Getting My Bake On

Today did not start out well. I was having the WEIRDEST dream ever, and must have turned my alarm off during said dream, because when I actually woke up and figured out where I was, it was 6:15 am, and I had to be out the door in 15 min! ACK!

I threw on some clothes, washed up, and put some food in containers and was out the door. I even made it to class on time, but had to wait until after class to dig into breakfast. Boy was I hungry!

In the thermos I had yogurt, the last of the quince, and pomegranate arils. The other container was just some Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal to combine with said yogurt & fruit.

Yogurt close up!

It was horrendous weather all day. It just rained, and rained, and rained. Good thing I had my new fancy boots – they kept my feet dry and warm! But to warm the rest of me up, I had to hit up the Sbucks.

Do I even have to say what’s in there?

My last volunteer shift at Agora later, and I was on my way home. First thing on my mind when I walked in the door? What’s for lunch?

I made a grilled ham & cheese sandwich with baby spinach and red pepper jelly. Too bad my cheese didn’t want to melt.

I also heated up a bowl of broccoli soup my sister had made on the weekend.

Topped with a little more cheddar. What’s better than broccoli & cheddar?!

Rainy day food, for sure!

With a Werther’s Original candy for dessert

I spent the afternoon at home, expecting an important phone call. Of course, my mom then ended up on the phone all afternoon, and we don’t have call waiting, so I figured they called and got a busy signal. But, low and behold, and 5 pm I received my call. Looks like I’ll be working with a dietitian on a project at Children’s Hospital. Alas, it is only volunteer, but still – it’s all about boosting that resume, right?

Dinner was served way too early for my hunger, so I only had a bit.

Meatloaf, green peas, and apple/craisin/pecan salad. There were baked potatoes as well, but I wasn’t feeling it. And wouldn’t you know it, all my close ups turned out poorly. So this is all you get!

I made a quick trip up to the store to get a couple things (I was all out of good peanut butter), then had a sweat session with the dvd’s. Then it was time for me to satisfy my baking desires!

I had a hankering for muffins. I thought oatmeal and apple should be involved. I searched out some recipes, decided on this one as my inspiration, concocted a variation in my head, then assembled the required ingredients.

Some mixing, grating, scooping, and baking later, and I was presented with this:

Apple Carrot Raisin Oatmeal Muffins

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup oats
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (would have used whole wheat, but we had none)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 small apple, chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins

Method

1. Combine dry ingredients (oats through salt) in a large bowl.
2. Combine wet ingredients (milk through vanilla) in medium bowl.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry, then add carrot, apple, and raisins.
4. Mix until just combined – don’t over mix! (you know how muffins go).
5. Divide equally between 12 greased or lined muffin cups.
6. Bake at 375 F for 20 min, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

These turned out really well. I was a little worried that my wet to dry ratio would be off, but it was perfect. They are hearty, moist, slightly sweet, with a nice balance of spices. Both of my parents tried them out, and gave them the thumbs up. I think they would be a great breakfast muffin, pairing nicely with your favourite nut butter.

 

Obviously, I had one as my evening snack, with a another cup of chamomile tea.

I still have another project on the stove, but it’s totally time for bed, so I guess I’m calling it done. I’m sure you’ll get to see it tomorrow. Night!

Pineapple Express

Too bad I didn’t have any pineapple to eat!

I don’t know if anyone else has heard this weather term – I think it’s a west coast thing. But this monsoon we’re having is what we like to call a Pineapple Express. Warm, moist air comes up the coast, usually from Hawaii, resulting in warmer than normal temperatures, and torrential downpour. I tried to get some photos of just how wet it is out there, but none of them do it justice

Ah, the wet west coast. I know some people find all the grey skies and rain depressing, but I grew up here. I find the rain so soothing. Plus it’s a good excuse to stay indoors and eat things like soup and stew

Fortunately, I managed to not drown while outside today, so I’m able to bring you my day’s worth of eats. I know you are excited.

On the unfortunate front, I had another middle of the night (3:30 am) random wake up, resulting in a sleepy Marianne who was running behind, trying to get out the door. You know what that means.

Good ol’ cereal for breakfast. I went with Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal with a smattering of pomegranate arils.

A glass of juice – cranberry.

All on my mom’s Christmas Kitty quilted tablecloth.

I also had to pack a bit of a lunch – my Mondays have officially gotten busier, so no time to eat at home.

There was some leftover apricot bbq chicken from dinner last night, so I made myself a sandwich on Silver Hills bread, with chicken, avocado, and Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus.

Class was class, then I was off to my volunteer shift at Sprouts. Per usual Monday tradition, I nabbed a tasty baked good. And boy, did I pick a good one today!

This is a Qunioa Blondie. It is completely gluten free, which made many of our customers happy, as often we don’t have any gluten free baked goods. It had all sorts of good stuff in it like honey, cinnamon, chocolate chips, and raisins.

Let me tell you, this was insanely delicious. To all my fellow UBC’ers – get to Sprouts and buy one. They are moist, flavourful, and decadent. I’m tempted to go back and pay retail for one tomorrow!

I also purchased a new fruit to try out while I was there.

Any clue what these are?

 

Guesses?

 

Come on….you know you want to.

 

They are quince!

And no, it’s not moldy. They have this weird furry coating on them, but it just brushes off. They have the most fragrant smell. A great addition to your fruit bowl, if only for the smell! I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to do with them. My understanding is they really need to be cooked to be enjoyed, so perhaps I’ll make a little quince paste/jelly? Suggestions?

After I gobbled up that blondie, and got changed, I was out the door on my way to my newest volunteer position (do you think I have enough of those yet?) – working at the Diabetic Clinic at my local hospital. It wasn’t overly thrilling, but I didn’t expect them to give me any amazing projects on my first shift. I spent alot of time stuffing envelopes to go out to patients to attend workshops, putting together new files, and stamping envelopes. They are checking into some confidentiality issues, and hopefully I’ll get to do some more work with actual patient files (hello, experience to help out in clinical settings!)

I found my way home, and decided I was done with going outside in this rain and wind. Therefore, I passed on going to cardio kickboxing with my sister (at least the gym is open again). Instead I had my ass kicked by Jillian and her No More Trouble Zones. I even had to open the window to let in some fresh, cool air since I was sweating up a storm.

A shower later, and it was dinner time. Mom cooked up some hot Italian sausages.

Let’s be honest – there is no way to photograph a sausage without it looking a little phallic.

There was also roasted red potatoes, which I enjoyed with some sweet chili sauce.

And steamed broccoli & cauliflower, kicked up a notch with some parmesan.

There was alot of spicy going on in this meal.

I did a little prepping for my presentation tomorrow (I’m so over these presentations), watched a little TV (Battle Of The Blades! The best of both my favourite ice sports!), and played with the cats. Then it was time to snack.

Another score from Sprouts! This yogurt had just reached its expiry date, so we couldn’t sell it, but since it had never been opened, there was no point in throwing it out. They offered it to me, and of course I said yes. I’ve never tried this brand – Avalon Organic Yogurt.

This one is a little different from most yogurts out there, because it is fortified with Vitamin D. Usually only fluid milk gets fortified, not milk products. Plus they have added inulin, a prebiotic to work in conjunction with the probiotics in the yogurt.

 

It has 2% milk fat, hence the trace amounts of trans fats (naturally occurring, not the same as the ones from hydrogenated oils). What you can’t quite see in the picture is the Vitamin D amount – 35% of your daily value. Awesome for a yogurt!

So what did I do with my yogurt? Made a yogurt mess!

I topped my yogurt with peanut butter, apricot jam, Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola, and some shredded coconut.

And because it was rainy and cold, I ended up with a giant mug of Ecuadorian hot chocolate. I added a splash of coconut extract for fun.

If you got through that marathon post, props to you! If you aren’t completely spent, head on over to Miss Gliding Calm’s blog to check out Earrings of the Blogworld  Yours truly is modelling her ear bling for all to see. Night!

Commuter Chaos

Well, getting to school this morning sure turned into an adventure!

I started my morning off like any other Thursday morning, with a bowl of oatmeal.

• 1/2 cup oats, almond milk, water
• frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• Artisana Coconut Butter
• raw cacao nibs

Gratuitous coconut butter shot!

With a glass of Oasis Black Currant Elderberry juice.

I packed my lunch, got presentable, and hitched a ride to the train with my sister per usual. As I was going up the escalator, there was a transit person who was talking to someone on his radio, and I overheard something about a fire and buses being diverted, but wasn’t sure where it was, so I got on the train, and headed to the usual station to catch the bus out to UBC.

When I get to the station, the line ups waiting for the UBC bus are massive! We stand there for a good 10 min, and no buses come. The express bus to UBC comes at least every 5 min, if not more, during rush hour, so that was weird. I call home to see if mom has heard anything on the news, and apparently there is a huge fire on the street that the bus takes out to the school, the road is closed, power is out, yadda, yadda. Great. So I hop back on the train, head into downtown, and catch another bus out to the school. Amazingly, I made it to class on time!

A psychology lecture later, and I was on my break. Unfortunately, I had to spend the majority of it meeting up with my group to work on our third presentation for last week, so I had no time to post I did snag some food photos outside in the sunshine though before said meeting

I brought along some leftover mac & cheese, making sure to get plenty of the cheesy crust.

Some carrot and cucumber slices, plus a few medjool dates stuffed with peanut butter. I didn’t want to dirty another container, so I put them all together.

Too bad the peanut butter escaped from the medjools!

I also had a sub par gala apple that I saved for an afternoon snack. I think it was a bit old

Lunchity lunch.

I totally meant to bring some hummus with me for those veggies, but I forgot. Since all that pb escaped the medjools, I used that to dip some of my carrots in. Mmmm, I forgot how good carrot + pb tastes.

Our 4 hour afternoon class was shortened to 3 hours, since 80% of the class had a chem midterm right afterwards. Works for me, I get to go home early. Early enough that I was able to sit down and eat dinner with the family even.

Dinner featured a roasted pork tenderloin, with a little mango chutney for dipping.

Roasted acorn squash, with the standard squash topping in my family – cheddar cheese.

And a mish mash of steamed veggies. Mom was cleaning out all the little bits in the fridge, so there was broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and mushrooms.

Such a nice dinner to come home to.

I had big plans to do some yoga this evening, but I was feeling too wiped out for some reason. So I just relaxed in front of the tv with Sienna. I also enjoyed a little snack.

Plain, non-fat yogurt, peanut butter, grape jelly, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax granola. Hit the spot!

2 things on the exciting news front:

• I officially start volunteering at my local hospital on Monday in the Diabetes Clinic.
• I also got my schedule for my volunteer shifts at the Winter Olympics. I’m working at the hockey arena, and guess what? I’m on shift for the Men’s Gold Medal Hockey Game!! WOO! Here’s hoping I’ll be working somewhere where I’ll be able to see a bit. So exciting!

Time to hit the sack – one more day to get through this week. Night!

Remembrance Day

Hello eveyone. How did you spend your Remembrance Day (or Veteran’s Day for those in the US)? Did you attend any ceremonies? Take a few moments out of your day? Anything? I’ll be honest – I’ve never been to a Remembrance Day ceremony that wasn’t held in school. I don’t buy poppies to wear. I don’t even know anyone who has served in a war. It makes it harder for me to really connect to the meaning of the day. I know that those people who have gone to war have made the freedom I experience possible, but at the same time I find I have a disconnect to the whole thing, because it hasn’t influenced me directly. Does anyone else out there feel similar?

I did take my day off school to be productive though – no point in wasting that freedom that has been granted to me, right?

Since my whole family was at home this morning, my mom cooked up bacon & eggs for breakfast. I’m not an egg person, and wasn’t really feeling the bacon and toast, so I went with cereal.

Just a bowl of Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise, topped with craisins and shredded coconut.

With a glass of Oasis Black Currant Elderberry juice.

Just what I wanted.

But I’ll admit it, I totally snagged a piece of bacon that went unphotographed. What can I say, I love me some bacon

I had an appointment to get my hair cut today, because it was getting just a little out of hand. I don’t like when it gets too long, because it doesn’t curl nicely. I went to the salon my sister goes to, and I think they did a pretty good job. Plus they blew it out straight, which I always enjoy. What do you think?

 

Yeah, I know, more pictures of me not smiling. I’m just not good at fake smiling for pictures! So deal with it

I also browsed the mall for some boots, as I seriously need a waterproof, stylish, well made pair. Le sigh – why must they all be so expensive? Like I have $200 to spend on a good pair of shoes. But I refuse to buy shoes that are shoddily made, that have no arch support, and that I can’t wear in the rain. So demanding, I know. This is why I really need to find a job

I came home from the mall, and had some leftovers for lunch. It started with some salmon loaf (for those who asked for the recipe – it’s coming!)

Orzo with parmesan, olive oil, herbs, and spices.

And steamed broccoli & cauliflower.

Hurray for leftovers!

After my lunch, I set out on a mission to get me a job! I printed off some copies of my resume, and went out to flog them at a few grocery stores around my house. I figure if I’m going to get a part time job, it should involve something I enjoy. Can’t go wrong with food! It took me a good couple of hours though, seeing as almost every place I went wanted me to fill out an application form as well.

Once home, I was in need of a snack. The double pumpkin cranberry cakie from Sprouts was calling my name (plus I didn’t want it to go stale).

A few bites in it hit me that this would be awesome with some pecan butter.

And I was right! Yum

Dinner was another collaborative affair between me and mom. Mom’s component: Baked Mac & Cheese.

 

My components: Steamed green beans.

And a caesar salad. My sister did a good job of setting the table too.

My plate, with a little of everything.

Close up on the cheesy crust. Mmmmm.

Shortly after dinner, my sister and I were off to my cousin’s place to partake in some Cardio Striptease a la Carmen Electra with my cousin’s wife. He always hides when we do the video tape, it’s quite funny. We bumped it up a level, and tried some harder routines, so it was fun.

We raced home to make sure we didn’t miss all the key shows we needed to watch tonight – ANTM, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY. Heaven forbid we miss Wednesday night tv! I spent the time multitasking on the computer, and enjoying a snack.

I was craving popcorn and cinnamon toast, so I combined the two into cinnamon toast popcorn – popcorn with a little butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

And a mug of rich Ecuadorian hot chocolate. I’m almost out, it makes me sad.

Question of the moment: How do you make your hot chocolate? With water? With all milk? With water, then add some milk for creaminess? I’m a water + milk user myself.

Now I’m off to watch the rest of the news, then hit the sack. I have a full day of school ahead of me tomorrow. Night!

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!

Fish, Fish, And More Fish

I’m soon going to be growing fins and gills here!  

Weird side note – I have a friend who is afraid of fish. Like, freaks out afraid of fish. She can’t watch Finding Nemo. We once got into an elevator, and it had a fish tank in it. It was not a fun elevator ride!

Today was a usual lazy Saturday. It started with an excellent sleep in, then breakfast. I warn you though, this oatmeal turned out a really bizarre colour.

Mom thought it looked like mashed up kidney beans. But rest assured, there were no beans in this oatmeal!

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 3 dried figs, chopped
• frozen raspberries
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• 1 tbsp peanut butter, swirled in

Check out that swirl!

A glass of the Happy Planet Mango Peach Party, of course.

It might look a little weird, but it tasted good.

I ended up getting suckered into watching figure skating on tv, then finally showered up and had some lunch. It was all about the leftovers.

Half a piece of halibut, with tartar sauce.

Plus the rest of the fries, with ketchup.

It reheated & crisped up perfectly in the oven.

I decided to head on down to the mall this afternoon, which really, wasn’t the best idea. It was a rainy, cold day out. Where do you think everyone in the city is going to be? At the mall. I did have some errands to run though – I took in a pair of jeans to get them hemmed so I can actually wear them, made an appointment to get my hair did (Wednesday!), looked around to see if any store I would consider working at was hiring (none), browsed some books, dvd’s, shoes, makeup (hello new Sephora at the mall). And I got gas for my car, which should last me til Christmas, since I hardly drive the thing anymore. So although I left empty handed, I got some stuff done. But let’s be honest – the mall is way more fun when you actually have money to spend!

