Wacked out day

Today was more bizarre than George Whipple’s eyebrows.

It started off normal – java with foam, you know…

Then I had an apple.  Still fairly normal, right?

Well, suddenly I felt beyond sick.  Like, go to the bathroom and wait for the puke to come.  Wha?! 

I felt okay-ish if I remained supine (that’s lying flat for you non-medical peeps), but every time I tried to sit up, I felt like I was gonna heave-ho.  No bueno.  I’ve never felt so bizarre…like head-achy, dizzy, with some weakness, too.  Even though I’m a nurse, I really tend to dismiss any symptoms I have.  Things have to be pretty bad for me NOT to ignore them.  So, I checked my pulses, and diagnosed myself with dehydration.  Prescription: water and The View.  Done and done. 

I felt better a few hours later, so I had some comfort food that I knew my tumtum could handle.

Yeah boi!

By the way, I loved hearing everyone’s comments about packing lunches yesterday.  Apparently, most of us are planners when it comes to food.  Economically, it just makes good $en$e.  Plus, then we know exactly what’s in our food.

Look familiar?  Yesterday’s lunch was so good, I wanted the exact same thing today.  Tofu salad on one slice, roasted red pepper hummus on the other.  Luuurve.

The day got weird again when my appetite went haywire after lunch.  I kept eating and eating and eating…and yet, I never felt satisfied. 

I snacked on the above (and then some).  Blah.  I had sooooo many random errands to do, so I lost track of all my snackage.  I was fairly productive though (as in $400+ dollars productive)…shhh…don’t tell Kyle.  I made a substantial dent in the wallet, but some of it (ok, a LOT of it) was retail therapy.  Shopping counts as cardio, right? 

Economic woes aside, things were looking good again once I found out I won Dave’s Killer Bread in the HangryPants giveaway.  I have been whining about my inability to find this product on the East Coast for quite a while now…so I did a few summersaults upon discovering I won the giveaway 😀

Despite being ridiculously sore from Jillian’s workout yesterday, I still managed to get to the gym.  Before I left, I had a few handfuls of dried mango for a sugary kick in the pants.

That’s about half of what I had, but it got 6 miles out of me so ‘nuf said.

I was dreaming of this during the entire workout.  So refreshing.  Gingerberry is my latest #1 flavor.  I must have been really thirsty or something because I pounded it in under 30 seconds (carbonation and all).  Come to think of it, I drank an extraordinary amount of water at the gym, too.  What a weird day.

Dinnerface :D  In the bowl: quinoa, raw carrots, raw corn, and a spoonful of hummus love.  On the side: raw sprouted chickpeas, and raw broccoli slaw.

Some ingredients jumped ship.

All together now.

Who doesn’t like a good zoom $hot?

I had extra corn off the cob on the side.  I love the way raw corn crunches.  These babies were particularly sweet and hit the spot.

I did laundry while enjoying the sassy Hot-lanta housewives.  They crazy!

For dessert, I made a green creation.  A bit atypical for dessert maybe, but the amount of avocado makes up for it, right?

I steamed some broccoli and cauliflower, then added half an avocado, and drizzled some San-J sweet & tangy sauce on the top.

Awwww sh!!!t – you all MUST try this.  Now.  I stirred it all together to make a brocc-a-mole.

Guess who comes home tomorrow?!?!

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A rainy day with Jillian Michaels

Guess who’s turning 21 today!?!?!  My baby sister, Marie!!! 

Somehow I am the shortest in my fam, even though I’m the oldest.  Boo.

I can’t believe she’s turning 21.  She’ll always be 12 in my eyes.  I can’t wait for her to visit NYC in August – we are going to celebrate in a MAYJ way!

In case you were wondering (since I was just wishing happy birthday for my , yes, my sissie-poo and my popsicle do have back to back birthdays. 

Now, onto the food.

Liquid AM.  Slosh slosh. 

I used the above brand of non-milk for today’s coffee/Amazing Grass.  It’s meh.  Kinda watery looking, even though it didn’t taste watery, I couldn’t get over how overly clear it appeared. 

I crunched on some apple slices while reading blogs.  I heart reading what you kids are up to.

After just a couple hours, I was ready for lonchie. 

I toasted Alvarado Street bread and spread half with roasted red pepper hummus and the other half with tofu salad (veganaise, shredded carrots, brocc slaw, and avocado). 

It was lovely.

