The Lost Weeknight

Heya! So, this is going to be kind of a weird post (you'll find out why by the end); I apologize in advance if it's a little irritating, but sometimes these things just happen.

I went to Starbucks with Greg and got a tall Berry Chai. It's been awhile since Greg's graced Lilveggiepatch, so here's a nice little shot:


The tea was great, but it kept getting on my face! Every few minutes or so Greg would rub his nose and go, "Katie. Your nose has red stuff. Like Rudolph."

I had some free time today so I finally got to whip up an item I've been eying for awhile: Veggie Girl's Fig and Almond Blondies. I made a couple edits to her recipe for economic reasons (I already had Greek yogurt so I didn't buy soy, I used almond milk, etc.), but I followed her instructions to the T. All I had to buy were the

My health food store didn't have black mission figs, so I used plain old California dried.


Let me tell you, I have a whole new respect for miss VG! "Finely chopping" these guys takes a lot of elbow grease, and you can see that my chunks are pretty big.


All the ingredients look so nice together. Look at all those textures!


And my reward:



These were seriously (seriously, Meredith) some of the best things I've ever baked. These are definitely a keeper, and I can see them being a stand-in for my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Squares.


So, for the past few years, since our favorite Chinese restaurant changed management, I have been on a quest for cold sesame noodles that taste like cold sesame noodles and not a greasy mess. I've been meaning to try Hungry Girl's version for a long time, and tonight was the night.


I adapted it a little (for example, eliminating Splenda):

1 package Shirataki angel hair noodles
1 tbsp + 1 tsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp almond milk
2 tbsp chopped chives
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp honey

Rinse and dry shirataki noodles; pat dry. Microwave noodles for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of ingredients. Pour over noodles and mix well. Chill for at least one hour (or cheat and put it in the freezer). Serve and enjoy!

So, on to the mystery of tonight: Ari and I have been planning on going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for quite some. Tonight we snuck out and raced into the city and went... it was so spontaneous that I completely forgot my camera! So I kind of used it as an excuse to go all out, splurge-wise. I'm not going to blog about it, but suffice it to say that it started with shoestring fries and ended with Coldstone Creamery. I'm not feeling tippy top right now, but it was totally worth the nice evening. And, as always, tomorrow is another day.

Have a lovely night!

You Noodlehead

Hi there! I almost typed "good morning" and then "good afternoon"... I'm a little out of it; I flopped into bed for a nap early this afternoon and just now woke up. Blegh.

Even though I was unbelievably full last night, I had an apple before bed. Sometimes when I've eaten too much I do that because I think it will de-bloat me... does anyone else ever try that?


I've felt a little off all day. I think it started this morning, when we slept in until ten and then headed over to diner for some munchies.


I got a huuuuge bowl of oatmeal... this is much bigger than it looks! I'd say the bowl held about two cups. I got pecans and blueberries on the side.


About 1/3 of the way through, I started getting full. I love oatmeal so much that I just kept eating and ended up feeling overstuffed.


When I got downtown to go to the gym the food was not even close to being settled, so I wandered around Barnes & Noble in a daze for a little.

My workout today was horrible... I wasn't feeling great, and I just didn't want to be there working out. I did 20 minutes on the stairmaster, and I'm surprised I even made it that long. I tried to do the machines, but after my first arm list I looked in the mirror and said out loud to myself, "I can't do this today."

I felt claustrophobic all day, even when I was outdoors, like I couldn't get enough air. I'm not sure what that's about...

When I got home, I had leftover "chicken noodle soup" (broth, chik'n, shirataki noodles). I was so excited when I discovered that I could make "healthy ramen" (yes, I do actually like the taste of ramen, I'm not ashamed to admit it)!


I also had an Ezekiel muffin with almond butter and mango butter.


With vitamins and Emergen-C:


And a huge apple:


I still don't feel so hot, and we're going out to my favorite Japanese restaurant so I hope I feel better soon enough to fully enjoy it.

Have a lovely Friday night!

Yoga To The People!

