Fresh Face // My Favorite Bath Products

I recently decided I want this blog to focus on recipes, healthy eating, and meaningful thoughts instead of the full-on "lifestyle" blog I had originally intended. I think a narrower, more focused approach will be best for this venue. 

That being said, I do want to do the occasional post on products I enjoy. I have found these sorts of things to be very helpful in my own life. It's one thing to come across a cool new item when you're out shopping, and quite another to see someone you know recommend something to you. The first one you know nothing about, but the other you can trust that at least one person you respect believes it's a good, useful thing. And worth the money. That's a big deal. 

Today I'm going to share some of my favorite products to use around my shower or bath time. I don't use all these items all the time, but I do use them at least once a week and have found them to work extremely well for my hair/skin. I am all about natural ingredients and low-key, herbal scents. 

BEFORE SHOWER

1. Ology Gently Soothing Facial Towelettes ($5) - Ology is a Walgreen's brand that I just recently discovered. They use all-natural, simple ingredients and have cute packaging (let's be honest, ladies - that is a huge bonus!). I use these towelettes to clean my face off every night. The remove makeup without any drying or harshness. They are made with aloe and green tea, and are alcohol free. 

2. Freeman Masks ($4) - I first saw this brand on my friend Savannah's blog (Maiedae). She had a lot of good things to say about it. I was a little skeptical given the incredibly cheap price tag of these babies, but that price also made them easy to try out. I adore the dead sea minerals mask and the charcoal & black sugar mask. The dead sea minerals is a beautiful brilliant blue on your face (you look like a smurf!), and feels very cool and relaxing. It softens my skin and cleans out my pores. The charcoal & black sugar has a warming sensation, and doubles as an exfoliant. I have found it to be very helpful with blackheads, which are a major bane of mine. This inexpensive product works better than many top-of-the-line masks. 

3. Neutrogena Oil Free Eye-Makeup Remover ($5)  - I only wear eye makeup about half the time, but when I do, I always wear waterproof mascara and eyeliner. It's just a habit I started in early high school because I found that it tends to stay on a lot better (water or not) and actually made my eyelashes look longer and fuller than the non-waterproof versions of the same name. This eye-makeup remover takes them both right off without a struggle. 

DURING SHOWER 

1. Ology Triple Milled Soap ($5) - As I mentioned above, I am really enjoying the Ology brand at Walgreens. The soaps are really mild, moisturizing, and they smell great. The one pictured is shea butter, but my absolute favorite is the lemongrass. 

2. Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash ($10 for a huge bottle) - I have tried dozens upon dozens of cleansers. It is so hard to find one that is natural, non-drying, and actually gets down in there and cleans your face. My husband and I could see a huge difference when we both started using this face wash. We ran out recently and had to use something else for a couple of weeks. After one wash with our new bottle, my face was measurably clearer. Love it!! 

3. Clarisonic Plus ($175) - I bought this at my dermatologist office after reading lots about it online. I won't bore you here, but I suggest you take some time to read how sonic cleansing methods work (on your skin and your teeth). This brush brightens, softens, and deeply cleanses your face. You can get the Mia version for much cheaper in all sorts of cute colors.

4. Matrix Biolage Hydrating Shampoo & Detangling Solution ($19 each) - This is one of the more expensive products I use. For years, I had been buying $4 shampoos at the grocery store. They smelled great and claimed to be moisturizing, repairing, etc. However, I began to notice that no matter how well I took care of my hair, it was getting flatter and drier. A few months ago my mom told me I needed to cough up the extra cash and get a nicer shampoo. I did, and it was worth it. Within two weeks my hair was glossy and healthy, and had much more curliness and body. 

5. Evolution of Smooth Shave Cream ($3) - This cream comes in vanilla, lavender, or pomegranate. They all smell heavenly and work great. With their shea butter and vitamin E, they feel much better than those fake foamy shaving creams. 

AFTER SHOWER

1. Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner ($10) - I use this product once or twice a week as a leave-in conditioner. Right after I get out of the shower and finish combing my hair, I put a dab of this in my hands and scrunch it all throughout my locks, especially at the ends. It has sea kelp, argan oil, and shea butter. It smells really pleasant and natural and helps keep split ends at bay for those of you with dry hair. I wouldn't use too much of it though, or it might weigh down your "do."

2. Dove Go Sleeveless Deodorant ($9) - This not only works well as a deodorant, it also gives your often-neglected underarms some TLC. 

