Are You Afraid of the Dark?

**Thanks to everyone for your kind comments in response to my post entitled "Another First." I really enjoyed the experience, and I appreciate your support!**

Aside from being a super-awesome Nickelodeon television show from my childhood, today's post refers to how I felt this morning. I hopped out of bed at 7AM this morning, as per usual, to walk across campus to the gym. When I open up the door, however, it appears to be the middle of the night. Oh, yeah. Daylight Savings Time. While it's great to have the prolonged sunlight in the evening, I had forgotten that there is a trade-off--it's much darker in the AM. Central campus (where I reside) has a reputation as being more crime-ridden than one might prefer, so this unexpected darkness made me a little nervous. Yes, I admit it--I was afraid of the dark. Fortunately, the sun came along soon enough, so my trek over to the gym was minimally frightening. How about you? Are you afraid of the dark?

Anyway, since my last meal re-cap, I have returned to school for the final portion of the semester. Here's what I ate in my last few days of freedom.

Friday
I have another rare snack to share: Rachel's cottage cheese with pear and mangosteen. To be honest, I'm pretty sure I have never even seen a mangosteen, but I still thought this flavor sounded intriguing. I enjoyed mine with some raw cashews. I think the reason I like these flavored cottage cheese cups so much is that they remind me of Breakstone's Cottage Doubles. They have the same portability and tastiness--without all the icky ingredients.
For dinner, I decided on the Thai Chick-Un Pizza from ED&BV (quite possibly my very fave cookbook). I have made it before (see here and here), and it never disappoints. I wish I had had the pineapple that the recipe requires, but no such luck. Nonetheless, it was quite delicious. I also had a salad and some clementines.
My shake of the evening was of the choco-nana variety: unsweetened chocolate Spirutein, frozen banana, vanilla non-dairy ice cream, and soymilk. Sorry for the crap-tastic picture--at least you have a nice few of my current cookbook obsessions in the background.
Saturday
Following my race on Saturday, I knew exactly what I wanted for breakfast. I had mentioned it in my last post when I showed you my GoLean Muffin creations...yep, I made a muffin parfait. This one featured said muffins, Greek yogurt, blueberries, and Mighty Maple PB. I love how the muffins soak up all the flavors of the other layers. See yesterday's post for details.
I had a quick lunch so that I could devote my full attention to the ACC tournament on TV. (FYI: DUKE WON THE TOURNAMENT). Anyway, I made a ginormous wrap with chickpeas, steamed cauliflower, red bell pepper, mixed greens, and Woodstock dressing. This wrap ended up being quite messy and falling apart after my picture. Nonetheless, it was quite tasty. On the side, I had more greens and a big bowl of watermelon.

As a last hurrah before my departure, the whole fam came over for dinner. I needed to use up some leftover beans, so I made some hummus inspired by Caitlin's purple hummus...except mine was pink! With my hand blender, I combined red beans, liquid smoke, tahini, paprika, cumin, garlic, and S + P. The end result was quite smoky and garlicky, which doesn't make for the best breath, but it tastes good goin' down. I put a hefty amount in an oat bran pita with some spinach. I also had some salad, clementines, and grabbed the last few green beans from the serving bowl. You gotta be quick in my house if you want some green beans, apparently.
After a night out at a piano bar (which was another first for me), I came home to make a quick shake: S'mores Spirutein, dark cocoa, soymilk, banana, and non-dairy vanilla ice cream. Yum.
Sunday
I re-fueled before church with a simple breakfast: Toast with PB and fig jam, a clementine, and some good ol' Fage.
I packed my lunch for the airport, which I'm afraid featured more simple fare: leftover pink hummus, Ak-Maks, assorted veggies, and grapes. Garlic breath and small enclosed spaces (i.e. airplanes) are not a good combination. Oops.
I tried a new bar for my snack: a PURE bar in the Chocolate Chip Trail Mix flavor. Look for a review in the future...
Once home, unpacked, and re-stocked with some produce, I settled into dinner. I made a salad with chopped up soy nuggets, spinach, and a homemade agave-mustard dressing. On the side, I had some corn, broccoli, and applesauce with almonds. I promise my culinary creativity will return eventually...
For my smoothie, I amped up the raspberry: raspberries, raspberry Spirutein, soymilk, and Peak Protein granola. I found this in the cabinet from way back when the kind folks at Bear Naked sent me samples.
Monday
Back to the grind this morning. I just heated up some rice milk and poured it over Autumn Wheat cereal and served it with a sliced apple & Cinnamon Swirl PB.
Heads up on an upcoming giveaway:
Em of the Health Nut is giving away an Eat Right bag from the American Dietetic Association. Enter by March 20th at midnight, EST.

