Gothic Granola

Cake and smoothies, cake and smoothies...they're all I seem to have posted about lately, and they are amongst what I eat, pretty much every day.  Let's get real about energy drinks. While all the B vitamins, taurine, caffeine, and sugar in Monster give you a temporary boost (and a serious crash), energy drinks don't address the real issue(s) underlying fatigue. Don't want to go to sleep? Or do you just not want to wake up because of X, Y, Z happening the next day? Feeling powerless to solve a problem and so you can't sleep but lie awake worrying about it? Daily tasks not challenging enough so you have excess energy? Think about that the next time you find yourself reaching for that fourth cup of coffee or that Red Bull. Constricting your blood vessels with caffeine probably isn't the long-term solution to why you're feeling tired. I'm not you, so I don't know what's going on in your life. You know your life best; you have the power to adjust thin...

"What really happens to you if you eat gluten, though?" Women's Health Magazine has this most enlightening article for all the new faux paus committed around the GF-ers. Actually, saying these things to anyone who has allergies ("I tried soy nut butter once and it was disgusting!" to a peanut allergic person) is rude. Not to be all high and mighty, but a little education goes a long way towards creating a better dining (and  kissing ) situation. That being said, eating gluten-free and eating more whole foods (the two generally go together) involves a palate adjustment, visually and physically. TC rightly called me out on using being GF as an excuse to eat even weirder foods. Green juice and overnight oatmeal, anyone?

I had a smoothie on Sunday that was just a wonderfully kickass way to begin my Sunday ritual of reading in the library, attending the Princeton Buddhist Meditation Group, and doing life work for the rest of the day (i.e., walking, working on poetry, and cooking).  This is my basic formula for a single serving smoothie:  1 cup non-dairy yoghurt or milk 1 scoop protein powder (optional; I use  Garden of Life's RAW protein  or  Manitoba Harvest's Hemp PRO 50 ) 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed 2 cups greens/frozen greens cubes (blend greens and freeze in cubes for thicker smoothies; optional but recommended) 1 piece or 1 cup fruit (fresh/frozen) 1 tablespoon nut butter Spices to taste Ice (optional) Blend the beejeebes out of it.