I try not to talk politics on here, but this issue must be addressed. There is currently an entire nation of foodies being inhumanely deprived of a concise, incomparably descriptive, fun-to-say word for those who love food. Think of the liberation and pride that would sweep España if food-loving Spaniards could stand up and proclaim: Yo soy un foodie. Think of how many sentences could be shortened if there existed a single word for una persona que le encanta comida (one who loves food).

That said, I hereby request that the Spanish Ministry of Diccionarios instate an español version of the word “foodie.”

End scene. Let’s get to Monday’s eats.

I received the following right-to-the-point e-mail from my lovely cousin Christina last week:

You should try chocolate chips, and marshmallows in your oats, and put gram crackers on top.

Not one to disregard delicious-sounding breakfast suggestions, I heeded Christina’s advice. Except, in an attempt to infuse this decadent bowl of oats with a little protein, I subbed her chocolate chips with chocolate nut butter.

Specifically, Nature’s Promise chocolate soynut butter.

I dipped into this last week and really did not enjoy it—but I figured I’d give it another shot.

Realizing that my chocolate substitute had the power make or break my breakfast, I had a spoonful straight-up to test its oat worthiness.

It failed. No me gusta. This nut butter wasn’t bad in the “this really isn’t what I was expecting” way, as was the case with cashew butter. It was bad in the “I need to spit this out right now” way. It tasted like a chalky, oily, unsweetened Nutella knock-off.

Definitely not oat-worthy.

And so I turned to the tried-and-true chocolate Better N’ PB.

S’mores Oats (a.k.a. S’moats)

In the oat bowl: 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1 cup water and 1/2 thinly sliced banana. Topped with crushed graham crackers, marshmallows and spoonful of chocolate BNPB.

This was fantastic. It was difficult to delegate marshmallow distribution throughout the bowl—but this just made for some incredible marshmallow madness bites.

While this was certainly a decadent way to start the day, it definitely wasn’t as filling as my standard oat bowls. I think I usually bulk up my oats with more nut butter and fruit.

When I realized I needed s’more comida, I turned to an old favorite for breakfast part dos.

Greek yourt + raspberry preserves.

So sweet and simple and satisfying.

Lunch delivered something else I’ve desperately needed s’more of.

Vegetables! Ever since Thanksgiving (and discovering my taste for chocolate), I have been lagging with my fruit and veggie consumption. So, I got in my greens with some split pea sopa.

I tried Dr. McDougall’s split pea soup for the first time last week, and I wasn’t crazy about it. However, I had another box, and, as was the case with the chocolate soynut butter, I was willing to give it another chance.

I’m going to have to stop doing that.

Like the nut butter, this was no better the second time around. Unlike the nut butter, it was edible.

Especially with the edition of these.

Love soggy croutons in soup!

I’m probably being a little harsh with the sopa trash-talking, but split pea is my favorite soup. And the thing I love most about it is its thick texture. Dr. McDougall’s version was sort of watery—with an occasion clump of pea/lentil thickness.

I did think the flavor was great, and I managed to clean the bowl. But, if you’re looking for canned split pea soup, Amy’s is so much better.

On the side, I had a toasted sandwich thin, garlic bread-ified with a smear of butter and minced garlic.

(The creepy yellow hue on the distant half comes from margarine. Gross, but I finished my butter stick on the first half, and was up against the dreadful nasty-butter-substitute-or-no-butter-at-all wall.)

Snack time featured un plato of mixed nuts, dark chocolate chips and a hermit. That lone hermit is a little misleading. Several más were had because I don’t think it’s humanly possible to just eat one. If you’ve done this, you deserve a prize.

Enjoyed atop mi laptop as I weekend recapped.

I got s’more veggies in during dinner.

Toaster green cheetahs.

Again, I cannot wait for the return of oven green cheetahs.

I found myself in a muy Mediterranean mood, so I ran with it.

Ensalada Mediterránea

In the mix: baby spinach, feta, olives, cucumbers, celery, cherry tomatoes, balls and hummus; dressed in celery salt and the usual honey-balsamic blend.

