Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Talk to Me

After reading a recent post by Lindsay in which she asked her readers how they preferred to be contacted, I got to thinking that maybe I should do the same. Many of you may not know it, but I respond to each of your comments individually in the comments section of each post. I do this because I want to emphasize how much I appreciate each and every comment/question I receive. However, I fear that many of you never even see my responses. SO...I want to know: how would you prefer I respond to your comments? Should I continue leaving mammoth response comments in my posts, or would you prefer that I send you an e-mail? If it's the latter, you'll have to be sure to leave me your e-mail address.

Now, with all logistics aside, I have some fun dishes to share with you today. I am loving all this leisure time to cook as I please!

Monday
After being prompted to choose my absolute favorite Spirutein flavor by my friend K, I bestowed the honor on the Blueberries N Cream flavor. Accordingly, I made a smoothie with it that night: blueberries, said Spirutein, and soymilk topped with TRUWhip (a natural alternative to Cool Whip), and cashew ginger granola. Dee-lish. I think I have outgrown my liking for whipped topping though--I much prefer the crunch of granola these days.
Tuesday
After a very sweaty run outside in ~80* temperatures, I needed a cool and refreshing breakfast...so I had a breakfast parfait. This one featured Graham Bumpers, Cherry Almond Butter (from VeggieGirl!), dried cherries, and Greek yogurt. I cannot wait for cherry season!
For lunch I wanted another excuse to use my hand blender, so I decided on a soup recipe from Totally Vegetarian, Creamy Cauliflower Soup. The name of the dish is a slight misnomer,as there is no milk or soymilk in the recipe--the creaminess comes from the blended potato! This was a super simple recipe and delicious to boot. I enjoyed it with the rest of my pumpkin hummus, raw veggies, and a few clementines. Perf.
Although I don't normally include pics of my snacks, I thought this one was blog-worthy: Rachel's Cucumber Dill Cottage Cheese. I picked it up at WF the other day on a whim, and I am SO glad that I did. Its flavor was quite reminiscent of tsasiki dip, one of my favorite condiments these days. For those of you counting your sugar grams (Jenn!), these have 75% less sugar than conventionally sweetened yogurts.
I whipped up another dish from Totally Vegetarian for dinner: Pasta with Red Onion, Radicchio, Fakin' Bacon, and Edamame. I love all the colors in this meal! The green and purples are quite eye-catching, no? Unfortunately, this dish didn't have enough flavor for me. Next time I might add some pesto or something. That's a dish of peaches and a salad with Woodstock dressing on the accompanying plate.
Yesterday afternoon, I received a Facebook message from VeggieGirl with a suggestion for a shake recipe. After saving it in my recipe file, I decided to try something similar for my evening treat (I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I was unable to follow the recipe exactly). I blended strawberries, soymilk, unsweetened vanilla Spirutein, and a couple spoonfuls of PB2. Fabulous! I really recommend the PB-strawberry combo. As soon as I get some hemp milk and vanilla rice powder, I'll try VG's precise recipe:)
Wednesday
After much indecision over what to have for breakfast, I remembered Jenn's recipe for PB2 icing. I topped my toast with a good dose of the icing and served it with a combo of Greek yogurt, pumpkin, and almonds, plus a few clementines on the side.
My lunch today was again inspired by an Everyday Dish podcast. I made the Ginger Peanut Tofu Salad. It turned out pretty well--it tasted a lot like my Peanut Butter Noodles, just in tofu form. Oddly enough, I realized that I had forgotten to add the agave nectar--how unlike me to forget sweetener! Anyway, it tasted yummy just the same. I served the salad with some flax crackers, "carnival" cauliflower, and pineapple.
I didn't get much of a chance to plan dinner tonight, so when I finally returned home, I just slapped together the first thing that came to mind: whole wheat hamburger bun with broccoli, provolone, and sun dried tomatoes, plus a salad with Goddess dressing and an apple. I scarfed this down WAY too fast.
Before I go, I'll let you know about a few giveaways going on:
-Emily from Health Nut is giving away a supah-cute meal planner. Enter to win by March 13 at midnight!
-Jenn from Eating Bender is giving away a few Quaker goodies that I *really* covet. Enter my March 13 at 1 PM CST.

That's all for tonight--be back on Friday!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I prefer e-mails, because I never remember to go back and check on questions that I ask! That's how I respond too :)

Anonymous said...

I'm with Mags, I like emails, because I don't always remember to return when I ask question.

I am intrigued by the all natural cool whip and I always LOVE your granola topped smoothies!

Little Miss Sunshine said...

Hrmm, I always like to read your 'mammoth' comment section ;) So I don't mind you posting it the way that you do ... but others do seem to prefer the emailing route :( Oh well! What ever works best for you Caroline :D

Anonymous said...

