Is Still Too Cold

by Emily

If you couldn’t guess from the title, my complaints this week are: a) it’s too cold outside and b) I’ve caught a cold. A.1 would be holy plastic, Batman, I’ve eaten a lot of packaged foods this week!

I’ve been eating {tons of junk} but not photographing so this will be a quick recap. Thankfully speed helps keep my complaining in check!

breakfast

And I started my Monday off so well.

Smoothie = Coco Café Vanilla Coconut Water Latte, frozen banana, frozen blueberries, and a scoop of peanut butter.

Tuesday went downhill.

Bagel with {tons of} cream cheese from a truck on my way to work.

And this morning I admitted defeat and got a giant latte with an extra shot of espresso. Sidenote – I want to try the vanilla macchiato at Starbucks ASAP.

lunch

Monday.

GoPicnic Box.

And a Cara Cara.

Readers who live within a feasible distance of Trader Joe’s – go get thee a bag of Cara Cara Oranges this very minute! They are sweet, seedless, and rocking my face off.

Tuesday.

An herb and garlic tuna packet scooped with TJ’s popped chips.

With more Cara Cara love.

Wednesday I felt so bad I actually called into work. I slept for most of the day and then hit the bed hard again by 10 pm that night. Boo.

Thursday.

A ranch tuna packet stirred into a mac and cheese cup.

Tuna was good, the macaroni was disgusting. The Cara Cara was fantastic, obviously.

junk

Please note – this post only shows a small sampling of the truly massive amount of junk I’ve been eating lately. Speaking of which… I have these {ridiculously delicious, like seriously out of control good} pretzel bites on the train at least twice a week.

That habit needs to die, immediately.

I’ve also developed a pretty hardcore Good & Plenty obsession this week.

As far as candy goes, this is hardly the worst because you get a very satisfying serving for 180 calories and no fat. But as far as being a healthy adult goes, I need to stop eating so much freaking candy.

Chocolate covered pretzels are also candy.

I actually ate these for dinner one night, but that was too depressing so I put them under this category instead. I am clearly struggling with being a grown-up during the weeks when Adam’s working nights and I’m left to my own devices.

dinner

I ate cereal (and/or candy) for dinner most nights this week but did get in two nights of people food. Like leftover pizza.

Topped with chicken, caramelized onions, and bbq sauce.

And last night Adam had business in the city so he swung by Brooklyn to pick me up from work for Date Night! Swoon!! We got in a freezing but enjoyable 2 mile walk, stopping along the way to split a green juice.

Kale/collards/romaine/cucumber/celery/parsley/green apple/lime.

Then we had a wonderful dinner at Calexico.

We wandered into it by chance after our first choice for dinner didn’t work out and I am so glad that we found it. We can’t wait to go back for margaritas and nachos.

For dinner last night, I did the black bean taco – guacamole, pico de gallo, cotija cheese, and “crack sauce.”

Plus the veggie special – fried brussels sprouts in chili and peanut salsa.

The food was fresh, inventive, and perfectly seasoned. I know my pictures were dark and blurry, but I was afraid if I didn’t blog this meal I would forget about it and I definitely want to remember this place. Calexico will be a repeat spot!

What bad habit do you need to start being more of a grown-up about?

16Feb2014

Wrap-Up; Will You Be My Valentine?

by Emily

Hi there!

Long time no blog.

I know I’ve ~~bitched~~ blogged about this before, but Adam’s schedule is killing me. And he’s on a particularly busy rotation as of last week – with an insane commute – and I’m kind of losing my mind. So I apologize for missing a post, but I just didn’t have writing in me. I also missed many photo opportunities this week. However, my valentine and I did have some great moments, so, in no particular order, is some of what I did capture…

emmy’s

Emmy’s recently stepped up their efforts to be environmentally and socially conscious and they sent me a box of samples to help spread the news.

From the company – Emmy’s Organics is a 100% vegan and gluten-free food company that prides itself on the quality, creativity & sustainability of the products it offers. The company uses only the finest non-GMO ingredients in everything produced. All packaging is made from biodegradable and earth-friendly materials. All goods produced are made in a vegan & gluten-free kitchen. For more information visit emmysorganics.com.

I opened, and devoured, the mint chip macaroons pretty much the second I got the box.

And the dark chocolate sauce was stellar on coffee ice cream.

