I prefer spontaneity. This explains why I agreed to brush out my hair into a massive afro in high school to celebrate our football team going to the state tournament. Lucky for you, I cannot find a picture of that fateful day when my pride + sense of vanity took a backseat to school spirit.

I also enjoy not having plans. When traveling, I’ve been known to pack for international destinations the night before leaving without anything more than clothes, toiletries and an unused Lonely Planet travel guide. Vaccinations, what?

I’m a dreamer. Why else do you think I keep pimping myself out to Jake Gyllenhaal on this blog?

However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that no matter how much my right-brained self enjoys this sense of freedom and independence, my body does not.

It likes knowing it will be eating PB+B toast with a sprinkle of cinnamon for breakfast at 7:30am.

This is one of the reasons why I’ve steered away from day-to-day blogging of all my meals as of late. I often eat the same thing over and over and over again.

I mean, I recently ate PB+B toast for breakfast 17 days straight last month…

My body likes knowing what it will be eating, when it will be eating and where it will be eating.

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 sliced cucumber
toast w/ melted Provolone
1/2 cup raspberries
1 Nutella Hazelnut Brownie
local cherry tomatoes

It makes subtle shifts in energy, digestion and overall mood when my sense of daily routine is thrown off.

Like when I drink a little too much beer.

Or, perhaps when I go one too many days eating some not-so-good-for-me food.

And when I’m doing a bit of traveling for work around Wisconsin, like right now.

Luckily, I’ve been able to stay with Mama + Daddy Everythingtarian most of these traveling days, and they always stock the house with healthy, yummy WHOLE foods.

That and stocking me with an YMCA membership still at the age of 25.

It makes things infinitely easier.

Having a multigrain quinoa bread sandwich with spinach, provolone cheese and spinach + artichoke hummus alongside apples + broccoli dipped in peanut butter at my disposal helps mitigate the effects when it’s impossible to follow my normal schedule…

I used to say routine schmoutine, who needs it?

To a certain extent, I still believe that.

But I also realize the benefit of having a routine my body can depend on day in and day out. My digestion is regular (TMI?); my energy levels stay even and elevated; getting to bed and waking up in the morning are seamless, painless transitions; and most of all, I just feel better.

That’s not to say I still can’t adapt to the unexpected…

Thai Curry Soup with Tofu from Noodles & Company? Let’s roll with it.

But I am only getting older, peeps.

In case you were worried, that’s just older – not necessarily more mature.

I have a feeling as time passes, it will only become more and more important for my health (and sanity!) to maintain a daily routine of healthy eating, healthy workouts and an overall happy, healthy lifestyle.

Geez, does this mean I am admitting that I am a real-life grown-up?

Nah.

There’s always room in the day for fros, unplanned travel and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Do you prefer routine? Why or why not? Sharing is caring!

Instead, I am the kind of person who’s really good at cooking recipes other people write. Unfortunately, I have never possessed that certain je ne sais quoi it takes to be able to concoct and write recipes that ultimately result in the creation of beautiful dishes crafted from seemingly unrelated ingredients.

It’s just one of those things you have or you don’t.

I have the ability to throw together a junk salad with all the remnants left from the produce drawer…

baby spinach
grated carrot
farmer’s market cherry tomatoes
broccoli
cauliflower
pumpkin + sunflower seeds
drizzle honey French dressing

…and drink beer.

But I consider neither of those “recipes.”

However, I can magically stack two pans and a flour canister to form a faux panini press since Mama + Daddy Everythingtarian (or I) do not own one…

I may not be able to whip up recipes like the best of ‘em, but - damn it! - I can make a MacGyver-style panini press when need be! Because when you have a stellar recipe like Cuban Sandwiches, courtesy of my main Food Network man Alton Brown, what you really need is a good panini press.

What’s the point in creating yet another Cuban sandwich when the recipe has already been perfected by the food scientist of my dreams anyways?

