My Date with Jack

Hi Guys,

Great news! My day-long hangover has finally passed!

Now you might be thinking, "Why Maddie, this is a healthy living blog. How could you possibly have a hangover?"

To that I would say, "Yes, it IS a healthy living blog but at the end of the day I'm still a 20 something chick trying to get her groove on! A little occasional partying never hurt anyone." (unless you count debilitating headaches, of course)

It all started after I got off work last night. I met Alex and some of his friends for a birthday celebration at this super cool bar downtown... and by downtown I mean I had to drive through skid row and into a community of seemingly vacant warehouses to get there. At least there was ample parking ;)

The place was called Villains and the drinks were amazing- I enjoyed a fancy whiskey concoction they call a Bella Donna, complete with the liquor, mint, citrus and a smashed blackberry. Hello divinity!

The fact that the only picture I managed to snap last night came out blurry is appropriate:

A couple Jameson shots and Jack Daniels drinks later, Alex and I took a cab to a local legend: The Brite Spot

where we shared a Red Velvet milkshake and a couple of Pumpkin Spiced pancakes.

There never was a 4am breakfast so great.

This morning, however, there was hell to pay. Thank God my first hangover in months happened on a lazy rainy Sunday when I had no obligations until 4pm.

I rolled out of bed at 9am and proceeded to lie on the couch with pro football playing in the background for about 3 hours.

When I was FINALLY able, I went into the kitchen and took my first step toward detoxification with this:

Since I was feeling a tad more mobile, I figured, "What better way to cure a hangover than baking?"

So I got to work on one of my favorite breakfast recipes: Hemp-nola (from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan)

This stuff is wonderful because it not only has a hint of healthy sweetness + tons of hemp seeds (the benefits of which I discuss here), but one batch of it will last you a week or 2! It's a great substitute for those sugar-laden granolas you can get on the neverending grocery store cereal aisles.

Before I started, I downed a little pre-baking fuel:

Starbucks (which honestly PALED in comparison to my LA Mill cafe con leche from yesterday) and an almond butter and banana sammich on whole wheat.

First I made the dry mix:

(mostly rolled oats, barley flakes, hemp seeds and some spices)

Then I made the wet part, which consisted primarily of this sweet joy:

Brown rice syrup is a great way to healthify those sweeter recipes since its sugars are absorbed into the blood much slower than its honey, maple syrup and granulated sugar brothers and sisters.

It leaves your sweet tooth happy without the icky sugar rush/crash later.

I added the wet to the dry,

stirred it all up, smushed it onto 2 baking sheets,

put it in the oven and BAM!

Out it came. I added the raisins and let it it cool for a couple of hours.

Now it's packed away

and ready to eat for breakfast- or anytime I'm cravin' a little cereal action. YUM!

In between all this action, I made a green smoothie to further the detoxification process

and headed to scene rehearsal... It went really well!

My scene partner lives exactly 3 blocks away from my FAVORITE grocery store in LA and even though I didn't necessarily have a list ready, I couldn't resist stopping by.

(I ended up buying things, of course)

Now I'm home, gearing up for the MADMEN finale and my first go at making vegan alfredo.

I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how goes.

Until then, I'll keep sippin on this bottle of water to get the last drops of whiskey out of my system.

Enjoy your Sunday night :)

This week's gonna be great! I can just feel it.

See ya tomorrow,

Maddie