French toast

Hello, hello! How have we all been good? Did you have a good brekky? Are you super full with a little smile playing across your lips?
Or is that just me?

When I was looking through some blogs, I came across the athletic avocado and this amazing french toast recipe. I knew I would be making that in the very near future.

Very near future:

I made a few tweaks to the recipe to suit my own tastes and also what I had on hand.
Here is what I did:

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread (I used my home-made wholemeal spelt bread)
1 mashed banana
1 big scoop of nut butter (I used cashew butter)
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk (I used almond milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (plus extra for sprinkling at the end)

Method:
1. Using a rolling pin roll out your bread slices so they are thinner and longer. I placed mine between some paper towel, but it got kind of stuck- so if you have a better way please let me know.
2. Whisk together in a small bowl the egg, milk and cinnamon:

3. Set up your work station: So organised!

 Bread spread with cashew butter and banana:

 Egg mixture at the ready:

 Right next to a pre-heating fry-pan sprayed lightly with oil

4. After spreading on the nut butter then banana, carefully roll up and squish down slightly to seal.
5. Place in egg mixture bowl and turn to coat. Immediately place in frypan and do the same with the other slice of bread:

I would recommend placing the opening down on the poan first to seal it even better. Then keep turning with tongs or a spatual for a few minutes until golden brown all over.
6. Remove from pan and lightly sprinkle with extra cinnamon! Voila!

I served mine with some berry fro-yo (a handful of frozen berries whazzed up with 3 scoops of greek yoghurt:

Now I was never really a fan of french toast, I always thought it tasted kind of funny. That might have been because my parents didn't really eat it or make it when I was younger, so when I went to a friends house for a sleepover and had it for breakfast, my eyes were opened to the yumminess that is french toast. I just haven't made it since then (maybe 4 years ago) but now that has been resolved!

I love that they're roll-ups and not your typical french toast slice of bread.. makes eating them so much more fun!

This was a sad, yet utterly enjoyable last bite..

Also I would say the only way to truly enjoy this is to have an eating companion. Preferably one who stands 30cm away and whines at you.

No, sorry Ash... but don't you remember?

I think french toast will definitely bve making an appearance very soon on this blog again.. maybe a vegan version! Or a pumpkin one... or berry.. or choc coconut.. oh my goodness the possibilites are endless!

Do you like french toast?
Do you like to share food?

Kabocha obsessions

Hi friends! As you all know I go through periods of obsessions.
There was the pesto obsession: (still pretty evident)

 A cookie obsession (cookies for brekky is always a good idea :)

Don't even get me started on my smoothie jars!

So it will probably come as no surprise to you that I have recently found a new obsession.

Hello kabocha!

It was love at first bite when the amazing pumpkin first appeared on my plate in this post  and it has only been a week but here are other dinners I've enjoyed very recently:

 Roasted kabocha, rosemary potatoes, steamed broccoli+ salsa and steamed artichoke with nutritional yeast:

Roasted kabocha, steamed brussels sprouts, roasted carrot and potato, a magnificently ripe tomato and egg something or other and some more tomato on the side:

 I generally pride myself in mixing up my dinners, not having the same thing over and over... well... I guess with my new love of kabocha and sudden crazy veggie cravings, that's all changed this past week. :)

Cold roasted kabocha (tastes even better cold!) and potatoes and beetroot (roasted at lunch for dinner) with a big bed of spinach, topped with more deliciously yummy vine-ripened tomato and a torn up veggie sausage:)

I'm just a little bit curious as to what my next big obsession will be. Anyone want to hazard a guess?
I have no clue but in the meantime I've bought myself a whole new kabocha squash to enjoy this week ;)

What have you been craving/ eating in copious amounts recently?
Do you like kabocha? (don't tell me if you don't! Just kidding :)
Do you sometimes have the same thing over and over again? What is it?

