Get it? Full steam, fall steam? Har har! Oh, I’m corny and I know it 😉
But, corniness aside, I know you guys are just as excited as I am over the fact that it’s officially fall. Even though most of us started enjoying pumpkin and kabocha preeeeetty much as soon as September hit, it’s nice to feel less obsessed finally have things feeling a bit more legit, no?
Fall foods are some of my favourite… Warming spices, comforting dishes, soothing teas. Apple, pumpkin, cinnamon, maple, kabocha. Swoooon. Needless to say, I’ve been doing some serious fawning over fall flavours lately, and since today is a day that’s dedicated to food (aka: What I Ate Wednesday), I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to profess my love publicly and share some of the fall-inspired eats that I’ve been enjoying as of late.
Breakfast… [pumpkin]
Confession: I’m not the biggest fan of pumpkin oats and rarely make them more than once or twice a year, but I figured… well… ’tis the season and all the cool kids are doing it, so pumpkin oats it was. Verdict? I still prefer my oats plain and topped with almond butter and honey, but these were a pleasant enough change.
In the bowl: 1/2 cup quick oats cooked in 1 cup of pumpkin chai tea, with 2 Tbsp. pumpkin puree, 1 Tbsp. ground flax, and 1 Tbsp. maple syrup stirred in near the end of cooking. Finished off with a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg, then topped with melted coconut butter.
Morning snack… [figs]
Confession: I have no problem eating the last muffin/cookie/chocolate/whatever it may be. We’re going to conveniently overlook the fact that I live alone and don’t exactly have to worry about sharing my food with anyone else (aside from the baked goodies I give away), but regardless of logistics, this last fig and goat cheese honey muffin tasted exceptionally good… especially accompanied by coffee.
Lunch… [pumpkin]
Confession: In my mind, throwing salsa on something instantly makes it a Mexican dish. And adding avocado? Even better! This pumpkin chili Mexican scramble, for example? I’m pretty sure that die-hard Mexican fans would cringe at my flippant use of the label, but let’s not get caught up in semantics… let’s just call it delicious and leave it at that.
Afternoon snack… [caramel and kabocha]
Confession: I’m kicking myself over this snack. Why? Because although it looks like I ate these two wonderful foods together, the reality is that it was actually a snack in two parts. The problem with that? Hellooooo! Am I the only one tho thinks that kabocha dipped IN caramel pudding would be an out-of-this-world combination!? Mental note: next time, dip kabocha into caramel pudding.
Dinner… […*crickets*…]
Confession: I realize that nothing about this meal is inspired by fall. I also realize that it’s the third WIAW in a row that I’ve shown a stir fry dinner. Blogger fail. I promise that I do eat other things (at least I think I do), but apparently I just don’t photograph them. And I pinky promise that I’ll show you something different next week. Now just watch me forget…
Evening snack… [maple]
Confession: I’m completely smitten with Justin’s maple almond butter. Yup. That’s really all I have to say about that…
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So my snack bag [and suitcase] is packed and I’m about to head out the door on my trip, but I’ll be doing my best to check in with you guys while I’m gone, so make sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram if you want to see scenes from the road.
Happy Wednesday, peeps! See you guys tomorrow! 😀
. – . – . – .
What fall-inspired meal have you eaten lately?
Do you like the flavour of plain oats?
What’s your favourite Mexican meal?
Kabocha and caramel pudding?!! *swoon* Genius m’dear…sheer genius!
I haven’t yet been bitten by the fall bug just yet, but I can feel it coming! Something about the way the air smelled tonight…and the fact that it was a CRISP 60-some odd degrees out!
I LOVE the flavor of plain oats and actually rarely ever sweeten them in any way…though I kinda feel like I’m the only weirdo out there who doesn’t load down her bowl with stevia! Ha!
Favorite Mexican meal: You’ve got it right there…anything with salsa and avocado is fine by ME! 😉
Even though I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin (gasp), your first breakfast picture is amazing. The colors, the crispness; you made me almost want to eat pumpkin and that’s saying an awful lot.
Your evening dessert is right up my alley though. I’ll take two spoonfuls…maybe three.
Lately, I’ve been making lots of soups (thai inspired veggie, potato, tomato). If it’s hot and in a bowl, I’m going in.
Have a great trip. Safe travels.
