Weekend Wrap-Up; Snowmageddon

Hey there!  I hope all of my East Coast (US) readers are keeping warm!  Long Island didn’t get hit as badly with snow as predicted, but getting to and from work on Friday was definitely pretty insane.

Here’s some of what I ate when I wasn’t shivering…

Lunch packed for work on Friday.

DSC07115Leftovers of my spin on Hoppin’ John on top of leftover farro,

DSC07122with cola candies,

DSC07120and tangerines.

DSC07117I actually ate the tangerines on my train ride home, alongside a nice, warm espresso.

DSC07127Coffee was very loved this weekend.  I also had a cinnamon brown sugar iced latte from Dunkin Donuts {love, love, loved},

DSC07153DSC07150and a hazelnut iced coffee – with sugar, skim milk, and a dash of vanilla creamer – from Bagel Boss {I can’t really speak to their bagels but I’m obsessed with their iced coffee}.

DSC07170Aaaaaand a different iced latte from Starbucks that I didn’t photograph because it was getting ridiculous.  Yes, I recently became extra in love with coffee.  No, I won’t switch from iced no matter how cold it gets.

A delicious dinner on Friday night.

DSC07134I made “miso stoup” for the first time and was thrilled with the results.  Not totally traditional, but with ingredients we had on hand.  And extra “chunky” because it was our whole meal and not just a side.

DSC07130Miso Soup, Basically  serves 2 – 3

  • 3 cups chicken broth  (you could totally use veggie broth if you want to keep things vegetarian)
  • 3 heaping Tbsp miso paste
  • 2. 5 oz firm tofu, cubed
  • 1/2 cup sliced green onions
  • 1 pint sliced shiitake mushrooms
  • .6 oz roasted seaweed, crumbled
  1. Bring broth to a simmer in a medium pot over medium-high heat.
  2. Add miso to broth and whisk until no lumps remain.
  3. Add remaining ingredients to pan and simmer an additional 3 – 5 minutes.

DSC07139We loved it.

Not so delicious fondue for dinner on Saturday night.

DSC07155We split a lemon cream pie martini that wasn’t terrible.

DSC07157And for fondue we ordered the sharp cheese,

DSC07160and the caramel pecan chocolate (though I’m fairly certain they left out our caramel).

DSC07161DSC07164Both were fairly meh.  The bread cubes were terrible and we only got two each of the other dippers so if you liked something you couldn’t even try it again because then the other person didn’t get any.  We cashed in a Groupon to Simply Fondue and even with the $ off it was still pretty darn expensive.  Boo.

Random but good things include:  A bowl of Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes with blackberries and unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

DSC07147A Suede Imperial Porter from Stone {I couldn’t taste the honey but the floral scent was amazing},

DSC07132And a big bowl of popcorn with truffle salt.

DSC07167DSC07165Oh jeez, the truffle popcorn.  Insane.  Usually Adam turns his nose up at my bowls of popcorn but this time he was more than happy to share.

Yesterday we did a late, great brunch.  My guava mimosa was quite tasty.

DSC07173We were visiting friends in Williamsburg and they took us to Simple.  We all had wonderful meals.

DSC07177I got the Vegetable Burger – Sautéed spinach, mushroom, zucchini, pepper, onion, garlic.  It was more of a pile of veggies than a burger, particularly once I ordered it sans bun.  It was also delicious, especially when topped with Danish blue cheese.  And the fries on the side were nice and crispy!

P.S. You have until 2 pm EST to enter my Eggland’s Best giveaway.

Weekly Wrap-Up; Hello, 2014!

Hello from a new year!  Like I said in my last post, I am very excited to have welcomed ’14.  We didn’t do anything exciting for NYE (we were in bed watching Vines by 11), but we started the year off right with a fun day on the 1st.

