Nut Butter Lover

Bullfighting in Spain

2011-10-12T11:47:00.001-04:00

Finally, my post on La Corrida de los Toros (The Running of the Bulls/Bullfighting)!

A few weekends ago, three of my friends and I decided to check off another "Spain Bucket-List" activity and headed to a bullfight.

For those of you not familiar with the sport, bullfighting is a tradition in Spain in which several bulls are enticed into a bullring to "fight" with matadors. The tradition goes back to prehistoric bull workship and sacrifice. Spanish-style bullfighting is called la corrida de toros (running of the bulls). In a traditional corrida, there are three matadors. Each matador has six assistants--two picadores (lancers on horseback), three banderilleros, and a mozo de espadas (sword page). The whole event lasts about 2 hours with the sacrifice of six bulls in total.

Of course, there is a lot of controversy surrounding this ritual. I will admit that the first sacrifice was difficult to watch. I was unable to understand the significance of the sacrifice and the bueaty in the tradition. But, as I continued to watch I developed an appreciation for the art behind it. To me, it was as thought the matador and the bull were partaking in a dance--a dance in which the matador seduced the bull to his triumphant end.

I could go on and on about my many thoughts regarding this experience, but that would be boring and perhaps a bit too tendentious. Instead, I will simply say that I am glad to have experienced a bullfight; it is a part of the Spanish culture that I felt was important to be exposed to.

But what about you; what are your thoughts on bullfighting? Are you against the sacrifice of animales for sport? Do you see this as a form of animal abuse?

I'm interested to hear your thoughts--if you'd like to share please leave a comment in the comment section and I'll be sure to respond!

What I Ate [This Weekend]

2011-10-05T09:59:00.000-04:00

I know, I said that my next post was going to be a re-cap of a Bullfight. That's next, I promise. But first, since it's Wednesday, I wanted to do another WIAW post! This week I'm doing a WIA[This Weekend] because my friend Vivian was in town to visit and we had some really delicious eats!

Since Vivian has never been to Spain before, I knew that we needed to start her trip off on the right foot with a Tapas dinner!

Patatas Bravas: typically consists of white potatoes that have been cut and then fried in olive oil and served warm with a spicy tomato sauce.

Croquetas: typically filled with bechamel, jamón, onions, or mushroom.

This is not a typical Spanish tapas but the "grilled chicken with caramelized onions and a warm curry sauce on top of a crisp piece of toast" was enough to sell us. :)

I'm not usually one for salmon dishes (especially bagels and lox--I know, who am I?!) but this also had caramelized onions and we were loving the flavors from the last dish. This came with the most amazing cheese--I could just eat a block of that creamy cheese!

And well of course a night in Spain could not be complete without a generous helping of Dulce de Leche gelato.

In staying true to our Spanish weekend, I took Vivian to a cute cafe for lunch for a menú del día. We decided to order all different dishes so that she could try a little bit of everything! First up were our primero platos (first course). This dish was incredible. Imagine perfectly baked potato rounds topped with fresh jamón de miel (honey ham) topped with queso ibérico (Iberian cheese) and finished with a sprinkle of paprika. Do these pictures even do it justice? This was by far our favorite dish.

Next up: the classic, Paella Mixta. This particular paella was very good--not too seafood-y and just enough for the both of us to try.

One of our segundo platos (second course) was baked chicken drumsticks with patatas bravas (these come with just about every entree you order in Spain). The chicken was literally falling off of the bone, and cooked in the most amazing sauce. Amazing.

Our other entree was typical albondigas con patatas bravas (meatballs). Again, perfectly cooked. The sauce on the meatballs was spot on!

A menú del día is not complete without a postre (dessert), so we chose the chocolate cake which was a puffed chocolate sponge cake with just the right amount of sweetness and a Spanish custard with a delicious sugar cookie.

...and then we decided that we needed some chocolate from one of the oldest pastry shops in Madrid. When in Spain, right? This little white chocolate mouse-guy powered me through an entire afternoon of shopping!

On Vivian's last day we went to both El Museo de Prado (The Prado Museum) and the Reina Sofia. Vivian is an art history major so this was right up her alley! In between museums we grabbed lunch at one of my favorite spots, "Cervecería 100 Montaditos." We split the sandwiches below. I don't remember exactly everyone that we ordered, but I do remember we got a classic montadito con tortilla española (mini sandwich with the traditional egg quiche), con jamón y quacamole (ham and guacamole), y con pollo asado y queso (roasted chicken with cheese). They were delicious!

Will you look at that sauce? It was to-die-for-amazing-garlic.

With a café con leche for Vivian.

We had a great weekend!

I'm so glad that she came to visit me and that we got to eat some of the best food I've had here in Madrid, which is saying a lot because I've had a lot of good food here! I can't wait to learn how to make all of these amazing dishes from my friends here so that I can share it with everyone back home. :)

Hiking: Los Cotos, Spain

2011-10-01T17:10:00.001-04:00

First, Happy October 1st! Can you believe we're already into October? Where did September go? I've only got 2 1/2 more months here! Not enough..

Anyway! I promised you last time I checked in a re-cap of my hiking trip from a few weekend ago and now I am keeping to my promise!

Madrid is a city for those who love to walk. I frequently find that the best way to explore and discover a city is to walk it and get a little lost. I did that in New York and I do that here everyday in Madrid. There is no grid-system like in New York. The roads go each and every way and street names are so similar that you easily forget which road you meant to take. Was is "Calle Segovia" or "Ronda de Segovia"? But don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, because if it weren't for the crazy winding roads, I wouldn't have discovered some of the best kept secrets of Madrid--like where to eat, what plazas to sun bath in, or where to just people watch! And of course, Madrid is pregnant with history that is evident in every building, cathedral, sidewalk, bridge, and fountain. I'm so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to be here. Hmmm...what does this have to do with hiking? Get to it already, Cindy!

Despite how much my friends and I love this city, we wanted a day in nature, to explore yet another part of Madrid and the wonderful country side of Spain. So we ventured to Los Cotos, a town about 2 hours via train outside of the heart of Madrid. There's really no way to describe the beauty of the mountains we climbed and paths we hiked, so I'll leave you with these pictures.

Stay tuned for the next post about my experience at a Bull Fight. It might be a bit graphic so if you're a vegetarian, animal right's activist, or bothered by slightly explicit pictures, you may want to skip reading the next post.

On a happier note, I hope you're all having a great weekend!

What I Ate [Friday]

2011-09-30T05:11:00.001-04:00

I thought it might be fun to join in on the "What I Ate Wednesday" blog-world event where every Wednesday bloggers share their eats of the day. In my WIAW edition, I'd share my Spanish eats and kitchen creations from the week. I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, so this this week I'm sharing my creations from the kitchen! These creations aren't fancy, time-consuming recipes but rather creative spins on classic meal options that are satisfying and nutritious. (Note: I'll normally do these on Wednesdays, but today we'll start with Friday)

Veggie filled salad with lots of chickpeas, my favorite!

Brown rice cooked in chicken stock with sauteed red peppers, onions, and fresh tomato. Topped with hummus and goat cheese.

