Olympic Obsession

I have returned to reality, but I'm not too disappointed--the Olympics have kept me entertained. I can't help it--I turn on the TV, and I just soak up every little nugget of trivia. Yes, add the Olympic games to my ever-growing list of obsessions. I'm sorry to say that my cooking is nowhere near as exciting as the meals I enjoyed over the weekend. Maybe I should try some new recipes to spice things up? Send any recommendations my way.

Monday
It was around lunchtime when we returned home from the airport. I was hungry but totally not in the mood to cook anything. After rummaging around in the fridge, I salvaged some rice and beans, strawberries, and a salad. Those are BBQ soynuts on the salad. This did not satisfy.
By dinnertime, my creative juices had returned, so I tried my hand at a Mexican-inspired tofu dish. I made a sauce out of low-sodium V8, cumin, chili powder, garlic, lime juice, S + P, and cilantro. Then I baked the tofu for 10 minutes, flipped and stirred, and baked another 10 minutes. It turned out alright, but I don't think I'll repeat this dish. On the side, I had some toasted corn tortillas (cut into triangles) dipped in guacamole (made from avocados on their last legs!).
The shake of the evening made up for my mediocre dinner, however. Good thing I decided to freeze our bananas before we left--they make such excellent additions to shakes and smoothies.
Tuesday
Upon waking to a drizzly and gray morning, I decided that it would be a warm breakfast kind of day. Since I had OD'ed on oats over the weekend, a grilled breakfast sammie was in order. This one had the last of my almond butter and sliced banana. I also enjoyed a container of Fage with my new tiny spoon from Crate & Barrel.
The soggy weather continued into midday, so I had another rainy day meal for lunch: Health Valley Split Pea Soup, Ak-maks, spinach salad with local tomatoes and Snacktrition Fiber Cashews, plus freshly cut honeydew. Tasty.
I used a repeat recipe for dinner, Edamame Pesto from Food to Live By. I tossed it with whole wheat radiator noodles, mushrooms, red onion, and broccoli. I also had a side salad and a travel mug of chocolate almond milk. Can you tell I like anything related to cherries?
The smoothie last night was fabulous! Frozen cherries pair well with the PomegranPlus granola.
Wednesday
I took advantage of a little extra time this morning and put together another breakfast parfait. I am out of muffins (!), so I used some of the never-ending Weetabix with plain organic yogurt, blueberries, walnuts, and some more of the Bear Naked Native granola. I think eating it with a little spoon makes it taste better.
Today's lunch was a bit of a flop. I started out making scrambled tofu but decided I wanted to use broccoli as a mix-in (shocker!), but the veggie-tofu ratio got out of hand. As a result, I didn't taste much of the tahini's creaminess; the garlic and poultry seasoning were a little too subtle too. A spinach salad and fresh cherries rounded it all out.
I'm off to read a bit...or maybe check on the Olympics. Ciao!

Tech Toys!

Today marked the beginning of a sales tax-free weekend in Birmingham (read about it here). Sooo, after months of shameless begging and hint-dropping (think: leaving Best Buy ads on my dad's pillow), I got a new computer! In case you're curious, I got a Toshiba Satellite M300. Woohoo! I haven't set it up yet since I should be studying for my exams this weekend; I am still using my old computer to type this post. Perhaps I can use the new computer as an incentive to get through these final academic endeavors...While I was at Best Buy, I also got a bigger camera card. Both of my new toys will hopefully serve this blog well:)

My food has been a bit lame these past few days, so I apologize in advance. My creative juices just haven't been flowing lately. Here are the pics anyway:

