Weekly Wrap-Up; By The Day

Hey there, long time no see!  Sadly I think a once a week post will be the norm for the next two weeks as well; we are on the move!

We don’t actually officially leave Buffalo until the end of the month, but due to some monetary/logistical/fmylife complications we are moving the most difficult way possible – in little spurts.  Adam has had to be in the city several time this month so we’ve been packing up our stuff by the carload and moving it to my in-laws’ place.  Once we finally get into our new apartment (days after Adam has started work!!) we’ll pick everything up in a truck for the final move.

Two fun facts about our shit-show of a move –

  1. We had to do the bulk of our packing last night so the duffle bag of clothes sitting next to me will be all I have to wear for the next three weeks.  Also, we have no pots, pans, or kitchen appliances.  Next week’s wrap-up will showcase a lot of restaurant meals!
  2. Since we couldn’t rent a truck for this direction, we are only taking what fits in five carloads (three in a Vibe and two in a Corolla).  We’ve had to say “bye, bye” to a lot of stuff, which has been very cathartic.

On to the food!

I was too busy to capture all of my meals (I worked most days, though I did find time to watch the entire first season of Longmire!) but I did manage a photo of at least one meal on most days.  I was a bit under the weather this week and I spent the entirety of Thursday in bed, eating pretzels.

Monday, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield

One of our favorite couples recently had twin baby girls so we brought them over a couple of meals.

DSC02497

Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta, Mac and Three Cheese Cups, and salad with all the fixin’s (parmesan, buckwheat groats, chopped green pepper, and toasted pecans).

DSC02498

We stayed for dinner so we could meet the girls.

DSC02500

The were so freaking cute; we’ve decided not to spawn until after the husband’s first year of residency and the babies made me want to rethink about that decision!

When we got home I tried one of the Lindt Hello Bars for dessert.

lindt

I tried Strawberry Cheesecake and in addition to being adorable it was delicious.

DSC02503

It had the perfect amount of tang to offset the sweetness, bits of crunch that I believe were caramelized sugar, and you got a nice portion for the calories.  I tried the Cookies and Cream bar another day and liked that as well.

Tuesday, Thai Day

I stir-fried some leftover white rice with peas and carrots.

DSC02513

I made it extra eggy – two large eggs for one portion – and it was perfect for breakfast.

DSC02518

Stir-fried rice is one of the dishes I find the easiest to make; it always tastes good.

I did Thai for dinner as well.  Some friends and I met up after work to try Taste of Siam, a new spot right across from my job.

DSC02520

My Pad Kee Mao got bonus points for being super spicy, but there was way too much liquid and the broad rice noodles weren’t very pillowy.  My friends loved their fried rice and curry though.  If we were staying in our apartment I’m sure I would have gotten take-out there, but overall I didn’t think it was very good.

We got drinks before dinner and afterwards we did a throw-back for dessert.

DSC02511

Do you remember Chupa Chups?!  My strawberry sundae pop was delicious; if I spot them again I will definitely buy more.

Wednesday, Similar to a Reuben

I cannot for the life of me remember what I ate this day beyond lunch; probably pizza!  This sandwich made for a fine mid-day meal.

DSC02527

Applegate Farms sliced turkey, Cabot 75% reduced-fat sharp cheddar, thousand island dressing, and saurkraut on white-whole-wheat bread cooked in a skillet with butter.

Friday, Feel Better Froyo

In the morning I met up with friends for breakfast at Sweetness 7.

DSC02528

I got a turkey and caramelized onion quiche,

DSC02530

and a hibiscus lemonade.

DSC02533

Both were very bland, sadly, and the service/ordering system seemed off.  Instead of calling out drinks or putting them with the food, they just plopped them on a tucked away, back counter.  And I tried to get a coffee at their other location this morning and the service was so bad there that I left without ordering!  I’m not sure what the deal is, but I loved Sweetness 7 so I hope they’re not on a downward slope.

After breakfast I ran some errands (my cell phone was broken again!), grabbed lunch, and headed to work.  I felt fine in the morning, but as the afternoon wore on I felt sicker and sicker.  I ended up throwing up at work!!  Boo!  I rallied afterwards and stuck out my shift, but it was not a fun time.

This next photo doesn’t look like “dinner,” but after my tough day it was exactly what I needed.

DSC02536

Froyo!  Super delicious froyo with peanut butter, marshmallow, chocolate pretzels, and other amazing things.  I cannot believe that right as I leave Buffalo two self-serve froyo locations have appeared on my block!  Though not having immediate access to it the last three years did probably save me many pounds and dollars.

