Tag Archives: greens

Ombre Umami

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Today’s mood progressed gradually, slowly moving from bad to good.  It felt like I was peeling back layer after layer (probably as I was shaking off sleep!), getting more productive, more happy, more awake.  The visual I kept picturing was the new trend of ombre hair; light at the tips progressing to darker roots.

Sidenote – I’m loving my short ‘do but this look is yet another reason I’m missing short hair.  The main reason being big buns piling on the top of heads.

During the darker morning, as I slumped around the house feeling tired, I ate a big bowl of unphotographed popcorn with Earth Balance for breakfast.  I want to blame popcorn for bettering my mood, but it was probably the long nap I took after eating it.

My dreams have been crazy lately and sleep hasn’t been very restful.  But on an exciting note, I think I might be a sleeper agent as all of my nights of late have been spent as a cop, CIA operative, or other fighter of crime.  After a rejuvenating nap this morning I was ready to take on the day.  Good meals, schoolwork done, peppy attitude.

Lunch was my new favorite sandwich.  A Sandwich Thin with mustard and 3 oz of tempeh.

I had to make a quick stop at the grocery and I rounded out the meal with a few stir fry veggies.

We’re doing another take-out challenge in March and I feel like I’ve got to hit up the hot bar while I can!

Dinner doesn’t look so hot, I agree, but I promise it was delicious.

1 serving of linguine with turnip greens, topped with a drizzle of evoo and a pile of this –

The mushroom sauce ended up even better than I was expecting.  I will totally cop to licking my plate once my pasta was gone.  Yields 16 ounces –

  • 3 pints sliced white mushrooms
  • 2 Tbsp Earth Balance butter substitute
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 Tbsp evoo
  • 1 cup reduced sodium vegetable broth
  1. Melt Earth Balance in a large pan over high heat.
  2. Add mushrooms and 1/4 tsp salt to pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
  3. Drain any excess water from the mushrooms and add 1 Tbsp of evoo and the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt to the pan.  Cook an additional 10 minutes butter the mushrooms are beginning to brown*.
  4. Remove from heat and allow mushrooms to cool 2 – 3 minutes.
  5. Pour mushrooms into the bowl of your food processor.  Process 3 – 4 minutes, until smooth, streaming in vegetable broth and remaining 3 Tbsp of evoo.

Adam’s out getting our taxes done but I’m excited to see what he thinks of dinner when he gets home.  Speaking of the husband, there were more sightings this morning!  My friends in another section of clinic ran into him at the hospital today and he even got to meet one of my favorite teachers.

Now I’ve got to get back to hitting those books!  I finally started the work I’ve been ducking all week and I’d hate to lose momentum now.

What current hairstyle are you digging?

What Do Vegan Zombies Eat?

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Graaaaaaaaaaaaains!

<– I heard that joke at Jekyll and Hyde when Adam and I went there our first year in NYC.  The food wasn’t very good and the drinks were overpriced, but that joke has stuck in my repertoire.

After a week of eating takeout (crap) I am more than ready to get back to healthier living.  I’ve got my kitchen mojo back and was ready to bang out two healthy home-cooked meals today.

Lunch was an old recipe that got some needed updates.

Berry Better Than Spaghetti, serves 5

  • 1 cup hard red winter wheat berries
  • 2 tsp evoo
  • 2 heaping cups frozen turnip greens
  • half a large red onion, roughly chopped
  • 14 oz package ground beef style veggie protein
  • 24 oz jar marinara sauce
  1. In a covered pot, soak the wheat berries overnight in 4 cups of cold water.
  2. Place the pot over high heat and set a timer for 50 minutes.  When the wheat berries have come to a boil reduce the heat and simmer for the remaining time.  After 50 minutes, remove from heat and drain any remaining water.
  3. While the wheat berries are cooking, heat 1 tsp evoo in a large pan over medium-high heat.
  4. Place turnip greens in pan and cook 2 minutes, stirring regularly.  Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Add remaining tsp evoo and onions to pan and cook 2 minutes.
  6. Add veggie protein to pan and cook 4 minutes, using the side of your spatula to break up the “meat” into smaller pieces.
  7. Reduce heat to low, and add cooked wheat berries and marinara sauce to pan for a final 3 minutes.

The amalgam of textures and flavors was just perfect, wheat berries give great chew.

And this dish freezes well so I’ve got two servings in the freezer for the next week when we don’t feel like cooking.

I walked to school this afternoon and slowly sipped a soda through my two-hour class.  It’s been 12 hours and I’m still overjoyed about not having to wear my retainers during the day.