I'm really proud of this one! I know it looks a little funny, but it's a quick dinner and fulfills all of the important food groups: vegetable, carbohydrate, protein, and fat: Two eggs steamed in the microwave with curry powder, sauteed onions and bell peppers, 2 pieces of toast topped with goat cheese and homemade hummus.

Not great picture quality here, sorry, but I've become a master at making paninis. It's another great way to make a quick and healthy meal. Here I've got two pieces of multi-grain toast with a spread of jelly (this is key--sweet and savory is the best!), roasted red peppers, deli turkey, sliced cheese, hummus, and cucumbers. And a side of roasted broccoli and onions.

I told you I love paninis. I just can't get enough! This one is very similar to the last but I also added some fresh tomato slices.

This was another good one--especially since I utilized some left over chicken I cooked up the night before. Roasted broccoli, chicken, onions, and tomato atop a toasted WW pita pocket with hummus and goat cheese. Yes, I'm on a hummus and goat cheese kick--I'm officially an addict.

Now that I'm on a relatively normal schedule here with school and daily activities, I've had more time to devote to making my own meals, which I love to do. Of course I go out and enjoy the occasional Spanish menú del día, but the kitchen always calls to me after a weekend of eating out.

I anticipate some great eats this weekend since my friend Vivian is coming to visit me! Obviously I have to introduce her to the wonderful Spanish cuisine! ~~Sangria~~ Paella anyone?

Be back soon with a post on my hiking adventure from a few weeks ago. The pictures will blow your mind.

Of Possible Interest: I recently read this article, "Nut Butter Gets Better" on Rachel Ray's website. I love peanut butter, but my favorite type of nut butter is sunflower seed butter. It's nice to see the nutritional benefits of the different kinds of nut butters. I can't wait to try walnut butter! Go out and buy yourself a jar of your favorite nut butter, or *gasp* if you don't like nut butters, you can buy me one! ;)

3 Weeks

2011-09-18T10:35:00.001-04:00

Sorry for my brief hiatus. I really don't have an excuse, other than I've been living and loving my life here in Spain. I've only been here for three weeks but it feels like forever :)

Salamanca, Spain

Boating in Retiro Park (Central Park of Madrid)

Hiking outside of Spain

Tapas bar hopping! Trying to find the best tinto de verano (typical Spanish drink of Red Wine, Seltzer/Sprite)!

What have I been up to for the past two weeks? Well, classes started on the 5th and it's been non-stop ever since! Classes are great--albeit super challenging, but in the best way possible. I'm talking all of my classes this semester in Spanish in an attempt to master the language and leave (tear...) this country fluent.

I'm not quite there yet, but each day I feel myself getting a little bit better, whether it's learning new vocabulary, picking up on colloquial phrases, or being able to understand an entire conversation (eavesdropping) about "dinner last night" on the metro.

I really wish that these pictures could dispense all 5 senses, but since they can't, try to use all of your senses to enjoy these pictures.

Can you taste these churros? The rich pure chocolate?

Oldest University in Spain and 3rd in Europe: University of Salamanca (1134)

It's Sunday today, which means two things. First: homework day. Second: Bull Fights. Yep, we're going to a bull fight tonight. I've been warned many times that the bull fight can be quite scary, but I'm in Madrid and it's a must-do! I'll let you know how it goes! Perhaps in words, pictures might be a bit emotionally scaring...?

Until then!
Tengan un buen domingo! (Have a great Sunday!)

Segovia, Spain

2011-09-05T08:53:00.002-04:00

If you ever get the chance to visit Spain, you need to add Segovia to your list of must sees. Rich with Spanish history, Segovia was named a World Heritage site in 1985 by UNESCO.

We spent the day touring the city top to bottom. Here's what we saw,

Alcazar of Segovia
The oldest testimony of the Alcázar is a document dating from the early days of the 12th century (1122). The fortress was said to have existed since the Roman occupation and was a key fortress for the control of Castile. Later, the Alcázar was used as a state prison, and in 1762 Carlos III installed the Royal School of Artillery which, remained until 1862.

The Alcázar is also said to have been the inspiration for Walt Disney's castle, can't you see it? :)

Next we walked to the Cathedral of Segovia, actually built to replace an earlier Romanesque one which had been located near the Alcázar and was destroyed during the revolt of the Comuneros against Charles V. Work on the cathedral started in 1525, so the style is extremely late Gothic.

The final stop was at the Roman Aqueduct of Segovia. Despite being 2,000 years old, the aqueduct still delivers potable water to Segovia! This Roman masterpiece was built with 20,400 stone blocks perfectly constructed (without mortar or concrete!) to resist passing storms and earthquakes.

What a morning! We walked and walked and walked! I love walking, but this is serious business! We definitely worked up an appetite for none other than a menú del día, what else? :)

Paella mixta

Flan

Unfortunately, this menú del día just didn't cut it. I ordered the paella as my first course and it was very good, but my entree is not even worth talking about (nor worth taking a picture of). The flan was pretty good--I'm looking forward to trying better though!

Classes started today! I've already changed my classes around a bit and added some new ones! I'm really looking forward to getting into an actual routine--I need routine in my life to function well!

It's siesta time right now in Spain so I'm working on organizing my schedule and preparing for a full day of classes tomorrow!

Stay tuned for a post about our day trip to Salamanca!

Hasta luego!

Cafeterías!

2011-09-02T18:05:00.001-04:00

One thing is for sure, Spaniards love their food. But eating in Spain is much different than in the United States. Here's the typical day of Spanish meals, when they are eaten, and sample menus:

El Desayuno (breakfast) is the smallest meal of the day and usually includes café con leche (espresso with hot milk), pan (toast), or churros.

Churros y café con leche

Tapas (little Spanish meals) are eaten after breakfast almost as a second breakfast, but before lunch.
Spanish love tapas so much. There's a common phrase here: Vamos a tapear! (Let’s go eat tapas!) A few of the most popular tapas are tortilla española (Spanish omelet), patatas bravas (potatoes with spicy brava sauce), and gambas al ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce).

Patatas bravas

La Comida/Almuerzo (lunch). In Spain, lunch is the largest meal of the day. And when I say large, I mean huge! Lunch is frequently multiple courses--especially if you go out to eat and order the menú del día (menu of the day). Some standard lunch fare items include: gazpacho (cold tomato soup), sopa (soup), pescado (fish), pollo con patatas (chicken with fries), ensalada mixta con atún (salad with tuna), flan, helado (ice cream), and café con leche.

Source

Also, bread is always served with meals in Spain. However, it is mostly used as another utensil to mop up sauces.
Another thing about the lunch period in Spain; normally, Spaniards have a 2-3 hour break from work or school in order to eat lunch and take a siesta (nap). During this time, the entire country closes from about 2:00pm to 4:30/5:00pm.

La Merienda (snack) is eaten in the late afternoon/early evening. This snack can be anything since it's really just something to hold the Spaniards over until their dinner later that evening around 9:30PM. It could be a piece of toast, postre (pastry), or jamón serrano (cured ham).

Source

La Cena (dinner) is eaten late in the evening anytime between 9-11PM. It is typically smaller than lunch in size. A dinner might include fresh fish, paella, roast chicken, patatas fritos (fried potatoes), or arroz (rice).

