Do you have a preference for tableware and/or flatware? Whenever possible, I eat out of a bowl, preferably with chopsticks. Probably because it’s easier to chase every last bite when the food can’t roll off of the plate! All of my dinners this week were delicious and I think it’s not a coincidence that they were all served in bowls.
breakfast
This was a weird week for me, I ate breakfast – as in chewable breakfast, not just tons of milk in my coffee – almost every day.
Sonja apple.
String cheese and my last mango coconut almond thin. {p.s. Kate won the giveaway!}
String cheese and a KIND Salted Caramel Popped Bar. <– very tasty and packs 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein for 140 calories thanks to the blend of whole grains.
Don’t get me wrong, there was coffee too! This one was TJ’s cold-brew with skim milk and toasted marshmallow syrup.
And this monster was a Starbucks reward freebie that I took full advantage of – venti skim iced latte with extra espresso.
lunch
Yogurt bowls for the win. Adam and I are both head over heels for the KIND granola.
Plain Fage Greek yogurt with KIND granola and red plum and yellow nectarine. Plus a serving of Lindt Pink Explosion on the side.
Honey Fage with blueberries and TJ’s bran flakes.
And Tuesday I had catered lunch thanks to a malnutrition policy education that I attended. Dessert was chocolate-covered marzipan that a sweet coworker snuck to me.
snack
A picture’s worth a thousand words. Apparently I was all about the freeze-dried produce.
dinner
Another reason we both like bowl-style meals is that it’s nice to have our grain/protein/veggie components layered together rather than served in separate piles on a plate. I like to get a little bit of each flavor in every bite.
Honey-chipotle chicken Chipotle style bowls.
This week’s dinners had a lot of components so I’m going to break them down bullet-point-style.
sautéed local Satur Farms energy greens – aka a kale, spinach, etc mix
sautéed onions and green peppers with cilantro and lime
TJ’s Cuban-style black beans
pan-fried chicken breasts that were marinated overnight in chipotles in adobo, honey, evoo, lime juice, sherry, minced garlic, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper
avocado
shredded cheese / low-fat sour cream / cilantro
We were out of the onion and pepper mix for day 2’s leftovers so instead I served all of the other components on top of big bowls of kale and broccoli sautéed with garlic and lime. Still good! We decided that my version was almost as good as Chipotle.
Our rice bowls were a more Asian-inspired. They would have been better with a runny egg on top but I was pleased with how incredibly juicy the chicken came out.
brown jasmine rice
browned mushrooms
roasted broccoli
baked chicken that was marinated overnight in soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, Sriracha, canola oil, lime juice, sugar, and minced ginger
bok choy, celery, green onion, and cilantro sautéed with a bit of the sauce from the chicken
Even on my night out I ate dinner in a bowl. I met friends at Hanoi and ordered the Veggie Spring Roll Bun – room temperature vermicelli, lettuce, cucumber, scallion oil, shallot, peanut, fresh herb, and nuoc cham sauce.
Would you have guessed that there would literally be a chopped up spring roll on top of the dish? We were surprised, but agreed that it was darn tasty. The best part of the meal was dessert though. Maple soft-serve from Corner of Vermont.
We ate our ice cream on a leisurely walk down 5th ave in Park Slope and the whole thing felt wonderfully summery!
*free sample courtesy of Nonni’s, scroll down to the last section for more info
(2) Smoothie. Hint of Honey almond milk with frozen blackberries, raspberries, and dates.
(3) Cold brew. Coffee concentrate cut with skim milk and maple water.
Tops 3 Lunches
(1) Thanks, Starbucks. A cherry, granola, and yogurt bowl that was quite tasty.
Plus a Almond Coconut KIND bar. An Airhead might have snuck in there too!
(2) Starbucks again. <– I didn’t have it super together this week. But their kale chicken Caesar salad is damn good.
(3) Apples and oats. Quaker Apple Walnut Oatmeal topped with Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter with TJ’s freeze-dried Fuji apples on the side.
Top 3 Desserts
(1) Better than a brownie. Lindt’s caramel brownie bar.
(2) Hot fudge root beer floats.
(3) Shake, shake, shake. We had a tub of vanilla ice cream in the freezer and we weren’t afraid to use it.
Bourbon In My Coffee Breakfast Shake* = 1 cup vanilla ice cream, 2 oz maple bourbon, 2 oz iced coffee concentrate, 1 cup Frosted Flakes; serves 2.
*not actually consumed at breakfast
Top 3 Dinners
(1) Chipotle. My salad was on point – chicken, cheese, corn, sautéed veggies, mild salsa, green tomatillo salsa, and sour cream.
(2) More “Mexican” food.
Green chile and cheese pupusas. Now I need to get my hands on my first fresh pupusa.
