While I do my best to embrace creativity en la cocina, I’m undeniably a creature of habit. When I find something I love to eat, I eat it. Often.

That said, I present to you: A Foodie Groundhog’s Day.

Por ejemplo, I am still consuming the world’s biggest bowls of Honey Sunshine for breakfast.

If I were una foodie inteligente, I’d have learned by now  that cereal is not an ideal breakfast para mi because it takes me two to three refills of that grande bowl to achieve my desired level of fullness.

Alas, I still cannot resist the allure of knowing exactly what I want upon waking. So, when it’s cereal, I eat cereal. And add as many peanut butter chips and raisins as I can fit into my grubby little manos.

I’m still quite partial to manzanas as mid-morning snacks.

Despite the fact that an apple is an apple, any way you slice it, I still attempt to prettify my food.

I still maintain that I hate pizza. Still, I regularly crave and consume pita pizzas.

On this baked beauty: hummus, Laughing Cow, roasted eggplant and roasted red peppers.

I still have not acquired the will power, nor the desire, to use hummus as an ingredient and not dip into it for some on-the-side snackage.

I’m still a freak of nature and thoroughly enjoy dipping grahams in hummus.

I’m still defying the laws of portion control and consuming nuts by the bowl. Opposed to blogland’s ever-so-popular nuts by the handful.

Lo siento, but a handful of nuts has never been enough for me. (Insert far-too-obvious TWSS.) I know those who suffer from snackface syndrome agree.

I do still try to abide by my principles of balance. And so, I countered my abundant snackage with some abundant saladage.

Sí, I am still all about the ensalada enorme for dinner.

In the mix: bag of baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, shrooms, onion, cucumber, celery, avocado, strawberries, balls and shredded ched. Still into dressing my veggies with honey and balsamic.

I continued on my quest to get some more greens with something you know you’ve seen before.

Still a full-fledged addiction.

I’m also still really into ensuring that carbs are included in every meal.

Never. Gets. Old.

What’s your eating estilo? Are you a creature of habit? Or do you an anti-meal repeater? I’m definitely a creature of habit. But I love experimenting with and tweaking my favorites—in part so I don’t bore you all, and in part so I keep my beloved tastebuds feliz.

Enjoy what’s left of your Groundhog’s Día!

Amor,

Sarah

Shocker, I know.

Before I get to jueves, tengo una pregunta:

Have you entered my Nutridel giveaway?

No? Probablemente you should do that today.

Porque those galletas are DELISH.

And also FREE! For what more could you wish?

Now that I’ve gotten that hankering for un poco self-promotion and poetry out of my system, let’s discuss ayer.

I rolled out my yoga mat, fixed a cup of coffee and plopped down to tackle my Google Reader.

Within seconds of opening my Reader, I learned of Vegan For a Day and was immediately intrigued.

Intrigued, but not sold.

So I sipped some (coincidentally) vegan-friendly coffee as I looked to some of my favorite vegan bloggers for affirmation.

You can spy a little OhSheGlows action behind coffee cup numero dos.

And it was actually Angela’s A.M. post—specifically the fact that she’d be posting her meals and me encanta the way that chica eats—that convinced me to go Vegan Por Un Día.

Veganism has always seemed entirely doable for me; but it’s never seemed desirable. It’s seemed doable in the sense that I have very strong will-power, and I’m a very competitive person. So, if I commit to something, I commit. However, it’s never seemed desirable because I love food. And a lot of the foods I love fall into non-vegan terrain. I so admire all of the vegans and vegetarians that commit to these dietary lifestyles for their ethical and social importance—but I’m not sure I could ever make the commitment.

That said, I figured one day of veganism—even if I hated it—was nada in the long run. Plus, like I said, I love a little competición.

I partook in a several ridiculous Google searches in an effort to come up with vegan breakfast.

I got lost in that for about 30 minutes—but still had no idea what I wanted.

Actually, I knew exactly what I wanted.

Greek yogurt with melted banana and granola.

But since Greek yogurt is, you know, dairy—that was a no-no.

While I waited to be struck by vegan brilliance, I decided to go for the melted “banana nuggets”—as Allie’s dubbed them.

I’ve been wanting to try them since first drooling over stumbling upon them on her blog—and I figured they’d be a good hold-me-over-til-I-think-of-something-divine nosh.

1 banana, nuggified—then microwaved in a tbsp. maple syrup for 22 seconds (I always pick random numbers because I’m a loca like that) and topped with cinnamon

SO GOOD. So good that I knew I had to integrate them into whatever fabuloso breakfast was to come.

When I realized that I’d officially pondered breakfast for 1.5 HORAS—to the point that I needed a pregame—I decided to keep cosas simple and just throw my new banana amor into a trusty bowl of oats.

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats cooked in 1 cup water, 1 tbsp. maple syrup and 1/2 a thinly sliced banana. Topped with the other 1/2 of the banana, nuggified in another tbsp. maple syrup (microwaved for 16 seconds since it was only half) and cinnamon. Devoured with a peanut butter spoon.

Banana nugget center. Maple syrupy magic.

Drowning in syrup, sinking banana nuggets.

Drowning in syrup, sinking PB spoon.

I usually leave my PB on la cuchara [spoon] to ensure a little with every bite—but since it was melting/sinking, I decided to get crazy and mix it in.

Which was una buena idea because there were PB pools like the one below covertly dispersed throughout the bowl.

So, this breakfast kept me full for close to five hours. When I eventually broke for lunch, I wasn’t even actually hungry.

I’m not sure if it was the fact that breakfast included two grande bananas, or if this was just a very powerful oat combo, but if you ever need some trusty staying power—hit this desayuno up.

Throughout the morning, I sipped some sugar cookie sleigh ride.

Which I knew was vegan porque esta chica downs it like it’s her trabajo.

As did I. I had tres copas—one with Truvia, which was divine. Sugar cookie sleigh ride sweetened takes it to a whole new level.

Oh, and then I almost blew Vegan For a Day on a VITAMIN.

Juuuuuuust before unwrapping that little chocolate chew, I thought to myself, “Chocolate? Dairy?”

So I checked the ingredient list.

Correcto. Nonfat milk. Along with lots of terrible ingredients that I now know I consume on a daily basis.

Lucky for this vegan temp, I had these little guys.

Which after a little label reading…

..and a lot of Googleing, I learned were vegan.

Vegan bears? How ethical.

When it was getting into the almost-too-late-for-lunch realm, I turned to my favorite soup.

Which I quickly learned was vegan!

BUENO.

This Amy’s Alphabet soup is hands-down my favorite canned soup—and it literally kept me alive during college.

You’d think that after four years of overdosing on a canned good, I’d never want to touch it again.

But you’d be mistaken.

It’s a tomato-based veggie soup filled with alphabet pasta.

What more could a 22-year-old who wishes she were still 10 ask for?

My lack of comida throughout the first half of the day caught up with me during the second half.

Vegan snacks included:

My new favorite nut mix.

And a massive bowl of grapes and fresas.

After spending so much time coming up with a vegan breakfast that I was in the mood for, I did not want the same to happen con cena.