Saturday, I Like to Move it Move it

Yesterday was ridiculous; y’all would not even believe how much we got done.  But not a single fruit or veggetable was eaten that day…

Black bean nachos from ETS.

DSC02547

Melonhead beer (like Pumpkinhead) from Shipyard.

DSC02543

It was super juicy and refreshing; just what I needed as we packed late into the night.

Sunday, Finish the Fridge

For breakfast today, I made us a Finish Up the Fridge Fritatta.

DSC02549

9 large eggs / .5 cup shredded parmesan / 1 cup thawed and drained frozen spinach / pinch salt / pinch paprika

Mix, pour in a greased pie pan, and bake 35 – 40 minutes at 375 degrees Farenheit.

DSC02553

I had my slice with a piece of rosemary bread from Wegman’s bakery.

DSC02556

It was a great way to start the week!

What was the most difficult move your family has even done?

Weekly Wrap-Up

I’ve stopped doing daily posts for the time being, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped eating – and occasionally photographing – delicious things.  Once we’ve moved and things have settled down I’ll try to post more regularly, but for now I want to at least do a weekly wrap-up of some of the more scrumptious things I’ve eaten.  I’m going to borrow the style of Kath’s Lately posts for these.

A lot is missing, I don’t have any lunches and several slices of pizza went uncaptured, but here are some of the highlights from last week…

Breakfasts

I bought an amazing container of fresh blackberries early in the week and enjoyed them greatly.  They started getting soft so I put the last few servings in the freezer and I’m very much looking forward to reheating them.  First up, Dannon Oikos Café Latte Greek Yogurt with blackberries and a blend of peanut and coconut butter.

DSC02378

Cinnamon Pecan Special K with Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and more blackberries.

DSC02387

This cereal is so tasty; it’s got a granola-like texture but with far less calories.

A Dr. McDougall’s Peach and Hemp Oatmeal, eaten at work with a packet of Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

DSC02471

This oatmeal couldn’t hold a candle to my beloved Quaker cups.  It was quite gummy and strange, though I did eat all of the bites with hazelnut butter on them 😉

Snacks

I finally got a chance to try some of my shipment of the Larabar ALT lineLemon Pound Cake and Peanut Butter Cookie.

DSC02447

DSC02456

The verdict was – I’m a fan; though I’ll admit to being less excited to try the other two flavors.  The texture was gritty sand, but in a great way, and the flavors were spot on.  I shared the lemon bar with a coworker and she said to tell y’all she liked it a lot.

On Monday, Adam, a friend, and I drove over to Williamsville to check out one of our new froyo spots – Red Mango.

DSC02390

DSC02391

I did plain tart with tons of popping boba.  They had kiwi boba, a new experience for me.  Confession time though: I couldn’t finish that whole cup!  Who am I??

Dinners

Also on Monday, we spent the evening with another group of friends, saying goodbye to a doctor who was heading off to California.  As Adam and his friends all head off to their residencies we are having to say a lot of goodbyes.  We ate dinner at Mezza.

DSC02397

A Shish Tawouk wrap – cubed marinated chicken breast, garlic spread, sweet coleslaw, and French fries, all wrapped together and grilled – with a Feta Fattouch salad.  My food was delicious, as was the diet coke with strawberry vodka I sipped from the bar.

We drank at Blue Monk before heading to dinner and I tried my first taste of mussels.

DSC02394

I’ve always been wimpy about shelled seafood, but they were fantastic!  It helped that they were cooked with Ommegang Witte, lemon, leeks, garlic, parsley and cream.

We also ate dinner out last night.  I’ve wanted to try 99 Fast Food for years and Sunday after work it was finally my time.  Unfortunately all of the pho was made with beef broth so I couldn’t partake, but I did have a nice meal of tofu broccoli ginger stir-fry.

DSC02491

We tried a Vietnamese Pudding for dessert.

DSC02489

It was more of a drink than a pudding, red bean with sweetened coconut milk.

On Friday night I hurried home from work so we could get a little gussied.

DSC02460

My bosses generously gave me their tickets to the Mash Bash, an army-themed fundraiser.

DSC02462

I was literally the only person in the room not in green, so embarrassing!

There wasn’t a ton of food there that I could eat, but each ticket came with two drinks and Adam ate my share of pulled pork sandwich.

