Memorial Day & Recipe Preview

Hi all :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. It's not just a day to chow down on some delicious BBQ; it's a day where we honor the men and women who have put their lives on the line for us. I know some people don't agree with war in the first place. Take someone on my Facebook, for example. She is so anti-war. I don't think I know anyone more anti-war than her. But she still took the time to honor the people who have fought for our country even if she disagrees with the reasoning behind it. Now that's respect!

Yesterday I just a low-key kind of day: I went out for lunch with my mom, went on a long walk with her, and then just chilled out at home. 

I should also mention that I am working on getting a recipes pages up. It will feature a little something like this...

Source

This isn't my picture but when my mom and I make it, it looks identical to this picture.

I saw that Katie had this a few nights ago and she loved it. Let me tell you, when I saw this on her blog, I freaked. This is my FAVORITE dessert and it's a signature in our household. Every Easter and Thanksgiving we have it and sometimes just for fun. It's my grandma's recipe and it's probably my favorite. 

You'll see it sometime soon. ;)

I hope everybody enjoys their day!

Day with Daddy & Grocery Haul!

So yesterday was some much needed daddy / daughter time. 

At about 9:30 a.m., him and I took my dog on a walk on a nearby trail. We took him up to a creek where he loves to swim and goof off, but he was a little hesitant after seeing this:

Yeah, I'd be a little hesitant too.

We saw some guy who we ALWAYS see feeding the fish in the creek and he showed us some pretty cool tricks with this spin top. He told us to draw a circle in the trail a few meters away. We did it a little confused, but he then proceeded to throw the spin top in the direct middle of the circle, like a bullseye, where it spun perfectly. We were flabbergasted. He also spun it on his fingers which was really cool!

When we got back home, I whipped up a quick lunch and then my dad and I went to a local natural foods store. He thinks I am so weird that I enjoy going to these places, but hey, it's what I like. :) He hates going in natural food stores though not because of their products (he actually found some stuff that he really liked!) but because of the strong smell of incense. Nine times out of ten, a natural foods store will smell like incense. 

Anyways, I thought I would show you a few of the things I picked up. I'm really excited to try all of these and I will keep you all updated on what I thought of them!

Ready? Okay!

Metromint Goodberrymint Water

This I actually did drink on the way home. I have seen these around before and I was really curious as to what it tasted like. It was VERY minty and I think I would've liked the lemon or orange flavor better, but nonetheless it was quite refreshing.

Earthly Balance Coconut & Peanut Spread

I am so flippin' excited to try this stuff. I have seen it on Tessa's blog and I've also seen Jill mention it on Twitter. I am a HUGE fan (as you are all very aware) of peanut butter and coconut oil. Put the two together and you have a blissful Britt.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes

I've also seen these around some blogs as well. I love quinoa and it's nutritional stats are quite, well, spectacular to say the least. I can't wait to swap my normal oats or oat bran in the morning for this.

Original Mary's Gone Crackers

Okay, so I have gotten the big box of these are Costco before (although I don't think they have them anymore. *sadface*) They are SO good and they leave a funky aftertaste as well as a funny burnt smell but I LOVE them. My mom approves of them too! 

Stretch Island Fruit Co. All-Natural Ripened Raspberry Fruit Strip

Such a long title for something so little. These were only $0.35 and I chose the raspberry. I've seen these everywhere so I wonder how they will taste!

Bison Patties

I have never tried bison but have heard awesome things about it. Apparently my dad has too because the first thing he said when we saw it was "Bison meat has much less fat than your standard red meat." I can't wait to try it; I'm a meat lover so this is right up my alley! (Sorry, vegetarians!)