The texture was wonderfully thick and smooth.

work lunches

Yogurt day.

Yogurt topped with fresh blackberries and a crumbled macaroon. The macaroon was coconut vanilla, my favorite flavor thus far.

And the yogurt was Greek God’s Honey Salted Caramel.

That stuff is crazy thick and the smell is out of control.

Boxed to go.

Minneola,

Crisp Apple Cascade Ice that I bought with my own money because I enjoyed my sample flavors so much,

and a go picnic box.

I got a bunch of these on sale the other day and I’m pretty excited about them.

Cereal and milk.

An apple and a chocolate chili macaroon – the first flavor I didn’t care for, way too spicy. And blueberry cashew super cereal which was loaded with buckwheat groats and dried fruit.

I bought a milk cartoon from the cafeteria.

new things

Birthday Cake M&M’s.

Meh. The flavored m&m’s, while exciting, are all way too sweet.

Lady Alice apple.

Sweet! The flavor is sweet instead of tart and the skin feels so much like an apricot.

Rockin’ Nut Road Snickers.

Sweet! The marshmallow was great.

pizza pizza

Isn’t homemade pizza just the best?

We topped Trader Joe’s garlic and herb dough with pizza sauce, light mozzarella, sliced green olives, and tons of sautéed mushrooms.

Green olives are my favorite topping.

Morton’s birthday

The Morton Salt girl celebrates her 100th birthday this year and the company sent me a giant tin stuffed with goodies to celebrate.

In 2014 they are introducing the industry’s first Garlic Sea Salt as well as gourmet-style grinders for sea salt, roasted garlic sea salt, and black peppercorn. Also, be on the look out for a brand facelift and these limited edition birthday packages.

Manhattan meals

We had brunch at Empire Biscuit that rocked our faces off.

Best biscuits ever! My (all butter, aka no lard) biscuit was topped with pimento cheese and black grape jam.

And to drink we split an iced Blue Bottle coffee.

Good God, I love Blue Bottle so much!

Another amazing, local coffee was espresso with skim milk from The Bean.

P.S. That was one of 4 coffees I had that afternoon. My coffee addiction is still raging.

Puddin’, from Puddin’.

Adam and I shared coffee pudding and dulce de leche pudding with salted caramel sauce.

This stuff was insanely rich but so good. We recommended Puddin’ to the family that took our table at Empire Biscuit and we ended up all showing up for dessert at the same time! They loved it too.

Dinner with a Groupon at S’mac.

We shared the Buffalo Chicken and the Parisienne – Creamy Brie, roasted figs, roasted shiitake mushrooms, and fresh rosemary.

The crusts were the best part of both. Adam is very jazzed about our leftovers.

What’d you do to celebrate Valentine’s this year?

7Feb2014

Weekly Wrap-Up; Lonely Island

by Emily

Let’s be honest – being married to a surgical resident sucks. Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of Adam that he’s such a smartypants and I love that he gets the opportunity to do something meaningful that excites him, but if I had my druthers I think we would both be beach bums working together at a part-time job somewhere.

We don’t have any time now. After 11 years together (and 6 years of marriage) we somehow still really like each other so living as two ships passing in the night, as I said, sucks.

It’s not great for blog content either. Adam was on night shifts all this week and I was home alone which meant I ate cereal and/or popcorn most days. Not a ton of healthy living to share! And it didn’t help that when I pulled up my photos to write this post half of them were horrendous and were promptly deleted. Here is what I do have to share…

Work lunch 1.

Fresh mango,

and a Passion Fruit Noosa.

This was the first time I had ever tried passion fruit not in juice form. I liked the crunchy seeds!

Work lunch 2.

Peach Noosa,

topped with fresh blueberries,

and Linwood Ground Flax Seed with Cocoa, Strawberries, and Blueberries.

The flax was part of a box of samples I recently received to review.

It was quite good; you couldn’t taste the berries but it had a nice hint of chocolate. I keep meaning to bring flax back into my life so the samples came at a great time.

Pink smoothie.

Chocolate peppermint soy milk with frozen strawberries. Adam is obsessed with this combination. The only plus to nights is that he is home with me in the morning for breakfast.

Zing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar.

This didn’t have the best texture but it did a great job of keeping me full.

Gummi Koalas.

