Vroom Vroom

How do you jump casually back into a blog that’s been neglected for months at a time, sustained by hardly a bi-yearly crumb?

Just like this…

So it was a weekend. A three-day weekend to be exact. What a deal!

Friday was right about the perfect day to be free of the indoor work world. Warm but fresh temperatures, clear blue skies, wispy, picturesque clouds (aren’t I visual?) – conditions that could only be soaked up properly with a nice long trail walk to start off the day.

 Post walk “glow” and some al fresco fuelling, then mission #2 of the day – Car shopping.

Can’t lie… car shopping is a chore! Especially when you’re used to driving decade-old vehicles. Oh my precious clunkers… this whole process has made me a stress ball. Then again, let’s be honest…that’s nothing out of the ordinary.

Played with a few photo effects along the country roads while heading to my car browsing destination. Who needs $$$ camera lenses when your point-and-shoot can do the FISH EYE?

While car browsing, I found myself a cute little peppy ride that I kind of loved and kind of hemmed and hawed over… a lot. Decisions, decisions.

My brain worked hard and all that thinking activity needed some re-energization via Costco’s chicken fajita thin crust pizza (and by thin I mean thin. This was essentially on a tortilla. Fitting with the fajita theme I suppose)  and kale salad.

The rest of the weekend was a non-threatening and non-destructive whirlwind of working at my “side gig” (Hi Dad :)), gym time, clothes shopping, car test driving, and wearing my vocal cords thin with incessant chatter about car choice pros and cons. I had two final, neck and neck contenders who were both throwing a mighty series of punches. My family is likely already dreading the next time I have to make some moderately large life decision. Sorry fam!

Naturally there was lots of smoothie action in the long weekend mix. Two protein powders in one shake….living on the wild side.

So my long weekend came and went, I changed my mind 2074 times, and after many a sleepless night (Okay just one. And it was more like a sleepless hour, but it felt long), I finally purchased a car and finished up the million other steps that went along with it. If all goes well, I should have it pedal to the medalled by tomorrow evening, and I’ll no longer have to drive around fearing that the whole bottom of my car is going to fall out upon every hit pothole.

So why does my chest still feel like it’s being crushed by a large concrete block?! Introducing some kind of mediation routine into my life might not be the worst thing I could do for myself…

This week, I also happened to start a seven day “cleanse” that involves a lot of fruit, vegetables and protein. I’ve done it before and felt great. Not been feeling so great lately, so no time like the present to see what kind of magic bucketloads of nutrients can do again.

That being said, last time I was all about sticking to it to a T. This time I’m much (much) more lax.

Monday was fruit day. So I ate 2x my weight in fruit….

…and some leftover egg noodles at lunch. And some roasted chicken at dinner. Wait…chicken’s not a fruit?! My mistake…

Whoever thought starting a cleanse the same week as making a large decision was a good idea (umm…I guess that’d be me) is severely cracked. Chicken becomes fruit, french fries become vegetables (hey, at least they were baked), and little chocolatey balls made of dried fruit and nuts become… shoved down pie hole with reckless abandon.

But even with chocolate balls, and french fries…and sugary peanut butter…. I’m still eating ridiculous amounts of fresh stuff for the majority of my intake. At least Monday to Wednesday so far.

Drive along and cleanse on!

Plethora of Pictures: Plates Edition Part 1

The other day I left off feeling an irritated stress over an overabundance of unused food pictures. I unloaded a few in the first edition of the (very short) Plethora of Pictures series (I don’t predict this one to be a box office hit) featuring a random mess of products but have since neglected to empty out the rest. So I’m doing that now…

The PLATES – a random selection from the last 10+ days. In multiple parts. Here is the first smattering.

 

And GO!

 

Plates

Vegetable-based Platters

Salad with taco topper

Spinach with honey mustard and roasted squash

Greek salad with leftover roasted squash and cottage cheese

Raw veggie and turkey dipping platter

Another raw veggie dipping platter with corn and bean salad

Spinach and cucumber salad with tuna topper (mixed with light sour cream, dijon, wasabi) and a side of pasta salad

More of the spinach and tuna combo

Vermicelli noodles topped with chicken and vegetables stir fried in a teriyaki sauce (made from a powdered mix I randomly found in the cupboard. Would not buy again)

Veggie burger on multigrain with spinach, dijon, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese

 

Sweeter Side

Fruit plate with strained yogurt

Banana topped with yogurt mixed with peanut butter and a side of dates

A blend of frozen banana, cocoa powder, coconut flour, almonds, sweetener

The morning green smoothie with a side of green tea and Peanut Butter Puffins

Shreddies and apple chunks topped with a splash of almond milk, cinnamon and strained yogurt

Apple chunks heated and topped with a mix of light sour cream, cinnamon and vanilla stevia drops

Cocoa smoothie frozen and stirred every 5-10 minutes about 3x until reaching icy ice cream-like consistency for maximal snacking satisfaction

Sweet tortilla chips – tortillas dipped in cinnamon butter mixed with almond milk, baked at 400 for 8-10 minutes, flipping half way

 

The rest coming soon…

Happy Monday!

