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Intuitively GREEN!

Posted on March 27, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hey there, my little lettuce lovers!

Seriously, I can’t get enough of you guys and your unending support in my recovery. I want you all to know that each and every comment brightens my day and makes me that much more positive that I’ll be up and dancing that jig (with can-can kicks and everything) in no time! 🙂

As you guys can imagine, the worst pain out of all this is not being able to get in the kitchen and just do my “thang”. But instead of pouting over the fact that it takes
ten years to hobble around and prepare a DECENT meal, I decided to look on the bright side and take this little “break” as a chance to experiment in other ways…

For the last few of weeks, I’ve been trying my hand at eating intuitively.
Perhaps you’ve heard one of these girls talking about it?

I’ve flirted with intuitive eating in the past, and always thought it was in interesting CONCEPT but this time, I’ve decided to commit to the idea and APPLY it to my life.
I plan on explaining more in tomorrow’s post but for now, I thought I’d share a just little something I’ve noticed over the last few weeks while becoming more “attuned” to my cravings…

I FRICKIN’ LOVE GREEN FOOD! 😉

So I thought, well heck, it’s Wednesday…why not go out with a BANG for the final
green-themed week of Jenn’s super fabulous blog party and post some of my favorites?

Sounds like a plan!

So check out a bit of the GREEN deliciousness I’ve been enjoying lately and then hop, skip, and/or dance a jig on over to Peas & Crayons to check out all the other awesome link ups!

Pea-licious toast with sprouts and almonds, broiled blood orange and runny egg

Roasted coleslaw topped with pickled ginger, avocado, crispy wonton-chips, furikake and drizzled in TJ’s Island Soyaki sauce

Spinach topped with egg, roasted beets, apple crisps, drizzled with chestnut honey mustard and a sweet potato on the side stuffed with ricotta and FROG jam

Toasted cinnamon raisin English muffin, microwaved spinach egg white ~~monster~~ “thing”, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice cream cheese

Very Stuft Mama-esque, no? 😉
If only I had thought to make her microwave English muffin!

Limited Edition…aka “a piece of you will die once it’s gone” 😥

Spinach with warm spaghetti squash mixed with hummus & nutritional yeast topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions and jarred marinara

Spinach (promise it’s under there) topped with roasted coleslaw, smoked salmon, horseradish mustard, blood orange, and sesame seeds

Reminds me of something Laura would make! 😉

Spinach topped with wild rice and cheese stuffed chicken (a fantastic all-natural score from Sam’s…and proof that sampling works), tomatoes, and steamed asparagus drizzled with mustard/nutritional yeast sauce

Egg white fritatta with coleslaw, sauerkraut (because what goes better with cabbage than MORE CABBAGE?!), cilantro, and hot sauce

Sarena and Sarah approve this ~~message~~ dish! 😀

Oats with spinach and cinnamon

Spinach topped with roasted coleslaw and tomatoes, topped with a falafel burger (recipe coming EVENTUALLY…this one was thawed from the freezer from a past experiment trying to replicate this burger) and a runny egg

Things I’ve learned from eating these meals:

1. I REALLY have a thing for warm salads.
2. The combination of sweet AND savory will always win me over.
3. Roasted cabbage…OMG, why did it take me so long to do this?!
4. I, apparently, CANNOT LIVE without eggs.
5. And just in case you’re wondering…yes, that falafel burger WAS vegan until I bastardized it! 😆

What’s the last green thing you ate?

What is one food you cannot live without?

Posted in What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged beets, cabbage, cinnamon, coleslaw, eggs, green, intuitive eating, mushrooms, oats, spaghetti squash, spinach, tomatoes | 86 Comments

A Marvelous WEEK!

Posted on March 25, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hello m’dears and happy Monday!

Before I get started with today’s post, I just have to share something I found that I thought was pretty neat…

I saw Michelle use Wordle to make a collage of frequently used words on her blog and thought it would be fun to do one too! No surprise what the most popular word is after yesterday’s post! BUT…can you find the hidden blogger within? 😉

Now I know I normally join up with Katie on Mondays for an MIMM post, but when my gal Meghan decided to make a link-party out of her “Week in Review” series, I just couldn’t resist…especially since this whole week has been FULL of excitement!

Sooooo, I decided to do BOTH!

