Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Motor Mouth

Although I am generally a girl of relatively few (spoken) words, today I just could not keep my mouth shut. Of course, the approaching Halloween weekend and some exciting romantic (!) developments might have had something to do with it, but I was going a mile-a-minute when I talked to my mom on the phone today. I feel sorry for my poor roomie, who upon returning from a long day of exams and tests, was greeted by my motor mouth. Perhaps I should switch to decaffeinated tea?

Before I get started, I want to be sure that you are all aware of Arnold's Name That Sandwich Contest. Just think--you could be responsible for a sandwich revolution! Check out the rules here.

Rena from Arnold Bread was kind enough to notify me of this opportunity and send me some samples of their sandwich thins (which are not available in my area), plus a couple loaves of their new varieties of sliced bread. Hmm, sounds like good material for a future product review...Anyway, I am SO excited to try these items and get creative with my sandwich makin'.
Onto the eats!

Monday
Oh, how I have missed my Nutiva Hemp Shakes. Monday's superb concoction consisted of strawberries, mango, soymilk, and berry pomegranate hemp. Yum.
Tuesday
I fired up the MB for breakfast yesterday morning, despite the sub-40* weather. Nothing gets between me and my smoothies. This one had blackberries and soymilk, and I served it with a mini bagel topped with cashew butter and dried cranberries. Note the lovely Merlot color of the smoothie:)
For lunch, I was jonesin' for some breakfast pizza. My attempt was comprised of scrambled tofu with Boca crumbles mixed in, plus sliced mushrooms and oregano, all on an Italian flatbread. It was tasty, but it would have been even better with soy sausage and onions. On the side is a salad and grapes.
I just can't get enough of that butternut goodness, so I decided to use a recipe I've had bookmarked for a while from Imagine foods (although technically I used Pacific brand's soup). I combined zucchini, onions, and mushrooms with butternut squash and poured the mixture over whole wheat wagon wheel pasta. Along with it, I had a salad with olives, plain yogurt with agave and cinnamon, plus an orange to fend off this cold. Lots of food, lots of satisfaction.
The shake last night again featured the berry pomegranate hemp protein. I blended it with soymilk, peaches, strawberries, and coconut. PS I finally got a big enough cup so that I don't have to deal with overflow anymore--sweet.
Wednesday
It was another Banana Blender Cereal kind of day today. This time I actually used the walnuts that the recipe calls for, rather than substituting almonds or pecans as I have the past few weeks. It turned out delicious and creamy, as always. Next time I might consider adding coconut!
Today's lunch was inspired by a recipe from Rudi's bakery. The original recipe called for turkey, cream cheese, and walnuts, but I ended up using Tofurky, vegan mayo, and almonds (respectively). Yep, those are luscious sliced peaches in that tasty spinach wrap. On the side I had some brussels sprouts and a salad with dried cherries on top.
I was feeling festive this evening (and had an intense desire to procrastinate), so I decided on a Thanksgiving-ish meal. I had some beans 'n greens ( peas with spinach, garlic, and black eyedhot sauce), stuffing, and green beans with chopped pecans. While I ate dinner, I had a pot of cranberry sauce simmering on the stove, so I am just finishing up a dish of that as I type. I simply combined a 12 oz package of cranberries, 1 1/3 cups water, cinnamon, vanilla, and 1/4 cup agave nectar for a tart and delicious treat. This will be so good with pumpkin flax granola!
Before I conclude this rather lengthy post, I will leave you with a picture of my current Clif stash. I recently received a package from my mother with clothes, coats, and --what else--mini Clifs! As you can see, I am fully stocked! I've got a few of the full-size seasonal flavors, plus some Z bars too. I figured you all would be the only ones who would appreciate this:)
Happy Wednesday!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

How do you measure out your pasta? Do you use a food scale, or just eyeball it?
And what's banana blender cereal?
Thanks :)

Trying To Heal said...

love the clif bar stash!

i had a protein shake the other day and had some kashi go lean crunch on top, and thought of you. :)

and jealous of the sandwich thins...wish i had them out here!

