WIAW: Finals Week Food

Today I have my last final EVER (well, besides when/if I get my meteorology certificate…but we’ll pretend like that doesn’t count) and I’m beyond excited to be done with this semester. It’s been long (but it’s gone by so fast), it’s been hard, it’s been busy (taking 6 classes on top of working at the TV station every week is no joke) so I’m ready to enjoy some time off at home. It’s still crazy to think I’ll be a college graduate in a few days…

Before my emotions get the better of me, let’s get on with WIAW! As I’m typing this, I’m kinda procrastinating on studying for my Wednesday final so this is gonna be a mostly wordless post of some of the things I’ve been eating to fuel my studying (and to be honest, my procrastinating too).

Monday lunch. Miracle noodles dry-sauteed with some peanut butter/cayenne pepper/almond milk for a spicy peanut sauce, with spinach and sauerkraut added in. Organic honeycrisp on the side.

Monday lunch. Miracle noodles dry-sauteed with some peanut butter/cayenne pepper/almond milk for a spicy peanut sauce, with spinach and sauerkraut added in. Organic honeycrisp on the side.

Monday's dinner. Supposed to be a curried cauliflower soup, but really thick so it was more like a sauce. Still good, especially topped with sauerkraut and these addicting raw spicy sunflower seeds from the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

Monday’s dinner. Supposed to be a curried cauliflower soup, but really thick so it was more like a sauce. Still good, especially topped with sauerkraut and these addicting raw spicy sunflower seeds from the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

A quick selfie in the car before my history final on Monday morning. So glad to have my car back!

A quick selfie in the car before my history final on Monday morning. So glad to have my car back!

Monday's snackplate. Satsuma, stevia-sweetened chocolate chips, some Food Should Taste Good sweet potato kettle chips, energy bites from the bulk bin (I don't really like these), some homemade PB&J bites.

Monday’s snackplate. Satsuma, stevia-sweetened chocolate chips, some Food Should Taste Good sweet potato kettle chips, energy bites from the bulk bin (I don’t really like these), some homemade PB&J bites.

Big salad for lunch on Tuesday. One head of romaine lettuce, with some cauliflower soup/sauce as the dressing, garbanzo beans, more sauerkraut and spicy sunflower seeds.

Big salad for lunch on Tuesday. One head of romaine lettuce, with some cauliflower soup/sauce as the dressing, 1 leftover falafel, chickpeas, more sauerkraut and spicy sunflower seeds.

A very orange snackplate from Tuesday. Satsuma, sweet potato chips, carrots, and leftover pan-roasted chickpeas.

A very orange snackplate from Tuesday. Satsuma, sweet potato chips, carrots, and leftover pan-roasted chickpeas.

Strawberry Zevia makes the perfect study drink. Can't wait til I go out for some adult beverages with my friends on Thursday ;)

Strawberry Zevia makes the perfect study drink. Can’t wait til I go out for some adult beverages with my friends on Thursday 😉

Tuesday dinner. Mung bean pasta (so high in protein, and grain free), mixed with cauliflower soup/sauce, more sauerkraut and raw spicy sunflower seeds, side of homemade sweet potato fries and pomegranate seeds.

Tuesday dinner. Mung bean pasta (so high in protein, and grain free), mixed with cauliflower soup/sauce, more sauerkraut and raw spicy sunflower seeds, side of homemade sweet potato fries and pomegranate seeds.

Not quite the same as the typical college student’s mac and cheese and fast food dinners during finals 😛 Really, though, it’s been all about convenience for me as I’ve been keeping busy with studying for finals, taking a few finals and finding ways to avoid thinking about finals. Most of my meals have been quick, no fuss, and made while doing something else. Multitasking at its finest! I have no desire to cook right now, and that’s okay. My food processor has been getting a lot of use though–I’ve been whipping up homemade Larabar-like bites lately for quick study snacks. I’m more than ready to go out for sushi tonight, drinks/appetizers tomorrow and then my favorite vegan restaurant on Saturday as a grad celebration dinner!

What have you been eating lately?

Survey Time Up in Here!

