Happy What I Ate Wednesday, friendly faces! 😀
I know — three weeks in a row?!? Craaaaaziness! But when I asked you guys last week if you wanted to see more WIAW posts, the answer was a resounding YES, so I figured I should probably follow through and deliver the goods. The only thing is that coming up with interesting themes can be a liiiiittle bit tricky sometimes, so you’re going to have to bear with me. I mean, there are only so many ways of saying “this is what I ate today yesterday”… especially when you’ve been at it for a couple of years.
Luckily, the recent arrival of fall (aka the tastiest season of the year) gives me the perfect excuse to talk about some of my favourite fall foods… so let’s go!
Pumpkin…
A pumpkin pie breakfast bake with dried cranberries, cream cheese, and almond butter.
I have the blog world to thank for this one because, before I started blogging, I had no idea that you could actually eat pumpkins — I thought they were just for decoration around Halloween. And don’t ask me where I thought pumpkin pie came from — my parents never had that talk with me. Imagine my shock, then, when I learned that not only was pumpkin edible, but also pretty darn tasty… tasty to the point where I’ve been known to eat a spoonful or two straight from the can #noshame.
Dates…
A bowl of dates, almonds, and Barbara’s Morning Oat Crunch cereal… with black coffee.
This one might be a bit of a stretch since I’m not sure that dates are technically a fall food, but I associate all dried fruits with fall and winter since fresh fruits are no longer in season, and dried fruits just feel cozier in the colder months — if that makes sense. Either way, dates are currently at the top of my favourite dried fruit list thanks to their ooey, gooey caramelly-ness and their ability to make me fly. No joke — coffee and dates give me wings. Hands down the best food to eat before any kind of activity.
Kabocha…
Snack plate LOVE! Sliced cucumber, Dr. Kracker crisps, roasted kabocha, cheesestrings, dried apricots, and Tribe hummus.
Similarly to pumpkin, I had no idea that the oddly shaped lumps that my mom decorated our house with in the fall time were actually edible, so another shoutout to the blog world for that one. Actually, I still remember trying to hack my way in to a squash for the first time — what a gong show 😆 Thankfully I managed to walk away with all my digits in tact, because I would have hated to have a bad experience get in the way of what has gone on to become a full-blown love affair… one that I’m lucky enough to indulge in all.year.long.
Maple…
Justin’s maple almond butter with frozen mangoes and banana slices.
Confession: I’ve actually been known to take a swig of maple syrup straight from the bottle, similarly to how I’d drink honey straight from the squeezy bear when I was a kid… except the former didn’t end with my childhood years. Neither did the latter, really, except that now my honey comes in jars and requires the assistance of a spoon 😆
Anyways… You might say I have a slight thing for maple syrup and maple flavoured foods, which we’re going to pretend has everything to do with the fact that it’s delicious (because it is) and nothing to do with the fact that I’m stereotypically Canadian (because I am). We’re also conveniently going to ignore the fact that I have a tendency to slip “eh?” into every conversation.
Red quinoa…
A bowl of red quinoa cooked in coconut milk with chickpeas, spinach, broccoli, and kabocha squash.
So I know quinoa isn’t technically fall-ish, but it IS a big bowl of comfort, and that just screams cozy fall days. ALSO! since this quinoa is red, and leaves turn red in the fall… well… I rest my case. Welcome to the bizarre logic of my inner mind — feel free to point and laugh 
In any case… I honestly can’t say that I detect much of a difference between the two colours other than the fact that red quinoa takes slightly longer to cook. They both have that same earthy flavour and offer the same nutritional benefits. Mostly I just think that red quinoa looks gorgeous.
Butterscotch…
A mug of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest and butterscotch chips.
You guys… I’ve been cheating on chocolate — with butterscotch. But that’s all the deets that I’m going to share with you about our steamy affair for now because I feel like this post is getting a leeeeeettle long.
See your lovely faces tomorrow for some Thinking Out Loud! 😀
What do you think is the tastiest season of the year?
What’s one food you love that the blog world has introduced you to?
What extremes have you gone to to satisfy a sweet tooth? I’ve also been known to eat those sugar cubes that are meant for coffee 😆
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Hahaha the sugar cubes – once upon a time I went to the grocery store and bought those sugar cubes, a whole package of them, and kept them in my room. NEVER AGAIN. I was super young though and apparently thought that was a good idea? Thanks for making me think up that hilarious memory haha. Also, fall is 100% the tastiest time of the year, hands down. All the coziness of pumpkin/apple and baked goods/crock pot recipes. I love it! Gotta get back into the crock pot though…
Your food always looks amazing. I’m so making that breakfast bake this week and your snack plate with kabocha is adorable-yum!
