My mom recently stumbled across this fun and very pretty looking star puff pastry dessert that we definitely tried and really enjoyed! I’ll just cut to the chase right away with the recipe and if what you see in the picture below interests ya, then stick around!
Ingredients: -2 packages of puff pastry (we use the one by Pepperidge Farms, with this you just want to make sure you can get puff pastry that can be cut into circles about the size of a pie and rolled!) -33.5 oz jar of Nutella (you will use the entire thing!) -One egg (you’ll end up beating it) -Strawberry jam
Recipe: Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Place your first puff pastry sheet on the parchment paper. Cut the edges so that you make a circle with the puff pastry. Place Nutella on the puff pastry using a spoon. Do not place any on the outer edge of the puff pastry though! Leave about an inch on the edges. We found that it was easiest to warm up the Nutella in the microwave for like 15 seconds so it was softer and easier to move around. After you’ve placed the Nutella, go ahead and place your next puff pastry sheet over top of your first. Repeat the process of placing Nutella and then the next puff pastry sheet until you’ve placed the fourth puff pastry sheet on top. Don’t put Nutella on top of your last layer. Instead, lightly roll the dough so that the Nutella has a chance to spread evenly in each layer. With this done, take your fingers and gently press on the edges of your puff pastry so that the edges will seal somewhat. Using the mouth of a glass, press gently into the center of your pastry to leave a mark. With this circle, you’re now going to make 16 even cuts from that circle. With these 16 even slices, you’re now going to take 2 slices (1 in your right hand and 1 in your left) and twist the slices. Twist the slice on the right to the right twice and the slice on the left to your left twice. After this, join the slices by folding the edges over. You can use water here too to help make a better seal for the slices. Repeat this until you have 8 points. Now, beat your one egg and brush the beaten egg all over your pastry. This will help give it a nice golden color when it’s done baking! Place your puff pastry in the oven and let it bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown! Once, your pastry is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes. Once it has cooled, brush strawberry jam over the top of the pastry. And that’s it! That’s how you make a star puff pastry!
I’ve never been the biggest fan of Nutella but I really enjoyed it in this star puff pastry dessert. I think the puff pastry and the strawberry jam helped calm down the strong Nutella taste and it was really yummy! I hope you get a chance to try this one out! Trust me, it’s MUCH easier than it looks. Then, you’ll have something pretty to look at and then eat! Enjoy your star puff pastry!!
I find it funny that last week’s post was about food and how much I love this one protein shake I’ve figured that I really like. Now here we are, talking about what I realized this past week as I’ve worked through fighting with food. I feel like I’m finally winning this fight. 🙂
As I’ve focused more on my fitness and developing a sustainable routine for my lifestyle, I realized how some of the things I’ve done in my life have really affected my relationship with food and with myself overall. In particular, pageantry and modeling have created a strange complex that has made me feel angry and frustrated with myself for not always eating “clean” or healthy. So if I were to eat a cookie, for example, to treat myself after an exam or rough day with classes or something, I might enjoy that cookie in the moment but later feel disgusted with myself for allowing myself to have that extra sugar and junk in my body. I might work out harder the next day or make my lunch or dinner somewhat smaller the next day to compensate for that which is SO WRONG. And I have just now realized that.
Since freshman year of college, I have been struggling and fighting myself so hard every time I eat something that my mind has decided to deem as “unclean” or “unhealthy”. I’ve always been a bit lenient on special occasions like birthdays and other celebrations. I have always allowed myself to relax a bit then, but in general, I have been so rough with myself in terms of food because I thought needed to be that way in order to look a certain way. While I have learned that I can cut out certain foods and feel good, I have also learned that I’m much more miserable by restricting myself to the salad bar and produce aisle at the grocery store. I haven’t been happy feeling afraid of eating certain things. There hasn’t been progress made by fighting with food like I have, so I knew something had to change. And no, it was not my diet. It was my mindset.
