The storm passed without much adieu in my house. We all slept in the basement. My Dad kicked me off the aerobed and onto the couch, were I passed an hour in extreme discomfort. I finally settled on the floor and woke up several times throughout the night in cold sweats. I will probably never do that again, even if there is a hurricane.
I woke up groggy this morning, but still mentally prepared for my first day of work. Despite the rain, I arrived in time, even after a pit stop for gas. I clocked in and as instructed, bagged groceries for most of the morning. I learned a lot today, such as: some people don't want you to bag their groceries, A LOT of people on the mainline buy baked goods, and damn, that shit is expensive. Ok, no, I did learn some serious things. Such as: Whole Foods is probably one of the friendliest places to work. Nearly every employee I saw today greeted me and made me feel welcome, except for, you know, the seven foot tall British dude. Though he did ask me for a price check.
Examples of friendliness: one guy from the specialty/grocery department took pity on me and brought me some new chocolate to sample. The girls who saw me walk into the men's bathroom didn't stare at me and laugh in my face, but rather, they laughed with me and said that it was an easy mistake. Breathe, Kaitlyn, at least no men were actually in the bathroom at that time. Another important lesson: carts are a serious issue. It is not cool for one section of carts to be overflowing while the other is essentially empty. And last, but probably the most important lesson: be mindful of your break, and be sure to fuel yourself properly.
I packed a very lame salad of semi-brown iceberg lettuce with green pepper and diced tomato. No dressing. No fork. No protein? Big problem. I ended up buying a Larabar and a coffee after throwing away the disaster that was my lunch. And even though I didn't feel hungry throughout the entire day, (mostly due to the stress of being in a new situation), by five o' clock, I could feel the weakness in my limbs, and the dull fog of my brain, which cannot and would not function at 100% on a Larabar and coffee alone. So I grabbed the Sunchips sitting in my locker and munched ravenously as I pushed more carts around.
The only truly negative thing about my first day was my shoes. The awful, awful shoes that I had to endure today were a size too small. They scraped my heels and gave my toes blisters. I took a bath in scalding hot water tonight just to relieve the ache.
Lessons for next time: ask for new shoes, bring a proper lunch and snacks, and DON'T GO IN THE MENS RESTROOM.
Since I didn't have time to take pictures today, I'll share with you some apple art that's been sitting alone on my desktop, waiting to be shared with the world:
Almond butter and apples. Heaven on Earth. Especially when enjoyed in the company of Bubbaloo, who I have to thank so much for being there, for being great, and for helping me unwind after a long first day of work. Even if that involved incessant chatter regarding all the coupons and discounts I used to save $$ on my groceries today. I love you, Bubski.
a statement of the exact meaning of a word.
They don't love you like I love you.
Ingredients:
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. almond milk
spoonful of almond butter
drizzle of honey
dash of cinnamon
Instructions:
1. Combine rolled oats and almond milk in a small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Watch oats carefully, stirring every few minutes. It should take about five minutes for the oats to fully cook.
3. Pour into a bowl. Top with cinnamon, honey, and almond butter.
4. Cool for two minutes, and enjoy with immense delight.
Happy Belated WIAW. I was so busy yesterday that despite being able to take pictures of all my eats, I didn't have time to post about them!
I was busy in the morning babysitting. My siblings started off the day with Eggo Waffles, and I started off with this:
Kashi Go Lean Crunch, topped with cinnamon, and coffee. You can see the reflection of the trees surrounding my deck in my coffee cup!
Usually this cereal really fills me up, but by the time lunch rolled around I was starving! I made a salad consisting of iceberg, cucumber, green pepper, corn, carrots, tomato and goat cheese. I loved all the colors in it! I also paired my salad with a slice of Great Harvest Dakota Bread! After reading so much about CVille on Kath's blog, (not that I know her personally, I'm just a big fan!) I decided to look up my local Great Harvest and found one less than five miles away! There's another Great Harvest location near my work, which you will hear quite a lot about very soon.... :)
Can you eat with all the colors of the wind? I can.
