Weekly Wrap-Up, Weddings Have Great Food

by Emily

breakfast

Coffee. With Hint of Honey Almond Milk and a GoMacro Bar.

Or seltzer and an applesauce.

Or chocolate milk.

Another morning I tried to do the coffee + chocolate milk combo but my cafeteria was out of milk so I just drank it black and I had a stomach ache for the rest of the day.

lunch

Yogurt. Strawberry Fage with plucots and pumpkin seeds on the side.

Oatmeal. Quaker Summer Berry oats with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter on top and plucots on the side.

Sandwich. A monster from the cafeteria with spicy turkey and fresh mozzarella on a brioche roll.

Leftovers. Egg salad (see below), TJ’s Crispy Broccoli – which I dumped into the egg salad! – and an apple.

snack

Salty.

Sweet.

dinner

I am missing many photos from the start and end of this week, but I did a pretty good job capturing the middle days.

Monday my camera was dead all afternoon and through the evening. You didn’t miss much though, I ate two grilled cheese sandwiches in bed. Then I ate a second dinner of Thai take-out. Also in bed. Related fact – I have been burning through episodes of “Body of Proof” at an alarming rate. It’s bad; not just the fact that I’m watching the show obsessively, but the show itself, is bad.

Tuesday was frozen shrimp goyza from Trader Joe’s.

We sautéed broccoli and bok choy with ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, and soy sauce and served our pan-fried goyza on top.

I woke up early Wednesday morning to hard-boil eggs for salad.

This was eggs with minced red bell pepper, mayo and a healthy dollop of sesame gojuchang which gave the salad a great spice and a little bit of smokiness.

With roasted green beans on the side.

Roasted green beans have always been one of my favorite foods but now that I’ve started topping them with sliced shallots they’re on a whole new level.

Thursday night I was way less pathetic, but I still don’t have any pictures. A Buffalo friend came into town and took me to a wedding. The event was in LIC at The Foundry and it was beyond gorgeous but way too dark for food pictures.

I ate hummus, cocktails, mini cupcakes, and all the other wedding trappings but the only photo I have is a blurry shot of my friend and me.

Fun fact – I met her straight from work and I had to get dressed in a Barnes and Nobel bathroom. I am the classiest.

I took today off to spend the morning with my girlfriend before she drives home so I have this whole Friday ahead of me to ~~watch Body of Proof~~ do fun stuff in the city!

10Aug2015

Weekend Highlights + What’s In My Bag?

by Emily

In alphabetical order, because why not?…

Brunch in SoHo. I took a friend to Freeman’s.

I had the poached eggs with sourdough toast and cheddar grits.

Chipotle. Finally, we hadn’t been in almost a month!

Chicken salad bowl for me with all of the toppings. Plus way too many chips.

Chocolate-cherry smoothie.

Frozen cherries and dates, cocoa powder, and vanilla almond milk.

Cookies with M&M’s.

Have you made Number 2 Pencil’s awesome “single serve” recipe yet? Put it on your to-do list.

Fast dinner thanks to Trader Joe’s freezer section.

We had mahi burgers,

plus veggies in garlic butter sauce.

Popcorn. Made on the stove. <– so much better than the microwave bags

Random – I swapped out my purses for the week so I figured I’d do one of those “what’s in my bag?” photos.

Camera / day planner / book for the train (this week it’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog) / sunglasses / cell phone / keys / etc. It is easy to switch up my bags because all of the ecetera lives in that Brooklyn bag and can easily move from purse to purse.

Pens / gum / lip stuff / band aids / hair tie / hand sanitizer.

Salad and sandwich night.

Arugula topped with toasted, shredded Brussels sprouts, sweet and spicy pecans, and honey and evoo.

The amazing sandwiches were thanks to TJ’s new pastrami-style smoked salmon

Inspired by the Pastrami Russ at Russ and Daughter’s Café.

Pastrami-style lox on buttered and toasted pretzel rolls with pickles and muenster cheese.

Sprouted trail mix from my aunt.

It is similar to “Gorp” and very yummy.

Turkey and cheese roll-ups.

Yogurt bowl.

Plain yogurt with chopped nectarines and dulce de leche.

What’s in your bag? What items are always with you?

