Make-Ahead Freezer Fudge Bites!

Hi there friendly friends and welcome to the post you've been waiting for!!

...Or maybe not so much waiting for, as you didn't really now it existed until now, but a post that you will in fact be very content with as it holds the key to something we all desire so, so much in our lives. Time. Or more importantly, extra time. For things like sleeping. Ya get me?

Oh yes, my friends, today I have for you; A MAKE-AHEAD BREAKFAST!!

WHOOP WHOOP!

Ok, and you may be thinking right now; 'Whoop-di-doo, Steph, there are like a bajillion make-ahead breakfasts out there for me on the inter-webs' and while, technically, yes, I would agree with you; I bet none are as fudge-y, as nut-butter-y good, as more-ishly devilishly dessert-y tasting as this make-ahead breakfast.

Did I mention they are completely vegan, processed-sugar free and filled with the likes of highly nutritious wholegrain oats, natural nut butter, dates and vegan protein powder??

Sigh; heaven truly is a place on Earth.

Anywho! Back on track Steph!

Now, you know- I know you know- that I am currently in a very busy and stressful time in my life as I have been complaining about it non-stop for basically the past... oh, year I suppose! :P. My first set of final exams for year 12 are coming up roaring fast and I am feeling that time simply slipping right through my fingers like the liquid-iest liquid there ever was. I also know, that during periods of stressful time, I need my exercise and sweat sesh's to get me through and keep me grounded and in control and calm.

So what's a girl to do when she has a hectic weak of tests and assignments, a busy schedule of after-school studying and other projects activities and yet this utter desire for a long run on a random Thursday morning??

Why she preps ahead the night before for a super quick, throw-together breakfast, that tastes as decadent and delicious as a rich, fudge-y dessert:

I'd like to present to you my no-bake, freezer Nut Butter Fudge Bites!

With a side of mango/zucchini fro-yo which was whipped up in record time after I'd rushed into the kitchen post-15km, red-faced and panting and simply chucking a handful of frozen mango, frozen zucchini and greek yoghurt into the Vitamin and whizzing until smoothy smooth!

But the fudge bites? Now they took a little extra effort, but making them the night before made brekky come together in literally less than 2 minutes! You're welcome!

And, for your own eating pleasure, here is the recipe to make your very own!

Raw Vegan Freezer Fudge Bites:
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1 heaped tablespoon nut butter of choice (I used crunchy PB :D)
1 scoop natural vegan vanilla protein powder
4 pitted dates
1/2 teaspoon maca powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2-3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)

Method:
1. Place everything in a high-speed blender/ food processor and whaz until smooth and combined (should be slightly sticky)
2. Line a tupperware container with baking paper
3. Roll out spoons of the 'dough' into balls and place in the container
4. Place a lid on the container and pop in the freezer overnight (or at least 3-4 hours)
5. The next morning, remove from the freezer at least an hour before eating so defrost slightly and become a little softer (and more delicious!!)
6. ENJOY! On the go, in the car, walking around, sitting down, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, you name it- they're great!

Green Mango Zucchini Fro-yo: Trust me, you can't taste the zucchini- just an extra boost of veggies to kick-start your day (and more fro-yo!!)

Individual gorgeous fudge bite:

With a nom taken out of it:

and dipped in the green mango fro-yo:

Perfect post-workout fuel, pre-workout energy, pre-tackling-the-day energy, packed with protein and low-gi, high fibre carbs, as well as all those good fats and vital vitamins and minerals-

You really can't go wrong this these beauties and trust me when I say it was love at first bite!

Your turn:
What's your favourite make-ahead brekky for busy mornings?
Fav way to eat nut butter?
Fav thing to eat following a long run? I always crave the sweet stuff (dessert-like foods) don't know why but it just satisfies those post-run cravings like nothing else!!


I hope you all have a truly fantastic day, enjoy every single minute of it, see the good in everything (positivity can get us so far!) and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D

My Typical Morning Routine

Hi there folks!

And welcome back to another blog post by yours truly; the one, the only.... Steph.

Ha. Ha. Haaa.

Can you tell how fried my brain is right now? For some reason I insist on writing up the majority of my posts after a full day of school and study and homework... I can't really blame anyone else!

Well, it is not too fried to write you up a post detailing the essential intricacies that make up a typical school morning for me for your complete and utter enjoyment. Trust me, it is highly riveting.

