Luckily I was only a little late to work, and if it had to happen, the week between Christmas and New Year’s was the time to do it.  I worked through the morning, then, when I found out my lunch date was canceled, ordered lunch from Free Foods NYC, Matthew Kenney’s eat-in/take-out deli/café in Midtown.  I ate there once before and loved it; lucky for me, they deliver! The only downside is it’s a little pricey.

When my meal arrived, the deliveryman called up from downstairs.  Easy peasy!

My salad had arugula, barbecued tempeh, spiced mangoes, grilled vegetables, roasted beets w/ orange zest, goat gouda (!!!) and pear cider vinaigrette. I asked for a whole grain roll and instead got a hunk of baguette, which was still good even if it wasn’t quite what I’d wanted.  I was happy to get to know some of my coworkers over lunch; we enjoyed a relaxed hour together in the conference room.

In the middle of the afternoon, when my energy was lagging and my tum was starting to growl, I reached into my snack drawer and pulled out a Cashew Cookie Larabar.  I should make these.

After work, I met Greg at Starbucks.  He’s visiting for the holidays, and it was so nice to see him!  In the last three days, I’ve been able to meet up three friends I haven’t seen in a while.  I love my life, but sometimes I don’t get to see the people I love as much as I’d like.

While we caught up, I sipped on a tall skim Vanilla Rooibos tea latte.

When I got home, I heated up the last of the Miso Soup with Salmon and Soba and watched an episode of Glee.  I love that show! I love when an actor is on two separate shows that I watch, concurrently, like Jayma Mays, who is also on Heroes.

I had ice cream with cardamom chocolate sauce for dessert… I’m going to to keep the brand and flavors a secret until I review them! Stay tuned

While we finished Gone With The Wind (it only took 3 viewings!) I had a small glass of Luis Felipe Edwards’ Sauvignon Blanc.  I liked this wine! I think it’s the first Sauvignon Blanc from 2009 I’ve had.

Off to read in bed! Can’t wait to sleep in tomorrow, although I don’t want to waste the day.  I really appreciate my days off now.  How would you spend a vacation day?

Bonne nuit

Our house guest left this as a parting gift when he left.  I’m sure it’s delicious, but I really didn’t pause to smell or taste it before throwing it back.  I’ll let you know about that tomorrow

I replenished my supply of POMx to dissolve my Ester-C into.  I’m still so proud of myself for discovering this works!  (For new readers: I drink a little bit every day with breakfast to dissolve Ester-C, which aids the absorption of an iron supplement I take for low energy, but don’t photograph it every morning.)

I was excited to try out a new product with breakfast: Stonewall Kitchen’s Lemon Curd.  I’ve been curious about this for years, and my mom was nice enough to buy it for me this weekend.

Breakfast was a double portion of Sarah‘s pumpkin “cakes”, topped with a heaping cloud of 0% Fage, cinnamon, walnuts, and a scoop of lemon curd.  Lemon Meringue Pumpkin Pie before 7 AM? Yes, please!

I had two back-to-back interviews starting at 9 (which I think went well); afterward I needed to unwind a little with some teasing retail therapy (AKA touch everything, buy nothing) at J.Crew and Anthropologie.  How is it that a store (or two) can be filled with only perfect things?  But my bank balance remained stable, and I left satisfied with the clothes on my back.

The tree is going up in Rockefeller Center…

I sat in the plaza and ate my Criterion apple.  Sometimes it’s okay to be a tourist in your own city.

After making sure there were no more stores I needed to browse through, I came home to get some done and eat lunch.  I heated up a bowl of Spinach & Rice soup and added lots of fresh parsley, and served it alongside a small sweet potato with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Perfect mid-Monday comfort food, if you ask me.

I thought I deserved a treat, so I had some 55% Dark Chocolate Peppermint Chococolove.

The rest of the afternoon was spent writing. Welcome to my “office”!  You may recognize it as the kitchen table, but during the day I spread out and use it for reading, writing, researching, and tea-drinking.  I tried the Sugar Plum Spice holiday tea… so good.  I think this might have been the first flavor they came up with, because I remember having it a long, long time ago before they changed their packaging.

