My favourite foods that I eat. Repetitively.

I don't like repetition.
Or so I thought...

I know I don't like change and I don't like changing up a routine I've grown comfortable with, but when it comes to food, I like to mix things up and hate having the same things ever. single. day.

But then I started to notice a few meals that kept popping up on my memory card, over and over again and I realised that I do in fact, eat some of the same foods quite often. At first I thought this was a bad thing, you know like I'm not venturing out of my comfort zone or trying new flavours, but then I came to realise that these are my favourite meals and that's why they're always popping up in the craving section of my brain.

So below are a few of the meals that happen on repeat around these parts and that I've grown so accustomed to that I could probably whip them up asleep (and wouldn't be surprised if I did ;)

Oat balls/ truffles:

You guys have seen these a lot because I post about them a lot, because I like them. A lot. See this post, this post, this post, this post (possibly my favourite), and we'll end it with this post :).

That was only a few of the links... Anywho, they're delicious, super easy to make and awesome as a make-the-night-before-and-not-have-to-think-in-the-morning breakfast! (see here)

You may have also noticed that beautifully deep-purple stuff in the picture above and you may have already guessed, but it's my beloved fro-yo!

I guess it all started back to this post Since then I've been buying all the fruit and freezing it to whaz up with greek yoghurt to make all different flavours of 'frozen yoghurt'.

This guy was 1/2 chopped banana + a handful of frozen blackberries + 3 spoons greek yoghurt, whazzed up in a mini food processor until smooth. So good!

Another breakfast creation that is going no-where in the foreseeable future is my beloved smoothie bowls!

Smoothie Bowls:

Smoothie:

+ home-made granola:

= Happiness:

Again, I just can't seem to get enough of this warm, fudge-y, refreshing, fruity bowl of awesome. And have made many, many, many, many (and many more) smoothie bowls in the past 1-2 years or so.

Onto the savoury stuff (although, this isn't really savoury... ahh well :)

Baked  and stuffed sweet potatoes:
I love me a full baked sweet potato stuffed with delicious-ness and have come to realise that I have at least one every week (generally 2).
My favourite combo of the minute is piling on top some beans, lentils, peas and corns that have been fried up together in a pan with some coconut oil (see this post) :

But I'll stuff em' with nut butter, coconut butter, falafel, salsa, hommus, Mexican beans- whatever I'm craving at the time really!

And no, there are no knives or forks when i have a baked sweet potato boat I can holg onto like a hot dog. Things do get a little messy, I will admit!

Lastly, the ever favourite grilled sandwich that features about once a week. Every week:

The grilled veg sandwich.
Originated here.
Can also be found here, here, here and here.

It's a beats. It fills me up and tastes so, so good!

This guy was on some dark rye bread (love that rye flavour!) spread with hommus, topped with spinach, grilled pumpkin, a curry veggie patty, grilled mushrooms + capsicum + zucchini+ eggplant and the other slice of hommus spread bread:

Toasted in a sandwich press!

There are no words people. Go and make this now.

And if you're anything like me, take pictures of it while you eat it... because you know, that's normal :)

Nom.

What about you?
Do you have favourite meals that you eat on repeat?
Are you a same meals everyday kind of person, or have to change it up?
Are you a fan of rye bread? I just can't get over the flavour :)

I hope you all have a fabulous day, do something you enjoy, give someone  hug aaannd just relax for a few mins, I think we all need to do that sometimes (me especially!) Bye for now friends!! :D

Food- kinda neccessary

I thought for this Thinking Out Loud I would talk about one of the most talked about topics ever. It's a topic with a mixture of emotions. Absolute love, absolute hate, enjoyment, guilt.. etc. etc. It's food, by the way:)
You know I eat food. You know I love food. You know I have passion for good, wholesome food.  But for once, this isn't really about me.. it's about those who hate food, and yes they exist.
Not hating the taste of food (I mean, come on!) but the idea of eating certain foods or eating in general.

Now, I'm a teenage girl who goes to high school. Let's just say that I've come across the craziest, extreme diet ideas and ambitions there are, which just results in frustration (partly from me too, because I pretty much study healthy living as a hobby and I know the damage of these actions)

 Just the other day, a friend of mine told me she was eating healthy now. One of her friends butted in with 'Eating healthy requires you to eat more than celery.' I let this comment pass and instead wanted to share the fun fact about celery being negative calories:

In response she just smiled and said; 'I know.'

There were so many things I wanted to say to her- and every other girl for that matter. I want to tell these girls that food is necessary, especially at our age! We need quite a bit to fuel our daily lives. I want to tell them that the reason they're feeling fatigued, stressed an fuzzy is because of their diet. I want to tell them...

Well really I want to show them the foods I eat- because I'm not ashamed to admit it- I like my food and have a very healthy appetite!
Exhibit A:
My big nacho stacks (full of veggies, fibre and protein)

Exhibit B:
My ultimate veggie sandwiches( filled with mashed avocado, grated carrot and beetroot, spinach, mashed four beans and salsa, sprouts and tomato on home made spelt bread)

Exhibit C:
My ultimate stuffing skills (If it's going to be stuffed, I'll make sure it's stuffed!)
A hot dog (vegan sausages) on a wholemeal spelt roll with a side of healthy baked fries and steamed pumpkin and swede.

A wrap filled with mashed veggies, (sweet potato, pumpkin, parsnip and beetroot) tofu, steamed brussels sprouts, hommus, lentils, wrapped up and grilled in a sandwich press.

