Why I Love the UPS Man

These past few days have been filled with all sorts of goodies! Yesterday, I received my order from Amazon, which included: The Vegan Microwave Cookbook, Marion Nestle's What to Eat, and some mini prep bowls. I have been wanting to order the Marion Nestle book since high school, when I stumbled upon it during my independent study in nutrition. I use these mini-bowls all the time at home--they're the perfect receptacle for a dips (hummus, PB) or a small serving of nuts.

Today I received an unexpected package from Turtle Island, makers of the legendary Tofurky products. The folks at Turtle Island sent me a sample of their tempeh selections in organic five grain, spicy veggie, and organic soy. My guess is that they found my address through VegFamily--I'll be sure to give these products a try in the next few days. Once school is over, I might actually have time to sit down and write some reviews again...

Tuesday

Now, onto the vittles. My breakfast yesterday was oh-so-tasty. I had two more of the Kashi GoLean waffles, but this time I topped them with sliced peaches and cinnamon, with some raw almonds on the side. Despite the yum factor, I was hungry again by 10:30. I am not impressed with the level of satiety these waffles provide. Maybe if I paired them with something more fibrous or protein-ish...

Yesterday's lunch was another freebie, but I was really not impressed with the offerings at this eatery. They had several vegetarian options, but they all included a plethora of cheese. So many places think that vegetarian cuisine consists of dumping gobs of cheese on vegetables. There were no vegan options other than the rather old-looking hummus and pita in the refrigerated section of the restaurant. Boo! So I ended up getting a salad with cucumbers, red onions, tomato, and goat cheese. When I returned to my room, I added Italian herb tofu for a protein kick. One of the apple titans joined the party, along with a cherry vanilla yogurt.

Last night's dinner ended up being a bit of a failure. Inspired by a lonesome-looking jar of tomato sauce in my closet, I decided to try my hand at pita pizzas. Problem was, I didn't have any shredded cheese on hand. I improvised with some string cheese, but it wasn't quite enough to cover the pitas. It still tasted good, but it's not very eye-catching :( On the side I had mixed greens with beans and Bragg's, along with some blueberries.

As a study break last night, I decided to have another random bowl concoction. Last night's combination featured nonfat kefir, Fiber One, wheat germ, and cinnamon. It didn't really strike my fancy; I think kefir is best reserved for smoothie-makin'.

Wednesday

Speaking of smoothies, I had another one this morning. Actually, today's breakfast is an exact repeat of last Wednesday's breakfast: chocolate soy protein powder, frozen banana, almond milk, and cashews on the side. In order to get out of my rut, I am looking for suggestions: What do you like to put in your smoothies?

I really enjoyed today's lunch though; it reminded me of the Southern cuisine I encounter so much back home in 'Bama. The theme of this lunch was beans 'n greens. I had a mashed sweet potato with cinnamon and a touch of sugar, spinach cooked in Bragg's, and some chili beans. Yum! I had to run to discussion section, so I grabbed an orange and some almonds for the road.

Well, I need to finish up some Abnormal Psychology reading and work on my Shakespeare paper. Sounds like an exciting evening, no? Maybe I'll break it up with some cooking...Ciao for now!

Just Another Manic Monday...

Sorry my Monday post is later than usual, everyone! I've had a full day. I went for a run, tutored on the other side of campus, made a Whole Foods run, had a conference call at 3, plus did some laundry...so I am pooped. And it doesn't end there. The dining committee is headed out for its end of the year celebratory dinner tonight at 7. Guess where we're going? Angus Barn. Doesn't sound like it's exactly vegetarian-friendly, does it? Our group has a fixed menu tonight, so I've already selected the vegetarian option, the vegetable plate, which can be viewed here: http://www.angusbarn.com/menu.html#vegetarian. Doesn't look too bad, except for the fact that it's a little low on protein.

My weekend was pretty standard; following the advice of my 8th grade algebra teacher, I "partied once, studied twice." My fancy dinner and formal went well; it won't surprise you that the dinner was probably my favorite part of the evening. What can I say? I am a hopeless foodie:) I ended up ordering the Spinach Strawberry Salad, the Spring Risotto, and a blackberry sorbet for dessert. The risotto was like eating snobby macaroni and cheese; I swear, the chef must have dumped the whole block of parmagiano reggiano (sp?) in my dish alone. Not a vegan/vegetarian restaurant by any stretch of the imagination. My favorite part was the dessert--I love blackberries, and the sorbet tasted exactly like the fruit. It came with an assortment of raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.

