And Speaking Of…

Hey guys! 

Thank you all SO much for the congrats on my service award I received the other day! Five years is definitely something to be proud of…even if it some nights it DOES feel like I’ve been there for an eternity…yeah, here’s looking at you Mr. Drunk McGee! 😉

So there’s been some happenings around here lately that I thought I’d can’t wait to share…

First and foremost, the fact that after I woke up yesterday and checked my phone, I almost peed my pants jumped up and down when I saw my Twitter alerts…

Anyone else catch Food Buzz’s Top 9?

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Because that’s my Pumpkin Pie French Toast right there in the mix!

*Squeal*

This is my first time EVER being featured on the Top 9 and I feel EXTREMELY honored to have one of my recipes included with so many other talented bloggers!

And SPEAKING of pumpkin…

Pumpkin Love

I may or may not have rekindled my love affair with the good ol’ orange stuff…and also become insanely enamored with the new Valentine’s Day effects on PicMonkey! 😉

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Ok, I totally did…love, love, love, love, LOVE! 😀

#strangebutGOOD recipe coming at ya tomorrow!

And SPEAKING of good…

On Tuesday, I finally picked myself up out of the puddle of self-pity I’d formed since my knee went out on me, wrapped it up and headed to the gym!

Gymming

Lifting weights, swimming laps, and soaking in the hot tub does an injured body GOOD!

It feels SO good to get some sanity back…even if I was taken by surprise by DOMS two days later (don’t be fooled, I secretly love it!)

And SPEAKING of surprises…

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It was DEFINITELY a surprise when this bundle showed up on my doorstep last week!

Ok, that’s a lie…I knew they were coming since I obviously ordered them online but it WAS a surprise that all THREE? boxes arrived on the same day! 😉

I think it’s safe to say that after allowing me to review these bars a couple of months ago, Quest has officially created a monster, especially since when I ordered these boxes, I had yet to finish off the ones I purchased a month before…

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What can I say? 

Oh, how about that the banana walnut flavor is absolutely AMAZING and seriously almost tastes like an actual muffin!

And SPEAKING of stuffing bites of deliciousness in my mouth…

Somewhere amidst the mouthgasms that resulted from warmed banana nut muffin bars and more Coconut Banana Bread than I knew what to do with (I eventually froze the rest), I managed to catch a bit of a bug, but not of the tossing toast variety…no, I was stricken with the BAKING BUG! <- I know, I never saw it coming either!

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I whipped up a batch of these almond cookies last week after seeing how much Chelsea raved about them over the holidays. I decided to throw in some dried cranberries at the last-minute and boy am I glad I did! They turned out fantastic…soft and chewy and perfectly sweet!

On Sunday, I wanted to do something special for my co-worker’s birthday and since she absolutely adores anything coconut, I just had to make these healthy coconut cupcakes:

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I finally got to use my almond flour for the first time and (sadly) used up the last of my xylitol…time to buy more! 😉

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I topped them with some vanilla Chobani and a bit of unsweetened shredded coconut and they were absolutely DELICIOUS…as in almost dangerously so! I had to put the leftovers in the freezer just so that I’d quit grabbing them!

And SPEAKING of dangerously delicious snacks…

Pretzels

Remember these guys?

Back in the spring of last year, after polishing off one of the two tubs (in ONE WEEK!) that my friend Missy was evil kind enough to send me, the second tub was placed in the snack-ness protection program…aka, the darkest depths of the pantry…out of sight out of mind!

Well, that is until they were recovered and CRACKed open during movie night with the man-friend last week.

200 pretzels, half a jar of sweet potato butter, and two tummy-aches later…

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I SWEAR these things are pure EVIL! 

The little crunchy sticks of heavenly goodness pretzel crack have since returned to the darkness from whence they came…and as for the more perishable sweet potato butter? It met an untimely death the next morning…death by “accidental” garbage disposal-ing.

Mwahahaha!

Yeah, I think I’ve hit an all time low in revenge seeking. 😉

And SPEAKING of lows (ok, actually highs, but work with me here)…

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I couldn’t help but feel like a friggin’ rockstar the other day when I busted out a 100+ point word on Words With Friends!

Now if I only knew what “japer” meant… 😉

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Hmm, guess you really DO learn something new every day! 😉

What’s new in your life…any recent surprises, snack out-witting, or vocabulary enhancement?

What is the last thing you baked?
If it totally rocked, feel free to drop a link!

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41 Responses to And Speaking Of…

  1. katie says:

    LOVE quest bars! Did you see they have a new chocolate chip cookie dough flavor coming?!! I need!

    Congrats on the top 9 feature! So awesome! You deserve it, your recipes are amazing!

