WIAW: Refrigerator Games

We’ve all been there…

“Yay me! I’m going on a trip! Time to pack my bags and get away!”

♫ Do da do da doooo ♫

*Wanders into kitchen days before said trip*
*Opens refrigerator door*

“OH HELL!!!”

Must Eat All The Perishables

GAME ON!

See how I OWNED my refrigerator over the last few days and then head on over to
Peas & Crayons and check out all the other delicious link ups today!

WIAW Teal

So yeah, there I was…Sunday night, getting ready to pack my dinner for work when I opened the fridge and was met with the fierce competition inanimate perishables that mean me no harm…

3/4 of a head of cabbage
1/4 head of cauliflower
1/2 a bag of shredded carrots
4 green onions
1/2 red bell pepper
2 celery stalks
1/2 onion
3 beets
1 green apple
1 1/2 cups of beans
3 tomatoes (on the counter…don’t EVER put tomatoes in the fridge!)

And this is what happens when a lack of sleep has you wanting to vomit at the sight of veggies for almost two weeks straight! 🙁

Things started out relatively normal…

Cabbage SaladCabbage salad with green beans, carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes (unpictured), and green onions

Eaten in two parts…

Dressing

One with the best ranch dressing ever (BRDE) alongside some cheese and crackers (freebies nabbed from the breakroom…Mmm, Clubhouse!) and one with a mix of Island Soyaki, peanut flour, and water to thin.

The next day (after NINE HOURS of Benedryl-induced sleep…woo!), I really got down to business…

Cabbage Roast

1/2 head of cabbage, the apple, onion, and celery…400F for about 30 minutes

Roasted Cabbage Salad with GorgonzolaI enjoyed half the pan (no shame) cold…because roasted veggies are just better that way…with gorgonzola cheese, some candied nuts, and a drizzle of thinned out FROG (fig, raspberry, orange, ginger) jam

OMG, SOOOOOO GOOD!

Along with the cabbage, I also threw in some beets…

Beets

Peeled, misted with olive oil, and wrapped in aluminum foil…400F for 45 minutes

One eaten straight from the fridge…with goat cheese and crackers…and one…well that’s a surprise for Friday! 😉

But what about that THIRD beet?

Well, after getting creative with the carrots and mixing up a “carrot cake” yogurt breakfast the other day, I had an idea…

Carrot Cake Yogurt

Tropical yogurt + carrots + cashews + almonds + raisins

Red Velvet Cake Yogurt

Plain yogurt + cocoa + stevia + raw grated beets + cacao nibs 

Yep, looks like my Red Velvet Cake Pancakes have some competition! 😉

So yeah, obviously we’ve progressed to #strangebutgood status here…so why not just go for the gold?!

Cauliflower Salad

Raw cauliflower, carrots, edamame, tomatoes, green onion, and aged Gouda

Enjoyed in two parts…BOTH drizzled in BRDE…omg, that stuff is addictive!

Who needs lettuce?!

And well, what would our games be without a little #strangebutgood trophy snack?

Ranch Beans & Chips

Corn chips topped with beans and BRDE!

Hello, my name is Heather and I’m addicted to ranch dressing! 😉

What is your favorite bottled dressing?

Who else out there is attacking their fridge in prep for Blend Retreat?

TWO MORE DAYS!!!!!

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71 Responses to WIAW: Refrigerator Games

  1. I’m actually really liking the look for the Chobani, chocolate and beet combo.

    I don’t eat bottled dressings v often but I do like a little bit of sweet chilli sauce every now and again.

  2. Jessie says:

    Woahhh!! You are one creative lady. I would have looked in the fridge, and complain to Joshua that we needed to head to the grocery store ASAP! Ha Ha

  3. you’re going to have so much fun at Blend! Definitely jealous 🙁

    And right now I’ve been using a pineapple curry dressing on my salads…it’s pretty good! It’s been ages since I’ve had some ranch, but really…who doesn’t like ranch dressing? Good stuff.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      I know, right? I can’t believe I used to “hate” it…so glad I found one without a whole bunch of sketchiness! And I’m STILL pining over your bottle of pineapple curry! While I’m at Blend this weekend, I may just have to convince Miss Smart to create some for me…since she’s like the QUEEN of dips, sauces and spreadables! 😉

  4. Haha I don’t know how you do it! I cant usually do a lot of flavor combinations like those! But I TOTALLY know what you mean about trying to use up all the produce before a trip!

