I heart coconut oil

Ok, people- so I bought my first jar of coconut oil and I swear it has changed my life. As someone who struggles with the occasional facial breakout ( and someone who can't leave any blemishes alone!), my friend Le-La had recommended coconut oil to me for its ability to heal blemishes and scars. I took note of the products benefits, but I didn't purchase it. This week, I had made a slight mess of my face and I knew I had to try something to help expedite the healing process. I was willing to try anything, and I remembered what Le- La had said about how the coconut oil had worked to help clear her skin. I purchased a jar of organic coconut oil, googled how to use it on the face, and within minutes I had slathered my face in that fabulously fragrant oil. I also put a dollop of the oil on specific blemishes and left the oil there overnight. Within 2 days, my face has almost completely cleared up! AMAZING. Originally, the thought of using coconut oil on my face seemed like a weird idea as oil tends to make the skin and hair greasy. For some reason the oil from the coconut does not leave greasy residue or cause blemishes!  As a bonus to clear skin, you can also use the product in your hair and for cooking!

I have been using the oil on my face each day and leaving it on for about 1 hour. I then rinse it off and dab it on specific areas that need extra attention if you know what I mean! For information about the benefits of coconut oil, click here!

Let's move on to some of the cooking and meals that have taken place over here in the past few days.

On Wednesday night, this bad boy came out of hiding, and I'm sure glad he did! I happen to think the crockpot is on of the most fantastic inventions ever.

I made this awesome bean and corn chilli that I adapted from Skinny Taste . For the recipe, click here. I topped the chilli with a dollop of Chobani and cilantro. DELISH. It was so easy, filling, and nutritious! I will be making this again for sure. I doctored the original recipe a bit by adding fresh minced garlic and more spices than the original recipe called for.  Also, I used lean ground turkey instead of the chicken. I cooked the turkey separately, and then mixed it in to PJ's dish. I was personally fine without the meat as we had this hearty dish on the side....

I whipped up this hearty oat loaf  that I adapted from sweet tooth sweet life to go with the chilli! This bread rocked my socks off, and PJ and I have been munching on it quite frequently since Wednesday!

Hearty Oat Loaf

Ingredients:

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 cup whole wheat flour

- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp quick-cooking oats, divided (*I only had old-fashioned oats, and it tasted totally fine)

- 1/4 cup sugar

- 3 tsp baking powder

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 1 egg

- 1-1/2 cups fat-free milk ** I used almond milk which worked perfectly!

- 3 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flours, 1/2 cup oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Spread batter into an 8- or 9-in. round baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.  Sprinkle with the remaining oats.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.  Serve warm.

I topped this bread with honey butter  ( 1tbs of melted butter mixed with 1 tsp of honey!) which was delicious paired with the oaty bread.

Thursday morning I had an extremely early breakfast presentation, and I wasn't feeling particularly hungry before the meeting. I picked this juice up at Starbucks to tide me over until I was ready for a real breakfast. I will say, I did not love this juice. Yes, there are lots of good ingredients in it, but you can taste the sugary apple juice and pineapple juice that were used instead of real, fresh apple and pineapple. I will admit that I may be a little bit spoiled from my frequent trips to the fresh juice bar in Jersey City.

Cheapest Honey Crisps I have found so far this year. I picked these up at the farmers market in Jersey City on Thursday night, and I was kicking myself for spending $3.11 p/lb at a market the day before! As expensive as these apples are, they are damn well worth it!

PJ Loves Honey Crisps. Chomp Chomp Chomp.

Another delicious fall item that I consumed this week was my fave pumpkin beer, Dogfish Punkin' Ale. I love pumpkin beers (and pretty much anything else pumpkin!).

Last night, PJ and I went to a wedding for one of his fraternity brothers. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding, and the weather was perfect for the outside evening ceremony and cocktail hour. I didn't take many pics, but one thing I particularly loved were the favors provided by the bride and groom.

I couldn't fit a pic of the whole card, but instead of traditional favors they donated to a rescue foundation for doggies! What a great idea! I have received some cool wedding favors, but in my opinion, donating to a foundation that saves animals is the best favor I  have ever received.

They had a photo booth! PJ and I have never done a photo booth together, so I was pretty psyched to get this pics! What is even funnier than our goofy faces is that every couple who did the photo booth had the same progression of pics: nice smiles, kissing, then goofy faces. We all had a good laugh over it! If you and you significant other have photo booth pics, check if they follow the same line-up as ours! I bet they do :)

I apologize AGAIN for the demon eyes, but my camera wizard will not correct them! PJ looks very handsome, dontcha think?  :)

Brekkie this AM was a hunk of my healthy oat loaf, a honey crisp apple, and some cottage cheese! I put the broiler on to heat and crisp up the bread, and I hadn't even put the bread in I noticed smoke coming out of the oven. Hmm....

When I opened the oven, I found this charred substance. Apparently, PJ put pizza in the oven the other day to heat up and forgot about it. Cajun breakfast pizza, anyone?!

Alright, it's a beautiful day and I have some things to get done around the apartment! I'm hoping to get my yoga on later today!

Have a beautiful Saturday!

XO

Sarah