Who's that Greasy Kid?

In my experience, it's an unspoken rule that once you sit in a certain spot in a classroom more than twice in a row, that seat is marked as "yours." My linguistics class generally follows this policy in that everyone in the classroom generally sits in the exact same spot for every class period. It's actually quite an interesting sociological phenomenon. Anyway, being the creature of habit that I am, I take part in these shenanigans week in and week out, so I always sit next to the same two people--one is my friend with whom I served on an editorial board, and the other is a male whom I have named "the greasy kid."

Every day he sits next to me for our 11:40 class, and he has always brings new form of fast food. Monday was a Panda Express sesame chicken concoction, while today was a Big Mac with fries. I don't mind if my neighbors bring food (after all, I have been known to munch on a Clif bar during class), but this stuff has an odor that permeates the entire classroom, much less the 5 foot radius around our two seats. I swear, on Monday I smelled a note of sesame orange in my button-down, hours after class was over.

Anyway, it's gotten to the point that I have considered--gasp!--changing seats, mid-semester. I'll probably just suck it up and learn to live with this mystery grease-fan, who I am sure is a perfectly nice guy. Have you ever dealt with an unpleasant habit of a classmate or coworker?

OK, sorry. Rant over.

Monday
I discovered another combination that comes close to the mango-vanilla hemp deliciousness: peach-coconut-vanilla hemp. This would be a good stand-in if you're running low on mango.
Tuesday
Another Tropical Tuesday! I made a pineapple smoothie with more coconut (yes, I am mildly addicted), plus a whole wheat mini bagel with Brazilnut butter and cinnamon. Good fuel before my gender and language quiz.
The pre-run snack was yet another PB Mini Clif. Once again, it was fantastic fuel, accompanied by tasty PB breath.
For lunch I tried a product that has been lurking in my cabinets for a while. I've seen so many bloggers use Annie's whole wheat shells with white cheddar, and it was available at the on campus grocery store (read: I can use food points rather than my own $$). I finally made a batch using rice milk, and I added edamame for protein (and color). The other items you see are a Romaine salad and unsweetened applesauce with flax. Hello, power fuel--this kept me full through a few hours of tutoring.
Kristen and Shen took over the kitchen table last night to study for biochem, so I ate my meal at my desk--I had lots of work to do anyway. I made a simple vegan chili using leftover pasta sauce, chopped onions, kidney beans, cumin, chili powder, and ground red pepper. On the side: corn, spinach salad, plain kefir with cashews. Nice and comforting:)
The shake of the evening was a bit of an experiment, as I used a new protein powder--the vegan chocolate rice protein. It was kind of a bummer. Not chocolatey at all. At least the frozen banana and chocolate chips (which sank to the bottom) made up for the lackluster protein component.
Wednesday
Overnight oats were on the menu this morning, using Jenn's method of soaking the oats in water overnight and adding the creamy ingredients in the morning. This morning I added nonfat kefir, coconut, cinnamon, cashews, and stevia. It was alright, but a little too soupy--I think it would have worked better if I had Greek yogurt on hand. With my budget, that won't be happening any time soon.
The exercise fuel was a baggie of pretzel sticks. Almost entirely carbs (and salt!). It got the job done though.
Lunch was ratatouille-inspired. I cooked up half an eggplant with a bit of jarred tomato sauce, onions, garlic, and kidney beans for protein. To soak up the goodness, I had an Ezekiel pita, plus a salad with peanuts, cranberries, and balsamic vinegar. Once again, perfect for a busy afternoon.
My evening meal was inspired by a recipe from Rudi's Bakery. Check out their website--they have lots of great recipes for herbivores and omnivores alike. Anyway, this is the vegan tempeh reuben, sans cheese and saurkraut because, well, I don't have any. I still made the vegan thousand island dressing though (after a trip to the campus store for sweet relish). I had a big honkin' serving of broccoli with leftover garlic from the tempeh's poaching liquid. That's a glass of rice milk on the side.
I have a random question for you all: I mentioned above that I made a full box of mac and cheese--can you freeze the leftovers? My intuition tells me no, since it would get mighty mushy. What do you think?

Now I am off to relax before another busy day tomorrow. Good night all!

Keepin' It Simple

In the midst of classes, meetings, and tutoring freshmen writing students, I haven't had a whole lot of free time today (hence the later post time tonight). Mondays always present such a stark contrast to my weekends; my leisurely weekends come to an abrupt end at the stroke of 7 AM on Monday. Today, for example, I found myself already running a little late to class, only to realize that I forgot a hair tie for my workout--an absolute necessity for me, since I cannot stand the sensation sweaty hair on the back of neck. Anyway, I hoof it back to the apartment (in heels, no less), grab a handful of hair ties, and arrive in class at the stroke of 8:30. The whole day has felt a little something like that.