I used some carrots to polish off the hummus 🙂

Then turned to Amazing Grass for my second smoothie of the day.  I made this one with the OG flavah flaaaave packet, and I wasn’t so into it…if it isn’t chocolate, I don’t want it.  

Then, since the weather looked like this outside:

I decided it was an inside games kind of day – which meant catching up on all things Bravo (D-list, NYC Prep, you know, important matters).  I also watched my favorite ep of The Office ever (The Injury)…sometimes I can’t breathe while watching because I’m laughing so hard. 

Normally, I’m not scared of lightning, but I JUST read an article about how 5 people were struck by lightning in Jersey yesterday and I was seeing huge bolts every few seconds.  Scary!!  After too much lazing about, I decided to do something.

This b!tch worked my a$$ off!!  I endured 58 minutes of her hell, thanks to OnDemand Exercise TV.  Soon enough I’ll have biceps bigger than Madonna’s (yeah, right!).  It was too much.  Keep in mind this workout was after a 5 day hiatus from all things active.  Tomorrow is going to be horrible, I can already tell.

An hour later (after my legs stopped quivering), I felt like something cool.  Lightbulb. 

Banana soft serve – with a cherry twist.

$5.59 for 10 oz. of cherries?  This better taste like heaven on earth.

Success!!  I know it looks more like a poorly blended smoothie than soft serve, but I like it with chunks (twss).  Cherries and nanners = winning combo!

I was a little worried this would ruin my appetite for dinner…but then I remembered that I’m not a pansy.

For dinner, I went with some repeats.  If it ‘aint broke…

Zucchini “pasta” with raw corn, carrot shreds, and a “creamy” hummus sauce.  I used two different hummuses (hummi? hummusi?) for this “sauce” as well as a dollop of plain greek yogurt.  NOM.

After skyping with Kyle in Brazil, I snacked on some pitettes with roasted red pepper hummus. 

But I still had to end my night on a sweet note (thank goodness my sweet tooth is back after last night’s scare)!

Loves it.

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It’s my *lunch* in a box

Work day = Packed lunch.  Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who brings lunch to work.  I don’t get it!? 

There are a few things that baffle me about this, the first being the price of buying food on a daily basis.  Sure, I can understand a treat once in a while, but every day?  That adds up!  Second, I don’t understand how people can leave their house without any preparation should they get hungry.  I know I have a job unlike most other people.  I don’t have the luxury of choosing when I take my lunch breaks, and I can’t run out and get food if I’m hungry.  I have patients in acutely ill states, and there are time that I simply cannot step away for a break, regardless of how quick (hence the packed food). 

But all that considered, I still think I would bring my own food, even if I worked at a desk job or whatever.  Control freak?  Maybe a little.  But my coworkers will be wishing they had a bit more type-A personality in them when I’m buying a house in 2 years done paying off my student loans in 5 years.  I don’t mean to sound all holier-than-thou, it’s just a random musing…after all, my Whole Foods addiction pretty much contradicts everything I just wrote.  What do you guys think? 

You know the deal.  Nutty, carob-y, raisin mix, apple, ensalada grande (edamame, corn and tofu were the main features of this bad boy), Apple Pie Larabar, Choco-walla odwalla bar, 1/2 pound of dried mango (this was literally a bushel’s worth of mango in dried form), plus an apple and a banana.

I wish I had read Gena’s post on peeling bananas before eating this one…but I see many banana soft serves in my future, so I’m sure I’ll get a chance to try it out. 

I got a Gingerberry Kombucha at lunchtime, which I popped open around 4 pm.  HIT.the.SPOT.

I got off work a little late, so dinner was thrown together somewhat haphazardly. 

I knew I wanted guac, but none of the regular avocados were ripe.  Panic!!  I ended up buying a huge, scary, mango-looking avocado instead.  The cashier told me they tasted the same, but I was still skeptical.  Has anyone else tried these?  They seriously look like a mango on the outside, but look like a normal avocado on the inside.  Weird.

FYI (because a few people have asked) here is the broccoli slaw I use.  It’s made fresh every day (probably with the veggies that have become too unsightly to sell on their own).  Does that make me a compost bin? 

I’m not sure what I think of this new avocado.  It had a more latex-y texture, and not as creamy of a flavor (if that makes any sense at all!).  I still ate it all up on top of a bed of spinach.

I threw some dried cranz on top at the last minute…why not, right?

