Are You Afraid of the Dark?

**Thanks to everyone for your kind comments in response to my post entitled "Another First." I really enjoyed the experience, and I appreciate your support!**

Aside from being a super-awesome Nickelodeon television show from my childhood, today's post refers to how I felt this morning. I hopped out of bed at 7AM this morning, as per usual, to walk across campus to the gym. When I open up the door, however, it appears to be the middle of the night. Oh, yeah. Daylight Savings Time. While it's great to have the prolonged sunlight in the evening, I had forgotten that there is a trade-off--it's much darker in the AM. Central campus (where I reside) has a reputation as being more crime-ridden than one might prefer, so this unexpected darkness made me a little nervous. Yes, I admit it--I was afraid of the dark. Fortunately, the sun came along soon enough, so my trek over to the gym was minimally frightening. How about you? Are you afraid of the dark?

Anyway, since my last meal re-cap, I have returned to school for the final portion of the semester. Here's what I ate in my last few days of freedom.

Friday
I have another rare snack to share: Rachel's cottage cheese with pear and mangosteen. To be honest, I'm pretty sure I have never even seen a mangosteen, but I still thought this flavor sounded intriguing. I enjoyed mine with some raw cashews. I think the reason I like these flavored cottage cheese cups so much is that they remind me of Breakstone's Cottage Doubles. They have the same portability and tastiness--without all the icky ingredients.
For dinner, I decided on the Thai Chick-Un Pizza from ED&BV (quite possibly my very fave cookbook). I have made it before (see here and here), and it never disappoints. I wish I had had the pineapple that the recipe requires, but no such luck. Nonetheless, it was quite delicious. I also had a salad and some clementines.
My shake of the evening was of the choco-nana variety: unsweetened chocolate Spirutein, frozen banana, vanilla non-dairy ice cream, and soymilk. Sorry for the crap-tastic picture--at least you have a nice few of my current cookbook obsessions in the background.
Saturday
Following my race on Saturday, I knew exactly what I wanted for breakfast. I had mentioned it in my last post when I showed you my GoLean Muffin creations...yep, I made a muffin parfait. This one featured said muffins, Greek yogurt, blueberries, and Mighty Maple PB. I love how the muffins soak up all the flavors of the other layers. See yesterday's post for details.
I had a quick lunch so that I could devote my full attention to the ACC tournament on TV. (FYI: DUKE WON THE TOURNAMENT). Anyway, I made a ginormous wrap with chickpeas, steamed cauliflower, red bell pepper, mixed greens, and Woodstock dressing. This wrap ended up being quite messy and falling apart after my picture. Nonetheless, it was quite tasty. On the side, I had more greens and a big bowl of watermelon.

As a last hurrah before my departure, the whole fam came over for dinner. I needed to use up some leftover beans, so I made some hummus inspired by Caitlin's purple hummus...except mine was pink! With my hand blender, I combined red beans, liquid smoke, tahini, paprika, cumin, garlic, and S + P. The end result was quite smoky and garlicky, which doesn't make for the best breath, but it tastes good goin' down. I put a hefty amount in an oat bran pita with some spinach. I also had some salad, clementines, and grabbed the last few green beans from the serving bowl. You gotta be quick in my house if you want some green beans, apparently.
After a night out at a piano bar (which was another first for me), I came home to make a quick shake: S'mores Spirutein, dark cocoa, soymilk, banana, and non-dairy vanilla ice cream. Yum.
Sunday
I re-fueled before church with a simple breakfast: Toast with PB and fig jam, a clementine, and some good ol' Fage.
I packed my lunch for the airport, which I'm afraid featured more simple fare: leftover pink hummus, Ak-Maks, assorted veggies, and grapes. Garlic breath and small enclosed spaces (i.e. airplanes) are not a good combination. Oops.
I tried a new bar for my snack: a PURE bar in the Chocolate Chip Trail Mix flavor. Look for a review in the future...
Once home, unpacked, and re-stocked with some produce, I settled into dinner. I made a salad with chopped up soy nuggets, spinach, and a homemade agave-mustard dressing. On the side, I had some corn, broccoli, and applesauce with almonds. I promise my culinary creativity will return eventually...
For my smoothie, I amped up the raspberry: raspberries, raspberry Spirutein, soymilk, and Peak Protein granola. I found this in the cabinet from way back when the kind folks at Bear Naked sent me samples.
Monday
Back to the grind this morning. I just heated up some rice milk and poured it over Autumn Wheat cereal and served it with a sliced apple & Cinnamon Swirl PB.
Heads up on an upcoming giveaway:
Em of the Health Nut is giving away an Eat Right bag from the American Dietetic Association. Enter by March 20th at midnight, EST.

