We’re not going to talk about the weather. We’re not going to talk about the fact that it snowed last night and we currently have snow on the ground. We’re not going to be bitter. Instead, we’re going to talk about the good stuff, and since today just so happens to be [What I Ate] Wednesday, we’re going to talk about the good stuff as it relates to food.
You know those little add-ins that take a meal or snack up a few notches? We’re going to talk about those… because that’s so much better than talking about the fact that it looks more like Christmas than Easter…
Breakfast… just add honey…
Eggy bananafied oats layered with plain Greek yogurt and topped with homemade applesauce, honey, cinnamon, and almond butter.
Honey may just be my favourite sweetener of all time. When I was younger, I would actually drink honey straight from those squeezable honey bear jars, and while I tend to take a bit more of a moderate approach these days, there’s no denying that I still love the stuff… especially when it’s buckwheat honey. I like regular honey just fine too, but buckwheat has a stronger flavour and depth that I absolutely adore. It also contains more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which totally justifies my sometimes obscene consumption of it 😉
Morning snack… just add chia seeds…
My Thick & Creamy Chocolate Smoothie with an added spoonful of chia seeds.
For a girl who’s spent so much time snarking on chia seeds in the past, I have to admit that they do have their time and place… that time usually being mid-morning, and that place being inside smoothies. I really love how they add a little bit of extra thickness to drinks, especially when they get blended up and I don’t have to worry about them getting stuck in my teeth. That extra little bit of added nutrition doesn’t hurt either, and I have a feeling that my stomach is a fan too… if you know what I mean 😉
Lunch… just add a hint of sweetness…
Snack plate made up of roasted kabocha, half an avocado, hummus, and toast topped with cottage cheese and jam.
I don’t know about you guys, but I need to end my meals on a sweet note or I just don’t feel satisfied, no matter what I eat. If I had my way, all of my meals would probably end up being sweet and breakfasty, buuuuut in the interest of keeping things a little more balanced, I try to keep the sweet tooth in check. It still needs to be acknowledged, though… even if it’s just with a spoonful of jam or a few pieces of chocolate. I find that attending to my sweet tooth on a regular basis keeps me from feeling like I need to eat ALL the sugar because it keeps the cravings from adding up to a breaking point. It’s a good understanding we have with each other…
Afternoon snack… just add almond butter…
A banana with Justin’s classic almond butter.
Almond butter can do no wrong. No matter what it is, it’ll taste 100x better when it’s smeared with almond butter — true story. I can’t even tell you how many baking fails this breathtaking butter has saved from the trash can in the past, but I can tell you that my baking has improved now that I’m no longer to healthify everything, so I enjoy my almond butter with things like bananas, chocolate, and spoons instead.
Dinner… just add veggies…
White rice cooked in coconut milk and topped with stir fried ground chicken and veggies.
Confession: my veggie consumption has been slacking big time. I have no idea what it is, but veggies just haven’t been appealing to me at all lately. I look back at the days where I used to eat a huge salad for lunch every.single.day and wonder how the heck I did that 😯 These days I’m lucky if I manage to get one salad in a week, and I find myself a lot more drawn to roasted and steamed veggies than raw ones. Not gonna lie… my stomach has been singing my praises for it, and since I’ve been feeling pretty good as a result, I’m not going to worry about it too much… for now.
Evening snack… just add nothing …
A slice of my chocolate chip skillet cookie.
… because some things are perfect just the way they are 😉 And because I like to end things on a sweet/happy note, I’ll see you guys tomorrow for Thinking Out Loud! 😀
What’s your favourite sweetener?
Do you like to end your meals on a sweet note?
Do you go through periods where your veggie intake slacks big time too?
More places to find me!
E-mail — [email protected]
Twitter — runwithspoons
Facebook — runningwithspoons
Pinterest — runwithspoons
Instagram — runwithspoons
Bloglovin — runningwithspoons
If you want to obtain much from this paragraph then you have
to apply these methods to your won web site.
Great! Just what I need…to find out about another new-to-me baking ingredient! There’s no more room in my pantry woman! Lol! I think honey is entirely underrated…just a little drizzle in some oats with butter is ahhhhmazing!
I usually only feel the need to end breakfast on a sweet note…if it’s savory. That’s when my gummy vitamins come in handy! 😉 And I definitely go through phases with my veggies…though I’ve been FEIGNING for some all week…and have yet to get my booty to the grocery store!
