What's in a name?

My Aunt Flo is visiting

I'm riding the Tomato Boat

It's THAT time of month

We all have a name for...you know what! (For any male readers out there, I apologize. Feel free to take a walk, call up an old buddy, or play with power drills). In junior high it was a source of embarassment. Now, it's a fact of life. In the grand scheme of things, it can be seen as something beautiful (women have the ability to support a growing baby!), but there are some days when I think post-menopause sounds like a sweet deal!

I could go on for paragraphs on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis and the changes of LH, FSH, estrogen & progesterone during the follicular & luteal phase. I could do that...except that it is summer...and I'm not quite ready to go back to school yet :P. But I will leave you with this beautiful picture.

I think it speaks for itself...

Instead, I'm going to write about what was on my mind today: SUGAR CRAVINGS. I get them bad to the point where it would almost be more efficient to hook up an IV and have a constant drip of sugar. But unfortunately, I haven't attended an IV skills night yet and therefore had to use a bit of creativity in the kitchen. Recently I saw a recipe for vanilla avocado banana ice cream at loveveggiesandyoga.com and knew that this was the day to try it out. I stuck all 5 ingredients in the blender, poured it in a bowl and left it in the freezer for a couple hours. The result? Sugar satisfaction. This "ice cream" has the same smooth, creamy texture as your plain-old ice cream...but the delicate flavour made it even better! This recipe will not disappoint and I hope you try it!

To make this, you will need:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup sugar (I substituted with fruit sugar and ended up using a little less than called for. I still found it to be plenty sweet and would consider using even less sugar next time I make it. It all depends on how strong your sweet tooth is!)
• 1/2 cup milk (I used skim, but any kind will work)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients on HIGH until smooth. Pour mixture into a bowl and freeze for a couple hours. Serve and enjoy!

This picture does not do it justice. I promise my photography skills will improve someday!

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday!

Growing up, did you and your friends have a code name for "that time of month"? Do you have any strange cravings (according to my parents, some women crave pickles & ice cream when pregnant)?