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Thinking Out Loud: Look Spring, No Pants!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Thank GOD, it’s THURSDAY!

*Insert witty intro here*

I just want to say, I’m seriously proud of all of you out there who sounded willing to try the Sweet Pea Smoothie from Monday’s post! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say my #strangebutgood-ness is rubbing off on your guys! Muahaha! 😉

Ok, so I’m still going hard on the whole Spotify thing…I’m telling you, I’m seriously in love with this website/app! I’ve been making playlists left and right, my favorite being “Wine O’clock” which is full of chill tunes and basically ANY song by Lana Del Ray.

This one in particular has been on repeat for over a week now…apparently, I just really like singing songs with the word “fuck” in them! 😉

And of course, what good would having a playlist with a name like that be without some “Fancy Pants”? Although I prefer to enjoy my wine SANS pants on most occasions! 😉

PS, I totally bought this wine solely for the label and it actually ended up being pretty damn good! #bam

I also frequently judge books by their covers. I picked up The Orchard by Theresa Weir at the bookstore the other day for a whopping THREE dolares after I found myself being sucked into that beautiful green garden!

So this is the lipstick that I bought last weekend…that took me like FOREVER to find since for some reason my complexion makes most classic red colors look purple. I was so proud of it, I had to take a picture…and then since I’m so used to using chapstick, without thinking, I totally put the cap back on without rolling it back down.

#FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIL

After having some pretty chilly days this week, I was more than excited to see it get up to 64°F (17°C) yesterday, which obviously called for a celebratory trip to the park!

Oh, by the way, happy first day of SPRIIIIIIIIIIING!!! 😀

Where I could continue to amuse passersby with my amazing multitasking abilities. I still don’t see what the big deal is…I mean, I am literally like the clumsiest person I know! I swear, it’s all about the peripheral! 😉

Hello, my name is Heather and I’ve been living off leftovers ALL week long…oh and cheese, lots and lots of cheese, but back to the leftovers…I’ve officially polished off all the “stolen” injera, bulgogi, and curry, but I saved the best (and previously UNpictured) for last…

A bowl of Tom Kha soup that I ordered to-go because it is one of my absolute favvvvvvvvvve-or-rites! I added some spinach and it was DEEEEvine!

Thank you Amanda for giving me a reason to give my brain its weekly break/flush! You guys be sure to check out Spoons for all sorts of randomness today because Thursdays are forrrrr…

Thinking-Out-Loud

What’s on YOUR mind today?

Posted in Randomness, Thinking Out Loud | Tagged books, music, park, Spotify, walking, wine | 24 Comments

#BroccoliTreats Take the World!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Or maybe it was just Nashville and other outlying cities…

But we did it with sass, a sense of adventure, and some classic red smoochers!

This past weekend with one of my best blends, Melissa, was EPIC…as will this post likely be sooooo let’s just skip the intro and get to recappin’! 😉

Melissa arrived in Broccoli Land Friday afternoon. After attacking her with a huge hug, I skipped into the kitchen and presented her with her #broccolitreats swag ~~bag~~ basket! And yes, we totally made up a hashtag for our weekend!

Oh and just FYI, come visit me and you get tons of free shit! 😉

We set out our adventurous weekend right away with a trip to a Momo’s, a local Korean BBQ place…Melissa’s first time trying beef bulgogi! I forgot how much I love this place, but now that I’ve had my memory refreshed, and reminisced last night with a coworker on how often we used to go together, I’m planning another trip soon!

Afterwards, we popped around town a bit before heading over to Beachaven for a little wine tasting…where I realized mine and Melissa’s tastes are basically opposite…all the better to conquer the world though, right? Right!

As for dinner later that night, that was planned even before we settled on the date for her visit. Neither one of us could WAIT to dive headfirst into this platter-o-deliciousness from Mesob, my favorite Ethiopian restaurant I introduced Melissa and Sarah too back in November and we made SURE to order extra injera to sneak home in our purses…ha!

We went with the vegetarian and meat combo again…this time on a “smaller” scale since it was just the two of us. Yet we STILL couldn’t finish this tray that was easily the size of Ethiopia! Cinnamon-spiked lentils, roasted beets with ayib (Ethiopian cottage cheese), and all the other mystery dishes were just as fabulous as they were last time…well, except for the horseradish lentils which were voted OFF the “island” of injera! 😉

The next morning, we were up bright and early and out the door for what I THOUGHT was going to be a fabulously relaxing and zen hot yoga experience…except when we got there, the instructor introduced the class as hot yoga “bootcamp”!