Sautéed arugula tossed with avocado and crumbled kale chips.
(3) Asian-inspired. Every piece of this meal came out of our freezer but it was still one of the best of the week.
TJ’s chicken and vegetable goyza.
Frozen broccoli, celery, and spring onions that I cooked in canola oil then gussied up with a quick sauce (brown sugar, chicken broth, fish sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha, cornstarch) and some crushed peanuts.
Plus 1 Giveaway!
As I mentioned above, I was sent a free sample of the newest flavor of Nonni’s THINaddictives – Mango Coconut.
They are completely addictive – the perfect balance between chewy and crunchy and not too sweet to eat with breakfast (they have 100 calories per pack of three). I ate them with pretty much every meal this week.
Nonni’s gave me a chance to share the love with you guys too – Simply leave comment on this post before 10 am EST on Tuesday, June 9th for a chance to win your own box.
Not feeling lucky? In celebration of the new flavor, Nonni’s THINaddictives is hosting Summer Giveaway on Facebook – 50 winners will be selected to receive a free box of the new Mango Coconut THINaddictives. There is also a $1 off coupon under their coupon tab.
Once we got home from St. Thomas (a week ago now,) our vacation turned into a staycation and the fun continued. We got in a bunch of cuddle time with Webster, caught up on tv, and spent three straight days walking and eating. On Friday we walked 6+ miles around the Upper West Side in one afternoon. I know this post is running late, but that is because it is GIANT. By sharing everything, leaving lots of leftovers, and through sheer force of will, Adam and I managed to try a ton of the restaurants on our “to-eat” list during our last days spring vacation. I know I say that 8 different things in this post are “the best,” but I’m not exaggerating, these spots were all really outstanding.
BAOHAUS
Baohaus serves some of the most inventive buns in the city. We’ve gotten the Coffin Bao with fried chicken and chili sweetened condensed milk in the past and it was on point. This trip we stuck with the Birdhaus – All natural fried chicken brined 24 hours, served with Haus Seasoning Salt, lemon-garlic aioli, crushed peanuts, Taiwanese red sugar, and cilantro.
Plus tea from the shop next door.
My milk tea had boba, grass jelly, and pudding.
Bibble & Sip
B&S is an adorable little llama-adorned coffee shop on 8th ave just south of the park. The baked goods looked great but we honed in on the lavender latte. The floral flavor was perfectly balanced by the (skim)milk, though I wish we had gotten iced.
Chuko Ramen
Chuko is a modern-looking ramen spot in Prospect Heights. This was actually our first official ramen experience, but I’m still feeling pretty confident in saying that this is the best in Brooklyn.
Every dish had such umami. We started with a shrimp bun with garlic tartar sauce.
And crispy Brussels sprouts with fish sauce, peanuts, and pickled jalopeños. The crunchy leaves were to die for.
I got the veggie miso ramen with chicken, though they had the option to go full vegetarian.
It was ridiculous. The noodles were chewy, the broth was robust (and vegetarian!), and the poached chicken was unbelievable soft. It came topped with sweet corn, greens in truffle oil, mushrooms, a soft-boiled egg, and chili oil. This bowl was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted so it tells you a lot about the generous portion size that I couldn’t finish it.
Corner of Vermont
Corner of Vermont is a little shop on 5th in Park Slope that is Buddy the Elf’s dream – everything they sell is laced with maple syrup. Black Bear Sugarworks‘ divinely smoky and complex maple syrup. We were swooning over everything we tried, even the little cups of straight syrup they hand you at the door. Adam got an amazing maple soft-serve and I got a maple soda.
Plus we had a maple bear, the single best piece of maple sugar candy I’ve ever tasted. The fantastic syrup gave it a great start, but also because the candy was so fresh the mouthfeel was perfect – the candy held up to the bite and then melted in your mouth.
Dough
These doughnuts are ubiquitous at this point – they sell them at Whole Foods and my hospital’s tiny coffee counter – but they are worth the treck to Fort Greene because they are a trillion times tastier straight from the source. The dough is slightly sweet and not too dense and the glaze on my salted caramel chocolate was ridiculously chewy and deeply dark chocolate-y.
Grand Central Station
Café Grumpy makes us anything but grumpy, they have one of our all-time favorite expressos. My skim macchiato was great.
And the giant salted caramel macaron I paired with it also put a smile on my face.
Hibino
Hibino is a gorgeous sushi spot in Cobble Hill with a great selection of (many local varieties of) seafood and tofu that they make in-house. I got an iced roasted barley tea which was unsweetened and very refreshing.
We got seaweed salad which came with wakame and red and green seaweed. Adam loved it but I could not do the unseasoned seaweed; there are very few vegetables I don’t like but red seaweed now tops the list.
