Okay, I know it’s not Friday. In the future I’ll probably just skip to the next week if for some reason I couldn’t or forgot to write this weekly post – or if I didn’t have much to share. But I DID have a lot to share and I won’t be around next Friday, so I wanted to get this up!
Eat:
- I discovered amaranth porridge quite a few years ago, but kind of forgot about it until a random pinterest picture reminded me this week. I’ve been eating a lot of oatmeal lately, mostly for the health benefits, not because I actually like it that much. Amaranth, though? I LOVE it. It has such a different taste and doesn’t gross me out in the ways that oatmeal does (I have food issues). This particular recipe made a very hearty two servings, and it doesn’t reheat that well, so I’d probably cut it in half next time. It’s a great winter breakfast if you have the time to spare.
- I wanted some sort of baked treat for my coffee on Wednesday (when I expected more people to show up!). I had a lot of blueberries on hand, so I made regular lemon blueberry muffins. But at the last minute I decided I wanted to also make something I felt good about eating, so I tried this Gluten Free Dairy Free Banana Nut Muffin recipe. And oh my goodness, they are SO GOOD. I’ve realized in the last few months that I tend to like gluten free baked goods a lot more than I ever liked the regular ones. I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a good thing!! These feel hearty and delicious, they’re not very sweet (I always get headaches with sweet breakfasts and try really hard to avoid them), and they’re definitely on the healthier end of things, with very little maple syrup as a sweetener.
- So this isn’t really a new idea, but I’ve still been craving chocolate pretty often and have been trying to find “healthier” ways to eat it. Earlier this week I made a bunch of chocolate covered walnuts, since walnuts are the best nuts for your liver, but also not my favorite to eat on their own. They were fantastic, but I was eating way too many. Yesterday I decided to make peanut butter cups with homemade peanut butter. Homemade nut butter is shockingly easy if you have a food processor – just put the nuts in and let them go until they’re nut butter! I just melted dark chocolate with a tiny bit of coconut oil, filled the bottom of muffin papers with it, scoop in a dollop of fresh peanut butter, and cover with more chocolate and sea salt. They’re more substantial than chocolate covered walnuts, but I’m also MUCH better at only eating one a day.
Kitchen Helper:
- Greg gave me a Cosori Air Fryer for Christmas. I was determined to not let it sit around unused for two years the way I did my Instant Pot, so I made almost every meal with it this week. And it seems like a pretty foolproof method of making food! So fast too. The downside is that even though I got one of the larger ones, you still need to make most food in multiple batches if you’re cooking for a whole family. It’s kind of annoying. But it works!
- I wasn’t sure where to start with using it, so I ordered The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook and it is a really great cookbook! Almost every recipe appealed to me. My favorite so far has been the everything bagels – they only take four ingredients (not including the egg and seasoning on top), about five minutes to put together, and fifteen minutes to cook.
Drink/Gift:
- My parents gave me a subscription to Sipsby for Christmas since I’ve been drinking a lot more tea lately. I got my first box yesterday and it’s so much fun! I believe it’s only $15/month and they send you four different kinds of tea, based off of a survey you fill out with what kinds of teas you like. I’m ALWAYS a fan of subscription boxes and getting that fun gift in the mail every month. This seems like a great option if you – or a gift recipient – loves tea.
Book Finder:
- I came across this the other day and thought it might be useful to share if you find most of your books at the library. It’s a browser extension that will show you/link you to the book on your library’s website if you’re looking at the book on amazon. It’s just a time saver to quickly place a hold on a book and maybe stop you from spending the money on it!
Read:
- Last Saturday I spent almost the entire day (minus when we went on a date) reading The Grace Year. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time and I highly recommend it.
Word of the Year Jewelry
- And finally! This is the first year I picked a word for the year and wanted a very physical reminder of it that I’d see all the time. I’ve always been obsessed with meaningful jewelry, so I searched around online for a few days and finally went back to my old favorite – Lisa Leonard. This is the Very Fine Line Ring, though she has smaller/thinner bands – or necklaces or bracelets as well, all of which can be customized. I really, really love how this turned out. I’m glad I added the hearts!
