Tag Archives: vegan

The Board Beard

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Adam is finished with his Step I Board Exam!!!  He won’t know his score for a while, but this means he has a free week to relax with absolutely nothing he should be studying.  This also means he’s finally going to shave.

That, my friends, is a “board beard.”  The husband has had a (normal, groomed) beard for several years now and I love it.  Much to my chagrin, he decided a month or so ago to grow a board beard.  Basically, he wasn’t going to shave again until after the exam.  I’ve been sharing a bed with Paul Bunyan, lovely.

But boards are done, so that thing’s got to go!

My day was a little more low-key than Adam’s obviously.  I did get up at 6am to make him a protein smoothie, but I’m the driver this evening so I crawled back into bed until 9:30 to make sure I was well rested.  Since I did the prep work last night, I awoke with breakfast waiting for me.

I dumped 1 sliced banana, 1/4 cup oats, and 3/4 Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk into the 0% Plain Fage container with the last bits of yogurt.

This morning all I had to do was stir in some cinnamon sugar and move my overnight oats to my new mug.

I picked this kitchen addition up from Budala Pottery at the Allentown Art Festival and I’m loving it.  It has a nice round bottom (great for people who prefer to eat things out of their mugs than drink) and I love the look of the handle.

After breakfast I had planned to go to the gym but I’m starting to get nervous about driving all night (and moving all day!) so I decided to skip it.

Lunch.

One last serving of vegan pasta leftovers, deveganized with parmesan cheese.

It felt good to get some veggies into my system before I head on the vacation I’ve deemed “Frozen Yogurt Tour 2011!”

Plus the last of the soy milk with chocolate syrup.

If it looks frothy it’s because I shook the crap out of it.  I recently read in an issue of Cooking Light that if you aren’t shaking the sludge from the bottom of your soy milk you’re not getting the added calcium.

I spent the afternoon packing – both of our bags, car snacks – and as soon as Adam gets home and shaves we’ll be ready to hit the road.  We are reaching his parents’ house sometime in the middle of the night and spending all day Sunday helping them move.  There’s no internet at their house so I will see you guys on Monday!

Which Resulted In…

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I crossed off all of my to-do’s (I still have to clean the stove but I know that it’ll get done before bed) and I even made a quick run out to Wegmans and Target; bam!  Very accomplished feeling although there were some unintended results…

My trip to the store pushed dinner back later, which resulted in a grumbly tummy, which resulted in an impulse buy, which resulted in me eating 2 servings of Lays Honey Mustard Chips before dinner.

I actually picked up this same bag the other day and then put it back but when I was at the store again with “free” money (we get $ for recycling our cans/bottles) I just couldn’t resist.  Sadly they were oddly spicy and not as good as I was imagining.

The chips did give me the ability to make dinner without a distracted stomach, and I ended up making an amazing meal.

That, my friends, is a heaping bowl of pasta.

This quick and easy dish was randomly chosen but everything ended up coming together perfectly.  For 4 servings, served on top of rigatoni, I combined –

Healthy, filling, and vegan to boot!

Rebel Without A Cause

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My productivity came to a sudden halt this afternoon when my body remembered that I put it to bed at 5am and rebelled.  And it rebelled hard, the closest I came to a workout was belly laughing at “That 70’s Show.”

Afternoon snacks included mini candy,

mini (coconut) milk,

and a white chocolate toffee cookie.

When it was 8:30 and dinner was still just a thought we decided to get rice bowls from Moe’s instead.

This bowl included:

  • rice (I asked for less than they usually give)
  • black beans
  • chicken
  • grilled mushrooms
  • cheese
  • sour cream
  • corn salsa
  • lettuce
  • olives
  • cilantro

It was delicious, though I did end up picking around most of the chicken.

Which saved me room for chips with queso.

I guess I’ve just got an extra big to-do list for tomorrow!

Buffalo Buzz

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Yes I would rather be eating Ben and Jerry’s Bonaroo Buzz, but the frozen coffees I made Adam and myself this morning were a nice substitute!

For two (large) coffees into the blender went:

  • 8 ice cubes
  • 12 oz of coffee (cinnanut blend from Wegman’s)
  • 6 oz of Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk
  • 3 Tbsp white sugar

I imagine that a Vitamix would turn this into velvet, but my $40 blender made something pretty great too.  I’ve been craving fair-style frozen lemonade all Spring and this had a similar texture.

