Posts from — April 2010

I come from a Jewish-Irish-Catholic-Italian family, so during Easter, our family dinners are basically one step away from sandwiching lasagna in between two pieces of matzah.

For this reason, I tried to keep things a bit healthy the day before, so after Saturday’s bike ride, Michal and I headed over to a cafe aptly named Catch a Healthy Habit.

The cafe, which adheres to the philosophy of only eating “raw”, gives the customer a unique dining experience which is not easily accessible in these parts (nor in any other parts for that matter).

To understand what “eating raw” actually means, I recommend reading a quick article on raw foods here.

When we first arrived at the Cafe, Michal and I were hungry, tired, and extremely thirsty from biking, so we started with some fresh juices. We chose the “Kalelicious,” which was Kale, Carrot, and Celery, and the “Blood,” which was beet, red apple, lemon, and ginger.  I love how rich the colors are…

I also like how they make everything right out in the open, so you get to see how beautiful the produce is.

For my meal, I had the Pasta Primavera which was zucchini noodles, spring vegetables, tomato sauce, and pesto topped with Rawmesan.

The dish tasted incredible, and as you’ll clearly notice from the above close-up shot, this food is extremely fresh.

Michal chose to have the Caesar Salad which was romaine, Caesar dressing, nori strips, avocado, rawmesan, and garlic croutons. He also added vegan “crab cakes” to the salad.

For our raw dessert, we ordered one s’more and one brownie. Michal and I both loved the S’more, but he found the brownie to be a bit too rich. I on the other hand have never experienced the sensation of a dessert being “too rich,” so I was a huge fan of the taste and texture, and had no qualms with finishing it off myself.

Although I don’t foresee myself ever going completely raw, I have a strong appreciation for this type of vegan diet, and it’s definitely inspired me to  try and eat less processed foods (I even bought a bag of raw almonds to keep at my desk at work).

All and all, this was a fun little food adventure, and I will definitely be back to try more.

Today was just one of those days where a bike ride seemed like the only thing one should do, so after a few phone calls, Michal and I managed to secure some borrowed bikes.

We also swiped the below book from my father, who basically takes my philosophy on adventures to a whole new level (such as yesterday, when he climbed one of the highest peaks in New York through three feet of snow and then trekked back down through a river–all in shorts and a t-shirt).

After reading through some of our options we decided on Old Mine Park in Trumbull, CT which is an old rail road that runs for about 11 miles. I’m happy to report that we made the right choice, because this is probably the most fun I’ve had on a bike since some of the rides I did in North Carolina last August.

The bike trail is stunning, and you cross through so many types of terrain: flat, paved, hills, gravel, bumps, woods, mud, etc…

Since the trail is broken up into sections, it’s also the perfect place to do a short ride or a long ride. Michal and I knew we wanted to make it epic, so we parked at the very start of the trail and did the entire course. The trip took us a little over two hours, but that’s because we stopped along the way to take pictures and explore the area.

I also managed to find the coolest car ever….

That’s right, I’ve finally found a car thats proportional to my height.

On the car ride home, Michal and I reflected a lot on the incredible bike ride we had just experienced, and how if it weren’t for this blog, we wouldn’t have pushed ourselves to experience something completely new.

I had grown up in Fairfield, a mere three exits away from this park, and yet I was just discovering it for the first time today.

There are two things I now know for certain:

1) Pushing yourself to discover local adventures will have a profound impact on your happiness

2) I need to buy a bike

I live for Saturday mornings, especially the sunny ones where by 9am it’s warm enough to enjoy breakfast outside.

On this mornings menu was homemade Pumpkin and Flaxseed Oat Bran with lots and lots of strawberries (I had already eaten about 7 by the time this picture was taken).

Pumpkin and Flaxseed Oat Bran Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup almond milk (any type of milk will do)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2  cup oat bran (I used Trader Joe’s Natural Toasted Oat Bran)
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 tbs. of Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal
1 tbs. of Pumpkin Spice (also Trader Joe’s)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Sweetener of your choice (I like agave syrup, brown sugar, and stevia)

Directions: Bring water and milk to a boil. Add all ingredients; reduce heat to low. Cook for about 10 minutes (or until it thickens), then serve. Feel free to garnish your bowl of oats with whatever you like (I topped mine with a scoop of peanut butter and strawberries).

