Boatmeal Bars!

I was cruising right along with this whole veganism thing until last week when I had a little, tiny, baby meltdown. For one, I’m not yet seeing results from the diet change. While this is expected (two to three months), I was still hoping the doctor was just saying that, like when I tell myself on the treadmill that I have only been running for a mile, but I actually know, in my head, it’s been three. And for two, I am having a hard time feeling satisfied. I had no idea how much I relied on dairy to satiate me.

Ash had the blessing of experiencing said meltdown while we were in Indy and, no stranger to veganism, emailed me a whole bunch of amazing recipes, including a few from my newest obsession, Chocolate Covered Katie (yes – I realize I am the last person to know about her. Juuust slightly behind here).

So, earlier this week, I got myself together and made these Boatmeal Bars. And let me tell you, if I were stuck on a boat and only had one thing with me, I’d pick the Boatmeal over the Bar any day. They’re amazing. And satisfying.
Oh – I topped mine with peanut butter. Obviously. And I highly recommend it.

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weekend happiness

I’ve always had a pretty mild wild affinity for being outside, but ever since joining corporate America, my desire has been insatiable. Being inside in the summer just feels so wrong, and on the Fourth of July, we righted it.

Katie Z. and I kick-started things by deciding at 11.30 p.m. Tuesday night that we’d bandit the Peachtree Road Race the next morning. As Atlanta’s biggest race – and the world’s largest 10k road race – it was the perfect way to start the day.
 After that, a big group of us Shot the Hooch, then Roomie Reynolds and I hosted a party at our house. From running, to floating, to grilling, it was the perfect way to celebrate America.
 
 
 On Thursday, Katie Z. and I flew home to Indianapolis for a wedding. The wedding was beautiful, and, what made it totally amazing, was seeing my family. We missed Duke, who couldn’t get back from Texas for the weekend, a whoooole lot though.
I hope you had a patriotic and happy holiday weekend!

PS: A big congrats to this girl for buying her first house.
And a special thanks to her for letting us have a tiny reunion there.

FOJ Always Wins

One of my favorite games in life is to give people two options and make them pick between them.

Beach or lakehouse?

No peanut butter or no dairy (for the rest.of.your.life)?

You get it.

This spring, I went to a wedding with my friend Austin and spent the majority of the ride from the church to the reception making him pick between holidays.

Although I threw a few curveballs his way (Christmas vs. my birthday - !!) as well as a few gimmes (Arbor Day vs. Thanksgiving), Fourth of July was largely a winner.

And can you blame us!? It's so wonderful!

The one and only Katie Z. is flying in tonight, and I am crazy excited to celebrate with her.

I will report back with pics and stories, but until then, Happy Fourth of July! I hope your day is full of sunshine and sparklers!

the truth always comes out

You may have noticed that last week on the blog, things were a little sparse (see fake birthday and arm party posts). This is because the one thing I can think to blog about is exactly the one thing I don't want to blog about.

You see. I went vegan.

I know.

I love chicken! And I've long since admitted that I'm not technically an animal lover (minus puppies).

I didn't want to blog about it for those reasons, and because I feel somewhat bandwagon/poserish.

But, many of you also know that for the last ten years I have struggled with some major digestive issues and as much as I love chicken, what I'd love even more is to feel better.

So, last month a doctor suggested I try a vegan diet. It's been a few weeks and, although I am missing my favorite protein sources (chicken, eggs, Greek yogurt and cheese. OK. And FroYo.), I am off to a good start. Last year, for the same reasons, I gave up all grains and sugar, and the fact that I can now fully add those items back in is making the transition significantly easier.

This is certainly not going to become a vegan blog because (1) there are already so many resources out there dedicated to it, (2) I'm far from being a SME and (3) after trying so many different remedies, I am not yet buying in that it will work. A little jaded, I admit. But, at this point, it's better not to get my hopes up every time.

However, I did recently try my first dedicated vegan baking experience with these chickpea chocolate chip cookies. They taste slightly less sweet than traditional cookies, but are still pretty great. Mine took 20 minutes to cook, not 10 like she said.
I'm sure I'll dabble in some vegan posts as I continue to embark on this new lifestyle. If you have any tips, feel free to send them my way.

So that's that. Now you know what I've been hiding :)

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