Williamsburg To Washington Square Park

Oh my goodness, what a great weekend!  Adam and I have been making the most of the summer days, and then some.  This weekend we walked around Williamsburg, across the bridge, up to and around Washington Square Park, and back, to the tune of 10+ miles in one afternoon!

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When we weren’t moving this weekend, we were eating.  Here are some of the highlights…

A fancy-schmancy yogurt bowl.  2% Plum Chobani with two varieties of pluot and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

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The cream was part of a homemade ice cream undertaking (look for more details – and a giveaway! – on Wednesday).

Coffee at Sweetleaf, a Rocket Fuel.

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Aka cold brew with milk, maple, and chicory.  Chicory blended iced coffees are definitely going to play a big role in my summer.

Espresso and macarons at Bakeshop by Woops.

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Kids, this place was so freaking cute.  And our cookies were amazing, chocolate and lavender chocolate.

Honey sesame soy milk box.

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Adam and I tried to split this but the minute I handed it over to him he guzzled the rest of it down!

Cherry Cola Tic-Tacs.

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I am incapable of turning down a cherry cola flavored item.  Fun fact – the last two photos were not actually taken in front of the same wall, I just seek out brick whenever I have the option for a photo.

Rice bowls at Korilla.  Korilla is basically an Asian Chipotle, but it is at least fifteen times more fantastic.

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My bowl had sticky rice, the most amazing gochujang marinated chicken, sweet corn and snap peas, cheese, tons of red kimchi, and spicy but sweet Korean BBQ sauce.  Adam’s rice had bacon and kimchi in it and we were both swooning.

We tried the new limited-time offerings at Ample Hills.

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The pride month flavor was yummy but we had to throw out the sandwich.  I think that Ample Hills generally makes the best ice cream on Earth but those soggy cookies were truly inedible.

A cone from Sundaes and Cones.

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Lavender and black sesame were both great; those are flavors that could be kind of overwhelming but they were sweet and light yet still identifiable.

A quick red curry at home.

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Rice noodles on the bottom // sautéed bok choy, white mushrooms and straw mushrooms, sweet onion and green onion, and sweet red pepper // sprouted tofu cubes roasted with lime, sugar, Sriracha, and liquid smoke // and red curry sauce with lime, light coconut milk, fish sauce, and minced garlic and ginger.

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We both typically say that we don’t like red curries but we loved this so we should give the real version another chance.

Sandwich night on my lonesome while Adam was at work.

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I toasted sourdough slices in the oven with Smart Balance Light and pepperjack and sharp cheddar cheese then sandwiched them around canola oil mayo and Applegate Smoked Sliced Turkey.

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With roasted green beans on the side.

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How are green beans – roasted with cooking spray and salt – so flipping buttery?!

Dinner at The Smoke Joint, our new favorite bbq spot.

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They have Mother’s Milk at the bar, which wins them points.  Adam’s strawberry vanilla bourbon limeade wasn’t bad either.

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Their juicy, tender, chopped bbq chicken comes with a side of pickles and spicy cole slaw.

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And their smoky collard greens are meatless, so I got to try real bbq collards for the first time in my life.

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I loved them!

If this upcoming week is half as good as my weekend I’ll be all set 🙂

Peanut Butter Banana Pretzel Pie {Recipe Redux}

From the Redux team

Tucked in a crust, nothing says love from the oven like pie. Whether it’s a twist on the all-American apple pie or a traditional recipe from your home country, give a healthy makeover to your favorite savory or sweet pie recipe.

I am excited to see what the other posters come up with, but I actually tend not to love the idea of healthying up dessert products… if you are looking to eat less sugar I’d rather you ate great cookies less often rather than sugar-free “cookies” every day.  So for this post I decided to go with a recipe that just happens to be a bit healthier from the start.

My Peanut Butter and cinnamon Banana ice cream Pretzel Pie (whew!) borrows the much-loved vegan concept of putting frozen bananas in the food processor to make soft-serve.  Peanut butter was an obvious pairing, the cinnamon adds a little depth, and the salty crunch of the pretzel offsets the sweetness perfectly.