Saturday

For lunch on Saturday, I reviewed another place on campus (read: free meal!). I ordered a Mediterranean veggie sandwich with some hot tea. The sandwich was pre-made, and its expiration date was April 6th; the combination of these two facts made for a soggy sandwich :( I ended up picking the veggies off the bread and eating them by themselves. I accompanied them with a baked sweet potato (remember the farmers' market??), a salad with seasoned tofu, and some Fage with ground flax. It ended up being quite an eye-catching meal. And, of course, I accidentally deleted the pictures when I was uploading my formal pictures to Facebook. I was really disappointed about it actually--the only one that survived my absent-minded clicking was the salad with tofu.

Sunday

Yesterday's lunch was an organic Boca burger on the two end pieces of my loaf of bread. I dipped the sammie in some of that agave ketchup I showed you a few weeks ago. On the side I had some mixed greens with sliced tomato and raw almonds, plus an orange. Sorry for the dim photo--my roomie was taking a nap.

I realized that I never show you all my snacks, which is pretty significant considering how much I snack throughout the day. Here is an example of my afternoon snack. Cascade Fresh is my favorite brand of flavored yogurt. It's juice sweetened with 8 active cultures, and it's rBGH-free. I reviewed it at Iateapie.net last summer, if you're interested. Yesterday afternoon I enjoyed the lemon variety with some Nature's Path granola and raw cashews.

Last night's dinner was not that enjoyable, but I thought I would show you anyway. I didn't feel like cooking anything (shocking, I know!), so I just grabbed a soup and salad from a place on campus. The soup of the day was minestrone, but it was majorly lacking in the bean department; thus, I added some soy nuts to my salad for protein. My beloved Ak-Maks made another appearance.

Monday

Breakfast today was Weetabix again (I told you that I'd be having it again!). This time I remembered to take a picture before I started eating. I added sliced banana today, but it was a little mealy-tasting. Not the best breakfast ever. Oh, and I also ate some more of those omnipresent cashews.

As I mentioned before, I went to Whole Foods today. Here is the inventory: roasted soy nuts, organic carrots, nonfat kefir, Italian herb tofu, plain and flavored yogurts, organic apples, oranges, bananas, whole wheat couscous, Ak-Maks, Ezekiel pitas, frozen sliced peaches, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, some more Bionaturae organic jam (in blackberry flavor this time), a free copy of Better Nutrition, and 2 packets of chocolate soy protein powder. Not as much fun food this trip, because I ran out of a few expensive staple items this week (Bragg's, organic jam).

Finally for today's lunch I hit up the salad bar for some veggies, along with--my favorite--chickpeas. I ended up stuffing the chickpeas in an Ezekiel pita with spinach and salsa. A huge apple accompanies the vegetable bounty.

Well, I should probably go prepare for my dinner at the steakhouse. If only we were headed to Panera or Moe's Southwest, I would be such a happy camper. What are your favorite restaurants to visit? At least it's another free meal! Enjoy your evening!

Free Lunch and a Formal Dinner

Hello all! It's Friday again, and I'm pretty psyched about that. My sorority's formal event is tonight, which will be fun, but for the rest of the weekend I will be spending some quality time with my friend Bill Shakespeare. My loathing for research papers has yet to be matched.

Wednesday
First of all I want to share my most recent snack obsession--homemade snack mix with dark chocolate. I have sampled my fair share of store bought snack mixes, but I am never really quite satisfied with all the components. So, I have resorted to making my own of late. Wednesday evening, while writing my film paper about food no less, I decided I needed a snack. I just combined some plain Cheerios, some dried fruit (dates, raisins, apples, cranberries), and 2 tiny squares of Lindt 70% dark chocolate. I shook it all up in a Tupperware container--voila! I had a great snack to nibble on while I typed. Very basic but oh-so-tasty.

Thursday

Soon after assembling that evening snack, I prepared my breakfast for the following morning: overnight oatmeal. I have been making this for a while, as it is perfect for my early mornings when I have almost no time for breakfast (somehow I managed to snap a picture though...). I combined oats, almond milk, Stevia, chopped banana, and a little cinnamon this time. The next morning I added a generous portion of wheat germ. I love the texture that wheat germ provides. My roommate thinks I'm such a crazy hippie when I whip out my wheat germ:)

For lunch yesterday, I was just itching to use some of my fresh veggies that I got at the farmers' market the other day. Here's what I came up with: a spicy tofu pita with mixed greens and salsa, steamed squash, and blueberries with ground flax for dessert. I felt like this meal was very clean. Of course later in the afternoon I grazed on some dark chocolate M&Ms, but we won't discuss that.

Last night's dinner was pretty boring. It was cold and rainy outside, so I didn't really feel like venturing out very far for food. I settled on Annie's Mac & Cheese, inspired by Matt from Matt Runs and Eats, but I needed something more nutritious to balance it out, so I grabbed a salad from the salad bar (note the artichoke hearts-YUM). I added some soy nuts to the salad for protein.

