Good morning!
Shortly after I posted yesterday, I hit a major wall. I was exhausted from being up at 5am and working all day. My muscles were also feeling quite tight from my speedy 10k run on Thursday……sooooooo……
I decided to do Polly’s Yoga for Runner’s video! I haven’t done the video in a long time, but I always enjoy it.
I am going to start doing this more…I always feel so good after doing this video! I just stayed there on my yoga mat for a good 5-10 minutes afterwards. It was so peaceful.
After this relaxing yoga, I had no desire to make dinner! I was going to settle on Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto and Dr. Kracker’s for dinner…and call it a night…
[Incredible combo by the way!]
and then Eric said he would make dinner! :shocked:
Before I knew it, he was in the kitchen chopping away like a pro…
Eric has never considered himself a cook; he never learned the basic skills and when he did have to cook he often got very stressed out. As a result, he only cooked a handful of times for us during the 10 years we have been together. He cooked for me on Valentine’s Day back in 2008, and he made this incredible gourmet salmon with lots of side dishes and I felt so bad because he was so stressed out while cooking. Although, I must say the meal he made me was amazing. I knew he had a talent just waiting to be cultivated!
Over the past year he has started to cook a little bit here and a little bit there. His fear was simply a result of lack of practice and a basic knowledge set. It only makes sense to fear what you don’t know, right? I started to show him some basic skills over the past several months and before I knew it his confidence was blossoming in the kitchen! It has been really fun to see him having more fun with cooking. I think I would go as far to say as he actually enjoys making a few dishes now. I would love to take some cooking classes with him!
Last night, I just watched him cook and kept him company. Well, to be fair, I also ate Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto and Dr. Krackers. :biggrin: I was livin’ the high life and lovin’ every second!
For an appetizer, he presented me with a mixed green tomato salad drizzled with my homemade dressing:
It was gooooood. CSA veggies taste better than any veggie I have had all year.
For dinner, he made a stir-fry featuring those Garlic Scapes!
The stir-fry included: Red peppers, 3 garlic scapes, 1 sweet onion, spinach, carrots, EVOO, sea salt, and black pepper. Then he drizzled some EVOO + balsamic over top and more sea salt.
He served the stir-fry over a bed of greens- it was genius!
Eric always does this thing with hot foods and salads…he will take a hot pasta dish and eat it on top of a bowl of cold salad. I’ve always watched him do this, but never tried it myself…
I actually really liked it! I didn’t think I would like the warmness on the lettuce, but it was actually wonderful.
For dessert, a Glo Ball!
and then throughout the night, I had 3 Organic Mill St Brews! I had a huge food and beer belly and we all had a competition to see whose was bigger. I think I won. :lol:
Last night before bed, I prepped my cherries by pitting and freezing them. I had my heart set on making a Cherry Bomb Vegan Overnight Oats.
Cherry Bomb Banana Soft Serve:
- process 1 frozen banana with about 1/3 cup frozen cherries
Kristen started the famous Cherry Chocolate Bomb Shake, so I thought it would be fun to make a Cherry Bomb VOO today!
BOOM.
Cherry Chocolate Bomb Vegan Overnight Oats
Adapted from Kristen’s Cherry Chocolate Bomb Shake.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup regular oats
- 1 cup Almond Milk
- 2 tbsp Amazing Grass Amazing Meal Chocolate Protein Powder
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt (tiny!)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
Directions: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the wet ingredients and whisk. Place in fridge overnight or for 45 mins-2 hours in the fridge. Make Cherry Bomb soft serve (above) and layer in a dish.
Oh hell yesssssssssss.
Uh oh, we have a situation here!
Needless to say, I devoured this beauty! It was SOOOOO GOOD!
My belly is singing right now.
I’m working in the bakery today because I am taking Tuesday off for a very special visitor this week! Eric and I also hope to squeeze in an open-water swim if this weather improves or a run. I will be talking about my Sprint Triathlon training tomorrow too! I’m excited for it.
Have a great day!
aww that is so cute of Eric to cook for you last night! The stirfry looks yuuummy!
Also, your breakfast looks OUT OF THIS WORLD. I have searched high and low for frozen cherries :( Guess I will have to just pit them like you..or use pom!
I can’t believe we have such a frozen cherry epidemic on our hands in Canada!!! lol. Its sad. It actually was very easy to pit and pop in the freezer…I will be doing it again and again!
p.s I LOVE POLLY!!! :D:D
That’s great how Eric saw that you were tired and took the initiative. Way to go Eric!
