Caroline Dines

When I began this blog back in August, I wanted to blog every day and talk about everything I ate. I was successful for a few months but quickly realized that this format was starting to bore me and therefore it was likely boring my readers. Recently I have realized that blogging was becoming more of a chore than a joy and I have taken a step back to think about what I want from this blog and what I am willing to put into it. While I took a break, telling myself that I didn’t have to take pictures or make interesting looking meals, I found myself wanting to take pictures of certain meals and blogging in my head.  I still find it fun to photograph food and want to share my “note-worthy” eats with the Food Blogging community. I started to think about my posts and how I could keep blogging fun.

My decision to change my posting schedule was also influenced by a recent acceptance into Graduate School! I am very excited to say that I am going to be starting a Masters in Applied Nutrition program at Northeastern University this coming Monday. I hadn’t mentioned anything on here before for fear that I wouldn’t get in, but while I was home on vacation I received a very important letter stating that I had been accepted! I will be taking 2 classes to begin with, Eating Disorders in Children and Adults and Medical Nutrition Therapy, while continuing to work at my current job. This program will prepare me to work in the field of nutrition at the community level (it does not prepare me to become an R.D.) which is exactly what I picture myself doing. I will be specializing in Eating Disorders and Obesity which excites me beyond belief. It has been a dream of mine to enter this program and finally it is happening!

I am anticipating a lot less free time and until I get the hang of being a student again, blogging could take a back seat completely. My goal is to keep the blog going with “highlight posts” instead of daily updates. So without further ado I bring you my favorite dishes and creations from the past couple of days.

A simple spinach salad with pan grilled chicken, peppers, hardboiled eggs, carrots, tomato, cashews, dried cranberries and pickles. I topped it all off with Trader Joe’s Balsamic Vinegar; tart and tangy!

Spicy black bean soup (TJ’s) and Ak-Mak crackers with Organic Hummus. I sometimes forget how much I love canned soup. This can has been sitting on my pantry cart forever and was time to be used!

Dipping these cracker planks with creamy hummus into the spicy soup was the best part.

Speaking of spicy, I happened upon a jar of “The Heat Is On” Peanut Butter & Co peanut butter at Christmas Tree Shops the other day and just had to have it. First of all I remembered seeing it on Broccoli Hut’s blog multiple times and secondly it was only $2.99! I paired it up with some BBQ sauce that has been lurking in the fridge for ages and was pleasantly surprised at how the sweet and spicy flavors came together.

I used my brand new Cuisinart Food Prep (mini size) to create my version of Peanut Butter BBQ Tofu. I had tried this before but was eager to use the correct flavor of peanut butter. I used the following ingredients:

Sweet and Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce

• generous scoop of “The Heat Is On” Peanut Butter
• 3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce
• 2 tablespoons of organic ketchup
• 3 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon of Ginger People ginger juice

All of these measurements are approximate. You basically can’t go wrong just make the sauce as sweet, spicy, thick or thin as you like!

I marinated the sliced and pressed tofu for a few hours before baking it at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Alongside the tofu in a separate dish I roasted a medley of vegetables which included baby sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I used the remaining sauce over the vegetables and tofu. FABULOUS!!!

One of my New Years resolutions was to stop eating after dinner which is particularly hard when you work until 10:00 p.m. and are surrounded by unhealthy yet tempting food. I am proud to say that since Sunday when I came back to work I have not eaten ANYTHING unhealthy out of the house kitchen and have been sticking to my rule of not eating after dinner. I think the key to this has been the addition of a nightly cup (or three) of Decaffeinated Good Earth Tea.  The flavor of this tea is rich with cinnamon and keeps my mouth and brain happy while I am busy at work.

I will admit that I also have been having a square of dark chocolate each night with my cup of tea instead of eating all the baked treats from the house kitchen. It’s funny how a simple change like this can make you feel so in control and back on track without giving up sugary treats completely. I still reserve the right to eat the occasional piece of cake or brownie if it is totally appealing but the mindless munching has to stop!

Breakfast has been a variation of the same thing each morning. I have been loving my TJ’s Complete oatmeal packets which I have been making with water (no milk in the house still!). This mix was absolutely delicious and contained the following: Blue Diamond Almond Butter, a mix of dried cranberries and raisins, coconut, and small drizzle of cranberry apple butter. Mmmmm……I wake up craving this now.

