8 Ways to Self-Actualize

Abraham Maslow was an American Psychologist and has been someone that I've studied before throughout some of the psychology courses I've taken. He is best known for his theory of  "Hierarchy of Needs" and is also considered the father of humanistic psychology.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs pyramid

While doing some reading about Maslow, I find his theories so interesting, I came across his 8 Ways to Self-Actualize.

It basically describes 8 behaviors that lead to self actualization. I find these 8 to be really interesting and something that everyone, including myself, can apply to our everyday lives.

Abraham Maslow's 8 Ways to Self-Actualize

" *Concentration: Experience things fully, vividly, selflessly. Throw yourself into the experiencing of something: concentrate on it fully, let it totally absorb you.

* Growth Choices: Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth): Make the growth choice a dozen times a day.

* Self-Awareness: Let the self emerge. Try to shut out the external clues as to what you should think, feel, say, and so on, and let your experience enable you to say what you truly feel.

* Honesty: When in doubt, be honest. If you look into yourself and are honest, you will also take responsibility. Taking responsibility is self-actualizing.

* Judgement: Listen to your own tastes. Be prepared to be unpopular.

* Self-Development: Use your intelligence, work to do well the things you want to do, no matter how insignificant they seem to be.

* Peak Experiences: Make peak experiencing more likely: get rid of illusions and false notions. Learn what you are good at and what your potentialities are not.

* Lack of Ego Defenses: Find out who you are, what you are, what you like and don’t like, what is good and what is bad for you, where you are going, what your mission is. Opening yourself up to yourself in this way means identifying defenses - and then finding the courage to give them up. "

SF Sunday Funday

As promised here is my post about my Sunday Funday with my crew of friends.

This day of shenanigans was planned by my friend Erika and had been planned for a couple weeks now. It just so happen to fall on Memorial Day Weekend.

I got up bright and early, well for a Sunday anyways, to get ready and head out the door by 9:30.

We went with an 80's Geek theme. I don't have much 80's themed attire so I went with what I had. I borrowed a pair of bright pink socks from my best friend to wear over my leggings.

It worked!

 A bunch of us were heading out to the city to a place in the Castro District called Lime. On Sundays they have a $9 bottomless mimosa brunch and the place is always packed! So in order to get a table at a decent time you must arrive there no later than 11:30.

Last time we only waited about a hour and a half for a table.... this time it was 2 hours!

Holy crap.

Luckily we had a few shots to hold us over, lol.

Spark Plug Shot

While waiting for out table it was picture taking time.

Of course.

What else are we going to do while we wait??

And wait...

Still waiting....

And wait some more...

Whooo-hooo!! We have a table! Time to cheers with some bottomless mimosas!

The food at Lime is really, really good! I have no pictures of the food because well... I just don't. 

I just forgot. I was so hungry that it didn't even cross my mind.

I had a veggie frittata that was delicious!

After Lime we walked down the street to a bar called the Lookout.

It's a gay bar and it was so much fun!

We dragged the boys to it... and despite what they say we all know they had a good time.

Muahahaha!

Oh and some shenanigans on the walk back to BART.

Don't ask me what promted us to do this... 

I'm just going to blame it on the alcohol.

Overall, it was a fantastic Sunday Funday with some great friends! It was full of laughter, smiles and fun!

I might be somewhat MIA from blogging this upcoming week. I have finals next week and I really need to buckle down and focus on school and on myself.

So my posts might not be as frequent until finals are over and I have figured some things out!

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

XO Jen

Eggplant burgers with Balsamic Veggies

It's Friiiiiday!!

The weekend is finally here!!

I don't have much planned for this Memorial Day Weekend. It definitely going to be a chill one, except for Sunday.

Ohhh I can not wait for Sunday! It's going to be a Sunday Funday outing with my girls and guys out to SF.  I'm not going to get into much detail about what we will be doing or going. I'll put up a post about it after we go!

I'll just tell you this one thing...

$7 bottomless mimosas.

Hells ya =)

To start my Friday off this morning, I had a bowl of hot oatmeal with a blob of almond butter and half of a banana cut up. It was super delish and filling. I was only able to eat half of it.

This was a 1/4 cup of oats, 1 tbs. ground flax with a 3/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, cooked on the stove top in a pan. Once cooked to my liking, I poured it into a bowl and topped with the bananas and almond butter.

I spent the majority of my day doing laundry... 5 loads to be exact. 

Ugh. I hate doing laundry... especially the folding and putting away. 

But I did it. Folded and put away.

That's only half of my closet! You can only imagine what the other half looks like, yikes! 

