Thursday, Wednesday, it’s all the same

Even though I had today off of work, I still had to set my alarm because I had an appointment.  So I was up and at em with the roosters pigeons (?), which was kinda nice because I rarely get to see my K love in the AM.  He made a massive pot of java, which I had with minimal frills (I was lazy and didn’t feel like frothing).

Crossword & coffee makes E a happy hippie :)

Yesterday’s oats were so bomb.com that I decided to repeat the morning routine.  This time I went with nanner slices, cinnamon, almond milk, and stevia.

I debated straightening my hair for all of 4 minutes, and then decided the dermatologist wasn’t THAT special.  I mean, sure med school is hard and all…but don’t expect me to bow at your feet make myself presentable for you.

Random rant to follow, scroll away if you are only here for the food:

I don’t understand HOW medical offices get SO behind.  I mean, I work in the hospital, so I empathize with healthcare professionals (let’s face it, all patients aren’t as delightful as you would hope), but come ON…can you just pretend that you care about being punctual?  I always try to get the earliest appointments (less time to get behind), so I don’t even want to think of when the poor suckers with afternoon appointments get seen. 

So, this morning I got to the doctor’s office a bit earlier than my appt (9:15 am), and watched the clock tick tock tick tock for a full hour before they finally called my name (45 minutes after my 9:30 appointment)…I guess there are some things that will never change – one of them being the tedious snail’s pace that the delinquent clerks at the front desk are so set on keeping. 

I didn’t get out until 11, and since I was already in Union Square, I couldn’t help but do a little retail therapy (not that the news was bad, but I have some thinking to do)…

In case you didn’t know, 14th St/Union Square is packed with my fave stores….so which temptation did I give in to? 

Whole Foods?  Nope! – I know, I know!  [insert gasp here]

Lululemon?  Nope!

Barnes & Noble?  Yep :)

I could have perused the aisles for hours, but I managed to keep it to 30 minutes and $30.  Success!

I had this ‘lil bugger when I got home.  GNU Foods flavor & fiber Cinnamon Raisin bar.

Meh.  It was a bit smaller and more bland than my odwalla love…the super protein flavor odwalla bar is more sugar-y, but in a good way, not a HFCS way.

Pros: The “It works!” quote in the top corner of the wrapper ‘aint no lie (wink wink) – granted I had a heaping bowl of oats for brekkie, so I think I’ve hit my fiber max for the day (hahaha, yeah riiiiight, as if I have a fiber max)! Cons:  As I mentioned before, it’s a bit small (I prefer the extra kcals in the odwalla bar if it keeps my tummy satisfied longer).  Also, it’s not as sweet as I was hoping it would be.  But that’s just me :)  In the end, I don’t think I’d buy it again.

Gym time!

I was pretty lazy today, and my workout was lackluster at best. 

I zoned out to Paris Hilton’s BFF show and the Duel while sweating out on the elliptical…pretty sure my IQ is significantly lowered from such thought provoking entertainment.

I went hummus cuhhhraaaazay when I got home.

Falafel veggie burgers!  Seriously? Seriously!

I had a couple mini falafel balls with some petite carrots, apple slices, and a toasted english muffin – all submerged in some FABBY sabra love!

I just had to dive back in with more apples.  Luuurve me some sabra!

All gone (tear).

I accomplished some very super duper important tasks after my late lunch.  Cleaning.  Cooking.  Wedding church research.  I felt like quite the housewife. 

I had a multi-course dinner.  Not even the Queen of England eats this well!  Trust me, she would be way jealous if she knew the vegan yumminess she was missing out on.

Course 1: Home-made seitan cutlet with re-thawed “cheesy” cauliflower mash, topped in a mini-mogul of vegan parm.

 

Course 2: Steamed green beans with more “cheesy” cauliflower.

Course 3: Red bell pepper

Psych!  (not that it’s that abnormal to make a bell pepper into a meal)  But, I did make a reeeedik sized salad (with a whole lotta crunchy bell pepper).

I bought the (above) gorgy beast yesterday, but was trying to hold off since we still have half a green bell pepper in the fridge.  But isn’t it purrty?  How could I resist that cute little spiral tendril and the shiny red exterior…so I sliced and diced my way to salad bliss!

I told you!!  This salad is SO big you can’t even SEE that there’s a bell pepper buried in there.  I can’t even begin to recall the ingreds, just assume if you can buy it in the store, it’s in the salad.

By the by, I’ve been downing chickpeas like it’s my j-o-bizzle, forcing me to make them (from the dried beans) on a daily basis now…I just finished my first bag today!  Clearly I’m obsessed.  So much cheaper!!

