No food for me! :(

After spending all of yesterday morning in the emergency room, I was told that I have a severe case of the stomach flu. I can only drink clear fluids for a couple days and then work my way onto the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). I am starving!!

I have been on foodgawker all day yesterday and today, drooling over food I can't eat, and finding some pretty good recipes! That means that once I get better, I'll have a bunch of new recipes to try out!

In honor of my clear fluid diet, I leave you with this.

Vegan Flour Tortillas

Sorry, with work and summer and everything, it's hard to remember to post! I snap quick pictures with my phone (sorry for the bad quality) but I forget to actually sit down and post them.

I found an easy recipe for flour tortillas. I have no idea where I found it, but the credit doesn't go to me.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup warm water

Combine into dough. Roll into ball and take about a 1-2 inch piece off. 

Use a rolling pin to roll into flat circles on a floured surface.

Put the dough onto a flat pan on medium-high heat. It will cook quickly so flip regularly

until there are brown spots on both sides, as you see on normal tortillas.

I didn't know how many it would make so I only made half a batch, and I ended up with 5. I think I made mine a little too think though, so they should have made 6. That means that this recipe should produce 12 normal sized tortillas. 

They were SO easy to make and SO good. Luckily my parents had already eaten dinner so I was able to eat all 5 by myself (not kidding). 

Doesn't it look delicious??

My dinner.

I used them as quesadillas and put refried beans in the middle. Then I dipped them in salsa and avocado. This was so good! It was incredibly filling, too (maybe because I had just eaten a million tortillas). I didn't even finish my plate, and for me, that's rare. 

I have also had fun all weekend making graduation cards for my friends and my dad's students who graduate high school. This was so easy to make. I actually just used water and markers! 

Off to the store to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables. My favorite kind of shopping! :)

Cookbook

Most of my recipes are versions of things that I find on pinterest or foodgawker. So whenever I want to cook, I have to get online and search for the recipe. This is fine unless there is limited counter space or if the internet cuts out (which happens a lot at my house in Maine). So I decided to make a cookbook!!

Appropriately named, if I do say so myself.

I'm only putting in it tried and true recipes. After filling up three pages, I realized I don't have many recipes that are worthy of being in my cookbook. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know??

Also, I found this awesome website called Laziest Vegans. It has reviews on a bunch of pre-packaged vegan foods. I like to eat more whole food plant based, but every now and then, I'll eat pre-packaged food, so this is definitely a handy website! I love how real and honest he is. Everything looks so good! 

Check him out, and give me more recipes to try! 

Lettuce Wraps

If you are trying to be gluten free or want to keep a low carb diet, it is SO good to use a piece of lettuce as a tortilla. I have heard that using iceberg lettuce works best but iceberg lettuce has hardly any nutritional value. Romaine lettuce, however, is full of nutrients, so I used a piece of that as my tortilla.

Fill it with your favorite burrito toppings -

Beans
Rice
Tomato
Onions
Salsa
Corn

I love how colorful it is!

It is so good! The crunch of the lettuce is my favorite part. And because lettuce doesn't have much of the taste, it lets you taste all of the fresh ingredients like the rice and onions. I love this so much more than burritos. 

Enjoy!

EASY Vegan Cashew Dip

This is super easy and super good! It tastes cheesy, but it is 100% vegan, contains no oil, and fills you up quick so you don't have to eat a million pounds to fill you up. Such a good snack!

I found the original recipe here but I made several adjustments. The following is my version!

Easy Vegan Cashew Dip

1 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 1 hour (preferably 24 hours)

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 generous shakes of pepper 

Onion powder and garlic powder to taste

1/4 cup water

Soak, drain, and rinse the cashews. Pulse cashews, lemon juice, 

and spices until mixed. Add water and process until smooth.

That's it! I told you it was easy! My whole family loved it. I served this with crackers, celery, and carrots. The Everything flavored Ritz crackers are AMAZING with this. Shout out to Ritz! 

