Eat Local!

Eating local is harder when living in the city because there are less farms around. Every once in a while farmers markets come to various places around the city in the summer and fall which is awesome. Today I went to SoWa open market in South Boston and they had multiple farmers markets from local farms. It's usually cheaper, tastier, and you support local businesses when you shop at farmers markets. It's also nice to know exactly where your food is coming from. I'm excited to cook some healthy meals with my fresh produce!

Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

These are super easy to make with only 8 ingredients! They are gluten free and vegan and a great treat if you love peanut butter as much as me! You can also add some chia seeds for an extra crunch, omega-3 fatty acid and fiber!

1 1/2 cup of rolled oats

1 teaspoon of baking soda, vanilla extract, and cinnamon 

1 cup unsweetened applesauce 

1/2 cup of peanut butter

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1/4 cup of dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook for about 8-10 minutes, depending on how you like your cookies consistency. 

Gluten Free / Vegan Pancakes!

I found a great gluten free pancake mix by bisquick that most grocery stores sell. It isn't the healthiest mix, but it's definitely the tastiest! I have changed the added ingredients making it healthier and vegan friendly. You are supposed to add one egg, but instead I add a 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce. Did you know that applesauce and bananas are substitute foods for eggs? Instead of adding a cup of milk, I add a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. My favorite brand of almond milk is whole foods 365. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk has no added sugar and is great for people with dairy allergies. The box calls for vegetable oil but I never add it. I'd suggest adding coconut oil instead, which is a super food and is great for your immune system and digestion. I also add a couple teaspoons of vanilla extract because I love vanilla flavor. Blueberrie pancakes are my favorite, so I add them for taste, extra antioxidants and fiber. My boyfriend isn't gluten free but he always eats these and love them. Enjoy! 

          

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No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. ~Buddha 

                             

Customized Gluten Free Pizza

It's hard to find a great gluten free pizza in restaurants so I decided to experiment with making my own! I found that Udi's has the best tasting pizza crust. The crust is super thin and crispy, unlike a lot of mushy tasteless gluten free crusts. They sell it frozen in a pack of two for a decent price. I buy the crusts at a local health food store, but whole foods also sells Udi's products. The best part of creating your own pizza is customizing everything about it, because everyone has different dietary needs. I love pizzas that have an olive oil and garlic sauce compared to a simple red sauce. I usually like to go light on the cheese and load the pizza with veggies and fresh herbs to compensate for flavor! Going light on the cheese and heavy on the veggies is also much healthier. On the pizza pictured below, I added green peppers, tomato, mushroom, fresh basil, a homeade garlic and olive oil sauce, and a little bit of mozzarella cheese. Enjoy your creation :)

No Frizz, No Problem

Having curly hair can be such a nuisance, especially in the summer when the heat and humidity make your hair go crazy. I have tried many different curly hair, frizz-free shampoos and conditioners by different brands and none seemed to give me the results I was looking for. A friend with similar hair suggested a product that has worked miraculously for me! Ever Straight by Organix  works amazingly! It still gives you your natural curls, but completely takes away the frizz and flattens the volume of your hair a little bit. Avocado oil is a great oil treatment for your hair. It's a great moisturizer for your hair and it's packed with vitamins. Avocado oil is also loaded with fatty acids which makes your hair feel soft and adds shine. Here is a link that talks about other healthy oils for your hair and their benefits:3 Best Oils for Hair. 

If you have thick curly hair like me and are looking to tame your curls and wish your frizz away, this is a great product!                                                                                       

Lazy Summer Days

On rainy days like today it's hard to not be lazy and curl up in bed all day. I've spent my day finishing up one of my new favorite books, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.

I started the book a couple days ago on the cape reading in a relaxing hammock (pictured below) and couldn't put it down. It was so beautifully written and really touched on the innocence and intensity of young love. As a romantic, I love reading love stories. However, this was unlike any other I've read before. It was so real and raw and touched my heart. It was labeled as a young adult book, but I think people of all ages can relate, especially if you have felt a strong love for someone or something. All year during school I spend so much of my time studying and reading non-fiction books. I do love non-fiction books and learning, but during the summer it's nice to take a break and read for fun. I am a big dreamer, so I love to immerse myself in the story. I think this probably has to do with me being introverted as well, because I love using books to escape. Reading is a great way to relax and detach from reality for a little bit, especially if you can get as lost in books as I do. 

