Cinnamon Rolls

Is there anything more comforting in this world than a warm carb-product. No. No there is not and if anyone would like to argue with me, well then... ok-I'd probably just ignore it because I am very un-confrontational 

But nonetheless! Just look at this....

Mmmmm, right? 

These amazing, soft, gooey and oh-so delicious cinnamon rolls are the absolute BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever had in my life. But, unfortunately I cannot claim them- my sister made these creations. 

The best part? (ok, aside from the taste) is the fact that they are ubber easy to make- she makes them in a bread machine! Sweet huh?!

To get this recipe (and a bunch of other great recipes) go to her website here. She's awesome. And I know-she is my sister after all! :)

Sunday Funday!

It's Sunday! I <3 Sundays-how bout you? They're just so peaceful... relaxing and, and, smile-inducing! (yes-it's a new word!)
My Sunday consisted of...
Church-of course!

yes-Catholic and proud!

picture found here <-- awesome and hilarious site!

Then some delicious coffee with a great friend! :) (talk about food for the soul!)

btw- this was a mocha blended coffee drink with a squirt of coconut per my request - not trying to boast-but GREAT idea Kristen :)

Oh! I also had the idea of using up some of my saltines I had stolen borrowed from the college cafeteria earlier this week with some hummus in a cute little squirt package! Fun huh?

Well that pretty much sums up my day... I better actually go do some homework so I feel at least a little productive :P

Have a BLESSED Sunday!

Ice Cream and Cake switch identities...

What's better: A) Cake or B) Ice Cream
Hmmm... that's a toughie isn't it?! (Ok- for me, definitely ice cream!) But, I do loooove a good white cake. Just plain white. cake. Hence a problem...
Bum-de-de-dum-bum-bum-BUM!

So what's a girl to do? Make a cake that looks like ice cream- and homemade ice cream that tastes like cake batter! DUH :)

I used some half-eaten cake to make the cake balls with.... economical!

The batter was pretty good... not gonna lie!

mix up some homemade cake batter...

pour into two cake pans and viola!

I had never done a 4 layer cake before... excitement!

And yes... in case you were wondering- it tasted just as yummy as it looked!

Food Rut

Do any of you experience food ruts? I do... and I feel it is not an uncommon thing! 

In my humble definition, nutrition rut = a state of eating that is characterized by eating the same foods (or types of foods) repeatedly - say, more than 5 days in a row.

Ok, so probably a vague and obvious definition - sorry - I'm a nutrition/dietetics major not an English major :P

But regardless- I feel that I fall into food ruts, oh all. the. time. 

Sometimes I get hooked on sandwiches and have them 3-4 times a day for 2 weeks. Or cereal, granola like I'm experiencing right now... I could have a bowl of granola for every meal. Is this bad? Since I'm very interested in nutrition I've wondered this for awhile... but obviously not worried enough to stop my habit :)

I guess I'm a person of habit so it really does not bother me to eat the same thing over and over if it is something I really enjoy! But am I doing my health more harm than good? 

I've done some research... bad idea-things aren't looking in my favor :S

This is what I've found: 

First-the pros:

-limited food choices can be a good thing for dieters, as studies have shown that too much variety can lead to overeating... (but I'm not dieting so this piece of information didn't pertain to me personally)

-If you're someone that is stuck for time, it reduces stress and time if you just make the same thing for dinner every day

-If your food choices are fairly healthy, and you are easily tempted by unhealthy choices, or just skipping meals, eating the same things over and over can help ensure you are getting at least adequate amount of nutrients

And now-the cons:

-First and foremost, eating the same foods over and over will limit the variety of nutrients you consume. Eating a wide range of foods will give you different vitamins and minerals and help you get all the nutrients that are out there, making it harder to have a deficiency in one area

-Sensory satiety is when you feel full, or satisfied after eating; after you eat the same things over and over the amount of that food that is needed to reach a feeling of satisfaction will go up. Meaning, if you have chips everyday for an afternoon snack, you will begin to want more and more to satisfy your craving because your tastebuds have become so accustomed to the taste and texture

So the conclusion: 

mmmm.... probably not gonna change my habits. Ok, no... I am going to try and try is the key word here- I am going to try to only have whatever food I'm having an addition to at the moment once a day (wow, that still sounds like a lot) But regardless, I'm going to try to only have it once a day and at night. 

Why at night you ask? Well, if I make myself have other foods throughout the whole day and tell myself I can have my 'obsession' for a nighttime snack, maybe I will start not wanting the food, since I've satisfied myself with other food throughout the day. I'm not sure if it will work, but it is worth a try...

If any of you have a desire to get out of a food rut - look at this website! 

What do you think? Do any of you have food ruts? Do you think they're bad? Good? Let me know! :)

Blog Stars

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Top Five Friday that is!
What does that mean? Well-starting today, right here, right now, I'm going to start a new tradition on "Bliss", I'm going to have a Friday tradition of "Top Five Friday" where I let you guys know my top five ...something... it may be books, movies, food, quotes, who knows?! But whatever it is, it will be my top, there will be five of them, and it will be on Friday- you didn't see that coming now did you?

So this post is a little different- it's not a post about fitness, food :O , or any product review! Crazy, I know...
So you're probably asking yourself- what else does this girl know?

Well, I know what I like, and I like these guys!
(this is a post about my favorite bloggers, I wanted to do a little shout out and let you guys know of some grrrrrrreat bloggers that I am a huge fan of and let them know they're LOVED!)

Soooo without further ado, and in no particular order-here are my top 5!

