Some Things and Some Stuff

After ripping my last contact lens in Pittsburgh, I pulled out my phone to call my eye doctor and order a new box. I scrolled down to "D" for "Dr. Geri Bauer" (first name necessary because I used to see a Dr. Bauers when I lived with my parents...7 years ago. Okay, no longer necessary). 

"How many doctors is it appropriate for a 29-year-old woman to have in her phone?" I asked Tom (shout out). 

"If you have any more than 6, there's something wrong," he said.

I have 8. And a physical therapist. There's something wrong. And it's eating up too much of my time. 

I tutored right after work today and then rushed to my appointment with my rheumatologist. I waited for so long I had to cancel my next appointment, which was with my physical therapist. The bottom line: All of these mediocre health "issues" are taking up way too much of my time. 

The rheumatologist stands by his initial diagnosis of fibromyalgia, which I had hoped was maybe a bit premature. I definitely have hip bursitis, which is the only thing that's currently bothering me. Bursitis, he says, is actually common in people with fibro. So, according to him, the pain in my hip is a symptom, not the actual issue.

Since my stomach is still reeling from my weekend and my late-night hankerings, I'm not only going to try to stick to a vegan diet, but I am going to be mindful of eating foods that also aid in anti-inflammation (is that the correct terminology?):

Minus the meat, dairy, and unlimited cooked Asian mushrooms

Going to the doctor today also meant an encounter with the dreaded scale, something I've avoided since around the Super Bowl. I asked the nurse if I could not look at the scale. I didn't. However, as she was putting information into the computer, she mentioned that I weighed less than I did at my last visit...I knew that, but I also know that I weigh more than I did at the peak of my weight loss...which was still shy of my ultimate goal. 

When she left the room, I quickly snuck on the scale before the doctor arrived. Okay, it's not so bad. I'm up 5 lbs, but that also means I'm still down 5 lbs. Some pants are too tight, but none are so tight that they actually feel shorter. My gut may feel bloated, but it's not as roll-y as it was before. There is still hope.

The new bottom line: I need to get back on the horse. That means: the weekends are my time for recreation, but that doesn't mean I can go crazy with food. I'm officially back on the vegan horse, which seems like an oxymoron (speaking of which, just found a leak of Schoolboy Q's new album...can't wait to see him in 2 weeks).  

Okay, that was slightly irrelevant. Time to get back on track in more ways than one:

MONDAY = GYM AND COUNTING CALORIES. This week doesn't count because Monday was a holiday. 

Not much interesting food news to post (other than I've been stuffing my face in bed late at night), but I did try to recreate my Pittsburgh golden oat smoothie yesterday. 

I made this with one banana, a cup (I think? It was too early for memories) of oats, a cup of almond milk, turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger. And ice. No perfume, although it's in the photo. The result: Too watery. Needs less milk and more banana. Do over!

I also managed to stay vegan at Surf Taco yesterday. 

Costa Rican burrito bowl, no cheese, add guac

I was also excited to come home to a case of Brad's Raw Crunchy Kale from Laura!!! (I think I ate 3 already).

Nom nom nom...my bestie is the best

I got back in the kitchen today, too, because I was inspired by some Simple Veganista recipes. 

For dinner today, I made roasted cauliflower and chickpeas with mustard dressing. 

This was very easy and much more tasty than I expected - I mixed a head of cauliflower (cut into florets) and a can of rinsed and drained garbanzo beans with 2 tablespoons of EVOO and some salt and roasted it at 400 degrees for 45 minutes (stirring every 15). I kept checking the recipe to see what I forgot. No seasonings?! Surely you must be mistaken, Simple Veganista!

Meanwhile, I prepared two very uninvolved things: a cup of quinoa on the stove and mustard dressing. The dressing calls for a tablespoon of Dijon mustard and a tablespoon of whole grain mustard, and of course I chose today to bring my Dijon mustard to work and leave it there (it's always something - but better mustard than my wallet). I used 2 tablespoons of whole grain Dijon mustard (mind-blowing, right? Thanks, Trader Joe), 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, and a tablespoon of EVOO. I mixed this dressing with the beans and cauli when they were done roasting and had cooled for a few minutes. Oh, I also chopped up very little parsley and mixed that in, too. Whenever I go to chop parsley, I'm like "Why the F did I buy this?! I hate this!" ...but it was pretty unnoticeable in this mustardy goodness (I could eat mustard with a spoon).

I don't have nutrition facts yet, but this is supposed to make 2 servings with some leftover quinoa (yeah, serve this on top of the quinoa, BTW). This was a great portion size, absolutely delicious, and sometimes sinus-clearing (and almost a parallel sentence). I give it an A.

I also finally made rustic apple and pear crisp. 

This was also really easy: wash, core, and dice 3 apples and 3 pears. If you're like me, laugh at yourself and how inept you are at coring and dicing things.

Mix with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of cornstarch, a tablespoon of sugar, and a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon (crap, I used a heaping tablespoon). This goes into a 9 x 9 baking pan...or, if you're like me, an 8 x 8 baking pan and also a loaf pan.

Then mix together 1 3/4 cup oats, a cup of chopped walnuts (crap, I bought a half cup...improvised with another half-ish cup of sliced almonds), 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, a teaspoon of vanilla extract (imitation for me), and some salt. This goes on top of the apple-pear mixture, but it didn't seem to make enough for me. The recipe calls for an optional 1/4 cup of almond meal and it probably needs it.

This bakes at 350 for 35-40 minutes. I went with 35 since the oven was still cooling down from 400 degrees.

No nutrition facts here, either, but this serves 6. I mean...one. Because I'm about to eat the whole thing in one sitting.

A Rave and a Review

It's about to get TMI with 3 additional letters. I am PMSing and that means I want to eat everything and I don't care how many calories I consume today. My boss brought a box of Munchkins into the office today and it was on - I needed a donut.

The day started off well with a smoothie + a cup of blueberries for breakfast. My new supply of garcinia cambogia came in the mail, and this kind also has coffee bean extract in it. Oh yeah, of course I drank coffee, too.

I forgot my salad dressing AGAIN so I ate the other half of my satay noodles for lunch along with the snack I packed - guacamole hummus and some baby carrots. So few calories for so much deliciousness! 

Well, by 1:00, I was hungry again (remember how my lunch is at 10:27 AM?!). I had made a delicious chickpea salad last night and I brought in a small container of it...and housed that as a snack on hall duty. The need for donuts persisted.

Forty minutes later, it was my prep time. I tried to hold myself over with 3 water crackers, but those are not very donuty. The closest thing to donuts in the office, besides the actual donuts, was the caramel popcorn. Although I now know that the caramel was made with butter, I also knew that the popcorn would be a better bet than a munchkin. I had to remind myself that I said I wasn't going to be "that strict" about my veganness anymore. 

I had to tutor 2 students after school and I had a plan for my way home: we'll get to that in a second. First, the chickpea salad (this is the rave)...

Not this kind of rave

How to Make TO-DIE-FOR Curried Chickpea Salad (adapted from The Simple Veganista)

Mix together the following:

• 2 cans of rinsed and drained chickpeas
• 3 peeled and diced carrots (1 cup)
• 5 sliced green onions (1 cup)
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup reduced sugar Craisins
• 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces

In a separate bowl, mix together these ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup tahini (thin with water until it reaches desired consistency)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Then, mix it all together. I swirled a little bit of agave on top to pick up the sweetness of the dried fruits and mixed it together even more. Mash it up a bit with a potato masher. Then, eat it plain or make an awesome sandwich on a multigrain sandwich thin with arugula and tomato like so:

...freakin HEAVEN.

And what's even better? Let's talk about my pit stop.

I always describe where I live as boring, but convenient. I am close to several major highways and it's easy to get pretty much anywhere I need to go. But there is really nothing to do in the immediate area.

However, we have a pretty cute little Main St. Again, there's not much on it, but there is a bar specializing in craft beer and...a vegan bakery (there is also a vegan restaurant somewhere in town now, so apparently my boring slice of suburbia is pretty vegan-friendly). 

And this is not just any vegan bakery. Papa Ganache won Food Network's Cupcake Wars (to be honest, I've never seen the show and the whole cupcake/cake pop trend irks me a little), which is kind of a big deal. I'd been wanting to try the place for a while and I was also curious how they manage to stay in business in such a tucked away little corner of nowhere.

First of all, when I arrived, the parking lot was packed. I'm pretty sure I parked illegally in a bank of icesnow. 

I didn't take a picture of the front because I felt like a creep

The inside was pretty busy too, with a guest presumably planning a party and some people playing Connect Four at one of the tables along the wall. The walls were decorated with adorable muffin tins and other baking accoutrements. I was psyched to see that they also offer vegan food: stromboli, pizza, chili, macaroni and cheese, and soups. I was not psyched to see that they didn't have any donuts. :( I've actually been obsessed with vegan donuts for some time now...one of our students works at the amazing food truck, The Cinnamon Snail, and she would frequently bring us tons (possibly literally) of leftover pastries. 

Anyway, do you know what they did have a ton of? Cupcakes. I figured that was a good place to start. I had already perused their menu online, and the list of available treats scrawled on a chalkboard display was daunting. Sometimes I didn't know what was what. There was a line behind me, so I didn't want to linger. I decided on a caramel chocolate pretzel, because how can you go wrong with that? And then I spotted them: SEVEN-LAYER COOKIES. I am obsessed with seven-layer cookies and I had even been craving my Nana's light and airy almond cookies out of the blue today. 