A Day in the Kitchen of a Grazer

Word on the street says that there are a lot of grazers out there.

I am a grazer. Through and through.

I knew today was going to be quiet and uneventful – The perfect recipe for a grazing day. So I decided to give myself a challenge: Try to photograph everything I ate for the day.

I wasn’t aiming to capture perfect portions or every bite since I grab chunks, spoonfuls and nibbles rather than measuring or plating out 3/4 of what I eat. I just wanted to see if I could capture a glimpse of each food thing that entered my mouth today.

Verdict: Almost successful.

This was tough! I’m impressed with people who can actually capture every.single.thing they eat (even more impressed with those that can actually plate their snacks and bites before eating them. I do not have enough patience for that). I definitely forgot a few things along the way but I think I got the majority.

 

SO here’s a sample of A Day in the Kitchen of a Grazer (This is a sample of my habits, not necessarily of my regular daily food choices. Though most days are similar enough, my food choices do have quite the day-to-day variability)

Warning: the quality and appeal of today’s food is rough. Avert your eyes or scroll past quickly as needed.

Breakfast

As I’ve been mentioning lately, smoothies are the name of the game in the mornings. This morning was no different on that front. Before said smoothie is made, a pre-smoothie snack always seems to happen. Don’t ask me why, weird habit.

Today’s contenders: leftover grocery store sushi …

…and a chunk ripped off a slice of bread.

Which was then dipped in roasted red pepper hummus.

Then finally the smoothie got made. A coffee cocoa spinach strawberry smoothie to be exact.

Vanilla soy protein powder + chilled coffee + almond milk + cocoa powder + spinach + a handful of large frozen strawberries + ice + stevia + the gums

This one actually turned out perfectly. Best smoothie I’ve had in a long time. No idea what I did differently but I’ll likely be making this exact combo again tomorrow with crossed fingers.

Perfection smoothie was paired with hot green tea.

Followed by a splash of coffee with vanilla creamer.

Enjoy my ten course breakfast?

 

Mid-Morning

After a little digestion time I was in the mood for baking. I’ve been meaning to make cornbread for a while now and it was finally time.

Except…this cornbread was awful. AWFUL. I was half following a couple recipes, half winging it, full out failing miserably.

I tried sampling some with butter and jam but it was still pretty inedible. I wrapped the rest up and threw it in the freezer since I prefer to Waste Not…but I’m really not sure how I’m going to be able to revive that mess.

For sweet redemption (since my first baking attempt definitely didn’t satisfy any baking urgers), I decided to use up the last of my peanut flour in the best way possible since I can’t buy it around here and it will be a while until I see some in my pantry again.

In an Inside Out Peanut Butter Cup Cake! I’ve made it before with amazing results and today was no different. I saved this baby for later though.

First it was time for …

Lunch

Since the oven was already hot and ready from my baking attempts, I decided to throw in an acorn squash for lunch. I ate some of this mashed beauty with a pat of light margarine alongside a kale salad, a hard boiled egg and another chunk of this morning’s bread slice with plain hummus.

Then it was time for…

Workout

I did a duo sesh – long treadmill session followed by Jillian Michaels Shred. The in-between required a breather… and a grazing session.

The rest of this morning’s bread slice was dipped straight into this jar of salsa. And here’s where a picture fail happens – I missed getting a shot of the rice crackers and triscuits that also got drowned in the salsa.

I didn’t forget to grab a shot of the acorn squash I ate with a spoonful of peanut butter though. Well… I almost did.

There were a few spoonfuls into here today… and into my other natural (aka not-so-fake) peanut butter jar. And I was going to take a break from peanut butter this week… maybe tomorrow. Or never. Whatever.

 

Dinner

When dinner finally rolled in I was in the mood to mess around with my panini press. Pizza quesadillas were born – aka jarred pasta sauce and cheddar squished into a wrap. Culinary expertise right here.

I didn’t actually eat these. I just made them for kicks, chopped them up and threw them in the fridge. I eventually had a quarter or two though. Half the cheese ran right out so they were a tad on the bland side.

What I did eat for dinner: more kale salad topped with chopped cheddar and hard boiled egg. With a side of rice crackers topped with pasta sauce and cheese. I guess I was in a pizza mood tonight. Okay so more of a cheese mood than anything. Sometimes there’s just nothing better than cheddar.

