Tag Archives: greens

Death and Taxes

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Hey guys!  Sorry for rushing out on you last night, I managed to get to the hospital just in time so that neither the husband nor I had to wait.

This morning I went with a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast before volunteering.

I topped 1/3 cup oats with a splash of soymilk, a big shake of cinnamon, 1t maple syrup, and natural peanut butter.

Delish!  The mix of flavors in this was great.  I usually am not the biggest oats fan (especially without banana) but lately it’s been tasting so good to me.

Volunteering went well today, they kept me super busy for a change.  There’s another volunteer on my same shift now and we get along really well so it makes the time pass all the more quickly.  On my way out I used my lunch voucher to fill up a little container of pineapple.

Then for lunch lunch I made a big plate of roasted veggies.

Okra fries,

and kale crisps with garlic powder on them.

Sadly my tasty lunch was ruined by the fact that I was on hold for 15+ minutes trying to get my W-2 form.  I still just can’t quite get myself away from the soul-crush that is the NYC DOE.

I have plans for a study date this afternoon at the Spot and then a quick but fun dinner.  Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Have you started your taxes yet?  Do you go it alone or have someone/a service help you out?  We are using H&R Block this year.  Our goal was to finish them weeks ago but the lack of w-2 forms is really gumming up the works.

When Life Hands You Lemons

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It’s been a packed (but great) day and I have to leave the house in exactly 15minutes to pick up the husband from a hospital shift so I’ll make this speedy.

Our last night of family time was a lot of fun.  We watched “Zombieland” which was actually pretty fantastic.  I did some pretty serious damage on these chips and salsa (2-2.5servings) before I told the husband to take them away from me.

Then I switched to a much more munchable baby carrots.

For breakfast the boys hit up McDonalds, I want to call their food greasy but it’s hard to judge when you ask for a diet coke before 10am.

I was starving so I made up 2packets of oats.

Mmmn!

We streeeeeeetched out our goodbyes but finally got on the road around 11, our trip was an easy 4hours.  When it was my turn to drive I ate a medium french fry from Wendys.

Really quick – the point of the vegan challenge is sooo not to eat french fries but my only options were fast food that I could eat while driving and I was starving.

I can’t even tell you how proud I am of the dinner I pulled together with our empty fridge.

It was so healthy and tasty, rocked my socks!

Quick quick – while the husband cooked some balsmatti rice I marinated 1/2 a package of chopped tempeh in apple cider vinegar and tamari.  Then I sautéed an onion on the stove, and added in a can of collard greens.  Finally I poured the tempeh and marinade into the skillet, added a pinch of cornstarch and cooked.  The bowls were rice, greens, tempeh, + your choice of seasonings.  I did a big dollop of chilli garlic paste.

Perfection!

I had to drop off the husband at his shift and then I did some restocking at the grocery store.  On my drive home I grabbed a  Simply Lemonade.

For $1.50 I was pretty darn impressed with this.

And it was the perfect match with the baking I did when I got home!

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies from Eat Drink and Be Vegan.

I had two and was, as usual, blown away by the awesomeness of the recipes in that book.  Sweet and tangy and yummy.

Now I’ve got to split, I hope y’all had a great weekend!!!

Jump Up and Catch A Kungry

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*If you can tell me where the title of my post comes from you will have forever earned my deepest respect.

It’s been a strange day; I slept terribly last night and I’ve been out of sorts all day.  Plus I’ve been soooooooo fricking hungry!  Boo.  My hunger couldn’t distract me out of another awesome layered outfit though.

I know breakfast is a strange time for dessert, but I picked this up at the Co-op yesterday and I just couldn’t wait anymore!

I had half of the Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie (on the adorable little plate from my secret valentine).

Even that was too intense though, I ended up bagging up half (so I ate a 1/4) to bring to the husband.

For lunch I had fries and chips.

The healthy kinds!  Kale crisps,

and oven baked sweet potato slices with garlic powder.

How gorgeous are these guys?!?

I should have eaten more calories though because by the time I made it through my first class I was so hungry I wanted to gnaw off my own arm!  The vegan choices at school were less that stellar, I need to always pack a healthy snack.  I had a single serving package of peanuts.

And I split this candy and chips (the unhealthy kind) with the husband.

By the time I got through with my second class my hunger had turned into a dull ache.  Or maybe that was just the aftershock from my terrible test grades.  I knew my sickness (and, ahem, lack of preparation) were going to kill me.  I got an 86% in Anthro (class average was a C-) and an 80% in Chemistry (class average was a 59).  At least they posted semester grade averages with Chem and I still have a solid A.

Now that we are home I’m so hungry that I’m not even hungry any more.  Does this ever happen to anyone else?  I’m so uncomfortable that I probably won’t even eat dinner, I wasn’t the hugest fan of the lentil soup anyways.  The recipe was a total success – Adam was in love with it – it’s just not my thing.  I might make another batch of cocoa though…the husband hasn’t had a chance to taste it warm yet! 😉

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!

At Least the Walls Are Still Standing

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Sorry for the very late dinner post!  We randomly had no internet last night.  At the same time the power to the fridge was being funky again and 2 of the knobs pulled off the stove.  It was a fun night!

Plus I burnt not 1 but 2 batches of kale crisps.  Fortunately there was enough from the 2nd batch that were salvageable for dinner.

