Tag: dinner

Ethically sound

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Yes, today was a day of ETHICS. My class had a guest speaker (aka the professor did not want to come in) to talk about ethics in social work for two hours, and then I had to go to a mandatory workshop for another two hours that also happened to be about social work ethics. I love when my days are so scintillating and jam-packed with variety. Ummmmm …

Anyway, I had a cup of green grapes during class at 11:30 to hold me over until lunch at 1:00 (the workshop didn’t start until 2:00). The girls and I (there are only five of us in this grad program) ate together and bemoaned the loss of our afternoon. In addition to my cup of coconut-ginger soup, I helped Emily finish the last 1/2 cup of her Hale and Hearty chicken barley soup:

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Today’s yogurt had 2/3 cup yogurt, 2 tbsp pumpkin, 1/2 chopped apple, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and a sprinkle of golean crunch:

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I had dessert during the workshop: an orange, a Starburst from Lisa, and some m&ms from Emily:

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And then I ate this honey graham zbar from Tina’s Carrots ‘N’ Cake Valentine’s day prize package (Thanks, Tina! You sent so much that I think I’ll be thanking you every day for the rest of the year :-D):

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I ate the bar because I was a little bit hungry but mostly because I was bored. And then Emily couldn’t finish her m&ms, so I helped. Because I’m in a helping profession, and it was the ethical thing to do:

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We got out of the workshop a little bit early around 3:45, and I stopped at Union Square on the way down to Brooklyn so that I could get dinner part 1: oatmeal for $1 at Jamba Juice. I decided I’d had enough sugar for the moment, so I got the banana oatmeal with no brown sugar crumbles:

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I considered waiting until I got home to eat the oatmeal, but it was cold and windy out and the oatmeal was hot. In other words, I inhaled the whole cup while walking the two long blocks from University Place to Sixth Ave. This oatmeal is very stick-to-your-ribs-y, just the way I like it. (Vani, you should definitely give it another shot because it hasn’t been watery for me either time!)

There were two exciting packages waiting for me when I got home. First, my free sample of Quaker mini delights arrived! I love free things:

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But even more exciting was this care package from my mama!! In addition to two of her homemade Valentine’s treats, she sent two eye masks from my stepdad. I am soooooo going to be able to sleep late this weekend :-D.

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Mom’s treats included a chocolate-drizzled oat bake and a chocolate-drizzled kitchen sink muffin heart:

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I’ve been anticipating this package ever since she sent me these gorgeous pics of the treats just out of the oven earlier this week:

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Thanks for brightening my week, mom! I’ll be thinking of you as I eat these :-D.

Dinner part 2 was a bit of a repeat from last night. I had just over 1/2 cup of heated “pumpkin plus” puree with a toasted morningstar Asian veggie patty:

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Are you wondering what’s in the background?? Yes, it’s dinner part 3: the dark chocolate-covered orange slice that Brandi sent as part of my BSI: Spinach prize!

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So to review, I ate a lot, learned about appropriate social work behavior, and helped a friend. All in all, an ethically sound day…. Were you ethical today?

I’m off to go finish up some work homework and get into bed. I know I’m behind on blog- and comment-reading, but I will catch up this weekend, I promise.

Also, make sure you check out the amazing granola that is up for grabs at Mon’s Apetit!

Gourd hopes “squashed”

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As promised in my last post, dinner did involve plenty of experimentation with autumn decor:

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As part of my organization efforts over the weekend, I packed up a box full of pumpkins and gourds that came from Brigitte’s family’s farm sometime in September or October. The gourds had served us well in their provision of seasonally appropriate color for months, but I decided it was time for an update! Brig was planning to toss everything, but she knew I might take offense at that and instead handed it all over for the sake of my kitchen adventures. I got started on the process last night with the four cuties pictured above.

I chopped them all in half (except for the one with all the tumors that would not yield to the knife) and scooped out (and reserved) the seeds:

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They went face-down into a casserole dish with 1 cm water and roasted for 45 minutes at 375:

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I knew the pumpkins would be fine (my oven and I got VERY friendly with a 25-pound fresh pumpkin back in October), but I was mostly curious to see what would become of the gourds. I licked my finger after getting the seeds ready to toast and found the answer:

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Yes, the gourds went right into the trash. Along with the gourd seeds, which unfortunately contaminated all of the other seeds with their relentless bitterness. I was seriously running around the kitchen trying to get the taste out of my mouth. Note to self: no more gourds.

