Getting Oat-rageously creative!

Hidy-ho friendly friends.
I like oats, you probably like oats (unless you don't) so today you are going to enjoy a full post about...

OATS!!

YES!!!

Ok, ok I know oats may not be the most exciting thing in the entire universe but before you go jumping to such oat-rageous claims, hear me oat! (Ok, I'll stop now ;)

I love being creative with the different flavours I can add to my oats to keep them new and exciting (because let's keep it real here, I eat oats A LOT) and of recently I have come up with some rather delicious creations!

So read on below to find two of my (if I do say so myself) rather fabulous oat experiments that you just might like to try out yourself!

The first concoction to enter my bowl:

 Creamy lemon cheesecake oats:

Topped with a pool of melted coconut butter! Nom!

I've added citrus to my oats before (see orange poppy seed oats) so I already knew adding lemon to a creamy bowl of whipped banana oatmeal would be brilliant:

So into a saucepan went 1/2 cup steel cut oats with 1 chopped banana, sprinkling of chia seeds, zest and juice of half a lemon, 1 cup almond milk, 1 cup water- bubbled away on medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed (may need to add more). Then leave to cool slightly before adding in some greek yoghurt (optional) and transfer to a bowl (lined with coconut butter if you want the ultimate delicious experience) and top with more coconut butter!

Lemon-y, cheesecake-y, coconutt-y... this was a pretty good way to start off my day!

Big spoons is the only way to go:

I'll just let the pictures do the talking :)

My next oat success came in the form of chocolate... and orange.

Now, I was never really a big fan of the whole choc-orange combo.
My entire childhood was spent avoiding the deadly choc-orange chocolates in those mixed variety chocolate boxes people love to give as presents.
And then I made Mindy's tart for the first time and was converted. (If you're not a fan of chocolate and orange- MAKE THIS NOW- it is so good!

So these oats feature that traditional flavour of citrus and chocolate and boy-ohboy does it do it proud!

To make this guy I simply placed 1/2 cup steel cut oats in a saucepan with 1 chopped banana, sprinkle of chia seeds, 1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup almond milk, 1 cup water, bubbled away until the liquid was absorbed (stirring every so often for about 15 minutes), before folding in 1/2 of an orange's zest. Then I folded in some greek yoghurt (again, optional) transferred to a mug (in thirds, as there was nut butter scattered throughout!) and topped with some cashew butter:

And once again, a big spoon of oats is utterly essential for full enjoyment of this flavour-packed delight!

There you have it! Two very different bowls of oats, filled with fresh, vibrant flavours to please anyone's palate and jam-packed full of wholegrains, vitamins, minerals, fruit, protein- it just doesn't get much better than a bowl full of dessert-flavoured oatmeal for breakfast!

Your turn:
Lemon cheesecake or choc-orange cheesecake? I don't think I can decide between them! It all depends on what I'm feeling like on the day!
Favourite oat cration you've ever made?
Typical ingredients you always add to your oats? Mine would probably be a thinly sliced banana. Nothing can beat that delicious creaminess with bonus sweetness!


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

A quick stop-in to share some links!

Hidy ho friendly friends!

Today was not one of those relaxing stress-free Sundays that I always drag on about.

Oh no.

Today was a day filled with hectic work, work work (of both the actual work and school variety!)

So, without further a-do (and without a proper intro! ;) here are some lovely links I've picked up from the week that was...

Food:

I Banana Bread Nutella Muffins

Red Curry Basmati Rice and Tempeh Stuffed Acorn Squash

Vegan Pecan Pumpkin Shake – No Ice Cream Needed!

Brussels Sprouts 3 Ways: Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts | Vegan, GF

Crispy Avocado Fingers

Naughty Vegan Food Recipes!

Protein pumpkin fudge oreo cake. Low sugar. Egg and grain free 

Fitness:

The Balance Between Resting, Running, and Eating

How to Work with Your Fatigue Threshold

Why Foam Rolling Will Change Your Life (and Thighs)

The Most Fun Way to Work Your Upper Body and Core

Health:

8 Reasons To Avoid Sugar (That Have Nothing To Do With Weight Loss)

Fun:

The Debate Has Been Settled: Hot Dogs Are NOT Sandwiches

31 Tweets About Exercise That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

A little bit of a shorter list this week (partly to do with the fact that there was a very small window of free time available!!) but still some great reads in there!

I hope you all have a great day (hopefully less hectic than mine!) enjoy yourself and eat something delicious!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D

WIAW #78- A little detox :)

Hidy-ho folky folks!

I hope you're all having a wonderful day and are eating even more wonderful foods.

I say this because it is Wednesday- and on Wednesday we celebrate food WIAW style!! That is posting pictures of all the food that enters our belly's... before it turns into the soup-like chyme when mixed with the stomachs acidic juices :)

Now that we are in the mood to delve into ALL the food, let us begin! Thanks Peas and Crayons for the link-up!

Breakfast: 7:15am

My day started off at the crack of dawn (which just so happens to be 5:15am at the moment!) followed by a small ab workout with my new favourite YouTube channel (Blogilates shout out!) and a 30-day fitness challenge I started with a friend (we're on day 6 if you were wondering ;))

And then breakfast happened. Finally! (Have i mentioned how hungry I am when I get up in the morning? Once or twice?)

Breakfast was awesome.

Mango fro-yo (frozen mango + greek yoghurt blitzed in a food processor until smooth)
Plus a cashew butter and banana toasted sandwich on home-made spelt/ rye bread:

Nom!

Snack: 11:00am
It's almost getting laughable how predictable my mid-morning snack is. I just don't feel like anything else!!

Peas guys. Peas.

Lunch: 1:15pm
My stomach was having one of those days when it just needed a bit of a detox from life. So I made a simple salad of plain boiled brown rice, spinach, carrot, green capsicum, celery, raw asparagus and... that's it!

It totally hit the spot (even though to any sane person it may sound like a taste-less nightmare) and left me feeling re-energised and happy! (What I believe food should always do- honour your body guys!! :D)

Snack: 4:00pm
After a jammed-pack day at school (I don't think it should be legal to have 6 tests in one week... but that's just my view point.) I came home rather ravenous and sourced out a plate of yummy goodness:

A granny smith apple with the most beautifully ripe, sweet and perfect rockmelon/ cantaloupe I think I've ever had!

Fruit will always make me happy :)
Dinner: 6:45pm
Dinner couldn't come soon enough and quite frankly couldn't ever seem to be enough! I roasted up some white sweet potato (yes, it's back!!!) and regular potato in olive oil for about an hour, then mixed that with some hommus-y lentils and grilled tempeh:

Quite tasty and super easy to whip up!
After dinner the hunger bug was still present so I had two squares of 85% Lindt Excellence dark choc :).
Happy Days.

And that's what I ate!

Your turn:
Have you ever done a 30-day fitness challenge? I'm kinda scared about day 30- hello 90 SQUATS!?!
Favourite 'detoxifying' foods/ meals?
Potatoes; roasted, mashed, boiled or baked? I hands-down pick roasted. So. Good!

Well, that's it from me today friends, make sure you have a brilliant day, smile lots, eat delicious foods and look after yourself!! See ya next time!

Lately in lunches!

Hi friendly friends!!

I love lunch.

But it's one of those meals that I don't share all that often. Maybe it's because I find that not as interesting as a fun new oatmeal creation or smoothie concoction (I've mentioned it before, I should probably just turn this food blog into a breakfast blog!)

However, my lunches have been looking mighty fine lately (if I do say so myself) and tasting even better. Er go, here is a post about lunch (and how to make your next one utterly amazing!)

Generally for lunch I like to go with a base grain and then work up with the veg, flavours and then protein I'm going to add. Enter this gorgeous rice bowl:

In the mix was brown rice, broccoli, brussels, shredded carrot and zucchini, capsicum, eggplant and kale, topped off with a runny pan-fried egg:

I simply cooked up the brown rice until tender, sauteed the veg in a large fry-pan over medium heat with a little olive oil, onion and garlic, added the rice and kale to the mix for the last few mins, fried up an egg in a touch more olive oil and voila!

Taste sensation!

Filling, healthy and delicious (triple threat?)

This guy didn't last too long!!

Exhibit B, is the ultimate veggie sandwich taken to a whole new level (yes, my friends, it got even better)!
I don't know what it is but over time this sandwich has just evolved into perfection on a plate. Let me explain...

When you cook a large portobello mushroom and two slices of eggplant in a non-stick fry-pan until tender and brown...

Then also grill up some capsicum and half-cooked pumpkin slices (I microwave mine for a few minutes) and pile it on top of that beautiful seedy wholegrain cape seed roll...

With a generous spreading of hommus, followed by spinach, pumpkin, eggplant, mushroom, salsa/ tomato slices, other eggplant and rest of pumpkin then capsicum...

And then you heat it up and brown the outsides in a sandwich press...
You get what can only be described by one word. YUM.

 Opened up:

 Aaaand devoured: (messily, I might add :P)

 Finally, a make-ahead marvel!

This container of goodness was some wholemeal cous cous, mixed with 4-beans, grilled capsicum and mushrooms and some kale pesto!!

And yes, it tasted as good as it looks!

Another easy, prepare in advance meal that ticks all the boxes!!

So that's been life on the lunch front lately!

What about you?
Are you a fan of lunch? I think it's the meal of the day where I am most hungry!
Favourite lunch of all time?
Your typical primary school lunch that you brought to school on the daily? Hello squashed Vegemite sandwiches (I squashed them by the way!)

I hope you all have a great rest of your day, eat something delicious as always and tell someone you love them! Bye for now!! :D

Links for the Relaxing Sunday

Happy Sunday everyone!
The day we relax, eat delicious foods and just enjoyyy!

Quite often I believe we cram our lives with so many activities and commitments that when we finally have a small amount of time to ourselves we are stuck listless with any idea of what to do with ourselves (a.k.a- me every time I find I have an extra minute in the day!) So that is why I believe Sundays were invented. So you can catch up and refresh from the hectic week that was. So you can just stop and maybe even look at the world around you.

So you can go on a nice long and leisurely 10km run and just enjoy it without thinking about all the rest of the tasks you have to do on your to-do list today- or is that just me again?

Whatever the case, my Sundays are used for relaxing and also catching up on some awesome links from the past week!!

Hope you enjoy :)

Food:

Four Ingredient Flourless Protein Brownies

Vegan Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit

7 Easy Ways To Be A Better Cook This Week

Vegan Pumpkin & Apple Pie Yogurt Parfait

Baby Potatoes Green Gravy

Fitness:

5 Things You Can't Do at the NYC Marathon

Myths Stopping You From Getting Abs

6 Simple Tips for Fueling Before and During a Race

If You Only Do 7 Stretches After A Workout, Do These

Heath:

Q&A: Intuitive Eating After an Eating Disorder

The Benefits of Eating PUMPKIN! 

WIAW: adrenal fatigue and weight gain

Are you eating enough calories for your activity level?

Fun:

29 Truly Horrible Vegetable Recipes That Should Not Exist

23 Reasons To Never Eat Breakfast

I hope you found some worthwhile reads from that list, as I know I did! 

Have a fantastic rest of your day, refresh for the upcoming week and lets smash this one out of the park too!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D

#FoodBlogger

Hidy-ho friendly friends! Happy Thursday (I hope everyone is happy!) and I hope the week has been treating you well.

As it is Thursday, it is the day to Think Out Loud and today I'm going to ramble about how Food Blogging and being a food blogger affects my life. Every.Single.Day.

I guess I should give you some background first, huh?

See, I was going about my business the other day when it occurred to me that if my self from 3 years ago watched my daily life now, she would be quite shocked. This also applies to any of my friends if they were to view a typical weekend of mine (I guess I'm not what you would call the 'typical teenager'. ) they would probably laugh and thinking I was pulling their leg.

'Surely you don't actually wake up early to exercise and then grocery shop and actually look forward to it!'

Any who, I thought it would be fun to make a list of all the things I've noticed I do on the regular now that make me the stereotypical food blogger! I hope you find it as interesting as I did to write it (and accept my life)

You know you're a Healthy living blogger when...


You wake with the sun (or several hours prior)...

You wake with the sun (or several hours prior and exercise)

You wake with the sun (or several hours prior) and enjoy exercising!

You choose peanut butter/ nut butter. Over anything

You don't eat unless you've washed your hands you've taken a picture

You scale the grocery store subconciously looking out for fun new products to try out

You know the grocery store back-to-front

You literally point people in the right direction at the grocery store

You're favourite meal is breakfast... or lunch... or dinner... basically you're a fan of meal times

You're camera memory card is constantly full... without a single picture of a human on it

You like to eat carrots on the regular. And sweet potato. And pumpkin.

You have fluoro orange hands

Organisation to you is the state of the per-prepared meals in your freezer

Your runners are the most expensive shoes you own

Your workout clothes are the next expensive thing in your closet

Processed junk is not high on your priorities list

Mass amounts of hommus (on anything) is

BYO food is kinda normal

BYO water battle is kinda essential

You know hangry. Heck you are pretty created hangry

No one will quite understand your fascination with buying the ultimate blender/ other food product

And no one will understand your excitement of a rare fruit/ veg appearing on the store shelf

Now, I could come up with a million and one others but I feel like this is enough for one day. In saying that:

Tell me:
What would you add to this list?
Are you guilty of any of these?
What would you get excited about if you saw it turn up on grocery store shelves? Come on kabocha- you have to come back!!

I hope you all have a fabulous day- this was me just Thinking Out Loud, so be sure to head over to Spoons to check out what everyone else is thinking about and I'll catch you guys later! Bye!! :D