I'm torn, because it's nice to see the responses for other people's questions, but I'm a forgetter if I ask a question. Although, if it was a really important question, I will remember to check back for an answer (if that makes sense at all).

That "icing" looks so thick and delicious on your toast :D

Erica said...

Hey! I prefer that people respond to me on my blog - that way I def see the response and I get an email telling me what you said.

I have never purchased TRUwhip- is it from WFs?? My husband loves cool whip and I know its not exactly the greatest thing for him!

Beautiful parfait! Love the addition of the AB.

Hope you have a good day!

lauren said...

GOOD LUCK on the 5k this weekend!!

I like comments on my page answering the question...

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Would you mind emailing a response?? I'd appreciate that since I always miss them in the previous posts, haha - sorry!!

Aww, yay!! Thank you for the shout-out - hope you keep enjoying the nut-butter and the smoothie/shake recipe!! Definitely try the exact version if you can :-)

Anonymous said...

I would much prefer e-mails. I always ask questions then I forget which post I wrote it on! haha

I should get my mom that TruWhip, she won't put down the other chemical garbage!

Mmm, I got the same recipe from VeggieGirl! I can't wait to try it =)

Must. Try. That PB2 Topping!

Anonymous said...

Your parfaits always look so lovely!

In terms of your inquiry about contact, email would be my preference - I am bad at remembering to check back for answers to my questions.

I'm coming around to the idea of PB2 - the "PB icing" looks too good to pass up!

Anonymous said...

E-mails probably work the best -

Love all your good eats!! Especially the cauliflower soup! :D

Anonymous said...

Comments: I like the way you do it now BUT I think if people ask a particular question maybe you should email them? When people ask me questions I just comment back on their blog because I'm commenting anyway (I hope that made sense ha)!

Thanks for the shout out! I'll have to try your favorite smoothie flavor when the weather warms up. I ADORE the VG inspired smoothie as well :)

Funky colored cauli - I LOVE IT!

Anonymous said...

Wow - really beautiful, delicious looking photos in this post!

Anonymous said...

I think its easier for e-mail responses, because if you post a lot, it may be hard to come back to the same post you left a message in.

I found you from my sister's site at The Biggest Diabetic Loser.

I like your recipes! The shakes especially look good.

I'm jealous of your warm weather though!

Dame Noire said...

I always like to read the comments and your responses:) often it's something I wouldn't mind knowing (not that I couldn't do without, but I'm kind of a nosy person anyway) and I think emailing would cost you way more time!
On a different note: that cottage cheese looks absolutely delicious!

Andrea of Care to Eat said...

Ahhhh - you're eats look so good. I miss cottage cheese so much and that Rachel's kind looks soo good. Tempting for sure!
If someone asks me a specific question, I tend to email back. If I'm just responding to a comment in general, I'll put it in the comments section.

Unknown said...

Everything looks SO good, girl! And I prefer emails for comment responses- I do not always remember to come back and check :( That is so sweet/wonderful of you to respond to every comment though! :)
I love the sounds of the shake you made. I need to pull out my little smoothie blender. I have forgotten about it! And now that it's getting warmer...
I hope you are having a fantastic day, love!

Anonymous said...

That pasta dish looks fantastic!!
Actually all your eats do! Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

Anonymous said...

I'm a college student who mostly eats cereal and peanut butter, and I would like to slowly incorporate more "grown up" meals.

However: the idea of grocery shopping for the week is very overwhelming, because I just don't even know where to start, nor do I know how long most vegetables stay edible.

Any advice for a "beginner" like me? Basics to buy? Easy meals?

Little Miss Sunshine said...

My email is angelbaby_cecilia23@hotmail.com looking forward to ya email caroline :D Are you gonna post a mammoth comment email on everyone's email or are you gonna reply personally?! Hahaha, have a great day chicka!!!

Anonymous said...

ohhh, I never knew that you responded by commenting after what I've commented....

maybe it's better if you could respond back by commenting on my blog ;)

loving all your creative eats!

Jenn said...

I think it's awesome that you respond to all of the comments. It's something I used to do all the time for the same reason because I truly feel it connects you to your readers. But, I've been totally slacking lately! I have found that it's easier in terms of time to write back via email, so what I've decided to do is 1) If it's a comment that can be specifically answered just for the individual, I send them an email and 2) If it's a comment that I think everyone would benefit from reading the answer to, I make sure to post my response on the blog. That said, I definitely make an effort to check back on posts on other blogs where I know I asked a question, so whatever you choose, I think it's great that you are so responsive!!

Hurray for PB2 icing! Thanks for the shout out :o) I saw that shake from VeggieGirl, too! I must try it!