#I was in produce knowing the purpose was to grab spinach

[afternoonapocalypse]

#TeamDumbSluts

[oyesmendes]

i keep on missing you

a/n: so remember when i said there would be a part two to “all i wanted was a happy ending” ? ya its here.... this was largely inspired by Missing You - The Vamps and i miss you, i’m sorry - Gracie Abrams. hope you guys got some tissues ready HAHAHA sorry in advance! @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln​ @lonelyreputation​ 

read part one here

'Cause I'm sat here in my front room with a girl who ain't you / Hopin' and prayin' you're breakin' up with another fool

The sunlight that streams through the small crack between his curtains is what wakes Shawn up. He has his hand draped across a body - or should he say, his girlfriend’s body and he finds himself frowning at the lack of the olive skin he’s grown so used to waking up to. He’s quick to change his facial expression once he sees the body roll around to face him. The girl grins at him, stroking his cheek and pressing a soft kiss on his lips which he struggles to return.

“Morning, sunshine”

“G’morning” He mumbles back. They don’t say much, only sharing a few kisses and cuddle for what felt like too long before they both stumble out of bed into their morning routines.

Shawn is sitting at the dining table, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram like he was reading the morning papers. He likes a couple pictures posted by friends back in Toronto, before he lands on one that makes his breath hitch.

@kiara_hammani: everyday is worth celebrating with you. happy three months, sweet pea!

It was a picture of her - Kiara. His finger hovers above her face, wanting nothing more than to feel her skin against his. She was in that blue sundress they bought on impulse during a trip to Hawaii two years ago, and she was posing at the beach. Wrapped up in the arms of another man. He’s contemplating if he should zoom in or tap on the tagged account of the man, but decides to just stare at it for a couple more seconds instead. It’s only been less than five months since she moved out, how could she have moved on so quickly?

“Shawn? Hey you there, gorgeous?” Shawn blinks his eyes a couple of times to bring him back to reality. He quickly places his phone face down on the table and smiles softly.

“Yeah? Sorry I got a little distracted.”

“That’s alright, would you like coffee or green tea today?” She was holding up a French press in one hand and pack of teabags in the other. She smiles sweetly at him and Shawn feels himself cringe internally. This girl was everything but Kiara. The tone of her voice constantly laced with sweetness, and pale skin covered with fake tan which made her look orange. He thinks back to all the times that Kiara would purposely use a high-pitched voice to mock the waitress or random girl that was trying to get in his pants and they’d have a good laugh about it. He knows she would’ve done the same right now. Shawn looks at the girl standing in front of him and he hides the disappointment that fills his chest when he realises that she’s not here.

“I’ll have the tea, thank you Chris.” She nods and spins around to make him a mug.

Christine was your typical LA girl. Yeah, the ones that have beach blonde hair, holding a hydro flask and wearing cut off denim shorts all year round. How she and Shawn ended up together for the last two months? Ask management. They initially paired him off with another girl but she was way too much of a blonde that Shawn ended up ditching her on their first meet. He put up a strong fight with the team afterwards and they eventually settled on Christine. She was no where near Kiara, but according to Shawn’s publicist - Christine was the cure to his falling reputation.

So they’ve spent every single day together for the last two months, drowning out all the dirty news of their breakup. Shawn didn’t hate it completely, Christine was too nice to him that he forced himself to enjoy every moment. But he does catch himself comparing her to Kiara, and he can’t seem to shake himself out of it. He watches as Christine turns around, two mugs in her hand. At first, he doesn’t notice the pastel pink mug that belonged to Kiara. But as she places it down on the table, he sees the faint lipstick stain on the edge of the mug and he stops her from lifting it up to her lips.

“What’s wrong?” Christine asks when Shawn’s hand lands on top of hers.

“Throw it out.”

“What? Babe, I just made this-“

“I said THROW IT OUT!” She jumps slightly in her seat when Shawn raises his voice and he immediately regrets it. Christine pushes her chair back, letting them scrape the hardwood floor because she knows how much Shawn hates it when she does that. She gets up from her seat and stalks to the front door.

“You can throw it out yourself.”

Nothing happened in the way I wanted / Every corner of this house is haunted

The front door slams and Shawn is left with the same deafening silence from two months ago. His eyes focus on the mug and then roams the house. Every corner was filled with the essence of Kiara. After their heated argument, she moved out the next morning, taking everything that she could without the need to turn back. Naturally, she left a few shared pieces in the house which Shawn never touched, and it was starting to feel haunting. Each object that she had left - the dark blue curtains from Ikea, the cream coloured throw from a boutique in London, and even that chipped porcelain vase she bought from a kid at a yard sale held three years of happy memories. Memories he couldn’t bear to relive or throw away. Shawn would much rather be alone than to share this special place with someone new, but he couldn’t lose Christine now, especially when his career’s on the line. So he forces himself to grab his keys and pull himself out the front door. He’s out on the streets and thankfully, Christine hasn’t made it too far from the apartment building.

“Christine!” She increases her footsteps but before she could make the corner, Shawn grabs a hold of her arm.

“What do you want, Shawn?” He pulls her closer to him and she’s resting her hand on his chest. Her touch felt different. But Shawn settles for it in the moment.

“You, me and the grocery store.” He smirks at her. A small smile erupts on her face and Shawn knows he’s immediately been forgiven. It’s been a vicious cycle that’s got them through the last 8 weeks - Shawn does something stupid, then he makes it up by suggesting Christine’s favourite activity which he would hate, on a normal day. He knows this isn’t the way to love someone, especially someone who only has good intentions for him. But he needs Christine to stay, at least he thinks he does. She makes the silence less deafening, and it stops Shawn’s head from reeling into his horror movie of thoughts. She was his imaginary safety net, somewhere he could fall into for a moment and not think until reality hits him like a truck again.

-

The store was quiet, and Shawn is thankful for it. He doesn’t need to put on a loving couple front for the cameras or fans that would recognise him from a mile away. He’s pushing the trolley behind Christine, empty focus on the squeaking of the wheels.

“Should we try cashew milk this time? I was watching Claudia’s vlog the other day and she was raving about this brand.” Christine holds up the cartons in front of Shawn’s face. He smiles at her, knowing well that he has to give her some sort of attention or care in order for this relationship not to crumble.

Kiara couldn’t care less about the type of nut milk we had at home. He stops himself before he dives further into that part of his brain.

“Well if Claudia says it’s good, I don’t see why we shouldn’t try it.” Her face immediately lights up when Shawn showed the slightest interest in her rambling. She drops the carton of cashew milk into the trolley and scampers off while he trails behind her. They wander around the fresh produce, and while Christine goes on about which kind of salad she wants to make next week, Shawn hears the distinct laughter and voice.

His eyes dart around the store until they land on a specific couple and he sees her. In all her 5’7” glory, Kiara stood next to the same man that was on her Instagram post, trying to catch her breath from all the laughing the pair had been doing.

“You’re telling me, you microwaved eggs?!” She’s still laughing, shaking her head as she placed the carton of fresh eggs into the trolley in front of her.

“Hey, no shame in that! We were in college and really dumb. Besides, you’re the one that burnt the kettle to a crisp while making tea last week.”

“Well, we’re both to blame for that.” Shawn watches as Kiara gives the man one of those cheeky smiles that she used to give him. He watches as he attacked her sides, tickling and then peppering kisses down her neck as she squeals in excitement. Shawn should look away, he knows he should before he gets caught, but he can’t help himself. Before he knows it he hears Christine next to him,

“Shawn? Did you hear me? What are you- Oh for god’s sake!” The couple turns when they hear Christine raise her voice and Shawn snaps out of his trance. His eyes meet briefly with Kiara’s and her face falls just enough for Shawn to notice. Christine shoves the packet of spinach she has in her hands back on the shelf. She shoots Kiara a death stare before pushing Shawn out of the way and storming out of the grocery store. He doesn’t go after her, instead his hand tightens its grip around the handles of the trolley and he forces himself to breathe. The man with Kiara is rubbing both sides of her arms, a concerned look on his face as he mumbles something to her. She’s shaking her head, giving him a reassuring smile as they continue with their shopping, not taking another look at Shawn.

I still love you, I promise / Nothing happened in the way I wanted

Shawn abandons his cart, the Canadian in him feeling guilty about not placing the stuff back on the shelves. But his mind is running too fast that his legs couldn’t comprehend his own actions. He finds himself squatting outside the store, baseball cap pulled far down on his face. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, sitting out here in the middle of nowhere, waiting for some damned miracle to happen. Something to fix his heart.

“I’ll drive the car up here? That way we don’t have to push the cart back.” Shawn recognises the same voice and he peers up slowly.

“Sure, I’ll wait here.” Kiara.

He waits for a couple moments before he scrambles to his feet and it makes Kiara jump out of her skin.

“Pinché pendejo.” She mutters under her breath. Kiara’s about to push her trolley further away, when she recognises the white and pink Dodgers baseball cap that used to belong to her.

“Shawn?”

He feels like a deer caught in headlights, looking down at her with widened eyes. The look on her face was unreadable as she puts her hands deep into the pockets of her hoodie. He tries to drink in as much of her looks as he can - the change in the way her hair now falls just above her shoulders instead of having it in those long beach waves; how she now has the confidence to be out in public with barely any make up on. The moment of staring doesn’t last too long though, when Shawn hears a voice call out for her.

“Babe, you good?” Kiara and Shawn both seem to be shaken back to reality quickly. She’s pushing her hair out of her face and smiling softly to her boyfriend.

“Yeah, yeah I’m good. Let’s load her up.”

And I know you said that we're not talking / But I miss you, I'm sorry

“Wait.” Shawn says barely above a whisper. Both of them stop in their tracks and look to him.

“Can I-can I talk to her for a second? I promise you it won’t take long.” Kiara’s boyfriend is already dropping the bags back into the cart, trying to go in front of her to give Shawn a piece of his mind.

“Ryan,” She pulls his arm toward her and he switches his attention to his girl, “I’ll talk to him. I won’t take too long.” Ryan looks at Kiara then back at Shawn and he stalks toward him, chest out, looking like he’s ready for some brawl. Kiara’s holding her breath as she watches him walk, the anxiety in her chest just become worse by the second. Ryan has his pointer finger up, voice low as he stares at Shawn in the eyes, “you hurt her again and I guarantee you, I will ruin you.”

He turns back around, kissing Kiara on the cheek before he loads the groceries into the car.

Shawn smiles awkwardly at her, “well, he seems nice.”

“I’m so sorry, he’s just protective.”

“That’s okay, I understand.” An uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them and Kiara think’s this is probably the worst idea in the entire world. To be standing out on a cold day in LA, next to her ex, with her boyfriend waiting less than 10 feet away. She’s wrapping her arms around herself, bouncing on her feet to keep herself warm. Shawn doesn’t say anything for awhile and Kiara’s growing frustrated by the second.

“Did you want to-“

“So I-“

They start at the same time, and it makes Shawn chuckle. But it makes Kiara sigh and she’s hugging herself tighter. Shawn finally sees the hint of annoyance on her face and his mind scrambles for the right words. (Though, I’m not exactly sure these are the write words, Shawn)

“How are you?” Kiara gives him a look, and she couldn’t believe her ears. After standing out in the freezing cold weather, he just wanted to ask how she was doing?!

“Get to the point, Shawn. I don’t have the time for small talk right now.” He’s fiddling with the loose thread from his sweater, trying to avoid Kiara’s intimidating brown eyes when he speaks.

“I just-I, I just miss you, Ki.” Kiara scoffs, very audibly and she takes a step back to look at him.

“Cariño,” He recognises the same sarcastic tone that her mother uses, “don’t you have a girlfriend you should be with?”

Breaking dishes when you're disappointed / I still love you, I promise

“Yeah I do, she’s standing right in front of me.”

“You did not just-“ Kiara mutters under her breath, shaking her head violently. She looks around her to ensure that there’s no one in earshot, then steps toward him and pokes his chest.

“Shawn Peter, you do not just squat out here wanting to talk to me after you argued with your current girl and then say that you want me back. You do not just walk up to me and say all those things after what you did, how you hurt me and-“

He grabs both her wrists and Kiara stops mid-sentence.

“What are you doing?” She mutters under her breath. Kiara knows that Ryan would be watching them both, and any bigger movement would send him running out of the car to punch Shawn in the face. She looks over her shoulder and she already sees the door of the Range Rover opening slowly.

“I miss you, I really do. I still love you, Ki, I still fucking love you.” He tries to lean in and Kiara finally had enough, pulling her hand out from his grip.

“Fuck Shawn, I’m happy now can’t you see? We’re over, it’s over.” Kiara turns around, her eyes meeting Ryan as he stands next to the car. She musters up a smile for him before she hears Shawn shout from behind her.

“Does he love you like I do?” She stops in her tracks and looks over at him.

“No Shawn, Ryan has done a better job in the last three months than you ever did in the three years I’ve known you.”

With that, Kiara walks away, and Shawn is left with half of his heart and the image of her back burned in his mind.

[reallyautomaticvoid]

Crustless Quiche

Characters: Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd (mentioned), Dick Grayson (mentioned)

Summary: Tim teaches Damian to make crustless quiche.

Warning: some angst, mostly fluff, some swearing

By all rights, Tim should be getting ready for patrol yet Bruce had benched him for a ‘low-grade fever’.

“It’s only 99.5!”

Bruce raises his eyebrows. “Still missing your spleen?”

Tim splutters.  “Do you mean have a grown it back since I lost it in the desert trying to find you, Bruce?” Bruce flinches giving Tim a savage feeling of pleasure and guilt.  “No, it hasn’t magically grown back since then.”

“Then no patrol for you,” Bruce replies sipping his coffee.

