Got 75% of my Nutr. Education final done. Killer!!
Then I went for a 5.37 mile run. Actually it was quite slow. I felt like a horse clomping along. But all runs can’t be fast, and my music was great! [Whatchasay.]
Came home and had a killer shower, and then made a killer lunch with a fresh batch of Dakota buns the Baker brought home!
The Dakota bun featured a homemade bean burger made with black beans, whole wheat flour and Worcestershire.
Toppings included avocado, ketchup and honey mustard. But really, burgers just aren’t good without crunchy pickles or jalapenos 🙁
The Crunch Lid.
On the side: Sweet potato fries <– now with their own recipe page!!
Drizzled in some maple syrup and seasoned with cinnamon
After lunch I had the last piece of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Sweet n Salty by Design pretzel 🙂
It once looked like this. A beauty!
***
My final Breathe post of 2009 is on the topic of beauty. Some of you guys have asked me in the past about my favorite beauty products, so without further ado….
Beauty And The Best
Since writing the post this fall, I have a few more beauty products worth mentioning.
First, EO products. I had the pleasure of sitting next to the founder of EO, Brad Black, at the Foodbuzz Festival dinner and got a sample of the rosemary lotion and hand sanitizer in the bathroom that night. LOVED them. Brad was kind enough to send some of us tablemates a few samples to try out and review. EO products are all natural and are made from herbs, essential oils and natural ingredients. Yay environment. And being a smell connoisseur, I was more than excited about the bounty of lavender 🙂
I chose the Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner and Lavender body wash for my shower.
Total heaven. Usually I find that the better a product smells and the more natural it is, the worse it works. But I am happy to report that these guys not only smell divine, but they work well too. The hair products leave my hair super soft and the body wash suds up nicely and makes me think about savasana and the lavender scented cool towels I love so much 🙂
I absolutely love the lavender hand sanitizer as well. Finally one that I LIKE putting on my hands.
But perhaps my favorite product is the Coconut & Vanilla with Tangerine hand soap. LOOOOOVE the smell!!
Also on the review docket is this Eucerin Everyday Protection lotion I received after meeting them at BlogHer this summer. It’s really nice all around – SPF 30, light formula, unscented for a sensitive skin. I really like how quickly it absorbs into my skin. For having sunscreen, it’s very light and not thick and slimy at all. I DO wish it smelled more like lavender, but I suppose I’ll forgive it for that 🙂
And last but not least, remember back in May when I went on the cruise and I gave away one of these $120 NV Perricone Advanced Face Firming Activator? Well I didn’t get one at the time, but the company sent me one recently for updating the links in that post for them. I’ve never used anything nearly this expensive before! And it’s funny they sent it now because I was researching some wrinkle serums just a few weeks ago.
I’ve been using it for 1 week now and I SWEAR the smile line I have is less visible. My mom and I have the same one!! I’m not anti-wrinkle or anything, and I’d never get anything that causes pain (i.e. needles, surgery) done to my face, but at age 27, I would like to slow down the skin aging process a tad bit. I have lines around my eyes and the left side of my mouth already.
Anyways, I’ve been wearing this a little over a week now. There’s only one major con to it: you know that super sensitive nose I have? Well I can SMELL the fish oils in this. Every time I put it on I smell fishy fish. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Maybe you wouldn’t notice it? They need to put some lavender in it!! However, I’m grunting through it to see if my complexion really does respond miraculously to this guy. So far, I’m impressed.
So that’s that 🙂
See y’all for dinner!
Kat (kats daily plate) says
Your lunch looks awesome- I want one of those buns! They always looks so hearty and tasty on your blog. I agree, though, that every burger needs pickles (and lettuce and tomato). Hate to say it here, but I also love onions on my burgers! 😉
Estela @ weekly bite says
I’ve been wanting to try the Dr. Perricone line!
I’m all about reducing the lines 😉
Light Delight with Tou Tou says
Oh I love buns that topped with seeds….especially pumpkin seeds !!
the sweet potato fries looks very crispy!!!
Anne [email protected] Weigh of Life says
Lunch looks awesome! The buns look so good.
Ali @ Food, Fitness, Fashion says
Those buns always look so good!!!!
skinnyrunner says
your lunch looks so delicious!!! i want it right now!
thanks for the info on the beauty products too!
Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats says
Oooo, love, love, LOVE your lunch! Those buns look so good with the seeds on top. I’m a sucker for a good seeded bun. 😉 Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!
Jessica @ How SWeet It Is says
I love Eucerin! Use it everyday.
Sarah @ The Foodie Diaries says
Rosemary mint shampoo sounds amazing!! I bet that has an amazing cooling effect.
Oh, and that bun looks incredddible!
brandi says
great lunch – those fries sound awesome with the maple syrup. I LOVE the lotion + bubble bath I got at Foodbuzz, too! That hand soap sounds so good – the scent combination is interesting.
Allie (Live Laugh Eat) says
Lavendar is one of my favorite scents!!!
My roommate’s favorite song in the whole wide world is whatchasay…she hums/sings/blasts/dances to it from the moment her eyelids pop open in the morning to when she jumps into bed at night.
Allie (Live Laugh Eat) says
Oh and I was looking at my smile lines with my mom and noticed a faint line ALREADY!!! I need this product fo sho!
Allison (Eat Clean Live Green) says
I made your bean burgers the other day – they are fantastic! I also love the idea of putting maple syrup on sweet potato fries, yum!
Also, lavender hand sanitizer sounds lovely.
