Happy Friday, friends! 😀
Sorry to have stood you up last night, but I was more-or-less indisposed…
Yep. I went there. I ventured into Ikea-land, and it took me a good 3 hours to find my way back out. Happens. every. single. time. Popping in for “a quick visit” quickly becomes “Omigosh look at all the neat stuff they’ve got!“, and before I know it, 3 hours gone. Just like that.
But that’s okay, because I know I’m not the only one who has an obsession with Ikea… and I came home with some pretty sweet goodies to boot. What kind of goodies? That’s a secret that I’ll share with you in exactly 20 days, which just so happens to be the amount of time left until my big move. EeeeeEEEEee!
Ahem. Aaaaanyways…
So I came home, did the dinner thing…
Roasted kabocha squash with cottage cheese and almond butter. Broccoli and hummus.
… and by that point all I wanted to do was plop myself onto the couch, watch some Gossip Girl, and read some blogs. So that’s exactly what I did. And it. was. blissful… which may or may not have been due to the fact that the wonderful Alexa and Kate tagged me with the following award…
… which requires me to share 7 facts about myself and pass it on to 7 other bloggers. But since I’ve currently got food on the brain (helloooooo crazy lifting appetite), I’ve decided to share 7 foodie facts instead. Hope you enjoy 😀
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1. Last night’s dinner was the first time that I ever tried kabocha squash. Usually, when I’m craving me a hefty dose of vitamin A and beta carotene, I go for sweet potatoes, butternut, or pumpkin; but that darned kabocha has been sitting on my counter for ages now…
… and enough was enough…
I’d had my fill of its incessant taunting, and decided it was time to snuff it out. Best. decision. ever.
Big fan.
. – . – . – .
2. I finally found Oikos in the grocery store. I saw the sign ad that made me squeal like a little girl informed me that they were going to be bringing it to Canada exactly one week ago, but each store I went to either didn’t have it, or was out of stock. Until today…
Verdict? Big fan. Might have just climbed to the top of my list. Maybe eventually we’ll get Fage and Chobani too. Fingers crossed.
. – . – . – .
3. After a lengthy and rigorous process of experimentation, I can say with 99.99% confidence that I prefer eating ice cream in a cone over having it out of a cup/bowl.
I’m sorry cup/bowl lovers. Toppings and spoons are fun and all, but there’s something so satisfying about the simplicity of licking ice cream off a cone. And that last bite?
Yeah. You just can’t beat that…
. – . – . – .
4. I had my first taste of almond butter at the ripe age of 24.
Funny story. I have a severe allergy to peanuts, but I grew up thinking that I was allergic to all nuts. Apparently, my parents were worried that I would get confused as a young child and end up eating peanuts by mistake, so they made it easy on me by just raising me to believe that I was allergic to all nuts in general. Uhm. Thanks, Mom and Dad?
Two years ago, I found out from the doctor that this wasn’t the case, but why my parents never bothered to tell me the truth is beyond me. I guess maybe it was an oversight on their part. Or maybe they started believing it themselves. Heck, even I still have a hard time shaking off the idea that I’m not allergic to all nuts. I’m comfortable with almonds…
… but the rest of them? Still a little anxious when it comes to experimenting with those…
. – . – . – .
5. I eat slowly and really like to savor my meals whenever I can.
A little taste of this…
A little taste of that…
A little time to take it all in. Note: this only works if I’m not too hungry, otherwise you can bet that I’m wolfing down my meals in 2.2. Oh, and you guys already know that I’m a plate licker 😉
. – . – . – .
6. I have no idea why, but my appetite has been off. the. charts lately. It seems to be especially bad between the hours of 1:30 – 5 where I seem to be constantly nibbling on something…
… with “something” usually being yogurt or trail mix. I’m trying to embrace it as best as I can, but it definitely takes some getting used to.
. – . – . – .
7. I’m completely obsessed with the combination of chocolate, bananas, and almond butter.
… and I don’t see it going away any time soon 😀
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Tag! You’re it!