My dessert was more dried mango and carob chips.  This picture is deceiving.  The bowl was bigger than it looks.  So big, in fact, that I couldn’t finish the bowl because my tummy was overwhelmed by the amount of sweetness.  Are you shocked?!  I know!  I was as confused by this as you are.  Since when can I not finish dessert?!

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[Insert witty title here]

Yeah, creative juices are dried up for tonight.  It’s been a long day, so I’m not even going to bother.  You don’t care about the title anyways, right?

Why does it seem like I’m 12 feet tall while taking this bird’s eye shot of my lunch? 

Look at all the glorious food: Berries GoMega odwalla bar, Cashew Cookie Larabar, hummus, salad of raw-ness, dried papayas & mangoes, home made raw trail mix (carob chips, almonds, cashews, and raisins), and don’t forget the apple!

The stars the the show weren’t too shy for a close up.

This Larabar was another success!  Not too sweet, not too bland – like Goldilocks’ dream bar, it was JUST right. 

I was pretty dang busy all day at work, but stepped away from the unit for a quick lunch to make some phone calls eat.

Nothing puts a hop in your step more than hearing VeggieGirl’s voice. 

On the way home, I stopped for a Kombucha treat since it was nasty hot outside.  I felt like I could have drank the air…humidity, not my friend.

I knew exactly what I wanted for dinner.  I had been planning it in my head the whole day.  Does anyone else do this?  Who am I kidding, I’m sure 99% of you foodies do this!!

My dinner was as raw as a surfer’s nipples! 

Ok, maybe an amateur surfer since it wasn’t 100% raw…but dang was it beautiful!

I grated a whole zucchini into ribbon like pasta noodles, and then added in raw corn, roasted red pepper hummus AND plain hummus. 

Voila!  I took way too many food porn shots because I was so in luuurve with my creation, but I’ll spare you and just post one.  It was definitely a success.  And for all you kids out there without the tricky gadgets, you’ll be happy to know, this was made with an old school grater, no spiralizer needed.  Although, I certainly wouldn’t kick it out of bed if it made it’s way there…

I treated myself to a second course because Kyle’s gone and I use food to fill the void.

I scrounged and scrounged and came up with the last 4 balls of my home-made falafel with hummus.  Per-fec-tion.

Dessert was a bowl of yum.  Same as the trail mix I brought to work: carob chips, cashews, raisins, and almonds.  My tummy was very happy.

Before I forget, it’s my popsicle’s birthday today, and I wish I could be home to celebrate with him, alas, I’m stuck on the east coast…so I’ll post a photo from our trip to Cabo in January.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!  I love you 🙂

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yankee doodle dandy

In honor of Julie, this weekend recap will be in yay/nay terms.

Coffee – YAY

Being so out of it I grabbed a second spoon even though there was clearly one already in the mug – NAY

Berry good breks – YAY

Sunny weather – YAY

The Yankees suck – NAY

Cool new stadium – YAY

Vegan options fail – NAY

1125 calorie “fan favorites” – super NAY

 

Pre-packed dried fruit & nut eats – YAY

Apple Pie Larabar – YAY

Chocolate Amazing Grass smoothie – YAY

Pomegranate Mango Amazing Grass shake – NAY

Quinoa, baked tofu, and roasted red pepper hummus – YAY!!!!

So good I wanted seconds – YAY (and NAY?)

Green swamp water Kombucha – YAY

Yacon slices for dessert – NAY

Rachel Getting Married – YAY

Lazy Sunday with my fiancé – YAY

New flavor (Pomegranate) CHOBANI greek yogurt – YAY

Orange themed lunch – YAY

Afternoon stroll through Riverside Park – YAY

Snickers Kashi Chewy Chocolate Almond Toffee pre-gym fuel – NAY

Less than 30 minutes on the elliptical – NAY

Sprinting home in a surprise torrential downpour sans umbrella – NAY

Snacking before dinner ruining my appetite – NAY

Mega-avocado salad – YAY

Random flowers from my K love – YAY

Young At Heart – YAY (everyone see this!)

Strawberry Serenity Kombucha – YAY

Frozen dessert done right – YAY

Kyle leaving for Brazil tomorrow – NAY

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Work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep

I had work the past two days, so this may get a bit repetitive…packed lunches as always.   

Dried fruit, Larabar, Clif bar, dried fruit & nuts (?), hummus, raw salad, apple.  Read on for the deets.

Lately I’ve been trying to branch out and dabble in the raw/food combining world, and I have to say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how positive the results have been.  Even though I have proclaimed myself anti-nuts in the past and vehemently refused to budge on the issue, for some reason I have been on a nut kick lately.  Why not go with it, right?  So on that note, I figured how about I test out a few Larabar flavors.  They’re been blogger favorites for as long as I’ve been in this community (hello staying power!) and yet, I’ve only ever had the Apple Pie before because, well, all Larabars have nuts (sigh).  Anyways, this past weekend I basically spent 2 hours in Whole Foods trying to find the most introductory flavors possible.  Baby steps right?

Well, the coconut cream pie flavor did NOT disappoint!  It tasted just like the coconut date rolls I used to eat (by the pound) for dessert.  Dates and coconut are two of my favorite foods, and their synergistic effect does wonders for my taste buds, so naturally this was a good choice to segue into the world of cashews and almonds.  Larabar, I’m officially a convert!!

Also, as per food combining rules, dried fruit and nuts are a fabulous duo, so my tummy was happy in many ways 🙂

I had the Larabar as a mid-morning snack, so by the time I was able to get away for lunch I was hangry (and my stomach was ready for a new food group).  Enter bombass salad.  Veggies are neutral, so it was all good in the hood.

Did I mention I opted out of my regular second cup of coffee?  Whoa, who AM I?  Don’t worry K, I’m sure this isn’t a permanent thing…

Anyways, I made it all the way to 5 without hunger hitting, and then I was ready for my apple.  Eating fruit all by itself may just change my life.

I got off work promptly at 7:15 and snacked on the dried goji berries, raw cashews, and raw almonds on the subway ride home. 

By the time I got home I wasn’t starving, so I took my time and prepared a yum (although repetitive) dinner.

Look famil?  The good news is that I used up the rest of the water lettuce, so you won’t have to endure the same old photos for at least another week day.

I just can’t help it.  I’m in a ridic avocado phase.  This guacamole was very similar to the one I made the other night, except the broccoli slaw was freshly made, and there were no carrots.  It was perfect.

The night ended with a beautiful Trilogy Kombucha.

After I packed my lunch and laid my scrubs out, I hit the sack.

The next day’s lunch was similar, but instead of a Larabar, I tried another new raw treat.

A Figtastic Bar by Lydia’s Organics.  Pricey – yes, tasty – not so much…apparently when I was examining all the delicious ingredients I overlooked the side that said “grainless, gluten, sugar & oil free.”  Hmmm…

I’m sorry to say, it was NOT figtastic.  First of all, I didn’t taste even a hint of figs.  Secondly, agave nectar is all well and good, but how much did they use?  A microgram?  It was seriously lacking in the sweets department.  Come to think of it, it was seriously lacking in the flavor department, too.  I still ate the whole thing, it may taste like cardboard, but it cost $2.99 and I’m not Ivanka Trump.

It held me over until lunch, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Other newcomers to the hippie lunch scene were the raw sprouted chickpeas in the salad, as well as the raw cashew/almond/raisin mix.  Other than that, it was the same old same old.

I am amazed at how effective a few simple changes in my daily eats have been (who knew following food combining rules could elicit such rewarding results).  Raw is rocking my world…and I never would have known about it at all, had Gena not wrote this wonderful introductory post.

Can I get an Amen?

I arrived home from work and made myself ANOTHER heaping bowl of guacamole.  Addicted much? 

Instead of water lettuce, I used romaine, which has about 1% more value nutritionally speaking.

The massive wedges worked very well as scoopers.  NOM.

After digesting and showering, I decided dessert was a must.

Raw nuts (cashews & almonds) and raisins.  Kyle started swooping on my bowl, so I re-filled and we split round two while watching a fatty Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon.  I have the weekend off, and we are going to a Yankees game tomorrow, so I am going to say adios for now.  Happy weekend blog loves.

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You are what you eat

Welcome to the HHH fridge (if you can even call it that)…I don’t care what they say ladies, size DOES matter 😉

Now you can see exactly how pathetic NYC living is, and why I am forced to go grocery shopping on a (nearly) daily basis.

The door holds next to nothing.  So we can only have small cartons of milk.  Hence the frequent rotation in my non-milk beverages.  Most of the condiments are actually Kyle’s (along with the eggs, etc.)  Some key condiments are the Nasoya “mayo,” peanut butter, Country Bob’s All Purpose sauce, soy sauce, vegan parmesan, Smart Balance light (it’s vegan), and lemon/lime juices.  Also note the loose veggie slices of “cheese” prominently placed in front of Kyle’s cheddar and spicy jack.

If you zoom in on the top shelf you’ll see my latest habit.

Now there’s the best $12 I’ve spent in a long time! 

Less $$, but equally as important in my life, are the POM, salsa, loose lemon, mini apple sauces, and 400 Chobz.

The middle shelf is barely tall enough to hold the Brita, so we actually have to manually lift it a bit each time we want to get the water out.  Not at all annoying…

Of COURSE there’s Sabra, along with plenty of other tuperware containers, filled with chickpeas, avocado, tofu, seitan, quinoa, and whatever else I’ve been cooking in bulk and portioned off. 

The bottom shelf has some more tuperwared goods, including corn, broccoli slaw, along with Alvarado Street bread, and Kyle’s turkey.

In the “crisper” drawer (which has no dividers to separate one area from another) is everything from loose bell peppers, family sized bags of spinach, horse feed sized carrots, baby carrots, shredded carrots, shirataki noodles, and avocado, to halves of melon and cherry tomatoes.  Random, yessir.

Freezer time?  Sure, why not!

Wanna guess the goods?  Or shall I just tell you?  I spy…

 

Ok kids, your turn!!  Show me your fridges.

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New things

Even with a huge cup of frothy coffee, the morning still sucked.  After reading that Sarah decided it was time to bow out of the food blog world (darn creepers stalking her lovin family) I knew I needed something more substantial than my normal cup of joe!  So I dried my tears and busted out the blender.

This Amazing Grass smoothie contained half a plain greek yogurt (Chobani of course), half a frozen banana, almond milk, and a chocolate-y packet of lawn shavings.

 

I stirred melon and dried cranberries into the rest of the greek yogurt – and after that I had a Superfruit Kombucha.  I wonder what a superfruit is?

Lunch was nothing new.  My apartment’s contents are fairly predictable, so it’s merely a matter of tweaking the combinations.  In the above salad was seaweed, sesame seeds, matchstick carrots, dried cranz, and chickpeas.  It was a nice mix of crunch, sweet, salty, yum.  I hope y’all know what that round red thing is on the left.

After some time to digest, I finally managed to drag my butt off the couch.  It was really difficult.  Suddenly I’m lazy lazy hippie.  Why can’t I get motivated!!!  I didn’t even work yesterday, and I still managed to use the weather as an excuse to skip exercise.  Jillian would be so mad at me.  I think I need some JM bootcamp action.  If only she were my personal trainer.  Sigh.

At the gym today I elliptical-ed until Top Chef ended I got bored.  Talk about an uninspired workout.  Post sweat sesh endorphins felt nice, but I couldn’t help but feel annoyed at my pathetic cardio routine.  I know I shouldn’t compare my current activity to my former, but how can I not when I used to train with 6 miler runs a day MINIMUM.  Sorry for the whine.

I did huge amounts of grocery shopping on the way home, and after I showered I set to work on dinner.

Holy GUACAMOLE!

Dinner at Gena’s last night whet my appetite for guacamole in a major way, so I was craving avocado all day…hence the guac-fest for dinner.

• 1 1/2 avocados
• shredded carrots
• broccoli slaw
• raw white sweet corn and yellow corn
• squirt of lime juice
• stevia packet

I used the leftover lettuce cups from the other night into which I scooped the guacamole.  Yowza, I could eat this every single night.

I waited a few hours to have dessert because I wanted to allow my tummy to digest (and I’m trying to integrate more of the food combining principles into my diet).

Not only was dessert (aka after-dinner dried fruit/nut snackage) in line with the food combo laws, but it was also SO unlike me!!  Can you believe what an amazing influence the food blog world has had on me?  Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, I actually willingly ate nuts.  NUTS!

So nutty!

I got cashew pieces (cheaper than whole ones, great tip Gena), raw almonds, raisins, and goji berries.  I had never tried goji berries before, and finally got over myself, and bit the bullet.  It had the texture/consistency of a harder raisin, but wasn’t as sweet.  It’s hard to describe. Try them for yourself and see!!  They have numerous health benefits too, including antioxidant and neuro-protective properties, cardiovascular and inflammatory disease prevention, and anticancer actions.  I’m down with that.