I need you to do something for me…take an almond butter stuffed date (with cinnamon of course) and pair THOSE with your coffee. I would love to get specific on the type of coffee, but I know not everyone is willing to get down to the nitty gritty particulars of coffee pairing. I will say choose an earthy dark roast. You may have already done this, but if not it takes the dates and coffee combo to a totally new level!! I LOVE ALL THE FALL FOODS!
Well, seeing as you’re a coffee -master- I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to give it a go. Any specific blend from Bux? I could pick one up.
OH, but of course there is a specific blend from the Bux!! Komodo Dragon pairs beautifully with the date combo. You could either get a single cup pour over from them and bring your dates there (that way you don’t have to buy a whole bag before you try it) OR you could even purchase 1/4 or 1/2 pounds to just have a little if you don’t want to buy a full pound!! I am enjoying a cup right now, french pressed, but with NO dates…womp womp. If you end up trying it please let me know what you think!! I love this kind of stuff…:)
I used to buy the boxes of sugar cubes, so I could eat them straight up. I also adore those little maple flavored candies which are nothing but sugar and maple syrup. My mom usually gets me some for Christmas every year and this past year she couldn’t find them anywhere. It made me sad.
Hooray for cheese sticks making an appearance on the snack plate. Loves.
You don’t sayyyyyyy. I just so happen to know where you can find some of those 😉
I think summer might be the tastiest season for me because everything is so fresh and all the summer fruits are in season. Fall food is my favourite though . Does that makes sense? Summer is tastiest, but fall food is my favourite? I’m not sure if it does haha.
you are sooooo right! Pumkin and Kabocha are my loves! I eat them year round! 🙂
Wait.. no are those baby lambs? Now thats even cuter!
Yep! A mug of white sheep with only one little black sheep 😀
I totally agree fall is the tastiest season of all!
and that snoopy mug <3
Fall is definitely the best season! Now if only Arizona would cool off. I mean it’s still 100 degrees (totally not normal). I would be ok with 85. At least then I could wear a scarf and not get weird looks.
Tastiest seasonIMO is summer! I LOVE all the berries and watermelon… *wistful sigh*
OATS and I now have them every.single.day. No joke. Also the sweet potato+nut butter combo!
I have most definitely been known to hit the honey with a spoon. There’s a local honey lady near me that makes creamed honey of different varieties and the cinnamon one literally tastes like a cinnamon bun. All it is is raw honey and cinnamon beat with a mixer until SUPER thick. Actual heaven.
BTW the video that looks like it’s going to attach itself to this comment is a video I’m really really proud of (shot in 1080p HD and edited in Final Cut Pro)- I’d be so grateful for any feedback!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
I have a local honey lady that I love as well! And she has this chocolate orange fudge honey that’s out.of.this.world. Gah. Also… I checked out your video and it looks -awesome-. Very professional 🙂
Chocolate orange fudge?! SORCERY! That sounds Ah.mazing. Thank you so much, Amanda! Your feedback means a lot to me <3
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Ever so slightly disagreeing: the in-between of summer and fall is the tastiest season: still some berries and the first kabocha. I don’t want to live without either.
“my parents never had that talk with me” 😉 It wasn’t until several years ago – pre-blogging, though – that I had my first taste of pumpkin. Canned pumpkin doesn’t exist over here and neither does pumpkin pie. That combined with the fact my mum simply didn’t cook with pumpkin and I only happened upon my first Hokkaido [orange kabocha] at the age of maybe 14? I’m making up for lost time properly these days …
One of those tasty blog world blessing for me is almond butter. Thanks to Heather of the apptly named blog – and obviously dozens of others.
YUM!!! What lovely Fall foods!! That snack plate looks delicious!! I want to make one!! YUM 🙂 …everything looks tasty! 🙂 That pumpkin pie bake looks divine! Glad that blogging has introduced you to pumpkin. “My parents never had that talk with me”… so cute!!
Red quinoa? never heard of it! But quinoa was one of the first unfamiliar foods the blog world turned me to!
Apparently there’s black quinoa too. And did you mispronounce it like I did when you first heard of it? 😆 To this day, I -still- want to say quin-oh-ah.
Whenever I use maple syrup in a recipe, I totally take a swig out of the bottle too! It is too good not to do.
The blog world definitely introduce me to pumpkin and kabocha squash…I’m more addicted to the squash than the pumpkin though. 🙂 PS: Thank you so much for getting back to me yesterday. I really appreciate it! I love all food and all seasons and grateful that I can afford to eat them regularly. I LOVE your snack plates and the look of those crackers. XOXO
I love the flavors of fall and winter too! The blog world has introduced to me the awesomeness of coconut oil and coconut flour!
