A typical day!

Hi friends!

Looking back at yesterday and my food consumption I realised it was a typical- delightfully- delicious -Steph- kind- of -food day! (say that three times fast!)

It involved smoothies, oats, fruit, lots of veggies, sweet potato, popcorn and Mexican flavours- all on my yum-tastic list and all featured in one day!

For once though, when I threw in my frozen fruit, greek yoghurt, chia seeds and oat milk into the blender I didn't chuck in any kale/ spinach... because I just wasn't feeling it (apparently sometimes you can overdo it on the veggies- oops ;)

Any-who I was fine with my awesome-ly pink (and extremely thick) smoothie which involved the super yummy flavours of banana, grape, blackberry and blueberry (all frozen)

To go with it? How about some oat balls? These were made by placing one mega-heaped tablespoon of cashew butter in a small bowl, adding 1/3 cup oat milk and placing in microwave for 30 seconds (watch it doesn't over-flow) stirring slightly and then rubbing into about 1/2-3/4 cup muesli.

Which was then rolled into balls, placed on a lined baking tray and baked in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 15 mins.

This was a very delicious and filling brekky, full of all the good stuff. And these guys:

Were so fudgey and good because of the cashew butter... I was in breakfast heaven!!

I also cannot get over how good this smoothie was too (I love the flavour of grapes and banana combined- especially in ice cream!) and super simple too!

With all my strength from that delicious breakfast I was able to huff and puff and blow my beautiful ginger bread house down:

Ok, I lie. But I was able to take a meat masher to it and give it a good few hits (no tears too!)

Lunch was another typical Steph meal, in that it was pretty much all veg.

Sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli, brussels sprouts and zucchini on top of spianch/ beetroot leaves topped with some chili tofu with a side bowl of air popped popcorn!

No, I don't force myself to eat all those veggies. I choose to! I enjoy chomping my way through a plate like that- especially the sweet potato fries. I also can't express the extent of my love for popcorn!!

Dinner= Mexican fiesta!

Mexican food/ flavours/ culture is probably one of my all time favourites. I love the spices, the fresh flavours and the punchy-ness of typical mexican dishes.
The picture above shows my dinner of a wholemeal pita-pocket filled with a bean, lentil and mushroom 'taco mince' (fried in fry pan with taco seasoning and water) and a fresh zingy salsa of chopped capsicum, cherry tomatoes, avocado, red chili, coriander and lime juice with a bit of hommus on top.

Nom, nom, nom and one more nom because it was that tasty!

Don't you just love those days where everything you eat is just... perfect for what you're feeling in that moment? I do.

Your turn!
What does a typical day look like for you?
Favourite smoothie combo?
Favourite cuisine?

Bye for now friends, have a great day! Smile lots (just 'coz!) :D

Coconut butter tutorial

Hello everyone! How's your day going/starting/ ending? Good? Good.

So a couple of days ago I pre-heated the oven, pierced a sweet potato and was 20 minutes into baking it when I realised I had no coconut butter left to top it with...

That was pretty much my face

What would I top my sweet tater with now??? (yes I know there are  a million and one other things I could have topped that veggie with... but I wanted COCONUT BUTTER!(Wow, I seriously am a whining baby!)

*Head stuck in pantry crying* Suddenly a purple bag catches my eye in the corner of the pantry.

SHREDDED COCONUT!!

I've done a post on this in the past, but I think I took better pics this time, so coming at ya- Home made coconut butter tutorial!
(Little tip- make sure you have quite a bit of spare time, a good food processor, patience and maybe some ear plugs ;)

To begin I placed a bag of organic shredded coconut in a food processor (it doesn't really matter how much, just make sure you have enough- most bags will work) and whazzed! (I just hit my low button and let it go)

After about 3-5 mins it should start to combine and look a bit like bread crumbs:

Scrape down sides and continue to whaz.
After another 5 or so minutes more of the oils will come out of the coconut and start to clump together:

Again scrape down the sides and then keep on going (I had to scrape down the sides a lot so don't worry if you do too!) The coconut will continue to clump together and then all of a sudden get quite liquid-y. even when it looks done, blitz for a few more minutes just so it's not too gritty.

To pass the time you could take some beautiful pictures of your surroundings...

Once whazzed beyond recognition, pour into a sterilised jar and keep it fridge/ pantry (it'll set in fridge, but will last longer- just scrape some out and melt on hot things/ in microwave)

There we go! Coconut butter for my sweet potato... which was cooked when I finally finished making it! :)

Kind of looks like milk. That would be a nice glass of milk!

Dinner was saved!

Sweet potato was happy! Steph was extremely happy!

The stuff on the side was pretty good too. ;) Roasted capsicum and tomato, steamed broccoli, peas and corn and chili tofu:

Cheaper and just as yummy as store bought coconut butter- why not make your own?

