A Different Routine - [Jan. 28 - Feb. 4]

This week I felt like trying new things and moving away from my usual food routine :) When I came home on Friday, I had an insane craving for pot pie -- except I wanted it to be LOADED with vegetables and half the calories of a regular pot pie.

This was the result:

It tasted amazing and was chock full of mushrooms, brocolli, carrots, cauliflower, and various other vegetables are swimming in a light brown broth (flavored with soy sauce). The secret to the calorie cut-off? There was crust on the bottom, and obviously the top, but the white ramekin secretely held up the pie without another layer of crust. It was amazing, and another recipie added to my homemade favorites.

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Back at school, I decided to venture off campus and try out some products from Jamba Juice and Starbucks that I've been wanting to try, but never have had time to.

On Monday, I ordered a berry topper which is basically a berry smoothie topped with granola and sliced banana. The crunch of the granola and smoothie was perfect. Not a huge banana fan though.

On Wednesday, I went back to Jamba Juice and got a Matcha Green Tea Blast, cause it was fat free and a decent amount of calories (290 calories). I was sad when it was all gone, but the green tea flavor was definitely present.

I couldn't take an amazing picture because people were conveniently around me :P

I have to wake up bright and early on Thursday mornings, so I treated myself to a Clif bar flavor I haven't tried before, Crunchy Peanut Butter:

Soon after class, I stopped by Starbucks and got a non-fat Tazo Green Tea Frap, hold the whip.

I realized that since the Starbucks version of the green tea frozen treat came with more ice then the product I ordered, I prefer Jamba's. Except I wish it was the same price as Starbuck's (Starbucks was about $3 and Jamba's was $4.23 ><)

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...)

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.

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 :)

Sunday to Sunday - My Meals the Week Before Finals!

So this post gives you an idea what I had this past week, the week before fall quarter finals! I started on the Sunday after Thanksgiving up until today. Trying out a new format of posting, just to freshen things up :)

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Sunday, 11/28/2010

Lunch ~ Tofurky Panini

A lightly grilled panini made from whole wheat bread with a side of caramelized onions. The inside includes shredded slices of tofurky, tomato, onion, and mustard.

Tuesday, 11/30/2010

Breakfast ~ Thomas' Everything Bagel with Honey Satchet
Who doesn't love a yummy bagel with all the toppings? I enjoyed this "everything" bagel (a bagel topped with poppyseeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds) with a satchet of honey I got from Starbucks.

Wednesday, 12/01/2010

Lunch ~ Vegan Jungle Massaman Curry

I was thrilled to try the vegan version of this Thai curry that is usually made with beef or other animal. I especially loved the mix of the sauce, rice, and vegetables! I skipped breakfast in order to have this delicacy.

Friday, 12/03/2010

Breakfast ~ Waffle with Powdered Sugar and Asiago Cheese Bagel
I skipped the syrup and went straight for a plain waffle: just powdered sugar, extra toasty. I also could not forget to feed my bagel craving :) .

Dinner ~ Packed Salad with All-Purpose Vinegar
I've been going dressing-free when it comes to salads since they are a waste of calories. I found all-purpose vinegar however and that does the trick when it comes to raw broccolli ;)

Saturday, 12/04/2010

Breakfast ~ In Three Parts

So I really had the breakfast bug on Saturday. Maybe it was because of the skimpy salad I had for dinner last night? Anyways, 1) grapes, pineapple, and one banana pancake without syrup, 2) plain oatmeal (didn't realize that I had to put sugar in it -.-) and an apple, 3) an onion bagel...I HAD to have my bagel :P.

Monday, 12/06/2010

Breakfast ~ Asiago Cheese Bagel and Strawberry Crepe
Today was my first final this week so had to have a brain powered breakfast...if you count the strawberries in my crepe as a serving of fruit? And I would have cried if I didn't have my bagel. I don't regret my choice though :)

Cadbury's Chocolate Cravings

Cadbury's Chocolates have always been a favorite of mine. My goal is to eat as many of these wonderful candy bars that I can...they remind me so much of my young childhood days in England :)

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A new favorite of mine is the Cadbury's Curly Wurly bar. It looks like a flattened chocolate rope with oozy caramel filling! It's not to bad on the bod either, coming at ya with only 115 calories, 4 grams of fat (2 grams saturated!)

The wrapper!

Since it is long, you get the feeling you are eating a lot of chocolate but your not...and each bite is worth savoring!

A yummy chocolate rope!

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But Cadbury's doesn't just make candy bars...their biscuits are scrumptious too! I noticed the Cadbury's Animals Biscuits at my World Market one day and decided to try them. I thought the packagins was adorable.

"Fun to Share!" it says :P!

The back is adorable to. It gives info about each of the animals, and their names :)

Cute critters :P!

The sad part was the fat grams per serving. According to the box, 7 cookies is one serving: 140 cals, 7 grams of fat! That's like, 1 gram of fat per itty bitty biscuit! And after awwing over the cute factor, the biscuits weren't anything outstanding. I even tried eating them for breakfast with skim milk (a "cookie crisp"-like cereal ;P ).

Sharing is caring :)!

So I did what the box suggested: put them out on a plate to share.