Do you get migraines? They’re horrible. I think it’s hard for people to understand the amount of pain you feel. Dennis thinks I’m being dramatic and that I just have a headache. Not quite. They’re debilitating, and I always feel weird for a few days after I’ve experienced one. I hate the drug I’m on for them (a barbiturate, caffeine, and acetaminophen combo), so if you have another recommendation, I’d love to hear it. Or any natural remedies? I also wish I knew what triggered mine but…

That’s enough headache talk, I think. Let’s talk smoothies instead. I’ve been obsessed with them for the past few weeks. It all started when my mom bought me an awesome blender for Christmas. Now, I really look forward to blending up various concoctions for lunch everyday.

My favorite includes a frozen banana, 2 handfuls of spinach, a scoop of protein powder, and milk.

Look at that vibrant green.

Another favorite includes TJ”s kefir, frozen mixed berries, 2 handfuls of spinach, and a scoop of protein powder.

Mmm. What’s your favorite combo? Have you ever tried tofu in a smoothie yet? That’s my next mission.

Have a happy weekend!

Xo.

He doesn’t know it, but I’ve been assisting his healthier eating habits. I didn’t make just any cheesecake. It was special. I used Chobani Vanilla yogurt in it.

I found this recipe from Martha and used it for my inspiration. It went a little like this:

Chobani Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

1 pre-made graham cracker crust (Feel free to make your own. I didn’t have a lot of time.)

3 cups of Vanilla Chobani Greek Yogurt

8 oz. of light cream cheese

3/4 cup of sugar (plus 2 tablespoons for fruit topping)

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons of flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

bag of frozen strawberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Blend yogurt, cream cheese, sugar (minus the 2 tbsp.), eggs, flour, vanilla, and salt until creamy. Pour mixture into prepared graham cracker crust. Bake until just set in middle- about 1 hour. Edges should be a nice golden brown. Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate until it’s firm. In the meantime, prepare the fruit topping by combining strawberries and 2 tbsp. of sugar in a sauce pan, and boil until mixture is thick, about 10-15 minutes. Cool syrup, and top cheesecake just before serving.

It will look a little like this according to Martha, unless of course you use strawberries like me. But then again, you can use whatever fruit you’d like.

The picture I took has somehow vanished. I guess this means I’ll be making it again. Darn.

My, oh my, was this cheesecake good. Dennis didn’t even notice a difference from a typical full-fat cheesecake. It was gone in 2 days, but at least he ate quite a bit of protein from the Chobani. That’s healthy, right?

Please let me know if you try this recipe. It think it’s a winner.

Xo.

My zumba class at the college (where I also work) is starting back up tomorrow, so I’ve been working religiously on new routines the past week or so.

Given my busy schedule, I’ve been turning to both easy and make-ahead meals. Dennis will be eating a delicious turkey bacon quiche tonight, inspired by this recipe.

This quiche almost didn’t happen. Our oven decided to be a little temperamental last night. It kept given me an F1, E3 error, whatever that means. Then, I tried to preheat it one more time an hour later, and it worked! Thank goodness.

I’ve been sticking to lots of veggies lately. Spinach and a broccoli, cauliflower, carrot combo was only $1 a bag this week at the store. If you want to eat more veggies, I suggest buying a bunch of them. If you’re anything like me and hate seeing food going to waste, you will definitely be eating your fair share of the green stuff.

Not that I mind. I love topping fresh veggies with Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic Pasta Sauce as well as some parmesan. It’s one of my favorite easy, delicious, and nutritious meals.

Any suggestions for other quick meals? Especially for Dennis? If not, he’s going to be eating quite a lot of pasta until my show’s over.

Xo.

Yesterday I was out of town with my co-workers to visit this place.

(Any guesses? It’s quite a historical landmark.)

It was freezing cold and I got a bit car sick on the horribly bumpy bus, but it was still a nice day out and about.

After arriving home late in the evening from a long day (which included teaching a zumba class as soon as we got back), I was rather thankful that I went on a cooking spree on Sunday.

I’ve said it before, but there is nothing like a roast chicken.

Sunday’s dinner of chicken (which also included mashed potatoes, corn, and homemade gravy) became a lovely chicken tortellini dish for Dennis.

My original plan of using some of the chicken on my leftover flatbread from lunch quickly evaporated when all I wanted in the whole world was a bowl of cereal. Does that ever happen to you? I had all of this wonderful food in my kitchen, but I just wanted a cold, filling bowl of Life. (I blame the nausea of the earlier bus ride for my appetite.)

But the good news is that there is still leftovers for tonight. And a pantry full of cereal.

Xo.

P.S. What’s your favorite cereal? Mine changes frequently, but I love Life, Kashi GoLean Crunch, Raisin Bran, and Cheerios.

I have been on many adventures in those three years. Most notably, my adventure into recovery. It hasn’t always been a smooth journey, but I couldn’t be happier about where I am today in terms of my relationship with food and my body.

Thank you so much to all of my readers over the years. I love you. And I hope if anything, my journey and struggles have been able to help you in your recovery or, at least, that I’ve added a little hope into your life. Always remember that recovery is possible. And you deserve it.

Lots of love!

Xo.