Hello and happy Friday, my fine blogging friends! I hope you've all had wonderful days off, fun holidays, and all that fun stuff. I've been hopping around all over the place, so let's backtrack a little bit.

Yesterday Ari and I went to the diner for breakfast. We tried to learn the ways of the heart rate monitor over coffee:


Whole wheat toast with butter (whoops) and grape jelly. I've said this before, but for some reasons toast without butter at a diner is just plain wrong.


For the main event, I ordered an egg-white fritatta with zucchini, tomato, and ricotta cheese. It had sort of a funky taste that I likened to escargot... not exactly what I was expecting out of my breakfast eggs! I was starving, so I gobbled it all up (with ketchup, of course!) and had a couple of the home fries.


Ari's been working really hard, so I didn't want him to have to worry too much about dinner. I whipped up some Gliding Calm tofu and put it in the fridge, along with some steamed green beans and Lundberg brown rice blend.


I made the tofu a little differently this time; I dusted each piece with a little garlic salt on both sides, then dipped them in the combined maple syrup, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger powder, and that spicy red sauce whose name I am forgetting.


I came home and took a much-needed nap before work; I'm on an early-morning schedule so I get up around 8 but then get really tired mid-day. When I woke up, I whipped up a quick soup using this as a base:


Combined with shirataki noodles and chik'n strips. Fast, easy, comforting.


I also had some Fage with strawbs and blubes:


And some cookies on my way out.


Since people were generous with the coat check tips today, I decided to splurge and get some sushi. I'm so glad I did! I got the sushi combo which comes with a California roll and 7 pieces of assorted fish. Scrumptious.


This morning our way into the city, Ari and I split this Hot'n Healthy bar. I've never tried the Cinnamon Roll flavor before, and we had to eat it cold, but it was still delicious. Ari's not a huge fan of nutrition bars, but he loves these because they taste just like cookies!


Grabbed a coffee with skim on the way to the gym. I only finished half of it because you're not really supposed to drink them inside.


Once I got there I realized I had forgotten my shorts, for the second time this week! I didn't want to give up my workout, so I shelled over another $26 for a new pair. Boo! Once I changed into them, I realized I had also forgotten socks, and I came to the gym wearing tights. (I am so scatterbrained since I also forgot my cell phone and have felt disoriented all day.) Lucky for me there was a yoga class just starting, so I joined that.

Now, I absolutely LOVE yoga, but I haven't done it for over a year. This class was a little advanced for me... I fell over when I tried to do a handstand but did manage to get up into crow pose, if only for a few seconds. I am SO glad I went. I've been a little stressed out recently, what with work and the holidays and very little down time, and yoga was just what I needed. I felt so relaxed afterwards and much more ready to take on the day!

I had a banana in the locker room before showering.


After leaving the gym I rushed uptown to have a girls' lunch with my family. Originally, we'd wanted to go to Alice's Tea Cup (which our very own Heather used to live right next to!), but the wait for a table was an hour and a half so we moved on to Le Pain Quotidien instead.

Because it's Friday and my day off, I had some sauvignon blanc with my water. Woohoo!


Cousins!


Sisters!

You'll have to tilt your head for this one: I ordered an open- faced sandwich with black bean hummus, avocados, zucchinis, radishes, diced peppers and tomatoes and lemon with a spicy tahini sauce on the side. This was delicious. I'm going to try to make the spread myself!


After lunch, we had to make a pit stop at Magnolia. Can you imagine a trip to New York without one of these luscious cupcakes?! I got red velvet with vanilla buttercream. It was good, but I should have gone with my old favorite, devil's food with mocha frosting. Lucky for me, my mama let me finish hers up!


Someone left this Texan cookbook downstairs in the lobby (what we apartment folks do when we don't want something). I'm so excited to use it! I just flipped through and saw great recipes for gazpacho, spoon bread, Texas toast...


Abby and I shopped the sales for several hours today (I didn't find anything, but she had her first taste of Betsey Johnson) and I am pooped! They're all at a play right now, and I'm meeting them for a pizza dinner at 6. Hope you all have a fun night planned!

