Thinking Out Loud- Problems, proteins and positive stuff!

It's that time of the week again friends!

THURSDAY!!

I kinda like Thursdays. I mean, they're the day before Fridays, which always seems to be buzzing with anticipation over the weekend. So I feel like Thursdays are pretty cool too.

With that little piece of random-ness, I think it's the perfect opportunity to Think Out Loud, Spoons style! So sit back, relax and enjoy the splurge of random thoughts that rattled about in my brain from the last week:

1. Do any of you have this problem:

You're probably going; 'What problem? An empty container of something?'
Yes, I will admit the picture doesn't necessarily reveal the problem I am talking about... So the problem is this; Waking up quite ravenous and going about making breakfast, nibbling at bits and pieces (or spoons and whole bites) of whatever it is you're making until you get to finally eating said breakfast and you're a little full.

I have this on the daily.

 My actual breakfast- that was in fact extremely delicious... but probably would've been more so if I was still hungry ;)

And yes, that is a Minions plate :D

 

Blackberry fro-yo (1/4 banana + handful frozen blackberries + 3 scoops of greek yoghurt- whazzed until smooth)

I have a little spoon of nut butter if I'm scooping some into a smoothie, or scoop out the remainders of the fro-yo in my food processor and then come breakfast, I'm not so much in the mood.

Banana bread truffles

I know the solution is to not eat while cooking, but that just seems illogical, if not impossible ;)

2. On the note of breakfast and delicious things I add to my breakfasts... I finally bought some more vanilla protein powder!!

You may remember when I had an obsession with these oats? And you may have also noticed that they've seemed to disappear.

Well, my friends, that is because protein powder is super-riculously expensive and a girl only has so much money to spend on groceries!

Luckily last week, one of my favourite vegan brand was on sale and I pounced (I had literally been waiting for this sale for a good few months) and now I have vanilla protein powder! Yay! Welcome back vanilla oats!!

3. I think this is one of those things that I like more than I should. Other things along those lines include Master Chef (I literally feel a sense of calm and happiness flood through me when I get ready to watch my favourite show. Ever.

Bubble baths or baths in general are another one of these things and maybe also completing everything I need to get done.

Words to live by!

I just relish in these things more than I probably should ;)

4. And lastly Pizza.
But not really pizza, moreso my inability to take one good picture and move on. Instead I opt for 34532.9 pictures... and then move on.

Don't believe me?

The other day I made a simple pizza...

This is what followed!

I know, that is a tad ridiculous... but if you are a food blogger yourself you're probably impressed at the small number of pics I actually took! Seriously!

5. Aaand I feel like I've waffled on for long enough! I'm also kinda hungry.

With that, I bid you goodbye!

Don't forget to head over to Spoons to see what random-ness everyone else is thinking about on this thriving Thursday (couldn't think of another word :). Have yourself a fabulous day and stay awesome! Bye friends!! :D

WIAW #62 A random selection of foods I call meals

Happy Wednesday Friendly Friends!!

As per usual Wednesday style, a full day of eats is awaiting and my creativity skills required to produce an interesting introduction are dwindling (as is my spare time for this post).

Thanks to Peas and Crayons for the link-up, thanks to all those who help out hosting, and thanks to all you guys for being awesome.

Now, FOOOOD! WIAW style!

Note: today's food can be described in one word: random. But also delicious... so that's the theme of the day!

Breakfast: 7:15 am
Prior to breakfast I had a nice 40 min treadmill run. I wasn't too hungry when I woke up and can generally get through 30-40 min runs without a pre-workout snack, so I just hopped right on!
Come breakfast time though... I was hungry!

2 wholemeal crumpets (placed on my minions plate without the intention of appearing like the minions eyes... but then I noticed and had to take a pic!)

