Tag Archives: pasta

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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I hope all my readers are out enjoying green beer and Irish car bombs!  No booze for me at the moment.  Anyone who really knows me can tell I’m sick just by looking at me today –

It’s a holiday with a theme color and my nails aren’t painted?!?!

Sickness be damned though, it’s a freaking holiday, I kept 90% of what I ate today green!  Well sort of, I didn’t eat breakfast and I didn’t pack lunch so this non-green tuna packet was kind of a necessity for lunch.

I have no taste buds at the moment, but I’ve had the spicy thai chili variety before and it’s quite tasty.

I sipped on a Green Superfood packet from Amazing Grass after lunch.

And ate a GoGo Squeez applesauce during my break.  <– fruit in a pouch rocks my socks

In the hours between my two classes I totally completed a huge assignment that’s not due for another few weeks; whoop, whoop!

During my late class I snacked on some green jelly beans,

and dried kiwi.

Yuuuuuum.  If you ever see dried kiwi at your stores, buy it!  The chew is perfect and the little seeds pop with the best crunch.

Dinner was tasty and on theme.

We stirred turnip greens into a box of mac and cheese.

Then topped them with poached hard-boiled eggs.

CSN Stores gave me this microwave egg poacher to try,

we haven’t gotten the method quite down yet, but the eggs were tasty and quick at least.

To combat my dead taste-buds I added 1oz of extra sharp cheddar and some sprinkles of Sriracha to my bowl.

Delicious!

How did you celebrate St. Patty’s day this year?

Sick of Being Sick

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I’m sick of being sick!  (I’m also tired of being tired, but that’s another – barking dog heavy – story.)  Yesterday was a particularly bad day so I didn’t post, but I will recap.

I didn’t go to school again yesterday, which means I’ve basically missed a full week of classes!  <– not happy  I did make myself 1.5 servings of Special K Red Berries with almond milk for breakfast.

And when Adam got home he made me his favorite snack  – matzoh with melted cheddar (50% reduced fat, extra sharp).

I had a rough evening and when it came time for a late dinner I begged the husband to get me a milkshake.

The chicken nuggets with hot mustard he randomly came home with sounded good too, thankfully.

Adam has been joking that I must be dying because of how little I’ve been talking (I have a lot to say normally, can you tell?) but he knew I was sick when I scarfed down dinner; I hate McDonalds!

Even though I’m too sick for class, I did have to go to campus today.  I had labwork to turn in and I had to make up the Nutrition test I missed yesterday.  I probably could have done really well on the test (and I was really excited about the material) but since the only time I was able to study was the 2hours beforehand I guess I’m just glad that I think I passed!

The walk home was difficult, but I did stop halfway to purchase a huge soda.

Half diet, half not; the combination seemed to work.

I even managed some people food for a late lunch –

leftover roasted green beans,

and a Cara Cara orange.

Dinner was a Three Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni Lean Cuisine.

This wasn’t the tastiest thing ever, but it felt good to eat some veggies.

I bulked it up with 1.5servings of Popcorners.

I had two online assignments due today, and that with my trip out of the house kind of did me in.

When I went to the clinic they said the virus I probably had lasts 1-2weeks.  I’m a week into being sick, and I’m keeping my fingers (and all my toes) crossed that I’m back to normal by Monday.

What’s the longest you’ve ever been sick?

Eating Like A Sick Person

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For the last 48hours I’ve been eating like a sick person.  And that’s exactly the way I feel – sick, sick, sick!  This is terrible news for my exercise announcement that was supposed to occur tomorrow, and even worse news for my huge test on Wednesday.  Thankfully the husband has been taking good care of me, including picking me sick people food to eat.

Yesterday I had rainbow sherbet.

This bowl x2.

And organic chicken noodle soup.

Unphotographed but eaten in this space was a spoonful of marshmallow topping.  It coated my throat and for one whole minute I felt good!

I also had an onion bun with Smart Balance Light.

And a Coke for dinner.

I much prefer the taste of diet, but I don’t mind the flavor of regular coke.  The reason I never drink regular is because when I’m sick it makes my throat feel 2x better and I’m afraid if I drink it on random days it will lose its elixer-like quality for me!

After I fitful night I got up this morning and took a (soooo needed) shower, before the husband settled me down on the couch with some mac and cheese.

