A Year in Review...

If you've been lurking in the food blogosphere lately, I am sure you have noticed that some of my fellow bloggers have published "Year in Review" posts. It seems like a good idea...so I am totally mooching off of their brilliance.

Here are a few of my favorite posts from the past year:

March
Introduction
Exciting News

April
Farmers' Market on the Quad!
Getting to Know Caroline
Becoming Vegan: to Be or not to Be?

May
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig
Cookbook Burnout
Getting to Know Caroline, Part II

June
Weekend Wrap Up
Matrimonial Frenzy
Major Spill

July
Wal-Mart Gourmet
Chop, Chop!
Back from Hot-lanta

August
Chicago, My Kind of Town
Chicago, the Foodie Perspective

September
Healthy Habits: Smoothie Makin'
An Unexpected Houseguest
Boys on the Brain

October
Lucky Day
The Comforts of Home
Return of Blue Devils Basketball

November
Pomegranate Crime Scene
Boxers and Brazil Nuts
Another Food-fest Complete

December
Healthy Habits: Taste the Rainbow!
All Wrapped Up
A Very Merry Caroline

OK, onto the more recent eats:

Wednesday
I had to eat quickly before heading out to a New Year's celebration. I kept it simple with a Sunshine patty with salsa, salad, broccoli, and Greek yogurt with wheat germ and blackberries.
No shake on Wednesday...several glasses of wine and a White Russian took its place. Almost as healthy, right?

Thursday
Breakfast yesterday was another banana blender concoction. I used GoLean again (my fave cereal) along with almonds this time. Perfect consistency!

Lunch consisted of the Tangy BBQ sandwich from Lindsay's cookbook. It was yummy, but I think I should have used more of Annie's BBQ sauce. I served it with mixed greens and a dish of blackberries with walnuts.
The end of a very boring day was made a little better with some black eyed peas to which I added mushrooms and onion, as well as Tabasco and BBQ seasoning. I also had some kale, a salad, and a baked potato with cinnamon and cashews.
The shake last night was slightly unusual in that I combined strawberries, chocolate, and peanut butter: all wonderful ingredients that I had never thought to enjoy simultaneously. It was fabulous, despite the crappy picture.
Friday
My mom and I had some errands to run today, so I made a quickie breakfast: pumpkin-banana smoothie and a Rudi's bagel with Maple PB
After scoring some new clothes on discount at the mall, we returned home for lunch. I finished off my divine shiitake-tomato hummus in a wrap with sun-dried tomatoes and field greens. I also had a salad with Woodstock dressing and an apple.
Check out what I got in the mail today:
Anyone tried these? What do you think of them?

Dinner tonight was inspired by this recipe. I didn't have any plum jam, so I improvised with blueberry jam (which I reviewed here). I think any jam would work in this recipe--its primary purpose is to add sweetness to the tofu. The cashews are also my contribution to the recipe.
As I've mentioned before, I am a self-proclaimed shoe addict. With some Christmas $$in my pocket just itching to be spent, I am contemplating a Zappos order. What's your current favorite in footwear?

Happy weekend!

Buzzing and Blending

So sorry for yet another delayed post today; Friday nights are not always conducive to posting for a college student's schedule. I celebrated Halloween by going out to dinner with friends (Elmo's again!), making a Target run (where I happened to run into a certain someone), and checking out some the Devil's Eve festivities on campus. I buzzed around in the cold as a bumble bee this year, although I ultimately ended up having an hours-long conversation with one of my dear friends. Alas, I have no crazy Halloween partying to report, but I wouldn't have spent my evening any other way:)

This morning was my sorority's philanthropy event, a mocktail blend-off to support Make-A-Wish Foundation. I contributed my beloved Bullet for the contestants' use--it seems to be no worse for the wear. In retrospect, I probably should have participated myself, considering how much I love all things blended!

Here's what I've been chowing on for the past few days:

