Chocolate Berry Protein Shake {Vegan}

Death. 

It's a factor in life.

 You know it will happen to everyone and everything eventually, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are prepared for it. We've been at the ranch for almost nine years now and in that time I have been able to see the miracle of life many times, but also come to know the heartbreak of death. Earlier Saturday afternoon, my mom and I went to the vet to put Hedgie to sleep. A few months after I got Hedgie, he got cataracts which took his sight and I noticed that he seemed to be having what appeared to be seizures. The last 2 weeks though, I knew something was wrong because he stopped eating, was shaking, and seemed really lethargic. The vet looked him over and said by the state his teeth he was much older than we were aware of. Since the vet and most of the other staff had never seen or treated a hedgehog, he became quite popular even in his sickly state.

He's 4lbs heavier than her yet he likes using her as a pillow.

Gus Gus also has a vet appointment since he hasn't seen a vet in his little life and he also has a little wheezing problem that I first noticed a few months ago. It almost sounds like asthma except he doesn't wheeze all of the time and acts like a normal spoiled kitten, but just to be safe him and Charlie will be going to visit to vet tomorrow afternoon. I doubt they will appreciate it, though.

My mom's birthday is tomorrow so she is treating herself to a 2 hour massage. She isn't the biggest dessert fan besides cookies and sometimes apple pie so she just asked for some cream cheese filled strawberries that I'll dip in chocolate. I'll probably post a pic on instagram.

Instagram, Raw Brownies, & A Future Giveaway

I'm letting you know now that this post involves several different topics and may be lengthy.

  This past Saturday my mom and I along with our assistant pastor, his wife, three of his girls, his sister (our past youth leader), his niece, and nephew went shopping at the Grapevine outlet mall as a day of fun. We all met up at cracker barrel for a late breakfast before spending 7 hours roaming the very crowded mall.  My mom was told by some friends that we had to eat at the Rainforest Cafe because it is a unique experience so we made reservations to have a late lunch/early dinner. When it's was time to be seated, we were lead into a dark room that is heavily decorated to look like a rain forest with mist machines at the bar, mechanic animals that move every few minutes with sound effects, and the staff was dressed like safari guides.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Oat Pancakes

   This past weekend I discovered a new tasty treat at Central Market: Banyan Vegan Tofu Fried Rice that is also wheat and gluten free. I've tried my fair share of healthy {gluten free, dairy free, and vegan} products that tasted plain to down right disgusting, but this was delicious! One package is enough for 2 meals, one of which I cheated and added leftover chicken, but it was tasty both ways. One really good thing about these is that the packages can be frozen to be enjoyed without having to wait until the next trip to C.M.

 Random Note:I think this sweater from Urban Outfitters is really cute!

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Carrot Cake Oatmeal

  Yesterday was suppose to be a good day, but it turned out to be one of the most frustrating and emotional days that I have had in a while. My mom and I went down to one of the community colleges to try to get me set up for classes and fix some of the information that the computer system messed up. We were shuffled from one office to another to try to fix some information, see what was already set up, and to see what else I needed, but after being told by several people that they weren't sure why things weren't falling into place, my hopes of it being a smooth ride were gone. So, I now have a few days to refresh myself on math subjects that I completed over 4 years ago to take a 4 hour accuplacer test {covering 4 subjects} and then go back a few days later to well.. I'm not sure why I have to go back so soon if they won't have my test results that fast so I guess i'll have to wait and see.

 Question: So what happens when I have a horrible day?
Answer:
1.I listen to some good music by Ray Lamontagne. I love him!
2. Fall in love with a pair of cute slouchy moccasins online, but can't find where to buy them. They said they were Steve Madden but I didn't see them on the site. 
3. Cuddle with the kittens{who have turned into little monsters as seen here} while watching something on t.v. 
3. And finally make some really good comfort food. 

Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies {Healthy}

   I made spaghetti squash for the first time Friday night and it was a hit! It's so easy because all you have to do is pop it in the oven for 1 hour before shredding it into "pasta" so we will be eating it more often. We participated in Bountiful Baskets this past weekend and ended up getting some squash (acorn and carnival) so I'm thinking about making a soup or even try making squash risotto which might help me use some my overflowing plants of rosemary that I actually have kept alive for a few weeks!{I kill plants & fish. I can hand raise kittens that are 48 hours old, but I've killed every plant and fish I have ever had, well actually my last few goldfish fish turned into cannibals. Oops}.

