Tag Archives: beans

A Final Trip To Toronto

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We are leaving Buffalo in just three short weeks (there is a post on that to come!) and we’ve amassed a long list of “must-do’s” before we leave the area for good.  Topping our list was a final day trip to Toronto.

We headed North on Wednesday and ate, and walked, and ate some more!  Adam and I both decided that it was our best trip this year.

We started our travels at the St. Lawrence Market.

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How had I not heard about this foodie heaven before?!  It was a Canadian Reading Market or Faneuil Hall, packed with goodies.  Adam got freshly made potato and cheddar pierogi with fried onions and sour cream.

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I went with macarons.

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They were beyond swoon-worthy.  Maple toffee and Crème brûlée .

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The texture was perfect, and yet, the utterly amazing macarons were not even the best thing I ate all day.

From the market, we drove to Bloor Street, where we parked and continued on foot.  Usually we head to Bloor St. for froyo, but today we had a new destination.

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BNC Cake House has been on my to-do list for two long years, ever since I starred this post from Callie in my Google Reader.  Her description of Pat Bing Soo, or shaved ice, has basically haunted my dreams – “A bed of shaved ice … topped with red bean paste, assorted fruits, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and condensed milk.”

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You guys, it was even better than I was hoping/expecting.

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The sweet condensed milk and tangy vanilla frozen yogurt melted down into the shaved ice and melded into something amazing.  The best analogy I have for the texture is to liken it to the Dairy Queen frozen hot chocolates I was obsessed with all year.

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We ate every single bite.

To finish the day, we walked over to Koreatown for some grown up food at Pho88.  Actually, I kept my sugar-buzz going just a bit longer with an egg yolk soda.

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I tried this drink for the first time way back in 2009 (that link goes to my old blog! when we were living in Brooklyn) but thanks to Pho88’s menu I finally know what’s in it:  club soda, egg yolk, and condensed milk.  I adored it, the flavor is lightened-up egg cream.

I ordered grilled chicken and spring roll vermicelli for my meal.

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I couldn’t eat much of my chicken since I’m not really a dark meat fan but that was fine, I mostly wanted to use the noodles and veggies as a base for all of the fabulous, spicy sauces sitting on our table.

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I may have left food on my plate but Adam’s was practically licked clean.

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He got grilled pork chop and rice with fried egg and he described his meal as “perfect.”

Perfect is how I would describe the day!  We laughed as we wandered through Koreatown that our very favorite way to vacation is to spend the days walking and eating.  Goodbye for now Toronto, I’m sure we will make our way back someday!

Have you ever tried pat bing soo?  What is your favorite vacation activity?

Things I’m Loving From Trader Joe’s

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Buffalo doesn’t have a Trader Joe’s (yet!), but that doesn’t mean I can’t pine over the goods I plan on purchasing once we are back in the city this summer.

The following are some of the things I bought when I was in Ohio last month.  They were all new to me and most of them I’ve now decided I can’t live without!

1.  Roasted Coconut Chips.

roasted coconut chips

Coconut chips are nothing super new – I’ve been picking them out of tropical trail mixes since I was a kid – but it was nice to see them get their own package.  These guys are perfectly sweet and crunchy.  Nutrition stats for 1 oz – 160 kcal, 1 g protein, 4 g fiber, 10 g saturated fat.

2.  Zesty Nacho Kale Chips.

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I love the idea of kale chips but the ones I try to make up at home end up being tiny, burnt, kale carcinogens.  And the amazingly delicious ones sold at Wegman’s cost more than $7 a bag.  This 2-serving bag was less than $6 and the chips were the best I’ve ever had.  They seem to have roasted giant leaves without cutting them up first so the chips are big and chunky and delicious.  Nutrition stats for 1 oz – 150 kcal, 6 g protein, 3 g fiber, and 1 g saturated fat.  Plus 130% RDA for Vitamin A!

3.  10 Minute Bulgur.

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This was our first time trying bulgur and we both loved it.  The taste and texture were exactly what I’m always hoping for from rice.  <– no, I can’t describe it any better than that; I love food and I love writing but there is a reason I’m not a food writer, people!

It really did cook in 10 minutes – it’s pre-cooked – making it a super easy grain for a quick dinner.  We paired it with black beans, tomatillo, sautéed spinach, and avocado.  A one 1/2 cup serving, which turns into a ton when cooked, has 280 kcal, 11 g protein, and 6 g fiber.

4.  Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk.

