Rejuvenated

Today I woke up feeling so rejuvenated! 

And no, it's not because I went and got a free Denny's Grand Slam :P Pretty sure if that was the case, I'd be feeling dead. lol.

I ended up going to bed relatively early last night, around 10, and slept really well, too! Usually I wake up a time or two, each time wide-awake and ready for it to just be morning...and then a little groggy when 6am does roll round.

Not today! I was ready to be up, bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 6am. Unfortunately, it's my day to "sleep in" until 7, but I decided tojust browse the web and watch the news and relax until then. It was quite nice! I love waking up ready to go and in a good mood. The good mood definitely carried on throughout the day, too. I think this repeat bowl of brekkie helped that :

More gingersnap oats! This time I used a little more than 1/4 t. ground ginger. I'd be lying if I said my tongue wasn't a litttttle tingly by the end! Mmmm.

And some food for thought: did you know that 

"Ginger is an anti-inflammatory, which means it may be useful in fighting heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and arthritis. Plus, it's high in antioxidants that fight all kinds of diseases."

Pretty cool, huh? Click here for the source, as well as other tidbits about the 7 most potent disease-fighting spices. I'd like to start "showcasing" random facts about stuff I utilize...mainly foods, spices, etc, but I'm sure some photo stuff will work it's way in here, and some soc. stuff :) Whatcha think?

Today's new bar was a Kashi GoLean Crunch Bar in the chocolate caramel flavor

How is this bar so healthy? It baffles me. It's got some seriously awesome ingredients, and tastes just like a peanut buttah rice krispies! That's probably just me, though, because it is not actually peanut-butter flavored, but I always combine peanut butter with caramel. I dunno. Don't ask.

But! This made an excellent mind-refresher in between classes. Why is it that I get way hungrier and tired sitting at a desk listening to people talk than I do on my feet all morning at work? 

Does that happen to anybody else?!

I was super-duper ready to come home for this, though! It took my already great mood (don't you love being in a good mood for no given reason?) to entirely new levels

Buffalo Turkey-Meatball Wrap!

Two summers ago I just about lived off of Buffalo Chicken wraps. For some reason I have let an entirely too-long period of time before having a buffalo something wrap. And those buffalo turkey meatballs were just the ticket! I mixed up a version of Clean Eating's homemade ranch dressing sans buttermilk with just some greek yogurt, dill, chives, garlic salt with parsley, black pepper, and onion powder. Better than ranch dressing, I say. In addition to that, en la wrap es sliced meatballs, more franks, red onion, half a cheese wedge, romaine, dill pickle, and tomato. Oh. So. Heavenly.

Con carrot y the rest of the tomato and dressin' for dippin'.

Afterwards, Kaia and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful sunshine and slightly warmer weather and go for a leisurely walk! I've never been much of a gym person. I much prefer getting my exercise by working outside, going for walks, helping with the horses (or, soon, riding horses, lol) going for a run down my road or doing some cardio kickboxing or pilates. I guess it kind of works out, since - I don't have much time to spend at the gym! I am thinking about getting a membership and starting swimming, though.

What's your favorite form of exercise - be it intentional or unintentional?

I didn't dress very appropriately (yes - I live in Converse, no matter the weather, and I also forgot gloves) because I failed to recognize that yes, while it was quite warmer than it had been, 25* is still pretty chilly.

So, we were only gone about 30 minutes. It was quite refreshing, though. I was cooped up inside most of the weekend, and like going on short ganders whenever the weather is enjoyable :)

Before our walk, I had thrown together some almond milk, pure pumpkin, greek yogurt, chia seeds, cinnamon, and a dash of cheesecake pudding mix and refrigerated to create this delicious pudding that I enjoyed before leaving for class once again:

Gah. So good. Love the chia seeds!

And then this was waiting for me after class:

Not photographically pleasing. But oh-so-good. Lately every meal I've eaten I say to myself after "okay. I never want to eat anything else ever again." Somehow, I keep coming through for you guys and creating new things :P haha.

Leftover strata and some "burnt broccoli" and carrots with a raspberry-honey dijon & balsamic vinegar glaze/dressing. And some parmesan. Perfection.

Aaaaand, that's about it from me! I hope everyone else's Tuesdays were as equally terrific!

(ah, I get it...I need to stop with the corny alliterations.)

Super Strata

mmm....the smell of gingerbread in the morning!

Gingerbread Oats, that is!

Thinking about a gigantic bakery gingersnap cookie my mom brought home with her the other day, yet left me with just a tease of a taste, I decided I could make my own gingersnap cookie this morning! I love how I always make my favorite desserts into breakfast, haha. And I think I may just like them better - because oats are involved!