  5. Lol I am so impressed with how you cleaned out your fridge. I always try and use up all my food each week but it doesn’t always happen but this post has inspired me to get a bit more creative. Except on the beets front, I can’t do beetroot but I’m thinking of trying out your carrot cake yoghurt bowl idea!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      All it takes is a little thinking outside the box! I’ll admit, I’ve had my fair share of produce that had to be sacrificed to the trashcan gods, but I’ve been getting a little better about buying just enough so that I don’t overdo it…this collection was probably the biggest I’ve tackled in a LONG time!! Lol

      I’ve done the same yogurt mix with raw cabbage too! It basically has NO taste, but gives you a nice crunch!

  6. Hmmm…. I think it’s weird that I’m super excited for Blend and I’m not even attending 🙂 Haha. I just love reading recaps!

    Cleaning out your fridge sounds fun! The beet-topped yogurt is a great idea.

  7. Fran@BCDC says:

    Heather, you are insane and these creations are wonderful!! Love the idea of the roasted cabbage, apple et al. Yum. Beets in my yogurt? Ok, I can work with that. Enjoy Blend!!!

  8. Being met by a fridge and mainly produce drawyer full of food to be used up prior to a trip? Oh yes, been there often and I could clearly have used some of your creativity.
    With my recent newfound cabbage appreciation you better believe I’ll try that roasted combination.
    Don’t judge me but I’ll as a non-salad person I don’t have a favourite bottled dressing. Unless balsamico creme counts, that is. I could drizzle that on top of just about every vegetable dish, really.
    Oh, and also: Yay for nine hours of sleep! That’d be a dream of mine, too :).
    Sigh, I wish I could go to Blend and meet you and all the other fantastic bloggers out there …

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Ok, I’m not sure what “balsamico creme” is, but it SOUNDS delicious! And I bet it would be even BETTER on some roasted cabbage! 😉

      Aww, I wish you were coming too, love!! Maybe next year????

  9. 2 days!!!!!!!! I’m eating my way through my fridge too. I keep having dinner event this week though. Don’t they know I need to be home to finish the zucchini?!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Bahahaha! My coworker offered to buy me dinner the other night and I was like, don’t you know I have a pound of salad to eat?! Lol

  10. Lucie says:

    Ah, I am in the same mode!! I head off to Spain with the girls on Friday for 4 days, and all I can think of right now is how to get all that food stuffed in till then. I am pretty good so far, yet as I stock up on chicken like a mad woman every week, I had chicken already 3 times this week!
    I can NOT wait to hear all about the Blend!!
    And bottled dressings – I think I have to travel ti the U.S. to try that, since there is NONE here that isn’t filled with crab. Wait…..i WILL fly there in 23 days!! Wooohoo!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Gah, I’m SO jealous of all your trips!! Blend is going to be great, but man, Spain?! That would ROCK!! Ahh, one day…one day!!

  11. I’m so jealous your heading to Blend! I wanted to go so bad this year but my little man turns two next week and I’ve got a million things to do before his party. Maybe next year!

  12. You did a great job with interesting and tasty meals to clean out the fridge! I love beets and am going to have to try that beet yogurt soon!

  13. I adore clean-out-the-fridge meals! Last year I had to make them so often because I was traveling all the time, but this year not so much. I actually miss it. I SO wish I was going to blend this year, but apparently I have to finish school and graduate. Ugh. 😛 So many amazing people are going, I’m so jealous!

