Art on the Rocks

I just returned from an evening at the art museum...but I didn't see any exhibits. The Birmingham Museum of Art hosts events for young adults throughout the summer, (Art on the Rocks) and I made my first venture there tonight. It was a good way to spend the evening, although I think I was by far the youngest person there. I think the definition of "young adult" spans age 22-35ish, so I still have a few more years until I fit into that category. Nonetheless, there was good music, a few snacks and beverages, and even a fun craft!

Tomorrow, the fam heads to Atlanta for some fun shopping at Ikea and H&M, plus a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. One of the things that I am most looking forward to is our visit to the Cafe Sunflower--an all vegetarian restaurant! My dad surprised me last night by announcing that he had made reservations there. Here is the menu....what would you order?

We leave early tomorrow morning, so I'll get to the food already.

Wednesday

I haven't been posting my snacks as often lately, so I thought I would post a few today. Here is one from two days ago: plain Oikos yogurt with Craisins and whole grain graham crackers. Not a bad study snack.

My shake was fabulous--again. I am on a roll lately. However, this shake wasn't perfect; I used chocolate PB Soy Delicious, but I could barely taste any peanut flavor in the shake. Next time I think I'll add a scoop of PB to the mix.
Thursday

On Wednesday evening, I made a batch of muffins from raisin bran cereal, whole wheat flour, and agave as the sweetener. I had two of these for breakfast yesterday with a tall glass of soymilk and some sliced peaches with cinnamon.

My packed lunch consisted of a taco chili sandwich (using a spread by Cool Beans), fresh berries, and carrots with natural PB. I purchased this spread at Fresh Market last weekend--I had never tried it before. It lived up to its label--quite spicy!--but the fresh tomato cut the spiciness so that the sandwich was enjoyable. Contrary to my usual sweet tooth, I had a considerable salt craving yesterday after lab--I reached for some of those BBQ soy crisps, and green bell pepper strips with Goddess dressing.
Last night's dinner was inspired by the Eggplant Fans recipe from the Chicago Diner Cookbook. I didn't end up making the fancy schmancy "fans" that the recipe called for, but I used most of the same ingredients: olives, artichoke hearts, and oregano. I added a Quorn cutlet for some protein, plus my usual side salad.
My shake last night was the best I have had in a while. The addition of a frozen banana and dark chocolate cocoa powder made all the difference. I was seriously a little heart broken when I reached the bottom of the glass:(Friday

Another tofu scramble this morning--note that the salsa is absent from this rendition. Rather than Mexican, I went for an Asian theme this morning: orange zest, grated ginger, and green onions went into this morning's mix. I also had a small kiwi and a slice of whole wheat toast.

For lunch, I picked out a recipe from Clean Eating Magazine (No. 1). This was not just a random recipe; I chose the cover recipe: Quinoa Black Bean Salad. This recipe gave me the excuse to use fresh cilantro from my garden AND my beloved Recaito that I mentioned a few weeks ago. Not a bad look-alike to the original, no? Anyway, I also had a salad with local tomatoes and fresh avocado, plus a big orange. Totally satisfying.

As I mentioned above, I went to a party this evening, so I didn't eat a real dinner. I was told that there would be "great food" at the event. There were platters full of mini ham sandwiches and buckets of queso, but I ultimately feasted on a dinner of chips and salsa with a glass of white wine. Oh, well--can't eat well all the time!

Alright, I will try to check in later this weekend, but if not...be back Monday!

In the Eye of the Storm

I write to you amidst a severe thunderstorm--there's quite a light show going on outside! Aside from the crazy (and a little frightening!) weather, I have been quite busy this evening--finishing anatomy lab homework, printing out worksheets, folding laundry...Wednesday nights always seem a little hectic. Oy.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the past few days.

Monday
I got a major carby-salty-sweet craving on Monday night. I decided to mix up some Peanut Butter Puffins with a few salted pretzel twists. It was almost like those tasty little PB-filled pretzel nuggets.
Tuesday
I thawed a couple of those bran muffins from last week for breakfast yesterday, but I discovered something that makes them even tastier--almond butter! I also had some more of that never-ending watermelon.
For lunch, I headed to California Pizza Kitchen with a few friends. I ordered the Grilled Veggie Salad (asparagus, avocado, Japanese eggplant) and a cup of vegetarian split pea soup. Super yummy, but when I came home I had a kiwi to balance it all out and fill me up for the remainder of the afternoon. Sometimes my stomach is a bottomless pit.

