Double Chocolate Cherry and Pumpkin Spice

by Emily

We’re a week into Pumpkin Month and I still haven’t cracked open any of my pumpkin beers! I have, however, purchased more (I spotted Schlafly in Manhattan – finally! – and couldn’t pass it up). Thankfully I consider November gourd drinking time as well.

I didn’t do the best job with photos, but here were some of my eats last week…

Home-brewed coffee (espresso roast with fat-free half and half) with honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice.

I dumped most of that yummy coffee into my purse and consoled myself with espresso and chocolate milk when I got off the train.

Pumpkin spice coffee with pumpkin juice that ended up being too spicy for me. I wanted it to taste like that amazing pumpkin smoothie Odwalla used to sell.

I also was NOT a fan of the pumpkin pie Quest bar, big surprise. My coffee and chocolate-covered almonds were still a good snack though.

As was this pear and Epic Bar combo.

Liberte lavender! yogurt with banana and almonds for lunch.

My other yogurts for the week came in the form of a product review – i.e. sent to me free of charge, with no additional compensation for this post. Greek Gods yogurt is both Adam’s and my absolute favorite so when they offered to send me their three newest chocolate flavors I jumped at the opportunity.

Because they’re made with whole milk, the yogurts have too much saturated fat for me to consider them an everyday staple, however, as a treat they are fantastic. Compared with ice cream they have less than half the saturated fat and calories (and double the protein) and 100% of the flavor and creamy decadence. Like I said, Adam and I both consider them to be the most pleasing yogurts on the market. And we have been eating them everyday this week!

Chocolate Cherry I decided to use in a smoothie recipe. For 2 – blend 1 cup yogurt, 1 cup frozen dark cherries, and 8 ounces chocolate milk. Yum!

Chocolate Strawberry I topped with freeze-dried strawberries, chocolate-covered cocoa nibs, and pecans.

And Chocolate Mocha turned into pumpkin spice mocha, with pumpkin spice granola and pepitas on top.

Dinners were weak this week. I made this ridiculous grilled cheese sandwich – Havarti and sharp cheddar on cinnamon swirl bread – three nights in a row!

And leftovers saved me from having to cook the only meal that counts as a meal. Pumpkin sausage pasta and broccoli salad were weirdly fantastic together. Topped with smoked paprika and shredded cheese.

Last night we went to Biang! We split shredded potatoes and garlic bok choy and I had Mt Qi spicy pickled veggies on hand-pulled noodles. My elbow was practically touching the girl next to me, so no photos.

Today, we’re hoping to go to Smorgasburg and dinner in Williamsburg. Have a great weekend!

10Sep2016

It’s Apple Month!

by Emily

Can I show off my apple-themed haul?? I’m quite excited about it.

And fittingly, we are driving upstate to go apple picking this afternoon.

So far the gum has been my favorite, though I haven’t tried any of the ciders yet. I went out for drinks with a friend last night and had a regular (red apple) Angry Orchard that was unpleasantly sweet so I’m hoping green apple has some tartness to it.

Apple pie bar and a Gala apple.

Caramel apple bar with green apple sparkling water and some honey peanut butter. With an Asian pear.

Caramel apple pie cheesecake from work.

I did eat a few things that weren’t apple-flavored. Like a giant plate of buffalo chicken pizza! With salads from the Whole Food’s bar, Caesar, kale, and corn.

Blueberry cheesecake smoothie. Frozen berries, vanilla almond milk, cream cheese, and lemon syrup.

Green bean dinner bowl. This turned out way better than I was expecting, especially because the green beans were a bag of fresh beans that got tossed into the freezer last week when they started getting old. They would have been too mushy roasted, but were perfect with an egg on top.

Sautéed green beans tossed with turkey bacon, mustard, and lemon juice // pan toasted whole-wheat panko // fried egg // smoked paprika.

Everyone go eat an apple!

2Aug2016

This Weekend’s Best…

by Emily

…breakfast –

A blueberry cheesecake smoothie! Frozen berries with chocolate milk and low-fat cream cheese. Adam and I both loved it.