These are Adam’s favorites but they couldn’t hold a candle to my new obsession with Haribo Juicy Bears.

Blissinger’s Dulce de Leche with Sea Salt bar.

Yuck! Way too salty. I’m hoping that the husband ends up liking it because it was quite expensive and I could only eat one square.

Santa Fe Salsa Somersaults.

This one I have no complaints about 🙂

Oven baked fries.

With evoo, truffle salt, and dried rosemary from my grandma’s garden.

Iowa Girl Eats’ Chicken Chili topped with extra-sharp cheddar, low-fat sour cream, and pickled jalopeños.

I skipped the brown sugar, doubled the onion, and added some liquid smoke. Adam loooooved this, and he says he hates chili.

Leftover chili stuffed in a baked potato.

With more cheese, sour cream, and jalopeños, and roasted broccoli on the side(s). This was ~~cheesy~~ amazing. We need to make baked potatoes more often.

Do you feel like you get enough time with your significant other or does work get in the way?

6Jan2014

Weekend Wrap-Up; Snowmageddon

by Emily

Hey there! I hope all of my East Coast (US) readers are keeping warm! Long Island didn’t get hit as badly with snow as predicted, but getting to and from work on Friday was definitely pretty insane.

Here’s some of what I ate when I wasn’t shivering…

Lunch packed for work on Friday.

Leftovers of my spin on Hoppin’ John on top of leftover farro,

with cola candies,

and tangerines.

I actually ate the tangerines on my train ride home, alongside a nice, warm espresso.

Coffee was very loved this weekend. I also had a cinnamon brown sugar iced latte from Dunkin Donuts {love, love, loved},

and a hazelnut iced coffee – with sugar, skim milk, and a dash of vanilla creamer – from Bagel Boss {I can’t really speak to their bagels but I’m obsessed with their iced coffee}.

Aaaaaand a different iced latte from Starbucks that I didn’t photograph because it was getting ridiculous. Yes, I recently became extra in love with coffee. No, I won’t switch from iced no matter how cold it gets.

A delicious dinner on Friday night.

I made “miso stoup” for the first time and was thrilled with the results. Not totally traditional, but with ingredients we had on hand. And extra “chunky” because it was our whole meal and not just a side.

Miso Soup, Basically serves 2 – 3

3 cups chicken broth (you could totally use veggie broth if you want to keep things vegetarian)
3 heaping Tbsp miso paste
2. 5 oz firm tofu, cubed
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 pint sliced shiitake mushrooms
.6 oz roasted seaweed, crumbled

Bring broth to a simmer in a medium pot over medium-high heat.
Add miso to broth and whisk until no lumps remain.
Add remaining ingredients to pan and simmer an additional 3 – 5 minutes.

We loved it.

Not so delicious fondue for dinner on Saturday night.

We split a lemon cream pie martini that wasn’t terrible.

And for fondue we ordered the sharp cheese,

and the caramel pecan chocolate (though I’m fairly certain they left out our caramel).

Both were fairly meh. The bread cubes were terrible and we only got two each of the other dippers so if you liked something you couldn’t even try it again because then the other person didn’t get any. We cashed in a Groupon to Simply Fondue and even with the $ off it was still pretty darn expensive. Boo.

Random but good things include: A bowl of Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes with blackberries and unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

A Suede Imperial Porter from Stone {I couldn’t taste the honey but the floral scent was amazing},

And a big bowl of popcorn with truffle salt.

Oh jeez, the truffle popcorn. Insane. Usually Adam turns his nose up at my bowls of popcorn but this time he was more than happy to share.

Yesterday we did a late, great brunch. My guava mimosa was quite tasty.

We were visiting friends in Williamsburg and they took us to Simple. We all had wonderful meals.

I got the Vegetable Burger – Sautéed spinach, mushroom, zucchini, pepper, onion, garlic. It was more of a pile of veggies than a burger, particularly once I ordered it sans bun. It was also delicious, especially when topped with Danish blue cheese. And the fries on the side were nice and crispy!

P.S. You have until 2 pm EST to enter my Eggland’s Best giveaway.