#FAIL!

I swear to you this was the fastest most extreme flow I’ve ever seen/done in my life! By the time savasana came, I’m pretty sure Melissa was about ready to kill me! For the record, as we were talking about the class on the way to the car, another woman heard us and was like, “omg, that was INSANE!” 😯

Back at the house, we got cleaned up, fixed some grub, and then were off for more Nashvillian adventures starting with lessons on how to be a hipster, aka a trip to one of the cities most popular coffeehouses, The Frothy Monkey.

Seriously you guys, is this not the most gorgeous thing EVER?! I’ll confess, ordering an artsy latte has been on my foodie bucket list for a while now. So let’s just pretend, in the sake of happy memory purposes, that that gluten-free chocolate coffee cake in the background didn’t taste like ass!

After that, it was a whirlwind of activities including of course, a visit to Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and the international supermarket, because what do foodies do when they get together other than EAT delicious food? We SHOP for delicious food! 😀

Since the weather on Saturday was abso-FREAKIN-lutely fabulous, we couldn’t NOT stop for some fro-yo amidst all the fun! Let it be known this was my first cup in over SIX months! I was a bit lactose-leery so I only got a small bit of coconut mixed with orange sorbet, but of course I went a ~~little~~ LOT topping crazy!

We ended the day with a stop at another one of my favorite places, Thai Phooket for a little summer roll and curry action!

Shrimp summer rolls served with an amazing WARM peanut sauce!

Mild green curry for me…because I’m a total weenie…and a spicy panang curry for Melissa…because she’s badass like that! 😉

When we finally made it back to the house at the end of the day, we were both BEAT! The rest of the night was spent on the couch, sipping some wine, and talking about anything and everything until it was finally time to hit the hay.

Unfortunately, the next day was “back to reality” as we awoke to a gloomy overcast sky and cold misty rain….basically the exact opposite of what we experienced the day before. It’s hard to believe the weekend went by so quickly! We had SO much fun and it makes me even MORE excited to see her and so many of my other favorite ladies at Blend this summer…less than THREE months to go!

If I were visiting YOU for the weekend, where would we go?

Posted in Randomness, Restaurant Review | Tagged blends, fro-yo, Nashville, shopping, weekend | 38 Comments

Vegan Sweet PEA Smoothie

Posted on March 17, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with something a bit more unusual than green beer! This protein-packed vegan smoothie is FULL of sweet flavor with a touch of mint and you’d never guess it has two servings of vegetables!

Happy St. PEA-trick’s Day?

You guys already know I’m a ~~bit~~ LOT strange…but I swear I’m not completely off my rocker with this one! Actually, this combination has been swimming around in my head for weeks now…ever since the lovely Davida announced she would be hosting a green food linkup for St. Patrick’s Day. Hey, if that girl can post a dish featuring Brussels sprouts AND blueberries together, then I think my little smoothie deserves a second look…and put those eyebrows down, would ya?!

Give PEAS a chance?

This smoothie has got it ALL! It’s got veggies…it’s got fruit…it’s got healthy fats and plant-based proteins…the only thing it hasn’t got? Booze…but hey, feel free to spike it if you’re feeling froggy? 😉 Haha, get it? Frogs are…green? Ok, never mind. Moving ON! But seriously, it IS a holiday after all and who am I, a woman of Irish roots, to deny someone a little midday imbibing? As far as running into your boss at work later? Well…

Let the luck of the Irish be with you!

So basically, this smoothie is the brain child of my Spring Pea Dip and my Vegan Beautifying Beet Smoothie…combining frozen peas with banana for a surprisingly sweet flavor and then adding tofu for extra protein and avocado to bump up the creaminess factor! So basically, this smoothie makes me…a genius!

Let’s face it, we Irish aren’t exactly known for our modesty! 😉

Vegan Sweet Pea Smoothie

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: N/A

Keywords: blender beverage snack breakfast tofu peas bananas St. Patrick’s Day spring

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 medium banana, frozen
1/4-1/2 medium avocado
1 handful fresh spinach
3/4 almond milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon mint extract (or 4-5 fresh leaves)
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (optional)
6-8 drops NuNaturals liquid vanilla stevia*
3-4 ice cubes (optional)
*Use coupon code QQQ940 at iherb.com for 5-10% off your first order!

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Top your Sweet Pea Smoothie with crunchy hemp seeds, granola, or if you really want to get festive, go for the GOLD and break out some bee pollen granules! As for me, I’m always after me some Lucky Charms!