Hey, hey, hey! Happy What I Ate Wednesday!
Before we get to talking about food, we’ve gotta talk selfies. I love that you guys enjoyed yesterday’s post, and the general consensus seems to be that I need to do it more often. I can do that… I think 😯 The only catch is that I might try to drag you guys down in with me. We’ll see what I can work out. But enough about that — back to the food!
Last week I promised you guys that I’d do my best to start posting a full day of eats more often, and I’m still sticking to that plan (minus a latte, kabocha, and spoonful of chocolate coconut butter), but I wanted to bring back the themes so this week we’ve got… lessons learned at each meal…
Breakfast… Breakfast is more enjoyable when oats are involved.
This is not oatmeal — it’s rice [with milk, almond butter, cinnamon, and honey] — and while I definitely still enjoyed it, oats will always be my favourite breakfast grain. There’s just something about the texture and taste that I adore — or maybe it’s the fact that it has a lot of comfort attached to it since it’s what I grew up on.
AM… I really need to start making more blogger recipes.
I’m horrible about making recipes that I find online. Ho.ri.ble. I always mean to, but my good intentions never seem to translate into actions. Today is a special occasion though. See, it’s Becky’s blogiversary (head over to wish her a happy one!), so a bunch of us bloggers decided to throw her a virtual party by each making one of her fabulous recipes. My choice? Her {Easy} Breakfast Cookie in a Mug.
The only mods I made were replacing the stevia with sugar (didn’t have any), cutting back on the soda, and replacing the M&Ms with chocolate chips (pesky allergies). Becky, you’re a genius, and Happy Blogiversary! Here’s to many more years 
And if anyone wants to see what other bloggers made, hop on over to Twitter and search #ONWturns1.
Lunch… I eat a lot of stir fries.
But I can’t help it! They’re quick, easy, delicious, and you can toss pretty much anything in them (bell peppers, broccoli florets, mushrooms, tofu, a bit of orange). Plus they give me an excuse to cook with toasted sesame oil and use one of my favourite sauces (a simple combo of sunflower seed butter and soy sauce).
PM… Chocolate cravings can’t be ignored.
… at least not if you want to prevent yourself from eating 20 other things in an attempt to satisfy that craving, and still ending up having to take a bite of chocolate — and don’t act like you’ve never done it! Chocolate cravings are crazy. In fact, I remember them being so bad when I was younger, that I’d resort to eating those squares of bitter Baker’s chocolate if nothing else was available. Thankfully, I had a bar of Alter Eco chocolate on hand when the craving struck yesterday afternoon.
Dinner… I have an aversion to taking food pics when other people are around.
… which is why this picture is recycled. I had a friend over last night, and neither of us felt like going out or ordering in, so we tossed an Amy’s pizza in the oven and called it good. I’m 99.9% sure that she wouldn’t have cared if I whipped out the camera, but having to face my selfie aversion was enough for one week — we’ll conquer this one some other time.
Evening… I can’t go a day without eating cereal… or yogurt.
What can I say… I’m a woman in love
. – . – . – .
What’s your favourite grain?
What crazy lengths have you gone to to satisfy a chocolate craving?
Do you feel comfortable photographing your food when other people are around?
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Lovely lessons learned, especially never to deny a craving. I’ve resorted to the bakers chocolate before. It’s not ideal, but it works in a pinch. I love seeing a full day of good food again, and I think we’ve inspired others to join the party. Starting a movement rocks!
I’m a big fan of your stir fry bowls. They always look so colorful and delicious, although I’ve never thought to make them with spaghetti. I need to try that. Do you cook the pasta separately first, and the just add it to your stir fry at the end?
It’s definitely awesome to see more people jumping on board! And yup — I always cook my noodles/rice separately… usually it’s just leftovers 😆
Amanda- I know you like frozen bananas so you must try this: put one frozen banana slices in a cup, wait couple of minutes till it gets little mushy and mash it up with almond butter – I make it when I am too lazy to make soft severe and it is amazing (at least for me ;)).
I Love your blog 🙂
I love the combination of bananas and almond butter! I’m definitely going to try this — thanks Olga!
Oats, oats, oats! Occasionally I’ll include buckwheat or quinoa in my morning bowl, but to not include oats at all…honestly, it feels like I’m cheating. I’ve become a huge fan of incorporating oat flour into breads and cookies and pancakes and alllll the other baking too.
LOVE Becky. And her recipes. Especially ones that get me a cookie, fast. Hooray for bloggers who embrace happiness and reality over perfection – you included!
Oh lordy I love making stirfys. It is so easy to make, and don’t need a recipe. Just throw things together in the skillet. This is one of my biggest go to meals, at least a few times a week. I ALWAYS have veggies in fridge for it or at the very least a bag of the frozen mixed veggies to throw in the skillet. SO easy!!!
I am definitely making the cookie in a mug for dessert tonight 😀 Except I don’t have coconut flour or almond milk, so we’ll see how regular flour and milk turn out 🙂
Hi Amanda!
Actually, did you know that here in Sweden, we have a Christmas tradition to eat Oatmeal made of RICE,( “Ricemeal/pudding” or in Swedish: “Risgrynsgröt”) every Christmas Eve?! =)
And the children put a out a big bowl of ricepudding to Santa, outside the door!