    Lately I’ve been dousing all my salads in Whole Foods’ “Health Starts Here” Sesame-ginger dressing. It’s like peanut sauce, but with sesame. Amazing.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Darn that whole being responsible thing…totally sucks! 😉

      Hmm, that dressing is probably close to my mix of soyaki and peanut flour! I swear I’m obsessed!

  14. I wish I was attacking my fridge in preparation for Blend. You’re going to have such an amazing time and I’m super jealous!

    And I thought I was good at emptying my fridge before I go on a trip, but girl… you’ve got me beat for sure! Then again, I don’t really have that many perishable that require a lot of creativity – I keep things pretty basic around here with carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce, so simple salads are usually enough to use up all that. I actually wish I could have more, but the stomach is super finicky when it comes to some of the more… ahem… musical vegetables, so I kind of have to steer clear of those.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Haha! One word…BEAN-O!! Total lifesaver when it comes to cauliflower and broccoli for me! #noshame 😉

      You are SO going to Blend next year…I mean it!!

  15. You have some crazy interesting flavor combinations going on there that sound like they shouldn’t work, and yet, in my head I am agreeing that they actually sound very good and might have to give some a try. haha.

    I love love love Annie’s Goddess Dressing. I can chug that straight from the bottle. I refrained from buying any perishables for the week and have been slowly using up all the goods in the fridge. Most of my perishables are in ground in the garden 😉

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Ahhh, so jealous! I wish I had a garden…but then if I had one, I’d just slowly kill everything! Why must I be cursed with the dreaded black thumb?! WHY?!?! Lol

      I’ve seen that dressing before but never tried it. I’ll have to pick some up sometime!

      Can’t wait to see you!!!

  16. Mmmm I love all of this! I agree, roasted veggies are always SO much better 😉 I have some cabbage in the fridge too and dinner is being made in the crock pot as we speak (EEEEEEE Excited!) and I LOVE beets! For some reason, they didn’t have them when I went grocery shopping yesterday and it made me sad girl’s got a craving goin on!

    can’t wait to see what else you made with the roasted beets!
    PS. goat cheese + beets = magic.

  17. Aww sorry about your lack of sleep ;). At least your eats look amazing!

  18. That salad with the cauliflower looks so fresh and yummy!

  19. Oh, I’m attacking it alright . . . and in the back of my head I’m laughing a little at the thought of my husband having to (gasp!) do the grocery shopping this weekend in preparation for next week! lol. This is going to be VERY interesting!

    P.S. Did you know that you don’t need to peel the beets before roasting? The skin slides right off after roasting! http://eatmovebalance.com/all-about-beets-and-roasting-on-the-grill/

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Hahaha! Omg, you HAVE to do a post on that! But you can’t give him any directions first! Lol

      And actually, I prefer to peel the beets first just so I don’t have to get as messy. I don’t know, maybe I didn’t cook them long enough last time, but it was kind of a half slid/half scrape to get the peel off! boo!

  20. hahaha I literally laughed out loud at the perishables image. SO. TRUE. All your eats look soo yummy!

  21. I just took stock last night. It’s not pretty. We’ll see how this goes down, but I might be bringing LOTS of fun treats on the plane with me on Friday. [And by ‘treats’ I mean things like cauliflower. Which I guess could be a treat.]

    Don’t worry. I took down the pineapple and watermelon at 2AM last night.

    Favorite bottled dressing? Probably Newman’s Honey Mustard. Or his Sesame Ginger. SO good.

  22. Beets and yogurt!!!! Who’d have thunk it? But wow….what a great idea! I’m not only kissing your broccoli, but now I’m kissing your beets too! 🙂 My favorite bottled dressing is Bolthouse Honey mustard…its really good on fish or chicken, as well as on salads. Have a great day Heather!!

