What I Ate Wednesday - Veggie Love

Hiya guys! I've been really light on my posting over the past two weeks and its because I've had a lot of stuff on my plate! The most recent was a visit from one of my most favourite people....my mom!

She's on her way back home this morning :( and we are back to our regularly scheduled programming ---- not only in our routine but our eats! Oh gosh, our eats have been all over the map. I have been absolutely amazing at sticking to my clean eats goals during the week, but I've been indulging a little more than I'd like to over the weekends.

We have some vacation plans coming up, so that's the motivation I'm using to really stick with my clean eats program and I'm hoping all the veggie love shared at Peas & Crayons this month will help motivate me and give me some creative ideas on how to eat clean while keeping things interesting, and most importantly DELICIOUS!!

 

Even though I've been absent here on the blog, I've still been snapping pics and sharing my eats on Twitter and Instagram....here are some of my fave meals from the past couple of weeks (please forgive the photos - most were taken on my phone and clearly I need to use my Canon with editing to actually have a photograph that is properly centred :) :

 

Bananarama Protein Pancakes are still one of my all-time favourite breakfasts. Lately, I've been adding 1/2 a grapefruit to my first meal of the day.

 

 

 

Over the weekend, I made my mom & I some sweet potato homefries (sweet potato & sweet onion panfried in coconut oil) and baked eggs with mozza, grape tomatoes & fresh basil. I must say it was the best egg concoction I've put together in ages! My mom and I totally swooned over this breakfast.

 

 

 

I've been making a true effort to pack a healthy lunch that includes mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Here is one from last week that included Gina`s Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili, plain non-fat Greek yogourt with mixed fruit, whole wheat crackers and roasted garlic hummus, and some of my trail mix.

  

 

 

I've also been eating a ton of kale. Yesterday, I marinated some kale in an olive oil/apple cider vinegar/dijon combo and topped it with some leftover sweet potato homefries, sweet orange pepper, raw pepitas, raw walnut pieces, goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. It was ah-mazing!

 

Dinners have been really good too. I cannot get enough of Angela's Easy BBQ Tofu. It is so good! I usually pair it with some roasted veggies - here I had roasted taters and turnip. Have I mentioned that I used to hate turnip?! I tried roasting it with a bit of coconut oil and sea salt and I have absolutely fallen in love with it. Derek and I easily eat an entire turnip in one meal!

  

 My other fave dinner of late was Lentil Veggie Mac & Cheese by Lindsay. A classic comfort food with an added punch of protein and veggies. I didn't share one bit of this with anyone; not even Derek got a bite!!!

Whew! I'm feeling a little better about my eats now that I see all the goodness I've used to fuel my body. I've had a few moments of weakness where chocolate or and wine have passed my lips, but hey "moderation is key" wouldn't you agree?!

What's the best healthy meal you've eaten this week?

When you try to follow a meal plan do you allow for some indulgence?

Have a great day my friends!

Andrea

xoxo

Blueberry Coconut Almond Ballz

Happy Tuesday ---- T-minus 3 days 'til I start a 4-day weekend {not that I'm counting or anything ;-)}

Do you ever find inspiration at the oddest times?? I was home alone Saturday night and as I sat watching the Olympics on TV, my stomach started grumbling for some munchies. I remembered a recipe I'd seen earlier in the week, so I pulled out my trusty lap top and decided it was the perfect time for some kitchen creativity. So what if it was 9:51 p.m. on Saturday night --- yes, the time did catch my eye lol --- don't hate me 'cuz I'm such a crazy-ass party animal!

To me, veggies & dip or chopped fruit don't always cut it when I'm looking for some snackage. I want something that says 'sinful' to my brain but is easy on my waistline. I originally saw a recipe for Banana Berry Snack Balls on The Lean Green Bean and they instantly caught my eye because I love me some balls......

{insert smirk}

Seriously though, these little morsels are healthy, clean and satisfying. They definitely met my criteria for a sin-less sweet treat. I did some tweaking and personalized the recipe to include some of my must-have ingredients (hello coconut!). The result was pretty darn fabulous.

Blueberry Coconut Almond Ballz

Recipe adapted from Lindsay's Banana Berry Snack Balls

Makes 12 balls

1 banana, mashed

1 c oats

1/2 c blueberries

4 tbsp all natural almond butter

1/3 unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl and gently combine without squishing the blueberries. I used frozen berries which makes it a little easier to fold in.

Spoon out 12 balls (approximately 1.5" in diameter) and place onto a plate lined with parchment paper. Freeze the balls and then transfer them to a resealable freezer bag. Store in the freezer.

Remove from freezer when you are ready to snack and let them thaw for at least 15 minutes before chowing down.

YUMMMMMY!

These are also really tasty when crumbled into some plain non-fat Greek yogourt.

What's your favourite late night snack?

Have a great day!

Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday ~ Back on the healthy train

Happy Wednesday! Oh how I've missed you over the past couple of weeks :)

There was only one thing that I really, really wish I'd snapped a picture of last week. Gigi's Cupcakes!!! Have you heard of them? Tried them? Do you love????? {SIGH} I <3 them with a passion. My faves were Merry Margarita and Southern Comfort. Hands down my fave cupcakes ever but perhaps not the most responsible of snack choices when we're supposed to be focussing on healthy and responsible snacks --- all in moderation my friends, all in moderation ;-)

...so, ahem....let's stop talking about all my indiscretions and focus on all the good stuff I've been munching on since I got home from Nashville. I promise that I've redeemed myself with some healthy yumminess.

 

Breakfast

Egg white scramble with veggies, cheddar and a pinch of cajum seasoning to spice things up. With coffee, of course!

Snacks

Pre-workout, I've been really lovng a plain brown rice cake with natural PB & J --- tastes like my childhood!

Fresh fruit is also another current fave. Fresh local strawberries are pure heaven!!!

Lunch

Salads and more salads....unfortunately, I've been more interested in catching up on my fave blogs during my lunch breaks and I've munched my salads down without so much as a picture. I've been sticking to my fave combo of  sundried tomatoes, goat cheese and dijon -- always a winner in my book!

Dinner

Spicy & Mexican. Yummmmmm......brown rice topped with black beans, corn and veggies followed by white cheddar con queso, jalapenos, black olives, tomatoes, guac and plain Greek yogourt. Holy deliciousness. This was last night's dinner. HEAVENLY good.

So, there are some of my eats....what have you been munching on this week? If you're looking for more snacking and meal inspiration, head on over and visit Jenn at Peas & Crayons and check out her weekly WIAW party. You'll find tons and tons of foodie ideas over there!

What is your fave cupcake flavour?

Do your eating habits tend to change depending on the season?

Have a great day and check back tomorrow for a refreshing bevie recreation!

Andrea

xo

WIAW: Salads & Snackage

Howdy and welcome to yet another What I Ate Wednesday post!

As you can see from my title, this isn't going to be an ordinary WIAW post. This month my focus is on eating at least one salad per day and the lovely Miss Jenn, host with the most of this weekly party, has challenged us to also focus on sensible snacking. Well I'm definitely an expert when it comes to snackage, so I'm thinking this month's eats are going to be super wickedly delish!

Instead of seeing 'a day in the life' of my eats, I've decided to flip back into my Instagram and Twitter pics and show you some of my most awesome salads and snacks of late. Hopefully I'll motivate you to get all crazy and *gasp* jump on the healthy train with me.

Are ya game?!

Here goes nothin'....

 

First off, check out some of my most excellent snacks...

LUNA Bars rock my world!

Chopped apple with natural peanut butter gives a boost of energy to get through the workday.

SMOOTHIES!!! Love, love, love anytime of day!

My usual mix includes vanilla protein powder, vanilla almond milk, 1 frozen banana and some other frozen fruit. Sometimes I add spinach too!

....and my most excellent salads....

Grilled Veggie Salad with Black Beans & Quinoa on a bed of mixed greens - super filling!

I love this type of salad when I need something to keep me fueled for an after work sweat session.

Asian Crunch Salad

(mixed greens, peppers, slivered almonds, crunchy sticks, shredded cabbage and a sesame dressing)

 

Mixed Greens with goat cheese, chickpeas & sundried tomatoes...and dijon of course!

Add a slice of pizza and you pretty much have perfection :-D

Broccoli & Chickpea Salad with a veggie quesadilla --- yummers!

Like whatcha see? Follow me on Twitter (@Vegvacious) if you want to see my eats on a daily basis - I try to take pics of at least one or 2 meals each day....for more foodie inspiration, head on over to visit Peas & Crayons to see what other bloggers have been noshing on this week.