Bye for now! :D

Tastebuds and Two songs

Hello friends from the blog-o-sphere! G'day from down-under, a place known for it's kangaroos, vicious drop-bears and sunny sunny days! Well... it's bucketing down :) Hopefully it'll pass by quickly!
Any-who, back to my post!
When I was a wee little kiddlywink I never much like pasta bolognese, pasta bake or creamy pasta dishes in general (I know right!) My sister would always look at me like I was some kind of alien when everyone else had big plates of some pasta dish all mixed together in a creamy sauce and I had separate plain pasta with some grated cheese :) (I also got that same look when I ate only the insides of my quiche and left the crust. The only way I was forgiven for this was when I gave mine to her.)

Over the past couple of years I believe my taste buds have been maturing and I've been enjoying foods my 10-year-old self would have grimaced at. I've found a new love for olives, avocados and spinach. Even the smell and sight of some meat products (like sea food and prawns) make my mouth water. (No, I'm not thinking of stopping being vegetarian, I'm just stating facts- I've always hated the smell and sight of sea food for as long as I can remember. Until recently)

Ok, where am I going with this? Well, yesterday my matured taste buds decided on what they wanted for lunch. My brain was shocked but didn't argue with the true control center of my body.

Kettle boiled, wholemeal pasta in the pot and whazzing up a creamy pasta sauce... avocado style:

 1/2 an avocado+ 2 scoops of greek yoghurt+ 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast- whazzed!

Mix it all together (with some sauteed mushrooms and capsicum, rinsed 4-beans and steamed peas) and voila:

A creamy-dreamy pasta dish.... what has become of me!

 Oh, wait I know- common sense!

Mmmm.
Now onto the 10-day-you challenge!

 Almost at the end guys! Here are my two songs:

2. First of all- my all time favourite song.....
 You're the voice- by John Farnham
This song just moves me for some reason and I feel really emotional and motivated when listening to it!
1. Shake it off- by Taylor Swift- I know this song has mixed feelings among people but I love it! It makes me just want to get up and shake! I love the video too, how she's not trying to be serious and sexy like a lot of other music videos, she's just being silly and doesn't care :)

This is me when Shake it off comes on:

So if you take anything away from this post it would probably be the fact that as a child I was an alien and since I've grown up I've started dancing like an alien.I'm glad we got all that cleared up :)

Do you like creamy pasta dishes?
Thoughts on Taylor Swift's song Shake it off?
What is your dancing style?

Have a great day everyone! :D

More bang for your buck!

Hello ladies and jellybeans! Happy Sunday!
As you all know I like to purchase and eat food. Wait. Don't we all?
Well, I especially love to buy something yummy and healthy and then make it yummier and healthier!
If I buy a pre-made soup at the supermarket, you can bet that I'll add some of my own steamed veggies, or beans or peas to the pot. Got some wholegrain cheerios- they'll go straight into a mix of muesli with some nut butter for a yummy granola. The same goes for most other pre-made meals and so on.
The other day I wanted to drink a green nudie juice I had bought a few days ago. I also wanted some wholemeal crumpets to go with it. I pictured my planned breakfast and knew that wouldn't fill me up!
So I had to do some creative thinking, which resulted in my original juice shape-shifting into a smoothie!
Presenting my awesome idea:

Place in blender and whaz!
Ta-da:

As you can see by the slight colour variations, I only had a little bit of peanut butter left, so  sotherd the res of the crumpets in cashew butter :)

I was full full full:

Since it's the weekend I've also enjoyed some other yummy eats worthy of sharing that have also been pumped up by mixing ingredients to form 'super' foods. (I don't really believe in super foods in the sense of ancient berries never before heard of. For example I would list eggs as a super food. And nut butter.. :)
But that's a whole other topic for a whole other post!

Instead let's check out yesterday's brekky:

 Baked vanilla protein oats topped with cashew butter with a green smoothie. Yum!