1. Tori @ Fresh Fruition
2. Nicky @ Kabochafasion
3. Sarah @ Feeding Brain and Body
4. Lindsay @ In Sweetness and In Health
5. Alexis @ Pumped for Pumpkin
6. Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance
7. Emma @ Sweet Tooth Runner
. – . – . – .
Do we have anything in common? If not, any foodie facts you want to share?
Do you have any food allergies/intolerances?
That’s so exciting that you discovered Oikos near you! That just so happens to be my favorite Greek yogurt variety 😉 What flavors do you have up there so far?
I didn’t get in on the almond butter bandwagon until 2 years ago, because I saw it on blogs. Now I’m absolutely in love with it and no other nut butter can compare to it, at least for me.
So far I’ve only seen plain, vanilla, and blueberry, and I’ve only tried plain – I still have a few too many tubs of flavored yogurt that I have to get through before I buy any new ones.
My food fact is that a peanut is actually a legume, not a nut! My uncle is allergic to peanuts and he can eat most nuts, but he can’t eat certain beans, like chickpeas!
I don’t have any food intolerances, thank goodness! My poor sister though is gluten free and corn free, which sucks big time because everything contains either corn or wheat 🙁
I do have a weird food dislike though, I don’t like cold cheese. I will not eat a piece of chedder cheese cut off the block, but melt it on a pizza, or on some bread and I am all over it!
Yey! Thanks for the tag, Amanda! I’m going to have to start compiling some interesting deets about my life and hopefully should have this up in the next few days.
Anyway, if you had to leave us for something, I’m glad that it was the wonderful world of Ikea 😀 That place is practically like a heaven on earth– and their Swedish cafeteria with cinnamon rolls and super cheap ice cream are the bomb diggity.
I have an intolerance to egg whites and wheat, which I just found out about a few months ago. Apparently I developed them with age, but luckily I love food so getting creative with other substitutions is never an issue 🙂
Aaaaah your first kabocha!! So exciting!! They really are the best! And I wish I could eat my meals slower I always wolf em down….definitely something I have to work on.
I eat really slowly too!!! and I get sad when it’s gone haha. I can’t wait to see your Ikea loot! I swear I could live in that store – all my apartment stuff came from it (just my bedroom cuz I have roomies), but it didn’t satisfy – I was like “I want a house so I can buy more of this stuff!” lol
Haha my entire bedroom right now could basically be an ad in an Ikea catalogue. It’s hard not to love them.
I L.O.V.E. Ikea! They have modern pieces that act as classics and their lingonberry tea is pretty sweet 🙂
Your extreme love for almond butter has been rubbing off on me. For the last few days when I reach for the peanut butter I think of your almond butter eats, and then I want me some AB. I am just gonna have to listen to my body and eat some of my PB’s cousin. 🙂
I almost posted some random food facts about myself today! The ice cream cone one was on the list – I like to eat my post workout protein ice cream out of cones, but real ice cream in a cup. Unless it’s soft serve. I also have two kabocha squashes on my counter. I am a kabocha virgin. I’m almost afraid to go for it because I feel like they’ve been so hyped up… but I’m sort of just really excited so I’m reveling in it 🙂
haha your story about the nut allergy cracked me up. Seems like a reasonable thing for your parents to do when you were younger, but they should have told you when you were older! too funny! at least you can enjoy almonds in peace now 😉
I know! I mean… by the time I was 10 I was probably smart enough to be able to tell the difference between an almond and a peanut, and if not 10 then at least at 15. I honestly don’t get it, which is why I think they just started believing it themselves…
Great post! I didn’t try almond butter until around April of this year, I can’t believe I went 24 years without it. I’ve been experimenting with other nut butters too like sunbutter and cashew butter. They’re good, but nothing like almond butter. Ooo and ice cream with cones is the best (cups and bowls just aren’t enough). Ah and a fellow chocolate, almond butter and banana combo (tri-combo?) lover. I have this combo nearly every day, its amazing (or I’ll do all three in some form during the day).
Food intolerances are no fun. I’m lactose intolerant and I’m allergic to chai (boo).
