Bowls?

Ok, I have a serious question that I need answered...
Do any of you think food tastes better when it is eaten from a bowl?
I fully believe this and eat the majority of my meals from either a bowl or bowl-like object (cup/mug)
I have no idea why!
I came to this realisation (the fact that I eat most of my food from bowls) when I was scrolling through my meals from the past few days...
Obviously I always eat my oats from bowls/ mugs/ cups:

 Steel cut oats cooked with 1 cup of oat milk + 1 cup water +chia seeds+ lots of cinnamon+ 1 sliced banana, left to sit to cool after ward with a little coconut butter stirred in and then placed in a bowl and topped with more coconut butter:

 Verdict- tasted awesome from a bowl!

 In keeping with the breakfast theme, I seem to also prefer eating my smoothies from bowls, rather than typical glasses too and generally serve them up nice and thick in my pretty purple mug:

There is a smoothie under there I promise! On top is just some nutty granola:

See- there is a smoothie! ;)

Consisting of 1 chopped frozen banana, 1 handful of frozen grapes, 1 big handful of kale, a sprinkle of chia seeds, a couple of scoops of greek yoghurt and a splash of oat milk:

That's my version of cereal and milk:)

A lot of my lunches also feature in some kind of bowl, unquestionably raising the deliciousness of it from good to great :)

A delicious bowl of stir-fried veggies (grated carrot, grated brussels sprouts, broccoli, corn, peas, capsicum, mixed 4-beans, lentils, mushrooms) chucked in a fry pan with garlic and olive oil, with some pre-cooked rice and quinoa mixed in at the end:

Topped off with some salsa and then inhaled :)
Yep, super tasty from a bowl:)

This next meal... I couldn't really serve in anything but a bowl, but I still think it tasted amazing because it was eaten from one:

Yes it was soup- french lentil soup :) I brought it back to life with some peas and corn and spinach :)

I may have also enjoyed it so much because I had a huge hunk of wholemeal spelt bread to go with it (topped with a little hommus:)

My last bowl of deliciousness was last night's dinner:

Rice flour pasta, with steamed veggies, (beetroot, swede, pumpkin, sweet potato) red kidney beans, roasted tomatoes and capsicum all stirred together and topped with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast:

And lovingly eaten by me, because it tasted so gosh darn good- and I'm thanking the bowl :)

What are your thoughts on my theory?
Do you use plates or bowls more?
Can you eat soup without bread? I know I can't!

Bye for now friends! :D

Thinking Out Loud- Sabotage

Hi Guys! It's Thursday, so it's time to start Thinking Out Loud! This week, however is a little less random than  usual (Yes! You all scream:) and has a point and direction, as well as a meaning behind it- cue *gasp* :)

Now don't freak out too much- it's still a post about a topic that should be thought about and I'm doing it out loud! ;)

I was reading an article in the current issue of Healthy Food Guide Australia where it was talking about how someone close to you (think friend/ family member) can be sabotaging your healthy living goals. At first I was like; Huh? However some of the facts presented began to ring true.

Obviously your loved ones are not actively going out of their way to make you unhealthy, but it's  a subconscious thing they may be doing without you or them noticing it.

Yeh, I was confused too. At first...
Let's think about this for a second. How many times have you been out with a friend, said 'no thanks' to something like an ice cream, or extra slice of pizza, only to have them say something like; 'Go on, you're so skinny anyway, have another piece, or order the ice cream with me, we'll start being healthy again after this!'

And how many times have you done this to some one else?

Just kidding- I'm sure we've all done it... this was just an excuse for a pun :)

Now the article says that this is because people find it difficult to see others having success in their weight loss goals, while they are still struggling (or in most cases not really trying to be healthy at all). I partly agree with this, but I think it's more than that. I think people want to feel good about themselves, less guilty for their unhealthy habits and if dragging you down by making you eat something not so good for you, or on your off-limits list, then that's what they'll do.

With you indulging as well, you ease their guilt and make them feel better. Win for them. Loss for you.

So what can you do to get out of this mess pile of marshmallows? Well, indulging just to make the other person feel better helps no one in the long run. They will continue with their unhealthy habits and you will swerve off you're highway to health.

However, don't break up with your best friend or get emancipated from your family. They don't really want to hurt you, or sabotage you. It's simply human nature to want to feel good about yourself. I agree with the magazine in the best way to tackle this issue. Firstly reassess your relationship with food. Removing any nice and naughty labels. A healthy diet should be about happiness and balance. Going out for an ice cream, or indulging in a bit of pizza shouldn't bring you guilt and it shouldn't bring someone else comfort from their guilty pleasures- it should just be you and them enjoying food.

I believe it really is as simple as that- a slight mind shift on both parties. If both people see food as something other than bad guys or good guys, little devils or little angels, yin or yang and right or wrong and start seeing food as food, then the key to success is- as cliche as it is- moderation!

Take the healthy living pyramid. It's a pyramid because the serving sizes of different things get smaller the further up you get- take note that the pyramid doesn't get rid of anything, it just gets smaller revealing that a healthy life includes those sometimes foods.

