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One Word: WEEKEND!

Posted on April 21, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Hey youuuuuuu gaaaaa-EYES!!!

Sorry, I may or may not still be riding the high that was my weekend! I sincerely hope that each and every one of you had as great a time as I did! Even without an INKLING of a plan, I was surprised to see that this weekend was yet another deserving of the title of wonderful…perfect…and yep, you guessed it, MARVELOUS!

NamaFREAKINGste

How about…HOW ABOUT?!?! I transitioned from holding crow pose for a few seconds…to a minute…to getting into a FREAKING HEADSTAND without falling ONCE?!?!

STRANGEBUTGOOD

When I saw this puppy on the menu, I couldn’t resist!

Strawberry Bliss Roll: Tempura shrimp, snow crab mix and avocado topped with fresh strawberries and strawberry sauce sprinkled with finely chopped peanuts.

Umm, I’m sorry, but can we say P-B-AND-J?!?!

Seriously, last meal worthy!

HILARIOUS!!

I thought the first movie was good…I’m a sucker for Nicolas Cage so I wasn’t really sure if the sequel was going to be any good without him, but OMG, my friend and I laughed our ASSES off!

Chloe Grace Moretz…keep an eye on that girl…she’s going places!

MOUTH-WATERING!

Ok, so I’ve been saying for YEARS that Clarksville really needs a GOOD Mexican restaurant…well, we FINALLY got one…and they have CHEESY mashed potatoes…in a serving the size of a small child!

I’m not complaining! 😉

HAPPY-HOUR!

They also have 21 ounce ITALIAN margaritas…as in with amaretto…as in I was basically licking the ice cubes when I was done!

SEEESTERS

After MONTHS of not seeing this girl, after a quick text Thursday night, we realized that our work schedules would finally sync up! I volunteered to work an extra (day) shift on Saturday, but after I got off at 8pm, Tori and I met at the casa for some MUCH NEEDED sister-sister bonding (and picture) time.

CHEERS

And since she just got promoted to bartender at the restaurant where she works, I just HAD to have her show me some of her new talents!

The “Dory”: Coconut rum + Curacao + Sprite + pineapple juice = YUM!

Just keep swimming! 😉

SELFIES

What can I say? You guys should know that this happens EVERY time we together…I promise we weren’t even drunk! Lol

DINNER

Aka redemption! 😉

BESTIES!

I’m SO excited I got to see my bestie this weekend! She invited me over to Easter lunch with her family yesterday and it was so much fun! After watching the kids go crazy stumbling all over the yard looking for eggs, we sat down to one HECK of a meal…her mom is one of the best cooks and has been for as long as I remember!

CHEESE!!

Our Easter spread was absolutely delicious…the most tender and juicy roast I’ve EVER had, cheesy squash casserole, cheesy spinach, cheesy macaroni, and a dinner roll to soak it all up! The only thing missing? Deviled eggs!

DEEEEEESERT!

I seriously can’t even remember the last time I had cool whip…I mean strawberry shortcake…omg, I love cool whip…I mean STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!!

PERFECTION

Before the “workweek” started last night, I made sure to soak up the last bits of sun (it got up to 86F (30C) yesterday!!) while I savored each and every ounce of that coffee!

LOVE!

The perfect end to the weekend: A free Redbox rental code emailed to me yesterday! Seriously, if you haven’t seen this movie, you need to rent it right NOW! I laughed, I (almost) cried, I basked in all the girly glory and painted my nails while I watched! 😉

Yeah, so I triiiiiied the whole “one word” thing, but that didn’t really work out, did it?

#sorryimnotsorry

Describe your weekend in…THREE words!

Posted in MIMM | Tagged besties, Easter, Mexican, selfies, Tori, weekend, yoga | 36 Comments

Thinking Out Loud: Failing & Sailing

Posted on April 17, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

I think we all learned our lesson last week…Thursdays and intros do not mix!
So instead of taking up 75 words to ask you how the weather’s been which leads to me salivating over imaginary handfuls of buttered popcorn jelly beans, how about we just get to the thinking…

Out LOUD that is! 😉

1. Ok, so I have to ask…is anyone else stuck in some sort of alternate winter-is-~~coming~~-never-ending universe?? Because after this past weekend of 70F(21C) and 80F(27C) degree days, I had to scrape ICE off my mother-freaking windshield when I left work on Tuesday…what the hell?!

2. I think I need to carry myself to the candy store in the mall to help perk my spirits up a bit…because obviously that is the ONLY way Heather will be enjoying the flavor of deliciously buttered popcorn! #fail

3. And speaking of fail…remember those kiddie cereals I just could NOT resist when I spotted a sale back in January? Well, I Cracked into the C is for Cereal box yesterday, ready for some banana-flavored crunchy goodness….

Except it was more like T is for TASTES LIKE FREAKING A$$!

Banana? Where?! Because all I tasted was stale cardboard ass-ness…assuming boxes had asses, I’m most definitely sure that this is what they would taste like. Good thing it was only a buck fifty since the entire box went in the TRASH!

4. Luckily I cured my craving for banana with a new favorite snack…banana chips! I accidentally grabbed UNsweetened banana chips at the farmer’s market in ATL and upon first taste, thought about tossing them since they tasted like styrofoam, but then Sarah saved the day by posting this recipe…which I had EVERY intention of making…until I started dipping the little bastards in peanut butter and ending up eating the entire two bags in two days! Oops?

