Yesterday I woke up knowing I was going to be eating quite a bit of soft serve in a few hours, so I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast.   (Oatmeal holds [...]]]> Good morning! I’m glad you enjoyed the virtual tour of The Lite Choice… you can read it here if you missed it!

Yesterday I woke up knowing I was going to be eating quite a bit of soft serve in a few hours, so I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast.   (Oatmeal holds me over much longer than cereal does.) My bowl had Kashi Autumn Harvest, muesli from the Food Co-Op, banana and skim milk.

Over breakfast, I read the March issue of Bon Appetit, and stumbled across this:

What do you think about taking photos in restaurants? Do you do it, or get annoyed with people who do? Does it make a difference if you don’t use the flash?

While touring The Lite Choice, I sampled everything without gorging.   I wanted to try all of the goodies but knew I would feel really sick if I’d eaten all of it (which probably wouldn’t have even been possible!) so I kept my tastes small.  After the tour, I went to Whole Foods to pick up a few things, including lunch from the salad bar.

In the mix:

• spinach
• vegan chicken salad
• edamame
• edamame arame salad
• curried cauliflower
• 1 piece each: bbq tempeh, lemon tempeh, lemon-baked tofu
• corn
• macaroni & cheese- I always have to take a tiny scoop!

When I got home I added some rice wine vinegar to the spinach, and had a Granny Smith apple on the side while I did some reading.

My reading sent me to dreamland for an hour or so, and when I woke up I was feeling pretty hungry!  Even after all of that soft serve, I was craving a slice of whole wheat toast with Maranatha Cashew Butter and mango butter.

I went out to run a few errands and come back carrying five bags!  Show me a New Yorker who doesn’t know the meaning of “schlep” and I’ll be a stunned girl.  More than happy to take a load off, I didn’t feel like going back out to get groceries for the week.  Instead, I looked in the fridge, freezer and pantry for any components that could possibly come together to make something resembling a meal, and ta da! I ended up using up old items in the fridge and things that had been in the freezer and pantry for months.

I almost feel guilty even calling this a “recipe,” but it was so delicious and so nourishing that I’m going to add it to the page!

Ten Minute Vegetable Soup

• 4 cups vegetable broth (I make mine from Better Than Bouillon)
• 1.5 cups carrots, sliced
• 2 boxes/bags of whatever frozen veggies you have around; I used collard greens and an “Oriental” veggie blend with broccoli and mushrooms
• 1 leek
• 1 can of beans, whatever you have (I used red beans)
• Salt + pepper to taste
• Chili (optional)

Heat vegetable broth over medium heat until warm.  Add carrots and leeks and cook until carrots are slightly tender.  Add frozen vegetables and cook until fully thawed and warmed through.  Add beans, salt and pepper, and chili flakes.  Enjoy!

Serves 2-3 as a main, 4-6 as a side.

I ate my soup with the last of the pesto; it was the perfect cozy meal!

For dessert, I had a slice of cake from The Lite Choice! Each piece of cake has both chocolate and vanilla soft serve with a layer of cookie crumbs in the middle.  This slice was covered with chocolate sauce and peanuts… it was so good, I wish I’d gotten more!

And now, some more Ask Me Anything answers!

If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

This one always gets me! I probably would have said “chocolate” or “bread” a few years ago, but now I just don’t know… there are so many things I like! But right now, I’m going to go with sushi.  I could eat it every night and not get bored!

Are you vegan or vegetarian?

Technically I’m a “pescatarian,” which I’ve been for about 9 years.  There was a year during that time when I cut out fish, but I really hate to use any kind of label when it comes to my food habits.  I try to eat things that I feel ethically comfortable with, things that make me feel good, and things that I just like! Read more here.

That’s all there’s time for now! I’m off to go meet Danielle for a long run in the park.  Enjoy your Sunday!