So throughout the day I conjured up a delectable dinner of cheetahs, green cheetahs and carrot fries—a fry trifecta, if you will.

Except when I checked out my sweet potato stash, I found this.

MOLD.

Mucho, mucho mold.

Malo.

Dreaming a perfecto meal—and mentally tasting cheetahs all day long—only to have mold snatch them away from you is triste.

However, sweet potato sob story was upsetting but not tragic, as I still had my green cheetahs and carrot fries.

Wrong.

Whichever power circuit supports my toaster oven went out—and me attempting to fix that on my own just wasn’t in the cards.

Apparently the fry gods were pissed that I was trying to create so many faux fry versions and decided to run a little interference.

I forfeited and went on to think up a no-kitchen, no-toaster oven dinner.

Ensalada was the obvious solution—but I’d gotten myself so in the mood for cooked/baked veggies that a raw veggie salad sounded entirely unappealing.

So I decided to take my standard veggie ensalada down a path I’d not ventured since the seems-like-forever-ago summer.

Una fruity ensalada.

Baby spinach, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, cucumbers, red grapes and strawberries.

I threw some hot salsa en el centro for an interesante sweet and spicy flavor contrast.

And I switched up my normal honey-balsamic dressing mix for a vegan-friendly maple syrup-balsamic concoction.

This ensalada was excelente. The spicy salsa went so well with the fruit—especially the strawberries.

And I looooooved the maple syrup substitution in my standard honey & balsamic mix.

Again, the strawberries worked so well with this flavor. I love marinating strawberries in balsamic vinegar—and the maple addition complemented this sabor [flavor] interaction so wonderfully.

La ensalada obviously wasn’t going to cut it for dinner.

So I made something I’ve been thinking about making for quite some time.

I introduce to you…

H2Oats (Hummus & Hot Sauce Oats)

I cooked 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats in 1 cup of water. When it was finished, I stirred in 2 tbsp. hummus and steamed baby spinach. Then I topped with mas baby spinach and, obviamente, mas hummus. Sriracha hot sauce atop.

Ok. HUMMUS + OATS = BRILLIANTE.

With a Sriracha cherry on top.

I’d initially planned on adding mucho mas Sriracha post-photography, but a little bit went a long way for this bowl. Having just a hint of hot sauce allowed the Sabra to be the star that it is.

The creaminess and flavor of our beloved hummus blended into our beloved oats is something I wish I’d discovered long ago.

If nothing else, THANK YOU Vegan For a Day (and the sweet potato and toaster woes) for leading me to finally try this.

Anyhow, you know what I wanted for dessert.

But after mucho tiempo Googleing, I learned that neither Jolly Time’s nor Orville Redenbacher’s Kettle Corn popcorn is vegan-friendly.

So, I had fresas y azucar.

Which I usually love.

But when you want popcorn, and you eat strawberries… strawberries and sugar are suddenly very disappointing.

So, pensamientos on Vegan Por Un Dia…

I loved the idea of trying something new food-wise—especially something that has such important ethical and environmental causes attached to it. However, I can’t shake the fact that eating a vegan diet felt like a diet the entire time.

You guys know how I feel about diets. And yesterday brought me right back to my South Beach-in’ sixteen-year-old self, going loca over carbs and what was and was not allowed.

At so many points throughout the day, I knew what I wanted but ended up thinking way too much about something else to eat—simply because I “couldn’t” have it. I really honor the whole “follow your body’s cues” approach to eating—and I didn’t like the feeling of denying myself what I was craving.

That said, I can’t stress how much I support and respect those who commit to making these sacrifices—be it for their personal well-being, or the well-being of animals, the environment or our society.

It was divertido—not to mention discovery-provoking (HEEELLLOOO, banana nuggets & H2Oats)—to experiment with veganism. And though I know—as I knew before yesterday—that right now, it’s a dietary style that’s not for me, I’d definitely be interested in further experimentation. I think I’d do better with it and be less frustrated by the dietary limitations if I tried it out for a bit longer—and was doing it with the goal of finding out if a dairy-free diet did anything to benefit my health.

One more gracias to all the vegan bloggers on whom I relied for foodie inspiration yesterday. And to todas who participated in Vegan For a Day!

Bueno, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

-Sarah

La mañana de martes began as every morning does.

Only a little mejor.

Because, while coffee gets the day off to a good start, Godiva Chocolate Truffle Cafe gets the day off to a delectable start.

For una chica who always pulls the “I’m not a chocolate person”-card, I am loving this stuff. 

Breakfast was a double.

No, not that kind of double. I wish.

Rather, I refer to a double bowl breakfast (D.B.B.).

I turn to D.B.B.s when I’m either super hungry, or super indecisive.

Ayer, I was both.

Bowl Numero Uno

Kashi 7 Grain Puffs, vanilla almond milk, Truvia, ground flax, cinnamon and a PB spoon.

And since I’m a sog-loving freak, I put bowl #1 in the fridge to marinate while I concocted and consumed bowl #2.

Bowl Numero Dos

Plain Oikos, honey drizzle and pomegranate arils.

Each delicious in its own right. I’m sort of addicted to the popping sensation of biting down on pom arils; so that yogurt bowl was wondrous. However, the super sogginess of 10-minute marinated cereal, helped along by an almond milk-marinated PB spoon: indescribable.

Soon after desayuno, the dainty aroma of polyurethane began to fill la casa.

At which point, I decided I’d like to continue breathing and made the executive decision to pack snacks and haul culo to my local Starbucks.

Los snacks:

Manzana y Honey Graham Z-Bar

La manzana was freakishly GRANDE.

That, or my hands are freakishly small because they couldn’t really wrap around this large and in charge piece o’ produce.

(When I ate it in Starbucks, I felt like everyone around me was staring at my big apple. Or maybe I’m just a loud chewer…)

Moving along, I took a stroll to Starbucks in the GORGEOUS 55° and sunny weather; I’m thinking I stole some sunshine from Florida.

I’d intended to get my first red cup of the season (which is actually a lie since I got one while on vacation—so my first documented, NYC red cup of the season)—but I can’t not get iced coffee when it’s warm out. Sacrilegious.

So I opted for a venti (normal venti—not 36 oz. slushie cup “venti” ) iced coffee con sugar and cinnamon. Pat on the back for not going for the yellow packets.

I also opted for a sneaky webcam shot because I’m too awkward for crowded cafe coffee photography.

(Note how serious I look. I was trying so hard to not look like I was doing a creepy MySpace photoshoot.)

Being the productive chica that I am, I then decided to have a silent Starbucks video chat session con la hermana.

Wherein I lost my I’m-too-awkward-for-camera-action-in-cafes inhibitions.

Hermana was being too cómica to not photograph.

This is Melissa stripping down to share with me two of her latest discoveries. Interested? Claro que si.

