Wintry Wonders

Check out what I found outside my window yesterday morning:
Yes, like any good Southern girl, I whipped out my camera as soon as I realized that the novelty of snow had arrived here in North Carolina. Once I got to campus, I continued my photo shoot at various destinations in the Gothic winter wonderland:
The pristine appearance of the snow has now degraded, however, as the campus is now covered in mounds of icy, gray sludge. OK, I'm ready for spring now.

With all this chilly weather, I've been eating nothing but warm eats (with the exception of my smoothies, of course). Enjoy:

Monday
After my dining meeting (at which we sampled salads from here) I was still hungry for a more substantial evening meal. I combined white beans, green beans, tomato sauce, garlic, and oregano for a tasty Italian skillet dish; that's couscous and applesauce with peanuts on the side.
For my shake, I made another strawberry dream: strawberries, non-dairy ice cream, soymilk, and Nutribody protein.
Tuesday
Although all I wanted to do was to go play in the snow, I first prepared myself a waffle tower breakfast: waffles topped with cinnamon-spiked plain yogurt, blueberries, and almonds.
For lunch, I made a simple tofu salad with my favorite sweet-dill-agave dressing with a few cranberries mixed in. I enjoyed it atop a Rudi's English muffin and served alongside a salad with pecans and a few grapes. After enjoying the day's Inauguration coverage, I settled in for an Indian-inspired meal. I made a curry out of kidney beans, onions, and assorted spices and served it alongside pita bread, green beans, salad with Woodstock dressing, and pineapple.
My smoothie last night was delicious: banana, peaches, soymilk, Nutribody protein, and the last of my ginger granola made for a delectable evening snack.
Wednesday
My morning class was cancelled this morning, so I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast this morning. I devoted this extra time to Banana-Tofu French toast...it never gets old. I topped this batch with cashews and spiced pumpkin. PS Is anyone else as fascinated by Michelle Obama as I am? I really liked this article.
Today's lunch included a Waldorf salad (apple, vegan mayo, almonds, and dried currants) along with a white bean dip and crackers.
I am off to (perhaps) get some work done. What are you up to this evening?

Ciao for now.

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!

The Last Hurrah

Since my last post, my life has been one big last hurrah--a final trip to the lake, plus one last (bittersweet) Whole Foods run. My time at the lake was spent celebrating my dad's Double Nickel (aka his 55th birthday) with my sisters, Ryan, and my parents. We passed the time exploring the lake and, well, just chilling together. I love weekends like that.

As for the Whole Foods run, I picked out a few things to enjoy for the remainder of my time at home, but I will miss having access to a large Whole Foods location. The Durham WF has a great "family" atmosphere (yes, they do know me by name...), but it is quite small and limited in selection. I know, I know--I lead such a deprived life;)

I'll quite being such a Negative Nancy, though--onto the eats!

Friday
Yes, I am a creature of habit--the mango-vanilla makes another comeback. At least this time I mixed it up with a bit of shredded coconut.

Saturday
We woke up bright and early to head down to the lake. I scarfed down a bowl of GoLean with almond milk and walnuts, plus a bowl of cherries that ended up being a road snack. Check out my one of my fellow passengers, Gus.
As per usual at the lake, I dug into the freezer for my lunch: a vegan Boca burger on whole wheat with lots of mustard, lettuce, and tomato. I also had a salad, walnuts with dried cherries, and an orange.
For the birthday dinner, I was in charge of appetizers, so I made a White Bean Dip from Giada, using this recipe. Surprisingly, my anti-health food sister loved it. After sampling my Bunco dips and this one, she has dubbed me "the queen of dips." She doesn't have to know that I don't come up with the recipes myself...
The dinner consisted of my mom's pasta salad, with steamed broccoli and fresh watermelon. I made my own vegan version by using beans and cashews instead of chicken and cheese. I highly recommend the addition of cashews to pasta salad--they add richness and crunch.
I forgot to bring a packet of hemp protein for my voyage to the lake, so I just made a smoothie from vanilla yogurt, soymilk, and frozen blueberries. I used Cascadian Farm granola as a topper.
Sunday
I finally got around to making banana pancakes again. I never get tired of these things. To pump up the fruit content of this breakfast even more, I also had an orange.
After a toodling around in the boat for a bit, we started packing up, and I made a quick lunch: salad with beans and salsa, whole wheat tortillas, and almonds with dried cherries.

We returned home just before dinnertime, so we decided to take it easy and order in Chinese. I just got some steamed vegetables, but I jazzed it up with tofu, sliced almonds, and an agave-mustard sauce I made up. Hit the spot!
I used up the last of my vanilla hemp last night--no more mango-vanilla combinations! Maybe I'll try the Cocoa Chile flavor next time...Anyway, I decided to use a cherry in my garnish last night--it was nice and soggy by the time I got to the bottom of the cup:)
Monday
Another grilled breakfast sammie this morning, except this time I used sliced apples. Apples + PB in sandwich form=heaven. The flavor actually reminded me of apple pie. Hmm, perhaps a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg would be a good addition? I washed it down with a glass of almond milk.
Lunch was so simple but so tasty. I used Whole Foods brand refried black beans and mashed avocado on a whole wheat tortilla to make a burrito. I found some leftover salad in the fridge to which I added a new salad dressing (no HFCS or trans fats!) and some wheat germ. I have seen other bloggers (Kath) use wheat germ on salads, so I decided to give it a whirl. It was good with a sweet dressing, but I'm not sure how it would taste with more savory varieties.
Dinner was a ED&BV favorite, Goddess Garbanzos. I can totally see myself making this at school--it's so easy and satisfying. More importantly, it dirties up very few dishes--a definite pro for a girl living in an apartment without a dishwasher. I stuffed the yummy goop into an Ezekiel pita and served it alongside veggies and a side salad.
Before I go, I wanted to share a blog with you all that my sister introduced to me: Cake Wrecks. I never thought I would find dessert so hilarious. For more professional cakes, take a look at Duff's creations. Enjoy!