Whoever can tell me how it’s already Wednesday when I could’ve sworn it was just the weekend will get a cookie [bar]. And whoever can’t will get a cookie [bar] anyways because I’m currently swimming in them nice and encourage sharing.
That would be the third batch of soft and chewy protein granola bars that I’ve baked in a little over a week. What can I say? When I like something, I really like something. Well, that and I like not having to think about coming up with new things to eat when life gets busy, so I fall into the habit of making old things over and over again.
Life has been busy. Eats have been on repeat. Here’s What I Ate Wednesday Tuesday.
Breakfast was oats…
More specifically, whipped banana eggy oats layered with plain Greek yogurt and topped with roasted almond butter and cinnamon. I usually get a little more creative with my toppings, but I just wasn’t feeling it yesterday morning. What I was feeling was a good cleaning session, apparently 😯
I’m not sure what came over me, but I somehow managed to sweep the floors, clean the bathrooms, organize my pantry, and do 2 loads of laundry… all before 8 AM. I would have thrown some vacuuming in there as well, but I was worried about waking my neighbours. I was also worried about passing out from the depleted glycogen levels that resulted from my vigorous morning workout (har har… not really, but I need a good segue), so I got my snack on…
Soft and chewy protein granola bar.
… before sitting down to do some work. Aaaaaand then snacking some more, because everyone knows it’s virtually impossible to sit at a computer and not be munching away on something…
Confession: I always have a container of that applesauce sitting in my fridge. Always. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s managed to sneak its way in to a meal, snack, or ‘passing-by-the-fridge-and-HEY-that-sounds-tasty’ nibbling session every.single.day since I posted that recipe. Like I said, when I like something, I really like something. And I really like having a snack plate for lunch…
I know they’re not for everyone, but snack plates have been my midday saving grace. I’ve gone from hating lunch to being able to tolerate it, so I’m clinging to that for as long as it keeps working. The key, I’ve found, is to make sure your snack plate is calorically equivalent to a regular meal, with a good balance of proteins, carbs, and fats. This one had a Dr. Kracker flatbread, classic hummus, almonds mixed in strawberry yogurt, roasted kabocha, and broccoli. Random, but it hit all the right spots and got me through a 2-hour Skype chat with a very good blend friend.
Before I knew it, it was time to snack… again…
… on granola bars… again. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, when I like something… you know how it goes 😉 I would say that I foresee a fourth batch in my very near future, but I’ve got an upcoming recipe to share, so I have a feeling that’ll become my go-to snack for a little while.
I also have a feeling that you’ll roll your eyes when you see my dinner…
I know, I know… it’s a bowl of cereal. A bowl of cereal made with plain Greek yogurt, banana, blueberry, Puffins, Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, and roasted almond butter, but a bowl of cereal nonetheless.
Here’s the thing… This is me; this is how I [usually] like to eat. Sure there are plenty of days where I don’t eat breakfast for dinner and snack on something other than granola bars, but unless those days happen to be Tuesdays, you don’t see em. I used to feel all sorts of pressure to eat a certain way whenever I knew that WIAW was coming up because I wanted to give the impression that I had it all together… I wanted my eats to come across as being healthy, balanced, and creative, so I’d base a lot of my choices off that instead of what I actually wanted to eat. Heaven forbid that I ate the same things I ate the week before or that my appetite wasn’t quite where it should be — unacceptable. There’s a lot of judgment out there in the blog world and everyone seems to have an opinion on what/how others should eat, but at the end of the day, you just gotta do what works for you; and at the end of the day, what works for me is a snack of dark chocolate and warm almond milk…
Life’s just better when you end things on a sweet note 😀 Happy Wednesday, friends! I’ll see you tomorrow for Thinking Out Loud!
Do you ever base your food choices off a certain image you want to portray?
What did you have for dinner last night?
What’s one of your current food obsessions?
I’m so happy you’re sticking to our WIAW theme, where we actually post an entire day of eat, and to hell with the critics. Let them judge because no matter what they say or think, it feels good to stand by your food choices, especially when you know they’re right for you.
