Honey, It's Time to Talk About Artificial Sweeteners

   I want to be honest and admit that I am a recovering Monster Rojo Tea drinker. The journey has been long and hard but I am trying to stay strong. It occurred to me this morning that quitting Monster might be difficult due to it's ingredients. The Great and Powerful Google gave me the bad news about one of my favorite drinks. My drink received a rating of C- but gained a few points due to its low caloric count. Then I found out why I want this drink so much, Acesulfame Potassium which is an artificial sweetener that makes food taste 180 to 200 times sweeter than normal. That explains a metric fuck ton. After ingesting this drink I always crave sugar and carbs which is a lovely side effect of artificial sweeteners. On paper this energy drink appears safe but in reality it needs to stay on the shelf and away from my grubby little hands. 

   My hubby Steven loves the lemonade/tea version of Monster but was saddened to learn that his favorite is even worse than mine. His drink of choice is overly processed and full of crazy coloring's and preservatives. It is time that we both walk away from this bad relationship and move on to better things. 

Tomato Soup with Fennel and Garlic

   I have decided that drinking my soup from a coffee cup is way cooler than slurping from a bowl. Last night I made tomato soup with fennel, lemon, and roasted garlic and it actually tastes amazing. I haven't made many soups in the past and I was hesitant to try my hand at this one, but I am so glad I did.
   This week is the week from hell with a big test on Wednesday, my graduate project due Friday, and a 12 page paper. Needless to say I will not be seeing the inside of a gym this week so I am trying to eat mostly healthy. However, if a mini snickers bar finds its way into my hands I won't panic.

   I found the recipe for this soup in a French slow cooker cookbook my mama bought for me awhile back. A fun fact about fennel is that it smells like licorice when it is being chopped up.

A few of the ingredients: lemons, chicken stock, salt, and pepper.  

I chopped up about a cup and 1/2 of fennel.

   After chopping the fennel I threw it into a hot pan with olive oil and a little sea salt. I sauteed the fennel for twenty minutes stirring every five minutes. While the fennel cooked down I roasted two heads of garlic in the oven with olive oil. I then opened up two cans of organic tomato paste which then went into the pan with the fennel. The concoction simmered for six minutes which deepened the color of the tomato paste to a deep ruby red. The garlic roasted for about 28 minutes at 400 degrees. I then poured 4 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of water into the pot along with the garlic. . I brought the pan to roiling boil then let the soup simmer for 20 minutes. 

   I am a fan of smooth tomato soup as opposed to chunky. My blender smoothed out the chunks of fennel and garlic quite nicely. 

  

  After the soup had been pureed I added juice from one half of a lemon and a sprinkling of pepper. The acid from the lemon gave this soup so much depth and the spice of the black pepper put it over the top.  

Hope everyone has a fabulous day! I will be sitting at my computer for most of it sipping tomato soup like a boss. 

Wedding Bells and Dresses

   The wedding dress gods have spoken! My friend +Shawntee DesaRay Goff found her wedding  dress, Saturday October 18 and it couldn't be more perfect for her. Her family and I watched while a young woman was transformed into a princess with the help of the perfect dress and a sparkly veil. I couldn't help but think back to when I first met +Shawntee DesaRay Goff in an undergrad pysch class. At first I was insanely jealous of her gorgeous hair but with time I was able to look beyond the beautiful dark curls and see the equally beautiful woman within. This fabulous chick is a jeans and hoodie kind of gal who can rock a dress when asked. And yet when she stepped out in the first dress I was simply overcome by how utterly demure and elegant she looked. I cried like Kim Kardashian when she lost her $75,000 earring in the ocean.

   I am so thankful I was able to be a part of her special day. We saw +Shawntee DesaRay Goff in so many gorgeous gowns but the best was saved for last. I kept waiting for her to cry or have "the moment" but it took a very special dress with just enough sparkle and magic. I saw tears form in her eyes and I of course morphed back into Kim Kardashian. Right then it hit me that in a few short months she would be someone's wife and her last name would change. However, she will always be the sweet girl I met in psych class with the killer smile. Congratulations babe for finding The Dress and The Guy! Cheers!

Haters going to hate. 

XOXO 

Smoothie to the Rescue

    Mornings can be rough when you aren't exactly happy to greet the dawn. The past several mornings I have not wanted to cook anything because that required energy that I didn't have. However, I do have a blender and a spare two minutes to scramble several ingredients together to make a smoothie. This morning my addled brain actually came up with something delicious for breakfast. I set out Betty my blender and threw in chocolate protein powder, frozen strawberries, chia seeds, water, and vanilla espresso mocha almond butter. The end result made me so happy and satiated which is incredibly important in the mornings.

  

My super smoothie. 

   For this recipe use whatever protein powder you like, 1 TBS chia seeds, 1 Cup frozen fruit, 1 TBS almond butter, and 1 Cup water. Throw all ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix thoroughly. 

     This is the almond butter I used but any flavor will do. I found this brand at Sprouts which is located in Lubbock Texas as well as several other big cities. Happy smoothie making y'all.