Tag Archives: veggies

Tastes of Fall

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Another productive day, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the streak continues!  Plus, I’ve full-force started eating “October food,” another trend I hope to continue 🙂  After my breakfast post I attempted to do a  little work, but Adam and I realized we were way too distracting to each other at home,

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so we packed up our stuff and went to a coffee shop to work!

All my diet soda talk in the last post got me craving one, so that’s what I had!

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The husband got a fancy shmancy hot chocolate.

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We were at The Spot, so you know I wanted a Mike’s Sandwich, but when I thought about all the food fun I had planned at home I decided to resist.  We studied for 4hours and I got a huge chunk of Chemistry work done. 

On the way home I had the husband drop me at the gym.  It was not so fabulous.  My foot still hurts and my calves were really really tight.  I really need to talk to a professional about strength-building/stretching exercises for my calves, knees, and hips.  In the end I did 2.83 miles on the treadmill, and tons of stretching, for 36minutes and 361 calories.

After my shower we closet swapped our summer stuff for winter duds.  Folks, we need to go shopping.  I have almost no winter wardrobe.  In NYC I dressed inappropriately and just dealt with being cold and uncomfortable, but that is not going to fly here in Buffalo (I’ll die!).  We scheduled in a big mall trip for next weekend – p.s. we budgeted for this already.

Then, the foodie fun began!  I made my first pumpkin pie through a straw of the season.

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1/2C 2C “>Stoneyfield Farms Lowfat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, 1C pumpkin puree, 1T maple syrup, 1/2C skim milk, dash cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

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So good!

While I was drinking “pie,” I started baking pie!  I made a Maple Spice Pie from one of my favorite cookbooks, Pie, Pie, Pie: Easy Homemade Favorites, by John Phillip Carroll.  I used a Wholly Wholesome Organic Whole Wheat Pie Shell.

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Small blip, apparently you need maple syrup for a maple pie, who knew?!

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After an emergency run to the store things were back on track.  It had to set, so I started dinner before diving into dessert.  This combo came (basically) from the September issue of Health (recipe here).  Tofu and eggplant with cabbage over soba noodles.

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I swapped tamari and worchestire (sp?) for miso and sesame seeds for sesame oil, but other than that I followed the recipe.  It was wonderful, I loved the soba noodles and the texture of the tofu was great.

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I had more pumpkin alongside dinner, Wolaver’s Organic Will Steven’s Pumpkin Ale.

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And then finally it was time for dessert!

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The pie was good, but super messy.  The inside tasted like caramel apples to me!

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I took a huge slice and actually made myself a bit sick  😦  Now it is time for bed, I’ve got to get my sleep if I want another productive day!

What fall foods have you enjoyed this year?

Random and Randomer

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My title makes me think of “curious and curiouser” a line from Alice in Wonderland(one of my top 5 favorite books!).  I am so excited for that movie to come out, I can’t wait to see Tim Burton’s spin on it.  In general I’ve been super annoyed by all of the children’s books turned live-action movies (The Grinch, Cat in the Hat, etc; blech) but I have high hopes for this one.  I am also excited for “Couples’ Retreat,” which comes out this weekend.  I have a trip to the movies planned to celebrate my first Chem exam.

If breakfast/lunch were random, dinner was randomer.  For full disclosure’s sake, I would like to mention that I’ve eaten 3-5 fruit gel candies without photographing today.  Equally junky was the snack I bought for class; I usually don’t eat during class but I was super hungry when I got to campus –

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I never buy Snyder’s pretzels because I have zero self-control with those delicious nuggets but this vending machine find had a slightly more reasonable 2servings per bag.

After class Caroline asked if I wanted to grab dinner and do some review.  After wasting time all day it was the perfect opportunity to make up!  Plus, we got Wegman’s salad bar which you know I love.

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Steamed broccoli,

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roasted brussels sprouts (nowhere near as good as the ones I make at home, *mental note to make them soon*),

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and curried tofu.

