Tuesday, September 29, 2009

peppers and peaches, please!

It's starting to feel like falllll. Weather's been crisp and windy, with a light touch of autumn rain. I love this season but I really could do without the showers.

I also really love bell peppers!!! They go great with everything and have such a lightly sweet, crisp, and refreshing taste and texture all by themselves. They're also really beautiful and my shallow mind just goes gaga over their shininess.

Mmm, yellow foods. Sigh, so pretty.

This was one of the most photogenic peppers I have ever eaten!

It went great with hummus :9

I also hit up the weekly farmer's market today. Didn't bring my camera unfortunately but there was oodles of colorful fresh produce, cheese, honeys and jams, baked goods, all from local growers and artisans. I was tempted to buy a lot of stuff, especially when I saw these huge bundles of fresh mushrooms but I wouldn't really know what to do with them...

Need to find microwaveable mushroom recipes ASAP.

I was excited to see the Whole Earth Center had a stand. I was sad that they didn't bring any of their vegan coconut orbs so I opted for this scrumptious looking soup instead.

Chock full of the healthy stuff.

And it certainly did not disappoint!!! Tasted FANTASTIC.

All the fruit stands were so hard to resist. I can get free fruit from the dining halls, but I just couldn't help myself.

Five blurry beautiful white peaches.

Can't wait to munch on this.

I also received in the mail a huge multipack of Erewhon's Organic Instand Oatmeal that I had ordered from Amazon a while ago. MMMMM nothing like enough oatmeal goodness to last the winter.

What can I say, I'm an addict!

Aaand it's finally cool enough to whip out the sizzling John Varvatos trench coat that my favorite man bought me <3.

No messy haired sleep-deprived face for you.

Friday, September 25, 2009

microwave livin'

Hurhur, I'm so bad at this blogging thing. That, and my quick-n-dirty meals during school days just don't seem very picture-worthy.

For those of you who are wondering what exactly I eat on a day to day basis, well, it's basically a haphazard jumble of what I have around. Of course, I do try to balance my meals as much as possible, fitting in ample servings of fruit and veggies, proteins, and grains. The way I eat during the day is kind of a continual series of snacks; I don't really have formal meals but rather just grab and put together something if I feel hungry.

Some of the stuff I eat:
-salads or fresh veggies with hummus or salsa
-microwaving frozen vegetables
-veggie burger sandwiches
-pb (well, almond butter) & j sandwiches
-crackers with cheese or some other sort of spread
-eggs (i microwave them) topped with ketchup or salsa
-yogurt (somes with cereal or fruit mixed in)
-fruit
-nuts

I keep it simple and healthy. There's plenty of stuff that I can eat and enjoy that involves minimal prep and maximum nutritional benefits. Fruits and nuts are grab n go, whole wheat and grain crackers and cereals are great sources of carbs, pre-washed salad mixes and frozen veggies are easy enough to put in a bowl and serve. I'm lazy, what can I say.

The combinations are endless. Veggie burger on wheat cracker topped with mushroom nut pate. Flavor party!

Of course, living out of a fridge and microwave gets tiring sometimes, so I go out to eat maybe once a week or so. Last week, we hit up one of my fave spots, Nassau Sushiiiii. Mmmm.


Hwe dup bap (diced raw fish and tons of veggies and seaweed on a bed of rice with spicy sauce), small kimchi and vegetable sides, and miso soup. So freaking amazing.

Bibimbap: egg, chicken and veggies over rice in a hot sizzling stone pot with spicey sauce.

Love how they're so generous with the veggies. Hummm <3.

Today, I went grocery shopping. My supplies have been dwindling, made up for occasionally by filching apples and bananas from the dining hall. I kinda got a hang of what works and what doesn't now.


Today's damage: Mountain Rise organic vegan granola, Amy's fire roasted salsa, dried apricots, Gardenburger Veggie Medley patties, Amy's Texas style veggie burgers, lots of frozen vegetables: broccoli, edamame, mixed vegs, yellow and red bell peppers, Fage greek yogurt, organic spinach and greens mix, organic baby carrots, goat milk yogurt (to try out), hemp milk, and almond milk.

I also bought two grapefruits (I looooove grapefruits), a half pound of hummus from Olives, and some Tupperware so I can make my dining hall thievery more efficient. I held off from buying more Puffins cereal because, although I finished pretty much the two BOXES I bought last time, they are too addictive and dangerous to be kept around on a regular basis. But for those of you who do not know the wonders of peanut butter Puffins, EDUCATE YOURSELF.

Yesterday, I also ordered a humongous box of instant organic oatmeal from Amazon. Eating oatmeal for breakfast really does wonders in getting me through my morning classes.

In other news, I love my three day weekends and the weather has been gorgeous. Ladeeedaaa~




Saturday, September 19, 2009

mini post of goodies

Short post for now, life's been freaking CRAZY. In a lot of ways, most of which are not academic ;).

Anyway, on a whim yesterday I trekked to the local health foods store, called the Whole Earth Center, which was basically heaven on earth. They had tons of organic local produce, food, bulk grains, nuts, a deli, bakery, etc. etc. Most of it was pretty overpriced but I picked up some deli goodies that looked particularly unique and yummy.

The goods: pepper and eggplant spread, mushroom nut pate, apricot orange rice pudding, and vegan coconut orbs. There was also an unpictured bag of mixed nuts.

Eggplant spread on cracker. This stuff is DELICIOUS; I started eating it straight out of the container with a spoon...

Mushroom nut pate on a cracker. Interesting flavor, subtle mushroomy nuttiness...

THESE ARE LITTLE BITES OF BLISS. Chewy soft nutty, datey, almond buttery outside with chocolate chips on the inside. YUMYUMYUM.


I've been eating out a lot and forgetting my camera. Durrrrr, I need to get better at this thing...

Monday, September 14, 2009

campus chaos

It's been crazy and lazy here on campus. Just moved back in a couple days ago and life has been a rapidly shifting pattern of business and boredom. Finally, I have the time and motivation to sit down and give a quick update of my going ons.

One of my first meals upon arriving was at my beloved and sorely missed Olives Deli! This fabulous little Greek deli is absolutely diviiiine, I'm so in love with everything in this place. Especially their hummus....oh yes I would to live in a hummusphere of Olives hummus. But lo and behold, I did not get their hummus on my first visit of the year there. No, trying to stave that crave for as long as possible...because once it starts...it will never end.


Instead, I got this beauty. Egg whites, avocado, and tomato (with pepper and ketchup) on a soft warm multigrain pita. SOOOOO GOOOOOOD.

My bf got hummus on pita, and of course I had to take a lot of sneaky bites of that. Mmmmm, looove.

Yesterday, my fridge was delivered!! So right afterwards, I embarked on my first epic grocery trip to Wegman's to stock up on all sorts of goodies. Here's the damage.

Two boxes of Puffins, Mary's crackers, two boxes of oatmeal, soy sauce, spelt crackers, ketchup.

Yogurt, salad greens, organic Gala apples, organic eggs (I was a klutz and broke two of them already...), nectarines, red bell peppers, grapes.

Freezer food: Amy's cheese enchiladas, Quorn cutlets (I'm excited to try these), Amy's veg burger patties, Ezekiel bread, frozen broccoli.

White goat cheddar, milk for the bf, and almond milk for meee :)

There was also an unpictured 2 lb jar of cashews.

Right after we got back, I basically opened every package and took a little sample of everything. Heehee! Peanut butter Puffins are SOOO GOOD. Nomnomnom.

Oh oh, and my good friend Alyce got me this beautiful book as a belated bday present. Sooo sweet :)


Everything in it looks so scrumptious. Plus, it's also filled with great nutritional information about vitamins and how to eat balanced meals, etc etc. And of course, lots of foodporny photos for me to drool over. Can't wait to try some of this stuff out.

These first weeks are gonna be hectic and sporadic but hopefully as the year settles down, I'll be able to get this eating and blogging thing down. See ya!


