Battling Hormonal Cravings

     This week has been a major struggle as my hormonal cravings have been skyrocketing. That may also be linked to my muscle mass increasing and my body reshaping.

    One of my favorite, not so healthy, but very delicious snacks is Fairy Bread made with sprinkles and buttered bread. I like to serve fairy bread with tea and this tea is gingerbread tea with cinnamon oat creamer.

 

 

 

    I got an order from thrive market and I was afraid my package was damaged but everything in the package was fines so whatever the sticky liquid that was on the package came from somebody else's package. 

    I decided to go shopping at Albertsons and there was a package of makeup brushes that I ordered off amazon waiting for me when I got home.

     I am starting to make more progress decluttering my home. Reading my feng shui book I have determined this small wall here where I keep my craft supplies and exercise equipment is the energy center of my house, so this is the most important space to keep tidy and neat. Clutter in this spot can result in clutter throughout the house. Even now that I cleaned it, it still looks cluttered, but I need to find a better way to organize this area.

 

    I purposely have been trying to eat from stuff in the freezer or fridge so this week I have spent a lot less time cooking.

    

I got another Amazon order with more brushes. These brushes are absolutely gorgeous and remind me of Amythest crystals.
 

    Wednesday I intended to go grocery shopping at the discount store in Myrtle Creek, but we decided to shop in town instead. I dressed very cute in a floral print top from the Central Point Goodwill and floral cat ears I bought at Dollar General last Halloween.

    I used some new vegan and cruelty free makeup for my look using my new NYX black lip liner, my Shop Miss A Frost Plum velvety purple lipstick, Haus Laboratories liquid eyeshadow, and my new favorite eyeliner pen by Essence.

    That day, me and my mother went out to eat at Taste of India. The food may not have been 100% vegan, but it was 100% delicious. I most likely did eat some ghee (clarified butter.) These are spinach pakoras and are probably vegan.

    We also ordered vegetable korma and mutter paneer. the sauce likely has ghee, and both were vegetarian, but I picked out the paneer (cheese) and we ate the curries on basmati rice.

    We also had some delicious onion kulchas, but they may have been made with yogurt and ghee. I don't sweat eating a little dairy or egg here and there especially if going out to eat with family, but I try to avoid meat.

I came home from a wonderful day of shopping with a pretty big haul, and I was wonderful retail therapy.

    I absolutely love the Juice Man juicer I got at the Humane Society Thrift Store! It's so easy to clean and now I can have fresh juice whenever I want.

    I made some high fiber muffins with the left-over pulp from the juicer.

Raisin Nut Fiber Muffins

Ingredients:

    3-4 cups juice pulp

    2-3 tbsp flaxseed meal

    1/2 cup vegan sugar

    2 cups flour

    1 tsp baking soda

    1 tsp baking powder

    2 tsp vanilla extract

    1/4 cup hemp hearts

    2/3 cup chopped walnuts

    1/4 cup hemp protein

    1 tsp salt

    1/2 cup raisins

    2 1/2 cups hemp milk

     3 tsp hemp seed oil

Instructions:

    Puree juice pulp in food processor. remove any large chunks of fruits or vegetables.

    Make flax egg by mixing flax with about 1/4 cup water.

    Add remaining ingredients one at a time until you form a muffin batter.

    preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

    grease muffin tins and add muffin cups.

    add batter to muffin cups using a spoon.

    optional top muffins with additional sugar.

    Bake for 35 minutes 

    Muffins may still be gooey in the middle but don't worry it is because of the high veggie pulp. allow to cool or place in the fridge and they will have a texture similar to bran muffins.

Yield: 2 dozen muffins

    I had another shopping and grocery haul. I got some good scores at the thrift store and ross also.

    I tried to veganify this Weight Watchers mini cherry cheesecake by making vegan cashew cream cheese.

Mini Vegan Cherry Cashew Cakes

Ingredients:

Cheesecake:

    2 cups raw cashews soaked overnight

    1 tsp lemon juice

    4 tbsp corn starch

    3 tbsp agave nectar

    1/2 cup vegan sour cream

    3 tbsp oat milk creamer

 

Crust:

    15 vegan ginger cookies

    2 tbsp vegan butter 

 

Toppings:

    1 can cherry pie filling

    1 70% cocoa vegan chocolate bar shaved

 

Instructions:

    In food processor blend cookies and butter to make crumb crust. 

    Line 2 muffin pans with cupcake liners and spoon in cookie crumb crust.

    In a food processor add soaked drained cashews with remaining filling ingredients. Puré until smooth. 

    Spoon on top of crumb crust. 

    Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20min.

    Top with cherries and let chill for at least 30 minutes before adding chocolate shavings.