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All pretty yummy.  I love that the curried tofu had raisins in it!

We got a lot done and I got home around 10.  It ended up being a semi-sucessful day.  My foot has been really hurting and favoring my other side has caused my right hip to hurt but I am hoping to make it to the gym for a run tomorrow.  I have a doctor’s appointment this Friday which we put me out of commission for at least a few days so I don’t want to fall too far behind.  I’m going to do some blog reading and then I need to hit the sack to rest up for tomorrow, night!

Do you like raisins in things?  I love them, I put raisins in salad, cookies, where ever I can fit them.

Pizza Party Part Deux

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I haven’t gotten much work done but the rain was the perfect atmosphere for watching some “tv.”  In the hours after breakfast I was starving so I ate a Cookie Dough Balance Bar.

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These are seriously the best things on Earth!

Lunch was inspired by leftover pizza ingredients and these guys.

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I was excited about these Boca Spicy Chik’n Meatless Patties, but a little concerned by this warning –

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I read through all the ingredients and have no idea what this is about.  Does anyone else know?  I combined spice + pizza for one super sandwich.

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I rolled a patty in a Flat Out with ~2T each pizza sauce, shredded carrots, 2% colby jack cheese, and Anchor Bar Buffalo Sauce.

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I ate some leftover peppers from last night alongside.

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Quite a good lunch.

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Dessert was pretty good too.

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Purely Decadent Non-Dairy Blueberry Cheesecake ice cream with Crofter’s Superfruit North America Spread.

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The skies are looking a little less foreboding so I might make it to the gym today after all.  My other focus of the day is chemistry.  See you for dinner.

For Funsies – What is your favorite animal?  In no particular order, I love duckbilled platypuses, spiny echidnas, otters, and pigs.

Rain Check

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The intense torrential downpour all day mucked up my plans, but I did find some fun substitutes!  I had so many crazy dreams last night that I ended up pressing snooze on the alarm this morning until after 9.  I ate a Cashew Almond Boomi Bar on the way to volunteering today.

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I liked the flavorbut I was running late so I only ate 3/4 of it.

For lunch at the hospital I used my voucher to get a sandwich from the cafeteria.

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Chicken salad in a jalopeno wrap with spring mix lettuce, bell peppers, banana peppers, sundried tomato and pesto sauce.  I ate 85% or so.

Adam had the day off from school (Yom Kippur) so he picked me up at the hospital to save me from the rain.  I had planned on going to the gym but once I saw the sky it didn’t take much convincing to get me to see a movie with him!  We went to a 3o’clock showing of “Surrogates,” which we both enjoyed.  We hit up Dairy Queen at the mall.

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I ordered a small oreo cookie dough blizzard.

I was very glad that Adam drove me to class because the rain was so bad you could barely see.  We ended up taking the (slow) main road home instead of the highway because it was so bad.

When we got home we made the perfect rainy day dinner – pizza!  I would say it was super veggie, but by the time the husband got done with it it was super cheesey!

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On a store bought crust we piled

  • 12oz pizza sauce
  • 2C reduced fat mozzarella cheese
  • 1 chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 chopped yellow bell pepper
  • 3/4pint mushrooms
  • 1/2 sliced yellow onion

We precooked the veggies for 15minutes at 475* before we put them on the pizza.  Look at how sweet our pizza sauce was –

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It was very tasty, but we definitely bought it because I fell in love with the can!

After it came out of the oven I ate 1/4 of the finished product.

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Yums.  We watched the new episode of “Bones” while we ate and towards the end I had a half serving of Lindt Sea Salt Dark Chocolate.

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Yums x2.

I’m disappointed that the gym didn’t happen because I have to go back to the doctor on Thursday, but such is life.  I always appreciate hang out time with the husband.  Have a great night everybody!

What do you like to put on pizza?  My favorite toppings are green olives and broccoli.  I also really like cheeseless pesto pizza.