Thursday, September 10, 2009

birthday swank and (more) bananas

Yesterday, 090909, happened to be Lil's birthday so of course we went to celebrate in style! Despite being more than a little sick, the birthday girl suggested we go to the gorgeous Redwood Restaurant in downtown Bethesda. This restaurant is visually STUNNING. Nothing I write or post here can really capture what it was like to see it in person. It's huuuuuge with these gigantic windows (that were totally open since it was a gorgeous day) so it was like a huge posh open air lounge. It was beeyootiful.

Redwood also uses primarily local, organic, and sustainable ingredients for all its dishes. Yay!


Long restaurant is looong. Check out those enormous open windows!

The interior and outside view from our table.

Birthday girl <3

We started the evening with a lovely cheeseboard with soft cow, goat, and semi-hard sheep cheeses. It was served with raisin bread crackers, figs, honey, and raisins.

All three cheeses were delish! I also pretty much slurped up that little bowl of honey...

Next came the entrees! I was stuck between getting their salmon and seared ahi tuna dishes. Dilemma! In the end, I reasoned to myself that I had had more than enough salmon the other day, so I should move on to a different fish. Ahi tuna, come to me!

Seared ahi tuna steak with baby eggplant, olive, and 3 grain salad topped with greek salad garnish. Beautiful and sooo yummy.

Lil got the pasta of the day, a three cheese ravioli.

Mmmm, my tummy was humming with happiness afterwards. The steak was deceptively filling and left me with no room for anything else, even though I had planned on a little dessert...

Anyway, it was a quiet, pleasant, and altogether lovely little evening with my girl. Happy birthday, Lil!!! Welcome to the land of the old :p

----

Other eats of the day included quartered red pepper topped with taboule salad. Simple but the flavors went together surprisingly well! Light, refreshing, and poifect :)

I also made banana craisin almond oatmeal cookies.


Again, super healthy and devoid of fattening ingredients. The original recipe is here but again, the ones I made don't really resemble the originals anymore. I made rounded ones and also a few flatter ones. The rounded ones are cakey and dense while the flat ones came out very chewy and slightly firmer. If you like soft, muffintoppy cookies, bananas are a good ingredient to use.

Ingredients I used:

3 mashed ripe bananas
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 egg whites
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 tsp vanilla extract
a lot of cinnamon (just shook the dispenser up and down a few times...)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup craisins

Combined wet ingredients and then mixed in the dry ones. Baked at 350F for about 10 minutes.

Not gonna lie, I am a little sick of bananas...gonna lay off the little yellow guys for a while haha.

In other news, I got a haircut today. I am sporting a serious bob now hahaha. It feels a little foreign but it's nice to have my hair nice and short again. I think I've pretty much given up on the long hair thing for good...

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

beast of a feast

It's been pretty spectacular here food-wise. I'm going to backtrack to the day before yesterday when we had our Labor Day Party! It was us plus two other fams and we did a potluck style dinner that stuffed me silly. Get ready for some foodpr0n!

Miso and honey glazed salmon with scallions (by me & mom)

String beans with spicy garlic soysauce (by mom)

Baked sweet potatoes and steamed corn (by mom)

Beautifully grilled steak (by fam friends)

Almond cranberry tomato salad with Italian dressing (me and mom) and pineapple blueberry fruit bowl (by fam friends). Love the color coordination going on here.

The entire spread. Not mentioned in previous pics: shrimpies, bbq pork ribs, chips and taboule :9

I ate sooooo freaking much, definitely let loose all of my bottomless pit potential. For those who have seen me really EAT, you know what I'm talking about ;). I inhaled probably a fourth of the gigantic tray of salmon, a bowl of unpictured shrimpies, a giant sweet potato, heaps of salad, fruit, nibbles of the ribs and steak, and of course DESSERT!!!

Beautiful and scrumptious fresh fruit tart!

Decadent WF cappucino cake mmmmmmm.

Needless to say, I was hit hard with a major foodcoma and foodbaby afterwards. Probably more like foodtwins. Lazed away the rest of the evening in a hazy satisfied bliss. Hummmmmmm :)

Other noteworthy noms from the past two days include another splendid mom cooked meal!

My mom loves making her dishes really colorfullll.

