WIAW: What’s Your Flava?

Posted on August 3, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Tell me what’s your flava?!

Alright, so now that we have our tune-age, let’s get this party started!

And as always, a big thank you to Jenn of Peas & Crayonsfor allowing these shenanigans to go down week after week!

Now, I didn’t pick that song for nothing folks, this WIAW post is heavy on the FLAVA…

combos that is!

Come…drool with me…

Breakfast (6:30am)
My go-to “in a hurry oats”:
1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 small banana (sliced thin), vanilla extract and cinnamon all thrown in a bowl and nuked in the microwave for 4 minutes!

Topped with Studly Sunflower Seed Butter & orange dark chocolate squares

The chocolate on it’s own is out of this world, but the addition of the SSB put it over the top!

Yaaaa-umm!

Snack (10:30am)
Watermelon, Cucumber, & Feta Salad

Wish I could take credit for this one, but I got the idea from some magazine a couple of weeks ago. I couldn’t remember the exact recipe so I simply added freshly cracked black pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to the summer trinity…

Sweet and salty and oh so refreshing!

Lunch (12:30pm)
Hugh Jass spinach salad topped with cucumber, zucchini, carrots, onion, bell pepper, sun-dried tomato, cottage cheese, pine nuts and a leftover bean & mushroom burger
(recipe still needs tweaking)

Maybe the question is: What did I NOT put in the salad!?

With a side of HALF a kombucha
(expensive little devils…gotta ration them out, ya know?)

By the way, Gingerade is seriously rivaling Citrus as my favorite kombucha flavor!

Afternoon pick-me-up (3:30pm)
Iced coffee PLUS a shot of espresso and soy milk from a local coffee shop

After forgetting/running out of time to make coffee this morning, this cup was…

enjoyed…appreciated…NEEDED!

Snack (4:00pm)
Dry roasted edamame, Emerald’s cocoa roasted almonds, and dried tart cherries

I literally “mmm-ed” my way through two big handfuls of this delicious combo!

Dinner (8:00pm)
Scrambled BBQ eggs on Cranberry Pecan Bread with my “favorite at the moment PB” and my ever trusty F.R.O.G preserves!

C’mon guys, I couldn’t have a post dedicated to flavor combos without indulging in
my most favorite foodie fusion of all!

Mark my words…I will never EVER get tired of BBQ and PB&J!

The recent PB obsession…SUPER crunchy (duh, like it says on the jar) with the PERFECT amount of sweetness!

And yes my friends THAT would be an okra “tree” planted behind my plate!

Who knew raw okra could be so tasty?!

Annnnd just because I like the angle of this shot so much, you get another pic! 😉

And for dessert?

Gummies…and a cupcake 😉

Now that’s an interesting combination!

It may not be Jenn’s Red Velvet Cupcake, but it was DEFINITELY delicious!

What flavorFULL combo have you been loving lately?

What’s your favorite “real” cupcake flavor? I would never turn down a free cupcake, but coconut cake is definitely one of my faves!

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Entree, Vegan, Vegetarian, What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged chocolate, oats, sunflower seed butter, wine | 47 Comments

Duct Tape Fixes Everything!

Posted on August 2, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Hey hey guys and gals!

I am LOVING reading the stories about your first experiences with protein powders! Sounds like a lot of you had some pretty negative (and hilarious, might I add) first impressions, but hooray for sticking with the experimentation and finding flavors or mix-ins to make it work for you!

If you haven’t entered the Gotein giveaway yet, click here and change that ASAP…I promise it’ll be your new favorite way to get a good dose of protein in!

So how about title of this post?

It’s kind of an on-going joke here in the south that we use duct tape to fix everything. Speaking from experience (my old futon was duct taped about a bazillon times before meeting the big wood-whittler in the sky), I have to say that some people are right on the money with their “red-neck engineering”!

[source]

Ok, how about a few “visual aides”?

[source]

Torn sandal straps?…Duct tape!

[source]

Faulty pumbing?…Duct tape!

[source]

Misplaced the moving truck?…

Ok, so this one was a bit of a stretch! 😉

For the last few months I’ve been seeing a chiropractor for some problems with my left hip. I’ve mentioned it a few times on Twitter, but I don’t think I’ve really talked about it on the blog, just because it’s kind of one of those “hard to explain/I swear I’m not a hypochondriac” things….ya know what I mean?

It seems that the muscles in my hip (specifically my psoas muscle and iliotibial band) ~~hate me~~ have a hard time learning to relax and after a few months of increasing my activity level, it got to a point where I could barely even walk without a bit of a limp. After weeks of chiropractic therapy, stretching, and massage, the doctor informs me during today’s appointment of a new approach he’d like to take!

