30 Days?

Since I last blogged… Adam was out-of-town on one of his very last trips this year (yay!) and I lived on the couch eating Chinese food and laughing so loudly at “30 Rock” that I hurt my throat.  We all had our parts to play.

I did occasionally peel off my his sweatpants, once to visit the hospital where I will be spending the next month.  The final semester of my Coordinated Program is full-time internship hours – though I will actually being taking a history class too, to finish up my graduation requirements.  The semester is split into thirds: 1 = clinical work at a major hospital, 2 = time in long-term care and independent work on a business plan, and 3 = placement of our choosing.

I chose a local children’s hospital so I could get more exposure to pediatric nutrition.  For the next four weeks, I’ll be at the hospital (M-F, 8-4:00), trying to soak up as much as I can.  I am so excited!  I’ll be sure to share more details tomorrow.

Since I have to spend the next month rejoining the world of the living – aka showering regularly and eating meals that wouldn’t make my classmates wince! – I figured I would try to knock off my 30 days of blogging goal.  We’ll see how long that lasts.

And my new camera?  I’m on the fence.  I’m missing the old version (I rebought the Sony Cybershot but in a newer model) and hoping that I’m just working my way through the learning curve.  For today, I forgot to resize the photos and editing this post took way too long. I’ll have to let the pictures speak for themselves and keep my descriptions short…

Cascadian Farm Berry Cobbler Granola with fresh blackberries and the last of the vanilla cashew milk.

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Argo Tea Hibiscus Tea Sangria.  <– so refreshing!

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Chocolate Crisp Bumble Bar.

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Spicy avocado brown rice inari.

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Smart Fries.

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Dinner.

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Chicken – cooked in the crock pot then shredded – tossed in my 1000 Island BBQ Sauce.

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Roasted green beans.

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An Alexia Artisan Sweet Potato Roll.

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A few words on the rolls, since Alexia sent them to me to review – we liked them.  I don’t know if I’d say loved, since potato bread isn’t one of my very favorites, but they were certinaly the best packaged bread product I’ve ever had.  The rolls were fluffy with a nice crust and while the flavor didn’t scream sweet potato there was definitely a little something extra there.  They were easy to cook (12 minutes in the oven) and each roll has 110 calories and 5 grams of protein.

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I spread a little Smart Balance Light on the split roll after I snapped the photo and I quite enjoyed it.

What’s your favorite type of bread?  Mine is sourdough, mmmn!

Lobster, And Marrow, And Boba, Oh My!

The past three days were the best of 2013, and I have so much to say.  We ended every day so exhausted/satisfied/full and blogging just felt like an impossible feat.  But how can I not blog two of my favorite meals in Buffalo?  I may not get to say as much as I’d like, but at least this post will help put my memories all in one place.  If I had to state the theme of this post succinctly, it would be – I really, deeply, emphatically love good food.

This weekend we were lucky enough to have a visit from some of my Maryland family, my aunt and one cousin.  They are some of the best people I know and I loved getting to share and explore Buffalo with them.

On the way to the airport, I drank a Zico Chocolate Coconut Water,

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and split a Cascadian Farm Crunchy Oats & Honey Granola Bar with the husband.

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When we got home I put out a little meze spread for lunch.

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Cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber with pink salt, baby carrots, Wegman’s roasted garlic hummus, and tamari almonds.

My plate, x2:

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I also ate the bread ends off of a loaf I sliced up to make Adam a sandwich.

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I need to do raw veggie spreads more often; this was a very satisfying lunch.

We took a wander down Elmwood to show the fam where I work and play, and stopped at Ashker’s for wonderfully velvety espresso.

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With skim milk and sugar.

Then we were off to the falls!

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We lucked out with the perfect weather – cold enough to scare away the crowds but warm enough that you could really take your time to appreciate Mother Nature.

Speaking of Mothers, that’s where we had dinner!

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Mother’s restaurant is 10 steps from our old apartment but we never made it a priority because we thought it was steak house.  The menu was mostly meat, but that didn’t keep me from having an absolutely fantastic meal.