Good thing there’s no Ikea in Florida, otherwise I’d be in trouble. I used to love getting their 99 cent froyo cones after shopping for hours. Kabocha squash has been on my to-try list, but first I have to find one! Hopefully in the fall! 😀 Loved all your foodie facts!
I used to work at IKEA, so you can imagine the temptation to buy everything you never knew you needed using your employee discount…
Every time you mention your peanut allergy I cry a little on the inside because I am so addicted to peanut butter, lol. And while PB is first in my heart, almond butter runs a close second.
it take SO long to eat as well! and i’m constantly nibbling between those hours!
=D
as for allergies, i’m sadly lactose intolerant (though i deal with being ill for chocolate and fro yo >.< ) and am allergic to almonds, hazelnuts and pitted fruits. but i'm only affected by my allergies if i work out after having one of the mentioned foods =O
You. And. I. Both. I can never seem to get out of Ikea; however, I’d like to think that’s the same with Whole Foods, TJ and other foodie stores 🙂
Good to know all those facts about you!
We don’t have a WH and TJ’s around here, so I’ve never been, but I can only imagine that I’d be just as bad with browsing the aisles for hours. I think that’s why people don’t like going grocery shopping with me 😀
Awww thank you so much for the tag!! I’ll be doing that soon :). Ikea is fabulous…and I could probably spend an entire day in there and not even know it haha. My hunger has been off the charts lately too…I want to snack all the time! I actually don’t have any food allergies or intolerances, at least not that I know of.
oh that last dessert looks heavenly! And I’ve never been to Ikea, actually, but I can only imagine that I would spend hours and hours there…
OMG! You poor child! Deprived all those precious years of almond butter!!!! I am so glad you now know you can have it!!! Its the BEST! As you can tell ; )
Yay for Oikos! I am glad you guys got it there now!
I need your mailing address! Want to send you a little something, if thats ok! : )
have a good night!
Katie xoxo
I grew up allergic to strawberries- such a random allergy! Luckily it was one of those things I grew out of and now can enjoy.
I also didn’t try almond butter until recently- can’t believe I was missing out for so long!
Ikea is a great place to find some things for your new place! Love your dinner – roasted squash with cottage cheese is delicious! And oikos- is great but i like fage even better!
Bananas, nut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven in my book – im obsessed!
Can’t wait to see your new place – only 2 more weeks!
I remember loving Fage when I had it on vacation, but I can’t remember it well enough to say how it compares to these. I’m just happy to have more choices, though 😀 I can still remember a time where we didn’t have any at all…
Hehee! We have a mutual appreciation of GG. Amen sista! Love that show! And after trying your eggy oats – yup, I’m a fan of those too. And PB/naner/choc…..I’ve never had Kabocha squash before because Nicky always buys them all! Hehee!! Oh and yeah, we live in the same city!
Ikea is dangerous! 😉
Fun facts, girly! I can’t wait to see what you got at Ikea. BTW, ever have the ice cream at Ikea? It’s wonderful! Roasted kabocha squash sounds awesome. I want to try it!
1. i just went to ikea 2 days ago too!! my sister went college-dorm shopping. it was literally like a maze – once we got in, it was so difficult to get out!!!! so huge. it was exhausting. haha.
2. KABOCHA SQUASH!! so glad youre on the bandwagon. isn’t it delicious!?
3. my hungriest time of day is definitely 1-5 pm- but it makes sense, that’s when our energy dips the lowest and our blood sugar levels are low. no shame in the raging hunger, honor it girlfriend!
4. chocolate bananas and almond butter – can’t go wrong there!!!
i used to have a pretty bad reaction to pineapple but now im okay! im really lactose-intolerant (can’t drink straight up milk; a little bit of yogurt + cottage cheese is ok… basically anything with less lactose haha)
!! The last few times I’ve had pineapple, I’ve gotten SO sick. I have no idea why, because I used to eat it all the time when I was younger, and then all of a sudden it was like BOOM… all sorts of bad reactions. I’d love to see if it passed for me too, but I’m kind of scared to try it!
