I think my first-day-of-December eats sanction this statement.

I woke up with the always-gratifying feeling of knowing exactly what I wanted for breakfast.

“Pumpkin pie” addiction.

Delicioso as this may be, 1 egg white + 1/2 cup pumpkin + a dollop of greek yogurt does not equate to breakfast.

So I threw together a grande bowl of cereal. This, admittedly, does not fit the Thanksgiving eats theme—but the colors are quite autumnal, aren’t they?

Kashi Honey Sunshine, almond milk, PB chips and a spoonful of cashew butter.

I’m still not feeling the cashew butter. I figured I’d give it another shot, but it’s really too understated a taste for my liking. Very triste.

Luckily, I’d anticipated that it wasn’t going to be any better this time around and included the PB chips for a nut butter boost. Sometimes I’m inteligente.

This desayuno was still wondrous due to my cereal superstar, Honey Sunshine. I’m really not a cereal person, but this better-than-Cap’n Crunch Kashi creation hits the spot every time. The addition of the PB chips took it to a Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch level.

But back to Thanksgiving-esque eats.

Lunch featured my favorite new jelly.

Cranberry pomegranate pepper jelly. Sweet, spicy, pepper seedy seduction. It really needn’t be said, but I’m in love.

Mi amor nuevo played the role of cranberry sauce in this Thanksgiving leftovers-that-didn’t-actually-utilize-any-Thanksgiving-leftovers wrap.

In the whole wheat wrap: thick layer of cream cheese, thicker layer of cranberry pomegranate pepper jelly, honey maple turkey and pumpkin.

This flavor medley was ridiculous. I don’t want Thanksgiving eating to end. Ever.

Afternoon snackage stayed the TG route.   

1 cup applesauce, 1 cup pumpkin, 2 tbsp. maple syrup warmed in the microwave.

AMAZING. Please try this ahora.

What’s that in the center? Oh, just a Food Should Taste Good CINNAMON chip.

Another cosa that your taste buds need to become acquainted with A.S.A.P. These chips seriously taste like churros. I’d intended to eat my pumpkin applesauce with that spoon—but cinnamony churro chips ended up serving that function .

Dinner appears to have nothing to do with Thanksgiving. However, it was an assortment of TG weekend leftovers… so I’m ruling that it fits the theme.

First up: Pearl Room leftovers.

Mucho leftover vegetable risotto.

A tiny bit of hummus salmon.

And to keep things interesante, leftover Chinese.

Peanut chicken and string beans over brown rice from Lai Yuen.

  Sorry for not plating la comida—but I think leftovers taste mucho mejor when eaten straight from the container .

December 1st ended on a similar Thanksgiving note as it began.

What’s under that marshmallow layer?

Mas pumpkin pie, of course.

Except dessert didn’t end there porque…

…when leftover banana strawberry nutella french toast is delivered to your doorstep, you embrace this season of delectable eating and oblige.

And there you have my first-day-of-December, I’m-still-in-a-Thanksgiving-state-of-mind eats.

Lo siento for such a rushed post, but I was busy all day and now I’m rushing off to a hot date with a stunning, snack-loving amiga. I’m sure you’ve got an idea who I’m dining with esta noche .

Amor,

Sarah

I suppose my allegiant consumption of oats and/or yogurt messes every morning would suggest otherwise. But, I’m actually an amateur breakfast aficionada. Throughout high school I was an avid breakfast skipper; in college I progressed to a light breakfast eater. Though, if I forgot to grab my morning yogurt or apple on my way out the door, it was no big deal. I’m just not hungry in the morning.

However, since discovering the creative culinary capabilities that lie in each bowl of oats and container of yogurt, I’ve converted. While I still do not wake up hungry, I do rise with breakfast eagerness and enthusiasm. These days, you couldn’t pay me to skip my beloved B.

Except yesterday, I had to.

And, of course, on the one morning I had to skip breakfast, something extraordinary happened. Yes, I woke up hungry.

So why did I have to forego my a.m. fuel? I had an early appointment for a fitness evaluation at my new gym—and I was told not to eat, drink or exercise an hour beforehand.

