Running in Heels

All I have to say is that I better have killer legs by the end of the semester.

Allow me to explain. Duke has 3 campuses: East, West, and Central to which students are transported via buses. Most of the time, I choose to walk to class from Central campus because it's a mere 10-15 minute walk, and I am far too impatient to wait for buses. However, with the recent dip in temperatures, I have been relying on the bus with far more frequency. Somehow I never seem to get the schedule right though and find myself running to catch the departing vehicle. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I actually wore sensible shoes now and then, but my unhealthy appreciation of heels prevents that from happening...Sexy calves, here I come!

Here's what I've been using to fuel my dashes to the bus stop:

Monday
I made coconut black beans again, which was inspired by this recipe from VegWeb. I obviously didn't have a lot of the ingredients on hand, so improvised. On the side, I had couscous and a salad with cashews.
I had my weekly dining meeting in the evening, so I made a pit stop afterward at the salad bar, where they had...steamed edamame! Clearly, that was the highlight of my day. When I came home, I added some of Annie's Shiitake Vinaigrette and added some crackers and cantaloupe as accompaniments.
The smoothie of the night was another berry bonanza with strawberries, blueberries plus the other usual suspects. Oh, and an extra-large dose of granola:)
Tuesday
Due to the crap-tastic weather we had yesterday (i.e., cold and rainy), I knew I needed a hot breakfast to start out the day. Steamed rice milk poured over crumbled Weetabix and a banana with the scraps of the Sunbutter jar did the trick. PS Why is it that all my nut butters run out at once?! I can't afford to replace them simultaneously!
Yesterday's lunch shall be labeled this post's FOOD FUGUE. It was fan-freaking-tabulous. Here's what spawned the fugue: sweet butter lettuce topped with steamed asparagus, tofu cooked in soy sauce/vinegar/garlic/ginger, cashews, and blood orange segments. I had some of those addicting crackers on the side.
After an afternoon of tutoring, I returned looking for relaxation...so I cooked dinner, of course. I made Lindsay's Spicy Teriyaki Chickpeas. I didn't have any pineapple salsa (again!), so I subbed chopped pineapple. That's couscous, broccoli, and a salad with peanuts on the side.
The smoothie last night was pretty awesome. Let's just face it, I'll love anything with mango it. Here's what went in the blender: frozen mango, frozen peaches, Nutribody protein, and soymilk.
Wednesday
Today's breakfast consisted of a trusty time-saver: overnight oats. Last night I combined oats with rice milk, stevia, and cinnamon; I added warmed & spiced pumpkin and almonds this morning. I had another blood orange on the side.
For those of you who eat overnight oats regularly, do you enjoy it hot or cold? I always assumed it was meant to be consumed cold, but I'm up for a little variety.

As I mentioned above, I have found myself in a sudden nut butter dearth. If you could choose just one nut butter to enjoy forever more, which one would you choose?

Alright, I suppose I should get ready for my Faulkner class now. Ta-ta for now!

Catching Up

Hello again! Sorry for the delayed post--my usual Friday post was postponed until after the craziness of moving in had settled down.

After much indecision, I finally decided on a format for the next 9 months or so. I posted my plans in the comments section from the "FEEDback" post, but I'll copy it here so that everyone can have the heads up:

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate your suggestions. I have decided to keep a similar format to my current one--after all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? I'll be photographing as many meals as I can, with a new emphasis on snacks, especially pre-workout snacks. I will try to mention the workouts themselves throughout the week too. In addition to the three posts during the week, I will devote one post per week to a special topic: articles, product/restaurant reviews, or my food philosophy. I hope you all like it!

With that said, I need to catch up on my meals through Friday. While I didn't get a chance to photograph all my meals throughout the road trip, there are several examples of (relatively) healthful road food for those of you interested in that sort of thing.

First, I must backtrack to my final days of cooking at home.