First, she wanted to show me that the tinted Jergens moisturizer she’s been using is working—and indeed, tinting her bod. (I think she’s a little celosa [jealous] that somebody just got some sol in Florida…)

Next, she wanted to show me that another recent discovery also, uh, works. This nuevo purchase would be the Victoria’s Secret Miraculous push-up bra. It claims to add two cup sizes—and yesterday I, and several other Starbucks patrons, learned that, indeed, it does.

I was laughing hysterically—and everyone who passed me scoped out my computadora screen, likely in an attempt to understand why some chica loca was giggling and taking pictures of her computer screen.

It was pretty awkward. But the damage was done, so I continued on with my public vid chat and even snapped a non-webcam iced coffee shot for you all.

(Spotted: a special snacky birthday girl in the background.)

I spent about tres horas blogging, blog reading, Z-Bar and apple eating, coffee sipping chugging and eavesdropping—hoping for some good Overheard in Starbucks material. Unfortunately, I think I was the most eccentric character in Starbucks yesterday because the cafe convo was sparse y aburrido.

When I came home, I took a few deep breaths to test toxicity levels, lived and whipped up a late real lunch. Because, in my book, a bar and an apple do not a lunch make.

Ensalada ENORME

In the mix: spinach + romaine, hummus-coated baked chicken, 1/2 avocado, feta, onions, roasted red peppers, oil-cured black olives, yellow pepper, cucumber and balsamic vinaigrette.

Oh, and I might have throw a little Sabra in the center.

In case the hummus-coated pollo didn’t do the trick.

I hadn’t had one of my mix-in-everything-I’ve-got grande salads in over a week—so this was increíble.

And this brings us to the title of this post—which, by the way, is meant to be sung to this tune.

(In the process of searching YouTube for that song, I came across this really creepy children’s video. If you’re bored…)

Anyhow, I’d like to introduce you to my newest friends:

 Annie’s Bunny Graham Friends! I received these a couple of weeks ago when Annie’s sent me a ridiculous goodie bag for winning a contest, and I was most excited to try these amigos since I love all things graham.

I was a little disappointed upon realizing that the bunny friends weren’t straight-up grahams—but rather a blend of honey, chocolate and chocolate chip bunnies. But I quickly came up with a strategic remedy.

Because I have a weird I-need-to-save-the-best-for-last OCD thing, I decided I would eat all of the chocolate bunny friends first so that I’d have a box of honey and chocolate chip (which are basically just honey with little chocolate specs) amigos left.

Needless to say, this was a malo idea. Mostly because it got competitive, and I literally ate all of the chocolate bunnies in the entire box.

Bunny overload.

Despite my chocolate trash-talking, these amigos nuevos are AMAZING. And I can’t wait to dig into my chocolate-less box. (Which is now 1/2 empty because there were a disproportional amount of chocolate bunnies. Oops.)

Dinner was lazy.

Red Snapper & Shrimp

How did I make crispy Cajun fish and shrimp sans kitchen?

I didn’t.

I simply had the foresight to order it to-go Monday night so that I’d have Tuesday’s dinner. Un idea muy inteligente because I was muy perezosa last night.

I think I’m still in vacation-mode because I’ve had no desire to experiment with microwave magic; that or I’m just getting antsy for the kitchen to be done.

This fish was incredible, and massive. And I think it automatically tasted better because it required cero effort.

I put un poco microwaveable effort into dessert.

Popcorn + sriracha, how I’ve missed thee.

Ok, I hope you all have gleeful Wednesday night plans!

Adios,

Sarah

If not, I’ll leave you hanging ‘til my weekend recap. But I have a feeling most of you will get the whole “the one” part.

But, yea, yesterday I didn’t snack. At all. This is muy muy raro for me because I always graze between meals. I don’t always photograph my in between snackage because it’s usually a predictable pretzel, nuts or something-to-dip-in-hummus shebang. Pero, evidencia o no evidencia, you can be sure I wear my snackface on a daily basis.

Except yesterday. Yesterday I was in and out of the house all day, mostly just stopping in for meals. I think my brain/stomach/respect for my mood knows when snacking isn’t going to happen—and makes up for it with grande meals. At least this was the case ayer.

La mañana commenced with cafe.

No, I don’t live in a cool padded room. (Though, I suppose that wouldn’t actually be cool because padded rooms usually translate to psych wards…) My coffee just happens to be sitting pretty atop my new sticky yoga mat.

After laying on my yoga mat, chugging sipping several cups of coffee and Reader-ing (that’s a verb, right?), I broke for breakfast.

Sweet ‘n Salty Oat Bran

In the mix: 1/3 cup oat bran cooked in 1 cup water, 1/2 banana and vanilla extract; topped with 1/2 microwaved honeycrisp (cooked in cinnamon and almond milk and topped with maple syrup), superrrr salty nuts, raisins and a packet of Truvia.

Come closer.

And admire that heaping mound of sweet ‘n salty goodness.

Oooooooh my gah. This OB bowl was so ridiculously satisfying and FILLING. I did have the other 1/2 of the honeycrisp on the side—but this kept me perfectly full ‘til I had lunch at 2. Considering I did no snackage, this is sort of an anomaly for moi.

I have feeling the magic was in the nuts… .

Lunch wasn’t glamorous—but it was good and quick and microwave-friendly. All things muy importante to me right now.

A big bowl of minestrone soup.

Like biiiiiig. This bowl is massive, and my eats almost never surpass the half-full mark. This soup almost reached the top.

Mmmm, I love big bowls of soup. This felt never-ending—which I enjoyed because it was so delicioso.

On the side I had a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and melted vegan American cheese.

If you’ve never combined cream cheese and American, do it. I initially yucked una amiga’s yum when I saw her eat a bagel with these toppings; but upon trying the combo, I fell in love. You will too.

Dinner has more parts that unusual—likely due to the fact that I did less snacking than usual.

Part Uno: Ensalada Enorme

In the mix: mucho baby spinach, roasted red peppers, honey maple turkey, cucumbers, orange bell pepper, steamed broccoli, balsamic-marinated shrooms, FSTG lime tortilla chips.

Lo siento for that condensation but I decided to branch out from my balsamic dressing combos (you know, honey balsamic and spicy mustard balsamic) and try one of those creepy spritz spray dressings. No me gusta. I couldn’t even taste the dressing—despite using 2 servings worth of sprays. So, I ended up dousing la ensalada in balsamic to undo any dressing damage.

Did the trick. As always, this was GOOOOOD. As always, the FSTG lime chips made the salad. The honey maple turkey was pretty clutch, too.

Part Dos: 1/2 whole wheat pita with melted French Onion Laughing Cow.

In case you didn’t know what LC looks like?

Or needed to be updated on my current polish choice?

I let the microwave heat things up for 30 seconds while I busted out the roasted red pepper hummus.

The cheesy pita got real friendly with the Sabra, and before I knew it… Sabra was no more.

Part Tres: Orange Overload

I know I should’ve been done with dinner at this point, but such was not the case. I was still hungry, and I’d already planned on it being a cheetah night. My cheetah lovahs know that once you tell your taste buds they are getting some cheetah action, the craving doesn’t subside ‘til they get their fix.

So, you understand, these were necessary.

