The Healthy Everythingtarian

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,

“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?

Bad news: My digi camera is about three food photographs short of biting the blogging dust.

Good news: Until I can save up enough Benjamins (a.k.a. dolla dolla bills a.k.a. $$$), I have my trusty iPhone camera. The quality isn’t as good, but a blogger’s gotta do what a blogger’s gotta do, right?

Bad news: I was completely out of fresh fruit this morning to complement my breakfast.

Good news: This insufferable circumstance has lead me to the discovery of a very important new combination in my life – Sweet Potato Breakfast Fries! Yes, fries. Drizzled in peanut butter and topped with cinnamon, these dessert-like fry wonders paired perfectly with PB+J+DCC (peanut butter, jelly + dark chocolate chips) on an Arnold’s sandwich thin.

Bad news: I got poured on for the 2nd consecutive day in a row walking to work. And for the 2nd consecutive day in a row, I’ve also been forced to take shelter from the incessant rain in the alcove of a building next to the same homeless man who I’ve awkwardly been forced to talk to twice now.

Good news: Daddy Everythingtarian was swinging through Madison today and decided to stop to treat his favorite daughter to an early lunch at Marigold Kitchen. Eggs, bacon + toast for him while yours truly ordered a bowl of fruit alongside a bacon + fried egg sandwich. And coffee. Always coffee.

Bad news: Due to some extremely tight financial constraints (more information to come in a Reader’s Request: Budgeting post), I have $20 to spend on groceries until I get paid August 1st.

Good news: The blogging gods are watching over me, and for some karmic reason, I’ve received some killer product samples to review for zee blog. First up, the Canadian-made Simply Bar, which I first tried last month hiking it up in Banff.

Bad news: The bars didn’t actually come with a subscription to The Onion (which for the record, IS the world’s finest news source).  Did you hear that Arizona high schools are now going to teach Spanish completely in English?

Good news: Simply Bars are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and low on the glycemic index, all for just around 150 calories a pop!

Bad news: Some protein bars tend to not really fill me up, so I am skeptical. Very skeptical.

Good news: With varieties like Lemon Coconut, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Cinnamon and Cocoa Coffee, my desire to taste these Everythingtarian-approved flavors overrides any skepticism I may have.

Bad news: The protein source is soy. Processed soy (especially soy milk + soy protein powder) is about one of the only things my tummy does not handle digesting well.

Good news: The stats on this bar rule, as does the ingredients list. I mean, 17 grams of protein and ingredients I can actually pronounce? Screw my digestive tract. I’m eating them.

Bad news: I almost dropped half the bar on the floor, because it was flimsy and broke pretty easily.

Good news: The Lemon Coconut flavor was DELICIOUS! It was lemony without being fake and the chunks of actual coconut in the bar were a welcome surprise. The texture reminded me a lot of Rice Krispies – pleasantly crunchy and airy. I gobbled this up in about 45 seconds flat.

Bad news: After I ate it, I definitely could have still eaten more.

Good news: Despite the fact that it didn’t feel filling, it held me over for two hours until I was able to whip together a quick + healthy dinner using up what’s left in my fridge.

2 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup crumbled tempeh + 2 T BBQ sauce
1/2 cup zucchini
1 oz. finely cubed cheddar cheese
drizzle of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
3/4 cup baby carrots

Bad news: It’s Friday night, and I am completely devoid of cool girl plans.

Good news: Shopping, Whole Foods, The Tudors: Season One and an early A.M. trip to the farmer’s market, here I come!

For the record, I don’t recommend meditating at 9:45pm laying in bed.

You will most likely wake up at 1:38am in a state of complete disorientation wondering why all the lights in your apartment are still on with drool running down the left side of your gaping mouth.

I speak from experience people.

For the seven or so minutes I actually meditated last night, I felt surprisingly calm despite the fact my mind wandered from wondering what Jake Gyllenhaal was doing at the very moment I was meditating, to which fitness class to go to tomorrow at the gym, to which country I want to travel to next.

The important part was I brought my focus back each time my mind wandered.

For me, that is progress.

But just in case you were wondering, Jake was definitely meditating along with me. Soulmates have a knack for doing the same thing at the same time. I decided Bootcamp would be worth a try (it was). And Argentina…definitely Argentina.

I am sure the fact I only have $12.12 in my bank account probably came up too. In fact, I am positive I thought about it. It’s the one thing controlling my eating these days.

No money means no groceries, lots of PB+J sandwiches and eating up what I have – including massive amounts of buns Nature’s Pride so generously sent me to review for the blog in conjunction with Foodbuzz.

This time, its the Country White Bakery Buns.

The verdict? Not bad but definitely my least favorite of the three products.

