Another Monday has come and (almost) gone. Which means I only have 4 days of school left until I’m on break. Can you tell I’m counting down?
I started the week off right with a nice little breakfast.
There was some leftover millet in the fridge, so I mixed that with some almond milk, chia, cinnamon, applesauce, and raisins, then heated it all in the microwave for a few minutes. Top with pecans, and you are good to go!
With a glass of good ol’ cranberry juice to wash it down.
It’s nice to get in a warm breakfast sometimes on my early mornings.
It was your typical Monday – biochem lecture, Sprouts volunteering (and tasty baked goods!), lunch, and a food science lecture. Since neither of the lectures are really blog worthy, let’s look at the food!
Lunch was pretty basic, but totally what I was craving.
A classic peanut butter & banana sandwich on some Silver Hills “The Big 16” sprouted grain bread. Always reminds me of being a kid!
It got a little smushed in my backpack though. Also reminds me of being a kid 
For some crunchy veggie action, I brought the usual – cucumber and carrot – with some hummus.
And of course, I had to pick out a baked good while I was at Sprouts. This time, there were two options I just couldn’t decide between.
My usual fudgy vegan brownie.
Or the new (and Valentine’s Day themed) Mexican Hot Chocolate Broken Heart Snickerdoodle.
Really, how could I person possibly choose between the two? I didn’t bother.
Now, I didn’t eat them both in one sitting. I had a little nibble of each at school, then decided upon the brownie once I got home.
A great pick me up snack in the afternoon. Especially since I was off to the local hospital to resume my volunteering there.
Well, that was a bust. I’ve had so much miscommunication there with the volunteer coordinator and the clinic I’m working in. Basically, they didn’t know I was coming, and they aren’t there late enough to make it worth while for me to go after class. I was home much earlier than expected, and yet, failed to use that time wisely (aka – studying). Instead, I caught up on the news. Oops!
Dinner time rolled around, and it was just me and my dad home for dinner. We both went with the “fend for yourself” menu plan. Which was perfect, because I had a new soup I wanted to try out.
Did you know Happy Planet not only makes awesome juices, but they make soup as well? When we were at Costco on the weekend, they were demoing the Thai Coconut Soup, and it was delicious. It comes in a two pack for an awesome price, so I snuck it into the cart
All good stuff there on the ingredient list!
I heated up a serving with a little water, since it’s super (souper?) thick.
And toasted up some more Silver Hills bread, slathering on some avocado/Laughing Cow smash. Yum!
So easy, but so tasty!
This soup is great. It has a nice heat that builds as you eat it, and lots of big pieces of baby corn, carrots, and bamboo shoots. I think it would be awesome with some shrimp, chicken, tofu, or tempeh added to it. And for a premade soup, the sodium isn’t even that bad per serving – 550 mg, which is lower than alot of soups out there.
The rest of my evening was spent sort of studying, sort of watching tv, and sort of doing nothing. All with a mug of tea to keep me going.
I figured the mug might motivate me to crack the books a little more. So far…not really working.
But, I shall sign off for the evening, so I can delve into the 5 chapters of psych I need to read by Thursday morning. Let’s see if that actually happens. Night!
Here we are, another weekend quickly coming to a close. Although I’m never looking forward to that early morning wake up call on Monday morning, I’m am excited that at the end of this week I will be done 3 midterms, on break from school, and fully immersed in the Olympics!
I made sure to get in a good sleep in this Sunday morning, until I overheard my mom talking about going to Costco. For some reason, that got me out of bed in a flash, and I was whizzing up breakfast to make it out the door with her.
My usual smoothie combo:
- 1 banana
- peanut butter
- cocoa powder
- vanilla whey protein powder
- flax seed
- oats
- Earth’s Own Almond Milk
It ended up being a big excursion to Costco, with my sister and her boyfriend tagging along. We tried out some samples, picked up some tasty food, and I even saw that the Vitamix is going to be demoed at our Costco from Feb 10 – 21st! Oh, if only I had some income….I might have to go check it out anyways
Once we got home, I figured I should eat a little something to tide me over until dinner, so I heated up the rest of the cream of mushroom soup from last night.
Then I broke into one of our Costco purchases – the Kashi Fruit & Grain granola bars!
The multipack includes one of each flavour – Pumpkin Pie, Dark Chocolate Coconut, and Raspberry Chocolate. I decided to try out the Pumpkin Pie flavour.