In retrospect, I should have skipped the silly evaluation entirely because getting pinched, weighed and hit on all on an empty stomach did not set a good tone for my Monday. During my evaluation, I learned that—in the personal trainer’s words—I have “close to zero percent upper body strength.” And also that I “weigh more than I look.” Lovely.

I was frustrated with this for about 5 minutes until I spoke with one of my friends who pointed out the hilarity and absurdity of having “zero percent upper body strength.”

He queried, “How can you have zero percent upper body strength? That makes me think that you can’t even pick up a spoon. Like if someone asks you to hand them something, you can simply respond: ‘Sorry, can’t. I have zero percent upper body strength.’”

My friend’s sound logic assured me that I must have at least one percent upper body strength, and I’m okay with that.

I moved on to breakfast.

(Yea, when I said I skipped breakfast, I probably should have said I delayed breakfast.)

My appointment was only a half hour, and the moment I got home, I reversed any breakfast skippage.

Con cafe

And a pumpkin duo.

Pumpkie Pie Baked Apple Yogurt

Pumpkin Pie Yogurt (1 container plain greek yogurt, 1/2 cup pumpkin, maple syrup, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice) topped with one chopped, “baked” gala and Fiber One.

It was a wondrous hybrid of pumpkin pie and apple pie—in their most bodacious breakfast form.

After all of your woes with Stonyfield’s Pumpkin Pie flavor, I’ll be sticking to the homemade version—SO GOOD!

My other pumpkin component was an always amazing microwave pumpkin pie. 

I forgot to save some greek yogurt for frosting—so I just threw some maple syrup and cinnamon on top.

These 3-minute-in-the-micro, addictively DELICIOUS pumpkin cakes never cease to astound me. If my weakling arms could lug more than two cans of pumpkin out of the grocery store at a time, I’d live on these.

The pumpkin duo did me well on the breakfast front, so I opted for an apple duo as my on-the-go lunch.

New Zealand Eve apple (type of Braeburn) and TJ’s This Apple Walks Into a Bar

I wasn’t really on-the-go, but I’d made a productivity date with my local Starbucks. I’m not sure why, but I’m a much more efficient writer/to-do list crosser-offer when I’m in a comfy Starbucks.

Maybe they pump a little productivity into the pumpkin spice lattes.

I got non-fat soy pumpkin latte. Iced because NYC brought the beautiful weather again. And grande because I’m an animal, and I can kill a tall in one sip.

I’m too awkward to bust out my camera in busy cafe—so I opted for a little sneaky webcam shot.

Success! As you can see, I was already halfway through my monster grande. ‘Twas perfectly pumpkiny—and definitely productivity prompting! I got mucho accomplished—but efficiency isn’t the only reason I enjoy a good Star$ session. It is, perhaps, one of the best people-watching grounds ever. Or, in yesterday’s case, eavesdropping grounds.

I now present to you, Overheard in Starbucks…

• Middle-aged woman on the phone: “It’s ironic that Pilates rhymes with biscotti.” This woman, much like Alanis, was never taught the proper definition of ironic.
• 20-something chica on a coffee date with cute boy: “Yea, I really want to see ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’ I heard it’s really gory, but Brad Pitt is supposed to be amazing!” Seriously? Who confuses Where the Wild Things Are with Inglourious Basterds? Poor cute boy.
• 80-year-old lady to her 85-year-old lady friend: “See you tomorrow, sex pot!” I liked her.
• 6-year-old to her mother: “Why can’t I drink coffee? Is there wine in it?” I really liked her.

I adore entertaining people.

After returning home from Starbucks, I felt sort of gypped in the lunch department. (I’m really not a bar person.) So, I made a quickie turkey and cheese sandwich.

I really wanted a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich—but neither toasters nor microwaves can produce those. So, I settled on a double vegan cheese turkey sandwich. Now there’s a little irony for you.

I’m really loving this vegan cheese; it’s thicker and gets more melty than standard deli American slices.

Dinner included one sliced cucumber marinated in a balsamic, honey and krazy salt combo for 24 hours.