When he got back from the lab he handed me another glass of Coke.

And for dinner he managed to make me some normal people food.

In my box of samples from Applegate Farms were two kinds of sausages, turkey and pork.

You guys know I don’t eat mammals for personal reasons, but did you know that the husband does?  Sidenote – not often though, and I’m super proud for how much he’s basically quit eating red meat since we met. 

I generally don’t mind, but the one type of meat I wish he wouldn’t eat was pork.  I love pigs.  Love them.  I plan on having two as pets and I’ve already got their names picked out.  In fact, I told the husband before we married to be sure he would be ok with having pet pigs once we could afford them, because if not that was a deal-breaker for me.  So obviously, I wish he wouldn’t chow down on our future pets.  But the husband is a grown man, and he gets to choose his own diet.  He doesn’t eat it often, and out of deference for me he only eats pork when we are sure it is ethically sourced.  I’m good with that plan.  Thankfully, Applegate Farms makes products we can both agree on (Applegate Farm’s promise to their consumers).

I had scrambled eggs,

and 1.5 servings of Savory Turkey Breakfast Sausage.

My sausages had just a bit of spice and good chew.  The one meat meat product I miss from when I was a kid is sausage and these came pretty close to what I’ve been searching for.  I also added some (unphotographed) maple syrup to my plate for dipping.

Adam ate the same meal, but with slightly more food, and pork instead of turkey.

He said the pork sausages were spicier than the turkey but still good.  He liked the consistency of the texture a lot.

I’m going to eat a final bowl of sherbet, go to bed early and cross my fingers I feel better in the morning!

What animals don’t you eat, and why?

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!

Let There Be Light

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Okay, so I didn’t really do much work today either!  At least in the study sense, we did tackle some to-dos.  Really today was like my Friday, and the next two days are my weekend and my cram-like-crazy study days!

We had to tackle all sorts of not so fun stuff this morning, like filling our FAFSA and dropping stuff off at Goodwill.  My throat was feeling kind of funky so I never really got hungry for breakfast.  I did snag this grape leave from Adam’s leftovers.

And the husband and I split this Ring Pop.

There’s something wrong with my retainers (again, ugh!) so they’re out until Tuesday and it seemed like the perfect time to enjoy this leftover Valentine’s sweet.

Our next set of errands took us up to the Barnes and Nobel on Niagara Blvd, were we just happened to also pull over here –

There’s kind of a deficit of good Thai in Buffalo, so when we spotted Jasmine Thai we just couldn’t resist!

After a few quick modifications, Adam and I ordered our two favorite dishes to split.  Cashew Tofu,

and Pad See Eiw (with steamed tofu and without the egg).

Yuuuuuum.

True story?  I groaned every – single – time I took a bite of the broad rice noodles.  They are just so fricking delicious!  Chewy foods are my favorite and these are the ultimate doughy chew.

My only complaint about Jasmine Thai is that both of our meals were way too light on veggies.  Thankfully I took care of that by eating leftover sesame green beans in the car like a weirdo.

My throat still felt funny all afternoon so we postponed our dinner plans and I made myself a bowl of something creamy, cool, and sweet –

Banana Soft Serve.  Into the food processor went 1.5 frozen bananas, 2 Tbsp shredded coconut, 2 Tbsp honey roasted peanuts, and 1 Tbsp real maple syrup.

This dish is reason alone to own a food processor.  Buy one, try it, and then go tell Gena she’s a genius.

The rest of dinner is going to be a bag of this goodness –

Wondering about that strange picture?  Adam built me a light box!!!!

The inside (backdrop) won’t be done until later but I am so appreciative.  Between my lack of skill, my cheap camera, and our house’s awful lighting, there have just been too many factors working against my pictures.  Hopefully soon I can get a couple of nice shots 🙂

Blogging readers – do you have/use a light box?  What kind of camera do you currently use?

Day One of Four

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There are several reasons why I didn’t post yesterday, some good and some bad.

  1. We determined that I am injured badly enough from my fall that I should continue to take a few days away from the gym.  Aka, my ticket out of Grumpsville hasn’t arrived yet.
  2. The popcorn I had for lunch was not exciting, and I later found out that it wasn’t vegan either!  Sidenote – why does the ingredients list need to be split?  I didn’t realize “natural flavors” meant “milk proteins” until after I’d (finished) looked at the other side of the bag.
  3. My dinner was exciting, and vegan, but since it was part of a review I agreed to do for a new recipes app I couldn’t share the recipes with you guys.  Telling you in retrospect that I had home-made Asian-style slaw and sesame green beans with spring rolls is mean, but showing you the tasty pictures too would have been just cruel.