Dinner was inspired by a recipe in Food to Live By (Does that title bother anyone else? Who ends a title of a cookbook with a preposition?!). I made a Fusion Coleslaw using broccoli slaw, rice wine vinegar, honey roasted peanuts, raisins, and a few sesame seeds. Along with it, I had some sliced tomato, whole grain couscous, a grilled Quorn cutlet, and a peach. Wow, this quite a voluminous meal now that I look at it.
For my smoothie last night, I discovered a great combination--orange Spirutein, orange juice, soymilk, and plenty of granola topping. It tasted like an orange Creamsicle! By the way, that was my last Spirutein packet...expect different smoothie combinations in the near future!
Wednesday
Since I don't have class until 3 on Wednesdays, I had some time to make stovetop oats this morning. Techinically, I used that Quaker Mutligrain Hot Cereal, but it is very similar to oats. Anyway, I combined it with hemp milk, whipped banana, and some flax--holy omega-3s! This was my first time trying hemp milk, and I am not sure whether I like it or not yet. I'll have to experiment with it...got any suggestions?
Lunch consisted of healthy nachos, a side spinach salad, and a huge apple. The "nachos" were made from homemade baked corn tortillas, red beans, guacamole, and salsa. For the guacamole, I just combined mashed avocado with a new supermarket find--Goya Recaito. I love this stuff; just salty enough with a little cilantro kick.
For dinner I made a dish from Food to Live By (again). This time, I made whole wheat rotini with Edamame Pesto. I didn't follow the recipe exactly (shocker!), but I think it turned out pretty tasty, aside from the lingering garlic taste in my mouth. The consistency wasn't very pesto-like; on the contrary, it was quite creamy even though there was no milk, tofu, or dairy-ish ingredients. I also had some broccoli slaw, and a little mug of chocolate almond milk.
One more day until my weekend! (I don't have classes on Fridays). Now I need to go pack my lunch for tomorrow. Enjoy your evening!

You Mean I Actually Have to Study?

Even though I've been in summer classes for a few weeks now, I am just now realizing that I actually have to buckle down and study for a bit. I have a quiz in anatomy lecture AND lab this week, plus a nutrition project due next week, so I might have to sacrifice a few minutes of Jon and Kate Plus Eight and What Not to Wear in order to study. Boo! I don't really mind studying for the lecture quiz or doing the nutrition project, but the lab quiz seems so silly. I'm not certain, but I'm guessing that as a nutrition I will NOT have to know the origin, insertion, nerve supply, and arterial supply of every single muscle in the human body. Just a guess though.

Anyway, I made flashcards (a process that I oddly enjoy), plus lots of diagrams, so I have a few study aids to get me through these quizzes. The project will be fun--it's on the USDA Food Pyramid. I'll have lots of time to perfect it this weekend at the lake, where there are very few distractions.

Alright, enough jibber-jabber about my boring, academics-engulfed life. Onto the victuals.

Friday
This is yet another mystery smoothie. I don't recall what's in it...Due to the granola topping, I am guessing it was fruity.
Saturday
After a long ride on the stationary bike, I set out to make some pancakes for breakfast. Thanks to the success I had the last time I made them, I whipped up a batch of vegan banana pancakes, based on the recipe from Sweet Eats. They were delicious...again! I enjoyed them with some fresh cut cantaloupe.
Lunch was kinda random, and rather salty in retrospect. I opened up a can of Progresso's Hearty Tomato Soup and dipped one of my vegan cheddar biscuits in it--sorta like the classic tomato soup/grilled cheese combo. I also had a salad with shredded Tofurky and a tiny apple. After a trip to the health food store, I returned with an amazing purchase--39 cent yogurts! They were one of my favorite brands too--Cascade Fresh:) I wish they were organic, but they're rBGH-free, so it's better than conventional yogurts. Anyway, this was a new flavor for me, and I loved it--I seem to be into cinnamon-ish yogurts lately. For dinner, I just threw some items together for a fantastic dish (if I do say so myself). I tossed some leftover spinach, diced olives, a Quorn cutlet, garlic, and organic mozzarella with some pasta--delish. I also had a my usual side salad. Sunday
My parents and I kicked off Father's Day on Saturday morning by taking my dad out to breakfast (even though he technically paid the bill...). We went to Original Pancake House (not to be confused with IHOP). I ordered some oatmeal and fresh fruit. I was hoping they would add some pizazz to the oats, (almonds? blueberries?) but they were pretty plain-Jane. I ended up putting some of my fruit into my oats to jazz them up a bit.
On our way out, I just had to take a picture of the fountain for which Five Points South is famous (well relatively). It kinda makes you feel like you're in a Beatrix Potter tale... Lunch was a conglomeration of freezer goodies and a salad from the Whole Foods salad bar. I made a sandwich out of a Helen's Kitchen tofu cutlet, salsa, and whole wheat bread. The salad had radishes, water chestnuts, sliced almonds, plus all the usual suspects. I also had some more of that delicious melon. I was in charge of dessert for Father's Day dinner, and my dad requested banana pudding. I don't think my dad would appreciate a tofu-laden vegan version, so I just used the Joy of Cooking recipe. It had egg yolks in it, so I didn't have any, but my family seemed to like it. For my dinner, I made a citrus tempeh stir fry with OJ marinated tempeh, broccoli, mushrooms, garlic, and zest from lemons and limes. Yum. Corn on the cob and salad added some more veggies to the meal. Oh, and the plate is the china pattern I picked out when I was 14--I still plan on registering for it when I get married. The smoothie for the evening was decidedly tropical, with tropical Spirutein, frozen mango, and plain Silk. I topped it with Nature's Path Pomegranate granola.
Monday
I kept it simple this morning: Kashi GoLean with Silk and walnuts, plus some cantaloupe.
Lunch was equally unimaginative: Tofurky/vegan cheddar on whole wheat with Nayonaise, leftover tossed salad from last night, almonds, and an orange. I finally tried Sunshine burgers! This was the Garden Herb flavor, and I really liked it. I enjoyed it with a salad (mushrooms, Craisins, Romaine, and red wine vinegar) and a baked potato with salsa.
OK, I'm pooped from all this typing...I'm off to study some muscles.