3. Naturopathica Cassis Ultra Replenishing Cream ($85) - The price on this product might scare you, but I promise, it lasts forever. They gave me a little sample before I purchased it. The thing was half the size of a ketchup packet, and it lasted me about two weeks. I would not be surprised if the jar lasts me two years (does it expire?!). With hyaluronic acid and cassis oil, this cream is fabulous and worth every penny. 

4. Naturopathica Rosemary Oil-Reducing Moisturizer ($56) - I adore Naturopathica, and this was the first product I ever owned. I also have some great exfoliants that I may talk about at another time :) For now, my hubby uses this bottle more than I do. It smells amazing and works well for reducing oil yet still moisturizing your parched skin. 

5. Caren "Relax" Hand or Body Treatment ($16-21) - My mom originally bought this for my grandmother while she was battling cancer. The chemo made her skin really dry, and this lotion feels exceptionally soothing. It is loaded with antioxidants, aloe, and eucalyptus. I would describe the smell as an herbal, seaside spa experience. I use it just about every day. 

I hope this was helpful to you! Let me know if you have any can't-live-without products for bath time!

Madi

High Heat Eye of Round Roast

My sweet, beautiful mom came to visit me earlier this week. She hates driving in Atlanta, but she braved the traffic to come see my apartment again and take me out to lunch. After we ate, I took her to the Decatur Square and one of my favorite coffee shops, the Cafe at Cakes & Ale. After coffee and snacking, she was ready to get going and beat the traffic to return home. She asked me if there was anywhere else I would like to go or show her, but I couldn't think of anything. 

On our way back to my apartment, I suddenly had an inclination to take her to the Dekalb International Farmers Market. If you live around Atlanta and you've never been, you need to go check it out! It is massive. It's an indoor market with dry goods, wine, spices, dairy, and enormous meat, seafood, and produce sections. It has some really unique foods at very decent prices. You could spend hours just looking around. I was worried she wouldn't like it because of the crowd and noise, but she thought it was a neat place. As we were walking by the beef, she mentioned that she always loved when my grandma would make an eye of round roast. 

This is my grandmother and grandfather with one of their first cars.

Yesterday was my grandma's birthday, and I decided to try out this eye of round roast thing. Looking online, people seemed to have lots of complaints about this cut of meat. It's usually tough, chewy, and a gamble to cook with. But I knew if my mom and grandma loved it, there had to be a way to make it right. Plus, it is a very cheap cut of meat, which is essential for our newlywed budget.

As I did my research, I found quite a few praises for this unusual cooking method. The idea is that you cook the roast on very high heat for a short amount of time, which sears the outside and locks in the juices. Then you let it sit on little to no heat for a prolonged period (1-2.5 hours depending on the size of your cut). It sounded super sketch, but I couldn't ignore the positive reviews. I tried out this method, somewhat dubiously, and was very pleased with how it turned out. It was juicy, flavorful, and although not as tender as prime rib or another high quality beef, it was surprisingly easy to chew. We cooked ours to a good medium rare. Yum. 

High-Heat Eye of Round Roast

Ingredients:

- eye of round (2-3 lbs is best)

- 1-2 tbsp olive oil 

- salt and pepper

- 1 tbsp minced garlic

- seasoning rub of your choice (I recommend Borsari seasoned salt)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 500 F. 

Take your beef out of the fridge. Rinse it and pat it dry with some paper towels. Lightly pat some olive oil over its surface, and then rub in your spices. I used cracked black pepper, minced garlic, and Borsari. Borsari is a seasoned salt you can get at Whole Foods by the meat section. It has a mix of sea salt, garlic, basil, rosemary, and nutmeg. It is awesome on beef, chicken, vegetables, or just about anything. They also make a ginger one that is good for seafood. 

Allow your beef to rest on the counter for approximately 20-30 minutes, until it is closer to room temp

Place your beef in a roasting pan, baking dish, or cast iron. A roasting pan would make it easier to catch the drippings and make au jus, but the others work just fine, especially if you want to add in some potatoes or veggies. I surrounded mine with fingerling potatoes in olive oil, salt, and fresh rosemary.

Lower your oven temp to 475 F. 

Put your beef into the oven and allow to cook at this high heat for approx. 7 minutes per pound. I had a tiny roast (1.3 lbs), just big enough for my husband and myself. I only left it at this temperature for about 8-9 minutes. 2 lbs = 14 minutes, 3 lbs = 21 minutes, etc. 