Cheeeeeeeeetahs. And, do you see another better n’ fries component in the back?

Carrot fries! There were like 15 because I burnt half the batch. My b.

So, pregunta, which do you prefer—carrot or sweet potato fries?

I’ve no answer to this query; they are both mind-blowingly good in my book.

So, that was my day of snacklessness. Clearly I deprived myself…

Oh, I forgot to mention.

I did have dessert. But that’s a different genre than the snack, sí?

Kashi 7 grain puffs with almond milk, Truvia, cinnamon and spoonful of almond butter.

Because clearly a three-part dinner wasn’t enough…

Ok, mis personas favoritas, I have to run (sorry if this post was rushed!) because la hermana is on her way home for a weekend visit. You know this means I’ll be back on Monday with some E.P.I.C. eats .

Once again…

And by computer, I mean Windows Live Writer. That pestilent publishing program went on a 48-hour post binge. Every time I wrote—and re-wrote and re-wrote—a post on Tuesday and Wednesday, WLW swallowed it. I’ve uninstalled and re-installed the program, and I’m crossing my fingers that this post finds its way into the blogosphere.

Some muy delicioso eats were had on Monday and Tuesday, but I’m sure you can understand that, after uploading those meals/writing the accompanying posts for the last two days, I have no desire to look at those photos any longer. Just takes me to a bad place…

Worry not. This simply means that I will have to re-create all of Monday’s and Tuesday’s goodies in the very near future .

While this appears to be a standard cup of coffee, it’s actually Mama Pea’s pumpkin latte.

My version didn’t get as wondrously foamy as hers due to my lack of a Magic Bullet, but it was magically pumpkiny nonetheless.

1/2 cup almond milk, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and Truvia vigorously shaken and then added to a cup of coffee

Mama Pea, me gusta your version mucho mejor than Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte. Even without the bonita foam .

Breakfast featured THE BIG APPLE. As in, you’ve got some serious competition, NYC. This organic New Zealand Braeburn was GRANDE.

Into the bfast mix also went a much more rationally-sized apple good: AppleBerry Vita.

And voila…

Peachy Keen Apples and Cream

1/2 of the Frankenstein Braeburn—microwaved in cinnamon, almond milk and brown sugar—and the thawed VitaTop got friendly with a container of cream peach yogurt for a 3-way yogurt hug, a la K.

Glorious. For once, I didn’t turn this bowl into a complete mess post-food photog. I’m finding I prefer keeping my Vitas in tact during loving yogurt embraces; it makes it easier to create perfect big-chunk-o-Vita bites.

As for the the AppleBerry flavor, it was bueno not fantástico. I’m not sure I’d ever enjoy a bran Vita on its own; but it is SO perfecto in the company of a little dairy amor. (This makes me wonder: would a Vita be good chopped up and eaten with milk? Curioso…)

I ate the other half of the world’s biggest apple straight up, and down to the core. While I love sliced apples accompanied by the always aesthetically pleasing nut butter drizzle or cinnamon sprinkle, it is so satisfying to just bite into a big one every now and then. (Channeling Michael Scott…)

I continued on this apple-venture when I got snacky before lunch. All out of monster manzanas, I went for a medium-sized honeycrisp.

Cinnamon Sugar Fruit Cereal

By now, you know how much I adore fruit cereal, right? I know I’m not alone on this one.

I usually add almonds, figs, raisins and whatever other dried fruit I have on hand—but I wanted the honeycrisp-cinnamon-sugar trio to be the stars of this fruit cereal bowl. (Those first-class figs always have a way of making themselves the featured flavor, don’t they?)

So this fruit cereal mix was simply:

1 honeycrisp, chopped; 1 tbsp. flax, cinnamon, Truvia and 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk.

I let it marinate in the fridge for about 10 minutes—G-d only knows how I mustered up that self-control—because I think fruit cereal is exponentially more flavorful when the fruit really soaks up the almond milk flavor.

Cinnamony, sugary Truvia-y Honeycrisp perfección

This bowl of flavor exquisiteness confirmed a theory I’ve been developing regarding Truvia. It is best enjoyed as a topping/sweetener in solid foods—oatmeal, fruit, etc. In coffee or tea? Eh, liquids really don’t amplify Truvia’s sweetness potential. It tastes so different when combined with solids versus liquids. This said, I think I’ll be sticking to either regular sugar or no sugar in my coffee, and enjoying this sweet stevia in oat bowls and such.

Now, lunch gets to the title of this post.

You know how I’ve been sort of obsessed with cheesy savory oats?

Well, yesterday, I ventured back into Asian savory oat-dom.

The first bowl of savory oats to ever woo me was of the Asian persuasion—so I feel guilty for neglecting this delicious breed in favor its cheesy brethren as of late.

And so, I decided it was time for the Chew and the Asian savory oat bowl to reunite.

In the mix: 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats cooked in 1 cup of water, 1 tbsp. soy sauce and—a new HIGHLY RECOMMENDED addition—1 tbsp. Soy Vay; topped with steamed baby carrots, broccoli and sriracha.

Soy Vay is majestic. Whenever I go without it for a while, I forget how incredible its flavor is—along with the fact that it makes anything taste better. Seriously. Anything.

I’m not going rank Asian oats against their cheesy contender. They are both unfailingly satisfying and flavorfully impressive. Special in their own ways .

Shortly after, I got snacky with some highly addictive Newman’s Own Organics protein pretzels. I was just about to dub them the best of Newman’s pretzel line, but it looks like Fitness Magazine beat me to the punch, going a step further by naming them the best healthy pretzel option. Congrats, Newm!

I might even like these as much as my beloved Snyder’s Organic Oat Bran babies…

Later, dinner gave into a little Asian persuasion. Mostly because once the Soy Vay hits your lips, the craving sticks .

This (re)creation fed off my penchant for plagiarism. My favorite wrap from my favorite local healthy salad/sandwich shop, Nature’s Grill, is called the Teriyaki Terrific.

So last night, in the midst of my plagiarism process, I decided to 86 the rice and add some Sabra.

Whole wheat wrap, roasted red pepper Sabra hummus, fresh baby spinach, diced chicken, roasted red peppers, steamed broccoli, carrots, and sugar snap peas. Doused in Soy Vay—to ensure teriyaki terrificness.

I love how Soy Vay is so filled with sesame seeds! Mmmm.

Magic en mi boca.

On ze side: carrot fries & honey mustard.

These little guys were actually baby carrot fries. No kitchen=no peeling of the big boys, so baby carrots had to suffice.

Tasted the same as the big brother carrot fries. Shocker.

They were cuter, though.

Dessert options have been ridiculously unsatisfying because I am still out of popcorn. ALL I WANT IS POPCORN + SRIRACHA.

However, my pop-ish snack last time was wonderful.

Barbeque Popchips! Barbeque is my favorite chip flavor—so these had some seriously savory shoes to fill. I LOVED them! I think they are tied with the sea salt and vinegar—both incredible!

Oh yea, I also had these.

After a weekend of Halloween-induced INDULGENCIAS, I’d intended to swear off candy (particularly Kit Kats, Reese’s and Twix) for a while. But, my Pilates instructor pawned these off on us—and I hadn’t had any Skittles this weekend, sooooooo…

Ok, amigas, I am glad to be back! Hope everyone’s Thursday is delicioso y divertido!

-Sarah

In the event that you need a little ayuda translating this post’s título:

“y el ganador es…” means “and the winner is…”

¡Sí! The time has come to reveal the winner of my sopa giveaway! Well, not quite yet. I’m obviously going to make you endure my recap of yesterday’s eats before getting to the good stuff.

(“Make you” is quite a relative expression considering you have full capability to scroll to the bottom of this post. If you do this, por favor, make your way back up here for some good eats .)

Tuesday morning began with a cup of sugar cookie sleigh ride tea and…

Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Oat Bran!

I’ve been meaning to try cooking oats in flavored tea—and as soon as I tried this flavor, I knew it’d be the perfect tea constituent. It was!

To expose and enhance the sugar cookie flavor, I cooked 1/2 cup oat bran in 1 1/4 cup brewed tea. I stirred in a little vanilla extract, brown sugar, Truvia and cinnamon—and topped with a spoonful of raspberry preserves.

Come a bit closer.

Closer…

See the Truvia crystals? They made the bowl. This was actually my first experience with Truvia, or any stevia sweetener. I’ve been meaning to try stevia in my efforts to scale back on the Splenda front, so when Truvia offered to send me a sample—you know I obliged.

I’ve yet to try it in my coffee—but it worked its sweet magic in this bowl of oat bran. Because I was trying to capture the essence of  a sugar cookie, I thought both brown and “white” sugar were necessary. The preserves were just added because I thought the bowl was lacking aesthetic panache; but they, too, worked some serious sugary magic.

I will definitely be re-creating and further experimenting with sugar cookie oats; I’m thinking a raisin addition would work splendidly. Any suggestions?

Alongside my sugary oats, I has another sweet component.

HUGE Honeycrisp!

Since I haven’t been putting much effort into my manzana consumption, I opted for a photography-friendly change from my current chomp-to-the-core approach.

Massive manzana con PB. Delicioso, como siempre.

Lunch continued down the sweet route.

Honey-licious wrap.

In a whole wheat wrap: Garlic & Herb Laughing Cow, Honey Maple Turkey, 1/2 honeycrisp apple, spinach and honey mustard.

Boar’s Head honey maple turkey > any other brand. I think I’m experiencing a mild case of honey maple obsession—because it’s all I’ve been craving. Also, I’m sort of weird with meat, and I’ll only eat it within several days of its purchase. So, honey maple obsession + meat eating idiosyncrasy=expect a lot of turkey in the next few days. Lo siento, vegetarian and vegan amigas.

Con another bigger-than-the-wrap half-sour pickle.

This obsession is full-fledged, and always in effect. Me encantan pickles.

(Go on, say it…)

Soon after, Mr. Postman delivered this:

The sticky yoga mat I won from Erica! I’ve not been doing yoga, but perhaps this new goodie will motivate me. Any at-home recommendations?

I took it out and laid on it without any yoga intentions—simply because I’m a child and can’t not open a new toy. However, this faux yoga session reminded me that I had a Yogi tea to try out!

Mi amiga received this when she got a massage this weekend, and she thoughtfully offered it to moi because she knows I’m a tea fiend.

This was my first experience with Yogi tea, and I loved it!

I love flavored variations of green tea, and blub always works.

But the whole “suppresses appetite” thing?

Yea, I don’t know about that…

Food Should Taste Good lime tortilla chips, inconsiderately stuck right into the communal Sabra.

Love this FSTG flavor! Again, none of the flavors have been as good as the Multigrain or The Works, in my opinion; but I loved the hint of lime. (PS: I only have one more flavor to try ‘til I can give you a full FSTG review!)

The bag remained by my side during this blogging-from-bed Sabra session—so, needless to say, I did a bit more FSTG damage than what’s pictured here.

Dinner started with a simple ensalada.

3 cups baby spinach; shrooms, 1/2 honeycrisp, baby peppers, red onion, celery salt, honey balsamic dressing and habanero lime salsa.

Best flavor melding of the night goes to the sweet honeycrisp/spicy salsa combo.

I knew dinner’s main event was going to involve brown rice—because I had a ton left over from way too much Chinese take out this weekend.

In an attempt to not just re-heat the never-ending stash of sesame chicken, I made a Thai Peanut Rice Bowl.

1.5 cups brown rice; 2 cups broccoli; 1 cup pineapple. Douses in my homemade peanut sauce.

If you haven’t noticed, I really like the peanut + pineapple combo.

Since the sauce wasn’t really showing in the pictures, I added an extra spoonful.

For picture purposes only. I, of course, hated the peanut-y addition…

I dug into my Newman’s Own Champion Chip Cookies for dessert. I have to preface this opinion by reminding you that I’m not a big chocolate person; I wasn’t crazy about these. They were sort of hard, and very average.

So, I channeled one of my favorite cereals from my childhood to salvage them.

Cooooooookie Crisps! I simply dumped some Newman’s cookies in a bowl and doused them in almond milk; I let them marinate for a few minutes ‘til they were perfectly soggy. And devoured,

Problemo solved.

Ok, so who won my Campbell’s sopa giveaway? The random integer generator spewed out #64; that’d be…

Katie from A Joy in Class!

One of my favorite new bloggers! Felicidades, chica! E-mail me at thefoodiediaries@gmail.com with your address—and I’ll get your goodies on their way!

While we’re on the topic of giveaways and, more importantly, favorite bloggers, check out my taste bud gemela Katharina’s 101st post giveaway!

Hope your Wednesday night is absolutely GLEEFUL .

-Sarah

Construction song of the day: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”.

Again, this lulled any animosity I’d usually feel toward an unsolicited early morning alarm because (1) that song innately sends out feel-good vibes and (2) it now reminds me of the Glee version.

And, Glee. Oh, Glee. How I adore thee.

This incited 2 hours of Glee sing-a-long listening.

Which is fine because Fridays simply aren’t productivity friendly.

But let’s pick up where we left off yesterday.

After Thursday’s Miley wake-up call, I decided that—despite being sick—I couldn’t listen to a day’s worth of deafening demolition. I needed to get out of la casa.

And I knew exactly where I wanted to be.

All I wanted to do was curl up on a comfy cafe couch.

And sip a vanilla chai latte.

And blog amid the serene sounds of coffee machines and hippie chatter.

And get lost in this.

My favorite birthday present.

Or maybe this.

My favorite graduation present.

And possibly venture down the street for some of this.

(I still haven’t tried the pumpkin cupcake!)

However, I could not have my way

with this envisioned comfy cafe day.

Due to torrential downpour,

the 10-block walk lost its allure.

And my pleasant getaway seemed like more

of an illness-worsening chore.

And so I settled on a day of noisy house arrest.

And a lot of cafe con leche.