Tortilla Española

After dinner, the night is only just beginning for the Spaniards. On the weekends it's not unusual for a family to return home round 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. So, after a late-night dinner, Spaniards continue their socializing at local cafés or go out to a nightclub or disco-pub.

Club in Madrid

On the way home from an evening of fun, one might stop by a churreria (a churro stand). To accompany one's churros, hot chocolate is the drink of choice! But chocolate in Spain is not like the chocolate in the USA. Spanish chocolate is made hot and very thick. And tt is usually made from fresh, whole milk.

Churros con chocolate

The past couple of days during orientation, Soo, Zahra, and I have been trying different menus del día. One day we went to "Met Bar & Lounge" for lunch.

Ensalada con queso de cabra y miel (Salad with goat cheese and honey)

Pollo a la parilla con verduras (Grilled chicken with vegetables)

Postres! (Desserts!)

So that's a little taste of Spain, if you will.

Yesterday we had a tour of the Reina Sofía Museo (Queen Sophia Museum) and today we took a day trip to Segovia, so I owe you recaps of both of those! Stay tuned!

Vale! Bueno, hasta luego! (See you later!)

Vale!

2011-08-31T11:03:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I've only been here for 4 days! I really feel like I'm adjusting to the culture and language of the Spanish people. On Saturday when I went out to explore, I grabbed lunch at a local café called "Cervecería 100 Montaditos". The bar serves 100 different kinds of sandwiches on baguette rolls. I ordered the Pan Cereals, Gambas con tomate natural y lechuga (grain bread, shrimp, tomato salsa paste, lettuce) which is served with a side of freshly baked/fried chips.

It was delicious! But, I definitely didn't know it was going to be that small...next time I'm going to order 3 different ones to try! And the best part? This meals was only 1.20E (about $1.73)! How great is that? And on Wednesdays, they have a 1E deal! You can bet I'll be frequenting this place for lunch :)

Later that evening, my friends Zahra and Soo arrived to the apartment and we spent the evening unpacking and settling in. Skip ahead to Sunday and we had a truly Spanish day. We embraced the 3:00PM lunch time with a menu del día (menu of the day). At 12E, each person gets a drink choice, appetizer, entree, and postre (dessert). We decided that we wanted to try a lot of unique Spanish dishes and each ordered something different to share.

Gazpacho (A Spanish-style soup made from tomatoes and other vegetables and spices, served cold)

Ensalada con atún (Salad with tuna--this is very typical)

Paella (A Spanish dish of rice, saffron, chicken, seafood, etc)

Churrasco de la Ternera a la Parilla (Grilled beef rib with potato fries and roasted red peppers)

Another dish with Ternero--it was very tender!

Tortilla Española (a thick egg omelet made with potatoes and cooked in olive oil)

Flan de huevo (egg custard with a typical Spanish cookie)

The flan de huevo was definitely our favorite, so delicious.

Flan (custard with caramel)

Helado (ice cream)

In Spain, almuerzo (lunch) lasts for nearly 2 hours. This is definitely something we're adjusting to here, but welcoming to leisurely time with open arms.

Later Sunday evening Zahra, Soo, and I met up with some other NYU students around 7PM and went to El Jardín Secreto (The Secret Garden) for some drinks. It was a cute place and I got a blended fruit juice drink and we all shared a brownie/ice cream/fruit dessert. Everything was great!

Afterwards, we explored the area on our way back home.

El Palacio Royal (The Royal Palace)

El Senado de Madrid (The Senate)

Stay tuned for my next post which will include more Spain pictures and food features!

Vale (Okay!), the Spaniards use this word in just about every sentence!

I have arrived: Madrid, Spain!

2011-08-27T06:29:00.000-04:00

Hello hello! I'm back in full force for blogging, Madrid edition!

This morning at 7:25AM (Spain time), 1:25AM EST, I arrived in Madrid, Spain to begin my four month study abroad adventure! My journey here was uneventful compared to the excitement on the east coast now--that is, hurricane Irene. She's bound and determined to delay flights out of the east coast. I flew from Cleveland to Washington, DC to Madrid in about 11 hours of total travel time--not bad! I slept a bit here and there, but most of the time I was reading, playing Sudoku, or watching movies ("Water for Elephants", anyone?)

I was starving by the time "dinner" rolled around at 8:30PM! Who knew the air crew was going to withhold food for that long?! The meal choices weren't too bad for airplane food--a choice of rosemary chicken with potatoes or ricotta tortellini in a tomato sauce. Well, that was a pretty easy choice for me seeing as I've been on a major ricotta cheese kick and I love Italian food. The entree came with a "side salad" (aka wilted greens), a dinner roll, and an oatmeal chewy brownie.

I'm feeling pretty good for getting about 3 hours of light napping on the plane ride from Washington, DC. I'm hoping to push through the day without sleeping and then crashing tonight to get in sync with Madrid time.

When I did finally make it off the plane I had to wait for my luggage for about 30 minutes. I then found my car service (I know, sounds fancy, but it was so convenient and worth the extra $$!) and had a quick 20 minute ride to my apartment. I met my landlords in the lobby and was welcome with the traditional European double cheek kiss--so cute! My landlords are some of the most kind people I've ever met! They are so excited to have me here and even took me out for my first Spanish meal--desayuno (breakfast) of té (tea), café (coffee), pan tostado (toast), and churros (referred to as a Spanish doughnut). I wasn't able to take a picture, but it looked a lot like this:

Source

After our breakfast, Segrario y Carlos (my landlords) drove me around town a bit to show me where los supermercados (supermarkets) and las farmacias (pharmacy) are as well as several well-known places in Madrid--Plaza Mayor, el Palacio Royal, el Prado, and many cafeterías (coffee house, small eating establishments).

I am now back at my apartment working on unpacking my things to make this place home for the next 4 months. Check it out!

My room!

Nice window with a view of the great Madrid outdoors

Living Room

Living Room/Dining Area

Bathroom

Kitchen

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #3

Our apartment is huge! It's pretty cool that we each get our own bedroom! I'm waiting for my friends to arrive, I can't wait for them to get here so that we can start this adventure!

I'm thinking about heading outside soon to explore a bit, I just don't want to get lost, alone :/ So we shall see!

Catch ya later with an update on my first day in Madrid!

Book Review: The Help

2011-08-08T10:14:00.000-04:00

Good Morning Blog World!

Today I'm coming at you with a book review. Since I have a lot of time on the train in the mornings and evenings, I've been able to read a fair amount of books this summer. Fair amount being 10! The most recent book I finished was The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Source

According to her website's synopsis, The Help:

"Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed."

This was by far the best book I read all summer. It was so captivating. But it was also extremely emotional. There were times where I found myself smiling one minute, tearing the next, and laughing to myself while drying my tears. Kathryn Stockett's writing is on point and true to the time. This book was very near and dear to my heart. Although I did not grow up in the south with a live in maid, I did grow up with an African American woman taking care of me while my parents were away working. I call her Nana, and she is one of the most important people in my life. I love her like I love my parents. She did, however, grow up during the time period in which this book takes place, and I found myself feeling some of the pain she experienced from segregation during those times.

