If I had to summarized Monday through Thursday in a single post…well…I can’t, so I don’t know how to end that sentence. But, where I was going with that intro was to say my week has been packed and amazing.
Highlights reel? Sure, why not.
Monday slash Tuesday I had night shift stuff. The only thing of note food-wise was how many berries I consumed over the course of the day.
I have likely met my Vitamin C quota until October.
I also made a pita pie (for those of you who keep asking about the-best-pita-ever, it’s from Whole Foods and the brand is called Turlock Pita Bread).
My gorgeous pie was toasted then layered (generously) with Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter and very thinly sliced golden delicious apples.
Any meal that has fewer than five ingredients, takes under five minutes to make, AND tastes this good should be illegal. Or accepted into the Foodie Hall of Fame. Is there such a thing? Nope.
I also did some late night therapy baking. I find it a very soothing thing. Just me and the oven, and the rest of the day fades away…
Kyle’s a big fan of these nights. Unlike retail therapy, they don’t cut into our vacation rent funds, plus they yield delicious treats. Who else uses cooking/baking in this way?
(Vegan) peanut butter and jelly thumbprint muffins. Recipe on the way!
Wednesday morning wasn’t notably interesting, but I did make a really really yummy tropical smoothie.
I had it with a massive bowl of cherries (since the strawbeezies are done-zo).
I didn’t measure anything, but it had: light unsweetened soymilk (365), vanilla soy yogurt (Stonyfield), frozen tropical fruit mix (Costco), and some ice.
I tried to go slow and eat cherries in between, but you know I froze my brain up because I have no self control.
Of course to compensate I had to make some tea. I may be having issues with my body core thermal regulation, because I always seem to be the temperature of whatever I’m eating. Humans are supposed to be warm blooded. I may be a lizard. My poor patients have to deal with my frigid hands poking and prodding them (ok, ok, I’m not that rough). Good thing I suck down coffee like a fiend all morning long which is when I do most of my assessments…at least the heat from that helps my hands stay a bit warmer. I’m sure the fact that I’m cracked out of my mind and bouncing off the walls doesn’t even phase them.
Fact: I drink Yogi tea more for the inspirational messages than the flavor of the tea. This flavor happens to be Cocoa Mayan Spice. It’s no Chai, but it fills the roll when my Tazo stash is on empty.
Wednesday afternoon we picked up our friend at the airport. In our new car. His name is Carson and he’s a new 2011 silver CRV. Yes, we name all our cars. Who doesn’t?
The best feature is the cup holder in the door. It fits a Kombucha perfectly.
After navigating our way back to Santa Monica (LA traffic wasn’t that bad actually), we immediately dropped off Dean’s luggage and walked to dinner.
Blue Plate is one of my absolute favorite places ever and I have been craving their falafel burger for a solid month now.
We started with chips ‘n guac for the table.
Plus a nice white bean dip with bread crisps (on the house).
Kyle got the chicken & veggie soup and the falafel burger.
Dean got the falafel burger with fries.
And I got the falafel burger on a salad with fresh greens, cucumber, carrots, sprouts and huge amounts of avocado.
I used all the balsamic dressing, plus the remainder of the guacamole that wasn’t eaten with chips. It would be a crime for avocado to go unclaimed!
SO GOOD. There’s no two ways about it, Blue Plate makes a damn fine falafel.
Wii tennis and golf duels took up the remainder of the night. We are party animals!
Thursday morning was not meant to start at 5 am, but that it did. Why you ask? Because we have crazy effing birds that crow incessantly like they are the alarm clock for the entire West Coast (and their home base happens to be directly outside our window). The rage I was feeling…gah! Let’s just say there’s probably never been a more conflicted vegan. I may not be a member of PETA, but I’m still not into shooting down angry birds.
In any event, our plans to got for a hike in Malibu were simply pushed forward a few hours. So after a trip to WF for coffee and a picnic lunch, we headed off to Point Mugu State Park.