23Dec2013

Week Long Wrap-Up; But I Am Le Tired

by Emily

In spite of actually getting enough sleep for the first time in ever, I was astonishingly tired this week. Like too tired to play on my phone when I got in bed at night, which is huge for me. Probably related to the astonishing amount of junk I ate this week, most of which I didn’t have the energy to photograph. Or perhaps just living like a grown-up finally sinking in. Nonetheless, when I thought about writing a “Weekly Wrap-Up” post on Thursday, I crawled into bed instead. FYI – I did select the book winners and they’ve already been contacted.

le work eats

Some breakfasts and lunches shown here. I did not do a great job of packing this week. We had two free lunches in a row, but unfortunately neither offered a ton that I could/would eat. And I tried to buy lunch in the cafeteria one day and it did not go well at all. There were several days where I was cranky all afternoon and then snacking like crazy the minute I could get my hands on food. Like the day I ate an entire bag of fruit gummis on the train…

Leftover chana masala with tangerines.

Lunch from our holiday party. Salad, shrimp, and rigatoni. With a side of present in our great gift exchange. I didn’t snap any pictures, but my boss brought in Baked by Melissa for dessert and that was fun.

Jalopeño-cheddar cream cheese bagel with fresh pineapple.

My coffee of choice this week was an iced Americano with extra espresso, skim milk, and four sugars.

Yogurt, mango, and peppermint divinity that knocked my socks off.

le work outfits

le dinners

I didn’t have it in me to cook and we ate too many meals out this week. It would have been fine for the fun, except of course they were largely terrible. Thankfully my desire to get in the kitchen seems to be renewed by my week of bad restaurant meals. <– I say as I eat cheese and crackers and a beer for dinner

We went to a Cuban place in Park Slope as a belated birthday dinner for Adam.

I got a painkiller to drink, which wasn’t half bad.

But I misread the menu and ordered a chile relleno that was stuffed with calamari. I don’t eat calamari. The waiter was out-of-control terrible so we were not surprised when he didn’t comment on my plate going back to the kitchen mostly untouched (not that this mistake was their fault!).

We made a dessert effort with flan and tres leches, aka flan and a kitchen sponge soaked in scm. Yuck!

At least we enjoyed our company immensely! And the walk back to the car was gorgeous and we picked me up a jaloepeño cheddar bagel that was delicious.

We tried again another night with a Groupon I bought for a Mexican spot in Roslyn.

We shared a truffle mushroom quesadilla that was perfect.

And my 2nd go at chile relleno was much better, if still not great.

Another night we stayed home but got Chipotle.

I was irritated with the amount of guacamole she glopped on at first, but once I realized it was in fact $2 and not free I was glad that they didn’t skimp.

I’d been having a love affair with their chicken but somehow this rice bowl just didn’t knock my socks off.

The best thing we ate all week was the night we stayed home.

Leftover chana with onion relish and a big scoop of plain Greek yogurt.

le snacks

A cookie to stay on theme while we watched “Frosty.”

A lemonade milkshake.

I used way too much lemon juice to vanilla ice cream and this was actually inedible, but it was fun in theory and an idea I plan on trying again in different proportions.

A Buffalo chicken quesadilla (former freebie) from Red’s.

White chocolate peppermint frozen yogurt with cheesecake chips and snowcaps.

We also tried the Scotchy Scotch Scotch (on top of chocolate peanut butter swirl) from Ben and Jerry’s. I took a few bites and Adam swooned over the rest. This flavor is definitely for butterscotch lovers.

This Cider Boys Magic Apple, apple strawberry hard cider, was outstanding. I want to try the cinnamon flavor like crazy.

le weekend in the city

Yesterday we headed over to Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

I can not even tell you how gorgeous the city was this weekend; I squealed with delight every time we rounded a corner. Also it was 65 degrees and I was in sandals!

We were in Manhattan because Au Bon Pain invited me in to try some of their new holiday menu.

Note – Au Bon Pain provided me coupons with which I could try the new menu free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

Here are the current ABP special menu additions –

Chicken, Mushroom and Swiss Sandwich– all natural chicken, spinach, Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms and tomato spread on a sprouted grain roll

Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake – holiday mini bundt coffee cake filled with cinnamon spice and topped with walnuts

Egg White and Mushroom Frittata Breakfast Sandwich – egg whites, sautéed mushrooms, spinach and cheddar on a sprouted grain roll

Gingerbread Cookie – A hand decorated cookie rich with molasses

Greek Vanilla Yogurt and Triple Berry Parfait

Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread – chocolate dipped shortbread sprinkled with peppermint topping

Pumpernickel Bagel – bold and distinctive flavor from rye flour and molasses

Thai Coconut Shrimp (gluten free) – a blend of petite shrimp, red peppers, carrots, bamboo shoots and lemongrass in a coconut and curry broth with a touch of spice

Adam and I shared so we could try three things.

