Bon Voyage, Happy Cookie Friday!

Good Morning!

Breakfast

These overnight oats are much more tasty than last time. I think it was the little bit of vanilla extract (plus the vanilla soy milk) that did the trick. In the mix

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. milled flax seeds
• 2 tsp. raisins
• tiny bit of vanilla extract
• cinnamon
• 1 peach, added in the AM

All I have left to do this morning is toss the blow dryer in the suitcase, shove the laptop in the purse, and figure out a way to fit my perfume into a quart size bag with all my other liquids. I actually don't think I've ever gone with just a carry on before. I always have liquids and girl stiff that I have to check. This time it's all about speed and convenience so I'm following the 3-1-1.

I've decided to give myself a little reward for getting on the road on time. If I can make it, I'm going to stop at Zizzo's drive thru coffee before getting on the freeway, woohoo! I've heard good things about this place.

I'm going to do my best to keep in touch y'all but I don't know what the internet situation will be. I've just downloaded the twitter app for my iPhone so I'll keep ya updated!

Have a great weekend if I don't get to post later and Happy COOKIE FRIDAY!

All Packed Up!

Snack

I did all the tricks you're supposed to do before eating again: got busy packing, drank a bunch of water, gave it some time... but no dice. I decided to have ants on a log! Perfect little snack.

Dinner

I had a chef to chef consult with the head hancho, AKA big poppa! My dad made roasted potatoes the other night for my family and my mom just had to tell me about it since I've been on a roasting kick. And yup, you guessed it, then I had to make them! I decided to turn it into a vegan version of the classic dinner: Meat and Potatoes. He gave me the play by play and here it is!

• 1-1 1/2 potatoes per person
• salt
• pepper
• rosemary
• fresh garlic
• olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. 1/8th the potatoes or, in Dad's words, like large home fries.
3. Put potatoes in a bowl and mix with all the spices to taste. Don't forget to chop up the rosemary!
4. Smash a few cloves of garlic (don't be shy! this is where the flavor comes from) and mix that all in. Or, if you have minced garlic like me use 1/2 tsp or more per potato.
5. Drizzle with olive oil (or spray with Pam like I did to cut down on oil used) until each chunk is shiny.
6. Cover a lipped baking tray with tin foil and spray or grease the foil. Pile the taters onto the try and pop 'em in the oven.
7. Every potato cooks differently but should be between 25-40 minutes. You will need to stir them at ten minute intervals with a spatula so you can do what I did and just set the timer for ten minutes each time. I ended up cooking my batch for 30 min.

I also wanted to give this new, exciting looking flavored tofu a try. I cut the block in half and fried it in a pan with a little Pam. The last ten minutes of roasting the potatoes I added one white onion to the tray. When the taters were done I added them to the tofu pan with a little balsamic vinegar.

I heated up the rest of the leftover roasted broccoli and cauliflower too. Man, that's one loaded plate! I can't believe I finished it all. It was the perfect dinner though, no leftovers and I wasn't uncomfortably full afterwards. Unfortunately the flavored tofu was not as flavorful on its own as I had hoped. Maybe I didn't drain it properly? I guess I will just have to continue adding my own spices.

Workout

A few hours after dinner I decided to do Level 2 of the Jillian DVD and let's just say I was right in my anticipation about level 2. Definitely more intense!! Not impossible but I was breathing harder, sweating more, and shaky after! It's going to take some adjusting but I'm hoping by the end of ten days at this level it will start to get a little better. Wooo doggy it was hard!

Dessert

After a shower I had a nail painting sesh while watching Pushing Daisies. I enjoyed the last of the Fruity Pudding with a serving of cinnamon puffins. It's really hard not to go back for seconds but I have to just keep thinking: swimsuit by the pool at the hotel, crazy wedding food, fitting into that purple dress, meeting the other family who could potentially have members (boys*cough cough* ) my age, 108 degree weather... All my reasons for wanting to feel good this weekend and why I should not have a second bowl of pointless-eating cereal. Besides, I gotta go to bed! My booty's gotta be on the road by 9:45 tomorrow. Mamma's orders.

I've already prepared a bowl of overnight oats that is just waiting to be stirred and eaten. I'm packed except for the last minute additions like the curling iron I already know I will need to use on this mop tomorrow morning. So all I have to do now is gooo toooo beeeed!

Night!

