Wal-Mart Gourmet

If there's one thing I've learned over my past few weekends at the lake, it's that you can eat healthfully, no matter where you are. Unfortunately, I sometimes participate in food snobbery: I eschew trips to the regular grocery stores for jaunts to Whole Foods; I scoff at rural Alabama's culinary tastes. I know, shame on me. This past weekend at the lake, I was able to create perfectly delicious and nutritious fare with a few simple items purchased at the local Super Wal-Mart. Granted, you won't find tofu or soy yogurt at this low-cost destination, but you will find fresh produce, whole grain breads, natural peanut butter, and organic dairy. You might even save a few bucks in the process. While I don't agree with everything that the Wal-Mart corporation represents, I do think they are trying to provide their customers with more healthful options.

OK, now that my musings on food snobbery have ceased, I'll continue onto the fruits of my 'Wally World" excursion.

Saturday
Much to the shock of my housemates, I made a breakfast of scrambled tofu. "You mean you eat soy sauce, tofu, and peanut butter for breakfast?" "I promise, it's really good!" And this scramble truly was delectable: tofu (the shelf-stable kind--I brought it from home), soy sauce, mushrooms, and PB (no tahini at Wal-Mart). I also had a big, shiny apple.

I made myself a big lunch, but when I sat down to eat it, I wasn't all that hungry. Nonetheless, I managed to polish it off eventually. I stuffed refried beans into two whole wheat tortillas, and along with it I had fresh watermelon, a side salad, and some almonds (purchased from the baking aisle!).
For dinner, my sister and her husband prepared hamburgers and hot dogs, Stouffer's macaroni and cheese, and some other traditional cookout foods. I tried to blend in with a Publix brand veggie burger on a wheat bun (I later added LOTS of onions, pickles, and ketchup), some steamed squash, a peach, and a handful of walnuts.
Later that night, my sweet tooth struck, and I needed some calcium...so I made chocolate soymilk! I shook up 12 oz. of plain soymilk (bought at Wal-Mart!) with some chocolate syrup. Not as healthy as my usual cocoa powder/stevia combo, but delicious, nonetheless. I also had a big bowl of snack mix: Fiber One, Honey Nut Cheerios, and a few dried cherries. This big snack cause a bit of a sugar overload! It sustained me through late-night Sex and the City watching with my sisters:)
Sunday
I made my (almost) weekly batch of banana pancakes yesterday morning. I had never used the lake house's griddle before, so I was a little surprised at how hot it gets! My pancakes burned a bit, but they still tasted good--the charring just added a bit of that "creme brulee" flavor. I used the only whole grain flour available at Wal-Mart: Hodgson Mill Graham Flour. (FYI Graham flour is another name for whole wheat flour). It seemed to work just fine! I drizzled it with some pure maple syrup (another surprising Wal-Mart find).
Before heading out the door to return to reality, I made a quick Mexican salad: lettuce, leftover refried beans, onions, mushrooms, and salsa. I also had a bowl of watermelon, a handful of peanuts, and a few crackers.
I went to Whole Foods yesterday after returning to Birmingham, and I picked up some whole grain graham crackers. I tried them with some almond milk. Tasty, but definitely nothing like the Nabisco variety.
For dinner I put together a dish inspired by the Ashram Recipe Book. I used some of those lentils and rice from last week and added lots of spices (including garam masala that I purchased at Whole Foods). It was a wonderful dish. In addition, I made Dreena's Creamy Cashew Dip for my strawberries. I think I found a new favorite food--this stuff tastes like a healthy version of those iced animal cookies I used to eat as a kid (remember the ones that came in a hot pink bag??) I also added some much needed veggies.
For my smoothie last night, I combined peach Spirutein, frozen peaches, soymilk, and lots of granola/granola plank. Tasty.
Monday
I went to the funeral of a family friend this morning, so I needed a quick breakfast: GoLean with almond milk and lots of flax. I also had some watermelon.
I've been having an intense craving for Waldorf Salad lately, so I picked out a recipe from Vegetarian Express (see sidebar). This dish included apples, raisins, and walnuts; I substituted soy-based mayonnaise for a vegan version of the recipe. I also topped some greens with Cranberry and Stuffing Tofurky and balsamic vinegar; crackers added some necessary starch.
I've also been craving taco meat lately--thus the inspiration for my dinner: TVP with cumin, chili powder, garlic, oregano, and paprika. I stuffed it inside some corn tortillas with mashed avocado, organic cheddar, and salsa. Broccoli, a side salad, and a peach balanced it all out.
OK, now I am off to relax--no tests this week! Perhaps I will waste some time on Amazon...Ciao for now.

Water, Water Everywhere

Hello, everyone! I write to you from the lake house...hopefully Blogger will cooperate from this location. I spent my 4th of July playing on the lake--we hopped in the car as soon as I got back from my run this morning. Overall, it was a great day on the water: plenty of people and fun, but it started to rain on our return back to the house. A rain storm while on the water is a unique experience--the rain drops really hurt! Oh, well. It was still a great way to spend the day. I can't wait to see what the rest of the weekend brings.

Thursday

After my post on Wednesday, I decided to whip up a batch of Honey Wheat Bran Muffins from Clean Eating Magazine. As per usual, I made a zillion substitutions, using soy milk and vanilla soy yogurt, a flax egg, and agave rather than honey. They came out tasty, but rather...flat. Despite this reluctance to rise, I had two for breakfast, along with some blackberries and almonds.