31Jul2015

My Year Is Off To A Good Start

by Emily

enjoyed all week

Coffees. Also naps.

Apparently my parents wore us out; I had a to take a nap before I could make dinner the first three nights of the week.

Diet chocolate soda from Polar.

I know it sounds a little strange but we were fans.

Our leftovers from The Smith. Eaten cold while standing in front of the open fridge.

My mac and cheese was fantastic leftover and so was my mom’s Mexican corn.

A big box of free samples {free as in provided free of charge / no other compensation for this post / yada, yada } from Super Seedz.

I wouldn’t have thought of pumpkin seeds as a favorite of mine but I’ve loved all of the flavors we’ve tried so far. Flavor options include: Really Naked, Sea Salt, Cinnamon & Sugar, Coco Joe, Tomato Italiano, Curious Curry, Somewhat Spicy and Super Spicy. They pack a nutritional punch – see the infographic (provided by the company) below – and Super Seedz are allergen friendly – peanut-free, tree nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, fish-free, shellfish-free, soy-free and made with gluten-free ingredients.

breakfast

After we dropped my parents at the airport on Monday, Adam and I went on a doughnut(plant) and coffee date before work. Because apparently we hadn’t eaten enough crap over my birthday weekend.

My strawberry-filled vanilla got two thumbs up.

As did my maple latte from Gorilla.

Coco pumpkin seeds and cold-pressed watermelon juice.

TJ’s came through on this juice, it was wonderfully refreshing.

Chocolate-cherry smoothie.

Vanilla almond milk with coco powder, frozen cherries, and dates. I enjoyed this combo and want to make it again soon.

Snack plate.

A cheese stick, cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds, and a medley of grapes.

lunch

Chocolate chip cookie oats.

With an apple and coco pumpkin seeds.

Sweet and spicy tuna salad.

With grapes and cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds.

I didn’t have to provide my own lunch the rest of the week! I attended a lunch-and-learn on malnutrition in surgical patients on Tuesday.

They gave us education, salad, and yummy sandwiches with hummus and roasted eggplant. And I mainlined coffee (with tons of milk and cream) when I got back to my desk.

On Thursday the hospital threw an employee appreciation bbq.

Very sweet!

dinner

Pizza, pizza.

We used TJ’s frozen crusts and were so impressed with how they turned out. Topped with marinara, mozzarella, and tons of garlic and onion sautéed mushrooms.

Plus super simple salads on the side.

Just arugula blend with ranch dressing. They were a bit depressing. But we also had beer.

I carried this Southern Tier Compass all the way back home from Buffalo but unfortunately it was a bit hoppy for our tastes.

Burger night.

I made my Buffalo Blue Bean Burgers. They don’t look like much but this is one of my best recipes!

With a trio of roasted veggies: Brussels sprouts, green beans, and broccoli.

Served with maple bacon kettle chips, aka my favorite chips because they are the best chips of all time.

They were doing a promotion and handing out mini bags at my railroad station and it was very exciting.

Last night I met up with a girlfriend for dinner in Brooklyn. We checked out Elbow Room, the mac and cheese window at Morgan’s BBQ.

Milk stout.

Old School Mac – NY state sharp cheddar, béchamel, and garlic breadcrumbs.

With collard greens that were spicy and vegetarian. Dinner was good but dessert was better.

Salted crack caramel and honey peanut butter ice creams from Ample Hills. But they were supposed to have key lime pie ice cream available and they didn’t so now I need to go back immediately and it’s a problem.

17Jul2015

This Week I…

by Emily

…Made a Redux recipe that I can’t post yet so I don’t have much to share today. Also we got Chipotle twice.

…Love love loved some of Polar’s summer seltzer flavors.

You can’t go wrong with fizzy strawberry.

…Finished season 3 of OITNB. I wasn’t a fan. But of course I kept watching and will still watch season 4 next year. I hated every single major decision Piper made this season!

…Tried the last three flavors from my GoMacro sample package.

Cashew butter (sweet rejuvenation) tastes exactly like a pureed cashew so your level of love for cashews would definitely affect your enjoyment of this bar.

Peanut butter (protein replenishment) wasn’t my favorite; it was too boring.