Resolutions, Past and Present

I didn’t set any resolutions last year, but since 2011 it’s been a yearly goal to read a book a month.  I missed January and February, but overall I did pretty well with 20 books read in 2013:

March

Last to Die – Tess Gerritsen  (f)

The Bone Bed – Patricia Cornwell (f)

June

97 Orchard – Jane Ziegelman  (nf)

Spiced: A Pastry Chef’s True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes on in the Kitchen – Dalia Jurgensen  (m)

July

The Perfect Husband – Lisa Gardner  (f)

The Third Victim – Lisa Gardner  (f)

Alone  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

August

Hide  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

The Neighbor  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

The Next Accident  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

The Killing Hour  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

September

Fiction Ruined My Family – Jeanne Darst  (m)

October

Live to Tell – Lisa Gardner  (f)

Love You More – Lisa Gardner  (f)

Catch Me  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

November

Bones of the Lost – Kathy Reichs  (f)

December

Brain on Fire – Susannah Cahalan  (m)

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight – Alexandra Fuller  (m)

Dust – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

Wild – Cheryl Strayed  (m)

This year I did decide to set a few new year’s goals for myself, though I won’t be typing them all out here.  Basically I want to lose some of the weight I’ve been steadily putting on the past three years / continue my book reading goals / and start chipping away at the continuing education requirements for my Dietetics registration.

Fashion Friday

Last Friday.

DSC06924Monday.

DSC06999Tuesday.

DSC07028A day off on Wednesday.

DSC07036DSC07034Welcoming in a new year at work on Thursday.

DSC07096DSC07103DSC07102Breakfasts

Since part of this post is from last year you won’t really see this go into effect, but I think I am going to make more of an effort to eat breakfast on workdays.  I’ve been getting insanely hungry every afternoon and I think running out of time for breakfast most mornings is partially to blame.

Giant non-fat latte with 2 shots each peppermint and white chocolate.

DSC07000Coconut coffee and a pear.

DSC07075The Vanilla Coco Cafe was delicious, even better than the original.

DSC07078My pear was tasty too, but eating it gave me such bad heartburn that I almost got off of my train to throw up!  I’m not sure what the deal with that was.

DSC07080Lunches

I made a big batch of roasted veggies this week, enough to pack for three days of lunches.  Butternut squash and green beans (and broccoli that I burned the crap out of so only 1-3 stalks ended up in each lunch).  I stuck with the winning formula of veggies + a fruit + candy the whole week.

Monday.

DSC06987Veggies with smoked almonds and Sriracha mayo.  Plus tangerines and Chinese candy.

DSC06995DSC06990DSC06992Tuesday.

DSC07004Veggies with pistachios and champagne pear vinaigrette.  Plus mint m&m’s and an Autumn Glory apple (<– they taste like cinnamon!).

DSC07011DSC07006DSC07008Thursday.

DSC07065Veggies with smoked almonds and bbq sauce.  Plus gummies from Dylan’s and another cinnamon-y apple.

DSC07074DSC07066DSC07071On Wednesday, Adam and I went into the city for lunch at Serendipity3.

DSC07046DSC07042The Christmas decorations were out of control, it was gorgeous in there.

We shared a frrrozen hot chocolate that was delightful.

DSC07048I got my favorite sandwich for lunch, the Summer Bries – smoked turkey, sliced apples, melted brie and alfalfa sprouts, served on raisin pumpernickel with Russian dressing.

DSC07049Yum!  I shared about 50% of my sandwich with the husband, but it was ok because I stole some of his curry sauce to drizzle on my salad.

DSC07053Snacks

I don’t have any pictures because I haven’t been bringing my camera to work, but let me just tell you – I’ve been eating so much freaking junk on the train!  Like I said earlier, I am super hungry all afternoon, and I end up buying food the minute I escape the hospital.  It is a bad bad habit.

Strawberry Champagne Polar to make work on NYE feel a little more festive.

DSC07014Actual champagne.  We drank Moet & Chandon on our honeymoon and now it feels extra special.

DSC07085DSC07088Numi Chocolate Pu-erh Tea with honey.

DSC07018Plain Greek yogurt with blackberries and maple syrup.

DSC07083Seltzer and a candy cane.

DSC07038Gummi cola bottles (Adam bought me an array for our anniversary), eaten nightly this week while playing Sonic.  <– best thing ever

DSC07026Dessert hour with Adam at Cafe Dada.

DSC07056We split a diplomat pastry,

DSC07062and both had cafe cortados.

DSC07059They use Blue Bottle Coffee as their espresso and it is divine.

