{California Adventures}

Hello cupcakes,

All I have to say is... WOW.. California is awesome! Words cannot even do it justice. I am going to try to walk you through some of the cool things I got to do while I was there.

The first morning, my boyfriend drove us to Oceanside to get breakfast out over the ocean.

There were so many people surfing!

The beach was beautiful and the people were all so friendly. This was as we were walking on the pier towards the restaurant.

And here is the cute little restaurant. It had a cute 80's style diner feel. It was kind of weird because as the waves were coming in you could feel the restaurant sway slightly.

Here was my bomb breakfast. I got egg whites with spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms. It came with an English muffin and fresh fruit.

Next, we drove to Torrey Pines. I think this is a state park if I remember correctly. The view was amazing! It was cool because you could walk out on this cliff and it overlooked the ocean.

My foot was a little sore still from getting released from my walking boot (not even a week before my trip). We had to take it a little easy, but I cannot wait to hike around this area more!

There were little walking paths every where!

After site seeing a little bit, I had my boyfriend take me to a vegan doughnut shop called Donut Panic. Here were the donuts we got...

The guy we talked to in the shop gave us a free cake doughnut to try. The cake doughnut was my boyfriends favorite!

After getting doughnuts, we drove to some other towns. This place was a little more mountainous. Oh and we also picked out a couch!

Here was my breakfast one morning: Gluten free oats with egg whites, 1 egg, & coconut oil.

One night we met up with my friends to do a wine tasting. One of our friends took some pictures of Cory and I...

The wine tasted so good! I loved trying all the different kinds. We started with more dry wines and moved to red wines and ended with sweeter wines. All together we got to try 6 different kinds. Here is a picture of us girls!

Here was our selfie as we were driving to the wine tasting.

One night after Cory was off work we went and had Mexican food. This was hands down the best Mexican food I have ever had! We ordered table side guacamole as an appetizer and the waiter made it fresh right in front of us! Sooo good!

We also split the fajitas. It was so cool because the waiter poured tequila over the fajitas and lit it on fire right in front of us. It came with shrimp, chicken, and steak!

My last day there we drove to meet some of our friends near Manhattan Beach. Here was our car selfie for that day...

That afternoon we were all starving, so we walked to Hermosa Beach which was actually closer than Manhattan Beach for us.  We ate at a really cool place called American Junkie.

I ordered shrimp tacos and they can with chips and salsa. 

After eating lunch (at 3pm haha) we ended up going to the beach closer to where our friends were staying. We brought a football with us! We also got to watch the sunset on the beach. I will share those pictures in another post. After the sun set, it started to get colder and we were not dressed appropriately. I had on a dress. So we decided to walk back and waited for our other friends to join us. We got to catch up with all four of them & it was a blast! 

Cory and I had a little drive ahead of us, so we decided to take off around 8pm. To get an idea of where we were at, here is a map. We were at Hermosa Beach and we had to drive back to Vista. It took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes. We stopped at In & Out Burger for my first In & Out experience 

Since I cannot have dairy, I ordered a hamburger and shared some of Cory's fries. When I got the burger, I realized it had their sauce on it. I did not know if it contained dairy or not, so I ended up just eating one side of the bun and the burger. The tomato, lettuce, and other half of the bun had the sauce on it. Next time, I will know what to order though. I am going to order double meat, no cheese or sauce, and protein style. Protein style means instead of buns, they wrap the burgers in a huge lettuce leaf!

We ended getting back to Cory's apartment around 11pm and I had to be up at 5am to get ready for my flight back home. I was pretty sleepy!

Here was a picture from my plane ride back to Indiana. The time changed on Sunday and I had to travel east, so I ended up losing four hours. The jet lag is starting to catch up to me. 

Overall, this trip was a blast! I cannot wait to go back and visit in May & eventually move there at the end of July! 

If you have never been to California, you must go!

Later Taters

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."

{Paleo Doughnuts}

Hello wonderful cupcakes! 

So this recipe is not completely perfected yet, but these will do for now! They did not rise well, so I am still working on that part. Anyways, here is the recipe...

Ingredients for doughnuts:

• 1/2 c. Otto's Cassava Flour
• 1/4 c Arrowroot Flour
• 1/4 c Coconut Flour
• 1/4 c water
• 1 package of yeast
• 1/3 c Date Lady Caramel Sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• About 1 c coconut oil for frying

For the frosting:

• 2 scoops Nuzest Vanilla protein powder {Use code "ToriF" for 15% off your Nuzest order}
• 2 scoops of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
• 2 T Smucker's Simply Fruit Jelly
• Unsweetened Cashew Milk

Directions:

1. Heat 1/4 cup water in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add yeast and let sit for 10 minutes until water is frothy.