Wednesday
To be honest, I don't really remember what went into this smoothie. I think it was soymilk, berry hemp protein, blackberries, and banana.
Thursday
Just hours after receiving them, I seized the opportunity to use some of those sandwich thins. I toasted the wheat variety and spread them with a combination of almond butter and agave nectar. On the side I had some grapes and cottage cheese.
Thursday afternoon was packed with things to do and people to see: advising appointment, marketing the blend-off, working out, plus my weekly RUF meeting. As a result, lunch was a tad pathetic: black eyed pea spread (with cumin and hot sauce), zucchini, carrots, crackers, and an apple with PB. Snore.
For dinner, I made another quick hash, using crumbled tofu, spinach, bell peppers, and soy sauce. I also made a quick serving of mashed potatoes (instant--don't judge!), salad with dried cherries, and cranberry sauce with walnuts. YUM.
Again, I am not quite sure what I put in this smoothie (where has my memory gone?!), but I think it was a combination of berry hemp protein, soymilk, blackberries, and strawberries.
Friday
I look forward to Fridays every week, because it means I actually have the time to make a real breakfast. This week, I decided on the Imus Ranch Tofu-Banana French Toast again. I am seriously considering just making a batch of the batter one of these days and eating it straight--it's that good. Anyway, I topped my slices with banana, walnuts, and agave nectar.
After my usual Whole Foods run, I returned home to make another repeat recipe: a Better Bunny Sandwich from the Rudi's Bakery website. Carrots, pineapple, raisins, vegan mayo, and cinnamon make for quite the tasty combination (especially atop a sandwich thin!). On the side I had a "creative" salad: Romaine, mushrooms, wheat germ, and a dressing made up of blackberry preserves and lemon juice. This made for quite the sweet meal.
As I mentioned above, we went to Elmo's Diner for dinner again last night. I ordered the same spinach salad as last time (no mess-up this time), plus a hummus appetizer as my main entree. The menu doesn't lie when it says "spicy!" I love me some pita bread.
My smoothie last night consisted of a frozen banana, acai hemp protein, blueberries, and soymilk.
That's all for now, but before I go, check out my bumble bee get-up:
Enjoy your Saturday!

Motor Mouth

Although I am generally a girl of relatively few (spoken) words, today I just could not keep my mouth shut. Of course, the approaching Halloween weekend and some exciting romantic (!) developments might have had something to do with it, but I was going a mile-a-minute when I talked to my mom on the phone today. I feel sorry for my poor roomie, who upon returning from a long day of exams and tests, was greeted by my motor mouth. Perhaps I should switch to decaffeinated tea?

Before I get started, I want to be sure that you are all aware of Arnold's Name That Sandwich Contest. Just think--you could be responsible for a sandwich revolution! Check out the rules here.

Rena from Arnold Bread was kind enough to notify me of this opportunity and send me some samples of their sandwich thins (which are not available in my area), plus a couple loaves of their new varieties of sliced bread. Hmm, sounds like good material for a future product review...Anyway, I am SO excited to try these items and get creative with my sandwich makin'.
Onto the eats!

Monday
Oh, how I have missed my Nutiva Hemp Shakes. Monday's superb concoction consisted of strawberries, mango, soymilk, and berry pomegranate hemp. Yum.
Tuesday
I fired up the MB for breakfast yesterday morning, despite the sub-40* weather. Nothing gets between me and my smoothies. This one had blackberries and soymilk, and I served it with a mini bagel topped with cashew butter and dried cranberries. Note the lovely Merlot color of the smoothie:)
For lunch, I was jonesin' for some breakfast pizza. My attempt was comprised of scrambled tofu with Boca crumbles mixed in, plus sliced mushrooms and oregano, all on an Italian flatbread. It was tasty, but it would have been even better with soy sausage and onions. On the side is a salad and grapes.
I just can't get enough of that butternut goodness, so I decided to use a recipe I've had bookmarked for a while from Imagine foods (although technically I used Pacific brand's soup). I combined zucchini, onions, and mushrooms with butternut squash and poured the mixture over whole wheat wagon wheel pasta. Along with it, I had a salad with olives, plain yogurt with agave and cinnamon, plus an orange to fend off this cold. Lots of food, lots of satisfaction.
The shake last night again featured the berry pomegranate hemp protein. I blended it with soymilk, peaches, strawberries, and coconut. PS I finally got a big enough cup so that I don't have to deal with overflow anymore--sweet.
Wednesday
It was another Banana Blender Cereal kind of day today. This time I actually used the walnuts that the recipe calls for, rather than substituting almonds or pecans as I have the past few weeks. It turned out delicious and creamy, as always. Next time I might consider adding coconut!
Today's lunch was inspired by a recipe from Rudi's bakery. The original recipe called for turkey, cream cheese, and walnuts, but I ended up using Tofurky, vegan mayo, and almonds (respectively). Yep, those are luscious sliced peaches in that tasty spinach wrap. On the side I had some brussels sprouts and a salad with dried cherries on top.
I was feeling festive this evening (and had an intense desire to procrastinate), so I decided on a Thanksgiving-ish meal. I had some beans 'n greens ( peas with spinach, garlic, and black eyedhot sauce), stuffing, and green beans with chopped pecans. While I ate dinner, I had a pot of cranberry sauce simmering on the stove, so I am just finishing up a dish of that as I type. I simply combined a 12 oz package of cranberries, 1 1/3 cups water, cinnamon, vanilla, and 1/4 cup agave nectar for a tart and delicious treat. This will be so good with pumpkin flax granola!
Before I conclude this rather lengthy post, I will leave you with a picture of my current Clif stash. I recently received a package from my mother with clothes, coats, and --what else--mini Clifs! As you can see, I am fully stocked! I've got a few of the full-size seasonal flavors, plus some Z bars too. I figured you all would be the only ones who would appreciate this:)
Happy Wednesday!