DSC02464

DSC02465

DSC02470

DSC02468

Most of my home-cooked meals flopped this week, but I did have one success with a little help from Coleman’s Mustard.

DSC02474

The company sent me a tin of powder to try {free sample, please note!}, along with a recipe for dressing –

Colman’s Chili Vinaigrette

  • 4 tbs. olive oil

  • 1 tbs. white wine vinegar

  • 1 tsp. Colman’s Original Powdered Mustard

  • 4 “splashes” mild green Tabasco sauce

  • ½ cup lemon juice

  • 2 tsp. honey

I whipped up a batch for salads; a spring lettuce based topped with English Cotswold cheese, buckwheat groats, and roasted asparagus.

DSC02479

It was a good week!

Ohio Surprise!

The past weekend I drove to Ohio to pay my mom and grandmother a surprise visit.  Adam was actually already with them hanging out but we weren’t sure about my work schedule so I didn’t want to tell them any plans.  The timing worked out at the last-minute and I showed up in the parking lot one night after dinner and scared the crap out of them.  {Surprise!}  It was great to get some family time.

I didn’t manage to snap many pictures, but we did have a fun weekend.

We went to Sonic and a giant strawberry diet coke rocked my face off.

DSC02047

DSC02051

We checked out the sign that was dedicated to my grandpa who passed away last year.

DSC02058

That field is named after him!

DSC02059

And of course we made time for a trip to Trader Joe’s.

DSC02052

I picked up some tasty stuff that I plan on blogging about soon.

P.S. After family time, Adam drove to meet up with friends for a Tough Mudder challenge.  He is officially a bad ass.

Spinach Salad With Soft Boiled Eggs

Dinner tonight was a delicious salad.  I had to get in my greens on Earth Day!

DSC02035

A bed of baby spinach topped with a sprinkle of salt, radish greens, blue cheese crumbles, and two soft-cooked eggs.

I use Jenna’s recipe for soft-cooked eggs and they come out perfectly every time.

DSC02039

The flavors all melded nicely and I used creamy yolks in lieu of dressing.  Plus, I fit every single food group into one meal (I had a fruit smoothie and slice of ciabatta bread on the side)!

What is your favorite way to replace the dressing on a salad?

Today

Some of the things I thought today –

Man, it has been a looooong time since I last blogged.

I made the right decision.  Part of the reason I’ve been blogging AWOL is because I was making a giant, life-changing decision and I’m pretty sure positive I made the right one.

The end of this semester is going to be insane.  We have two business plans to create in the next month and we were told to expect 40 plus hours of work each week on top of our clinical hours.

Some of the things I did today – 

Went to my first day of clinical practice in long-term care.

Took a glorious, 70* walk on Elmwood with my husband.

Attended night class.  With the curve I scored a 100% on the first exam!

What I ate today – 

A mealy apple.

DSC01967

A packet of Artisana Cacao Bliss.

DSC01961

Chocolate Almond Coconut Clif Mojo Bar.

DSC01963

A low-fat strawberry milk.

DSC01965

A (salted caramel chocolate nougat) candy from the latest Yumvelope.

DSC01968

Veggies from Globe Market, ~.25 lb each.

DSC01971

Thai carrot salad,

DSC01973

and Greek vegetable salad.

DSC01975

Lays Chicken and Waffles potato chips.

DSC01978

Dinner.

DSC01980

Amy’s Alphabet Soup,

DSC01985

and a soft pretzel with yellow mustard.

DSC01983

I also thought a lot about the tragedies at the Boston Marathon today.  If you or anyone you are close to were effected, please know that you are in my thoughts.

Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Recently Naysoya contacted me with the opportunity to try their newly reformulated Nayonaise line.  I’ve enjoyed their vegan mayo in the past during my Vegan Month challenges, so I happily accepted.  Pretty soon, a box showed up in the mail.

DSC01933

They sent me 2 free jars to sample – Vegan Nayonaise and Vegan Nayo Whipped.

Here’s what they had to say (product information):  “Nasoya recently perfected Nayonaise for a smoother, creamier texture and it now comes in new distinct varieties.  Original Nayonaise is an excellent alternative to traditional mayonnaise reformulated with a more delicious flavor than ever before. NayoWhipped, the line’s newest variety, has a tangier taste for those who prefer a whipped sandwich spread. The entire line is vegan, a good source of vitamin B12 and made from expeller pressed oil. All products are also fortified with Omega 3 ALA for added nutrition.”
And here’s what I have to say (disclaimer): I was provided these samples free of charge.  I did not receive compensation for writing this post, I just really wanted to share my tasty recipe.  All opinions are my own.