After lunch, I took the kids to the pool for a bit. I brought an (unpictured) apple to hold me over, but it hardly did the job! I was, again, quite ravenous when I returned home, so I microwaved some bread pudding and topped it with peanut butter. To die for? I think so.
My sister and I read the book One Day by David Nicholls just last month, so when we heard the movie was coming out we decided we'd have to go and compare. We planned to go to the 7:30 showing, but before that, dinner was in order. I thought Bonefish would be a good option, because they have $5 Bang Bang Shrimp on Wednesdays, but when we got there, we learned of the 40 minute wait, and promptly walked out. We instead chose to go to Fresca Grill, and had an extremely quick dinner of paninis. Unlike my last venture to Fresca, everything was cooked well, and not burnt. Fresca has been redeemed in my eyes.
I ordered the Aztec Chicken panini, made with grilled chicken breast, monterey-jack cheese, caramelized onions and chipotle-mayo.
My sister ordered her staple, the Chicken Parm panini. Both were yummy (but mine was better! Megan agreed).
The movie was, well, awful. It strayed from several important story lines that deeply impacted the characters in the novel, and Jim Sturgess's character was gross and obnoxious. I guess seeing the character live really enhanced his negative qualities. The parts I did enjoy were the ones that reminded me of Bubbaloo. The main characters' love for one another was incredibly passionate and deep; this is what made the novel, and their love was the sole positive aspect of the movie.
Megan was craving dessert after the movie, so I suggested gelato from Ariano. They were out of pistachio, so I instead settled on coffee. It was delicious, as always, so delicious that I finished it in the car before we even got home, before I could take a picture of it.
So I took a pictures of Megan's vanilla, and passed out, asleep, shortly thereafter. I had a big day ahead of me...
This post was actually from Friday; I just never got around to finishing/posting it.
So, even after last night, I still had more leftover quinoa. Not that it's a bad thing, I've just been eating it quite a bit lately! Instead of making quinoa for dinner, I decided to switch it up and have it at breakfast. I've read so much about breakfast bakes, and although I don't have buckwheat, (which seems to be the most popular breakfast bake), and although I'd have to use my pyrex dish again, I decided to go with it.
I had 1/2 cup quinoa left, and from there, the possibilities were endless (i.e. strictly limited to my limited pantry). However, we did have almond milk, almond butter, honey, and cinnamon, which are breakfast essentials for me. I decided to wing it.
Ingredients:
1/2 c. cooked quinoa
1/2 c. almond milk
1 tbs. ground flax
1/2 tbs. honey
1/2 tbs. almond butter
drop of vanilla extract
dash (or dashes) of cinnamon
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a small pyrex dish with tinfoil.
2. Grease the tinfoil. (I'm not taking any chances here, ok?) I used cooking spray.
3. In a small bowl, combine milk and flax with a whisk (this makes a flax egg).
4. Add quinoa to flax egg and stir.
5. Then add honey, almond butter, vanilla, and cinnamon to the mixture. Combine thoroughly.
6. Pour mixture into your lined baking dish and smooth down the top so the bake is even. Sprinkle with toppings of choice; I chose cinnamon and a drizzle of honey!
7. Place dish into oven and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Let cool for at least five minutes, and serve! I simply took the tinfoil out of my pyrex dish and placed it into a bowl. Classy.
Not very fancy, I know, but delicious nonetheless!
This bake had the exact same flavor profile as my favorite oatmeal...maybe because I used the same exact ingredients, sub quinoa? The inside didn't set completely, but that was fine with me, as it stayed together in the tinfoil. I would definitely make this again, but hopefully on a cooler day! I was so hot by the end of it that I didn't finish the last bite or two! This is extremely rare for me, but I just couldn't keep on keeping on. I was also sitting in a sunny chair, mind you. Now I'm off to sanitize myself from Chuck E. Cheese.
Today was the first day out of the past three that I didn't wake up tired! I even jumped out of bed because my Dad was running out the door and Kara needed me. In other words, she was crying, devastated, because Madison got to with Daddy to a doctor's appointment and she had to stay home with Kait-Kait, i.e., me. I finally got her to stand up and stop crying, and together we made her bed, very neatly, in fact. She did a good job.
By the time I made her toast, she was almost completely better. I settled on some lemon water and found a lovely spot to take pictures. The early morning sunlight was shining through the back door, through the back of the chair, and then, through my lemon water.
I decided on a blueberry Chobani for breakfast, with 1 tbs. ground flax and some dried cherries. The sugar content of this breakfast was a little too much for me. Those cherries were so sweet! I think next time I'd add them to plain yogurt, and cut the amount of cherries I used in half.
For the rest of the morning, Ryan lounged around until I finally yelled at him to read. Kara helped me make cookies, which none of my family will help me eat. Cherries and oatmeal...in a cookie! That's not a cookie... So, while they loved Mama Pea's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, they did not appreciate her Anytime Cookies, though they are quite yummy, just not in a sugar-high way. I'm already predicting that they'll become a staple on rushed mornings once school starts.
For lunch, I used some leftover quinoa and placed it atop a salad of iceberg lettuce, chopped onion, carrot, celery, and diced tomatoes. On the napkin is an Anytime Cookie.
For the dressing, I combined 1 oz. fresh goat cheese, with 1 tbs. olive oil, 1 tbs. white wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp. honey, 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard, and sea salt. I was quite pleased, as I usually just throw together oil and vinegar and call it fully dressed, which is not always the case.
Kara and I traipsed to the pool around 1p.m., and I even got in the big pool with her. We swam for a bit until I got skeeved out, which didn't take long. When she asked to use the bathroom, the horribly unkept, disgusting, gross gross bathroom, I almost told her to pee on the grass. She would've made me go with her, anyway. She's a very persuasive five-year-old.
We lasted an hour and a half, by which point she was bored and cold. Also, some bees were floating around and the memory of getting stung only last week is still very clear in her mind. So we went home, and I whipped up a snack of celery sticks and almond butter. Not pictured were two more Anytime Cookies.
I was actually quite full after my snack, so I was grateful to Jay for making a later dinner. Following Uncie's recipe, he made some delicious Mac N' Cheese with a side of carrots and peas. He also bought me roses. I have the most wonderful boyfriend in the world.
Around 10:30, I was in the mood for pistachio gelato, but since all the ice cream places in Media were closed, Jay and I went to the supermarket and searched high and low for pistachio gelato. Breyers didn't have it, Turkey Hill didn't have it, even the fancy gelato pints didn't come in the flavor pistachio. Sea salted caramel but no pistachio? What is this world coming to?
So when I did spot a strange brand of "Simply Enjoy Pistachio Gelato," I threw my hands up and did a little shout. I grabbed it with no regards to the price or ingredients, ecstatic. Only later in the car did I realize it was made of corn syrup solids and hydrogenated oils. I gave it a shot anyway, but with dismal results. The gelato base was shockingly sweet and the pistachios were whole, and soggy. I was happy that there were no artificial colorings, but this brand did not deliver at all in terms of texture and taste. I think I'll have to order a pint from our local Italian gelateria next time.
Overall, a wonderful What I Ate Wednesday. In the future, I'll just have to prepare in advance for random gelato cravings after business hours!
I am officially unofficially employed. For the remainder of the summer and throughout the fall/winter, I'll be babysitting my three younger siblings. This isn't as much babysitting as it is just hanging out with them and making sure they clean their rooms. I'm not complaining. Even getting six hours of sleep last night wasn't too bad...just kidding.
I was excited this morning because I woke up hungry! A good sign. My appetite has already returned in full force. I started the day with some warm water, combined with a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice. I hear this is good for digestion, and that it works as a sort of body cleanse. The drink reminded me of tea, though it was quite sour. I enjoyed it, though my teeth felt gritty afterwards.
For breakfast, I decided to employ my last English Muffin by making Ashley's Crispy French Muffin Toast! As usual, I had to make some adjustments.
