Tag Archives: yam

Take Me Out To The Crowd

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We were lateto bed last night and now I’m late to blog.  An 8:00pm grocery trip required a stop at Starbucks for soy frappuccinos.

Starbucks only caries vanilla soy milk which is annoying at times, but did make drink taste like it was fancy and vanilla flavored.

I did eat dinner last night, but I didn’t blog because I was deep in Firefly Lane for tonight’s book club.  I had a great salad to start.

Romaine lettuce topped with ~ 2 Tbsp each buckwheat groats, peanuts, raisins, and Wegman’s Thai Peanut Sauce.

The Wegman’s peanut sauce was great.

Not quite as good as mine, but nicely flavored and with only 25 calories per Tbsp.

And the husband helped me out and roasted up plate of vegetables too.

Half a sweet potato and a bunch of okra, both dipped in ketchup.

And the book?

Finished.  Start to finish in one evening, all 479 pages of it.

I think I made a mistake reading The Help in one sitting because now my friends don’t get the book club books to me more than a day or two ahead of time!  But Firefly Lane was a story I’d want to read straight through anyway.

We had a late start this morning and basically slept through breakfast.  I did have this handful of pretzels when I got up though.

And we went straight-up fancy for lunch.  Roasted asparagus,

and three pieces of Ballpark Tofu.

Another recipe page that needed updating.  Check it out if you like tofu, mustard, pretzels, or any combination of the above.

I also made a pie.

But you’ll have to wait until after book club for the recipe.  I know I could have typed it up this afternoon, but when there’s a new Ryan Reynolds movie in town you get your butt to the theatre.  Particularly when Denzel Washington is going to be staring too.

“Safehouse” was not great, but definitely good.  And let’s be honest, I’d watch practically anything if it meant splitting Five Guys fries with Adam as a movie snack.

Definitely good.

Have you read Firefly Lane?  Did you see “Safehouse” yet?  Thoughts?

Day Of Work

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After two very (very, very, very) lazy days, it was time for a day of work. This Sunday was all about getting things done. I –

  • put away two loads of laundry
  • did some dishes
  • ran some errands
  • organized my school binder
  • made all of my note cards from last week’s notes
  • did a case study for clinical practice
  • made a delicious dinner

Breakfast was worth a thumbs up too.

I stirred a Liberte Coconut Yogurt into a big scoop of 1% large curd cottage cheese, topped with shredded sweetened coconut.

The coconut flavor was nice, but the resulting texture was mind-blowing. Too creamy for words.

In between errands and school work was lunch.

I picked up a grab bag-style to-go container from the Co-op.

A salad of yam, corn, and black beans; cilantro tofu; peanut tofu with lots of broccoli; and a little bit of vegan pasta salad.

We took Webster with us on our walking errands and his little sweater was so becoming!

He’s still not 100% down with snow, and shivers like a total wimp.  I tease him mercilessly, telling him that his ancestors in Germany only used to hunt badgers in a climate-controlled living room.

While we were out I found a new M&M variety – Dark Chocolate Mint!

Delish.  These had just the right level of chill to them.

Sometime between the lunch and dinner hours we had salads.

Romaine with chopped cucumbers and a dressing made of the remains of the yogurt Caesar shaken with evoo and cider vinegar.

Dinner was a real winner.

For 4 servings of creamy, cheesy, buttery, vegetarian yet protein-rich pasta, combine –

  • ~ 4 servings of small shape pasta, cooked
  • ~ 1.5 cups peas
  • 2 pint mushrooms sautéed with chopped green onion and 5 Tbsp butter
  • 4 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
  • 12 oz 0% Plain Fage

So much yum! I didn’t tell the husband that there was plain Greek yogurt (which he thinks he hates) in the pasta and I didn’t hear any complaints. I think pasta with peas and cheese might be our favorite dish.

I’ve got to get back to work; I’m going to hit with week with running start!

