Extra Crunchy Granola Guide

Recently I have been living mainly on a diet of granola. I probably ingest foods that contain oats and its nutty cousins 3 out of 5 meals a day; 60% of my daily intake of foodstuffs!

No, it is not to lose weight, and no I am not a picky eater, far from it actually. My life as a high school student has just been SO BUSY that it's all I have time for.

Granola is known for its simplicity and versatility.  You can eat it in so many different ways with so many different things, or by itself. With yogurt, with milk, or covered in ketchup! I'm kidding about the last one :)

To keep it interesting, I try to mix it up between breakfast, lunch, snack, and more snack.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with Peanut Butter, Fiber One Honey Clusters (of Oats)

Lunch: KIND Peanut Butter Granola with added almonds and seasonal pumpkin seeds and milk

Snack: I used to be obsessed with Kashi's Dark Mocha Almond Granola Bars (A.K.A Life in a bar), but they just released a new flavor called Chocolate Almond Sea Salt with Chia and I tried it and it is just YUM! I love the sweet and salty combo of chocolate and sea salt, almonds are the bomb, and chia is supposed to give you super powers, what's not to like? Plus, it is packaged in my favorite shade of purple, this bar was made for me!

More Snack: KIND Granola with Banilla Yogurt/Greek Yogurt with honey and frozen strawberries


My friend's mom makes these amazing homemade granola bars that I covet and need to get the recipe for. Or I can just pretend to make my own bars like in that Fiber One commercial.  Ya know, to add homemade appeal ;)

So basically, nuts, grains, and oats are my versions of potato chips, soda and other junk foods that a person would veg out on the couch with.

What is your guilty pleasure/food obsession?

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Amanda

P.P. Isn't it weird that the expression "veg out" has nothing to do with veggies, but rather is referring to eating junk food, which is kind-of the opposite?
P.P.P. I just realized- both of my favorite granola brands start with a K! Isn't that a strange coincidence?  Is there something about the letter K that sounds tasty or granola-y? Hmmm probably not. The Kardashians aren't very tasty.
P.P.P.P. I have my own different, blog-friendly version of P.S.  P.P. stands for Post Pondering, and after the first I add an extra "Post." So three P's would be Post Post Pondering, get it?

'Tis the Season!

Hello!!!!!!

I have a theory about my childish excitement that comes in 50 gallon buckets around this time of year. It is this: when Amanda has something to look forward to, a light at the end of the tunnel, she chugs on faster than ever before. (If this theory applies to you too, you can plug you name in for the variable "Amanda" and "she")

And guess what? There are so many things to look forward to! 

Although I do get enthusiastic about holidays, I wouldn't say that I'm holiday enthusiast, it is not my sole reason for living. But when the first snow comes, it's a gateway to holiday obsession. For me, today is that day. I woke up, went about my morning routine, and casually glanced out the window. I naturally did a double take, and then, as most siblings do, I burst into my brother's room woke him up and gave him a first-hand weather report, "IT'S SNOWING!"

Here are some common symptoms of Holiday Spirit: 

1. In the mail today you start to receive your magazine subscriptions holiday issues and you immediately take them up to your room, shut the door and binge read all of them. You can't help it!

2. You cut any available paper into snowflakes

3. You begin writing your gift lists

4. You start listening to Christmas or Hanukah or Kwanza or Thanksgiving music (if such a thing exists...)

5. You start daydreaming of Holiday food. hot crispy latkes with cold sour cream, roast turkey with sweet potatoes and gravy and grandma's stuffing...

My diagnosis: I have a serious case of Holiday Spirit

Of course I catch the bug the day right after Veteran's Day, the last holiday until Thanksgivikah. (Although one could argue that today is indeed a holiday: Today is National Wear Your Camp Shirt to School Day and 11.12.13, consecutive number day!)

What symptoms are you experiencing regarding the holidays? And are you taking any prescription medication? i.e. holiday sugar cookies?

Comment below!

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Amanda

A Journey Through the Blogosphere

HELLOOOO BLOGGER! 

Stay with me while I tell you about my journey through the blogosphere, a quest on a windy road toward self-expression.

It all started ten months ago when my parents urged me to start a blog. It was February break, and with time on my hands I decided it was a good idea since I love to write and wanted to openly and creatively express myself outside of school. I googled "blog websites" and Blogger instantly popped up. I thought, "Wow, that was easy," but I was innocent to the problems that would ensue. 

As it turned out, Blogger wasn't even an option for me because one, I did not have a Google account and did not see the necessity of one, and two, complicated technical difficulties prevented me from even visiting the website. 

So I went for the next blog platform, blog.com. The name was straightforward and simple, leading me to believe that my experience using it would be too. I got all excited, thought of a unique name and spent hours meticulously going through the set-up process. However, this was all for nothing when after just five months on the website, I gave up due to constant and incredibly frustrating crashes of the server making it impossible for me, or others, to even access the site.  So I packed up my posts, and like a single mother and her children, moved on in search of better Internet homes with more opportunities. 

Tumblr was the next stop and I was really hopeful that it would accommodate my aspirations and ambitions. My stay was, again, very short because before long I figured out that Tumblr was more for wannabe hipsters and attention-seeking teens (for which I am neither).  Once again I decided it was best that I relocate. 

Finally we come to the present. I spent 1 1/2 hours yesterday carefully resituating my babies (posts) and assimilating myself into this new culture.

Now, will this stay be short-lived as well? Will I have to sling my virtual rucksack over my shoulder and move on again? 

So far so good, so stay tuned folks because I have a lot of hopes and dreams to share. To quote Orphan Annie as she entered the Warbucks mansion, “I think I'm gonna like it here!"




More Posts Soon!

Amanda

Friday Funnies^^

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Amanda

My fav songs

I was just music surfing and I came across three great songs and videos.

The Wire by Haim 

Wildfire by John Mayer 

Safe and Sound by Capital Cities 

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AMANDA

"watch you thoughts; they become words. 

watch your words; they become actions. 

watch your actions; they become habits. 

watch your habits; they become character. 

watch your character; it becomes your destiny. "

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Amanda

Friday Funny #3

Doesn't this remind you of that short?

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Amanda