America, why is your food not in Australia?

Hidy-ho folks. Today is Thursday and I believe that to be the day of Thinking Out Loud-ness! So for this Thinking Out Loud, I thought I would discuss a very serious and disturbing topic.

It is corrupt.
Unscrupulous.
Unethical.
Treacherous.
Discriminatory.

(*cough* thanks thesaurus)

It is the unfair and corruptness of American food versus Australian food.

Now I'm not talking about apples, oranges, McDonald's or chips.

Nope. Far worse. I'm talking about the veggies. The nut butters. The protein powders. The protein bars. The veggies (these get a second mention because I am truly passionate about this)The awesome stuff!

I know a lot of my readers are American and therefore a lot of my readers are some of the luckiest people ever. Yep, ever.

I've voiced my objections and complaints about the awesome kabocha squash and spaghetti squash before and yes, I am going to do it again!! Australia has been kind to me in the past and I have actually managed to try these two squashes once each. Is that really kindness, or torture? I know how good they are and I know I can't have them.

Everyone take a moment to appreciate the beauty of roasted kabocha

Then there's the nut butter. This one is less of an issue now that Australian grocery stores have finally realised that there are more nuts in the world than peanuts and therefore more nut butters out there than peanut butter but America still holds trumps over Aus on the wide variety and awesome concoctions of nut butters on their shelves.

Protein powder is a big one for me as the only ones in the big supermarkets are all animal based, save one brand- maybe. And America? Animal-based, plant based, unicorn poop based and every single flavour under the sun. That's right Australia- there are other flavours than chocolate and vanilla.

Yes, that is peanut butter flavoured protein powder. I know.

Want a bar in Australia. You will get a chewy, honey and sugar laden muesli bar coated in yoghurt or choc chips. Protein bars are rare and sort of mystifying to the general public as they come in metallic blue covers, appearing more like a wrapped up robot than a food item. I want to try a Larabar- they always look so good on American blogs, heated up so they're all gooey and delicious. Or a Kind bar, because they too look awesome.

Lastly Australia, why can you not have a Wholefoods? I am pretty sure my life would be complete once I stepped inside a Wholefoods supermarket. On that note, why not open more vegetarian/ vegan/ health food restaurants? It seems to me like there is one on every American corner and this would just make my eating-out situation that much better!

Look at all the beautiful pumpkins!!

Ok, so you may have guessed I was being a tad over-dramatic (hehe) but I do sometimes wish I was in America because of their awesome health food industry. Although Australia's got some good stuff too. Vegemtie being one (although many would disagree with me on that one) and Tim Tam's probably being our number one representative, Weet-bix coming in a close second and some other little things (like Cadbury chocolate- ok that's a big one, Milo and Uncle Toby's)

Also, I've started noticing more and more American-type products entering the shelves- more raw food bars, coconut water, sooo many different almond milks... things are getting good people! So really what this all means is, when I'm old enough to be living independently and trying to spend as little on grocery's as possible- all the awesome food stuffs will be there and send me broke. Happy Days.

What about you?
Do you live in America? Do you know how lucky you are?
If you live somewhere else- what's a food from your country that is awesome?
Any other Australian foodies out there who agree with me? Anything I've missed?

That's it for today folks! Again, this is just me Thinking Out Loud with the aid of Amanda from Running with Spoons' awesome link-up! Be sure to check out what everyone else is thinking about! Bye!! :D

WIAW #47 2 HOURS!!

Hello, hello. What a bright and lovely Wednesday (where I am, specifically right now of course)! Anyone else astounded that it's mid-week already? Time flies when your eating food.
Speaking of food (best. segue. ever. So unplanned ;) Hows about a little look into the life of my stomach from Wednesday- following the WIAW procedure!

Thanks as always to Peas and Crayons for hosting this weekly link-up! Now- FOOD!

Breakfast: 7:30am
Today was a big day guys! Big in the sense that it was the morning I completed my longest run. Ever!
...
.....
.......
2 HOURS!!
Yes, I did have to wake up quite a bit earlier than usual and head out before the stars had left for the night, but I was happy and was having fun (and wearing fluoro yellow so I didn't get run over) so it was all good.
What wasn't all good? The hunger I felt upon return.
Remedied by:

 2 toasted wholemeal crumpets, slathered with PB, with a nudie juice whazzed up with 3 big scoops of greek yoghurt to make a super fast smoothie!

 I cannot express how good food tastes after running 18-20k's.

 The smoothie was soooo necessary too! Happy Steph!!

Snack: 10:45am
Until I wasn't happy again. I was hungry. I devoured my pot of peas!

 Why do I even call myself a teenager? Seriously who brings a pot of peas to school? :D

Lunch: 1:00pm
After the previously mentioned run and a horrifically... horrific maths test- lunch was needed!

