Tag Archives: eggplant

Sunday Night Dinners

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I hope everyone has had a great weekend!  It’s been an interesting Sunday around here; both Adam and I barely got any sleep last night so the whole day has felt like a dream.  As thrilled as I am about the warming weather, we are in that strange time where a blanket is too heavy but a sheet is too light and we don’t know whether we want to turn on the heat or the ac.  Hopefully we’ll get things figured out by tonight!

We slept in and lounged around so I didn’t eat until close to noon and I ended up having breakfast and lunch in reverse.  Lunch first –

Eggplant, and yam, and brussels sprouts, oh my!  I tried to mix up my seasoning with balsamic vinegar and sadly this wasn’t as tasty as my usual veggie skillets so I’ll spare you the recipe.  It sure looked pretty though.

Probably because it wasn’t the taste I was expecting, lunch didn’t satisfy me at all.  I ended up eating ‘breakfast’ a little later.

1cup Kashi H2H with 2T dried cranberries and 1T cinnamon chips.  And skim milk of course.

The cereal did the trick.

My parents, who don’t do a whole lot of cooking, always make fish on Sunday nights and have a fancy dinner.  Sadly this tradition began after I moved out, which is probably why it hasn’t caught on in my house.  We have things like Dairy Queen for Sunday night dinner.

We had to repark the car for the weekday morning so Adam suggested taking a drive and we ended up at DQ.  I’d be lying if I said that my turtle blizzard didn’t feel like the perfect dinner!

I’m glad I got in some veggies at lunch, but I didn’t eat a single piece of fruit today.  Healthy living fail!   And an issue I’m actually going to address in another post later today.  Be on the lookout for it this evening.

Does your family have any special traditions for Sunday night dinners?

You’re Too Kind

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I’m back!  I spent the last three days letting Chemistry make me her b***h, do I look any worse for the wear?

My final this morning actually didn’t go all that well, but at this point I’m glad to be done.  Plus, it’s hard to feel anything but grateful when I read over all the nice comments you guys left on my last post!  I loved all the sweet things you had to say, but do feel free to voice anything negative if you’re ever so inclined.  I always miss blogging when I’m away but I’ve especially been itching to get back today.  I also appreciated your support on my moderation plan, I’m pretty excited about it.

This morning before the slaughter final I ate a Hazelnut Bumble Bar for breakfast.

Then THREE HOURS LATER I was freeeeeeeee!  I actually have an Anthropology final next week but it’s pretty low-key so I’m letting the whimsy overtake me.

Adam and I had errands to run this afternoon so lunch was the soul-soother that is Wegman’s salad bar.

I had a little bit of broccoli,

some amazingly delicious roasted eggplant and squash (I almost went back to purchase more of this!),

Channa Masala,

and a half piece of Naan.

Lunch was fantastic, and our grocery shopping went pretty well too.  We purchased a bunch of fun things this week that I’m excited to blog about.  For example, Simply Lemonade Raspberry.

I generally try not to drink a lot of juice (although I’ve actually been trying to up my intake of calcium+vitamin d oj) but the Simply line is so perfect that I make an exception.  The lack of sugar overload is so refreshing.  I enjoyed a glass (8oz) during this post.

Mmmn, pink!

In spite of all our good finds, we had to make another stop on the way home to purchase our poultry.

I’d been having some misgivings about our Wegman’s chicken – skinless, boneless, breasts – for a while and after Adam watched the entire Earthlings movie last week he was easily convinced that we needed to step up our ethical purchasing power.  While I have no moral qualms consuming poultry (I’ll never eat pork or beef, i.e. mammals), I do take issue with not treating the chickens, whose lives we take, with respect.  From now on we’ll be purchasing our meat from the local co-op.  It costs a bit more, but I’m more concerned with the cost to my karma right now.

Free Bird.  Vegetarian fed, humanely raised, no growth hormones used.  Check, check, check.

To my omnivore readers – what kind of meat do you purchase?  What guides your choice money, morals, apathy, or a mix of all three?

And another thing – After reading some negative blog posts about product reviews (a whole ‘nother story) I got to thinking.  I occasionally review a sample or two that a company sends, but I’ve pretty much stopped reviewing the products I’ve purchased.  But I’m excited about food, and I feel like I have good great taste.  So for now on I will at least try to link to the website of products that I’ve purchased that I think are exceptional.

A Day That Wasn’t

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I accomplished less than nothing today.  Seriously.  And I seriously don’t want to talk about it.  😦 Boo, let’s just get to the food.

This morning I used the amazingness that is Thai young coconut,

to make this amazingness.

