Wednesday, July 9, 2008

In the Eye of the Storm

I write to you amidst a severe thunderstorm--there's quite a light show going on outside! Aside from the crazy (and a little frightening!) weather, I have been quite busy this evening--finishing anatomy lab homework, printing out worksheets, folding laundry...Wednesday nights always seem a little hectic. Oy.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the past few days.

Monday
I got a major carby-salty-sweet craving on Monday night. I decided to mix up some Peanut Butter Puffins with a few salted pretzel twists. It was almost like those tasty little PB-filled pretzel nuggets.
Tuesday
I thawed a couple of those bran muffins from last week for breakfast yesterday, but I discovered something that makes them even tastier--almond butter! I also had some more of that never-ending watermelon.
For lunch, I headed to California Pizza Kitchen with a few friends. I ordered the Grilled Veggie Salad (asparagus, avocado, Japanese eggplant) and a cup of vegetarian split pea soup. Super yummy, but when I came home I had a kiwi to balance it all out and fill me up for the remainder of the afternoon. Sometimes my stomach is a bottomless pit.

Dinner was inspired by a recipe in Food to Live By (Does that title bother anyone else? Who ends a title of a cookbook with a preposition?!). I made a Fusion Coleslaw using broccoli slaw, rice wine vinegar, honey roasted peanuts, raisins, and a few sesame seeds. Along with it, I had some sliced tomato, whole grain couscous, a grilled Quorn cutlet, and a peach. Wow, this quite a voluminous meal now that I look at it.
For my smoothie last night, I discovered a great combination--orange Spirutein, orange juice, soymilk, and plenty of granola topping. It tasted like an orange Creamsicle! By the way, that was my last Spirutein packet...expect different smoothie combinations in the near future!
Wednesday
Since I don't have class until 3 on Wednesdays, I had some time to make stovetop oats this morning. Techinically, I used that Quaker Mutligrain Hot Cereal, but it is very similar to oats. Anyway, I combined it with hemp milk, whipped banana, and some flax--holy omega-3s! This was my first time trying hemp milk, and I am not sure whether I like it or not yet. I'll have to experiment with it...got any suggestions?
Lunch consisted of healthy nachos, a side spinach salad, and a huge apple. The "nachos" were made from homemade baked corn tortillas, red beans, guacamole, and salsa. For the guacamole, I just combined mashed avocado with a new supermarket find--Goya Recaito. I love this stuff; just salty enough with a little cilantro kick.
For dinner I made a dish from Food to Live By (again). This time, I made whole wheat rotini with Edamame Pesto. I didn't follow the recipe exactly (shocker!), but I think it turned out pretty tasty, aside from the lingering garlic taste in my mouth. The consistency wasn't very pesto-like; on the contrary, it was quite creamy even though there was no milk, tofu, or dairy-ish ingredients. I also had some broccoli slaw, and a little mug of chocolate almond milk.
One more day until my weekend! (I don't have classes on Fridays). Now I need to go pack my lunch for tomorrow. Enjoy your evening!

14 comments:

Simple and Divine said...

Ahh, I went to CPK and ordered that exact salad with that exact soup and A.D.O.R.E.D. it! I ordered it sans dressing and found it so divine. HUGE THOUGH! Even the half was humongo with the soup! So delish tho :)

newcitygirl said...

Ha! That is too funny about the preposition! I bet they just thought "Food by Which to Live" just sounded silly, haha

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Those muffins look great with the almond-butter!! Yum!!

Did you get the Living Harvest brand of hempmilk?? That is THE only brand that I would ever recommend; and I also recommend starting with the vanilla flavor, rather than "original."

Little Miss Sunshine said...

why can't we get pb cereal here :0(

Your dinner, w/w pasta with edamame pesto looks really good - I love pesto, but I'm on the look out for one that has lil/no oil in them :0)

Hope you have a great day!

Erin said...

Bran muffins, yummy. Almond butter makes everything better! I had mini bran muffins for breakfast just now, except for the last one that my cat stole when I got up!

Hooray for your great smoothies! I'm interested to see some new combinations.

I tried the Living Harvest hempmilk once, it seems like the type of thing I would only eat with cereal or cooked in something, definitely not by itself. I want to try it again sometime for another review.

Anonymous said...

Def keep us updated on your new smoothie choices... I like the spirutein ones but I do buy them in packets and it is always hard to find different types of protein powders so I appreciate you sharing your experiences with new ones! And thanks for commenting back on what I asked in the previous post it def made me feel a lot better!
Christie

Anonymous said...

I LOVE California Pizza Kitchen! So jealous that you got to go there :o)

That edamame pesto dish looks yummy, and I can't wait to see the other smoothie combinations!

Katy said...

That soup and salad are my favorite thinks to get at CPK. Yum yum yum! Now I might need to go there again!

Unknown said...

I haven't been to the CPK in so long...it sounds like I need to go back! Your healthy spin on nachos is so creative and something I'll definitely be trying! Do you have a recipe for the bran muffins?...they look delicious! :0)

ChickPea said...

Simple and Divine: I know! Both the salad and the soup are so hearty--perfect for my big appetite:)
newcitygirl: Yep, you're right, I suppose their title sounds better than the grammatically correct version...
VeggieGirl: I must have gotten a less-than-perfect brand. The brand on my carton says Manitoba Harvest "Hemp Bliss" in the original flavor. I'll keep an eye out for the Living Harvest brand on my next trip to WF.
Cecilia: If you can't buy PB Puffins, you could always dip another cereal in PB! For an alternative to oil in pesto, you could try using vegetable broth.
Erin: I hope you (and your cat!) enjoyed your bran muffins. I'll give the hemp milk another try, but perhaps in some other form...
Christie: Stay tuned for the new protein powders! Keep the questions/comments coming!
Jenn: CPK is great--I would send you leftovers, if I could...oh wait, I ate it all anyway:)
Katy: Those two dishes seem to be popular around here!
Allison: Glad you liked the nachos idea--they're one of my favorite foods! I will post the bran muffins recipe ASAP, or I could send it to you via email.

Anonymous said...

i dont even know where to start - all of your meals look absolutely amazing, but no surprise there!

i love the pb cereal + pretzel combo best tho!

Anonymous said...

That pasta meal looks so good!

Besides water do you have any favorite no calorie or low calorie summer drinks. It's so hot, that I don't want hot tea.

Also, I have found throughout the day I eat too many candies and gum. Any tips- during the school year when I have classes with papers I end up sucking on so many from nerves and boredom. Thanks.

ChickPea said...

Love of Oats: Thanks for the compliment! The PB/Pretzel combo is pretty awesome--I love sweet and salty foods.
Anonymous: I drink hot tea no matter what the temperature is, but some cool drinks that I like are Crystal Light Blueberry Tea and Honest Tea (any kind!). Diluted fruit juice is pretty good too (try First Juice--it's meant for kids, but I really like it!).
For study food, I allow myself some snacks while I work. I'll take a little Ziploc full of GoLean cereal or some popcorn. I nibble on that for a few hours just to keep my mouth busy.

Unknown said...

I would LOVE that recipe! You can email it to me (allison025@lycos.com), or post it~whatever works best for you! Thanks so much!! :0)