We’re Movin’ on Out….

It’s moving day! No…I’m not leaving Pittsburgh. But, Fringe Benefits is leaving this URL! It won’t be hard to find us. Our new site is http://afringebenefit.com. We have a lot of great things happening over at the new location, so check us out! Remember: you won’t find us here anymore so add the new site to your “places to visit”.

As always, thanks for tuning in.

Peace and Love

–A

Chickpea Deliciousness

I know. It’s weird. But, I made vegan chocolate chip chickpea cookies last night. I was flipping through Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious and decided that I needed to tweek the recipe to make it my own vegan version (hers has eggs, regular sugar, etc.).

The recipe is fairly simple and will leave you with about two dozen lovely, yummy cookies that include hair healthy goodness.

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Vegan Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup softened Earth Balance original spread
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 2 tbsp. ground flax seed mixed with 6 tbsp. warm water
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life chocolate chips
• 15 ounce can of chickpeas–drained, rinsed and mashed (don’t over mash) with a spoon.

Process: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar and lightly beat with an electric mixer.

Add the flax and water mix and the vanilla and beat again at a medium speed.

Add the flour, oats, baking soda and sea salt and beat again at a medium speed to form a thick dough.

Mix in the chocolate chips and the mashed chickpeas with a large spoon.

I like when cookies are a bit larger so I use about 2 tbsp. of dough per cookie (a lot of recipes tell you to use one–that’s a small cookie!)

So, drop the dough, by whatever tbsp. size you desire, onto your cookie sheet.

They’re ready to go into the oven! Depending if you made your cookies smaller or larger, the baking time may differ. My cookies baked for 15 minutes (at 2 tbsp. of dough per cookie).

Once the cookies are finished baking, pull them from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes.

Check out this gooey wonderfulness:

I really loved how these turned out. They are super moist, soft and flavor-filled. If you don’t tell people you are serving these to that there are chickpeas included (which I enjoy doing) they will never know.

And, of course, the HSFS:

• Oats
• Sea Salt
• Chickpeas
• Ground Flax Seed (flax seed in all forms promotes hair growth).

Four hair healthy foods in one cookie? Yes, please!

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Enjoy this weather and this beautiful weekend! Today, I am off to see the final Harry Potter movie (finally!) with my brothers and my sister. I AM SO EXCITED. Tomorrow is a big day in the Shannon family. My brother, Luke, is moving into his college dorm. I have already told you all about him and how I love him, so I won’t go on about it too much. All I really have to say is: WOW. I can’t believe this day is here. Aren’t you still nine and playing with Rescue Heros, Luke?

 

He’s one of my favorite peeps.

 

 

The good news? His college is situated just about three miles from my house!  I’ve already teased him that I may show up from time to time unannounced!

 

Peace and Love from Momma Grace:

 

 

–A

 

 

COMMENT HERE!

Operation Get Living

I know I’ve been M.I.A these last few days. A trip to Dayton, OH to see the Dayton Arts Project, race planning for Tortoise and Hair™ Pittsburgh, my constant search for a full-time teaching position and wedding planning has left this chica slightly busy. My last post about what I hate about alopecia areata left me feeling, well…good. I truly believe that allowing yourself to have those ten minutes to “wallow” allows you the opportunity to work through difficult situations. Without that release, where would all those sad/angry feelings end up?

I don’t know about the weather where you are, but in Pittsburgh, PA it is fan-tabulous! I am loving the feeling of fall in the air (my favorite season) and soaking up every moment that my running shoes get to blaze through the wooded trails of Schenley Park. I woke up this morning ready to hit the trails and had a sudden urge to get the Operation Beautiful message out there.

This is what I came up with for Day 18 of the Spreading Self Love mission:

A closer look:

Great, right? I got a few looks while I was out there sweatin’ up a storm today! I hope the message brought a smile to a few faces.

I’m off to whip up some chocolate chip cookies (with a bit of a twist). Tune in tomorrow for the scoop!

Peace and love.

–A

COMMENT HERE!

 

Ten Minutes.

I stood in the shower the other day staring at the drain.

That drain makes me so angry.

I hate the way it collects my hair right on top (we have the pop up kind that collects hair rather then sending it into the pipes).

I hate it. I stand there in horror some days and try to count the number of hairs that fall from my head. 1, 2, 3, 4…sometimes there’s 20.

As I stood there and watched my hair float away the other day, I realized how important it is to share my unhappy emotions. I feel like I try to share my happy moments (which I enjoy more) with you all more often than the sad ones. Yet, it is a reality that I sometimes fell very sad. And really angry. Having alopecia areata is not always easy. Sometimes I give myself ten minutes to be angry about it before I force good things back into my head. Well, this time I want to share those ten minutes with you all and then move back to happy thoughts. Good?

A few of the things I H.A.T.E. about alopecia areata:

• I hate worrying about whether my bald spots are showing. I hate that I can’t just throw my hair in a ponytail and walk out the door. I am constantly asking, “Are my bald spots showing?”
• I hate feeling the thinness of my hair. I hate that I can wrap my ponytail holder around it five times before it feels tight.
• I hate worrying that someday I may have no hair. I look in the mirror at my long black locks and wonder, “Will I always have this?”
• I hate knowing that alopecia areata is hereditary. Knowing I could pass this disease onto my children makes me sick to my stomach.
• I hate how people try to make you feel better by saying, “It’s just hair. At least you’re not really sick.” Really? So, can I have your hair then?
• I hate feeling loose hairs on my back, neck and chest all the time. I am CONSTANTLY shedding.
• I hate the dreams. I dream far too often about having no hair. In the dreams (or nightmares really) I am always completely bald and very sad.
• I hate the uncertainty. You never know where this disease will lead you to next.
• I hate the feeling of helplessness. I hate not feeling in control.
• I hate how itchy my scalp gets sometimes. Last night, it was so unbearable that I swore to Anthony that I was going to take a razor to it–I didn’t.