Ever since I began working with my trainer, I feel like my eyes have opened so much more and I am so thankful to have her and my mom in my life. They have both helped me so much with building a better relationship with food and I really cannot thank them enough for helping me with this. I feel like my fighting with food has become much less of a fight and I’m so much happier for it. While I still restrict or limit certain things, I feel much more free with my eating. There is much less shame, frustration, and anger associated with allowing certain foods every once in a while which is amazing and I’m so happy that I’ve had this change in mindset. It has not been easy to reach this point, but we are here and we are in a much healthier position with food now which I am so happy to say.
I’ve substituted pasta for rice and quinoa because of how much more rice and quinoa can give me nutritionally. And there are still days where I really just want spaghetti or penne. What do I do in situations like this? I make myself what I want! It might be gluten-free or whole wheat, because that benefits me more and I’ve found works better for me and what my goals are, and that’s ok! I’m ok with it! And what if I’m at a restaurant and I’m really wanting pasta? I allow myself to have it. I allow it because I know this is a once-in-a-while thing and that this one meal isn’t going to cause me to gain five pounds or lose any progress. I’ve learned to avoid milk because it causes inflammation and irritates my stomach. Instead, I have substituted that for oat and almond milk. I still enjoy ice cream though. 😉 That’s too hard to give up haha. Again, in moderation it can’t hurt me too bad! I’ve increased my fiber and protein intake and that’s because I have goals set for myself. I focus on including more veggies and meats or eggs on my plate and I’m much happier for that.
There are some days where I feel like I deserve a piece of chocolate or two. I allow myself that treat and I move on with it! I work out the same amount I have been for the past seven months and I feel no pressure to work out extra to work off those calories. And why is that? I now know that I’m not eating large amounts of chocolate every day. There is moderation. This was a one-time thing and if it becomes more of a habit, it’s something I can work on and learn to manage. This is something so important to keep in mind and is something I wish I had allowed myself to think about in the past.
As mentioned earlier, I am truly so thankful to have people like my mom and trainer in my life. They have helped me build healthier relationships with food and working out, but most importantly with myself. I am finally learning to honor my body and love myself. I am feeling like a more confident and free person for it. Of course, there are still days where I struggle and I still have moments where I’m frustrated or upset, but I recognize that it’s okay to have days like that. I truck along, keep moving forward, and keep working hard. And I encourage you all to do the same. See you next weekend.
Image credits to Tasty Kitchen. I wish mine looked this fancy, but I do know it tastes pretty good. 🙂
I’m definitely no nutrition expert or dietician, but I feel like I have also learned a thing or two trying to work on what I eat. While I definitely am still figuring a lot of things out, I have found one thing I really like: peanut butter chocolate banana protein shakes. There was never a specific recipe I found, I just decided to try things out and I loved it. So if you’re interested in learning how to make the perfect protein shake (at least according to me!!) then stick around. All you need is a blender, a banana or two, peanut butter or peanut butter powder, and your favorite chocolate protein powder.
Here’s my recipe! – At least one banana – A good tablespoon of peanut butter powder (PB-Fit All Natural) – Half of a scoop of Simple Truth’s chocolate protein powder – Califa Farms unsweetened almond milk (I just pour this until it covers the banana, peanut. butter, and protein powder)
With all of your good stuff in your blender, just blend until smooth and then enjoy! I really like to have this for breakfast in addition to an omelet or some hard-boiled eggs. Sometimes, this is really good on its own in between meals. I find that it serves as a good filler until I’m ready to eat an actual meal. Yummy yummy! 🙂
I’ve really been working on adding more protein to my diet and I’ve found that this is one of the many ways to do so. Eggs and chicken are a few more of my favorite ways to get my protein in! If there’s anyone reading this that also enjoys a good protein shake, share your recipes with me! I’d love to try them. 🙂 Have a great week and I’ll see you next Sunday!
So I have a kitchen now and it’s something that I’ve really enjoyed using! And with that kitchen, I’ve been able to do a bit more cooking than I have in the past and I recently discovered that cooking and working with food is actually kinda fun!
