Olympic Obsession

I have returned to reality, but I'm not too disappointed--the Olympics have kept me entertained. I can't help it--I turn on the TV, and I just soak up every little nugget of trivia. Yes, add the Olympic games to my ever-growing list of obsessions. I'm sorry to say that my cooking is nowhere near as exciting as the meals I enjoyed over the weekend. Maybe I should try some new recipes to spice things up? Send any recommendations my way.

Monday
It was around lunchtime when we returned home from the airport. I was hungry but totally not in the mood to cook anything. After rummaging around in the fridge, I salvaged some rice and beans, strawberries, and a salad. Those are BBQ soynuts on the salad. This did not satisfy.
By dinnertime, my creative juices had returned, so I tried my hand at a Mexican-inspired tofu dish. I made a sauce out of low-sodium V8, cumin, chili powder, garlic, lime juice, S + P, and cilantro. Then I baked the tofu for 10 minutes, flipped and stirred, and baked another 10 minutes. It turned out alright, but I don't think I'll repeat this dish. On the side, I had some toasted corn tortillas (cut into triangles) dipped in guacamole (made from avocados on their last legs!).
The shake of the evening made up for my mediocre dinner, however. Good thing I decided to freeze our bananas before we left--they make such excellent additions to shakes and smoothies.
Tuesday
Upon waking to a drizzly and gray morning, I decided that it would be a warm breakfast kind of day. Since I had OD'ed on oats over the weekend, a grilled breakfast sammie was in order. This one had the last of my almond butter and sliced banana. I also enjoyed a container of Fage with my new tiny spoon from Crate & Barrel.
The soggy weather continued into midday, so I had another rainy day meal for lunch: Health Valley Split Pea Soup, Ak-maks, spinach salad with local tomatoes and Snacktrition Fiber Cashews, plus freshly cut honeydew. Tasty.
I used a repeat recipe for dinner, Edamame Pesto from Food to Live By. I tossed it with whole wheat radiator noodles, mushrooms, red onion, and broccoli. I also had a side salad and a travel mug of chocolate almond milk. Can you tell I like anything related to cherries?
The smoothie last night was fabulous! Frozen cherries pair well with the PomegranPlus granola.
Wednesday
I took advantage of a little extra time this morning and put together another breakfast parfait. I am out of muffins (!), so I used some of the never-ending Weetabix with plain organic yogurt, blueberries, walnuts, and some more of the Bear Naked Native granola. I think eating it with a little spoon makes it taste better.
Today's lunch was a bit of a flop. I started out making scrambled tofu but decided I wanted to use broccoli as a mix-in (shocker!), but the veggie-tofu ratio got out of hand. As a result, I didn't taste much of the tahini's creaminess; the garlic and poultry seasoning were a little too subtle too. A spinach salad and fresh cherries rounded it all out.
I'm off to read a bit...or maybe check on the Olympics. Ciao!

In the Eye of the Storm

I write to you amidst a severe thunderstorm--there's quite a light show going on outside! Aside from the crazy (and a little frightening!) weather, I have been quite busy this evening--finishing anatomy lab homework, printing out worksheets, folding laundry...Wednesday nights always seem a little hectic. Oy.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the past few days.

Monday
I got a major carby-salty-sweet craving on Monday night. I decided to mix up some Peanut Butter Puffins with a few salted pretzel twists. It was almost like those tasty little PB-filled pretzel nuggets.
Tuesday
I thawed a couple of those bran muffins from last week for breakfast yesterday, but I discovered something that makes them even tastier--almond butter! I also had some more of that never-ending watermelon.
For lunch, I headed to California Pizza Kitchen with a few friends. I ordered the Grilled Veggie Salad (asparagus, avocado, Japanese eggplant) and a cup of vegetarian split pea soup. Super yummy, but when I came home I had a kiwi to balance it all out and fill me up for the remainder of the afternoon. Sometimes my stomach is a bottomless pit.

Dinner was inspired by a recipe in Food to Live By (Does that title bother anyone else? Who ends a title of a cookbook with a preposition?!). I made a Fusion Coleslaw using broccoli slaw, rice wine vinegar, honey roasted peanuts, raisins, and a few sesame seeds. Along with it, I had some sliced tomato, whole grain couscous, a grilled Quorn cutlet, and a peach. Wow, this quite a voluminous meal now that I look at it.
For my smoothie last night, I discovered a great combination--orange Spirutein, orange juice, soymilk, and plenty of granola topping. It tasted like an orange Creamsicle! By the way, that was my last Spirutein packet...expect different smoothie combinations in the near future!
Wednesday
Since I don't have class until 3 on Wednesdays, I had some time to make stovetop oats this morning. Techinically, I used that Quaker Mutligrain Hot Cereal, but it is very similar to oats. Anyway, I combined it with hemp milk, whipped banana, and some flax--holy omega-3s! This was my first time trying hemp milk, and I am not sure whether I like it or not yet. I'll have to experiment with it...got any suggestions?
Lunch consisted of healthy nachos, a side spinach salad, and a huge apple. The "nachos" were made from homemade baked corn tortillas, red beans, guacamole, and salsa. For the guacamole, I just combined mashed avocado with a new supermarket find--Goya Recaito. I love this stuff; just salty enough with a little cilantro kick.
For dinner I made a dish from Food to Live By (again). This time, I made whole wheat rotini with Edamame Pesto. I didn't follow the recipe exactly (shocker!), but I think it turned out pretty tasty, aside from the lingering garlic taste in my mouth. The consistency wasn't very pesto-like; on the contrary, it was quite creamy even though there was no milk, tofu, or dairy-ish ingredients. I also had some broccoli slaw, and a little mug of chocolate almond milk.
One more day until my weekend! (I don't have classes on Fridays). Now I need to go pack my lunch for tomorrow. Enjoy your evening!