Tag Archives: peppers

Use Your Noggin

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Hello, hello!  The days I’m excited to blog are always the same days I’m utterly exhausted.  Go figure.  Saturday was a symphony of holiday flavors but also a 9+ hour day at work.  Instead of posting last night I had a total tantrum and passed out fully dressed… so here is a 2-day recap.

Remember when I said “Saturday was a symphony of holiday flavors”?  You know, like five seconds ago.  Well, my day went eggnog –> candy cane –> gingerbread; bam!

Nog based overnight oats for breakfast.

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I put 1/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup Silk Soy Nog, and 1 Tbsp chia seeds in the fridge overnight, then Saturday morning I added 1 sliced banana and a big dash of Christmas sprinkles.

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So festive and delicious.  Also, holy frick, I love chia seeds so much.

My candy cane came in the form of a Peppermint Stick Clif Bar during work.

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This is Clif’s best seasonal flavor by far.  The bar has the perfect amount of peppermint.

Gingerbread was a cupcake surprise from the husband.

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He had an appointment near Fairy Cakes in the afternoon and he brought me home a gingerbread stout cupcake with cream cheese icing.

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It was ridiculous good, maybe the best cupcake I’ve ever had!  The cake had a great ratio of spice to sweet and was so fluffy and moist.  I shared one big bite with Adam but downed the rest with gusto.

The rest of the day’s eats were out of season, but still good.  From fall I borrowed an apple and a Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale.

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I split the beer with Adam and ate the apple on my own.

I guess nachos are actually appropriate for any season, right?

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Adam and I shared a tray, straight from the oven.  We topped scoop-style tortilla chips with roasted brocoli and green pepper, Newman’s Own Pineapple Salsa, and Cabot Reserve Aged Cheddar.

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We loved them.  He was a little iffy on roasted brocoli as a nacho topping but it was delicious.  And I was worried about that type of cheese versus a regular cheddar, but that ended up being perfect too.  And the pineapple salsa is hands-down the best jarred salsa I’ve ever had.

Blah, blah, blah, and then I started having a fit and had to go to bed.  I didn’t get anywhere near enough sleep during the weeks Adam was gone and I’m still really freaking tired.

Sunday was a super hungry day and I ate a ton of crap.  A brunch of sorts, was low-fat coffee yogurt with honey roasted peanuts and honey,

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a few pieces of toffee candy from home,

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and several handfuls (about 3 servings or 250 calories worth) of dried turkey.

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During work I drank a Starbucks Vanilla Doubleshot.

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Working with crowds of Christmas shoppers is exhausting but also really rewarding.  Five different people today thanked me effusively for my help and that was a really good feeling.  Actually, one super hot guy told another customer that I was fantastic and I about died!

Adam picked me up after work for a fun treat.

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Bubble tea from Gin Gin!  Best bubble tea I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried a lot.  I got a medium red bean milk tea with regular and popping boba (the purple one is Adam’s taro).

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We both swooned over how good they were and finished our drinks in the car long before we made it home.  And we called my mom on speaker on the drive and drove her crazy scraping through our ice for errant tapiocas!

Dinner was pizza.

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And we shared a beer.

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We were gearing up for a long night of baking.

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I’m giving my co-workers all pies for Christmas and we are not even close to finished still.  Sorry, husband!

We made smoothies mid-baking for strength.  Frozen strawberries and blackberries blended with So Delicious Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk.

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And I’ve done a little nibbling while we baked.

I have a holiday breakfast with work tomorrow and then I’m spending Christmas Eve on the couch with Adam.  I have two days off in a row for the holiday and I am so excited to spend them with my boys!

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Did you give any handmade gifts this season?

It’s Begining To Look A Lot Like Christmas

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We are four days away and it is starting to snow!  We might have a white Christmas after all.  Also, the world didn’t end today; yay.

Sorry I missed a post last night (after going on and on about how I was “back,” natch) but I was still running errands as the clock neared midnight.  Two crazy days in a row are over and I’m ready to recap.

Thursday’s brunch included two of my best savory recipes.

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A Nacho Turkey Burger topped with some Citrus Guacamole.

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We even toasted our buns (in a hot skillet with a bit of Smart Balance Light) so the meal felt extra fancy.

I also had a deeelicious drink; 1 cup each Chameleon Cold Brew coffee and eggnog.

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I know it’s cold out for iced coffee but I couldn’t resist the chance to pair my favorite coffee with my favorite winter flavor.