We had a fun hike. It was relatively mild and only took a bit over an hour. The weather wasn’t really cooperating, but if we had waited ‘til later on, the cloud cover probably would have blown off. Sun or no sun, we enjoyed the views.
After reaching the bottom again, we made our way to the beach for lunch.
Not too bad of a view.
I got a veggie sando from WF with hummus, avocado, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and mustard.
I could’ve used more hummus, but that’s pretty much always the case. In life.
The rest of the day was mellow. We strolled on the Promenade, stopped by the Santa Monica Pier, watched some volleyball games, and enjoyed the sun that finally did show up.
For dinner there was no question about what we were making. Dean simply HAD to try some home-made vegan waffles.
We tried out Surprisingly Vegan’s latest flavor and I have to say, it’s even better than the OG recipe.
They really are SO good. Unfortunately, they take quite a while to make from scratch…and grinding and blending and mixing everything uses up just about every single appliance and counter space in our kitchen. Needless to say, I’ll be glad when these babies finally hit shelves, because just-add-water is so much simpler.
The good news is that by late summer they will be sold online!!! Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to let you all know when, where, and how you can get your hands on them.
Vegan, gluten-free, delicious, and nutritious. :)
If you’re wondering about the above creation, it’s a waffle ‘wich that I made with two waffle squares, blueberries and Follow Your Heart vegan cream cheese. I had two servings. And even though I was very full after my double serving, I didn’t feel like my stomach was coated in lead. Heavenly!
And now I am getting ready for a Friday at the hospital. Big salad, quinoa with tofu, Inka Crops corn nuts, apple (x2), Nana’s fudge bites – yep, it’s gonna be a good day.
Lunch is packed and I have a breakfast of vegan waffles ready for early morning leftovers. Yeah buddy.
peanut butter and jelly thumbprint muffins = omg that is genius!!!
btw I just pre-wrote a blog post using WLW from my new Mac, and yes, in order to install it, I had to get parallels set up. I know you do the same. What am I missing? Using WLW took me like 17x longer than it would have had i just used WP. Tell me what you love about it 🙂
i like that i can blog offline with it. i dont have to have internet connection to write. and live writer is a see-what-you-get kind of format.
Those are some hearty-looking waffles! I’ll be interested to try when they are available.
We have our very own flock of seagulls that live on the roof right above our apartment (the people that used to live here were SUPER smart and fed the birds everyday, because they don’t have enough natural food sources here, obviously …damn, sarcasm never reads right!). They are great for waking us up, and for crapping all over the portion of the husband’s car that is not covered by roof’s overhang. Awesome!
those muffins look so cute and delicious! and I want that falafal burger now.
First, how do you slice your apples so thinly? I always cut myself when I try to do that…dang it. Also, I name my cars too – the current one is “Boss” – and I love it. (yay for you getting a new car!) And lastly, I love kyle’s ability to capture you in mid-jump!
…and I can’t WAIT for those waffles.
I never knew that Yogi tea had those cool messages on the tea bags! That’s awesome-I will definitely have to start buying that! lol. What are some of the better flavors that you have tried?
The scenery of your hike looks stunning.
& those waffles – YUM!
We have a Blue Plate! Yours looks better.. but I do like ours. I always do cooking and baking therapy. Can’t wait for that recipe! I am always in awe when I see people post those jumping photos. I can’t jump higher than a mouse is tall.
Love ya!
Wow–that does sound like a good week! And what?! Another new car? Didn’t you guys just get a new car not too long ago? This one looks really nice! Is this a second car or did it replace the previous?
Those muffins look delish! Can’t wait for the recipe:)
SO excited about Surprisingly Vegan! I’ve been wondering about the progress with the waffles. also, putting (vegan) cream cheese between two waffles is the best idea I’ve heard all day.
Along with naming your car Carson. Carson the Car. Love it 🙂
I just found your blog through Gabriela’s and I LOVE it!!!
Those waffles.. OMG. I am a waffle FIEND!
