Happenings

Posted on October 10, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Hello friends!

Thank you SO much for all the sweet comments on yesterday’s S’mores Banana Pancakes…definitely one of my proudest recipe/photo posts to date!

There’s been some “goings on” around here lately that I really want to share with you guys! So without any fancy segue or la-de-da intro, let’s get to the good stuff!

1. I met a new friend

Everybody, meet Lettie!

She’s been a reader of KMB for a while now and just moved to Clarksville a couple of weeks ago. How cool is that, right?

She’s a die-hard foodie just like me, but doesn’t have a blog of her own…yet! Maybe I should talk her into doing a guest post sometime so she can get the feel for it, no?

2. I gave running another shot

After taking a break from running for more than 2 weeks, I jumped on the treadmill at the gym on Saturday.

annnnnnd…

I did it…without ANY shin pain!!

Is it just me or are those rays of light streaming down from Heaven? Do you hear the angels singing?

3. I FINALLY found organic Honeycrisps

Oh, honeycrisp…you are the “apple” of my eye! 😉
Wow, that was really lame…sorry guys!

4. I started decorating Casa de Broccoli

After, how long has it been? Um, SEVEN months, I finally started doing a little something around the house this weekend after I spent half the morning on Pinterst…nothing like a little pinning spree to give you a bit of motivation!

Curtains and paint swatches

I actually went to Lowe’s to browse the paint section and get some ideas, but once I saw these curtains, I fell in love!

Check it out…they match my couch,

AND my oil and vinegar dispensers!

Which is a good thing when it comes to painting since I forgot my kitchen and living room share the same wall! Now I just have to figure out which shade of gray/green/whatever I want to paint, but I think I’m leaning toward “Sage Bud” 🙂

While I was in the painting section, I grabbed a package of paint strainers. Not that I intend on splashing THAT much paint around…

5. I’m giving up almond milk

Store bought anyway!

I can seriously go through a 1/2 gallon carton of Almond Breeze in like 3-4 days so I’m really hoping this homemade method works so I can save a few bucks!

I think I’m going to wait until the weekend to try it out since I’m working my longer shift this week, but I’ll be sure to keep you updated!

6. I’ve been a little obsessed with AIAJ

That would be ANYTHING in a jar! 😉

Ice cream

Smoothie

Cereal

And last and CERTAINLY least…

Over the weekend, I started to notice my throat getting a little scratchy.

Then I woke up this morning feeling like I got hit by a bus, so after attempting to make it at work, failing, and going home early,

7. I started self-medicating

Hmm, you think I’m forgetting anything? I don’t know…feels like I’m forgetting something! 😉

The pills would be my new GNC multis and an Aleve for my splitting headache! And with that…and the two Benedryls I popped about an hour ago…I am off to bed

at 8:00pm.

I feel like such a loser someone who’s going to feel much better in the morning! 😀

Have you ever made your own almond milk before? Any tips?

What’s something you’ve gotten excited about recently?

Posted in Breakfast, Running | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

Banana S’mores Pancakes

Posted on October 9, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Happy Pancake Sunday my loves!

 I hope you are enjoying the last bit of your weekend.

 We have been having some incredible weather here in Tennessee, but with the scent of autumn in the air and the knowledge that temperatures will soon be falling, I can’t help but think of fall festivities, bon fires, and what else,

S’mores!

 I whipped up these pancakes on a whim this morning, after having had a craving for s’mores over the last several days and let me tell you right now…

 They s’more than satisfied that craving!
Sorry, couldn’t help myself 😉

After taking about 200 pictures (you think I’m kidding!), I finally narrowed it down to eight mouth-watering shots. Believe me, it wasn’t an easy task…taking the shots without fork-diving into the plate OR sorting through all the pics to find the best ones!

You may want to grab a napkin, bib, or bucket to place below your chin before reading any further.

You’ve been warned.

Banana S’mores Protein Pancakes

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Keywords: fry breakfast high protein whole wheat pastry flour protein powder chocolate bananas Pancake Sunday

Ingredients (Serves 1)

For the Pancakes

  • 1 modified flax egg (1/2 tablespoon ground flax + 1 1/2 tablespoons warm water)
  • 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 graham cracker sheet, crushed and more chocolate chips for garnish (optional)

For the Chocolate Syrup

  • 1/8 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

For the Pancakes

1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray.
2. Prepare flax egg and allow to set.
3. Combine flour, protein powder, baking powder, and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flax egg, vanilla, and milk.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until all the flour is incorporated.
6. Fold in chocolate chips.
7. Spoon batter onto greased skillet (makes 3 small-medium pancakes) and allow to cook for approximately 4-5 minutes per side.
8. Transfer to a plate, layer with banana slices, and top with chocolate syrup.

