Breakfast

The Sights and Smells of France

Well I must say that our school kitchens smelled remarkably like a French bakery last night as we baked off our chocolate croissants and cinnamon buns! They both turned out perfectly despite my initial mess-up of egg washing the croissants before they went in the proof box to rise. When I got home last night I immediately tossed the cinnamon buns into the freezer to take home with me this weekend for my brother. He’s 17 and loves those things.  Too bad chocolate croissants don’t keep longer and they don’t freeze really well either!  Good thing my roommate is coming back today from visiting her boyfriend…she is a chocoholic just like me!

For breakfast I just had a bowl of Ezekiel cereal with hempmilk, a banana and decaf green tea. I’ve got a bunch of errands to run this morning but I’ll be back for lunch!

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  • Annie
    February 27, 2008 at 1:18 pm

    Ahh I am so jealous, everything looks so good! Your family must love when you come home with all the goodies. Enjoy the rest of your day off.

  • Eliza
    February 27, 2008 at 1:27 pm

    I know your treats look wonderful!

    Have a great day everyone 😉

  • hk
    February 27, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    they look beautiful~ I’m not a pastry-liker…weird I know, but they look pretty, for sure 🙂 happy humpday!

  • Katie R
    February 27, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    hi! I’m sure this question has been asked before but I can’t find a way to search through all the comments 🙁 Sorry if this is repetitive but I just found out I have celiac’s disease (grr!!) does anyone know of any good gluten-free blogs? Thanks!!

  • caitlin
    February 27, 2008 at 1:48 pm

    OMG i would love to eat one of those!!

  • hk
    February 27, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    Katie R- check out veggiegirlvegan–>I’m pretty sure she’s mentioned that she has Celiac’s disease. She seems to have a really great diet of incredible healthy foods! defintely get in touch with her! her blog ROCKS!

  • Courtney
    February 27, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    Katie R-

    I just googled “Gluten free blogs” and got quite a good result. I know the blog 101cookbooks.com that Jenna likes has 41 gluten free recipes. The first two results on my search looked nice, but I didnt really read them all. they were: glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com and glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com.

    I really recommend you doing some research into Celiac though. It can be tricky, but they’re making so many more gluten-free products now that its easier than ever before!

    Good luck!
    Courtney

  • erica
    February 27, 2008 at 1:56 pm

    jenna, please send me one of each pastry!! YUM! haha, they sure do look fabulous.

    have a great day!

  • Betsy
    February 27, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    ok veggiegirl. let’s move this convo to this post!
    i’m from cleveland heights. where do you live??

  • Brianne
    February 27, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    Katie R- I don’t have celiac’s but I just wanted to let you know about this great company called Enjoy Life- they make common allergen free products (no dairy, soy, gluten, eggs…). Anyways, they make a ton of products- the web site is http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/ . I used some of there products and I have no allergies/intolerances- check it out! =)

  • Tsbrown
    February 27, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Katie R, I am so sorry to haear that you have Celiac’s. I know it can be difficult to manage. My mom has it, and I guess it is likely that I will develop it also. How are you doing so far?

  • Romina
    February 27, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    I can’t imagine how amazing that kitchen must’ve smelt!! Mmm.

  • kay
    February 27, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    Has anyone heard of Vegan shoes? Natalie Portman is one of my favorite actresses and she has a line of vegan shoes!!

  • VeggieGirl
    February 27, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    **Katie R and HK:

    Actually, I have Crohn’s Disease – but I can still help out!! :0) I highly recommend the “Gluten Free Girl” and Gluten A Go-Go” blogs, for Celiac Disease information.

  • VeggieGirl
    February 27, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    **Betsy:

    I’m in Beachwood – not too far from Cleveland Heights, at all!! :0)

  • VeggieGirl
    February 27, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    Jenna, could those pastries look ANY MORE decadent and divine??? I think not – excellent baking-work, girl!!

    Have a wonderful Wednesday – the weekend is just 2-3 days away!! :0)

  • arimcg
    February 27, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    Mmmmm….I can’t believe you didn’t eat a croissant!! I totally would have. You are very strong.

  • Katie R
    February 27, 2008 at 2:38 pm

    Thanks soooo much for all the suggestions!! Those blogs look great!!

  • Betsy
    February 27, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    oh-before i go on, i have to comment about those amazing amazing looking pain au chocolat, which are my fav. I must have eaten on a day when i was in paris (along with crepes with nutella).

    veggie-that’s so close! where did you go to school? I went to HB.

