Squash Fest!

Once again, upon examination of my photos over the past few days, I noticed a trend. This time it was the frequency with which I cooked different kinds of squash. I need to curtail my carotene intake because I have a tendency to turn orange! My hands turn an unattractive shade of yellow if I eat too many carrots, too much squash, or an excess of pumpkin. My dad likes to tease me by calling me "beta carotene Betty." Very funny.

Aside from the plentiful pumpkin, I have also tried a few new food finds over the past few days. I took pictures of the packaging for your benefit:)

Monday
Just after I signed off from my last post, I treated myself to my nightly shake, although this one was more like a smoothie. I used the "tropical" flavor of Spirutein and added some nonfat plain organic yogurt, some frozen mango I found in the freezer, shredded coconut, and a drizzle of agave. It tasted just like a pina colada (I apologize for the lack of tilde over the "n." I can't figure out how to insert that symbol). I love coconut so much--it's so chewy and, well, tropical! Tuesday
Breakfast on Tuesday consisted of the last bran muffin top from the freezer, a raspberry smoothie (frozen organic raspberries + almond milk), and a handful of cashews. This was kind of a "ho-hum" breakfast. Seeds always put a damper on my enjoyment of a smoothie. Lunch was a bit more exciting, at least. I toasted up some more whole wheat tortillas with a sprinkling of chili powder for another serving of tortilla chips, and I added a few more ingredients for a delicious taco salad. I used organic greens, refried pinto beans, lots of salsa, and mashed avocado. That's a sliced Rome apple on the side. For a snack I had a bowl of Grape Nut Flakes, my first new food find. These aren't really new to the market or anything, but I had never tried them before. They're my kind of cereal: really short ingredients list, slightly sweet, and they lend themselves to sogginess. Yum! My dinner was a tad strange last night but tasty nonetheless. I started out wanting a grilled cheese, but I remembered all those tortillas in the fridge, plus I needed protein, and I wanted to try my soup I had just thawed, yada, yada....So I ended up with a grilled hummus and organic mozzarella wrap and a bowl of homemade butternut squash soup. I also had some dried figs and a side salad (not pictured). As predicted, my need for chocolate returned after a short hiatus. Last night's shake was comprised of a frozen banana, chocolate Spirutein, cocoa powder, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. So good. Wednesday
I had an excellent breakfast this morning, mostly because of another new food find. I had a whole grain mini bagel with sunflower seed butter and a peach smoothie (frozen peaches + almond milk + cinnamon). I love this new nut butter! It has a host of vitamins and minerals, it has a great texture, and it tastes delicious! Two thumbs up. If any of you suffer from celiac disease or a peanut allergy, this product is gluten- and peanut-free. I really like these mini bagels too, probably just because they are miniature:) For lunch today, my dad and I made a trip to Johnny Rocket's, mostly because I printed out a coupon for a free "Streamliner," which is basically a souped up Boca burger. We got it to-go because my dad was in his "nasty clothes" (i.e. his clothes for doing chores around the house). Once we were home, I supplemented my burger with steamed spinach and a pear. It was meh. I think I like the texture of wheat buns more than white buns now. Plus, my pear wasn't ripe yet. Bah.
My dinner arose from a combination of spaghetti squash recipes. Lindsay from The Happy Herbivore held a contest a while back for the best spaghetti squash recipe, and Ruby's tomato soup suggestion won. Then I looked at Kath's collection of spaghetti squash recipes and saw her chili. What I ended up with is what Rachael Ray would call a "stoup"--something between a soup and a stew. My concoction had lots of leftover spaghetti squash, diced tomatoes, vegetarian burger crumbles, plus my favorite spices. This was really filling! In addition to what you see here, I had another bowl plus a flatbread for dipping. Whoa. Well,
I'm off to be a slug until this full feeling wears off. Hope you have a restful evening!