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!

Winding Down

**Many thanks to all of your sage wisdom and kind comments in response to my last post. I really appreciate your support.**

Tonight I am finally getting a little down-time...that means the first round of tutoring is through until November; I have finished my homework for the evening; no meetings have crept their way into my schedule--it's just me, a mug of Sleepy Time tea, and Jon & Kate Plus Eight tonight. I haven't been feeling well these past few days, either physically or emotionally, so I am seizing the opportunity to just chill before a busy weekend.

As a result of my various responsibilities and less-than-stellar health, I have been keeping it simple in the kitchen. Check it out:

Monday
I tried another Rudi's recipe on Monday evening--Better Bunny salad. Carrots, pineapple, and vegan mayo made for a simple supper. I added a dash of cinnamon since I didn't have the cinnamon bread called for in the recipe. Placed atop a bed of Romaine and served alongside crackers and cottage cheese with cashews, it made for a balanced and tasty meal.
The smoothie consisted of peaches, mango, vanilla hemp, and soymilk. Coconut made its obligatory appearance.
Tuesday
Breakfast yesterday ended up being great fuel before my psychology exam. I made a peach-soymilk smoothie and spread a whole wheat mini bagel with Sunbutter and apple butter (my most recent find at the on-campus grocery store). Maybe I just liked this meal so much because of the Sunbutter--it makes everything taste good:)
Pre-run, I chomped on a mini brownie Clif bar. Decadent and functional.
For lunch, I just prepared another spontaneous tofu salad and wrapped it in a whole grain tortilla. This version included tofu, vegan mayo, cashews, dried cranberries, carrots, salt, and dill. On the side I had a simple salad and an organic plum.
Dinner was a bit of a recipe flop. I attempted to make a cheeze spread out of nutritional yeast, tahini, corn starch, water, and ground red pepper. As you can see, it turned out a bit watery. I would have started over, but it tasted so good! Tastiness trumps texture issues in my book, so I drizzled it over whole wheat toast. It made for an excellent accompaniment to tomato soup, brussels sprouts, and a salad.
My shake last night was one of the best I have made in a while. I used TWO frozen bananas, chocolate rice protein, dark cocoa powder, and rice milk. It tasted so indulgent, but it was actually quite nutritious.
Wednesday
Prompted by a commenter (Sarah), I decided to try CCV's Banana Bread Blender Cereal this morning. I made a few changes based on what I had on hand--I used rice milk and almonds instead of vanilla soy milk and walnuts. I also added a dash of cinnamon for banana bread authenticity. This was SO delicious!! I can't thank Sarah and Katie enough for the recipe!
The pre-run snack today was painfully boring. I just stuffed some Whole Foods brand Cheerios in a baggie this morning...now I wish I had at least thrown some chocolate chips in for interest.
Lunch was much more engaging for my taste buds. I found a recipe on VegWeb for Coconut Black Beans with Mango. I didn't have any chilies or coconut milk on hand, but I still managed to get the essential flavors into the dish by using shredded coconut and ground red pepper. The contrast of the sweet mangoes with the cumin and black beans made for quite the flavor party in my mouth. I served it alongside baked tortilla wedges and a salad with perfectly ripe avocado.
I have another interesting snack to share with you all this evening--another scone! I was greeted with this crumbly little baked good this morning in stats class, prepared by my (male) friend, the baking enthusiast. Love those Craisins.
Dinner this evening was pretty streamlined: just a Boca burger, baked sweet potato, and steamed zucchini with oregano and basil. I also had the last of my kefir with a blob of cashew butter.
The sextuplets beckon for my attention...be back soon.

Keepin' It Simple

In the midst of classes, meetings, and tutoring freshmen writing students, I haven't had a whole lot of free time today (hence the later post time tonight). Mondays always present such a stark contrast to my weekends; my leisurely weekends come to an abrupt end at the stroke of 7 AM on Monday. Today, for example, I found myself already running a little late to class, only to realize that I forgot a hair tie for my workout--an absolute necessity for me, since I cannot stand the sensation sweaty hair on the back of neck. Anyway, I hoof it back to the apartment (in heels, no less), grab a handful of hair ties, and arrive in class at the stroke of 8:30. The whole day has felt a little something like that.