I don't want to be super sappy here, but if there's a book you were going to read this year, this has got to be the one. And! The movie is coming out August 10th, so before you see the movie, read the book!

Anywho! I'm going out to dinner tonight with some friends for Restaurant Week, where NYC restaurants participate with pre-fix menus sampling some of their best dishes at an affordable price. I'll catch you later with a re-cap!

Week in Review: Dinner Edition

2011-07-31T07:42:00.000-04:00

Hey Guys! I told you I'd be back for a review of my great eats this week! This week I was forced to be a little creative in the kitchen because we didn't have as many options on hand, but no fear, my creativity shone through and I had some wonderful dinners :)

This was a stir fry of chopped brussel sprouts, carrots, and yellow bell pepper. I also had some toast with hummus on the side.

This was such an amazing salad--seriously, if you haven't tried strawberries in salad, it's a must! This salad was made with fresh-from-the-garden bib lettuce, topped with carrots, strawberries, veggie breakfast sausages, lots of salsa, and feta cheese.

I love breakfast. It's hands down my favorite meal of the day. I love going to bed at night thinking about the great breakfast I'm going to sit down to in the morning. Breakfast is so important to getting our bodies re-started for the day!

For my Sunday morning breakfast I oatmeal cooked in milk and some hemp powder, and topped with a slice of my banana blueberry bread, a banana, and drizzled with sunflower butter. I usually love this breakfast, but something about the hemp powder bothered me this time. I think it may have given me a headache...has anyone else experienced this before?

At this point you might be able to see that my veggies were pretty limited last week, but that's A-Okay because I made the best of it! I roasted up some brussel sprouts with a little worchestire and balsamic drizzle, and served an All American Flame Grilled veggie burger on top. Then topped with salsa and hummus. I LOVE these burgers! I had never had a veggie burger before this summer, but dare I say it, I may be a convert? They're so easy to make, so delicious, and have great nutritional stats! Winner in my book :)

Yeah, we were down to the very last items in the fridge here. Fresh lettuce from the garden topped with sauteed red beans and chickpeas.

Served with a piece of cinnamon raisin toast that was later ~~drenched~~ drizzled in my Dad's Kingsbury sauce.

We've had lots of fresh berries in the house though, so they've definitely made an appearance in my wonderful breakfasts! Feature: Greek yogurt, topped with the last slice of banana blueberry bread (sad!), sunflower butter, and sliced strawberries. This was so delicious and very refreshing on a hot morning (already at 5:30AM!)

I have been loving oranges this summer, and I meaning seriously loving them. I have one every single day with my lunch. They're so fresh and juicy and the perfect way to finish of my lunch.

Yesterday the dining hall at work didn't have any oranges (!) so I went to visit my great friend Chris in food prep to see if he had any extra oranges he was willing to part with. Low and behold, he had lots! He sliced up two juicy oranges for me! How great is he? The pre slicing was awesome for two reasons, first, I didn't have to get my hands all yucky from peeling the orange, and second, I could eat faster! Hmmmm maybe that's not such a good thing?

Try as I did though, I wasn't able to finish all of these slices and a few were left behind. Le sad.

I love getting creative in the kitchen. For me, it's relaxing yet fun. Using different spices, experimenting with different cooking techniques, trying different foods for the first time, all fun! We shall see what this week has in store in terms of creativity, but for now, I'm going to break for breakfast--I'm thinking waffles and peaches :)

Favorites Review!

2011-07-29T14:50:00.000-04:00

Hello All!

I'm blogging from work today, so unfortunately I can't upload my eats from this week,but stay tuned later this weekend for an update on my weekly edible creations!

However, I did want to stop by and do a quick post reviewing some of my favorite foodie items! I was thinking about doing this once a week if it's popular, what do you think? I would love to hear your feedback!

First item of review: Larabars!

Have you all had them before? I first discovered them through the blog world earlier this year, and the first one I tried was the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip:

Source

I went with something peanut buttery because, well, I love peanut butter! I was a little hesitant at first when I tried this because it looked a little funny, but I really loved it! Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip is definitely one of my favorites! The ingredient list is great, I mean, how can you go wrong with only 4 ingredients? Dates, peanuts, chocolate chips, and salt. Definitely a winner!

Next up, my ultimate favorite, Peanut Butter Cookie. Swooooon:

Source

This Larabar is my favorite for so many reasons, first being the ingredient list: peanuts, dates, salt. Again, awesome. Second, the flavor is spot on! The perfect sweet treat, or pre-workout fuel! I had this bar the other day as my mid-morning snack and it held me over quite well. I love these so much that I actually just asked my Dad to order me a box from online, and guess what? He did! Yeah, I do have the best father ever, but I think I've mentioned this before ;)

Aaaaand here we have Cashew Cookie:

Source

I don't think an ingredient list could get any shorter: cashews and dates. Prior to trying Larabars, I don't think I'd ever had a date, but now I love them! I haven't purchased any individual medjool dates yet, but I keep seeing them pop up in the blog world as a great pre-workout snack, especially paired with a nut butter (I'm thinking sunflower seed?) The flavor of this bar is on point--the cashew flavor is strong, but oh so good! I highly recommend you try this one!

I've tried several other flavors, but today I wanted to highlight some of my favorite! I keep trying to find the Blueberry Muffin and Banana Bread flavors, but I haven't found them yet! Anyone one where I can find these flavors in Manhattan?

So, if you're interested in trying a new healthy snack, go check out Larabars!

I'll check back in soon with an update on my eats this week. (There were some really greats ones, as usual!)

Attempt #1

2011-07-22T21:32:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday Evening!

What a week it has been! It's been 100F+ over here the past two days! A little too hot for my liking, thank you very much!

The past couple of days I've been experimenting in the kitchen and having a lot of fun :) For about a month now, I've been wanting to try my hands at banana bread, but have not had any ripe enough bananas to do so until a couple of days ago. I referenced Courtney's recipe for banana blueberry bread but changed things up a bit because half-way through making the bread I realized I didn't have a couple of the ingredients :/

Overall, the end product turned out...well. It definitely wasn't Courtney level, but I'm going to give myself a tap on the back considering I didn't have the applesauce, didn't add any butter/oil, and didn't have vanilla extract.

Either it wasn't completely cooked all the way through or the bananas just made it really moist inside, but I actually liked it really dense and moist! I wasn't worried about it not being completely dry in the middle because I didn't use any eggs (I was also out of those).

I didn't wait long for it to cool because it smelled soooo good! I made myself a little bit of PB&Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl sauce to dip it in, mmmmm yummy :)

This actually made a really good breakfast cut up into bite sized pieces, heated up in the microwave, and topped with 1 tbs. sunflower butter and a diced pear.

Tonight for dinner I really wanted to use a fresh eggplant grown in our garden here! But, I didn't want to turn on the oven for fear of heating up the entire house, so I went with a simple stir fry with carrots, onions, and an Asian sauce served on top of some cooked quinoa.

After dinner I was craving banana soft serve like nobody's business, and luckily for me, I popped 1 super ripe banana in the freezer a couple hours earlier knowing the craving would kick in at some point during the evening.