I’m also thrilled to hear about a great cleaning session. I know I’m weird, but there’s something liberating about cleaning. I’m not a huge fan of the actual act, but that feeling when it’s all done and everything is pristine, if only for a moment, now that’s bliss. All is right with the world, and everything is as it should be. By the way, I might also be a control freak. What can I say? It goes hand and hand with the planner in me.
On more than one occasion, I’ve eaten snack platters for dinner. I usually like some crackers, cheese (of course), some veggies and something to dip them all in, along with some fresh fruit. Delicious. In fact, I might be having a snack plate for dinner tonight, possibly because I have three different dips in my fridge at the moment.
Dinner last night was a rice, bean and corn bowl, which I washed down with fistfuls of white chocolate chips. I was drowing my non-technical sorrows in food because I spent hours trying to accomplish something bloggy that didn’t happen. Oh well; I will try it again soon, and I’ll make sure I keep the chocolate handy. 😉
You know I -totally- get you on the cleaning bit… but I actually really enjoy the act most of the time — it’s kind of relaxing, although I try not to let it be TOO enjoyable because I’m scared of being a little OCD about it. And if you ever have any blog questions, I can try to help you out!
I feel like that about pulling winds. I could do it for hours because I find it relaxing.
I may take you up on your offer of help. Let me give it a couple more whirls on my own and if I’m still stuck, I’ll shoot you an email. Either way, I truly appreciate the offer. Thank you!!
I’m so happy to call you a friend 🙂 Yesterday was awesome! Didn’t feel like 2 hours at all. Now I really need to make those granola bars but obvi I’m out of almond milk AGAIN. Fail fail fail.
Im totally with you on the whole “when I like something, i eat it a lot.” Right now that obsession is with almond butter (duh), green smoothies and ice cream.. always cream.
Wow, all your recipes look absolutely delicious! 🙂
I also will get on kicks where I want to eat the same thing over and over. Hello almond butter.
Wow you are a cleaning machine. I’m glad you were able to get so much done-that inspires me to eventually clean the house…eventually…
I’m not a big snacker so I don’t know how much I would like a snack plate. It is certainly interesting though and maybe I’ll try it at some point!
It doesn’t happen often, so when the motivation hits, I make sure to take advantage of it. Otherwise I’ll clean half the room and leave the vacuum cleaner sitting in the middle of it 😆
I applaud you for honoring your taste buds!! Eat what you like and feel like eating and enjoy your day!! All the way, girl!! Love the idea of snack plates for lunch! I am so uncreative when it comes to my meals. I too, eat what I want and don’t worry about it!
I need to get the ingredients to make that granola bar soon!!! Will substitute maple syrup for honey and probably could do chia seed for the flax…but that should work!
I seriously think I might adopt the snack-plate lunch idea! I always have tons of snacks laying around that I don’t get to eating because I’m too full from “real” meals, but I love snack food!
I don’t really base my choices on what my readers might think, but I do have moments that make me wonder if all the pizza and wine is starting to give the wrong impression 🙂 I’ve never posted a full day of eats before, so I might need to try it soon and see what it actually looks like on paper (or screen).
I had beef stew for dinner last night and it was delish!
So…you just make me feel unproductive in the mornings 😉 I’m usually getting up at 8! And as for snack plates, I don’t eat them too often, but once in a while they’re exactly what I need. I’m actually thinking that might be a good idea for lunch today…
I try not to let WIAW affect my eats when i post, but I’d be lying if I said it never did. There’s just so many worries about judgments and comparisons that I sometimes worry about my eats not looking ‘balanced’ enough.
Yum those granola bars look super good!! And so does that bowl of cereal. My boyfriend does the same thing and combines many different ones. I had never thought of doing that before I met him haha (seriously!). But putting almond butter on it?? That sounds tooooo gooood!
I’m all about the different textures and flavours. At least it adds -some- variety to my same-old eats 😉
Can I just say that I’m beyond obsessed AND impressed with your adorable lunch plates? I really need to get back on the squash boat. I’ve forgotten how much I adore it! Love all you eats, girlfriend.
