Foodie Friends

I just spent a fabulous evening with Alanna, my foodie friend and future roommate. At last, I have found someone who shares my passion for grocery shopping and healthful eating! Our outing began with a trip to Target for a few items related to our sorority...although I also grabbed a few items for myself, of course--Target is like the danger zone in terms of impulse buying. Afterward, we headed to Trader Joe's and scoured the aisles for foodie finds. Highlight purchases of this trip included agave-maple syrup, veggie dogs, and low-sodium butternut squash soup. Keep an eye out for those in my future posts! For those of you fortunate enough to have a Trader Joe's nearby, what is your favorite item? I'll keep a list for our upcoming TJ's excursions:)

We wound up the foodie frenzy with a stop at Evo's...stay tuned to see what I ordered.

Rewinding to earlier in the week, I managed to fill myself up with some pretty tasty eats:

Wednesday
With some green beans and pinto beans in dire need of being eaten, I whipped up an Asian bean salad with Annie's Shiitake Sesame dressing. I had some rice crackers and an orange on the side.
Many months ago, I made a recipe from Ellie Krieger, an Herbed Toasted Pita Salad. I made my own version with black beans, TJ's Mini Pitas, green bell pepper, tomato, and avocado. I love the crunch of the pita! On the side, I had pineapple and broccoli.
The smoothie of the evening included cherries, peaches, and Nutribody protein. A unique but nonetheless tasty combination.
Thursday
With my box of Fiber One finally gone, I decided to open up another cereal from my stockpile, Cascadian Farm's Honey Nut Os. I enjoyed a big bowl with rice milk and dates, as well as a sliced banana with PB.
Ever since I became a vegetarian 5 years ago, I have always loved making tofu salads, especially ones that mimic the flavors of egg salad. While I usually just wing it when preparing tofu salads, yesterday I opted to use this recipe for inspiration. It turned out completely delicious, especially atop that pillowy whole grain roll. I also had some greens with Goddess dressing and a Pacific Rose apple. As my Granddaddy would say, "This hit the spot!"
For dinner, I put George Foreman to work and made a black bean and cheddar quesadilla. I dipped the melty mess in some salsa and served it with a salad (with pepitas), peppers, and peaches.
It's been so long since I've had access to frozen cherries (they don't sell them at Whole Foods)--I had nearly forgotten how much I love them! Since I was able to pick some up at Target last weekend, I made a cherry-licious smoothie last night with cherry Spirutein, cherries, strawberries, and soymilk. Absolutely fabulous. I can't wait until fresh cherries are in season again!
Friday
Continuing with my Girl Scout Cookie-themed oats, this mornings bowl was inspired by Tagalongs. I combined my oats with hot cocoa mix (not to be confused with cocoa powder) and topped them with a blob of regular ol' PB. The end result was quite authentically Tagalong-ish. On the side, I had some strawberries with sliced banana.
Here's a look at my weekly Whole Foods haul:
Check out the special edition yogurt flavors! I am also pretty pumped about trying those Odwalla bars.

I worked up quite an appetite cleaning up the apartment and doing laundry. Lunch consisted of baked beans (pintos, garlic, tomato sauce, dijon mustard, and agave nectar), corn, salad with Woodstock dressing, and an apple. Yum.
After our evening of foodie activities, Alanna and I returned to my apartment to dig into our Evo's grub. I ordered the veggie chili with a side of "Airfries," which have considerably less fat and kcalories than standard fast food fries. I also snagged some of their house-made ketchup in the mesquite and cayenne varieties. You all know that I can't have a meal without some fresh produce, so I also had a small salad and a pluot. Now, I am totally stuffed and content:)
Today's random question: Have you ever noticed that workout wear is friggin' expensive? Alanna and I stopped by the activewear section of Target this evening, and everything was way out of my budget. Where do you shop for affordable workout gear? Or am I destined to a lifetime of college t-shirts and Soffe shorts?

Alright, I am off to chillax. Ciao for now.

In Recovery

The parentals have departed, so my playtime at the mall and basketball court is now officially ended. As a result, I have been playing catch-up for the past 48 hours, doing homework and attending to things that I have been conveniently ignoring for the past few days.

