Two Awesomely Quick Snacks

Yesterday was my first day off in such a long time and I spent it mostly in front of the TV watching Wimbledon. As you can tell, I was chillin' so much that I just put my computer aside and had myself a personal day. I took a day off from working out, errands, all of the above and just relaxed. It was kinda nice, but then I felt a little bummed because I have so much to yet still do! Hmph! But hey, I got a day off to do nothing so I can't complain, right?

Almost the entire day I rummaged through the kitchen trying to find something I could maybe make, bake, cook, anything! I haven't been to the grocery store in such a long time and my food has been limited. Since I wasn't really hungryyy, I just wanted to munch all day. I had a lot of food that is on the verge of rotting, so I wanted to use most of it up.

Introducing the easiest and best sandwich post workout or as a snack- banana bread almond butter sammich! At work, my boss bought maybe 2 cases filled with bananas; which at work hardly sell. Usually I will take one here and there just so they don't go to waste (and also because I'm wildly in love with bananas). I was craving a Peanut butter and banana sandwich, but wasn't feeling like having a full on sandwich for the day. We were joking about how we are probably going to be making banana breads all week trying to compensate for our rotting bananas, and I thought hey! Why not make a banana act as the bread!! YES! It was actually really filling and it tasted amazing! All I did was slice a banana in half long ways and then add almond butter (homemade) on one side and squished the other side of the banana on top. EASY PEASY.

My next quick fix snackage recipe? Bruschetta. Yup. Vegan and gluten free and absolutely amazing. My mom said it was the BEST bruschetta she's ever eaten. The best part? Only took me 5 minutes to simple put together! Here's a quick little recipe to make the tomato mixture even better!

Tomato Basil Bruschetta 

Serves 8 tiny bruschetti

6 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced

2 shallots, diced

1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons EVOO

a pinch of salt and pepper

1/4cup vegan cashew cream (recipes anywhere and everywhere)

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (vegan)

8 pieces of gluten free bread, toasted

1. All ingredients except toast together and let it marry for an 30 minutes. 

2. toast your bread so it is nice and crispy then top it with your bruschetta. If you have fresh basil, place a leaf on bottom than put your tomato mixture on top.

So easy, yet so delicious!!

Fruitastic Weekend!

The weekend could NOT have gotten more beautiful! It was such a lovely weekend! Although I worked both days this weekend, I did not let it stop me from enjoying the sun. I enjoyed so many smoothies outside, while reading some awesome cookbooks that I got and trying to read the Hunger Games. I'm so lucky I'm an early bird- that way I can wake up, enjoy a refreshing smoothie, go on a run all before work and STILL have time for a shower! 


I feel like I talk so much about food, that I forget to talk about the fitness side of me. I work out approximately 5 days (sometimes 6) a week- running every other day and doing some weights on the days in between. Usually, I take Sunday as my freebie day. I run approximately 7-8 miles at the moment, working on 13 miles for my HALF MARATHON! It's scary thought .. 13 miles?! phew. I love to run-it is something I began to have a love for recently. Back in the days before my Celiac Disease, I always thought I had some sort of asthma. Always athletic, but I was terrible when it came to running. Ever since I found out about the Celiac Disease, I have had a clearer mind and I can run for miles on miles and feel great! In order to be able to also do this, nutrition and a healthy diet is CRUCIAL! Usually, I have my smoothies after my runs. In my smoothies, I add some protein powder to keep my muscles retained rather than hurting! I have terrible knees due to my long love for basketball, so they hit hard when I run. But hey, they are troopers just like I am, and take the brunt of the pain! Here is one of my many smoothie recipes. This one I especially love because it uses fresh fruit and fruit that you will most likely have at local grocery stores!

Berry Banana Flax Smoothie

Serves 1

• 1 Banana, halved
• 5 Strawberries, cut in quarters
• 1/4 Cup Blueberries
• 8 blackberries
• 1 scoop Soy Protein Powder (vanilla flavor)
• 2 Tablespoons Flax Seeds

Combine all into a blender and mix until smooth.

mmmmmm- this is all in my smoothie except I just ate it like yogurt :] enjoy VegNews special yayyy!

Mini Waffle Sammiches!

The stress of finals is killin me!! I'm done my junior year Thursday, but I have 4 finals that are in my way! ahhh!! So close, yet so far! I'm gonna make this post really short, simple and to the point- to make these get a waffle mix- I love King Arthur's! Follow the directions, substitute eggs and milk as such ( I still love the flax eggs for these!) And make these the mini ones if you could! You'll be saving calories! Trust me! Especially if you load up on your fruits! Happy mornings, now on to studying for finals WAH :[

Breakfast + Shopping!

This weekend was such a delight! Although it was Blue and White Weekend at Penn State, I had to go home for my best friend's little sister's sweet 16. I know- I haven't been to a sweet sixteen since I was sixteen and that was like...5-6 years ago! Yikes! But it was a lot of fun and I'm so glad I got to see my dream team <3 

The next day, my mom took me business casual shopping! Ahhh crazy how fast life gets at you. Well, I didn't want to overload on a big breakfast because my mom and I were going to seasons 52 to eat ( my FAVORITE place besides The Loving Hut!), but I had to eat! So I made this quick little snackity snack- Banana, Almond Butter, and Rice Cakes! DELISH! You can put some jam on it to make it even better, but personally Almond Butter and Banana is my probably the greatest combo ever. Ever since "Face" from the old Nick Jr. taught me such an awesome sammich!

We decided to have an early dinner to beat the crowd. Seasons 52 is always soo busy. But this is what I got!!! It's called the Farmer's Market Special- Grilled Tofu, Spicy Snow Peas with grilled shiitake, and steamed beats, carrots, asparagus, broccoli Peppers, and carmelized Onions. It was HEAVEN. It filled me up too! Now, if you want to take the non-gf choice, you can have the sauce and taboouleh that says on the menu, but since I can't eat them, I asked for them without it and my waiter gave me extra vegetables instead! Honestly, without the sauce it was awesome and I felt like I wasn't missing out on anything! Oh please I want some more!