 

Evening

The time when grazing can really go haywire. This must be why they say you’re not supposed to eat after a certain hour. I don’t agree with the rule but I do understand it… It’s not because your body can’t metabolize it but it’s because all caution goes to the wind at night. I could easily take in a day’s worth of food post dinner on a lonely, boring night of snacking!

This evening started out with a nice chunk of my earlier made peanut butter cup cake (which is actually more like a thick, creamy peanut butter pudding and I’m a-okay with that!) served with peach yogurt.

I don’t like “Fruit Bottom” yogurts because that “fruit” is just weird jelly. I scoop it out and trash it. The yogurt is already sweet and flavoured without having to stir the gunk in anyway.

I also had one last tiny Tbsp of peanut flour that I was saving specifically for THIS:

Peanut butter “ice cream”– aka frozen almond milk cubes blended with sweetener, peanut flour and a splash of liquid almond milk. Not the most successful ice creamy texture when trying to do this with my little Magic Bullet but the taste was darn fine.

I also dipped a couple dried prunes into my “ice cream”.

I let a little time go by before digging into an apple.

And then some apple and orange slices. With peanut butter.

I then scrapped picture-taking because I already downloaded the pictures to my computer and didn’t feel like doing another download session to prove that I just finished off: A bunch of cold acorn squash; a mug of peppermint tea with cocoa; and a container of silken tofu blended with cocoa, stevia and frozen raspberries that had instant oats stirred into it and was topped with peanut flour drizzle.

And I’m spent. Time for the grazing monster to go to bed.

 

[With all this recent talk about portions, people not eating enough when showing their daily meals etc etc, please remember: What you see on the plate or in the bowl is what I ate but not necessarily the amount I ate. In many cases I had quite a bit more than what is shown. I just ate it before it made it onto the plate ;).]

 

 

Are you a grazer or a mainly meals eater?
I think the fact that I’m not on much of a schedule right now definitely contributes to my grazing habits. Some days I probably eat ten times a day. On a schedule I do a little better… either way I’m a snacker at heart though :)

“You Know I Like My Dessert First”

Thanks for all the kind words and insight on yesterday’s post. Ending school and figuring out where to go next is a tricky time for everyone. Each day is a new day with new possibilities though, and I’m going to do my best to work on one day at a time and concentrate on each little step rather than spending too much energy worrying about exactly where all those little steps will eventually lead. I’m sure that will get clearer along the way. I’m counting on it.

If anyone else has any stories or similar worries to share, please feel free to still do so!

I actually read a lovely post today – On Changing My Life – by Andrea of Can You Stay For Dinner? about the many changes and uncertainties she’s gone through just within the past several years. Very helpful and highly recommended.

 

 

Today has been a little more positive. No more sessions with the Stress Reduction in a Jar. Progress!

Instead, over the past few days, there has been plenty of roasted buttercup squash.

Tuna mixed with light sour cream and dijonnaise

And tuna mixed with Laughing Cow cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce

Egg whites on toast with spinach and ketchup

And runny eggs with ketchup over cabbage slaw salad.

Greens with feta and Mmmm sauce

And Greens with mustard and crumbled turkcauli burger.

 

Boy do I look like a… rabbit?

Let’s correct this.

I’ve eaten about 10lbs of strawberries and grapes over the past couple days. Some were paired with ‘coconut yogurt spread’ – aka a container of raspberry yogurt mixed with a Tbsp of coconut flour. I need to try this spread on toast or a waffle!

Sometimes I don’t even bother to mix the coconut flour into the yogurt.

I’ve enjoyed my fair share (coughx10cough) of Tostitos dunked in copious amounts of salsa.

Is it weird that I dig to the bottom of the bag just so I can eat all of the Tostitos crumbs…out of a bowl…with a spoon?

I also made something that looked kind of like a doughnut but was actually a Microwave Protein Fudge Muffin gone wrong in appearance but right in taste. I used liquid egg whites, applesauce and cocoa powder but could not get that cocoa powder to mix in properly. So I cooked it up anyway. Chocolate-y on top, plain on the bottom – best of both worlds!

 

To remove myself from my woes last night, I reluctantly went out to the movies. You know how sometimes when you feel like bum you just don’t want to go anywhere? A lot of the times going anyway is a much better decision.

I ate sour keys and got to watch Vinny and the Rock duke it out in Fast Five.

“You know I like my dessert first.”
…
”Now gimme the damn veggies.”

Please see this movie. And stay for the spoiler after the credits!

 

If you don’t feel like boosting your mood with the Rock’s cheesy lines…how about with some green tea? I might be able to help you out with that one… ;) Stay tuned this weekend. And have a good one!