Do The Dew June 12, 2009

So I finished my giant honeydew today. In two parts, to start the day, and to finish it. This morning I discovered a pretty awesomely fantastic green monster combo, honeydew, a few lychees, spinach and chia seeds. So, so good!

To work I brought a sald of julienned zucchini, cucumber, and carrot tossed in one of my favourite dressings that hasn’t seen the light of day in a long while, orange juice concentrate, sesame oil, salt and pepper. And a devil dawg patty on the side.

When I got home from work in the afternoon my stomach was rumbling for a snack so I filled it up with a super ripe banana, All bran and soy milk.

And this carton disappeared while I worked on finally catching up with my Google Reader.

Then for dinner I was feeling super lazy so went pantry diving for something quick I picked up a while ago from the mark-down rack because the packages were slightly dented.

I added water to the PC Instant Vegetarian Chili and microwaved with I took a peeler to a zucchini and came up with this super tasty plate for dinner. The chili was a bit spicy for me but turned surprisingly good after I added a small drizzle of molasses to take the edge off, and it can’t get any easier or faster. Plus while I do like making my own too, I do appreciate not having to eat chili now for the next week. I’m glad I have a few more of those up on the shelf.

Along side there was a couple of slices of multigrain bread nabbed from the roomie, and for dessert, the rest of the honeydew. Yum.

Herb Overload June 3, 2009

I started my day with something a little bit different this morning. Pizza! My breakfast pizza featured an egg white crust, a little jarred pasta sauce, fresh sage, and a piece of Balderson 2 year old cheddar. It was very tasty after I removed some sage, that fresh stuff sure is strong!

Accompanying my pizza was a small bowl of Kashi Flakes and Granola cereal with soy milk and banana.

For lunch I fixed up a salad mess with celery, carrot, red pepper, black beans, yogurt, chives, and parsley. And I managed to assualt my taste buds again with a little too much parsley combined with the strongly flavoured outer ribs of a bunch of celery. Whoa! Along side the crunchy salad was a pita.

Lunch dessert was a repeat from yesterday, cherries and cukes.

In the afternoon my tastebuds recovered from a savoury overload with an awesometastic Coconut Cream Pie Larabar. I’ve never seen this flavour in stores before, so when I noticed it I grabbed one based on many other blogger’s raves about it. OH MY WORD it is GOOD! So soft and creamy and coconutty!

For dinner I didn’t feel like cooking, and went a super simple route. Peanut butter, banana, and honey pita sandwich.  And I felt like a kid again.  Vegetables, what are those?

Nutty Snacks June 1, 2009

It was a dark and cloudy start to the week. At least until after I took pictures of my lunch. The sun was starting to come out by the time I had thrown together some breakfast. In the bowl is Allbran, Dorset Fruits, Nuts and Seeds Cereal, and soy milk. And on the side are some wonderfully sweet cherries (love!).

For lunch I chopped up a giant salad. There was spring mix topped with carrot, cucumber, zucchini, red pepper, black beans, asparagus, and BBBV.

Plus there were snacks, yogurt with blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and walnuts.

And later a Ruth’s Lemon Hazelnut bar. I think this is one of my all time favourite bars, love the crunchy nuts.  Although, I’m perfectly willing to give new bars a try, especially Fullbars, if I win them in Krista’s Contest!

For dinner I went a simple and protein filled route. I found some ground turkey in the freezer and turned it into a burger wrapped in a tortilla with spring mix, lots of pickles, ketchup, and mustard. And there were a couple of medjool dates stuffed with sunflower seed butter for dessert which escaped the camera.

I did see something that made me a little happy today though. Today a city-wide mandatory 5 cent fee for plastic bags came into effect. I walk by a grocery store just outside the exit from the subway on my way home from work, and today there were quite a few people stuffing items into their purses or carrying boxes and bottles in their hands. I mean, do you really need a second bag to carry a sleeve of bagels?  It made me happy that the fee was actually working to make them save the plastic instead of taking the convenient route and taking the bag. It doesn’t effect me because I already grocery shop with my reusable bag anyways (or stick things in my shoulder bag). Now I just hope everybody doesn’t start amassing huge collections of the heavier bags that don’t really end up saving much plastic. I only need two, and already rarely use the second one, because that’s the number of hands I have anyways.