I technically have a four-day weekend (my school canceled classes on Monday and Tuesday) but since I have two tests and two quizzes next week, today was my last day to really relax.  I made the most of it.

We slept in and hung out all morning, then picked up a quick meal from the Co-op hot bar.

I got vegan mac and cheese, cilantro baked tofu, falafel, and a few pieces of Cajun sweet potato.

Everything was good, and I liked the pasta for what it was, but Adam and I both agreed that “mac and cheese” was a pretty generous label.

I also randomly included an orange cream soda with lunch.

My afternoon snacks included a serving of Newman’s Own Pretzel Rods.

Dipped in Cherry Coke Zero, of course.

And a Liz Lovely Lemon Coconut Cookie.

Adam (who has a normal weekend) was at the lab until late so we decided to cash in a Groupon and try out a new place for dinner.  Acropolis, a Greek place a few blocks from our apartment, had a 50% off Groupon going that I picked up a few months ago.  Tonight was the night.

Tonight was also the night for silly faces.

The lighting was terrible, assume that all the food was 20% better than it looks.  Actually, the lighting was great when we walked in but the minute we sat down they put on the awful “mood” lighting.  I hate dim restaurants.  Even before I had a food blog, who wants to eat in the dark?!

We ended up ordering a bunch of appetizers and sharing.

The only vegan things on the menu all happened to be the only things on the menu we were interested in, so I’m glad we picked this month to try it out.

I ate my fair share of grape leaves,

baba ganoush,

and lavash and pita bread.

The pita was the best I’ve ever had!  So nice to go on a date with the husband.

Now I’m supposed to be in bed, but the dog in the apartment below us is going crazy.  Instead I’m sipping on this Bolthouse Farms Vanilla Chia drink, and trying to think calm thoughts.

Good night (hopefully!).

10, 9, 8…

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I have 10minutes to blog before I have to get back to the husband.  My articles were not correct and now he’s helping me scour the medical databases for more.  Ready, set, go!

1st, the Sandwich Thin I ate for lunch today was delicious.  I loved the oats sprinkled on top.  2nd, I was starving when I got home from school this afternoon so I ate this packet of cashews,

from a Valentine’s package from my parents.

I also had a handful of pretzels that escaped the camera.

Finally, dinner.

I whipped up two servings of my Easy Peasy Peanut Noodles for Adam and I.  We used linguine with broccoli and yellow squash.  I went ahead and steamed a bunch of veggies to have on hand the rest of the week.

The final dish turned out delicious.  This was the first time Adam has tried my peanut sauce and now he is totally smitten!

Minutes to spare!

Friday Night Frozen Yuuuums

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I did the Friday shuffle!  In fact I shuffled right on through to bedtime!

After class I walked down Elmwood to meet up for lunch with Katie at Wasabi.

I’d like to tell you I ordered a hot water to drink because I’m so mature and healthy, but really it was more of a Japanese waitresses cannot understand me when I’ve got retainers in my mouth thing.

I ordered the lunch special which came with a miso soup (not always vegetarian, fyi, though this one was),

and two sushi rolls.

I got a cucumber and asparagus roll,

and a tempura sweet potato roll.

We had a great lunch and spent a long time catching up.

Then I headed to the Spot to get my study on.  I ordered a grande soy latte with two shots of amaretto syrup.

But then I discovered that drinking hot coffee with retainers in is disgusting and threw it out.

Caffeinated or not, I managed to get all of my notecards for the week done, phew!

Adam and I didn’t both didn’t get home until after 7, so all plans of a fancy dinner flew out the window.  Thank goodness I had the best frozen meal on earth on standby.

The Tandoor Chef Veggie Pad Thai is ridiculous tasty and vegan to boot.

Yuuuuuuum!  It’s nothing like nyc, but this is literally the best Thai food I can get in Buffalo.

I also had some unsweetened applesauce topped with red hots and simply sweet granola.

Can I say “yuuuuuuuuum” again?

Any exciting plans for the weekend?