Totally Cheesy.

Hey guys! How has your day been?

Mine has been super productive, which is always good!

After breakfast, I:

• scrubbed down my bathroom and bedroom
• vacuumed and mopped
• ran 4 miles on the treadmill
• wrote drafts for 2 of my 3 papers

AND ate a healthy lunch to boot! Wam bam thank you ma’am.

Lunch wasn’t anything you haven’t seen before, but it was delicious nonetheless!

Chopped veggie bowl:

• cherry tomatoes
• baby carrots
• cucumber
• steamed broccoli
• black bean veggie burger

Topped with hummus and nutritional yeast! Plus, some multigrain tortilla chips for carbs and crunch.

Once Adam got home from school, we made a trip to the grocery store for Sam’s dinner fixings! I made him ‘Philly Cheesesteak’ sandwiches!

He is obsessed with these and I don’t make them often, so what better day than our anniversary? More on those later.

For Adam, I threw together a pasta with homemade sauce.

Totally Tasty Tofu Cheese Sauce

Pretty cheesy name, huh? Pun fully intended.

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 block extra firm tofu
• 1 C. steamed broccoli
• nutritional yeast
• 1/4 C. earth balance
• 2 T. cream cheese
• another cheese of choice (I used American + parmesan because it was all I had on hand.)

Blend tofu, broccoli, nutritional yeast, and earth balance until you have a creamy light green sauce. (note: add a splash of milk to get it moving)

Transfer to a pot and add your cheeses. Cook over low heat until cheese is melted and sauce is warm!

Meanwhile, cook your pasta. I used whole wheat shells and I added 1 C. of frozen peas for some extra nutrients!

Mix your sauce and pasta.

I also added about 1/2 C. of cooked kidney beans to the finished product.

I was a bit nervous to serve this to Adam because of the light green sauce color, but he loved it!

Stay tuned for the ‘Philly Cheesesteak’ sandwiches!

Is it ironic that I talk about cheesesteak sandwiches and tofu in the same post?

Right now, homework is calling my name!

Have a great night!

<3 Stefanie

Musings over coffee (and Apple Pie Oats).

This morning as I sit and enjoy my warm mug of coffee, I wonder:

Why do I procrastinate during weeks in which I have 3 papers due?

In line with that, why do professors assign papers that are due right after Thanksgiving Break? Don’t they know we need a full-week to recover from our food-comas and get back into the swing of the things?

Why did I sign up for my first race during the winter? My outdoor running motivation has to be pulled from the deep dark depths when I wake up to a bone-chilling frost.

And in line with that, will I be prepared for a cold race day if most of my training runs are completed indoors on a treadmill? Not to mention, my indoor running attire is more to the tune of mid-summer weather.

Maybe I should start layering up for treadmill runs?

Enough complaining pondering, how about some breakfast action?

This morning was an oats kind of day. I’m somewhat sinful and I really only enjoy oats a few times a month! Usually I prefer my breakfasts savory and more along the lines of eggs and toast.

Actually, my perfect breakfast includes both savory and sweet. But that’s not really relevant, so I digress.

Apple Pie Oats with a Protein Punch

*egg protein punch was inspired by Holly’s Banana Custard Oats (which I’ve had bookmarked for a while now! )

• 1/3 C. Oats
• 1 T. Chia Seeds
• 1 egg
• Pinch of sea salt
• 2/3 C. Water

Add all of your ingredients to a pot, whisk together and let 'em’ cook!

Mix-ins:

• Stevia
• Apple Pie Spice
• Maple Syrup

Toppings:

• Almond Butter
• Diced/warmed Apple
• Apple Butter
• Dollop of Greek Yogurt (like whipped cream)
• More Apple Pie Spice

Tip: Dice your apple, top with spices, and then microwave for about 35 seconds! This softens the apple and makes for a perfect topping!

Can I just say that this Christmas-colored bowl makes me happy? It’s the little things.

Something else that makes me happy? Today is Sam and my 9-year anniversary! And he remembered before I did!

My papers are clouding my brain. (Excuses…)

We will celebrate this weekend anyway. 9 years means we have spent nearly a third of our lives together!

Happy Anniversary Sam! I love you.

Time to get some work done!

<3 Stefanie

Question: What should I make for dinner tonight? Something easy and delicious for Sam! It can include meat for him! Feel free to link it up with suggestions.

Gameworks, Thai, and Froyo…oh my!

Oh Sunday, how did you sneak up on me so quickly?

This long weekend flew by! Good thing I made the best of it!

On Thursday, I spent the entire day enjoying delicious food and fun with my family.

On Friday, I had a somewhat relaxing day, which including a lot of lounging and sleeping off my T-day carb coma. I caught up on the Biggest Loser while on the treadmill.

Treadmill sesh included:

• .75 mile warm-up (4.0 speed, 4.0 incline)
• 3.75 mile jog (ranging from 5.8 to 6.4 speed, 1.5 incline)
• .75 mile walk (4.0 speed, 6.0 incline)
• .75 mile jog (6.0 speed, 1.5 incline)

For a total of 6 miles! My longest treadmill session to date.

