The Same, But Different

Okay, so my fantabulous bagel melt for lunch wasn’t quite enough food to keep me going through a 4 hour lecture, and the commute home from school (and really, I knew that would be the case). Good thing I’d packed up a mighty fine snack for the afternoon.

Yogurt & granola mess, featuring quince! Remember those beauties I bought earlier this week? Well, I cooked them up with some water and agave nectar into a sort of compote/paste/jam thing.

They turn a very pretty rose colour, and keep that lovely floral aroma. I decide they would make a good yogurt topping along with some pomegranate arils.

I really like the quince, but man, they are a pain to work with. They are SO HARD to cut and core, and they oxidize (turn brown) so fast! Plus they take quite awhile to cook. So while I’m not against them, I’d have to be in the mood for some hard work if I were to buy them again.

Class today was…trying. I was not impressed with my group. We have a big paper that’s due at the end of the term, which we only get to start on now (not our choice, it’s how the course is). It involves us going into some schools to interview them about their food system there. So we only have 2 weeks left of classes, which means these visits need to happen ASAP. And not everyone in our group has even contacted their schools yet to go in there. Not to mention some of my group members haven’t read the outline for the paper, and had no input into our group discussions. It’s like pulling teeth, I tell you! ARGH. I was so close to walking out of there. I would much rather write this paper on my own, because I bet I could bust it out in a weekend, and get a decent mark. Alas, that is not an option. Le sigh.

Getting home from school took FOREVER tonight as well. And it was pouring rain, so my feet ended up soaked through my runners This, coupled with my trying class, did not make for a happy camper

What did make for a happy camper was the garlic bread I found when I got home. If there is one thing I could probably gorge myself on, it would be garlic bread. Is that weird?

Obviously, I had some with dinner.

As well as leftover shepherd’s pie, ketchup included.

And some salad leftover from my parents’ dinner earlier that I only half ate – it wasn’t doing it for me.

You know I totally went back for seconds on that garlic bread though

That plate looks like a crap ton of food, but it’s actually not a proper sized dinner plate, so it’s not as much as you think. I’m just saying.

My mom must have known I’d had a crappy day, and that my tootsies were soaked from the rain, because she said we’re going down to the mall this weekend in search of good boots – early Christmas present. Hurray!

I chillaxed on the couch, watched some Survivor and CSI, and drank some tea – Silk Road Lychee Fruit Double Happiness Tea.

I’m going to be sad when all my Silk Road teas are gone. I guess that just means I’ll need to head on over to Victoria for a visit!

Time to get some shut eye. Only one more day of early mornings this week, and I’m determined to not be late. Night!

Relinked

Marianne vs Windows Live Writer – I win! I have worked with Microsoft support and finally I’m able to add links into my posts from my laptop again. I’m a fully functioning mobile blogger again

So when I went to bed last night, this mystery item was sitting on the stove, waiting for a hot oven this morning.

What on earth could it be? Alas, due to my early class, I had to wait until I got home. So I just threw together a quick breakfast. I couldn’t decide between cereal or toast, so I had a little of both.

Toasted Silver Hills “The Big 16” sprouted grain bread, topped with peanut butter and raspberry jam.

A wee bowl of Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise cereal.

And a glass of the ol’ standby, Happy Planet Mango Peach Party.

I spent my morning mostly on transit, with a short stint of biochemistry in the middle. When I got home, the mystery treat was baked!

 

Cinnamon pull apart And as you can see, it had already been pulled apart. Don’t they I know I need to take photos? Oh well, it still looks mighty tasty. Obviously, I had to try a piece.

Who am I kidding, I totally went back for a second piece.

Friday is totally my relaxation day, so I wasted some time on the interweb, and chasing the cat around the house. Eventually I was ready for some lunch.

More Silver Hills bread, this time in the form of a tuna sandwich. Too bad we were out of pickles.

And a side caesar salad. We even had croutons!

Simply delicious.

Now that I’m all digested, I must be off to the gym. I need to be back in time for important hockey! My Canucks are taking on Miss CCK’s team! Your team is going down Katie!

Peace out

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!

Crunch Time

So…I should be studying biochemistry. But here I am, putting together a post. I’ll admit it, I’m the ultimate procrastinator. I’m comfortable enough with myself to embrace it. Sure, if I’d just learn to not procrastinate, maybe life would be easier, but who doesn’t love forgoing sleep the night before a test to cram as much information in possible, only to wake up sleeping on your textbook?

Biochemistry can wait. Let’s check out some food

Normally I don’t take the time for a hot breakfast on my early mornings to save time, but since I had some leftover millet in the fridge from yesterday, I thought why not turn that into a hot breakfast?

I took some cooked millet, milk, flax seed, vanilla, and frozen berries (raspberries & blueberries) and heated them in the microwave. Then I topped it all with a little honey and Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter.

With a glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party of course.

What a pretty bowl of breakfast.

I’m not 100% sure how I feel about the millet for breakfast. I think it would have been better if I heated it longer with the milk, so it came together more. I guess I’ll just have to try again!

We had a review session in my biochem lecture this morning, then I was off to volunteer at Agora. Again, I was free to bake, so I whipped up a batch of Raspberry Oat Bars. Too bad I left before they were out of the oven. I never get to try what I bake there. Hmph!

I also picked up some new (to me) cereal to try out while I was at school.

At Sprouts, we also have a bulk-buying club, where we can get all sorts of grocery items from our store suppliers for wholesale cost. Of course, you have to order a whole case of the product you want, so often people go together and share. I received an email this week saying that someone had this Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise cereal coming in, and wanted to sell a few bags. It was a good price, so I snapped one up. Wanna bet this will find it’s way into my breakfast tomorrow?

Once I got home, I set out making lunch.

A warm, comforting bowl of Coconut Curried Squash, Carrot, and Sweet Potato Soup, topped with a dollop of sour cream and shredded coconut.

And a toasted sandwich – Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus, avocado, cheddar cheese, and cucumber on Silver Hills Squirrelly Bread.

It’s so much better when you get to enjoy lunch at home.

I spent the afternoon working on random school assignments, emailing, phoning, and basically gettin’ ‘er done. Everything except that important biochemistry studying. Oops! I did find a moment to try out one of the muffins my mom baked last night.

They are a pumpkin raisin muffin. Sorry, I’m not really sure what’s in there, or even what recipe she used. And mom wasn’t home when I dug in, so I couldn’t ask. I heated mine up, and dabbed on a little buttah.

Yum! Nice, light pumpkin flavour. Not too sweet. A good snacking muffin.

Before I knew it, my sister was home from work, and we caught up on SYTYCD Canada that we PVR’d last night so we could watch Hell’s Kitchen. Then it was dinner time.

Mom made up a big green salad with romaine lettuce, cucumber, radishes, and green onion. I dressed mine with Brianna’s Honey Mustard Dressing and pine nuts.

There was roast chicken, and carrot sticks (with dill dip). I totally ate like, 3X the carrots pictured there. I love carrots & dip

And some sad Stove Top stuffing. I’m not even sure why we have this, but mom decided to cook it up. It was…well, you all know what Stove Top is like, I’m sure.

Another bright & cheery meal.

I then spent the rest of the evening in front of the tv. What can I say, Wednesdays are good tv nights! I know, I know. I should have put my nose to the grind and memorized those amino acids, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it! Of course, I was able to peel myself off the couch for a snack.

Yogurt mess!

• yogurt
• pumpkin
• cinnamon
• vanilla
• peanut butter
• creamed berry honey
• granola

Phew! Now that I’ve got all that out there, I really am signing off to get acquainted with some protein structures. And sadly, I won’t be able to post tomorrow, as I will be out at a dairy farm all day, then studying for real all evenings. We’ll get caught up on Friday. Wish me luck on my first midterm – I’m probably going to need it!

Fun With Stats

I’ve spent a good part of my evening burying my head in hockey stats. I think this is one of the only uses of stats I actually find fun. Even if I never win the hockey pool

While I was crunching numbers, I also crunched on this.

Terra Blue Potato Chips. I picked these up on the weekend as they were on sale. I love all the Terra Chips, it’s just too bad they are always so pricey. I dished out a little bowl.

I actually had never had the blue potato chips before, but they were delicious. I like that they are cut slightly thicker than regular chips as well. Definite thumbs up

Dinner time eventually came around. Mom had been out hiking all day, then the rain came, so it just seemed like a good night for a quick, warm dinner. Hence, soup was on the menu.

We dished up some Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Noodle.

I had some leftover salad on the side – red leaf lettuce, radishes, cucumber, green onion, sunflower seeds, craisins, Brianna’s Honey Mustard Dressing.

And a few saltines with cheddar cheese. Soup + cheese + crackers. It just goes together!

Although I probably should have spent some time on school work, I was just too wrapped up in my hockey pool stats to bother cracking a book. I did break for a little evening snack though – mostly because I wanted to try out some new peanut butter.

I also picked this one up when I was out this weekend – Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter. It was on sale for $2.99 a jar, which is the same price as the store brand non-organic peanut butter I normally buy. Since that jar was almost gone, I figured why not try this one out. And what better way to do so than with apple slices

How ridiculously creamy is this peanut butter?!

With a farmer’s market ambrosia apple & cinnamon.

I’m not totally sure how I feel about this peanut butter. It’s just so smooooooth. I’m used to bit more texture in my peanut butter. But it has good flavour. And I don’t think it has as much salt as the my usual peanut butter. I’ll just have to work my way through the jar to decide how I truly feel. Such a rough job, but someone’s gotta do it

Now I’m going to drag myself away from the computer, and actually head to bed. Oh, who am I kidding. I’ll be taking the laptop with me. LOL. Night!

Hitting The Books

Today I was a good little biochemistry student

I took over the kitchen table as my workspace for the afternoon

But before that, I went out and ran some errands. Okay, so it was really only one errand, and it was to a specific grocery store for certain things that were on sale. Like Almond Breeze – 3 for $5.50? Or organic avocados – 3 for $4.98? Yeah, can’t really pass stuff like that up.

Lunch also happened before I put my studying cap on.

I started with the last of the Chunky Potato soup. I diced up a couple slices of deli ham to add to it today. And topped it with fresh chives for that pop of green.

There was a container of leftover salad on it’s last legs, so I polished that off as well. To the lettuce/yellow pepper/green onion/radish combo I added some cucumber and sunflower seeds, and dressed it with Brianna’s Honey Mustard Dressing.

Another successful leftover-filled meal

While going through my biochemistry study questions, I had a hankering for a snack. I wanted something bready, so took a slice of crusty whole wheat bread and spread on some peanut butter & raspberry jam.

Not only was it good brain fuel, but it should keep me from eating my arm off until later. I’m off to a house warming party for one of my cousins tonight, so instead of having a proper dinner, I’ll be filling up on party food. Should be lots of fun! I’m off to make myself beautiful. Enjoy your Saturday evening everyone

Ready & Waiting

Custom trail mix is always a winner to keep me going through my 4 hour class on Tuesdays & Thursdays.

But it sure is nice to come home from my long, 12 hour day at school, knowing dinner will be ready and waiting for me when I walk in the door.

Mom had done up a whole BBQ chicken tonight. Much juicier and tastier than the ones you pick up at the deli.

First winter squash of the season! We picked up a lovely acorn squash at the Farmer’s Market on Sunday, and it was cooked up the “traditional” way in our house – roasted and topped with cheddar cheese.

And a fresh side salad of leaf lettuce, radishes, green onion, and yellow pepper. I used Annie’s Organic Green Garlic Dressing tonight.

A few carrot sticks found their way on the plate as well.

And yes, I totally ate that whole giant piece of squash. It was great!

Now it’s time to watch some Hell’s Kitchen & SYTYCD Canada while I sip on this

No, it’s not a cappuccino, it’s hot chocolate. Ecuadorian hot chocolate no less. Off to enjoy the rest of my Tuesday evening. Night!

Bountiful Blackberries

Ah, leisurely Sundays. Something I always look forward to, even if it means Monday is just around the corner. I got plenty of sleep until my mom woke me up and asked me if I wanted to go to the Farmer’s Market. Umm, of course! I was up and out of bed, throwing together a quick breakfast so we could get out the door.

I had every intention of making some oatmeal this morning, but the Farmer’s Market trumped that, and I went with a smoothie.

• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• scoop of vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/3 cup oats
• milk, to fill the glass

Enjoyed in the morning sunshine

We did a quick shop at the market, picked up a few tasty treats. I’m sure you’ll see them all eventually around here.

Once we dropped off our loot, we headed back down to the mall. I had to go back to my cell phone provider, because whatever they did to my Blackberry yesterday when I changed my plan & number, well, all my internet access and email stopped working. Not cool – if I’m paying for a service, I damn well better be getting it. The guy got my internet working, but the email still wasn’t. I fiddled around with it once we were home, and finally got it back in action. Ah, technology.

Then it was time for lunch.

Per usual, I scoured the fridge to determine what leftovers needed eating. There was still a wee bit of chana masala and brown jasmine rice, so that made my mind up for me. I added a little yogurt and mango chutney for fun.

I threw together a simple salad of romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, carrot, and cucumber to go along with the curry. I used some Annie’s Organic Green Garlic dressing.

Again with the al fresco dining.

This was my first time trying this flavour of Annie’s Dressing. I really enjoyed it – great garlic flavour. I think it would actually make a great garlic bread. Toast up some good bread, drizzle on a little dressing? Yum!

I decided to spend the afternoon outside on the deck with my laptop, getting some blog reading school work done. I was feeling a little snacky, and went searching for something chocolate. I found this in our freezer.

I think it was a Skinny Cow frozen treat. It was a little freezer burnt, but not bad enough for me to not eat it. I also munched on a handful of Peanut Butter Puffins with a side of Blackberry.

Sienna was very sad that I was outside all afternoon and she was locked in the house. So I decided to let her out to explore our backyard for the first time. Of course, her and Wilson found each other and had some words.

Fortunately, I was able to keep them from killing each other. Unfortunately, Sienna was a total brat and kept bolting under the deck when I was trying to get her in. I finally wrestled her down in the garden. Then it was time for dinner.

Mom did up a scrumptious roast beef on the BBQ, with a dijon mustard rub and red wine in the drip pan. I totally grabbed the rarest pieces – my family doesn’t enjoy their meat cooked the same as I do, so it’s a treat for me when I can find some pink pieces.

We also had potatoes roasted on the grill. I smashed mine with a little butter & pepper.

Plus some locally grown green & yellow beans from the farmer’s market.

Since we’d opened the bottle of red wine to cook the roast, I figured I should have a small glass with dinner

It’s so nice to have a traditional Sunday dinner every once in a while. Especially when it’s followed by homemade dessert.

My mom was on a roll this evening – homemade apple blackberry brown betty. Topped with a little dab of Cool Whip, mostly just to use up the container.

Talk about great day of eats, eh? I also got a ton done on our group presentation, and have emailed it out to solicit some input. Now I can relax with a little TV and interweb. Night!

Who Likes Burgers?

Apparently my family! Seems like we have them once a week. And tonight was burger night

On my homemade beef patty sits faux cheese, lettuce, onion, mustard, ketchup, and dill pickle relish. Can’t leave out that fluffy white bun either.

There was also salad – romaine, radishes, cucumber, and green onion. My dressing of choice tonight was Annie’s Raspberry Vinaigrette.

And few veggies & dill dip found there way onto my plate as well.

Too bad I couldn’t taste most of my dinner. Stupid stuffed up nose

After dinner I cooked up something (that I hope is) wonderful for my lunch tomorrow. I wanted to make sure I prepared food wise for my 12 hour day. We’ll see how well I survive that with my cold.

I also spent the evening drinking lots of tea with a wee splash of milk & agave.

And had half a bag of microwave popcorn that my sister shared with me while we caught up on some quality television time

 

I also completed all my readings for tomorrow that required books, so I don’t have to haul them to school with me. All I have left are some online course readings, which will fill my 3 hour break perfectly

Now I sleep and hopefully will away this cold. Here’s a little Sienna photo to entertain you – she’s acting like a little princess on my parents’ bed. Night!

First Post

From the new laptop! Finally! I was having problems installing my image editing software on here, but I’ve got it figured out now, so I can blog from where ever my heart desires. Freedom!

So my Sunday started out way later than planned. I guess all those early mornings throughout the week finally caught up, and I slept in until 11:30 am. Oops!

It was rather warm out again today, so I went with a cool smoothie.

Into the cup went:

• 1 rather large, ripe banana
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/3 cup oats
• milk to fill the glass

Alongside, I had one of those addictive Nicer Krispie Treats. No reason you can’t have one for breakfast, right?

Quite enjoyable, if I do say so myself.

After I enjoyed my almost lunch out on the deck in the sun, I went out to do a little clothes shopping again. I actually ended up buying a couple of pairs of jeans, so I could bring them home and get my mom’s opinion as well. Both received a thumbs up, so now I don’t have to go to school naked! Yay! I was also eyeing up a few pairs of shoes, but I really can’t do the whole overhaul of my closet that I would like until I get a little income coming in. Guess that means I should be a little more proactive in my job search, eh?

I threw together a little snack to tide me over til dinner when I got back.

I dished up a little bowl of yogurt topped with some Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola and diced dried peaches.

Some juicy red grapes.

And a glass of pomegranate cranberry juice, since I’d missed my morning juice.

I then attempted to get some reading done for my Psychology class, but that turned into an extended nap on the couch. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open! Fortunately I woke up enough to put together dinner.

My parents had gone out, so my sister and I made what we felt like. I went with a salmon burger, with Laughing Cow and ED&BV Lemon Cashew Basil Pesto.

Mom had made some of my favourite dill dip, so I cut up some carrot & cucumber to deliver that deliciousness to my mouth.

And I threw together a little side salad of romaine, zucchini, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, and Brianna’s Honey Mustard Dressing.

Looks so fresh and tasty.

After dinner, I found myself at the gym for a little while, then came home to get some things prepped for my early morning tomorrow. My throat has started to bother me a little this evening as well, so I’m off to have some tea then get some rest. I can’t get sick when we’re only on week 2 of school! Night