Layers of yellow mustard, ham, roasted pork, provolone cheese + pickles on a pressed French roll…no need for change. Only a need to devour. Preferably with beer. Just sayin’.

Corn on the cob.

For the love and financial prosperity of Iowa’s farmers, please don’t change that recipe.

Just grill it in the husk, roll it in buttah and sprinkle with salt…

It’s perfection.

One thing I wish I could perfect? THE PANCAKE.

I’ve tried everything from Whole Wheat Yogurt Pancakes to Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes to On-the-Fly Protein Pancakes to Oaty Cakes, and although each has been delicious in its own way, I have yet to find my personal perfect pancake.

Last week, Mama E clipped this version out from Health Magazine…

…and“gently suggested” I make them this morning.

No changes allowed.

Demanding, demanding, I tell you!

Minus the maple yogurt and with the addition of strawberries, these were delicious.

Most likely because I followed the recipe.

I really wish I could create recipes like Lemon Pepper Chicken with Artichoke Salsa and have them turn out this beautifully and this deliciously.

But alas, I chalk this gorgeous mix of organic baby spinach, sauteed asparagus, grilled lemon pepper chicken, artichoke salsa and feta cheese to another’s genius.

It was fresh, flavorful and light.

In other words, the perfect antidote to these…

Nutella Hazelnut Brownies (!!!)

No words. I can’t even describe how perfectly chocolatey and hazelnutty these are. As hard as it is to believe, they aren’t overly sweet either.

Let’s just say 1/4 of the pan is gone, and I am the only one in the kitchen…

Sometimes as a food blogger, I feel I should be continually making up my own unique, innovative recipes.

Instead, I am just going stick with what I know.

I know eating, and I know writing.

That’s not to say I will never feature more Healthy Everythingtarian recipes again. Every once in awhile, even a squirrel like me finds a nut in the form of a delicious, original recipe.

Until then, enjoy these: the best recipes you’re not making.

They’re not mine.

And I am totally okay with that.

I’m giving y’all one more day left to enter my Kroeger Herbs giveaway – hop to it peeps!

I’m here kickin’ it with the fam for the weekend, but first things first: I totally forgot to thank you all for showing my dear Uncle Tom some love on his guest post earlier this week!

And I suppose I should also just thank y’all in general for just being cool and reading my blog. Seriously, all the e-mails and comments I get really do brighten my day. When people show you such unexpected love and support, pull you up when you need it and continue to read your crazy ramblings, it’s a warm feeling I can’t describe.

Much like the warm feeling I get when I wake up in the morning knowing a jar of overnight oats is ready and waiting for me in the fridge…

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 container Chocolate Oikos + 1/3 cup milk

~ soaked overnight ~

1 mashed naner
sprinkle of coconut
1 T dark chocolate chips

Delish.

Honestly, I think I like the Chocolate Oikos Greek yog best mixed in with something – whether that is in overnight oats or a smoothie. When I ate it plain with some granola, I didn’t *love* it.

This morning, I had my first bowl of hot oats in forever…

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup water
1 egg (whisked in while cooking)
1 sliced frozen banana
cinnamon + apple pie spice
sprinkle of maple sugar
sprinkle of ground flaxseed
sprinkle of coconut
1 T dark chocolate chips

Normally, I don’t do hot oats + hot coffee on a hot day – I mean, that’s the quickest equation to create one hot mess. However, somedays I just don’t care.

Almond Joy Oatmeal?

Yes, please.

I also received the most lovely package from my homegirl Katie. The plethora of Carrot Cake Clif Bars alongside a Luna protein bar and one hidden Nature Valley granola bar were nice…

But this absolutely stole the package show…

She stole this picture of M.F.H. (ahem, my future husband) from a magazine at her dentist’s office and sent it to me. That is blogger love right there. When someone is willing to commit a crime for you, you know you’ve found yourself a friend. Thank you SO much Ms. Katie – this absolutely made my day!

I ate a lot of the bars today.

C’est la vie! That’s what happens when the only things left in your fridge are one onion, one egg, two banana peppers and puff pastry dough.

