Tag Archives: sweet

Dreaming Day

by

After it’s auspicious start, my day continued to run enjoyably.  Definitely not a Monday’s Monday!

The weather was (mostly) fine, I got an 82% on last week’s big test (lower than I’d like, but 10points higher than the last one), and there were lots of delicious eats.  Like lunch –

Into 2 Tbsp of Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter with Honey,

I dipped baby carrots,

and a Fuji apple.

Oh man, this apple!  It was beyond sweet and crunchy, best apple I’ve had yet this year!

Not quite enough food though apparently, because my stomach growled all through my second afternoon class.  I’ve got another big, important test on Wednesday and I needed to be note-taking not dreaming of dinner!  Sidenote – when I get bored in class I totally work on my meal plan for the upcoming month; there are always so many new recipes I’m excited about.

The day felt like Spring instead of Winter – finally! – but by the afternoon the wind was howling.  It was loud enough that my teacher had to pause a few times because she couldn’t talk over the nose.  Thankfully one of my friends graciously offered to drive me home, so I didn’t have to worry about blowing away.

I was blown away however (ha!), by my tasty dinner.

What better way to get in your greens than with homemade veggie nachos?

I piled corn chips with 50% reduced sharp cheddar, fresh arugula, black beans, and canned jalapeno, then baked at 450* for 10minutes.

Plus plain 0% Oikos and green salsa for dipping.

The salsa was stolen on a Moe’s run and it totally made the nachos.  I would love to find green salsa that I could purchase like a not-a-creeper, but our store only sells one kind and it is way too spicy for us.

I ended with a fun dessert, clotted cream fudge.

I don’t have a better picture because the wrapping was a little intense, but I ate half of the box, aka too many servings.  We bought this on a whim but it was great; it tasted sort of like extra soft caramels.

two questions for a good Monday

  1. What do you day-dream about?
  2. Is there a brand of (not super spicy) tomatillo salsa that you recommend?  Preferably one I could order online.

A Food Log Food Blog

by

So there’s thing 1 and thing 2. Thing 1 – we just got home after our second 9+ hour car trip in two days and I’m too tired to be clever. Thing 2 – due to inclement weather (nearby tornadoes!) we spent much of the weekend without power and my pictures are pretty dark and awful. But, here’s the thing – part of the reason I write this blog is as a food diary (accountability). Sometimes I feel so silly when I’m writing a post that isn’t funny or chockfull of useful ideas or amazing recipes, but I have to remember that I do this for me too. So, feel free to skip this weekend’s recap, or settle in for a food log post.

Friday

I made Adam and myself a huge iced coffee to split on the road.

Coffee + Silk Vanilla Almond Milk + maple syrup.

I also packed a sandwich for breakfast.

Sandwich Thin + Applegate Farms organic sliced chicken + a Light Laughing Cow.

I was randomly starving five minutes later and spent the rest of the day complaining about how hungry I was. Enter an early lunch from Sheetz. Cole slaw,

and a turkey sandwich, with cheddar, honey mustard, lettuce, and tomato, on a pretzel bun.

Bletch x2! Normally I’m really impressed by Sheetz, but this time not so much.

However, Adam and I did split some Reeses Minister that were freaking life changing!

When we saw them again at another gas station we even bought some to bring home.

When we got to Virginia, before a tornado(!!) knocked out the power, there was dinner waiting for us.

Salad,

chips,

and grapes.

Then we spent the night playing cards in the dark.

Saturday

I skipped breakfast in lieu of cuddling up to my books, but made time for a last lunch.

More salad,

a small slice of cheese pizza,

three shrimp with cocktail sauce,

and strawberries and melon.

I also had a cinnamon brownie (we baked them Thursday night to bring down) and some Ruffled for dessert.

I ate my fair share of junk on Saturday unfortunately. I don’t mind digging into desserts or snacks at all, but I prefer to nosh only on unhealthy things that I love, and I feel like I sort of just grazed.

In the afternoon we did get to go out for a short but nice walk with my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and niece.

I even ran several sprints with my niece, it’s so much fun getting little kids to be active.

We went out to dinner, where multiple peanuts we cracked.

Sagebrush is a steakhouse, but fortunately there was some chicken on the menu as well.

I started with a cheddar biscuit,

and a side salad with peanut vinaigrette.

Dinner was grilled chicken,

with bbq sauce,

and broccoli.

We stopped for gas on the way home and I grabbed a (half sweetened) coffee.

I also snacked on some Easter candy,

and this plate of chips x2.

Sunday

My in-laws whipped up breakfast before we had to hit the road.

Scrambled eggs, strawberries, and half a bagel with strawberry cream cheese.

I also ate an apple with cheese in the car,

and a medium plain coffee.

We sang along with the radio, listened to recordings of Adam’s lectures, and reviewed my music reading all afternoon. Then, according to plan we pulled into Grove City at 4:45 and grabbed a late lunch/ early dinner at Primanti Brother’s.

Adam grew up eating there and I’ve seen it on the Food Network so we were pretty excited.

I ordered the turkey and provolone cheese sandwich, which came piled with Cole slaw and French fries!

The bread was boring (and abandoned halfway through), but the slaw and fries were perfectly vinegary. I’d probably never want one again, but it was fun to try.

But the fun was just beginning. There was an outlet mall across the street so Adam suggested we take advantage of the great weather (75*) and walk around a bit. First, I love to walk with the husband. Second, we snagged a Silpat on sale.

And then I literally started hyperventilating with excitement… we spotted a self-serve froyo place!!!

You guys, I can’t even tell you! I got original tart and sugar-free praline, topped with hot fudge, marshmallow, butterfinger, strawberries, and a cherry.

This is the kind of “junk” I feel 100% good about eating.

I’m pretty sure I swooped the whole rest of the drive home.

We stopped for a mini grocery run at Wegmans, and also grabbed some Chinese food (which I’m just not going to blog); our early dinner was a bit too early 😉

If you have a blog, how much of its purpose is food log vs. fun?

Cheese and Bread

by

I was sooo hungry all afternoon, it was a total I-would-gnaw-my-own-arm-off-if-I-could situation.  I guess cookies don’t make good lunches??  Nah!!!  But still, my hunger was so ridiculous that it totally distracted my from my work and now I really don’t know what to do tomorrow to fix it.  Cheese and bread!*

*”Cheese and bread” is a common exclamation in St. Thomas, where I grew up.  It can express any strong emotion, frustration or surprise for example.  I guess it’s sort of analogous to the Midwestern “golly gee whiz!”

Cheese and bread is also what I ate as a snack this afternoon.

That mess that looks like a smashed turtle (eww!) is actually a Sandwich Thin with 2oz of Cabot’s 50% reduced extra sharp cheddar melted on it.

It was tasty, but clearly not enough as I attacked this gigantic spoon of peanut butter next.

Thankfully Adam got home earlier than expected and I could start prepping dinner at 5:30.

I roasted up some broccoli,

and threw this Trader Joe’s purchase into the oven as well.

The Mandarin Orange Chicken did not disappoint.

The flavor and texture were spot on for (good) Chinese take out, and each serving had only 190 calories and 1.5 grams of saturated fat (I ate ~1.5 servings).

Overall it was a satisfying dinner.  But can you ever be too satisfied for dessert?

Even when you ate dessert for lunch, the answer to that question is still no!  Especially when it’s the best candy bar on earth.  These Cadbury Crunchie bars might be my new favorite thing.

I’m not sure how tomorrow is going to play out, but we are heading to VA at some point in the morning; we’ll be down there all weekend visiting my in-laws.  Unfortunately there is no internet available to me, so I’ll probably have to do a recap when we get back.  Maybe a short phone post or two for fun?

What’s a strange but fun expression from where you grew up?

Cookie Conundrum

by

I got out of Biochem lab early today, which is a good thing because this afternoon is slated to be packed.  We are driving down to Virginia tomorrow to visit my in-laws, but I’ve also got two tests next week so it’s going to be a little crazy.

I took advantage of my extra-time and added a few blocks to my walk home so I could pick up a (much-needed) Cherry Coke Zero and a cup of coffee (to be iced tomorrow).  And then I saw the cookies.

I didn’t grow up eating storebought cookies.  Ever.  I’m pretty sure I’d never even tasted a cookie that wasn’t homebaked before high school.  Even now I’m confused by the grocery cookie store aisle – why would you buy something that would be a bazillion times better if you made it yourself??!?

I have several chocolate chip cookie recipes that are quick and fabulous.  But I don’t know how to make that magical (trans fat laden) cream filling.

I caved.

I’d love to tell you that this was a bad idea, that this wasn’t satisfying, that’d have been much better off with a real foods lunch.

Bull-shit.

Do you prefer storebought or homebaked cookies?  What is your favorite kind of storebought?

Goodbye, Spring Break

by

It hasn’t been the typical spring break – no booze, no babies, and no babes! – but it has been a good one!  I got to visit my grandparents, I got to share my city with my mom, and I got in some quality time with my husband.  I did not get to the massive pile of homework that needed to be done for tomorrow; it’s going to be an interesting week.

