Happy What I Ate Wednesday friendly faces! 😀
I tend to eat a lot of the same things on a daily basis, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that I don’t do any meal planning or spend much time thinking about what I’m going to eat… I think I’m still getting over the fact that I used to spend hours planning/prepping/cooking/eating in the midst of my ED — I’m just not ready to back to any semblance of that 😯
I don’t generally mind, especially since I don’t have to worry about cooking for a family, but sometimes a girl needs a little variety, ya know? Sometimes white rice and smoothies (not together) just don’t cut it anymore; and that’s when we bring in the reinforcements replacements…
Breakfast… Replacing egg whites with chia seeds.
Quick oats cooked with ~1 Tbsp. chia seeds, then layered with plain Greek yogurt and topped with blueberry jam and almond butter.
And the verdict is… I.am.in.LOVE. I know adding chia seeds to oats is nothing new, but why the heck did I wait so long to try it myself? Probably because I have a love/hate relationship with chia seeds, but still! I usually add an egg white to my oats because I love the texture it gives them, but I was craving something a little different, and when Meredith mentioned chias, I decided to give them a shot. So good. The little buggers made my oats so fluffy and voluminous that my bowl literally didn’t want to end (no complaints!). And the extra boost of healthy fats and fibre is a nice little perk too. Okay. Done doting on chias now…
Morning snack… replacing smoothies with snack bars.
An Americano from Bux and a blueberry crumble bar.
And the verdict is… SOMETHING. As much as I love my smoothies, having them as a morning snack has always been a little awkward since that’s when I like to have my coffee and the two don’t exactly make the most ideal combination. And as good as coffee is on its own, it’s just that much better when accompanied by a baked good, am.I.right? The bar is a recipe that I made for Savory Style (have you checked out my sweet potato nachos?!), and I’ll be sharing it soon.
Lunch… Replacing snack plates with meals 😯
Amy’s Italiano pizza with a small side salad.
And the verdict is… ehhhh. Just kidding; it was fabulous 😉 But then again, it’s pizza so that’s kind of a given. I still love my snack plates and won’t be going without them for too long, but I need to hit up the grocery store and replenish my supplies because I’m seriously lacking in snack plate ingredients.
Afternoon snack… Replacing dates with figs.
Dried figs with the dying remnants of Justin’s classic almond butter.
And the verdict is… crunchily delicious! And I can’t believe that crunchily is an actual word 😯 I was expecting a red squiggly line. But I digress. Dried fruit in general is delicious when paired with nut butter, but figs are especially lovely because their seeds add the nicest little crunch, instantly making them more fun to eat. Kind of like adding sprinkles to smoothies, except maybe a little less colourful.
Dinner… Replacing rice with buckwheat.
Chicken and veggies stir fried in toasted sesame oil alongside some buckwheat kasha.
And the verdict is… winner, winner, chicken dinner! I adore white rice (it’s probably my favourite grain after oats), but a girl can only take so much of it before she starts wanting to see other people eat other grains. My family is very European, and buckwheat kasha was a pretty big staple in my diet growing up. I really do need to start eating it more often, though — I’m in love with its fluffy nuttiness.
Evening snack… replacing ice cream bowls with sandwiches.
Chapman’s Vanilla Sandwich.
And the verdict is… yummmmmm. You didn’t think I meant actual sandwiches, did you? You know me better than that 😛 Chocolate bread… vanilla ice cream spread. To.die.for. Especially when it starts getting all soft and melty.
And that’s a wrap! I’ll see you guys tomorrow for Thinking Out Loud! 😀
Do you meal plan/prep?
Have you ever tried cooking your oats with chia seeds?
Smoothies or snack bars?
Snack plates or meals?
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everything look so good! Do you have a recipe for that blueberry crumble bar??
I never plan my foods! I don’t like to think about it too much…just go with the flow. I prefer snack bars. And I always put chia in my cooked cereal. Yum.
I do have a recipe, yup! But it’s sitting in a drafts folder for Savory Style at the moment. I’ll share a note on Spoons when it goes up 🙂
I usually just meal prep what I need to take to work for the week, so a couple breakfasts and lunches. I used to meal prep like it was my job but I haven’t wanted to take the time on Sunday’s to do it anymore!
