Tag Archives: soup

I Might Just Move to Iowa

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Yeeeeesh today has seemed long!  I felt tired when I left my Anatomy lecture at 3, let alone when I walked into Chem Lab at 6pm.  Today I am thankful that –

  1. My group managed to finish up our melting point lab early and get out of there at 8pm.
  2. We cooked tonight’s dinner last night!

I am not thankful that it’s nearing the end of the month and my hunger monster attacked late this afternoon.  I packed myself a sliced plum as a snack.

Nah-uh.  You guys, I can’t even begin to describe how hungry I was; it felt like my stomach was going to implode.  I grabbed a Sabra To-Go pack,

and that barely made a dent.  I had a few hours between classes in which I was supposed to do my anatomy reading, but instead I clutched my stomach. 

Finally I found a cinnamon raisin bagel at the coffee shop (I ate half, toasted, plain) and that seemed to quiet the beast.

Fast forward four hours and it was time for dinner.

Iowa Girl Eat’s Chicken Chili.  Kristen is a genius!  Her recipe has minimal meat with black beans and baked beans(!), the combo is to die for!  I topped mine with shredded sharp cheddar.

I had a BlogHer coupon for Pilsbury Simply French Bread – no trans fat, preservatives, etc – so Adam cooked that up for us.  —A quick aside: we bought an over thermometer because we have been burning everything and now know that our oven is a good 200* off.  Joy.  That’s another thing to deal with tomorrow.—

All together.

I am so ready for bed!

What are you thankful for today?

***Updated to add – the beast returned!  I ate another slice of bread, a mini fudge brownie ice cream, two squares of chocolate, and I’m only stopping because I have to go to sleep.  Damn you hunger!

Around the Globe

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I was hanging around the house this afternoon, checking some e-mails, eating some popcorn,

getting half-dressed for the gym and trying to decide whether to head there or pick up my stuff at the tailor first.  When Katie g-chatted me about lunch who was I to say no?  Even if it meant I ended up going out in public in this –

A running skirt for running errands?  Not a good look for me!  Although I ended up doing so much walking that I was almost glad not to be sweating in my jeans.

Globe Market is conveniently located between our two apartments so we decided to meet up there.  I’d never been before so I thought I’d sample the menu with a half sandwich/soup combo.

Vegan gazpacho.

Green apple and brie sandwich.

I ended up with a ton of food.  Sadly I wasn’t that impressed with any of it though.  The gazpacho was ok, but it was practically tasteless compared with the bowl Benji served me the other day.  And the apples in my sandwich tasted like they were rotten!  The best part of my meal was actually the bread that come with my soup, airy and delicious!  I left behind a lot of food –

It was good to catch up with Katie though.

A fun story from my teacher days – On one of our many professional development days a workshop let out early.  This meant that we had to stay on school campus but didn’t have anything specific to do.  The nicest facility in the school was the basketball court so someone suggested a game of Around the World.  I have to mention here that I worked in a rough neighborhood and my job was pretty intense – most of the staff consisted of very large black men.  I actually was the only caucasian female employed by the school the two years I worked there.  I did not win that game of Around the World, not by a longshot, but I did hold my own.  The look on some of my fellow teachers’ faces when they realized they just got schooled by a little white girl in a mini skirt (it was a no student day)?  Priceless.

Happy Birthday Danielle

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It’s been a busy day and I’ll keep this quick. I have an early morning tomorrow so I’m already up way too late.

I was not feeling the gym this afternoon, I wanted to play with my new phone, I wanted to play with Adam, my leg hurt… But I’m learning that for me one day off exercise turns into twenty, so I hauled my butt to the gym. 30minutes on the elliptical, level 6, random. In the end I loved it; I’m not sure how I managed to skip the gym so much this last year, exercise makes me so happy!

It was our friend Danielle’s birthday today and by the time I was out of the shower the boys were in the kitchen baking burning some cupcakes. I put myself together a snack while they cooked.

Pomegranate and Passionfruit Siggi’s, Stonewall Kitchen Mimosa Jam, and crunchy peanut butter.

I still cannot get over how much the Siggi’s yogurt looks like a big scoop of ice cream, it is so aesthetically pleasing!

