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Gouramanda

breakfast

Molasses + Maple Steel Cut Oats

Amanda Munden

molasses + maple steel cut oats

Hi, friends. I hope your 2016 is off to a lovely start. Last week on instagram I shared a little bit of my heart behind why I am opting out of  “New Year’s Resolutions” this year. No, it’s not that I’m lazy or complacent (most of the time at least). Quite the contrary. My intention for 2016 is, in fact, one of the most difficult goals I’ve ever set for myself. It’s not quantitative or easily measurable. Those kinds of goals are arguably more cut-and-dry and include a logical pathway to success, even if it’s to run a marathon by September (you run.) or read a book every month (you read.) …

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Pumpkin French Toast with Bacon Maple Syrup

Amanda Munden

Pumpkin french toast with bacon maple syrup

The easy thing for me to do right now would be to talk about fall,  cooler weather, leaves changing, and all things pumpkin- including this delicious french toast. I think I talked about all of those trite (yet wonderful) fall topics in my half-hearted blog post last week.  I get it though.  If anyone is guilty of breaking out the boots before the temperatures have even dipped into the 70s, it’s me.  Autumn is my favorite season. However, I feel like there are much bigger things going on in the world than my pumpkin spice latte or who won the football game yesterday. In my heart of hearts, when I write about those things, I feel a searing jab in my soul. It’s like when the nun in Madeleine starts singing “something is not right.” Kind of? (Oh man, my points of reference are becoming a dead giveaway for my profession!)…

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Chocolate, Coconut and Peanut Butter Energy Truffles

Amanda Munden

Chocolate, Coconut and Peanut Butter Energy Truffles

You can already taste the excitement in the air for one (now two) of Austin’s most beloved weekends, ACL fest. It’s a sweet time of year when the weather starts to cool if we’re lucky, and when renowned and latent musical talent reverberates throughout the city on a gargantuan scale, whether you like it or not. As an Austin native, ACL certainly holds a special place in my heart. However, my concert-culture has “shifted” over the years, to put it nicely. Nowadays, as opposed to my 17 or 18 year-old, dare I say impetuous self, I like to think I’m a little more practical when it comes to, well, most things, especially food things….

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Sweet Potato Muffins with Pistachio

Amanda Munden

Guess what, foodie friends? It’s Gouramanda’s 2 year blogiversiary! (Ok, actually it was yesterday, but who’s counting??) I was thinking of celebrating with an over-the-top, homemade, triple layer yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting and colorful sprinkles, but you know, I  just felt like making muffins instead. And I’m so glad I wasn’t in the overacheiving mood today, because these muffins in particular are freakin’ delicious, unbelievably easy to make,  AND they’re vegan/super healthy. What what. Yeah, I’m not sure I’d be able to veganize the aforementioned cake (though I bet it’s too much work totally feasible.) Also, I have an unjustifiable fear of cake-baking (they put it in a box for a reason, people!) and don’t feel in the  mood to conquer that particular fear today. It’s just one of those days, y’all!…

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Greeña Colada Smoothie

Amanda Munden

greeña colada smoothie

Right now, as I await my connecting flight back to Texas in the frigid, stale airport air, I can’t help but reminisce on warm memories of the fun-filled, long weekend I just spent with my best friend in sunny Florida. The past five days were a little slice of heaven to my soul. We took long walks down the powder-white sand beaches, swam in the cool azure waters, tasted our way through some fantastic restaurants and just enjoyed one another’s company….

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Fluffy Frittata Minis

Amanda Munden

DSC_0402

One of my favorite things about time off, whether it’s a vacation or a weekend, is the ability to slowly wake up and make breakfast at my own leisurely pace. While it’s also nice to have someone else spoil you by making you breakfast (or any meal!), I equally enjoy avoiding the hassle of leaving the house altogether (especially with these SXSW crowds!) Some may call this agoraphobia; I call it relaxing. (I’m a weird 24 year-old, this I know.) This mini frittata is a simple, healthy, grab-and-go option to get your  “weekend breakfast” fix any day of the week. Once they cool, all you do is freeze individual portions (I do 2 or 3) in foil and then pop them in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. That beats peanut butter toast any day.

I hope your weekend is brimming with whatever it is that fills and relaxes you. Happy Saturday and buen provecho!…

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Sweet Potato Waffles

Amanda Munden

sweet potato waffles

It has been well over one month since my last post. I never thought I would become this person! Perhaps Can you can let me off the hook this once and we can move on? Hmm…maybe it’s not that easy. Well, what if I tempt you with a mouth-watering photo and a recipe for some scrumptious sweet potato waffles that are also gluten-free? That’s what I thought. Bribery… Works every time. What can I say? A girl surrounded by 17 seven-year-olds day in and day out is bound to have a few tricks up her sleeves. And speaking of seven-year-olds, let’s get back to these waffles. They have a story to tell……

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Cinnamon Peach Butter

Amanda Munden

cinnamon peach butter

 

Isn’t it mind-boggling to think about how the brain so tightly intertwines memory with sense of smell?  I’ve always wondered why that is.  After a little investigation, I learned that the olfactory (sense of smell) cortex is embedded within the brain’s limbic system and amygdala, where emotions are born and emotional memories stored. That’s why smells, feelings and memories become so easily and intimately entangled (Natalie Angier @ NY Times)….

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