The pumpkins, however, met a different fate. I mixed them (skin and all) in a pot with two small chopped apples and 1/4 cup water and then simmered until it was all tender enough for an immersion blender:

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After blending, I taste-tested several times and added 3 chopped dates, 2 chopped prunes, the last 1.5 cups of my healthy cream cheese icing, and loads of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom). The result was a mildly sweet, comfort-food puree that could go either the entree route or the dessert route. I began with the entree because I like to do things in order.

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I had about 1 cup of the puree with a morningstar Asian veggie patty and half an orange:

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These flavors blended deliciously. I even dipped some of the veggie patty into the puree for fun … and it was definitely fun!

I still felt hungry after, so I decided to go the dessert route as well (did you ever doubt I would?). I had 1/2 cup of the puree (chilled) topped with Italian cookie crumbs:

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It did not let me down!

I slept well last night, relaxed in the knowledge that I had given the gourds a fair shot and that I will never need to wrestle with one again … unless you have experience with gourds and a different take on the matter? Let me know!

Be back later with brekkie and a workout 😀

Supporting roles

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In addition to the lunch and snacks I packed today, several supporting food items deserve appreciation and acknowledgement for getting me through! It started with a thick chunk of crunchy chocolate chip cookie that I discovered in one of the kitchens while filling my mug with tea water this morning. The cookie chunk became my 9:10 am snack:

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My orange came out to greet the world (and my mouth) at 10:30, and lunch took place at 12:30. As an intermediate course (or 3!) between my packed soup and yogurt, I enjoyed (seriously enjoyed) some of Mildred’s Chinese food broccoli:

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I love plain steamed broccoli, but there’s just something irresistible about how it’s done in a Chinese restaurant …

Myrna came along with her shrimp (!), beans, and rice, so I had some of that, too:

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And several (again, several = at least seven) pieces of Jessica’s cantaloupe:

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Then, Rosalie came straight to my desk with a box of Ghirardelli chocolates (!!) and gave me first dibs. I took one of each kind:

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They went into my empty tissue box because they’re wrapped and can stand to hang out for a little bit while I work through the unwrapped Russell Stover truffles I snagged yesterday. For lunch dessert, I extracted this from the tissue box:

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It turned out to be dark chocolate filled with vanilla cream … yum!

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At 2:30, the next round of packed snacks came up for air: green grapes and red pepper strips, just like yesterday. And also, I may have eaten my 3rd of 5 mints for the day:

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The real trouble began at 3:30 when Mildred came back into the office accompanied by evil in the form of rich, freezing, creamy, sugary deliciousness:

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Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I had about 1/3 cup and couldn’t help but crumble a butterfingery Russell Stover chocolate (you guessed it — from the tissue box) over the top:

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Ummmmm … and another 1/3 cup:

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Interestingly enough, the ice cream did have a positive side effect: it satisfied me enough for the rest of the day so that I was able to resist mindlessly inhaling the Z-bar I had packed :-).

I’m running somewhat behind schedule tonight, but I do know that dinner is going to involve serious experimentation with our apartment’s fall decor (that we finally decided to swap for some springier accessories!):

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Results of the experiment are forthcoming!

Things to do:

1. Caitlin is hosting a RoadID giveaway at Healthy Tipping Point, so go check it out!

2. Jamba Juice has coupons for $1 oatmeal again right here!

3. Now that Wednesday is over, do you feel like you’ve really jumped over the hump of the week? I do not …

Plans may go awry …

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… but not today!! Today was a rare day in that I was able to stick more or less to the food plan. As much as I love all the free food and exciting flavors that I typically encounter at work, I have to admit that, once in a while, I enjoy eating a reasonable amount of healthy food and having legitimate room for a real dinner when I get home.