After class I stayed at school to work on a group project with my friend Kim.  Among other things, we made this –

We’re doing a nutrition lesson at a pre-school in a few weeks and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.

When I got home I had a dapple plucot.

And a toasted bagel with strawberry jam and SmartBalance Light.

I made it to-go because I multitasked and ate while I walked the dog.

Dinner was similar to lunch – grain, veg, sauce – but fabulous in its own way.

Tempeh Brown Rice Casserole, serves 4

  • 1 cup (raw) brown rice, prepared according to package directions
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1.5 heaping cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 12 oz tempeh, chopped
  • 3/4 cup nayonaise
  • 1 cup green salsa
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.
  2. Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat.  Place nuts in skillet with a pinch of salt.  Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.  When the nuts are just starting to smell toasty they’re done.
  3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to incorporate.  Pour into a greased 8×8 casserole dish.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes.

Plus a side of roasted zucchini.

This green meal was also great.

My plans for the rest of the evening include a trip to the gym; no ifs, ands, or buts!

Off the top of your head – grain + veg + sauce; what would you combine?

By The Clock

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Thank you, Thursday, for being fabulous in a strange and wonderful way.  I was in a good mood all day.  I was busy with easy to do tasks, I had simple but tasty meals, and little bonuses kept popping up.

8:00 – Wake up with Adam still in bed.  He had a study day before an exam and I got to start my morning making a pile with him and the dog.

9:00 – Quick meeting with my Statistics teacher.  All of the homework I’ve done so far has been correct!  Plus she let me sit in on an earlier class session to accommodate a change in clinic schedule for the afternoon.

9:20 – Eat a Cappuccino Lara Bar for breakfast.

This is my favorite flavor LB for sure.  It’s not too strongly coffeed and it’s less date-y than other flavors.

11:00 – See the husband mid-day (squee!!!) when he graciously offers to drive me to UB for the lecture I’m attending.

12:00 – Attend a 1 hour lecture on diabetes mellitus and pharmacology.  We didn’t learn much that we can actually put into clinical practice, but it was a fascinating topic.

13:00  – Stop into Jimmy Johns for a large fountain soda – diet coke with a shot of cherry coke – with ice.  Swoon.

14:00 – Lunch.

My Seven Layer Casserole was the #2 best thing to come out of last year’s vegan month (and I’m making numero uno this weekend!).  It is packed full of veggies but tastes like a big mouthful of tortilla chips.  True Story – the reason we went to Moe’s on Tuesday was so I could take home the free chips for this recipe.

16:30 – Finish the writing assignment (due this evening, whoops) that’s been buzzing around my head all month.

18:00 – Dinner in class.

Holy frick, this sandwich, holy frick.  It’s simple, just a Sandwich Thin with mustard, SmartBalance Light, and raw tempeh, but it blew my mind.  The perfect combo of flavors.

Plus a baggie of roasted green beans.

These are actually sort of embarrassing to eat in class because they are squishy and you end up having to cram them in your mouth.  I own it though.

19:30 – We get dismissed from class 30 minutes early!

20:30 – Blog.

21:00 – (planned) read magazines in bed.  <– heaven

What was the best hour of your day?

Let It All Out

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Question first – What is currently stressing you out?  Think about it and really let it out in the comments, you’ll feel (a little) better!

I want to apologize for the on-again-off-again blogging schedule of late.  I also want to be honest with you guys about the fact that I’m having a hard time.  There’s not necessarily one big thing that’s bothering me, but there are a lot of little things that are adding up.  I am 80% sure that I believe in fate, and I am 110% that I believe that any seemingly negative thing you go through leads you to a better place.  But it’s still hard not to get a little freaked out by all the questions I have about the future.

Where will we have to move for Adam’s residency?  What if Adam doesn’t get a residency?  What if Adam’s chosen career means he’s away all the time and I’m lonely?  Should we have kids?  When should we have kids?  Should I get pregnant next year so if that I don’t get a job right away when we move I’ll get to be home with the kid until it’s all sorted out?  Should I wait to have kids until I’m established in my job?  How do women with full-time jobs breast feed?  How do you make an impression at your job if you excuse yourself every hour to pump and are also already 28 years old and starting out in a brand new field?  What if I can’t find a job?  What if the career path I’m on isn’t the one I want?  What do I want to do with my life?

And to be honest, the above questions are only a snapshot of all the things I’ve been worrying about.  It’s hard not to feel a little defeated when I can’t do anything proactive (at the moment) to answer those questions.  Sometimes you just have to have hope/faith/optimism and wait it out.

