Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Destination: Relaxation

Pardon the cliched title, but most precisely describes where I am headed. Fall Break begins for me tomorrow--we officially have no classes Monday and Tuesday, but since Fridays are always class-free for me, I get to start my vacation all the earlier. Yippee! As of tomorrow afternoon, I am on my way home for a long weekend of restful enjoyment. My plans include the obligatory Whole Foods run, plus maybe some lake time with the family, and nail polish shopping. What's on the schedule for you all this weekend?

These past few days have been rough; I had a noticeably more difficult second exam in stats today. At least it's over! I'm just sad that I had to miss the debates last night due to studying constraints. Boo! What did I miss? Was there anything particularly revelatory of either candidate?

Hmm, I am especially tangential tonight, aren't I? Let's get to the food before I bring up another random topic.

Monday
As is typical of my Monday evenings, my schedule was packed. Following my dining committee meeting, I hurried to the salad bar and was pleasantly surprised by lots of new goodies. Edamame, bulgur, and walnuts, oh my! Is it sad that I let out an audible "ooh!" when I saw the walnuts? Oops. I also had some perfectly ripe (non-woody) cantaloupe.
I was in a tropical mood on Monday night, so I decided a strawberry-pineapple smoothie was in order. In retrospect, I wonder why I didn't add some coconut.
Tuesday
My parfaits have been especially inspired by baked goods lately. Last week it was apple pie, this week I decided on a blueberry crumble theme. Blueberries, plain yogurt with cinnamon, bran flakes, chopped almonds, and wheat germ made for a perfectly crunchy breakfast rendition of the dessert favorite. I had major overflow on this one--too many ingredients, so little space!
Yesterday's lunch consisted of White Bean Cashew Dip from ED&BV, which gave me the excuse of using both the Bullet and my nutritional yeast flakes. Score! I served it alongside crackers, salad, and grapes.
Amidst my studying frenzy last night, I decided to direct some of my nervous energy toward chopping. I diced some yellow squash, red onion, spinach, and my last Boca burger to make a delicious hash. To complete the diner-esque meal, I had some toast, plus an apple with cashew butter. Yum.
I had to drop off those graham cracker brownies last night, so I decided to check my mail box at the same time, and look what I found:
I am so psyched to try this cookie:)

To treat myself after a tedious studying session, I made my favorite smoothie combo: vanilla hemp with mango, plus I added some peaches in there for good measure. I crumbled some Puffins on top for a change in garnish.
Wednesday
I kept it simple this morning as I crammed some last minute information into my head over breakfast. I opted for a bowl of Whole Foods brand Cheerios, rice milk, sliced banana, plus a little dish of TJ's AntiOXidant trail mix. Excellent brain food.
After a nice, relaxing run (in which I lapped a boy...twice!), I came home to prepare a batch of scrambled tofu with the usual components: tahini, turmeric, soy sauce, and ginger. On the side, I had a baked sweet potato, salad, and more of those ever-lasting grapes.
For dinner tonight, I attempted to re-create the White Bean and Walnut Bruschetta I made a few months ago. The ED&BV recipe calls for tomatoes and walnuts, however, neither of which I happened to have on hand. Improvisation came into play, and I substituted almonds for the walnuts and red onion for the tomato. These alteration produced a decidedly different flavor, although I enjoyed it, nonetheless. Along with it, I had some yellow squash, a salad with my new favorite dressing (mustard/vegan mayo/agave nectar/lemon juice/dill weed). A nice dish of applesauce finished it off. Whew! Lots of food, but I needed it.

I am off to finish packing, then perhaps read a little bit--for pleasure!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am loving the parfait! I do the same thing with mine and make it taste like a dessert...mmm now I want one.


Congrats on lapping the boy...twice! I wish I could run like that =)

Maggie M. said...

I hope you have a lovely fall break :) Your eats look great, as usual!

Sara said...

your tofu scramble looks delicious and very "eggy"!
Congrats on your fall break. Enjoy it! I still have a week to go ;(

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Sensational, comforting eats + an upcoming, MORE than well-deserved Fall break = Great times for Miss Chickpea!!! :0)

My plans for the weekend = dance practices galore, and writing a paper.

Anonymous said...

Ohh your food looks delsih like always and glad you will be getting to spend some time at home.

You should try the natural motts strawberry applesauce its great for a side during dinner. i am always amazed at the variety in your foods!

Anonymous said...

Aw, I wish we had fall break! I guess I can't complain since we did start later :o) I hope you have a great time at home!

Hehe, it's not sad that you let out an audible "ooh!" unless it's sad that I grab people when I see Spooky S'mores bars!!

Mm, love the blueberry crumble parfait! Healthy breakfasts inspired by desserts are so yummy!

Yay! I got my Kashi cookie in the mail, too! I can't wait either :o)

Congrats on lapping a boy - twice! I love the scrambled tofu and sweet potato you came home to!

Have fun this weekend!

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your fall break!

I have two questions. How do you cut your apples so thin- they look perfect?

Also, as a fellow college student I find I get so sick of cooking and instead just grab food- not good. How do you stay motivated to cut, clean, etc. Its so much faster to grab.

HangryPants said...

Oh yum! I love your hash you threw together and everything else pictured!

About the Rudi's Bagels. I found them at Whole Foods.

Anonymous said...

Sorry forgot two other question (I also forget to write my name in the post above).

What type of tortilla do you buy? Most seem to have hfcs.

Also, fun question- what is your running play list. I need new songs to listen to while studying!

ChickPea said...

Shelby: Dessert-like breakfasts are the best kind, aren't they?
Magpie: Thanks!
Sara: I've found that using silken tofu and just crumbling it makes for a more egg-like tofu scramble. Best of luck on your last week before break!
VeggieGirl: Hope you manage to have a fun weekend, despite your academic and dancing responsibilities!
SportsNutritionLiving: Thanks for recommendation...I think I have tried the peach kind but not the strawberry.
EatingBender: I know, that cookie is calling my name--I am so mad though, because I left it at school! Oh well, it will be a treat once I get back to Durham.
Mandy: I don't really have a specific apple slicing technique; it just so happens that I recently got new knives, so they're still super sharp, which helps a lot.
I stay motivated to cook and clean mainly due to boredom with on-campus options. As a junior, I have had a full two years of Duke's food, and the menus aren't changing much. While some of it is OK, I just tell myself that it's really not worth the kcalories; I can make so much healthier and interesting dishes at home!
As for tortillas, I buy a variety: Rudi's Multigrain, Ezekiel sprouted, La Tortilla Factory with EVOO. I love them all--they're so versatile!
As for playlists, I just let my iPod operate on shuffle for my runs. A few motivating songs for me include:
"Footloose"- Kenny Loggins
"No One"- Alicia Keys
"Breakout"- Miley Cyrus
"Forever"- Chris Brown
"I Want You to Want Me"- Letters to Cleo
"Fat Bottomed Girls"- Queen

Completely random, I know.

Anonymous said...

Your tofu scramble looks DELICIOUS. As does everything else.
I loved seeing your stats notes! That was one of my favorite classes.