Announcing...Greta!!

Remember when I visited the dog breeder over Thanksgiving? Well, my sister and her husband officially brought home their boxer pup for good on Sunday afternoon, and I have been soakin' up the puppy love ever since. Greta is going to be so spoiled--because her Aunt Caroline is already smitten with her! Here are a few pictures from her first few days at home:
Here's what I've been munching on, between my cuddle sessions with Greta and Christmas shopping:

Monday
I indulged myself a little on Monday by making a Chocolate-Banana Shake with chocolate pudding, frozen banana, soymilk, and chocolate Spirutein. I also had some chocolate syrup on top, which promptly sank to the bottom.
Tuesday
I sampled another variety of Rudi's bagels yesterday morning. This time, I toasted up a cinnamon raisin bagel and spread it with Cinnamon Raisin PB, of course. On the side, I had a peach-blueberry smoothie made with almond milk. Perfect fuel for hittin' the mall!
Amidst my Christmas shopping, I managed to make a stop at Williams-Sonoma, where I got myself a few foodie treats. Oddly enough, I discovered both of these items through food blogs!
For lunch, I made some fajitas with refried black beans, chopped avocado, and salsa. I served those alongside a salad and clementines.
Before heading out for more shopping and a visit with Greta, I made a quick dinner: Coconut Curry Chickpeas from Clean Eating. I made a few alterations, namely the subsitution of broccoli slaw for shredded cabbage. Believe it or not, there are some vegetables I simply refuse to eat, and cabbage is one of them! On the side, I had an Ezekiel pita, salad with Woodstock dressing, and fresh blackberries.
My smoothie last night consisted of a classic combo, strawberry and banana. I combined strawberries, banana, soymilk, and berry hemp protein for a delectable treat.
Wednesday
I was famished this morning after my workout, and nothing fills me up like scrambled tofu. I added zucchini and mushrooms to the usual tahini, ginger, soy sauce, and garlic. I had toast and a clementine on the side. Do you have a favorite meal to prepare when you're really hungry?
Today's lunch was a taco salad, consisting of homemade tortilla chips, lettuce, leftover refried black beans, and Smoky Avocado Sauce from ED&BV. I rounded it out with some mango.
I am off to watch the Duke game on TV with my B-I-L Ryan. Let's go Blue Devils!

Be back soon!

Run-around Friday

I was busy today! It's amazing how I can have absolutely nothing scheduled, yet I end up filling up the day somehow. I didn't even get to eat lunch until 4 PM! Considering my love of food, that's saying something!

After getting a pedicure, my sister and I went shopping for Mother's Day. We checked out Williams-Sonoma (one of my fave stores), but we decided on a few silver serving pieces from a local gift shop. We even picked out her birthday gift (June 1), so we are ahead of the game. My sister is getting married June 7, so we figured it would be a good idea to get things settled now, before the whirlwind of the wedding starts...

Anyway, I have been busy in the kitchen the past few days; I have been in what I call a "cooking fugue." Without much further ado, here are some of the most recent creations from Caroline's kitchen...

Wednesday

Wednesday night, I made a delicious shake using unsweetened chocolate Spirutein and Soy Delicious fruit-sweetened chocolate vegan ice cream (that was a mouthful!). The vegan ice cream is especially good for creating a "whipped" texture, so this shake was quite voluminous-the way like it. I added some chocolate syrup and a few chocolate sprinkles for fun:)

Thursday

Yesterday morning's breakfast was inspired by Chocolate Covered Vegan and Ruby Red Vegan. I made pumpkin oatmeal pudding, topped with sliced almonds and a squirt of agave. (The recipe you see beside my bowl is Ruby'sPumpkin-Pecan Raisin Pudding).

When lunch rolled around yesterday, I was in the mood for the white bean spread from ED&BV. So that's what I made. I love the combination of cashews, nooch, and white beans. A lovely sliced tomato and crispbreads rounded out the meal. I also had a big grapefruit afterward.

Due to the fact that multiple bloggers highly recommended it, I made the Low-er Fat Banana Muffins from Veganomicon yesterday afternoon. They are a hit! I love seeing the look on my family's faces, mid-bite, that they're vegan. Ha!

While my family feasted on spaghetti and chicken meatballs, I decided to make Veganomicon's bean balls for dinner. I wasn't in the mood for pasta, so I decided to make a beanball sandwich, Oh. my. gosh. Beanballs are definitely entering my regular rotation--'nuff said.