But banana + almond butter (prolonged power) was amazing; it tastes like a dried banana! The texture works perfectly here.

P.S. My coffee this week was Brooklyn Roasting Co’s Peru blend cold-brewed with cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla bean. So good.

…Ate a veggie and cheese omelet for breakfast the next day and it was like I hardly knew myself.

I have to give the cafeteria credit though, this was delicious.

…Read this Buffy the Vampire Slayer article on Buzzfeed and wondered how it’s possible that anyone has a favorite character that isn’t Anya. From any show ever, not just Buffy. Though Kitty from That 70’s Show is also pretty wonderful.

…Ate some amazing yogurt bowls for lunch.

Soursop yogurt with plucot and white nectarine and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

Salted caramel Greek yogurt with KIND peanut butter granola and a white nectarine.

Plain Siggi’s with plucot and yellow nectarine and a giant chocolate chip cookie.

We baked Take a Megabite’s Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies and they are fantastic! And yes, I totally crumbled that cookie into my yogurt.

…Adore LL Cool J for giving me Lip Sync Battle. Celebrities compete against each other in choreographed lip syncing madness and it is hilarious. My love for Anna Kendrick grew exponentially when she killed it against John Krasinski, but Anne Hathaway’s “Wrecking Ball” is clearly the standout performance of the season.

…Packed for Buffalo. Some friends and I are driving there for a visit today!

3Jul2015

Start Of A Three-Day Weekend

by Emily

My clinic is closed on Friday in celebration of Independence Day tomorrow so today is the start of a three-day weekend for me. Woo-hoo! Adam has to work, unfortunately, but I am hitting the road and heading to Solomons, Maryland to spend the weekend with my aunt and uncle at their cabin. It’s been way too long since I last saw my cousins and I am very excited. My aunt tipped me off that the “drink special” for the weekend is bourbon slushies so I’m pretty thrilled about that too.

Snacks and cafeteria lunches didn’t make it into this post so I’m skipping a good 45% of what I ate this week…

breakfast

Three things you need to know before we talk about breakfast: 1) I bought Rainer cherries and they have been sweet, delicious, and totally worth the $6 price tag. 2) My coffee combo was solid this week – double-strength brewed Community Coffee Dark Roast with chocolate milk and fat-free half and half.

3) GoMacro sent me a sampler box of mini MacroBars in 11 fun flavors. All MacroBars are USDA organic, non-GMO project verified, kosher, gluten-free and vegan certified. I like that GoMacro company buys fair trade products and their boxes are biodegradable and made from 100% post-consumer corrugated waste. All of the flavors I’ve tried thus far have been very homogenous in texture, smooth like a paste (but good and not gross like I’m making it sound here!) so they don’t crumble at all but they also don’t stick to your teeth or fingers which I deeply appreciate.

Please note – I was sent a box of mini bars free of charge to sample. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Chocolate coffee and peanut butter chocolate chip (protein pleasure). My favorite flavor thus far, the base of this one is basically just like eating super thick peanut butter.

Cherries and cashew caramel (protein paradise). This was my least favorite flavor, though it still was not bad, because it didn’t have much going on; when something calls itself caramel I’m looking for it to be pretty darn sweet.

Coffee, cherries, and sunflower butter + chocolate (protein purity). I know the names are super cheesy but a full-size of this flavor does offer 10 grams of protein for 260 calories.

A big day, cherries, mozzarella stick, coffee, and almond butter + carob (wholehearted heaven). Surprisingly, this was my favorite flavor, it had a nice sweetness to it.

Why yes, I did go through and pick out all of the “blank and chocolate” flavors first.

lunch

Maple mixture. Maple Greek yogurt with KIND maple chia granola and fresh pomegranate.

The yogurt, from Green Mountain Creamery, was soooo smooth. It’s just nonfat milk and maple syrup with live cultures.

On Wednesday, I prepped my lunch and left it on our butcher’s block in the kitchen while I went to get dressed. Five minutes later, the dog had eaten my lunch. He is a little monster but I still have absolutely no idea how he managed to get himself up on the block! I kicked the dog (kidding!!) and rushed off without food. The point of that long story? I ate ice cream for lunch and it was fantastic.