As a result of my crazy schedule, my meals have been less involved and far from exotic--but I still thought they were tasty! What are your favorite dishes to prepare on hectic days?

Here comes the simple but yummy grub.

Saturday
When I returned from my sisterhood retreat early Saturday morning, all I wanted to do was sleep. So I did. Then I worked out and had breakfast at like 12 PM. My eating schedule was totally higgledy-piggledy all day (yes, I did just find that adjective on thesaurus.com). This brunch-ish meal consisted of GoLean with ground flax, rice milk, plus an apple. I am perfecting the art of uber thin apple slicing:)
Lunch was just an excuse to use of up leftovers: chickpeas and canned tomatoes on a bed of spinach with soynuts for crunch, plus whole wheat crackers (Milton's), sliced banana, and almond butter. I think my favorite part of the meal was the simple stuff--the crackers and banana with AB.
The evening chowfest was yet another lazy attempt at meal preparation: a Boca patty on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, mustard, and organic ketchup, plus a salad, broccoli, and sweets plate with sliced kiwi and raw cashews. That's a lot of food now that I look at it--all healthful though!
The smoothie of the evening was heaven in a glass again. Sorry I am so boring, but the mango-vanilla hemp combination still reminds me of cake batter in some way. Try it, you'll like it!
Sunday
I was a little more creative yesterday morning in that I tried my hand at vegan French toast. I simply dipped whole wheat bread into rice milk sweetened with agave and cinnamon (I don't have any vanilla extract or arrowroot powder!). I also had an apple with more luscious almond butter. AB is definitely my favorite these days.
The afternoon meal consisted of an old easy standby: scrambled tofu wrap. This one featured tahini, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, broccoli, and tofu of course wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. On the side I had a juicy peach and a salad.
I thought I would mention yesterday's afternoon snack since it was so scrumptious and basically the epitome of fallish flavor. I combined a container of plain yogurt with leftover pumpkin, cinnamon, stevia, raisins, and raw cashews. YUM! The inspiration for this concoction was my mom's legendary pumpkin bread that she makes every year from November-December. I can't wait for Thanksgiving!!
Suppertime was super simple (I'm starting to sound like Sandra Lee form Semi Homemade...). I stuffed a whole wheat pita with hummus, lettuce, and tomato and served it alongside a salad, carrot sticks dipped in Goddess dressing, and nonfat plain kefir (drizzled with agave nectar).
Last night's shake was superb! I combined strawberries, soymilk, special dark cocoa powder, and Nutiva hemp (berry pomegranate flavor), and I finished it off with a few dairy-free chocolate chips. The consistency was perfect--not too thick, not too thin. Another winning combination.
Monday
I was rushed this morning (as noted above), so I opted for a simple bowl of cereal: Whole Foods brand organic Os with rice milk and sliced banana. I also had a little dish of TJ's AntiOXidant trail mix on the side. Quick and easy.
The pre-run snack today was a baggie of GoLean cereal. I recently decided that I would like to have bigger lunches after my workouts, so I am cutting down the size of my pre-run snack. Perhaps this will also eliminate my unsatisfactory exercise fueling problems that I have been having.
When I returned home from the gym, I made a mad dash to the kitchen for a simple veggie meal: a baked sweet potato (with cinnamon), Brussels sprouts (with garlic salt), kidney beans (with chili powder, ground red pepper, and cumin), and applesauce with peanuts. This kept me full throughout the afternoon of tutoring appointments.
TGI Friday's brought a few dishes to the dining meeting tonight; they want students to be able to use food points for Friday's delivery program. The offerings consisted of baby back ribs, onion rings, a Bleu cheeseburger, and peanut butter cheesecake--obviously, not my typical fare. I hit up the salad bar instead. I also made tiny almond butter cracker sammies. So satisfying.
Oh, and I got another package today! Yes, I must stop ordering impulse items from iHerb.com, but I really needed some nutritional yeast flakes so that I could make a few things from Lindsay's cookbook. A few other items might have also snuck into my virtual shopping cart...(TVP, Bob's Red Mill 5 Grain Cereal with flax, chocolate rice protein powder, and a little shaker cup).
I am off to study for a quiz and make flashcards! Good night:)