When life takes away your time.. and thinking capacity!

Hidy-ho friends! How has your weekend been so far? In light of the fact that yu can't actually communicate verbally to me through your computer to my computer to instantaneously answer that question, I'll let you know how mine's been. Hectic.

Tiring.

Time-eating.

And a lot of smiling at people.

In short, I've been starting up at a new job whilst simultaneously finishing up at my old job (both just casual after school jobs) juggling life in the mix and also trying to keep myself fit, fed and happy. It's been a challenge!

Because what do you do when you have brekky then have some errands to run followed by work for a significant chunk of the middle of the day, followed by a night shift starting at 6? You stuff food in your mouth at random times of the day to try and quell your hunger while you figure out what comes next.

I'm not gonna lie- this has totally mucked up my normal eating times and hunger and probably a whole bunch of other internal things my body has silently suffered through ;) and as a result I do notice that when I have the time to eat, I'm not all that hungry, or in contrast extremely famished!

Take yesterday for example. Brekky at 7:30am, 'lunch' at 3 (STARVING!) not hungry for dinner that had to be eaten at 5:45pm. Yep, very unbalanced and topsy-turvy. That's life though, right?

When I'm in that position that I know I have to eat to fuel me through the next hours to come, yet have no desire to eat, here are some of my go-to meals:

A quick, easy and utterly delicious grilled sandwich on rye bread with grilled capsicum, mushroom, eggplant, fresh spinach and tomato and hommus.

Filled with whole grains, fiber and veg and not too big/filling to make me feel like I'm going to puke (TMI?)

This sandwich was literally a life saver and was filled with so much deliciousness!

And yes, it was eaten on my minions plate. AKA my favourite plate.

Another favourite- A simple roast veg bowl:

Roasted pumpkin, potato, beetroot, swede and parsnip with some baby spinach and mixed four beans.

Simple-pimple, comforting, extremely yummy... what more could you ask for a small, simple, no-fuss dinner?

Of course, you know how I rely on the trusty quick-cook egg when time is tight and my favourite quick meal would be toast with Vegemite and mashed avocado with eggs...

 ...but sometimes a girl needs a change-up and the above meals are just a sample of the random dishes I've thrown together to get me through this quite stressful period in my life (and who would've thunk it's school holidays? ;)

Luckily things should start to calm down after today and I can get back to breathing. And cooking delicious dinners at times I want to eat delicious dinners! Fingers crossed!!

What about you?
Have you/ are you going through a hectic time of life?
Do you deteste eating when you're not hungry as much as me?
Favourite little meals that pack a punch? Nutiritonally and flavour...fully? :)

That's all from me today. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, relax, enjoy any time you have (I know I will!) and as always- eat something delicious!! Bye! :PD

Happy FRY-DAY! ;)

Hello, hello and happy Friday! Because Fridays are always happy, right? There's just something about a Friday that lifts the whole mood of anywhere you go. I don't know, it's like there's a buzz in the air- a buzz of anticipation, a buzz of excitement, of elation... ok it's fairly clear I'm a Friday fan.

But, as the name of this post suggests, I'm also a fry-day fan! In what way you ask?

 An eggy sorta way :)

Eggs are hands down one of my favourite sources of protein.

No debate.

They're awesome.

I feel like they're on they're own in this world, with rarely anything comparable to them in taste, texture, or even functional properties- and this makes them special in my eyes!

I mean, I don't know many foods that are an awesome source of protein that can be used in both savoury or sweet dishes that coagulates almost instantly upon touching a heat source and can be whipped to 10x it's original size, can bind desserts together, or act as a float to absorb all the impurities in a consomme. Act as a dressing for a salad or plate of food merely by cooking for a slightly shorter time, or even cooking it for a little longer and mashing it into a salad! Ok, I'm getting over-exicted over here now. In short, eggs are fabulous, yet people hold onto that ancient (read- about 5 years ago) weariness over the so-called saturated fat and cholesterol raising properties of eggs.

Whilst eggs are in fact high in cholesterol, they don't adversely affect our cholesterol. And that's a fact. I think it's important for people to realise that cholesterol in the diet doesn't 100% guarantee a rise in cholesterol in the blood.

In fact- eggs raise your levels of HDL cholesterol in the blood (the good kind of cholesterol) putting people at a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and lots of other diseases.

And that's not all!

These little treasure boxes of awesome also contain ridiculous amounts of other nutrients (Luetin, zeaxanthin, omega-3's, protein, B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin A, choline, phosphorous, selenium, folate... the list goes on and on!)

 But I have to admit, I mainly like em' for their taste :)

As a kid, a firm, set yolk was the only way I could eat eggs. Fries/ boiled, never scrambled or poached with a firm yolk. I think it was a texture thing. I also didn't eat the whites (no matter how many times my parents told me that was the most nutritious- LIES!) S o I guess you could say, as a kid, I didn't really like eggs?

Now? Now I'm all about the runny yolks and the delicious white casing and all the different ways to eat eggs. You know my favourite's poached though...

I don't even know what it is about poached eggs- but they are just so gosh darn good!

Hello yolk of golden bliss!

And if I want that beautifully rich, golden mess enclosed and managed...

I just throw those poached delights into a wholemeal wrap with roasted veg (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, eggplant and zucchini roasted with olive oil) hommus and spinach and toast it slightly in a sandwich press.

Still gooey and delicious!

And of course, a childhood favourite (the one time I almost accepted completely runny yolks (but not really))

 

Soft boiled eggs with.... 

  

Toast soldiers!!

