First and foremost, I’d like to thank you all for the encouragement and insight on my interest in studying abroad. As some of you may know, I am originally from Germany, so studying there would not be a problem. However, I might choose somewhere other than my motherland since I love traveling and getting to know other cultures. What’s more exciting is getting the opportunity to adapt to them! But, Neela, we can still take a train and find an awesome city to conquer together! We’ll have all the men at our feet while we shop, right?

On another note, since I haven’t been posting that often, let’s get down to business folks. Right now I’m sitting at a new coffeeshop that opened up where I live. They’re concept is really neat -

“…offers the best in delicious, organic, fair trade coffee, served up by our excellent baristas, using state-of-the-art equipment. To go with it, we’ve got a fantastic menu, packed with both sweet and savory fare and using the freshest organic ingredients. And while you’re savoring the coffee and the food, we invite you to jump on our free wireless, and to enjoy entertainment, classes and activities.“

The coffeeshop is actually an extension of a local healthfood store that really pushes the idea of supporting local farmers and making less of an imprint on our environment, while taking our health into consideration.

Let’s see… where to begin? Oh I know! The first and most important meal of the day. It also happens to be my favorite!

I was always jealous of my roommates toast always smelling so good. How come mine didn’t smell so good? I think it’s because I usually have the super grainy kind of bread. The other day when I went to the store, I knew I was running really low on cereal, and I knew yogurt was on sale for $1.88 for 32 oz. Then I spotted the one. Meet my new love, cinnamon raisin swirl toast. Well, not really a new love, just a forgotten one. This morning I smeared some whipped butter on one slice and coconut oil on the other. Then I sprinkled on some extra cinnamon. This time I was the one making the roommates wonder where that heavenly smell was coming from. One of the toasts even got Hello Kitty burnt on it. In the bowl I had plain yogurt, sliced banana, homemade blueberry jam, flaxseed and a crumbled honey graham stick. Thank JB for reminding me of how yummy blueberries and banana are together!

I was also inspired, yet again, by the hilarious Jess! For real girl, keep doing your thang. You’ve got an ability to make people smile and laugh!

In the wrap was a random veggieburger, Trader Joe’s corn salsa, mayo, and carrots. On the side I steamed some cauliflower and doused it with nutritional yeast and red pepper flakes. Spicy!

I discovered something wonderful at the bottom of this bag. Besides some of the sugar granules that managed to sprinkle off the nuts, I found raspberry jelly bits! More PB&A goodness right there.

I was low on groceries so I checked our freezer and I found some chick’n strips that I think have been forgotten. So here’s what I decided to do… I heated up some wraps on the skillet (notice the burn marks). Then I spread some Triple-Layer hummus, topped it with spinach, chick’n strips cooked in tamarind-date chutney, and smeared some Duke’s mayonnaise all over. I didn’t exactly wrap these babies… I just folded them over and got to work eating. I know mayonnaise makes some people cringe. But there are so many varieties now: cholesterol-free, vegan, light, and even with added omega-3′s! Today I was mulling over a menu and I read “sun-dried tomato mayo”. My food processor and I will soon get to crackin’. Now if I could get my hands on some Delouis.

I found another wonderful item at the local grocery store the other day. I browsed through the bakery items and found just the thing!

Once I’m at my new place and I feel more freedom to do things in the kitchen, I’m going to start baking my own bread again. When I first moved into my current place I would bake Irish soda bread weekly. However, I felt like my baking skills were being taken advantage of and I stopped baking things all together. This is why when I go home to Florida you might notice that I take full of advantage of the kitchen and my love for cooking and baking. I’m going to stop thinking of buying good quality items as a splurge. It tastes better and it just makes me feel more content about my meal. Why not make everyday special, you know?

I roasted the chickpeas in ground cinnamon, powdered onion, honey, and a bit of soy sauce. This smelled so good! Alongside my salad I had some slices of bread with the Three-Layer hummus and a baby slice with avocado!

However I buttered my bread and put some minced garlic on it then grilled it.

For dinner I wanted to use the chickpeas for something other than a salad.

I steamed some rice with basil. I dumped the rest of my chickpeas in my bowl of rice and mixed in chopped raw carrots and tomatoes. While the rice was still steaming I stirred in the essential coconut oil. Can’t go a day without it! This was exactly what my tummy was hoping for!

I have some exciting plans coming up next week! Besides my move-in date being tragically postponed till Monday, my friend, Liz, will be arriving on Wednesday. Get ready for some serious adventures you guys. This girl has got spunk, sass, and all that jazz. She’s a New Yorker, what can I say? She’s staying till the 9th and I’ll be heading back up with her. I haven’t decided how long I’ll be staying though. So if you guys have any recommendations of places for me to go to (not limited to foodie things) let me know. Oh! And if anyone wants to go on a date that would be nice too! I like to call them dates because it just makes it sound more exciting hehe.

If you haven’t checked it out yet there’s a very interesting contest going on at the Special K Treatment. Go take a look before it’s too late!

Also, Mia was kind enough to honor me with a blog award. I’ve never received one before so this is definitely something special. And thank you so much! Now I have to fulfill the duty as a lovely blogger and pass it on to other lovely ones.

Oh gosh, do I have to choose? I totally suck at this kind of thing because I love everyone’s blog that I follow, or else why would I be reading it?

Neela, Mitri, Nicole, Kelsey, JB, Cate, Gillian, Katie, Brittany, the Brookes, Jess, K, Janetha, Emily, Jenny, Monica, Lauren, Lynn, and Holly. Okay I went over 15… and I could keep going. You seriously are all so wonderful and I can imagine you guys are just as radiant, if not more, in person as you are in your blogs.

p.s. For all you chia people out there, I stumbled upon this recipe that’s perfect for the summertime.

Chia Fresca

1 glass of lemonade

1 tsp Chia Seeds

1. Combine chia seeds and lemonade. Shake or stir. Allow to sit for 10 minutes until chia seeds swell. Enjoy this delicious and healthy chia fresca.

2. Chia fresca can also be made by soaking the chia seeds for 10 minutes separately in a glass of water. Then combine the chia seed gel with any flavored water or juice for an exciting different flavor of chia fresca.

Bet you didn’t think Chia seeds could be had as a refreshing lemonade, huh?

Take care all and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week. I’ve got to refill my iced tea and Matilda’s water bowl because it’s just one of those hot summer days!