That’s how Tim found him in the kitchen, humming to himself, trying to figure out something for dinner.  Alfred’s on annual holiday for the last week and Jason had gone off somewhere with Roy which left Tim as the only responsible adult in the house to make dinner.

It’s not that Tim doesn’t know how to cook.  Cooking, for all intensives purposes, is just chemistry.  Tim could do chemistry in his sleep (and has once or twice; don’t look at me like that Dick).  

 Mrs. Mac had been the first one who had taught him anything about cooking, long before he could ever dream that Alfred would.  She had, when Tim was ten, showed him the very basics of cooking.  Like how to make Crustless Quiche.

He was not however on Jason level of cooking; couldn’t dream to make the delicacies that Alfred whips up with ease.  He could, however, make more than a bowl of cereal without adult supervision (cough, cough Dick.  Bruce.  Don’t think for a second that Alfred doesn’t know exactly who are responsible for those scorch mark on the ceiling of the kitchen).

Moreover, Tim never had the time to cook. 

Tim was about to raid the freezer, again, when there was a small scuffling noise from behind him.  Glancing over his shoulder, Tim suppresses a sigh to see Damian standing at the entryway.

“Damian.”

“Drake.”

Going back to the fridge, Tim waits.  Over the years, Tim has found that it's better to wait for Damian. Closing the fridge that embarrassingly empty, Tim turns to the pantry.

Damian scowls.  “Why are you in banging around my Father’s kitchen?”

“Since when is Bruce allowed into the kitchen?”  Tim shifts around some of the canned soups, looking.  “I thought Alfred banned him after the last pancake incident.”

“Tt,” was the only response Tim got (or was honestly expecting).

Damian shifts his feet, uncomfortably.  He was, unused to this unspoken truce that he and Drake had enjoyed since Father’s returning.  Except for the occasional snip (which were always Drake’s fault), Drake had proven himself to be quiet…satisfying. 

“I’m trying to figure out what to make for dinner,” Drake finally answers him.  “Jay’s out and I’m hungry.”  Drake closes the pantry door before turning to face him.  “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for patrol?”

Damian turns red mumbling unintelligently.  “Sorry, Dami, missed that.”

“Father benched me.”  Damian repeats, glaring at Tim like it was his fault.  “Apparently, I’ve ‘not taken the proper time to fully understand what it means to be Robin’.”  

Tim winces.  So that had been what that’s what the screaming match had been about.  “Sorry.”

“Tt.  Why would I need sympathy from you, Drake?”

Drake drew back as if Damian had slapped him.  Drake stares at Damian for so long it starts to make Damian uncomfortable. 

After a long, uncomfortable moment, Drake finally replies in a low voice, “because I’ve been on the receiving end of a few of those ‘You don’t understand what it means to be Robin’ speeches during my time as Robin from Bruce.  And they fucking suck.  All of them.  Each and every one.  Even if you didn’t deserve them, especially if you did though.”  Drake pauses, like he was contemplating what to say next before shaking his head.  “Come on, we’re both benched tonight.  Let’s make some dinner and we can watch a movie.”  Drake bends down to open the cabinet where Pennyworth keeps the pots and pans.

Damian bit his lip.  “I’ve never—I’m not interested in making dinner, Drake.  I’m sure you’re more than competent do it yourself.”

Drake straightens up, arching an eyebrow.  “Really?  Last week you said I couldn’t make toast without burning down the kitchen.”

“After witnessing Father and Grayson’s attempts in the kitchen, you’ll have to forgive me for being hesitant.”  Drake snorts.  “Now, however, I’m sure you can make toast without burning down the kitchen.”

“That almost sounds like a compliment, Dami.”

Damian sniffs.  “Do not grow accustom to it.”

Tim suppresses a snort.  “Wouldn’t dream of it.  Come on, Dami, I could use your help with this.”  Tim lifts up a pot that he pulled out.

Damian mutters something that Tim can’t hear (again).  He’s starting to think the little bugger is doing this just to mess with him.

Losing his patients, Tim snaps.  “Look if you don’t want to help that fine just clear out—”

“It’s not that, Drake,” Damian spits back, “it’s…I don’t know how to cook.”  Damian says like he’s confessing to a secret shame.

Tim waits.  “Okay…so?”  

Glaring, Damian snarls, “so, Mother and Grandfather thought it was beneath us to learn something as mediocre as cooking, so I never learned how.  So, when I arrived here,” Damian motions around the room, “Pennyworth does it all.  So, despite any interest I may have in the subject, I have not been offered the opportunity to pursue it.”

Blinking, because holy shit that little speech gave Tim more information about Damian then Damian usually gave Tim in a year (and right Tim’s not the only one with a fucked up childhood), Tim eventually fumbles out, “lots of people don’t know how to cook, Dami.”

“Tt.  I am not stupid.  I know the majority of people don’t know how to cook.  I was a witness to Father’s latest ill-advised pancake fiasco.”

Tim snorts.  “Yeah, it was pretty bad, wasn’t?”  Dami doesn’t laugh but his eyes do sparkle.  “Okay, how about this?  I’ll teach you.”

“Drake, I do not need your pi—”

“It’s not pity,” Tim says firmly.  Damian rolls his eyes.  “It’s not.  I was thinking of make it anyways and it easy enough to learn.  Actually, it’s the first thing I learned how to make.”

Damian eyes narrow.  “What is it?”

“Crustless Quiche,” Tim easily replies as he exchanges the pot for a cast iron pan.  “Come on, it’s easy enough to make.  Grab some eggs and a bowl and we’ll get started.”

Still eyeing Tim suspiciously, Damian eventually enters the kitchen properly, pulling out a bowl and retrieving the eggs.  Tim hums as he sees the requested items appear next to him.

“Alright, let's get cracking.”  

Damian blankly stares at Drake.  

“It’s a pun because we’re going to crack—you know what?  Never mind.  I’ve been spending too much time with Dick.  Alright, let me show you how to do it then you can do the rest.” 

So Damian carefully watches as Drake taps the eggs against the side of the bowl and pouring the contents of the eggs into the bowl.  After demonstrating on two, Drake watches as Damian cracks the eggs.  Drake nods encouragingly as Damian splits open the egg, dumping the whites and yolk into the bowl.

“You got it!  Now you do the rest of them and I’ll start chopping veggies.  You good with spinach?” 

Nodding, Damian sets out to work, cracking all the eggs.  Drake takes several trips to the fridge, pulling out different vegetables.  By the time Damian is done, Drake has a small mountain of produce on the counter.  

“Okay, would you rather chop or mix?” Drake asks Damian.

There are many things in this world that Damian doesn’t like.  School, homework, being benched is all minor irritations compared to being unsure in himself.  What would he rather do?  Mix?  Chop?  Did he even really care?

“Uhm—” Damian starts.

“How about you cut of the veggies?”  Drake suggests.  “I’ll do half and you do the other half.  Sounds good?”

“That sounds, acceptable, Drake.”

“Well, I aim to be acceptable.”  Drake teases as he passes Damian a cutting board and knife.  “Now, I know you know how to use one of these, just try and cut the piece up into small, bit size pieces.  All about the same size, okay?  When you’re done, go ahead and put it in the bowl.”  Drake points to the bowl that Damian had been cracking eggs into.

Nodding, Damian pulls over some broccoli and begins to chop into small pieces.  After the broccoli, Damian chops the zucchini and an onion.  

It was peaceful, cooking with Drake.  Unlike Grayson, who would insist upon chattering or Todd who would be trying to rile Damian up or Father who was always judging him.  No, Drake was utterly content sitting in silence—except for the chopping sounds.

“Better be careful with that one,” Drake says, indicating the onion, “it’ll make you cry.”

“Tt, unlike you Drake I’m not—”

“It’s a chemical reaction” Drake interrupts. “I can’t remember the ins and outs right off hand but yeah, it’ll make you cry if you're not careful.”

“Right,” Damian mutters, carefully cutting the onion.

“Right so I think that’s it for the veggies.  You like Swiss?”

“What?” “Do you like Swiss cheese,” Drake repeats.

Contemplating the question for a moment, Damian cuts the last of the onion.  “I think that Swiss would complement the spinach you cut up.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”  Tim pulls out a bag of pre-shredded Swiss cheese.  “Come on; it’s time for the fun part.”

Damian puts the last of the onion into the bowl while Drake turns on the stove.  While waiting for the pan to get hot, Drake shows Damian how to mix all the veggies into eggs before adding cream.

Finally, Drake declares it is ready.  

“I’m not eating raw eggs.”  Damian makes a face.  “Again.”  Damian had yet to forgive Todd for that little dare.  

“Course not.  Trust me; nobody wants to go through that again.  No, it's time to cook it all.”  Drake grins at Damian who found himself almost smiling back.  Almost.

Drake holds the bowl out for Damian.  “Okay, Dami, here’s what I want you to do. Pour it into the pan then take this,” Drake hands Damian a spatula, “and start pushing everything around.”

The eggs sizzle when they hit the hot pan.  Drake made sure everything got into the pan before taking the bowl away.  While Damian did what Drake told him to do, shoving the bits of vegetables around, Drake cleans up.  Damian kept a careful eye on the eggs; make sure not to burn them.

“And there we are,” Drake takes the spatula from Damian, dividing the food between two plates, “crustless quiche.”  Drake hands one of the plates over along with a set of silverware.  “Come on, Little D, we’ll go watch The Princess Bride in the main living room.”

“You’re right Drake,” Damian says, following behind Drake, “you have been spending too much time with Grayson.”

Damian does not miss Drake’s snort.

An hour later, Damian is in a ball on the couch next to Tim, clean plates laid forgotten on the coffee table.  And Tim is watching as Miracle Max explains that Westley is only mostly dead.

“Hey, B.  How was patrol,” Tim asks without looking up from the screen.

“Quiet.”  Bruce is looming over him, studying the situation.  “What happened here?” “Ya know,” Tim yawns, “same old, same old.”

“Did you hurt your brother?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

Tim watches as Fred Savage’s character interrogates his Grandfather.  “I hear Dami hasn’t taken the proper time to learn what it means to be a Robin.”

Bruce flinches.  “That was…”

“An overreaction from an overly protective parent who doesn’t always know how to say ‘I love you, Dami.  Quit scaring the living shit out of me’,” Tim helpfully suggests. 

“…Something like that, yes,” Bruce admits.

Tim hums.  

“What that,” Bruce asks, pointing to the empty plates.

“Dinner dishes.  We had crustless quiche.”

There was a long pause.  “You fed Damian scrambled eggs for dinner.”

Tim hisses.  “You never understood the joys of crustless quiche.”

[dfnews]

