What I Ate Wednesday Goes Green!

Hiya and welcome to Wednesday :-D

Apparently GREENS are this week's must-have summer staple because there's been alot of GREEN  taking over my kitchen!  Check out the latest produce picked from my garden ~

Zucchini, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, beans and my very first pepper!

I've been giving oodles of produce away and still my fridge is overflowing with all of this green loveliness. That is not a bad problem to have!!

I've been incorporating lots of veggies into my recent eats. Check it out:

 

Breakfast

Toasted scrambled egg sandwich with avocado & salsa!

Lunch

Mixed green salad with grape tomatoes, shredded cabbage & carrots, spicy peanut tofu and a quinoa/bulger mix. Why do all the salad fixin's always end up at the bottom of the bowl?!?!

 Another awesome lunch from earlier this week was cottage cheese

and some leftover Orzo Spinach Greek Salad from the weekend.

Snackage

Well this 'green' didn't come from my garden, but it is definitely one of the best foods on the planet. Plain brown rice cake with smashed avocado and a pinch of sea salt. Best. Snack. Ever.

Dinner

Oven roasted butternut squash with Courtney's Light & Tasty Zucchini Casserole.

 

Yum!

I'm happy to be back into a routine at home and my meals are getting much more back to the normal clean eats that my body loves best.

Thank you to Jenn for continuing to host this weekly link up par-tay. Make sure you head on over to her site to see what staples other bloggers must have on hand this summer.

 

What are your must-have summertime foods?

Have a great day!

Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday - Amping Up The Veg Factor

Welcome to the last edition of What I Ate Wednesday - Love Your Veggies!!!

I, for one, have been loving these veggie-themed posts! 

If you've been loving them as well, head on over to Peas & Crayons for lots of other veggie inspiration.

This week I want to show you just how easy it is to add more veggies to your daily eats. Did you know that it only takes 21 days to change a habit? Why don't you challenge yourself to increase the amount of veggies you have with each meal for the entire month of March and see how you feel at the end. I promise that you are going to notice some positive differences in the way that you feel (ie - I am less tired, full of energy and have a much better complexion) and if you love the differences, your new habits are well on their way to becoming part of your regular old routine.

Breakfast

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that my husband had a terrible sinus cold a couple of weeks ago and now is battling the worst cold/flu I have ever seen! I really, really do not want to get his germies, so I have been chowing down on tons of fresh produce to help strengthen my immune system.

Green smoothies are a common breakfast in this house and I've been making an effort to have one every single day. Check out all the produce in just one smoothie: a cup of baby spinach, a large banana, one pear, the juice of one small lemon and  a cup of natural spring water. Now that is ALOT of servings of fruits & veggies in one drink!

Lunch

Most days I pack a salad for lunch. My salad always starts with some baby spinach and grape tomatoes and then I fill 'er up with whatever I have on hand. This one has baby carrots, goat feta cheese, raw sunflower seeds, alfalfa sprouts and peppers. As a dressing, I used a splash of EVOO and apple cider vinegar and dijon mustard. Squirting lots of dijon on a salad sounds a little strange I know, but please be open-minded and give it a try. If you love dijon you will LOVE this!!!! I got this 'dressing' idea from Kris at iheartwellness. If I wasn't surrounded by co-workers at lunch, I would lick my bowl clean ;)

Oh yea baby, I love me some dijon!!!

If you're looking to add a little protein, you could definitely add a hard-boiled egg, a handful of chickpeas or some sliced turkey.

Derek's been loving his salad with 2 hard-boiled eggs, some smoked turkey and Ranch dressing. He's a big guy with a big appetite and he loves to get this salad in his lunch!

Snackage

On Monday, I made an extra special treat that I have been loving as my snack. Black bean brownies topped with some sugar-free raspberry preserves. This is a flourless, gluten-free recipe. They are fudgy, packed full of protein and taste amazing with the fruit. I am in love with this recipe which I found on Pattycake.

Dinner

Instead of bread, pasta or some other type of grain, I've been trying to add a great big serving of veggies as a side  to my dinners. Usually I like a big plate of veggies roasted with a little coconut oil and sea salt or with some oil, dijon and sea salt. I was craving sweet potato fries recently, so I gave in and had a few from a bag I'd bought at the Superstore. They were so good and definitely satisfied my craving!  As my main meal, I finally remembered to buy wonton wrappers and I made Jen's spinach feta wonton cups.

Oh my goodness, her wonton recipes rock the house!!! I made these ones on Monday and I've already made my own 'veggie omlet' version. These wontons are definitely going to make a weekly appearance on our dinner table.

So as you can see, I can make delicious and filling meals that are filled to the brim with healthy vegetables and fruit. If I can do it, so can you.....and you are going to feel amazing!

What are you going to do so that you can eat more veggies?

Do you have a rotation of meals that you eat every week or do you like to experiment with new recipes and mix it up all the time?

I hope you have the best Wednesday ever!