Get ready for some comfort food, vegan style

Without further ado, here is the soup I've been promising you!


Chickpea Noodle Soup, adapted from Veganomicon

Serves 6

1/2 cup thinly sliced (peeled) carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced (peeled) broccoli stems
1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 shakes dried sage
6 cups water
3 cubes vegetarian bouillon
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
6 oz chik'n style strips (I used Lightlife brand), cut as small as you'd like (mine were about 1 inch long)
1 package tofu shirataki noodles
Any type of greens, any quantity you'd like
Soy sauce to taste
salt to taste


Preheat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onions, broccoli stems and carrots in the oil for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms and herbs, and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add water, bouillon and chickpeas. Cover pot and bring to a boil.



Once the broth is boiling, add the chik'n strips and shirataki noodles. Lower heat to medium so that soup is at a low boil. Add a few splashes of soy sauce. When noodles and chik'n are heated through, add greens and cook until they wilt. Taste; if it needs more salt add a little soy sauce and/or salt.

Serve and enjoy!



This soup was such a comfort on a cold fall night.


I thawed and heated up some leftover Irish soda bread, and spread a little Brummel & Brown on top.



Very satisfying meal!


I'm probably going to have a treat of some sort, but I can't decide if I want hot chocolate or ice cream. These are tough decisions. I'll post it tomorrow; in the meantime enjoy your nights!

Balancing Act

Here's a little blast from the past... Mom, Dad, me, c. 1988.



Something funky is going on with my internet... I've had bars all night but the pages wouldn't load. I lost the whole day's post! GRR.

My poetry prof saw me scooting up the stairs (on my bum) and brought the class down to the first floor to accommodate me... so nice. I'm so excited for class on Friday- we're going to be making books! I munched on a Kashi bar during class.




I'm running low on groceries and am out of all of my bars except these... I'm scared to brave the store by myself so I'll surely be making a trip with my parents when they come!

When I was in Paris, my host mom often made simple salads of tofu and tomatoes, drizzled with balsamic and oil. I did this today to use up the ingredients in the fridge; I used toasted sesame oil to make things a little more interesting.

1. 

Instant pumpkin pie! Nonfat plain yogurt, pumpkin, pecans and a squirt of honey. Mm-mm good.


Juicy grapes...




The white cup in the background is this awesome re-usable thermos that Luke got me for my birthday. It's porcelain with a silicone lid, can keep things hot or cold, and when they're hot, they don't burn you! I tested it out today with coffee and a little skim. I felt pretty cool toting it around.



Genius!

I had a latte pick me up after class and a little trail mix I'd baggied weeks ago... it was still good though!


I was in serious need of comfort food for dinner. It feels like every muscle in my body is on fire, and I got so hot and sweaty from bouncing and hopping and pushing on the crutches all day. I tried to make a sort of veggie spaghetti bolognese with shirataki house noodles. It wasn't as flavorful as I would have liked, but it was filling.



I like to use these noodles in brothy soups to make healthy and tasty ramen-style dishes.







1 package House shirataki noodles

1 tomato, diced

1 clove garlic

cooking spray

3/4 cup Morningstar Farms Meal Starters, Grillers Recipe Crumbles

2 tbsp yogurt

crushed red pepper

grated parmesan

salt, pepper


Coat pan with cooking spray and add garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add crumbles and crushed pepper and cook until heated through, 1-2 minutes. Add tomato, cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Add noodles, cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in yogurt. Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan.



I went to Sarah's to watch Project Runway... it was a really sad episode! And we were all shocked at the end- totally unexpected. Anyway, Sarah gave me a delicious caramel apple with coconut and chocolate chips. I never would have thought to put these on! DELICIOUS.


I have to re-watch The Scarlet Empress for my Russian paper before I can go to bed. It has to be returned at 9 AM tomorrow, after which I have a pretty busy day. Hope everyone had a good Wednesday... we're over the hump already!