Texas Sheet Cake Cookies

My boyfriend and I's social media interaction basically consists of tagging each other in pictures of cute bulldog puppies and videos of food he wants me to make. You know the ones on Facebook that make every recipe look so simple and delicious? Yes, those. I am constantly saving the posts, but rarely do I actually make them. A couple weeks ago, however; he tagged me in a video for Texas Sheet Cake Cookies. The cookies looked so easy to make and were covered in chocolate so I was sold on them instantly.

Here is the recipe I used: http://cookiesandcups.com/texas-sheet-cake-cookies/

These were so easy to make! It says the recipe makes 24, but I only got 14 out of it. Maybe this means I am making my cookies too big, (impossible, there's not such thing) but I thought they were perfectly sized. It also makes a TON of icing. Way more than I needed. I decided my best option was to completely smother the cookies and drown them in chocolately goodness. After letting them dry, I scooped them with a spatula and put them in a a Pyrex container so that I could keep them sealed. I shared these with my boyfriend and his family and they were a hit! I probably ate half the batch myself. If you love chocolate or the taste of fudge this is an easy way to get your fix! Thanks for reading and don't forget to subscribe!

XXXX

Lindsey

 

I Did A Juice Cleanse

 

I am probably the last person ever to want to do a cleanse. I love my carbs, my breakfast tacos, cheese, and Chick-Fil-A. I've tried juicing before at home and it was a complete fail. My best friend and roommate at the time busted out the new juicer I had gotten for Christmas and made every Pinterest juice recipe we could get our hands on. The drinks were gross, we wasted food, and I discovered I was allergic to beetroot. So that was a major fail.

So take two, the Daily Greens Cleanse includes all the juices you need for your four day cleanse. Each drink is packed with 4.5 pounds of produce, including tons of vitamins. All you have to do is stick to the raw fruit and veggie diet for four days. The hardest part is self-control.

What It Is

A juice cleanse is a type of diet intended to detox your body. Cleanses can last from days to weeks. The Daily Greens Cleanse is four days long. The green drinks provide your body with nutrients so that you can sustain from eating full meals. People do cleanses for many reasons: weight loss, detoxing the body, self satisfaction, or helping yourself get away from habits like coffee and snacking. You should not expect any long-term weight loss from doing a cleanse. You should expect to see yourself cutting back on caffeine, sodas, animal products, and sugar and taking in more water, fruits, and veggies.

How It Works

Three Juices. Four days. For four days you will replace two meals and a snack with a green juice and eat an all raw veggie dinner. The juices are as follows:

Renew- Hydrate with a blend of sweet watermelon and rich, juicy greens seasons with spearmint and a dash of Himalayan pink salt. This one was not bad. It's refreshing. As for taste, it's sort of like drinking sweet celery? That sounds terrible but it's the best way I can describe it.

Elevate- Get smooth greens- from cucumber to spinach and watercress -with a splash of lime, sweet pear, and a lovely vanilla finish. Because of the vanilla this one is very sweet. Again not too bad.

Purity- Get simple and pure green juice goodness from cold-pressed cucumber, celery, kale, and broccoli with parsley, basil, and a touch of lemon. I am going to be 100% honest with ya'll throughout this entire process, so I have to tell you I hated this one. Lol! It tastes like lemon and lawn clippings. But I just tell myself that means it's healthy and chug it.

What To Eat

The cleanse kit will include instructions, but here are the basics. Breakfast- begin your day with warm lemon water or substitute with Daily Green's Green Lemonade. Wait 30 minutes and then drink your Renew juice. Lunch- Elevate juice and a small raw fruit or veggie snack if needed. Snack- Purity juice. Dinner- A raw veggie dinner with plenty of fiber to help your body expel the toxins. You can have raw fruit or veggies any time you are hungry throughout the day. This is not designed to starve you, but to feed your body pure, clean, raw veggies and juices as your body works to clean out all the toxins from the beer, queso, and Whataburger you had last weekend. So things like leafy, green veggies, carrots, broccoli, avocado, tomato, onion, cucumber, etc are great. Be sure to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated.

 

What To Avoid

Here is the fun part! No coffee, nope not even black coffee! No soda, no other fruit juices. no tea. No processed foods, no sugar, no meat or animal products, no dairy, no grains, no legumes. Cheese was definitely the hardest for me to cut out! And my morning caramel macchiato, AKA coffee flavored sugar, has been dearly missed as well.

Day One

Breakfast- Renew juice and a bottle of water. I missed the step about warm lemon juice so I did not have that Monday.

Lunch- Elevate juice, a banana, and water.