And yes, my closet is color coordinated. Makes it easier to find things!

I'm an Apple product FREAK! iMac, iPad2 and an iPhone. I also have their old iBook G4 that's not pictured. I'm a tech geek <3

Okay, back on track...

While I had laundry going, I got an early start on dinner. Well, I prepped the first half of it. I decided to make Eggplant burgers since I bought a large eggplant the other day. And since my dad wasn't going to be home for dinner, tonight was a perfect opportunity to make the eggplant burgers for my mom and I.

The first 2 paragraphs of the directions is what I prepared ahead of time and covered the bowl and placed into the refrigerator until I was ready to finish making them.

Eggplant Burgers

Ingredients:

One large eggplant

3/4 cup quinoa flakes (Bread crumbs would work as well. I suppose a GF oat flour, brown rice flour, ect. could work too. I'll have to try that next time.)

1/2 a medium onion chopped

1 Tbs. crushed garlic

1 cup cooked lentils (I used green)

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried sage

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. agave nectar 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and cover a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Remove the top of the eggplant and cut in half lengthwise. Place cut sides down onto your lined baking sheet. Place into the preheated 425 degree oven and bake for 25 minutes. The egg plant will be tender and somewhat sunken. Remove from the oven and place into a large bowl or dish. 

After the eggplant has had time to cool, dump any liquid and scrape the flesh away from the eggplant. Place the pulp or the insides of the eggplant into a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture is a coarse puree. Place the mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients to it. Mix well to combine and let the mixture stand at room temperature for about 20 mins.

If you are preparing this ahead of time, cover the bowl with saran wrap and place into the refrigerator until you are ready.

Preheat oven again to 425 degrees and re-line the baking sheet with foil or parchment.

In a large non-stick pan, heat over medium to high heat and spray with cooking oil. Using a large soup spoon, scoop a pretty decent amount of the eggplant mixture and add to the pan. Flatten with the back of the spoon so the patties are about 3 inches wide and 1/2 an inch thick. I cooked 2 at time until they were lightly browned before carefully flipping them over to cook on the other side.

Remove and place on the lined backing sheet. Bake the eggplant burgers for 20 minutes in the oven until they are cooked through!

I served these along with some balsamic zucchini and orange bell peppers.

Enjoy!!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and Memorial Day! Lets take the time this weekend to thank our brave soldiers for all that they do and have done for our country!

XO Jen

Quarterlife Crisis

Lessons of Your Quarterlife Crisis

The above link is such a good read! I know there's many of us out there that's experiencing this. I know I am and it was nice to know and read that I'm not alone in feeling the way that I do.

The emotions, the constant questioning of myself and the doubts I put upon myself.

On the outside it may seem like I have it all together and that I don't have a problem or a doubt in the world. But in reality, I don't have it all together and I do have major doubts about myself and other things.

This article really made me feel better about what I am going through and dealing with. It made me realize that I am not entirely alone and that it's ok and perfectly normal what I am feeling.

So please, give this article a read! Especially if you feel like you might be going through a similar situation.

:)

XO Jen

Accident

The other night I had a slight accident...

Sliced my thumb open. Took this today after a couple days of healing and no bloody mess.

The culprit...

The food processor blade.

How did I do this you may be wondering?

I was carelessly putting away the food processor and sliced it that way,  not quite sure how I managed doing that.

So, after school today I went and bought a box of band-aids that fit and work for my injury.

I was surprised at how deep the cut was. It doesn't hurt as much, only when I bang my thumb on something or trying to put bobby pins in my hair. I'm thumb impaired for the next few days or so. I've been having difficulty buttoning and zipping my jeans, pulling my hair up into a pony tail or messy bun, texting on my phone, etc... I don't think many of us realized how much we need our thumbs for everyday uses!

Oh, and did I mention that this is my right thumb and that I am right handed?? 

I'll survive though, haha. I just like to complain about it.

Anyways, the other morning I had a bowl of strawberry blended overnight oats. It was creamy, strawberry goodness!

Strawberries 'n' "Cream" Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk
• 3-4 medium to large strawberries
• 1 tbs. ground flax
• 1 tbs. almond butter (optional)

Directions:

Night before add in the blender cup the oats, almond milk, strawberries and ground flax. Cover and refrigerate over night. Next morning blend up, pour into a bowl and top with almond butter.

Oh! My parents absolutely loved the Chile Verde Chicken Casserole! There was only a very small portion leftover. :) My mom informed me that it did thicken up more. Thank goodness!

Success!! 

Tiny Wisdom: On Being Openly You

Tiny Wisdom: On Being Openly You

This is such a positive read and I believe it's something that everyone can benefit from by reading!

