Well heyyyyyyy there, good lookin’… What’s shakin’? 😉
Err… please don’t ask. I’ve been awake since 4 AM, and although I currently only have one (read: ONE) cup of coffee in my system, it hit me like a truck and I swear I can see through time 😯 I’ll probably be in dire need of a nap as soon as 2 PM hits, but until then, you get to deal with a very hyper me — you lucky buggers, you!
And lucky me! Why? Because today’s the day I get to spend a whole post talking about food. Woot! I suppose I could spend every post talking about food, but that would get a bit redundant after a while. Recipes and meal highlights are one thing, but constantly bombarding you with shot after shot like this?
Yawn. Sorry about that — my early morning must be catching up with me. But I digress. The point is, today is Wednesday, which, if you’re new around these parts, roughly translates to What I Ate Wednesday — a day where we talk about ALL the food! And since I’m a big fan of themed posts, the one I’ve chosen for this week is “This and That,” or, foods that taste better when they’re together. Awwwr.
. – . – . – .
Breakfast… [oats AND salt]
You thought I was going to say oats and almond butter, didn’t you? Or even oats and egg whites, bananas, honey, cinnamon… Nay. I mean, yay — those are all fabulous choices in their own right — but they’re made all the more fabulous by a little thing called salt. I always add a pinch of salt to the water that I cook my oats in — the last time I didn’t was when I was road trippin’ and I definitely noticed the difference. Not only does a tiny bit of salt make oats taste 100x better (fact), but it also keeps me from getting too loopy. I have chronically low blood pressure, so my doctor recommends I add a pinch of salt to all my meals. Can do! Can also do plain Greek yogurt, roasted almond butter, honey, and cinnamon.
Morning snack… [coffee AND cinnamon (AND sugar)]
I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly announce my love for my new Keurig and simultaneously kick myself for not buying one sooner. If it weren’t for that beautiful piece of machinery (and a milk frother), this homemade latte wouldn’t have been possible, and if this homemade latte weren’t possible… well… I would have been in Starbucks 😆 And, yes, I realize that I could have just brewed my coffee the old fashioned way, but the mess, the time, the effort… too much. Instead, I busied myself by warming up one of these bad boys…
For what they are, these cinnamon rolls from Udi’s Gluten Free are pretty darn tasty. I mean, they’re obviously no Cinnabon, but neither are they 800-calorie sugar bombs that’ll take your blood sugar on one heck of a roller coaster ride. They’re a little dense and somewhat muffin-like, but they still taste of cinnamon-sugary goodness and pair nicely with a hug in a mug.
Lunch… [soup AND sandwich toadwich]
Whaaaaat on earth is a toadwich, you ask? This right here:
Just your plain old toad in a hole, which is really just a [somewhat strange] way to refer to an egg cooked into the middle of a piece of toast. What this has to do with toads, I’m not sure, but I do know that it tastes pretty darn good. And when paired with some avocado and a warm bowl of curried apple pumpkin soup? A perfect lunch for the dreary days we’ve been having lately.
Afternoon snack… [kabocha AND caramel]
I did it! Remember how I was kicking myself over not taking advantage of the caramel & kabocha combo the last time I had these two delicious foods in close succession to one another? (Did I honestly just type that? Holy.wow, Amanda, tone down the nerdage) No? Because I was (kicking myself, that is). But thanks to a memory that’s basically top-notch when it comes to food, I made up for my previous blunder by dippin’ and dunkin’ this time around, and it.was.GOOD.
Dinner… [pumpkin AND hummus]
Lookit! It’s not stir fry! Aren’t you proud of me? I told you I wouldn’t showcase another stir fry for a 4th WIAW in a row, and I actually remembered. Brownie points! Instead, what we’ve got here is a pumpkin hummus tortilla pizza which took all of 25 minutes to make and 5 minutes to devour. I know the combination of pumpkin and hummus might seem a little strange at first (or maybe not… we ARE, after all, talking the HLB world here — anything goes!), but trust me when I say it’s absolutely delicious.
Evening snack… [popcorn AND nutritional yeast]
Have you ever had something like this happen to you?… You absolutely love a food, eat it ALL the time, slowly lose interest, forget about it, come across it X weeks/months/years later, and then wonder why it was that you stopped eating it in the first place? Welcome to my relationship with nutritional yeast. While I wouldn’t necessarily call it a substitute for cheese, it does have a pretty unique flavour, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s packed with tonnes of vitamin B12 — maybe it’s all in my head, but I swear that my energy shoots through the roof after eating some. I’ve been sprinkling it on everything… grains, roasted veggies, salads, and, of course, popcorn.