The Chicken, Mushroom, and Swiss Sandwich.

They were out of the rolls so ours was served on cibatta bread. I thought this was good, but I’m not one to get too excited about a chicken sandwich. Adam loved it. He ate part of my half and even considered getting a second one.

The Thai Coconut Shrimp soup.

This one I liked more than the husband. The flavor was full of lemongrass and not too spicy. Very filling for only 170 calories in a medium bowl.

The Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread.

We both loved dessert. The shortbread was so thick that it was the main flavor instead of chocolate or peppermint, but thankfully it was quite a tasty shortbread. Each cookie has 390 calories which I didn’t think was too bad considering how big they are.

It was dark after we finished eating and the lights were even better on the walk home.

I ❤ New York

P.S. Bonus points if you know what the title alludes to!

17Dec2013

The Rest Of The Weekend

by Emily

Here is all the stuff that didn’t tie into yesterday’s book review…

Coffee break(fast) on Friday.

One of the doctors brought us all in doughnuts but I stuck with my latte and coffee chia bar (even though this flavor ended up being gross). Later I was laughing with Adam about how much much harder it is to pass things up now that I’ve gotten kind of fat. Before it felt like “this is a time I’m not eating something yummy, but that’s ok because I look and feel my best because I occasionally don’t eat things that are yummy.” Before I started my job I went a little crazy with the sitting on the couch and eating thing and now I’m trying to get back to my old, healthy self. But now it’s like “I’m passing up on this doughnut but I still don’t look like I pass on doughnuts, I look like I rolled around in a pile of doughnuts like Scrooge McDuck and then just put my clothing on over the doughnuts that stuck!”

<— anyone else get what I’m saying there?

Another Friday item, lunch.

The last of the big grapes.

And a salad of romaine with groats, edamame, peanuts, and peanut vinaigrette.

It was so great having the pre-cooked edamame at the ready. Thanks, Trader Joe’s. And speaking of TJ’s…

We tried several tasty cheeses this weekend.

In grilled cheese! On gingerbread swirl bread.

We made one sandwich of each and then split them in half. Chocolate cheddar cheese with Sriracha mayo and English cheddar with caramelized onions with dijon.

So. Freaking. Good. I don’t even plan on being a person who doesn’t cozy up with the husband in front of Gray’s with a plate of grilled cheese. I just need to stop being the person who puts cheese on everrrrrrrrrything.

We cashed in a BOGO coupon at Starbucks and got turkey bacon, egg white, and cheddar sandwiches for breakfast before running errands.

This sandwich is one of the husband’s very favorite things but I ended up sharing the last 1/3 of mine with him. I feel like there must be fake sugar in the English muffins; they have a strangely sweet aftertaste that throws off the whole sandwich.

I was supposed to do a review with Limoneira recently but things fell through at the last minute. They felt bad and sweetly sent me a big box of lemons.

Too exciting! I had so much fun getting to experiment with the meyer lemons. We made another batch of Dulce de Leche Lemon Popsicles, and did something really fun with the leftover “batter.”

Lemon egg creams! Just popsicle mix (lemon juice, scm, and skim milk) with pink grapefruit seltzer.

We also made some lemon bars to bring to a holiday party we attended Saturday night.

My mom always made these bars for me growing up but this was the first time Adam ever tried them and he adored them. Not super Christmasy but they did have powdered sugar snow.

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the cookbook giveaways!

16Dec2013

My Weekend, A Book Report {Giveaway}

by Emily

I had a lot of fun this weekend. When I decided to write about my weekend I was excited. The food was very good. There were a lot of foods. Adam was so fun to be with…

Ahahaha! Don’t worry, there will be no 2nd grade book-report-style writing here. I do have two new books to share with you though. And the verb “share” was used literally in that last sentence – there’s a giveaway at the end of this post!

Both of the books mentioned in this post were provided to me free of charge to review. The publisher also provided a 2nd copy of each book to share with my readers. All opinions are my own.