Uncured Natural Meats Sizzling Hot Snack Sticks

So, like I just said, I am a carnivore and these look scrumptious. I'm sure Alexandra would definitely approve these. :) She's a girl after my own heart. <3

Garden of Life Peanut Butter Crunch fucoProtein Bar

I've had this before as you can see in this picture taken a few months ago:

I remember it being very yummy so I couldn't pass it up when I saw it!

thinkThin Chocolate Fudge Protein Bar

When I was in school and couldn't bring a full protein snack (could you imagine the smell if I had tuna?) I would bring these. I love them. I've only had the fudge brownie, crunchy peanut butter, creamy peanut butter, and white chocolate flavors so I was ecstatic to find this new flavor. I still need to try the others!

I had a great day with daddy in total. We always buy a little kiddie pool for my dog every summer and my mom just bought him a new one. He loves swimming so we just filled it up for him and now he is straight up chilling in that thing.

What a cutie. Hate when he shakes off and gets me soaked though.

Until the next post :)

My Reflection on Sophomore Year

 10 Things I Learned During My Sophomore Year:

1. I learned about my true interests (fitness and nutrition anyone?) and I learned that I shouldn't be ashamed of what others think about this.

2. I learned that I never want to take an economics class again, although I loved my teacher. :)

3. I learned that I want to go into the field of psychology one day (with a side of personal training, of course). I want to help people who don't realize that they have the potential to live a healthy, happy life.

4. I learned that you should not start an essay that turned out to be eight pages long at 8 o'clock the night before it is due. (But I still managed to get an A)

5. I learned who is really there for me, and who really just likes to play the field of friendship.

6. I learned that it's not so bad to wake up very early, because now, even on weekends and during summer, I am waking up anywhere between 5:00-5:30 a.m. NEVER used to be an earlybird. Now I am such a morning person. :)

7. I learned that hazelnut coffee takes regular coffee to a WHOLE new level.

8. I learned that I am very "Type A" when it comes to my personality and that it is something I need to work on.

9. I learned that my family is 10x stronger than I had previously thought.

10. I learned that I am an individual who should help others but not forget to help herself.

There you have it. I hope my insight interested all of you. Have a lovely Friday. :)

Healthy Stress Relieving Alternatives to Working Out

I am back. D'ya miss me? I'll assume you said yes.

I wanted to talk about something I see very often. And I am not going to lie, I experience it as well.

Are you one of those people who gets stressed out so easily and the only thing that relieves your stress is working out? 

I am! And it's NOT healthy. Even though YES working out is so incredibly good for you and necessary, too much of anything will not go in your favor.

Sure, if you're stressed once and you haven't worked out yet and want to go on a run, go for it. But if you've already worked out twice before, take a step back.

I get stressed super easily. When I do, all I want to do is bust out some weights, or go on a vigorous bike ride, or something of that nature. 

Here's why it is bad: if you get stressed easily, you'll want to work out all the time. If you are constantly working out, you're wearing down the body so that it's actually becoming weaker, and your cortisol levels skyrocket, causing you to essentially hold on to belly fat and be one crabby mess.

This is him when he's crabby. Stay back!

Want to know more about cortisol? Here's a good link:

http://www.metaboliceffect.com/topic/36-nutrition-lifestyle.aspx

The thing is, excessive exercising doesn't just do a number on your body, it really breaks down the mind. You become infatuated and feel uncomfortable when you're not working out. You are OVERTRAINING which can potentially lead to muscle loss and severely dampens your mood and sleeping patterns. For my females out there, you also risk losing your period. (Which is not good my friends, not good at all.)

I LOVE working out. It's probably my favorite thing to do. But I know what my limit is and I know that rest days are just as important as training days. 

So, if you can't workout to relieve stress every time you get stressed, what can you do? I'll tell ya! :)

- Go on a walk (yes, it's still technically 'activity' but when I want to work out due to stress, I want high intensity stuff, so this is definitely better)

- Take a hot bath or shower

- Take a nap

-Find a hobby that doesn't have to do with physical activity (For me, it's definitely writing or reading!)

- Call a friend or family member and 'vent' about your stress; let it out!