Bread with salted butter.

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Glass of wine, a Chablis that I enjoyed far more than I was expecting to.

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Salad.

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My picture quality went downhill at this point but the quality of food kept shooting up.

For an appetizer we all split the gnocchi.

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Potato gnocchi with portobello, lump crab, peas, and a white truffle sauce.

My portion, x2.

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All of those components are great on their own but together they became something amazing.  Best gnocchi I’ve ever had; it was pillowy beyond my wildest dreams.

For my entrée: “sautéed red snapper fillet with gulf shrimp, mushrooms, artichokes, scallions, lemon butter sauce, and microgreen salad.

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It also came with asparagus and perfectly roasted potatoes.

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The dish was wonderful and the portion was gigantic (Adam actually ate the other half of my fish for dinner tonight!).  Certainly a meal worth going back for.

But the best bites I took were actually from the husband’s dish.

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The black (squid ink) pasta I could live without, but the scallops – like the gnocchi – were the best I’ve ever had.  They were cooked to perfection, with a nice crust and creamy middle.  Adam must love me a whole lot to have given me as many bites as he did!

– . – . – I need to stop and do some foreshadowing here: the meal at Mother’s was not even the best meal of their visit!

Monday morning my aunt and I walked Webster to The Spot for some coffees.  The baristas gave me a gorgeous drink and were super sweet about the dog in my arms.

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Tall skim latte, to go.

Back at home, I had a big bowl of Cascadian Farms Berry Cobbler Granola with fresh blackberries and homemade vanilla cashew milk.

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While it clearly couldn’t compete with our dinners, this meal was pretty flipping good.  I’m thinking that the cashew milk may be worth the effort after all.

The weather had shifted back to winter by that point so we spent our afternoon walking around the mall.  My aunt bought me a couple of new work pieces at Old Navy – – can you believe I start school next week?!

You have to do self-serve froyo when you’re at the mall.  I did a small amount of plain tart and coconut yogurt, a medium amount of fresh fruit, and tons of popping boba.

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Is it sick that both bubble tea and self-serve froyo make an appearance on my “must have” list for next year’s move?

For dinner, we met the husband at Seabar.

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I could talk about how fun the decor is, but when the food is this awesome, who really cares?

I got a spicy bloody mary to drink.

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I know keep saying this, but seriously – best blood mary I’ve ever had!

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It came loaded with Tabasco, Franks, and Sriracha.

My impetus for dragging everyone to Seabar was simple – “Bourdain’s Last Meal.”

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Marrow, foie gras torchon, (and pork belly which I requested come on a separate plate), and toasted bread for spreading.

***This post is far too long already for me to go into my food philosophy.  In short – yes, I ate marrow and yes, I still won’t eat read meatIf you would like me to post more about it just ask and I gladly will. 

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Trying marrow has been on my life list for years and it was like nothing I’ve ever tasted before.  I totally concur with its description as “the world’s best butter.”  We all shared the appetizer but I will totally cop to eating a lion’s share of the marrow.  Also, I spread marrow between two toasts and ate it like a small, ridiculously decadent sandwich.

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And then I closed my eyes and swooned.

Actually, I spent most of the meal with my eyes closed tight, straining to help my taste buds make the most of every flavor.  I hate to knock my favorite place in Brooklyn off of the top, but this meal was the best I’ve ever eaten.

My family raved about their sushi – inventive combos composed of incredibly fresh fish – but my entrée was by far the best plate at the table.

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“Lobster  Ramen – Handmade Noodles, Lobster Broth Poached Egg, Shiitakes, Pickled Vegetable”

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None of us could get over the texture of the lobster and the noodles were out of this world.  Also, the pickled vegetables were nothing to frown at, but they were hard to focus on with poached lobster sitting at the table.  When I took my first bite of homemade noodle with egg yolk broken on top I was pretty sure I would die of happiness.

