WIAW Me Vs. Them

Howdy Ho Ranger Joes!

I really don’t know where that came from.

But I’m just going to role with the Full House reference and take it as a sign that I’m officially on vacation.

Relaxed. Carefree.

And totally ready for the upcoming days.

End of the world? Check.

Giveaway post? Check… See below for a sneak peek at what I have in store for you all tomorrow.

WIAW post? Check.

I’ve been so thrilled with how my Christmas vacation has been going so far. One of the things that I’ve really been loving is getting to make all sorts of amazing food. Food for me, and food for them. “Them” being my family. So today’s WIAW post is going to be a little show-down of Me vs. Them in terms of food. I think you’ll quickly see a difference. Ha.

Thanks Jenn!

Disclaimer: These posts do not reflect everything that I eat during a day. There are a lot of unpictured snacks like fruit and vegetables, as well as undocumented nibbles as I’m making my meals.

Breakfast

Me: Banana “Ice Cream”

Them (aka. Mom): 2 fried eggs with 2 slices of buttered toast

Lunch

Me: Microwave Veggie and Rice Soup

I finally did it! I made SOUP.

You didn’t think I’d leave you without a recipe, did you?

Microwave Veggie and Rice Soup

Gluten-free, low fat, vegan, nut-free, microwaveable

Ingredients:

• 1/4-1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 serving (3/4 cup) baby carrots
• 1 cup sliced zucchini
• More water as needed

Directions:

1. Add uncooked rice and water to a medium-sized bowl. Microwave for 8-10 minutes until cooked.
2. To the cooked rice add the carrots and zucchini. Cover with more water (about 1/2 cup).
3. Cook for an additional 6 minutes, or until veggies are soft when pierced with fork.
4. Enjoy alone, or with an added protein.

I mixed in turkey meatballs with mine!

For added convenience, I transferred the soup to a coffee thermos and ate it on-the-go.

Them (aka. Mom and Dad): Bubble Pizza

I love making food for my family. One such food is Bubble Pizza. It’s a cinch to make.

It is not however, allergy-free, but I’ll include substitution ideas for all of the questionable ingredients and hopefully you can make this dish to fit your needs. It’s seriously delicious!

Bubble Pizza

• 12 canned biscuits*
• 1 jar (3 cups) pizza/spaghetti sauce*
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese*
• Meat (optional): 1 pound cooked ground beef, sliced pepperoni, sausage
• Vegetables (optional)

Directions:

1. Tear half of the biscuits into four pieces and distribute evenly into a sprayed 13×9 casserole dish. Place in oven as it is preheating to 400 degrees.
2. Meanwhile, tear the other half of the biscuits and place in a bowl. Add the pizza sauce, 1 cup of cheese, and any desired add-ins like meat or vegetables (I added pepperoni).
3. Remove the dish from the oven when preheated. Spray again to prevent sticking as the oil will have baked off.
4. Pour the mixture of biscuit, sauce and cheese over the baked biscuit layer.
5. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese on top and add a layer of pepperoni (optional). Bake for another 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Substitution Notes:

• Any biscuit recipe will work, including vegan and gluten-free variations. Just make a batch, divide it in half, and separate into small pieces.
• Again, any pizza or spaghetti sauce will work here. If allergic to tomatoes, you can use a creamy alfredo sauce or a sauce made from pureed peppers and carrots.
• A shredded soy or nut-based cheese can be used in place of the mozzarella cheese to make this dairy-free and vegan.

Dinner

On the way back from my doctor’s appointment today my mom and I stopped at Whole Foods to buy a few necessary items, as well as to get supper. I was starving!

Me: From the hot and cold bar- Salad with lettuce, cucumbers and shredded carrots; brown rice; roasted rosemary chicken.

Them (aka. Mom): Slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza; orange cranberry scone.

Snack

Me: Apple Chips.

I saw these apple chips featured on Modern Girl Nutrition, so when I spotted them at my college’s convenience store I knew I had to buy a bag.

The verdict?

Sweet. Crunchy. Amazing.

I was so inspired that I even made my own in the dehydrator yesterday (I’m in love).

Them (aka. Family): Junk Food Galore.

I had a lot of money leftover on my meal plan from school (still have over $100 from this semester), so before I left I bought up some snacks for my family. A few I’ve already given to them, and a few I’m saving for makeshift Christmas gifts.

Well, could you see a difference in the meals we ate? I bet you could.

But anyways, moving onto the sneak peek of the giveaway that I have in store for you all! Check back on Thursday. There will be multiple ways to win, and you don’t want to miss it.

That is all.

