Just Call Me Aunt Bethany

"I should say hello?"
"Hello everybody!"

Can you guess from which Christmas movie I selected that quote?

Just as Aunt Bethany would, I am dropping in to say hello to everybody...I have been diligently working on my paper that is due on Wednesday. Classes have ended for the semester, so the only things that separate me from Winter Break is this paper and a stats exam on Friday. Woohoo! I wish all you students out there the best of luck during finals week!

Anyway, I better get to it, if I want to be able to take a study break to watch the basketball game later today. Here's a glance at my grub:

Wednesday
Just before the Rockefeller Christmas special came on, I decided to whip up a quick dinner to enjoy while watching all the performances. I was craving cashew-ginger tofu from ED&BV (my favorite comfort food) but realized I had already eaten tofu for lunch, plus I didn't have any cashew butter. So, I improvised and made peanut ginger veggies. I had some couscous and pineapple with wheat germ on the side. Hit the spot!
The smoothie of the evening was fabulous--peach and banana with Nutribody protein and soymilk.
Thursday
I woke up for my last day of classes (on time!) and made an Apple Pie Parfait. I alternated layers of plain yogurt, applesauce, and spelt flakes, then topped it off with wheat germ and almond butter.
For lunch I made a quick mock tuna salad wrap with chickpeas, vegan mayo, a dash of mustard, kelp granules, and some lemon zest. In case you can't tell, I am really into zesting things lately. Check out my spiffy microplane. It's great for finely grating cheese/soy cheese as well. I also had a salad with peanuts and more pineapple.
After lunch, I baked a loaf of pumpkin bread for a sorority study break. Here's what it looked like, fresh out of the oven. The smell of baking pumpkin bread always makes me think of my mom--she used to bake triple batches of the stuff so that my sisters and I could give loaves to our teachers. Do you have any special food memories to share?
For dinner, I went out with the dining committee to an Italian restaurant in Raleigh called Vic's. It was family-style dining, so I chose a little of this and a little of that: Kalamata olives, caprese salad, fresh rolls, an eggplant roll up with ricotta cheese, and some sauteed vegetables. I also had quite a few glasses of wine...perhaps too many. It was a great way to spend the evening! Sorry, no pictures.

Friday
I had a little bit of silken tofu in the fridge just begging to be made into vegan French toast...so you can guess what I had for breakfast...Tofu-Banana French Toast. This time I topped it with banana slices and a few dollops of PB, kind of like a more complex banana-PB sandwich.
After my last trip of the semester to Whole Foods (the Durham location, that is!), I came home and made some coconut black beans. I was so excited to use the coconut milk that I picked up at the store, I couldn't wait to use it. I combined black beans, mango, cumin, garlic, red onion, and coconut milk and served the mixture alongside a pita and a salad with Woodstock dressing.
I was a lame-o last night and worked on my paper. After a little Frosty the Snowman action on ABC family, I decided to make a simple supper: hummus-salsa sammie, zucchini, spinach salad, and an apple with almond butter.
Well, I should get back to work. Ciao for now...be back soon!

Where Do I Go from Here?

I am a tad stressed today. I have been contemplating my future as a nutritionist, figuring out when and where I'll take which courses...transferring credits makes things so much more difficult. Why didn't I just go to a school that offers a nutrition major in the first place?! On top of my long term education woes, I have two quizzes and a project due this week. Fortunately, I finished my project (for nutrition) about a month ago--yes, I am one of those people--, and my quizzes are classified as "minor."

OK, enough Debbie Downer talk. I have some awesome eats to share.

Friday

Apparently, I was a hungry beast on Friday evening because I ate two hefty snacks. First I had a pair of Vans whole grain waffles with Cinnamon Raisin PB.
Later, I had my usual smoothie/shake. Don't be alarmed by the unappetizing green color of this concoction--it was really tasty! I am guessing that the green color comes from the pea protein in the Alive! mix. I would buy this again, especially since I don't have to order it online--I found this at my local Whole Foods. Saturday

Before heading out the farmers' market (finally!), I made a quick tofu scramble with the usual components, plus salsa, all stuffed into an Ezekial pita. This dish was relatively tasty, but I don't think I would recommend the combination of tahini+salsa--not a good example of fusion cuisine.

We made a quick day trip to the lake house on Saturday, and I didn't bring my camera, so no lunch pics. It wasn't anything innovative: PB&J on whole wheat with steamed veggies and natural applesauce. Everything came straight out of the pantry or freezer. Upon our return (at about 8:00), I needed something fast and veggie-full. Thus, I whipped up a batch of "E-Z Artichoke Dip" from the Chicago Diner Cookbook. I dipped carrots and crackers in it, and I had a dish of organic vanilla yogurt with farmers' market blackberries for dessert. BTW, the dip is vegan, in case you're curious. I tried yet another new protein powder (what is this? #3?). This time I sampled Living Harvest's Vanilla Spice Hemp Protein. The end result was mind-bogglingly delicious. I didn't taste the mango at all, but I enjoyed this shake, just the same. It reminded me of cake batter, with that distinctive hempy kick. Sunday

More waffles! Another pair of the Vans variety with sliced banana and a dollop of vanilla soy yogurt. So good.