"Are those rainbow - or seven-layer - cookies?!" I cried.

"Yes, but they're $2 each," answered the bakery employee, as if that was going to stop me from getting one (it did stop me from getting more than one, and that's probably a good thing). The mac and cheese's price of $8.50 did deter me from a purchase today, but this weekend might be a good time to dive in.

My cupcake and cookie came to $5.89, and I left a $1 tip because I knew I'd be back. Now the important question was, could I make it home without opening the box and stuffing my face?

I guess today's willpower is a little bit stronger than I thought. I downed my dinner of a chickpea salad sandwich in record time and went for the seven-layer cookie first. 

HOLY SHIT. Yes, I am using an actual curse word on my so-far pretty-clean blog. I ate this too quickly to take a close-up photo - and I really tried to savor it and eat it in five or six little bites. This tasted better than any seven-layer cookie I've ever had - and admittedly, my ex's Italian grandmother made some pretty good ones. This one was more moist (I hate that word) that a non-vegan cookie and it had just the right amounts of almond and chocolate. They could charge $4 and I'd still go back and get another one. I wish they made these, like, brownie sized. Amazing. 

Then it was time for the cupcake. I think I've had a similar kind from Confections of a Rock Star, but it wasn't vegan (although they do have vegan options). This one was good: the cake wasn't super dense like vegan cakes can be and the pretzels were nice and fresh (I feel like it's easy for them to get stale-ish when they're sitting on top of a cupcake).

My only complaint is that this cupcake was a bit shallow and piled high with frosting.

Cupcake under my nails like a slob

There was a filling in the middle and it was good, but I'm not sure if it was caramel. Overall, this was enjoyable, but I'd be happy to try something else next time (maybe even a non-cupcake baked good). I wish they made seven-layer cupcakes...OMG I can't get over these.

It's also really cool that Papa Ganache is owned by an LCSW who runs the Papa Ganache Project, an interactive and educational bakery program for at-risk kids. I am thrilled to have this business in my community and I know that I will be back soon...like, possibly tomorrow. 

Day Two

Well, I have two pieces of sorta-good news. #1, I just got this e-mail:

...and that's just in the past 5 days (probably mostly in the last 2, though!). And #2, it may be too early to sing the praises of garcinia cambogia, but I've been taking the supplement for a few days now and it really seems to be blocking my appetite. I'm currently sitting in front of 2/3 of my dinner, wondering if I even want any more. I did the same at lunch. I even resisted all of the snacks at work today (except my co-worker's amazing hummus, which thankfully made my leftovers bearable). Did I mention that we have work parties, like, every day? We definitely love our food, so I was proud of myself for resisting all of the chocolate, cookies, and leftover holiday goodies that nobody wants in her house after ringing in the New Year.

I'm pretty sure I'm done eating for the day (and I might even put half of my dinner in the fridge) so here are my totals (which will obviously go down if I do):

Fat: 11 g

Carbs: 249 g (OK, WTF, really?)

Protein: 54 g

Calories: 1,313 (101 under budget! Woohoo!)

I didn't make it to the gym yesterday due to staying out too late on Saturday night, and I didn't make it today due to leaving my headphones at home (classic excuse, right?). One of these days, I'll make it (I'm looking at you, Wednesday) and then I'll be in a good place, calorie-wise! But what's up with these carbs? Vegan friends, please weigh in! Do I have to give up bacon, cheese, and potatoes? And couscous? Ay dios mio. 

Here's my breakdown of the day -

Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast Crunch (3/4 cup) with Silk Almond milk (1/2 cup)

I woke up at 5:20 this morning using the Sleep Cycle app (shaking my fist that I could technically sleep for another 40 minutes). I usually wake up starving, but I never have time to eat breakfast. I get to work at 7:00 and my lunch break is at 10:23 (seriously), so if I eat anything at all for breakfast, it's usually a granola bar or something (and I just learned the Special K ones I was eating are 360 calories).

Today, I didn't wake up starving. Today, I had time to eat breakfast before I left the house (standing over the kitchen counter, making coffee). Somehow, that measly 3/4 cup of the food of the gods, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, satisfied me. I could house an entire box of that stuff, but I was good. I grabbed my coffee and almond milk to go and then resisted that table of snacks in my office (I did have another black coffee with one Splenda to make up for the extra 40 minutes of sleep I usually get).

Lunch: Colossally Disappointing Spaghetti with Grilled Asparagus, Peas, and Lemon (Where?)

I was pretty excited to make this yesterday because I like the idea of peas in pasta and I like lemony pasta as well. I'll tell you how to do it (and then why you shouldn't bother).

