Three Dessert Sunday

by Emily

The weekend is over and I didn’t catch up on any sleep, aaaahh! After our late night (cough, 4:30, cough cough) I was thrilled to wake up to a pre-made breakfast. Overnight oats in a jar.

In a pb jar with just a little peanut butter left (approximately 2 Tbsp) I combined 1/4 cup of oats, 1/4 cup Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk, and a caramel Oikos.

It was delicious. And I have another round of OIAJ planned for tomorrow too, woot.

Lunch was leftovers.

They weren’t mine but they were good.

My mom got this cucumber salad as the side with her meal at Lagerhaus 95.

This afternoon I had a shift at work and an errand to run so I was thrilled when I came home to dinner already made.

Adam made tuna mac (cheap mac and cheese with spinach, edamame, and tuna stirred in).

I added more veggies (edamame and peas) and cheese (a few cubes of sharp cheddar) to my serving.

It was good but box mac and cheese is always disappointingly bland.

Then came desserts. Yes, sssssss; there were three. First was a Jell-o ‘Smores Pudding cup.

Meh. I thought it would be more exciting than it was. But Adam loved it, and now I’m inspired to make a better, homemade version soon.

Second was apple dippers.

A green apple dipped in a heaping Tbsp each Crunchy Biscoff and Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter.

Delicious. You can’t go wrong with either of those dips.

Finally, I ate four Dove Coconut Cream Eggs.

Perfect! My mom bought me these for Easter with strict instructions not to open them until next Sunday but they are already mostly gone, whoops.

What Easter candy are you most excited for?

1Apr2012

Distraught Dog

by Emily

Ugh! I didn’t drink any beer but the boys sure have been; they are still not home! And I can’t sleep without Adam so I’m up too. I am so not catching up on sleep right now.

On the plus side no one asked me to share my plate of toffee pretzels.

But on the downside the dog is distraught that Adam’s not home. Here are some shots of him sulking in the sweater bin –

Boys are dumb.

31Mar2012

Resoultions Check In: March

by Emily

Hello, weekend! Another week ends and another visitor rolls into town, my brother-in-law is with us until Sunday afternoon (whee!). But the fun began before he even arrived.

First, not fun – I didn’t post yesterday because I was so tired I felt practically brainless. I made it through school, and a meeting, and a night shift at work, but when I walked out into the snow at 9pm I burst into tears and proceeded to cry the whole way home! I knew it was insane but I just couldn’t stop. On the drive I even said aloud through my tears, “you are crazy cakes, cut it out before you get pulled over.” Then I came home to the boys playing poker and I stayed up until midnight watching terrible made-for-tv movies and eating Easter candy. We have our final week of work coming up but I am going to do my damndest to catch up on sleep this next week.

Now, fun – we got to go indoor rock climbing this morning.

We bought a Groupon with another couple and even though Michelle and Patrick made Adam and me look like fat losers we all had a great time.

We were there for two hours before all four of us cried uncle. I was terrible, weak and flailing, but I loved every minute of it. I want to focus on arms for the next few months and then go back and try again.

We were near the “good” Wegmans so we stopped on the way home for lunch and grocery shopping.

Fried food abounded but I managed to put together a healthy lunch. Chicken pot stickers.

Asian style veggies, brussels sprouts, butternut squash.

Pineapple, watermelon, and grapes.

And then we shopped and I didn’t buy Ben and Jerry’s because they didn’t have the new Greek yogurt flavors and I’ve decided that next week I’m going to buy like a million flavors of B&J’s so my freezer is full of choices.

After decorating my blog with run-on sentences (see above) I decorated the apartment for Easter (see below).

I can’t wait until we live in a grown-up house and I can really decorate for holidays. The main thing holding me back now is the lack of storage space for decorations.

For dinner we broadened my brother-in-law’s horizons and took him to the Indian place. He’s a fan! Adam and I split a mango lassi.

And we had paneer pakora (fried cheese) to start.

I ate what’s shown plus another half piece with sauce.

For my main meal I ordered extra-spicy chicken vindaloo which came with rice and a side of veggies.

Here were my servings –

I also ate all of the veggies minus the potatoes and a small piece of stolen naan.

After dinner the boys dropped me off at home alone. The reason my BIL came into town this weekend was to see The Wrath of the Titans with Adam. The plan was for me to stay home and get some work done but instead I took a freezing walk and made Katie’s Chocolate Toffee Pretzels.

But the night’s not over yet; I may do some work or drink a beer or both!

