Around the World on What I Ate Wednesday

Have we arrived at Wednesday again?! You know what that means....you get yet another peek into my good eats!! I can't tell you how much I love sharing some quick and easy meal ideas with you! This WIAW craze has inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and try some new things too! As I planned out this post, I realized that I've been eating all types of different foods. Today, I was in Greece for breakie, India for lunch and Mexico for dinner ...  if only I could give a wiggle of my nose and actually be in those places ....  ah, a girl can dream can't she??

I hate to brag, but I've had some really great eats this week....and my focus on easy meals has helped me to get out of the kitchen at a decent hour. No more washing dishes at 9 p.m. my friends!

Check out my eats.

This morning I didn't get up in time to eat before my workout. I didn't even get in a warm lemon water <insert wrist slap>  I hate when that happens because my body feels like lead and it takes me forever to feel awake! 

I'm trying to cut back on my coffee-a-day habit, but I decided that my level of exhaustion entitled me to just one. Gotta love a large Timmies coffee with one milk. 

Breakfast

First up we have strawberry-flavoured Chobani Greek Yogourt with strawberries and chocolate coconut granola. I've been loving this breakie after an early morning workout. I find that it usually satisfies me until it's time for lunch.

Dear Chobani,

I know we just met, but I think I love you.

Please come to Canada ASAP.

Love, A

xoxo

This yogourt is really, really good. It's so creamy; I absolutely loved it! I only had a strawberry and a blueberry, but I've seen many different and amazing flavours in the blogging world that I'm dying to try. Good thing I'm heading to Kentucky at the end of this month to visit my parents. My plan is to bring my biggest suitcase, so I can fit in lots of groceries to bring back home with me. Will Delta accept a large-sized cooler in checked luggage??

For lunch, I had some leftover Indian-inspired veggies. This was an awesome lunch! I think a bunch of my co-workers will be trying out this recipe because I had tons of compliments on how good my meal smelled. It was just as good today as when I made it fresh!

I forgot to take a picture before I dug in, so you're getting my original photo.

I wanted to keep my calories low, so I skipped the tofu this time.

For dinner, I whipped up Jenn's fiesta quinoa, with a side of guacamole and baked nachos.

Scrumptious! This was an amazing and easy dinner!

These meals were so satisfying that I really didn't have an urge to snack. I did treat myself to 2 squares of dark chocolate after dinner to satisfy my sweet tooth and keep my nighttime cravings in check....they were my last 2 squares and I don't know what happened ~ they were in my mouth and on their way to my belly before the camera had time to click a pic! Oops! Good thing you all know what a good piece of chocolate looks like :-)

Hopefully one of these amazing meals has tickled your taste buds and inspired you to try something new. If you're looking for more ideas, make sure you drop by Jenn's blog, Peas and Crayons, for lots more inspiration!

What flavour of Chobani yogourt is your all-time fave?

What was your best meal today?

Have a happy Hump Day y'all!!

Andrea

What I Ate Wednesday

Happy Hump Day!! Although today is better than the usual hump day because there's only one more workday left!! Yayyyy!

I am super excited to present another "What I Ate Wednesday" because I've gotta tell you that today was a good food day for me....a REALLY good food day :-)

As usual, I started my day off with a warm lemon water with a pinch of cayenne. I wanted to start off healthy and good because I had a feeling that some over-indulgence was about to happen.

I knew there would be a ton of temptation at my office potluck, so I had a really light breakie. I chopped up an apple and mixed it with a pinch of cinnamon. Then I warmed it in the microwave for 2 minutes and topped it with some of my homemade granola. Very easy and very tasty. Thanks Tina for the idea!

It was like a special little apple crisp!

Now on to lunch....there are no words to describe. Check it out.

Can you see my Orzo Spinach Greek Salad? Here is a close up of the final product from yesterday's post. I think it is one of my all-time favourite salads! I'm planning to make it again this weekend for Easter.

I can't even tell you how happy I am with this ~ delicious!!