Snack- Purity juice.

Dinner- Salad and zoodles with homemade veggie "sauce" and POM pomegranate seeds. (Kylie made me do it)


Overall, day one was not that bad. I was fine throughout the day, but pretty hungry by the time I got home. I stocked up on fruits and veggies at HEB and was so excited to find pre-cut zucchini noodles or "zoodles". For my dinner I made a salad with romaine hearts, red onion, cucumber, tomato, salt and pepper, and a light dousing of Balsamic Vinaigrette. Then I made a "pasta" with my zoodles and a raw veggie sauce. The zoodles really aren't bad raw. They are still crunchy so my brain was not totally fooled into thinking this was real pasta. Eating only raw foods definitely made me increase my creativity in the kitchen. I'm no chef but I thought it was pretty yummy. I almost was bascilly eating guacamole now that I think about it! Here is the recipe for my zoodle sauce:

Zoodle Avocado Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 avocado
1/2 lemon
1 tomato, diced
red onion, amount to your liking, diced
2-3 chopped basil leaves
2-3 chopped parsley leaves
salt and pepper

Mash 1/2 of avocado in a small bowl, mix in diced tomato, onion, basil, and parsley. Squeeze lemon juice over mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together. Mix in zoodles. Enjoy!

Day Two

Breakfast-Warm lemon water, Renew juice

Lunch- Elevate juice, grapes, black berries, raspberries

Snack- Purity juice

Dinner- Salad with romaine hearts, red onion, cucumber, and tomato. Zoodles with homemade pesto. You can buy pesto mix in the seasoning aisle at grocery stores. All you mix it with is Olive Oil. This may have been cheating just a little bit!

Day two my cravings started kicking in. Where I work we have food trucks onsite every Tuesday and Friday. Everyone walking by my desk with pizzas, parmesan fries, and burgers WAS. TORTURE. To make matters worse, Whataburger posted a Snapchat that they are bringing back their Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich. Lot's of fat thoughts happening on this Tuesday. Lot's, folks.

Day Three

Breakfast- Lemon water, Renew Juice, fresh fruit

Lunch- Elevate juice, grapes

Snack- Purity juice

Dinner- Same salad as previous nights but added avocado!

Day three I was questioning my sanity of starting this cleanse. According to the scale at our gym I had lost three pounds since Monday, probably mostly water weight. However, my reasons for starting this were less about weight loss and more about will power. While on that note, I don't recommend working out while doing this cleanse. A lot of people will say you should since it helps to sweat out toxins your body is working to expel, but I definitely was lacking energy during it. Remember to continuously drink water.

Day Four

Breakfast- Water, Renew juice, fresh fruit

Lunch- Elevate juice, blackberries, raspberries

Snack- Purity Juice

Dinner- Avocado, cucumber, tomato, feta, balsamic salad and zoodles with homemade marinara.

Day four was by miles the hardest day for me. I really hadn't seen many side effects on the other days besides normal cravings. On day four I woke up with a huge headache and my body felt so heavy and weak. I also noticed that my brain was foggy all day. I was forgetting things and just totally out of it. I'm not sure if this was caused a lack of carbs and nutrients or if this is similar to the so called "die off" like in the Candida and Whole 30 diets. The die off is when all of the sugars, fats, and yeasts in your body start to die because you aren't eating those things anymore. You feel really sick until they are completely cleared out and then you feel great again. I noticed I was much hungrier on day four as well. Instead of waiting for my juice to settle and assessing how I felt, I had some fruit right away because I was feeling so bad. My energy levels perked after lunch time but that didn't last long. In my head I was thinking could it really hurt if I had a normal dinner?? It's technically the end? But I knew I had to finish completely! I included my sad marinara recipe, but remember everything has to be raw. P. S. That is one whole zoodle I'm holding in the photo below!!

Homemade Marinara Ingredients:
2 chopped tomatoes
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large fresh basil sprig, minced
Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano to taste

Finishing The Cleanse

After completing the cleanse, your first instinct will probably be to run to the nearest DQ for an M&M blizzard or down a large pizza, but be careful when choosing your next meals. Remember that your body has had four days of near complete rest from digesting with an almost all liquid diet. Additionally, your body has had four days without caffeine or high sugars. Slowly incorporate your usual foods back into your diet so that you have a smooth transition.

