Friday, October 10, 2008

The Comforts of Home

I arrived safely in Birmingham Thursday evening, and I have been soaking up the comforts of home ever since. Yes, it's nice to sleep in my own bed, spend time with my family, and catch up on sleep. However, I never thought I would be so happy to see a dishwasher in my life. Seriously. Suddenly having access to a dishwasher has made me realize just how much time I spend washing my dishes by hand while I am at school. I will for sure enjoy this simple luxury for the weekend:)

As a result of my traveling and off schedule, my meals are a little atypical for this round, but I think they're still moderately healthful. Enjoy!

Wednesday
Thanks my recent discovery that peaches may act as an acceptable mango stand-in for my vanilla hemp smoothies, I have been using the ingredient more often. After all, sliced peaches are a heck of a lot cheaper than frozen mango chunks. Anyway, this concoction included soymilk, sliced peaches, vanilla hemp, and pumpkin flax granola.
Thursday
Before heading off to a meeting, I fueled up for a busy day with yet another smoothie. This Bullet creation included pumpkin, frozen banana, rice milk, and cinnamon. Hello, liquid nirvana. I savored this beverage for several minutes, in contrast to my usual frenzied pace for the consumption of breakfast. On the side, I had another one of my never-ending whole wheat mini-bagels with freshly ground almond butter.
I had to leave for the airport at 12:30, so I packed a quick lunch to eat while during my layover. Remember that sweet mustard dill dressing I have been obsessed with lately? Well I had the genius idea to use it in my tofu salad. I packed a container of that deliciousness with an Ezekiel pita, sliced squash, grapes, and cashew-cranberry trail mix. Pardon the lame pictures--I haven't quite mastered the art of discreet food photography.
Upon returning to Birmingham, my sister picked me up and took me out to dinner with her husband. We decided that we were all in a Chipotle kind of mood (aka I was craving fresh guac!). I ordered the vegetarian taco salad with black beans, peppers and onions, fresh salsa, and a big ol' blob of guacamole. I never thought I would be so enamored of green goop. I also snagged a few of Ryan's tortilla chips. They were still warm!
After much digging around in the kitchen, I finally found one last hemp protein packet for my evening shake. Phew! This one was of the Nutiva chocolate variety, so I combined it with soymilk, cocoa powder, frozen strawberries, and a touch of chocolate syrup. Incredibly delicious.
Friday
I woke up this morning still full from an evening of good eats, so my mom and I headed to Publix so that I could load up on "my food." I'm pretty pumped about my selections (pears! tofu! pecans!). Anyway, I came home to make a big bowl of apple pie oats. I heated up oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce, water, and apple pie spice and let it thicken for several minutes. Once cooked, I added cinnamon and a big blob of almond butter. I also had a plain yogurt with apple pie spice mixed in.
I spent the day running errands; my hair is now freshly trimmed and I have loaded up on Target essentials (mini Clifs on sale!!). Lunch was extremely late but delicious nonetheless. I made a wrap out of sun dried tomato hummus, organic greens, and baby bella mushrooms. On the side, I had a salad and a banana with cashew butter.
I had a quick snack before heading out to the lake house: cottage cheese with walnuts and dried cherries. It made for an unusually tasty combination.
I just now arrived at the lake...only to realize that I forgot my camera. Fortunately, my sister is headed down later tonight after her shift at the hospital, so she agreed to bring my camera for me. Yes, I am officially an obsessive food blogger. Anyway, in the meantime, I prepared a simple sloppy Joe supper out of Heinz sloppy Joe sauce (which is surprisingly HFCS-free) and Boca crumbles. I also had a salad and some berries with lots of ground flax. This is a camera phone pic, in case you can't tell...
I will leave you with a few pictures from the weekend thus far. Happy Saturday!

10 comments:

Anon said...

cute pictures!!! you have flawless skin by the way :)

Maggie M. said...

Yay for Chipotle's veggie salad! And that doggie is so cute~!

Anonymous said...

love the apple pie oats - so yum!

cute foodbuzz apron pic - i have one i have to post too - you just reminded me :)

Anonymous said...

Glad you enjoying your time.. there is nothng like being home around family!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oh I know - once you return home after being away at college without "luxuries," it feels EXTRA wonderful to be back :0)

HOLY GUACAMOLE!!! Love that glob, haha :0)

I have that apron too!! Hooray for Foodbuzz goodies!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Chickpea!! =))
It's my first comment on your blog!! I LOVE the how you write your blog, it's REALLY SO amazing interesting!! It gives lots of inspiration!!
Ohh yes,time at home could be so lovely and relaxing!! Enjoy every second =))

I like your smoothies , they're creative :D And BIG YAY for the BIG GUACAMOLE GLOB

Have lots of fun during the weekend!!

I've just started my OWN blog... I'd be SO happy to see a comment from you... can I count on it..?? :)
Here's the link:

www.agnesworldofveganpleasures.blogspot.com


Hugs!!

Emma said...

Mmm the salad looks delicious and warm tortilla chips sound good!

Anonymous said...

Haha, yes - dishwashers are AMAZING appliances!!

Mmm Chipotle!! I haven't had that fresh guac in a while - must get some!

That picture of you in the Foodbuzz apron is so cute! I still haven't gotten mine yet! One of these days...although I hope someone didn't take it from my building :o(

It looks like you're having such a relaxing weekend! I can't wait for my next family visit now!

Green Eyes, Green Heart said...

I tried Sunbutter for the first time today (Target has it for only $3!!), and let me just say....WOW. That stuff is AMAZING! Thank you SO much for introducing me to it!
SB sandwiches, cookies...the possibilities are endless! Thank you! :D

ChickPea said...

Andrea: Thanks so much!
Magpie: Dixie is cute, but she is such a chunker! My sister (her owner) is putting her on a diet.
LoveofOats: Can't wait to see your pic!
SportsNutritionLiving: You're right--it's such a great way to "recharge" for another few weeks of school.
VeggieGirl: I know, that glob is huge...and the sad part is that I ate all of it!
Agness: Your blog is great--I always love checking out what vegans in other countries eat!
Emma: So true--it doesn't get much better than that!
EatingBender: Chipotle just recently arrived in Birmingham, but my sister was super-psyched about it. She developed quite a Chipotle habit up in Evanston!
Bummer about not getting your Foodbuzz goodies yet! I hope they turn up soon.
Green Eyes: Yep, I first discovered Sunbutter at Target. You're right--it's much cheaper than some other nut butters (*cough* almond butter). I'm so glad you like it!