Which flavors of M&M’s have you gotten to try?  I think I’ve had them all – regular, peanut, almond, peanut butter, dark chocolate, pretzel, cinnamon, and coconut – the only flavor I missed with strawberry pb which I never found despite hours of searching!

I Spoke Too Soon

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My teeth may hurt, but not eating dinner just wasn’t going to fly.  I drove my friend home just after 8 and realized that not only was I hungry, I was probably going to cry if I didn’t get food immediately.  So to Wegman’s hot bar I went.

At least I stuck with soft things.  Cooked sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash, plus green beans almondine.

One of the veggies (potatoes, I think) had a thick, sweet sauce that leaked over everything and tied the whole plate together.  Yum.

Sweet potato, butternut squash, pumpkin, or carrots; what’s your favorite orange veggie?

Shoulda Known, Part II

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I should have known that the puppy would be a bad influence.

A sleeping Webster on the couch meant I read blogs until Adam came home instead of studying.

I should have known that the gym is always the best stress reliever.  I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical and all my test worries just slipped away.

I should have known to give Adam better instructions.

He didn’t have to go in until a bit later today so I left him instructions for putting dinner in the crock pot.  The recipe called for 3/4 cup of creamy peanut butter which we didn’t have.  We did have chunky peanut butter (which I thought he’d use) and honey peanut butter (which he actually used).  I gave him some serious grief this afternoon, but …

I should have known that the husband is always right.

The soup was delicious.  We made the African Peanut Stew from Make It Fast, Cook It Slow.  We skipped some of the spices, used honey pb, and only used half of the chicken the recipe called for.  It ended up being delicious.  Plus asparagus.

It was a good dinner.  And I even had dessert.

I should have known that I’d end up eating even more calories than I burned.

I’ve been eyeing these M&M blondies ever since the semester started and when I spotted one in the bookstore on the way home from the gym I just had to get it.

I should have known that “She’s Out of My League” would be funny and cute.  My ratios of watching to studying aren’t quite where I’d planned!

Goats In The Grass

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So that turtle sundae was about as amazing as an afternoon snack gets.  My finger scooped several more tastes of the coffee caramel throughout the afternoon!

Thankfully I was looking forward to dinner, in large part due to my most recent co-op discoveries.

First, a maple yogurt from Maple Hill Creamery, made with organic milk from 100% grass-fed cows.

I so wanted to love this.  This was my first time trying any dairy product sourced from 100% grass-fed cows.  To give you some short background info, grass-feed cows provide different nutrient content (via meat and milk) than their “traditionally” fed counterparts.  Eating polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as omega-3 and omega-6) is essential for a healthy diet, but the ratio of those PUFAs is important as well.  The typical Western diet has a greater ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s and does not fall within the healthy range of the 1:1 – 1:4 ratios.  Milk from grass-fed cows provides a healthier 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids.  Plus, Maple Hills Creamery is a NY company with great business practices that I’d love to support. 

However, I just didn’t enjoy this!  I want to try MHC again and I definitely want to try 100% grass-fed dairy again, but I just don’t enjoy flavored non-Greek yogurt that much.  The flavor of this was way to sour for me, no sweetness or maple flavor at all.

Once I realized that I couldn’t eat more than a bite of my yogurt – and more than a bite of 50% of my dinner calories – I ended up stealing from Adam’s packed lunches.

I know that doesn’t look very fancy but I promise it was good.  The husband threw chicken breast, carrots, and sweet potatoes into the crock pot and cooked until delicious.  Then topped the final dish with a healthy dose of A-1 Steak Sauce.

I ended up going back after a few bites for a dollop of sour cream to balance out the A-1, but overall I loved this.  The melded flavors of the sweet potato and chicken were amazing.

The second half of dinner was the real winner though.  Cue my new favorite salad.

A romaine base, topped with 1 Tbsp of Catalina dressing, craisins, groats, and goat cheese.

Can we talk about the goat cheese?  This was the co-op purchase that panned out.

