My assignments for this week are officially complete. I could use the time to start on next week’s tasks, but why not blog instead? It’s so much more fun!
To address something that I’ve been putting on the back burner, I’d like to tell everyone who has just started reading this blog and left me sweet comments recently THANK YOU! I’m glad that you are getting something out of it and look forward to getting to “know” you better 🙂
One of my favorite ways to catch up on posts is by highlighting some of my favorite meals instead of overwhelming all of you with a detailed account of my life for the past two days. I think we all know that I’m not that interesting! Here are the “best of” eats!
BREAKFASTS
On Sunday morning, I incorporated a little chocolate into my first meal.
I figured out that the best way to incorporate VeggieGirl’s brownies into my diet was to eat them with breakfast. Could there be a better way to start out the day than with a fresh baked good? It’s pretty hard to beat! I crumbled a square of peppermint deliciousness on top of 1/2 cup Fage and spooned about 1 tsp. of maple syrup over the top. The peppermint brownie really took the yogurt to another level. I may need to start adding peppermint extract to random foods. I love the minty aftertaste!
With the pillowy bowl I had two slices of Arnold Bakery Light bread topped with Promise Light Buttery Spread. Sometimes I need to be reminded of how much I love toast. I used to eat it all the time growing up and I’ve been trying to make it more often these days because it’s so simple and good!
Fast forward to today’s breakfast, which had the same base ingredients with different toppings for a little more variety.
This time, 1 cup of Fage was topped with banana slices (since I am officially out of peppermint brownies…gasp! They went fast!) and maple syrup.
As for the toast, I added on 2 tbsp. of strawberry jam. Yet another toast variety that I ate all the time growing up and loved. I think I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic lately now that I am constantly consumed by work. What do you think?
And as always, there has been plenty of Coffee Cocoa to go around in the morning. In fact, as evidenced by the title of this post, my beloved drink has now started creeping into my afternoons and early evenings to give me a bit more energy!
LUNCHES
The second meal of the day has been very grab-and-go until today, when I was finally able to spend some time making (and eating!) my meal.
I can’t get enough of these La Tortilla Factory wraps. They are gigantic and actually hold all of the stuff I put in them! Today’s wrap featured 2 microwaved egg whites, 2 tbsp. Sabra hummus and 1 oz. deli chicken. It was v. delicious and filling.
On the side I had 1 oz. of smoked gouda cheese. I absolutely LOVE this cheese. I have been eating it for snacks a lot these past few days. Now all I need is some wine, and we’ll be set. 😉
DINNERS
This is really just a tribute to one of my favorite “fast food” meals…
I love my Cosi 🙂 Last night I went there with my roomie and got the “Duo” again. I decided on 1/2 of a Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella sandwich and a cup of the beef vegetable soup. Perfect for a chilly evening!
SNACKS + FUN
To wrap up the foodie pictures for this post, I thought I’d share another delicious version of the orange + nut butter combination I tried a few days ago. This time I had a clementine and 1 tbsp. crunchy Barney Butter. The clementine was even more fantastic! This is such a great snack 🙂 Thanks again to Meghann and Melissa for the inspiration!
And lucky me, I received some goodies in the mail today as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program: Quaker True Delights Bars!
I can’t wait to try these, especially the coconut banana macadamia nut flavor. We all know how obsessed I’ve become with bars involving macadamia nuts recently 😉 Right, K?
UPDATE: Bobby is almost 3/4 done with Twilight! I think he’s hooked.
Random Question
Has there ever been a “thing” that you have been obsessed with? It can be anything from food to music to movies to books. Something that you’ve spent hours with and/or watching?
Obviously, you all know my answer right now is the Twilight series. But I have also always loved the Harry Potter series, too and, if we’re not talking about books, I used to be obsessed with 98* when I was younger. Jeff Timmons!! Oh yes.
I’m off to read some blogs, yay!!
LOOOOOOOVELY eats 🙂
**I’m obsessed with different products, such as PB Puffins and Larabars, haha 😀
My little brothers eat toast like it’s going out of style, I used to eat it all the time too.
