WIAW: 24 Hour Bug

I'm joining the WIAW party again over at Jenn's!

Yesterday something came over me. I had horrible stomach and intestinal issues for the last part of the day. It was quite concerning, actually. Anyway, I woke up with similar feelings and decided to keep my meals a little toned down at first. By the end of the day, I felt fine! I don't know what it was, but after I ate lunch, the storm cleared and I had no more problems. Weird? Has anyone else had something like this? 

Ok, so here are my eats: 

Breakfast: 7:45 am

Like I said, I wasn't feeling great so I decided to keep it light and easily digestible  Oatmeal, banana and berries! Wowza! This ended up tasting so good! Simple combinations continue to surprise me! I put all of the fruit on the oatmeal and mixed it up. Oh and I added the smallest bit of Pumpkin Pie Spice to my oats. They were made with water as well. Maybe I should join the rest of the health bloggers out there and get back on the oatmeal train. (The bananas on campus have been really weird lately. They have a greenish hue and don't ever ripen to a yellow color. It's weird.)

Lunch: 10:15

Back from classes, I was pretty hungry. I wasn't sure what my stomach would handle but I decided to just go for it and eat something satisfying. A meal similar to breakfast sounded so good because I wanted something with a lot of water since for some reason I couldn't stomach drinking a gulp of water. 

I had a huge bowl of oatmeal, an even bigger bowl of berries (which by the way were to die for! Why are there such good berries here when it's winter?), a banana, and two huge spoonfuls of almond butter. I was worried the almond butter would be hard to digest (fats are more complicated to breakdown) but I decided I needed something more substantial then carbs and fruit (plus those extra few hundred calories). 

Dinner: 5:00

Yeah, it was quite a big gap from lunch to dinner. It was just one of those days. Luckily, I didn't get hungry until about 4:30. It was a miracle lunch- it healed my stomach/intestines and it held me over for nearly 7 hours! JEEZ!  So dinner was a lovely salad that contained spinach, corn, green beans, mushrooms, banana peppers, and lots of chickpeas. I also tried this black bean dip which was made of black beans and sweet potatoes! How interesting! I would have never thought of putting sweet potatoes in black bean dip. I also had a banana and a big ol' scoop of almond butter (unpictured). 

Kind of a boring and repetitive food day, but you gotta give your body what it wants! I think its funny that I had a banana with every meal :) Has anyone else ever done that?

Have an awesome Wednesday!

Crock-Pot Ratatouille

I debated whether to call this "Crock-Pot Ratatouille" or "Mediterranean Crock-Pot Vegetables". Technically, Ratatouille is a french baked vegetable dish that usually contains tomatoes, garlic, onion, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, basil,and thyme.

Since I changed the ingredients up a bit, I hesitated to call it a version of the traditional French dish. But, to tell you the truth, "Crock-Pot Ratatouille" just sounded so much better to me!

Ok, so this was a dish I made to keep on hand during the week. Crock-Pot meals are awesome to keep in the fridge as a side, snack or main meal. [Hint: You will be seeing a lot more Crock-Pot meals around here ;)]

The flavors work really well together, you don't have to have/measure exact quantities, and prep is easy as 1-2-3!

Crock-Pot Ratatouille
Serves 4-6 (as a side)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 3 1/2 hours on high
Ingredients
2 Medium Zucchini (Cut into 1/4" thick half moons)
1 Medium White Onion (Largely diced)
2 Cups of Halved Cherry Tomatoes
1 Red Bell Pepper (Cut into 1"x1" pieces)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper (Cut into 1"x1" pieces)
1/3 Cup Pitted Kalamata Olives (Cut in half-lenghwise)
1 Tsp. Dried Thyme (heaping)
3/4 Tsp. Dried Garlic Powder*
Salt to taste

Directions
Layer onions, bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, olives, spices into the Crock-Pot (in that order). Turn on high and cook for 3 1/2 hours. Feel free to stir once everything starts to cook down. 

The natural juices from the vegetable creates a little bit of broth- there is no need to add water to help start the cooking.
*Feel free to use fresh garlic. I used dried because that is what I had on hand.

Enjoy!

Having an Off Day

My system is off again. Off in the sense of "off of its schedule". 

This happens to me quite frequently. Once a week? Wow, typing it makes it seem like a lot. 

I think it's a mixture of the fact that I'm still figuring out how much, when, and what my body needs. Plus the fact that life gets busy, and when each day is different and crazy, it can be hard to plan. 

Can anyone else relate?

I was reading this post (specifically the last paragraph) and I was reminded [for the millionth time!] why it is so important to listen to my body. Today and yesterday I wasn't really listening and therefore felt like I was having trouble finding what my body was saying to me. Rereading [<<Procrastinating >:) on my studying] Paige's posts it reminded me how important it is that I go back to listening to what I need now matter what that entails (a light dinner? a bigger breakfast?). 

I've heard of a few great books lately that I want to start reading that might help me to understand a little more about this topic. When I get my hands on them, I'll let you all know how they are :)

[I love <3 Mutts :)]

Recipe Test: Quinoa Pie Crust

Pie crust. Is delicious.  A good pie crust is an art to make. It is also usually made up of butter (or lard), refined flour, and a little sugar. Not the healthiest vehicle for the delicious filling inside! But it tastes lovely, kind of like a cookie.

Usually there are two options when making a crust:

1. Cookie Crust

            Cookies crumbled with extra added oil and sugar. 

2. Traditional Dough Crust

            Refined flour and butter (or lard)

Upon stumbling across this recipe, I was intrigued that maybe pie crust could be revolutionized. 

The ratio of oil to flour for this recipe is less than many cookies or cakes. Plus, its grain free, high in protein, sugar free (if you so desire), and anything else? 

When baked, it produces a crumbly and tender crust that is sturdy enough for a filling yet tender like a cookie. I was so excited! My mind started zooming off to the possibilities. 

So grab your quinoa flour and run to the kitchen!

Quinoa Pie Crust

Adapted from 84thand3rd

Makes 1 personal crust

Prep time: 7 minutes

Bake time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Dry

   1/4 C. Quinoa Flour (Make your own)

   1/8 Tsp. Baking Soda

   Tiny Pinch of Salt
   Sweetener*

Wet

   1 Tbs. Coconut Oil

   2 Tsp. Water

   1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. 

2. Mix dry ingredients. Add the coconut oil to the middle of the flour mixture and pour the  water and vanilla over the coconut oil. 

3. "Chop" the coconut oil into the flour until its combined. The dough should be crumbly.

4. Pour the dough into a pan. (I didn't need to grease my pan at all, but feel free to.)

5. Press into desired form. 

6. Bake until edges and center has turned slightly golden (about 10 minutes).

*I was fine with no sweetener. If you prefer sweeter desserts, feel free to add up to a half a Tbs. of dry sweetener. I haven't tested this and cannot vouch for the results. 

Let cool, fill and enjoy! 

<<This is what the dough should look like after mixing.

I used a mini tart pan and created a nice thick crust. I prefer a thicker crust, but if you prefer a thinner one, feel free to use two tart pans!

Enjoy!