I got home, chilled with the family, then helped my mom out making dinner. She opened a bottle of wine, so I had a small glass.

Mom was making a family favourite – salmon loaf. I know, I know. It sounds really weird, maybe even disgusting, but I swear, salmon loaf trumps meatloaf any day!

Made with only the finest sockeye salmon, of course

One of my dishes – orzo pasta with olive oil, garlic, parmesan, fresh parsley, black pepper. This was in place of the rice we planned, but apparently didn’t have in the cupboard.

 

And some greenery – steamed broccoli & cauliflower, and a caesar salad (also my creation).

There’s just all sorts of good going on on this plate!

After dinner, I found myself over at the cousin’s place to watch a movie (The Taking Of Pelham 123), where I found myself served with a slice of chocolate cream pie. Yum! It wasn’t a late night this time, and I was home by 11:30. Which was when I planned on getting this post up…until Sienna broke a plant in the living room. Bad kitty! Looks like a trip to Ikea is in order for more plant pots.

Now it is way past my bedtime, so I shall bid you adieu. Night!

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

Information Overload

I am so over homework today. And yet, my homework is definitely not over

I’ve spent an excessive amount of time cramming psychology information in there, mixed in with some food ethics readings and discussions. But I finally dragged myself away from my workspace (the dining room table, much to my mother’s dismay), and down to my other computer, which I am keeping free of anything homework related, at least for the time being. That way, blogging is more fun

After some much needed sleep this morning, I got up to make breakfast brunch. Alas, all the decent sized bowls in the house were in the dishwasher, not clean. Bah! So I had to revamped my breakfast plans for a big bowl of cereal.

Instead, there was a little bowl of cereal – Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise, craisins, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

And a slice of Silver Hills “The Big 16” bread toasted with peanut butter & raspberry jam.

Plus the usual glass of juice – still on the cranberry.

A very red breakfast, completely unintentional.

Yes, I was even studying at breakfast. Or maybe that’s what I want you to believe. Only I know for sure

There was some definite studying after that though. I did take a short break to do some yoga. My cousin lent me a DVD with some short 20 min yoga sessions on it, so I figured I’d try one of them out. Rodney Yee was the instructor in this one. Can someone tell the man to put on proper shorts or pants though? I felt a little violated watching him in his weird yoga underwear.

There was more psych studying, and then I got hungry. It was too late to have a real lunch, so I just grabbed a larger snack.

Some sort of grainy bagel with herb & garlic cream cheese. Not my favourite bagels ever, but it was there, and made the perfect vehicle for the cream cheese.

Uh…more studying? Probably. And important email writing with my group members. Then dinner – which was take out Chinese, because no one felt like cooking tonight.

All the usual suspects here – chow mien, fried rice, sweet & sour pork, beef & broccoli, breaded almond chicken, spring roll. You know how it goes.

We got fortune cookies with our order this time. Mine had two inside!

Yes, that is a diagram of a nerve cell off to the left. At least I sat at the kitchen table, text book free, to eat my dinner!

So then there was more homework, with a hockey game (we won), and SYTYCD Canada in the background. Once those finished, I declared homework time officially over, so I could bring you my ever exciting day. I’m all about my readers

Now I’m off to find sleep. Mostly so I can get up tomorrow, and do this all again. Night!

"Go To Bed!"

Yes, I was told this by my mother this evening, when I was apparently staying up too late doing school work. Yes, I’m 30 years old. But apparently, I still need to be told to go to bed. Ah, the joys of living at home after being an independent adult for so long.

It is past my bedtime though, so I’m going to make this quick.

I never really had a huge urge to eat lunch today. I blame the giant brownie. But I knew there was tuna in the fridge that needed to be eaten up. So I did my household duty, and put it out of its misery.

Leftover tuna mixed with a little mayo & sprinkled with dill; cucumber slices; whole wheat pita triangles; tzatziki.

And a big ol’ glass of water. Gotta keep hydrated!

