Do you ever have these days where you feel like you are being pulled in a million directions? That’s how today has been! I think I have gotten a lot accomplished, but I am not sure because it has been a blur, lol.
My meeting this morning went fabulous! I always get myself so worked up over things and I get really anxious (I have always had problems with anxiety ever since I was a child), but there was no reason for it!
I am finally approved for my business license and I should be getting everything in the mail very soon! I also have my Food Safety Certification Exam on Monday so I will be studying all weekend for that! Glo Bakery is really coming together though and I am just so thrilled about it all! :)
Breakfast!!
I was so nervous this morning I wasn’t hungry for breakfast until 11am! :( I had some tummy troubles after I had some green tea. Sometimes when I have green tea on an empty stomach it makes me feel sick. Anyways, any anxiety left after my meeting and I had a big green monster to make me happy. :) The GM was followed by some homemade Soy yogurt with nuts and dried fruit! YUM!
This smoothie was one of my healthiest yet!!!
Ingredients:
- 1 T MaraNatha Raw Almond Butter
- 10 organic dandelion sprigs
- 1 organic kale leaf (running out!)
- 1 scoop Hemp Protein powder
- 1.25 cup Almond Breeze
- 1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup pumpkin (I really need to use this more!!!!)
- Kyolic liquid garlic
The smoothie was pure heaven!!!
The pumpkin makes it smooth, smooth, smooth. I really need to use it more often!!!
I also have been getting lots of questions about the organic dandelion. To be honest with you I don’t notice it AT ALL in my smoothies! Even using 10 sprigs of it today I didn’t taste it one bit. I totally recommend trying it out!
It went down like butta!
My lunch was on the road today while I was getting some bakery supplies and groceries! I had a 12” veggie footlong at Subway (not pictured- forgot my camera!).
Here are some pictures from my grocery shop:
This is my first time trying out The Balsamic Hemp Dressing! It looks right up my alley though- only 25 cals per serving and 1.5 grams of fat and all natural ingredients.
Mary’s Crackers were on sale $1.50 off at Loblaws!!! I got 3 boxes. :D Woot!
This is also my first time buying Sucanat sugar! I can’t wait to bake with it.
Sucanat (Sugar Cane Natural) is sugar in its most natural form. It is extracted from the sugar cane and the freshly squeezed juice is evaporated by a special Swiss process. Only the water is removed. This process preserves all of the molasses. Sucanat is organically grown with no added preservatives and additives.
Facts about Sucanat:
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Brown sugar contains only 0.5% mineral salts while Sucanat contains 3.0% mineral salts.
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It is completely natural, and has a taste that changes and gets sweeter as you eat.
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You can use Sucanat anywhere you would use brown sugar.
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It has a lower sucrose level than conventional sugar.
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It is sugar in it’s most raw form
[Source]
I tried some new teas this week:
- Eater’s Digest for stomach upset after eating (I get this alot)
- Weightless for water retention and bloating (ladies you know what I’m talking about!)
Well, I have to get back to work! I have a lot left to do before our late dinner tonight. I am going to try to put together a video BAKING demo tonight! Stay tuned :) I am also going to show you pictures of my baking goodies!
UPDATE: Shop 4 A Cause now has over 45 entries for your shopping pleasure!!! June 11th baby! All the details of my auction will be released in a newsletter for the Twenty Valley Niagara Country Run tomorrow, going out to 10,000 runners! I am so thrilled about this. :) Get this- the race gives out wine samples DURING the run!!! Right up my alley! lol. I can’t wait. If anyone is running this race please email me and maybe we can meet up!
Today’s Question: Are there any foods that you buy weekly that are a MUST buy? Aside from normal staples of course. Anything others find weird?
For me lately it is obviously greens for GM’s, avocados (obsessed), new teas, almond milk, and Spelt cereal. Those are on the list every week! I would add organic dandelion and organic kale but my local grocery store doesn’t always carry organic kale and they never carry organic dandelion (got at Whole Paycheck Foods).
Thanks for the info about Sucanat. Do you know about Jaggery, it is called the wholesome sugar and has all the minerals intact. Here’s the info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaggery
I also have kale and Almond Milk on my list every week! Most of my other purchases are pretty basic – lots of fresh fruit, peppers and other veggies. Sebastian and I like to go to an Arabic grocer in Brooklyn on the weekends and we get to load up on raw nuts, dried coconut, dried fruit, candies, olives, spices, and grains – all in BULK BINS. It’s an amazing place and I’m definitely going to take pictures next time I’m there. We also like to pick up fresh pita, labne (like a thicker greek yogurt), and grape leaves. I’m thinking I might experiment with some homemade vegetarian grape leaves soon!
Hooray for a great morning meeting and hopefully the tea settles your stomach. Can’t wait to see the baking video!
Hi Angela!
A question pour vous…I see your big boxes of spinach and I think to myself, “those would go bad in, like, 2 days at my place.” Seems I can’t eat my greens fast enough- they get moist and smelly before I know it. How do you keep your salad greens fresher for longer?
Congrats on your meeting too, btw!
