emphasis on the full (circle)

so i tried a new cereal and i couldn't resist the urge to tell everyone how stellar it really is. i usually don't really care for bran flakes cereal, but Full Circle organic bran flakes doesn't have the typical bland taste. i can't really describe it.. all i really know is that it's delicious and you should try it. an added bonus? i felt satiated.. ALL morning! that never happens.. unless i eat peanut butter for breakfast. cereal never cuts it [or so i thought]. i'm usually ravenous by 10 (i'm at work at 8). so needless to say.. i'm pretty sure the protein is not lacking.

like a good neighbor. making my stomach happy.

so my last night in lynchburg i finally went to the neighbors place. wow i really wish i had discovered it before then. although a college student's tight budget doesn't really allow for it. hence the reason i took my mother ;) i had the ahi sesame seared tuna salad. phenomenal. the tuna was so good! and it was on a bed of spinach.. my staple food. with avocado on top! and i had a honey balsamic vinaigrette.

next time i visit lynchburg i will certainly be returning to try the chicken florentine i also wanted to try!

and of course i had to try the mocha mud pie because lynchburg living told me to ;) cookie crumb crust? check. chocolate? check. coffee flavored ice cream? check. caramel sauce? check. all equaling to a party in my mouth. definitely delicious!

although i could make an entire pie at home for about the cost of a slice. want the recipe? it's as easy as pie.. literally. you choose the ice cream.. (last time i made it i used edy's brand girl scout thin mint ice cream) let it soften and then spread it in an oreo cookie crust and freeze to let it set. yep.. that's it. and of course you can add all the toppings you want. go crazy with your imagination :)

red velvet. need i say more?

red velvet gelato. that's right. my first time at mountain frost creamery on my last day in the burg. i was told this gelato was like cake batter ice cream.. only red velvet. no more explanation needed. sold. and i got it in a chocolate chip cookie cone. talk about calorie-filled-but-worth-every-one dessert. go there and get it... now.

since i have made my own cake batter ice cream in the past i may just mix it up and try using red velvet cake mix. brilliant.

worth the wait.

so when deciding where to go for dinner tonight all i knew is that i wanted a really good sandwich with fresh ingredients. lauren told me it was my choice so when i thought sandwich.. automatically panera came to mind. but i wanted to eat at a local restaurant that is only found in lynchburg because i've been here for 4 years and haven't really tried many places. i decided on either magnolia foods or the fat tuna.. and then lauren suggested the new location of montana plains bakery. we ultimately decided on montana plains.. but when we got there we found out it closed in like 20 minutes.. not enough time to chat! so then we had to decide between the fat tuna and V&T cafe (i passed it on the way and remembered i had yet to try it). but we finally settled on trying the fat tuna. by the time we got there we were really hungry.. but like i said--worth the wait! i had the most perfect sandwich. just what i wanted! i had the 'made my way' sandwich. i chose the pita (but it was more of a flat bread) with turkey and i got to add all the veggies i wanted. and when i can do that.. i go all out and that alone makes me more than satisfied with a restaurant. it doesn't take much to please me.. just load up the veggies! and when i say that sandwich was loaded i mean it had.. romaine lettuce (so much better than iceberg!) onions, tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers, green peppers, alfalfa sprouts (yum!) and brown spicy mustard. did i mention i got feta cheese? feta cheese is basically the love of my life.

as if that wasn't enough to satisfy even the hungriest of girls. it came with a pickle (talk about yum!) and veggie chips! i grew up on veggie chips because my grandmother would always have them when i visited.. they remind me of my childhood and they are so de-lish! bonus: so much healthier than regular potato chips!

needless to say.. i'm glad i finally tried this place before i left.. and as i said before.. it was worth the wait and the trek around lynchburg.

crunchy or creamy?

crunchy. definitely crunchy. i love any kind of peanut butter in all honestly.. but the crunchier the better! i'm partial to skippy natural super chunk (extra crunchy)! [take it from a peanut butter connoisseur]

so apparently this is actually a jelly jar knife.. but since i don't really eat jelly i use it for peanut butter. and saying i eat peanut butter would be the understatement of the century. it'd be much more accurate to say i live on the stuff.

i got one of these when i was in NYC as a promo gift at the martha stewart show. i'm kind of ashamed to say i was at the show.. but i didn't really have a choice in the matter. and i got this knife so i guess it was worth my time? haaa. well i was on tv too!

i assumed the knife was for peanut butter because it was promoting a peanut company.. but i guess that would go with jelly... brilliant on the company's part because i tend to look at the knife often. oh how i love advertising and promotions.

this knife is genius. and whoever came up with the idea is absolutely brilliant. i can make almost an entire sandwich with how much i scrape from the jar. and with how much peanut butter i put on a sandwich it's probably safe to say most people could probably make two.

if you eat peanut butter.. [and if you don't you're literally nuts-ha love the irony] you need a jelly knife.

scratch 'try fish tacos' off the bucket list.

so for lunch today i went to the blue marlin for the first time. i've lived here 4 years and i realized today all of the places i've never been. i specifically went to try the fish tacos because i had never had them before, and they sounded like something i needed to try. i'm in awe of the fact that it took be 22 years to ever try fish tacos. they're such a great idea!

although my mouth was most definitely on fire from the chipotle seasoning, if you like fish i would definitely recommend them. i have no tolerance whatsoever for a kick.. but i think even those that do would find the fish to be hot. by the time i was finished my meal i had gone through 3 glasses of water. my waitress seemed a little peeved. whoops. anyway.. it's basically seasoned and blacked tilapia, lettuce/cabbage and corn salsa on tortillas (2 tacos). it comes with what i assumed was an aioli sauce (which was really good) a lime slice to season and sea salt potato chips.

i think if i recreate these at home i might prefer them because i would turn it down a notch on the spiciness. but overall delicious they were and i recommend at least trying this delectable little dish!