You've Got a Friend in Me

These past few days have been all about reuniting with friends. Study abroad programs are quite popular at Duke, so a large percentage of the junior class has not been on campus since last May. Hence, I hadn't seen some of my buddies for 8 months! Yikes! I've been thoroughly enjoying my run-ins with pals from the past all day; reconnecting with friends always lifts my mood.

I have received some fun Christmas presents from my friends while back at Duke. They know me so well--I received plenty of dishes, a cookbook, and a signed Duke basketball poster with a cute green bracelet. Thanks, friends!
While we're on the topic of friends, I just want to mention that one of my favorite aspects of the blog world is the support and friendship I have found in readers and fellow bloggers. Thanks for making my life a little brighter with your comments and companionship!

My eats have been a tad boring lately due to my super-busy schedule. Here's a look at what I've been munching:

Monday
I ended my busy day of travel in the typical way: with a large, refreshing smoothie. I combined unsweetened vanilla Spirutein (from Sarah) with strawberries, banana, soymilk, and cashew granola. Delish.
Tuesday
Yesterday morning, I had about an hour to eat breakfast, shower, and primp before recruitment activities began again. Thus, a very easy breakfast: mango-rice milk smoothie with coconut and toast with cashew butter.
I packed a lunch to nibble on between parties: hummus sandwich, trail mix made up of pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries, and a big honkin' apple.
I also tossed this bar into my bag at the last second. I think eventually I will have sampled every single "chocolate brownie" flavored bar on the market. I love me some chocolate.
For dinner, I headed out to Elmo's Diner again with some buds. I ordered the exact same things as I did on this occasion, so no pictures. Just as delicious as ever:)

The smoothie of the evening used yet another Spirutein packet given to me by Sarah; this flavor is called "Nutty Berry Burst." I combined it with soymilk, strawberries, and banana. I really enjoyed it due to its very prominent pistachio flavor. YUM!
Wednesday
I kept it simple this morning so as to have plenty of time to get to my classes (first of the semester!). I had a bowl of spelt flakes with rice milk, banana, wheat germ, and almonds. Yet another deluxe cereal bowl, yet another tasty breakfast.
I will be busy with basketball games and more sorority activities later in the day. I keep all my activities straight with my Franklin Covey planner (mine is red with polka dots) and this new wall calendar. How do you keep your life organized?

Be back soon!

The Comforts of Home

I arrived safely in Birmingham Thursday evening, and I have been soaking up the comforts of home ever since. Yes, it's nice to sleep in my own bed, spend time with my family, and catch up on sleep. However, I never thought I would be so happy to see a dishwasher in my life. Seriously. Suddenly having access to a dishwasher has made me realize just how much time I spend washing my dishes by hand while I am at school. I will for sure enjoy this simple luxury for the weekend:)

As a result of my traveling and off schedule, my meals are a little atypical for this round, but I think they're still moderately healthful. Enjoy!

Wednesday
Thanks my recent discovery that peaches may act as an acceptable mango stand-in for my vanilla hemp smoothies, I have been using the ingredient more often. After all, sliced peaches are a heck of a lot cheaper than frozen mango chunks. Anyway, this concoction included soymilk, sliced peaches, vanilla hemp, and pumpkin flax granola.

Thursday
Before heading off to a meeting, I fueled up for a busy day with yet another smoothie. This Bullet creation included pumpkin, frozen banana, rice milk, and cinnamon. Hello, liquid nirvana. I savored this beverage for several minutes, in contrast to my usual frenzied pace for the consumption of breakfast. On the side, I had another one of my never-ending whole wheat mini-bagels with freshly ground almond butter.

I had to leave for the airport at 12:30, so I packed a quick lunch to eat while during my layover. Remember that sweet mustard dill dressing I have been obsessed with lately? Well I had the genius idea to use it in my tofu salad. I packed a container of that deliciousness with an Ezekiel pita, sliced squash, grapes, and cashew-cranberry trail mix. Pardon the lame pictures--I haven't quite mastered the art of discreet food photography.
Upon returning to Birmingham, my sister picked me up and took me out to dinner with her husband. We decided that we were all in a Chipotle kind of mood (aka I was craving fresh guac!). I ordered the vegetarian taco salad with black beans, peppers and onions, fresh salsa, and a big ol' blob of guacamole. I never thought I would be so enamored of green goop. I also snagged a few of Ryan's tortilla chips. They were still warm!
After much digging around in the kitchen, I finally found one last hemp protein packet for my evening shake. Phew! This one was of the Nutiva chocolate variety, so I combined it with soymilk, cocoa powder, frozen strawberries, and a touch of chocolate syrup. Incredibly delicious.
Friday
I woke up this morning still full from an evening of good eats, so my mom and I headed to Publix so that I could load up on "my food." I'm pretty pumped about my selections (pears! tofu! pecans!). Anyway, I came home to make a big bowl of apple pie oats. I heated up oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce, water, and apple pie spice and let it thicken for several minutes. Once cooked, I added cinnamon and a big blob of almond butter. I also had a plain yogurt with apple pie spice mixed in.
I spent the day running errands; my hair is now freshly trimmed and I have loaded up on Target essentials (mini Clifs on sale!!). Lunch was extremely late but delicious nonetheless. I made a wrap out of sun dried tomato hummus, organic greens, and baby bella mushrooms. On the side, I had a salad and a banana with cashew butter.