Plus the new cold brew from Dunkin. Delicious with the Heath Bar syrup and some skim milk.

…brunch

Colonie. I got the duck hash again, because it makes the top five list for best dishes I’ve ever eaten.

…lunch –

Plain Greek yogurt with blueberries and the last of the cookies crumbled on top.

…brinner –

Eggs with swiss cheese, a simple salad, and a towering stack of buttered toast.

…dinner

Sandwich night with roasted broccoli.

Toasted french bread / mayo with Sriracha, fish sauce, and dark brown sugar / baked extra-firm tofu / quick pickled cucumber and shallot / crispy garlic.

…book –

Autumn Balloons, a memoir by Kenny Porpora. It had me laughing and crying, both at an embarrassing volume, on the train. Easily one of the most captivating memoirs I’ve ever read.

11Jul2016

A Bunch Of Brunch

by Emily

Chameleon’s Mexican coffee was delightful with a bit of milk. Related – I am in physical pain that I can’t find the Texas pecan near me.

Iced coffee is always good though.

This cup from Colonie was knock-your-socks-off good. There must have been a nitro tap somewhere because it was crazy velvety.

I went for brunch with a girlfriend and we were both blown away by my duck hash. With poached egg, red potatoes, roasted onion puree, and aioli. I’m usually not that excited by potatoes but these were crispy perfection.

Afterwards we went to Grand Army and had {too many!} drinks. We practically tried the whole cocktail menu and everything was fantastic!

Brunch numero dos at Tocolo Cantina. I had the mushroom taquitos – crispy tacos filled with roasted mushroom, corn, and Chihuahua cheese.

This cafeteria lunch wasn’t too bad either. My wrap sandwich had grilled chicken, cheddar, veggies, and cilantro.

Date shake smoothie. Plain Greek yogurt, vanilla almond milk, ice, dulce de leche, and fresh dates.

Lavender caramel. I brought these back from my Philly trip and I wish I’d bought more!

These leftovers eggs were better than they look. With chicken hot dog, baby spinach, yellow bell pepper, and gouda cheese.

A 2nd home-cooked dinner in one weekend?

These – only ok – salmon patties came from the freezer, but I did make the tartar sauce. Mayo, mustard, pickle relish, and dill.

And I assembled the salads myself. Romaine, ranch, heirloom baby tomatoes, pistachios, and an amazing blue cheese from Trader Joe’s.

5Jul2016

Independence Day Eats

by Emily

I hope all of my American readers enjoyed their 4th of July. I had a three day weekend with Adam and a holiday with theme colors so you know I was happy!

Here were the on theme (summer!) eats…

Is iced coffee a summer food? I guess not really for me because I drink it 365 days of the year sun or snow.

Red, white, and blue smoothie. Strawberry / banana yogurt / blueberry.

Watermelon lunch. Chobani, fresh melon, and seltzer.

Boozy root beer float. Root beer beer, dark rum, dulce de leche, and vanilla bean gelato.

Cook out dinner that we totally made in-doors. Turkey hot dogs, oven-roasted corn on the cob, and Eat Live Run’s bbq kale and beans.

I added ketchup for dipping, seltzer for sipping, and a strawberry beer to the meal after we sat down.

See also – Genesee Cream Ale and a giant platter of nachos at a dive bar in Brooklyn.

Trader Joe’s shooting star cookies.

Pop rocks have kind of been our favorite this year.

I’m off to enjoy a four-day work week!

27Jun2016

Queens International

by Emily

NYC readers – did you march/attend Pride Parade yesterday?? It was my weekend to cover work but I did manage to snag some on-theme treats (x2). And we didn’t have the energy to do much dinner cooking but we did have amazing Asian food in Queens (x2!).

