Greens, Beans, and Time Machines

I am officially caught up with school and ready to take my final exam tomorrow 🙂 I’ve definitely disliked being blog-neglectful, I can’t wait to get back into a schedule after the move is over.  For now, even though I love you it’s got to be another quickie (TWSS!).

 Breakfast/lunch were sort of spread out in three courses throughout the morning and afternoon.  I managed to get enough to eat, but consume in shifts that allowed me to study.  #1 A big bowl of fresh watermelon chunks.

#2 A serving of Barbara’s Shredded Oats topped with Silk Almond Milk and blueberries.

By the by, I hear a lot of people talking about binging on cereal and if you are one of those folks I highly recommend this stuff.  It is not very tasty dry from the box but fantasmic with some Silk Almond Milk.

#3 A long overdue green monster; 1frozen banana, 1cup frozen spinach, 1cup calcium + vitamin d oj.

When Adam got home this evening we played hookey from moving and instead took a long walk.  Our long walk was supposed to be an hour or so, to the ice cream store and back.  Instead we fell into a pointless fight and spent hours huffing and crying (who me?  I’m not stressed about moving!).  Don’t pointless fights just feel like you accidentally fell into some sort of time machine?  It’s like you can’t even believe how late it is when it’s over.  We did make it to the ice cream store eventually, but they were closed.  So instead we split a slice of melty pizza to hold us over for late dinner.

The husband had chicken to use up and I made myself a Mexican bowl of sorts.

Into the skillet went 2tsp evoo, chopped shallot, a small chopped potato, half of a chopped green pepper, black beans, 1egg and 2egg whites, 2T shredded cheddar, salt and tons of paprika.

I also had some green bean fries on the side.

It is late late late, Futurama–> bed –> goodnight!

Do you ever have pointless fights with your SO or do you bottle up your emotions and save them for times that actually count?

P.S. I also enjoyed a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lara Bar, yum!

Put Another Veggie on the Barbie

Our day just got better and better 😀

After my bike ride I grabbed a small bowl of fresh fruit for breakfast.

Melon, blueberry, raspberry, grape.

Then the family set off toward the 2nd Street Market –

It ended up reminding me of a mash-up between a farmers’ market and Quincy Market in Boston.  We didn’t end up buying a whole lot, but we did see all sorts of neat things.

I did “lunch” in bites.  My dad and I bought a pint of cherries to split.

Adam gave me one of his grape leaves.

And I ate a pack of Bananamon Funky Monkey.

After the market we did shopping that was even more my style.  We went to Trader Joe’s to stock up on Sun Butter and then to Dick’s where I got my birthday gift early – new running shoes!!!  I can’t wait to start breaking those bad boys in!

On the way home we stopped at George’s (like Dairy Queen, but owned by a family friend, and better) so the husband could demolish a double cheeseburger and chocolate malt.  I went with a much more reasonable extra small grape/strawberry slushie.

This was one of the times I appreciated the vegan challenge; George’s has a long blizzards list and besides the fact that I really don’t need a huge ice-cream choosing a flavor gives me anxiety 😉

I did finish up dessert with a small serving of gummi cola bottles at home though.

Dinner was the first time this month that the vegan challenge was actually a challenge.  My grandparents adore Outback so that’s where we went, but my options were beyond limited.  I ended up ordering three sides.

Side salad (no cheese, no croutons) with balsamic vinegar.

Side of steamed veggies.

Side of french fries.

Not the healthiest meal by any stretch.  I rounded it out with some fresh watermelon when we got home.

Adam and I just got our butts kicked at Euker and now it’s bedtime.  We’ve got an early morning tomorrow before we head back to Buffalo, see you at home!

When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip

I’ve been pretty productive since last posting… For example, while I ate my watermelon (❤) I watched an episode of “The Dollhouse.”  I discovered it this weekend and I’m in love; why do I always discover shows after they’ve gone off the air?!?  Meanwhile, Adam and I split a serving of Salsa Kathy’s Krackers.

How gorgeous is that?

Also, I joined Adam for a trip to the gym.  Since I’m turning 25 in a month I don’t think my incidental exercise walks are going to cut it by themselves.  I did an easy season on the treadmill (remind me that I’m NOT to run for more than 15minutes until next week!), that was actually not that easy.  Can we say out of shape?

  • 5minutes walking warm up
  • (3minutes running + 2minutes walking) x 3 = 12minutes intervals
  • 6minutes running
  • 4minutes walking

I ended up covering 2.5miles in my 30minutes.  Then I finished up with some stretching and pt.