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And I haven’t even mentioned the broth yet.  I shared many bites and was more than generous with my lobster claws, all while threatening everyone not to spill a drop.  Then when all that was left was broth, I sucked it up with my straw!  I regret nothing.

I ate a dark chocolate peanut butter santa when we got home.

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And I collapsed into bed, basically drunk on marrow.

This morning we pulled ourselves out of our food comas and drove over to East Aurora.  I know I don’t actually live in EA, but I always want to bring visitors to Taste.

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I had the Santa’s Sleigh with skim milk.

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A peppermint tea latte with white chocolate and a hint of coconut.  It was delicious!

We were just admiring the cool industrial vibe when… I dropped my camera on the concrete floor.  Please note – I stayed amazing calm, but if my memory card had broken too and I’d lost the pictures for this post I definitely would have cried.

I’m going to end my blogging here, because I just can’t see tacking cell phone photos on the end of this lengthy post.

Broken cameras be damned, we had a nice day.  I managed to get buffalo wings into my aunt and cousin before they had to head to the airport.  I had a good day of work.  Adam and I shared a Dole Whip at the mall.  And many (many) hours later, I have a new camera.  So tomorrow, we can start all over again.

What/where was your best meal?  Have you ever tasted something so good you had to shut your eyes?

Cashews, Coffee, And Curry

First things first, I need to announce my Taste of Treme Giveaway winner –

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winnerJordan, let me know how the cookbook stacks up against Abita’s!  And please e-mail me with your mailing address.  Congrats!

I apologize for not posting the results sooner; we have had a rough couple of days around here.  Webster has been having seizures.

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So far (that we know of) he had one Friday morning and another at 4:30 a.m. last night.  I ran him to the vet in hysterics on Friday and she said that there could be a variety of causes but that seizures are not all that uncommon in dogs his size and that she wasn’t too worried.  We are waiting for some lab results and I will be sure to keep y’all updated as we learn more.

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Once he recovers he seems to be in good spirits but both episodes were pretty scary for me, especially because Adam has been out-of-town.  It is a bad feeling to see someone you love out of control and not be able to help.  Both times I just petted him and gave him kisses until it was over.

I had my sights set on a hot yoga class this morning but it just didn’t feel right to go, instead I stayed in bed an hour longer with the little man in my arms.  I’m glad to spend time with him but I do need to get myself to a class asap.  I have been to a grand total of 1 class during my unlimited two months; if I don’t get my act together over the next two weeks it will mean that I paid $75 for a single yoga session, yikes!

Once we got up, the dog and I did have a successful day.  Lots and lots of cleaning was done.  And I made  homemade cashew milk.

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How Sweet Eats’ Vanilla Cashew Milk was good, but probably not worth the time committment to ever make again.  I’m glad I got to experience it once though.

I did a lot of taste testing while I made the cashew milk and then I took advantage of the dirtied blender and made a big smoothie for breakfast.

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Midmorning we put on our sweaters and took a walk.

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Webster is ultra-super-mega cute in his gray sweater and he got several compliments today.

Lunch was spread across some afternoon snacking.  An apple.

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An Almond & Apricot Kind Bar.

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A Nutffles Red Velevt Truffle.  (just 25 cents at 7-11)

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A plate of baby carrots dipped in pineapple salsa.

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And finally, I did some baking with the “pulp” from the cashew milk.

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After I got out all of the liquid, I spread what I could salvage on a baking sheet and dried it in the oven at 200* for 20 minutes.  Then I mixed up the cashew meal and baked it macaroon-style {vanilla extract, egg white, sugar}.

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They were far better than I was expecting and I ended up having 4.  I am very anxious for Adam to try them because he loves coconut macaroons and I think these were even tastier.

Basically all I’ve done over break is sit on the couch and eat junk (by the way, my pants currently don’t fit: oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!) so tonight’s dinner felt extra fancy and healthy.

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I reeeeeeeeeally want to cook dinners like a grown-up this semester so I need to get back into the habit before school starts on the 21st.  This meal was a good place to start.

