Coca Cola’s Super Bowl + WIAW

February 5, 2014 By Laura

Sometimes I am oblivious.

Ok, a lot of the time…

I’m not one to get too riled up over political issues. At least not in the “the world is going to hell in a handbasket!” way. I DO get fired up over discrimination and stupid political moves. When Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl ad aired, it didn’t cross my mind that it was controversial. I actually tweeted that it was too long and boring. My attention span only wants short, funny ads, dammit!

So why were people fired up? They thought it was offensive that “America the Beautiful” was sung in different languages, featured many cultures, and *gasp* included a gay couple.

Really?! Last I checked the English language didn’t originate in America. Next year they should air the song being sung in a Native American language with all dark-skinned people.

I’m proud of my hometown’s company for embracing our melting pot country. ~~Even if it was a boring commercial.~~

This WIAW was decidedly uncontroversial. Someone at work even told me my fish smelled good. And she was sincere!

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!

Breakfast:

The usual apple cider morning cocktail was followed by a new-to-me oatmeal. I got Purely Elizabeth Ancient Grain Oatmeal as part of a deal when I ordered more Nuttzo a couple of weeks ago. I will definitely be buying more! I use it to make cinnamon-vanilla egg white oats and topped it with blueberries and Nuttzo.

Mid-Morning Snack:

This week I prepped a big batch of Chili Nutty Tofu. I followed my original recipe, except I used sriracha and made a peanut flour sauce rather than the Valencia PB. It was awesome with an Asian-inspired Napa cabbage, mushroom, and red bell pepper stir-fry (also a part of Sunday’s food prep).

Lunch:

Rotisserie chicken, carrots, and celery dressed with homemade BBQ sauce. My “dessert” was a Korean sweet potato topped with cinnamon. Pretty food tastes better, no?

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Cod with a side of asparagus, zucchini, and parsley mixed with my wasabi-blue cheese dressing.

Dinner:

Trout has become a new staple thanks to SizzleFish. I broiled it for 7 mins with pepper and lemon juice. Meanwhile, I sautéed Napa cabbage and mushrooms in the juice from a jar of kimchi. Quick and easy!

Of course, I needed something sweet, so I made a pre-dessert dessert of my favorite cocoa-roasted kabocha topped with peanut flour sauce (I get my peanut flour on iHerb – use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order) and cacao nibs.

It was so good that I didn’t remember a pic until I was almost done. #sorryimnotsorry

Dessert:

I stopped on my way home from work for a little treat. The Cookies & Cream Quest bar. I can’t believe I had the restraint to wait until almost midnight to eat this.

Mine was broiled for about a minute with the intent of using it to scoop up a Zucchini Batter Protein bowl. The bowl was forgotten based on the favor of the bar. Best. Flavor. Yet.

(Don’t worry – I still finished the zucchini bowl.)

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I am going back for a case of those bars.

Did you have any reaction to Coke’s Super Bowl ad?

Are you a Quest bar fan? What’s your favorite flavor?

Eating All My Food + WIAW

January 22, 2014 By Laura

My fridge is (almost) empty.

I’m in panic mode.

This was my fridge after dinner last night:

The yogurt and kombucha are gone now too.

Why so void of food? Well, it’s now filled with juices. I’m doing a cleanse. The awesome people at Skinny Limits reached out to me to try their 3 day cleanse… normally I’d balk at the idea, but after an indulgent holiday season and a year (or more) of packing in protein, I decided to give my body a rest.

For the next 3 days, 6 times a day, these are my meals:

There will be a full review coming, but if you’d like to follow along in real-time check out my Instagram.

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This WIAW I made sure to thoroughly enjoy my last day of solids til Saturday. I relished every last morsel.

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!…

Strange But Good: Sriracha Veggie Muffins

January 17, 2014 By Laura

Sriracha and I have a long relationship.

Second only to my relationship with my hair stylist.

Spicy is a food group all its own in my house. I put Sriracha or some sort of heat source on nearly everything. Even my chocolate sauce is “Mexican” with the addition of cayenne. Why should muffins be any different?

If adding Sriracha to muffins isn’t strange enough, I also added veggies. I choose red peppers, zucchini, and shiitake mushrooms to compliment the Vietnamese feels of the Sriracha. You can easily change it up with your favorites.

This spicy little number is also low carb thanks to coconut flour. I also added stay-powder with healthy amount of cottage cheese and eggs to amp up the protein.

Heat up your morning (or your evening) with a spicy little number. They’re good from the freezer too – just pop it in the microwave ~30 seconds to thaw.

It may sound strange, but it’s good.

[Tweet “Sriracha and veggies… in a muffin?! These are #strangebutgood!”]