For the oats I simply placed a serving size of rolled oats (my serving size;) into a pot with the required amount of oat milk (look to your packet instructions) and a scoop of organic vegan vanilla protein powder and bublled it away until the milk was absorbed. Then I poured the oats into a small ramekin thing-o and baked in the oven for 20 mins at 180 degrees celsius.

 The smoothie was simply 1 chopped frozen banana, some frozen chopped cantaloupe, a few spoons of greek yoghurt, chia seeds, big handful of spinach and a dash of water.

T'was very tasty indeed!

Then lunch rolled round and the stomach began growling again.

I was in a veggie mood again so into the pan went some veggies:

Grated carrot, zucchini and brussels sprouts, chopped capsicum, tomatoes, mushrooms, broccoli and some frozen peas and corn and garlic and olive oil- sauteed up!

With some instant brown rice thrown in at the end:

 And then a last minute decision of scrambled egg, using this method.

Then topped with some salsa:

Another filling and yummy meal!

Do you usually eat differently on the weekend?

More or less?

Do you enhance any supermarket bought products?

Have a relaxing day! :D

Yes, I really do crave veggies

It's Friday, Friday! It's also the start of 2 weeks of holidays for me! If you can't already tell I'm extremely excited!
I started my lazy, not rushed Friday morning with a big almost empty jar of peanut butter filled with whipped banana cinnamon steel cut oats, with a side of mandarin slices and dates. Why? Because that's what my body really felt like today:)

This is exactly what I wanted to talk about today- cravings that may not make sense, but taste so amazing when fulfilled.

People often look at what I eat and think I'm on a crazy vegetable diet of some kind or that I'm torturing my body by stuffing it with steamed unmentionables (hello brussels sprouts)

I'm not crazy (entirely), I'm definitely not on a diet and I don't find eating brussel sprouts torturous.. I actually enjoy them (have for as long as I can remember)

Why have I all of a sudden started thinking of this? Last night I was craving veggies. Last night I ate a lot of veggies:

Baked sweet potato with coconut butter, some organic blue maize tortilla chips and half a plate of steamed greens (broccoli, brussels sprouts, beans, peas and corn (ok, corns yellow)

It was what I really wanted to eat so it all tasted absolutely amazing- especially the steamed greens.

I  also generally have more thanone craving at a time so the sweet potato and coconut butter satisfied my sweet/rich tooth..

And the tortilla chips satisfied my crunchy/salty tooth..

 On days when I don't eat many veggies, (I'm not gonna lie- these are very few. I just love my veggies so much!) I simply roll with it, because I know it's my body's way of telling me to ease up a bit, or focus on different nutrients it requires.

Some days I crave chocolate:

Overnight oats in an almost empty jar of almond butter with a side of chocolate-banana ice cream

This was my breakfast from a few days ago made by putting a chopped frozen banana, a few spoonfuls of greek yoghurt and some raw cacao into a food processor and whazzing until smooth. (scarping down the sides a few times)

It's what my body was telling me to have and it had never tasted better.

As you all know I also eat a lot of pizza. I won't ever say no to that craving:

You can find some of my favourite pizza recipes here, here and here

In conclusion (I had to write an essay yesterday if you hadn't guessed by my original concluding statement- yes they gave us an essay on the last day of school!) I have cravings, I satisfy them I'm happy. Most importantly I CRAVE veggies! I don't make myself eat them- I make myself cook them (or not) so I can eat them because I want to. Don't give me that look ;)
 

 

Sometimes a bowl/ plate/ glass full of veggies just hits the spot!

Make sure you satisfy your cravings not only for your tummy but your general well being! Happiness comes from listening to your body.

P.s. this is not a post giving you permission to eat that whole bag of chips or tub of ice cream. Satisfy your craving- don't over-do it because you never get to eat that kind of stuff. Moderation in any-thing is key... even my beloved vegetables :)

What are you craving right now?
Veggies. Love em or hate em?
Are you part of the minority loving brussles sprouts?

Catch ya later! :D