Chocolate, almond butter and bananas IS the best combo in the world. I didn’t realize you were allergic to peanuts! Thankfully I don’t have any food allergies that I know of, so everything is fair game. However you made your squash looks amazing! Even better than sweet potatoes possibly?
Definitely possible. I used to be crazy about sweet potatoes, but lately I’ve been loving the squashes a lot more.
Dude IKEA gets me every time too! I can’t wait to see the goodies your snagged 😉 YOU’RE SO CLOSE EEeeeeEEee!
Glad to hear about oikos! I’m a chobani girl, hope you can get that one day in Canadaland. And yay for almond butter lovin! I like it, but I think I still like Sunflower butter the best mmmm
I’m allergic to mushrooms and oats. I could care less about the shrooms, but the oats? I miss them quite terribly 🙁 But sweet potatoes have filled the void in my heart haha
Whee! Thanks for the tag, love! <3
Methinks I might write up this tag tonight and schedule it for tomorrow since, you know. HURRICANE. Ugh. I really do hope the power wont go out too long. Eeep.
What will I do without hot oats if the power goes out? AHHH! I was just talking to my mom on the phone, and she's all 'you're prepared for the weather, right?', and I'm all "UHHHH. I don't think I'd starve. Ever.' and she's all 'Oh, right. You have almond butter and everything.' HAHAHA! 3 jars. Pantry under my bed? Yes. Yes, indeed-y.
Food intolerances: MOOMOO! Boo. Still searchin' for that lactose-free cottage cheese.
Anything in common? Bananas. Almond butter. Chocolate. Oats. I also love kabocha, but it's near impossible to find anywhere but an Asian market 'round me. Poo!
I love IKEA. They make it purposely easy to get lost in. Hah!
<3 <3 <3
Love this post! But then I love your blog so it’s no surprise 🙂
What foodie things do we have in common? I only discovered almond butter really recently too and I love it, especially with raspberry jam. I also love squashes, pumpkin and sweet potatoes too and I eat pretty slowly most of the time too! However I’m really not a fan of ice cream cones, definitely a bowl fan sorry 😛
Gawges, GORGEOUS, yumtastic, DROOL inducing pictures!
Did you ever have a cornetto? Ya know where the last inch or so of cone is filled with solid chocolate . Now THAT is a last bite to get excited about to me.
Girly,if I was near you I’d come and force feed you other nuts:) macadamias and cashews are particularly delicious and I’m sure you’d love’em.
Foodie fact= I really thought I haaaaated avocado. But I decided to buy one and wait till it got real ripe. Having seen avocado toast many times( including on your blog) I decided to give it a try. And I ADORED it! I will be having it ver ver regularly, and more healthy fats! Win win win.
Xxx
Ooo yes I’ve tried those cones where the inside is coated in chocolate. Heavenly for sure. And I adore avocado! Make sure you try it on toast, sprinkled with some sea salt. Swoooon.
Yay! You tried kabocha, its a staple for me. I crave it everyday, just like my banana’s 🙂
LOVE ikea bowls, perfect for big oat bowls.
oh foodie fact; you can eat the kabocha skin! I love it.
kabocha squash = favorite. Also, I definitely savor my food, or try to at least! It was a habit I got out of in my binge-eating-fit days, but hopefully one i can bring back into my life. And with the nuts, peanuts are pulses and most other nuts are legumes – so they’re totally different species! I have a sister who is VERY allergic to all tree nuts, but totally fine with peanuts. Strange indeed.
Mm I’ve heard that, but it’s still hard to get past, you know? My doctor actually told me that peanuts are closer related to peas, and asked me if I have any kind of problem with peas. Learn something new every day.
We definitely have the slow eating in common, and the love of chocolate+banana+(peanut butter for me). Does it get any better than that combination? I really don’t think so. By the way, nobody makes cottage cheese look as delicious as you do. Every time I see it on your blog, I wonder why I don’t top all my meals with it.
Ooooh my goodness Amanda I an completely the same way with ikea!! I don’t go often but when I do i put aside an entire day! They wy you have to maze your way through the store tacks on quite a bit of time as wel! Almond butter, bananas, and chocolate are a heaven sent combination!!!!!!
