I.am.tired.

I woke up in an attempt to run but realizing I would be at work until 11:00 pm or later tonight, I decided an extra bit of sleep would be better. 

I wanted something delicious this morning – and something a little different.  Realizing I haven’t had an Oatmeal Pancake in a while, I started soaking some oats while I typed this blog post – multitasking at its best. 

In the bowl went:

• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/3 cup egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 mashed banana (added right before cooking)

I topped my pancake with the other 1/2 of the mashed banana mixed with Stonyfield Farm Fat Free French Vanilla yogurt and some chocolate chips – because it is Friday!

Obviously the bites with a chocolate chip were the best!

Green Tip of the Day: Love fizzy water?  Rather than just buying disposable bottles of the fizzy stuff, have the stuff delivered in reusable bottles from a seltzer service or make your own with a seltzer bottle, aka “soda siphon.”

September 2010 Cooking Light Magazine has a great article on the Top 20 Ingredients for the Quick Cook.  According to the article, these 20 kitchen essentials can be combined in creative ways to make delicious, quick and healthy meals.  My interest was obviously piqued as three of my favorite words are delicious, quick and healthy. 

Their list includes:

1. Canned Diced Tomatoes
2. Chicken Broth
3. Boil-in-Bag Brown Rice
4. Panko
5. Canned Black Beans
6. Smoked Paprika
7. Pitted Kalamata Olives
8. Couscous
9. Plain Greek-Style Yogurt
10. Chile Paste
11. Soy Sauce
12. Canola Mayonnaise
13. Frozen Shelled Edamame
14. Frozen Corn kernels
15. Bagged Baby Spinach
16. Refrigerated Potato Wedges
17. Eggs
18. Grape Tomatoes
19. Fresh Ravioli
20. Presliced Cremini Mushrooms

Notice that salt, pepper, water, oil or cooking spray – those were assumed as a pantry staple. 

The article left me thinking what my 20 ingredients would be…I agree with some on the above list, but would change many I think. 

I need to take a few days to think about this and will create my own list but I would love to hear what some of your pantry/kitchen staples are.  What are your top 20 ingredients?

Yesterday was the first day of classes at the college I work for.  Although my day was full of meetings, at least I was not running around campus making sure events were going ok. 

I had a fantastic dinner with some old coworkers of mine – it was great catching up with them.  I also did something I have never done before – ate only half of my dinner.  Inspired by Heather’s post the other day, I wanted to try a new approach to dinner.  I ordered what I wanted (a triple decker turkey club – one of my favorite meals on earth), and decided that I would eat 1/2 and then sit for a few minutes to decide if I needed more. 

Usually when I eat said turkey club from this particular restaurant, I gobble it up because I love it so.  Then I feel uncomfortable on my drive home and need sweat pants immediately.  Last night, I enjoyed every bite and stopped after 1/2.  I was full – pleasantly full.  I had the rest wrapped up and now I can enjoy it again.  I was not uncomfortable and I got to enjoy what I wanted.  I was really proud of myself – I had no plans to deprive myself of what I wanted and I left the restaurant satisfied.  Victory.

To continue starting the semester off, I made it out for a 2 mile run this morning.  It was definitely challenging and once again I realized how hard it is to pick up where I left off but slowly it will come back.  This much I know. 

For breakfast I made yet another smoothie – this time with frozen blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, a vanilla Carnation Instant Breakfast packet and 1 cup of skim milk.

Knowing this will not keep me full for long, I will probably have some instant oatmeal midmorning. 

Green Tip of the Day: Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources – vegetable oil, cornstarch, or pea starch – instead of petroleum.  Bioplastics are typically marked with a 7 and labeled “biodegradable” or “compostable.” They must be sent to a special composting facility, but compostable bioplastics will break down as fast as paper in your home compost pile.

I made another smoothie this morning because my throat hurts it is really hot outside…

In the shower I dreamed up a breakfast frappuccino which is odd considering that I don’t really like coffee.  I saw something similar on Melissa’s blog a while ago and made my own version…

First I ground up some oatmeal in my Magic Bullet.  Next, I made Iced Coffee in our Keurig machine – I used a Caramel Vanilla Creme pod.

Next I added 1 chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast Packet, 1 cup of skim milk, some iced coffee and ice cubes to the bullet and blend

  

Enjoy the finished product

This actually was pretty delicious.  I appreciated the creaminess and depth of flavor from the coffee – coffee and chocolate is a delicious combination. 

I plan on bringing a banana to work to finish my meal – I’m too stuffed right now to enjoy it!

Green Quote of the Day: “They are much to be pitied who have not been given a taste for nature early in life.” Jane Austen

I’ve had a spaghetti squash from my CSA sitting on my counter for over a week now and figured it was time to use it. 

Last night I cooked it in the microwave to make tonight’s dinner prep a snap.  First I microwaved the entire squash for 2 minutes to make it soft enough to get my knife through it.  Next I microwaved each 1/2 for 7 minutes; remove the seeds then run your fork through the squash and make “spaghetti” – simple!