I added some of my (new to me) hemp protein powder as well as a splash of milk and blended it up. Holy yum! This was delicious! I was a little apprehensive of the hemp powder I bought, but I've been looking to incorporate a little more protein into my diet, and I'm happy I chose this one because it's got a pretty good ingredient list and tastes great! Of course, I topped the banana soft serve with some dark chocolate chunks.

I've got another early day tomorrow but I'm looking forward to doing a little more experimenting in the kitchen tomorrow night.

Have a great evening!

Woah-Heat Wave!

2011-07-20T21:36:00.000-04:00

Holy Heat Wave!

If you're reading from the Northeast, you know exactly what I'm talking about! We've got a serious heat wave going on over here! I can't complain too much though, I do spend a great deal of time inside with the comfort of air conditioning.

This week past week and current one, like most this summer, have been busy ones indeed! I've been working quite a bit lately and have also been keeping myself busy on the weekends. (Sorry about the lack of posts!)

I had a great picnic this weekend with my good friend Serena from school. Isn't she gorgeous?

Check out our awesome spread! We each made sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly on a TJ's sandwich thin, and hummus-turkey-lettuce-feta on my favorite cinnamon raisin bread) as well as a plethora of veggies, fruit, and some homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I've been experimenting quite a bit these days with my cookie recipes trying to get a really good one to enjoy as a treat as well as with my breakfasts. Let's be real, there's no better way to start the day than with a cookie! ;)

I've had some pretty great eats this week. The highlight being a HUGE pancake I made for myself on Monday morning. Guys, seriously, you need to make this!

Recipe:
-1/3 cup whole wheat pancake mix
-1/3 cup milk
-1 egg
-lots of cinnamon
-1/4 tsp vanilla

Toppings:
-1 sliced banana
-PB&Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl heated with milk to make a thin glaze.

Wow. This was great! And kept me full all the way until lunch! I'm definitely going to be recreating this one soon!

Some other random eats:
Always a winning snack: an apple with peanut butter (crunchy is my favorite!)

Some dinners: above--sauteed zucchini and onions topped with whole wheat rotini and tomato pasta sauce. Below--whole wheat pita filled with my leftover salad from Pump Energy Kitchen which included mixed greens, turkey breast, edamame, carrots, cucumbers, and some other goodies I can't remember. This was topped with feta cheese and my Dad's homemade steak sauce! You know the stuff!

Below--a huge salad with veggies from the garden! Nothing fresher and more organic than vegetables grown in your own garden :) topped with some Morning Star breakfast links, salsa, and a whole wheat bun top with Kingsbury sauce.

Breakfasts--cereal bowl with blueberries and strawberries.

Oatmeal mess with cashew butter and blueberries.

YIABowl! With strawberries and blueberries, and then topped with one of my experiment peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bites. So good!

I picked up a box of Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls Multigrain to try since I'm running low on my favorite Flax Plus. I've already had 10 a couple of handfuls, yeah it's that good! I can't wait to try it tomorrow morning for breakfast! I've got a couple of over ripe bananas to use, so I'm thinking a banana cereal bowl for breakfast. Although... I've been craving some banana bread since seeing The Fitnessista's Baller Banana Bread! Ahh decisions decisions decisions!

I guess you'll just have to check back in this weekend to see what I'm up to in the kitchen and what I end up making! :) Until then, goodnight!

First Feeding

2011-07-10T21:19:00.000-04:00

As per usual, this week was a beast. Thankfully, it was only a 4-day beastly week since this past Monday was 4th of July. Happy 4th of July by the way! :) Mine was pretty good, eve though I didn't get to spend it with my family. I won't even mention the copious amount of food I ate that day, it's a little embarrassing. Ha.

Anywho! This week was pretty busy with work and my internship but I did manage to meet up with a friend for dinner during the week which was great. We got to talk about our upcoming semester in Madrid, where I'll be studying abroad in the fall--I'm super exited! More details to come!

I also got to meet up with my great friend from school, she just got back from Barcelona the other day so of course we had to lots to catch up on!

Some of this weeks eats:

This is continuously a great cereal combo--Nature's Path Flax Plus, a crumbled homemade banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, cinnamon, blueberries, and milk. Usually this is what I like to have for breakfast on the weekends because it's harder to bring on the train to eat, but I recently discovered how I can eat it on the train and so this will definitely be making more of a breakfast comeback!

I love apples with sunflower seed butter. Period. So. Good.

First pancakes of the summer! Gosh, I wish I had enough time in the morning every morning to make myself whole wheat buttermilk blueberry pancakes. Yeah, say that 5 times fast. Topped with peanut butter cinnamon raisin sauce (PB&Co. CNPB and milk heated in the microwave).

Wow. Just wow. I love these pita pockets. I filled these with a little bit of left over bolognese sauce, fresh from the garden lettuce, green beans, and cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese. Then I placed them in a skillet to heat it all up a bit and get the pita a little crispy on the outside. Delicious!

I'm really loving veggie burgers these days, like really loving them. BOCA, Dr. Prager's, Amy's. You name it! Dr. Praeger's Curry veggie burgers are awesome. You should have one. Above is a whole wheat hamburger top with a BOCA Flamed Grilled Burger topped with a delicious salsa and some carrots and cherry tomatoes on the side. There were more veggies on the side but I got hungry while preparing dinner and about half of them disappeared. Woops :)

So today was the highlight of my week! One of my coworkers is Hindu and was having his son's First Feeding celebration today. He invited all of us from work to attend and join him in celebrating his son's first official bite of solid food! I was so honored to be invited to this event, I absolutely love learning about and experience new things from different cultures. It was great to meet some of his family and enjoy some homemade Indian food (my favorite!)

This was only the first plate of three. Yeah, I went all out today. I mean it's Indian food, can you blame me?

Isn't this the absolute most beautiful baby boy you've ever seen? I wish I had a better quality picture, but you'll just have to believe me when I say that this little boy has the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen.

That's Rana and his son! So precious!

Today was a wonderful day spent with friends and great food! Tomorrow starts off another week but I'm excited to see what's in store!

July 1?!

2011-07-01T19:20:00.000-04:00

How is it already July?! Someone please tell me where June went! My goodness, this summer is passing me by a little more quickly than I would have liked. Non-the-less, I can't say I've been sitting around doing nothing, which is perhaps why I find myself face-to-face with July 1.

This week was a little rough, and by rough I mean, I didn't want to go to my internship in the afternoon and sit at a desk while it was a gorgeous 85F outside.

I mean really, can you expect me to stay inside (without a window!) when Bryant Park looks like this? No. That's what I thought too, so I stayed here for the remainder of my day :) Perfection.

Later on Wednesday evening I met up with some friends who are also staying in the city this summer for a wonderful dinner down in Soho. We decided on Gaia Italiano Cafe, a cute little cafe on East Houston Street. It was truly rustic Italian--fresh ingredients, native staff, and warm hospitality. Right up my alley!

They're known for their paninis so you know I had to try one of those! I've gotten on a tomato kick so I went with the "Bubi Panini"; mozzarella di bufala, chopped cherry tomatoes, and basil on top of their freshly baked panini bread. It was delicious.