Now, I am going to continue the warm feeling.

And just to clarify, that does not mean peeing my pants.

The warm feeling I speak of now is laying on my parent’s couch wrapped in our old family blanket, watching Say Yes to the Dress, knowing I can sleep in tomorrow morning and waking up to spend quality time with the fam.

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My first name may be Holly, but my last name ain’t Madison.

So alas, none of these are true.

Instead, it just means I’ve been eating food.

Lots of it.

Mostly of the rich, I’m-going-straight-to-your-thighs-and-never-looking-back variety.

Since it is Madison Summer Restaurant Week, I had budgeted one splurge for my meager, peasant-like bank account: a dinner out with my friend Brett. However, it is officially Wednesday night, and I’ve successfully eaten at three different restaurant week eateries thus far.

***All my pictures were taken with my iPhone camera in bad lighting environments. You’ve been warned.

The first unexpected restaurant week outing happened at the Capitol Chophouse to celebrate our intern’s 21st birthday. I started with a gorgeous heirloom tomato salad with buffala mozzarella drizzled in a balsamic reduction…

Then, things got even better with BBQ pulled chicken flatbread…

Devoured (as if you had any doubts).

Dessert made me think of my newlywed homegirl Janetha G: peach crisp with vanilla bean ice cream.

Three courses and a mere $15 later, I left happy.

Very happy.

My intern was officially legal, and my belly was full.

Not to spoil the rest of this post or anything, but it may have been my favorite restaurant week meal of the three. Although, to be quite honest, I don’t know if you can call eating three different desserts a meal.

Yes, three desserts.

They were inhaled at a new authentic Italian restaurant in town called Francesca’s al Lago. To be truthful, I didn’t eat all three by myself…well, except for the first one: torta di cioccolata.

That would be a chocolate mousse cake with a crackly peanut butter chocolate crust.

No words my friends, no words.

Then, these little buggers started being passed around the table…

The fancy word for them would be profiteroles. I call them cream puffs. Really delicious cream puffs filled with pistachio gelato and drizzled with chocolate ganache. You could also just call them delicious.

If you are going for authentic Italian, tiramisu is simply a must.

There is nothing worse than bad tiramisu, but I am happy to report this one was simply fabulous. Did I mention I washed all this down with two Spotted Cow beers? I did. And I called it dinner.

Finally, in what was supposed to be my ONLY restaurant week experience, Brett and I headed off to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse to continue the summer restaurant week…

Since I was ready to pass out having not eaten much all day, I ate the bread basket clean.

I blame the fact I woke up full this morning from last night’s decadent dessert dinner. Now, all that bread is currently digesting in my stomach. True story.

For starters, I opted for the crab corn chowder…

…continued on with the Almond-Crusted Walleye for my entree…

…added in a side of creamed spinach to up that veggie intake…

(and by veggie intake, I mean my daily cream, butter and artery-clogging intake)

…and finished off with some Pellegrino water, which I thought was free before Brett informed me it was probably about $12. Clearly, fine dining is not a regular thing for yours truly. Determined to get my money’s worth, I drank the whole bottle and ended up only paying $4.95 for it.

I couldn’t even celebrate the joy of knowing it was indeed only $5, because I thought my bladder was going to burst. Let’s just say, I am well-hydrated. Very well-hydrated.

The moral of the story: La Vida Rica clearly doesn’t mean, “Holly is rich and acts that way too,” or “Holly has a really expensive camera,” or “That girl Holly – man, she is one classy broad.” When one has delicious food in the belly, good friends to lean on and a wonderful family to see this weekend, that is all the rich life one needs. Jake Gyllenhaal would merely be an added bonus.

But if I do choose to engage in said meditating at said time with said mood lighting, I should at least brush my teeth, wash my face and put on pajamas knowing I will nod off despite my good intentions.

