Tag Archives: greens

Greens, Beans, and Time Machines

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I am officially caught up with school and ready to take my final exam tomorrow 🙂 I’ve definitely disliked being blog-neglectful, I can’t wait to get back into a schedule after the move is over.  For now, even though I love you it’s got to be another quickie (TWSS!).

 Breakfast/lunch were sort of spread out in three courses throughout the morning and afternoon.  I managed to get enough to eat, but consume in shifts that allowed me to study.  #1 A big bowl of fresh watermelon chunks.

#2 A serving of Barbara’s Shredded Oats topped with Silk Almond Milk and blueberries.

By the by, I hear a lot of people talking about binging on cereal and if you are one of those folks I highly recommend this stuff.  It is not very tasty dry from the box but fantasmic with some Silk Almond Milk.

#3 A long overdue green monster; 1frozen banana, 1cup frozen spinach, 1cup calcium + vitamin d oj.

When Adam got home this evening we played hookey from moving and instead took a long walk.  Our long walk was supposed to be an hour or so, to the ice cream store and back.  Instead we fell into a pointless fight and spent hours huffing and crying (who me?  I’m not stressed about moving!).  Don’t pointless fights just feel like you accidentally fell into some sort of time machine?  It’s like you can’t even believe how late it is when it’s over.  We did make it to the ice cream store eventually, but they were closed.  So instead we split a slice of melty pizza to hold us over for late dinner.

The husband had chicken to use up and I made myself a Mexican bowl of sorts.

Into the skillet went 2tsp evoo, chopped shallot, a small chopped potato, half of a chopped green pepper, black beans, 1egg and 2egg whites, 2T shredded cheddar, salt and tons of paprika.

I also had some green bean fries on the side.

It is late late late, Futurama–> bed –> goodnight!

Do you ever have pointless fights with your SO or do you bottle up your emotions and save them for times that actually count?

P.S. I also enjoyed a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lara Bar, yum!

It’s Certainly No Pop Tart

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In order to show you my breakfast I’m going to have to ask you to be a little bit open-minded.  Not so much that your brains fall out, but you know, no judgement 😀

Isn’t she a beauty?

That would be 1 Van’s homestyle pancake, eggs (I scrambled 1egg and 1egg white with 1T of butter and a big handful of spring mix salad greens), and half of a salmon burger topped with 2t maple syrup and Sriracha.

O.M.G!  This flavor combination was spot-on; I am all about the savory and sweet.  Plus, how often do I manage to squeeze seafood and vegetables into breakfast?!

What is the strangest combination you’ve had for breakfast?

Accept No Substitutes

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Tonight’s dinner was all about one of the main perks of the vegan challenge – it reminds me to cook from The Holy Grail a.k.a. Dreena Burton’s Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan.  It seems I never turn to this book unless I’m “forced to,” but I’ve loved every single thing I’ve ever made from it.

You might have noticed that unlike the last vegan challenge I have yet to eat 10billion vegan sticky pecan blondies (my very favorite thing from ED&BV, and in fact my very favorite dessert of all time).  In vegan challenges past I’ve gotten so excited about vegan baking that I ate more sweets than is normal even for me.  Since my 25th birthday is coming up in July and I recently had to buy bigger pants I’m just not quite as entranced with the baking.

I’m also making an effort this month not to buy “substitute” products.  At last glance my grocery store carried vegan options for hot dogs, sliced meat, cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, blintzes, ice-cream, cheese and more.  If I ever went vegan for longer than a month I’m sure those products would seem like godsends, but for this challenge I’m trying to keep things pretty natural.  The point of this month (for me) was more about skipping the cheese than making it vegan.  {Note – I’m aware that Allison has recently bought some of these products, more power to her, this post is NOT criticizing that!  Why would I want to insult my self-proclaimed blog twin?}

At 15days in we are officially halfway through vegan month.  I have also officially been vegan for a day longer than any time before.  This challenge has been surprisingly easy for me.  There have been a few times I’ve been jealous of what’s on Adam’s plate (like extra randomly when he ate a cheeseburger at the bbq and I almost cried because I wanted a bite so badly; I haven’t eaten red meat in 10years, wtf?!) but in general there’s nothing I’ve been wanting for.  I definitely feel like I’ll make it through to the end without breaking a sweat.

Back to dinner.  While I waited for Adam to get home I at a serving (2oz) of ww sourdough with Smart Balance Light.

Tonight’s main course was my 2nd favorite recipe from Ms. Burton, Tempeh Hash Brown Casserole.

Yumtastic!  This dish is the perfect example of Unami!  I can’t share the recipe here, but I promise that buying the cookbook is worth it for the blondies alone!

On the side we made pan steamed spinach.

All together now.

Do you ever buy vegan “substitute” products?  Why or why not?

A Day of Firsts

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In case you missed it, June is Vegan Month.  And what better way to start off the month than with a Green Monster?

This bad boy had 1 frozen banana and 1 cup frozen spinach blended with 1 cup of calcium + vitamin d oj.

