WIAW #26: Sundaes on Saturday

August 5, 2015August 4, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 10 Comments

Happy What I Ate Wednesday, folks. It’s one of my favorite days of the week – seeing all the great eats that everyone has to share, plus sharing my own. AND today’s is an especially fun day of eats, because it was my SATURDAY eats. Which meant ice cream, kombucha, popcorn and more fun stuff. Are you ready?

The day started out with a nice 5k with B and myself. After the run, it started to get hot off and I was craving some fruit and something fresh. The cure? We stopped off at one of my favorite downtown breakfast spots, Restore for some avocado toast, a smoothie AND an acai bowl. Don’t worry, we split the three between us:

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After breakfast, we headed to the West Side Market to pick up groceries. I was still feeling in the mood for fruit so I grabbed this bad boy and some grapes to snack on during the day:

After the Market, we headed out to Hingetown, where B got coffee and I got – you guessed it – kombucha at Cleveland Tea Revival. I can’t get enough of this stuff! 20150718_105202

We had a relatively lazy afternoon after that and ended up going out to dinner, to the movies, and then out for dessert.

We had a gift card to Town Hall and enjoyed an appetizer of lettuce wraps (sorry, forgot to take a photo before … you can see some remnants below).

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And I got this massive kale, beet, goat cheese, almond and veggie burger salad for dinner. I ate leftovers for 2 days 🙂

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We then headed to the movies and saw Trainwreck. B got popcorn, and I had a few handfuls. NO – I did not take any pictures during the movie 🙂 But AFTER the movie, we went out for ice cream. Holy cow, was this sundae delicious. Salted caramel ice cream with toffee bits and a bit of B’s whipped cream and cherry. I had a long run planned for Sunday morning, so of course I had to count this as part of my cargo-loading 🙂

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That concluded my Saturday. Wow, looking at this, I want to go back! So much good eats in one day!

Some questions for you:

Do you tend to splurge more on weekends?
Do you like sweet/salty combo? Yes! Salted caramel ice cream – chocolate covered pretzels – i want it all!
Have you seen Trainwreck? What did you think?
Runners – do you have any go-to eats the night/day before a long run?

Don’t forget to click on the badge below to see what WIAW is all about.

WIAW #24: TGIF!

July 22, 2015July 20, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 18 Comments

Today’s What I Ate Wednesday post is a FRIDAY. Alas, it wasn’t an overly exciting Friday- just your standard workday Friday.

Breakfast was egg whites and veggies. I know – shocker. I’m a creature of habit 🙂

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Lunch was mishmash – leftover spaghetti squash with homemade tomato sauce and basil (yummmm!) as well as a pre packed salad with a store-bought veggie burger.

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Snacks that day included some super salty almonds (Yum!) and more spaghetti squash. This time with honey and cinnamon. I forgot to take a picture (thus a photo of the empty container).

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B and I had a long run planned for Saturday, so we opted for a low key Friday night. I love vegan food before long runs, so we tried out a new restaurant. The food was pretty good – I had a sweet potato veggie burger wrapped in collard greens.

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And of course, I had to have dessert. I made myself a mini bowl with a bunch of random treats – white chocolate chips, banana bread, chex and chocolate.

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That concluded my Friday. As always, click on the badge below to see what WIAW is all about.

Some questions for you:

What do like to eat the night before a long run? Anything vegan, typically. Wraps, sandwiches, salads etc. YUM!
What’s your typical Friday night? This wasn’t typical but it was nice to stay in for a change!
Have you ever had spaghetti squash in a sweeter manner, like I did?

WIAW: Sick Day Eats

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 21 Comments

I wish I had a more exciting WIAW Wednesday post to share. You know, a post that includes peanut butter cheesecake cookie dough blondies (yes these exist), homemade granola, this gnocchi and sausage soup and more of what I’m craving as I type this.

But alas, I had a sick day Monday. I woke up with a fever and achy. No stomach issues (I rarely get stomach sick), but super tired, feverish, a bad headache and sore. So what do I eat when I’m not feeling well? Here’s a sneak peek in today’s WIAW!

