Peanut Butter, Basketball, and Sisterly Love

Yep, my weekend consisted of three of my favorite things. The ChiO crush party on Friday was a blast; even though all the juniors (myself included) were designated as "sober sisters," we all managed to have lots of fun. Yesterday, I headed over to the basketball game, where we defeated Virginia, 79-54. Sweet. To top off all this weekend fun, I managed to try not 1, not 2, but 3 additional flavors of my new Peanut Butter & Co. products. Life is good.

How did you spend your weekend?

Although I did consume a healthy amount of peanut butter this weekend, it's not all I ate. See for yourself:

Friday
Before heading out for the evening's festivities, I was sure to adequately fuel myself. As a sober sister, I had to be there for the entirety of the event from 9 PM-2 AM. Oy. Anyway, here's what I cobbled together: Amy's Bistro burger on whole wheat with organic K+M, a salad with tomatoes and walnuts, and a dish of grapes.
When I returned from the party, I was famished from all that dancing...so I made my smoothie at 3AM. Yes, my neighbors love me, I am sure. Anyway, here's what went into my concoction: frozen banana, soymilk, cappuccino Spirutein, and a few dairy-free chocolate chips.
Saturday
I suppose you could call this breakfast, even though I didn't eat it until about 12 PM...yes, I actually slept in for once! I made a tropical parfait: plain yogurt, spelt flakes, mango, coconut, and cashews.
For lunch, I made the best of leftovers my making a two-bean chili: chickpeas, black beans, tomato sauce + water, chili powder, cayenne, and onions. On the side I had a baked potato, salad, and a blood orange.
After some hard-core homeworking, I was ready for some grub. I took the lazy route and just made a big salad with soynuts and served it alongside rice crackers and an apple with White Chocolate Wonderful PB. The apple with PB was by far the best part of this meal--the Cameo apple (which I purchased for 99 cents/lb at WF!) was the perfectly sweet accompaniment for the PB. It was almost like dessert. Almost.
The smoothie of the evening featured one of my favorite Spirutein flavors: bluberries 'n cream. I combined that with blueberries, soymilk, and a bit of granola.
Sunday
Before heading out to chapel, I made my customary stovetop oats, this time with strawberries and rice milk for a super creamy texture. Then I plopped a dollop of Dark Chocolate Dreams PB on top...that's just the tip of the PB iceberg you see below; much of it sunk to the bottom of the bowl, which made for a lovely surprise at the end of my meal. Chocolate-covered strawberry, anyone?
I didn't get a chance to eat "lunch" until after the basketball game at 4:30 PM. Yeah, so I was ready to eat anything in sight. I relied on my freezer goodies this time: I heated up a Tofu Scramble Pocket by Amy's Kitchen. While I much prefer my own scrambled tofu creations, this product is great for occasions when time is short...or you're just too hungry to prepare anything for yourself. I served it alongside a salad with Woodstock dressing and a dish of grapes.
Dinner was another spontaneous affair. I made a hummus pocket sandwich and ate it with some steamed veggies and an apple with cashew butter.
The smoothie last night featured unsweetened banana Spirutein with a banana and a sliced peaches for good measure.
Monday
Inspired by a recipe I found in the Skippy cookbook my dad received for Christmas, I made a PB "quesadilla" except there was absolutely no cheese involved. I spread a wrap with Cinnamon Raisin PB and sliced bananas, then threw it on the George Foreman. I also had some cinnamon-spiked yogurt on the side. It was quite melty and delicious.
Now for a completely random question: What kind of toothpaste do you use? I am squishing out the final bits of my tube, so I need to replace it ASAP.

OK, maybe I'll actually be on time to my Faulkner class today. Whatevs--blogging is worth missing a few minutes of class:)

You've Got a Friend in Me

These past few days have been all about reuniting with friends. Study abroad programs are quite popular at Duke, so a large percentage of the junior class has not been on campus since last May. Hence, I hadn't seen some of my buddies for 8 months! Yikes! I've been thoroughly enjoying my run-ins with pals from the past all day; reconnecting with friends always lifts my mood.