Wednesday
Berry-Nut Shake! I didn't use frozen fruit this time--my recent nutrition project revealed that I was getting mucho fiber. I had already had a few servings that day, so I decided to replace it with...ice cream! Check out the chunks of almonds and pistachios! This was so...nutty.
Thursday
I woke up 45 minutes later than I was supposed to yesterday, which made for a rushed workout and breakfast. I quickly made a peach smoothie and put Corn Bran in a baggie with Craisins and walnuts. Another thing my project revealed is that I am deficient in Omega 3 fatty acids--hence the walnuts.
Lunch yesterday consisted of a tofu stir fry tossed in ED&BV's peanut sauce, whole wheat couscous, and I also ate a big fat orange. This was a winner! Afterward, I headed over to give my first nutritional consultation. The "client" was actually one of my dad's former co-workers, who is fully aware that I am not yet a licensed RD. Regardless, it was great practice!
Before dinner yesterday evening, I stared into the fridge for a few minutes, completely uninspired. So, I settled on an Amy's Bistro Burger, topped with avocado on a whole wheat bun. I also made some Ian's Sweet Potato Fries with my new organic ketchup (which is HFCS-free!). I should make this dinner when I am stressed--it's quite the comfort meal.
The shake last night used plain hemp protein (rather than vanilla). The consistency was off last night, so that affected my ability to evaluate the flavor. Better luck next time.
Friday
Yes, another muffin parfait/trifle. I seriously don't get tired of these things. Anyway, this one was a little different because I used a new Snacktrition product, the Fruit and Nut Mix with added calcium and fiber (as if I need the fiber...). At first glance, the mix seems high in sugar--15 grams per serving--but then I realized that dried fruit is included in the mix, so it's not as if I were consuming added sugars. FYI, this mix is not vegan, due to the yogurt chips (which look and taste deceptively like white chocolate chips). Nonetheless, I would buy this in the future--the combination of the almonds, cashews, dried fruit, and yummy yogurt nuggets make it a worthwhile oatmeal mix-in or yogurt topper. Beneath the trail mix were layers of crumbled muffins, plain organic yogurt, and fresh strawberries. Quite the decadent breakfast!
Random and boring lunch today--chickpeas cooked in jarred pasta sauce with oregano and basil, toast points, salad, and an apple with almond butter.
Dinner was rather pathetic today too, but oh-so-fresh. Corn on the cob, local tomatoes, steamed asparagus, and a scrumptious Sunshine burger made for quite the summery supper. I also had a glass of chocolate soymilk.
Now, I need to get the motivation to study...any bets as to whether it will happen?

Wacky Weather, Wacky Eats

Yesterday was an abnormal eating day for me. First, I went out to lunch with my sister, my mom, and a few friends after my nutrition class. We went to Brio, where their idea of vegetarian is pasta primavera...or pasta primavera. I'll fill you in on the deets below, but let's just say I ended up having two lunches. Then, around 5 PM, serious thunderstorms rolled into town. The power went out, I was left without internet, entertainment, and means of cooking. Even if I had wanted to be a good student and work on my nutrition project, I couldn't.

Translation: boring evening.

However, once my dad returned from teaching his class, we headed to Jason's Deli, which is home to a pretty impressive salad bar. To kill some time afterward, we visited a nearby Banana Republic, where I scored a pencil skirt on sale. Fits me like a glove! The power was back when we returned home, thank goodness--is it sad that I was worried about my Soy Delicious melting?

So, long story short, I didn't do a lot of cooking yesterday, but I still managed to do a lot of eating...as per usual.

Monday
Sorry to be so boring. I just can't get enough of the vanilla hemp-mango combination!

Tuesday
I opened up a fresh box of Clifford Crunch yesterday morning. I topped it off with some plain Silk, and I also sliced up an apple to dip in Sunbutter. This cereal reminds me Alpha Bits from my childhood, except moderately good for me.

As I mentioned above, I went to Brio for lunch. Along with the bread basket, they serve these awesome rosemary-flax crackers--yum! I also ordered the Zuppa di Gigiorno, minestrone. I was hoping for copious legumes but basically got vegetable soup + 2 chickpeas. Boo! More olives would have been nice. Yes, I know I am a fuss-budget. When I returned home, I made a quick wrap out of a whole wheat tortilla, guacamole, firm tofu. I also had a lovely plum. Then I was full.
Upon our return, I also noticed a box waiting for me. It was a box full of samples from Snacktrition. Yay! This company bakes their almonds with calcium to increase their modest existing calcium content. They also have some fiber-rich cashews and trail mix. I can't wait to try them!
Dinner at Jason's consisted of a ginormous salad and lots of their tasty little crackers. Do not be fooled by this picture--that plate is big. Here's what went into my scrumptious mountain: spinach, yellow bell peppers, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and...roasted red pepper hummus! I put some of the hummus on the crackers, which were slightly sweet--the combination was phenomenal! I stashed a few more crackers in my mom's purse before we left--yeah, I'm that classy.
I am trying to increase my kcalories a bit these days, so I made an extra large shake last night. Let me just say that the almond pistachio Soy Delicious was not affected in the least by the power outage. This must be what they eat in heaven.
Wednesday
Remember my chocolate PB? Well I found it lurking in the shadows of the cabinet this morning, so I made a breakfast panini with it. Sliced banana and said PB on whole wheat, plus a Chobani with cinnamon and the banana remnants.
A note on the lady bug cup: this one doesn't belong with the rest. All the other cups say "Baa" or "Woof," but a lady bug doesn't make a sound, so they put "Lady Bug." Couldn't they think of just one other animal that makes a sound?! OK sorry for the rant.
Random lunch today. I combined tahini with chickpeas, lemon juice, oregano, garlic, and roasted red pepper, then stuffed it in a pita. Pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. Broccoli slaw and mixed berries rounded it out. I swear organic berries taste better than conventional.
Dinner was pretty simple: Corn Edamame Salad from V-con, local tomatoes, and an apple with my new hazelnut butter.

Last day of class tomorrow! Wahoo! Happy Humpday!