Thankful

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope everyone enjoyed a thankful, relaxing, and blessed day with family and friends.

I spent some wonderful time with my family, surrounded by a beautiful spread of foods from the earth. Unfortunately I left my camara cord back at school, so pics will come soon!

I have so so much to be thankful for in my life, and today was just a wonderful day to reflect on those things:

*My INSPIRING, LIBERATING, BEAUTIFUL sense of freedom. A sense that I am finally LIVING, that I have finally let go.

*Wonderful, supportive, crazy, family members.

*Loud family dinners, laughing, bickering, conversations.

*Friends that keep you in their thoughts, remember you always – through the ups and the downs.

*Pumpkin

Be back soon!

Peace, Erika

You Found Me, You Found Me

Top Search Terms of the Week:

“peanut butter sprouts”

“pomegrante with a face”

“beautiful indian girls feets”

“homemade steel lamps”

Thanks for finding my blog

Check back later today for a yummy review, and some life updates!

Peace, Erika

Soaking Up Autumn

I LOVE AUTUMN

 

1. favorite variety of apple? braeburn, anything crunchy off the tree 

 

2. apples dipped in?

 

 

3. favorite way to enjoy pumpkin? smoothies, pie

 

 

4. favorite soup? with crackers or bread? hearty vegetable soups + doughy bread

 

 

5. do you eat orange foods all year round? Confession: I’m known for orange hands and feet due to carrot consumption. <3 butternut fries and sweet potatoes yr round, too!

 

 

6. most used spice in your autumn cooking? pumpkin pie spice, chili powder

 

 

7. you are baking homemade bread, what flavor combination of bread would you like to make? pumpkin-walnut

 

 

8. favorite autumn veg and ways to eat it? ROASTED: Butternut fries, onions, pumpkin, eggplant, garlic + salt + chili powder + dipped in organic ketchup + honey mustard

 

 

9. hot chocolate, cider, coffee or tea? Starbucks Venti Soy Misto

 

 

10. favorite seasonal dessert? Pie, any kind scones, big muffins!

 

 

11. let’s make a fall stew! pick any 6 ingredients to create your own: Tomatoes, carrots, butternut, kombocha, kidney beans, onions

 

12. pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts or almonds to snack on? roasted-salted almonts, raw walnuts

 

13. popcorn flavor/seasoning? Trader Joe’s Mini Bags, buttery and salty

 

 

14. bowl of hot cereal you have been wanting to try: Carrot Cake Oats

 

 

15. post a link to a recipe you recently bookmarked: Pumpkin Curry!

 

What about YOU?

Who Needs Clothes?

…..when you can wear a Christmas Gift Bag?

……or twinkling Christmas lights?

This weekend featured an “ABC” Anything But Clothes Party at our house. Needless to say, our festive costumes weren’t on very long. Let’s just say sitting in a Christmas bag is nearly impossible without a giant ‘rip’. Anyway, we had a great time dancing, drinking wine + fruit, and playing games. It was a late night!

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On the food front, I’ve been craving carbs like it’s no one’s business! I am not a bread-cravin’ kinda gal, but lately all I want in a hunk-of soft, doughy bread! Thank goodness I grabbed myself of bag of  Trader Joe’s Ciabatta Rolls this week! They are definitely soft and doughy!

Plus, they are PERFECT dipped in:

TJ’s Latin Black Bean Soup.
This has the perfect blend of creamy black beans + a little zing!

Soup + doughy bread = Love.

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Hope everyone’s Tuesday was a good one! I’m off to a late class, then back to hit the books!

Peace, Erika

Add it to my shopping list….

I have some  foods that I’ve been lovin’ lately, and I want to share them with you! I encourage you all to include new foods into your diet when you can – variety is so great for our immune systems!

Persimmons
Source

I’ve jumped on the Persimmon Bandwagon! Wow, what a unique fruit! These are sweet gems, tasting like apples-mangos-melon all combined. Unfortunately, the container of 4 that I bought from TJ’s were a little soft. I’m thinking about choppin’ em up and freezing them to add to smoothies.

Ezekiel Wraps

We have a lovely quesadilla-maker in our house at school, so I’ve been whipping up some fineee creations with these beauties. Case-in Point:

Kombocha-Laughing Cow Quesadillas

Microwave a section of kombocha for about 4 1/2 min. Scrape out the orange insides, and combine with 1 LC Cheese (I used French Onion). Spread the Ezekiel wrap with another LC, then the kombocha mixture. Grill on a quesadilla maker, or in a pan I dipped my in TJ’s Smoky BBQ Sauce

Trader Joe’s Roasted Whole Cashews
Source

I LOVE Cashews. What a sweet, creamy nut that is full of healthy fats. This is where my cashews can be found these days:

Fabulous Salads

-Yellow and Green Beans
-Cucumbers
-Carrots
-Yellow Peppers
-Grapes
-Cashews
-Laughing Cow

And this beauty on top:

Bolthouse Farms Olive Oil Vinaigrette

What a fabulous dressing! Bolthouse Farms has some GREAT products!

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I’m spending tonight in my comfy bed, watching The Wizard of OZ  and writing papers. I will be back with a weekend recap!

Peace, Erika

Rewind

Top search term of the week:

“Bathing suit top fell down”

Hmmmm….

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Happy Wednesday Bloggers! Hope your week is going smoothly. I am in desperate need of some yoga this week, as the combo of school work + crazy schedule is stirring up some negativity in this chic. I’ve been dying to get a new yoga mat, as mine has been lovingly overused, but as the holidays roll around, I’m a little low in the $ department. Santa, can you make a Lululemon visit before the North Pole?

Ok, so let’ s back up a little. I did have a fabulous, much-needed weekend visiting my best friend at her college, and I’d love to recap for all of you!

