limited edition!

Yup, you're reading that right: Caramel Apple yogurt! I saw it at the store the other day and, in the spirit of halloween, had to try. I was super debating dessert and then remembered I had it in the fridge: debate satisfied. I'm just enjoying the end of it now. Back to the papers! Hope everyone has a great beginning of their week.

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 ;)

Saturday?!?!

It turns out that I got the Farmer's Market here mixed up with the one near my home in SoCal, so I missed it by a day!! It's not that bad because I was at work all day yesterday anyway, but I had really been looking forward to it and doing a 'local v. organic v. grocery store food post'- guess you'll have to anticipate that next week!

(Natural Bridges State Beach)

Instead of just packing it in, I took Tina's reminder to not waste the day sleeping to heart and just continued down to the beach (a very short walk- I know, lucky). It was so beautiful out- probably because it rained yesterday. It was odd weather today though. Very overcast and actually a bit muggy and grey, but just check out that view. I could just imagine standing on that cliff feeling like Miranda (though not nearly as stunning, obviously).

My mom has a puzzle with of this painting that we like to do together while sipping on tea, I miss those little things now that I'm up at college.

Also, I wandered over to the lighthouse- it doubles as a Surf Museum! While there I heard some random honking noises, looked over, and saw....

Seals!

By this time I was feeling really dehydrated. I think it's because I only had tea this morning without any water, and sometimes I forget that plain caffeine is a diuretic so you should make sure to drink a bit of water if you plan on doing any activity afterwards. 

On my walk home I noticed a cute bakery. Having just moved here about a month ago, I'm very much still in the process of exploring the town.

Peaking in, I discovered that they bake fresh organic bread every day! I've been seeing the amazing bread that Kath's husband makes each day and growing more and more jealous- needless to say I knew I was set for breakfast ;)

I had a big piece of Spinach Quiche (can you believe that they only slice this giant of a pie into six portions! I was a little overwhelmed, next time I'll bring a friend) alone with two slices of whole wheat 'seed' toast. Usually I like my toast plain; however, today (since I had so much quiche, haha) I actually spread some of it on the toast itself for a nice change. 

My stomach's a bit queasy now- probably because I don't eat egg yolks or cream that often- so I just snagged an apple and am going to hop in the shower before deciding on a lunch snack after that big breakfast. Overall, not so bad that the Farmer's Market didn't turn out as expected.

fall back

Yes! An 'extra hour' of sleep! What's that, Jess? You accidently didn't turn off your alarm from yesterday so woke up at 8 a.m.?... good one.

(view from the window, literally next to my bed)

At least it's only raining sporadically this morning and not the downpour that was yesterday- which means the farmer's market will be open (but not yet, woke up to early even for that)!! There's one just down the block every Sunday and it's excellent because, up here, there's some actual farm land so you get the real farmers selling their own produce. It isn't always quite like that in Southern California.

Since I woke up so early I'm settling with a big mug of tea because it's a bit chilly and my throat is feeling the dampness that was yesterday. This morning I'm going with 'Pomegranate White' from Trader Joe's because white tea doesn't have all that much caffeine and I'm hoping to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. The hint of sweetness from the pomegranate is perfect- sometimes I like to make oatmeal and splash a bit of warm tea on top instead of cold milk (odd? maybe, but it don't knock it till you try it!). Speaking of oats, I'm feeling a little peckish so I'll probably make a half serving or so of oatmeal.

(shelf-stable foods, the giant safeway 'quickoats' and jars of una, chicken, spinach, fiber one cereal[to mix in yogurt!], vitamins and England mug are mine)

I say a half serving because I don't want to be too full to go back to sleep and I also don't want to be too full to partake in amazing fresh samples at the market- plus, last week there was a place that made amazing organic scrambles- so who knows what will happen!

Anyway, off to check some blogs and my mail and (hopefully) get in another hour or so of shuteye. 

Set your clocks!

fire and ice

Yum, something hot and something cold- I definitely wanted this to help get me through my paper brainstorming tonight. Yup, those are three separate novels you see (actually three different translations of the Same one, oh joy) along with a Giant mug of Rooibos tea. I used to work at a coffee shop and we had a couple of oversized mugs for decoration and to put things in. I thought it would be my size so I asked the boss if I could have one! Thanks a lot, now I have a mug which holds 20 oz. comfortably!! Next to the mug of doom is just over a cup of chilled, lowfat peach yogurt. Usually I'm not a huge fan of sweetened yogurts (I'm a greek/plain advocate) as they have always seemed Too sweet; however, recently I've started having a cup or so at night for some extra protein and they're alright- as long as I brush my teeth right afterwards or else I feel the sweetness lingering. 

