Thank you so much for all of your supportive comments in response to yesterday’s  back to escuela announcement. I was grinning from oreja a oreja (ear to ear) all day as I read through your enthusiastic words. I’m so excited to be taking this "next step" en mi vida, and I’m even more excited that I get to share my journey with all my favorite foodies.

Before I write another essay, let us resume regularly scheduled Foodie Diaries programming. By that, I of course mean más food, menos philosophizing.

Martes morning, while characteristically cold, was uncharacteristically sunny. Since I was working from mi cama, beneath a wonderfully warm down comforter, I wasn’t so concerned with the frigid outside world’s temperature. I was just elated to have sun beaming through my windows.

En serio, yo amo el sol. You know how everyone swears by the exercise-endorphins correlation? I’m a more emphatic proponent of the sun-endorphins correlation. Sun, even more so than warmth, makes me ridiculously feliz. This may have something to do with the fact that I often embrace the presence of sol as a sign that I should be drinking iced coffee.

Such was the case ayer. 40° outside? Ain’t no thang when the sun is shining.

Apparently good moods create delicious desayunos.

En el bol: 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1 cup water, with 1/3 cup egg whites whisked in. Topped with a tasty triad of: 1/2 container Chobani, a sinfully grande scoop of Barney Butter and a “let’s see how much I can squeeze into my fist” serving of trail mix.

I have midget manos, so it took a lot to successfully transfer that much goodness from the trail mix container into the bowl. You gotta do what you gotta do.

In le mix de trail: pepitas, sliced almonds, walnuts and dried cranberries. All good things.

The other two components of my tasty toppings triad were, I suspect, the culprits behind the unwavering fullness that followed this glorious bowl.

Perhaps it wasn’t the toppings themselves—but rather my heavy handedness with the Barney Butter scoopage.

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. My Barney Butter “scoop” is definitely the same size as my yogurt mound. Woops.

‘Twas a delicious “mistake” that, come lunchtime, left me too full for “real lunch.”

What’s a foodie to do? Eat fake lunch.

Otherwise known as a snack.

Here’s where we get to the title of this post.

Yesterday, I popped my CCCherry (Cottage Cheese Cherry)! Lo siento for the vulgarity—but I couldn’t resist the alliteration, acronym and pun potential of cottage cheese cherry.

I know, I know. I’m the last person en el mundo to try cottage cheese, but, for some reason, I’ve always convinced myself that I wouldn’t like it. (Actually, I know the exact reason. At sleep away camp, during a sex ed talk, the counselor referred to cottage cheese when explaining a yeast infection. TMI? Maybe. But I’m sure you understand why I fomented a negative association with that chunky wonder.)

Moving along, I knew that my lunchtime snack was going to feature cottage cheese. But, CC novice that I was, I didn’t know the best way to eat it.

Wanting to ensure that my first time was both special and pleasurable, I sought out C.C.concoction suggestions from la princesa de CC.

She graced me with muchos options via tweetvice, so I just went with the one I’ve seen grace the pages of her blog most frequently.

1/2 cup cottage cheese and cinnamon on an English muffin.

Be advised that the remainder of the cinnamon bottle was added post-photo op.

¡AY, DIOS MIO! I had no idea that cottage cheese was so ridiculously thick and cheesy (go figure). I’ve always pictured it far more watered-down. This was so rich and sort of reminded me of ricotta.

Just a forewarning. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with cottage cheese. As in, I sort of want to eat it for every single meal. I’m doing my best not do this. But lo siento if I can’t fight the urge.

I couldn’t have imagined a more delectable first time.

Since my plate was all cinnamon-coated, I decided to get double use out of it before throwing it in the dishwasher.

Enter manzana con canela y azúcar.

I was going to slice it in a photogenic manner. But then I got lazy.

Eventually, the fullness afflicted by breakfast and fake lunch subsided, and I was ready for a real savory lunch.

En el plato: 3 egg whites, queso americano, a flatulently grande serving of black beans and salsa.

I didn’t intend for this to be an open-faced omelet, but it was necessitated due to a heavy hand with the bean scoopage. Apparently I really like my beans and Barney Butter. There are worst vices.

