As I mentioned last WIAW, I was very excited to see that the theme of June’s WIAW is sensible snacking.
There is nothing that this Sometimes Healthy girl enjoys more than snacking. I actually eat the big meals too, but if you are ever so lucky as to work with me or spend the day with me, you will see that I never go more than two hours without eating something.
I was thrilled when that theory came out that eating small meals all day helps with your metabolism, because it justified what I have been doing my entire life, since I was a baby (just ask my mother).
So, without further ado, here is the Sometimes Healthy WIAW: Gettin’ Snacky Edition.
Breakfast Creativity
During my pantry raid, I discovered a couple of boxes of quinoa, which is pretty much one of my favorite foods in the world – it’s a grain that is packed with protein – what more do you need? As a bonus, my BF loves it too.
I’ve never made it for breakfast, but I’ve seen a few posts here and there about breakfast dishes featuring my favorite little grain. I had pinned a recipe from Tina for Banana Breakfast Quinoa and this WIAW post was the perfect motivation to try it! (Side Note: Am I the only person that sometimes eats things on Tuesday or tries new recipes solely to write about them in “What I Ate Wednesday? Maybe it’s a weird reason, but I love having the perfect excuse to experiment in the kitchen.)
Anyway, back to the quinoa. I followed Tina’s recipe exactly, with a few little substitutions, based on what was in my newly reorganized pantry.
Combine 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup quinoa, 1 mashed banana, 1.5 tbsp honey, 1/4 cup dried chopped figs, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp sea salt in a medium pot.
Boiling my breakfast…
Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Once the liquid had cooked off, I threw it in a bowl, topped with some peanut butter, and ate away as I drank my morning coffee and read some blogs.
Breakfast time!
Looks ugly. Tasted delicious. Quinoa for breakfast = brilliant idea.
Please leave me a comment in the comments section if you can help me figure out how to make this stuff look “prettier.”
Lunch Time, River Time
It was a gorgeous day in the ol’ neighborhood, so me and the BF met for lunch on the riverfront to soak up the sun. I don’t usually go out for lunch, because I did that every day back in NYC. I like that I have the time now to make my own lunch (plus – I save some money). But, the BF just had to say the word “Ribworks” and I was there.
Lunch with a view!
Billy Joe’s Ribworks is by far my favorite restaurant nearby, because I love anything with BBQ sauce, and that pretty much describes everything on the menu.
I ordered my usual: The Billy Joe’s Salad with Pulled Pork
The best salad I have ever eaten!
It’s a delicious combination of cheese, fried onion rings, pulled pork, corn and of course, lettuce. Definitely a SOMETIMES HEALTHY salad.
One thing I tend to do with succulent salads like this is to forgo the dressing. With all of these flavorful ingredients, I really don’t need it, and it saves me lots of unnecessary saturated fat. (Sometimes Healthy Tip).
I took a lot of the giant salad home with me, because I wanted to save room for all of my snacks.
Gettin’ Snacky
Below are pictures of my snacks from the day, along with little Sometimes Healthy snacking tips to explain each one:
1. Nibble on some “healthy” indulgences.
Cookies n’ cream for a snack? Sold!
I’m a huge fan of the whole Special K brand. Somehow their new products just magically appear in my snack pantry. Their new pastry crisps are like mini “healthified” pop-tarts. And then they had to go and make them in Cookies and Cream. I’m hooked.
These little treats usually appear in my morning snack repertoire or as a snack right before I run. On Tuesday, I ate them at around 11:00 as my pre-lunch hunger hit. They’re simple, easy and surprisingly light. I completely understand that eating pastry crisps isn’t like eating a bowl of natural, organic flaxseeds (or whatever the health nuts are eating these days). But, as packaged snacks go, it’s a perfectly healthy option.
2. Fill in the blanks with greens.
I probably average 5 to 6 snacks a day (Sometimes Healthy, Always Snacking), so I try to eat fruits and veggies at least 2 of those times.
Yesterday, pre-lunch I chowed down on a few cherries. (Love cherries in the summer time!)
mmmm….cherries!
Post-lunch, it was all about the veggies. I usually eat these closer to dinner time to tide me over.
More greens please!
With fruits, I try to portion control to an extent, because I do eat a lot of sugar throughout the day. But when it comes to vegetables, I don’t bother paying attention to the amount. In my opinion, you can never have enough of the green stuff.
3. Get yourself a muffin top!
Yep, there are more snacks. Can you believe it? Mid-afternoon, I enjoyed my sunny day Starbucks run. It’s my new routine – I step out for about 60 minutes and do some work and writing outside at Starbucks. The internet is free and it’s surprisingly fast! Ah, the perks of being a writer.
As I mentioned before, my summer go-to is always the passion fruit iced tea. So, sweet and refreshing (with no sugar!). And, 90% of the time, I order some sort of baked good to nosh on while I work.
I never say no to cinnamon rolls!
Today, it was a cinnamon roll. I’m not sure I really needed a cinnamon roll at this point in the day. But I wanted it, and my only “dieting” rule is never to deprive myself of what I want. My secret? I don’t eat the whole thing. With all the snacking I do, I don’t need to eat an entire cinnamon roll. Muffins are another one of my favorite afternoon snacks, but I just stick with the muffin top. So, my tip for you: Order the muffin, eat the muffin top, and you won’t have a muffin top.
4. Play with your food.
My bedtime snack is usually the best snack of the day, mainly because I save the sweetest for last. For Tuesday’s bedtime snack, I concocted the Sometimes Healthy version of Dunkaroos: Goldfish Swimming! I dipped some Goldfish and Teddy Grahams into vanilla flavored frosting, which clearly I colored with blue food coloring.
Is this a brilliant idea or what?
The food coloring wasn’t necessary, but hey, sometimes it’s fun to play with your food! (My kids are going to have the best.snacks.ever.)
Dinner: Just Call me Italian!
I mentioned in my “KItchen Adventures” post last week that I was aiming to try make my own marinara sauce this week. Well, Tuesday was the night, and it turned out delicious!
I used one of my readers’ tips and made sure to include a lot of fresh basil and garlic and also added some chicken into the sauce to amp up the protein factor.
It’s gettin’ all Giada up in this kitchen!
The result was some very tasty marinara sauce! The BF ate it over whole wheat pasta, and I ate mine over spaghetti squash, which I baked in the oven with a bunch of cheese.
His and Hers spaghetti
More about the sauce on Friday, but just like I discovered with making my own whipped cream, it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought! It just takes a little bit of extra love and time…but the end result is totally worth it.
Even this guy wanted a taste of the marinara! Those puppy dog eyes don’t get me anymore!
All of these eats have made me hungry, so I’m off to eat some breakfast and start my Wednesday!
Question:
Are you a meal person or a snacker?
What’s your favorite snack?
Any creative snacks like my Goldfish Swimming creation?
I’m a snack person too. My all time favourite is banana and peanut butter. I usually go through periods of eating the same thing daily and then get tired of whatever that is and move on to something new. Lately, igreek yogurt with fruit and chia seeds has been on the list.
Ohhh I like this idea of greek yogurt and chia seeds! I will have to give it a try 🙂
love this post! all of it. i am totally a snacker. now i want to be sitting outside eating a cinnamon roll drinking passion iced tea. i forgot all about special k’s pastry crips! now that i know they have a cookies & cream flavor, i will have to hunt them down.
Yes you must give them a try – you won’t regret it. Trust me 🙂
holy sweet bbq- i wish there was a billy joe’s near me! that looks soo good! you’re a girl after my own heart- everything is better with bbq sauce 🙂 lol love your goldfish snack!!
haha hopefully you have a local bbq joint to satisfy your cravings. Goldfish and frosting = the new Dunkaroos 😉
Spaghetti squash is amazing!! I need to make it again soon!
Definitely! I’ll share the recipe with you on Friday!
I am a snacker 🙂 I love to munch on things because otherwise I eat too much!
Pretzels and applesauce
No creativity here!
Pretzels and applesauce?? Hmmm…that sounds creative to me! I’ve never tried that 🙂 My go-to has always been pretzels and cream cheese.
Where you ate lunch looks beautiful! There’s a BBQ restaurant near my house that has an awesome bbq salad like yours, I had it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was surprised by how delicious it was!
Yes BBQ salads are my favorite types of salad! They don’t even require salad dressing 🙂
We eat a LOT of quinoa in our house but I’ve never tried a sweeter version for breakfast. Gotta give that ago. And if you haven’t tried it yet and have a rice cooker, that is the EASIEST way ever to cook it. I’m always amazed at how little effort it takes to get perfectly cooked. And YES I’m a total snacker (http://leanerbythelake.com/clean-eating-easy-snacks/). Small meals + lots of snacks 🙂
I will definitely have to look into a rice cooker – that’s a great idea!
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