Tempted By Tempeh

If you’re thinking you’re reading yesterdays post, don’t worry, you’re not. I just have such a repetetive(yet delicious) life that everything seems the same… because it was sort of. After comparing my breakfast yesterday that would have had Dr. Atkins rolling over in his grave to the protein-fest from the day before, I’ve came to this conclusion: carbs make me satisfied, protein makes me full. What’s the difference? I don’t feel stuffed on carbs, but I can go a long time without being hungry or having all my thoughts go to food(well, they do this anyway, but some things can’t be changed ). Protein, on the other hand, I eat and it feels like a cement mixer emptied into my stomach–not so fun. That being said, it’s good to reach a balance which is something I’ll try to work out better with my breakfasts/meals.

On my way to Latin yesterday I saw Hermoine Emma again. She asked the person in front of me where a dorm is. Had I been 10 seconds ahead in my day, I would have been that direction giver. FML. The day was almost ruined then, but totally saved later on. After Latin I popped by the Farmer’s Market that’s here every Wednesday:

Farmers' Market

I didn’t get anything this time, sadly. The kefir was a one week only thing apparently. The creamery still makes AMAZING other cheese products and had a homemade ricotta, but I really didn’t want to buy something I didn’t think I’d eat all of before it goes bad. Besides, I still had hopes that I would end September without going over my food budget(oh how naive). Instead I popped in the dining hall to get some food and went to my dorm to dress it up:

Maple Mustard Tofu And Tempeh, Broccoli, Japanese Veggies, Polynesian Ragout

Mustard Maple Tempeh And Tofu

Kath’s maple mustard tofu was really a hit with me(and apparently some of you, too). So much so that I needed to make it again. This time I used tofu from the salad bar and tempeh from the cafe a few nights ago and doubled the sauce recipe. Holy yum. I don’t think people around me in my Greek History class knew what the hell I was eating but it didn’t matter. There was also cold Japanese veggies, steamed broccoli, and Polynesian vegetable ragout to round out the meal. I think tempeh is a lot more nutrient dense than I realized because this REALLY filled me up and had my stomach begging for some fluid, which ended up completely making my day.

Remember how I saw Emma between classes on Monday? Well, I figured out she walks to class the same time and direction that I do. i.e. We’re class walker buddies. When I saw her today, I kept walking, again, that tempeh had me feeling the coffee, so I went to The Blue Room. Guess who was in line 5 people in front of me? Yep Thank you, tempeh. Emma was getting her lunch: a sandwich, a brownie, and a Nantucket Nectar. I’m glad to see she eats things like brownies and doesn’t fall into the pitfall of other teen celebs. She even had to walk past me to get the Nantucket Nectar and said “sorry” when I moved out of the way; I might have almost fainted at the cute little British accent

So I think it’s pretty understandable I couldn’t focus at all during my Epic Poetry class. We’re now starting The Odyssey while writing an essay on The Iliad. In my classicist opinion, Odyssey kicks Iliad booty. Afterward, I went back to my room and Google Readered it up the wazoo. But it wasn’t too long until the Whole Food bug bit me–don’t you hate that guy? I stepped out and ate this on my walk to the store:

Spooky Smores Z-Bar

Walking, Whole Foods, Spooky Smores–I told you it was Tuesday, but again, it’s just me living every day like ground hog day. It’s getting so depressingly cold in NE already; I almost lost circulation in my fingers on the walk. I lose circulation pretty easily, but it’s not a good sign that that’s happening in September. After I got out of their with what I could in my wallet, I stopped by the dining hall to pick up dinner ingredients and a snack. Of the whole trip, this is what I came back with:

Trip Loot

The Oikos and Fakin’ Bacon were my Whole Foods loot. I had hopes of not going over budget this month, but in fact I did by 2.88. That’s not that bad considering I’m not counting the numerous $$’s slipped to me by the ‘rents and grandma; it’s just not fun to know overall how much I cost to feed. From the dining hall I picked up some stuff for dinner as well as an afternoon snack, because who said snacks need to be oatmeal and peanut butter or cost me money? I got some ‘fu because I’m a sneaky sneaky dining hall theif. And I also found a heart thrive cookie in the trash by the mens room. Now, normally I don’t condone taking things from the trash to eat, but since I’m in and out of there all day I know it wasn’t there for more than an hour, plus it was still in the wrapper. If ya’ll don’t care too much about mold, I can’t imagine you being too appalled at that. Speaking of my snack, voila:

Honey Roasted Sweet Potato, Chicken Stir Fry

This sweet potato was actually cooked to perfection, which you never find at the Ratty. And normally I don’t go for chicken, but that stir fry looked and tasted just like good Chinese food so I didn’t mind it. I finally caught up with Google Reader after 10 hours–oh how good that felt. I pretty much knew last night I was not in the mood to “eat out”(at the dinner hall). It just felt like such a long day all I wanted was to eat in my room near my computer. And thankfully, because it’s college, I can do that. So I used some of the food I got at the dining hall earlier with what I had lying around to make this taste of delight:

Mac N' Cheese, Tempeh Bacon, Sauteed Peppers, Green Beans

My first reaction to the tempeh was a bit disappointing. That was until I got the after flavor. Again, holy yum. It’s not quite bacon, but it is delicious(and I’m guessing sodiumrific). I only wish I could properly pan fry this to get a better flavor, but this was quite amazing and might just become a staple in my house. And what goes better with bacon than melted cheese over carbs? I used TJ’s instant mac n’ cheese, which I absolutely adore. They come prepackaged so it’s the perfect size for a side, and you can make it with just a microwave. Best of all, it has that weird, instant mac n’ cheese guilty flavor that makes you feel like it’s something naughty but it’s all naturally and has healthy nutrition; Trader Joe’s is clearly run by the Gods who make things they know we’ll like. This was probably one of my favorite dinners of college yet and inspires me to make more meals for myself(so long as my wallet allows it!).

Wednesday’s are really hyped up as comedy night for most of the broadcast TV stations but I just wasn’t feeling it. The New Adventures of Old Christine and Modern Family were funny but not laugh out loud. I suppose that’s a good thing since I hadn’t done any homework until 8pm all day. I mean, how could I with Emma Watson and tempeh on the brain. I was reminded to call my grandmother who turned 70 yesterday so that ate up some time as well. After 9 I sat down with some poetry and made the snacks desserts that had been on my mind all day:

Oikos With Peanut Flour And Midnight Moo Sauce

Cinnamon Sugar Oatmeal With Raisins And Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter

Ok, all day’s a bit of an exaggeration, but these totally hit spots that needed hitting. The peanut butter yogurt is, as you can guess by its numerous appearances on numerous blogs, a God send. I’m almost out of the peanut flour The National Peanut Board sent me since I’ve had so much fun baking with it; I think I’ll be purchasing another 1lb online from the same company, Byrd Mill. And normally I’m not a raisin person, but clearly I was just repressing something that exploded into oatmeal. I made a base adding 5g turbinado sugar and a ton of cinnamon, and topped with Newman’s Own Organic raisins and Cinnamon Raisin PB. I loved how the sugar slightly thickened up the oats, and the raisins were plump and delicious. Should I be cooking them along with the oats? I just added them on top at the end, but the former would also make sense. I also devoured savored a TJ cinnamon raisin english muffin with cream cheese right before dozing off, because evidently I wasn’t down with my cinnamon raisin kick(it’s a good kick).

Today I planned on doing 6.3 on the treadmill. Even though I didn’t get the best night of sleep, I felt super energized this morning and loved it. That’s why I mentioned the cinnamon raisin english muffin, even though I don’t always mention everything I eat: because proper fueling has its perks. I got to the gym a bit early and ran my little heart out. A funny thing happened: 45 minutes in I broke the treadmill. I noticed it was not going 7.5 mph like it said, and when I tried changing the speed I realized it dropped to about 6.5 and stuck. I calmly hopped off that machine and moved to the one over and continued, going 7.13 miles in 58 minutes. This was a case of man vs machine where man clearly one. When I got back I had the weirdest idea for breakfast:

Elvis' Yogurt Parfait, Blueberry Muffin Top With White Chocolate Peanut Butter

That stuff on top of the yogurt is not granola, my friends(well, a granola of sort). I was really insppired by the Peanut Butter & Company cookbook to make their Elvis sandwich into Elvis’ Yogurt Parfait: yogurt with peanut flour, flaxmeal, and banana jam, topped with bacon(or, in my case, fakin’ bacon). Umm, Elvis, you might have been known for your singing but you’re taste buds were freaking incredible. If you want you can use diced bananas, too, but bananas are not one of my favorite fruits. The muffin top, which was literally the severed top of a muffin, was equally delicious; white chocolate and blueberry just go together like Pam and Jim.

Lastly, check out this amazing pumpkin giveaway over at Danica’s Dailies. So much pumpkin and Trader Joe’s goods it warms my heart!