My teachers probably think I’m texting/tweeting/pinteresting/facebook messaging during class.

But I’m actually looking at thirteen food blogs.  This is what my  Business MHR notes look like:

Let me know if you missed class today and need to copy them. 

Fried chickpeas > equity principles.

Some one is confused about first and last names. (Her name is Lauren Tonti, not Tonti Lauren. “Smart phone” my arse.)

Dreaming about silken tofu green goddess dressing is fine during class; but have you ever tried walking across campus with your nose buried in twenty-two recipes?

Some time it’s fine.  In fact, I’d say I get away with it 95% of the time. 

However, 5% of the time, when I’m picturing what I’m going to eat when I get home + what I’m going to cook for dinner + what I’m going to have for breakfast tomorrow + when I’m going to roast my asparagus + when I’m going to make another batch of cookie dough balls + when I’m going to get a fourth job to fund my grocery bills….

So, was the dressing worth the embarrassment of walking into a fence?

I mean, do pigs have snouts?

Is the sky blue?

Am I out of parsley?

YES to all of the above.

Susan’s Lite Goddess dressing tastes like a dream plus seventeen.  Not to mention it has a mind-blowing nutrition profile.

I hate store-bought dressing.  It’s either full of fat and calories, full of artificial crap I can’t pronounce, too expensive, or flat-out not good.  Unlike this gem.

These are my current rotations: balsamic, green goddess, or soy-mustard dressing.  If I’m too lazy for those, then I’ll use Frank’s red hot and dijon mustard.  Or hummus. 

I would  definitely give an arm and a leg for Northstar’s house dressing recipe.

But in the meantime, I’ll keep my limbs and just eat this.  With a spoon.

It’s love your veggies month, right Jen?

I can’t remember a month when I didn’t love my veggies.

Without further adieu…

Breakfast

Overnight oats with cocoa powder, pumpkin, chia seeds and maple syrup + Grape Nuts for crunch (in my beautiful new mason jars).

Lunch

Romaine salad with two homemade veggie burgers + this dressing. LOVE.  Plus blueberry muffin larabar, one of my faves.

And an apple after I ran to the bus.  Notice the “A.”  We have to label everything in our apartment because we now all buy the same exact staple groceries, i.e. spinach, frozen bananas, apples, Amy’s burritos, Ezekiel bread, almond milk, rolled oats, larabars, sunflower butter, maple syrup, greek yogurt, hummus).

Time out.  How cute is this baby snowman?  Cute enough for me to awkwardly stop and take a picture.

I was famished before dinner so I made a quick pumpkin pie smoothie.  If you know me, you know I’m a messy cook. 

Dinner

Dinner was unreal.  I roasted a pint of cherry tomatoes and about six cloves of garlic.  Then I combined them with caramelized onions, fresh basil, spinach and whole wheat pasta.

Snack while I’m blogging is Bear Naked triple berry crunch granola + Grape Nuts with TJ’s vanilla almond milk.  No other almond milk compares.

 P.S. Every week I have to go back  and edit these posts to add in the snacks I ate post blogging.

So don’t get too comfy.

My roommates and I knew what we were cooking for the Super Bowl before we knew who was playing.  I still don’t know who’s playing.

Madonna?

I do know that we feasted on delicious veggie fare chock full of healthified versions of our favorites.  We definitely did not sacrifice flavor, people. 

The spread:

Black Bean Chilli Dip and chips

Avocado Ranch Dip with carrots and celery

Spinach and Artichoke dip with rye Triscuits

Sweet Potato Fries

Margherita pizza

Salad

Cookie dough balls

My favorites would have to be the cookie dough balls and the spinach and artichoke dip.

We can never get over the cookie dough.  It’s the easiest recipe ever, on top of being raw and vegan.  But don’t let that fool you.  They’re DOWNRIGHT CRAZY WEIRD GOOD.

They should call it the Super Full instead of the Super Bowl. I can barely breathe here.

Back to the superbowl Sex and the City marathon.  And studying for the GRE that’s at 8 am tomorrow.

Not.

Today’s What I Ate Wednesday was more like What Did I Not Eat Wednesday.  In other words, I ate everything in sight and forgot to takes pictures.

Breakfast

I did, however, capture these beyond delicious and fluffy pumpkin pancakes for breakfast.  This woman knows pancakes.

Pumpkin puree + maple syrup = divine plus nine.

Lunch

Lunch was leftover coconut zucchini tempeh and a kiwi.  I was ravenous after yoga but forgot to get a plastic fork, leaving me unable to chow down during class.

 I started to eat it with my fingers but the weird looks were enough to make me hold off till work.

Snack

Whenever I babysit and watch LiaBanana eat in the following order an ice cream sandwich, a bowl of vegetable soup, arugula with hummus, and a bowl of oatmeal, I too want to join in on the six-year-old fun and eat a shmorgishborg.

That included some un-photographed pecan raisin bread, tortilla chips and salsa, an ice cream sandwich and a tiny bowl of artichoke pasta.  Some one was hungry and perhaps craving carbs.

Dinner

Then I came home for din and had some un-photographed asparagus, raspberries, leftover veggie burger and whole foods bun with earth balance.  Speaking of which…

Has anyone’s fridge been graced with the presence of this MASSIVE tub of Earth Balance? If so, I am very jealous.

Then there was my Whole Foods $26 worth of groceries, mostly prepping to make these.

Answers to your unasked questions:

1. Do Finn Crisps taste like cardboard?  I actually enjoy cardboardey things, like Grape Nuts.  But, no.  They taste like rye cardboard.
2. What’s your favorite hummus? Whole Food’s greek hummus.  Zataar, whatever you are, I love you.
3. How much were those tasty Amy’s chili’s on sale for? $2.69
4. Have you ever used black lentils? No, have you?
5. Did you know WF’s corn tortillas are only 79 cents?  I know now!

It’s that thyme again.  Fry thyme. 

I promise this is last fry recipe I’ll give you. I can’t promise that I’ll keep that promise, though.

I wanted something tastier than the standard veggie fry.  I used real maple syrup to get that nice chewy caramelization factor along with dried thyme mainly because I’ve been trying to incorporate it into more recipes.  It definitely doesn’t get loved like my garlic powder and sea salt do. 

It’s thyme for that to change.

Maple Thyme Root Fries

Ingredients:

• 4 parsnips
• 3 large carrots
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp real maple syrup
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• sea salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel parsnips (no need to peel carrots). Cut into fry shapes.
3. Place on sprayed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, maple syrup,  minced garlic, thyme, and sea salt. Toss to combine.
4. Roast for about 35 minutes, flipping halfway through.

I’m lucky to be blessed with really good handwriting, which definitely comes in handy with recipe writing. 

Not.

I really hope you find the thyme to make these. I found mine at Trader Joe’s, of course.

*PS- I’ve moved to Hummusapien.com!  (Previously hummusapien.wordpress.com)

It’s quite all right that there’s no snow.

I’ve made my own snow pile with the hundred tissues that are saving my drippy faucet of a nose.  I usually really enjoy a good sneeze, but lately my sneezing has been so disruptive that I’m forced to leave the grand reading room of the library.

With two exams tomorrow and a roll of toilet paper in my back pocket, I give you this thirty minute (or less) delicious recipe that’s perfect for crunch time studying, stuffy noses, and snow-less, tissue-piled days.

Coconut Zucchini Tempeh

Ingredients:

• 3 small zucchinis, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 1 8 oz. package tempeh
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk (from can)
• juice from half a small lime
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, turmeric, and coriander
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger (I used canned)
• sea salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Slice vegetables and place in an even layer on sprayed baking sheet. Roast for about 15 minutes or until spotted.

Crumble tempeh by hand or in a food processor.  Heat the oil on medium heat and saute minced garlic until fragrant.  Add tempeh and saute until brown (this could take about ten minutes), seasoning with sea salt along the way.

Combine the rest of the ingredients (coconut milk to ginger) in a small bowl.  Pour over browned tempeh and stir to heat through.  You can turn the heat down at this point.

Add in your roasted veggies. PS- I ate half the pan before taking this picture.  Literally.

Devour and decide if you want to ignore the fact that this serves two.

This dish is easy, packed with protein, and absolutely delicious.  If the spice profile isn’t something you have lounging in your lazy susan, you can pick up little bags of turmeric and coriander at World Market for about a dollar.   Curry powder would work okay, too.

If you’ve never tried tempeh, I really encourage you to try it!  It is very minimally processed and has over 20 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber per serving.  It’s nutty and takes on the flavor of whatever you add.  It actually reminds me of farfel!

And if you have extra  full-fat coconut milk, make whipped cream of course!

Lauren said “Oh my god, go blog about it so I can copy it and make it.”  Done.

Off to go blow my nose and memorize every spice and herb known to man for my test tomorrow.

The snow must go on.

What I ate Wednesday…

Breakfast

One egg + two egg whites cooked sunny side up with whole wheat toast and half a grapefruit.

Snack

Post workout + yoga class, I had a vanilla Chobani (lowest sugar of any of the flavored greek yogurts) and some dark chocolate almonds.  It was a stellar combo.  Another blurry pic thanks to the lighting in Human Nutrition 611.

Lunch

Salad with tofu. This was pretty sad since it was eaten on the bus on the way to class from work.  People were staring because I was still wearing my hair net, little did I know.

Snack

Nanner with sunflower seed butter.  And then large amounts of hummus with Triscuits and hot sauce.

We made fried food in my hospitality management cooking class, so I had to try a fried pickle and a fried potato.  And a hush puppy and perhaps an onion ring.

Dinner

Dinner tonight was quinoa fried rice and it was seriously fabulous.  I want to make it again tomorrow–it’s that good!  I used this recipe as a guide but I didn’t measure anything.

Dessert was yummy as well.  I blended a frozen sliced banana, a spoonful greek yogurt, almond milk, cinnamon,  and vanilla in the magic bullet.  It tasted like a dreamy banana snickerdoodle smoothie. I ate it before I could get a blog-worthy pic.

