Juice Cleanse: Day 1

I decided to bite the bullet and give a juice cleanse a try. Originally I wanted to complete a 10-day cleanse, but that seems a little ambitious for a first try. So because I had two days off in a row, I thought 3 days seemed doable. If I can last longer, great! But after this first day...I dunno. I just really want a sandwich. Or some pasta. Hell, give me a salad.

Yesterday I was able to sleep in super late (11:00) which really helped with food cravings for a few hours. Honestly, the hardest part of the first day was not making coffee in the morning. Oh gosh, just thinking about it now...I miss it so much! I thought about it throughout the day, like while stocking up on spinach and cucumbers and having to walk past Starbucks. Ahh the temptation!

My first juice of the day was around noon and consisted of spinach, a satsuma orange, two carrots, a cucumber and a mango. Pretty yummy! The mango was really ripe, which added a bit of thickness to the juice, which was nice. I did eat a carrot stick and slice of cucumber while photographing my red pepper and cilantro hummus...but I resisted dipping. It was very difficult! 

After my first juice of the day, I drank a bunch of water to fill up my tummy. I was hungry in about an hour, but luckily I had errands to run so that kept my mind off the hunger. 

I drank my second juice around 3:00 pm, which was made of spinach, a beet, ginger, two carrots and an apple. I have never even tried beets before, but I love the color of its juice, haha. This juice was really good although the beets didn't add much flavor at all. It was mostly ginger-y, which I love. Tommy came home for lunch and it was a little difficult to watch him eat a big ol' sandwich. But I managed to stay strong and think detoxing, clean and healthy thoughts. 

When I started getting hungry again I made some tea while watching Downton Abbey, and continued drinking water. I drank my third juice while Tommy ate to distract me from pouncing on his food. This juice was made with spinach, cucumber, blood orange and a few satsumas. It was good, but definitely not what I wanted to be consuming.

Overall thoughts: Day one was a success with no tears, bitchyness or other unpleasant emotions. Was I hungry? Yes. This may be because I simply didn't drink enough juice as frequently as I should. I'm going to try to drink larger glasses today and add a fourth today, but I don't want to run out of fruits and veggies...juice cleansing is expensive! 

Red Pepper and Cilantro Hummus

Hummus is awesome. When its in my fridge, I try to put it on everything! Sandwiches, veggies, salads, crackers, toast...you name it. Usually I get my hummus from Trader Joes, but this time I decided to make my own. 

Making hummus is really simple. I had everything on hand to make it, minus the tahini. At first I debated if I really need it, but a quick internet search made it clear you really shouldn't make hummus without it. The tahini was a little pricey, but now I can make a ton of hummus! Yipee! 

Recipe adapted from About.com

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
1 red pepper
cilantro
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Slice red pepper in half, and roast in oven at 350 for about 20-30 minutes (or until soft), and chop. Finely chop about 1-2 tablespoons of cilantro (depending on taste). Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

Pretty in Pink Lipstick Giveaway!

Yesterday Tommy and I celebrated our sixth year anniversary, and in a few weeks we get to celebrate love all over again with Valentine's Day. All this lovey-dovey stuff has inspired me to spread the mushy feelings with you all as well!

Valentine's Day is all about pink, so I'm giving away two of my favorite Clinique pink lipsticks! Up for grabs is a Chubby Stick Intense in "Roomiest Rose," and a Different Lipstick in "Glazed Berry." If you haven't used a chubby stick (yes, get the giggles out) then you are missing out! They are my favorite Clinique lip product by far.

Oh, why the Clinique products? Well I work for them! I'm not payed to plug their products, but there are lots that I truly love, and I want to share them with you.

Want to win? Easy peasy. Simply follow Amanda K. by the Bay as a mandatory entry, then complete additional entry options if you'd like. You know you wanna :)
***You must be a follower in order to win! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

six years

Six years ago today I started dating a hilarious, smart, and incredibly caring boy who soon became my best friend. Looking forward to the many more years to come! 

Peanut Butter Black Bean Brownies

As of a few days ago, I have started counting my calories a bit. Nothing extreme, but I am trying to be more conscious of what I'm eating. This means more fruits and veggies, less bread and less sugar.

