Alright, ‘fess up… who’s nursing a sugar hangover today? Or is the fun just beginning now that all the Halloween candy is going on sale? 😉 I had a pretty uneventful Halloween… The day was mostly business as usual, made a little more festive by a lovely surprise from J…
Craziest bouquet I’ve ever received. Love that guy. And speaking of love… the beginning of a new month means the end of an old one, and the end of an old one means it’s time to recap some of the the things I’ve been loving over the past 30 odd days (read: it’s time for monthly favourites).
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. food .
First up, Bob’s Red Mill nutritional yeast, also affectionally referred to as “nooch.”
I used to love this stuff back in the day, but for whatever reason, I kind of forgot about it and it ended up getting pushed to the back of my pantry. But since randomly pulling it out at the beginning of the month, I’ve fallen in love all over again. Not only does it have a wonderfully “cheesy” taste, but it boasts some pretty impressive health benefits, including:
- being a great vegetarian source of vitamin B12
- being high in protein
- being a great source of folic acid and biotin
- being rich in minerals (iron, magnesium, phorphorus, zinc, and chromium, and selenium)
I’ve been eating it daily by sprinkling it on things like grains, roasted veggies, salads, and popcorn.
Next up, Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
Sugar-free, GMO-free, and most importantly, carrageenan-free <– that was the big selling point for me. I used to be an Almond Breeze girl until I read about the whole controversy surrounding carrageenan. Found in things like ice cream, half & half, cottage cheese, chocolate milk, hemp milk, rice milk, almond milk, soy milk, cheesecake, processed meats, hot dogs, jellies, prepared sauces, pies, and puddings, carrageenan has been linked to a whole host of gastrointestinal complaints including IBS, colitis, leaky gut, ulcers, and even cancer. People assume it’s safe because it’s natural (derived from red seaweed), but this is one of those cases where just because it’s natural, doesn’t mean it’s safe for human consumption. I have a sensitive enough stomach as it is — I’d rather not chance it with anything that can potentially cause inflammation in my gut.
Other than that, I haven’t really tried out any new store-bought products over the last month, probably because I’ve spent so much time in the kitchen coming up with new recipes of my own…
Gluten-Free Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Bars
Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Truffles
Yeeeeeep. I think it’s safe to say that October was pretty darn tasty.
. – . – . – .
. beauty .
I struck gold in the skincare department last month when I came across this 3 Little Wonders set from Ole Henriksen.
The set comes with the truth serum collagen booster, sheer transformation moisturizer, and invigorating night gel, and promises to “defend against signs of aging by firming, lifting, retexurizing, tightening and evening out skin tone with light, oil-free formulations.” Now, I can’t speak to the anti-aging part since I’m still in my prime ( 😉 ), but I can say that my skin has been looking and feeling a whole lot better ever since I started using these products. Better how? Noticeably smoother, softer, tighter, and more even. Ole Henriksen focuses on high-quality natural ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin E, botanical alpha hydroxy acids, green tea, and fruit acids, in addition to being free of parabens an sulphates. I picked up the mini trial version to see if I would like it, but you better believe I’ll be going back to buy more as soon as I run out.
Speaking of running out… I ran out of my normal Revlon ColorStay foundation last month and decided to try something new. Enter Rimmel’s Wake Me Up Foundation.
Since we’re moving into colder, drier months, I wanted something that would give me a nice healthy glow to combat any potential dullness that the weather might cause in my skin, and this one seemed to fit the bill seeing as it was advertised as “light, moisturizing, anti-fatigue foundation that instantly reawakens skin with a healthy, radiant glow.” Sounds good on paper, and I’m happy to say that it performs equally well in practice — it really does add a nice radiant glow to the skin without looking shimmery or fake. The coverage is medium and easily buildable for those days where you need a little more help. It’s got great staying power, doesn’t cake, doesn’t oxidize (turn orange), and doesn’t break me out. Definitely a great option as far as drugstore foundations go.
Switching gears from face to eyes, meet my newest mascara obsession — YSL Babydoll.
I received a trial size of this mascara when I purchased my YSL lipstick last month, and I.am.in.love — I’ll be grabbing a full-size as soon as I run out. It provides great volume without clumping, while lengthening, separating, defining, and holding a curl (something that’s almost impossible for my stubbornly straight lashes). It wears beautifully without flaking off during the day, and has never given me those dreaded racoon eyes that we all love to hate. Amazing, amazing, amazing if you want magazine-worthy lashes — and who doesn’t?
Nails! I pretty much wore 1 of 2 polishes for the entire month of October — Essie’s Over the Edge or Butter London’s Wallis.
I love darker shades in the fall time, especially when they lean more towards the metallic side. And… yup… that’s basically all there is to say about that.
