What I Ate Wednesday #125

Wednesdays sure sneak up on me fast each week! I’m late writing this post tonight but still wanted to share a fun day of eats from last weekend. So without further ado, here’s the food!

My morning started with sunshine and a farmer’s market. Glorious. I had this peach blueberry scone for breakfast while listening to live music at the market. So fun.

I picked up most of my loot from this organic stand.

Here is my haul! Lots of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, veggie burgers, corn on the cob and okra. My first time buying okra!

Lunch was made from many of my farmer’s market finds: a salad with apple cider vinegar, oil, and chia seeds, tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelon. Also finished up some leftover BBQ tempeh but didn’t snap a picture.

That afternoon I had a coconut and pineapple popsicle. Cool, creamy perfection!

I also had another piece of this hot and spicy bread I’ve been savoring from the Madison farmer’s market a few weeks ago. You buy it in one gigantic loaf, and I cut it up and froze it and have been enjoying it piece by piece ever since.

Early that evening I headed over to my cousins’ house where we had fun out on the patio enjoying the summer breeze while playing cards and snacking on some carrots, celery, hummus and guac. I also had a glass of sangria.

Dinner was delicious. Half of one of the veggie burgers I picked up at the market that morning, homemade pickles and fresh fruit salad.

I ended the night with some scrumptious chocolate treats. Two different types of brownies, plus a billion more bites of the classic fudge brownies my aunt made. So good!

Hope you’re enjoying your day!

TGIW,

Sydney

Frosty Watermelon Mint Smoothie

Summer smoothie glory at its finest! This frosty watermelon mint smoothie is my favorite smoothie of the summer so far.

It’s a creamy, frothy, refreshing smoothie, and I love the more frosty-like texture it has thanks to the frozen watermelon cubes. It’s different than the more shake-like consistency you get when using a frozen banana, and I really liked it!

While you can still pick up fresh mint at the farmer’s market, try making this smoothie!

Frosty Watermelon Mint Smoothie

Serves 1

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup frozen watermelon (chopped into cubes before freezing)

1 ripe nectarine (fresh)

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 cup of oats

~3-5 mint leaves (depending how minty you like things!)

Simply place all ingredients in a blender and blend away! Enjoy!

What I Ate Wednesday #124

Happy Wednesday! Hope you’re having a wonderful week and soaking up these last few weeks of summer!

Last Saturday I finally made it to the farmer’s market in my neighborhood, and it was great! I had a chocolate croissant that was flaky, doughy and simply scrumptious!

I also bought a kombucha, chai ginger flavor, which sounded really good. Unfortunately I thought it had an odd aftertaste, so I didn’t drink more than a few sips.

I went and got a haircut midmorning, then came home for a nice chilled, lunch. It was salad with lemon rice, boiled potatoes with BBQ sauce and fresh, juicy watermelon!

That afternoon I snacked on the last of my fudge brownie I bought at a coffee house the day before. Still delicious!

I also had some Mary’s Gone Crackers! Thanks for the suggestions Laura :) These are wonderful. Perfectly seasoned and not too salty!

Later that afternoon I went to Starbucks and had a chai frappacino while I was going through emails. Is it weird that it felt so good to finally clean out my inbox!?

Dinner was a lovely picnic outside. I had a veggie burrito with guacamole and some white wine mixed with sparkling water. Such a wonderful evening hanging out outside!

I ended my night with chocolate chips and pretzels as I watched a movie on netflix. A sweet and salty treat to end the night!

Have a wonderful rest of your week!

TGIW,

Sydney

What I Ate Wednesday #123

Here we are again! Another Wednesday has arrived and in honor of What I Ate Wednesday I’m going to share with you my meals from yesterday!

Breakfast was pretty standard. I had a piece of whole grain bread and almond butter. And a peach. My first of the season! I’ve had really bad luck with peaches so far this summer, I’ve bought them a couple of different times from different stores and all have been pretty mealy. I end up throwing them away. Today was the best quality one so far so I was excited to actually get to eat it! Do you know if there is a way to tell from the outside of a peach if it’ll be good on the inside?

Midmorning at work I had my lovely rice cake for a snack.

I also had some heirloom cherry tomatoes and bell peppers. I got the tomatoes at a farmer’s market this weekend, they were wonderful!

When lunch time rolled around I pulled out the salad I brought along. This was romaine (I think), black beans, quinoa, raw zucchini, red pepper hummus, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. This was delightful!

I also had some cantelope with lunch, yum yum.

Rice crackers were my snack that afternoon.

Along with a couple of pieces of candied ginger. Some of those pieces were spicy!

When I got home from work I was a little hungry and had a few spoonfuls of this nut butter. Delish!

