Monday, May 5, 2008

Snooze-fest Weekend

Not only did I get plenty of sleep this weekend, but I also was extremely bored. Campus is a bit eerie when no one but you is around. It reminded me of when I had to stay late for choir practices in high school: the classrooms seemed so empty at night. Anyway, I am well rested and ready to be back in 'bama!
Food this weekend was a bit of challenge, as I had predicted in my last post. So if some of the meals below strike you as random or odd, please understand that I had limited options.

Friday
After my last exam on Friday, I was famished. It started at 7, which is usually when I eat dinner, so I really wasn't hungry beforehand. However, by the time I turned my test in (about 7:50), I was ready to eat my answer sheet! I grabbed my favorite crunchy broccoli salad from The Loop and headed back to the dorm to supplement it with some of my grub. I slathered some hummus on whole wheat bread and made a quick smoothie out of frozen strawberries and almond milk. Yum! It was a great way to bring my exam week to a close.

That night I got hungry for a snack (in the midst of my Amazon surfing), so I had some more of that soy pudding, this time in the vanilla flavor. Dark chocolate chunks made their obligatory appearance.

Saturday
I woke up fairly late on Saturday, so I just grabbed a quick snack to tide me over until lunchtime. I chose one of my favorite snack bars: Odwalla Carrot Raisin. I discovered these in Colorado a few years ago; my aunt put them in welcome baskets for all of the out-of-town guests to her son's wedding. They've been one of my on-the-go faves ever since--my mom even sends them to me in care packages! They taste like healthful carrot cake.

My lunch on Saturday was a bit of a failure, thanks to my stubborn vegan mozzarella. It refuses to melt! Sheesh. I attempted eggplant Parmesan with an organic eggplant that I picked up on Monday. It still tasted good, despite the unmelted cheeze.
Sunday
Yesterday's lunch was a conglomeration of leftovers and available campus fare. I made a Dagwood sandwich out of thick tofu slices, lots of salsa, and lettuce. I also had a delicious cranberry-walnut salad that took me forever to eat, which is probably a good thing. I have a tendency to scarf down my food when I am hungry...

Snack yesterday was an attempt to use up the cold stuff in my fridge; I defrosted the fridge just after taking this picture. I had some plain soy yogurt with wheat germ and a fresh fruit cup. Unfortunately, I still had to throw away a few items, which seriously pains my frugal soul. Oh well.

I cobbled together dinner last night from what remained in my dorm pantry and some greens that I picked up from the on-campus convenience store. Surprisingly the greens were from Earthbound Farms, so they were organic--score! I topped them with roasted soy nuts, and I made a simple peanut butter sandwich to go with it. I also had a big shiny apple.

Monday
For breakfast this morning, I managed to hunt down some soy milk, so I was able to have cereal. It turns out that my favorite eatery, The Refectory, is open all summer! While I was there, I got some vegan blueberry muffins for the road and a container of vanilla Silk. Once back in the dorm, I used up the last of my Cheerios, and I had a Granny Smith with PB.

I just finished lunch here. Much to my surprise, The Loop was open today, even though it was closed all weekend. Go figure! Anyway, so I picked up one last broccoli salad (I love it!). I had another hummus sandwich to go along with it, and I had some cantaloupe too. Sorry I'm so boring/repetitive!

Now I am just waiting for my parents to arrive; they're supposed to get here around 4 or 5. We have a long road trip back tomorrow (about 8 hours), so I was thinking about what kind of food will be available on the road. While I have my stash of dorm food (almonds, Larabars, oatmeal), I was wondering: what kind of foods do you eat when traveling? Recommendations for healthful fast food or your favorite snacks to pack are encouraged!

Next time I post, I will probably be home!

11 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Ah yes, that's definitely one thing that I don't miss, now that I don't live on campus - it's always dead on the weekends!

Doesn't look like you're having much trouble finding good meals on campus - I love all your meal/snack ideas!

When traveling, I ALWAYS pack (err, over-pack, haha) Larabars, fresh fruit, single-serving almond-milk "boxes" (like the juice boxes), and homemade baked goods :0)

Anonymous said...

