Life as a List-Maker

Hello, my name is Caroline, and I am a chronic list-maker.

It's true; my roommate and I both share a love of making itemized lists (hence why I gave her this book for Christmas). Our apartment often looks as if a Post-It blizzard has struck--our laptops, the refrigerator door, and even the bedroom wall usually are host to a few brightly colored stickies with lists on them. Recently, however, I graduated from Post-Its to a more attractive way of recording my lists. Check out one of my latest purchases from Home Goods:
A Cook's Planner!
Are you a list-maker? What do you make lists for? Do you take one to the grocery store? I usually take a list so that I don't forget specialized items for recipes, but I rarely buy solely what is written on it...I inevitably have a few impulse buys.

I am aiming to be on time to class today, so let's move onto the food!

Monday
One of my fun projects over spring break was to go through my pile of Clean Eating magazines and select a few recipes to try in the coming months. One from the most recent issue caught my eye: the Avocado Egg Salad. I veganized it by using cubed silken tofu rather than boiled egg whites. There's also some dijon mustard and paprika in there for some kick. I served it atop a bed of greens alongside some Ak Maks and grapes. Quite a green meal!
I have yet another snack to share with you all. I don't normally post snacks since they're pretty repetitive. Accordingly, I have been getting bored with my usual yogurt+Sunbutter combos, so I decided to mix it up. Here you see Tofurky-provolone roll-ups with a few almonds. Although I authored a snack post a while back, now I am asking you: what are your favorite snacks?
I had a sorority event that night, so I put together a quick wrap for dinner: artichokes, bell peppers, and mozzarella in an Italian herb flatbread, plus asparagus with walnuts and garlic salt, and a perfectly ripe orange.
For my smoothie, I combined mango, raspberries, soymilk, and the very last bit of my drum of Nutribody protein. I really like the color raspberries add to my smoothies! I topped it with another kind of granola that I found lurking in the cupboard: Bear Naked Mango Agave Almond. Sounds like my kind of thing, no? Check out those hunks of mango!
Tuesday
My oat bran addiction continues. This time, I cooked it in rice milk and vanilla extract, then added pumpkin and banana. I used cashew butter as the perfect topper. This took fo-evah to eat! Totally worth being late to class for it:)
Another recent obsession: homemade hummus. I make Greek hummus yesterday, as inspired by this recipe from Rachael Ray. Olives, parsley, oregano, tahini, chickpeas=tastiness. I served it with some whole wheat mini pitas, cucumber sticks, and an apple. Lots of green goin' on here, too...
In honor of St. Paddy's Day, I made an even greener meal for dinner: whole grain pasta with peanut lime sauce, edamame, snap peas, and broccoli. I got the idea for this one from Ellie Krieger. I also had some greens on the side.
My smoothie of the evening featured unsweetened peach Spirutein, peaches, raspberries, and soymilk. I used more of that heavenly mango granola on top.

Wednesday
With the warmer temperatures these days, I have returned to my 2-a-day smoothie habit. Today's featured that tasty pumpkin-banana combo again, along with rice milk and flax. On the side, I had a mini bagel with a Laughing Cow wedge.
Take a look at what I found waiting for me at my door yesterday:
CHOBANI! I know so many of you bloggers out there love 'em, so tell me how you like to enjoy them the most. How do you Chobani? (Yes, I have made Chobani a verb).

Reminders:
-Eating Bender is giving away TWO amazing assortments of her favorite items. Enter by tonight at 8PM CST.
-Visit Say Yes to Salad for a chance to win some Oikos coupons. Those would come in handy on my recent mission to sample all Greek yogurts...Enter by today at 12PM PST.
-Enter my giveaway for a gift certificate to MixMyGranola by Friday, March 20 at 11:59 PM EST.

Alright, C Yode out!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

After a few stints in various modes of transportation, I have finally arrived in DC for the weekend. Spring break has officially begun, and I have entered relaxation mode. Check out the view from our hotel room today at sunset:
What are you up to this weekend?

Backtracking to those last few days before freedom:

Wednesday
Those frozen artichoke hearts were calling my name again, so I made a quick pasta dish to incorporate them. Whole wheat angel hair pasta, artichoke hearts, pesto tofu, and minced garlic made for a delicious evening meal. On the side, I had some steamed snap peas and lots of greens with tomatoes. Can you tell that I was trying to use up my produce?!
The smoothie that evening was another peach-mango concoction using Nutribody protein. Tasty, as always.
Thursday
As you may know, I have a fondness for vegan French toast, particularly for Tofu-Banana French Toast from the Imus Ranch Cookbook. Indeed, half the reason for my enjoyment of the dish is for the batter itself--I could eat it with a spoon...so I did. (Since it is a vegan recipe, the batter is egg-free, so eating the batter does not present a threat of salmonella). Instead of using the batter for its intended use, I ate it as a pudding, into which I dipped some more of those blueberry mini waffles. I washed it all down with rice milk.
After my last class, I was in a particularly celebratory mood due to not having class for the next 10 days. I kicked things up with a BBQ veggie hash: chickpeas, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, and Whole Foods brand BBQ. I scooped it all up with baked blue corn chips, and I used up the rest of my fresh produce in a salad with cashews and a dish of grapes.
Then I packed up my suitcase for home...I thought you all would appreciate some of my "travelling essentials."
I also packed up dinner and a few snacks for my flights that evening. Dinner consisted of a veggie bologna sandwich, an apple, almonds, and raw veggies. For snacks, I brought along a light cheddar stick with rice crackers and a small container of TJ's trail mix.
Once at the airport, I picked up another small snack to nosh on while reading Shape. Mango? Yes, please.
I arrived home late, but I needed to pack up for DC before bed. Here's a glimpse at my reading material and my "emergency breakfast kit." What are some of your travel essentials for eating healthfully?
Finally, I got to sit down and read a few blogs with my nightly smoothie: Vanilla Alive! protein with blueberries, rice milk and Nature's Path cashew-ginger granola. Ah, the comforts of home.
Friday
Before heading out to the airport (again!), I had a quick breakfast: Rudi's bagel with Sunbutter, apple, and Friendship cottage cheese with apple pie spice. Oh Rudi, how I missed you.
By the time we arrived at the train station in DC, I was starving. Fortunately, there is a "grab and go" Au Bon Pain in the station, so I snagged a few items to eat: garden salad (with sprouts!), mixed nuts, vanilla soymilk, grapes, and whole grain bread. I didn't eat all this...but pretty close.

Next up was dinner at Nora, the nation's first certified organic restaurant. I was surprised to find that the vegetarian options were rather limited (read: only one entree was meat-free). Nonetheless, I had a fabulous meal. I ordered a spicy tofu hot pot with loads of veggies and soba noodles. I drained that bowl clean:) For dessert, I ordered the coconut sorbet, aka heaven in a martini glass. Everything I ordered was completely delicious, and completely vegan, as the waitress assured me.
Whew! I am spent from all that eating. It's so nice to visit a city where eating out is a delight and stress-free for vegan/vegetarians. What are your favorite cities for dining?

Before I sign off, I want to let you all know about a special giveaway over at Blue Plate Special. Anna is offering the chance to win Raising the Bar, a book about the creators of my beloved Clif bars. In case you missed it, I recently did a review of ALL Clif bars (minus the peanut flavors)--check it out here. Obviously, I am one of Clif's biggest fans:)

Good night, all!