Of course we tried the the cold house-made tofu, which came with scallions, ginger, and dashi (a kombu, or kelp, broth). The tofu was strangely flavorless and very creamy.
And I went with the vegetable roll for dinner.
The orange piece on the left was me being brave and trying uni – raw sea urchin! It was good, very velvety.
Nunu Chocolates Café & Tap Room
Nunu is a Brooklyn-based chocolate company that makes a caramel bar I’ve been obsessed with for years. Their newest location is Park Slope serves homemade chocolates, Blue Bottle coffee, and a pretty decent selection of draft beers.
They also offer a chocolate and beer pairing, which is what we came in for.
I am sad that I didn’t take notes because we loved every bite and sip but at this point I can’t remember what anything was. Surprisingly, our favorite thing was a spicy beer that Nunu collaborated on with a local brewery.
Pure Thai Cookhouse
PTC is a Hell’s Kitchen spot with delicious, authentic Thai food. Serious Eats raved about it and it’s been my Thai go-to since trip one. The space is tiny but the vibe is casual and the service is crazy quick. Their noodles are great, but I went with a rice-based special, Kao Ob Talay.
Steamed jasmine rice with crabmeat, jumbo shrimp, taro root, shitake mushroom, onion, scallion, cilantro, ginger, and garlic soy sauce.
The bites with sweet crabmeat and chewy shitake were take-your-breath-away good.
Schmackary’s
Schmackary’s is a cookie bakery and coffee shop in the Theatre District. Their menu changes daily/seasonally and includes spectacular things like s’mores, sweet corn and bacon, and blueberry cobbler. We got a butter pecan that was legit the best purchased cookie I’ve ever tasted – browned butter / toasted pecans / butterscotch.
They serve it with a doughnut and a pickle! I’ve wanted maple snow candy try ever since I read about the Chippewa doing it in Caddie Woodlawn.
{2} Brunch at Bareburger.
I got a bellini.
And a Guapo Chop salad – romaine, queso fresco, pickled jalopeños, spicy pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla chips, and avocado basil dressing. Plus there were gorgeous watermelon beet slices on top.
Plus cold-brew, obviously.
It wasn’t as amazing as the first time but you can’t beat that cup.
Pecan pie and toasted marshmallow for me. It was amazing, second only to Ample Hills.
{4} Cookies!
Chocolate chip mug cookie.
Taro mochi.
I put it in the fridge and it was extra chewy and wonderful.
{5} We finally found good Chinese take-out in our neighborhood.
The take-out options around us are all pretty abysmal, but when a new spot popped up on GrubHub we decided to give it a try. I got bean jelly noodles with chili oil and sour and spicy cucumber.
They were delicious and we would totally order from there again.
We bought tons eggs and dye for Easter this year, and of course, never did a darn thing with them. The dye is in our “holidays bin” for next year, but the eggs had to be cooked. And so, I enjoyed hard-boiled eggs as a meal almost every day this week.
I was also all about the Cara Cara oranges and Medjool dates. It’s starting to taste like summer!
stuff
I started Ruth Reichl’s first autobiography on the train and I think I’m in love.
She is so funny, and I love any story about food!
We were insanely busy at work all week and I’m dying. That’s why this post is a day late (and is short about 10 more coffee and candy pictures), because I did sessions with 18 patients on Friday – many of them with gestational diabetes – and when I got home I just wanted to lie down.
breakfast
I made an awesome cold-brew blend this week: Community Coffee French Roast and BRC Peru with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice.
But this triple – chocolate oatmeal bowl wins a close second.
Rolled oats with a heaping Tbsp of hot chocolate mix, chocolate-covered cocoa nibs, and dark chocolate chips.
And this busy day “lunch” was a loser. Vanilla soy milk at 11 am.
And Easter candy at 4pm when there was finally a lull.
dinner
Omg. Kids! I made the tastiest stroganoff-inspired noodle bowls ever. Adam and I could not get over them.
Served in heaping scoops on egg pappardelle.
Yummy Stroganoff-ish Pasta, serves 4
Heat 1 Tbsp evoo in a large skillet over high-medium heat. Add 20 ounces sliced white mushrooms, and a big pinch of salt, and cook until the mushrooms have lost their juices and browned, stirring regularly (10 – 13 minutes). Deglaze the pan with a healthy pour of cream sherry. Remove mushrooms from pan and reduce heat to medium-high, adding an additional Tbsp evoo if needed.
Add 1 lb lean ground turkey and two large shallots, chopped to the pan. Season with pepper and 1 Tbsp smoked paprika. Cook 5 minutes, stirring regularly and breaking up the meat into small pieces with the side of your spatula. Stir in 1/2 Tbsp ground garlic, 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce, and 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Continue to cook, stirring regularly, until meat is cooked through (5 – 7 more minutes).