A Double Cream Chevre from First Light Farm and Creamery.  A local business with sustainable business practices, and the producers of the best flipping goat cheese I’ve ever eaten!  I was dying eating my salad.

This was so creamy and rich!  Locals – buy some asap!

Fillo Me Up

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When Adam got home at 3 o’clock (two hours late, I might add) we realized that neither of us and had eaten all day and we were both starving.  Waiting for dinner wasn’t an option because of our stomachs, eating at home wasn’t at options because of our pantry, and grabbing food close by wasn’t an option because we’re growing tired of Elmwood take-out.  To the internets!

I found a Groupon for Mississippi Mudds that we could buy and use this afternoon so we headed out.

The food was cheap and sounded good so we were excited to try something new.

Adam and I got a spread to share and headed to the roof for a meal with a view.

Problem # 1 – The complete and total bee infestation at Mississippi Mudds scared us back inside in a matter of minutes.  Problem # 2 – The food was freaking bad.

I ordered the seafood salad sandwich.

I knew that there was a chance of the fake crab mix but this was basically egg salad!  I ate about 1/3 before giving up.  Plus, even with my small serving I was left completely nauseous which means I’m probably sensitive to one of the preservatives in the fake crab mixture.  <– yet another reason it’s better to eat whole foods

Adam and I also split the sweet potato fries with honey and butter (on the side).

I imagine it’s hard to produce a product that is both undercooked and burnt but they managed.  The fries were cold too, which was pretty much the final straw for us.  We’d give Mississippi Mudds a 1.5/10; the only positive was that we used a Groupon so we only had to pay 50%.

So in spite of our efforts to branch out, the bulk of lunch ended up coming from our old standby.  Wegman’s hot bar can basically do no wrong.  I got a broccoli mixture and a cauliflower mixture, plus some apple cider sweet and sour chicken.

Still cheap, but now healthy and delicious!

I have a less busy weekend with time for school work so I spent my afternoon watching tv instead of studying.  I’m typically not an emotional eater (I eat junk because it makes me happy, not because I’m sad) but I will admit that the full glass of Arnold Palmer the dog spilled on the couch did push me towards the this mint chocolate chip swirl cupcake.

I ate the top half of the cake with icing, because that’s the good part anyways.

The husband and I weren’t hungry again for dinner until pretty late in the evening so we wanted something quick.  Thank you HLS swag bag, for the mini fillo shells.

Our final meal was “Strawberry Fields” themed.

We baked the mini fillo shells with chunky peanut butter, diced strawberries, and a sprinkle of brown sugar.

I ate 6 (technically two servings for 90 calories total) and the pb&j feel was perfect.

On the side we had salads with leftover diced strawberries.

Also romaine lettuce, roasted buckwheat groats, crumbled blue cheese, and Newman’s Own Light Caesar Dressing.

Cheese plus fruit (particularly blue or goat cheese with any type of berry) is a combo that never fails.

Fellow HLS attendees; what did you do with your fillo shells?

Funfetti

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Sprinkles, sprinkles for everyone!

I spent my afternoon baking homemade funfetti cookies for Adam to bring to school tomorrow.  All I had to do was pour a bunch of sprinkles into this sugar cookie dough.  The end product was pretty and delicious.

I only ate one finished cookie, I kind of overdid it on dough.

Worth it.

I barely had time to pause from baking before I had to make dinner.

Open-faced chicken sandwiches with two kinds of “fries.”

Oven roasted green beans,

and Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries.

The sweet potato fries were a sample from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.

I liked the nutritional stats and ease with which they came together.  The taste and texture were pretty much identical to restaurant sweet potato fries.  Unfortunately, when you order sweet potato fries in a restaurant they are disappointingly mushy and these were no exception.  If you are someone who loves restaurant sweet potato fries then I highly recommend this product, but I’ll keep making mine from scratch.

My “sandwich” was just a slice of sourdough bread topped with pulled chicken.

Nothing fancy, but I did make the bbq sauce from scratch.