Meatless meatballs aren’t so Meditteranean, but they were amazing, as always. And I pretended they were falafel balls.

Needless to say, that dollop of Sabra only left me wanting más.

So más was had.

Con warmed whole wheat pita and queso americano.

This pita was so good! I get my pita from the local produce store because they bake it in-house, and when you get a fresh batch, you get a fresh batch. So soft and doughy.

Still, as with the meatless balls, I used my imagination and pretended it was the best pita bread ever.

I guess breakfast left me wanting s’more (I promise, I’m done after that one) because dessert was desayuno-inspired.

Baked S’mores!

You don’t see any chocolate—because there wasn’t any.

I eat my s’mores chocolate-less.

And, though I’ve realized my developing fondness for the dark stuff, there are certain chocolate-less creations I’ve no desire to change.

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

Speaking of nut butters, Monday morning welcomed a peanut butter first.

After a few cups of cinnamon swirly java, I tried a beloved blogland breakfast that, I’m sure, all of you have had many times by now.

Oats in a jar!

Proof that I am a behind-the-times blogger: I hadn’t tried overnight oats ‘til last week, and I hadn’t utilized an almost-empty jar as an oatmeal bowl ‘til yesterday! Ay, dios…

When I noticed my current jar of peanut butter nearing its end, I seized la oportunidad. Into the jar went 1/3 cup quick-cooking Irish oatmeal—cooked in almond milk, sweetened with maple syrup and topped with raspberry preserves.

Because there was a good amount of peanut butter coating the sides of the jar, I let the steamy oats melt the PB walls by returning the lid for 5 minutes and then violently passionately shaking the jar.

The result was PB & J oats in their most divine form. I think it was a combination of the glorious chewiness of Irish oatmeal and the mouth-watering meltiness of the peanut butter.

Hated it.

As I wrote up my Nutridel review (which you can read here, if you missed it), I had an almond Nutridel cookie topped with cream cheese and jelly.

Before:

After:

I can’t decide if I think the before or after shot is more mouth-watering. I suppose beauty’s in the eye of the beholder. What do you think? Does food look more appetizing when it’s well put-together or messy?

Lunch brings us to the tehehehini title of this post.

What ingredient made it into almost everything I ate for the rest of the day?

You guessed it.

I’ve always thought it was spelt tahini, but I’ve seen several brands spell it this way. Anyone know the explanation behind this spelling discrepancy? Merriam goes with tahini—but  maybe tehina is the authentic Mediterranean spelling? It’s really not normal that this is bothering me.

Anyway, lunch. I toasted a rye sandwich thin and topped half with tahini/tehina and crumbled feta before broiling for 2 minutes.

I topped the other half with one of my homemade rice & bean veggie burgers (which I’d frozen a couple of weeks ago) and roasted red peppers.

I heated it in the toaster for 10 minutes at 450°—and it tasted just as great. ¡Éxito! (That’s success en español.)

I had some pre-made frozen sweet potato fries with honey mustard on the side.

All together now.

Burger and fries? So not a me lunch—but it was delicious.

At some point in the day, I stumbled upon this New York Times article featuring—what do you know?—tahini. (By the way, I am going to spell it this way for the remainder of this post—because if Martha Rose Shulman says tahini, I’ll take her word.)

Shulman says she prefers tahini to nut butter as a toast topping—which I can’t say I agree with—but I took this feature as a sign from the holy food disciples that I should continue on with my tahini eats.

Plus, Shulman highlighted its health benefits: copper, manganese, calcium (mi favorito), iron, B1 and dietary fiber. Me gusta.

Dinner started with a big ensalada featuring a variation of last week’s hummus-baked chicken.

This time, I coated the chicken in tahini and then broiled the pieces for 7 minutes.

Again, SO GOOD.

In the mix: lots o’ mixed greens, string beans, red onion, 1/2 avocado, celery, roasted red peppers and tahini chicken—dressed in celery salt & honey balsamic.

The trifecta: tahini chicken, roasted red pepper and Haas avocado.

