New Foods

Thank you, everyone, so much for your kind comments on my last two posts. Today started off on a…well, not so hot foot, and didn’t get much better as the day progressed. Coming home and reading your lovely words definitely made me a little more optimistic 🙂

I had to schedule the vet to come tomorrow to look at Teddie’s eye. I saw the little spot again, and it was a bit runny, too. I am fairly certain it is not “just a reflection.” It’s just difficult to see outdoors. I’m trying to stay optimistic about it – and honestly, would rather my vet come and laugh at me for freaking out over a reflection in his eye – and yet my logical brain knows the outcome may not be so good. Just like with humans, you don’t mess with their eyes. This includes putting off a visit. I am kicking myself for not just calling Monday even though I thought it’d gone away.

I don’t usually hope I’m crazy, but in this case, I hope I am 😛 I don’t think it helped me think positive thoughts about it, though, when I left and A says “I hope it’s not uveitis, Jessie. My friend just had to put her horse down because his was that bad.”

Hm. Thanks.

Anyways, moving on. I’ll be less of a joy-kill now, I promise. But think happy thoughts for me tomorrow, guys!

This morning started off okay, though, with a bowl of cinnamon raisin overnight oats. Mingling overnight was:

• 1/3 c. quick oats
• 1/2 t. chia seeds
• 1/2 c. almond milk
• cinnamon, nutmeg
• raisins

and in the morning I added a nuked & sliced banana, raisins, wheat germ, pecans and a peanut butter sauce.

It’s getting darker and darker these mornings!! Not to mention I feel like my eyes are less “sharp” in the morning, too. I found it incredibly hard to focus my lens.

Either that or I’m losing my almost-perfect eyesight. I’m sort of proud of my eyeballs for being so hawk-like.

a new snack for the morning!

I’m not lying when I say I tend to buy things and put off opening them for a while. In fact, I bought these Kashi crackers so long ago that they’re past their best-by date! Don’t worry – they hadn’t been opened prior, though.

It sort of surprised me because I seriously remember the day I bought them. They caught my eye because I had a $2 off coupon! I guess I remember things when it involves saving money…?

Anyways – they were still fantastic. They’re no homemade cracker – but lets be honest. How much longer was I going to put off eating them, anyways? I don’t even really know why they lasted this long.

Phase One and Three: Carrots w/ Roasted Garlic Hummus and a White Flesh Nectarine

Phase Two: homemade bread with garlic hummus, hardboiled egg, feta, basil, red pepper, celery, and tomato paste.

As sad as this might make me sound – I’m not lying when I say I was actually pretty legitimately excited for lunch today…while I packed it last night. The freshly homemade bread, as well as the reintroduction of one of my favorite sammies of all time – the hardboiled egg & hummus sammie.

Unfortunately, bread toasts 5,000 times faster when you’re not watching it. In the time it took me to put this in the toaster oven, run upstairs to refill my waterbottle, and return back downstairs…I could already smell the burnt toast. No me gusta. See, I actually kinda like my toast a little burnt. But not the bread for my sandwiches.

That’s just bad news bears.

Not to mention it then made the egg too hot, which just turned out gross. The bread and egg that was salvageable, though? Lovely. See, there’s always something good to come out of things, right?! Right.

I’m on a groove with this new foods thing, and this one isn’t even the last of the day 😉 Some KIND bars caught my eye at the co-op the other day, and I’m finally able to have control of bar purchases (i.e. not buying every single one, every single time). While I admit they’re an expensive habit and something I can make myself – they are something I love, so it’s an “allowed splurge,” if you will. Something about just opening a pretty package makes them a leeetle bit cooler than packing a homemade one, even if the taste rivals each other 😉

I remember the very first KIND bar I hated. I think it was mixed nut or something? I remember nearly breaking a tooth. I was encouraged to give them another chance, though, and I did – with their walnut and date bar. It was love at first bite. And when I saw how many flavors of them the co-op has, it was hard to limit my selection but I finally chose on this Macadamia and Apricot bar.

And it was fabulous. It had huge chunks of coconut and macadamias, which paired wonderfully with the sweet apricot. I also love the texture that the puffed rice adds.

And, to wrap up my new food extravaganza of the day, I received a really exciting package the other night:

But what’s Tasty Bite, you ask? Well, I couldn’t have said it better myself – Tasty!

Launched in 1995, Tasty Bite currently offers 39 products across 4 categories: entrées, sauces, rices and meal inspirations.  The flavors range from classic restaurant favorites such as a Channa Masala to unique fusion items such as the Tofu Corn Masala.  Our products require no cooking, have no preservatives, require no refrigeration and as our brand suggests, taste phenomenal!

You guys know I’m not usually one for ready-made meals, but TastyBite must have hypnotic powers because the second I opened the box I couldn’t wait to try them all! They all have a wonderfully simple ingredients list, are quick to make – and what I was most excited about? Having “real” Indian. Don’t laugh that I’m considering something out of a box “real Indian.” We don’t have any Indian restaurants around here, and the closest I get to cooking Indian cuisine is throwing some curry powder in a dish.

Sort of like “I think I like it, but I don’t really know” nah’mean?

Tonight I was feeling the Punjab Eggplant vibe – Braised eggplant with aromatic Indian spices.

And aromatic they were. When I first opened the bag I was sort of worried I was going to burn my face off – and not just because it was to be served hot temperature wise. I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy foods, you see.

I opted to have it over a slice of toast (no naan, sorry 😦 ) with a fried egg and a dollop of plain greek yogurt on top.

And yes – it was spicy – but not unbearably so. Enjoyably so, actually! And I think for a “normal” person – it’s probably hardly even spicy 😛 I was glad for the bread and greek yog, though!

So, all in all? Half my dinner came out of a box and I loved it. So far, I would definitely recommend TastyBite as a quick lunch or dinner solution.

What’s your favorite “ready-made” meal, when you have them?