No need to apologize for boring meals, though I must say, NONE of your meals seemed boring to me.. they all looked quite delicious and nutritious!

I am in your same situation, trying to eat up as much food as possible in my room so I am having pretty much the same thing over and over, lol.. but pretty soon you'll be home and there'll be more variety, for sure.

Omg, carrot raisin odwalla bar?? I LOVE carrot cake so I simply must try these if I can find 'em!

I haven't done long traveling in a while, but when on the road, it's always helpful for me to have nuts and/or Larabars on hand. These never fail to satiate me. Sometimes I'll drink some of those V8 juices but VeggieGirl's idea of almond milk cases and baked goods sounds good, too! :)
I don't eat fast food, even when on the road, so I wouldn't know what to recommend there.. use your best judgment if caught in a hutch. Though I know it can be quite challenging getting nutritious foods from fast places..

And yes, you so must try the pumpkin pie smoothie .. it is as good as it sounds!

J said...

Campus really is interesting when all the students are gone. I work at Mizzou and during the summer, staff rule campus! Wahahahahahaha!

Your food, don't ever knock yourself, I am drooling over your dorm food. I am so impressed with how well you feed yourself in a dorm. (And I'll take any leftover hummus sandwiches!)

I never lived in a dorm, but I can tell you, I would have probably starved to death or lived off of stuff out of a box!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on being done!! Isn't it such a wonderful feeling??

Your foods are far from boring, I'm drooling here!! =)

Anonymous said...

your sandwich bread always looks yummy! what kind of bread do you use?

Anonymous said...

LOL - I was cracking up when you said you almost ate your answer sheet!

mmm I'll definitely be trying that carrot cake bar soon...

As for on the go snacks, I like Clif Z Bars, Larabars, boxes of raisins, and whole grain goldfish... and pb&j sandwiches!

Hope you have a safe journey home ;)

Anonymous said...

LOL I'll always remember childhood trips to visit my Grandma in Nebraska. It's a 10 hour drive, so we would leave Minneapolis with the car stocked full of food (seriously - like 2 grocery bags full) to keep two little girls + two tired parents happy!

We always brought along graham crackers and PB, apples, grapes, TWIZZLERS, string cheese.. stuff like that.

And thanks so much for the blogger award!! I posted a tide-over post today, and a real one will be coming shortly!

Jill said...

Man, what a summary, and so much good stuff! Your campus is so lucky, it seems to have decent food :0. I have had that odwalla as well, it's yummy! My goal for the moment is to find soy tapioca pudding, I haven't had it in years and I want to remember what it is like.

Cassie said...

You do a great job eating healthy on a college campus- I ate pretty horribly in college due to the limited choices. That carrot raisin bar sounds interesting... might have to try that. Every time I pick a bar it is always a bananaish flavored bar. I need to venture out.

Oh and congrats on being done!

Anonymous said...

Oooh I didn't know Odwalla made carrot raisin bars. I need to get my hands on one of those!

ChickPea said...

VeggieGirl: Thanks for the travel snack ideas--there really aren't ANY vegan options out there, so it's better to be prepared.
vegannurse: Trying to use up food makes for "interesting" meals, doesn't it? Oh well, better than wasting it!
I actually ended up taking some V8 with me--great for veggies on the go.
Jennifer: Obviously healthful food is important to me, so I have to make an effort to eat the way that I do. It would be VERY easy to live off of canned soup and pizza at school...but I like my big-ass salads better:)
Romina: Thanks! I'm glad my meals are somewhat appealing.
lainb: I use whatever is available in the campus store, which is Nature's Own 100% whole wheat. I really like it, actually. However, it is not vegan.
loveofoats: You should definitely look for the snack size bars of Odwallas. I particularly like the carrot raisin with a smear of cream cheese--just like carrot cake!
runroamrecycle: I LOVE Twizzlers! That is def my first choice movie snack:)
Jill: Let me know if you find some soy tapioca pudding...I haven't had tapioca pudding in years!
Cassie: Banana bars aren't bad...I love the banana walnut Gnu bar and the banana manna Dr. Weil bar!
Tina: They sell them at Whole Foods and Target, I think.