Long Time No Type
I’m ba-ack. Although my last re-cap was just Thursday, it seems like an eternity! Much has happened in the interim, including a trip to Chicago, my first blogger meet-up, plus a birthday celebration!
First up, I was in the Windy City this past weekend to visit my Nana. She resides in a senior living community, so my mom and I divided our time between hanging out with her and exploring our favorite Chicago/Glenview/Evanston attractions: the lake, Trader Joe’s, and Old Orchard shopping mall. Here are a few pics from our adventures:
Lake Michigan
dressing room shenanigans...I promise, I'm not 12
Trader Joe's goods: raw almond butter; TJ's High Fiber Fruit & Nut Medley; Pomegranate White Tea; Honey Sesame Cashews
I have lots of meals to show you, so let’s get crackin’.
Thursday
I highly recommend this combo!
peach-pineapple smoothie with soymilk, vanilla spice hemp, & Vanilla Almond granola
Friday
My standard portable breakfast. I apologize for the pic–it was 5:30 AM when I took it.
portable breakfast: GoLean+Multigrain Cheerios+almonds+dried berries; banana
Once we settled into the hotel, my mom and I made a bee-line for our favorite corner bakery…
It’s our favorite breakfast/lunch locale whenever we visit my Nana. Friday’s lunch did not disappoint.
Lentil Vegetable Soup; artichoke-zucchini panini (sans provolone)
For dinner, we met my uncle, aunt, and cousin Suzanne at Mitchell’s Fish Market. There weren’t any vegetarian items on the menu, so I requested a veggie plate. While it was delicious, there wasn’t nearly enough of it!
assorted veggies with balsamic glaze; rice pyramid (uneaten)
Due to my rather meager dinner, I enjoyed a little “dessert.”
the perfect sweet treat
Saturday
We returned to our favorite bakery for breakfast. Their oats are amazing–so creamy and delicious! If only they could make them with hemp milk…
oatmeal made with skim milk & topped with dried cranberries, currants, walnuts, & toasted almonds
my favorite Mighty Leaf--Orange Dulce
I was super psyched for lunch because I was headed to my very first blogger meet-up! Jenn, Mara, Amanda, and I all met up at Blind Faith Cafe. The food was fab…almost as good as the company. Unfortunately, my camera was having a spaz-attack, so my one picture is a bit blurry. Jenn and I ordered the same thing (BBW seitan sandwich), so you’ll have to check out her blog for better pics! Jenn was also kind enough to bring us all goodies from Whole Foods–Laura’s Wholesome Junk Food. THANKS SO MUCH!
BBQ seitan
Laura's Wholesome Junk Food, courtesy of Jenn
Afterward, my mom and I got some shopping time in and then headed to an old standby for dinner–The Bagel. The pickles alone are enough to draw me there, year after year. I ordered the Vegetarian Platter (as always). I am slackin’ in my volume-eating skills though–I usually can finish the whole platter, but this time I barely got down 2/3 before I was spent.
PICKLES in all their glory
the ultimate steamed veggie plate
Sunday
We headed back to B-ham this morning, so we just grabbed odds ‘n ends from the grocery store for breakfast.
multigrain bagel; banana; plain Oikos; almonds
my standard Starbucks order: Tazo Passion tea
Once home, I transformed some leftover rice and beans into gumbo with help of V8 and assorted veggies.
beans & rice gumbo with soy sausage, peppers & onions; greens with blueberries & mango vinaigrette
Today is my dad’s 56th birthday, so the whole fam headed to Avo, a new “green” restaurant, to celebrate. There weren’t any vegetarian dishes, so I ordered a few sides. They were all phenomenal. I am still full, 3 hours later. What do you expect out of a restaurant named after one of the most wondrous veggies?
the atmosphere
arugula salad with Granny Smith apples, candied walnuts, & balsamic reduction
celeriac puree; leeks & grapefruit; vanilla-spiced sweet potatoes
Stevesie & his peach shortcake
I commend you if you have reached this point in the post–it was quite a monster. I hope you have a rockin’ Monday.
Filed under: Meals
Hello and welcome! I have created this blog for people who love food, especially healthful, vegetarian food.
I have just graduated from Duke University with degrees in English and psychology. I plan to pursue a master's degree in nutrition starting in Fall 2010. Ideally, I would like to combine my love of food and the written word someday as a health writer.
wow so much good food in this post it is like delicousness overload! i am not sure where to even start~ a few of the things i loved most were: dressing room photo (you are adorable!), the veggie dish with balsamic glaze (i LOVE balsamic anything), the atmosphere of that restaurant is awesome, and last but not least PEACH SHORTCAKE! peaches are my fave fruit ever! mmm. great recap!!!
I can’t believe there are places without vegetarian dishes…it seems like everywhere I go now there are options, even the most unlikely places. Oh well, looks like you did okay
Peach and pineapple sounds like a fabulous fruit combo for a smoothie! I must try
The corner bakery does seem amazing. That panini and those lovely oats are proof!
Vanilla-spiced sweet potatoes? Yum! That Avo place sounds great too! Definitely a great weekend full of good eats!
So glad u finally got to corner bake, i know it is a treat for you!!
What a fun trip with momma, and that meet-up was awesome!
Exciting travels! I love Chicago, and I really really miss Lake Michigan living here in St. Louis.
