A Leisurely Celebration

Amidst the chaos of the Christmas season, from frenzied mall adventures to last-minute cookie baking, the peacefulness of Christmas Day always takes me by surprise. I always appreciate the slower pace of the holiday; it gives me a chance to truly enjoy the company of my loved ones, without worrying about the next item on my Google Calendar. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you all had a chance to enjoy some leisure time yesterday:)

As the family's foodie and health nut, I received several presents related to healthful cooking and fitness. Check 'em out:

Each member of the Yoder clan has a matching stocking, knitted by my Aunt Susan. They're extra large (and stretchy) to make room for plenty of candy, socks, and underpants!
A few books: Simply Organic Cookbook, Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven, and a book about my fashion icon, Audrey Hepburn.
A new pair of Air Pegasus running shoes.
My very own waffle maker!
A Christmas teapot. Also note my lovely apron--the top part reads "Eat Your Veggies"
I also received a heart rate monitor and a Wii Fit. May this year be my healthiest yet!

In this time of festivity, I got the chance to try a few new recipes...Enjoy!

Wednesday
It's a family tradition that we enjoy Stouffer's lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner before attending the evening church service. I had picked out a vegetarian baked penne recipe to prepare for myself, but unfortunately, time slipped away from me, so I relied on my good friend Amy. I heated up the Garden Vegetable Lasagna and served it alongside a salad and my first glass of wine as a 21 year old. The lasagna was perfect--the veggies amazingly retained their fresh taste, and there was just enough cheese. Yum.
When we returned from church, my sisters and I decided to use up some leftover cookie dough by making "Rudolph" cookies:
Before heading to bed, I whipped up another cherry smoothie: frozen cherries, soymilk, cherry Spirutein, and PB granola.
Thursday
My sister prepared quite the indulgent spread for the family on Christmas morning: biscuits 'n gravy (with sausage), bacon, and fruit salad. A crustless tofu quiche was on the menu for me, featuring tofu, tahini, soy sauce, garlic, broccoli, and mushrooms. Essentially, I put all the ingredients I use for scrambled tofu into a blender and baked it in the oven. It turned out delicious!
My brother-in-law Major wanted me to take a picture of him thoroughly enjoying his bacon:
My family takes turns opening presents on Christmas morning to ensure that we all appreciate each gift we're given. With 7 people and 5 dogs, our present-opening session took 4 hours! After that marathon, I needed a little fuel before heading out to see Marley and Me. I opted for "Better Bunny Salad" with a simple salad and whole wheat pitettes.
For the big dinner, I prepared a lentil loaf with lentils, onions, pasta sauce, and oats. I was in charge of the salad again (as I was for Thanksgiving), but this time I used field greens, pomegranate seeds, and Alabama pecans. The salad was served with Annie's raspberry vinaigrette. I also had green beans, cranberry sauce, and a few sips of white wine.
My shake of the evening was particularly festive, as it featured Egg Nog Spirutein (which incidentally includes no eggs). I combined it a frozen banana, soymilk, nutmeg, and a gingerbread man.
Friday
After a fantastic morning run at my high school's track, I refueled with a blueberry-rice milk smoothie and a Rudi's bagel with cashew butter.
My mom and I headed out to do a few returns and check out the sales at Banana Republic. I ended up with 3 shirts for $44! Score! Anyway, when I returned, I was famished and cold...chili it was! I combined diced tomatoes, chili beans, onion, cumin, oregano, and cayenne for a hearty winter stew. I topped it with mashed avocado and served it with greens, whole wheat pitettes, and a plum.
Although today seems strangely like a Saturday, the weekend is just beginning. How are you all spending your time off this weekend?

Enjoy your evening!

Blog Updates and Worries

This Friday the 13th wasn't terribly unlucky, but it was rainy. I woke up to a hot and dark house--the power mysteriously went out this morning. It stormed all afternoon too, so I spent some time updating my old blog posts. You'll notice that I've included a lot more links to the makers of the foods that I feature on here--Kashi, Spirutein, etc. I've been getting some questions lately about my preferred brand names, so I figured this little addition would be helpful.

I am afraid that I have lost a lot of readers due to the name change; there seem to be fewer comments recently. This makes me sad! I don't know how to get the word out about my new URL besides just commenting on other blogs with the new address. Please spread the word about Broccoli Hut! However, I realize that the quality of my readers is much more important than quantity, and I know that everyone who reads this blog is uber-cool:)

So here's what has been on the menu lately:

Wednesday

Yet another cherry smoothie! This one had lots of frozen cherries, almond milk, and cherry Spirutein.

Thursday

Breakfast consisted of old faves: scrambled tofu (using the Chicago Diner recipe), Ak-Maks, and sliced peaches with cinnamon. The sesame crackers perfectly complemented the tahini in the scramble.

I packed my lunch to eat on campus yesterday. I decided on a simple Oven Roasted Tofurky sandwich on whole wheat with Nayonaise, Grey Poupon, and organic greens. The other containers housed a garden salad, raw almonds, and a tiny container for strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. I also brought an orange. For dinner, I tried something new: I made a flavored mayo dip. This dip consisted of Nayonaise, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh herbs. I spread this tasty goo on some tempeh cubes. The accompaniments included cauliflower, corn, and a side salad. Great summer meal! The shake last night used a limited edition Spirutein flavor: Egg Nog. There were no actual eggs in the mix though (go figure!). I combined it with light soymilk and some vanilla extract, plus some nutmeg on top for authenticity. This concoction really wasn't that tasty...

Friday

Breakfast was simple today. I opted for a whole wheat mini bagel spread with PB & Co.'s Cinnamon Raisin PB, and I made a pseudo-Frappuccino with some coffee, soy milk, and almond-flavored coffee syrup (check out that foam!). Blueberries balanced it all out.

After breakfast, I finally got around to trying a recipe that I've had in mind for awhile. I found a recipe in Clean Eating Magazine for ham and cheese muffins that required meatless ham, real cheese, milk, and eggs. I changed it up a bit by omitting the ham (just had Tofurky), substituting vegan cheddar and soy milk, and using flax+water for the egg. I just made a half recipe in my muffin top pan--these vegan cheddar muffins made for a great afternoon snack later in the day. I scarfed down lunch in 8 minutes flat today. I was in a hurry because my dad and I had a few errands to run, so I just came up with something quick: corn, kidney beans, cumin, chili powder, and some mashed avocado, plus a sliced apple. Dinner was just weird and not all that tasty, so I am not even gonna post it. Dessert made up for it though--I tried So Delicious Cinnamon Bun Soy Yogurt. I first saw this on Ruby's blog a few months ago, and I have been dying to try it ever since. This was SO good (no pun intended). I really wanted to share the joy, so I tried to get my mom to try it--but she wouldn't bite. All the more for me:)

Well, I'm off to find a new book to read. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Enjoy your Father's Day weekend!