I’ve never tried chia seeds with oatmeal! I have sadly gotten away from oats for the time being but once the craving strikes again I will surely be trying it out!
It is so funny because I used to be a huge snack bar person and lately I have turned into more of a smoothie kind of person! I just can’t get enough of those guys!
I’m not huge on snack plates, probably because no matter what I tell myself I just think of it as a snack instead of lunch!
Such a great idea to add some variety into standards! I love this post. However, I am not sure about giving up my beloved scoop of ice cream at night. 😉
I used to meal prep but then I got soooooo freakin’ bored with everything I prepared. If I had to mix up one more meal with brussels or sweet potatoes or ground turkey or hard-boiled eggs I was going to get sick so I nixed that plan 😉 I think making a full meal from scratch is much more satisfying after a day at work anyhoo! But maybe I’ll just resort to eating sandwiches of the chocolate and vanilla cream variety going forward 😉 Hehehe…
At first I thought you were replacing WIAW so I was curious to see what could possibly be more important than showcasing food you eat. 😉
I need to use my chia seeds more often! I usually use them for replacing eggs in baked goods or when making balls. (haha balls. #iamfive)
Love love love figs!! In high school (about 6 years ago) there was this tree that we would always run by, and it had figs on it! I probably shouldn’t have since the tree wasn’t mine, but I would just take 1 and eat it as I ran. Best part of my run, hands down. I meal prep, but just so that I don’t have to cook chicken every night haha. I have the basics ready so I can put whatever my little heart desires at that moment 🙂
Your secret is safe with me 😉
Chia seeds in oats are a must for me. I’ve never added eggs – whites or whole – to my oats before because my obsession had yet to start when I still ate eggs so I can’t compare. But the volominous chia seed powers in my oat bran bowls – or pots – are worth raving about. Not to forget a little goes a long way.
Actually, I think meal planning – done right and not in an obsessive way – will be helpful for me in the future with a real job, commuting and less time to cook. I’d prefer to be spontaneous but it’s not always practical. On the upside I hope I’ll waste less produce..
And sorry to say it because I know you have a soft spot for the former but meals win over snack plates for me any day. I just need that ‘proper sit-down meal time’ feel. Maybe because it didn’t happen as often during my ED.
By the way: so cute you’re eating your ice cream sandwich with a spoon. Never enough spoonable meals and snacks in a day :).
I’ve GOT to try the chia seeds – I want an overflowing bowl of oatmeal! And I have to agree, pizza is never bad. Ever 😉
I do do meal prep, usually for me, because I can’t eat everything my family does. And as for smoothies or snack bars? Um, both?? I seriously eat both several times a day. That might be a problem … 😉
Your blueberry crumble bar looks so good! Cant wait for the recipe!!!
Oh yes, coffee + baked goods = perfection. I don’t even like the baked goods they offer at Starbucks, but sometimes I imagine myself eating one just to complete my coffee. I guess I should think ahead and bring my own like you do huh? 😉
And while I don’t do the chia thing to my oats, I do add flax! Same nutrients [almost] just a slightly different texture 🙂
I love figs but don’t eat them nearly as often as I’d like to. It’s interesting you say that about not enjoying meal-planning post-ED. I struggled with one for years, and there’s certainly days I have no motivation to figure out what I’m going to cook. With a husband, though, it’s so worth it to plan as opposed to winging it. That normally doesn’t end up too well for our stomachs or wallets.
I can imagine that I’d probably have to do more planning if I was cooking for someone else as well, so I’m totally milking it for all it’s worth when I don’t have to 😀
I am the same way, when I like something I eat it repeatedly for months at a time. Like you, I prefer not to think too much about what to eat so I tend to go with the same old stuff. However, once in a great while, I do like to mix things up. Inspired by some of your recipes, I have recently been adding a bit of oats to my smoothies and I’ve become quite the fan. Thanks for the idea!
As usual, I want to eat at your house. Your food always appeals to me. I LOVE dried figs, they are so delicious! That salad is beautiful. I only had kasha once, years ago, but I have been meaning to try it again.