Dinners

I don’t have pictures from Monday and Wednesday and without them I honestly can’t remember what I ate those nights.  I ate a small serving of mac and cheese from Panera on NYE, but I’m sure I had something with it and I can’t remember what!  When I used to blog every day I didn’t realize how much the act of picture-taking helped to cement the meals in my brain.

An easy favorite.  Farro topped with smoked herring, sweet sesame seaweed, Sriracha, and a soft-boiled egg.

DSC07023Black eyed peas for the new year.  In a skillet I randomly tossed together – BEP, green pepper, plum tomato, green onion, turkey bacon, smoked paprika, green Tabasco, and plain Greek yogurt.  On top of jasmine rice.

DSC07094Leftover farro, stir-fried with peas.

DSC07108I know I didn’t give a ton of dinner description, but I starting realizing just how long this post is!

Don’t forget to enter my Eggland’s Best giveaway.

Weekend Wrap-Up; I’ve Been Married For Six Years!

Who else is excited for New Year’s Eve?  We don’t even do anything fun, but I’m looking forward to 2014.  Not that ’13 wasn’t good to me; our move went well and Adam and I both graduated and got good jobs.

And in the final weekend of 2013, I celebrated my 6th/11th year anniversary with Adam, and one of my best friends (from undergrad round I in Miami) came to visit me!

DSC06973She is a teacher in Florida and we do not get to see each other often enough.  We had a blast getting some time together in city this weekend.

When I wasn’t celebrating or giggling, here’s some of what I ate…

breakfast

Our favorite smoothie.  Frozen strawberries and chocolate peppermint soy milk.

DSC06931Whole Foods was having a sale and I was able to grab two final cartons of the soy milk before it disappears for the year.  Normally I’m a stickler for sticking to seasonal treats but this smoothie is so good it’s worth breaking the rules for.

Thai leftovers, cold from the container – aka the best way to eat them.  I added more (cold) rice after I took that picture.

DSC06936By the by, these were leftovers from Thursday night, not the Thai food I’m going to show you for Friday’s dinner.  Apparently I’ve been doing a lot of Thai!

A lazy Sunday breakfast.

DSC06949When Adam got home from his night shift, the three of us took a lovely family walk to the grocery stores for supplies and then we whipped up a great meal.

Eggnog french toast (on gingerbread swirl!) with maple syrup and blackberries.

DSC06955With turkey bacon.

DSC06959And cold brew coffee with a little skim milk and the last of the ‘nog.

DSC06953Cold brew is the best!  I think I finally found a recipe with a ratio that works for me.  {1 and 1/4 cups water and 1/4 cup grounds, soaked overnight then pressed}

lunch

Packed on Friday.

DSC06917TJ’s Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt with a packet of Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter, quite the tasty combination.

DSC06919Plus a little apple.

DSC06922I’ve been finding the tiniest apples this year.

On a fancy and romantic date with the husband.

DSC06941Ha!  Yes, that is Whole Food’s hot bar.  So not super fancy, but pricy at least.  And I think everything we do is romantic; I legit consider going grocery shopping with my husband a date!  Besides, hot bar is delicious.

DSC06944I got veggies, salad with salmon, and mac and cheese.

On Sunday we all met for lunch at PJ Clarke’s near Lincoln Square.  I *had* to order a Bloody Mary – “Sister Mary Walks Funny: Juice of Tomato, Huy Fong Sriracha, Worcestershire, Sea Salt, Blue Cheese Olives.”

DSC06969Sadly it was all tomato, with barely any spice or vodka, but the blue cheese olives were fantastic.

Adam and I split the fish and chips for lunch.

DSC06970So good!  The meat was almost creamy inside the breading.  And it came with a Shiner Bock remoulade that we both adored.  I want to go back for the lobster roll!

snacks

I was given lots of chocolate to eat my way through.  A honey almond praline chocolate from Adam.

DSC06935And a Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chip dark chocolate bar from my stocking.

DSC06947I loved the idea of this bar in theory, but the chocolate was just too dark to pair with the chips.  Such a shame because I’ve been head over heels for the other Wild Ophelia bars I’ve tried.  I think my flavor preference is shifting towards milk chocolate.

I’ve been trying to make a good Greek yogurt “cookie dough” for ages and now that I have almond flour in my kitchen I think I’m finally getting close.