In the mornings, I like to make myself avocado toast, scrambled eggs, or an omelet, and I also add some sort of meat, whether that’s chicken or some form of sausage. I’ve also recently discovered that cheese inside omelets is so good. I don’t know if that’s just a me thing or if that’s something that other people have also enjoyed, but I know that I enjoy it now! As far as how I make my eggs, I have an egg cooker that does all the work for me. Yes, this may seem like I’m not actually doing the cooking, but I still prep a lot of stuff to make sure I get my eggs just how I want them that morning. It’s a very handy, helpful little appliance. 🙂
As I’ve grown in my cooking and food handling abilities, I’ve learned how to cut a variety of different things, my favorites being avocados (I just really like avocado) and mangoes. Mangoes were a bit tricky in the beginning but I think I’ve figured out a system when it comes to cutting those. I was not aware of the flat seed in the center when I cut my first mango and I wish you could have all been there to see my reaction. I thought to myself, “This is one strong mango!”, “Is my knife broken?”, “Maybe I’ll follow the hard parts of this mango as best I can but just cut around…” HAHA. After about ten minutes of struggling with my first mango, I washed my very sticky hands and proceeded to watch at least three videos on how to properly cut a mango. We’re good now. The internet is a great resource for learning how to prep food and make things and I’ve definitely taken advantage of it.
Also, I apologize for the low-quality picture but this was the first breakfast I had in my apartment and I was pretty proud of it, even if my poached eggs were a bit overdone. It still tasted good. 🙂 Something I haven’t made yet in my apartment but I’m excited to make is pasta. I’ve made rice and that has turned out pretty decent so far but I’m really excited to try out this yummy whole wheat penne and spaghetti I have. I have some sauce and sausage I could put it with and I feel like either the penne or spaghetti could be really good. We shall see!
If anyone has anything easy to make and yummy that they recommend I try, let me know! I’d be happy to try new things out and eat some good food. Who doesn’t wanna eat good food? Have a good week and I’ll see you all next weekend!
There’s this smoothie/acai bowl place I’ve heard of before called Rush Bowl and I have ALWAYS wanted to try it. Ever since my first açaí bowl at Denver International Airport, I’ve been dying to find a place in my hometown or in Fort Collins, since that’s where I go to school that has something like that. This past week, I needed something super yummy to decompress and I think I found it. An organic chemistry exam and physics exam in one night really takes it’s toll!!
I was flipping through the little coupon book I picked up on campus the other day and it had “Buy one get one free” at Rush Bowls and I was like, “Hmmmmm. Sounds amazing! I’m gonna go!” But I’ve been sick and then it was kinda chilly this morning and I wasn’t feeling 100% so I wasn’t able to go. But then, one of my friends asked me around 3 today if I wanted to go and by then it was a lot nicer and I was feeling better so I gladly accepted her offer.
You might be asking yourself, “What is an açaí bowl or more specifically a “Rush” Bowl?” Well I got you. Basically it’s a combination of blended fruits in combination with frozen yogurt and/or milk of your choice. These bowls can then be adorned with graham crackers, granola, honey, sliced fruit, and honestly whatever else sounds good to you!
What was amazing about the bowl I had, which was Rush Bowl’s seasonal pumpkin spice bowl was that it wasn’t horribly sweet (just the perfect amount of sweet if you ask me!), it was under 400 calories (I’m not big on counting but lately I’ve been a bit more careful), and it tasted AMAZING. This past week was absolute nuts so I believe I deserved to treat myself. And what was awesome about Rush Bowl was that I felt like I was treating myself, but it wasn’t a bunch of super salty, junk foods. It was something I felt good about putting in my body. 🙂 I can say that I’m obsessed with Rush Bowl for sure and you will definitely find me using that buy one, get one free deal as often as possible on the weekends. I’m also super pumped because they’re adding one in Broomfield (my hometown) and I know where I’m taking my family when it opens!! Haha.
