Happy What I Ate Wednesday, friendly faces! 😀
Two weeks in a row! I’m on a roll here with the WIAWs. Aaaaaaand that’s pretty much all I’ve got in the way of intros, so let’s cut to the chase and start talking about the good stuff — the food.
This week’s theme is: foods that make the day feel complete. You know what I’m talking about… the foods you can go without for a max of about 1 day before you start suffering the symptoms of withdrawal… Yeeeeep.
Breakfast… isn’t complete without… something sweet.
Brownie Batter Oats with some plain Greek yogurt and a spoonful of Barney Butter.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I will always and forever be a sweet breakfast kind of girl. I can do the savoury thing if need be, but more often than not it only results in me rummaging around in my cupboards an hour later, looking for dessert. I know some people say that eating sugar first thing in the morning sets off their sweet tooth and leaves them craving it for the rest of the day, but I’ve always found the opposite to be true.
Eating a sweet breakfast satisfies my sugar cravings and makes them a lot more manageable. I don’t end up feeling as hungry or snacky throughout the day, and I don’t finish my meal feeling like something is still missing… ya know? There are actually studies out there to back this kind of thing up… but then again, there are studies out there to back up pretty much anything. Everything works [for someone] — it’s all about finding out what works for you.
Morning snack… isn’t complete without… coffee.
Coffee, a banana, and some maple roasted almond butter.
Coffee is a daily thing around these parts, but I rarely ever drink it first thing in the morning. Instead, I like to start the day with a cup of my favourite tea and follow that up with a coffee around 9 or 10. No specific reason why, really — just personal preference. And because I’m well past the days where I could call a cup of black coffee a snack, I enjoyed my hug-in-a-mug alongside one of my favourite snack combos… and some word searchin’.
Lunch… isn’t complete without… a [sweet& salty] snack plate.
Roasted kabocha squash, half an avocado with sea salt, The Good Bean’s cinnamon crunchy chickpeas, whole wheat Triscuits, and dried apricots.
I have no idea how I functioned before I stared having snack plates for lunch… but I do remember not being a big fan of the midday meal. This plate had a little bit of everything to satisfy every possible craving. Creamy, crunchy, chewy, salty, and sweet… Per.fec.tion.
Afternoon snack… isn’t complete without… cookies.
A few maple almond butter cookies — for taste testing purposes, obviously 😉
Did/do you guys have a favourite after school snack? Mine was always, always, always cookies. I did go through a Pizza Pocket stage at some point, but that was pretty short-lived. For the most part, it’s been all about the cookies. Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Viva Puffs… Omigosh! Viva Puffs! I completely forgot about those! They’re probably my favourite as far as store-bought cookies go. So good. Needless to say, these weren’t Viva Puffs, but they were super tasty nonetheless. I’ll be sharing the recipe soon!
Dinner… isn’t complete without… leftovers.
Beef stew and whole wheat penne noodles.
I’m 99.86% sure that the main reason my family insists I come over for dinner on Sundays is so that they can make sure I’m eating something other than cereal and waffles. I am, but I appreciate the leftovers nonetheless… especially when it means that I get to eat something that I don’t usually cook for myself. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never been able to get over my fear of working with raw beef. Chicken I can do, but beef still skeeves me out. Thank goodness for moms 😀
Evening snack… isn’t complete without… cereal.
A bowl mug of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, and crispy rice cereal with some vanilla almond milk.
I can think of few better midnight snacks than a bowl of cereal… or cereals as it were. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m never satisfied with just putting one type of cereal into my bowl — I need to mix up a few different kinds. It’s a taste and texture kind of thing. That being said, a combo I’m currently loving is: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, and crispy rice. CTC by itself is a little too sweet for me, but pairing it with more hearty, wheaty, bland cereals brings it down to just the right level of sweetness. Perfection.
And just like that, my day feels complete 😉 See you guys tomorrow for Thinking Out Loud!
Your turn! A day isn’t complete without ______.
What’s your favourite store-bought cookie? Favourite after school snack?
Is there anything you don’t like working with when baking/cooking?
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Those Brownie Batter Oats…where might I find that recipe? I think I’ve been missing out on something.
My day isn’t complete without eggs! I have a slight obsession! 🙂
That breakfast looks amazing!! What went into your brownie batter oats?? I looked all over on your site for a recipe but could not find one.