Aaaaand that concludes this week’s version of WIAW. Have a good one, friends! 😀
. – . – . – .
Your turn!!
a) Oats AND _____.
b) Coffee AND _____.
c) Soup AND _____.
d) Kabocha/pumpkin AND _____.
e) Popcorn AND _____.
WIAW the food pairing edition. What a great concept; I may have to steal, er I mean borrow that sometime.
Oats AND Mixed nuts since I always turn my oats into granola.
b) Coffee AND milk and sugar. Always.
c) Soup AND a big old drop biscuit to dip into my soup.
d) Kabocha/pumpkin AND …….. I got nothing. Sorry. Don’t tell the other HLB’ers. I’ll be banned for sure.
e) Popcorn AND butter and salt. Classic rendition.
Ahh I just LOVE your WIAWs! Such unique themes.
Oats and a chilly day. (I typed nut butter at first, but that’s so cliche)
Soup and a grilled cheese.
🙂
a) Oats AND eggwhites (and banana, and stevia, and cinnamon, and almond milk, and blueberries, and nutbutter).
b) Coffee AND flavored creamer…or eggnog!
c) Soup AND sandwiches. grilled cheese and tomato? yum!
d) Kabocha/pumpkin AND everything. 🙂
e) Popcorn AND candy. salty/sweet!
Your WIAW posts always make me drool babe. I mean for real, can you cook for me? Although can you wait until I can taste my food again? I’d appreciate that 🙂
And squash & caramel?! Holy yikes…I don’t know if I could do that one! Gosh Im such a food experimenting wimp lol
I am OBSESSED with my Keurig! I’ve had it for a couple years now and can’t imagine life without it haha! Those Udi cinnamon buns look amazing as well!
MMM….I’ve been eyeing those Udi’s Cinnamon Rolls for months now but wasn’t sure if they were worth a purchase. I’m definitely going to have to pick some up!
Anything sweet & salty is a weakness for me- sweet potatoes & cottage cheese, chocolate & sea salt, peanut butter/almond butter & pretzels, etc. Also, I can never pass up toast with butter. It’s so simple but it’s a combination that will never get old in my book!
a) Oats AND pb&b!
b) Coffee AND milk
c) Soup AND bread for dipping
d) Kabocha/pumpkin AND salt
e) Popcorn AND caramel
Oh my. I loved this post. It was bordering on manic but in a hilariously awesome, good way. Totally made me smile the whole time. I have cut out grains and such of any kind and am terribly missing my oats. Boo. In other randomness, I have always referred to said egg in toast as a “pig in a blanket”- as per my mom who used to make those for me when I was a wee lil’ one. 🙂 Not sure actually why pig makes any more sense than toad?… Hmmm… things that make you go hmmm… If anything, chick in a blanket may be more apropos but then again maybe it’s easier not to refer to it as it actually is because then it’s a reminder of what you’re actually eating! Doh.
I was just a taaaaaad bit hyper 😉 As for “pigs in a blanket,” that’s what we called sausages that have been wrapped in a biscuit, which actually does make sense if you think about it.
You pretty much just had a day of all of my favorite eats! I need to recreate your whole day and eat everything that you ate! 😉
Pumpkin and hummus is so good together, I made pumpkin hummus last year and it only lasted one night. 😉 I have been loving nutritional yeast on anything savory lately (granted my sweet meals tend to trump my savory meals in terms of frequency…).
a) Oats AND peanut butter and chocolate.
b) Dark Coffee AND full fat coconut milk
c) Butternut Squash soup with currants and walnuts.
d) Kabocha/pumpkin AND coconut oil.
e) Popcorn AND I don’t actually enjoy popcorn all that much. I guess if I had to choose though I’d pick a kettlecorn 🙂
I like the way you think… or [eat], I guess 😉
It’s definitely coffee and sugar-free flavored syrup for me! I love all types: sugar-free vanilla, hazelnut, etc! It makes any coffee easily taste like dessert in a cup!
Okay I’ve never added salt to my oats before, but I’ve got to say I’m intrigued!
For my favourite combinations:
a) Oats and almond butter – Duh. 😉
b) Coffee and soy milk – for some reason I 100% prefer adding soy milk to my coffee over milk.
c) Soup and fresh, soft bakery bread with a good crunchy crust!
d) Pumpkin and whipped cream (I’m talking about in pie form!).
e) Popcorn and fake cheesy powder – so good. Just so so good.