Healthy Obsession? I’d have to say the Twlight Series and Gossip Girl =)
I get totally nostalgic with strawberry jam, too. On days when my mom would let me pack my own lunch I would always sneak a strawberry jam sandwich. Nutritious, huh? I’m glad you’re finding comfort in it during these stressful times!
Obsessions…where to start?! I guess my current obsession is food blogs! 😀
I love toast, but then again I love bread!!
When I was younger, I was obsessed with the band Savage Garden. I own every CD they released, even the overseas ones. I was bad. Now it’s definitely food!
mmm brownies for bfast 🙂 i’m pretty much obsessed with Sex and the City (i have every DVD including the episodes and the movie)
I feel the same thing about toast! It’s SO GOOD, but I always forget how much I like it. 🙂
I’ve had a few obsessions over the years: volleyball (played for 11 years), Harry Potter (did start reading them until I was abotu 22, but I quickly became obsessed), Twilight and the color pink!
You had me at brownie!
Great eats and Coffee Cocoa deserves the BFF status!!! Awesome!
I’ve been obsessed with Twilight too! I’m going to watch the movie tonight 😀
Love the brownies for breakfast 🙂 Yayy for Cosi! I need to see if we have one around here (although I don’t think we do!). That flat bread is toooo good! I’ve seen PB on so many different kinds of fruit lately! Apparently I need to branch out from apples 😉 Have a good night
aw yay GC Tofu tonight? wahoo! hope it goes well, and that you like it!!!
i love your food. simple bread and butter is SO GOOD. and i adore plain cheese too….it’s my weakness!!!
totally need to get back on the coffee cocoa train! i keep on forgetting to buy cocoa powder!! GRRR.
you da bomb.
~gc
1. obsessions= HARRY POTTER, the office, coffee
2. Brownies for breakfast! YES PLEASE!
3. I love toast too but hardly ever have it unless I go out to breakfast and it’s served with my meal. Weird! I guess I always sort of forget about it too.
4. what a great lunch combo–ive done eggs+turkey and turkey+hummus but never all 3–I’ll have to try it!
5. I need some coffee cocoa right now. legit.
Obessissions? Can I count skating as an obsession? Or grocery stores? haha! I can’t say I’ve ever been so into a band or book series though that I would be obsessed. Actually, I might have a bit of a Rockband obsession now that I think about it 😉
Loving the Quaker samples – seems like EVERYONE is getting them!
Love the highlights! And I agree, I think peppermint extract would be a pretty good addition to start adding to things..oats anyone?
Yay for Bobby and Twilight, recruit ’em one by one!
Totally obsessed with Twilight, and freshman year of college, I went through a major obsession with House MD (still in love with, but not obsessed) and was visiting the website daily! Oh Hugh Laurie, my hero!
Chocolate at breakfast – can’t beat that…well, yes you could – it needed some almond butter!
I had buttered toast for breakfast yesterday, and it was heavenly. I hadn’t had toast with butter (OK, so it was Smart Balance Light) in years, and it was so good! Luckily, I have an entire loaf tin my fridge, and so there is going to be a good bit of toast in my future.
I am obsessed with nut butter & yoga at the moment, but in the past it’s been running, sweet potatoes, and when I was little I loved the Little House on the Prairie series. I read the books over and over and dreamed of being Laura Ingalls. I was like that with Anne of Green Gables as well. I was a bit of a bookworm. 🙂
PS – I don’t think there is ANYTHING boring about your eats. You inspire many a meal in my world. 🙂 Gotta try the chocolate mint thing for breakfast!
ah, such a wonderful post, but they’re always like that!