This is the important part. Once your roast has been at the high heat for its designated time, turn down your temperature. Most would say to completely turn it off. It really depends on your stove. Electric tends to retain heat much better than gas, so for electrics like mine, I would just turn it off. You can play it safe and leave it on 170-200 F if you are nervous. For gas, I would definitely keep it at 200 F. 

Now, even more important - do NOT open your stove during this time! You want it to keep the heat and slow cook your beef. Don't let that air escape! 

Allow your beef to cook at the low temp for at least 30 minutes per pound. Most sites that supported this method said to leave it in for a total of 2.5 hours undisturbed. People have had really good results with this. However, if your roast is teensy like mine, that amount of time could very well overcook it. I ended up leaving mine in for about 40 minutes and it came out perfectly. 

Check your internal temperature with an instant read thermometer. Here is a scale to help you decide if you need more time:

120 to 125 F = Rare

130 to 140 F = Medium Rare

145 to 150 F = Medium

Take your roast out and let it rest for 10 minutes. You can make an au jus during this time if you wish. I made some with the pan drippings, red wine, broth, and garlic.

Slice your beef. I think it would be awesome thin-sliced on a sandwich! You can also serve it with some hearty whole grain, like this amazing loaf of sprouted wheat from my favorite bakery, La Calavera:

Have fun!

Madi

PS - Here are some additional sources on this cooking method:

The Domestic Man

Just a Pinch

Pumpkin Parmesan Scones and Goat Cheese Spread

Okay, I know. Pumpkin is usually an autumn thing. During the months of September through November, websites like Pinterest are bursting at the seams with all kinds of pumpkin crafts and recipes. Pumpkin muffins, pancakes, pound cakes, cookies, smores, or roasted pumpkin; pumpkin in a soup, pumpkin in a stew, pumpkin in the slow cooker, etc. Pumpkin is just so darn tasty, with a few sweet notes like yams or butternut squash, but only a little more savory. 

Why does pumpkin have to be reserved for autumn? I can see why it doesn't fit the mood of summer, but I think hearty pumpkin dishes are great for winter as well. Since we are on our way out of winter now and into Spring (hooray!), I wanted to make one last thing with the good ol' pumpkin.

I had been eyeing this recipe over at Drizzle and Dip for a while. She said it was "easy," but I was a little bit suspicious. Especially since I tend to have awful luck with scones. Baking in general is not my forte, but my scones are especially bad. I'm just being honest with you. They either turn out really ugly or very biscuit-like instead of the nice, crumbly scones I intend to make. Amazingly, these actually turned out sooooo good for me. The texture was right on par, and the flavor was delicious. They are not sweet breakfast scones, but rather a more savory addition for a brunch or to snack on in the afternoon. The goat cheese spread really makes them, too. They would be great with butter or plain cream cheese, but if you can get your hands on some goat cheese, I would definitely try to use it. 

I modified the recipe a small bit to make do with what I had at the house.

Pumpkin Parmesan Scone with Thyme

[Serves 9-10

Prep: 15 minutes

Bake: 20-25 minutes]

Ingredients: 

- 3/4 can of cooked pumpkin

- 1/2 cup buttermilk (Note: I never want to buy a whole carton of buttermilk when most recipes only call for a portion of a cup. You can purchase dried buttermilk and add water, or, you can make a pseudo buttermilk at home. That's what I did today. Just take a cup of milk and add a tbsp of either lemon juice, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. I used apple cider vin. It doesn't have the same taste, but it accomplishes the same baking purposes)

- 2 1/2 cups self rising flour (Note: I only had all-purpose. So I used 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt for each cup to essentially make it into "self rising" flour)

- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 2 tsp thyme - fresh chopped is best, but dried works too 

- 1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp buttermilk

- Sunflower seeds or pepitas (optional)

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 400 F. 

- Mix your flour, parmesan, salt, pepper, and thyme in a large bowl. 

- Add buttermilk and pumpkin, and lightly stir until combined. 

- Put your dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for just a minute or two, until it is sticky but firm. 

- Flour your hands and press the dough down to about 3-4 cm in height. 

- Use a cookie cutter (or whatever you have - of all the crazy gadgets we put on our wedding registry, I totally forgot about cookie cutters! An old drinking glass works fine) to cut round scones approximately 1.5-2 inches across.

- Place scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

- Brush the tops with your egg yolk and extra buttermilk. Sprinkle sunflower seeds or pepitas. 

