Hi my little bunnies!
I am still on vacation, so while I’m exploring the Netherlands I have some fabulous guest bloggers for you to meet! Thank you so much to everyone who submitted to be a guest blogger! I had no idea that I would have such a huge response from readers and bloggers, and I was so excited to hear from you guys! If you weren’t selected this time, don’t worry because I am keeping everyone’s submissions in mind for my next vacay!
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Selena from Nom Nom Crunch! Not only is Selena gorgeous and a fabulous foodie, but she is also a friend and sorority sister of mine! I die over her recipes. I mean seriously, can you come and cook for me everyday Selena?!
A fun little fact: Nom Nom Crunch was started on my couch! What can I say, my house is blog central!
Hi Bunnies!
I’m Selena and I blog over at NomNomCrunch.com.
Since I was little, I always struggled with weight. I was always trying new diets, everything from the cabbage soup diet (which I swear forever scarred my taste buds for any soup with cabbage in it) to Weight Watchers to Paleo. I have probably tried them all.
Well my weight loss journey is far from over but I have definitely learned a thing or two. But the most important thing I have learned after trying diet after diet is that there isn’t a diet in the world out there that’s one-size-fits-all. I learned more about myself and my own habits when I stopped playing with yo-yos and just ate better, as a lifestyle.
I struggle with portion control. I like to making excuses. I am a social eater. I like to enjoy a Slurpee or Starbucks just because it seems like a good day for one. People say that recognizing your weaknesses is the hardest part, but I think the day-to-day struggle to fight these old habits and make a change is where your determination and strength are really put to the test.
So my blog is all about my journey to lose weight. I like to share my healthy recipes and fitness endeavors. If you want to know more about me, check out the “About Me” section on my blog.
For now, I’m going to tell you a little secret: I never liked oats.
Recently I started working out with a new trainer and she asked me if I liked oats because that’s what she was planning for my daily breakfast. I told her, “of course I like oats!” But the truth is, I only WANT to like oats. I never actually made it to the point of actually liking them yet…. until I got creative. I have a sweet tooth so you’ll notice I added stevia in EVERYTHING!
For my oat customization recipes, use Catherine’s Fluffy Oats Recipe as the base.
Fluffy Oats
Serves 1
1/4 cup whole rolled oats
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup water
1 egg white (1 egg white = 2 tbs if you’re using it from a carton)
Whisk the egg until it gets a little fluffy/foamy. Combine with oats, water, and almond milk in a saucepan and bring heat to medium. Whisk the mixture until it starts to simmer. Raise the heat to high and continue whisking for a couple of minutes until it starts to thicken. Reduce heat back to medium and whisk until most of the liquid is soaked. Transfer to a bowl and enjoy with toppings!
Note: Be sure to whisk the egg before combining with other ingredients!
Now for the customizing…
Berry Bliss
When you are combining the oats, water and almond milk together:
+ 2 tsp of vanilla extract
+ 2 tsp of stevia
Top it off with a berry reduction:
Put a handful of mixed berries into a food processor or blender. (I used raspberries and strawberries.) Then pour into a sauce pan, add 1 tsp of stevia and bring your stove to high heat, slowly stirring the mixture consistently. When the sauce begins to bubble and the color darkens, reduce to medium heat and continue to stir to prevent burning. After about 2-3 minutes, it’s ready to pour onto your oats. The sauce will be the consistency of olive oil.
PB&J
When you are combining the oats, water and almond milk together:
+ 3 tsp of PB2 or another powdered peanut butter alternative
+ 2 tsp of stevia
Top it off with a spoonful of your fav jam or jelly. I used a natural huckleberry jam I got from while on vacation in Yellowstone. Just keep in mind when adding your jam/jelly, many of them have added sugars so you don’t want to go crazy with it.
Choconut
When you are combining the oats, water and almond milk together:
+ 1 tbs of unsweetened coco powder
+ 3 tsp of stevia
SWAP the water for coconut water
Top it off with some coconut shreds and almonds.
