WIAW #50!!

So guess what!?!
It's my 50th WIAW!! Can you believe it? (Probably, if you've read all 50 of them... probably, if you haven't :) Well I can't. I still remember my first ever WIAW like it was yesterday...

"Now, I'm not usually part of the What I Ate Wednesday Club,  but on this last particular Wednesday I managed to take a picture of all of the yummy meals I enjoyed on Wednesday"

...Which it most definitely wasn't!! Any who, I guess I kinda liked it as I've done a whole 49 of em' (soon to be 50!)

So, as usual, thanks to the fabulous Peas and Crayons and all the other helpful blogs hosting this awesome link-up. Now onto the food!! 

Tuesday in the form of food:

Breakfast: 7:15am
My day began with a little sleep-in- for the first time in what seems like... my life. When I say sleep-in, I mean 6:30 am. Each to their own.

So after an awesome surge of energy from extra sleep and a quick, easy Purely Twins Workout, I through together a delicious brekky of wholemeal crumpets topped with [lots] of cashew butter with a delicious green berry smoothie (that seemed to lose it's green-ness?)

Into the blender went 1 chopped frozen banana + 1 handful of frozen blackberries + 1 handful kale + 1 handful spinach + 3 spoons greek yoghurt + 1/4 cup almond milk.

Stomach was happy.

Eaten how I always do- edges first, mass amount of nut butter in the middle last!
Snack: 11:00 am
I feel like you can only see so many pots of peas... so I had a pot of peas. Which were needed after a morning of tests!
Lunch: 1:40pm- Starving
For lunch I prepped some roasted potatoes and roasted white sweet potatoes with spinach, capsicum, cucumber and garlic tofu, in the morning:

There are no words to describe cold roasted potatoes. None.

I'm not going to lie. I ate everything else but the white sweet potatoes so I could enjoy all of them at the end. :)

Snack: 4:00 pm

Ahhh, it all looks so yellow and colourful and pretty :) Again, just what I needed to get through an afternoon of studying for more tests the next day!!

A chopped Fuji apple (favourite type of apple)

With a bright yellow mug of soy milk. Soy milk is required so as I am not hangry by the time dinner rolls round.
Dinner: 7:00 pm

Although, you all know I'm still hangry when dinner time rolls round.

Enter buckwheat and quinoa pasta with steamed pumpkin, parsnip, carrot, beetroot and swede, oven roasted cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and eggplant, mixed with spinach, mixed four beans and lentils and then dolloped with hommus and stirred through- YUM!

Then I was full.
And done with studying. TV and zoning out time!

Tonight's dinner is going to be a little different though as I have my first work trial thing at a small local restaurant (slightly nervous!) and so am planning on eating a small something before and after my trial shift. Wish me luck!!

What about you?
What's a sleep-in for you look like?
Cold roasted potato fan?
What was your first-ever job?

That's it from me today folks, make sure you fill your bodies with something nourishing and equally tasty! Check out what everyone else is nom-ing on over at Peas and Crayons. Bye friends! :D

 

Healthy eating= boring???

Healthy eating= boring.
How many times have I heard someone ( *cough* brother, friends, peers at school, people on tv etc.) say this. If I had a burger for every time someone said this.... the world would be forced to eat healthy because there would be a burger shortage! (Hmmm, plan?)

Ok, maybe not ;)

Any who, it bugs me! I mean sure steamed broccoli and plain old celery sticks are considered healthy... but if you think that is all that's considered healthy, boy do I have news for you!!

I find it utterly hilarious when my friends gawk at me when I tell them the basic outline of my diet (vegetarian, no processed sugar, low wheat, no cow's milk- just can't tolerate it, and very little processed foods) and then come out with the typical question of; 'What do you eat then?' The hilarious part of all this is telling them about the last meal I ate and watching their reactions.

' Oh, you know a super rich chocolate-y pudding like creation.'
'That would be some peanut butter banana ice cream.'
'A super yummy veggie pizza.'

I don't know about you, but if I'm going to nourish my body with the best possible foods... as well as eat for the rest of my life- it's going to be tasty!

