Berry Tripping

Hello, all! I apologize for the delay--my normal midday posting schedule was side-tracked due to a dining committee event. We're hosting a "berry tripping" event on Thursday night for which I was selling tickets. What is berry tripping, you ask? It all centers around the "miracle fruit," a berry grown in West Africa that alters your taste sensations. A glycoprotein present in the berry makes sour things taste sweet: just imagine sucking on a lemon that tastes like lemonade, or guzzling Guinness that tastes like a milkshake.

Check out this video from the NYT for an inside look at this food trend.

What do you think? Would you be brave enough to go on a berry trip?

Anyway, here's what I've been chomping on since my last post:

Monday
Inspired by my recent purchase of frozen artichoke hearts (from TJ's), I decided to whip up a vegan spinach artichoke dip. I based my version on the recipe from the Chicago Diner Cookbook, which includes vegan mayo, artichokes, garlic, and spinach. To make a completely dippable meal, I also served up some hummus with sliced olives on top. I used some more of those fab baked blue corn chips to shovel in the tastiness. Oh yeah, some salad a few grapes added a little more nutrition to the meal.
Following my dining committee meeting, I made another mock tuna melt, using my standard chickpea mixture as the "tuna" and melted provolone for the "melt." The end result was much better than last time--sliced cheese is much more melty than a chopped up cheddar stick. I also had a big salad from the salad bar with Annie's Balsamic Vinaigrette, plus a dish of melon.
For my smoothie that evening, I whipped up a frothy peach-banana combo with Nutribody. Sadly, I am nearing the end of my Nutribody AND my Cascadian Farm granola...looks like I'll need to go shopping for smoothie supplies soon:)
Tuesday
I've had this "People's Choice" yogurt by Stonyfield sitting in my fridge for a while--since it was so "special," I felt like I should use it creatively. In the end, it formed one of the components of my blueberry-pom parfait. I layered TJ's High Fiber cereal, said yogurt, blueberries, and almonds to make it. The yogurt tasted mostly like blueberry to me, but it was tasty, nonetheless. I really like this cereal though--it's like a gloriously aspartame-free Fiber One. I am also mildly obsessed with its cereal cousin, TJ's High Fiber Fruit and Nut Medley. Hmm...perhaps these will appear in future product reviews?
After my test, I came back to the apartment for a little comfort food...which has come to mean Goddess Garbanzos. I put the delicious mess in an Italian herb wrap with mixed greens and served it alongside a salad with 'shrooms and chopped apricots, plus grapes and steamed sugar snap peas.
I was stuck at home doing homework last night (rather than attending the basketball game against FSU), so I treated myself to an old fave while watching it on TV: scrambled tofu. I included zucchini in the mix for this one and served it with a whole wheat mini bagel, Brussels sprouts, greens, and an orange.
My nightly blog-reading was accompanied by a fab shake: strawberries, banana, soymilk, dark cocoa powder, and chocolate rice protein. A few more of those Annie's Bunnies decided to take a swim.
Wednesday
I am trying to whittle down my cereal selection (what? 8 boxes is too many?), so I opted for a hot bowl of Autumn Wheat today. I also had a banana with some Cinnamon Swirl PB.
Today's lunch was a double-salad: Waldorf salad, plus herb/greens mix with chickpeas. How can you go wrong with almonds, raisins, and apples? I also had a few crackers on the side.
There are a few giveaways in blogland that I wanted to let you all know about.

Olga from Healthing It is giving away a gift certificate for Me & Goji cereal. I've never tried it, but I love the idea of fully customizable cereal! Enter by March 9th!

Katie from Chocolate-Covered Katie is giving away Jocolat bars. I love me some Jocolat bars! I reviewed the chocolate mint variety here. Contest ends March 19th.

That concludes this installment of the Broccoli Hut adventures. Next post will be from DC!

The Home Stretch

I am so close to being done with summer classes! I can't wait to have a few weeks to chill before I head back to Duke...for more classes. I am posting now because I have my anatomy final later today at 4PM and then my nutrition final tomorrow at 8AM--not much recovery time! So rather than blogging this evening when I should be studying, I thought a midday post would be best.

Friday
Excellent smoothie night! Almonds/Pistachios+cherries=party in a blender. It's amazing the wonders that ice cream can do... Saturday
Nothing like a weekend breakfast of scrambled tofu. What did I do before I discovered this stuff? Anyway, this one had tahini, ginger, garlic, turmeric, soy sauce, and green onions. Whole wheat toast points and amazing cherries rounded it all out. Saturday was my big study day, but I took a short break for a simple lunch. I opted for an old standby: hummus, lettuce, and red onion stuffed into an oat bran pita with a side salad, cashews, and a big orange.
I didn't give much thought to dinner until my stomach started growling, so I made an easy dip that I have made before, spinach artichoke dip (from the Chicago Diner Cookbook). In case you can't tell, I went a bit heavy on the spinach...maybe more of the Nayonaise next time? I spread it on Ak-Maks and cucumbers, plus I had a side salad and a banana with hazelnut butter for dessert. The banana-hazelnut combo is far superior to that of apple-hazelnut.
My shake of the evening deserves a spot in my top five frozen concoctions. Almonds and cocoa make for an incredible taste sensation! Maybe next time I'll try carob powder instead of the Special Dark Cocoa...
Sunday
Another simple pre-church meal: Van's whole wheat waffles with almond butter and blueberries.
After some light studying, I got really hungry. I made another batch Absent Egg Salad (tofu, vegan mayo, paprika, celery, lemon juice, and a bit of dijon mustard). I wrapped it up in a whole wheat tortilla and served it with a salad (with added honey roasted peanuts for crunch) and some more of those fabulous cherries. I perused the new J.Crew catalog while I munched.
For dinner, my whole family (sisters and spouses, mom and dad, plus me) all headed over to some friends' house for a little shindig. I snacked on some tortilla chips before dinner, but I refrained from any alcohol. The dinner menu consisted of burgers, potato salad, fruit salad, pasta salad, baked beans, Caprese salad, and peanut butter pie. The hosts were kind enough to give me the heads up, so I brought my own Gardenburger to heat up in the M-wave. Of course I ate my mom's famous baked beans (vegetarian recipe!), lots of fruit salad, and some of the Caprese salad too. I felt a little awkward bringing out the camera, so no pics. Sorry!

The shake was bad last night. I guess I was overdue for a failure since my last two were so exceptional. Boo.
Monday
I am getting so repetitive in my breakfasts, guys. I apologize...but they're still tasty:) Another muffin parfait/trifle today. This time I used some carob muffin tops I found in the freezer (I think I made them in March??) The addition of plain yogurt, blueberries, and sliced almonds made for a divine breakfast treat.
That's it for now. Next time I post it will be from my new computer!