This morning I woke up a little hazy from last night’s escapades, but made do with a strong pot of coffee and a good breakfast. I ate in parts: Peach Chobani Greek [...]]]> What a good day.  I slept in, saw friends, ate well… what could be better? More hours in the day, but alas.

This morning I woke up a little hazy from last night’s escapades, but made do with a strong pot of coffee and a good breakfast. I ate in parts: Peach Chobani Greek yogurt, sweet potato cranberry coconut muffin, Honeybell orange.

After taking my sweet time getting ready and lazing around, I met Caitlin for lunch at Sacred Chow, an organic vegan (and Kosher) cafe downton.

We both got the Souper Hero Combo (soup + 1/2 sandwich); I got a bowl of Sweet Potato and Cassava Soup with dill and Orange Blackstrap Seitan (orange-molasses seitan w/ red-hot onions and Thai ginger bbq sauce on a whole wheat baguette).

This was so good.  My babysitter used to use cassava in her soups and I forgot how much I love it! The sandwich was quite hearty as well, and left my mouth burning (in a good way!).

We also hit up the In God We Trust sample sale, where I fell in love with this beret.  I’ve never been a “beret person”, but this was too cute to pass up!

Caitlin and I parted ways, and I met my friend Levi to see the new Mel Gibson movie, Edge of Darkness.  I really liked it! It reminded me a lot of Michael Clayton, with more blood.  We snacked on gummies in the theater.

I had big plans to do some work while using the bike at the gym, but it was 7:15 by the time I got home and I was just ready to wind down the day.  No biggie, but I really need to start being smarter about cross and strength training… I feel like I’ve taken a sort of lackadaisical approach to this half-marathon I’m supposedly training for. I have a 7 mile run scheduled for tomorrow but my knee still hurts from Thursday’s… if it gives me trouble in the morning, I’m just going to run myself over to the gym and get on that bike instead.

So, in place of gym tales, I present you with a tasty treat:

Sweet Potato Falafel Salad

I’ve been thinking of ways to recreated One Lucky Duck’s Falafel Salad at home without a dehydrator or pricey ingredients.  I’d planned on making a sweet potato version of baked falafel with chickpeas, but lo and behold: no chickpeas in the pantry! I made do with black beans instead, and it turned out mighty fine if I do say so myself.

Sweet Potato “Falafel”

Inspired by this recipe

• 1 handful parsley or cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 sweet potato baked or microwaved until fully cooked, mashed
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup cooked black beans
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• salt
• garnishes: paprika, sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix first 6 ingredients together, gently mashing beans with a fork.  Season with salt, to taste.

Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.  Form balls out of 1 tbsp worth of sweet potato mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds and paprika. Bake for 30 minutes, turning once.

Makes about 12 balls.

Tahini Sauce

• 1/2 cup sesame tahini
• 1/2 cup water
• juice of 1/4 lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• salt to taste

Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Lick spoon.

Raw “Tabouli”

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/3 head of cauliflower (about 2 handfuls)
• 1 handful parsley/cilantro

Pulse cauliflower in food processor until finely chopped. Pulse in red pepper. Pulse in parsley until the mixture resembles confetti.

Not a bad alternative, I’d say! My version is on the left… and doesn’t cost $17.

For dessert, I made strawberry banana soft serve with chocolate chips.  However, I got a little impatient and didn’t wait for the fruit to fully freeze; it ended up being more of a smoothie!

It’s 10:30, but I really want to get some work done before I go to bed, so I’m going to shower, make the bed, and read 100 pages or so.  Big plans for a Saturday night at home!

I did not, as planned, practice yoga last night.  Instead I caught up with my [...]]]> Happy almost weekend! Thursday just kind of snuck up on us, yeah? And, from your responses about stress, it seems like we could all use a little weekend rejuvenation.  How do you plan to relax on your days off?

I did not, as planned, practice yoga last night.  Instead I caught up with my little red-headed, snuggling in bed with the phone.  It felt just like high school again!  Some friendships will always stay strong.  I set my alarm for 6:30 and got up to do a 20 minute hip opening flow on Yoga Download.  I was still pretty tired so I kept my eyes shut the whole time; it felt amazing! My hips have been really tight from sitting in a chair all day.

Breakfast was a big bowl of oatmeal, eaten in bed while watching Grey’s Anatomy.

• 1/2 cup oats made with 1/2 cup water
• warmed frozen berries
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 scoop almond butter
• stevia
• cinnamon

After I finished eating, I peeled back the covers and “slept” for another 10 minutes.  It probably didn’t do anything to take away my drowsiness, but it was too comfy to resist.

I acted as courier and dropped a package off for my boss for someone in my neighborhood; I’d anticipated getting to work late as a result, but I arrived only 20 minutes later than usual!  I love when the subways run on schedule.  Running around seemed to stimulate my metabolism, so I snacked on an orange to soothe my hunger.

It worked… for about 30 minutes.  Then to the snack drawer I went!  I had a mini Chocolate Brownie Clif Bar.

Luckily lunch was filling.

• Salad with kale, spinach, goji berries (soaked to plump!), carrots, grape tomatoes, feta, blush champagne vinaigrette
• Moroccan Gazpacho
• Fuji apple (saved to eat as an afternoon snack)

I was scheduled to do speedwork at the gym today, and I’ll be honest: I really didn’t think I was going to make it.  As I’ve mentioned, it’s incredibly difficult for me to stay focused and motivated while on the treadmill, and even if I cover the screen with a towel, I keep peeking to see how much time has gone by.  Tedius!  But, I made it through the session and logged my miles.  Speedwork is great because it forces you to keep changing things up!

Mile 1: warm-up at 5.8 mph, 0.5% incline

Miles 1.1-4.0: intervals: 1600 (.25 mile) @ 6.9 mph, 800 (.125 mile) @ 6.2 mph. Continuous repetition. 0.5% incline

Mile 4.0-4.75: 5.8 mph + two 7.2 mph sprints @ 0.5% incline

Mile 4.75-5.0: 3.5-4.5 mph

Total time: 48 minutes

Celebrate the tiny victories!

When I got home, I went straight to the kitchen to start making dinner.  The upside of your boyfriend being gone a lot of the time?  No one cares if you’re a sweaty mess!  Unfortunately, no one was here to eat this dinner with me.

I’ve gotten several e-mails asking me about tempeh! How to eat it, does it need to be cooked, my favorite recipes, etc.  Tempeh is one of my favorite proteins, but I didn’t even really start eating it until about a year ago!  Now, I eat it all the time: in salads…

In sandwiches…

Or just plain grilled!

But what is tempeh, exactly?

• Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and is often produced with other grains.

• It has a firm texture and a slightly bitter taste; if the taste bothers you (I don’t mind it), you can always boil it in water for a few minutes.  Boiling it allows it to more easily absorb the flavors of whatever sauce you choose to marinate or top it with, if any.
• It’s a protein powerhouse! One serving of tempeh can have as much as 18g of protein (not to mention it’s free of cholesterol).

How I eat tempeh

• Like tofu, I often just dice it up and eat it as is on top of a salad.   I realize this isn’t for everyone and I didn’t love it at first, but now it’s one of my favorite proteins! It technically is already “cooked”, so you don’t have to “do” anything to it.  Again, the taste can be a little strong, but I find a good salad dressing with a good mix of sweet and spicy components really compliments this bitterness.
• Grill it! Simmer the tempeh for about 10 minutes, then marinate in your sauce of choice (Gliding Calm’s tofu rub works wonderfully) for anywhere from 20 minute to 1 hour, depending how much time you have.  Then plop your tempeh on the grill (or Geoge Foreman, if you’re an apartment dweller like me) and cook until grill marks form. Switch sides.
• Toss it in a stir fry or curry!