I’m jealous of the vg brownies in your fage…soooo good looking!
and that wrap w/ the gouda? used to be one of my favorite cheeses!
i love that YOU LOVE the ab/pb and orange/Clementine mixture! i had pb w/ a bunch of berries today and omg it was divine!
and i’m pretty sure you’re going to love the banana/macademia/coconut bar…i’m not a fan of coconut and i still liked it!
and i’m currently obsessed with nothing…other than food and birds of course. 🙂
brownies for breakfast? 😀
i get into author-obsessions; i read “my sister’s keeper” by jodi picoult and then ended up reading as many jodi picoult books as i could find.. 🙂
butter and jelly is one of the BEST combos, hands down!!
as far as obsessions… hmm… I’d have to say: writing, food, Orlando Bloom (awhiiiiile ago, hahaha), Friends (the tv show), FAGE, and recently, PB & Co. peanut butters, mmmmm.
the very first picture made my entire mouth fill with drool. looks so delicious. chocolate baked goodies are most def my greatest weakness and downfall. Most try that tortilla. they look huge and very very satisfying
Coffee Cocoa + Cocoa Mole Larabar. I’m doing it. Don’t even try and stop me!
Great eats!! I love your little yogurt bowl!
I bet you were sad to see the end of your brownies!! They look so moist!
I must try your coffee cocoa one day soon. I always think it looks so cafe-like! 🙂
i like the way you think, brownies with breakfast 🙂 your coffee cocoa seems more like your long time bff!! i get obsessed, but my mind is blanking…
98deg, lol
I have a seinfeld obsession right now- if it’s 10 pm and I’m home..it’s on 😀 I actually go thru phases where I rented a series like Arrested D or Curb and just watched the entire thing in one sitting…haha that shows you the workload of my senior year of college!! I used to put a little cocoa powder in my coffee and call it a mocha..but your coffee cocoa is so much cuter and the whipped cream is fully necessary!! yay i’m glad you’re done for now, enjoy your night!!
your photos look awesome! Love all the breakfasts!
I used to LOVE NSync in middle school. Like, obsessed.
Now I’m obsessed with anything public health related. Books, articles, movies, you name it, I’m excited about it!
two words: pb & oatmeal 🙂
hehe… you saw that one coming didn’t you?
btw, p90x is kicking my butt! i’m so glad i started doing it!
Great list of obsessions everyone! It’s good to know that most of us have something that we can’t get enough of 🙂
Lindsay ~ I’m so glad that you’re enjoying it!!
My busy little pookie! I hope you’re practicing some self-care!
I love those wraps too. 🙂 Nice and protein-y!
I get obsessed with/intense about everything I do!
Love all your toast! I have so many obsessions, but blogging and reading food blogs is definitely a big one for me lately!
Brownies for breakfast sounds like a good idea to me! 😛
First off, thanks for visiting my page! 🙂 As far as obsessions go, I think I go through stages. I will, somewhat embarassingly, admit that my guilty pleasure is celebrity gossip magazines and websites! They’re really addicting!
I love your eats! Love the chocolate in the morning! And haha, that is soo cute with Bobby and TWilight!
hmm ….
i got obsessed with avocados two summers ago. looking back on that time, i laugh because i would eat a whole avocado and a handful of crackers for dinner. so … simple and good, though.
i’ve also been obsessed with watermelon throughout my entire life. haha 🙂
currently i’m not really obsessed with anything. maybe cheese. i love cheese.
You rock! Yay for chocolate for breakfast!
Your wraps look good, I never have enough room for all I want to put in wraps.
I guess my obsessions have been yogurt, Frasier, and tea!
also, leonardo dicaprio.
now THAT makes me *lol*.
MICHAEL JACKSON.
Umm….I need some peppermint brownies to put on my yogurt now. That sounds amazing!
I LOVE “I Love Lucy” – I have so much stuff at my parents house that I can’t fit in our house right now – collectors dolls, a lamp, lots of those steel wall signs, etc. It’s pretty much my favorite show 🙂
Glad to hear things are going well, even if super busy!
Love the post and peppermint too! It is one of my favorite flavors. And La Tortilla Factory tortillas are delish 🙂
I used to be a HUGE *NSYNC fan. It was pretty bad; I counted down the days until their concert came to town from like three months out! And food-wise, frozen yogurt. Mmmm…
Make sure you take some time to rest now that you are all caught up on your work Jenn!!! It sounds/looks like you deserve some rest.
