up with some banana, vanilla oikos, banana nut vita, maranatha almond butter

sexii time

Fortunately I was ahead of schedule so despite my disaster in the kitchen, I still had time to snap a picture of my Thursday attire.

an example of my clothing identity crisis. This outfit was a hybrid of all different seasonal styles. The pastel floral spring cami..

this shirt makes me look extra busty.. me gusta mucho.

with the autumnal cream cardigan and the quintessential cream colored winter UGGS. All I needed was a bikini top and some shades and I would have been completely multi-seasonal.

I drove to school while singing along to the sweet tunes of Weezy F baby in honor of my favorite snackface. I arrived at school earlier than usual and was able to snag a parking spot right next to the Academic Building. For any commuters out there you understand how epic it is to score an ideally located parking spot.

I headed off to espanol where we received our tests back. 99 baybay! I attribute this to my lovely Sarah for her frequent spanish infused posts. Gracias, chica bonita!

I had about an hour to kill before my interview, so I munched on a snack to ease my nerves.

I wasn't all that hungry before eating this, but I'll tell ya, I certainly worked up an appetite trying to open this guy. After many failed attempts I enlisted the help of my teef (don't tell my dentist) and was somehow able to pry it open.

[not so] easy access (twss)

p.s. I love kettle corn

Then the big moment came. My interviewer was amazing and told me my hair was voluptuous. I liked him immediately. We then started talking about what courses I'd be taking in the spring of 2013.. um yeah, kind of freaked me out a lot. Then he ended the interview by saying that if I don't get accepted in to the program he's quitting his job. I think that's a good sign.

The rest of my day was pretty low key. I went to visit my favorite girls to watch Ellen. Tay swift was on, I have such a crush on her. We chilled and ate clementines (♥) until my American Lit class at 5. This is my favorite class, ever, and my Prof confirmed that yet again today when he said..

"People used to believe that a full moon caused woman to be pregnant. Probably because when it's a full moon it made it easier to find a mate and... reproduce..."

For some reason I thought this was hysterical. I was totally *that girl* that laughed way louder than she should have and made a scene. Whatevz.

Later in the evening I indulged myself in this bowl of love and Grey's.

kozyshack mint chocolate pudding

with crushed grahams, pretzels, almonds, and whipped for good measure

Was anyone else highly dissapointed by Grey's last night? as much as I love McDreamy I just wasn't digging this episode.

Alright gotta jet, momma and I are going on a cleaning spree today. Have a good one, pies!

p.s. check out Tina's blog for a wonderful giveaway! (p.s. everyone who enters is guaranteed to win!)

somebody's getting some muffins.

Chello, blogfaces! No time to chat para mi but I just wanted to announce the winner of my fiber one muffin giveaway. The lucky lady is miss Whitney who said...

Those muffins look AMAZING! I love fiber because it helps regulate my digestive system.

p.s. I kind of loved the way you all tried find the most appropriate terms possible to say "fiber makes me go pooooo"

Congrats, Whitney! E-mail your address at peanutbutterandjenny12@yahoo.com and I'll get those muffins right out to you!

Off to school then later on today I have an interview for the Education Program. Stress! Wish me luck.. please and thank you

these boots are made for [loving]

Oh, friends.. sweet sweet friends, do I have a treat for you today! Okay, it's not really a treat for you... it's more so for me and I'm just itching to show it to you.

This morning I woke up with a deep and profound optimism. Mommy asked me if I wanted to run some errands, and of course I obliged, who am I to pass up a trip to Tarjey and the grocery store with mom [and her credit card]?

After we made the usual pit stops we had about half an hour to kill before we needed to pick up my brother so in true shopaholics fashion we decided to check out Marshall's and see if there were any good finds there. I'm convinced It was fate that brought me to the new love of me life..

God bless the broken road that led me straight to you

Friends, these are brown coach snow boots and I admit, I'm infatuated with them. Normally I am the last chick you'll find purchasing name-brand things but this deal was far too amazing to pass up.

I went back and forth between if I should buy them or not, but I couldn't resist. Hope my family or Gingie aren't expecting anything expensive for Christmas

What's the most you've ever paid for an article of clothing/shoes?