Episode Recap of "It's All Greek To Me" July 30, 2018 Was there also a Josiah wedding episode that night? If there was, I already recapped the mini episode so I have no interest in doing it again. 1. January 2018: Josiah is primping in the boys' fire hazard of a room and is suspiciously using more deodorant than normal. All signs lead to Josiah asking a girl to court again. Why does the boys' room need a single mattress laying on the floor when it already has four triple bunk beds? Why is there a photo of a young pre-kids Jim Bob and Michelle in the boys' room? Josiah is planning an extremely casual courtship proposal. He's dressed in a long sleeve t-shirt, old jeans and sneakers. He's going to interrupt the girls who will be eating dinner together just in time for dessert. And that's about it. I get the feeling they rushed the courtship proposal to happen after Lauren and her family moved to Duggarland and just before they left for their trip to Australia. Lauren was going on the trip and they knew word may get out especially since she joined Josiah on stage and while autographing books.  The Swanson's new house is really nice. I wonder if Jim Bob owns it. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. It was sad they left Lauren's sister at home instead of inviting her along. She looked kind of bummed. At their favorite restaurant, Market Place Grill, Jana, Jessa, Joy and Kendra dine with the newest sacrificial lamb, Lauren. That Market Place Grill must be owned by a Duggar-like thinker. Why else would they advertise it all the time. Josiah says he likes that Lauren "has a head on her shoulders and working on college and stuff like that." Then the girls mention that she just graduated, which I assume means high school since she was only 18 at the time. The "working on college and stuff" must mean taking an online course or two. Josiah just mentions this because he knows the criticism the family gets about rejecting a college education. He rejected it himself to work in daddy's car lot. They also mention video chatting for five hours once and Jessa talks about her phone conversations with Ben which she claims were private even though we were led to believe those were chaperoned. Remember Jana following Jinger on that fake camping trip when she was chatting with Jeremy on the phone? Why are they trying to diss their own rules? Why are they trying to look normal now? It's too late for that! Lauren is health conscience which is nice to hear because Josiah is not. Jessa says Josiah always has a bag of candy with him. That's because his parents train their kids to do work for candy. See how that backfires! I hope Lauren can break him of that addiction. Josiah sneaks in, gets a sidehug from Lauren, asks her to court in which she says yes, and then grabs somebody's dessert and chows down. Six months later they are married and working hard on bible sex. 2. September 2017: Joe and Kendra are headed to Greece after their wedding and their week-long after wedding vacation. Duggars always wait about a week before heading out on their honeymoons just in case the non-Duggar spouse ends up freaking out from all the explicit exposed unchaperoned Duggary. They do the hand holding while driving Duggary and the talking about being unchaperoned on this honeymoon while a crew of 20 follow them onto the plane Duggary. They arrive in Athens and do the Duggary thing of visiting a religious site first. They pose for selfies which looks like it might end in being a special episode of Dateline as Kendra teeters on the rocks. They eat dinner on a platform that is lifted a hundred feet up by a crane. Why is that even a thing? Joe shows his food deprived past in this scene by digging into his food like a starving wolf. He ignores the scenery and the other people around him when there is food in front of him. He has a habit of licking his plate which he blames Jessa for teaching him that particular lovely skill. Kendra chats with a lady, who was probably hired by TLC, as Joe stuffs his face. The lady asks if Kendra is working. Kendra says, "No, I'm just going to stay at home." Then she quickly adds that she'll help Joe sell cars. How long are selling used cars going to support all those marrying Duggar boys and their families? They better come up with another plan fast! The lady is shocked to hear Joe comes from a family of 19 kids and asks about Michelle's health and if Jim Bob ran away. We wish! Then the Acropolis pops up in the conversation and the producer asks the Duggars a silly question. She asks if they know any Greek gods. Jeer says Napoleon. Does that count? Jeremy can name one but Ben is the Greek god expert. Shame on Jeremy. He went to a public high school and graduated from college. I studied Greek mythology in Junior High. 3. Sometime in 2017. Before Baby Bump: Jinger and Jeremy show up just to prove they are still alive. They are randomly going to an art class for a date and Jinger is stressed. Jinger is unfortunately very self-conscious. The producer gets all the Duggar couples and Josiah and Jason and Jeer and Jed to draw portraits of each other. It's a very cute scene where the Duggars actually come off as regular people. They need to do stuff like this more often. I especially like Joy and Austin goofing around and the glowing Jessa who calls herself a cougar. Very cute but still boring reality TV. 4. Back to September 2017: Joken hit the subway where Joe says Si to a guy who helped them out. Just like his dad. Spanglish is the universal Duggar language. Then to a walking food tour to explore Greek foods. Kendra doesn't like slimy food so her spinach treat went right down Joe's throat and Joe hates olives so Kendra kissing him with olive breath almost caused a quickie divorce but the meat market was the big gross out. I liked when the lady showed them testicles and how Joe quickly backed up and said, "Oh!".  Protect those family jewels, Joe! They then do the obligatory Duggar cooking class where they make a Greek salad. They are both surprised lettuce is not included in the recipe. Oh brother... Now they're off to Santorini to giggle, drive an atv thing, act out the Titanic movie (I bet they only saw the movie poster), and board surf where some guys giggled at the couple's modest swimwear. I guess they don't see long skirts worn in the water much in Greece. We find out in a talking head that Ben irons his t-shirts and jeans. Yeah, I just don't know what to say about that. His dad seems kind of prissy so I'm sure he got it from him. 5. November 2017: It's Benessa's third wedding anniversary and Ben has sent Jessa out to get her daily pedicure. How many times can we watch the Duggar women have their feet catered to? I would love to see Jessa sent to the hair salon for a couple of feet chopped off and some highlights put in. She says, "Ben is finishing up school and he has another year to go." I didn't know Ben was in school. Ben has been extremely private the last 18 months or so. Take note, Derick. I guess he's working on becoming a pastor. Hopefully, a well-rounded pastor. Ben is the dream husband on this day. He cooks a healthy dinner, takes good care of the baby and designs jewelry. I'll be your cougar, Ben! For a day. 6. September 2017: Joken end their honeymoon, not really, in Fira, Greece. They say they're going back to Arkansas but the Duggars usually do two honeymoons back to back. One with crew and one without. A theater group dances and sings their way passed the couple and get them to throw plates and yell "Opa". That's all fine but Joe is kind of thrown by the kisses to the cheeks by a woman who isn't his wife. 7. August 5, 2018: Well, that's it! Little Joe is married. He's having sex! As much sex as he wants because Kendra is staying home just for that purpose. He got a free honeymoon paid for by TLC. He was given a house and a job by his daddy. He already has his first child and is working hard on a second. So, what is Joe doing for God? Was God's plan for him to live off of others and serve his own needs? What is Joe doing for the less fortunate? Oh, he is the less fortunate. Without his dad he has nothing.  

[kienova66]

Ohhh, could you write a Fitskimmons as parents drabble where Daisy is pregnant? Thanks!

“How the fuck didyou do this?” Daisy asked, dropping her head down onto the table. Jemma lookedover, a small smile on her face as she observed the other woman, only gettingdistracted when the baby in front of her decided to slam his fist onto thebiscuit he was eating, sending bits of the rusk skittering across the highchairtray.

“Well, it’s not like I really had another option,” Jemmasaid, heart fluttering as her son smiled up at her. “And don’t curse around thebaby.”

“He’s ten months old, he’s not going to remember,” Daisygroaned.

“I will not have our son saying a curse word as the first hemanages to produce,” the woman continued. “No Bennett, don’t make a mess,” shescolded gently, taking away the rice-based wafer.

“I’d be smashing that thing up to. Have you tasted them?They’re horrible. Cabbage, kale, spinach, carrots and pears should not be inthe same food,” Fitz said, wandering into the kitchen. He dropped a kiss on thebaby’s head before glancing between the two women. “Everything okay?” hequeried, opening his palm to let Jemma drop the now shattered cookie into hishand.

“I hate being pregnant,” Daisy groused. “If we want a thirdkid, it is all on you Jemma, I am not doing this again.”

“Wait till you go through labour,” Jemma muttered, grabbinga wipe and cleaning Bennett’s face as he babbled happily, stretching up for hisfather the minute Fitz had thrown the offensive food away. Picking up the baby,Fitz regarded the two women with a worried expression.

“You know you have a choice Daisy –” he began, only to havethe Inhuman look up at him.

“DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTENCE!” she yelled, tears filling hereyes. “How could you ever think –”

Fitz’s eyes widened, horror scrawling across his face at therealisation of how she had taken his words.

“Daisy, I never meant-”

“I think he just meant that neither of us would ever want toforce you into anything. That we would have respected your choice had you notwanted to get pregnant. We know that you want this baby just as much as we do,”Jemma interjected, placing a hand on Daisy’s arm in an attempt to soothe her.

“I hate hormones,” Daisy sobbed, nearly collapsing intoJemma’s chest as she wrapped her arms around her bump. Fitz fidgeted, glad forBennett squirming, demanding to be put down so that he could move about.Holding onto Bennett’s hands to try and encourage him to toddle about, Fitzwatched the two women, nervousness settling in his stomach.

“It gets better,” Jemma whispered, kissing Daisy’s temple.“The first few months… I was sick almost every day, as I’m sure you remember.If nothing else, at least you escaped the constant nausea. But I remember thehormones.”

“I remember you wanting to –” Fitz started, smirking.

“Yes, well, that too,” Jemma muttered, unable to stop theblush that crawled up her neck at the reminder of how rampant her libido hadgone in her second trimester. Daisy chuckled, wiping at her nose as she watchedthe other two, smiling when Bennett pulled Fitz towards her. She scooped himup, settling him on her lap, unable to stop the elation she felt when hegrabbed at her cheeks, a grin splitting his chubby face.

“Its worth it. Every time I threw up or started crying orjust the agony of labour, they were horrible. So many times I wanted it to justbe over. But then I would feel him kick while I was an emotional wreck andremind me what I was enduring had a purpose. The minute I held him… I forgotall of it. It didn’t matter anymore because I had our son,” Jemma breathed,leaning into Fitz’s stomach as he came to stand next to her, stroking her hairgently. “You’re going to feel the baby kick soon and it won’t make the hormoneseasier to deal with, but it will remind you that there’s something more.” Daisynodded, sniffing slightly as Bennett moved on to pawing at her chest beforedropping his hands to the swell of her stomach, seeming confused as to why shewas different.

“I’m not breastfeeding once this baby has teeth,” shemuttered, placing her hand over Bennett’s. “The expressions you’ve made aremore than enough to tell me how much it sucks Jem.” The biochemist laughed,shaking her head.

“Fair enough.”

--

Please note: the weirdbaby mum-mum or whatever that Bennett was eating does exist. My niece waseating one last time I was over. My brother in law and I proceeded to try thembecause we’re idiots. 10/10 DO NOT RECOMMEND. Although Lili did get a laugh outof two adults spitting rice cracker everywhere.

[fourteen--steps]

Thank you so much @headbuttingunicorn​ :D :D :D

I’m not 100% sure where my little guys originally came from but odds are good it was a feeder tank. The LFS if I’m being optimistic but probably like Petsmart. I rescued them from a bowl after about a week and a half dying in the lobby of my apartment building, they were definitely pretty sorry looking then :/

For the last year and a half or so the three survivors lived in this 50 g

Which technically could have sustained them for most of their lives (I think even by bare minimum standards a 65 would probably be necessary eventually for three fish), but it has weird dimensions (15x36x20″) and honestly?? They were just outgrowing it. They’re over 6 inches now at just a little over two years old. But I’ll talk about their care in here anyway because that’s where they’ve done most of their growing and living the majority of their life.

LOTS of filtration. I've had two Aquaclear 70s on this tank the whole time it’s been up, and for the last 4 months or so, a SunSun HW-304B canister as well. The AC’s are 300 gph (gallons per hour) each, and the SunSun is hOLY SHIT 525 gph oh my god how have I not noticed that.

(Weird story with that one??? I thought I ordered the 265 gph model, found I’d accidentally ordered the 370 gph model, and when the box arrived they had sent me this one which is oh my gooooodddddd 525 wat)

So I had around 600 (and then 1100 whooopps that’s maybe a little too much) total turnover per hour, or about 12x the volume of the tank. With goldfish I always recommend at least 10x, minimum. It really makes such a difference. Even if your water tests come up clear on water change day, the quicker you’re getting the ammonia and nitrite processed out of the water, the less stress the fish’s systems are under in the long run.

They're not expensive either! The Aquaclears are about $45 each online, and the canister is similar. Although sunsun being an Asian company their prices fluctuate a bit. 

I have a shit ton of pothos on my tank too, for nitrate munching purposes since my water comes out of the tap already at 10-20 ppm. I.... think it’s going to eat me someday o_O this is it with like four feet of trimming at least. 

And even with all that, water changes! I’ll admit I wasn’t always solid on my w/c schedule, my health is iffy at best and running on a 10 day schedule happened fairly often, although I DO NOT recommend that. To make up for it, I almost always do 60-90% changes. Contrary to popular belief, large water changes are not harmful to your fish or your cycle as long as you match the pH and temperature of the fresh water going in. I refill in chunks over the course of an hour or so to avoid shocking them, they pout during the process but as soon as I restart the filters they’re back to normal.

I recently, and I mean recently, as in last week, upgraded to a FRICKIN’ ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY GALLON TANK??? OMFUCKINGFUCK LOOK

I LOVE IT SO MUCH AND SO DO THEY :D 

Holy shit I’ve been fighting with the manufacturers over this thing for wEEKS IT’S FINALLY HERE. 72″x24″x20″ which is such a good shape for goldfish, much better than the standard 150 which is taller and thinner. Ahhh they’re so happy they just go nyoooooom nyooom from one end to the other, and I can add more friends!! Right now I have Remy, Lilac, Ludi, and little Ametrine in there. Plus Sumi in quarantine, but she’s really sick all of a sudden which is why this post took longer than I meant it too, sorry :( I don’t know what happened she just dropsied out of nowhere the other night. She was due to join the others in a week or two, but if she pulls through she’s getting an extended QT now to be sure she’s really healthy

And a skinny lil blind dude I picked up not long ago who may or may not live by himself depending on if I think he can hold his own with the others or not? He’s a spunky cutie but Very Tiny.

Anyway the tank is kind of a mess cause I just chucked every piece of spare decor I have in there to give them something to do, but I have some nice driftwood and just bought a ton of anubias and I’m gonna try actual planted this time!!!

Food food yum yum :) Variety is the spice of life. This pic is from a while ago, I’ve added more to this now probably

I use the Omega One and Thera A as daily staples, rotated with smatterings of the other pellets, as well as Repashy Soilent Green and some of my own homemade gel foods. I really wanna try Northfin pellets too, or AAP Paradigm when I get around to it. I do veggies a few times a week, I’ll buy a bunch of stuff fresh and then blanch and freeze it in baggies to feed over the next couple months. Zucchini, peas, bok choy, cauliflower, kale, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, watercress, etc etc. I usually have four or five at any given time. The frozen proteins I do once every week or two. I’m super allergic to bloodworms so those are a special treat I only feed with gloves :P but they get mysis or brine shrimp usually. 

It looks intimidating, but it’s not that difficult. I acquired this stuff bit by bit over the course of a year so you don’t have to go spend a ton of money at once. If I ever just happen to see something that looks fairly good quality for an okay price I’ll grab a small container to try out. Some I end up liking, some I don’t, but even the mediocre stuff I sometimes use as a junk treat, or as snail food. Like I wouldn’t use any of the foods here besides the Repashy, Omega One, Northfin, or NLS as staples. The Aqueon is okay-ish if you have no other option, but the Cobalt is too high in protein for daily feeding, and Hikari has gone so downhill in the last few years. I honestly wouldn’t even buy it, I just feel obligated to use up the bag I already have. Pick maybe two of those staple foods to keep on hand, rotate in veggies a few times a week, some frozen protein here and there and you’re set, don’t absolutely need anything else. Of course more is always better, if you can. 

And yes, sigh, dumb as bricks aren’t they? Picky too sometimes. Try a bunch of different vegetables, leafy greens are a good place to start, or zucchini. Boil them soft (you can just chuck it in a glass of conditioned water in the microwave for 2-5 minutes) and cut it into little bite sized pieces. If they don’t go for it right away, keep trying for a couple of days in a row. Eventually they’ll get hungry and warm up to it. Keep your plec occupied with something of his own to eat and feed the goldies at the other end of the tank to try and get them all a bit of something green to eat. 

