Monday, August 4, 2008

The Home Stretch

I am so close to being done with summer classes! I can't wait to have a few weeks to chill before I head back to Duke...for more classes. I am posting now because I have my anatomy final later today at 4PM and then my nutrition final tomorrow at 8AM--not much recovery time! So rather than blogging this evening when I should be studying, I thought a midday post would be best.

Friday
Excellent smoothie night!
Almonds/Pistachios+cherries=party in a blender. It's amazing the wonders that ice cream can do... Saturday
Nothing like a weekend breakfast of
scrambled tofu. What did I do before I discovered this stuff? Anyway, this one had tahini, ginger, garlic, turmeric, soy sauce, and green onions. Whole wheat toast points and amazing cherries rounded it all out. Saturday was my big study day, but I took a short break for a simple lunch. I opted for an old standby: hummus, lettuce, and red onion stuffed into an oat bran pita with a side salad, cashews, and a big orange.
I didn't give much thought to dinner until my stomach started growling, so I made an easy dip that I have made before, spinach artichoke dip (from the Chicago Diner Cookbook). In case you can't tell, I went a bit heavy on the spinach...maybe more of the Nayonaise next time? I spread it on Ak-Maks and cucumbers, plus I had a side salad and a banana with hazelnut butter for dessert. The banana-hazelnut combo is far superior to that of apple-hazelnut.
My shake of the evening deserves a spot in my top five frozen concoctions. Almonds and cocoa make for an incredible taste sensation! Maybe next time I'll try carob powder instead of the Special Dark Cocoa...
Sunday
Another simple
pre-church meal: Van's whole wheat waffles with almond butter and blueberries.
After some light studying, I got really hungry. I made another batch Absent Egg Salad (tofu, vegan mayo, paprika, celery, lemon juice, and a bit of dijon mustard). I wrapped it up in a whole wheat tortilla and served it with a salad (with added honey roasted peanuts for crunch) and some more of those fabulous cherries. I perused the new J.Crew catalog while I munched.
For dinner, my whole family (sisters and spouses, mom and dad, plus me) all headed over to some friends' house for a little shindig. I snacked on some tortilla chips before dinner, but I refrained from any alcohol. The dinner menu consisted of burgers, potato salad, fruit salad, pasta salad, baked beans, Caprese salad, and peanut butter pie. The hosts were kind enough to give me the heads up, so I brought my own Gardenburger to heat up in the M-wave. Of course I ate my mom's famous baked beans (vegetarian recipe!), lots of fruit salad, and some of the Caprese salad too. I felt a little awkward bringing out the camera, so no pics. Sorry!

The shake was bad last night. I guess I was overdue for a failure since my last two were so exceptional. Boo.

Monday
I am getting so repetitive in my breakfasts, guys. I apologize...but they're still tasty:) Another muffin parfait/trifle today. This time I used some carob muffin tops I found in the freezer (I think I made them in March??) The addition of plain yogurt, blueberries, and sliced almonds made for a divine breakfast treat.
That's it for now. Next time I post it will be from my new computer!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

After seeing those crackers on your wesbite I bought them at TJ's and they are so good... I am not much of a cracker fan but latley when I crave a salad and I want grains on the side crackers seem perfect and those are the best!

Ruby Red said...

You can make it through the home stretch -- you're almost there!

My favorite part of this post is your carob muffin top parfait! It looks magnificent. I really need one of those parfait glasses. I'm sorry to hear about your last shake failure, but what I thought of almost immediately after was, "Wow, one of those carob muffin tops would probably taste great crumbled into the parfait glass with some of that carob peppermint ice cream..." Hehe.

Anonymous said...

I never get sick of seeing your breakfasts - so don't even worry about repeats! The parfaits in particular are my absolute favorite :o)

That spinach and artichoke dip looks really good! It's one of my new favorites, since I only recently started liking artichokes!

Best of luck as you finish up your classes! I'm looking forward to ending my internship in a few weeks to get a much needed break before school starts, too!

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your tests!

Do you think your mom would be willing to share her bean recipe with us?

Also, what brand tortilla/wrap is that? I need some good ones. Thanks!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Hang in there for the rest of summer classes - you're almost done!! :0)

AHHH, YOUR SHAKES!!!!! Caroline, I can always count on your posts to make me crave one of your concoctions :0)

Anonymous said...

your trifles are literally to die for!!!

love the scrambled tofu idea too - great sub for eggs!

Anonymous said...

I actually tried that Vanilla Hemp Shake but it turned out really grainy...how much do you use? And how much liquid do you mix it with?

Trying To Heal said...

omg that scrambled tofu looks so good...and so does the eggless egg sandwich you had...i could eat it off your blog!

and you're almost done! hold strong! g'luck!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I TOTALLY forgot to give a shout-out to the hazelnut-butter/banana combination, and to the carob muffin top breakfast parfait - YUM!!! :0)

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness - such great looking chow! I am an Ak-Mak girl too - love them with my salad - love them with anything. Are those waffles forzen waffles? They look so good and I am jonesing for waffles.

ChickPea said...

SportsNutritionLiving: Yay! I am assuming that you're talking about Ak-Maks...cuz they're so good and versatile.
Ruby: That's an excellent idea! I might have to break away from my shakes one of these days to try a carob sundae!
Jenn: I'm glad to hear that my breakfasts aren't too boring yet. Oh, and artichokes are awesome.
Lauren: I'll post the recipe in an upcoming post. They're actually from my great aunt's cookbook!
VeggieGirl: Ha! I thought you would enjoy the carob and hazelnut...hmm maybe I should try them together?
LoveofOats: Thanks! Parfaits and scrambles are both dishes that are so easy to make and easy to change up--so many possible combinations!
Shelby: Yeah, the hemp can be grainy, but 1) I use a lot of liquid (2 cups), plus ice, and 2) I drink the shake rather slowly, so most of the grainy stuff sinks to the bottom.
Just Me: Thanks! I don't know what I did before I discovered tofu scrambles!
Nikki: Yes, Ak-Maks are quite the cracker. The waffles are from frozen, by a product called Van's. They make tons of varieties--I recommend them!