DSC06965I really dislike chocolate chips though, and always end up eating around them.  I need to try to find some other kind of morsel chocolate.

My fizz idea has been a winner from day 1 though.

DSC06939This was a lemon dulce de leche popsicle in vanilla seltzer with a splash of lavender syrup.

dinner

Mee Thai in Park Slope with my friend and her sister.

DSC06933This restaurant was new to me (all of our favorite spots from when we lived in PS before have closed) but thankfully we all loved our meals.  My Pad See Ew with mock duck was nice and spicy.

Lazy Sunday dinner.

DSC06978We came home from the city soaked with rain and salad and sandwiches were all we could handle.

Romaine with champagne pear vinaigrette, chia seeds, and smoked almonds.

DSC06981Smoked turkey and light Jarlsberg sandwiches with dijon and Sriracha mayo, on gingerbread swirl cooked in a little butter.

DSC06984Nothing too fancy but it did the trick.

I’ll see you next year! {hardy, har, har}

Week Long Wrap-Up; But I Am Le Tired

In spite of actually getting enough sleep for the first time in ever, I was astonishingly tired this week.  Like too tired to play on my phone when I got in bed at night, which is huge for me.  Probably related to the astonishing amount of junk I ate this week, most of which I didn’t have the energy to photograph.  Or perhaps just living like a grown-up finally sinking in.  Nonetheless, when I thought about writing a “Weekly Wrap-Up” post on Thursday, I crawled into bed instead.  FYI – I did select the book winners and they’ve already been contacted.

le work eats

Some breakfasts and lunches shown here.  I did not do a great job of packing this week.  We had two free lunches in a row, but unfortunately neither offered a ton that I could/would eat.  And I tried to buy lunch in the cafeteria one day and it did not go well at all.  There were several days where I was cranky all afternoon and then snacking like crazy the minute I could get my hands on food.  Like the day I ate an entire bag of fruit gummis on the train…

DSC06613Leftover chana masala with tangerines.

DSC06557DSC06562DSC06560Lunch from our holiday party.  Salad, shrimp, and rigatoni.  With a side of present in our great gift exchange.  I didn’t snap any pictures, but my boss brought in Baked by Melissa for dessert and that was fun.

20131217_13460820131217_135956Jalopeño-cheddar cream cheese bagel with fresh pineapple.

DSC06589DSC06585DSC06586My coffee of choice this week was an iced Americano with extra espresso, skim milk, and four sugars.

DSC06601Yogurt, mango, and peppermint divinity that knocked my socks off.

DSC06626DSC06630DSC06628le work outfits

DSC06462DSC06566DSC06591DSC06602DSC06623DSC06632le dinners

I didn’t have it in me to cook and we ate too many meals out this week.  It would have been fine for the fun, except of course they were largely terrible.  Thankfully my desire to get in the kitchen seems to be renewed by my week of bad restaurant meals.  <– I say as I eat cheese and crackers and a beer for dinner

We went to a Cuban place in Park Slope as a belated birthday dinner for Adam.

DSC06567DSC06574I got a painkiller to drink, which wasn’t half bad.

DSC06572DSC06571But I misread the menu and ordered a chile relleno that was stuffed with calamari.  I don’t eat calamari.  The waiter was out-of-control terrible so we were not surprised when he didn’t comment on my plate going back to the kitchen mostly untouched (not that this mistake was their fault!).

DSC06577We made a dessert effort with flan and tres leches, aka flan and a kitchen sponge soaked in scm.  Yuck!

DSC06579At least we enjoyed our company immensely!  And the walk back to the car was gorgeous and we picked me up a jaloepeño cheddar bagel that was delicious.

DSC06582We tried again another night with a Groupon I bought for a Mexican spot in Roslyn.

DSC06614DSC06616We shared a truffle mushroom quesadilla that was perfect.

DSC06618And my 2nd go at chile relleno was much better, if still not great.

DSC06619Another night we stayed home but got Chipotle.

DSC06609I was irritated with the amount of guacamole she glopped on at first, but once I realized it was in fact $2 and not free I was glad that they didn’t skimp.

DSC06608I’d been having a love affair with their chicken but somehow this rice bowl just didn’t knock my socks off.

The best thing we ate all week was the night we stayed home.