I’m lactose intolerance…which is pretty obvious because of my bloggy name..lol
I’ve never had almond butter or even heard of it until i started bloggin and i also usually go for sweet potatoes when i crave orange! actually im eating one right now 🙂
I am always ravenous in the afternoon too – sometimes I play around with my meal times and how much I eat at every meal so that I don’t get that gnawing feeling in my stomach!
I have to admit, kabocha squash looks really good! I am a HUUUUGE fan of roasted pumpkin so I pretty much licked the screen when I saw your picture of the great orange goodness. I love putting tons of pepper on mine. I don’t know why, it just takes good that way 😛
I also agree that ice cream is WAY better out of a cone!
I’m intolerant to milk and cream which seriously kills me every time I walk past an ice cream shop or simply just the milk aisle at the supermarket. I would give anything to be able to have a dairy ice cream cone and a glass of chocolate milk. Alas, I’m going to have to stick with soy. It’s the only milk alternative that I will drink that doesn’t make me gag. Soy ice cream isn’t too bad. But sadly they don’t have a soy option at ice cream shops 🙁
xxx
I feel your pain on not being able to have anything in ice cream shops… Most of the places around here serve ice cream that “may contain traces of peanuts”, so I can’t have any either 🙁
I would just like your life/kitchen/food making skills. Would you come here and make delicious food for me? I’ll be happy to supply you with every single Greek Yogurt ever invented 😀
That’s kinda odd about the nut thing- I think your parents probably just started believing it! I still haven’t tried AB yet…I’m afraid I won’t like it cause I don’t like almonds (logical fear, right? I don’t like peanuts either, but I love me some PB)
Have an awesome weekend! 🙂
Thanks for tagging me girl! I’ve never tried kabocha squash before, I never want to carry squashes home from the grocery store (I really need to get my drivers license!) My snackiest time is in the afternoon also, no matter how big a lunch I seem to have I still am hungry in the afternoon! That must have been scary trying nuts for the first time after being told your allergic your whole life, I can completely understand why you would be hesitant to try other nuts!
Hehe it was pretty intense. My mom is much more of a panick-er, and she was basically sitting next to me, keys in hand, ready to drive me to the hospital if I started choking 😯 Geez. Now that I look back at it, it’s kind of hard to believe that I actually did it.
i’m a ice cream on a stick kinda girl. white magnums!? nom.
although, i have slight dairy intolerance’s that sometimes/a lot of times I over look because I can’t help but eat milky sweets or … milk.
I’m bad. but meh! tastes so good! its worth the upset (if any, it’s hit and miss)
xxxx
My hunger has been off the charts as well!! Maybe its the time of year. Its driving me crazy!
There are a ton of things I’ve found out my parents “fibbed” about. I think it’s just a part of parenting and they forget to tell you the truth later on. haha.
LOVE Ikea. I get lost for hours in that store and walk out with nothing sometimes, but what a wonderful time I still have. haha.
AAH I love you for tagging me!! *HUG* 🙂 I’ll do this tomorrow!
I am so with you on almost ALL of these!! The chocolate, bananas, and almond butter combo is the BEST (hello breakfast!!) and seriously, my appetite recently has been INSANE!! 1 or 2 snacks a day? Er, NO, it’s all about a snack every half hour! 😛
P.S. Can’t WAIT to see what you bought in Ikea!! I LOVE that store!! 😀
haha its seriously funny we all have snacking issues. i as telling my fiance “is this normal me snacking every hour??”
weee thanks for the tag! It’ll give me something to do tomorrow with the impending storm on it’s way.
That story about the nuts was kind of funny! I mean I completely understand why they did it but the fact that they never informed you until so many years later made me laugh!
I also enjoy eating ice cream out of a cone… waffle cone to be specific. I’m not a cake cone kind of girl. Waffle just tastes better.
!! They weren’t even the ones who told me. The doctor did. I asked them about it later and they were like “Oh yeah, by the way…” Yeah. Thanks 😉