Check out my progress on What Happened to My Day Off?
Early in my college career, I became wise to the tactic of scheduling all my classes on 4 days out of the week, and I have managed to orchestrate such a schedule for 6 semesters in a row. The beauty of such a schedule is that I have an extra day to relax and and re-group from the preceding week of classes…in theory. Somehow, even without any classes scheduled for the day, I often find myself extremely busy on my alleged “day off.” Today was just one such day. In addition to my usual weekly housekeeping chores, (e.g., laundry and trip to Whole Foods), I had to meet with the professor for the writing class I am tutoring this semester, attend a two and a half hour dining committee meeting, and squeeze in a run, of course. Ah well, anything is better than sitting in a classroom all day. How about you? Do you ever over-schedule your time off?
Anyway, here is what kept me going all day:
Sunday
Believe it or not, I have gone 21+ years without every trying papaya. Tragic, no? Well, my good friend TJ helped me solve that problem. In retrospect, I should have added coconut to the mix for the full tropical taste experience.
Papaya Chunks!
tropical smoothie with papaya, mango, hemp protein, soymilk, & Pumpkin Flax granola
Monday
Another Banana Blender Cereal morning. This morning’s rendition is precisely the recipe I posted here. Cool fact about coconut butter: when slightly chilled, it hardens into a solid mass (or what I refer to as a raw coconut cookie). My hypothesis is that the saturated fat content in coconut oil causes this phenomenon.Check it out:
Banana Blender Cereal with coconut butter
chilled & hardened coconut butter=delicious raw coconut cookie:)
After my morning errands, I stopped in for a quick lunch inspired by Clean Eating. I tweaked a recipe for Avocado Egg Salad into a tofu-based copycat dish. I also made this dish last spring.
Avocado Egg-less Salad; TLCs; apple; carrots
Before heading to my dining committee meeting, I made sure to pack all the essentials: keys, polka dot planner, rainbow umbrella, and a Pecan Pie Larabar, of course. This came in handy during the meeting, as most of the food we sampled tonight was not exactly “vegosaur-friendly.”
I did get a chance to photograph some of the lovely desserts provided from Mad Hatter’s. While these treats are made from local, organic flour, they are not whole grain nor are they vegan. They sure are pretty though!
Once the meeting was finished, I picked up a Greek salad at an on-campus eatery. This is another favorite from my early blogging days, mostly because it is far from skimpy on the serving size. I had forgotten how huge it was–I could eat only a portion of this mondo salad.
Greek Salad (Alpine Atrium) with Romaine, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, & feta; hummus & pita; frozen grapes
Hope you all have a great week and g’night.
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
I’m SO GLAD you got to try papaya!!! It is one of my favoritest fruits in the whole world. When I studied abroad in Mexico I could buy GINORMOUS ones….like 12 in. long and 5 in. diameter….for about $1!!! They were so juicy and sweet. How were the TJs ones? I saw it there but didn’t end up getting it.
Love how you ate the cooled coconut butter – great idea! Why did I not think of that when I had it on hand?
delicious looking eats, as always. i love the pecan pie larabar!
That is a GREAT salad indeed! And so many pretty foods! Did you get to try them?
Ah, and over-scheduling…sometimes you just have NO CHOICE when all the classes are taken and you are left just trying to get classes that fit. On Friday, I have classes from 8-2 pm non-stop!
i would have a very happy tounge and tummy if you made me all my food.. thats for sure!
Overscheduled is my middle name
It only gets worse as your life gets more complicated and you not only have your own stuff to worry about, you have your work, spouse, and child’s issues, your home, etc. so yeah, that’s where yoga comes in 
Ahhh…breathe. And thanks for noticing that the sunbutter on my blog was in the shape of an S today. Seriously, UNplanned coincidence! Nice catch!!
In college, I tried to schedule a day off, but it rarely happened. By the time I got to pick my schedule first, (my school let you pick by how many credits you already had) I had major classes that I had to take everyday of the week.. boo!
I hope that you had a good “day off!”
