The beauty of weekends seems to be the lack of structure. Structure guides our lives monday through friday (or at least my life!), and I do enjoy it from a productive stand point. The weekends, however, provide a nice change of pace. Rather than having to eat what I find time to pack in the morning for my busy days, I have the luxury of eating the food I crave WHEN I crave it. There is also more time for food presentation fun:)

“didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with your food…?” ummmm…yeah.

Kabocha Squash Fries (yes, I eat ALOT of kabocha!) w/ Ketchup + Tobasco dip

I sliced the leftovers from a whole roasted kabocha squash into “fries” and roasted them at 350 while broiling until crispy (20 min?)

Roasted brussel sprouts + tofu (400 for 20 minutes) seasoned w/ginger powder, garlic powder, tamari, chili powder, onion powder and soy

of course ketchup + tobasco dip

Ak-maks + parm slices

Protein power snack: Sun Warrior Protein Powder + PB + almond milk and water, all topped with dark choc chips (looks like a cookie!)

Plus a plain greek yogurt and dark chocolate chips

Plus pumpkin puree

All eaten together and used as a dip for a Honey Crisp apple

Next up: MORE kabocha fries! + raw broccoli, cauliflower, a carrot, celery, cherry toms, and nori

Dipping sauces= peanut butter sauce + pumpkin butter + pumpkin and of course ketchup + tobasco for the fries

Apple + carrot + celery dipped in almond butter + PB2 (yes dark chocolate chips managed to make their way into this snack)

Another delish veggie snack plate

Dipping sauces= pumpkin butter + peanut butter

How do you eat on the weekends? Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner, or all day grazing….

If I had my choice, I would opt for snacking consistently throughout the day as opposed to meals everyday. For me, large meals (especially during the day) weight me down, make me sleepy, and lower my level of productivity. I tend to eat my largest meal at dinner time for this reason.

I hope you enjoyed this snacky-post!! What is your “go-to” or favorite snack??

Although, nothing can truly beat roasting an entire Kabocha squash until the entire house smells of its goodness, at least in my books.

Oven: 450
Procudre: Roast whole kabocha (I like to poke a whole or two into it)
Time: 15-45 minutes (depends on on the size of your squash) or until just soft enough to safely cut.
LET COOL 5-10 mintues before slicing in half
Slice: Remove stringy insides and seeds and slice Kabocha into half moons and top with any seasonings you like
Seasoning: I left 1/2 of the slices plain; 1/4 seasoned with pumpking spice and coconut oil; the last 1/4 of slices I seasoned with braggs liquid aminos, ginger, garlic, seseme oil, red pepper flakes, and maybe a few others. I figured an asian spice mix was appropriate as Kabocha is a Japanese Pumpkin!
Roast: Roast the the half moons until it reaches your desired crispiness/softness/gooeyness (20-45 mintues longer, flipping half way through)
NOTE: I prefer to roast my veggies on parchment paper with canola oil spray, but when I run out, I opt for foil + spray

I roasted a few trays of kabocha, as you can never have too much! One of the trays also included extra firm tofu, brussel sprouts and broccoli trunks.

Tofu: Extra Firm patted dry & sliced
Seasoning: (another Japanese insipriation) Red pepper flakes, braggs, garlic powder, onion powder, seseme oil, ginger powder, agave, onion granules, and I think that is all (?) I also enjoyed my tofu with some nori!
*The broccoli trunks and sprouts were included in this seasoning mix to simplify things

I loved the half moon style of roasting kabocha. It was carmelized in parts and absolutly delicious (of course). I will defintly rotate my Kabocha prep methods with the half moon style.

Kabocha dinner #1 (there were many “seconds”):

Reheating for Kabocha dinner #2 (although Kabocha is delicious cold!):

squash + maple brussel sprouts + roasted mushrooms + spinach + leftover black beans stir fried with veggies + spices

ps: spinach leaves make awesome little mini “wraps” for the beans or squash

Kabocha dinner #3

tortilla veggie&cheese pizza + shrooms + leftover black beans + bell pepper halves stuffed with black beans and parmesan + Kabocha squash

I am slighly addicted to dipping Kabocha into ketchup + tobasco, but it is excellent on it’s own as well!!

How do YOU enjoy Kabocha if you have tried it? What is your favorite winter squash and way of preparing it?

Leftovers

Try these amazing pulled chicken sandwiches

You will need:

3 Tablespoon (T) of Ketchup
1 T of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 T of grainy mustard (regular will do fine as well)
1 T molasses
1 teaspoon (t) chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
4 turns of fresh ground pepper
a dash (or 1/8 t) of ground ginger
Desired amount of shredded chicken meat, at least 3 servings (or 12 oz)
-you could also use raw chicken meat cut into 2 inch pieces, cooking time will increase
-add the raw chicken to the saute pan with all other ingredients, follow instructions and cook until cooked through (20-25min)
*Buns of choice (I prefer Rudi’s organic)
Mayo/horseradish

1. Combine all of the ingredients besides the shredded chicken and buns in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover and cook, stirring occasionally.
3. Once sauce has reached desired consistency, should be like a very thick bbq sauce, add chicken
4. Stir with chicken just until it is heated through
5. Spread mayo onto bun (or desired sauce) and top with chicken mixture
6. Serve with a pickle and enjoy

Preheat oven to 425

Step 1: Rinse your chicken with cold water and pat dry
Step 2: Remove giblets if they have not done so for you from the cavity of the chicken
Step 3: Stuff about one lemon’s worth of slices, entire head of garlic, fresh herb sprig and a 1/2 tablespoon of butter into the cavity of the chicken
Step 7: On the top of the chicken, make a small insert into the skin and slide a 1/2 tablespoon of butter underneath the skin
Step 8: Sprinkle chicken liberally with sea salt + pepper
Step 9: Put chicken in casserole/baking/roasting pan or dish and into the oven for 90 minutes, or until the juices are running clear

Enjoy leftovers all week long: Rather than buying chicken strips, chicken thighs, breasts, ect, try and reduce your footprint and buy a whole chicken for roasting. From there, make your own soup stock and freeze it for future usage. Save the planet AND money.

CHeck out THIS link to learn more about the most enviormentally friendly way to eat meat.

HERE is another article to check out about eating meat in the most green fashion possible.

These are my absolute favorite raw food bars! (This flavor too!) …product review soon!

Sorry for the terrible photo! I was running late this morning for school. My snacks include an Oikos yogurt + My Moja Mix + Grapes + 1 orange bell pepper (which I ate like an apple at work, I didn’t have slicing time this morning!) The Oikos + granola filled me up SO well! Must be the carb/protein mix!

One of my classes moved buildings today, and now I have to walk CLEAR across campus (about a mile) with my super heavy backpack! It was TERRIBLE! The new building we are in is awesome, but my car is so so so far away:( I wouldn’t mind if my backpack didnt hurt me:( So I am doing Pilates tomorrow morning before school in the hopes of stretching out my back and shoulders.

Dinner tonight included leftover Kabocha squash + leftover tortilla pizza from dinner Sunday + a HUGE salad!

My salad started with a layer of spinach, then a layer of mushrooms, tomatoes from our garden, 1/4 of an avocado, raw broccoli, DULSE per VeggieGirl’s suggestion! + flax oil and lemon. It twas refreshing!

Look what I found on one of my Dulse pieces!!

See the little shell guy?? It was STUCK on there! I use to call them sombrero’s or something as a kid when I found them on the beach:)

VeggieGirl, have you ever tried the little sweet/salty seaweed snacks that come in those small little packages??

After dinner palate cleanser included an not-pictured small shard of Theo 70% dark chocolate and then this:

Traditional Healing Peppermint Tea + 1 Lucy’s Gluten-Free Cinnamon Thin! (Product Review on these manana)

I never showed you all my eats from dinner at my parents Sunday (which is where my leftover tortilla pizza came from). My mom made corned beef which I passed on. I have not been consuming red meat for a few months so I avoid it most of the time because I know that it will upset my stomach. And why would I want to feel sick when socializing with the fam! My mom DID make a TWO BEAUTIFUL veggie plates!! Yes, I attacked them!

Dipped them into the yogurt/dill dip she made!

The boyfriend made a smoked salmon spread:

Here is my veggie pizza with lots of veggies and 1/4 cup of cheese:

My dinner plate: sweet potato, Caesar salad, cabbage, tortilla pizza!

Hasta Manana Bloggies!!