Monday, April 7, 2008

Just Another Manic Monday...


Sorry my Monday post is later than usual, everyone! I've had a full day. I went for a run, tutored on the other side of campus, made a Whole Foods run, had a conference call at 3, plus did some laundry...so I am pooped. And it doesn't end there. The dining committee is headed out for its end of the year celebratory dinner tonight at 7. Guess where we're going? Angus Barn. Doesn't sound like it's exactly vegetarian-friendly, does it? Our group has a fixed menu tonight, so I've already selected the vegetarian option, the vegetable plate, which can be viewed here: http://www.angusbarn.com/menu.html#vegetarian. Doesn't look too bad, except for the fact that it's a little low on protein.

My weekend was pretty standard; following the advice of my 8th grade algebra teacher, I "partied once, studied twice." My fancy dinner and formal went well; it won't surprise you that the dinner was probably my favorite part of the evening. What can I say? I am a hopeless foodie:) I ended up ordering the Spinach Strawberry Salad, the Spring Risotto, and a blackberry sorbet for dessert. The risotto was like eating snobby macaroni and cheese; I swear, the chef must have dumped the whole block of parmagiano reggiano (sp?) in my dish alone. Not a vegan/vegetarian restaurant by any stretch of the imagination. My favorite part was the dessert--I love blackberries, and the sorbet tasted exactly like the fruit. It came with an assortment of raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.

Saturday
For lunch on Saturday, I reviewed another place on campus (read: free meal!). I ordered a Mediterranean veggie sandwich with some hot tea. The sandwich was pre-made, and its expiration date was April 6th; the combination of these two facts made for a soggy sandwich :( I ended up picking the veggies off the bread and eating them by themselves. I accompanied them with a baked sweet potato (remember the farmers' market??), a salad with seasoned tofu, and some Fage with ground flax. It ended up being quite an eye-catching meal. And, of course, I accidentally deleted the pictures when I was uploading my formal pictures to Facebook. I was really disappointed about it actually--the only one that survived my absent-minded clicking was the salad with tofu.
Sunday
Yesterday's lunch was an organic Boca burger on the two end pieces of my loaf of bread. I dipped the sammie in some of that agave ketchup I showed you a few weeks ago. On the side I had some mixed greens with sliced tomato and raw almonds, plus an orange. Sorry for the dim photo--my roomie was taking a nap.

I realized that I never show you all my snacks, which is pretty significant considering how much I snack throughout the day. Here is an example of my afternoon snack. Cascade Fresh is my favorite brand of flavored yogurt. It's juice sweetened with 8 active cultures, and it's rBGH-free. I reviewed it at Iateapie.net last summer, if you're interested. Yesterday afternoon I enjoyed the lemon variety with some Nature's Path granola and raw cashews.

Last night's dinner was not that enjoyable, but I thought I would show you anyway. I didn't feel like cooking anything (shocking, I know!), so I just grabbed a soup and salad from a place on campus. The soup of the day was minestrone, but it was majorly lacking in the bean department; thus, I added some soy nuts to my salad for protein. My beloved Ak-Maks made another appearance.

Monday
Breakfast today was Weetabix again (I told you that I'd be having it again!). This time I remembered to take a picture before I started eating. I added sliced banana today, but it was a little mealy-tasting. Not the best breakfast ever. Oh, and I also ate some more of those omnipresent cashews.

As I mentioned before, I went to Whole Foods today. Here is the inventory: roasted soy nuts, organic carrots, nonfat kefir, Italian herb tofu, plain and flavored yogurts, organic apples, oranges, bananas, whole wheat couscous, Ak-Maks, Ezekiel pitas, frozen sliced peaches, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, some more Bionaturae organic jam (in blackberry flavor this time), a free copy of Better Nutrition, and 2 packets of chocolate soy protein powder. Not as much fun food this trip, because I ran out of a few expensive staple items this week (Bragg's, organic jam).

Finally for today's lunch I hit up the salad bar for some veggies, along with--my favorite--chickpeas. I ended up stuffing the chickpeas in an Ezekiel pita with spinach and salsa. A huge apple accompanies the vegetable bounty.

Well, I should probably go prepare for my dinner at the steakhouse. If only we were headed to Panera or Moe's Southwest, I would be such a happy camper. What are your favorite restaurants to visit? At least it's another free meal! Enjoy your evening!



11 comments:

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

I love Moe's!

and I love chickpeas!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Aww, so cute how you stacked all your groceries on your bed :o)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

ah yes, Mondays are always... interesting, haha - the weekend will be here again before we know it!

haha, I already posted about my favorite restaurants ;0)

Anonymous said...

MOE's :) Without a doubt! And of course Panera Bread, especially the black bean soup! I also like Cosi's & Wegman's too... Hope you enjoy your dinner...

J said...

Your pitas looks awesome!

(And I'm loving all the fruit!)

Anonymous said...

Yum! I love all of your colorful foods!

ChickPea said...

HH: Now, if only Moe's had chickpeas, we'd be set...
CCV: Yes, I felt a little silly stacking my groceries artfully...but I did it anyway.
VeggieGirl: Your restaurants looked far better than Moe's and Panera!
loveofoats: I always get the black bean soup too! I just wish they offered it every day, instead of rotating it with the not so healthful ones. I have never been to a Cosi or Wegman's--what do you order there?
Jennifer: Thanks! I can't wait until the more exotic fruits go down in price! For now it's just the standard apples, bananas, and oranges...
Tina: I do try to get a rainbow in, especially when I assemble my salads at the salad bar. Warning: purple onions look pretty, but they make your breath STANK for the rest of the day!

Ruby Red said...

Angus Barn? Oh geez.

Ahh, I LOVE humungous apples! I get to eat free lunches at my work, and for a while they were stocking these half-POUND organic granny smiths! Those would have been so expensive at Whole Foods, but I dined on them for free for about a month straight. :)

I enjoyed looking at all your meals and snack, so thanks for being so thorough! And it's so sweet you didn't turn the light on while your roommate was sleeping... Haha.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

My dad loves to try new things-- not just vegan foods, but ANYTHING unsual (frog, snake... yikes!). My mom is not as open-minded. She'll happily try a vegan baked good, where the vegan-ness is concealed in the ingredients, but NOT something like soy ice cream, a veggie burger, etc. She's come a looong way, though, in the 8 years that I've been a vegan. Two weeks ago, she actually admitted to loving a restaurant's soymilk shake!

With my friends, at first when I baked for them, I didn't tell them a food was vegan until AFTER they had eaten it and decided it tasted good. So now, they aren't biased against vegan baked goods because they KNOW they taste good :o).

Anonymous said...

I noticed that you review products? How does that work? Do you buy them or do they send them to you?
I would love to do review products, especially since I want to start my own blog soon.

ChickPea said...

Ruby: Yes, nothing beats a big apple. So sweet and delicious!
CCV: Thanks for the tips on making vegan vittles for omnis. I just want to share the veggie love!
sophia: Basically, I just contacted places that have food reviews and asked if they needed another content contributor. For some websites, companies send me things, while others I have to purchase the products myself.