Cena was a bowl duo of blogger staples that can be had sweet or savory.

I opted for savory on both fronts.

First up, a veteran concoction here on The Foodie Diaries: savory oats.

As always, the grilled cebolla was the star.

And, as always, things got gloriously messy post-photo op.

Parte dos was on my mind all día.

After falling in love with my first taste of sweet cottage cheese, and perhaps having a few small scoops throughout the day…

…just to be absolutely positive I liked loved it, I wanted to try a savory cottage cheese concoction.

This one was inspired by Miss Janetha.

In the mix: 1 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup garbanzos, red bell pepper, celery, taco seasoning, chili powder and seasoned salt.

CC obsession confirmed. I’ll take it sweet, savory, any (legal) way I can get it.

Much like my veteran savory oats, newbie savory cottage cheese had a star: garbanzos.

No, wait. The beans were bueno. But the cottage cheese was definitely the star. I think I just said that because the garbanzos were the most prominent part of the photo. Fibbery.

In truthery, much like savory oats, savory CC gets gloriously messy post-photo op.

Nada new about dessert.

Kettle corn with a side of Twitter in a sea of down=life is good.

So, por favor, tell me: What are your favorite ways to eat cottage cheese? Do you have a favorite brand? Also, there are so many different types (fat content, salted, unsalted). Which do you like best? I just grabbed a random brand and chose 2 percent because I didn’t know if fat free was gross/if 4 percent was too thick. Any CCadvice is greatly appreciated!

Amor,

Sarah

‘Twas a tasty Tuesday that seemed to zip by

Cravings were aplenty, and I was eager to comply

But my eats were a bit uncharacteristic. (We’ll soon have a gander.)

And I couldn’t help feeling like Derek Zoolander

When I found myself questioning, “Who am I?”

Worry not. I’m not having an identity crisis. But, go figure, the day after I dedicate an entire post to how my foodie personality is predictably the same as it’s always been, I experience a day full of “this is so not me” eating.

My first inkling that some other foodie spirit had repossessed my body came with my mañana cup of coffee.

My kitchen’s currently boasting a pretty extensive selection of coffee. But I’m pretty faithful to my tried-and-true favorites, those usually being some jazzed-up version of a vanilla or hazelnut base. Ayer, I wanted none of that. I awoke in a chocolate state of mind.

Now I know what you’re thinking. That’s not really grounds for a “who am I?” moment, as I’ve recently realized and confirmed my fondness for cocoa. However, while I’m certainly acquiring a taste for chocolate, I’ve yet to seriously crave it or favor it over my veteran front-runners. Until yesterday.

No deliberation necessary. I wanted chocolate coffee.

Specifically New England Coffee’s Chocolate Cappuccino. I tried this last week, and I’m pretty sure it’s been on the brain ever since. But because I’m a save-the-best-for-last OCD freak, I’ve been rationing it until I can locate and hoard several more bags.

But there was no fighting that chocolate feeling yesterday. I gave into my moment of chocolate cappuccino weakness. And it was glorious.

This coffee is so bueno that I drank it straight up.

Moving along… I was ready to shake the whole “who am I?” hindrance with breakfast. I already knew what I was making, and it was very me.

Or so I’d intended.

I’ve been wanting to make Tina’s “Baked” Pumpkin Oatmeal” since I first laid eyes on it. I doubled the recipe porque I know mi estómago, and one packet of instant oatmeal would keep me full for approximately 20 minutes.

Looks a little diferente from Tina’s, right? On a whim, I decided to add cocoa powder. Seriously. WHO AM I? I had a perfectly delicious, pumpkin-y concoction sitting before me, and I chose (read: needed) to chocolate-ify it?

I’ll stop whining, though. My case of the “who am I?”s worked brilliantly here. This. was. AMAZING.

Los ingredientes: 2 packets maple brown sugar instant oatmeal, 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup egg whites, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp. agave and 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder. Mixed and microwaved for 3 minutes. (Or 2:59 if you’re weird like me.)

Chocolately pumpkiny perfection. Make. This. Ahora.

Sometime after that bowl of deliciousness, I G-chatted with hermana and learned that she, too, was eating out-of-character.