I’m not going to blog the last weekend in its entirety, but I will share some highlights –

(1) We had to get up at 3:30am on Saturday to take my mom to the airport.  On the way home, we convinced each other that was essential we go to Wegmans for snacks and then stay up watching tv.  Which is how I came to be perched on the couch, at 4am, eating Thai food leftovers and Cadbury candy, and sobbing about Grey’s Anatomy.

(2) After a full day of volunteering – I served soup at a Rotary event – Adam drove me to the mall for a Toffee Cookie and Caramel Blizzard.

I don’t even know what to say about how good this was.

Do I look a little tired?  See item #1.  I did fancy up my hair about with a half braid.

See, I’m pretty!

(3) This afternoon I made Jenna’s DYI Wal-Mart Crack Cookies, topped with my Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing.

These were delicious, but I probably won’t eat any more because I’m sending most of them to school with Adam.  Decorated Easter-style…

Adam might just be the weird kid whose wife sends him to school with baked goods.  Topped with icing bunnies.  At least everything I’ve sent in has been delicious?!

(4) Tonight we’re going out for a fun dinner.

I’m excited.

Where/when was your favorite spring break?

Seeing What Buffalo Has to Offer

by

Another late post for another long day, yesterday that is 😉  My mom is in town until Saturday so we’ve been exploring all Buffalo has to offer.

We started our morning with a trip to Sweet_ness 7 Cafe,

a creperie.

It was our first trip, but we were totally impressed by the adorable details, comfy setting, and exciting menu.

I was pretty jazzed to see hibiscus lemonade available.

This was barely sour, and even less sweet, a near perfect lemonade by my standards. 

For breakfast the three of us split two crepes, one sweet and one savory.

The Irish Blessing, which came with a side salad, was caramelized fresh apples with brie.

The apples were literally caramelized, so sweet and chewy!

The Celtic Love Spell had Nutella and fresh whipped cream, with bananas.

Melty Nutella is pretty much the pinnacle of happiness.

The fillings were fun (obviously!), but the crepes themselves were delicious!  I don’t know much about crepes, but from what I’ve read these were perfectly made.  They had the best eggy smell!

Afterward we headed to another new (to us) and fun location – The Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

ABG has a lot of older pieces, but it is actually a gallery based around collecting contemporary work, not a museum.  It was really interesting to see the “created by” and “purchased by” dates side-by-side, many of which were less than a year apart.

There were bunches of works that I loved, but I didn’t take any pictures out of respect.  I did purchase postcards of two of my favorites from the gift shop,

and we snagged a free print that an artist was giving away to help promote his work.

I can’t wait to get that up on the wall and give this place a little class!

For lunch we went back to an old favorite, JP Bullfeathers, and were greeted with the good news of Restaurant Week.

Unfortunately we won’t be able to make it anywhere else (we tried many spots, but reservations for dinner were impossible), but Adam and I did take advantage of this menu.

I went with the Cajun Haddock Caesar Salad, with balsamic on the side subbed for the dressing.

This was my first time trying Haddock and I think I’m a fan, it’s a nice flakey white-fish without a lot of strong fishy flavor.

The specialty portions were super generous too, I could only eat half of my meal and now Adam has a nice lunch for later this week.

I did have room to try a Valomilk for dessert.

There’s an old-fashioned candy store on Elmwood and it’s sort of irresistable.

I also snacked on a Wallaby Caramel Apple Yogurt while we figured out a dinner plan.

Ultimately we decided low-key was the way to go, and headed to Moes.

I got a kids’ quesadilla with corn salsa,

and chips with queso.

My mom got a kick out of eating something I blog all the time; I think we’ll probably hit up the hot bar tomorrow too!

The rest of the evening was spent on this dorky/awesome venture, which I’ll blog more about in a few weeks.

Have a great night morning!

Is there an art museum and/or gallery in your town?  Do you prefer modern or classic art?  I’m all about modern; there was a series made with ink and soap bubbles on display today that could have held my attention all afternoon.

In the Nutritional Know

by

Hello, hello. I want to tell you guys that I’ve got to hurry because of family time, but really I need to go finish making notecards! Don’t worry, we got plenty of fun time in as well.

Our vacation theme of mini mishaps continued – we wanted to work out on the great path behind my grandparents’ house, but Adam left our bag of running gear at home!  In keeping with my pessimistic optimism, I’m going to assume that means that I’m still too sick to run and it’s good that I couldn’t.

I wasn’t hungry for breakfast, but I did snag a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

The whole family (grandparents, mom, husband, me) piled in the car for lunch at a neat spot in Troy.