I love adding chia seeds to my oats! The more fixings I have to add to my oats the better. Chia seeds, goji berries, hemp hearts, cacao nibs, and of course almond butter, bananas, and honey.
I love figs! I bet they go amazingly well with almond butter! I love putting chia seeds in oats as they help thicken it up and make it more voluminous! I have been experimenting with buckwheat too lately and I must say I am a fan! I do a meal plan at the beginning of the week as it helps with the budget. But more often than not I will come home and make something different with what I got depending on what I fancy! I am going to have to say smoothies! I am a wee bit obsessed with them at the moment – cannot get enough!
I have a ton of chia seeds and I always seem to forget about them. There are great added in to smoothies, too 🙂
Also… Ice Cream Sandwiches? JEALOUS. << Bring me some now!
I never meal plan/prep more than perhaps the day before and even then only roughly. I find it all very stressful!
Loving the chia idea (it rhymes!) definitely trying out that one 🙂 I’ve also never had an ice cream sandwich… is it like a biscuit/cookie on the outside?
Yup! It’s like a soft cookie wafer that basically melts in your mouth — SO good.
Those are good replacements. I’ve never tried buckwheat before so I’ll have to add that on my food to do list. 🙂
It all looks good! Did you boil your buckwheat? When I make it for breakfast I boil it and add pumpkin and cinnamon, but when I make it for dinner I usually just cook it with some coconut oil on the pan and its so crunchy! I love it!
I did boil it, yup! I’ve honestly never heard of cooking it on the pan with some oil, though — definitely need to try that!
I thought you were replacing the WIAW linkup with something else 🙂 Ah … no. I only participate in it here and there … my eating leaves MUCH to be desired so I don’t really advertise it too much. It is such a huge linkup (and my blog is still so small) that the few times I’ve linked up, those posts often end up taking over my TopTen “most popular” posts. Not because my post was great, but just because the WIAW is so popular!
Hubby is back to eating healthy … I need to go look through all the ideas for him anyway …
It’s definitely a great way to attract some new visitors to your blog!
I am on a meal plan, so that is a yes and for the prep as well, but only day by day. I had one bad experience with Sweet Potato that laid too long in the kitchen and now I am traumatized and have to cook fresher meals 🙂
I love buckwheat. I had a phase when I cooked it like the eggy oats – sweet. Superdelicious!!
I totally love chia seeds in my oats! Such a great combo and a great way to get extra nutrients 🙂
I prefer small snack plates over meals, it’s just easier for me to digest and I can eat more consistently throughout the day instead of heavily for one meal. My body doesn’t like a lot at once :\
I don’t reeeally meal plan, aside from having food on hand at all times. I never know what I’m going to be feeling like, so I keep my options open 🙂 Woo!
Right on Amanda! I’m super happy for you. I know what a big deal this is. I’ve been changing a lot of my meals because my work schedule has been consistently changing. Eating lunch and dinner at work means a lot more cold sandwiches versus cooking!
Ok I have a ton to say – Your oats look amazing! So fluffy and happy in the bowl lol….I now feel like an ice cream sandwich. No joke. I used to buy a special kind that was chocolate chip ice cream in the center. I wonder if they still sell it. Or maybe we need to make our own. Hmm..Oh, I am feeling lately like experimenting a bit more with grains. I always see the varieties and never do it. I venture to quinoa (which technically isn’t a grain but I do love it and made a fresh pot the other day) but I am thinking about freekah even though it sounds funny…And I used to love kasha knishes. I am finished now. lol
You and I are practically the same person. If I get hooked on something in particular, I stick to it! I used to plan out my meals a day in advance and panic if everything didn’t go as I planned – now I actually enjoy meals with my family rather than opting out on this and that because “it doesn’t balance everything out.”
I have yet to try oatmeal with chia, but I have tried oats with flaxseeds; that was my dailiy obsession for at LEAST a month at one point in time.
I’m all about the snack bars. Although, now that the weather’s heating up, I’m leaning more toward fresh smoothies and milkshakes.