If you hate oatmeal, I apologize for subjecting you to so much of it on this blog, but I tend to go through food phases, and right now I am all about being the poster child for fiber. Plus, this blog is about what makes me happy, and this morning this is what made me happy….

Sunlight and Oats

I have a pretty big day planned out. Michal and I decided that for today’s adventure we’re going to go on an epic bike ride (all we need to find are bikes and a cool location).

Welcome to Part 3 of The Poor Girls Beauty Trifecta. If you need to get caught up, here is Part 1 and Part 2.

In this last entry, I’ll be talking about….

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil is best known as a cooking product, so you’ll only find it in the baking section or supplement section of most grocery stores. I purchased the above Jarrow Formulas jar at Whole Foods for just 8 dollars.

Since it’s a sunny 65 degrees outside right now, I want to make this entry as brief as possible, so I’m going to provide some links to some great articles I first read about using coconut oil as a replacement for all of my face and body creams (along with my conditioner).

Why is coconut oil the only type of oil you should use on your skin?

Coconut Oil for your Skin and Hair

Livestrong.com recommends Coconut Oil

If you search around the internet a bit more, you will see that the amount of articles and research that has been done on coconut oil is vast, and like me, you might be confused as to why you’ve never heard of it before.

I think the answer lies in the fact that the beauty industry doesn’t really want you to know about it, because then everyone would just go out and buy a huge tub of coconut oil for under 10 dollars. In fact, after looking at the ingredient labels of the creams I used to use, I found coconut oil as a main ingredient in almost half of them.

Since using coconut oil, my skin feels great, and although it seems like the type of product that would clog pores, I have not broken out once since I started using it over three months ago. I also use it in my hair as a pre-shower hair mask, and I sometimes use it on dry hair to get rid of flyaways (just use a dot though, or else it will be too greasy). It smells incredible too (sort of like if Smith’s Rosebud Salve were to come out with a coconut flavor).

All and all, it is an extremely gender-neutral and versatile product, and keeping a tub of it in your bathroom will help eliminate a lot of other over priced products.

Here’s a view from the inside:

As you’ll notice, it’s very solid, but over time the heat of the bathroom helps turn the top layer into a Vaseline-like texture.

I keep meaning to buy a second jar just for baking, because I love the taste of coconut, and I bet this stuff would taste insane in homemade cookies or oatmeal. I also keep coming across articles on the endless health benefits of incorporating it into your cooking.

So there you have it, THE ULTIMATE POOR GIRLS BEAUTY TRIFECTA….

If you ever have any questions on using any of these three products, or want to know a bit more about my experiences with them, feel free to email me at caitlyn@thetinyadventurer.com

Alright, I’m off to try and fit in a few outdoor adventures before this gorgeous day is over.

If you missed Part 1 of this series, you can read it here.

In part 2 of this series, I’ll be talking about….

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap

I re-discovered this product really recently. And when I say re-discovered, it’s because when I was a Junior in college I decided to rebel against society and get my lip pierced, and Dr. Bronner’s was the soap the tattoo parlor made me purchase to wash the piercing until it healed.

So in retrospect, it was because of Dr. Bronners that I was able to pull off the “I’m so different and unique, I swear!” look.

Me circa 2006

Sadly, the end of my lip ring marked the end of Dr. Bronner.

I didn’t come across it again until last month at Whole Foods, when I went searching for a multi-purpose soap that was all natural with no synthetic foaming agents or preservatives (my skin is extremely sensitive). While scanning the aisle, I immediately recognized the Dr. Bronner soap again, because they have a very distinct label which sort of looks like someone tried to transcribe the Old Testament onto it. I figured if it was once mild enough to put on a lip piercing, it was worth giving another shot.

I’ve now been using if for over a month, and I’m really happy with it. Although an all natural soap with no-foaming agents takes a while to get used to, it’s worth testing out, especially if you have sensitive skin. The best part is that this stuff goes a long way. I paid about $10 for a 16 ounce bottle, and after a month of heavy use, the liquid line has barely gone down a few centimeters. And this is with me using it as my shampoo, body wash, and shaving cream.

I can’t wait for my next adventure that involves traveling, because the thought of having to pack just one item to take care of all my shower needs it quite exciting.

There’s just one product left in The Poor Girls Beauty Trifecta, and it’s edible, so check back for Part 3.