Final Thoughts  

Do I feel good about doing this cleanse? Absolutely. I am so proud of myself for sticking to it for four days and not breaking down and making a mad run to the cheese drawer. Without going into detail, I do feel like this cleanse successfully got all of the junk out of my system and I did lose a little weight. I also feel less bloated, and overall just better about cutting out all the junk this week. Would I do it again? Maybe, and if not I am taking away a lot of great information. Always, research before trying any diet or cleanse to make sure it's right for your body.  If you're hungry, eat! This is not meant to starve you. You can have raw fruit or veggies at any time that you need. I think the most important things I learned from this cleanse were

1. It's possible, and easy, to eat clean for every meal.
I thought it was going to be impossible to eat an all raw vegetable diet. I pictured myself eating celery for a week. In truth it was not hard at all and I found myself thinking I could always eat this way and it would be even better once I'm allowed to incorporate other food groups in a healthy way. For example, adding proteins, good carbs, and good fats. I think this is a really great way to experiment with food and you can definitely get more creative than my salads and zoodles. I won't be binging on junkfood now that it is over, because that would defeat the whole purpose!

2. I've been overeating.
Going without meals and then eating only fruit and veggies made me realize (maybe miss) just how much I'm normally eating. A breakfast taco, a fast food lunch, and a heavy dinner, plus snacks, coffee, and soda? I did not consider myself a horrible eater, but this was a wake up call. Now I am rethinking all of my meals in a healthier mindset.

You can get the Daily Greens Cleanse or any of their beverages at:
--------> https://www.drinkdailygreens.com/shop
Normally the kit is $60, but right now you can get it for $49. Shipping is a little high, but that's because the product has to stay refrigerated, as you can see in my photos.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me! Don't forget to subscribe so that you never miss a post! Thanks for reading!

XXXX

Lindsey

Links:

https://drinkdailygreens.com/
https://drinkdailygreens.com/blog/category/cleanse/
https://www.facebook.com/drinkdailygreens/
http://www.projectjuice.com/how-to-cleanse

My Birthday: Ft. East Austin Succulents & 2Tarts Bakery

Hi guys! I know I have not been posting as much lately. October is such a busy month for me! It seems October-December are always a blur of events and celebrations. Small town festivals, birthdays, and weddings...the list never ends! I am actually pretty relieved that this weekend should be relatively calm. I promise I am going to keep writing, but it may not be as often as the three times a week posts I was pumping out in the past. But hey, quality not quantity, right?!
Last weekend I turned 24. Sorry...that still looks weird to type! 24!! I'm sure most of you are rolling your eyes at me right now. "Twenty-four is still so young!" Well, I'm sure it is but I remember when I was 16 what 24 looked like. It looked like marriage and a super important business job. It looked like a house and a baby and two dogs, maybe a cat and so much more. Now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that at all, but let me just say that I am SO happy that 24 turned out to be a whole lot simpler than that. I am grateful to have completed college, landed a job with a company I love, solidified true friendships, met a great guy, and become a (for the most part) independent adult.

I am a serious planner. I love a detailed, fully planned and researched schedule. I don't like not knowing what to wear or expect or how much time I have to do something. So I always overwhelm myself with trying to plan out every detail of my birthday. I try to include as many of my friends or loved ones as possible. And with a huge family and spread out friend group that I feel should all be included, it ends up being a complete mess. So this year I decided I was not going to plan a single thing. And you know what? It ended up being the absolute best birthday I've had in a while. Of course there are plenty of people I would of loved to see, but we are adults now with busy lives and I know that they were still thinking of me. I was blown away by all the thoughtful gestures and calls and messages I received. My boyfriend played a huge part in my weekend. He planned out the entire weekend and truly has paid so much attention to my interests. Y'ALL. HE TOOK ME TO A SUCCULENT SHOP. But I won't drag on anymore, the main reason for this post was I wanted to highlight two of my favorite parts from the weekend. Not only because I enjoyed them so much, but because they are local, Texas businesses I've had my eye on a long time and I can finally attest to how great they really are.

2Tarts Bakery  

I stumbled upon 2Tarts Bakery on Instagram and was instantly in love with their cakes. I thought no way that this place was close by, these are the type of cakes you see on Pinterest and drool over. But to my great pleasure they are located right in New Braunfels. I've wanted to visit their bakery for at least two years but I seem to always be passing through New Braunfels instead of stopping in. I casually mentioned to my boyfriend, Wilson, one day months ago that the onlyyyy thing I really wanted for my birthday was a cake from 2Tarts. I'm pretty sure he gave a "yeah" response and I knew he had no clue what I had just said. Uhhh wrong, he surprised me with a cake from there covered in CACTUS AND SUCCULENTS. Obsessed is an understatement, this thing was adorable! The appearance of the cake honestly needs no further comment. The pictures say it all, and even those don't completely do it justice. As far as taste, it was a red velvet cake with cream cheese and buttercream icing. Yuuuuuuuummmmy. It was super rich, but so delicious! I will definitely be visiting the actual bakery soon for a cupcake or treat. Check out their Instagram to see all of their amazing cakes, you may just seen mine as well. :)

