Monday, January 12, 2009

The Guilty Nods

Have you ever been so tired that you catch yourself nodding off in unexpected and slightly inappropriate places? I have found myself snoozing everywhere from the hair stylist's chair to the theater. Today, I also found myself nodding off in one of my classes. My busy week is at last taking its toll on my energy levels. Anyway, I experience a great amount of guilt when these unfortunate naps occur--it's not that I am bored, I'm just sleep-deprived! Fortunately, I don't think my professor noticed, but I still wonder if she noticed my "lack of engagement" in class discussion...

Well, I better get started on this post so that I can sneak in a little nap before my next class...

Saturday
I woke up to a chilly morning, but I had no time for oatmeal. Hence, I heated up some rice milk and poured over some regular cold cereal (Autumn Wheat). I also had a banana with almond butter on one of my new (and pretty fabulous) red plates.
I had to eat lunch quickly before heading off to more sorority activities. I heated up half a can of Amy's Light in Sodium Lentil Vegetable Soup (on sale at WF for $2). I also had some crackers, a salad with Woodstock dressing, and an apple.
Dinner was another odd conglomeration of portable foodstuffs. I made a snack mix out of GoLean, pumpkin seeds, and soynuts, and I also packed a few clementines plus a chocolate mint Jocolat bar. That's my fancy frock for the evening--amazingly, I still into this dress from high school.
I had enough time for a smoothie on Saturday. You may have noticed that I skipped a few evenings of smoothie time--I figured my neighbors would not appreciate the whir of my blender at 3AM! Anyway, this one featured pineapple, soymilk, Nutribody protein, and ginger zing granola. Oh smoothies, how I missed you.
Sunday
Before heading off to the last bit of sisterly bonding, I made a quick parfait out of plain yogurt (mixed with nutmeg and cinnamon), applesauce, Fiber One, and honey-roasted peanuts.
Lunch was another last-minute affair in which I was too hungry to think of anything creative...so I just heated up the rest of my soup and ate it with pita, salad with Goddess dressing, and a clementine.
I spent the evening doing all the reading I had neglected for the past week (great way to start off the semester, no?). I finally got hungry though, so I heated up an Amy's Texas Burger, plopped it on some bread with salsa, and dug in. On the side, I had some squash with onions as well as some Greek yogurt with peaches.
The shake of the night was another chocolate-covered strawberry concoction with chocolate rice protein, strawberries, soymilk, special dark cocoa powder, and dairy-free chocolate chips. Mmm.
Monday
Now with a more fully stocked fridge and pantry, I was able to make something besides cereal or oatmeal this morning. I busted out my new Rudi's English muffins with glee. After smearing them with PB, I sliced some bananas for the top and placed it under the broiler for crispiness. I also had some Greek yogurt with cinnamon.
Even though it's rather chilly outside, I am in the mood for a big, creative salad. What's your favorite salad combination? What components do you favor the most when creating entree salads? Looking forward to your responses!

Ciao for now.

14 comments:

Simple and Divine said...

I'm definitely one for warmer salads, oddly enough. I love having some type of bean in there (soybeans, esp the black ones bc of their antioxidants!! hooray!), shredded carrots, spinach, shredded zucchini/yellow squash, sliced button mushrooms, chopped celery, broccoli, etc. I then like to add in some baked tofu, some diced, pickled ginger, and then roasted red peppers. I pop it into the microwave for 2-3 minutes and let everything steam! HEAVEN! Thheeennnnn I'll add in some RAW red pepper slices and maybe a tablespoon of FF feta and some braggs and mix it all up! YUM!

(OH! And a tablespoon of raisins adds amazing flavor! But I always have to reconstitute them... I just throw them in some hot water for 15-20 minutes... The longer the better, though.)

ENJOY!!

Anonymous said...

Love the glass with the cow on it - too cute! And all of your smoothie creations look excellent :D

Anonymous said...

your parfait looks AMAZING!
btw i love jocalat mint! aren't they so good????

annd your dress is so adorable ;]

hope you could visit me when you have the time. i just started my own yesterday and hoping to make more friends =)

fleur said...