For the Chocolate Syrup

1. Combine syrup and cocoa powder, whisk until smooth.

Powered by Recipage

Use chocolate syrup as a topping for your pancakes…

Spoons, fingers, or in times of desperation…

I believe it would be perfectly acceptable to bathe in it.*

*Avoid contact with eyes. I doubt “blindness by chocolate” is lethal, but I’m sure it doesn’t feel all that great. 😉


You know you want a bite!

Oh, and I’ve been doing a little redecorating this weekend.

How about a little behind-the-scenes look at my workout room turned photography suite?

Yep, those would be my laundry room doors propped up by the vacuum cleaner acting as a light bounce and my “rocking” new tripod!

Reduce > Reuse > Recycle, right?

Who says you have to spend a lot on fancy camera equipment? 😉

What’s the last thing you “repurposed”?

Do you like s’mores?
If you do not, I’m sorry, but I think your a Communist. Wouldn’t you agree Victoria?

Posted in Breakfast, Pancake Sunday, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , | 59 Comments

California Friday #4: When Sea Lions Attack!

Posted on October 7, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Can you believe we made it through a whole week?

Happy Friday, loves!

Was it just me or did this week seem to take about 732 days to come to an end?

I’ve been a little absent from blogworld this week, but I promise it has not been intentional. Even after taking off a couple of days to reclaim my sanity relax, it seems the hospital has become my own personal (pocket-sized, if you will) black hole…

Somebody please let me know if you see any fragments of my lifeforce floating around in the air so that I can try to super glue them back…and maybe Bedazzle them while I’m at it! 😉

Obviously, my life has been a bit on the boring side lately.

So how about some more vacation recapping?

If you missed the other California Friday posts, you can click the links here:

California Friday #1: The Impromtu 10 Mile Hike
California Friday #2: Toasty Tootsies
California Friday #3: San Francisco

Anyone up for some kayaking?

I was SOOOO excited when Emilia suggested that we check out Kayak Connection while we were on our way to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. I’ve been canoeing and white water rafting before, but I’ve always wanted to try kayaking!

We watched a short informative video, you know:

What to do if you flip your kayack…
What to do if you lose your paddle…
What to do if you’re charged by angry sea lions…um, WHA?!

Oh wait, no, that one WASN’T in there, but I’m getting a little ahead of myself.

So we got fitted for our life vests, grabbed some paddles, and loaded up!

Row, row, row, your boat kayak…

Gently down the bay…

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…

Someone’s head is in my way! 😉

The trip started out a bit foggy at first.

Can you make out the killer sea lions on the wharf?

But slowly the sun started to make it’s way from behind the clouds

And the wildlife came out to play!

I think their favorite game was “hide”

And “sneak”

🙂

After a couple of hours of photo-stalking sea lions, otters, and other aquatic life, we decided to head back to dock.

Say “impending doom is lurking ahead!”

As we made our way back around the bend, we were able to get a better look at the sea lions relaxing on the wharf.

Such cute little flubberous creatures, no?

Hmm, nice sign!

ADD moment of the day brought to you by:
“Oh look! An otter on the other side of the kayak!”

That I can’t seem to get a decent picture of.
Dude, pose already…you look like a washed up duffle bag!

Hmm, I wonder where those other people are running off to so fast?

Oh, hello sea lions! 🙂

Wait a minute, there’s not as much zoom on this camera as I thought there was!

That’s when we realized we had drifted to within oh, I’d say 10 feet of the wharf!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!! :-O

I’m sorry, my documentation of our near death experience as one of the heftier of the crew decided to make angry eyes (not to be confused with angry bananas) at us, dive off the wharf, and CHARGE our kayak!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! :-O

I’ll admit that there were a few choice expletives thrown in there as needed to help propel us further in the water as the adrenaline kicked in and we pumped out some of the smoothest strokes since Bob Ross…wait, wrong kind of strokes!

Lesson of the day: If you’re going to play around with the fight or flight tendencies of 500+ pound aquatic life, make sure to have a vegetarian close by to protect you!

😉

Ever had any “close encounters” with wildlife?

Were you lucky/stupid enough to get any documentation?



Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments