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A Marvelously Healing Weekend

Posted on February 11, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hello dolls!

I am LOVING the response to yesterday’s #strangebutgood pancakes…you guys really didn’t see that one coming did ya?

*insert evil laugh here* 😉

So how was your weekend? Was it good? Was it great?

Was it MARVELOUS?!

Join Katie, me, and whole DIVA bunch as we start the week out right!

I gave myself a much needed break over the last few of days since it seems I’m starting to develop a penchant for turning bad weekends into good ones…

Don’t worry…I wasn’t in another car accident!

Nope, I started my weekend with an appointment with the orthopedic to go over the results from the MRI on my knee..which meant…

It was ~~parachute~~ paper pants time!

Can’t touch this! 😉

Of course my sense of humor died right about there.

The doctor informed me that I have a torn lateral meniscus. I had two options at this point…schedule and arthroscope to evaluate the extent of the damage and “possibly” (no guarantees) repair the meniscus OR get an aspiration (where they drain the fluid off) along with a cortisone shot and take it from there.

The pain I was in was so frustrating…it had gotten worse the last few days before the appointment and I was SO tired of limping around so I decided to take the less invasive (and faster) approach and agreed to have the aspiration and cortisone.

And that my friends was the most excruciating pain I’ve felt in a LONG time! They numbed the skin before placing the needle, but as they started to drain the fluid, I swore they had stuck the needle THROUGH my knee cap and was sucking the bone out! They were able to get a significant volume out and then administered the shot (which only hurt HALF as much as the first part!), but it remained swollen, red, and painful the rest of the night.

After a fitful night’s sleep (yeah, remember that bout of insomnia I mentioned?), I woke up feeling only a little better, BUT luckily the man-friend new exactly what to do to cheer me up!

YOLKPORN!!!!

We met up with some friends at J. Alexanders (first time for me) and I ordered the Croque Madame: Toasted French bread stacked high with shaved ham, Gruyere, and a PERFECTLY fried egg on top!

Omg, you guys…it was a cheesy, yolky HEAVEN!

After dinner, we headed to the theater to catch a movie we’ve been DYING (haha, get it?) to see, but not before stopping in Whole Foods and picking up a little something to help Heather digest all that glorious (yet heavy) cheese! 😉

The movie was awesome…we were rolling the entire time…and the kombucha was perfect! First time trying this flavor and I LOVED it!

The next day, the man-friend came over bearing gifts…

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel!

And contrary to how it appears, I do not have a stomach bug…

But I DO have a couple of new obsessions! 😉

After falling in love with the mango ginger chews (and proceeding to demolish my bag in less than a week!), I was on a mission to find more and he just happened to spot these peanut butter ones at TJ Maxx the other day and KNEW I would flip for them!

After the I got over my giddiness, we had a quick lunch…

Loaded veggie wrap with hummus and avocado for him.

And fruity, chocolate-y masterpiece for her! 😀

Absolute HEAVEN! Stuffed with chocolate eggfruit pudding, crunchy coconut peanut butter, banana and cereal crumblies…it seriously had my eyes rolling into the back of my head with the first bite! Lol

After we were properly fueled, we rolled up our sleeves and got down to business…

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter 😉

We had WORK to do!

IKEA dresser building for him.

And Christmas tree takedown for her!

In the box AND sealed…oh yeah, I totally dominated that evergreen! And that was WITH a bum leg! Oh and just for the record, I hammered TWO whole nails into the dresser! Ha, how’s that for contribution? 😉

After all that, we managed to work up quite the appetite and were pretty tired…

Sushi to the rescue!

And then back to the casa for some more kombucha drinking and movie watchin’…

Netflix & Kombucha

The lavender was better (so glad I’ve got two more) and the movie was just…ok, but it was the company that mattered most! 😀

Yesterday I woke up and was surprised to find my knee feeling MUCH better! It’s still a little swollen and I still have to be careful with side-to-side movements, but it’s a VAST improvement from how I felt on Thursday!

Must’ve been the healing powers of the kombucha! 😉

Or the early morning kitty cuddles! <3

What was MARVELOUS about your weekend?

Have you ever tried kombucha? What’s your favorite flavor?

Posted in MIMM | Tagged banana, eggfruit, ginger, kombucha, movies, sushi, wrap, yolkporn | 57 Comments

Pancakes & Hearts

Posted on February 10, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

I heart you guys.

Like, seriously…that little bugger took me 5 minutes to make! 😉

But you wanna know JUST how much I heart you?

I heart you so much that when I made these pancakes and layered them with my eggfruit pudding, that I felt bad for rubbing it in your face that I have eggfruit pudding and you don’t.

Nah.nah.nah.nah.nah.naaaaaaaaaah!

Oh wait, I didn’t just say that.

Really…you should feel the love…

Especially since when I made them a second time, layered them with whipped cottage cheese, but then I realized they were a bit dry.

Obviously I was distracted before by the mouth-watering chocolatey eggfruit pudding. 😉

Oh snap…there I go again. Sorry.

N – E – waaaaaaaaaaay…

Back to hearting you!

During a bout of insomnia the other night…I got in the kitchen determined to perfect these lil’ cakes.

On the FOURTH(!!) batch, I finally got it right AND I made them a little more festive for the upcoming holiday! 😉

If that’s not true hearting then I don’t know what is!

But wait…it get’s better!

Because, since I love your little hearts so much and I want you to grow up big and strong, I hid something in your pancakes this morning, but you’ll never EVER guess what it is…well, unless you saw Friday’s post! 😉

Coconut Cauliflower Pancakes with Pomegranate Cream

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: fry food processor breakfast high fiber gluten-free coconut flour cauliflower Pancake Sunday

Ingredients (Serves 1)

For Pancakes

2 Tablespoons coconut flour*
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (30g scoop)
1/4 teaspoon sodium-free baking powder
1/4 cup packed “riced” cauliflower (pulse in food processor until fine)
2 large egg whites, whisked until frothy
2 Tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
2 Tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

*If using regular flour instead, omit one egg white.

For Pomegranate Cream

1/3 cup cottage cheese
2 Tablespoons pomegranate juice

Instructions

For Pancakes

1. Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle to medium heat and coat with cooking spray.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, protein powder, and baking powder and stir to mix.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy (about 5-6 seconds) then add “riced” cauliflower, apple sauce, and almond milk and stir to combine.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Spoon batter onto skillet forming 3 medium-sized pancakes and cook 5-6 minutes per side (batter will not bubble).
6. Serve layered with pomegranate cream, pomegranate seeds, and coconut flakes.

For Pomegranate Cream

1. Combine ingredients in a small blender and blend until smooth.

Nutrition facts using this protein powder, this cottage cheese, and this pomegranate juice:

Pomegranates are good for your HEART, cauliflower is good for your GUT, and well, if you’re like me, the two are practically connected! 😉

So why don’t you whip up a batch of these babies on Thursday and show someone
just how much you HEART them…

Shhh, the veggies will be our little secret! 😉

Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day this week?
The man-friend and I are planning a trip to Memphis over the weekend! And I’m really hoping we get a chance to eat HERE!
(Only because I saw it on DDD…but really, Guy has NEVER let me down!)

How do you show someone you “heart” them?
I love cooking for people, surprising them with gifts, and I’m a BIG hugger…just in case you get the chance to meet me someday…you know, you’ve been warned! 😉

Posted in Breakfast, Pancake Sunday, Strange But Good | Tagged cauliflower, coconut, coconut flour, eggs, oats, pancakes, pomegranate, protein powder | 53 Comments

Sweet as Pie

Posted on February 8, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Happy Friday my pudding pies!

Or should I say pizza pies? 😉

But {obviously} that’s no ordinary slice of pizza…

That’s DESSERT pizza on a sweet crust made from…CAULIFLOWER!

Oh yeah, it’s ~~freaky~~ #strangebutgood Friday time!

Be sure to hop on over to Laura’s blog at Sprint 2 the Table and check out all the other curious concoctions my fellow weird foodies have created this week! 🙂

And speaking of Laura, not only did I get a chance to frolic around the ~~better~~ delicious part of Atlanta with her last weekend, but she also inspired me to create today’s recipe.

Have you tried her Cauliflower Pizza Crust? Well, if you haven’t, you should…because it’s flippin’ delicious…and THEN you can make mine for dessert!

Bring on the veggies! 😉

Cauliflower Crust Dessert Pizza

by Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert snack breakfast high fiber cauliflower #strangebutgood

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup “riced” cauliflower (pulsed in food processor until fine)
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
5-7 drops liquid stevia (or other preferred sweetener)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Place oats in a small blender or food processor and pulse for 2-3 seconds (you want some of the oats to remain whole).
3. Place processed oats to a bowl, add remaining ingredients and stir well.
4. Transfer “dough” to a parchment lined baking sheet and spread/shape into a circle about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cover with another piece of parchment paper.
6. Bake for 5 minutes, removed parchment, flip and bake another 5 minutes.
7. Run to the fridge, grab your toppings and go nuts!

Nutrition facts for crust only:

Dessert doesn’t get cleaner than THAT, folks! 😀

Sweet Cauliflower Pizza Crust Edge The texture is tender and chewy…kind of like an oatmeal cookie, but this is definitely NO crumbly cookie!

And you can’t even TELL there’s veggies hidden inside…I promise!

Now, the only question that remains is WHAT to top it with?

Maybe you’re feeling like some chocolate?

Topped with eggfruit pudding (dark chocolate pudding would also be great), pomegranate seeds, coconut, and almonds.

Or perhaps your feeling kinda fruity?

Crust made with lemon stevia (can use lemon extract) and a bit of lemon zest and topped with thawed frozen blueberries blended with Greek yogurt and coconut flour, more blueberries, coconut, almonds, and a bit of lemon zest.

But then again, maybe you’ll just go with chocolate! 😉

Crust made with one tablespoon of dark cocoa powder added and topped with peanut flour sauce (or thinned peanut butter), sliced banana, cacao nibs, graham cracker crumbs, and healthy chocolate sauce.

And while you’re at it, how about whipping one up for the kiddos!

Standard crust topped with Greek yogurt, thinned mixed berry jam, peanut butter, and chopped peanuts.

Yeah, I’ve been a bit obsessed this week…annnd I may have made one of these for breakfast…but really, can you blame me? The possibilities are endless!

I WANT THEM ALL!!!

What would you top YOUR dessert pizza with?