It was quite tasty – nice pumpkin pie flavour. I don’t know that it would ever trump the Dark Chocolate Coconut one, but that’s just my personal taste
Now, we all know I’m a rabid hockey fan, but today I put that aside, and watched a little of that silly football game, the Super Bowl. I have no real interest in football, but I figure it’s one of those events you just have to watch, if only for the half time show, and to make sure you can chat about it around the proverbial water cooler the next day. I thought it was cool that the Saints won, since they never have. But trust me – I will never be a football convert. Unless maybe they strap on skates and play on ice
Tonight was a full on Sunday dinner, even eaten at the dining room table!
Mom cooked up a giant ham – not only for our nice dinner, but to have leftovers for the week, since she’ll be volunteering at the Games as well.
The perfect ham side dish? Scalloped potatoes of course.
With some steamed broccoli and cauliflower, topped with a wee bit of cheese.
And a selection of wines to choose from.
Sipped from the good crystal.
Maybe not your typical Super Bowl fare, but hey, it’s not our game!
Atypical to those traditional Sunday dinners, we didn’t have a big dessert. Just some fruit (dragon fruit and grapes), and homemade oatmeal chocolate chip craisin cookies.
I was a good little student, and did some school work after dinner, including my online food science quiz (25/25 baby!). Even with 3 midterms quickly approaching, I don’t really feel that stressed. I just feel like the subject matter is easier for me for some reason. Let’s hope I’m right!
And now, as I watch the end of the late news, I shall sign off so I can get to bed. Night!
Hello there blog readers! Hope you all have had a good start to your weekend. My Saturday has been jam packed with all sorts of interesting events. I’m fading fast here though, so hopefully this doesn’t take too long to type out 
I had somewhat of a sleep in this morning, but not my usual late weekend wake up call. I had somewhere I needed to be. But not before getting in a hearty breakfast.
These oats were oatmeal raisin cookie inspired. Which, when you think about it, isn’t exactly a stretch for oatmeal.
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 cup Earth’s Own Almond Milk
- 1/3 block Mori-Nu Silken Firm Tofu
- raisins
- cinnamon
- pecans
- maple syrup
I whipped the ‘fu in there as good as I could, but since I had cooked the raisins with the oats, I didn’t really want to blend the whole thing up, ya know?
With a glass of jewel-toned cranberry juice.
Breakfast basking in the morning sun.
So, what was a fuelling up for? I was off to a Zumba class! My gym is starting to offer Zumba classes, and they were having some free trial sessions this week, so my mom signed myself and my sister up to go with her. It was pretty fun – although, let’s be honest; I have no Latin rhythm whatsoever. I wanted to sign up for the 6 week package, but since I’m volunteering at the Olympics, I would end up missing half of the classes, which hardly makes it worthwhile. They said they were planning on doing consecutive 6 week sessions though, so hopefully I’ll be able to sign up next go round.
We got home just in time so I could watch the end of the Canucks game (serious – who schedules hockey to start at 10 am? Sure, it was 1 pm in Boston, but damnit, that’s still too early!). We ended up coming from behind and winning in a shootout, so that just made this Saturday a little bit better
I made use of some leftovers at lunch – the dinner I wasn’t home for last night.
The family BBQ’d (yes, outside – our weather has been that good lately) some hamburgers, so I reheated one with some Swiss cheese.
Served up in a whole wheat kaiser, with avocado, lettuce, onion, and mustard.
My sister wanted me to share her lunch creation as well – she was also on the leftover train, and used up the black beans and millet I’d cooked up, and made her own Tex-Mex mix with some tomato, green onion, spices, and cheese.
She’s not exactly one to cook that often, but she was pretty proud of her lunch. I had a bite, and it was tasty. In her words: “It’s a keeper!”
We then shared a persimmon for lunch dessert.
Yes, it was that sunny today. Loved it!
Eventually I made myself presentable, and grabbed a wee bite to eat before heading out the door again.
The last little bits of the container of Liberté Greek Yogurt with some peanut butter, raspberry jam, Kashi GoLean Crunch, coconut, and chocolate chips. Random, but good.
Where was I off to? My final training session for the Olympics! I got myself suited up in my official gear, and made my way down to Canada Hockey Place. Of course, I made sure to get down there a little early, to take in some of the sights.
Sochi House – the Russian pavilion for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games (located at Science World).
