The Blogging Platypus

My Actions and Choices Reflect my Values It is pretty easy to lose track of who you are. Who you really are. We can fall into a pattern of playing the various roles that we think represent who we are, but do they really? We are often tasked with wearing the hats of parent, child, employee, supervisor, friend, and caretaker throughout our lives. When we have to fill so many different roles, it can be easier to put who you are and some of your values on the backburner in order to succeed in whichever goal we are pursuing. While fragmenting who you are to fill a certain role may make it easier, as there are fewer personal barriers that can potentially get in the way of your goals, we risk losing who we are. When our values are not reflected in our actions, it can create a separation between our authentic self and the self we portray to the outside world. This, in turn, can lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, fear, and a sense of feeling lost. Gee, I wonder why stifling who you ar...

Some may enjoy their coffee as black as their winged eyeliner, while others prefer adding a little sweet and creamy extras. Neither one is better than the other as a whole, but those who drink their coffee in a more “pure” form may have it a little easier when it comes to the accouterments needed to enjoy their morning brew. For those of us who like to add a little something to liven up our cup of Joe, it can be difficult, especially when you have a restricted diet. I have been living the gluten free and vegan life for a few years now and cannot see myself going back. However, one issue that I had when switching over was a lack of tasty coffee creamer options that didn’t cost an arm and a leg (either literally by how much sugar they contained, or how hard they hit the pocketbook). I tried a few recipes that I found online, but many of them seemed to take too much time and effort, not to mention more than a few ingredients. I was looking for something easy that was affordable ...

Okay, so maybe it won’t change your life, but your taste buds will thank you, as will your gut! I ran across this recipe on Pinterest and have made it a few times. One of the things I love about it is how easy it is to customize. It’s also a no-rise bread, so you don’t have to worry if your yeast is still good. But there is a setting period that you will want to plan for when making a loaf of this delicious bread. I have been having two slices of this bread for breakfast lately, but originally made it before we took a road trip to ABQ. I wanted to have something that was tasty and would hold up well. Traveling with a special diet can be tricky. Sometimes I am limited to peanuts, some types of chips, and fruit, as those are typically the only vegan and gluten free options at gas stations along a route. Like I said, you can customize this in so many ways. Just make sure that you set aside some time for the loaf to set before baking, and you may want to bake it a little longer, depend...

Making life easier is my jam as of late. Not that I want to be lazy and rely on hacks, but rather my energy is often limited by how many spoons I have to do my daily tasks. If I can make my life easier and still be able to do some of the things I want to do, I’m about that life. Here are three things that make my life easier: Using a file folder holder to organize cutting boards Meal prepping for the week Being green and clean with reusable/washable sponges and rags We are a mixed household, in that there are meat eaters and a vegan living under the same roof. Cross contamination is a big risk, be it gluten or animal products, so to make my life easier, we have a variety of cutting boards. They can take up a lot of space or be difficult to organize. However, using an upright file folder holder has been my savior! This way, I can easily grab the cutting board that suits my needs for what I am making. Now, that’s what I call an organization lifehack that is worth my time! The...

One of my hobbies lately is cooking recipes I come across on Pinterest. I can scroll Pinterest on my phone for hours a day, selectively pinning everything from Tiny House Awesomeness, to a board I call Nothing But Carrot Cake. Somewhere in between those I stumbled across a recipe for BBQ Pulled Jackfruit. If you don’t know jack about jackfruit, it is time you learned! I find it to be tastier than any vegan meat substitute out there. You’ll typically find it in the canned food section of your local health food store. We pick up ours from our local Natural Grocers. When cooking with it, just make sure to rinse it THOROUGHLY. Otherwise you might get stuck with a brine-y tasting and smelling dish. I ended up making two baking dishes full of BBQ pulled jackfruit, which I later used to make some delicious taquitos. Dinner was delicious, but the mess it left in the baking dishes were not. We tried soaking them overnight to see if we could get the sticky BBQ sauce remnants off the pans. No l...