In addition to recovery from my responsibility-free weekend, I am also recovering from my back injury. Somehow I managed to strain my piriformis muscle; I am not happy about this unfortunate circumstance as it makes running near impossible. I waited at Duke Student Health for 3 hours (!) today...let's just say sitting in a cheap waiting room chair all afternoon did not help my condition at all. At least I got my stats homework done in the meantime!

OK, enough of my pesky pessimism...let's get to the fun stuff--food!

Friday
Owing to the fact that I did not get dessert at Taverna Nikos, I decided I could still have my evening shake. This one had a frozen banana, soymilk, chocolate rice protein, and "special dark" cocoa powder; I also had a dark chocolate kiss which I plunked in the bottom of the glass. It makes for a nice surprise when I reach the bottom of the glass:)
Saturday
I had a busy day planned with Mom and Dad, so I prepared my breakfast the night before by making some overnight oats. I combined some of Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain cereal with rice milk, dried cherries, and cinnamon. Despite having plenty of time to soak up the goodness, the cereal ended up quite liquid-like the next morning. Ultimately, I heated it for a while in the m-wave to soak up some moisture. I topped the cereal with pecan halves and served it alongside a big Rome apple.
After an afternoon spent at the basketball court, we returned to my apartment for a breather. I prepared a ridiculously simple meal while here: hummus sammie, Romaine with lentils, and a banana with cashew butter. Yawn. To compensate for the boring nature of this meal, check out some pics from the game (the Blue Devil is "surfing" on members of the Duke Marching Band):
We headed out for some shopping and dinner at a place I've mentioned before, Elmo's Diner. This time, I ordered a bowl of the veggie chili and the spinach salad with pecans. Unfortunately, the waitress got my order wrong so the chili came with all the fixins' (cheese, sour cream, chives, etc.), and my salad arrived with gobs of dressing. I requested a new salad but just scraped off the superfluous toppings on the chili. Everything still tasted delicious!
We headed out to Chapel Hill for some nighttime entertainment. I was still sporting my "Cameron Crazie" shirt from the basketball game, so I attracted some mean-spirited glances from our UNC rivals; I was invading their turf. Nonetheless, I fully enjoyed myself thanks to a visit to the Yogurt Pump. I got some Ghiradelli Chocolate frozen yogurt with mini M&Ms. I apologize for the crappy picture, but I assure you that it was quite the treat!
Sunday
With the parents gone, I settled into a day of reading...and reading. Before chapel, I made a batch of applesauce oats, using that Bob's Red Mill cereal again. The PB helped a little bit, but in general, this was not a stellar dish.
Lunch was a little better. Due to the sudden dip in temperature, I wanted something warm and comforting. I made a simple tomato soup out of leftover tomato sauce, veggie broth, oregano, and garlic (with broccoli added in), and I served it alongside a grilled Tofurky sandwich, orange slices, and almonds. Eclectic, but tasty.
I had another rushed dinner before chapter last night, although this one was more creative than last week's. I made hummus pizzas out of a split pita, hummus, sliced olives, and tomato. On the side, I had some greens and a plain yogurt with plenty of wheat germ.
The shake last night was pretty much identical to Saturday's, except for the addition of strawberries; this turned out to be an excellent variation. Strawberries, bananas, and chocolate make for a lovely flavor trio.
Monday
I never have the energy for anything other than cereal on Monday mornings. Today's bowl featured Puffins and Cheerios (happily reached the end of the box--this cereal has gotten way too boring for me!). I topped the bowl with dried cherries and rice milk and served it with an apple and Sunbutter.
My "lunch" did not actually pass my lips until 5 PM today, due to the excessive wait at the health clinic. As a result, I just grabbed easy to prepare items that would satisfy my angry tummy: Pacific Foods Butternut Squash Soup with walnuts and cinnamon, toast, Romaine with soynuts, and an orange.
After my dining committee meeting, I headed to the gym and then hit up the salad bar (another habit reserved for Mondays). My salad featured spinach, garbanzos, mushrooms, red bell peppers, and broccoli. I also finagled some amazingly ripe honeydew melon.That's some key lime pie yogurt with chopped almonds on the side; this key lime flavor is fast becoming a favorite!


I (and my back) are pooped, so I am going to sign off now. But first, get excited for the return of more creative smoothies, as my shipment of hemp protein arrived today:
Oddly enough, the arrival of hemp protein made my day significantly better...Ciao!