Without further ado I present to you an insight into the utterly delicious meals (and extremely healthy) meals I enjoy on a daily basis. What even is deprivation?

The smoothie bowl:

I. Love. Smoothie bowls. I reckon they are one of the tastiest ways to get so many nutrients into your body. Fill the smoothie up with fresh/ frozen fruit, greek yoghurt, tons of greens (that you can't even taste!) and you're good to go!

This guy was 1 chopped frozen banana + 1/2 chopped frozen mango + 1 handful of kale + 1 handful spinach + 3 big scoops greek yoghurt + 1/4 cup water- whazzed until smooth!

So much goodness! Then to top it off (literally) some home made granola (super easy and delicious!) to add the fibre, wholegrain goodness and filling healthy fat to the meal!

Simply microwave 1-2 tablespoons nut butter with 1/3 cup milk (I use almond milk) for 30 seconds and then pour on top of 1/2 cup muesli and stir to combine (rubbing may be required) Bake in oven at 180 degrees celsius for 15 mins and voila! Some crispy, mainly doughy granola to top your smoothie off!

Healthy is...

That spoon full of joy!

Lunches can be just as tasty, if not more, especially when you know a few tricks of the trade in the vegetable department!

For example roasting deliciously sweet pumpkin, sweet potato and red onion with a little olive oil and ground cinnamon to create a deeper, richer flavour! (roasted for around 30-45 mins at 180)
Then marrying those flavour together with some cooked pearl barley, spinach, drained chickpeas, chopped fresh coriander and lemon juice:

Don't mind if I do!

Those are just two of the ways healthy meals can be great! I could go on for days... but then I feel like this blog post would be too long. Maybe.

What about you?
Do you ever forget how awesome healthy food can be?
Do your friends ever use that as an excuse to why they don't like healthy food?
Favourite meal that is healthy and tastes out-of-this-world amazing? 

I hope this has given you some inspiration and as usual I will always be popping in with fun new recipes to try when your lacking inspiration in the healthy (but ridiculously tasty) department!

Have a great day and make something that not only makes your bod feel great, but also you entire being :) Bye! :D

Because Eggplants are cool

Eggplants are so underrated... who agrees with me?
I'm the majority of you really hadn't thought too hard about eggplants in the past, however I'm also sure there's a few (ok, a couple) of you who, like me, think eggplants are awesome and should get more recognition for said awesome-ness.

In the non-taste related sector of eggplant magnificence includes fiber (protecting digestive tract), phyto nutrients (aiding in blood circulation and nourish brain- BRAIN FOOD!) and a whole bunch of other vitamins and minerals (iron, calcium etc.) required by the body!

So I have recipes for you! Yup- recipesssss! Highlighting the awesome-ness that is eggplant! :D

Firstly, these awesome grilled eggplant falafels:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup chickpeas/ red kidney beans/ mixed four beans (any cooked beans really)
Spices- kind of up to you- I used 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon+ 1 teaspoon cumin + dash of paprika + dash of ginger
Freshly chopped coriander
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
2 slices of eggplant (1 cm thick)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius, line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Place eggplant and onion in a non-stick frypan and heat on medium heat until cooked through
3. Meanwhile in a small food processor whazz together the beans and spices (might need to add a little water if mixture is quite dry)
4. Add cooked eggplant and onion to mashed beans and spices as well as chopped coriander and mix to combine:

5. Wet hands and form into balls:

6. Bake in oven for 20-30 mins (until golden brown)
7. EAT!

I enjoyed my eggplant falafels topped with some Mexican salsa with a side of steamed brussels sprouts and oven roasted white sweet potato (Y.U.M)
So. Much. Flavour!

And, as usual, we need to take a moment to appreciate the absolute unbelievably awe-inspiring taste of roasted white sweet potatoes. Good.

Happy Days.

But that's not all folks! Oh no!
EGGPLANT PIZZA!
Ever feel like pizza but just don't have the time/ effort to make a base? What do you do? (No you do not go out and buy a pre-made base/ pizza!) You slice up an eggplant, roast it a little and then top it with all the regular pizza guests!

