Bites of My Life

It's amazing how much I can fit in a day without having work getting in the way. Errands, shopping, lunch with old friends, recipe testing, house cleaning, laundry, meetings, dentist visits, workouts; I could get used to that life...Unfortunately/fortunately this is my last week off. So many delish bites last week in the form of food, vibes and visitors. Time to pack it all in before funemployment is over. 

-No grocery shopping last week meant helping mom clean out her fridge. I don't think she minded.
-I discovered turmeric milk last week. It's a great nighttime drink full of health benefits that do your tummy well while you sleep. 
-This Cashew Butter and Jelly smoothie recipe got slurped up almost everyday for breakfast last week and the recipe is up for you to enjoy!
-Sister and I spent our Wednesday recipe testing scones. We came up with blackberry dark chocolate and (not pictured) grapefruit brown sugar!
-The Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts came to town this week. I made an appearance twice. I'm always more interested in the "culinary arts" portion. 
-It's one of my favorite events of the year, and probably the thing I knew would be easiest to cross off my Spring TDL.
-A salad date with one of my favorite friends to catch up with. We could sit and talk for hours!
-Wallpaper vibes in Pencil Shavings house during a local neighborhood home tour.
-Such a special day for my city and a special day for my besties completing their 3rd Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon! 

Annie

CB&J Smoothie

The taste is similar to the childhood classic peanut butter and jell, but with cashew butter and blueberries this smoothie is brought up to age and multiplied in health benefits. It is a recreation of my current fav from our local smoothie place, Organic Squeeze.  The menu may allege it to be "kid friendly" but that doesn't mean adults can't enjoy it too. 

I took oldest sis to Organic Squeeze after a spin class while she was in town last week. I insisted she try the CB&J. She loved it. One of my roommates and I are hooked on this flavor too, so I've been set on recreating it. With a few rounds of testing I think I got it to taste to be just like the original. 

P.S. the pink himalayan sea salt is key! It gives it that little salty bite you find in a PB&J sandwich! And I find no problem with having pink salt around the house. 

CB&J Smoothie
yields 1 smoothie, inspired by Organic Squeeze

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk, depending how thick you like it
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 frozen banana
1 Tbsp. cashew butter
2 Tbsp. oats
1 tsp. flax seeds
pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt
handful of ice

Directions:
Throw all your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Annie

Best Banana Bread

Banana bread is like a blanket. One bite feels like that moment when you first tuck your feet into bed and pull the covers up to your neck. Warm, cozy and comfortable...

How bout that poem? Ya it was a stupid as you were thinking it was. But in all honesty banana bread is an ultimate comfort food. Anything you can eat for breakfast, dessert or a snack is a win!

This recipe makes some tasty batter and even better bread. You will get one or two loaves from this recipe depending on the size of pan you use. I like to use the disposable foil pans you can find at the grocery store and bake up a couple of loaves. Wrapping one up and using as a hostess gift and freezing the other to pull out for breakfast when I have company in town.

Banana Bread
yields (1) 9x5in or (2) 8x4in loaves

Ingredients: 
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
4 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 overripe bananas
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease one or two loaf pans, depending on what size you are using, with cooking spray and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter on medium for two minutes. Scrape the sides then add the eggs one at a time. Add the milk, vanilla and bananas then mix. The batter will look a little lumpy and curdled but that's right!

Add the flour and baking soda and mix. Scrape down the sides and make sure everything is combined. Divide the batter among the two loaf pans, making sure to save a little bit to lick the bowl:) For (2) 8x4 pans bake for 45 - 55 minutes, for (1) 9x5 pan bake for 55 -65 minutes, until a knife is inserted into the middle and comes out completely clean.

*Saves in the freezer really well just wrap in foil then place in a large ziplock baggy. When you are ready to eat, just pull out and let it thaw on the counter. 

Annie

Bites of My Life

Week 1 of funemployment was a little too fun. Let's hope this week can compare. With oldest sister also between jobs, she made a trip down from New York for the week. We took full advantage of her being here and having time off from work. Lunch, dinner, workouts, shopping, pedicures, puppy time, family time, we squeezed it all in. Having a family of foodies meant lots of eating, cooking and snacking. We amped up our workouts to counteract the calories! Sad to see last week go, but this week is already shaping up to be a good one!

-Started my week of "funemployment" off right with a fun stack of raspberry pancakes!
-Kept the fun going by treating myself to a massage at Udander. Seriously amazing, highly recommend to locals. 
-Lunch at my current fav, Cultivar. I could eat those chips and guac for every meal. 
-With oldest sis in town, we instantly became sous chefs for the week! Spring green salad with scallops over garlic ginger pea puree.
-Showing sis the OKC can be just as cool as NYC. 
-Another dinner win with slow roasted citrus salmon and harissa israeli cous cous salad.
-My sweet little site has officially been published for 3 years. HBD TAB!
-Made a stop in Norman, OK to visit my grandmother, which led to lunch at this college town staple. 
-Made homemade kimchi with big sis while she was home. Used the recipe from Edible OKC.
-Randomly craving bananas in any form. And I usually hate bananas... Recipe for this banana bread tomorrow!
-Homemade cashew butter about to come in handy for a recipe later this week. Followed the same recipe as my homemade almond butter just roast the cashews for 7-9 minutes instead.
-Spaghetti Squash Kimchi Korean Bowl slayed Sunday night dinner, comment if you want the recipe and I will post it!

Annie

Take A Bite Turns Three

Three years ago, I was 19 years old, sitting in the kappa house dining room, reading up how to start a blog and creating amateur blog graphics on an internet photo editor. Three years later, a lot has changed. 

I've written 147 bites of my life, over 150 recipes, and too many blog posts to count. Take A Bite has gone through my time in college, my summer in DC, graduation, and now real world life. I've grown up with this blog. 

I'm so thankful for the experiences, opportunities, and friendships I have gained from starting Take A Bite. It's helped me develop something that I truly enjoy, and I love it for that. I'm so interested to see where TAB heads in the coming years. 

And now for my favorite blog birthday tradition. Birthday toast. The only way to celebrate a website turning one year older...

Birthday Toast

Ingredients:
bread of choice
almond butter
sprinkles
candles (optional)

Directions:
Toast your bread, spread on almond butter and decorate with sprinkles. Sing happy birthday and take a bite!

Why does my hand make that look like the smallest piece of bread ever?? I promise it wasn't. Anyway, see more blog birthday posts here and here.

Annie