In the midst of our [numerous] shopping adventures, we stumbled upon the wonderful Stonewall Kitchen. Have you guys ever been there? It’s a foodie’s heaven. SAMPLES all over the store!

Dips and Jams….

Sampling Maple Champagne Mustard.

Chelsea all over those crackers and jams

The usual baking adventures

Kitchen Yoga

Early bedtimes and scarf blankets

We also enjoyed plenty of Sushi and Buckwheat Udon Noodles from Whole Foods!

This week I’m trying to hold on tight to all of the positive energy I gained over the weekend. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of overwhelming schedules, work, and anxiety. I just keep reminding myself to BREATHE. As my yoga teacher says, YOUR BREATH CAN CARRY YOU THROUGH ANYTHING.

Enjoy your day chickies!

Peace, Erika

Do you know, the muffin girl?

Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Coconut-Cashew Muffins

Ingredients

2 C White Whole Wheat flour
1 T baking soda
1 t baking powder
pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c unsweetened coconut
1/4 c cashews
1 can pumpkin
3/4 c almond milk
1 banana
1/4 c NuNaturals Baking Blend

Toppings

Crunchy Cereal (I used TJ’s Flax/Almond clusters)
Liquid NuNaturals (optional)
Pumpkin Pie spice

Directions

Combine dry + wet ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into muffin tins and top with cereal and liquid sweetener. Bake at 375* for about 10-12 min. Delicious! Try them crumbled into yogurt Makes about 16 muffins.

I enjoyed these muffins crumbled in:

Stoneyfield Farm Pumpkin Yogurt

I searched 2 different STATES for these without any luck. Upon visiting my best friend this weekend, we wondered into Whole Foods to find this rare gem. Perfection.

Also enjoyed with a cup of Bananas Foster flavored coffee, with TJ’s Soy Creamer, SF Irish Cream Syrup, and a packet of NuNaturals. In one of my fav mugs

It’s the simple things……

Hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing weekend! I’ll post an update of mine ASAP! Off to my Chaucer class!

Peace, Erika

Love It or Questionable?

Love it:

Beautiful Kombocha Squash, steamed with butter, NuStevia, pumpkin pie spice, and almond butter

Questionable:

Blog search terms for peaceandpeanutbutter: 1. kid burying friend in sand, 2. wave suit off

Love it:

Trader Joe’s Artisan Sourdough Rolls dipped in TJ’s Latin Black Bean Soup

Questionable:

Chinese Steamed veg&shrimp on the floor of my room, with my best friend

Love it:

Incredible, incredible lecture given by Pulitzer prize nominated author Marya Hornbacher, of Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia. She reminded us that in order to work on changing cultural ideals of ‘thinness’ and ‘body image’ we need to start with ourselves. Our bodies our incredible, we LIVE in them.

Questionable:

The actual age of my brother and sister. Let’s pretend they’re not teenagers. Or a majorrr diva

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Alright chickadees, I’m off to bed! Hope you all had a wonderful Wednesday!

Peace, Erika

 

Man Belly

Hi Beauties! I just got back from a fabulous hot yoga class that was much needed after a challenging day. It’s amazing how much grounded I feel after a few sunflowers and warriors

Thought you’d like to know….

Today I found out that “man belly” was a search term used to find my blog [?] I mean, I may not have a six pack, by I don’t think I have a man belly. What is a man belly anyway?

Oh gosh, they just get better and better.

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A few weeks ago a received a very generous package from NuNaturals, and I wanted to review some of their products. They sent me the following:

White Stevia Powder Packets

Alcohol Free Stevia Drops [in Vanilla]

NuStevia Baking Blend

NuStevia Quick Dissolve Tabs

All pics from NuNaturals

So far I’ve used the Stevia Packets and the Vanilla Drops – both of which were wonderful! I’m always looking for a non-bitter form of natural sweetener, and this was it! The drops are so versatile, and can be used in coffee or even on top of roasted apples + cinnamon My fav! I use the packets everyday in my coffee, and there is no bitter aftertaste. Even in my cottage cheese…perfect sweetness!

I have yet to use the Tablets or the Baking Blend, but I’m planning on whipping up some muffins or scones this week [read: PUMPKIN!] so I will be sure to report back!

Are you interested in trying some of NuNaturals products for yourself? Check out Heather’s Giveaway!

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I leave you with a beautiful quote I found today:

“A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves.” ~T. Guillemets

Peace~Erika

Halloween Recap!

Happy November!

Hope the weather near you is [not as chilly] as it is here! Boy, there is a coooolll breeze today!

It was so exciting to read all of your Halloween recaps I went home this weekend to spend Halloween with my cousins. We went to a funnn party, and enjoyed Apple Martini’s, Homemade Bruschetta Pizza, a piece of candy [or a few...], homemade PB cookies, etc etc. Here are the pics!

Me on the left as a geisha, my cousin on the right as a ‘paperclip’

I guess I’m competing with my girl Amy for the thriftiest geisha costume (though she definitely beats me out in terms of costume beauty, I snagged this robe in my attic for free. Oh Amy, I guess I beat your $3.00 thrifty find! Love you girl! )

Channeling my inner geisha (and of course, eating the apples out of my martini!)

Partying among the cutest of costumes….a Paperclip, a Witch, Tinker Bell….

….even Elvis

I’m so glad I went home to spend time partying with my cousins/friends, and spend some time with my family Before partying on Saturday, my aunt and uncle took my cousin and I out for some thrifty shoppy (Consignment, Marhalls!) and to South of the Border for some Mexican Food. [Read, 3 baskets of chips and salsa.]

It was a fabulous weekend! I’m back at school and in store for quite a busy week! Can’t wait for yoga and a few other events this week. Stay tuned for an update!

Peace~Erika