astrid eats.

Cold Weather Oats

In my opinion, the only thing that makes cold weather somewhat bearable is snow. Looking outside to a world covered in white almost makes me forget that I’ve been wearing 5 layers of clothing to bed, can’t feel my toes, and haven’t left the house in days.  However, aside from a teasing sprinkle yesterday afternoon, Northern Virginia has seen no snow- just freezing temps.  This morning I decided to take matters into my own hands bowl with a “snow-covered” breakfast.

Snow-Covered Oat Bran

• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1/2 banana
• 1 cup liquid (I used 1/2 almond milk and 1/2 water)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• Small handful of fresh cranberries
• Coconut flakes

1. Thinly slice banana and combine with chia seeds and oat bran.  Stir/mash mixture until completely combined. 
2. Place mixture into a pot and turn stove top to medium.  Add half of liquid and fresh cranberries.  Stir.  
3. The mixture will begin to thicken.  As it thickens, add the remaining liquid and continue to stir.  Depending on your desired consistency you may want to add more or less liquid. 
4. When the mixture has reached desired consistency pour oats into a large bowl.
5. Top with coconut and enjoy!

Do you crave certain foods when the temperature drops?

Holiday Hangover

Dorm Room Essentials

Whether I’ve missed a meal in the dining hall, or just need a little somethin’ somethin’ to keep me going while watching grey’s anatomy studying.  I almost always have food in my room for whenever hunger strikes.  However, choosing what foods to keep on hand is a delicate art requiring precision, thought, and planning.  So, without further adieu, I present you with 4 foods I always have on hand.

1. Oats. Sometimes I think I should change the name of this blog to astrid eats oatmeal. Because in all honesty, I eat oatmeal more than any other food. But seriously, stick with me, I promise I am not just a old lady gumming her oatmeal. Well, only when I eat alone… Anyways, oats! Oats are great because they are non perishable, cheap and can easily be made into a filling meal. I jazz mine up with non-dairy milk, chia seeds, banana and nut butter but these aren’t necessities.

2. Prepackaged treats. I almost always keep some sort of candy or chocolate around.  Right now, I have individual reeses and snack size packs of peanut m&ms. Although it is much cheaper to buy a big bag than to buy a bunch of small individual packages, I always buy the snacksize. For me, it is much easier to control the amount of sweets I eat this way. If I were to buy a big bag of m&ms I would easily plow through several portions in an evening. But, by buying smaller pre-portioned amounts it is easier to keep my portion size in check. Now, I could get really smart and buy a big bag and then separate them into single serving portions.  But, I’m not quite that advanced.       

3. Nighttime munchies. Nope, not that type of munchies. The “I still have 100 pages of reading and a 5 page paper to write tonight” kind of munchies. If I didn’t keep food in my room I’d inevitably take a trip down to the vending machine to stock up. Instead, I always try to have some type of fruit or vegetable in my room to satiate my need for crunch. Usually I take hand fruit or baby carrots from the dining hall to keep on hand

4. Tea. At the end of a long, rainy day absolutely nothing is better than finally getting back to my room, curling up under my duvet and wrapping my hands around a hot cup of tea. Right now my favorite is gingerbread spice from celestial seasonings.

     

What food do you always have on hand?

Not So Early Riser

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”

            

(source)

Hmm…according to this quote I am: unhealthy, poor, and dumb. Fantastic. I always strive to be one of those people who can naturally wake up at the break of dawn. I envision myself easily waking up, doing a few yoga poses, reading the paper, enjoying a cup of tea, and then calmly going about my morning routine. I think this has happened about 2 times in my entire life. Most mornings I push the snooze button until I absolutely have to wake up and then curse myself as I attempt to get ready and out the door in less than five minutes.

But ya know what? No matter how behind schedule I am, I never miss breakfast. Yep, showering, brushing my teeth, and running a comb through my hair are all encouraged but not absolutely necessary. I mean why else would we have dry shampoo, breath mints, and ponytail holders?!

I can go without a lot of my morning routine but don’t take away my food! However, when I am running really late I don’t have time to go to the dining hall or make a bowl of oats. It’s mornings like these that call for one thing and one thing only: BARS!

         

These seasonal bars from Cliff Bar & Company are amazing. Rich, sweet, and drizzled with icing. The closest thing to eating a candy bar for breakfast. I may never be an earlier riser but at least I have my bars.

What’s the one thing you must do every morning?

Apple Cake

Apples are so tasty and in season right now that it almost seems criminal to do anything but eat them exactly as they are.  Notice I said almost.  One bite of this apple cake and you may never want to eat a plain apple again.

                         

Apple Cake

Ingredients

• 3 cups white flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups chopped apples

1. Sift dry ingredients into bowl and set aside.
2. Peel and thinly slice, then chop 3 cups of apples
3. Cream sugar and eggs together with mixer.  Add vanilla and oil. 
4. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients.  Stir to combine. Dough will be fairly thick.
5. Fold in chopped apples.
6. Pour mixture into floured bundt pan.
7. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
8. Allow cake to cool and then invert onto plate.
9. Enjoy!

                        

What’s your favorite way to enjoy apples?