I volunteered to pick up an extra day shift at work today so I needed a breakfast that would carry me through 10:30-4:30 carrying trays up and down stairs.

Greek yogurt is always the answer to a breakfast that will carry me through.

0% Plain Fage topped with 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup, a crumbled pumpkin muffin, and a big handful of blackberries.

I originally bought the berries for a a baked pomegranate chicken dish (which turned into bbq chicken sandwiches and is currently sitting in my crock pot) but I’m so glad I ate them raw because they are sweet and delicious!  Buffalo readers – Wegman’s on Amherst has these babies at $4 for 2 pints right now.

What’s your favorite summer fruit?  My answer will be plums (or pluots, mmmmmn!) if I ever find them in season!

I’m Hungry and I Suck

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My legs have been feeling pretty good, but this afternoon 2nd day hunger hit me hard!  I didn’t plan on eating while I was out of the house, so I left my camera at home to charge, but by the time I got to the grocery store at 5:30 I knew I couldn’t wait any longer.  Thank goodness for cell phone cameras and thank goodness for hot bar.

That’s my usual mix.  It’s hard to see portion sizes in the photos but that’s ~2/3 of what I usually get, it wasn’t supposed to be dinner.

I also impulse-bought this So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk from the fridge by the register.

It was pretty good.

I ate my Co-op candy bar before I went to the mall and it was fricking amazing.

That white stuff tasted like pillowy, marshmallowy nougat!  I “mmmmn’d” my whole way through.

I threw together dinner fairly quickly but it ended up being a good meal.

Salad – arugula, green bell pepper, cucumber, and poppy seed dressing.

I made this salmon patty recipe, but subbed green onions for shallots because our shallots were moldy.  <– what is happening in this house?!

Plus Adam and I split a cheddar cheese bialy.

Best part of the meal, hands down.

No one is entering my recent giveaways, boo.  I would really appreciate some feedback on why/how I suck.  There’s another one tomorrow, please let me know what I could do to make it better!

Thank You, Friends Up North

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First things first, the winners of today’s giveaway were Jenny and Monica –

Congrats guys, get me your mailing addresses and I’ll send out your coupons.  Everyone else (and Jenny and Monica too, you can enter more than once if you’re feeling extra lucky), don’t forget that another giveaway chance will be posted tomorrow morning.

I feel a little strange writing this post because today felt a little strange.  We haven’t been getting enough sleep and I feel like I’ve been walking through a haze.  I’ve been insanely hungry and I’m sure it’s tied to my lack of sleep.  Though let’s pretend that I’m hungry from my good habits instead of my bad ones, like my workout this morning!

I had 40 minutes of cardio on the agenda so I hopped on the elliptical – level 6 random – for 40 minutes.  I worked up quite a sweat, but my pace was super slow and I knew that I wasn’t really pushing myself so I added 25 minutes on the stationary bike.  I had absolutely no idea what I was doing with the fancy tv-style settings, but I was dripping when I finished so I must have done something right.  As I was getting off the bike, I spotted a fun looking game setting that I’m eager to try out next week.

By the time I got home I was hun-ga-re!  Enter my newest dream team.

I topped a 1 cup serving of Quaker Golden Maple Oatmeal Squares with a serving of Amande strawberry flavored almond milk yogurt and 2 Tbsp of crunchy peanut butter.

I probably won’t buy this yogurt again, the texture was definitely a little “fake” and I’m not too keen on non-Greek flavored yogurts anyways, but I do highly recommend it for any vegans looking for a yogurt fix.  I sent my pb through a spin in the microwave to get it all melty and it became very swoon-worthy.

Unfortunately I didn’t eat “breakfast” until I got home and showered from working out and it was near noon.  My insane hunger coupled with the weird meal times meant I ended up grazing all day.

I had a perfect, crunchy pear.

Two onion rolls with Smart Balance Light.

And a packet of cinnamon roll Oat Revolution with brown sugar, a splash of skim milk, and a big handful of raisins.

Around 2 I did stop stuffing my face long enough to get gussied and leave the apartment – it’s time to find a summer job!  My long stroll up and down Elmwood (in a suit, with a packet of resumes) wasn’t fruitful yet, but at least it got me back off the couch.  I have a couple of prospects I’m feeling hopeful about, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed because the next step will be looking for jobs that aren’t walking distance from the apartment.