Hopefully I don’t find myself in any awkward situations when they find out I’m a two-timer! 😉

On Tuesday, my MARVELOUS mama came over and helped me with some chores that I haven’t been able to manage with my peg-leg status: a mountain of dirty dishes and…

Marvelous Mama

Yeah, so yoga pants aren’t the only things in my house that’s covered in cat hair! 😉

I CAN BREEEEEEEEEEEATHE!!

I could breathe so well in fact that I even had a bit more energy! So when the man-friend came over (hey, don’t go getting all dirty-minded on me now!), we decided to go out!

Marvelous Sushi

Now I’m not sure if it was because it had been nearly THREE WEEKS since I’d had sushi or what, but I swear to you these were the BEST rolls I’ve ever tasted! We went to our favorite place in town, Fujiyama, and I ordered the Fancy Roll (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, eel, avocado and massago w/ soybean paper) and the Passion Roll (fresh salmon, avocado, sweet mango & tobigo).

The man-friend got the smorgasbord-looking plate…can’t remember what all he got, but after a taste, I knew one thing for sure…mine was better!

Muahahaha! 😉

On Thursday, after my last PT appointment for the week, I asked my chauffeur (aka, my sister on that particular day) to swing by the grocery store on the way home. I did a bit of scooterin‘, grabbed a few necessities, and then set out on a (hopeful) Cho-mission…

Smack yo’ Mama! <- Well, unless she happens to be MARVELOUS like mine! 😉

I found, not one, not two, but all FOUR of the Chobani Bite flavors and so far, the caramel pineapple is my FAVORITE!

On Friday, I had my first solo PT session and well, I’ll be honest, it’s a LOT harder when you don’t have someone there to help/motivate you, but I gave it my all and (through some tears) managed to complete about half of what I was given…

Oh and I painted my toes! Which I realized is ridiculously hard to do when you can’t bring your foot closer to your body! Good thing I have long arms…and FINGERS!

Purple ones!

And well, I don’t know if it was the continued effort in my exercises or if there are some sort of magical chemicals in my nail polish, but the next day, more MARVELOUSNESS ensued…

My first time behind the wheel in over TWO WEEKS! Ok, ok…so I just drove to the mailbox, but hey, you try going down my driveway in crutches! 😉

But yesterday, Elvira called out to me and I just couldn’t say no…

So where did I go on my first REAL car trip?

Oh how I’ve missed my gym! I’m telling you, it was pure agony to hobble by the weights section AND hear the music from the Bodypump class going on at the time…soon, love…REAL SOON!

The physical therapist had mentioned water therapy and gave me a list of exercises I could perform. I may not have been the most graceful thing out there, but after about 10 minutes in the warm water of the therapy pool, it started getting a little easier! I worked at it for about 30 minutes and then crutched over to the hot tub for a 10 minute soak before heading back home.

Once back at the casa I whipped up something to eat and as I was hobbling over to the table with my food, I skipped a beat…

I looked down…

Wait, what just happened?

Did I just…?

I FREAKIN’ WALKED!!!

Yep! As I was trying to hold on to my water bottle, my food, AND my crutches, I ended up lifting up the crutch and taking a step without it! Guess the water therapy helped more than I thought!

Now I’m in no shape to start dancing a jig just yet…actually, I kinda look like a bird with a broken foot (think flapping wings in distress)…but hey it’s progress!

And THAT is always MARVELOUS!

And something MARVELOUS for YOU? Remember Slimkicker? Well, they’re hosting a giveaway for a FREE Bowflex Home Gym from now until the end of the month! 😀

**Click here to enter!**

Posted in MIMM | Tagged Chobani, Elvira, family, gym, physical therapy, sushi | 81 Comments

Confessions of a Pancake Queen: The Hippie Edition

Posted on March 24, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Haaaaaay guys!

I’m back again with some more of my ROYAL confessions!

Last week, it was all about the tools you need to properly rule your pancake kingdom, but this week, it’s all about…

Flowers, peace, love…NOT war!

Um, wait…err…what I meant to say is today’s post is all about…

FLOURS!

I was close though, right? Ha! I promise I’m not on drugs (anymore)…and for the record, my parents aren’t even old enough to have been hippies! 😉

Besides, if I were on drugs, could I have made this breakfast yesterday?