Doesn't it look great? It tastes so good! 

I'm always on the look out for easy dips or spreads that are vegan! So I'll hopefully be finding and posting some more this summer! :)

I'm Back!!

College is absolutely crazy. In the crazyness of it all, I completely forgot about my blog. But I'm back, and this time, I hope to keep up with this!

Awesome news! I am going to Haiti in August to help at an orphanage that my church built. But I need to be able to eat whatever they serve me so I had to start weaning myself back to eating meat again. So far, I can eat eggs, cheese, and a little milk. I haven't tried meat yet!

I'm still planning on eating a plant based, whole food diet. Once my stomach is trained to eat meat and dairy again, I plan on eating a little animal protein once a week. Maybe a "Meat Monday"? That way, next time I go to another country, I don't have to wean myself off the vegan diet again.

All recipes I post on here will still be 100% vegan, even if I'm not.

Speaking of, I have a lot of new recipes to try this summer! Including spinach and artichoke dip, a different recipe of vegan macaroni and cheese, roasted chickpeas, and oven baked corn. I'm so excited!

It's been nearly a year since I posted last (sorry!)

I still look the same, just with shorter hair ;)

And I'm still with the same amazing guy! :)

Stay tuned! :D 

PERFECT lunch.

Sometimes I just am not hungry. Especially when it's hot. Especially when I'm busy. I lose my appetite completely! If I don't force myself to eat, I eat nothing. And obviously that's not healthy. Often times I feel more like snacking than actually eating.

Today, I worked all morning until 1. At 2:30, I am going to babysit for the rest of the night (until midnight!) I definitely need my calories in order to have the energy to chase around little babies! But since it's hot and I'm busy, I don't feel like eating a lot.

So I decided to have a plateful of light, healthy foods. I needed a little bit of every major food group - vegetables, fruit, grains, and protein! After searching my fridge and pantry, I came up with a beautiful, colorful lunch.

Isn't it cute?!?!

Roasted red pepper hummus (recipe here) was the protein. Triscuits was the grain (and triscuits are probably the healthiest cracker that I know of!!). Celery sticks as the vegetables. Grapes and strawberries (I never actually ate the strawberries. I was too full from the rest of the plate!!) were the fruit! It was so light yet filled me up and gave me enough calories to hold me over. This is seriously my perfect lunch. I could eat this all the time.

And of course I had some DD with my lunch!

I realized I didn't have a picture with my beloved coffee. And then I found this on my camera card so I HAD to upload it. It's a couple weeks old but that doesn't matter. I seriously get the same thing every day (or every other day when I'm trying to be extra-healthy). 

Now I'm off to babysit my favorite kiddos in the whole world! Talk to ya'll later! :)

Getting creative with headbands!

This has nothing to do with my vegan diet so if you're hoping to get a great recipe at the end of this, just stop reading. BUT if you have any creative bone in your body or if you are a fashionista (or pretend to be), keep reading!!

As you all know, I love Catherine and her blog. I tried several of her recipes. I also tried her DIY workout shirt!

Yesterday, when I was cleaning, I found an old shirt. It wasn't even a t-shirt. It was a cute camisole I had when I was like ten. So I decided to try Catherine's DIY workout headband!

I loved the look of it (even though I am totally NOT a headband person!). The instructions seemed overwhelming, especially since I had never done a five-strand braid before. But I grabbed the shirt, some scissors, and my laptop and went to work!

The finished project!

It worked out so well! I don't think I did the braid correctly but it all held together and looks good, so I'm cool with that. I think I made it a little big because I had to cut A LOT (like almost half) off. Or maybe I just have a small head. Either way, be prepared to make a lot of adjustments! Other than that, it was super  easy! Like SUPER easy. Took only a couple minutes and it was so much fun! (I love braiding!)