Lisa
Hi Lisa! I normally have a problem with greens going bad too but I find this PC baby spinach stays SUPER fresh in this plastic box. I have no idea why. I hear that you shouldn’t wash produce until you are ready to use it though. I store my kale in the produce keeper drawer in the fridge and I find it stays good for a while if I make sure the knob/setting is set to the very end of the vegetable side. ~A
Awesome green smoothie! I LOVE the MaraNatha raw and creamy. SOOOOO good in smoothies! It’s going to be a staple ingredient in mine now that I’m not using flax or oats. And pumpkin is a great idea! Is it just pure pumpkin? or pumpkin butter/spread?
Just regular ‘ol canned pumpkin! :) ~A
Great shopping finds! I love hearing about what you buy at the grocery store. Keep posts like these coming! :)
I am SO jealous of the mary’s crackers. Those things are THE BEST. I must find a deal like that around here since they’re usually around $4
Hi Angela! I’ve been visiting your site daily (or multiple times/day!) for some time now and just want to tell you how much I enjoy it. I have especially enjoyed your recent discussion topics as they really seem to get everyone thinking…and thinking more positively of ourselves! Keep up the great work and know that you have one more fan here! :)
On my shopping list every week is Fage Total 0% greek yogurt and some sort of whole wheat bread. I live in Colorado and use an organic produce delivery service (www.doortodoororganic.com) and end up with some wonderful (and varied) fruits and veggies each week. The timing is perfect for using them up before the next delivery!
Hi Rachel! Welcome to OSG! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed those posts- there will be LOTS more to come! That is great abotu your delivery service! I was going to get a CSA delivery but it was too pricey here. However I just heard about an organic market in my town so I will be using that each week! ~A
I always have beets and hemp milk on my list. Funny thing is…I always feared them until I tried them and now I’m hooked! :)
I love Sucanat! I used it in the walnut chocolate chip spelt cookies I recently made and it was perfect!
kashi golean and yogurt(soy or greek) are always on the list. It’s rare for me to go a whole day without having a little of either one!
I’m going to have to try your veggie trick, because just like Lisa said in a comment above, mine always seems to go bad soooooooo fast :(
I have some produce delivered and it contained organic dandelion greens. Now that I know they wont bitter up a smoothie, I can’t wait to try one out!
Hmmm, punkin green monster eh? I bet it would go GREAT with some punkin glonuts….
Drool…
Huh? Wha? Oh! Grocery staples…
It used to be eggs and sprouted grain toast would show up on my list every week, but now it’s living harvest hempseed milk (I have to get the sweetened kind cuz that’s all my grocery store carries). I started buying this japanese pickled plum paste (umeboshi?) and it is AWESOME with salads. I cannot live without it now (it’s also supposed to help digestion and morning sickness). Cucumbers, red bell peps and various greens (kale, spinach, watercress and romaine) are always on the list. One thing I learned is that collard greens do NOT belong in a green monster, so that is the one green I don’t buy often. :-D
Oh yeah, and hummus of course. :-D
Now I’m hungry.
I just got some Mary’s Crackers too. They are total crack! Dr. Kracker has awesome crackers too. Sigh, I love carbs.
Yum! I wish we had those crackers in Canada. :-)
My must-buy list includes various nut butters and nuts, dried fruits, sprouted bread, almond butter, and lots of fruits and veggies. Much to my husband’s chagrin, it can get pricey. I’m all up for trying new things, too, so there is the occasional veggie burger or breakfast patty in the fridge, rice pudding, and scary things he just leaves alone.
Hi Angela,
I hope you receive this message. I read your blog daily, several times. It really is inspirational. I am a runner myself, just love it. A book that has really helped me, is entitled Running Well by Sam Murphy and Sarah Connors. It is a fantastic book. I know this has nothing to do with the post today but I thought you would enjoy it. Congrats on your business license. I plan on trying the green monster this weekend.
A trick for keeping your greens fresher longer – trying throwing a piece of paper towel into the plastic box. Fold it in half and plunk it inside, on top of the greens. Or kind of “line” the plastic box with it. Works for me – give it a shot!
hey angela, whenever i make my GMs i use 1c almond milk, i noticed that you use 1.25 cups. and you end up with a dainty pretty cup.. and i end up with over a pint glass full of GM! i am wondering.. do you drink the whole thing and just put part of it in your glass before the photograph? surely it must make much more than what is in the glass..?
Great question! Today that was all that it made (it may be hard to tell but that is a HUGE balloon wine glass!). Other days it makes about 1/2 cup more than I photograph. Hope that helps! ~A
whoops.. try throwing*
I buy tempeh every week…I love it!
I buy that same PC Organic spinach (or greens) in the same plastic containers and they work like a charm. Spinach can last a whole week in the fridge crisper (if we don’t eat it first!). Sometimes I save the box and reuse it if I’ve purchased greens in a bag the following week.
I just paid almost $4 for my first box of Mary’s. I should go back and see if they are on sale now!!
Besides the basics I always have pumpkin, dry figs,goat cheese,and Greek yogurt on my list. I always pick up different bars to try as well.
I don’t go grocery shopping much now that I live back home but I still have to buy bananas at least once a week since we run out quick. I can’t function without them!
I find that the baby spinach stays a lot more fresh in the plastic box too! Which is great because I love me some spinach!