  • VeggieGirl
    February 27, 2008 at 2:42 pm

    **Betsy:

    Oh my goodness, I went to Laurel!!! TOO FUNNY that we went to rival schools!!! :0D

  • Maran
    February 27, 2008 at 2:49 pm

    VeggieGirl and Besty- I just moved to Charlotte, NC from Chagrin Falls, OH!! I went to West Geauga (not a private school girl) but know some girls who went to Laurel and HB. Such a small world!!

  • Becky
    February 27, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Jenna, those look awesome!

    A bunch of questions directed to various commenters:

    Runners – what sort of strength training do you recommend for lower body? Historically I have been a high weight/low reps girl, which has worked well for me, and get full body strengthening in about 2 times a week. However, in the past year I have gotten increasingly into running and am planning to run my first half marathon in June! This means 3-4 days of running, and it doesn’t always feel right to tax my legs so much on my non-running days with power lifting. I know it’s important to still strengthen the leg muscles, so I’ve incorporated more Pilates type moves and lowered my weights/upped my reps with traditional exercises. Still, I’m NOT an expert on this and would love to know if a serious runner has any recommendations!

    Total new topic – I just bought the Ezekial sprouted bread. Should it be kept in the freezer because it was kept that way in the store? Also, could someone summarize the benefits of sprouted grain vs. regular whole wheat bread?

    Thanks!

  • Shannon
    February 27, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    Oh my gosh those croissants look absolute amazing and so so so tasty! I’m tempted to buy one now from the coffee shop in my university’s library. Too bad I have a pear and a Luna Bar to snack on.

    I just wanted to let you know how much your blog has inspired me to be more creative and branch out more with my diet. Now, I look forward to planning my meals and I’m trying not to have such a bad relationship with food.

  • rivermomx3
    February 27, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    Hey VeggieGirl & Betsy,
    I live in Rocky River and my office is in the Flats! I know, the west side, but one of my doctors is in Mayfield Heights and I do make the trek to Whole Foods every now and then. haha. I had no idea anyone on here was so close!

  • Becky in MD
    February 27, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    Emily(from MD)-
    Just curious, where do you live? I’m in Germantown…outside of DC.

  • Shannon
    February 27, 2008 at 3:36 pm

    Also, ladies, I posted this link on Kath’s blog, but I didn’t think there would be any harm in listing it again:

    http://www.redandblack.com/home/news/2008/02/27/Opinions/extremes.Push.Gym.Fixation-3236031.shtml

    I’m the managing editor at my university’s daily student-run newspaper, and I wrote the above column in honor of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. I know many of us here have had issues with food in the past or still do, and I wanted to share my opinion.

  • jenna
    February 27, 2008 at 3:39 pm

    I love pain au chocolate too!!! I’m not some saint over here..of course I’ve been nibbling and eating the chocolate out of the middle (which is my favorite part!) 😉

    When I lived in Paris there was this tiny little artisan bakery on my way to school and they had these small chocolate rolls that I bought all the time for an after lunch treat. The rolls themselves weren’t sweet at all and that’s what made them so good. I would have that with a cup of hot chocolate and I would be in heaven…

    Mm…I miss France

  • Laura
    February 27, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    jenna!! you are an amazing chef, already!! how do you not gobble up all those pastries the SECOND they come out of the oven?!?! you’ve got good self control, girl!! kudos to you. i would weight 1,000 lbs if I was around that stuff all the time!! ps… I still want to know more about you and & ryan’s “story”!!! i think you are too adorable together!! how’d you meet? how long have you been dating? how do you combat long distance?! i’m doing it now and it is SO HARD!!!!!!!!! have a great wednesday!!

  • VeggieGirl
    February 27, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    **Maran and rivermomx3:

    Such a small world indeed – hooray for some Ohio representation!! :0D

  • Rachel
    February 27, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    hey Becky!

    I’m a big runner, there’s nothing wrong with weights, but I’d also suggest adding squats, lunges, plies (all with holding free weights in your hands) and also some work with resistance bands. This way you’re working all the muscles that you normally don’t work while running straight ahead, thus increasing your overall leg strength. All you really have to do is 2 reps of 10 each, 2 times a week. Hope that helps!

  • Phoebe
    February 27, 2008 at 3:50 pm

    Hi Katie R — Someone already suggested this but http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/ is a great gluten-free blog and is actually kind of famous by now (was written up in NYT, is very well-known etc.).

  • Comrade GoGo
    February 27, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    I’m obsessed with all things French at the moment, and I must say those pastries look heavenly!

