Just Add Cayenne: brussels

“WIAW” stands for “What I Ate Wednesday”. This is part of a new program started on the Peas and Crayons blog where bloggers post what they ate each Wednesday (or another day, but they post on Wednesday) and contribute to the current theme of the month. This month is “Love Your Veggies” month, and love them I do! Here’s a brief description from the Peas and Crayons blog: What WIAW isn't about Comparison - Judgement - Restriction - Guilt What WIAW is about Celebrating one of the glorious things we all have in common: We all eat! WIAW is about food and fun! It's about making new friends, breaking out of a food rut, noting changes in your diet/lifestyle, inspiring yourself & others, embracing fruit & vegetables, nourishing your body with the foods that work for you, finding new ways to eat your favorite foods, and so much more <3 I’m glad to be a part of this fun program and luckily get to post on my favorite veggies before the next theme begins in March. I don’t follow a typical diet as most people would consider “normal”, but it works for me. Here’s what I ate this Wednesday:
Breakfast - Spinach salad along with a side of black bean chili I cooked this past weekend. Sliced raw turnips I used for my utensil to scoop the beans; this is something I do almost daily. Gulped down some water and went to my French Press coffee with homemade baked overnight oat crisps.

Snack – 2 bags of Celestial Seasonings Sweet Coconut Thai Red tea with two bags of plain black tea with a NuNaturals NuStevia Quick Dissolve Tab.

Lunch – Espresso balsamic baked chicken on a baked Jersey sweet potato with steamed veggies. Two Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red Tea bags with two plain green tea bags.
Dinner + Snack + More Snack + Final Snack – A big ‘ol salad of mixed greens, herbs, and spices with steamed Brussels sprouts, edamame, and stir-fry vegetable blend along with a raw Portobello mushroom and salsa for dressing. I make two cups of pureed winter squash, carrots, and frozen berries (my ice cream) with a different flavor for each cup and place in freezer for after the salad. The first one was a puree of spaghetti squash, carrots, frozen mixed berries, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise seed, NuNaturals Liquid Stevia, stevia sweetened whey protein, and unsweetened almond milk. For cup #2; pureed acorn squash, peanut flour, whey protein, NuNaturals Stevia, cinnamon, and unsweetened almond milk. Here’s a post on my puree “squash cream” for more details. After my second cup was empty, I refilled with frozen diced carrots and apples mixed with Ezekiel 4:9 Original cereal, toasted pistachios, milk, and Greek yogurt along with a Pumpkin Protein Donut (or two) to accompany the mix.

“That’s a lot!” you say? Well, yeah, I tend to eat most of my energy requirements at night when I’m in a comfortable setting and can enjoy my food. Like I said, it works for me and I’ll keep it this way until I need to change. Plus, I’m trying to get away from my long distance running only past and incorporate strength training since pure running has left me pretty weak. To do so, I must eat a lot to allow for muscle growth. I tried this before and went back to running, so time for the second go-round of “bulking.”

Love these roasted, always need more room....

There are plenty of fruits and veggies in my daily diet and believe these are key to good health and overall well-being. My favorite “go to” veggies are Brussels sprouts, winter squash, carrots, and raw mushrooms. I can eat steamed Brussels sprouts plain like popcorn and love it; mixed with mushrooms and it’s bliss! Of course, time permitting, I really love roasting veggies with balsamic vinegar to bring out their natural sugars. Any winter squash works for me and I usually puree it into some type of ice cream like concoction. Try pureeing your favorite roasted winter squash with frozen banana, cinnamon, pure vanilla extract, milk of choice, and any nut butter. This is a lot healthier than sugar and fat laden ice cream and still a tasty treat!