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Are you on Christmas Break yet? If not, how many days do you have until you’re off?

Do you ever compare your food to others? I know I sure do!

Are you ready for my giveaway? Say “yes!”

Final Exams + WIAW + My Favorite Christmas Movies

Two classes down. Three more to go!

I finished my Business Class last week with a presentation on Accounting. My last Critical Thinking class was today, and I received my final grade. All A’s so far!

On Wednesday I don’t have any classes or commitments, so it will be full of me studying, studying, studying. And oh, okay, maybe a few snacks and Netflix indulgences sprinkled in here and there.

On Thursday I have my two final exams in Ethnic Studies and Microeconomics. Spaced only 30 minutes apart… Ugh! Then right after my Microeconomics exam is scheduled to be over, I have to make a dash to the English building to pick up my graded Writing Portfolio.

Then right after that I have to get ready to head out to The Hobbit midnight premiere. I’m starting to have doubts about going though. It’s just so late, I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep. Plus, Thursday is my last day of exams, so I could actually go home that night!

As you may remember, watching The Hobbit midnight premiere was on my 13 Things to Do in the 13 Days Before the World Ends Bucket List. If I do end up skipping it though, I’ve already made plans to watch it with my friend from home on the following Saturday. We’ll see what happens!

Enough school talk. You probably don’t like reading about exams any more than I like taking them! Instead, let’s talk a little bit about food, and also I’ll share a (long) list of my favorite Christmas Movies.

Disclaimer: These posts do not reflect everything that I eat during a day. There are a lot of unpictured snacks like fruit and vegetables, as well as undocumented nibbles as I’m making my meals.

Breakfast

On the drive up to school last week with my parents, we stopped at our mall’s GNC to buy some probiotics because I was almost out. While there, my mom happened to notice that they sold my favorite brown rice protein powder, so of course I had to pick up some of that as well! A one pound jug on Amazon can sell for as much as $20.00, but GNC had them priced much lower, and one of the two jugs that we bought was actually 50% off!

My breakfast for most of the days last week was my banana protein bread of course! One day all my dining hall had was teeny tiny bananas, so I bought two instead of a large one like I usually do. One banana went into the bread, and the other one I sliced up on top.

Lunch

The all-you-care-to-eat dining halls actually post their menus on Monday for the entire week, so I can always plan out when to go. For this lunch I took advantage of the fact that they already had some plain grilled chicken on the menu, so I didn’t have to special order it. On the side I had a salad of lettuce, carrots and cucumbers. I also sprinkled the chicken with just a little salt because my body just seemed to be craving the sodium!

Snack #1

I love rice. I really really do.

That’s why I was so excited to see a box of Minute White rice on the shelf at one of my college’s convenience stores. I have over $170.00 left for this semester and only three more days to use it (the money does roll over, but being realistic, if I have money left over this semester, then I’m probably going to have money leftover next semester as well).

So I bought the super-overpriced box of rice and have since used it all up! I’ll be buying another box tomorrow for sure.

I’ve been eating it plain and also mixed with chicken. I also like to mash the rice and add a little extra water to make it into a porridge. Fruit seems to be another great addition to rice, and for my snacks on Monday and Tuesday I cooked up a cup of rice and topped it with a large sliced banana. Full of carbohydrates and the perfect energizing snack.

Dinner

Nights lately have been getting so cold. Some it has even dropped as far as the low 30’s. This weather makes me hesitant to leave the nice, warm comfort of my room, so I’ve been finding myself going out for lunch, but staying in for supper.

This was one of those nights where I just heated up a few servings of chicken with a can of unsalted green beans.

Snack #2

These pictures will be the last that you see for a while of my protein powder adventures (probably). I’m going to be visiting a new holistic practioner who can hopefully give me some aid in figuring out new things to try for my digestion, and I’m pretty positive that cutting out grains is going to be a big part of it. From my stint with Paleo I know that quinoa does not bode well with me. I also know that rice both in its “pure state” as well as in its protein powder, while not as bad as quinoa, isn’t too good for me.

So, enjoy this last recipe!

It’s pretty similar to my Microwave Protein Crisp, but in a much larger and more delicious form!

Apple Banana Microwave Protein Crumble

High protein, high fiber, no sugar added, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1/4-1/3 cup brown rice protein powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• splash of water
• stevia (optional, but I didn’t use)
• 1 apple, sliced

Directions:

1. Slice the apple (peeled or unpeeled) and layer into a small microwaveable container.
2. Mash the banana in a separate bowl. Add the protein powder and combine.
3. Sprinkle the baking powder on top. Then, quickly pour a little water directly onto the baking powder until it starts to fizz.
4. Stir it up fast as the baking powder will cause the mixture to expand. Take advantage of that volume and carefully pour the banana bread mixture over the apple slices and put the container in the microwave.
5. Cook the crumble for 4-6 minutes until no longer gooey. Time will depend on size of banana, amount of water/protein powder used, and the strength of the microwave.
6. Enjoy!