Roasted asparagus.

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White rice leftovers – from Chinese take-out I ordered on Friday 70% because I didn’t want to leave the dog to get food and 30% because I wanted someone to deliver diet soda to me in the apartment.

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Green Curry Fritters from Cooking Light.

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I was really impressed with this recipe; such a fun combination of flavors!  I did make a few changes, all of which I suggest you follow my lead on if you make the recipe –

  • substituted turkey for chicken (am I the only one who greatly prefers ground turkey to chicken?!)
  • used an entire bunch of green onions, whites and greens
  • substituted nayo for canola mayo
  • used 2 Tbsp green curry paste
  • skipped the sesame oil
  • substituted 2 Tbsp of tamari for the soy sauce
  • substituted 1 heaping tsp Sriracha for the sambal oelek
  • substituted 1 tsp galangal paste for ground ginger
  • substituted coconut oil for canola oil
  • sized my patties to yield 10 instead of 12

Adam should be home in a couple of hours and tomorrow we are actually getting a visit from my Maryland aunt and one of my cousins!  I haven’t seen that set of family in far too long and I could not be more excited.

Now the dog is curled up at my feet and I’m about to pour a cup of tea and make myself finally organize my school materials from last semester.

Everyone please give your pets a big smooch for me.

Use Your Noggin

Hello, hello!  The days I’m excited to blog are always the same days I’m utterly exhausted.  Go figure.  Saturday was a symphony of holiday flavors but also a 9+ hour day at work.  Instead of posting last night I had a total tantrum and passed out fully dressed… so here is a 2-day recap.

Remember when I said “Saturday was a symphony of holiday flavors”?  You know, like five seconds ago.  Well, my day went eggnog –> candy cane –> gingerbread; bam!

Nog based overnight oats for breakfast.

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I put 1/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup Silk Soy Nog, and 1 Tbsp chia seeds in the fridge overnight, then Saturday morning I added 1 sliced banana and a big dash of Christmas sprinkles.

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So festive and delicious.  Also, holy frick, I love chia seeds so much.

My candy cane came in the form of a Peppermint Stick Clif Bar during work.

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This is Clif’s best seasonal flavor by far.  The bar has the perfect amount of peppermint.

Gingerbread was a cupcake surprise from the husband.

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He had an appointment near Fairy Cakes in the afternoon and he brought me home a gingerbread stout cupcake with cream cheese icing.

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It was ridiculous good, maybe the best cupcake I’ve ever had!  The cake had a great ratio of spice to sweet and was so fluffy and moist.  I shared one big bite with Adam but downed the rest with gusto.

The rest of the day’s eats were out of season, but still good.  From fall I borrowed an apple and a Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale.

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I split the beer with Adam and ate the apple on my own.

I guess nachos are actually appropriate for any season, right?

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Adam and I shared a tray, straight from the oven.  We topped scoop-style tortilla chips with roasted brocoli and green pepper, Newman’s Own Pineapple Salsa, and Cabot Reserve Aged Cheddar.

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We loved them.  He was a little iffy on roasted brocoli as a nacho topping but it was delicious.  And I was worried about that type of cheese versus a regular cheddar, but that ended up being perfect too.  And the pineapple salsa is hands-down the best jarred salsa I’ve ever had.

Blah, blah, blah, and then I started having a fit and had to go to bed.  I didn’t get anywhere near enough sleep during the weeks Adam was gone and I’m still really freaking tired.

Sunday was a super hungry day and I ate a ton of crap.  A brunch of sorts, was low-fat coffee yogurt with honey roasted peanuts and honey,

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a few pieces of toffee candy from home,

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and several handfuls (about 3 servings or 250 calories worth) of dried turkey.

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During work I drank a Starbucks Vanilla Doubleshot.

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Working with crowds of Christmas shoppers is exhausting but also really rewarding.  Five different people today thanked me effusively for my help and that was a really good feeling.  Actually, one super hot guy told another customer that I was fantastic and I about died!

