Lucky Day

I must be livin' right because I have experienced some fortuitous events today! I went to my 8:30 stats class this morning, as usual, and when I checked my e-mail afterward, I found an e-mail saying that my linguistics class had been cancelled for today! No class means no daily quiz either, so I was beaming at the computer screen when I opened that message.

As a result, I got a jump start on my day. I had volunteered last week to bake some goodies for a "Chi O Study Break," and, as of last night, I was not sure when I was going to be able to make that happen. Thanks to my suddenly flexible schedule, I was able to attack the baking project right after my run. Plus, when I went to the on-campus grocery, they had all the ingredients I needed!

I think that perhaps my elevated spirits might also be due to the fact that I got the chance to bake...firing up the oven and filling the apartment with sweet smells is an instant mood-lifter:)

I have plenty to share with you today, so let's get to it:

Friday
The evening's smoothie was another new success, both in terms of taste and texture. I combined frozen strawberries and cherries with my last Nutiva hemp packet and soymilk. My pumpkin flax granola made a perfect accompaniment.
Saturday
After a much needed sleep-in session, I went for a run and returned to make an Apple Pie Parfait. I made some cheater's baked apples by thinly slicing a Rome apple, sprinkling it with cinnamon, and nuking it in the microwave for a few minutes. The other layers of the parfait were plain organic yogurt and a few scoops of bran flakes. The topping was the best part--a big dollop creamy PB. I still have a jar of crunchy PB in the fridge, but it doesn't even compare to this--I am a die hard creamy girl. How about you? Are you a crunchy or a creamy fan?
Before heading out to the music festival on campus, I made a quick but absolutely delicious lunch. I sliced up a Sunshine burger, placed it atop a bed of greens, and drizzled both with a new dressing I whipped up: dijon mustard, vegan mayo, lemon juice, agave nectar, and dill weed. I practically licked the bowl. On the side, I had some crackers and a few grapes.
I came back later to change quickly before the "Western event" I mentioned in my last post. Dinner was another quick one; I combined black beans, bell peppers, cumin, and chili powder, rolled the mixture into pita halves (makeshift tortillas), and topped with salsa and guacamole. I also had some pineapple.
Amongst the many fun activities of the evening (hay rides, dancing, etc.), there was also a s'mores table. My friends and I roasted marshmallows at the bonfire to make the perfect dessert sammie. I am not normally a fan of marshmallow, but the chocolate and graham cracker made up for it:)
Sunday
I woke up hungry yesterday morning, and the air was crisp with the beginnings of fall, so I decided a bowl of pumpkin bread oats was in order. I combined oats, water, pumpkin, and ginger in a pot on the stove, and once they were cooked, I added chopped almonds, cinnamon, and raisins. My mom's legendary pumpkin bread recipe also includes cloves, nutmeg, and allspice, but I don't have that extensive of a spice cabinet (yet!). This was so good and so comforting.
After church, I came home to start lunch for my study buddy and me. I decided on vegan chili for the midday menu. Into the pot went onions, diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, Boca crumbles, cumin, ground red pepper, garlic salt, and chili powder. I also put some grapes on the table for munching. My guest said he liked it...I hope he wasn't just being nice! Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I filled my afternoon with studying/chatting, Skyping with my friend (who is abroad in Madrid), and uploading Facebook pics. Entirely unproductive. Anyway, time got away from me, so I needed another quick dinner before my meeting last night: Italian herb encrusted tofu (grilled on good ol' Georgie), couscous, zucchini, and a sliced apple with PB. Yummy.
The smoothie of the evening incorporated a recent splurge item of mine: frozen blueberries. My grocery bill was looking to be pretty moderate this week, so I decided that some tasty berries wouldn't hurt. I combined them with strawberries, vanilla hemp, and soymilk. Delish.
Monday
I had a simple but tasty morning meal today: toast with mashed banana combined with Sunbutter, plus the last of my cottage cheese. This was such simple breakfast that I actually got to class early today. Sweet.
Since I didn't have my second class today, I actually didn't need a pre-run snack, although I ate it on the way back from the gym. Whole Foods brand Cheerios with dried cranberries.
I came back and made a batch of my mom's famous graham cracker brownies, which has quite possibly the shortest ingredients list of any baked good: graham crackers, chocolate chips, and sweetened condensed milk. Hardly healthful or vegan, but they always get rave reviews. I wonder if they make sweetened condensed soymilk?
Lunch this afternoon was leftovers: I heated up the rest of yesterday's chili and poured it over a baked sweet potato. (I promise there IS a sweet potato underneath all that chili!) A salad with cashews and some grapes finished it off.
Whew! I will leave you with a few pictures from my weekend. Pardon my large, nasty tongue:)

Recent Reads

Happy Sunday, everyone! I have a busy day ahead of me, so today's feature will just be highlighting a few articles that I have found interesting in recent weeks. Read, comment, enjoy!