 And with my super-smart night-before preparation skills I had two delicious crust-less quiches on top of a bed of spinach to devour (and devour I did!)

 2 eggs+ eggplant+ mushrooms+ zucchini+ capsicum+ kale+ garlic+ brown onion+ nutritional yeast+ paprika+ cracked black pepper+ almond milk- cooked in ramekins in oven for 25 mins= deliciousness.
See- that's real maths right there!

Snack: 4:00pm
Starving once again and up to my eyeballs in homework, food was once again needed to keep me going!

 And what better than my perfect snack to get me through? Chopped up pink lady apple with the best grapes ever and a glass of soy milk.

 Thank you nature's candy!!

Dinner: 6:45pm
Ok, I'm a hungry kind of person. So this hunger thing doesn't seem to leave me for very long. Come dinner I was starving. Once again.

Enter big fat bowl of buckwheat pasta+ wilted spinach+ steamed beetroot, pumpkin and parsnip +red kidney beans+ lentils+ chili garlic sauce + nutritional yeast

 All mixed together... quickly photographed and nom-ed!

 :)

To quieten down the hunger for good for the day I had a handful of raw mixed nuts. Yum.

What about you?
Favourite quick throw-together breakfast?
Favourite pasta dish (I really love lemony pasta with crispy oven baked rosemary and veggies)
Do you need a little something after dinner to just complete your day of food?

Thanks again to Peas and Crayons for taking the time out of her day to host this link-up and if you're still hungry for more (get it?) head on over to check out what the other world of foodie bloggers have been nom-ing!

Have a great day! Bye! :D

My new obsession with beans

I have this new obsession.
It's been growing for a while now.
Ever since this:

A bowl of roasted potatoes (white potato and Japanese white sweet potato) with roasted brocoli and brussels sprouts, spinach and....

Spicy cumin, paprika and cinnamon roasted chickpeas.

See, I'd seen people make beans like this before- rub them with spices and then oven bake them until they puffed and turned golden but for some unknown reason (along with never trying avocado or almond butter until 2 years ago) I had never tried this myself.

Boy was I missing out!!

What's a girl to do if she feels a fair bit of FOMO (fear of missing out for all those not in the know ;) She makes up for the time without the amazing-ness of oven roasted spiced beans! :)

These bad boys were similar to the ones above with cumin, cinnamon and parika- an equal sprinkle of each, rubbed onto some drained four beans and lentils and baked in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 15 mins)

Which were then scattered throughout this delicious cous cous and roasted veg bowl. (roasted pumpkin, beetroot, sweet potato, parsnip and swede with cooked cous cous and spinach). To say a smile slowly crept its way onto my face would be an understatement- I practically sighed with the love of these beans.

All hail the beans that have apparently disappeared under the mound of cous cous in this shot:

 Then there was lunch...

 A typical Steph lunch snack-plate!

 Mashed avocado,

 Oven roasted potatoes, (white sweet potato and regular white potato- obsession with potatoes too!)

 Chips! Organic blue maize tortilla chips and brown rice and linseed chips,
And...

Oven roasted chickpeas and lentils! These were my favourite yet, as I sort of went the sweet route, rubbing the drained chickpeas and lentils with ground cinnamon and ground ginger and baking again for 15 mins. Oh my gollygoodness! These were soo good! Sort of like eating a hot cross bun/ gingerbread/ something along those lines and the sort of floury texture of the chickpeas and lentils only added to that sensation!

Then there was many lunches and dinners that followed with beans like this and unfortunately I didn't take pics of them all because I thought you would grow tired of seeing them... no matter how much I was un-tired of eating them!!

 Ooh- popped into my lunch time salad once again!

:)
Now I'm not saying regular old drained/ cooked beans aren't entirely awesome either and that they don't also make awesome veggie patties or chilies etc. And sometimes I just crave a simple meal like the one below:

Roasted pumpkin, parsnip, potato and white sweet potato (yeh, you know I'm obsessed) with spinach and simple-pimple drained chickpeas and lentils:

Because sometimes oven baked spicy beans aren't what I'm feeling.

Except for most of the time- because most of the time I am!! ;)

What about you?
Current food obsession?
Ever tried oven roasted beans?
What spice/s would you put on yours? I simply can't go back from the ginger and cinnamon vibe now!

That's it for today folks! I hope you have a fabulous day and eat something yummy! Bye for now!! :D

An Ode To Food Blogging

Hi friends, Happy Monday! (If I am actually allowed to say that?)

 I thought to mix things up a little bit and maybe, possibly, perhaps, brighten your Monday just a little bit...
I would write a poem!
About food blogging!
My experience with food blogging!
Ok- come on, it'll be fun!! :D
Let's go!

It all started off as a hobby,

To create, enliven and invent,

A journal of recipes, ideas and imaginings,

That seemed to keep me content.

