giveaway

i'm newish to the blog and i dont have many readers (obviously haha) but i still want to do giveaways! i love them and i'd love to share my favorites with you..small and simple but here it is.

my absolute favorite tea. you cant beat it (: i'm more of a coffee drinker but this stuff is amazing.

the website describes it as a fruity black tea with hints of lemony bergamont.

idontknow its indescribable to me.

all you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite morning pick me up

or add me to your blog roll and let me know!

i'll give it til friday since i dont know how many people will enter and will draw a random winner then..

not much, but i'd enjoy it (;

foods for thought

take care of your body, take care of your hair with the foods you eat!

according to WebMD, these are the top ten foods for a gorgeous head of hair

salmon

dark greens such a spinach

beans

eggs

poultry

nuts

oysters (ew)

low fat dairy

carrots

wholegrains

seems easy to follow right? your hair is mostly made of keratin, a protein also found in nails, so obviously i recommend getting enough protein! how can you grow a protein if you arent eating enough of it to replace the source? you can find lipids in you hair too, when i started eating nut butters, i noticed a HUGE difference. my hair is very course, not so soft, but when i added nuts to my diet during recovery, i noticed that my hair is significantly smoother and who wouldnt want that? (;

oh and dont just worry about your locks! your hair starts at the scalp.

healthy scalp = healthy hair!

get enough b-6 and sulfur

you can find them in:

cabbage

fish

onions

cucumbers

sweet potatoes

wheat germ

the list goes on!

try avoiding a lot of fried foods, but i think thats pretty obvious (:

try these suggestions out and see if you can tell a difference!

CIAJ

i broke the mold this morning and made this:

(whole foods cashew butter is almost better than my jiff.. almost)

i made cereal in a jar. I poured a cup of Trader Joe's Soy and Flax Clusters into the almost empty jar and filled it with milk. i let it soak in a little and the results were glorious!

haha it was so fun scraping a little of the butter off with each bite!

and unlike oats, its nice and cold and crisp

(i'm definitely not hating on the oats though!)

Soy and Flax Clusters are my favorite cereal although they are pretty calorically dense

per cup:

190 calories

3 grams fat

7 grams fiber

9 grams protein

BUT CHECK OUT THE STATS!

i'm thinking of adding hair products and styling to the blog, what do ya think? god blessed me with a good head of hair and i love taking care of it! it is the only thing that anorexia didnt steal from me (when i was sick) and thats pretty surprising.

i did it..

i took a picture of the usual

mind you its not that great looking!

whipped banana bran with pb

EVERYDAY!

i wake up every morning (almost every) and make this bowl of energy. thats all food is right? a source of energy that without we wouldnt be able to function! i go into my kitchen and make a mess, i boil 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup milk (or soy whichever) and eventually add 1/4 cup oat bran. i then slice a HUGE banana real thin and whisk it into the mixture. i let it simmer a little longer (depending on how hungry i am!) and then add a splenda and some vanilla extract! pour it into a bowl and add as much peanut butter as you want.

CAUTION: peanut butter will be the death of me

i happened to eat it out of a large glass cup this morning and put a spoonful of pb in first. itwas a nice little treat for the last savory bite! (:

big day tomorrow! school 9-12, work 12-8, training at other job 8-12. oh boy; this is gonna be nuts! (; i'm planning on eating a lot of them too!

oops...

so i definitely didnt wake up in time for abnormal psych today! my b! ):

its crazy how your body can adjust, its time for me to change my alarm, it no longer does its job!

after accepting the fact that it wasnt worth it to even be tardy, i had my usual breakfast!

(still too early for a photo but i will try tomorrow!)

and started cooking for URBAN PROMISE

i made a simple tray of ziti and stuffed shells

we then take it up to a school in Camden where we serve it to underprivileged kids and hang out with them for the night(;

if you live near Philly, South Jersey, and you'd like to get involved, Let me know!

as for my eats today, not photoworthy. but i'm gonna start taking pictures for my own accountability!

i did have one of these on my way FROM zumba TO yoga

(crazzzzzy i know!)

wawa all natural milkshake! so freaking good, so worth it!

ingredients: strawberry ice cream, milk

tonight i took my first HOT vinyasa flow tonight and i loved it! i guess when youre in a room thats a 100 degrees, you loosen up a little bit (;

any indulgences you'd like to share?

no wayyyyy

i woke up early for class today and started my day off with yogoat

thats what i like to call it!

i soaked a packet of truly vanilla GOLEAN hot cereal in a chobani greek vanilla yog with 1/2 cup water, what i like about these packets is the whole flax seeds mixed in. when left over night they plump up and are yummy and chewy!

in the morning i topped it with CBU and fresh shredded coconut.

wait, CBU? oh right let me explain.. remember the invention of PBU on the blogosphere a while back? i didnt have my own blog back then but i was still an avid reader.

i made CBU

• 1 part cashew butter
• 2 parts vanilla soy milk

mmm! makes the perfect frosting! its creamier, sweeter, and spreadable. TRY IT with any nut butter!

i also tried some kale chips today! SHUT UP, i did not believe Gumdrops when she told me they tasted exactly like tortilla chips.... well they do:

lined a sheet with parchment paper, layed out the kale, drizzled with olive oil, and sea salt and baked for ten minutes at 375.

i was impressed.