Veggies high in carotenes are really good for enhancing color. So besides your obvious ones like carrot and sweet potato, that’s also going to be your dark leafy greens! If you can get your lil guys onto stuff like collard, spinach, chard, etc, that’ll definitely make a difference in their coloration :)

Gel foods are also a really good option for picky eaters. I’ve never heard of a goldfish that doesn’t like gel, seriously, they adore that shit. You can get premade mixes like Repashy, which you just mix up with some hot water and set in the fridge or freezer. Or you can make your own! Here’s some recipe ideas, or just google “goldfish gel food,” you can scale them waaaaay down if you want. I make pretty small batches that last a long time. And feel free to swap out ingredients too and experiment, or make up your own completely. Just stick to lean, low mercury seafood, and produce without too much sugar and you can mix and match as you please. The one in my freezer right now is mostly watercress and bok choy, a couple spoonfuls of NLS, some cloves of fresh garlic, spirulina, a few baby carrots, a bunch of gross string algae I scooped out of the snail tank, and a dash of paprika. The kids adore it.

Uhhhh let’s see, anything else? I treat with prazi once a year or so, preventative maintenance, like deworming your dog. Besides that I keep medicating to a minimum unless it’s really dire. Minor scrapes and bumps I leave be. Have pretty hard high pH water, usually around 8-8.2. No heater or chiller but the water temp stays low-mid 70s most of the time

I dunno, just plenty of love and attention! I redecorate their tank and make them little toys (try some sturdy nontoxic plastic beads threaded on fishing line, especially if you can find somewhere to wedge food in, enjoy the ensuing adorable) talk to them, draw on the glass...

I love them!!! So much!!!! I owe them my life many times over, that’s not an exaggeration at all. Seeing them in their new tank has really reminded me of how far they’ve come and how much they mean to me. I’m not always a perfect owner and there are times I fall down on their care, but they’re still fat and happy and I’m always trying to do better

[ifnotforbeauty]

Mexico: day 1

Very exciting, very exhausting. We had to wake up at 3 am in order to leave the house at 4 to be at the airport for 4:40 because our flight was at 7:40 and the airport recommended being there at least 3 hours before. This part was fine. We woke up, wore the outfits we had already laid out, collected our things and left with Na. My mom woke up to wish us goodbye and I wish I could have taken her too. She has done everything for everyone in her life and she deserves a vacation like this way more than we do. All I can picture is her outline standing in front of the doorway in the dark with the light in behind her, waving goodbye. I miss her.

We get to the airport and we see our friends; Ru, Ma and Iq. Everything is fine but I can see the tension on Sh’s face. I see that she’s scared but trying to mask it with excitement. We get through bag checks fine and sit in a lounge with iPads everywhere while waiting to board the plane. Then the plane arrives... and it feels real. We enter the tunnel connected to the door of the airplane and it hits me that I, me, SA is ON A PLANE! But hush, I need to act like it’s absolutely nothing because Sh is seated right next to me. Honestly, I didn’t need to hide anything because I was genuinely excited about what it would feel like, what take off feels like and what that looks like outside the window (I had a window seat!). Let me tell you, all I could think about was Allah swt. Praying to Allah to keep us safe while being in awe of what he allowed his slaves to accomplish; we actually have airplanes that take us to different parts of the world, the planet! And look at how small the world becomes when you’re outside of it. Look at how small our bubbles are and we make everything such a big deal. Look at the land, how God has provided us with the means to travel and eat of the good things He has given us. Look at the sky, how it is divided into sections, each one having it’s own purpose. Look at the clouds, how they move and become light and then heavy enough to fall from the sky and produce the water that sustains us. Look at the other people in this airplane with me who are travelling to the same location and who would have to live through the next 4 hours with me. SubhanAllah. SubhanAllah. SubhanAllah.

We arrive, Alhamdulillah. We meet our driver who drives like a madman to our resort, the Grand and I see Mexico for the first time. I feel the heat that makes you want to grab your hat and pile on the sunscreen. I see the trees and the birds that are different from ours. I see the beautiful cement buildings that are in every Latin music video. I see the long roads lines with palm trees on each side. I see the iguanas in the grass. I see the beauty of Mexico.

We give our first tip. We enter the doors of our resort and I don’t know why I expected a huge welcoming like they do in the TV shows when someone arrives at Hawaii, but we aren’t on TV thank God! Anyway, we enter the building and the entrance is breathtaking. From balcony’s high up and all around are vines coming down everywhere and a huge waterfall. It is incredible. But you know what wasn’t incredible? Waiting 2 and a half hours in the line to check in. At least we made friends with a couple and my huge forehead pimple was attracting the attention of white man... next!

We go eat because our key won’t be ready for another hour, so we go to a buffet. Just in time before we almost collapsed and cried! We had some really good food; we had rice with beans, broccoli and cauliflower and we got to design our own pastas afterwards with croutons followed by some really delicious dessert of cakes; rice cake, red velvet and raspberry merengue with a really unique vanilla ice cream. Delicious alhamdulillah.

We go back to get our keys and that’s another hour right there. We go look for our room and that’s almost another hour but we find it thankfully and when we open the doors our rooms are so cute. So Havana! We get changed and go swimming but first we find these hammocks under the palm trees and we rest. What a beautiful little rest with Sh beside me in the hammock. Then we go to get drinks and I had such a good pina colada it was exactly what I needed. We travel aaaallll the way to the other side of the pool to find the spot with the music and on the way we get checked out by a nasty group of boys that the girls know and they almost followed us for a bit. When we find our spot I sit in the chairs and the girls go to sit by the edge of the pool when I really confident guy swims over and starts talking up all my girls! He even shakes their hands as he introduces himself! Of course though he acts as a wingman because before we know it his other two friends are swimming over and trying to get in on everything. Uhm no. My girls exit the pool and come back to my chair. The guys leave and we go back into the pool.

After coming back to the rooms and getting fresh and cute, we head to this restaurant called Dos Luna that serves Italian food. I wore my red H&M dress and put my hair up like Ariana grande. If my hair wasn’t so frizzy from the humidity I would have felt sweeter than sweet, but even after I put my hair up in a bun I felt really beautiful. The dress was beautiful and it was doing something to me. We had pear pizza with gargonzola and something else, shrimp and pesto fettuccini and spinach and feta cannelloni. Very good but the pizza was my favourite of the three. We then had strawberry cheesecake and chocolate mouse cake for dessert and those were nice too. The servers were kind as well and I can’t believe how hard working they are. They serve and clean in this heat all day everyday with such grace and kindness. May Allah swt bless them all and keep us humble. We came back and Pa and Ru wanted to explore so Sh and Ma went to supervise and I’m glad they did. Iq stayed in her room and I stayed in mine and had a good little time. I played music and cleaned, washed off my makeup and FaceTimed Mal after sending her some videos and photos. I’m so grateful for her alhamdulillah. I should definitely bring back something for all of them but I have no idea what to bring from here!

Anyway I’m writing this from my bed on day 2 as I listen to the sounds of birds I’m not familiar with. It is a beautiful morning and I pray that we continue to be safe and remain humble as we enjoy this gift that has been gifted to us by the Master of all this incredible beauty. Ameen.

[adambstingus]

This Is What Gluten-Free Experts Actually Eat Every Day

If you eat gluten-free, you know how overwhelming, confusing and time-consuming it can feel.

We asked a team of experts ― including a top gluten-free registered dietician, a researcher, a doctor and cookbook authors ― what they really eat. Their insights offer simple suggestions for how to overcome the daily challenges of eating gluten-free.

Remember, eating is personal, so always do it your way.

If you’re following a gluten-free diet, you’re lacking whole grains. Here’s how to substitute for them.

Eating gluten-free can lead to a deficiency of whole grains and put your cardiac health at risk, according to a 2017 heart health study published by British Medical Journal. It’s imperative to find creative alternatives to whole wheat in your diet. What do the experts reach for?

Oats A great source of whole grains and fiber, oats help keep the gut healthy, too. Alessio Fasano, author of Gluten Freedom and founder of the Center for Celiac Research, said that certified gluten-free oats are tolerated by 95 percent of those with celiac disease.

Tiffany Hinton, a blogger at Gluten-Free Mom Certified and author of several cookbooks, said she makes fiber-filled steel-cut oats and mixed berry salad with chia seeds in the morning for herself and her three young girls.

As a busy new mom, Lori Welstead, a registered dietician at the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, prepares overnight oats so breakfast is ready to grab and go.

Dr. Sheila Crowe, director of UC San Diego’s Celiac Disease Clinic, eats oatmeal with nuts to include healthy fats.

Whole grain bread Bread containing sorghum, millet and teff provide gluten-free whole grain health. Welstead recommends Little Northern Bakehouse’s Millet & Chia Bread. It contains 3 g of fiber, toasts up crunchy and is great for sandwiches. The company makes a variety of loaves and buns with ancient and whole grains.

Quinoa A favorite side for Crowe is cooked quinoa sautéed with multicolored peppers, spinach and onions.

Nicole Hunn, Gluten-Free On A Shoestring blogger and cookbook author, admits she doesn’t like quinoa’s texture, but has created a killer quinoa chocolate cake recipe.

Gluten-Free On A Shoestring

You can find this gluten-free quinoa chocolate cake recipe on the Gluten-Free On A Shoestring blog.

Rice is gluten-free, but contains trace amounts of arsenic. Here’s what to eat instead.

Many prepackaged gluten-free products made with rice flour contain some inorganic arsenic. In 2015, Dr. Brian Jackson from the Trace Element Analysis Core Laboratory at Dartmouth worked with Tricia Thompson of the Gluten-Free Watchdog to lead extensive testing of arsenic in rice.

Based on the findings, Thompson told HuffPost, “I am convinced that inorganic arsenic intake among the gluten-free community is a serious concern and it deserves our attention.”

Thompson found the nastiest culprits in rice bran, rice syrup and rice milk. She recommends avoiding or reducing products that contain these ingredients. How do the experts find the right balance?

Try a variety of sides Welstead looks to potatoes, quinoa and polenta as sides instead of rice. When choosing pasta, she likes zoodles and bean or lentil varieties that add fiber.

Thompson admits that she eats rice as a comfort food with dinner twice a week. To provide a range of grains, she chooses pasta made with corn and quinoa and avoids most prepackaged foods. She emphasizes that this choice works best for her, and isn’t right for everyone.

When baking with alternative flours, read the label carefully Most baking mixes and prepackaged flours use rice flour as a base, so the experts bake from scratch.

Welstead and Crowe use alternatives including coconut and almond flours. Hunn, who bakes constantly for her blog and cookbooks, makes a lot of recipes with oats and oat flour.

A little planning goes a long way.

We asked experts for their easy meal suggestions and tips for approaching meal plans.

Instead of weekly planning, Hunn relies on a well-stocked pantry filled with staples to feed her active kids. She said, “People think because of my job, I have dinner in the bag, but the truth is, I’m scrambling to make dinner just like everyone else.” One of her family’s favorite go-to meals is her homemade “rice-a-roni.” “I prep half way to save time,” she said. Before the kids get home, she cuts up boneless, skinless chicken so it’s ready to cook, and her pantry always has the pre-mixed base on hand. The whole meal cooks in one pan and is ready in 30 minutes.

As a celiac who suffered with health problems for years, Hinton found healing though whole foods and is committed eating 6-9 cups of greens a day. Pre-planning gives her peace of mind. Since jarred salads are a mainstay, “prepping the salad jars and berry salad on the weekends makes it easy to take with me and saves time throughout the week.” Don’t limit dinner to tradition. During an especially busy week, Hinton reaches for smoothies or a cold plate with veggies, hummus, and fruit for dinners.

Welstead plans weekly meals with her chef husband, keeping in mind what they have a taste for and produce that’s in season. They grill on the weekend and use the veggies and protein throughout the week. Tacos are one of their favorites. “You can use chicken, fish, pork or grilled veggies for fillings,” she said. Leftovers become enchiladas or nachos. “We like balanced meals that make us feel satisfied and try to eat a rainbow of vegetables.”

Crowe’s favorite simple meal during summer is a Greek salad topped with grilled meat.

On a busy night, Thompson makes hearty bowls filled with rice, black beans, tomatoes, onions, avocados and corn.

Gluten-Free On A Shoestring

Gluten-free blogger Nicole Hunn makes this homemade “rice-a-roni.”

You have several options for gluten-free snacks, either homemade or prepackaged.

On an ideal day, we’d all choose fresh fruits, veggies and hummus, nuts and popcorn to munch. But when life happens, even nutrition experts are human. Here’s how they mix it up.

Hinton suggests thinking of frozen food as snacks. “Frozen fruits and veggies have great fiber and phytonutrients. Flash freezing keeps all the nutrients intact. I munch on frozen peas, mangos and blueberries, especially in the summer.” When in a rush, a favorite snack is Zegosnacks Seed and Fruit Mix-ins. This new product features a scannable label that provides immediate transparency of product testing, a game-changer for gluten-free living.

Welstead makes her own roasted chickpeas. “They take just 10 minutes and have tons of fiber, protein, and contain less fat than nuts.” When on the go, she chooses Saffron Road brand, and was recently pleasantly surprised by BIENA’s dark chocolate variety.

When it comes to snacking, Thompson loves crunch. Determined to reduce her rice intake, she searched for an alternative to rice crackers. Her favorite finds were Skinny Pop Popcorn Mini Cakes and pistachios.

When throwing a gluten-free party, make what you’d normally make for yourself.

Throwing a gluten-free dinner party can seem daunting, but Crowe’s advice puts it into perspective. Her motto for entertaining is, “Make it reflect what you do in real life and no one will even notice it’s gluten-free.”

She recently threw a Canada Day party (she and her husband, both Canadians, share a birthday on that day too). To celebrate, they served a cheese plate, cedar plank salmon with dill sauce, grilled veggies, her favorite quinoa dish, and for dessert, cheesecake with berries. Since beer is not naturally gluten-free, wine is her beverage of choice.

You can shop without losing your mind — or your paycheck.

If you’ve ever compared prices, you know gluten-free packaged goods can be expensive. Here’s how the experts tackle that problem.