Can we talk about those cherry chocolate bomb oats…………holy amazinggggg!!!
That’s it- I’ve seen these overnight oats for a while now and I MUST try them!!!!! That looks too sinful for breakfast! Oh my gosh. Yummm!
They make getting out of bed soooo much easier!
Chocolate cherry bomb oats?! Brilliant!
Looks so good! I did something similar with blueberries yesterday- will blog about it tomorrow. So yummy!! I think strawberries would be fabulous! I’ve also tried using 1/2 almond milk 1/2 coconut milk for the VOO, and then used frozen pineapple w/ 1/2 a frozen banana for the soft serve – pinda coloda VOO – seriously. amazing!
I do the exact same thing Eric does with his salads/meals, the hot/cold thing, have been doing it for years and love it :) the contrast of textures and mouthfeels… i dunno, but there’s something about it!
That overflowing cup looks SO good!! I’ve been seeing a lot of different versions of banana soft serve recently….I really want to try BSSVOO with mint chocolate chip banana soft serve (mint extract and cacao nibs)!!
I tried Vegan Overnight Oats yesterday, but I don’t think cold oatmeal is for me. Have you ever heated them up in the morning? I think I’ll try that if I ever make them again.
**in case that sounds gross, i heard you can’t taste the banana once the mint is in there =)
Oh gosh, that chocolate cherry bomb soft serve looks inspired! Yummmm…..I made soft serve overnight oats again after this morning after trying them out yesterday, and they were just as amazing! I went with a fall-inspired pumpkin pie overnight oats (I have a can of pumpkin waiting to be used up) with the soft serve, and it was amazing too. You’ve created a soft serve monster, Angela. :)
Quick question: I’m trying to figure out a way I can have soft serve oats during the work week without always having to use my processor in the morning. Can you make the soft serve ahead of time and place in the freezer? Or would that change the consistency of the soft serve?
I saw garlic scapes in the store the other day!! I got really excited and said “I know what that is!” haha
I love that Polly video :D
Aw, Eric is a cutie.
THOSE OATS?! NEED them in my life. I can’t locate frozen cherries anywhere, so I guess I’ll try fresh.
The fresh cherries (pitting and popping in freezer) worked awesome! Im so happy b/c there are no frozen cherries anywhere here.
Wow these are beautifully done! The photos are breath-taking!
I was thinking about one of your lovely overnight creations when I was making my bowl this morning (I was wayyy to tired last night to make it). I really want to try the chocolate one when I get home.
What a beautiful giant mess for breakfast! It actually makes me a little anxious just LOOKING at that, lol. I just keep thinking “oooh, sticky, sticky!!” =P
My husband is the cook between the two of us. I can cook a few things if need be, but he knows all of the tricks like “I know it says to cook it 15 minutes, but if you do it on our stove for more than 12, it’ll burn.” Now that he has been working 10-12 hour days it falls to me to cook, and it has been…interesting to say the least! lol
haha just have fun with it! Eric gets really stressed about following directions to the TEE…and I used to be that way too, but once you get practice you learn the tricks…it just comes with time!
Thanks! I’ll keep at it. =)
That breakfast looks so good. My husband is the same way about cooking but he is also getting better. Sometimes we just need there help.
Ahh that looks like an ooey, gooey, delicious, messy breakfast! The best kind.
Oooooh my… I still have frozen cherries my dad gave me a year ago in my freezer, guess what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow?!!
Hi Ange,
I have a question for you. I have been trying clean up my diet and get rid of the processed foods that have been weighing me down a bit. I notice that you do eat some processed foods such as Marys, Dr. Kracker, and the puffed cereal you use in your VOO. What’s your take on processed foods? Do consider them in choosing what you eat/things to buy?
Just looking for your thoughts:)
thanks,
Emily
Hi Emily,
I used to eat a TON of processed foods…I would guess that my diet used to be made up of at least 60-70% processed back in the day. if not more! As I experimented with foods …veggies, beans, lentils, fruit, whole grains…I found that I didn’t need to rely on the processed stuff as much. I also found out that I loved to cook and bake in the process. I know it isn’t practical to cut out processed foods entirely for me- because I don’t think there is anything wrong with enjoying them with a balanced diet, but I also try to make sure I purchase processed foods with minimal ingredient lists. I feel like I have a nice balance now. You just need to find what works for you. :)