And I adore the hippie look! (My alter-ego is definitely a hippie, in case you were wondering. Her name is probably Janet and she wears long skirts and never puts product in her hair). I absolutely love this and I will be looking for more shirts to do this with. 

Go here and make your own! You'll love it! :)

Snack Time!

I never used to be a snacker. I would always eat meals but never really snacks. Chips, crackers, cookies. Eh. Sometimes but not often.

Since I've become a vegan, I've turned into a major snack person! Probably because I don't get enough calories in the meals itself. I mean, I eat a big plateful of food. But rice and veggies don't satisfy me for long. So I always need something to munch on.

Honestly, at work, sometimes I resort to candy bars and Doritos. But I'm trying to cut back on junk food and find healthy snacks! I love vegetables but even the most dedicated vegan probably admits that veggies are sometimes dull without anything accompanying it. But most dressings, dips, and spread have some sort of dairy in it!

So I went to the grocery store and found dairy-free cream cheese. Then I got a Vegetable Dip flavoring packet. I stirred up the cream cheese to make it soft and added some vegetable stock (you could probably add soy milk instead if you have some!) Then I added almost the whole packet of flavoring (even though it said to only use half. oops!)

How adorable! 

I just used cucumber slices and celery! But carrots would definitely be good, too! The dip turned out really tasty! It had a strong onion/garlic taste but I like it that way! I like it on the celery the best but that's because I'm not a huge cucumber girl. I'll definitely make it again! It's so good to have "cream cheese" again! Haha. In case you didn't know, I used to be obsessed with cream cheese before my vegan days.

Pretzels!

I got a bag of pretzels today and ate a ton of them! They're not perfectly healthy. I mean, they have salt and sugar in them. But they're great when you need to nibble on something!! My favorite are the twists. I don't like the sticks. (Even though they taste the same. Whatev.)

And can I just say how adorable my shirt is? Got it at JCPennys! I never shop there. For seven bucks! Little birds! D'aw! New favorite shirt!

AND can I mention my purple nail polish? I've been wanting purple polish forever. Perfect! :)

Using Spinach..

Remember how I said that I don't get enough veggies? I am constantly trying to find ways to add more greens to my diet. I'd be perfectly happy to live on bread and pasta for the rest of my life. Carb City! But of course, that's not healthy at all. So I'm trying not to eat so many carbs but instead, eat lots of veggies!

I love eating burritos. But carbs always make me feel weighed down. When my refried beans and veggies are wrapped in a big wheat tortilla, I end up feeling really heavy. And when it is 80 degrees outside, I do not want to eat anything - especially not heavy stuff.

But burritos are my favorite. Refried beans, tomatos, onion, lettuce, and anything else we have in the fridge! I didn't really want to eat those ingredients with a spoon (that just seems gross). And of course, tortillas and tortilla chips are out of the question (carbs, remember?)

Somehow I came up with the idea to scoop up these beans and veggies with...more veggies! We had a bag of baby spinach leaves in the fridge. So I grabbed those, spooned some burrito ingredients onto the leaf, and ta-da! A tortilla-free lunch!

Isn't this cute?! 

I thought this was so good! (My sister even liked it so you know it was good!) You barely even taste the spinach; it just gives it the extra something that it needs! It's not messy and the best part is - it's FUN to eat. I was really sad when I ran out of spinach leaves. This is definitely something I'll have again.

Oh, and guess what! Awkward. A 14 year old boy walked up to me in the store today and asked for my number. He even called me hott. Ummmm no thanks. I must look young!!

Anyway, I'm always on the hunt for new tricks to eat more vegetables! Got any ideas? :)

Picking Snap Peas!

I volunteer at a boys' day camp during the summer. Today we went on a little field trip to pick some snap peas! We each got to bring home a bag full but we donated the rest of them to give to families in the community who don't get fresh vegetables very often.