I worked 9+ hours and was sooooooo hungry when I got off.  I would have loved to go straight home for dinner but we had errands to run so I ended up getting Moe’s instead.

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But who would complain about Moe’s?

I got a naked burrito (aka a cheaper rice bowl) with rice, black beans, sautéed onions, green peppers, and mushrooms, lettuce, corn salsa, cilantro, guacamole, and sour cream.

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Plus chips with queso.

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I ate all of the queso, 2/3 of the chips, and 3/4 of the bowl.

When we finally made it home (more than 12 hours after I left!) there were presents from both sets of parents.

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My mom sent us homemade toffee.

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It was the perfect bedtime snack.

Friday I started with a salad.  Romaine topped with 1.5 chopped turkey burgers, shredded cheese, a dollop of guacamole, buckwheat groats, and honey mustard dressing (I accidentally used way too much dressing and it was kind of gross, boo).

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Also half a honeycrisp with 1 Tbsp each peanut butter and Biscoff spread, melted.

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And I drank a Guava Rockstar Punched at work.

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<– yum

I have the best bosses on earth and they surprised us with pizza for dinner mid-shift!  It was too exciting.  I had a a veggie slice and a buffalo chicken slice.

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Mr. Pizza has the best crust in Buffalo.

And I won this candy bar.

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When I got home I made myself eat fruits and veggies first though.  A handful of baby carrots.

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An ambrosia apple.

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And finally my tasty snack.

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1 serving of Green and Black’s Toffee Milk Chocolate Bar,

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and a cup of eggnog mixed with Silk Soy Nog.

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Topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Finally, some general updates –

  1. My hair – I’m still leaving the tub purple after every shower and my new hair is a bit lighter than the original photo I showed you guys.  I will have to have Adam snap a picture the next time I’m home during good light.
  2. Christmas – we are not going to visit any family, boo.  But Adam and I are going to have our first ever Christmas with just the two of us; it’s time that our little family started to develop some of our own traditions!

If you celebrate, where are you spending Christmas this year?  Do you and your significant other have any of your own holiday traditions?

Happy Happy Joy Joy

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Thursday was more crappy than happy.  The list of low-lights includes being so freaking tired all day because I still haven’t caught up on sleep, eating pizza for dinner (so stress eating, so not vegan), having my stitches be difficult to remove because the office was asstastic about making a follow-up appointment, and having to work on a group project until bedtime.

If you weren’t paying close attention to that list of complaints, you may have missed yesterday’s highlight: I got my stitches removed!

My hand is officially free.  And gross.  But Adam bought me a bubble tea for being brave.

I got a strawberry bubble tea at Gin Gin and they gave me normal boba with multiple flavors of popping boba as well.  Best bubble tea I’ve had in years!

Friday was the happy, happy, joy, joy day.  I just woke up happy.  Several good things did happen today, but I swear that I was excited to begin with.

The fact that I was dressed in a very “Emily” outfit did put me in a good frame of mind.

And all of my meals were incredibly tasty.  Breakfast was a tasting plates of sorts in class.  A serving of Angie’s Sweet and Salty kettle corn.

An apple.

And a roasted seaweed snack.

I washed down my snacks with a can of Cherry Coke Zero that was randomly the best soda I’ve ever had.  I’m not sure exactly how it was different than usual but I swear the formula must have been “off” for this can’s batch because it was amazing.

A tall soy creme brulee coffee was consumed for warmth and caffeine on my walk home.

I only had time to switch out my bags between school and work which could have put a damper on my mood (especially because I didn’t have time to eat!) but then I came home to this –

A #simplesurvivalkit packed with goodies from some of my favorite brands: Food Should Taste Good, Justin’s, Larabar, Little Ducks Organics, SmartWool, Sprout Wellness Basics, and Teatulia.  Not only are my taste buds excited about the goodies, the package itself made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  I am so incredibly grateful and touched!

Work went well; we got an insane shipment of packages and the time flew by.  Before I knew it I was home for dinner.

I wasn’t expecting much from this meal but I ended up loving it.  I sautéed sliced mushrooms, green peppers, and sweet onions in Earth Balance and salt and served them on top of basmati rice with Sriracha and Nayo stirred in.

I shoveled in my bowl in about a minute and adored every bite!

More group project work went down from 9 -11 (pm!!) and I shared a Pumpkin Shock Top with a friend while we worked.

I planned on getting into the pumpkin Blue Moon too but I’m basically the walking dead asleep at this point so I’m glad I stuck with half a beer.