Eat seasonal produce All five experts incorporate lots of fruits and veggies daily. Buying produce that’s in season keeps prices reasonable. Look for deals at the store and farmers markets. “I always look at the day-old produce rack for items I will be using in the next two days,” Hinton said.

Welstead and Hinton, both in the Chicago area, enjoy the ease of Imperfect Produce, an ingenious, new delivery service of “ugly” fruits and vegetables. Consumers choose their items, receive home delivery weekly or biweekly, and save time and money (30-50 percent less than grocery store prices). They’re also saving food, water and energy from going to waste. The service is available in parts of California, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and Indianapolis, and quickly expanding.

Online options Thompson buys staples from health-inspired site Vitacost and takes advantage of free shipping by ordering the minimum dollar amount.

Crowe, who regularly speaks at events for gluten intolerance and celiac organizations, notes that staying social and joining a group can lead to benefits like organizing a co-op in your area to buy staples like flour in bulk.

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Try these great resources.

Gluten-Freedom Project Welstead gets inspiration from this meal-planning website. Founded by a family who initially felt overwhelmed eating gluten-free, the site allows users to customize meal plans, generate a shopping list, and find recommended products.

Recipe Revolution This app (available on iOS) is a new tool that will convert any recipe to be gluten-free. Welstead, an avid user of the app, said it was created by someone with celiac disease.

Better Batter Feeling overwhelmed with baking? Use a packaged all-purpose flour instead of mixing your own. Hunn recommends Better Batter for consistent results. Besides being glad the recommendation comes from a gluten-free recipe developer, you’ll also love that the flour is GMO-free, free of 11 top allergens, vegan friendly, and low in arsenic. Dessert, anyone?

RELATED COVERAGE

Surprise! Many Gluten-Intolerant Folks Can Eat Sourdough Bread

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Download

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/this-is-what-gluten-free-experts-actually-eat-every-day/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/184248542622

[5hfanfiction]

Blame It On Bad Luck - Chapter 24

There was an odd sense of familiarity and comfort sitting in Lauren’s car with her. Camila would have assumed it to be much more difficult than it was to fall back into a sort of routine with the raven haired girl but she quickly discovered coming back home was nothing short of unremarkable. It was like she had never left.

At least on her end, anyway. Camila was never accustomed to feeling she quite fit in anywhere she inhabited. And, okay, Dinah’s place while more often than not a touch overcrowded was something close to a second home but it would always remain just that; a second home without even having a first.

Lauren was unwelcoming when she first moved in and there was no other way to describe it. She had made it perfectly clear that Camila was not only unwanted but also an unfathomable burden raining down on her life at the most inconvenient of times as if she had planned it out specifically to spite her. She didn’t belong there and she was going to make sure she was painfully aware of it.

Perhaps it was more subtle than she realized. Because even looking back on the few months living together she couldn’t pinpoint an exact moment in the given time frame where things began to change or when Lauren softened around the edges—so to speak—and put an end to her seemingly never ending crusade to drive her out of there for good.

She didn’t know when Lauren started to be more aware of their living situation, aware of the fact that she wasn’t alone anymore, aware of the fact that she was starting to enjoy her company rather than resent it.

And she couldn’t figure it out either. She couldn’t figure out why certain things started to matter or when. But they both knew that it worked. It worked because somehow they did. It was easy, like they’d lived together for years and it was all of a sudden strange if they didn’t.

Camila pondered this, thought of their weird little home they’d inadvertently made by themselves in such a short span of time, as she watched Lauren drive them away from the record store and to the supermarket nearby to do something as menial and domestic as grocery shopping together.

And it was weirdly content despite everything that had transpired.

Lauren was quiet, uncharacteristically so. She had been ever since Camila walked in through the door with the sole purpose of making sure their overweight cat didn’t starve and nothing else. And if it weren’t for Camila’s countless attempts at conversation, she wouldn’t speak at all.

“I talked to Steve by the way,” was the first thing she had said to the green eyed girl that actually piqued her interest.

“Who?”

“My manager. He wants to meet you sometime this week, if you’re still interested.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. So just stop in whenever, chat him up, kiss some ass…you know, give him the ol’ razzle dazzle,” she said cheerfully, purposefully, eying her roommate through her peripheral for any hint that she was struggling to contain some snarky insult or even just a swift roll of her eyes.

“Um…okay.” Her voice was controlled, her tone calculated, and she kept her gaze on the road with both hands on the steering wheel giving no indication that she even actually heard what Camila had said. She nodded, going along with whatever nonsense she was spewing. “That sounds good.”

“Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“Nothing, you’re just…” she started, the questions and curiosity boiling and burning the tip of her tongue. But she held it, sighed, and shook her head. “Nothing, never mind.”

It was silent again and Camila figured she should probably just get used to it, as weird as it was to come to that realization even only after having spent one day back home with the other girl. She didn’t understand it but felt it was better to just leave it alone.

They wandered through the aisles of the market in an anticipated silence not quite as uncomfortable as the car ride there. Camila found that while she would look over most items, actually selecting things to toss into their cart, Lauren only followed, not really giving anything a second glance, and kept her hands in her pockets and her mouth shut.

“Do you prefer white or whole wheat bread?” she asked randomly, causing green eyes to finally meet brown since they set foot in the market.

“Whatever you want is fine,” she mumbled with as much nonchalance as she could muster. And it worked, for the last dozen items or so at least, as she blindly agreed to Camila’s preference for quite literally everything.

“Lauren, just pick one. You’ve said that for all the stuff we got so far.”

“It’s really not a big deal. I’ll eat whatever.”

“Really, if I bought nothing but, like, cow tongues and pig asshole would you eat that?”

“Do they sell pig asshole? How would that work?”

“Lauren…not the point.”

“I’m just saying.”

“We’re roommates, we don’t have to eat the same things you know.”

“It’s fine,” she insisted for what felt like the hundredth time since they set foot out of the car and into the store. Camila gripped the handle of their cart until her knuckles turned white. “Just get whatever you want.”

“I’m going to scream,” she mumbled under her breath, tossing a loaf of sliced white bread in with the rest of their items, pushing the cart down the aisle in search of sugar. She didn’t know how long she could be yessed to death before she would start to pull her hair out. She pursed her lips and stopped walking. “Can you grab that for me?”

“Of course.” And as expected, without a second thought, she bent down to get the bag of sugar that Camila was more than capable of getting herself while she watched curiously, her eyebrow raised though going completely amiss by the raven haired girl as she placed the sugar in the cart.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

And it was a split second—this moment that she would have missed if she had just blinked her eyes a moment sooner—where the corners of Lauren’s lips curved up in what appeared to be the most genuine form of emotion she had shown all day. And it was over as quickly as it had appeared.

“What do you feel like having for dinner tonight?”

“I don’t know. Anything, really; it doesn’t matter.”

“Right, you’ll eat anything, including pig asshole,” she said as they turned the corner and headed for the produce. She heard her huff not too far behind her.

“I never said I would, I was just saying that-”

“Relax, Lauren, I’m just joking with you.” She placed her hand gently on her arm, her touch warmer and far more comforting than she would bring herself to admit out loud to the brunette. “Lighten up, will you?”

“I am…light. I just-” she began but stopped rather abruptly. “Shit.”

“What? What’s wrong?” Camila asked, brows furrowed almost instantaneously in concern at the tense posture and slightly wide eyes of her disturbed roommate. Before she could ask any other questions she felt her hands grab her by the arm and yank her, quite forcefully, behind one of the many fruit stands.

“Fuck,” she muttered, still holding onto Camila entirely too tightly. She peeked her head out, looking behind the stand and quickly moved back, her eyes squeezed shut tightly and her breathing noticeably more erratic.

“Are you okay?”

“No. Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she kept muttering to herself as Camila tried to turn to see what it was that Lauren was looking out for, what caused her to nearly hyperventilate crouched down on the supermarket floor behind a small mountain of tangerines. “We need to leave.”

“We…what? Why? Who’s here?”

“Brad.”

His name fell from her lips in one rushed syllable, like her body was physically rejecting his name, leaving a cold and bitter taste in its wake. Camila blinked, not making any sense of it until the name rang somewhat familiar and the panicked, semi-nauseous look on her roommate’s face suddenly seemed completely justified.

“Are you sure?”

“I haven’t seen him since high school but yes, Camila, I am sure.”

“Um…okay, just…hang on one sec,” she instructed the raven haired girl who gave no indication that she was anywhere near ready to move back into plain sight and instead remained crouched behind the fruit, trying to take deep breaths through her nose. Camila rose from where they were, feeling Lauren’s grip finally loosen and disappear altogether as she scanned the produce aisle for the vaguely familiar face. “I don’t see him,” she whispered.

“By the bags of salads,” she told her, her eyes glued to the floor. And sure enough, Camila spotted the boy wearing a worn out leather jacket, his brown locks slightly unkempt and lazily stuffed beneath a grey beanie, examining the quality of two bags of baby spinach oblivious to the two roommates on the other side of the produce section.

It was a weird sensation, seeing her roommate’s ex-boyfriend strolling casually through the supermarket knowing just how much damage he had done to the girl still crouched by her leg, unbeknownst to him—along with the pain and suffering he had caused. Camila felt angry and absurdly protective as she involuntarily moved to stand closer to Lauren, keeping her behind her and out of sight.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t see you.” Lauren didn’t respond and just kept staring down, feeling her heart race erratically within the confines of her chest as she tried to swallow past every bit of dryness in her throat. She only snapped out of it when she felt someone’s hand tapping her shoulder. “Okay, he’s gone.”

She didn’t bring her eyes to meet Camila’s although she could feel the weight of her gaze on her heavily—intense yet still so gentle and cautious, just waiting. And although she hated to admit that the mere sight of the father of her child still sent her into a state of absolute dread and anxiety she knew she didn’t possess the willpower to even remotely hold it together.

“Hey, are you okay, Lauren?” she asked her softly when she didn’t say a word. Just blinked rapidly as the corners of her eyes burned angrily until her vision was clouded and she was standing upright, making a beeline to the exit, not giving Camila a second glance or even a moment to get a good look at just how much she seemed to be losing it.

She sighed sadly at the sight of her roommate leaving the supermarket, hoping she would be able to somehow calm herself down and hoping even more that she wouldn’t run into him elsewhere. She stared at the exit for another moment or so before resuming her shopping, a little more quickly than before, ready to get out of there as fast as she could and find Lauren.

She was perched on the curb with a cigarette between her fingertips, almost burnt to the end, when Camila made it back to the car trying to carry all the bags. Without a word, Lauren tossed the butt of her cigarette and took most of the bags from her roommate to help put everything in the trunk of her car.

“Thanks,” she said gratefully to which the green eyed girl simply nodded wordlessly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” She slammed the trunk shut and they both sat in their respective seats in silence as neither of them really knew what to do or say.

“Look, Lauren. I can’t imagine what you went through with him and your daughter. It’s nothing you have to justify or feel bad about if you can’t handle seeing him. Nobody blames you,” she tried when Lauren made zero effort to talk. She heard the unsteady, sharp intake of breath and watched as she dragged her fingers through her dark tresses stubbornly. “You’re only human.”

“It’s been five years. And I still can’t even face him. God, you’d think after all this time especially, especially, after everything he did and said to me I wouldn’t even care. It’s not like he gives a shit. He gets to live his normal life.”

And it might have been what upset her more than she was letting on, at least that’s what Camila was getting a sense of. Because while Lauren was stuck with not only the backlash from all of their peers, but with all of the obligations and the consequences brought on from a decision they were both responsible for.

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that Lauren suffered multiple complications throughout her pregnancy, it wasn’t fair that she survived it all just to endure a painfully dragged out bout of postpartum depression, it wasn’t fair that her depression landed her at the hands of addiction just to feel normal, it wasn’t fair that her life spiraled out of control while walked around, day to day, and he was fine.

“Has he ever tried to contact you?” she asked carefully to her distressed roommate. “You know…after Kayla was born. Did he ever even try to see her?”

“No. He never asked about her. And that kills me. It’s not fair to her. My own daughter can’t have her father because he just doesn’t care. Not that I would ever let him fucking near her.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know what to do, Camz,” she said, her voice cracking a bit at the end. And Camila could tell she was trying desperately to not fall apart again in front of her. “How am I ever going to explain this to her?”

“She’s going to understand one day,” she offered, placing her hand on Lauren’s back, running it up and down slowly as she leaned forward with her forehead on the steering wheel. “It’ll all be okay. Okay? You can’t beat yourself for this every time it comes up.”

“I know,” she mumbled with tired eyes and she turned her head to look at the brunette beside her, her cheek pressed against the wheel. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for your emotions. You’re always allowed to feel them.”

She nodded before letting out a breath, finally realizing the soothing gesture. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and picked her head up, slightly flustered just as Camila retracted her hand, and buckled herself in.

“Come on,” she said, fastening her seatbelt as well while keeping her eyes on the raven haired girl. “It’s starting to get dark. Let’s go home. They were fresh out of pig asshole so I’ll make us tacos for dinner.”

“Shut up,” she mumbled, pulling out of the parking spot. Camila grinned at the weak laugh she offered as she shook her head before glancing over at her. Her gentle smile turned unmistakably appreciative as she added, “Sounds good, Camz.”

*

“It’s just weird, Ally. I mean, I know I haven’t known her that long but I’ve never seen her like this,” Camila spoke into the phone she was trying her best to balance between her ear and her shoulder. She used the heel of her boot to shut her car door, adjusting the strap of her bag on her other shoulder. “I thought maybe she’d…snap out of it or something but it’s been a week.”

“I never thought you’d be complaining about Lauren…being too calm.”

“Well when you say it like that you make it sound so dumb.” She heard the shorter Latina’s laughter over the line while she tried to single out her mail key on the chain. “I don’t want to be all in her business because I mean…okay, yeah, we’re okay and she even started working and things seem fine but…”

“But?”