And at the risk of sounding like a complete foodie nerd, can I just say I think that pic of the banana with the almond butter is awesome? 😉
I need that shake! I’m heading over to that post to check it out. Looks delish! 🙂
Even though you know my love of veggies is strong, I wouldn’t worry about the lack of cravings (not that you actually would). With Spring produce approaching, you’ll be consuming mass amounts of veggies in no time. This is just a little breather before that starts.
I’m still obsessing over that skillet cookie. Despite posting it so early this week, it has not left my mind. Not even a little bit.
that toast looks so goood…and the smoothie!!
Mmmm so much goodness in one post! Honey is definitely my favorite sweetener— I used to be a big fan of eating just toast with honey on it. I don’t know why that stopped!
I am SUCH a sweets person so I am like you in that I must end my meals on a sweet note. Like last night, we went out to eat, and I’m pretty sure I had the most dessert out of everyone at the table…
P.S. Personally, I would add vanilla ice cream to that cookie pie slice!! 😀
I did the ice cream thing a few times already, and while it’s delicious, all I really wanted was the doughy cookiness. Is that crazy? I feel like it’s crazy to say no to ice cream 😆
I cannot believe it snowed! It got chillier here too, but no snow. All of your eats look delicious! I’d never have thought to add cottage cheese and jam to toast, but it looks fab!
What a perfect day of eats!!! Pretty much just what a happy-belly day would look like in my house 🙂
I’ve never considered jam + cottage cheese combo, but that’s such a simple and great idea. I used to hate honey, but now I sweeten everything with is, particularly oats and baking. 100% maple syrup (Canadian!!) works well in baking, too!
Hope that snow melts away ASAP for you guys!
There is a reason dessert is at the end. That skillet cookie looks insane.
Ending on a sweet-note should be a requirement for everyone, in my opinion. I can’t do without it. 🙂
I’m happy to see that you’ve found a place for those pesky little chia seeds in your diet. I still have a bag lingering in the back of my pantry that I never know what to do with. I’ve tried the chia-pudding route and just can’t seem to get onboard with the slimy texture– maybe smoothies are the answer?
Oooh, and I’m super intrigued by buckwheat honey! I’ve never heard of such a thing but, being a honey-fanatic, I’m sure I’d love it.
xoxo
I’m pretty sure that smoothies are the only reason I was able to get through my big bag of chia seeds… I’m not a huge fan of chia pudding either, but there’s no sliminess in smoothies 😀
I love the idea of this post, you are so right its the things we add to meals that make them GOOD! I can’t wait to make the chocolate smoothie- thinking it will be the perfect post walking snack- definitely with extra chiaaaa. If it wouldn’t cause vitamin deficiencies I would AB and banana errryday, all day for all meals. So dang good. Thank you for sharing such tasty, wholesome eats lady! Lurrrve you 🙂
I feel like my need to balance sweet/savory is consistent throughout the day. One of the best is black coffee with chocolate on the side. Seriously, perfect pick me up! And don’t even get me started on trying to healthify desserts and then slather them in nut butter. I know we’ve had this conversation before but the one I consistently tried to healthify was banana bread!
I’m pretty sure my veggie consumption is whatever side dish is at dinner or a Chipotle salad. Oops.
I want to make that chocolate chip skillet cookie so bad but I am terrified I will eat the entire thing in one sitting! Maybe I should save it for girls night 🙂
I adore honey too! And I have a ridiculous number of kinds in my cupboard right now. Buckwheat is one of them, but I also have plain, lavender, and clover honey. Obsessed much? 😛
I totally know what you mean about too many veggies doing a number on your stomach. It’s not as bad if I eat the veggies with a grain and a good amount of fat though. On the weekend I made the mistake of trying the zucchini pasta with lentil tomato sauce from Oh She Glows’ cookbook… and it was delicious but the lack of fat in it (the 2 tbsp chia seeds in it didn’t do the trick) and the lack of grains made me feel bloated for the next 24 hours!! So I’ve been eating the leftover lentil tomato sauce with real pasta and cheese and there have been no more stomach problems lol.