Pomegranate BBQ Sauce, makes 1.5 cups

  • 8 oz pomegranate juice (I used Blueberry POM Juice)
  • 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 5 Tbsp granulated sugar
  1. Pour juice into a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a rolling boil.  Cover and cook until liquid has reduced to 1/4 the original amount.
  2. Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir to combine.  Continue to simmer for 5-7 minutes until sauce has reduced and thickened.

Tired Travel

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Hello from Charlottesville!  The last 48 hours have been a total whirlwind, but a little sleep deprivation is definitely worth the family time. 

Yesterday afternoon we had to finish packing, and Adam had to shave, and we had to drop his car off, and the clock ticked ominously as it got later and later.  By the time we actually hit the road it was after 6pm and we knew it was going to be a long night.

We dinnered on sandwiches from home as we drove.

I assembled Nature’s Pride bread, Applegate Farms Organic Roasted Turkey slices, 2% Swiss cheese, and honey mustard; wrapped in tin foil for easy road munching.

Adam and I also split a Starbucks Double Shot drink.

Caffeine was a very good idea (and it continued to be good all today as well) since we pulled into my in-laws’ house at 4:30 in the morning!!  I’m not sure how we managed to be so chipper for our 9:30 wake up call, but I think that vacation excitement always overrules lack of sleep.  I can’t even tell you how crazy the drive was though, between the thunderstorms and the fog we were pretty sure we were driving through the apocalypse.

Breakfast called for carbs, protein, and bacon.  Half a bagel with strawberry cream cheese,

1 scrambled egg,

and 2 slices of turkey bacon.

Moving was not as bad as I was anticipating at all (it probably helped that I was responsible for packing up the pantry and not carrying the couch!), especially since my brother-in-law drove down to help as well.  At some point in the afternoon I was sent into town for packing supplies and Starbucks for my mother-in-law; I grabbed a grande iced nonfat latte for myself.

Lunch was one of those random simple meals that ended up being extra delicious.

This veggie pizza was something my MIL found in the freezer section and it was so dang good; she was worried that the crust started to burn but it was crispy and crunchy in the best possible way.

And this was the best (only?) watermelon I’ve tasted all summer.

The melon was supposed to be dessert but my MIL and I found ourselves stuck at Wendy’s while the moving truck was returned and Frostys were calling our names.  The new Caramel Apple Parfait looked too good not to try.

Oh my gosh guys, props to Wendy’s because this was delicious!  I only ate ~ 1/3 because I didn’t want to overdo it before dinner but I was seriously impressed.  The caramel had great mouth feel and the right balance of sweet and salty.

Adam and I stayed in town after the moving was done so we could have Fathers’ Day dinner at my FIL’s favorite restaurant.  Clearly it was a day of hot work because I drained my beer before it even occurred to me to snap a picture.

This might be the first time I’ve tried a Shock Top and I was surprised by how much I liked it, light and refreshing.

I also nibbled on a complimentary cheesy biscuit.

Think of the biscuits from Red Lobster, but better.

Sagebrush isn’t the type of restaurant that I typically love but my dinner ended up being amazing.

I ordered a side of the veggie medley (without butter)

and a side of sweet potato casserole

to go with my Mountain Trout.

Trout!  This was my first time trying trout and I think it might be my new favorite fish, it was so buttery.  The menu said flash grilled but I’m pretty sure this was fried.  I scraped off the skin but other than that I cleaned my plate.

After dinner we had another late, rainy drive.  I bought this huge (half-sweet) coffee for the road.

I hope the caffeine doesn’t keep me awake but traveling makes my stomach upset and I was hoping coffee would help me feel better.

Tomorrow we’re spending the day exploring Charlottesville and then driving to DC in the evening.  My best friend just texted to let me know that her apartment doesn’t have internet so my posting schedule might be a little off.

Can anyone recommend any “must go” spots in Charlottesville or DC?  Other than frozen yogurt we don’t have much on the agenda!