For some reason egg whites and veggies didn’t sound like they would hit the spot in the morning, so I opted for a pretty large bowl of Special K that took me about an hour to eat. It was probably close to two servings, so maybe that’s why it took so long? Oh, and yes – I eat it dry. I don’t like milk in my cereal.

I swear I didn’t eat the whole box ..

I slept through lunch so I had a snack around 3 p.m. I started with some peanut butter and half a sweet potato with some caramels. I ran out of the homemade ones so had a few (more than just the one pictured – I had 3) ones from my cabinet.

1/2 sweet potato not pictured.

1 of 3 caramels

Then an hour later I had another half of sweet potato with honey and cinnamon. Still my favorite snack.

B said he’d make me dinner and I napped again throughout the evening until dinner at around 8 p.m. B made some veggie burgers (my favorite – Luna!) and salads which somehow hit the spot. Oh, and yes, I also had some Arctic Zero. About 1/3 a pint #notashamed

So that was it! That’s what I ate on my sick day. Apparently I’m still hungry AND I crave comfort food as you can see – gotta have my ice cream, caramels, peanut butter, honey and sweet potato on my sick days!

Some questions for you:

What do you eat when you’re not feeling well? Do you tend to not eat much?
What comfort foods do you crave when you’re ill?
Favorite flavor of Arctic Zero? I’m almost done and need more!

PS – Thanks to The Big Man’s World for hosting this week’s WIAW!

Meatless Monday: Quinoa Hummus Patties

April 21, 2014November 25, 2014 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

I may have a hummus problem. The other day I realized I’d eaten hummus, as part of a meal, 4 days in a row. I know there are worse things to claim, but 4 days in a row? That’s nearly a week. Wonder if I can keep the streak going (I’ve also eaten chocolate about 40 days in a row) …

Anyway, I digress. The other night for dinner I was happy to have enough time to put together something vegetarian-friendly, flavorful and also that would serve as a side dish for B. I’d seem some recipes for hummus/quinoa tabbouleh and quinoa burgers and decided to combine both. They are somewhat crumbly but mine held together pretty well and were pretty flavorful without too many spices.

Warning – I took these pictures with my phone, per usual. They came out pretty gnarly (yes, worse than some of the other food pics I take) but the recipe was so delicious I had to post it. B asked I could make these again so I declare that a success 🙂

QUINOA HUMMUS PATTIES i crashed the web

Here’s what you need:

1 c quinoa (cooked)
½ c hummus
½ c finely diced red pepper
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TBS flaxseed
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1-2 TBS olive oil

Here’s what you do:

Combine quinoa, hummus, red pepper, garlic and green onions in a bowl. Mix well.
Add in flaxseed to help bind the mixture. Add in crushed red pepper flakes (optional if you like heat).
Form mixture into four to five even sized patties and place on a well-greased plate. Store in refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour. (I put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes) This will help the patties harden.
Heat a pan with olive oil over medium to medium-high heat and add olive oil once heated. Carefully add patties to pan and brown each side for about 4-6 minutes. Be careful when flipping – patties are crumbly and you may need to reshape them if they start to come apart.
Enjoy!
Serving suggestion: I had 2 as a main meal and served with spinach, roasted red pepper, more hummus, tomato, and hot sauce. They’d also be delicious with a garlic yogurt sauce. B had his as a side dish to some chicken with Greek spices. I’ll be doubling the recipe next time!

I swear it tastes better than it looks

Some questions for you:

Are you on any food-eating streaks?
Are you a hummus fan? Yes! I also really love baba ghanoush, its smoky eggplant cousin.
Do you make your own hummus? Actually, most of the time I find it easier and just as tasty to just buy it. If you find a brand you like – stick to it! The hummus from the recipe above was from a stand at the West Side Market and it was delicious.
Favorite veggie burger recipe? Come on, I’m looking for a new one!

