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WIAW: A Perfect IE Day

Posted on April 24, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hello my loves!

As I promised on Monday, I’ve got a day of eats to share with you,
but not just ANY day of eats…

A PERFECT day of eats!

A big thank you goes out to Jenn, our soon to be mama to a baby ~~chickpea~~ GIRL!!!!, for throwing the most fabulous foodie party to hit blogworld, What I Ate Wednesday!

And now, ONTO THE FOOD!!

As I mentioned in Monday’s post, the man-friend was unexpectedly called into work early Saturday morning. Not really having anything big on the agenda to do anyway (think chilly windy weather), I decided it would be a fine day to just lounge around at his house in my PJ’s while catching up on some blog reading…and that is EXACTLY what I did!

What I didn’t realize until the end of the day was that since I was so relaxed and caught up in the lives of so many of my blogger friends, I never ONCE stopped to worry about macros, obsess over my cravings, or even check in with the Clean Your Plate Club!

Nope, I went ALL day only thinking about food as my body told me I was hungry and within minutes I just KNEW what I wanted!

And THIS is how the day went…

Egg 'n Oats

Oats cooked in almond milk, topped with a sunny-side up egg and cinnamon

Mmm, love me some sweet and savory!

Wheat crisps with mustard, snap peas with yogurt ranch dressing

Actually, it kinda all got mixed together as little mustard ranch pea bite thingies! 😉

Crispbread dipped in yogurt that tastes just like a frickin’ creamsicle pop! 😀

Although the toasted coconut is still my fave.

Earl Grey almond milk latte x 2

Is it just me or does Earl Grey taste/smell like Fruit Loops?

Baked chocolate brownie Quest bar topped with crunchy peanut butter

Aka…HEAVEN!!!

Sunny-side up egg over leftover injera

Note to self: Buy teff flour and make injera…LOTS of it!

Un-pictured peppermint tea x 2

Whole Foods salad bar with everything but the kitchen sink.

Seriously, this thing was like ELEVEN BUCKS! 😯

And it actually fed me TWICE! I sat down to dinner, got my fill, and then a couple of hours later felt hungry again so I finished it off…which was about the time the man-friend FINALLY walked through the door…poor baby!

There was also plenty of water throughout the day…not sure how much since that’s not something I’m tracking anymore either, but I felt like my body had enough.

I was SO proud of myself at the end of the day! Not only did I feel like I was 100% in tune with my hunger cues, but I also felt completely satisfied with all of my meals! But before you go proclaiming me as Heather the ~~Magnificent~~ Intuitive Eater, you should know that the next day, I was utterly confused after breakfast! Lol! ALL a part of the process! 😀

What’s the BEST thing you ate yesterday?

What is your 3 must-have salad toppings?
A salad just isn’t a salad without some black olives, tomatoes, and CHEESE!

Posted in What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged almond milk, cheese, cinnamon, eggs, intuitive eating, mustard, oats, Quest Nutrition, salad, tea, veggies | 66 Comments

Sunshine & Blueberries

Posted on April 22, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

I hope you all had a FANTABULA-MARVELOUS weekend!

While my weekend didn’t go exactly as planned, I managed to make the most out of it and I have to say, it carried on the mood that had been going all last week!

And what better way to share it with you guys than to join in with some marvelous, week recapping, and veggie lovin’ fun than with Katie’s, Meghan’s AND Heather’s Monday link parties…hey, if three’s a crowd, four’s a party right?! 😉

Get out those party hats!

First of all, let me just say that it is im-FREAKIN-possible to not have a good week when 75% of it looks like this…

Spring Flowers

Like I mentioned Friday, I’ve been able to do a lot more in the way of therapy for my knee lately. Well, with the weather being so great, I just couldn’t stand the thought of cycling into a brick wall for 15-20 minutes every day so I instead, I took it outdoors!

And I’m SO glad I did, or else I would have missed out on this…

All together now, “ahhhhhhhhh!” 😀

So, with a swell of Vitamin D coursing through my veins,
this is how my week went:

On Sunday, I started the week off right with a bowl of healthy, protein-packed Greek yogurt…I’m not sure HOW that Capt’n Crunch got in there! 😯
Note to self: Don’t tell the man-friend you’re craving something and NOT expect to have it sitting in front of you within 20 minutes.
Monday, before my shopping spree, I zipped off to the post office first thing to bring some smiles to two lovely ladies! If there’s anything I love more than receiving packages in the mail, it’s SENDING them!

Tuesday was pretty uneventful except for the best damn breakfast wrap in the world!
Wednesday, I gave myself a manicure (Essie’s Coat Azure), discovered a new favorite snack, scored some childhood nostalgia in the form of Manager’s Specials, and witnessed that beautiful sunset!

Thursday morning, I dined al a front porch.
Note to self: You should accidentally coordinate your socks to match your breakfast more often! 😉
I also enjoyed my fabulous walk in the park and a LOT of reading.

On Friday, I got to spend some time with the man-friend. My stomach was feeling kinda wonky that night so while I did try a little of each of the dishes on our Ethiopian platter, my dinner was pretty much one injera and a KeVita.
Note to self: The man-friend WILL drive to opposite sides of the city to obtain a beverage AND the only food you think you can handle with a queasy tummy.
After dinner, we relaxed on the couch and watched this awesome movie.
Saturday, I spent the day man-friendless. He ended up getting called into work for SIXTEEN HOURS! 🙁 Since I didn’t have any other plans, and a cold front had come in, I spent the whole day in my PJ’s catching up on blogs and having the BEST day of intuitive eating since I started my journey…but you’ll have to wait until Wednesday for that!