Sriracha Veggie Muffins

by Laura Hall

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20-25 mins

Keywords: bake saute snack bread gluten-free low-carb low-sodium low-sugar nut-free soy-free sugar-free vegetarian coconut flour cottage cheese egg egg whites Asian

Ingredients (12 muffins)

1 small red pepper, diced
1 C cauliflower, chopped
1 C shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C spelt flour
1/4 C coconut flour
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sodium-free baking powder
1/2 C no-salt cottage cheese
2 eggs
1.5 C egg whites
1 T sriracha

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Heat pan over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Saute veggies until tender. Set aside.

Meanwhile, mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in wet ingredients. Lastly, fold in sautéed veggies.

Divide evenly into muffin tins. Bake 20-25 mins, until toothpick come out clean.

Can be stored 5-6 days in the refrigerator, or 3 months in the freezer.

Approximate nutrition (per muffin): 81 calories, 1.6g fat, 88.8mg sodium, 8.5g carbohydrates, 2.2g fiber, 1.3g sugar, 7.3g protein

How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

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It’s finally going to be sunny all weekend here! Perfect timing for a long weekend.

What is your favorite hot sauce or spice?

Do you prefer savory or sweet muffins?

Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cake + WIAW

January 15, 2014 By Laura

It’s rare that I repeat a meal.

Except dessert.

Variety is one of the keys to staying on track. I know this is different for everyone, but if I don’t stay entertained by what I’m eating it’s not pretty. Which is why I’m shocked by this story about a woman eating nothing but Starbucks for a YEAR.

The 40-year-old woman, Beautiful Existence, is a mother of two. Yes, that’s her legal name. She still cooked for her kids, but – even on holidays – only ate Starbucks food.

She said she spent $500-$600 a month on meals, and ended up saving money and losing weight. Her first non-Starbucks meal? Fish and chips from Seattle restaurant chain.

I would’ve done a lot better than that after year of bagels!

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This WIAW I did not eat at Starbucks. I did repeat a meal, and for that I am ashamed. Kidding, kidding.

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!…

Coconut Curried Chicken + WIAW

January 8, 2014 By Laura

No one likes a complainer.

Especially me.

I’m making an exception. It’s COLD. This arctic tundra has got to go. I live in the South. I should never see this:

Ice in my shower is something else I should never have to see. I left my faucet dripping just like the newsman said because we hit a record low of 6 degrees in Atlanta. When I woke up, I was rewarded with an ice-lined tub.

Try motivating to shower for work when faced with this:

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This WIAW I am FINALLY back on track. I had the biggest meal prep in weeks on Sunday and felt ready to get back to the “real” world of having a routine.Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else’s delicious creations!…

Black-Eyed Pea & Roasted Garlic Hummus

December 31, 2013 By Laura

Black-eyed peas supposedly bring luck on New Year’s.

Don’t we all want to get lucky?

This year I could use a little extra luck, so I made sure to concoct a black-eyed pea dish to share with friends at our New Year’s Eve pairing dinner. I used traditional hummus ingredients, but replaced chickpeas with canned black-eyed peas. What resulted was a fantastic, black-eyed pea hummus.

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Sriracha. The New Pumpkin.

December 11, 2013 By Laura

I’m ahead of the “trendy” curve.

This is a first.

According to this article, sriracha may be the new pumpkin. Many of you saw the chips. They have now gone so far as to turn it into a vodka flavor.

Why does EVERYTHING good need to be turned into vodka? I like a good drink, and I admit that a sriracha Bloody Mary sounds good… but PB&J? Really?

The point was going to be that I like sriracha before it was cool. Before the pumpkin obsession. Before even the bacon obsession. So there. ~~Pass me a pumpkin-bacon-sriracha martini.~~

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This WIAW felt like it was going to be “meh” after a rushed food prep. Looking back it didn’t turn out too badly. I’m pressed for time, but having quick proteins has helped – on busy weeks I rely on no-salt deli turkey and rotisserie chicken. With a few simple flavor adds, semi-homemade tastes pretty good! Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!…

Insta-Mallow + WIAW

December 4, 2013 By Laura

Instagram is everywhere.

No judgment – I’m 100% addicted.

There is a printing company in the UK, Boomf, that has developed an app allowing Instragrammers to print their images onto marshmallows.

So you can take a picture of your food, print it onto another food, and eat it. Would that be considered leftovers?

The service isn’t available in the U.S. yet. They’re trying to work out how to get it through customs.

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I didn’t eat any marshmallows for WIAW, but still managed some good stuff. I’m out of town the rest of the week, so this is one of those “eat everything in the fridge” days. Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!

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