Last week was quite a good one for me. I passed my Registration Exam and then flew to Ohio to visit my grandma. Good times all around! It was also a busy week, so please excuse the many gaps in my reporting (for example, my grandma served me dessert at least twice a day, every day of my visit and I think I managed to snap a photo of just one sweet bite).
Dietetics students – feel free to leave a comment/shoot me an e-mail if you’d like some more details on the studying process for the exam. Otherwise, here we go…
Breakfasts
{1} A tropical smoothie.
I blended up frozen mano chunks, oj, and Müller low-fat Greek yogurt with honeyed apricot.
{2} Berry topped cereal.
Kashi Honey Puffs and Nature’s Path Bran flakes with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, blueberries, nectarine, and a sprinkle of sugar.
{3} Yogurt bowl day one.
Chobani 2% Apricot Greek Yogurt topped with sliced banana and red plum. Not only did a find a few good, new flavors of yogurt while in Ohio, but these plums were the best (read: juicy without being drippy and nice and sweet) I’ve ever had. The apricot flavored Chobani was nice as well.
{4} Yogurt bowl day two.
Liberté Peach and Passionfruit Non-fat Greek Yogurt topped with more fantastic red plum. Liberté makes Greek yogurt now?! My heart practically leapt out of my chest.
Lunches
Lots of meals out in this category, much fun was had.
{1} California Pizza Kitchen, Queens.
Adam, ever the traditionalist, shared a slice of his Roasted Garlic and Chicken Pizza with me. The pizza was yummy, but I went with a salad.
CPK’s Thai Crunch Salad is a thing of wonders, the edamame, peanuts, and wonton strips give it great crunch. And that giant plate was a half portion! Adam and I both ate some at lunch and then there was enough leftover for him to eat the next day as well. This meal was actually eaten the day before my exam. The husband quizzed me a bit over our meal but largely I took things easy that day; either you know it or you don’t!
{2} Bareburger, then 16 Handles, Long Island.
After I passed my exam, a very sleepy husband took me out to celebrate. He worked all night, then came home and drove me to my test, so it was perfect to go somewhere that loved bears for lunch (my nickname for him is Bear).
Bareburger is a NY chain that focuses on organic, humanely sourced foods. Their meat options include wild boar, elk, and ostrich! I went “boring” with a turkey burger.
The Maui Wowie (sans bun) was far from boring; it was topped with smoked mozzarella, turkey bacon, grilled pineapple, fried onions, fire-roasted red pepper, and buttermilk ranch.
It was freaking delicious and we want to go back again {and again, and again!}.
You can’t celebrate without froyo.
We went to 16 Handles afterward and rocked my face off. The topping options were out of this world.
I got pecan praline yogurt (!!!) topped with Coney Island Crunch trail mix and bananas foster banana chips! Re-dic-u-lous.
{3} Bakehouse, then Jenni’s Splendid Ice Cream, Troy.
Bakehouse is a fantastic bakery and cafe in Ohio. My grandma took me there the minute I stepped off the plan and we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch.
I had a cup of gazpacho,
and we split a Vegetarian Sandwich.
Cheesy-good was definitely the theme of this visit.
We digested by walking around and looking at Troy’s newest sculpture installations.
They were sooooo realistic, my grandma definitely tricked me a few times into thinking we were heading towards real people.
Then we went for Winan’s for dessert because…
they sell little containers of Jeni’s ice cream!
The black coffee flavor was perfection. I’ve been reading rave reviews of Jeni’s in magazines and blogs for years and now I totally get the hype.
{4} First Watch, Dayton.
I had never heard of First Watch – a breakfast/lunch only spot – before but they served up quite a fine half salad/half sandwich combo for lunch.
The Santa Fe Salad was nice and spicy (and also flipping loaded with chicken, no one person would possibly want that much on one salad),
and any place that serves turkey reubans along the traditionals wins my heart.
{5} My grandma’s kitchen, finally a home-cooked lunch.
A bit of avocado, a cob of my spicy, cheesy baked corn,
and chicken salad.
Nana’s chicken salad – made with mayo, sliced grapes, and toasted pecans – is one of my all-time favorite dishes.
