Homeward bound

I got a car at 4 am to Newark airport.  Nothing like being awake when it’s still pitch black out.  Btw, my ride to the airport cost $87!!!  Normally, I’m a public transportation girl all the way, but I called a car the night before (since it was so early and I wasn’t about to try to hail a cab to take me to New Jersey at the godly hour I was awake)…they could pave the road in gold charging fees like that!!  I’m still in shock.

I brought these Raw Revolution samples on the flight with me.

I only had the chocolate coconut, and in a word, meh.  I’ll do proper product reviews later, though.

These were my other plane snacks, although I only ate the apple.  Lately I’ve been really scared of flying, which has never been an issue for me before.  And all the latest news about New York’s airports doesn’t help…anyways, I arrived home safe and sound.

My parents are stocked with TJ products, so I was a happy girl :)

 

I couldn’t fight the urge, so I made a classic fave.

HLT (hummus, lettuce, tomato) with an apple on the side

 

Mid-bite there is a knock on the door and a flower delivery guy presents this!  Absence makes the heart grow fonder?  True dat!

Is my boyfriend the SWEETEST or what?  He sent me this monster bouquet here at my parents house just because he missed me (since he’s returned from China he’s been pulling some super late nights in the office).  Don’t be jealous, girls, he’s mine.

Shopping time!  Living in Manhattan makes me miss the dumbest things.  Just driving in a car was so nice.  We spent some serious time at the mall buying gifts for birthdays, bridal showers, and bachelorette parties (oh my).  I didn’t get anything for myself because I’m on a budget.  Ok, that’s a lie, I got a coffee at Starbeezies, and a package of vital wheat gluten at a health foods store on the way home (can’t find it in NYC anywhere). 

PM snack: Oikos vanilla geek yog with POM seeds sprinkled on top

I’m going to have to disagree with Caitlin on this one…I was not a fan!  The consistency of the yogurt was the only good part (it was nice and thick).  But I didn’t like the vanilla flavor at all.  I definitely prefer Chobz’ fruit flavors.  I know you hear me K?!  I think vanilla should be left to regular yogurt, not Greek yogurt.  Too bad because I really like Stonyfield’s o’soy yogurt, especially the vanilla.  Oh well, can’t win ‘em all…

I snuck in a mini run to my elementary school before getting to work on dinner.  I was so exhausted though, so it’s hardly worth mentioning. 

For dinner I had stir fry with MorningStar’s chik’n meal starters (my parents had chicken) and white rice (gasp!) because my parents were out of brown rice.  Veggies included: eggplant, zucch, yellow squash, onion, edamame, brocc, orange bell pepps, ‘shrooms, snow peas, water sprouts, and fresh ginger I feel like I’m forgetting some, but whatever).  I love fresh veggies!

We all shared a bottle of red, too.

I had another plate for “dessert” later in the evening (while watching Sense & Sensibility).  I know what you’re thinking…I didn’t have carob raisins!!!  I did miss them (tear)…but life goes on (I’ve heard).

This morning I made a strong ass brew of coffee to get the day going right…you know how I like it.

Someone stole my seat while I was making the coffee…

She moved once she discovered I had no problems sitting on her…

And then lounged in the sun while I did the crossword (slash got a nice caffeine buzz going).

I had an early lunch since the day was looking like it was going to get busy…

I threw some spinach and MorningStar chik’n starters in the skillet…

Toasted and hummus-ed the bread (end piece!)…

Now that’s a sando!

 

TJs spiced chai tea + an apple…

And I’m off to do errands before the bridal/bachelorette weekend officially begins! 

I love coming home!  CA, sunshine, fam/friends, it’s all good!

have patients

Nope.  Not a typo.  I had QUITE a demanding patient load today at work.  Talk about a shock back into reality.  I’ve been off for about a week now, so I knew it was going to be an abrupt change from the lackadaisical days I’ve been having (lounging around the warm apartment without a hint of an agenda).

Anyways, today’s eats were as thrilling as ever.  Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m laying on the sarcasm pretty thick. 

Starbucks soy misto to get the day going.

Odwalla bar when I couldn’t ignore the growling in my stomach any longer.

Sammie with Alvarado Street bread, hummus, greek yog, bell pepps, and Smart deli “turkey” meat.

Figs and dried pineapple.

Round 2 and 3 in the Starbucks department.

Apple in the PM.

And HOME at last…I actually had a bit of energy when I got home, so I decided to whip up a stir fry. 

Seitan is not the devil, kids.

This literally took 15 minutes (even less for the “eggs”).

This was one of 2 plates piled to the very edges.

That’s also half a tomato sliced on top.  The seitan chunks were HUGE and sooooo flavorful!!  I really heart seitan.  It’s the easiest non-meat protein to cook with BY FAR.  You literally can’t mess it up, and it’s so healthy.  Mmmmm…

Anyways, no new Gossip Girl :(

So I pretty much crashed right after dessert.

:)  Figs, papaya, pineapple, oh my!!

BEST.WEBSITE.EVER.  Create your OWN cereal!!

"hey la my boyfriend's back!"

I woke up bright and early and decided to play with my new camera. Here's some shots of the backyard...

I love the sun beams coming through the trees behind the creek. I definitely miss having a yard (and space in general) in Manhattan, so it's nice to go home and enjoy nature.

(Unpictured to the left) is the tire swing and the 2 bird feeders. The birds were ALL OVER them the entire time I was home...even the squirrels were having at it when the birds were away. It was pretty amusing watching them try to shimmy down the wire to balance while hanging from the feeder, too.

Back inside I got a nice frothy mug of coffee, although it was practically a latte since I messed up the ratio of coffee to "milk" (half lactaid, half silk plain soy milk)...I think I'll need more caffeine later because this was tasty, but not the kick in the pants that I'm used to.

I was QUITE productive after the coffee...I dragged my sister off the couch (I gave her Twilight for x-mas and since then she and the book have been inseparable) and we headed out for some sissie bonding.

She was a sweetie and drove me to the DMV so I could get my CA driver's license replaced (since my wallet got stolen in Europe last month). Stupid california makes you go IN PERSON to get a new ID card (lame)...but fortunately we went early enough that the line wasn't too bad, and I had all the forms ready, so we were in and out in 30 mins. The down side was I had to take a new photo, which I was NOT prepared for...I'm a little nervous to see how it comes out since I thought they had taken the photo and started walking away, only to then have a flash go off mid-stride...hmmm. Never a good sign. Anyways, after the DMV we went and got mani/pedis. SO much cheaper than in NYC! Love it. Then we headed home for lunch.

I decided on a soup and sando combo (shocking I know).

Alfaro's Cafe and Bakery is in Santa Cruz, and their bread is pretty amazing. I've heard good things about their sun dried tomato loaf before, so I was excited to try the 6 grain. There was even an end piece left for me :) SO thick and hearty with lots of seeds and grains that gave it a great flavor and texture.

I decided on an open faced grilled "cheese" with the cheddar veggie shreds.

Isn't this snowman plate the cutest? As for my product review, the veggie cheese melted just like normal cheese and it totally tasted like normal cheese!! Granted it's been years since I've had real cheese, but still...def a product I'll get again.

I also had a can of TJ brand organic (vegan) split pea soup. It was pretty good, but it also tasted healthy. It didn't have that sodium loaded (progresso) canned soup taste, but it was no Bruno's soup. I'm spoiled!

I topped it off with some cheddar veggie shreds :)

I was in the mood for something warn after, so I made a mug of TJ Spiced Chai Tea.

This was WAY flavorful! My parents are so lucky to have a Trader Joe's so close to them. Manhattan only has one so the line is always out of control!!

I'm trying to use only x-mas mugs while I'm home. I'm pretty envious of my parents' coffee mug collection...can't wait to have an apartment with space.

A little bit later I worked up the energy to get a run in. Gotta take advantage of the warm(er) outside weather while I have it, right? I did a different loop than my last run since (1) I had time and (2) it was the afternoon so I didn't have to worry about the darkness. It was a GREAT run. I felt so invigorated throughout the entire thing and I was really sweating. It was between 4 and 5 miles - def felt like it was a good work out.