 

 

 All the toast soldiers (it's the child in me ;)

So yeh, eggs are awesome, and I feel like they deserved a whole post for themselves :)

What about you?
Are you an egg lover?
Favourite way to eat/cook them?
Childhood egg memories? (I never thought of drawing funny faces/ messages on our eggs shells in the carton but I think I will when I have kids! ;)

I hope everyone has an absolutely fabulous Friday fry-day, cook up an egg or two and in the simplest terms- enjoy life. You deserve to. Bye for now friends!! :D

WIAW #64 Tasty, tasty meals :)

Hidy-ho folks and the happiest Wednesday to you all!

List of things making me happy right now:
1. Holidays (break from schooool)
2. Pencils (finally got time to draw again!)
3. Buzzfeed (because those videos are HILARIOUS)
4. Friends (because friends keep me sane)
5. And finally....

FOOD!

I mean you had to see that one coming.

So, on the topic of food, on the day named Wednesday, how about a look into a full day of eats WIAW style? Yes! Thanks as always to the wonderful Peas and Crayons for this awesome weekly link-up! Now- FOOOOOD!

Breakfast: 7:30am
After a sweaty sesh of Purely Twins workouts nice and early (I love getting my blood pumping first thing in the morning) my body required some fuel for the day:

Enter my favourite breakfast sandwich! A peanut butter and banana toasted sandwich on my home-made seedy spelt bread.

With a side of refreshing raspberry fro-yo (handful frozen raspberries + 3 scoops greek yoghurt, whazzed in mini food processor until smooth and creamy) that was placed in the freezer for around 20 mins to harden slightly.

This will never get old. Ever.

Lunch: 12:00pm
I was meeting a friend up at the shops to see the movie Inside Out at 12:30pm, so threw together a quick (yet delicious) lunch:

A tasty salad with spinach, tomato, carrot, avocado, lemon juice and topped with the best veggie sausages.

So much yum.

Snack: 4:00pm 
After the movie (which was AWESOME by the way!) and a little shopping (I may or may not have bought some sport leggins. Just to wear as casual clothes. Because jeans suck. Hey they were on sale!) I made it home around 4-ish and was ready for a little snack:

A fuji apple with a mug of soy milk. Yum!

Dinner: 6:45pm

I got an idea from Amanda (Running with Spoons) to add some coconut to my grains (I can't remember if she used coconut butter/oil/milk but anyway- I wanted coco nutty rice!)

So I boiled up some brown rice, steamed some pumpkin, parsnip, potato, sweet potato and brussels sprouts, threw in some peas, corn and mixed four beans and tossed it all in a heated pan with about a tablespoon of coconut oil to crisp up and brown everything!

Let sizzle for a few mins:

Et voila!

This was sooo tasty guys! The coconut oil added so much flavour and substance and took every single ingredient in that bowl to the next level!

I definitely recommend giving this one a go if your looking for a great taste sensation!

After dinner I just wanted a little something to round out the day, so I heated up a mug of almond milk with cinnamon and sipped on that creamy delight before I was done for the day!

And that's what I ate Wednesday Tuesday!

What about you?
What are some things currently making you happy?
Do you also have an awesome breakfast sandwich creation?
Favourite use for coconut oil?

Hungry for more? Head on over to Peas and Crayons to see what everyone else has been nom-ing on (a great place for food inspiration!!) Have a fabulous day everyone! Bye!! :D

When I want oats... but not hot.

Yesterday morning I woke up (clap on the back Steph) jumped out of bed, checked the time.... and realised that it was only 5:30am.

Of course, any sane person would rug back up in the warmth of their bed and shut their eyes for another blissful hour or so and sometimes I would do just that.

But I was WIDE awake! Like buzzing with energy and there was no way my body was lying back down into the stillness of sleep.

So, naturally, I didn't. Instead I decided to burn off some energy on the treadmill (it was a lovely cold and rainy day yesterday... so I wasn't keen on running outside).

30 minutes later with legs like jelly after a little speed run, I could feel the stomach rumbling! I knew what I wanted; oats. I knew what I didn't want; something hot. I knew what I didn't do last night; prepare cold overnight oats. I knew that wasn't going to stop me.

Ingredients at the ready!

Into a bowl I mashed 3/4 of a banana (ate the other 1/4 because I was hungry)

I then added in a teaspoon of cinnamon and a heaped tablespoon of raw cacao powder:

Next into the bowl of goodies went three big spoons of greek yoghurt and a sprinkling of chia seeds:

Mix-y mix:

This here, my friends, is the ultimate 2-minute whip together chocolate mousse. Take a minute here and taste-test. Actually, maybe don't... one taste test may not be enough!

Seriously though, this mousse is the perfect texture, sweetness and it's chocolate so...
Ok, back to the oats!
Add em' in! (around 2 big handfuls)

Along with 1/4 cup almond milk (or any milk) and stir to combine:

Either leave to thicken in the bowl or tranfer to an almost empty jar of nut butter :)

This was my home-made cashew butter. It was a bit crumbling and because the oats are cold they wouldn't melt the nut butter, so instead I simply added it straight into the mix for even distribution:

Pop into jar:

And leave to sit in the fridge/ freezer (I chose freezer because I wanted mine extra chilly).

 Around 30 minutes later and your oats should be fairly thick and delicious (overnight is definitely preferable ;)

 Chocolate mousse-y goodness

 So I guess you could say these are over-30-min oats instead of over-night. Ahh well, they were tasty perfect fuel for the day!

Nom.

Your turn:
Do you ever wake up full of life way too early in the morning so just decide to get up?
Do you ever make overnight oats in the morning?
Favourite add-ins for overnight oats?

That's all from me this terrific Tuesday. Have yourself a wonderful day, acknowledge all the amazing things that happen (no matter how small) and as always, eat something delicious! Bye for now friends!!