Smothered in crunchy peanut butter (literally smothered)

With a deliciously cold, creamy, dreamy green smoothie made with frozen banana, frozen cantaloupe, spinach, kale, greek yoghurt and water. Perfect! (And super filling breakfast!) Eaten quickly so I could shower and still make it to school on time (early start on Tuesdays)
Snack: 11:05am
I feel extremely repetitive when it comes to snacks and if you read my WIAW posts regualrly you can probably guess this one.
A little pot of frozen peas!
Lunch: 1:40pm
Lunch was prepped the night before and included lots of deliciousness:

Cooked millet with some delicious roasted beans, capsicum, cherry tomatoes and spinach. Quite tasty indeed.

Quite filling too, something I definitely require to power through the day! (I remember the other day I had a really small lunch by accident and couldn't concentrate at all for the rest of the day. Not good!)

Snack: 4:00pm
Post school and pre flute lesson I managed to inhale a delicious fuji apple with a mug of soy milk:

Then I had a chiropactic appointment (my hip was out of place... I could feel it)and was thankful I managed to include this snack because I wouldn't have lasted until dinner!!

Dinner: 6:45pm
I was still pretty hungry for dinner when the night started rolling in and popped a sweet potato in the oven to bake for an hour and then roasted up some eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms for around 30 mins:

Topped the deliciously sweet and roasted potato with coconut butter:

And also 2 poached eggs atop some avocado slices because I just felt like it!

A mish-mash of yummy foods, really :)

 After dinner I rounded out the day with 2 pitted dates for some sweet caramel-y goodness!

And as you can see that was my random selection of foods that inhibited my stomach for the day!

What about you?
Do you have random food days where you just throw different foods onto a plate making about 5 different mini meals in the process?
Do you find that not eating enough during the day leaves you unfocused and acting like an entirely different person? This definitely happens to me!
Favourite way to eat millet? I'm still experimenting, any ideas are appreciated!

Hungry for more? Head on over to Peas and Crayons to see what everyone else has been eating this fine Wednesday? Have a great day everyone and make sure you eat something delicious! Bye! :D

The stigma surrounding coconut

There's a stigma going round.

No, it's not surrounding egg yolks and how they raise your cholesterol, or how full-fat dairy is the devil's creation.

Nope, they've sort of been dealt with.

It's the stigma surrounding coconut. And all it's unbelievably delicious offspring (coconut oil, coconut butter etc.)

I''m not really one to talk though, because as soon as I heard one of my Food teachers talking about how coconut is full of saturated fat making it extremely bad for you, I was fooled into thinking just that.

I wouldn't touch the divine white flesh of the natural fruit. I was convinced I would become super unhealthy if I did.

Then I noticed coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut butter, all things coconut steadily growing in popularity on numerous Healthy Living blogs. My first reaction was; 'This can't be right, coconut is the devil!' Then I thought to myself; 'Oh well, if they want to be unhealthy.' Then when I kept reading about how coconut is not unhealthy and it's fat works differently in the body, I still wouldn't touch it, claiming that, yes it is healthy, but I just won't eat it.

I don't know if it was the negative stigma surrounding the words 'UNSATURATED FAT' or the fact that I still wasn't 100% convinced of the research surrounding coconuts benefits, but I still couldn't bring myself to eat it.

If you've read my blog for quite a while, you would know that this was quite a while back (coconut lover convert!) and now I embrace coconut in all it's forms (when I was running ridiculous distances, coconut water was my saviour for re-hydrating super fast!) but it did take a while.

It took a lot of my own research and more blog reading and in the end, I just tried it.

Coconut butter was my first encounter.

It was love at first bite.

I knew regardless of any new research that came out labeling coconut as the villain or hero, I would continue to eat it, because I knew there was no turning back now. It's like tasting chocolate for the first time. You can never un-taste chocolate.

And now? I've pretty much tried it all. Give me coconut butter, coconut oil (for some reason coconut oil took me the longest to try?) coconut water... you name it, I'll probably love it!

It's got to be one of the hardest things about the health industry; the ever-changing research and findings that can change a population's viewpoint on a single food. It's kind of crazy really!

My advice? Listen to your body above all else. If it makes you feel great and makes your body work as best it can, then I'm gonna guess it's a pretty good food! (My body definitely reacted positively to an introduction of coconut to my diet. Hello healthy hair, skin, nails and energy!)

