I just made myself a sugar free, dairy free banana split and I thought I would quickly share the recipe with you, it’s totally simple.

Ingredients:

1 banana
2 or 3 chopped bananas frozen
1-2 cups frozen berries
Almond milk
Vanilla bean
(optional vanilla extract)
Unsweetened cocoa powder (make sure you read labels to confirm no contamination)

Take your nonfrozen banana and split it top to bottom and then cut it in half so you have 4 pieces (you could just split it once, my bowl was smallish and round)

take your frozen bananas and throw them in your food processor with the vanilla bean contents and a little vanilla extract if you want, and process those dudes until they are soft and fluffy, I added about a tbs of almond milk to speed up the process and make them creamier, you can blend them for about 3-5 minutes until the consistency you want is achieved, scoop out half of the frozen banana and put it somewhere, a bowl probably, and add the cocoa powder to the stuff left in the processor, blend it up until it’s all chocolatey looking, then put your banana pieces in a bowl or whatever you want to eat out of and throw a big scoop of the vanilla and then a scoop of the chocolate on top, rinse your processor and throw your frozen berries in with a little bit of water to soften them up and blend until smooth, add a scoop of that to your banana split and save the rest -I threw the remaining vanilla, chocolate and berry “ice cream” into a freezer safe bowl and made “neapolitan” because I am fancy and didn’t want to look for three bowls. HERE’S IS THE SUPER FUN PART, you can top this with anythinggg, I threw some vanilla chia pudding on it (I made it yesterday, delish) and then some hemps seeds over that so it would be super healthy.
It’s totally delicious and you don’t have to feel guilty about it!

Xoxo
S

Yes, I know it’s been a REALLY long time since I have posted but I don’t know, I’ve been busy and tired and it’s hard because I keep trying to figure out what kind of blogger I am and I’m not entirely comfortable with what I’d like to be (leaning more towards fashion) because my body is changing all over again and it’s hard to get used to something that is constantly in flux. Here are some updates though:

I am FINALLY going back to school which is awesome because I have been really bored for a very long time and I love school and it’s been super frustrating playing the maybe, will I, what’s happening game but finally, finally, finally things are back in order and I can get back on track with my major (or both of them, I guess) so that’s good.

So far I have lost about 30 pounds -I say about because I have stopped weighing myself, after I realized I was dropping pounds the number didn’t feel important anymore this is about being healthy not bragging about a number and in the beginning when I wasn’t losing any weight I became borderline obsessed with the scale and I would worry and it was just starting to influence the way that I ate and acted in a way that made me uncomfortable, I’ve had issued with that before and I decided to curb those feelings before it turned into a problem. As far as the 30 pounds go, OH MY GOODNESS YOU GUYS. It is both super noticeable and not noticeable at all, it’s pretty hard to deal with because when you make progress you want there to be more everyday and it’s hard to stay motivated constantly. So I’ve taken away all deadlines and “have tos” (I HAVE TO LOSE WEIGHT BY THEN) and I’m taking it day by day, I find that once you really get a steady handle on your eating habits and making the right choices you can relax and not beat yourself up for taking that one day off, just wake up and get back out there, go for a walk, sometime to make you feel better, it totally works and the weight is basically jumping ship -thaaaankkkk goodnesss-

I have started eating really healthy, like REALLY, REALLY healthy, I’ve cut out all meat except for fish once a week (omega 3s ya’ll) and I’ve really found that it’s ALL about portion control, I know people get all crabby about portions but honestly the average person is eating WAY too much food in one sitting and it’s absurd, I’ve started eating exactly what I need to keep my body fueled (factoring in active lifestyle) and I feel great! I also started drinking a TON of water every day and that has helped a lot. ANOTHER THING, GET. YO. SELF. TO. BED. Srs. I go to sleep early and I wake up early, BIG DIFFERENCE, my skin is clearing up, my weight is coming off, I’m A LOT nicer to everyone.  Because I love me, and that’s a good thing. When I’m feeling down or bad about something I just think of Tom and Donna from Parks and rec and I jump on the TREAT YO SELF train and I do something good for me like, painting my nails or reading a great new book, or having a dance party in the living room, or even acting out my favorite scenes from my favorite musicals (Eponine walking alone anyone? On my own? Eh? Eh?-Yea, I have a costume. )

I have gotten overly obsessed with Homeland, I love Damien Lewis and I think he is just a treat.