I had a quick snack before heading out to the lake house: cottage cheese with walnuts and dried cherries. It made for an unusually tasty combination.

I just now arrived at the lake...only to realize that I forgot my camera. Fortunately, my sister is headed down later tonight after her shift at the hospital, so she agreed to bring my camera for me. Yes, I am officially an obsessive food blogger. Anyway, in the meantime, I prepared a simple sloppy Joe supper out of Heinz sloppy Joe sauce (which is surprisingly HFCS-free) and Boca crumbles. I also had a salad and some berries with lots of ground flax. This is a camera phone pic, in case you can't tell...
I will leave you with a few pictures from the weekend thus far. Happy Saturday!

Destination: Relaxation

Pardon the cliched title, but most precisely describes where I am headed. Fall Break begins for me tomorrow--we officially have no classes Monday and Tuesday, but since Fridays are always class-free for me, I get to start my vacation all the earlier. Yippee! As of tomorrow afternoon, I am on my way home for a long weekend of restful enjoyment. My plans include the obligatory Whole Foods run, plus maybe some lake time with the family, and nail polish shopping. What's on the schedule for you all this weekend?

These past few days have been rough; I had a noticeably more difficult second exam in stats today. At least it's over! I'm just sad that I had to miss the debates last night due to studying constraints. Boo! What did I miss? Was there anything particularly revelatory of either candidate?

Hmm, I am especially tangential tonight, aren't I? Let's get to the food before I bring up another random topic.

Monday
As is typical of my Monday evenings, my schedule was packed. Following my dining committee meeting, I hurried to the salad bar and was pleasantly surprised by lots of new goodies. Edamame, bulgur, and walnuts, oh my! Is it sad that I let out an audible "ooh!" when I saw the walnuts? Oops. I also had some perfectly ripe (non-woody) cantaloupe.
I was in a tropical mood on Monday night, so I decided a strawberry-pineapple smoothie was in order. In retrospect, I wonder why I didn't add some coconut.
Tuesday
My parfaits have been especially inspired by baked goods lately. Last week it was apple pie, this week I decided on a blueberry crumble theme. Blueberries, plain yogurt with cinnamon, bran flakes, chopped almonds, and wheat germ made for a perfectly crunchy breakfast rendition of the dessert favorite. I had major overflow on this one--too many ingredients, so little space!
Yesterday's lunch consisted of White Bean Cashew Dip from ED&BV, which gave me the excuse of using both the Bullet and my nutritional yeast flakes. Score! I served it alongside crackers, salad, and grapes.
Amidst my studying frenzy last night, I decided to direct some of my nervous energy toward chopping. I diced some yellow squash, red onion, spinach, and my last Boca burger to make a delicious hash. To complete the diner-esque meal, I had some toast, plus an apple with cashew butter. Yum.
I had to drop off those graham cracker brownies last night, so I decided to check my mail box at the same time, and look what I found:
I am so psyched to try this cookie:)

To treat myself after a tedious studying session, I made my favorite smoothie combo: vanilla hemp with mango, plus I added some peaches in there for good measure. I crumbled some Puffins on top for a change in garnish.
Wednesday
I kept it simple this morning as I crammed some last minute information into my head over breakfast. I opted for a bowl of Whole Foods brand Cheerios, rice milk, sliced banana, plus a little dish of TJ's AntiOXidant trail mix. Excellent brain food.
After a nice, relaxing run (in which I lapped a boy...twice!), I came home to prepare a batch of scrambled tofu with the usual components: tahini, turmeric, soy sauce, and ginger. On the side, I had a baked sweet potato, salad, and more of those ever-lasting grapes.
For dinner tonight, I attempted to re-create the White Bean and Walnut Bruschetta I made a few months ago. The ED&BV recipe calls for tomatoes and walnuts, however, neither of which I happened to have on hand. Improvisation came into play, and I substituted almonds for the walnuts and red onion for the tomato. These alteration produced a decidedly different flavor, although I enjoyed it, nonetheless. Along with it, I had some yellow squash, a salad with my new favorite dressing (mustard/vegan mayo/agave nectar/lemon juice/dill weed). A nice dish of applesauce finished it off. Whew! Lots of food, but I needed it.

I am off to finish packing, then perhaps read a little bit--for pleasure!