What's your favourite "sensible" snack?

 What's your favourite type of bar? I love LUNA Bars, Pure Bars & Clif Bars.

Have a great day,

Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday - Repeats

Happy Wednesday!

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been more adventuresome in the kitchen and have come up with a bunch of delicious little meals that have been uber successful on the very first attempt. A couple of my recipes from this past week are going to peek their lovely little heads out in this WIAW post, because I frankly loved them so much that I can't stop eating them!

For breakfast, I'm back on the green smoothie train. I recently read The Beauty Detox by Kimberly Snyder and I've been using her recipe for my early morning eats. I've been loving this recipe and my morning energy has been absolutely through the roof!!!! I've also found that I'm not hungry for snacks in the morning, which is very unusual because my normal routine is to have a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack every day!

I haven't snapped pics of too many lunches this week. I've mainly been eating lots of vegetable soup and veggie chili. My last batch of chili made enough for a bazillion lunches so it's been easy to pull a bowl out of the freezer each morning!

My afternoon snacks have consisted primarily of fruit. Navel oranges have been on sale for the past couple of weeks and now that we've gotten a taste of them, we crave them all the time - I guess it's a good time of year to be amping up our Vitamin C! If I'm craving something a little more decadent, I've been chopping up an apple, adding a pinch of cinnamon and Truvia and nuking it in the microwave for about 2 minutes. It's like the inside guts of an apple pie - pure comfort in under 5 minutes!!!

For dinner, I am absolutely in love with pumpkin & roasted veggie quesadillas and my veggie quinoa pilaf. I can't get enough of them and I keep eating and eating and eating them!!!!

...and one last sweet treat that's repeat from Jenn, not me. I am LOVING these Red Velvet Cake Cookies! I saw them and decided that I was going to make them for V-Day. By the end of last weekend, a batch was cooling on my kitchen counter ;-) They are fantabulous --- so much so, that I ended up sending most of them with Derek to work because I just couldn't keep my sticky little fingers out of them!

So I've shown you mine and now it's your turn! What's the best thing you've eaten all day?!

If you're looking for more meal & snack inspiration head on over and say howdy to Jenn and check out all the fabulous posts that have been linked up for this week!

Have an awesome day!

Andrea

Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Chips

Take me out to the ballgame 
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts & Cracker Jacks.....


oh, hiya there...I was just reminiscing about our fun day at the ballpark (thankfully this blog doesn't come with sound clips, so you weren't lucky enough to hear my screechy singing in real life)! We ate, we cheered, we boogied between innings in our seats and most importantly our home team won ~ woot woot!! We had a perfect Saturday afternoon.

As I mentioned on Friday, I thought it was most important that we have some yummy and delicious treats to take along on our roadtrip to Toronto. We went with our friends and their 3 kids and because I'm the world's best "aunt", I always love to load up my favourite kiddos with lots of sweets and sugary goodness. I don't know if Derek and I will ever be parents, but if we are, I fully expect some serious payback for the sugar highs and sugar crashes that we encourage :-)

Now I'm going to warn you that this recipe is not the type of recipe you will typically find on my blog. I didn't go with my usual healthy treats full of natural sweeteners, whole grain flours, fruit and nuts. This recipe is downright sinful! It's devilishly good and is filled with all ingredients I would normally tell you not to eat! I have no excuse for myself except to say that I saw a recipe a while ago that I've been thinking obsessing about and I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to try it and to have someone else take home all the leftovers. What can I say??!! Nobody's perfect and just because I try to eat healthy 95% of the time doesn't mean I don't still enjoy the "bad" stuff once every blue moon.

Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Chips
Recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes

These blondies remind me of two-bite brownies. They are soft and chewy and just plain delicious! Thank goodness I was able to give them away to our friends because I would have picked away until the entire pan was gone.

1/2 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. butter
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan.

Cream together the peanut butter and butter. Add sugars, eggs and vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to wet mixture and mix until well blended.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool.

These take a loooong time to cool, but they are totally worth the wait.

Cut into squares and serve.

Talk about ooeey, gooey awesomeness!! These are a-ma-zing!!

Muah! Lip-smackingly delicious!!

What is your favourite treat to take on a roadtrip?

I  hope you are having the most wonderful of weekends!!

Andrea

Baked Nachos

Happy Wednesday!

