Friday, January 30, 2009

Five o'clock Countdown

Many people spend their days anxiously awaiting the stroke of five; some can't wait to bolt out of the office, while others are waiting for happy hour to arrive. Not me. I get excited for 5:00 because that's when the UPS man makes his rounds on central campus. Sweet.

The past few days have included several deliveries, both expected and unexpected. First up, a package from Mom:
Magazines (including my first Clean Eating issue as a subscriber!), kitchen gadgets, and cookbooks I couldn't squish into my suitcase last month.
A Foodbuzz package:
True Delight bars--can't wait to sample and review these! Chocolate? Coconut? Yes, please.

A mystery package from none other than VeggieGirl (I apologize for the crap-tastic picture):
HOLY PEANUT BUTTER! I was so excited to open up this package! As I mentioned a few posts back, I have had the hardest time locating Peanut Butter & Co. products here in Durham. VeggieGirl came to the rescue with several jars of PB, plus a container of PB pretzels. I have never tried the Smooth Operator or White Chocolate Wonderful, so I am completely stoked to try those out...decadent oatmeal toppings, anyone? I guess this also resolves my nut butter dearth too:)

I also received a package with several varieties of Spirutein that I had ordered last week...no picture, but you'll see them soon enough!

Aside from opening all my foodie parcels, I've been cookin' and chompin' too. Here are the goods:

Wednesday
I just had a small window between class and my tutoring sessions, so I made a quick sammie using Lindsay's Spicy Chickpea Spread. I also had an apple and salad with Goddess dressing.
In celebration of being reunited with my beloved ED&BV cookbook, I made my fave dish evah: Cashew Ginger Tofu. On the side, I had couscous, steamed asparagus and mushrooms, and a dish of sliced peaches.
The smoothie was pretty old-school: strawberry banana with Nutribody and soymilk.
Thursday
My usual 8:30 class was cancelled yesterday, so I seized the opportunity to get more than 6 hours of sleep (yay!) and make a leisurely breakfast. I like the asparagus/'shroom combo so much that I included it in my scrambled tofu. I also had a Rudi's English muffin and a blood orange.
For lunch yesterday, I used up some leftover black beans in a good ol' burrito with spinach, salsa, and mashed avocado. I also had a salad and a mixture of pineapple and mango.
Last night was pasta night for me. I combined whole wheat angel hair with chickpeas, fresh tomatoes, garlic, shredded mozzarella, basil, and oregano. On the side, I had a salad with Woodstock dressing.
The shake choice was obvious: I used my pistachio-esque Nutty Berry Burst Spirutein and combined it with strawberries, banana, and soymilk. So fluffy and delicious.
Friday
I often draw inspiration for my shake concoctions from Girl Scout Cookie flavors (Thin Mint, Tagalong, Samoas, etc.), and today I thought, "Why not make Samoas oatmeal?" So I did: oats, cocoa powder, coconut, rice milk, and almonds made for quite the decadent morning meal. I wish I had some coconut extract to make the oats more coconut-y throughout, rather than just on top. Oh yeah, I had some strawberries on the side for a bit of fruit.
I made my weekly trek to Whole Foods today:
I returned for a quick lunch before more tutoring sessions. Black beans, corn, chili powder, Texas Pete, salsa, and mashed avocado went atop a bed of greens for a Tex-Mex salad. I also had a big honkin' apple.
As I type this post, I am enjoying some of my new PB: plain yogurt with cinnamon and stevia, raisins, and Mighty Maple PB. Perfection. Thanks SO much, VeggieGirl!

Before I peace out for the ChiO crush party tonight, I wanted to ask your opinion on savory oats. I've always been intrigued by them in fellow bloggers' posts, I've been too much of a wimp to actually try them myself. Have you tried them? What's your favorite way to prepare them?

Be back soon--Happy Friday!

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

i have the same veggie peeler!! still in the package too, since I have a crappier one that I am using too.

ahh cashew ginger tofu. looks soooooooooo good.

And your BLACK oatmeal looks so exotic!! Kinda fun though!!


HURRAH for Veggie Girl ccare packages!! She never fails to come to the rescue!

have a great weekend lady!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

CLEAN EATING MAGAZINE!!! I just bought the new issue today at Whole Foods (it's a newer issue than the one that you received in the mail, so now you have another one to look forward to!! Hooray!!)

Enjoy the PB&Co. goodness tremendously, my dear friend!! :-)

Samoas oats?? Genius!! Love it.

Have a faaaaabulous weekend!!

Anonymous said...

Niiiiiice packages!! Especially when it involved PB :D

Samoas oats?! That is all kinds of perfection - one of the best GS cookies out there in my opinion!

Hope you like Miss Mighty Maple :) She gets around though - just a warning!

Savory oats = haven't tried them but Allison's (greendogwine) always look SO good!

Anonymous said...

I'm SO JEALOUS of your amazing PB package =)

Enjoy your night!

Erica said...

I love getting packages! Its so much fun!! Veggie girl rocks! Let us know which PB you like best! Have a great weekend

Simple and Divine said...

Gorrgeous eats for a Gorgeous girl! =]

Ive never tried savory oatmeal, but Kath n Jenna both have!!

Have fun 2nite lovie! <333

Anonymous said...

Ohhh I am so dieing to try savory oats! I am not brave enough yet. I bet they are good though since oats are such a neutral base.

Your chocolate oats look DECADENT! And everytime I read about your smoothies I crave one =)

Anonymous said...

Hey! Lurker here!

Would you mind dearly writing out EXACTLY what you did to those oats so that I can duplicate the recipe, because it looks beyond fabulous? Measurements for the oats, ricemilk, etc, plus how you cook 'em? I MUST try this!