Anonymous said...

Exciting romantic developments?!?! YAY!! Hope to hear more about that one in the future :o)

Yay for Arnold! I love all of those products - such a great bread company!

Mm, breakfast pizza! That looks really amazing. Can you believe I've never tried Boca crumbles? Or any crumbles for that matter.

I love wagon wheel pasta!! It reminds me of being a kid and getting all those fun macaroni shapes!

ChickPea said...

Anonymous: For this dish, I just measured out about a half-cup of dry pasta. That usually yields about one cup of cooked pasta.
Banana Blender Cereal is a creation from Chocolate Covered Vegan's site. Her URL is http://howtogainweightonavegandiet.blogspot.com.
Hope that helps!
Just Me: Haha, thanks for thinking of me! That Kashi GoLean Crunch sounds pretty good right about now...
Eating Bender: Yep, there might be something to talk about in the future, but I don't want to jinx it just yet by talking about it on the blog. Perhaps I'll fill you in via facebook:)
Arnold is pretty awesome--I've always loved their flax bread.
Wagon wheel pasta is cool, but I kinda miss the cartoon character shapes. Oh wait, I have some Arthur shaped macaroni and cheese in my cupboard...

Anonymous said...

I wish we had those Arnold products where I live! Boo freakin' hoo!
Please dish on the romance ASAP!

Dame Noire said...

Oooh.. romantic interests, keep us informed! I have never posted before, but had too this time because I wanted you to know that I really like reading your blog and also that I love love love your leaf-shaped plate!

Anonymous said...

Clif bars!! Yay =)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Ooooh, sounds like some exciting things are going on for you!! Fabulous!! And don't worry, you KNOW how long-winded/motor-mouthed I am, so it's all good :0)

Loooove the shakes and meals. All of them. As always. Stop tempting me with your delectable creations, will ya?? Haha ;0)

ChickPea said...

Erin: Yeah, it kinda sucks that the sandwich thins aren't available everywhere...Arnold, share the love, please!
The romance details will be soon to follow...don't wanna jinx it yet!
Myrte: Thanks for commenting!! I am so glad to have you as a reader. The leaf plate is from Wal-Mart of all places, for the fabulous price of $3.
Shelby: Love 'em!
VeggieGirl: Yeah, it's nice to have a good kind of excitement for a change...I'll try to keep the temptation meals to a minimum;)

Agnesss =) said...

Hey Caroline!! =))

Well,well.....your meals always LOOK delicious....and INSPIRING!!! =D

I had some CASHEW BUTTER SANDWICHES today as well =DD
Do you like this nut butter?? :))
I LOVE it!!!! =DD

If you have some time pls take a look at my new post =)))

Enjoy the day!!! =DD

ChickPea said...

Agnes: Thanks for stopping by! Cashew butter IS one of my favorite nut butters...but then again, I don't think I've ever met a nut butter I didn't like!
I will for sure check out your new post--I am subscribed on Google Reader:)

jess said...

Yo chickpea! I am Way jealous of your sandwich thin samples- they aren't available Anywhere near me Either- come on arnold, expand your horizons! Haha.

I love the idea of blending grain- I read about it a while ago on CCV but had completely forgotten, thanks for the reminder.

Your strive to stay healthy is really motivational. I just wanted to be sure that it was alright to add you to my blogroll (but don't feel the need to reciprocate, mine's still super new and an experiment, but I wanted to put some ladies up there for inspiration!).

Have a fantastic november!!

-jess

ChickPea said...

Jess: Thanks so much for commenting!
The blender cereal is seriously a must-try. A commenter recommended it to me a while back, and I have been hooked ever since.
That's so cool that you've decided to start your own blog, and it's completely fine to add me to your blogroll. I'll be checking out your site ASAP.