Okay, so you have made me hungry for EVERYTHING! I’m wishing I had a falafel burger, waffle-wich, and smoothie. Luckily the kombucha and strawberry cravings can be taken care of immediately! (trilogy is the best!)
Those thumbprint muffins look delicious. Can’t wait for the recipe. 🙂
I LOVE Yogi tea – simply because of their cute sayings (not to say it’s my favorite tea by a long shot, though) but their “inspirational messages” as you say really do lift me up 🙂
Alsoooo wow that pita looks good. I’ll try to find that brand next time I go to WF. and what!? coconut peanut butter? WHERE? CAN I HAVE SOME? 😉
And the reason I started this comment was to say that YES, I participate in BAKING THERAPY, too (but also retail therapy…it can’t be helped..)
I drink Yogi tea for the inspirational quotes as well! I keep them stashed in a series of shot glasses on a shelf, for safekeeping 🙂
welcome! glad you found me 🙂 cant wait to check out your blog too.
tropical traditions makes coconut peanut butter…you can get it online. its insane. is the phrase life changing too extreme?
nice!
dude, i read the sarcasm immediately…you dont have to ‘splain it. grrrrr
i know, its almost reason enough to buy them! my favorite is the stomach ease. they have a kombucha one too thats pretty good. im actually going to do an entire post about my favorite teas soon, so stay tuned for that 🙂
i wonder if they are the same company? the jumping photos have PLENTY of lame outtakes. trust me.
it was that or suzie the SUV…we are oh-so-clever. 🙂
agreed. trilogy and gingerberry are the best!
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You always manage to pack such delicious looking food! Hah, it makes me feel like a failure for the boring lunches I brought for myself all school year. I really love reading your blog because you seem to eat such a variety of foods. I get SO stuck in ruts and eat the same thing day in and day out (which I really only realized when I started my blog.) I want to eat different things every day… but there’s just not enough meals in the day to try them all!
trust me there are PLENTY of outtakes where im not jumping 🙂
boss is an amazing car name. i love it.
i can usually only get a few slices that thin…which is good because the rest i just eat as wedges. havent cut a finger yet. must be my skills from incisional dressing changes?
our civic is almost a year old now. we bought him when we first moved and he was used. if you recall we were both unemployed at the time and nobody would finance us or give us a lease so we had to buy him outright. not ideal since we were also homeless at the time and a month or so away from being married. anyway, we were able to carpool this whole year because kyle goes to school at the same place i work. well, obviously he doest go to the hospital, but campus is right next to the hospital…so yeah. it worked out well. but this summer he has an internship in glendale and therefore requires his own set of wheels. kinda a bummer, but thats why we got our second car. not a replacement, just an addition.
thanks! and im glad it gives you some ideas 🙂 i have a post im working on now to help people pack lunches, so stay tuned!
Delurking to agree that the Turlock pita bread is a.maz.ing. Can’t go in to WF without picking some up.
gah! i know. me either. i love it.
I love the trails in Malibu! Have you done the hike up to Escondido Falls yet? It’s really great! There aren’t that many water falls in SoCal, so when I hear of a hike where there is a waterfall I’m all over it. Escondido falls even has three tiers, so it’s worth making the extra climb to get to the very top.
we’ve heard of that one a bunch so it is next on our list!! it sounds sooo cool. thanks for the rec 🙂
LOVING your new blog! So that’s why it was down! Totally worth it, it looks awesome x
I just want to say that I really love the new layout!!! It’s super cute!!!
Adorable layout! And every single foodie picture in this post nearly made me drool. I need to up the ante with my packed lunches!
I tend not to leave a great deal of remarks, however I read a great deal of remarks
on this page motweth. I actually do have a couple of
questions for you if it’s allright. Is it just me or do a few of the remarks appear like they are left by brain dead visitors? 😛 And, if you are posting on additional sites, I would like to follow anything fresh you have to post. Could you post a list of every one of your social community sites like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?