“I just don’t want to assume things are fine just because they seem fine. You know? Like, she’s been through a lot. You know better than anyone. Was she like this when…you know…” she trailed off awkwardly, upsetting herself with the direction of her sentence. She sighed and grabbed the mail before heading towards the stairs.

“Mila, I know what you’re worried about. I don’t blame you. But honestly? It really just sounds like she’s trying to, I don’t know, behave herself…for your sake.”

“Behave herself?” she asked, scrunching her brows. “Did she say something to you?”

“Not really. But I know how she is. Camila, she probably just doesn’t want you to leave again,” she told her as if it was obvious and Camila remained silent until she reached the sixth floor, taking in her words.

“Really?”

“From what you’re telling me. She’s been quiet with me too when I talk to her but I kind of expected that after everything. But she’s different with you than she is with me. Just try talking to her. It’s not like she can say no to you.”

“I…” she opened her mouth and then closed it shortly after, not even knowing how to respond. On one hand she knew Lauren was doing pretty much anything she asked—not that she asked for much—and it did seem like she was doing everything in her power to please her. But on the other, she was dealing with a lot and more often than not it was nearly impossible to tell what the girl was feeling or thinking. “I mean, kind of, I guess.”

“She’s been worse. You have no idea, like, so much wor-”

“Am I crazy for being this invested, Ally?” she asked randomly, cutting off her friend’s words. She sighed and readjusted her bag strap. “I mean…after everything. Am I stupid for caring?” She took a moment, staring down her hallway, before speaking again. “Sorry, that sounds really messed up; I know she’s your best friend and all, I just-”

“Mila, seriously, I get it. Don’t worry,” she reassured her before taking a brief pause. “You still like her, don’t you?” And the way she said it, it wasn’t even like she was questioning it. Just waiting for confirmation.

“I’m an idiot, aren’t I?”

“She told me about the guitar. And while I want to kill her for being so thoughtless, and I know this might not mean much and it doesn’t make up for her doing what she did, but the last thing she wants is to hurt you.”

“How do you know?” she asked uncertainly. She knew Lauren’s intentions before and she knew them now—somewhat, anyway. She knew she wasn’t the same and she knew their relationship had completely changed over the few months they had known each other. But she also knew that Lauren was a riddle; this complicated mess of words the she could never figure out the rhyme or reason to.

“Because you make her happy,” she answered simply. “And she hasn’t been happy in a really long time.”

It was such a casual sentence, like it was the easiest thing to see. And Camila wondered how much truth there was to it, coming from someone like Ally—someone who knew Lauren better than anyone. She didn’t realize she was smiling until she made it to her door.

“Look, I know she’s a pain in the ass—which is probably why she’s being so weirdly quiet. Talk to her.”

“I’ll try,” she said, finding the right key to let herself in. The lights inside were on and the first thing she saw was Lauren sitting on the floor near her vinyl collection, sifting through them. Her smile involuntarily grew when her eyes landed on her furrowing her brows looking as confused as ever.

“Let me know how it goes. Like I said, she’s probably just nervous. Unless she’s like, crying into her wine listening to Fast Car then you probably don’t have anything to worry about,” she told her, causing the brunette to laugh. The sound caught Lauren’s attention, quickly looking back down at what she was doing when they locked eyes.

“Alright, I’ll talk you later.”

“Bye, Mila. Good luck with your wife,” she said and hung up the phone before Camila could react or even fully process what she said. She stared at the home screen of her phone with her mouth open.

“My…wha-” she stopped herself and shook her head, shoving her phone into her back pocket before tossing the few envelopes from the mailbox onto the table. When she looked up, Lauren was still busying herself with whatever it was she was doing before she walked in.

“Hey Camz,” she offered casually, not even looking up from the cabinet she was searching through.

“Hey.” She set the rest of her stuff down and walked over to the living room and Lauren didn’t even look up or lose that confused look on her face. “What’cha doin’?”

“Trying to find something,” she mumbled, thumbing through more of her vinyls before sighing and sitting back upright, pouting. “Have you seen my Tracy Chapman record?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” she mumbled under her breath before crouching down next to the green eyed girl. “Hey, you want to go do something?” she asked randomly, finally grabbing the girl’s full attention.

“What?”

“I don’t know; you want to go out or something? Like, I mean, go somewhere…that’s…not here…and…yeah,” she stammered—rather ungracefully—shutting her eyes and suppressing a groan at herself and her stupidity.

“I don’t know, Camila…” she said quietly, focusing her attention back on her records before she felt the warmth of her roommate’s hands wrapping around her wrists, pulling her to stand with her.

“C’mon, it’s nice out. I had a long day. Let’s go to that frozen yogurt place by the boardwalk. I’ve been there with Dinah; it’s amazing,” she said while trying to sound as cheerful as possible, hoping some of it would somehow rub off on her roommate, who was looking at her skeptically. “My treat?”

“Oh, you…you don’t,” she faltered, looking down at her feet. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Don’t be stupid, come on, let’s go,” she insisted, pulling her with her towards the door where both of their shoes were. When she let go she turned around and could have sworn she saw the other girl blushing but she wouldn’t look at her. “It’ll be fun. Let’s get the fuck out of this apartment.”

“Okay…yeah, okay,” she decided, sounding more like she was convincing herself than agreeing with Camila. “Sure. Let’s go. But you don’t have to pay. It’s fine, I can-”

“Lauren…”

“What?”

“Shut up.”

The drive there was spent how almost all of their days have been spent; an only somewhat awkward silence with most of the conversation being brought on by Camila while Lauren tripped over her words and looked anywhere but at the girl she was so completely enamored with no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.

And despite Lauren’s numerous—albeit pathetic—attempts to refuse Camila’s generosity, the tiny brunette stuck true to her word and bought them both of their desserts before leading them to walk silently but comfortably along the boardwalk.

Camila couldn’t help but think that Ally might be right. Lauren couldn’t help but think about their date on the very same boardwalk. She thought about how much she wished it didn’t end as horribly as it did.

“Can I ask you something?” Camila started carefully. Almost as soon as the words left her lips she sensed the green eyed girl tensing up next to her.

“Um…sure.”

“What’s going on?”

“With what?”

“With you…” she said, nudging her side slightly, but both of them avoided looking at the other. “With us.”

“What?” she laughed nervously, shaking her head and keeping her eyes down on the cup she was holding. “Nothing…why? Nothing’s going on.” Her brows knitted together, heavy with worry—Camila could tell with only a glance. She sighed, deciding to bite the bullet, and touched her arm gently. They both stopped walking.

“You know I’m not still mad right?”

“You’re…you’re not?” She blinked and looked down again, seemingly debating something with herself—like she didn’t know if she should believe her, as if she hadn’t literally just said so. “But…”

“I was, don’t get me wrong, of course I was. But…I believe you weren’t trying to hurt me. I was upset but like, I’m not a hateful person, Lauren, you know that,” she explained. “I don’t have it in me to be angry like that, especially not forever.”

It was quiet again, minus the other people passing by them which were occasional and fairly infrequent. Lauren tried to come up with anything substantial to say—or literally anything at all, really—but with the way Camila was looking at her it was hard to think of any words.

When she figured Lauren wasn’t going to say anything she added, “Especially not with you.”

“Why?”

“Really, Lauren?” she asked, her expression morphing into amusement easily. “You’re really asking me that?”

It took her a moment, and then another to curse the streetlight they were standing under for giving away the slightly red tint in her cheeks as she averted her gaze to her hands, fidgeting with the plastic spoon.

They said nothing but continued walking, the air between them feeling a bit lighter, the silence comfortable, their smiles content.

“Tell me something,” Camila said randomly, breaking the quiet, as she moved her spoon around the frozen yogurt in her cup. “About you, I mean.”

“What?” Lauren replied, wiping her hand on her jeans. “You already know everything.”

“I do?”

“I-I really can’t think of anything else I could possibly be keeping from you. Like, I’m trying to-”

“No, Lauren, not like that,” she corrected, trying not to laugh at how easily flustered the other girl was getting again. “Just like…I don’t know, something I don’t know. Before everything.” She watched Lauren ponder the thought for a moment, plastic spoon in her mouth held tightly between her teeth before she released it and pursed her lips.

“Um…I don’t know, I wanted to be a vet when I was little,” she offered, staring down at her own cup.

“Did you really?”

“Yeah, like, I thought it would be cool…until I realized I had to deal with sick animals all day and was like, wow that’s so fucking sad, never mind.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

“I guess,” she shrugged, taking another bite of her frozen yogurt. “Not like I’ll ever do that now.”

“Well…what do you want to do now?” It was a simple question, in theory. Both Camila and Lauren were aware everyone gets asked it. But Lauren…when it came down to it…she really had no idea.

“I don’t know.”

“Well aren’t you in school for business?”

“Yeah but like…I don’t know…I figured it’ll be useful no matter where I ended up. I really didn’t plan that far into my future, Camila.”

It wasn’t intentional—on either part. But Camila stopped walking and Lauren froze with her spoon in her mouth before awkwardly coughing and trailing ahead of the brunette, hoping she would just catch up with her.

Camila, sensing her roommate’s discomfort, picked up her pace and resumed their conversation like it hadn’t happened, something Lauren was extremely grateful for.

“What about now?”

“What?”

“What do you want now?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, trying to scoop up as much Cap’n Crunch into her strawberry frozen yogurt as she could gather. “Nothing, really.”

“Nothing?”

“Well, not nothing, but like,” she paused and finally looked up ahead of her—at the blackness of the ocean lining the boardwalk and the night sky before looking over at Camila for the first time since they started walking. “Just…nothing extraordinary.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah like…okay, you know how you have this…set goal? You have a plan. You want to teach little kids…you want to make a difference in their lives growing up and that’s…amazing,” she said, looking back in front of her as they walked. Camila placed her spoon into her cup and stared up at the green eyed girl instead as she went on, admiring the candidness with which she spoke, recalling all the details of their conversations. “But I guess after everything all I want is…normal.”

“Normal?”

“Is that weird? That I would prefer the…ordinary nine to five boring ass job with my family and my kid? It would be so much better than anything I ever expected, that’s for sure. Extraordinary for you is normal. Normal for me is extraordinary.”

Camila let her words hang in the air between them as they walked, thought them over. And over and over. Watched as she averted her eyes once again. Watched as she tried to keep busy with her frozen yogurt, as if it wasn’t important to her. And she surprised Lauren, and even herself, by reaching for one of her hands and holding them in her own.

“I don’t think it’s weird at all.”

“Yeah?” she asked, and Camila felt no hesitation when she answered her.

“Yeah. I think you deserve normal after all this time.”

“I think my daughter deserves it after all this time.”

“I think you both do.”

And even in the dark of the night, Camila could make out Lauren’s smile, as subtle as it was. And Lauren could make out the sincerity in Camila’s words just as much as she could feel it in her gaze. She exhaled through her nose and kept her eyes cast down.

“Thanks, Camz,” she mumbled, ignoring the warmth rising in her cheeks once again, even more prominent in her chest. And the brunette beside her only smiled.

And when she offered a smile back, nudging her as they rounded an appropriate spot in the boardwalk, she felt like nothing had transpired between them before; no lies or hurt—just two people who genuinely cared about each other and it was hard for Lauren not to lean in and kiss her.

But the fact of the matter was just that. Everything that did happen between them happened. And she couldn’t just forget all that she did and all that she felt as a result of that, no matter how hard Camila tried to convince her it was behind them. Why would Camila ever still want anything with her after all of that?

Their conversation was light on the way back home. And it was fine. It was fine when they got back to their apartment. And it was fine the few days following after.

And it was fine until Camila was going to actually tear her hair out with how careful Lauren was still being around her and when she would talk to her—even if it was the most innocent of interactions.

She had to admit, it was endearing for a while—if she was in fact stifling, or behaving, herself for her sake thus far. But it just wasn’t Lauren. The whole quiet and distant, nervous bit wasn’t the green eyed girl she had grown such strong feelings for. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself she would get over her.

And maybe she would have actually convinced herself had she not spent all of her time with the raven haired flustered idiot for the remainder of the week until she couldn’t take it anymore.

Lauren was scrolling through different recommended shows Netflix was suggesting for her when Camila came home that day.

She had an exasperated sigh, matched by the force of her foot kicking the door shut when she carried all of her shit indoors before getting a chance to set everything down on the small dining room table. Lauren barely glanced over, mumbling a solemn hey before focusing her vision back to the television.

Camila rolled her eyes and, anticipating Lauren’s nonchalance, pulled a plastic water gun out of her bag and sprayed the green eyed girl until she stood up from the couch and groaned, “Okay, enough, get up.”

“Camz, what the fuck,” she yelled, standing immediately, trying to shield herself from the onslaught of water. “Stop!”

“Not until you stop being weird!”

“Ah!” she spit some water from her mouth. “What are you talking about?!”

“I'm talking about you being a damn weirdo with me.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. And if you were anyone else you’d be the perfect roommate—probably someone I would have wanted to live with when I first moved in.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“You’re not anyone else. You’re supposed to be my annoying roommate. It’s our thing, remember? You don’t get on my nerves anymore. You don’t insult me anymore. No one’s called me a loser in such a long time; honestly, I’m starting to think I might actually be cool.”

“You’re not,” Lauren mumbled without thinking and Camila’s lips curved into a slight smile.

“Then bug me,” she insisted playfully through gritted teeth, spraying her with more water.

“Where did you even get this?!”

“I confiscated it from a boy at school. Here,” she said, tossing a much smaller plastic water gun at the green eyed girl who just barely caught it. “This one’s been in the lost and found for ages. Consider yourself armed.”