Drinks and Snacks
{1} Mango Hi-Chew.
I am just too glad to be back in the city where there are Hi-Chews at every corner store. Mango was nice and juicy, but I won’t be satisfied until I find the yogurt flavor I used to love.
{2} Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snack.
My seaweed consumption has gone way down now that I’m not packing lunches for school so this was a nice treat.
{3} Maple-Glazed Pecan and Sea Salt KIND Bar.
My bar consumption is also on the decline, but this flavor was by far the best KIND bar I’ve ever had.
{4} Bourganel’s Nougat Beer.
A friend took me to Bierkfraft – an awesome bar/beer merchant in Park Slope – to celebrate my new credentials and we discovered our new favorite thing.
I grabbed this Bourganel Beer Nougat on a whim (always try to drink booze that tastes like dessert, that’s my motto) and it was out of control. Normally I leave a lot behind when I drink a beer, but this bottle was drained before it could even get warm. My friend adored it as well; we ended up buying a second bottle to split after our first round!
{5} Kahlua Ready-to-Drink White Russian.
I have looked for these bottles all summer after spotting one in a magazine and I finally hit pay dirt in Ohio!
Dinners
{1} Sushi.
The night before my exam, I got take-out from A-Chiban. Mango-inari, fish tempura, and a veggie roll.
The mango was slimy and terrible, but everything else was good.
{2} Spicy.
Spicy, cajun shrimp over angel hair,
with tossed salad and citrus green beans.
{3} Casserole.
Cucumber and tomato salad, cornmeal-breaded baked summer squash,
and creamy chicken casserole.
Among the ingredient list for the casserole were swiss cheese, white wine, and stuffing. My grandma is an amazing cook.
{4} Plane food.
My kiku apple was crunchy and sweet, and the leftover chicken salad served on cranberry poppy-seed bread made for an amazing sandwich.
My sandwich was on the small side, but not to worry, I bought chips (um, and pizza) at the airport!
Do you have a favorite dish that a certain family member will always prepare for you?
Here are some of the other things that made it on to the meal plan…
An Erin Baker’s Caramel Apple Breakfast Cookie. The flavor was good but I didn’t feel like it kept me full enough for the calories.
A slice of toasted Caramel Apple Swirl Bread with Smart Balance Light.
With a Müller Greek Corner Mango Yogurt (former freebie) topped with tons of blueberries on the side.
I picked up the swirl bread a million different times at Target and I am glad I ended up walking away with it.
Kashi Honey Puffs cereal and blueberries floating in a serving of Lifeway Coconut Chia Kefir.
Health: 2 types of prepared salad topped with baked salmon and sautéed mushrooms. Happiness: 2 soy nuggets and some extra-cheesy mac and cheese.
Very good, but still – I miss Wegmans!
A simple spinach salad with raisins, peanuts, and balsamic.
Two types of sharp cheddar on white bread with Miracle Whip, cooked in the oven for easy clean-up.
These lunches were a nice break from the pizza.
How nice does that scene look? I ate my cookie, sipped my diet soda, flipped through Glamour, and watched a girly movie.
My new favorite flavor.
I actually could live without the blondies (they seemed too small somehow) but the brown sugar ice cream was basically the best thing ever.
Jasmine Tulsi (former freebie) with Mandarin Polar.
From OMG Taco in Williamsburg.
I flipping love Horchata and I feel like I can never find it.
It was good, but not my new favorite like I thought it was going to be.
A jazz apple, a Banana Cream Dannon Oikos with honey and salty peanuts on top, and a slice of beer bread broiled with cheese.
You would think that the melty cheese would have been the best bites but actually it was the yogurt, the banana cream was super thick and luscious.
A green salad,
and a spicy shrimp and avocado roll.
The roll was only ok, we keep ordering from a spot near our house that has no delivery fee and I’m never that impressed.
Basically a french toast bake but with sharp cheddar and smoked salmon taking it to the next level.
Adam raved about this one.
Broccoli-Cheese soup from Cooking Light,
with bbq kettle chips for crunch.
The soup came together in a snap. I ate one serving and then Adam ate the other three that same night so I guess he liked it!
Eating Chalk 