Sunday offered nicer weather than Saturday, but I still wanted warmth in my belly for breakfast. What to make, what to make…french vanilla SO Delicious coconut milk coffee, followed by the world’s thickest bowl of pumpkin oat bran. You would think this would fill me right up, but I was hungry again just a few hours later. I slept in, though, so it was well past noon, and I set to work on lunch.
Cubed ‘fu rubbed in cornmeal and paprika, tossed in a skillet, and sizzled to death. Pretty snazzy for a recipe on the fly, dontcha think?
How’s that for a nice little snack plate? The tofu was crispy on the outside, yet soft on the inside (aka PERFECT). Even better, I managed to get it so without burning our place down.
For those of you who don’t live in a pint-sized NYC apartment, you should know the smoke alarms aren’t very forgiving, so it’s a serious accomplishment when I make it through an entire cooking session without needing earmuffs. I can’t tell you how many times the neighbors in the building across from us have seen me furiously waving oven mitts in the air trying to fan away the (non-existent) smoke that has set off our smoke detector. So annoying.
More apples 🙂
New favorite drinkage = Steaz blueberry pomegranate sparkling green tea
I found it at WF, and there are several other flavors. It’s carbonated, subtly sweet, calorie free and really good. Plus, the cap’s inside has a nice message reminder. I am definitely a fan.
I went to the gym (second day in a row – woot woot) during the Packers vs. Cowboys game and the time FLEW by. I even spent some extra time on the mats after running. Personally, I’m of the opinion that there is no such thing as too much stretching. I love it. It feels like heaven after a good long run. I should really get my butt to a yoga class.
Check out this funky sweet potato. I buy produce based on their shapes – the weirder, the better – so this was an obvious pick. Anyone else have odd preferences when choosing produce?
Along with sweet potato rounds, I also had seitan chimichurri, which I had been craving FOR-EV-ER. I will never ever tire of this dish. Seitan is my favorite non-meat. It always has been and it always will be.
It was fabulously saucy. As usual, WF didn’t skimp on the olive oil. Do they ever?
OH, by the way, guess how I’ve been eating my sweet potatoes lately.
With BBQ sauce! I’m obsessed with this combo. There is something about the spicy tang of the BBQ flavor and the sweetness of the taters that just works perfectly. I don’t know how I’m not totally orange given the quantity of sweet potatoes I’ve been eating.
And (again) more apples.
I have managed to go through about 20 in the past few days. I only take pics when I slice them all pretty, so factor in triple what’s shown on the blog and that’s a more accurate count of the manzanas that are in my system.
For dessert I savored a bowl of Crème Caramel Whole Soy & Co frozen yogurt topped with a crumbled Oats ‘n Honey Nature Valley crunchy granola bar. My roommate used to buy those bars in bulk from Costco, so (as you can imagine) I completely OD’ed on them back in college. They are pretty dry and crumbly, so they are better as a topping or mix-in. For the record, I generally prefer my bars to be more chewy when eaten (plain) as a snack. Most importantly, I have to be able to break them without making a mess when I’m at work. In my humble opinion texture is probably the most significant factor when grading a bar.
Back to el hospital manana…
I used to choose small sweet potatoes so that they would take less time to cook in the microwave, but now that I don’t have a microwave anymore, the bigger the better, since I have to cut them up anyway 😀
ha! i’m the first commenter. creeeeeepay.
that bowl of pumpkin love looks friggn delicious and ultra fluffy which is how i like em. heyyooo
when I buy fruit I HAVE to buy the big ones. like it doesnt matter. and in my head the big really weird sized ones are the same calories. not that it matters. but it drives me insane when deej buys the tiny ones. i give her the major stink eye and i’m like “are you effing kidding me dude, who the frig is gonna eat this”
anyways. i’m with you on the stretching. 45 minutes of stretching seems just about right 😉
DAMMIT! nicole beat me prob by like 2 seconds.
if only sweet pots turned us orange. might help me have a little bit of color in these dull gray months of winter, instead of this pale blah sallowness i rock. since i eat 4-5/ week. on off days, b-nut squash. i heart beta carotene. go healthy maculae!
Mmm your spontaneous fu sounds great beeb.
I like weird produce too! I got an eggplant with two butts this week – right next to each other, if that makes sense – almost like butt CHEEKS I guess- in any case – dayum!
The tofu looks awesome! Too bad I can’t eat it. I want it!
Produce. I buy on function. If I am spiralizing a zuke, I buy short and plump.
If I am chopping it for salads, I buy long n skinny.
I hate odd shaped taters as they are hard to peel and the butt random ends either burn or just dont cook right. So I go for uniform. I know, call me boring and practical 🙂
Stretching. That’s my middle name. It’s a good thing 🙂
WHAT! i had sweet taters tonight and didnt even think about bbq sauce..good thing i have leftovers..that combo sounds awesome!
I still haven’t tried those chimichurries… gotta get on that.
hmmm the color of that seitan is so bright… I haven’t well tried it out yet.. someday someday
looove the snack plater 🙂
When it comes to produce, I pick apples based on the LEAST shiny, because waxy buildup weirds me out!
BBQ + sweet taters is glorious!
I HIGHLY recommend Trader Joe’s brand of PB crunchy granola bars.
They will change your life.
ohh sweet potatoes. they are an addiction 🙂 my grandma roasts them all of the time, so it’s like my comfort food. i’ve had two today, one for breakfast and a snack. i don’t even reheat them. i just grab it and chow down, no utensils involved 😉
I love Steaz!!
Really enjoyed reading about your eats! Those really are thick pumpkin oats! Mmmmm 🙂
xoxo
Maggie
Only preferences in produce: the smaller, the better! Especially with fruit; I find that they’re much sweeter that way. And it kind of helps if you’re going to eat an entire squash to not have them be the size of your head. 😉
<3 <3
jealous of the sweet potato rounds! & that tea sounds really good 🙂
xoxo
shelley
http://findinghappinessandhealth.wordpress.com
ps- i am obsessed w/ the name of your blog- so cute!
Yum! I love me some crispy tofu. Darn fine work on the fly, m’dear.
I think if I bought large bags of apples, I too would eat more than three a day. Don’t you think apples are practically the perfect texture? I’ve had one almost every day since 11th grade.
I have never heard of/ experienced a seitan chimichurri!? Obviously I’ll be getting my paws on this next week.
Good luck heading back to work! xoxo
i love sweet taters with bbq sauce too!!! such a great combo
You are so right about pint sized new york kitchens and the unforgiving smoke detector. I actually tape a piece of tupperware over my smoke detector whenever I use my stove/oven just so that I don’t freak my neighbors out with sporadic smoke detector beeping. It might be odd, but this little trick works wonders!!
Oh, and I had some pretty awesome ‘fu for dinner tonight too! SO delish!
Yeah, I’ve been rocking out the apples too! I pretty much eat 1/2 lb per day 🙂
Delish food! Um yea out house smoke alarm goes off if you open the oven. Headache central. We’ve unplugged it at one point because it would go off every morning!
Is there another fruit? I though only apples 😉 LOL I go through far too many.
BBQ sauce on sweet potatoes is one of the greatest combinations ever. I lived on those bad boys when I was in school. Mmm!
Hey! I found your blog while reading various vegan writings, and I wanted to take a minute to thank you for writing it, and for sharing all your clever and tasty food ideas. This is definitely saved to my computer’s favorites list.
–Jess
You sure know how to make me hungry! I still can’t believe you got my favorite coconut milk beverage to look all frothy like that. How’d you do it? I’m definitely going to try sweet potato with bbq sauce (sounds incredible!) and those tofu cubes. But how do you make pumpkin oat bran?
I want that ‘fu. Right now!
Weird and cute looking foods just taste better. It’s a scientific fact or something. I OD’d on those Nature Valley bars back in the day – TJs crunchy peanut butter bars (the NV knock offs) are amazing!
Looks amazing. I love seitan! i havent tried the chimichurri yet from whole foods. Will have to look for this! BBQ sauce with sweet potatoes is an awesome combo! Yum!!!
The Sandlot! I love when you type like that. Also, your wok tossed tofu looks appetizing, much more than my father’s deep friedness that he then smoothers in some garlic, vinegar and soy sauce combo. mmm..
Stretching is one of my favorite parts of working out! It feels soooo great 🙂
I think that BBQ sauce on sweet potatoes sounds absolutely divine, and I’m the exact opposite with veggies: I like ’em to be “neatly” shaped..hehe
Agree about the granola bar textures. Crunchy is best served over yog
LOOOOVE sweet potatoes!!! my fav combo is with ketchup + tabasco!!! but my BF swears by bbq sauce 🙂
What is your fav bbq sauce? my favs that i have found so far are bone sucking sauce and annie’s.
I love your blog btw:)
<3, D
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Lady I wish I ha consumed all the food you ate today! It all looks magically delicious, so much more so than my AWFUL caf food.
I need that SO coconut milk creamer in my life! Also, I have some vital wheat gluten and I’m going to try my hands at making some seitan. It’s definitely my favorite faux meat. Yum, so delish. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
the bigger the better!! twss 😉
hahaha, awwwww. sorry you missed out on the #1 spot boo. i can totally picture myself having that same response to a mini-apple purchase. your calorie logic totally makes sense in my eyes.
i agree. the BN squash/SP industry would be through the roof if it resulted in an orange glow. and we’d look like oompa loompas, too!!
short and plump, long n skinny, youre KILLING me with these twss opportunities 🙂
boring and practical? wow. back in the day did you EVER think youd describe yourself as such?? looks like averie’s all grown up. HA!
if only stretching could give me your ripped a$$ body
oh man, you MUST try it out.
ps welcome back from your hiatus!!
thats why i dont like green apples. they look too waxy – like there’s a layer of chapstick on the skin or something!
consider it DONE. thanks!!
you are my twin. try them dipped in hummus. they really do go with anything.
how did i only just discover it. SO good!
thanks maggie!! they were definitely a bit thicker than i think they “should” be, but oh well! still quite tasty 🙂
see, thats where you and i differ.
whats wrong with gobbling down 5 pounds of squash in a single sitting? its like insta-food baby. and by food baby, i mean food quadruplets!
thanks shelley!
i was just on your blog for a solid 15 minutes btw, and i really love your honesty and approach to using blogging as an outlet and support system. its a great community and i promise you will get everything and more out of it.
thanks for reading 🙂
last week it was 11 pm and i hadnt yet had an apple that day and i was really freaked out. so naturally i had to remedy that. i cant remember the last time i went a day without one. yes, the crunch of an apple cannot be replicated. its ZE besttttt.
seitan chimichurri is faaaaabulous. the OG dish is from candle, but WF now makes their dishes. ive only seen it at the UWS location, so clearly youll have to make your way up to my hood while youre staying in the citayyy.
ps where are you staying? email me so i can stalk you (errr…tell you where the fun things are in your neighb)
hahaha, thats the best visual ever. i may just try that! of course, my fear is always that ill forget and then die in flames. not likely, but its just one of those irrational fears that my mom ingrained in me at a young age.
i agree. no fruit comes close in comparison. im too afraid to take the batteries out of the smoke detector, but im often very tempted!
jess – what a sweet comment!! thank you so much, it means more than you know to hear such positive feedback. i hope you continue to read 🙂
expect a frothing post in the next few days 🙂
for my oat bran i use the same ratio as oatmeal (2:1 with water to oats). after its done i add in canned pumpkin, and anything else i feel like (apples, nut butters, fruit, whatever). for a not as thick texture, you can up the water portion, though.
those babies are addictive! i probably shouldnt get the TJs version if you think they are just as good!
do it! i love the chimichurri!! (even though i couldnt for the life of me tell you what chimichurri actually is…)
your pops may never stray from his filipino fried ways, but this is a winner of a recipe if you do wanna try it. mmmm
its odd that they “type a” in me doesnt like things neatly shaped. i guess my freak factor trumps my orderly persona.
i usually let kyle buy the BBQ sauce, so theres no rhyme or reason in the brand. but im really loving the kind he just got which is JUST spicy enough to tingle my tongue, but not too crazy of an after kick. its jack daniels “spicy original” and probably packed with HFCS, haha. oh well!!
oh man. i feel for ya! cafeteria food is something i DONT miss at all!
our hospital doesnt even HAVE one. theres a gift shop with soda and nastayyyy packaged crap (like egg salad). so i really have no choice – i have to bring my own eats or else pay $$$$ for whatever restaurant food is near by. no thanks.
seitan is the best faux meat!!! im thinking a batch is in my future too…
Love the idea of BBQ sauce on the taters! Will have to try it. Or something quite like it. Hmmm, now I’m thinking….