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SCM, aka nectar of the gods, is nothing new, but the squeeze bottle system sure is nifty.  I love putting SCM in coffee (like a lazy Vietnamese coffee) and this way I can use 1-2 Tbsp in my cup occasionally without having to worry about storing the rest.  This was a nice blurb to see on the back of the bottle – “Trader Joe’s Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk is made from organic milk from cows not treated with hormones or antibiotics, and sweet organic cane sugar.”

Are you lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s in your town?  What are your favorite TJ’s goods?

Bloody {Mary} Sunday

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My big plans of knocking off some school work didn’t come to fruition, but I did manage to do some day drinking.  That’s a better use of time really, isn’t it?

I started the morning with this bowl of absolute incredibleness.

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Dannon Oikos Cafe Latte Greek Yogurt, 1/2 serving Nature’s Path Coconut Chia Granola, fresh blackberries, 1 tsp honey, 2 Tbsp coconut butter.

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Oh my goodness, you guys, the coconut butter.  I have been reading Kath talk about coconut butter acting as a magic shell for years but I never quite knew what she meant.  It was amazing.

I also snacked on (approximately 2 servings each) BBQ Pop Chips with reduced-fat french onion dip.

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If I had known I was going to have chips with dinner I might have done a veggie-based snack instead, but at that point I planned on having soup!  Sidenote – did you know that Pop Chips has a new ketchup flavor?!  I’m pretty sure that sounds terrible.

I spent my afternoon at work.  The weather has finally gotten the memo that it’s Spring so lots of people were out and about.

At the end of my shift some friends stopped by to invite me to Blue Monk.  They were having a Bloody Mary special, with celery, hot sauce, tomato, etc infused vodkas.

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A girl from our program sweetly got us a 2nd round so I ended up having two.

Bloody Marys make me crave stick-to-your-ribs food so instead of soup I ended up with Moe’s for dinner.  A rice bowl – rice / black beans/ sautéed onion / mushroom / green pepper / cheese / sour cream / guacamole / corn salsa.

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Plus chips with queso.

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Apparently there’s always room for chips.

Do ketchup flavored chips sound good to you?

An Alarming Morning

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So… My alarm didn’t go off this morning.  I woke up naturally, 5 minutes after I was supposed to have been taking my coat off at the hospital.

Eeeeek!  It was a stressful morning.  And I may not have brushed my teeth yet today (don’t worry, I chugged mouthwash!) but I did have a good shift at the hospital.  I worked on some really interesting patients and managed to get all of my work done on time, in spite of my late start.  <– real talk though, I was only a little bit late; I’m basically a master at speedy dressing.  I even looked sort of cute!

I clearly didn’t eat breakfast, but I did manage to grab my packed lunch out of the fridge.  More black-eyed pea salad.

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A new variety of apple.

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And a half serving of dark chocolate.

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I had a little more chocolate after work too, in the form of a caramel marshmallow egg.

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The Cadbury eggs have nothing on this guy.

Dinner ended up being a slice of buffalo chicken pizza (that’s actually a half slice, I split with Adam) with baby carrots and blue cheese.

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So good.  This was actually just supposed to be a snack but I never could motivate myself back up off the couch again.  I guess that means today’s workout will have to be a Friday affair.

When was the last time your alarm let you down?

Loaded

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I’ve made it halfway through the first week of this rotation and I only sort of want to nap for a million years.  The teachers have warned us for years that this is the placement that makes everyone get in bed at 9 pm.  I’m crazy, so I’m still staying up ’til midnight, but I’m definitely tired!

I’ve been eating breakfast at the hospital but I need to figure out a new system because the cost of bars is going to add up.  This one was a free sample at least.

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And tasty too.  Cascadian Farm Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bar.

Lunch was more black-eyed pea salad (beans, green pepper, cheese, smoked almonds).

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The Talenti gelato pint made an awesome leftovers container; gotta love that screw-on lid.

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Plus a pear.

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I skipped the dark chocolate today because I knew we were planning a big dinner.

Of course, then I decided to get a milkshake on the way home.

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You have to do a yearly Shamrock Shake!  This was so good.

I also had a bagel thin with smoked salmon cream cheese when I got home.

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I’ve been so hungry today, I want to say it was yesterday’s workout but let’s be real, I only did 4 miles.

Dinner was fantastic; loaded baked potatoes for the win.

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Toppings included turkey bacon, mushrooms cooked in turkey bacon drippings, Smart Balance Light, shredded cheese, and green onions.