Coconut Tempeh Curry

Inspired by this recipe.

• 1 small sweet potato
• 2 small yukon gold potatoes, or other potato of choice, peeled and diced
• 1-1/2 t salt
• 2 T coconut oil
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 8 oz tempeh, diced
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1 t allspice
• 1/2 t garam masala
• 1/2 t ground ginger
• 1/2 t cayenne
• 1-15 oz can crushed tomatoes in thick purée
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 2 T plain nonfat yogurt
• optional garnishes: cilantro, mint, or parsley (whatever you have on hand), shredded coconut, agave nectar

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Place potatoes in steamer basket and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt; steam until they are tender, 20-30 minutes.  The sweet potatoes may take a shorter length of time; if this happens, remove them from the basket when they are done and continue to cook the yellow potatoes.

Meanwhile, heat coconut oil in a large skillet until it shimmers.  Add onion and sauté over low 5 minutes, or until tender.  Add spices.  Stir.  Add tomatoes and remaining 1/2 tsp salt.  Stir in yogurt until mixed well.  Add tempeh and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add spinach and cover about 5 minutes or until leaves begin to wilt.  Once potatoes finish cooking, add them to the skillet and remove from heat, stirring to combine.

Serve, garnishing with agave nectar, cilantro (or other fresh herb), and shredded coconut.

Serves 4.

I enjoyed my curry with Turkish rice.  It was fabulous! I definitely recommend a light drizzle of agave or maple syrup… it really brings out the flavor.

Do you like tempeh? What is your favorite way to eat it?

Dinner was enjoyed with a glass of “3 Buck Chuck” from Trader Joe’s.  It was delicious! I would have had no idea that it only cost three dollars.  I’m glad I know it’s good… I’ll have to stock the wine rack with it!

I had last of the Easy Chocolate Mousse for dessert.  It may have been even better today, three days after I made it! I sprinkled my bowl (AKA Tupperware container ) with cinnamon and chocolate chips.

While I ate, I watched Away We Go.  I loved it! It might make my top 10 list.

Now, it is far past my bedtime.  Have a great night! I’m going to be out tomorrow night, so if I don’t “see” you tomorrow, have a lovely weekend

Last night while I was [...]]]> Good evening, duckies! How are you this fine Monday?  I’m feeling pretty darn fine myself, sipping tea in the comfort of my kitchen after a great day at work, a fabulous din with MVP (Mama), and a quick flash of friendly faces at home.  What made you happy today?

Last night while I was working in the kitchen, I thankfully had the foresight to whip up enough oatmeal to last me the week.  I had enough time to make steel-cut oats; it really only takes 25 minutes total, and it’s definitely worth the extra effort.

This morning I reheated a portion and topped it with warmed frozen berries, ground flax, agave and almonds. For some reason I prefer whole nuts to nut butters when I eat steel-cut oatmeal… it must be something about the nutty texture of the grains.

I said it a week ago and it still rings embarrassingly true: we need to go grocery shopping.  However, while we don’t have a lot of fresh produce, we do have ingredients that, with a little creativity, can make up a pretty good meal.

When I was living in France, I noticed that a lot of people had lentil salads for lunch or to supplement their dinners.  Lentils are high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Lunch-Break Protein Salad

• 3/4 cup canned lentils
• 1/3 cup frozen edamame, thawed
• 1 tbsp crumbled feta
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• crushed walnuts

Gently stir ingredients together.  Serves 1.

This lentil-edamame salad was all made with ingredients that had been sitting in my fridge, pantry or freezer for at least a month.  I should shop here more often!  I also brought carrots, hummus, and a honey-flavored Oikos Greek yogurt with me.

Today was my first day at work on my own, without being trained or supervised.  It was a little overwhelming, but a lot of fun.  There’s a lot of information being thrown at me, but I’m taking lots of notes, asking questions, and doing my best.

New York has a lot of hidden gems, many of which are public parks like this one.  Surrounded by office building, they have waterfalls that drown out traffic and city noise, open plazas and cafe tables for socializing, and trees to bring a little zen into your day.  I spent my lunch in on of these parks today to clear my mind and recharge.

When I got back to the office, I quickly realized one of the keys to a successful work day: a strong cup of coffee between 2:30 and 3.  I already have pretty low energy (which I’ve discussed here several times), and this little jolt of java really helped keep me going. Whatever it takes!

Throughout the day I also snacked on a Raisin Spice Heart Thrive Cake…

… and before I knew it, it was 5:45 and time to go home!  On my way out the door, I opened up a can of coconut water to hold myself through dinner.

I met my mom for dinner at our usual Japanese restaurant.

We toasted the future with hot sake…

… and shared some steamed shrimp shumai.

Anticipating lunch tomorrow, I ordered a bowl of tofu nabe (broth with vegetables, tofu, and seasoning).  I ate most of the vegetables but packed up a lot of the broth, which I will beef up and bring to work tomorrow.

When I got home, I cozied up with a mug of Gingerbread Spice tea and a sugar cookie my mom brought all the way back from Santa Fe!  The cookie did not last long

My knee is still hurting from the 15K yesterday, but the official times were finally listed! I came in at 1:33:26.  Not any kind of rank, but I’m still just proud I finished

It’s past my bedtime.  Goodnight!

While this is going to be more of a “greatest hits” [...]]]> Good evening and happy Sunday!  How was your weekend?  I just got back from Westbrook, Connecticut, where The Upwelling’s former tour manager got married.  The boys were part of the wedding party so they came back from tour and we all went together.

While this is going to be more of a “greatest hits” post, I want to share a new dressing with you: coconut mint.

Coconut Mint Dressing

• 1/2 tsp shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 small handful fresh mint, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

“Muddle” the mint, coconut and lemon together before adding the rest of the juices.  This releases the flavors and lets them really pop!  I drizzled the dressing over a tempeh/sweet potato/apple/feta salad…

… but it would make a great marinade for fish, shrimp, or tofu as well.   I’m getting so much mileage out of this bunch of mint!

In the car, I had the healthiest and most delicious “candy bar” imaginable: dried fruit stuffed with roasted almonds and bittersweet chocolate chips. These are so good.

Ari bought me a slightly more processed version, but still a favorite nonetheless.  There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.

When we got to the hotel, I took advantage of the time the groomsmen spent rehearsing to go to the gym.  I ran 3.1 miles (5K), walked another .4, and stretched.  As the Gina always says, no one wants to miss out on the fun, so I try to plan timely activities (like workouts and… ahem… the time I spend getting ready to go out) while everyone else is either sleeping or doing something else.

The bride and groom are both Jewish, and because the rehearsal dinner fell on Friday, we had a traditional Shabbat dinner.  The challah abounded!  Somehow I ended up with three pieces of bread on my plate, but Josh and Ari picked at most of it.

The entrée choices were Vegetable Risotto with Arugula Pesto or Cappelini Rustica; I wasn’t sure which (if any) option was vegetarian, but figured the risotto was a safer bet.  They both turned out to be meat free, and I loved the risotto! It was very rich, though, so I only ate about half of it.  And the flower.  Which I’m pretty sure wasn’t of the edible variety.  Whoops!

Strawberry sorbet for dessert…

… and a fun-size Cookies ‘n Cream Hershey’s bar.   This is one of those weird LVP-isms; I really don’t like white chocolate, but a couple times a year I get cravings that can only be quenched by this particular bar.  The bride and groom must have known this when they stuffed it in our goodie bag!

Also in the bag were these personalized M&Ms; they had the wedding date, photo, names and words printed on them.  Very creative!

We may or may not have gone to a casino late that night (this girl’s first time) to further my blackjack education and lose $5 on the slots.  It was a strange, strange place, I tell ya!  It was HUGE, and the lights are pretty dim and there aren’t any windows so there’s really no way to tell if it’s 4PM or 4AM.  Drinks are free, and you can walk everywhere with them!  People also smoked inside; it’s strange that a few years ago that was the norm everywhere.  The stores were opened past midnight, so Ari and I split a Godiva pumpkin truffle.

We got to the hotel really late, and with the exception of Stew, all slept in past noon.  We woke up famished, so we set out in search of brunch.  Where did our journey take us, you ask?  To the Grand Slam at Denny’s. Yes, you read that correctly.

The Grand Slam is a magical deal that lets you pick four breakfast items for only $5.99.  For an extra $.49 per item, you can choose from three “premium selections” like yogurt, granola or fruit.   We were all very excited.

We placed our orders, then  set to work.  When was the last time you colored at an eatery?

Ari ordered a festive pot of peppermint tea (which came with an unsolicited squirt of peppermint syrup):

I drank my coffee black.

The food arrived: I ordered (dry) whole wheat pancakes, egg whites, oatmeal and a cup of fruit.

I ate all the fruit and eggs (which were buttery but delicious), half of the pancakes and left all of the oatmeal.  Even had I not been an oatmeal snob, I don’t think anything else would have fit in my stomach.

Brunch understandably held me right up through the wedding, and left me with more than enough time to shower, dress (Hollywood Tape did not come through for me as I’d hoped)…

… and watch three hours worth of Married With Children episodes.

The ceremony was beautiful, and while it was traditional in some respects, there were some nice personal touches: the groomsmen walked down the aisle to Semi-Charmed Life, the bridesmaids to Bittersweet Symphony, the bride to Do You Realize?, all performed by a string quartet. There may have been some tears in my corner.

At the dinner reception, the guest seated to my right taught me a helpful trick to remembering where your bread and drinks go in relation to your place setting.

Make the “OK” signal with both of your hands.  Your left forms a lower-case “B” (for bread), and the right forms a “D” (for drink).  How handy!

Speaking of bread, this roll was particularly tasty…

… and where drinks are concerned, I stuck to vodka- sodas.

While we were eating our smoked mozzarella and pesto ravioli appetizer, Josh and Ari played an acoustic version of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” for the bride and groom’s first dance. This was really good, but I let it get cold and only had a few bites.

I didn’t leave a scrap of arugula salad with toasted walnuts, shaved parmesan, and mandarin oranges, however.  The couple next to me thought it was too big, but I would have gladly alleviated them of their portion!  This was my favorite part of the meal.

The entree was grilled salmon with mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots. It was good, but I was pretty full by the time this came around and only ate about half of the fish (but all of the veggies!) and gave my taters to Ari.

We danced around on the floor for a bit, but really just enjoyed being with friends and each other.  The band is booked through February with a short break in December, so it was nice to be able to spend the weekend together.

The cake was sliced and brought around: chocolate with strawberry and vanilla buttercream.  I ate about half, then went back out to tear up the rug.

Our eyelids started drooping around midnight, and we were asleep by 1.  We had to hustle in the morning to get back to the city, but we had enough time to have a nice brunch with the wedding party.  I had half of a sesame bagel with cream cheese, eggs, fruit (plus some unpictured grapes), and half a slice of French toast. Coffee abounded, as usual.

It was such a nice weekend.  I really cannot express how grateful I am to have been able to spend a weekend- more like a mini-vacation, actually- with people I love.  The next few days will be pretty busy… The Upwelling goes back on tour tomorrow, and I have a couple interviews for potential jobs.   My healthy habits have been slacking a bit, but one month from this morning (Sunday, December 13) is my 15K race.  I’ve updated my training plan, and will stick to it… I went on a 4.5 mile run late this afternoon.

Regular posting will resume tomorrow.  I hope you had a fabulous weekend, and congratulations to the newlyweds!