This gets to my title. I do know (or at least I’ve frequently heard) that you’re supposed to avoid dairy when you’re sick. However, I’m not a normal sick person. As I’ve explained, I don’t ever lose my appetite when I’m ill. And I convince myself that really hot and really cold foods make me feel better.

And I often crave dairy. Similar to my hot and cold theory, I hypothesize that smooth dairy products like yogurt and milk make me better. I’m pretty sure this all stems from the fact that I just really like how my throat feels when I consume these hot/cold/dairy items.

Oh well, I ran with it.

Mostly because I’d prepared my breakfast the night before—and it packed a whole lot of smooth dairy. Mmmmm.

Overnight Oats! This is one of those blogland breakfasts that always makes me drool but, for some reason, I’ve never tried.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Overnight Oats

Soaked overnight: 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk and 1/2 cup greek yogurt. Added in la mañana: bottle of cinnamon, handful of raisins and drizzle of maple syrup.

(I also can’t hear the word drizzle anymore without thinking of the best baby name ever.)

SO HEAD OVER HEELS FOR THIS BREAKFAST.

It was so thick, creamy, chewy, vanilla-y and perfectly microwave-less!

Lunch was a series of snacks—the first of which continued to feed my sickly dairy craving.

And also helped make a dent in my never-ending VitaTops stash.

I let a BlueBran VitaTop thaw for 45 minutes.

And then I combined it with a big bowl of vanilla yogurt.

Made a delightful mess of it all.

And enjoyed with an almond butter spoon.

One thing I found I don’t enjoy when I’m sick is nut butter because it sort of stuck to my throat. No bueno.

This was remedied by stirring the AB into the mix because it just added some always-welcome flavor to the creamy medley.

The BlueBran Vita was good—again, not great. It was certainly less dry than the Corn Vita—but I think this may have been due to the fact that I didn’t microwave it.

Word on the blog streets is that the chocolate ones are ze best so, even though I’m not a chocolate gal, I’m excited to try those out.

The next segment of lunch was finally normal sick food.

Instant Miso Soup.

Again, another food discovery that is going to be my salvation from starvation during Microwave Madness Month.

You simply mix a couple packets of miso paste, seaweed and tofu (looks gross, I know) with hot water…

And voila! Miso soup!

I need to stock up.

The miso love got me out of dairy land and triggered a hot craving.

I put all the usual suspect into heavy rotation.

As in I have no idea how many cups of tea I consumed yesterday. I think one day I’ll take pictures of every cup of tea I drink just to get a ballpark figure. Should be comical.

Hot craving subsided, and carb craving arose.

As was the case on Tuesday, I was quarantined to my room. So again, chip hoarding commenced.

And concluded…

I need to find the little bags of FSTG chips that Kaytee reviewed because I know no self-control with these things.

My lack of self-control apparently applies to vitamins, too… Gummy vitamins, anyway. Yesterday’s bedroom snacking also involved finishing my stash of calcium gummies. I need to remind myself that these are not candy!!!

Guess I’m going to have super strong bones…

Before I present dinner, I have to apologize for being a dinner repeater! I know I promised I’d do my best not to bore you all with my kitchen-less meals—which I suppose entails switching things up—but all I wanted was that habanero lime salsa I discovered Wednesday night. So, I created my dinner around it!

The staple of my dinner does not look appetizing, but I assure you it was.

In the mix: 4 oz. diced chicken, 2 tbsp. plain Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp. roasted red pepper hummus, 2 tbsp. Wild Oats Habanero Lime salsa, finely chopped celery, finally chopped onion, sprinkle of taco seasoning and red pepper flakes.

Caliente! Pero delicioso!

Ensalada Mexicana 

In the bigger mix: lots of baby spinach and mixed greens; roasted red peppers; celery; red onion; corn; hard-boiled egg-whites (filled with más habanero lime salsa); topped with the spicy chicken salad.

Inspired by Meg’s tabasco pools. I loved this!

But not more than this!

  I enthusiastically urge you to try the yogurt-hummus-spicy salsa mix. I can’t even explain how incredible the flavor was. With a roasted red pepper cherry on top .

On the side I utilized another fridge item I’d prepared pre-kitchen demolition.

And successfully (unlike attempt numero uno) made carrot fries.

I’m anticipating an addiction.

Perhaps because they are so incredible. Perhaps because I like anything I can dip in honey mustard.

I won’t be carrot peeling without a kitchen—but I’m thinking I can chop up baby carrots for some baby carrot fries!

Since I was clearly trying to overdose on spicy salsa, I filled another green bell pepper with my newest spicy obsession (sorry, Sriracha).

This time sans hummus happy trail.

And—just because I think my unstoppable appetite is sort of hilarious—here is what was left of my salsa jar literally 24 hours after I opened it.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be so proud of this?

After dinner, I realized I hadn’t eaten any fruit so I had a nectarine.

Which was meh.

Then, once I felt I’d gotten my daily nutrients, I got to the good stuff.

Kettle corn—Sriracha added halfway through.

Because I also think spiciness helps remedy illness .

And now, the weekend begins!

But before I bid you adieu, I want to say feliz cumpleanos to my dear friend and #1 reader, Ms. Erica Finkelbutt!

We’ve hiked our way through Israel’s terrain

And then went on to dance our way through Spain

We’ve fallen in love with ParisAnd the magic of a French kiss

Let’s hope tonight doesn’t end like this…

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY<3

I’m off to continue DayQuil chugging in hopes of being all better for mi amiga’s birthday festivities. I hope you all have fun weekend plans!

-Sarah

This morning I awoke to lots of banging. (I don’t have to say it, do I?)

I was initially pretty choleric—and bitter towards the construction workers making all the noise—because it was 7 a.m., and I’d slept for approximately 4 hours.

Insomnia is a pretty logical byproduct of taking unmeasured swigs of this all day.Woops.

My bitterness subsided once I realized that, in the midst of demolishing my kitchen and waking me from my beauty sleep, the construction workers were blasting Miley and gleefully singing along. Needless to say, I have a newfound respect for—and desire to be friends with—my new housemates.

But let’s rewind to Wednesday morning’s DayQuil chugging.

After realizing I was pretty sick, I decided to have a breakfast (of sorts) in bed, alongside my orange shots.

Cafe con leche de almendras

And a Clif Z-bar—pictured on my stomach, not a black backdrop.

I almost never eat bars, but I was so lazy yesterday morning. And all I wanted to do was stay in bed and blog-read. And so I did.

For two hours.

The only thing to pry me from the warmth of my comforter and the food porn of your blogs was the doorbell.

SO worth getting out of bed.

An enormously generous package from the Newman’s Own Organics Fairy, a.k.a. Sally. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to dig into ze goods—particularly the pretzels, dried fruit and Fig Newman’s.

I was oddly tempted to empty the contents onto my floor and bask in a bed of Newman’s Own goodies for a Hug-a-Carb photo shoot. I didn’t, but the temptation is still sort of lingering…

Organically excited, I decided to make my sickly self a real breakfast. (My appetite is rarely affected when I get sick. I feel like I’m the only person whose ability to eat normally is never inhibited by illness. Coughing, sneezing, chills and a fever? Psssh. I cannot be tamed. How’s your appetite when you get sick?)

