Happy What I Ate Wednesday, friendly faces! 😀
Before we get to the food, I wanted to take a sec to explain the title of today’s post. See, as much as I love sharing my eats with you guys, I realize that the pictures don’t tell the whole story. In fact, they don’t tell much of the story at all seeing as my 90% of my meals don’t look the way they do in these posts. That’s not to say that I’m making them up, but there’s definitely a lot more time, effort, and consideration that goes in to meals that I know are going to show up on the internet. No one likes to air their dirty laundry.
I mean, you’re looking at a girl who probably eats half of her food standing over the kitchen counter or sitting at her desk with a box within arms reach, so actually having to plate and photograph my meals and snacks feels somewhat forced and fabricated in itself. That’s not to say that I’m complaining, but I know that comparison and judgement have a tendency to rear their ugly heads in the blog world, and I just wanted to remind you that: a) you don’t have to feel bad if your food doesn’t look as pretty/good/healthy as “mine” (read: Spoons’) because most of the time, neither does mine, and b) you only see 2 or 3 days out of my entire month, and they’re usually days that I consciously plan to show for WIAW, so they’re not exactly the most accurate representations of how I eat.
That being said, maybe I’ll do a more real and uncut version of WIAW one of these days, but for now, more pretty pictures with a little backstory behind them…
Breakfast…
What you see: a green smoothie in an artsy mug/jar with two cute straws sitting in the sun.
The reality: I almost never transfer my smoothies into any sort of glass — I just eat them straight from the blender jug with a very long spoon. That and I’m sitting in the blue glow of a computer screen 99.9% of the time — not in a warm and cozy patch of sunlight.
. – . – . – .
Coffee…
What you see: a homemade almond milk latte with a splash of date sweetened dairy-free coffee creamer and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
The reality: Actually… this is pretty much what my coffee looks like every day. Thank God for fancy milk frothers is all I’m saying.
. – . – . – .
Snack…
What you see: a bowl of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest mixed with Love Grown frosted Mighty Flakes and some Silk soy milk.
The reality: If I had to guess, I’d say that 80% of my cereal doesn’t actually see a bowl — I’m usually just grabbing handfuls straight from the box. I seriously need to stop doing that, though, because I keep forgetting how good it tastes when it’s been softened by milk.
. – . – . – .
Lunch…
What you see: a mixed veggie salad and a Rudi’s multigrain bagel with Justin’s maple almond butter and Crofter’s mango jam.
The reality: I’m not really big on bagels and I’ll almost always choose toast or English muffins instead. Unfortunately, I’m not really big on having foods hanging around in my freezer for extended periods of time either, so there are times where sacrifices have to be made. I’m kidding… [kind of]. It was still tasty.
. – . – . – .
Snack…
What you see: a [blueberry] banana oat bar, a couple of dates, and a handful of Love Grown chocolate Power O’s.
The reality: While this is technically what I ate, it’s not exactly what I ate — it’s a picture of the-same-but-different things that I picked away at through the course of the afternoon. Whaaaa? See, I’m snacky between lunch and dinner, and I very rarely sit down and eat something concrete — I just grab something here and there [whenever I walk past the kitchen]. And because I didn’t want to take a bunch of different pictures, I went back and put together a representative plate after the fact. Oh, and the cereal? I literally just grabbed a handful and threw it on top 😆
. – . – . – .
Dinner…
What you see: a bowl of coconut basmati rice with chickpeas and avocado.
The reality: Completely cold leftovers that I dug out of my fridge and threw together in about 2 minutes flat… and also one of the rare occasions where the entirety of my dinner actually made it into a bowl. Most of the time I end up eating half of it while I’m standing at the kitchen counter, or I just eat it straight from the pan that I cooked it in. This is the reality of living on your own and only having to cook for one.
. – . – . – .
Snack…
What you see: a simple bowl of blueberry banana oats.
The reality: I actually rarely eat oatmeal these days, which is crazy considering I used to eat it everyday for years. Heck, there were even a few stints where I was eating it twice a day. But a warm bowl of oats (which turned cold before I could actually eat them) sounded good on this particularly gloomy evening, so a [luke]warm bowl of oats it was.
Happy Wednesday, friendly faces! 😀
Which do you prefer? The real or prettified version?
Do you prefer eating cereal dry or with milk?
Bagels, toast, or English muffins?
