Mint Chocolate Chick

Oops it’s September! 21st! How did that happen? I only took a blog break for oh *cough* 40ish days.

No worries. What’s important is I’m back and ready to say so long to Summer and hello to all of Fall’s pumpkin-y glory.

Let’s recap the lost days of my blog.

Pumpkin Obsession is in full swing!

I did wait to open a can of pumpkin on (I swear) the first non-sweltering day.

Proof:

I actually used it in some baking:

Vegan pumpkin muffins whipped together for a Labor Day potluck at work. Shhh! Nobody knew it was vegan

And this is what I did with the leftover pumpkin muffins:

Oh btw, that’s hemp milk because I’m allergic to almonds. *boom* I know, dynamite explosions go off in my mind every time I think about my break up with almond milk this Summer.

I further fueled my pumpkin obsession with Green Mountain AND Dunkin Pumpkin K-cups. Both because I HAD to know the difference, duh. (btw, experiments with coconut milk as a coffee creamer failed!)

Result: Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice tastes more like autumn spices than pumpkin and Dunkin Pumpkin tastes like pumpkin with a hint of spice. Both are good in their own way. But I will probably only re-buy the Green Mountain version.

Fitness

I took my first Tae bo class a few weeks ago with Sana. (Unless Billy Blanks tapes in high school counts…yikes I feel old)

I emerged from my first group (non yoga) fitness class a complete sweaty mess. I had no control of my hamstrings the next day, but it was so much fun!

Also new to my fitness routine: the return of running baby! I took a long lazy hiatus from running for the muggy months of Summer. But by mid-August I realized the Baltimore Half was fast approaching and decided to hit the road to prepare. 3 weeks left!! Eeeep!

Don’t let my ridiculously relaxed face on the 6th mile fool you. Last year was crazy. I finished the race completely destroyed. Do not attempt this my irresponsible preparation methods  at home. All you have to know is I could not fit my feet into my shoes for days. Seriously!

Food:

Too much to cover completely, but here are some highlights:

Left to right and top to bottom. I don’t know how else to do this…

Banana almond muffins

Perfect protein pancakes (I notice a blog crush forming)

Sweet potato black bean hash: Even my (sweet potato hating) dad loved it.

Flaxseed pizza was NOT a hit. I’m hopeful for a take-two.

Summer rolls are a perfect end to Summer.

I make a mean Pad Thai tofu.

AND a mean chicken fried quinoa. Too good to be that easy.

I attacked homemade falafels blindly (ie. recipe-less) and won.

Trader joe’s black bean soup, sautéed spring onion and peppers, lime juice, goat cheese, and added black beans make an awesome dinner.

I leave you with dinner tonight:

Mini peppers stuffed with tuna salad (tuna mixed with hummus, & brown mustard), roasted sweet potatoes and ketchup.

Time for bed. Must get up early to get ready for my sorority line-sister’s wedding. Yay!

Tags: awesomeness, Baking fail, breakfast, goat cheese, Pumpkin, sweet potato, Thai