Too Many Distractions, Not Enough Time

Normally, I am a conscientious student who has no problem getting her work done. That description does NOT apply right now. I have a big midterm on Thursday for my "Gender and Language" class, but I have been slackin' on the study schedule for the past few days. I meant to do the bulk of my studying yesterday, but somehow time just got away from me. (Strike 1). Today, I intended to get some studying done between classes...I decided to have a tea date with a friend instead. (Strike 2). Due to a fortuitous, last-minute class cancellation, I planned on squeezing in some study time this afternoon...I planned out my spring classes instead; the schedule just became available today. (Strike 3). Rather than make another ill-fated attempt before my busy evening, I sit here typing to you. I've got priorities:)

Saturday
Weekend mornings are supposed to be relaxing, right? Wrong. I had a meeting at 11 on East campus, so I decided to head over there early to squeeze in some treadmill time. Let's just say I ended up getting out of the meeting at 12, running to the bus stop, stuffing my face with "breakfast," showering in 3 minutes flat, and running to the basketball stadium for the scrimmage. Anyway, here's what the meal looked like: mini bagel with Sunbutter, pear, and plain yogurt with pumpkin. I scarfed it down as I stepped into the shower, so I don't really remember if it tasted good.
For lunch, I decided on an old standby: Goddess Garbanzos. This was a pimped out version though because I added chopped carrot, dill, and kelp granules. I stuffed it into a pita and served it alongside a spinach salad and an apple.
I kept dinner simple too. I finally finished that box of Boca burgers so that I could get the good stuff--Amy's Bistro Burgers. Bistro patty + whole wheat bread + organic ketchup/mustard = darn tasty sandwich. I also had a salad, steamed asparagus, and a banana with cashew butter.
The vanilla hemp supply has sadly dwindled to near nothingness, so I have been experimenting with the chocolate variety. Saturday's was blueberry-flavored, with a few chocolate chips on top. Surprisingly delicious.
Sunday
Yesterday morning, I decided on making a "harvest pie fusion"...in a bowl of oats. Pumpkin, oats, ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans made for quite the breakfast treat. No need to decide between pumpkin and pecan pie, when you can have both in your oatmeal for breakfast!
In an effort to use up some things in the fridge before the start of a new week, I made hash for lunch yesterday: spinach, red onion, garlic, silken tofu, nutritional yeast flakes, plus a few spices I don't remember. On the side I had toast and an apple with cashew butter.
Dinner was prepared and consumed in about 10 minutes. (Pesky chapter meetings...) As a result, it was rather uninspired: hummus and pita, salad with soynuts, and broccoli. When I got home I had a banana with Sunbutter too.
The shake last night was another choco-berry experiment that turned out scrumptious. Strawberries, cherries, chocolate hemp, and soymilk made for a tasty evening snack. I randomly added wheat germ on top for texture.
Monday
Another typical, rushed Monday morning. Cheerios with rice milk and dried cranberries, plus an apple with PB. Totally boring.
I remembered to buy some lentils at Whole Foods last week for the Blogger Secret Ingredient contest, (although I think it has ended now...oh well). I put those to use for lunch today. I combined lentils, garlic, spinach, ginger, cumin, and creamy tahini and served it alongside whole grain couscous and an organic pear. Delish.
As a side note, I thought I would show you some coupons that I scored at Whole Foods:
They were sticking out from the bottom shelf in the bar aisle, where the Z bars typically hang out. 50 cents off an individual bar makes them less than 20 cents each! I like that price. S'mores bar, anyone?

OK, I am off to my meetings, etc. Please send "motivation vibes" my way so that I might actually study in the near future!

Return to Reality

Fall Break has officially ended, and I now write to you from my apartment in North Carolina. My trip home was relatively uneventful, aside from a late departure. Upon arriving at the apartment, I unloaded all my Target loot (e.g., socks, spatulas, and other such exciting items), but I just could not motivate myself to study. Try as I might to summon my inner conscientiousness, that linguistics textbook stayed closed for several hours. Waking up for my 8:30 stats class this morning wasn't much fun either. Do you ever have trouble getting back into the groove after a vacation?

On the plus side, the internet connection is approximately a bajillion times faster here on campus than at home, so uploading pics is a breeze...

Monday
For the second time ever, I had to throw out a smoothie on Monday evening. The first time I did was due to a lack-luster protein powder; this time, it was the choice of "milk." I didn't have any of my trusty plain soymilk handy, so I substituted unsweetened almond milk. Big mistake. The creaminess just wasn't there. Anyway, I had to throw away a cherry-almond milk concoction. The second go wasn't much better, but I decided to drink it anyway: blueberries, original Living Harvest hemp, and almond milk.
Tuesday
For a final hurrah in my kitchen at home, I prepared some scrambled tofu. This one had soy sauce, tahini, ginger, turmeric, and baby bella mushrooms. On the side, I had a juicy orange, and some plain yogurt with pumpkin and cinnamon. Despite the monochromatic nature of this meal, it was super-tasty. (PS The lighting was rather odd yesterday morning in the breakfast room--let's call it "artistic.")
My flight was in the early afternoon, so I packed a lunch to enjoy during my layover. I brought a Sunbutter and blueberry jam sandwich on whole wheat, bell pepper strips and carrots with hummus, and an apple. This lunch really hit the spot, but it was rather noisy. I felt a little awkward munch, munch, munching away next to my fellow passengers at the gate.
By the time I returned to the apartment and unpacked everything, I was hungry but not exactly in the mood to cook. Plus, when I looked in the fridge, *gasp* I had no produce other than some old lettuce and an onion. Annie's mac and cheese to the rescue! I enjoyed one of the white cheddar microwaveable pouches with some bell pepper strips stirred in (from a bag in the freezer). I rounded it out with a salad topped with the last of my cashews, green beans with dill and garlic, and a dark chocolate Kiss for dessert.
My smoothie last night was, again, not quite satisfactory. I combined strawberries, blueberries, soymilk, and vanilla hemp. I got a little creative with the camera last night, in case you can't tell:)
Wednesday
I was not much in the mood for thinking this morning, much less cooking an exciting breakfast. Cheerios it was. I topped them with wheat germ and rice milk, and I had a sliced apple with Sunbutter on the side.
As mentioned above, I was quite produce-poor until this afternoon. I decided to hit up the on-campus grocery store after my run today. Here's a look at the loot:
I felt a little guilty buying the asparagus (it is so not asparagus season), but I am super psyched about the kelp granules and the whole wheat wagon wheel pasta!