Resolutions Check In: March

Um. Meh? Not a good month. But on the plus side I did identify a few things that are holding me back.

1. Workout a minimum of three times per week.

Fail. Total fail. I have an old issue with my foot that has been a problem lately and my foot hurts and it’s numb and it’s scary but really that’s no excuse. I did my typical routine of “Oh, I can’t run? Guess I better sit on my ass and do nothing.” I think, thankfully, that I can run again now though. My specific goal for April is to workout every Monday of this month. I need to get my weeks off to a better start.

2. Continue to read at least one book a month, for a minimum total of 30 books this year.

13. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

Win. I wish I had read more but I fulfilled the minimum and I’m well on my way to 30 books this year. Plus I adored The Hunger Games.

3. Put the time and effort into my school work that I can be proud of each week.

Pass. I got a 98% on my stats test and I scored well above the average on my other exams. But I haven’t been working ahead as much as I’d like.

4. Continue working on being a positive person.

Pass. My specific goal was the March Back Home No Take-out Challenge. We met our goal but we only did the challenge for three weeks which isn’t all that impressive. For April – eat breakfast every day. I know how important breakfast is but lately it’s been eating lost in the shuffle. I’ll be happier and healthier if I at least shove half a Lara Bar into my backpack.

29Mar2012

One In The Hand…

by Emily

…is worth two the in the bush. Or $1 if you’re holding a silver dollar. Or a quick blurb if you’re reading this post. What I’m trying to say is, pictures in this blog post will be accompanied by a quick blurb. I’m tired.

Our larders are bare and as I said, I’m tired, so today’s meals were tricky. My food consumption was very strange, fairly processed, and eaten entire by hand (minus two dishes by chopstick). I ate small bits consistently throughout the day and that seemed to work. It wasn’t the healthiest day of all time but for this day I’m pretty proud of how I did.

A Cappuccino Lara Bar.

Always a favorite. I’m amazed every time I eat this at how well they managed to balance the coffee flavor so that it’s not too intense.

The final two Buttered Rum Raisin Cookies.

So sad to see these good, they are for sure in my top five recipes list.

Note – I also had a large handful of unphotographed Reese’s Pieces. We used them for a problem in Statistics and then were allowed to nibble.

Trader Joe’s Wasabi Roasted Seaweed Snack.

This was good but super spicy; I was crying before I was even halfway through. Crunchy, spicy, and a bit strange means this was something I loved; I really wish I had bought more. And for 30 calories you were snacking for a long while, definitely a volume food.

A Pepsi Next.

This 60 calorie soda is Pepsi’s answer to Coke Zero. Sadly I wasn’t a fan, it tasted too much like regular Pepsi to me (duh, Emily!). If you enjoy regular soda but want to cut back on calories you should probably check it out. I wish they would make a regular soda that simply contained less sugar, rather using fake sugars. I love the flavor of diet but know that I could do without the chemicals.

A Mango Passion & Banana Buddy Fruit packet.

I love these so much! One pack equals one serving of fruit and the blend was delicious.

A mini pretzel bagel with some of the leftover cheese from last night’s cheese plate.

It’s hard to go wrong with the pretzel and smoked Gouda combo. Eating these side-by-side rather than sandwich style felt gloriously simple.

A So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk box.

Meh, I prefer the Silk Vanilla Almond Milk. I like the idea a vegan milk box though and I’ve had this product in chocolate in the past and enjoyed it more.

Dinner was eaten by chopstick and gets no blurb. Seaweed salad and a brown rice veggie sushi roll.

What can I really say about that?

But dessert? Oh my gosh, dessert. A Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Bar filled with Speculoos Cookie Spread.

Why didn’t I buy more of these?! I am kicking myself now. The chocolate was creamy and a little bit bitter, the filling was sweet and gritty, and I was basically swooning. I actually did buy two bars but I gave one to a friend who’s similar obsessed with Biscoff and I’m feeling pretty darn generous right about now. But I do, at least, have a jar of TJ’s Cookie Butter waiting for me.

What was the best thing you ate today?

28Mar2012

Tired Haus 3

by Emily

Man, oh man, am I tired! My insomnia seems to be coming back but for now I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the problem is just the vacation/visiting/excitement. It’s my mom’s last day in town and we are heading to the airport at 4am.

On a short walk with the dog, Starbucks dopio espresso with the rest of the cup filled to the rim with skim milk.

Wegman’s hot bar for lunch with my mom.

Veg – roasted veggies, asparagus salad, a piece of chili garlic eggplant.

