Fall has Fallen!

Breaking news, guys!

Fall has officially... FALLEN! (if Spring has Sprung, Fall has Fallen- right? Right.)

Today was another chilly overcast day in LA and I absolutely LOVED it. To top it off, I got my first whiff of Autumn air... take from that what you will.

Last night, I made this little dinner for acting class:

whole wheat couscous with red bell pepper and goat cheese + carrots

...and subsequently managed to get all eating and drinking banned from the classroom forever... I guess the crunching was just too distracting.

This morning started out with a little pre-gym concoction:

Chocolate Chia Pet Porridge

(read: no chia pets were harmed in the making of this breakfast- I just put the word "pet" in the title for added alliteration... which I obviously have a thing for)

It contained:

• 1/2 a cup of Grape Nuts
• 1 whole banana
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk + a splash of chocolate almond milk
• dash of cinnamon
• 1 tbs of chia seeds

Awesome!

In case you thought chia seeds could only be used to grow imaginary botanical creatures, think again! They're actually a GREAT source of omega 3 fatty acids and help with hydration retention and joint strength.

Since bad knees run in my family, I figure they're a good superfood to chow down on whenever possible.

(for more on chia seed benefits, click here)

At the gym, I hopped on the elliptical for a bit, then joined a 90 minute Hatha/Anusara yoga class. The teacher was super cool- very detail oriented, which I dig!

After the gym, I had this yummy snack:

A blueberry banana protein smoothie + 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with Earth Balance.

This girl loves her some toast and butta'.

I was SUPPOSED to have a shoot in Venice today, but seeing as the weather was more than abysmal, we decided to postpone. Which meant:

A DAY OFF WITH NOTHING PLANNED! Sweeeeet.

I ate my snack and watched Madmen, then got to brainstorming on what to make for dinner.

I decided on veggie burgers with a garbonzo bean base + homemade sweet potato fries.

I'll give you the full recap on how it pans ;) out tomorrow, but here's a little taste of the prep work for ya:

After grocery list making and dinner planning,

I made this rendition of a "clean out the fridge to free up space" salad:

mixed baby greens, black eyed peas, goat cheese, carrots, red bell pepper, hummus, balsamic vinaigrette.

Then it was off to the Great Los Feliz/ Silverlake Grocery Store Tour of 2010... no really, I hit up 3 places to get all the ingredients/staples I was looking for.

A few things I'm super excited about incorporating into my life:

Butternut squash

Libby's canned pumpkin- perfect for desserts, smoothies and breakfasts

Daiya "cheese"- I've read tons about it and it seems like the first legit, non-processed vegan cheese substitute out there. AND the label says "it melts and stretches"- 2 very essential cheese capabilities if you ask me.

Ah'ight- I'm off to battle the mountain of dishes in the kitchen and get to cookin'

Can't wait to share tomorrow :)

HAPPY FALL TO EVERYONE!!

love love love,

maddie