As for savory oats, I know chocolate-covered vegan likes savory oats. Just type in "oatmeal" in her blog's search bar and lots of stuff should come up, because she seems to eat them a lot (all blogger blogs have search bars at the top left, I think). After reading about it on her blog, I tried putting vegan butter in my oatmeal, and it tasted so good... almost reminded me of mac and cheese. Is that weird?

Anonymous said...

The sight of all those PB & CO jars makes me feel weak at the knees :) I haven't been able to get my hands on Mighty Maple yet, but both Dark Chocolate Dreams and White Chocolate Wonderful are definite cupboard staples of mine!

I've been meaning to make Dreena's Super Charge Me cookies for a while - and seeing your ED&BV has reminded me. Yummm.

I LOVE the idea of Girl Scout Cookie-inspired smoothies and oatmeal. Awesome!

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh, I am so jealous. I can't find that brand of PB either. but I also live in Canada. and holy crap that's a lot of food. Everything looks sooo good. I got some good ideas from this post.

Anonymous said...

Big Honkin' Apple! haha
I've never tried "savory" oats... hmm, I'll be interested to hear about some good combos!
I've looked at ED&BV cookbook, but didn't buy it. In your opinion, what's your fave cookbook?
I haven't seen that Spiru-tein flavor powder, either..
Have a great weekend!
It's 5-o'clock somewhere!

Anonymous said...

jealous of the peanut butter much ! why yes yes I am =)

Erin said...

hey! i just came across your blog and loveee it!!

personally love that pb & fudge parfait you made! it looks SO GOOD.

just a few questionnss =)
what made you decide to become a vegetarian & is it hard for you to get all those proteins in!?

do you ever miss chicken or meat?!

i've been thinking about going vegetarian. i honestly hate red meat, chicken hasn't appealed to me i just eat it out of necessity, i would much rather eat tofu, beans or a vegan burger.. but i cannot seem to give up my beloved salmon...

hmm any tips?!

=)

have a good weeeekend

Anonymous said...

Wow, NICE PKG! VG got the hookup!

Anonymous said...

Hi! I hate doing dishes and was thinking of buying a magic blender which i beleive you use. is the only part you have to clean the cup? or do you also have to clean the bottom part?

Anonymous said...

I HATE doing dishes and was thinking of buying a magic bullet blender. is the only part you have to clean the cup? or do you also have to clean the bottom black part with the blades?

Anonymous said...

sorry i didn't realize the blog was moderated and sent the same thing twice when i didn't see it appear. and i am a different lauren...i just read thru your posts and noticed another lauren posted.

Anonymous said...

I have no clue what a Samoa cookie is, but that oatmeal looks awesome. Obviously, since it has coconut & chocolate!

And love all the packages! I wish I had more special deliveries at my house...of course, that would probably mean I was shopping online too much ;)

Anonymous said...

I've never tried savory oats, but I'd be excited to see how you make them!

Nicole said...

That is what I call a FABULOUS PACKAGE! Wow! Awesome eats too, like always!

Anonymous said...

Love the surprises from your mom and VeggieGirl!! White Chocolate Wonderful is the best!!!!!

ChickPea said...

GlidingCalm: I am the same way--I'll get new gadgets but continue using the old crappy ones until they won't work (e.g., my can opener that my parents got for their wedding 30 years ago!)
Haha, you're right, those oats do look black--they still tasted good though!
VeggieGirl:Ooh! I cannot wait for my next issue to come! Thanks for the heads up!
I cannot thank you enough for your PB generosity!
K: I have to say I think it's a toss up between Samoas and Tagalongs for best GS cookie. I might have to do a little research on this savory oats business--thanks for the tip.
Shelby: I hope you had a great weekend!
Erica: It might be tough to choose just one!
Simpleand Divine: I'll look at their blogs for inspiration. Hope you had a great weekend!
Courtney: You should def try a smoothie for yourself--tell me all about it if you do:)
Lauren#1: Hey! Thanks for de-lurking! I love comments. I'd be happy to send you the recipe for my oats--would you mind emailing me about it? (carnie87@aol.com)
Oh and thanks so much for the savory oats info!
Lauren#2: Seems like everyone has their favorite variety...I haven't quite decided yet.
ED&BV is amazing, no?
Madaboutudon: Thanks! I'm glad you found my post useful...come back soon!
OrangePop: My fave cookbook is def ED&BV. I highly recommend it if you really like tofu, and it has amazing dips/spreads as well.
Anonymous: I would share if I could!
Erin: Glad to have you as a reader! I would love to discuss vegetarianism with you...would you mind emailing me about it at carnie87@aol.com? My comments might get kinda long if I posted it here!
Erin: I know--I am still in disbelief!
Lauren #3: I do occasionally use the MB. You have to clean both the cup and the detachable blade, but it's really simple--I love it!
Marianne: You guessed it--a Samoas cookie is a delicious coconut based cookie drizzled with chocolate. Nummy.
Maggie: I'll be sure to post it when I try it!
Nicole: Thanks!
StrongandHealthy: Hmmm White Chocolate Wonderful seems to be the favorite around here!

Anonymous said...

wow what great packages---veggiegirl is seriously the sweetest!

i LOVE girl scout cookies and samoas are my favorite! so delicious.

i hope you had fun at your crush party!

Anonymous said...

What do you use to sweeten the samoa oatmeal (and how much)? I tried to make something similar, but with the cocoa powder, it was very bitter.

Thanks.

ChickPea said...

I use either a couple teaspoons of agave nectar or a 1-2 packets of stevia. I hope that helps!