We had to pick up beer before we headed to Benji’s house and I brought a soursop nectar to drink along the way.

Sadly it had added sugar and was way too sweet, I tossed it after just a few sips.

I was starving and cranky by early evening but thankfully Benji is practically a gourmet cook and he hooked me up with this plate of awesomeness.

That is sunflower bread from the co-op with strawberry balsamic vinegar,

and homemade gazpacho.

Yum! It was such a fresh and tasty way to satisfy my hunger.

We spent a large portion of our evening at Wine Thief, where I in fact passed on wine in favor of a Labat Blue with Lime.

I also snagged a small slice of communal pizza.

The pizza was good, and upon perusing the variety of the food menu Adam and I declared that we have to go back for dinner soon.

The rest of the evening was spent in a wicked game of Pictionary.  Fyi – my team won 😉  I didn’t partake in any more booze, but I did nibble on this Strawberry Soy Joy bar from BlogHer.

Can how many days can you take off from the gym before you lose your motivation?

Watermelon in a Smoothie and Beans in Some Soup

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I hate doing all these drive-by posts but things have just been so busy.  A little rush is worth it though, it was wonderful getting to meet our new niece.

We got in the car around 10 this morning and I was thrilled to see a Sheetz where we could buy fresh food in time for lunch.

I got a chicken burrito with fire roasted tomatoes, rice and beans, colby cheese, diced tomatoes, lettuce, green peppers, diced onion, and salsa.

And ate an apple packed from home on the side.

We pulled back into Buffalo around 5:30 and I immediately got to work unpacking and heading to the grocery store.  Once I was home for good, the husband helped me whip up some delicious soup.  More specifically, White Bean Consomme with Almond Milk, from SELF magazine.

I ate a serving of Salt and Pepper Sommersalts on the side.

It ended up being the perfect quick meal.

I also made a huge smoothie to drink.

Tons of frozen watermelon chunks blended with a Simply Raspberry Lemonade.

Pink!

We didn’t finished dinner until 9:30 but I knew I’d be happiest if I got in some sort of a workout.  10minutes of stretching and strength moves later, my day is complete and I’m on my way to shower and sleep.

What is the most unusual application of watermelon you’ve tried this summer?

The Sea Cow

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After my ultimate breakfast lunch was a bit of a disappointment.  I’d been salivating over the thought of green bean fries all week, but when I opened the bag today they were all slimy!  I almost went ahead and roasted them anyways but I was afraid it would be like eating a sea cucumber.

Instead I got my veggies from a bowl of Dr. McDougall’s Vegetable Soup.

On the side I roasted a small handful of baby red creamer potatoes; baking spray and salt, 400* oven, 20minutes.

In the last 5 minutes of roasting time I stuck in an onion bun with a slice of colby jack cheese.

All together they made a pretty tasty lunch combination.

I realize my day needs some fruits and dairy, but I’ve got those food groups covered with my planned dinner.  Said dinner will be consumed in the car, because we are driving to PA for the weekend to meet our new niece!  I’m very excited, but it does mean that I have 1hour now to pack, do some sort of work out, shower, and be ready when the husband gets home.

Just for fun – what is your favorite marine creature?  I have a minor otter obsession.  And, of course, the sea cow!

Jokes.com
Jim Gaffigan – Manatees
comedians.comedycentral.com
Futurama New Episodes It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Russell Simmon Stand-Up Comedy

Long but Loving

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Hello again!  I hope that everyone got over the week’s hump nicely.  I’ll describe my situation succinctly: I will never put off my work for 4 days in a row again!  It’s been a painful experience that I don’t want to soon repeat.  The last 48hours have been stressful, but my eats have all been so good that there was no way I wasn’t posting them; hence the long recap post.

Wednesday morning I made a breakfast that was truly a thing of beauty –

A serving of Van’s Belgian Waffles topped with 2T maple syrup, the last of the strawberry sauce, fresh blueberries, and a cinnamon sprinkle.

Gah!  I always used to think that I didn’t like waffles, pancakes, etc, but that was just because I didn’t know to top them off with fruit and cinnamon.

{study, study, study}

Lunch was some Allergaroo Spyglass Noodles.