OK. My time is up! Sometimes (only sometimes) it feels extraordinarily good to let all of those things off your chest. Whether you speak them, type them or write them down, I encourage you to give yourself your own “10 minutes”.

 

Now, back to happy we go!

 

And, really, how can a girl not smile when looking at that cutie pie?

 

Peace and Love.

–A

 

 

 

COMMENT HERE!

Kitty Success.

Happy Sunday! I just got back from a great run and just had to share this with you:

I walked into my room today to sweet George posed like that. Not only did he make me smile, he also got me thinking about that word. Success and what it means.

Perhaps, for George, success is getting on top of a high shelf or dresser that he was aiming to sit on. For some, success might mean the completion of a marathon. Others might define success as finally getting the job that they had worked hard to get. Still others might define it as the act of getting out of bed and starting each day with a smile.

Success (whatever it means) is an individual journey and is different for each one of us. Often many of us tend to believe that if someone is headed down a different path than we are that they are, somehow, lost. They’re not lost! Their just taking a different path and reaching different successes.

Isn’t that the beauty of it all? What if we were all going for the same jobs, same goals, same everything? That would be, undoubtedly, boring.

So, I ask you, what does the word success mean to you?

Peace.

–A

COMMENT HERE!

Oh, Yes I Did.

Desserts are one of my specialties. I love dessert. Yes, I like to cook in general. But, I have a secret love affair with delicious, chocolatey desserts.

So, as you might have expected, I have been trying to bake desserts that are not only delicious, but that do some good for my hair as well. Impossible, you say? No way. I got you covered!

We have a gorgeous garden flourishing in our back yard. We are definitely stomping all over the notion that “city people” can’t have the benefits that come along with having a great big yard. We’ve got veggies and flowers galore to prove it!

Among all those thriving plants, we have tons of herbs, zucchini, tomatoes, snap peas, carrots, radishes, eggplant, brocolli…and more. It’s a really great garden and we LOVE it.

So, when I noticed the zucchini plant was sprouting quite a few pickable beauties the other day, I started thinking about the hair-fabulous veggie and what deliciousness I could toss it into.

Zucchini bread? Stuffed zucchini? Baked zucchini? Zucchini soup? Although delicious sounding, none of them were calling my name.

Until…zucchini brownies. Now that was a concoction after my chocolate loving heart!

So, here it is my friends. A zucchini filled dessert that will rock your chocolate world.

Vegan Zucchini Brownies

Straight from the Fringe Benefits Kitchen

Batter Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips–I use the Enjoy Life mini chips.

Icing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup vegan butter softened–I use Earth Balance
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese–I use Tofutti
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (170 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and sea salt. In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the oil, vanilla, applesauce and milk. Now pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix both together.

3. Once the mixture looks ready/mixed, fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.

4. Spread the batter evenly into your pan and bake for 25 minutes.

5. While the brownies are baking, you will have time to prepare the icing. Put all of the listed ingredients into  a large mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients on high speed until the icing is light, fluffy and chocolatey. It’s OK to do some taste tests here… I LOVE this icing! It took me a while to master it, and I think I finally have it just how I want it.

6. Once the brownies are done cooking, allow them to cool. Once they are COMPLETELY cool, you can spread an even layer of icing over them.

The result? A delightful, hair healthy zucchini brownie!

These brownies are SO good. I know what you’re thinking, “But, can’t you taste the zucchini?” No. You really, really can’t. Even Anthony (who is totally not a zucchini fan) said he couldn’t taste it a bit and thought they were perfect. His one suggestion (he’s my dessert critic) was to add more chocolate chips. I agree. Mainly because you can never have TOO many chocolate chips!

Here are the HSF’S lovelies:

• Tofu–(in cream cheese)
• Soy Milk
• Canola Oil
• Sea Salt
• Zucchini
• Almond Milk

I hope you enjoy these brownies. Your hair will thank you just as much as your sweet tooth will!

The weather here in Pittsburgh has cooled down so much compared to last week and we are loving it. Really, how can a girl complain when eating a zucchini brownie in the cool air on her back porch and looking at this view?

I’m off to make a dinner that I will inevitably be enjoying outdoors. Enjoy this evening.

Peace and Good Dessert.

–A

COMMENT HERE!

I Hate You But I LOVE You.

Ever heard of Synergy Kombucha? Well, admittedly, I have never really been a fan. It’s fizzy and those who know me know I hate fizz (which is why I stay away from all fizzy drinks.)

A few months ago, Anthony and I were at the Pittsburgh Public Market. One of the men at a veggie stand there had homemade Kombucha sitting out. I inquired about it and he told me that he makes it at home and it is far less fizzy than the store bought kind. Bingo.

I gave it a try and actually really liked it. This got me thinking about the store bought kind and whether or not I should give it a try.

Why torture myself, you ask? Well, here are the health benefits of Kombucha taken right from the site:

“Kombucha supports everything from increased energy levels, to improved digestion, healthier skin and hair, and even a stronger immune system.”

Healthy hair? I’m sold!

And, honestly, when I hear about all of the goodness in those things I think “Why not?!” I can bear one or two a week, right? Hearing those health benefits makes me feel some love toward this nutrient stocked drink:

Drink up.

–A

COMMENT HERE!