Reduce heat to low and stir in 3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream.
Serve on top of pasta of choice.
The leftovers were still great.
Served on top of spinach salad. Plus, those of us who can eat chocolate had Lindt caramels for dessert.
We had cobb salad.
Baby spinach with balsamic / roasted asparagus / turkey bacon / avocado / TJ’s cave-aged blue cheese / hard-boiled eggs.
And egg salad.
Eggs with shredded carrot, chopped green pepper, mayo, pickle relish, garlic mustard, dill, tumeric, smoked paprika, and s & p. With great seeded crackers my parents sent us for Easter.
And roasted broccoli and green beans.
Egg salad is good – and I wasn’t even tired of eggs yet! – but roasted green beans are always the best part.
Who else has obsessively binge-watched their way though the entire first season of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” already? We finished the whole thing over the weekend. We loved it! I’m considering a rewatch. I hate the two trial episodes – I thought they were god-awful, truly some of the worst television I’ve ever seen – but I adored everything preceding them. The 10 second concept makes my life. Unsurprisingly, this is another smart and funny win from Tina Fey.
The theme song has permanently ear-wormed its way into my brain.
Related, Lisa – Born Round was amazing!
I read it on the train and then would sit in my car in the parking lot for at least 20 minutes each night to keep reading. I’m pretty sure Bruni should be giving TED Talks for all would-be crash dieters, emotional eaters, and aspiring journalists.
breakfast
I did the chocolate milk and iced coffee combo two days in a row.
Paired with a Special K protein bar both days.
Not the best bars – for taste or ingredient list – but they were free in the cafeteria and I had some extra morning hunger this week.
Another day I did hot chocolate mix in hot coffee with a lot of milk on top.
So basically just the lukewarm version of my chocolate milk and coffee.
My breakfast plan for St. Patrick’s Day was a green smoothie. Then I hit the snooze button and the plan was iced coffee with green dye in my milk. Then I hit the snooze button five more times and I barely managed to get coffee, ice, and boring plain milk into my cup.
…and then I also got Starbucks once I got off of the train.
I usually don’t let myself do two coffees in the morning, but I had stayed in bed until literally 10 minutes before I needed to be in the car so clearly it was a double coffee kind of morning. And yes, mom, I fixed my hat hair before I saw patients.
lunch
Thankfully the cafeteria totally came through and helped me get some green-theme on St. Paddy’s Day.
My bagel was topped with pepperjack, sliced turkey, mayo, mustard, and frisee lettuce. Plus baked onion rings on the side.
Blood orange Fage with Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes and blackberries and a fresh mandarin orange on the side.
I can’t believe I had only ever eaten canned mandarins up until this year, they are my new favorite citrus.
Tart cherry Noosa with coconut butter, homemade butterscotch peanut butter, and a Pinata apple.
We are loving the new 4 oz Noosa packs. Noosa is Adam’s top favorite yogurt – in fact it’s one of his favorite foods in general – but the original packages were a bit too large to enjoy on the go.
Vanilla-caramel yogurt with blackberries and 18 Rabbits caramel apple granola.
I loved the flavor of the grass-fed yogurt but I’d still be a little nervous about trying it plain.
snack
Popcorn / all-time best Easter candy / beer…
All good.
A small but gourmet sandwich.
Toasted whole-wheat with Applegate Farm herb sliced turkey, mayo, and leftover carmelized onions.
Weird pasta salad from the cafeteria.
Why do they keep putting croutons in pasta??
An Austrian iced coffee.
Aka coffee (delicious Grady’s cold-brew in this case) with ice, (skim) milk, and (vanilla-caramel) ice cream.
dinner
Asian-style baked shrimp bowls.
From the bottom up, I filled my casserole with quartered bok choy, sliced wild mushrooms, chopped orange and yellow bell pepper, shrimp, fish sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, canola oil, and Sriracha. Then I baked it for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
Served on top of brown rice cooked in chicken stock.
Leftover bbq salads.
Spicy, local arugula topped with bbq sauce, cucumber, avocado, bell pepper, caramelized onions, and TJ’s fire-roasted corn cooked with turkey bacon.
These were some of the best salads we’ve made in months.
The next night I did a 180 from salads and made my grandma’s recipe for an awesomely retro chicken and rice casserole.
Complete with condensed soups, chow mein noodles, and crushed chips on top. I swapped half of the rice for shredded cauliflower but otherwise did not healthy it up at all.
Served with green beans baked with fish sauce, honey, Sriracha, and evoo.
We ate casserole the next night too.
And we will probably been eating casserole the next few nights as well!
Hope everyone has a great weekend, good luck getting that song out of your head!
Eating Chalk 