I hope everyone else had a happy, happy, joy, joy day too!  Or if not, please enjoy your weekend!

Vegan Visit

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A road trip is not an easy time for a restricted diet, but with a combination of preparation and an understanding family I made it work.

I made sitting in the car for six hours work by dressing in comfy-cute clothing.

Plus my driving moccasins.

<– name that show!

Food from home was for breakfast.  A sandwich of tempeh, Smart Balance, and strawberry jam (a killer combination) on a Sandwich Thin.

A small apple.

A piece of leftover Halloween candy.

And a sugar-free Red Bull from a gas stop.

I have been seriously tired lately; I need to make sleep a priority next week or I should basically just buy stock in energy drinks.

For lunch I was jazzed to spot a Sheetz.

I had a medium soy milk latte with marshmallow syrup.

I’m doubtful that the syrup was actually vegan but I’m taking a loose approach to the challenge on this trip.  The coffee was delicious with tons of foamed milk and I was glad I got it, vegan or not.

Plus a veggie burrito.

This was not delicious.  I made myself eat half so I wouldn’t be too hungry for dinner but if there had been other options I probably would have tossed the whole thing.

For dinner we got Italian food with my in-laws.  P.S. We are staying with Adam’s sister and her husband and getting to spend time with my two nieces is making my ovaries hurt; they are so flipping cute!

A piece of bruschetta to start.

The waitress was very nice about bringing me new tomatoes when the first batch came out sprinkled with cheese.

And two slices of veggie pizza (sans cheese) for dinner.

Healthy, vegan, and tasty; I’ll take it.

Feeling Blue

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My pain pills (which I think I don’t need any more, yay!) have made my appetite all sorts of wonky these past two days.  And some life stuff has made me super cranky.  I hate feeling like I have to post when I’m in a bad mood, but so many of the things I ate (of the very many things I ate!) have been winners that I want the post for my own memory.  This will be detail-light though.

Honeycrisp.

Rockstar Juiced.

Winter outfit.

My downgraded hand bandage.

Organic Rice Divine Mud Pie Ice Cream (1 cup).  This stuff was ah-mazing.  The texture was reminiscent of Italian Ice and peanut butter-chocolate is always a winning combo.  I especially liked the cookie pieces.

A healthy lunch.

Roasted green beans dipped in ketchup,

and Cilantro Lime Bean Burgers with Citrus Guacamole.

An entire bag of bbq Popchips for dinner.

Melted peanut butter with powdered sugar and good cocoa.  This snack is ridiculous good but also just ridiculous.  I need to quit cold turkey.

Chocolate dipped coconut Luna Bar.

Happy Tot Blueberry, Apple, and Purple Carrot squeeze pouch (FNCE sample).

Vegan almond joy.

Supplement sampling at clinic.  Not vegan but also not optional.

Veggie sub – lettuce, tomato, red pepper, jalopeño, banana pepper, pickles, and yellow mustard – from the hospital cafeteria.

Amy’s vegan mac and cheese.

Honey roasted peanuts.  By the by, honey is still on the table, so to speak, this Vegan Month.

Tempeh Brown Rice Casserole.

P.S. I am so flipping nervous about what election results we are going to wake up to tomorrow.  Anyone else?

I’m Typing With One Hand…

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…so I’ll keep this short.  Speaking of keeping things, Adam will have to keep me, my surgery went off without a hitch!

It wasn’t a big deal – I just had a benign keratosis removed from the back of my hand – but they sure were dramatic about it.

I had to wear a gown, and get wheeled into the OR.  And look at my giant bandage –

they called it a “sympathy cast!”  I’ll have my stitches in for ten days and then I’ll be right as rain.  But unfortunatly they told me that I’m not allowed to work out while my stitches are in.  I know I haven’t been working out anyway but I really was excited to start again!  Ten days…

They told me to take it easy after surgery but I actually had to head over to a friend’s house to work on a group project.  At least I got some Moe’s out of the deal.

I got a naked burrito (aka a less expensive rice bowl) with black beans, lettuce, green pepper, onion, mushroom, corn salsa, and guacamole.

Delicious.  Moe’s is a great option for Vegan Month.

Resting up didn’t happen the rest of the weekend either, I worked both Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday morning was rough (on top of everything else we started an hour earlier than usual), but at least my shirt matched my bandage!

I ate an apple on the walk to work.

And a drank a Rockstar to help keep myself awake in spite of my pain medication.

