Pumpkin & Pomegranate

I have really been loving the quinoa flakes. So much so that Matt bought an extra box to keep at his place. Since I have been off eggs for a few weeks now, and the quinoa has been my morning protein. Oh and I pad it with some nut butter too of course!

This photo is from my concoction on Monday. Quinoa flakes with dried cherries, banana, almond extract, cinnamon, stevia, and almond butter:

For a belly full of warm deliciousness!

This morning I made it with banana, almond extract, dried apricots, stevia, cinnamon, and almond butter. I cannot stres how satisfying it was. plus, the quinoa flakes take only 90 seconds to make. Perfect for cold mornings when I try to stay in bed as long as possible.

I plan on doing some with pumpkin soon. I have a jar of frozen pumpkin that is just begging for quinoa lovin’

Last night I took Matt out for dinner. In our entire year of dating this is the first time I have taken him out. He still wanted to pay too, but I told him that I wanted to treat him to Thai food. It was truly a treat too! We got fresh rolls (which by the way are better at 2 other places in town, but these are “okay”),  Matt ordered “Veggies Beef with Peanut Sauce”, and I got#36 (I cannot remember the name) and 11 out of 5 stars. That’s right! I said “Kiss the sun” which is apparently code at Araya’s, and then said I have had 10 stars before and wanted a little more. OH HOLY COW. It was good, damn good. My lips were bright red and felt like they were on fire and I loved every second of it. No photos because the restaurant was dark. Trust me, it was beautiful and delicious. I’d like to work up to 15 stars, but really, 11 is just dandy thanks! Matt tired mine and it was edible to him (he ordered a 3 because he likes to enjoy his food).  His comment  was that the bit wasn’t initially hot, but the heat creeps up on you. I have noticed that it isn’t that the first bite is like fire, more that the level builds up as you continue to eat. Eat I did too, he took home leftovers, but I devoured my entire plate. I didn’t have rice though, so it was all veggies with a few pieces of fried tofu.

After that we came back to my place and snuggled up on the couch to watch episodes of my favorite show, i.e. The Big Bang Theory. I am a bit of a geek-dork-nerd combo and this show is one of the few that can have me cracking up even on a bad day. I just got Matt caught up last night, and while he doesn’t get as much of a kick out of it as I do he definitely laughs. I especially love it when he randomly tells me that part of their science is “off”. I love me a sexy nerd ;-)

I then made some

Teeccino

Teeccino, and added some Ghiradelli 100% cacao chips that Matt bought me a few weeks ago.

They aren’t really “chips” more like “dots” but I prefer them to the chips with sugar in them. I put them on the bottom of our cups, added hot coconut milk, and then a couple of shots of the teeccino. Put some stevia in mine, and Matt added white sugar to his because he says “My doctor told me I am not getting enough white sugar in my diet.” He also tells me that he needs to use non-stick cookware because “fruits and vegetables do not give you your daily requirement of chemicals.”

I then gave Matt a banana and made my recently nightly banana+peanut butter+raisins+drizzle of honey (trying to finish off the container). I don’t usually do honey, but it’s been in my pantry for a year now and I would like to clean it out, plus it tastes really good and a little drizzle is fine (I have decided).

We watched Graham Norton, and I swooned over Harry Connick, Jr. And snuggled with kitties. It was a nice night but boy howdy was I FULL ;-) Tonight It’s going to be leftover roasted veggies and refried black beans from our Wednesday dinner.

I have also been drinking a TON of tea lately. I knew this before, but I guess I had to learn it again. loose leaf tea is a million times better than bagged tea. End of.

I am going to be at Healeo tomorrow making raw pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. I’ll put a recipe up on Monday for anyone who cannot make it to Healeo to get a slice (and they are taking orders for whole pies, but they need to be in by tomorrow morning so I can make them!).

Next Friday Kelly is going to be visiting Seattle and I have plans to meet her for a breakfast smoothie. I am really excited to meet her, and I already know which smoothie I’ll be getting too ;-)

OOOOH! I nearly forgot! Tiffany brought me back some dates from her recent CA trip. I am SO excited. The last bag she brought me was DELISH! Tonight after my walk (pray for dry weather) I am going to be stopping by her house to trade dates for food saver bags.

Ok, I am off to get some more work done and then to grab lunch. I am surprised I am hungry! For lunch I’ll be having carrots and hummus, which is pretty par for the course these days. But today’s hummus is something new I found at the PCC. It’s a Jalapeno hummus and I am really excited about it ;-)