Living in a Zoo

As if the chaos of the end of the semester weren't enough to make me feel like I'm living in a zoo, there is yet another reason these days: campus tours. Yes, it's that time of year again--the season in which reluctant high school students and their parents visit college campuses across the country in hopes of finding "the perfect fit." Overall, I don't really mind their presence, but it does make me feel a bit like a caged animal..."Look! A college student in its natural habitat!" Every time I exit the gym doors or look up from a computer screen in the library, I find multiple pairs of eyes staring back at me. Perhaps I am being overly sensitive to this mild surveillance...but still, this kind of thing makes you think twice about pickin' a wedgie;)

In contrast to the weekday zoo-like experiences, my weekend was pretty tame: just studying, a trip to TJ's, and chillin' with friends. Here's what I've been munching:

Friday
I busted out my Mango Almond Melange granola from my MixMyGranola on Friday night. Yes, I did create my smoothie on the basis of the granola flavors--I'm that cool. I combined frozen mango, raspberries, soymilk, and Tropical Fruit Spirutein, the perfect vehicle for my granola:)
Saturday
I was in a particularly decadent mood on Saturday morning, so I made a choco-berry parfait. I used layers of TJ's High Fiber cereal, plain yogurt mixed with dark cocoa and stevia, and sliced strawberries topped with wheat germ and chocolate-hazelnut spread. YUM.
For lunch, I used more of that bean dip to make a very messy burrito. I put bell peppers, mashed avocado, bean dip, salsa, and spinach in a veggie-wheat tortilla and served it alongside a salad and an apple. I need to work on my wrapping skills, apparently.
For my snack, I tried another Rachel's cottage cheese flavor. I think I have a dependency on this stuff. Cottage cheese is definitely the reason why I couldn't go entirely vegan...for now.
Before heading over to watch the Duke-Texas game (in which we were victorious!), I made a simple dinner: a can of Health Valley's Vegetable Soup with added chickpeas, rice crackers, and a salad with cashews and Tofu-Lime Dressing. In addition to my homemade hummus obsession, I think I feel a homemade dressing fixation developing...
My smoothie that night featured frozen banana, unsweetened banana Spirutein, raspberries, and soymilk. I topped it with some more of that Peak Protein granola by Bear Naked.
Sunday
As you may know, I have a healthy appreciation for Clif bars, especially the Maple Nut and Oatmeal Raisin Walnut flavors. Accordingly, I decided to combine my favorite flavors in my oatmeal bowl: oats, rice milk, cinnamon, raisins, walnuts, and an agave-maple blend made for a wonderful start to the day. I find myself running out of oatmeal inspiration these days. With my Taste the Rainbow challenge and Girl Scout series complete, I need ideas. What should my next oatmeal challenge be?
I whipped up another batch of tofu cream cheese yesterday (NOT in pizza dip this time) and assembled a fruit pizza. I added a little cinnamon to the mix and the resulting flavor was quite reminiscent of the Creamy Cashew Dip from ED&BV (which I have made here and here). This fruit pizza was of the strawberry-banana variety, and I served it with greens topped with cucumber, wheat germ, and raspberry vinaigrette.

This marks the beginning of Chobani Week. This week, I'll be using all of your wonderful suggestions to sample Chobani's various flavors. First up was plain, with pumpkin and almonds.
After chapter, I returned home not really in the mood for a real dinner, so I made Mexican Dip again. This time, I layered the bean dip you've seen so much lately with salsa, TJ's Guac-Salsa, reduced-fat cheddar, and some more tofu sour cream. I scooped up all the goodness with baked blue corn chips and celery. High in sodium, but oh-so-delicious.
The smoothie last night was a bit of a leftovers concoction: soymilk, blueberries, frozen banana, strawberries, and vanilla rice protein went into the blender for this one. I topped it with my Choco-Cherry Treat granola--not the perfect accompaniment but tasty just the same.
Monday
I was in a rush to get to class today, so I slapped together a banana dog: whole wheat hot dog bug, banana, PB, and agave-maple syrup with a glass of rice milk. Fast and delish.
A few important reminders:
-Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas is giving away a VitaMix. Yes, you read that right. You have no idea how much I covet the VitaMix machines of my fellow bloggers. I mean, come on, I make at least one smoothie per day. I clearly *need* a VitaMix. Anyway, enter by March 28 for your chance to win!
-Kristin from Kristin's Nibbles is giving away an assortment of Quaker goodies. I love the Simple Harvest products...and fuzzy slippers, so I am excited about this giveaway as well! Enter by tonight (March 23 at 9PM).