Crossing My Fingers and Toes

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I actually got in bed before 10pm last night, but when we wake up 8bazillion times a night you kind of are tired no matter when you go to bed!  I wouldn’t have mattered when I woke up today though, I let my sadness over my foot kind of take over my whole day.  Not good, Emily, not good.

For breakfast I made 0% Fage with a heaping teaspoon TJ’s Sun Butter.

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And lunch made tasty tasty use of leftovers (and made leftovers for tomorrow!).

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I chopped up cooked lasagna noodles and stir fried them with broccoli, carrots, seitan, evoo, soy sauce, and chipotle oil.  It was super tasty, but I don’t think I like seitan as much as I once did.  I used this package from West Soy, and it just tasted a little off.

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All in all the plate was still pretty good though.

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Adam came home early from school (a class was canceled because of a big test this week) and we watched “Boogeyman” together.  It was a strange movie, but the eating of 4squares of this greatly upped my enjoyment.

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I got to school in time to print off class notes and purchase a stuffed buffalo for my niece.  We are visiting Adam’s brother in Ohio this weekend.  I also gave Jamba Juice a second chance.

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Much better.  When I got home from class I supplemented “dinner” with these pretzels.

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Tomorrow is a big day, I have my first lab, my first quiz, and hopefully my first day back at the gym.  Wish me luck!

What are you crossing your fingers for this week?

Peppers and Pie

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My biggest accomplishment this afternoon was getting rid of my headache, but that’s actually a pretty big accomplishment in my book!  I finished GhostWorld and I can officially say I’m not a fan 😦

After crappy movie hour I finally did my kitchen to-do’s.  I pre-made pasta for lunches this week, made dinner, and…..I made a pie! 

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Tyler Pie to be exact.  I can’t give you the recipe, but it is from Pie, Pie, Pie; Easy Homemade Favorites by John Phillip Carroll.  I’ve made things from this book throughout the years and I highly recommend it.  Here is the description he gives in the book –

Incredible as it sounds, in the past, it was not uncommon to christen foods, particularly desserts, after political figures.  Named for the 10th president of the United States, John Tyler of Virginia, this pie has its heritage in the South.  Though the ingredients are simple, the pie has a caramel-like flavor and a smooth texture that combine to give it a soothing quality.  It is a suitable for breakfast as it is after a good meal.

More on that later though, dinner was a success!  I pulled the recipe completely from my head and it ended up being great 🙂

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Stuffed Peppers, serves 4

  • 5oz ww penne pasta
  • 1C chopped broccoli
  • 1T evoo
  • 8oz 99% lean ground turkey
  • 1/2C marinara sauce
  • 4oz log goat cheese
  • 4 peppers, any color (we used red, yellow, and orange)
  • 1/4 shredded cheese (we used 2% cheddar)
  1. Cook pasta, following box directions.  In the last 3-5minutes of cooking stir in broccoli.  Drain and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 475*.  Cut the tops off of the peppers.  Using a spoon, scoop out the pith and seeds, careful not to break the bottoms of the peppers.
  3. Put pot back on stove, turn heat down to medium and heat evoo.  Add turkey meat and cook for 2-3minutes.  Pour in marinara sauce and finish cooking meat through.  Remove from heat.
  4. Add pasta and broccoli back to pot, along with goat cheese, and stir to mix.
  5. Spoon pasta into peppers.  Split cheese ontop of the peppers.  Place peppers on a foiled cookie sheet.
  6. Bake for 15minutes.

Notes on the recipe –

* Think anti-Sir-Mix-A lot with the peppers, get ones with flat bottoms (i.e. they will stand alone)

*I did not do this, but I highly recommend preheating the peppers for 5-10minutes

* Each serving has ~400calories

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Our peppers were pretty small so I ate some filling on the side.

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I took too much though, I ended up leaving most of the extra filling.  I needed room in my belly for pie!

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It was pretty good, it had a nice eggy taste to it.  I got some free coupons for Wholly Wholesome products so I used one of their pie crusts.

