April 23, 2017 by pb&v
It feels weird writing this post. And it’s a tough one to write, so buckle up.
Today is the first day in 820 days that I haven’t gone for a run. Yep, that means I just ended my run streak that I started back in 2015. I loved doing my run streak and it helped me learn a lot about myself, but it’s time it came to an end. This decision took me over two weeks to make and it was honestly one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make. I’ll go ahead and start this story back a few months.
Category Running | Tags: | 3 Comments
January 24, 2017 by pb&v
Yeah, you read that right. TWO WHOLE YEARS! I’m just as shocked as you are. Last year as I sat and typed up my post for making it one year on my run streak I was in complete awe and shock that I had actually made it a whole year running every single day. This year, as I’m writing this post, I am even more amazed and excited to have been running for another year.
Celebrating day 500 of my run streak
730 days is a long time, but that time sure does fly when you’re having fun. Over the past two years running has really made me genuinely happier and it’s amazing to look back at the difference in my outlook on life and my overall energy levels before I started running. No, I’m not one of those crazies who has loads of energy all the dang time (seriously how do some people have so much energy?), but I can at least make it through my day without getting a little foggy headed. This could continue to be a sappy post about how running changed my life, but I’m not about that so I will move on. Although I will address a few more things I’ve learned over the second year of my run streak later on.
Category Running | Tags: | 2 Comments
November 26, 2016 by pb&v
It’s Fall! Ok, so I’m a bit late, but I’m giving you this fantastic pasta recipe, so please forgive me. It’s that time of year when everyone is making pumpkin everything and going nuts over what the new holiday Starbucks cup will look like, ah what a wonderful time ;P. But seriously I do love this time of year, but only until it gets so cold that I refuse to leave my warm bed in the morning, then it’s gross and I’m ready for warmer weather again.
All the fun Fall produce is in season, and of course the biggest one is pumpkin! I love me a good pumpkin muffin or donut or what have you, but I also have been really wanting to use pumpkin in a savory way. The thing is, I don’t really like pumpkin all that much. I know, I know, I must be insane. Luckily this pasta doesn’t really taste too strongly of pumpkin, yet is still cozy and comforting for the cooler weather.
Category Dinner, Recipes | Tags: | 4 Comments
September 3, 2016 by pb&v
It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted a new recipe! This summer I spent my time working at a local vegan bakery and I’ve absolutely loved it. So much that I actually did tear up a little bit once the week before classes rolled around because I just didn’t want to go back to school and not get to spend everyday at the bakery! I’ve learned a lot of new things over the summer and it’s just overall been really great.
Anyway, back to the point of the post. I discovered sometime within the past year that I really love making bread dough, there’s something so therapeutic about the whole process; it helps me relieve stress and relax a little bit. That being said, I’ve often thought, surely there are things to make other than bread, pizza, and cinnamon rolls, I just didn’t know what to make! That is, until last weekend when I woke up on Sunday morning and thought to myself, “I think I’ll try and make pretzels today!”
Category Breads and Muffins, Recipes, Sides, Snacks | Tags: | 6 Comments
May 26, 2016 by pb&v
Just over a year ago, the magical powers of aquafaba were discovered. Just a handful of crazy vegans pouring bean juice in a mixer and seeing what could be done. I remember spending almost my entire spring break last year playing with this magical liquid testing what its limits were. I researched and talked with others about our various experiments, posting everything in the, then small, Facebook group. It was such an exciting time being a part of the discovery and experimentation of aquafaba.
One of those experiments was seeing if the aquafaba would emulsify just like eggs when making mayonnaise. It seemed like a bit of a long shot since aquafaba doesn’t have the exact same properties as eggs, considering it doesn’t have a yolk, but we gave it a try anyway! That recipe has now made its rounds on the interwebbies and it’s been so cool seeing it featured on so many other’s blogs and websites. I never thought the recipe would end up being so popular!
Category Reviews | Tags: | 2 Comments
February 1, 2016 by pb&v
I have a ton of smoothie recipes posted, so I was a bit hesitant to post another, but you can never really have too many smoothie recipes, am I right? Smoothies have become one of my favorite things and I don’t think I could ever go back to a smoothie-less life. They’re just such perfect meals or snacks and a great way to get in fruits and veggies!
I’ve honestly had this recipe sitting in the “notes” on my phone for well over a year, so I figured it might be time to actually post it. I have a bad habit of doing that actually… There’s a whole list of recipes on my phone or various pieces of scratch paper floating around the house that I just haven’t gotten around to photographing and posting. Ah, but that is the life of a busy college student I suppose. After doing homework and taking notes all day on my laptop, the last thing I really want to do is sit down and stare at the screen for even more time, even though I truly enjoy writing these posts. My eyes just can’t take so much screen time! I know, what kind of 20 year old doesn’t want to spend all day everyday in front of technology?
Category Braces, Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes, Smoothies, Snacks | Tags: | 6 Comments
January 23, 2016 by pb&v
This is going to be a long post, but just roll with it.
Today is a big day. One that felt so far away, as if it would never actually be here. Today is day 365 of my run streak. One year of running every single day. That’s pretty huge if you ask me.
