Chocolate-Raspberry Bliss

Good evening! Soooooooo glad it’s the weekend. I love my new job; it’s really exciting and fast paced, but goodness, I desperately need these two days to decompress. Having so many deadlines is definitely stressful. But (*deep breath*) no worries, because the weekend is finally here!

I started my work day by, ironically, stopping by my old place of employment to drop some documents off for my new place of employment. I got to see some of my great friends, Maryam and Laura! Here’s a photo of the three of us at my wedding:

After leaving these beauties, I headed back to my office. THEN, I looked into my purse and saw this:

Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter! I purchased a few of these individual nut butter packets on my Whole Foods shopping spree yesterday. I literally ate the entire packet by itself. Embarrassing? Yes. Regrettable? Never. This was hands down the best nut butter product I’ve tasted…ever. And I consume a lot of nut butters. Eating [healthy] fats like nuts and avocados is the only way I ever feel full. The protein + fat really satiates my hunger.

An hour or two later, lunch rolled around, and it was time (yessss!) to break out my container of V.O.O. that I prepared last night and took to work. This batched contained oats, chia seeds, almond milk, chocolate soy protein powder, mashed banana, cocoa nibs, and cherries.

Vegan overnight oats are definitely my favorite. Can’t you tell? It’s like a healthy dessert! I can’t wait to show you variations of my standard recipe!

After work, I headed over to Kennesaw Mountain for an easy 3 mile run. I am so lucky to work only a few miles from these wonderful trails.

I took the 3 miles pretty easy, since I’m planning on running 11 miles in the morning. One reason I love these trails is all of the deer! In 30 minutes, I saw 3 deer! It’s such a wonderful place to transition from work to home.

When I got home, I needed something to tie me over ’til dinner. Enter: Green Monster. This one contained spinach, frozen mango cubes, banana, wheat germ, chocolate brown rice protein powder, ice, almond milk, and honey.

Perfection.

Once Mark arrived home after work, we decided to hit up Cafe Sunflower, a vegetarian restaurant, for dinner. This place is a gem! It has such a interesting decor with vibrant colors. Just check out the HUGE red and orange hanging lanterns.

I ordered the Peppercorn Crusted Tempeh and mashed potatoes with a reduced balsamic glaze.

Tempeh is fermented soy. It’s not processed the way tofu is, so I think of it as the brown rice of soy. It is a complete protein and contains more nutrients and fiber than tofu. It also has a nuttier flavor and a less slimy texture. I try to go for tempeh over tofu whenever possible.

After savoring the meal, Mark suggested we get a slice of vegan cake. We didn’t really have a choice, since it is customary for the waiter to bring this out after every meal:

Can you believe they’re all vegan (no eggs or dairy)!?!? Mark and I opted for the chocolate-raspberry mousse cake.

It was incredible. Sweet, but not ‘omg i’m going into a coma’-sweet. If you’re ever in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, I highly recommend checking Cafe Sunflower out.