Fall Favorites

Hello Everyone!  Long time, no talk? type?  Anyways, I am back!  I’ve missed blogging and one of my goals for October is to get back into it.  So, you’ll be hearing a lot more from me!  Tonight, I wanted to share some of the things I’ve been loving this Fall!

1. Apples.  Seriously, how great are apples right now?!  Crisp, sweet, and just a little bit tart, I can’t get enough!  I was home this past weekend for Fall Break and went apple picking with my family.  We picked about 30 pounds of apples and I crammed as many as I could into my suitcase.  Even more exciting, is when I discovered that the lovely family behind Rockstar diaries was at the same apple orchard on the same day my family was!  I am a big fan of their blog and was really excited when I found this out.  It’s the little things in life.  Anyways, check out their post for some adorable pictures set in the apple orchard. 

(source)

2. SoDelicious Coconut milk in my oats.  Until recently I’ve used almond milk in my oatmeal but I tried this coconut milk on a whim and ended up loving it.  It gives the oats a bit of a sweeter, richer taste.

(source)

3.  These boots.  My mom has them, one of my best friends has them.  I want them.  Who needs to be original?

(source)

4. The dining halls.  After twoish years I think I am finally starting to get the whole dining hall thing down.  Check out my tips here!

Ok, now you tell me, what have you been loving this fall?

Alliteration ‘Fu

Hello, friends! I am back from my long absence with a dinner recipe to share…Tasty Tahini Tofu! 

You know when you buy an obscure ingredient for a recipe even though you will never use said ingredient again?  My cupboards are full of such ingredients-peanut oil, miso paste, and until last night…tahini sauce.  I recently bought tahini sauce from Trader Joe’s to make this delicious hummus.   Of course I had to buy a huge container, even though I only needed 2 tablespoons.  Instead of pulling a George Banks in the middle of the grocery store, “Because I am not paying for one more thing I don’t need, George Banks is saying NO”!  Please tell me you have all seen Father of the Bride!  If not, check out this clip and you’ll see what I mean! Anyways, I digress.  I was determined not to let the rest of the tahini go to waste!  Enter Tasty Tahini Tofu.

Tasty Tahini Tofu

(marinade based off this recipe)

Ingredients

• 15 oz firm or extra firm tofu
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup tahini sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup (you could probably substitute another sweetener)
• 1 Tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic (I used the bottled kind)
• 2.5 Tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
• Garlic salt to taste

1. Cut tofu into 6 slices and press for at least 30 minutes.  I place the tofu on a cutting board, cover it with a clean dish towel, put two large cookbooks on top and then weigh it down with book ends.
2. Meanwhile combine tahini and water.  Then add all the other ingredients except for the garlic salt. Mix well.  Place in large plastic bag. 
3. When tofu has been pressed place tofu in bag with marinade.  Make sure all pieces are sufficiently coated. 
4. Place bag in fridge and allow tofu to marinate overnight.
5. Set grill at medium to medium-high heat and lightly coat with olive oil.
6. Place the tofu on the grill.  At this point I sprinkled my slices with a dash of garlic salt.  Cook each side of the tofu for 8-10 minutes. 
7. Plate tofu and serve with extra marinade if desired. 
8. Enjoy!

What is your favorite marinade?

Do you have a cupboard full of ingredients that you’ve only used for one recipe?

Working Lady

Yep, that’s right, I’ve become a slave to the 9 to 5.  Luckily I like my job but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a long day!  Even though I eat lunch and munch on plenty of snacks throughout the day I walk in the door ready to eat a horse.  As a result, my recent dinners have been quick and easy.

Tonight’s dinner was- this quinoa dish on a bed of broccoli slaw and Trader Joe’s sprouted bead toasted with hummus and sandwich peppers.  The quinoa was good but the toast was definitely the star of this dinner.  Go try the hummus  pepper combo.  You won’t regret it!

What’s your go to easy, healthy dinner?

Summer BBQ- REMIX

Nothing says Summer quite like BBQ.  The smell of charcoal, the taste of burgers, and the ever necessary checkered red tablecloth.

Tonight’s dinner was an updated, healthier take on BBQ.  Black Bean Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries,and Slaw.  For the “slaw”, I simply combined broccoli slaw and Newman’s Own Sesame Ginger Salad dressing. 

 The result was a light, crunchy Asian style cole slaw.  I have been going through about 2 bags of broccoli slaw a week.  I love it combined with other vegetables as part of a salad, in this slaw, or simply, by itself.  

What’s your favorite BBQ dish?

Pizza, Pizza!

For the most part my cravings tend to be seasonal.  Oatmeal, soups and root vegetables in the Winter, smoothies, ice cream and fruit in the Summer and so on. However, despite the soaring temperatures I haven’t been able to stop thinking about…PIZZA.  Most specifically this pizza.

Sadly enough, I don’t think Pizza Napoli delivers to Virginia so I had to get creative.  I toasted two slices of Trader Joe’s Sprouted bread, spooned on a mixture of tomato sauce and hummus and topped it with mozzarella, red onion, and olives.  I then popped it under the broiler for a minute or two.  Not quite Pizza Napoli, but not bad for quick and easy dinner.  

What’s your favorite pizza topping?