Weekend of Relaxation

Hi all! I ended up going down to our lake house this weekend with my dad and Ryan (my brother-in-law whom you've seen in earlier posts). We loaded FOUR dogs into the car and headed out for a short stay by the water. It was a great time! Ryan demonstrated the proper wakeboarding technique, and I fiddled around in the kayak. Plus, I even got some studying done--I finished my nutrition project and got around to memorizing some of those muscle attachments. I couldn't have asked for a better study environment. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Friday
The evening smoothie was comprised of raspberry Spirutein, mixed frozen berries, and plain soy milk. Tasty, but I think I'm getting burnt out on smoothies and shakes. I think I have come to rely on the Spirutein too much for my protein, which isn't really ideal. Got any other evening snack ideas? I would have a vegan cookie or something, but I prefer more voluminous snacks...maybe a big bowl of oatmeal?
Saturday
Another breakfast parfait--this one was truly exceptional though. I combined puffed rice and Grape Nut flakes with layers of fresh blueberries and soy vanilla yogurt. The puffed rice absorbed the vanilla flavor and got nice and soggy--just the way I like it:)
For lunch I relied on pantry staples at the lake house: two refried bean tacos, a spinach salad with mushrooms, and peanuts with dried cherries.
Dinner was kind of pathetic, to be honest. After much dithering, I just decided to make a peanut butter-banana pita and grilled it on the ol' George Foreman. I dug out some frozen veggies and made a salad with honey roasted soy nuts for crunch (and protein!).
As I mentioned above, I am smoothied-out at the moment, so I made some snack mix as my evening snack. This one had stale pretzels, old Fiber One, and some delicious dark chocolate pieces. I washed it down with soymilk.
Sunday
OK, so maybe I'm not completely tired of smoothies. I had a strawberry-soymilk smoothie for breakfast, and I nibbled on some GoLean throughout the morning as well.
Lunch was a tad weird again, owing to the limited ingredients in the house. I found some old Morningstar Farms Chik strips, and I made a stir-fry with them. Normally I don't use such processed meat analogs, but these were really tasty! A tad salty but tasty, nonetheless. I also had a salad, sliced peaches, and some almonds. Check out my cute bowl:)
Dinner was also somewhat Asian-themed. We ordered Chinese takeout, and I just got some steamed veggies to which I added edamame and cashews.
Last night's snack was a mixture of puffed rice, Life cereal (it's whole grain!), Craisins, and pumpkin granola, plus a tall glass of soymilk.

Monday
Quick brekkie this morning: vegan cheddar muffin top from the freezer and a banana with almond butter.
Just before class I threw together a taco salad: spinach, pinto beans, mashed avocado, roasted red peppers, salsa, and corn cut off the cob. I think that covers everything in that mound. I also had some perfect grapes.
A few of you have requested more snack ideas from yours truly. Here is today's: organic vanilla yogurt with dried papaya and a handful of peanut butter Puffins.
Dinner came out of the Imus Ranch cookbook. This dip included silken tofu, garlic, fresh cilantro, and a few other things, but salt was noticeably absent. I didn't really care for this dish...at all. The natural applesauce with walnuts made up for it though.
FYI, I added a list of my favorite cookbooks today...enjoy!

Major Spill

...and no, I am not talking about a cooking accident. I wiped out on the sidewalk yesterday while on my run. These crazy old sidewalks are pretty cracked and uneven. I got scraped up badly on my hands, knees, and my shoulder, of all places. When it happened, two things went through my mind: 1) Is my iPod OK? (sick, I know), and 2) Did anyone see me? Needless to say, I am fine, just a little bruised and bandaged.

Later in the day, I had my anatomy quiz. It was not fun. Nuff said.

As a result of my no good, very bad day, I was looking for a little comfort these past few days. As per usual, I turned to my food!

Thursday
Immediately after my clumsy run, I enjoyed a breakfast of overnight oatmeal. I used instant oats, plain soymilk, and cinnamon; I had a sliced banana with almond butter on the side. As my grandfather would say, "hits the spot!"

Lunch was pretty hurried--I lost track of time while I was reviewing my notes before lab. I whipped up something quick--curried tofu salad (or pseudo-chicken salad). This version consisted of extra-firm tofu, Nayonaise, Grey Poupon mustard, curry powder, raisins, and walnuts. I also gobbled up some Ak-maks and crudites.
For dinner, I dug up one of my favorite cookbooks: The Imus Ranch Cookbook by Deirdre Imus. My uncle gave me this way back in my earlier days of vegetarianism, and I never really appreciated how great it is until now. I decided to make the Mesa Meatballs, which include soy sausage, thyme, fresh oregano, and a few other flavorings. These were stuffed into an oat bran pita and smothered with tomato sauce. Delicious! I need to use this cookbook more often. I also had some some salad, steamed squash, and a blueberry soy yogurt.
The smoothie of the evening was peaches 'n cream: peach Spirutein, plain soymilk, frozen peaches, and Nature's Path pumpkin granola.
Friday
No fancy breakfast dish this morning: just a whole wheat mini bagel with Sunbutter and a strawberry-soymilk smoothie.
After running some errands with my mom and sister, I made a quick lunch out of some freezer staples. I decided to make V-con's ever-popular corn and edamame salad--so simple and tasty! I also had a salad of Romaine, roasted red peppers, rice vinegar, and sliced almonds. Mango cubes balanced it all out.
Back by popular demand, some snack pics. Today I had some of Enjoy Life's trail mix and a small dish of plain soy yogurt.
While we were running errands today, my mom and sister stopped at McDonald's for lunch. Although I'm not a fan of the Golden Arches, being there did spark a craving for a cheeseburger. Truthfully, I've never had a real cheeseburger, even in my meat-eating days. Anyway, this craving inspired my dinner: Boca burger on whole wheat with ketchup, vegan cheddar, and Romaine. I also had some a squash-turnip greens saute and a salad with perfectly ripe avocado. Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed this meal:)
Quick question for you all: would you be interested in a list of my favorite cookbooks? I could add a sidebar listing the contents of my cookbook shelf. Let me know what you think!

Now I'm off to watch an episode of What Not to Wear. Have a good weekend!