. – . – . – .
. odds and ends .
😯 *crickets* 😯
. – . – . – .
. blog .
I’ve got to say that October was a pretty awesome month for Spoons. In addition to experiencing a nice growth spurt, I was also presented with a handful of opportunities that make me super excited for what the future has in store. Woop! Some other highlights of the past month include:
- Wringing in the new month with a recap of the road trip I took at the end of the last one. I miss BC!
- An attitude adjustment… I really tried to work on my tendency to put things off until the “right” time by reminding myself that every moment is a fresh start and the right time is right now. This lead me to start running, something that I put off for a long time because of fear.
- Sharing some tips on dealing with fat days, and finding comfort in the fact that everyone experiences them.
- Baking, baking, and more baking…
. – . – . – .
One word to sum up your October:
Have you tried nutritional yeast?
What kind of milk do you normally drink? Cow? Almond? Soy?
What’s your favourite mascara at the moment?
I’m a huge fan of almond milk – I get Alpro unsweetened here in the UK which is free from that seaweed stuff. It’s amazing to remember back when I first starting blogging – you couldn’t find almond milk in the shops for love nor money, and now it’s everywhere! Looks like you’ve had a great month. Mine seemed to flash by, but I learned a lot about myself through various things 🙂
I love almond milk!! So great blended into a smoothie 🙂 Also, your recipes look amazing!! 🙂 YUM!
THAT bouquet is hands down the best arrangement I have ever seen sold in stores. My all time favorite was a homemade broccoli bundle of broccoli and colorful carrots I once received a few years ago. This makes me fall love just BEAM from my face!
😆 That sounds absolutely perfect for you.
A marvelous month for sure. And I am currently sporting Over the Edge on my nails – felt festive for Halloween. Love!
I am a newbie to nutritional yeast. Started using it about a month ago and I love it! I add it to almost everything 🙂 My husband is freaked out by the name and won’t even try it…boo! The mascara I am loving at right now is Benefit They’re Real. It is awesome!
I’ve never tried nutritional yeast – one of these days I need to!! I’ve used Philosophy skincare products for the past couple years and I’m pretty much obsessed with the line!
I am allergic to dairy and Very Sensitive to soy, and I drink Silk almond! I love the unsweetened vanilla for daily use (also the unsweetened regular actually) BUT I so highly recommend you grab a smaller carton (shelf stable) of the regular vanilla Silk almond.. yess it has a little sugar so I know it’s not as good for regular use but it is amaaaaazing. Like honestly miles above the unsweetened stuff, and I adore that kind too! I keep the smaller one around for like a tea latte or to make hot chocolate with 🙂 Also worth mentioning the chocolate Silk almond is to diiiiie for.
I love Silk Soy but my stomach can’t really dig it, so I only use it out at coffee shops on occasion.
I’ve been curious about the chocolate one, so I may just end up picking up a smaller carton of that in addition to the vanilla. Thanks Shira!
You’ve went above and beyond in the recipe department this month!! That bouquet is so cool… I think your guy has pretty cool taste. I too was an almond breeze girl and have recently switched over to Silk.
Nooch…what a silly silly word. I use ‘nooch’ in cauliflower crust pizza bases, but never really had it on anything else- the popcorn idea is genius! This was indeed a very foodgasm month for spoons, and although I only attempted the bread pudding, once exams are done I have those truffles on the ‘to make’ list….purely because I stand by the almond fudge being the #1 recipe 😉
Stoked to hear of exciting things happening from this month forth- I have a couple of things I’m excited for which I never would have thought come stem from having a bl0g- its making me really appreciate the community more and more! My favourite mascara is…whatever you said.
Expect me to pry and ask you about what exciting things you’ve got coming up in my next e-mail 😉
you are all killing me with these cute boy gestures. my best friend here had her boyfriend leave for a month, outside the country. So he left her packages and notes to open throughout the month he is gone with specific dates to open them. I die. Cutest thing ever. I just can’t even.
Thanks for the tip on the Silk Almond Milk Amanda. That Carageenan had been making me nervous too but at the same time I looove almond milk. Now we can have our cake and eat it too! mmmm cake 😉
Those flower are gorgeous!
Have a great weekend
I *love* Essie nail polish…every time I go to Target I’m tempted to buy a new bottle! Fortunately, I can resist, but the colors are just so cute and the quality is my favorite!
My October in one word…Progress. I’ve taken steps this month that a year ago (heck, even a few months ago) would have seemed literally IMPOSSIBLE for me to take. I’ve really set my mind on change and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m finally learning what the true pursuit of happiness is for me, and I’m determined to never look back, no matter how long it takes me to get there.
