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!

All Wrapped Up

Today has been all about wrapping--my mom and dad have both been so busy this holiday season that they asked me to wrap a few gifts for them today. In addition, I gathered and packaged up my gift for the Food Blogger Secret Santa. After much cutting, taping, and bow-tying, I am pooped. I never thought a day of dressing up packages could be so tiring!

Things are also "all wrapped up" here because my sisters have both graduated! Congratulations to Lea on receiving her MBA and to Katie for her degree in nursing! My dad also walked in graduation due to his position as a professor at UAB. Here are a few pictures from our weekend of academic celebration:
Anyway, here's what fueled me through my first weekend at home:

Friday
My welcome-home smoothie was fantastic! I miss having frozen cherries around--they don't sell them at my Whole Foods in Durham. Anyway, this concoction included cherries, cherry Spirutein, soymilk, and wheat germ. Delish.
Saturday
As I've mentioned before, my go-to breakfast when I'm in a rush is always a smoothie and a bagel with nut butter. Amidst my mad search for my left shoe and frenzied makeup application, I didn't have much time for breakfast...so I had a strawberry-almond milk smoothie with wheat germ, plus a Rudi's sweet wheat bagel with almond butter. (PS You have no idea how excited I was when I finally discovered these bagels at my local health food store...I can't wait to try the cinnamon raisin variety!).
Once home from Katie's ceremony, we barely had enough time to grab lunch. I packed a simple meal to bring along in my purse: a Tofurky sammie with dijon mustard, cherry tomatoes, apple slices, and peanuts.
The whole family had a celebration dinner at a local Italian eatery, Leonardo's. Our party consisted of a whopping 13 people! Nonetheless, the wait staff handled our large party with ease. The rosemary rolls that arrived first were delicious--still warm from the oven and slightly sweet. Everyone was also served a standard garden salad. Among the entrees, there were very few vegetarian options, but I was moderately enticed by what I ordered: angel hair with olives, tomatoes, and basil. The menu stated that the dish would arrive with "a sprinkle" of asiago cheese. Ha! As the picture demonstrates, their idea of "a sprinkle" and mine are quite different. I apologize for the dark pictures--a flash would have ruined the ambiance, for sure!
As you might expect, I saved room for my evening smoothie. This time I combined more cherries, blackberries, berry hemp protein (Nutiva), soymilk, and peanut butter granola.
Sunday
Just before heading off to church, I made a quick breakfast out of Publix Oatmeal Flakes (my new favorite cereal!), TJ's blueberry flax, and rice milk, plus some clementines on the side. I enjoyed reading the Christmas-y Sunday paper as I ate.
I had a lunch that you've all seen before: a lentil veggie wrap. I spread the rest of my delicious lentil dip (which I first ate here) on a tortilla with mushrooms, tomatoes, and carrots. On the side, I had a salad with Woodstock dressing and an apple. Yum!
My culinary skills were markedly absent from dinner as well, as I just had a Sunshine burger on whole wheat with salsa, brussels sprouts, squash, and salad. I agree with VeggieGirl, Sunshine burgers are quite possibly the best veggie burgers on the market!
The smoothie of evening featured one of my favorite flavor combinations: vanilla and mango! I combined mango, vanilla soy protein, soymilk, and peanut butter granola. This was good, but not quite as heavenly as when I use my Living Harvest vanilla hemp.
Monday
One of the luxuries of home is that I can treat myself to Greek yogurt--Fage is often just too expensive for me to buy for myself! I took advantage of my little treat this morning by mixing 0% Fage with flax seed, cinnamon, and stevia. I put a dollop of this mixture and some fresh blackberries atop some Van's waffles.
For lunch, I derived inspiration from Kath's curried chicken salad. Obviously, I made a few substitutions, using tofu instead of chicken, walnuts instead of pecans, vegan mayo for the yogurt/regular mayo, etc. I placed the mixture atop a bed of greens and served it alongside some All Bran crackers, and a sliced apple. For all you vegans out there: the All Bran crackers are far from natural, but they are vegan, unlike Kashi's TLCs.
Tonight's dinner was a new recipe for me from ED&BV. Yes, I actually ventured outside my cashew-ginger tofu obsession. This evening's recipe was the Thai Chick-Un Pizza. Again, I had to make a few substitutions due to ingredient limitations, but the flavors were still delicious! I forgot to add the pineapple on the pizza, so I used it on top of my salad, along with leftover chickpeas and the last of the Thai pizza sauce. I love how unique (and tasty!) this recipe is--I will definitely be making this dish again. PS The Santa salt & pepper shakers wanted a chance to be seen on the blog--cute, no?
I am headed to the mall for some Christmas shopping tomorrow. I still need to buy something for each of my sisters and my dad. Have you finished your shopping yet? Which gift are you most excited about giving this year?

Wishing you all a pleasant Monday:)