These were super tasty, and just the right about of food.

I wanted to keep lunch light because it was Katie’s birthday last week and we had a cupcake date.  It ended up being too hot for cupcakes, but locally made ice cream certainly fit the bill.

I got a small scoop of A Date at the Zoo, coconut ice cream with wine poached dates, brazil nuts, and chocolate chips.  Yes, it was as amazing as it sounds!

{study, study, study}

When hunger hit (hard) later in the afternoon I sliced up a big plate of cucumber to munch while I studied.  Unphotograhed accountability note – I also ate ~ 1/3 of a salmon patty straight from the container.

The water-dense snack was a good choice, because when the husband got home at 6 we headed out for a run.

I didn’t wear my watch, so I have no idea what the times are, but it was a good workout.  We did a mix of running and walking (with a few stops so I could fuss with my socks, eek I’m not sure if it’s the shoes or the socks but something with my new shoes isn’t working) and covered 3miles in total.

When you have good leftovers a healthy tasty dinner can literally be less than 2mintues away!

Over a bed of spring mix lettuce I combined 2/3cup microwaved frozen corn, a salmon patty, and a big scoop of medium chunky salsa.

The flavors of this salad went together so well!  It filled me up but it tasted so good that I kept scraping at my plate so I wouldn’t lose any of it 🙂

{study, study, study} um, {study, study, study, study}

That’s right folks, I pulled an (almost)all-nighter!  I stayed up until 4am doing the reading I should have done over the weekend.  Ugh.

I fell into bed for 6hours or so and then got right back to my books.  My messed up sleep schedule messed with my hunger in turn, and breakfast just didn’t sound good.  I did nibble on a serving of Jammie Dodgers throughout the morning though.

Around 2:30 I was finally caught up on the reading, which meant that I was ready to study for and take my test, jeez!

I did break for lunch though.  I pulled a carton of Dr. McDougal’s Lentil Soup out of the depths of my fridge.

I gussied it up with a chopped string cheese, a dollop of plain Siggis yogurt, and some Sriracha.

With a Savory Kathy’s Krackers Flax Snax on the side.

All together now –

Then it was more studying, yadda, yadda, yadda, and FINALLY I took my exam.  And I’m pretty sure I got a 100%, phew!

and if you’ve stuck around through all of that, I’d like to reward you with some recommendations…..

A Few of My (Current) Favorite Things –

1. The new fishy measuring spoon set my mom sent me.

They are available at Fred Flare, but I have heart palpitations whenever I view the kitchen section of that store so I can’t give you an exact link!

2. This College Humor Article about us 90’s kids.

Although I was actually always partial to Treasure Mountain, the article is hilarious.

3. The free online game Red Remover –

It is based on actual principles of physics, it is wickedly entertaining, and it’s flipping adorable.

Any current loves you’d like to share with me?

Fake It ‘Till You Make It

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This morning wasn’t a particularly good morning.  My alarm didn’t go off and I stubbed my toe.  But it felt like a good morning, because I said it had to be.  If you tell yourself you’re in a good mood and put a smile on your face, pretty soon you’ll actually feel like smiling.

I wanted to get my incidental exercise on today (2.5mile walk home) so I had the husband drop me off at school this morning.  When he gives me a ride it also means I’m at school 1.5hours early so I brought breakfast to eat on campus.  I think I redefined the word breakfast today though 🙂

Blueberries with a drizzle of honey and unsweetened shredded coconut.

A sliced red bell pepper with a serving of beet humus.

And some apricots from Peeled Snacks.

The apricots were supposed to be a snack for later but I was sooooo hungry.  I don’t know why my morning hunger has been so substantial recently.

Class went well today; fyi – I’ve scored a 90-100% on every one of the daily quizes thus far!  Not so exciting was the fact that our Monday test was moved up to tomorrow.  I only got a B+ on the last exam and I was looking forward to having the weekend to study.

I stopped at the Spot on Elmwood during the walk home and squeezed in some studying then.  I also managed to find some tasty vegan options for lunch.  Carrot and ginger soup,

and a (dry) sundried tomato bagel.

Lunch ended up being really, really good.  The soup was spicy and sweet and had huge tasty chunks of carrot.