  • Mandy
    February 27, 2008 at 4:03 pm

    I think I would seriously eat every single one of those if they were in front of me right now… lol PMS city!

    They look wonderful, Jenna!!! Great job!

  • Katie R
    February 27, 2008 at 4:04 pm

    By the way Jenna! Do you have a recipe for that cabbage? I couldn’t find it under ‘recipes’..

  • SDF
    February 27, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    Wow Jenna-I can not believe your self control. Never mind eating one once it came out of the oven-I would’ve eaten all of them. It would’ve been one of those disgusting moments where your mouth is so full you can’t breath-but yet you’re trying to figure out how to get the next bite in….yeah, that’s me with pastries.
    I’m so jealous of everybody who’s from around the same areas. Come on ladies-where’s everybody from Canada? Possibly Alberta…we can talk about how cold it is, and use the temperature in Celsius (because everytime somebody says something about temperature I have to google a converter and switch it from Fahrenheit to Celsius to understand what temperature it actually is)

  • jenna
    February 27, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    Laura,

    Haha! I guess I’ve gained self control because I do this every single day and if I ate every single thing that came out of the oven (like I want to!) I would be very overweight. Not saying I don’t enjoy myself..because I def. do–and if its worth it to me to “splurge” like that, then I most certainly will. Like I said, I’ve been picked at these croissants and eating the chocolates from the middle so I’m far from perfect.

    Ryan and I have been dating almost 2 years. We met in an elevator and from there it was history! We dated long distance while I was in college up in South Carolina (saw each other about once a month, he would fly up there or I would come home) and then now we are just doing this until September when I go off on externship (in tampa somewhere) and can move home. We see each other on the weekends so its not that bad but I can’t wait for the day when I know I won’t have to leave again and we can just be together like a normal couple! It’s hard!

  • jenna
    February 27, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    Girls-
    the cabbage recipe is under yesterday’s breakfast post. My mom put it there! 🙂

  • Tsbrown
    February 27, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    Jenna, why did you decide to stop drinking milk? Love your blog…so much fun!

  • Becky
    February 27, 2008 at 5:10 pm

    Rachel – thanks!

  • Emily V.
    February 27, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    I decided to add the letter of my last initial since there is more than one Emily on the site.

    Becky in MD: I work in Rockville and live in Columbia/College Park. Right now I’m finishing up my last semester at UMD and have a full time internship that is going to turn into a job, so I’ll be in Rockville for quite some time. My boyfriend actually lives in Germantown! small world!

  • jenna
    February 27, 2008 at 7:03 pm

    Tsbrown,

    I stopped drinking so much milk because of a couple reasons…number one being I think I have a mild sensitivity to the lactose in it. I feel a lot better (tummy-wise) when I don’t drink milk and eat all the yogurts that I used to. I think I am still going to eat cheese though because I was researching lactose and found that cheese actually doesn’t have as much of it in prominent forms..therefore people that have mildly lactose intolerant can usually eat cheese fine. My stomach always hurt after drinking milk or eating those greek yogurts that I used to love but cheese never bothered it. Just trying different things to find out what works best for my body!!

  • Tsbrown
    February 27, 2008 at 7:19 pm

    Thanks Jenna! You rock!

  • Becky in MD
    February 27, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    It is a small world! I work in Silver Spring, pretty close to UMD…quite a little trek every day from G-town! Anyway, nice to meet you!

  • Caroline
    February 28, 2008 at 3:11 am

    Hello, Jenna! I’ve been lurking for a while now I’ve decided to make my first post.

    Regarding the guest post and your response about not drinking milk/dairy products…have you tried lactose-free milk? It should not bother your stomach like regular milk does. Dairy-free substitutes like almond and hempmilk are nice, but to me they do not compare to the nutritional value and protein quality of real dairy milk.

  • jenna
    February 28, 2008 at 3:56 am

    Hi caroline,

    Actually–hemp milk contains 46% of your daily calcium needs as well as some omega 3’s that dairy milk does not offer. to me at least, its a MUCH better deal because I just don’t like the thought of where the milk comes from (that’s half of why I don’t drink it…I think its purely for baby calves). Anyways, you should check hemp milk out because it does offer stellar nutrition and really heart healthy nutrients!! And it tastes oh so good and creamy! Thanks for the tip though!

  • Lizzy
    February 29, 2008 at 10:57 am

    Ohhh, how I would love to eat a chocolate croissant now, they look perfect!