In the future, I’m excited to try their Chai’s Mystique bowl, Apple or Peach Cobbler Bowl, Lemon Squeeze Bowl, and Oasis Bowl. Although I’m not going to lie…it all looks pretty dang good. It would honestly be so fun to try and make an açaí bowl at home. I feel like that could be really good. Or a disaster… Guess we’ll have to find out! Have a wonderful week everyone!
My mom and I recently have been trying a bunch of different healthy recipes and one of my favorites has been the hummus and beet wraps. If you’re interested in trying it out, here’s the recipe below! My mom makes the hummus that we add to our wraps, but that recipe is not included in the recipe I’m providing here. Any hummus that you enjoy can work. 🙂
4 cups of arugula (roughly chopped)
1 beet (grated)
2 tbsp of low-fat feta cheese
2 tbsp of hummus
Sprouted grain tortillas (my family and I usually get the tortillas by Simple Truth)
Wash the arugula prior to assembling your wrap. Place a tortilla on a place. Spread hummus on a tortilla, leaving at least an inch border. I like to add enough hummus that it creates a decent layer on the tortilla. Taking about a handful or two of arugula sprinkle it evenly around the tortilla. Add some of the grated beets on top of the arugula. I don’t tend to add too much of the grated beets as a preference thing, but you can add as little or as much of the beets as you would like. After the beets, sprinkle feta cheese on top. Once all of the good stuff is placed as you like it, assemble the wrap and enjoy!
I find that just one wrap can be quite filling, but if you want another, that’s okay too! I’ve never really been a fan of beets, but this recipe has helped me come to terms with them. So I hope you give hummus and beet wraps a try, and if not, that’s okay too. Just throwing out some healthy, tasty options. 🙂 Have a good week everyone!
It’s honestly been a while since I visited Denver and I live like 45 minutes from it. So this weekend, my family and I took a little day trip to Denver and caught up on our history at the Colorado History Museum, saw the work of Edgar Degas at the Denver Art Museum, and then wrapped up our day with burgers and shakes at BurgerFi.
I’ve never been to the Colorado History Museum, but I’ve walked past it a bunch. It was awesome to finally see the building from the inside, haha. The Colorado History Museum covers everything from Colorado before it was a state to Colorado in the Civil War to Colorado now in all of its glory. The museum was extremely interactive and a lot of fun to mess around in. Allyson and I played in this little barn and went down a couple of slides. (Yes, I’m actually five). We got to “drive” a Model T around which was really cool too and watched a short documentary about Colorado during the Dust Bowl. The special exhibit they had this time around was about baseball and its beginnings. They had Babe Ruth’s bat and some of his merchandise as well as Jackie Robinson’s bat and some of his stuff. It was pretty cool to see. This museum is very hands-on and so much fun so if you’re ever in Denver and wanna learn about Colorado’s history, please come visit!
Now it was time for the Denver Art Museum. Personally, this was my favorite part. Currently on display, they have the work of Edgar Degas, a French painter, sculptor, and just brilliant artist in general. We a lot of his pieces including “The Star”, “After the Bath”, “Dancer With Bouquets” and much more. In addition to Degas’s work, we saw a lot of abstract and weird art as well as some really pretty and just amazing work. That’s the fun thing about art museums, all types of art and every medium is covered. I really enjoy being around art because it’s very peaceful and calming. It makes you think about all types of things and you come out inspired.
After all of this, my dad took us to this AMAZING burger place that’s maybe five minutes from the Denver Art Museum called BurgerFi. Honestly, just sitting here and writing about it makes me hungry. BurgerFi is an all-natural, grass-fed beef burger and hot dog restaurant that I also think has the best fries ever. Their food is just so good I can’t really explain it. What’s cool too is that they “brand” their burgers with the BurgerFi logo. I also got an Oreo milkshake and that was very yummy as well. The service was great and the food was even better and this was a great way to end a very fun day.
