Boys on the Brain

I might otherwise not mention this subject, but considering the overwhelmingly female readership of this blog, I feel like I can broach the topic that has been on my mind all day: boys.

As a nearly 21-year old woman, I am embarrassed to admit that I have never had a boyfriend. Yes, I actually confessed it. I am all about being open on my blog, so there is no use in hiding my (nonexistent) romantic status. Anyway, as a result of my decades-long romance deprivation, my mind has been wandering in the direction of love and marriage lately. I find myself wondering, "Will I ever get married? Am I going to be single for life? What is so wrong with me that I can't seem to nab a man of my own?" I am uncertain as to why my thoughts have assumed this pattern, but I'm sure watching Tristan + Isolde and Ever After within the past two weeks didn't help the situation...Or, perhaps downloading Celine Dion's greatest hits on my iPod was a poor choice.

Romance woes aside, I have a few interesting meals to show you this evening before I get crackin' on studying. I have a psych midterm tomorrow, but I am not sure how effective studying will be at this point given my disgruntled mental state.

Enough chit-chat. Here's the grub.

Friday
After loading up on frozen fruit at Target, I was excited to enjoy cherries again. Unfortunately, this smoothie was a flop. Too liquidy. Boo.
Saturday
Upon my return from an especially difficult run around campus, I decided on a blueberry-banana-flax parfait. Organic blueberry yogurt, sliced banana, Whole Foods brand Cheerios, and ground flax made up this little glass of deliciousness.
After a hot day in the sun at the Duke-UVA football game (at which DUKE was victorious), I was in serious need of fuel, fast. I had the rest of the Annie's rice milk mac and cheese (to which I added garlic and oregano), plus a salad with cashews and a plum.
For dinner that evening, I got a chance to try those TVP crumbles I ordered a while back. I rehydrated them, then mixed them with pasta sauce, oregano, and chopped onions. I stuffed it all into an Ezekiel pita and served it alongside green beans with chopped almonds. Delish.
The uber-delicious shake of the night consisted of frozen strawberries, cocoa Living Harvest hemp, and coconut. The consistency and flavor were both completely "perf."
Sunday
Before heading to the Chapel yesterday, I made myself a big bowl of oats with rice milk and butternut squash. A dash of cinnamon and chopped almonds made it oh-so-good. I bet it would be even better with almond butter:)
I was neither hungry nor creatively inclined yesterday afternoon, so lunch was just a simple glob of hummus with raw veggies and pita bread. I hit all my bases by adding a trail mix (cashew-cranberry combo) and an organic plum.
After writing my snack post yesterday, I was especially inspired to create a new snack combination: PB & J cottage cheese. I just combined cottage cheese with roasted peanuts and a blob of organic blackberry jam.
I was ravenous after my chapter meeting last night, so dinner was a campus special: the Crunchy Broccoli Salad. Remember when I first blogged about it here? Well, I still love it just as much. FYI, my addition of soynuts is perhaps what makes it so delicious. On the side I had a fruit cup and some Milton's crackers.
Another successful smoothie last night: strawberry-pineapple. So tropical, so tasty.
Monday
I just needed something simple today...my mind was otherwise occupied. I had whole wheat toast with Natural Sunbutter, plain yogurt with butternut squash, and another plum. This was SO filling, the way I like it.
Before my run today, I had some original flavor Puffins. I nabbed these at an on-campus grocery store--can you believe that they were cheaper than the box of Corn Bran? They're very similar products, but I obviously much prefer Barbara's cereals.
It had been a while since I had enjoyed my beloved scrambled tofu, plus I happened to pick up some turmeric at Target last Friday, so lunch today was an obvious choice. This rendition included mushrooms and garlic, along with the usual tahini and soy sauce. On the side I had a slice of whole wheat toast, a sliced apple, and a simple spinach salad. I love the colors in this one!
Now, I am off to study evolutionary psychology and mating preferences...I can't seem to escape the subject today. Enjoy your evening!

Congrats to Aaron McCargo, Jr.!

