*** Now that I am making this sweeping generalization I’m willing to imagine that my next 10 meals will be on plates…oh well.

Exhibit A

sautéed kale + carrots + mushrooms + marinara sauce + eggs + cheese

A side of sourdough + avocado on the side

Exhibit B

The Green Bowl from BYB.  I LOVE Backyard Bowls, but they can get a little pricey so I try to recreate these at home all the time.  Nonetheless a solid choice.

Exhibit C

quinoa + broccoli + carrots + mushrooms + gardein chick’n + eggs + BBQ sauce + avocado

I just can’t get enough of the avocado + BBQ combo.

Exhibit D

Pineapple Chobani + frozen mixed berries.

I wasn’t sure how I would like the pineapple flavored CHO but let me tell you, its ALL about the 2%!

Exhibit E

kale + brussels + kabocha + yolk porn + smoked gouda

This bowl meal had at least 4 of my favorite foods.  (Kale is awesome, but definitely doesn’t make my top 10).

Exhibit F

Green Tea Latte from Coffee Cat.

Okay so this isn’t technically a bowl, but I felt like the mug was almost big enough to be considered a bowl.  I got this on a particularly cloudy day in Santa Barbara and cozied into a booth to get some studying done.  Nothing like a sugary drink to motivate you.

Exhibit G

Chipotle Burrito Bowl

The grandest bowl of all bowls.  This was my first time trying their steak and this bowl might be my new favorite thing to order.

Alright, tell me which side of the fence do you stand on, bowls or plates?

What is your favorite meal to eat out of a bowl?

I have a 1 year old step sister names Charlotte aka Charlie and she has been sick all week and hasnt been wanting to eat. My step mom was freaking out because she wasnt eating so she was trying all different things to get her to eat. When she was at back yard bowls getting herself a bowl she thought that she will get a baby size for charlie and see if she will eat it. When lisa picked me up from school she had me sit in the back of the car and feed it to her. Well if you cant tell from the picture she loved it. She ate basically the entire thing except for the half of it i ate.. Shhh.. So if you ever have a baby that isnt eating you should try getting it a backyard bowl because it worked for charlie ha ha ha ha, and while your at it get yourself one, because unless you live in a cave you know they are delicious.

Saturday was National Acai Bowl Day! On our way to our trip to Jalama (which you can read about here), Veronica, Nikki, Alex, Mary, and I stopped at Backyard Bowls for breakfast. We had no idea it was National Acai Bowl Day, so we were super stoked when we got there and all acai bowls were 50% off. I absolutely love Backyard Bowls, so I was super psyched to find that my Backyard Bowl was only four dollars! Usually they are like eight dollars. I always get the Island Bowl. It is the best one there (to be honest I’ve only had the Berry Bowl and the Island Bowl but I just know that the Island Bowl is the best). I decided to get a large on Saturday, because it was cheap and I was feeling like being fat. I ate every last bite and it really filled me up. I will be marking my calendar on April 6th every year now for National Acai Bowl Day. If you missed it this year, make sure to not miss it next year!

http://www.backyardbowls.com/

credit to – http://www.gogo.com

Backyard Bowls is incredibly delicious. It is so refreshing and satisfying, and not to mention healthy! I go there several times a week and often for lunch during school. But my most recent discovery and favorite thing to get there is the Pitaya Bowl. It is topped with bananas, blueberries, strawberries, coconut shavings, granola, and honey. Okay now I am really hungry.

Pitaya, more commonly known as Dragonfruit, are super vibrant (HOT pink, hence the color of the Pitaya Bowl above) and look really cool. Here is a photo that I managed to scrounge up that I took of a Dragonfruit years ago:

Dragonfruit has a bunch of Vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber and more that make it really beneficial and nutritious. The texture may look weird, but it actually tastes super yummy.

Acai Bowls are so last year, get a Pitaya Bowl next time!

You can also check out Julia’s Pitaya Bowl blog post

Even though I am not a breakfast fan I can’t ever turn down a Backyard Bowl. I had enough time today to get one so I couldn’t refuse. My go to bowl has always been a berry bowl, but lately in the morning it is too cold and I have a hard time finishing, so it has been changed to spartan muesli for the time being.

spartan muesli bowl
Made fresh in-house, our Muesli is a cereal lovers’ dream.
Rolled Oats, Fresh-ground Flax Seeds, Almonds, Walnuts,
Dried fruits, Raisins & Home-made Cashew Milk,
topped with Bananas, Fresh Berries, Hemp Seeds & Honey.

It is hard to resist breakfast with this kind of food available.

