30 Day Blogger Challenge Catch-Up and a Review

I haven't done the 30 Day Blogger Challenge in ages and the month (July - whoops) is already decidedly over. I ran into some questions that I just didn't feel inspired to write about and, rather than yawning my way through a few posts, just shelved it. But even though the challenge is technically over, here are my answers to the few fun questions that I have left.


Day 14 - Do you have any birth marks? Scars? Tattoos? Piercings?


I have birthmarks (most noticeably the mole above my left eyebrow) and plenty of scars (burn marks on my arms, mostly from kitchen mishaps, and all over my knees, mostly from clumsiness mishaps). I don't have any tattoos (and don't want any) but I have the standard pierced ears that many girls do. No out-of-the ordinary piercings, though!

Day 16 - What's 1 thing that you've never done that most people have?


I've never had a boyfriend.


Day 17 - Post 7 random facts about yourself.


   1) I love acting.
   2) I love writing and have wanted to be an author since forever.
   3) I would rather be too cold than too hot.
   4) Christmas is, by far, my favorite holiday.
   5) Germany is my favorite country outside of the United States of America. And I think German food is super delicious.
   6) I love traveling.
   7) I would love to be an ambassador someday.


Day 22 - What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?


I'm not going to say biggest, because I don't like committing like that (who knows, maybe I'm forgetting something!) so here are just three pet peeves of mine that are pretty high up there.

   * Gross mastication of chewing gum (fine, chew gum - but why do I have to hear it?)
   * Repetitive throat clearing, coughing, and sniffling (especially when I'm trying to study)
 
I can't think of another one that irks me on quite that level, so I'll leave it as two.

Day 23 - What is your favorite part of the day and why?


By far, the morning! I love mornings because they're so fresh and full of potential! I feel like I have the most energy and can get the most done - and mornings are just, in general, a happy time for me.

I also love breakfast. :)

Day 24 - Who was your childhood celebrity crush?


I had such a crush on Jeremy Sumpter (after watching Peter Pan) in middle school. I also had a huge crush on Leonardo DiCaprio (after watching Titanic, of course).

So far there haven't been any pictures in this post. We can't have that! So here's a review, with plenty of pictures to make up for it. :)

You may remember Garden Lites from an earlier post, where I showed a picture of the tote that they were so kind as to send me, along with some product samples (it has since become my go-to acting and auditions bag).

Garden Lites makes a line of vegetarian (not vegan) frozen dishes for one that emphasize veggies.

I love that the ingredients list is relatively short and simple, with loads of veggies. I also like that they use recyclable materials and BPA free plastic. I'm not such a fan of the wait - I know this wouldn't be a problem if my apartment had a microwave, but it doesn't - and I'm soooo impatient, so it took me a long time to get around to trying these, just because of the 40 minute oven baking time!

I was really glad that I tried it when I did, though - they were all well worth the wait (especially the zucchini marinara, pictured above in it's post-oven, pre-stir form).

Loaded with veggies that taste unbelievably fresh, they really are the delicious vegetable company. The spicing is perfect and the veggie combos, too, so that the dish is sweet, flavorful, and so good that you want to forgo all table manners training and lick the plate.

I loved how they sliced the zucchini in thin ribbons that you could wrap around your fork. Chopping the veggies so small made it easier to taste all their flavor complexities and made this dish truly one to savour!

The Zucchini Portabella was quite tasty too, especially if you're a mushroom fan.

Again, very simple, healthful ingredients:

Forty minutes later...

This one had some definitely similarities to the other dish (the sauces were very similar and the mouth feel was just about identical) but it had a meatier flavor from the mushrooms.

Very tasty.

I had it with buttered bread, to mop up the sauce (oh my gosh, talk about a tastebud party) and finished the meal with the perfect finish - a bowl of dark chocolate macadamia ice cream.

I need to get a cooler bag, because my ice cream keeps melting in the subway and I have to refreeze it when I get home - the texture just isn't the same.

Anyway, given how light the Garden Lites dishes are, they're great as sides, served with rice, or supplemented with bread (I suggest garlic bread in the case of the zucchini marinara)!

And while I talked about the ribbon zucchini dishes first, that's only because I was saving the best for last.

Their souffles. OH. MY. GOSH.

This post is getting epic-ly long, so I won't go into details of each of them, I'll just tell you about my favorite one: the zucchini souffle.

Yes, they were all really good (the roasted vegetable had a great mix of flavors

the butternut squash was creamy as all get out, the southwestern was a hearty fiesta, the spinach took me back to childhood dinners of creamed spinach with mashed potatoes and fried eggs



 and the pizza souffle - surprisingly - tasted like pizza with a lighter, eggier texture).

But the zucchini souffle?

So simple and so good.

Like the other dishes, the souffles all require either ~5 minutes in a microwave or 40 minutes in an oven. As you'll note from the ingredients list, these are NOT vegan - the second ingredient is egg whites.

They are entirely vegetarian, however, and (at least when baked in the oven) develop a delightful buttery crust.

I flipped mine on to a plate so you can admire the soft, rich bottom and see some of the creamy interior. Though zucchini is the first ingredient, the primary flavor comes from the potatoes. The souffle definitely tastes and and feel carb-y, unlike the other two zucchini dishes highlighted above.

Luckily, I'm a big fan of carbs.

I don't even know how to properly describe this (what can I liken it to when, at least in my food experience, it's a one of a kind dish?) so I'll give it my best shot in the Hollywood Producer pitch kind of way.

It's a hash brown meets omelet meets biscuit meets mashed potato deal with a savory kick.

With a little mustard? Sheer perfection.

My only warning is as follows: unless you need to lose weight, you should follow the souffle with a rich dessert. It's really filling because of all the protein and fiber from the eggs, potatoes, brown rice, and veggies, but it's light - it just doesn't taste or feel that way. But following with a generous helping of extra premium ice cream should cover your energy needs!

If you have a microwave, I really recommend these. And if you don't? I still recommend them - they're worth the wait.

Especially the souffles.

Have you ever had zucchini sliced like pasta?


How do you get your ice cream home without melting?


Answer any of the challenge questions that I answered!

Don't forget to enter my coconut oil giveaway!