Bake Sales + Birthdays

Written by on in Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Lunch, Snacks, Tidbits and Treats

I’m keeping my fingers crossed on my bid in Meghann’s Blogging Bake Sale II. I’m going to keep what it is under wraps until it’s over – you understand 😉 But really, I think it’s so cool that so many bloggers and blog readers are donating toward Meghann’s race and a wonderful cause. While you’re at it, head over to Danica’s Daily for a great giveaway running alongside the bake sale!

Before I get to the eats, I want to echo the sentiments going around the blogosphere today and wish VeggieGirl a very HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY!! There isn’t a food blogger I know who hasn’t been touched by this girl in some way. She is truly one-of-a-kind and I’m lucky to have her as a friend!

Breakfast today was my rebellion against the wintery Chicago weather. I decided to combine elements of fall into a spring-like bowl (happy now, Betsy?!) 😉

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I found the bowl at Target last weekend for $1.25. It was filled with:

  • 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 tbsp. ground flax
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp. maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp. Barney Butter

Pumpkin is a really great volumizer for oatmeal. It really sticks to the ribs, too!

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And for comparison’s sake, here is my camera next to my photojournalism camera:

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My Camera
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My Photojournalism Fancy Cam

Perhaps I still need to sort out a few kinks in my handling of the fancy cam, but I gotta say – I think my camera held up pretty well! More experiments to come! There was also the usual:

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Lunch today was salty + “sweet” 🙂 I topped a gigantic sweet potato with 1/2 cup whipped cottage cheese, organic ketchup and Goya Adobo.

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So filling, seriously. But for a little extra protein, I had 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and 2 tbsp. PB2.

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The afternoon was spent on accounting homework. Eventually, I decided to go to the gym, but not before I had a little snack.

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MmHm. That’s a VitaMuffin topped with a glob of my Homemade Almond Butter. Perfection.

Today was cardio day: 30 minutes on the Stairmaster and 15 minutes on the stationary bike. Shout out to Noodlegirl, who tried my bike workout!

I came back, showered and met up with “Amy” for dinner.

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I added a handful of spinach and sun dried tomatoes to the whole can of soup for some bulk. I also stuck in two sourdough Wasa crackers as “croutons” – they got all mushy and scrumptious.

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This soup was so hearty and delicious! Amy did it again 🙂 She is the queen of soup.

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And for dessert, a handful of carob chips. These are so rich that a little goes a long way.

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Around-the-Foodosphere

Stay sweet,

bendersignature

58 Comments

  1. The bake sale is going fabulously!!

    SWEET POTATO!!! OATMEAL!!! CAROB CHIPS!!! I ate all three today, haha 😀

    Thank you for the birthday shout out, dear Miss Eating Bender!! I’m so glad we’re great friends too, both in and out of the blogging world.

  2. oh man, I can’t believe it’s snowing again after we JUST talked about how we thought winter was finally behind us!! ahhh, I hope it gets warm soon!

    You know how I feel about your lunch—SO GOOD!! and it looks like we had very similar dinners, great minds think alike, no?

    Hehe, good luck winning what you want at the bake sale!

  3. I was so beyond annoyed at the snow, seriously. This morning, my car was completely BURIED!
    I’m so excited for Friday too!!! WOOHOO!!

  4. Good luck winning something tasty from the bake sale! Breakfast- bangin, lunch- must try, dinner- love Amy’s!! Why yes, I think I’d have everything you’ve had today.

    Thank you so much for the sweet comment on my internship- I reall appreciate it.

    Have a fab night, despite the bitter weather!

  6. I think I might like to try carob chips. Hmm…

    Amy’s does make good soup. I like the split pea one best. I add a veggie sausage patty to it, so good.

  7. Carob chips with toasted almonds (preferably still warm) are my favourite treat. And if you ever feel so inclined to make your own ketchup- I have an awesome recipe on my site.

  8. Whipped cottage cheese?

    Is that something you buy premade or do to the cottage cheese after you get it?

    -E

  9. Jenn! Your camera held up really well, the picture looks great!

    And yum, I SO BADLY want to try your sweet potato/cottage cheese/ketchup combo, but every time I go to safeway they tell me that they don’t have sweet potatoes….only garnet yams… (?!!?! what is that?!!?!?, do they taste the same!?) haha, anyways…adorable target bowl and the pumpkin oats look delicious! I really want to try that specific amy’s soup too, the wasa crackers must have been the perfect addition to the bean & veggie fest! 🙂

  10. Pumpkin is seriously the BEST discovery/addition to oatmeal EVER!! And I love that protein-packed lunch, I need to buy more whipped cottage cheese ASAP!

    Have a wonderful night Jenn!!

  11. Ooh lala, I like seeing camera comparisons. Your camera really DOES do a good job next to a professional one. What kind of camera is yours and what kind is the photojournalism camera?

    I love all of your eats in this post! (well… and in every single post of yours) That vitamuffin topped with homemade AB is calling out to me. And I NEED to jump onto the carob chip bandwagon. I keep meaning to look for them! I don’t see them often though. I guess I’ll have to try a health food store or something, carob chips don’t seem to be a common item on the normal grocery store shelves.

    I’ll cross my fingers for you too for the bake sale win 🙂

  12. Hi Jenn!!

    I can always count on you to leave me thoughtful comments. Thank you for your awesomeness!!

    I LOOVE Amy’s soups too, and I am totally a huge fan of soggy crackers sopped with flavorful soup. Yummy!! Gosh, One day I will have to try that sweet potato combo you create all the time!! Looks delicious!!

  16. Great post as always, sweet potato looked soo great. I acutally just made some sweet potato fries which I will post on my blog soon.

    I cant believe the weather, I flew through Chigaco to Cali yesterday and it was so cold walking outta of the plane. I hope it gets warmer soon!

