long rainy day

Hey everyone- we're watching wheel of fortune right now so I'll attempt to keep this relatively quick. I have been lazy all day and am feeling pretty gross about it. I've either been sitting in class or sitting on the bus and am trying to remind myself that sometimes these days just happen :(

Snacked on an apple while bussing it to school. I forgot to take a picture, so I went ahead and posted the one I tried to a while ago showing just how thoroughly I enjoy a good apple!

My first class was great. I got our first tri-term back and ended up doing really well, so hopefully that will take some pressure off of the next one! Unfortunately, that's not the class for which the current paper I'm working on is due... alas. I knew that I needed some good brain fuel for my meeting with the T.A. about this paper so I stopped by the cafe for...

some trail mix fun and excitement

This mix consists of sunflower seeds, raisins, cashews, peanuts, and dried blueberries.

 Throughout the day I finished about half of it. While walking to the library (in the rain!) I also had half a sandwich.

Ham, swiss, lettuce and tomato on Marble Rye

This bread was amazing. In fact, it's pretty much the reason I chose this sandwich as I usually don't love ham. I really dislike eating on the run, but some days there's no other option.

My meeting with the T.A. helped a ton!! The paper's still going to be a lot of work, naturally, but I'm comfortable with my thesis and excited with where it could go. Plus, I offered the T.A. a bite of my trail mix And shared my umbrella- he owes me ;) We got so wrapped up in the topic that, by the time I looked at my phone/watch, I was late for my huge lecture! Well, I'm gonna admit it to you guys- I ditched *shrug* I had been damp and lazy all day and was underdressed for the cold, and by the time I made it to where the class was I spotted the only bus that goes to my house. What's a gal to do? 

Plus, I was way too excited to come home and make some brain food. I grilled up 5oz of salmon that I had seasoned with copious amounts of dill and a bit of spicy brown mustard. Being part Swedish, I love me some dill! Since I had the grill pan out already I prepared white asparagus my favorite way- they become so sweet and tender when grilled. I also sauteed up zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, onions and garlic and laid it all on a few cups of spinach. The healthy fat in the salmon should keep my mind active for a late brainstorming extravaganza- and I may be back for something sweet later... guess we'll see. But for now I'm going to lurk a bit and check my fave blogs!

A mess of things

For lunch I ended up making a huge mess! No, not literally- a Sammie mess ;) I put together 1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt, 1/2 cup of frozen berries, some chopped almonds and 1/2 cup of fiber one and stirred it all together. It was the perfect thing to settle my stomach.

(sorry for the lack of picture, I didn't even think of it because one of my roommates turned on Iron Man, haha)

That held me over for a long time. For some reason I've been insatiably thirsty All day! I've filled up my 24 oz. water jug (literally) 3 1/2 times as well as having a few cups of tea and (I'll admit it) 2 sodas. Why??

Dinner consisted of a grilled chicken hot dog, tons of zucchini, mushrooms, and yellow squash sauteed in olive oil and cajun spices (wanted a bit of heat) and a lot of mashed cauliflower with garlic, herbs, and 'salt.' 

I got to use 2 of my favorite kitchen tools for this meal: my grill pan and my immersion blender (post about kitchen tools at some point). Also, I'm a giant believer in the power of herbs and spices: they bring out and enhance natural flavors tomake everything taste epic (esp. garlic, haha, good thing my bf likes it too). 

This is the 'salt' I was talking about. I learned about from my geology professor last year, of all people! It is actually Potassium Chloride instead of Sodium Chloride. When used in cooking it tastes just the same as salt; however, some people think that it has a stronger or more acidic flavor which, I'll admit, it does when used on raw things. I think it's a great option to get a bit more potassium (pretty negligible amount) and cut down on overall sodium intake since packaged foods tend to contain exorbitant amounts. 

Also, I use this "No-Salt Garlic and Herbs" spice on nearly everything. There's this man who used to be at the Farmer's Market in Southern California and would make his own spices, specializing in the 'no-salt' variety. When Stephen told me he was moving inland I nearly cried! Okay, not actually, but I did insist on getting his email and have him send me spices when I run out- there are just So many varieties (the Cajun Spice I also used today is the best I've tasted, CitrusPepper sensation, etc.)

 I highly recommend No-Salt spices in general just because pre-mixed spices tend to consist of mostly salt and you can always add it in if needed.

Dessert of some sort will probably come later as I'll be up late, for various reasons. My roommates are obsessed with 'Desperate Housewives' and, though I've never seen it before the last episode, it's a fun bonding moment to watch it with them. Also, at the beginning of this week I definitely have two looong tri-term papers due and need to get a good start on one tonight as I'm meeting with the T.A. to discuss it tomorrow. It's all really interesting and I don't mind paper writing, it's just a lot of time consuming effort. Perhaps next time I won't procrastinate- likely! 

But right now I'm going to procrastinate just a little more in order to check some blogs ;)