Rice + beans have acted as a reliable lunch staple…

And my living in semi-poverty for the time being has given me the chance to finally try out the last of the Schwan’s Live Smart products I was also sent to taste test oh-so-long ago.

Let me tell you, I shudder to think of what I would be eating if I didn’t have this blog.

Perhaps a jar of wheat bran, peanut butter-covered coffee beans or dry, uncooked pasta sprinkled with ranch seasoning mix? I mean, that’s the best I can do with my barren pantry right now.

I digress.

The last product was indeed my favorite product…

Vegan (if I’m reading the ingredients correctly) and decent nutritional stats?

Excellent.

I cooked the whole box of Mediterranean Vegetable Couscous with 1/2 diced onion sauteed in EVOO + 3 large handfuls of spinach and came out with this colorful delight…

Slightly spiced, chewy and texturous, I loved this and would definitely buy it again.

Served with asparagus sauteed in EVOO + garlic…

Altogether now…

Pure deliciousness.

Since I forgot to bring this bar to Banff with me, I’ve had it sitting in my refrigerator taunting me. I meant to sent it to Susan, I really did. But then I had an idea, ran with it and before I knew it…

Genius was born.

Take 2 squares of said bacon chocolate bar, 1 sliced frozen banana, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and a couple shakes of cinnamon. Throw it in a food processor. Blend until it looks like gloriously creamy ice cream. Scoop it into the nearest bowl, and try to actually taste it as you are scarfing it down in delight.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have 15 minutes of meditating to do.

This time, I’m going to be sitting up in my living room on the most uncomfortable spot I can find on my wood floors. If I fall asleep this time, I think I might be trading in my therapist for a somnologist.

That would be a sleep doctor.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Every once in a summer’s while, the stars align, the fates agree and world is telling you – demanding you! – to just go with the flow and LIVE YO’ LIFE.

For me, that karmic day was June 26, 2010.

I woke up yesterday with a slight wine hangover. No shame. One glass of wine has a tendency to do that to me – much less the four glasses I consumed on Friday night with my gal pals.

The remedy? Carbs + coffee.

That would be a PB+J Banana Dog, for the record.

Now, if only carbs + coffee were the answer to some of life’s other problems – like a dirty apartment, a gigantic undone to-do list or men.

I got myself together (think: read blogs, washed face, brushed teeth + checked bank account), threw on my swimsuit and headed off to enjoy the sunny, 80-degree weather at the park.

Lunch + H2O + the new Women’s Health + laying out at the park = pure weekend bliss.

Here is where my day took its fateful turn in a completely unexpected direction: Brett texted me and asked if I wanted to watch the U.S. play Ghana in the World Cup.

Before I knew it, I was back at one of my old college stomping grounds…

State Street Brats – proud provider of belligerently drunken weekends out for Wisconsin college kids everywhere and home of the city’s only outdoor patio with TV where drinking beer is mandatory.

I felt incredibly old.

No lie.

But I really didn’t care.

I had a Miller Lite in one hand, my fist pumping for #5 on the U.S. team (my fave, even though they didn’t play him) and cute sandals on my feet…

That’s all a gal really needs, no?

And people watching…ALWAYS people watching.

In fact, this was my reaction to the creepy looking fellow sporting a Michael Jordan jersey who proceeded to approach Brett, our other friend Tony and I and tell us his three top sports idols are Michael Jordan, Brett Favre and Tiger Woods.

I asked him how his moral compass felt having chosen two people who had both cheated on their wives, lied about it and were later found out in a media firestorm of attention.

He stayed away from our table the rest of the afternoon.

Score: Holly – 1, Drunken Dumb Boy – 0.

Then, we met up with Ilsa for food.

Good food.

We found said food at The Haze – a local Asian/American fusion BBQ place.

I had one of my favorites, which I have not had in forever: banh mi sandwich.

This Vietnamese wonder is just that: wonderful.

It’s a wheat/rice baguette filled with pickled carrots/daikon, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapenos, pate, mayonnaise and in my case, chicken.

Served with grilled asparagus + a side salad and finished off with Monkey Bread Pudding (yes, it DOES exist!), this whole meal was amazing.

Especially since we topped it off with more beer.

Why not?

When in Madison with fabulous, funny friends and hotter-than-Hades summer weather…

…go dancing and drinking.

Don’t worry about calories, to-do-lists, getting to bed early, being healthy, staying productive or keeping to your budget – which, I admittedly at some point in the day, worried about each of those things.

Something I should always worry about: having the most fun time catching up with friends, laughing about inappropriate things, dancing the night away and living my life to the fullest.

Notice how I rocked the same bathing suit top, make-up-less face, white v-neck shirt and messy bun all day?

That’s right.

From 11am to 2:30am, I was not home or behind a computer for even one minute.

That IS karmic bliss.

What did YOU do this weekend?