My eating habits have had such a roller coaster ride over the last few years.
I’m pretty over labels and rules and restrictions and anything else that tells me I can’t have this or need to eat that. However, I’m still into health and feeling my best. I’ve cut out certain foods off and on for years. Seriously, I’d say almost 15 years. I was searching for that magic bullet, the mystical diet that would change my digestion, my body, and my life.
I’m here to say that diet does not exist. Maybe paleo works for you right now but it may not in a year. Maybe I feel better eating less sugar this month but by September I might feel just as good having dessert every single night. Things change, so do I.
I know now that I can have whatever I want (except bananas. I really believe I have an allergy…), in moderation. “Moderation” can be an annoying term but it really means something different to everyone. I just had to figure out my own moderation.
Anyway, I’m talking about my current favorite snacks that make me happy and satisfied. Maybe you’ll find something new!
I’m a little tired of most snacks, especially bars, being sweet. I’ve always been more of a savory/salty person so these are perfect! It’s more portable than jerky and has great, clean ingredients. Fave flavor is the Bison Bacon Cranberry but I’ve tried a bunch and they’re all good.
So far I liked the Almonds and Dried Cherries flavor the best. I’ve eated these for breakfast along with a muffin or just alone for a snack. I love the crunch that the toppings add because I’ve never been one for the normal texture of plain yogurt. I love that there’s like 16 grams of protein in each one because I notice I feel fuller longer when I have enough.
I am not super into candies. Normally I’d rather pick chocolate but since I’ve been experimenting with running fuel (which gummies are great for!), I randomly picked these up at Marshalls on clearance the other week. They really are some of the best gummies! The bag I bought has 12 flavors, like Pink Grapefruit and lemon, and they’re the softest, non-sticky gummies I’ve ever had. It’s nice to grab just like five or six of them after lunch for something sweet.
And my final snack I’ve been having lately is black bean brownie bites! Really, this is such a good version of them. You would never know the beans are in them, but it gives them such a great, dense texture and really compliments the chocolate well. I love the bite size and the chunks of chocolate chips in them. I’ve been having one after dinner and it’s the cutest little dessert to end the night! This recipe made about 20 so I froze them to keep whenever I want a treat.
‘Till next time!
💕Whitney
I could have ate the entire bowl of them. I’ve roasted tomatoes before but the ratio of EVOO was just perfect. I only used the below recipe for them, not the rest that’s mentioned.
Seriously. Look at them! Perfectly blistered and browned.
I had some smoked salmon so I really wanted to incorporate that as the protein. For a dressing I used this one just with balsamic vinegar instead of red wine, only because that’s what I had in the house. It made a lot so I’ve had extra dressing all week!
Forget what you think about dry, crumbly cornbread. This is not that at all. It’s moist and soft and did not need any topping to be delicious. Ina recommends butter and strawberry jam! She also said you could could toast it but mine fell apart a little. However, warmed up was amazing.
My last little culinary experience involved a greattttt cappuccino and a gluten-free peanut butter chocolate free cake. As much as I love coffee, I’m a little boring sometimes and stick with black. This cappuccino was down right wonderful. The cake was good too, but I totally could have just eaten the peanut butter mousse layer in the middle and I would have been sold! (The capp was much prettier before I took a sip!)
~Whitney Victoria
I’ll be making these all winter long. Or at least as long as I can find great dairy-free, healthy drinks.
The outfit. Simple, festive-enough, and all pieces I already owned. Weird for me, but I loved it this year. 
It’s a tradition to go to Murdough’s Christmas Barn after eating Thanksgiving dinner. This ornament is straight-up Law of Attraction.
I appointed myself the table place card maker. I found these little ornaments and tags. I kept it simple and wrote each person’s name, after attaching the pinecones. It was cute and something everyone could take home.
My tiny Hello Kitty tree is up at work! Lucky I have a huge desk to fit all my holiday decorations.
One month exactly until my birthday. I like to do a little soul-searching this time of year. I’m striving for following my instincts so I can do more of what I love, more of the time.
Pre-baked muffins.
Post-baked muffins!
I had some overflow onto another pan since the apples bulked it up. I think next time I’ll split the batter for exactly 12 muffins. I like high muffins that rise up over the paper edges. It makes them look more like bakery-style ones! 
Let’s start things off fresh with some fall-inspired breakfast treats. I wanted pancakes, and I wasn’t feeling my protein versions. They are great most of them time but really don’t compare to the real thing. However, I didn’t feel like eating the original, white flour recipe that only keeps me full for about an hour.
Oh, and I had some brown rice flour I’ve been meaning to use up so they just so happened to be gluten free and fabulous.
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They had two kinds of lobster rolls. One was warm with butter, and the other was cold with mayo and herbs. Both were amazing. We got one of each and then split them! I couldn’t decide my favorite. The french fries were also seriously great. I didn’t leave one on the plate.
We found a beach down the road that was free to walk on since it was October. It was so windy but really fun to just walk around and look out at the water. 
The next day was New Haven. The little shop was called Maison Mathis and had a great vibe.
I’m a tad OCD about researching things so I did my homework and knew about most of the cafes within 5 miles of the Yale campus. We hit
Our third day was for traveling home. I found a cute, organic spot for brunch called 
Some white sugar and brown sugar were creamed with butter. Mixing two types of sugar brings a depth to the sweet taste of the blondies. All brown sugar, and the molasses would overwhelm the other flavors. Just white sugar leaves it a little one-note. 
You really can’t skip the step of letting it cool completely if you want any chance at cutting the blondies into pretty bars.
Don’t judge my cutting skills. I know they’re all over the size map. Someday I’m taking a knife skills class to learn how to get beautifully uniform mirepoix. 
