Ahead of the Game
After dining and pie-ing (?) at my parents’ last night, Joey and I made a quick stop at the grocery to pick up some cashews (more on that later) and then I got my way and left with a box of holiday tea as well.
A cup of which I drank this morning alongside my oats.
Check out that chunk of granola!
My new favorite way to eat breakfast is while catching up on some Gone with the Wind 🙂
And while I ate, drank and read some chickies were roasting away in the oven, coated in olive oil, maple syrup, honey and pumpkin pie spice.
They came out all crisp and delicious smelling.
Then in my lunch salad they went.
In the mix:
- mixed greens
- roasted chickpeas
- dried cranberries
- honeycrisp apple
- goat cheese
- dressing: balsamic, honey, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar
Zooooom.
I’m on such a salad kick lately and I’m loving it.
So how did I have time to roast chickpeas, prep a salad and read while eating breakfast?
Because I prepped not one but two dinners ahead of time!
#1: Mama Pea’s stuffing.
This picture is of the stuffing before cooking it!
I halfed the recipe since Joey and I are just eating it for dinner and we already have a situation going on in the fridge. Wayyyy too much food in there. Sorry roomies!
All that’s left to do is bake for 25-30 minutes.
And the butternut squash that will be accompanying the stuffing is all peeled and cubed.
#2: Angela’s vegan mac and cheese.
Don’t be fooled by these pictures. This is not egg salad and this does not taste like it’s supposed to 😦
In a moment of desperation and cheapness Joey and I purchased canned cashews (the grocery we went to didn’t have a bulk section) and because the lightly salted ones were only $2.50 we put back the unsalted and headed for the check out.
We didn’t realize they were roasted until we got home but I used them anyways and now I have roasted cashew tasting pasta 😦 SO DISAPPOINTED but at least it looks good and there’s always next week.
Off to work then driving around to look at Christmas lights!
God Bless Us, Everyone
No, I didn’t just have a religious awakening, I just saw Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
It was put on by the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and performed on CU campus and it was fabulous. The CSF (which is an acronym I just made up I think) is seriously so talented plus A Christmas Carol is just such a wonderfully classic Christmas story.
I did feel bad when the ghost of Jacob Marley appeared and the mother in front of us had to escort her terrified and screaming child out of the theater.
My sister and I were all kinds of matching.
THANKS for taking us, Mom!
Did you know the character of Tiny Tim is based off Dickens’s brother, Tiny Fred? I can see why they changed the name because I can’t stop laughing when I say “Tiny Fred.”
The boy who played Tiny Tim in the play has leukimia and I was holding back tears every time he came on stage. 😦
On a lighter note…
A run was done in the morning. I was prepared to treadmill it but Joey wanted to join me so we bundled and headed outside. A quarter of the way through I had to take off my gloves, earwarmer and jacket because I was so hot!
4 miles in 38:39 but the half a banana + peanut butter I ate as a pre-run snack was giving me horrible side cramps. Or at least that’s what I’m blaming 😛
I came home and it took me a while to get hungry again but finally at 11 (an awkwardly late time to be eating breakfast) I cooked up some oatmeal.
In the mix:
- 1/2 cup soy nog
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- splash vanilla
- cinnamon
- 1t ground flax (which I’m now keeping in the fridge)
- 1/2 cup cranberries (all out!!)
Topped with:
- Grilled banana slices (1/2 banana)
- Cocoa nibs
- Maple syrup
After the play, I sat in the back of the car and dates were eaten.
And I was fed dinner a few hours later by my generous mother. The meal was made complete by a piece of WF cranberry apple pie, mmmm.
Merry Monday.
Repeat
Today was full of meal repeats. Because repeats are easy and I had more important things to do.
Like travel with roomie Hannah to the Coach outlet. Where I proceeded to buy things for myself.
‘Tis the season to spend $$ on yourself (if you ask me)!
A girl needs oatmeal before a big day of shopping.
Cutting open the packet of Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter to get every last bit out is getting old. Maybe someone will buy me an actual jar for Christmas…
I also got a vanilla latte and I blame Hannah for fueling my Starbucks addicition.
And I’m hooked on pickle salads with tahini dressing. Wow, that description doesn’t sound too good…
I wanted sundried tomatoes in this salad but one I opened the jar (which I bought last weekend and just opened on Monday) it was full of what looked like bacon fat. What is that all about??
Never again.
I also had a carrot and hummus on the side before dashing out the door to get some more shopping done.
I think repeats are worth this:
Don’t mind my pink fingers. I had just cut up a beat only to discover that raw week old beets don’t taste good.
As you read this I’ll be enjoying a day of going out to breakfast, seeing A Christmas Carol and homemade jambalaya.
Hoo-ray!!
Lauren Loves Good Food 