super healthy, super tasty zucchini bread

Pack a lunch, folks. Or rather, pack this in your lunch. Because you're going to love it. This is ridiculously healthy, superly tasty zucchini bread brought to you by a wild, wild hair I got late Wednesday night.

Let me back up.

Growing up, my aunt, Betsy, made the most amazing zucchini bread. Just thinking about it makes me salivate.  On Wednesday at work, they hosted a farmers' market with local produce. The minute I picked up the zucchini, I looked at my friend Christina and said: I'm making zucchini bread tonight.

I got home from dinner and started unloading my car and remembered the zucchini. Still determined to make the bread, I looked through my cabinets and realized I actually had almost none of the ingredients it required: eggs, milk, flour, butter, vanilla, vegetable oil...

Nada.

But there are two things you should know about me:
1. When it comes to baking, I've never met a recipe I liked to follow. Measuring seems like an unnecessary evil and every ingredient is optional and substitutable as far as I'm concerned.
2. When I get an idea in my head, it pretty much has to happen immediately.

So I decided to make up my own recipe based on what was in my pantry, which resulted in incredibly healthy, incredibly tasty, vegan, gluten-free zucchini bread.

(And yes, I am as shocked as you are. In fact, I still wonder if my mom sneaked in an swapped it out for a better batch after I called her multiple times wondering if this might work in place of that).

Here's what you're going to need (and keep in mind my measurements are loose, so mix to taste)...

In a bowl, combine:
6 T ground flax seeds
1/2 c. warm water
1 c. applesauce
2 c. grated zucchini
2 c. almond flour
1 c. oats
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
a dash of: salt, cinnamon, olive oil and brown sugar or honey (again, these are to taste)

Beat until very-well mixed. Pour in greased pan and (optional but tasty) sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.

Notes: If you don't like things to "taste healthy," I'd skip the flax. You can definitely taste it. Also, since it has a lot of applesauce, the bread will seem pretty gooey when it's hot, but it will firm up a bit once it cools. So don't over bake. 

And there you have it. Breakfast!

(PS: Don't forget your protein. I topped mine with sunflower butter and was then just totally on cloud nine.)

image, image, image

aaand we juice

In college, on Sunday nights in our sorority, we'd write notes saying thank you to people who had had an impact on us that week. I am an extreme purger and my friends would often joke with me as we walked back to our rooms: did you throw that away yet?

I'd like to think I'm sentimental, but not so much when it comes to physical stuff.

On the contrary, there is one area of life in which I am a bit of a hoarder. I can't think of a way to classify it, exactly, but let me explain:

Growing up, I used to keep my Halloween candy instead of eat it. I wanted to savor it. I specifically remember throwing a whole bag of untouched candy away one Christmas. I liked it so much I didn't want to eat it!

Outfits are another example. When I love one, I save it and save it until I can find a great reason to wear it.

Gift cards. Don't get me started. I hoard these like a fool. I recently realized I had an unused Atlanta Bread Company gift card, which I received for high school graduation. I just wanted to make sure I used it for something really good!

Most recently, Courtney gave me a juicer for my birthday in September. But I saved it, you see, because this fall wasn't really the best season. My foot was broken. Our house had rats. I just wasn't living in my sweet spot. And it didn't feel like the right time to unwrap the juicer.

But things are good nowadays. We're back on track and it was time to juice, my friends! So off to Whole Foods I went to snag a recipe off the juice board.

I picked up a beet and used leftover carrots, apple and spinach from my fridge. I skipped out on the suggested lemon, as I've been on a bit of lemon overload lately and wasn't in the mood for it.

I was a little nervous to try it, mainly because it looked disgusting (completely brown), but it was amazing. A total win! It was such a great add to my dinner and I am now wondering why I wasn't doing this all winter.

I am also wondering what all I can put in my juicer. Could I start adding kale and tricking myself into consuming it? Can you juice any fruit and veggie? What else can you juice? It is a pretty magical machine.

The spinach gave off surprisingly little liquid. I kept adding handfuls of it, but it was producing barely any juice. The beet, however, was the star of the show. Real bang for my buck with that guy.

Let me know if you have any excellent juice recipes to try. Now that it's broken in, there's no stopping this juicer.

perfection.

During the last year, I've been working to move away from the idea that I am whole based on production + performance + perfection. And instead, that I am whole. Just as me.

The hardest part of those three has been the production. I once read about an author who spends his Sundays doing nothing. He just hangs on his couch and chills. Snacks? Sure. Books? Yep. Exercise? Checklists? Nope.

This idea makes my skin crawl. A day without a plan? I'm not sure I follow.

To say I still have work to do on the production front would be a statement I'm very comfortable making.

However, as it always seems with the spring, about 1,000 projects came to fruition over the course of the last few weeks, including multiple events at work, Cheers for Children, a move and a few trips out of town.

When I woke up Monday, I realized that all of these things were done and life, as it seems, is slowing down. My new normal of chaos and running around like a crazy fool who hasn't slept or gone grocery shopping or picked up her dry cleaning in weeks is coming to an end.

And Monday night when I went to bible study, it seemed that everyone was right there with me. Sweet summer, how you slow us down.

We forgot about our chapters we were planning to discuss. Instead we walked down the road to get frozen yogurt and sit in the blessedly growing daylight. We talked about what we were thankful for and relaxed in one another's company.

And for the first time in a long time, I realized I wasn't planning what I'd do next. I wasn't worried about the time or stressing about how I was ever going to get to bed in time and wake up at 5:15 for yoga. I was just there - basking in their presence and the gloriously humid night air.

And it's nights like these that make me realize that while being productive may feel good, sometimes slowing down is so much more life-giving. Sometimes, when we take a moment to connect with one another - when we banish the checklists and life plans - is when we're really living.

So here's to the start of summer. To longer hours of daylight and slowing down just enough to enjoy every last one of them.

image and image

thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

This is the only thing I can think to write today.

 

Thank you to my amazing brothers who came to Atlanta just for Cheers for Children.

Thank you to my friends for attending the event and supporting a cause that has become so dear to me.

Thank you to my family for supporting me the last few months as I, yet again, took on too many things and ran around like a crazy woman.

Thank you to everyone who couldn't attend Cheers for Children, but supported the cause by lifting up everyone who put on the event.

 

This year's event was such a great night - with Duke and Sam, old friends, new friends and so much dancing. Thank you so much for everyone who made the night incredible!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some photobooth ridiculousness...

 

 

 

But especially to Duke and Sam for being the best brothers ever, and coming all the way to Atlanta just for it. It was amazing to have you here!

 

Of course, we didn't just sit around waiting for Cheers all weekend. Other highlights include:

 

Dinner at Farm burger, the VaHi Fest and froyo (a Biber kind of Friday!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pool time, Duke and Sam hanging my headboard (I told you they were the best!), some runs and green smoothies, backyard frisbee and much more. YAAY! Happy weekend :)

 

 

I hope yours was amazing and in case you missed it: thank you! For being you.