Just a few things to note:

Please click on the headings/book titles for links to the publisher’s website.
I did have another, non-food, book that I wanted to talk about. I read Susannah Cahalan’s “Brain on Fire” during my commute last week and I flipping loved it. “Brain on Fire” is a memoir about her struggle with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Cahalan is a journalist, and she did a great job presenting the scientific aspects of her story in a clear, and accessible manner. Plus she made me cry; I kept having to blink back tears on the train!

Picture Cook – See. Make. Eat.

Instead of a list of instructions, “Picture Cook” breaks down its recipes into step-by-step pictures (though the bottom of each page does include a list of ingredients for clarity’s sake). I liked the look of the artwork a lot; the pictures are clear but cute. The book also includes some handy tips,

and stream of consciousness-esque recommendations for things like raita, pizza, and omelets.

I made two recipes from it this weekend. The instructions were a snap to follow – it was much easier to glance at the pictures than read through instructions while I cooked. The dishes were delicious, though it is worth noting that I increased the cooking time for both recipes.

We made Home Fries on Saturday.

Which we served with ketchup and a sunny side up egg. Yolk makes the best sauce.

The recipe called for precooking the potatoes in the oven, which was much better than microwaving them first like I usually do. We thought the amount of spice was perfect.

On Sunday I tried my hand an Chana Masala.

Served with white rice and onion chutney.

This was the second or third time we’ve made chana masala at home and this recipe was by far the quickest and easiest, but the final dish was still our favorite. Adam loved it.

Homemade Condiments – Artisan Recipes Using Fresh, Natural Ingredients

A sauce can really make or break a dish, so I was excited to add a guide to homemade condiments to my culinary bookshelf. The book has recipes for ketchups, mayos, mustards, dressings, dessert sauces, and more.

Each recipe comes with a list of recommended uses, which I thought was a nice touch.

Over the past week I made three different sauces, with varying success.

Orange-Miso Dressing went in my cooked cabbage and got two thumbs up.

The sauce had the right balance of savory miso to sweet orange. It reduced perfectly but I think it would be great “raw” on a salad as well.

Maple Tarragon Vinaigrette went on a salad and sadly got one thumb down.

I felt like I could never get it to emulsify and even though I cut the recommended oil almost in half the final dressing was just too oily for my tastes.

The Caramelized Onion Chutney on our chana masala got two big thumbs up.

Another sweet and savory, the balance of flavors in this one was perfect. My only complaint is that the onions started to burn (on the lowest my heat can go) before the recommended cooking time was even halfway through. I was expecting the husband to hate the chutney because he’s not a raisin fan, but he raved about it. I would love to make another batch to spread on grilled cheese sandwiches.

The Giveaway

I have a copy of each book to share! Simply leave a comment on this post stating which book you want to win by 2 pm EST on Thursday, December 19th. If don’t want to chose between the books you may leave two comments, but each reader is only eligible to win one time (i.e. two winners will be selected, one person cannot win both books).

13Dec2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; Burritos And A Birthday

by Emily

I’m (almost) through my 2nd week! How long do you think I’ll have to be back at work before I stop counting? My guess is at least a month.

About the title… The birthday was Adam’s. My husband turned 28 on Wednesday so for the next 6 months I’ll stop being the older woman.

That picture is from BDL; i.e the years Before Doctor Life. He is on a very busy rotation now so unfortunately we didn’t have time for anything too festive. He got a disgusting amount of Taco Bell and we watched “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

The burritos were from Red’s All Natural.

They recently sent me some free-product coupons so that I could try out the goods. All Red’s products are 100% all-natural, preservative-free and made with antibiotic-free and hormone-free meat and rBGH-free cheese. I love the company’s philosophy and practices and I liked the burritos too (though admittedly not quite as much as their ideals).

So far I’ve tried two varieties. I microwaved one burrito and baked the other. The nuked one was a little mushy, but not at all chewy like some lower-quality tortillas tend to get in the microwave. The one I baked got perfectly crispy and nice. Both had good ingredient combinations but sadly I found the flavors to be a bit one-note. It is also worth pointing out that the burritos are giant, more than 500 calories each which is a lot for one meal component. However, they are also very, very filling – I shared both of mine with Adam because I could not finish. If you have someone to split with they are a great option but if you are purchasing them to eat alone just be mindful. <– they also have 5 oz burritos available in some varieties!