The skepticism started when I was told to don the oh so fashionable “patient” ensemble!

Yep, duct tape fixes EVERYTHING!

Ok, ok, so maybe it’s kinesiology tape and not duct tape, but regardless, could I look like a bigger loser?! I mean, I have TAPE…on my leg!

Oh yeah, and then he says, “Now I want you to wear this for five days.”

Um, sure doc, that’s fine…wait, did you say FIVE days?!?!

*Pout*

Supposedly, over the next FIVE days these little magical bands will support the muscles in my hip and possibly help to alleviate the discomfort/stiffness I’ve been dealing with over the past few months.

Until then, you can find me at TJ Maxx…buying up their supply of exercise pants and tights so I don’t get any weird looks at the gym! 😉

Anyone got any totally vain “I can’t believe my doctor is making me do this” horror stories?
I once got a deep cut on my eyeball and had to wear a gauze patch for 24 hours…luckily my mom went into the pharmacy alone to fill my prescription alone and left me in the car to “hide” my Quasimodo looking face from the general public! Haha!

Posted in Randomness | Tagged chiropractor, duct tape | 19 Comments

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Gotein!

Posted on August 1, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Hey boos!

Man, you guys REALLY know how to make a girl’s day! Thank you all sooo much for all the sweet comments on yesterday’s Pancake Sunday post!

I swear my ~~head~~ heart is swelling from all the love!

So, I was going to share the recipe for my Coconut Curry Salmon from last week’s WIAW post, but with all the love that’s in the air right now, I’ve changed my mind…and I have a sneaky suspicion that you guys won’t mind one bit…

How about a

GIVEAWAY?!

Yeah…I know…what recipe??

I figured! 😉

A couple of months ago, the awesome people over at Gotein contacted me about trying their ready-to-use protein packets. Since it’s no secret that I’ve been in the market for a new protein supplement, I JUMPED at the opportunity!

When they first arrived at Casa de Broccoli, I was excited…nervous…skeptical.

You see, after working at a supplement store for FOUR years while in college, I’m now a bit of a protein snob.

Here is my protein supplement criteria:

Good mix-ability
At LEAST 15-20 grams of protein per serving
Short ingredient list WITHOUT the use of sugar substitutes/alcohols
And it HAS to taste GREAT!*

*I mean, c’mon, who want’s to “force” themselves to down a sub par protein supplement?? Not this gal!

Knowing from my research that Gotein boasted 3 out of my 4 requirements, I eagerly began my adventures in taste testing!

All the flavors were mixed with water because in my opinion, if a protein shake is high enough in quality, you won’t have to try to mask the flavor by using milk and/or any other ingredients.

First up, vanilla! Name of the strategy: start out simple.

If you screw up vanilla, then I’m out!

It was PERFECT! Like a lightly sweetened milk…nothing overpowering and no aftertaste at all (ugh, I really hate shakes that leave that fake “sweet” taste in your mouth)!

Then the flavor I was the most skeptical about. I have never had good luck with strawberry flavored shakes…they always tastes so…fake! To my amazement (and excitement), I LOVED this flavor! It tasted just like…

Yes, strawberry Yoo-hoo! I kid you not!
Ohhhh, the memories of my childhood!

And of course, I saved the best for last.

Even though I’m not a huge chocolate fan (I’d take a warm doughy baked good over even your finest chocolate bar any day…so sue me!), chocolate protein shakes are always my favorite! Well, except for this guy…there’s always at least one exception, right?

Laaaaa-huved it!!

I seriously went into this review with an open and non-biased attitude thinking that I’d at least have “ehhh” feelings for one flavor, but as it turns out, the guys over at Gotein know their stuff! I was SUPER impressed with each flavor! Whether I used my shaker cup, a recycled kombucha bottle (don’t tell me you guys don’t reuse those expensive little buggers), or even just a spoon, the mix-ability was amazing! No chalky/gritty texture…no residue left at the bottom…it was just like drinking a pre-made shake!

And now for the good part!

Gotein supplied me with an extra packet of each flavor for one of my lucky readers to try
annnnnnnd Anna threw in a SWEET discount code for $4 off a box if you decide (like me) that these are the best flippin’ things since sliced bread and can’t live without them!

😉

So how do you win some Gotein of your own?

Mandatory: Tell me about your very first experience with protein powder? How was it? Were you hooked…or scarred? Haha!
Additional Entries: Leave a SEPARATE comment for each one you chose: