chaiwalla

Good morning from the west coast (aka the BEST coast)!!

I started the day off as any good day should begin, with caffeine in a fun mug. I kinda messed up the ratio of lactaid to coffee again (but sorta on purpose this time since it was so good yesterday). Btw, the combo of BOTH lactaid and vanilla silk soy milk is pretty amazing.

At about 11, I went on a walk around the Lafayette reservoir with my high school besties (plus the boyfriends). Since I have no car, Lauren picked me up and we met Elaine and her fiance, Dave at the reservoir for some "exercise" while catching up (the consensus was the loop is 3ish miles). It's so fun to see all the people with their dogs walking the res. Lauren brought her guide puppy in training, so we felt included in the scene :) See him in the pic below (lying obediently) in the bottom right corner. L-town is pretty fabulous.

After our walk, we went to lunch at Chow, which is a pretty popular spot in Lafayette. Casual, simple American food - nothing too outside the box, but standard is good.

The vegan options were pretty non-existent

Kyle and I split the bowl of organic fruit to start, which had grapefruit, kiwi, blueberries, and apples.

Then I had the organic lettuces salad, with veggies and lemon-shallot vinaigrette. The salad was good, mostly because of the dressing, since the salad in and of itself wasn't that thrilling. But, the bread on the side was soft and fresh and a great compliment to the salad.

Following that, I had a cup of the minestrone soup. The broth could have had a little more pizzaz, but I could tell the veggies in it were really fresh and those croutons on top were THE BEST! They were kinda toasted, but still soft enough to soak up the broth - yum! I only wish there had been more of those. They should make an entire dish of just soup soaked croutons (I'd buy it)! I used the bread on the side to soak up the soup, too, but it wasn't quite as good as the croutons. After lunch, Elaine drove me home, and I got ready to head into San Francisco. I couldn't believe how late it was! We didn't get home until nearly 3, and our movie in SF was supposed to start at 5:50! Eek. I put a load of laundry in, and then Kyle and I walked to the bank (exciting, no?).

Anyways, my sister works/lives in SF, and she was getting off work at 5:30 so we had a hot date planned that I was pretty excited about. Dinner (vegan restaurant) and a movie!

I was lagging in a BIG way, so after we got into the city, we stopped so I could re-caffeinate. Starbucks, thank god. We were kinda speed walking, so I'm amazed the pic even came out. Short coffee with soy milk = heaven.

OMG! Slumdog Millionaire was THE best movie of the year, like, by far. Hands down, amazing. We all totally loved it. My sister is a movie fanatic, so her opinion isn't too reliable (she bought Crossroads - enough said), but since me, Kyle, and my sister's friend all agreed with her, it's safe to say, universally, the movie was a huge hit!

After the movie we headed to dinner at Cha-Ya Japanese. Everything on the menu is vegan. I got the vegan roll (creative name, right?) which had spinach, atsuage tofu, cucumber, broccolini, pickled burdock, seasoned shiitake, kampyo gourd, and pickled ginger.

It was good, but the pieces were HUGE. I couldn't fit the roll in my mouth in one bite (I know this because I tried to the first time and it took a good 4 minutes to chew and swallow). I liked the fresh veggies in it, and the tofu was good (but could have a bit more flavor).

The other roll I got was the special, which was wrapped in lettuce (crazy?!) with tofu, brown rice, and other veggies inside. This one was my fave. The warmth of the inside stuff with the crunchy lettuce was cool! To be fair though, I pretty much love all sushi, and anything and everything tastes good with soy sauce.

After dinner, we said goodbye to my sis, and K and I walked back to BART and took the train back to Lafayette. I can't believe I leave tomorrow morning :( I'm so sad about how short the visit home was. I feel like the time just flew by! I miss my fam and friends...being so far away on the East coast sucks sometimes. Now I have to start mentally prepping myself for the below freezing weather...

ready to chew my arm off

1) I was starving ALL freakin' day long, why so hungry?? No idea.

2) My patients were making me craaaaaaaaazy!!


3) My subway train was stuck at the 50th street station (no express trains on weekends - BOO!!) because my car's door wouldn't close properly. It added an extra 30 minutes to my already horrible commute. Sweet. I was about to pass out because my stomach was eating itself.

ANYways...I was starving by 10 and I was out of odwalla bars (sad), so I stole some food from the extra hospital breakfast trays (even more sad). Not so hot. And yes, that is a Splenda (shh, don't tell).


Total is kinda blah without something sweet (good thing Lactaid is also pretty darn sugary). I also added in some raisins from my pre-packed lunch.

Mmmm.

Here's my lunch. Same old same old.

It stopped snowing by the afternoon, so I braved the cold and darted across the street for a Bruno's soup. I honestly, can't for the life of me, remember what kind of soup it was!! I always order the vegan option, so I guess I kinda zoned out when I got to the counter...either way, it was delish as Bruno's always is!!

Heart it.

Plus my yummy smart deli "turkey" sando (this time with an extra somethin' somethin'). Yup, I added hummus to break out of the mold. Watch out.


By the time I got off work, I was about to eat the first thing I could get my hands on...this is dangerous overeating/binging territory for me. So, I tried to go to Whole Foods with a semi-game plan and be mindful while shopping.

No such luck. The second my eyes landed on this, I knew it was all over.

WW tandoori naan! Could there be a more perfect carb? (Answer=no!)

I started slow, but let's be honest, there is no way I wasn't going to finish the whole thing. I was starving after all...below is 1/3 of a piece of naan.

(So multiply that by 12 and there's my carbo loading for the night) Yep, I finished the rest of the hummus AND all 4 massive naan pieces.

Last bite :(


And that was just the appetizer.

As if that weren't enough...I got a huge container full of 4 different types of tofu (baked plain, sweet and sour, bbq, and lemon pepper). I was f-u-l-l after a few bites, but for some reason I forged ahead.

Don't worry, I only managed to get through a quarter of the box (which is way deeper than it looks btw) before I called it quits.

Two cups of tea. So full. Bed time.

low expectations

Okay, so this is NOT the best approach to life. I hate starting the day with this kind of attitude, but I have to say...sometimes having low expectations leads to a surprisingly pleasant day. After the crapolla shift that was yesterday, I was really not thrilled to go to work today. I got no sleep last night, waking up 800 times, and I had massive bags under my eyes in the morning.

Here's the lunch I packed for myself last night. I bought a small coffee in the morning, but I felt so yuck, that I waited until I finished a liter of water before felt like I could drink it. I was def big time crampy. Ew. Explains my lovely mood.

A few different people commented on how crappy I looked. I have never understood why people ask/tell you either (1) you look tired or (2) you look like you didn't get too much sleep. Could this be anything other than insulting?

A co-worker even said to me today "what's wrong with you, you aren't your usual chipper self." Normally, this would be a semi-thoughtful observation, but this guy is the person who single-handedly made yesterday a living hell for me, so I was in NO mood to even answer him, for fear that I would lash out and start screaming that it was because of his lazy work ethic and apathetic patient care that I was forced to step up and take on the patient load of 2 people so that nobody died. UGH! Does he have any concern for his patients' lives? Ok, enough. Does PMSing count as an excuse for murder? (kidding!)

Anyways, I actually did have a good work day (thanks to my self preserving tactic of avoiding the aforementioned co-worker). A few of my fave nurses were there, and one of the cardiologists bought the unit a huge platter of Bruno's sandwiches (no veggie options, but still a nice gesture), and one of my patient's family members brought a big cookie basket. I had a decent patient load, and managed to get away for lunch at a normal time.

Smart deli "turkey" sando and my absolute favorite Bruno's veggie soup, white bean escarole.

Holy yum!
This soup is SOOO good.

The rest of the day was fine. Nothing too exciting. I again forced myself to drink 2 liters of water. I didn't have anything to snack on after lunch since I knew I was going out to dinner right after work.

For dinner, I met my girlies at Republic in Union Square. It is a noodle place (nothing too innovative) but it is in a great location and since it's been 2 months since the 3 of us have gotten together for our (previously) monthly dinner dates, it was a BLAST. I heart these girls, and we are practically like sisters since we have known each other since kindergarten. We know every single thing about each other, and amazingly we all ended up in NYC, so it's pretty great to see them. Since I had just gotten off work, I was in my scrubs, which was slightly embarrassing (this is the first time I went anywhere after work and didn't have a change of clothes). So, I was rocking the green ensemble as I ordered a glass of cabernet sauvignon. For dinner I got the "curry vegetable broth" which was tofu, rice noodles, snow peas, straw mushrooms, carrots, fried shallots, cabbage, and broccoli, in a red curry broth. When it arrived, it looked like a wok full of soup (meaning it was a huge bowl). The curry flavor was delish and every once in a while I caught a fleck of something super spicy and coughed a bit. The noodles were extra fine and very good, as were the veggies. The tofu was just kinda blah. Not seasoned very well, and I only remember about 4 chunks. Still I enjoyed it and was full at the end of the meal. I also downed about 4 glasses of water. It was such a blast, we talked forever, and I totally lost track of time...I didn't get home until nearly 11! I was so exhausted, I literally jumped into bed within minutes of getting home. Zzzzz.

beep beep

I felt like the f-ing road runner today. Actually, I felt more like the coyote, getting anvils dumped on me throughout the day :(
So today was a completely miserable day. Fortunately, writing this blog in hindsight helps me not vent to the extreme that I would have if I were writing it in the moment. Grrr...

Anyways, I packed this lunch the day before.

I had a Bruno's coffee first thing in the morning, as well as a huge bottle of water, then the odwalla Berries GoMega bar for my AM snack.

For lunch I had this Bruno's tomato veggie soup. Not too exciting as far as Bruno's soups go...but still well worth the $.

I also had my same sando: smart deli turkey, lettuce, chobani, mustard, on A street bread.