Thursday through Sunday I worked every day but one so I’ve been drinking all of the coffee. Thanks to caffeine, this post is mostly a complete recap, I think I’m only missing one meal from each category. Here’s what I’ve got…

Seriously, all of the coffee. Always in the morning and a few times as an afternoon snack as well. Highlights include a latte from Hungry Ghost and a cold brew from Starbucks that I ordered full-strength (usually they add water).

With yummy bars. Coconut Chocolate Chip.

Caramel Almond.

A creamy tropical smoothie. Frozen mango, guava paste, avocado, and vanilla almond milk. I used a whole avocado (split into two servings) and I think next time I’d only use half, the creaminess was great but the flavor was a bit much for me.

Doughnut Plant‘s Pride doughnut = yeast with raspberry glaze.

Yogurt bowl. Strawberry lingonberry with real berries and Heritage Flakes.

Trail mix bags. The standout ingredient was cinnamon roasted chickpeas.

Mini peanut butter cups (x ten thousand) make the afternoons seem less lengthy.

Sandwich and fries on a busy day. I was worried about mealy tomatoes when I bought this but they ended up being roasted and the chew and smokiness totally made the sandwich. There was a nice layer of spinach on there too, it was actually a pretty sandwich.

Salad / mac and cheese / hardboiled eggs.

Another Pride treat, from Ample Hills. In a cone with oatmeal lace.

The Queens International Night Market was fun, like a smaller, more focused Smorgasburg.

We split a taro shaved ice with mango, scm, boba, and mochi.

I had a very disappointing duck bao.

And Filipino tacos that were absolutely one of the best dishes we’ve ever tasted. Chicken sigsig, crispy shells, and lemon mayo. They were such a pleasing mix of textures and flavors!

The Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens is basically just the storefront version of the market. I want to try something in practically ever window we walked by! I loved what I had too. Bahn Mi at JoJu.

My “Hot Chicken” had grilled lemongrass chicken with spicy mayo and kimchi, plus pickled vegetables, and a soft cooked egg. And for $5.99 it was giant, that picture only shows one half!

And afterwards we walked to Red Ribbon Bakeshop. The Ube Overload cake was gorgeous but bland and the Halo Halo was fantasmic. Shaved ice with various sweetened beans and fruits, milk , leche flan, and whipped mango topping.

My only “homecooked” meal was basically an assembly of parts but I ate chips and dips and three day old roasted broccoli for dinner while I wrote this post so I’ll pat myself on the back for it. Plus it was delicious.

Potato and onion pierogis with tons of roasted zucchini, tossed in a sauce made of cream cheese and chicken stock, topped with hot smoked salmon.

I only work four days this week thanks to the weekend shift, woo-hoo!

23Jun2016

Similar To Cake By The Ocean

by Emily

I’m mashing last weekend’s post into this week’s – and we’ve done a lot of good eating! – so I had to filter down to only the most delicious things. Here are the best bites from the top five categories…

{1} all the coffee!

We ordered The Unicorn at Box Kite, obviously.

We went to Birch Coffee and loved it so much that we went back at the end of the day to buy a bag of beans.

Then went back again a few days later for another latte!

Locally roasted coffee that comes in cups with trees on them is just too exciting. And there were birch trees etched into the sidewalk out front!

{2} protein-packed salads

Beans, eggs, and lots of fish. At Whole Foods – spring mix with tangerine vinaigrette / salmon / two kinds of bean salads / parmesan / and a hard-boiled egg.

At the cafeteria – romaine with blue cheese / veggies / corn / kidney beans / cheddar / egg. Plus my coworker brought me a giant piece of baked salmon and I tossed that on top too.

At the cafeteria when I worked last Sunday and pickings were getting slim – I did the best I could with fried fish and a steamed vegetable mix.

It wasn’t bad, but I did buy a train snack that night.

{3} killer sandwiches

Breakfast: egg and cheese on a croissant with turkey bacon.

Lunch: do taquitos count as sandwiches? I’m including them either way, because this lunch was too good not to share. Tortaria knocked our socks off. Adam and I split a platter with mahi and cauliflower (and pork for him). Plus spicy fries and tons of guacamole. And a tamarind agua fresca.