I was back at the Haley House yesterday which felt great. They had some “day old” wraps that were not for sale any longer but still perfectly good. I snagged a half of the roast chicken whole wheat wrap. It was simply chicken, lettuce, tomato and a little bit of mayo but boy was it heavenly.

While at the Haley House today I was speaking with a member of the live-in community there who was drinking an interesting looking tea. He told me that it was “Kombucha” which I had heard of before but had never tried and knew little about. He actually makes it himself and told me the entire process which sounds a little unappetizing since it involves fungus and letting the fungus “ferment” the tea for a week. He said that you can make it with green or black tea and add any kind of fruit juice to make it differently flavored. He offered me a taste, and since I never want to turn any new food down before trying it, I gave it a sip. The result: I loved it! It tasted a lot like hard apple cider to me, a little fizzy with a strong yeasty smell. He gave me a small bottle to bring home and I had another glass before heading into work. Apparently Kombucha is pro-biotic and has a positive effect on the digestive system. Have any of you made your own or tried a bottled brand of this tea?

…would you have snow, ice, rain and lightning all on the same day! I had high hopes for a real winter storm this morning but soon after it started snowing here in Boston, it changed over to a “wintry mix” and then to just plain old rain! I battled my way to the Haley House despite the poor conditions and was happy to walk into a warm storefront and fix myself a cup of Chai Tea. With my tea I enjoyed a Lemon Scone (made with half whole wheat flour!). I hadn’t been hungry this morning when I woke up so eating breakfast at 10 a.m. worked well.

Even though I wasn’t “hungry” I was super curious to try the newest pizza on offer. I made a quick sign to try and entice customers into buying!

I have never tasted such a pizza before and was completely won over. The base was of course whole wheat and from there the layering began with carmelized onions, then to sweet potato disks, and finally big globs of goat cheese! The pizza dough was also noticeably seasoned with fresh rosemary which added a lovely aroma and taste. I was surprised that I didn’t sell one piece. Even with these delicious looking samples sitting out (people did try the samples and said they liked it but then ordered a wrap or soup!) Maybe people are weirded out by goat cheese and sweet poatatoes. The whole time I was thinking if only I had some of my fellow foodies around, they would buy the whole pie!

I mean just look at this for a beautiful combination!

Despite the poor pizza sales, I had an awesome shift. I enjoyed myself by turning the radio station to Christmas music and taking in the scents of this Holiday Candle. It felt very cozy with “the weather outside so frightful”.

I had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon which went well, I had my first ever “blood work” to check my cholesterol (I guess your supposed to start doing this every five years in your twenties?). I absolutely hate needles and was so proud of myself that I didn’t come up with an excuse as to why I couldn’t get it done today. I was brave and let them take two vials of blood from my arm! Yikes! Beforehand, the doctor asked me lots of questions (she is a new Primary) about my diet. She wanted to know what kind of food I eat, whether I drink soda, etc. I almost said, “Can I just show you my food blog?”. After the appointment I arrived home and promptly devoured an entire grapefruit. I have had some serious citrus fruit cravings lately and this was exactly the afternoon snack I had been waiting for.

I followed the fruit up with three slices of provolone cheese. Love it.

Dinner was inspired by The Broccoli Hut’s recipe for Peanut Butter BBQ Tofu. I had a block of tofu in the fridge and wanted to do something kind of different with it. Whenever I think of tofu I immediately think about The Broccoli Hut so off I went to search her recipes. I was so excited when I found this because I love BBQ sauce and any kind of nut butter! I used Cashew Butter instead of Peanut Butter and added a dash of the hot sauce I received from the farm this past summer. An utterly delightful combination of ingredients if I do say so myself. I baked the cubed tofu at 400 for a good long time (45 min?) and also baked some broccoli and carrots with a little dash of the sauce over the top, alongside the tofu.  The end result was a bowl of sweet, spicy and nutty heaven! Hey, even Darin ate it, and he doesn’t typically go for tofu!

The best pieces were the slightly crispy ones. Sometimes you would get a big chunk of cashew butter since it didn’t get mixed as thoroughly as it should have. Although I don’t really see this as a problem. Cashew Butter Chunks = Scrumptious!

And since all the gingerbread cookies are gone, I had a small candy cane for dessert. Not half bad.

Since yesterday I have been feeling a little off. Today I was hit with cold symptoms (runny nose, cough, slight chills) and have spent the day resting and hydrating like a mad woman. Breakfast this morning was an old classic but in a smaller bowl than normal. My appetite hasn’t been all that strong today, so I listened. Plain yogurt, apple butter, 1 barney butter packet and a sprinkle of muesli on top.

