One Scatter-brained Sister

For some unexplained reason, I have been quite the scatter-brained sister lately. On Wednesday night, I failed to set my alarm for the next morning. I awoke approximately a half-hour late, to the considerate questioning of my dear roommate:
"Caroline, did your morning class get cancelled?"
"What? Aw, crap."
I was quite appreciative of her awakening me--I had to turn in a paper that day!
Then, today I was daydreaming in the shower until I discovered that I had shaved the same leg three times. Hmm. It seems I need a little assistance in maintaining focus these days.

On another note, I have been visited by the sample fairy several times these past few days. First my personalized granola from MixMyGranola:
There's still time to enter my giveaway...you have until 11:59 PM tonight to enter!

I also received a few goodies from McCann's:
Any tips on how to prepare Irish oatmeal?

Finally, I also received this book from the people over at POM Wonderful.
It provides an insider's perspective on starting a business and marketing it successfully. I can't wait to read it...however, it will likely have to wait until after school is over.

Despite my recent flightiness, I have not been so distracted that I have forgotten to eat. Here's what I've been chowing on lately:

Wednesday
My mom has this really awesome (and really easy!) recipe for pizza dip for which I have been having an intense craving. So, I called up my mom, got the recipe, and set to work. The recipe calls for cream cheese, but I had the "genius" idea of substituting homemade tofu cream cheese. I whipped up the tofu concoction (which was quite tasty), then spread it in the dish and added the other layers (tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and veggie toppings--I chose artichoke hearts). Twenty minutes later, I had a bubbling mess. Although it tasted alright, the tofu cream cheese had totally disintegrated in the baking process. Lesson learned: stick to the real stuff next time. Those are baked blue corn chips and a salad with balsamic vinaigrette on the side.
For dinner, I had sorority ceremonies to attend for several hours, so I brought my dinner along: a Tofurky-hummus sandwich, an apple, raw veggies, and almonds.
Once home, I whipped up a delicious shake: cappuccino Spirutein, frozen banana, non-dairy vanilla ice cream, and soymilk with a few chocolate chips for garnish. Who needs Starbucks?
Thursday
Yesterday morning was the day of the "absent alarm" incident. After scrambling to put on a T-shirt and yoga pants, I still managed to make breakfast. My roommate remarked, "Hey, you still managed to eat breakfast!" Of course. Breakfast before beauty. I made CCV's Banana Bread Blender again with GoLean, soymilk, frozen banana, almonds, cinnamon, and a little coconut. OK, so my version really doesn't much resemble the original recipe, but it was tasty, nonetheless.
For lunch, I drew inspiration from the most recent issue of Clean Eating magazine. There is a recipe for a Caribbean Tuna Salad, which sounded delicious, but I made significant substitutions to make it vegetarian- and time-friendly. I used chickpeas for the tuna and used prepared peanut sauce with lime juice and jerk seasoning to make the dressing. That's mango and bell pepper in the salad and pita on the side. I'll include the magazine pic too, just for fun.
More sorority ceremonies that night, so I brought by dinner again (in my eco-friendly sack): asparagus-avocado-tomato wrap, grapes, and soynuts with dried apricots. I also brought some little PB cracker sandwiches for snacking.
My shake last night was...weird. I combined strawberries, dark cocoa, chocolate rice protein, soymilk, and non-dairy ice cream then topped it off with a bit of PB2 and high-fiber cereal (I need that crunch!). Not my best effort.
Friday
After a blissful 8-hours' sleep, I prepared a filling breakfast favorite: scrambled tofu. I switched it up this time and put it in a wrap. The green you see is asparagus and scallions. I also had a perfectly ripe orange on the side.
Following my Whole Foods trip, I came home to prepare a simple lunch: hummus pizza. I used leftover Greek hummus (from Tuesday), tomatoes, and an Ezekiel pita. Due to the oregano, olives, and tomatoes, it really did smell like pizza in the apartment! I had some greens with raspberry vinaigrette and an apple on the side.
Another night of sorority ceremonies, another sack dinner: PB & apple butter on whole wheat with grapes, and raw veggies with this bean dip. For snacktime, I brought a Jamfrakas bar and almonds.
Whew! I am pooped. Sorry for the monstrous post...but before I go, a friendly reminder:

Time's a-tickin'...enter the MixMyGranola giveaway before it's too late!

"It's Not Unusual"...or Is It?

I had a rather "unusual" event happen today while at the gym. I was groovin' away on the treadmill listening to my iPod and simultaneously watching the Rachael Ray Show (one of my fave programs). Today was a big show in that Rachael had invited a special guest, whom she was beyond excited to host on the program: she had invited her teenage heart-throb, Tom Jones. Just as he appeared on stage, what song begins to play on my iPod? (I'll give you a hint: it's in the title of this post). What are the odds of that?!

Have you had any strange coincidences lately?

Anyway, I am getting ever closer to the end. I turned in my two papers today, and I have my final in approximately 36 hours. Based on my calculations, I can get a 78 on the exam and still pull out an A in the course. Sweet.

I've got some super-cool grub to share today:

Monday
The smoothie of the evening featured peaches, mangoes, soymilk, and Nutribody protein. Excellent.
Tuesday
Remember my past infatuation with Weetabix? It's back, but this time I've tried it in a new way: HOT! I poured some scalding rice milk over a few broken up biscuits, then added some nutmeg and agave nectar on top. So warm, so soggy, so sweet--just the way I like it. On the side I had an apple with almond butter.
For lunch, I attempted to revamp leftover lentil soup by converting it into a shepherd's pie. I cooked the lentil soup with some sliced mushrooms until it reduced down to a stew-like consistency. Then I added some garlicky mashed potatoes with dill on top. If I were more ambitious I would have actually baked it in the oven, but I was too hungry for such nonsense. On the side, I had a spinach salad with pom seeds and pecans.
Dinner was inspired by the Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Tofu Stir-Fry from ED&BV. I used peanuts instead of cashews and changed up the vegetables according to what I had on hand. It was delicious, of course; Dreena never lets me down. I served it alongside some whole grain couscous and an orange.
The shake of the evening was one of my favorite combinations: frozen banana, strawberries, soymilk, chocolate brown rice protein, and special dark cocoa.
Wednesday
I woke up famished today! To fill the void, I decided a protein-y breakfast was best. Scrambled tofu to the rescue! This version featured tahini, soy sauce, ginger, mushrooms, and red onion. I had some toast on the side to soak up the scrambled goodness as well as a sliced apple.
After some intense stat calculation, I broke for a simple lunch. I had a baked potato along with some of Imagine's broccoli soup. I also had some carrots with salsa (a la K) and peaches with pecans and cinnamon. I ended up spooning some of the soup on top of the potato, which ended up being quite a delicious idea.
Hummus pizza was on the menu tonight. I split a pita and smeared each half with a good dose of hummus, then topped them with mushrooms, tomato, basil, oregano, and a few tablespoons of pine nuts. Everything got nice and toasty in the oven. On the side, I had a spinach salad with pom seeds and my homemade lemony sweet dill dressing.
Before I go, I have a quick question for you all: What's your favorite time of day to exercise? My roommate and I discuss this topic a lot, weighing the pros and cons of morning versus evening. I am a morning gal myself, but I was just curious as to what your preferences were and why.

Next time I post, I will be HOME!

Toodles.