The world’s simplest, simply amazing smoothie contained the flesh and juice of one coconut, a big shake of cinnamon-sugar, and 1/2t xanthan gum (which still was a bit too much gum).  So simple and too tasty.

Dinner was courtesy of Wegman’s salad bar.  My one and only accomplishment today was getting the grocery shopping done.

Wok cooked veggies and blanched broccoli,

and amazingly delicious eggplant.

This is quickly becoming my favorite veggie!  I normally would stick to a smaller serving of something that looked fried, but Wegmans is becoming very nyc-ish and they had the nutritional info posted next to the dish – 140calories for 1cup.

Sorry to be in such an anti-stellar mood.  Hopefully a good night of sleep will set me right.

Do you ever have any days that aren’t?

P.S. I used the word “amazing” 4 times in that short post.  Who was an English major?!?

Simple but Stunning

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We obviously didn’t eat dinner at 2pm so I guess this will be a two-post-day, yippie!  Most of the day so far has been spent at the hospital getting my bone scan done.  I had an initial appointment at 9:30 so that they could inject the tracer, and then a second appointment at 1:30 so they could image my legs.  I could tell just by looking at the monitor that there is bone regrowth in the area that hurts, but I’ll know more after I speak with the doctor next week.

My head hit the pillow after 2am last night but even then my mind didn’t want to stop working!  Does anyone else have to mentally review their to-do list before falling asleep?  Sometimes I think out our weekly meal plan just to calm myself down!  Obviously I stayed in bed as late as possible today and made breakfast an on-the-go affair.

I pretty much love all Cliff Bar flavors but Peanut Toffee Buzz holds a big piece of my heart.  It’s sweet without being too much and incredibly filling for 250calories.  Plus, as much as I know I should be getting my gotta-have-’ems from fruits and veggies, I always appreciate products with added nutrients.

I had a ton of phone calls to make in between doctor’s appointments – I have some issues to work out with summer school, financial aid, etc – but I did find time to make a stunning lunch.  I love this combination –

Kale + eggplant + okra = awesome goodness.

I cooked my veggies in evoo and worchestire sauce for ~10minutes, then poured some marinara into the saucepan for the last few minutes.

YUM!  This is pretty much my favorite dish of all time, the combination is just too fantastic.  Plus it’s so gorgeous!

The plan for the rest of the day includes Anthropology reading, a grocery trip, and dinner.  On my like-to-do list is also a light strength/stretch session and watching the latest episode of Bones.  I’ll see you for dinner!

What food discoveries have you made through the healthy blog world?  I don’t think without Meghann and Kath I ever would have tried okra and now it’s pretty much my favorite thing.  I love the fact that blogs allow us to expose each other to myriad of amazing options.

How to Train Your Dragon

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It’s been an amazing day!  However, it’s also been a day when I realize I need to do something about my weekend eating habits, whoops.

Today was the day we switched out our summer and winter wardrobes, and made a huge pile of almost-never-worn stuff to donate.  We were so busy all morning I was actually too distracted to eat.  When we headed to Goodwill (around 2) I did stop in at Dunkin Donuts to buy a medium, nonfat, coconut ice latte.

I had been wanting to try one of these ever since I saw one on another blog weeks ago.  ‘Twas good!

While we were out, Adam and I headed to the movies to make a date of it.  A serving of TJ’s Gummy Tummy snacks made the perfect movie snack.

Plus they are adorable 😉

We saw “How to Train Your Dragon” (not in 3-D), which was shockingly good.  This is now both Adam’s and my new favorite movie!  I love modern children’s movies that don’t sacrifice themselves for adult humor.  This was funny for all ages, had a great message, and was totally adorable.  I’m a definite sucker for movies with any sort of fairy tale element – dragons, trolls, faeries…..bring it on!

Whilst at the mall I stopped in at Old Navy to buy a cheap, sporty-ish, one piece bathing suit.  I’m seriously going crazy not going to the gym and hopefully swimming will be able to fill the void.  I told Adam today that I’m worried my soul will be broken by the time I’m allowed to run again.  The South Campus gym has a pool, so this week I’m going to try going for a swim.

We couldn’t let the afternoon end, so when we got home from the mall we took a walk around our neighborhood, and came upon this –

La Tee Da has been on my ‘to eat’ list ever since I read about it on Yelp months ago, I had no idea it was right next door.  The menu looked amazing and the restaurant was filled with all sorts of adorable touches.

I had a lot more to photograph but my camera died.  Dinner out wasn’t in our original plans so we were kind to our wallets and decided to split a drink and some appetizers.  We got some amazing (free) bread and evoo.

