Wacky Weather, Wacky Eats

Yesterday was an abnormal eating day for me. First, I went out to lunch with my sister, my mom, and a few friends after my nutrition class. We went to Brio, where their idea of vegetarian is pasta primavera...or pasta primavera. I'll fill you in on the deets below, but let's just say I ended up having two lunches. Then, around 5 PM, serious thunderstorms rolled into town. The power went out, I was left without internet, entertainment, and means of cooking. Even if I had wanted to be a good student and work on my nutrition project, I couldn't.

Translation: boring evening.

However, once my dad returned from teaching his class, we headed to Jason's Deli, which is home to a pretty impressive salad bar. To kill some time afterward, we visited a nearby Banana Republic, where I scored a pencil skirt on sale. Fits me like a glove! The power was back when we returned home, thank goodness--is it sad that I was worried about my Soy Delicious melting?

So, long story short, I didn't do a lot of cooking yesterday, but I still managed to do a lot of eating...as per usual.

Monday
Sorry to be so boring. I just can't get enough of the vanilla hemp-mango combination!

Tuesday
I opened up a fresh box of Clifford Crunch yesterday morning. I topped it off with some plain Silk, and I also sliced up an apple to dip in Sunbutter. This cereal reminds me Alpha Bits from my childhood, except moderately good for me.

As I mentioned above, I went to Brio for lunch. Along with the bread basket, they serve these awesome rosemary-flax crackers--yum! I also ordered the Zuppa di Gigiorno, minestrone. I was hoping for copious legumes but basically got vegetable soup + 2 chickpeas. Boo! More olives would have been nice. Yes, I know I am a fuss-budget. When I returned home, I made a quick wrap out of a whole wheat tortilla, guacamole, firm tofu. I also had a lovely plum. Then I was full.
Upon our return, I also noticed a box waiting for me. It was a box full of samples from Snacktrition. Yay! This company bakes their almonds with calcium to increase their modest existing calcium content. They also have some fiber-rich cashews and trail mix. I can't wait to try them!
Dinner at Jason's consisted of a ginormous salad and lots of their tasty little crackers. Do not be fooled by this picture--that plate is big. Here's what went into my scrumptious mountain: spinach, yellow bell peppers, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and...roasted red pepper hummus! I put some of the hummus on the crackers, which were slightly sweet--the combination was phenomenal! I stashed a few more crackers in my mom's purse before we left--yeah, I'm that classy.
I am trying to increase my kcalories a bit these days, so I made an extra large shake last night. Let me just say that the almond pistachio Soy Delicious was not affected in the least by the power outage. This must be what they eat in heaven.
Wednesday
Remember my chocolate PB? Well I found it lurking in the shadows of the cabinet this morning, so I made a breakfast panini with it. Sliced banana and said PB on whole wheat, plus a Chobani with cinnamon and the banana remnants.
A note on the lady bug cup: this one doesn't belong with the rest. All the other cups say "Baa" or "Woof," but a lady bug doesn't make a sound, so they put "Lady Bug." Couldn't they think of just one other animal that makes a sound?! OK sorry for the rant.
Random lunch today. I combined tahini with chickpeas, lemon juice, oregano, garlic, and roasted red pepper, then stuffed it in a pita. Pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. Broccoli slaw and mixed berries rounded it out. I swear organic berries taste better than conventional.
Dinner was pretty simple: Corn Edamame Salad from V-con, local tomatoes, and an apple with my new hazelnut butter.

Last day of class tomorrow! Wahoo! Happy Humpday!

Congrats to Aaron McCargo, Jr.!

If any of you are as addicted to The Next Food Network Star as I am, then you know to whom I am referring in my post's title. Last night was the finale of TNFNS, and the winner was Aaron McCargo, Jr. Sorry if I just ruined the surprise...oops. I am satisfied with the judges' choice; I would have been a little annoyed if Lisa had won. Sure, she's super stylish (I love all her vintage-inspired dresses!), and her food is impressive, but she doesn't have Aaron's cuddliness. A friendly demeanor outweighs fashion. Did anyone else watch last night?

I had lots of good eats this past weekend. I finally had the time to cook, without anatomy terms rattling in the back of my mind.

Here's what rolled out my kitchen most recently:

Friday
Simple smoothie this time. I love using berries, but those darn seeds detract from my enjoyment of the berry-themed smoothies. I have tried blending twice, as readers have suggested, but the Bullet seems to leave them in tact. If only I had a Vita-Mix... Saturday
Yay for homemade pancakes! As I mentioned in my last post, I had intended to make them earlier in the week, but I was missing too many ingredients. I tried a new recipe from VegWeb that uses applesauce rather than mashed banana. The verdict: the VegWeb pancakes are much cuter and fluffier than the pancakes from Sweet Eats, but banana beats all. I happen to like a dense pancake...plus the banana pancakes are the perfect vehicle for a dollop of PB:) I didn't feel like making much for lunch, so I just put a few blobs of hummus on Ak-Maks, made a quick spinach salad, and sliced a banana to dip in some Sunbutter.
Dinner was inspired by a recipe from The Imus Ranch Cookbook, the Vegetable Pasta Salad. In the end, I used almost entirely different ingredients, but I think that's what pasta salad are supposed to be--just a conglomeration of what you have on hand. Mine had white beans, whole wheat rotini, cucumber, sliced mozzarella, red bell pepper, carrots, olives, balsamic vinaigrette, and lots of dill. I also had a side of that superstar veggie, broccoli.
Another simple smoothie, and more pesky seeds to go along with it. I used pomegranate granola this time though.
Sunday
Quick brekkie before church yesterday: frozen banana-soymilk shake with PB Puffins. I also had a handful of roasted peanuts. (Notice a trend these days? banana PB banana PB banana PB....)
We made a long overdue Whole Foods run yesterday. Here are a few shots of the loot:
I am so excited to finally try Chobani yogurts. I see them all over the food blogs, but I have never tried them. They were about 60 cents cheaper than the other Greek yogurts. Another highlight of the trip was that I picked up some new flavors of Soy Delicious fruit-sweetened nondairy ice cream: Peppermint Carob and Almond Pistachio.

For lunch, I finally got a chance to recreate my Cafe Sunflower meal: Stuffed Acorn Squash. Once again, I didn't have all the ingredients, but I ended up with something just as tasty: white beans, dried cranberries, walnuts, and lots of spices. I also had some whole wheat toast and berries.
We all ordered Chinese takeout for dinner last night--I got my usual steamed veggies with tofu, and I added cashews and my own seasonings (liquid smoke and garlic powder). I also had some rice crackers, a plum, and the obligatory fortune cookie. Oh, and here's another flattering picture of Major. He was really enjoying his chocolate Cool Whip.
Fun shake last night! I used my new Peppermint Carob Soy Delicious with the usual components, plus mint extract. It tasted like a nutritious Thin Mint cookie! (Sorry for the bad pic!)
Monday
After an excellent workout this morning (swimming!), I made a big bowl of oats with whipped banana, almond butter, and lots of wheat germ. I noticed that I have been neglecting that little red jar of wheat germ for far too long. Plus, for my nutrition class, we have to track our eating for 3 days, and I have consistently been low on vitamin E--Kretschmer to the rescue!
Another fabulous lunch today: Goddess Garbanzos from ED&BV wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, side salad, and fresh cherries. I was in a food fugue...until I got cherry juice all over my pants.
To top off this day of tasty eats, I made one of my recent favorites: Cashew Ginger Tofu (do I even have to type it? It's from ED&BV, of course). Whole wheat couscous, steamed broccoli, and salad made this quite possibly the best meal ever.

Off to study a bit before Jon & Kate Plus Eight. Happy Monday!