After successfully moving to decaffeinated tea, I didn’t want to go back to drinking coffee so late in the day.  Instead, I moved on to a cup of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride.  I don’t know how they do it, but this smells so much like a cookie! It’s very vanilla-y, but it has a very soft taste without a hint of bitterness.

I finished up my work, then went into the city to meet my friend Ilena at 5:30 for an early dinner at FreeFoods NYC.

Tonight was another example of how many secrets this city has to offer, both food-wise and other.  I never would have suspected that a restaurant like this could exist (and thrive!) in Midtown Manhattan, in the heart of corporate offices and tourist attractions.  Was I wrong!  It goes to show that people do want to eat locally and sustainably, the options just have to be made available.

FreeFoods serves fresh soups, sandwiches and salads; they have raw, vegan and gluten-free options.

I built my own salad with arugula, avocado, spiced mango, shittake mushrooms, spicy shrimp and Manchego cheese with Thai basil dressing.

One of the staff members had made an extra Vitality Berry smoothie (sweet cherry, açai, blueberry- pomegranate juice, ginger-agave), so Ilena and I split it with our dinners.  It was really good, and helped ease the heat in my mouth leftover from my spicy salad dressing!

Ilena and I sat for a while catching up…

…and were treated to another smoothie sample! This time we tried the “orange creamsicle” (it’s new, and the ingredients aren’t listed).  As Ilena said, it really did taste like a creamsicle, “but not in the bad way”!

Since we dined early, I was back home by 7:30 to get some things done before Gossip Girl.  Sadly, it seems like most TV shows have already had their holiday finales, so I did some more work instead.  I did, however, make a fabulous dessert to fill my Chuck Bass-sized void…

My dad found a great deal on takeout containers of Tasti D-Lite, so he picked me up some peanut butter frozen yogurt.  I added frozen berries and Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter.

Another sweet end to a good day.

What was the best part of your Monday? What are you looking forward to about Tuesday?

P.S.  Please vote for Lyle!  She is a talented, beautiful actress who deserves to realize her dreams.  Register, vote, and help here get there!

Yesterday I got up very early to finish some work before going into my internship.   I drank a pot of coffee, opened my eyes a little wider, and finally started feeling my appetite.  I made a yogurt bowl with vanilla Oikos, a Gala apple and granola.  Hit the spot!

There wasn’t a whole lot for me to do at work… I mailed some things, ordered some more things, and read some other things.   As vague as that sounds, I actually really like working there and am learning a lot about the industry!  No experience is bad experience in my book (with a few exceptions).

I got off a couple hours earlier than usual and had some time to kill, so I decided to go next door and get a workout in before meeting my mom for lunch.  I fueled up with half of a (very stale) Chocolate Chip Clif Bar.

Has anyone ever used the Expresso bike at the gym? It looks like a regular stationary bike, but the handlebars move so you can navigate the path that is shown onscreen.  It’s pretty neat, and kept me from getting too bored! I did about 5 miles, then worked on arms and my PT exercises.   I left just in time to meet my mom for lunch.

We went to Café Angelique, a cute café in the West Village.

I got the Mango & Goat Cheese Salad… it was really good, but there was about a pound of cheese on top!  My mom and I thought about saving the excess and bringing it home in a doggie bag… but I’m not that desperate (yet).

I spread some of the cheese on whole grain toast.

Lunch left me surprisingly full, and while I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted any frozen yogurt, as soon as I saw the flavors The Lite Choice was serving, I knew they had “LVP” written all over them.   Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Truffle… I was powerless!

We finished our treat; my mom went back to work and I walked across town to Trader Joe’s and did a massive grocery shop. I thought my little arms were going to fall off on my walk home!

Proteins

Fruit & Veggies

Dairy, Grains & Miscellaneous

With this haul, I was ready to get in the kitchen! There was a Lovely spirit in the kitchen there with me.  First on the agenda was homemade kale chips!