I still love you guys, stay with me I am just completely in the middle of an entire life overhaul and it’s really hard to take 22 years of your life and completely renovate. Speaking of, I have to go sort out more of my closet which is taking foreverrr since it’s huge, even after last years TEN donation bags I have even more and I might even be (GASP) getting rid of a lot of my shoes (obv not my most fabulous ones) so I can move more in, my closet isn’t huge so it’s hard when I have no space althoughhhh I might be getting a LOT more space soon so that’s cool, a bigger closet would be nice but I’m still going to go through all of it and get rid of the majority, I feel like my clothes represent a person that I became but never really wanted to be and I’m not saying that I regret the choices I’ve made because they got me to where I am now but I am going to be making better ones and I definitely have been in the past year, you can’t hang on to things and people you’ve known just because you’ve known them or had them for a long time, and I’ve realized that the most important thing is to surround yourself with people and stuff that you actually love and want around you, the second someone makes you feel bad, get rid of them and the same goes for your stuff!

Anyways, lots of work to do xoxoxoxoxoxo Ily.

S

I’ve been super busy lately and I’m not read to say why yet but it’s pretty exciting.
Anyways, I hope all is well and I’ll be back soon with some new posts.

All you’re ever gonna be is mean…

I feel like when you are trying to do what’s best for someone often you get caught up in “being helpful” and lose sight of what you were originally trying to do.
If someone needs space, give them space.
If someone asks you to be there for them, be there for them but everyone needs room to make mistakes and figure things out.

I also feel that it’s really difficult to put the pieces of your life back together when everyone is standing around you pointing out that it’s not good enough or that you are taking too long but when things are the most difficult I think that is when it’s important to really listen to what you need and stay at the pace you feel comfortable with.

Just remember that everyone has a story and everyone goes through hard times, what really counts isn’t how far you fall but having the tenacity and willpower to get up, try again and try harder until you succeed.

So I spent the last two days blowing up the internet with fangirly excitement about Taylor Swift’s new cd “Red” that comes out October 22nd. I apologize internet, I apologize.

So if you live in a bubble, if you didn’t listen to it on the live chat, and if you didn’t dl it as soon as iTunes released it, here is her new single. I lover her and I know this feel.

Can I tell you I have a Tumblr on my regular blog?

Is that a Yo Dawg?

I don’t know. But I do know that Tumblr is eating away at my free time and my sleep time.

http://samaraelisef.tumblr.com/

I got a bike! I love bikes, it’s as close to horseback riding as I can get without dealing with horse people.

I also got new running shoes because my old ones fell apart and hurt my ankles so naturally neon shoes were my only choice. Excuse my beauty by the way, what you are seeing on my face is extreme, near manic excitement. Oh and yes I did wear that shirt, I like to be seen while riding, safety first, even if all of the teenagers I rode by stared and snickered, I do not care. Let’s see who is laughing when I’m not a pancake in the road. Not to imply that they will be road pancakes but I just know I won’t be, because of that shirt…and those shoes…and my special workout pants with a neon stripe down the side…and my helmet light.

On another note, it is like 90 here and I am dying. The dogs are refusing to take part in “outside” and I too share their feelings. Hopefully it will cool off early enough to take them to the dog park but not so late so that we miss the dog park. it’s a ruff (haha) life.

I am looking forward to my evening bike ride with Tom very much, we’re working on getting our bike legs back so we can take them on the trails because last minute we decided to get mountain bikes which was something I didn’t know I wanted until I saw the first purple bike in the store and needed it. I was somewhat surprised because until that moment I was picturing myself on one of those cruiser bikes with the big wheels and a front basket that I could carry around classic novels and loaves of bread in, despite my gluten intolerance. I was also talked out of the child’s 5+ unicorn helmet that I wanted to buy because it was the only one that fit my head (I have an alarmingly small noggin apparently) and while I am a little sad about that I do think the helmet that I ended up with (8+) is fine because again…the helmet light.

Well, I’m off to melt into a puddle of nothingness or to purchase a last minute plane ticket to Antarctica, have a lovely day everyone.

Xo

I said I was watching The Glee Project.

Technically you could say I am but in all reality it’s paused on the big tv and I’m watching My Strange Addiction on my computer.

I can’t lie to you.

Isn’t it?