What new food or food combination have you tried because you’ve seen them on blogs?

I couldn’t even begin to count the positive ways this community has affected me. 

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The sky is falling, the sky is falling

I was sloshing the morning away with all this liquid love.

I’m a certified Amazing-Grass-a-holic.  Chocolate luuurrve.  By the way, this smoothie was made with frozen bananas and plain greek yog, and was the BEST version yet.  I wish my blender actually crushed ice the way blenders are supposed to…for some reason I keep getting to the bottom of my “blended” drinks to discover 4 ice cubes balls with the corners knicked off…I guess I’ll just have to make do with this one until next summer because we have no room in our kitchen (or budget) for a new appliance.  I can just picture the wedding registry now: blentec, spiralizer, food processor, juicer, dehydrator.

I basically just snacked away the afternoon, since I was catching up on errands around the apt.  The weather outside was crap, so I had no interest in braving the downpour to go to the gym, which is why my food has no rhyme or reason.  I’m seriously confused by this east coast weather.  Rain?  It was sunny the entire weekend, and I finally get a day off, and next thing I know, the sky is falling.

SAD as I was about the weather, I had a million other things to get out of the way.  So, without exercise on the horizon, my eating plan changed into a mini snack-a-thon because I knew I didn’t need to pre-fuel myself to keep my energy up and belly quiet…which sounds like a no brainer, but it’s usually a lot of planning ahead.  Anyways, I was craving sweetness, and had lots of fruit (fresh and dried) on hand to satisfy myself and then some.

Get your mind out of the gutter, Jess, the proportions are all wrong!

I decided to take a chance on the OG flavor…scary!  I made sure not to shake it, since I knew this was one of the explosive flavors, but evidently that didn’t matter.  Effervescent much?

It took about 2 minutes to finally calm down…and by then, half the drink ($2 worth) was gone.  It was ok, but I think I’ll stick to the flavored Kombucha from now on.  Warning: do NOT open this drink around anything important (ie: computer, work papers, etc.).

I knew I was heading out for dinner and I didn’t want to ruin my appetite, so I decided to just have a smallish meal in the late afternoon.  Seaweed/sesame salad + chickpeas = happy hippie 😀

I had to zoom in on the yumminess that the chickpeas added to this seaweed salad.  That said, I tiny drizzle of olive oil goes a long way, and it could have used a lot less.  Oh well.

Once I was showered, I hit the streets to walk over to Gena’s apt for a fun little get together.  As you may have read by now, it was quite the eventful night!

In addition to amazing raw eats and fabulous company, we also witnessed something that only happens in movies – the collapse of a ceiling. 

But let me back up. 

Even though I arrived at her apartment looking more like a drenched alley cat than a human, she still greeted me with open arms.  As others arrived, I met some more NY bloggers and we all marveled over the cute apartment she managed to snag.  The kitchen alone made me jealous enough to consider abandoning my current pint sized pad.  And then I saw what could only be described as raw heaven. 

 

You can read about all these delish dishes and how to make them on Gena’s blog, but let me say, if this is raw, I don’t want to be right I am on board.

As an avocado enthusiast, my taste buds were overjoyed with all the dressings and dips.  The (unpictured) guacamole was probably one of my favorites, although the mini pizza bites (zucch, sundried toms, pizza “cheese”) were definitely a close runner-up.  Thanks again Gena for such a gourmet meet up!

Suddenly our eating and chatting came to an abrupt halt when we heard an insanely loud crashing noise.  I think we all looked at each other with the same WTF was that?! expression.   Oddly enough, the kitchen was devoid of any wreckage, despite the avalanche like disturbance.  Hmmm…then we opened the bathroom door. 

Holy sh!t indeed.

Thank god nobody was on the toilet because that would have been a pretty rough way to be interrupted while taking a dump relieving oneself.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

While the landlord was assessing the damage, we continued on with the evening…it’s gonna take more than shattered porcelain to shake up this group!

Heather and Ashley both brought delish cookies which I was more than willing to sample.  No photos here, but Heather wrote a post on hers, and we were lucky just to get any at all after half of them went AWOL on her trek to NYC.  Ashley made super-charge-me cookies, about which I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews, and wow, were they good.  I’m glad I wasn’t sitting where Diana was, or the entire tin would have been empty by the end of the night!