- Bake until golden brown, around 20 minutes. 

Goat Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

- 1/2 package of cream cheese

- Equal amount of goat cheese

- 2-3 tbsp milk

Directions:

- Put all ingredients into a small bowl and whisk with electric mixer until light and creamy. 

- Spread on your warm scones and enjoy! 

Please let me know what you think.

Love,

Madi

Nut-Free Granola With Chia, Flax, and Sunflower Seeds

This morning I was seriously craving some cereal or granola. Unfortunately, all I had on hand were some old-fashioned rolled oats. Then an idea came to mind - why don't I make my own? I had never made granola before, but I had seen some girls in my old dorm do it from time to time. It is cheaper and (usually) healthier to make it yourself than to use store-bought brands. 

My husband is mildly allergic to nuts, so I needed to add some other ingredients to give it that delicious crunch and nutty flavor. I also wanted to bring in some of the healthy fats and proteins that nuts provide. I ended up going with a blend of chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ. Alas, due to the wheat germ, this recipe is not gluten free. However, you can always emit it and use GF oats to make it friendly for those of you with sensitivities. 

Nut-Free Granola

Ingredients:

- 3 cups rolled oats

- 2 tbsp chia seeds

- 1/4 cup flax

- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

- 1/4 cup wheat germ

- 1/3 cup honey

- 1/3 cup coconut oil

- 1/4 cup butter

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

- Preheat oven to 350 F. 

- Mix the oats, seeds, and wheat germ in a large mixing bowl. Add cinnamon and salt. 

- In a separate, microwave-safe bowl, place your honey, oil, and butter. Heat in the microwave or on the stove top until the butter is melted. Whisk the mixture together until it is emulsified. 

- Pour wet ingredients over the dry and mix thoroughly with a large spoon. 

- Lightly grease a large baking pan with butter or oil. 

- Pour the granola mix onto the baking sheet in a thin layer. Slide into the oven and allow to bake for approximately 10 min. Open the oven and stir. Close and allow it to bake until golden brown, another 10-15 minutes. Watch it carefully to be sure it doesn't burn.

- Remove the pan from the oven and let your granola cool. As it cools, it will harden and get crunchy. You can stir it to break up the chunks.

- If you want to add dried fruit, you can stir it in at this point. Your choice. 

- Once cool, serve topped with your choice of milk and fresh fruit. Or mix it into some greek yogurt with honey. 

I personally do not care for dried fruit in my granola. I think it tends to get hard and chewy, and sometimes makes it too sweet. I like mixing in fresh fruit at the time of consumption instead. It gives you some freshness with the toasty granola flavor. 

Yum yum!

Madi

Paprika Parsnips and the "Perfect" Greens

In efforts to really kick off this blog, I am trying to do a lot of posts these first couple of weeks. It's funny how many ideas have come to mind once I started. I am looking forward to sharing more bits of my life and joys with you :)

This evening I am giving two great recipes for vegetables. You can make them as sides, or if you just want something light/vegetarian for dinner, they can serve as a meal to themselves. They are two of our go-to items on nights when we aren't experimenting. They are easy and downright delicious. 

First up is Paprika Parsnips and Carrots. 

Only the parsnips are shown in these pictures. I left out the carrots when I made them for dinner last night. It is great with the parsnips alone, but I think I like it best when carrots are in the mix. 

Ingredients: 

- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 parsnips, peeled and cut into fry-size wedges
- 4 carrots, peeled and cut into fry-size wedges 
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1-2 tbsp smoked or sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano (I was growing some spicy oregano that went well with this dish)
- salt and pepper

Directions:

- Peel your parsnips and carrots. Cut off the ends and chop into small wedges or the typical discs. Either way works well. 

- Heat olive oil in large skillet. Toss the parsnips and carrots in the oil until coated. 
- Add cayenne pepper, paprika, and then a dash of salt and pepper. Toss. Add oregano if you have it. 

- Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft (approximately 15 minutes). 
- If you like it browned on the edges, which I do, turn up the heat and cook for 5 minutes longer on high heat. 

All done. Super easy. Super good.

Next up is our "Perfect" Greens.

I know, perfect seems like an exaggeration. Maybe it is. But let me just tell you that Joseph and I love our greens, and this is one of the best ways we've found to cook them. This recipe is great for collards, mustard, kale, chard, or just about any other green that sautés well. 

Image is shown with kale as the primary green.