Wednesday
I tried a new protein powder for my smoothie on this night--Vega Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer, berry flavor. I hate to admit it, but I actually had to pour this down the drain. I simply could not stomach it. Something about the aftertaste seemed to "supplement-like." Basically, I ate the granola, plus a few spoonfuls of the smoothie, but I called it a night after that. What a waste of mango!
Thursday
To make the most of my last day at home, I wanted to start it off right with a bowl of banana oats. This version included a healthy blob of cashew butter and lots of wheat germ. Heaven in a (girly ruffled) bowl.
I made another breakfast favorite for lunch: scrambled tofu. This time, however, I added mushrooms and wrapped it up in a whole wheat tortilla. I love me some tahini.
Dinner was spent out with my brothers-in-law, my sister Lea, and her brother-in-law (if that makes any sense). I chose Nabeel's, where I ordered lentil soup and a peasant salad. The salad was excellent, but when I tried the soup, I kept reaching for the salt shaker. I didn't bring my camera to this one, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Luckily, my final smoothie was a success. You just can't go wrong with cherries. Also, note the different variety of So Delicious. It's not the fruit-sweetened variety I usually buy, but it's still a less "junky" form of ice cream...and on sale!
Friday
We hit the road early, so, true to form, I stuffed some cereal in a baggie with a few mix-ins: GoLean, sliced almonds, and raisins. I nibbled on this as I drifted in and out of sleep.
For lunch we hit up one of my favorite semi-fast food places, Panera. I usually get the You Pick Two option, so that's what I did this time, not even considering the portability factor--big mistake. I got a half Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with a bowl of Garden Vegetable Soup. Neither soup nor salad ranks high on the "grab and go" meter. I ended up gulping the soup at a traffic light and stuffing lettuce leaves in my mouth once we got on the highway. Oops. PS. Aren't they supposed to give you bread with soup? They gave me some lame potato chips instead. I felt a little cheated, going to Panera and not getting any bread.
Aside from its inability to be transported and easily eaten, my lunch was not especially filling either. I relied on my good friend Dr. Weil to satisfy my hunger. I've had this Goji Moji bar before, and I still say it tastes like the inside of a Fig Newton (probably due to the abundance of fig paste in the ingredients list). Good, but I didn't notice a lot of Goji or cranberry flavor as proclaimed on the package.
For dinner we went to Ruby Tuesday, where I completely gorged on the plentiful salad bar. They even had edamame! I also ordered the most ginormous sandwich on the planet, aka the Veggie Burger. I am not sure if the patty itself is vegan, but I ordered the burger without cheese or mayo. No pics here, but you'll see leftovers later...

After a SuperTarget run and a few hours of unpacking, I said goodbye to my parents. I'll miss them, but I'll be back for a visit soon enough:)

Be back later today with one of the aforementioned "feature" posts.

Bunco Bash

Good evening, everyone! I write to you from a Chicago hotel room, freshly showered and eager to share some food pics. I realize that I am a bit behind on posting--my usual Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule was interrupted by a busy travel itinerary. A full report of the Chicago eats will be posted soon, but for now I will update you on the latter half of last week.

When I signed off last time, I asked for some nutritious party snack ideas. The overwhelming majority of you suggested fruits and vegetables, so I did indeed decide to center my food contributions around nature's bounty. The snacks were for an alleged Bunco party. I don't even know what Bunco is, nor did any of the guests participate in any kind of game...in other words, the group just needed an excuse to mingle. More on the party later...

Wednesday

Double mango smoothie! I used mango-raspberry Soy Delicious and frozen mango chunks. FYI: Foods with a faint green tinge can be delicious. I promise.

Thursday

I needed a quick breakfast before heading out for some errands with my mom, so I just toasted up some Van's waffles and stole an idea from fellow bloggers--I topped them with mashed banana and nut butter. I added my own twist though, by using Sunbutter instead of the traditional PB. I know, I'm such a rebel.

I was starving by the time lunch rolled around, so I needed something hearty. I turned to a simple dish, red beans and rice. I added chili powder, S + P, and a dash of cinnamon. It turned out to be delicious, plus it is a complete protein! A spinach salad and peaches with sliced almonds filled out the meal.