I packed my lunch to eat on campus again. This one included a black bean burger (Gardenburger brand) on whole wheat with salsa, carrots with Annie's Goddess dressing for dipping, and loads of fresh berries. Filled me up quite nicely! I wouldn't recommend adding the salsa to the sandwich the night before though--it was quite soggy, and not the kind of soggy I usually like. I was quite lazy for dinner after my full day of classes, so I relied on the pantry for my dinner. I dug out this can of Green Lentils and Brown Rice from Eden Foods. I know, canned rice sounds gross, but this stuff is totally natural and healthy--just be sure to add a few of your own seasonings, as it is quite bland on its own. I added some dried thyme, S + P. I also had a salad with walnuts and some brussels sprouts.
The smoothie of the evening consisted of orange Spirutein, soymilk, frozen pineapple, and lots of granola + crumbled granola plank. I was way hungry last night for some reason.

Friday
As I mentioned above, I didn't have much time after my run for breakfast, so I just had a quick bowl of cereal and some strawberries. I like to mix bland cereals (puffed rice) with sweeter cereals (Kashi Honey Sunshine) to create a nice balance at breakfast.

After a run to Wal-Mart, I returned home for a quick hummus and olive sandwich on whole wheat with spinach and a big juicy apple. I got the idea for sandwich from the Vegan Lunch Box Cookbook.
Some of our guests of the weekend offered to make dinner tonight: they made pulled barbecue sandwiches with baked beans, potato salad, and corn on the cob. I took some of the corn on the cob and discreetly grilled up some tofu with Annie's BBQ Sauce for a protein hit. I also munched on some almonds and a red pear.
Thanks to all of you for your protein recommendations--I made a few online orders last night:) Now I am off to bed so I can rise early for the farmers' market tomorrow morning. My idea of a great way to spend a Saturday!

Long-Awaited Reprieve

Whew! My tests and quizzes are complete (for the time being), just in time for the holiday weekend. My nutrition test went smashingly, but the anatomy test...not so much. The professor posts grades on Friday evening, so we'll see. I probably won't check until Monday though, just so I can enjoy my weekend at the lake! I've been studying non-stop for the wast two weeks, so I am ready for a few days of down-time and maybe a smidgen of aquatic sports:)

I picked out a few recipes to try this week, and most have been a success thus far. Read on to find out the deets.

Monday
After my recent discovery of the wonder that is Annie's Goddess Dressing, I decided to try out Dreena's Goddess Garbanzos recipe. All I have to say is wow. I can't wait to try it again! I enjoyed mine atop a whole grain hot dog bun (Arnold brand), along with my usual salad, some steamed veggies, and a chocolate soy yogurt. I had never tried Stonyfield's soy yogurt before, and I noticed a few unique characteristics. The texture is more liquidy than that of other brands, and this variety (chocolate) was quite sweet. It was a nice treat, but I'm not sure it will go into regular rotation. The smoothie of the evening consisted of raspberry Spirutein, frozen berries, soy milk, and a bit of a broken up Honest Foods granola plank. De-lish. Tuesday
Return of the breakfast parfait! This particular combination was one of the best I have made in a while: vanilla soy yogurt, frozen cherries, and Fiber One cereal. The vanilla soy yogurt totally made this dish. Yum.
After class yesterday, I was so hungry that I just put together the fastest lunch I could think of...taking the test must have gobbled up all my energy. I made a pita sammie with cranberry and stuffing flavor Tofurky, Nayonaise, and spinach. A spinach salad (with dried cranberries!), a juicy peach, and some almonds finished it off.
For dinner, I picked out a recipe from Clean Eating Magazine (the premiere issue): Lentil Salad with Cranberries and Pecans. (I guess I just couldn't get enough cranberries yesterday...). I didn't have any pecans, so I subbed walnuts, and I used cranberries that I had in the freezer. That's a good tip actually: at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I stock up on bags of cranberries and freeze them so that I can enjoy their nutritious goodness all year round. Anyway, this recipe was bad. There was no flavor except for the extremely tart berries and acidic white wine vinegar; it needed a balancing ingredient of some kind. At least it looked pretty.
The smoothie of the evening consisted of tropical Spirutein, frozen pineapple (way cheaper than fresh!), almond milk, and broken up granola plank. In retrospect, this would have been perfect with coconut.
Wednesday
Today for breakfast I treated myself to a peach-soymilk smoothie and a banana-walnut Gnu bar. I went scavenging for cool cups and glasses, and I all I came up with was this hefty beer mug. I need to make a trip to Home Goods...
In the midst of my studying, I found the time to put together a quick (albeit random) lunch. I used up the rest of my tempeh by cooking it up in a Vidalia onion salad dressing I found in the fridge. Onto the greens it went, and along side it I had some crackers with almond butter and some blueberries.
Dinner tonight was phenomenal. I tried Dreena's recipe for Cashew Ginger Tofu. I could slurp this sauce with a straw--it was that good. Accompanying the superstar meal component were some vegetables, whole grain couscous, and a fresh pear.

I have a quick question for all of you: after a discussion with my nutrition professor, I think I might be borderline OD-ing on soy protein. Sooo, do you all have any recommendations for vegan protein powders not made from soy? As you all have seen, I just can't live without my evening protein shakes!

Well I am off to relax...at last!