Yesterday, after getting back from my best friend’s baby shower, I was blown away by the hits I got on yesterday’s “Pancake Confessional” post! I had way TOO much fun with typing that up and I’m SO glad you all got a kick out of it. I love making you guys laugh…it seriously makes my day! 😀
After reading through some of your comments, I decided to indulge in a little nap. Even thought it wasn’t the best sleep I could have gotten, I guess it was just enough because after I woke up I took a shower, did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and then decided I was gonna bake some muffins!

For this week’s “cook” portion of MMAZ, I had every intention of making Sarah’s Blueberry Coconut Breakfast Loaf, but when it came down to it, I wasn’t feeling very protein-y so I had a look at the other link ups and when I spied Nicole’s Blueberry Surprise Muffins, I KNEW I had to make them…although I created a surprise all my own!

Blueberry Surprise Muffins

I used a mix of whole wheat pastry and whole wheat flour, 1 whole egg instead of a flax egg, almond extract instead of vanilla, decreased the sugar to 1/3 cup, and added a spoonful of COCONUT PEANUT BUTTER instead of the raspberry filling.

I had visions of ~~sugar plums~~ ooey gooey peanut buttery goodness spewing forth once I tore into the finished product, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case…

Still 100% delicious, but I guess next time, I’ll save the PB for the topping. 🙂

Dude, I just remembered that I still have to try Amanda’s blueberry muffins!

What’s your favorite kind of muffin?
Omg, I LOVE muffins…blueberry, strawberry, banana nut, pumpkin, you name it!!

What was the most marvelous thing that happened in your life last week?

Posted in Meatless Monday, MIMM | Tagged blueberries, Ethiopian, muffins, physical therapy, spring, walking | 66 Comments

Confessions of a Pancake Queen: The R Rated Edition

Posted on April 21, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

WARNING:
Post may not be suitable for all audiences.
Parental discretion is advised.

Am I the only one out there who associates the word “moist” with sex?

But not the good kind of sex.

*shudder*

So, for the sake of this post, we’re just gonna call it “sexy”. I mean really, how can you see the word sexy and think anything but good thoughts…strong, confident, sennnnnnsual?

Ok, so now, I’m picturing pancakes topped with whipped cream, red cherries, and wearing stilettos.

[source, source]

Brings a whole new meaning to the term pancake porn, doesn’t it? 😉

Alright! So let’s talk about ~~♫sex, baby♫~~ pancakes, shall we?

Now, I used to make most all of my pancakes with butter or oil, but when I started calorie counting, I gave that up right away because, well you know…that added CALORIES! While I don’t care about those reasons anymore, I actually still prefer oil-free pancakes because that just means I can go EXTRA crazy with the toppings!

I’ll take provocative attire over nudity any day! 😉

So, if you’re not greasin’ em up, then WHAT can you do to make sure they’re just as sexy on the INSIDE as they are on the outside?

Well, it’s actually pretty easy…

Peel off the layers.

Whether it be bananas, apples, blueberries, or even AVOCADO(?!), it only takes a little bit to add some sexiness to your cakes. The natural juices release as the cakes cook up giving you a voluptuous and succulent stack!

Get a little saw-saaaaay!

Same thing goes for fruit purees! You can use pre-made (or better yet HOE-made) applesauce or even just blended up fruit!

Whichever you choose, whole fruit or puree, just watch the amount of sugar (I actually recommend using UNsweetened applesauce) as a higher sugar content will tend to leave your cakes with varying degrees of UNsexy tan lines…

Nothing a little ~~stage makeup~~ coconut butter and syrup can’t fix!

Oh Snookie, how did you end up in my pancakes??

Try a new position.

Some of my sexiest pancake experiences have actually come from trying something a little…um, different. You don’t have to worry about the sugar content in veggies, and most of the time, the flavor will only come through if you let it…believe it or not, pumpkin pancakes will only taste like pumpkin if you add the right spices!

Embrace the white stuff.

It really IS amazing what one or two spoonfuls of creamy goodness can do…and hey, we all know that it’s FULL of protein! 😉

Ready those eggs!

But I’m not talking about making baby pancakes here…oh no. We’re not THAT far along in our relationship yet! Remember when I told you how whisking egg whites can lead to SUPER~~HUMAN~~ fluffy pancakes? Well, these babies hold another little secret (even better than Victoria)…

While it’s hard to do with single serving pancakes, one WHOLE egg thrown into your batter will not only boost the flavor and make them more cake-like, but it makes them so sexy, your grandmother would blush!

Best tip for trying this out, take any one of my single serving pancake recipes calling for one egg white, double the recipe and use one WHOLE egg instead of two egg whites…then you can either share your breakfast with I don’t know, perhaps your bedmate? 😉 OR you can freeze them for later!

Oh yeah, I said it…you can FREEZE pancakes!

Steps for freezing leftover pancakes:
1. Arrange in a single layer on a plate or cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.
2. Once cool, layer cakes with sheets of wax paper/parchment/or aluminum foil.
3. Stuff those bad boys in a zip top baggy and pop ’em in the freezer.

They’ll keep for MONTHS this way. And when you’re ready to dish some of them up, just pop ’em straight in the toaster!

Nothing like something hot and sexy “popping up” in the morning! 😉

What’s the sexiest pancake topping combo you can think of?