Although, to eat ricepudding is very common to eat all year here in Sweden, but specially at Christmas. Me, myself never really liked oatmeal made of rice. When I was a child I never really liked oatmeal or oats either, my favorite was always semolina (manna) pudding and I think, maybe because of that smooth texture, I felt like ricepudding hade lumps in it!! :O
OMG that cookie in a mug looks good. I need to try that!!
It depends on who is with me – most of the time it’s not a big deal to take a photo of food, but if I’m just meeting someone or trying to make a good impression, it’s not always the most appropriate time to be doing that.
I notice everything you eat that is processed is usually pretty calorie controlled? Is this a conscious choice, i know you don’t calorie count but does it ever play on your mind still at times? Hope you are well Amanda- I think I’m just concerned because you posted about having a fat day and then started running and you looked so tiny in some of your selfies (way cute still) so I just wonder how you are feeling especially studying nutrition now 😉 keep that strong heads of yours straight beautiful.
Hey Theresa! I’m doing well — you honestly don’t have to worry 🙂 I haven’t cut back on how much I eat or lost any weight, and I’m not trying to. My running isn’t anything serious, as I’m just slowly easing back into it, so it’s more of a walk/run and I’m not going for any impressive distances.
Thank you for your concern, though — you’re a sweetheart 🙂
The rice is really nice if you cook it in full fat organic cows milk or a bit of cream jus an FYI. It’s lovely we have it here in the Normandy region of France for breakfast a lot! May I ask why you use almond milk instead of normal milk- it’s not common here? I really hope you give the rice a second go with some yummy milk and/or cream – it’s one of my favourite things- also using arborio rice is a really important part! It makes it effortlessly creamy and its so good. Maybe that will make a difference- I’m desperate for you I try it again lol 🙂
My favourite grain? Hmm- wheat? baguette, plain buttered noodles, cereal 🙂
Chocolate cravings- I have always just satisfied them with chocolate- I don’t understand?
Also what kind of yogurt do you guys get in Canada? Because all of these blogs keep thinking 2% is full fat! It is not lol! Full fat is between 3.5 and 6 percent and traditionally Greek has 10% go to Europe and see the beauty of it people 😉
Xo
I’m definitely not writing off rice for good — it’s one of my favourite grains 😀 I’ve heard some pretty great things about arborio rice, but I have this bag of basmati to get through first. And -most- of our yogurt is either 0 or 2%. There are some brands that carry the 10% Greek, but they’re not as common.
I love all of your eats! Your breakfast rice bowl looks amazing and my mouth is watering over your stir-fry. My favorite grain is probably oats, but I love quinoa, too! Lately, I’ve been on an oats kick and eating it pretty much every morning. I love to add all kinds of different toppings, even an fried egg!
Like you, I don’t really like taking pictures of my food in front of people. I always feel weird doing it, unless I’m with other fellow food bloggers. But, if the food I am eating is REALLY good, I will persevere and take a picture.
I THOUGHT that looked like a bowl of rice! I was like, “I wonder what oats she uses?” Lol I’d have to say oats are my favorite grain, but now you’ve got craving a bowl of sweet rice and I have a TON of it in the pantry that I need to use up…but WHY does it have to take so long to cook?! And I REALLY need to make more blogger recipes too! I need a plan…and a list…and an extra day in my week! 😉
I’ve broken down and just tossed back a handful of chocolate chips before when there was no other source of chocolate in my house. So not the same, but it worked in a pinch! Now that I’ve started craving chocolate more regularly, I try to keep a good assortment of bars in my kitchen…in my purse…in my lunchbag…and in my locker at work…at ALL times! Lol
I don’t really care about taking pictures of my food in front of people…unless it’s someone new that I’m meeting for the first time. I like to get to know a person a bit before I’m all like I HAVE A BLOG! Ya know?
Cooking rice is seriously one of the banes of my existence. I gave up trying to cook it the proper way and now I just cook it like pasta by adding tonnes of water and draining off the excess when it’s done. And brown rice? Eehehe… yeah no.
What a delicious day of eats! Especially the breakfast mug cookie! Yum! Photographing my food depends on who I’m with. If it’s someone I don’t know well I don’t usually bust out my phone or camera to snap pics. Family and close friends, don’t mind at all!
Is it creepy that whenever I eat those foods you mentioned I think of you???!! hahaaha, especially oatmeal. 😉 I can’t blame you because some of those are my favorites! And I wouldn’t say I’m complleeeeetely shameless when it comes to photographing food in public around strangers, but I’ve come to be like, “ehhh who cares! teehee~snap snap” 😀 But it can be a biiiiiit weird when I do it around really old groups of people because they just give me a question mark.
It’s funny when I met someone new and whip out my phone to take a picture of my food. More often than not I tell them I’m a food blogger, but other times I just sneak one when they aren’t looking 🙂
I’ve made Becky’s breakfast cookie before too and also used choc chips not m&ms and it was so so good!!
I am back to posting a full day of my eats too, won’t always happen but will give it a good go!