“This is pathetic.”

“The weapon or the war I’m declaring right now?”

“Oh, the weapon, I’m gonna kill you if you don’t-” she yelled, shielding herself from the water as Camila aimed the gun at her again. “Camz! Stop!”

“Fight back!” she yelled dramatically. “You coward, fight back!” And as confused and annoyed as Lauren was she paused and laughed hysterically at her roommate.

She bit her lip and waited for any indication that this wasn’t actually happening and when Camila sprayed her with more water from her plastic gun she bolted off in the same direction as the laughing brunette into the hallway.

“Camz, I swear to God,” she yelled as she chased her roommate, not even caring how many of their neighbors they bothered along the way. Camila stopped at the end of the hall and tried to run around her—somewhat successfully—and dashed passed her arms just barely, only turning behind her to spray her with more water.

“Eat my dust.”

“You’re such a loser,” she called after her while running back to their apartment, making sure to close it behind her, the sound of Camila’s incessant giggling the only thing accompanying her yelling. “This isn’t even fair. You clearly have the better one.”

“Wow, it’s almost as if I did that on purpose.”

“Shut up.”

“Tough shit,” she shrugged carelessly. And instead of trying to spray her with the water again, Lauren just went ahead chucked the plastic gun at her. “Hey!”

“That’s what you get.”

“I buy pizza and beer for us and you throw things at me,” she said, feigning offense and Lauren finally noticed the pizza box and six-pack on the dining table Camila must have been carrying when she came home. “Unbelievable.”

“Truce?” she asked with her hands up, more than willing to cut the nonsense if it meant she could eat pizza.

“Hmm…” Camila bit her lip, the action catching the green eyed girl’s attention and she felt the urge to kiss her again even stronger than before. “No.” She was snapped out of her one way staring contest with her roommate’s mouth when she felt her spray her with water again.

“Camz!” She ducked her head and ran towards the couch, grabbing a throw pillow to use as a shield, and chased the laughing brunette around their small apartment. “Enough!” she yelled, grabbing her by the waist but slipping on the water on the hardwood, and sent them both to the floor. “Ow, fuck.”

“Well that was graceful.”

“That was entirely your own damn fault,” she countered from beside her, lying on her back. She shut her eyes and groaned at the pain. “I hope you’re pleased with yourself.” She opened her eyes and looked over at the girl grinning back at her, clearly amused. “Who am I kidding, of course you are.”

“You’re dying to tell me I’m annoying, aren’t you?”

“You’re testing my patience.”

“Tell me I’m annoying,” she continued, smiling wider to push her buttons and poking her in her side. Lauren rolled her eyes and grabbed her hand to stop her but couldn’t contain her own smile if she tried.

Because as she lied there on the floor beside Camila, hair and clothes slightly wet, she couldn’t believe how a person could be so beautiful. And she couldn’t believe how someone as beautiful as Camila would feel anything for someone like her. But she was right there. She was there and she was beautiful and Lauren couldn’t stop smiling.

“I hate you,” she said, her voice coming out as a soft breath as she laughed and shook her head.

“I know.”

The two of them stayed like that for a moment or so, not moving any closer but not moving away either. Neither of them got up and neither of them said anything, Lauren still holding Camila’s hand. And it was more than fine.

It was more than fine when Lauren felt her heart race and it didn’t send her into a panic. It was more than fine when Camila was looking at her like that again, when she thought for sure she would never even look at her at all anymore.

“Hey, Camila?” she asked, her voice quiet, as she stared up at the ceiling.

“Yeah?”

She licked her lips, feeling her next words in every nerve ending of her body, pulsing through her veins, taking all the air out of her lungs. “I really want to fucking kiss you.”

It was like she was watching herself, not quite sure how they ended up there but hanging on the edge of her seat waiting for something to happen. Her heart pounded, felt like it was going to stop at any second, as the sentence floated in the air between them.

“Hey, Lauren?”

“Yeah?”

Camila watched Lauren take in a breath, still looking up. But she turned her head when she felt the touch of her hand, soft and safe, fingers gently tracing the yellowing bruise on the otherwise smooth porcelain skin of her wrist. Lauren shut her eyes, felt like she could die right then, consumed by everything that was Camila.

“I really fucking want you to kiss me.”

*    *    *    *

a/n: does this still count as a fast update? who even am i

i really appreciate the people who have reached out to me either on here or on twitter, to tell me they enjoy the story or they’ve recommended it to people. i love seeing what people have to say so it’s been really nice

hope you enjoyed the update, feel free to let me know what you think (of the chapter or the story so far), and of course, thank you for reading

-lex (twitter/tumblr: manhatanproject)

[functionalfood]

A Mindful Food Shopping List.

Kyle, the head coach at Crossfit City Limits (the gym that I go to) suggested that I should put out a shopping list for those who are in his MOMENTUM program..  I didn’t know where to start just because there is so much information that I had to go back to and gather data from.  

Luckily, the universe listens and are willing to share.  I woke up to a message from Lauren (not including her last name for privacy purposes)  saying that she made this spreadsheet of items that have been in her rotation while keeping a healthy lifestyle and asked if I was interested.  Of course I said yes, and I was interested.  She gave me her blessing to share this information with you and hopefully it can go to good use for a better future. I stuck some notes on the bottom, whether they are short stories or fun facts about ingredients.  I’ll be posting some more recipes and recommendations soon!

Protein Sources:  Where to find them in the grocery store:  Meat Aisle, Dry Goods, Canned Goods Chicken Breasts Pork Ribeye Ground Beef Ground Turkey Cheaper Beef Cuts (Skirt, Round, Shoulder) Salmon Canned Tuna Lentils Beans Chickpeas Edamame Cottage Cheese Greek Yogurt Plant Based Protein Powder Eggs  Turkey Breast Vegetables: Where:  Produce Section Rainbow Chard Spinach Kale Collard Greens Arugula Asparagus Broccoli Cauliflower Brussels Sprouts Red Cabbage Bokchoy Celery Avocadoes Carrot Bell Pepper Beets Green Peas (a quick note on peas, frozen is better since they are frozen once they are frozen right after they are shucked out of the shell, preserving their flavor better.) Mushrooms

Fruits Where:  Produce Section Blueberries Strawberries Raspberries Banana Apples Mango Pineapple Cherries Watermelon Nuts and Seeds: Where:  Healthy food section, or Baking and Pastry (because people like nuts in their pastries.  Logic, right?) Flaxseeds Chia Seeds Pumpkin Seeds Sunflower Seeds Cashews Walnuts Hazelnuts Almonds Macadamia Nuts

Carbohydrate Sources (NOT GRAINS!) Potatoes Butternut Squash Spaghetti Squash Zucchini Lentils Beans (Lentils and Beans are used as protein sources by vegetarians or vegans, but sometimes can be seen in a meal accompanied by protein - think pork and beans - which would either make it a supplemental protein or a carbohydrate.  Honestly asking if lentils or beans is a protein or a carbohydrate it’s almost like asking if a hotdog is a sandwich... I just love setting the world on fire sometimes.) Flavor Makers: Lemons Limes Oranges Graperfruit (For the citrus mentioned above, you can always use the zest!  Either grab a microplane or a peeler and take the colored part off without getting too much of the pith, which is the white part of the citrus and use it in your cooking/flavoring.)

Avocado Oil Sesame Oil Balsamic Vinegar Apple Cider Vinegar Almond Milk (I stopped drinking real milk at some point during my life.  Not that I’m lactose intolerant because I love cheese and the occasional ice cream pint.  But when I was cooking for Adam, I saw Almond Milk in his fridge and looked at the nutritional facts - it has a third of the calories that regular milk has, and when I tried to make pastry cream with it with the recipe that I got from my apprenticeship, it was totally fine.)

Coconut Milk Coconut Cream Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste)

[edgewaterfarmcsa]

CSA WEEK 2

pick list

Spinach - Garlic Scapes - Cucumber - Cilantro Tops - Dill - Rhubarb - trial carrot nubbins - 

Kitchen Pint - Strawberries!! - Summer Squash Garnish - Potted Parsley

Strawberry season has begun and even I (the eternal optimist) am having a hard time seeing the positive in this berry crop- don’t get me wrong, the flavor is excellent and there is abundance out there- it’s just not wildly abundant as previous years.  Strawberries dripping off the plant is what we’ve become accustomed to and so far, with such a slow start, we are still waiting on that extreme abundant strawberry drip. Feeling pretty overwhelmed and exhausted by this, I passed the computer to Ray and said, “here, you tell everyone why the start of the season is slow to harvest.”  Ray writes:

It has been a challenging growing season thus far overall, but particularly frustrating with strawberries and here is why (we think). An unusually dry start to the season last spring (2018) they started slow- although after watering and weeding them regularly we thought they looked decent going into last october. Then bam first week of november dumps snow and they never saw the light of day till late april. We covered them with mulch in the Fall, then uncovered the mulch 2nd week of april to find the bulletproof snow was still there. At that point we were still optimistic but April and May didn’t prove to shine enough sunlight or offer enough heat to size the plants before they went into the fruiting phase. So now we are in the end of june and unseasonably late strawberry is underway! We are still hopeful for an average berry season although the clock is running…. We will know better in two weeks of the outcome. Maybe blueberries will pick up the slack?

Bottomline, relish each and every strawberry you eat this Summer as these seasonal gems worked pretty hard to get here. Again, the crop may not be an overall success as years prior, but holy hell are they as sweet as ever.  Also, I am uncertain of the opening day for our PYO patch as the fields are STILL RIPENING, but stay tuned!  

TIPS - TRICKS - RECIPES:  

Make the following recipe!  It’s entirely mandatory. Bonus, this stuff freezes beautifully, so don’t feel committed to eat it all right away.  This is one of our winter staples we make a ton of and keep in our chest freezer to enjoy all winter long. The recipe says eat with spaghetti or bread, but don’t stop there- slab it on your eggs, use it for a salad dressing base, dollop it in your winter soups, etc…  And if you do make a ton to freeze, make sure that however you are packaging it, leave room at the top of the container for the pesto to expand. (we pack ours in mason jars, and have run into many a broken pesto filled jar. (1“ of space at the top should suffice).  

Garlic Scape Pesto 

YIELD About 1 cup

The star of this pesto is the garlic plant’s under-appreciated second offering: the fleeting garlic scape. The ingredients are straightforward except for the substitution of sunflower seeds for pine nuts. The seeds are a fraction of the cost and do the job just as well. A food processor is a must for this recipe. For pesto, ingredient order matters. Start with the scapes and process for about 30 seconds. Add the seeds until they are broken down and mixed well with the scapes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula for wandering bits. Next, pour in the olive oil. If you have Parmesan cheese in chunks, add it now, but if it is grated, wait until the scapes and seeds smooth out. If you’re serving right away, add the basil and lemon juice. If not, hold back on the basil for now — otherwise the pesto will lose its vibrant color. Add generously to cooked spaghetti or spread on crusty bread.

SUMMER SQUASH GARNISH:  No surprise here, our squash plants have been a little stressed out by all the season has brought them thus far, thus they’ve produced mini squashes (this happens as a reaction to the stress- it’s a way for the plant to say- hey world i’m still here- let me flower and fruit before i die).  By picking off these little bits, the massive amount of energy it takes for the squash to produce this teeny fruit goes back into the plant and the plants really benefit from this. How to use your mini squashes? Eat fresh- throw in whole to your frittata as a garnish- or grab a teeny stone and set up as bowling pins in your fairy garden- ask your 3-7 year old about this, they will know what to do.  

CILANTRO TOPS: Your cilantro!  Like the summer squash garnish, we cut this for you as an added bonus to your CSA share, while simultaneously doing a favor to the crop.  By cutting back the cilantro, it stops the crop from going to seed, and gives it new life. It may not look like your classic cilantro- but it is every bit as good.  The leaves here are more wispy as this is what it looks like in a mature state. Toss in everything!

POTTED PARSLEY:  Plant these babies in full sun, water as necessary

POTTED DELICATA:  Because unless you join our FALL CSA (details for that sign-up in August) you won’t see a lot of winter squash in these shares.  Here is an opportunity to plant your own!! Plant these babies in full sun- they love well drained soil.  

Creamed Coconut Spinach

Martha's Omani-inspired creamed spinach spices things up with coconut milk, fresh ginger, cumin, and a touch of jalapeno.  Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons ghee

20 ounces flat-leaf spinach, washed and drained

2 shallots, halved and sliced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons minced jalapeno chile

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinch of sugar

1 cup coconut milk

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat scant 1 tablespoon ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain spinach in a sieve, pressing to remove excess liquid. Let cool slightly, then roughly chop.

2. Return pan to medium heat and melt remaining 2 tablespoons ghee. Add shallots, ginger, and jalapeno and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in flour, cumin, and sugar and cook for 1 minute, then slowly whisk in coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Stir chopped spinach into coconut mixture and season with salt and pepper.

[lotsofdogs]

Crowd Pleasing Crustless Vegetable Quiche

This recipe for Crowd Pleasing Crustless Vegetable Quiche is as easy to make as it is delicious. Packed with vibrant vegetables and savory shredded cheese, it’s a recipe worthy of a special occasion or a lazy Sunday morning brunch with family. Thank you so much to ALDI for sponsoring this post!

Whenever my extended family gets together for a party or a special event of some kind, I always seem to walk away with a handful of recipes I want to make again at home. We’re a family who loves to eat and I know I can always count on my Aunt Laurie for amazing crowd-pleasing recipes. She’s a social butterfly who constantly seems to be hosting some kind of a gathering in her home, whether it be something casual like a small group meeting of couples from her church or something a little more involved like a baby shower or holiday party.