This avocado was extraordinarily creamy and flavorful. I know this is sort of blasphemous to admit in blogland, but I don’t love avocados.  I definitely don’t dislike them. And I do eat them frequently—but this is mostly for their nutritional benefits. In general, I find their flavor a little underwhelming. If you hate me for this, you should redirect your attention to another blogger who hates pumpkin…

Dinner’s other components were sort of random—but such is life sans a kitchen.

Flax toast with melted Jarlsberg (BEST CHEESE EVER), roasted red pepper and a tahini stripe.

Tahiiiiniiii. I think you’re the new hummus.

Ok, I take that back. But it’s a close second.

The only tahini-less dinner side was steamed green beans (by steamed, I obviously mean microwaved) topped with garlic powder and sriracha.

And because the sriracha spiciness necessitated a cold cooldown…

Vanilla fro-yo with Newman’s Own Organics mini pretzels and a Hermit.

Oooh my god. Hermits! How have I never discovered these before? They are like little bars of gingerbready, figgy goodness! I don’t care to show you the dent I’ve made in the box I only opened this weekend. I will say I’m addicted.

The fro-yo felt so good on my still sickish throat. And though I’ve still not fully recuperated from whatever stubborn flu-like illness has invaded mi vida, I’ve decided that (a) I am feeling much better and (b) I’m going to stop being a baby and just pretend I’m fully well in hopes that it’ll come true.

Before I go, una pregunta.

I may or may not be in the process of conjuring up a magnificent giveaway for next month. What would you love to win in a giveaway?

-Sarah

I kicked off Tuesday morning—a.k.a. the first day of fall!—with my favorite autumn drank—chai tea, with a little creamer & honey.

I developed an innocent addiction to Starbucks’ vanilla chai lattes during college, so I do my best to re-create it sans the creepy powder they use. Not saying I don’t enjoy Starbucks’ version in all its artificial glory, on occasion

I intended for the chai to be my coffee replacement, but I ended up succumbing to my caffeine cravings and having a cup. I’m still bitter about the whole burnt tongue thing, so I’m not giving coffee art any spotlight until I’ve gotten over its seductive trickery.

For breakfast, I was on a mission to get creative with my oat bran for Ms. PB’s Best Of Oats week. And, I must say, my visionary breakfast brilliance came out in full force. If you are hungry, on a diet or currently dissatisfied with your lunch, I suggest you stop reading now. If not, I present to you…

Boston Creme Oat Bran

I can’t remember the last time I had a doughnut. Oh, wait… But, in all seriousness, I rarely eat doughnuts. Partially because I don’t want to die of a heart-attack at my ripe young age, and partially because they simply aren’t my favorite dessert. I do, however, have a resilient love for Boston creme doughnuts. I can pass up the fried dough, but I’m a sucker for creme fillings. (Do I even have to say it? Okay, TWSS.)

So there lies my inspiration for this decadent DPAAB (dessert parading around as breakfast, if you missed inception of that acronym). She’s beautiful, isn’t she?

I brewed my oat bran on the stove with: 1/3 cup oat bran, 1 cup water, salt, 1/2 banana sliced thinly, vanilla extract and truvia. Then, I topped it with several dollops of cheesecake pudding and drizzled a packet of Dark Chocolate Dreams.

The cheesecake pudding was pre-made and organic (thereby healthier, right? ), and I had a sample packet of PB&Co’s Dark Chocolate Dreams. I’d never tried either product prior to this breakfast, but their presence in this particular creation was clutch, for lack of a better word.

I’m quite sure cereal for breakfast is never going to cut it after experiencing this.

I fall-ified Monday’s dinner by making a roasted veggie salad for lunch.

In the mix: spring greens, sun-dried tomatoes, oil-cured olives, grilled shrooms, roasted cherry tomatoes, grilled onions, celery, corn and grilled chicken. Dressed, as usual, in balsamic + honey and celery salt.

My ode to summer salad was good, but I really prefer cooked veggies in salads. Halfway through, I remembered that I have an ungodly amount of hummus to get through.

Those added dollops were the perfect complement to the roasted veggies & balsamic dressing. I always forget how amazing the hummus + salad combo is.

Since there was SO much hummus to be had, I busted out my favorite pretzels, Snyder’s Organic Oat Bran.

I was never a “pretzel person” ‘til I tried these. I usually eat them straight up, but my go-to dips, as of late, are cream cheese and hummus. Neither ever disappoints.

For dinner, I made a mediterranean salad that Tina featured last week. I halved the original recipe since it serves 10—but I used the full amount of artichokes and onions since I had a lot on hand.  I also used red potatoes instead of gold yukons. 

Last night’s perfect bite: sauteed pepper, onion, roasted red potato, artichoke and kalamata olive. I can’t pretend I didn’t strategically get all those goods onto the fork, but ‘twas a magical bite, indeed.

As usual, I made a notable effort to eat fruit for dessert.

I do love dinosaur plums. But, one of the perks drawbacks of decadent breakfasts: their taste lingers. A.k.a., I had puddin’ on the brain.

Since it was cheesecake pudding, I had to top it with grahams for an as-close-to-the-real-thing experience.

I may have just discovered my second favorite dessert to cheesecake. As in, I sort of want to crumble an entire box of graham crackers into that pudding container and have my way with it. I won’t, scout’s honor.

Before I go, I wanted to let you all know how my one-week foray into yoga went. If my limerick and expressed enthusiasm didn’t give it away, I LOVED YOGA!

I only ended up going five out of the planned seven days because of unfortunate fullness and quite fortunate Rosh Hashanah celebrations. But I actually think that was a good thing because the soreness was getting pretty intense. During my last class on Sunday, I got the Brooklyn Yogi again—who was equally as hilarious and obnoxiously Brooklyn-y. But the class was the most intense and rewarding of all the ones I went to it.

Having not done yoga for two days now, I’m craving it. I think one of the reasons I like yoga so much is because it’s so different from any other form of exercise I’ve ever tried out. I think that I, like most people, view exercise from a results-based perspective. We exercise to improve or maintain our health, appearance, fitness level, etc. The results-oriented aspect of yoga was so different than running or any other cardio exercise I’ve tried. I was drawn to yoga for the way it made me feel as I was going through the motions, not for the results that were to come. I’ve never felt so present or engaged during exercise before, and I loved that. What are the benefits you reap from your exercise method of choice?

From a physical standpoint, even after one week, I feel stronger and more stretched-out than I’ve ever felt before. As a prior yoga-skeptic, I’m thoroughly impressed.

I haven’t yet figured out where I’ll go with yoga from here. A monthly pass to the studio is really expensive—more than double what it costs for a membership at a premium NYC gym. So I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a membership to a gym that has yoga classes. I’m not sure if I’d enjoy standard yoga as much as Bikram because I really liked the heat component. Any thoughts on getting a gym membership versus sticking strictly to yoga?

Happy hump day

-Sarah

Of this I was reminded during yesterday’s encounter with coffee art. As I creepily creatively gazed into the motions of my morning J, the enchanting swirls beckoned me to take a sooner-than-usual sip. Curious to taste the talent in the midst of its performance, I obliged.

Bad call.

Coffee—even the most alluringly elegant cups—should never be consumed a mere 30 seconds after being brewed. Never.

My preemptive sip left me a scorned woman with a very burnt tongue. I sought out the quickest remedy I could think of, which came in the form of a heaping spoonful of vanilla bean ice cream.

Mucho mejor—still a little upset with my coquette of a coffee cup—but ready to take on breakfast.

I’d already decided on my main ingredient

el bran muffin. I love muffins (you know it’s coming… TWSS), but I am a discriminatory lover of only the tops. So my master plan was to crumble the toasted muffin top over plain greek yogurt, and perhaps jazz it up with a little PB.

Well, I had to abort breakfast Plan A when I realized this was all that was left in my greek yogurt container.

That, my friends, is a dollop (it weirdly looks like a lot in the picture, but I assure you it was a measly amount) , not the bountiful base required to craft my conjured up branny breakfast.

