Showing posts with label WIAW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WIAW. Show all posts

Aug 28, 2013

WIAW #100

It's my 100th WIAW, can you believe it? 

It somehow seems like a fitting way to end the summer, since next week classes begin again.

Peas and Crayons

In honor of the 100th WIAW and the conclusion of my wonderful summer, this post is travel-themed!

Lufthansa JFK -> FRA vegetarian breakfast meal
Like this delicious Lufthansa breakfast on my flight from JFK to FRA earlier this month. A Nature Valley Oats & Honey Granola Bar, a soft roll, jam, margarine, and berries - a great light breakfast before an early morning landing!

Or, from New York...


I could make a new Whole Foods compilation every day!


And sometimes I do...


Like when I'm staying in a hostel for the very first time in my life!


And, surprisingly, loving it despite sharing a room with 12 girls. I'll have to do it again - it's a great way to save money, meet new people, and be in the middle of it all!


And saving money means you can splurge on expensive food purchases.




And Juice Generation Ravioli with its very generous cashew cream cheese, pesto sauce, and fresh kale? Love.


Just as much as Organic Avenue Veggie Tahini Wraps. Seriously, why don't we have these kinds of places in Boston??

Though it's probably a good thing, because their high prices totally blow my food budget...


Making it very advisable to kickback with some random ice cream-fruit-bean bowls, nut butter, and microwaved Quest bars (though most of the bar disappeared into my stomach while making this...)

I'm so delighted that I had the chance to go to Germany this year!



Not just because of the candy (and chocolate).



Though Nutella straight from the jar, or on a fresh breakfast bun, is a convincing argument



But I just love the country, culture, food in general, and getting to spend the time with my family! I just don't see them often enough.


We're a diverse bunch (teehee, see above) but everyone is wonderful. I have only a day and a half left to spend with family before it's back to school (I probably won't see my mom and little sister again until December, boooo) so I'm going to go spend some time with them now. Have a lovely day!

How often do you see your family?

How old were you when you moved out? I was thirteen #boardingschoolproblems (but PEA was THE. BEST.)

What's your favorite treat of the moment?

Aug 7, 2013

WIAW #99: Euro-Style

This WIAW uses old photos (and a few web photos), since I've been photographing everything on my cell phone but - alas - just realized that I'm out of coverage here in Europe, so I can't email the photos to myself without racking up obscene roaming charges.

My European eats look somewhat different from my US eats (no green smoothies, nooooooooo - how I miss my blender) but they're also very tasty. I love German food!

Peas and Crayons

Because there are no green smoothies to start the day, I've been starting the day with muesli and Broetchen.


The muesli above is pictured with regular lowfat milk, but I really like mixing it up sometimes with buttermilk or yogurt. Yum!


Sometimes I have knuspermuesli (aka granola) with seeds and yogurt.


Somehow the dairy tastes different here - and even more delicious!

In Germany, I have Broetchen several times a week. But Saturday Broetchen are the best, because they're always fresh from the baker!

Pretzel Buns
From Fork, Spoon, Knife

Lunch (Mittagsessen) is the cooked meal of the day, always followed by some tasty dessert like a compote and pudding.


What's for lunch varies, but vegetarian bratwurst with fresh potatoes and a side of sauerkraut or some sort of pasta dish appear pretty frequently on the menu.


In the middle/late afternoon, there's coffee (tea, in my case) and cake.

slice of double chocolate cake
From Alexandra Cooks
Also, random shoutout to German chocolate: it's awesome.

In a country where the bread is so ridiculously amazing that you really can't believe it until you try it, what better way to end the day than with a bread-y Abendbrot


With chocolate is always tasty, as is with Ovomaltine spread or Nutella (or the Aldi knockoff, which I almost like better - I think I actually like the Milkyway version better than either of those last two options, though the Ovomaltine chocolate spread is my favorite).


With the heat we've been having, late night snacks of chilled fruit or ice cream are the best.

Frozen strawberries and quark
Then again, fruits and ice cream are always pretty up there in deliciousness.


What are you up to this week?

Where in the world are you right now?

How does your daily diet change when you travel?