Hahah thanks for the shout out! Hate to be a negative Nancy but I’m not a big fan of those Quaker bars 🙁 Hopefully you’ll still like them though!
La Tortilla factory tortillas however – I’m the fan club’s prez! LOVE those dang things!! Oh and Cosi, BB, and toast 😉
Obsessions: Candles – no joke, when I see the wall of them at ANY store I spend a good 15 minutes at least sniffing every.single.scent!
I tend to get obsessed with TV shows and watch them in marathons. This happened with Columbo, Queer as Folk and Freaks and Geeks to name a few!
You are going to love the macadamia bar. It’s delicious!
I love the highlights of your meals and I didn’t get a chance to write a comment on your last post, but M&S’s looked awesome. I have never had the Maryland style calm chowder but I think I would really love it.
Oranges and PB is such an interesting combo, but I won’t knock it until I try it. PB is basically delish with anything so I should probably just try it.
Can’t wait to see what you think of the quaker bars!
I’ve been obsessed with things before –
Books: Harry Potter being one, the book The Glass Castle- I was disappointed when it ended. I wish there was a sequel.
Food: Oatmeal, nut butters.. I used to have a MAJOR Trail mix addiction, but I’m slowly weaning myself of that one 🙂
And I was totally a 98 degrees fan and obsessed with Jonathan Taylor Thomas- JTT!!
your pictures are just incredible! i can’t stop staring at your brownie yogurt!!
my obsessions?
TV: definitely the first few seasons of Grey’s Anatomy!! never missed and episode. the show had gotten kind of silly, but i love McDreamy. and McSteamy.
Food: i try to put cinnamon on everything! (sweet potatoes, cereal, oatmeal, ice cream, apples, etc)
Hi I’m Keiko. I’m a lurker.
I used to watch the Usual Suspects everyday after school (when I was in high school).
Every single day. Then I eventually replaced it with Fight Club.
Right now my obsession is with omelettes. I just love them.
keiko ~ Hi!! Thanks for de-lurking to tell me about your yummy obsession with omelettes 🙂 I love ’em, too!
Hi!! I’ve been reading for a while and commented a few times randomly, but I like following your blog 🙂
My biggest obsession was def. NSync. One summer there was a 2 week long contest on the radio that my friends and I were determined to win. Needless to say, I cried when we didn’t. I thought that I was going to marry Lance Bass haha!
Sex and the City was/is a big obsession, and I go through food phases where I will eat the same thing for a while until a get tired of it. Now it seems to be oatmeal, pumpkin, eggs, and sweet potatoes!!
Amanda ~ Aw, thanks so much!! I’m really glad that you enjoy the blog 🙂 Ohhhh Lance Bass!!
ah! SO glad you’re back. I just tried the dark choc raspberry today!!! KUDOS quaker is all i have to say. You’ll love the other flavor!!!! Great on oats! I had my first experience today with someone from my personal life reading my blog…it’s like you forget people can actually find out a/b ur life on here! so that was awkward! haha:P
You just reminded me that I just bought some peppermint extract for the first time last week and have yet to use it! Score! I think I might need to make myself some minty fresh coffee or something equally fun now.
I used to LOVE toast too, it was one of my breakfast and daily snack staples. I cannot BELIEVE I hardly eat it anymore. There is something seriously wrong with that. Let’s bring back the toast!
That’s hilarious that you got Bobby hooked onto Twilight. I think that’s the first instance I’ve heard of a male reading the series. Time to start up a new trend I’d say. Although I’ll bet there are guys all over the place secretly reading Twilight before they go to bed at night but never admitting to it.
I don’t get hugely obsessed with things too often, or the obsessions don’t last too long. Mine have been lame things thought, like video games (Zelda or Banjo Tooie anyone? Or *cough* Pokemon *cough*. Don’t judge me) or Betty and Veronica Comics. Or … Vin Diesel? I said don’t judge me! Okay, I think I’ve said enough. 😛
Yummy eats Bender!!! I LOVE your Coffee Cocoa too 😀 In fact, I think I’m going to go make some right now…
Have a great day girl!
