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Enjoy! This is posted in lieu of a good day of eating--I ate almonds and 2 bites of peppers today, and that's all I can brag about. Click here to read an article that made me smile today. I will eat rabbit food (tomorrow)!

Taste the Rainbow

And I'm not talking about skittles (that would be breaking Lent). I'm talking about plants.

After eating some of my peppers and then sticking my tongue out at a particularly sassy mirror in my room, I made the discovery that bell peppers, not unlike lollipops, dye your tongue--granted, it is the back of your tongue, and it's not nearly neon enough, but it's there. Despite my (somewhat misleading title), I can't actually taste the rainbow (only a sunset, because I have only red, orange, and yellow peppers), but now I'm curious: What Lent-safe things can I use to dye my tongue? I get that this is a somewhat immature experiment, but I believe that an objective analysis will make me seem more like the college student that I am and less like the 4 year olds I babysit. These are the things I know:

--Watermelon does not dye your tongue. I presume that this is because there is so much water in it--so melons and other water-heavy things do not result in colorful taste buds.
--Grapes do not dye your tongue--given that grapes are not water-heavy (despite the awful bursting sensation when you eat them), I can only presume that this is because grape interior is not the same color as grape-exterior. Therefore, your tongue gets all confused, not knowing what part of the fruit to listen to. Same with apples, which also don't dye your tongue, but do make your teeth feel squeaky.

So:
In order to make your tongue colorful, the plant must be the same color throughout, and not incredibly watery. I think an observational study on the tongues of people who eat bananas and strawberries is in order...

I ate really well today (almonds and peppers and celery and what is still my favorite cereal), and am really looking forward to dinner tonight with my superwoman mom. I will eat rabbit food.

Spring Break Frenzy

Yesterday was a good day--peppers and celery and an apple and cous-cous and a long nap in a funny position in my reading cubby in my room.

That was the best part of my whole day--there's this tiny little cranny next to the window in my room. It's about a  3'x3' space, with 2 plants and enough pillows to outfit a mattress store. I read boring assignments and eat apples in there, and when I'm feeling sleepy (for some reason yesterday, I thought that the sleepy might be food-related? I was feeling crazy starved all day), I can curl up into a tiny ShaunaBall and nap. I'm usually too busy during the day for naps (have you seen this site? It's like crack for type-Aers), but I feel like I need to stock pile my energy. It's a week before spring break, and the rush to get everything done and turn everything in is worse than the rush to eat everything in the fridge before it expires. It's like Holidaze in mini. The fact that it's also Holidaze in Lent means that I can't sink as low, but we'll see.

P.s. I've never really loved living in Austin (far too many buildings/cars/people/poorly designed streets), but I do feel some pride that this blog hails from my city. Check it out--even if you're far too normal for ATX, it'll convert you. There are quite a few pictures of the Farmer's Market (which shows that this is a good place for me to eat rabbit food).

Moon-walking

I'm back--it's been a long time since I wrote, but I promise I've made progress! Since my last entry, I've:

--eaten my first apple (defined as my first whole apple--a golden delicious, consumed over a boring Mexican Government assignment)

--grown to like celery (with peanut butter, which may negate some of the health benefits? But perhaps not. I like protein)

--had pounds of carrots (no joke. Pounds)

--started Lent (No sweet things for me until Good Friday--though this doesn't much feel like an accomplishment any more; it's my 4th year doing it)

--Conquered peppers (!!!!)

--missed writing about the Olympics on here. :( Oh well. Hopefully this blog will be superfluous in 4 years, but if not, I'll catch up then...

I've started gauging my plant intake by weeks. Every Saturday (or Sunday, if I was a lazy bum on Saturday) I'll go to the store and buy X amount of some plants, and then come home and ritualistically wash them and cut them and place them into these cute tupperware containers that I bought specifically for this purpose. I think it is the tupperware that keeps me motivated--I can never get the $8 on tupperware back. I'm stuck with them forever, and if I don't fill them with vegetables, then I have WASTED money, and that is right up there with cheating Lent, or stealing candy from sweet starving babies. Anyway, the goal at the end of each week is to consume all my tupperware veggies, so that they are clean by Saturday. So far it's worked out well--this is what has led to pounds of carrots and celery snacks and pepper-conquering (which continues this week--I have a festive container of red/orange/yellow bell peppers I'll be starting on today).