A day isn’t complete without some sort of sweet breakfast food for me, whether that be oatmeal or pancakes or yogurt & cereal. When I have savoury breakfasts sometimes with JZ on weekends, I usually find myself having oatmeal for lunch!
A day isn’t complete without talking to my Hubby. Oh wait, we’re supposed to be on food huh. A day isn’t complete without quite possibly a banana. I won’t say I eat one every single day, but almost every day certainly. It’s the single most dominant fruit in my life.
I actually have about 8 of them on the counter right now….all turning brown because it’s so hot here (it started yesterday and is continuing today) and I refuse to turn the AC on because I’m stubborn. Guess some baking will be in order. Not necessarily a bad thing, although if the oven goes on, I’ll have to break down and crack up the air. Either that or melt in a pool of my own sweat.
Oh man I could go your dinner right now. I love how mama spoons always seems to make beef. She’s my new idol.
Those damn cookies. I bought banana bread today and I really wanted cookies. Preferably Subway ones. White chocolate and macadamia cookies.
Just be thankful that you’ve been able to experience their goodness! Some of us aren’t that lucky 😛
hmmmm, my day never feels complete without my overnight oats. currently loving coconut blueberry oats. yum! funny enough, up until about a year ago breakfast had to, had to, HAD to be savory. eggs over gf toast, eggs over veggies, or eggs and potatoes. i still love me some eggs, but nowadays i prefer my oats. 🙂
and tea! i usually start with something super mild, like chamomile. then it’s a mug of chai with a splash of soy or almond milk. then i will move on to my mid-morning coffee and snack.
such a delicious day of eats!
you can never stop at just one bowl of cereal. everrrrr!
My day isn’t complete without bananas and nut butter. My favorite type of store bought cookie is the original Oreo. I don’t really like baking at all because I never have baking powder, baking soda or all the other stuff you need, so I guess that would be it 🙂
Yum Yum Yum. I can totally get on board with your eats! My day isn’t complete without three things…coffee, nut butter, and ice cream!
I can’t usually stomach breakfast but I definitely need a pretty sweet cup o’ coffee or sometimes I warm up diet coke….weird I know but for some reason I really like it!
My day must include kabocha and steamed veggies with random spices. If I don’t have it I can never figure out what to eat thus I tend to keep trying stuff and then feel gross.
After school…I was lucky since my mom was stay-at-home so she would make her awesome apple delight (basically a cobbler/crumble or s’mores out of golden grahams cereal or her butter cookie bars. If not I would have a chewy chocolate chip granola bar. Sometimes I would go savory but rarely (;
I need those cookies in my life asap. A day isn’t complete without coffee. And chocolate obviously. Even better if you score coffee flavored chocolate.
I always eat my night-time cereal out of a mug. But in the morning I use a bowl. Not sure why, but it’s just how I do…
Did I tell you I bought a Costco sized box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch from Costco?
Did I tell you I’m single? HAHAHA. Oh man. Store bought cookie? Hmm… I’m gonna go with plain old Oreos.
You did mention it in your last post… to which I replied that I might be willing to brave the insanity of Costco if it meant super-sized CTC.
I think I need to come up to Canada and start eating with you… especially for snack time! 😉
Lately, my day isn’t complete without cheese. Baby Szed has been LOVING everything cheesy. And I had my first real pregnancy craving last week – for a big, chewy, sugar cookie with M&Ms on top. I haven’t found one yet, but hope to soon 🙂
Man, I really need to get on this snack plate for lunch train. That looks like a tiny buffet of sorts!
My day is not complete without nut butter. Cliche, yes. But oh so true. And my favorite after school snack used to be a bowl of cereal actually! It’s just so refreshing and satisfying!
A day isn’t complete without peanut butter! I’ve been loving cereal for an evening snack lately too!
Those almond butter cookies look so hearty and chewy! And I think that starting with sweet breakbast is completely a-ok, but the difference in the way you eat it and all the research claims is that sweet foods as in SUGARY to the max, like pastries, donuts, overly processed and actually sugar sprinkled foods make you crave unhealthy food later in the day. But I don’t think almond butter and cocoa powder act in the same way. At least not to my knowledge and not in the way I feel physically! 🙂 So carry on, hehe.
I used to LOVE graham crackers and milk! I think my mom felt better about giving us those instead of cookies, yet we’d eat the whole sleeve !!! hmm now I want some…your day of eating looks sooo good!!!
