I’m a little late to the party this week because my server has been going through some technical difficulties all morning. I’m sorry if you tried to read earlier and couldn’t — hopefully things have sorted themselves out!
Hullo! Happy [What I Ate] Wednesday! 😀
I was seriously tempted to title this post “Food Combining 101,” but I thought it would be a little misleading seeing as today’s post has nothing to do with the proper rules of food combining and everything to do with delicious food combinations that probably break most of the rules but taste pretty darn amazing.
A little while ago, I put together a WIAW post that showcased some things that just taste better when they’re together, and I figured it was time to share a few more of my favourite foodie fusions (sucker for alliteration, right here) with you guys. So without further ado, may I present you with yesterday in eats…
Breakfast… [almond butter AND chocolate]
I call these ABC oats — Almond Butter and Chocolate 😉 Remember how I mentioned that I was dealing with a serious chocolate craving in last week’s WIAW? Yeaaaaaaah… it still hasn’t gone away. In fact, our beloved cocoa bean has been finding its way into more and more of my eats as of late, and it didn’t waste any time in making an appearance yesterday. I woke up craving something a little more earthy than my normal AB and honey combo, so I cooked up a batch of oats, whipped in half a banana, added a spoonful of cocoa powder, and topped the whole thing off with a nice glob of almond butter. Definitely not a bad way to start the day…
Morning snack… [bananas AND almond butter (AND chocolate)]
I’m sure many of you would agree that this is quite arguably one of the best combinations there is. Whether you enjoy it in oats, on toast, on its own, with AB, or with PB, the fact of the matter remains that bananas and nut butter were made for each other. I went with the hassle free dunk-and-devour approach, with Justin’s maple almond butter being my nut butter of choice. Oh, and if you’re wondering where the chocolate is… it’s in my coffee (Godiva chocolate crème) 😉
Lunch… [macaroni AND cheese]
This has been one of my favourite combinations for pretty much as long as I can remember. I couldn’t stand tomatoes as a kid, so the only “pasta” I’d eat was either buttered noodles buried under parmesan cheese, or good old mac ‘n’ cheese… and I distinctly remember going through a phase in my late teens where I was pretty much eating a box of KD on a daily basis. Good times. In any case, I was craving some comfort yesterday afternoon, so I whipped up a box of mac and cheese from Wild Harvest and threw in some frozen mixed veggies for good measure.
Afternoon snack… [kabocha AND caramel]
2.5 months later and I’m still eating kabocha on a pretty regular basis… and by pretty regular I mean daily. But how do you expect me to curb my obsession when the little orange bugger is just so.dang.good?!? On its own, with cinnamon, with almond butter, with coconut oil, with caramel pudding…
Eat ALL the squash! Also, has anyone ever noticed that there’s a huge texture disparity between individual kabochas? Some are a lot more… err… wet (sorry!), whereas others feel a lot more dry and starchy. I wish there was a way to tell just by looking at them, because I definitely prefer the dryer ones.
Dinner… [coconut milk AND rice]
After oats, [basmati] rice is probably my favourite grain; and my favourite way to cook it is by replacing some of the water with canned coconut milk — not only does it add a lovely hint of coconut flavour, but it makes the rice a lot creamier as well. I had my coconut rice alongside a baked chicken breast that I coated in coconut oil and herbs, with what is probably the saddest spit of veggies to grace the pages of Spoons in quite some time. Honestly, I just wasn’t feeling the veggies last night — I added them to my plate pretty much solely for visual appeal. And speaking of visual appeal… pitch black dinner times are putting a serious damper on my photo shoots. But I digress.
Evening snack… [chocolate AND my belly]
I may have mentioned a slight craving for chocolate? Mmmm hmmm. According to this site, my cravings could be caused by a number of reasons: low blood sugar, low serotonin levels, stress, PMS, or addiction… but my personal favourite is the final one — chocolate is just plain good 😆 Especially when it’s enjoyed alongside a cup of warm almond milk.
Aaaaand that concludes this week’s version of WIAW. Have a good one, friends! 😀
. – . – . – .