I’ve actually never tried nutritional yeast before- but I’m not the biggest fan of cheese so I’m not sure if it’s for me anyway. I do love almond milk though- even better than normal milk. It has a sweetness to it that gives it a full-bodied flavor that regular milk lacks imo.
Eh, I don’t wear black mascara. My lashes are pretty long by themselves (now if only my scalp hair would start growing as long and as quickly as they do), and all it usually does is clump them up so that they look like really bad fake ones. I DID use a clear mascara for a while, and it was pretty good.
You’re quite blessed to have a guy that gives you a bouquet on Halloween- imagine what you’ll get at Christmas and Valentines Day 😉
Happy Friday!
<3
Is it strange that your first paragraph makes me ridiculously happy/excited for you? Having had a few of those turnaround moments myself, I love hearing about others experiencing the same thing 😀 I hope that whatever it is just keeps getting better!
I just started using Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Yeast too! I love it. A perfect vegan “cheezy” flavor and I love the B12s!
So happy for your new opportunities! And congrats on your growth spurt! You are such a talented and deep writer and I am so happy that there are more people who are getting to enjoy it! I hope one of your new projects is a book! 😉
One word to sum up my October is blah! Crazy work issues have me looking elsewhere!
I was on the nutritional yeast bandwagon couple of years ago – but haven’t had any in awhile.
I actually started drink Silk Unsweetend Vanilla Almond milk after I read your article link up about carrageenan- thank you for helping me save my colon 🙂
I will take home baked goods over store stuff anyday and you have had quite a stash this month!
Hoping good things are in store for you and J…and this weekend is MARVELOUS!
I remember you mentioning that you’re having some issues at work 🙁 We spend so much time working, that you really want to make sure it’s an environment that you’re happy in. Hoping you find some solutions soon <3
I love love love YSL mascara but paying $30+ for it kills me!
I love nutritional yeast on top of kale and baked in the oven 🙂 It’s SO good! I didn’t know that Silk True Almond milk is carrageenan-free! That makes me happy. I love that silver nail polish too!
I am loving the Essie nail polish! They are a great brand, their polish always stays on so well for me. I’d say you had a pretty great month of posts, too! On to the next 🙂
October: fast! too fast- such a good month around here. I do have high hopes for November though- today has been great. I just bought a huge 10 oz jar of Nutritional Yeast from NOW foods last week- such a steal at like $7.99. I really like it sprinkled on my greens soups & on cauliflower bread- adds a lot! the only milk in our house is Silk Almond unsweetened vanilla- weird, not sweetened but with vanilla added? I just go with it 🙂 currently using up a Target mascara find but now I am online searching for the YSL- it sounds great. you are my resource for nail color & make up FYI- in my small town I have to go online for the trends!
There are a lot of great drug store mascaras that you can get as well! I really love Maybelline Colossal Volum’ and Revlon’s Lash Potion.
So funny, I just rediscovered Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Yeast lately too. I love to put it into my oatmeal omelettes!
And I need to try that Rimmel foundation, sounds great.
You definitely hit the spot with your recipes this month girl! So much goooodness!
Happy weekend!
That’s the absolute only brand of almond milk I will buy! I go bout if my way to a different store every week to get it because every single other brand I try hurts my stomach. Guar gum is added to other mills that cause the same issues too, so watch out for that!:)Funny that it is caked Pure Almomd here in the States:) Funny how they do that, don’t ya think?:)
I love love love Silk almond milk–unsweetened vanilla is my go-to. I haven’t tried nutritional yeast but maybe I should? I’m always curious about new foods.
Definitely give it a shot! It’s incredibly versatile and adds a pretty awesome flavour to pretty much everything.
The bouquet is gorg! I am a Maybelline Falsies girl. I have been using it since it came out and love it! I am also very intrigued by the Rimmel foundation!
Love all your favorites – definitely have to check out the nail polishes!
October was such a weird month- not bad just different! Glad it’s november – going to make it a really good month!!!
I keep nutritional yeast in the kitchen all the time. It’s easy enough to add to anything for a little more value to the food.
As for mascara, currently hooked on Mary Kay “lash love”
You seriously killed it in the recipe department last month! I want ALL the baked goods.
I’ve never tried nutritional yeast… it kind of looks like the food I used to feed my Beta fish, which freaks me out a little bit. Appetizing ;). Although, you know I LOVE anything cheesy, so I suppose I should try it.
Nutritional yeast is one of my favorite things ever!! My favorite way to use it is definitely on popcorn. Oh, and speaking of popcorn, I just sprinkled some granulated onion powder on mine for the first time last night and it was AMAZING! Have you ever tried that?