For lunch, I made a big salad from mixed greens, white beans, dried cranberries, carrots, tomatoes, and chopped almonds. On the side, I had some more of those Milton's crackers and an orange.
I was just itching to use those kelp granules, so I decided to make a "fishy" dinner. I made a mock tuna salad out of chickpeas, vegan mayo, mustard, sweet relish, and kelp granules. Spread between toasted bread, it made for quite the tasty sandwich. Along with it, I had broccoli, greens with Goddess dressing, and a sliced banana. Yum.
Recently I received an email from OpposingViews.com, alerting me to their discussion of vegetarianism. I'm not advocating one position over the other, but I just thought some of you might find the debate interesting. I had fun poking around the website this morning--lots of hot topics to explore!

Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Snooze-fest Weekend

Not only did I get plenty of sleep this weekend, but I also was extremely bored. Campus is a bit eerie when no one but you is around. It reminded me of when I had to stay late for choir practices in high school: the classrooms seemed so empty at night. Anyway, I am well rested and ready to be back in 'bama!

Food this weekend was a bit of challenge, as I had predicted in my last post. So if some of the meals below strike you as random or odd, please understand that I had limited options.

Friday

After my last exam on Friday, I was famished. It started at 7, which is usually when I eat dinner, so I really wasn't hungry beforehand. However, by the time I turned my test in (about 7:50), I was ready to eat my answer sheet! I grabbed my favorite crunchy broccoli salad from The Loop and headed back to the dorm to supplement it with some of my grub. I slathered some hummus on whole wheat bread and made a quick smoothie out of frozen strawberries and almond milk. Yum! It was a great way to bring my exam week to a close.

That night I got hungry for a snack (in the midst of my Amazon surfing), so I had some more of that soy pudding, this time in the vanilla flavor. Dark chocolate chunks made their obligatory appearance.

Saturday

I woke up fairly late on Saturday, so I just grabbed a quick snack to tide me over until lunchtime. I chose one of my favorite snack bars: Odwalla Carrot Raisin. I discovered these in Colorado a few years ago; my aunt put them in welcome baskets for all of the out-of-town guests to her son's wedding. They've been one of my on-the-go faves ever since--my mom even sends them to me in care packages! They taste like healthful carrot cake.

My lunch on Saturday was a bit of a failure, thanks to my stubborn vegan mozzarella. It refuses to melt! Sheesh. I attempted eggplant Parmesan with an organic eggplant that I picked up on Monday. It still tasted good, despite the unmelted cheeze.

Sunday

Yesterday's lunch was a conglomeration of leftovers and available campus fare. I made a Dagwood sandwich out of thick tofu slices, lots of salsa, and lettuce. I also had a delicious cranberry-walnut salad that took me forever to eat, which is probably a good thing. I have a tendency to scarf down my food when I am hungry...

Snack yesterday was an attempt to use up the cold stuff in my fridge; I defrosted the fridge just after taking this picture. I had some plain soy yogurt with wheat germ and a fresh fruit cup. Unfortunately, I still had to throw away a few items, which seriously pains my frugal soul. Oh well.

I cobbled together dinner last night from what remained in my dorm pantry and some greens that I picked up from the on-campus convenience store. Surprisingly the greens were from Earthbound Farms, so they were organic--score! I topped them with roasted soy nuts, and I made a simple peanut butter sandwich to go with it. I also had a big shiny apple.

Monday

For breakfast this morning, I managed to hunt down some soy milk, so I was able to have cereal. It turns out that my favorite eatery, The Refectory, is open all summer! While I was there, I got some vegan blueberry muffins for the road and a container of vanilla Silk. Once back in the dorm, I used up the last of my Cheerios, and I had a Granny Smith with PB.

I just finished lunch here. Much to my surprise, The Loop was open today, even though it was closed all weekend. Go figure! Anyway, so I picked up one last broccoli salad (I love it!). I had another hummus sandwich to go along with it, and I had some cantaloupe too. Sorry I'm so boring/repetitive!

Now I am just waiting for my parents to arrive; they're supposed to get here around 4 or 5. We have a long road trip back tomorrow (about 8 hours), so I was thinking about what kind of food will be available on the road. While I have my stash of dorm food (almonds, Larabars, oatmeal), I was wondering: what kind of foods do you eat when traveling? Recommendations for healthful fast food or your favorite snacks to pack are encouraged!

Next time I post, I will probably be home!