Start your day right

Benefits of breakfast

• Jump starting your day- sooner you get up and eat, the sooner you start burning calories
• Eating breakfast everyday will reduce weight gain, cravings, and hunger throughout the day
• Improves concentration

My favorite breakfast meals

oatmeal with fruit (lots of fiber and antioxidants!)

egg white veggie omelet

yogurt parfait-fat free plain yogurt (Fage is the best), fresh fruit, and homemade granola

Acai Bowl- Acai berry smoothie with fresh fruit, coconut, topped with granola

Bored of the same breakfast routine? Check out 5 New Healthy ideas

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/breakfast-recipes?page=0

Oats vs. Barley

Depending on what your diet is, choosing your whole grains is something to consider. Oatmeal has always been america's go to quick fiber breakfast meal. But, comparing nutritional numbers, many may want to rethink outside the routine.

Whole grains like barley and oatmeal are excellent choice for snack and breakfast to help lower cholesterol, prevent type 2 diabetes, protect against heart disease and cancer, and help you stay regular. Depending on what your looking for in your diet, the options are comparable. But as it seems, barley is nutritionally the wisest choice.

Nutritional facts: Oatmeal vs. Hulled barley

serving 1 cup

Fiber

oatmeal: 8 grams of fiber

hulled barley: 32 grams of fiber

Calories

oatmeal:307

hulled barley:651

Protein

oatmeal: 11 grams

hulled barley: 23 grams

Total Fat

oatmeal:5 grams

hulled barley: 4 grams

Hulled barley or Pearled Barley?

Hulled barley is the most nutrient and fiber rich as opposed to pearl barely (where the fibrous hull has been stripped away and the barely has been further polished.) Pearl barley has less fiber, and is the most frequent type of barley you see in groceries stores. You can find hulled barley in specialty stores such as whole foods, Jimbos, Trader Joes, ect.

Barley for breakfast

Take a portion of the hulled barley ( for every 2 cups of barley, 8 cups of water)

Add barley to rolling boiling water. Boil until water is absorbed, frequently stirring barley.

Next, take any fruit, nuts, or dried fruit and mix in with barley.

In mine I typically chose to put flax seeds, walnuts, crushed pecans, sliced almonds, banana sliced, black mountain figs, raisins, and plums, and blueberries. I also like to heat the bowl of fruit and barley for a minute so puree the fruit a little.

Personalize it, and enjoy!

{gr uh-noh-l uh}

Thanks to one of the cooking and baking geniuses, Kim Farris, my second mother; I have been blessed with the most amazing, healthy, salty and sweet, granola recipe. When I first started my ventures with baking and cooking, the fun for me came from experimentation. This specific recipe is perfect for that. Whether you love dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, nutella, peanut butter, almond butter, coconut, or all the above, you can personalize this anyway you'd like!

I first made this for myself, because I love mixing it in with my Fage yogurt for a morning breakfast, afternoon lunch, or pre-workout energy boost. But once my boyfriend got a hold of it, there was no turning back. I don't know how many times people would walk into my house and instantly smell the sweetness of honey... they knew it could be only one thing, granola.

Since I have been an experimented so many times with this recipe, it has changed and gotten away from its original measurments. That is the fun with cooking, you can always make it as healthy or indulging as you'd like. I will include the healthier, Karl's version, standard recipe, but feel free to add more or less of the ingredients I list, and include your favorites too!

1 1/2 C of Organic old fashion oats (I tend to use Quakers if I'm out of organic oats)

1/4 C pure olive oil (I like using olive oil because its monounsaturated, but other oils such as flaxseed, walnut, almond,or safflower work well too)

1 tbsp canola oil (good source of omega 3 fats)

1/4 C pure Honey or Agave

1/4 C walnuts halved

1/4 C pecans halved

1/4 C banana chips chopped

1/4C dried cranberry

1/8 C flaxseeds

1/8 C unsalted sunflower seeds

1 - 1 1/2tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl add all dry ingredients together. Then Add oil's and honey, and spices (if not already added), mixing well. Take a cookie sheet and cover with parchment paper. Then spread out oat mixture evenly. Once oven is heated, place cookie sheet inside and bake for 10 minuets. Stir mixture, mixing all oats, fruit, and nuts. Let bake for another 10-15 minuets, checking on mixture, and depending on heat. Careful of burning. Do this until oats are golden brown. Then take out of oven and let cool completely, about 20 minuets.

Top with fresh fruit, and yogurt, or with some soy/ almond milk. Yum!

photography expressions

PHOTOGRAPHY.

They say that pictures fade but memories last forever... I don't know how accurate that is these days considering the abundance of there is of disease, and memory loss. I often have a hard time remembering the movie I just bought tickets for as I sit in the theater watching previews. Our minds are strong, and willful, but often struggle with detail.

Photography has been a passion of mine for the past couple years, and more so for the recent previous 6 months. I have an obsession with discovering new cooking/baking, wedding, and photography blogs. To observe something through another person's "eye" is something I constantly try to do. Keeping and open heart, and mind, I believe, is something our nation needs to do more of. People get so hung up on religion, and power, we often forget that the differences is what makes American special.

