Warm Me Up

Brrrr, is it ever a cold one out there today. It’s rainy, windy, and just unpleasant all around. I’m about ready to curl up under the covers for a nap!

And actually, I would have liked to stayed curled up under the covers instead of getting up to go to school. So much so, that I slept in…again. It must be the end of the semester – lack of motivation to get to class on time and all.

I wasn’t feeling the usual quick breakfast of cereal this morning, so I went with pb + b + h.

Toasted Silver Hills “The Big 16” bread, topped with peanut butter, banana, and honey.

With a glass of that fabulous Oasis Pomegranate Berry juice. I just love the deep colour.

Ready to eat in less than 5 minutes!

After I thrilling biochemistry lecture, I made my way over to the Land & Food Building, and plopped myself onto a comfy couch to pass time until my volunteer shift at Agora. I passed the time with some internet and spelt sticks.

And photographed my bus ride home snack, a Pistachio Larabar.

I basically froze the whole way home on the bus and train. I don’t know why I was so freakin’ cold, but by the time I got home, I was making a beeline for my pajama pants, and knew I needed something to warm me up for lunch.

Earlier while at school I had seriously considered a pit stop to Starbucks for my favourite warm me up drink – a green tea latte. But I was a good little unemployed person, and saved my coin. Since I had matcha powder at home, I figured why not incorporate it into lunch. My mind was set – Green Tea Latte oatmeal

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp matcha powder
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• Artisana Coconut Butter
• almonds

Something warm to drink was in order as well. I went with hot chocolate, topped with some mini marshmallows.

Breakfast for lunch.

Definitely not your typical lunch, but it was completely satisfying, and made me feel all warm and cozy, which was exactly what I was going for.

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For those of you wanting my mom’s recipe for Salmon Loaf, head on over to ZestyCook, where the coveted family recipe is making a guest appearance!

Time To Relax

I’m almost positive I will get to enjoy a truly relaxing weekend. I have minimal school work that needs my attention, no definite plans other than a lunch tomorrow, and hockey on TV tonight. Sounds lovely to me.

I started off this weekend right with sleeping in and chocolatey oats.

Not just chocolatey, but chocolate peanut butter banana oats to be exact.

• 1/2 cup oats, almond milk, water
• 1 banana, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• peanut butter
• chocolate chips
• 2 crumbled peanut butter covered pretzels

With a glass of cranberry juice.

Chocolate oats just seem more appropriate on weekends, no?

The addition of the peanut butter covered pretzel bits was fun. I found them in the back of the cupboard. How sad I had forgotten about them for so long.

I think I’m going to head out for a walk, seeing as the gym is out of the question. Plus there seems to be a break in the rain, so now’s my chance! Later.

Friday The 13th

OOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOO!!!

Is anyone out there superstitious? Do you believe in the whole Friday the 13th stuff?

I can’t say I really do, although it could be the reason I slept in this morning. I woke up at 3:30 am, convinced it was time to get up. Of course, I fall back asleep, and don’t wake up until my mom wakes me up at 6:10. Oops! This left me super rushed to get out the door.

I managed to chug down a glass of the juice – cranberry.

And I packed up a peanut butter, banana , and honey sandwich (on my favourite Silver Hills bread) to go.

Even though I was late getting out the door, I should have been on time for class. The trains (or was it Friday the 13th again?) were against me. We pulled into one station, and the train stopped abruptly, then sat there for 10 min. The doors didn’t open, no one came over the PA. Finally, it moves forward maybe 5 feet, and then stops again, doors open, and we’re on our merry way. If it wasn’t for those 10 mins, I would have sauntered into class right at 8 am! ARGH!

Did I also mention it is W-I-N-D-Y!!! The leaves are just whipping around out there. This, of course, means it’s freakin’ cold as well. Since I’m staying on campus to meet with my group, I knew I needed something to warm me up. I bet you can guess what that was.

It’s true. Another Starbucks Green Tea Latte (non-fat, half sweet of course). I had actually planned on making my own at home this morning to go with my breakfast, but time didn’t allow it. That’s my justification. Really.

So now I’m sitting here in the library, waiting for my group to show up so we can quickly meet (hoping it’s quick, I want to be out of here by 11:30). I have some resume flogging planned for the trip home (gotta pay for this green tea latte habit). I brought along another snack in case I get hungry before I get home.

