Let the Countdown Begin!

Yes, it's that time of year again. Once September 16 rolls around, my anticipation begins. What event is it that I so eagerly await, you ask? Christmas, of course.

As I explained many months ago here, I have always been a fan of Christmas; it's a time of double celebration for me, since my birthday is December 24th. For as long as I could wield a crayon (or maneuver a computer cursor), I have been making Christmas countdowns. The trend in the past 10 years has been to begin this extended advent season on September 16th, precisely 100 days until Christmas Day. Yes, you may call it premature, and yes, you may say that I am wishing my life away. However, I still appreciate the present--I am just especially conscientious about preparing for the season of utmost joy and peace. Even for those of you who do not celebrate Christmas, I am sure there is some season or holiday for which you can identify with this feeling; I think everyone can relate to a sensation that combines eagerness, excitement, and contentment all into one sublime emotion.

Long story short: 99 days until the big day, 98 until my birthday. I expect presents ;)

Onto the grub:

Monday
There was free food again at the dining meeting. This time it was from Chai's, a local noodle bar that wants Duke Dining to allow students to use food points at their restaurants. I'm not sure what the dish was called, but I tried the only vegetarian dish there: crispy tofu with bell peppers and egg noodles. I avoid eggs in my diet, so I just picked took a portion and ate the tofu/vegetables with some steamed rice. I was still a little hungry (and desperately in need of vegetables!), so I made a pit stop at the salad bar, where I loaded up on my usual fave veggies (mushrooms, snow peas, tomatoes, etc.), plus a container of cantaloupe. I chomped this down in record time before heading to Bible study.
My smoothie of the evening consisted of frozen pineapple with vanilla hemp and soymilk. Wow! This was quite tasty--almost as good as mango and vanilla hemp. Almost.
Tuesday
I don't have class until 10 on Tuesdays, so I took advantage of the extra time yesterday to construct a parfait. This one featured a past favorite flavor combination of mine: strawberry-banana. I went through this phase in high school where I ate everything strawberry-banana: yogurt, smoothies, even lip balm (gross, I know). Anyway, I got a little burnt out on it--until now. The parfait included strawberry yogurt, sliced banana, Fiber One, and raw cashews.
The pre-run snack was a TJ's fig bar and an apple. I was draggin' a little yesterday, despite an almost all-carb snack.
I picked up lunch at a campus eatery--it was free because I was evaluating it for the dining committee:) I opted for a vegan summer roll (cilantro, basil, carrot, cucumber, and tofu) and a hot tea to warm me up on my walk through the rain. When I came home I whipped up a quick peanut sauce using PB, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. Delish.
Dinner was pretty simple last night: just frozen corn, black beans, canned tomatoes (no salt added), and sliced avocado. On the side I had a big salad and some fresh fruit that I had picked up on campus earlier in the day.
I had heaven in a glass for my smoothie last night. (Mango + Vanilla Hemp, in case you don't know what that tastes like).
Wednesday
I had a rather fallish breakfast today: whole wheat toast with almond butter, unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon, and plain yogurt with pumpkin and wheat germ. That last item was a staple in my diet last spring--I had it every day for a good two months. YUM!
The pre-run snack today was a big banana and a PB Mini Clif. This fueled me very well, although I had PB breath throughout the entire workout. Could be worse, right?
Afterward, I returned home to prepare a simple Goddess Garbanzos wrap and a spinach-mushroom salad. Simple, but oh-so-satisfying.
Finally, for dinner tonight I made a tofu salad pita using cubed tofu, vegan mayo, Grey Poupon, dried cranberries, walnuts, and basil. On the side I had green beans cooked with tomatoes and basil, plus a mound of mixed greens. Oh, and a furry little kiwi on the left.

After that, I jetted off to a Sex and the City party, where we didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to the TV, and simply chatted instead. Fun stuff.

One more day of classes until the weekend! Be back soon.

You Know It's Springtime When...

You know spring has sprung when you can't escape the distinctive sound of flip-flops. While I was walking to class today, I noticed that I was engaging in a symphony of sandals. What can you expect when it's sunny, with a high of 72*?


Along with a few breakfast photos, today I will share with you a typical inventory from a trip to Whole Foods. It might give you an idea of what I purchase from week-to-week--and how much I have to supplement my dining plan. Not that I mind trekking to the grocery store every week; Whole Foods is basically my "happiest place on Earth." Anyway, here is a glimpse of Caroline's ever-growing pantry stash:

From left to right: frozen chopped spinach (I haven't figured out what to do with this yet), organix corn tortillas, wheat germ, GoLean cereal, Almond Breeze almond milk, ricotta cheese (less expensive than cottage cheese), 3 Cascade Fresh yogurts, 3 Stonyfield plain yogurts, oranges, apples, roasted soy nuts, raw cashews, and a few bananas.

Can you believe that all of that fit into one bag?! Just think of how many plastic bags it would have taken to tote all these groceries across campus. Not only is bringing my own grocery bag an eco-friendly habit, but it's more convenient--I walk and take the bus to Whole Foods every week. Plus, you get 10 cents off your total purchase--sweet.

After unloading my groceries, I found that I had a package waiting for me at the post office...

The Easter Bunny came! Since I was unable to come home for the holiday, my mom sent me my Easter basket through the mail. Here you see a variety of candy (vegan jelly beans, sweet tarts, dark chocolate M&Ms, York Peppermint Patties, a "Coconut Nest," and a dark chocolate bunny) along with a DVD (Roman Holiday) and some random pencils. Not pictured are some new (Nike+) running shoes that I picked out over spring break--I left them at home since I shouldn't be adding to my ginormous stockpile of shoes at school. Thanks, Mom!

Monday

Now for breakfast photos! I have been stealing ideas from my fellow bloggers this week. On Monday I tried cooking mashed banana into my oatmeal like Kath does--it really does taste marshmallow-ey. Banana oatmeal will definitely be added into the regular rotation. Monday's bowl also feature lots of ground flax.

Tuesday

Tuesday I had a bowl of Weetabix heated with vanilla almond milk; I added sliced banana and cashews after cooking. Unlike most people, I love soggy cereal. When I was little, my dad and I used to crumble up a couple of graham crackers and let them soak up some skim milk--we called it Mush. Well Weetabix reminds me a lot of that, except way better for me!

Wednesday

And finally, today I took a simpler route and just tossed some trail mix onto my bowl of oats. The trail mix is a blend of raisins, sunflower seeds, soy nuts, almonds, and cashews. I also had a some Stonyfield yogurt with cinnamon stirred in. I buy at least 3 containers of Stonyfield's plain nonfat yogurt each week. What's your favorite kind of yogurt? Recommendations for regular or soy yogurt are welcome.

I will leave you with a picture of a strange strawberry that I encountered the other day...