Image from gradpost.ucsb.edu

Comment what your favorite bowl is.

I ran 2 miles!!! This was probably the shortest distance I have ran in my life, but it was the first time I have ran in 2 months so I was pretty darn excited.

The Good News: I definitely felt the endorphins pumping.  I miss those guys!

The Bad News: I didn’t really sit well with my back/leg, so it probably won’t be happening again anytime soon.  But it was still so nice experience the feeling of running again!

Breakfast was an old favorite:

Eggs + Veggies (kale, zucchini, bell pepper, spinach)

Tortilla + avocado

Coffee

We spent the morning shopping and I finally bought a good pair of boots!

Also since Starbucks is changing their Gold Card policies you can’t get free soymilk or syrups anymore.  Rather than pay the extra $0.50 everytime I NEED an Iced Coffee, I just bought a baby sugar-free hazelnut bottle of syrup.  Yes, I will be carrying that in my purse at all times now.  Oh the life of a food blogger  Sadly I couldn’t find any Pumpkin Spice syrup, but it is selling on eBay for something ridiculous like 40 bucks.

We shared a bowl of goodness at one of my favorite local Santa Barbara places, Backyard Bowls.  No offense to all the other Acai Bowl places out there, but BYB is the OG, therefore far superior.  If you are every in Santa Barbara, you MUST stop by and grab a bowl.

It took approximately 2 minutes for us to tag-team the Island Bowl.

Seeing as it is October, we had to celebrate the 75°F weather and go to a Pumpkin Patch!

We went to Lane Farms, whom I frequently buy produce from at Farmer’s Markets.  The place was swarming with little kids! They had tractors rides and a corn maze for kidlets as well as a small petting zoo.

Obviously I was more interested in buying squash I bought a massive Kabocha and stumbled upon a new to me variety, a Turban Squash!  Who knew that even existed?? I was a bit weary and didn’t end up purchasing it, but am regretting my decision after discovering it tastes like hazelnut?  I think I need to take a trip back to Lane Farms….

What a cutie ;P

After such a busy day, it was time for a little R&R.  We got mani-pedis, something I have neglected to do for over a year! I got some  dark maroon polish on my nails that just happened to match my cords.

Catherine’s only request for the day was that we have tofu tacos.  Ask and you shall receive!!

Did anyone else so anything Fall-inspired recently?  I know that this is probably a YES considering mostly food bloggers will read this post, but enlighten me

Have you ever seen or eaten a Turban Squash?

We’re here!

Friday at about 9am we arrived at Coram infusion services in Santa Barbara, ready for Amanda’s treatment. The drive from Oxnard is a little long, but driving along the coast is always a treat.

Good Morning!

Once inside, everyone seemed to make themselves at home. Other than the linoleum floors, the only thing that gives away that we’re in a medical office are the IV stands behind the big easy chairs and the stainless steel sink in the corner with a sharps box. Amanda, her parents, and myself all make ourselves comfortable and help ourselves to the adjacent snacks and keurig machine as the nurse brings over her supplies.

Amanda makes an aside at me.”I’m nervous.”

“Why do you get nervous?” I whisper back.

“I always get nervous”

Amanda discusses her latest symptoms with her nurse. Other than some numbness and tingling in her face a few weeks ago, her MS hasn’t manifested itself in almost a year. This is really exciting, considering the first two years following her diagnosis Amanda was in and out of the hospital all the time. She has been telling me for weeks she wants have a celebration!

Amanda studies the risks

The nurse set up the infusion. Robert and Shirley, her parents, are sharing updates from our team Instagram and talking to our teammates on our team GroupMe about our team shirts for the ride.

I start asking Amanda some questions about her treatment:

And now we wait…

Me: What are you being treated with?

Amanda: I’m being treated with a Tysabri infusion. I come once a month.

Me: How do you feel before each treatment?

A: Basically, what I feel before each treatment is fatigue, like [the Tysabri] is wearing off. I can feel when I need to get it.

Me: What does it do?

A: It fends off legions in my brain. Getting this treatment has meant that I wont have to be in the hospital so often. This is my eleventh treatment.

Me: How long does it take [each time you come]?

A: It takes one hour for the infusion, then I have to wait an hour to make sure I don’t have any reactions. They leave the needle in my arm in case of emergency.

Me: How does it make you feel?

A: During- Nervous. Nervous for the side effects, but I feel like it’s my bag of energy…like the energizer bunny getting new batteries!

Me: Like you’re filling up? Like a gasoline tank?

A: Yeah! I feel like… I wanna go run, I wanna go exercise!

The big needle is painful, but Amanda is a trooper!

Me: How do you feel before your treatments?