Big Weekend Ahead

Breakfast

Before I even had breakfast this morning I made a cup o' joe. I've become a coffee drinker ladies and gentleman. It's official!

Swirl.

When I finally had an appetite I went for a bowl of cinnamon puffins with half a peach, a banana, and vanilla soy milk. These peaches are fabulous. There are so many at Von's right now that you can smell them when you walk in. I couldn't resist!

Lunch

I almost didn't have my regular old sandwich for lunch feeling like I'd had enough of the same thing but I just bought this new salami flavored fake meet and I want to go through my fresh stuff. As I was making it I got into it, as usual. Plus I totally forgot that I had extra sweet potato fries so I was no longer in the dumps about my same old lunch. I try to spice things up for myself in little ways but really, I like having a reliable lunch time meal with less wiggle room because that's usually when I go all crazy and over eat or eat something ridiculous. If the former, teenage-non-conformist Claire knew I was about to say this she would probably slap me in the face but...routine is good! Sorry former Claire, it's true. I've been having the same thing for lunch for a few days now and I think it's really helped me stay on track. Afternoons can be hard since I'm usually at home and I have a few hours to veg out.

By the way that's the rest of the peach from breakfast and some grapes. And, my new water bottle came in the mail today! I tragically left my old one in a classroom, never to be seen again. Welcome: Black Hound Camelbak!

I also had some leftover coffee from this morning which I converted into an iced coffee with some vanilla soy milk and a little stevia. Savannah told me today that now I drink more coffee than her, the former lone coffee drinker in our house! Times, they are a changin'!

So I have some fun things coming up in the next 24 hours that I'd like to brief everyone on. The big event of the weekend:

My cousin Lindsay is Getting Married!! They live in Arizona and are having their ceremony at the same hotel the families are staying at. I am so excited to see everyone again and enjoy the hot weather. It's stupid and overcast here right now. I rarely get to spend time with this part of the family let alone celebrate with them so I am pretty stoked.

My mom has cleverly arranged our flights so that we all meet on the same plane heading to Arizona from So Cal. I haven't even gotten to see my brother since he became a high school graduate!

So, naturally, I am now on a mission to pack sensibly and prepare for this mini vaca (pronounced vay-kay). I'm flying back Sunday afternoon. The rehearsal dinner is Hawaiian themed so we'll see what I come up with!

Also...I haven't been feeling completely full after my lunches which I think has more to do with the psychological aspect of appetite. I'm going to keep drinking water from the Black Hound and have a packing showdown before I eat anything more. I want to see if it really is all in my head!

Hope you're Thursday is going well :)

June Two

June first came and went and I totally missed it. Blogging wise that is. And you know what? I'm going to let it slide. It was a weird-bad (as opposed to weird-good) eating day so it's going to go down in history outside of the blog. It wasn't a disaster or anything, I mostly just want to stay caught up to the present and I'm already a day behind! I never knew it would be so hard to keep up with myself.

Anyways, happy June!

Workout

I finally completed Day 10 of the Jillian DVD! I am finally ready to do level 2 and I am betting it's not easy. Can't wait!

Breakfast

Yesterdays overnight oats were a bit bland but still successful. The night before I prepared in my oats bowl:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. milled flaxseeds
• 2 tsp. raisins
• shake cinnamon.

The next morning I added a banana and a scoop of peanut butter.

I rehydrated with some H2O and took my Women's One a Day like a good girl.

Snack

Yesterday was the last day of Advanced Tonal Analysis and because our professor is awesome, she called the last day "Happy Day!" (which she actually wrote on the chalk board, hahaha) She brought in her pet rabbit Max and made chocolate chip pecan cookies. I couldn't resist these precious cookies and actually, she told us that she's been organic for 3o years! I completely enjoyed this non-vegan exploit.

Lunch

After 50 of talking about euthanasia in intro to ethics I was soo ready for something innocent and tasty...like sweet potato fries! I sliced those fries up myself! No prepackaged, pre-sliced business. Not that there's anything wrong with buying them sliced, don't get me wrong. I'm just proud that I can cut a yam into a fry shape. The only thing I was frustrated about with these fries was that they were not crispy and firm like a fry should be but rather limp and mushy. They still tasted great but Savannah and I discussed the matter and and concluded that yams and sweet potatoes really make a difference if you're making fries. To make them I coated them with a little olive oil and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

My sandwich is the same ol' same ol' except I added a slab of roasted bell pepper. On the side, a pickle and some grapes and pear slices.
I enjoyed the other half of my Mate Mojito from last night's dinner.

