Chilly Weather Eats + WIAW

September 7, 2011 By Laura

Wednesday comes quickly on short weeks!

Short weeks are good and bad. I love the extra weekend time… but I was at work until 8p last night paying for it.

It’s chilly and drizzling rain here, so I had planned to go to kickboxing for a good, mindless workout. The last class starts at 730p.

On the bright side, I hit the gym in my building and tried out a new back/bicep workout that I’ll be sharing soon. 🙂

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On such a short week I nearly forgot to take pics for WIAW!

I did remember nearly everything in the nick of time. Mas importante because I had a special treat for breakfast.

Breakfast:

I pre-gamed breakfast with some cantaloupe because it was going to take a minute before I picked up the main show.

FREE Chick-fil-A!!! It is free breakfast entrée week (with a reservation). I was pumped to try out their new oatmeal.

I came prepared with my own peanut butter (I never said I was normal). They provided brown sugar, nuts, and dried fruit as toppings, but I’m not a dried fruit fan and the nuts were all sugar-coated. Too much sugar in the morning!

The oatmeal itself was pretty good. The fact that it’s multi-grain gave it a good texture. It was cooked well – not watery, which I generally find to be the problem. Only 120 calories and 5g of sugar, but I liked that it had 3g of fiber and 4g of protein. That said, the serving was fairly small and I was really glad for the peanut butter!

Lunch:

Inspired by the cool, rainy weather I made a delicious Indian Eggplant Lentil Stew Monday night and thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers for lunch today.

Side note: Tech wont their first game against Western Carolina ~~Girl’s School~~ Saturday!!!

Lentils have many benefits. They are:

High in protein an fiber = filling
Good source of iron and magnesium
Take on virtually any flavor from other foods/seasonings
Low-cost
Good left-over!

This recipe will be up tomorrow!!!

Snacks:

Not pictured, but I am pretty ~~predictable~~ consistent:

Chocolate-Toffee Think Thin bar
Nuts – I caved and ate the Chick-fil-A sugar-coated. They were good. 🙂
Kombucha Green Tea
Broccoli and carrot sticks dipped in my new find: Spinach-Artichoke Hummus

This hummus is a new Whole Foods find by Nature’s Healthy Gourmet. You really get the good artichoke flavor in it!

Nature’s Healthy Gourmet is a small company based out of Florida that specializes in vegetarian and Kosher foods. Nature’s hummus is also dairy- and gluten-free. If you can find it, this hummus is worth a try!

Dinner:

Since I got home from work so late I opted for a lighter dinner. A salad with raw french green beans, sprouts, and mission figs.

Did you really think that’s all I ate? Bwhahahaha!

That salad was protein’d up with sriracha-marinated tempeh and hummus dressing (the aforementioned hummus mixed with a bit of apple cider vinaigrette).

I finally learned how to spell sriracha!!! Gotta celebrate the small victories. 😉

For a more delicious eats, check out the round up at Peas and Crayons!

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Please excuse the grainy iPhone pics for the next few days… my camera is broken!

It seems that every fast food place offers oatmeal now – do you ever purchase it in a crunch?

Is is getting cooler where you are? Bring on the fall weather!

Voluminous Apps

February 23, 2011 By Laura

I am in App-heaven.

So far I’m loving:

Hipstamatic – I think everyone knows this one, but it makes your photos have that “old school” feel (added bonus: will load to Flickr and FB seamlessly).
ColorSplash – This app gets the “cool” award. It makes your photos black and white, then allows you to zoom in and selectively “paint” color back in.
FlickStackr – Allows you to easily upload pics, edit comments, and browse others’ photos.
TweetDeck – Definitely take the cake for the app I didn’t know I needed – this integrates FB and Twitter and allows you to easily upload photos,
Sleep Cycle – Ok, so I haven’t used it yet… but – if it works – this could save me many “OMG, did I really oversleep AGAIN?!” panic attacks. From their site: a bio-alarm clock that analyzes your sleep patterns and wakes you when you are in the lightest sleep phase.
ScoutMob – You know how much I love a deal. Moreover, I love a deal that finds me. ScoutMob’s app uses your location to tell you where the nearby discounts are, which ones are expiring soon, and has a neat-o hipster mustache you can apply to a pic. (Today’s 50% off deal is for Tierra, which I love. Don’t be scared by the exterior. Get the Tres Leches. And the wine.)

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Remember when I mentioned trying Katie’s voluminous oatmeal trick?

I made them to runny in Round 1. This morning I did it again, sans liquid overkill. FTW.

Blueberry-Banana-Style Voluminous Oats

In my mix:

1/3 C oatmeal
1 C water
1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
shake of salt

Microwave 4 mins, let stand for 5 mins, place in fridge over night (according to Katie’s instructions).

Added in the morning:

1/2 chopped banana
handful blueberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp almond extract

Mix using an immersion blender (a.k.a my new BFF), and heat in microwave until warm.

Toppings that would be delicious: banana pieces, chocolate chunks, walnuts, more berries.

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This weekend I posted about my distaste for McDonald’s oatmeal.

Apparently, I am not the only one who thinks they are scary. Check out this New York Times article. (Why couldn’t they have at least made all that artificial taste good?!)

What to do you grab for breakfast in a pinch? Is fast food a consideration?

Cherry-O’s

February 19, 2011 By Laura

CNN posted an article yesterday on the healthiest fast-food breakfasts. Naturally, I was curious after the nasty bowl of oatmeal I had at McDonald’s a few weeks ago.

This over-sweetened soupy bowl of oats was #6 on the list. The apple/raisins/brown sugar all come on the side, but the girl at the counter added them without asking when she added the hot water. Fail. It has 290 calories and 5g of protein, which is not terrible (some nuts would be a welcome addition to bulk it up) but it would have been better if it tasted good.

Some of these options sound good – like the Dunkin’ Donuts Wake-Up Wrap – but why do the eggs always have to look so fake???

What surprises me is that the article doesn’t mention sugar content. I don’t like beginning my day on a sugar high, and McD’s oatmeal had 32g of sugar!

*Steps off platform*

Kudos to fast food restaurants for offering some healthier options. There’s definitely room for improvement, but it’s good to know there are choices if you are pressed for time and in need of breakfast.

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Lately, I’m craving cherries. It could have something to do with this deliciousness. (I just made this lemon-cherry vegan “cheese”… it is no joke, y’all.)

Technically these are cherry oats… but Cherry O’s sound sound much more fun! Let’s be honest, I need fun in my liquid-y diet.

I LOVED these. This is possibly my favorite fruit-oat combo to date.

Cherry-O’s

1/2 C oatmeal
1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
1/2 C water
1/2 C frozen cherries
1/2 banana
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
Shake of salt

Combine all ingredients in a pot and heat over medium-high heat, stirring combine and mashing mash bananas and cherries as the mixture heats. Cook until done, stirring occasionally. The slower you cook them, the fluffier they are!

Don’t forget the cherry on top. 🙂

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It is February. It is also 70 degrees and sunny. Mother Nature, you are redeeming yourself today.

What is your favorite spring-like weather activity?

I don’t plan to be inside at all today. This calls for a hike!

Chilly Weather Eats + WIAW

Breakfast:

Lunch:

Snacks:

Dinner:

Voluminous Apps

Cherry-O’s

Cherry-O’s

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