Tonight I had dinner at my grandparents' house and I was so sad to realize that I forgot my camera. We had a couple of really awesome new dishes tonight and now I'm going to have re-create them so I can share them with you! There was one vegetable dish that you are going to love!!

After I had dinner, I went to a dog training class - have I mentioned that I moonlight as an assistant dog trainer? I'm planning to dedicate some of my blog posts to my poochies and their favourite things like clicker training and dog treats...but that will be someday down the road.

When I got home I had the munchies but wanted to make sure that my snack was something healthy and satisfying, so I made us a really easy and tasty treat . You've gotta believe me that you can still have delicious and fun while being healthy and nutritious!! This week we are trying to clean out the fridge and pantry, so this snack incorporated 1/4 of a leftover avocado, some corn tortillas that have been in the freezer for way to long and some hot salsa that has been in the fridge for several weeks. I hate wasting food, so recipes that can use up all the leftovers make me very happy :-)

Baked Nachos
6 corn tortillas (6")
1 - 1.5 tbsp olive oil
sea salt (I used spicy Herbamare) to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Using your kitchen scissors cut the tortillas into wedges. I made 8 wedges per tortilla.

Spread the tortilla wedges out onto a baking sheet. Using a basting brush, brush each wedge lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle the wedges with sea salt or spicy Herbamare. Bake in the oven for 7 minutes making sure to flip the nacho chips halfway through.

Serve & enjoy!

We are huge fans of Mexican food ~ especially guacamole. I didn't have the motivation or ingredients to do an authentic guac, so instead I mashed up some leftover avocado, squeezed in some fresh lemon juice and seasoned with spicy Mrs. Dash and sea salt. There are no set amounts for this; you just need to adjust the seasonings to your tastes. We like a little tang (the lemon) combined with some heat (spicy Mrs. Dash - you could use Frank's Red Hot for a kick too!). As a second side, we had a hot salsa.

This was great snack ~ Derek even said it was great (he said it with some surprise in his voice ~ now what's up with that?!)

I also like to bake up some of these chips and serve as a side with a veggie soup or chili. I used to have bread on the side but these are lower calorie and still very satisfying.

Healthy snacks are the best aren't they? I can watch what I eat and still eat my chips - that makes this girl really, really happy!

What is your favourite healthy snack??

I hope you had an awesome Hump Day --- two more days and then its the weekend!

Andrea

PS - don't forget to check out my new Facebook page! You can keep up with all of my recipes and my day to day shenanigans!!  

Friday Night Snacktime!

Happy Friday!!!

Well we have made it through another week - woo hoo!!  I think that calls for an amazing and delicious snack. I've had an eggplant sitting in my fridge for over a week and all day I have been pondering about what I should do with it ~ so I thought I would try making some Baba Ganoush. I love this dip, but I've never made it....I'm a Baba Ganoush virgin ;-)

Best Baba Ganoush
Adapted from recipe by Winky on http://www.allrecipes.com/

1 medium eggplant
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 c tahini
3 tbsp raw sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Spicy Herbamare (sea salt)
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Wash eggplant and stab with a fork. Place on baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes or until softened.

When done roasting, dunk the eggplant in a large bowl filled with cold water. Once it is cool enough to handle, peel and cut into chunks. Put chunks into blender.

Add lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, garlic and sea salt to blender.

Blend until smooth.

Pour mixture into bowl and add olive oil. Mix.

Refrigerate dip for 2 to 3 hours. (for me the waiting time is excruciating....I want to eat it NOW!!)

Serve with your favourite crackers or vegetables. It would also be very tasty in a wrap! I just discovered Mary's Organic Crackers, so that's what I'm having - can you believe that they are wheat free and gluten free....& most importantly full of seedy deliciousness?!?!

Why would you fill up on fatty chips & dip when you can snack on such a divine, healthy snack?

Have I told you how much I love Friday nights :-)

You might remember that tomorrow is a big day for me....it's Day #1 of my 21 day cleanse. I have started stocking up for the coming week....check out some of my purchases so far. I've also purchased some organic fruits and veggies for my first green juice tomorrow morning. I can't tell you how excited I am ~ I am so looking forward to inspiring you & sharing my cleansing journey with you.

Make sure you check back to see how things are going - I'm going to be posting lots of awesome recipes and photos and I am hoping that after doing a bit of research, I can give you some helpful information on some of the things I am trying out over the next few weeks.