You mean one sleeve -isn’t- a serving size? Because I definitely remember it being one 😉
A day isn’t complete without COFFEE but now that fall is sneaking up on us I might change that to PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE!
My day is NEVER complete without a heaping spoonful of nut butter! And like you my breakfasts always are sweet and to me it curbs my sweet tooth the rest of the day. Just the combo of fruit and nut butter is not only my fuel, but I also view it as a sweet treat. Win win right?
I keep meaning to try Barney Butter.. I see it in the store but I can’t seem to get off of this Justin’s kick. I’d defffffffffffff have to say the day isn’t complete without coffee. Period, end of story. I love it that much.
I find it interesting that working with raw chicken skeeves you out less than working with raw beef – I’m the opposite! I mean, I’ll cook both no problem, but I’d rather cook beef.
And ohmygod VIVA PUFFS!!!! I loved those so much as a kid…now I kinda want to find them again.
A day isn’t complete with dessert. In my case, that’s usually chocolate 😉
All of these food pics are making me drool! How come everyone else’s meals always look better than our own? Weird how that works! Anyway…
Breakfast, for me, isn’t complete without something fruity…whether it’s a thick smoothie loaded with veggies and berries, quinoa flakes with mashed banana and blueberries on top, or pancakes, I need some natural sugar in my meal!
As for the rest of the day, it’s never complete without leftovers and some kind of veggie! I love me some leftover baked salmon and sweet potato rounds with scorched cauliflower and snow peas…YUM!
Isn’t there this fun new “diet” out there called the marie antoinette diet, where it “proves” exactly that: you can have your cake and eat it too, if it’s in the morning 😉
Also is that a MINI ALMOND BUTTER JAR??? OMG how cute and WHERE DID YOU GET IT? Please excuse the all caps but I am kinda excited 😉
Hehe! It’s just a old honey jar that I picked up in the farmers’ market and reused. I wish I could find them in the store because they’re super cute!
No matter how often I try again I’m unable to go without almond butter for more than a day. Every now and then I’ll feel bored by it, venture into other nut butters – and go back again. Which isn’t that good of a habit because over here almond butter is still harder to find in stores. So I kind of wish it was plain old PB instead because I can find that pretty much everywhere.
It’s so odd to hear everybody talk about their favourite after school snacks when that wasn’t a thing in my childhood 🙂 . My mum had lunch ready when we returned from school and in between that and dinner I had some of this, some of that. Did I miss out much??
Also, I’m jealous you’re living close enough to your parents for regular shared meals and taking home leftovers.
My day isn’t complete without some kind of nut or nutbutter! I don’t even care what kind or brand just as long as I get some! Lately I haven’t been able to go without a banana too 🙂
A day isn’t complete without peanut butter. I get a craving no matter what and if I don’t have it, my finger will most likely make its way into the jar at some point. My favorite store bought cookie… Hmm… I love the Mrs. Fields cookies which taste like they are underbaked :o) Or any of the Pepperidge Farm Cookies. OR DUNKAROOS! I miss them. They were the BEST.
I am so scared to work with yeast. And whenever I cook bacon for my mom, I am TERRIFIED by the splattering bubbles of grease. One too many burns. Ouch.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mrs. Fields’ or Pepperidge Farms up here! But we -do- still have Dunkaroos! I haven’t had them in ages — I wonder if they’d still be as good as I remember…
YOU HAVE DUNKAROOS!?!?!?!? I have never been so jealous of any other foodie product than this one. I am driving up right meow ;o)
I love this – coffee is definitely a huge comfort food for me! I can drink it decaf in the morning – I don’t need the caffeine as much as I need the flavour. Coffee gets my day off to an amazing start!
Each time I see a snack plate of yours, I swear I am going to start making them. We had cheese, crackers, and grapes in the afternoon on vacation and I loved it. I need to get my booty to the store 🙂
I hate to be predictable but a day isn’t complete without almond butter!!!! 😀
I really don’t mind handling meat in the kitchen, anything really even liver, it doesn’t phaze me at all. But ask me to touch one of those micro fibre cleaning cloths… OMG I freak out at the touch of them!!
Eee those cloths freak me out after they’ve been used to clean too many things. I know they’re supposed to be all anti-bacterial and stuff, but I just can’t help but thinking they’re harbouring all sorts of bacteria 😯