What I'm Reading: August 2015

D and I had a to visit the lovely Alki Beach in West Seattle last weekend, and caught a glimpse of the sunset while we were there.

Well, August has been a BUSY month, and not in the good or fun way. Biochemistry II has been a very challenging course so far. The subject matter is more difficult (topics include cholesterol and steroid hormone metabolism, vitamin D synthesis, and amino acid synthesis and degradation, just to name a few), and the teacher this quarter expects us to draw out the chemical structures a bit more than the last teacher did, so I'm spending a lot more time memorizing those in addition to learning the material.

However, even though I'm exhausted and a bit burned out (I have been in an accelerated course for 6.5 weeks now), I'm still enjoying the school and my new friends, and I honestly wouldn't trade this experience for anything (although, I really wouldn't mind having a paying job!).

Because I've been so busy reading my biochemistry textbook, I haven't really been busy reading much else. But here are a few links I've found on the web in my "free" time:

--Here's an article about hemp seeds and their benefits. I eat hemp seeds every morning as a topping for my breakfast oatmeal, and now I feel even more vindicated in doing so because of this article.

--I will be trying these dark chocolate almond bars from Minimalist Baker as soon as I have a moment to make them. Although, honestly, that's probably a very dangerous situation for me, as I have a hard time saying no to chocolate in the house!

--I'm so excited about Driftwood Magazine, the new magazine for "seasoned" vegans. It's out now!! I'll be reviewing it soon, so stay tuned!

--I just tried this recipe for strawberry frozen yogurt this evening, and it was so refreshing. I substituted maple syrup for the agave, and coconut yogurt for the regular yogurt. It was a smashing success.

--I'm sure you've read (or at least heard of) the article in the New York Times that presented a scathing view of Amazon. It made me seriously contemplate taking my business elsewhere.

--I think this would be great: the FDA is proposing new nutrition labels that would include the amount of sugar in a food as a percentage of the daily value, just like everything else already shows. I wonder if people would stop drinking as much soda if soda cans or bottles had this information on it?

--I'm always a fan of using fresh, seasonal fruit in desserts, and this recipe for chocolate chip blueberry bars from Chocolate Covered Katie sound like the perfect way to do that!

--I signed up for Vegan Mofo! It'll be happening in September, and it's a little different this year. Check out this super cute picture for it, and keep an eye out for my posts!