“Oh Mylanta!”

My Spanish teacher used to use that expression in high school, and I found it fitting for how I feel right about now! I just realized that in the next three weeks, I have 7 papers, 1 final exam and 1 group presentation on my plate. The good news: once it’s all done, it’s spring break, baby!! The bad news: I just realized that in the next three weeks, I have 7 papers, 1 final exam and 1 group presentation on my plate πŸ˜‰ I’m just going to try to take it one day at a time and take breaks in the blogosphere as much as possible!

Onto sunnier subjects! I’m going to break this post up into the top breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks from the past few days – the old, the new, the tried and true.

Breakfasts

To beat a case of the Mondays, I made myself a smiley plate.

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The smile was obviously made out of banana, and the eyes were two slices of Heather’s Mixed Brown Bread topped with 2 tbsp. Dark Chocolate Dreams. Holy yum!

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For the record, I’m already down one loaf and am ready to reach into the freezer for more. This bread has got it goin’ on!

In other news, I had the same thing to eat both yesterday and today.

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I bought a bag of Natural Ovens whole wheat bagels a while back and decided to give them a try. I used 1/2 yesterday and 1/2 today, toasting it until crisp and topping it with 1/2 tbsp. whipped butter.

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On the side, I had a microwaved egg white topped with Goya – oh yummy. My roomie loves Goya and has made me a convert – it adds flavor to ANYTHING.

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And of course, with breakfast, there has been plenty of this:

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But you probably didn’t need me to tell you that, right? πŸ˜‰

Lunches

When I got home from work on Monday, I was actually craving this lunch. It is truly one of the best combos out there, Miss Sarah. Sweet potato + cottage cheese + ketchup.

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And today, when I got back to my apartment, it was FREEZING. I decided that my lunch absolutely needed to be something warm, so I went with an old favorite that I have yet to eat all winter: Amy’s Tomato Bisque! I know that Jenny agrees it is by far the best tomato soup out there.

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I added 1 cup of spinach and 1 serving of roasted sun dried tomatoes to the soup. It gave it a little extra texture and volume, which kept me going even longer!

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As side dippers for the soup, I used the last two pieces of my first loaf from Heather. They soaked up the soup perfectly and served as the perfect complements for the meal.

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I want to eat this lunch all over again!

Dinner

The only dinner worth mentioning was tonight’s – otherwise, it was pretty blah. I started with the sweet + tangy portion of the meal with 1/2 cup Fage topped with a chocolate brownie ZBar.

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And then I made a spinach salad topped with deli turkey and my new favorite salad dressing: barbecue sauce! I’m not kidding, it’s great! I used Annie’s Hot Chipotle and let me tell you, a little goes a long way. It added a ton of flavor for a small caloric price. Move over, creamy ranch πŸ˜‰

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Snacks

At work on Monday, I broke out one of the Kashi bars that I received from Rose as part of my Secret Cupid gift. I’ve seen these all around the blogosphere, so I was excited to try one!

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On one side we have a thick “raspberry chocolate” paste.

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And on the other…oats! And other granola-like ingredients!

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Overall, I thought the bar was pretty good! It was definitely something new and unexpected given the extra layer on top. I liked the raspberry/chocolate combination and look forward to trying other flavors. Thanks again, Rose!

Last but not least, we have tonight’s snack, which I had after my ballroom dance class. (Tonight we focused on jitterbug, mambo and merengue!) This was the first time I have ever tried the apple + cheese combination that I have always heard about.

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I really liked it! Next time, I’m going to try melting the cheese on top of the apples. I think that will be even better. Anyone have any good recipes for apples and cheese?

She’s a Jul…z

Before I bid you adieu, I have to say thank you to a very special bloggie (and real life!) friend, who was sweet enough to give me this award.

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If you don’t know Julz, you need to know her. She is one of the sweetest people I have ever encountered in my life, and I feel so lucky to know her, even though we’ve never met in real life! I’ll never forget her first comment on my blog – you can read it by clicking here, although unfortunately the pictures somehow got deleted on that post, I literally felt like I had it made as a blogger. I had seen how sweet she was on other blogs, and couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to have her reading mine. And now for her to give ME an award, it’s just amazing. Thank you so much, Julz! I love you!

I haven’t had time to catch up on posts yet, so I apologize if I’m double tagging anyone, but I’d like to pass this award along to all the bloggies I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so far! I hope that someday, this list will expand πŸ™‚

  1. VeggieGirl
  2. Heather
  3. Gina
  4. Melissa
  5. Rose
  6. Mara

You are all Kreativ in my book πŸ˜‰

P.S. Speaking of “books,” I was happy that you all enjoyed the book list I made. I definitely would love to set up some sort of blogger book club someday. I can’t promise anything in these next few weeks (please refer to the beginning of this post for the reason behind that, haha), but I love reading books with other people, so I will keep it in the back of my mind!

Lurve,

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59 Comments

  1. Ooo I LOVE how amazing looking that Amy’s soup looks! I haven’t had that kind yet, but I DO appreciate a good tomato soup! I’ll have to try it πŸ˜€

    Everything looks so good! That smiley is cuuuute.

  2. HA i totally had a friend who said that all the time! And we made fun of her πŸ˜€ Good luck with all your work- just imagine that FINAL day when you’re all done..that got me through!! I love your dancing updates..and my mom just brought me like 3 BBQ sauces from TX i’m soo excited! They are soo good as dressing πŸ˜€

  3. spinach in the soup is such a good way to bulk it up a bit… and that chocolate raspberry bar looks so good – almost like a candy bar. hmmm, cheese and apples – I think a grill cheese sammie with apple slices and apple butter sounds reallly good!

  4. AH! My dad used to say that! My students now don’t get it… oh well…
    I’m amazed that with everything you have going on, you’re still managing to totally eat well AND make it look cute. You never cease to amaze me Miss Bender!! HUGS!

  5. Good luck with all your school work coming up and great ready for spring break because it will be here soon- YIPPEE!!

    I still want to the try the sweet potato, cottage cheese, ketchup combo. It sounds interesting but delicious.

    I was happy to see your post in my google reader!

  6. I love you so. You’ve been there for me so much, especially with this past week. I feel so comforted by our bond, Jenny, my love. Thank you. For everything.

  7. That may be one of the cutest breakfast smiley faces I’ve ever seen…AND one of the most delicious! Heather is a bread makin’ fool!

    I too have been putting BBQ sauce on everything, but Country Bob’s, not Annie Oakley’s.

    I love chopped apple in with my cottage cheese, topped with cinnamon (and granola…and almond butter…). Does that count as an apple and cheese recipe??? I know in some places they put cheddar cheese right on top of apple pie. Go figure! Oh, sometimes I’ll add sliced apple to a grilled cheese…that’s pretty tasty too.

    What’s your favorite dance you’ve learned so far??

    Much love girl!

  8. I’m such a flake sometimes, and totally didn’t notice the award…it’s my first one EVER!!! You’re the best!!! I’ve just found Julz’s blog this week, and she really is amazing πŸ™‚

  9. Jenn, Good luck with all your school work. Spring break will be sweet for sure!

    I am delighted that you’re loving the bread. Really. πŸ˜€

    I had the same feeling when Julz first commented on my blog.

    And, hee hee that kashi bar reminds mf of a mullet – business in the front (granola) and party in the back (chocolate)!

  10. I see you opened up one of the “non-crushed-by-the-plane-flight” bars, and I’m glad it was intact!! It looks really good too. Thanks for the little review. I should have picked some up for myself!

    Thank you SO SO much for the blogger award. You are too sweet! I am so honored – not only to receive this award but to be your “blog friend” – it’s been great getting to know you!

    Blogger book club? Gosh, as soon as I finish this degree I am totally in.

    Good luck with all your work!

  11. Good luck with school over these next few weeks Jenn, I know it’s tough but I’m certain that we WILL make it to spring break…and then I’m gunna get down and dirty with that blogger reading list!!

    LOVE the way you bulked up our fave soup!! That looks scrumptuous!! πŸ™‚

  12. You know I am counting down the days til spring break too–we can get through it!

    The “paste” part of that Kashi bar looks pretty decadent. I would like to sample those soon:)

    Congrats on the Kreativ award!

  13. Ahh, I remember crunch time in school before Spring Break– good luck!! Do you find that you eat differently when you’re stressed??

    Congrats on the award!

    Tal

  14. Thanks for the Goya link! Look like great products. I agree that Amy’s tomato bisque is the best! It’s pretty much the only tomato soup I like. I love that you fancied yours up with spinach.
    Good luck with the craziness ahead, Spring Break is on its way!!

  15. Congrats on the award!!!!!!!! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

    I totally know what you mean about a giant workload before spring break! ekkk!! You can do it!!!!!!!!!! πŸ™‚

    I have a can of that soup in my cupboard.. I need to dig it out! πŸ™‚ mmmm

  16. omg, blogger book club? please count me in.

    good apple cheese combo: apple and brie or apple and LAUGHING COW (brie is so pricey, so laughing cow does it!)

    i wish i could dig into that soup and bread lunch combo right now too :-)!!!

  17. That egg white is so perfectly round, haha!! Love it πŸ˜€

    SWEET POTATO!!!!!!

    Congratulations on the well-deserve award, girl!!! And thank you for passing it onto me. Love ya!!

    HANG IN THERE WITH THE STRESS!!! We shall chat it up when it’s over.

  18. Good luck over the next three weeks! I’m sure you will handle it with your usual grace! πŸ™‚

    I’m all about a blogger book club – count me in!

  19. Good luck with all of your school work! I can totally relate – I just looked at my classwork schedule for the next three weeks and its super scary as well!

    We’ll definitely make it through though, and then its spring break – are you going anywhere??

  20. Ok…stupid question but how do you microwave your egg whites? In a cup? How long? hehehe sorry for being so lame but it looks delish!!

  21. A blogger book club would be awersome. I really need to start reading for fun again!
    I need to try one of those Kashi bars it looks so delicious!

  22. I love the egg white beside the bagel! I couldn’t figure out what the heck it was a first! πŸ™‚ Looked kinda like a scoop of ice cream! Yum, yum!