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

January 11, 2013February 17, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

You may have noticed I’ve been on a veggie burger and vegetable-kick lately. I have have been looking for new recipes for my meat-loving husband to try and challenging myself to find the occasional meatless (or semi-meatless) recipe for him and I to enjoy! Don’t get me wrong – I’m not becoming a vegetarian (far from it), but am trying to learn to cook veggies in ways that I don’t normally try to. And these burgers take the cake – they’re B’s favorite vegetarian thing I’ve made this year so far.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers (adapted from Eat Live Run)

Here’s what you need:

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 jalapeno peppers
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
½ medium red onion
1 tbsp cumin
½ fresh tomato, diced
½ c panko breadcrumbs
½ c canned corn

Here’s what you do:

Chop jalapenos in half and remove seeds.
Add de-seeded jalapeno and garlic cloves to a food processor and mince finely.
Add chopped onion to food processor and continue to dice.
Add one of the cans of beans and flaxseed to the food processor and combine with jalapeno and garlic mixture.
Add cumin and mix until the mixture is has a texture that is similar to that of an oatmeal cookie.
Using a spatula, stir in panko bread crumbs and mix well.
Stir in chopped tomato, canned corn and remaining can of beans.
Form mixture into small burger patties. Mine made about 10 patties.
OPTIONAL PRE-COOKING STEP: Pop in the freezer for a little while to help patties harden. This isn’t necessary but definitely helps the texture since the patties are very mushy and crumbly when they cook. Since they made 10 patties, I made mine over the weekend and froze them ahead of time and only took out 4 to cook the evening of (2 for B, 1 for me for dinner and 1 for me for lunch the next day).
Spray a pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat on medium. Fry black bean burgers on each side: if fresh, 5 min per side will do, if frozen you will want to cook longer, 10 min on each side or until completely defrosted and crusty and golden on each side.
Enjoy how you like your burgers! I enjoyed mine with avocado and sriracha on an English muffin.

For me the recipe made 10 medium size burgers.

Make ahead and freeze! I wrapped mine in plastic wrap and foil and put in tupperware.

burgers before cooking

How I ate my burger – with a side salad, cooked spinach and topped with avocado and sriracha

Easy Spinach and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

January 4, 2013April 22, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

I’ve never been a hamburger fan. While I do love meat (sausage, steak and lamb please!) I’ve never been a big fan of hamburgers. Still, I love a good veggie burger. There’s something so comforting about the slight crunch on the outside, and the all-over healthy mushy veggieness on the inside (as you can tell I’m no food writer). SO, I’ve been looking for different recipes so that I can take on this task of making myself a good and quick veggie burger without just opening my freezer and grabbing a Morningstar burger patty (I tend to keep the Spicy Black Bean, Asian and Tomato and Basil Pizza Burgers on hand at all times). Well, here’s one recipe that I recently tried. It made a pretty good burger, but I’m still looking for another one to try that has a different flavor. B – who has a self-proclaimed “meat tooth” – even liked them! He ate two (with a plethora of hot sauces), asked to take the leftover for lunch, and said “If you make these again I’ll eat them.” I was stunned – and ecstatic!

Do you have any recommendations of other easy (meaning not only not complicated but likely I have all the ingredients on hand), quick veggie burger recipes?

Easy Spinach and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Here’s what you need:

2 Cups Fresh Spinach
1 Can Chickpeas, Drained
1/4 Cup Chopped Red Onion
1/3 Cup Ground Golden Flaxseed Meal (I used this)
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt/pepper to taste

Here’s what you do:

Heat oven to 475.
Place all ingredients into an electric mixer.
Slowly mix ingredients together, until they form a chunky liquid-like texture. The texture is almost like a thick cookie dough – moist but still moldable.
Make batter into 5-6 veggie burger patties. Place patties on nonstick pan (or tin foil sprayed with Pam on top of a pan) and place into pre-heated oven.
Cook each side for about 8-10 minutes. They should be lightly brown and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, when through. You could also cook them on top of the stove or on a grill if you prefer.
Enjoy! I like to serve mine on a wheat roll or English muffin with avocado, feta and arugula. Feel free to add ketchup or mustard if that’s your thing! I also made these with homemade oven baked fries.

More good news? Depending on how big you make the patties, they can be anywhere from 120-200 calories a burger!