DSC06595Leftover chana with onion relish and a big scoop of plain Greek yogurt.

DSC06599le snacks

A cookie to stay on theme while we watched “Frosty.”

DSC06635A lemonade milkshake.

DSC06642I used way too much lemon juice to vanilla ice cream and this was actually inedible, but it was fun in theory and an idea I plan on trying again in different proportions.

DSC06647A Buffalo chicken quesadilla (former freebie) from Red’s.

DSC06637DSC06640White chocolate peppermint frozen yogurt with cheesecake chips and snowcaps.

DSC06691We also tried the Scotchy Scotch Scotch (on top of chocolate peanut butter swirl) from Ben and Jerry’s.  I took a few bites and Adam swooned over the rest.  This flavor is definitely for butterscotch lovers.

DSC06690This Cider Boys Magic Apple, apple strawberry hard cider, was outstanding.  I want to try the cinnamon flavor like crazy.

DSC06694le weekend in the city

Yesterday we headed over to Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

DSC06649DSC06651DSC06656DSC06659I can not even tell you how gorgeous the city was this weekend; I squealed with delight every time we rounded a corner.  Also it was 65 degrees and I was in sandals!

We were in Manhattan because Au Bon Pain invited me in to try some of their new holiday menu.

DSC06670DSC06663Note – Au Bon Pain provided me coupons with which I could try the new menu free of charge.  I was not provided further compensation for writing this post.  All opinions are my own.

Here are the current ABP special menu additions –

Chicken, Mushroom and Swiss Sandwich– all natural chicken, spinach, Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms and tomato spread on a sprouted grain roll

Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake – holiday mini bundt coffee cake filled with cinnamon spice and topped with walnuts

Egg White and Mushroom Frittata Breakfast Sandwich – egg whites, sautéed mushrooms, spinach and cheddar on a sprouted grain roll

Gingerbread Cookie – A hand decorated cookie rich with molasses

Greek Vanilla Yogurt and Triple Berry Parfait

Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread – chocolate dipped shortbread sprinkled with peppermint topping

Pumpernickel Bagel – bold and distinctive flavor from rye flour and molasses

Thai Coconut Shrimp (gluten free) – a blend of petite shrimp, red peppers, carrots, bamboo shoots and lemongrass in a coconut and curry broth with a touch of spice

Adam and I shared so we could try three things.

DSC06668The Chicken, Mushroom, and Swiss Sandwich.

DSC06672DSC06675They were out of the rolls so ours was served on cibatta bread.  I thought this was good, but I’m not one to get too excited about a chicken sandwich.  Adam loved it.  He ate part of my half and even considered getting a second one.

The Thai Coconut Shrimp soup.

DSC06678DSC06679This one I liked more than the husband.  The flavor was full of lemongrass and not too spicy.  Very filling for only 170 calories in a medium bowl.

The Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread.

DSC06681We both loved dessert.  The shortbread was so thick that it was the main flavor instead of chocolate or peppermint, but thankfully it was quite a tasty shortbread.  Each cookie has 390 calories which I didn’t think was too bad considering how big they are.

It was dark after we finished eating and the lights were even better on the walk home.

DSC06683DSC06687I New York

P.S. Bonus points if you know what the title alludes to!

Some Things

Some things from the weekend.  Hope y’all had a good one too!

Something I drank –

A short non-fat chai latte from Starbucks.

DSC06337I was all about tea this weekend.

Something I wore –

To work on Friday.

DSC06326DSC06328My sheer black tank was a sale find at the Banana Republic outlet; I love it.

Something I ate –

Lunch at Whole Foods.

DSC06330Another chai, this time from Plan Tea.

DSC06333Alongside hot bar.

DSC06336An array of salads with a big scoop of mac and cheese.

Something YOU won –

Rachel won my coffee giveaway.

giveawayCongrats!

Weekly Wrap-Up; Thanksgiving

I hope all of my American readers had a great Thanksgiving! Among many other things, I am thankful for you guys. My holiday (and Wednesday) included –

Lots of Starbucks.

DSC06076

That was a Joy tea with skim milk, but not to worry, coffee was consumed both before and after.

On Wednesday we had lunch at a diner near the hotel.

DSC06077

My veggie frittata was giant. No one else has access to a fridge and the amount of leftovers Adam has accumulated is insane.