You should totally try to sell of your breakfast muffin recipes to McDonalds. They look so fitting with the coffee cup 🙂
Coconut butter looks like icing. Thus your oatmeal looks like dessert and I want a bite right now. haha.
As soon as it was the 1st September I busted out the pumpkin! I don’t need any excuse for my pumpkin scrambles with nut butter on top! I’ve also started buying butternut squash (until I can find some kabocha!)
ohhh Justin’s, best thing to cross my lips these days and all you need is a spoon.
No shame in carrying a jar around in your purse- have a great trip!!
I have been putting cinnamon on EVERYTHING !! Which isn’t really fall-specific since I do it pretty much year round. Hah. My favorite Mexican dish is a Barbacoa burrito bowl from chipotle!
I love fall flavours too. The last fall inspired meal I had was probably pumpkin oatmeal. I love it! But I like the flavour of plain oats too… as long as there is stuff mixed into them. A bowl of just plain oatmeal would be way too boring!
And my favourite Mexican meal would probably be copycat Chipotle bowls. I make them all the time and now I’ve got my mom hooked on them too. 😀 But really, any Mexican meal is good in my books.
Hope you have an awesome trip! I can’t wait to hear about it when you get back. 🙂
I’ve been missing Chipotle since leaving Minneapolis! I’m going to have to actually commit to making mock bowls when I get back home.
I’ve been eating a TON of fall foods lately… the cheat-day pumpkin spice chai, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin anything… I eat it year-round though!
Punny, sorry, funny girl you are. The fact that you used ‘corny’ aswell which is considered a ‘Fall’ vegetable here- ahh step back Jimmy Kimmel.
I must say, I was completely shocked to see a change in the oats- and NOT with almond butter on top- I feel like I don’t know you anymore :p Chuck salsa and avocado on anything and it is indeed Mexican. Its an unstated rule somewhere.
Have a blast of a road trip buddy- Canada has, hands down, the most beautiful mountains so I expect to see some epic scenes!
Lots of delicious eats AND a spoonful of Peanut butter with chocolate chips. I’ve been doing a lot of fall baking and cooking (Pumpkin coffee cake, Pumpkin cinnamon scones and apple oatmeal). I need to cook with pumpkin still-I just haven’t made the jump yet.
Please share your photography secrets with me. No joke. Your pictures are always perfect!
I actually haven’t busted out many Fall foods yet since it still feels like Summer here. But, I’m mainly looking forward to chili and cornbread, roasted veggies/sweet potatoes, and cinnamon EVERYTHING. haha (:
What kinda noodles are those? Looks very asian!
I think they were mung bean? Leftovers from when I went over to my parents’ for dinner over the weekend.
I love Pumpkin Coffee – does that count as a fall meal?
Amandaaaaa your pictures are making me drool and if I were a cartoon I would look super funny. You get the imagery I’m sure. 🙂 And just like you, this morning I had pumpkin oats….but in a jar of PB! I know it’s not your favorite but man oh man, was it delicious. Have a super safe+blessed trip and take care okay?? <3
I love Justin’s almond butter! The packets of their nut butter makes for a perfect take and go snack!
I still have to avoid those individual packets because they may contain traces of peanuts (allergic), so I just bring the whole jar with me 😉
That Mexican pumpkin chili looks great! My favorite Mexican meal is probably a rice bowl with all the fixins! I made a pumpkin pizza last week that was bomb!
First of all, your opening – so corny, so cute :-p And while I like pumpkin oats, it’s not my favourite way to eat pumpkin. I prefer breads, muffins and pancakes…and pie is pretty decent too, as long as I have vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Eric has recently announced (well…has been telling me for the last several months) that stirfry is his favourite meal and I’m a big fan too, so it’s been coming out a lot frequently over here too. At least stirfries are versatile, so your last three have at least all looked a little different 😉
And I’m officially hooked on kabocha along with you – I had a sad moment when I finished off the one I roasted yesterday. I’ll be buying a lot more of them! And Honeycrisp apples are starting to come out, which is another one of my favourite things about fall.
Oh, and anything I make is instantly deemed Mexican if it contains one or more of the following: salsa, guacamole/mashed avocado, and a black bean/corn combo. If it contains all of them, then it absolutely must be Mexican, so questions asked 😉
Safe travels love! <3