2. While yeast is activating, in a large bowl, beat egg. Add vanilla and stir.

3. Add in 1/4 cup of arrowroot flour, 1/4 cup of cassava flour, and 1/4 cup of coconut flour to the egg and vanilla mixture & stir until incorporated.

4. Add activated yeast and water to the batter and stir until combined

5.Heat the Date Lady Syrup until melted and add to the batter.

6. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of cassava flour slowly, stirring after each addition.

7. The batter should not be runny. If runny, add additional coconut flour 1 tsp. at a time & stir after each addition.

8. Place a towel over the large bowl with the batter. Set aside the bowl in a warm place and let rest for 30 minutes. 

9. Once dough has risen, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll into a ball, then flatten and roll into a long tube. Connect the end of each to make a circle. 

10. Once all the doughnuts are formed, heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Oil should cover about 2/3 of the doughnut. Fry doughnuts 3 at a time, until lightly browned. Flip, and fry the other side until lightly browned. 

11. Place doughnuts on a paper towel lined plate to cool before topping with frosting. 

12. Repeat until all the doughnuts are done. 

13. In a separate bowl, add the ingredients for the protein frosting. Add as much cashew milk as you would like (desired consistency). I probably used 1/4 cup of cashew milk. I like my frosting to be on the thicker side. You could also use more cashew milk to make it more of a protein glaze if you wanted. 

14. Spread the protein frosting onto each doughnut.  

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Have a great week everyone. 

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away." 

Weekend Trip to Indy

Good morning cupcakes!

Yesterday my roommate and I made a trip to Indy. We called it our "self care" trip. It is easy to get burnt out on grad school, work, etc. so making time to do something fun is a must! We've been eyeing a place in Indy (Indiananpolis, IN) for quite some time. The place is called Rocket88 Doughnuts. This place caught my eye because they have vegan doughnuts. As most of you know, I am lactose intolerant which means I can't have regular doughnuts. Vegan doughnuts are made with out any dairy products, so of course I had to try it out. It's been ages since I've had a doughnut. If you would like to check out where some of their locations are or the menu at Rocket88, follow this link: {Rocket88 Doughnuts}

I ended up getting two doughnuts: Vegan Maple Pecan & Vegan Chai. I had the Maple Pecan while I was at the shop with some friends. 

Check out this {BEAUTY} though! It was to die for! I enjoyed every second of this. My roommate and I are starting another round of Whole30 Monday so we were joking that this was our last supper before going hard core without sugar. This doughnut was so light and fluffy. The combo of maple and pecan could make anyone drool. One tip, if you are going to get doughnuts from Rocket88, I suggest going in the morning if you want the full selection of choices. When we got to the store, there were only a select few left. We went around 12pm, and the store closes at 2pm. My suggestion, go early! Go when they open!

There is also a vegan doughnut shop in San Diego, CA that I am going to have my boyfriend take me to when I visit him for spring break. It's called Donut Panic. How cute is that name though? Here is the link to their site: {DONUT PANIC}.

I believe in {BALANCE} in life. 

I balanced out my doughnut with some green juice from Trader Joes. I knew I would need some nutrients in my body to make up for all that sugar in the doughnut. I also knew I wouldn't be eating a meal until I got back to my apartment later in the afternoon. We went grocery shopping at Trader Joes while we were in Indy. 

My roommate and I shopped for our first week of Whole30. Here are some things I bought while I was there:

-Mushrooms

-Zucchini

-Brussel Sprouts

-Baby Potatoes

-Purple, Red, and White Potatoes

-Bananas

-Greens for Salad

-Chile Lime Chicken Burgers

-No Salt Creamy Almond Butter

-Tea

-Eggs

-Almond Meal

-Green Juice

My meal plan went out the door when Trader Joes did not have acorn squash or cauliflower rice. So I threw stuff together for a meal plan with items that looked good in the store. I will post a full meal prep recap tomorrow, so stay tuned for that!

We also ate breakfast with my grandparents and cousins at a place called {Le Peep} in Indy. We knew we were getting doughnuts after breakfast, so we ordered sides. Katie got 2 scrambled eggs and sausage. I got 2 sunny side up eggs with lean ham. Everything tasted great & my family's meals looked bomb! Once again, life is about {BALANCE}. 

If you know you are going to indulge in something during the day, eat healthier the rest of the day! 

I hope you all are having a great weekend. I am excited to show you my meal prep for Whole30!

Later Taters

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."