The new (to me) Tropical Fruit Larabar. I have high hopes – it has coconut, so it has to be good, right?

Time to read some blogs until my peeps are here. Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

Mission Accomplished

I have finally finished all of my midterms for this semester. Hurray! And I have to say, I think this one was the most intense. Even though we had all the questions before hand, the 2 hours we were given to write seemed so rushed. Plus, as my luck would have it, the only question I didn’t want on the exam was on there. Doh! I think I did okay though – guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

It was so nice to have a leisurely wake up this morning. I was up at 8:30, showered, then made a nice breakfast.

Banana fig oats:

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 small banana, thinly sliced
• 2 dried figs, chopped
• splash of vanilla
• 1tbsp flax seed
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

With a glass of Oasis Black Current Elderberry juice.

I spent the morning making sure I had all the notes written down to answer the possible midterm questions, so I could review the on transit on my way to school. I also packed a bit of a lunch to tide me over until I got home.

I discovered a lonely avocado in the fridge, and brought back an old favourite – the hummus, cheddar, and avocado sandwich on Silver Hills “The Big 16” bread.

I also grabbed the cookie I picked up at Sprouts yesterday. My mom had stolen a little taste of it!

After the exam, I was freezing, so I stopped into Starbucks and grabbed a grande non-fat half-sweet green tea latte.

Turns out I didn’t really need all that warming up. When I got on the bus, the driver had the heat CRANKED. Seriously, it was so hot. I took my jacket off, and my sweater, and still had a sweaty back (TMI?) And she kept the heat on the entire bus ride (35 – 40 min) to the train station. Ugh. And then of course, you get off the bus into the cold air, and it’s even more freezing that it should be

We went with something simple tonight, that I haven’t had for awhile – perogies!

Topped with low-fat sour cream, and little drizzle of melted buttah. Mmmm. I also scavenged some greenery to have alongside mine, in the form of leftover steamed broccoli & cauliflower.

A little bland looking, but tasted good.

I then watched the car wreck that was the Canucks game (lost 6 – 1, brutal), and decided to head out to the gym. I only did some medium intensity cardio on the elliptical and bike, because let me tell you – my quads, hams, and butt are S-O-R-E from yesterday’s workout with Jillian. I’ve been hobbling around all day like an old lady. Strangely, my abs are just a normal sore, and same with my arms.

Once home, I had a hankerin’ for some yogurt.

I topped it with a little peanut butter, homemade grape jelly, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola. Check out that river of pb!

Time to wrap this up – I hear some kitties hissing at each other, and I think it needs some attending to. Night!

A Moment Of Self-Consciousness

Ah Sunday, the day of rest. Which I indulged in by sleeping in, per usual weekend routine. No matter when I set my alarm for, my body is all about sleeping in on the weekend.

Another good thing about weekends? There is always time to cook up an excellent bowl of oatmeal.

Into this bowl of oatmeal goodness went:

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 banana, thinly sliced
• splash of vanilla
• shredded coconut (2 tbsp maybe?)
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• peanut butter
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

A new juice found its way into my glass this morning – Oasis Health Break Immuniforce. The main flavours being black currant and elderberry.

Full meal deal.

The juice was tasty, but nothing holds a candle to my beloved Happy Planet juices. What can I say, I’m all about supporting the local businesses whenever I can!

Sienna longed to go outside today. But we saw I coyote out back this morning, so no kitties were going out in the backyard today.

My sister & her boyfriend made a trip down to Tim Horton’s this morning for breakfast, and brought back a big ol’ box of Timbits. Obviously I had to try out at least one. I went for my fave, the sour cream glazed.

The rain decided to hold off for most of the day, so mom and I took the opportunity to go for a walk at Mundy Park. We spent a good hour wandering through the park, getting in some much needed fresh air.

I went on down to the mall afterwards, to get my newly hemmed jeans. I don’t know why it took me so long to get them done – what good is it to have a pair of pants you can’t wear hanging out in your closet for over a month?! I’m such a procrastinator sometimes.

