splitting it.

Today has been one of those rough days where all you want to do is eat freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with a warm comforting beverage or a cold glass of milk. I woke up with many items on my to-do list nagging me while I prepared oats for three. I knew that I messed up the measurements of the rolled oats and Scottish oatmeal mixture, but didn’t attempt to rectify it. Instead, I added more water, hoping to plump up the oats while they cooked. We were low on almond milk (not anymore) and left with frozen bananas and berries. Instead of adding chia seeds or flax while cooking, I simply stirred in some flaxseed afterwards. This was quite the pitiful attempt to make some good oats that I’ve been craving the last few days, but the two others sharing the batch seemed content with their somewhat small bowls full of oats with black raspberries, dried cherries, and vanilla almond butter. Maybe tomorrow I can do better.

I won’t divulge too much information regarding my crazy work life, but let me tell you, I hope that all this time of stress leads to a point in my life where I will have more freedom in my career. I feel confident in my capabilities, but there are a lot of obstacles that the industry creates. In order for me to progress, it gets kind of tricky. Things will probably change in a big way in the next few months. Those who have taught me the in’s and out’s of costuming seem to want to help me break down the walls that are around me right now, and that makes me feel great. At the same time, this is a waiting period that doesn’t sit too well within me. I always am one who strives when given tasks and when another has confidence in me. When I don’t feel that I am doing anything significant, I can feel bad for myself. Blogging is a great way to relieve some stress, but sometimes you just need a big chocolate chip cookie. This one was split with my younger sister. Isn’t it great having a friend or family member to split a GIANT treat with?

Oops…we ate before I could snap a shot. Eating this cookie with warm cups of tea (yes, it was 70 degrees out) was the perfect treat for me to enjoy sitting with my sister after a phone call filled morning of work. No, it wasn’t gluten free or healthy in any way.

For lunch, my sister and I made delicious wraps filled with a Sunshine Falafel Pattie, hummus, avocado, and romaine that we scrounged up before grocery shopping. I was surprised that she kept commenting about how tasty they were. Previously, I found them to be a little too dry for my liking. I guess there is nothing a good amount of hummus and avocado can’t help.

I remembered this evening that I had challenged myself to cook from my own cookbooks this month, instead of searching online for meal ideas. After browsing Veganomicon, I found the famous Chickpea Cutlets that I’ve seen numerous places around the blog world with rave reviews (recipe here). Every ingredient was already in our pantry so I set about making these with some newly found enthusiasm for the day.

For the side dishes, I sautéed a whole bunch of kale with tamari and rice vinegar, and baked sweet potato fries.

Instead of the mustard sauce in the book, I mixed some vegenaise and organic ketchup to make a russian dressing that I knew my mother would approve of. She has always loved russian dressing, especially with roast beef. Ironically, she hates ketchup. We all were fans of the chickpea cutlets. I felt they weren’t too meaty for me, which is usually the case with seitan and many other “meat alternatives.” I still have some Gardein products in my freezer that I am a little freaked to try…can someone convince me?

For dessert, I ate a slice of spelt toast spread with a chocolate hazelnut spread, similar to Nutella. I found it on Elana’s Pantry and although it was pretty yummy, it was no nutella.

Tomorrow, I am going to run. I have been craving it all night and I know a nice long run will be just what I need to release a little pent-up stress.

Other things:

-Are you going to the Healthy Living Summit? I finished dinner and looked at the clock at 8:58, and at that moment I decided to just buy a ticket spur of the moment since I knew tickets went on sale at 9 pm. I am unsure what August will be like for me schedule-wise but healthy living discussions and meeting so many like-minded individuals is incredibly exciting. I just couldn’t pass it up!

-Notice the extreme white in my photos that seems to be glowing? Know of any way to fix this? I am borrowing one of my father’s digital camera’s and have it on the food setting. I have also used the close up setting and both seem to have this effect. I have to work with this camera until I am ready to purchase a nicer one that I feel confident learning to use and would love to improve the quality of images.

-Are you a nutella fan? I grew up eating nutella and spent a summer when 16 in Italy eating it daily. When I was in the Netherlands for a semester in college, it was my only source of fat and protein when the rest of the students were eating ham and cheese paninis. I didn’t seem to mind, nutella was all I wanted.