We found it when we went to a nearby restaurant called no. 246 in Decatur, GA. We are beyond blessed to live two miles from downtown Decatur and the Decatur square, the home of many, many exceptional restaurants and bars. If you're from Georgia, you may have heard of Paper Planes, the Brick Store Pub, Iberian Pig, etc. I'm a huge foodie. It gives me so much pleasure to try these places out! 

To make a long story short, we were at 246 and we ordered a special side they were serving that night. I think it was collards and chard. It was something and chard, at least. They brought it out with our dinner and we fell in love. It was so flavorful and rich. The waitress talked to the chef for us and found out it was fairly simple. It was cooked in almost equal parts olive oil, butter, broth, and white wine. Needless to say, we tried to recreate this meal at home. We tend to use a little more broth than the original because it's cheaper than the other ingredients. It is still pretty tasty. Here is my guestimate at the measurements we use on a regular basis:

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup butter (grass fed, such as Kerrygold, is best)
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 8-10 cups greens of your choice
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes 
- 2-3 tsp salt
- ground black pepper

Directions:

- Loosely chop a medium sweet onion. It doesn't need to be perfect; I usually leave it in large slivers for this recipe.

- Heat olive oil in large saucepan on medium heat. Add the onions and simmer until translucent. 
- Chop up your greens, if needed. For kale, I try to separate out most of the stalky bits.

- Add the butter to your saucepan. Yum yum. Butter makes everything taste good. 
- Add half your greens to the pot. Mix and allow them to shrink down a bit before you add the broth. 
- Pour in your broth, mix, then add the remainder of your greens. If there is not enough room in the pot, wait until they have simmered for a bit and shrunk down. 
- Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. I enjoy using a special kind of seasoned salt called Borsari. You can get it at the meat section of Whole Foods. It adds fantastic flavor, especially when rubbed into beef or chicken. 
- Add 1/2 cup white wine. It's okay to drink some at this time. I always do ;)
- Simmer until fully cooked, approximately 10-15 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Best wishes for great dinners,
Madi

Home Therapy // Breakfast Room

One thing I really want to do is show off my husband's and my first home together. 

It's nothing impressive; it's a small one-bedroom apartment comprised of furniture that was either given to us, built by hubby, found in a dumpster (no joke - Restoration Hardware is the prime spot for dumpster diving), or purchased from an antique store to be spruced up. I find it so interesting and wonderful to see how his and my tastes came together to make a home that is so uniquely us. We customized a few small details like the wall paint and cabinet knobs to make it look nicer. 

Also, each room sort of has it's own flavor, which you will see later on. For example, our living room has dark grey walls and lots of leather, tarnished metal, and dark woods. Our kitchen, on the other hand, has light mint walls and white cabinets. It's accented by turquoise and citrus colors. But they both were created by equal parts effort from Joseph and myself. I'll always remember this sweet first residence together :)

Today I want to share photos from our dining room area, which I think of more as a breakfast room / sun room for our many plants. My favorite thing about it is the pleasant light that flows through the window all day long. I usually do all my school work and computering in here. It has a very peaceful feel. 

Right now we have too many plants for the small space. We are waiting for it to get just a little bit warmer outside to put these babies on the balcony. As a side note, that little creamer and sugar bowl came from our honeymoon in Ireland, and the copper plate they are sitting on was part of our wedding decor.

Joseph and I really wanted a home with hardwood floors. Unfortunately, we could not find anything in our price range that wasn't, well, sketchy. We settled on this apartment because of it's great floor plan and the "hardwood" linoleum in the kitchen and dining area. It's not the greatest, but it's better than carpet or tiles.

The table and chairs came from one of my favorite antique stores in Toccoa, GA. I think it's called the Cornerstone? It is HUGE, and they price their furniture very reasonably compared to all those glitsy places that want to sell you a ten year old (hardly antique), beat up dresser for $80000000. This table and four chairs were only around $200 bucks. They were in great condition. All we had to do was clean it off a little bit and re-upholster the chairs. They had an absolutely....fabulous?....leopard print cover that needed some updating. Hehe. 

Three of these beautiful greens were from my bridesmaid's luncheon. My aunt and cousin went all out that day. It was gorgeous. The others are succulents and a little evergreen tree I bought around Christmas time. The only guy I'm having issues with is the mint on the far right. I have the worst luck with mint plants. He's struggling, bless his heart. 