Your turn!!
a) Almond butter AND _____.
b) Bananas AND _____.
c) Noodles AND _____.
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?)
e) Coconut milk AND _____.
f) Chocolate AND _____.
How do you like to roast your pumpkin?
I cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, cut it into quarters, put the pieces on a baking sheet, coat them with some coconut oil, and put them in the oven at 400F for about 30 minutes.
Okay, now you’ve got me craving chocolate! Oh, and I’m in love with your mug. That’s pretty much how I feel/look before I’ve had some coffee.
Ooh, foodie Mad Libs!
a) Almond butter AND ALL THE THINGS. But at this particular moment, pumpkin fig oats.
b) Bananas AND almond butter (obvs), Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, toast, chocolate, etc.
c) Noodles AND pesto.
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?) Me. An intervention is pending.
e) Coconut milk AND butternut squash sauce.
f) Chocolate AND Merlot. 😉
a) Almond butter AND toast
b) Bananas AND peanut butter
c) Noodles AND pesto
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?) I had some a while ago. It’s good with butter!
e) Coconut milk AND a fridge to make it solid.. and then a spoon.
f) Chocolate AND chili
Almond butter and anything!! I always love it with banana.
I love banana with oats
Chocolate is good with anything… EXCEPT Mint!!! 😉
All your eats look delicious, may need to try those Almond butter choc oats they sound delicious!!
i maybe be sick right now, but your food still looks good to me. that says a lot! and that pasta would make me so happy right now… 😉
Mmmmm!! I so need to try cooking plain rice with coconut milk.
Bananas and peanut butter and Greek yogurt.
Noodles and….any sauce really! Tomato, cheese, and curry are probably my faves though.
Coconut milk and sticky rice and mango. A classic Thai dessert 🙂
a) Almond butter AND apples
b) Bananas AND almond butter (LOL)
c) Noodles AND veggies
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?) –> still need to try it!! but with caramel, holy yum!
e) Coconut milk AND chocolate
f) Chocolate AND well chocolate 😉
a) Almond butter AND _____.
Turkey… is that weird?
b) Bananas AND _____.
Peanut butter, chocolate, ANYTHING.
c) Noodles AND _____.
Butter/olive oil. Deep deep down I still like plain noodles.
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?)
Me!! I have one I need to roast!
e) Coconut milk AND _____.
Curry – actually eating it as we speak!
f) Chocolate AND _____.
Peanut butter, salt, caramel, nuts, ANYTHING
AB and turkey? You definitely won’t find me knocking it! Speaking of which, have you ever tried turkey with apples and cheese? SO good.
Id like to go on record here and say with 100% positivity that I am FOR SURE addicted to chocolate. Its not even a question. My gma bought my hubby and I some dark chocolate from Sees yesterday for Turkey Day and like, half the box is gone already. I couldn’t keep my grimy little fingers out of it!
I swear girlie, you are making me crave rice like no other! That coconut rice looks amazing! Where’s the heart eyes emoticon when you need it?! 😉 And I totally get what you mean with the kabocha…although I actually prefer the “wet” ones…ewww? Lol
a) Almond butter AND blueberry jam (yep, you got me hooked!)
b) Bananas AND peanut butter!
c) Noodles AND cheese…but really, could we just hold the noodles? 😉
d) Kabocha and EVERYTHING!! I’ve been dipping mine in cocoa sauce, Greek yogurt, jam, and I saw on another blog today and really want to try, APPLE BUTTER! How have I not thought to do this yet?!
e) Coconut milk AND curry!! YUM!!!
f) Chocolate AND peanut butter!
ABC oats are ingenious!!! And I love awesome acronyms!
Here are my wacky combos… don’t judge before you try!
a) Almond butter AND black beans and chocolate! Makes the best dessert hummus or even incredible black bran brownies!!!
b) Bananas AND peanut butter toast. Add some pickles and you are in for anohter wacky treat. I always thought it sounded strange, but once I did I discovered those pregant women are onto something with their stange cravings.
c) Noodles AND broccoli with tahini sauce.
d) I LOVE LOVE kabocha. Possibly my favorite squash of all time!Those Japanese know how to do pumpkins right! I’d have to say Kabocha AND peanut butter or coconut butter. Thats a tough call. Ooh – maybe mix the two together! I hear its delightful, but have never tried.
e) Coconut Milk AND mango rice pudding
d) Chocolate AND well pretty much anything, but I’m particularly a fan of cholocate and chili. I like the extra kick and that it takes time for your mouth to notice the heat.