Friday

For breakfast today, I tried something new: scrambled tofu. I used the recipe from the Chicago Diner Cookbook, which called for tofu, sesame seeds, tahini, and soy sauce. True to form, I didn't follow the recipe exactly; I added spinach and mushrooms for good measure:)

My belated lunch today consisted of leftover vegetarian baked beans (Amy's), oat bran pita bread, and an amazing salad. This salad included oranges, sliced almonds, and spinach with a dressing made of agave, red pepper, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. I used a Vegetarian Times recipe as inspiration for this dish. The original recipe required honey, but I used agave, and it also included sesame seeds. I opted to leave those out since I had so much sesame this morning for breakfast. The sweetness of the oranges combined with the saltiness of the soy sauce is phenomenal. I might make a big batch of this dressing for later use.
We are headed to our lake house in an hour or two. I am so excited! I haven't been since last fall, so I am looking forward to being near the water again. We often take long boat trips while we're there, so I'll need to think of some waterside snacks. What would you recommend? I'll probably bring a cooler on board, along with a good book and my shades:) Enjoy your weekend!

Last Day of Classes!!

I just returned from a day of partying on the quad. Ever since I got out of my cognitive psychology exam at 1:00 this afternoon, I have just been chillin' with friends and listening to bands play. The evening ended with a stellar performance by Third Eye Blind. How cool is that?!

Anyway, as a result of this day of festivities, I had really weird (non-photographed) meals, plus I didn't get a change to post until now. Despite my day of craziness, I do have some pics from trip to Whole Foods on Monday and my meals over the past few days.

In my last post, I promised a picture of my Whole Foods goodies, and I shall deliver on that promise. This trip happened to include several products I have never tried before--I suppose I was in an adventurous/impulsive mood. This week's loot includes (from left to right): Nasoya organic tofu, banana soy pudding (my treat for this week), plain Silk yogurt, Ezekiel sprouted tortillas, refried black beans with fire-roasted peppers, canned lentils, roasted salted soy nuts, acorn squash & mango soup (it's vegan!), organic Gala apples, bananas, organic and local squash, organic red pears, organic baby carrots, and frozen strawberries.

In addition to those groceries, I thought I would mention a snack that I ordered a few months ago--vegan jerky. I ordered several varieties of Primal Strips from Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe. Although they're not the most natural snack in the world, I really like the hit of protein they provide, plus the sauces are finger lickin' good (my favorite is the teriyaki flavor!).
Now onto the real food. Prior to this week, I had never tried soy yogurt. Now I am hooked! I think I almost like it better than regular yogurt. Even though I purchased the plain variety, this soy yogurt retains more sweetness than regular yogurt does. Score! Anyway, I enjoyed it the other day with some sliced strawberries.

Monday

For my treat Monday night, I had decided to dig into that soy pudding that I bought. I added some dark chocolate chunks to the mix for a chocolate banana delight. Because I enjoyed my pudding so much, I decided to do a little research on ZenSoy, the makers of the product. I like this company due to their devotion to saving wildlife--check it out on their website.

Tuesday
For breakfast yesterday, I had some more of that Weetabix, along with some sliced peaches and wheat germ. What would I do without my wheat germ? I should think of some alternative ways to use it.



Lunch yesterday was great! I prepared a recipe that I have been making ever since my first days of vegetarianism--absent egg salad. I simply mashed up tofu, mustard, and a tad of plain soy yogurt; I topped it off with a sprinkle of paprika. I served it along with Ak-maks, strawberries, and a salad topped with raw cashews.

For snackage yesterday evening, I dug out an old Clif Nectar bar that had been hiding in my snack drawer for way too long. This was so tasty! It reminded me of the inside of a Fig Newton cookie--odd, considering this was supposed to be lemon, vanilla, and cashew-flavored.

Wednesday

Finally, for breakfast this morning, I made a pumpkin shake, as recommended by Erika (RunRoamRecycle). I used pumpkin, cinnamon, plain Silk yogurt, and a frozen banana. I wanted to add some vanilla flavor, but, alas, I had none. Nonetheless, it was relatively enjoyable. I think I need to tweak the flavors a bit though before I have a perfect recipe. Some Corn Bran cereal completed my morning meal.These next few days will be devoted to studying. I have exams on Monday, Thursday, and Friday of next week. Perhaps I should look into brain foods? Drop me a line if you know of any good nibbles for studying:)