Brain Food

Sorry I have been MIA for almost a week. I was really enjoying posting everyday, but school completely took over my life this week. I didn't even get to see many of my friends unless we could squeeze in a quick walk or something. I was all business. The good news is that now I have soo much to catch you up on! I don't want to make this the longest post you've ever read, so I will just give you a quick wrap up. 

Lets start with my eats...they have been great this week! Like I said I was studying the whole time, so I was trying to fuel my brain! 

This lunch was absolutely wonderful! I will be buying some more tuna on Sunday during my weekly grocery trip and making this more often. It was just tuna salad, but I don't generally like restaurant tuna salad because it's too mayonnaisey...I HATE MAYONNAISE! With mine, I just put in a can of tuna, hard-boiled eggs, about 1 Tbsp. light mayo, spicy mustard, chopped red onion, and a diced kosher pickle. YUMM! All on a bed of spinach. 

Later Monday, after an afternoon of studying in the sun (it made it soo much more enjoyable), I was absolutely starving. I thought that big plate of tuna would hold me over for longer, but I was ready for a snack. I purchase a new peanut butter to try earlier in the week and decided I would put it on a whole wheat waffle. It hit the spot! 

I was pretty nervous about this because a lot of the time when something is better for you it doesn't taste as good. Not this!! This is my new favorite peanut butter. I'm not sure I will even go back to the real thing. It's soo creamy!!

Wow-I forgot how yummy Monday was. For dinner, I heated up a Morningstar Spicy Black Bean patty and then made an avocado dressing. It was about 1/4 of an avocado, 1 Tbsp. cottage cheese, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice and a dash of salt. All on a sandwich thin accompanied by blue corn flax seed chips. DELISH!!

We also had a special guest at our house this week. Emily (my roommate) and her fiance's dog got fixed over the weekend and since he can't jump or run and Colby's apt. is on the 2nd floor, he came to visit. 

Don't worry, he's alive. He started dreaming soon after this photo and was moving all over the place. Jack is such a hyper dog, so he was running around everywhere and since he's not supposed to, Emily had to give him a Benadryl. He was soo cute! Sometimes he would wake up and try and keep his eyes open like a little kid, but he just couldn't do it. He's a fabulous dog! 

Tuesdays are my long days and I had a speech and a presentation, so I decided on a good breakfast. 

I got the idea for these from HEAB. She always inspires me with her delicious and healthy pancake recipes. In the past I have thought of pancakes negatively as just empty carbs and calories. This recipe was her cherry pop-tart inspired version. They were delicious! Mine weren't as thick as hers, but I think it's my somewhat ghetto blender. It ate some of my whole wheat flour and baking powder. Hopefully this problem will be fixed when Ben and I get married. Please please please let us get a good blender!! 

I forgot to take pictures of my other Tuesday meals. Tuesdays and Thursdays are hard. I feel like I'm constantly hungry and it is the one day that I have no opportunity to go home or grab any food. I just have to make do with what I packed. I did pack a protein bar for my afternoon snack, but it was lacking. 

As you know I love trying new bars, but this one was kind of chalky. I still ate it, but I will not be trying anymore of these. 

I tried something new for breakfast on Wednesday. I've seen a lot of people who put chocolate protein powder in their yogurt or oats and I thought I'd give the chocolatey breakfast a try. 

Also not my fave. I mixed light and fit yogurt (vanilla) with a chocolate Breakfast Essential. I can't say that I really like the chocolate flavor in the morning. I'm not too fond of sweets in the morning. 

After a good workout and peer review for my neverending research paper, I came home to bake some cookies. One of my friends is involved in a ministry that goes to prisons and talks to all the inmates. They take dozen and dozens of cookies to hand out to the inmates. He said that the officers can tell the difference in the men when they know the cookies are coming. Being so busy, I opted for a very simple recipe. 

These are so easy and quick. They're No Flour Peanut Butter cookies and that's exactly what the recipe calls for. I think there were only about 4 ingredients and they smelled delicious. 

After getting ready to go study again I realized that I desperately need a haircut. It has gotten soo long!

I still want my hair to be long, but it needs a good trim so it looks a little more healthy. Plus it's been so long since I've had a haircut there's really no style to it anymore. Maybe a couple of layers and an inch and a half would do the trick. I'm seriously terrified of haircuts, so I'm hoping it doesn't take more than that. I feel like they always do something I don't want them to do or cut it way too short. I think I have some to spare now. 

Announcement--Thursday morning I finally had the famous "Oats in a Jar." Mine probably weren't as good as others since I put them in my no cal peanut butter jar which I simply use to add some bulk to recipes, but they were still good and it was kind of fun to eat out of a jar. Can't til my new pb runs out!

As always, I'm kind of pressed for time when packing my lunch on Thursdays, but I threw this together and it was great! 

Will you look at how big that container of yogurt is...it's still the same calories and everything, but so much bigger than the old one. I love it! It is perfect for mixing granola and fruit. I finally bought some Bear Naked Banana Nut granola and am hooked. I mixed 2 Tbsp. in my yogurt and then had a side of cantelope and strawberries. I'm gonna pack this more often. 

After lots of classes and an hour on the elliptical followed by hip abductions and hip adductions I was more than ready for a good dinner. 

I threw some broccoli, yellow onion, cauliflower and chicken in a skillet with chili pepper, S&P, and lemon juice. This was so good and light but totally filled me up. I would love to try it with shrimp sometime. 

YAY FOR THE WEEKEND!!! I am soo excited to not be doing any homework. My research paper is turned in and 3 presentations are behind me. I think I only have a couple more presentations and projects and a test this week and then I will be done til finals. After that I'll be a college graduate!! 

I met with the wedding planner at the Piazza (our venue) yesterday and it was so exciting! It made things seem soo real. We talked all about the ceremony and reception and then talked with her for a long time afterwards. I can really tell I'm gonna like her and completely trust her on the big day. Afterwards my mom and I went to a late lunch at Celebrity Bakery & Cafe. I tried something new and it was wonderful. They alway have the freshest bread and my Cranberry Chicken Salad was wonderful. I came to Denton after and have enjoyed some quality time with Ben and his family. We will leave for Dallas this afternoon for my dad's birthday celebration. I'm super excited because I'm hosting and making the dinner. Wish me luck!!