Ingredients:
1 whole English Muffin (cut into halves)
1 tbs. ground flax meal + 3 tbs. warm water
2 tbs. unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg white (instead of banana)
1/2 tbs. butter, for pan (instead of coconut oil)\
Instructions:
1. First, whisk together flax and water. Set aside.
2. Crack an egg and separate, pouring the egg white into a small bowl.
3. Add cinnamon, vanilla, and almond milk to the egg white, and stir.
4. Add the egg white mixture to the flax mixture, and combine thoroughly.
(You may need some help from a professional :)
5. Heat a skillet, and add half the amount of butter.
6. Generously coat each English Muffin half (both sides) in the batter.
7. Place the first coated muffin half in the skillet, and cook until golden brown on each side. Plate when ready.
8. Add the rest of the butter to the skillet, and repeat step 7.
9. Coat with toppings of choice! I chose almond butter and maple syrup!
Enjoy!
Today, I relied heavily on reci"peas" by Mama Pea. Her fabulous blog is made not only of snark, but also of delicious food and meal ideas. After sitting around for most of the day, contemplating when ----- -----, (the grocer that hired me three weeks ago!), would call me back, I decided that cooking would be the most productive use of my time. Besides, you know, browsing other blogs and craning my neck into precarious positions as I read.
Breakfast and lunch already covered, I decided that a dinner high in protein was necessary. I wanted to use the quinoa thats been sitting in the pantry since February, but since my last effort was disastrous, I was slightly afraid to use it. However, I plucked up some courage and found Mama Pea's simple Spanish Quinoa, and decided all things go; this wasn't the mess of plain quinoa and straight balsamic vinegar I concoted before. Using her recipe as a reference, I made several changes based on what we had in our kitchen (my family is not very vegan-friendly!)
-----
Mama Pea's Spanish Quinoa:
Ingredients:
1/2 c. dry quinoa
2 T. chopped onion
1 c. vegetable broth
1/4 c. tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 t. chili powder
Instructions:
Toast quinoa in bottom of a saucepan over medium heat.
Add chopped onion and saute for a few minutes. Add broth, sauce and spices and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and serve
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Deliciousness!
Instead of tomato sauce, I used Bertolli Tomato & Basil pasta sauce. I also added about 2 oz. baked chicken to the mix, and a sprinkle of shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese. Like Mama Pea, I circled the mix with broccoli florets, heavily doused in garlic powder, salt and pepper.
The quinoa mixture was wonderful, and I'm glad I'll have another serving tomorrow. One thing I'd change: I'd sautee the onions first in a bit of the broth, and forego toasting the quinoa. It was just a tad too crunchy for me. Other than that, the recipe reminded me of chili, and essentially would be with some beans and extra veggies. The heat of the chili powder was lovely; this is something I'll be making often throughout the winter months!
Of course, my Spanish Quinoa wouldn't be complete without dessert. We had a few bananas going bad, so I settled on Mama Pea's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Cookies.
The recipe was extremely simple and easy to follow, though due to my below-par pantry, I had to make more than just a few substitutions.
I used:
1 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. 1% milk (in place of almond milk)
1/4 c. natural peanut butter
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 bananas, mashed
3 tbs. ground flax (in place of protein powder)
2 tbs. brown sugar (in place of sweetener)
2 tbs. honey (in place of sweetener)
1 tsp. baking powder
Directions (quoted straight from Peas and Thank You):
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until combined.
3. Scoop batter by heaping tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet, and bake for 9-12 minutes, until cookies are firm.
Could it be: a. fertilizer, b. my sister's diarrhea, or c. a mud-based face mask?
The answer is d., none of the above.
They came out...okay, looking more like elephant poo than cookies. HOWEVER, they tasted just fine. Lovely, in fact. I may or may not have eaten four in the span of three hours.
I prefer them straight out of the oven or microwaved, with a drizzle of peanut butter on top. My recipe yielded about 20 small cookies, so I froze about ten so they would keep. My sisters tried them, and I'd suffice it to say they would much prefer eating that mud-based face mask, so its just me and my cookies.
In the future, I'd probably add an additional scoop of flax and nix about 1/2 the amount of cocoa powder. I do like chocolate, but I much prefer peanut butter, as you should well know by now.