While we're on the topic a few days ago the beautiful lady behind Balance Joy and Delicias asked:

how often do you go to shop? which stores? how long do you spend there? I'm really inpatient on finding the right clothes... any tips?

Love the questions, miss! As far as how often I shop I try to limit myself to once a week MAX! I suffer from impulse buyer syndrome so any more than once a week and I wouldn't have a dollar to my name. My favorite go-to stores are TJMaxx (#1 love!) Target, Marshalls, and Forever 21. Now unfortunately, these are all the stores that are a little unorganized and take a ton of browsing and rummaging to find some hidden gems! Usually I try to have something in mind that I want to purchase. I.e. if i'm looking for jeans, I try to limit myself to the jeans section, sweaters = sweater section, you get the jist. Sometimes the gems are not so hidden and are being displayed through out the store, in which case shopping becomes much easier. I recommend going to the store when you don't have any other obligations and time to relax and enjoy searching for clothes. Also, be open minded when you shop. Sometimes the things that look awful on the rack will look bangin' on your bod!

Any other shopping tips from my bloggie divas?! Do tell!

p.s. I just found out via my favorite lover of errrything that Kate Gosselin wants to be in movies. Whatdyathink about that? Personally, I say if by "be in movies" she means a documentary entitled "hair-don'ts" then perhaps.. otherwise, she stick to having the most adorable children in the world. Thoughts?

how to beat the hump day slump?

...pretend it's friday, of course! and in true Tina fashion what better way to celebrate Friday than with cookies, am I right or am I right?

Last week I received some samps of the Flaxseed and Almond nutridel cookies

I get an F for poor photography

a little information on the nutridel company..

NUTRIDEL is an artisan, gourmet cookie, made by hand in small batches with all-natural, earth-loving high quality ingredients. Our cookies contain no animal or dairy products. They are baked to perfection, and the result is a crispy, crunchy snack you can enjoy any time with guilt-free pleasure!

The brand is a concoction of the words “NUTRItious” and “DELicious”, exactly what our cookies represent. Our products are 100% natural, contain no additives, preservatives, artificial colorings, flavorings or sweeteners of any kind. They are loaded with seeds, grains, nuts, fiber and sweetened with a touch of molasses.

Our gourmet, round and perfectly crisp cookies are available in coffee shops, health clubs, and specialty stores in California and the Pacific Northwest. We also offer our products for sale through our on-line store. With ingredients like sesame seeds, pecans, almonds, flaxseed, wheat germ, oats and amaranth, each 2 cookie package is a no-guilt yummy treat!

Crumble them over frozen yogurt, top them with fresh fruit or create a nutritious almond butter cookie sandwich. The options are endless. Finally, a cookie that you can feel good about!

I love everything except the fact that I don't live in the Northwest... perhaps a move is in my immediate future? Yeah, folks.. these were that good.

I opted to try the flaxseed first because I heard through the grapevine that they are a fan favorite.

stats:

Couldn't resist this shot, my oats were looking extra pretty.

crumble cookie on top for good measure

Wowzaaaaa! who'da thunk a thin little cookie could pack so much taste? It reminded me crackalin' oat bran (emphasis on the CRACK 'cause that cereal was amazing) I also was really in love with the crispiness of this cookie. My only complaint was that it could have used a tad more cinnamon flavor.. but other than that absolutely incredible.

4/5 PB lovin' jars

Next up was the Almond.

stats...



crumbled 'atop some vanilla oikos and cinnamon

Hot dang! This one was even better than the flaxseed, in my humble opinion. The almondy flavor reminded me a bit of spumoni (swooooon) though I'm not quite sure why.. but I'm not complaining. This one didn't need the extra spice because of the flavor from the almonds, and like that flaxseed one it was thin and crispy and made my tummy happy.

5/5 PB lovin' jars.. they were muy bien!

My one complaint about both of the cookies? That they only come two in a pack and now they're gonezo before I had the chance to make this creation which I just now found on the Nutridel site

Make a nutritious “sandwich” by spreading any nut butter of your liking over your favorite cookie and top with another cookie.

... Woe is me! Incentive to order myself up some I suppose.