No judgment here, girl! I’ve learned long ago that some of the strangest combos are actually some of the most delicious. You’re right — pregnant ladies may just be on to something 😉
I’d STILL eat a box of KD (ok, maybe Annie’s) mac & cheese a day if I could. This is a really gross confession, but I love the kind with the gooey Velveeta-like cheese included. The heart wants what the heart wants…
I’ve been on a major chocolate kick lately – I went a little crazy at the store the other day – I got excited when I saw gingerbread & nutcracker brittle flavours. Mmmm…..
Have you tried Camino’s caramel crunch bar? That one is my #1 fav of all time!!! 🙂
I saw those fancy holiday flavours when I was at the store the other day, but couldn’t buy them because of the allergy warning 🙁 Do pesky peanuts -really- have to be everywhere??!
MMMM all looks so good!! Almond butter and bananas here for sure. Chocolate all by itself! Or with fruit 🙂
Almond butter and sweet potatoes for sure! I LOVE mac & cheese and haven’t had it in so long! I need to whip some up soon 🙂
a) Almond butter AND toast.
b) Bananas AND peanut butter (not creative at all)
c) Noodles AND BUTTA!
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?) Negative. I’ve never enjoyed it…because I’m insane. And lazy.
e) Coconut milk AND Urrr…I’ve never cooked with coconut milk either. Gosh I’m pathetic!
f) Chocolate AND milk. Or peanut butter. Or nothing! Just chocolate. ALL the chocolate.
I love how two different almond butter brands were featured here. Also, I have a feeling if the bar of dark chocolate replaced the banana in the Justin’s picture the world would probably explode from amazingness.
I dunnoooo… You can’t go wrong with bananas and nut butter 😛
Today looks quite chocolatey 😉 You have nothing to worry about me stealing your chocolate- I am actually not a fan! Now vanilla is another story 😉
I’m totally with you on macaroni and cheese. What I love WITH my macaroni cheese is tomato and ham. I don’t know why, but to me those four are just the perfect combo! One thing I’m not totally with you on though is the rice..ugh I normally don’t like rice. Short grain ones are alright, but long grain ugh..never have loved. I like the way yours look though, maybe the coconut milk really changes them up!
I haven’t had kabocha in far too long! It’s just so darn hard to find around here. 🙁 I love the idea to dip it in caramel pudding though! What brand of pudding is that?
My answers:
a) Almond butter AND banana!
b) Bananas AND almond butter, duh. 😉
c) Noodles AND pesto
d) See above!
e) Coconut milk AND curry
f) Chocolate AND everything!
It’s by Belsoy, and all of their stuff is nut-free so I kind of love them. They have a dark chocolate and a vanilla pudding that are really great too.
That is some DARK almond butter. I seriously almost thought it was peanut butter! Cocoa, oats and nut butter reminds me of no-bake cookies. I always ate a ton of the mixture before making the actual cookie part 😀
My turn…
a) Almond butter AND frozen raspberries.
b) Bananas AND peanut butter.
c) Noodles AND alfredo sauce.
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?) ME!!!!!
e) Coconut milk AND rice? I kind of <3 rice so that combo sounds incredibly good to me.
f) Chocolate AND cookie dough.
Haha one of the kids I nanny sat me down yesterday with a serious look and said “There is something we need to talk about. I hear you have an addiction. To chocolate.” It was soooo funny. And absolutely true. (I hope they blame their kids for the almost empty bag of chocolate drizzled popcorn in their pantry…)
Confession: I’ve never eaten a banana with any kind of nut butter. Apples, sure. Bananas, nope. Although I did make a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip granola and I put a slice banana on top. Does that count?
I love mac and cheese. It’s in my top ten for sure.