  23. I have a terrible habit of trying to eat everything in my fridge before I leave too…when I’m only leaving for a couple days. Most things in my fridge will keep for more than a few weeks, yet two days gone and I feel like I have to attack it all! Or I cook everything in it and freeze it all. Then I get home two days later and have an empty fridge. Whomp whomp.
    Love the creativity 🙂

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Hahaha! I do the same thing when I go to the man-friend’s for the weekend! I’ll even take food with me because I’m afraid it will go bad before I get back! Lol I really should utilize my freezer more…you know besides for all the Arctic Zero! 😉

  24. Girl you know I love a post where you get competitive with your produce. It’s all about the challenge, and the food. Of course, the food. I leave for Belgium on Saturday so I can relate because I’m in clean out the fridge mode too. I have over a dozen eggs, a head of romaince lettuce, half a head of iceberg lettuce (blech), carrots, celery, bell peppers, asparagus, ramps (bought these at the famers market on Friday even though I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t resist), beets (another farmers market bender), kale and berries. I’ve got a boatload of cheese too, but I figure that will keep.
    It’s about to get raw up in here. Or at least salad worthy.
    Back to you, I love your big salad bowls. 😉
    They’ve definitely given me some inspiration. I hope you have a great time at Blend and do nothing but relax, eat, drink and be merry.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      “It’s about to get raw up in here” <- Haha! LOVE it!! What have you done/plan on doing with the ramps? I've only had them once in a restaurant and they were pickled...and even though I'm a HUGE fan of pickled peppers veggies, I just couldn’t get into them! WHY do you have iceberg…aka water lettuce?! Ick!

      Oh and ps, I TOTALLY channeled my inner Meghan as I was throwing down the gauntlet veggies this week! 😉

  25. Ok, that meme made me laugh out loud. It’s so true!

    But seriously, you got some good looking dishes out of random things!

  26. I admire your resourcefulness. I’m going to have to keep an eye out for that dressing. I was just wishing the other day that I had a good go-to ranch. My fav bottled dressing is probably TJ’s goddess. So yummy!

  27. lindsay says:

    you can come play refrigerator games at my house anytime. And bring those corn chips

  28. I’m so excited too! Not cleaning out the fridge though. Gotta leave some stuff for the boyfriend. I wonder what he’ll eat? Who I am I kidding he’ll probably order pizza! lol Or use his deep fryer ( I got him 2 Christmases ago before I got into eating healthy) to make some fish n chips. The poor thing is living in the garage now. (The deep fryer that is not the boyfriend) bahaha. I crack myself up!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      “The deep fryer that is not the boyfriend” <- Haha! I was about to say...dang girl, you can't hate on a guy for loving his fryer! Why the garage?! Lol Can't wait to meet youuuuuuuuuuu!!!

  29. Allie says:

    Sooo, guess who had beets and Greek yogurt for lunch today? And then pops onto your blog to see pretty much the same thing? Yup, this kid. If only I’d looked first, I could have added some cocoa to the mix…And yeah, hot and fresh veggies are great and all, but nothing is better than straight-from-the-fridge cold leftovers.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Haha! Great minds, right? You know what else is good? Yogurt, beets, and blueberries! Had THAT this morning…as I polished off the last of the produce! Muahaha…I win!!

  30. Clean-out-the-fridge combos are sometimes way better than planned meals! I’ve been doing the same thing this week since I’m moving out of my apartment today to go back home for the summer. None of my meals have been as randomly delicious as yours, unless you count eating cold homemade sweet potato fries with deconstructed guac–basically half an avocado mashed with lime juice and salt–for lunch because it was literally all I had. Not gonna lie though, I’m kinda excited to go back to a stocked fridge with plenty of options!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      “Clean-out-the-fridge combos are sometimes way better than planned meals!” <- I couldn't agree more! But yeah, sometimes after a while, it's nice to restock and start all over! Nothing beats the feeling of seeing a full fridge! 😀

  31. Haha I can relate – I totally had the same problem of needing to eat up all my perishables before moving out of my apartment last month. I think you win the prize for being most creative with using them up though! 😉

    I love the sounds of the cabbage, apple and gorgonzola dish – I’ve developed a serious love for blue cheese over the past two years (I used to HATE it).