The Bakehouse was right up my alley; adorable, lots of offerings, and freshly baked bread!

I went with a half soup/sandwich combo for lunch.

A cup of turkey corn chowder,

with half a sandwich of turkey, aged swiss, cole slaw, and thousand island dressing on pumpernickel.

I only ate about half of the soup, because it was a little creamy for me, but the sandwich was perfection!  The reuben – sauerkraut + cole slaw is my absolute favorite.

Actually, my absolute favorite used to be the English toffee bars sold at Starbucks.  They were removed from the menu a while back and I’ve been in mourning ever since.  The Bakehouse had the exact replica –

Split four ways.

OMG!  I love love love this bar, crunchy toffee inside a chewy blondie!

I cleansed my palate with some Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape.

We’re fancy like that.

We did some antiquing (Zzzz), and also made it to a matinée of “The Lincoln Lawyer.”  I feel like the opening wasn’t given a lot of fanfare (I only heard about the movie because I’m obsessed with Michaela Conlin), but the movie was so good!  The perfect mix of funny, touching, and tense.  I highly recommend.

We headed to Applebees afterward for dinner.  Chain restaurants aren’t exactly my speed, so I ordered using the nutritional info as my guide.  Looking for entres 500 calories or less led me to the Teriyaki Shrimp Pasta (440 calories).

This was actually very good!  Whole wheat pasta, teriyaki sauce, and grilled shrimp with broccoli, red bell pepper, water chestnuts, carrots, bok choy, mushrooms, and sugar snap peas.

I pretty much ignored the pasta, but I devoured my shrimp and veggies.

I tried to keep dinner light because I knew we were heading to George’s (<– Dairy Queen without the franchising) after dinner.

I ended up with a small snow storm (blizzard) with butterfingers and reeses cups.

I planned on sharing with Adam, but um, yeah…

We’re headed back to Buffalo tomorrow, with a few fun stops along the way.

If a restaurant offers nutritional info do you utilize it?  How much does the info affect your ordering?

You and Me Baby Ain’t Nothing But Mammals

by

We head to Ohio tomorrow, and my mom comes to visit on Wednesday, so we woke up early to deal with our squalor.  Actually, Adam woke up early to clean the house.  I woke up at 9 to Adam’s amazement that I could sleep through the vacuum cleaner!

Once I did welcome morning, I started my morning with some fantabuous iced coffee.

Yesterday afternoon I bought a cup of caramel flavored coffee from a gas station, and brought it home to the fridge.  This morning I mixed it with 1tsp maple syrup, Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, and ice.

Delicious!  The almond milk has the best texture for iced coffee, it makes it so thick!  When I’m back to retainers in a few weeks I won’t be able to have coffee ever, so I’m trying to enjoy it was much as I can.

The food part of breakfast was pretty fun too –

A Pink Lady apple dipped in the last of the marshmallow icing.

Holy yum this was a good idea!

Our next idea wasn’t necessarily good, but it was necessary… a trip to the zoo!

I bought a Groupon months ago (thinking that by April it’d be, ya know, Spring) that was set to expire so we bundled up and headed out.  There wasn’t a lot to see because of the weather, but I did spend 20minutes or so mooning at the polar bears.

Awwww!  My nickname for Adam is ice bear (German for polar bear).

On the way out we spotted a neat crepe place – we’re coming back next week with my mom! – and Mustachios.

Apparently Adam has been excited about taking me to Mustachios?!?  We ended up coming home with two slices of cheese pizza.

We also hit up the hot bar to get in some veggies.

I got steamed broccoli, glazed mushrooms and carrots, sesame kale, white beans and escarole, and scooped a bunch of veggies and cashews from the cashew chicken.

It was a random but good lunch.

After my month of illness (I’m still coughing by the way), any meal with veggies is a good one.

Later in the afternoon I snacked on matzah with melted extra sharp cheddar.

I also did a bunch of nibbling, raw pasta, marshmallow topping, butter toffee almonds…  No photographs, just informing you guys that my appetite is back 🙂

Dinner was quick and tasty.

I boiled up the last of the spinach and three cheese ravioli, adding a few big handfuls of arugula to the pot at the last minute.  I topped my bowl with buttermilk blue cheese crumbles and a drizzle of honey.

Then we had single-serve ice cream for dessert.

We each at half and then switched flavors halfway through.  Those single-serves are the best idea ever, the texture is so creamy!

I’ve still got to shower, pack, and do some school work… better hop to it!

What’s your favorite zoo animal?  The cutest thing we saw today was the Egyptian Dabb Lizard.  I pretty much love any creature with a big belly; Seth Rogan crush anyone?!