Lauren @ Eater not a runner says
Sweet potato and maple go together like PB&J 🙂 Also, coconut and vanilla w/ tangerine soap sounds sooo yummy!
Sarah Jayne says
Nothin like a good ol burger & fries…but no pickle?! GASP! 🙂
Lavendar is my fav fav fav scent for beauty products!
April says
Hee haw hee haw…I order the Perricone. I have lots of new lines appearing and i’ll be 35 next year so I need all the help I can get LOL! If you like it I know it’s got to be good stuff. Lines give ya character but I don’t need new ones 🙂
megan says
great reviews! it’s nice to know what real people think of products before you decide on them 🙂
Haleigh says
Great Harvest dakota bread definitely rivals the marvelous bread that I was served in Germany. It is so good!!
Food Makes Fun Fuel says
Omnomnom to that lunch
Runeatrepeat says
I totally need to get that serum after your review. I am in the same place as you, I want something to slow down the aging. Preventative stuff rocks!
Brittney says
Sweet potato fries sound so good right now 🙂
Christie @ Honoring Health says
I stopped taking fish oil for the same reason. Maybe it was in my head but I felt like I could smell it all the time!
Jenn (www. j3nn.net ) says
Awesome lunch!! Dakota buns are THE BEST! Yum. 🙂
Jenn
Ameena says
I am going to try the sweet potato fries tonight! Thanks for the recipe.
theemptynutjar says
Yum, bean burgers on bread with sweet taters. Wonderful.
Shannon (The Daily Balance) says
Those Dakota Buns get me every time! Oh how I wish I had a Great Harvest nearby!
Mary (Food Fit and Fun) says
your lunch looks so delicious! There is nothing better than the bean burger sweet potato combination. I never thought to put maple syrup on my sweet potatoes…I’ll have to try it sometime. I desperately wish I could get my hands on some of that Dakota Bread.
Lisa @bakebikeblog says
That bread roll looks awesome! oooh and I LOVE sweet potato 🙂
Karla says
Those buns look delicious! I saw them on J3NN too not so long ago (I think you sent them to her), either way the seeds look delicious! I’m going to try to recreate those sometime this week.
Julie @savvyeats says
I envy you having fresh Dakota buns at your disposal at all times 🙂
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope says
Great reviews on those products Kath! I love how you give such honest, in-depth opinions. I really appreciate hearing your thoughts! 🙂 I’ve actually never tried any of these before, but you totally have me interested in the EO products.
Kath says
Thank you!
Simply Life says
Wow that bun looks amazing! What fun products to try!
lynn (The Actors Diet) says
yummy looking lunch – i need to try that bean burger recipe soon…. and also, thanks for updating your blog roll with our new address too!
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg says
Nice buns!!!
Sorry. I had to.
I LOVE Aveda’s mint lavender shampoo– that’s such a nice combination. Refreshing and invigorating!
Mom says
Gosh those were good pretzels! And by the way, sweetie pie, thanks to you and Matt for the delicious Thanksgiving dinner (and leftovers on Friday).
Deirdre says
I never buy hair products that don’t smell good! I understand.
Erin says
That bun looks ridiculously good!
Sam (Merit to the Carrot) says
Your lunch looks too good for words.
Wendy says
I don’t know how expensive the EO products are, but if you want a drugstore alternative for the lavender hand santizer – check the baby section. I bought some lavender Germ-X for a friend’s baby shower once. 🙂
Cynthia (It All Changes) says
I love a good lotion and don’t use enough of it. My skin shows it 🙂
Lee says
I use that same color eye shadow that you mentioned in the linked post.
emmy - eatventures says
I’m not sure if someone else has sent you this link yet, but I think you would really like it! Michael Pollan even shows up 🙂 http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/
Kath says
VERY COOL!
Ashley says
You?? Firming lotion?? You have the best skin I have ever seen I think…seriously! But if even you can notice it making a difference, it must be good!
Danielle says
OOOhh I’m always in the market for some good shampoo and conditioner. I may have to check out EO. Thanks!
AnnQ says
That hamburger bun looks amazing!
Jenna says
tahat looks like a great lunch and i really want to make those burgers, they look super good and easy!
jenna
Lindsay says
So you inspired my dinner tonight.. I had one of your black bean burgers! It was pretty good! For some reason mine came out pretty small though, so next time i’ll make it a little bit bigger and add some more spices! Just wanted to say thanks for the great idea.. it was quick, easy, and tasty!
Sarah @ See Sarah Eat says
I have smile lines too! Oh well, at least it’s from smiling so much 🙂
Hillary - Nutrition Nut on the Run says
I wish I could have eaten lunch @ your house today!
Courtney (The Tasty Balance) says
Those buns look amazing! Nice pictures, by the way!
greekliving says
oh my gosh i want this berger!!!!!!!!
it makes me drool all over! the side dish is also tasty, i tried it a couple of weeks ago.
thumbs up!!!
Carolyn says
I agree about the naturals stuff. I tried swtiching to organic face care products once and I broke out like CRAZY!!
steph says
I think I could trudge through a fishy smell for smoother younger skin. Thanks for the informative and honest review!
Sally says
My friend works at MD Perricone. The mark up on those products is ridiculous!
Gina says
The bean burger and sweet potato fries look so delicious! And I can’t believe how easy it looks to make both. The topping ideas really help make it too!
Cassie says
That. Looks. So. Delicious.
Lindsay says
I saw those sweet potatoes and your title and was looking for the fries to be seasoned with lavender. That is one of my fave combos: sweet potatoes sprinkled with lavender and orange peel or cinnamon and drizzled with honey.