Once I was back, I made a little snack. I wasn’t really in the mood for a full on lunch, since I had a late breakfast, and knew we were having a big Sunday dinner. There was a fresh loaf of French bread just asking to be sliced into. I had a slice with some cheddar cheese, and a sliced gala apple

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the lazy boy recliner with the laptop and some Food Network. I *should* have been working on some midterm things, but as I stated above, I’m a procrastinator extraordinaire!

I invited my cousin’s wife over for dinner (since my cousin was at work), as mom was making her delicious beef stew with dumplings, and apple blackberry crisp for dessert. And for some reason, I totally couldn’t bring myself to take a picture. I don’t know what it was – I just felt too self-conscious to do it this evening. I’ve been writing this blog for over a year, and yet I still have this apprehension about photographing my food sometimes. I’ve also never even really told my family or friends about my blog. Is that weird? I’m not sure what it is. I guess I fear explaining it to them, and making them understand that it’s enjoyable and that yes, people actually want to read. Is that odd? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?

Now that I’ve had that little brain spew, I’m off to get into the homework a little before bed. Better late than never, right? Night!

Go Fig-ure

So Operation: Clean Up is sort of going well. I managed to get into bed at a decent time, and had a decent sleep. But alas, I slept in a little longer than I wanted, so I couldn’t bust a move this morning before I was out the door. No worries though – after I finish this post, I’m going to go for a walk around campus before my next class starts It’s a beautiful fall day, so I have no excuse

Oatmeal was on the menu this morning, and I decide to try out another Costco purchase – dried figs.

It’s not that I’ve never eaten figs before – hello, Fig Newtons? But I’ve never purchased them, eaten them as is, or combined them into my own creations. I couldn’t resist when I saw the little package for a steal of a deal. Into these oats went:

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 small banana, sliced
• 3 dried figs, chopped
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• splash of vanilla
• shredded coconut
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

A refreshing glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party was along for the ride.

What a great way to start the day.

So I think I’m in love with figs. They are super tasty to eat just on their own, and they added the perfect sweetness to the bowl. More so than a ripe banana does, I think.

I had an uneventful transit ride to school, then sat through a psychology lecture on sleep and dreams. We also found out that our class is cancelled next Tuesday, which is perfect, because I have a midterm that afternoon. So instead of going to school for 9:30 am, I don’t have to be on campus until 2 pm. You better believe I’ll be taking advantage of that!

After lecture I found myself a comfy seat per the usual Tuesday/Thursday routine, so I could play on the interweb and chow some lunch.

The highlight of today’s lunch was ED&BV Cocoa-Coconut Chili I pulled out of the freezer.

I paired it up with some whole wheat pita wedges for dunking.

As well as some carrot sticks and snap peas.

And some Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus.

I even had a (cute) guy stop and tell me that my "soup smelled so good". I told him it was chili, and he said even better! He asked if I made it, to which I replied yes. Then he was sad that he was off to the SUB to "eat the crap" there. Too bad he was total jailbait

I’m still having issues with my WLW on my laptop – I cannot add links to any of my posts, and even with my support request into Microsoft, I can’t figure it out. It’s very frustrating – has anyone else had issues using Vista & WLW?!

Well, I’m off to enjoy the crisp fall day!

Hallowe’en Happened

The spookiest night of the year came and went, and I failed to post all weekend. Oops! In my defence – I was barely near a computer. Which I guess is a good thing, as it means I was up to something all weekend, and it wasn’t homework

I’ll give you the Cole’s Notes version of the weekend, with the few pictures I have. That way, we can start anew for November. Sound good?

Saturday & Sunday

I was up way earlier than I ever should have to be on a Saturday, so I could go help out with inventory at my sister’s work. That meant I had little brain power available to make anything fancy for breakfast, so peanut butter, banana, and honey on toast it was. With a glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party, of course.

Then there was a whole lotta working in the warehouse. Remind me, I never want to work in a dirty ol’ warehouse. Never.

At first coffee break, I broke out this Cocoa Coconut Chew Larabar, and devoured half.

Silly me, I thought that would keep me out of the Hallowe’en candy all day. Boy was I wrong! I definitely had my fair share of delicious bite-sized chocolate bar treats.

They ordered in lunch for us, which was Chinese food. Love! There were some interesting dishes I got to try. My two new favourites? Deep fried eggplant and deep fried squid with spicy salt. I could eat that and some veggies, and be a happy camper. Yum!

More working, yadda, yadda. We actually got to leave early, and I informed my sister I was not going back on Monday to help out again. Lots of reasons, but frankly, it was driving me insane.

Later on, I made my way over to my cousin’s house, and hung out with his wife all night. We ordered in delicious sushi, handed out candy to little trick or treaters, watched 3 movies, hit up the hot tub, consumed our weight in candy, and may have had some drinks. Good times! I stayed over, and was greeted with spectacular cinnamon raisin bread French toast for breakfast.

I went home, wasted some time, then took a trip to Costco with my mom. Got a few excellent buys, came home, started Hallowe’en candy detox. HA!

We had something for dinner I haven’t had in probably 5+ years – sausages & gravy. We picked up some hot Italian sausages at Costco, mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and steamed some broccoli & brussel sprouts for an excellent dinner.

Mom can’t go to Costco and not pick up some sort of dessert. We got this gargantuan caramel apple crumble pie. Seriously, the thing weighed over 5 lbs! I had a sliver, with a scoop of vanilla fro-yo.

Sunday night ended with some Amazing Race, and we started watching some of my Planet Earth DVD’s that I got for Christmas last year. Very cool – I just have to find the time to watch the rest now!

That wraps up my weekend, so I’m able to start anew (with more things than just the blog). I’ll be back later tonight

Double The Breakfast

…double the fun!

Well, okay, let’s be real here. I’m not sure my fun was doubled today in any way by having double the breakfast. But it sounded catchy

I was up bright and early for another riveting biochemistry lecture. I wasn’t feeling anything in the oatmeal/cereal family today, so I went with pb + b+ h. Or peanut butter, banana, and honey on toast, in case that wasn’t clear.

With the ever popular glass of cranberry juice. And a side of soon-to-be jack-o-lantern

After learning the wonders of glycolysis, I made my way over to my volunteer shift at Agora. I set out to bake today, taking on the infamous Agora granola bars. They looked so good, I had to purchase one myself.

It was still a little warm, so the chocolate chips were still a bit melty. Mmmmm.

I even got compliments on how well they turned out. I’m just a baking pro, dontcha know?

I finally found my way home, which was no small feat, since they were finally repaving our road today. Then it was time to squash the lunch hunger.

I just went rummaging in the fridge for some randomness. Like leftover tofu sticks.

Leftover salad, with dill dip used as dressing.

And some wasa crackers with havarti cheese.

Word to the wise – tofu sticks don’t keep. I think even if I went to the trouble of reheating them in the microwave, they wouldn’t have been as good as just cooked. Fresh is best when it comes to the ‘fu sticks!

I did some work on all of my projects due tomorrow, then decided to catch up on the PVR, in hopes that my group would have their stuff complete as well. It did eventually iron itself out this evening, but I swear, working with a group of 7 people is no easy task.

When dinner time rolled around, mom decided it was a “breakfast for dinner” night. Fine by me On the menu – blueberry pancakes.

Too bad they photograph horribly! I topped mine with more blueberries, and some maple syrup. Nom nom. I may have snagged a 4th one. I may have not. You’ll never know

More time was devoted to group work, then I relaxed with some more tv. I had plans for a workout with my cousin’s wife, but it fell through. In some respects, it was a good thing, because keeping my eyes open today was a challenge! I probably would have injured myself if I’d attempted any physical activity.

Later on, in hopes of combating the cold temperatures outside, I had a giant mug of Stash Coconut Mango Oolong tea, with unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

And another one of those damn brownie cupcakes. Here you can see the chocolate filling forming a nipplesque shape on top of the cupcake.

Now that my school obligations are complete, I think I’m going to spend the end of my evening reading blogs. I purged my Google Reader a couple days ago, and damnit, I’m already back up to 190 posts. People! Don’t you know I have school work?! Ah well, whatcha gonna do?

Chillaxin’ time. Night!

Homework Hell

Ugh – this weekend has turned into my homework weekend from hell. I have a midterm to study for in Psychology on Tuesday, and two group assignments due for my Land, Food, and Community class on Thursday. It would have only been one assignment due that day, but alas, the schedule for our presentations puts my group on the same day, so we are scrambling trying to get it all sorted out. And to think, I only have 3 classes. I don’t know what it would be like if I had a full courseload!