~Katie @ dashingdish.com  - "Healthy Alternatives to the Food You Crave"
Seriously guys, if I only had one blog/website to look at for the rest of my life (and Pinterest wasn't an option :P ) I would probably choose Dashing Dish! It is awesome. Katie is awesome. It makes my day awesome.
Katie has a great story that is so uplifting. She has ahhhhh-mazing recipes, workouts, videos, meal plans, and you can even become a member to get even more inside awesome-ness. Katie also does health coaching if you're interested in that. She is a huge inspiration to me, and I hope that someday I can inspire people the way she inspires me!

~ Gina @ Skinny Taste - "delicious low-fat recipes from her family to yours"
Gina is a great blogger! I've even contacted her before for advice and she was so extremely friendly and helpful! She has a TON of great recipes for any palate and they all include the nutritional information for a serving as well the WW points which is so helpful!
She is even coming out with a cookbook in the fall of 2014! I can assure you I will be in line to get that one :)

~Julie @ peanut butter fingers - "living a life fueled by healthy food and fitness"
There is so much I love about Julie's site... aside from peanut butter being right there in the name! (But I do admit, that is what first attracted me to her site!) She has a TON of great workouts and recipes. Along with some fun girly stuff like wedding and fashion :) Oh and travel talk too!
She is beautiful inside and out and I love reading about her day to day life, and her dog- Sadie is a CUTIE!

~Jessica @ Life as Mom
Alright, so I'm not a mom, but I still find Jessica's site to be full of helpful, interesting and fun articles! There is so much content that is full of amazing information on food, family, womanhood, housekeeping, etc. I feel so much smarter after spending a little time on her site (although that is still probably no excuse to put of my Chemistry homework to spend time on her website :S )
Whether you're a mom, mom-to-be, or never in my life will I be a mother type of person- you will enjoy her website-I can guarantee it!

(last but NOT least)
~The Brown Eyed Baker - sweet.savory.sinful.
My oh My! Her pictures are gorgeous and her food all looks exactly like it says in the header... sweet.savory.sinful. I love all her new takes on old classics and drool over her pictures like it's my job! While her recipes may not all be healthy everything in moderation is just fine, remember! She also has a lot of info on conversions and substitutions which is ubber helpful as I seem to always start making something without checking to see if we have any of the ingredients. Oops!

So go ahead, go check out these great sites-and tell them I sent ya!
But I'm curious- what are you favorite sites to visit these days? Let me know in the comments below!

Grandpa's Kitchen - Gluten Free Flour Review

Hello Lovely world-wide-web readers of the 2013 year!
I hope your year has started off with a WOOT WOOT! I know mine has - And what could possibly make it better? Honestly, I don't know of anything... oh wait! A product review! That's it! So let's get to it :)

Today's product review is Grandpa's Kitchen - gluten free flour and mixes. Now a days gluten free is all the rage and personally, unless you have celiac disease, I don't feel as if there is any reason to go completely free. However, for those of you that may have celiac disease, or disagree with me on the gluten-free bandwagon will find this product review exceptionally significant.

Grandpa's kitchen makes a gluten free, lactose free flour blend that can be substituted 1-for-1 with regular flour in all your favorite recipes. It really does work great! And you honestly can't taste the difference!

They also sell gluten free mixes, such as:
Pizza Crust Mix
Pancake Mix
Bread Mix

Their flour is amazing! most gluten-free flours or even flour blends can only be used in certain recipes or come out with a weird texture or taste, but not Grandpa's Kitchen! No-sir-ree... see- this company blends different gluten free flours and starches to create a flour that tastes and acts just like regular wheat flour. They also sell a recipe book of their favorite ways to use the flour blends and mixes.

Overall: great product for those of you that follow a strict gluten-free diet! And for anyone who wants a little variety in the flour they use.

Thank you Grandpa's Kitchen for the sample (The sample was the only thing I received from this company, all opinions are my own) I had way too much fun trying out all sorts of recipes with the flour blend! I've tried cookies, bread, muffins and granola with the flour and all have turned out great! Just check out my newest recipe - Banana Bread in a Mug

Have a great January day - do something crazy worthwhile. 

Double Mug Recipes

Who loves COFFEE???? ME! That's who! In celebration of how much I love all things coffee - today I had coffee to the second degree. 

See those two? Beautiful. 

The left is healthy banana bread in a mug and the right is a Iced Mocha! AHHH! YUM!

This recipe is pretty easy...

In a bowl combine: 

3 TBSP. flour (I used Grandpa's gluten free flour blend and it worked perfectly!)

3 TBSP. sugar (or stevia, or 1 1/2 tbsp. honey/agave/maple syrup)

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Then add: 

1 mashed banana

1 egg (or 3 egg whites, or 1/4 cup egg beaters)

1 TBSP. Greek yogurt

1 TBSP. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

mix thoroughly and pour into a coffee mug that has been sprayed with cooking spray

~Microwave 2-3 minutes, it will puff up and possibly run over :S But ya know-it's worth it! :)

Then let it sit a minute or so before digging in! 

Want to put it just over the top? I thought so.... To really hit a home run with this yummy treat do as Kristen does and top it off with 1 TBSP. peanut butter and a small handful of granola. 

You will NOT be sorry! 

So now for coffee recipe numero dos - Ice Mocha!

Pretty simple as well - 

-1 cup coffee chilled

-1 TBSP. cocoa powder (or chocolate syrup if you'd rather)

-1 tsp. stevia (or sugar, honey, agave, etc. - just something sweet... no you may NOT throw me into your cup :D

-pinch of salt

-1/4 cup milk

-frozen coffee ice cubes

~Mix up coffee, cocoa, sugar, salt and milk & our over frozen coffee cubes. If you'd like-top it off with some whipped topping

Who's having an over the top super-deeeee-duper day now? Hopefully all of you!