Girrllll, I want your lunch plate. I am currently eating a bowl of oats similar to yours swap PB (I’m sorry!) and a chopped cinnamon apple on top. And yes, I am preferring your nosh plate over my warm bowl of oats, so it’s quite serious. Gimme the kabocha.
Thank you for keeping your eats “honest” snacky with a hint of chocolate or healthy with a lot of green, we love you for you! And honestly, no one eats like a healthy guru 100% of time, so we should all stop pretending while we hind behind the screen sucking on spoons of almond butter and such 😉
Also, I took your tip to only take pictures of food for WIAW and it was so much less stress. THANK YOU.
I love how you use copious amounts cinnamon on your oats too! 🙂
Sadly I think there is a lot of judgement in the normal world too… Everyone at work thinks I am a freak for eating a whole Avocado, quote “you are eating a whooole Avocado? They are soooo fattening”. “what is that? peanut butter on a banana!? Peanut butter is soooo bad for you!!”. I could go on but I won’t bore you… It used to bother me but now I just ignore it. I will eat my yummy food no matter the comments I receive. It is all about balance… If I want to eat a whole giant Avocado I will go ahead and do so 🙂
Do you work from home? Snack plate sounds exactly like something I would scrounge together out of my fridge on days I’m at the apartment haha!
Also I really need to make more crockpot applesauce! It disappeared so flippin fast!
Happy WIAW! 🙂
I do! It’s both a blessing and a curse, really. A blessing because I don’t have to pack my lunch, but a curse because I have access to my kitchen all.day.long… and you better believe I’m taking advantage of it 😆
Oh girl, I have certain foods on repeat like, ALL THE TIME. For instance, right now its lavash wraps. They go with anything and everything. Oh and avocado and guacamole. Apparently Im on a high fat kick because I have more than one serving of both that AND nutbutter a day. No shame here! Oh goodness and the amount of yogurt Ive been eating…it kind of reminds me of you actually 😉
That’s not JUST a bowl of cereal… that’s a bowl of deliciousness! Heck, I’d totally eat that every day. Every meal (maybe). 😉 Also, snack plates = the best kind of lunch!
I am all for ending the day on a sweet note! And dinner for breakfast – oh yes!
And…let me see if I can explain how it is Wednesday today, you see…Wed. comes after Tuesday, which comes after Monday which comes after …hmmm… so think my explanation is good enough for the leftovers of your 3rd batch of granola bars? I mean, you would want to have a fresh batch to munch on? Do I have to Skype you too to convince you? 😉
We are all different, some of us matter about image, some don’t -and it doesn’t matter what category one falls into – at least in my books. I eat what I eat – some days a lot, some days not, some days healthy some days not so much, I enjoy seeing what everyone else is eating – not necessarily to compare – but more to get ideas about. I mean, if I had not oogled your WIAW post awhile back, I would not have the oh so easy and quick pumpkin hummus pizzas to fall back on when nights are just crazy busy as I am not a big fan of eating out…and, recently, I started making these on naan and oh wow – they are getting to be an obsession indeed…specially since I am trying to ease up on my lactose consumption through frozen yogurt!
Hope you have a wonderful day, sweet lady!
Wednesday comes after Tuesday comes after Monday… Yup! That’s definitely a granola bar worthy explanation 😀 Happy Wednesday, lovely lady! <3
The bowl of cereal looks really yummy! Oh, and those oats.. I bet they’re good! I actually love to eat steel cut oats after they’ve been soaking in water for maybe 30-45 mins, mixed with blueberries, strawberries and protein powder. Yum!!!
I love snack plates that way I don’t have to decide what I am in the mood for and can pick a few things…I agree with you – everyone needs to eat what they want and not care what others think. Same rule applies to all other areas of life- do your thing regardless of what others may think of your choices. Anyone who claims they don’t eat the same things on repeat or makes gourmet different choices for every meal every day in my opinion is not telling the whole truth.