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Peanut Butter Banana Pretzel Pie;  8 servings

Cook Time: 10 minutes; Hands-on Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 1.5 hours

  • 2 cups pretzels
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter substitute
  • 4 medium bananas, frozen
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (if using a plain milk substitute just add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
  2. Place unwrapped butter in the center of a 9-inch pie pan and put in preheating oven until butter is fully melted.
  3. Place pretzels into the bowl of the food processor and process until mixture is homogenous, 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Add sugar to bowl and pulse a few times until combined.
  4. When butter has melted, pour the crushed pretzels into the center of the pie pan.  Mix the crumbs and melted butter, then use your fingertips to gently push onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
  5. Bake crust 10 – 12 minutes until firm.  Set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes.
  6. Wipe out food processor (it doesn’t matter if a few pretzel crumbs get in your filling) and place bananas and almond milk into the bowl.  Process 2 – 3 minutes until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
  7. Add peanut butter and cinnamon to bowl and process 20 – 40 seconds more until well-combined.
  8. Pour filling into cooled pretzel crust, using a spatula to spread it in an even layer.
  9. Place pie in the freezer to firm up for 1 hour.  You can make and freeze the pie a few days ahead of time if you like, just be sure to place in the fridge to thaw for 30 minutes before serving.

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What type of berry do most want to stuff in a pie crust this summer?

Top Three Weekly Wrap-Up {And A Giveaway!}

My favorites from the past week…

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Top 3 Breakfasts

(1) Mango coconut biscotti* with my coffee.

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*free sample courtesy of Nonni’s, scroll down to the last section for more info

(2) Smoothie.  Hint of Honey almond milk with frozen blackberries, raspberries, and dates.

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(3) Cold brew.  Coffee concentrate cut with skim milk and maple water.

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Tops 3 Lunches

(1) Thanks, Starbucks.  A cherry, granola, and yogurt bowl that was quite tasty.

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Plus a Almond Coconut KIND bar.  An Airhead might have snuck in there too!

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(2) Starbucks again.  <– I didn’t have it super together this week.  But their kale chicken Caesar salad is damn good.

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(3) Apples and oats.  Quaker Apple Walnut Oatmeal topped with Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter with TJ’s freeze-dried Fuji apples on the side.

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Top 3 Desserts

(1) Better than a brownie.  Lindt’s caramel brownie bar.

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(2) Hot fudge root beer floats.

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(3) Shake, shake, shake.  We had a tub of vanilla ice cream in the freezer and we weren’t afraid to use it.

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Bourbon In My Coffee Breakfast Shake* = 1 cup vanilla ice cream, 2 oz maple bourbon, 2 oz iced coffee concentrate, 1 cup Frosted Flakes; serves 2.

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*not actually consumed at breakfast

Top 3 Dinners

(1) Chipotle.  My salad was on point – chicken, cheese, corn, sautéed veggies, mild salsa, green tomatillo salsa, and sour cream.

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(2) More “Mexican” food.

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Green chile and cheese pupusas.  Now I need to get my hands on my first fresh pupusa.

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Sautéed arugula tossed with avocado and crumbled kale chips.

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(3) Asian-inspired.  Every piece of this meal came out of our freezer but it was still one of the best of the week.

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TJ’s chicken and vegetable goyza.

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Frozen broccoli, celery, and spring onions that I cooked in canola oil then gussied up with a quick sauce (brown sugar, chicken broth, fish sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha, cornstarch) and some crushed peanuts.

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Plus 1 Giveaway!

As I mentioned above, I was sent a free sample of the newest flavor of Nonni’s THINaddictives – Mango Coconut.

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They are completely addictive – the perfect balance between chewy and crunchy and not too sweet to eat with breakfast (they have 100 calories per pack of three).  I ate them with pretty much every meal this week.

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Nonni’s gave me a chance to share the love with you guys too – Simply leave comment on this post before 10 am EST on Tuesday, June 9th for a chance to win your own box.

Not feeling lucky?  In celebration of the new flavor, Nonni’s THINaddictives is hosting Summer Giveaway on Facebook – 50 winners will be selected to receive a free box of the new Mango Coconut THINaddictives. There is also a $1 off coupon under their coupon tab.

Seoul Food Style

We got to spend time with several Buffalo friends, we went on some great walks, the puppy seems to be feeling a little better, and all in all it was a great weekend.  I’m missing a few shots, but here are most of my favorite eats…

breakfast

Giant iced coffee, always.

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That one has fat-free sweetened condensed milk and skim milk.  The SCM is leftover from a failed recipe trial, but Vietnamese-ish iced coffees are better than hot fudge root beer float popsicles (good in theory but I can’t make it work!) any day.