I haven’t… but either that or garlic powder sounds kind of amazing. Definitely going to do it the next time the savoury popcorn craving hits.
oh my goodness, that bouquet is amazing…so perfect for Halloween! I go back and forth between Almond Breeze and Silk – I have heard the warnings on carrageenen, but maybe I should be taking them more seriously.
I’ve never tried nooch! I keep seeing it featured on blogs and thinking that I should pick some up, but then I always forget once I get to the health food store. I’m hoping to go this weekend, so hopefully I remember this time 😉
Expect a text reminder at 4 AM on Saturday morning 😉
Sounds like a pretty good month to me 😉 and I love your crazy flower bouquet. This guy does really have some taste! And the golden nail color rocks. I’d really like to try one like this.
The flower arrangement is so beautiful! To answer your questions, the milk I most frequently drink is almond and soy, both are yummy and are available in so many different flavors! As far as mascara goes, lately, I’ve been using Rimmel, which I love, but also frequently use CoverGirl Lashblast.
It’s safe to say our entire family was in a sugar coma…. No shame 😉
Good job. I expected no less
I love adding nutritional yeast to popcorn and pastas! That fall flower bouquet is beautiful, what a sweet guy. I usually buy my grocery store’s brand of almond or coconut milk. I should probably look more into that as I have a pretty sensitive stomach.
I LOVE that bouquet!! Props to J on the Halloween and autumn season theme.
Happy November 1st and Friday, Amanda! Have a fabulous weekend 🙂
Considering all of my candy was eaten at the 2am hour, yes, I can safely say I have a sugar hangover. And a very hoarse voice from all the yelling and laughing. It was a great hallowen. I’m still so excited that you’re running. I say that on every post though. And baking. You’re inspiring me to bake this afternoon if it kills me!
One word to sum up your October: Change. (Good change.)
Have you tried nutritional yeast? No and I honestly don’t think I will…it freaks me out!
What kind of milk do you normally drink? Cow? Almond? Soy? I use soy milk in my coffee and cereal, and also enjoy chocolate soy milk. However, when it comes to just having a glass of milk I drink Lactaid Cow’s milk.
What’s your favourite mascara at the moment? L’Oreal’s Telescopic. It’s wonderfully lengthening!
😆 That was me with nutritional yeast as well — the name just skeeved me out. But it’s surprisingly non-skeevy!
J is a keeper… what a gorgeous/crazy and thoughtful bouquet! I have been seriously neglecting my nutritional yeast. I had no idea Bob’s made some so I will have to pick up a bag. Happy Friday lovely!
Back in the spring I switched all of my makeup due to allergies that I just couldn’t stand anymore. I was a Dior Addict so giving up my Iconic mascara was not my favorite thing to do BUT I bought the Clinique mascara (simply because everything was truly hypoallergenic and I was buying other stuff from them) and I LOVE IT. In fact, I don’t miss Iconic and I may find the Clinique one better. And cheaper. I don’t drink much milk but do still buy organic Cow’s milk. I am slightly allergic to almonds which has left me afraid to drink almond milk. And oh, I keep forgetting to get nutritional yeast. Thank you for reminding me. I need my b12.
I have a feeling that I’m slightly allergic to something I”m either wearing/eating, but even thinking about going through the process of trying to figure out what it is is giving me a headache. Why body… why?!
Haha OMG now that’s one heck of a crazy flower bouquet- extra points for creativity ;)! Loving your beauty favorites for the month, especially the polish shades- they look perfect for December when party season kicks in! One word to describe my October? Hectic…and fun! I know that’s 3 words but I’m just indecisive like that ;)! I’ve never tried nooch but anything with a cheesy flavor sounds good in my books. The nutritional stats sound pretty awesome too. I’ll have to look out for it when I’m in Dubai next month- I wouldn’t even know where to search for it here in Mumbai. I usually only use milk in my coffee when I’m in Mumbai and that’s usually soy milk- love the naturally creamy flavor. When I’m in London, I’m a cows’ milk girl…organic please :)!
I converted to silk last year (after being an almond breeze devotee) and have never looked back! Love that stuff. Though if I had copious amounts of time on my hands I’d probably just make my own. But yeah, ain’t nobody got time for that!
You’re a baking QUEEN!!!
Don’t even talk to me about baking supremacy, Ms. Eclair 😛 And have you tried the chocolate Silk? Is it any good? Also… do you discriminate between the ones from the fridge vs. the shelf-safe kind?
Never tried the chocolate. Probably because I usually buy the refrigerated carton and it’s a big commitment to make if I decide I don’t like it. Must find a friend who has it and taste test! I’ll keep you posted 🙂 And those truffles trump eclairs any day of the week!
No sugar coma for me, but I may have indulged in one or two almond butter cups since I’m starting a 21 Day Sugar Detox today!