Friday Highlights + NY Killer PB&J

There. That title should get people’s attention. *insert evil grin*

I’m happy to report that I’m feeling oh-so-much better. One good thing about this cold was that it was very short lived, and that’s always a plus! By yesterday I was (almost) back to my old self again. Thank you, green smoothies and kombucha (that’s what I’ll attribute it to, at least).

Oh, and remember that homemade coconut deodorant that I made? Well I got kind of fed up with scraping it out of that little cup, so I melted it down again and poured it into an empty deodorant tube. After it got hard again, it works perfectly when you want to roll it up.  That’s not the grandest picture to the left there (actually it’s probably closer to the “worst” side than the “grandest”), but you get the idea. It’s deodorant. In a tube. All together now: Wooooooo!

I’m going to start a Friday Highlights feature on here. I probably won’t do it every week (I like to keep everyone guessing),  just when something screams AWESOME! So, without further ado, here is a sampling of the random, interesting, or inspiring items that caught my attention this week…

Inside I’m Still Dancing: “Double Standards and Invisible Boundaries": this was a great post!! I wonder about the things she wrote about here all the time: what category does my blog fit into? what do I want to write about? etc. It was interesting, too, how she brought up the “unwritten rules of blogging”. I never really thought about it that way. But are these just restrictions we place on ourselves? So many of these lessons go beyond blogging. For example, we are all just trying to “fit in” and find our niche—our place—in this world…

Mixed Greens Village: “The Way I See It": I’m not just including this post and the below one just because they were written by relatives of mine; I truly thought they were excellent posts! :) This post was so upbeat and inspiring. (I especially love the quote at the top. It’s always good to get a reminder that the rough patches we face will pass.

This My Symphony: “A Healthy Body and Soul": This post is from another aunt’s blog. The correlation between mind and body is one that many people overlook—including me! It was interesting to see her parallel the ways we can both physically and spiritually nourish ourselves, especially during Lent.

Steven Greydanus for the NCR: “The End of Fairy-Tale Princesses?” Okay, this may seem like kind of a random article, but for some reason I just found it to be really interesting. As someone who was all about Disney princesses as a little girl and devoured the Fairy Tale Novels series as a teen, this article caught my attention. Greydanus examined some things that I had not considered before, and he makes some good points. Sure, maybe there are more important things then the demise of fairy tales, but what does this say about us and our society?

Associated Press via Yahoo! News: “Book makes new claims about Anne Frank”: I honestly don’t get the big deal about whether or not this “new information” is true. That doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to me. What touched me was the part near the bottom when Meijer tells how her horrific fate as a Holocaust survivor has influenced her life. It was saddening yet inspiring at the same time how someone who had gone through so much could go on with her life. It’s just not something I’ve really considered before. Although I’ve not read Anne Frank’s diary, I have always been really interested in practically anything to do with the WWII era (a fascination that most likely stems from my dad’s similar interest; we grew up watching countless documentaries and old TV newscasts with him on the subject.)

Today is St. Joseph’s feastday! Yep, like St. Patrick’s but for St. Joseph (his color is red, in case you are wondering). Oh, and that’s not St. Joseph the Worker, Ms. Pelosi. March 19th is dedicated to celebrating him (the foster father of Jesus) as St. Joseph the Husband of Mary. I can see how someone would make that mistake, but still, that video was so *ugh*. She’s got it all wrong, that’s all I’m going to say.

In other news, today I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Really. Okay, I know that’s not very exciting but it does give me a lovely platform to jump right into the delightfully scrumptious products I made it with. I’m sure you’re all wondering (well, at least some of you then…?) what’s up with the “NY Killer PB&J” blurb in the title. Well, when you add NY Saratoga Peanut Butter to Dave’s Killer Bread and make a PB&J (peanut butter and jam/jelly, of course) that’s a NY Killer PB&J. Pretty simple, right?

Here’s the pb, all alone.                Here’s the combo, ready to meet Dave.         
 
By the way, did you know the lovely and knowledgeable food science wiz Mae works for Saratoga Peanut Butter Company? Check out her blog at OhhMay.com. She has a ton of great recipes and cooking tips, including how to make your own peanut butter granola bars (with Saratoga Peanut Butter, of course)!

Look how pretty this package was when I opened it. I even got a handwritten note from Mae!! I love that personal touch when I order something. :)

The pb I got was the New York Maple. It is definitely creamy and delicious, but doesn’t taste particularly maple-y to me. It also has honey in it, so it’s not vegan (although it is “bee-gan” as Ani Phyo says.) I’m not really sure what to think about honey. On one hand, it is kind of gross to eat something that it basically bug spit. But on the other hand, honey is not really unhealthy, and DEFINITELY not as unethical (if at all?) as the dairy or meat industries. So, for now, I don’t mind honey occasionally (I actually really like the way it tastes), but I don’t particularly seek it out.
Now, on to Dave’s Killer Bread. This is their Good Seed Bread.
 
It was seedy and it was good!
Check out those seeds!

DKB also sent me a Sin Dawg to review. That was pretty darn good, too. It’s different than normal cinnamon-raisin bread and the wheaty flavor took a little getting used to. But, all in all, I’d say that it makes a wonderful and healthy cinnamon-y treat! Dave has some great flavors of bread. I’d love to try the sprouted grain one, or the Peace Bomb. Oh, and the spelt bread sounds delicious, too! And, good news! DKB is organic
and implements “sustainable initiatives” like their “oxo-biodegradable” bread bags (not sure what that term means but it sounds good). :)
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I hope the weather wherever you are is as beautiful as it is here! My windows are open and the sun is shining…spring is on it’s way!!!

Enjoy your Friday, everyone! I’m off to stations and then my siblings are going to watch Monsters, Inc. and eat popcorn. Pretty wild stuff here. :P

 
Disclaimer: the peanut butter and bread mentioned in this post were sent to me, free of charge, by the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company and Dave’s Killer Bread, respectively. Thank you!
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“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” –Mother Teresa