Post-shower I made a delightful, dippable dinner.  Boco Meatless Nuggets,

oven roasted yellow squash, zucchini, and potato.

All together, with honey mustard dipping sauce.

I was still feeling hungry after dinner, probably because my day was pretty light on proteins and fats, so I made myself a revolutionary snack.

Protein pudding sans icky fake protein powder – into the blender went

  • 1 large banana
  • 1 serving silken tofu
  • 1T maple syrup
  • 1T peanut butter

And finally, I worked on my oral presentation for Thursday.  I actually have a test tomorrow but I’ll work on that in the morning 😉

Now I’m going to go accomplish bedtime.

What is your favorite dipping sauce?  Mine is 1000island, with everything!

Full of Fruit

So far my meals today have been about the lower half of the food pyramid.  I tallied it up and realized that I’ve eaten six servings of fruit via breakfast and lunch!

Breakfast – eaten on the drive to school – was a tasty waffle sandwich.

1/2 a sliced banana, ~1T smear of sun butter, and a drizzle of maple syrup sandwiched between 2 Van’s Buckwheat and Berries waffles.

This was my first waffle sandwich and I think I’m a fan.  It could have used a bit of jelly though.

After class I got in my 2.5miles of incidental exercise walking.  I stopped at The Spot halfway to read and eat the first half of lunch there.  A bag of Apple-2-the-core Peeled Snacks,

and a bag of Carnival Mix Funky Monkey.

It was kind of an unorthodox snack, but the fruity mix of chewy and crunchy helped to keep my full while I worked.

Once I got home out of the steam I made a bowl of my new favorite.

A plain Whole Soy yogurt topped with watermelon chunks.

I want to give you guys an opportunity to od on fruits as well!

Peeled Snacks has graciously offered to send one of my readers an Organic Fruit Picks Variety Pack.  The giveaway runs from today until Friday (June 25th).  To enter to win –

  1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite type of fruit.
  2. For a 2nd/3rd entry – link back to this post from your blog and/or Twitter account and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so 

Funky Mood to Funky Monkey

I ate 75% of my meals yesterday out of the house, which made it particularly annoying that I forgot my camera at home.  Hence yesterday’s missing post.  To be completely honest my funky mood hasn’t fully cleared up either.  I’m betting it has something to do with my lack of exercise; not moving makes me cranky!  I know that I have so so so so so much to do this week that planning formal exercise isn’t realistic, so I’m trying to have the husband drive me as much as possible so I get the 2.5mile walk home.

Today was one of those days I walked.  Since I had 1.5hours to sit at school and read before class I get breakfast there.

Not to worry, I’m still vegan, that leftover yogurt container housed a sliced up mango and a nectarine.

I also brought a ONE Coconut Water with Passionfruit to drink.

I did not love the taste of the coconut water, although I did finish it.  I’ve loved ONE in the past so I’m inclined to think that I prefer the good old simplicity of plain.

After class I walked home, stopping halfway at The Spot to finish up a Sociology chapter.  While finishing my walk I munched on a pack of Funky Monkey Purple Funk.

Thank goodness I had a snack to hold me over for my late late lunch!

Said lunch was made as soon as I got home.

A veggie skillet of half an eggplant, 1/2cup of frozen peas, and chilli garlic sauce.

The husband just called to say he’d be home late (i.e. late dinner) so I guess my late lunch was a blessing in disguise.

P.S. It’d been a while since I had the chilli garlic sauce, insanity spicy!  I cooled my mouth down with a glass of So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk,

and some salt and vinegar chips.

Phew!

What are your thoughts on coconut water?  I pretty much adore coconut in any form.

Noteworthy Nibbles

Most of today was spent at the nearby amusement park, Darien Lake.  We had a fabulous time (and season passes, so we’ll be back soon!) but it was raining when we left so I didn’t bring my camera.  Since I don’t have pictures of everything I’m going to take a page from Cait’s plate book and just do the highlights.

(1) Breakfast = Van’s Homestyle Pancakes with homemade Banana Roux and a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar.

The pancakes were good, but the Banana Roux might just  be my most genius idea of all time.  You can click the title for the recipe page, but this batch used Smart Balance Light and Silk Almond Milk.

Note – yesterday’s Berry Breakfast Topper has its own recipe page as well.

(2) Dessert, homemade milkless milkshake.

Genius + more genius = holy frick this is amazing!  I took Diana’s maple slushie idea and made it into a milkshake.  Into my blender went 1serving silken tofu, half a tray of ice-cubes, 1cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk, and 1/3cup maple syrup.