That held me over until I got off work. But then I headed to Whole Foods, and got this gem, that I couldn't even wait til I got home to open. Vegan chocolate pudding (this is what I want heaven to be like)! I'm on the subway platform in this photo :)

I had a few bites on the train, but then I put it away so I didn't ruin my appetite for dinner. Plus, this pudding is SOOO thick. It reminds me of Betty Crocker's tubs of frosting (which I used to eat with a spoon in my younger years)...it is extremely rich and chocolate-y.

For din-din I polished off 2 rolls of veggie sushi, with texturized protein, carrots, cabbage, and brown rice. I drizzled soy sauce all over it, too. Love me some salt :)

And then back to the pudding. Since I am HORRIBLE when it comes to moderation, you KNOW this must be decadent, since every bite could have fit in a thimble and I had to down a glass of milk between each one.

Look and the fun shapes I was making with my spork (spoon-fork)!

Heavenly. No other word to describe it (I may be entering PMS-ville, btw). TMI? Either way, it explains a lot.

I was feeling a little sick at this point, so I decided to save the last few bites for tomorrow...but first, I wanted to show how cute this little spork is :)

Folded up in it's slot (above) & open and ready for some grubbing (below).

Cool, no?

More milk...

and (a few) dates - I can't help it!!

Date montage.

Awesome Blossom

Good (hungover) morning! Thank god I pounded water before I went to bed last night and then slept in today, because after last night's festivities, I needed sleep and hydration big time. I had SO much fun at the work holiday party. Drinking and dancing with the whole cardiac surgery team in a fun (non hospital) environment was a complete blast. The biggest shocker, though, is how SORE I am today! I danced for maybe half and hour, but since I was in heels, I guess I was using different muscles? My quads are aching. I can't stretch enough. Who knew in addition to fine wine and fine dining, I'd be getting in a work out! The DJ played most of my requests, so I was in heaven :)
Anyways, I started off the day with a mug of Starbucks' holiday blend coffee with ff skim plus (we're out of soymilk).

I had a few cups, and wasn't really hungry until later in the afternoon. Looks like I'm back to my normal meal times now that I'm officially over the cold. So, for my late lunch I made myself a new type of sammie (I was in a creative mood). I mixed approx 3 oz. of "chicken" Smart Strips with brocc slaw, veganaise, ff chobani, and curry powder.

Then I heaped it all onto a slice of Alvarado Street (CA style) bread...

It was too big to eat open face, though...so I added another piece of bread on top.

Pic of sandwich doing the splits below.

Yummmm...note to self: curry "chicken" salad sandwich is a repeat, fo sho.

I needed a little sugar pick me up before I headed off to the gym, so I had a big (organic) gala apple.

Summary of my gym visit in three words: ouch, stretch, ouch. My quads were in pain! I was planning on kicking my butt today, too. Clearly, I accomplished no such mission. I managed to stay on the elliptical for 60 minutes, alternating between levels 10 and 11, but I was in agony the entire time. At least I had some good football on tv to distract me :) Favre and the JETS made quite the last minute comeback.

After the gym, Kyle and I headed out for errands and stuff. I hit up Starbucks while we were out for a coffee. I added fake sugar (when will Sbucks get on the Stevia bandwagon, stupid FDA) and vanilla silk soy milk. I'm not sure how long we were out, but by the time we made it back home, we were both starving.

We had a dinner date planned for the evening, which I was VERY VERY excited about. I have been looking forward to going to Blossom Cafe since it opened! This is the sister restaurant to the original Blossom in Chelsea, and is jsut around the corner from us on the Upper West. It is one of the more popular vegan restaurants in NYC, so naturally I had to try it out.

I started with the soup of the day, which was a sweet potato, ginger, coconut milk soup. HOLY YUM! This $h#% is bananas!!! Really thick, really favorful, and really good.

I was savoring every bite, and was about 2/3 into it, when my entree arrived. I initially ordered the porcini crusted tofu, but they were all out, so I instead order the Seitan Scallopini. I am so glad I was forced to order this instead of the tofu. I always get tofu, and I really am glad I branched out.

Pan seared seitan cutlets in a white wine lemon caper sauce served with mashed potatoes and sauteed greens. OMG. This meal was so f-ing good. I. heart. good. food. I'm officially in love with Blossom after this meal. The pic doesn't even do the size of the dish justice. I have never had seitan in any other form than shredded pieces, so this was new, and quite delish. Also I was so happy to finally have mashed potatoes on my plate that I could actually eat without fearing the revenge of the butter/milk/dairy the following day!! Vegan dining is the way to go! Words just don't describe how good this meal was (definitely just cracked into my top 5 fave restaurants of all time - and that is a serious accomplishment with my fine dining experience)!! Kyle and I left the restaurant stuffed to the bone. I wanted to finish my soup, so I couldn't even finish all the seitan (so of COURSE I had them make me a take-away bag of the rest of the meal). Leftovers :)