 

Yield: 2 dozen

 

    The end result was very decadent and satisfying and vastly higher in protein than the original cream cheese recipe.

    I made a hot chocolate with the remaining chocolate shavings, warm hemp milk, cinnamon oat creamer, and ground cinnamon. It was super creamy and delicious.

    That Friday my bother came over for pizza and movie night. We watched the first Marvel Doctor Strange and I loved it. I thought it was interesting because i found Dr. Stranges personality so unlikable that it kept me engaged in the movie.

    We also had some popcorn dusted with smoked paprika and I cut up a very large mango for us to share. my bowl also had bananas, Valentina chili lime salt, takis, and chamoy.

    Later that evening my Valentine's Day Adore Me order arrived early. Everything fit very nicely but gone is the lingerie bust silhouette I am used to growing up in the early 2000's era of push up bras. A deflated natural looking bust seems to be more desirable in modern undergarments and I am not sure how I feel about it. It seems not only less supportive but also less visually appealing but maybe I am just getting old.

    I really loved this celestial print set that gives super whimsy goth vibes. I have a feeling navy blues and wine reds are weaving their way back into more modern styles. I love the excessive lace on the bra.

    This corset is incredibly stunning but once again I feel it is lacking a lot of support in the bust which gives me more so late 60's vibes, perhaps that is the thing Gen Z wants. Other than that, this corset is amazing and seems much more detailed than the first corset I ever ordered from adore me.

    Later that night I was craving French fries but wanted to create a healthier version, so I made some amazing rutabaga fries.

Cheddar Onion Beer Rutabaga Fries

Ingredients: 

    1/2 onion

    1 bottle frying oil

    1/2 large rutabaga cut into fries

    2 cups oat milk

    2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

    4 tsp cornstarch

    4 tsp ipa seasoning salt

    1 cup flour

    1 tbsp garlic powder

    1/2 cup crushed dried hops

    2 tbsp minced dehydrated onion

    1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Instructions:

    Fry 1/2 onion in the oil before adding rutabaga.

    Drench the sliced rutabaga in a oatmilk, apple cider vinegar, cornstarch, and seasoning salt slurry using half the cornstarch and ipa seasoning. 

    Toss to coat in a breading made with flour, garlic powder, cornstarch, crushed hops, dehydrated minced onions, Watkins ipa seasoning, and nutritional yeast.

    Fry for at least 9-12 minutes until golden brown and crispy drain and toss in more nutritional yeast and ipa seasoning.

 Yield: about 1 lb

    Saturday morning, I made Mango Bacon using the left-over mango peel. It is pretty much the same process used to make Banana or Carrot Bacon and very tasty.

 

    Later that evening my friend Soar came by to visit and we made vegan In and Out style animal burgers and fries following Thee Burger Dude's recipe.

    These by far were one of the best burgers I have ever had surpassing real meat burgers. We used impossible burger and follow your heart cheddar slices.

    You could definitely feed these to a meat eater, and they would never think twice that it wasn't meat they were eating. I will totally make these again!

    Soar also generously supplied our beverages and we made DIY Starbucks pink drinks that I Found the recipe for on TikTok

 

 Tik Tok DIY Pink Drink

    Before Soar came over that evening, I wanted to get a quick walk in down by the dog park by my house to get some exercise.

 

    I saw lots of cute pregnant birbs: falcons, a robin, and lots of ducks. they were all so cute.

Sunday, I made a Beefy Beet and Carrot sandwich spread using left over juice pulp that goes great on grilled vegan sandwiches.

Beefy Beet and Carrot Sandwich Spread

Ingredients:

    3 cups beet and carrot pulp

    1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

    3 tbsp mushroom powder

    2 tbsp garlic powder

    1/2 diced onion

    3 tbsp pickle relish

    1/2 cup vegan mayo

Instructions:

    remove any unpleasant large chunks of veggies from the pulp.

    Mix in remaining ingredients to form a sandwich spread.

    Great on hot grilled sandwiches especially.

Yield: about 4 cups 

    The rest of my Sunday was spent relaxing and editing my blog and getting caught up for the week. My hormonal cravings were pretty strong this week and I am kind of a bit embarrassed with how many points I went over. But according to my last weigh in (Friday the 17th) I was building 2 lbs. of muscle and burning 2 lbs. of fat so that seemed pretty impressive and likely why I have been so hungry lately as well as the approaching end to my monthly cycle.

    One thing I really appreciate about this week now that I've taken the time to review it and write my blog is how successful I was at clearing out food from the freezer and fridge this week and I think I will also make that a priority for my upcoming week of Monday the 20th. I need to make room for the bounty that summer will bring.