Ok, all sarcastic tone of voice aside, I do enjoy reading other people's Days In The Life and What I Eat In A Day's so I think it's only fair that I too share my own experiences and life with you too!

So, as mentioned above, I've detailed some of the typical occurrences of a morning before the school day begins and yep, as you can imagine, it starts nice and bright and early.

Although, not so bright, because it is usually pitch black when the 5:15am alarm goes off indicating for me to hop out of bed and pop into my day! (how fun does the sound right!? yeah, truth be told, some days are harder than others- especially in winter!)

5:15am, wake up, frequent the toilet, go downstairs, grab my glass of water and iPad, run back up stairs, back under warm sheets, sip some water, read some blog posts and Pop Sugar Posts and then onto phase 2.

Phase 2 involves getting ready to workout! This entails changing from my warm, cosy pyjamas into something generally ultra bright (although I do tend to mix it up with black shorts or a top to counter the fluorescent pinks/ yellows etc.), deodorising, hair tyer-upping, bed making and then a light jump back down the stairs to wherever it is I'm going to work out that particular morning.

Sometimes it's our home-gym to do some weights (leg day and arm day),

Post sweaty leg sesh ^^

Also quite proud of the definition that's starting to show on my arms! Yay!

occasionally it's the living room where I'll sweat it out with some Blogilates videos and other workout videos and sometimes it's straight out the door (runners put on first of course) to head out and get those legs a pumping with some kind of running fun (beach run, hill sprints, long run or just your standard run, run.)

Legs done after a 16km Sunday long run ^^

Confession time; I like to sweat. Seriously. And I don't mind if I sweat a lot. Yep, my hair needs more frequent washing (it is quite long and thick) and the curls and frizz are the end result, but there's something about sweating that just reveals hard work.

So, yes, I generally sweat for around 40 minutes to an hour most days of the week (Sunday is generally rest day! Yay!) and then jump right into the kitchen to whip up a nice big breakfast to feed those fasted muscles from the night before- definitely ready for food by then!!

Come to me Cherry Cheesecake Oats in leftover home-made almond butter!!

Brekky usually involves a rich carb source, some muscle-building protein and quite often (read; basically every day) healthy fat in the form of nut butter (my life!).

Raw Choc Black Bean Brownie Bites with cherry fro-yo (frozen cherries and greek yoghurt) following intense leg day!

Oats, smoothies, granola, (AKA smoothie bowls!), brekky sandwiches, brownies bites, oat balls, pancakes- yep, usually sweet and yep, usually insanely delicious! Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day by far and I make sure I enjoy it!

I generally have either my choc vegan protein powder or vanilla protein powder after my strength training/ weight-lifintg workouts to help with that muscle repair with quick and easy-to-absorb protein!

Tummy filled, sweat drying, emails, Facebook and Instagram checked and off to shower, put on school uniform, do hair (as nice as physically possible after the torment I just put it through), clean teeth (usually whilst showering; efficient is key people!) and then hop on downstairs, grab my prepared lunch from the night before (no time to make that food in the morning!), blazer on and out the door I head for the rest of my day!

And that's a typical Steph morning; hectic, heart pumping, sweat-inducing, delicious and just the way I like it!! So yes, I am very much a morning person as well as a morning workout-er person and a fasted workout-er person too. It all just makes me feel so energised and productive and ready to tackle my day and so that's what I do currently because it works for me!

Of course, not everyone's a morning person. Some people utterly dread having to wake up in the morning and would much prefer to delay the process for as long as possible, which might mean an afternoon/ night workout, as well as a pretty simple, easy brekky or a pre-prepared brekky to ensure an as-late-as-possible wake up time!

And that's cool too! You do you! We're all made differently and our bodies respond differently to different scenarios, the above being my bodies preferred method of going about my morning.

Oh and I'll add in there; rest days are very, very different; more of a sleep-in; read 6:30 am (look, people, I just don't sleep-in!) blog reading in bed and then a slow saunter into the kitchen to whip up some FOOOD (and no I don't eat less on rest days, rest days is when the changes are really made so my body needs that fuel!!). These rest days definitely keeps me mentally sane and roaring to go for the next week!

What about you:
What does your typical morning look like?
Morning or afternoon/ night exerciser?
Fasted or fuelled?