Road Trip 101

  
This summer I went on an amazing road trip with my boyfriend down the east coast. We were gone about a month, and had the best time! I want to share some pictures, but also some tips about how to best prepare. Road trips are a great way to see lots of different places for less money. If you ever have an opportunity to take one, I highly suggest you do! It is a great learning experience and crazy adventure. It's even better when you do it with your favorite person by your side.

1.) Pack as little as possible!

I would say we definitely over packed especially in the clothing department(more so me than him of course) but because we had so many houses we stopped at, there were so many places to do laundry. Before we left, I packed a lot of things that we would "possibly" need in an emergency but no emergency happened, and we could have stopped at stores to buy this supplies along the way if needed. The less stuff you have packed in your car, the less overwhelmed you will feel. 

2.) Don't plan every detail, leave room for detours.

We had our trip pretty much completely planned day to day, which was nice except for the fact that things don't always go as planned...The first night we arrived in Virginia planning to camp, but of course there was a huge storm and bad weather preventing us from doing so. Luckily there were hotels close by and everything worked out ok! Some of my favorite places we saw were things that we stumbled apon while on the road or by word of mouth from locals. I personally think it's good to have most of your trip planned out and destination markers, but it's also great to leave room for spontaneous adventure :)

3.) Use Airbnb to stay places!

Airbnb is an awesome site that allows you to stay in people's homes who have extra space/a guest house. It's almost always cheaper than a hotel and you get to meet new people! Just make sure you read the reviews. This is also a good way to get recommendations from the locals that live in the area!

4.) Learn to breathe when things don't go as planned.

We had an unfortunate event where someone broke into our car and stole our valuables which was definitely the downfall of our trip. It was a very stressful situation, but you need to learn to go with the flow as much as possible. You must realize that the situation could have been much worse, and something crazy is bound to happen on a long road trip!

5.) Eat wisely!

We packed a lot of healthy snacks before we left, which saved us a lot of money and from eating unhealthily at fast food restaurants. When you are driving and want to get somewhere as fast as possible, it's best to just snack in the car instead of stopping anyways!

    

 

Mindful Reads

These are some of my favorite books to remind me to stay in the present moment. 

Life Without Stress by Arthur Sokoloff explores eastern philosophies such as Taoism, traditional Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and Confucianism. This book shows one how to apply these Eastern philosophies to our Western culture. The book offers guidance for handling the stress in our lives and achieving inner peace. 

Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh is a great book to find peace in chaos and focus on the present moment. This book provides meditation practices which increases awareness of our own body and mind through conscious breathing. I love this book! A great beginning book for people looking to get into meditation and mindfulness. 

Buddha's Little Instruction Book by Jack Kornfield is a pocket sized book full of Buddha's insight. It's small size makes it perfect to stick in your bag and keep it with you on the go. It's full of inspirational quotes and simple meditations. This handbook is great for whenever you need a little reminder to breathe and center yourself in the beauty surrounding you. 

Happy and Healthy Snacking

Being a college student makes it difficult to eat healthy, especially when you are on the go and gluten free. I have found that many gluten free snacks have lots of added ingredients and are not as nutritious as I'd like. Fewer ingredients means that the snack is less processed, which therefore means that it's better for your body. It's important to eat foods high in fiber, protein and low in sugar, which is hard to find in snack foods. These are some of my favorite gluten free snacks with few ingredients and they taste delicious!

KIND bars generally have few ingredients with lots of benefits! Most protein bars like cliff or luna bars pack lots of processed ingredients and sugar. This is my favorite flavor of the KIND bars, dark chocolate nuts & sea salt. It has 7g of fiber, 6g of protein, and only 5g of sugar!

I recently discovered this snack while babysitting. I am usually not a fan of peas, despite how nutritious they are for you, but it's impossible not to eat the whole bag in a sitting! This snack comes from Trader Joe's and a bag only costs about $1.50 which is super cheap for a healthy snack! Each serving has 4g of fiber, and 5g of protein, and when you eat the whole bag in a sitting(like me) you are getting about 14g of fiber, and 18g of protein. 

Beans are a protein-rich superfood and they are high in antioxidants and fiber. It's awesome that they came out with a chip made from beans instead of corn because these are so delicious and much more nutritious than your average tortilla chip. A serving size of these chips is 6g of fiber, and 4g of protein. I honestly enjoy the taste of these better than regular chips and the nacho cheese flavor tastes just like a Dorito (but healthy of course). They taste great paired with hummus or guacamole!