Drooling over your pizza that looks seriously amazing.
I love that you are actually posting a whole days of eats. I used to do that when WIAW first started, but it is so hard. Koodos to you for doing it though, it definitely makes for an entertaining post. I am not a huge fan of rice, but I haven’t tried it like that. It looks lie a really good sticky rice. What kind of grain (short vs long) was it?
It definitely wasn’t short, so I’m going to go with either long or just regular… if that’s a thing. It was white basmati and a day or so old, so maybe that made a difference?
PIZZA!!!! Now I’m craving it. YUM!!! You know, I’ve been thinking about just eating chocolate for dinner. But I’m also insanely tired and don’t know what I want.
I’ve never tried rice for breakfast before! I have tried quinoa though and while it was good, it just wasn’t oatmeal. It will always be my breakfast favourite! Brown rice is my favourite grain for other meals though.
As for taking pictures in front of others, it depends. I will in front of people who know I have a blog, but if they don’t, then I tend not to.
PS. I’m eating almost that exact same stir fry for dinner right now… freaky!
I thought I was the only person who ate rice for breakfast! haha I usually love to mix brown rice with scrambled eggs and salsa for a little “breakfast bowl”.
And I agree it’s always best to give into chocolate cravings 😉
Rice for breakfast? Reminds me back to my trip to Japan! I’m to intrigued by the sweet twist on it! I’m with you though on oats being my favourite grain- mainly for its variations and versatility!
I LOVE alter ego chocolate- their coconut one is one of my favourites. Ha, the other day I ate baking chocolate because I had a craving. It was that 100% cooking one- so dark yet so (strangely) good.
Sunbutter (or any nut butter) + liquid aminos + sesame oil = best noodle dressing ever. It would be criminal if you ate that dish warm. 😉
Nooo — the only thing better than stir fries is cold leftover stir fries. Ah.maze.ing. And I haven’t tried the coconut Alter Eco yet — going to have to pick that one up!
This Becky recipe looks super tasty! I have so many recipes of hers that I want to try out now after seeing them all today!
I love oatmeal too but I’m usually too lazy to make it. It’s so perfect when the weather’s cold though. I really want to try quinoa cereal instead of oatmeal sometime.
I also need to make more blogger recipes! Becky’s mug cookie looked scrumptious.
I’m also SO bad with trying recipes that I bookmark. I have hundreds of recipes bookmarked, but I’ve probably only tried making 2% of them. When opportunities arise, I go for it, but I never usually go out of my way to make a certain recipe.
My favorite grains are oatmeal, brown rice (I love the texture), and wild rice. I’ve made brown rice breakfast bowls with peanut butter, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and banana slices stirred in. It’s quite delicious! But I think you’re right—breakfast just calls for oatmeal. 🙂
And most of my friends know I like to take pictures of food all the time, so I’m not that shy about it!
Your 2% is still 1% more than me 😛 I blame the fact that there are just so many good ones that I don’t know where to start.
This has just reminded me that I need cereal back in my life I think! I’m ok with whipping the camera out now, I got used to those ‘crazy lady’ looks 😉
Ooh, the food photography question is a great one! If I don’t know the people very well, I won’t do it. If they know that I have a blog, I almost always WILL do it. Sometimes I also sneak it under the table (the picture, not the food). My favorite grain? Well now I have no idea! Can I just say that I love pasta?
Oats are by far may fav grain.. also comforting from my childhood 🙂 Besides oatmeal (quick oats.. do those count as a grain haha) I don’t eat many other whole grains, actually, I’m not a huge fan.. I much prefer bread/bagels/crackers for the rest of the day. I’ve tried them many times but I don’t see a reason to push it on myself? I just do whole grain/wheat breads and call it good.
Annnd in the minority here for sure but I don’t hardly get chocolate cravings! Like, I like it, but honestly I prefer a chocolate chip cookie or something to just plain chocolate. Strange eh.. I’ve always been like that though, even as a little kid. I was (am..) a cookie monster though so there’s that. I suppose Oreo’s count as a chocolate craving?? 😉
yummo! All your eats look so good, but that pizza really caught my eye!
My favorite grain has to be barley… those little pearls of chewy goodness. I haven’t tried them as a breakfast yet though. I usually don’t categorize food as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner item but there is something about barley that just says eat me at dinner. Oats, however, always win over at breakfast!
You know, I’ve never tried barley before, but I do love a chewy grain so you’ve got me wanting to pick some up!
My favorite brain is probably oats because I just love the texture. There’s nothing better to me than a bowl of warm oats with melty nut butter 😀 I have driven in a snow storm before to get a coffee and chocolate bar. No shame. Chocolate is just needed sometimes.
I feel SO uncomfortable whipping out my camera, but thankfully, people are taking more and more pictures of their food now-a-days. My mom asked me last night if I took a picture of my S’mores cookie pies to put on Facebook. I responded, “Yes, yes I did” with an amazingly cheese-y smile!
Ummm wait. I need to try that chocolate brand now! I saw once on KERF that she made a stir fry sauce with sunbutter and it was so good. So that validates your genius idea! (Not that it really needed validating, I trust you 🙂 )