Things I Loved In August

August was a pretty eventful month....Natural Chef school ended, I moved into my first apartment, and I began my junior year of college. There were a lot of new things that I experienced this month and I can't wait to share them with you all!

Cacao Nibs

I had never tried cacao nibs until this past month, and I can't believe it's taken me so long to discover them! They are little vegan gluten-free delicious morsels that you can snack on by themselves, throw them into any cookie recipe, trail mix, bowl of cereal, or oatmeal. Cacao nibs are filled with energy and mood boosting compounds, and they even help to raise HDL ("good" cholesterol). If you love dark chocolate, then these are the perfect snack for you!

LARA bars

I mentioned these in my Back To School Snack Ideas post ( Check It Out Here ). LARA bars are one of my favorite snacks to pack no matter where I'm going. They are so delicious and one of the most "natural" energy bars I've been able to find. My favorite flavors are Apple Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, and Blueberry Muffin.




Sprouts

Another food item that I re-discovered this month was sprouts. I've always like them, but never really thought to always have them in my refrigerator until now. I'm so glad I have re-discovered my love for them! My favorite two are alfalfa sprouts, and clover sprouts. My favorite way to eat them is to put them on salads, or even take a rice cake, spread some hummus on it, and then top it with sprouts....so good!



Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

Coconut has never really been one of my favorite flavors, but for some reason this summer I've been eating a lot of it and have fallen in love with it! One of my favorite ways to eat it is in the shredded, unsweetened form. It's so great to put in desserts, throw into a trail mix or granola, or even mix it into oatmeal. Buying it in bulk is the cheapest way I've found to buy it. Also, it stores great in the freezer, so it'll never go bad!

Salads

With school starting back up this month, I've definitely rekindled my love for salads. Salads are so quick, simple, and delicious to make for dinner every night. With a little meal prep one night of the week, a meal worthy salad takes almost no time to throw together. What I've been doing is taking one evening to roast a bunch of sweet potatoes, and any other veggies (beets, broccoli, etc.), and make a big batch of quinoa. Once you have those made, a salad takes almost no time at all to whip together. Here's my go-to salad recipe of this past month:

bed of greens (usually spinach)
handful of sprouts
roasted sweet potatoes
1/2 cup quinoa
any other veggies I have on hand (carrots, broccoli, beets, celery, etc.)
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 avocado
1 tbsp. hummus
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 oz. tempeh (I just cut it into slices and sauté it in a pan for about five minutes)



Making To-Do Lists

I've always been a fairly organized person, but I also tend to be a procrastinator so making lists is essential for me to be as productive as possible. Especially now that school has started back up, making lists has really been helpful for me to see what needs to be done, and then actually a motivator to do it.




Nahko and Medicine for the People

I discovered this band a few weeks ago and can not stop listening to them. Their music is so beautiful and it is just "happy" music. Some of my favorite songs of theirs is Warrior People, Budding Trees, Aloha Ke Akua, Manifesto ll, and My Country. I think their message is so powerful and definitely recommend them to anyone who loves some good chill music.


Salt Lamp

At the end of July, I went to the Flea Market in Raleigh for the first time. There, I discovered the world of gems and crystals. There was a vendor there selling many different gemstones and crystals and I loved learning so much about the power they give to us. While talking to the owners, the salt lamps caught my attention, and I immediately knew I wanted one. I decided on one of the smaller lamps, and chose the one I felt drawn to. For the past month, I've been sleeping with it in my room and love the light it gives off and the benefits from it. Salt lamps help to reduce allergens and toxins in the air, and it also binds positive ions with negative ions in the air. Salt lamps can be bought online through Amazon or other websites.


Food Puns

While thinking of a cute T-shirt idea for Appalachian Student Dietetic Association (ASDA), a club that I'm apart of at school, I fell in love with food puns. I think they are the cutest things ever, and they all just make me so happy! I've been trying to come up with my own, as well as googling and pinteresting ideas.