Sweet dreams- till tomorrow!

Hit the spot!

                                                   (in the process of baking)

I just Love it when something you've been looking forward to turns out just as, if not better than, expected- and that was my tortilla pizza tonight. First I toasted up a whole wheat, high fiber, tortilla in the oven for about 10 minutes, until just crispy. These things are awesome and from La Tortilla Factory- they have something around 50% of the Daily Value of fiber, so it's a good thing I drink so much tea! 

I made a scramble with tofu, mushrooms(Love these), onion & garlic (a ton on everything I make, pretty much), some tumeric and mustard (sounds odd, but actually was very complimentary. After scrambling those the college way- crumble the tofu, put everything in a bowl, put in a bit of water and micro for 1 minute- I topped the 'crust' with a bit of tomato sauce and dumped the scramble on top. Bake until heated through and bubbly: circa 5 minutes. Sometimes I add some nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor since my stomach has some cheese and cream issues since the mono/e.d.  (but no sensitivity to yogurt or Very aged cheeses). 

In my nutrition course, I learned that those with very slight lactose intolerance, which can be developed over time, are sometimes still able to eat small amounts of aged cheese or yogurt, so perhaps that's it. Either way, I still take a calcium supplement and vitamin daily and try to buy fortified products- especially since early 20's and late teens are prime bone growing age.

Naturally I forgot about spinach until the last minute and popped it on at around the last minute of cooking time. It wilted a bit and ended up providing a nice hot/warm contrast, so Not a failure after all!

Hope you guys have had a great start to November. I plan on celebrating with a nice mug of tea and probably a yogurt in a bit- depending on how late I stay up. I've heard a bit of dairy at night is meant to help you sleep and I've been tossing and turning a bit- any suggestions? 

damp...

Yup, Definitely residual Halloween tattoo action...

That's how I'm feeling right now, haha! It has been a Super wet day here- in fact, it's the first time I've busted out my ski jacket (bought because I'm a southern california raised girl going to school in northern california where the weather is... wet). 

View from my 'Patio Kiosk'

Well, work today wasn't bad at all. I work at the gym sitting in a little kiosk outside, swiping people's cards to make sure they're students. 

Before work I heated up some awesome Lentil Soup in the microwave, sat down and had it with some crackers and two Pineapple Guavas! (I def. should have taken a picture of the fruit, but I had accidently locked my camera in my locker). These fruits are amazing. I was at Safeway checking out the fruits and started talking to this woman about what is in season- all of a sudden she says "My pineapple guava tree is overrun with fresh fruit, let me set a bag out for you to pick up later." She gives me her address and next thing you know, I have a giant bag of fresh fruit! I think it's really important to be friendly and have a fresh attitude because you never know, well, who will give you some pineapple guava!

While in my little Kiosk I had a Big mug of tea (you will see, I am a Huge tea fan- if I blogged all the tea I drink it would be about half of the blog content!).

My shift ended as the gym closed! I thought that it would still be open for a couple of hours and I could get a bit of exercise in. It's been So rainy today that I hardly went outside so I'm feeling a bit lazed, but oh well. I've been doing lots of walking recently so I'm not too bothered.

Hmm, blogger's being silly and won't let me post a picture of my apple (before and after)- but suffice it to say that I Love green apples and the New Leaf within walking distance of our apartment sells 3lb bags of Giant, organic, locally grown Newton Pippin apples for $3.00: not too shabby! I took an after picture because, slightly embarrassing, but when I eat an apple I Really eat it. I mean, the core is left... but hardly :/ haha

I have opinions of organic/locally grown food that I'll get into in another post (basically, great idea if you can afford it, prefer local to organic actually, and am obsessed with farmer's markets because they make me happy and everything's really colorful)- but at the moment I severely need to scrounge up some good eats for dinner!

I'm thinking some sort of makeshift pizza... I defrosted some tofu this morning, so a tofu scramble on tortilla extravaganza, perchance? Now I'm hungry! Back with dinner.

Also, I'm pretty sure John McCain is making an appearance on Saturday Night Live tonight. No matter how you feel about the election (or SNL these days, for that matter!) it should be interesting...