In addition to the soup and yogurt that I had for lunch around 12:30, I also packed an orange that I ate mid-morning:

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And since it wouldn’t be interesting if there were absolutely no meal interlopers, my coworker Jennifer shared her leftover Moroccan food of couscous and veggies. I had about 1/2 cup after my soup (which was actually not as foul as I had expected; the overnight must have given it time to mellow) and before my yogurt:

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And then Jessica released her private stash of Valentine’s Day chocolates to the office. I broke the chocolate ice, of course:

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I chose one (well actually, I chose four but put three in my empty tissue box for “safekeeping”) to eat for dessert. Dark chocolate with praline cream filling, mmmmm:

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Afternoon snack happened around 3:30. My packed “Christmas” snack baggies of grapes and red pepper:

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And at 4, this yummy bar that came from Tina in my V-day scavenger hunt prize pack:

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This bar was very minty and very chocolatey (one of my favorite combos!), but despite its deliciousness, it did nada for my hunger. I was ravenous when I got home! Obviously, I had to make a three-part dinner.

I heated my last piece of pumpkin kibbi and steamed the rest of my asparagus:

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Part three was pumpkin-apple pie yogurt which I made by heating 2/3 cup pumpkin, mixing it with 1/4 cup yogurt and the holy trinity of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger), and topping it with a baby apple that I chopped and sauteed in canola and water until browned:

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Mmm, such a comforting and satisfying meal! I am about to indulge in a dainty little dessert of my dark chocolate pomegranate truffle that came from Brandi as part of my BSI: Spinach prize and some Italian cookie crumbles I brought home from our Valentine’s lunch at work on Friday:

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Ahhhh, I just had a bite of the truffle … AMAZING!! Thanks, Brandi!

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I’m off to attempt a repeat last night’s successful tea and reading in bed … though tonight’s reading may be more of the blog variety since I haven’t had a chance to read any all day! What’s your bedtime routine?

Also, you must go visit Beadie for the scoop on this week’s BSI and the amazing one-of-a-kind prize she is offering!

High to lowwwwww

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Lunch was out. of. this. world.:

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I had 1/2 grapefruit; 1/2 thinly sliced apple, part of which got cinnamon and part of which went into this:

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Looking at that picture right now kind of makes me want to eat my computer. I had an open-faced sandwich on 1/3 toasted sun-dried tomato bagel with cheddar and jack cheese slices, thin apple slices, and a toasted Morningstar black bean burger (I found the lone burger at the bottom of the freezer when I was cleaning it, and I swear angels started to sing). Once assembled, I broiled the whole sandwich for 3 minutes so it could melt together. Ahhhhh, give me another one right now!

Dessert was a small handful of chopped grapes (I’ve been grape-crazy lately … prob because they’re so cheap right now!) with healthy cream cheese icing, a crumbled graham stick, cinnamon, and an Earl Grey Biscotti Bite:

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I needed a snack around 3:30, so I had soymilky Tazo chai:

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And the other half of my grapefruit with a heaping tsp of peanut butter:

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My friend Ting was headed back to Providence this afternoon, so I met her for a little pre-drive snack around 4:45 at Bar Toto. She ordered a Margherita pizza, so I had a slice of that:

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The pizza was decent, but it looked prettier than it tasted. See the grill marks?

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We were both feeling anxious about returning to real life, so we decided a stroll through CVS was in order. For the past eight and a half years that I’ve lived in New York, CVS has always made me feel better when I’m stressed or homesick. I can walk into any CVS, and it just feels so familiar! Do you have places like that? I used an ExtraCare coupon for shampoo, and that helped as well. Because I know CVS really does care extra :-).

Ting set off for good ol’ RI, and I set off for my apartment. I’m kind of appetite-less, which is weird — again, maybe the end-of-weekend-caused stress — so I made a quick little mess for my official dinner:

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The mess had 1 cup pumpkin, 1/4 cup soymilk, 1/4 kashi golean crunch, 1 chopped prune, 1 chopped date, 1 tsp peanut butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon:

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It was good, but my tastebuds are tired or something. Weird, I know! I guess I’m just feeling mopey because I’ve had such a lovely weekend full of perfect friends, things checked off my to-do list, healthy and unhealthy delicious food, good workouts … and I don’t want it to end! So I’m going to go put on cozy pjs, make up a mug of sugar cookie tea, and read (for pleasure!) in bed — something I haven’t done in ages! Maybe it will make me feel more ready for tomorrow …

Sleep tight!