Adam picked me up after work for a fun treat.

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Bubble tea from Gin Gin!  Best bubble tea I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried a lot.  I got a medium red bean milk tea with regular and popping boba (the purple one is Adam’s taro).

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We both swooned over how good they were and finished our drinks in the car long before we made it home.  And we called my mom on speaker on the drive and drove her crazy scraping through our ice for errant tapiocas!

Dinner was pizza.

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And we shared a beer.

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We were gearing up for a long night of baking.

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I’m giving my co-workers all pies for Christmas and we are not even close to finished still.  Sorry, husband!

We made smoothies mid-baking for strength.  Frozen strawberries and blackberries blended with So Delicious Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk.

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And I’ve done a little nibbling while we baked.

I have a holiday breakfast with work tomorrow and then I’m spending Christmas Eve on the couch with Adam.  I have two days off in a row for the holiday and I am so excited to spend them with my boys!

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Did you give any handmade gifts this season?

New Favorite Things For 12/12/12

Hello, hello, hello!  Did everyone take a moment to appreciate today’s day?  I had lots of things to appreciate today.  Here are three:

1. Being done with finals for the semester.

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2. The gorgeous cashmere infinity scarf (squeee!) that my aunt and uncle sent me for Hanukkah.

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3. I may have won some money in a contest… I’m not getting excited until I’m sure it’s for real though.

On to the day’s recap.  Why yes, I was up at 4:45 am drinking a 20 calorie grape Rockstar.  {it was delicious}

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You see, I have this mental problem where the night before two important final exams I spend 4 hours getting my hair dyed, 1 hour on Pinterest, and 2 hours watching Jim Gaffigan on InstantWatch.  Genius.

My food consumption as a whole was low in nutrients but I definitely covered things on the calorie front.  Plus everything was ridiculously delicious.  Plus technically I’m still exam eating.

For breakfast, an overly juicy red pear.

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and an Iced Gingerbread Clif Bar.

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This flavor verges on being too spicy but then the sweet, juicy raisins pull it back from the brink.

I had exams from 7:40 to 11:00 and a shift at work from 12:00 to 8:30 and in between a friend took me to the grocery store because I don’t have a car.  <– it’s a long, sad story and I’m hoping my almost 2 week streak of car-less-ness will be over by this weekend

At work I had a 0% Fage with Honey.

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And a Coco Cafe that I bought on a whim at the co-op.

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Holy frick you guys, the coffee was so good.  It was the kind of good – creamy and sweet with a caffeine kick – that almost hurts because you are enjoying yourself so much.  By the time I finished drinking the Coco Cafe I’m sure my coworkers were more than ready for me to stop gushing about my new favorite thing.

<– hold on to your hats, I have another new favorite thing still to come in this very post.  Yes, you can have multiple favorite things.  That’s a thing.

After work I took the dog on a long walk and it become another night where I came home so hungry I thought I was going to have a fit.  Microwave “nachos” on the last 1.5 servings of Nacho Cheese Tortilla PopChips fit the bill.

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Um, and then I had another plate but with Food Should Taste Good Chocolate Tortilla Chips.

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I know that isn’t the healthiest dinner on the planet but, you guys, the cheese.  The cheese.  Both plates were made with Kerrygold’s Vintage Dubliner and it rocked my freaking face off.

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The Vintage Dubliner was super nutty and it had these amazing pieces of crispiness spread throughout.  Plus it melted perfectly.  It is my new favorite cheese.  P.S. I found it at Wegmans if you want to have a new favorite cheese too.

I realize that this post was pretty packed with enthusiasm but I’m deliriously tired happy so I’m good with it.

What is your new favorite thing?

Sunny Sunday Monday

We had a high of 57* today, wheeeeeee!  And tomorrow promises to be in the 50’s as well.  I’m hoping to take the dog on a glorious long walk.

Today’s exam was thing 1-of-6 on the “big things left in the semester” list.  So that’s where I’ve been.