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We were both practically licking our plates.

And I had a Toasted Onion Sea Snax while we watched The Nanny.

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Love that show!  We’ve got two more episodes to go and then I’ve got to get to bed.  Good night!

Cider House Run

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Let me apologize in advance for what is sure to be a post riddled with typos.  I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises.  I’m two days in and I’m going to have to agree with my friends who were in the previous rotation – this placement is exhausting.

Breakfast was a Pirouette Cinnamon Pecan Barre.

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This bar was in my Yumvelope shipment.  The ingredient list is great – dates, walnuts, pecans, agave nectar, hemp seed, rolled oats, hemp protein, ground flax-seed,brown rice protein, vanilla, cinnamon, sea salt, peanuts – but I wasn’t a big fan of the final flavor; too much date.

Plus hospital coffee with 2% milk.

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We get free soda and coffee at this hospital so expect to see a lot of caffeine breaks!

Lunch was an easy assortment.  A Pear Chobani.

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A Honeycrisp apple.

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And 70% dark chocolate.

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I also packed this blue algae nut butter packet but I threw it out one lick in.

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Much too gaggy.

At the end of the day, Adam texted me that he and a friend were at a bar near our house so I met them for a quick drink.

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The McKenzie’s Seasonal Reserve Hard Cider was great.  It had notes of cinnamon that were quite tasty.

I headed straight from Cole’s to meet my friend for a gym visit.  I’m back to the Couch to 10k plan, right where I left off, though obviously I’ve got to stick with it this time.  2 minutes of running/3 minutes of walking, x 10.  I am fat, I am out of shape, I was still a little drunk – my workout was so flipping hard!

In spite of my extreme tiredness and Adam’s messing up our meal plan by eating while I was at the gym, I managed to cobble together a good dinner.  I was worried about not having enough to eat, but I think I ultimately went a bit overboard!

My favorite black-eyed pea salad,

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green beans with shredded parmesan,

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and 1.5 servings of Wegman’s vegan “chicken” nuggets with sweet and sour sauce.

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Everything was delicious.  Those nuggets are awesome.

Have you ever done the inebriated workout?

Coconut Chocolate Lavender

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Howdy!  I have not been following my sleep schedule – – at all – – but I can say that today was quite productive.  Every item on my list is now to-done!

The dog has been getting in and out of bed all night long recently and between that and my usually fitful sleep, mornings have felt very difficult this week.  I barely had time to make it to work today so I had to take breakfast with me on the walk.  This Wegman’s Bean and Cheese Burrito was good but not great.

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Something about the flavor and texture made me long for a beverage, and I ended up exploding pinto beans all down the front of my winter coat.

I ate a Honeycrisp apple mid-morning.

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Then I spent the rest of my day holed up in the basement like a retail hermit.  We got in tons of tons of shipments on Monday and I opened and priced 99% of them today.

I never did have time for lunch at work (I kept my packed food in the fridge for an easy lunch tomorrow!) and I ended up doing double dinners.  First was Wegman’s hot bar on a mini-date with the husband.

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Wok-seared veggies,

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and chicken dumplings and chicken salad.

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Adam and I are obsessed with the dumplings’ dipping sauce and the combination of the sauce stirred into my chicken salad was the bomb.com.  <– legit, it tasted so good that was the first expression that popped into my head!

I also ate a big bag of Easter candies from the bulk bins and gave myself a stomach-ache.

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A little pain was worth it, the sugar rush totally helped me through the remainder of my internship journaling.  Minus breaks for making food and eating food, I chugged away for the remainder of the evening.

Our home dinner was vegetable fried rice.

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In the wok (for 2) –

  • 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
  • ~1 heaping cup peas
  • ~1 heaping cup roasted broccoli
  • ~1.5 cups leftover brown rice
  • 1 Tbsp tamari
  • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Sriracha
  • 3 large eggs

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The dish had the potential to be great, but it was way too salty.  It’s been awhile since I’ve used fish sauce and I forgot what a sodium-punch it packs.  I ate a little less than 2/3 of my plate.

Dessert was a giant, delicious cookie.

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Coconut Chocolate Lavender Cookies = this recipe for single serve cookies plus 1 tsp minced culinary lavender and chopped Sweetriot 70% dark kickin’ coconut chocolate subbed in for chocolate chips.

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We were both big fans of the big cookies and big taste.

The winner of my Hey Shuga! giveaway is:

contest winner

(#1) Jenny, shoot me an e-mail with your mailing address.