I was about to pop after this nosh-fest…but eventually I found the room for a bowl of melon (dessert is a non-negotiable in my book). 

It looks small, but this is actually about two cups of fruit. 

Are you proud of me for going a whole DAY without Kombucha?!

Winter squash, winter weather

Hi Kids!  How are you all on this fine Monday!  I’m feeling pretty fab myself, despite the 50 degree weather.  I thought winter was over, but apparently not…

After yesterday’s late night grub sesh I thought I wouldn’t be very hungry until later in the morning, but I woke up with the same hankering appetite as usual. 

I guess that just goes to show you, when you listen to your body (even if it tells you it wants 4 Vita Muffins with peanut butter at 11 PM), you can’t do too much damage.  I’d also like to note, I never felt stuffed or uncomfortably full at any point last night, despite the fairly obscene quantity of dessert consumed.  I’m not sure if my metabolism was just in overdrive or what, but I had to give in.  Don’t we all have those days – when no matter how much we eat, we aren’t satisfied?  At least I hope I’m not alone…

Some days I eat a meal, and literally less than 30 minutes later, my  stomach is growling!  What?!  How is that possible?  Rather than deprive myself, I just chalk it up to my crazy metabolism (and then thank the Lord that it hasn’t stalled out on me yet).  I guess I should be pleased that I still have the ability to burn off my chow sessions with a little extra cardio.

But I digress…

Coffee up the YingYang.

I was buzzed out of my MIND after this cup.  What the heck did Kyle do to the coffee this morning?!  I was seriously having an out-of-body experience, I was so jacked up on caffeine. 

I immediately had to get something else in my tummy.

Some breakfast math.  1 vanilla Chobz + plum + honeydew + cantaloupe + watermelon = creamy fruit salad

Mmmm…

This was THE BEST breakfast I’ve had in a long time, and although it seems pretty basic, it rocked my world and got my morning off to a GREAT start.  Sometimes simplicity gets a bad rap.  In all honesty, these are pretty much the same ingredients I have in the AM every day, I just decided to mix them together today. 

Remember this old friend?  Yes, I went back to my favorite sandwich for lunch.  Smart deli “turkey” – how I missed you!  I don’t know why we were apart for so long, let’s never fight again.  Spinach and hummus also made their way between the Alvarado Street bread. 

I also snacked on a few dried pineapple rings before heading to the gym.  Unlike yesterday, today’s trip was one I was REALLY excited about. 

Stats:  elliptical (levels 10 – 11) – 15 minutes (warm up)

          treadmill (6.5 – 7, incline 3.5) – 30 minutes

          elliptical (levels 11 – 12) – 45 minutes

          arms/abs/thighs – 15 minutes

This felt AMAZING!  I left the gym on cloud nine. 

Since I work most of the rest of the week, I decided to make the most of my day off. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening in the kitchen…so be prepared for some delish eats in the next few days.

To start I made KABOCHA!!  I’ve been drooling over Maggie’s kabocha meals for a while now, so I just had to make some of my own.  Talk about perfect timing now that it’s the BSI!!

I baked it in the oven and it was EASY as pie.  Minimal fuss (nonstick spray and salt) works for me!

It was done in no time, so I sprinkled on a little vegan parm and dug in.  I think I might have a new favorite squash – Y.U.M.  It was so tender and tasty.  I could definitely see this being easily incorporated into several other recipes (quinoa, couscous, vegetable roasts, salads, etc.).  Thanks for introducing me Maggie!

I also steamed some cauliflower for another blogger inspired dish.

Vegan mashed “cheesy” cauliflower. 

After I steamed the cauliflower, I let it cool a bit, and then tossed it into the blender with some unsweetened soy milk, vegan parmesan, and salt.

I ate dinner on a TV tray since Kyle is away on business.  In addition to the bowl of the mashed cauliflower, I also had a veggie burger and steamed green beans (also with vegan parm).

Anyone even seen or tried this kind of veggie/vegan burger before?

It was a new purchase for me, but I figured it would be good since it’s made by Food For Life (and they certainly hit the jackpot with the Ezekiel products). 

I gotta be honest here.  It wasn’t my favorite burger. 

Pros:  It was filling and the nutritionals are stellar, plus they don’t cost as much as other brands.

Cons:  It was a little chewy with not much texture, and the flavor wasn’t anything I’d write home about.

Look at these beauts!!  Cucarachas stuffed with carob covered raisins will never go out of style :)

I also had a few more dried pineapple rings and papaya spears…while perusing the shown cookbook which was a gift from a co-worker.  I got some good ideas for (raw) Wednesday in it!