Jul 31, 2013

WIAW #98: Wrapping Up NYC

I enjoyed last week's photo dump, so here's another photo-dump style WIAW to wrap up my time in NYC.

Peas and Crayons

Premium vanilla bean ice cream with lots of fig jam and crushed walnuts is a delightful way to cool off in the summer heat.


Balanced with a spicy ratatouille (with eggplant, various colored peppers, mushrooms, sweet potato, and random other yumminess).


But when it's really too hot to cook, peanut butter (and soy nut butter, on the right) sandwiches are great.


Slapped together for less messy eating, but still with lots of nut butter - just the way that I like them.


A fruity smoothie can be refreshing.


I tend to love green smoothies, but sometimes the pretty pale colors of just-fruit-and-milk smoothies is a nice change.


These hideodorous green chocolate protein pancakes tasted really, really good - much better than they look (served on vanilla yogurt and baked fruit - I think apples, maybe pear?).


For a NYC splurge, I love Organic Avenue wraps.


They're made with whole food ingredients:


Making them as good for you as they are delicious!


Why, oh why, is there no Organic Avenue cafe/shop in Boston?


I would faint in happiness if they would open one there. I still prefer the Thai Collard Wrap (similar to their Veggie Tahini Wrap, but the sweetness of the mango and the creaminess of the almond butter makes it even better) to the Mushroom Wrap, but both are delicious.


The cauliflower salad is delicious, too, though it's not a meal-sized portion.


But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in flavor.


Sweet from the dates and refreshing from the mint it is, like their other culinary delights, a real treat!


These Maki Rolls from Juice Generation are really delicious, too. Juice Generation has fewer raw food offerings than Organic Avenue (or maybe just fewer in the store) but the pricing is similar and they're just as delicious - and it's all different entrees than Organic Avenue offers, so they complement one another well.


Their Acai Bowls are also beyond delicious, though I don't have a good photo at the moment. 

What's your favorite way to stay cool in the heat?

Can you believe tomorrow is August?

When does summer end for you?

Jun 19, 2013

WIAW #94: Diet to Go Review

I'm reviewing another week of Diet to Go meals - yum!

Diet to Go - Healthy Eating Made Easy

As I noted the last time that I reviewed their service, they're a great meal service option for health-minded individuals, whether or not you're trying to lose any weight.

I chose the vegetarian meal plan again, of course, and added in my own snacks of granola bars, trail mix, bowls of cereal, ice cream sundaes (it's summer and HOT), fruit, etc. As you can tell, I'm not trying to lose weight.

But I definitely loved the convenience of these meals. And the taste! It was fun to eat delicious, nutritious meals that are different from what I normally make!

Anyway, without further ado:

Peas and Crayons

Here are some of the highlights of my week of Diet to Go meals!

I had the Diet to Go Chugwater Chili again - yum!

There were lots of great grains and legumes this week!

Diet to Go Chugwater Chili with (big) Cornbread Muffin
Last time, I complained a bit about how some of their options used refined grains where they could have just as easily chosen the whole grain alternative. Their menu rotates, however, and I found that this week was much more whole grain friendly!

Large Cornbread muffin

And deliciously so.

I couldn't get enough of the Aztec Quinoa Salad.



I would seriously order a week's worth of this as every single lunch option.

No joke.



The chickpeas are an ingenious inclusion and add that soft, buttery something to the delicious nutty chewiness of the quinoa.



Now I'm craving it again, haha.

The wheatberry salad was also absolutely delicious.



The dressing was great and the dried cranberries were plump and juicy!



It was a side to the Portobello Meltover Dish. 


Like the other meltovers, it's quite cheese-heavy. 


Since I struggle with digesting cheese (worst stomach discomfort ever, thanks lactose intolerance) I removed what I could of it before microwaving.




It was still absolutely delicious! The portobellos were big and juicy (I very rarely eat mushrooms and never make them myself, but I have no idea why - they're delicious) and the marinara is super flavorful and packed with veggies! There's some cheese in the marinara mix itself, so I felt a bit queasy thirty minute later, but not too bad. And it was delicious!

But not as delicious as the Armenian Stew meal.


Lots and lots of veggies and legumes in this meal - and my first time trying cauliflower rice! Loved it.


