Tuesday's Eats #7

Just a quick little write up because its way past when I want to go to bed, and I am so tired. You can tell we are getting to the harder parts of the semester because my desire for sweets and candy has increased so much. Since its all about balance, I never begrudge myself a sweet treat because I know it will help me not eat so much I get sick in a single sitting. Here is what I ate, including one of my favorite desserts.

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ carrots, banana, apple

I found a bunch of grated carrots in our leftover fridge the other day, and decided it would be fun to make carrot oatmeal. This oatmeal was so yummy and full of fruits and veggies that it made for a great way to start my day.

Lunch: Broccoli w/ Channa Masala + Orange

I loved this lunch, it was just broccoli, an orange and a Tasty Bites Channa Masala packet. I loved that I could just heat the packet in the microwave, toss it on broccoli and call it a meal. Be on the look  out for a post on easy lunches to pack for on the go.

Dinner: Salad w/ blacken chicken, tomatoes, roasted cauliflower, and black bean/corn salsa

I missed dinner this night so threw together a lot of ingredients from the leftover fridge to make this salad. Somehow it turned out really well, even though it is a lot of random ingredients. The roasted cauliflower was a surprisingly great addition.

Dessert: Dark Chocolate Crisp Perfect Bar

And for my dessert, I have been loving having chocolate perfect bars. They fulfill my sweet tooth, but also will help keep me full until the morning. After eating dinner around 5:30 everyday, I am always hungry again by 9 which makes these bars the perfect solution to being hungry and wanting having my sweet tooth kick in.

Until next week,

Maddie

Recent Reads: Winter 2019

      I haven't been able to read a lot recently because of the craziness of school, but over winter break I read an absolute ton. I really enjoy spending my afternoons sitting down with a cup of tea and a good book. I really have no idea how many books I read between winter break and the bits and pieces of free time I had around finals, but these books were my favorites. Of all of these books, The Nightingale and The Alice Network were my favorites. I have always loved World War Two based books, starting from when I was little reading American Girl Doll books.

       I have copied the summary of all of the books below. As you can tell, this books cover a wide variety of topic from local eating to fluffy quick reads. I really enjoyed the variety over break because I never felt bored with what I was reading. 

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

"In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption."

The Nightingale By Kirsten Hannah 

"France, 1939 - In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn't believe that the Nazis will invade France … but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne's home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

     Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can … completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others." 

Burnt Toast Makes You Sign Good by Kathleen Flinn

"A family history peppered with recipes, Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good offers a humorous and flavorful tale spanning three generations as Kathleen Flinn returns to the mix of food and memoir readers loved in her New York Times bestseller, The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry. Brimming with tasty anecdotes about Uncle Clarence’s divine cornflake-crusted fried chicken, Grandpa Charles’s spicy San Antonio chili, and Grandma Inez’s birthday-only cinnamon rolls, Flinn—think Ruth Reichl topped with a dollop of Julia Child—shows how meals can be memories, and how cooking can be communication. Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good will inspire readers (and book clubs) to reminisce about their own childhoods—and spend time in their kitchens making new memories of their own." 

The Little Way of Ruthie Leming by Rod Dreher

" The Little Way of Ruthie Leming follows Rod Dreher, a Philadelphia journalist, back to his hometown of St. Francisville, Louisiana (pop. 1,700) in the wake of his younger sister Ruthie's death. When she was diagnosed at age 40 with a virulent form of cancer in 2010, Dreher was moved by the way the community he had left behind rallied around his dying sister, a schoolteacher. He was also struck by the grace and courage with which his sister dealt with the disease that eventually took her life. In Louisiana for Ruthie's funeral in the fall of 2011, Dreher began to wonder whether the ordinary life Ruthie led in their country town was in fact a path of hidden grandeur, even spiritual greatness, concealed within the modest life of a mother and teacher. In order to explore this revelation, Dreher and his wife decided to leave Philadelphia, move home to help with family responsibilities and have their three children grow up amidst the rituals that had defined his family for five generations - Mardi Gras, L.S.U. football games, and deer hunting. "

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty 
"Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not only the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. And then imagine that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive…
      Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. But that letter is about to change everything—and not just for her. There are other women who barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they, too, are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret"


Currently Reading: A State of Wonder by Anne Patchett'
I am currently reading a State of Wonder and have mixed feelings about it. At times, it is really entertaining but for the most part it is repetitive. So far, I've read about how Marina goes to the Amazon to discover more about the death of a co-worker and to find out what a secretive scientist is up to. I am going to finish the book, but so far I wouldn't recommend it. For me, this book is more to help me fall asleep by letting my eyes relax from all the screen time than an exciting read.

Have any book recommendations? Send them my way! 

xoxo,

Maddie 

Tuesday's Eats #6

Hello I'm back after a week off! I was intending to write posts for last week, but I got really sick Monday morning through Wednesday morning.  When you can't eat, you can do a post on eating right? The rest of the week I was just so busy trying to catch up on all of the work I fell behind on that blogging had to step aside. That being said, I feeling a ton better now and am ready to show you what I ate this week: 

Breakfast: Toast w/ mashed banana, peanut butter and cinnamon + kiwi and raspberries

Anytime we have fruit around for breakfast I get so excited. Most of the time it is just apples and bananas, but recently we have been having kiwis and occasionally some berries around. Whenever this is the case I try to make that the main part of my meal. Also, with my toast, I have found the best way to make PB and B toast is to spread the peanut butter, then mash the banana and that way you always get both flavors in every bite. 

Lunch: Salad w/ leftover shrimp, stir fry veggies, and tomatos

It is pretty normal for me to have a salad for lunch as its typically my only option if everything else has gluten. I have gotten really good at making fun salads by combining leftovers (a post on that later) and this way no exception. The night before had been stir fry, so I took the shrimp and veggies, threw it on some salad with added vegetables. This was a surprisingly yummy salad and it kept me going until dinner. 

