Hummus and Soynuts...Repeat

Hello all! I've been busy this past weekend, alternating between bursts of work and play. As a result, I've been relying on two of my pantry staples: hummus and soynuts. Lame, I know, but sometimes even opening up a can of beans is just too much of a hassle. One week from today, I will be at home for the Thanksgiving holiday, gearing up for a week of fun in the kitchen. So rest assured that this mealtime monotony is not permanent--my culinary prowess will resurface eventually:)

I'll fill you in on the weekend's activities as we go along, so let's take a look at the hummus and soynuts...

Friday
With a productive evening behind me, I celebrated with a repeat smoothie: Nutribody protein with pineapple, soymilk, and ginger granola. Delish.
Saturday
I didn't have much time for breakfast, as I had to attend a "recruitment workshop" for my sorority from 12-4. Sheesh. Anyway, before I headed out the door, I scarfed down a sandwich thin with almond butter and pumpkin butter, plus a raspberry-strawberry smoothie. I ended up gulping the smoothie while checking my e-mail half-naked--it was one of those mornings.
Upon my return from the workshop, I was ravenous, so I grabbed the first thing I saw in the fridge: the hummus jar! I made a quick sandwich and served it with carrots and an apple with PB.
Dinner was another simple affair, this time with microwaveable mac & cheese from my friend Annie. I added some broccoli for a nutritional boost (and color!); I had squash and a salad with soynuts and Woodstock dressing on the side.
We went to an on-campus showing of The Dark Knight that evening. It was my first time seeing it, and I really enjoyed it. I especially liked getting to watch Christian Bale on screen for 3 hours:) Definitely a dark flick though--I had a little trouble sleeping that night! Anyway, before I headed to bed, I made a quick smoothie out of peaches, Nutribody protein, soymilk, and ginger granola.
Sunday
Pre-chapel, I made a piping bowl of blueberry oats, topped with almond butter. In case you can't tell, I am aiming to make a bowl of oatmeal for each color in the rainbow. Anyone got ideas for green?
I hopped over to the stadium for another basketball game, with a cherry pie Larabar, Mighty Bites, and soynuts in tow. Once I got to the door, however, the security guard noticed my little snack stash and made me throw them out: "No outside food or drink allowed." I think a little part of my soul died when I had to throw my precious Larabar in the trash. As a result, I didn't eat "lunch" until about 7 that evening. Yeah, my eating patterns were way out of whack yesterday. This is what I shoved down the gullet once I returned to the apartment: salad with soynuts and Goddess dressing plus an apple. Then I dashed out the door to chapter...
...Dinner part B commenced once I arrived back home. I had a baked sweet potato topped with "smoky hummus" (aka regular hummus to which I added cumin and chili powder), brussels sprouts, and peaches with wheat germ.
The late-night shake was quite the treat: I combined strawberries, soymilk, fruit-sweetened dairy-free ice cream, and Nutribody protein. Tasted just like a strawberry shake!
Monday
Last night, I prepared some overnight oats by combining oats with rice milk. This morning, I added chopped almonds and pumpkin. I had an apple on the side.
Lunch today was inspired by an eggplant that has been hiding in the crisper for far too long. I grilled eggplant on the GF, drizzled it with tahini, and served it alongside some hummus pizzas and peaches. Those are sundried tomatoes on the pizzas.
Check out what came in the mail today...I am super psyched to review these products for VegFamily!
I had my dining committee meeting this evening, where we received free food again. I nibbled on some grilled veggies and focaccia. Nonetheless, my tummy was not satisfied after our 2-hour meeting, so I grabbed a salad on campus and added some soynuts. That's an orange and a handful of crackers up top.
I gotta get crackin' on some stat homework and a bibliography. I'll leave you with a picture of Shen and me before the game on Sunday:
Ciao for now!

Parental Invasion

This weekend is Duke's annual Parents' Weekend, so as of about 1 PM today campus has been swarming with the "50+" population. Everywhere I look, there's a proud dad toting around a bag from the University Book Store, or a beaming mom snapping zillions of pictures. Gotta love it.

My parents arrived this evening, after multiple flight delays, but they landed safe and sound (albeit a little hungry!). We have plans to go to the basketball game tomorrow (my mom's first!), and to make a trip to Banana Republic. Aah, two of my favorite things in the same day: Banana Republic and basketball.

I plan on catching up on some much needed sleep tonight, so I better get crackin' with the last few days' food.

Wednesday
As a study break on Wednesday evening, I decided to take the time for a real meal, rather than slapping together a PB&J as I had been planning. With the help of my trusted friend George Foreman, I grilled some eggplant slices that I had rubbed with garlic. Once adequately charred, I drizzled the slices with tahini and served them alongside a mound of whole grain couscous. I also had a salad which consisted of spinach, chickpeas, soynuts, and sliced mozzarella.
I called it a night with a frozen treat: blackberries, chocolate rice protein, soymilk, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.
Thursday
When I am in need of a one-bowl breakfast, I consistently turn to CCV's Banana Bread Blender. This time, I used pecans (rather than almonds or walnuts), plus my usual rice milk, vanilla extract, bran flakes, and frozen banana. So yum.
I started out making sloppy Joes for lunch with lentils and tomato sauce, but it took on a decidedly Italian twist when I added wilted spinach, garlic, and oregano. The Italian version still ended up delicious--I enjoyed the mixture atop toasted whole grain bread and served it alongside an apple with cashew butter.
My Thursday nights are now occupied by RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) meetings, so I kept dinner simple last night: Chef Salad with Romaine, Tofurky, carrots, mozzarella, and honey roasted peanuts. I also had a pear and some crackers.
For last night's shake, I used up the last of my strawberries along with cocoa powder, soymilk, chocolate rice protein, and chocolate chips. I apologize for the monotony, but I don't have many options until my shipment of hemp protein arrives.
Friday
I have been having major back pain lately, so I had to do some low-impact cardio today and use the elliptical rather than go for a run. I returned to the apartment for a quick breakfast of a peach-banana smoothie and a bagel with Sunbutter. Afterward, I darted off to campus again to do some promotional stuff for my sorority's "Mocktail Blendoff." Sounds like my kind of event, no?
I also made a Whole Foods run today (of course). Here's a look at the loot:
I needed something to warm me up after my errands in the cold, so I made a bowl of lentil chili for lunch. I combined tomato sauce, water, lentils, corn, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and ground red pepper and let it simmer while I did my laundry. On the side, I had a salad with a new salad dressing (Annie's Woodstock) and a beautiful Fuji apple that was just too pretty to slice.
Once my parents finally arrived, we went to one of our favorite restaurants in town, Taverna Nikos. We ordered an eggplant dip for an appetizer (although it was not labelled baba ghanoush). I thoroughly enjoyed the "herby" flavors that shone through in this dip; plus, my parents let me have the olive:) For my entree, I ordered the Vegetable Souvlaki, which consisted of vegetable skewers served with pita and tzaziki dip, plus a bed of rice. I practically licked the plate on this one.
We made a much-needed Target trip after dinner, and now I plan on settling in to some TLC before bed. Wild and crazy Friday night, right? Hope you're having fun tonight, wherever you are.

I will leave you with a pic of my mom and me at dinner. Love you, Mom!