Catching up

Happy Friday friendly friends! Anyone else like Friday? Of course you all like Friday!

 Any-who, I feel like we haven't had a sit down and talk for quite a while now, it's been all the recipes/ link-ups/ all the other stuff! You wanna just talk? About food? Ok let's roll!

Firstly, I did not know you could make your own popcorn just by bying plain popping kernels and putting them in a bowl in the microwave/ in a saucepan (both requiring a lid of some kind) until just a couple months ago.

 I always thought popcorn only existed in those paper bags that had microwave instructions and heaps of oil and salt in them, or already popped at the movies, or in packets at the shops.

 I know, I know... really Steph? Really? So ever since I realised how easy it was to make plain old air popped popcorn without any butter/ oil/ salt, I've made sure I made up for the time I was without the pretty puffed corn.

 Like yesterday's lunch for example!

 This was exactly what I felt like and therefore exactly what kept me full and happy and satisfied (which is the same as full, but I ran out of words ;)

 It featured this delicious oven roasted sweet potato, which was then cut open, fluffed with a fork and then drizzled ( or dolloped..) with almond butter.

 A fresh crunchy salad of spinach, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lentils, red kidney beans and peas.

 And a pink bowl of popcorn. For some reason I always end up making waaaaaay too much popcorn and so this bowl was actually only half of what I popped. Lucky for siblings sitting nearby with similar popcorn fetishes. :)

Oh and I'll just throw in another photo of my baked sweet potato... because it was that good (almond butter and sweet potato has to be one of my favourite combos EVER)

 Moving backwards from lunch to breakfast- y'all know how much I love my smoothie bowls, right?

 Well, recently I've been feeling slightly under the weather (the cold hasn't come yet but I think it's trying to break down the door) so when I saw Amanda's post about her favourite green smoothie and how she uses fresh orange juice as her liquid, I thought that this would be a great addition to my fav green smoothie + help with the on-coming cold  and so subbed it in for the milk.

 Topping my spotty-dot bowl off with some peanut butter granola!

 Simply mix together 1/3 cup rolled oats, a handful of chopped raw nuts and a small handful of cranberries and raisins (chia seeds= optional) then place 1 heaped tablespoon on peanut butter in a small bowl with 1/3 cup milk (I used almond milk) and heat in microwave for 30 mins- stir then add to oats.

 Place in the oven (180 degrees celsius) for 15 mins or until golden :)
Topping off the yum-tacular green smoothie:

 And then devoured....

 The orange juice in the place of milk gave the smoothie so much life and zing! It tasted sort of tropical and fruity and the extra vitamin c is a big tick!

 The peanut butter granola just made the whole thing sparkle.

 With deliciousness :)

 So, whenever I'm feeling a cold coming on, I know what to do! A big bowl of hot chicken soup cold creamy nutty smoothie bowl will do the trick!

 I still think this is the best 'cereal and milk' on the planet ;)

 Great fuel for a day of Christmas present shopping, wrapping and working on my secret project (whilst belting out the odd carol or 25).

So there you go. A little catch up into the food of my life. No wonder I'm in such a good mood! I definitely believe food has the capability to turn a bad day into the best day- it has magical powers you know. :D

What about you?
Do you like Fridays?
Do you pop your own popcorn?
Does food change your mood?

Well I'm off- I hope everyone has a good day, eat something yummy and enjoy yourself. Do something you love. Be with the ones you love. Smile. Catch ya later! :D