Who even likes tests or quizzes? Not me. Especially not around this time of year, aka dead week, aka the week before all hell breaks loose, aka finals time. Luckily this semester I only have one actual final, but I’m still dreading it. One thing I will never dread is taking surveys. They are so much more fun than real tests and you actually learn something about yourself and other people. Take that, weather and climate final exam!

I saw this survey on a couple blogs recently and I decided to do it while I still have brain cells left. Definitely fill it out if you get the chance because it’s fun–way more fun than a pop quiz. Oh, and I did change a few of the questions to be more veg-friendly 😉

Coke or Pepsi? Ummmm, neither?! Sorry, not a soda girl at all. Not even diet anymore (though Zevia’s an exception…), though I used to drink Diet Coke occasionally a few years ago. So I guess I’ll go with Coke, since I was never able to stomach Pepsi.

Lemonade or Fruit Punch? Lemonade, baby! It reminds me so much of summer. I haven’t had a legit lemonade in quite a few years, but I’d like to try making my own this summer with some stevia.

Caramel Apple or Cotton Candy? I actually don’t think I’ve ever had a caramel apple, so I think I’ll have to go with cotton candy. The colors always appealed to me when I was younger. Though I really do love my overnight oats version of caramel apples!

Even better than a real caramel apple!

Dark Chocolate or Milk Chocolate? Dark all the way. I prefer the stuff that’s between 55-75%, since I do have a major sweet tooth, but I’ve preferred dark chocolate since I can remember–yes, I was that weird kid who liked the Hershey Special Dark bars at Halloween!

Tofu or Tempeh? No question…tempeh! Some people say it tastes bitter, but to me it’s just a little nutty. Tofu weirds me out, especially the taste. I can handle the texture if it’s extra firm, but I’ve never had really good-tasting tofu, aside from the stuff they have at the Whole Foods hot bar. Now that is some good tofu!

Soy or Almond Cheese? Both are pretty good, but I’m gonna go with almond, because it’s a little healthier than soy cheese. Plus I’ve found it in awesome flavors like jalapeno jack.

Crackers or Cookies? Hmmmm, this one is tough. I like crackers, but I haven’t had any in awhile since it’s been hard to find kinds without milk in them (crazy, I know). I like cookies too, but they have to be certain kinds, like the knock-off healthier Oreos that Whole Foods makes, or really soft homemade cookies. I think I’ll say cookies, to go with my sweet tooth!

Pretzels or Chips? Uh, can I say both? I used to not be such a huge fan of pretzels, but once I discovered that they make a really good topping for sweet and salty oats (not to mention delicious dipped in almond butter), I was hooked. The only chips I really eat are the sweet potato multigrain chips from Late July, but they are beyond amazing!

A snackplate with BOTH chips and pretzels!

Mexican or Indian Food? This one’s hard. I like Mexican food a la Chipotle or Qdoba, which I know isn’t authentic Mexican, but whatever. I’m mostly in it for the pico de gallo and guacamole. I haven’t had Indian in awhile, but I’ve always loved its spiciness and curries are so good. I’m gonna say Indian.

Mediterranean or Chinese Food? No question–Mediterranean. How can you beat hummus, tabbouleh and falafel? You can’t.

Pie or Cake? Uh, pie…maybe? I actually prefer cold desserts, like sorbet and gelato, but pie is definitely better than cake for me. I hate frosting, so whenever I’d have cake at a party, I’d just eat the cake part. Which is boring. A good fruit-filled pie can be pretty delicious though.

Pasta or Pizza? Another hard one! I prefer pasta in cold pasta salads (especially quinoa pasta), and I like pizzas sans cheese, but with tons of random toppings, like artichoke hearts or olives or pineapple or hummus. Not all on one pizza though. I’ll say pizza, because I really want to experiment with making my own pizzas this summer.

Literally the best pizza I've ever had (and made)--brown rice tortilla topped with spicy pumpkin sauce, tempeh bacon, orange bell pepper and green chiles.

Green or Red Grapes? Red, obvs. They’re usually sweeter, and they’re awesome frozen. Just do it.

Salad or Soup? Come on, really? I am a salad fiend fo sho! Soup isn’t really my thing, but I love devouring huge salads, especially from places like Panera, Qdoba and my favorite place, Mad Greens.

A simple but sweet salad from Whole Foods.

Pancakes or Waffles? Waffles. There’s just something about them that reminds me of being a kid, plus they’re just more fun than pancakes to me. And easier to make!

Raw or Cooked Veggies? I’m weird because I prefer a lot of veggies raw. Like the obvious ones (baby carrots, greens) but also broccoli, cauliflower and bell peppers. Try dipping raw cauli in salsa, it’s amazing!

Oatmeal or Cereal? Oats! I used to gag just thinking about oats, but that was before I discovered how great overnight oats are and the million flavor combos. So much better than those lame Quaker packets. The only cereal I really like is peanut butter Puffins, which I’m basically addicted to.

One of my favorite overnight oats combos--dark chocolate oats topped with mint chocolate chip gelato.

Answer any of the questions above!

WIAW: Weekend of Veggies and Dancing

Hey! Glad you all liked my product review! It was really fun to do and hopefully I’ve inspired some of you to go out and try the oats for yourself.

Anyway, as promised, here’s a recap of my weekend, in WIAW form. Okay, so it’s not really What I Ate Wednesday, but What I Ate And Did This Weekend (so WIAADTW). Whatever, WIAW sounds better! And this weekend, I got in a ton of veggies, which always seems to be the case when I go home. So hopefully spring break will be veggie city 😀

Friday

My madre picked me up around 11, as usual, and we hit the road. The thing I love best about getting done with class so early on Friday is that on the weekends I go home, my mom can come pick me up right away and we don’t end up hitting any rush hour traffic in Denver, plus I get a slightly longer weekend at home. Win win! We got back to the Springs just in time to pick up my sister from school, headed home for a little bit, then back out to drop her off for the musical she was performing in. My mom and I hit up Qdoba for a quick dinner, and obviously, I forgot to take a picture. But I ordered my usual, the Naked Vegetarian Taco Salad topped with lettuce (duh), black beans, fiery habanero salsa (super hot, just the way I like it) and corn & black bean salsa. So good! I was starving so I finished off the entire salad. Guess I love my greens 😉

Then we met my dad to see my sister’s musical. It was based on the Prince of Egypt movie, and it was pretty decent. She was the understudy for Zipporah (Moses’ wife) but unfortunately, she didn’t get to fill in. She was good in the other parts she did, though!

Saturday

I ate breakfast (obvs) and showered, which is so unusual for me since I usually do it at night, but my dad, sister and I were going to a father daughter dinner dance so I needed to be fresh for that!

Breakfast: carrot cake oats with raisins, spicy veggie sausage.

I did some yoga and cardio circuits, had lunch and then just did whatever around the house until it was almost 3…yikes, I needed to get ready pronto! I repainted my nails with pink crackle polish (my fave), curled my hair and got into my dress for the dance.

The only picture I have right now of me in my dress...more to come hopefully soon!

Lunch: sweet potato topped with crunchy almond butter and real maple syrup, crushed natural nacho kale chips, frozen banana slices, side of water in a Starbucks holiday tumbler.

Since neither my mom or sister were there (they were at the last performance of the musical), my dad had to take a few pictures of me outside in my dress, alone. Usually my mom would take pics of the three of us all dressed up, but it was just me this time. Not that I minded 😉 Except it was freezing outside and windy! Not fun.

My dad (who looked handsome in his suit, by the way) and I headed out…not for the dance yet, but for Whole Foods! The hotel the dance was at was catering dinner, but I know from past experience that I don’t like the vegetarian option they serve (and they had no vegan option, as far as I know) so my dad suggested we get something to go from Whole Foods. Um, yeah, I was a happy camper, especially when I discovered tons of new salads at the hot/cold bars. The Whole Foods I go to most of the time has an amazing selection, so I filled my box with a ton of different ones, like sweet potato chunks with cannelini beans, orange chipotle tofu cubes, an Asian kale salad, spicy marinated artichoke hearts and a Mediterranean salad with onions, tomatoes, olives and chickpeas. All of it was ridiculously good so it’s pretty sad that I could only get a super lame picture of it, since I had to take it in the dark ballroom at the dance. Yeah, it felt a little weird eating my Whole Foods salads while everyone around me was having the chicken or steak meals, but I did not regret my decision–it was super tasty, and healthy!