My only complain was that there was a little too much olive oil, where it was dripping on my hands and lingering on my lips (in a not good way). But other than that the whole experience was great! It was wonderful to meet up with my friends again, I miss them!

Earlier this week, my best friend from home sent me a care package. She hit the nail on the head with this one. Truly out of the park. She knows me so well and sent me such good treats. She knows how much I love my "bars" and sent me (new to me) one to try from Nature's Path.

Pumpkin and Spice! I've been meaning to try this flavor for a while but thought I should wait until it was "pumpkin season". Foolish me, good thing my friend wasn't thinking this! :) It was so good! Just the right amount of sweet and salty. I loved the addition of the pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. I'm so glad I tried this and can't wait to buy a box of them soon!

Some other eats of this week:

A sliced apple with a (hidden under there) slice of toasted Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin (my favorite!!!) bread topped with cashew butter and more sprinkled cinnamon. Because let's be real, can you ever have enough cinnamon?
About cashew butter, I bought a jar about 5 weeks ago and have been slowly using it. It's not my favorite, but it's growing on me. It definitely has a distinctive cashew taste though...hmmm...duh, Cindy! :P

One of my favorite cereal combos: Nature's Path Flax Plus Mutligrain, Cascadian Farms Multigrain Squares, blueberries, and milk!

YIAJ--Chobani plain greek yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, and lots of cinnamon! Kinda wish I put some sunflower seed butter in there, but at the time, it just didn't seem like it would be a good combo with strawberries...now I know :)

This was lunch at work the other day: a slice of 7-grain toast, roasted broccoli, mini salad with tomato slices, chick peas, cous cous, parmesan cheese, and cottage cheese. Delicious. I also had an unpictured kiwi. I love kiwi--such a good summer fruit!

I've also been doing a lot of reading, which I absolutely love. I just finished "The Kite Runner" and started reading "Water for Elephants" yesterday morning--I'm almost finished! It such a great read, albeit sad, but apparently I'm into that right now? ("The Kite Runner", "Revolutionary Road"...)

I've got another early morning tomorrow but then Sunday and Monday off for the holiday! Yippee--the first "weekend" I've had yet this summer :) I'm hoping to get some more reading in and lay out in the sun for a health dose of summer color.

Happy (early) Fourth of July!

Weekend Update!

2011-06-26T21:15:00.000-04:00

Today was a wonderful Sunday. I slept in until 7am (from my usual 4:15). It felt great! When I woke up, I wasn't quite ready to get out of bed so I decided to start a new book. I just finished reading "Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates--I loved it! It was a great read, albeit depressing, but so captivating. So this morning I started reading "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini...and haven't put it down all day! I don't know what's with me and choosing to read these depressing books, but they're so well written and such page turners! I actually made more of an effort to do some "pleasure" reading this past semester as a way of maintaining my mental health amidst the school craziness and have been trying to maintain that this summer despite my tight schedule. Needless to say, I think I'll be reading about a book a week at this pace!

Anywho! This week absolutely flew by! I met up with some friends for dinner and we had a great time (I forgot to take pictures!), but of course, I've always got my camera ready for breakfasts, take a look.

Greek yogurt bowl with a sliced banana, fresh strawberries, and cinnamon.

Van's waffle sandwich with sunflower seed butter on one half, peanut butter on the other, cinnamon, honey, and a banana.

OIAJ--with sunflower seed butter, sliced banana, cinammon.

YMIAJ--Yogurt mess in a jar with a sliced banana, cinnamon, and honey roasted nut mix (sooo good!)

YMIAJ (again!) but with some blueberries this time! Gettin' those antioxidants :)

Blueberry oats in a jar with peanut butter.

Finally, YMIAJ with a sliced apple, cinnamon, and mixed nuts.

My breakfasts have been on point this week, sooo delicious! I've got some yogurt in the fridge to eat this week so I'm looking forward to that tomorrow morning.

This week I've been able to get some pictures of my lunches from work, nothing too exciting, and of course the lighting is horrible, but you get the idea.

Salad beast with romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, bean salad, a hard boiled egg, and some delicious guacamole! I also had an unpictured kiwi for dessert :) LOVE kiwis--and did you know that kiwis have as much if not more potassium than a banana? Super fruit much?

I've got a mix of things going on here in this lunch--fresh steamed zucchini, broiled salmon, sliced tomato, cottage cheese, a bit of tomato sauce, and a piece of toast. I'm on a tomato kick these days. Interesting fact: I used to HATE tomatoes, I would not eat one raw. But, I LOVE ketchup, tomato sauce, and salsa. Weird right? Well no worries, I have come to my senses and love tomatoes now. I've been eating them with every meal!

I've also captured a few dinners from this week:

Leftover pasta with broccoli rabe, olives, tomatoes, carrots, and a big blog of hummus. And don't worry, I ate half of this bowl before I remembered to take a picture. ;)

I had to stay late at my internship one night so I grabbed a sandwich from Au Bon Pain. I got the hummus and olives on sun-dried tomato bread, but half way through making my sandwich, the employee said to me "I'm sorry miss but we're out of sun-dried tomato bread, olives, and roasted red peppers." I have to admit, I was a bit annoyed--couldn't he have told me this before starting to prep the sandwich? That's okay, the situation was salvageable--I subbed the sun-dried tomato bread for a 7-grain roll, and asked for all of the fresh veggies they had. The sandwich was okay, I really prefer to make my own food, but sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures! *Dramatic*

I've been feeling a little under the weather this week, so in an effort to kick that puppy in the but I treated myself to a few choice items this week :)

Kombucha! I tried a new (to me) flavor, Cosmic Cranberry, and absolutely loved it. I practically downed that thing!

I also tried Passionberry Bliss which was also very good, but I like the Cranberry better.

Chocolate makes everything better...right? I had to get this chocolate bar because 1) It's local to the NY area, 2) It's dark chocolate--my favorite!, 3) it has sea salt--salty and sweet is the best!, and 4) it has whole almonds in it. I got this at Whole Foods and let me tell you, Whole Foods has the best selection of everything (Trader Joe's, you know you're my number 1, but you just don't have the variety of WF).

I've been wanting to try these for a while now ever since seeing them at WF and reading about their quality ingredients and whole grain punch online! I popped open the box the minute I got out of WF to try one (it was one of those days....) I really liked it! It's got the right amount of sweetness mixed with the whole grain and oatmeal taste. Right up my alley! I'm hoping to be able to recreate these at home seeing as their a little pricey for my student budget.

Well, now that we're thoroughly caught up, I'm going to dive nose first back into my book and surface in the morning for another Monday and early day at the office. Catch ya lata'!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there, especially to one very special one in particular, my father! I know that everyone thinks their father is the best Dad in the world, but I'm convinced that mine truly is. Not only is he a wonderful father, he's a wonderful husband, loyal friend, and all around marvelous man. I'm so proud to call him my father. Unfortunately this year, we were unable to spend the holiday together since I'm in New York and he's back in Ohio...but we did get the chance to speak today over the phone and it was wonderful. (I may or may not have teared up a bit while talking to him...)