I also calculated the nutrition info! (For those of us who need a little reassurance. These ARE nutritious. Peanut butter is full of healthy fats, cocoa is rich in antioxidants, flax, well, is flax...need I say more?) My dad named them "Survival Cookies," after I read off the"very healthy" ingredient list. He even said, "They're so good for you -- they taste like breakfast!" Now if only I could keep my siblings from eating Lucky Charms and Captain Crunch....
I've had many yummy experiences since my last update, after which finals kicked in and I transferred job locations. Consequently, I let my blogging fall off the face of the earth. Working 40+ hours a week has also thrown a wrench in my daily internet browsing, and at 10p.m., when I get off work, I just want to eat, drain my mind of all thought, and sleep. That hasn't stopped my picture-taking, however. Today, in fact, I spent a good sum of my hard-earned paycheck on a shopping excursion, which included eating and shopping for food, naturally.
My beau and I stopped first at Suburban Square because he desperately needed a new pair of flip flops. We stopped at J. Crew, where I treated him to a pair of sandy-colored Rainbows. The Urban Outfitters across the way had the backpack I've been eyeing up for ages, and I couldn't resist the chance to pick it up. It's definitely time for me to combine style with functionality--walking across university with four books lopped on one shoulder is very much in my past. I also bought a pair of sunglasses, seeing as my last pair was washed away by the ocean tide in 2008. My step-mom, Kelly, thinks they look like bug eyes, and I slightly agree. I like them even so.
One-hundred and forty dollars later, we left Suburban Square for P.F. Chang's, which was completely out of the way. I was starving by the time we got there, and promptly ordered their Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Our waitress was one of my sister's best friends, a girl I've known my whole life, and it was funny but also very nice to have the chance to talk to her.
Due to my extreme hunger, I decided to forego any picture-taking, though I can attest to the deliciousness of our meals. I ordered the Coconut Curry Vegetables, and Jay got the Kung Pao Chicken. My favorite part of my dish was the tofu, which they always cook expertly. The curry itself was a bit too peanut-y and mild for me, but I ate it, nonetheless. Jay's chicken came with little-to-no sauce, which probably disappointed me more than him. I think next time, I'd try their Honey Shrimp or Budda's Feast.
After lunch/dinner (linner?), we drove across the parking lot to Ruby's Diner, where my sister, Megan, works as a hostess and fountain girl--she is an expert milkshake maker. She was in the back eating a mozzarella stick, so it took her a bit to come greet us, before which several other hostesses asked us "Table for two?" When Megan finally arrived at the front of the store, we stood there and chatted awkwardly for a bit, and then left.
The Fresh Market is also in that shopping center, so of course I had to drag Jay into the store. It's a beautiful store, though I had a tough time navigating, probably because I've only been once before. We browsed the aisles, and Jay spotted a 64 oz Naked Juice. It was the first time we'd both seen Naked Juice in that size, so he very happily picked up a Blue Machine. I discovered some lovely rolled oats, which were on sale--two for three dollars! And then I stumbled across...an Olde Style Almond Butter Maker!
I cannot tell you how pleased I was. Dry roasted almond butter that I can literally make right then and there? Yes, please. I probably said, "Oh my god this is so cool!" about four times before I finally grabbed a small container and made my own little batch.
My very own almond butter!!! So exciting. We passed their granola/nuts section on the way towards the register, and I couldn't pass up their Granola Breakup Oats & Honey, which contained one of my favorites, pumpkin seeds.
I was so excited about my purchases that I decided to set up a little still life when we got home. The apple, pear, and nuts were added for a more interesting composition.
Check out the detail on that peanut!
The red and green of the fruits really make this picture. All photos were taken on my boyfriend's Droid. Sometimes I think his camera phone quality is better than my outdated FujiFilm, which tends to flash on everything or otherwise leave things blurry. Sigh. It was a very successful Saturday. Jay finished his 64 oz Naked Juice in about two days, and I blew through the almond butter like it was nobody's business. I'm half way through the first container of oats, and only a quarter of the granola remains. The granola doesn't compare to Whole Foods granola containers, but it's still much better than the boxed kind. Overall, I was extremely pleased with my purchases, though my wallet was not!
What excites you about grocery shopping? What's your favorite food store?