5. You know what’s a good meal to get you back on track after you clog up your system with peanut butter coated styrofoam? EGGS! 😀

6. AND white sweet potatoes topped with avocado and peach salsa and and AND a side of roasted broccoli…aka, my NEW FAVORITE DINNER! I seriously ate this two days in a row and if I wasn’t out of sweet potatoes, I’d have gone for three…especially since post pic, all that stuff got mixed together into the most amazing sweet and savory don’t-even-ask-me-what-this-looks-like-on-my-plate goodness! 😉

God, it’s good to have eggs again!

7. Oh and a word on those words I talked about putting together…you know to form a post…about my time on the cleanse…yeah, obviously that didn’t happen this week, but I DO still plan on writing something…especially since a few of you showed some interest. Bear with me!

8. Maybe you’ve noticed that I haven’t been posting as often? Well, I didn’t want to officially “announce” it on the blog, but I’m experimenting a bit with some of the (self-created) stressors in my life. I actually thought about taking this month off from blogging, but I figured if I just scaled back some (3 days a week instead of 4-5), I could find a better balance between life and blogging…and maybe get rid of this damn writer’s block!

9. Which I think may be already working! When I sat down to type up yesterday’s post, my fingers could barely keep up with my mind and I basically had the entire thing written in less than an hour…UNHEARD of for me! I’d like to think I was powered by chia! 😆

10. So I titled this post after I realized I was throwing around my signature sailor language quite a bit. Then I realized I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to share some music…’cause well, you guys know how I like to FUCKING sing!

Truth be told this video kinda makes me dizzy, but it’s really cute!

Big thanks to Amanda for giving me an excuse to throw word vomit all over the blog on a weekly basis! Be sure to head on over to Spoons and check out all the other bits of randomness today!

What fails have you had recently?
Bonus points if you dish out some sailor language…or if that’s not your thing, just
talk to me in Pirate!

Hope ye have a plunderin’ gud weekend, mateys! 😉

Posted in Thinking Out Loud | Tagged avocado, banana chips, blogging, cereal, eggs, music, peanut butter | 37 Comments

Carrot Cake Chia Pudding

Posted on April 16, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Made with chia seeds and TWO servings of vegetables, this gluten-free, vegan treat will have you “hopping” to the kitchen to make again and again!

So you know how I said last week’s Carrot Cake Quinoa was going to be your new favorite breakfast? Well, now I’m going to make it hard for you to choose, because this baby? Yeah, how about I’ve already made it FOUR times?!

I’ll tell you the truth, I’ve always been a bit skeptical of chia pudding. I’m not a HUGE fan of chia seeds in general…how they get stuck in your teeth, to your clothes, in your hair, on the dog…and oh my god, heaven forbid you spill some anywhere near the sink!

#lessonsinsprouting

But then I made Laura’s Berry Chia Pudding on the third day of my cleanse and everything changed…mainly because it kept me full for, are you ready for this? FIVE HOURS! For me, the trick is adding a serving of protein powder to the mix for staying power…otherwise I’m sure I would’ve been hungry in thirty minutes…but that’s just me. Feel free to mix as your heart (or should I say your gut?) desires!

Going off the same idea from the Carrot Cake Quinoa (actually I made this one first so I guess it’s the other way around), I combined creamy pumpkin puree with sweet shredded carrots to give you TWO servings of veggies. How about that to get your morning off to a healthy start?

Carrot Cake Chia Pudding www.kissmybroccoliblog.com.jpg

And just like most of my recipes that I’m constantly sneaking pumpkin into, I promise you can’t taste it…so all you pumpkin haters out there can rest easy…I’m looking at you, Meg…all you taste is the warm spicy flavors of cinnamon and ginger combined with the silky smooth taste of coconut milk.

If you can get your hands on this cream cheese bakery emulsion, I HIGHLY recommend it. I tried the recipe out with a variety of extracts but the combination of coconut and cream cheese was my absolute favorite! I found mine at TJ Maxx (of course), but I’ve also seen them at Walmart…or you can purchase them online!

OR you could always give your pudding a little decadent flair and drizzle on a bit of cream cheese “icing” by mixing cream cheese (regular or vegan) with a bit of coconut milk and stevia…you’re welcome! 😉

Carrot Cake Chia Pudding

by Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: At least 2 hours for chilling,

Keywords: overnight breakfast dessert snack gluten-free high fiber nut-free vegan vegetarian Easter pudding spring

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1/3 cup coconut milk
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1/3 cup shredded carrots
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (or vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon cream cheese bakery emulsion (optional)
1 scoop plant-based protein powder (optional)
3-5 drops liquid vanilla stevia (if not using a sweetened protein powder)
Toppings: dates, raisins, shredded coconut, and/or walnuts

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir well, cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight.
2.When ready to serve, add a bit of water if needed to thin and top with desired toppings (I used chopped dates, coconut, and more chia seeds).

And yeah, maybe you tell I had a hard time narrowing down the pics for this one?? 😉

Disclaimer: Lorann’s Oils doesn’t know WHO the heck I am so of course had nothing to do with this post. I’m just obsessed with their stuff!

Edited to add: Again, I’m linking up with my fellow #strangebutgood foodies for Laura’s Friday party! Be sure to check out all the other link ups this week!

Are you a chia seed fan?

What is your favorite way to use them?