There’s not much better than ice cream on a sunny, fall afternoon.
Or after a brutal workout.
It’s been a week of treat ‘yo self. But how often does the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck head down South from NYC? I enjoyed a cone on Monday and a cup on Tuesday.
Monday night I stopped to pick up a Salty Pimp after a bitch of a challenging workout with my trainer. He only looks sweet and innocent.
…
Strange is good, but not always.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com
I don’t know if I can get on board with this. Maybe the Cinnamon & Sugar. Pumpkin Pie Spice is really pushing it. Certainly NOT the White Chocolate & Peppermint.
The Huffington Post agrees with my assessment. They compared the Cinnamon & Sugar to Cinnamon Toast Crunch. They couldn’t take more than a bit of the White Chocolate & Peppermint, calling it a “horrible abomination to humanity.” These interesting chip flavors are set to debut in November.
Who am I to judge? Some of you may think items on this Friday’s “Strange But Good” list are just as revolting.
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I mixed up some no-salt cottage cheese, 1/2 a mashed banana, cinnamon, peanut flour, and just enough almond milk to keep it from being dry. Then I slathered it on top of a toasted piece of P28 High Protein Bread… and topped it with a teeny bit of crumbled bacon.
Sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy. This breakfast was everything I could want. Clearly this was before the great sodium cut.
Side note: one of my favorite ATL chefs, Kevin Gillespie, now has an online show. Check out “The Bacon Show.”
After the blood orange and curried salmon salad success I posted on Wednesday, I decided to keep going with the salmon combos. This salmon was pre-coked in dill and lemon, them I shredded it and mixed it with raspberries, fresh basil, and crushed Marcona almonds. Ah-mazing.
That bite from the raspberries was perfect with the salmon and the crunch factor from the almond sent me over the edge. A healthy fat win.
While Allie was in town last weekend, we hit up Dough Bakery, one of my favorite vegan spots in Atlanta. They offer vegan softserve cups, cones, or shakes. I opted for the cone with sprinkles… and then I eyed the Sriracha left over from our biscuits.
Sweet and spicy… I wanted it to be better than it was. It needed another component. Maybe if it had been a sriracha chocolate sauce? Strange… still mostly good.
They also had zombie cupcakes. I refrained, but I had to share this picture of Halloween strange But Good-ness:
PSA: The Homewood Suites in Ft. Worth, TX doesn’t serve oatmeal everyday. They alternate them with grits (welcome to the South).
Luckily I had a BYOP (bring your own protein) back up plan. I’m surprised the TSA didn’t take my bag with all the goodies I packed.
Into my bowl went:
It wasn’t half bad! I wish there was cinnamon, but the stuff they had was pre-mixed with sugar. Remember to mash the banana first if you’re working with one bowl. It gets messy if you try mashing with the cereal in the bowl (not that I would know…).
My awesome boss didn’t even blink an eye. 🙂
I know I posted this with the recipe on Wednesday, but I have to give it another shout out. Since the loss of egg whites, I needed a new way to enjoy my PB& Jeggs creations.
Scrambled tofu is a great, low sodium alternative to eggs! I am so in love with my Peanut Butter and Carrot scramble (PB& Ceggs)… naturally I had to try it with zucchini too. New favorite Meal 6 is PB & Zeggs.
My only changes were to use grated zucchini in place of carrot and used almond extract in place of the maple. Topped with extra cinnamon because I’m an addict it’s good for you.
*I suppose I should name this PB & Zofu… but that just doesn’t sound as good!
This is a bonus because I’m not telling you what it is until Monday! Let’s just say it was delicious. Any guesses? 2 hints: it was for Meal 2 on Thursday…. and it contained 20g of protein. 🙂
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I’m thinking of hosting a bi-weekly (weekly?) “Strange But Good” round-up. Would anyone be interested in participating?
Would you try those funky Pringles flavors?
What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten this week?
How much bacon is too much?
Bacon coffee? Add some protein powder and you could drink your hot breakfast! Of course, then you would need to brush your teeth again.
Seattle’s Best Coffee hosted its Red Cup Showdown for the best coffee creations. The winner created a “How to Win a Guy with One Sip” drink that combined coffee with “caramelized bacon and subtle hints of pumpkin pie spice.” Click here for the full story.
Not filling enough? Have a Bloody Mary.
[Photo: Midlex / Reddit – click for link]
This monstrosity can be found right around the corner from my building at The Nook. No, I have not ever tried it.
Jenn is saving us from bacon mania with another heath-conscious What I Ate Wednesday theme: “Fall Into Good Habits.”