Our goal was to pick 100 pounds. There were about 12 kids and maybe around 8 adults. We ended up picking approximately 330 pounds!!! That's crazy! We had so many and we were only there a couple hours. We were all dirty, hot, and thirsty, but it was so much fun!

I picked hundreds of these babies today.

I love eating these!! It was so hard to actually pick them and not just consume them all. A lot of people break open the shell and eat the peas out but I just like to eat them whole, including the shell. It's crunchier that way! Make sure to wash them first so that you don't digest a bunch of chemicals and pesticides. Ew.

Also, these would be great in a stir-fry! Add some carrots, onions, mushrooms, red pepper. Put over some nice brown rice! Colorful and tasty!

Frozen and canned vegetables are fine for you. In fact, we use frozen vegetables way more than fresh. But whenever I can, I jump at the chance for some real, fresh vegetables. So much better! I hope you have the chance to take advantage of summer and eat some fresh veggies! :)

Smoothies!

So I am trying to wean myself off coffee. I realized how bad I had gotten when the lady at Dunkin Donuts drive-thru said, "Hey, you come here every day!" And I'm pretty sure that if I said, "The usual", they would know what I mean. They would give me a Medium Iced Mocha with Liquid Sugar and No Cream and (if I'm feeling like being a fatty) a Chocolate Stick Donut.

Instead of drinking coffee everyday, I'm trying this new thing of Coffee Day, Off Day, Coffee Day, Off Day. So every other day instead of every single day. I'm just trying to wean myself off of my constant caffeine high. This is a lot harder than it sounds! It seems that on the days I can drink coffee, I don't even want it that bad. But on the days that I can't have it, I NEEEEED it. My head always hurts on my Off Days :(

A couple days ago it was an Off Day and my sister says "Hey, want to go to Dunkin Donuts?" OH, YES I DO! But I had to force myself to say "I can't get anything but I'll go with you." I was thirsty though. So what would be more anti-coffee than a smoothie?

My sister and I researched online what fast food restaurants had dairy-free smoothies. I went into Cold Stone Creamery to get one of theirs but umm sorry but I'm not paying four bucks for a small. So we ended up going to McDonalds to get one of their smoothies (without yogurt, mind you!).

I chose Strawberry Banana over the Mixed Berry because of my blueberry flavoring allergy. Like I said before, bananas aren't really my thing, so the banana flavor part of it wasn't my fave. But besides that, I liked it! It's definitely on my list of foods I can have on the road.

Now I know that it's probably not good for me at all. It is McDonalds, you know. I probably drank a thousand calories and a million grams of sugar. So obviously I'm not going to have one of these every day. But once in a while, it's good! And if you live in a town that has other healthier smoothie options, lucky you!

Oh, and sorry about my GLOWING white leg. My fair skin. What can I say? I look like a vampire - ha! :)

My Latest Breakfast Obsession.

I don't particularly like oatmeal. And I don't particularly like bananas. But for SOME reason, I tried instant Maple and Brown Sugar flavored oatmeal with bananas in it. I have no idea why I would try that, considering I don't like either, but I did. And I really liked it!  Reallyyyyy liked it!

Yummy!

I only use half of a banana because the instant oatmeal packages don't make too much oatmeal. Also, I never eat the whole bowl of oatmeal. I don't know why. I remember as a little girl always leaving a bite or two left in the bowl. (I'm weird, sorry.) So now I can just eat the oatmeal with the banana pieces and once the banana is gone, I leave the rest of the oatmeal uneaten. Perfect! haha

Oatmeal is really good for you. Full of fiber and whole grains. It also really fills you up (maybe that's why I never eat the whole thing!). I love hot foods like this best in winter time but they're also good in July, as you can tell. 

I love eating this with grapes or a nectarine on the side. Perfect meal!