Sometimes – like last night – you have to eat a veggie sub and a bucket of french fries and sit on the couch watching old episodes of “Family Guy.”  But then the next morning you have to do your hair and put on your comfy-yet-sexy shoes.

So that’s what I did!

And in my comfy-yet-sexy shoes, I drove to school early and made my way through a big stack of school work.  I haven’t stopped working since, and bit by bit, I haven’t stopped feeling a little better, a little more in control.

The theme for my meals today was – late.  Breakfast was at 10, lunch was at 5, and dinner was at 9.  My late breakfast was eaten in the computer lab while I worked.

Holy frick I love reusing containers so much  I over-served Adam’s lunches for this week so that reused cheese container held a half serving he’d left behind.  In the mix was penne pasta, roasted zucchini and yellow squash, sautéed mushrooms, spinach, diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, and a drizzle of olive oil.

It was yumtastic; I’ve been a good wife this week!

Also helping me get back my happy, clinic went really well this afternoon.  We are starting to do SOAP notes and learning more about what RDs actually do helps a lot to relieve my anxiety.  Plus, I screened patient who agreed to do another round of diabetic diet education.  I can’t really say much about clinic (thanks HIPPA), but so far all of my patients have been really nice.

When we got back to campus it was time for late lunch.

Not cottage cheese*, another reusable.  *I may not have been eating a very healthy diet lately but I have been sticking to the vegan challenge at least.  And no soda for another 3 days either.

In the container were leftovers from Monday’s dinner; brown rice, roasted broccoli, and Asian Orange Tofu Bake.

Continuing the citrus theme, I had a navel orange.

And a piece of dark chocolate for dessert.

When we got out of class at 8 I drove a friend home and then hurried to make dinner.

Purple grapes.

And a Sandwich Thin with mustard, roasted garlic hummus, and 4 oz of raw tempeh.

I wasn’t expecting much but this sandwich was goo-ood.

This post took me awhile to write, but it felt good to put it all out there.  Thanks for “listening,” seriously.  I’ve got a low-sodium diet education presentation tomorrow and I’m still riding a productivity high so I’ll probably burn the midnight oil today.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Toasted Is Like Frosted

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I made it over the hump, it’s time to wind down the week.  I know it’s pathetic but I’ve got to admit – three days of actually doing things has left me exhausted!

I did have to hurry, but I managed to leave the house to walk to campus for my two afternoon classes on time.  We learned about Diabetes Mellitus for two hours, and then had the introduction to our class on integrative medicine/nutrition.  My packed lunch was a little weak though.  A mini box of Brown Sugar Quaker Oatmeal Squares (a HLS sample).

And a huge cup of iced coffee with skim milk and English toffee syrup.

Not enough food and too much caffeine made me very shaky and cranky!  Adam picked me up for a quick grocery trip after class and I’m surprised he didn’t strangle me in the frozen aisle.  It’s possible that I stood and stared embarrassingly longingly at the hot bar.

A Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar did the trick when I got home.

This new flavor is an easy cranky killer.

I also had a handful of sliced cucumber.

Cucumber slices with a sprinkle of salt are legit better that potato chips, and I say that as someone who really loves potato chips.

Dinner started with a salad course.

Romaine lettuce with chopped cucumber and yogurt Caesar dressing.

Then more salad and veggie.

Roasted green beans.

And a salad of crock pot chicken, mayo, green grapes, and toasted pecans.

Guys, toasted pecans are ridiculous good.  And I’m telling you that because I told Adam three times during dinner and he hates me.

What’s your go-to ingredient for jazzing up chicken salad?

Neighboors

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Last night was all-around pathetic.  I stayed home alone watching Grey’s (pathetic) and crying (pathetic) while Adam was on his night rotation. I ate this pathetic plate of chips and melted cheese for dinner.

x2 (pathetic).

I had an alarm set for hot yoga, but then my neighbors were so incredibly loud that I figured it was time to get up.  After turning off my phone and brushing my teeth, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was actually 1:30 am.  I missed my yoga class and I hate my neighbors, aka my neighBOORS.  Seriously.  Adam and I lived off-campus when we were in undergrad too, but we weren’t complete assholes to coexist with.

When Adam got home this morning we spent hours (hours!) online looking through residency options.  Between trying to balance program lengths, locations, childcare possibilities, and more; it’s a fairly frustrating process.  But it is fun to think about the future.

We ate breakfast while we worked.

I had a pear,

and a cinnamon raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese.