Its really wierd I have been craving salads recently, but im greatly in need of inspiration and a fully stocked fridge!! lol

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

"Have you ever been so tired that you catch yourself nodding off in unexpected and slightly inappropriate places?"


Um, yes, haha!! Rest up, dear girl!! :-D

Loooove the eats and the chic red dress!!

Anonymous said...

I never had fallen asleep in any public place but I've sure come close to it!

I still have to try that Autumn Wheat cereal, it looks fabulous. So does the parfait, burger, and broiled english muffin with banana! Super amazing eats girl!

Rest up!

healthy ashley said...

I've fallen asleep like that many times! Have fun tonight :)

K from ksgoodeats said...

That last picture - HOLY COW, GIRL! YUM!! The WFs sales have been insane lately, I love it!

My dog does the head thing! He'll be sitting up in our couch and before long his eyes will go all squinty and his head starts to bob - it's so cute! For the record, I am not comparing you to him :)

Salad combo: spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots, and clementines topped with Asian Sesame dressing...100% yum in my mouth!

Kimberly said...

My favorite salad combo is blueberries or strawberries, with almonds or walnuts or tofu, over mesclun mix -- so refreshing!

Love the idea of warm rice milk over cereal!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

**Just as a heads up: I will not be able to comment on blogs as often now, during this semester, due to work overload (I'm stressed already) - PLEASE know that I'm still loyally reading, but just won't have time to comment. I hope you understand!!

ChickPea said...

Simple and Divine: I don't think I have ever had a warm salad--definitely a good idea with all this cold weather! Thanks for all the great ideas!
Marianne: Ha! Thanks for noticing--I love cows for no apparent reason.
BlueSkyWorld: I love anything with chocolate and mint, so that Jocolat bar was perf. Oh, and I already subscribed to your blog on Google Reader:)
Flower: Yeah, I have been low on groceries and cooking ideas lately...hopefully both will be remedied ASAP.
VeggieGirl: Good to know that I am not the only one. Oh, and thanks for the heads-up--I'll miss you!
Shelby: Thanks--I am looking forward to at least 7 hours tonight:)
healthy ashley: Thanks!
K: Ha! My dog does the same thing, especially at family gatherings. It's like he wants to go to sleep but doesn't want to miss any of the action!
Your salad combo sounds delish! What kind of Asian dressing do you use, or do you make your own?
Kimberly: That salad sounds fantastic! I have been really into sweet salads lately, ever since I discovered Annie's raspberry vinaigrette. Sweet combos go well with wheat germ, as I have discovered!

Anonymous said...

I love a salad with big *crunch!* However, I'm dying to try the warm mushroom salad out of Veganomicon!
I feel you on the "guilt" of head-nodding! yikes! good thing no one caught you! hehe
*Question: why do you drink shakes/smoothies every night? You may have mentioned it before, and I was just curious. I've been making them with different proteins + combos lately after workouts, too. Do you buy the individual packets, or have a tub of a favorite? What kind of protein do you love best? Sorry so many questions... I just see them every night & was curious! :) yum!

ChickPea said...

Orange Pop: You're making me wish I had brought my copy of V'Con back to school with me! Oh well--I'll add it to my list of things to do next time I am home.
As for the shakes smoothies: It started out when I had anorexia. Drinking my kcalories was a lot easier than eating them, as I didn't feel excessively full after consuming them. Well, it became a nightly ritual which I looked forward to, so the practice became a habit, even after I had gained weight. Also, it provides a tasty and convenient way to get adequate protein and a fruit serving, plus vitamins and minerals depending on the powder I use.
I actually devoted an entire post to this very topic a few months ago. Here is the link:
http://broccolihut.blogspot.com/2008/09/healthy-habits-smoothie-makin.html
Enjoy!

K from ksgoodeats said...

I use Newman's Asian Sesame but I'm sure it could be made at home rather than bought - especially for you since you're a culinary goddess :)