At the start of 2015, my mom mentioned how our friend Amy over at Veggies Save the Day had been doing a run streak and she might do one too. A run streak is simply running at least one mile everyday without missing any days. Back up a little more into September of 2014 and we had both already started running again, so it was a pretty attainable goal. I thought the run streak sounded like it might be fun and decided to participate in the streak with my mom. What I didn’t expect was just how much I would love the run streak and how much it transformed my view of running as well as change my mindset overall.
I ran cross country in high school, practicing everyday and usually running at least once over the weekend, but it definitely wasn’t something I looked forward to or found a huge deal of enjoyment in. Sure, it helped me with stress (literally running away from my problems :P), but other than that I mostly questioned why I tortured myself on a daily basis. Even though I wasn’t competitive at all (which I think drove my mom a bit nuts as I didn’t really care who passed me during races), I got so much enjoyment and excitement out of every new PR. The more I ran, the more I enjoyed it.. errr tolerated it, but during my last season I got really bad shin splints and was out for the season, running my very last race on my birthday (which I limped my way through with my shins all wrapped up because I was determined to finish). I ran every now and then once I got to college, but I started running more with my mom in the summer and fall of 2014. This was mostly an every other day kinda thing though.
Category Running | Tags: | 10 Comments
September 13, 2015 by pb&v
I started writing this post weeks ago and never actually got it posted…. I started classes again a few weeks ago (boy, that 2 week summer vacation flew right by!) and I am now commuting to campus, which is roughly 25-30 minutes away (without traffic). Which means I don’t have time to eat breakfast at home in the mornings, at least not if I want a decent parking spot. I have class until 1:50 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and from 8am – 11:50 on Tuesday. I also work from roughly 12pm-5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I don’t get to go home for lunch either. Thus, I have started actually doing some meal prep for the week on Sunday. I’m pretty bad at planning out meals because I’ll usually plan something and once it comes time to eat it, I’m really not in the mood for it at all. But I’ll try to stick with it this time. (Also let me know if you’re interested in a post about my weekly meal prep??)
The mornings have been all about overnight oats. I’m a huge fan of oatmeal for breakfast because it’s so versatile. You can change the flavor up so easily, plus it’s super quick and easy to make, especially if you grind up the oats prior to cooking them. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to actually cook oatmeal in the morning anymore, so I’ve switched it over to overnight oats, which I’ve actually been enjoying quite a bit. I thought I would hate eating cold oats, but they’re actually really refreshing on these crazy hot and humid mornings. And if you want a warm breakfast, you can just pop the whole jar in the microwave for a minute or so!
Category Braces, Breakfast, Recipes | Tags: | 2 Comments
August 1, 2015 by pb&v
I should really be studying for my exams on Monday and Tuesday, but this is more fun. My summer classes will come to an end on Tuesday, August 4th and I will get to have almost 3 whole weeks of summer vacation! Hopefully I can get out and do everything that I had planned on this summer in the span of 3 weeks. There’s this place called Cloud 9 around here that is basically a giant trampoline playground type thing and I’ve been dying to go for over a year, but haven’t been, so that’s on my summer list. Taking Rory camping, going to the beach, traveling, all kinds of things I want to do! Get ready for the adventures.
This week’s adventures included peach picking with a few pounds of blueberries thrown in because, why not? We ended up picking 101.5 pounds of peaches and 3 pounds of blueberries, which is the most amount of peaches we’ve ever picked at one time. We managed to pick them in about 15 minutes, which is about the time it took us to pick 63 pounds last year. This year was a little different though because we were constantly being attacked by flies and we were picking as fast as we could, running between trees. Oh, and if you’re wondering, yes we managed to fit all of this in my little tiny smart car.
Category Aquafaba, Breads and Muffins, Breakfast, Recipes | Tags: | 4 Comments
July 26, 2015 by pb&v
So this week wasn’t exactly exciting or anything, other than a few trips on the boat. I spent most of my week being a giant ball of stress because I had 3 tests in 3 days, which wasn’t exactly the most fun, but I survived! We had planned on going peach picking at some point during the week, but those suckers just won’t ripen up!
So anyway, since I didn’t really do much this week I decided to share my tofu scramble recipe. You’ll have to excuse the really crappy pictures of this recipe- tofu scramble is one of the least photogenic foods out there, plus I don’t have a fancy camera or anything.
Oddly enough, I was never a fan of eggs before going vegan. They were pretty nasty and I would usually have whatever sides we were having with the eggs and just pass of the eggs themselves. The taste and texture really didn’t appeal to me, and now even the idea of eggs disgusts me. I would occasionally eat a few bites of scrambled eggs, but I couldn’t stomach more than a few bites, and I definitely wouldn’t eat a fried egg. Ever. Tofu scramble to the rescue! While I do use black salt in my tofu scramble to add a more eggy flavor, it still doesn’t really taste exactly like scrambled eggs, which is totally ok with me! I actually like tofu scramble way more than I ever liked any kind of egg dish.
Category Breakfast, Recipes | Tags: | 4 Comments