View over False Creek of BC Place, Canada Hockey Place, and the province pavilions (the one with the big Q is Quebec House, or La Maison du Québec en français).
Looking back over False Creek at Sochi House and the Vancouver Olympic Village.
Training wasn’t overly exciting. A lot of basic stuff, just specified to the venue. The best part was getting to tour around Canada Hockey Place, to orient ourselves in the building. Sure, I’ve been there plenty of times before, and even been behind the scenes, in the media centre, skated on the ice, etc, but things are pretty different now. Getting to the building, finding the right entry/exit, all the changes to the concourses – it’s like a different place. They had just put in the hockey ice surface today, so we were able to see it.
I would give anything to get to go out there and skate on it
After all our touring and whatnot was done, I made my way back to the train, but not before I took a couple more pictures – everything is lit up at night!
The Canada Hockey Place sign. It cycles through different shades of blue and green – the colours of the Games. I believe all the venues have these signs.
And looking back out over False Creek at Sochi House and the Vancouver Olympic Village again.
You could also see the light show from English Bay – Vectorial Elevation – over the stadiums. So cool!
Needless to say – I’m totally spending all of my free time downtown over the course of the Games. I want to check out all the free events going on – there is so much to do! I’m already planning on some adventures on Thursday after my last midterm, and have a friend coming over to visit near the end of the Games.
By the time I was done training, it was 9 pm. I was what you might call hungry. We can’t bring food into any of the venues, and the only thing they had for snacks were these cookies.
Yes, I took the gimpy looking one – but it was the only dark & white chocolate one left. Let’s just say, it doesn’t exactly rank high on the nutritional scale, but when it’s the only food item available to you over the span of 6 hours, well, you take it.
I finally got home around 10 pm, and stood around in a foul mood as I tried to figure out what to have for dinner. The family had chilli, which just isn’t my thing. Although the fridge has lots of food in it, nothing was appealing to me. Finally, I just decided on an old standby – soup & sandwich.
I made a grilled ham, white cheddar, and red pepper jelly sammy.
And some cream of mushroom soup.
To be quite honest, the whole thing was pretty meh. I really wanted some sort of fancy, filling salad, but we just didn’t have the makings of one in the fridge. Plus, it was after 10 pm. I was more concerned with the food entering my belly than satisfying my taste buds. So I guess it did it’s job.
For all the things I did do today, I did not accomplish anything related to school – like studying for those 3 midterms coming up. Hence why I should find myself in bed, so I can wake up and hit the books (and maybe the gym) tomorrow. Night!
In a mere 7 days, I will be settled in at home, watching the Opening Ceremonies for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games (as I’m sure alot of you will be as well). Seriously – it’s so freakin’ close! I just have to get through 3 midterms before I can truly enjoy the wonder that will be the Games.
I had a busy Friday today, and I was on top of things last night, and prepped not just lunch, but breakfast as well. If only I could be this prepared every day.
I decided to try my hand at what everyone calls overnight oats – which really, is just museli isn’t it? Seems like it to me. Anyways, I combined the following in a container the night before:
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness
- 2 tbsp vanilla whey protein powder
- 2 dried figs, chopped
Then I heated it up this morning, and topped it with some homemade pumpkin butter and peanut butter.
With half a glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party…because that’s all that was left 
A little too much liquid, but still tasty and filling.
I even took the time to brew up some Silk Road Sour Cherry Green Tea before I left, so I had something warm to keep me going all morning through biochemistry. I think that’s key to surviving 8 am lectures – a little infusion of caffeine to keep you going, and combat the freezing lecture hall.
My 3 hour break was broken up again with another psych study (bonus marks!) I was doing, so I waited until afterwards to have lunch. And trust me, it was a good one.
When I heard we were having chicken fajitas for dinner last night, my brain starting coming up with ideas for lunch to use up the leftovers.
I knew I wanted some grains, so I cooked up some millet, then decided black beans would be a fun addition as well. I tried out the quick soaking/cooking method, which worked like a charm. I mixed my leftover chicken, peppers, and onion with the millet, black beans, and last spoonful of salsa to make a sort of Tex-Mex grain salad.
I would have added frozen corn as well – except we didn’t have any. D’oh!
I packed up a container of fruit as well – some papaya chunks.
And red grapes.
Perfect for snacking.
Since there was leftover shredded cheddar, I brought a little along to top my grain dish, which was obviously an excellent idea.
My food science lecture was informative – only because we talked about the midterm next week, as well as our assignment for over the Olympic break. I think that’s the first class all semester where I got something out of it. Then I was on my way home for the day.
But alas, my time at home was short lived. I had to get cleaned up and changed so I could go to my first shift at my new job! My clothes were all ironed and clean, I put on my new spiffy shoes, and made my way there. They gave me my (clip on) tie, and my name tag, so I looked like a real employee. Then I spent the whole 6 hours up on the computer doing training courses. I understand they are necessary, but man, I was almost nodding off by the end. Dinner was eaten on my break – I picked up some brown rice California rolls from the deli, and had a Cashew Cookie Larabar earlier on my coffee break as a snack – so there were no pictures taken, but I know you all have good imaginations.
At least I made a fun snack/second dinner when I got home
My smoothie concoction contained an overripe mango, young coconut water & meat, cocoa powder, and some almond milk to top up the glass.
I needed something to chew on as well, so I made toast with peanut butter & grape jelly.
Totally hit the spot.
The rest of the evening was spent chillin’, and sorting out my day tomorrow. I’m going to a fun exercise class in the morning, and I have my last Volunteer training tomorrow for the Games. Weeeee! But if I’m going to get through that, plus some midterm studying, well, I better get to bed. Night!
Well, I accomplished my shoe finding mission today, and mom made all the hemming adjustments to my clothes (damn short legs), so I’m officially ready to start work tomorrow!
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves – what about all that happened today?
I unexpectedly was able to sleep in just a wee bit longer this morning, as my sister was feeling under the weather and not going to work. I usually hitch a ride with her to the train, but she leaves about 20 min earlier than I actually need to in order to get to class on time. I definitely relished lounging in bed just that little bit longer.
Of course, that little bit longer may have turned into a lot longer, so breakfast ended up being rushed. Oops!
Fortunately, there is always cereal there to save me.
I went with a combination of Nature’s Path Pumpkin Raisin Crunch, Multigrain Cheerios, and craisins.
And a glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party. Fun fact – one of the founders of Happy Planet is the current Mayor of Vancouver.
My dad always jokes that I’m just making him rich by buying his juice. Whatever, the stuff tastes good, is organic, and isn’t made from shoddy ingredients.
I couldn’t handle another day of the usual cucumber and carrot combo in my lunch, so I packed a sort of second breakfast instead.
Some Liberté Greek Yogurt mixed with peanut butter and agave. What can I say, it tastes good that way.
Kashi GoLean Crunch and pumpkin seeds to mix it later on – you don’t want that getting soggy!
And some dragon fruit, kiwi, and lime to squeeze over top (trust me – it’s awesome with the dragon fruit).
You can just pretend that Cashew Cookie Larabar doesn’t exist – it never made it into my belly.
After some riveting sleep inducing lectures, I hopped on the bus and head out on a shopping adventure. Now, let me rant here for a moment. There are some people saying that they don’t think this city is behind the Games, and that they aren’t showing their excitement, blah, blah. I don’t know what crack they’ve been smoking, but I see Canada flags everywhere, well wishes for our athletes, people sporting Olympic clothing out the wazoo. Heck, I even stopped in Whole Foods for a browse, and not only do they have flags up, but they’ve themed their hot bar with selections representing different regions of Canada. And check out these flags at Metrotown Mall.
Sure looks like lack of Olympic spirit to me. *insert massive eye roll here*
So anyways, I got all my errands done, found my work shoes, then stopped for a snack on my way out of the mall, as this little place caught my eye.
Qoola Frozen Yogurt Bar. Could it be – a fro-yo shop similiar to all those fancy ones I see you US bloggers raving about? And what’s that? Why, they are not only Canadian, but a Vancouver company to boot.
I chatted with the cashier there, and she let me know they just opened in January, so they are relatively new. She also let me taste out the flavours before committing to anything. It’s a serve yourself deal, where you pick your fro-yo, then add toppings, and pay based on weight. I can’t remember what the price was per 100 grams, but I know mine only came to just over $3, so I’d say it’s a pretty good deal.
My only complaint – they only have one size of container. And it’s huge!
Don’t they know us food bloggers need appropriate sized containers so the stuff looks good for photos?! When you only fill it up maybe half way, it just looks sad.
Moving on – I went with the green tea/original tart fro-yo swirl, and topped it with coconut, mochi, and triple chocolate shavings.
I tried to get a good pick of the fro-yo underneath, but it just wasn’t happening.
Loved the tartness of these two flavours. I might go full on green tea though next time, because I’m hardcore like that. And the mochi was fun – I just used the regular mochi, but they also have some flavoured candied mochi I want to try. The other fro-yo flavours on site were mango, berry, vanilla, and capuccino. They had tons of toppings including fruit, cereal, nuts, and syrups. I think I even saw peanut butter. I think they need their machine to run a wee bit cooler though, because my fro-yo was a touch watery at the bottom. And get a second, smaller size of cup.
I then made my way home, and made myself comfy to watch some hockey. My team lost, but at least dinner was tasty, so the night wasn’t a total bust.
My sister made chicken fajitas. Nevermind the fact that a) she cut all the fillings into chunks rather than strips, and b) bought wraps instead of small flour tortillas. It was still good – chicken, peppers, onions, salsa, sour cream, and cheddar.
And there were leftovers, which I fashioned into a tasty lunch for tomorrow.
I spent some time getting random things done, did some ab work, then decided to slice up this beauty.
Jet-fresh Hawaiian papaya. I’d picked them up at work on sale, and this one was perfectly ripe.
I ended up doing the fruit rounds of the house, so my family could all taste it. I had a few chunks myself. Still half of it left – perhaps breakfast tomorrow?
I wanted something a little more carb-y later on, so cinnamon toast did the trick.
Paired with a nice mug of raspberry herbal tea.
But now my friends, I must hit the sack. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow – up at 5:30, classes until 1 pm, then I work from 3 – 9 pm. I will be T-I-R-E-D when I finally get home! So now I sleep. Night!
Only 9 MORE DAYS until the Olympics begin! We’re getting oh so close to the big day. I’m like a kid eagerly awaiting Christmas morning.
So how did I start off the 9 day countdown morning? With a bowl of delicious eats of course.
Greek yogurt bowl!
I mixed together some Liberté Greek yogurt, peanut butter, and agave, then topped it with frozen blueberries and Kashi GoLean Crunch. You can’t go wrong with a simple breakfast, especially when you wake up as early as I have to.
With a glass of the good stuff – Happy Planet Mango Peach Party.
I’m getting bored of my breakfast photo location, but at that time of the morning, it’s the only place in the house where I can get any decent lighting.
I didn’t have the best sleep last night – I woke up at 4 am, convinced it was time to get up for school. When that happens, I never get back into a good sleep zone. It was very evident in my biochemistry class this morning – I definitely nodded off at least once. Ooops!
I was also freezing (per usual), and made the stop I try not to make – Starbucks. This time I decided to break from my usual green tea latte to try out something a little different.
I went for the vanilla rooibos latte (non-fat, half sweet). I had wondered how they did tea lattes – looks like they leave the bag in there
I liked it, but it was a little too sweet for me. I would order it unsweetened the next time – I think the vanilla adds to the overall sweetness of the drink. Now if only I could make tea lattes at home, I’d be set!
Lunch was nothing spectacular, but tasted really good.
Some cottage cheese – I haven’t had this in forever.
Something completely shocking – carrot & cucumber. I am so boring.
Mary’s Gone Crackers original flavoured crackers for hummus dipping. Mmmmm.
And a crunchy gala apple. This one was really good – probably because I hadn’t had an apple in way too long as well.
I had to cut my lunch break short to head off to participate in a psychology study (gotta get those bonus marks). It only took about 15 min though, so I took the opportunity to wander around campus, heading over to the UBC arena to see what’s going on there for the Games. Well, the whole area is now behind fences, so you really can’t get that close anymore.
Our food science class was cut short for no really good reason, so I was on my way home early. I had to drive my dad down to the body shop to get his car repaired, hit up the grocery store to buy item for dinner, then came home and went into chill out mode – with a snack.
I whizzed up a smoothie, utilizing some of that young coconut I cracked yesterday. Into the smoothie went:
- 1 banana
- cocoa powder
- peanut butter
- meat from young coconut
- water from young coconut
- vanilla whey protein powder
- Earth’s Own Almond Milk
Served up with some Olympic reading in the newspaper.
I definitely spent the rest of the afternoon doing nothing. Well, I read, watched the news, talked with the family. And got some free stuff!