Eek! Another monster post! Congrats if you read this far! Be back soon:)

Serendipitous Snow

OK, I admit it. I am a weather.com addict. I check it every day in order to anticipate what the coming days might bring, whether it be glorious sunshine or lame wind & rain. As per usual, I checked last night to see what the weather would be at 7AM, the time at which I usually make the trek across campus to the gym. Answer: "12*, windy and icy." Fabulous. A glance down the page indicated that no warming trend was expected throughout the morning. After much deliberation, I decided to deliberately skip my morning class, a transgression I rarely commit.

Lo and behold, I wake up this morning to my roommate rejoicing and announcing that classes had been cancelled! A rather serendipitous blanket of snow had arrived overnight. Hence, all guilt induced by class-skipping was successfully avoided. Sweet.

This weekend was pretty low-key around here; there wasn't much going on around campus, so my friends and I hid from the icy rain and watched a few chick flicks. I also managed to squeeze in another trip to TJ's with Alanna. Check out the eats that kept me going:

Friday
I wasn't much in the mood for cooking, so dinner ended up being a simple veggie bologna wrap with provolone and mixed greens. I'm with Kath--the taste of cheese is never pronounced enough when mixed into sandwiches and wraps, it seems. Anyway, I also opened up a new bottle of Annie's dressing after my beloved Woodstock disappeared. This time, I tried a classic, the balsamic vinaigrette. That's broccoli and a nectarine on the side.
The kind folks at Amazing Grass recently sent me some of their new Amazing Meal protein powder to review for VegFamily. You may remember when I tried (and reviewed) their Berry Greens supplement, but this time I tried out the Amazing Meal original flavor and combined it with soymilk, peaches, blueberries, and strawberries. Fabulous! FYI, Amazing Meal is a combination of hemp and rice proteins (soy-free!).
Saturday
Continuing the simple trend, I had an old fave for breakfast: toast with PB & J. In case you're curious, I used Dickinson's organic all fruit blackberry spread. On the side I had some cottage cheese with banana and cinnamon.
For lunch, I made another Asian Bean Salad, this time using lightly steamed sugar snap peas, mushrooms, green onions, adzuki beans, and Annie's Shiitake Sesame dressing. More of those addictive crackers on the side, plus an orange.
After my trip to TJ's and a very necessary viewing of Bridget Jones's Diary, I made a late dinner out of Mexican Dip. In a glass bowl, I mashed some black beans and added layers of cheddar cheese, salsa, mashed avocado, and finally homemade tofu sour cream. I served all that goodness with some baked blue corn chips and a plate of greens. Definitely spawned a food fugue.
Next up in the Amazing Meal lineup: Pomegranate Mango Infusion. I just blended it with some frozen mango and soymilk, although in retrospect I could have added some POM as well...next time.
Sunday
With my Girl Scout challenge complete, I was left without inspiration for my oatmeal...and then I spied my pretzels in the cupboard next to the oatmeal. Bingo. I cooked my oats in rice milk and vanilla, then topped them with a few pretzels and a blob of PB. Just like those PB pretzels VeggieGirl sent me:)
As per usual, by Sunday I was left with a variety of beans and veggies in the fridge...so I made another veggie-bean stew out of tomato sauce, black beans, adzuki beans, garlic, mixed veggies, cumin, turmeric, and curry powder. I dunked a mini bagel in all that tastiness and served it with grapes and greens with cashews.
I've gotten some great meal suggestions from blog readers, and this one is a new favorite. I stuffed a pita with a Bistro burger, mashed avocado, and melted provolone for a delectable hot sammie. Thanks to Jessica for suggesting this dish! I served it alongside some zucchini, salad, and peaches.
The final installment of the Amazing Meal journey involved a tasty chocolate infusion. I combined it with dairy-free vanilla ice cream (from TJ's!), lots of strawberries, and soymilk. A few Annie's chocolate bunnies decided to join in on the fun. SO GOOD. This was my favorite flavor!
Monday
After sleeping in this morning, I took advantage of my snow day by making a big bowl of choco-nana oat bran. Special dark cocoa powder, oat bran, rice milk, banana, coconut, and chocolate PB made for quite the breakfast treat. I am fast becoming an oat bran convert...
Despite the snow day, I still must venture out to my dining committee meeting tonight. We're discussing some new ideas for eateries to bring to campus. If you're in college now, what's your favorite place to eat on your campus? If you're not college-age, what kind of place would you frequent on a university campus? Outside input is always helpful!

Enjoy your Monday!