I’ve actually started eating more snack-like foods around dinnertime, and I almost prefer that over meals. That way, I don’t feel so full by before-bedtime that I can have my nighttime snack and not wake up feeling like I haven’t eaten in days. 😉
I always add chia seeds to my oatmeal…love how they fluff up the texture! I’m a sucker for anything blueberry and any kind of pastry, so that blueberry snack bar is calling my name. Looking forward to seeing the recipe soon! All great pictures too, by the way 🙂
While I use chai seeds as a topping, I don’t think I’ve cooked them with my oats – how interesting! And dried figs with AB – I would never have thought of that! Brilliant snack idea!
Seeing it’s my daughter and I, I kinda sort of meal plan – but its more the spontaneous in-the-produce-aisle-meal-planning depending on what veggies are around.
This week, I too changed up my evening dessert – started on fudge bars instead of my bowl of fro yo – now you have me wanting a sandwich of the creamy, chocolatey kind!
Definitely try cooking a spoonful into your oats! They poof up like crazy and become so much more filling.
Figs and AB sound delicious! I’m not a big meal planner, because like you, it’s just me I have to cook for, but a little plan here and there is nice, just like a little food diversity 🙂
I still haven’t tried buckwheat. One day… I meal plan my lunches for sure since I have to take them to work and I occasionally plan my dinners based on any new meals I’ve whipped up but breakfast is always sporadic as are some dinners.
Ohhh MAN those meals look good! Pizza is my weakness, and I always have to finish the day with something sweet 🙂
I don’t officially meal plan but I do figure out a “rough draft” of meals for the week and some of them happen and others change. With 3 kids, my husbands work schedule and general life craziness I have to be as flexible as possible. I need a few options for dinners nearly ready to go in the fridge.
I am definitely a meal person, and snack bar over smoothie!
oh man i love everything that you posted! yummm
i usually do meal plan but not meal prep
yes i always cook my oats with chia seeds- love it!
can i pick smoothies and snack bars and snack plates AND meals? haha
I”m definitely one that grazes and puts together never ending lunches of snacking, but this past weekend has been putting an end to that because we’ve been eating out so much. That isn’t to say that the snacking hasn’t stopped, though, it just isn’t at meal time…
I haven’t tried chia seeds in my oatmeal yet! I know everyone does it but I guess my crazy mind thinks it will mess up my perfect bowl of oats. But I’m definitely trying it tomorrow!
Ok. So please tell me the spoon in your ice cream sandwich was just for pictoral purposes of replacing the sandwich with the ice cream bowl???!!!! I know spoons are an important part of your blog, but eating an ice cream sandwich with a spoon should be punishable by law!!!
😆 It was definitely just for picture purposes.
Meal planning has been iffy for me ever since my ED, so I don’t really do it that much either. But man, do I need to try putting chia seeds in my oatmeal now! I’m currently having a peach banana oatmeal smoothie with chia seeds in it, and it is creamy and thick. I can only imagine the wonders those little seeds will do for my hot oats!
DRIED FIGS!! You know how I feel about those 😀
I love that you eat your ice cream sandwich with a spoon! Now if you used a fork… That would just be weird. I’m a menu planner but not a food prepper. I want to be both someday. I just can’t get into smoothies. Bars on the other hand? Love them! Is that crumble recipe an old one for Savory Style or upcoming?
It’s coming up! I’ll put a note up on Spoons when it goes live.
I haven’t had an ice cream sandwich in forever! Yum! I was just thinking this weekend that I need to get small ice cream cones to portion ice cream. Looks like a great day of food!
Your food always looks so pretty! I feel like anytime I take a picture of my meals, they look very messy, haha 🙂 And yes to Ice Cream Sandwiches. I especially love ones with cookies!
Oh girl believe me, most of my meals do NOT look like this — I just spend a little time beautifying them when I know they’ll be on display 😉 Which is probably why I can only highlight my meals one day a week 😆
Coffe + baked goods = a match made in heaven!! Can’t wait for that recipe!
I totally agree that coffee and baked goods were meant to be together! An Americano and a warm, buttery croissant is my absolute favorite.
Love the pizza, too. I don’t know how anyone can live without a little pizza in their lives!