Christmas Chaos

Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it is also the busiest. My last final was on Wednesday morning- it wasn't even a final it was just a presentation, so I drove home afterward. I would have liked to stay at school and just enjoy my apartment for a few days, but I am one of the leads in a play at home so I had to go home. 

Cora happily greeted me, but I think it's just because she knows I give her peanut butter (her favorite). I had a fairly large box that I put all my peanut butters and almond butters in to take home over break and somehow no matter where I put it she always finds it and starts licking it. She likes peanut butter almost as much as I do ;)

Thursday morning I was up bright and early to be at the gym when they opened so I could squeeze in a workout before I had to go and run lines. It ended up being one of my best workouts in a while despite me being exhausted. My post workout snack while running lines was a Quest S'mores bar. HOLY GUACAMOLE IT'S THE BEST FLAVOR EVER! I may have gone a tad overboard when Quest had their cyber Monday sale- I got five boxes (In all fairness not all of them were mine, just most) :) 

Seriously though the s'mores tops the cookies and cream as my favorite, you need to try it! I mean how can you say no to all those delicious s'mores chunks?!

Thursday night I made a double batch of my flourless peanut butter banana muffins for my brother. My brother is coming home from California for Christmas and he requested a batch of flourless peanut butter banana muffins because they are his favorite. I made them, let them cool and stuck them in the freezer for when he arrives. 

Yesterday afternoon before I had to get ready and leave for the play I made myself a nice afternoon snack. I generally don't eat anything between lunch and dinner because I want to be hungry for dinner- especially if it's something good! Spontaneously I decided to make myself a mug cake. I'm not a mug cake kinda gal, but this one was really good. It's gluten free and high in fiber! 

High Fiber Chocolate Mug Cake

• 2 tablespoons high fiber coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tablespoon organic honey (or maple syrup)
• a few enjoy life chocolate chips sprinkled on top

Thoroughly combine all ingredients in the mug until dough forms. 

Microwave on high for 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Check to see if it is done. Insert a toothpick or prong of a fork, if it comes out clean it's done. If it's not microwave it for an additional 15 seconds and check again.

Top with whipped cream or any of your favorite toppings, enjoy!

Crockpot Vegetable Soup (Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Vegan)

I'm not sure if I should say happy Monday or not because it is Monday of finals week. In a few short hours I have to take my statistics exam that I have seriously studied my brains out for. No joke I've woken up doing statistics in my sleep, scary I know. I cannot wait for finals to be over and go home! 

This weekend I basically went off the grid, which in a strange way was rather nice. I hardly turned my phone on and tried to keep Internet usage on my laptop to a minimum- minus yesterday's study break which I finally posted my Thanksgiving recap and may have wound up watching buzzfeed videos (seriously no clue how I ended up there). I've been studying like a mad woman for my stats exam and really needed an easy meal for finals week. I've been craving vegetables (is that strange?) and soup sounded nice in the cold weather, thus I present Crockpot Monday Vegetable Soup! 

Crockpot Vegetable Soup

• 1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 2 lb. frozen vegetable mix, I used Meijer brand which had carrots, peas, green beans and corn
• 28 oz organic diced tomatoes
• 32 oz organic low sodium chicken broth, can substitute vegetable stock 
• splash of olive oil, approx. 1-2 teaspoons, you can omit this
• ground black pepper, to taste
• fresh or dried basil, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic

In the crockpot add the splash of olive oil, then layer in the onion, sweet potato and about half of the mushrooms. 

Next, dump in the entire bag of frozen vegetables. 

On top of the frozen vegetables dump the remaining mushrooms.

Dump the entire can of diced tomatoes on top of all the vegetables, then pour in the chicken broth. 

Finally top with ground black pepper and basil to taste. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Stir the soup to mix around all the vegetables before serving. I served the soup with gluten free corn bread.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for later use.

Nutrition per serving, serves 10 (macros will vary depending on what products you use):

Calories: 59

Carbs: 10 grams

Fat: 0 grams

Fiber: 2 grams

Protein: 3 grams

Sodium: 148 mg

Sugar: 5 grams

Thanksgiving Recap (Better Late than Never)

I am definitely way behind on getting posts up, and for that I blame finals. Since Friday I have been basically off the grid holed away in my apartment studying for my statistics final, which is tomorrow (YIKES)! I am so ready for finals week to be over.

I know Thanksgiving was over a week ago, but I wanted to do a quick recap of my short Thanksgiving break. 

For some stupid reason my university does not give us an entire week off for Thanksgiving. I drove home Tuesday night after classes. Wednesday morning I was scheduled for an ultrasound because of problems I have been having due to lupus. I was not allowed to eat or drink for 12 hours before the test. My test was scheduled for 8:15, but I normally eat breakfast between 4 and 4:30 AM. I was extremely hangry and parched by the time my appointment rolled around, not to mention they were late getting me. As soon as the test was over I bolted across the street to Panera Bread and got the breakfast power bowl with turkey. I was crazy good, but I'm not sure I even tasted it. I scarfed the whole thing down in no time. 

I did not even get to enjoy much of my Thanksgiving break because I had a ton of homework and a take home statistics exam that were due after break. I spent a lot of my break studying, but Cora kept me company while I worked on my statistics. I think the only reason she likes having me home is because I allow her on the furniture. 

Thanksgiving morning I did a killer workout partially because I knew I was going to stuff my face later. Post workout I enjoyed this deliciously chunky cookies and cream Quest Bar.

I didn't take any pictures of Thanksgiving dinner this year, but trust me my mom did an exceptional job! Friday I was not one of the crazies out shopping early in the morning. I stayed home and indulged in this parfait bowl. I had 1/2 cup light and fit greek yogurt, 1 kiwi, 1 tablespoon vanilla espresso almond butter from Wild Friends (I finally got my hands on it!) and about 1/4 cup cranberry almond quinoa granola (I made a chocolate version). 

With my parfait bowl I had my favorite avo-egg GF toast. If you haven't tried it yet you are seriously missing out! I love avo-egg toast with scrambled and hard boiled egg either way you can't go wrong. 

Sunday morning I drove back to school early in the morning so I could get settled in and ready for a hectic week. My mom didn't let me leave empty handed though. I was sent back with a doggy bag of yummy Thanksgiving leftovers- leftover turkey and roasted vegetables. (P.S. I got a new set of dishes over the weekend and I am in LOVE with them- I love black Friday markdowns all weekend!)

I apologize for the mile long post and being MIA the past week. I need to get back to studying for exams :P Have a great rest of your weekend!