Friday

Breakfast today was simple too--just a bowl of Fiber One with almond milk and some almonds and dried fruit on the side. Kept me very full though!

Now for the free lunch part. I am on my university's student dining committee, and one of my duties as a board member is to evaluate eateries on campus for customer service, food quality, etc. Considering how much of a foodie I am, I love this job! Plus, we get the meals for free!

Today I evaluated a cafe that is located next to the library. I stop there every day to get my Cinnamon & Spice tea, but today I also picked up a vegan summer roll and some fresh fruit. I supplemented the meal with a salad from the salad bar and some raw cashews. The summer roll consists of tofu, carrots, and basil, all in a rice paper wrapper. Two thumbs up!

Tonight for dinner my friends and I are headed to dinner at a fancy restaurant on campus (they accept food points!) before heading out to our formal event. Here's the menu: http://www.washingtondukeinn.com/_files/_pdf/DINNER_324.pdf

What would you order? The risotto and the spinach strawberry salad look pretty good to me, but who knows what I'll end up getting!

Now I plan on relaxing for the remainder of the afternoon, maybe watch this week's assigned movie (Chicago) for my film class. Enjoy your Friday!

Farmers' Market on the Quad!

The rain finally decided to take a hiatus today, and sunshine has returned! Today was the perfect day for a new event on campus--the Duke Farmers' Market! I was so excited, considering how much I love going to the Farmers' Market when I am at home in the summertime. The motivation behind this event is that this week is Farmers' Appreciation Week. You, too, can celebrate by buying as locally as you can this week:)

Although I wanted to buy everything on the table, I chose just a few items that I knew I would be able to prepare in my makeshift kitchen. I was tempted to get some kale (I've never tried it before!), but I don't know how to cook it. Plus, I wasn't sure if it produces a distinctive "veggie smell" when cooking--my roommate despises anything green, so I don't think she would be too thrilled about the prospect of studying in kale-infused quarters. Anyway, I did buy a few small sweet potatoes, a pair of baby summer squash, a bag of mixed greens, and--my favorite--fresh tomatoes! I purchased everything you see here for a mere $5.50 (on food points, no less!).

Tuesday

Backtracking a bit, I will share some of my stellar meals from the past few days. One of my splurge items from this week's Whole Foods trip was a box of Kashi GoLean waffles. After seeing so many people make breakfast sammies on the blogs lately, I decided to go ahead and buy a box, even though I don't have a toaster. When I opened the box, I was impressed by their size--I had forgotten how big these waffles are! I topped two of them with some natural PB and some thawed frozen berries (thus the presence of juice on the waffles). This was a delish breakfast--just like PB&J but in waffle form. However, I was a little disappointed in the lack of satiety the breakfast provided--my tummy was rumbling in class not very long afterwards (almonds to the rescue!). Oh, and FYI: these are not vegan waffles. They contain milk ingredients.

Last night for dinner, I was famished for some reason. Tuesdays are usually my busy days, with three classes in a row and a 2-hour editorial meeting directly afterward, so I guess I just needed fuel! I had some leftover black beans ( it seems like one can of beans lasts forever), so I decided to put my Magic Bullet to work and make some bean dip. Accompanying the dip were my favorite crackers ever--Ak-Maks. I highly recommend these! They're so healthful, natural, and tasty. Plus, they're only $1.29 per box! I rounded out the meal with a big salad from the salad bar and some watermelon. I decided that wasn't enough, so I poured myself a big honkin' glass of vanilla almond milk.

Last night for a snack, I put together another bowl creation. I simply combined some part skim ricotta cheese with crumbled Weetabix biscuits and cinnamon. It seemed to do the trick.

Wednesday

This morning I had a much more satisfying breakfast: a smoothie with raw cashews. Yet again, I gave my Magic Bullet a workout by blending together a frozen banana, a packet of chocolate Soytein, and some vanilla almond milk. This was my first time to use the frozen banana trick successfully. The last time, I'm embarrassed to admit that I just stuck the banana in the freezer, peel and all. Let's just say that I didn't end up using that banana. Anyway, this smoothie was phenomenal! It kept me full for hours--I didn't even need to nibble on anything in between my morning classes. I will definitely be making this breakfast again in the future.

For lunch today, I really just wanted to get rid of these dang black beans. I nuked them with some frozen chopped spinach and Bragg's Liquid Aminos. On the side I had some Triscuits, an apple, and I sliced up one of those luscious tomatoes.

Tonight, I have to attend an event that provides food. Whether that means a catered dinner or heavy appetizers, I don't know. We'll see--maybe they'll at least have some good veggies and dip? I might need to supplement their offerings with a snack...what is your favorite bedtime snack?

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!