I’m having some major sugar cravings today. Watch out! 
I’m not sure what’s up with my appetite, but I guess I’m just going with it! 
Dinner
Our kitchen cabinets are suddenly jam-packed with food, so Mal and I are trying to eat what’s in them instead of buying more. So, when taking inventory this afternoon, I found a random bag of quinoa that was pushed to the back of the cabinet. I hadn’t eaten quinoa in ages, so I figured it would make a great option for dinner– and it did! 
In the mix:
- Quinoa
- Spinach
- Sweet potato
- Mushrooms
- Walnuts
- Balsamic vinegar
- Maple Syrup
- Cinnamon
Sorry that I don’t have exact measurements– I just threw everything in a bowl, mixed it up, and tested it until it tasted good. I baked the sweet potato before adding it to the bowl and threw the mushrooms in with the quinoa, while it was cooking, to soften them up.
There were so many delicious flavors in tonight’s dinner. The sweet potatoes + maple syrup especially hit the spot!
Dessert
Mal did our grocery this week, so (not surprisingly) he came home with a number of items “off” the list. In addition to Sun Chips, my husband purchased some Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough. I suppose his purchase was a blessing in disguise, considering my wacked-out sugar cravings today. All day, I just wanted to eat cookies– and my wish came true! 
After dinner, we baked a half dozen cookies for dessert. I enjoyed two chocolate chip cookies while my husband ate four– plus a good-size serving of Malted Milk Ball Gelato. I wish I had taken a photo of his dessert. It was intense!
Oh, cookies. I love you.
I’m taking the rest of the night off from working. My brain is fried. Plus, I have a lot of Ellen episodes to catch up with!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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Oooh that dinner looks sooo good!! You’ve got all my favourite flavours in there, PLUS sweet potato – I seriously wish I’d just eaten that meal
The cookies look good too! I find it amazing how much food (especially junk food) men can pack away sometimes without getting fat..it’s a mad world.
Have a good evening
I’ve been very snacky today too!
Have a great evening
That quinoa dish sounds awesome!
Oooh I thought that was sesame chicken at first
I need to cook up some quinoa one of these days. I sure miss it.
Coooooookies!!!!! I was drooling over some just yesterday!
Oh yum, talk about my ideal meal!! I will have to have to try that quinoa dish.. that sounds out of this world!
nom nom – the cookies look great. I’m glad you “just go” with your cravings and don’t deny them. Just curious, but are you an early dinner eater because if I am correct it’s only 7pm east coast time…not that it matters, but you’re always on top of it about posting your dinner right away =]
@Hillary [Nutrition Nut on the Run]: We eat around 6/6:30 pm.
I try to just roll with my cravings too! As long as it’s not every day, a few deserts can be just what the dr ordered
I recently “discovered” quinoa and am hooked! I love the combo you’ve come up with here. I’ll be adding this to my list of things to try.
Thanks for sharing!
i have some quinoa in the cupboard that i really need to make too! have a good night ‘off’.
I miss quinoa too! It’s one of my favorite grains
Enjoy Ellen!! I need a tevo
Hahaha! I think cookies are a good weekend treat. I ate my fair share of home-made white chocolate chip macadamia (and walnut) cookies this weekend. My problem is once I eat (too many) over the weekend, I am craving them during the week. I’m still trying to find that balance between treating myself and creating more cravings.
I was also wanting to eat a lot of cheese this weekend. Oy!
Grammy Awards tonight!
Uh oh– I did not need to see these cookies on this, my first day of my non-sugar challenge
They look delicious!
My two favorite things….quinoa and cookies!!
Your dinner looks fantastic! I’ll definitely have to try this sometime. I love all the ingredients but have never combined them! And sometimes, I think there’s not much better than chocolate chip cookies from pillsbury dough! Yum!!
I feel like I have a lot of things in my cabinet(or, in my dorm, under my bed), but it never seems like enough “food” so much as “snacks” I need to figure out how and when to eat it or give it away before it expires.
Those cookies look so good. I meant to pick up Immaculate Baking co dough today and completely forgot until now!