I really love this idea because this time of year I have a tendency to slack a little. The weather is cooler, the beer football is aplenty, and those first-of-the-year resolutions seem far away.
Fall doesn’t have to be like that! This year I’m going to be inspired by Jenn to make fall a time for refocusing on my goals so that I don’t feel the need to desperately make resolutions for 2013. My plan is for 2013 to be a continuation of good habits and a time for reaping the benefits of hard work.
Speaking of good habits, this WIAW was a successful day of protein-filled clean-eating in preparation for figure competition. Check it out and then click here to visit Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see how everyone else is making their fall about good habits!
As usual, I enjoyed my morning cocktail with the added 1 tsp of glutamine.
Fall was in the air this morning – it was gray and rainy. I actually got chill bumps when I stepped out on the deck!
Obviously, this means it’s time for pumpkin! I took my Tiramisu parfait idea, but created a special pumpkin cream filling to make a Pumpkin Tiramisu Parfait.
I added a few extra spices to make it more pie-like. The creaminess of the pumpkin and yogurt mixture was like a legit pie filling. Paired with layers of mocha-flavored oats… I actually prefer this to pie crust. I can’t decide which version I like better, but you should be your own judge ASAP.
Recipe at bottom.
No, this isn’t yogurt. This is the container left from my breakfast. I was making my mid-morning snack while eat breakfast, so I just recycled the container.
What was in the container was no salt added cottage cheese, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, stevia, Sun Butter, and chopped up apple. Cottage Cheese Apple Pie. *swoon*
I had good intentions of branching out more, but last week’s tequila-lime marinated tilapia was too good not to do again.
Eaten out of tupperware conference room-style with a side of Chipotle BBQ Beanitos (thank you Blend Retreat for introducing me to these) and raw zucchini sticks.
Tuna salad is a great way to pack in protein without adding carbs or fat. This isn’t your mom’s tuna – I mixed mine with Greek yogurt to add moisture (ewwww… moist) and even more protein.
Then I went crazy with my spice cabinet. Paprika, tarragon, garlic, turmeric, and fresh lemon juice all went into the mix, along with fresh red pepper, broccoli, cucumber, and a little bit of pickle. Adding all the veggies makes this tune truly a salad.
On my Instagram last night I promised to post the toppings for this grab-everything-in-the-veggie-drawer Mexican Tilapia Pizza. I had something completely different planned, but when I got back from the gym all I wanted was more of that Tequila-Lime Tilapia… this time with a tortilla.
I crisped a low carb tortilla in a pan and topped it with a mash of black beans and chipotle sauce, spinach, parsnip rice, sautéed portobellos and red pepper, heirloom cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and goat cheese.
Yep – cheese. That was forbidden but because I need to gain more weight, I get an extra “cheat each day. You better believe I’m using it well!
I couldn’t go all day without the incredible, edible egg! You guys know how I love my Carrot Cake Batter … and my PB & Jeggs creations are a favorite addiction. Last night I decided to try for a marriage of the two: PB & Caggs.
This was made just like the Jeggs, but with grated carrot. In my peanut sauce I used a full teaspoon of cinnamon, some fresh nutmeg, vanilla stevia, and a bit of brown sugar extract (ordered online).
I’ve done this in a spicy-savory way before too… it’s hard to say which is better. I guess it depends on your mood!
The blog world is abuzz with the onset of Starbucks’ seasonal pumpkin beverages, but I’m hosting my own pumpkin fest over here. Thank you, Vitamix, for completing my life.
Pumpkin Pie Casein Protein Ice Cream
For the Oats:
For the Oats:
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Protein count for the day: 190.2g from good, clean eats! That’s record!!!
Bacon. Is it really the ultimate flavor? I know even my vegan friends dig tempeh bacon and bacon Torani syrup.
What good habits are you going to “fall” into?
Can eating too much orange food really tint your skin?
I think I may be in danger.
Between the carrots and sweet potatoes I’ve been eating today, I’m going to look like a Jersey Girl. GTL!
For real – it’s called Carotenosis.
Luckily Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday doesn’t go green until March. Orange fits perfectly with the February vegetable theme.
This morning I met my boss for breakfast a “famous” local breakfast spot, The Flying Biscuit. While boss-man is used to my picture-taking, my stomach wasn’t used to waiting so late to eat. Totally forgot to take a picture.
No matter. My tofu scramble wasn’t that great. I would have rather had my homemade Indian-Inspired Tofu Scramble:
My Foodie Penpal, Laura, has created a monster. I made another round of Bibimbap using the ingredients she sent me in this month’s package.