My medication makes me feel pretty funny – nauseous and tired and all sorts of loopy – so I never ended up getting lunch at work.

Dinner was a buffalo seitan wrap from the co-op.

Plus a roasted potato.

Those fries are cut so nicely because the husband did it for me.  He’s been so nice helping me while I fumble around!

I did manage to catch up on some sleep this morning.  Thank goodness for Daylight Savings.  Even with the extra hour, all I managed to accomplish today was a shift at work and switching out my summer and winter wardrobe.

Breakfast was an amazing bowl of cereal.  Blackberries with cinnamon sugar, 1 serving each All Bran Bran Buds and Cascadian Farm Dark Chocolate Almond Granola, and Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond/Coconut Milk.

I had the granola from the HLS and have wanted more ever since!

A very late lunch was purchased at the co-op after work.  Broccoli salad and vegan mac and cheese with veggies.

The mac was so tasty that I almost made Adam walk back and get me more!

Instead I was basically stoned on pain meds all evening and was a total weirdo.  Dinner just didn’t happen, though I did eat multiple desserts.

A bowl of melted peanut butter with powdered sugar and cocoa powder.

A Cara Cara Orange.

And a few pieces of primrose oil old fashioned candies.

It’s been a weird day.

Hello, Hello, Goodbye, Goodbye

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Hello, reader.  I was AWOL yesterday because I had the beginnings of a migraine and put myself to bed at 4 in the afternoon!  Not fun.

Also, Hello to Vegan Month!  I desperately needed to go to store, so yesterday I had to make do with the vegan things around the house.  And of course I was insanely hungry all afternoon.  <– bad timing

Breakfast was a super tasty pumpkin smoothie.

1 cup Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond/Coconut Milk Blend, ~1 cup canned pumpkin, 1 frozen banana, 2 Tbsp maple syrup, and a big shake of pumpkin pie spice.

I did lots of snacking when I got home from clinic.  2 oz of roasted pumpkin seeds,

a giant Honeycrisp with tons of melted Biscoff,

a (FNCE sample) bag of Food Should Taste Good Olive Chips,

and a big bowl of cereal.

Then I put myself to bed with a migraine.  I had a paper due this morning so unfortunately Adam had to wake me up at 10pm so I could write it.

I ate a veggie sub from Subway – lettuce, tomato, green pepper, cucumber, pickles, red onion, and bbq sauce – while I worked.

Breakfast was the last of the pumpkin seeds,

and a green pear.

I got lunch at Wegman’s during my massive shopping trip.

Veggie goyza,

and inari.

I ate half of both then brought the rest home to Adam.  We both loved the inari!

And I ate this candy bar – like a vegan Snickers – while I blogged.

Goodbye to my belly button ring.

I’ve had it in since I was 15 (12 years!!!!!!!!!) and am so sad that it is gone now.  But I’m having a minor surgery this afternoon and they told me I had to take it out.

Also, Goodbye to you guys for a bit.  The minor surgery is on my hand and I sure I will not be up for typing this evening.  I’ll “see” you later this weekend.  Wish me luck!

Jalapeño Popper Burgers

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I know that this recipe has been on my blog for a while, but it is so flipping good that I had to highlight it again.  Just look at the text Adam sent me after he tasted the burgers the other day –

The main thing that sucks about having a tiny, unknown blog is that people don’t see/make all of the recipes that I think are amazing.  I promise, I’m a much better recipe creator than I am writer and photographer!  So this post is my plea to you – try these jalopeño popper burgers for yourself.  They are meaty and cheesy and just a little spicy.

My favorite way to eat them is on a bun with a little bit of Miracle Whip to cut the heat.

Jalopeño Popper Burgers, serves 6

  • 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey
  • 6 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup pickled jalapeños, minced
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • 6 oz sharp cheddar (optional)
  1. Combine turkey, cream cheese, minced peppers, and bread crumbs in a large bowl.  Use your hands (get dirty!) to blend the mixture.  It doesn’t need to be homogenous; the burgers are best with pockets of cream cheese.
  2. Spread oil evenly over a grill pan on medium-high heat.
  3. Split meat into six even balls and then flatten into patties and place on the grill pan.  Cook through, about 7 minutes on each side.
  4. Optional – top cooked burgers with sharp cheddar and broil until the cheese melts.

P.S.  Another burger plea; I entered a contest that I’m not going to win.  If you could like and repin my Reuben Stuffed Turkey Burger recipe on Pinterest it would mean the world to me.