As an Olympic volunteer, we were offered tickets to watch the dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremonies. As it turns out though, I can’t go – my biology midterm is scheduled for that evening. NOOOOO!!!
So my mom picked up my ticket, and purchased the extra tickets we were allowed, so she can go with her friends. I’m so mad I can’t go and see. I don’t know why we can’t just write out midterms during normal class time. Hmph.
But, they also gave us wine – official Olympic wine! BC VQA wine even – good stuff!
Perhaps I will use it to drink away my sorrows after my midterm? Oh wait…I have a midterm the morning after that as well. Damnit! Foiled again.
Dinner eventually happened – and it was deli (or make your own sandwich night).
My whole wheat kaiser contained turkey, ham, havarti, avocado, lettuce, pickles, mustard, and a wee bit of mayo. Nom!
More cucumber slices. Good thing I like ‘em.
And some sour cream and onion potato chips. Who doesn’t like a few chips every once in awhile?
Ah, family deli night. We always looked forward to it as kids I think because we got to build our own meal.
Once dinner was cleaned up, my sister and I made our way down to the mall. I was on a mission – get all of the items of clothing I need for my new job, as I start on Friday. Well, I was 2/3 successful. I scored a really nice pair of black dress pants, and two button up white shirts for $50 (shirts were on clearance, and one had a minor fabric flaw in the back that you would never notice, so it was discounted even more). But I could NOT find shoes. I need a pair of black, sensible shoes, but I don’t want ugly grandma shoes. I found a good pair – not in my size. And no other stores in the mall had that style. So, I’m hitting up the mega-mall tomorrow, and not leaving until I find shoes. Or until the hockey game is on (priorities).
It was time for dessert when we got home. My dad picked up a pie while we were at the store – blueberry.
I had a little slice.
It was acceptable for a grocery store bakery pie. Blueberry is not my preferred pie filling, so it wasn’t amazing or anything, but it was a nice treat. My family can finish the rest of it off though.
And yet again, I was a sloth, and didn’t manage to get in any time at the gym. I need to sort out this work/sleep/school/down time schedule, because it’s just not working for me. Of course, I don’t think I’ll get anything sorted out until after the Games. It’s okay – in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a blip in time.
Speaking of time – it’s time to sleep. I need shoe shopping energy. I shall leave you with another kitty photo – Wilson and Sienna on the stairs, having a stare down. Night!
It’s about that time again, to check out some links I find interesting, and want to share with you all. This week, it just so happens they are all links to recent news articles. I hope you enjoy!
- CFIA testing for accurate nutrition labelling – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been targeting restaurants and fast food locations who offer nutritional information on their products, and testing them out to see if that info is indeed accurate. When it comes to those advertised as low-fat…well, they just might not be.
- Your body’s pH and your diet – Are the claims that your diet can really alter your body’s pH true? Should we worry about acid-forming vs alkaline-forming foods? Is there any reputable science behind it?
- If Meals Won Medals – The New York Times has proclaimed Vancouver to be the best Olympic host city for dining out. Take note foodies – we’ve got some good eats on the west coast!
Yeah, I had to get that Olympic related article in there What can I say, I’m excited! Enjoy your Wednesday everyone.
Holy crap people – can you believe that in 10 days, the Olympics will be starting in Vancouver? I still remember watching TV the morning they announced that we won the bid for the Games, way back on July 2, 2003. You better believe I had plans to volunteer at the Games, even back then.
Something much less exciting today was pretty much every food that entered my mouth. I was lazy and uninspired, so I apologize in advance. But hey, that’s how life goes sometimes, ya know?
Seeing as yesterday had been such a long, tiring day, I allowed myself to sleep in as late as possible this morning. I made sure to leave myself enough time to make oats though.
Pretty basic combo:
- 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
- 1 banana, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp flax seed
- splash of vanilla
- blob of peanut butter
With the Happy Planet Mango Peach Party, of course.
Ah, monotonous food colours. Par for the course today.
My lunch was all about orange foods. Like the carrot sticks and kumquats I packed.
FYI – you know I would have packed cucumbers as well, but we were out. DOH!
Then I went for some more orange, in the form of a cheddar cheese bagelwich.
Look – its totally sticking its tongue out at you
I managed to keep myself awake through psych and biology, then made my way home. The transit gods must have been working in my favour today, because I made it home a full 1.5 hours before I had to go to work. Woot! A chance to relax, instead of just shoving food in my face, and heading back out the door.
Since I had all that free time on my hands, I decided to crack into this baby.
My first young coconut (why does that sound so dirty?). I used this video for some guidance. Now, I was no where near as efficient, but didn’t lose any fingers, so I consider it a success.
Check out all the coconut water – almost 2 cups! I bet it would have been, if I hadn’t spilled some while opening it.
And I definitely did a hack job getting the coconut meat out, but whatever, I’m just gonna blend it up anyways.
Can I just say – the coconut water from a fresh young coconut is beyond superior to the coconut water you can buy at the store. It was so flavourful and sweet. I managed to stop myself from chugging it all in one sitting, and made a little blended drink of the water and meat. Fancy glass optional.
To go with my coconut delight, I made a batch of kale chips.
Instead of ketchup, I tried out some sweet chili sauce with the kale chips. I think I like the ketchup better.
I even had enough time to head into work a little early. Today was my last shift at the produce market, and I kinda wanted to take advantage of my employee discount one last time. Hey, why not right? I scored some kale, a cucumber (seeing as we were out), 5 persimmons, a lime, and another young coconut for just over $5! Can’t go wrong with that
My last shift was long. For some reason, it took us forever to get everything done at closing, so I actually left 15 min later than I should have. At least I get paid for that extra time, so it’s not the end of the world.
By the time I got home though, my stomach was trying to eat itself, so I needed to fill it ASAP. Too bad there was no dinner. Booo. I opened the fridge, and finished off the first container of leftovers I could find – crock pot spicy steak.
I baked microwaved a small potato, heated up the steak, and plopped it on top.
And had a piece of whole wheat bread with butter, mostly for sopping up any extra sauce.
I couldn’t be bothered to put any effort into presentation, or make any veggies to go with it. And I wouldn’t have had room to eat them anyways – I was stuffed after this!
Well….not stuffed enough to not enjoy a hot chocolate later on. But that doesn’t really count anyways
My sister and I chilled in the recliners and watched The Biggest Loser all night, with some sleepy kitties joining us.
It’s been far too long since Sienna has graced the blog, don’t you think?
And now…it’s time to sleep. No work for me tomorrow, so I get to come home and relax after classes, and even get my lazy ass to the gym. But not without some shut eye first. Night!
Sorry to leave you without any wonderful eats to gaze upon for the past two days, but I had a biochem midterm this morning that needed some attention. Couple that with 12 hours of work, classes, and uh…watching the Grammys…well, you can see why I may have needed some space.
But don’t worry, I’ve taken photos, because that’s what I do. And now, I shall share them all with you
Sunday
I slept in until the last possible minute, because it’s my weekend, and damnit, I wanna sleep in! I did have to be at work at 9:30 am though, so it’s wasn’t really a sleep in. And I had to make sure I had time for some oatmeal creating.
I finally have some Mori-Nu Firm Silken Tofu back in my life, and knew it needed to find it’s way into a blended bowl of oatmeal.
- 1/2 cup oats, Earth’s Own Almond Milk, water
- 1/3 block Mori-Nu Firm Silken Tofu
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- splash of almond extract
- 1 tbsp flax seed
- almond slivers
- chocolate chips
On the side, I had half of a ruby red grapefruit.
And there was a glass of juice, but I hadn’t bothered to pour it yet.
I gobbled that down no problem. Hello, chocolate pudding oats for breakfast. Yum!
I made a quick lunch, but had no time to set it up for a photo shoot before running out the door for work. I wanted to make sure I got there a little early because I was handing in my letter of resignation. Which, I might add, went well. I told them I had another job, and they asked if it paid more. I said yes, and they understood. So glad, because there’s nothing like awkwardness on the shift after you resign.
If you care what I ate for lunch – pork tenderloin/avocado/Laughing Cow sandwich, kiwi fruit, cucumber slices.
Work was busy, but it was good, because it kept me occupied all day. And I picked up a treat.
Dragon fruit! I love these things. We just got a ton of them in, and everyone was buying them up. I couldn’t resist.
I also had a blogger friend (hi Jill!) come into work. She took me by surprise when she came to my till, and just said “I’m your biggest fan.” before I’d looked up to see who it was. It was pretty funny , although would have been uber-creepy if it wasn’t someone I knew. LOL.
I arrived home, put my feet up for a bit, and it was time for dinner.
