My Top Five

Hi guys!  Since starting the blog, I've wanted to do a "Top Five" post about Larabars, but to make it a more complete post, I'm going to do a top five in a couple of categories.

Top Five Favorite Larabars:

1. Banana Bread- Sweet, delicious, and perfect for banana cravings.  It really does taste like banana bread.  They use unsweetened bananas because enough sweetness comes from the dates, and almonds add the perfect crunch!
2. Apple Pie- This Larabar provides even better crunch, and including wonderful chunks of walnuts and almonds, while adding the perfect amount of apples and cinnamon to balance them out.  
3. Peanut Butter Cookie- The Larabar that made me like Larabars.  Two ingredients: Dates, Peanuts and Sea Salt.  That's all you need to make the perfect snack.  Imagine eating a spoonful of chunky peanut butter without the mess.  It's butter than a plain old peanut butter cookie to me.
4. Pecan Pie- If you like pecans, you'll love this Larabar.  I believe it's the only one with pecans in it, and they're represented beautifully.  It's Adria's favorite Larabar.  I've never had a pecan pie, so I can't make comparisons, but if it's anything like this Larabar, then I bet it's delicious!
5. Key Lime Pie- This is a gooooooood Larabar.  It has tropical flavors and flakes of smile-inducing coconut.  The combination of lime, cashews, dates, and coconut is the best I've ever had.  I'm happy to chomp on one of these babies any time.

An honorable mention to:  Coconut Cream Pie, Carrot Cake, and all Uber flavors :) 

Top Five Dinners:

1. Tofu Scramble with Brown Rice
2. Coconut + Red Pepper Soup
3. Strawberry, Carrot, Walnut, and Lemon Dressing Salad
4. Chick'n Patty, Sweet Potato with Earth Balance, and cucumbers + tomatoes in balsamic
5. Curried Chickpeas with Naan

Yum!

Obviously, these change over the course of the year (the warmer foods are better in the winter, the salad and  vegetable based meals in the Spring and Summer).  These are the most appetizing dinner options to me, whether I'm at home or a restaurant!

Top Five Vegetables:

1. Celery.  I could eat all the celery in the entire world.  I love celery.
2. Carrots.  They're so versatile!  I love that they can be sweet or savory, and their crunch is more satisfying than chips
3. Baked Sweet Potatoes.  I loooooooove baked sweet potatoes.  They're so tender and I can eat two of them plain.  I heard they're good with almond butter...
4. Steamed Broccoli.  Add a little lemon juice and nooch and you have the perfect side (to a baked sweet potato)
5. Spinach- I love it as a salad base, in my smoothies, and sauteed!  I get plenty of spinach in my diet, and I would happily have much more :)

Honorable mention to: sweet peppers, beets, and edamame.  I love my veggies!

So Pretty!

Top Five Fruits:

1. Bananas.  I eat one a day.  They're a staple.  Best when freckled and in oatmeal!
2. Blueberries.  I love when they're warmed, then burst in your mouth.  My favorite dessert to this day is my Grandmother's Blueberry Cobbler- with fresh berries from their blueberry bush!
3. Strawberries are tied with Apples.  
4. Avocados.  They're a fruit!  Vegan Buttery Heaven.
5. Tangerines bring back happy childhood memories and are so juicy and sweet!  Easy to peel, seedless, and magical.  They also complement dark chocolate well.

I don't limit my fruit intake, and I generally have 4-6 servings a day.  I try to eat diverse fruits (some from the citrus family, berries, etc.) so that I'm getting a wider range of nutrients and vitamins.

Top Five Teas:

1. Kroger Green.  You can't go wrong with Kroger Green.
2. Tazo Zen.  Lemon and Mint goes perfectly with Green Tea and they know it!
3. Earl Gray.  Perfect for a cold, groggy morning.  It tastes like fruit loops without the chemicals and sugar.  Just don't drink too much, or there will be consequences (trust me.)  Add a drop of almond milk- it makes it sooo creamy.
4. Jasmine Loose Leaf.  There's something so pure about Jasmine, and there's a certain clean feeling that comes with loose leaf that I love.
5. Chai Tea.  There are so many spices and flavors in this cup of tea.  Your taste buds will be tingling with this terrific tea.

I'm a Tea-aholic.  Try these teas and you will be one too!

Oh Goodness.  You know I'm drinking tea right now, don't you?

Yeah.... It's good too :)

Top Five Books:

1. The Red Tent.  It's also my Mom's favorite book and my Aunt's favorite book- and they're both English majors.  Go read it, but only if you're over the age of 18 and a woman.
2. The Fault In Our Stars.  I don't think I've ever cried so much during a single book.  So read it!
3. Pride and Prejudice.  Okay, so I might have started a P & P book club when I was in 6th grade.  And the conversations might have gone something like, "Oh, Mr. Darcy!  How handsome you are!"  And it might have only been made up of two people.  Best Book Club ever!
4. Love Among The Walnuts.  It's so sweet and funny ERMYGOD I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
5. The Book Thief.  It's my Lit book right now, but I still love this book.  I can't help it!

Thank you, Julia Cornick, for being such a book-foister and making me read two of my five favorite books.  My mind, heart, and soul thank you.

Top Five Workouts:

1. Running.  Surprise, surprise!
2. HIIT.  50 seconds on, 10 seconds off.  You torch a whole lotta calories in a short time, and I like that!
3. Step Class!
4. Pilates- 8 reps of a couple exercises and all of a sudden your belly looks niiiiiiice.
5. Anything Zuzana Light makes me do!  

Straight into...

Top Five Exercises:

1. Squats!  I love squats!  They burrrrn and they tone, but I can do them for days!
2. Roll Over Burpees- they're so fun!
3. Plank.  It's so simple- hold plank until you shake, and you have a great core workout!
4. Shoulder Presses.  My favorite arm exercises by far.
5. Bicycle.  You get to lay on the floor while toning your obliques.  Go fast, go slow, you still get benefits!

That's a great workout right there ^

Top Five Desserts:

1. Like I said, Grandmama's Blueberry Cobbler
2. Granola Cookies  (see my last post for the recipe)!
3. Cinnamon Rolls.  I love cinnamon rolls.   I really do.  Imagine the torture I withstand every time I walk through Ikea.  I heard there once was a cinnamon roll Larabar. Where is it?!?!?!
4. Banana Slices with peanut butter, chocolate chips, walnuts, and cranberries.  Simple is always good!
5. Dough Bakery's Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Oh yes.  Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, with tons of chocolate chips.  They also have a Banana Cake with Peanut Butter frosting that I wouldn't mind sinking my teeth into...

OMG.

My mouth is watering...

Distractions!!!!

Top Five TV Shows:

1. 30 Rock!
2. HIMYM
3. The Office (JIM AND PAM FOREVA!)
4. The Big Bang Theory
5. Adventure Time.  So random, but I laugh out loud so much.  This is what you hear: "What in the... HAWHAWHAW!  Why?"

I can't do favorite songs.  I have emotional attachments to way too many to pick and choose favorites.  That would be an entire other post.

Top Five Blogs:

1. Oh She Glows.  My inspiration to become a vegan!
2. Zuzka Light.  My inspiration to exercise!
3. Ashley Bar.  She posts some of the most beautiful pictures of food I've ever seen. 
4. Kath Eats Real Food.  She's so sweet, and she has the best healthy eating + balanced mindset. 
5. Choosing Raw.  She always makes amazing, superfood filled recipes.  Every time I make a recipe from this blog I feel a bit healthier :)

Just in case you get sick of this blog ^.^

What are some of your top five's?  

If you have any other Top Five suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Have a great day!