  23. Congrats on your award, girl! Hang in there – break will be here before you know it πŸ™‚

    All of your eats = pure yum! That’s the kind of Annie’s I use and ooooh my is it spicy at times!

  24. I was wondering what the egg white was. it almost looked like a little scoop of sorbet on the plate!

    Yay for it almost being spring break – you’ll do great with all your papers and stuff πŸ™‚

  25. Sarah ~ Those definitely count as recipes – thanks! Favorite dance so far: jitterbug/swing!

    misstal ~ I definitely get hungrier when I’m stressed, but I try not to eat too differently. If anything, I just add an extra snack in when I’m feeling the need to eat to think πŸ˜‰

    Emily ~ I’m going home to AZ! Sounds not so exciting, but it’s the first time I’ve gone home for spring break since I was a freshman, so I can’t wait.

    eatinnyc ~ I spray a cup or bowl with PAM, then put the egg white in and microwave for about 1 minute. Then I pull it out, swish it around a bit to make sure all the liquid gets cooked, and put it back in the microwave for another 30-45 seconds, keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t explode! It’s really easy and delish!

  26. That tomato soup is de-licous! The Amy’s Creamy Tomato is also really good if you haven’t tried it… As far as the apple/cheese combo, I love putting thinly sliced apples on paninis for a little something extra. Those kashi bars are good but too small!!!

  27. Oh my you are a busy girl! Hang in there! At least spring break is right around the corner for you!

    Adorable smiley plate. It brought a smile to my face!

    I love making apple and cheddar paninis. So simple, yet SO good! I actually think I might make one for lunch today!

  28. congrats on the award. i am a big time reader, and we had a TON of overlaps on our lists. by chance are you a member of goodreads? its such a great site to get recs based on what you enjoy and the preferences you have in common with other readers….blogger book club – holla!

  29. congrats on the reward and thanks for passing it on to me! i feel so loved!

    hope that work load isn’t going to wear you out…too bad i don’t know journalism…i’d so do your work for you. πŸ˜‰

  30. my spanish teacher used to put “-ay” on the end of everything. “Ok, class-ay!” I hated it. plus she was for costa rica, so her accent wasnt even close to the audio we had to listen to so everyone was just really confused. i took two years and still dont know anything.

    Kelly Turner
    http://www.everygymsnightmare.com

  31. Hi Jenn! Then is SUCH an adorable post, with so much love….i think you deserve all the credit! πŸ™‚ ALL of it and you should be SOOO proud! I can’t believe i haven’t asked you this yet, but What kind of camera do you use?? Your pictures are FOREVER awesome. πŸ™‚ Good luck with work! It’s pretty much the home stretch!!!!

  32. Haha didn’t DJ from Full House used to say Oh Mylanta! all the time!? That’s totally what it reminded me of!!

    That Kashi Raspberry/Choco bar looks fantastic!! I’ve yet to try one myself, but I’m eager to and seeing one up close just makes me want to try one even more!

    That is A LOT of papers. One of my college majors is English (the other is Psych) so I hear ya on the paper load…I’m actually at Panera using their free Wi-Fi to write one now haha) But 7!? GOOD LUCK GIRL!! πŸ™‚

  33. Thanks for the tag love Jenn! That is too funny that we both referred to Julz’s first comment on our blogs. Love it!

    I’m also diggin the BBQ sauce on not just my salads, but everything these days, and I usually mix it with hummus. Your Humbque pizza started this eating habit of mine…so thanks! Such a brilliant combo!

    That’s great that you started dinner with the sweets – that’s my kind of meal!

    Would love a blogger book club. Let me know if you ever need help in getting one started!

  34. Phew! I’m tired just reading your to do list! 1 day at a time girl- you will make it! I love that you always find a way to eat healthy, fresh, delicious food no matter how much you have going on. A true inspiration you are Miss Jenn!

  35. Oh dear dear dear, you poor thing. Keep on truckin though, it’ll be over before you know it! Spring break, spring break, spring break…

    I love all of your eats in the mean time! I’ll have to keep my eye out of that BBQ sauce. I loooove a good BBQ sauce and I’m pretty sure the one in my fridge right now is full of all kinds of icky fake crap ingredients.
    Apples and cheese are awesome, yet I always forget about that combo. Try apples with LAUGHING COW. Mmmmm amazing.

    I think a blogger book club is a SUPER idea. Don’t even try THINKING about it in the next few weeks, you’ll drive yourself mad! But I’d love to see that somehow take shape in the future.

    Best of luck with the studies Jenn!

  36. Food is great as always Jenn…. I hope you get by OK over the next few weeks. Every now and again when you need a break… take a breather and surf the net πŸ™‚ Works for me every time.

    zesty

  37. oh mylanta! (ok, i swear i’m not your teacher, that’s just a sweet phrase.) i’ve jumped on the sweetpotato and cottage cheese bandwagon. i add kashi vegetable medley crackers for an extra carby kick. awesome!

  38. Wowie…That is a killer schedule, but I’m sure if anyone can handle it, it’s you! Good luck with finishing everything before Spring Break. Have some fun squeezed in between all of that work πŸ˜‰

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