There was pretty much no way that I wasn't going to love this meal - lentils, creamy cauliflower mash (it really was more mashed potato-like, post-microwaving) and flavorful sauteed brussel sprouts in a ridiculously delicious sauce?

Frozen
What's not to love??

Frozen
Exactly. Making this, by far, one of my favorite of their savory meals. I really liked the inclusion of cumin in the stew, it was great! 


The only change I would possibly make to improve it would be to reduce the liquid in the stew - the first few bites were more soup-like, before I got to the (LOTS OF) lentils below. 

Or maybe I just need to work on my mixing skills.



The Vegetables in Curry Sauce wasn't actually a personal favorite, as I'm not super wild about curry and the cream in the curry sauce made me feel a bit ill after eating (darned lactose issues) but I'm including it because it was done very, very well and I know that my mom (and many others) would absolutely love it!



They get major kudos for finding brown basmati rice - I didn't even know that was a thing!

Frozen
There are lots of great veggies in the dish (that's one of the things I really love about Diet to Go - unlike many other meal services, especially frozen meal services, they really keep an emphasis on fresh foods, everything tasted super fresh, and on keeping their meals healthy and balanced with veggies). 

Hot
The yellow squash in the creamy curry sauce was great and the brown rice was cooked to perfection, even after nuking in the microwave. And the beans? Don't get me started on the beans!


These guys really know how to do spices. I have yet to find a bland meal in the whole batch, everything is just so flavorful! 

I've never had Soy Salisbury Steak before, but it was really tasty.

Diet to Go Soy Salisbury Steak with gravy and mashed potatoes
Theirs came with mashed potatoes and a side of green beans that were, surprisingly, not overcooked after microwaving the dish to completion. The 'steak' was a large veggie burger patty type thing, but a bit softer, and really good.


The only thing that I would do to improve this dish would be to reduce the saltiness of the gravy. It was a bit much for my taste, but definitely not bad in terms of the usual sodium you'll get in frozen meals.


The Channa Masala was great for anyone who likes Indian food.


Or anyone who likes chickpeas. I loved that they used brown basmati rice here, I didn't even know that basmati rice came in a whole grain version!

Frozen Channa Masala
It was delicious. And the chickpeas were great, too!

Heated Channa Masala
It was a great, healthy lunch and really satisfying. The cumin really stood out again in a wonderful way here!


Though I can't say that I noticed that the carrots were minted. Maybe more mint is needed? Or maybe I just got the few un-minty carrots in the batch. 

The Moroccan Lentil Salad was a little soupy for me at first bite. 

Diet to Go Moroccan Lentil Salad
But that was just my failed mixing skills again - after the first few bites there was very little liquid and lots of yummy lentils.


The yogurt sauce was okay, but the whole wheat pitas (there are two of them) were the real winner. They puffed up in the microwave and where soft, chewy, doughy pockets of deliciousness!

Yum. 

Speaking of carby delights, the whole grain french toast and whole wheat pancakes were great!

Diet to Go Whole Wheat Pancakes
You get two pancakes, mad with a mix of whole and refined grains, some strawberry syrup (with strawberry chunks, score!) and soy sausage links. 


If you microwave the soy sausage links for the same amount of time it takes to get the pancakes and syrup ready, it's a little too long for them.

But I still thought they tasted good, if a little tougher than they were meant to be.

I would have liked the pancakes to be all whole grain, or at least more whole grain, because I thought they lacked that heartiness of whole grain goods (same goes for the French toast).


But I suppose that's a good thing for people who are new to including whole grains in their diet, because they'll barely notice that the pancakes aren't regular white flour pancakes.


I'm sure no one will notice once the pancakes are covered in the sweet strawberry syrup! I poured half of it on my pancakes and dunked forkfuls of pancakes into the rest. There was plenty of syrup, it was a pretty perfect amount.

Especially for people new to healthy eating and healthy cooking, I really recommend Diet to Go as a way to see that healthy eating can be just as delicious (usually more!) than not. And it gives great inspiration for meals that you can make yourself when you have more time!

Pancakes or French Toast?

What's your favorite whole grain?

What is your favorite legume? Not counting peanuts, since otherwise peanut butter would probably tip the scales unfairly in that one's favor!

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