Newest Obsession

Oh how I have missed What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW)!

Lucky for WIAW, my school schedule this semester is a little more conducive to photographing my meals for the day. Instead of meals eaten out of Tupperware between classes and snacks eaten out of a bag (re-usable, of course) while waiting for the bus, I can actually present you with well rounded meals, eaten in “normal” settings. With that, hopefully  you’ll be seeing more of my WIAW eats over the next few months.

This morning I woke up at 5:30 am to get some work done and sip some tea. While this makes for an early morning, this is my most productive time of the day, and has therefore become part of my routine. Around 6:30 I made up some mixed grain/seed porridge with 1/2 cup cashew milk and 1/2 cup water. I added pumpkin, a tablespoon of raisins, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, and a pinch each of nutmeg, cloves, all spice, and salt. Topped off with a drizzle of honey and some crunchy Barney Butter.

Mid morning, I went to the gym for a strength training class where we focused on glutes, shoulders, and core. The class was great and I can’t wait to see how sore I am tomorrow! I had a homemade protein date/nut ball afterwards to tie me over until lunch.

Lunch was leftover Sweet Potato and Lentil stew with some diced rogue chicken thighs while I studied up on the vitamin Thiamin (B1), which is ironically found in black beans and lentils.

After lunch, I prepped some Italian Sloppy Joes for the slow cooker.

I used some MM Local Rosemary Tomatoes and if you haven’t heard of MM Local, you might soon, because they have a really neat thing going on. They are a Colorado company that works with local farmers to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables that may otherwise go to waste. We got a harvest share that has included a variety of fruits and vegetables such as curried beets, high dessert peppers, and western slope peaches; just to name a few. The fun part has been figuring out fancy things to do with what we got. Our favorite thus far was the western slope peaches served over cinnamon Boulder Ice Cream. To. die. for!

My afternoon snack was one of Ashley’s amazing gluten-free chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with a glass of milk.

Holy wow, these things were amazing! You have got to try making them yourself.

After being out for a while, I came home to a delicious dinner ready to ready for me to eat; I love my slow cooker!

I served mine over a slice of Elana’s Scrumptious Sandwich bread with a slice of provolone cheese on top and broccoli on the side. And it simply wouldn’t be complete with out a dash of hot sauce.

Scott and I loved this recipe! He loved it so much he went back for seconds. Since it was super easy, I can definitely see us making it again sometime.

A square of dark chocolate and I am off to bed! Happy WIAW!

Have you ever canned fruits or vegetables while they are in season? If so, which ones?