SIDE-NOTE:

I should apologize for any randomness you may experience as you read some of my posts. Often, I tend to be on one path and then all of a sudden I went from explaining a new loved recipe to talking about the moon. Just go with it, I promise there's always a method to my madness...a good laugh or at least entertainment.

In my early photography years, as in snapping pictures of my girlfriends and I in high school at the beach, or my sorority sisters in college going to some ridiculous themed social with alpha, delta, (insert favorite fraternity here), I always was the one with a camera. I feel I should give a shout out, props to my father for that. Ever since I can remember, good ol' Jimbo always said "Make sure you take lots of pictures". Paying close to detail is something he values. Always appreciating the simple luxuries of life. Especially all the gifts of Mother Nature.Scenery is by far my favorite scene to capture.

The colors, natural skies, people, movement, reflections, stories... everything about scenic pictures consume me. As I mentioned I'm a tad obsessed with blogs. And one in particular is one of my Old guitar teacher's sister, Photography by Anjuli. She takes a ton of photo's for different occasions, most of my favorites are engagement or wedding photos. There is something romantic raw, and enchanting when you see two people in love captured through a photo. As if everything they are, and everything they have is right there for you to see.

RAW-ISK

Karl, my boyfriend and soul-mate (he just doesn't know it yet ha-ha) has a tendency to ask isk to the end of words, making up his own Karlisk language. Its odd, but at times, the isk is exactly what you need to get across what your trying to describe. Anyways, I feel that in the raw, a rawisk picture have you, is my most desirable scape. I know that professionals spend millions on photo shoots, to capture that right lighting and then edit for hours and hours. But to me, a true masterpiece comes from one shot, in the raw. Being able to capture that shot of emotion, love, lust, or what have you, is the only shot to be have. There's no way to produce true emotions like the ones you get from in the real.

Traveling is another one of my greatest passions. I love to travel and see people in their natural environments and capture their daily lives. Another culture is my motivation for taking pictures. I hope to travel and get the opportunity to experience other cultures. I believe that to experience is to live, and I have a lot more living to do.

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Plum Galette

Since I've been back from Europe, I have been "experiencing" a different type life. In simple terms, I am recently graduated, recently homeless, and jobless. Sounds a little depressing right? And believe me, at first it was easy to go that route of thought. I've decided to see this as another one of my life experiences. Just as I experienced college, and traveling. I like to think I am now in my ambitious state of experience. Everyday I eagerly search for PR jobs, and internships, applying all over the country. I am the type of person that enjoys controlled chaos. Being busy helps me keep my sanity. At the moment, I have few responsibilities.. sounds like a dream right? And in most cases it is. I'm lucky to have people in my life that continually support and love me. Everywhere I turn, I am blessed. I am a firm believer that everything happens with time; patients is a virtue. Also,I have trouble being patient most of the time... this makes it hard to stay optimistic with my firm beliefs. As one of my yoga teachers once told me, positive affirmation- Everything always works out for me. I repeat this daily in hopes that my hard work sending out continuous resumes and cover letters is going to pay off. And I know, in time, i will have exactly that is meant for me to have.

In the meantime... I will continue to apply, spend time with my amazing boyfriend, friends, family.. and of course, cook and bake!

With the summer season still current, I couldn't help but to

bake something with fresh fruit. Luckily, I am temporarily living in a baker's haven. Right o

utside I am greeted with berries, and fruits of all kinds. I decided to bake a plum and almond Galette (GAL-ET).

With the help of my loyal friend http://www.tastespotting.com/, I combined a few ideas, to create one masterpiece.

Baking Inspiration tunes: Brad Paisley's Pandora

1 1/4 C of All purpose flour

1/2 very cold unsalted butter

1/4 C sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-5 tablespoons of ice water

1/4 C sliced roasted almonds

6-7 plums, halved and pitted

2 teaspoons of lemon juice, or zest half a lemon

1 egg white

1-2 teaspoon light brown sugar

Combine 1 1/4 cups flour, butter, 1/2 tsp sugar and salt. Mix until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water, 1 tbsp at a time. Mix until dough is crumbly, but hold together when squeezed. Remove dough, make into ball and place in plastic wrap for one hour.Meanwhile, roast sliced almonds in at 350 for 20 minutes, or until golden.

While the oven is heated, toss

plums with 1/4 C sugar, 1tbsp flour, and lemon juice, or lemon zest. Add sugar for desired sweetness. On a lightly floured surface, roll

out dough about 13-14 inches round and about 1/4 inches thick. Apply to parchment paper, cookie sheet or pizza stone works best (something without sides). Spread roasted almonds leaving a 2 inch border. Layer plums on top of almond mixture, and fold sides of dough, making pleats over fruit. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.Brush egg white mixture over dough edges, and sprinkle brown sugar over fruit. Bake until crust is golden and underneath is cooked through, for about 70 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing, (pair warm with vanilla ice cream, yum!).