A Long but Wonderful Day

This was a very long time ago, but I have not had any time this second semester to update anything.  I had saved pictures to share about, so now I am adding the words!

My school does a job shadowing day for sophomores, so on March 6th, I went to work with my dad at Rich's, where he is the head cost accountant for the Morristown plants.  He has been working there for several years now, and I have learned lots of interesting things.  They make all kinds of foods for stores all across America.  The most well-known item they produce is probably the muffins for Dunkin Donuts!  They also make the best carrot cake I have ever had in my life.  It is full of real carrots, raisins, spices, and nuts.  That was even my birthday cake last year.  Whenever a product is being tested or has the slightest imperfection, they leave them on carts in the testing or break room for employees to have.  Sometimes they also sell them for a dollar or two to raise money for charities.  While I was there, dad sent me on tours of both of the plants to see the foods being made.  That is some industrial-sized cooking for sure!  That's not the job that I want to have, but it worked out getting to spend the morning with my dad.



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Below is my favorite muffin:  honey bran raisin!  They were running on the day I took my tour, so they let me bring a couple home.

When it was lunch time, Dad took me out to Subway to grab a big sandwich.  Then we also went to TCBY for dessert to fill the extra time before I had to go back to school.  My fourth block class has mixed grade levels, so there were still going to be people in there to have class with.  After school, I had to get out fast to do my track speed workout, because I had a concert to catch!  I ended up getting in a warm up and cool down, with 6 800s and 3 300s, all in time to be changed and ready when my mom and dad pulled in the parking lot at 4:15.  From there we headed to Cheddar's in Johnson City to meet some people from my parents' Sunday School class for dinner.  After that we went to Freedom Hall to see Casting Crowns on their Thrive tour.  I saw them in my first concert ever a couple years ago, and I was so excited to hear some new music from them!  Since I have been going to concerts, I have realized that people perform way more music than what we hear on the radio!  I had never even heard the song that is the theme for the tour, Thrive.  Another great song I heard for the first time was Just be Held.

Here are some of my favorite quotes/song lyrics from the night, that I also tweeted.  I found these very applicable to my life!

"Just to know You and to make You known

we life Your name on high

...

We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives

It's time for us to more than just survive.

We were made to thrive!

...

Joy unspeakable, faith unsinkable, love unstoppable, anything is possible!"

The other band who was with Casting Crowns on this tour was For King & Country.  I didn't know much about them before the concert except for some of their songs.   They are such a cool group of guys!  Very unselfish, humble, and focused on doing for others.

This was during one of Casting Crowns's most popular songs, Glorious Day.  It's one of my mom's favorites, too, so she was singing loud!  It's a beautiful song about how the love of Christ has saved us, His story, beginning to end, and one day ultimately when He comes back!

Honey-Maple Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My TNN (Trojan Nation Network, a usually 2-day-a-week half hour like a homeroom) class had a little Christmas party where we could bring in goodies to share.  I found this recipe in a Family Circle magazine and was super excited to try them!  They turned out great-not crunchy!  They're healthy, too, so this is a great Christmas time treat.

 

Here is a picture of the recipe from the magazine.  However, I used whole wheat flour, added some cinnamon and extra raisins, used honey, and left off the glaze.  Many recipes can be changed slightly for your specific taste!

Gingerbread House of the Day #2

Here it is!  The other gingerbread house I was inspired to make during second period yesterday.

I had all this stuff at home that goes great with graham crackers, so I decided to to do a Christmas craft with it...then eat it of course.  This was an addition to my dinner and dessert last night.

I used almond butter to connect the house

vanilla bean cheesecake cream cheese to hold the "doors and windows" (Recees Pieces) in place

more of the vbccc to be snow on the rooftop

light brown Heath Pieces as "shingles"

and cool whip as snow!

 

To the side I made a nut tree

pumpkin spice cream cheese

pumpkin

and pumpkin butter make the ground layers

then cool whip and cinnamon make the snow

the "tree" is a skinny graham cracker with more pscc and pumpkin

with pistachios and peanuts stuck all around and on top

 

Before I ate it, I drizzeled some honey on top, becuase a little honey makes everthing tastier!

The cool whip added an amazing flavor to it, also.

 I was thrilled with how yummy this fun project turned out.

A healthy, happy, festive treat for the Christmas season!

Quick and Healthy Cinnamon Apples

Yesterday during 2nd period at school, I finally got to catch up on reading all the blogs I follow.  It had been over a month!  I got to see some really interesting things.  I found some recipes, saw some snow, and got some ideas.

This is partially an idea I got from a blog called Carrots 'n' Cake.  This lady reminds me a lot of myself:  healthy eating, running, working out, shopping, loving pugs (I don't have one, but I want one.), trying new things, drinking coffee, and even eating the sweets!