Eating for Pleasure...the Key to Health?
This article from the New York Times sheds new light on successful weight loss/weight maintenance, and I agree with many of its assertions. Perhaps I am biased as a devoted foodie, but I truly believe that fueling your body is something to be savored, not a tedious chore dictated by fad diets.

More Variety for Vegetarians in College
I stumbled upon this article from Vanderbilt's newspaper via Google Alerts. I found it especially pertinent to my life due to its discussion of vegetarianism in college. It's always fascinating to me to see how on-campus dining operates at colleges across the country.

Local Food at Colleges
My dad sent me this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education discussing the local food phenomenon within the context of university life. Duke's main foodservice provider, Bon Appetit does make an effort to use local resources for its cooking. However, I wish that it were a campus-wide policy. How has the local-food phenomenon affected your life?

Big Green Purse
This website was brought to my attention via The Laptop Lunch Newsletter (yes, I do have a Laptop Lunch Box--it was great for toting my dinner when I worked at a pharmacy in high school). Anyway, this site is full of useful "green" information; it features eco-friendly tips, products, and books. I definitely added this one to my bookmarks. What sites are on your favorites list?

Now, I am off to prepare a big bowl of chili. He's making cornbread, so I am excited for an afternoon of tasty studying:)

The Remedy

I am drawing inspiration from Jason Mraz for my title tonight...because I have found the remedy to my illness; I am finally feeling more like my normal self! After a visit to the Student Health Center (at which I received mediocre/verging on negligent care), Kristen was kind enough to drive me to a doc-in-the-box tonight where I finally received a long overdue prescription. Woohoo!

Now I am looking forward to my Saturday--there's an on-campus music festival tomorrow, plus my sorority is hosting a "Western-themed" event tomorrow night. The event is held off-campus at a barn, where we can go on hayrides, makes s'mores and dance the night away. It's definitely one of my favorite events, although I am little disappointed that I didn't muster up the courage to find a date...I'm sure there will still be plenty of fun to be had:)

Anyway, as a result of my blah physical condition these past few days, I have been forced to eat blah food. The only advice the Student Health Center had for me was to sip Gatorade and generally consume only "gentle" and "non-spiced" foods like applesauce and soup. In other words, a foodie's torture! That's like putting an extravert into solitary confinement! I followed their instructions to an extent, but I could not stay away from fruits and vegetables for long...

Wednesday
The shake of the evening featured frozen banana, frozen strawberries, soymilk, cocoa, and chocolate rice protein, along with dairy-free chocolate chips on top. Perfect.
Thursday
Breakfast yesterday was not so kind to my stomach, but it still pleased my tastebuds. I had a simple bowl of Whole Foods brand Cheerios and rice milk topped with wheat germ, plus a Rome apple with cashew butter.
Following my pointless visit to the infamous Student Health Center (yes, I do mean infamous), I picked up some tummy-taming groceries at an on-campus store. Among them was a can of Health Valley vegetable soup, which I served with crackers and hummus, almonds, and melon (which is supposedly a "gentle" fruit). This filled me up, but left me unsatisfied...you know what I mean?
My snack yesterday was fabulous, however--cottage cheese with Sunbutter. The utter deliciousness of this snack made me realize why so many people seem to enjoy the PB/cottage cheese combo in their oatmeal and pancakes. Do you have a favorite recipe that combines cottage cheese and nut butter?
One of the few foods I enjoy that is low-fiber is tofu, so I decided that would be a mild protein choice for dinner last night...although I combined it with a few veggies (mushrooms and spinach) along with a sprinkle of garlic salt. I also had some couscous and a vanilla yogurt with cinnamon. The vanilla-cinnamon mixture reminded me of that oh-so-yummy Creamy Cashew Dip from ED&BV. I *might* have to make another batch soon...
The shake last night was an exact replica of Wednesday's...so no pic.