Melissa: you’ll be happy to know the brownie rampage has continued at school

snowstorms mean 8238928329329 brownies

me: jealous

i made CHOCOLATE OATS for bfast

like, i was CRAVING chocolate

WHO AM I!?

Melissa: um i made waffles and eggs with spinach and laughing cow for bfast

like what? i made myself a real breakfast… WHO AM I!?

At least we’re in this together, hermana.

Lunch parte uno was a pretty standard Sarah sandwich.

On a toasted sandwich thin: laughing cow, Sabra hummus, roasted eggplant and roasted red peppers.

It was during lunch parte dos that I had to step back and ask myself, “who am I?”

Apparently I thought I was a 5’10 blonde with a snacky disposition.

On my undeniably plagiarized snack plate:

The leaning tower of red bell pepper.

Filled con salsa.

Manzana con cinnamon.

Which christened this fresh tub of Greek Olive Sabra.

This is currently my favorite Sabsession. But I’ve yet to try the caramelized onion flavor, which I suspect may change my life.

Post-lunch came errands, a writing project and some at-home pilates. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I slept through my Tuesday clase. So, I attempted to do some mat stretching, scissors (because they’re naughty) and rollovers (because they’re fun) en mi cuarto.

‘Lates ended up looking like this:

Yea, somewhere between stretching and scissors, I got lost in blog-reading, which somehow led me to get lost in Cherry Garcia. My newfound sweet tooth is really confusing me.

For dinner, I decided it was acceptable to have dos. Who am I?

Ok, fine. That food decision is entirely characteristic of me. But both of my cena components were large and in charge, and I’m sort of surprised I was able to eat it all. Sort of.

First up: una ensalada enorme.

I realize that doesn’t look so enorme because it’s on a plate. But I assure you it was massive. In fact, I have proof it was massive. But we’ll get to that later.

In the mix: baby spinach, red bell pepper, cucumber, celery, apple, brie, grilled shrooms, green cheetahs, asparagus, grilled onion and fried egg whites. Predictably dressed in a honey-balsamic blend.

The increible trifecta of fried egg whites, green cheetahs and grilled cebolla in the center.

And the no-fail combo of manzanas y brie dispersed throughout.

One more cebolla shot because grilled onion doused in sweetened balsamic is both aesthetically and gastronomically mind-blowing.

So much so that it was the star of dinner numero dos: savory Asian oats.

1/2 cup oats cooked in 1 cup water and 2 tbsp. soy sauce. Topped with grilled onion and asparagus.

I’d sort of forgotten how much I love savory oats. One bite into that creamy, soy saucy creation, and I fully remembered.

Messified deliciousness.

Onto that evidencia that my ensalada was one of great size.

I couldn’t eat it off the plate. Seriously, it was imposible.

So, into my hugh jass mixing bowl it went.

Oh, and if you’d like evidencia of my aforementioned save-the-best-for-last approach to eating… this is how I eat my salads.

Yes, I consume the 3 pounds of baby spinach first and save all of the well-marinated goodies for the end.

And now, for my final and most profound “who am I?” moment of el día: I wasn’t in the mood for popcorn for dessert.

My fridge is currently harboring a massive tub of vanilla pudding, and I was inexplicably drawn to it post-cena.

Con grahams, of course.

This was SO GOOD. Just to forewarn you, I feel a pudding kick coming on. Though, if my popcorn addiction doesn’t return by tonight, I may have a full-blown “WHO AM I!?” meltdown.

Do your food cravings ever throw you off? Up until very recently, my sweet tooth was non-existent. And its frequent presence is really freaking me out. Clearly, though, I’m embracing it .

Amor,

Sarah

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

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

(Lección de español: The above sentence means “Only three more days ‘til the weekend!” Pretty boring en ingles, if you ask me…)

I know we’re not halfway through the week yet—but I’m trying to be positiva .

Lunes began on a positive, pumpkin note.

Mama Pea’s pumpkin spice latte, con extra pumpkin spice.

For breakfast, I re-created an oat bowl that a pretty, pretty peanut butter princesa concocted months ago: Flipz Oat Bran.

Fun fact: I used to be head over heels for yogurt-covered pretzels—so much so that, on my 19th birthday, a friend decided to buy me a 5-lb bag of them. What seemed like a never-ending yogurt pretzel stash dwindled embarrassingly quickly. And I’m pretty sure I ODed because I just haven’t loved them the same way since. For the past few years, I’ve replaced my yogurt pretzel addiction with an equally delicious chocolate pretzel addiction. I secretly suspect that yogurt pretzels are still my numero uno; my taste buds just need to miss them long enough to crave a comeback. In the meantime, I’m all about the chocolate-covered goods.

And so, I flipped when I first read of this oat bran brilliance, and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to make it.

PB&Jenny-Plagiarized Flipz Oat Bran

1/3 cup oat bran cooked in 1 cup water and 1/2 banana; topped with a trifecta of Truvia, Chocolate Better ‘N PB and honey wheat pretzels.

You can go two routes when consuming this prodigious pretzely oat bowl: (1) Keep it neat, and enjoy perfectly concocted sugary/chocolatey/pretzely bites or (2) throw aesthetic concern to the wind, make a mess and let the magic forces meld.

I chose door numero dos.

This was amazing. The pretzels got wonderfully soggy—which is always a good thing if you’re weird like me and love soggy textures. Seriously, I let my cereal “marinate” for a few minutes because I either like it dry—with no milk—or super leche-soaked. Soggy = mejor in my libro.

Speaking of letting cereal marinate… when I got snacky pre-lunchtime, I chopped up a manzana monster…

…and made fruit cereal.

Giant honeycrisp + almond milk + pom arils + Truvia + flax + cinnamon = AMOR.

It went in the fridge to marinate in the almond glory for about 10 minutes, and then, like every time I taste this simple wonder, I oooooh and aaaaaaaah and try to remember what life was like before fruit cereal…

I can’t recall, but I bet my days were comparatively tragic.

When lunch rolled around, I made the executive decision to go Greek.

I’ve been wanting to re-create the Greek wonder I made for la hermana on Sunday ever since I sent her off with it (read: seriously considered “forgetting” to bring it out to her car…)

So I busted out my newest Sabra goodie and got to work on a giant Greek wrap.

Giant is a key word here because—despite a double breakfast, of sorts, I was starving. Just one of those days, I suppose.

As usual, here’s an innards shot since my wraps are always too stuffed to stay closed.

Don’t believe me?

Here’s an action shot of my possessed wrap opening on its own…

This tzatziki sauce is incredible; I’ve been dipping everything in it.

Along with tzatziki, into the whole wheat wrap also went: laughing cow, hummus, spinach, hummus-coated baked chicken, roasted red peppers, oil-cured black olives, onions and cucumbers.

And I wonder why my wraps don’t close…

I prepped a little too mucho Greek stuffing for even an un-closeable wrap, so I threw the extra innards onto a bed of spinach for a side Greek ensalada.

It wasn’t so much a side as it was a legitimate salad that I’d usually eat for dinner. But greens are bueno, so I let it slide.

So, funny story… Despite a double breakfast and a double lunch, I was ravenous come dinner. And since all this double action wasn’t cutting it for my ridiculous appetite yesterday, I decided to make dinner a triple.

First up were some cheetahs.

About 1/4 of which went into course numero dos:

C-Cubed (Cream Cheese Cheetah) Wrap

Whole wheat wrap with Laughing Cow wedge, 1/4 medium sweet potato (cheetahfied) and honey mustard.

Ohmygod. Best. Combo. Ever. I’ve got a feeling; this is going to become a staple.

Third and final dinner component: Sopa

I dug into the generous soup stash Dr. McDougall’s sent me last week.

They also sent some instant soups—which I’m saving for those inevitable just add hot water crunches—along with an amazing Crate and Barrel place setting.

Here’s the bowl; unpictured is a place mat and napkin/napkin ring. I adore it all, but I’m really obsessed with this bowl.

BIG BOWLS ARE THE BEST.

This one is so perfect because it can fit the entire carton of soup (a double serving); and when I eat canned/carton soup—especially on B.P.D.s like yesterday—I almost always eat the whole thing.

This is a habit I fostered in college when canned soups were often meals. I lived on Amy’s Alphabet.