It’s an addiction. That crunchy rice and spicy sauce ain’t whack.
Click here to check out the recipe I posted yesterday. The only change today was that I served it with cucumber rather than carrots.
First us was my first juice creation in the Vitamix. It was all veggie and all delish! This was a post workout snack, so I added my Sun Warrior protein powder. I was worried that would make it a weird consistency, but it was quite pleasant!
In my juice:
Snack #2 was a recipe I’ve had marked from Rande @ The Vegetable Centric Kitchen. Can you guess what this deliciousness is?
RAW Sweet Potato Hummus. It was insanely good, and an embarrassing amount was consumed… much of it straight from the blender. I made a few modifications (recipe at the end of this post).
The only difference in using a raw sweet potato is that it isn’t quite as sweet as it would be if it had cooked and caramelized a bit. To me, this makes it a perfect hummus candidate.
The liquid smoke added a neat dimension with the nutty-sweet tahini, and the spices were just enough to give it a kick on the end. Even cooler was the addition of Meyer lemon and miso. These added some sweetness, along with a little tang and saltiness!
Of course, I also had my daily Kombucha! Served from my growler of Buchi Fire from Whole Foods.
The orange didn’t stop at snack time. Even post-cleanse I have been craving an increasing amount of raw food. For dinner I ate the rainbow in the form of this giant salad.
In my salad:
Angela’s Endurance Crackers have been on my list to try for a long time as well. I needed something to go with all that hummus, so today seemed the perfect day to try them out! My only modification was to use 2 tsp of the Ras al Hanout spice blend made for my Babaganoush Soup rather than her onion-salt-herb blend.
If you haven’t tried this recipe, I highly recommend it. I’d love to try a sweet-cinnamon version in the future!
Cinnamon-Vanilla Ice Cream. The Vitamix was me on a wintertime ice cream bender. I was working late and felt yet another treat bowl was in order. Thank god it can be made healthy! This purple bowl inefficiently hides a “secret” ingredient.
The ice cream blend is really easy – unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla, stevia, cinnamon, and ice… and the secret ingredient. Purple Cabbage.
I know you think I’ve lost it, but I swear on my shoe collection that not a trace of cabbage taste could be detected.
Modified from this recipe from Rande @ The Vegetable Centric Kitchen
Toss everything in food processor or blender and until smooth.
Note: If using Vitamix, toss the whole lemon in; otherwise, only use the juice of the lemon.
Make 1.5 cups.
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Spicie Foodie’s “Your Best Recipe” for the month of Feburary is up today! Hop over to her site to check out my Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes and everyone else’s awesome contributions!
Do you ever intentionally try to eat more raw food?
Do you watch Jersey Shore? I’m amazed at how passionate people are about it!
Go Packers!
I’m happen to be in Milwaukee for work while the Packers open again the Saints. All of this is lost on me – I prefer college ball.
I had quite the view! People in Milwaukee are incredibly nice. They also really like Bud Light and Riesling (as evidenced by the patrons at the bar last night).
No, I wasn’t out partying. But how could I pass up eating dinner at the hotel bar while watching this shenanigans go down?!
Plus, I was in need of a treat after a workout so awesome it left me shaking. That one will be posted ASAP. 🙂
To entertain myself between work and the NFL, I researched fried foods. Apparently one can fry anything.
They claim everything is bigger in Texas. If bigger = fried, then “they” might be right! The prize for the Most Creative State Fair Food in Texas went to the Fried Bubble Gum.
Source: inquisitr.com
It wasn’t really fried gum – it was fried bubble gum-flavored marshmallows. That actually doesn’t sound so bad…
Last year’s winner was fried beer ravioli. Homer Simpson’s favorite dinner.
Click for source
But that’s nothing compared to Iowa’s Fried Butter on a stick. Seriously.
Who could even take one bite of that?!
Source: Iowa State Fair/ Steve Pope Photography
And we wonder why half of America will be obese by 2030?
Moo-ving on to ice cream, Ben & Jerry have finally outdone themselves. Coming soon to a store near you…
Schweddy Balls Ice Cream will consist of vanilla ice cream with a hint of rum and is loaded with fudge covered rum balls and milk chocolate malt balls. Schweddy balls on ice.
Please tell me Betty White’s muffin is next.
I love crazy, creative non-fried, non-ice cream combos too!
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I once had a fried Snickers. Not gonna lie – it was good.
What’s the weirdest fried food you’ve ever seen/tried?
Do you get into the NFL? College football? Nothing?
Have you guys been following the cell phone news?
They may cause brain cancer.