Gah, I LOVE salty and sweet.

I also created the best bowl of savory oats. EVER.

Double Cheesy Egg Scrambly Oats

• I cooked 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats in 1 and 1/4 cup water and salt for 2 minutes. I then added a chopped up Laughing Cow wedge, and heated for an additional minute.
• In a separate bowl, I microwaved spinach, cherry tomatoes and 3 egg whites and another Laughing Cow for 3 minutes—stopping after each minute to stir.
• Plop cheesy veggie-packed eggs over cheesy oats. Top with sriracha. And devour the creamiest, cheesiest, most flavorful bowl of savory oats EVER.

No really, look at that corner. You can see the Laughing Cow melted into the oats.

I kid you not. I oohed and aaahed at every single bite. I’m going to do my best to keep switching things up—but this is, perhaps, my greatest microwave discovery. I’m fairly certain I could be completely content solely eating bowls of this and that microwave pumpkin pie. 

As in, I really wish I hadn’t just eaten lunch. Yo quiero esto ahora!

I didn’t think I’d have room for dessert, but alas…

My last bag of Kettle Corn—doused in cinnamon, brown sugar and salt. I’m curious to see how long I can go before giving in and restocking my microwaveable popcorn stash. If I can make it through the week, I will be thoroughly impressed.

Preguntas: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve overheard in a cafe? Also, are you a breakfast person? If so, have you always been one?

Adios,

-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

(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

A wonderful weekend came and went;

As always, I ate to my heart’s content

These edible discoveries I now shall vent

During this perfectly tempered NYC weekend, I discovered…

-When you whine about NYC weather, it refutes your bad mouthing with a beautiful 70 degree weekend—necessitating you to, once more, revert back to iced coffee.

No complaints.

-When an Egg McMuffin craving cannot be kicked because (a) it is past 11 a.m. or (b) you don’t want your tombstone to read “Death By Golden Arches,” a homemade version works nicely.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. WW english muffin toasted; 2 egg whites microwaved (never did this before! they were good!); ketchup & an American deli slice. 99.9% less likely to be your cause of death than McD’s version.

-Another homemade sandwich of sorts: Graham cracker ice cream sandwiches > those incredible little stick-to-your-fingers chocolate ones from your childhood.

This is saying a lot because those were great.

-Roasted figs with roquefort and maple syrup: !!!!!!!!

I followed this recipe but substituted maple syrup for the honey. This flavor combo was muy bueno and gave me a new appreciation for figs.

-Another figgie foray: Frozen figs.

I discovered this unique approach to fig consumption from Lynn. Me gusta. Frozen figs are the new frozen grapes.

-Zucchini cheetahs + sun-dried tomato tapenade=happy together. 

-SAVORY OATS!

I know I’m really behind on this one, but I’d never made savory oats until this weekend. However, I can say with fair certainty that I’m addicted.

I followed Bittman’s approach to savory oats for my premiere bowl. I used 1/2 cup Irish oats cooked in 1 cup water, seasoned with 2 tbsp. soy sauce & salt. On top went spinach sauteed in garlic & soy sauce, grilled mushrooms and roasted red peppers.

I kid you not, I have never enjoyed a bowl of oats so much. I don’t know why it took me so long to test the savory oats waters because I’m a steadfast salty over sweet girl. I do fear that I will now—with dual loves for sweet oat breakfasts and savory oat dinners—OD on oats. Sort of looking forward to it.

-My first homemade veggie burgers!

Again, a little behind the pack on this one. But I’ve always had such love for Dr. P that I’ve foregone making my own.

I followed this recipe—only because it called for instant oatmeal. (I’m trying to work my way through a never-ending stash that I haven’t touched since discovering oat bran and irish oats.)

I used black beans instead of garbanzos, and brown rice instead of barley.

This was the mix before adding the veggies. I won’t lie; I had several uncooked bites, and they were delicious.

I baked half, and pan-fried half.

The baked took the cake.

SO GOOD. I LOVED the soy sauce & brown rice combo. I’m proud of these because they were my firsts—but I definitely think I’ll outdo them once I experiment a bit. I really want to try this recipe using Soy Vay instead of soy sauce. Mmmm.

-Starbucks was incorrecto. I could definitely taste the difference between VIA and regular.

I intensely dislike Starbucks brewed coffee, so I thought they both tasted nasty. But, if you are a Starbucks lover, VIA’s taste isn’t that different from the brewed garbage goods.

The rest of the weekend’s discoveries were made at yesterday’s Third Avenue Festival—a street fair in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

I was accompanied by Miss Gigi and spent the day discovering that…

-She really does look like Dora.

-Five-year-olds come up with hysterical reasons why you can’t do/eat things that aren’t of interest to them.

For example…

When I showed interest in giving these lonely masseurs something to do…

Gigi said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. They might break you.”

When I was looking at some ceramic, I was suddenly less delicate…

Gigi warned me, “We should go now. You might break something. And then you’ll go to jail.”

And lastly, when I suggested that we get some roasted sweet corn,

Gigi—whose attention was more grabbed by the funnel cake & ice cream stands—explained that “since our parents let us have corn at home, we should eat other stuff while they’re not here.” (She doesn’t understand that I’m an adult; she frequently refers to me as a teenager. I don’t ever correct her.)

Oh, she also kindly advised me, “If you get corn stuck in your teeth, you’ll never find a husbamd.” Punk.

-I also learned that when you promise a kid a cupcake, you have to deliver.

So, if you forget about said promise and accidently get ice cream…

…and are dealing with a sneaky 5-year-old who will down that ice cream

…and THEN remind you of your cupcake promise, you have to get clever.

And find the world’s tiniest cupcake.

As payback for her sneakiness (and that husband comment), I now present to you a highly entertaining Gigi Eats Cupcake montage:

Proud to call her family.

Hope that helped move your Monday along—or at least made you laugh.

As Dora would say,  Buenos dias!

-Sarah

Just joshing, but I couldn’t resist the allure of alliteration…

Despite my love for food—actually, due to my love for food—my immersion into fitness occurred many light years ago. However, yesterday’s still unbeknownst-to-you foodie first does involve fitness. Since I know you’re such loyal readers who won’t scroll down to find out, I’ve decided to unveil my fitness first after sharing one of my all-time favorite lunches. A little suspense—especially the kind complemented by food photos—is good for the mind, right?

Yesterday’s lunch was one of my go-to meals during my college cafeteria days. Before you shun it in fear that all things college cause an automatic 15-pound weight gain, this sandwich is actually a healthier take on a popular deli fave: the egg salad sandwich.

For an eggaholic, I’ve always been sort of on-the-fence about egg salad. In theory, turning one of my favorite foods into a convenient sandwich stuffer seems foolproof. But most deli mixes host an ungodly amount of mayo—one ingredient I can only appreciate in the most modest doses. That said, when my college roommate introduced me to her version of an egg salad sandwich—sans egg yolk, light on the mayo and heavy on the deliciousness—I quickly developed an addiction.

D.I.Y. Egg Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:

-Whole wheat bread or sandwich thin, toasted

-1 tbsp. light mayo

-2 hardboiled eggs, yolks removed

-salt, pepper and paprika

For the easiest and most delicious egg salad remix you will develop an addiction to ever taste, smear the mayo lightly on each piece of bread. Pile up sliced egg whites on one half. Add your seasonings. Devour.

Disclaimer: You will not be able to eat standard egg salad after experiencing this egg-white extraordinaire.

Shortly after lunch, during a standard BBM-your-day-away session, I made evening plans with a friend to embark on a fitness first. What fitness activity involves the month of September?

You got it. Yoga! (If you didn’t know, September is National Yoga Awareness Month.) I’ve always written yoga off as something that simply wasn’t for me. I’m a really fast-paced person, and the idea of doing non-cardio exercise that requires mind relaxation—a concept pretty foreign to me—just seemed like a bad fit.