So last week I posted my favorite Christmas music, but this week I’m going to share with you some of my favorite Christmas movies.

I know that Elf and The Grinch are common “favorites,” but I honestly don’t like them all that much… But here are the ones that I grew up watching, and also some recent additions!

Not Your Typical Christmas Movies: Die Hard 1 and 2, Batman Returns

TV Specials: Snowglobe, A Golden Christmas: The Second Tail, Christmas Cupid, Desperately Seeking Santa, Santa Baby, Christmas Caper

Cartoons: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, A Year Without a Santa Claus, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, The Polar Express, Beauty and The Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Scooby Doo’s A Nutcracker Scoob

Live Action: Home Alone 3, Santa Clause 2, To Grandmother’s House We Go, Twas the Night, The Ultimate Christmas Present, The Family Stone, The Nutcracker, Scrooged, The Holiday, Four Christmases

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I may not post again this week because of my exams, but I wish you all the best of luck on your challenges this week, whether it be in or out of the classroom.

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Do you like tests? I may be in the minority here, but I actually kind of like them!

What is one food that you’d hate to give up? Protein powder for me.

What Christmas movies would you have on your list? I’m probably forgetting some… Always do!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Playlist (WIAW)

This is going to be a quick post today as I have a presentation tomorrow in my Business class, a speech on Thursday in my Critical Thinking class, and two exams next week to study for. WHOA.

In case you missed it, here is my last post for Marvelous in My Monday featuring “search terms.”

I wish I could say this week is going by fast, but it’s not. Which is even worse when you have tons of studying to do, because then it seems like every page and every question is TWICE as long.

Oh well. At least it’s Wednesday and I get to do another WIAW post!

After you’re done here, make sure to check out Peas and Crayons for more WIAW fun!

Now, let’s get this party started so that I can get back to watching Netflix studying. (Man are these next two weeks going to be tough!)

Breakfast

Over the weekend I didn’t use any brown rice protein powder because I was out, so for breakfast I had butternut squash cooked in the microwave.

Lunch

An Oldie but Goodie. A super large salad with red grapes, cucumber slices (hidden way below), a can of low sodium tuna, and of course, lettuce!

Snack

There were a lot of brown bananas to use up when I got home. Yay!

One of the things that I made was this Strawberry Banana Smoothie in a Bowl.

The bananas weren’t quite frozen enough to make “ice cream,” so I added some frozen strawberries and blended it to make this thick, luscious smoothie!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie in a Bowl

Ingredients:

• slices of 2 partially frozen brown bananas (about 1-2 hours in the freezer)
• 1/2-3/4 cup frozen strawberries

Directions: Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender and combine until smooth. Place in the freezer to firm up if you prefer a “ice cream” texture and are patient unlike me! Eat with a spoon.

Dinner

When I got home there was also a lot of zucchini and yellow squash to use up, so for both meals on Saturday I had sliced and steamed squash.

I also gave some to my mom, since she was the one who originally bought the vegetables!

For supper Saturday night I paired some steamed yellow squash with 4 turkey meatballs.

To make the meatballs I took 1/4 lb of lean ground turkey, divided them into 4 sections, and rolled them into balls. Then, when I was done steaming the squash, I just plopped them right into the boiling water from that. Just cover them and cook until they are done! About 10 minutes for me.

I ended up cooking up a whole pound of ground turkey into meatballs to take to school with me. Sadly I forgot them at home in the refrigerator. Oh well; at least I’ll have something to eat when I get back!

Snack

Like I said… Lots of food to use up! Here is what I did with two more large bananas. This time I planned ahead and put the banana slices in the freezer for about half of the day. Then I made them into banana “ice cream.” Delicious.

In addition to this week’s WIAW, I also want to add a little Christmas spirit with an idea that I got from Life of Di:

Have Yourself a Merry Little Playlist

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Yolanda Adams

2. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Michael Buble

3. White Christmas by Michael Buble

4. Jingle Bells by Michael Buble

5. Baby It’s Cold Outside by Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey

6. Winter Wonderland by Avalon

7. A Strange Way to Save the World by 4Him

8. Let it Snow by Jaci Velasquez

All of these songs come from my family’s favorite three Christmas CDs that we listen to during December:

WOW Christmas (2002)

Michael Buble’s Christmas

Jessica Simpson: The Christmas Album

And now I’m off to practice for my Business presentation and work on writing my Critical Thinking speech!