Hope your day was delish!

Picture this.

You’re eight years old, sitting in the cafeteria at school, about to open your lunch box.  The “lunch monitors” have finally gotten off their high horses.  That is, they’ve finally stopped telling you to be quiet in the hallway, acting like their job is ten times more important than it is. 

You open your lunchbox, and next to the salami sandwich, pretzels,  kiwi, and a cookie, is a box of raisins.  RAISINS. Ew.

source

The worst part is that the sad excuse of a fruit that you told your mom ten times not to pack you isn’t even tradeable.  Let’s be real.  Who wants wrinkly raisins when you can trade for Oreos, Lunchables and Bugles?

And how disappointed are you when you think you’re about to eat a chocolate chip cookie and it turns out to be oatmeal raisin? The nerve!

source

I wish I would have had this in my lunch instead.

Quinoavocado Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water/veg broth
• 1 can black beans
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1/2 – 1 cup corn
• 1/3 cup diced red onion
• juice of one small lime
• 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves (optional)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• dash of cumin
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Bring quinoa and water/broth to a boil.  Simmer, covered, for fifteen minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.  Allow quinoa to cool.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Season liberally with sea salt.

 Eat it straight up, or as a side dish, or top with tofu for a filling dinner.

P.S.  I just ate raisins smothered in peanut butter and it tasted fabulous.  I stand corrected.

 I despise dip-n-dots… and blue cheese.  Perhaps I should try dipping those in peanut butter, too? 

To to all you tofu haters… there’s always peanut butter.

New years resolution#1: get back on the blogging bandwagon.

New years resolution #2:  Make these pancakes at least once a week.  They are fluffy clouds of pancake heaven and I have roommates to prove it.  I veganized them by using two tbsp of ground flax-seed + six tbsp of water instead of the eggs, and I upped the sugar to one tbsp.  I highly recommend topping them with earth balance and maple syrup.

I need to share with you all a few important things.  First, eggplant fries.

I believe that any vegetable can be a “fry.”  But when I make butternut squash fries, my arm gets sore and I’m lucky to keep all my fingers by the time I’m done cutting that monster into meticulous fry shapes.

So, if you don’t need an arm workout, make eggplant fries instead.  They cook way faster and they’re great with ketchup and mustard.  But come on, what isn’t?

I ate the whole eggplant.  I encourage you to do the same.

Eggplant Fries

Ingredients:

• One large eggplant
• cooking spray
• sea salt and garlic powder, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice off the ends of the eggplant.  With the flat side down, slice the eggplant vertically into 1/4 inch slices. Then cut those  large pieces in half.
3. Cut halves into fry-like shapes.
4. Place on sprayed baking sheet and spray once again.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until they look a bit spotted.  They may need to be tossed around a bit halfway through baking.

I ate mine with a red lentil burger smothered in hummus and hot sauce.  I did change the recipe a bit based on what I had in the fridge.  I sautéed a bunch of kale, spinach and onion instead of the carrots and celery, used 1/4 cup of walnuts instead of 1/2 cup, nixed the parsley, added a tbsp of ground flax-seed, and used two slices of ground up toasted Ezekiel bread for the bread crumbs.  They turned out pretty tasty!

I’ve seen prettier burgers in my day.

If you haven’t already, check out this article!   If you’re not social-networking impaired like me, you’ve probably seen it around.

Peace out, veggies.

Hola, foodie friends.

I decided to join all the smart people over at Peas and Crayons in the What I Ate Wednesday series!  I always get asked what I eat…so here’s the answer!

Breakfast

Ezekiel toast with sunflower seed butter and cinnamon and a green smoothie made with a frozen banana, almond milk, peanut butter and flax-seed.

This was the perfect  light pre-yoga breakfast.  When did a flexibility test last month, my score of 21 wasn’t even on the chart for sixty-year-old women.  Some people may call that embarassing, but I call it a marvelous reason to take OSU’s yoga class.

When I asked my dad if inflexibility runs in the family, he said “I refuse to answer that question.”

Me: “Why?!”

Dad: “I’m being inflexible.  Get it?

Me: “….Oh. Ha ha?”

Dad: “Anyway, yes!  I could never cross my legs when I was younger.”

Then it all came together.  No wonder I can’t touch my toes.

Mid-morning snack

(eaten in a classroom with fabulous lighting, obviously)

Lunch

 A ginormous salad with spinach, romaine, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, onions, chickpeas, and a “northstar burger” (roasted beats and yams, brown rice, black beans, cranberries) doused with the best condiments known to woman: mustard and hot sauce.

Post-workout snack

Applesauce and a serving of dark chocolate almonds.

Dinner

Spicy tofu with avocado quinoa salad (recipe coming soon).

Evening Snack

The tumbly was rumbly when I got back from the library.  I had some raisin walnut whole wheat toast with sunflower seed butter and the last bowl of pumpkin black bean soup.

Oh and some blueberries and blackberries.