Remember, you should get active everyday, not every hour :)

Have a lovely day!

Artisana Review

Not too long ago, I contacted Artisana inquiring about their delicious nut butters. Being an avid nut butter fan, I was really excited when they replied and sent me some samples.

When I came fome from school, I saw the box on the counter and immediately I tore right into that thing. I mutilated that box.

It included 6 little boxes each with 10 sample packets of the given nut butters which included RAW (yes, completely raw, meaning there are only about 1-3 ingredients) almond butter, cacao bliss, cashew butter, coconut butter, pecan butter, and walnut butter.

I've tried all of them EXCEPT for pecan and walnut butters so I was really excited to try those. You don't see pecan and walnut butter everywhere so I was super excited to dig right in.

Here are my thoughts on these magical nut butters:

Almond Butter: 9/10

This was very good! It was very creamy and definitely reminded me of Trader Joe's Creamy Unsalted Almond Butter. Gotta love almonds!

Cashew Butter: 8/10

To me, this one tasted a little funkier than I expected. I've tried a few other cashew butters before (my favorite being the 365 Everyday Value brand) and they had a slightly different taste. This one was so creamy though so I enjoyed it.

Walnut Butter: 10/10

I've never had walnut butter before and rarely eat walnuts, so when I first tasted this I had to go back. It was SO good! I really can see this flavor in my near future. :)

Pecan Butter: 20,000/10

THIS IS THE START OF SOMETHING NEW, MY FRIENDS. I grew up with a family who LOVES their pecans although I never really enjoyed them... UNTIL I tried this stuff. Never had pecan butter before, and didn't think I would particularly like it. BUT GOOD GOLLY GOSH I did! I'm really trying to ration it out because I could quite honestly eat it all in two minutes. I tried it on top of a steamed sweet potato.... do you hear the angels singing? So delicious!

Coconut Butter: 10/10

This was excellent! It was creamier than I expected which I absolutely adore. It reminded me of being on some island sippin' on a tropical coco-nutty smoothie. I loved it!

Cacao Bliss: 8/10

I thought this was pretty good, but it did have a funky taste to it as well. I loved it on top of a protein pancake and I think it would taste great in Greek yogurt. I have to try that!

Overall, I am so incredibly pleased with Artisana's goodies. The people at the company were very helpful and generous. I am definitely ordering more when my stock is out. I'm going to be so sad when I finish all of this. :( (Which I predict could be very soon...) I would definitely recommend buying Artisana's products! A+ for them! 

A Quick Update

Gosh, it seems like forever since I wrote my last blog post.

I've had no time to write because I have been squeezing my brain to a pulp studying for my AP Econ test. After 7 hours, I am DONE with the AP test.

I can finally turn in this darn thing!

But WAIT. I still have finals next week. *sob* So I still have some studying to do but not so much as I had to for AP Econ. Therefore, I will have more time to blog!

I'm still relatively new to the blog world and although I don't have a lot of readers *yet* I appreciate each and every one of you who reads my blog posts now. You guys keep me going! Although, I would probably still be writing even if I didn't have any readers because it's what I do best. :)

Well, I'm off to devour everything in sight after a KILLER back, biceps, and oblique workout. It's been over an hour and my veins are still popping out like they're going to burst open. What a lovely image I just put into your minds. My sincerest apologies. ;) 

Oh, and expect another awesome review later! 

Mom...

Dear mom...

You are the peanut butter to my jelly. The macaroni to my cheese. The Pop to my Tart. The cup to my cake. Okay, I think you get it.

Without you, I am lost. Every value that I uphold in my own life originated from you. You taught me independence. You taught me loyalty. You taught me to stand up for what I believe in. And most of all, you taught me why life is worth living.

I don't think I would be here without you. Everything that you do for me, I appreciate to every extent imaginable. Anything you say to me, even if it seems so trivial, sticks to me like super glue. 