I tried the milk bread from TOUS les JOUR.

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Nice and vanilla-bean-y.

Another day, another coffee.

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I asked Starbucks to put the marshmallow whipped cream and milk chocolate from the S’mores Frappuccino into my skim latte and they happily delivered.  The taste was good but I was unbelievably ill by the halfway mark, I cannot even imagine drinking a full Frappuccino.

Plus Adam and I split a Pulsin’ maple peanut bar.

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It was vegan and made with pea protein and the nutrition stats were pretty good – 12 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber with 11 grams of sugar.  Not a bad breakfast for a busy morning of errands.

lunch

Lunch in Koreatown.  I set my mouth on fire with a kimchi bun and cooled it down with a (pink!) Harmless Harvest coconut water.

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Afterwards we shared dessert at Grace Street, our new favorite snow spot.

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We shared a machta latte.

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And a black sesame shaved ice with scm, boba, and mini marshmallows.

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Between the tapioca balls and the partially frozen marshmallows, this had so much chew!

“Dinner” for lunch.  We almost never cook a full meal in the daytime so this felt pretty fancy.

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Roasted broccoli with truffle salt,

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and “Cooking Light’s” Farro with Honey-Garlic Roasted Tomatoes.

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We added chopped turkey bacon and rotisserie chicken to the farro to make it a little more substantial.  Also I skipped the thyme (the bacon made up for the flavor), used fat-free feta, and subbed sherry for sherry vinegar.

snack

21st Amendment brews at the Gotham West Market.

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The market space was gorgeous and we want to go back for ramen and/or tacos soon but guys, holy crap, we paid $17 for two cans of beer!!!  At least, after a lot of walking along the piers, they were refreshing.

Can cookies at Schmackary’s become an every weekend tradition?

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This time we split a giant, chewy funfetti cookie topped with cream cheese frosting and tons of sprinkles.

We’ve been loving fruit-infused water lately; having a big jug in the fridge makes me much more likely to pour a glass.

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This week was lime and mint and last week was mint and grapefruit, which was even better.

Corn was popped.

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Enjoyed while Netflixing approximately eight billion old episodes of “Criminal Minds.”

A girlfriend and I had planned on going to Rice to Riches ever since the first summer we moved here and Monday the time was finally right.  I got a cookie cream rice pudding with mocha crumbles.  We both liked the pudding but thought it would be more enjoyable served in a bowl instead of a trough.

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My fancy cup was a skim cortado from Happy Bones, so that was fun.  And we took a great walk across the Williamsburg Bridge.

dinner

Our friends’ adorable baby girl just turned one and they invited us to her Doljanchi, a Korean 1st birthday party tradition.

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The buffet was great,

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but the best thing ever was getting to catch up with all of the med school friends (and their babies!) that we’ve been missing.

Saturday night we had an absolutely amazing dinner at The Marshal, a Hell’s Kitchen farm-to-table spot that focuses on seasonal, local goodies.  Bonus – the waitstaff are all insanely cute!

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I got an Earl’s Tea to drink – chilled Earl Grey Tea, Peace Vodka, Catskills Provisions raw honey, lemon, and orange cream bitters.

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We started with scallops – bourbon planked herb crusted Massachusetts jumbo scallops with caramelized lemon and assorted local herbs.

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And Arcadian Pastures deviled eggs – ramps-infused yolks, micro-wasabi, and crispy duck prosciutto.

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None of the appetizers really knocked our socks off (good but not the best ever) but the duck prosciutto was definitely smoky and amazing.

Our meals, on the other hand, were mind-blowing.  Adam got a bacon-wrapped pork loin that he loved so much he didn’t speak for the rest of the meal and I did a trio of farm sides.

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Roasted Bulich Farm snow while mushrooms, herb butter, Upstate white wine // Sautéed Lancaster Farm dandelion greens, red pepper flakes, grapeseed oil, Finger Lakes white wine // Satur Farms sweet potato and kale au gratin.  The gratin was out of this word; it was so rich I couldn’t even finish it.

We were too stuffed to do more than pick at dessert, but we couldn’t skip it!

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Bittersweet chilled chocolate fudge in NYC honey with honey comb, bee pollen, and Blue Marble vanilla ice cream.