Oh, and in case you were wondering about my bowl, it's a Precious Moments baby bowl that I've had for my whole life. It says a prayer around the top edge and then in the middle is a nativity scene! D'aw! Made eating fun when I was a little girl! :)

Macaroni and Veg

I have affectionately renamed my newfound recipe of vegan macaroni and cheese to Macaroni and Veg because...there's no cheese! There's not even a cheese substitute! It's actually crazy to think that something that tastes sooo much like macaroni and cheese is actually made from carrots, potatoes, and cashews!

The recipe is found here. And like I said in my last post, make sure you read alll the instructions. I like to wing it and put in just a little bit of this and a little bit of that until it looks good. I hate measuring things out! But this is definitely a recipe that should be done correctly! (I found out the hard way..)

My plate!

The final result is....it's really good!!!! My whole family liked it! (If you're wondering what the massive amount of crumbly stuff is, I kind of went overboard on the breadcrumbs.) This is definitely a recipe that I want to make again! 

It doesn't taste cheesy (obviously) but it has the same texture and consistency as real macaroni and cheese, so it's hard to tell the difference! I was definitely surprised by how good it tasted! I ate the leftovers for lunch today and I think I like it cold even better than hot!

I suggest making it! Winner! :)

Oh, no.

Yesterday, I was craving a cheeseburger so bad. Actually, I was craving a quarter pounder with cheese from McDonalds. I was almost to the point where I was going to give up being vegan, all for that one burger. I didn't do it...but I was still craving it.

So then I found a recipe for vegan macaroni and cheese. If you can't have a cheeseburger, the next best thing is macaroni and cheese, right? I used Allison's recipe here. I am new to this whole cooking thing and honestly, I never read recipes all the way through. But this caused a lot of problems in this recipe. "I need what ingredient?" "What does that even mean?" "Oops, I forgot to do that" "Dump in all the water?" "How much water?" "Whaaaat?" So I suggest you read through it before you begin.

Cooking in an 80 degree kitchen! (This was AFTER 

I cleaned up all the spills and messes that I made.)

I hope it turns out good! It's cooking now and I'm about to go boil some green beans to go with it! I'll let you know how it goes! :)

Quick, quick, quick!

I am sleepy and don't feel like blogging. So this will be a short one!

But whenever my mom is tired or we need to eat quick, she always whips up some stir fry! Brown rice with veggies! This is also a great way to get rid of extra veggies that you have in your fridge/freezer. Just boil the veggies of choice til tender, make up some brown rice (we use instant), and put it all together!

My dinner plate!

Broccoli, red pepper, carrots, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. Add a little spice or soy sauce and you've got a wonderful dinner! :)

Support system!

I think that one of the most important aspects of changing your lifestyle is having a good support system. My parents are great support systems, since they are the ones who first switched to vegan foods. But they cheat a lot and when we eat out, they eat things they aren't supposed to :( My sister often voices her opinion on how a little cheese and meat won't hurt me. So while she doesn't tell me not to be vegan, she kind of suggests me eating "normal". She also complained a lot about my kale chips :(

But there is someone who is totally supportive of everything I do. And that would be my boyfriend of seven months - Tyler. He is so sweet. His only concern is that I stay healthy but other than that, he supports me 100%. I love knowing that he won't make fun of me and he won't try to force me to eat other foods.

:)

I absolutely love him. He is not vegan at all although I get asked that a lot. He still eats meats and dairy but he is trying to eat healthier. Eating healthy is the point of my change to vegan foods so I support him in whatever healthy way he wants to eat, even if it does include animal products. To each his own!

I am so blessed to have him in my life. However, if you don't have any friends or family who supports you, try finding a good vegan website or online forum. You could get great recipes, tips, and encouragement from them! :)

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream!

Everyone loves ice cream (unless you're a weirdo). Ice cream isn't my favorite treat but I still like it! And every now and then, I crave the cold, smooth goodness! Buuuut no dairy for me, remember?

