Life as a List-Maker

Hello, my name is Caroline, and I am a chronic list-maker.

It's true; my roommate and I both share a love of making itemized lists (hence why I gave her this book for Christmas). Our apartment often looks as if a Post-It blizzard has struck--our laptops, the refrigerator door, and even the bedroom wall usually are host to a few brightly colored stickies with lists on them. Recently, however, I graduated from Post-Its to a more attractive way of recording my lists. Check out one of my latest purchases from Home Goods:
A Cook's Planner!
Are you a list-maker? What do you make lists for? Do you take one to the grocery store? I usually take a list so that I don't forget specialized items for recipes, but I rarely buy solely what is written on it...I inevitably have a few impulse buys.

I am aiming to be on time to class today, so let's move onto the food!

Monday
One of my fun projects over spring break was to go through my pile of Clean Eating magazines and select a few recipes to try in the coming months. One from the most recent issue caught my eye: the Avocado Egg Salad. I veganized it by using cubed silken tofu rather than boiled egg whites. There's also some dijon mustard and paprika in there for some kick. I served it atop a bed of greens alongside some Ak Maks and grapes. Quite a green meal!
I have yet another snack to share with you all. I don't normally post snacks since they're pretty repetitive. Accordingly, I have been getting bored with my usual yogurt+Sunbutter combos, so I decided to mix it up. Here you see Tofurky-provolone roll-ups with a few almonds. Although I authored a snack post a while back, now I am asking you: what are your favorite snacks?
I had a sorority event that night, so I put together a quick wrap for dinner: artichokes, bell peppers, and mozzarella in an Italian herb flatbread, plus asparagus with walnuts and garlic salt, and a perfectly ripe orange.
For my smoothie, I combined mango, raspberries, soymilk, and the very last bit of my drum of Nutribody protein. I really like the color raspberries add to my smoothies! I topped it with another kind of granola that I found lurking in the cupboard: Bear Naked Mango Agave Almond. Sounds like my kind of thing, no? Check out those hunks of mango!
Tuesday
My oat bran addiction continues. This time, I cooked it in rice milk and vanilla extract, then added pumpkin and banana. I used cashew butter as the perfect topper. This took fo-evah to eat! Totally worth being late to class for it:)
Another recent obsession: homemade hummus. I make Greek hummus yesterday, as inspired by this recipe from Rachael Ray. Olives, parsley, oregano, tahini, chickpeas=tastiness. I served it with some whole wheat mini pitas, cucumber sticks, and an apple. Lots of green goin' on here, too...
In honor of St. Paddy's Day, I made an even greener meal for dinner: whole grain pasta with peanut lime sauce, edamame, snap peas, and broccoli. I got the idea for this one from Ellie Krieger. I also had some greens on the side.
My smoothie of the evening featured unsweetened peach Spirutein, peaches, raspberries, and soymilk. I used more of that heavenly mango granola on top.

Wednesday
With the warmer temperatures these days, I have returned to my 2-a-day smoothie habit. Today's featured that tasty pumpkin-banana combo again, along with rice milk and flax. On the side, I had a mini bagel with a Laughing Cow wedge.
Take a look at what I found waiting for me at my door yesterday:
CHOBANI! I know so many of you bloggers out there love 'em, so tell me how you like to enjoy them the most. How do you Chobani? (Yes, I have made Chobani a verb).

Reminders:
-Eating Bender is giving away TWO amazing assortments of her favorite items. Enter by tonight at 8PM CST.
-Visit Say Yes to Salad for a chance to win some Oikos coupons. Those would come in handy on my recent mission to sample all Greek yogurts...Enter by today at 12PM PST.
-Enter my giveaway for a gift certificate to MixMyGranola by Friday, March 20 at 11:59 PM EST.

Alright, C Yode out!

Running in Heels

All I have to say is that I better have killer legs by the end of the semester.

Allow me to explain. Duke has 3 campuses: East, West, and Central to which students are transported via buses. Most of the time, I choose to walk to class from Central campus because it's a mere 10-15 minute walk, and I am far too impatient to wait for buses. However, with the recent dip in temperatures, I have been relying on the bus with far more frequency. Somehow I never seem to get the schedule right though and find myself running to catch the departing vehicle. It wouldn't be such a big deal if I actually wore sensible shoes now and then, but my unhealthy appreciation of heels prevents that from happening...Sexy calves, here I come!