I haven’t broken into my squash pile yet, although I’ve got a plethora of Acorn, a spaghetti, a pumpkin, some butternut…I’ll get to that when I’m through processing greens. In the meantime, it can sit and wait patiently in the cornor of my basement.
a) Almond butter AND banana.
b) Bananas AND oats.
c) Noodles AND eggs.
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?) I still can’t find it!
e) Coconut milk AND spinach. (in a smoothie)
f) Chocolate AND rooibos. I don’t eat chocolate, generally, but I just got a sample of chocolate mint rooibos tea, and I think I’ll try it.
Almond butter AND oats, honey and cereal: I mix these together to make the most DELICIOUS no-bake bars that I eat for my after dinner sweet treat.
Bananas AND peanut butter and toast. Best.snack.EVER.
Noodles AND egg rolls. ‘Nuff said.
I’ve actually never had kabocha squash before. I know, I know…don’t hit me lol Every I pass by it at the grocery store, I think of you though.
Coconut milk AND….I don’t know. I don’t really eat it on a regular basis so I’m not sure what it pairs best with.
Chocolate AND cookies = chocolate chip cookies. Perfect combination.
<3
Any combination of oats, AB, and honey sounds divine to me — your bars must taste amazing 😀 And maybe one day I’ll manage to convince you to try a kabocha! Although I know how difficult it can be to finally get around to trying something new.
Haha it’s so rare seeing savory meals on this blog! I prefer drooling over your desserts!
Almond butter and cashew butter and Brazil nut butter= ABC nut butter (have you tried that? ;))
Banana and cake and cream cheese frosting= amazing.
Banana bread spread with butter also = amazing.
Noodles and eggs and bacon and cream =Carbonara.
Coconut milk and rice = 1 cup coconut milk to half cup rice and OMG.
Chocolate and cake= happy.
Chocolate and brownie and ice cream= happy and comfortable.
🙂
ive never tried kobatcha. ill just assume it tastes like pumpkin?
Similar, but I find it sweeter and a bit more starchy.
I honestly don’t know what to comment on, because it all looks SO. GOOD. Random secret: I used to put a giant glob of whatever nut butter I had onto dark chocolate squares. They were essentially like non-cup-shaped Reese’s cups, and they. Were. Wonderful. Actually, I have both in my room right now…I know what dessert tonight is going to be!
We actually have blogger vibes with our WIAW posts lately….full day of eats, now chocolate oats AND almond butter- geeze next week I’ll be singing ‘be our guest be our guest from the table…to the chest?’ I think thats kinda the lyrics…
Gonna be lazy and just copy and paste your questions 😉
a) Almond butter AND sriracha
b) Bananas AND muffins
c) Noodles AND _the fridge
d) (who else is still enjoying kabocha?!?)- ask my orange hands
e) Coconut milk AND BASMATI RICE (YES- Tilda (this brand here) make an amazing microwave version)
f) Chocolate AND sea salt.
OMG yes I totally find that about kabochas (some drier some moist-er?). The dry ones are my favorite too, the starchiness is more addictive. There’s also some that seem like no matter how long you leave them in the oven, they don’t cook all the way through. And oh man the skin tastes so gross on the ‘wetter’ ones too. I usually just end up making a savory mash in disappointment (which turns out pretty good anyways). Do you find that your hands (or um face) get orange from eating kabocha? Its a good thing I don’t live with my parent s anymore because once they saw that I was turning orange from eating too much squash they forbid that I bring it into the house hahaha
I definitely notice a slightly more orange hue on my palms, but I’ve been managing to keep my portions pretty reasonable (mostly because it messes with my stomach) so it hasn’t gotten too bad. I don’t think it’s harmful though.
Just combine option a and b for me! Banana, almond butter and bread of choice. Justin’s is great, maple almond butter has a great grit to it. Oh! My Whole Foods in Indiana started selling Maisie Jane’s Almond Butter! That stuff tastes SO good! Roasted almonds make a big difference.
Haha nooo problem I’m fairly convinced my chocolate craving is never-ending. That mac-n-cheese looks delicious and is making me crave some (even though I just ate a grilled cheese…..)