Tag Archives: carrots

The Great Peanut Butter Expedition

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I didn’t have time to blog lunch.  I also didn’t have time to make a lunch that wasn’t two bags of popcorn, but that’s another story.  I didn’t have time, because instead of studying for my two looming tests I spent the day doing things like reading Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi from start to finish.

I shouldn’t really be blogging dinner, but I’m just too darn excited about this contest not to.

There’s a set of Peanut Butter and Co at stake and my Easy Peasy Peanut Noodles are a surefire win.

Easy Peasy Peanut Noodles, serves 2

  • 1 cup prepared whole wheat linguine
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 2 cups chopped broccoli
  • 2 tsp evoo
  • 4 Tbsp chunky peanut butter
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp sugar 
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  1. Warm 1 tsp of oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add veggies to the oil and cover.  Cook 3-5minutes until steamed, stirring occasionally.  If using fresh rather than frozen brocoli you may want to add a few Tbsps of water to help build steam.  Remove veggies from pan and set aside.
  2. Add remaining tsp of oil to the pan and increase heat to medium-high.  Add pasta and stir-fry until starting to brown and crisp, stirring occasionally.
  3. While the veggies and pasta are cooking, prepare your sauce.  Combine peanut butter through red pepper flakes in a small, microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for 15-45 seconds to help loosen.  Whisk together with a fork.
  4. When noodles have reached doneness, return veggies to the pan.  Pour sauce over the pasta and veggies and continue to cook 2-3minutes.  Everything is done when the sauce starts to form a slight crust on the vegetables.

This dish is a little bit spicy, a little bit crunchy, and a whole lot peanut butter-y and delicious.  It’s also the ultimate leftovers meal; you can pretty much use any kind of pasta or veggie you’ve got lying around the house.  Keep your fingers crossed for me that it’s also a winner!

What’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter?  Mine is this dish, followed closely by pb stirred into Greek yogurt or right off the spoon!

Make Yourself a Dang Quesadilla

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Vegan month is off to an auspicious start with this winner of a lunch.

The only way this meal could have been more enjoyable is if there was a new “House” episode for me to watch!

I used to assume that quesadilla had to mean cheese, but recently I’ve figured out that peanut butter can be a mighty fine substitute.

I steamed some matchstick carrots and piled them onto a tortilla with 2Tbsp each chunky peanut butter and raisins, and a sprinkle of sweet curry.  Then I sandwiched and gave a quick spin in a hot skillet with a bit of evoo.

Not cheesy, but still melty and delicious and good!

Alongside I had two clementines.

Both of these guys were a bit dry, I’m terrified that the crate in our fridge is getting old.

I didn’t eat breakfast this morning – not because vegan food is hard, but – because I quickly got swept up in errands.  I had an 8:15 orthodontist visit where, thankfully, they agreed that my top retainer was sitting wrong and gave it a quick adjustment.  That thing was driving me crazy!

I also went to the grocery store.

Um, yeah.  I spent practically double our normal weekly bill!  Adam is planning on attempting the vegan challenge with me, for at least the first two weeks, and I wanted to make sure he had lots of options.

Of course, when I get our biggest load of groceries ever I have to forget our reusable bags.  Forget bad for the planet (and we reuse all the plastic ones anyway), our reusable ones fit over my shoulder and are 10x easier to carry.  I honestly don’t know how I managed to get those all up three flights of stairs by myself!

Do you use reusable bags for the grocery?  Otherwise, paper or plastic?

I Got Curried Away

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My friends over at Tandoor Chef asked me to let you guys know about their Get Curried Away with Tandoor Chef campaign.  Their products are all ridiculous good, so why wouldn’t I?  All you have to do is enter the contest before January 31st and you can be entered to win a years worth of products!  I entered, and so should you.

Even if I don’t win, I should be thanking them, because the contest title inspired this tasty lunch.

Actually first it inspired a Marco Polo-esque trek for the necessary provisions,

then came lunch.

Curried tuna salad!

I mixed up half a can of tuna, some Miracle Whip, 3 Tbsp of raisins, and a healthy shake of sweet curry powder.