I decided to make something super simple that I’ve been wanting to try since seeing it on Lindsey’s blog.

Breakfast sushi!!

3/4 pear & almond butter rolled in a whole wheat wrap; doused in cinnamon.

This was delicious, and I definitely anticipate a few encores throughout Microwave Madness Month. Why is finger food infinitely more enjoyable than utensil-mandated food?

A little later, back in bed, I enjoyed another utensil-free food: my last honey crisp!

Yea, I told you there would be a downgrade in food presentation. Gone are the days of photogenic cinnamon-sprinkled and nut butter-drizzled slices, made possible by kitchen-y bliss. Tear.

Lunch was my D.I.Y. Egg Salad Sandwich, with a slight twist.

On top of the mayo layer, I added a little Dijon mustard.

Egg whites galore.

I didn’t think it was possible to elevate the egg-whitey excellence of this sandwich—but the Dijon addition was brilliant.

Another anticipated encore.

Remember when I grilled five zucchinis, but warned you they wouldn’t last long? By yesterday evening, that once-full-to-the-brim container looked like this.

While coming up with a dinner plan, I polished off my dear verde cheetahs.

Just as I was suffering a bout of dinner-block, Kev Thug delivered 5 glorious containers of greens!

I told him I was worried I wouldn’t get enough veggie-action throughout this kitchen-less month since I eat so many salads, and chopping/washing lettuce is not so doable. So, being the nutritionally-considerate cutie that he is, he came through with enough pre-packaged salad to tide me over for the next week. Bueno!

He also bought a ton of pre-cooked chicken—which I gladly utilized as my protein source for a hangry dinner ensalada.

I rolled several ounces of diced chicken in a bowl of Sabra’s Greek Olive hummus, and then I broiled the pieces (in the toaster oven, of course) for about 7 minutes.

I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed chicken so much. It was so flavorful. I ate about half the amount I prepared before throwing it onto my salad—simply because I couldn’t stop myself!

The remainders played in an integral role in an enormous Greek ensalada.

In the mix: approx. 39339248 fist-fulls of mixed greens, celery, green bell pepper, roasted red peppers, red onion, oil-cured olives, feta and the best chicken ever.

Drizzled with my new favorite balsamic-alternative:

Mmmmm.

The superstar bites included hummus chicken, olives and feta. So gratuitously Greek .

On the side, I had a green bell pepper, halved and filled with deliciousness.

By deliciousness, I mean my new favorite salsa:

This was stunningly spicy and flawlessly flavorful.

Topped off with a hummus happy trail!

Again, another approved (and encouraged) staple for kitchen-free month!

Dessert was really out of the ordinary for me. A.K.A. it wasn’t popcorn.

Another weird thing about the way I respond to sickness: I convince myself that really hot and really cold foods/drinks make me feel better. This usually means a lot of tea-chugging and uncharacteristically frequent ice cream consumption.

Last night, I got my hot and cold in during dessert.

Black and white cookie? I wish No.

No Pudge Brownie with vanilla fro-yo!

As I’ve said, I’m not a chocolate person. No Pudge brownies are the only ones I really enjoy. I think this is because I undercook them (so they are sort of pudding-ish) and prepare them with plain Greek yogurt (opposed to the vanilla yogurt called for in the directions). You have to use about double the suggested 1 tbsp. of yogurt (for the single serving preparation) since Greek yogurt is so much thicker—but I love it because the brownies come out really tangy and creamy. Maybe a devout brownie-lover wouldn’t like my method—but this is the only way I like my brownies!

The hot and cold combo was on-point, and, as usual, I convinced myself that it made me feel better.

This remedy didn’t prevail to sideline today’s sickly symptoms. So, I’m off to continue my green tea treatment.

Hope you’re all warm and toasty on this torrential Thursday!

-Sarah

So, my apologies to both my lovely Nanny and my equally lovely readers for that impromptu hiatus. If you’ll have me back, I’d like to explain my absence.

Por favor, direct your attention to your browser’s URL window.

I present to you…

THEFOODIEDIARIES.COM

¡Sí! My own domain! I’ve been meaning to buy a domain for several weeks now because thefoodiediaries.wordpress.com was kind of a mouth full, no? However, I kept putting it off because I (quite accurately) anticipated that my “Internets” illiteracy would pose some problems in the transferring of blog content.

Let’s not dwell on how long the blog transfer took (4 days) or play the blame game (WordPress and/or PayPal). Instead, let us celebrate The Foodie Diaries’ independence! (From the wordpress affix?)

Your Google Readers, blogrolls and links should automatically re-direct to the new site. But if this is not happening, please let me know!

(FYI: I am fast-forwarding over the weekend because it involved me being the worst blogger ever [pitifully capturing approx. 3 food photos], and I’m trying to put the past behind me and change my bad bloggin’ ways.)

Ok, let’s kick off el blog-o nuevo with Monday’s eats, which—if this post’s title didn’t give it away—featured an exceptional amount of strawberries.

Hmm, strawberries? Not very October-y, I know. But I figure I’ll have several months to eat in a seasonally appropriate fashion—O.D.ing on pumpkin to my heart’s content—so I seized las strawberries.

My fresa-filled day began with whole wheat toast, a generous smear of cream cheese and strawberry slices.

You know I swoon over anything featuring my crack of choice.

Breakfast part dos was fruit cereal.

In le bowl: 1/2 gala apple, 1 bossy Bosc-y pear, figs, strawberries, slivered almonds, ground flax, cinnamon and vanilla almond milk.

Cold fruity cereal? Again, sort of out of season.

But, my friends, when you discover brilliance in a bowl, you do not neglect it simply because your peers have deemed it “unseasonal.” Fresh fruit marinated in almond milk is always seasonal, if you’ve any respect for your taste buds.

End scene.

Come snack time, I revisited one of my laziest and most delicious weekend discoveries, makeshift PB & J glo bites!

Same as last time: warmed bran muffin with almond butter & strawberry preserves. I do want to get around to making the real thing, but the 1-2-3 allure of these knock-offs keeps diverting me.

Lunch was a variation of a sandwich that’s been on my mind since I  laid eyes on it during last Sunday’s Best Of…

Here’s my take on Ms. GC’s ingenious PB & strawberry sandwich.

PB & Fresa Quesadilla

Ingredients:

-3 strawberries sliced

-1 whole wheat tortilla

-2 tbsp. peanut butter

Heat a non-stick skillet to medium-low and warm on side of the tortilla for 1 minute. Remove tortilla from heat, and smear peanut butter on one half. Return to skillet, and add sliced strawberries. Reduce heat to low, and warm until the underside begins to brown and the peanut butter bubbles slightly. “Close” the tortilla, and brown on each side for 1 minute—pressing with a spatula for several seconds on each side.

Oh, the “sour cream?” Greek yogurt with a little maple syrup and a lot of cinnamon.

Maybe I just think PB goes with everything, but the strawberry-PB combo was brilliant! And smearing that insanely delectable dollop across the whole quesadilla was invigoratingly messy & delicious.