These are two of my pumpkin pancakes that I've made before, topped with some pumpkin butter, but this time I also added some apple butter and sweet cinnamon apples!  (The link on Carrots 'n' Cake above goes to the post where I got the idea.)  All you have to do is take some apples, cinnamon, and honey and nuke 'em in the microwave til they are how you like.  I also added some syrup since they were toppings on my pancakes.

Chuao Chocolate

I love going shopping at places I don't normally get to go to because I can always find new things!  (Especially when it's a store with food!)  Mom and I went to Target last Sunday, and they already have the Christmas decor and more on display and ready to go!  I'm ready to go, too, as Christmas is my absolute favorite season/holiday.

However, we cannot get so caught up in Christmas that we forget to stop and be thankful and spend extra time thanking and spending time with those we love and appreciate.

I spent a lot of money at Target and the other two stores we went to (Bath & Body Works and Yankee Candle) on Christmas gifts!  I found some things for myself, as well.  Below is one of those items.  Simply dark chocolate and honeycomb, this is a super-satisfying treat!


 Trying new things is almost always a good idea!

Heath Pieces Pancakes

Recees Pieces now have friends in York, Almond Joy, Hershey's, Heath, and so many more!  At target last weekend the Heath Pieces were really calling my name, so I grabbed a pack.  I had a feeling that they would make some super pancakes, and here they are!  Whole grain batter with cocoa powder, vanilla extract, vanilla protein powder, and Heath Pieces!  Topped with honey and syrup, they were so satisfying!

Homemade Energy Clusters #CerealLoversWeek

 

In honor of National Cereal Lovers Week I decided to join in the fun and enter the contest!  Cereal is one of my favorite foods, so I got in on the events on the website about and using the instagram hashtag #CerealLoversWeek

 

By entering the contest on the website listed above, you can have a chance to win $1000!  All you have to do is get creative with your cereal and enter a picture and short description.

 

I made these as a sweet treat to have to give me energy through the day or recovery to hold me over until dinner after a workout.

 

The cluster is made of multiple flavors of Cheerios, Fiber One Honey Squares, Special K Vanilla Almond Cereal, Linwood's ground flax, seeds, and goji berry mix, pistacios, peanuts, Recees Pieces, cocoa powder, and oats.  The glaze to hold them together is honey, sugar free syrup, and almond butter.  These bars are a little sticky, so it is good to store them in the fridge!

Powerful Pumpkin Pancakes

I found this stuff at Bed, Bath & Beyond on Saturday, and had to get some.  It's packed with nutrients that I need and has a fantastic flavor.

Nutrition and health benefits and the estore to order some

Here is a spoonful of it.  I got the flax, sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame seeds, and goji berries blend.

I love to make pumpkin pancakes, but by adding this to the batter, I stepped it up a notch!  It made the flavor even better and gave them a great boost for post-workout recovery!

These pancakes have whole wheat mix, oatmeal, Linwood's ground superfood, pumpkin, pie spice, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  On top I spread pumpkin, pumpkin butter, cinnamon, honey, and a little sugar free syrup.

Tada!  Double stack!

and of course, nothing goes better with pancakes than some coffee.  Especially coffee with seasonal flavored creamer.

Dark Chocolate Coffee Pancakes

Here is the first thing I made with the Bolthouse Farms drinks. These delicious pancakes are made with Bolthouse Mocha Cappuccino, coffee, chopped dark chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and whole grain batter. Tastes great with honey and sugar free syrup and a cup of coffee!

Powerful Recovery Pancakes

Pancakes are one of my absolute favorite foods to make for after I run, especially during the summer when I have more time after our morning practices.  They are easy to make and can be dressed up any way to fit your taste bud or energy needs.  This morning I was in need of some extra fat and protein, so I decided to add some peanut butter.  Here are the ingredients I used: (I blended them to make the batter smoother) -Planters cinnamon raisin granola nut peanut butter
-peanuts
-raisins
-a banana
-oatmeal
-whole wheat pancake mix
Once they were done cooking, I sprinkled cinnamon on top, spread blackberry preserves on some, and drizzled honey.  Pancakes like this are great for those long, tough days to keep you going!
As this is one of my favorite healthy foods to make, I'll share more creations in the future!

Great Recovery Meal/Snack

I come home from team cross country camp every year with new food ideas I want to have again.  This is a great source of grains, protein, and some fruit.  First I scrambled two slices of wheat bread in egg whites for French toast.  Then I topped it with almond butter, banana slices, cinnamon, and honey.  Last, I stacked it into a sandwich!  This has become one of my new favorites!