We fight. We scream. We get annoyed with each other. But no matter what, we will always have each other's back. We always make up. I can't imagine not having you in my life. You have influenced me in more ways than you know.

To me, there is no mom out there that compares to you. You are strong, you have a sharp mind, and you don't take anyone's crap. I love you with all my heart. Thank you, for everything. <3

Love always,

Britt

PB Crave Review

There is one thing I love in this world. (Okay, I love more things, such as the obvious friends and family, but this sounds more dramatic.)

What is it, you ask?

Two words: PEANUT BUTTER.

Actually, I love any flavor of nut butter but the most popular one, thanks to my good 'ol friend Skippy, is peanut butter.

The amazing people over at PB Crave sent me their four flavors of peanut butter to try. I got this stuff within TWO DAYS. They are fast and efficient!

The four flavors are Choco Choco, Coco Bananas, Razzle Dazzle, and Cookie Nookie.

Here are my thoughts...

Choco Choco
My Rating: 10/10!
This flavor is very yummy. It's creamy and chocolatey and I have previously only seen it in my dreams. It is a mix of peanut butter, dark chocolate, and wild honey. So dang good!

CoCo Bananas
My Rating: 11/10!
Again, this was FANTASTIC. My favorite by far! It's no surprise that it's banana flavored because I LOVE bananas. I really have to work on resisting the urge of devouring the whole jar and save it for the times when I really want it (or I've had a bad day and just need a jar and a spoon to eat my feelings... JK!) This one is a mix of peanut butter, banana flavor, semi-sweet chocolate, and wild honey.

Razzle Dazzle
My Rating: 9/10!
This flavor was veryyy sweet and yummy! I didn't quite like it as much as the CoCo Bananas and Choco Choco but nonetheless I can see it's future... in my tummy. :) It is a mix of peanut butter, red raspberry, white chocolate, dark chocolate, and wild honey.

Cookie Nookie
My Rating: 9/10!
Again, I didn't quite like this one as much as CoCo Bananas and Choco Choco. IT was still REALLY good though! It reminded me of cookie dough. :) It is a mix of peanut butter, chocolate chips, cookie dough flavor, and wild honey. Mmmmm.

Overall, I LOVE PB Crave and totally recommend it! The gentleman I spoke to was such a nice guy and I will definitely purchase more in the future. Have a great day!

Pump Up the Jam :)

Sorry for the little hiatus; I have been a little busy studying for my AP exams and finals before school. Such a pain in the butt.

I can't wait for summer and laying out on the beach. I even got a new bikini which solidifies my desire for sweet 'ol summer! Not to mention the fact that my birthday is in the summer. Not like that's important or anything ;)

Anyways, I've really gotten into some new jams that I use for leisure and during my workouts. I don't know about you, but when I am listening to music, I want to listen to music I actually LIKE and gets my blood pumping rather than music I find 'meh.'

For this reason, Pandora is not exactly my best friend. No matter what, I always hit the "next" arrow to signal a new song because I am never satisfied with the music chosen. I always run out of tracks to play and have to constantly think of new ones. Such a pain! Sometimes I find that needle in the haystack though, and find a song I like.

When it comes to music, I don't discriminate. I listen to EVERYTHING. I'm really in to alternative stuff, but any genre is good. But why am I still so picky? I have no idea!

Here's the music that has currently been on my playlist:

1. "Another Song About the Weekend" by A Day To Remember
2. "After Midnight" by blink-182
3. "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" by Jake Owen
4. "Starships" by Nicki Minaj
5. "Wild Ones" by Flo Rida ft. Sia
6. "Drive By" by Train
7. "Semi-Charmed Life" by Four Year Strong
8. "Ants Marching" by The Dave Matthews Band
9. "When We Stand Together" by Nickelback
10. "Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift

And to make your Monday even more enthralling, here's a pic of me & my bestie:

What are your current jams? :)