Radio Silence

As you know if you know me at all, any silence for a prolonged time on this blog means I've been busy. And busy in a bad way, because blogging is something I really look forward to each week. So I'm not going to attempt to catch you up, because it's nothing interesting.

This morning I was walking out the door to work, and Nolan eyes me and says, "So...what's that you've got around your neck, eh?" He has a thing with me wearing what I think are unique and pretty accessories. This was the offender this morning (sorry not meant to be a chest shot):

What's the vote: terrible like puffy blisters around my neck? Perhaps. Maybe I'll just wear it when Nolan's gone.

Also this weekend: Oma visited and we did a lot of baking and fun stuff. Among the products was a gluten-friendly graham cracker:

Which was AMAZING and tasted better than the store-bought ones. We crushed them up and used them to make a not-so-healthy peanut butter pie, with graham cracker crust covered in chocolate. Also amazing.

On Saturday night, my parents were visiting, and so we all went out to dinner at a local German restaurant/beer garden. Oma felt right at home:

And I had to pose with the liter of beer, even though I loathe beer. My choice beverage was the cider at left. Delicious. And the food? One entree option each night, so you show up and that's what you get. So we had meatballs with potatoes and cabbage...and it was super tasty. Nolan and I decided that we're officially going back sometime.
The real germans with their beer:

Sometime before the peanut butter pie, I was making healthier desserts. So I made Nolan's favourite blueberry-sourcream coffeecake. With some changes. If you ask nicely, I might post the recipe. But basically, I subbed out butter for milled flaxseed, subbed out flour for almond meal and flaxseed, subbed out sugar for splenda, and switched out sourcream for nonfat greek yogurt. Guys, I made TWO of these coffeecakes last week. TWO. We were devouring at a rate of 4ish pieces per day.

A not-so-hot but oh-so-healthy new treat:
Took a few tries to get a flavour I liked, but spinach, protein powder, frozen blueberries, and water = a tasty, healthy protein smoothie!

I've been doing my workouts at 5am each morning, and that smoothie makes a delicious breakfast post-workout!

Since I've mentioned tasty stuff, I'll also post a recipe that's one of my new favourites: natural fudge. I know the ingredients sound bizarre, but just trust me on this one. It got Nolan's approval, and that's saying something.

Coconut Fudge

-3 cups raw walnuts

-1/2 cup carob or cocoa powder

- 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

- 5/8 cup light agave nectar

Grind the walnuts in a food processor until buttery. Combine with other ingredients and mix well until all blended. Press into a glass baking dish firmly until 3/4 inch thick. Freeze at least 1 hour, then slice and enjoy! I like to keep mine in the freezer after the fact too, since it keeps it firm and cold. Enjoy! And thanks to Elli for the idea!