Friday
Upon my return from my trip to the gym, I tried an all new breakfast. I used Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain cereal, rice milk, banana, and chocolate rice protein powder to make a yummy bowl of chocolate-y heaven. Never before have I tried the 5-Grain cereal, nor have I ever added protein powder to my morning oats; so many bloggers seem to enjoy it though, so I figured it must be worth a try. Deeelish.
Another simple mid-day meal today. More soup and crackers, plus a heaping serving of applesauce. The highlight of this meal was definitely the almond butter on top of the applesauce, a recent purchase from Whole Foods. Despite its $8.99 per pound price tag, I gave in and bought a small container of the freshly ground almond butter. Does anyone know if you're supposed to refrigerate this tasty paste?
I returned from my doctor's appointment this evening ravenous for a real meal--one that would actually stimulate my tastebuds and satisfy my inner foodiness. I decided on a tofu stir-fry with tofu, carrots, green beans, onions, garlic, soy sauce and ginger. Along with it, I had couscous, a Romaine salad with peanuts, and cantaloupe with grapes. Sigh. So good.
Before I sign off, I have another question for you all. My friend from stats class (the scone enthusiast) might be coming over to study on Sunday evening (translation: must provide dinner). He is an omnivore, but he has mentioned that he likes vegetarian food too. Any suggestions on what to prepare?

Wishing you a happy and healthy weekend.

Winding Down

**Many thanks to all of your sage wisdom and kind comments in response to my last post. I really appreciate your support.**

Tonight I am finally getting a little down-time...that means the first round of tutoring is through until November; I have finished my homework for the evening; no meetings have crept their way into my schedule--it's just me, a mug of Sleepy Time tea, and Jon & Kate Plus Eight tonight. I haven't been feeling well these past few days, either physically or emotionally, so I am seizing the opportunity to just chill before a busy weekend.

As a result of my various responsibilities and less-than-stellar health, I have been keeping it simple in the kitchen. Check it out:

Monday
I tried another Rudi's recipe on Monday evening--Better Bunny salad. Carrots, pineapple, and vegan mayo made for a simple supper. I added a dash of cinnamon since I didn't have the cinnamon bread called for in the recipe. Placed atop a bed of Romaine and served alongside crackers and cottage cheese with cashews, it made for a balanced and tasty meal.
The smoothie consisted of peaches, mango, vanilla hemp, and soymilk. Coconut made its obligatory appearance.
Tuesday
Breakfast yesterday ended up being great fuel before my psychology exam. I made a peach-soymilk smoothie and spread a whole wheat mini bagel with Sunbutter and apple butter (my most recent find at the on-campus grocery store). Maybe I just liked this meal so much because of the Sunbutter--it makes everything taste good:)
Pre-run, I chomped on a mini brownie Clif bar. Decadent and functional.
For lunch, I just prepared another spontaneous tofu salad and wrapped it in a whole grain tortilla. This version included tofu, vegan mayo, cashews, dried cranberries, carrots, salt, and dill. On the side I had a simple salad and an organic plum.
Dinner was a bit of a recipe flop. I attempted to make a cheeze spread out of nutritional yeast, tahini, corn starch, water, and ground red pepper. As you can see, it turned out a bit watery. I would have started over, but it tasted so good! Tastiness trumps texture issues in my book, so I drizzled it over whole wheat toast. It made for an excellent accompaniment to tomato soup, brussels sprouts, and a salad.
My shake last night was one of the best I have made in a while. I used TWO frozen bananas, chocolate rice protein, dark cocoa powder, and rice milk. It tasted so indulgent, but it was actually quite nutritious.
Wednesday
Prompted by a commenter (Sarah), I decided to try CCV's Banana Bread Blender Cereal this morning. I made a few changes based on what I had on hand--I used rice milk and almonds instead of vanilla soy milk and walnuts. I also added a dash of cinnamon for banana bread authenticity. This was SO delicious!! I can't thank Sarah and Katie enough for the recipe!
The pre-run snack today was painfully boring. I just stuffed some Whole Foods brand Cheerios in a baggie this morning...now I wish I had at least thrown some chocolate chips in for interest.
Lunch was much more engaging for my taste buds. I found a recipe on VegWeb for Coconut Black Beans with Mango. I didn't have any chilies or coconut milk on hand, but I still managed to get the essential flavors into the dish by using shredded coconut and ground red pepper. The contrast of the sweet mangoes with the cumin and black beans made for quite the flavor party in my mouth. I served it alongside baked tortilla wedges and a salad with perfectly ripe avocado.
I have another interesting snack to share with you all this evening--another scone! I was greeted with this crumbly little baked good this morning in stats class, prepared by my (male) friend, the baking enthusiast. Love those Craisins.
Dinner this evening was pretty streamlined: just a Boca burger, baked sweet potato, and steamed zucchini with oregano and basil. I also had the last of my kefir with a blob of cashew butter.
The sextuplets beckon for my attention...be back soon.