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you want to see more Day in the Life's because I sure do enjoy writing them; definitely shows me a clear picture of my life allowing me to take a step back and really look at what I'm doing!

Have yourself a fabulous rest of your day, do something you love, look after your body and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

Sunday Rest Day and Links!

Hello there beautiful people and happy Sunday to you all!!

Back to my usual Sunday rest day (was out of that loop for a few weeks there and it just didn't feel right. There's something so good about waking up on a Sunday to a blissful nothing. Ahh.

Anywho, today started off nice and slowly, still waking up at my usual 5:30am but allowing myself to just lie there and sort of drift in and out until around 6:30am when I actually got up.

Then I just slowly sauntered around, made my bed, read some blog posts, sipped some water and eventually gave into my roaring morning hunger (usually suppressed by a workout- not today!!) and made it to the kitchen to whip up a delicious breakfast!

This my friends tasted as good as it looks... and it looks pretty magical you have to agree!

Warm, gooey, sweet blueberry oats layered with nut butter and topped with some sliced bananas.

Simply place 1 cup rolled oats, 1 sliced banana, 1 handful frozen blueberries (or fresh if you're lucky) 1 cup almond milk, 1/4 cup water into a saucepan and bubble away, stirring occasionally until all absorbed (AND VIBRANT PURPLE!!) Pop some nut butter in the bottom of your bowl/ mug, layer in half the oats, another blob of nut butter, oats, nut butter, banana- EAT!

I'm not going to lie, I did have a slight feeling of guilt with this as I was like; 'Steph, this is your rest day; why are you eating like you've just done an intense cardio/ lifting sesh?' But as soon as that thought crossed my mind I instantly knew my body was hungry- calling out for good, nourishing food on this rest day to fuel my tired muscles from the past week and for the week ahead. Sure, I still feel a little off about the oats (madness, right?) but they just tasted so gosh darn good.

I'm saying all this to show you the reality of my life because I think so often we only see perfectly, positive, healthy people in all that they show the world; but in all honesty I do struggle some times with disordered thoughts about eating and in reality; this was probably the perfect amount of food for my body and the fact that I felt full and satisfied afterwards only reinforces that. So yes, this was to show real life; not just perfect life.

And, seriously; that colour though, can we please appreciate that colour!!

Of course, I have been loving on some links lately and today I'm going to share them with you! ENJOY!

Food:

HEALTHY 4 INGREDIENT PUMPKIN FUDGE

VEGAN CHOCOLATE BROWNIE SUNDAE

one bowl greek yogurt pumpkin bread

14 Delicious Ways to Make Crispy Roasted Chickpeas


HEALTHY PLANT-BASED LUNCHES ON THE GO

Soda Battered Eggplant w/ Carrot Chips, Sprout Salad + Fresh Pickle

Fitness:

7 Things Only Fit Girls will Understand

10 Thoughts We've All Had During a Workout

20 Tips That Will Actually Help You Start Running

10 Amazing Quotes About Setting Fitness Goals and Conquering Them

Health:

We Tried To See If The Healthy Snacks From Women’s Magazines Actually Keep You Full

THE BIGGER PICTURE OF HEALTHY EATING- GUEST POST

7 Cereals That Are Legit Good for You, According to Nutritionists

Fun:

This One Question Quiz Will Determine What Toastie You Should Have

Your turn:
Do you ever struggle with your food choices on rest days?
Favourite add-ins for your oats?
Best nut butter out there? Right now I'm currently loving my mixed brazil nut, almond and cashew butter- so so good!


I hope you found some useful links in that list- I sure enjoyed all those reads!! Have yourself a wonderful rest of your weekend, be kind to your body; FEED YOUR BODY! And, as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

Current Loves! :)

Hi there awesome people!

I was going through the mountain of pictures on my phone trying to come up with a post and because it was just a random assortment of (mainly) food and some other things I LOVE, I decided to create a post on the current things I've been loving lately.

Let's go!

Foods:
1. roasted brussels sprouts and broccolini:

 Currently I've been on the roasted greens train; particularly the roasted brussels and broccolini and mate; so should you! It is so gosh darn delicious; roasted brussels sprouts taste very little the same as steamed brussels sprouts; they take on this new, rich, buttery sweet, nutty flavour and are utterly define. And broccolini? So sweet and delicious; extremely good lightly roasted in some extra virgin olive oil too!