It doesn't look too tasty, but it really was!

The program was really really good, but of course, I was looking forward to the dancing! It’s always so fun to make a fool of myself with my dad and sister while busting a move on the dance floor. First, we had our pictures taken by the photographer there, and then we hit the floor! When we first went back in the ballroom, it was  packed and people were handing out these weird balloons for no reason. It was so funny though, because all the dads and daughters were waving them around to the music. So random, but so fun! Most of them popped by the end of the night, but I actually still have mine at home!

This random button we found on our table--my sister and I thought it was hilarious.

My place card.

The band was pretty decent, I just wish they had played more modern songs than the oldie type stuff, but I guess they wanted to appeal to the dads and daughters. They did do Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You” and Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance”, so my sister and I really got down to those! And of course, the last song was “Butterfly Kisses”–I almost cried while I was slow-dancing with my dad. The whole event makes me really appreciate how much my dad loves me.

Sunday

Unfortunately, we had an early wake-up call, which sucked after being out so late (I didn’t fall asleep til after midnight) the night before. We’re trying to sell our house, and we had a showing in the morning so we had to get out for a little while. Of course, it was the perfect opportunity to hit up Starbucks! I rarely get to have Starbucks in the morning–I usually go in the afternoon. It was nice to get a little caffeine burst…I definitely needed it!

My Starbucks order du jour: tall skinny soy hazelnut latte.

My family got some bagels at Einstein, but I just got a fruit cup for my breakfast. Okay, honestly, bagels are a HUGE fear food of me–so many carbs, especially the “bad” kind, a ton of calories, blah blah blah. I don’t think I’ve had one in a year and a half, and even then I only ate half of one at a time, without cream cheese (because of all the fat), of course. I would have loved to try to at least somewhat conquer my fear, with one of their bagel thins and some vegan cream cheese (they don’t have this, but I can dream, right?), but I didn’t. Part of it was because I honestly wasn’t hungry–and this actually continued throughout the day, which was weird–but it was also because I was just too afraid. Maybe next time I can try a bagel thin…

Sunday was actually just a really weird day, because like I just said, I was barely hungry the whole day. I had my Starbucks drink and the fruit for breakfast, skipped lunch, had a few orange and banana slices before my mom and I headed back up to school and a Clif Kids bar in the car. For dinner we stopped at Corner Bakery, where I got their salad trio, with the Asian edamame salad, mixed greens salad and seasonal fruit medley. Of course, the fruit medley was mostly cantaloupe (ick!) so I just had the few grapes, apple slices and pineapple pieces mixed in, a little bit of the mixed greens (the dressing was  way too oily) and all of the edamame salad (which was really good and fresh). It honestly was not much food, but I still wasn’t hungry. After my mom dropped me off, my hunger finally returned so I could have some oats with peanut flour for a snack. But the whole day just threw me off and it actually sucked!

My hunger did return on Monday (thank God!) so I was able to enjoy a few of the new purchases my mom got for me from Whole Foods. First up, Late July organic sweet potato multigrain chips. I thought I wouldn’t really like these because I didn’t really like the Food Should Taste Good version, but these are so much better! They’re slightly sweet, slightly salty and are the perfect mix of soft and crunchy. They have a subtle sweet potato taste, but I love them.

My new favorite Late July chips!

I also tried some Hope Hummus, which is a locally-made hummus brand. I liked their sweet potato hummus, but when I saw they had a spicy avocado version, I just had to get it. It tastes like a blend of guacamole and hummus and it’s really good! The sweet potato chips were awesome dipped in it.

Two of my favorite dips in one!

And finally, I tried a Sumo orange for the first time. My dad spotted them at Whole Foods, picked up a few, and I took a couple with me to try. They definitely live up to their name in size, and they have an amazing, juicy, tangerine-like taste. I recommend them if you love oranges!

For size comparison, a Sumo on the left, a blood orange on the right.

What was the best thing you ate this weekend? What do you do on “not hungry” days?