And you know – I never even had a nap this afternoon. Crazy, no? I must have gotten a second wind, because I was feeling fine, getting things done. Watch, I’ll pay for it tomorrow. Perhaps I should bring a pillow with me to psych lecture. HA!

We had a lovely family meal tonight.

Homemade mac & cheese. Yeah baby! Check out that cheesy crust. Divine.

Paired up with my contribution to the meal (aside from my usual wit & charm) – steamed broccoli & brussel sprouts. I topped mine with a little grated parmesan.

After dinner I got down to business – hockey game watching. Er, no, wait. I was doing homework. Yeah, that’s it. Okay, so I was totally doing homework in front of the hockey game. With my Facebook games going in the background. And blog reading. Multitasking at it’s finest.

At some time in the evening, these tasty morsels landed in my hand.

Damn Hallowe’en candy. Like I’m not going to get enough of it in a few weeks. I mean really.

I also decided to break out my new fro-yo.

A couple of wee scoops of the vanilla frozen yogurt, topped with my impromptu rhubarb sauce. Heat frozen rhubarb in microwave with a little agave nectar until you have a sauce. Done!

Can I get a nom nom? Woo!

It appears my ability to write a well though out post has left me – I obviously spent too much creative power on finishing up my journals to hand in tomorrow. So I’m going to do what my mom told me, and Go. To. Bed. Night!

Bring On The Bagels

I have had a serious love affair with bread over the past 24 hours. Not just my beloved Silver Hills bread, but also bagels. My sister picked some up the other day, and they have come to the rescue as I have been hungry and strapped for time.

Last night I didn’t get home from school until 10 pm. Is that not ridiculous? We had out training session for Nutrikids, and it went until 8:30 pm. By the time I packed up, walked to the bus loop, and caught a bus, it was 8:52 pm. I don’t think I have ever been at school that late in my life. Frankly, I’m not a fan. Good thing this isn’t a regular occurrence.

My Coconut Cream Pie Larabar did an okay job of keeping me from eating my own arm, plus one of our training activities was a “yogurt sundae” bar, so I had a little taster there, but this girl was in need of some serious sustenance when I dragged my butt in the door.

I hummed, and hawed, and pouted that there wasn’t any dinner leftover from the family. Then I saw the bagels. Those big, round, delicious bagels. Mmmm…bagels

I toasted up one of the whole wheat/multigrain bagels, and found a few tasty ingredients to add to make my bagelwich.

One side was spread with chive & onion cream cheese and topped with cucumber slices.

The other half got a good coating of Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus.

And I finished off the few slices of harvest garlic sausage, because my meal was obviously lacking in more pungent garlic/onion flavours.

All with a bottle of the bubbly water.

I must remember the cream cheese/cucumber/hummus sandwich combo to use again. It’s up there with my favourite avocado/cheddar/hummus sandwich. Yum!

All I wanted was to crawl in bed, but I had some important emails to attend to, and ended up settling in far later than I planned. Which is why I totally slept in this morning, and had to throw together breakfast-to-go.

Bagels to the rescue!

Another bagel, topped with Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter and raspberry jam, which I then sandwiched and chowed in transit. If you look closely, you will also see my morning glass of juice hiding in the background. I made sure to chug that before I ran out the door.

One biochemistry lecture, and some quality time on transit later, I was back at home, ready to start my long weekend. Which I did by watching some PVR’d shows. I am a party animal! Then it was time for lunch. And yes, I was completely breaded out by then.

Leftover roasted kabocha squash and Lundberg Garlic Primavera Risotto with broccoli & shaved parmesan.

Such beautiful squash.

And yes, I took these photos after I started eating. Only because I decided I didn’t like how the first ones I took turned out

Speaking of emails – I’ve noticed that WordPress has changed they way I receive your comments on my posts, and that when I email responses, they are now posting directly into the comment thread. I’m curious though – are you also receiving these responses through email? If not, I’ll have to figure out why. I can’t seem to find a way to change the setting in my control panel, so if any other WordPress users out there know, please enlighten me! And in the mean time, if you’ve had questions lately, check back on those threads, as I have been trying to answer them

Time to go do something productive like nap study