The Lower East Side has always been my Manhattan haunt of choice, but lately Hells Kitchen has been rocking our socks off!  NYC readers, what’s your favorite neighborhood?

Weekly Wrap-Up; Back At It

I know this post is behind schedule (and I swear, I really am going to share all of the tasty things we ate at the end of our trip!) but the first week back at work after a vacation always feels so looooong.  It doesn’t help that the poor puppy is sick – and it really doesn’t help that he is on 2 weeks of a twice-daily medication, in addition to his twice daily seizure medication!  No matter, he has the fuzziest face on Earth and I wouldn’t trade him for the world.

Here are some of the eats from the week that I wouldn’t trade either…

Coffee, always

A double-strength batch of Community Coffee French Roast served over ice with Hint of Honey Almond Milk.

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Halvah yogurt bowls

Plain Greek yogurt with crumbled marble halvah mixed in and juicy summer fruit on the side.

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Spinach pesto on everything

Mixed with shredded chicken and bow tie pasta (my mom and aunt always serve pesto with bow ties so that’s how I do it too!).

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Next to really amazing salads topped with turkey bacon dressing and balsamic roasted grapes.

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And mixed with shredded chicken atop a truly epic toasted cheese sandwich.

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Chipotle, again, always

For dinner I improved the rice-veggie ratio by serving my bowl on a big bed of arugula dressed with bbq sauce.

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And the leftovers made for the most exciting lunch I’ve ever packed.

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I am so ready for the weekend!

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Birthday Cake Coffee And Jelly Bean Gum

Random notes:

  1. A bunch of bites slipped past the camera this weekend, though per usual, the majority of them were coffee and candy.
  2. I had big plans for excitement in the city this weekend and the snow (in March?!  seriously?) throw me off my game.  We did make it to the Lower East Side for a 2nd trip to Adam’s new favorite restaurant though.
  3. I binge-watched my way through the first 9 episodes of “Fresh off the Boat” and thought it was great.  The book has been on my Amazon wish-list for ages, and we recently visited BaoHaus, so it’s safe to say I’m currently infatuated with Eddie Huang.

Eats:

Double espresso with skim milk (over ice) at work.

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I’m not super hungry most mornings, but I try to get in a full 8 oz serving of dairy in my coffee.  The 8 grams of protein and 90 – 130 calories usually hold me just fine until my early lunch.  Usually.  I was so hungry all day on Friday that I was practically crying.

My lunch was delicious.

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Fresh blueberries on top of lemon Chobani with a  side of sugar cookie kettle corn.

But soon after lunch I was miserable.  And I took lunch an hour earlier than usual so it was looong afternoon.  I bought this thing of cheese and crackers from the cafeteria, scoffed at how ridiculously large the serving size was, and finished the whole thing 30 minutes later.

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And 30 minutes after that, I was buying coffee and a KIND bar for my train ride.

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Plus I ate Easter candy both before and after dinner.

My dinner, that in retrospect definitely could have used more protein, was a good one though, if a bit scattered.

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Salad = baby kale, cubes pesto gouda, dried blueberries, buckwheat groats, and honey/evoo/lavender salt for dressing.

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Our pasta bowls were more of the same; pesto gouda and baby spinach, along with tons of caramelized onions – finished with cream sherry! – and whole wheat boxed mac and cheese with a few giant shells thrown in for good measure.

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I was still hungry when we went to bed!  Thankfully I felt back to normal by Saturday morning.

My picture-taking motivation went downhill at that point – when I woke up to almost-April snow my plans to go to the gym, clean the floors, and generally accomplish anything all seemed to disappear – but I do have shots of the good stuff.

Adam loved the oatmeal raisin cookie smoothie that I made for my last Recipe Redux post a ton, so this weekend I worked up an official recipe.

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I made mine with plain almond milk.  ‘Twas good.

This gum is great.

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Doesn’t taste like a jelly bean, but it has a great, tart flavor.

Starbucks reached the 20th birthday of the Frappuccino last week and they celebrated with a limited-edition birthday cake flavor… with pink raspberry whipped cream!

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I asked for them to make me one into a skim iced latte.  So good.  Still ridiculous, but slightly less ridiculous.

I made Pinch of Yum’s Bourbon Chicken for Sunday dinner, though I trashed mine up a bit by substituting in turkey breast and Jim Beam’s Maple Bourbon.

