update.

what i'm doing:

i just finished my first round of clinical!

hooray!

i was blessed with a great instructor,

great nurses who loved to teach me,

great patients who allowed me to learn,

and a great group to learn with!

back to school tomorrow to learn more,

and to help me to continue to grow to be a great nurse.

what i'm eating:

yep, it's green.

and it's called a green monster.

this isn't my first rodeo, 

i blogged about it here.

it's probably full of nickel.

and i probably don't care.

at all. because it's good.

and it's good for me.

and because God said in Genesis 1:29,

"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.  They will be yours for food."

so, thank you very much, God, I will eat it.

and I will rejoice in doing so.

what it's made of:

spinach

frozen bananas

frozen pineapple

strawberries

1 T chia seeds

1 T almond butter

1 t maca powder

1/4 c coconut yogurt

12 oz water

what it tastes like:

amazingness

fact: that's an actual word.

i thought i made it up,

but it seems that someone else out there is just as clever as i.

see here.

what i'm learning:

final product:

i have attempted this twice.

twice at 5:30am before going to the hospital.

before finding a video and attempting to just braid then bun.

but as it turns out, there's an art to it.

and it takes time.  not 5 minutes.

will repost later when i master it.

what i'm living:

striving daily to have an attitude worth catching.

loving like jesus.

he died for me,

being bold for him is the least i can do!

"submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil & he will FLEE 

from you." - james 4:7

keep shining!

peppermint mocha cupcakes.

this weekend i made these.

and they were pretty amazing.

so, i'm sharing.

vegan peppermint mocha cupcakes:

1 c coconut milk

1 t apple cider vinegar

3/4 c granulated sugar

1/3 c oil

1 c flour

1/3 c cocoa powder

3/4 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

2 t espresso

1 t peppermint extract

12 pieces dove peppermint bark, chopped (not vegan)

add apple cider vinegar to coconut milk & set aside, 

allowing it to curdle.

add to mixing bowl along with sugar and oil.

mix until foamy.

sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.

add to wet ingredients and mix until no large lumps remain.

add espresso and peppermint extract.

stir in chopped peppermint bark.

fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.

bake at 350 for 18 minutes.

allow to cool in pan before transferring.

peppermint buttercream:

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c earth balance

3 1/2 c powdered sugar

1/4 c almond milk

1 tsp peppermint extract

add shortening and earth balance to mixing bowl, 

mixing until creamy.

add powdered sugar, mixing for about 3 minutes.

add almond milk and peppermint extract,

 beating on high and mix for 5-7 minutes.

pipe onto cupcakes!

add chocolate shell/sauce on top if you desire.

chop more peppermint bark pieces and sprinkle on top of cupcakes.

enjoy!

beanie brownies.

this is new:

but it's impossible to be scared of it.

because it's in the shape of a snowman head.

black bean brownies

1/3 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 t EnerG egg replacer + 2 T water

1 T coconut oil, melted 

1/4 c cocoa powder

dash salt

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 c sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 t espresso powder

1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

spray muffin tin (mine was silicone - no need to)

2. pureé beans in food processor

3. add remaining ingredients to food processor except chocolate chips

4. once batter is smooth, stir in chocolate chips

5. bake in oven for 18 minutes or until sides start to pull away from sides of pan

6. let cool for 30 minutes before taking out of pan

these are so fudgy, so rich, and so delicious.

and best of all: they are gfree and vegan!

whip it good.

whipped cream from coconut milk.

step 1.  place coconut milk can in refrigerator to chill.  i left mine in overnight

step 2. scrape cream layer off the top and place in bowl

step 3.  whip, and whip, and whip!  

and then add vanilla bean.

step 4.  get out your cute pecan pie cupcakes

step 5.  place the coconut whipped cream on top.

step 6.  eat after a yummy Thanksgiving dinner!

reason #146 that i'm a geek.

order of events:

i needed buttermilk.

i saw a carton of buttermilk at the grocery store.

picked up said buttermilk for $0.79.

awesome.

saw glass bottle of buttermilk.

imagined all the beautiful things i could make with said glass bottle.

picked up $2.49 bottle.

put back $0.79 carton.

looked at top.

maple view farm.

awesome: local buttermilk from hillsborough, nc,
where every cow has a name!

true story.  that makes my heart happy.

go to check out.

rung up buttermilk.

maple view farm buttermilk.......$2.49

bottle charge....................................$1.50

"um...sir?... bottle charge?"

[yes, mom, you raised quite the grammatically correct daughter.

at least i said sir.]

"yes, ma'am.  when you bring the bottle back they refund you."

"what if i wanna keep the bottle?"

"seems like a waste of money to me."