As a result of my crazy schedule, my meals have been less involved and far from exotic--but I still thought they were tasty! What are your favorite dishes to prepare on hectic days?

Here comes the simple but yummy grub.

Saturday
When I returned from my sisterhood retreat early Saturday morning, all I wanted to do was sleep. So I did. Then I worked out and had breakfast at like 12 PM. My eating schedule was totally higgledy-piggledy all day (yes, I did just find that adjective on thesaurus.com). This brunch-ish meal consisted of GoLean with ground flax, rice milk, plus an apple. I am perfecting the art of uber thin apple slicing:)
Lunch was just an excuse to use of up leftovers: chickpeas and canned tomatoes on a bed of spinach with soynuts for crunch, plus whole wheat crackers (Milton's), sliced banana, and almond butter. I think my favorite part of the meal was the simple stuff--the crackers and banana with AB.
The evening chowfest was yet another lazy attempt at meal preparation: a Boca patty on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, mustard, and organic ketchup, plus a salad, broccoli, and sweets plate with sliced kiwi and raw cashews. That's a lot of food now that I look at it--all healthful though!
The smoothie of the evening was heaven in a glass again. Sorry I am so boring, but the mango-vanilla hemp combination still reminds me of cake batter in some way. Try it, you'll like it!
Sunday
I was a little more creative yesterday morning in that I tried my hand at vegan French toast. I simply dipped whole wheat bread into rice milk sweetened with agave and cinnamon (I don't have any vanilla extract or arrowroot powder!). I also had an apple with more luscious almond butter. AB is definitely my favorite these days.
The afternoon meal consisted of an old easy standby: scrambled tofu wrap. This one featured tahini, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, broccoli, and tofu of course wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. On the side I had a juicy peach and a salad.
I thought I would mention yesterday's afternoon snack since it was so scrumptious and basically the epitome of fallish flavor. I combined a container of plain yogurt with leftover pumpkin, cinnamon, stevia, raisins, and raw cashews. YUM! The inspiration for this concoction was my mom's legendary pumpkin bread that she makes every year from November-December. I can't wait for Thanksgiving!!
Suppertime was super simple (I'm starting to sound like Sandra Lee form Semi Homemade...). I stuffed a whole wheat pita with hummus, lettuce, and tomato and served it alongside a salad, carrot sticks dipped in Goddess dressing, and nonfat plain kefir (drizzled with agave nectar).
Last night's shake was superb! I combined strawberries, soymilk, special dark cocoa powder, and Nutiva hemp (berry pomegranate flavor), and I finished it off with a few dairy-free chocolate chips. The consistency was perfect--not too thick, not too thin. Another winning combination.
Monday
I was rushed this morning (as noted above), so I opted for a simple bowl of cereal: Whole Foods brand organic Os with rice milk and sliced banana. I also had a little dish of TJ's AntiOXidant trail mix on the side. Quick and easy.
The pre-run snack today was a baggie of GoLean cereal. I recently decided that I would like to have bigger lunches after my workouts, so I am cutting down the size of my pre-run snack. Perhaps this will also eliminate my unsatisfactory exercise fueling problems that I have been having.
When I returned home from the gym, I made a mad dash to the kitchen for a simple veggie meal: a baked sweet potato (with cinnamon), Brussels sprouts (with garlic salt), kidney beans (with chili powder, ground red pepper, and cumin), and applesauce with peanuts. This kept me full throughout the afternoon of tutoring appointments.
TGI Friday's brought a few dishes to the dining meeting tonight; they want students to be able to use food points for Friday's delivery program. The offerings consisted of baby back ribs, onion rings, a Bleu cheeseburger, and peanut butter cheesecake--obviously, not my typical fare. I hit up the salad bar instead. I also made tiny almond butter cracker sammies. So satisfying.
Oh, and I got another package today! Yes, I must stop ordering impulse items from iHerb.com, but I really needed some nutritional yeast flakes so that I could make a few things from Lindsay's cookbook. A few other items might have also snuck into my virtual shopping cart...(TVP, Bob's Red Mill 5 Grain Cereal with flax, chocolate rice protein powder, and a little shaker cup).
I am off to study for a quiz and make flashcards! Good night:)