My plan was to stay in the house all day but we have NO food and it was a bit of a crisis. I saddled up my “granny cart” and walked to Trader Joe’s (not that far at all) to stock up. When I got back I was hungry for lunch. Funny how grocery shopping always does this to me. I thought up this lunch on my walk back and I think it might be a new favorite!

2 rice cakes (reduced salt) with 1 laughing cow cheese spread over both. I used to love cream cheese on rice cakes as a kid and this was just as good if not better. Actually the final topping on each made the meal. I topped one with pumpkin butter…

…and the other with a TJ’s eggplant spread. One sweet and one savory.

I even stuck with the sweet and savory theme for my accompaniments: pickle and apple slices. The apple was my first Macintosh of the season. I have been sticking with the honey crisp variety this year and since my farmer’s market is closed I had to buy apples at TJ’s today. Since the Mac’s were local I went with them and was not at all disappointed. A good local Mac is just as good as a Honey Crisp.  :)

Since this meal was on the light side, I finished with a serving of peanut butter filled pretzels (TJ’s, no salt variety). My Nana had these this weekend and I kind of became addicted! I am going to be limiting myself though to the serving size though!

Not feeling up to par is really messing with my appetite. I am basically just drinking tea and seltzer water and haven’t felt like much else all afternoon. Dinner tonight was one of my favorites of the month: Thai Food. I couldn’t just miss it all together, so I made sure to try a little bit of the three dishes: Veggie Pad Thai with Tofu, Basil Fried Rice, and Yellow Curry with Tofu. My favorites were the curry and the pad thai. The Basil Rice was too spicy/weird-ly flavored for my taste. This food actually tasted really good to me, despite feeling off. I am not really surprised since Brown Sugar does Thai right.

Hopefully this thing passes by me and I start feeling better tomorrow. Maybe it’s allergies? I have no fever so as long as I am not running a temperature I will continue working (just basically sticking to my office rather than mingling with families). I’ll keep my purell by myside for now. How about you guys? Anyone feeling sick or just getting over it? Any suggestions on how to beat it off?

Ever have one of those days where you don’t feel like doing much of anything? Well today was that kind of day for me. I started off super hungry but wasn’t craving yogurt. I decided on one of the yummy Bruegger’s bagels (Poppy seed) from the house kitchen and smeared a tiny bit of light garlic cream cheese on top. These bagels always make me happy and they’re smaller than most so I believe have fewer calories than the larger varieties. I ate my bagel with a big mug of sweet orange tea (not pictured) and caught up on some blogs. I was supposed to go to the farm today but I just didn’t feel up to it. Stomach is a bit off, lack of energy, hip hurts and an overall sense of needing to “just be” today led me stay in.

I did manage to get my life a bit organized which is always necessary. Two loads of laundry (including our sheets and duvet cover which makes me so happy), tidying, organizing, planning and stretching my hip were some of the things that kept me occupied this morning. Around 12:30 I made this lovely salad and took it outside to enjoy with some green tea and a book. The sun came out for about an hour which was perfect timing since this is when I had my lunch.

Despite the cool wind, I enjoyed this outdoor meal immensely. I am a huge fan of putting any kind of leftover on a salad as I have said before.  Rice, pasta, casserole, whatever the case may be; it can go on your salad the next day. I added a few strips of fresh mozz. and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Simply lovely. And you might be wondering what has happened to that cake that I made last weekend? Well I’ve been eating it just not picturing it. Sorry! Here’s a piece that I cut for lunch today. It’s kind of been a nibbling situation this week and it’s hard to take a picture of a little sliver here and there. The cake has held up beautifully and has only gotten better as the week has gone on. Yummm. I really can’t wait to try this with Elana’s Peanut Butter frosting recipe.

Work tonight is going to be busy and I am planning on a “clean out the fridge” night. We have left over chicken, pasta, tofu, veggies and some wraps that need to be used up. We also have about 10 kinds of cheese! I lie. We have four: Gouda, Mozzarella, Crumbled Goat cheese, and Herbed Goat cheese log. Decisions decisions. If whatever I decide on comes out “blog worthy” I’ll share, otherwise just figure it was boring looking! Right now I am sitting on a ice pack “recovering” from my physical therapy sesh. I went back again today for more “Electric Stim” (my favorite part), Heat therapy, massage, manipulation, stretching, stationary biking and some weight lifting. Let’s hope this works!