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Making My Way BACK to Marvelous

Posted on March 11, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Guys, guys, guyyyyyyyyys!

Thank you all so much for the comments, tweets, emails, and texts sending along as many feel good vibes as possible…I think it’s safe to say that they’re working!

While I wouldn’t necessarily call this weekend “marvelous”, I will say that in the past 36 hours, things have started to perk up a bit. So, since I would hate to miss the chance to join my favorite diva in some Marvelous Monday action today, consider this …

My way BACK to marvelous!

As most of you know, Friday was ~~D. Day~~ KNEE day…

The surgeon was a bit late getting starving…I mean STARTED!…so things didn’t kick off until closer to 2pm instead of 1pm like planned. Yeah, did I mention that I wasn’t allowed to have anything to eat after midnight the night before?!

So anywho, the doc came in, said a few words, gave me his famous “autograph” and told me he’d meet me in the surgery suite.

The last thing I remember was rolling into the surgery suite.

Next thing I know I have a nurse THISCLOSE to my face in the recovery ward. They kept me for a an hour and gave me ice chips and medicine. I wasn’t in much pain, just really groggy…and believe it or not, food was the farthest thing from my mind.

When they discharged me, my mom helped me into my lucky cat hair-covered yoga pants and then we were on our way. After stopping by the pharmacy to pick up more pain meds, we got back to the house around 6pm.

THEN, I was finally hungry…

Tasted like HEAVEN…and I don’t think I’m saying that just because it was the first thing I’d eaten in over 36 hours! 😉

The rest of the night went well. I adjusted to my crutches without too many problems (except for that one incident with the bathroom rug!), and after my mom left for the night, I even felt well enough to hobble into the kitchen and make myself something for dinner…

Mmm, BROWN FOOD!
French toast, apple slices, and healthy chocolate “pudding”

Unfortunately, halfway through the plate, my appetite CRASHED and this was my last real meal. I ended up just “picking” at things for the rest of the weekend. Luckily, I’m NEVER without good snackage…though I really need to ~~kill~~ thank Heather for sending me these pita chips…

Apparently, my “comfort food” translates into “crunchy stuff” 😉

Along with my sudden LOSS of appetite though was the sudden GAIN of pain. I’m guessing whatever remnants of anesthesia that was in my system finally wore off because it got to the point where I didn’t want to drink anything just because I didn’t want to have to get up to go to the restroom! The fact that I didn’t get ANY sleep that night only made it worse…yeah, for some unGODLY reason, I didn’t go to sleep until 10!

A to the frickin’ Mmmm! #fml

But I DID get a lot of work done on my Recipage?? *weak laugh*

Over SIXTY recipes converted! 😯

Fortunately, by the time it was getting really bad, the man-friend arrived. He was definitely a good sport with everything…putting up with my whining, helping me to the bathroom, not taking offense when I passed out in the middle of him talking…hmm, guess I just needed him to bore me to sleep? j/k!

He also brought me these:

Hello there my ~~gorgeous~~ frozen beauties…I have great plans for you!

At 5am yesterday, I awoke from a dead sleep, writhing in pain…but not from my knee…from the thing everyone LOVES MOST about taking pain medicine…

I LOOKED like I was 6 months pregnant and I felt like I was going to EXPLODE!
If I hadn’t had these on hand, I’m pretty sure a slimy black mutant would have ripped through my stomach!

When I woke up later, I felt a bit better. It was easier to get off the couch (which I have damn near become a permanent fixture of) and have only had a couple of mild reenactments from the movie Alien… 😉

But just to be on the safe side, before the man-friend left, we made sure to completely stock ~~my command station~~ the coffee table…

Pretty sure we got all the bases covered…what do you think? 😉

Then, once I was along, I started up a drinking habit…

Probiotics, enzymes, and greens!…What did you THINK I meant? 😉

I’m so grateful to have some Incredible Greens on hand…especially since the thought of fresh veggies (with the exception of a whole carrot plunged into nut butter) has kinda made my stomach turn lately.

Plus, after my last “crunchy food” craving, I KNEW I needed vitamins…

I TOLD you I had plans! 😀

And just to leave you guys with a little laugh…

Auto correct strikes again!

What is your favorite snacky “comfort (not sick) food”?

Do you tend to lean toward certain textures?

Posted in MIMM, Snacks | Tagged apples, Arctic Zero, cereal, comfort food, French toast, healthy chocolate sauce, hospital, kombucha, pretzels, sunflower seed butter, water | 68 Comments

So Good, You’ll Want Some-Moa!

Posted on March 10, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

I couldn’t help myself.

After last week’s Thin Mint Pancake success, I just HAD to flex my ~~muscles~~ spatula and try my hand at another Girl Scout cookie fave…

What do you think? Looks like another success to me!

Take THAT you little sash-wearing she-devils! 😉

I’ll admit, it’s been absolute agony waiting a WHOLE WEEK to share these with you guys. Seriously, one bite and I about fell in the floor!

And well, I just can’t stop patting myself on the back…

Not only do these cakes have the perfect amount of crispness on the outside…

Yet pillowy soft consistency on the inside…

But that TOPPING?…Now THAT was a gift sent straight from the cookie gods!

Who knew the combo of coconut flour and maple syrup could taste
JUST LIKE caramel sauce?!

And just like last week…I’m sharing with EVERYONE!!!!