Normally, these would be an awesome side

I tossed 8 stalks of asparagus in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 minced garlic cloves (to be honest, I probably used 3 or 4. I usually double the garlic that recipes call for). Then I grilled these in a grill pan (duh) on the stove top just until they got a little dark. I put these aside and cut them into threes.

I made the pasta - the recipe called for fettuccine and, I kid you not, I did not find any at Trader Joe's. I used spaghetti instead. Six ounces. SIX OUNCES. This recipe is for TWO SERVINGS. Who eats THREE OUNCES OF PASTA at a time? I live in NEW JERSEY. My mother is ITALIAN. Pasta should be eaten, like, by the box. I was going to have to limit myself to three measly ounces of pasta? I felt like this: 

That left me with peas: I bought a bag of English peas in the produce section of Trader Joe's, so I steamed them in the microwave. When the pasta was done, I drained it and tossed it with the veggies. I also added about 2 tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, which I just decided that I hate. This was basically a bowl of peas with a few strands of spaghetti and some bitterish roughage. I could taste the lemon if I ate a piece of asparagus by itself, but that flavor was lost if I had a bite of everything together. And did I mention how starchy this was? Pasta needs some kind of sauce, people. Next time I'd toss it with some lemon and white wine, perhaps. I guess I should be avoiding olive oil.

Oh there's more...I also made Baked Marinated Chickpeas. 

These smelled like the best thing in the world while they were cooking, but I screwed up the recipe by using two cans of chick peas rather than two cups. After rinsing, these get mixed with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 2 1/2 tablespoons of tamari, 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon of pure maple syrup. Then they're baked at 400 for about 20-25 minutes. Since the bean to dressing ratio was off, they came out a little dry. I ate them with my dinner, but the ones I brought for lunch are still in the fridge at work.

Dry beans and pasta-less pasta

Jen's homemade hummus saved my leftovers

Nutrition Facts

Pasta

Calories: 385
Fat: 5 g
Sat Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 15.6 g
Carbs: 71 g
Sugar: 6.5 g
Fiber: 3.8 g
Sodium: 165 mg

Beans

Calories: 285
Fat: 4.3 g
Sat Fat: 0.4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 15 g
Carbs: 48 g
Sugar: 3 g
Fiber: 10.2 g
Sodium: 432 mg

Dinner: Moroccan Bean Stew with Sweet Potatoes

I served this over a serving of Trader Joe's whole wheat couscous. The recipe makes 6 servings, so I'll be eating this for a while. Luckily, it's pretty good.

I mixed together: 1 teaspoon cumin seed, 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon dried basil, a couple of grinds a sea salt, a sprinkling of chili powder (insert footnote here), and black pepper.

OK, footnote: The recipe actually called for a few (optional) pinches of cayenne pepper. I used my cayenne not too long ago, and it looked a little weird when I opened it...like, cobwebby. I figured it had just been sitting too long, unused, and I used some of it. Today, when I opened my cayenne, it was not only still cobwebby, but it had A FRIGGIN FLY IN IT. A living being hatched in my cayenne pepper. AND I ATE IT NOT THAT LONG AGO. Gag. I did not take a picture of my cayenne fly (okay, appetite fully gone), but here is how lovely the spices looked:

These went in a big pot on medium with a tablespoon of water. Instant smoke. I think I've inhaled more spices in the last two days than...well, I don't usually inhale spices so I don't know. I'm not used to this cooking without oil thing.

Shadowy iPhone photography

After a few minutes, I dumped in 1 1/2 cups of diced (or whatever sloppy technique I used) yellow onion, 4 (or 6) minced garlic cloves, and 3 1/2 cups of diced sweet potatoes (not peeled). I let this cook for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently because it was still very dry. Between yesterday's curry and today's...well, everything...I probably smell like a spice market. 

After that, I finally got to add some liquids - 3 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth and 3 1/2 cups of water. I also added a 14 ounce can of black beans and a 14 ounce can of chickpeas (both rinsed and drained) and a cup of dry red lentils (also rinsed). Once this boiled, I reduced the heat to medium-low and cooked, covered, for about 20 minutes. The recipe calls for fresh grated ginger on top, but my grater is dirty. I just sprinkled on some ground ginger and served it all on top of some couscous. 

The final product 

I'm not totally blown away by awesomeness, but this is hearty and pretty good. I prefer yesterday's curried tomato lentil soup, but this is even more filling. And the run down: 

Calories: 381
Fat: 2.8 g
Sat Fat: .3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 21 g
Carbs: 71 g (COME ON!)
Sugar: 7.5 g
Fiber: 19.2 g
Sodium: 397 mg

And today's snacks: I had another oatmeal banana bite and this one was drier than the first. Next time I'll pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. OH, and I had one grape tomato. 

...until tomorrow!