Here is my plate....er, I mean plates. So yummy, so carb heavy :-) So worth it.

Some of my yummies included glazed carrots, creamy coleslaw, orzo spinach greek salad (of course!), tortellini in a rose sauce, hashbrown casserole, crockpot stuffing, pumpernickel with spinach dip and the best cheesy rice/veggie casserole I have EVER had.

Of course, I couldn't deny myself a taste of dessert. I had some fruit, Skor Trifle & a lemon square.

Drool...

And finally my dinner. It's amazing that I made it that long. My belly was soooo full and I was soooo sleepy this afternoon. I wanted something super easy for dinner, so I just warmed up some leftover romano bean/veggie pie with cornmeal biscuits. Check out the recipe here. The only changes I made was that I added one yukon gold potato and used romano beans instead of black eye peas. It was a nice comforting meal while we continue to deal with this persistently cold, wet weather. 

It's not the most photogenic meal, but it was pretty darn good!

So there you have it. Another day full of amazing eats...in fact too many amazing eats ~ I had to put my stretchy pants on tonight ;-) !!

Make sure you check out Jenn's site to see what she and alot of other amazing bloggers had today. I promise you're going to find lots of inspiration!!

I hope your eats were as good as mine - have a great evening.

Andrea

PS - Happy Birthday to our sweet boy, Hank. Today he is 2.

Overnight Oats - breakfast for the aspiring athlete

Do you like oatmeal?! If you do, I have the best post-workout breakie ever to share with you today! I've seen it on a number of healthy food blogs and I needed a couple of attempts before I got a basic recipe down pat that I just love to bits. It's a "stick to your ribs", re-fueling type of breakfast that's healthy, filling and delicious....and no, it doesn't come from a packet with "just add water" instructions!!

Overnight Oats
This version is adapted from a recipe from What Kate is Cooking

This is an amazing breakfast that I enjoy after an early morning workout. I get it ready the night before and pack it with my lunch to take to work. As soon as I get to work, I load on the toppings and chow down!

1/3 c. oats
1 1/3 c. water
1 tsp chia seeds
1/4 c. almond milk
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Optional mix-ins - I usually use chopped mixed berries and a small scoop of all natural almond butter. Other possibilities might be raisins, nuts, granola, your favourite cereal, banana, chocolate chips, chopped or dried fruits, etc. Be creative and try all sorts of variations - there are no rules with overnight oats.

Combine you oats and water in a microwaveable bowl. Cook on high for 3 minutes. Mine boiled over and made one heck of a mess the first time I did this, so make sure you use a larger-sized bowl. Let the oat mixture sit in the microwave for a few minutes to allow time for the oats to soak up some of the remaining water.

Add your chia seeds. You can find chia seeds at a well-stocked grocery store or I usually pick mine up at our local bulk store. Why chia you might ask?? Check out this link for all you need to know about chia seeds. Chia has only recently been recognized for its amazing nutritional properties and medicinal qualities. I try to add a scoop into my smoothies, oatmeals and baked goods! You don't have to add chia to the oats, but they definitely up the "WOWZA" factor when it comes to the health benefits of this breakie.

Let the oat mixture cool. Once cool, add almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well.

Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, remove the oat mixture from the refrigerator. Alot of people eat this oaty mixture cold, but I prefer to put it in the microwave for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes to warm it slightly. I just can't do cold oats - the texture grosses me out!

Now here comes the fun part :-)  Top this oaty deliciousness with your most favourite toppings. I have to tell you that natural almond butter is amazing on overnight oats. I love it and can't eat my oats without some type of nut butter mixed in.

Mixed berries is also a must!

Soooo good!!! This is one of the best breakfasts ever! Trust me and try it.

Unfortunately, I was ravenous and demolished this bowl of oats before I took a picture of the final product. Woopsy-daisy!! Not to worry, I have this at least once a week, so I'll share more versions and more pictures very soon :-)

What is your favourite post-workout breakie?
If you have had overnight oats before, what is you favourite combo?

Hope your Tuesday is a beautiful one,

Andrea