Dinner: Kale Strada, Broccoli and Salad w/ carrot, tomato and cucumber 

I was so excited for dinner this night as our chef said he would make my gluten free version of the Strada with kale instead of ham and cheese. I love kale so much, that being able to eat it makes my day. We always have the same salad with dinner (its boring) but the broccoli tonight was a nice treat because it means we have broccoli leftover for a couple of days. 

As always, sometime if I am hungry I'll grab a fruit to eat, but this day all of my meals kept me happy and full until the next one. 

Happy Eating, 

Maddie

Favorite Foods: The Difference One Year Can Make

This past year I have noticed a huge change in my favorite foods. Part of this can be attributed to having to go gluten free, but not all of it. Being gluten free has forced me to find either new alternatives to old favorites, but for some things  (ie waffles) the lack of good alternatives has caused me to not enjoy that food as much. Another factor in the change of food opinions has been that I have made a point of trying all kinds of different foods. If either my mom or my sororities house's chef makes something new, I will make a point to try it. Both of these helped broaden my horizons and palate, so that now what I eat is pretty different.

      I used to love to eat breaded chicken, waffles, broccoli, strawberries, and Kashi's Go Lean Crunch. For some reason breaded chicken has always been one of my favorite foods. It was always my first choice when my mom asked for what I'd like for dinner, and any time I got food from Culver's or Chick-Fil-A, chicken tenders were the only option. Waffles as I mentioned above would still be one of my favorite if I could find a gluten free option. There is nothing better than waffles on the weekends that are covered in real maple syrup and flax seeds. Even though I don't eat waffles anymore, I will always equate them with my mom making them for me. Go Lean Crunch is seriously one of the best cereals out there. I used to go through so many boxes in high school as I had it either just as cereal or as granola in a parfait. (see an example here) If you haven't tried it, I would fully recommend it. I keep looking for a gluten free substitute but so far nothing has met the standard. 

      In terms of fruits and veggies, I have always enjoyed them but even a year ago, my variety was a lot smaller. My favorite fruit was definitely strawberries. They are so versatile; good in both breakfasts and desserts. Freshly picked strawberries in the summer simply can't be beaten, which is why they are still one of my favorite foods. Broccoli used to be my absolute favorite vegetable. My favorite way to eat it was (and is) with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. These days, i don't think there is anything wrong with broccoli, but now I find there are better vegetables out there. 

      These days my favorite foods are mainly fruits and veggies, mostly because all gluten free substitutes for breads and food like that aren't that good. Strawberries are still one my favorite fruits, but now they have competition with peaches. My family gets peaches directly from Georgia in the summer and they are amazing. Once peaches are in season, I eat at least one every day. I even wrote about them in my summer favorites from this summer (here), I love them that much. In the controversial fruit or vegetable category goes the avocado. It's funny that I used to hate avocados with how much I like them now. When I was younger I tried and tried to like them but couldn't get past the taste. These days I could eat avocado every day; they are just so versatile. Perfect Bars are one of my new obsessions. It is really nice to find a portable snack that is full of protein, tastes good and has good ingredients. My favorite flavor is maple almond, but so far I haven't found one I dislike. 

       There isn't even a question when it comes to my favorite food- kale. Kale salad is seriously the first thing I ask my mom for when I come home from school. I love a simple citrus, massaged kale salad. I love to eat it with avocado toast or scrambled eggs in the morning or apart of a big salad for lunch. My love of kale came really suddenly, but I don't the love ending anytime soon. 

       I think it's really interesting how peoples tastes change over time. Things that I used to want every day as a kid I now have no interest in. This makes me curious in how different my taste will change in a couple years. We'll see what happens. 

What are your favorite foods?

xoxo,

Maddie 

Tuesday's Eats #5

Today was definitely a good day of eats. I managed to have tons of fruits and veggies to make filling, delicious meals. I was able to make two really yummy meals that made my day. The lighting for these photos hasn't been great, but you can still get the idea of what I eat. Speaking of which, here is what I ate. 

 Breakfast: Siggi's Vanilla Skyr + 1/2 Peanut Butter Perfect Bar + Kiwi + Apple

 This is one of my favorite breakfasts I've made all year. I found a really similar breakfast bowl on Pinterest and decided to recreate it. The flavors go so well together. I originally thought the perfect bar might be weird with yogurt, but actually it is amazing. It also makes for a protein-filled meal that actually managed to keep me full until lunch.

Lunch: Grilled Cheese + Blood Orange + Salad w/ cucumber, kraut, tuna and balsamic dressing 

I have been eating so many different salads this past week. There have been several days where I can't eat what our chef was making, so it means I can only eat salad. Recently I read on Hummusapien about a salad she made (here), so I decided to that and it was so good. The sauerkraut was an amazing, yet unexpected, addition to the salad. I have been struggling to make salads that fill me up but this was a winner. 

Dinner: Falafel + Chive Fries + Greek Salad w/ cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and artichokes

I'd say this was just an okay dinner. The falafel did not seem to be fully cooked, and either way I preferred mine to be baked instead of fried. The potatoes, on the other hand, were so good. Everyone I live with loves potatoes you so always have to make sure to grab some right away. I rarely love a dinner here, but at least lunch and breakfast was good. 

Snack/Dessert: Strawberries + 1/2 Banana + Clementine

Dinner is always served so early and since I didn't eat a ton I was still hungry for a snack. If we are lucky enough to have fresh fruit around, you know I have to take advantage of it. I had this bowl along with a mug a tea. The sweetness of the fruit was close enough to pretend it was a dessert which is all I need to end my night.

Until next time, 

Maddie