The Home Stretch

I am so close to being done with summer classes! I can't wait to have a few weeks to chill before I head back to Duke...for more classes. I am posting now because I have my anatomy final later today at 4PM and then my nutrition final tomorrow at 8AM--not much recovery time! So rather than blogging this evening when I should be studying, I thought a midday post would be best.

Friday
Excellent smoothie night! Almonds/Pistachios+cherries=party in a blender. It's amazing the wonders that ice cream can do... Saturday
Nothing like a weekend breakfast of scrambled tofu. What did I do before I discovered this stuff? Anyway, this one had tahini, ginger, garlic, turmeric, soy sauce, and green onions. Whole wheat toast points and amazing cherries rounded it all out. Saturday was my big study day, but I took a short break for a simple lunch. I opted for an old standby: hummus, lettuce, and red onion stuffed into an oat bran pita with a side salad, cashews, and a big orange.
I didn't give much thought to dinner until my stomach started growling, so I made an easy dip that I have made before, spinach artichoke dip (from the Chicago Diner Cookbook). In case you can't tell, I went a bit heavy on the spinach...maybe more of the Nayonaise next time? I spread it on Ak-Maks and cucumbers, plus I had a side salad and a banana with hazelnut butter for dessert. The banana-hazelnut combo is far superior to that of apple-hazelnut.
My shake of the evening deserves a spot in my top five frozen concoctions. Almonds and cocoa make for an incredible taste sensation! Maybe next time I'll try carob powder instead of the Special Dark Cocoa...
Sunday
Another simple pre-church meal: Van's whole wheat waffles with almond butter and blueberries.
After some light studying, I got really hungry. I made another batch Absent Egg Salad (tofu, vegan mayo, paprika, celery, lemon juice, and a bit of dijon mustard). I wrapped it up in a whole wheat tortilla and served it with a salad (with added honey roasted peanuts for crunch) and some more of those fabulous cherries. I perused the new J.Crew catalog while I munched.
For dinner, my whole family (sisters and spouses, mom and dad, plus me) all headed over to some friends' house for a little shindig. I snacked on some tortilla chips before dinner, but I refrained from any alcohol. The dinner menu consisted of burgers, potato salad, fruit salad, pasta salad, baked beans, Caprese salad, and peanut butter pie. The hosts were kind enough to give me the heads up, so I brought my own Gardenburger to heat up in the M-wave. Of course I ate my mom's famous baked beans (vegetarian recipe!), lots of fruit salad, and some of the Caprese salad too. I felt a little awkward bringing out the camera, so no pics. Sorry!

The shake was bad last night. I guess I was overdue for a failure since my last two were so exceptional. Boo.
Monday
I am getting so repetitive in my breakfasts, guys. I apologize...but they're still tasty:) Another muffin parfait/trifle today. This time I used some carob muffin tops I found in the freezer (I think I made them in March??) The addition of plain yogurt, blueberries, and sliced almonds made for a divine breakfast treat.
That's it for now. Next time I post it will be from my new computer!

Back from Hot-lanta

That's right--I've returned from my weekend trip to Atlanta. My family and I had a great time getting to know the fishies, doing a little shopping (at Crate & Barrel!),and dining out. You can probably guess what my favorite part of the trip was...eating at Cafe Sunflower! More on that later:)

Here are a few pictures from the Georgia Aquarium. By the way, did you know that they ship sea animals via UPS?! I guess UPS handles more than just my shoes from Zappos! Onto the eats:

Friday
I made a simple banana hemp shake on Friday evening. This was so simple but so tasty. I added some chocolate syrup and coconut at the last minute. Good call!
Saturday
Before hitting the road on Saturday morning, I packed up some snacks for the car: Primal Strips (soy jerky), low sodium V8, Dr. Weil bars, peanuts, and a few snack boxes of cereal. I ate about half of this throughout the weekend.
I managed to eat some breakfast before our departure as well: flax waffles, kiwi, and plain soymilk.

For lunch, we stopped at Moe's Southwest. If you're unfamiliar with this chain, it's like Subway, except for Mexican food. I got a vegetarian salad with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, black beans, and guacamole (I asked for extra guac!). I also got a Diet Coke, but ya know, I really just don't like it. (Diet Pepsi is another story). My brother in law, Major, wanted to make his Broccoli Hut premiere, so here he is enjoying his Saturday lunch, a meatball sub from Lenny's. (FYI, he is not a vegetarian, haha).
After a trip to Ikea and checking into the hotel, we went to Cafe Sunflower. This was my first vegetarian restaurant experience, so I was super-psyched. I am so jealous of you bloggers who have this kind of dining available all the time; I would eat at Cafe Sunflower every day if I could! Anyway, here's what I ordered: a blueberry iced tea (unsweetened), starter salad with soy sesame dressing and a whole wheat roll, grilled veggie dumplings, stuffed acorn squash, and carrot cake, which was shared by the table. Whew! Everything I ordered was meat- and dairy-free. Woohoo! I will definitely try to recreate that stuffed acorn squash--the combination of vegetables, cranberries, and walnuts was just amazing! It won't be too hard to recreate this dish--I purchased the cookbook while I was there, and I even got the author to sign it!
Sunday
Free breakfast at the hotel the next morning was a little disappointing. Usually I load up on the free fresh fruit and snack-size cereal boxes, but the offerings at this hotel were a little different: scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and pancakes. At least I got some perfectly cooked oatmeal, lots of watermelon, and I *might* have stashed a few of the Tazo teas...
We went shopping at a few of Atlanta's local malls later that day, so lunch was at the food court. I opted for the Mediterranean place, where I got the 3-Salad Combo: Garden Salad, Hummus ( I guess that's considered a salad?), pita-ish crackers, and Mediterranean Salad. I didn't end up eating the garden salad because I didn't realize it was already dressed with a creamy dressing. Later, I had a big red apple that I swiped from the free breakfast.
Once home in Birmingham, I made a quick grilled Tofurky and mozzarella sandwich on the GF (George Foreman). I also had broccoli, lots of salad (making up for my lack of veggies over the weekend), and Dreena's Banana Cashew Ice Cream for dessert.
For my shake, I wanted something sweet (shocker!), so I made another chocolate one--special dark cocoa is a recent favorite of mine.
Monday
Today was the first time all summer that is has simply been too hot to run outside. It was 86* at 8AM! After a pleasantly cool indoor workout, I made a hot bowl of oatmeal on the stovetop with whipped banana and almond butter. How did I ever live without almond butter?
Quick lunch before class today: absent egg salad (vegan) with Ak-maks, Romaine with raw cashews, and an orange.
Now, I am off to make dinner and study. Enjoy your evening!