Mom made sausages, garlic mashed potatoes, and gravy. Mmmm, gravy.
Plus some asparagus, and sliced apples.
After dinner I set up camp at the dining room table with all my biochemistry materials splayed out in front of me, making sure I had decent sightlines so I could also watch the Grammys. Ummm, can I just say – Lady Gaga in HD is a bit scary. But in a good way.
Eventually my brain needed more fuel. Good thing there was a fresh loaf of sourdough just asking to be covered in peanut butter.
I managed to get all the review done that I planned, and was in bed by midnight. Too bad my wake up call was in a mere 5.25 hours.
Monday
And too bad I woke up TWICE during the night. I think I was paranoid about sleeping in and missing the stupid midterm. Not to mention – we weren’t starting at 8 am like our class usually does. No, we got to start an extra 15 min early! Yay! I appreciate the extra time to write, but don’t appreciate the extra early wake up call. I prepped my lunch the night before, so all I would have to do in the morning was throw together something for breakfast.
And I’m sure you can guess what I had.
Bowl o’ cereal! I combined some Nature’s Path Pumpkin Raisin Crunch with some Multigrain Cheerios I found in the cupboard, and drowned them in almond milk.
This time the juice showed up for the photo shoot.
So, when you leave your house 30 min earlier (6 am – gross), the commute is way shorter. There is no one on the road, and no one trying to get to the school that early, because only crazies want to be at the school at 7:10 am. I definitely brewed up some green tea to keep me going through the morning on my commute.
My exam…well, it’s over. That’s all I have to say about that. I’ve moved on.
I had my usual volunteer session at Sprouts, followed by the usual vegan brownie to drown my exam sorrows tantalize my taste buds.
But don’t worry – I was a good girl, and had lunch before chocolate.
Whole wheat bagel with avocado/Laughing Cow smash.
Cucumber, carrots, and kumquats – oh my!
And the other half of the ruby red grapefruit. It looks shrivelled because I sectioned it the night before.
I enjoyed an enthralling food science lecture, then made my way home on the bus.
Signs you need more sleep? You are on a crowded bus, standing the entire trip, and nod off and have your knees give out, jerking yourself awake and looking like a dumbass. Not that that happened to me today or anything.
As you can imagine, I downed some caffeine once I got home, since yes, I was working a mere hour later. BAH.
I may have also purchased this.
Cocoa Camino Coconut Dark Chocolate bar. Hanging out with Quatchi (one of the Olympic Mascots). Quatchi likes chocolate as well
I had a couple squares.
And as you can see, Sprouts may not be storing their chocolate in the best conditions. No matter, still tasted good.
Work was so…freakin’…slow. Which is bad news when you are already struggling to stay awake. I did score some Hawaiian papayas on sale though, which I’m looking forward to once they ripen.
When I arrived home, dinner was yet again ready and waiting for me.
Some sort of crock pot steak dish my mom made. I think it has onions, chilli sauce, and other deliciousness in it. Served over some jasmine rice.
Baked acorn squash, with some cheddar. Cheddah makes it bettah!
And cucumber slices, because mom knows I hate a plate without any green on it.
Mmm, mmm, good!
After I showered and felt more alive, I decided to have a fruit tasting.
Seriously, how gorgeous is that dragon fruit?
And a persimmon – this time, looking firm and tasty like it should.
No, I didn’t eat all of this. I actually wanted my family to try them both out, so we each had a couple pieces of persimmon, and finished off half the dragon fruit. The persimmon was a big winner among all family members, with the dragon fruit coming in second, although scoring big on style points. I may have to see if we have any good persimmons at work tomorrow, since they were a hit.
I also made some Silk Road lychee tea.
And then after my sister toasted up some sourdough bread, well, I had to do the same. Only mine had peanut butter and/or Artisana Cacao Bliss on it.
Hello bottomless pit. I blame the midterm.
Eventually, I stopped shoving food in my mouth long enough to write you this post, and now that I’m done, I’m going to sleep. Night!
It’s time to announce the winner of the Olympic Red Mittens. Thanks to all who entered – once all the comments, links, and tweets were tabulated, we had 54 official entries. I’d say it was a pretty successful first giveaway!
I’ve plugged the numbers into Random.org, and without further adieu…
Our winner is Tania! Please email me with your address so I can get those mittens out to you ASAP.
Thanks again to all who participated, and hopefully we’ll see more blog giveaways in the future