However, all thanks to the lingering taste of vanilla bean still cooling my wounded tongue, I came up with a better-than-Plan-A Plan B.

That’s right.

Muffin Top (the kind you eat, not the kind you get from eating) Ice Cream.

PB included. If you recall last weekend’s discovery that ice cream is an acceptable part of a healthy breakfast—for its calcium—I am happy to report that Ice Cream For Breakfast Part Dos supports that finding. For validity and accuracy purposes, I implore you all to test my hypothesis and report back .

I did make an effort to balance things out by throwing a few banana slices and cinnamon on my yogurt dollop for a breakfast dessert. A little backwards, but it worked.

I ate a light-ish lunch exactly 3 hours before yoga, in an attempt to avoid the nausea I felt during Wednesday’s class.

Egg white omelet with American, broccoli and roasted cherry toms. And, of course, sriracha.

I usually consider the cheesiest bites the best, but I sort of played favorites with the roasted cherry tomatoes during the consumption of this particular omelet.

Fast forward three hours. I’m supposed to be sitting in a 105 degree room, but my crazy body was somehow still ridiculously full from an omelet and half a pita. Loco.

That—followed by a pretty loud and painful hip pop—tore me away from my yoga streak. I was kind of cranky because I’ve been on a legitimate yoga high—but I didn’t feel like introducing my undigested omelet to a 105 degree room full of well-digested people just trying to get their yoga on.

As dinner came, crankiness went.

What appears to be a standard grilled chicken breast…

is actually grilled chicken stuffed with feta, oil-cured olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

Probably one of my favorite flavor combinations ever. You will learn that I’m mildly obsessed with both olives and sun-dried tomatoes. So, whenever they combine forces, I achieve a very distinct, unmatched level of elation.

Along for the ride: a few sweet potato fries (I may have burned the rest…) and olive oil & garlic couscous.

‘Twas a delicious dinner. And since I began my day with dessert, I called it my last meal .

I’m off to kick off the Jewish New Year—Rosh Hashanah—with la familia. A.K.A. Sunday’s weekend recap will feature some drool-worthy eats.

L’shana tova to any of you who are also celebrating the new year!

-Sarah

There once was a man named Bikram

Whose practice I tried out on a whim

Though I’m feeling quite sore

I understand its allure

For yoga’s sore beats the bore of the gym

And that was my roundabout, limericky way of telling you that Wednesday morning delivered just as much soreness as Tuesday’s. And that I liked it? Perhaps it’s because exercise hasn’t made me this sore in a while, but I’m sort of taking pleasure in the discomfort. Now that I officially sound like a masochist, let’s redirect our attention to yesterday’s eats.

Hump day kicked off with some coffee art.

I want to assure you that the above montage is one cup of coffee, not four. Given my current state of soreness and, uh, the whole 90 minutes a day in a 105 degree room thing, I’m not trying to further dehydrate my body with my typical “I lose count of how many cups I’ve had” coffee habit.

After my java-fix, I went on to break-ify one of my favorite childhood snacks:  Fig Newtons. While other kids indulged in Mallomars and Moon Pies, I had a serious thing for the Newtons. I’ve still not gotten over them entirely, but these days—when the reminiscent craving hits—I go for the hydrogenated oil-free Newman’s Own version. That said, I present to you…

Newman’s Sarah’s Own Fig Newton Yogurt

1 cup of plain greek yogurt, sweetened with honey and cinnamon + fresh figs

+ 1.5 graham crackers, which—if you’re lucky like me—will be the last of your bag and make for easy, mess-free crushing

=

Sarah’s Own Fig Newton Yogurt! That bodacious breakfast bowl took me right back to my childhood love affair…

I can’t lie and say that once you mix it all together it tastes just like a Fig Newton. Because—let’s face it—Fig Newtons do not contain grahams, yogurt or fresh figs. But it was an absolutely delicious blend of figgy flavor.

And I “mmmmmmmm”-ed at every single bite.