Chile Verde Chicken Casserole

I adapted the following recipe to fit my liking and what I had on hand, for the most part.

I cooked this up this afternoon for my parents to reheat and to have for dinner. They're usually my guinea pigs when it comes to me testing out new recipes. Muahahaha!

In Mama Pea's recipea she uses a 14 oz. can of tomato sauce. I used 14 oz. of green chili sauce, in reality I should have used 7-10 oz. of it. It came out a little soupy, not what I was going for. Still delicious though!

If you are going to make this with the green chili sauce I recommend not using 14 oz. Start with 7 oz and if it looks like it needs a little more, add a couple more ounces to the mixture.

I also added in some diced green chili's and omitted the beans since I didn't have any on hand. I added corn into the mixture and used chicken instead of tempeh.


Chile Verde Chicken Casserole



(Adapted from Mama Pea's Tempeh Tamale Pie)


Ingredients:


For the filling:

• Chicken tenders cut up into bite sized pieces
• 1 medium onion or 1/2 of a large onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs. crushed garlic
• 2 tsp. chili powder (Use 1 tsp. if you want it less spicy)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. apple cider or red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• One 4 oz. can of diced green chilies
• One 7-10 oz. can of green chili sauce (comes in a can)
• One 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup defrosted corn 

Crust:

• 2/3 c. cornmeal
• 1/3 c. brown rice flour (or flour of choice)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. non-dairy or organic milk
• 1 Tbs. maple syrup
• 2 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 c. frozen corn, defrosted and drained
• 1/3 c. non-dairy cheese or regular cheese (optional; your choice)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a large skillet or pan add the cut up chicken and cook until it's all the way cooked through. Remove from pan and add into a bowl. Set aside

Spray the pan with cooking spray or 1Tbs. of olive oil, add in the onions and corn. Cook until the onions are translucent.

Next add back in the chicken to the pan and to that the chili powder, salt, crushed garlic, apple cider or red wine vinegar, green chili sauce, maple syrup and the diced green chilis. Stir well to combine and let simmer for a few minutes so the flavors can meld together.

Remove from heat and carefully pour into the greased casserole dish. Next in a large bowl add the dry ingredients for the crust. Corn meal, flour, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.

In a glass measuring cup add the unsweetened almond milk (or dairy of choice), apple sauce and maple syrup. Stir to combine and then add to the dry ingredients. Stir until it's combined. Then carefully fold in the corn.

Carefully spread the corn mixture over the top of the casserole dish. I used my hands and placed pieces of the mixture on top, it was easier for me.

If you are adding cheese, sprinkle it on top, pop into the 400 degree oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the crust is set.

I had to serve mine in a bowl since it came out a little soupy. Too much green chile sauce. Like I stated above, if using the green chile sauce start with 7 oz. of it and add more if needed. 

This still tasted great despite that!

Chickpea Burgers

I came across a few various recipes for veggie burgers and chickpea burgers. And the one I went with was one from Angela's Oh She Glows blog. Her recipes never seem to fail me and I always love them!

Wasn't too sure how these were going to taste or turn out. Lately, it seems like I've had a bit of an obsession with chickpeas.

Is someone in need of an intervention??

These took no time to whip up and make. Maybe all of 15-20 minutes. I tend to get distracted and maybe slight OCD with cleaning up while I cook. Messiness drives me nuts.

I might need some help with that too.


Chickpea Burgers

(As adapted from Oh She Glows Spelt Veggie Burgers)

Ingredients:

1 cup of cooked chickpeas (I buy them in the can; make sure to drain and rinse them)
1 small carrot, peeled and cut up into pieces
1 small onion, chopped up into large pieces
1/2 red bell pepper, cut up into larger pieces
1/4 cup spinach
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1/2 tsp thyme
Small dash of cayenne
1/4 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
1 Tbs. crushed garlic or 1 clove
1/3 cup cooked green lentils
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 Tbs. chia seeds
3/4 brown rice flour (or any flour of your choice)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and cover a baking sheet with either parchment paper or non-stick foil. In a food processor add all the ingredients except for the flour, green lentils, sunflower seeds and chia seeds. Process until the mixture is well blended together. Remove the mixture and add it into a large bowl.  Add to it the green lentils, sunflower seeds and chia seeds, mix well to combine. Next add the flour in 1/4 cup increments, stir well to blend together thoroughly. Shape into medium sized patties and bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees, flip and then bake for another 10.

Makes 6-8 patties

I served these chickpea burgers along with some sesame kale. The burgers were delicious! I was pleasantly surprised. I ate three of them... fat kid status. But I couldn't help myself. They are so good.