Can I just say something about my pre-vegan days? I like chocolate ice cream with coconut topping on top. I like milk shakes with sprinkles mixed in. I like vanilla ice cream with strawberries and whip cream. I like candy mixed into ice cream. I like my ice cream in a waffle cone.

You would think that my chances of ever eating ice cream again would be gone forever. Wrong! I am here to tell you that there is a substitute for regular dairy-filled ice cream. And it's called dole!

Introducing....DOLE!

Dole is water-based instead of milk-based. Believe it or not, it actually tastes pretty much the same! I have found that the flavors in dole are very strong. So the strawberry dole is veryyyyy strawberry-y. And the chocolate is super strong chocolate tasting (but I like it that way). I actually like vanilla dole way more than I like vanilla ice cream.

And I top mine with sprinkles, of course, because I am five years old. Not every ice cream place has dole. In fact, most places do not. But if you find it...try it! You will not be disappointed! :)

All Hail the Kale!

I don't know what possessed me to cook another new vegan recipe after what happened with the bean brownies (which I now affectionately call the poop brownies). But I decided to try something that my mom and I have been hearing about for a long time! Kale chips!

I don't know if you know much about kale but it's super healthy (full of iron and stuff). It's leafy greens and looks kind of like Romaine lettuce. My family buys it in a big bag of already cut pieces from the produce section and then we store it in the freezer! Works out well.

So kale chips. You rip up some pieces of kale (enough to fully fill - overlap, if you want! - on a cookie sheet). Then you add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and seasoning to taste, and cook for 10-20 minutes, flipping them occasionally.

How did it turn out, you may want to know. Pretty well. I think I used too much olive oil. And since my kale was frozen, it was hard for them to thaw, crisp, and not burn all at the same time. Next time I'll definitely thaw it first.

Yes, I did say next time! This time I used a Mrs. Dash garlic seasoning. Pretty tasty and smells reallyyyy good - just like garlic bread! But I really want to try it with southwest seasoning and maybe some red pepper flakes? Hot, hot, hot! It would be good though!

So yes. This recipe is probably a winner but I think it will take some experimenting to get it just right. I say "probably" because I can't decide if I really like it or not. Haha. My mom did not and my sister definitely did not. But I still want to try again!

At least it was better than the poop brownies! :)

Black bean brownies...

I've seen many recipes for vegan brownies. The one I chose had two main ingredients - black beans and bananas. Of course, there was cocoa powder, honey, and some other stuff too. So I thought "Hey, how bad can it be?"

Bad.

Very bad.

Let me tell you. I made the mistake of licking the batter off of the spoon. I thought I was going to throw up. I will admit that they baked up nice. Good consistency and everything. You can't taste the black beans but you sure can smell it (and I'm pretty sure that the smell is a home remedy of ipecac.) You can taste the bananas very strongly and I could barely taste any chocolate at all. And what is a brownie without chocolate?

Thumbs down for these bad boys.

If you like these kind of brownies, kudos to you! But I think I'll stick to regular chocolate brownies. They may not be vegan and they may make me fat, but after what I've just been through, it's worth it. Hahaha :)

Fruit vs Veggies

If I were to be asked which I like better, fruits or vegetables, I would immediately answer "Duh! Fruits!" I could seriously eat fruit all day long.  The only time I eat vegetables is if it is served for dinner. So I probably eat five servings of fruit to every one serving of vegetable. I know, I know. It's bad. Fruits are just easier to eat, I guess (and they taste better!)


Fruits that I eat nearly every day would include Apples, Bananas, Watermelon, Strawberries, Nectarines, and whatever other kind of fruit was in season that day. Even though I hardly eat them, I do like vegetables. My favorites would probably be carrots, corn, and asparagus (and onions and mushrooms but I don't know if those count).

This is me with a watermelon. Typical. Hahaha

This is me with strawberries. Again, typical. So silly!

I don't think you will ever find me taking a picture with vegetables. What am I supposed to do? Hold up a spinach leaf? A turnip? That's awkward. Fruit is fun! Vegetables are too adult-y.