After I showered, I headed to the store for dinner ingreds...I also picked up an apple to snack on before I got things going in the kitchen.

My sister feeding the kitty cat. Think she's hungry?

Notice the apple sticker I put on her back - hehe.

The wine was flowing as I got dinner under way...Cucao Chardonnay. Nice and light. Then Kyle arrived!!! Hooray! Now the holidays are perfect :)

On the menu was stir fry, brown rice and (chicken for the fam) and baked tofu for me.

In the stir fry: snow peas, brocc, red and orange peppers, water chestnuts, edamame, mushrooms, and sprouts (all organic and fresh). I sauteed them in sesame oil and water.

Here's the baked tofu (I was lazy so I bought it already seasoned). I've never seen or heard of this brand before, I love going to new markets and discovering all these new products! It was honey sesame flavored and was GREAT! Not too strong and not overly salty like some prepackaged seasoned tofu can be. I'm going to have to find this in NYC.

My plate. YUM!

Here's my mom's plate (the chicken one)

Here's me and K in front of the tree :)

Whew, what a long day. Gotta get some zzzz's.

flat screen, flat abs, flat food?

The weekend started off productive.

#1 - I cleaned out my closet to donate bags of unworn (and no longer fitting) clothes for the salvation army
#2 - Kyle and I finally bit the bullet and bought a 32 inch flat screen HDTV (sweeeeeet!)
#3 - I did some cooking (and tried a new recipe)
#4 - I dragged Kyle with me to the gym

So, Kyle was with his student at Minds Matter in the AM, allowing me to leisurely sip 2 cups of coffee while doing the crossword...until 3 pm! (btw my coffee was starbucks' blend with ff vanilla creamer, ff lactaid, and stevia sweetener)

I was so caught up doing errands around the apartment, by the time I realized how late it was, Kyle was on his way home. So, I asked him to pick me up something on the way home...

This is a VENTI - obsession much? Here is when you know you have a problem, when you are SO hungry and yet, nothing sounds appetizing EXCEPT a soy latte. Good thing I have a loving boyfriend who enables my habit :)

While we were out at Circuit City I needed food so I popped across the street to Zabar's for some snacks. Kyle and I were both having incurably hypoglycemic days, like bottomless pits!

After cabbing it home with our new baby (a Toshiba 32" LCD HDTV) it was gym time. Kyle begrudgingly agreed to go with me. Actually, I think we were both less than thrilled at the thought of exercising...either way, I made it there. Too bad my work out sucked. I was dead tired and devoid of energy (probably because I hadn't eaten enough) so I hit the road. No joke. How unlike me is that!? I didn't even really stretch. I literally hit a wall on the treadmill and subsequently got off and walked home. On the way I stopped for sugar (a healthy natural source of sugar).

Fresh juicy melon! Honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon, oh my.

This was just what I needed. I don't know why it took me all day to figure it out?

Anyways, for dinner I decided to get my chef on. Attempt 2 at baking tofu:

I started with Nasoya Lite Firm tofu (check out that fat slab below). First, I pressed it several times to get it as dry as possible.

Then, I sliced it into 7 flat slabs (approx 1 cm wide) to cook faster and added salt and extra virgin olive oil so it would brown nicely in the oven.

(before)

(after)

The tofu came out great. I am so happy with my success, considering my past record with baking tofu. Plus, it is way cheaper to marinade it on my own, and also healthier. It tasted great, not too soft, not too hard. It was flavorful and just the way I like it with browned crispy edges.

Once the tofu was done I stir fried some veggies (edamame, baby corn, carrots, pea pods, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots) with teriyaki sauce.

I snuck a few bites before the tofu made it's way to the veggies...

But when they finally did meet, they made a delish dinner!

Look at the zoomed in view of the teriyaki tofu and veggie stir fry (mmm...).

Post dinner we watched football and I snacked on a bag of salty dried edamame. Why won't my hunger go away?

"The problem is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel." -Obama