wiaw: twelve

i bookmark a lot of recipes. recipes that i find on other blogs and from my cookbook collection. i also recently joined Pinterest (follow me!), which may not be a good thing. time will tell. some of my isoteric pantry items are from bookmarking a recipe and then forgetting/waiting to make the recipe. then I try to save the ingredient until i finally make the recipe. so, i hold onto ingredients perhaps a bit longer than needed.

this week, my challenge was to eat through my pantry and my long list of bookmarked recipes. i realize that not all recipes will be winners, but thought i would share my thoughts anyways. that’s the fun of wiaw!

ready. set. go! check out jenn's blog for even more food!

current eats iHeart + bookmarks

1. oats

i love oats. for a long time though, i didn't like them so much. they made me feel full and bloated and i didn't like that feeling. so i avoided them.

i do not eat overnight oats. although i've never tried overnight oats, i do not like the look of them: soggy, wet, and drippy. no thank you.

i do not eat anything out of a microwave either. no mug cakes or thirty second oats for this gal.

my favorite way is to cook oats is on a stove top with water, almond milk, or a mix of both. sometimes, i'll cook and flavor my oats then add them to a small mason jar for later.

i love that there are so many toppings! i like bananas, cinnamon, a tablespoon or two of nut butter (almond, peanut, sunflower seed, cashew, hazelnut). apples, berries, raisins or other dried fruits, hemp seeds, chia seeds, nuts, or protein powder are also great in oats.

currently loving these inspirational recipes i found on the internet.

1. pancake love

the truth is, i’d gone the last few years not eating pancakes. let me back up. i spent a lot of years eating a lot of pancakes… pancakes for dinner, late nights at Denny’s, the whole bit. the pancakes just kept adding up and the easiest thing for me to do was cut out the temptation altogether.

but that’s all behind me now.

my pancake preferences have certainly changed over the years and now i only enjoy the lighter at-home ones made with bananas or berries.  

currently loving these vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free pancake recipes. yes please.

3. tea

i abso-frickin-lutely love tea.

any hour. any day.

i love how you can mix and match to your heart's desire until you come up with the perfect blend that will warm you up from the inside out. so soothing.

currently loving mighty tea chamomile citrus and ginger twist, david's tea pumpkin chai (with cinnamon, pumpkin pieces, cloves and cardamom, plus the sweetness of caramel and pumpkin candy), and traditional medicinals nighty night tea.

4. root vegetables

i’m deeply drawn to vegetables grown underground. i find them mysterious. like crystals and gemstones, they come from a world that I know little of.

currently loving potatoes, yams, beets, squash, carrots, turnip, parsnips, and radishes. roasted to perfection and drizzled with coconut oil and sea salt. this is bliss.

5. lentils

i always seem to gravitate towards foods that are easy to cook. nutty and earthy, lentils are one of my favorite ingredients to use and they make a nice compliment to any meal.

currently loving janet's recipe for red lentil and spinach curry (vegan tikka masala) or any one of her other lentil recipes. this girl knows lentils.

these gluten-free lentil energy bars sound pretty darn tasty too. #bookmarked

6. soup

i LOVE soup!  easy to make, difficult to screw up, very tasty and usually healthy. i will concede that i rarely make my own stock, but that doesn’t stop me from making a delicious, flavorful soup.

in my opinion, there is nothing more satisfying than curling up on a chilly fall day with a bowl of your favorite soul-warming soup. 'tis the season for rich, hearty soups and stews featuring your favorite deliciously comforting ingredients.

currently loving vegetarian times white bean and kale soup, season's and supper's fall vegetable soup, and the food network's moroccan spiced chickpea soup.

happy wednesday!

how do you like to eat your oats? do you like tea or coffee? what is your favorite root vegetable?

disclaimer: i do not own any of the photos (except for the pic of "my little taste tester"), GIFs or any recipes unless stated.

no-bake honey oatmeal cashew butter chocolate chip bites

...try saying that ten times fast.

easy on-the-go snacks are the best option for me and "my little taste tester". i love to seek out a mission to create a new healthy snack that will fuel our bodies for whatever the day brings.

enter….no-bake honey oatmeal cashew butter chocolate chip bites.

i found a base recipe online and have worked it and re-worked it over and over again to suit our tastes.

one of the greatest things about these little bites is how flexible and creative you can be with these little bites. there has yet to be a time when I was not able to make a quick batch for lack of on-hand ingredients in my pantry. as long as you have a few ingredients on hand, like oats and nut butter, you can make these yummy treats.