We had several errands to run yesterday, so I prepared (and consumed) my lunch in record time. I ended up with a green lunch: a quick sandwich with sliced tofu and fresh guacamole (leftover from Chipotle); I also had a sliced kiwi. Quite possibly the most delicious sandwich I've ever had, although it would have been even better if I had had the time to grill the tofu... Four months after purchasing Veganomicon, I had yet to try the much beloved Chickpea Cutlets. So I made some last night, and they were delicious! I just made two, but now I wish I had made more. I served it with some fresh salsa for dipping, farmers' market tomatoes with roasted yellow peppers, and steamed squash. For a sweet ending, I had some peaches with Nutty Topping from Ellie Krieger. Technically, the topping is supposed to accompany pancakes, but I figured it would taste just fine with fruit too.
The shake last night was a bit of a mess. In the middle of assembling my creation, I realized that the blender was leaking! I tried to blend it all together before it seeped out, but I ended up with a half blended mess. I transferred the mixture to the Bullet to complete the process. Let's just say I ended up with a messy kitchen and a not-so-tasty shake. Bummer.
Monday

Despite having a dysfunctional air conditioner, I decided to have a hot bowl of oat bran this morning. Stovetop oat bran is fast becoming one of my favorite breakfasts! Today's version had whipped banana and Sunbutter.

Yet another green lunch today: tomato slices with more guacamole, green grapes, and Tofuna salad (chickpeas with Nayonaise, lemon, paprika) on Ak-Maks. So fresh (and clean).
OK, now I am off to obsess a bit more about my future. Ciao for now.

All Wrapped Up

The wedding details are all being finalized as I type. I spent today assisting my mother in wrapping up the loose ends of the blessed event. We went to Sam's to buy bulk items for all the crowds that will be passing through our house: Stouffer's Lasagnas, massive bags of trail mix, and enough beer to intoxicate an army. Oh, and I managed to sneak in a bag of Gala apples and some button mushrooms. The matrimonial plans are not the only things being wrapped up today--my food is too! I subconsciously had a wrap of some kind for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They're all relatively different from one another, so hopefully you won't be too bored with today's pics.

Tuesday
I finally got a chance to try a waffle breakfast sandwich! Over the past few months, I have been coveting the breakfasts of you bloggers with toaster access while I was trapped in my ill-equipped dorm kitchen. At last I have both frozen waffles and a toaster! I made my breakfast sammie with Whole Foods brand organic flax waffles and PB & Co. Cinnamon Raisin PB. Fresh watermelon rounded out the morning meal.
Lunch was an old "lazy" favorite of mine; I have been making "Tofuna" since my first days of vegetarianism. I even wrote about it in my college entrance essay! Anyway, it consists of mashed chickpeas, Nayonaise, a bit of mustard, lemon juice, and sometimes paprika. It's not exactly like the real thing, but I appreciate the flavor for what it is. I had some rice cakes, broccoli slaw, and a big apple on the side. I ended up grabbing a handful of cashews too...
For dinner, I made Lindsay's Mock Meatloaf and Katie's Mashed Cauliflower. The two recipes made for an excellent meal! My mom ended up making regular meatloaf after I mentioned what I planned to make for dinner for myself. I wonder if the family would be able to tell the difference between the two...I made a 1/3 recipe, fully intending to save some for the next day's lunch--I love meatloaf sandwiches--but it was so good, I ate the whole thing! Oh well. By the way, I used Weetabix again for the breadcrumbs:)
Last night's shake was phenomenal. I made my favorite flavor: Samoas (coconut with a touch of chocolate). It consisted of: nonfat organic plain yogurt, organic silken tofu, vanilla Spirutein, shredded coconut, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Yum! I savored every last slurp of this.
Wednesday
I woke up this morning and really didn't feel like running outside in the near 100% humidity (and it was not raining). I used the stationary bike for about an hour instead, then did some strength training on my arms. I am trying to get some definition on my toothpick arms for my sister's wedding (strapless bridesmaid dresses! Eek!). Anyway, my stomach started yelling at me as I did my bicep curls, so I needed a hearty breakfast. Scrambled tofu to the rescue! I love this stuff! I think it's the tahini that makes me love it so much. In case you don't know, I use the Chicago Diner Cookbook's recipe. I wrapped up the tofu in a whole wheat tortilla and had some more watermelon on the side. Delish.
I got inspiration for my lunch from Jen, the VegTriathlete. She posted a recipe for Peanut Veggie Nori Rolls the other day, and the flavors sounded right up my alley: peanuts, pineapple, veggies...I had intended to follow the recipe, but I got lazy and hungry so I didn't soak the veggies, nor did I use fresh pineapple. I used the sauce as a dip, and I used pineapple from a fresh fruit cup (preserved in juice). Despite my laziness, it turned out delicious! I also had the last of the broccoli slaw (tossed in rice vinegar, mustard, and agave) and an unpictured Rudi's Flax English Muffin. Success!
The third and final wrap of the day was pretty boring, as we didn't have a formal dinnertime tonight. My sister and I don't really feel well, my mom was obsessing about some wedding detail, and my dad was at a work function. As a result, I just made a hummus wrap with my new mushrooms and some romaine. I served it along with Acorn Squash Mango Soup, three-bean salad, and an unpictured bowl of sliced peaches with maple syrup.
Now I should probably get myself organized for next week school-wise, since this weekend we'll be celebrating my mom's birthday. Speaking of which, do you all have any birthday cake/dessert recipes to suggest? She likes chocolate and, um, chocolate. I bet Katie over at CCV has a few ideas...Ciao for now!