The Beauty-Nutrition Connection

Last night, in one of my typical random AIM conversations with my dad, he sent me a link to this recipe: Smoothie for Your Skin. As both you and he are well-aware, I have a special place in my heart for smoothies and shakes, so this recipe quite piqued my interest. Looks like I should add a little flax to my smoothie routine:)

I am a firm believer that nutrition can cure most ills, including matters of physical appearance. As I've mentioned before, a diet rich in healthy fats can do wonders for hair.What foods do you eat that offer beauty benefits?

Perhaps I should take a closer look at my eats for any inadvertent beauty-boosting fare...

Wednesday
Just before heading out to my last few tutoring appointments, I whipped up a quick tofu salad, which I dressed with my homemade sweet dill dressing. I added some pecans and raisins for texture. The whole mess was place atop a bed of greens and accompanied by Corn Thins and kiwi.
That night, I watched a very disappointing Duke basketball game while simultaneously studying for my exam the next day. I also used making dinner as a procrastination tool...where is my motivation? Anyway, I made a grilled cheese with onions and tomato and served it with butternut squash fries, salad with Woodstock dressing, and peaches.
I kept the smoothie relative nutritious that night with blueberries, strawberries, soymilk, and vanilla Spirutein.
Thursday
My 8:30 AM class was cancelled again this week, so I once again seized the opportunity to make a leisurely breakfast. Vegan banana pancakes were on the menu this time, spread with Dark Chocolate Dreams PB. Let's face it. Bananas, chocolate, and PB were meant to be together.
After my exam, I made a simple wrap using a white bean spread from ED&BV which includes cashews and nutritional yeast. I added some spinach and served the wrap with a few peaches.
Then I received an e-mail alerting me of a package at my PO Box. What's this?! I didn't order anything...POM Wonderful!
Does anyone else find these little bottles incredibly appealing? Can't wait to try it--thanks, Janny!

For dinner, I kept it simple and made a pasta salad. I used whole wheat angel hair, sliced mozzarella, chickpeas, tomatoes, steamed asparagus, and carrots, all sprinkled with garlic salt and raspberry vinaigrette.
The shake last night featured strawberries, banana, soymilk, chocolate Spirutein, and dairy-free chocolate chips. Yum.

Friday
I had some leftover butternut squash lying around this morning, so I decided to use it up by making Hungry Girl's Butternut Squash Hash Browns. Basically, the only part of this recipe that tasted reminiscent of hash browns was the ketchup. Bummer. Anyway, I served the squash mess with some scrambled tofu, toast, and kiwi.
By the time I returned from Whole Foods, got my laundry done, and cleaned the apartment, I was famished. I made a quick version of ED&BV's Thai Chick-Un Pizza. I say "quick" because I cheated and used prepared peanut sauce for the base. I also left out a lot of the other suggested toppings, but I was still quite satisfied with just the bell peppers and chickpeas. On the side, I had some more asparagus, mixed greens, and, yes, another dish of peaches.
For dinner this evening, due to my position on the dining committee, I got to evaluate an on-campus eatery (the same one I evaluated here), this time evaluating the delivery service. I ordered steamed veggies with garlic sauce on the side and steamed rice (sadly, brown rice is not an option). I added my own cashews and supplemented the meal with a blood orange. I pulled my usual "prettifying" technique and took everything out of the containers for your viewing pleasure!
My sister and her husband arrive for a weekend visit tomorrow, and I am super-psyched; I love visitors! I think a basketball game and a trip to Trader Joe's may be on the agenda:) Anyway, I'll still try to put together my usual "feature post" on Sunday after their departure. Any topic requests?

Enjoy your weekend!

Name that Christmas Movie

"We slept in!"

Can you guess from which Christmas movie I selected today's quote?
Anyway, that was what I was thinking this morning. Of all days, I chose the last day of stats class to set my alarm incorrectly. My roommate kindly alerted me to my mistake about a half-hour before class started! THANK YOU KRISTEN! To top it all off, we had a stats paper due today, and the professor had explicitly stated that it was due promptly at 8:30 AM, otherwise points would be deducted. Fortunately, I made it to class in time and turned in my paper without any crisis. Whew!

Here's what I've been munching on lately:

Monday
I've been jonesin' for a grilled cheese lately, so I made one for dinner on Monday. I grilled up a quick sammie with mozzarella, spinach, and tomato on my George Foreman and served it along side salad (with soynuts and Woodstock dressing) and fresh pineapple.
The shake was pretty awesome: strawberries, banana, chocolate rice protein, special dark cocoa, coconut, and soymilk made a delectable dessert.
Tuesday
While at school, I rarely opt for a savory breakfast, mostly because I wake up earlier here than at home; veggies and protein just aren't nearly as appealing at 8AM as they are later in the day. Anyway, yesterday was different for some reason, and I was craving some tofu scramble. I used silken tofu this time, along with the usual ginger, tahini, soy sauce, and turmeric; I added broccoli...well, because I love broccoli. I made it into a breakfast sandwich and served it alongside a big green apple.
I had no idea what to have for lunch, so I pulled a classic Caroline maneuver: let's just dump a bunch of items into a pan and hope it tastes good! I call this a Rainbow Black Bean Hash: I combined spinach, corn, black beans, red onion, chopped tomato, ground red pepper, and chili powder and let it all simmer in its colorful goodness. On the side, I had some peaches with flax, cinnamon, and a touch of stevia.
Dinner was inspired by Lindsay over at the Happy Herbivore. I made her Spicy Teriyaki Chickpeas with Pineapple Salsa. Technically, I didn't have any pineapple salsa, so I just served the chickpeas alongside a pile of chopped pineapple. The other items on the plates are: whole grain couscous, snap peas with pecans, and a spinach-squash salad.
My shake last night was absolutely fantastic. Seriously, it competes with my favorite mango-vanilla hemp combination. I combined 1.5 frozen bananas with soymilk and a cappuccino Spirutein packet, then topped it with a dash of cocoa powder. Something about the Spirutein makes the drink so fluffy and cloud-like; it was almost like eating mousse! It also reminded me of a Starbucks Frappuccino...but much better:)
Speaking of Starbucks, what is your standard coffee shop order? I don't drink coffee, so I always order a grande hot tea, Tazo Passion flavor. Sometimes I'll spring for the seasonal drinks too...pumpkin latte, anyone?

Wednesday
Last night I prepared a breakfast cookie like all the cool kids have been doing in the blogosphere. Mine featured chocolate rice protein, oats, rice milk, almond butter, and mashed banana. Not only was this a tasty treat but also a quite serendipitous breakfast--I never would have made it to class on time if I had had to prepare breakfast this morning!
I made another tofu salad for lunch today, but I put a new twist on today's rendition. This one took on a decidedly Asian flavor with its inclusion of garlic, ginger, orange zest, and cashews. The other ingredients were pretty standard: tofu, vegan mayo, and agave nectar. I stuffed it all into a pita and served it with some field greens and an apple.
Now I am off to settle in for an evening of studying and watching the Rockefeller Christmas Light Up Night!