Until then....I bid you goodnight!!

Do you reward yourself with a little treat at the end of the work week??
What kind of dips are your fave???

Andrea

I'm Gonna Have to Face It...I'm Addicted to Cashew Butter

I don't know what it is about me & cashew butter, but I am addicted to the stuff. I find myself standing in the pantry dipping animal crackers into the jar and if I can't find any dippables, then I will even resort to my finger --- gross & I probably shouldn't admit it in writing, but sadly it is true <sigh>  I told you, I have issues :-)

One of my all-time favourite snacks used to be banana slathered in Skippy peanut butter and chocolate. What a classic and fail-proof combination!

My cashew butter obsession has now spilled over into this snack, although I have tried to convert it into something a little bit healthier (I saw this on a blog quite a long time ago and I can't remember where exactly, so I can't take full credit for this cute little treat).

Banana with Cashew Butter & Carob Chips
1 large banana, sliced lengthwise
2 tbsp of natural cashew butter
10 - 12 carob chips (or milk chocolate chips taste phenomenal as well)

Spread the cashew butter onto each banana half & then sprinkle with carob or chocolate chips....and enjoy!

Sooooooooo Good!!!

This is often a snack that I will make when we are cleaning the house - I cut into bite size chunks and we grab a bite everytime we pass through the kitchen. It just brings us a little joy during not so joyous chores such as dusting :-(

A banana smothered in Chocolate Cashew Butter Dip would also be divine!!

Wishing you some happy snacking and a very goodnight!

Andrea

Veggie Plate with Hummus and Chocolate Cashew Dip

What a great long weekend it has been with my mom! We have been to the movies, visited with family, gone out for dinner and brunch, driven all over Southwestern Ontario searching for a book that I have been wanting to buy and eating.....lots and lots of eating CARBS!!!

We have had banana cake, sweet potato cornbread, ravioli, gnocchi, spaghetti, toast and the list goes on and on. Today, I decided we needed to amp up our veggie and fruit intake and add some healthy dips to go along side for a healthy lunch.

I had some organic carrots, pears, kiwis and apples that I need to use up, as well as some leftover green onions from Saturday night's dinner. I also added some vegetable crackers that I needed to use up.

Doesn't that look refreshing?? I have been craving something green for days!

It won't take you long to figure out that I am a total sucker for dips. In fact, I can eat an entire bowl of dip in one sitting, so it's best if I have some healthy choices that I can whip up quickly and easily rather than digging into store bought dips that are full of fat and empty calories.

Hummus
Adapted from Oh She Glows

1 19 oz can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp spicy Herbamare (sea salt)
3 cloves of garlic
juice from 2 fresh organic lemons (approx 5 tbsp)
3 - 4 tbsp of water
1 tsp Frank's red hot
1/2 c tahini
1 tbsp olive oil

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Unfortunately my food processor bit the dust today, so I had to blend this in batches in my very old blender :-( 

Right before serving, drizzle with an additional tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

This hummus is fantastic~it tastes great with fresh veggies, on crackers, in veggie wraps or on whole grain toast.

I also wanted to have something sweet, so that I could dip my fruit. I have been having a love affair with cashew butter lately and I only had a wee bit left in my jar....what better combo than to mix my favourite nut butter with a chunk of chocolate? The only question more pressing is why has it taken me so long to try this combination??

Chocolate Cashew Butter Dip
2 - 3 tbsp of all natural cashew butter
1 square of dark chocolate

Place in microwaveable dish and heat in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir after each 30 seconds.

Absolutely decadent!

I really loved this dip with the apples. I think it would also be divine with animal crackers.

This was such a great lunch - it was satisfying and healthy and provided us with lots of fruits and vegetables that our bodies were so badly craving.

My mom really loved the hummus (I did too), but I really loved my chocolate cashew butter dip. Thank goodness I only had enough to make a small little bowl because I finished every last bit!

Wishing you a wonderful Monday evening and lovely end to your long holiday weekend (if you were lucky like me to have one).

Andrea

PS - If you're craving something a little sweeter and more decadent, check out my girl, Kris's, contest at i heart wellness. Enter to win 6 of her bakery's decadent Chocolate Chip "Chips Enjoy" Cookie Sandwiches - they are vegan and gluten free!! Click the link above to enter. I'd wish you all good luck, but you're going to have to beat me to get these tasty treats!!