Green Monsters were my favorite discovery during my two-week vegan stint in February, and I think they are going to be instrumental in getting me through this month.

Today was also the first day of summer school.  I have an online nutrition class in July, but in June I have to be on campus from 10:30 – 12:40 M-F for Sociology.  Here we are looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed –

And then during one of my five trips to pee before class started I snapped a picture of me looking nervous.

And right I was to be nervous, this is going to be a hard month!  My professor is funny but his lecture voice is really hard to understand and the syllabus is totally unclear.  I hate when teachers want to be all loosey-goosey with the due dates; tell me what I need to read for what dates!  Plus we are not allowed to have any food or drinks in the classroom?!

I had some business to take care of on campus and by the time I got home it was after 2 and I was starving.  I grabbed the first thing I could to tide myself over.

3oz of baby carrots,

and 1oz of yellow tortilla chips.

I was so hungry I was actually getting light-headed and nauseous.  Once I calmed down a bit I made myself a frozen meal as well, Tandoor Chef Vegetable Pad Thai.

The nutritional stats on this are pretty good,

and it is delicious!

It tastes just like tasty, authentic Thai food from a restaurant.  The pasta is the right texture and it is perfectly seasoned.  Plus there are pieces of spongey fried tofu that I adore.  I give this two thumbs up and highly recommend you try it, vegan or not.

I’m actually still feeling pretty sick so I’m going to set the alarm and see if I can take a quick nap.  I have to pick up the husband from the lab later and of course I’ve got some reading to do.

What is your favorite type of frozen meals?

Hitting the Dessert

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Thanks for all the support on my weight gain post, you guys are the best!  However, not one of you commented on the Cartman tie-in, apparently your senses of humor are a little more mature than mine?

Since today was my last day of volunteering I made full use of my lunch voucher and got a slice of the awesome cafeteria pizza.

I rounded it out with veggies at home.

Kale chips,

and part of a red bell pepper and baby carrots,

dipped into some homemade 1000island dressing (1T miracle whip, 1T ketchup, 2T pickle relish).

It ended up being quite the good lunch.

And a serving of Theo Bread and Chocolate bar for dessert.

I also had a bag of Pretzel M&Ms while I worked on my recipe binder.

Once the husband got home at 7 I got dinner in the oven before heading to the gym.  Note – I did some snacking while I cooked (1handful of chips, 1/2handful of cheese, and 2spoonfuls of filling).

If I’ve said it once I’ll say it a million times (sorry!) being able to move again feels great!  I will never take fitness for granted again.  I had a few twinges in my leg today so I did keep it easy though.  25minutes on the elliptical at level 5.  Followed by 10minutes of arms/abs/stretching when I got home.

By the time I got out of the shower dinner was looking pretty darn tasty.

The recipe comes from Everyday with Rachael Ray, Chicken Salsa Verde Bake.  It is definitely NOT terribly healthy, but it’s the last thing I’ll cook before Vegan Month so I went all out for the husband.  You can click the link (recipe name) for the recipe but here were my changes –

  • I boiled the chicken instead of pan cooking it
  • I used 1.5lbs of meat and subbed in a 15oz can of black beans to fill in the rest of the protein
  • I used low-sodium beans
  • I subbed in shalots for the onion
  • I used low-fat sour cream

It’s calorie-dense, but very filling and delicious.  A good mix of creamy yet crunchy and tangy and spicy yet creamy.

I ate half a red pear alongside my portion.

Dinner = done.

Hope everyone else is having a *sweet* start to their week!

What is your favorite South Park episode?

A Spot of Tea

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I had my head buried in the books all morning so it ended up being a late lunch.  I have three more chapters worth of notecards to make before I can get into the nitty gritty of reviewing.

The husband’s been nagging me to cut back on the diet soda (a.k.a my lifeblood) so today I gave iced tea a try.  I combined 4 bags of Snapple berry tea with 3cups of water in a saucepan and heated them to a low simmer. 

Then I cut the heat and let them stew for five minutes before discarding the bags.  Finally I dumped in a tray of ice-cups.  Voila, a pot of tea –

My strainer ladle was the perfect serving implement.

And I enjoyed this glass x2 while I studied.

I also enjoyed geeked out over a few of these.

Cherry-cola salt water taffy, I am so onboard!  Cherry cola is one my favorite flavors (my favorite diet soda addiction is Cherry Coke Zero), in fact I’ve already decided to order a Roy Rogers next time I’m in a restaurant!

Around 2:30 I finally came to a stopping point and made a worth-the-wait lunch.

  1. First I put 1t canola oil into a saucepan over medium high heat.  Once the oil was warm I added in 1/2 a medium sweet potato, chopped and 1/4cup roughly chopped red onion.  I seasoned the veggies with s&p and spicy Hungarian paprika.
  2. I cooked the veggies for ~5minutes before adding 2 handfuls of fresh kale.
  3. I poured 1/4cup h2o over the kale and let the water disappear before I added 1/2cup black beans.
  4. Finally I poured in 1t chipotle oil and toss everything together.

Yums!  I’m not a vegan, but my favorite meals are always a combo of veggies.