To make this yourself, just replace your water with brewed coffee (if I was really on-the-ball, I would have brewed some of the Green Mountain Gingerbread coffee I have. I didn't think of it 'til after!), whip in half a banana (more for sweetness and volume - you can't much taste it)lots of cinnamon, ginger, and ground clove, splash of vanilla extract, and 1 tsp dark molasses. Top with crystalized ginger, raisins, chopped walnuts, banana, and Chia-Seed Yogurt "icing". I added a teaspoon of organic light brown sugar, as well...I thought it would need the added sweetness, but it turned out being unnecessary, lol. 

Another winning bowl! Next time I'm adding even more ginger, though :)

After getting ready for work (Involving packing an amazing lunch involving a sundried tomato & feta turkey meatball wrap, an orange, carrot sticks, oat bran pretzels, and a kashi bar) I was so on the ball that I prepared tonight's dinner! 

Any guesses what I made? Anyone? Anyone?

Turkey Meatball and Apple Strata!

If you've never had strata before...you're seriously missing out. Seriously. 

It's funny, because up until now, Strata has always been a once-a-year occasion: Christmas morning. In my mind, Strata=Christmas Brunch. Nothing else! My mom has always made up a huge, cheesy, sausage breakfast strata. This year was the first year I joined the fun, and made up a healthified version to go along with hers! Our "showdown" was tons of fun, but none of us could choose between the two. The traditional was, of course, delicious (be it greasy!) and mine was healthy and delicious. 

It's funny because it's not necessarily as much as a holiday meal as my mind has ingrained it to be. And after seeing Brandie make it so many times recently (re: not a holiday, Jess!) I realized I, too, should be enjoying this delicious dish during the week! Preferably multiple times :)

My favorite thing about strata is how versatile it is. You could make it differently every time, but my favorite - which I just discovered this past Christmas, during my mom and I's strata showdown - incorporates sausage and apples, and feta! Another awesome thing about strata is that while it easily can be a "guilt" meal, it doesn't need to be. It'd be great to bring to a get-together. No one would be any the wiser! (Okay, that, and - how cool is it that I could throw this together in 15 minutes before work, refrigerate for the day so the bread soaks up the egg, and just call home when I left work for mom to pop it in the oven? Pretty cool...)

Sausage and Apple Strata for One or Two

Ingredients:

-2 slices Spelt bread, lightly toasted and cubed (or whole wheat, day old french, etc. Use what you've got!)

-4-5 Sundried Tomato and Feta Turkey Meatballs, crumbled (alternatively, it's very good with chicken sausage)

-1 apple, chopped

-1/4 c. scallions, diced

-1/8 c. red onion, diced

-1/8 c. red pepper, diced

-crumbled feta or shredded mozzarella

-2 eggs or 1/2 c. egg beaters

-1/3 c. almond milk/soy milk/milk

-salt and pepper

-garlic powder

-1-2 c. baby spinach leaves

-raspberry dijon mustard, 1 tsp or so, to drizzle on top

Destructions:

In a large liquid measuring cup, combine milk, eggs, cubed bread, scallions, red onion, red pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and spinach.

Pour this mixture into a greased mini-casserole dish.

Over this, crumble your meatballs or other pre-cooked sausage, followed by the chopped apple, and then the feta/cheese of choice.

Garnish with a few dices of scallion and drizzle with some raspberry dijon mustard.

Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight/over"work".

When ready to bake, bake at 350* for 30m covered, then uncover and bake at 425* for an additional 10m.

Oh. mah. gaw. So good! Just like Christmas morning :) haha.

I had half with a biiiig salad. Tomorrow's my late night at school, so this will be the perfect leftovers! It reheats quite well - might just get better with age!

If you don't care for feta, it would be really good with provolone or mozzarella, I bet. Some nutmeg in there with the spinach might have been nice, too.

And I am now enjoying a delicious bowl of pumpkin yogurt chia pudding. Greek yogurt + pumpkin + chia seeds + cinn & nutmeg + almond milk + cheesecake pudding mix = amazing. The end.

In addition: It's been awhile since I've done a Fun Flickr Photo Feature!

Check out Rowena R. on flickr!

Amazing use of lighting, and I love the color and post-processing. Subtle but effective - sometimes "over photoshopped" images run rampant these days, but it's all in how it's handled! 

She is undeniably talented...definitely something to strive for - amazing motivation in her stream. So, take a look-see!

Alright bloggies. That is all from this end of the world...but not before I thank you all for another FoodBuzz Top 9! Too cool...I hope everyone makes that French toast now :P

Question? Do you have any meals that remind you of certain occasions or holidays, yet aren't necessarily widely received as such when you really think about it?