Overall, I am giving the two I tried a positive review (just not glowing). I am looking forward to trying some of the other varieties and I will definitely be sharing them on the blog when I do.

Fashion Friday

A new polka dot dress, from the Gap.

I tilted my head funny in the picture, but I actually got several compliments on my bun piled high on my head.

I usually don’t button my cardigans, but I liked it here.

Another new dress. It’s cuter in person than in the picture. The husband loved it and bought it for me with some of his birthday money ❤

The Gap sales rack has been very kind to me this season. Even with my newbies, however, I’ve pretty much gone through my entire closet in the two weeks, so we’ll see how long “Fashion Friday” continues to last.

Breakfast

Cookie Dough Balance Bar.

I think they changed the recipe again. It’s not quite as glorious as my old memories, but a big improvement over the really gross ones I was finding a year or so ago.

Giant coffee.

I was cashing in on a freebie so I went all out. Venti, non-fat, iced latte with 2 shots each gingerbread, white chocolate, and (extra) espresso.

Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar.

I never eat this flavor because it feels so seasonal, but it is one of the best. The mint is nice and cool.

Lunch

Monday. Looks like breakfast but was actually lunch. Quaker Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal.

And ~~the big apple~~ a big apple.

I’ve got to buy more oat go-cups; this was super portable and easy to just fill up with hot water in the cafeteria.

Tuesday.

Pizza with mushrooms and black olives.

And grapes.

These grapes are HUGE. They’re a seedless “holiday” variety.

Wednesday.

More leftovers.

Tangerines.

I promise, that cabbage was so much better than it looks.

Thursday.

More grapes.

And an everything bagel thin with leftover smoked tofu and light havarti.

I left this “raw” and the thins are definitely much, much better when toasted.

Snacks

Just like last week, picture lots of lunch assembly bites. This first one was an after dinner treat though. Looks like a root beer float…

But actually it’s Vanilla Porter with French vanilla ice cream.

I was pretty proud of this idea but it probably would have been a little better in milkshake form with a mix of beer and milk.

An Andes tree.

This was weirdly exciting. I’ve really been craving mint lately.

These gorgonzola cracker crisps have been a favorite for munching.

I love how big the serving size is here.

Dinner

Best dinner of the week, hands down.

Soy Boy organic Smoked Tofu that I sautéed in evoo.

With shredded (frozen) cabbage that we cooked in canola oil with salty peanuts and fresh edamame. We dumped in a bunch of miso orange dressing at the end and let it reduce, and the whole thing was heavenly.

I never seem to repeat meals any more but I do really want to make this again.

Salad and a burrito.

Romaine with groats and maple tarragon dressing.

Red’s Turkey Burrito.

This was the one I microwaved.

Cereal night on Adam’s birthday.

Two servings of Love Crunch Gingerbread Granola with vanilla almond milk and sliced banana.

Plus a big glass of eggnog during “The Grinch.”

This meal was missing vegetables, but that just didn’t feel festive! Thankfully this was the day I had my veggie-heavy lunch.

Chicken Burrito.

Apparently that was the only picture I have from last night?! I meant to eat it with salad but ended up having cheese and crackers instead.

Do you have any exciting plans for this upcoming weekend?

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: beans

Weekly Wrap-Up; Under / The Weather / Is Still Too Cold

breakfast

lunch

junk

dinner

Wrap-Up; Will You Be My Valentine?

emmy’s

work lunches

new things

pizza pizza

Morton’s birthday

Manhattan meals

Weekly Wrap-Up; Lonely Island

Weekend Wrap-Up; Snowmageddon

Week Long Wrap-Up; But I Am Le Tired

le work eats

le work outfits

le dinners

le snacks

le weekend in the city

Note – Au Bon Pain provided me coupons with which I could try the new menu free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

The Rest Of The Weekend

My Weekend, A Book Report {Giveaway}

Both of the books mentioned in this post were provided to me free of charge to review. The publisher also provided a 2nd copy of each book to share with my readers. All opinions are my own.

Picture Cook – See. Make. Eat.

Homemade Condiments – Artisan Recipes Using Fresh, Natural Ingredients

The Giveaway

Weekly Wrap-Up; Burritos And A Birthday

Fashion Friday

Breakfast

Lunch

Snacks

Dinner