Summer is definitely my favorite time for food. But then again, I usually get excited for certain things with each season 🙂
Blogging has introduced me to too much food to say, so I’ll go with the most recent one. Apple bacon plantain hash from The Paleo Running Mama. It’s the best thing ever, and I’m glad for the recipe AND for the fact that it made me try plantains for the first time.
And, I definitely drank straight from the syrup bottle last night. No shame.
fall is by far the tastiest season of the year. I mean, I love my summer berries…but squash, pumpkin, apple, maple, and cozy foods win out.
As for sweet tooth thing – NOTHING is too sweet for me. You know those maple sugar candies – they’re shaped like maple leaves? Those are the sweetest things ever and I love them. Also: buttercream frosting by the spoonful. No shame.
I credit the blogworld with introducing me to squash. I’m pretty sure that before everyone started raving about kabocha, I had only had butternut squash in soup. But now I eat squash pretty much year round…so thank you blogging1
Omigosh I was just thinking about those maple fudge candies the other day. I pick up a pack of them whenever I’m flying anywhere because I see them in the airports and I can’t resist 😆 I’ve heard it’s pretty easy to make them at home, so I definitely want to give that a shot!
I’m actually so happy blogging introduced me to kabocha. I am so, so, so obsessed and so happy it’s back. Have to remember to stock up this year!!
Well, it’s about time! I think this is the longest I have seen you go without kabocha. Your quinoa dish is so pretty. I have a package of red quinoa in my pantry. I don’t notice a taste difference either.
I cannot recall the last time I had pumpkin. I do have a can waiting for me but I have been so enjoying all the summer fruits I was able to rein in the pumpkin love. In previous years I would have said autumn was my favorite food season but, given my recent obsession with watermelon, I’m going to have to go with summer.
Blogs have introduced me to a lot of new foods. But I’m not sure if I wouldn’t have eventually tried them anyway because much of the popular HLB foods have gone main stream. I doubt I would have added spinach, kale, or avocado to smoothies if I had merely seen it in a recipe. After hearing repeated bloggers rave I took the plunge. Actually, it was your inclusion of avocado in a smoothie that spurred me to try it. Best. Smoothie. Addition. Ever.
I have to credit the blog world for squash too. I ate yellow squash as a kid but never kabocha, acorn, delicata, or spaghetti squash. I discovered all of those thanks to my fellow blogging foodies! And almond butter. I never ate that before I started reading blogs. My wallet’s not too happy about that one. 😉
But your tastebuds are! And that’s WAY more important 😉
You pretty much NAILED it with my favorite flavors! Butterscotch chips are SO good. I love melting them on oatmeal! I haven’t gotten out the pumpkin yet, but its almost that time!
NOW NOW NOW! Fall is the tastiest of seasons.
You pretty much summed up all my favorite flavors. Pumpkin, maple, cinnamon. I don’t get enough butterscotch in my life but I do liiiikes it. I was one of those kids who was pumped to receive a butterscotch candy! It also reminds me of these cookies I used to make….perhaps a revisit to those cookies are in order. 🙂
Another great post! I have been making Butternut Squash like every other day (roasted). Never tried the Kabocha, Getting some today, kinda looks the same inside. Yum
Arlene
I’d have to agree that fall is probably the tastiest season. Warm, hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of home-cooked meals, MAPLE (fav), and of course, pumpkin spice everything.
The only “fall” thing I’ve ate so far is Justins maple AB. The jar is now gone and I’m officially dead inside. 🙁
I would say that I’ll bring you some when I come visit. But… yeah 😥
I actually like butterscotch chips the most out of any (chocolate, peanut butter, ect.). They have always been a staple of mine. I always enjoy reading what other people are enjoying so thanks for sharing!
I could totally drink maple syrup from the bottle…
Anything maple syrup or date related is awesome. Hmm may have to try soaking dates in maple syrup… Doesn’t that sound like sticky perfection!
Fall/autumn for me equals apples and squash! and I think autumn is the best season – you still get the odd bits from summer and the beginnings of the best of winter!
I’m sorry, autumn is great but surely it’s not even a question that Christmas has the best food? Already getting excited thinking about it! 😉
My favourite food discovery from blogs is the idea of putting toppings on oatmeal! I’ve always eaten it, but just with a bit of milk and maybe sugar… The blog world (you included!) has opened me up to so many other possibilities!
Definitely a huge ditto on that one! My idea of tasty oatmeal used to be a big spoonful of brown sugar. But now? It feels more like eating dessert than breakfast 😉
Love all your fall-esque eats! 😉 Looks yummy. Mmmm, as much as I love chocolate, butterscotch is pretty amazing too!