I base my choices off of whatever I have in my fridge, and usually that’s the same exact thing I ate yesterday, and last week, and the week before that. Weekends are for mixing it up, but the weekdays are just about keeping my body fed in the easiest way possible.
Your pictures are beautiful, as always. I haven’t been using my DSLR at all, mostly because I’m usually gone from 7:30 or 8am through 7 or 8 or 9pm. And I HATE trying to take nice pictures in the dark. So not fun.
You know how I feel about snack plates… Love ’em!
I don’t even care what your food is, it is all so beautiful! really it made me want to have everyone of those meals. And i am glad someone else has breakfast for dinner regularly. Food obsession is and always will be my oatmeal for breakfast and a pb sandwich somewhere in my day. Literally if I don’t have those two somewhere I will end up eating them for dinner/dessert!
I seriously -adore- [ab] sandwiches, and don’t eat nearly enough of them. Thanks for reminding me that I need to step up my game 😉
Homemade Applesauce is thee best.
For dinner last night I had a big salad, which is the food/meal I’ve been loving lately! So random for winter…
I am definitely a creature of habit. I could eat an omelet with tons of veggies, avocado and pico de gallo every single morning and not get sick of it. When it’s good, it’s good 🙂
Not rolling my eyes at all….your day of eats looks wonderful! All of your snack plates have really given me a craving for making my own. I will be trying one very soon. Have a great day!
Ummmm…yum to everything!!! Last night was breakfast for dinner for me! I made scrambled eggs, topped with cheese and avocado. So delicious! Aaaand, I think I’ll be having breakfast for dinner tonight too…I’m thinking pancakes!
Current food obsession…avocados! I can’t get enough of them these days!
No shame. I definitely get what you are saying but I do eat what I want to eat. Though, when you read so many blogs I suppose there can be pressure to eat only veggies and no sweets but…I could never.
That applesauce looks SO GOOD. I love applesauce and always have some in my refrigerator, but in the baaaack so I always forget about it.
No rolling eyes here! I am used to breakfasts for dinner, and in fact even look forward to them because they are much more interesting most of the time then “regular” ones. And also… it’s not like the “regular” ones are that much different. Take lasagna for instance. You’ve got dairy, grains, and cheese along with *a little* vegetables from the tomato sauce. Ya, I’d take the cereal thanks.
Current food obsessions: Pinning puppy chow recipes. 😆
Comparing lasagna to cereal… I like the way you think 😉
I can so relate to the “when I like something I really like something” For a sweet treat I have still been making your gingerbread brownies every week. This last time I decided to mix in a few white choc chips to add a little variety! 🙂 I think snack plates are an awesome way to have lunch, in fact most days for lunch that is what mine are…mainly because I am addicted to guacamole and I must find some way to work it into the meal! Have a wonderful Wednesday Amanda!
Mmmm dark chocolate and warm almond milk sounds delicious right now!
I haven’t had time to overly care about food lately. Which is sad, because I love food! My eats have been so basic & boring… smoothies, steamed veggies, fish, chicken… ugh. I’m in a bit of a rut.
Last nights dinner was kind of unconventional – I ate some homemade brownies & almond butter before the gym, then afterwards, a friend cooked me ground bison, mushrooms, onion. When I got home, I snacked on a rice cake + PB. The end.
I woke up with a sore throat today, so I’m thinking it’ll be another massive green smoothie for breakfast. I gotta kill this virus quick!
I’m starting to feel something happening in my right nostril and ear (but not the other side). Definitely hoping it’s not that flu that’s been going around. Fingers crossed for both of us!
I am way too selfish to base my food choices on WIAW 🙂 sorry, but I just need to eat what I want, no matter what blog post is coming up.
I LOVE your snack plate. Everything on it I want! I can’t even remember how kabocha tastes, I haven’t had it in WEEKS……sad face.
And yes for chocolate to end the day! Way to go!