With half a Sandwich Thin (toasted with Smart Balance Light),

and carrots roasted with honey and balsamic vinegar.

For dessert I ate this candy bar I picked up along the spice route.

Mr. Big was actually deceptively not that big (it wasn’t small, but it wasn’t as large as it look is my point), it was filled with this great airy wafer candy.

I’ve got a class at 4 and then the only plan for the evening is dinner.  See ya!

Like a Saftey

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Confession – in order to write my clever title I had to Google “football players who tackle.”  And I was a cheerleader.

Anyway, that’s what this weekend has been about, tackling my to-do list:

Hooray!

I tackled two weeks worth of laundry (actually, the husband tackled this, but I folded!),

I tackled the pile of outgoing mail,

I tackled my huge stack of unsorted magazine clippings,

I tackled my planner for the semester,

And more!  I didn’t work the whole weekend, but I did more in two days than I’ve done in two weeks.

Breakfast this morning had a mix of carbs and protein to fuel me up.

That’s a plan fat-free yogurt with Crofter’s Strawberry Jam stirred in, topped with Kashi H2H and some chunky peanut butter.

So good!  Peanut Butter and I have totally resparked our love affair lately.

Around noon I headed out to run some errands at school and replenish our food stores.  Wegman’s was terrible this afternoon – the hot bar was barely stocked and the store was packed.  Nonetheless, I managed to carve out a booth of calm and spend an hour tackling my NYE resolution to read more.

Eating materials, hot bar Asian style veggies, potatoes, and sweet and sour chicken.

Reading materials, The Food of a Younger Land, Mark Kurlansky.

When I got home from pushing my way through the hoards I snacked  on a mini bag of kettle corn and a glass of skim milk.

Dinner involved some prep throughout the day – chicken getting soft and shreddable in the crock pot, red onions caramelizing on the stove – but the end result was beyond worth it –

Bbq chicken pizza with caramelized red onions and gouda!

I topped a store-bought crust with caramelized red onions, shredded chicken tossed with bbq sauce, and gouda, and 10minutes later I had pure, steamy bliss.

Bliss served with a side of roasted asparagus.

It was a pretty heavenly dinner.

Dessert was from the bulk bins; yogurt pretzels, chocolate pretzels, and a piece of local sponge candy.

I’ve got to go shower and get my beauty sleep; school starts tomorrow!

First Post of the New Year

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2011 is off to a productive start.  Probably because last night I gave the husband his 5-4-3-2-1-midnight! kiss and then headed straight to bed.  It’s not an official resolution, but bedtime is going to be a focus of mine in 2011.

Healthy breakfasts are also going to be a focus, but that was kind of a flop today.  To be fair, I just got back from a 10day vacation, so the choice was candy or nothing.  (I went with nothing).

Instead I unpacked, put away all the Christmas decorations, organized my new day planner, and wrote up a grocery list and meal plan.  The husband and I also got in our first workout:  20minutes of strength and stretch moves, side by side on our yoga mats.

Next up was a trip to Wegmans to deal with the food situation. It was 50*(?!?) here today, so this was my entire outfit, no coat!

It was after noon by the time we got to the grocery, so we had a lunch date at the hot bar.

I got Brussels sprouts with honey walnuts, white beans and escarole, Asian style veggies,

and a single piece of sweet and sour chicken.

I looooove it, but more than a bite really is overkill/unhealthy.

After a quick trip home to drop off the groceries, we headed to date #2 – the movies.  We were both dying to see “The Black Swan” and were crushed when we thought it wasn’t going to come to Buffalo.  As soon as we saw the updated movie listing on Thursday we knew what our plans for the new year were.

While at the mall I took advantage of post-holiday sales and snagged some bras and hand soap, both of which were boring but necessary. We also checked out the new candy kiosk.

A quarter pound of sour gummi cola bottles makes for a very exciting movie snack.

During a very exciting movie! The Black Swan was gorgeous, and very tense. I realized during that credits that I was clenching my hands so hard I hurt my finger!

Our dinner plan was an easy peasy three ingredients.

Pasta, marinara, canned sardines.