Andrea

xo

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

What I Ate Wednesday & What My Poochies Ate Too!

Happy Hump Day - so we meet here yet again!

It's been hot, sunny and absolutely beautiful this week, so I've been enjoying light, delicious summery meals. There's nothing better and I have to say it's about darn time :-). I am loving barbecue season after the long, cold winter we've had!

I know you're dying to get outside to soak up some of that wonderful Vitamin D, so I'll be quick and get right to it.

I've been starting most days off with one of my iced coffee creations. I was going to limit myself to weekends only, but they're so darn good I just can't resist making them whenever I have time!

For breakie, I've been loving Greek Yogourt with Honey, mixed with some of biggest sweetest blackberries ever and some Summer Berry Kashi Granola. This is so filling and satisfying after an early morning workout and I have to say the creamy yogourt mixed with honey is awesome!

For lunches, I've been bringing a Chickpea and Summer Veggie Salad to work with me. The recipe came from a new cookbook that I won in a giveaway hosted by Lauren at the spiced plate ~ thanks Lauren, you're the best girl!  It's Amy Green's Simply Sugar & Gluten Free. I have read this cookbook from cover to cover (I'm weird like that) and I have a ton of recipes bookmarked to try out. This was the first one I made and it certainly did not disappoint. I served my salad on a bed of baby spinach. Healthy and delish! I promise I'll give a proper review of this book once I've had a chance to really try it out :-)

For dinner, we were all about the grill. Grilled corn on the cob (it wasn't fresh, so it was ok but we are definitely stoked for fresh corn later this summer), a grilled balsamic mushroom with swiss and a warm Asparagus and Potato Salad, by Angela. I followed her recipe exactly except that I grilled my taters and asparagus spears in a wok on the barbie instead of roasting in the oven. Mouthwatering. Delicious. So glad there's leftovers.

And because the weather has been so darn hot, I wanted to share a nice cool treat that I give to my dogs to help them cool down. Being big, black and furry doesn't work out so well during the hot summer months. Meet the frozen stuffed Kong. Looks gross to us, but it is absolutely delectable to our canine friends. I stuff the Kongs with all sorts of goodies and today I used mashed sweet potato mixed with an organic chicken and vegetable baby food. I stuffed the Kong, froze it overnight and voila! Cheap, cool and keeps the dogs busy for over an hour!

So what if there's dog slobber all over my floor - I'm just happy they have something that

makes them happy and helps to cool them down in this HOT, HUMID weather!

So there you have it. As you can see I'm back on track and rockin' some healthy eats. I'm determined to lose the excess weight I've gained over the winter. One significant change you might notice is that there are no snacks; especially late night snacks! And so far, I don't miss them one bit!

If you're looking for some more inspiration, check out Jenn's site at peas & crayons.

I know I  have lots of pet lovers that follow me. What's your favourite summertime treat to feed your furry friends? 

Favourite meal of the day? 

On a side note, my bloggie friend, Cait @ beyond bananas, is hosting a Baking for Boobies bake sale over at her site. All funds raised will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to help fund community programs to support those who are suffering from breast cancer and to help find a cure.The bake sale ends tomorrow at 11:59 p.m., so pop over and check out all the baked goodies and other items and bid!! A little can go a long way ~ we can all make a difference!
Happy Wednesday!!

Andrea

What I Ate Wednesday

Happy Hump Day!! Oh yeah kids, it's that time again already; Time for What I Ate Wednesday! Isn't nice to have a holiday Monday to help the rest of the work week fly by?!






I've found myself craving lots of fruits and veggies the past few days now that the temperatures have gotten a little warmer and the sun has started to show it's gorgeous face. Today, is all about good eats to satisfy my cravings and keep me fueled  from morning to night. It's also about being a conscious eater so I can drop these 10 pesky pounds I seem to have inherited!

Early mornings + Circuit Workout at 6:15 a.m. = Breakie on the Go. This morning I took a green smoothie to go in my all-time fave travel cup. This smoothie had frozen banana, frozen strawberries, baby spinach, water and Vega Vanilla Almondilla smoothie powder. It was really good!!

By the time I finished my workout and got to work, the growly hunger monster was starting to rear its ugly head, so I whipped myself up a banana with all natural peanut butter for a snack. I have been LOVING this snack lately!! Sometimes I get strange looks from my co-workers as I cut up my banana and smear it full of PB ~ I just smile and take a great big bite because I know they're all just wishing I'd make them a snack too :-)

Yes, I might have had a couple of nibbles before snapping this pic :-)

For lunch I had two lefover eggplant parmesan medallions (check back tomorrow for eggplant parm recipe)!Usually this goes with pasta, but I didn't want to overload myself on carbs and have a sleepy afternoon. Instead I served the eggplant parms on wilted spinach and marinara sauce. Delicious and satisfying! I also had a V8 Juice on the rocks :-)

I sipped on water all day and during the afternoon lull I had a divine piece of dark chocolate to perk me up. Ok, ok maybe I had 2 pieces ;-)

What is with that cup?! It just keeps popping up everywhere!!