During the hybrid baby shower/baby sprinkle my Aunt Laurie hosted for me and my sister back in April, the food we ate all weekend was fantastic. A few standouts stole the show for me and I quickly found myself requesting recipes to take home with me to make again for our family and friends. This crowd pleasing crustless vegetable quiche is one of them!

Made with fresh vegetables, eggs and cheese, it’s an easy recipe to make and one that’s simple enough to whip up on a lazy Saturday morning but delicious enough to save for a special occasion brunch. I switched things up a little bit from my Aunt Laurie’s original recipe and my version incorporates a few more veggies, spices and eggs but it’s still just as vibrant and fluffy as the original.

To make this quiche, I first swung by ALDI to stock up on an assortment of organic produce, organic cage free brown eggs, pink Himalayan salt, organic cayenne pepper and their new organic shredded cheese and organic almond milk products.

By now you guys know I am an ALDI super fan because of the store’s unbelievably low prices on organic fruits and vegetables (you simply cannot beat them in our area) and I feel like every time I pop into ALDI, I’m finding a new healthy item to grab for our family to try. In addition to organic produce, I’m constantly adding items from the SimplyNature line of products at ALDI, made without any artificial flavorings or colors, to my cart. I love seeing the selection of organic options at ALDI grow and grow. ALDI also recently expanded their everyday product selection to feature a wider variety of choices, including everything from milk alternatives (like SimplyNature Organic Almond Milk) and fresh butternut squash or zucchini noodles to quinoa bowls and organic cheese offerings like the SimplyNature Organic Mozzarella Shredded Cheese I used in this quiche. Oh and Chase is still 100 percent obsessed with SimplyNature Organic Shells & White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese. I should probably just go ahead and buy that stuff by the case.

But back to the quiche! Once I had everything I needed to make this crustless vegetable quiche, the recipe came together in a flash.

If you are hoping to make this quiche to feed a crowd, the first few steps can be prepped ahead of time. It’s a great recipe to partially make before guests arrive or wake up in the morning because once the vegetables are sautéed and the egg mixture is ready, all you have to do is pour it into a pie dish and allow it to bake in the oven for 45 minutes. My advice: Prep the veggies and combine them with the cheese and eggs and cover it up the night before you want to make it, that way you can simply pour everything into a pie dish and enjoy slowly sipping your hot coffee or tea with family and friends while breakfast bakes away and makes your kitchen smell heavenly!

Crowd Pleasing Crustless Vegetable Quiche

Save Print

Crowd Pleasing Crustless Vegetable Quiche

Author: Julie

Recipe type: breakfast, brunch

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  45 mins

Total time:  1 hour

Serves: 6 servings

  Packed with vibrant vegetables and savory shredded cheese, this vegetable quiche is a recipe worthy of a special occasion or a lazy Sunday morning brunch with family.

Ingredients

½ Organic Onion, diced

1 Organic Red Bell Pepper, diced

⅔ cup baby portabella mushrooms, diced

3 cups SimplyNature Organic Baby Spinach

1 tablespoon Countryside Creamery Butter

2 cups SimplyNature Organic Mozzarella or Mexican Shredded Cheese

5 SimplyNature Organic Cage Free Brown Eggs

2 tablespoons Baker’s Corner All Purpose Flour

1⅓ cup SimplyNature Organic Original Unsweetened Almond Milk

½ teaspoon Stonemill Pink Himalayan Salt

½ teaspoon SimplyNature Organic Garlic Powder

¼ teaspoon Stonemill Pure Ground Black Pepper

Small dash SimplyNature Organic Cayenne Pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sauté onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and spinach in butter over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent and spinach is fully wilted.

While the vegetables cook, toss cheese and flour together.

Combine eggs, almondmilk, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper together.

Add cheese and vegetables to egg mixture and stir thoroughly to combine.

Pour into a pie dish sprayed with cooking spray, sprinkle with additional salt and pepper and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Allow quiche to rest for 30-45 minutes before slicing and serving.

3.5.3240

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 227 calories / Fat: 15g / Carbs: 7g / Fiber: 1g / Sugar: 1g / Protein: 16g / Sodium: 503mg

Recipe Notes

This is another recipe that can be easily adapted to your personal tastes and can help use up whatever vegetables you may have on hand. Consider adding chopped broccoli or kale in place of the spinach. Use your favorite cheese in place of the shredded mozzarella or Mexican cheese. (I love this quiche with a sharp cheddar cheese and you can easily find a ton of different deliciously creamy cheeses at ALDI, including Mild Cheddar, Colby Jack, Italian Blend, Taco Style, etc.!) If you make any swaps you end up loving, please let me know so I can give them a try in the future!

Question of the Day

What is one of your favorite go-to recipes to make if you’re going to whip up something delicious for brunch?

[Read More ...] https://www.pbfingers.com/crustless-vegetable-quiche/

[crossfit416]

New Post has been published on CrossFit 416

Short on Time? That's No Excuse.

I’ve decided to put together for you a list of Toronto’s best and healthiest take out restaurants that will help you stay on track while you’re on the go. These restaurants are scattered around the city so wherever you may be and wherever you’ve going, there’s an option for you.

IQ Food Co.

With multiple locations around the city and a few in the financial district, this is a great option for those running in between meetings who need a good pick-me-up.

http://www.iqfoodco.com/nutrition/

Location:100 King St. W 100 Wellington St. W 181 Bay St. 18 York St. 55 Avenue Road

What we’d order:

THE SPICY SALMON Oven roasted steelhead salmon, avocado, roasted sweet potatoes, shredded red cabbage, charred broccoli, pickled onions, organic microgreens, lime juice, spinach, brown rice, sriracha vinaigrette *This option is gluten free and also high protein with a great dose of Omega 3 to help with inflammation. *Ask for dressing on the side and dress with half the amount if you’re managing your fat intake

THE NOTORIOUS G.R.E. SMOOTHIE Spinach, kale, cucumber, parsley, celery, lemon juice, chia, coconut water + pineapple (pro tip: remove the pineapple if you’re looking for straight greens)

ADD A BOOSTER! PROTEIN (WHEY // VEGAN) |

For tracking purposes: add 1 tbsp olive oil to account for hidden fats potentially used to roast the potatoes or the salmon

Fresh Restaurants

Toronto’s original source for modern vegan food, made-to-order juice and organic, raw, cold-pressed juices and nut milks.

http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/fresh/

Location: 147 spadina ave.

What We’d Order:

PURE GREENS & PROTEIN Steamed kale, bok choy & swiss chard

, marinated tofu cubes & adzuki beans, toasted nuts, lemon and tahini dressing, dressing on the side *This dressing is high fat

. Ask for it on the side or simply sub with lemon juice and balsamic vinaigrette.

RADIANT KALE SMOOTHIE kale•romaine•spinach•apple•ginger•lemon•banana•raw almonds *Added Vega protein boost

Spark Fresh Bar

Spark, formerly Fueled Espresso and Fresh Bar, opened across from the Ossington subway station in place of an old convenience store. It offers commuters a bit of morning zing caffeine, fresh juice or smoothies, or stop by later in time for lunch and dig in to one of their rice boxes or hearty salads.

http://sparkfreshbar.ca

Location: 739 ossington avenue

What We’d Order:

CRUNCH BOWL Almond Lime dressing, carrots, fennel slaw, beets cucumber, tomatoes, pickled onion, smoked hummus, avocado, mixed nuts *add 1-2 eggs

*If you’re watching your fat intake, hold the mixed nuts, avocado or both. Dressing on the side.

BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE Oats, banana, peanut butter, cinnamon vegan protein agave, almond milk *add extra protein boost

  Flock Rotisserie and Greens

With multiple current locations and a couple new ones on the way, this is a fantastic choice for those who are looking for a great source of naturally raised, freeof hormone and antibiotic chicken.

http://www.eatflock.com

Locations: 330 adelaide st w 97 harbord st 67 richmond st 175 bloor st 661 university ave

What We’d Order:

POWER FLOCK

Romaine Hearts & Baby Spinach, Steamed Squash, Marinated Black Beans, Daikon, Pickled Onions, Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Soy Beans, Cilantro, Goji Berries, Crispy Chick Peas, Sunflower Seeds with Carrot/Ginger/Soy Bean/ White Miso Dressing *add chicken

On the side: Steamed Edamame * A great clean source of protein

Impact Kitchen

CrossFitters, Paleo lovers, this one’s for you. Impact Kitchen offered minimally processed, nutrient dense real food that’s paleo. They also offer lots of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. If you’re not following a paleo diet, Impact still offers great options providing you with balanced, wholesome meals on the go.

http://www.impactkitchen.ca

Location: 573 King St E, Toronto

What We’d Order:

BUILD YOUR OWN MACRO BOWL

Protein: steak or chicken or falafel or salmon

Greens: arugula or spinach

Carb: roasted sweet potato or quinoa or rice

Dressing: balsamic & olive oil or lemon & olive oil * dressing on the side – just balsamic hold the oil if you’re cutting fat

I also recommend checking out their collagen chocolate pudding. It’s nothing like anything I’ve ever had before and so delicious.

The Big Carrot

The Carrot Kitchen is The Big Carrot Natural Food Market’s new eatery and food service department. They are proud to serve our community fresh, local and organic dishes.

Daily our cooks create a healthy selection of fresh, innovative dishes with ingredients sourced from many local farmers and producers. They use organic ingredients when ever possible.

With a variety of dishes suitable for many specific dietary needs including vegan, vegetarian, paleo, made without gluten and/or dairy, there’s something for everyone.

In addition to traditional vegetarian dishes, theres a new  food service concept including:

Salad Bar, Hot Food Bar, Sandwich Bar, Taqueria, 4 daily soups and stews, Dozens of Grab & Go snacks and meals, Rotisserie Organic Chicken,Pastries and Desserts

https://thebigcarrot.ca/home/

Location: 348 Danforth Ave

  What We’d Order:

We’d go for a bowl filled primarily with greens and lean protein. Prioritizing nutrients and protein first will help keep you fuller, longer.  Thena carb source (roasted potatos, sweet potato or a half cup of a rice dish on the side, or a bean dish) with light balsamic dressing drizzled on top. Having access to a self serve salad bar provides you with tons of options but it’s easy to get carried away. Stick to simple foods so you know exactly what you’re eating.

The Goods

The Goods offers vegan, organic, gluten free and nut free options. They offer raw, paleo, low glycemic, sugar free, grain free, soy free options. Really, it couldn’t get cleaner.

https://thegoodsisgood.ca

Location: 1255 Dundas Street West

What We’d Order: THE DUWEST CHILI Spicy and hearty chili with tomato, peppers, spices, brown rice, black eyed peas, kale, corn, peas, celery, leeks and carrots *Black beans give you a good dose of protein while chili is the best for this time of year!

  XO Bisous

http://www.xobisous.com

Location: 60 Adelaide St. East, Toronto

What We’d Order: The frittata (subbed with egg whites, if available) The Harvest salad with addition protein and the vegan protein bar

The Grow Op

“This is the Grow Op. Where good juice isn’t bought, it’s grown. By farmers who produce better produce. The stuff nature intended. Because sometimes being better is just that simple“

http://www.thegrowop.ca

Location: 222 Ossington Ave Toronto

What We’d Order:

SMOOTHIE Pineapple/Spinach/Apple/Chlorella/Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

*add 2x hemp protein for a boost

ZUCCHINI NOODLE SALAD raw zucchini noodles/ roasted almond slivers / green onion / sesame seeds / cilantro / baby spinach/ vegan bean ball / house made almond butter dressing *tip: for extra protein, ask for falafel balls on the salad *for less fat, ask for dressing on the side

Garden Gangsters

Previously called Evolution Food Co. you can walk in or Uber Eats from these guys providing you with anything from acai breakfast bowls, breakfast toast, salad bowls and smoothies.

  http://gardengangsters.com

Location: 12 Market St. 171 East Liberty st. 127A

What We’d Order:

CORFU CRUSH BOWL Quinoa, greens, cauliflower, tomato, caramelized onion, sweet pepper, feta, mint, roasted bell pepper vinaigrette. *add chicken for protein

SAPPHIRE SOLACE OAT BOWL Overnight oats, vanilla almond milk, greek yogurt, vanilla bean, blueberry, blueberry drizzle. *(pro tip, add your own protein powder into the mix and make it a high protein breakfast)

The Basil Box

The place is for those of you who like OPTIONS! With multiple locations (and even more soon), and the ability to create your own dish, Basil box provides us with tons of fresh ingredients you can put together into your own custom dish.

http://www.thebasilbox.com

Locations: 351 Yonge Street 441 Queen Street West 410-466 Bathurst Street opening soon 200 Bay St, Toronto opening soon

What We’d Build:

Spring Mix

This nutrient-rich mix of baby lettuces, greens, and radicchio blends slightly bitter flavours with soft, tender leaves and crisp textures. It’s a great place to begin your box.

Sautéed Peppers

Red and green bell peppers sautéed with a pinch of salt and pepper. Classic and colourful.

Roasted Edamame

Garden-fresh edamame oven-roasted to bring out the full flavour of these tasty vegetables.

Lemongrass Chicken

Tender chicken, marinated daily with an exotic blend of lemongrass, garlic and coriander.

or

Chili Lime Shrimp

We cook our succulent shrimp with Sriracha chili sauce and fresh lime juice for shrimp with a bit of a kick!

Our Sweet Chili Lime sauce packs a punch. We combine chili peppers and fresh lime juice to bring some heat to our sweet sauce. *on the side

Pickled Veggies

This colourful blend of pickled carrots & daikon radish is refreshingly sweet and tart.

  We hope that the next time you’re on the go, you choose one of these TASTY and QUICK options.

  For more ideas on how to live a more healthy, balanced lifestyle while living a busy life, contact robyn@416lifenutrition.com to book your FREE consultation to chat all things nutrition and lifestyle.