The husband is obsessed with sardines but I’ve been too afraid until now to try them. The smell is less than appetizing, but fish – omega-3 – is so healthy for you and this is the only kind of seafood we can afford.

I had the husband deal with them – mash, pan fry with marinara sauce – until it was time to top the pasta.

Looks good, great idea, but ultimately not for me.  I ate about half of my plate but was gagging and putting on major theatrics the whole time.  It didn’t help matters that Adam way undercooked the pasta, perhaps I’ll try again another time.

Thank goodness we had a spinach side salad planned.

Topped with Newman’s Own Asian Sesame dressing and Sahale Snacks Valdosta pecans.

And thank goodness for popcorn!

How did you ring in the new year?

STT; Sunday Afternoon – 3rd Anniversary

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Sunday afternoon, after a quick trip home for provisions, we headed to the movies. We saw a matinée of True Grit, which I just loved. Cowboy movies are so not my thing, but somehow I knew this one would just rock my socks. The story line was funny and touching and I loved the vocabulary.

I packed a baggie of baby carrots,

and bought some Jordan Almonds at the theatre.

We did a quick and easy dinner when we got home.

Baked okra with ketchup,

cole slaw,

and two mini buns (split), toasted and topped with leftover spinach dip.

Plus dessert.

One of our guy friends was flying out Monday afternoon, so we met him that morning for brunch.

A few other friends came along and it was great to catch up with everyone.

I ordered a mahi mahi sandwich with a side of cole slaw.

Delish!  Mahi mahi is my favorite kind of fish, so light and flakey.

I left my bun, but devoured everything else.

Dessert (clearly I’m on vacation, who really needs lunch dessert?!?) came at home in the form of 7-layer bar.

Around 4 – we are really watching our sun exposure – Adam and I got in an afternoon workout. We headed to the beach, and amid the frolicing did 30ish minutes of hard swimming.

We met up with visiting family friends for dinner. I wasn’t feeling confident about the healthiness of the meal, so I supplemented with some baby veggies before dinner.

Good thing, because pizza was dinner. I ended up with a shrimp scampi slice,

and a bbq chicken slice.

Adam and I also split a Caesar salad with extra veggies.

And I had a piece of homemade toffee when we got home.

Today (the 28th) is our 3rd wedding anniversary!!! We’ve celebrated by spending the day doing things we both love. Like starting the morning with a run… We got in an hour+ workout that included a bit of walking, 2 miles of running, and the mile uphill walk home. Between today’s run and yesterday’s swim, both of our legs are pretty sore!

Next on the agenda was lunch at our favorite restaurant.

Plus some time sipping coffee and reading.

I ordered a Vietnamese Latte (sweetened with condensed milk),

and Adam and I split the spicy sweet potato wrap (with spinach and rosemary goat cheese).

We’re unsure of the agenda tonight – there’s a party we might skip – but all I really need is an evening with the (3year’s old) husband!

STT; Merry Christmas – Sunday Afternoon

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I hope everyone had happy holidays!  Adam and I have been feeling extremely blessed.  I’m also feeling busy, I hate how brief I have to make these recaps!

Ok, back to Friday afternoon.  Since we had already paid the daily admission fee, Adam and I headed back to Magen’s beach.  He swam, I read a magazine, and we both clapped in delight over these signs –

On the way back, we had to hit up an island institution.

Going to St. Thomas without making a stop at the dairy is practically criminal!  Adam and I split a Bailey’s Delight, made with rum raisin ice cream, egg nog, and brandy.

Then it was time for the final prep for our big Christmas Eve party.  A family friend who knows we usually just have to scrounge on the 24th brought over turkey chilli with kidney beans for dinner.

The rest of the evening’s eats were indeed party food.  I have no pictures from the actual party, but you can assume I ate at least one of everything, and that it was all delicious!

My hot pepper peach cheese ball.

Baked spinach and artichoke dip.

Baked brie topped with cranberries and walnuts.

Dippers.

Pinwheels.

Fixings for mini turkey sandwiches.

Mini bagels with cream cheese and lox.

Frosted shortbread.

Snowballs, macaroons, and 7-layer bars.