 I first had it as a side for home-made pizza on top of a rye flatbread and then a few nights later as a side for some roasted pumpkin and a 'cheese' (lots of hommus!) and tomato toastie:

 (The broccolini in this shot was quickly blanched instead of roasted (i just wanted that truly naturally sweetness and crunch of the fresh broccolini!)

So very delicious!
2. This lunch:

 Friends; try this:
Cold, cooked cheesy pumpkin spaghetti.
Simply cook up some spaghetti (I used high fibre spaghetti), steam some pumpkin. Mash the pumpkin with some hummus, add some frozen peas and corn and spinach to the pot of boiling pasta 2 mins prior to draining- drain. Drain and rinse some mixed four beans- stir all together, place in tupperware; pack for lunch later on!

Seriously.
So good.
4. Persimmons:

The other day when I was out grocery shopping they had the nicest selection of huge, beautifully orange in colour persimmons and so I just had to pick up three (there was no price label on them, which is probably the reason behind me buying three!!) and they did not disappoint!
When you get a perfectly ripe, crisp, sweet persimmon, life is good my friends, life is good!
This picture featured another beautifully ripe, sweet, crisp brown pear alongside the magical persimmon :D.

Fitness:
Feeling like this after a run:

You know friends, I'm always one to keep it real on this blog and I have had quite the plenty of not-so-fabulous runs. Not every run is grand and exciting and energising. Nope, sometimes they suck. Big time. Sometimes your legs are tired, heavy, your breathing shallow, your head focussed way too much on the pain that the run is merely about completing a circuit and returning home (presumably for food :P) rather than the joy that is running.

But when you get that good run- that run where you feel invincible. The one where you run and run and don't even realise how far/long you've been running for because you just could run forever. That's the runs I live for and that keep me coming back again and again (because the bad ones make the good oh so good!).

2. Finally seeing some small gains in the arms department!!

Look, I know it seems a little superficial etc. etc. And trust me that's not what all this strength training is about (though I do appreciate the added bonus of tone-ness) rather i want to feel strong and be strong in my life. But seeing my arms take on muscle definition- it really does put a smile on the dial!

4. Breakfast after morning workouts:
You all know I love to workout in the morning bright and early (that whole thing about the brain not being awake enough to register the insanity of it all... yep, I get that :P) and I also generally like to workout without anything in my belly (too often I feel heavy and sick if I've eaten before a sweaty workout... which leaves me with the condition I like to call; MUST-EAT-BREAKFAST-NOW!!-itis.

 And i don't mind it one bit! As you can see by this pic, after a heavy weight sesh a mug of thick, gooey, rich, chocolatey protein oats with nut butter dolloped throughout is out-of-this-world on its own. Add in the fact that you haven't eaten from the night previous- a little taste of magic in your mouth (especially that very first bite!!)

 I hold it like a trophy, see ^^

 Always be mine!

 Instagramm:
1.

I mean, does this just make perfect sense, or what? I love, love, love this quote because it is so incredibly true and I believe it with all my heart. Food is so incredible and yet so destructive too; so let's use food to its incredible capabilities and experience the unbelievably wonderful benefits!!

2.

This one was just too cute, I had to save it and its just so powerful and important too. This isn't about changing who you are to fit in/ please someone, this is about believing you are so much stronger and as a result the strength within you will naturally shine (you might just be surprised just how strong and capable you are!)

And finally, this one doesn't have a category, so we're going to call this love miscellaneous:

1. This bowl I picked up from Target:

 I am in love. The shape, design, colour... gah- it's so awesome!

 I also got a light pink one with the word: Seconds? Written in silver (same shape) and it's just the perfect size for my big smoothie bowls/ banana nice-cream like this one shown here:

 This was simply 2 frozen bananas, 1 handful frozen zucchini chunks, spinach, kale, choc protein powder, raw cacao powder, crunchy peanut butter, cinnamon and greek yoghurt- NOM!

 I have definitely become a lot more into homewares and food styling props recently and so I'm sure you'll be seeing a few more different bowls/ plates/ cups around the blog in the future (and food just tastes better in a special bowl, am I right?

 Happiness.

Your turn:
What have you been loving lately?
Fav food/ meal of the past week?
Fav workout that just makes you feel amazing??

I hope you enjoyed this post, it was quite fun indeed to write and I hope you also realise all the wonderful things you love in life. Life's pretty great, no? Relax, be kind, love others and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D