i have substituted the chocolate chips for raisins, dried cherries, blueberries, or cranberries. i've added in nuts, protein powder, or other cereals for texture. i like to mix things up by using almond butter in one batch, peanut butter in another, cashew butter in the next batch, or even macadamia nut butter or pecan butter.

the options are endless here.

no-bake honey oatmeal cashew butter chocolate chip bites

ingredients:

1 cup oat flour (or regular oats ground up in a blender or food processor)
1/2 cup oats or muesli mix (I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free muesli)
1/2 cup crispy rice cereal (I used GoGo Quinoa's quinoa choco-puffs)
1/4 cup unsweetened, dessicated coconut (shredded coconut or coconut flakes work too)
1/2 cup cashew butter (almond butter, peanut butter, or other nut butter)
1/2 cup honey (could try maple syrup, agave, brown rice syrup)
1-2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

directions:

1. in one bowl, mix together oat flour, oats, crispy rice cereal and coconut. 
2. in another bowl, mix together nut butter, honey and vanilla (or melt on low heat).
3. stir the nut butter mixture into the oat mixture.
4. form into 1″ balls and place on parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet (or use a square/rectangular pan to make bars instead, then drizzle melted chocolate on top)
5. put them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
6. and voila…they’re done!

These can then be put into zip lock bags or containers to store in the refrigerator (or freezer for longer term storage).

Enjoy!

Liebster Award

Christine from Simply Me Just Be nominated me for the Liebster Award.

the Liebster Award gives recognition to blogs with fewer than 200 followers.  the purpose of the award is to encourage the writer to continue their work. in German, Liebster means sweetheart, beloved person, darling, liked very much, affectionate, loving favorite, preferred above others, liked or loved above others. i accept this award, with great honor. thank you, Christine!

okay, off we go then...eleven random facts about me

one. i'm mildly paranoid of bees, wasps, bumblebees, hornets, and basically anything from the bee family. i was once stung very badly by millions of bees (give or take a few hundred). i love honey though.
two. i have two brothers. one older brother. one younger brother. my older brother is two years older than me while my younger brother is fourteen years younger than me.
three. i dislike crumbs - of any sort - in my bed. i also like my sheets and blanket to be in a specific place on my bed. not pulled up too high or too low. i have my own system.
four. i can play four musical instruments: the piano. the violin. the flute. the recorder. i sing too.
five. i have five younger sisters ranging from age seventeen to thirty one.
six. i have moved six times since two thousand and four.
seven. i fell off my bike on my seventh birthday and ended up in the hospital with a concussion. i learned how to play the piano when i was seven. i won first place in a singing competition when i was seven. i got straight a's on my report card when i was seven.
eight. my son is eight years old. he is my greatest gift!
nine. i missed my first month of high school in grade nine because i was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.
ten. if i could own any pet i wanted, i would choose to own a mandrill. they're colors are so vibrant and they become even more vibrant when the mandrill is excited. think of rafiki from the lion king.
eleven. i used to carry pepper spray/mace in my purse. one time, a friend was looking through my purse and accidentally triggered the switch - gag! i had to use it once on someone on the streets on vancouver..scary!

here's what Christine wanted to know:

1. what is your favorite quote? I have so many favorite quotes. One that resonates with me on such a deep level is "If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present." - Lao Tzu
2. what inspires you? music inspires me, people inspire me, i inspire myself, my brothers and sisters inspire me. i find inspiration from many things rather than one thing in particular.
3. what single moment had the greatest impact and has changed your life? the moment i held my son in my arms for the very first time. "The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."
4. what is the greatest lesson you have learned recently? it's okay to slow down.
5. if you could have a day with anyone, who would that person be? my late grandfather
6. when was the last time you cried? last night. august 19, 2013. i cried watching felicity. i like crying. it always feels good to cry.
7. what is the first thing you would purchase if money was not object? a house."my little taste tester" and i share a one bedroom apartment. its cozy but a house would be even cozier.
8. do you have a bucket list and if so, what is number 1 on that list? no bucket list. number one: make a bucket list.
9. what song best describes you? the middle. jimmy eat world. because my sister said so.
10. savory or sweet? all things sweet.
11. what is your favorite book? i don't have a favorite book. if i had to choose one book to read for the rest of my life, i would choose to read the bible.

not sure if those answers have me pegged as a weirdo or not...so please leave me one random fact about you so i can feel a little bit better...ha ha!