Moo Berry Magic May 29, 2009

Breakfast this moring was a crunchy bowl of All Bran cereal with soy milk and a Fuji apple with a spoonful of deliciously crunchy peanut butter. (No blended greens, I know, crazy!)

For lunch I brought with me a giant salad filled with spring mix, carrot, cucumber, red pepper, Tofurkey, dino cheese, and BBBV.  I loved the way the smoky tofurkey flavour spread itself all over the salad, it was quite wonderful.

Plus I enjoyed an Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Clif bar on the long and windy journey home.  Just like a cookie.

When I finally did get home I happily dug into a bowl of yogurt filled with black, blue, and rasp berries.  The magical bit was an amazingly moist and flavourful dried pineapple ring.  Nothing like those hard hunks I’ve had before in trail mixes.

And finally for dinner I made a quick and tasty tomato soup using canned tomato, italian herbs, massamun chili paste, and sweetened with the perfect choice, molasses.  I was pretty happy with that bowl.  Along side was a pit for dipping, and lovely raw asparagus.

Fruit Infusion May 28, 2009

I went a little bit crazy last night when I got up in the midle of the night and opened my window for some fresh air. Because when I woke up this morning my room was cold and dark and there was rain pouring outside (but not inside, because my window only opens a crack). Let’s just say, all plans for a green monster were quickly abandoned. But my breakfast was still nice and colourful, and the vita-mix still came in handy :-). I drew inspiration from Heather and cooked some oat bran, then blended it with kale, pumpkin pie spice, and a banana. Then topped the oats with a spoonful of coconut. And it was delicious, of course.

Then I went a bit fruit crazy while preparing my lunch and snack. For lunch I fixed up a giant salad of spring mix topped with carrot, cucumber,red pepper, and a whole pile of mango. I was really enjoying the forkfuls of pepper and mango left at the end.

For a snack I had an Ambrosia apple with raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Then I also had a few Kashi crackers offered to me by the cubicle-mate. They were supposed to be Honey Sesame, but they must have missed the powdering step at the manufacturing plants, because they were just plain, though still tasty.

When I got home I was really hungry so I quickly grabbed small bowlful of Dorset Fruits, Nuts, and Seeds Cereal.

For dinner I drew inspiration for this morning’s Hungry Girl email. I steamed a pile of asparagus and a salmon filet with lemon, and topped it with yogurt, lemon, and sage, then rolled it up in a tortilla. Absolutely wonderful wrap. Plus I had a Zucchini Spelt Muffin (the last one :() for dessert.

And I can’t believe I didn’t know So You Think You Can Dance was on last night and missed it! At least I’ll make up for it by enjoying it even more tonight.

But concrete is supposed to crack…. May 14, 2009

Though maybe we should only outline the really big cracks so the general public doesn’t think the whole station is about to fall down….

Breakfast started out this morning with a hearty bowlful of oatmeal topped with Allbran cereal, strawberry, blackberry and acai jam, and peanut butter.

Which was followed with some sweet honeydew melon.

For lunch I made another mess salad, this time with kamut spirals, chicken, wild leeks, tomato, carrot, yogurt, and balsamic vinegar.  It ended up being really good, I was a bit concerned I may have added too large of a slosh of balsamic vinegar.

Though I had room for a little more lunch after working up an appetite climbing ladders and hammering away, so lunch dessert was some sliced cucumber and a delicious ataulfo mango.

And for dinner tonight I fixed up a quick salad of romaine, cucumber, carrot (hiding, apparently), yellow pepper, tomato, dill pickle, and a little Big Bull steak sauce.  And on the side I had a slice of sunflower seed bread spread with delicious pesto, and a medjool date for dessert.

Scuffy new shoes May 13, 2009

I did a very thorough job of scuffing up a brand new pair of shoes today.  I bought my work boots four years ago and didn’t end up needed them at the time.  So this morning, when I got to go on site for the first time, my shoes were still shiny and perfect.  Not so much anymore…spending a few hours crawling around scaffolding hammering at the roof will do a quick job of scratching up the toes of steel-toed boots.  But had fun doing it 🙂  There’s even the bonus that I got to leave home over an hour before I usually do, and got back an hour earlier too because a big chunk of my commute was cut away and our working hours were a bit shorter to allow for travel time for some people from the office to the site.

In anticipation of a busy, and different kind of workday I enjoyed a leisurely and large breakfast.  I started with a bowl of Kashi High Fibre Flakes and Granola cereal with strawberries and milk.

Then I dug into two sunnyside up eggs topped with chopped sage, and paired with orange pepper strip.  Delicious, and held me over very well until lunch.

Lunch I fixed up a  mess salad of broccoli, zucchini, and chicken breast tossed in yogurt, whole grain dijon, and a handful of chives.  Tasty and refreshing, as usual.

Plus I had a Nature’s Path Optimum Energy Peanut Butter Bar.  The bar was really good, kind of like a peanut butter cookie, but less sweet (which is a good thing).  I would have liked it if the peanut flavour was a bit stronger, but it was tasty regardless.

When I got home I finished my lunch salad with the addition of a handful of dried cherries (and didn’t take a picture, sorry).

Then when I was hungry for dinner I stared in the fridge indescisively for a while, then finally blended up a slighty disgusting looking but very tasty brown monster.  In the mix was red kale, an apple, and frozen raspberries.

Followed by a Starbucks Peach and Raspberry Yogurt Parfait.  Apparently they’ve stopped using Splenda to sweeten their yogurts…

And finally for dessert was a square of dark chocolate.  Talk about a weird food mood….

The Multitasker May 10, 2009

So I’m currently multitasking by writing this post during commercial breaks.  So aside from the fact that I’m happy that the team I wanted to won The Amazing Race, I have a complaint.  This silly Oasis commercial telling you to buy their juice because it’s Canadian.  WTF?!? Since when did oranges grow in Canada?  I’m sure it’s packaged in Canada, but the oranges are definitely grown in the States (or Mexico?).  And apparently no body else has noticed the irony (or the cuteness), because I can’t find a clip of the commercial on youtube.  Talking oranges in toques, seriously? 100% Canadian taste my bum.

Anyways, breakfast this morning was a super crunchy bowl of Kashi Flakes and Granola and GoLean Crunch cereals with sweet strawberries and milk.

For lunch I had a giant salad with romaine, carrot, tomato, cucumber, and snow peas dressed in lemon juice.

And for dessert, a bit more delicious cake.

Later in the afternoon I was hungry for something a bit more savoury, so I stuffed a small whole wheat tortilla with one of the best sandwich fillings, peanut butter and dill pickle.  Has anyone else tried this Kinsey Milhone specialty?

And finally for dinner, I took a pair of scissors to my little herb garden.  I cooked up some Kamut Spirals and tossed them with asparagus sauteed in lemon juice, thyme, and olive oil.  The I topped it with a salmon fillet pan fried with tarragon.  I think I’m in love with the salmon/tarragon combination, and the fresh is (not surprisingly) so much better than the dried I’ve had before.

And now to direct my full attention to the delightful Patrick Jane.

Epic Fail May 8, 2009

Before getting to today’s slightly scarring experience, let’s back track to last night’s bed-time snack.  I tried my pumpkin chips (that I bought a feww weeks ago along with mushroom chips).  They were okay.  They get points for being non-greasy, but didn’t they have much, if any pumpkin flavour and they were a but dry, like over baked squash.  Not buying these again…but I must go back for the mushrooms, and to try the apple chips….