I haven’t tasted the whipped product yet (in non-vegan life I prefer Miracle Whip to regular mayo so I’m quite looking forward to it) but I’ll be sure to share my opinion when I do.  I was impressed with the reformulation of the Nayonaise.  The new product is in fact smoother than the previous version.

I’ve seen recipes in the past {on those Mayo tv commercials?!} where mayo is used in place of butter when grilling a sandwich and I figured that application would be a great way to taste out the Nayo.  I also used it as the binder in my vegan chicken salad.  I think the recipe turned out quite well; the Nayo gave the toasted bread a great crisp texture.

Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwiches, serves 2

  • 7 oz vegan “chicken” nuggets  (I recommend Wegman’s Don’t Be a Chicken line if you have access to it)
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 3 celery ribs, cut in half vertically then sliced
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 3 Tbsp plus 2 tsp Vegan Nayonaise
  • 4 slices bread of choice
  1. Cook nuggets according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Set aside until cool enough to handle, then dice.
  2. Combine cooled chicken, almonds, celery, green onions, salt, lemon juice, and 3 Tbsp of Nayo in a large bowl and toss to combine.
  3. Divide salad evenly between two slices of bread, then sandwich with the remaining slices.  Spread 1/2 tsp Nayo on the outer side of each slice of bread.
  4. Preheat a large grill pan over medium-low heat.  Cook sandwiches until toasty, 1 – 2 minutes on each side.

DSC01951

DSC01937

DSC01950

To my vegetarian readers:  Nasoya has teamed up with Vegetarian Times to celebrate the vegetarian lifestyle by having people share their Veg-iversaries.  By sharing the day you went veg, you can enter to win a Nayonaise Party Pack for 10 people + a $100 Visa gift card!

Do you follow (or have you ever followed) a vegetarian or vegan diet?

Me Jane

Doesn’t it feel too late in the week to still be Monday?  Anyone else?  I have several personal/professional/school things going down at the moment and honestly my head is spinning.  This post is going to have to be “Me Emily.  Me eat food.  Food good.” style.

Coconut Delight Raw Revolution bar from the bottom of my purse for breakfast.

bar

Pear.

DSC01926

Dannon Oikos Cafe Latte Greek Yogurt,

DSC01928

with Justin’s Maple Almond Butter swirled in.

DSC01929

The last of the bbq pop chips (1.5ish serving) with dip.

DSC01934

Also Cheetos.

DSC01952

A new recipe for dinner.

DSC01941

Roasted green beans,

DSC01944

with a vegan chicken salad sandwich.  <– me promise to share the recipe tomorrow

DSC01946

Drinks whilst brainstorming with a friend.

DSC01954

DSC01953

Jameson diet coke x2, lemon drop x1.

Bed.

Weekend Welcome Back

Hello again!  I know I kind of dropped off the face of the earth.  This semester has been busy.  I don’t have a lot to say tonight, and my pictures are poorly lit and blurry, but it was a good day so I wanted to share.

I slept in this morning; we’ve got a serious stayed-up-too-late-watching-Battlestar-Galactica-every-night-this-week sleep deficit going.  I ended up eating “breakfast” during the afternoon at work.  Chobani Vanilla Golden Crunch Flip.

DSC01897

I love most of Chobani’s flavors but I have really disliked the Flip line*.  This  was my 2nd try with this flavor and both times the vanilla yogurt was so tangy I was actually a little afraid it had gone bad.  *the Honey BeeNana one was really freaking good

I also drank a Dr. Pepper 10.

DSC01898

The first in a fun line-up of beverages today.

After work I met up with a friend for bubble tea; strawberry green tea with both kinds of boba.

DSC01902

We hung out for the rest of the evening and had a fun night.  Next was drinks at a bar in Allentown.  I enjoyed this Genesee Cream Ale more than I was expecting to.

DSC01903

It was basically water, but at least it was quite refreshing.  Plus it is locally made.

Finally we headed to Seabar for a late dinner.

DSC01906

DSC01905

I was very disappointed that they were out of the (the) lobster ramen bowl, but I rallied with three small plates.

Seaweed salad.

DSC01907

Pickle cucumber salad over sushi rice.

DSC01908

Udon noodle bowl served with tempura shrimp.

DSC01911

All three were quite tasty but the cucumber salad was my favorite.

I brushed my teeth the minute I got home and now I’m actually blogging from the bed!  Sweet dreams!