Except… my farm stand was out of kale.  So I improvised with escarole… a lettuce variety with much thinner leaves than kale. Oh well.

I loaded up the food processor with the dressing’s ingredients.  Look how nice and clean he is!  I think I’ll call him Lenny

Blended until almost smooth…

I should have halved the recipe, because this made quite a bit of topping.  But I really could have eaten it straight, so I saved half for salads and dipping…

… and put the rest on half a head of escarole before massaging it all in.

I don’t have a dehydrator, so I followed Mama Pea‘s lead and baked them in the oven at 300 for 40 minutes.  Foil may not have been the best choice, as it was kind of a hassle peeling them off.

They were really yummy, though! I think next time I’ll use a bit more lemon juice… I squirted a little on the chips while I snacked.

Next on the list:  Raw Vegan Dark Chocolate Snowballs!  Again, it wasn’t quite true to Averie’s recipe because this cocoa wasn’t so dark, but no matter.

This was one of the easiest things I’ve ever made.  My salads take longer to prepare!

I was a little worried that the “batter” was too dry, but stuck it in the freezer as it was.

A few hours later, they were ready to be “balled”…

I was so proud of myself! They really look like macaroons!

There may have been some nibbling along the way, and some of the mixture left over that will make a fabulous breakfast addition.  Try saying “Chocolate Snowball Oats for me!” ten times.

Dinner was pretty low-maintenance (unlike Blair and Serena, who kept me company)… I had leftover Japanese Cucumber Salad and Tomatoey Spiced Chickpeas.  I added dulse flakes to the cukes this time, which worked a lot better than the nori.

For dessert, I had a strawberry-flavored Oikos and a chocolate snowball.

I love Greek yogurt as you’ve probably noticed… the only problem is that when I stock up, I eat it all so fast that it’s all gone in only a few days!

What recipe have you loved recently? What should I make next with my food processor?

Yesterday I woke up and stumbled to the kitchen to make breakfast, only to discover that I’d completely decimated my supply of rolled oats! Good gracious, what’s a girl to do?  Make a big batch of steel-cut oatmeal instead!

I used four cups of water, 1 cup of steel cut oats, 1 sliced banana and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. While the oats cooked, I drank some coffee and mailed my Netflix to distract my grumbling tum.  When the oats were ready, I portioned out a serving for myself and put the remaining three servings in the fridge.  Three breakfasts I won’t have to worry about later!

In college, usually on a Sunday, I’d make big batches of things like oatmeal and rice to enjoy later in the week. Sure, it takes a little longer than microwaving your breakfast one morning, but saves time in the long run and tastes a lot better.

For my bowl, I diced up a not-quite-ripe pear and microwaved it for 90 seconds.  This softened the pear right up, and released some of its natural fruit syrups.  Sometimes fruit is enough of a sweetener on its own, but yesterday I needed a bit more.  I added a little brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts to make my breakfast a little more interesting.

The rest of the morning was spent applying for jobs.  Unfortunately the entire city seems desperate for an “assistant” position, but I must press on! I think I need a really tall, straight-back chair.  It’s so easy to just hunch over the desk, and sometimes I catch myself and notice my posture and I am literally almost lying on the table. Terrible! Erin helped me with this about six months ago, but I really need to be better about it.

Finally I broke for lunch to bring the feeling back to my legs and back.  I’d read Diana’s (then) most recent post, which looked fabulous, and decided to give Gena’s Maple Cinnamon Vinaigrette a try.

I quartered the recipe to make just enough for my lunch.  I didn’t have any maple syrup, so I substituted raw agave nectar instead.  I added a little fresh lemon juice as well.

Each recipe of Gena‘s that I’ve tried has been mighty fine, and this was no different.  It was really good, and turned what would have been an ordinary salad into something unique and special.  The salad itself was almost worthy of Raw Wednesday… while tempeh was traditionally prepared raw, I’m not sure that’s still the case in all commercially prepared varieties.

In the mix:

• collard greens (local)
• red chard (local)
• 1/3 block TJ’s 3 Grain Tempeh
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 kiwi— a reader asked if I eat the skin of kiwis.  I do! I didn’t used to, but tried on a whim this summer.  The skin is thin, and really doesn’t change the taste of the fruit.  However, when possible I buy organic kiwis. I try to go organic whenever I’m going to eat the outside of a fruit or vegetable.  Obviously, this isn’t always possible for financial reasons.
• 2 carrots
• Agave Cinnamon Dressing

I decided to make my carrots a little less “rebellious”, and peeled them with the asparagus (or spargel) peeler I received free in Berlin at the Spargelfest.  Spargelfest!

This salad was perfect.  Good ingredients and quality dressing really do make all the difference.

I had a glass of red with lunch.

Juuuuust kidding… although I wouldn’t be opposed! No, this was POM‘s new Pomegranate Kiwi juice, that the company sent me a few weeks ago to try out.

This was a lot sweeter than the straight pomegranate variety.  It tastes a bit like fruit cocktail, but I really liked it! This is also 100% juice, which I like.  Don’t you hate when you buy “juice” only to get home and see that there’s actually very little fruit in there at all?

After finishing up my job search for the day, I laced up my sneaks and headed to the gym.  These are the new shoes I got… they’re the same model as my old pair (Asics Gel Kayanos), but I asked for pink instead of read this time. I’m not really a “pink” girl, but I don’t even remember the last time I wore pink sneakers!  Probably my pair of butterfly light-up L.A. Gears. Remember those?

I biked for 30 minutes at the gym while reading my book.  The stationary bike is not the most exciting thing, but I just need to get myself through 30 minutes.  I didn’t like the treadmill, either! There’s nothing wrong with making the most of things, from time to time.

After showering, I headed over to Curly’s Vegetarian to meet Lauryn for an early dinner.   I can’t believe I’d never been here before! It’s right near where I used to work, and has so many options.  Lauryn and I sat and stared at the menu for a good long while before finally deciding on what we wanted… everything looked delicious, from their Mexican fare to their “Public School Lunch” (mac & cheese with panko).  We both ordered the Dragon Bowl Q, a special salad with mixed greens, quinoa, fake chicken, black beans, mango, tomatoes, avocado, jalepeño, corn chips, vegan parmesan… with each dive of our forks, we discovered a new ingredient.  I asked for the carrot ginger and mango poppy dressings on the side, but it was such a loaded salad that I really didn’t need any extra.

It was massive.  I didn’t really eat the corn chips because I got so full!   While we ate, we made art.  Lauryn’s clearly the more talented one (on the left)… see how coy her chick looks?

All of their drinks and desserts sounded amazing (Mexican hot chocolate, peanut butter bomb), but we decided to save our money and have a treat at home.  We did, however, go to Trader Joe’s to get some essentials.  I left the store having spent the lowest amount I’ve ever spent there ($19.79!), and won’t be needing any yogurt or pumpkin anytime soon!  I need to go shopping with this girl all the time.

When I got home, I caught up on Gossip Girl while munching on a slice of banana-pumpkin-date tea loaf with almond butter and dark chocolate.

Well, back to the grind.  I’ve got to send a few more applications out, then clean up a little because Ari is coming home tonight!

See ya later, alligators.

Yesterday I got up on the very early side to finish some reading and writing for my internship.  I caffeinated myself and prepared this lovely (if not very random) breakfast.

In the mix:

• Stonyfield Farms organic fat free plain yogurt
• Trader Joe’s Mangolicious mango/berry blend, warmed
• 1 kiwi
• 1/2 Silver Moon pumpkin muffin, smeared with peanut butter

On Tuesdays when I intern at the office, there’s usually only an hour or two of work for me to do.  When there, I file, run errands, and read manuscripts; when I’m at home, I read and write in the comfort of my bed.  Yesterday there were a few outdoor things to do; I always enjoy a trip outside to stretch my legs and a chance to re-start my energy with a snack.  On one such occasion, I snacked on a Great Date w/ Chocolate YouBar.

