When you don't have it for 3 weeks...

Happy Saturday everyone!!

I hope everyone has had a fabulous week and are just as excited to tackle the next one (and if you're not- pump yourself up so you become crazy positive and annoy absolutely everyone around you! ;)

Now, I'm one of those bloggers who scrolls through her recent pictures and decides on blog posts from there. This can get a bit redundant when you see the seventh photo of roasted veg (on several different occasions) and are thinking to yourself- 'Nope, there is no way I can work that into a post'

Not my pictures- but kind of what it ends up looking like to me anyway!

(If you're interested in posts where I have talked about roasted veg, see here, here, here and here and there's more!!)

So anyway, back to me scrolling through endless pictures of my food.

As I mentioned before recently, upon returning from Africa, I have definitely been craving all the foods that normally make up my diet (ie. VEG!) and so really, it shouldn't have come as a surprise when I came across picture after picture of...

OATS!

You and I both know I go through phases with oats. If I'm in an oats phase I'll eat them every second day. If I'm not, they will hang tight in the pantry for a good few weeks untouched (awesome that they last!)

So after 3 weeks of no oats (apart from the traditional plain soup-like ones they served us occasionally- which I still ate because, hey, I needed my energy!) I guess I'm going oat-of-my-mind with some cravings!

Second day back:

 Lemon blueberry steel cut oats with coconut butter:

 New favourite oats :)

Day after: My second favourite bowl of oats:

Creamy vanilla and cinnamon banana steel cut oats:

 Topped with all the almond butter (and some spread throughout :)

Few days later: Overnight oats!

 Or perhaps some super fresh, delicious and sweet watermelon with a side tub of peanut butter?

 Just kidding:

 Choc protein overnight oats

 With quite a lot of crunchy PB left in the jar. Problem? I don't think so! ;)

And finally this mornings- which I shall be naming Strawberry Shortcake!

Into the pot went 1/2 cup steel cut oats + 1 VERY ripe banana + 4-5 VERY ripe strawberries + sprinkle of chia seeds +fresh vanilla pod seeds (sub in a small dash of vanilla essence) + 1 cup almond milk + 1 cup water- bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until liquid has been absorbed (around 20 mins)

 Sweet, strawberry-y, lusciously swirled with smooth creamy almond butter and filling the house with  a warming smell that can only be likened to strawberry cake baking in the oven.

 There were also butterflies and rainbows and angels singing.

 Too far? Any who, it was delicious and has only made my hankering for oats even stronger!

 Happy days :)

What about you?
What's on your craving/ repeat-practically-daily list at the moment?
Do you find you go through oat phases?
Favourite way to use strawberries in cooking?

I hope you have a lovely rest of your weekend, make the most of it, smile, laugh and eat delicious food! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

It's time for Africa!

Guys, the day has arrived.

And I don't even know where it came from!!!

All of a sudden I was waking up in my bed for the last morning before I leave on a plane to Africa!

To say I'm excited....
would be 1000% correct.
To say I'm nervous would be 10000% correct on top of that.

All in all I'm ready for a shock. A shock from the sheltered perfect life I've lived in my 16 years on this Earth. I'm ready to be introduced to something bigger, more confronting. Real.

So, I guess I'm ready! In that sense however...I still need to pack my bag! (so I guess I'm not quite ready to physically leave, but mentally; let's go!)

Anywho, here's a look at some of the pics I've snapped on my camera from the past few days as this will probably be my last post for around 3 weeks- DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!

Over the week I've been eating all of my favourite foods/ meals:

 Black + blue berry fro you (frozen blackberries and blueberries whazzed up with greek yoghurt) and a PB and banana toasted sandwich.

 Nom!

 Last training day eats:

 Choc protein powder overnight oats with a banana.

 Eaten like this in case you were wondering:

 This crazy awesome carrot from the odd-bunch groceries:

 And lastly, my new favourite bowl of oats on my last morning in Aus:

 Blueberries, steel cut oats, banana, coconut butter, almond milk, vanilla protein powder, chia seeds, lemon rind and juice  and greek yoghurt:

 SO GOOD!

 Super filling, filled with nutrients and extremely delicious!

 I feel like I'll keep this amazing food going for the reast of the day before I leave for the airport!

Now, I seriously need to go pack!

Tell me (I'll read them when I get back ;)
What's your favourite breakfast at the moment?
Are you a pack 2-weeks prior or on the day kind of person?
If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?


 I hope you all have a fabulous day/ week/ 3 weeks and I'll be back with all your lovely faces in 3 weeks! Bye friends!!! :D

Smoothies... and the weird things I put in them

Smoothies are one of my absolute favourite meals. True.

I fill smoothies with all the typical ingredients. False.

Now, I'm not saying that my smoothies are made up of the leftover roast veggies and tofu I had last night, or that I throw in some tomato sauce for added flavour. No, I add in strange ingredients to add to the awesome-ness that is a smoothie.

Source

Adding silken tofu for added creaminess, thickness and filling protein, some frozen avocado for a deliciously ice-cream like texture, soaked oats for a cake batter flavour,spinach and kale for all their benefits and vibrant colours, mint for an mouth-watering
chocolate and mint combo, even steamed and mashed pumpkin for added flavour and... magical pumpkin powers.

 I have no fear when it comes to adding slightly odd foods that you wouldn't consider smoothie worthy, to my smoothies and there are quite a few other strange (but probably amazing) ingredients that I have yet to try!

I hear sweet potato makes an awesome smoothie addition and that quinoa adds great volume and filling protein to the delicious drink.

There was one ingredient I cam across however that left me slightly sceptical.

Frozen zucchini.

See, growing up I'd only thought of zucchini as that disgusting green veggie that was always served to me extremely mushy and cooked to the point of appearing almost grey (it kinda grew on me and now I sometimes overcook my zucchini circles voluntarily!). It was definitely on the list of some of my least favourite vegetables along with cauliflower and mushrooms.

I also didn't realise it was possible to eat raw zucchini until I started blogging myself and immersed myself into the Healthy Living community (where I read numerous blogs showcasing pictures of cut up raw veg including zucchini and cauliflower, as a snack.

So, for a while, I always told myself I should try frozen zucchini in my smoothies, and then never got around to it.

Until yesterday.

The night before, I cut up 1/2  a medium zucchini, popped it in a zip lock bag and chucked it in the freezer overnight.

The next day, I threw the zucchini, a chopped frozen banana, 1/4 frozen avocado, spinach, greek yoghurt, vanilla protein powder, crunchy peanut butter, soaked oats in macadamia milk and some water into a blender and blended until smooth.

The result was a HUGE green smoothie, super thick, super delicious, it was simply SUPER!

There was absolutely no trace of the zucchini (and spinach for that matter) other than the gorgeous bright green colour, and with the delicious flavours of banana, peanut butter and cake-batter like protein powder, this totally hit the spot!

If you're looking for something to add more substance, nutrients and creaminess to your smoothies without sacrificing on the taste- zucchini is the answer!!

Boy was I full after this monster!!

As usual, the thicker the better, I love straining to get the thick smoothie threw the straw- it lasts longer and gives my mouth a workout!!

So double tick for frozen zucchini!

Your turn:
What strange ingredient/s do you add to your smoothies?
Have you ever added frozen zucchini?
thick or thin smoothies? If it requires a spoon to eat, it is perfect for me!

That's it from me today friends, I hope you all have a lovely day, remember to smile and as usual eat something delicious!! Bye for now! :D