Adam picked me up towards the end of my walk home and we split a mini turtle Blizzard.

Then we came home and made a pile.  <– watch “Where the Wild Things Are,” you’ll thank me

I was flying solo for dinner so I went simple.

A leftover Reuben Stuffed Turkey Burger,

with a big plate of baby carrots to get in some veggies.

Notes – 1. I added a slice of cheese to that burger right after I snapped the photo.  2. My hand has been sneaking into the tin of cashews all evening but there’s no pictoral evidence.  3. Those burgers are really good!

And with that, I’m off to watch “Missing” on Netflix Instant Watch.   I rediscovered it recently and it’s rocking my socks.  Is there anything Canadian tv can’t do??!  I also loved “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” “Braceface,” “Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy,” “That’s So Wierd,” and “In a Heartbeat.”  <– loooove

Did you watch any of those shows back in the day?

Working (Against Me)

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Hello, again!  I realize I’ve been a blogging slacker, but I’m ready to recommit.  Just like I committed to a workout this morning.

I had a lot of things working against me for this run –

  • I’ve been eating nothing but junk the past few days
  • I have not been hydrating properly at all
  • I haven’t been getting enough sleep
  • I just came from the orthodontist and I got on the treadmill feeling like someone had kicked me in the teeth
  • I skipped two training days and hadn’t worked out since Friday!

It’s a good thing that I think even a terrible run is a good run, because it did end up being a terrible run!  And with all the things (listed above) working against me, ironically what ended up killing me was my tight calf muscles!  I don’t even know what was happening with my legs but the best way I can describe it is that my calf muscles felt like rubber bands that were about to snap.  It took me 20 minutes before I felt even remotely warmed up.

Before I got on the treadmill I did adress the fueling issue.  I slammed a tangerine PowerBar Gel,

and bought myself a grape G2 and a water.

All total I stayed on the treadmill for an hour, doing some running and mostly walking.  1 hour, for 5 miles on the nose.

I’ve been in such a crabby mood the last few days and even though my workout was terrible it totally lifted my mood!  Mother Nature was looking out for my happiness too –

After a quick errand and a crucial shower, I was ready for lunch.  My teeth, in brand new retainers, were not feeling as ready as my belly though.  I ended up doing fries and ice cream, healthy living blog style.

A big pile of oven-roasted green bean fries.

Cooked 30minutes at 450* with a bit of salt and cooking spray.

And a bowl of banana soft serve.

I food processed 1.5 frozen bananas, a splash of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, and 2 Tbsp of Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter with Honey.

Both items ended up being de-lish-us!  Hopefully they will help me fuel through my afternoon, since I’ve got a monster to-do list to tackle:

  • fold/put away my laundry
  • fold Adam’s laundry
  • finish putting away my school stuff
  • clean the bathroom
  • clean the kitchen
  • get set up for job hunting tomorrow
  • send some blog e-mails
  • backup my files from this school year
  • schedule some doctors’ appointments
  • fix my nail polish
  • start reading a new book
  • make dinner

What’s on your to-do list today?

I’ll Mail Your Package

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You guys won’t even believe it; when I got to the post office it was closed!!!  Apparently the 1:30 closing time listed online referred to the p.o. boxes, the actual office had closed before I even left the house.  Just as I felt steam about to come out of my ears a postal worker told me about another location with longer hours.  The post office where I finally had success is actually much closer to my house, so it was a win in the end.

While I was out and about I snacked on a blueberry muffin Lara Bar,

the rest of my Arizona,

and .1 lbs of yogurt pretzels.

My stomach was growling and as I hungrily grocery shopped all I could think of was eating french fries and catching up on Grey’s.  So when I got home, that’s what I did.

If you consider my cheesy show choices, it’s almost like those were cheese fries…hyuck, hyuck.

Adam and I tried to eat this peppermint candy my mom sent us from Carnival food fair,

but we waited too long and sadly it was all squishy.

We took a nice walk around Elmwood in the evening, and worked up an appetite for dinner.

That’s tuna salad with lots of red onion,

and half a slice of buffalo chicken pizza with blue cheese dressing.

Perfect food for watching Bones, which made me cry, p.s.

With a serving of Raisin Bran Extra for dessert.

See you tomorrow for a long(ish) run!