Apple Pie
When you are combining the oats, water and almond milk together:
+ 1 tsp cinnamon
+1 tsp vanilla extract
+ 3 tsp of stevia
Top it off with caramelized apples:
Heat up 1/2 tsp of coconut oil and 1 tsp of honey in a small skillet on high heat. Once the oil and honey are warm, add half of an apple to the skillet, chopped or sliced. Any type of apple will do. Traditionally apple pie is made with McIntosh apples (according to Eating Well), but I just like to use whatever is on hand. I used HoneyCrisp. With a wooden spoon, stir the apples around until they are completely coated in the oil and honey. Continue to stir until the apple begins to soften and turns to a golden brown. Then pour onto your oats.
Note: Because this recipe has real sugar (honey) in the mix, it will burn a lot easier than the berry recipe. Keep an eye on your apples and keep stirring. Burned honey on your pan can mean death to your pan.
Follow Selena on:
Facebook: facebook.com/NomNomCrunch
Pinterest: pinterest.com/nomnomcrunch
Instagram: @selenanomnoms
The trip started off with some night before travel snack shopping at 
Printed a bunch of new business cards. They were a big hit at the conference!
Ended up making a special RFFMBT shirt to wear for my panel. At midnight… haha Can you say procrastinating to avoid packing?
I was up early on Wednesday morning to fly up to San Francisco. Needless to say after my night of procrastinating, business card making, and shirt creating, I needed a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks.
Boarded the plane in style… on the tarmac! Off we went to SF!
I arrived at the 
My office away from home for a few days!
How beautiful is this view? My room looked right at the Bay Bridge!
I found Waldo on top of one of the buildings!
Checked in at registration and met Sharese Alston who coordinated my trip and the event! It was so fun to meet her and finally put a face to the lovely lady behind all of our emails! I wish I got a picture with her, she is the cutest thing and full of energy. Once I checked in, I got my name badge and ran to the bus for our tour.
I couldn’t have arrived on a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was bright blue, and the two hour drive to our tour destination was absolutely stunning.
Our tour destination: 
So pumped when they brought out these suhhh-weeet hairnets for us to wear. Nothing says sexy like a hairnet.
Snapshot of all our the tour attendees entering Mycopia in their super chic hairnets.
Before each room/area we went to in the farm, we had to dip our shoes in little tubs of a bleach mixture to prevent any spores from being transferred into the farm.
Getting an intro to the soil and planting process. So not what I was expecting! I thought we would drive up to vineyards of mushrooms outside! Ha! Boy was I wrong!
Jars of soil and growing mushrooms. Totally not how I imagined mushrooms being grown.
Inside the “farm!”
Full grown mushrooms.
I felt like I was in wonderland when I walked into this room!
I’ve never thought of mushrooms as gorgeous until this day.
Had to refrain from touching them haha they look so soft and… pretty!
Getting a demo of how the mushrooms are “picked” from their jars. No cutting needed.
Mushroom packaging room.
Delicious mushroom snacks for us! The chef sautéed three different types of mushrooms in olive oil with a little bit of salt and pepper and it was absolutely to die for. On a side note, how cute are these mushroom bouquets?! Call me crazy, but I’m tempted to throw a mushroom partayyy and have some adorable mushroom center pieces! They’re too cute! Huge thank you to 
Day two started off with a nice lonnnnggggg walk. I really worked my glutes and calves on all of those hills haha.
Wouldn’t be SF without a cable car photo.
My favorite Chinatown. Ever.
Another cable car photo.
Visited my old stomping grounds at FIDM SF (although I did go to the LA campus)!
After several hours of walking up hills I went back to the hotel for some hydration… andddd met the amazing Kathy from 
and dove into my snacks! 
Later Thursday night I met up with two of my friends Michaela and Katherine from home! We enjoyed tons of laughs, a bottle of wine, and amazing Italian food at Ristorante Milano. It was so great catching up with them. Missed these girls so much!