Last night, I opted for the Vegetable Soup. Not because I wanted it the most; the soups that look the most appealing of the bunch are definitely the split pea, lentil and black bean. But, because I have this weird save-the-best-for-last O.C.D. tendency, I went for the veggie soup. I had three cartons of those, and only one of all the other varieties. I know, I’m weird.

Anyway, this tactic backfired (not actually, since I still have two more boxes) because I LOVED the vegetable soup!

It was so packed with veggies, potatoes, lentils and rice. I feel like vegetable soups usually lag in the starch department—particularly the lighter versions—but this had all of the good stuff in excess. Me gusta.

Another example of my save-the-best-for-last tendency: When eating brothy soups, I always eat all of the broth first and save the solids to eat at the end. Great tactic for this sopa because it was like eating an amazing veggie stew toward the end.

I was SO FULL after.

For about an hour.

Again, it was one of those days.

Nothing a bag of Kettle Corn + cinnamon couldn’t fix.

I am SO FELIZ to have this back in my life.

Gracias, gracias, gracias for this gift, hermana.

Before I go, I want to let you all know that I’ll be M.I.A. from blogland ‘til Monday. I booked a very last minute trip to Florida, y mañana I’m off! I won’t have my computer conmigo so lo siento for my absence. My Reader is going to be fuuuuuuuun to open on Monday…

Mucho amor,

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

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

While I’m still not ready to reinstitute coffee art, I turned to several cups of rudimentary, expressionless coffee for my replacement warmth fix.

I love holding hot mugs when I’m cold. I also have a weird habit of holding them against my face. I can’t remember who said this the other day, but thank you for making me feel like less of a freak for enjoying some warm ceramic to the cheek.

Criteria for breakfast: (a) delicioso, (b) efficient hypothermia alleviant and (c) apple-friendly (since I’m currently rolling in the galas).

Apple & Cinnamon Oat Bran

In the mix: 1/2 cup oat bran cooked with 1 cup water, thinly sliced banana & cinnamon; whole gala apple chopped and microwaved for 90 seconds in almond milk & cinnamon; topped with whipped cream.

I liked the addition of the banana to the oat bran, and I loved how apple-y my bran was with a whole apple! (I usually use half.) Oh, and the whipped cream was okay, too…

When I got snacky, I switched to my second favorite breed of manzana: el honey crisp.

After playing with red hues for a bit, I did slice and consume it with a spoonful of almond buttah.

I was really tempted to dive into one of my Barney Butter jars—but I still have about 3/4 left in my MaraNatha container. I’m weirdly anal about opening a new item when I’ve not yet finished my last (not that all ABs are created equal!). In the event that I break some boundaries, do nut butters go bad once opened? I’m not sure I’ve ever granted a nut butter a long enough lifespan to go bad… so I don’t think this should be a problem.

I think I drank 15 cups of tea yesterday. This is another thing I do when the weather takes it wintery plunge: OD on tea. During the summer, I probably consume—without exaggeration—20 cups of water a day. During the winter, this dwindles to ~2 cups; the other 18 get replaced with water’s warm and more flavorful offspring.

I love green tea, and this vanilla flavored one on the left is amazing. I switched it up with a cup or two of that raspberry jam on the right, but it wasn’t very good. I’m not big on fruity teas.

When lunchtime rolled around, I’d already decided on my star ingredient.

Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade.

I made this on Wednesday during my salad dinner prep, using this recipe.

It was really simple, and essentially just involved boiling the sun-dried tomatoes and throwing the ingredients into the blender.

The result was everything I’d imagined it to be: very sun-dried tomato-y and kalamata-y. Hate to repeat myself, but these are two of my absolute favorite things to eat. And they are very agreeable flavor companions.

As my stomach’s brain started devising a tapenade-driven plan of attack, I polished off the last of my FSTG The Works chips.

The perfect grainy compliment to my salty sun-dried tomato concoction.

There wasn’t much left in the bag, but that aluminum emptiness is always a sad sight.

During lunch brainstorming, a light bulb went off and I remembered the meal that first brought sun-dried tomato tapenade into my life.

It was one layer of the best sandwich I’ve ever tasted from Jettie’s in D.C. Jettie’s is a really cute and unfailingly delicious little sandwich shop in D.C..