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Served with brown rice and roasted broccoli, under a healthy drizzle of sauce.  My mother – a maple fanatic – bought me the bourbon for Christmas and I have so many cocktail ideas for it.

We had another amazing meal at Pig & Khao.  Adam is obsessed with this place and I don’t blame him.

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That’s my Reisling and our order of fried mantao buns.

The husband had a giant plate of pork leg, and I ordered the Khao Soi – red curry, coconut milk, chicken, egg noodles, pickled mustard greens, and shallots.

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I don’t even like red curry (understandably, the menu is mostly meats so there aren’t a ton of options for me) but I loooved this.  The flavors are just so balanced; you leave feeling unbelievably satisfied.

We had to make room for Halo Halo though!

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Shaved ice, leche flan, ube ice cream, macapuno (coconut), and pinipig (toasted puffed rice).  My favorite desserts are bat ping so, choclados, and halo halo, clearly I am all about shaved ice and sweet milk.

Did you try the birthday cake Frappuccino?

Veggie Lovers Pizza Mac & Cheese + Browned Butterscotch Peanut Butter Recipes

It was a low-key weekend – we never left Long Island – but I do have two legitimate recipes to share.  They’re very good!  Next weekend we have multiple city trips planned so I wanted to make the most of my free time in the kitchen.

This weekend I…

…Had a yummy breakfast at work.

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An opal apple and chocolate biscotti dipped in coffee.  I threw out the coffee as soon as my treat was gone, I just can’t do the hot stuff.  I made up for it with several iced coffees enjoyed during errands-running on the weekend.

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One of many.

…Enjoyed an even better work lunch.  1/3 cup rolled oats + 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries + 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 2 Tbsp malted milk powder + 1 Tbsp cocoa nibs.

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Just shake it together and cover with hot water when it’s time for lunch.  The crunchy chocolate bites were amazing; nibs are so much better in oatmeal than chocolate chips.

…Discovered my new favorite hard candy – Ice Chips.

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Please note – Ice Chips Candy reached out to me about doing a review and provided the above product samples free of charge.  I was not given any further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Ice Chips, which come in small chips shaped like shards of ice, are made of xylitol which is an anticariogenic sugar alcohol (i.e. eating gum or candy made with xylitol before acidogenic foods can help to reduce the formation of dental carries or cavities).  Xylitol is as sweet as table sugar but contains fewer calories so two Ice Chip candies only contain about 5 calories and if you ate an entire tin – as I was tempted to! – it would be about 125 calories.  <– don’t do that though, sugar alcohols give many people diarrhea when consumed in excess

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The texture of the chips is freaking amazing, hard enough to suck on but they break apart in a really pleasing way when you crunch them.  And their flavor game is on point – my favorite so far are Coffee ‘n Cream and Lemon, but I am really looking forward to Eggnog.

I also really liked this egg.

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I don’t even care that I’m a month early, birthday cake is a stupid Easter flavor!  It was really yummy though.

…Processed up some tasty (browned butterscotch)peanut butter.

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All you need is a food processor, 4 Tbsp browned butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, and 1 lb roasted, salted peanuts.

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I’m planning on packing the peanut butter with Greek yogurts for lunches this week.

…Drank a smoothie in the snow.  Not the best weather for it, but smoothies are always good.

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This one had (frozen:) blackberries, dates, and soursop puree, and Hint of Honey almond milk.

…Cooked green eggs and ham toast.

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The eggs were scrambled with spinach and leftover mushrooms and asparagus from Thursday’s dinner.

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The best buttered toast.

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Inspired by The Pioneer Woman’s “The Bread” we butter our toast first and then bake it.

…Drank a killer strawberry mojito.

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The dream team was Cruzan Key Lime Rum and Strawberry Minta soda.  With frozen strawberries instead of ice to keep things cool without watering it down.

…Checked out The Little Beet at the newly revamped mall food court.

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The new options were all awesome, there is a potato place that looks very unhealthy but very delicious.  Adam had a cheesy meal at Melt Shop.

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And I got a trio of charred string beans, charred kale, and buckwheat soba noodle salad.

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The kale was soooo good, a little bit spicy and much more flavorful than the kale chips we make at home.

…Made gooey macaroni and cheese that tasted like a pizza!