I really liked this bar! I will write up a full product review once I have tried all of the samples I was given, but should you decide to make a purchase at YouBar in the meantime, enter the code “Lilveggiepatch” at checkout for a 5% discount.

At noon, right as I was leaving the office, I got a call from an orthopedist’s office letting me know I had gotten a last-minute appointment with the doctor to figure out just what’s going on with my knee.  I had just enough time to pick up a salad at Ready To Eat, an upscale takeaway deli near work.  I picked up a curried shrimp salad, which came with mixed greens, avocado, orange, tomato, and lemon. It was on the pricey side ($9.95) considering I hadn’t planned on buying a meal (had to cancel a lunch date with my mom for the appointment), but the salad was really big and very filling.

In what’s becoming true LVP-style, I inhaled my lunch on a bench in the subway in less than ten minutes.  Sadly, in my frenzy to eat and make my appointment on time, my poor tomato flipped out of the container and onto the ground. The 5-second rule does not apply in NYC public transit, sorry.  It was a good thing I took the time to sit and eat, however, because I bumped into a good friend I hadn’t seen in an embarrassingly long time, and who now lives in California!  It was a very nice surprise, but we were both in a hurry and had to rush off.

I got to the hospital an hour before my appointment to take X-Rays.

The X-Ray technician was great. Each time she moved me or took a photo, she explained exactly what she was doing and why.  Here is the X-Ray of my right knee:

Unfortunately, the appointment with the doctor himself left me frustrated, confused, and really irritated.  He did not go over the X-Rays at all, explain what he was doing as he manipulated my leg, and only gave me information when I asked him directly.  Do I have a sprained mensicus? No. I was told that I did… is it possible that it healed itself already? No.  My knee-cap clicked a bit just now… is that normal? You have a little arthritis.   He did say that it was caused my overdoing it, and that low calcium + vitamin D is probably part of the culprit.  I should take Citrical supplements, and get a bone density scan. (I used to take a massive quantity of vitamins every morning, but didn’t want to spend the money re-stocking when I ran out.)

He left the room about two minutes later, and still didn’t know what I could and could not do.  When can I run? Can I strength train? What, if anything, should I do at the gym? Arthritis?! I got dressed and found him outside in the hallway, and, desperate for one more minute of his time, asked if I had arthritis.  He then examined me in the middle of the hallway, lifting the back of my shirt up all the way and having me bend completely over, as he stood very close to me and ran his fingers along my spine. I don’t think I need to elaborate on what that looked like from the side.  I’m sure the doctor wasn’t trying to do anything inappropriate and didn’t think that I might be a little uncomfortable in front of other patients with my shirt up, but I was really uncomfortable.  Uncomfortable, and angry that the doctor hadn’t made sure that I understood what was wrong with me, and how I could fix it without hurting myself again.  Not knowing how to improve is so frustrating.  I think I’m overly sensitive about it because running was a reliable way for me to structure my day now that I don’t have a job, and now I just feel like I’m floating in limbo.

On the way out of the office, I scheduled a bone density test for Thursday at 8:30 AM.  I also received a prescription for physical therapy, although the prescription is for work on my left knee, and not my right. (Mistakes can happen, and luckily this isn’t a serious one… I have a friend who had the wrong side of his body operated on a few years ago.) I talked to my dad, near tears, right after I left the doctor’s office.  He said this is usually how “network doctors” (doctors who are covered by insurance) work, because they have so many patients to see each day.  I understand that, but I also wanted some answers.  He called the office and asked them to call me back… the doctor’s assistant actually just called (a day later) as I was typing this post.  She didn’t know much else, except that I have a “knee sprain.”  I asked about the arthritis, and she said that, from the X-Ray, I don’t have it. I should only use the recumbent bike at the gym, and no strength training.   So now, I really don’t know what to think.  The doctor basically told me the exact opposite things that the physical therapist did last week.  I need to start seeing the physical therapist so I can gradually start running again, but I haven’t been able to get their office on the phone.

It isn’t news that doctors are overstretched and, unless they’re privately hired, don’t have time to work closely with patients.  I’m lucky to not have really needed hospital or serious doctor care until recently, and I need to learn to be patient with “the system.”  That patience needs to be transferred to my job search as well…. Om.