Some day I plan to write a DIY post on these succulent book planters. My mom and I made about 30 of them for our wedding. They were part of the center pieces. We ended up saving a lot of money doing it that way, and they were so so pretty. I have a few sitting around the apartment. I'm still afraid someone is going to get upset about all the books we cut up....they were almost all readers digest (back when that company put together books), and they were fairly torn up. Please don't get mad. They've been put to good use! I'm a book lover too.

Thanks for reading,

Madi

Sweet Potato Chipotle Chili

Tonight we were craving something with a bit of burn to it. Something smoky and spicy. We didn't have much in the fridge, so I had to get creative with the goods in our pantry. I found a few different recipes online for sweet potato chili and just mixed and matched ingredients based on what we had available at home.

The finished product turned out pretty darn good. The flavor was amazing. If anything, it might have been a teensy bit too hot. Hubby and I have an extremely high heat tolerance (thank you, Indian dining!), so I've adjusted the below ingredients to make it a bit more palatable. You can always add coconut milk or cream to tone it down, as well. 

Sweet Potato Chipotle Chili

[Serves 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45-60 minutes]

Ingredients:

- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1-2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (These come in a can. Definitely start with just one, and then add the second later if you need to.)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, drained
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 cups cubed sweet potatoes 
- 2 cans beans (whatever you have - I used black and cannellini) 
- 2 cups shredded or chopped kale
- 1/2 cup corn
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (optional)

Directions:

- Heat oil in large pot. Add chopped onion and garlic. Sizzle until the onions turn translucent. 
- Add cayenne pepper and one chopped chipotle pepper with a little bit of the adobo sauce. Add to pot and let it cook until fragrant (30 seconds to a minute). 
- Add vinegar and tomatoes. Stir, then add the broth, cubed sweet potatoes, and beans. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. 
- Add the kale and the corn. Simmer another 10 minutes. 
- Taste your chili. Add salt and pepper if needed. If it's too spicy for your taste, add coconut milk or heavy cream. This gives it great taste either way. 
- Serve topped with avocado, sour cream, cheddar cheese, or tortilla chips. Give it a good squeeze of lime! 

You better finish this off with tequila and lime. Or at least a cold brew. Yum!

Enjoy dinner,

Madi 

Whole Grain Chia Waffles & Blueberry-Vanilla Jam

This morning I was really craving waffles. My darling grandma gave me a waffle iron years ago, and I was ready to whip that baby out. I found a recipe for whole wheat waffle batter and then modified it to include chia seeds and protein powder. I am all about chia, let me tell you. It is loaded with fiber and healthy omega-3 fats. I seriously try to put it in all my breakfast items. 

Once I figured out what I was going to do for the waffles, I realized I needed some kind of topping. We have an old bottle of "maple" syrup, but by "maple," they mean high fructose corn syrup with some artificial flavoring. I. just. can't. do. it. Once upon a time, that sort of thing didn't bug me, but since I've learned more about nutrition and how my body works, I have a really hard time with refined sugars. No worries though! There is still a bit of sweetness in this recipe. I looked up easy compotes that I could make in less than half an hour, and came across this beauty. It is the simplest jam I have ever made. The only changes I instigated were to replace the syrup with honey, and I used frozen wild blueberries from Trader Joes instead of fresh ones (they're cheaper, and great for baking). 

Whole Wheat Chia Waffles

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour

- 1/3 cup chia seeds

- 1 tbsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tbsp protein powder (optional)

- 1-2 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

- 2 cups whole milk

- 2 large eggs

- 1/3 cup melted butter or coconut oil

Directions:

- Whisk dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

- Whisk wet ingredients seperately. 

- Combine wet and dry, carefully mixing. Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes so the chia seeds can absorb moisture. 

This makes approximately 8-12 waffles depending on the size of your iron. Freeze the rest in a ziploc bag. You can reheat them in the toaster for breakfast just like store bought waffles. 

Blueberry Vanilla Jam

Ingredients:

- 3 cups frozen or fresh blueberries

- 3-4 tbsp honey

- 1/2 tsp grated ginger (optional)

- 2 tbsp chia seeds

- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 

Directions:

- Heat blueberries and honey in small stovepot until boiling. 

- Reduce to a simmer and add chia seeds. These are needed to thicken the jam. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches desired thickness. You can add ginger or lemon at this point if you want to "brighten" it up. 

- Mash the blueberries with your spoon, leaving some bits for texture.

- Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract. Once cool, put in jar. It will stay fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

Seriously delicious. I devoured it. 

Bon appetite! 

Madi