If you're interested you can order some of these fabulous cookies here. They have sampler pack of 8 packages of cookies (2 packages of each flav) and with 2 cookies per package that's 16 cookies for $16 dollars (oh yeah FYI, I'm a mathmatician) not too shabby at all.

What's your favorite cookie?
I'd have to say mine is these dee-lish peanut butter cornflake balls my mom makes around the holidays... oh they are divine x's 10.

_______________________________________

Alrighty, folks I am off to hit the mat! But before I do a quick little answer to a reader question. Anon asked:

Hi Jenny! I've never commented before but I needed your input on something--I just ordered my first yoga dvd and need to buy a yoga mat. Do you have any recommendations for the best ones that don't slip and are good for beginners? Thanks!

Honestly, I just rock my 13 dollar yoga mat from Target and it gets the job done! Though I would love to have one of those magical 80 dollar mats with the extra sticky traction support and pretty design, I don't think it's completely necessary and worth the extra moolah. There are some really great ones at the Gaiam website which aren't too expensive, ranging from about 12-25 bucks. You can check those out here! Namaste, sweet friend

and ta ta to all of you bloggies, catch ya later!

Guest Post: Kathleen

It's 9:10.. I'm supposed to leave for school by 9:00 to get there on time. Needless to say a guest post is certainly in order this morning. Today's post is from a lovely reader, Kathleen, who shares her journey with food and health. Enjoy!

______________________________________

The truth of the matter is, my path towards healthy living has been bumpy at best. I have gone from the Standard American Diet, to vegetarian, spiraled into an eating disorder, tried a carnivorous diet recommended by a nutritionist, recovered from an eating disorder, went back to being vegetarian, had my vegetarian diet evolve into a vegan diet, toyed with raw veganism, went back to vegan, and now here I am. Whew, 11 years of history in one sentence!

What my eating disorder taught me.

First and foremost, it taught me mindulness or an awareness with my feelings in the present moment. Eating disorders tend to have nothing to do with food. Instead, attempting to control food is an outward expression of inner turbulence. ED (eating disorder) also taught me to trust my body. I find it ironic that since I have been eating normally, those few extra pounds I kept trying to lose with ED are no longer. I am and have maintained the weight I thought would make me happy by eating SO MUCH MORE than I ever thought my body needed. (Funny how that works. When you stop caring about every morsel of food or ounce on the scale).

What vegetarianism, veganism, and raw veganism taught me.

That there isn’t a “perfect” diet. It’s a path many of us take. SAD (standard American diet), to vegetarian, then the next step to veganism, then maybe all organic or local, perhaps moving to raw vegan. I think it’s a wonderful path in that it taught me how to cook food. It taught me about where food comes from. It taught me what exactly they put in packaged food. It taught me versatile recipes. I have a love of vegetables I hadn’t known ever to exist. But more importantly, it taught me balance. I think the real learning comes from not the diets in and of themselves. The real learning come from when the diet is no longer working for you. It’s confusing, and sad that here this way of eating you have championed for just isn’t working. While these diets do work for some people. More often than not, they are hard to sustain. I think when you get away from the “perfect” diet or not eating something because it’s “bad” is a really good place. It’s then that you find a diet that works for you. Whatever combination of foods that may be.

Where I am now.

Where is here? Here is not on any type of diet I can really label. I guess the simplest way to put it would be, I eat a vegan diet but include salmon, a few eggs here and there, and honey in my tea. Which isn’t really SAD, or vegan or vegetarian at all is it? More importantly, here is a place of balance. Like I said before, it’s been a bumpy path but I believe two things got me to where I am. Mindfulness and trust.

______________________________________

Thanks so much for sharing, Kathleen! I think we can all relate to your journey in some way, I know I can! and i'm thrilled that you've found a place of contentment in your life devoted to balance... something I strive for every day!

I'd love to hear some stories from you folks about your foodie paths in life. Are you vegetarian? vegan? how did you make these decisions?

Have a very merry tuesday, pals! and don't forget to vote!
*love and hugs*

the cookie that wasn't

Happy Monday, muffins! Despite monday's bad rep, I have to say today is quite a fine one.. at least in terms of the weather. 'Tis 55 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.. perfection! Finally, fall got it right.