I was amazed by all of my loot. I probably got 2.5 times the amount that I typically buy at one of our local grocery stores for the same amount of money. And I’m set for the exception of fruits and veggies for at least two weeks. For a girl on a budget, that’s just amazing. Plus all of the food that I bought is so fresh and so fun. I am particularly loving:

1. Whole Wheat Tuscan Panne (a longtime favorite)

2. TJ’s Sunflower Butter

3. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (it’s so pretty)

4. Plain Kefir for me, Lowfat Strawberry for Dennis. I still can’t believe that he’s drinking Kefir.

5. Frozen mango, which I can’t buy at my local grocery store.

6. Aria Protein Powder for smoothies.

7. Cheese and Garlic Croutons that are just heavenly.

8. Just Bananas Dried Fruit

9. Soy and Flax Chips

(Himalayan Pink Sea Salt from a google image search. Lovely, little gems.)

Are you a Trader Joe’s fanatic? Or do you just not get the hype? What are some of you favorite products?

I need to start making a list for next time.

Xo.

For Christmas, my boss gave me an interesting read.

(Amazon)

She was happy that this book had actually been on my Amazon Wish List for a few months and that I didn’t cringe when I opened my gift and spotted such a creepy cover: It’s almost enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up if you stare hard enough, isn’t it?

Riggs actually litters Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children with pictures akin to the cover shot- very unusual portraits of children, silhouettes, and masked faces. In fact, these vintage shots sparked the idea for his story. They helped him come up with the plot and characters within his debut novel.

Personally, I loved the creepy photography in conjunction with the descriptions of the peculiar children. And I think they worked well to emphasize his plot line.

And yet, I didn’t love this book. It was quite good. I read it in a day because I wanted, or rather, needed to know what happened. But at the end of the novel, I was left hanging. Oh, how I hate that! Riggs left ample room for a sequel, that is certain.

In the same vein, this book would make an excellent movie. As I read, I could imagine watching scenes from the novel unfold on the big screen- old, creepy houses and children who levitate and throw fire. Yes, throw fire. That’s why I was quite happy to see this in a little google search this evening.

Although I wasn’t totally impressed with the writing style or the ending of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, I did love the creativity of the plot and Riggs’ inventiveness. I’m actually quite looking forward to the movie adaptation.

What are you reading? I’d love to hear about some good books!

Last night as I was bundled on the couch cuddling the dog, I had the distinct urge to bake something…anything…with some of the Meyer lemons sitting in my fridge. I was thinking a bread, or a bar, or even a cake. But there was just one small problem. I was out of eggs.

Never to fear or to let a baking urge go to waste, I did what I do best. I got resourceful and decided to improvise with a few key ingredients: flax seed and yogurt.

I came up with a brilliantly dense and lemony cake based very loosely on this recipe.

My goodness, I love when I’m clever.

So here is my lovely, little cake recipe. The cake, as I mentioned, is quite dense without the added eggs, but so good. Plus on the bright side, you don’t have to worry about salmonella if you want to lick the batter.

Sweet Lips’ Meyer Lemon Eggless Cake

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 container of Chobani Vanilla Greek yogurt

3/4 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of honey

2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons of flax to 2 tablespoons of water. Allow it to sit for a few minutes.)

juice of 4 Meyer lemons

zest of 4 Meyer lemons

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a loaf pan or small pan. (I used 1 circular pan.)

In one bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. In another, whisk together yogurt, sugar, flax, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, whisking slowly. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake 45 minutes (or until golden brown.)

After cake cools, ice or garnish with powdered sugar or even whipped cream.

I’ve also discovered the best lotion if you crave citrus in the winter months like me. It smells divine- just like lemon icing. (And I found it at Walgreen’s for $8.99.)

Xo.

But don’t worry, I have a recipe that will keep you warm and toasty. I absolutely adore my mother’s version of white chicken chill. It’s nice and spicy and filling. I made a big pot for Dennis and me last night after taking a zumba class. I had the bright idea of walking and again ignored the falling temperature outside. I’m in denial that winter has reared its ugly head.

Anyway, I followed my mom’s recipe for the most part. Instead of using the taco seasoning, I added some cayenne and lots of cumin. I also skipped the cannellini beans for Dennis’ portion. After his hundredth repetition of “no beans” I succumbed to his wishes and only added them to my bowl.

I also served up some homemade tortilla chips. Well, I guess they aren’t technically homemade. I just cut up some tortillas, sprayed with a little oil, sprinkled with some sea salt, and toasted them in the oven until they were crispy. They were amazing.

And one more thing while I’m on the topic of warmth, this faux fur jacket is saving my life today. I feel a little bit like a furry animal and a starlet all at once, but I love it.

And I’m so warm…at last.

Xo.

Ugh.

It wouldn’t be so bad if, let’s say, my office was 20 degrees warmer. Right now, I’m bundled up in my coat and gloves. And if I squint, I do believe that I can see my breath dancing about.

But let’s pretend that I’m not freezing cold because I have to tell you about a lovely gift I received courtesy of Yonanas. They were nice enough to send me a product to review. And of course, I was thrilled.

I’ve been a big fan of banana soft serve since it swept the blog world a few years ago. But I always had a slight issue with making it. It destroyed my blenders. (I have been through too many. Hopefully the new KitchenAid blender my mom bought me for Christmas will stand the test of time.) The Yonanas seemed perfect for my issue.

So with great delight, I broke it out during my Christmas vacation. It was incredibly easy to use. The parts come together and apart very easily to clean. I also liked that I could use a special tool to jam the frozen bananas into the grinder. My only complaint would be the noise. It was a bit loud. As in, Dennis screamed at me from the couch to stop the racket, and Daisy hid in the shower, shaking in fear.

But if that’s the price I have to pay for banana soft serve and a working blender, that’s okay with me.

This stuff is delicious.

I can’t wait to try it with some other frozen fruit- I’m thinking strawberries and mango.

I think I’ll just need to thaw out first.

Xo.