 East Austin Succulents 

 The first place we went on Saturday was East Austin Succulents in Austin.This was another place I have been dreaming of visiting for a long time. I wasn't sure how big it would be or how pricey, but my expectations were blown out of the water. It's not exactly in the nicest area, so female friends I would not visit alone. Of course at the store itself I felt completely safe, but the surrounding area was a different story. East Austin Succulents is actually conjoined with another plant shop, which I did not realize, but you can walk around the two altogether. Think TJ Max and Homegoods, lol. There are gorgeous pre-made arrangements, 2 inch plants, plants bigger than me, rows and rows of anything your heart desires. They had the neatest collection of rare grafted plants. Now the grafted plants were a bit pricey due to their novelty but with regular succulents and cacti you could get 6 plants for only $10! They also sell containers of every shape, size, color, material and design you could ever think of if you want them to make an arrangement for you. I chose a gold and white striped ceramic container that was so pretty. Next time I will bring my own! Then I picked out six little guys and they potted and arranged them quickly with expertise. They used kitchen and medical tongs to grab the cacti and I am so bewildered that I never thought about using something like that before! They had plants growing out of everything too! I posted a lot of pictures but one I forgot to take was plants coming out the bottom of a water fountain! The employees were so friendly and knowledgable. I will definitely be visiting again. OH, and if you spend over $40 you get to spin a giant wheel to win something. I got a free plant that ended up really pulling together my arrangement. It was the little spikey guy in the middle! And they added a pretty crystal. If you love plants as much as me you must go! It was heaven and I wish there was something similar to it in San Antonio!

 

I hope everyone has an excellent weekend! Let me know what your favorite little places are! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to subscribe!

XXXX

Lindsey 

Fiesta Winery- Fredericksburg, TX

This past Labor Day weekend I relaxed a ton and went on a spontaneous trip to Fredericksburg with some friends, some old and some new. I had never been before but have wanted to make a trip for ages. We got a late start in the day so we had lunch and spent the rest of our time at the Fiesta Winery.
There are so many cute German restaurants, wineries, boutiques and shops. I definitely want to go back and spend a full day or even a weekend there. I live in San Antonio, so the drive is only about an hour for me, not bad at all! But if you were coming from somewhere farther I would definitely make it a full weekend trip. We really enjoyed Fiesta Winery. It was recommended to us by several different people so it was a no brainer to stop in. Most of the other places close at 5 on Sunday's but Fiesta is open until 6. The place was crowded and only two ladies were working the bar, but they handled it so well. I wish I could remember the name of the lady assisting us because she was so on top of her work. She gave a tasting to our group, plus others, and was checking out other customers all at the same time. She was so helpful and knowledgable and did not make us feel rushed. She happily answered every one of our (probably silly) questions and gave great recommendations to those of us who were not familiar with wine. We decided to do the wine tasting first to find out what we liked. It was $12 to sample 6 different wines of your choosing, and you get to keep your wine glass too. Here are the wines I tried, between myself and my friends, with their descriptions and my thoughts!

Whites

Trebbiano

A light wine with pineapple and kiwi hints for a fresh taste.
Light is right! This was very refreshing but did not quite have enough flavor for me personally. Our guide suggested this as a pairing with fish.

Texas Well Water

Sweet Pinot Gris with a subtleness of white cranberry.
This one was dangerously drinkable. It was so yummy and I think I could easily drink a bottle by myself. I usually prefer reds but there were several wines here that had me really loving whites!

Happy Trails

Sweet Chardonnay that is light and full of ripe peach.
OH. MY. GOSH. This was the wine my friend had suggested I try, she said I would have no regrets. She was correct. This is bar far the yummiest wine I've ever had the pleasure of drinking. If you are unfamiliar with Fredericksburg it is important to note they are known for their delicious peaches. So it only makes sense my favorite wine was peach flavored. Three out of four of the girls walked out with a bottle of this one, myself included.

Reds

True Texan

Estate Grown blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, & Merlot. This wine is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. Only available for tasting on the weekends.
I'm no wine connoisseur, in fact my palate probably does not extend past $10 HEB wines. So forgive me if my terminology is not correct. This red was really heavy to me, it tasted smokey or oakey (haha rhymes) and it made me want a giant ribeye.