I've been super busy at night trying to get the house in order, our yard looking half-way presentable and myself packed for my weekend away with the fam. I've been opting for quickie meals and tonight was about as quick as you can get. I had a 6" Veggie Delite Sub on whole wheat bread from Subway. I load my veggie subs with swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, cukes, green peppers, lots & lots of olives and honey mustard; d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!! I actually bought a footlong, so the other half will be my lunch for tomorrow. I can't wait!

This pic doesn't thrill me. The sub was much more fabulous than it looks here!

So there you have it. Another week, another post with lots of great and easy eats.

Check out Jenn's site at Peas & Crayons to see many other amazing meal ideas by some of the most amazing food bloggies on the Net.

As usual, I want to hear about your fave meal over the past week. You readers inspire me as much as my bloggie friends!

Have a happy day,

Andrea

What I Ate Wednesday

I've been totally loving Wednesdays lately! I love sharing my good eats, but I really love seeing and reading about what everyone else eats as well! Sometimes it is so easy to fall into the rut of having the same meals week after week and I'm constantly finding inspiration from my friends for new and exciting meals. Hopefully you'll get some inspiration from me to  make easy and healthy meals as well!

I've been having some awesome eats lately. Check it out.






Of course, being the creature of habit that I am, I start my day off drinking a warm glass of lemon water with a dash of cayenne pepper.

On mornings when I go to the gym before work, I've been laying off the green smoothies because that requires the blender, which creates a whole lotta doggie chaos at 5:30 a.m. My dogs love the kitchen and are always lurking around hoping that I'll drop something. If they hear the blender come on, they both come running. The problem is, they are in our bedroom and Derek doesn't exactly appreciate being woken up jumped on by 2 rottweilers at that time in the morning :-)

So, instead of a green smoothie, I make myself and quick and easy breakfast of strawberry-flavoured greek yogourt with some chocolate coconut granola. Soooo delicious!

For my mid-morning snack, I've been sticking to fresh fruit. Pears have been my fruit of choice lately.

So sweet, so juicy....I CANNOT wait until we start getting some fresh, local fruit!

For lunch, I had some of the super-filling energy boosting protein salad I made on Sunday. I still am totally loving this salad ~ it's awesome because it keeps me satisfied until dinnertime.

For dinner, it was a honey veggie stirfry with a piece of panfried teriyaki tofu.

This was soooo good!! I used to think I always needed to have some sort of grain (rice, pasta, etc.) with stirfry, but this was delicious and satisfying all on its own!

I was late eating dinner because I went to a 6 p.m. spin class right after work, so I didn't even have a snack before bed!

Have I made you jealous?? I had some seriously good and healthy eats lately!! Believe me, if I could, I would come and cook for each and every one of you :-) At the very least, I hope I've motivated you with some healthy meal ideas. Check out Jenn's WIAW page for even more motivation!

What was your fave meal of the day??

Happy Hump Day!

Andrea

What I Ate Wednesday

Can you believe it's Wednesday again already?! I've said it before, but I'll say it again...I just LOVE short work weeks :-)





I've gotten back on track and "Operation Kill the Cream Egg Calories" is going quite well :-)

Check out my good eats.

Of couse, as usual I start with my warm lemon water with cayenne.

And then my plan is to have one of these every morning.

I just love green smoothies, especially now that the weather is starting to warm up. This smoothie has frozen banana, 1 scoop of Vega Vanilla Almondilla, frozen fruit (strawberries, peaches and pineapple), spinach and distilled water. It was awesome!

For lunches this week, I'm sticking to my leftover Southwestern Veggie Soup. I think this soup is getting better with age; the flavour just keeps getting better and better! This is the perfect lunch for a week that calls for rain and storms every day.

If I get the munchies in the afternoon, I've been trying to make wiser snack choices. Lately I've been loving raw veggies with some form of dip. Here I have a light Ranch, but I've been eating massive amounts of hummus  and roasted red pepper dip too! It's amazing how a little dip can jazz up your snacks!

 

For dinner, I had 20 Minute Roasted Tomato Pasta from Jessica at How Sweet It Is. I used brown rice spaghetti and sprinkled it with nutritional yeast in place of the cheese. Instead of having a huge plate of pasta, which is usually how I roll, I also roasted some butternut squash. One of my all-time favourite vegetable sides - it was sticky and sweet and oh so amazing!

This meal got a great big "thumbs up" from Derek!

Is your mouth watering with all of my delicious meal ideas? All of these are super easy, can be whipped up in a snap and are absolutely delish!!  Did you notice that I used clean, whole foods and that my meals lately have been completely vegan (except the ranch dip of course!). I'm feeling awesome and healthy and proud for getting myself back on track after a few days of indulgence.

For more amazing meal and snack ideas, check out Jenn's website for some inspiration.

What was you favourite meal today?

Happy Hump Day!!

Andrea