I have a [...]]]> Good Sunday, y’all.  How are you spending the last hours of your weekend?  Dinner in bed? Catching up on shows from the week? It’s 8:30 and I’m just getting dinner ready, and will spend the rest of the night doing some internship stuff and possibly watching Thursday’s episode of Gray’s Anatomy.

I have a confession: I’ve been putting off blogging all day. Why? Well, I’ve been in kind of a weird place the last few days, and haven’t wanted to whine about it.  But whine about it I must (for a few seconds), or I have a feeling I won’t post for days.  Either that, or I’m having a blogging identity crisis.

There’s only so much time one can sit in front of the computer applying for jobs and reading blogs.  I haven’t been exercising at all… the thought of sitting on a stationary bike makes me cringe (and it’s a 45 minute ride to the gym, each way) and I haven’t been able to find enough energy, motivation, or opportune time to try a workout DVD. I feel like my muscles are weakening and that by the time I can run again, it’ll take me months to build back up to where I was.  There was one instance yesterday when I seriously thought about just going for a quick two mile run to blow off steam.  I’m not proud about it, but didn’t run, and won’t until I’m given the okay.  But frankly, what it comes down to, is that I’m just plain bored.  Bored and broke.

As happy as I was about quitting my table-waiting gig and spending that lost time looking for a “real” job, I think it’s gotten to the point where I might have to start looking for something like that again.  Hopefully it will be temporary, but I’m not generating any income and it’s getting pretty tight over here.  I haven’t started looking for another waiting position yet, but I really think it’s in my future again, unfortunately.  Unless I win the lottery… I never bought a ticket on my 18th birthday, and have put off doing so because I think I know that in the back of my mind, when I do it will be the winning ticket. Good logic, eh?

For now, though, I think the key is to just do something outside of the house every day.  If I have to read, I should find a place to read.  Preferably near the gym, so that I’ll get myself moving again.  Things will look up, but I have to set that process in motion.  Ho, ho, ho!

Self-pep-talk over, I promise.

Breakfast yesterday was inspired by Katie‘s “brulée” style oats.  I zapped this banana in the microwave for one minute:

I combined it with a serving of steel-cut oats, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and almond butter.   A sweet and rich way to start the morning!

Ari and I spent the morning running errands, going back and forth between the city and home.  We got a lot done! I knew lunch was going to be late, so I snacked on some Greek yogurt to tide me over.

When I did get around to making lunch, it ended up looking a lot like the killer salads of recent days, and it was mighty fine.  I think I’ve figured out the formula for a perfect salad: plenty of greens, a variety of other veggies, fruit, savory protein, and a unique salad dressing.

This was made of:

• spinach
• shredded carrots
• red onion
• 1 Gala apple (yep, the whole thing)
• meatless meatballs
• Dressing: raw agave nectar, olive oil, rice vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & pepper

A little later, I snacked on a couple chunks of energy.

Dinner was another nod to college life; this time, I made a batch of Annie’s Mac & Cheese and mixed in a mashed sweet potato and black beans.  The result? Delicious! And oh so festive with the Halloween colors.  I realize you might not all be sold on this one, but try it!

After dinner, I went into the city to meet Caitlin at the 92Y Tribeca to see the premier of Sufjan Stevens‘ film The BQE.

Source

If it’s not 100% obvious from the above photo, he is a total fox.  And a ridiculously talented fox at that, so ladies, should you decide to join the ranks of rockstar girlfriends, he earned my seal of approval.

After the show I met up with Ari and Ilana, and we all went home together.  I wasn’t really hungry, but all I could think about when I opened the front door was how much I wanted ice cream.

Phish Food isn’t as good as I remember it being… I think there needs to be some peanut butter in there.

A few days ago, a reader asked for the recipe for my miso soup with collards and seitan.