I’ve always viewed exercise through cardio-goggles—perpetually favoring fast-paced, efficient running or elliptical workouts over strength training, toning or balance exercises. However, after two stress fractures within the past year along with a current mysterious hip injury, I’ve been in an on-and-off fitness rut. Left unable to run and without a gym membership, I figured now may be the perfect time to embrace non-impact, non-cardio exercise.

And so, yesterday, I decided to stop all my yoga-shunning and give it a shot. My friend and I decided on an 8 p.m. 90-minute Bikram class—before which you aren’t supposed to eat for 3-4 hours. I got some pre-yoga snacking in around 5 because I knew I wouldn’t live to see a 10 p.m. dinner without a little fuel.

…which came in the form of PB of course. (Yea, I gave my teddy graham a PB George Washington wig. He liked it.)

Balanced out with some fruity fuel.

So how did I fare in this fitness first? I don’t know if it’s too soon to drop the L-bomb, but I’m going with it. I love yoga! I don’t know how I’d feel about the more meditation-oriented forms, but I really enjoyed Bikram. It was definitely a challenge, and I was, by no means, able to do all of the positions. But I felt so great during and after the class.

I bought a one-week unlimited introductory pass, and I’m challenging myself to go every day this week to really get a feel for this yoga thing! I don’t want to sing my yoga praises too loudly since I’ve only completed one class, but I’ll definitely keep you posted on my amateur ventures into Yogiland.

By the time I got home and showered, it was already 10:30 p.m. Yoga—perhaps it’s just the Bikram—left me less than hungry, but I wanted to throw together a quick dinner.

I settled on the always-unglamorous canned soup

along with leftover mashed butternut squash.

Five minutes on the stove and two minutes in the microwave… and voila! The least attractive but most efficient 10:30 p.m. dinner was served.     

I may or may not have hit up some ice cream straight out of the carton—for efficiency purposes of course…

I’m really excited to try yoga again today! This one’s for my Yogis: Any tips or advice for a newbie? Non-yogis: What’s held you back from trying yoga? Or if you’ve tried it and not gotten into it, what didn’t you like?

Namaste ,

-Sarah

My fall awakening: This morning was the first in months that I woke up and didn’t have to make the usually difficult decision between hot or cold coffee. When iced coffee stops sounding good to me, I know fall has, uh, fallen upon us.

So I went for a fall-friendly, fuming cup o’ J—a little heavy on the cinnamon, but I’m pretty sure that just added to its fall-ish goodness.

One breakfast that always reminds me of fall is…

Apples & Cinnamon oatmeal. Though I have a never-ending supply of this in mi casa, I figured I’d save these for on-the-go meals or, more likely, for my lazy sister who would likely starve at college if not for instant oatmeal. So I opted for a D.I.Y. apples and cinnamon oatmeal bran.

I introduced the headliners:

Which ended up looking like this:

1/2 cup oat bran, 1 cup water, vanilla extract and cinnamon

And this:

Apples never tasted so good. I cut up a large Granny Smith, threw a little almond milk in the bowl and sprinkled with cinnamon before microwaving for 90 seconds. Baked apples in 90 seconds? Who knew?

After being separated for independent preparation, I reintroduced the stars of my b-fast…

Apples & Cinnamon oat bran > Apples & Cinnamon instant oatmeal. Duh.

This was the perfect fall into fall breakfast, and I kept with the theme for lunch.

Since I was determined to make a dent in my butternut squash leftovers, I decided to use it in a warm veggie-packed pita. I’ve actually done this before—and it woos me every time: using steamed b-nut squash as a spread.

After laying down some French onion LC, I spooned the steamed squash into the WW pita and mashed it down.

Then came the zucchini layer(s).

My logic here: winter squash + summer squash = a fall squash medley.

Next came the onions—which I cut up and zapped in the microwave for a minute til they were perfectly soft.

All together now…

It ended up being a pretty full pita. The first half held up well, but pita-half numero dos sort of fell apart—which was actually fortunate because it prompted me to do this…

Yes, that’d be the addition of honey mustard, which not only added another fall hue but also boosted this pita’s yum factor.

Meals like these—along with busting out the oversized sweaters and boots—make me so happy that fall is here! What are your go-to fall foods?

-Sarah