So how do I get my vegetables, you may be wondering?

Burritos! Get a whole-wheat tortilla, heat up some refried beans and top with your favorite vegetables! This is a great meal because it has so much nutrition. The whole-wheat tortilla is your whole grain, the beans are your protein, and the toppings are your vegetables! Perfect for a quick and easy lunch. Even little kids like burritos!

This is my burrito! I easily eat two of these babies for lunch. So good!

I like mine topped with tomato, onion (lots of it. preferably purple.), and lettuce! That's just what I like but you can throw on whatever you have! Olives, green peppers, shredded carrots, spinach, banana peppers (love!), and more. Be creative!

I still probably don't get nearly enough vegetables. But this is better than nothing right? :)

Vegan talk!

Becoming vegan has led me to some very interesting conversations with friends, coworkers, and complete strangers! It's fun to have something in common or to let people know about my lifestyle changes.

One question I always get is "what's a vegan?" Ummmm...I thought everyone knew (but maybe I'm just being a snob). A vegan doesn't eat meat, dairy, or eggs. Next question I get, "then what do you eat?!?!" hahaha Uhhhh fruits, vegetables, whole grains?! It's fun explaining to people and seeing their reactions.

My coworker and I had a long talk about eating vegan. She tries to eat vegetarian so we were able to share many recipes and tips. Tonight at work (I work at Walmart as a cashier, in case you didn't know), a lady came through with a tofu meat substitute, asking if it actually tasted good. I got to share with her different things to make with it and how much I like it.

And after work, I went to Dunkin Donuts (my home away from home). I asked the man if their chocolate syrup had dairy in it (just curious. I probably would have gotten it anyway). So he checked for me (sweet young man) and although it has High Fructose Corn Syrup, sugar, and things he couldn't even pronounce, it does not have dairy! When I ordered my ice coffee with mocha, sugar, and no cream, he got all worked up about how we should have non-dairy creamer. I told you he was a sweet young man!

I love talking about my vegan lifestyle. :)

Project 7

This is totally not vegan related but check this out! I love organizations that give their proceeds to a good cause (like Toms shoes, for example - loveeee!) But recently I discovered a new company called Project 7. Their proceeds go to one of seven things - Heal the Sick, Save the Earth, House the Homeless, Feed the Hungry, Quench the Thirsty, Teach Them Well, and Hope for Peace.

They have a ton of different products such as gum, water, mints, and coffee! (I really, really, really love the coffee mug if anyone is interested in buying it for me. Hint, hint, hint!!)

The other night I purchased this Save the Earth gum from Walmart!

I'm sooo happy! I just planted one fruit tree. Hooray for me! Call me a "tree hugger" because that's what I am, baby! And not only do I feel like I benefited the earth, but the gum tastes good, too! And this organization is legit. They really do what they say.

Go here to check it out.

I actually ran.

For the first time in my life, I ran a mile straight (outside). It was pretty hard. I am so out of shape haha. Last night, my goal was to run it in 10 minutes. When I woke up this morning, sore and tired, I upped my goal to 12 minutes. And now the truth comes out.

I ran a mile in 9 minutes 19 seconds! Not fast, but much better than I expected! (Keep in mind that this is the first time I've ever ran. Be nice to me.) The girls' track pace is 8 minutes 34 seconds so I am less than a minute slower than them. Not bad, not bad, huh? :)

After running this morning (I woke up at 8am on a Saturday just to run!! Be proud of me.), I got dressed and we went yard sale-ing! My church had a HUGE one to benefit our mission trips to Washing D.C. and Haiti. I bought a white dress, a blue shirt, two cute mugs, and a Nicholas Sparks book. All for five bucks. I am very happy with my purchases! While running may not be my forte, shopping definitely is. :)

My new white dress! Fits perfectly! (Sorry for the crappy pic.)