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!

Drowning in Food Points

Although living in an on-campus apartment is quite convenient, it does have one major drawback: I must purchase a dining plan. As you may have noticed, I haven't been patronizing the university's eateries with quite the same regularity as last year, when I lived in a dormitory setting. The combination of having access to a full kitchen and simply becoming bored with the eateries' offerings, I prefer to prepare meals at home most of the time (with the occasional purchase at the mediocre salad bar). While I am able to use my dining plan at the on-campus grocery store for canned beans, Amy's burritos, and $6 boxes of cereal, it never seems to diminish my never-ending supply of dining funds. The result of this lack of on-campus spending translates into a major food points surplus--due to last semester's excess points and my moderate spending habits this semester, I have to spend $1300 before April 28th. Yikes! If only I were able to use food points at Whole Foods...Anyone else have experience with this?

Alright, now that I have my dining dilemma off my chest, we can proceed to the eats:

Monday
After class, I was surprised to find myself with extra time--now that my tutoring appointments have ended (for now), I don't have to rush around so much. I took advantage of the extra time by preparing some homemade bean stew: pinto beans, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, garlic, tomato sauce, and curry powder made for a tasty dish. (I made a similar soup here). Toast and applesauce with cashews rounded it all out.
As per usual, I had my dining committee meeting on Monday night. Afterward, I was pretty hangry so, I grabbed a salad from the salad bar, then came home to prepare some killer accompaniments. I heated up some of TJ's chickenless nuggets and baked up a quick batch of sweet potato fries. Served up with plenty of organic ketchup, this meal was pretty awesome. That's Woodstock dressing on the salad.
I decided that I have been neglecting my beloved Nutribody protein for far too long, so I made a simple strawberry-blueberry smoothie with it. Yum.
Tuesday
Due to the rapid rise in temperatures, I decided that I could start having smoothies for breakfast again. Yes, I know--it's an addiction. Anyway, this one included peaches, banana, and rice milk; that's a mini bagel with cashew butter on the side.
Lunch was an old standard: scrambled tofu with broccoli. Seriously, what did I eat before I had scrambled tofu?! If you care to reminisce, here is a link to the very first time I made it. This batch tasted especially fabulous--somehow it turns out better when I use a fresh jar of tahini. I stuffed the mixture (well, as much as would fit) into an Ezekiel pita and had some greens and a blood orange on the side.
As I mentioned above, there is an on-campus grocery store where I may use some of my plenteous food points. I often browse the aisles and find some surprising products, such as this one: concentrated pesto. To be honest, I don't think I've ever had normal pesto. Nonetheless, this introduction to the food proved to be relatively pleasant. I squirted a couple tablespoons of the green goo with some whole grain angel hair pasta and squash. I had more greens (trying to use up the bag before it gets slimy!) topped with chopped apricots and a dish of fresh blackberries from TJ's.
For the smoothie last night, I used another Spirutein packet, this time in the Tropical Fruit flavor. Strawberries, pineapple, and coconut made this concoction pretty awesome.
Wednesday
I took the time to make a breakfast parfait this morning, and the end result was decidely berry-tastic. TJ's blueberry Greek yogurt, frozen blueberries, fiber cereal, and almonds made for a delicious breakfast treat. Oh Trader Joe, how I love thee. PS Lately, I've been sampling different brands of Greek yogurt (*gasp* venturing away from my beloved Fage?!). For all you Greek yogurt fans, what's your favorite brand/flavor?
It doesn't look like I'll be able to get into the Duke-UNC game tonight, which is a major bummer. I'll likely end up watching it on TV with some buds. What are your plans for this evening?