I ate my lunch in two parts in an attempt to not be too full for my 6 p.m. yoga class.

Warning: Lunch Part I looks a whole lot like breakfast—but I assure you, it’s a different fig-imbued bowl.

It is, however, nearly identical to last week’s “fruit cereal.”

In the mix: ginormous Ginger Gold apple, 2 fresh figs, raisins, dried cherries, slivered almonds, ground flax, cinnamon and almond milk.

All the usual suspects with one “fruit cereal”-changing ingredient: dried cherries.

These added so much flavor to a bowl I’d previously deemed perfection. I stand corrected. “Fruit cereal” featuring dried cherries = perfection. If you’ve not yet jumped on this bandwagon, I urge you to board promptly.

Warning #2: Lunch Part II is not nearly as attractive as Lunch Part I.

Warmed Granny Smith +

Warm cream cheese-packed WW pita =

Something not nearly as delicious as I’d imagined. Foodie foul.

If you recall, this past weekend, I discovered that sliced apples, LC and warmed WW pita are a delectable combo. So, cream cheese lover and baked apple feind that I am, I envisioned a warmed-up, cream-cheesy remix that would put my prior concoction to shame.

Erroneous on all accounts. While the cream cheese + apple flavor combo was on point, the “baked apple” got too mushy for a warm pita to handle, and things got pretty messy. Still, it was an edible mess—i.e. I cleaned the plate… but only because I needed pre-yoga fuel .

***

Foodie’s Foray into Yoga – Day 3

Yesterday’s class was the most challenging yet. It may be due to my soreness, but the stretches felt so much deeper than they did during my first two classes. I also got a lot of personal attention during last night’s class because there were only six of us. The accent-less (phew!) Brooklyn instructor gave me a lot of guidance on the proper form of each pose—which was really helpful because I could definitely feel my body working harder once I was doing the pose correctly.

It was also more challenging because I got nauseated (thanks, grammar lesson from Prof. SnackFace) throughout last night’s class. I have a feeling this had to do with lunch Part II being consumed a little less than three hours before class. When doing Bikram, you aren’t supposed to eat for 3-4 hours before class. I’ve been struggling to eat the right amount—and at the right time—so I don’t get hungry before class nor do I go to class too full. I probably should’ve skipped my failure of a lunch part dos because yesterday I definitely got to class too full. No bueno, people.

Still, if my limerick didn’t give it away, I am still loving yoga. I’ll do a full re-cap at the end of my one week challenge, but for now:

Day 3 verdict: Though my body feels like it endured the Battle of Saratoga, this foodie’s falling head over heels for yoga .

(While I warned you that I have a tendency to speak in poem, I never claimed to be good at it…)

***

Dinner last night was the monster salad I’d planned on eating Tuesday night before my chicken-craving hit.

In the mix: chopped romaine, grilled chicken, grilled & marinated mushrooms, grilled onions, grilled peppers, roasted cherry tomatoes, oil-cured black olives and feta.

You’ll notice a whole lot of grilled in there because, as I’ve said before, I love salads with grilled veggies.

One unusual suspect in last night’s salad was:

I almost never put feta in salads. I don’t know why, but I’m really not wooed by the cheese in salad thing. However, I realized that I currently have an abundance of feta cheese…

So I went with it. And, I wont lie, it was a wonderful little addition.

Another component worth pointing out is…

Though these resemble something that might be force-fed to Survivor contestants, they’re actually oil-cured olives. My favorite. Seriously, you can add them to anything or eat them straight-up. They do not disappoint. Ever. (I always weird myself out when I get that dramatic about food—but I’m being entirely serious.)

Oh, and that brown drizzle you see, that’d be my super simple honey balsamic dressing. 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar mixed with 1/2 tablespoon honey. It’s pretty amazing—and seriously simple.

The best part about eating salad for dinner is (usually) having room for dessert—which came in the form of my previous PB discovery…

Really, I only ate this since I didn’t give you guys a picture last time, and I figured you might need some visual incentive to take the PB&Popcorn leap. Although, probably not…

Happy Office-watching!

-Sarah