Oh fall, how I love thee.

Good day my friends,

If you are just tuning into my blog here is something to know: I am on a late start to pumpkin season.  I spent a month in Korea (just getting back Tuesday evening) and was not in reach of pumpkin.  With that being said, I have a lot of catching up to do.  Here is another thing, pumpkin and the spices that are associated with this beautiful gourd are off the charts my favourite spice combination.  I eat pumpkin all year long, but definitely eat massive amounts when fall arrives because the cans/pumpkins themselves are so much cheaper!

This morning (and well, the next few weeks) you will be seeing a lot of different pumpkin breakfasts'; smoothies, oat combinations, muffins, desserts etc.  I love it, and plan on going knee deep in the recipes.

Unfortunately I am still really feeling the jet lag.  I've been sleeping more than I ever do on a regular basis, as I'm sleeping on and off through the night (Canadian time), and sleep for a couple of steady hours in the afternoon (Korean night time).  Since this is happening, I'm finding that not only is my sleep-cycle off, but my body is confused as to when it's supposed to eat.  I woke up at four o'clock this morning because I was hungry (since that would be 5:00 pm in Korean - dinner time).  I woke up and decided not to eat since I'm trying to get everything back on track and would still be eating my lunch at noon and that's a huge gap even with a snack in between.  I decided I would play around in the kitchen for a bit, and prep tonight's dinner instead.  Yes, I know it was 5:00 am when I started this madness but I figured why not.

Yesterday for breakfast I started off the day of course with pumpkin.  It had been over a month since I'd had a breakfast smoothie (okay other than protein powder and milk but that is NOT a smoothie, no, no, no).  So, I was very eager to gulp down this bad boy, especially because it also had pumpkin in it, and until then I'd only made the Pumpkin Pretzel Bites so I'd gotten a taste for my favourite flavours and just wanted more, more, more.  This smoothie was awesome, it had spice, creaminess, pumpkin, sweetness everything I could of asked for in a smoothie.  It was incredibly filling that when noon came around and it was time for me to make lunch I was still feeling a good fullness, but I ate regardless so that my bodies regular schedule was back.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (if this is too much cut down, but I like a lot)
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp raisins
• 1/2 large frozen banana
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• Pumpkin seeds - to garnish

Directions: 

Place all of your ingredients (other than your pumpkin seeds) in your blender.  Incorporate until desired consistency.  Garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Bok Choy and Chickpeas with Soy Sauce and Balsamic Dressing

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Lunch was certainly a tastebud pleaser.  While being in Korea, one thing that was really hard to come across were chickpeas.  I'd found the tiniest of cans at a health store which cost me about ₩ 4000 (so almost four dollars Canadian), and it was probably about 7.5 oz, it was not big at all.  I picked it up though because I was missing my legumes.  Unfortunately I only had my favourite source of protein once in one month (where I usually have chickpeas 3-4 times a week) so it was a big change.  


When I got home, one of the things I stocked up on when I went to the grocery store were cans of chickpeas, and the 26 oz cans were on sale for only .99, so I was very happy!  I knew that one of the first meals I was going to make when getting back into Canada was going to incorporate chickpeas.  I couldn't of picked a better recipe. 


This meal was incredibly, incredibly simple to put together.  It took just a little bit of chopping.  Can opening.  A little steaming.  A little mixing.  A lot of enjoying.  I love  balsamic vinegar.  When it comes to sauces or condiments whichever, I am not a big fan of.  When it comes to dressings on salads, the only reason I use a mix of EVOO + balsamic vinegar is because a couple of years ago when I'd seen a nutritionist I was told I wasn't getting enough fat in my diet and was advised to top my salads with EVOO (since I would eat them dressing free), that's also why I started adding avocado to my salads even though at the time I really disliked the flavour/texture (I absolutely love avocado now, but it took some time), however this was a very easy way to add fats into my diet.  Anywho, the warm chickpeas, steamed bok choy and simple dressing was perfect.

Simple meals that take very few ingredients, little time to throw together, and are actually healthy always reign high in my books.  This will certainly be made again, mmmm. 

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch of bok choy, or other greens
• 2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas (1  1/2 400g (14oz) tins, rinsed and drained)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp EVOO

Directions:

Prepare your vegetables and chickpeas by rinsing and drying them.  Chop the bok choy into pieces around 3cm (1 inch) long, placing the stems in a separate bowl from the more leafy parts.  Make the dressing by combining the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a small bowl.

Heat a heavy chef pan or stockpot over a high heat.  When the pan is hot, add 2-4 tsp of extra-virgin olive oil and quickly throw in the bok choy stems first, then add the chickpeas and bok choi leaves.
Don’t stir.  Put the lid on and cook for 2 minutes without stirring or lifting the lid.

Add half a cup of water to the pan and stir through.  Put the lid back on and cook for another 2 minutes.  Taste some of the bok choy to see if it’s cooked enough and cook for a little longer if needed.  Take off the heat and stir through the dressing.  Serve right away.

What are your favourite simple meals to throw together?