This morning I had my appetite slightly ruined by part one of the day’s failure, which I cover later, so I ended up being hungry, but with only 10 minutes before I had to be out the door.  So I quickly grabbed whatever, and ended up with a bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch (more hiding under the yogurt), yogurt, banana, and the last of my PB2 ;_;.  At least this breakfast managed to take a bad taste out of my mouth, and by the end I was enjoying it (quickly!)

For lunch I continued with my veggie and fruit spree.  There was a container of snow peas, carrots, cucumber, celery, and red pepper with left over pumpkin soup for dipping.

And a container with a mango and TWO apples, gala and golden delicious (in honour of Sharon 🙂)

For dinner I tossed romaine in my new favourite yogurt/whole grain dijon/chive dressing and topped it with a steaming pile of broccoli.

Now what was my scarring experience that started in the morning and ended with some kitchen experiments tonight?

Last weekend I bought a papaya. It was completely green, but so were the other ones in the pile at the (chinese) grocery store. I figured it would ripen on the counter. By this morning, the papaya was still green, but it was a bit softer than on Sunday, so I figured it must be ripe, but just be a different variety than usual, like how mangos come in different colours. So I sliced it open and found this.

I was suspicious.  Mostly because I was at least expecting the seeds to look the same. So before cutting it up and adding it to my lunch, I licked it (what? I’m the only one who’s going to eat it anyway). It was HORRIFYING. It’s ridiculously astringent, like unripe persimmons (I’ve lost one or two to not being able to tell when those things are fully ripened). I was going to throw the whole thing out, but thought I would stick in the fridge at least for today to see if the internet offered any useful information about green papayas. I looked them up during a slow period at work and found suggestions to cook them.

I was skeptical, but I gave two methods a try tonight (I was NOT about to try it raw again, no matter how many recipes for thai green papaya salad I found). One chunk took a trip in the oven with cinnamon and honey, and another one was boiled by itself so I could try it and add things later if it tasted any better. Both methods worked to take away the astringency, but once that was gone, the papaya still had a weird taste to it that I was not enjoying. The baked version was slightly better simply because it was drowned in honey, but still not very good and I didn’t bother eating more than a bite of either dish.

At least the experience is over, and I know better for next time. And this counts as me trying a new food right? No matter how accidentally, and unsuccessfully? I must look for something (hopefully) better for Katie’s Challenge this weekend….

I did finish the night on a better note though with tasty, crunchy roasted chickpeas. I mixed one can of chickpeas with 2 T tahini and 1 T cinnamon and roasted them in the oven at 400 for about an hour. The first batched (pictured) was a bit over cooked because I stopped check them so often and waited too long, but the second batch was perfect, some crunchy, some slightly soft still on the inside, just the way I like them. And I hope the person I give them to tomorrow likes them too 🙂

Mystery Fish May 6, 2009

This morning started out with a slightly different breakfast combination.  I had a bowl of Kashi High Fibre Flakes and Granola with soy milk and blackberries, and a fried egg.  I really liked the cereal, it stayed nice and crunchy and was perfectly sweet.

I was quite proud of my lunch creation, my cubicle mate approves, she came back for a second and third bite after trying one.  I made a potato-ish salads with zucchini, yogurt, whole grain dijon, and a whole whack of chives.  Yummy, definitely on the repeat list.  I’m guessing the brands are key factors here, so they were Liberty Svelte plain yogurt and President’s Choice Whole Grain Dijon if anyone’s curious.

For snacking I also brought along an apple, mango, carrots, and celery.

When dinner time rolled around I fished around in the pantry and came up with a can of mystery fish.  The ingredients tells me it is black scraper, which I can find no culinary info about, and the contents of the can do not include cherries…  But at least it tastes good 🙂

I tossed some romaine with the fish, it sauce, and cucumber.  Tasty salad.  I love chinese canned fish/eel (they taste the same, it’s just the sauce)

And finally, I threw some frozen pineapple in the blender for a delicious sorbet!  It might have mostly been an excuse to use the awesome ice cream glass the roomie brought home this weekend 😉