   Late Saturday night, I made another batch of my Sunday Morning Muffins for my mom's class at church for Sunday. I've made these muffins several times, but this was the only time every muffin came out looking like the the one below without the cream cheese oozing out. Instead of making the streusel topping, I just divided a small packet (the little restaurant size packets) between the 12 muffins for a little crunch. 

  I can across this cookie recipe a while back on foodgawker when I had a few ripe bananas, but I didn't want to make another banana bread recipe {seeing as I have 5 quick bread/muffins recipes using bananas} and I have made this recipe twice since. These cookies have no flour, no sugar, no oil if you use applesauce like I did, and vegan (depending on what type of chocolate you use). And unlike most cookie recipes where you end up with a few dozen cookies in your kitchen this only makes 18 small, 2-bite cookies. 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Dough! {No Bake}

  Lately I have been posting mostly sweet recipes and it kind of bugs me since I don't want y'all to think I only eat chocolate-covered treats throughout the week, especially since most of the recipes I've been sharing I actually made as far back as a few weeks ago but waited to post about it. After stopping by Central Market the other night and buying a few pounds of chicken breasts, a pound of large fresh scallops, and a lot of green veggies like baby bok choy (one of my favorites) I have several savory recipes in mind to share soon. I've also been thinking up a few new recipes for soup since according to my mom the changing weather will be "soup weather" soon.

But right now we are still talking about sweet treats. 

  Have you ever stopped by Katie's blog: Chocolate-Covered Katie? Her blog is full of amazing small portioned desserts that are healthy so you don't have to feel guilty about having nutella fudge, chocolate pumpkin brownies ,and I especially want to try the cookie dough dip. This recipe was kind of inspired by her cookie batter recipes.

60lbs of apples, 18 bananas, & Homemade (unsweetened) Applesauce

 Most of the recipes I'm going to be sharing for a while will be either be breakfast or dessert recipes and I think all of them will contain either fruits, vegetables, or both. I've also re-stocked my gluten free flour supply since a mouse got into my last stash so a few will also be gluten free.

  This past weekend, we participated in Bountiful Baskets since we haven't bought anything in months (P.S If you want to learn about Bountiful Baskets see this post). We got 2-30lb boxes of Gala apples; one is for us and the other is for the animals or 1 1/2 for us, depending on how many recipes I want to try.

Turning 18 & Chocolate Coconut Pudding

    I'm officially 18. It's weird, it seems like yesterday when the biggest decision I had to make in middle school was who to sit by at lunch, dealing with the challenges of high school life, and complaining about living in a small town with all of the other kids and planning our escape plans as soon as we could. It's crazy how when all of that stuff was actually happening, time seemed to move at the pace of a sloth, but now looking back it went by really fast. I guess that quote about how nothing seems to change from day to day, but when you look back everything has changed. I can testify that this past year has be hectic to say the least with my health issues, new family situations, discovering new passions, and trying to figure out where I fit in this big world.

Double Chocolate Cakies & Finishing Senior Year.

   I have been wanting to make this and this recipe for a while now, but it always got put off until today. The recipe is for double chocolate cakies by multiply delicious which is a blog that I have bookmarked several recipes since finding out about the paleo diet. This recipe is...gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, paleo, and it satisfies your chocolate craving (without the guilt). A cakie is like a cookie-sized cake without the icing.

   I had to make a little adjustment to the recipe, but they came out great. The recipe made 10 cakies, but the last one was bigger since it had enough batter for 1 1/4 cakies which I added a few more chocolate chips and some shredded coconut.

Peanut Butter Coconut Cups

  This weekend I was looking for more gluten-free recipes. After looking through several recipe that I had saved via foodgawker, pinterest, and some magazines, I decided to make a new recipe. I wanted to do something with coconut, but I didn't want to crack open to 2 fresh coconuts that we have sitting on our counter so I went with shredded coconut (i'm lazy today).
  I thought about making this recipe or this one, but I made my own recipe based off the peanut butter cups recipe I made a while back.