That night everyone came over to our place to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah {and drink Rumchata!}.

DSC06082

DSC06085

The dog was loved by all. My family always gives the best gifts…they are much cooler than I am! Including awesome pumpkin spice brittle that my cousin brought from Cville.

DSC06079

DSC06080

We had a great Italian meal that night but the lighting made pictures impossible.

You know I got photos of Turkey Day. Sort of. My dad’s Long Island cousin hosted us for an amazing meal. Appetizers.

DSC06090

My uncle Brian makes the best latkes ever.

DSC06093

I had a coke with single-barrel Cruzan from home and a caramel apple martini that was ridiculous good.

DSC06091

My dinner plate had cranberry, turkey with gravy, peas, green beans, and sweet potato casserole. For dessert I chose peanut butter smores bars that I brought and pecan and apple crumble pies. With Kaula whipped cream! I took pictures of all that, but have none to blog. ← blame the husband, who touches things that don’t belong to him.

What’s your favorite pie on Thanksgiving?

Weekly Wrap-Up; My First Cold Of The Season

Have you stayed healthy so far this flu season?  I’m finally on an upswing, but I spent the past week with a bad cold.  Achoo!

The husband gets (2) 2-week periods off this year and his first started last Friday evening.  We took advantage of the break and drove over to visit my sister-in-law’s family in Pennsylvania.  I spent our entire visit with the dog and/or my niece on my lap so I don’t have a single picture from Saturday.

On Friday, I had a large, late lunch at Whole Foods before we got in the car.

DSC05821A hot bar assortment.

DSC05822Clockwise from top left – green beans, gnocchi, broccoli, mac and cheese, big noodles, and Cesar salad.

For dessert, I surprised Adam with a bag of limited edition chocolate dipped wavy Lays.

DSC05817I had read negative reviews about them online, but we both loved them.  They had the perfect ratio of salty and sweet; the chocolate was only on one side of most chips so it wasn’t too overwhelming.  The bag said it contained five servings, but we didn’t find that to be true 😉

My youngest niece had the sniffles all weekend and I came back with them too.  Here’s what I ate before I realized just how sick I was – A Siggi’s 2% Pumpkin Spice Yogurt.

DSC05833DSC05837This flavor was great, definitely the best pumpkin yogurt I’ve tried so far.  Sometimes Siggi’s can be a bit sour/chalky but this flavor was nice and creamy.

A new kind of tofu.

DSC05840DSC05843We quartered our block of Soy Boy Caribbean pre-seasoned tofu and gave it a quick sear.

A comforting dinner.

DSC05854We shared a can of Bar Harbor Lobster Chowder.

DSC05857DSC05844With a (giant) side of beer bread.

DSC05861Cheddar Garlic Beer Bread(!!).

DSC05850So good.  That bread was my best idea yet, but I made it in a daze and now I can’t remember the proportion of ingredients.

When I woke up on Monday I realized I had more than the sniffles, I was sick, sick, sick.  This is where I tell you that I have not eaten a single fruit or vegetable since last Sunday.  In fact, Adam went out-of-town for a few days mid-week when I was at my sickest and I ended up eating cheese and crackers for five meals straight!  These TJ raisin and rosemary crisps were featured heavily.

DSC05876Very tasty, but I don’t think I’ll be eating cheese and crackers again soon.

Here are the things I ate last week that weren’t cheese, or at least weren’t 100% cheese (though I’m now realizing that I did stick exclusively with sandwiches and cookies) – A killer sandwich.

DSC05878A leftover slice of tofu with smoked Gouda and grape Crofters.

An even better sandwich.

DSC05884Applegate Farms honey maple turkey with cream cheese, smoked Gouda, grape Crofters, and banana peppers.

A take-out sandwich.

DSC05904Turkey burger with mozzarella.  I ate too many fries.

A mug cookie, jazzed up SCM and salted caramel sauce.

DSC05883It looks giant and fluffy like that because I double the recommended baking soda.

On the store-bought front, my mother-in-law sent us a cookie jar of Cheryl’s.

DSC05898Thanks, Barb!

Finally, I received two samples this week that were perfect for trying when I was under the weather.

