Berry Tripping

Hello, all! I apologize for the delay--my normal midday posting schedule was side-tracked due to a dining committee event. We're hosting a "berry tripping" event on Thursday night for which I was selling tickets. What is berry tripping, you ask? It all centers around the "miracle fruit," a berry grown in West Africa that alters your taste sensations. A glycoprotein present in the berry makes sour things taste sweet: just imagine sucking on a lemon that tastes like lemonade, or guzzling Guinness that tastes like a milkshake.

Check out this video from the NYT for an inside look at this food trend.

What do you think? Would you be brave enough to go on a berry trip?

Anyway, here's what I've been chomping on since my last post:

Monday
Inspired by my recent purchase of frozen artichoke hearts (from TJ's), I decided to whip up a vegan spinach artichoke dip. I based my version on the recipe from the Chicago Diner Cookbook, which includes vegan mayo, artichokes, garlic, and spinach. To make a completely dippable meal, I also served up some hummus with sliced olives on top. I used some more of those fab baked blue corn chips to shovel in the tastiness. Oh yeah, some salad a few grapes added a little more nutrition to the meal.
Following my dining committee meeting, I made another mock tuna melt, using my standard chickpea mixture as the "tuna" and melted provolone for the "melt." The end result was much better than last time--sliced cheese is much more melty than a chopped up cheddar stick. I also had a big salad from the salad bar with Annie's Balsamic Vinaigrette, plus a dish of melon.
For my smoothie that evening, I whipped up a frothy peach-banana combo with Nutribody. Sadly, I am nearing the end of my Nutribody AND my Cascadian Farm granola...looks like I'll need to go shopping for smoothie supplies soon:)
Tuesday
I've had this "People's Choice" yogurt by Stonyfield sitting in my fridge for a while--since it was so "special," I felt like I should use it creatively. In the end, it formed one of the components of my blueberry-pom parfait. I layered TJ's High Fiber cereal, said yogurt, blueberries, and almonds to make it. The yogurt tasted mostly like blueberry to me, but it was tasty, nonetheless. I really like this cereal though--it's like a gloriously aspartame-free Fiber One. I am also mildly obsessed with its cereal cousin, TJ's High Fiber Fruit and Nut Medley. Hmm...perhaps these will appear in future product reviews?
After my test, I came back to the apartment for a little comfort food...which has come to mean Goddess Garbanzos. I put the delicious mess in an Italian herb wrap with mixed greens and served it alongside a salad with 'shrooms and chopped apricots, plus grapes and steamed sugar snap peas.
I was stuck at home doing homework last night (rather than attending the basketball game against FSU), so I treated myself to an old fave while watching it on TV: scrambled tofu. I included zucchini in the mix for this one and served it with a whole wheat mini bagel, Brussels sprouts, greens, and an orange.
My nightly blog-reading was accompanied by a fab shake: strawberries, banana, soymilk, dark cocoa powder, and chocolate rice protein. A few more of those Annie's Bunnies decided to take a swim.
Wednesday
I am trying to whittle down my cereal selection (what? 8 boxes is too many?), so I opted for a hot bowl of Autumn Wheat today. I also had a banana with some Cinnamon Swirl PB.
Today's lunch was a double-salad: Waldorf salad, plus herb/greens mix with chickpeas. How can you go wrong with almonds, raisins, and apples? I also had a few crackers on the side.
There are a few giveaways in blogland that I wanted to let you all know about.

Olga from Healthing It is giving away a gift certificate for Me & Goji cereal. I've never tried it, but I love the idea of fully customizable cereal! Enter by March 9th!

Katie from Chocolate-Covered Katie is giving away Jocolat bars. I love me some Jocolat bars! I reviewed the chocolate mint variety here. Contest ends March 19th.

That concludes this installment of the Broccoli Hut adventures. Next post will be from DC!

Hot 'N Cold

Aside from my recent obsession with Katy Perry (and the super sexy man in the "Hot 'N Cold" video), today's post title was inspired by our wacky Alabama weather. When I went for my run this morning, it was a balmy 63*--yes, I was wearing shorts on December 19th. The cold weather arrives on Monday though, just in time for Christmas:)

In addition to our unseasonably warm temperatures, we've also been having LOTS of rain. My mom and I were greeted by a dark house when we arrived home last night.Ugh. Power outages are such a pain. Not only does it put my precious freezer goodies in danger of spoilage, but it also makes ordinary activities difficult. Have you ever taken a shower in the dark? It's quite a creepy experience.

Alright, that's enough whining from Caroline. Here's what I've been chomping on since Wednesday:

Wednesday
Just before the Duke game on Wednesday evening, I made homemade waffles--for the first time ever! I used a basic recipe that I found here, and let's just say that you may be seeing a lot more waffles at The Broccoli Hut in the future. I can't wait to play with the ingredients (pumpkin? chocolate chips? blueberries? The possibilities are endless...). I think the waffle maker may soon become my new favorite toy. I drizzled these tasty squares with maple syrup and dunked them in a plain yogurt-blueberry combo. Delish.
The shake of the evening featured strawberries and bananas again--but this time with chocolate! I added a chocolate Spirutein packet and soymilk for this creamy nighttime snack. Thursday
When I was reading my Clean Eating magazine on the airplane last week, I came across a tiny sidebar for "English Toffee Oatmeal" which suggested cooking your oats in English Toffee tea. Cooking oats in tea?! Genius! I cooked my oats in gingerbread tea, then added nutmeg, stevia, and cinnamon. After cooking, I added almond butter and dried cranberries.
Amidst more holiday shopping, my mom and I stopped by the house to grab lunch. I made some tofu lettuce wraps with broccoli slaw, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, tofu, and cashews. I had some clemenetines and a handful of garlic herb crackers on the side. By the time our power came back on, I was too hungry to think of anything elaborate for dinner. Hence, I present you with my hummus-salsa baked potato. I had a simple salad with Woodstock dressing and peaches with wheat germ on the side. Yawn.
The smoothie last night was pretty awesome. It's to be expected, considering it featured by favorite flavor combo, mango and vanilla. I used frozen mango cubes, soymilk, vanilla Spirutein, and PB granola. So good.
Friday
I realized today that it has been far too long since I've enjoyed pumpkin, so I made a pumpkin parfait for breakfast. I sweetened up the pumpkin with maple syrup and a few spices, then layered it with plain yogurt, oatmeal flakes cereal, and chopped almonds.
Lunch was pretty simple today: just a veggie wrap, along with a salad and an apple with cashew butter. I sauteed the zucchini and red bell peppers in balsamic vinegar then rolled it up in a wheat tortilla. That's smoked Tofurky on the salad.

My parents and I just arrived at the lake house a few hours ago; we're just here for the night to check on things (and maybe bake some Christmas cookies...). The food situation is pretty limited at the moment, so my dinner was a tad strange: mock tuna melts with veggies and a salad with sunflower seeds. I made the mock tuna the simple way, with just some vegan mayo, mustard, chickpeas, and lemon juice. That's a mozzarella string cheese on top. What do you like to prepare when fresh ingredients are limited?
We finally got around to decorating our Christmas tree this week. Here's a look at the finished product: Now I am off to watch a Christmas movie and perhaps have some fun in the kitchen.