WIAW #74 Food appreciation :)

Hey there awesome ones!
Yep, that's you guys, the awesome ones!!

Now, awesome people, as it is Wednesday, it is share-a-full-day-of-eats day! Or WIAW for those who like shorter, snappier titles ;)

This day is taken from Monday, where I was super pumped and energised to take on the week as it is my last week here in Aus before I fly out to AFRICA for my school trip to Tanzania! Talk about terrifying!!

Anywho, I knew this week was going to be a big one (tests, assignments, work I'm going to miss etc. etc. etc.) So, my eats had to be stellar to keep me going right? Right!

Onto breakfast!


Breakfast: 7:15am
I was up bright and early Monday, because I really wanted to squeeze in a fun yoga practice (Fightmaster yoga!) and it was brilliant- a nice hip opener that left me feeling energised and super flexible for the rest of the day.

 Then I realised I was starving and proceeded into the kitchen for a super big, choc-full-of-stuff green smoothie!

 In the mix was frozen banana + frozen avocado + frozen zucchini+ spinach + kale + soaked oats with chia seeds + greek yoghurt + almond butter + vanilla protein powder + THE SECRET INGREDIENT THAT MADE THIS SMOOTHIE AMAZING- fresh mint leaves! Seriously the freshness and taste was mind boggling!

 This smoothie was also utterly amazing for a whole different reason, but you will have to wait until tomorrow to find out why (guesses are allowed ;)

 And this is a picture of half my smoothie because I'm weird like that. Actually I was kind of intrigued by the way it didn't stick to the glass and sort of remained in one big smoothie clump. :)

Snack: 11:00am
I hate being repeptitive, you know that. But I am, so...
Peas and corn. :)

 Lunch: 1:15pm
Lunch conveniently packed the night before was a big ol' salad filled with all the veg with a super tasty lemon tahini dressing that tied it all together!

 Spinach, carrot, cucumber, celery, capsicum, beetroot, tomato and red kidney beans mixed with 1 teaspoon of tahini mixed up with 2 teaspoons lemon juice:

 It was delicious!

Snack: 4:00pm
After the enormity that was Monday I realised just how much school work I had ahead of me, so to power me through an afternoon starting and completing- yes, I know- a literature assignment I knew I needed sustenance to power through!

 An absolutely perfect pear with crisp, crunchy green grapes and a side mug of soy milk!

 This pear was awesome.

 It was one of those red/ green ones, which I find crunchier and sweeter and so good!

Dinner: 6:45pm
Dinner was the part of the day when I appear to have given up and in all honesty, I kind of had- food creation wise:

 That my friends is a delicious and extremely simple bowl of roast veg, brown rice and lentils.

 It was even a brown rice microwave cup. Yup.

 The veggies were pumpkin, parsnip, swede and potato and taken to a whole new level because they were roasted to golden-brown perfection (and also needed little attention other than chopping, drizzling with oil and popping in an oven).

 This was exactly what I needed.

 Then I needed a little something after, coz I said so. Some brazil nuts and cashews followed. Nom.

And that's what I ate Wednesday Monday! Hungry for more? Check out what everyone else is eating lately at Peas and Crayons!

Tell me:
Have you/ do you ever add fresh mint to your smoothies?
Have you ever had a red/ green pear?
Favourite lazy bowl dinner?

That's it for me friendly friends, but make sure you're back here tomorrow for an- no the- ultimate announcement! Bye for now friends!! :D

Another hectic training day!

Hi friends! I hope we're all have a wonderful day filled with wonderful food (and if not, go and eat something wonderful. NOW. :)

Any who, since the last week I've been pretty sick, interschool training has taken a bit of a back burner as I've stuck to sleeping lighter movements, with less stress to my body. However, I'm a little concerned about losing all the fitness I built up at the grueling training sessions I did go to 2 weeks ago. So as soon as I was back to my regular self- it was back to training (and preparing almost a full day of meals the night before!)

Here's a look at some of the stuff I prepped ahead to ensure I had enough fuel (and delicious fuel) to power me through my day (because, let's face it, I then had to go and do a whole day of school- talk about exhausting!).

Prior to training, I go by how I'm feeling in the morning as to what I'm going to eat. Sometimes I'm not all that hungry so I'll go with some dates or something. Today I was HUNGRY. But knew too much food would not be my wisest move ever.

Greek yoghurt and banana. Nom.

Now imagine me running around a grassed oval with a pained look on my face and legs defying my protesting brain as I fight the urge to yell abuse at our coach. Imagining it? Good. That was training.

After training I'd prepped a very delicious breakfast:

Those bad boys were some pumpkin, almond butter oat bites and they were goooood.
Dry mix: oats+ oat bran + cinnamon + chopped dates: About a cup of this dry mix, to whatever ratio you desire!

+ Around 1/2-3/4 cup steamed and mashed pumpkin:

+ a heaped tablespoon almond butter

Mixy-mix:

Rolly-roll: (I placed mine in a tupperware container lined with baking paper)

And place in the freezer overnight (or at least an hour) and remove for around an hour to defrost the following day/ whenever you are consuming them (I think I eventually had mine around a week later due to my being sick.)

Enjoy your super tasty, on-the-go breakfast delights!

I just wrapped them up in foil in the morning to decrease the size- my container was kinda big ;)

Lunch was almost as good too!
Prepped the night before- some smashed potato and broccoli, mixed with red kidney beans, roast veg falafel, spinach and nutritional yeast:

Super easy- just steam up some potato (even better with skin left on), add some broccoli after a little bit, remove when tender, gently smash down (not too much- still want some texture) and then mix with all the other good stuff!

Filled with all the stuff my tired, sore, recovering body needed!

Then I finally got to come home and prepare something at the time I was actually going to consume it. It was awesome!

You can find my previous training post (filled with make-ahead recipes) here.

What about you:
Do you freeze breakfast foods? What's your favourite make-ahead breakfast meal?
Are you a fan of smashed potatoes? I think I prefer them over mashed potato because they are still squashed, but have texture!
Favourite pre-workout fuel? Do you go with what your body tells you?

I hope you all have a brilliant day, do something you love and eat something delicious!! Bye  for now friends!! :D

Orange Cream Oats!

So, remember how I've been sick? Of course you remember, I couldn't stop winging about it!

Well, as un-fun a time that it was, there was something excellent that resulted from the whole ordeal. Something my ordinary self probably wouldn't have tried. Something that was prompted through my mission to eat all the vitamin C (and other cold remedy foods)

 Filled with orange. Creamy, sweet and tangy. Utterly drool-worthy. Healthy enough for breakfast!

 You're welcome.

That, my friends is a bowl of the most delicious, creamy, lip-smacking, belly loving oats ever to cross my lips. And it was oh-so-easy too!

Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 banana, thinly sliced

1/2 zest orange

2 teaspoons fresh orange juice

1 cup almond milk 

2 tablespoons greek yoghurt (optional)

Method:

Place everything into a saucepan, stir to combine and then stir over medium heat until bubbling. Continue to stir until liquid is absorbed and oats are cooked.

Cool slightly and then stir in some greek yoghurt (optional), transfer to a bowl and top with anything you like (almond butter is divine!!)

 And you know that I had some almond butter on the bottom of my bowl, in the middle of my oats and on top for equal distribution and deliciousness factor.

 There are seriously no words to describe how awesome this bowl of oats tastes, so do yourself a favour and whip up one for yourself, then send me all your love after you swallow that very first blissful bite!

 I mentioned here how I had a new favourite bowl of oats, but I think this one even takes my new lemon blueberry oats for a run for their money!
Maybe I am just developing a new obsession with adding citrus to my oats? Who knows, but it is mighty good!

 The addition of greek yoghurt simply adds to that creamy vibe of the oats, adding a subtle cheese-cakey flavour too, so I would recommend adding it (even dairy free yoghurt if you're vegan).

 Now, excuse me as I wipe my eyes from the happy tears rolling down my cheeks at the site of this goddess.

Nom.

Your turn:
Have you ever/ Are you a fan of adding citrus flavours to your oats?
Ever tried orange oats?
Ever add greek yoghurt for a cheese-cakey flavour? A favourite of mine- particularly chocolate cheesecake oats!

That's it from me today folks, I hope you all have a great day, smile lots (you'll automatically feel better!) and do something you love! Bye for now friends!! :D

Linking up the love!

Hi friendly friends! I hope everyone's having a super fun weekend (and if not, run around in a circle really fast and I promise you you'll end up laughing- even if it is purely the fact that you stacked it...)

Now, with that little piece of wisdom, and a mug of warm delicious apple + cinnamon steel cut oats...

Let's get onto some awesome links from the past week:

Food:

Healthy 1 Minute Blueberry Muffin (Paleo, vegan, gluten free)

Chocolate Fudge Banana Skillet Cake (Vegan and Paleo)

Healthy Spicy Cauliflower Dip

Homemade vegan white chocolate

Blueberry & Lemon Fudge with creamed coconut (4 ingredients)

Fitness:

Experts: Surprisingly Little Running Extends Lifespan

25 Badass Tanks That Will Actually Inspire You To Exercise

3 Min Muffintop Melting Oblique Workout!

Should I Run with a Cold?

When to Eat Before and After a Workout For Best Results

24 Reasons Why You Should Exercise Today

Health/ Good reads:

10 Rules I Broke While Running 53 Marathons In 53 Days

Funny:

24 Problems Literally Only The Queen Would Truly Understand

I hope you found some good reads in there and I'll catch you guys later! Again, have an awesome rest of your weekend (you know what to do ;) Bye for now!! :D

Thinking Out Loud- On being sick

It all happened so suddenly.

One minute I was fine, the next I had a fever, headache, monstrous cough and runny nose.

I had no time to think, no time to act.

The desire to go on was slowly but surely dwindling away.

Ok, I'll snap out of it! But really, if you didn't guess by the title (or the thrilling intro) I'm sick and not happy in the slightest! Since it is Thursday, and on Thursday's we Think Out Loud, I thought I would think out loud about the drastic change in personality I experience when I'm sick.

Thanks as always to Spoons for hosting this link-up each week!

1. My first symptoms of a cold is either a fever or a sore throat. This one started off with a fever and that's when I knew it was going to be brutal.

2. After a day of slightly warmer cheeks and forehead, the cough started to develop. DuUN-DUN-DUN.

3. As soon as I have even the slightest inkling of a cold I will load up on all the vitamin C tablets and Lemsips.

4. I also get a lot more irritable and have a much shorter fuse (both anger wise and emotional wise).

5. The tablets and Lemsips didn't make a dent in anything.

6. Then overnight- BAM- I'm gone. High temp, bad cough, dizzy- the lot!

And that's the story of my cold (Riveting right?)

Anywho, here's a typical look at some of the things I try to get better quicker!

Firstly, I make sure I'm only eating ALL the good stuff. Not skimping on fruit/ veg/ good fats etc. Even though I may be feeling sick/ not wanting to eat ANYTHING, I know my body needs it- it is fighting a mighty battle and needs its fuel!

I also make sure I move the amount that makes me feel good. That generally means some light stretching in the morning and maybe a bit of walking around (in a nutshell- not much!) because once again, the body needs to rest!

Water intake sky rockets.

But really it's just rest, rest, rest that is the most important thing and its taken me a while to come to terms with this (boy do I have some hideous memories of trying to push through a run with a hearty cough and pounding head)

And finally, here's a meal I enjoyed on my first day of feeling like death:

 2 wholemeal crumpets with a creamy orange smoothie (all that good vitamin C!)

 I didn't feel hungry at all, but here's an example of fueling my body for a fight!

 This smoothie was soo good, too! Like a creamy orange-y banana-y slushie thing! In the mix was 1 frozen banana, 1 chopped frozen orange, 2 big handfuls spinach, 3 big scoops greek yoghurt, and some water to get it going!

Smoothies are such an easy and delicious way to consume all the good stuff!!

So that's me on a sick day (/week)!

What about you:
What's your initial response to the first sign of a cold?
Best natural remedies (i.e. favourite cold food :)?
Ever put frozen orange in a smoothie?

Want to know what everyone else is thinking about this lovely Thursday? Head on over to Spoons! That's it from me today guys, have yourself an awesome day!! Bye! :D