Here's what I've been using to fuel my dashes to the bus stop:

Monday
I made coconut black beans again, which was inspired by this recipe from VegWeb. I obviously didn't have a lot of the ingredients on hand, so improvised. On the side, I had couscous and a salad with cashews.
I had my weekly dining meeting in the evening, so I made a pit stop afterward at the salad bar, where they had...steamed edamame! Clearly, that was the highlight of my day. When I came home, I added some of Annie's Shiitake Vinaigrette and added some crackers and cantaloupe as accompaniments.
The smoothie of the night was another berry bonanza with strawberries, blueberries plus the other usual suspects. Oh, and an extra-large dose of granola:)
Tuesday
Due to the crap-tastic weather we had yesterday (i.e., cold and rainy), I knew I needed a hot breakfast to start out the day. Steamed rice milk poured over crumbled Weetabix and a banana with the scraps of the Sunbutter jar did the trick. PS Why is it that all my nut butters run out at once?! I can't afford to replace them simultaneously!
Yesterday's lunch shall be labeled this post's FOOD FUGUE. It was fan-freaking-tabulous. Here's what spawned the fugue: sweet butter lettuce topped with steamed asparagus, tofu cooked in soy sauce/vinegar/garlic/ginger, cashews, and blood orange segments. I had some of those addicting crackers on the side.
After an afternoon of tutoring, I returned looking for relaxation...so I cooked dinner, of course. I made Lindsay's Spicy Teriyaki Chickpeas. I didn't have any pineapple salsa (again!), so I subbed chopped pineapple. That's couscous, broccoli, and a salad with peanuts on the side.
The smoothie last night was pretty awesome. Let's just face it, I'll love anything with mango it. Here's what went in the blender: frozen mango, frozen peaches, Nutribody protein, and soymilk.
Wednesday
Today's breakfast consisted of a trusty time-saver: overnight oats. Last night I combined oats with rice milk, stevia, and cinnamon; I added warmed & spiced pumpkin and almonds this morning. I had another blood orange on the side.
For those of you who eat overnight oats regularly, do you enjoy it hot or cold? I always assumed it was meant to be consumed cold, but I'm up for a little variety.

As I mentioned above, I have found myself in a sudden nut butter dearth. If you could choose just one nut butter to enjoy forever more, which one would you choose?

Alright, I suppose I should get ready for my Faulkner class now. Ta-ta for now!

Spaz on Skates

Now, I've never claimed to be the most coordinated individual. Indeed, I was always the kid in gym class who got hit in the face with the basketball. Anyway, I thought that perhaps my devotion to exercise and fitness in recent years would have afforded me some new-found athleticism...but I was wrong. My friends and I headed to a roller rink this past weekend, where I strapped on a pair of skates for the first time since my 9th birthday party. Let's just say I have a nasty bruise developing on my knee a new respect for anyone who can roller skate. We had lots of fun though!
Here's what I've been eating in between displays of spastic tendencies:

Friday
I used up some leftover bags of frozen fruit for this one: frozen cherries, strawberries, soymilk, Nutribody protein, and granola, of course.
Saturday
After sleeping through my alarm (yes, I do occasionally set it even on Saturdays!), I made it to the gym and back to prepare a pretty fab parfait: plain yogurt with stevia and dark cocoa mixed in, Peanut Butter Pows, sliced banana and a scoop of PB. FOOD FUGUE.
For lunch, I kept it simple: frozen corn with kidney beans, chili powder, garlic salt, and salsa, salad with Woodstock dressing, and an apple.
Dinner was thrown together last minute before heading to the roller rink: Amy's Bistro Burger on whole wheat with organic K+M, salad with wheat germ and raspberry vinaigrette, and green beans with pecans and dill. Nummy.
After skating, we headed back to a friends room for a little party. Hence, no shake for this evening.

Sunday
Before heading to chapel, I prepared my beloved stovetop oats. This bowl included pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a crumbled pecan pie Larabar. Mmm. Pumpkin-pecan hybrids are the best.
For lunch, I just wanted something to warm me up (again!). I combined: frozen veggies, tomato sauce + water, curry powder, kidney beans, and ground ginger to make a tasty soup. On the side, I had a salad with Goddess dressing, crackers, and a blood orange.
I scarfed down dinner super fast before heading to a chapter meeting. I made white bean almond bruschetta (an improvisation of ED&BV's White Bean Walnut Bruschetta), along with spinach and grapes.
The shake of the evening was pretty amazing: peaches, blueberries, soymilk, Nutribody protein, and granola. Surprisingly delicious.
Monday
Breakfast was a simple affair: toast with pumpkin butter and the scrapings of my almond butter jar, plus an apple and a glass of rice milk.
I am interested in trying out some new foodie products...I feel like I haven't made any grocery store discoveries recently. What's your latest food find?

Now I am headed to class. Ciao for now!