iris

Day 137/366: Grain-Free, Sugar-Free Chewy Gooey Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies!

May 16, 2012:

I droooooled over a picture that my friend Brigitte Instagram’d and immediately wanted one of my own. Since Brigitte is in another country on the other side of the continent I decided to try and make my own. My version needed to meet a few rules: it had to be Paleo-friendly and grain-free/sugar-free. Also, what I loved about B’s cookie was how chewy and gooey the cookie looked - so that was a must have for my cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cups Almond Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Flour 
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda 
1/4 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Organic Butter, melted (can sub in Earth Balance or another non-dairy choice)
1 & 1/2 cups Organic Sucanat
1 tablespoon Organic Vanilla Extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk (make these egg-free by using an egg replacement)
2 cups Semisweet Vegan Chocolate Chips
Optional: Add in 1/2 cup of Crushed Walnuts

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Use cooking spray to grease cookie sheets.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter and Sucanat until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk (or egg replacement) until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
5. Enjoy!!
    

Birthday Jams (Playlist)

Phat Beats, Sweet Tracks - on repeat!

1. Rage Against The Machine - Guerrilla Radio: http://tinysong.com/n01c
2. Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise: http://tinysong.com/10odN
3. Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick - La Di Da Di: http://tinysong.com/NxaW
4. Blackstar - reDefinition: http://tinysong.com/MzW3
5. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You: http://tinysong.com/HMH9
6. The Pharcyde - Runnin (Philippeans Remix): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75L7L6zaNoQ
7. Dinosaur Jr. - Feel The Pain: http://tinysong.com/iwak
8. Stars - This Charming Man: http://tinysong.com/FSsI
9. Mos Def - Umi Says:  http://tinysong.com/kdQX

Day 109/366: thirty-two

April 18, 2012:

Over the last few years, as Spring starts to bloom and my birthday approaches I find myself feeling apprehensive. Not because I am worried about getting older (though, I genuinely believe that aging past a certain point is completely unnecessary :), it’s because I’ve fallen so in love with the previous year and I don’t want to say goodbye. Still, every year I wake up on April 18th filled with excitement, hope, promise and appreciation. This year is no different.

Even though I fell particularly hard and fast for 31, I’m so curious about what 32 will be like and can’t wait to get it started! As I say goodbye to possibly the most wonderful year of my life, I welcome the next year with wide open arms.

Day 103/366: Lost Angeles

April 12, 2012:

Whoosh! I cannot believe how many days of the year have passed, and how many I have not blogged about. The last 40-60 days have been busy, but regardless of how much has been going on in real life (offline), I’ve really missed and neglected my “online” world. 

From about March 1st (or, ~Day 61) until this past weekend (Day 98) we’ve had around 10 visitors to California, and guests to host. It’s been fun, filled with tons of laughs and love, adventurous, and … kinda exhausting. We’ve really loved having our fam & friends with us, but def feeling the host-fatigue ;)

Today was “one a dem days”… After 6 months of basking in a work-from-home set up in glorious, Sunny California, I’ve realized something. By all counts, I have a super duper sweet deal and am 1000 billion % grateful for.absolutely.everything. However, today I realized that I feel like I’m getting a little soft.

Working from home has a very long and exaggerated list of “pro’s”, and a very short and irritating list of “con’s”. For the most part, I am the master of my destiny. I’m able to create a work environment that is completely conducive to my needs and wants. Yet, at the same time, I lack a team that I can work with face-to-face. I also am guiding my own career development. Working as a consultant means that I need to come into projects equipped and ready to run. Mentorship and leadership needs to happen independently and all on my own. These are new concepts for me. Though I am a self-sufficient playa, I really thrive on working with others and within a team setting. So! I’ve had some interesting ideas run through my head, some feelings that I’m trying to navigate, and some tough questions to answer. The result: no idea! I’m still figuring everything out, but I’m happy to say that tonight (with some serious help from my own personal ‘master in leadership’ aka Rudy) I’ve found some clarity in my feelings and have recognized the need to keep working on working on stuff. Pretty vague, but that seems to be a theme :)

Confusion! Good night. 

Day 69/366: Today Is The Greatest.

March 9, 2012:

Here’s why today is awesome!

1. Had a really great beach workout this morning, in the sunshine!
2. My BFF Laura and her BF Adam arrive tonight for a week long visit, filled with fun in the sun!
3. It was almost 80 degrees before 10am this morning! I heart March in LA.
4. Rudy and I started dating 8 years ago today! … 8! Crazytown.
5. About to hit another kickass Pilates Platinum class at noon - working on my fitness!

I <3 Today.