Strawberry cream cheese is too amazing.  Though I might have picked a different breakfast topper if I’d remembered that my lunch leftovers contained cream cheese too.

I gave my 5 Jalapeño Popper Won Tons a 5 minute spin in 400* oven and they were good to go.

Adam devoured the rest of the leftovers during his hospital shift.  We both agreed that they were one of my better creations.

Many (many, many, many) hours of residency research later … It was time for dinner.

The main attraction was butter chicken.

I followed a recipe from Kath’s blog, minus most of the spices because we didn’t have them.  It was still good.

This small pile of kale was actually a huge mountain before it cooked down.

Cooked in chicken stock and dressed with lemon juice and brown sugar.

And finally baked potato fries.

I cut them extra thin, before baking at 450*, and they were nice and crispy.

One more day until I go back to school,  So much to do still!

Do you live within hearing distance of your neighbors?  Have you ever had a horrible neighbor?

Minus One Bite

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My lunch didn’t quite cut it so this afternoon I ate a leftover slice of jalapeño pineapple pizza.

Minus one bite 😀

Dinner was my AnTEAoxidant Pasta.

I updated the page for that recipe today too.

Not my absolutely tastiest dish ever, but definitely one of my healthiest ones.

Dessert was supposed to be my horchata can.

But it didn’t suit my fancy and I ended up swapping with the husband for two cookies.

Much better.

Since I didn’t go to the gym today I did some strength training intervals throughout the afternoon/evening instead.  I told myself I had to complete 20 minutes total for it to count as a workout.

In two-minute blocks I did 2 sets of arms, 4 sets of abs, 5 sets of legs, and 3 x 1-minute planks for 25 minutes of strength training total.

Fun fact about the husband – when eating any food by hand, ie french fries or sandwiches, he always leaves behind the part his fingers were touching.

They Were All The Best

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What was the best thing you ate today?  If you’re a normal person you probably answered that pretty quickly.  But if you’re me, every single thing you ate was “the very best thing you ate today!”  If pressed, I guess I’d say the juice.  But that choice wasn’t easy.

My morning started off perfectly with a 60 minute hot yoga class.  I picked up a 30-day unlimited pass to Evolation Yoga on Groupon and I am so excited to get my yogi on this month.  Minus one child’s pose during the camel pose, I managed to huff and puff my way through the entire hour.

It’s a good thing that working out kills my appetite for a bit, because my day got away from me and food didn’t happen until the afternoon.  The husband was home from a night shift when I got back from yoga and I just couldn’t resist crawling into bed with him and the dog.

At 1:30 my friend Kim came by to pick us up and we set off for the hospital that we’ll be doing our clinical practice at this upcoming semester.  We’re all getting pretty nervous and we wanted to do a walk through to set our minds at ease.  I even put on my working-lady clothes so it would feel more like the real thing.

When we got home, the husband and I headed out to Ashker’s.

<– Fraggle Rock; love it!

He got a perfectly thick espresso and I got a juice!

My mother-in-law had to mail me a gift receipt and she sweetly included some fun $ with it.  As you’ll see, we took full advantage of it.

Ashker’s was great about letting me go off-menu and build my own juice.

Kale + spinach + cucumber + carrot.

So dang good.  Veggie juice might be the only thing on the planet I find more refreshing than diet pop!

Then we got Chinese take-out.  Beef and broccoli for Adam, a ridiculously giant plate of crab rangoon for me.

Holy frick you guys, I love crab rangoon so much.  Too much, in fact; I ate it at least once every other day during the first week of the new year.  Now you know why I wasn’t blogging much then 😉

That plate is special too.

Pink glass, which my mom actually collects, from right here in Buffalo.

Pretty nifty.

But I could have basically eaten off of the floor,

with rangoon it’s all good.

My late afternoon was spent on Pinterest.  I’ve been trolling people’s pages for weeks, it was high time for me to finally create my own account.

I made myself feel so full and disgusting with Chinese food that I thought I’d never be hungry again.  But several hours later we were out running errands and suddenly I was ready to gnaw my own arm off.  I made a 1 oz bag of trail mix and devoured it before I could even think about getting home to my camera.

The mix included sesame sticks, peanuts, and honey roasted sesame seeds.

And when Adam found a $10 pizza deal for any pizza with any toppings, I totally bit.  And totally ate a slice in the car on the ride home!  We had a nice dinner.

Romaine topped with celery, buckwheat groats, and yogurt Cesar dressing.

Pizza (3 slices total) with jalapeños and pineapple.

Totally delicious, thanks for the inspiration, Kath.