What I Ate Wednesdsay

Happy Wednesday and welcome to August 1st!

Can you believe that we're halfway through the summer already! This is one of my favourite times of year because there are vegetable stands and farmers' markets popping up all over the place. Fresh local produce is definitely at it's prime right now and I have been eating boatloads of fresh veggies & fruit. I've even harvested a few cherry tomatoes, some baby spinach and lettuce from my very own garden...weeeeee!!!!

 

Breakfast

Egg Burrito filled with egg whites, salsa, black beans, corn and lettuce (from my garden)

Lunch

I made these clean mini egg quiches on Sunday so I could enjoy them all week for lunch. They are so customizable and are super duper tasty. Mine are filled with shredded carrots, zucchini, red onion, sweet peppers, cajun seasoning and some leftover black bleans.

Fruity Tooty Snacks

Once I started this post, I realized that I've been loving me some fruit in between meals as my snacks. I've had a bunch of different things this week and here are 3 of my faves all of which used fresh local fruit picked by my sweet grandma!

Blueberry Coconut Almond Ballz

Raspberry Coconut Protein Cake

(this is a recipe I'm still tweaking!)

Non-fat plain Greek Yogourt sweetened with stevia and a big handful of fresh blueberries

Dinner

This was a scrumptious one! Fresh, local corn on the cob and butternut squash mac 'n cheeze with baby spinach --- fresh from my garden!!!

Thanks to Jenn for coming up with yet another great What I Ate Wednesday theme! Make sure you head on over to her site to see what other foodies have been munching on this week!

What is your favourite summertime food?

Have a fabulous day!

Andrea xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday #1,001

Haha - just joking about the 1,001 but seriously I've been involved in this WIAW hijinx for a long time now! I've met some great bloggers, found tons of meal inspiration and fallen in love with sharing my weekly eats with you!





Breakfast
I strayed a wee bit from my normal breakies because when there's pizza in the house I can't think of anything else! On Saturday I made a veggie pizza extraordinaire and I've been eating up the leftovers for breakfast!

Lunch
Yesterday I had an amazing veggie wrap and salad with honey mustard but it was during a lunch date with my friend, Lisa, and I was so excited to catch up with her that I ate it up without taking a single pic *fail* ...

Snack
My grandma has a rhubarb patch and on Sunday she brought me over a batch of stewed strawberry rhubarb. Oh my gosh, does this ever take me back to my childhood. This stuff is delish on ice cream or all on its own. I've been eating it with plain Greek yogourt and granola this week. Such a great snack!

Dinner
Lucky for you I've had some awesome dinners, so I'll give you 2 for the price of 1 since I oopsie daisied on lunch.   :-D

Last night I had spaghetti squash with grilled veggies and the best. marinara. sauce. ever. Of course, no "pasta" would be complete without a little parm.

May has delivered some awesome grillin' weather so far! Derek's been firing up the barbie alot and I've been taking advantage of that and letting him cook up most of our weekend dinners. One of my favourite BBQ meals is a sweet potato, grilled asparagus and marinated portabello mushrooms (I usually use teriyaki or balsamic vinegar) topped with a little melted swiss. Hands down, this is my fave summertime dinner. It's especially fab served wtih a glass of cabernet on the deck. Our nights aren't quite that warm yet, but we're getting close!!

PS - local asparagus is in season and is as delicious as ever!!!!

Is your mouth watering?? If you're looking for even more meal inspiration, head on over to Peas & Crayons and see what other bloggers have been feasting on this week. I wouldn't be surprised if you found lots of Mexican-inspired meals in salute to Cinco de Mayo. Thanks, as always, to Jenn for hosting our weekly eats par-tay!

Do you love pizza for breakie? Do you eat it cold or heat 'er up?

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? If you did, what was the best thing you ate?

Happy Wednesday. I hope you have a great one!

Andrea
xoxo

WIAW Goes GREEN with Veggie Love

Happy Wednesday my friends!

The forecast is calling for sunny skies and 18C temperatures,
so I'm thinking today is going to be uber fabulous!

All this sunshine is getting me excited for summer, and you know what that means....

shorts, tank tops, sundresses and eek! the dreaded bathing suit

My plan is to stay on track by eating healthy and getting into a more consistent gym routine, so that I am in awesome shape by the time summer rolls around.

Eating your greens is a great way to get your healthy eating habits back on track ;)

Here's some 'green'-lights from my recent eats:

Breakfast

Are you sick of seeing pictures of green smoothies yet?

The fact is I have one almost every single day.

LOVE

<3

This one is romaine lettuce, celery, apple, pear and banana.

Lunch
Grilled Avocado, Swiss and Tomato.  BLT, eat your heart out.
This sandwich is the Bomb-Digity of sammies.
Dijon Roasted Brocolli on the side.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.....


Snacks
One sweet treat that I've been loving at night is a chopped baked apple mixed with a little cinnamon, some shredded unsweetened coconut and some Apple Walnut Coconut Delight granola.

It tricks my belly into thinking that I'm eating something sinful ;)

I've also been drinking tons of green tea.