And today, I broke out with another Crazy Carollian Creation. Not really. Credit goes to the insane mastermind at The Minifridge and Microwave and this yummy little recipe for microwaveable bread pudding. I halved the recipe, using a piece of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel as the bread, homemade almond milk, one egg, half a banana, and a crumbled piece of organic dark chocolate instead of chocochips.

Mmmm warm comforting melty goodness. Will def be seeing this again.

Just a few more days until I'm back to campus and on my own for real! I'm excited but at the same time...schoool noooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

mo' muffins

Yesterday, I made really scrumptious and really ridiculously healthy banana nut muffins. I was experimenting with cutting ingredients out and subsituting more guilt-free things and I was afraid they'd turn out disastrous but that wasn't the case at all! They're moist, dense, lightly sweet, flavorful, and deeelicious!

Fresh out of the oven :)

Happily cooling; you can see a few chocolate chip ones too.

I've been experimenting with this recipe for a while, making a few modifications each time. Originally, they came from this recipe but they've come such a long way that they're kinda like a whole different species of muffin now hahaha. Anyway, they're really easy to make and I had no qualms about eating like 3 of them yesterday because they're so healthy!!!

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 egg whites
1/3 cup yogurt (I used nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven to 375F. Beat together bananas, egg whites, yogurt, and vanilla until creamy. Add in flour, baking soda, powder, salt, cinnamon and stir until smooth. Add in nuts and stir until even.

Grease or line with paper 12 cupcake slots. Fill about 3/4 with batter. Pop into the oven for 18-19 minutes and ENJOY!!!

Yes, I realized recently that ripe bananas are usually sweet enough that sugar isn't necessary for these kinds of recipes. I like these because they have a lot of banana nutty flavor but are just lightly sweet. If you like your stuff a little sweeter, I guess you could add sugar or other sweetener. Omnomnom.

I also made a spectacular smoothie afterwards.

1 banana with a generous helping of frozen berries

Resulted in a yummy and beautifully colored smoothie. Matches my bloggy background.

And then I did a take two of the garden burger wrap I made a few days ago. So simple and delish :D.

Strips of sun-dried tomato and basil Gardenburger topped with salsa on half a wheat tortilla.

All wrapped up and ready for nomming.

I think I'm only going to post more interesting meals from now on. A lot of times I just munch on a piece of toast or fruit or something and I just get too lazy to take a picture of something so ordinary. Yes, I'm cutting corners hahaha. Typical lazybum me.

Tonight is Labor Day dinner partay 2009! We're having friends over and there will be food. A lot of food. Mmmmm, my tummy is really excited. We're cleaning the house to get ready now; hope everyone has a great weekend!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

greek food and girly fun

I love you girls <3 (But why do we all kinda look the same...?)

Last night, I had a great time with my two favorite ladies! We hit up Vasilis Mediterranean Grill for some good wholesome Greek food. I got a shrimp souvlaki platter with whole wheat pita and no feta with a side of fries. Lil got pork chops and Mel got the Kalamata chicken. But first, there was salad.


Lil ready to dig in.

Mel looking pretty with our bread.

And then came out entrees yum yum yum. This post is going to have a lot of pictures.


Shrimp souvlaki already missing a bite because I couldn't wait.

Mel nomming on her pasta.

Lil loves her meat.

My shrimp were pretty good; I loooooved the tzatziki sauce on the side, practically licked that little cup clean. I took little nibbles of the other entrees too. Everything was fairly delectable and our waitress was super friendly and funny. All in all, a lovely little dinner.

Afterwards, we picked up some FROYO!!! on the way to Lil's house. Love love love the grapefruit, honeydew, and mango flavors. I had a heaping monstrosity which I devoured too fast to take a picture, embarrasingly enough. Here's the aftermath though...

Sooooo freaking deliciousssssss.

And then we went crazy with Lil's wardrobe. Yes mmmhmm, we played dressup like nobody's business. There was a lot of girliness and photo ops to be had. Here's a teaser.

So edgy!!! :p

And thus we partied the night away. Alas, Lil is going to England for a year and Mel left for school this morning. Who knows when the next time all three of us are going to be together again ;_; But regardless, here's to a great night, a great summer, and a great semester ahead :)