 Yum!

What were some of the highlights from your weekend?

Ecstasy and Irony

I haven’t been all that impressed with my Sociology class.  I like the content a lot because it’s so similar to Anthropology, but my classmates aren’t exactly honor students.  Therefore, I’m always kind of torn about what to wear to class because I don’t like “wasting” a cute outfit.  Sometimes I just go with it though –

Looking spiffy just for me (and the husband during our carpool time) is worth it because it puts a smile on my face.  Today’s awesomeness went far beyond the outfit though ….. Note – this post is filled with bragging and over-excitement; you’ve been warned.

Perhaps today was extra awesome because breakfast was so tasty.  This combo rocks my socks off –

I topped my bowl of Kashi Strawberry Fields and Silk Pure Almond milk with a big handful of blueberries.

Gaaah!  This is the best almond milk on earth.  It is thick and creamy and has none of the nasty aftertaste I’ve found with other brands.  This is also the best Kashi variety in the solar system.  The crispy flakes have achieved a level of perfection in the sweetness and the freeze-dried berries get the best consistency when they start to get soggy.

After I dropped the husband off (and he told me how cute I looked) I headed to school early to get my study on.  I like the subject matter, but apparently not enough to study for my test the night before.  And I really wanted to study in the hour before class, but mostly I just daydreamed about what I’m making for breakfast this weekend.  (It is important to my bragging that you note here that I didn’t exactly break a sweat studying for this test)

I also snacked on a serving of Apple Cinnamon Kathy’s Krackers.

Class went well.  We talked about deviancy and, oh yeah, I scored a 47/50 on my test.  Highest score in the class (most of the other grades were below a 30/50), go me!

After class I had some errands to run so I decided to combine grocery shopping and studying into one.  I picked up some Wegman’s hot bar and sat and read.

I tried to keep my portions pretty small to save $.  Asian bbq tofu and wok seared veggies.

The tofu was not awesome.  More like inedible; here’s what I ended up leaving on my plate –

Thank goodness I had a pack of Banan-a-peel Peeled Snacks in my purse.

They were super chewy and took me awhile to eat so I had time to feel full before I started shopping.

On the way home I developed a new workout plan: 1. Move to a neighborhood with terrible parking.  2. Purchase a humongous watermelon because it’s on sale for $3.99.  3. Trek from your parking space to your apartment carrying said watermelon.  Repeat as necessary 🙂

When I finally got myself home I discovered the other awesome excitement –

I think this wins for most ironic moment of vegan month!  A few months ago I submitted a recipe in a Foodbuzz contest and I won a year’s worth of free eggs!  I think that qualifies for a 2nd go me!!!!!  Our budget has been severely restricted for next year and this will definitely help our grocery bills.

Go ahead and brag, tell me why YOU are awesome!

Top it Off

I am leaving to pick up the husband in exactly 29minutes so I’ll try to do this Speedy Gonzalez style.

This morning had all the components to make me cranky – I overslept and I didn’t get a chance to read and I was dropping everything I picked up.  Does that ever happen to you?  I think the main reason I don’t really wear make-up is because I’m always irritating myself by dropping the brushes!  Nothing a big smoothie can’t fix though.

1 banana + 1cup frozen blackberries + 2T unsweetened shredded coconut + 1cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk + 1t xanthan gum + 6ice cubes = filled to the brim.

The coconutty flavor in this was awesome, I don’t think there’s anything that isn’t better with coconut.

We actually got our 1ominute break in soc today (hallelujah!) so I took the opportunity to snack on a bag of Peeled Snacks dried pineapple.

Best dried pineapple ever!  I don’t think I’ve ever seen dried pineapple sans added sugar before (maybe at Trader Joe’s?) but this bag was just fruit, and since it’s available at Starbucks I don’t need to make a trek to NYC to get more!

After class I stopped in at Cafe59 – the coffee shop on my street – to get caught up on my reading.  While I worked I ate a delicious salad for a late lunch.

For a set price, they offer a build-your-own salad in which you get to pick lettuce, dressing, and 5 toppings.  I adore BYO in general, but this might be one of my best combinations yet.  I choose romaine lettuce and balsamic dressing with sundried tomato, green olives, Portobello mushrooms, marinated zucchini, and roasted garlic.

The flavor combination was kind of fantastic.  The big pieces of roasted garlic really made it.

The husband and I have some fun plans for the evening, I’ve just got to go get him!

What are your favorite salad toppers?  I’m partial to carmelized nuts and goat cheese, mmmmn!