When I got home from the hospital yesterday, I was pretty hungry and made a yogurt bowl with a microwaved apple, cinnamon and granola.

After spending a couple hours decompressing, I set to work on a new baking project.  Since high school, cooking and baking has always been a way for me to relax and take a break from more stressful things like school work and job searching.  Even though the finished product might not be “perfect”, it’s finished, and I can feel good about that.  So, without further ado, I give you…

The Virtually Fat-Free* & Vegan Banana-Pumpkin-Date Tea Loaf! (And don’t let the name scare you off… it tastes pretty darn good.)

*Bananas have a very small amount of fat.

Adapted from Veganomicon‘s Lower-Fat Banana Bread.

Ingredients:

• 3 small ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin pie mix
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 crushed cloves, or 1/8 teaspoon ground
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup chopped dates (about 7 medjools)

Preheat the oven to 350˚ and lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until no large chunks remain.  Add molasses, applesauce, and pumpkin pie mix and stir.  Mix in half of the flour, spices, and salt. Stir in the remaining flour until no clumps remain.  Fold in chopped dates.

Pour batter into pan.

It will be very thick.

Bake on middle rack for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted through the center comes out clean.  Cool. It will be dense, but adorable.

While the bread cooled, I made a quick and easy dinner that was a tribute to my college days of yore.

I mixed a cooked sweet potato and a can of tuna into a packet of Annie’s Mac & Cheese. I always enjoy Annie’s with a little more cheeze than the packet comes with, so I added a scoop of nooch as well.  A sprinkle of chili flakes made it the perfect meal, taking me right back to long days procrastinating writing papers.

For dessert, I had two small slices of fresh low fat vegan banana-pumpkin-date tea cake, one plain and one with almond butter and raspberry jam.  It’s moist, soft, and perfectly sweet.  Possibly not the best idea to bake a whole loaf of bread when most of your roommates are on vacation, but…

I tried to hold out for as long as possible, but eventually went back for another plain slice.  What can I say? Blame Lexi Gray.

Alright, time to get a-movin’.  If the recumbent bike is all I can use, I’m off to bike-a-way.

Yesterday I had my new favorite breakfast: fruit (1/2 mango and 1 peach) with raw almond milk and cereal (Puffins).

I’d been planning on going to a 12:00 Vinyasa Flow class, but I overslept a wee bit.  By the time I got there (5 minutes before class began) the room was packed! I should have known that all of the East Village would be trying to cram in one last yoga practice before Labor Day weekend.  I didn’t let that ruin my day, though, so I did 20 easy minutes on the bike while I read my book, abs, and some strength training.

I ate lunch in the park: an apple and my new favorite sandwich.

Hummus, mustard, sprouts, arugula, and a TJ’s Marsala burger on Ezekiel. Mmm!

There was mail that needed to be picked up at my parents’ house, so I headed up there.  This was, to be honest, just an excuse to check out the new Whole Foods store!

The escalators have a special lane for carts, just like at Costco!

I ground my own organic peanut butter…

Admired the raw goodies…

Visited the sample station…

I had a slice of whole wheat bread with Rao’s marinara sauce. Mmm!

I got dinner for later at the salad bar:

• spinach
• corn
• baked tofu
• raw squash
• grape leaves
• lemon-scented tempeh
• mac & cheese
• saag paneer
• farro

I picked up some bee pollen…

… so I could channel my beautiful raw girl. Frozen blubes &  pollen rock!

I got my hands dirty in the kitchen…

Chopped a lot of dark chocolate…

Channeled Elana…

… and made gluten-free, vegan double chocolate mocha biscotti. I tweaked the recipe a little bit and added hazelnuts!

I bagged them up and got them ready for mailing.

But a girl’s gotta have her own dessert, too! I had a small biscotti butt with raspberries and blueberries.

A day well spent, if I do say so myself.  Have a fantastic weekend! I’m leaving my computer at home so I can stay in the moment.  See ya later!