I accidentally added the whole can of chickpeas instead of the 1 cup. I didn't read the ingredients list properly while I was making it.

My OCD of cleaning distracted me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I suggest just doing the 1 cup and not follow my mistake of dumping in the whole can of chickpeas (make sure they are drained and rinsed) into the food processor. It would explain the texture of them after they were baked in the oven, not a bad texture.

They were still super delicious though!

My mom ate 2 of them with one leftover. Can't wait to scarf that last one down tomorrow!

Weekend recap

This past weekend was a busy one!

Spent it with my family and close friends.

Friday night I met up with a few of my closest  bestest friends at a place called Redcoats.

The only two people missing were Jenna and Haili, my other two best friends.

::sad face:: :(

Saturday morning I was up bright and early at a time of 7 a.m. 

Why?? Oh because my family and I were having a garage sale. And it started at 8 a.m. and I had to set up the items I was selling.

My little table of items that consisted of flip flops, tops, a couple

hats that I wore like twice and dresses. In the box there

were old purses and wallets that I never use anymore.

All the other items that my parents were selling.

The first person to show up bought my brothers weight bench set for $40 and my parents old tv. They made about $140 and I came out with $37.

SCORE!!

We did good. :)

I had to leave halfway through the garage sale to make it to my much needed hair appointment.

My hair needed a dye job to cover some ::cough, cough:: gray hairs ::cough, cough:: and a much needed trim. I dyed the underneath a dark dark brown to almost black and the top is a reddish brown. Loving it!!

I'll post some pictures ASAP.

Came back home to a very nice surprise....

My twin brother was home visiting!! AND my aunt dropped by with her grandkids, my second cousins who I loooove, to visit for a bit.

Madelyn a.k.a my Mini Me, as I like to call her, is starting to look so grown up. She's going to be 11 and I can not believe it. It feels like yesterday she was a baby.

4 p.m. rolled around and that meant the SF Giants game was on against the Oakland A's. Battle of the Bay game series!!

My brother and I settled down and watched the game.

I'm a huge Giants fan, my brother more so, so I was looking forward to watching them beat the A's, which they did of course. They won all three games against them... SWEEEEP!

Later on that evening I headed on over to my best friend's house, Shanel, for a girls night in! Erika and Hillary came over too and it was such a fun night. A much needed, chill, tons of laughter and stories, night.

Sunday I took it easy and recovered from the hectic, yet fun, weekend.

I'm whipping something new up for dinner tonight so stay tuned!

End Of The World As We Know It

It's the end of the world as we know it... (Are you humming that song now?? I know I am)

Gaaahhh...ZOMBIE..

But I'll get back to that in a minute...

Friday morning started out like any other morning....

With some overnight oats!!

Blended!

With chopped up green apples!

Yup, this bowl made me very happy this morning and satisfyingly fullfilling.

Green Apple Blended Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup oats (Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats)
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 tbs. almond butter
• 1 tbs. ground flax
• 1/2 a green apple, cut up into pieces
• A drizzle of agave or honey 

Directions:
Night before, in a blender cup add the oats and milk. Cover and refrigerate over night. Next morning, remove from refrigerator, add in the almond butter and blend up. If it's too thick add a little more almond milk. Pour into a bowl and top with the green apples, ground flax and honey or agave.

I had the remaining ChickPea soup that I made the night before for lunch today. It tasted even better the next day!

Tomorrow morning my family is having a garage sale... part of our garage is full of the items that we are selling. I am hoping to come up on some money selling some clothes that I never wear anymore, shoes, purses and other miscellaneous items.

Oh, and supposedly tomorrow is the end of the world as we know it. I guess tonight I should partake in some End Of the World celebration! 

In all honestly, I don't see it happening. There are way too many gullible people in this world of ours. Horrible, natural disasters can happen at any time, on any day of any week, month, or year. And if the world does end tomorrow, then I guess you all can tell me, "I told you so..."

But then again, I guess no one would be able to if the world ended tomorrow.

I keep saying it's going to be a zombie apocalypse!

Zoooommmbieee

Zombies for Halloween in 2010

 So, I'll end my blog with this food for thought: We aren't guaranteed a tomorrow; so live your  life to it's fullest and have no regrets. Quit living in the past and referring back to it. It's called the PAST for a reason. Work towards your goals and live for yourself. Live in the here and now! Love the people who love you and whom you love. Don't worry about what other people think about you, because chances are they are worried about and thinking the same exact thing.  And laugh and smile at every possible moment!

Hope everyone has a great evening!

XO Jen