A squished and crammed pita pocket with sauteed veggies (tomato, eggplant, mushrooms, capsicum), salsa, avocado and a torn up veggie patty.

Exhitbit D:
A big ol' snack plate:
Organic veggie tortilla chips, quorn mince with taco seasoning, tomatoes and mushrooms, steamed greens and some spelt bread with hommus.

Popcorn, (I simply place raw kernels in a saucepan and heat until all popped (no butter and salt, because I don't think it needs it) sweet potato, guacamole, brown rice and lentils and peas.

If these girls saw the amount of food I eat, they would probably faint. But here's the thing. What I eat is all whole foods. A rare amount is processed. It's full of fibre, plant protein, and veggies along with those things comes essential vitamins and minerals.

My friends look at me and say 'How can you be so skinny and eat so much?' sure that hurts a little bit, but I take it in my stride and say exactly what I said above- they're my friends after all, they'll still love me :)
They look at girls around us and see them eating chips and chocolate and pizzas from the school canteen who are stick thin and sigh into their wholegrain sandwiches or salads.
 I feel like screaming to them that those girls who eat terrible and can still maintain a thin body aren't healthy... but of course at this age, that doesn't seem to matter.
It's a tough life being a teenage girl!
My message in a picture:

Hmm, maybe not.. it's probably this one:

Wow this post got a lot lengthier than I intended- I guess it just shows how passionate I am about this topic.
Feel free to add any thoughts to this, or write your own discussion on it, I'd love to hear the different views out there:)

Thanks Spoons for hosting this link-up where us bloggers who can talk for hours can brain dump every week :)

Bye for now folks! :D

Another dough boy!

Hey guys! You may have noticed that ever since this post I have been a bit obsessed with smoothies lately! I first got the idea of the dough boy smoothie from Kath Eats. Check out her recipe page for heaps of flavour variations!
For today's dough boy, I decided to make a berry version!
Ingredients:
1 chopped frozen banana
1 big handful of mixed frozen berries
1 serving over night oats (see recipe below)
1/2 cup milk (I used oat milk)
optional- some greek yoghurt
Step 1.
Make overnight oats:

 I simply place 1/3-1/2 cup muesli in a bowl with 3/4 cup milk (oat milk) with a sprinkle of chia seeds. Give it a stir and leave it in the fridge overnight- simple pimple.
Step 2.
Place all the ingredients in a blender and whaz until smooth:

Yes this recipe was 2 steps and really simple- just the way I like it- especially on busy school mornings and after a sweaty workout :)

It's perfectly sweet (if a little too much for my tastes) and is super filling and yummy- also a well-balanced meal in smoothie form. Feel free to add spinach/ kale etc. for another nutrient boost!
I also happened to have a pinkish dinner too...

Yes, that is probably the biggest toasted wrap I've ever seen too!
Filled with mashed root veggies, brocolli, brussels sprouts, lentils, kale and chili tofu:

Lastly, did anyone know it was national hot dog day on Saturday? Well, as a die hard foodie myself... I forgot. So I made up for it 364 days early:

Very similar to this one.
Have a great day everyone! :D

Boxing day magic

I don't know what was in the air this Boxing Day morning but whatever it was gave me so much energy and stamina as I ran with a smile on my face for a whole 50 minutes!

I've never run so far, for so long and I felt great- even at the end (although I had to stop as my blisters on my feet (I acquired from burning them on the super hot ground) were rubbing) and felt like I could run for miles! I don't track how far I run as I don't think it's necessary for me at the moment, I just run until I don't feel like running any more and head home- today I didn't want to stop!

I don't know if I'll feel the same way the next time I head out in my bright pink and yellow running gear (favourite colours ;) but right now I'm just in such a good mood that I don't even care.

Running is my happy sport/ activity and it's days like today that remind how great it is for me. Emphasis on the for me part. I know not everyone's a fan of running (I know quite a number of people who are strongly against the entire idea of running) and to that I just want to urge you to find something you absolutely love that makes you feel great and do it often! If it's dancing, or cycling or swimming, or walking the dog, or painting, or playing music, or knitting... whatever it is- if it makes you ridiculously happy/ relaxed/ motivated then do it! It'll be good for your mind and soul!

Wow, this post suddenly got kind of deep...

Back to this morning- and a breakfast perfect for refueling!

A big bowl of vanilla protein powder steel cut oats and a side of blackberry fro-yo (a handful of frozen blackberries + 3 big scoops of greek yoghurt)

Unfortunately my usual protein powder wasn't at the shops when I needed it so instead I decided to try Michelle Bridges plant based vanilla protein powder and even though it tastes a bit different, it's a good different and still makes my oats taste so decadent and dessert-like.

And of course the fro-yo was absolutely delicious too (love the colour! :)

I tried the protein powder first on its own in some rolled oats with a side of berry ice cream in an almost empty jar of peanut butter

On it's own the protein powder had a bit of a strange taste but it did seem to grown on me.

It was quite sweet? But not really sweet... I'm not too sure what it was. It reminded me of a jersey caramel, that's how I can explain it.

The delicious ice cream was 1 frozen banana + a handful of frozen blackberries, whazzed up in a food processor until smooth (stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides)

Like a very delicious dessert when eaten with some peanut butter and warm oats:

Your turn:
Do you ever have days when you just want to run forever?
What's your favourite activity that makes you really happy?
What protein powder do you use? If you use any :)

Bye for now friends- off to go see The Hobbit (family Boxing Day tradition) and then maybe brave the Boxing Day sales! :D Have a great day!