Ok, time to pack up my eats for tomorrow.  The catch some zzzz’s.

oil…from the gland of an otter

Apparently I have to choose between saving for a wedding, and keeping up with the food blog fads.  So, in the interest of staying engaged, I’m unable to juice for breakfast. 

No, not that kind of juice.  This kind.

So I settled for the poor man’s version (aka a smoothie). 

Into the blender went: 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup OJ, 3 oz POM, applesauce cup, frozen plain tofu cubes…

and the juice of 1 orange (hand squeezed).  Nice before and after, no?

The predominant color is the almond milk and plain tofu.  Good thing the POM brightened it up a bit, otherwise it may have looked a bit like Livy’s diaper.

I had to use the most massive thing I could find to put it in (there was just too much)!  My phone is there to show you just how big it actually was.  That’s what she said x2.

BTW, how appropriate is it that the hugest thing I could find was a beer stein from my UCLA days…gotta rep the alma mater (sorry Caroline).

This held me over for a LONG time.  Like, hours.

Eventually, I did need a little java to get me going.  Topped with froth and a dash of cinnamon.

I had a few treats to try out for lunch. 

Anyone ever heard of Za’atar before?  I hadn’t, but if you’re interested you can find out more here.  Basically, it’s a staple spice used in Arabic cuisine, and is believed to make the body and mind strong.  Plus, Sabra can do no wrong in my eyes, so it was a pretty safe “gamble.” 

 

I sliced up some (3!!) apples, popped open my can of Ocean Spring’s Harvest of Heaven Mixed Veggies snacks and dug in…

I practically inhaled this flavor of hummus!  Is it just me, or did Sabra just come out with a bunch of NEW flavors?  The other day at the store there were so many types I’d never seen before, and I had a seriously hard time not buying 5 tubs at once.  The size of our fridge was the only thing that held me back. 

That’s not even the normal 7 oz container, it’s a 14 oz tub!  Practically a VAT    …told you I inhaled it!

As for the Harvest of Heaven Veggie chips, they were decent. 

Pros: They weren’t as salty as I was expecting (47 mg per serving, 2% daily value), and didn’t taste greasy or leave my fingers all oily.  Plus, the nutritionals are pretty good (NO artificial preservatives, artificial flavors, MSG, wheat, gluten, nuts, corn, or added sugar).  There are a wide variety of vegetables, too, including sweet potato, taro, okra, yam, pumpkin, carrot, and green bean – all of which actually tasted like the actual vegetable, but in a chip form.  Not too shabby.  Plus they were thick enough to hold a LOT of hummus, and that’s the only thing that really matters, right?

Cons:  Some of these vegetables weren’t exactly meant to be chips, so the flavors weren’t amazing (ie taro).  Luckily I’m quick on my toes.  Easy solution – add a pound of hummus, and voila!  Any vehicle to get hummus to my mouth faster and easier works for me. 

In the end, I liked Ocean Spring’s Harvest of Heaven Mixed Fruit chips better, but these were still good, healthy alternatives to normal chips.

A bit later I had a Strawberry Chobz and a couple of dried pineapple rings.  Then, after my multi-course lunch, I headed to the gym (finally).

Stats: 60 min on the elliptical, 15 min on the bike, 15 min arms/abs on the mat

It felt great to finally be exercising again.  Woohoo!  Unfortunately, I’m working all weekend, so it’ll be a while ‘til I can get my cardio on again, which is why I made sure I had a solid sweat sesh.

I have no idea what I was doing the rest of the day, but next thing I knew my tummy was growling…dinner time!

I had to repeat my recent “cheesy” garlic bread because it was oh-so-tasty!  2 slices of toast + vegan buttah + vegan parm + garlic salt = Mmmm…

 

In order to even out the butter to substance ratio in my food, I enjoyed the toast alongside a veggie packed salad.  In this salad was half an avocado, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, broccoli slaw, cukes, and clover sprouts on a bed of spinach.  The other half of the avocado I ate on the side (plain with a dash heaping mountain of salt). 

I could live off of avocado alone.  Seriously. 

Anyone wanna move to Mexico with me and grow an avocado tree?  We wouldn’t need much with the nice weather and a life time supply of guacamole…

After Kyle got home and ate, I was getting a little stir crazy so we decided to go for a walk.  Perfect night for a PM stroll…

 

I had a bowl of berries (above) before we headed out…and carob covered raisins with medjool dates (below) after we got back.

Who missed my mega dried fruit desserts?  I did!  I did!!

Work tomorrow, so I’m off to hit the hay.  Happy weekend to the rest of you :)