A final note on conquering peppers: that accomplishment is like walking on the moon. I bought them Saturday, hated them Sunday, miserably shoved them into my mouth Monday and Tuesday, and they were gone by Wednesday, missed by Thursday. I can do it. I ate icky plants and LIKED it by the end of it. I could swim across the Atlantic now; I could do anything, for I have the ability to eat plants. I'm still milking that (deceptively small-sounding) victory, because it reminds me, all the time, that I WILL EAT (and am eating?) RABBIT FOOD.

Holiday Food

At the dinner party that inspired my last post, I did really well. Like, really, really well. I ate (sizeable amounts of!):
-sweet potatoes
-acorn squash
-corn
-carrots

The acorn squash was particularly good (I treated it like a baked potato), though I added a little two much butter. I'll know better for next time.

All in all, the last few days, it's not like I've been doing particularly poorly in my choice of foods--it's really more about the amount. It's not bad that I have some fudge after my veggie-filled dinner. It's that I have twelve million pieces of fudge after my veggie-filled dinner. If my mama didn't make it so yummy, I wouldn't eat it so much...

Really, the fact that this entry is really a re-hasing of an earlier day is due to the fact that I did nothing blog-worthy today. No veggies, no fruit, no healthy bran. But, such is life on Christmas Eve.

Christmas is not my favorite holiday (that would be Thanksgiving), but it is a good one. Here's to you--may your families be happy and healthy, may your holidays be filled with love and laughter, and may your Christmas day be merry and bright. As for me (and my family--more about that next entry!), I'll be eating rabbit food!

Things that start with "F"

The above title not only makes me a hero to the little girl I babysit (who loves Sesame Street), but it also describes the topics of todays post: Flaxseed pancakes and Farmer's Market. See, I recently went to a family dinner, and was asked about both of these topics at the dinner table--I told my dear friends that I would send them their requested information via Facebook...HA! They have been tricked! I merely sent them links to my blog (this is called advertising)!!


Flaxseed Pancakes--delicious and filling and healthy. 
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed (also, you can use 1/2 cup flaxseed and 1/2 cup flour--experiment!)
1 Tablespoon sugar (feel free to substitute agave nectar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if desired)
1 egg
1 cup milk/ricemilk/water
2 tablespoons canola oil


Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the wet ones in gradually. Pour on a skillet/griddle and flip when the tops turn bubbly!


Farmer's Markets in Austin, TX
Austin is a hippie city, and we love our farmer's markets. You can find the calendar for the most popular one here. It operates on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and has everything from honey to eggs to produce. Drop by!


I will eat rabbit food (food also starts with F!).

Cooking

Since our engagement, Kody and I have become increasingly aware of our own ignorance--he doesn't know how to do laundry, I don't really know how to cook. To this end, our parents sometimes strive to help us. This aid generally comes in the form of grocery money and orders to "make something for dinner". Previous successes include chili and cornbread; last night I made stroganoff and corn (I don't know why this is considered to be a normal combination in my family, but it is). I ate carrots with Kody while cooking, which is healthy, and then had a cookie for dessert, which is not.

I missed Kody in the kitchen last night. Like, a lot-- he was there, sitting in a chair, but he was too miserable to do anything but eat carrots with me and offer moral support. Cedar just hit Texas, and it's hit him pretty hard the last few days. The CF support listserve I'm a part of has been likewise uncheery recently. Winder is just a hard time for people with respiratory diseases. I hate seeing him be miserable, but it also motivates me--beyond him feeling alright, I need him healthy. Kody once told me that when we're married (or even cooking together), he'll eat whatever I eat. So now, and in the future, I will eat rabbit food.