Well, it's my first day back, and I am already running late for class again. Sheesh. Enjoy your Monday!

Pimped Out Plates

If I've inherited anything from my mother, it's my continuing love of dishes. She and I both could easily spend hours flouncing through the aisles of Crate & Barrel, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over all the elegant plates and cups. Indeed, aside from food and shoes, my favorite thing to shop for is most definitely tableware.

Fortunately, since starting this blog nearly a year ago, I have the perfect excuse to shop for dishes: "I obviously need this set of bowls; I don't want my readers to get bored!" I recently got the opportunity to satisfy my need for dishware shopping while on a trip to Target. I went in looking for a refill on Zicam, and came out with these:
While melamine plates are not likely to last forever, the price is right ($15 for all 5!). I am hoping that they won't wear too quickly since I do not have a dishwasher to corrode them. I am so psyched to use them all, especially the ChiO-tastic owl plate--I swear, I really am 21 years old, despite my juvenile taste in dishware:)

Well, I could discuss the subtleties of plates and cups forever, but I will now return to the main focus of this blog: the food!

Friday
I ended the evening with a blueberry-banana smoothie. I think half of my enjoyment of this smoothie was from the gorgeous hue alone.
Saturday
Last week at Whole Foods, I made a new discovery. Just as I reached for my usual box of Van's waffles, I noticed this friendly little box nearby:
Whole Foods now makes a house brand of mini waffles, available in original, vanilla, and blueberry varieties. Although they are not whole grain, they are vegan, contain more waffles per box, and cost about a dollar less than my typical brand. Plus, they're just so cute. Anyway, I enjoyed mine waffle-tower style, with Greek yogurt, blackberries, and almonds.
I didn't feel much like cooking or being creative for lunch, so I just made a black bean and spinach wrap with salsa, served with extra greens and an apple with White Chocolate Wonderful PB.
For dinner, I used up some leftovers to make a tofu panini with tomatoes and reduced-fat cheddar. Along with it, I had some green beans, peaches, and a salad with walnuts. Delish.
The shake of the evening included a long-forgotten but fabulous combination: strawberries, banana, and chocolate PB Spirutein. As I've mentioned before, strawberries and peanut butter make for a lovely pairing. That's PB Pows and dairy-free chocolate chips on top.
Sunday
This week's Girl-Scout oats flavor: Thin Mint. To achieve this taste sensation, I first cooked my oats in mint tea, then added special dark cocoa and rice milk. I topped off this bowl of decadence with some chocolate-hazelnut spread. While these oats tasted delicious, I wish the mint flavor had been more pronounced--if only I had some mint extract on hand!
After an intense afternoon of studying, I needed a quick lunch to refuel: bean salad with black beans, edamame, green beans, and homemade agave-mustard dressing. I also had some Corn Thins, a salad with Goddess dressing, and a pluot.
For dinner, I relied on the freezer for inspiration. I made a Chik sammie with some more of those soy nuggets, vegan mayo, and whole grain mustard. On the side, I had mixed veggies and some berries with cashews.
Some of you may recall my summertime obsession with mango and vanilla. I rekindled my love of this combination last night with a mango Nutribody smoothie. Yum.
Monday
One of my (many) impulse buys at Target recently was a container of Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedges. My family used to buy this stuff in bulk at Sam's Club, we all loved it so much. My taste for it faded for a couple years...until now. I spread it on a whole wheat mini bagel and topped it with raisins and cinnamon. On the side, I had a sliced apple with Cinnamon Raisin Swirl PB. Yum.
I broke with my vegan lunch habit today because I was majorly craving a tuna melt. I made a mock tuna salad out of chickpeas, vegan mayo, lemon juice, and kelp granules. I plopped the mixture on some whole wheat bread, topped it with reduced-fat cheddar and baked it for 10 minutes in the oven. It came out all hot and bubbly:) Along with it, I had a salad with Woodstock dressing and another pluot.
The dining committee is headed to a Mediterranean place for dinner tonight. What's your favorite Mediterranean dish? I'm thinkin' baba ghanouj may be in my future...

Be back soon!