As a high school student who is often rushed in the morning, I find it difficult to always prepare my body for the day. Maybe I’ll grab a piece of toast or get a bowl of fruit but that isn’t exactly the best way to give my body the energy it needs to start the day. Based on personal experience and some research, here’s what I think is important and necessary for a good breakfast.
Protein. Whether that’s through dairy products, nuts, or eggs, it’s important to pack your breakfast with proteins. Proteins help you feel fuller for a longer amount of time.
A variety of foods. Different types of milk, meat and meat alternates, as well as a variety of fruits are important for a good, healthy breakfast. You want a variety so that there’s a variety of nutrients as well.
Smoothies. Smoothies are easy to make and you can get really creative with them. To add on, smoothies are great for when you have to get out of the house quick. They make a great to-go breakfast.
Fruit. In a smoothie, in a salad, or just straight from the container, fruit is awesome. It’s super filling and good for your body. Be careful though as fruit does contain sugar and consuming too much may not be the best thing for your body. As long as you live a healthy lifestyle and stay active, you should be just fine.
Not skipping breakfast, ever. As a high school student, I know a bunch of kids that just don’t eat breakfast. They claim there isn’t enough time or they’re not hungry or they just didn’t want to. Regardless of the circumstances, it’s important to give your body what it needs to start the day and then get through the day. You want to be able to function properly and keep your metabolism and digestive tract in a rhythm and steady, so don’t skip a meal, especially breakfast.
It’s definitely important to have a wide variety of foods on your plate at breakfast and it’s also important to always eat breakfast. Even if you don’t have time to eat a full breakfast, give yourself something to fuel your body. Eating a good breakfast helps get you on the right track for a good day and helps the struggles of being hangry from staying away.
After a great day at Disneyland before, California Adventure was the next thing my family and I would tackle. Disney California Adventure was an amazing overall experience. There was so much to do and see and my family and I got through most of it.
My aunt, uncle, mom, sister, and I arrived at Disney California Adventure around 9:30 or 10 in the morning and decided to get to Cars Land first. Cars Land was so well created and made my family and I feel like we had just stepped into the movie. It was so cool! Of course we had to do the Radiator Springs Racers ride and so we walked that way first. The wait may be been about two hours but it was well worth the wait. The ride was so cute and it was fun to travel through Radiator Springs and then win the race in the end. It may have been rigged but that’s okay. After that thrilling ride, we got our picture taken with Mater at the Cozy Cone Motel and then made our way towards Paradise Pier.
Paradise Pier is home to many enjoyable boardwalk games, Ariel’s Grotto (a restaurant), several rides, and the World of Color show. We decided to walk around and see where we would be eating later tonight, which would be at Ariel’s Grotto. Allyson, my sister suggested that we ride on Ariel’s Undersea Adventure which was a ride in a seashell through Ariel’s journey. There was no wait which was great and the ride was also very cute.
Once we finished that, Allyson and I led everyone to Hollywood Land where we got to go to the Animation Academy, meet Anna and Elsa, and then attend the Animation Academy and draw Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Frozen is my favorite Disney movie, so of course we had to meet the royalty of Frozen. Anna and Elsa were very sweet and Anna even gave my sister and I a hug! The Animation Academy drawing class was a lot of fun because we got to draw with an actual Disney artist and he complimented my sister on her drawing which was awesome.
Meeting Anna and Elsa!
After visiting the Animation Academy, we found a place to grab some really good hot dogs for lunch and then headed back to Disneyland to get on a few rides we missed yesterday. We ran into Cinderella on the way back to Disneyland and got to meet her and take pictures with her of course.
The next thing we did was walk over to Adventureland to get some Dole Whip and also take the Jungle Cruise. Before we got to California, I heard a lot about Dole Whip and how amazing it was. Everything I had heard about it was true. It was so refreshing, light, and delicious. My family and I were able to enjoy the beloved treat while waiting to get on the Jungle Cruise which was also an enjoyable and interesting ride. Our tour guide for the boat trip was hilarious and the animatronic jungle animals looked so realistic and were fun to watch move around.