All in all, it was a great night, and so fun to welcome Lindsay back to the big apple.  I was thrilled to meet so many lovely ladies, including Heather, Diana, Lindsay, Ashley, Katherine, and of course the hostess herself, Gena.

I got home and cuddled up with my new book and an apple.

 

Just to prove I reciprocate in the domesticity department, here’s a beautiful lasag I made him.

I know they’re no surprise lettuce cups, but Kyle’s a big fan of the queso, so he was happy.

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eye bee ess

Yes.  I have it.  And although flair ups have been minimal since I’ve been vegan, I DO still have days when I feel like caca (ironically, from the absence of it).  TMI?  Sorry.

Usually these days are brought on by stress, and as much as I try to avoid it (with my nice planned out schedules), sometimes life throws a wrench in it.  Unavoidable.  Deal.

This weekend, with my 3 shifts in a row schedule, I had to make like Tim Gunn and “make it work.”

Comfort foods, aplenty.

Review: not too shabby in a pinch, but added greens are probably the way to make the most of it.

Pre-packed salad lunches (with the help of some WF hot bar goodies).

 

Apple and mozzarella craze-phaze.

Btw, I like bread.  And salads.

Oh, and hummus.

Clearly it’s no secret by now that hummus is a mayj part of my life.  It’s rare that a day goes by without it…in fact, yesterday, in an exasperated moment when Kyle couldn’t find room for leftovers in the fridge, he made me get up off the couch and come count the number of different hummus brands and flavors in the fridge…and then proceeded to tease me for how ridiculous it was (there were 7 by the way).

Look, I’m not saying it’s healthy or normal, but I am okay with it, and he should be too. 

 

I packed my lunches for work each and every day this weekend, but by the time my lunch break rolled around, 85% of it was already gone, and I was craving my true love, bread and hummus. 

The above quinoa, hummus, carrot, and cranberry salad turned into a side dish for the Kirsty Alley portion of bread I bought (sorry for the poor quality phone pics).

I also discovered the second cutest vehicle to shovel hummus down, pitettes!!!  (the first being a spoon btw).  They were like whole wheat fluffs from heaven, and the only reason I managed to show restraint and NOT finish the entire bag was because I had to go back to work (that, and I had already eaten a loaf of French bread…).

By Monday’s shift I was so sick of the same old meals, but I lacked the energy to create anything different…

Chocolate Chip Peanut odwalla bar review:  there was chocolate in this??  It tasted like a bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, which is great, but then perhaps the name of the bar should be changed…I saw maybe one chocolate chip, and tasted none whatsoever.  Believe me, I’m more than satisfied with a bar that resembles PB oats, but I’m not a fan of being led on. 

Anyways, lunch was (again) not enough to fill my tummy, so I went with the tried and true solution.  Carbs.

Thank you Bruno’s for not judging me as I bought a fresh loaf of French bread, and polished off the entire thing without so much as a pause to allow proper digestion.

Love, Elise.

Aside from Kyle’s Sunday night surprise, my dinners were not so much “meals” as a series of dishes that eventually tapered off once I felt full couldn’t find anything else in the fridge.  Montage anyone?

Quinoa, shredded carrots, hummus, avocado = divine!

All things peanut buttery…dried papaya and Newman’s Own organic dark chocolate.

My brand spankin’ new Falafel chips (with hummus), which hardly lasted longer than 5 seconds after I opened them.  I initially plated myself a handful and then put them away.  They were out of control good.  I have no idea how they did it, but they tasted EXACTLY like falafel!!!! Whaaaat?  They were ridiculously addictive, so I got the bag back out for more.  Mistake #1.  I finished off the hummus and went and got another tub.  Mistake #2.  HOLY YUM!  They were so good, Kyle and I started eating straight out of the bag.  Mistake #3.  Never eat out of the bag.  It will not end well, and that’s a promise.  I’ve lived it kids, and it ‘aint pretty.  The poor plate sat neglected on the side, while our hands plunged into the bag time and time again, until nothing but salty crumbs were left (which we still fought over). 

I should have been full by this point, right?  Wrong.

After this bowl of fruit, I really was full.  My poor body deserves a bit of a break after the miscellaneous-ness that I made it endure this past week, so I’m gonna try and clean up my act for the coming week. 

PS I loved She’s Come Undone, and can’t wait to start my next book.  Stay tuned…(unless you are on GoodReads, then you probz already know what’s up).

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