The sauces sitting on the tables – green salsa, blended salsa, and something creamy and smoky – were astonishingly good. And that ridiculous quantity of food (why include chips and fries in the same deal?!) cost less than twenty dollars.

Dinner: cod bahn mi at a new Vietnamese/taco spot in Park Slope.

Don’t question it, the combo worked, I went with a girlfriend who got tacos and we were both very pleased.

{4} sweet stuff

~~Cake by the ocean.~~ Cookies by the Hudson. We got giant chocolate chip walnut cookies from Levain and enjoyed them in Riverside Park.

Tropical smoothie at home. Frozen mango and soursop with guava paste and vanilla almond milk.

Ben & Jerry’s Empower-Mint flavor is yummy and it supports an important cause.

Siggi’s yogurt with berries and shredded halvah.

Birthday cake croissant from Union Fare. It’s topped with ground sprinkle dust and filled with sprinkle-studded pastry cream!

It was also just one of the best croissant we’ve ever tasted.

{5} hearty homemade dinners

Spanish flavors reigned supreme on the home front this week. Tomato garlic crock pot chicken served with brown rice tossed with garlic, tomato paste, raisins, and chopped olives. Plus roasted broccoli.

I also made fantastic enchiladas.

Whole Foods’ roasted garlic green chile enchilada sauce costs a ridiculous $4+ per can and it is soooo good. Our filling was ground turkey breast cooked with TJ’s vegan chorizo and tons of roasted yellow squash and zucchini. Plus cheese galore.

10Jun2016

Destination City

by Emily

this week I loved…

Neutrogena Revitalizing Lip Balm. It took me forever to find a balm with both tint and spf but this one fits the bill perfectly!

A blog book review. Dawn Lerman’s My Fat Dad was sent to me free of charge to try/read for the blog. Her chapter on moving to New York City walked the reader through the different cultural food neighborhoods in a way that made my mouth water.

Living in a destination city. I had two different sets of friends visiting NYC for work trips this week. It was fantastic to get to catch up with them! However, I went out after work for dinner and/or drinks multiple times and I am flipping exhausted.

P.S. My favorite bar (Pork Slope in Park Slope) now has $1 jello shots, clearly I backed the right horse!

this week I ate…

Vietnamese-ish iced coffee.

A killer smoothie – with banana, blueberry, and avocado. So creamy.

Poppy seed bagel with olive cream cheese.

Oatmeal bowl. With cookie butter and a pixie tangerine.

Greek yogurt bowl with Cheerios and plums. I also crumbled a brownie in there (see below) and it was pretty fantastic.

Taboule salad from the cafeteria.

Whole Foods hot bar. Lots of veggies, rice with black beans and cheddar, and broccoli mac and cheese.

I needed a 2nd coffee snack more than once.

Turkey jerky.

Best ever brownies. Just this recipe without the fluff.

Baby carrots with great feta dip.

I had Thai food in Williamsburg with Adam and a girlfriend. Drunken noodles with mock duck that were as spicy as they were delicious.

We cooled our mouths down with soft-serve from Milk Bar. Fruity pebble soft-serve(!!) with fudge sauce and sprinkles.

Indian at the Grand Central food court. And yes, I realize that is a lame spot to take an out-of-towner.

Starbucks sandwich for a quick dinner on the train and then I went straight to bed!

I did make dinner at home one night! Whole-wheat vermicelli noodles with ginger and garlic chicken, shredded cabbage, bell pepper, and a tahini lime sauce. With cashews on top plus tons of Sriracha after the picture.

We snacked on a servings’ worth of cashews and sliced bell pepper while we cooked.

Good friends, good eats, it was a good week!

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: smoothie

Double Chocolate Cherry and Pumpkin Spice

It’s Apple Month!

This Weekend’s Best…

A Bunch Of Brunch

Independence Day Eats

Queens International

Similar To Cake By The Ocean

Destination City

this week I loved…

this week I ate…