Dinner came in two parts, and Part I was my only strawberry-free eat of el día.

Baked pita chips y hummus

For the pita chips, I simply cut a whole wheat pita into triangles, brushed both sides with olive oil and seasoned with salt and baked at 375º for 12 minutes.

My H.O.C. (hummus of choice, duh) was Sabra’s Greek Olive Hummus. I’m pretty sure this flavor is new-ish because I hadn’t tried/seen it ‘til this summer. Olive-aficionada that I am, it was love at first dip.

Hummus featuring olives + pita chips featuring visible salt crystals=proof that I am a salty-over-sweet chica, slash a sodium-fiend.

Dinner Part II was a new spin on my standard apple & tuna salad mix.

Playing the role of the apple? You guessed it. Strawberries!

In the mix: 3 0z. tuna; 3 strawberries, sliced; 2 generous greek yogurt dollops; chopped celery; slivered almonds; lemon pepper seasoning; krazy salt and drop o’ honey.

Thrown on a bed of baby spinach, romaine, red onion, celery and cherry tomatoes; decorated with ze standard honey/balsamic dressing mix.

And since I was clearly on a mission to consume an entire pint of strawberries in one day, I went for a sweet & simple strawberry sundae.

Ok, it wasn’t really a sundae. Just strawberries & whipped cream—but I can’t resist alliteration…

Is there any ingredient that finds its way into every single one of your meals on occasion? I don’t usually have strawberry-themed days, but I feel like there have been numerous occasions when ingredients like PB or apples make recurring appearances within a 24 hour period.

Alright, I must now depart to embark upon some errands. But, tomorrow I’ll be back with a mildly interesting update—nothing life-changing, but something that is going to seriously alter my eats for the next month! Any guesses?

Hasta mañana,

Sarah

(I also hope I’m not the only “adult” who automatically associates “7 Things” with Miley.)

Something I do hate? Windows Live Writer.

Once again, that female pup of a publishing program decided that she hated both me and my eats yesterday. So, I apologize for the hump day hiatus.

I also apologize if this post seems rushed, but I am ridiculously busy for once in my unemployed life. This is a good thing, and I should have a few life updates to share within the next few weeks.

(Food bloggers are all about the teasers lately, aren’t they?)

So, yesterday, in between writing and re-writing posts, cursing Windows Live Writer and, you know, living life, I managed to do a bit of eating. Shocking, I know.

Despite the fact that it was, perhaps, the windiest day ever in NYC, I started my day with iced coffee. Plus a plum to eat while pondering breakfast possibilities.

Because I had some brown rice left over from my veggie burgers, I decided to make brown rice breakfast pudding. I’ve read several articles mentioning that this is one of celeb chef Bethenny Frankel’s go-to breakfasts—and I’ve been meaning to try it.

I’ve never been big on rice pudding, but something about this breakfast sounded really good to me. And it was.

Bethenny simply cooks 1/2 cup brown rice with 1/4 cup milk (I used vanilla almond milk), maple syrup, cinnamon, raisins and almonds for 5 minutes. I doubled the recipe because I somehow suspected that 1/2 cup of rice wasn’t going to be enough for breakfast.

 NEW FAVORITE BREAKFAST. Cinnamon vanilla almond-y brown rice, plumped-up raisins, extra almond crunch and a hint of maple syrup. What’s not to adore? This was incredibly easy to make—and a serious contender for one of my best DPAABs.

The only thing is, it didn’t keep me full for long. Even though I doubled Bethenny’s recipe, I was hungry 2 hours later.

At which point I opted for mas cinnamon and raisins.

I had one of Kim’s Light cinnamon bagels—half with cream cheese and half with Smart Balance. Because I think it’s mildly blasphemous to enjoy a cinnamon bagel sans raisins, I threw some on top.

Me gusta. Kim’s wheat bagel is still the front runner—but this one gets props for packing A LOT of cinnamon flavor. This always warrants bonus point in my book.

Lunch was an egg-white omelet with spinach, roasted red peppers and cream cheese. Doused in sriracha, of course.

To my fellow cream cheese lovers, if you have not yet introduced our dearly beloved spread to your omelets—PLEASE DO. It’s pretty life changing.

On le side I had a corn Vitatop.

The very generous Vitalicious people sent me too-many-to-count Vitatops, and this was my very first. I LOVE corn muffins, and this was certainly no substitute for one. However, for a 100-calorie muffin top, it definitely nailed the “corn muffin” flavor. Maybe it’s just because I’ve never had a Vitatop before, but I wasn’t thrilled with the texture. It was sort of dry and a bit grainy. If you’ve tried Vitatops, have you found this? I’ll write up a full review once I put more of a dent in the 293293828472842384 muffin tops currently residing in my freezer.

Dinner, Part I: a very disproportionate plate of green cheetahs and carrot fries.

Eight carrot fries, to be exact.

I may or may not have gotten lost in a riveting phone conversion and baked the carrots for an hour. This resulted in approximately 54 casualties. Que triste.

Dinner Part II: this.

Not really. That’s just a beautiful basil leaf, straight from el garden de Kev Thug.

Dinner Part II was actually…

pizza!

Who am I? I’m really not a liar; I legitimately do not like NYC pizza. But these pita pizzas? Whole ‘nother story.

This one was actually a whole wheat wrap (which I liked better than the pita!) with 1/2 cup vodka sauce, 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella and fresh basil.

Buenisimo.

Non-popcorn dessert was vanillia fro-yo & almond butter.

Sorry for the meltiness, but I forgot to take a pic til I was halfway through ze bowl. Slash I don’t have the self-control to stare at fro-yo + AB through a lens before digging in…

Ok, onto el premio.

Gracias to the lovely Whitney for passing this along to me.

7 things you didn’t know about me?

1. I suffer from chronic insomnia. This is self-diagnosed, but I’m fairly certain that WebMD wrote their insomnia description with yours truly in mind.
2. Despite the fact that I’m 22 years old, I have seen (and loved) all three High School Musical movies. I know all the songs. And some of the dances.
3. Equally embarrassing, I have recently developed an irrepressible, incredibly inappropriate crush on Justin Bieber.
4. Despite those last two facts, I assure you I’m not a child predator.
5. The first CD I ever owned was Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill. I think it’s hysterical that, at age 10, I used to belt out Alansis’ most eloquent lyrics (i.e. “would she go down on you in a theatre?”) without any idea of their meaning.
6. I got kicked out of camp when I was 13 for sneaking to a boy’s bunk. Woops. The following summer, the camp tried to send me home three times, but Kev Thug refused to pick me up. Reason #1283232 he’s a thug.
7. I was ranked 7th in my high school class. On the “Top 10” page of the yearbook, where my fellow overachievers chose Emerson and Thoreau quotes to appear under their mugshots, I went with the always insightful “Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7, 8, 9.”

And, I’m pulling a Jenny and passing this award onto everyone because I’m seriously obsessed [not in a Swimfan way] with all of you.

T.G.I.T.,

Sarah