I reasoned that I shouldn’t deprive myself of the best sandwich I’ve ever tasted just because I relocated to a Jettie-less city and decided lunch would be a D.I.Y. Hummock Pond sandwich.

Hm, I’ve pulled the D.I.Y. card two days, two lunches and two sandwiches in a row. What gives? My name is Sarah, and I am a sandwich plagiarist. I do love getting creative and making up my own flavorful concoctions—but sometimes I feel like the best things have already been created.

I sort of feel the same way about life musings. Hasn’t it all been said before? There are no Voltaires or Thoreaus “of today;” we simply do our best to regurgitate what’s already been said in a wittier, pithier, more modern tone. Maybe that’s just me. Maybe I’m just a sandwich plagiarist and a thought plagiarist traipsing around under the guise of an innocent 22-year-old New Yorker. [Insert evil laugh.]

Anyway, here’s my copycat D.I.Y Hummock Pond sandwich, which—in the name of being a proper plagiarist—I will rename:

Sarah’s 7-Layer Sandwich

Insert the following seven layers between two slices of toasted whole wheat bread.

Layer 1: Slice of Jarlsberg swiss cheese (best swiss EVER!)

Layer 2: Grilled, balsamic-marinated baby bella mushrooms

Layer 4: Roased red peppers, warmed in your grill pan

Layer 5: Black bean salsa

Jettie’s sandwich uses black bean & corn salsa—which I’d strongly suggest using. I only had regular salsa and cooked black beans on hand, so I mixed 2 tbsp. of each together for a little makeshift bean salsa.

Layer 6: Sun-dried tomato tapenade!!! Be generous; this layer makes the sandwich.

Layer 7: Another slice of jarlsberg, for a necessary abundance of melty cheese.

The result:

You didn’t think that was the money shot, did you?

Perfectly packed with seven delectable layers.

The lighting was weird so here’s  a picture with the flash.

OH MY GOD. Dear Jettie’s, I love you. Like, seriously, if I could marry the owner of Jettie’s, or Jim Halpert, I would be the happiest girl en el mundo!

If you have any semblance of love and respect for your tummies and taste buds, you will construct this beauty in the very near future…

Just as I was getting snacky, my Kashi sample finally came!

I’m not much of a cereal eater. But when I do enjoy a bowl, I rarely eat it with milk (with the exception of Golden Grahams, Rice Krispies and Corn Pops—because all of those taste magnificent soggy). I opted for a greek yogurt mess.

I loved Honey Sunshine! It sort of tasted like a honey-fied, healthified version of Cap’n Crunch!

When it came time for dinner, though it was World Vegetarian Day, I felt like I’d lagged in the protein department. So I made a big tuna salad mix to have on a bed of greens.

In the mix: 3 oz. tuna, two heaping dollops of plain greek yogurt, 1/3 gala chopped, dried cherries, slivered almonds, very quick honey drizzle and krazy salt.

I had a few spoonfuls before plopping it onto my salad because it was SO good. I sort of just wanted to eat it out of the bowl, but that would’ve made my salad entirely undesirable.

My salad base was 3 cups fresh spinach, English cucumber slices, sweet onion, celery and cherry tomatoes.

With the star in the center of it all.

I rarely use bottled dressing, but for some reason, my balsamic-honey combo didn’t sound good. I thought Cranberry Balsamic would go really well with the sweet tuna salad.

Correcto!

Perfect bite of the night goes to a cucumber slice harboring onion, cherry tomato and an all-inclusive dried cherry, apple and almond tuna dollop.

Mandatory dessert was a few bowls of popcorn, which I seasoned with garlic and chili powder. 

It was really good—especially the chili powder.

But, a few handfuls in, I needed my sriracha. I’m a creature of habit. And hot sauce.

Ok, so I wanted to pass along that bloggie award today, but, again, I’ve managed to write a book of post. Any advice on keeping posts shorter? I’m all about constructive criticism, so have at me .

I’m going to leave you with this EVIL picture that my cousin just texted me. He’s visiting my grandparents in Florida and being fed the best food by the world’s greatest cook, a.k.a. Nanny. When we visit, she puts out a wine & cheese, veggie & dip galore for lunch. I was considering going down with him this weekend—but decided to stay in NYC. Here’s to regret.