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okay, you’re day of eats sounds like mine. open the fridge, then the pantry, try to decide what to eat, start snacking out of the box… grab 3 boxes of random things and maybe sit down and eat. think, “oh i should probably plate this.. nahh”. and when i’m really busy at school, its definitely grab and go and eat whenever i can! haha. i liked the disclaimer 🙂
if you aren’t eating oatmeal for breakfast much anymore, what are you eating? Do you usually always have fruits or homemade snacks and not usually any packaged/easy to use snacks? Thanks.
I’ve actually really been enjoying smoothies for breakfast lately, although sometimes I’ll still bust out the oats when I’m in the mood for something different. And I haven’t been buying a tonne of packaged snacks simply because of how much baking I do at home for Spoons.
I love this! I agree with others that I like a mix of prettified and “raw” food photos. In college, I usually don’t have time/it’s a little embarrassing to prettify my food photos, so I do what I can. With snacks, there’s a lot of hand holding, because the best way to eat a lot of things is with your fingers. 😀
Hmm, I think I’m going to have to say I prefer English muffins. With peanut butter + banana or jam + butter, it’s the perfect vehicle with it’s own distinct flavor.
I love the honesty here! I know that I (often) eat things out of serving containers or use lids as “plates” because I don’t want to get more dishes dirty!
I’m totally down with the true version! When I was single and lived alone it was a lot of meals eaten on the back steps watching my dogs play outside or on the couch while I read. Many times, because it’s hard to cook for one, I would eat the same meal every night for a week! Reality is always better in my opinion. Plus it makes you more relatable.
I actually have full intentions of doing a his and hers WIAW edition where I share the Hubby’s plate (everything tossed haphazardly together) and mine (all prettified for pictures). One day I will get it together and post it.
I have been snacking on dates and banana chips. I hold you accountable. Also, I’m glad you were able to replenish your stash. I picked up bananas my first day in San Diego. No surprise there.
I’d do a his and her version of my WIAW too, but Douglas doesn’t eat a whole hell of a lot 😆 And I’m hoping that we’ll be able to pick up bananas somewhere in Colorado…
We’re going to need to make your hope a reality. Bananas all the time, all day, every day.
Two straws looks pretty but u dont use both right? lol also do u eat the power O’s that look strategically tossed off to the side of the plate? i always wondered what bloggers do with those “messes”
Honestly? I don’t even use 1 😆 As soon as the pictures are taken, the straws go out and the spoon comes in.
I can confirm that you eat smoothies out of the blendtec 😉 buuuut i eat mine out of my ninja so I get it – why deal with an extra glass?
Also, I’ve been craving bagels lately so I might have to pick those up next time I go grocery shopping.
love this. maybe thats why i cant ever do a WIAW.. props to those who do takes pics!! because it ALLL looks so good.. but I deff am a grazer and throw food in my mouth 🙂
This really sucks. Why would you make pretend with so much stuff? It’s fake. It’s so typical of the Internet. It makes people tho k they have to eat perfectly. Why arrange your snack?…ask yourself why you’re taking pictures at all?! Why not just ear food and do something productive/purposeful instead with your free time? Not snarky, I’m actually wondering .
I take pictures because people like to see them, and when I stopped doing WIAW for half a year, my readers kept asking me to bring it back. That and taking a few minutes out of my day to take pictures for a blog that’s part of my business doesn’t really take away from doing more productive things.
I rarely buy bagels – I prefer a good hearty toast, like Ezekiel Bread or similar, or an English Muffin (toasted). I like bit of something with a bit of chew, texture and wee bit of crunch to it. That way, the bread vessel can withstand my hearty dose of Peanut Butter, Avocado Toast, or Drippy Egg + Cheese. Oh, I just love how peanut butter “hugs” the grooves of an English Muffin…..excuse while I wipe my drool. Clearly, I am passionate about food.
I am not a big fan of cereal. In fact, we never purchase it in our house. To me, it just isn’t satisfying. Plus, cereal seems to negatively affect my blood sugar (anybody else experience this?). I am a huge fan of oats, though.
I like this style of WIAW posts! You take beautiful photos, but it’s nice to read the “real” side of your food/you.
This post is Good stuff!
Thanks so much, Jennifer! And I completely understand your explanation of the perfect topping to bread ratio that toast and English muffins give. It’s just not the same with a bagel.
This is so refreshing to read! When I try to make my food look pretty, it never turns out the way it should… I have concluded that food is meant to be eaten not photographed 😉