A: I feel fatigued. Worn out. Like I can’t do anymore.  My room gets messy. As I get more fatigued between treatments, my room gets messier.

*Shirley glances up from her reading and gives a stern look, Amanda and I giggle, knowing we’re both responsible*

Me: What happens after treatments?

A: I look forward to going to backyard bowls with my mom and dad. Before we used to go to Nature’s Grill after my treatments. They [my parents] always get me a treat after…

Me: A wholesome one!

A: Yes!

Janet Catson helps me transcribe

Me: How long are you going to keep getting treatments?

A: I’m only allowed to be on this for two years.

Me: What are your thoughts on you having to change your treatment soon?

A: Nervous, definitely nervous, of course.

Me: What was it like switching to this treatment from your old one?

A: 110% better! With my last one I was still in the hospital every three months. This one has a hold on whatever is happening in my brain.

Me: And this is just one kind of MS treatment of the many out there, correct?

A: Yeah, for relapsing MS.

Me: What is that?

A: It’s a form [of MS] where you relapse and then you go thru a remission: relapse remission. The other kind is secondary progression, where you get totally disabled.

Amanda’s dad (Tio Beto to me and the rest of the team) chimed in.

Tio: Relapse remission is the kind that she has- what she has been diagnosed with. Any day, any time she can go from one to the other extreme

Me: So is coming to treatment a hassle for you guys?

Tio: No, it’s like a mini vacation!

A: We enjoy it!

Me: Any other thoughts about your treatment?

A: I get nervous about the PML virus.

Amanda explains to me that while she is under this treatment, she is at risk for this deadly virus of the brain.

Tio: Because she has an active JC virus, there is a higher risk. That’s why they [the doctors at USC] only want her on [Tysabri] for two years.

A lovely vignette

Amanda’s treatment is over and her nurse, Lisa, comes out again to take her off the IV. I learn that Lisa has actually been the one administering Amanda’s treatment from day one. Everyone all got along well. It definitely seems it has made it a better overall experience because Amanda gets to see a friendly, familiar face each time she comes.

It’s almost Lisa and Amanda’s one year anniversary, too!

A family affair

She’s been waiting all month for this!

The hour waiting period goes be like a flash. We don’t forget to mention our blog and other social media handles to Lisa as we take off! Next stop is Backyard Bowls in Santa Barbara. The bowls come with scoops of blended goodness, topped with fruit and honey. Amanda get’s a tropical mixture of pinapple, coconut, and strawberries and I opt for something crunchy – acaí with granola, hemp seeds, and bananas.

Seconds later…

We all polished off our bowls and went back to Oxnard. Team Milagros had a long to-do list to tackle that day!

Amanda’s treatment might take a few hours out of her Friday every four weeks, but it’s worth it. This is what living with MS is all about, and Amanda and her family know how to make the best of it.

Peace and Love!

So to make up for it, I’m going to tell you about this amazing thing that has legitimately changed my life. Acai bowls.

I should probably back up…while Cathy and I were in Santa Barbara, eating our way through California, we met the owner of Backyard Bowls, and after the madness of Cathy’s roof getting destroyed, we decided it was the best place to check out for a mental pick me up. Huge mistake. And I say that because Cathy and I now crave them non-stop. So much so, that I looked up flights for the opportunity to get one. Not cost effective.

I tracked what is being called an Acai Bowl at Yagoot, but it’s a version with frozen yogurt and not the healthiest granola. So I took matters into my own hand.

I’ve been making my own version of the bowl with the following. It’s amazing. Life changing even. You’ll thank me, I promise.

• Almond milk
• Sambazon Smoothie Packs (I found them at Whole Foods, so check there first. I also went with the unsweetened as I try not to eat sugar when at all possible)
• Maca powder
• Bee Pollen
• Flaxseed
• Coconut oil
• Stevia
• Frozen fruit (I’ve been mixing it up with frozen strawberries, berry blends, raspberries…really any berry combination)
• Water as needed (I do about a 2:1 ratio of almond milk to water)

I top the bowl off with

• Natural, gluten free granola
• Local honey
• Fresh strawberries
• Fresh bananas

I admittedly am much better at talking about myself than food, mainly because I’m not huge into cooking. If you had called me before September ’11, I could have done a blog on baking. I am a baking fiend. My specialty is white chocolate raspberry cheesecake by scratch. But when you’re gluten intolerant and do everything possible to avoid being sick, even baking losing it’s fun. And gluten free baking is messy and complicated and simply not worth it to me.