    Happy Thursday love! <3

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      No WAAAAAAY! My eyes seriously just bugged out! I will be ALL OVER that baby for sure! Thank you so much doll, you are too sweet! Love ya!

  2. Meg says:

    Oh my goshhhhh I have some Quest Bars coming my way and CANNOT wait for the banana!!!!!!! I AM WAIIIITING at the door every day hoping it’s for me 😉 HAHA!

    Oh, girl, I’m sorry I didn’t congrats you on your award! I’ll congrats you today for THAT and making food buzz!!!! WOOOOOHOOOO! 🙂 HUUUUUGE bum accomplishment!!!!!!!!!!! You are amazing and I love you 🙂

    xoxo

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Awww, Meg!!!! I love you too…like THIS MUCH!!!! 😀 Thank you so so much! And I hope your Quest bars show up soon! I can imagine your agony right now…like being a kid waiting for the ice cream man to drive down your street! Lol

  3. Congrats on the feature girl! Was that really the first time? Even with all of your mouth watering pancakes? I’m surprised but it’s WELL deserved!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Yep, yep, first time ever! I never really understood how to get featured before they made their changes a few months ago. I got one of their emails asking for submissions for the month, and said, “hey what the heck, I’ve got a French toast recipe!” but I was floored when they actually accepted it! No telling how many people submitted posts! Thank you so much!

  4. Congrats on the feature! I too am a bit Quest-obsessed. It’s a problem. Well, only because those buggars aren’t cheap! haha

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Thank you Tiff! And oh man, I KNOW! The only bars I’ve ever been this obsessed with are the Power Crunch bars…they’re not exactly cheap, but they’re less than Quest.

  5. Wooo congrats on foodbuzz! You deserve it 😀 Quest bars are the bestttttttt.

  6. Congrats on making the top 9 on Foodbuzz! That’s definitely exciting.
    I just tried a Quest bar for the first time last weekend (chocolate peanut butter) and I was pretty impressed. Great stats for a protein bar and it actually tasted really good!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Thanks Sam! Yeah, I’m still kind of on cloud “nine” 😉

      I saw your IG post of the bar, but I didn’t know it was your very first one! If you liked that one, you’ll LOVE the chocolate brownie! I actually like to put peanut butter on top of that one and make my own little “Reese’s” protein bar!

  7. CONGRATS on that top 9! Very exciting!!! I tried the quest bars way back when they first came out. Very good but I try to make my own & save money AND not get hooked! 😉 Much better stats for a bar!

    Will have to check out all the food links later!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Thank you so much Jody! I do like making my own bars, but I’ve yet to find a good recipe that has a high amount of protein, low sugar, and doesn’t taste like cardboard! haha! Any suggestions?

  8. There’s so much awesome in this post I don’t even know where to start. Congrats on the buzz!!!! And those Quest bars… I need to find some. I can’t seems to locate the new ones here!

    You know I’m proud of you back in the gym!!! Lately I’m in a permenany state of DOMS. Not sure if I’m bragging or complaining.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Aww, thanks girlie! Just trying to get as popular as you…I swear I need some of that speed or whatever it is you take (or do you have a clone?) so that I can be all over Twitter and Facebook too! But hey, I HAVE started playing around with HootSuite..thanks for the tip on that!!

      Umm, is it sad that now that I’m back into the whole gym thing, I kinda want like ONE day where I’m so sore I can barely feed myself? Just one REALLY good day to complain all day long while secretly feeling like a rockstar! Lol

  9. I’m with Laura ^^ There’s definitely way too much awesome in this post. First off, congratulations on the FB feature! You definitely deserve it! And I didn’t get a chance to comment yesterday, so congrats on the service award as well 🙂 Wowee. So many new and exciting things. Things around here have mostly been the same old, same old, but I did get my hair trimmed and bake up a batch of oatmeal cookies, so I guess that’s something 😀

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Thank you SO much girlie! BUT I hate to break it to ya, it’s only something if at least TWO of those oatmeal cookies magically make it over the border and all the way down here to Tennessee so that I can have a bite! 😉 Ugh, I need to get my hair trimmed…I’m trying to be better about it since I whacked it all off over the summer so that if/when I donate again, it won’t be all fried and split at the ends. Those wig people are probably like, “ok, who wants the red-headed step child look?” Lol

  10. Cinnamon pretzel sticks? YUM! Haven’t had those before but they sound great. 🙂

  11. Congrats on the acknowledgement!! You definitely deserve it, you’re the breakfast queen! I am soo jealous of your quest bounty. I just tried banana nut muffin and I could eat a whole box!!