I would say come visit because we have all the kabocha in the world, but I’m not sure it’s worth braving the freezing cold temps for. Actually, I take that back. Good food is always worth the trouble
I feel like my diet comes off far more unbalanced than it truly is. I don’t generally show what I eat on a day to day basis because I eat the same thing every day for every meal. It would get boring. So when I do show what I’ve been eating, it’s something special like chocolate cake or Mac and cheese. Things I love, but certainly not things I’d eat every day. At the end of the day though it doesn’t matter what other people think as long as it works for us. And for me, I like ending my day on a sweet note with dark chocolate as well 😉
I’m not the hugest fan of lunch either, but I love the idea of a snack plate. I don’t think I’d be able to bring all that too work though… either way I need to start getting more creative with lunches
Current food obsession…. MINT OREOS. Ugh whyyyyy!!??
I honestly think if we were roommates we would have the easiest time shopping for groceries:
Me: Okay, I got the cereal, hummus, yogurt…
You: Oh! And I got the oatmeal, more cereal and nut butter.
Done.
I used to eat 100% “clean” – not I could not care less.
My foods are sweet potato, greek yogurt, nut butter… cereal and hummus <3 Lately, quinoa has been making a heavy appearance, too.
Yesterday’s dinner?… what was yesterday’s dinner. Ohmygosh I can’t remember!! Yes to portraying a kind of image. Funny thing is, I didn’t portray it for anyone else but I did hold up a stupid standard for myself. Doing alot better on that 🙂 . Ohheyy (light bulb moment), dinner was scrambled eggs and berry jam in a wrap with a spinach salad. On last weeks party you reminded me to whip up some applesauce myself. However I forgot mine on the stove and it.. errr.. caught ever so slightly. Tastes like toffee apples!
Too many current food obsessions! I’ll go with cereal, pb and almond butter and squash
Toffee apples actually sounds pretty brilliant… although I’m skeptical about the burning part 😉 And cereal, [ab], and squash are things I eat on basically a daily basis. Toss oats, bananas, and Greek yogurt in there, and I’d be perfectly fine for probably the rest of my life.
Sheesh, you had me speechless at HOW productive you’ve already been at a time when I’d [preferably] hit the snooze button again. Unless we’re talking about work days because it’s obviously not an option then. But … really?!
Your feeling was wrong, my dear. I certainly didn’t roll my eyes at your dinner but just thought that it was a pretty good way to end a comforting day of [mostly] sweet breakfast foods. Or better yet: chocolate was the perfect way to end that day. No judgement from my side at all. I’m glad to see you adressing the topic of letting the blog influence your food choices after Heather did last week already, too. It’s actually one of the reasons I have yet to post a full day of eats. Because yes, when I like something I -really- do. Most of my days follow a rather similar pattern, I [luckily] don’t get obsessed over meeting certain macros anymore and I’m not as creative as I’d like to be at times. If it works for you, those who matter to you won’t mind your choices just like you won’t judge theirs.
Happy Wednesday!
This is PERFECT timing for all your delicious snack ideas! 5:30-9:30pm in chemistry diploma prep makes for an awkward dinner…I’m not sure if I can even look at another sandwich, so thank you. 🙂 Nice to see I’m not the only one awake way too long before dawn today!
Oh I can most definitely relate to this. As much as I love variety, for the most part, I always gravitate towards certain foods that I just KNOW I love to eat. Bananas, Greek yogurt, nut/seed butter, avocados, salmon, eggs… I did worry for a while that people would think I was boring with my eats, but what I eat is what I eat, and it works for me!
I need to get on some homemade applesauce. That stuff looks so good!
Current food obsessions: previously noted avocado, oranges, and grilled chicken.
Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday, Amanda!
If it was just me, I’d totally eat like this every day of my life. I love cereal and puffins (Which I know are cereal) ! haha. I always have apple sauce in my fridge too but I need to start making my own like you do. This fall when they are in season I’m definitely jarring my own for the year!
LOVE puffins and cereal. I eat them together 🙂
I think it’s the texture that I love the most — the chunkier kind is so much better than the pureed store-bought ones. And I miss fall apples -so- much… the ones out right now are almost flavourless 😥