So what have I been eating? Well, instead of a typical burger trip to LA this year, it became a pizza trip. Burgers without buns make me desperately sad and gluten free bread is the pits. It’s dry, falls apart and makes everything so damn messy. I did have a burger at The Counter, probably one of my favorite burger places in California. The bun was eh at best.

I’m still not sure how I didn’t get this on myself.

I discovered my new favorite sushi while in Santa Barbara. A baked California roll, add cream cheese, topped with spicy creamy sauce. Sometimes known as a volcano roll, always known as delicious. It came right before someone landed on my friend’s car, denting in her roof, quickly halting our roadtrip to San Francisco. That’s really all the details I have about that. We don’t know what happened. We do know that most of our Friday was spent at the police station, getting an estimate and filing an insurance claim. But life happens. And I got Yogurtland out of the deal.

What else did I eat in California? Well…let me show you. And yes. Everything is gluten free. As a fun side note, a surprising thing gluten is in is frozen yogurt. Thankfully Yogurtland told me what flavors had gluten in them and which didn’t. Orange Leaf…learn from them.

 In order:

1. Babycake cupcakes. Chocolate mint, carrot cake and red velvet cake

2. Rooibos tea latte that reminded me of South Africa

3. Pinkberry. It never gets old.

4. Acai bowl from Backyard Bowls. If you’re ever in Santa Barbara, check it out. It’s seriously delicious.

5. Most deserved frozen yogurt ever.

6. Cinnamon roll from Breakaway Bakery that we carried up to the Griffith Park Observatory

7. Last meal of the trip.

I swear I ate other things on the trip aside from the food group known as sugar. I threw in some protein, vegetables and hydration along the way. But for now, it’s back to my grind. While dreaming of frozen yogurt, sushi and Santa Barbara.

Hello!

This whole week here in Santa Barbara has been very warm. This weather calls for a mid day treat from my favorite Backyard Bowls. I was very hungry and warm the other day so I decided that I wanted a backyard bowl, which is both healthy and delicious. I went to this new backyard bowls that they put in near La Cumbre Plaza. It was honestly 10-times better than the Backyard bowls downtown. The people were a lot friendlier, the food was prepared quicker, and it tasted SO much better. They put a lot of honey on it, the fruit seemed fresher,and the acai was sweeter. My mouth watered with every bite. This is the first time that I had been to this one, and I will definitely go back. I have been to the backyard bowls downtown numerous times and their bowls don’t come nearly as close.

xoxo

Try the new backyard bowls!

All the goodies piled on top of the acaí blend!

Try it out!

Hope you enjoyed the post and have the chance to go to a Backyard Bowls!

Hello!
Even though it may be a little foggy here in Santa Barbara doesn’t mean it’s a bad day for backyard bowls! I ordered the island bowl and it was delicious! The bowls are usually presented better, I just had already started eating when I reminded myself to take a picture. This bowl is topped with strawberries, bananas, blueberries,granola, honey, and a lot of coconut making it a tasty treat! But healthy as well. The backyard bowl products are all natural, and their bowls and utensils are biodegradable as well. I would recommend the original backyard bowl over the “Epic bowl”. Doesn’t even compare.

xoxo happy eats!

Just the other day I went to one of my most favorite health food eateries in Santa Barbara. Backyard Bowls is a small unique place downtown that serves a variety of Acai Bowls, Breakfast Bowls, and Smoothies. Personally, My favorite order is the Berry Bowl which I usually get with some shredded coconut on top! The open and airy atmosphere of the place creates a down-to-earth and friendly feel, and makes it a treat just to be there. While I was there I was able to snap a couple quick pictures showing my meal and how absolutely delicious it was!

Check out Backyard Bowls website!

Enjoy!

The Berry Bowl with coconut!

Good Morning!

Backyard bowl is a breakfast, lunch, and snack restaurant that has many different bowls. Including the classic Backyard Bowl, Berry Bowl, and Island Bowl. My favorite is the island bowl because it includes coconut shavings and the traditional fruit variety (strawberries, bananas, and blueberries).  In order to make your own backyard bowl you need a smoothie base, with either berries, or acai berries. After you create the smoothie cover with granola, fresh fruit of your choice, and sprinkled with honey.

Tip: You want your smoothie to be thick so I would suggest more fruit or ice.

You can add whatever you want to your bowl, im sure it will taste just as good as backyard bowls.

If you have a special topping you like on your bowl, add a comment! I want to know!

xoxo

help support the boys! come out to babs next wednesday.

1. Big Dipper.

2. Seaswings are trippy.

3. Chainsaw Charles’s new cobra tattoo.

4-6. Work, slave, rob, steal, save, get a credit card. Call dreamland.