Green Chai is another fave of mine.


Dinner
Baked Falafel with Tzatziki and
Honey Mustard Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

{swoon}

If you check out my weekly Wednesday posts, you may notice I have some addictions: Greens, Smoothies & Anything Smothered in Honey Mustard.

I have a very happy tummy :)

Thank you so much to Jen for hosting this WIAW shindig and for reminding us how
important it is to eat our greens. If you're looking for more healthy eats, head on over to Peas & Crayons to see what some other bloggers have been munching on this week.

Do you have any rituals that you follow to get ready for the summer weather?

Any plans for St. Patty's Day?

I think we're going to be doing a little of this....

...with a little green in there of course!

Have a good one and make sure you check back tomorrow for an awesome new quinoa recipe :)

Andrea
xo

Wrapped in Greens

Happy Monday!!

This is what I just found in my kitchen......

I know it was Hank who ripped open the new bag of dog food and then proceeded to run through it and spread it all around and Dora is trying her darndest to get it all eaten up to cover up the evidence ;-) She never even lifted her head when I caught her ~ she just started eating faster and faster to try and get as much into her belly as possible!! Honestly, there is never a dull moment at our house!!

So how was your weekend? Mine was superb. Derek has family visiting from Alberta and we tried to fit in as much family time as possible. They rarely come to Ontario and we have yet to go visit them out west, so we've been soaking up as much time with them as possible!! We've already started planning a trip to go visit them next October ~ I CAN'T wait!!!

If you're like our family, you'll know that visitors mean lots of food...& beer! I engaged in some over-indulgence this weekend, but today I'm definitely back on track. I came across a recipe this morning that I received from a friend quite a while ago. It involved Greek salad (my fave!!) and chicken wrapped in swiss chard leaves and I knew it'd be the perfect light and summery dinner to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Obviously I wouldn't use the chicken for myself, but I did decide to try chick'n strips.

They are surprisingly similar to real chicken, but I've got to admit it totally weirded me out eating something that had a similar taste and texture to meat. These wraps are great with or without the chicken.

Greek Salad Wrapped in Chard

Again, this is one of those recipes where I didn't use any measurements. You just use a little of this and a little of that :-) Just make sure that you use the large swiss chard leaves because they work the best for this.

large swiss chard leaves

chicken (or chick'n strips)

hummus

grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

2 inch piece of cucumber, peeled and sliced lengthwise

black olives, sliced

feta cheese

lemon wedges 

The bottom part of the swiss chard stem can be very difficult to wrap, so using scissors, I cut out the bottom 3rd of the stem.

Lay out your swiss chard leaves on a flat surface.

Spread some hummus onto the leaves.

Add the chick'n, tomatoes, cukes, olives and feta.

Squeeze a little fresh lemon over the filling.

Fold the cut part of the leaf over the filling and then continue to roll the leaf until it is wrapped up nice and tight.

Serve and enjoy!

These are really, really tasty, although they are really, really sloppy too! They are also surprisingly filling. I had two and that was the perfect amount for my dinner.

..... and speaking of greens, check out my garden's progress. I'm going to be enjoying fresh tomatoes and jalapenos very soon!

"baby" beefsteak tomatoes

jalapenos

grape tomatoes

Have you ever made a wrap using some sort of a green leafy veg in place of a tortilla? If you have, what did you use?

Have you ever tried faux meat before? What'd ya think of it?

Have a great night,

Andrea

Grillin' PB&Js

Happy Friday!!

I'm so happy we've arrived at yet another weekend and I must say the weather forecast in our neck of the woods is looking absolutely fantabulous! It's gonna be sunny & hot! hot! hot!!

We have a busy night ahead of us, so I wanted to have a quick and easy dinner leaving time for play with the pups and for a little resting up to prepare for a fun night out with friends.

On Friday, my bestie brought a jar of her mom's homemade strawberry jam over. It had just been made on Thursday ~ it can't get any fresher than that and I have to say it is goo-ood!!

And then on Tuesday my long awaited (thanks to the Canadian postal strike) Trader Joe's package from Cait at Beyond Bananas arrived. I got lots of awesome looking goodies, but so far this guy is my favourite.....

So, I guess it's obvious what I decided to chow down on tonight for dinner.....it PB&J time baby!! With a twist of course ;-).

I saw a grilled pb&j on a tortilla on Sarah's site in her last WIAW post and it's been on my radar ever since. I have to tell you it is awesome!

Grilled PB&J Tortilla
Serves 1

1 tortilla (I used a 6" whole wheat tortilla)
1.5 - 2 tbsp nut butter
1.5 - 2 tbsp favourite jam

Lay your tortilla out on a flat surface.

Spread your nut butter on one half and the jam on the other half.

Fold the tortilla in half.

Heat up a frying pan over medium heat and place the folded tortilla into the pan.

Leave for 2 or 3 minutes (until golden brown) and then flip.

The tortilla is ready for munchin' once both sides are golden brown and the nut butter is all melty and delicious looking.