Snack

After work I had some biz to take care of. I had been dying to try this PB&J flavored Lärabar ever since I saw it on Carrots 'N' Cake.

Delicious! Peanutty and Jelly-ie?

Dinner

Some Three Bean Quinoa Salad on some spinach, sweet potato fries, and roasted broccoli and cauliflower made up my terrific dinner last night. Savannah and I enjoyed reruns of Gray's with dinner. I have been completely sucked in to the series, I have no idea how it happened!

Dessert

I made up a little dessert recipe that is definitely a keeper: Fruity Pudding

• 1 package silken tofu
• 2 peaches
• 1 banana
• agave to taste (I probably used about 2 Tbsp...maybe a little more)
• vanilla soy milk, just enough to get the blender going

I put everything in a blender and whipped it up till smooth. That's all it took! It reminded me of yogurt but without the live bacteria. I topped it with some cinnamon puffins. Delish.
Happy June 2!

Roasted Carrots Please

Lunch

Sometimes it's nice to have lunch like a little kid. My mom used to set everything up all cute which is probably where a lot of my playing with food comes from. Sometimes there were even little notes in my lunch. I loved those :)

Regular old sandwich with tofurky on a sandwich thin, a pickle, and grapes, apple slices, and pear slices.

Later I finished the other half of the apple with a little PB, one of my favorite snacks!
I also made an iced coffee for a little of that afternoon buzz I love. It was especially necessary as I was working on my music history paper, blaaa!

Snack

I was feeling snacky while I worked so I popped some corn and hit it with some salt and pepper. Such a simple snack, it's like eating air. Love it.

Dinner

For dinner I was in the roasty mood as usual so I decided to make roasted carrots. I used aBarefoot Contessa recipe for inspiration but with my own tweeks. The only major difference was that I used seven carrots instead of twelve and I did the spices and oil by eye. I put all the slices in a big ziploc to make coating them easy on myself. The recipe also said 400 which I did for the first 20 minutes but when they weren't getting roasty enough for me I upped the temp to 450. I think my oven is whacked out.

Before
and after!

While the carrots roasted I got to work on a Three Bean Salad whose recipe I got from the Whole Foods app on my iPhone. Unfortunately the green beans I bought were bad! So I had to make a few alterations. I also added some roasted onions. I didn't take any photos of the process, sorry!

It all came out so pretty it deserved some natural sunlight. Summer food!
By the way I painted my nails blue!
I also enjoyed a mate mojito. I love these things!
And later, Matt shared a strawberry with me. Local fruit is so much better.
Hope you have the chance to get roasty this summer, you don't know what you're missing!

Productive Procrastination

Good Morning bloggies!

Workout

Last night at 9PM I decided to do the Jillian DVD which is weird for me since I almost always do my workouts in the morning. But I gotta say, I felt so much more loose and energized than I do in the mornings. Plus the sliding glass door was like a mirror since it was dark out and I could see myself and make sure I was doing everything right. I guess I had the idea that if I workout in the morning it won't be weighing on me all day. But I shouldn't immediately forgo the idea of working out at night since there are clearly some benefits to be had. By the way that makes for Day 8 on the 30 day shred. Obviously I'm not taking a 30 consecutive day shred haha.

After those peppers roasted and sat in a bowl with their own condensation for a while I peeled the skins off and put them in this jar for later. I think I could have gone 5 extra minutes in the oven with these but they are still going to taste great. It's funny how the skins on the green peppers were really difficult to get off while the yellow ones just popped right off.

Workout

I woke up feeling like I got some good rest so I put on the workout duds and did the Jillian DVD. Having done the workout the night before I really noticed how much more stiff and tight my body felt. I am still learning so much about my body! Day 9, one more day and then it's on to level 2!

Breakfast

For breakfast this morning I made a smoothie with

• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
• handful of spinach
• 1 small banana
• green tea

I toasted a bagel thin and had a peanut butter and honey breakfast sandwich.

Later when Savannah woke up she made coffee for the both of us!

Now we are planning to head to the library to crack down on some paper writing. It's all about attitude right? Yes! I am going to get organized and get into it. I mean, it's a paper about the earliest operas that ever existed. This is my thing!

Alright. Enough "productive procrastination". Ta Ta!

Afternoon Buzz

Soon as I got back from work I whipped up an iced coffee with soy milk and stevia. I love that little extra buzz in the afternoon.