"sir, i dare you to get lost in bottle wonderland."

jk. should've.  didn't. 

i'm pretty sure he was already convinced that i was a weirdo.

so then i go home and take pictures of said bottled buttermilk.

so, technically that is reason #146 and #147 that i am a geek.

got flair, don't care.

what a beaut.

pumpkin + chocolate = love

i made my usual pumpkin cupcakes last night.

but this time, 

i threw in some chocolate chips for a little surprise.  

and those little babies were just as crunchy inside the cupcake as they were

in the bag they came in.

maybe it had something to do with how moist the pumpkin was.

idk.

it was good.

and instead of my usual vanilla bean buttercream on top of those lil ladies,

i went with cinnamon buttercream.

why? 

because when i think of pumpkins,

i think of fall.

and when i think of fall, 

i think of cinnamon.

so here she is, 

ms. chocolate chip pumpkin cupcake with cinnamon buttercream:

and here is the recipe to the yummy cinnamon icing

[because olive you.]:

1/4 c earth balance

1/4 c vegan shortening

2 c powdered sugar 

1/2 t vanilla

1 T coconut milk

1 1/2 t ground cinnamon 

1/2 t cinnamon extract

cream the margarine and shortening in mixing bowl at high speed.

add remaining ingredients, and mix until creamy [3-5 minutes].

pipe the amazingness onto your cupcakes, or anything else you can find.

yummmm.

day 5.

so far so good!

days 1 - 3 were probably the hardest.

i say this as if days 4 and 5 were a cakewalk.

t and i made a deal that we could have 5 black cups of joe a week,

to account for every work day.

[i know this doesn't make any sense for all my nursey friends]

i tried my hardest not to have it.

and i am proud to say,

and slightly embarrassed - hello starbucks pumpkin spice latte

1 week before i start - 

that i had one cup monday,

and half of a cup tuesday.

headaches.

crankiness.

sluggishness.

it was all there.

but today is a new day, and i feel great!

and i am proud to say that nobody is starving,

although t would tell you otherwise.

here is the first thing i made:

[duh.]

and they are in little orange halloween wrappers.

and yes, i know it's september.

so what.

i love orange,

and i love halloween.

like, L O V E.

anyways,

here is how you make this delicious raw treat

almond butter cup 

1 c almond butter

1 1/2 c agave, divided

2 c coconut oil, divided

1/2 tbsp sea salt

1 c cacao nibs

mix almond butter, 1/2 c agave, 1/2 c coconut oil, and sea salt

in medium bowl; keep to side.  blend cacao nibs, remaining 1 c agave,

and remaining 1 1/2 c coconut oil in blender until smooth. spread little baby

cupcake liners out onto cookie sheet or pan.  spread 1/2 of this mixture into 

little baby cupcake cups to create a thin layer.  place in freezer for 15 min

to firm.  spread almond butter mixture over hardened cacao layer.

spread remainder of cacao mixture over almond butter;

place in freezer until firm.  

eaaaaaaaat.

store extra in refrigerator.

day 1.

no, i'm not 30.

my bf and i are going 30 days raw!

that means this:

yikes!

it's not so weird.

don't worry about me.

i did it last fall,

and it was really energizing

and made my body feel so clean.

i am a teensie bit worried about him.

luckily, he's super competitive,

so it can't be anything other than fun!

i'll post recipies, pics, etc.

happy monday!

obsession.

i discovered several things today.

1. we are lazy.

and by "we", i mean americans.

i made homemade brownies last night and they were so simple.

so simple that i had all the ingredients in my house.

so simple that it puts the silly box/bag of mix to shame.

so amazingly simple.

2. i really am obsessed with chocolate and peanut butter.

like, for real.

as if my occasional peanut butter m&m dinner-on-the-fly,

and my manhunt in london and kenya for a n y t h i n g

that contained choco & pb wasn't evidence enough

(literally. i walked around the heathrow airport at least three times.)

i made said brownies and put choco chip pb cookie dough on top.

no i will not stop it.

i did.

3. i have little self control when it comes to said choco pb obsession.

after coming home from the gym, i cut those suckers into squares

to put on cupcake wrappers and onto a plate for bible study.

and then couldn't contain myself.

i had to have one.

then another baby one.

seriously?

these things are amazing.

incredibleness is adapted from recipe girl.

choco chip pb cookie dough brownies:

brownie

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Pour in water, vegetable oil and vanilla; mix until well blended.

Spread evenly in a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top isn't shiny and the brownie isn't looking jello-jigglish.

Let cool for at least an hour (or overnight, like moi).

cookie dough

1 c creamy pb

1 c firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 t enerG egg replacer (can't be gettin' salmonella)

mixed w/ 2 T water

3/4 t baking soda

1/2 c choco chips (or just eye-level dump, more fun)

mix first 4 ingredients together w/ spoon.

add choco chips.

easy peasy.

pull brownies out of fridge

add pb cookie dough to top of brownies,

spreading evenly.

let chill in the fridge

cut into squares (the colder, the easier)

share!

pbj.

good morning bloggies.

i made a little slice of heaven this weekend.

i thought about how i love pb&j

and then i thought about how amazing toast is

with melty pb on it

and how amazing toast is with

melty strawberry jam on it.

so i put those two melty babies together

and made grilled pb&j.

it was heaven

it looked like this

(well, sorta. this one is from allrecipies)

it was so good that i didn't stop long enough to take a picture.

it's the same process as a grilled cheese,

but grilled pb&j

enjoy!

bandwagon.

I jumped on it.

which one?

the oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookie one.

no, you aren't hearing things.

jenny made them here

and amy made them

then there was becky

then sweet mccall

and each time I saw someone else make one, I was peer pressured.

I had to do it.

and here are mine. and they are vegan. duh.

these are unreal.

reason number one: they are half the size of a baseball.

like no joke.

they are huge. I could have stopped at eating one half of my halved baseball, but then I thought that it wouldn't be fair to the other half. and I don't like discrimination.

reason number two: they are so incredibly amazingly good.

seriously.

make some! you won't regret it, and your friends will love you that much more