Serve immediately!

I had mine with some chopped grape tomatoes, mixed with chunks of mozzarella and balsamic vinegar.

It sounds like a weird combo of flavours to eat together, but I have to tell ya it was really, really tasty!

What is your favourite nut butter?
Any exciting plans for this weekend?

Have a great evening and an even better weekend,

Andrea

Salsa Bean Burgers

Mmmm....burgers.

I have been a vegetarian for almost a year and a half now and while I am so happy with my choices and could write a series on all the wonderful benefits I have experienced since becoming a vegetarian, there is one thing I really, really miss from my meat eating days. BURGERS.

Back in my old life, I could eat a burger everyday. I loved cheeseburgers, barbecued burgers, burgers topped with mushrooms & swiss, chicken burgers, turkey burgers and my all-time favourite (after a night of indulgence :-) the BK Whopper with cheese.

As I type this, my mouth waters.

Andrea {hearts} Burgers

<3

Thankfully, a ton of veggie burgers have come out on the market that actually taste a lot like the real thing! I like to bring these along to a get together or a barbecue, so I don't have to feel deprived while everyone's chowing down and I'm sitting there with my plate of salad and veggies. While I love the faux meat burgers, I have also developed a love for homemade bean burgers. I've had a recipe tucked away for a while now and finally I found some time this week to dig it up and give it a try.

While these don't imitate meat burgers, they taste awesome! Pairing them with a bun and your fave toppings definitely satisfies like eating the real thing. And the best part of this recipe??? It has two of my most favourite qualities: it's quick & it's oh so easy!!

Salsa Bean Burgers

Recipe from simply vegetarian

Makes 5 burgers

1 19oz can of red kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 egg, beaten

1 c. crushed corn tortilla chips

1/2 c. salsa (I used medium)

2 tsp cooking oil (I used avocado/garlic oil, but any oil would be fine)

Pour the beans into a medium sized mixing bowl and mash them with a fork.

Add the egg, tortilla chips and salsa. Mix well.

the final product

Divide into 5 equal portions and form into patties. 

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the patties. Cook for 5 minutes per side until they are golden brown and heated through. 

Remove from heat and serve. 

I served mine on a whole grain thin bun. I added baby spinach, mashed avocado mixed with salsa and some melted shredded cheese. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the patties stayed together. Sometimes the flavour of a bean burger can be spot on, but most of it ends up on your plate instead of in your tummy!

I served my burger with a side of broccoli stirfried with avocado & garlic oil, minced garlic and balsamic vinegar. It was GOO-OOOD!!! 

For lunch the next day, I took some leftover broccoli and one of the bean patties sprinkled with Daiya cheese. The patty was great with salsa on the side. This lunch was by far my favourite of the week!

This is a great recipe that your entire family will love! I never know what to do with kidney beans other than the standard chili recipe, so I am really happy that I spied this! It is definitely going to be a staple for me this summer.

What is your favourite veggie burger ~ it could be a fave brand or your most awesome recipe!

Have a great night ~ I'm off to start watching season 2 of Dexter (I am officially addicted ;-)

Andrea

What I Ate "When I Was Home Alone" Wednesday

Yay it's Wednesday! My most favourite weekday of all!






And this is no ordinary Wednesday ~ this is the day when I divulge all the treats I indulge in when my hubby is away. You know what they say, "when Derek's away, his wifey will play"....with food that is! :-) In the old days, all I would have been able to post here is pot after pot of Kraft Dinner with weiners, but thankfully I've evolved and become a little more creative in my eats!

I like to pick and munch all day long when I have no one's schedule but my own to worry about. This weekend was no different. I thoroughly enjoyed my down time, but I was really glad when Derek got home, so I could get back into a routine.

Check out all the good things I indulged in over the weekend.

Veggie Pizza. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd have this for breakfast, lunch & dinner!

Other breakies included iced coffee and fresh strawberries.

When I wasn't eating pizza for lunch, I was having a tomato pesto sandwich.

If you haven't tried this, go and make it right now! It is one of my all-time favourite sandwiches!

For dinner, when I wasn't eating pizza ;-)  hehe, I was having a salsa bean burger on a thin

bun, with a side of stirfried broccoli with garlic and balsamic.

Stay tuned, bean burger recipe to come tomorrow and I promise you that it is dee-eelish!

Can you tell I'm lovin' these whole grain thin buns?

And of course, I can't forget all my snacks. They are an absolute must for a home alone weekend!

Strawberries dipped in dark chocolate

Brown rice chips - sweet chili flavour

Red Wine ~ of course!

...and last, but not least, my lonely little peanut butter blondie.

Whew! Thank goodness I'm not home alone every night or I'd be in some serious trouble! I love to indulge and enjoy my down time, but it always feels great to get back to my healthy oats and salads full of greens.

If you're looking for some more inspiration, pop on over to Jenn's site at Peas & Crayons to explore the amazing eats of so many other awesome bloggers.

What is your favourite thing to snack on when you just want to pick and munch all day?

Happy Hump Day,

Andrea