Exciting News

Happy Friday, everyone! It's the weekend, finally! I had a busy week that included a few important decisions. First, my roommate and I figured out our living arrangements for next year. We will be living in an apartment--with a kitchen! I am so excited to have access to a full size refrigerator, a stove, and a toaster. Trust me, you won't realize how much you miss your toaster until you don't have it. I am so jealous of all you bloggers out there making those delicious looking waffle sandwiches for breakfast!

The second bit of important news is that I have been considering my future in the past few days, and I have decided to pursue a career as a registered dietitian. I have been interested in nutrition since high school (I did an independent study on it during my senior year). However, I was scared off by the science aspect, and my university does not offer any nutrition-related classes. My interest in the subject has obviously persisted, so I decided to take the plunge into nutrition. I still plan to graduate from my current university with degrees in English and psychology, but afterward I plan to return to Birmingham and get a bachelor's degree in nutrition. Ideally, I would like to incorporate writing--it is most certainly one of my passions. Perhaps someday I'll be the next resident nutritionist on staff at Self Magazine?

Wednesday
OK, now that I have babbled on enough about my future, I'll share some photos. On Wednesday evening, I was really not in the mood for campus food. So I pulled out a box of Annie's microwaveable macaroni and cheese, something I had never tried before. I loved it! I think I will have to eat these more often when I don't feel like enduring the tedium of tweaking campus fare. This was the white cheddar flavor; I added frozen chopped spinach for nutrition and color. I also had a huge salad from the salad bar with mushrooms, tomatoes, and artichokes, but the picture turned out blurry:( You can use your imagination though!




Thursday
For breakfast one day, I started off fairly old school--a bowl of Cheerios. True to form, I added some less conventional toppings: unsweetened almond milk, sliced banana, and wheat germ. Not the typical way to enjoy Cheerios, but it was tasty, nonetheless.




For a snack last night I dug out a box of Kashi Mighty Bites that had been hiding in my "dorm pantry" (aka the top shelf of my closet). I consider this cereal more of a "snack" cereal than a breakfast cereal; it is sweeter and less fibrous than some of my normal breakfast selections. I think it is technically geared toward young children, but clearly that never stops me from sampling a food! I mixed it with some plain Stonyfield yogurt, Stevia, and cinnamon for a bedtime snack.

Friday

Today's high temperature is 82*, so for my breakfast this morning I chose to whip up a smoothie with my Magic Bullet blender (yes, I have two--one at home and one here!). I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and frozen mixed berries. I thoroughly enjoyed it--except for those pesky seeds! Along with the smoothie I had a Cinnamon Raisin Gnu Bar and some raw cashews. I definitely recommend Gnu Bars if you have never tried them--very high fiber (12 grams!)--and whole grain. This variety tastes like a healthy version of a cinnamon raisin bagel--I bet it would be tasty with cream cheese on it!




Inspired by Jennifer over at Veg*n Cooking, I decided to make a Mexican-themed lunch. I guess you would call these tostadas. I had intended for them to be tacos, but I piled too much yumminess on them, so I ate them flat with a knife and fork--they lasted much longer that way! I used organic corn tortillas, chopped spinach, light string cheese, and salsa. It was good, but I wish I had some more spices on hand--some chili powder and cumin would really have hit the spot! I had some of the ubiquitous melon and water in my lovely Sigg water bottle.

I have been looking for good (vegan/vegetarian) cookbooks lately. Even though I have quite a collection at home, I have none at school. I decided I need a little motivation to get through these last few weeks before summer, so I was perusing Amazon's offerings last night (er, this morning--I think it was 1:30 AM...). Has anyone tried The Student's Go Vegan Cookbook? To go along with it, I was looking for some good dorm room cooking gadgets, but I couldn't decide among so many options. So, what are your favorite cookbooks and kitchen gadgets? Any and all recommendations are much appreciated!