We watched “The Open Window” while we ate, which was also a strange movie.  And now it is late, and bedtime.  Nighty night!

Do you bake?

Breakfast, Lunch, Junk

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I’ll be honest, I’m still feeling a bit down.  My foot is killing me and I’m pretty pissed about not being able to go to the gym.  Plus I’m still feeling a bit under the weather, so I’m all-around blah.  This will be quick, and therefore, less whiney 🙂

Breakfast.

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=

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Stoneyfield Farms YoKids Lowfat Strawberry-Vanilla and Raspberry yogurts, white nectarine, and Justin’s Almond Butter packet.  I also added half a teaspoon of sunbutter.

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It was good, but I was still hungry afterwards.  I had to drop of a prescription for medicine for my foot so Adam and I set off.  During our errands we split a small frozen cappuccino.

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Our plan was to get lunch at Wegmans but the selection was pretty disappointing, no tofu!  I made do with a small plate.

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Broccoli and green beans plus a little bit of general tso’s chicken.  I had been expecting tofu and this did not deal with my hunger, I was still starving!  We shopped quickly, and I ate this candy on the way home.

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Plus I polished off 90% of these nachos from the bar downstairs.

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I’m having a love affair with jalopenos.

I’m watching GhostWorld and I’m really not sure what I think of it, but I guess I won’t judge until it’s over.  See you for dinner!

The Buzz

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Good afternoon all!  I hope everyone is having a painless Monday.  As you know, I didn’t go to bed until after 2 last night, but once in bed I didn’t fall asleep until after 3!  I don’t know how on earth I managed to wake up at 9am but I think my excitement over breakfast was a factor.

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I pan-heated two chicken apple maple sausages.

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And put my leftover oven-roasted root veggies into eggs.  I heated 1T SmartBalance Light in a pan, heated the turnips and parsnips, cracked in two eggs, scrambled, and added a small handful of sharp cheddar at the end.

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Very tasty!  I will officially say that turnips and parsnips (and whole okra) are a success, they will be entering the regular line up!

After breakfast I hurried to the hospital for my 4hour volunteering shift.  At 20’clock I clocked out and apparently became a cereal magnet.  I used my lunch voucher to buy some granola and skim milk to eat later this week,

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and when I got home I found a Kashi coupon and sample in the mail.

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You can click here to get your own sample, I said “surprise me!”

In spite of its abundance, I knew that cereal was not going to cut it for lunch.  I spent most of my volunteering time delivering blood and medicine, which means I took the stairs a ton! (when I am taking patients places I obviously only take the elevator)  I decided to give Flat Outs a try with another sandwich.

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I know it looks unassuming, but he’s just being modest.

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  • 1 Flat Out
  • homemade honey mustard (1T dijon mustard, 1t honey)
  • 6 thin slices turkey
  • ~1/2C shredded carrot

This was very satisfying.  I still found the wrap a bit chalky but overall the taste combo was fantabulous.  I totally only ended my lunch with almond butter straight into my mouth for the protein.

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It was 100% the 6g of protein in the packet, not that it was maple flavored almond butter, and certainly not that I like squeezing it straight into my mouth 🙂

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I am feeling very lucky to have received Justin’s samples, 2 thumbs up!

In just a bit I am going to head out to campus.  Class isn’t until 6:30 but I need to print off the class notes and pick up some forms.  Dinner will be something thrown together because Adam claimed the tofu leftovers, but I am planning on doing some baking tonight!

Foodbuzz Excitement

I couldn’t wait to tell you guys about the excitement I mentioned yesterday – it’s official, my friend Camile and I will be attending the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in November!!!  We booked our tickets and hotel room yesterday and we are both so excited!  Do you know anyone else who is attending?

Also, I forgot to mention before, but one of my photos was featured on the main page of Foodbuzz the other day.  It’s clearly not a big deal, but the husband was so proud of me he took a screenshot.

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