Once I finished the walk home I got dinner in the crock-pot (we can’t eat until almost 8!) and now I’ve got to get started on some cleaning.  And find time to study for tomorrow.  But I’m doing it with a smile.

Does the ‘fake it ’till you make it’ philosophy work for you?

We’re A Crock Pot Family

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I spent a lot of time today on my binder project and I’ve barely made a dent in it; I had a backlog of more than a year!

I’m super excited to get down and dirty cutting and pasting this weekend.

I spent time on other housewifey endeavours too, isn’t she beautiful?

Yes, I am finally a crockpot kitchen kind of lady!  The Cuisinart Slow Cooker CSN Stores kindly sent me to review finally came.  As I mentioned yesterday, I pre-prepped everything so all I had to do today was turn her on.  I felt so 1950’s organizing magazine clippings at the table while dinner simmered away on the countertop.

But before dinner, what about breakfast and lunch?  Breakfast was 1cup of Total with skim milk and blueberries.

And lunch was a roasted veggie bonanza.

Roasted green/wax beans are one of the husband’s favorites now and prior to last month he thought he hated them.  Behold the power of roasting!

He also ended up being a fan of the nut-butter crusted parsnip and carrot fries.

But really, who wouldn’t be?

I also snacked on a random baggie of trail mix,

and handful of dried apricots for dessert.

And then we headed out on a glorious walk!  Since my running sessions have to be so short they are a lot more enjoyable if I incorporate them into other activities.  We walked for 10minutes, ran for 7minutes, and then spent another 25 or so ambling home.  All total we covered 3.43miles.

Dinner, of course, came from the crock pot.

I figured for my first go I’d use a recipe from the booklet that came with it.  Sausage & Lentil Soup with Tortellini, makes 8cups

  • 3/4T evoo
  • 1lb chicken Italian sausage links
  • 8oz mushrooms, cleaned and quartered (we went with sliced)
  • 3/4 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and drained
  • 8oz chopped yellow onions
  • 8oz carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (skipped)
  • 3/4t basil (skipped)
  • 1 1/2t thyme (skipped)
  • 3/4oz sun-dried tomatoes, slivered (I used extra here, along with s&p to make up for the skipped spices)
  • 4 1/2cups low sodium chicken stock or broth
  • 6oz cheese-filled tortellini, refrigerated

Heat the olive oil in a Cuisinart 12inch Nonstick Skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the sausage in a single layer and brown evenly on all sides, about 10minutes.  Remove and let cool.  Add the mushrooms to the same pan and cook until brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.  When the sausage is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2inch slices.

Place the lentils in the ceramic pot of the Cuisinart Slow Cooker.  Add the chopped onions, carrots, garlic, browned mushrooms, basil, and thyme; stir to combine.  Sprinkle the mixture with the slivered sun-dried tomatoes and top with the slices sausages and any accumulated juices.  Add the chicken stock.

Cover and press the On/Off button to turn the unit on.  Set time to 3 hours and press High; once Slow Cooker switches to Warm, set time for 5 hours and press Simmer.  Slow Cooker will automatically switch to Warm when cooking time has elapsed.

Forty-five minutes before serving, reset the temperature to High – if soup is every thick, add up to 2 cups of water.  After 15minutes, add the tortellini.  Cover and cook for an additional 30minutes, until tortellini are tender and cooked. 

Nutritional information per cup:  Calories 312 (31% from fat) – carb. 30g – pro. 24g – fat 11g – sat. fat 3g – chol. 51mg – sod 1015mg – calc 96mg – fiber 6g

My thoughts?  The recipe was good, but certainly not socks rocking; my favorite part was the tortellini.  I do think the nutritional info was pretty stellar though, and I like things with leftovers.  I didn’t really understand having to go back to reset the damn thing multiple times, isn’t the whole point of a slow cooker that you can set it in the morning and walk away?  If I wasn’t a bum I wouldn’t have been able to make this.

Tomorrow I’m going to school with the husband in the morning because my bat wings have a date with the pool and the gossip-center of my brain has a lunch date with Katie 😀 

Do you have a crock pot?  Any major fails you’d like to share from it?