Monday, January 17, 2011

MLK Three Day Weekend...of Food! [Jan 14 - Jan 16]

A three-day weekend is heaven for a college student...especially if food is in the picture.
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My bus was at 2:00, and my last class ended around 11:00, so it made sense to have a nice lunch before leaving. For lunch I did some improvisation. I had my usual salad fixings, but beneath all that leafy watery lettuce? A heaping scoop of biryani rice. And smothered on top? Thai peanut noodles. Ever since eating this, I've had an unusual craving to add some sort of rice/noodle to my otherwise boring salads.

For dessert, a banana oat cookie :)

When I arrived home, I screamed for risotto!

This time mixed with mushrooms, corn, and carrots.
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On Saturday, I had a light dinner of baked sweet potato fries and red piquante peppers. The color of the peppers just POP don't ya think?

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My breakfast at home is always routine, but who could ever get tired of the perfect bowl of oatmeal? On Sunday, I had my perfect bowl of blueberry and craisin oatmeal.

My friend also came over for the weekend on Sunday, so I prepared both her and my sister one of my "experimental-get-rid-of-it" dishes. The ingredients needing a little push? Some leftover Milano cookies and some chocolate ice cream. I call it: "Coconut Milano Ice Cream Cookie Balls". It was good? (or so they say...)


Saturday, January 8, 2011

LARABAR :)

The folks at Larabar are super nice and sell products that match their personalities :)

After asking for some samples, they promptly sent the following:

Four samples and a cute Larabar bumper sticker! Along with two coupons :) SCORE!

The flavors I was greeted with include: Lemon, Coconut, Peanut Butter Cookie and Apple Pie. If I had to rank my favorites, I would have to say Lemon > Coconut > Apple Pie > Peanut Butter Cookie, but all of them were scrumptious :)


THANK YOU :)

Eating in the New Year - 20 ! !

So as the new year came in, school was not to far in the distance either. I decided to enjoy as many home-cooked meals as possible before winter quarter began.

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On Saturday, January 1st, we had a scrumptious dinner of crusty garlic bread, salad and steamed vegetables (carrots, snap peas, potato), and pasta in a low fat white sauce.

For dessert, we had a whopping scoop of 90 calories. But a delicious scoop of 90 calories :)

Warm apple pie filling with lite Cool Whip topping....the perfect end to any meal!

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On Sunday, January 2nd, I had two tasty bread dishes. For lunch I had the following: a slice of baguette with cucumbers and olives, seasoned cabbage salad, and two baked falafels delicately dressed with yogurt sauce.

Dinner was a cheeseless pizza---loaded with marinara sauce, mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers, and tomatoes, instead of calorie-laden cheese.

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But sadly, Monday, January 3rd had to arrive along with the first day of classes. -.- But that didn't stop me from enjoying lunch :)

This yummy looking dish? Szechuan tofu on a bed of rice! Also joined with eggplants and red pepper.
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Since the week was so packed and successful in keeping me busy, I thought I fully well deserved dessert. And what would the perfect dessert be for a Friday, January 7 lunch? A moist yellow cake with chocolate buttercream and chocolate syrup drizzle....yeeeee!

But Sunday, January 09 was quite a disappointment D: ... my excuse of a lunch? Any college student's...

Sesame garlic noodles in a bowl. Courtesy of the microwave.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A Jolly Winter Break - December 2010

So, my extra long month of vacay has almost come to an end. I kept myself busy with seasonal work and visiting friends, and as a result, lack in food documentation. (But that does not reflect how I ate this month ;D).

For the meals I did consume this past month, they are posted below.

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Christmas Brunch - 12/25/2010


The brunch we had this year was light, yummy, and was eco-friendly since we barely wasted anything. We had a bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl for gravy, a bowl for pomegranite seeds, brown n' serve wheat bread rolls from Safeway, black bean casserole, apple and onion compote, and cranberry sauce. Even Mr. Panda paid a visit!


I loved the black bean casserole but the fam thought it was a bit runny for the most part. It was super healthy though! (no butter, oil, eggs, etc.) I also relished the apple and onion compote.

My plate is pictured at the bottom (but believe me, I went for seconds...and thirds...)








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Hangin' With Friends - Last week of 2010


Got to hang out with some friends in SF and back home the last week of 2010 (after Christmas and before New Years). We sampled lots of chocolates, had dinner in lots of places, but the business and overwhelming schedule prevented me from taking LOTS of pictures. But I do have, uh two...


For lunch one day, I had a steaming plate of garden risotto while my friend had a panini. Unlike risotto I had in the past, this plate had snap peas, carrots, and was delicately placed on a bed of lettuce and spinach leaves.



After shopping the after christmas sales a few days ago, we stopped for some frozen yogurt. I had a cup of nonfat dole pineapple with strawberries, kiwi, and mochi. Looks pretty appetizing if I do say so myself :)