    My favourite bottled dressing is Newman’s Own non-creamy Caesar dressing. My family has been buying it since I was a kid and it is still my favourite to this day!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Omg, I used to hate it too! Ever since I had the gorgonzola on my salad at the wedding I went to last month, I’ve been obsessed!! It’s so weird! Lol

  32. Emily says:

    Aww…you’re going to have such an amazing time at Blend! I can’t wait to hear all about it. So jealous.
    And I’m the same way when I’m prepping for a vacation- EAT EVERYTHING. I cannot stand wasting food so the combinations tend to get a liiiittle strange when I’m trying to use everything up. Oh well- that’s how we discover new favorites!
    On another note, I really need to give gorgonzola cheese another try. I’ve been on a massive feta-kick but it’s time to change it up!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      “Oh well- that’s how we discover new favorites!” <- My thoughts exactly! You just never know until you try! 😀 Definitely give the gorg another shot! I used to HATE blue cheese, but ever since I had it again last month, I've been on a serious kick! Actually, I've just been on a cheese bender lately! Lol

  33. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU IN TWO DAYS!!!

    Meanwhile, I’m totally leaving my parents a few things I probably won’t be able to finish before leaving. They’ll survive. 😉

  34. I am loving the veggie/yogurt combination, genius I think. 😉 I have been attacking my fridge also, but only to fuel my studying which is preventing me from hanging out with all the cool kids at Blend…excuse while I go wallow and stick my head in the fridge.

  35. Your cauliflower salad looks yummy! I love non-lettuce salads, in fact, I sometimes prefer them over ones with lettuce, because you just get to eat all of the good stuff!

    When I am getting ready to go on vacation, I do the same thing and clean out my fridge, eating every last thing so nothing goes bad while I’m gone. I love putting random foods together and seeing how they turn out!

    Have fun at Blend this weekend! I wish I could go, but hopefully next year!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Omg, I’m the same way…with the lettuce-less salads AND the random combos! I KNEW I liked you for a reason! 😉 And I would LOVE to meet you next year! You have to come! It’s such an amazing experience! xoxo

  36. purelytwins says:

    haha yes we are trying to clean out our fridge too before heading to Blend!!!
    can’t believe we leave tomorrow!! need to finish packing 😉

  37. I LOVE roasted veggies, but not cold. I just really love your creativity with all of your creations & you are just so DARN funny!
    Enjoy your trip girl! Wish I was going. 🙁

  38. Kat says:

    We must have totally different brains, because I could NEVER think of this stuff!! I mean for realz lady, you have mad skill!! Im really bad at cleaning out ym fridge unless I make soup. Then I just dump it all together. Bahaha!!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Hahaha! Hey, what can I say? Desperate times call for desperate measures unorthodox flavor combos! You just never know until you try! 😉

  39. Nanna says:

    Wow, I would happily every.single.thing. here!! You have a great sense of what ingredients would go well together- very inspiring 🙂

  40. Heather,
    Amazingly delicious treats this week–thanks for sharing.
    I’m inspired.

    PS–no need to peel beets before roasting unless you don’t mind staining your fingers slipping off the skins afterwards. I like the gory look myself.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Haha! That’s actually EXACTLY why I prefer to peel them first, but thank you anyway! I find it’s just easier to run a vegetable peeler over them for a few seconds instead of having to worry about making a “bloody mess” all over myself and my kitchen….I feel I should add that I’m not very good with white. 😉

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  43. Carly says:

    I’m loving the cheese (and ranch) action! I’ve been on a huge bleu cheese and gouda kick! mmmm, they give so much flavor. I can’t say the same about raw cauliflower though xP i can’t do it! haha, I have some “riced” in my fridge right now though, ready to make some of your cauliflower pizza crusts! I loved those:)

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Aww, yay!! It’s been a while since I’ve made those myself…may have to dig the rest of my chocolate eggfruit mix out of the freezer and have one of those soon! And I seriously can’t believe I used to be a bleu cheese hater…I swear I must’ve had a screw knocked lose or something! Lol

  44. Rach says:

    Bahaha! I absolutely do this! Even if I’m just going out of town for a couple of days, haha! Not sure why. 😉

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