So, other than a crapload of school work, what was I up to yesterday? Obviously, I started with some breakfast.

I spy some matcha green tea oats!

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 small banana, sliced
• 1 tbsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness cereal
• coconut
• splash of coconut extract
• 1 tsp matcha powder
• Artisana Coconut Butter

With a glass of plain ol’ cranberry juice. I like it so much better than the ones combined with other fruits.

Yummy in my tummy!

I did manage to get in a little figure skating viewing on tv, as well as a quick trip to the gym. It’s all about balance – you can’t study 24/7.

Lunch hunger eventually rolled around.

I saw that my mom had made some soup – not 100% sure on the recipe, but I know it include butternut squash, red pepper, white kidney beans, and onion.

I also found a cheese kaiser that needed to be eaten. Since it’s my self-imposed duty to make sure food doesn’t go to waste, I sliced it open, and added a little aged white cheddar.

The cheesy bun was the perfect accompaniment to dip into the soup

I then set to work on some psychology reading, which led into a quick nap on the couch. Something about textbook reading just puts me to sleep! I should try that at night when I can’t sleep. HA!

I got up, and figured a snack would help energize me.

A sourdough rye Wasa flatbread with Maranatha Peanut Butter and chocolate chips. I’m pretty sure this is my favourite new snack.

There was some important hockey to watching while I worked through more psych – Canucks vs the Toronto Maple Leafs. I’m proud to say, my team was victorious! WOOT!

I threw together a quick dinner at the end of the game, as I was heading out for the evening. It all started with a hot dog, dressed in ketchup, mustard, faux cheese, and red onion.

Some dippables – carrot & cucumber with dill dip.

And a few chunks of fresh pineapple.

It’s always fun when you can put together such a colourful meal.

After I wolfed that down, and made myself presentable, I was off to my cousin’s house for another evening of movie watching and general merriment. I spend way too much time there, but they live close to me, and it means I can get out of my own house.

Now I’m off to hit those books, and write a few pages for our dairy system report. Toodles!

Jealous

Oh, to be a cat   I only wish I could sleep this peacefully. Who wouldn’t want that life – spend all day sleeping, eating, grooming. Maybe play with some string. So simple.

Alas, I don’t get to sleep 20 hours a day, and therefore sleep later than I want to sometimes. I didn’t exactly wake up that late this morning, but I was late leaving the house. I must have been moving in slow motion.

I decided to use up the rest of the millet for breakfast.

• cooked millet
• 1 small banana, sliced
• raisins
• splash of vanilla
• milk
• pecan butter
• hemp seeds
• raw cacao nibs

To go with that monstrous bowl of millet, I had a glass of cranberry peach juice.

No way was I going hungry this morning

I actually couldn’t finish the bowl. Sad, I know. I probably should have put less millet in, but then there would have only been a little bit left in the fridge, and it seemed silly to leave that.

We had our last psych lecture this morning before our midterm next week, and man, our prof was flying through the slides! I guess he wanted to make sure he got everything in before the exam, but it meant I could hardly get any notes down, because the slides would disappear before I’d written a sentence even. Looks like I’ll be relying on the textbook to study for this one

After class, I found a comfy spot to eat and blog. Surprisingly, I was hungry for lunch, even after that massive millet bowl for breakfast.

Lunch today was all about things I could dip in hummus.

Like whole wheat pita triangles.

Or this little container of goodies – carrot, cucumber, pepperoni, cheddar cheese. My dad bought the pepperoni sticks yesterday, so I had to get one before they were gone.

As I often say, food is always more fun when you add dip

And yes, I had to buy a water today. Why? Well, turns out I left my Kleen Kanteen stainless steel water bottle back at the cafe when I was volunteering yesterday. At least, I hope that’s where it is. I’ll be heading over to that building for my afternoon class, so I’m going to stop in, hoping it’s still there. I’ll be sad if it’s lost for ever – I love my green water bottle!

Speaking of which, I guess I should think about packing up my things and making the trek across campus. At least the rain is holding off! Later gators