It’s easy peasy: Simply take 1 cup of spicy miso soup , eliminating the tofu, and pour it into a pot over four loosely chopped collard green leaves, until just covered. Steam until leaves turn bright green, about 4 minutes.  Add 1 serving chopped seitan and heat through.  Serve and enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNpoDmsuEPk]

I’m off to get some work done.  Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Hmm, so… Thursday’s breakfast was based around YouBar‘s The Best Trail Mix.

I plopped half the bag on top [...]]]> Bonne samedi, mes amis! How are you all? Is your weekend off to a nice start? I know I make it a terrible habit of disappearing on the first day Ari’s back, but I’m here now.

Hmm, so… Thursday’s breakfast was based around YouBar‘s The Best Trail Mix.

I plopped half the bag on top of a big mound of pumpkin and an even bigger mound of steel-cut oats, and covered it all with cinnamon and agave nectar.

It felt quite festive.

This was the morning that I had my bone density test (the results of which were called in to my orthopedist… who did not return my call and share the findings with me before the weekend but that’s okay).  I had an apple when I got out of the hospital…

… came home, read InStyle took care of some chores, and went back to sleep for a few hours.  When I woke up, so did a hungry beast. I was inspired by the previous day’s salad dressing adventures, so I played around in the kitchen a little bit.

Behold: Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette!

Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette

Serves 1

• 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• squirt of fresh lemon juice

This was delicious. I vow to never have a boring salad again!

Into the salad itself went:

• 1/3 block tempeh
• 1 apple
• red onion
• carrots
• red chard
• pumpkin-miso dressing

I followed it up with a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Greek Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt.

After a few hours of job searching, I snacked on a piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with peanut butter and raspberry jam.

Other than walking and cleaning, I have done almost nothing physical in almost two weeks.  It’s slowly driving me crazy.  Emily alerted me to these workout videos you can watch instantly on Netflix (if you have an account), which is great. Unfortunately, my will power is not.  I did about 10 minutes of this yoga class, then made dinner and went to the airport to pick Ari up.  Blegh.

I’m going to wager that my dinner is not going to ignite any food jealousy.   I had no idea what I wanted for dinner except that I had to have an Ezekiel English muffin.  On one half I had a TJ’s Masala Burger with mustard, on the other egg whites with salt, pepper & ketchup. Boring, but got the job done.

We found the band at the airport, piled all the gear in the car and squeezed in like sardines.  Everyone was a little jet-lagged, so we just watched a short movie and In Treatment.  While doing so, I had another piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with almond butter and jam and a small glass of Merlot.

We slept in a bit yesterday, although I woke up a good hour before the boy.  This is usually the case even when he hasn’t just come back from a tour in Europe.  No matter! I made myself a bowl of brown oatmeal: steel-cut oats with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, brown sugar and peanut butter.

By the time Ari woke up and decided he wanted chicken parm for breakfast, I was ready for lunch.  I made a salad that was almost a repeat of the day before’s, but why mess with a good thing?

In the mix:

• red chard
• carrots
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/3 brick tempeh
• 1 pear
• red onions
• pumpkin-miso dressing

I also had a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Nonfat Honey Greek Yogurt.

We went into the city and took care of a bunch of errands, including chopping what Erin refers to as Ari’s “alterna-hair.” We stopped by my old restaurant for a glass of wine before going to dinner at Friend House, one of Ari’s favorite sushi restaurants.  Something happened to my camera and it would only take really blurry (and incredibly frustrating) photos.

I ordered the sashimi entrée… I promise that’s what’s in the picture!

It came with miso soup.

We went down to the Lower East Side for some Upwelling work, got caught in the rain, and practically ran all the way home.  After showering away the acid rain, we settled in for the night with our cartons of Ben & Jerry.

I went for Light Phish Food (but demanded asked nicely for the peanut butter cups in Ari’s Everything But The…), and did my best to put it down after I plowed through 1/4 of the carton.  I guess I have a little bit of will-power.

What are your plans for the weekend?