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Veggie Lovers Pizza Macaroni and Cheese; serves 4 – 6

  • 6 oz short-cut pasta
  • 4 cups chopped, cooked broccoli
  • 1 cup sliced, canned mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives
  • 25 slices turkey pepperoni, sliced in half
  • 2 Tbsp salted butter, chopped into smaller pieces
  • 2 heaping Tbsp flour
  • 1 3/4 cups skim milk
  • 5 oz reduced-fat mozzarella, shredded
  • 5 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
  • 1 cup marinara sauce
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  Prepare an 8×8 inch casserole dish with baking spray.  Mix the mozzarella and cheddar together and put aside 1 large handful (2 oz).
  2. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
  3. Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan (large enough for all of your ingredients) over medium-high heat.  Whisk flour into melted butter to form a roux.  Cook 60 – 90 seconds, whisking constantly, until roux has darkened to a sandy tan color.  Whisk milk into roux and cook 1 – 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened.  You shouldn’t have any lumps, but if you do now is the time to whisk them out.
  4. Reduce heat to low and add 8 oz of cheese to the sauce, working in 3 small batches and stirring until the cheese has fully melted.
  5. Remove pan from heat and stir in cooked pasta, vegetables, and pepperoni.  Pour mixture into your prepared casserole dish.
  6. Top the casserole with an even mixture of marinara sauce, followed by the remaining 2 oz of cheese.
  7. Bake for 25 minutes, until the cheese has browned.

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Home Again, Home Again

I am feeling much better now, though the week did feel very long to me.  Here’s to hoping the weekend feels long too!  I have not been to the grocery store since a week before I left for St. Thomas, but somehow we made it through.

breakfast

Adam sweetly helped ease me back in to normal, non-vacation life by driving me in to work on Tuesday.  We made a doughnut date of it!

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Pecan praline beignet for me.  Doughnut Plant is great so it’s super fun that there’s a location right near my hospital now.

An apple and a hot chocolate.

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Less exciting than doughnuts, but still good.

Iced coffee with chocolate milk and a bar.

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I loved the Oatmega bar in theory, but unfortunately it was insanely fishy.  I just couldn’t do it.  I ended up going down to the salad bar for a snack in the late morning.

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Cheddar cheese and sunflower seeds packed a protein punch (8 grams of protein if you assume 2 Tbsp of each) to make up for the bar I threw away.

lunch

Salad bar and french fries.

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Baby spinach topped with cucumber, olives, broccoli, a marinated veggie mix, and balsamic dressing.  The blob in the left corner is fried plantains.

Salad bar and blurry Chipotle leftovers.

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Baby spinach with ranch and a bit of extra cheese, topped with my dinner leftovers.

Oatmeal day.  Quaker cherry pistachio oatmeal topped with coconut butter with a cinnamon applesauce on the side.

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This was the day I had my salad breakfast snack so I did manage to hit up the salad bar three days in a row, a feat that feels extra impressive when you remember that my stomach was still a bit iffy.

dinner

Chipotle night.  We legit eat Chipotle at least once a week, it’s a problem.

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Brown rice with sautéed veggies, pinto beans, chicken, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and all of the salsas.  The three salsa combo was key to helping me enjoy the brown rice (I really prefer white rice but brown is a whole grain so it has more protein and fiber).

We did a pre-dinner dessert date at Ample Hills.

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I didn’t love the red velvet, but their caramel and honey flavors are all deep burnt sugar good.

Adam was on call on Wednesday and I definitely made myself a big bowl of chia pudding for dinner.  Thank goodness for those lunch salads, eh?

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Gina’s recipe base – 3 Tbsp of chia seeds in 1 cup of Hint of Honey almond milk with a splash of vanilla and honey whisked in.  I topped my bowl with Girl & The Fig salted fig caramel and it was flipping amazing.

Last night’s dinner came straight from the freezer.  Salmon patties from Whole Foods plus asparagus and a mushroom medley from Trader Joe’s.

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The patties were unpleasantly dry so I made a dipping sauce of mayo, garlic aioli, pickle relish, and smoked paprika.

I drank a Genny Cream Ale while I cooked.

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And ate a zoo of gummies for dessert while we watched the “Parks and Rec” finale.

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Omg.  The P&R finale basically killed me – I loooved it.  Every single detail was perfect, down the very last second of the ending being a sweet moment from Ben.  LOVE.

Do you watch “Parks and Recreation?”  What’d you think of the finale?