Then the imaginings became the doings,

The inventions- existent and there,

The kitchen a chaotic flurry,

An excitement and passion in the air.

2 parents acknowledged this passion,

And with this came the gift of great influence,

The means to create an exceptional image,

To capture food in  all of it’s brilliance

Yet little did they know the spark this entailed,

As the girl’s mind set about her next plan,

Snapping every breakfast, lunch, dinner and more,

And so the inevitable blog began.

Looking back on the sparks of this fire,

I thank the world for creating this road,

As I navigate my way through my current teenage world,

It’s this blog preventing me to explode.

post
Whilst others stare and wonder at my life;

Enjoying grocery shopping, cooking and nutrition,

Snapping endless pictures of the food I eat,

Thinking I’ve got some kind of medical condition.

post
I smile and I wave, accepting who I am,

Continuing to make oatmeal look good,

And I write and I create and invent and explore,

I’d do nothing else if I could.
 

Ta-da!

Your turn:
Are you a food blogger? What sparked you to become one?
What would you write an ode to? (Go on and write one!)
Do people think your food blogging is kinda strange?

So I hope you all have a great rest of your Monday because then it will be Tuesday... and then Friday (almost!) ;) See ya later! :D

My favourite soup!!

Soup.
The liquid meal invented for all those who simply cannot be bothered chewing and/or have no teeth.
I kid, I kid.
If you are interested the real definition is:
 

A liquid food made by boiling or simmering meat, fish, or vegetables with various added ingredients.

I'm sure you were interested. ;)

Now- soup.

As a kid I loved tomato soup. In fact I think I had a fetish towards tomatoes in general. I mean, I didn't now too many other kids who spread tomato sauce on their pancakes...
Any who- tomato soup was my jam and I loved it- thereby sticking only to tomato soup because it was the best. End of story.

Thankfully I grew up (slightly) and grew out of all things smothered in tomato sauce and even tomato soup! *gasp* Now I find it way too acidic? Astringent? Sour? Something like that... and instead I found a new love. A love that could be boiled and pureed and created to the same consistency of my previously beloved tomato soup. A love that is so sweet, yet not overpowering and so unbelievably creamy (something tomato soup just couldn't seem to manage). Any guesses?

PUMPKIN SOUP!!

And so today I bring to you my old favourite randomly created recipe of pumpkin and parsnip soup (I had a ton of parsnips I had to use up as well) topped off with oven baked spiced beans and a lentil flour flat bread. Oh yes!

Ingredients:
1/4 red/brown onion chopped
1 heaped teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
460g pumpkin + parsnip (whatever ratio you want to go- I pretty much did half and half)
Ground cinnamon (to prefernce- I probably use a lot more than most people- 1/2 teaspoon probably more)
Ground cumin- 1/2 teaspoon
2 cups water
Black pepper
Nutrional yeast (optional)

Spiced beans:
1 x 125g tin mixed four beans (or just 1/3 cup drained chickpeas)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Lentil flour flat bread:
Heaped 1/3 cup lentil flour (can sub in chickpea flour/ any other flour)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 tablespoons water (keep adding if necessary)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celisus. Line a tray with baking paper.
2. Place the chopped onion, minced garlic, grated ginger and olive oil in a heavy based saucepan and heat on medium heat. Continue stirring every so often until the onion turns translucent and the mixture is fragrant (around 10 mins)

3. Meanwhile chop the pumpkin and parsnip (weigh after chopping)

and add to the pot:

4. Stir together the sauteed onion, garlic, ginger and vegetables and add in the spices (cinnamon+ cumin)

5. Cook dry for 1 minute and then add 2 cups of water:

6. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Remove lid once boiling:

7. Boil for around 45 mins. Meanwhile drain your beans, place on the tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle over spices and rub to combine. Bake for 15 mins

8. Also while the soup is cooking- time to make flat bread! Place the flour and some nutritional yeast (optional) in a bowl and with a metal spoon stir as you slowly add the oil and water. Kepp slowly adding water until mixture comes together and forms a ball:

9. Flatten out onto a non-stick pan on medium heat and cook for around a minute on each side- until golden:

10. Once 45 mins has passed the water should have reduced by about half. Bring off the heat and with a stick blender (or even pour into a food processor) process until smooth:

I added in some cracked black pepper at this point

11. Transfer to bowl (or mug :) and topped with crispy oven baked beans:

12. Et voila!
Beautiful creamy pumpkin and parsnip soup topped off with some deliciously spiced beans with a side of lentil flat bread for dipping and dunking. It doesn't get much better than this guys!

What about you?
What was your favourite soup as a kid?
Has it changed now you're older?
Pumpkin soup? Yay/ nay?

That's it from me today folks! I hope you have a lovely and relaxing Sunday and maybe even slurp on some delicious pumpkin soup! Bye friends!! :D