Wow, brownies for breakfast? No way I’m arguing with that! Mmm!
Brownies for breakfast – brilliant!! I don’t know how I feel about the orange/pb combo, but I guess I can’t say much until I try it. Just seems strange to me…
As for obsessions – I go through phases. Right now I’m all about food and wedding blogs, but before that it was anything pumpkin flavored (soup, oatmeal, cookies, coffee, etc.).
have you ever had buttered toast dipped in hot chocolate? my friend introduced it to me at college and said she grew up with it, and its AMAZING! i think you would like it 🙂
dailygoods ~ I’ve never tried that, but it sounds awesome! I know what I’m doing tomorrow 😉
I am def obsessed with herbal tea, esp. Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride by cel. seasoning. So good! I thought they were gone since the holidays were over, but found some at Giant the other day and bought 6 boxes! I seriously need to use up what I have before I buy more. I have boxes stacked on top of my fridge b/c I don’t have any more cupboard space!
I was obsessed with Jonathan Taylor Thomas (or as I called him “JTT”) growing up. I had covered my bedroom walls with pictures of him. So so funny. I wish I had pictures of my room at the time.
I am always obsessed with something- planning a trip, planning a party, an outfit, a recipe… There’s always one thing that lasts a few weeks!
Brownies with breakfast? Oh yeah!
Your yogurt with peppermint brownie is mouth watering! I would LOVE that!
yummy looking eats! I love the incorporation of chocolate into your breakfast! I’m a firm believer that chocolate should be a part of every meal 😀
As for the random question.. I’d HP for sure, also anything to do with the Jossverse, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, I’m also kind of obsessed with Lost and Battlestar Galactica. Music it’s Radiohead & the Manic Street Preachers and when I was younger tonnes on Canadian Indie bands.
Apparently I have many obsessions 😀
i love toast! i miss eating it sometimes though.. i dont usually eat a lot of bread. its time consuming to make it and expensive to buy it GF/DF- so i go without!
i am obsessed with dancing. enough said… lol always have been!
I’m excited to see how you like the Quaker bars. I’ve only tried the raspberry chocolate flavor so far, but it was goooood.
Obsessions? MAGAZINES. I can’t get enough. I get hooked on bands a lot, too (currently MGMT and Coconut Records).
Your blog is great! And you won’t be disappointed by the Quaker bars, the banana macadamia ones are amazing.
For my obsessions…I’d have to say just sports in general and peanut butter. 🙂
Briana ~ Thanks so much!! I definitely loved that Quaker bar 🙂
love all the food! I am obsessed with blogging right now I think..lol…jk no I would say I sometimes get obsessed with working out and I have to take a day of or else!!!!
congrats for finishing all your assignments this week! I really like that flower shaped bowl that you put your fage and banana slices in =)
BTW – how do you sign up to be in the TasteMaker program?
oh….and I am absolutely obsessed with Trader Joe’s kalamata olive hummus, crazy – but I dont care!
I am obsessed with cool grocery stores. Trader joes is my current obsession.
haha Just because I’m right under comment #60, I would also agree that I’m obsessed with fun grocery stores/shopping except I never grew out of it. However, I was once obsessed with the Backstreet Boys. heheheh VERY obsessed, and sadly nothing compares to that obsession anymore apart from my love for food. hehe.
Btw, the Red Eye keeps running these buy one get one free Cozi coupons (like…once a week?) in case you were planning to return to Cozi. heh. hehe.
I must have dates in my oatmeal, so I guess that’s a little obsessive.
And the bulk section at Central Market
haha Jenn I think you know my obsession is with the Twilight series as well! I think I’m even more obsessed the second time around 😉
Obsession=
When I was younger- Titanic soundtrack, Sex in the City DVDs, flavored water grocery store brands, Rockstar
Now- UFC, Larabars, Yelp.com, Jane Austen
🙂