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Do you ever have to use up food when you come home from college or a trip?

What is your favorite use for ripe bananas? I think mine is pretty obvious!

Do you have any big tests coming up? If so, good luck!

What song would be at the top of your Merry Little Christmas Playlist?

What I Ate the Day Before Thanksgiving

Are you guys ready for another WIAW?

Just one more day until Thanksgiving…

It seems that the general consensus in my last Marvelous Monday post is that most of you do not like to go Black Friday shopping. I personally love it and can’t wait to find some good deals! Like I said before though, I go in with absolutely no expectations so I’m never disappointed.

That said, I’ve been looking through some of the Walmart and Target ads for Black Friday and just wanted to share a few things that I might be looking at buying:

Cheap DVDs ranging from 96 cents and up.

3-in-1 Vacuum for $8.84. So many fun colors- This would be perfect for my dorm room!

 

A 16 GB flash drive because I lost mine.

Micro SD card for my camera phone. My card right now isn’t full yet, but I do take a lot of pictures and always forget to delete the bad ones, so I’ll be needing more space soon.

Chrismas Decorations for my dorm room.

 

The items above all came from the Walmart ad. All items below are from target.

5 dollar CDs, especially this one from Adelle.

These pretty appliances for $8.00. I want that blue waffle maker!

Flannel sheets. I don’t really like the feel of cotton sheets. I use flannel sheets even in the summer. Yes, I’m weird. They’re just so soft!

I’ve wanted an infinity scarf ever since I saw Fitnessista do a post on them.

Now that you know my “secret” awesome list of Black Friday stuff, let’s move onto What I Ate Wednesday, Thanks Jenn!

Inspired by Peace Love and Oats, all of my pictures today were edited using PicMonkey. Just for fun, I added some text as well. Let me know what you think!

Breakfast- 

I came up with this recipe for a Microwave Protein Crisp after seeing both Chocolate-Covered Katie, and Liv Lives Life post recipes for Single-Serving Apple Crumbles. One morning, when my dining hall was out of bananas for my usual protein bread, I decided to experiment and came up with this instead!

I’ve made it a few times since then using different additions, and each one was equally delicious. You can use sliced apples or sliced pears for the fruit. For the crumbly top I would recommend using either pumpkin or banana puree for a sweet and moist texture, but I’ve also made this with just protein powder, baking powder and water and it still turned out fine.

Microwave Apple/Pear Protein Crisp

High protein, high fiber, no added sugar, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

• 1 apple/pear
• 1/4 cup brown rice protein powder
• 1/4 cup pumpkin/banana puree (optional)
• water as needed
• 1/4 tsp baking powder (corn and sodium-free)
• stevia (optional- I omitted)

Directions:

1. Combine the rice protein powder, water, baking powder and optional puree/stevia. Add liquid as needed to create a crumbly texture. Put a small amount of the mixture at the bottom of a microwave-safe ramekin or plastic bowl.
2. Slice the apple/pear on top of the mixture.
3. Cover the fruit slices with the remaining mixture and microwave from 2-4 minutes until thoroughly cooked and fruit is soft. Enjoy!

Lunch-

My lunches almost always look the same. I just love the taste of sweet grapes and tuna together! I also had an unpictured apple on the side.

Snack-

When I got home today the first thing I made was a microwave banana protein bread. My dining hall hasn’t had bananas for a few days and I was really missing them.

*I should note that for the past few weeks, whenever you see me eating a  banana protein bread, I am only using protein powder, baking powder and bananas. Sometimes I’ve used stevia, but ever since my Paleo experiment I haven’t been using quinoa flakes.

Dinner-

For dinner I again had what I always had, grilled chicken and steamed zucchini. While I was waiting for my chicken I also had a salad made up of lettuce, cucumbers, and shredded carrots.

Snack-

For my snack tonight I came up with a super delicious combination! Cranberry Banana “Ice Cream” + Pumpkin Protein Bread (with cranberries!). The addition of frozen cranberries added enough sweetness that I didn’t need to use any stevia, but feel free to add some if you have a sweet tooth!

And that concludes this week’s WIAW!

If I don’t talk to you all before Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving!

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What is on your Black Friday To-Buy list?

Have you tried PicMonkey yet?

Have you ever sponsored a giveaway before? I’m going to be hosting one on December 20th and could use any advice that you want to give! How long do you prefer them to last? Do you like having multiple ways to enter?