It took us about 10 tries to get a photo of all of us in the cab.
And here’s the final product. Look how clear the photo is! Hahaha We tried.
Pre-panel selfie! I was really proud of my hair that day haha and my bunny phone case obviously needed to be shown off!
Golden kale necklace and custom handmade “EAT MORE RABBIT FOOD” shirt!
Before the panel, Kathy and I met in the lobby and explored the conference room!
My name badge and “SPEAKER” ribbon! Ahhhh!
Kathy’s pre-panel tea. Loved how the leaf on the tea bag peaked out of the mug!
Featured speakers for the interactive blogger panel!
Speaking with Amy Sherman from 
After our panel, Kathy and I hopped in a cab and made our way to 
We arrived at 5:30 for our 6pm reservation hoping to be seated early… until we found out that 
Kale Quinoa Tofu Salad with cooked peaches. The menu had me at kale.
Stuffed artichoke. To die for! It was cooked to perfection and at first bite was reminiscent of a portobello mushroom.
Oh yes, I’d like to order the “Slap Yo Mama.” I couldn’t resist taking a photo.
Vegan Baklava. Holy yum. I’m such a sucker for Baklava. It’s totally my Armenian roots coming out! Love how they were cooked as individual treats!
Vegan Knaffe, an Arabic dessert!
Completely stuffed from dinner at Saha, we went back to the W… and got stuck in the revolving door. Yes, you read that right! For the brief time we were stuck, I had visions of SFFD having to come break the glass and rescue us! What was probably seconds felt like hours as the entire lobby of guests were staring! I could not stop laughing, it was so epic! This 
After the revolving door incident we decided to go get Soy Matcha Green Tea Lattes and go on a stroll to Union Square.
I told Kathy that we had to go in the glass elevator a.k.a. Oz at the St. Francis hotel to see the gorgeous city view! …and then we eded up getting stuck in the elevator. There were no buttons inside. total. fail. We had to ride it until someone else got in and pressed “lobby” with their hotel key from the outside! For a hot second, I though’t we were going to be stuck in yet another 
We got back to the W and watched the new lights/light show on the bay bridge. It felt like I was at Disneyland every night watching World of Color!
It wouldn’t be the W without super out-there decor! When I got back to my room the first night, I noticed a pink and purple light glowing from above the desk. I laughed hysterically because at the 
Saturday morning, Kathy and I packed our bags and met up in the lobby.
Since we both had flights around the same time, we shared a cab to SFO and got to hangout together at the gate before departing. We found an awesome cafe at the airport that was loaded with healthy options – so rare in the airport world. They had a yogurt bar with nonfat, 1%, and 2% Greek strained yogurt, soy yogurt, and your choice of toppings along with a big selection of Kombucha! Multi-Green Kombucha, nonfat Greek yogurt with kiwis and granola for me, and Synergy Kombucha for Kathy! It was an excellent way to end the trip!
While on my flight, I opened up my book to find a hand written note from Kathy. I totally started tearing up on the plane while reading this. She is so genuine and kind. Still speechless, I’m framing this!
Chobani LA bloggers!
“It’s time to treat CHOself!”
FIVE courses of Chobani inspired nom noms! Ohhhh my gosh, checkout that menu!
And of course, the wine pairing. Because Chobani goes all out!
The night started with a small crab salad.
First Course: Raw Marinated Kanpachi
Second Course: Butternut Squash Soup
Modified Second Course: Arugula Salad
Third Course: Sous Vide Chicken in Greek Yogurt
Fourth Course: Thirty-Six Hour Braised Beef Rib
Fifth Course: Meyer Lemon and Chobani Yogurt Meringue Tart
After dinner coffee, a must!
Chobani swag bag: Love this bag, upcycled from a burlap coffee bag! Inside the bag was a sweet reusable Chobani water bottle, wooden spoon to get my cookin’ on, Chobani Nike Dry-Fit shirt, and a magnet with conversions for cooking with CHO
Conversions for cooking with Chobani!