My sister would completely disapprove if I had called these "burgers." But boy do I love my veggie "burgers." I'm extremely particular about them though; I like seeing bits of the ingredients in them. What can I say? I like my food chunky! Guacamole, soup almond butter. There's nothing better than a tomato soup with whole bits of tomato, herbs, onion and garlic in it!

Again, these brown rice and lentil patties are not the most attractive of foods but I love them for their a) versatility and b) freezability (Yes, that is a word in my books.). Like most of my recipes, this was a (successful!) experiment more than anything else. A mixing of whatever I had on-hand in my fridge so the following list is definitely up to interpretation:

1 cup cooked lentils
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg
1 clove of garlic
Some chunk of onion
1 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Salt & pepper as desired
Oil (olive, sunflower, grapeseed, you name it!) for pan frying

1. Add all ingredients in bowl and blend together. I used an immersion blender but a food processor should work perfectly fine too. Really just depends on the texture you'd like your patties to be AKA if you're an oddball like me and want the heterogeneousness.
2. Coat pan with oil of choice and plop the mixture on. Another great thing about these is that you can make them any size you want!
3. Cook until "golden" brown and toasty on both sides or until you can no longer wait to eat them, whichever comes first.

Luckily, my university gives us the whooooole week of Thanksgiving off so my break (not-so-officially) began yesterday afternoon. I'm visiting a friend in San Francisco for the weekend. It will be my first time there so any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'll be back on Monday though--ready to share my adventures & to gobble up some turkey!

Questions:


How do you like your food? Team Chunky or Team Smooth? 

What are your weekend plans? 

1. Though I only just entered my second decade, it feels like 30 is around the corner! WHICH IS CRAZY. Someone please tell me how we're less than a month a half away from 2016!!! Can time please oh please slow down. As I ponder my future and all my life choices, I came across this interesting take on what it means to be 30 in different countries. Eye-opening and perspective-putting plus the photography is stunning.

2. At first glance, I thought this article about a dietician's food rules would be another ruse, emphasizing what I "should" eat, good versus bad. But quite honestly, it wasn't what I expected. I don't want to advocate a "right" diet (there is none!) but I think this article perfectly sums up my ultimate health goals.

 I do believe you need cake to balance out the kale, just as much as you need kale to balance out the cake.

3. Have y'all seen any of those Mode 100 Years of Fashion videos? I lovelovelove watching them! If you know what I'm talking about and/or if you are a foodie like I am, here's a fun video for you! That 2015 one is so accurate.

4. Not your typical Thanksgiving pie.... Since my family ordered a pumpkin pie for our holiday meal this year, I won't get to try it out next week but it is definitely going on my never-ending to make list! Mmmmm, just look at that crumble.

5. When The Fat Girl Gets Skinny !!! -- Incredibly powerful look on what's wrong with our society's view of "health." Another video... Maybe I need to call this Must-Watches of the Week instead. After I saw this, I swear I spent a good hour or two just watching other spoken word poems. If you know of any good ones, please send them my way! Caution: This video and article may be triggering.

Happy Monday! This day has surprisingly been exhausting for (only) the first day of the week. My mid-afternoon coffee buzz is definitely wearing off. Thankfully, the next couple of weeks are completely chill school-wise. Thanksgiving break is so near I can taste the roasted brussel sprouts,  punkin' pie, and gravy in the air. 




Gonna keep this post short & sweet. Here are some links from around the Interweb that caught my eye in the past week. Hope they inspire you as much as they did me! Peace out, bean sprouts. 

1. For When You're Feeling Tired of Everything - ***NOTE TO SELF

2. Socca Flatbread via Well & Full - Bought garbanzo flour at Central Market today specifically to make this at some point during the week. Will let y'all know how it goes! 

3. The Antidote for Perfectionism - Recovery has forced me to confront my desire to be perfect head-on. I think I've had this illusion that mindfulness will make all the pieces of life fall into place, that I will magically become better once I "master" it. But, as this article points outs, mindfulness is actually the whole-hearted acceptance of the imperfect. 

4. This list of ALL Disney's upcoming movies!!! - FINDING DORY, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, MOANA, ETC ETC. After serendipitously watching Mulan last night on ABC Family, I remembered coming across this awesomeness on Facebook. I am more excited than a 20-year-old student probably should be, especially considering that by 2018, I'll be out of college and dealing with the "real world." Oh wellz. Let future Kaylee deal with that.

5. "This Woman Had The Perfect Response To People Body-Shaming An 8-Year-Old Girl" via Buzzfeed - LOVE THIS. 

Take her outside. Plant a garden. Play in the snow. Play tag. Get a slip and slide and swing set and a hoolah hoop. Buy her a purple bike with bright yellow streamers. Teach her to play an instrument and dance like a crazy person. Buy her art supplies and show her all of the bodies that artists have celebrated throughout history. Feed her good stuff, but have conversations with her while she eats it. Say things that aren’t about food. Read great books. Teach her to sew or sing or make balloon animals. Go back outside. Tell her she is beautiful, but say it half as much as you say that she is kind and generous and hysterically funny and at the top of your list of favorite people. Talk about anything but bodies. Turn off the fucking TV. Jump in the pool and don’t talk about how big your splash is or how your thighs look in your swimsuit." 

This Sunday began as the past few days here in Dallas have, aka with gray and dreary skies. As hard as I try to fight it, the weather and temperature drastically influence my mood. Despite falling back and gaining an hour of sleep, I was strangely exhausted and just felt blah when I woke up this morning.


This weather practically screams cozy, oatmeal-y muffins for so I got up and baked spelt, oatmeal & pear ones after intense Google recipe searching. I ate a couple for breakfast along with a handful of walnuts. I exchanged the oil for applesauce and whole wheat for spelt flour. Yay for satisfied cravings!!!


In between some almost emotional breakdowns over the weekend, I've been thinking a lot about my recovery. My ED thoughts are primarily motivated by my perfectionism (which if you had asked me a year ago I would have denied completely so there's progress). I wanted this unrealistic and pseudo me. I felt pressured to do and be everything. I needed to fulfill the expectations of someone who had her shit together: maintaining my straight A's, exercising every single day, having (an illusion of) a social life, being constantly happy. When I didn't meet said expectations, I would let it affect me mentally, putting me in a cycle of expectations and disappointment. Definitely not good for my already low self-esteem.

Right now, I fear becoming lazy because of recovery. As I let go of these expectations, I am beginning to feel a little lost and unmotivated without them. What if my determination and perseverance were just consequences of my perfectionism? How do I healthily push myself to do things? I guess the answer is it's entirely okay to be lazy once and a while. Our minds, bodies and souls need breaks.

I didn't do much today but that doesn't mean I didn't accomplish anything. There is something to say about  Today I realized...

• I am learning to accept that lying in bed all day is not the end of the world.
• I am getting better at listening to what I want rather than what I tell myself I should want.
• I am living in and for the now more.

Happy November y'all