If any of you are as addicted to The Next Food Network Star as I am, then you know to whom I am referring in my post's title. Last night was the finale of TNFNS, and the winner was Aaron McCargo, Jr. Sorry if I just ruined the surprise...oops. I am satisfied with the judges' choice; I would have been a little annoyed if Lisa had won. Sure, she's super stylish (I love all her vintage-inspired dresses!), and her food is impressive, but she doesn't have Aaron's cuddliness. A friendly demeanor outweighs fashion. Did anyone else watch last night?

I had lots of good eats this past weekend. I finally had the time to cook, without anatomy terms rattling in the back of my mind.

Here's what rolled out my kitchen most recently:

Friday
Simple smoothie this time. I love using berries, but those darn seeds detract from my enjoyment of the berry-themed smoothies. I have tried blending twice, as readers have suggested, but the Bullet seems to leave them in tact. If only I had a Vita-Mix... Saturday
Yay for homemade pancakes! As I mentioned in my last post, I had intended to make them earlier in the week, but I was missing too many ingredients. I tried a new recipe from VegWeb that uses applesauce rather than mashed banana. The verdict: the VegWeb pancakes are much cuter and fluffier than the pancakes from Sweet Eats, but banana beats all. I happen to like a dense pancake...plus the banana pancakes are the perfect vehicle for a dollop of PB:) I didn't feel like making much for lunch, so I just put a few blobs of hummus on Ak-Maks, made a quick spinach salad, and sliced a banana to dip in some Sunbutter.
Dinner was inspired by a recipe from The Imus Ranch Cookbook, the Vegetable Pasta Salad. In the end, I used almost entirely different ingredients, but I think that's what pasta salad are supposed to be--just a conglomeration of what you have on hand. Mine had white beans, whole wheat rotini, cucumber, sliced mozzarella, red bell pepper, carrots, olives, balsamic vinaigrette, and lots of dill. I also had a side of that superstar veggie, broccoli.
Another simple smoothie, and more pesky seeds to go along with it. I used pomegranate granola this time though.
Sunday
Quick brekkie before church yesterday: frozen banana-soymilk shake with PB Puffins. I also had a handful of roasted peanuts. (Notice a trend these days? banana PB banana PB banana PB....)
We made a long overdue Whole Foods run yesterday. Here are a few shots of the loot:
I am so excited to finally try Chobani yogurts. I see them all over the food blogs, but I have never tried them. They were about 60 cents cheaper than the other Greek yogurts. Another highlight of the trip was that I picked up some new flavors of Soy Delicious fruit-sweetened nondairy ice cream: Peppermint Carob and Almond Pistachio.

For lunch, I finally got a chance to recreate my Cafe Sunflower meal: Stuffed Acorn Squash. Once again, I didn't have all the ingredients, but I ended up with something just as tasty: white beans, dried cranberries, walnuts, and lots of spices. I also had some whole wheat toast and berries.
We all ordered Chinese takeout for dinner last night--I got my usual steamed veggies with tofu, and I added cashews and my own seasonings (liquid smoke and garlic powder). I also had some rice crackers, a plum, and the obligatory fortune cookie. Oh, and here's another flattering picture of Major. He was really enjoying his chocolate Cool Whip.
Fun shake last night! I used my new Peppermint Carob Soy Delicious with the usual components, plus mint extract. It tasted like a nutritious Thin Mint cookie! (Sorry for the bad pic!)
Monday
After an excellent workout this morning (swimming!), I made a big bowl of oats with whipped banana, almond butter, and lots of wheat germ. I noticed that I have been neglecting that little red jar of wheat germ for far too long. Plus, for my nutrition class, we have to track our eating for 3 days, and I have consistently been low on vitamin E--Kretschmer to the rescue!
Another fabulous lunch today: Goddess Garbanzos from ED&BV wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, side salad, and fresh cherries. I was in a food fugue...until I got cherry juice all over my pants.
To top off this day of tasty eats, I made one of my recent favorites: Cashew Ginger Tofu (do I even have to type it? It's from ED&BV, of course). Whole wheat couscous, steamed broccoli, and salad made this quite possibly the best meal ever.

Off to study a bit before Jon & Kate Plus Eight. Happy Monday!