That way, when I wake up at 1:34am, I can turn off all the lights in my apartment before falling right back asleep on my drool-stained pillow. Instead, I am forced to change out of my daily street clothes, wash my greasy skin and brush my grimy toofers, which inevitably perks me up and causes me to catch a tremendous case of “monkey mind” where I am not able to fall asleep again for another hour or so.

This is my life.

Bienvenidos.

It involves spontaneous bouts of speaking in Spanish, narcolepsy and the food group known as chocolate.

Stonyfield Farms sent me some coupons to try out their new dessert-like Greek yogurt cups. I completely j’adored the caramel…but how did I feel about the chocolate?

Not to switch countries and languages then back again but…le amo.

I love it.

Not as much as the caramel, but this is my life, and I can cry if I want to. Or eat Oikos Chocolate Greek yogurt with Kashi Toasted Berry Crumble…

Because who would rather shed tears than eat that decadent concoction?

Not I.

Not me.

Not yours truly.

Grammarazzi…a little help with this one please?

I like smoothies.

1 Oikos Chocolate Greek yog cup
1/4 cup organic skim milk
1 diced frozen banana
1/2 T peanut butter

A lot.

I also like coffee a lot.

And chocolate.

When you mix coffee AND chocolate, I really get happy.

After a delicious Lemon Coconut flavor and gross Cinnamon flavor, how did this Cocoa Coffee stand up?

It may have taken over the #1 spot. It was perfectly chocolatey with a generous hint of rich coffee flavor, and I wouldn’t lie about that.

I wouldn’t lie about statistics either.

For 140 calories, 16 grams of protein and 7 good-for-you ingredients, I don’t know how they do it.

Good on ya Simply Bar, good on ya.

Just saying that makes me miss Australia and saying good on ya, bush pig and right-O before being inappropriately felt up by Australian men on the dance floor of grungy beach bars.

I digress.

At least I still have PB+B toast.

It never lets me down.

It hits the spot every.single.time. In winter, in summer; for breakfast, for dinner; for mealtime, for snacking; in sickness, in health; for long as we both shall live, I take thee PB+B toast as my lawfully wedded husband.

Yes, husband.

The male persuasion isn’t exactly lining up outside my door at the moment, if ya know what I mean.

Life is not perfect.

It never will be.

But with the help of a pint of Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge Coconut Bliss…

The bad days don’t seem so bad.

Like today.

Today wasn’t a very good day.

But it’s okay.

Because this is my life, and I am going to meditate sitting up, eat chocolate instead of crying, look forward to drinking coffee + eating PB+B toast in the morning, plan another travel venture (where I will perhaps meet someone of the male persuasion…) and remember that tomorrow is a brand new day.

“Love of beauty is Taste. The creation of beauty is Art.”

Thinking about it, I am pretty sure Mr. Emerson was an insightful philosopher who was way ahead of his time and could see into the 21st century. I mean, how could he not be talking about us modern day foodies who blog about food and read food blogs?

Let’s be real, we are the world’s best tasters as well as some of the best artists – constantly appreciating and creating beautiful, nourishing and delicious works of food.

And coffee. Always coffee.

I like to think art, beauty and creativity are the ABCs of my life.

Whether in writing, photography, paintings, food, clothes, nature, design, ideas, architecture or just about any thing else I can think of, I get a huge sense of satisfaction from exercising my creative muscles.

More so, I love noticing the little things.

While this PB+J was delicious, it was the blueberries that stole the breakfast show for me.

If you take a minute to look deeper at this dish of antioxidants, you see each blueberry is unique in its own right – with a slightly different shape, color pattern and taste than the next…

And for some unknown reason, that makes me happy.

Because there is nothing wrong in wanting to be things to be aesthetically pleasing, even if you have to Photoshop them to make that happen…

Farmer’s markets, for one, are obviously a great example of showcasing the beauty of food as well as the beauty of people and their Midwestern fashion sense.

“There is no beauty as true as old man Hawaiian shirts, ankle socks with sandals, mullets, mom jean shorts and too skimpy college girl clothing.”