The majority of meals I make with coconut center around coconut butter in a baked sweet potato:

Or mixed into truffles to set in the freezer: (because coconut has this awesome hardening quality when slightly chilled!)

However I have been known to experiment with coconut butters slightly different properties... like melting then hardening atop an ice-cream:
 
And my newest revelation with coconut oil: Using it to fry up beans, lentils, peas and corn until crispy in a fry pan. So good!

Even bringing them to lunch atop some steamed broccoli and brussels sprouts (maybe a little bit to hide the smell of the steamed greens... but mostly because this lunch was uuh-mazing!

What about you?
Did you buy into the 'unhealthy-ness' that is coconut?
Are you a coconut fan?
Favourite use/ type of coconut product?

That's it from me today folks. I hope you all have a wonderful day and take out some time to do something you truly enjoy! Bye!! :D

The craziest sandiwiches. Ever.

Ever since my diet took a turn for the greater good (ie. not consisting primarily on baked beans, cheeses and pasta) I've become a lot more... creative with my flavour combos and meal ideas.

Like my salad... topped with a berry sauce?

Still trying to figure that one out ;)

I think the most creative I've been with any meal is my sandwiches.
I've made sandwiches with mashed lentils and salad, banana + peanut butter + blueberries, avocado + baked beans + vegan cheese, mashed peas + roasted veg + spinach... the list goes on.

One of my favourite appliances in creating awesome-ly weird sandwiches is my jaffle iron (a very Australian thing if you've never heard of it before) where I put whatever sounds good between two slices of bread, press down and clip in place to seal of the edges (and seal in the good stuff!) and leave for a good few minutes until the outside is crispy and the inside is a pocket of warm goodness!

This, my friends, is a delicious rye bread jaffle encasing hommus, baked beans and avocado (try this combo now!!).

However it all depends on the mood I'm in, as to whether my creative sandwich ways are going to be cooked in a jaffle iron, grilled in a sandwich press, squished together with my hands on fresh bread, or even purposefully using the end crusty bit on the bread as the top of my sandwich because it lends itself to a whole new experience!

Case in point; this home-made spelt bread (crusty top) spread with hommus and topped with torn-up veggie sausages and Mexican salsa, because why not?

Served with some steamed broccoli and brussels sprouts along with a baked sweet potato with almond butter (yum!)

My strange sandwich antics got me a-thinking that I'm most likely not the only one who goes a bit nuts when it comes to placing food inside a deliciously soft and fluffy casing of carb-y goodness, right?

Right!

So upon some research I came across some of the weirdest (not saying it's good or bad!) sandwich creations out there! Ready?

1. The Lasandwich:

2. The Cheeseburger poptart:

3. Grilled macaroni and cheese sandwich:

4. Peanut butter and Doritos sandwich:

5. Banana, Nutella and salt and vinegar chips:

6. Peanut butter, potato chip and pickle sandwich:

7. Honey and cheese:

8. And I believe coming in on top would be this sandwich:

The Krispy Kreme jelly donut chicken sandwich!

Like, seriously?

This makes me feel like my sandwich creations aren't too weird/unusual after all (and trust me, if you are bored and wish to be amused, Googling weird sandwich fillings is quite entertaining... especially when numerous people agree on said weird filling!)

Not sure how many of these I would actually try myself (the chips and PB is enticing me though ;) but maybe you're a little braver than I am and feel a little reckless today. What do you say? A nice honey and cheese sanga for lunch? ;)

Your turn:
What is the strangest sandwich you have ever created? Regardless of how good (or awful) it turned out.

What is the strangest sandwich you actually think tastes amazing?
Would you ever eat a chicken and jam donut sandwich? I guess if it's from Krispy Kreme it's bound to be good?

Well that's it from me today folks, I hope you found this as amusing as I did and are now struck with a creative bug regarding what to fill your next sandwich with (the possibilities are really endless!) Have an absolutely fabulous day! Bye!! :D