Belinis are my favorite.

And we ordered the fried artichokes and the eggplant buffalo ‘wings’ –

Yummmmm.  Every single bite was delish.  The concept of eggplant wings seems to be a totally Buffalo concept and it is amazing.

For dinner dinner I made myself a spicy grilled cheese with two slices of Buffalo Wing Sharp Cheddar.

To be eaten while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer via Netflix.  I would say Adam and I have fully milked his Spring Break, wouldn’t you?  😀

Do you enjoy “kid’s” movies?  What’s your favorite cinematic genre?  I love children’s cartoons and raunchy comedy.

Another Recipe Tease

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Alrighty, I’m here for a sour-puss post, as promised.  I got my Chem score back and let’s just say I will be working my butt off for the rest of the semester.  I actually still have an A in the class overall, but I’d like to make sure I keep it.  I didn’t get my Anthro test back yet because class was canceled.  That would have been more exciting had I known before I sprint/limped through the rain to get there.  My leg hurt a lot, but I took advantage of the “found time” and gave myself 45minutes to read a magazine 😀

I also had time to do some Chemistry reading while I waited for my next class.  I snacked on a package of Strawberry Pomegranate Teather while I worked.

The fruit leather was hard-core delicious, but I was starving by the time I got home.  Hunger coupled with major leg pain lead me to the peanut butter M&M’s.

I ended up having three handfuls!  I would have been better off sitting down with a small plate of real food.

Dinner was a healthier situation.

I wish I could share this recipe, Italian Style Gumbo, with you but it’s for another contest!  It was delicious though, and I promise to make a recipe page soon.

When I get up tomorrow I’ve got to pack for our PA trip and I’d like to squeeze in a workout too so bedtime is in order.  I hope everyone else had an irritation-free day!

Where’s the Beef?

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It’s been a filled but successful day.  I knew the days before I left for Orlando would be stressful but thankfully, especially for a Monday, today wasn’t too bad.  And hopefully it will be over soon and I’ll actually get to sleep after dinner.

On my way out of volunteering I grabbed a (caramel biscotti)coffee with 2% milk.

Then I came home and geared myself up before heading down to the nearby coffee shop to work.  I filled out notecards from 2:30 – 5:30 and had a yummy lunch.

“Queen City” Eggplant sandwich; blue cheese, hot sauce, and field greens.

And small side of horseradish potato salad.

I wished both dishes were a bit spicier but they were very tasty.

The husband stopped by around 4:30 and distracted me for the last hour or so planning a very exciting trip.  I can’t wait to tell you guys about it once I get back from my spring break trips.

The dinner plan is this turkey burger recipe.  It’s been on the menu planner for more than a month but somehow it wasn’t until all the other ingredients were on the counter that it occurred to me we had no turkey!  Whoops!  The husband was such a sweetheart to run out and get more.  And while I waited I figured I’d do this lunch post 🙂

I blame my interim snack on Jessica –

After gummi cola bottles York Peppermint Patties are my favorite conventional candy.

I’ve got to go make my husband a well-deserved dinner, but hopefully I’ll be back with a final post for the day not too soon!

What is your favorite kind of ‘conventional’ candy?

Best Lunch Ever

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I’m on cloud-9 here in excitement over how tasty my lunch was!  It was delicious x 10 and healthy, healthy, healthy!

I had a gorgeous Neon Eggplant to use so that was the inspiration for lunch.

I chopped up 2/3 of the eggplant alongside some okra and a handful of kale.

Then I poured some evoo into a pan on medium heat.  I cooked the eggplant and kale for a couple minutes, seasoned with salt and pepper, before adding a big pour of vegetable stock and allowing it to reduce.  Then I added a few huge glugs of Worchestire sauce.  After a few minutes I turned the heat up to medium high and added a bit more evoo and the okra and cooked another couple minutes.

That amazingness was bowled, drizzled with an einsy bit of agave syrup, and then I crumbled a small last serving of casserole over the top, and some paprika.

Holy Yum!

Some of my favorite flavors were in this lunch and they all came together perfectly!  It was an amazing mix of flavors and textures.

As satisfied as I am, my craving for this seems to finally have gotten the best of me and I think I’m heading to Wegman’s soon so I can pick up some ingredients.  We are driving to OH for an in-law visit this weekend and the husband’s family is most definitely NOT vegan so I need to pick up some supplies any way.

I have a big warm pot planned for dinner, a gym date I’ll hate myself if I don’t keep, and a bit of light homework on the agenda.  See you later alligators!

What was the last simple meal that blew YOU away?  If you can’t think of one please do yourself a favor and remake my lunch!