When Adam gets home around 4 he’s driving me to The Spot for a study session with Caroline.  I’m probably going to be at the coffee shop every night this week and I’d rather not spend that much $ on food so hopefully my late lunch will be able to hold me over until a late dinner.

What do you drink all day long?  I have no plans of quitting soda, but I did agree to cut back a bit, and more importantly drink more water!  In addition to my tea I’ve already also had a few glasses of the plain stuff.

Down in Lunch Lady Land

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Why yes, I am posting at midnight.  Is it possible my sleep schedule needs a wee bit of work?  Perhaps I should grow up a bit and learn to not watch Buffy the husband all night prioritize?  I will keep this quick though.  Like super quick.

We had lab check out today, I ate a Cookie Dough Balance Bar during final exam review.  (18words, speed it up, Emily!)

Good God I love those bars!  Did not really dent my hunger though.  And my plan was to swim afterward but I didn’t so I ended up stuck at campus waiting for Adam.  I did a 40minute swim on Monday and my ears have been hurting, better safe than sorry so I’m not swimming again ’till this weekend.

While I waited I did hit up Starbucks.

Tall, non-fat, iced, cinnamon-dolce latte.  I literally had to tell the barista that I was aware that “my drink has too many adjectives!”  I almost was starved into an item from the display case but I was too excited about my planned lunch.

I decided to bring back taco salads.  This guy had a lettuce base with black beans, crushed blue tortilla chips, 2% colby jack, low fat sour cream, and homemade pineapple salsa.

Do that not just sound/look like the best salad ever?

Well it WAS NOT.  Holy yuck!  The lettuce was so bitter that I seriously gagged on it.  I did my best to pick off the toppings but I ended up having to throw most of it away.

Not surprisingly, I was still hungry, so I popped a frozen mac and cheese into the microwave.

Much better.

Whilst hanging out this afternoon I snacked on too much some of this Divine candy bar.

It had crunchy, but yet still juicy, pieces of dried strawberry all throughout, so yum!

Dinner looked like this –

I used a Cooking Light recipe for Almost Meatless Sloppy Joes.

The sauce was more Joe’s cousin James than full on, but still very tasty.  I used ground turkey meat, of course.

And for our side I did a quick saute of chopped okra, frozen turnip greens, and chopped turkey bacon.

Dinner was good, but Adam and I were mostly excited for dessert.

What’s that?  Oh, not much, just a toasted marshmallow milkshake!

The recipe comes from Rachael Ray Magazine, and yes it was amazing.  I did sub in reduced fat varieties though.

It is undeniably bedtime.  Sweet dreams!

What’s your favorite Adam Sandler song?  When his stuff was popular my parents wouldn’t let me buy the cds, which was ironic because I owned several Jerky Boys cds!

One-a-Day, Fun-a-Day

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I couldn’t manage to make this a three-post sort of day, but it was a lot of fun!  Tomorrow and Monday are going to be all about Anthro so I’m glad I squeezed some joy in today.

When I woke up this morning I was so hungry I was actually a little angry about it!  Sometimes when I’m so hungry I feel like I could eat a horse I end up not eating anything at all because it seems like no matter what I try I’ll still be hungry!!!  Plus I knew I had a fun lunch date to look forward to 😉

Katie and I have been planning a trip to the hot bar at the Lexington Co-op for months.  The co-op only has outside seating and it was 45* outside today but that wasn’t going to stop us, we just bundled up!

And ordered hot coffee (with skim milk).

Foodwise I went with a bunch of fun tastes.

Stuffed grape leaves and some massaged kale,

An amazing falafel – it tasted like it was baked instead of fried and the outside was super thick and crunchy,

curried chicken salad, and chicken salad with almonds and grapes,

and some Thai cucumber salad with peanuts.

Yumtastic!  I adore meals where I get a bunch of different tastes, I find I feel much more satisfied.

Afterward I picked up some fun bargains at the co-op, as well as dessert.

That peanut butter swirl brownie was literally gone in less than 2minutes!

Later in the afternoon the husband and I headed to the movie theatre to see Kick Ass.  The movie was pretty kick ass (hehe) but holy moley was there a lot of explicit language and violence!

I too felt like a superhero when I got tonight’s dinner on the table.

The bacon fettuccine alfredo was almost tastier leftover than it was the first night.

And for our veggies I made the world’s best dish from yesterday’s lunch: kale and eggplant with worchestire and marinara; I left out the okra because the husband thinks it looks like spider eggs!

The pasta and the veggies ended up working together perfectly.

Dinner was a definite success.

However, a few hours later (now) I did end up feeling some hunger.  I knew I was heading to bed soon and didn’t want something heavy so I decided to try the packet of chocolate whey protein I picked up.

Shaken with 8oz of skim milk.

Meh?  It wasn’t bad, but I feel like there are a lot more exciting (natural?) sources of protein.  That’s not to say I wouldn’t try another variety though.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend thus far, enjoy your Sundays!

What is your feeling on protein powders?  Any recommendations (or warnings) for me?