Scoops is the new pop-up ice cream shop from Greene Grape. My toasted green tea scoop (from Phin & Phebes) was extra fun with rainbow sprinkles.

Then it was back to yogurt.

Evolve Kefir‘s strawberry Greek yogurt was very pleasant with yellow plucot and KIND granola.

dinner

Pizza night. We made four cheese pizza – low-fat mozzarella, fresh mini mozzarella balls, pepperjack, and sharp cheddar – on TJ’s whole-wheat crust and it was ridiculous.

Pizza. But x2 because we ate the entire pie and we were so sick and it was so worth it.

Plus roasted veggies because we are healthy like that.

Kalettes (the kale + Brussels sprout hybrid which I’ve decided I don’t enjoy) and yummy zucchini.

Big salad(s) bonanza.

We tore up heads of TJ’s Smallish Gems Sweet Lettuce and topped them with champagne vinaigrette, sweet and spicy pecans, pomegranate, and cucumber.

Plus tuna salad on the side.

Casserole night was planned so Adam will have lots of leftovers while I’m away this weekend.

My Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta that I snuck a bit more veggies into with the addition of sautéed onion and yellow and orange bell peppers.

Plus roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

Fun nutrition fact – there is a dose dependent inverse relationship between broccoli consumption and colon cancer.

real talk

I finished Bossypants and I ~~laughed out loud on the train like a crazy person~~ adored it. The chapter where she responds to some of her internet critics had me in stitches. Even the lines about feminism/gender politics in America/women in comedy that make you want to put your fist through a window if you think about it too much managed to be witty. And now I really want to rewatch 30 Rock.

I bought this NY skyline bag from Fishs Eddy to store small items in my purse and it makes me happy every time I put on lipstick/grab a pen/check my cell phone, which is approximately 8 million times a day.

I finally started Orange is the New Black and I’m going to make my way through the season quickly but I’m kind of over it. Is there going to be a season 4, because I feel like they need to wrap things up? There are moments that are incredibly funny but in general this season is a bit too sad for me. My kind of television sads come from the fact that Joss Whedon thinks all great romances have to end in a horrifying and sudden death, I’m not so keen on the children visiting a prison on Mother’s Day and being panicked by their parents dropping to the dirt during a lockdown.

Do you watch OITNB? What are your thoughts on season 3? <– no spoilers, please!

22Jun2015

Williamsburg To Washington Square Park

by Emily

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

Honey sesame soy milk box.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

With roasted green beans on the side.

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

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

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

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

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

I loved them!

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

22Jun2015

Peanut Butter Banana Pretzel Pie {Recipe Redux}

by Emily

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.

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

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
Place unwrapped butter in the center of a 9-inch pie pan and put in preheating oven until butter is fully melted.
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.
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.
Bake crust 10 – 12 minutes until firm. Set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes.
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.
Add peanut butter and cinnamon to bowl and process 20 – 40 seconds more until well-combined.
Pour filling into cooled pretzel crust, using a spatula to spread it in an even layer.
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.

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

5Jun2015

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

by Emily

My favorites from the past week…

Top 3 Breakfasts

(1) Mango coconut biscotti* with my coffee.

*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.

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

Tops 3 Lunches

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

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

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

(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.

Top 3 Desserts

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

(2) Hot fudge root beer floats.

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

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.

*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.

(2) More “Mexican” food.

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

Sautéed arugula tossed with avocado and crumbled kale chips.

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

TJ’s chicken and vegetable goyza.

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.

Plus 1 Giveaway!

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

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.

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.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: vegan

Weekly Wrap-Up, Weddings Have Great Food

breakfast

lunch

snack

dinner

Weekend Highlights + What’s In My Bag?

My Year Is Off To A Good Start

enjoyed all week

breakfast

lunch

dinner

This Week I…

Start Of A Three-Day Weekend

breakfast

Please note – I was sent a box of mini bars free of charge to sample. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

lunch

dinner

real talk

Williamsburg To Washington Square Park

Peanut Butter Banana Pretzel Pie {Recipe Redux}

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

Top 3 Breakfasts

Tops 3 Lunches

Top 3 Desserts

Top 3 Dinners

Plus 1 Giveaway!