Plus a serving of Tempeh Hashbrown Casserole leftovers.

With ketchup for dipping.

Yum, yum, and yum; is there condiment better than ketchup???? (I actually prefer 1000island but you know what I mean!)

There was some worry that class would be canceled due to last night’s excitement (everyone is fine by the way) but no such luck.  And all our apartment troubles kept us up late so my breakfast smoothie plans fell through.  Thankfully I had this Naked Green Machine Juice I got with my volunteering voucher.

And I also brought another new flavor of Prana Bars.

After lab I went to the post office to mail some supplemental forms.  As soon as I get my UB transcripts sent tomorrow I will be officially applied!  That is why I’m just now going to go make lunch.  Peace.

Do you keep your cool when the internet has hiccups?  I totally lose it.  As much as I hate our dependence on electronics I am beyond frustrated when things don’t work for no discernible reason.  I need to learn how to chill.

Eggland’s Best for Dinner

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Dinner tonight was inspired by a coupon I received from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.

I always buy Eggland’s Best brand eggs, but usually I can’t afford to go organic so this was a nice treat.

My recipe was a tweeked version of my spinach ricotta pie.  Serves 3

  • 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed out
  • 1 C frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
  • 5 Eggland’s Best eggs, lightly beaten
  • salt and pepper, to season
  • 15 oz container fat free ricotta cheese
  • 6 t 2% sharp cheddar, shredded
  1. Preheat oven to 375*.  Grease the cups of a muffin pan.
  2. Place first five ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
  3. Carefully pour mixture into the muffin pan.  Top each “muffin” with 1/2 t cheese.
  4. Bake for 20minutes.

Each muffin has 72 calories.

With all my mall food I was pretty full but the husband still needed dinner so I went ahead with my plan.  I had a half serving for funsies and to add a few veggies to my day.

It was a tasty meal and according to the literature I received “Compared to regular eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs now contain –

  • 4 times as much Vitamin D
  • 75% more Vitamin B12
  • 10% more riboflavin
  • 50% more Vitamin A
  • 25% less saturated fat and 3 times the level of Omega 3s”

Thanks Eggland’s Best!

I hope all my readers have a happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!

All I Need Are My Pearls

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I was quite the little wife this afternoon, making my husband a nice home-cooked lunch.  Actually, what I made was a big batch of pasta so he could eat leftovers for dinner the next three days but I’d like to think he still appreciated it!

I had a nice bowl myself for lunch while it was still hot.

My Arugula Brie Pasta is my improvement on this Real Simple recipe.  For six servings –

  • 14.5 oz box whole wheat penne
  • 1T butter
  • 6.5 oz onion, chopped
  • 1 bundle (8 or 9) green onions, chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • 3/4 cup dry sherry
  • 6 cup arugula
  • 9 oz brie, chopped
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  1. Prepare the pasta according to box directions, drain and set aside.
  2. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add all of the onions and cook 3-4minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Season onions with salt and pepper.  Pour in half of the sherry and cook until reduced.
  4. Carefully stir arugula into skillet.  Pour in the remaining sherry and cook 4-5minutes, until reduced.
  5. When veggies are almost done, reheat the pasta pot over high heat.  Add in pasta, milk, and brie.  Stir to combine then cover for 3-4minutes.
  6. Pour veggie mixture into pasta mixture and stir to combine.

It was quite tasty, if I do say so myself. 

The only fail was our attempt at dessert.  While I was out running errands this morning I picked up a small piece of this Rosa’s Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fudge.

Yetch!  The husband and I both spit out our bites, it tasted like a piece of wax.

I promised myself I could buy another, less disgusting, dessert if I went to the gym so the likelihood of me working out today is pretty high 🙂

What was the last dessert that made you gag?

Dinner

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I hope you entered my giveaway, because I’m be fawning over Cedar’s some more in this post!  Speaking of giveaways, here’s a healthy one.  I was super excited about this dinner, I’ve been planning my Mediterranean Fest for a week!

All of the individual components were fabulous, and they melded together perfectly.

Mini whole wheat pita from Wegmans.  A serving size was 2 for 110 calories but one was more than enough.  I loved how doughy these were.

Collards.  The absolute star of the dish!

I steamed a 16oz bag of frozen collard greens then mixed it with 1/3 cup toasted walnuts,a drizzle of  maple syrup, and 3.5oz of chopped blue brie cheese.  The flavors went together so perfectly, I was in heaven with every bite!  The cheese was from Saga, something I’ve wanted to try forever and I’m glad I did.

Falafel.

I used half of the box, mixed with H2O, but decided to ignore the package directions and bake instead of fry.  After 25minutes in a 350* oven they were perfect.  Tasty as they were, the falafels were a bit dense, I ended up only eating 2 of 3.

Cedar’s Garlic Tzatzika for dipping.

Everything went together so well, the mix of textures and tastes was kind of a dinner thrill.  Plus, after all the junk I ate this weekend it feels really good to eat something good.

After dinner it was time for my final to do: the gym.  37minutes on the treadmill; it was good to add to my training log.

What is your favorite kind of cheese?  I tie between blue and brie so the Saga blend was perfection for me!

P.S. Eating Bird Food is also doing a giveaway.