Pomegranate Crime Scene

After about 2 weeks of hiding behind my wheat germ jar, the pomegranate I purchased was finally put to good use today. I have absolutely zero experience with pomegranates or their seeds, so preparing this mystery fruit made for quite the adventure. After carefully cutting off the top, I began separating the seeds from the membrane...then the chaos began. Those seeds are slippery little suckers! Let's just say that the preparation session concluded with stained counters, a purple-dotted microwave, a speckled T-shirt, and "freckles" all over my body. In short, it looked like a pomegranate homicide had taken place.

Anyway, the hummus-soynut monotony has gladly come to a close. Check out my most recent eats:

Monday
After a failed smoothie attempt using the Vega vanilla chai protein (*gasp* I actually poured it down the drain!), I settled on another strawberry cream shake: strawberries, soymilk, vanilla soy ice cream, and Nutribody protein.
Tuesday
I decided to get creative with yesterday's parfait. I combined plain yogurt (with cinnamon), sliced pear, bran flakes, currants, and almonds. Out of the ordinary and delicious.
In an effort to use up my eggplant, I made a ratatouille with tomato sauce and onions. I served it with couscous, a salad with wheat germ and sweet dill dressing, and a banana with melty PB for dessert.
For dinner, I was craving comfort food, so I heated up some of Amy's baked beans and served them alongside mac & cheeze (based off of this recipe), broccoli, and green beans.
The smoothie last night was a berry bonanza: blueberries, strawberries, soymilk, and Nutribody protein. I am in dire need of frozen fruit! Eek!
Wednesday
Another week, another Banana Bread Blender. This time, I used spelt flakes instead of bran and honey-roasted peanuts for the nut component. Banana with PB...in liquid form.
Lunch today was inspired by a recipe for Baked Bean Stew from Nubella. I omitted the chicken and made a few other adjustments. Toast points and an apple with glorious almond butter rounded everything out.
I just finished a delicious dinner: I made wagon wheel pasta with broccoli and TVP "meat sauce," and I made a killer salad out of greens, sweet dill dressing, pomegranate seeds, and pecans. Whoa.
I promised you pictures of my semi formal outfit for this Saturday:
This is my first time wearing the dress; I hope it will be right for the occasion. PS Anyone have any suggestions on how to do my hair for the evening?

Alright, I am off to do some sorority activities. Ta-ta for now.

The Remedy

I am drawing inspiration from Jason Mraz for my title tonight...because I have found the remedy to my illness; I am finally feeling more like my normal self! After a visit to the Student Health Center (at which I received mediocre/verging on negligent care), Kristen was kind enough to drive me to a doc-in-the-box tonight where I finally received a long overdue prescription. Woohoo!

Now I am looking forward to my Saturday--there's an on-campus music festival tomorrow, plus my sorority is hosting a "Western-themed" event tomorrow night. The event is held off-campus at a barn, where we can go on hayrides, makes s'mores and dance the night away. It's definitely one of my favorite events, although I am little disappointed that I didn't muster up the courage to find a date...I'm sure there will still be plenty of fun to be had:)

Anyway, as a result of my blah physical condition these past few days, I have been forced to eat blah food. The only advice the Student Health Center had for me was to sip Gatorade and generally consume only "gentle" and "non-spiced" foods like applesauce and soup. In other words, a foodie's torture! That's like putting an extravert into solitary confinement! I followed their instructions to an extent, but I could not stay away from fruits and vegetables for long...

Wednesday
The shake of the evening featured frozen banana, frozen strawberries, soymilk, cocoa, and chocolate rice protein, along with dairy-free chocolate chips on top. Perfect.
Thursday
Breakfast yesterday was not so kind to my stomach, but it still pleased my tastebuds. I had a simple bowl of Whole Foods brand Cheerios and rice milk topped with wheat germ, plus a Rome apple with cashew butter.
Following my pointless visit to the infamous Student Health Center (yes, I do mean infamous), I picked up some tummy-taming groceries at an on-campus store. Among them was a can of Health Valley vegetable soup, which I served with crackers and hummus, almonds, and melon (which is supposedly a "gentle" fruit). This filled me up, but left me unsatisfied...you know what I mean?
My snack yesterday was fabulous, however--cottage cheese with Sunbutter. The utter deliciousness of this snack made me realize why so many people seem to enjoy the PB/cottage cheese combo in their oatmeal and pancakes. Do you have a favorite recipe that combines cottage cheese and nut butter?
One of the few foods I enjoy that is low-fiber is tofu, so I decided that would be a mild protein choice for dinner last night...although I combined it with a few veggies (mushrooms and spinach) along with a sprinkle of garlic salt. I also had some couscous and a vanilla yogurt with cinnamon. The vanilla-cinnamon mixture reminded me of that oh-so-yummy Creamy Cashew Dip from ED&BV. I *might* have to make another batch soon...
The shake last night was an exact replica of Wednesday's...so no pic.

Friday
Upon my return from my trip to the gym, I tried an all new breakfast. I used Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain cereal, rice milk, banana, and chocolate rice protein powder to make a yummy bowl of chocolate-y heaven. Never before have I tried the 5-Grain cereal, nor have I ever added protein powder to my morning oats; so many bloggers seem to enjoy it though, so I figured it must be worth a try. Deeelish.
Another simple mid-day meal today. More soup and crackers, plus a heaping serving of applesauce. The highlight of this meal was definitely the almond butter on top of the applesauce, a recent purchase from Whole Foods. Despite its $8.99 per pound price tag, I gave in and bought a small container of the freshly ground almond butter. Does anyone know if you're supposed to refrigerate this tasty paste?
I returned from my doctor's appointment this evening ravenous for a real meal--one that would actually stimulate my tastebuds and satisfy my inner foodiness. I decided on a tofu stir-fry with tofu, carrots, green beans, onions, garlic, soy sauce and ginger. Along with it, I had couscous, a Romaine salad with peanuts, and cantaloupe with grapes. Sigh. So good.
Before I sign off, I have another question for you all. My friend from stats class (the scone enthusiast) might be coming over to study on Sunday evening (translation: must provide dinner). He is an omnivore, but he has mentioned that he likes vegetarian food too. Any suggestions on what to prepare?

Wishing you a happy and healthy weekend.

Boys on the Brain

I might otherwise not mention this subject, but considering the overwhelmingly female readership of this blog, I feel like I can broach the topic that has been on my mind all day: boys.

As a nearly 21-year old woman, I am embarrassed to admit that I have never had a boyfriend. Yes, I actually confessed it. I am all about being open on my blog, so there is no use in hiding my (nonexistent) romantic status. Anyway, as a result of my decades-long romance deprivation, my mind has been wandering in the direction of love and marriage lately. I find myself wondering, "Will I ever get married? Am I going to be single for life? What is so wrong with me that I can't seem to nab a man of my own?" I am uncertain as to why my thoughts have assumed this pattern, but I'm sure watching Tristan + Isolde and Ever After within the past two weeks didn't help the situation...Or, perhaps downloading Celine Dion's greatest hits on my iPod was a poor choice.

Romance woes aside, I have a few interesting meals to show you this evening before I get crackin' on studying. I have a psych midterm tomorrow, but I am not sure how effective studying will be at this point given my disgruntled mental state.

Enough chit-chat. Here's the grub.

Friday
After loading up on frozen fruit at Target, I was excited to enjoy cherries again. Unfortunately, this smoothie was a flop. Too liquidy. Boo.
Saturday
Upon my return from an especially difficult run around campus, I decided on a blueberry-banana-flax parfait. Organic blueberry yogurt, sliced banana, Whole Foods brand Cheerios, and ground flax made up this little glass of deliciousness.
After a hot day in the sun at the Duke-UVA football game (at which DUKE was victorious), I was in serious need of fuel, fast. I had the rest of the Annie's rice milk mac and cheese (to which I added garlic and oregano), plus a salad with cashews and a plum.
For dinner that evening, I got a chance to try those TVP crumbles I ordered a while back. I rehydrated them, then mixed them with pasta sauce, oregano, and chopped onions. I stuffed it all into an Ezekiel pita and served it alongside green beans with chopped almonds. Delish.
The uber-delicious shake of the night consisted of frozen strawberries, cocoa Living Harvest hemp, and coconut. The consistency and flavor were both completely "perf."
Sunday
Before heading to the Chapel yesterday, I made myself a big bowl of oats with rice milk and butternut squash. A dash of cinnamon and chopped almonds made it oh-so-good. I bet it would be even better with almond butter:)
I was neither hungry nor creatively inclined yesterday afternoon, so lunch was just a simple glob of hummus with raw veggies and pita bread. I hit all my bases by adding a trail mix (cashew-cranberry combo) and an organic plum.
After writing my snack post yesterday, I was especially inspired to create a new snack combination: PB & J cottage cheese. I just combined cottage cheese with roasted peanuts and a blob of organic blackberry jam.
I was ravenous after my chapter meeting last night, so dinner was a campus special: the Crunchy Broccoli Salad. Remember when I first blogged about it here? Well, I still love it just as much. FYI, my addition of soynuts is perhaps what makes it so delicious. On the side I had a fruit cup and some Milton's crackers.
Another successful smoothie last night: strawberry-pineapple. So tropical, so tasty.
Monday
I just needed something simple today...my mind was otherwise occupied. I had whole wheat toast with Natural Sunbutter, plain yogurt with butternut squash, and another plum. This was SO filling, the way I like it.
Before my run today, I had some original flavor Puffins. I nabbed these at an on-campus grocery store--can you believe that they were cheaper than the box of Corn Bran? They're very similar products, but I obviously much prefer Barbara's cereals.
It had been a while since I had enjoyed my beloved scrambled tofu, plus I happened to pick up some turmeric at Target last Friday, so lunch today was an obvious choice. This rendition included mushrooms and garlic, along with the usual tahini and soy sauce. On the side I had a slice of whole wheat toast, a sliced apple, and a simple spinach salad. I love the colors in this one!
Now, I am off to study evolutionary psychology and mating preferences...I can't seem to escape the subject today. Enjoy your evening!