(i'm so impatient the short cook time was a definite plus as well!)

any interesting foodie recipes you'd care to share? loveee to hear some! and try of course (;

ilovegumdrops

today was SO much better already.. thanks for all the support lovies (:

woke up to my usual (cant get enough)

banana oat bran with peanut butter

its too early to ever get a good enough photo

and went straight to church, if you havent met Jesus Christ, he's a pretty cool man (;

i then ventured to the gym with my long lost best friend

i will refer to her as gumdrop for the sake of identity (;

after more flirting with the guidos than actual fitness,

we hit up SALADWORKS for a yummy lunch:

created my own after a salad i had in philly:

mixed lettuce, carrots,red onion, turkey, BACON (oh why did i deny you for so long?), feta and mushrooms all tied together with FF Balsamic

the hot toasty whole wheat rolls are freaking unbelievable

we went back to her house and tried kim kardashian's butt blaster, we burned more calories laughing than you would even if you put effort into it(;

i then ventured off to friendly's where i did bust some butt serving sundaes and burgers :D

came home to a lovely snack plate:

carrot chips, pumpernickel rye whole grain pretzels, cucmber slices

all deliciously dipped in cottage cheese/ salsa

a lot better than it sounds! brilliannnnnt combination :D promise.

no good.

today was no good. i did something i havent done in a long time and idk what triggered it?

gahhh i binged/ purged. what the heck? i thought that was all in the past..

i had a fine day, i was not stressed, my calorie intake was high enough, i wasnt anxious over anything.

JEEZ I WASNT EVEN BORED!

it must have been because no one was home and i could get away with it..

easily.

mehh no good no good no good):

hope everyone else's day was better

the other white meat

guys.. i have to confess something. i'm a meat lover. yupp cant deny it! when i was "sick" i was a vegetarian for all the wrong reasons. Meat in moderation has plenty of benefits and gahhh, i honestly cant get enough(; so wrong i knowwww..

take for example this easy dish i made:

i know my photos suck, i'm working on it:P

apple slow roasted pork:

pork loin rubbed with salt and pepper and roasted in an apple spice glaze.

UNBELIEVABLE! if you want the recipe i'm more than happy to share! :D

why choose pork?

Pork contains significant amounts of Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Thiamin, Niacin, Riboflavin and Pantothenic Acid.

packed with iron (; ladiessssss

pork loin is in fact leaner than chicken thighs and

it provides plenty of protein for muscle mass and some fat to keep your skin healthy.

nutritional powerhouse i'd say (:

procrastination at its best..

the fact that im taking 6 classes this semester (why) means my time on these sites is going to have to be limited ): but i cant help how fun they are! thought i'd share them with you since my foods been pretty lame today and not blogworthy...

lumosity.com brain games?! claims it can make you a more productive student(;

sporcle.com CAUTION its freaking addicting.

pilatesanytime.com awesome online classes with a free two week introduction:D yogas more of my thing though

yogatoday.com free weekly class and challenging flows LOVE IT

uo blog just love the fact that every monday is Music Monday with free song downloads from bands that i adore

thought i'd share with you how great of a procrastinator i have become

off to Pilates Core Plus, wish me luck!

what websites are you mindlessly addicted to? (mm facebook)

FRIENDLY FACES

unlike yesterday, today has been awesome

i made it to my 8 am class and lurvveedddd it!

abnormal psych talk about interesting!

theres a lot about eating disorders thats going to be discussed so we'll see how that goes (;

but i'm also really excited that we have to visit 2 institutions of our choice to really experience firsthand the effect of mental disorders. oh where to choose? :D

before i went, i had a simple breakfast. cant tell you the last time i had cold cereal...

kashi island vanilla wheats with raspberries and 2% milk

little thick for my taste

and i definitely missed my oats

yummmm nonetheless

i had another date with Amy for lunch.

this time we had pizza, (spinach!) (on sale at WF!) with a side of grapes

i truly am in love with this woman (;

not only is it "healthy" for a pizza, again it is probably the best frozen i've ever had!

the key is to lay it directly on the rack (and hope the cheese doesnt get toooo melty)

oh oh ohh! i start my new job tonight, at friendlys! no more italian market. serving kids alll night sounds great, right? and no that isnt sarcasm!

today is not my day

blahh is the only word to describe how i feel..

MISSED MY FIRST CLASS ON THE FIRST DAY BACK,

way to go taylor, good FIRST impression.

off to zumba to lighten my mood(: nothing works better than a little butt shaking rightt? right.

facing fears in NYC

like i said in my previous post, i've been up there multiple times the last few weeks. excited to live there soon!
but when i mention fears, i'm not talking crowds, strangers, bars, subway, and all that stuff i'm talking this:

S'MACS is to die for! (no literally if you ate this everyday you honestly could from clogged arteries) it is amazing but scared me! wow pasta and cheese? hi anorexia, i've missed you!

but that doesnt mean i want you back (;

i ordered the Veggie Lite- whole wheat pasta, light cheddar, parmesan, broccoli, cauliflower and garlic! I couldnt get over how good it was! also had a side salad. (picture from a non-food blogger HA) i ate every last bite.

hehehehehe (;

fear of the unknown was not gonna stop me! can't wait for the future!

who else is excited to see the HUGE plans God has in store?

amazing.

looooovelara

since i fell off the face of the planet for a little, i wasnt able to share the package i got from LARABAR!
they had a five day giveaway where everyone was able to win <33
follow them on twitter @LARABAR

four full size laras of their best sellers,
pb&J,coconut cream pie, key lime and one more i cant remember?

they didnt last long (;
wow i have so much catching up to do!

took the longest break!

mehhh! sorry guys! i will start tomorrow! my resolution for the year is to be consistent in all areas of my life(; blog included!

been so busy spending time in NYC. going there for college next yearrrr! (if all goes to plan!)

representttinggggg