Oh my gosh! I need that coconut “cookie”! It looks so perfect! Yum.
I used to over-schedule my free day too because I was afraid of getting bored.. but now just don’t schedule at all and do whatever I feel like, it’s much more relaxing this way.
oh….. that blended banana oats looks delicious!!!
During my senior year, I scheduled every quarter so that I had Monday, Wednesday and Friday off. The nice part was being able to spend a lot of those days in my pajamas
But at the same time, I was ALWAYS incredibly busy! I hear ya!
Papaya chunks sound marvelous! I don’t know if I’ve ever tried it, either. And that coconut butter is just too cool for school.
Love the desserts with their Duke theme! Have a great week, Caroline – sorry I’ve been MIA as per usual, but I’d love to catch up and see how school has been going!
No matter how much time I have in a day, I always seem to be ‘behind’ with what I’ve scheduled to do. I am the world’s worst/best procrastinator.
That smoothie! Those oats! I’m in a vicarious food coma now…
You’re so ultra-organised that I’m sure you thrive on being busy and cope with it very well…I wish I had your mindset about lots of things.
xoxoxox
ooh papaya smoothie–i’ve never seen that before but i love it! along with that salad beast which is exactly why i love salad bars
i’m definitely guilty of overscheduling myself–i like always feeling busy but sometimes it all catches up with you when you just want to time to relax! hope you had a wonderful labor day weekend caroline!
My days off I devote to me so no over scheduling here! I like being busy but I know that I’ll turn into a big crab if I don’t have my ‘me’ time
I love school themed cookies! I need to try the blended cereal one of these days!!
Ugh, I’m definitely a victim of “over-scheduling” my time off. Blah. Hang in there!
Love the solid coconut butter – nice effect
Good luck with your upcoming week!!
I hate when I overschedule my time off! I have class on Friday this semester, but it’s done by 10 AM so it still feels almost like a 3 day weekend
Yay papaya! I’ve only ever had coconut butter as solid- it wasn’t until I read blogs that I found out it’s not always like that, lol.
My days off are always busier than days on….it’s the only time I have to fit stuff in (appointments, errands, etc) so it’s go-go-go!
That looks like such a tasty salad, cold tofu makes for the best salads! I love papaya in smoothies especially when frozen, it gives such a creamy sweet texture. I’m not crazy about the fresh stuff though, maybe I just haven’t had a good one yet?
Sophia,
http://whatyourmommadidntknow.blogspot.com/
i am good at overscheduling ALL the time. i am also bad at saying no – so between the two, sometimes i drive myself crazy.
did you like the papaya? it’s not my fave.
however, that greek salad is looking mighty fine. happy tuesday!
No class Fridays are the way to go
But yes it turns into just as busy of a day! I solved that senior year by securing a four day weekend ;D I am not a fan of papaya at all, much prefer mango…but I’ve heard papaya and it’s extract are good for the digestive tract?
Welcome to the papaya world! Sometimes I love it, and sometimes it leaves me with a really unpleasant aftertaste. Strange.
That eggless tofu salad looks great. I always get it when they have it at whole foods, but I’d love to make it myself!
The coconut butter “raw cookie” is really cool, thanks for sharing!
Mmm tofu avocado salad sounds fantastic!
I seem to be busy even when I’m on break, or am doing “nothing”. I don’t know how that is, haha.
Yumm, those cookies and cupcakes look decadent!
I’m practically *known* for overscheduling my free days.
Seriously. It’s as if the weekend is made up of unlimited time, and I always forget that it’s not.
That’s so awesome that you have a 3 day “weekend” though!! It must be great having an extra day, even if it does stay super busy!
Love the coconut “raw cookie” by the way!
ughhh I ALWAYS over-schedule me time off! I think that I have a “free” day but no way jose. I am always trying to catch up on this, that, and the other…thinking I can do everything in one day! It’s bad because I just end up overextending myself and spreading myself too thin. Not a good idea!
In the eats world, I am loving that avocado-eggless salad! And all those salads you have been consuming look so fresh and delectable!