I think I'm getting slightly off topic though and am starting to go into a post I want to write later on! To sum up my view on others sabotaging your diet, I believe it's out there, it happens and whether the person consciously means to steer you off your healthy goals, health is all about balance and the key to preventing this is to,yes, stick to your goals, maybe even rub off on your friends and family, but don't be afraid to indulge. With everything in moderation you will truly be happy, you will truly be healthy and this idea of your loved ones sabotaging your goals will be simply that- an idea!

What are your thoughts on this topic?
Have you ever felt guilty about eating something and then making someone else eat it too?
Do you indulge every once in a while?

I'm interested to see what others think about this as it is a strange concept!

I hope you all have a great day and don't forget to head on over to Spoons to see what every one else is thinking out loud about!

Bye for now friends! :D

WIAW #26- Sunshine, lollypops and oats!

What-up Wednesday party-goers!
Party? You ask...
Why it's the WIAW party! Yay! New to the party? Head on over to Peas and Crayons, where the link-up all began!
And while at an awesome party, one must eat lots of awesome things.. so onto the eats from Wednesday!
After a lovely lie in (7:00am- that's late for me!) I sprung out of bed and headed straight to the kitchen to make some delicious vanilla protein oats with a side of kiwi/grape fro-yo!
And look- the Summer sun is back for some great morning pics:

The oats were just 1/3 cup rolled oats with a small banana, a dash of cinnamon, a sprinkle of chia seeds and a scoop of vegan vanilla protein powder along with 1 cup of almond milk, left to bubble away in a saucepan until all the liquid was absorbed:

Then, of course, topped with almond butter :)
The fro-yo was just 1 chopped frozen kiwi fruit+ a small handful of frozen grapes +3 big spoons of greek yoghurt, whazzed together in a small food processor until smooth:

Messy spoon shot:

Prettier spoon shot:

'Coz we keep it real on this blog :)
After a tiring, yet extremely fun morning of helping out at Holiday Kids Club, I was ready for lunch! What better fast- to -throw- together lunch, then my classic grilled sammy!

Grilled veggie burger, charred capsicum, mushrooms and eggplant on wholemeal spelt bread, spread with hommus with some spinach and sliced tomato aswell.
Then grilled in a sandwich press:

So yummy and so filling... perfect!

I also noticed my hair going crazy in the shadows as I was taking pics of my lunch, so thought I might snap a pic:

Snack: The usual, the yummy, the fruit with soy milk!

 Mmmm, crispy sweet and acidic granny smith with beautiful black juicy grapes... yep fruit is my candy :)

Dinner:
Dinner was weird because I didn't really know what I felt like, but I knew it was some sort of veggie. So I pretty much found every veggie in the fridge (and pantry) and made something!

 That was a big ol' veggie mash made with steamed pumpkin, swede, potato, purple sweet potato, carrot- all mashed up, mixed with some steamed broccoli, brussels sprouts and peas:

 With a side of organic blue maize tortilla chips and mashed avocado :) Just because.

And that consequently brings us to the end of this visual feast!

What did you eat Wednesday?
Favourite thing to put between two slices of bread?
Favourite quick-to-throw-together meal?

Eager to sticky-beak at everyone elses eats? Of course you are! Peas and Crayons is where it's at!

See ya later for some Thinking out Loud Thursday! :D

Mexican party at my house!

Ok guys, serious question.
Do you like Mexican food?
If you answered yes, continue on to the rest of the post, if you answered no, then we can no longer be friends. JUST KIDDING! If you answered no, you can read on if you want, or wait for tomorrow's WIAW post! Why? Because today's post is Mexican, Mexican, Mexican!

You may have guessed already, but I love Mexican food. Nachos, tacos, burritos, guacamole, salsa, quesadillas, corn bread- I could go on and on. So the other day when I was craving those firey Mexican flavours, I headed to the pantry, pulled oat the canned beans and lentils, Mexican chili powder and tortilla, along with a trip to the fridge for some mushrooms, capsicums, lemon, tomatoes, chili and fresh coriander- I was ready!

Into my fry pan went 1/2 tin of red kidney beans, a few scoops of lentils, 2 chopped mushrooms and a generous shake of Mexican chili powder, along with about 1/2 cup of water. This bubbled away on a medium heat for about 20-30 mins, until all the water was absorbed (you can always add some more)

In the meantime I went about making a fresh crunchy salsa!
I chopped up a little bit of each coloured capsicum, 1/2 a beautifully ripe tomato, 1/4 red chili and 1/4 of a bigger sweeter chili, a small handful of coriander and then squeezed in some lemon juice:

I also chopped up some avocado- because what's a taco without avocado?
Production line:

Finished spicy beans:

Pile it on:

Fold it over:

Take a pretty picture:

And yes, there will be leftovers- makes for a delicious side salad :)

Again, I just want to reiterate how much I love this cuisine, it's right up there with Italian and french as my favourites.

I think I'll do more posts on a single cuisine to show my appreciation for all of them (I really do seem to focus on Mexican and Italian) so don't be afraid to leave a comment asking for a specific type of cuisine you want me to feature- I'll be happy to try anything! (Spanish, Irish, Greek.. bring it on!)

Anyway that's it from me today- like I said, tune in tomorrow for some insight into my eats!

Do you like tacos?
Do you prefer nachos? I think I do, but it's pretty close
Do you like coriander? I hear it's one of the most hated herbs on Earth!

Have a great day! :D