I have received some fun Christmas presents from my friends while back at Duke. They know me so well--I received plenty of dishes, a cookbook, and a signed Duke basketball poster with a cute green bracelet. Thanks, friends!
While we're on the topic of friends, I just want to mention that one of my favorite aspects of the blog world is the support and friendship I have found in readers and fellow bloggers. Thanks for making my life a little brighter with your comments and companionship!

My eats have been a tad boring lately due to my super-busy schedule. Here's a look at what I've been munching:

Monday
I ended my busy day of travel in the typical way: with a large, refreshing smoothie. I combined unsweetened vanilla Spirutein (from Sarah) with strawberries, banana, soymilk, and cashew granola. Delish.
Tuesday
Yesterday morning, I had about an hour to eat breakfast, shower, and primp before recruitment activities began again. Thus, a very easy breakfast: mango-rice milk smoothie with coconut and toast with cashew butter.
I packed a lunch to nibble on between parties: hummus sandwich, trail mix made up of pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries, and a big honkin' apple.
I also tossed this bar into my bag at the last second. I think eventually I will have sampled every single "chocolate brownie" flavored bar on the market. I love me some chocolate.
For dinner, I headed out to Elmo's Diner again with some buds. I ordered the exact same things as I did on this occasion, so no pictures. Just as delicious as ever:)

The smoothie of the evening used yet another Spirutein packet given to me by Sarah; this flavor is called "Nutty Berry Burst." I combined it with soymilk, strawberries, and banana. I really enjoyed it due to its very prominent pistachio flavor. YUM!
Wednesday
I kept it simple this morning so as to have plenty of time to get to my classes (first of the semester!). I had a bowl of spelt flakes with rice milk, banana, wheat germ, and almonds. Yet another deluxe cereal bowl, yet another tasty breakfast.
I will be busy with basketball games and more sorority activities later in the day. I keep all my activities straight with my Franklin Covey planner (mine is red with polka dots) and this new wall calendar. How do you keep your life organized?

Be back soon!

Pomegranate Crime Scene

After about 2 weeks of hiding behind my wheat germ jar, the pomegranate I purchased was finally put to good use today. I have absolutely zero experience with pomegranates or their seeds, so preparing this mystery fruit made for quite the adventure. After carefully cutting off the top, I began separating the seeds from the membrane...then the chaos began. Those seeds are slippery little suckers! Let's just say that the preparation session concluded with stained counters, a purple-dotted microwave, a speckled T-shirt, and "freckles" all over my body. In short, it looked like a pomegranate homicide had taken place.

Anyway, the hummus-soynut monotony has gladly come to a close. Check out my most recent eats:

Monday
After a failed smoothie attempt using the Vega vanilla chai protein (*gasp* I actually poured it down the drain!), I settled on another strawberry cream shake: strawberries, soymilk, vanilla soy ice cream, and Nutribody protein.
Tuesday
I decided to get creative with yesterday's parfait. I combined plain yogurt (with cinnamon), sliced pear, bran flakes, currants, and almonds. Out of the ordinary and delicious.
In an effort to use up my eggplant, I made a ratatouille with tomato sauce and onions. I served it with couscous, a salad with wheat germ and sweet dill dressing, and a banana with melty PB for dessert.
For dinner, I was craving comfort food, so I heated up some of Amy's baked beans and served them alongside mac & cheeze (based off of this recipe), broccoli, and green beans.
The smoothie last night was a berry bonanza: blueberries, strawberries, soymilk, and Nutribody protein. I am in dire need of frozen fruit! Eek!
Wednesday
Another week, another Banana Bread Blender. This time, I used spelt flakes instead of bran and honey-roasted peanuts for the nut component. Banana with PB...in liquid form.
Lunch today was inspired by a recipe for Baked Bean Stew from Nubella. I omitted the chicken and made a few other adjustments. Toast points and an apple with glorious almond butter rounded everything out.
I just finished a delicious dinner: I made wagon wheel pasta with broccoli and TVP "meat sauce," and I made a killer salad out of greens, sweet dill dressing, pomegranate seeds, and pecans. Whoa.
I promised you pictures of my semi formal outfit for this Saturday:
This is my first time wearing the dress; I hope it will be right for the occasion. PS Anyone have any suggestions on how to do my hair for the evening?

Alright, I am off to do some sorority activities. Ta-ta for now.