What a creative dinner; for some reason I’m “afraid” to have meals without a substantial piece protein because I don’t feel full as long. I’d be curious to know whether this kind of dinner (more carbs than protein) sticks with you!
Enjoy the cookies and Ellen, I’m about to watch 60 Minutes! (nerd… hehe)
Maple + balsamic makes the best combination! And I guess sometimes husbands do know best
I guess am not the only one who was craving chocolate chip cookies today! I just posted something similar about five minutes ago. Check out the organic cookie dough I found today!
Mmmm… cookies!
I *love* Ellen — don’t get the chance to watch it every day but it’s the one daytime show I try to watch. She’s too funny!
Sweet potatoes and quinoa! Some of my favorite things
Your dinner looks delish.
Ooh that sounds like a great combination!
Great treat!
Yummy cookies too! I made banana chip cookies tonight
I wish I could eat like a boy…
I usually have sweet cravings on sundays – guess it’s just all part of taking a lazy day to myself! And man those cookies look especially delicious
Good for you! Give into the cravings! I think the trouble starts when we deny them…
Salads looks sooooooo delicious!
Magnesium???? I crave sugar when my mag is low. Sugar is such a powerful drug and takes 4-6 days to leave your system. Crazy!
Your quinoa looks yummy and so healthful! Only prob is that I now want chocolate hard core…those cookies look amaaaazing.
I hate when sugar cravings hit but lucky for you Mal saw into the future
Sometimes I’d rather just skip dinner and go straight to dessert! Cookies and icecream… YUM!
Glad to hear you enjoyed your cookies. Sugar cravings need to be satisfied and warm cookies usually do the trick. Your Quinoa/Butternut dinner looks very yummy.
Sometimes you can’t fight cookie cravings.
Have fun watching Ellen!
I had a fight with a roll of cookie dough at Shaws today. I won! Then came home to eclairs in the fridge. They won.
Cookies…. yum!
I love quinoa and we were just talking about it at lunch today with a group of friends. Some days are just sugary carb days!
That dinner does look awesome!! A few weeks ago I threw together a similar combo but with butternut squash instead of sweet potato. The nuttiness of the quinoa + the sweetness of butternut squash/sweet potato is a definite winner….especially if you have a sweet tooth
And there’s definitely NOTHING like cookies fresh out of the oven when you want something sweet. They know what they’re doing over at Pillsbury…!
Your dinner looks amazing. I’ve always wanted to try quinoa, but I can’t ever find it at the store.
i do wish you had taken a photo of mal’s dessert…
It seems like everytime I eat a lot of sugar, I crave it intensely the next few days. Maybe from the ice cream pint last night? I would have so done the same thing though
Mmmm…I’ve had chocolate chip cookies sitting in my refrigerator for a few weeks now…it may be time to pull them out!
There is something amazing about cookie dough – so delicious!
Love your mix of food – the maple syrup must have added a great flavor.
Enjoy Ellen – she is a great entertainer!
Loving the maple syrup with the sweet potato! I would have loved Mal’s dessert
Dinner looks great. I know quinoa has some protein – was it enough to fill you up? I was wondering if adding a few beans might work with that meal.
I agree with the above poster about how eating sugar often makes me want more (that and my time of the month which is killing me right now.) I sometimes wonder what it would be like to avoid sugar for a while, but I never get very far with that idea…
When my parents by refrigerated cookie dough, we’re lucky if we get half a dozen baked cookies…hehe, my sister and I are cookie dough whores. Dang, you’re making me wish I’d bought some quinoa.
I love how mal gets things they aren’t on the list! Too funny!
Jenna
Your quinoa looks great. I will need to try your recipe! I’m sure it was really filling as well
Mmmm Pillsbury cookie dough! If that were me, the cookie dough wouldn’t have even made it to the pan…
Your post reminds me that I have a huge bag of quinoa from Costco sitting in my cabinet – now I have a great recipe idea to try out with sweet potato I have sitting around too!
my husband always comes home with stuff that’s off the list…must be a guy thing
I need to eat up what’s lurking in my pantry too–I think I currently have two varieties of quinoa in there, in fact!
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