Yesterday I was actually busy being sick.  I woke up with a cough and a constantly running nose and even my boss said I looked terrible.  I didn’t have it in me to make or eat food before my shift at noon.  When I got home at 5, I had some spicy avocado inari.

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So flipping good; I love how the tofu skin is a little bit sweet.

I also ate the best dipping plate I’ve had all year.

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A sliced green dragon apple.

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This apple variety – a hybrid cross between a Japanese Orin and a Golden Delicious was new to me and I loved it.  Perfectly sweet!  I have another one in the fridge and I can’t wait to eat it.

2 Tbsp crunchy peanut butter melted with 1 Tbsp Biscoff for dipping.  Plus a spoonful straight from the jar.

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The pb-Biscoff combo cannot be beat!

This plate was supposed to be dinner.

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The roasted green beans were divine per usual,

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but I was not a fan of the Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza.  The “meat” was way too soft and the “cheese” did not melt.

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I could only eat two bites of pizza before calling uncle.  It is worth noting that Adam clearly thought it was fine because he ate the rest of the pizza!

I ended up supplementing my green beans with Chinese take-out.

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Crab rangoon was the perfect one-handed dish for study-eating.

Soon after dinner, I realized that the only way I could study was if I had a constant stream of food going.

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I also ate a bowl of baby carrots and these sugar-plum candies from Wegman’s bulk bins.

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The sugar plums were quite good, I recommend buying some if you spot them at your store.  There really was plum flavor, not just one note of sweetness.

Studying went about as well as could be expected when trying to cram with a sudden cold.  But it was what it was.

P.S. Adam decorated the house for the holidays while I was at work because he is the best.

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And then he decorated the dog.

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Too awesome.

I got myself up at 6 this morning and {hallelujah!} discovered that I wasn’t actually sick any more.  I don’t know where my cold went but I hope it stays there! {knock on wood}

I drank a mug of hot chocolate while I did some clear-headed studying.

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And then I was off to take my exam.  It didn’t go as well as I could have liked (do they ever?!) but it certainly could have gone worse.  Phew!

After my classes I did something amazing…

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I worked out!  60 minutes of hot yoga was heavenly.  And the session was nowhere near as hard as I’d worried it would be after more than a month of no exercise.  <– yikes!

I have a 2-month unlimited pass that expires soon so I had to go to yoga today, looming finals or not.  I probably will only go once or twice more in the next two weeks though because I really do have to study.  But as soon as break begins I am looking forward to making the most of my pass!

A Stinger honey waffle was consumed on the walk to yoga.

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And a juicy apple was consumed on the walk to work.

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My six+ hour shift went well, though I did have to deal with a bleeding lip since my body waited until the warmest day of the winter to rebel against the cold.  I got a Starbucks Strawberry Lemonade Refresher while I was out buying emergency Chap Stick.

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Finally home, I did eggs for a quick dinner.

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– – Cooked 8 oz package chopped seitan in 1 Tbsp Earth Balance until crispy, set half aside for tomorrow.  Add ~ 1 cup frozen spinach, chopped cilantro, 1 tsp evoo, 1/2 tsp sugar, salt,  and a few dashes of Sriracha.  Scramble in 2 large eggs and 1 egg white plus 2.5 oz Cabot’s 50% Reduced Sharp Cheddar. – –

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I couldn’t get a single good picture, but this meal was out of control good!  I adore eggs.

With a microwave chocolate chip cookie for dessert.

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It was much tastier than it looks.

I didn’t get to study today (I needed a day to recover from my exam anyway) but I did put away a load of laundry, do the dishes, and organize my study materials.  Now I’m off to read a book in bed!

Did your area get hit with unseasonably (fabulously) warm weather this week?

Friday-Saturday Frenzy

I worked 9.5 hours on both Friday and Saturday, so the weekend has felt a little frenzied.  Basically ever single thing I ate was on the go, covered in cheese, or both!  Quickly, because I have to get up tomorrow and study for my giant exam before work…

Friday morning on the walk to school, an apple.