Protein – a piece of fried tofu and 2 steamed chicken dumplings.

I had to go to two classes today but this afternoon we took a nice walk down Elmwood.

A pear was eaten on the walk,

along with two Buttered Rum Raisin Cookies.

Plus two more cookies that snuck into my mouth while I was in the container.

During our walk we also stopped at Organic 3 Cafe for juice.

My custom blend was carrot, cucumber, double spinach.

We headed back to Lagerhaus 95 for my mom’s final meal in Buffalo. Good food was eaten, with lots of sharing. Basil truffle fries.

These were fine as far as fries go but not amazing; nothing like the truffle fries here.

Haus Cheese Board.

The four cheeses were provolone, smoked gouda, dill havarti, and a sheep’s milk cheese. It was good, but that’s obvious because it’s cheese.

And speaking of cheese, I got the special for dinner – Crispy Duck Mac and Cheese.

The mac was made with smoked gouda and was topped with panko, truffle oil, crispy duck, and goldfish crackers for crunch.

Mmmmmn! Smoked gouda is always a win and the goldfish ended up being surprisingly nice. I usually shy away from duck but I did enjoy the few bites I took that included it; it was a lot like beef jerky! I finished half of the dish or so and the husband is very excited to have the rest for dinner tomorrow.

I also had a few bites of his truffled wild mushroom panini.

And we split a side salad with lemon caper vinaigrette.

The dressing was good but my salad was missing the herbs from last time. All in all it was a fun “last” meal. Quite decadent too, what with all the cheese and truffle oil!

And now I’m getting up in 5 hour so I should skedaddle!

28Mar2012

Window Shopping Wednesdays

by Emily

I am not much of a shopper, much to my mother’s chagrin. The woman can spend days at the mall, while I start to feel itchy after just a few hours. It’s not that I’m not materialistic, I totally am, it’s just that the thought of adding more stuff to my life makes it hard to breathe. But I like the idea of things. So I’m an avid window shopper. I browse catalogs I’ll never buy from and hold my breathe when I pass the window at J.Crew. So while I’m stuck at school all day Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog. Let’s window shop!

1. The Vinyl Record cutting board from Joseph Jospeh.

Totally unnecessary but totally cute. I’d probably use it to serve appetizers rather than in the kitchen. Maybe fruit fondue dippers because of the banana?

2. Chocolate Chunk Shortbread from Salem Baking.

I think a shortbread obsession might be my newest thing. These just look so crumbly! And this company bakes with natural ingredients and no trans fats.

3. The Base Camp Ballet shoes from North Face.

These may not be quite as cute as other ballet flats (though they are still pretty darn cute!), but I bet they are a heck of a lot more comfortable! North Face has never served me wrong with durability and function either.

4. Bananas Foster Ready-to-Eat Cheesecake from Bananappeal.

Holy frick, is this a thing now?! 1. Bananappeal is the cutest name ever. 2. Best concept ever – everything is made with bananas and comes in an adorable jar. Here’s what they say about this flavor: “Our creamy signature banana cheesecake is sandwiched between a brown sugar shortbread crust and a layer of cinnamon rum caramel whipped cream.” Now please!

5. The owl peephole cover from Basic French.

Again, not necessary but oh-so-cute. There’s nothing wrong with gussying up your front door. If Janetha ever comes to visit I need one of these.

What are you coveting this week?

28Mar2012

Triple “O” Long

by Emily

Today was a lo-o-ong day! Out of the house from 9 am to 11 pm; whew. Not necessarily an exciting day, just a busy one. Class –> driving my mom to the mall –> clinic –> picking my mom up from the mall –> work –> Target for Easter basket goodies, the one fun stop of the day. I felt bad abandoning my guest all day but she did apparently have a very fun dinner at Moe’s with the husband.

Since our fridge is beyond bare and I was basically too busy to eat all day this recap will be quick. I ate a Peanut Honey Pretzel Luna Bar during Statistics.

It was good but not ridiculously good like I was expecting it to be.

And I inhaled a sandwich from the campus book store before work.

“Bourbon maple turkey, cheddar cheese, and herb and spinach spread on a whole wheat lavish bread.”

And a Starbucks Double Shot Energy in Coffee was split with the husband.

I’m a fan.

Tomorrow bring on all the food, especially the produce!

26Mar2012

Miles To Go Before I Sleep

by Emily

Technically the miles were already traveled but sleep somehow feels very far and very urgent! I had some great bites today but I’m going to keep my descriptions quick in favor of bed.

Breakfast – cereal mix with vanilla almond milk.