  17. Oh my, pumpkin in oatmeal? It might be the ingredient that I need to add that fullness to breakfast.

    What brands of camera are you using for the comparison. I dare say yours is a lot better lit than the professional one.

  20. Love that bowl of oats–both the bowl itself and its contents!

    Do you buy your VitaMuffins in the store or do you order them online? I can’t decide if it’s worth it to order some.

    Your dinner reminds me of my Wasa-crazy days–I used to eat those things all the time! I got pretty creative with them back in the day. What’s your favorite way to eat ’em?

  21. Yeah, way to go on that salad challenge…what am I going to do with all these salad fixins and bbq sauce now?! I guess I’ll just have to have a Hugh Jass salad every day this week too 😉

  22. Thanks so much for the Annie’s Contest Shout out today and adding me to your blog list. I have you down for 3 entries – yahoo! Good luck. Great blog and look at all those fabulous eats today – yum!

  23. good luck for the bake sale!! the salad challenge sounds fun, great idea to get those veg in. so i’ve never seen carob chips sold in the uk, and am now browsing through the internet trying to find some reasonably priced ones! i’ve heard so many great things about them.

    also the photo you took with your camera does look better! i love all the photos you take with it 🙂

  25. Good luck with your bid! I hope you win 🙂 I saw pumpkin at the store this week and breezed by it- now I’m wishing I had picked some up!!! Might need another trip back to the store 🙂 Yummy sweet tato lunch! I finally had one for lunch this weekend- it was sooo good 🙂 Hope you have a good Tuesday

  26. All of my bowls are from Target! I wait for them to go on sale because then they are super cheap!

    Pumpkin oatmeal…I must make that next week, it’s been wayyy too long!

  27. Hah – I love that you swapped out your winter bowl just in time for more winter weather. But the spring one is tres cute, and I appreciate it. 🙂

  28. I hope you win your baked good! Mine got a little too pricy, but it was fun bidding and watching it all unfold 🙂

  29. I see Amy wine’d and dine’d us both last night 😉 What a player!

    Your camera certainly did hold up well!! There’s not much of a difference at all!

    SP + CC + BB + PB2 (haha could I shorten anything else?!) + Vitas = pure deliciousness! Have a fantastic Tuesday, doll!!

  31. I love pumpkin in my oats, it totally plumps them up!!

    That soup looks great!

    Oh, I’m doing a giveaway right now if you’re interested…

  33. I am going to target today just so I can find that bowl:) Love all the fun pics, and I want those carob chips!!!! 5 MORE DAYS!

  35. Your camera does a great job. I’ve never tried any of Amy’s soups, but they look good so I guess I should pick some up.

  38. I just tried Amy’s soups for the first time a few weeks ago. It’s a nice thing to bring to work if you don’t have time to make anything!

    I haven’t tried that flavor yet, but I just might have to pick some up!

    I live in the Chicago-land area too, and I WANT SPRING!

    Maybe that will help!?

  39. Scrums! I totally had cottage cheese on a sweet potato last night too! I’m obsessed with all the different Rachel’s flavors. And I agree that Wasa crackers make amazing croutons for soup. A little mush, a little crunch, all is covered. 🙂

  44. GGGreat eats today! You had some of my favorites 🙂

    Love that sweet potato topped with CC and adobo! Anddd that oatmeal is looking fabulous 🙂 Lovin those fall flavors!

    Plus, the self-proclaimed QUEEN of bargain shoppin over here is eyeing that Target bowl…..

    Have a great night!

    ~Erika

  45. AWWWWWW you have such pretty food lady. i love it all!!

    adobo seasoning? i need to try that…….

    but what I want to try more………….VITA MUFFINS/TOPS! I’ve never had one!! Someday!

    happpppppppppppppy Wednesday!

  46. I love that new bowl it is so cute, definitely a spring-y bowl. And the contents of it look really good too 🙂

  49. I have always wanted to try GOYA – that looks awesome! I know how you feel with the weather, this stinks!! Where did you find those choco chips?? They look yummy!!

  50. Jenn –

    I’m super excited about the book club. It’s funny you used to live in Eden Prairie – I used to live there too! I lived there for about 18 months a couple of years ago. Nice suburb. Do you still have family in MN? Thanks for the comment on my blog.

  51. Now this is some good eating fa sho – I mean seriously…and I love your remedy for this foolish Chicago weather we’re having. BTW, I didn’t know you were in Chicago. What part of town? I work in Northbrook and live in East Garfield Park.

  52. I haven’t bought any pumpkin in a long time – I need to get on that. Your spring time bowl from Target is so fun. Love Target so much…I’ve already been 3 times this week. Shhh, don’t tell CD. 🙂

    OK, I need to ask Amy out. Everyone raves about her soups, and I never buy them. I’ve used her cream of mushroom soup in recipes, but that’s about it…and I love the idea of Wasa crackers as croutons. Nice touch Jenn! However, I’m still stuck on Brittney’s Nutty Buddy concept. Love the crackers with nut butter!

    Have a great Wednesday Jenn. Hope you’re enjoying your last quarter of school. How’s the job search going?

  53. hi Jenn/Miss Bender!

    Amy’s a good dinner date 😉

    you know, I actually like the shot you took with your regular camera better. something about the lighter is crisper, brighter?
    how fun you are taking a photojournalism course though. I’d love to do that.

    just want to let you know as well that I added you to my blogroll 🙂

    ♥
    chandra @ http://www.prettytimepiece.wordpress.com

  55. at first glance, I thought that lunch of sweet potato was DESSERT! it looks like waffles or french toast with whipped cream on top and strawberry sauce drizzled!
    I’m so jealous of you being able to take a photojournalism course! that’s one of the classes I have to take in college for sure!

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