I found a recipe for Greek-Style Salad with Spaghetti Squash from the Cooking Light website and changed it just slightly:

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2  teaspoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 2  garlic cloves, minced shredded on my microplane
• 3  cups  cooked spaghetti squash
• 2  cups  1 pint chopped cherry tomato
• 1  cup  diced cucumber mine was bad
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4  cup  diced green red bell pepper
• 1/4  cup  diced red onion
• 2  tablespoons  chopped pitted kalamata olives
• 1  (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained

Preparation

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Combine squash and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add vinegar mixture; toss well. Cover and chill.

This was a great recipe.  I wish the cucumber hadn’t been bad – I think it would have added a lot to the dish.  My only complaint was the dressing covered up the flavor of the spaghetti squash.  I love spaghetti squash dearly and was disappointed that I didn’t get to taste it that much. 

That being said, if you have a family member who does not like the flavor of spaghetti squash, this would be a great recipe for them.

With my salad, I had a small bowl of Three Sisters Graham Crackerz cereal

What a delicious dessert/rest of dinner!  Sweet and crunchy – and look at those milk bubbles…

I am pooped.  Hoping to make it to bed early tonight…!  

I feel like my breakfasts are in a rut so this morning I made something I haven’t had in months – an apple and banana + soynut butter panini

I sliced 1/2 an apple and 1/2 a banana thin and rolled it up in a FlatOut Flatbread smeared with soynut butter.  In the panini maker it went until warmed through and nicely toasted.

This is a great breakfast combination – and can be eaten on the run…as I head out the door!

Green Tip of the Day: The next time you need to buy a gift for a child, try something that gets him/her outside and excited about nature: a guidebook to rocks, birds, plants or flowers in your area; a membership to a local science or nature center; a plant of their own.  Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax is another great way to learn about the importance of conservation. 

I tried a new snack I saw on Meghann’s blog that I wanted to try.  Turns out it is my new favorite snack – apple sauce and granola.

In a small container, I portion out some apple sauce – I am too cheap to buy the smaller snack packs – plus this is better for the environment.  To the applesauce I add

I love this Not Sweet Vanilla Galaxy Granola.  Plus it is sweetened with applesauce so it tastes great it in.

Typically, I enjoy this snack around 11 am in the morning and it keeps me going until lunch time – this way I am not ready to eat everything in site at 12 noon. 

Have you tried any new snacks lately?  I’m always on the look out!

Today I am pretending that I didn’t wake up with a very sore throat and feeling kinda nauseous.

I am also pretending that chocolate makes everything better – although sometimes I do believe that is true.

I made myself a Chocolate Soynut butter smoothie with 1 packet of Chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast, 1 tablespoon soy nut butter, frozen banana, skim milk and oatmeal.  I have no idea when lunch will be today so I made my smoothie a little larger then normal.

Green Tip of the Day: Do you clean your reusable water bottle?  Drop in an effervescent denture-cleaner tablet, let sit overnight, and then scrub with a baby bottle brush.  Try to at least wash it out with soap and water once a week and leave the cap off while it dries. 

In the CSA this week, there was a 2 pound eggplant.  I don’t think I have ever seen an eggplant this big.  Matt was supposed to make eggplant parmigiana yesterday but ended up being caught at work.  Thinking back a few months, we made a recipe by Hungry Girl – Supremely Stuffed Pizza-fied Eggplant.  Very loosely following that recipe, I made my “Ode to a 2 pound Eggplant”

Ingredients:

• 2 pound eggplant
• 3 bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow)
• 4 small onions (1 red, 3 yellow)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
• 3 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (the kind from a jar)
• 1 cup dried lentils (cook according to package directions)
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• leftover pizza sauce (about 1/2 a jar)
• Parmesan cheese (good handful)
• 1/2 a lb of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions: 

Peel and cube the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes.  Dice peppers and onions.  Cook in large non-stick skillet for about 10 minutes or until soft. 

Add cooked vegetables to a large bowl.  Mix in lentils, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, garlic, parmesan cheese, pizza sauce and garlic.  Stir until combined.  Taste and season accordingly – I added a little salt. 

Pour into 9×13 baking dish and top with mozzarella cheese. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.  

Because I snacked my afternoon away wasn’t too hungry, I didn’t need anything else with it

This was a great dish – and use of my 2 lb eggplant.  The flavors blended really well together – Matt said to use Soy Crumbles next time for a better texture, but otherwise he was pleased with the dish. 

I was also really pleased with this dish because it cleared out some items in my fridge – and made enough for probably close to 2 more meals!

Matt and I are attempting to catch up on some Real Housewives of NJ – a guilty pleasure of ours…

I am on my way back to work in a little bit – once again, the morning has gotten away from me.

Last night I arrived home around 11 pm to Matt sleeping on the couch – he asked who I was and then rolled over.  He had no idea where he was or who I was – it was pretty comical.

He has already left for work so I made myself breakfast – I have been craving apples – and luckily I got a few in my CSA share last week. 

I sliced one up and made a grilled cheese on Whole Wheat Bread with apple.  The apple and cheddar cheese combo is one of my faves.

Plus the rest of the apple slices

The freshman are heading into Boston today…they have a beautiful day for it!