I love pumpkin and hummus combined! I’ve made your pizza a few times and it’s delicious!
Love the combination post- and deep down also kinda, sorta hoping with the 4am wakeup call comes an earlier blog posting…I mean, to keep your International blends satisfied. Ok, that sounded like a coffee commercial because we have a brand called International blend.
To answer your questions-
a) Oats and SALT. YES. In the process of cooking it AND on top.
b) Coffee and a side of blog reading…as of now.
c) Soup and rain outside. Needs to be the perfect atmosphere.
d) Kabocha/pumpkin and garlic salt/sea salt. Yes. This comment is salt induced. Although dipped in caramel…
e) Popcorn and salt and chocolate chips. Messy. but so so good.
In my defense, I did post an hour earlier today 😛 Sometimes it just doesn’t show up in readers right away…
a) Oats & applesauce (& Greek yogurt & agave nector = this morning)
b) Coffee & hot chocolate mix (homemade mocha for the win)
c) Soup & grilled cheese
d) Pumpkin & black beans (in the soup that I’m making tonight – Kabocha has yet to make an appearance in my kitchen)
e) Popcorn & marshmallows (my guilty pleasure from childhood)
I love the black and orange color themed fonts you have going on here!! YES! I had popcorn with nooch last night for the first time in A LONG TIME..too long really! I also need that pizza..yes..need.
I love this post!!! I’m seriously dying to eat every picture on here… Or the food. I’ll settle for both. But really, every time I add nooch to my popcorn it just falls to the bottom and I’m left with a huge mound of sand… Do you spray it with anything? Or just deal?
I’ll usually drizzle some melted coconut oil or butter over it before I nooch it up. Some still falls off, but it helps.
Yikes, why were you up so early??? 🙁 I used to sleep @ 4am (in college) hahaha.
Nooo idea — I just woke up, fully awake and ready to go. I usually wake up around 5, so 4 isn’t a HUGE deal, and I didn’t need any more coffee than usual so I guess I’m okay.
Popcorn AND nutritional yeast is an absolute MUST!
OMG Udi’s has cinnamon rolls! I’m gonna mosy over to their site to check this out!
Do you have the Keurig Vue? I just got one over the summer and it’s my pride and joy. So much better than the old keurigs!
Nope! Just a regular Keurig Platinum for me. What’s the difference?
With the Vue you can change the strength of the coffee to make it brew stronger, you can adjust the brewing temperature, make café drinks, and set the amount to be brewed via a touch screen. My old Keurig just dropped dead one day and months later I got the Vue and I love it!
Oats and vanilla is my go to! 🙂
I am supposed to add salt too but I must admit I never do…I should add it to the oatmeal though, if you say it is good I am sure I would like it! I am so not a fan of salt so its ironic that I am instructed to eat more of it. Total opposite of most people!
A bit off topic, but did you take that first picture by yourself? I always have trouble balancing a camera in one hand. Also, you have some of the best pictures- have you done any posts on photography tips? I’d love to read them if so! I swear I get hungry every time I see your breakfast pics. 😀
Yup! I did take that shot. It can be tricky to balance sometimes, so I find that crouching/sitting and balancing the camera on my knee helps for close up shots like that. And I’ve been thinking about putting up some photography tutorials, but I still have so much to learn! Have you checked out the ones at Edible Perspective? Ashley has some really great tips.
Reading through her posts now. Thanks for sharing!
Toad sandwiches are one of my favorite meals on this planet! I could eat them all day, everyday! Yum!
How fun!
a) Oats & peanut butter
b) Coffee & cream
c) Soup & bread
d) Pumpkin/kobacha + olive oil/cinnamon
e) Popcorn + salt!
a) Oats AND Chocolate (there’s an amazing Fiber one bar with this!)
b) Coffee AND Coffee
c) Soup AND salad- I could eat this for lunch daily.
d) pumpkin AND pie crust LOL
3) Popcorn AND salt
I call toads in a hole eggs in a basket… so funny! I wonder if it is US/Canada thing?
a) Oats AND any type of fruit!
b) Coffee AND flavor? I’m a nerd, I like my coffee black (unless the coffee is crappy… aka Starbucks), but I LOVE flavored coffee (not with syrups, like ground in the beans)
c) Soup AND sandwich!
d) Kabocha/pumpkin AND oatmeal. I love pumpkin with oatmeal. So this goes with number 1 too.