Talk to me:
Do you like coconut butter?
Have you ever tried coconut butter?
Have you ever made coconut butter? Tips?

Bye for now folks! Have a great Sunday! :D

These are a few of my favourite things!

Hidy-ho folks!
If I were to create a list my favourite foods in no particular order it would be:

• Pizza
•  Bananas
• Nut butter
• Chocolate
• Vegetables
• Pesto
• Green smoothies

I think I love them all the equally so I couldn't put a number 1,2,3 etc.

It just so happened that last night and this morning I managed to incorporate every.single.one of those favourite foods into my meals! It was good :)

For dinner last night I made a pumpkin base pizza topped with vegan cheese, steamed veggies (beetroot, sweet potato and parsnip) sliced tomato, mushrooms, and some chopped olives and marinated artichoke hearts along with some kale pesto:

Baked in the oven for about 25 mins (180 degrees celsius)

I must say, I love my thick chewy pumpkin-y pizza base so much that I rarely ever make any other kind of base for my pizzas!

I especially love topping it off with lots of veggies...

And most of all- love eating it!!

Nom!

You betcha I ate that whole pie!

Breakfast?
Breakfast featured some chocolate almond butter truffles and a green mango smoothie:

The truffles were made with 1 large tablespoon of almond butter mixed with 1/3 cup almond milk, heated in the microwave for 30 seconds (watch it doesn't spill over!) and stirred slightly- then mixed in with 1/2 cup muesli + 1 tablespoon raw cacao + 1 teaspoon cinnamon + sprinkle of chia seeds and then rolled into balls and placed in the freezer for at least 30 mins.

The green smoothie was 1 chopped frozen banana + 1 small chopped frozen mango + 2 big handfuls of kale + 3 big scoops of greek yoghurt (optional if vegan) + 1/2 cup water, whazzed together in a blender until smooth:

Breakfast of champions! And again- I ate it all!

These little bad boys were so tasty and the almond butter just made them so fudgey and delicious. Make. These. Now!

So, all of my favourite foods in the space of 24 hours? Mmkay!

What about you?
What are your favourite foods?
How often do you eat them? I do tend to eat mine quite regularly ;)

Favourite pizza toppings?

Have a great Saturday everyone! Bye for now! :D

Boxing day magic

I don't know what was in the air this Boxing Day morning but whatever it was gave me so much energy and stamina as I ran with a smile on my face for a whole 50 minutes!

I've never run so far, for so long and I felt great- even at the end (although I had to stop as my blisters on my feet (I acquired from burning them on the super hot ground) were rubbing) and felt like I could run for miles! I don't track how far I run as I don't think it's necessary for me at the moment, I just run until I don't feel like running any more and head home- today I didn't want to stop!

I don't know if I'll feel the same way the next time I head out in my bright pink and yellow running gear (favourite colours ;) but right now I'm just in such a good mood that I don't even care.

Running is my happy sport/ activity and it's days like today that remind how great it is for me. Emphasis on the for me part. I know not everyone's a fan of running (I know quite a number of people who are strongly against the entire idea of running) and to that I just want to urge you to find something you absolutely love that makes you feel great and do it often! If it's dancing, or cycling or swimming, or walking the dog, or painting, or playing music, or knitting... whatever it is- if it makes you ridiculously happy/ relaxed/ motivated then do it! It'll be good for your mind and soul!

Wow, this post suddenly got kind of deep...

Back to this morning- and a breakfast perfect for refueling!

A big bowl of vanilla protein powder steel cut oats and a side of blackberry fro-yo (a handful of frozen blackberries + 3 big scoops of greek yoghurt)

Unfortunately my usual protein powder wasn't at the shops when I needed it so instead I decided to try Michelle Bridges plant based vanilla protein powder and even though it tastes a bit different, it's a good different and still makes my oats taste so decadent and dessert-like.

And of course the fro-yo was absolutely delicious too (love the colour! :)

I tried the protein powder first on its own in some rolled oats with a side of berry ice cream in an almost empty jar of peanut butter

On it's own the protein powder had a bit of a strange taste but it did seem to grown on me.

It was quite sweet? But not really sweet... I'm not too sure what it was. It reminded me of a jersey caramel, that's how I can explain it.

The delicious ice cream was 1 frozen banana + a handful of frozen blackberries, whazzed up in a food processor until smooth (stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides)

Like a very delicious dessert when eaten with some peanut butter and warm oats:

Your turn:
Do you ever have days when you just want to run forever?
What's your favourite activity that makes you really happy?
What protein powder do you use? If you use any :)

Bye for now friends- off to go see The Hobbit (family Boxing Day tradition) and then maybe brave the Boxing Day sales! :D Have a great day!