Back Porch Sittin'

Semi-sweet Cabernet backed with blackberry, aged in oak.
This was a yummy red that I would love to drink again. Not too dry, just the right sweetness.
I have serious issues because there was not a single wine I didn't like!

Texas Summer Night

Sweet Syrah with distinct flavors of blueberry.
Holy yum. If you are a sweet red drinker this is the wine for you! We got a bottle of this to enjoy outside and I think it was gone in less than ten minutes. The blueberry flavor really comes through and give it a really unique flavor. This was my second runner up for favorite!

Blush

Savannah Rose

Sweet White Merlot with bold flavors of strawberry.
And that is exactly what it tasted like, strawberry! I felt like I needed to be at a picnic with my girlfriends somewhere surrounded by flowers drinking this. It was a little too sweet for me to want more than one glass of, but ultimately delicious.

Dessert

Sweet Baily Ray

Sweet dessert wine, full bodied with rich chocolate and sweet orange.
So from the description I would of never picked this wine. I mean chocolate and orange? Ew. However a guy who was buying a SIX pack of bottles of Happy Trails for his wife (obviously we share the same tastes) suggested the Sweet Baily Ray. I actually switched my choice to this one because he said it was so good. And I cannot honestly say if I am thankful and should be finding this man to hug him or slap him for introducing this sinful wine to my life. Ladies, if you PMS hard like me and want chocolate and wine, look no further girlfriend this stuff will satisfy all your cravings. It was like drinking a chocolate bar but then tasting wine after. This stuff is RICH, a little would go a long way. But it was SO dang good. Oh, and did I mention this one has a higher alcohol content?

Overall I would highly reccommend this winery. The service was wonderful, the scenery is perfect, and the wines are all amazing. It was also very reasonably priced. An added bonus, there are other wineries and shops right next to it. Most of them were closed since we got there so late, sadly. It is off of 290 and kind of in the middle of no where, so it's nice that there are several little options clustered right there. I can't wait to go back and explore more!

 

 

Have you ever been to Fredericksburg? Please let me know what your favorite places are so that I can make a list for future trips. We were very disappointed in our choice of restaurant, so I would love some food recommendations, especially German. I also want to explore more wineries and do some shopping! Thank you so much for reading, have a wonderful short, week! Don't forget to suscribe!

XXXX,

Lindsey

Stout's Food Truck

I'm fascinated by Food Trucks. I don't know if it's because I watch way too much Food Network in my spare time, or because back home the closest thing to food trucks I had experienced was the beloved Gordito Truck that came to every Western Days. (My home town's yearly festival/fair it's a Southern thing) But something about food trucks is so exciting to me. Maybe it just means I'm a fatty. I'm ok with all of these reasons. Once I moved to San Marcos I was flabbergasted that entire blocks were devoted to food trucks. Same thing in Austin. And now, my home, San Antonio.

I didn't visit them too many times before, let's face it, the convenience of it all means way higher prices than normal. But it's just so darn delicious. I am #blessed and at the same time cursed because there are an array of food trucks that visit my work twice every week. My body and my bank account are not happy about it.

But what can I say, I cannot resist temptation every time, sometimes I cave for the delicious fried foods. I'M NOT THAT STRONG. So I thought I would do my fellow locals, or tourists, a favor and map out my favorite thus far. First on the list, well obviously, it had to be pizza. Pizza is so good I don't think it can really be messed up, but there are an elite few who truly know how to make it magical. Stout's is one place that knows exactly how to do that.

So like a few others, Stout's has a restaurant and is not just a truck. But they do cook all their pizzas fresh in the truck and it amazes me how perfect they always manage to come out. The workers always remember me, I think that's so sweet. You always see people in movies or sitcoms who are regulars somewhere and I guess that's the relationship I am building with Stout's. How adorable.

In the food truck they serve personal pizzas, but these things are more than big enough for me to split with another person. I have tried the Chicken Bacon Ranch, Pepperoni Jalapeno, the Margherita, and the William Chris. The William Chris has roma tomatoes, garlic, shredded mozarella, jalapenos, Stout's signature pepperoni, bacon, Italian sausage, and drizzle of ranch dressing. Amazing.

All of them were equally yummu, but I have to say after last time, the Margherita was the one to really steal the show for me. I loveeeeeeee fresh tomatoes. I love basil. I love mozzarella. All this on my favorite food, pizza, was just a total success. They also have some killer pizza rolls!

 

What's your favorite food truck? Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email. I love trying new places. Stay tuned for more food truck or restaurant reviews in the future, you can subscribe to my updates in the right hand menu. Thanks for reading!