But enough of the teary talk! Today I spent the day with my host family friends for Father's day. We went to a wonderful brunch, had some ice cream, walked around town, and ended the day at the beach with an Italian take-out dinner. Nothing to write home about (hence the lack of pictures), but I did make up for it with a nice serving of dark chocolate :) (I still have a ton from my Easter basket!)

I promised some more pictures from my time here in New York so far, so here you go!

First up, the NYU International Hospitality Investment Conference at the Marriott Marquis where I was awarded with a scholarship and asked to give a speech to the patrons and scholars. It was such an honor to be able to thank those ladies and gentlemen for their generosity to my school and students.

Funny face--I'm happy though!

Speeching! Yeah, I just made that word up :)

That's me on the end, and our Dean of the school at the podium.

I have to admit, I was a bit scared to give a speech in front of nearly 1000 hospitality professionals, but I got up there and did it!

Like I mentioned, the event was held at the Marriott Marquis, which if you ever get the chance to visit NYC, you should get a tour of the Marquis--it's incredible! Huge. Like, seriously. And of course, this particular luncheon was delicious.

I was a little too nervous before my speech to eat very much, but once it was over I devoured that strawberry cheesecake! Yeah, I'm a beast. :)

I've got another day of work ahead of me tomorrow so "Tata for now!" and I'll catch you tomorrow with an update!

I'm back!

2011-06-18T18:44:00.000-04:00

Well, well, well, you may have been asking yourself this past month, "Where the heck is Cindy?!" Oh, no? In case you were, I'm okay! I've since finished my sophomore year at college and started working this summer! I needed this time off to get situated and into my routine here in NYC for the summer. I'm hoping to get into a regular schedule of blogging at night after my day of work! Please stick with me while I work through the process :)

Let's see here, where should I begin in terms of this past month. Perhaps I should start by showing the beautiful town I'm living in outside of NYC. It's g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!

Hudson River at 5:30am

Hudson River at 6:30pm

Train Station to New York

Yep, that's my ride!

Isn't the river beautiful? I'm so lucky to be staying here this summer with some close family friends. They are absolutely wonderful people, and have an adorable daughter, Sophia! (Can you believe I haven't gotten the chance to take any pictures with her yet?--coming soon!)

You may have noticed under those photos my captions--let me explain. This summer I'm excited to have two wonderful jobs! One as a hostess at a great restaurant and the other as an intern for an hotel valuation and management company! My alarm goes off every morning at 4:15am to make it to work by 6:30am. I then end my day at 5:45pm to catch the 6:20pm train back home. In bed promptly by 9:15pm for another fabulous day! This might sound like cruel and unusual punishment to any other 20 year old living and working in NYC, but it's great for me! I'm a morning person anyway, so hey, what's 4:15am versus 7:30am--I get to see the sun rise! Beauty.

I arrive and depart via Grand Central station everyday.

You may also be asking yourself, how can Cindy possibly get up that early in the morning and be hungry for breakfast? Sometimes I'm not super hungry, but I know it's very important for me to have breakfast because I'm standing for 5 hours at my hostess job without a break. But honestly, I usually am hungry within an hour of getting up--think about it, my last meal was around 7:30pm the night before! My breakfasts have been looking a little something this! (Sorry for the poor lighting and quality--there's not a lot of light early in the morning. Working on it!)

My favorite cereal, Heritage Flakes, with blueberries, milk, and cinnamon!

OIAJ! With a banana, blueberries, and the left-over peanut butter :) YUMM!

Do we see a theme here?

Yogurt bowl--Chobani plain with a banana, blueberries, cinnamon, and mixed nuts.

Pattern again-but with an apple and sunflower seed butter-my fav!

You may have noticed that I'm sticking to things I can bring in a bowl or a jar--these breakfast foods are easier for me to eat on the train. I've been loving a cold yogurt bowl in the morning, but some mornings just call for OIAJ (oats in a jar).

I think this is a good place to leave off--I want to save some other happenings for the next post. Please look forward to that soon :)

Thanks for reading, hope you're having a wonderful Saturday and may your Sunday be full of rest!

Happy Birthday to Me! (1 day late)

2011-05-12T11:33:00.000-04:00

Good Morning Everyone!

Yesterday was my birthday! I'm officially no longer a teenager-20! I can hardly believe it! This year has been a whirlwind to say the least. A lot of things in my life have changed, but a lot have stayed the same. I can say one thing for sure, growing up is a lot harder than they say it is. I didn't realize how much I still had left to learn and how much I still have left to learn. But I'm very excited for what the future holds and to see how this next year pans out for me!

Of course, I must update you all with my recent eats...please bare with me, it's breakfast again. But I do have a little treat to share from my birthday!

First is first though, breakfast!

TJ's English muffin with sunflower seed butter and a delicious golden apple!

Ezekiel cinnamon raisin break with sunflower seed butter on one half and almond on the other, topped with a banana!

Close up! I got hungry and had to snag a bite before taking the picture....woops :)

Last of my Van's waffles with Fage Greek yogurt, a banana, cinnamon, and sunflower seed butter.

This above picture needs some explanation. First, I haven't had a savory breakfast like this in a while, it was much needed and so delicious. I toasted a TJ's cinnamon raisin English muffin and topped it with a Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow cheese, 1 scrambled Egg, and 1 Tbs Kingsbury sauce. "What is Kingsbury sauce" you ask? Only the BEST steak sauce ever! My Dad makes it! (His name is Kingsbury--King for short, so that's what we named it). I use this sauce on everything! From breakfast eggs, steak, chicken, as a marinade, with chips, as a veggie dip, ~~straight from the bottle~~ <---Maybe :) I share this with everyone, and so far, everyone has loved it! I'm really hoping that my Dad decides to sell it one day because it is too delicious not to share with the world!

Close up of this deliciousness!

Also, I just have to say that I have the best parents, ever, hands down. Sorry, but it's true. Remember when I posted that awesome care package they sent me for Easter? Well they did it again for my birthday! Can you say Edible Arrangements?

This arrangement was packed with strawberries, pineapple, grapes, and chocolate dipped peanut butter covered bananas. Do my parents love me or do my parents LOVE me?! I mean really, chocolate dipped peanut butter covered bananas, how did I not think of this before? These are mouthwatering. It's amazing I haven't devoured them all yet.

Inside my fridge! We've got lots of treats in there from my birthday picnic :)

Of course I had to use some of that fruit in my breakfast this morning! I enjoyed my last TJ's English muffin topped with both sunflower seed butter and peanut butter (the peanut butter is back in action--I finally got a new jar!) and fresh strawberries and pineapple on the side. Isn't it so cute that they're cut into stars? It definitely helped me start the day off on a good note!

This was one of the best birthdays I've had in a while. Although I couldn't spend it with my family, my friends made me feel incredibly special and appreciated. I'm so thankful for each and everyone of them.

Have a great May 12! The sun is shining and it's time for lunch!

May Baby!

2011-05-01T20:09:00.000-04:00

It's officially May 1st!

I can't believe how quickly 2011 is going by! It seems like I just got back from Winter break. Apart from May being a beautiful month in terms of blue skies, blooming flowers, and warm weather, May is my favorite month because it's my birthday month! I'm a May baby :) Some of my other favorite things about May: being able to wear sandals, dresses, shorts; walking outside without an umbrella (sorry April); barbequing outside; my Mother's amazing salsa; and it almost being summer break= no school!