You can quote this Everythingtarian on that.

Plus, when you can get 5 multi-colored peppers, 4 banana peppers, 3 cucumbers, 3 zucchini and 1 bundle of kohlrabi all for just $9, beauty is merely an added bonus.

So what makes this Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelet) even more beautiful?

Not peeling the red potatoes.

I find the sliver of brightly colored skin adds a burst of much-needed color.

A work of art AND a delicious lunch?

Double bonus.

Food doesn’t necessarily have to look beautiful.

Sometimes it just IS beautiful…all 17 grams of vegan protein of it.

That’s not to say “ugly” meals don’t happen. I mean, as great as the ingredients and stats are on this Simply Bar, I will be honest in saying I did not enjoy the Cinnamon flavor that much.

C’est la vie.

Life goes on.

To a gorgeous, all-organic farmer’s market salad of spinach, cucumber, white pepper, banana pepper + ranch and a BBQ tempeh sandwich…

And when you can combine your love of art, beauty and creativity with a fellow food-loving friend?

The beauty is doubled…if not tripled.

What if the food at hand is going to be Chocolate Beer Waffles?

I’d say that quadruples the beauty.

But wait…those waffles are VEGAN?

Beauty officially quintupled.

Vegan Cashew Cream + Chocolate Sauce?

How do you say six-tupled?

Excuse me why I do a quick Google search.

Sextupled.

Definitely, sextupled.

I forgot my coffee with coconut milk creamer…that septuples the beauty.

That’s seven, right?

But I haven’t even gotten to the waffles yet!

Take this all-vegan feast of Chocolate Beer Waffles, Chocolate Sauce + Cashew Cream…

…multiply it by 2 1/4…

…and you get true beauty octupled.

But please don’t call me Octomom or even Octoeverythingtarian.

Holly works just fine.

Natural beauty is best, no?

What did YOU do this weekend?

Perhaps a 6-mile run at 6:30am? Even though I slept a solid 9 hours (after falling asleep at 8pm in my work clothes and proceeding to wake up at 5am looking like a hot mess of a hungover college girl who had just woken up in some random guy’s bed), it still took every ounce of energy I had to run.  That and a slice of PB+J toast with black coffee.

…comforts you.

Yes, more PB+J+B toast and black coffee. No shame.

…gives you a sense of accomplishment.

For me, that was working diligently all morning and getting thisfrickinclose to finishing a few projects at work while sipping on a TJ’s Raspberry Lime sparkling water + POM juice mocktail.

…makes no logical sense whatsoever.

Like purchasing an overpriced KIND bar when you’re trying to stick to a budget and brought your lunch to work. Then, if at all possible, devour it in 0.02 seconds and never actually take the time to taste it.

…is completely new to you.

You all know I love my yog messes. That’s just plain fact. However, I think the apple mess is totally the new yog mess. Mark my words Zac Posen. Just take 1.5 cups of unsweetened, natural applesauce and add 1/2 cup of strawberries + 1 crumbled Dark Chocolate Muffin. Mess and eat.

…that involves the word ‘balls.’

If for no other reason than it’s good for an immature chuckle. And let’s be real, we need more immature chuckles in our lives. Whether it’s Caitlin’s Flax-Encrusted Sweet Potato Balls (below) or one of Averie’s Famous Raw Ball recipes, just say balls. It will immediately make you smile. Balls. I dare you. Balls.

…includes peanut butter + chocolate.

For obvious reasons.

…makes you feel like you are back in 6th grade.

Like ROLLERBLADING! I went rollerblading with my friend Steph after work for an hour. Did I almost biff it multiple times? Of course. But when you get sunny, 80 degree weather in Wisconsin, you soak up every last droplet of warmth and forget about falling face first in the grass.  Then you come home and while dinner is cooking, devour some of Gena’s delicious Banana Soft Serve…

2 small frozen bananas
lots of cinnamon
1/2 T peanut butter

…is just plain good for your body.