Well, it's my first day back, and I am already running late for class again. Sheesh. Enjoy your Monday!

The Beauty-Nutrition Connection

Last night, in one of my typical random AIM conversations with my dad, he sent me a link to this recipe: Smoothie for Your Skin. As both you and he are well-aware, I have a special place in my heart for smoothies and shakes, so this recipe quite piqued my interest. Looks like I should add a little flax to my smoothie routine:)

I am a firm believer that nutrition can cure most ills, including matters of physical appearance. As I've mentioned before, a diet rich in healthy fats can do wonders for hair.What foods do you eat that offer beauty benefits?

Perhaps I should take a closer look at my eats for any inadvertent beauty-boosting fare...

Wednesday
Just before heading out to my last few tutoring appointments, I whipped up a quick tofu salad, which I dressed with my homemade sweet dill dressing. I added some pecans and raisins for texture. The whole mess was place atop a bed of greens and accompanied by Corn Thins and kiwi.
That night, I watched a very disappointing Duke basketball game while simultaneously studying for my exam the next day. I also used making dinner as a procrastination tool...where is my motivation? Anyway, I made a grilled cheese with onions and tomato and served it with butternut squash fries, salad with Woodstock dressing, and peaches.
I kept the smoothie relative nutritious that night with blueberries, strawberries, soymilk, and vanilla Spirutein.
Thursday
My 8:30 AM class was cancelled again this week, so I once again seized the opportunity to make a leisurely breakfast. Vegan banana pancakes were on the menu this time, spread with Dark Chocolate Dreams PB. Let's face it. Bananas, chocolate, and PB were meant to be together.
After my exam, I made a simple wrap using a white bean spread from ED&BV which includes cashews and nutritional yeast. I added some spinach and served the wrap with a few peaches.
Then I received an e-mail alerting me of a package at my PO Box. What's this?! I didn't order anything...POM Wonderful!
Does anyone else find these little bottles incredibly appealing? Can't wait to try it--thanks, Janny!

For dinner, I kept it simple and made a pasta salad. I used whole wheat angel hair, sliced mozzarella, chickpeas, tomatoes, steamed asparagus, and carrots, all sprinkled with garlic salt and raspberry vinaigrette.
The shake last night featured strawberries, banana, soymilk, chocolate Spirutein, and dairy-free chocolate chips. Yum.

Friday
I had some leftover butternut squash lying around this morning, so I decided to use it up by making Hungry Girl's Butternut Squash Hash Browns. Basically, the only part of this recipe that tasted reminiscent of hash browns was the ketchup. Bummer. Anyway, I served the squash mess with some scrambled tofu, toast, and kiwi.
By the time I returned from Whole Foods, got my laundry done, and cleaned the apartment, I was famished. I made a quick version of ED&BV's Thai Chick-Un Pizza. I say "quick" because I cheated and used prepared peanut sauce for the base. I also left out a lot of the other suggested toppings, but I was still quite satisfied with just the bell peppers and chickpeas. On the side, I had some more asparagus, mixed greens, and, yes, another dish of peaches.
For dinner this evening, due to my position on the dining committee, I got to evaluate an on-campus eatery (the same one I evaluated here), this time evaluating the delivery service. I ordered steamed veggies with garlic sauce on the side and steamed rice (sadly, brown rice is not an option). I added my own cashews and supplemented the meal with a blood orange. I pulled my usual "prettifying" technique and took everything out of the containers for your viewing pleasure!
My sister and her husband arrive for a weekend visit tomorrow, and I am super-psyched; I love visitors! I think a basketball game and a trip to Trader Joe's may be on the agenda:) Anyway, I'll still try to put together my usual "feature post" on Sunday after their departure. Any topic requests?

Enjoy your weekend!