Dole Whip… It can only be found in Hawaii or at Disneyland
Once that was over, we walked back to Fantasyland to walk through Pixie Hollow, rode the Monorail, and do the Alice in Wonderland ride. While the Monorail didn’t go around the whole park, it was cool to be in it and see as much of the park as we were able to. The Alice in Wonderland ride was very cute and fun.
This was one of the caterpillars to ride in for the Alice in Wonderland ride.
And of course, to finish out our time in Disneyland, my family and I had to do Splash Mountain. The line had been terribly long all day and we knew that the ride was popular so we decided to get Fastpasses earlier in the day so that we could come back later in the day and get in line, wait for a short amount of time, and then ride Splash Mountain. That ride was my favorite out of any ride we’d been on. It wasn’t jerky or ridiculously fast like the Matterhorn, but it had enough speed and drops to be thrilling, enjoyable, and worth everything. I got soaked on the ride, and that probably happened because I sat up front in the log.
Splash Mountain
On the way back to California Adventure, we did a quick walkthrough of Sleeping Beauty’s castle and then made our way back to California Adventure to get to our reservation at Ariel’s Grotto in time.
We made it to our reservation with plenty of time to spare and we were even able to get in like ten minutes earlier than our reservation because we checked in early. The food was wonderful. We were served a three-course meal, which started with a choice of soup or salad, then an entree, and it finished with dessert. The salad was a strawberry, pistachio, and feta cheese salad, I picked their fire-roasted corn cakes as my entree, and then for dessert there was a lemon frosted madeline, passion fruit creme brûlée which was to die for, and then a mocha chocolate pastry. I somehow managed to eat it all and I was satisfied with the food and the service. After dinner, my family and I were given our tickets to the preferred seating at the World of Color show. World of Color is a show at Paradise Pier that involves fountains and lots of water and pictures and clips are projected on water. We purchased the package deal of dinner at a specific restaurant, which for us was Ariel’s Grotto, at California Adventure and preferred seating access to World of Color. We got to stand right up near the water and see the show from a very good spot. Even though we got somewhat wet, the exciting light show, reflection of Disney movies and pictures on the water, lasers, and flames kept me happy and entertained throughout the entire show. It was a wonderful experience and that like no other and I would definitely do the package deal again to get such good seats for World of Color.
The best part of the meal. (I forgot to mention that we were celebrating my sister’s birthday as well as mine and the restaurant gave us cupcakes for it.)
That was a great way to end our last day at the Disneyland Resort and I know that will definitely be going back in the future. Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth and I’m so glad I had the chance to go.
Walt and Mickey on Buena Vista St. at Disney California Adventure
I’d also like to add, Happy Father’s Day to all dads out there. Thank you for everything you do for us all. 🙂
Last year, around this same time, my family and I travelled to Hesperus, CO to a wonderful little restaurant and bakery called Kennebec Cafe. We also drove around the La Plata Mountains that day.
This past weekend, while visiting family in New Mexico, we decided to visit the Kennebec Cafe once again. They have delicious food so, why not? If you can remember my blog about the visit to Hesperus from last year, we ordered pancakes for breakfast and they were HUGE! The pancakes tasted amazing, but a break from pancakes was definitely needed after that trip. This time, my family and I went for a late lunch instead of breakfast.
I ordered a delicious southwest burger that had pepper jack cheese, green chiles, and avocado on it with a side of fries and an Arnold Palmer (half ginger peach tea and half raspberry lemonade). The Arnold Palmer was really refreshing and the food was so yummy! The burger was done very well and the flavors in it worked well together.
The service was great, the food was tasty, and the company was wonderful. My family and I had a relaxing and fun day and a short but good weekend together. If you’re ever headed to Hesperus, CO or just traveling through the area, make sure to add the Kennebec Cafe to your list of things to-do, it’s worth it!