First of all roast your eggplant (about 1 cm slices) for around 15 mins at 180 degrees celsius.

Then spread it with some no-added-salt tomato paste, mixed with dried oregano and basil for pizza flavour!):

Next, top it up! I topped my 'pizza' with capsicum, mushrooms, semi-dried tomatoes and black olives:

Bake it in the oven for around 20-30 mins until veggies on top are cooked to your liking, then nom!

Eaten along side some homemade lentil bread topped with avocado and poached eggs and some roasted broccoli and brussels sprouts!

For all those interested in the bread, I don't have exact measurements but it was something like 1/2 cup lentil flour and a dash of garlic powder mixed with 1 tablespoon greek yoghurt and then water until the dough came together:

Rolled out and grilled on a griddle pan for around a minute either side on high heat:

Ta-da!

Easy-peasy grain free, high protein bread!

What a fabulous dinner!

That eggplant though...

The real star of the show ;)

What about you?
Do you like/ don't like eggplant? I used to hate it in all honesty! I never really experiemnted much with it though!
Favourite eggplant recipe?
Vegetable you think is completely underrated and overlooked?

Bye for now friendly friends! Have a magnificent day, do something you love and eat something yummy!! :D

Chocolate and mint...

Some combinations in life are genius and whatever lucky folk stumbled upon those brilliant combos... I thank you indefinitely.

Examples?
Tomato and basil
Sweet potatoes and nut butter
Peanut butter and banana
Cheese and crackers
Chips and salsa
PB&J
Caramel and salt
Pancakes and maple syrup
Carrots and cheese...

Maybe that's going a little far... even for me ;)

The list goes on and on! To be quite honest I'm a (or sometimes was) a huge fan of all these combos, they just work!

Although one combo I never quite understood is chocolate and mint.

First of all I'm not a big mint fan to begin with. I blame it on those white, chewy, teeth-ripping Minties that come in massive bags that we used to take with us on car trips. I'm not gonna lie- I over did it one time. Now I hate mint. Haven't had a Mintie since.

I really loved the wrappers though :)

So how come when I was mindlessly scrolling through Pinterest and scanned my eyes over a picture of a chocolate-y mint-y smoothie, did I start to want one. To really want one. To neeeed one!

Yesterday, out grocery shopping, saw me do something I had never done. I went over to my beloved fresh herb section.... and did not pick up any fresh basil/ coriander/ rosemary. Nope I picked up some fresh mint leaves.

Under 24 hours later and a few torn up fresh mint leaves were being thrown into my blender! (With a couple other ingredients ;)

Decadent Chocolate Mint Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 chopped frozen banana
1/2 chopped frozen avocado
1 handful kale
1 handful spinach
4-5 fresh, torn mint leaves
3 big spoons greek yoghurt
1 scoop choc protein powder + 1 teaspoon raw cacao powder (or just use around 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder)
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)

Method:
1. Layer the ingredients into your blender so the leaves are weighed down by something. (My layering generally goes; some frozen banana, kale, frozen avocado, spinach, mint leaves, protein powder and cacao powder, yoghurt, more frozen banana and milk)
2. Whaz until smooth!
3. Enjoy!!

On first sip... I was surprised! It was so fresh and had a really nice flavour. It was hard to stop after one sip, but I had to because my coconut truffles were still hardening in the freezer..

Recipe for truffles here.

 Thick, creamy, chcoclate-y, mint-y... it really was a perfect smoothie!

 I think I finally understand the concept of adding mint to chocolate- it makes it so much fresher... meaning you can eat more, as it's less rich! Genius!

 My mum's favourite ice cream flavour is mint chocolate chip ice cream, so I guess I had to accept the combo sooner or later!

What about you?
Favourite food/ flavour combo? Gotta be sweet potato and nut butter for me- it's like a super decadent dessert!

Fan of mint and chocolate?
Mindless pinterest scroller too? It's my biggest procrastination when my mind has had enough of homework! :)

That's it from me this fine Sunday- full from a fabulous... smoothie (yep, good try alliteration)! I hope everyone has a great day and make sure you eat something awesome (chocolate and mint, perhaps?) Bye for now friends! :D