Immediately following lunch, I started on the dips for the party. After considering your valuable feedback, I decided to make fresh guacamole and the Creamy Cashew Dip from ED&BV. I served the guac with fresh veggies and baked Tostitos Scoops; I heartily recommend those chips by the way--they boast a short ingredients list, they're low in fat, and most importantly, they can shovel a lot of dip at once! With the cashew dip, I served fresh strawberries, plus some cinnamon Teddy Grahams. Hey, a little Teddy love never hurt anyone, did it? Oh, and my sister Katie (the hostess with the mostess) prepared some authentic pigs in a blanket. Maybe I could convince her to make vegan ones for the next party? When pigs fly...(Sorry, I couldn't resist).After the party, I returned home famished. The party food was good, but it was no replacement for dinner. After a few minutes of shoving random things into my mouth, I decided I would just make a special smoothie. Frozen cherries make anything special in my book.

That's all I'll post until my Chicago recap. Get excited for the next post--think tofu crab cakes, plus asparagus in multiple forms...Ciao.

Wacky Weather, Wacky Eats

Yesterday was an abnormal eating day for me. First, I went out to lunch with my sister, my mom, and a few friends after my nutrition class. We went to Brio, where their idea of vegetarian is pasta primavera...or pasta primavera. I'll fill you in on the deets below, but let's just say I ended up having two lunches. Then, around 5 PM, serious thunderstorms rolled into town. The power went out, I was left without internet, entertainment, and means of cooking. Even if I had wanted to be a good student and work on my nutrition project, I couldn't.

Translation: boring evening.

However, once my dad returned from teaching his class, we headed to Jason's Deli, which is home to a pretty impressive salad bar. To kill some time afterward, we visited a nearby Banana Republic, where I scored a pencil skirt on sale. Fits me like a glove! The power was back when we returned home, thank goodness--is it sad that I was worried about my Soy Delicious melting?

So, long story short, I didn't do a lot of cooking yesterday, but I still managed to do a lot of eating...as per usual.

Monday
Sorry to be so boring. I just can't get enough of the vanilla hemp-mango combination!

Tuesday
I opened up a fresh box of Clifford Crunch yesterday morning. I topped it off with some plain Silk, and I also sliced up an apple to dip in Sunbutter. This cereal reminds me Alpha Bits from my childhood, except moderately good for me.

As I mentioned above, I went to Brio for lunch. Along with the bread basket, they serve these awesome rosemary-flax crackers--yum! I also ordered the Zuppa di Gigiorno, minestrone. I was hoping for copious legumes but basically got vegetable soup + 2 chickpeas. Boo! More olives would have been nice. Yes, I know I am a fuss-budget. When I returned home, I made a quick wrap out of a whole wheat tortilla, guacamole, firm tofu. I also had a lovely plum. Then I was full.
Upon our return, I also noticed a box waiting for me. It was a box full of samples from Snacktrition. Yay! This company bakes their almonds with calcium to increase their modest existing calcium content. They also have some fiber-rich cashews and trail mix. I can't wait to try them!
Dinner at Jason's consisted of a ginormous salad and lots of their tasty little crackers. Do not be fooled by this picture--that plate is big. Here's what went into my scrumptious mountain: spinach, yellow bell peppers, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and...roasted red pepper hummus! I put some of the hummus on the crackers, which were slightly sweet--the combination was phenomenal! I stashed a few more crackers in my mom's purse before we left--yeah, I'm that classy.
I am trying to increase my kcalories a bit these days, so I made an extra large shake last night. Let me just say that the almond pistachio Soy Delicious was not affected in the least by the power outage. This must be what they eat in heaven.
Wednesday
Remember my chocolate PB? Well I found it lurking in the shadows of the cabinet this morning, so I made a breakfast panini with it. Sliced banana and said PB on whole wheat, plus a Chobani with cinnamon and the banana remnants.
A note on the lady bug cup: this one doesn't belong with the rest. All the other cups say "Baa" or "Woof," but a lady bug doesn't make a sound, so they put "Lady Bug." Couldn't they think of just one other animal that makes a sound?! OK sorry for the rant.
Random lunch today. I combined tahini with chickpeas, lemon juice, oregano, garlic, and roasted red pepper, then stuffed it in a pita. Pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. Broccoli slaw and mixed berries rounded it out. I swear organic berries taste better than conventional.
Dinner was pretty simple: Corn Edamame Salad from V-con, local tomatoes, and an apple with my new hazelnut butter.

Last day of class tomorrow! Wahoo! Happy Humpday!