April has been great, but I looking forward to less rain and more sunshine. Of course, April has had some pretty fabulous eats--and of course I'm talking about my infamous breakfast posts! I'm still working on posting more often, in fact, that's one of my May goals! When finals are over and the summer is here, I'm going to be devoting considerably more time to my blog, really developing it and getting it out there to all of you!

But until then, let me share some more great breakfasts :)

Trader Joe's english muffin (so good!), sunflower butter, and a banana!

Close up of the deliciousness!

Ezekiel bread, how I've missed you! Cinnamon raisin is the best!

Of course the left over banana is held together by some more almond butter :)

Also, I recently discovered, thanks to Julie, banana soft serve. I actually made banana-mango soft serve because I was trying to use up my food in the freezer. OMG. This is the best thing ever.

Look at how nice and yellow that is! Let me tell you, it was delicious! I've made this three times in the past two weeks--obviously not enough ;)

And for ~~your~~ my enjoyment, some more breakfast pictures, because I like to take pictures of my fabulous breakfasts.

Sorry for the dull lighting--it was dark in the kitchen.

On Saturday, I woke up wanting something a little bit savory--so I thought, why not give another one of Julie's amazing breakfasts a try! I toasted up some cinnamon raisin bread and coated one slice with a Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb wedge and the other half with some thinly sliced apples. This was definitely a winning combination! Although next time, I'll probably heat up the apples a bit more so they're softer when I bite into the sandwich.

I had some left over apples from the sandwich (it was a big apple from the farmer's market!) so of course I paired those with some almond butter.

Looks like I covered the cheese half with my apples!

I would definitely have to say that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day--what better way is there to start your day than with a super yummy breakfast? I know, some of you are laughing at how ridiculously obsessed I am with breakfast... you should see me around nut butters.

Well I'm off to finish up some paper editing; it's that time of the year...final papers and final tests!

Have a great Monday!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:36:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter, All!

I hope that Easter was full of joy, happiness, and chocolate! Because what's Easter without a little bit of chocolate? : )

My parents sent me an awesome Easter care package filled with goodies--most of which was a great stash of chocolate! They also sent me a bouquet of pink roses for the holiday!

Aren't they the BEST? I love them so much!

My breakfasts have been pretty boring lately (well I love them, but not a lot of variety). I'm trying to use up my breakfast items in the kitchen in preparation of moving out of my dorm in 3 weeks. So cereal it's been!

I love having bananas in my cereal with blueberries, but I also really love having it on the side with some sunflower seed butter. I'm seriously obsessed with sunflower seed butter these days...it may be my new favorite nut butter! It's soooo delicious!

Sunflower Seed Butter!

Back to homework and chocolate consumption! Enjoy the rest of your Easter and have a great week!

Stress

2011-04-19T12:48:00.000-04:00

I've recently been struggling with stress. I can't seem to escape it and I can't seem to find a way to control it. But today, I came across something that Caitlin said over at Healthy Tipping Point; "The stress will not control me." It's something that her husband often tells her. Well that phrase really struck me and I'm feeling a whole lot better already--I will conquer this stress! I am in control!

Plus, isn't this the cutest kitten you've ever seen? I can't be upset when I look at this little one!

Source: http://edgeoftheplank.blogspot.com/2010/04/cute-animals-kittens.html

Have a great day everyone! Conquer your stress!

Brownies, Cinnabons, and Cheesy Biscuits!

2011-04-17T21:23:00.000-04:00

Back again!

Last night I went to a friend's dorm for a chill night--well that's what I thought it was going to be! It ended up being quite the dance party (no complaints here though!) For the party, I made guilt-free brownies!

The key to guilt free brownies is replacing the butter/oil with apple sauce! I actually think they're so much better this way because they come out super dense, moist, and chewy!

I also helped make cinnabons while at the party! They were ginormous..

Don't those look amazing? They seemed to be a hit--they didn't last more than 20 minutes.

Some other eats at the party included cheesy biscuits, mini hot dogs, bags of pretzels, yogurt covered pretzels, and chips galore.

This morning I went to brunch with some friends and had ~~so many~~ a few desserts...unfortunately those went un-photographed.

But I'll be back with my breakfast tomorrow...it's going to be warm tomorrow in NYC so I'm thinking a nice cold bowl of cereal is in order.

Have a great Sunday night!

Breakfast Refresh!

2011-04-16T18:14:00.000-04:00

Hello All!

I've had some pretty great eats this week, but I need to remember to start carrying my camera with me! I always forget! I will learn, I promise! ;)

I did manage to remember to capture some pictures of my breakfasts the last couple of days! I finished off an entire bag of BobMill's 5 Grain Hot Cereal in no time! I loved it! Just five ingredients! And it was perfect for making overnight oats--which happens to be my new favorite breakfast : )

For my overnight oats, I usually use:
1/2 cup 5 Grain oats
1/2 cup skim milk
1 whole banana
Lots o' cinnamon (I LOVE this stuff!)

And let it soak overnight in the fridge. Then I take it out in the morning and heat it up in the microwave for about two minutes, until it's nice and steam hot! Then I drizzle a nut butter on top. I've been loving sunflower seed butter these days, so that's been my nut butter of choice.

Close up of ma' oats!

These may not be the best looking pictures of my overnight oats, but let me tell you, this is a breakfast of champions! Most mornings, it can get me through 4 hours until I need a snack!

I love my overnight oats, but I definitely love Vans waffles with peanut butter and bananas! I've been slowly cleaning out the freezer for when I move out of the dorm in 3 weeks, so I've been having waffles for breakfast quite a bit this week. (I'm not complaining though)

A little burnt--I don't have a toaster oven so I use a pan to toast them...which I clearly haven't mastered yet.

Sandwich style!

You may have noticed a banana peanut butter sandwich (well actually that's sunflower seed butter!) I've been noticing these pop up on a couple of blogs that I read and I had to try it. This is such a great way to eat a banana with peanut butter! Usually I just drizzle a banana with peanut butter and that gets all messy; this is a good way to keep the nut butter from getting all over your fingers.

And alas, the return of my cereal combos! I haven't had cereal in a while because I decided not to buy any breakfast food until I started to clean out what I had--which meant no milk :( However, since I've made a significant dent in my stash, I decided to reward myself with some milk to finish off my cereal box.

Nature's Path Cereal (a mix of three actually) with bananas, cinnamon, and milk

Nature's Path is the BEST cereal ever! LOVE! I like to add bananas, blueberries, strawberries, basically any fruit! And of course, I always top it off with ~~a lot~~ some cinnamon. (The left over cinnamon milk tastes like cinnamon toast crunch!)

I'm promise to get better about capturing my other daily eats--I don't want to bore you!

Tonight I'm headed to a chill-hang-out party with my classmates to reward ourselves for a hard week of school--we just finished our first draft of a 25 page paper! You can bet we're going to have some good eats (and I'm going to photograph every single one of them!)

Until then, stay dry if it's raining where you are! Have a great Saturday night!