One Bite at a Time

Hello lovies! I honestly can say I feel very disconnected, hehe literally, from the food blogging scene! The past few days have been filled with lugging stuffed boxes up flights of stairs at wee hours of the night, waking up with the moon shining on my face, putting my fears to the test and eating frozen dinners on the tiled floor. Today was the first time I was able to actually wear "normal" clothes and partake in a few of my favorite things....decorating and shopping. But before I show a few pictures of my place lets back track a bit...on to the food!

Whats a good day without a perfect breakfast to start it?
Last meal at the old place...

Crumbled Banana VitaTop, Xagave Cinnamon Strawberries with Vanilla Bean Yogurt
Must I even explain...strawberries and bananas are such an amazing combination! You have to try mixing warm vanilla bean into your yogurt, its such an aromatic and lovely addition. I have to admit that every time I eat a banana nut VitaTop I feel like its missing a glob of walnut butter...must make some soon. As for the Xagave, it was really sweet, tasty and I loved that it's made from the blue and white plants. Probably will pair perfectly in a latte! I am still on the fence as to how I feel about agave nectar in general though, I've read some reports how it is highly processed..how do you feel about it?

My first meal at the new place...



Tropical Fruit and Pumpkin Granola Yogurt with Toasted Kamut Bread topped with Coconut Oil and Cinnamon

Although the granola doesn't really taste like pumpkin to my taste buds it sure is delicious and worked perfectly on top of simple fruit. I was actually given a huge bowl of organic fruit as a house warming gift, I can not remember when I had fresh pineapple last...it's so good! Mmmmm. By the way, my new counters are blue with silver flecks! Pretty opposite of before but they are beautiful so I'm fine with it :)

If you have been following my new twitter, who am I? a celebrity? haha ignore me, you probably noticed I wrote that I had tackled a huge fear food. When I was in high school I lived off of Cliff chocolate builder bars..besides soy chai's they were the "cool thing" to eat. But once a real huge tragedy hit I had my last and then I started having real eating issues. So these have been a big fear of mine for a while. I actually bought this bar a year ago and it has sat in my nightstand untouched tauting me to challenge it.

Well I finally did! I decided that I already have made such huge changes in my life..why not? Yum! I'm so glad I did..even though it wasn't as tasty as I remembered it was nice to stop thinking about calories, sugar intake, etc and just eat! I only ate half since it wasn't so spectacular but I am conquering my fears one bite at a time and that's good enough for me!

On to dinner...



Amy's Garden Vegetable Lassagna with Cashew Garlic "Butter" and Dipping Veggies

Thank goodness for Amy's! The first night I moved it I was up till 1am trying to bring the last boxes upstairs so the last thing on my mind was cooking. I was really surprised how flavorful the lasagna was, mind you it was nothing like my mother's homemade Italian recipe, but it was decent. Only thing I think should change is the sauce, it needed more chunks of tomato and hardiness to it...I'm Italian..I like it rich and thick!

Finally Tuesday night I had time to shop a bit for grocery's...my place of choice? The local farmer's market and Trader Joe's! I brought along a tiny igloo to put all my cold things in while I went to both stores. Does anyone else do that? I ended up buying three weeks worth of food because I know I'm going to be cooped up this month moving furniture and organizing. Once I got home I started playing around with my goodies and toyed with a few recipes.

Spinach Roasted Garlic Salad with Chickpeas and Goat Cheese. With a side of Roasted Kabocha topped with Sunflower Butter, Ginger, Cinnamon and Clove Spices.

Using the oven for the first time was exciting so I went for something new and roasted the kamboca with coconut oil and gingerbread spices. When it came it was drier then I expected, nothing like the soft tender bake treatment I usually give them, I had to improvise. It was still very tummy worthy it just needed some type of "dressing". Remember how I said I wanted Sunbutter? When I found out that Trader Joe's actually carries their own sunflower butter I knew it was meant to be, the flavor was beyond what I expected. Dare I say it...maybe better then almond butter? Brought me memories of eating breakfast sunflower raisin muffins on the beach when I was a child. Cute!
By the time it was all done roasting it was late and I was so hungry I decided to scrap the idea to make a kabocha chickpea casserole. I ended up just keeping it simple. Don't you hate it when time sneaks up on you?

Honestly I can't wait to unpack my cook books...I'm missing their beautiful guidance in my cooking. But there shouldn't be much complaint since I've been looking at so many tasty meals on a few blogs that I know I must try some. A few of my favorites are Katharina's Kabocha Casserole dish, Leslie's Pumpkin Curry and Eliza's Autumn Polenta dish. If I don't make these meals please hold me accountable..they are too lovely to forget! With all the beautiful squashes out fall is the best time to cook, no?

After indulging in some TV time last night, aka Biggest Loser, I got back on the job and started organizing. It's probably taking me half a day to get my clothes in order but what can I say...I'm a perfectionist. This is a photo of my closet wall....I have so many ideas how to decorate my room my head is spinning!

Speaking of my head...I hung my hats :) I know at the end of the day I will just keep it very simple. I love clean lines but also pieces that have a statement to them. I will post more pictures soon but right now my room looks like a bomb went off!!

So far I keep waking up thinking I am at a hotel...it actually feels liberating to live in a space that holds no memories. I feel like every day I get to choose what I associate bits of my place with what memory. Sadly, my old space represented discipline and suffering but now it feels quiet the opposite. As I sit on the top floor with the wonderful sunrise shining through my curtains and the cool breeze hitting my face..I know I made the right choice. Talk about peaceful! I am so glad I just went for it and moved because I feel so inspired with life and that holds huge importance to me.

Before I go I must end on a delicious note...breakfast this morning...

Keeping it simple with Banana Whipped Greek Yogurt topped with Banana, Pistachios, Raisins and Cinnamon. Also a piece of Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread with a spread of Coconut Oil.

Morning's around here now start at six since the time changed so its becoming quiet tricky to find the right light for my photography. I'm still trying to find my "sweet spot" in the kitchen but in due time my photos will get better! Did the time change mess your schedule up?
I will try to update as much as possible this week but I am running off of a old laptop with a weak Internet signal until I get it all patched up. So that being said posting will be random but please keep checking back because I have some exciting photos to share as I decorate! And if you can't I also tweet now :) I cannot forget to say thank you for all the kind comments too! I was soo happy to read them when I got back...if people were this caring and supporting in day to day life we would live in a better world that's for sure! Cya!