Today, that meant veggies…LOTS of veggies! I took 3 heads of kale, and with the help of coconut oil, salt, garlic salt, crushed red pepper + a 400 degree oven, turned them into a mean batch of Kale Chips. Then I nuked a sweet ‘tater in the microwave for 6 minutes (poke holes in it first) and topped it with a bit o’ real buttah. And yes, I ate the skin. Mama Everythingtarian says that’s where all the fiber is.

…requires no thought at all.

Watch Glee, LOST (requires some thought) and Pray the Devil Back to Hell in bed with the same clothes you went rollerblading in, do some dishes while listening to Pandora, take a warm bath and go to bed without overthinking a single minute of your day. If you figure out how to do that last one, please let me know.

Fill in the blank. Do something everyday that ________, and give me an example from your day!

Don’t believe me? Just listen to Mr. Billy Ocean in all his 1980s glory tell it like it is:

This video makes me happy.

Anyways…pardon the usage of such a cliche, but it’s true. When we’re faced with things that seem so hard and insurmountable, we really need to take it one thing at a time and just get going with it.

I believe the tough peeps in the world do this with the help of two things: to-do lists and schedules.

And if you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know I am horribly bad at both. I’ve ruminated on both topics several times before. Honestly, I LOVE the idea of both to-do lists + schedules, which is probably why I make them on a daily basis.  When it comes to following through with them however, my right-brained, don’t-tell-me-what-to-do free spirit self rebels and well…they just don’t happen.

For example, yesterday morning, I meant to wake up at 5:30am, get some much-needed things done, arrive at work early and have a very productive Friday (if that even exists?). Instead, I woke up at 7am, cursed the world, tripped over the large pile of laundry in my bedroom and threw together a bunch of ingredients to hopefully make something sort of resembling a large strawberry pancake…

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 T protein powder
1 egg
splash of vanilla extract
splash of milk
splash of canola oil
cinnamon
baking powder
vanilla NuNaturals stevia drops
1/2 cup strawberries + 1/2 mushed banana
peanut butter

Even though I got to work more than an hour late with a frizzy halo of flyaways crowning my egg-shaped head, this breakfast surprisingly turned out quite well.

If I had scheduled myself appropriately, I would have packed a lunch in order to save some desperate $$$. But I didn’t. Instead, I went out to lunch for the 5th time this week…

(clockwise from top left)

• two vegetable samosas
• chana masala
• lots of naan
• aloo baigain
• chicken tikka masala
• salad

Since it was a buffet, I naturally went back for a second plate. There is no to-do list or schedule that needs to remind me to do that. Plate #2 included more naan, aloo baigain + one veg samosa. Don’t know what any of this food I speak of is? Check out my Reader’s Request: Indian Food post!

If I really wanted to get tough on the going, I probably wouldn’t have purchased this overpriced, homemade candy bar after eating my body weight in Indian.

Zang…

Zing…

Zingermans!

source

Two words: FOOD COMA.

Two more words: CAUSES UNPRODUCTIVITY.

By the time I had shuffled my Indian food child back to the office, my hour-long lunch was more than up and the clock read 1:00pm. I would be much more inclined to schedule myself more efficiently if my hours didn’t feel more like minutes. I digress.  There are never going to be enough hours in the day.

I left work at 4:00pm and headed home with a major to-do list in hand.

First on the list: stop being lazy and make something for dinner.

Okay, okay…so maybe black beans + rice isn’t exactly the most posh dinner, but it did require me to cook up a batch of brown rice. Throw in a can of black beans and some spices – you’ve got yourself a fine PROJECT CLEANOUT dinner.

The key ingredient? This lovely spice I received oh-so-long ago…

The rest of the night was spent getting things done that I hadn’t intended to get done on Friday. Confused by my cryptic words? I think this shall help everything make sense…

I told you I like to-do lists + schedules. I do. I really, really, really do. Without them, I would never remember anything or remember to get anything done.