We were also fully stocked with booze.  I spent most of my evening carrying around a tray of tequilla shots – it’s a Christmas tradition!  And while I did manage to skip that particular tradition, I got so wasted on orange juice with Goldshlager (don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it!) that Adam had to pour me into bed.

Christmas morning began the best possible way – with a light workout!  Adam and I ran for about a mile near the beach, then hiked the mile home.  It was a short workout, but considering that we had double hangovers and presents to open, I’m pretty proud of us.

A small glass of egg nog was consumed during stockings,

and then a lovely breakfast before presents.

Sidenote – our family does stockings, breakfast, then presents.  Always.  What was your Christmas morning tradition?

Gingerbread coffee with 2% milk,

a small plate of eggs with red and green pepper and Applegate Farms turkey bacon,

and a 0% Plain Chobani with a slice of coffee cake.

I should have given myself a bigger serving of eggs, I gave away most of my bacon/yogurt/cake.  In spite of our refreshing run, I think my nighttime imbibing had made me a little picky.

Not too picky, however, to turn down a big handful of maple sugar cotton candy(!!).

After present opening (which was plentiful – thank’s mom and dad!) there was lunch.

Apple slices and baby carrots,

and crackers with leftover hot pepper peach and spinach dip.

Plus dessert.

Dinner was consumed at my aunt’s house, with a large group of family and friends.

Plus a slice of garlic bread,

and a slice of delicious yellow cake with blueberry jam and vanilla buttercream.

I helped with the frosting, pulling a recipe from Eat, Live, Run that was to die for.

This morning started with another light workout.  Adam and I walked up and down the beach for 45minutes, then hiked the mill uphill homeward.  I wore my heart rate monitor and was pleasantly surprised that our 1hour, 11minute workout killed 290calories.  It’s nice to know that our sand trudging burned up more than the back of my leg muscles.

Lunch was leftovers. 

Turkey chilli,

 and macaroni and cheese made with swiss cheese, chives, and white truffle flavored oil.

Sidenote – my cousin made the mac and cheese for Christmas dinner and the husband liked it so much he went back for thirds!

I also ate the final serving of Junior Mints,

which helped fuel me up for…. a long nap!

We are at school now, and rest of the day’s agenda is movies, dinner, maybe drinks with friends.  See you soon!

St. Thomas; Thursday Afternoon – Friday Afternoon

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It’s Christmas Eve! I can hardly believe that 2010 has flown so quickly. My family throws a big Christmas party this evening, so Thursday afternoon was spent on errands and party prep. Lunch was eaten on the fly. Slice of cheese pizza with baby carrots.

Followed by the last of the gingerbread granola, with skim milk, a few hours later.

With one serving of Junior Mint Peppermint Crunch for dessert.

For dinner, Adam and I headed to the Caribbean Saloon. Generally the Saloon isn’t much to write home about, but their buffalo chicken sub is to die for!

I left most of my sub roll and half of my fries, but gobbled up that extra spicy chicken (dipped in blue cheese!).

Later, Adam and I drank some of this strawberry lemonade while watching “Ernest Saves Christmas.”

It was a surprisingly good movie for getting us in the holiday spirit. We’ve got “Scrooged” on Netflix too.

This morning we got up bright and early to get in some activity. If you have a light exercise day, what better place to spend it than this???

We spent an hour walking up and down the beach. The uneven, squishy sand is the equivalent of cranking up the resistance on the elliptical. Disclaimer, we did spend some time taking pictures too –

After an hour of walking, the final leg if our workout was the walk home. We were only a mile away (this distance we could measure with the car), but steep is greater than length. We had to defeat two major hills.

Thank goodness there were things to distract us.

Does anyone have any idea what this is supposed to indicate?!??

And then we were home.

We’ve spent the day on party set up (and naps) so I mostly grabbed bites where I could.

Though I decided to be sensible and grab an actual sandwich (mini, turkey breast, with cucumber, pickles, red onion, and bbq sauce) from Subway before I went overboard on the cookies and dips.

Going overboard on cookies and dips is a party activity 😉

If you celebrate, I hope you have a merry Christmas tomorrow!