Also, we all know what Monday means. This weeks Make it Happen goals and Best of theme... Before I get to all that juicy stuff though aren't you wondering how I did on my last week's Make it Happen goal? I know, you must be dying...

Last week my goal was to switch up my eats a tad, try new things, yada yada yada. Well, I did and I liked it, liked it a lot. A few highlights included...

Pumpkin Dumplings
a few weeks ago the fabulous Lindsey over at Nasoya offered to send me some coupons for their won ton wrappers.

preshie, right? and oh so so easy! all I did for the mixture was mic 1/2 cup pumpkin with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a packet of NuNaturals

mix up the pumpkin miture and spoon a little bit in the center of the wrapper (I used 3 for this recipe). Use a little water along the edges of the wrapper and fold diagonally. Bake in the toaster at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes.

so simple, so divine!

The Nasoya site also has a ton of sweet and savory recipes for their wrappers. I highly recommend!

I also received a sample of the Lazy Baker's Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread from the ever so generous Matt.


being quite the lazy baker myself, I was intrigued.

The only ingredients were the mix, butter, and vanilla.. sounds easy enough. For some reason while I was baking these I thought they were supposed to be cookies, so I was so curious as to why there were no wet ingredients for this recipe. The dough ended up being incredibly crumbly and I was convinced that I'd messed up somewhere and all was lost. I tried to mold the dough in to "cookies" but they wouldn't stay together so I just popped 'em in a baking pan, brownie style.... little did I know this was the right move all along. I took a leap of faith and baked these cookie/brownie/crumbly mess in the oven anyways. The scent of sweet buttery brown sugar and pecans filled the air and upon opening the oven I was pleasently surprised to see the tantalizing result..

I told my mom about my baking woes and she told me a shortbread dough was supposed to be crumbly.. doh! How did I not realize I was making shortbread?! Nonetheless, I'm glad I did because these were unbearably good.

can't even handle it.

Moral of the story: know what you're making before you make it.

Some more info about the Lazy Baker company

The Lazy Baker recipes are inspired by the endless hours I enjoyed in my grandma's kitchen. Nanny was a superb European baker from Czechoslovakia who taught me how to transform simple, quality ingredients into delectable homemade treats.

When I was a little girl, I always looked forward to making cookies with Nanny. However, I didn't really enjoy the preparation, precision and time it took to get started. So, after Nanny had gone to the store, got the ingredients out and measured; she would call out "Where's my lazy baker?". That was my cue. This meant everything was ready to mix, roll and bake - basically the fun part.

Today I've taken on my grandma's role and am offering you this same traditional baking experience with half the effort. Lazy Baker mixes will provide you with consistently tasty cookies, fill the air with homebaked aromas and have everyone believing you spent hours in the kitchen. So go ahead and take all the credit (I won't tell).

does that not just make you want to go to Grandma's house and bake?

you can check out more of their products here. Oh and you didn't hear it from me, but rumor has it to the site they have a pistachio cranberry shortbread coming out soon.. *swooooon*

Other eats that I've concocted myself...

easiest egg white scramble on earffff! I got this recipe from the hungry girl website and have literally been eating it almost every day for the past week. Just mix 1/4 cup egg white, 1 laughing cow wedge (I added spinach and tomatos) pour mixture in to a bowl of mug, microwave for 1 minute, take out and stir gently, microwave again for 30-45 seconds and voila!

sammiefied.

a new favie combo I have been loving as of late is almond butter and oranges. Sounds like an old couple but they are perfect for eachother. I also love the way the oranges get warm and melty over my oats. Simple pleasures..

so there you have it, mission accomplished I'd say! What about you? Were you able to complete your Make it Happen Goals? What are you goals for this week??

Nuttynews

• This weeks Best Of theme: breakfasts! because it's my favorite meal of the day and I've been eating oats for the past 3 months and want to switch it up a bit. I love how I take advantage of your brilliant foodie minds.
• My Make it Happen goal: switch up breakfast!
• Your daily reminder to vote
• and enter my giveaway!

Hope you have a fabulous, not too painful, Monday... Peace out, blogscouts!