Please note – I received the following products free of charge.  Neither company provided me with further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Numi Organic Tea sent me some Pu·erh Variety mini samplers.

DSC05890That includes Chocolate Pu·erh, Emperor’s Pu·erh, Jasmine Pu·erh, Basil Mint Pu·erh, Cardamom Pu·erh, and Ginger Pu·erh.

DSC05892So far I’ve tried the Emperor’s and Jasmine varieties and was a big fan.  I’m looking forward to the others a lot, though I will probably give the Ginger to Adam because that’s not my favorite flavor.  Chocolate didn’t appeal to me with my cold, but look at the yummy description – “With a rich velvety, chocolate aroma, Numi’s Chocolate Pu-erh is an enticing blend of deep, dark pu-erh and organic cocoa nibs.  Whole vanilla beans and sweet accents of orange peel enhance this blend along with nutmeg and cinnamon rounding off a spicy finish.

I also received a bottle of powdered wheat grass from Pines.

DSC05896I used to love the wheat grass shots at Jamba so I used them as inspiration and combined 1 tsp of wheat grass powder with 3 oz each orange juice and unsweet vanilla almond milk.

DSC05901So delicious!  Though next time I might shift the ratio a bit in favor of the oj; Jamba used a vanilla soy milk that brought more sweetness to the table than my almond milk.  If you are unfamiliar with the flavor of wheat grass and want to try it you definitely can’t go wrong with the vanilla and orange pairing.

How many times a year do you usually get sick?  Have you caught a cold yet this winter?

Weekly Wrap-Up; One A Day

I don’t have a ton to share this week; we ate pizza a lot (I don’t know how I don’t have a single photo of that?!) and I somehow ended up with only seven photos.  One for each day of the week!

One: Chipotle.

DSC05620Someone (ahem) ate all of the casserole my mother-in-law baked me so I had to get last-minute dinner takeout.  I hadn’t really eaten Chipotle before beyond the occasional stop in for a diet soda on a road trip, but lately I am all about their chicken.  Whatever they marinate their meat in is sooooo flavorful.

DSC05624Plus my rice bowl – chicken, rice, salsa, corn, roasted veggies, and cheese – was so giant that I was able to take a 1/3 out for the next day’s lunch and still have a huge dinner.

Two: Truffle sampler.

DSC05627Many rounds of this last week.

Three: Two part breakfast.

DSC05632I had a sliced honeycrisp,

DSC05634dipped in (melted) Vanilla Bean + Espresso Barney Butter.

DSC05638DSC05628I am in total love with the VBEBB; crunching through the coffee grounds is very texturally pleasing.  Though I will note that it is not sweet at all which always surprises me.

I finished up breakfast (and the espresso theme!) with Starbucks on errands.

DSC05640A giant one since I had a freebie on my card.  A non-fat caramel macchiato with two shots of gingerbread instead of the vanilla.

DSC05642New favorite drink.  Even the barista commented on what a good idea it was.

Four: Bread trio.

DSC05645End pieces of TJ’s Three Seed and Honey Bread topped with Smart Balance Light, grape Crofters, and pumpkin butter.

Five: Soup night.

DSC05654Pacific Vegetable Lentil & Roasted Red Pepper Soup.  <– Adam and I split the cartoon and both were impressed with it (and I don’t even like lentils)

DSC05657Soft pretzel stick with aged Havarti.

DSC05658And a Tusker to share.

DSC05660We’ve been hoarding that beer for months and it made the move with us from Buffalo.  Tusker has previously been in my top-three beers list but just like the pumpkin beers this seemed sour to me.  I guess I just haven’t been in a beer mood this fall.

Six: Cheese plate.

DSC05669More aged Havarti,

DSC05671with TJ’s Everything Crackers,

DSC05673and a nice pear.

DSC05675We’ve been all about the fruit and cheese this year.  The crackers were good, but a bit too strong on the carraway for me.

Seven {in Heaven}: ‘Mallow shake.

DSC05677Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla Honey Caramel Frozen Greek Yogurt with skim milk and tons of roasted marshmallows.

DSC05679I used too much milk and we ended up with frothy flavored milk instead of shakes, but the flavor was to die for.

P.S. I ate a bag of kettlecorn for breakfast while I wrote this post.  I need to get my life in order.