Please disregard how delayed my posting is…as this post is clearly from last Friday. What can I say, this weekend was a crazy one!
Festival ‘o Lights started today…oh the things I know from living in NYC working in a Jewish Hospital. Why are there so many ways to spell Hanukkah? Very confusing religion.
Shocker of all shockers. I passed up my usual dose of caffeine this morning and instead opted for a huge cuppa cocoa. I’m getting to be a bit obsessed with this beverage. I’m not sure if it’s because Christmas time and cocoa seem to go hand in hand, or if it’s just my latest food rut obsession, but I seriously want to have nothing but cocoa all day long.
For lunch I needed something warm (notice I didn’t use the word want – I literally NEEDED warmth to keep my body core temp above a coma-inducing state). I settled for a PB/carob chip sando. It’s definitely not what I felt like eating. I wasn’t in the mood for peanut butter at all (odd), but it was the simplest warm thing I could think of. So whatever.
Later in the afternoon I decided to bake something to bring me back to life (I definitely was too cold to function).
While baking, I did some snacking.
Not surprisingly, falafel was the dish of choice (it’s been too long)!!
I went with a simple recipe…aka follow the box directions…aka add liquids.
Easy enough for me. In order to make the recipe healthier not burn the apartment down I decided against frying the falafel balls. Instead I baked them at 350 for 20 minutes.
Is it weird that I was jealous of their toasty oven time? Yes is the answer to that question. Our apartment doesn’t have the best insulation. Correction: Our apartment has zero insulation. The windows might as well not exist, it’s THAT cold. So, in order to warm up I hit the mat for some “ohm”-ing action.
My nail polish matched :) I did some upper body sculpting thing and an ab thing (neither was longer than 15 minutes, but it got my blood flowing). Circulation in check, I removed the falafel balls.
Yummy.
In case you were wondering, there was no gym-age today due to the frigid weather. Do snow days apply to exercise? They do in my (West Coast) mind. I realize eventually I’m going to have to leave the apartment and face this chilly NY climate…I’m just not yet ready to admit it. I’m still in denial that this is now my fourth East Coast winter. For the record, I never thought I would last this long away from CA. Ok, ok, enough b!tching about the weather.
For dinner I had a few balls with a whole lotta BN squash.
Steamed to the point of almost mush. I kinda liked it.
Alongside that plate I had some holiday themed (red & green) peas with dried cranz.
AND
Sweet potato heaven.
Two courses? Nah. Better make it three. Like a diva, I decided to honor my whims. Hey, if Christina Aguilera can be THIS specific, I think I’ve still got a ways to go…plus, anything less than three courses is just not going to cut it when you are living in sub-zero temps. Insulation is key my friends!
One last thing.
Since so many of you are apple freaks, too, I feel comfortable sharing this tidbit. I bought [the above] manzana load 3 days ago and they are ALL gone. Thirteen apples. 72 hours. That’s like an apple every 5 hours, not including sleeping.
On that note, I’m off to have an apple for dessert.
I know those winters are BRUTAL. I remember having to walk 3 blocks to return a video and it was 9 degrees (or minus 9 – I’ve blocked that part out). I wasn’t sure I was gonna live to make it back!
Hang in there and keep those tootsies warm!
Lovin the apple statistics. HUGE fan.
Happy Hannukah 😀
tons of love,
bec xo
you have me craving peas, sweet potatoes, and BN squash!!!
buuurrr. bundle up and stay warm honey pie! those balls look delish~and way to bake them instead of frying. my kinda chef 🙂 xoxo
stay warm love!! ive never had falafel! is it like meatless meatballs? im so clueless!
hahah- well, the reason why there are so many reasons to spell it is because chanukah is technically a hebrew word- so there is no exact english translation 🙂
and i eat a TON of apples too- i really llooove them!
xoox
shelley
http://findinghappinessandhealth.wordpress.com
It has been a rough- cold weekend here in the Northeast! I’m in RI and I am not really ready for such things! Last year we lived on the 3rd floor in an apartment with zero insulation- the curtains seriously blew in the wind!! It was horrible.. Not only was it still cold but our gas bill was over $300- Good luck keeping warm my dear! (A note about keeping toasty: When your baking and your finished- leave the oven door wide open while the oven is cooling off.. IT gets some good heat-age for a bit!)
Man o man, your falafel looks delicious.
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Katie
Everything looks awesome as usual.. we eat very similar!!
Have a good week, hun 🙂
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I’ve really been wanting to make some falafel! Where did you get that mix?
That sandwich = porn.
And yay for loving peas! I love to eat ’em with a big glob o’ hummus hummus. Sooooo good.
haha im soo glad to hear im not the only apple fanatic!! i got 2 bundles of apples each with 8 apples for a dollar a bundle! i almost wanted to buy their whole stock it was such a good deal! lol but i restrained…they are almost gone tho but im trying to stretch them out since im going home this week…but its sooo hard! nothing says good snackage than a crunchy sweet apple esp with cinnamon yum
-Bella Lena
dude way to step up to the apple plate big time. love it.
the weather is no mas. i’m pretty sure i should be living in cali because i walked around my house on saturday with 3 pants…3 sweatshirts…a hat…a huge scarf and…slipper socks with my uggs.
weather fail
See? Great minds think alike. You and are are singing the falafel gospel lately!
Hugs to you, dear.
There is only one way to spell “Hanukkah.” In Hebrew. :p When you’re transliterating you can do whatever the hell you want, so theoretically the possibilities are endless.
I feel your lack-of-insulation pain… my room is, naturally, the coldest in the house. I’m buying thermal drapes to hold off the hypothermia.
<3 <3
I watched THE BEST show on TV the other day (well, on On Demand) about all the holidays. It was with comics so it wasn’t boring but your Hanukkah ramblings made me think of it. Good story, huh?
I love your apple addiction – I can’t imagine a day without one. That would be a sad, sad day.
butternut squash looks delishh!
jenna
Yessss for all those apples. Yum. I’m jealous.
I am cold ALL THE TIME…I totally feel your pain. I wear a scarf and a vest all day long, and the kids in my class call me “grandma” because I drink hot water from a mug (that I occasionally hold up to my cheek) to stay warm. Boo for cold weather. Hang in there…
Your falafel looks great! I want to make them! I hear you on this cold. It is torture!!!!!!!! I love the apple addiction haha.
Hahaha–no more confusing than Christianity…I mean, Jesus dies and then rises from the tomb?! Whats up with that?!
I am ALWAYS cold too. I wear my coat all day at work and drink copious amounts of tea to stay warm (and I am consequently peeing every 5 minutes…TMI?!) When I am home, I totally bake to warm up my apt too–great minds think alike 🙂
AND eat alike, apparently–but I totally outdid you on the apples. I swear I should invest in an apple orchard or something…I am gonna go broke buying apples, lol!
Courtney
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Holy moly! And I thought I liked apples 🙂 I think they’re one of the best portable snacks – especially if a pouch of Barney Butter is attached to it 😉
How do you make your cocoa — with soy milk? I’ve been craving some but haven’t tried it with a nondairy milk.
Good eats E. I loved the shade of “tan” on su pie. 😉
I too have not had falafel in a while. Maybe I’ll hit up that falafel place in westwood one of these days before volunteering, or buy your “home bake-able” ones and test it out. Always so elegantly plated, buenisimo! “Ready in the flashes of flashes!”