3) Popcorn AND salt. Or whatever kettle corn is made of.
Flavoured coffee is amazing, especially when we’re talking things like cinnamon roll and chocolate glazed donut. Which reminds me… I really need to order those K-cups.
a) Oats AND cold milk + sultanas and cinnamon (don’t like cooked oatmeal)
b) Coffee AND cigarettes – when I quit smoking a few years ago I had to stop drinking coffee too, since the association was too strong, and I got so used to drinking tea instead that I still haven’t gone back to coffee…
c) Soup AND lots of cracked pepper (and crusty bread!).
d) Kabocha/pumpkin AND crumbled feta cheese.
3) Popcorn AND nothing (not a popcorn fan)
You’re cracking me up (tone down the nerdage lolol) thanks for the laugh! I needed that!
Ok this sounded like fun so here goes:
oats and banana and cinnamon
Coffee and milk and cinnamon (do we see a pattern here
Ahh the rest got cut off!
Soup and doughy bread
Pumpkin with graham crackers and cinnamon( or pumpkin pie!
Such a fun idea for a post! I can totally vouch for salt in oats- it really enhances the flavor! Have you tried dipping squash into BBQ sauce? So random yet so delicious! Some of my favorite combos:
1) oatmeal and yogurt
2) coffee & cake…or soy milk
3) soup & toast
4) pumpkin with hummus
5) popcorn with m &ms’s
…andddd it’s time for a snack!
A.) Oats and Cocoa. My favorite!
b) Coffee and more coffee. Does this count?
c) Soup and grilled cheese!
d) Kabocha/pumpkin and almond butter. I tried it for the first time and died. DIED. I just can’t.
3) Popcorn and drizzled chocolate… Because, well, why not? Lol.
My mom always called those eggy samiches a “birdy in the nest”. Lol A little different than a toad 😛
Happy hump day!
Have you ever tried kabocha and MAPLE almond butter? That’s a whoooole other level of died and gone to heaven.
100% agree with the salt and oats! But I also like to add chopped nuts and dried fruit. I need something to ‘chew’. And I will be trying the squash n carmel dippy stuff! That sounded amazing.
a) Oats and tea – I cannot eat oatmeal without my mug of tea to accompany it
b) Coffee and milk
c) Soup and grilled cheese! Yum!
d) Kabocha/pumpkin and ketchup and salt. I always have the 3 together.
3) Popcorn and movies!
salt on everything!!!!
a) Oats and AB
b) Coffee and nothing
c) Soup and bread
d) Kabocha/pumpkin and PB
3) Popcorn and so much salt 😉
Pics/description of foods everyday? I’m with that! I would never get tired of that!
How do you make your toadwich? And what model Keurig do you have? I’ve thought about getting one, but not sure if I can “stomach” coffee yet.
Oats (or more likely creamy buckwheat) with PB2, chia meal, and berries.
Coffee and a splash of almond milk and stevia
Soup and crackers
Squash and sweet potato fries
Not a popcorn eater (not tummy friendly. 🙁
For the toad in a hole: heat a slightly greased skilled on medium heat, cut a circle out of the middle of a slice of bread, put the bread on the skillet, crack an egg into the hole, wait until it starts to set, and then flip — cook ’till the egg reaches the consistency that you like. As for the Keurig, I have the B70, or the Platinum version.
This theme is awesome.
These things are definitely all better when they’re together.
Now Im’ thinking I need to try kabocha with caramel. I’ve only tried it with nut butters and my favourite coconut butter.
oats + almond butter!
coffee + pumpkin spice
soup + crackers
kabocha + coconut butter
popcorn + nothing, since I hate popcorn;)
All of your eats look delicious but what really stood out is the nutritional yeast on popcorn – maybe because I just bought some and have been dying to try it on EVERYTHING! Good job switching up dinner and remembering to dip the kabocha in caramel. You think of some interesting combiantions that have me drooling. I love my oats with blueberries – coffee and cinnamon – pumpkin and maple syrup – soup and salad (or crackers) – popcorn and soy nut butter!
Love the questions today 🙂
a) Oats AND brown sugar – not healthy but so so good!
b) Coffee AND more coffee! I like mine black.
c) Soup AND grilled cheese – nothing beats dipping a crispy grilled cheese into tomato soup 🙂
d) Kabocha/pumpkin AND risotto – heaven <3
3) Popcorn AND M&M's or chocolate chips! I love mix-ins 😉