I’m missing out on: my adorable Nanny & Poppy, and what looks to be lots of fresh fruits, dippable veggies, hummus, guac, salsa, crab dip, FSTG, and Jarlsberg(!) among other cheeses. And that’s just what I spy from this iPhone pic.

I hope all of you are eating well like my Floridian familia and have fun weekend plans!

-Sarah

Playa y sol (*transl: beach & sun) are now out of season

Excuses to eat ice cream just dwindled in reason

As the heat’s no longer an acceptable justification

Can’t claim it’s necessary for the purpose of hydration

Each week from now on, will grow a bit more cool

Oh, we’ll long for the days spent lounging at the pool

Understand, though, that we shan’t cry for summer

The season among us is far from a bummer

Sweaters, pumpkins and apple-picking come with the fall

U might even be excited for Sunday football

Me? I cannot wait for Halloween’s tricks and treats

Moreover, I’m anticipating Thanksgiving day eats

Eager for all this season will bring

Ready for fall; I hear it’s the new spring

If an acrostic rhyming poem dedicated to the change of seasons isn’t proof that unemployment has left me with too much time on my hands, I don’t know what is. But gracias for putting up with my recent poetic musings.

So, if you didn’t get the gist of that terribly cheesy poem, yesterday marked the last day of summer. It was a beautiful 70 degree day in NYC, so, feeling some seasonal nostalgia, I tried to keep my eats summery and fresh.

Onto breakfast, I digress.

I know, I know. I’m a breakfast-repeater. But ever since concocting my Sarah’s Own Fig Newton yogurt, the looming desire to re-create it has been taunting me. Suppressing food fantasies has never been my strength, so I gave in. Here you have my greek yogurt, cinnamon, honey, graham and fresh fig blend in all its secondhand glory.

In an attempt to be artsy (you will learn, I’m not), I captured the red of the apple and the figs. Summery, right?

Or, eerily reminiscent of Pleasantville?

Here’s the full color shot because—while figs certainly are beautiful—it’s the golden-y grahams that make the bowl.

For lunch, I made one of my favorite summery chicken salads.

In the mix: 3 oz. cooked chicken, cubed; 2 big dollops of greek yogurt; celery; handful of grapes; slivered almonds; honey (enough to write your first initial); generous sprinkling of lemon pepper seasoning; salt.

The grapes and almonds do wonders for this chicken salad, and the contrast of the salty lemon-pepper seasoning and sweet honey make magic happen.

Piled high between a rye sandwich thin. A little too high for neat eating. To the rescue, FSTG chips!

Oooh my god. I thought I’d experienced a climactic level of chip-induced ecstasy when I discovered FSTG multigrains. But those geniuses over in FSTG land have outdone their original with The Works. These are perfectly salty and generously seeded—basically an intensified, polished version of the multigrains. If you seek happiness and life fulfillment, buy these chips.

Last night’s dinner was as summery a salad as can be. I benched my current obsession with grilled and roasted veggies in salads—figuring roasted veggies will be plentiful throughout fall—and let the goods flourish in their freshest state.

In the mix: romaine, hard-boiled egg white, celery, shrooms, cherry tomatoes, sweet onion, green pepper, corn, oil-cured olives and sun-dried tomatoes; dressed in my balsamic-honey mix and celery salt.

I played favorites with this corner of the plate, which was hosting a generous offering of my favorite players: sun-dried tomatoes, oil-cured olives and corn. The award-winning bites included all of the above.

Alongside was some whole-wheat pita with pine-nut hummus. The tub of hummus came along for the dinner ride just in case some raw veggies were feeling underdressed.

…which obviously didn’t happen.

I did my best to do dessert in a summery fashion.

But the sodium-fiend in me could not be silenced.

Hot sauce on my thumb… Classy.

When you go through more than a box of popcorn a week, can it be classified as addiction? And by more than a box, I mean, sometimes, two boxes. Por favor, give me some horrifying fact about popcorn that will make me never want to eat it again. Or, help me justify my current over-consumption

Happy first day of fall!

-Sarah