2 random items of note today…
1. Please check out Chocolate Covered Katie‘s Blogger Bake Sale to Help Japan. Not only is she doing a wonderful thing for a great cause, but the treats sound amazing too!
2. Tomorrow is the last day to enter My Lara Bar Give Away. If you are a Lara Bar fan I high recommend you enter 
. I will be announcing the winner on Sunday!
I hope everyone is having a fantastic week!
Saturday morning my mom and I ventured downtown to go to the farmers’ market. 
We weren’t the only ones who thought it was a good farmers’ market day.
The farmers’ market just happens to be right next to the Culinary Institute of America. It may not be Hyde Park or Napa Valley, but it’s still the CIA! I was super excited upon discovering that the CIA had added a little bakery/cafe since the last time I had been there.
Naturally we had to go in…
Mmmm fresh baked bread
It’s probably a good thing I gave up sugar, otherwise I might have gone a bit crazy….
I contained myself and all we ended up purchasing was a fresh baguette. I was then taken back to France as I proceeded to walk around with my baguette in hand randomly tearing off pieces and eating them. Yeah, the Eiffel Tower was incredible and the Palace of Versailles was pretty cool, but I just couldn’t get over the fact that people in France walked around eating loaves of fresh bread. Why don’t we do that in America??
Portabello mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, broccolini, gluten free pizza crust mix, and part of the baguette made it home. There were a few other things that didn’t make it home…oops
How do you like to spend your Saturday Mornings?
If you haven’t checked out My Lara Bar Give Away, please do so. I’m loving all your quotes.
Also, I finally updated my recipe and about me page.
Have a lovely day!
Remember way back when, when I mentioned potentially doing a giveaway? Well folks, the time is now!
The Giveaway is for 12 Cashew Cookie Lara Bars.
Ways to enter:
1) Leave a comment on this post with any random quote that you like, try to live your life by, or just makes you happy (basically any kind of quote!).
2) Mention my blog/this giveaway on your blog
3) Mention my blog/this giveaway on your twitter
One entry will be submitted for each of the above items completed. So, it is possible to get up to 3 entries. The giveaway will end at midnight on Friday, April 1st. After that a winner will randomly be drawn.
*Open to United States residents only. Sorry, but for shipping purposes I had to limit it.
Also, if you do #2 or #3 you might want to leave me a comment or send me an email to make sure I give you the extra entries.
A few quotes I like to kick things off (quotes I wish I could say I lived my life by)….
Let the Giveaway commence!
How does so much time seem to elapse between my posts? A question I’ve pondered many times, but I have yet to resolve an answer.
Going sweetener free is actually going pretty darn well. Traveling and being away from traditional foods (did you know that almond milk, natural pb, and coconut oil are not staples in everyone’s pantry?) was tough but manageable. I am no longer craving sugar and desserts like I previously did.
I did manage to make an uber delicious dish over spring break: Naan. I used this wonderful recipe. Yes, the recipe does have a 1/2 tsp of sugar. Yes, I used it. I wanted to omit it, but I was afraid it might mess with the leavening process and jeopardize the outcome of the naan. I decided such a minuscule amount is okay. In retrospect, I do not think omitting the sugar would have altered the recipe in a negative manner. Next time, I’ll probably leave it out.
The Work Station
Topped with plenty of garlic, rosemary olive oil.
Reasons I love this recipe
1) It is super versatile. There are tons of different naan flavor combos I can’t wait to try. For the last 2, we actually spread the naan with butter and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on them and, after cooking, dipped it in honey. I didn’t try it myself but it looked delicious and others seemed to enjoy.
2) It’s super simple and aside from rising time can be made in mere minutes
3) The ingredient list is way healthier than store bought naan
4) It’s absolutely delicious and addictive
5) 2 words: Naan Pizza. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m thinking caramelized onion and goat cheese on a naan crust. Mmm
Have you tried Naan?
Lent. As a Catholic, I definitely take part in the Lenten season which started this past Wednesday; however, I’m typically not a big fan of giving things up for lent. I just don’t find it that effective in growing spiritually during lent. For some people it’s great; for me, it’s not. Giving up some unhealthy food or habit probably makes me a bit healthier; however often I forget the main reason I’m giving said unhealthy thing up which of course is to use my little tiny sacrifice as a way to unite myself with Jesus and His big giant sacrifice.
That being said, I’ve decided to give something up this year. I still primarily want to focus on doing good acts and growing in virtue this Lenten season; however, I have decided to go sugar free for lent. Actually, scratch that, sweetener free. Tuesday evening I said so long to not only white sugar, but also agave, stevia, honey and all other sweetening devices. Four days in and my commitment to being sweetener free has already been tested numerous times.
Friday afternoon I even made a batch of traditional chocolate chip cookies for some friends and family. I’m proud to say I didn’t so much as lick dough from the beater, nor did I eat a single cookie. I’ve realized that watching others enjoy the food I make is actually better than eating my self. Still, nothing sounds better right now than a big chewy overly sweetened cookie. 42 days until Easter.
I’ve already determined that come Easter Sunday I will be making Peanut Butter Stuffed Hot Fudge Cupcakes from How Sweet It Is.
I think they’ll be worth the wait
Do you celebrate Lent? What’s your opinion on giving things up? Any delicious sugar free recipe you’d like to share?