Samoa Cookie Pancakes

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: fry breakfast GLUTEN-FREE high protein VEGAN vegetarian DAIRY-FREE buckwheat flour coconut coconut flour cocoa powder Pancake Sunday

Ingredients (Serves 1)

Samoa Cookie Pancakes

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons chia seeds <- Those are JUST for you, Lisa! 😀
2 Tablespoons warm water
1/4 cup buckwheat flour (ground from groats)
2 Tablespoons brown rice protein powder
1 Tablespoon coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon sodium-free baking powder
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 Tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon butter flavor (optional)
added sweetener, if desired

Healthy Chocolate “Pudding” Sauce

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3-4 Tablespoons water (or milk)
stevia (or other sweetener) to taste

Toasted Coconut Syrup

2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon coconut flour
1 Tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

Samoa Cookie Pancakes

1. Preheat a non-stick griddle or skillet to medium heat and coat with cooking spray.
2. Combine chia seeds and water and allow to set for 2-3 minutes.
3. Combine milk and vinegar and allow to set for 2-3 minutes (this is your “buttermilk”)
4. In a medium-sized bowl, l combine flour, protein powder, coconut flour, and baking powder and whisk to mix.
5. In a separate bowl, stir together chia egg, “buttermilk”, chia egg, apple sauce, and extracts.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir well.
7. Spoon batter onto skillet, forming 4 small-medium-sized pancakes and cook 4-5 minutes per side.
8. Layer with thick “Healthy” Chocolate “Pudding” Sauce and top with Toasted Coconut Syrup

“Healthy Chocolate Sauce

Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Toasted Coconut

Spread coconut shreds on a baking sheet and place under low broil until browned (no more than 3 MINUTES…be sure to watch it closely so it doesn’t burn!)

Toasted Coconut Syrup

1. Combine maple syrup and water in a microwave-safe bowl and cook in the microwave for 10 seconds.
2. Whisk in coconut flour and toasted coconut.

Nutrition Facts for pancakes ONLY using this vegan protein powder:

*Edited to add: The nutritional calculator has a mind of it’s own…the ACTUAL Iron count is around 30%…NOT 100%! Lol

And because I KNOW I’m going to get questions and because YOU KNOW I love you guys, even though these came out fannnnnntastic on the first try, I went back in the kitchen and whipped up another batch with some substitutions…

Which meant, I had to eat them again…

Ohhhhhh DARN! 😉

The non-vegan version finds itself a little fluffier thanks to the egg whites, but still with all the great flavor of the first! Besides the texture, I literally could NOT tell the difference between these stacks if you asked me to!

Recipe alterations:
Substituted 1/2 scoop whey protein for 2 Tbsp of brown rice protein
Added 1 large egg white, whisked before stirred in
Omitted chia seed “egg” and applesauce
Reduced almond milk to 1/3 cup instead of 2/3 cup

If you do NOT have coconut flour:

Just add more flour or protein powder to the mix

In place of buckwheat flour:

I would suggest oat flour (ground from rolled oats) since it has a lighter weight compared to other flours.

No coconut flour?

Make these coconut protein pancakes without the almond extract

And finally, the butter flavor…

Get it ~~at Whole Foods~~, Got it, GOOD! 😀

Totally optional, but tooooootally delicious!

What’s the last kitchen concoction you patted yourself on the back for?

What are you up to today?
Please share so I can live vicariously through you and pretend that I’m not just laying here working on making a Heather-sized dent in my couch!

Posted in Breakfast, Gluten-free, Pancake Sunday, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged coconut, cookies, healthy chocolate sauce, pancakes, protein powder | 56 Comments

A Lesson in HOW to be SOUPER Strange

Posted on March 8, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Happy Friday my friends!

My SOUP-er de-DUPER friends! 😀

Guess what, guess what, guess whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!

I FINALLY USED MY CROCK POT!!!!!

I know, I know, it’s only two weeks until SPRING (yay!)…better late than never, right? What can I say, not only did Meghan MOTIVATE me with her delicious soup, but she also INSPIRED me to make one of my own! And well, by the title of this post, I’m guessing you know where the other bit of inspiration came from! 😉

But for now, forget about the #STRANGE~~butgood~~...you wanna know what I absolutely love, yet frequently forget, about making soup?

It’s SO flippin’ EASY!

And if you plop your ingredients in a slow cooker, it’s virtually IMPOSSIBLE to mess up…even if, say you forget all about it while you become totally engrossed in your very first episode of Downtown Abbey…hypothetically speaking of course!

Now it’s time for some #strangebutFUN…
I’m gonna learn ya the ways in how to be SOUPER! 😉

First, gather up your ingredients…

One ginormous sweet potato…check!

Half a red onion (and plenty of curse words for chopping)…check!

A can of black beans…check!

Some expired canned tomatoes…umm, check?

Hey, we’re building antibodies here, people! 😉

Moving on!

An array of your favorite spices…check!

And don’t forget the cinnamon!

Hey, I did say your FAVORITE spices! 😉

And last but not least, a little seeeeeeeeeecret ingredient…the one thing that will turn the contents of your slow-cooker into something rich…something creamy…something

SOUPER!

You may think I’m a little “nuts” but just trust me on this one folks! 😀

Because this soup…

Is ahhhhhh~~lmond~~mazing!!!

Sweet & Spicy Sweet Potato Soup

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3-4 hours

Keywords: slow-cooker entree soup/stew high fiber high protein vegan vegetarian low-sodium

Ingredients (Serves 6)

1 large sweet potato, chopped (about 3 cups)
1/2 large red onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 28oz can no-salt-added whole plum tomatoes, crushed with hands
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup unsalted creamy almond butter
3 cups fresh spinach
fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients except for almond butter and spinach in a slow cooker.
2. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6.
3. Just before serving, stir in almond butter and fresh spinach.
4. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

And wouldja look at those stats?!..Hellooooooo Vite-a-min A! 😀