I originally planned on venturing out to catch any Black Friday deals, but I decided that I wanted to keep my sanity instead.

Adam went to see Tangled with my Dad and his cousin Jamie. Supposedly it is a must-see!

Saturday started with Adam’s basketball game at the YMCA.

Immediately afterward, Sam, Adam, and I went on a mini family road trip to Gameworks!

Before the games, we had to properly fuel ourselves with a yummy lunch. We chose Big Bowl Fresh Chinese and Thai.

I haven’t eaten at Big Bowl since I made the decision to become a vegetarian, and I was pleasantly surprised by the menu options!

It’s not often that I have so many veggie options to choose from, so my decision was hard! Luckily, Adam is a vegetarian as well so we chose two entrées to share!

First entrée: Kung Pao Tofu and Spinach

Wide wheat noodles, tofu, blackened chilies, roasted peanuts, in a sweet and spicy sauce

Second entrée: Create your own stir fry.

Pick your protein: Tofu

Pick your sauce: Teriyaki

Pick your carb: Chinese Fried Rice

Pick your veggies: Chef’s Choice

Both of these meals were absolutely delish!

As was Sam’s homemade Passion fruit Ginger Ale.

With happy bellies, we were ready to get our game on Gameworks!

I’ve said this before, but we are a very competitive family, so we go all out!

Before heading home, we got our frozen yogurt fix at Yogen Fruz.

My usual original tart topped with white chocolate chips, mango, and pineapple! I don’t care if it’s 20 degrees out, this hit the spot.

On the agenda for today:

• Harry Potter Movie Marathon
• Laundry
• Run
• Target for essentials (toothpaste, laundry detergent, Brita filter…)
• 3 Papers (all due Wednesday)
• Possibly seeing HP7 tonight!

Have a great day guys!

<3 Stefanie

How was your weekend? Any highlights?

A Thanksgiving Recap

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

My Thanksgiving was a glorious day filled with food, family, and fun!

I started the day with a mini bake-a-thon, in which I made a batch of Mama Pea’s dough balls, and Angela’s Pumpkin Pie Brownie in a Crunchy Pecan Crust.

Let’s just say I made a bit of a mess in the kitchen.

That whole ‘clean-as-you-go’ rule? Well, rules are made for breaking, right?

I’ll gladly clean up this mess when its cause has my kitchen smelling like heaven. Or what I imagine heaven should smell like.

I also made Angela’s Better than Bottle Balsamic Vinaigrette to top a spinach salad.

While this salad was delicious, everyone agreed they wanted to save room for carbs! So my salad was sadly ignored, by everyone but myself!

Upon arriving at my parents, I was immediately served a festive cran-tini.

Enjoyed alongside my newly-21 year old brother!

Only real-men drink cran-tinis.

The usual family-photo shoot ensued.

My Dad was too busy cooking away in the kitchen to partake in the photo shoot!

And then there was food!

Can you say CARBS? Yum!!

My plate (times 2 or maybe 3):

• Salad
• Candied Sweet Potatoes
• Homemade mashed taters topped with vegetarian gravy
• Corn
• Roll
• Vegetarian dressing topped with vegetarian gravy

My Dad used to be a sous chef, so you can imagine how delish all the food is! And he makes special vegetarian sides for Adam and I! Thanks Dad!

As tradition goes, we all prepare and read a list of 10 things we are thankful for over Thanksgiving dinner. I thought I’d share mine with you.

10 things I’m thankful for (in no particular order):

1. I am thankful for having enough credits to graduate finally!

2. I am thankful for finally narrowing down what I’d like to study in grad school and taking the steps to get there!

3. I am thankful for Adam and the fact that he is self-motivated, thoughtful, and intelligent.

4. I am thankful for my legs which propel me through running. And also for running itself which helps me beat the stress of the day, while staying in shape!

5. I am thankful for my entire family….for always being there and making life more enjoyable and rewarding!

6. I am thankful for Sam and his hard work and dedication to support us and allow us to live a comfortable lifestyle.

7. I am thankful for finding blogging, which is a hobby I love!

8. I am thankful for the Animal Shelter and all the people who looked past Georgie for the past 4 months, allowing us to find him and rescue him!

9. I am thankful for having my health.

10. I am thankful for having so many things to be thankful for!

I am told that number 10 was a cop-out. Maybe so, but does simply listing Chipotle as something to be thankful for count?

We did not leave room for dessert, so dessert was enjoyed later-on while we played games!

Mad Gab and Trivial Pursuit were our games of choice!

My family is super competitive, so board game-playing gets a little crazy sometimes.

We finally ventured home at about midnight and I think I can speak for us all when I say: we slept like babies.

It feels great to have today off!

I might just venture on over to the mall to check out any Black Friday sales later. Despite my sister’s incessant begging, I refused to venture out at 4 AM to catch the deals!

I’m just not that diehard, I guess!

<3 Stefanie

How about you? Did you venture out into the craziness that is Black Friday?