Friday, June 27, 2008

My Little Rewards

With my torturous lab test completed, I have been rewarding myself for the past 24 hours. I settled in last night to read a back issue of Clean Eating Magazine, and today my mom treated me to a few items on our shopping trip; I came home with two pairs of shorts, a dress, two summery shirts, and some underthings from Aerie. Plus, when I got home, there was a free sample of Kashi Vive in the mailbox. Cute underpants and free food in the same day?! A rewarding day, without a doubt.


Despite my little celebration today, I have some studying to do this weekend--two tests next week. Ugh. At least one of them is in my nutrition class, so studying won't be too painful:) Yes, I know I am a dork.

Well, I have lots to discuss today since my last post was earlier in the day, meaning Wednesday's lunch and dinner have yet to be divulged.

Wednesday
Talk about a random (and lazy) lunch. I dumped some things that had been lingering in the fridge onto my plate: leftover turnip greens, tofu cutlet (Helen's Kitchen brand), spinach with sliced almonds and balsamic vinegar, and Ezekiel pita and a bowl of sliced peaches.
My mom made chili for dinner, so I decided to follow suit--especially since I had some leftover canned tomatoes and pinto beans in the fridge. I added a few spices (cayenne, chili powder, lots of cumin) and topped it off with mashed avocado. A vegan cheddar muffin and salad finished it off right.
My snack was something out of the ordinary: not a shake, not snack mix but...dessert oatmeal! I've always wanted to try a chocolate-oatmeal combo, but I figured it would be too sweet for morning. For my evening oats, I prepared them with a cup of soymilk, topped them with dark chocolate chunks, and mixed in a mini Clif bar (chocolate brownie flavor). Let's just say that I burned my tongue several times with this one...I couldn't wait to shovel that melty goodness in my mouth!
Thursday
Quick breakfast again: Kashi GoLean with soymilk and strawberries with walnuts. Good stuff.
I packed my lunch to eat on campus again. This time my feast included a hummus and spinach sandwich, juicy grapes, raw veggies, and a few raw almonds. I think this tasted OK, but I was far too busy cramming in last minute study time.

I just needed a quick dinner, so I turned to Dreena's sandwich section in Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan. Tamari chickpea spread was the lucky winner...I dipped an Ezekiel pita into the mixture. Snap peas and a side salad added some more nutrients. Afterward I had a small frozen cherry-soymilk smoothie.
After 5-days of shake-free living, I returned to my addiction last night. The impetus was a packet of S'mores flavor Spirutein that arrived in the mail yesterday. (It had been on back order when I purchased my last round of packets from Lucky Vitamin). I mixed it with chocolate peanut butter So Delicious and almond milk. I dipped a few Whole Foods brand graham crackers in it for authenticity:)
Friday

Whenever I have some spare time in the mornings, I inevitably cook up some scrambled tofu. The combination today consisted of tofu, vegan cheddar, and caramelized onion, along with the usual spices. I attempted to eat it as a burrito but ultimately used a knife and fork. A not so tasty kiwi added some balance to this protein-heavy meal.

I was in no mood to cook lunch today (weird, I know). I just topped some Ak Maks with almond butter and a few dried cranberries. A salad and an apple added some fiber.
I was so psyched for my snack today because I finally bought some Annie's Goddess Dressing. As a recent convert to the wonder of tahini, I am quite enamored of this tasty goop. Aside from the veggies and dip, I also had some blueberry soy yogurt.

Dinner was rather free-style again: I threw some leftover chickpeas, jarred pasta sauce, and fresh eggplant into a pan; cook up those broken pieces of pasta at the bottom of the package, add a salad with jarred olives, and you've got a tasty meal!

Enjoy your weekend!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had a relaxing day :)

Do you have an email address that I could email you a few questions? I'd rather send them via email then post on the wall. Hope that's ok.

J said...

Sounds like a good way to wind down!

As always the food looks great, I love all the fruits and veg you eat, so healthy!

That tamari chickpea spread looks and sounds awesome, maybe I should get Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan afterall.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Congratulations on finishing your lab test!!

The graham cracker is a perfect finishing touch for your S'mores shake/smoothie :0)

Anonymous said...

congrats on the lab test...

that s'more smoothie sounds like heaven... that is truly a nostalgic food for me!

Unknown said...

I love how all of your meals look so simple and quick to put together...yet SO delicious too!! I try to coordinate my meals with what my family is having for dinner too, and I love getting inspiration from your dinner creations! Also, I just started my own blog today...check it out whenever you get the chance :0)

ChickPea said...

Amanda: Yep, my email is carnie87@aol.com. Look forward to hearing from you!
Jennifer: I've been pretty satisfied with ED&BV, although there are some obscure and expensive ingredients in some recipes.
VeggieGirl: The graham crackers were tasty, but I'd like to find a whole grain version. At least the WF ones are vegan and organic.
Loveofoats: The S'mores shake was probably the highlight of my week--I know, so sad.
Allison: Glad to have you as a reader. I look forward to reading your blog posts!

Anonymous said...

That dessert oatmeal looks great, i use to always have oatmeal at night with some PB. How much do you use at the night time portion and also 2 questions... what kind of dark choc chunks are those? and also I have been looking for a good all njatural brand of popcorn, which one do you recomend?

Thanks,

Christie

Erin said...

The dessert oatmeal sounds decadent! And Annie's Goddess dressing is my fave, I find it hard to use anything else for dipping veggies.

Thanks for the link to Lucky Vitamins. I had kind of been wondering where you get all these fabulous flavors of Spiru-tein, the only way I've seen it is in the huge, expensive containers. I couldn't really see you having 15 huge containers of it to work on. I'm thinking I might order a few individual packets to give it a try.

ChickPea said...

Christie: I use a full (half-cup dry) portion of oatmeal for my nighttime snack--I've got a big appetite in the evening. They're whole foods brand dark chocolate chunks, and the brand of popcorn is called Wild Harvest. Hope that helps!
Erin: I am so excited about this Goddess dressing--I almost want to hoard it from my family so they don't eat it all! I plan on making Goddess Garbanzos tonight:)
The packets of Spirutein are definitely the way to go. Granted, it's not as "green" to use all those paper packets, but I would end up wasting a lot more of the powder if I got the tubs--I get bored with the same flavor quickly.