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When I had to spend time on campus contesting a credit waiver instead of going home before work, a juice.

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I made a custom blend – kale, spinach, carrot, and apple.

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Lunch at work, delicious co-op hot bar.  Chicken paprikash and smoked gouda mac and peas.

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Late night dinner while I waited for my husband to get home from the airport, a giant plate of nachos with black beans and olives.

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Saturday morning at work, a rosemary olive scone.  Apparently I loved olives this weekend.

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“Lunch” at 5pm during a busy shift, a Katie’s Food Stash Bar and half a veggie and hummus wrap.

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On a 9pm grocery trip, December candy.

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A late dinner that was worth the wait – eggs and hash browns.

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For two – a pint of mushrooms browned in 1 Tbsp Earth Balance, 1.5 cups spinach with 1 Tbsp evoo, salt, 2 eggs; scramble.

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For two – 2 small potatoes and 1 red onion cooked in 1 Tbsp evoo and 1 Tbsp Earth Balance; salt, garlic powder, spicy paprika.

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An impulse buy at the store, I got sucked in because the box was only $1.50.  It was pretty good.

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While catching up on tv, my boys are the cutest.

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Good night!

Froyo Flavors Playbook

The husband was out of town on an interview yesterday so I ate a single lady dinner of cookies and popcorn.  Then I ate a big bowl of cereal (with melted peanut butter and vanilla almond milk!) in bed.  <– Shhhhh, Adam would be so mad.

Speaking of skipping posts, exam week is coming and I am flipping out.  I want to try to keep up blogging, since it’s not like I use every last minute of my time studying anyway, but I’m not sure how that will work out.  Exams are in 13 days!  I honestly thought that we had another week and didn’t realize how close they were until I checked my planner in the middle of class and gave myself a heart attack.

Anyway.  When I wasn’t freaking out, I also ate breakfast in class.  A Chobani Honey Banana Flip.

That yogurt is my favorite Chobani product.  The bananas add the perfect amount of texture and sweetness to lighten up the Greek yogurt.

I also had an apple.

And a Target Candy Cane Chewy Cocoa Granola Bar in between class 1 and 2.

I had to hang around campus after lab to work in the computer lab and I ended up buying these Sea Salt Smart Fries as a snack from the book store.

This was my 2nd time trying the Smart Fries and I think I can officially say that I like them.  The texture is a little like a packing peanut but I mean that in the nicest way possible!  They are really satisfying to crunch through and you get a big serving (~65 pieces) for 110 calories.

I had a run errands this afternoon (you might notice that I didn’t actually do any exam studying today) and got a small container from the salad bar around 5:00.  A lettuce mix with some dressing (I don’t remember the flavor but it was sadly really bad) topped with cucumbers, cider glazed carrots, roasted brussels sprouts, and a giant scoop of chicken salad.

The chicken salad scoop was about half as mayo-y as it looks and two times as big as it looks.

I actually just got home a little while ago because I was out with friends.  We wanted to go see “Silver Linings Playbook” and it is only showing in one random theatre here so we made an excursion of it.  An exciting stop along the way…

FroYo Culture had their holiday flavors out!

I got gingerbread, eggnog, and Heath yogurts with crumbled gingerbread, Heath bits, shredded coconut, x-mas m&m’s, and marshmallow sauce.

Too exciting!  The gingerbread flavor was actually too spicy for me but the eggnog was perfect.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be going back to Willaimsville before the season is over.

The movie was worth the drive as well.  All three of us loved it.  The plot was a nice mix of funny, wrenching, and sweet.  Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro were all amazing.  And there’s even a Julia Stiles cameo.  We laughed on the way home that it was funny to watch Julia Stiles play a support role in a dance movie.  <– “Save the Last Dance” still remains a favorite of mine.

And I ate a serving of Sun Chips while I wrote this post.

Food-food instead of snack-food would probably be a good thing tomorrow!

Did you see SLP?  Thoughts??