  12. Missy says:

    Omg I can’t believe you still had them! That’s hilarious! Glad you CRACKed into them! Good to know they are still good after all that time!’ But I hate to hear of the untimely death of the sweet potato butter 🙁
    All of your recipes look so good and congrats on the FoodBuzz Top 9 – if anybody deserves to be there – you do!!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Ohhhh you are TOO sweet, Missy! Thank you so much! I am so glad you saw this post! I was hoping you’d pop in today and catch it! Girl, those things are seriously INSANE! I have absolutely no willpower and NO sense of portion control around them…and the man-friend can vouch for their CRACKiblity…he couldn’t stop either! I knew if I didn’t get rid of the sweet potato butter, it would only be a matter of time before I dug those babies out of the pantry…cause Lord knows I’m not throwing out the pretzels! <- hmm, sounds like the justification of a true CRACK addict! Lol

      • Missy says:

        Oh, I always read – I’ve just been in the comment cave lately (everyone else says pretty much what I wanna say so I just read!)

  13. sweet potato butter?!!? where did you find this gem? =)

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      At my local farmer’s market…honestly it tastes JUST like the McCutcheon’s brand pumpkin butter that I normally find at Whole Foods (in the peanut butter aisle) 🙂

  14. Speaking of… there’s a lot of damn deliciousness going on here, I can’t even handle it! I’ve been thinking about trying the regular Quest bars. I warmed up to the PB cups they had once they changed up the recipe but I wanna try the regular ones too. What’s your all time favorite that you think I would enjoy as well?
    And congrats on the Top 9 feature girl! You deserve it!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Aww, thanks girlie! The regular Quest bars are SO different from the Cravings line…but you HAVE to warm them up, otherwise they are like a mix of taffy and jerky and might land you in a seat at the dentist’s office! Lol My all time favorite is the chocolate brownie…and it’s actually one of their lower calorie ones too (only 170 as opposed to 200 for some of the others). It’s great on it’s own or with a little bit of peanut butter spread on top!

  15. I am going to need to get some freakin quest bars – they are mocking me on instagram and on blogs everywhere! Congrats on getting into the top 9! You are awesome so it’s completely understandable 🙂

    xo Emily

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Haha! That’s EXACTLY why I broke down and ordered them! I just couldn’t take the peer pressure! Lol

      And you are seriously too sweet, girlie…thank you so much!!

  16. Congrats on being featured on Foodbuzz’s Top 9! You definitely deserve to be up there. 😀

    And um can I just say how jealous I am that your gym has a hot tub?! Mine doesn’t even have a pool, so I’m stuck on the bike/elliptical for cardio while my knee is recovering and I’m getting so sick of them both haha.

    The last thing I baked was these pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and they were amazing! If you’re looking for something to make with your pumpkin, I definitely recommend them! http://www.bakenoir.com/2012/ultimate-pumpkin-cupcakes

  17. janetha says:

    ohhh snap! a much deserved feature in the top 9! i wish i could try quest bars, i love the stats but i cant do dairy now days. doh. i really was sad when i saw the new banana bread flavor!

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  19. Jessie says:

    111 points?? Holy Sh**… I seriously would have bragged to everyone about that awesome achievement.

  20. First off- congratulations on the top 9, that french toast looks heavenly and definitely deserves a spot up there! Love the contribution to the #strangebutgood.. I’m usually one for sweet but will definitely be giving the savory spin on pumpkin oats a try. & that quest bar delivery, pretty much Christmas morning all over again! I just got the banana nut flavor and fell in love- have you tried the Cravings yet? To die for! Enjoy your weekend xoxo

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Aww, thank you so much Samantha!! I tend to crave sweet more for breakfast, but since I love “brinner” so much, that’s usually when the savory comes out to play! This is definitely one of my favorite savory oat bowls…the pumpkin works SO well with the nutritional yeast! Can’t believe I never thought to combine the two before!

      And dude, I am totally obsessed with all things Quest! I was able to try the Cravings bars when I did my review a few months ago…the peanut butter cups rock my world!!!

  21. Love the updates and randomocity…and now I need to start using the word ‘jape,’ obviously.

    Cinnamon pretzels. Holy YUM. And I’m pretty sure I had to ‘accidentally’ throw the rest of my sweet potato pie crust in the trash yesterday because I feared for the potential stomachache that could potentially ensue should I continue to simply rip pieces off and shove them in my mouth.

    Oh the glamorous life of a single lady.

  22. I’ve heard about those Quest bars from a bunch of other bloggers and have been dying to try them, but I can’t find them anywhere!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      If you have a GNC store near you, they usually carry them there! If not, you can order them online from GNC’s website or Amazon has some pretty good deals too! 🙂

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