I popped these bad boys in the oven at 450F for a little roasting action. I'm totally into roasting veggies lately, have you noticed?
I flipped them after 15, then took then out after another ten. They're not sitting in a bowl where the condensation will help the skin to come off later.

Dinner

This dinner felt more like a very late lunch and I have a feeling that I will be hungry again later tonight because of this whacko eating schedule that happens when I sleep late. I tossed the rest of the left over roasted cauliflower and onions on a bed of spinach with a bunch of grape tomatoes. Also, some blue corn flaxseed chips with hummus and salsa.

For a little european style tea time snack I had the last piece of the carrot cake with a smear of peanut butter (and a refill on the iced coffee!).
I have a new TV obsession: The United States of Tara. I love this show! I have been watching it online all day only to finish the whole first season and power through the second to find that the last two episodes aren't available yet! Baahhh the misery!

I'm trying to decide what to do with myself now... it's a Sunday but it's also a 3 day weekend... so many things to consider!

Hope you're enjoying the time off!

Lazy Bum

Snack

While waiting on the dryer at the laundromat (yes, I finally dealt with the laundry) I went into the Albertson's next door and picked up a few essentials to supplement operation Eat It So I Don't Have To Move It. I snacked on this organic pear in the meantime.

When I got home I decided to make some roasted cauliflower. I set the oven to 425F and prepared this tray which was

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 medium white onion
• drizzle of olive oil
• salt, pepper, and dried thyme

I roasted everything for about 19 minutes.

Dinner

I woke up so late yesterday that my breakfast sort of became lunch and now lunch is dinner. I was craving a sandwich made with the bagel thins I just bought so I grabbed my tofurkey and made whipped up a simple one. The roasted cauliflower came out fantastic! So simple and flavorful, this one is definitely a keeper. I also finished the last of my chai cola.

I also bought some green grapes which were so sweet I couldn't resist.

Dessert

A little later I had a little of the left over carrot cake with some coconut frosting I whipped up. Sooo good!

Breakfast

I can't believe how late I slept in today but I guess my body just needed it. I had oats to start my day but it was really lunch time. In the mix today was:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup water
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. milled flaxseed
• 3 strawberries
• scoop of peanut butter

I also had some delicious half-caff hazelnut coffee.
I had work today at two but otherwise I have been such a lazy bum today! I love it though, I don't feel like doing anything so I'm not. I have things to take care of tomorrow (Like a paper :/) but it's a three day weekend!

Burritos Happen

Dinner

I don't know how it slipped my mind but I forgot to take a picture of my dinner until it was already all gone! Oops! My friend Chad came over and Savannah, he, and I ate the rest of the lentil soup. I also sipped on a chai cola but only had half of it.

We also had a spread of hummus with toasted pita and carrots for dipping. We just relaxed and chatted for a while before going on a walk towards the ocean to watch the sunset.

Midnight Snack

Sometimes burritos just happen! You know that hour of the night when a burrito from Freebirds just sounds like the most amazing thing you can imagine? That's what happened to me last night. Savannah and I split this bad boy and it was particularly delicious. I think it was the salsa verde and fresh cilantro that did it.

Breakfast

Breakfast this morning was OIAJ! woohoo! I made a double batch for Savannah and I which included:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 extremely mushy ripe banana
• 1 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 1 Tbsp. milled flaxseed
• cinnamon
• vanilla extract

I added a scoop of boysenberry jam to make PB&J oats. I also made some strong coffee which I enjoyed with soy hazelnut creamer.
I'm currently sitting in the Laundromat (finally) waiting on the dryers. I'm sooo happy it's a three day weekend, aren't you!?

Hope your Saturday has been going well :)

Smoothie Oats

Breakfast

This morning I woke up with a crazy stomach ache. I intended to have this smoothie for breakfast but I was just not feeling up to eating food quite yet. The smoothie had

• frozen tofu
• spinach
• strawberries
• crushed pineapple
• green tea

After laying down for a little and talking to my mommy on the phone I was ready to eat food. I used a half cup of the smoothie to make oatmeal with a scoop of peanut butter and a little soy milk.

Lunch

For lunch I made a peanut butter and jelly pita with the last of my cherries on the side and the rest of the smoothie from this morning.
I wasn't full so I had the leftovers from last nights roasty dinner.
Besides the stomach ache my Friday was going pretty well. Hope yours did too!