My body is thanking me, but my brain is not on the same page. I've been having mean sugar cravings! So, I decided to give black bean brownies a try. If you have been on the blogsphere for a while, I'm sure you've heard of these gluten free wonders.

After searching for a low-fat version for a while (there are so many!) I decided to give these Black Bean Avocado Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies. Black beans and avocado? Yes! Of course I switched it up a bit; I didn't have any chocolate chips, so I added some peanut butter and walnuts for texture.

Peanut Butter Black Bean Brownies (Recipe Adapted from Ambitious Kitchen)

• 1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 egg plus 2 egg whites
• 1/3 of a large ripe avocado
• 1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
• 1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's "Special Dark")
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute of choice
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8 inch baking pan.
2. Place all ingredients besides chocolate chips into blender or food processor. Process or puree until ingredients form a smooth batter. Pour into prepared pan, swirl in peanut butter and sprinkle nuts on top. 
3. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out somewhat clean and top of the brownies begin to crack.
4. Cool pan completely on wire rack then cut into 16 squares.

ashley goldberg patterns

Really loving Ashley Goldberg's fun and playful patterns. You can visit her blog, flickr, and etsy shop to see more.

juiced up

Around the beginning of the month, I started hearing a lot about juicing. Several bloggers did juice cleanses (like Bri and Anne), Joy shared her love for juicing, my coworkers were talking about it, and I watched the documentary on Hulu, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. I was a skeptic before, but after hearing so much about it, juicing started sounding pretty good! 

Unfortunately, juice cleanses from companies online are expensive. Like, really expensive. Waaayyy out of my budget expensive. So when my dad told me he had a juicer I could borrow, I jumped on it!

I intend on doing a juice cleanse sometime this year. I was hoping to do it this month, but I need to start when I have a few days off work. I have a feeling it might make me bitchy, miserable and tired. I have also heard that some people feel nauseous. These are all things that don't mix well in customer service.

In the mean time, I have been trying to incorporate juice into my everyday diet. It has been fun trying different mixtures of fruits and veggies. So far my favorites things to juice are apples, carrots, mangos, spinach and ginger. Seriously, if you like ginger and have a juicer, juice that ginger up! So yummy.

Have you ever done a juice cleanse? If so, how did it go? I really want to do it, but I'm not sure I have the will power. Also, any juice recipes or fruits/veggies I need to try?

new culinary endeavors

There are a lot of dishes that I love to eat, but for some reason shy away from making at home. I figure somebody else can make it better, and because of this I get into a bit of a rut when it comes to dinner.

I definitely have my go-tos which include tacos, lasagna, pork chops, soup, and some kind of burger. So when Tommy suggested we make gyros I was pretty excited. I love gyros, why had we never made them?

We bought ourselves a nice little lamb leg and marinated it overnight in wine, olive oil, spices, A1 and worcestershire sauce. The next night we roasted it for a little over and hour at 325. A made some tzatziki with plain yogurt, cucumber juice (from my new juicer!) and seasonings. Pita bread, spinach, tomatoes and feta completed these yummy little greek wraps.

This photo isn't the highest quality, but I just had to share. It was easy, and delicious. Great success! If there is a dish you love to eat but never make at home, give it a try. Maybe it will be better than eating out!

Other dishes I need to attempt (yes, asian dishes intimidate me, haha)

1. Pho // 2. Volcano Sushi Roll // 3. Beef and Broccoli // 4. French Macaroons

Out and About: The Temple Bar

The Temple Bar is one of my favorite little bars in Bellingham. It's cozy, adorable, and has a great happy hour including a bottle of wine and a cheese plate. While the menu is a bit pricey, the food is high quality and the drink menu offers classics with a twist.

The Temple Bar is the perfect spot for a girls night out, or a drink before dinner. Tommy and I have been many times, and the service has ranged from great to poor. On average, it's definitely on the up. My most recent trip was my best experience yet!

Despite the occasional poor service, I keep coming back thanks to the great cheese plates offering soft and hard cheeses, olives, apples and nuts. All this with a bottle of wine for uner $20? Yup. Count me in.