I’ve always found that grains help settle my stomach as well, so whenever I hear about someone getting bloated from grains, I can’t help but think… “are you suuuuuure it was the grains?” Especially because they make me feel better even if I’m feeling bloated to start with.
Mmmm, smoothies definitely have to be thick and creamy! Preferably ice cream consistency (:
I know a lot of people who really love the skillet cookies. It makes me want to try making one. All of your food and photography looks amazing as always. Have you ever thought of going into the photography business? Becoming like a professional photographer is the right term I guess,
The toast with cottage cheese sounds really good! I’m going to have to try that. I have been having oatmeal with almond butter and honey every morning for breakfast. Do you add salt to your oatmeal? The salt/honey is so good!
Always! I love how much it enhances the flavour — its too bland otherwise!
My favorite was definitely the almond butter one..because in all honesty, you are SO right with that one. AB makes everything taste better! And- you would be proud- I am honestly starting to think that I like AB more than PB…which is pretty crazy for me.
Chocolate chip skillet cookies are life. We have a huge skillet at my apartment to make monster versions. I am obsessed with them. Your oats always look like what dreams are made of. I’m totally jealous because mine always look like slop. Still tastes good, but ugly to look at lol.
Today has NOT been a veggie day! More of an Arman day aka I’ve eaten like 6 biscuits with butter lol
I, too, am refusing to acknowledge the snow outside. Lovely meals 🙂 I want to come and eat at your house!
I frist read that as “I want to come and eat your house” and thought… this isn’t Hansel & Gretel 😆
HAAAHAHAHAHA I can SO see how you would read it like that 🙂 🙂 Is your house tasty?
I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever been tempted to try it 😛
Well then…I see a fun afternoon activity for you 😉
Love the just add sweetness…. oh and almond butter! Those are two things that I could pretty much add to anything. Gotta check out your skillet cookie cake… my kiddos would be all over that…. and me too!
Looks delicious! I could never understand people who don’t eat dessert or want something sweet after they eat! I am always trying to incorporate something sweet throughout my day hehe!
Those oats look amazing! I just saved the recipe on Pinterest:) I have been looking for ways to add variety to my oats and this might do the trick!
just add… a napkin because i’m drooling. Love the lunch. that’s so my style. Cottage cheese and jam.. it’s my jam
Um…just add a spoon so I can dig in to everything! 🙂
Wow Amanda! I want ALL your meals!! All of them. No exceptions. You’re so lucky to have yourself to make those delicious mels!! haha!
But seriously. I’m just scrolling up and down and I can’t choose my favourite. And I didn’t even eat them!
I don’t always have to end each meal with sweets, but definitely each day! My favorite is chocolate chip oatmeal.
I’ve never heard of putting applesauce on oats! Interesting!
Your pics are great, by the way!
Yum. All. What hummus do you use? I find some of them too hard to digest (way too much garlic).
I have been putting applesauce with my oats and I absolutely love it <3
I but Tribe classic hummus. I actually try to avoid buying any kind of flavoured hummuses because I usually end up having some kind of stomach issues with them, but the classic/traditional ones don’t seem to give me any grief.
I have never tried Tribe. I only get traditional hummus (and an avocado and sweet potato one I found) too. But often there is even too much garlic in that for me (garlic the actual ingredient of hummus, not like the roasted garlic variety). I used to get money from Sambra but theirs started to hurt my tummy too. I did not mean flavor as much as I meant brand name! 🙁 Either way, it looks really creeamy smooth! Yum.
Also – that pie looks amazing!! Or, er, cookie. 🙂 I wonder if gf flour would work
Awwr sorry girl 🙁 I just checked the ingredients and there is roasted garlic in Tribe, but not much of it. You could always try making your own?
I loooove this post because I love how much it advocates listening to your body and nourishing it with what it’s asking for/craving. I am so with you on needing to end my meals on a sweet note… it’s a total must for me! And it’s so true that if you indulge in those cravings when they hit, it will save you from having a sugar happy party later in the day. And YES about the almond butter. Everything is so, SO much better with almond butter on it. Annnd interesting that your stomach has been feeling better without the veggies/raw veggies… I can definitely see how that could be. And my fav sweetener = either buckwheat honey (twinsies) or agave! Mmmm.
My favorite sweetener is honey too – its so thick and sweet and just…perfect 🙂 And I like to consider my best meals the ones that end with something sweet. Always hits the spot!