Lovely. As someone who spent the better part of college with a phone glued to her ear, I’m not amused.
I turned to NPR (dork). Apparently the culprit is the radio frequency electromagnetic fields cellphones give off. They could be carcinogenic. Could be.
Know what else could be carcinogenic?
Basically, I’m a goner.
Honestly, I don’t like talking the phone anymore. Can you grow out of that? I use mine primarily to text and email. And tweet.
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In happier news, I’ve had a great time this week eating green foods! Despite how it may look from the smorgasbord I posted yesterday…
1. Tami’s Green Gazpacho:
My modifications included the addition of 2 jalapenos, using a whole cup of cilantro, and reducing the water by a cup. I also bypassed the bread and topped it with Greek yogurt (which was amazing!).
Next time I’d reduce the salt a bit, but other than that it was a fantastic summer soup. The perfect cool lunch with insanely hot weather!
2. Salad… con mucho color.
I had some fresh mozzarella left over from my Peach Caprese Salad, so I used that to make this Spinach–Carrot–Tomato-Caprese-Salad. With hummus. And… an embarrassing item.
See the falafel-looking things? Those are “Chicken Bites.” They are made by a company called Happy Bites. They make sneak veggies into their frozen kids snacks… yes, I’m almost 28 and I buy over-priced children’s foods. You can find them at Whole Paycheck Foods… the Veggie Tots are good too.
3. Averie’s Avocado Banana Ice Cream.
You guys know I love avocados in smoothies – it makes them deliciously creamy. Why not in ice cream? I trust Averie.
Did I mention it’s VEGAN ice cream?
I used So Delicious unsweetened vanilla coconut milk, omitted the sugar, added 1/2 a packet of Stevia, and used maybe 1/2 C of ice cubes. My Magic Bullet blended it like a champ. Then I threw it in my mini-ice cream maker. And immediately devoured 1/2 of it. Before dinner because I’m not a Happy Bite-eating kid.
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I’m off for a morning run before A) it reaches 90 degrees and B) Souper Jenny’s Underground Supper Club tonight. It’s so underground that I don’t even know where it is or who the chef is yet!
Do you like to talk on the phone? Will you change your usage habits in light of the potential cancer-risk?
Previously I posted about a special soup delivery from my teammate/Local 3. This week I was thrilled to try out the restaurant… errrrr… from inside the restaurant. 🙂
Our server, Lauren, was very nice and just the right amount of attentive. She made a couple of fantastic wine recommendations and was knowledgable about the menu. She certainly didn’t steer me wrong!
The duck fat-fried Hushpuppy + Sambal Aioli “snack” was good (mayyyybe a bit more solid than I could chew, but worth it!). I love the crunchy flakes of salt sprinkled on top.
For dinner I ordered 2 appetizers: the Sweet Potato Soup (new on the menu and VERY good) and the Oven Roasted Mushrooms w/ Polenta and Truffle Jus.
The polenta was some of the best I have had. Perfectly creamy, not even a hint of a lump to be found (often a problem with restaurant mass-production). The truffle jus gave it a rich, decadent taste that played well with the perfectly roasted mushrooms.
Of course, I forgot to take pictures until dessert.
Banana Creme Brulee with a slice of sticky banana bread. It tasted like banana pudding.
We may or may not have made reservations for the below before we left… 3 weeks from now when I can fully chew… Don’t judge me.
On Monday nights Local 3 will have “Chef & Coolio’s Fantastic Monday Night Voyages*”. A 3-course family-style dinner with beer/wine pairings. Only $35. 16 seatings. Beat that, Atlanta restaurants.
*Apparently Coolio refers to a rubber chicken, not the rapper.
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This Christmas, Santa brought me an ice cream maker. Despite not being able to chew, it has taken me this long to use it. (Sad, I know.)
It was worth the wait for this pumpkin pie bowl.
Ready to be ice creamed!
I’m still amazed at how easy this was. Just blend, cool, pour, mix, eat.
Now that I have that sequence down, the sky is the limit! I love savory desserts, so I’ll definitely be ice creaming up a bunch this spring!
Like pumpkin pie in a bowl. On ice. And vegan-ized.
You get the idea. It was good. Eat this:
Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, until well-chilled. Place in ice cream maker and process according to instructions.
Spoon out and enjoy!
Tasty toppings: dark chocolate syrup, caramel, crumbled ginger cookies (or Biscoff), cacao nibs, pumpkin seeds, etc.
Makes 3-4 servings.
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What is your favorite dessert? Do you like a salty-sweet? Fruity? Sugary?