Great eats girl!!!! Yummmoooo I love the Corner Bakery!! I went there all the time when I was living in Chicago. Everything I’ve gotten there was delish. I really wanna try the cinnamon roll LARABAR!
You be stylin’ in that purple hoodie, yo!
CHICAGO!!! Love, love, love! Corner Bakery is one of my favorites as well – the other two I haven’t tried so they’re going on the list!
Hope your dad had a great birthday!! Avo looks like they did a great job on the side dishes
glad you had such a fun time!! all of your eats look AWESOME– i’m especially drooling over that peach shortcake though, nommmm!
What restaurant doesn’t offer at least one vegetarian option? Well, obviously the one you went to, but everything still looks great. What a fun-filled, healthy food-filled weekend!
scrumptious monster post! loved the peach shortcake ending!
Avo looks like a great place! Happy 56th to your dad!
Yeah, lookin’ like a stunna in those threads. I must say the BBQ seitan looks wildly good.
That’s a pretty wierd green restaurant that doesn’t have any veggie plates? oddddd….
I love all the tjs goods! I go home next week and I can’t wait to restock my closet!
Ooo, so jealous that you got a blogger meet up! I have YET to have one of those! And I have yet to try seitan too! Can you buy it from the grocery store? What’s your fave way to eat it?
Have a great Monday chica!
xo,
Keri
http://hopskipleap.wordpress.com
http://operationbreakingglass.wordpress.com
so many fun things – blogger meet up! THE BEST flavor of lauras wholesome bitlettes!! and the best flave Larabar, too!!
love the dressing room shenanigans…haha dork!
corner bakery looks great – is it a chain? if its the same as the one as i went to in westwood, back when i was in college at ucla, i loooooove that place!!
avo’s side dishes look amazing. no veg options is a-ok when thats the backup!
That lentil soup and panini look soooo good! I’m so ready for colder weather so I can really enjoy a cup of hot soup.
Chicago looks like its still a rockin’ place. I lived there when I was 8 or 9 and I miss it. My goal is to one day eat at Topolobampo, which is a highly rated Mexican food restaurant.
Kinda strange that a “green” restaurant didn’t have any veg options but it looks like you managed just fine……all of those dishes look really satisfying and tasty!
Fabulous weekend! Fun blogger meet up, family, and great food! I’m especially loving the artichoke-zucchini panini and peachy dessert (YUM!) Glad you had a good time
Hope Monday treats you well
youre so cute. i love how every single thing you eat sounds good to me. I am a big oatmeal freak and I love seeing all your incredible ideas.
happy birthday to your Dad!!!
)
Love your violet sweater, you look so pretty with that color (not look like 12 yrs old girl, maybe 13?
That oatmeal looks so pretty! And a zucchini panini?? Yum! what was in it?
http://ajangel25.wordpress.com
mmmm, bbq seitan! yum, yum, yum. your beans and rice gumbo also looks delicious. i’m not a huge fan of faux meat, so i’ve never bought soy sausages before, but i kind of want to give them a try because they actually sound pretty good. if you eat them, they must be! because you only eat the most delicious foods.
-JB
http://cardiovegsular.wordpress.com
Um, hi…. I’m almost 30 and I play around in dressing rooms too…. who doesn’t?!?!?
Love all the fun foods you had too! Looks like a fun trip!
-A
What a wonderful trip! Looks like you had tons of fun. No worries, hoodies make everyone look 12.
SOunds like you had a great weekend! Blog meet ups rock, do they not??
Mighty leaf is a fave of mine, too!
Sounds like you had an awesome weekend in Chicago. I love that city.
Isn’t the Corner Bakery simply the best? I adore their oatmeal!
I’m obsessed with the passion tea from starbucks too! But I usually get mine iced. So good.
I LOVE the Corner Bakery – their swiss oats are to die for. Glad to see you got them
Hi caroline!
I dont have a blog, but I’ve been following your entries for a while! I’ve (sort of) recently turned vegetarian, and your meals provided so much inspiration! Anyways, I absolutely love Corner Bakery too! It’s right up there on my go-to list of outside restaurants after Panera(;
[...] was hungry all day today for some inexplicable reason (I ate very well this weekend!), so I made an early lunch using my George Foreman grill. Have I ever mentioned how much I love [...]
Love all of those pics of you! I’m glad you had such an enjoyable trip to Chicago – and even more glad that one of your “stops” included Blind Faith Cafe
SO glad we finally met in real life…and that you liked the little cookies!
[...] want it. I know, my selflessness is remarkable:) I employed my gift-giving policy most recently for my dad’s birthday in that I gave him a gift certificate to MixMyGranola(reviewed here); one of his favorite [...]
[...] yesterday evening, the timing just didn’t work out…so I headed to Au Bon Pain. Remember how much I raved about the Corner Bakery last weekend in Chicago? Well, I feel pretty much the same [...]
[...] oatmeal. I topped this batch with one of my TJ’s goodies that I’ve been saving from my trip to Chicago. Trader Joe's Honey Sesame Cashews oatmeal cooked with soymilk & strawberries, topped with [...]
[...] Southwest, oatmeal, Panera, quick service restaurant, salad, soup In light of my recent trips to Chicago and Boston, I have devoted today’s feature post to a very essential part of [...]