Then I was off to the gym. I took my first step aerobics class today. It was amazing! I had no idea what I was doing half the time, but the ladies in the class and the instructor were really nice and encouraging. They said I’ll get the hang of the steps if I keep coming! I got such a good workout in even though I was just trying to catch on, so I’ll definitely go back. I forgot how good it feels to really sweat! I haven’t been exercising on a regular basis lately, minus going for long walks, so this felt wonderful!

I got home and made myself a lovely sampler plate for dinner. It featured boiled red potatoes and basil from the farmer’s market, some fresh mozzarella, blueberries, a carrot and a glorious piece (or two) of another farmer’s market find, sweet and spicy bread!

I usually snack on something later at night, and yesterday it was a few handfuls of dark chocolate chips while watching an episode of Chasing Life. Love that show!

Have a great day all!

TGIW,

Sydney

 

 

Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Float

Last week, on a particularly hot day, I was trying to think of all the different ice-cold smoothie combinations I’d like to try. My foundation for smoothies is generally a frozen banana and coconut milk, then I add in all types of fruits, nut butters, maybe some greens and spices like cinnamon. But on that day, I was craving more of a chocolate shake than a smoothie.

Then all of the sudden I got to thinking about how good root beer floats were growing up as a kid. That cool, frothy foam on top of the sweet ice cream treat, heaven! But now I don’t really drink soda, and I didn’t have any ice cream on hand, but I did have some frozen fruit and seltzer water…I thought that might do the trick! I figured you just needed some carbonation to create the yummy, fizzy top layer of a float, so I went into the kitchen with a few ideas and came out with a Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Float!

Such a delicious chocolatey treat! The raspberry flavor was subtle, but it sure gave the float a beautiful, deep red hue. So what are you waiting for? Get into your kitchen and make this healthy and just as satisfying take on an ice cream float!

Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Float

Serves 2

1 frozen banana, not very ripe when frozen

1/3 cup of frozen raspberries

1 cup of chocolate cashew milk

2/3 cup of seltzer water

To make these floats combine the banana, raspberries and cashew milk in a blender until thick and creamy.

Divide into two glasses, and pour 1/3 a cup of seltzer water over each. Watch it fizz before your very eyes, and enjoy!

What I Ate Wednesday #122

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope you’ve had a swell week thus far and that your excited to see some fun eats throughout the blogosphere today as a part of this WIAW party. I know I am!

Last Sunday was a wonderful, relaxing summer day. It started off with a delicious smoothie. It was a minty watermelon and nectarine smoothie, recipe to come!

Mid morning I went to a local Maker’s Market with my friend. We had a blast stopping at all the hand-crafted vendors’ stands and looking at everything from art to jewelry and clothing to candles. I came away with this cute ring and a delicious candle made by a women who went to my alma mater!

After the market we were starving and stopped for brunch. I had an absolutely delicious meal! I never eat eggs, I just don’t care for the taste, but the breakfast burrito sounded so good I decided to try it. And it did not disappoint! It was filled with black bean salsa, eggs of course, chihuahua cheese, poblano peppers and topped with cilantro crema. I had half of the burrito and some of the rosemary potatoes as well.

That afternoon I tried one of the new types of popsicles I just bought for a hot summer’s day treat. They are pineapple coconut flavored and were scrumptious! They are made with only a few simple ingredients and tasted great.

While prepping my food for the week, which involved washing lots of produce, I snacked on some grapes and raspberries as well.

I also had some of these veggie tortilla chips and roasted red pepper hummus. Yum!

Dinner was a spinach salad topped with a veggie burger, guacamole and BBQ sauce. Fresh tomatoes and bell pepper on the side! The perfect summer dish!

I had a glass of white wine with dinner, and I thought it was pretty good!

Later that night for dessert I had two rice cakes, one plain and one with almond butter. And a glass of chocolate cashew milk. So good!!

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your week!

TGIW,

Sydney

 

Raspberry Mint Sparkling Sipper

Summer!!! It’s finally here in full force. The last two weeks have been gorgeous with temps in the 80’s, which is my kind of weather! I’d take being hot over being cold any day.

And on these deliciously hot summer evenings I’ve been enjoying a Raspberry Mint Sparkling Sipper. So refreshing, and so simple! It is hardly a recipe but I thought I’d share.

I try and go for a walk most evenings after work, and last week I’d enjoy one of these drinks to re-hydrate after my walk. Such an easy way to jazz up a plain glass of water. Make this sparkling sipper when you are looking to quench your thirst in the scorching days of summer!

Raspberry Mint Sparkling Sipper

Serves 1

16 oz of plain sparkling water

1/4 cup of fresh raspberries

4-5 mint leaves

To make this spritzer, simply muddle the mint in the bottom of your glass, add in the raspberries and pour the sparkling water over top. Enjoy!