So, in the midst of my A.M. tardiness yesterday, I somehow found the time to make this comprehensive, day-by-day list of things I need to get done. Complete with colored highlighting, a necessity. You see, this weekend is the last free weekend in the next *cringe* month and a half I have to be somewhat productive. Therefore, I NEED to make this weekend count.

No ifs, ands or excuses.

As you can see from the above checklist, I was productive. Just on all the “wrong” days. Screw it. Its Saturday morning, and I have everything done for the day. Thank you Friday!

This meant extra time this morning for an extra large, extra delicious pancake.

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
splash of vanilla
splash of milk
splash of canola oil
cinnamon
baking soda
vanilla NuNaturals stevia drops
1/2 mashed banana

Topped with more cinnamon, PB and a NEW jelly find, it was amazing! No offense to the popular protein pancake in blogland, but I firmly believe pancakes taste much better sans the powder.

Per Caroline’s advice, I bought the low sugar jam and it was DELICIOUS! In fact, I think I like it better than my true love, the high fructose corn syrup-laden Smucker’s Red Raspberry preserves (with seeds!).

To return Friday’s favor, I suppose if I want to be tough, I better get going on that 8-mile run.

I wonder is Mr. Ocean would care to change the name of the song to “When the going gets tough, the tough get eating?” It would make my life so much easier.

Second, do you ever have one of those days where everything that could go wrong inevitably does go wrong? As in, you walk out your front door at 6:45am only to find yourself holding the broken doorknob in your hand and locked in your apartment? How’s running into a car accident, train crossing and every single red light possible on your way to work?  What about a hole in your favorite skirt, massive paper cut across your thumb and shoving down lunch while cleaning up after people who just ate?  Do you ever have a two-inch-long centipede fall from the ceiling into your bathtub as you are bathing then proceed to jump out of the tub screaming at the top of your lungs like a 13-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert?

Or wait, is that just me?

Yes, it was that kind of day.  Luckily however, I got to meet up with three lovely ladies at The Green Owl Cafe – the only vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Madison!  If you know Madison at all, this is an incredibly surprising fact, seeming as this homey Midwestern town is known for its liberal, hippie ways.

How’s about some “Home-style Vegetarian & Vegan Food for People Who Love Food?”

Yes please, preferably with a side of kale chips.

Feeling quite frisky (maybe it was the 4-mile run beforehand sending those endorphins flowing?), I started with something completely new to me…

PASSIONFRUIT KOMBUCHA (!!!)

You know how I mentioned kombucha scares me? Well, call me a convert, because I downed this sucker – bacteria and all.

Then, I went to town on this Vegetarian Meatball Sub….

Those would be homemade eggplant balls.  <insert inappropriate joke here>

With it, I got my side of kale chips crisps…

I am a firm believer that a pickle makes a meal complete.

Devoured.

Homemade vegan desserts?

Well, don’t mind if we do.

Split four ways, we’ve got a slice of Vegan Marshmallow Mud Pie…

…as well as the winner for the most intriguing dish of the night, Vegan Parsnip Cake with Lemon Glaze…

Even though it had a distinct parsnip taste (as well as chunks of parsnips, right Allison?), I must admit this cake was good.  We decided it’s probably not something we would ever crave or order again, but I am glad we sampled it. Convincing myself I racked up one serving of vegetables eating it helped as well.

My adorable, lovely dining companions…

Allison + Kristie

Julie + I

In case you are wondering, I did go to dinner straight from that 4-mile run.  Turns out time management isn’t my strong suit.  However, I figured if you are to go to dinner a smelly, sweaty mess; you might as well be meeting up with other healthy living bloggers who understand the importance of exercise.

We may or may not have also gone to the co-op after dinner, and I may or may not have purchased another kombucha. Bacteria and all, I sense an addiction coming on.

Have you tried kombucha? This is my first time, and I can say – it was surprisingly refreshing.

What’s the most intriguing dish you’ve tried lately? The aforementioned parsnip cake was definitely something I had never tried OR even seen before!