More frozen Coconut Cauliflower Pancakes with a side of eggy goodness!

And before you “get bent” on my delicious sweet & savory combination, remember today isn’t the day to question my weird food tendencies…those conversations are reserved for Fridays!

Ok, now where was I?

Breakfast…pancakes…~~subtract the 1, carry the 2~~…drugs…flowers…

Ahh, that’s right, FLOURS!!!

So let’s start with my favorite, which actually isn’t a flour at all…

Rolled Oats

Until a good ~~trip~~ whirl in the trusty Magic Bullet…

Ta-daaaaaaaaaa!

I used to use whole wheat pastry flour for ALL my pancakes! The difference between PASTRY flour and whole wheat flour is the amount of gluten it contains. Pastry flour has LESS gluten…think pastry, like tender cookies and ~~magic brownies~~ soft bread. Gluten helps ingredients stick together and gives baked goods a chewy consistency.

Once gluten comes in contact with liquid (and air…while stirring), it starts the binding process. The longer you stir, the stronger that bond becomes. That is why you see recipes that state not to over-stir your batter…the more you stir, the chewier and denser the end result will be!

A few months ago I made the change from whole wheat flour to oat flour. I’ll be honest, the main reason I switched was so that I could get MORE bang for my {caloric} buck…
~~ya know, in case I got the munchies later~~!

1/4 cup oats = 73 calories

1/4 cup whole wheat flour = 102 calories

THEN I realized the other benefit…

While whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry) tends to weigh a bit more, freshly ground oat flour, is a bit lighter. And when your flour is lighter your pancakes are FLUFFIER, think air and clouds ~~and rainbows~~!

Same thing goes for my other go-to flour…

Made from buckwheat!

Aww, aren’t they cute?

Little nuggets of gluten-free goodness! Wait, I think I hear them singing Bob Dylan! 😉

Of course there are PLENTY of other gluten-free flours out there to choose from: sorghum, brown rice, millet, quinoa, orrrrr the one that packs a punch…

The leader of the ~~flower patch~~ flour pack…

Peanut flour!

With only 110 calories per 1/4 cup serving, not only can this flour boast to be gluten-free, but it also gives you 15 GRAMS of all-natural protein!

The absorbency is similar to regular flour so, unlike when working with protein powders (a confession for another day), you don’t have to worry about tweaking ingredients to be sure you don’t end up with a pancake that resembles (and tastes like) a frisbee! 😉

And of course the obvious perk…it tastes like PEANUT BUTTER!!

Just remember one thing about working with gluten-free flours:
Since there is NO GLUTEN, the ingredients have nothing to bind them together so, in order for you to keep your pancake batter from forming a pancake LAKE in your skillet, throw in a pinch (about 1/8 teaspoon) of a thickener ingredient such as xanthan gum, or cornstarch and problem solved!

Or you can add a little seeeeeecret (like a spy in ‘Nam) ingredient that will not only give fluff to your stack, but also give them the consistency of….CAKE!

The illustrious ~~tambourine-playing, headband-wearing, peace-keeping~~…

Coconut Flour!

If you’re looking to add thickness, and CAKE-like consistency to your stack, all you need is ONE tablespoon but keep in mind that if you are using more than that, alterations will need to be made.

Coconut flour is EXTREMELY absorbable. Don’t believe me? Check this out:

The photo on the left is one teaspoon of WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR mixed with one teaspoon of water. The photo on the right is one teaspoon of
COCONUT FLOUR mixed with one teaspoon of water.

Coconut flour requires a higher liquid to dry ingredient ratio usually made from some sort of milk and eggs. Honestly, even though I’ve been working with this flour for months now, I still run into problems every once in a while…add too much milk and you end up with coconut flour sauce…add too many eggs/egg whites and you’re eating a sponge.

And now…a “true” confession if you will…

Remember these guys?

Well, after a reader contacted me a few weeks ago telling me she had problems with my recipe, I ~~took off my bra~~ decided to test it out myself and THIS is what happened:

TWICE!

So needless to say, once my knee is finished healing and I’m back to my pancake flippin’ ways, I have a mission to accomplish…figure out what the h– RAINBOWS I forgot to write down in the original recipe!

What was your latest kitchen fail?

What’s your hippie name?
Mine is “Heart Holder”! 😆