Very Berry & Sweet Saturday {Wheat Berry Cereal}

Those leftover wheat berries had to be eaten, and quite promptly (and deliciously) they were! I loved today's creation - totally delicious, totally original, totally healthy!

Blueberry Wheatberry Cereal

• 1/2 cup Wyman's Wild Blueberries (give time to defrost - I did so overnight!)


• 1/2 cup cooked wheatberries


• 1 tsp chia seeds


• 1 tsp brown sugar


• 1/8 tsp salt


• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract


• 1/2 cup milk


• Adorned with Honey Nut Cheerios for sweetness and light crunch :)

Lunch was wonderful! Do you notice my usual arrangement - a bowl of soup on on my fave square plate? I like plating all of my food rather than serve as I eat. It's helpful to visualize the portions (and it looks totally pretty!). Of course, this doesn't mean I don't go for seconds...

Lunch included cauliflower potato soup with fresh herbs; sauteed zucchini, eggplant, red bell pepper, onion, and carrot (with a squirt of ketchup - adds amazing sweetness and creaminess to the mix!); and "imitation crab meat" (Alaskan pollock) cooked with onion, celery, and leek.

...Now, what was consumed the rest of the day was (unfortunately) a picture-less but a sweet bliss...

Afternoon snack included my fave CHO, 1/2 of mini whole wheat bagel, and coffee.

We had family friends over for dinner, for which we made mixed salad (with cranberries and walnuts = love), mashed potatoes, and "мясо по французски " (pork chops a la French... though I don't actually think the French make this...). Pork chops are beaten until tender, rubbed with salt + pepper, and then topped with red onion, a small dallop of mayo, and grated cheese. Baked at 350F for ~20min, until done. This is a treat that we only make for special occasions (my family rarely makes pork), and oh my goodness, it was delicious! I haven't had it probably in... 4 years... Oh, and we also had freshly made crepes with tea for dessert.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had special plans to meet up with my girlfriends to attend a gymnastics competition! It was so fun! I was in awe, and there were so many times when I felt like my heart had stopped as I watched the gymnasts do crazy flips and jumps. I have so much respect for professional athletes... And these were not only full-time athletes, but also full-time students! Incredible.

We then went out for dessert at Old Man Rafferty's to celebrate one of my friend's birthday! Being indecisive and clearly in love with sugar, we ordered FOUR pieces of different cakes... Exact names escape me, but one was topped with salted caramel, another was infused with bailey's espresso, another had apples, and the last but not least was a chocolate blackout cake. To say we were sugar high does not do it justice...

It was so fun to finally spend time with my girlfriends. We are all so busy and stressed out with our studies, that these moments are always truly special!

I hope you all find the time to spend with your friends and loved ones, no matter how busy life is... At the end of the day, it's the moments with the people you care about and those that care about you that truly make life worth it. Stress isn't worth it, however.

More fun get togethers are planned for Sunday! Gosh, I'm such a social butterfly this weekend (for once...)

No more lemons!

[...for some reason this post didn't publish last night, so I apologize for the delay!]

A mah-velous mornin' to you! Last night I prepared a batch of wheat berries, but when I woke up this morning, all I wanted was the original good ole' whipped banana oatmeal that I haven't had in ages.

And so, whipped banana instant oats it was!

• 1/4 cup instant oats


• 1/4 cup boiling water


• 1/2 mashed banana


• 1 tsp chia


• 1 tsp chocolate PB2


• dash of cinnamon and salt


• sprinkled with a few wheat berries for extra chewiness


• and colorful strawberry slices to beautify and brighten!

voila!

...and because my stomach warned me that it wasn't satisfied just yet, I had a teeny tiny piece of whole wheat flat bread with a tsp of MaraNatha Creamy Almond Butter, sprinkled with coconut flakes and chia. And then tummy was pleased.

A few hours later (during class) I snacked on a cutie - gosh darn they are so sweet and juicy! A perfect (and easily portable) snack.

Lunch came on the earlier side because (1) I came home earlier than expected since lecture got out early, (2) my stomach was ready for it, and (3) grandma had it all made already!

Russian Dill Pickle Soup "Rassol'nik" and sauteed vegetables with more wheat berries! (I rarely cook a batch of anything ahead of time. I prefer to make things on the spot. But since my wheat berries were made and ready to be eaten, I rather consume them as soon as possible to keep them fresh!)

They are so cute and round. Love their chewiness! And the nutrition facts are a-mazing | 7g protein, 6g fiber (22% DV!), and 10% DV iron! AWESOME.

Just as I was wrapping up my lunch and ready to leave the table, grandma pulled out roasted sweet potato from the oven. Sweet potatoes. One of my many foodie weakness. So in went a few slices. No regrets. There was still room. Ah, the beauty of leaving a table feeling 90% full :)

But just an hour later, and incredible sweet + chocolate craving kicked in... and for better or for worse, I had one recipe on my mind that clearly I couldn't get rid of... Chocolate-Covered Katie's Cookie Dough.

It looks like cookie dough. It takes like cookie dough... But it's actually chocolate chip hummus! haha. I love Katie's chocolate creations - she always adds a unique and healthy spin to the classic.

Among my mom, grandma, and me, it was devoured in its entirety... Looks like I'll have to make it again ASAP. No problem ;)

The cookie dough was consumed with a cup of tea... I made the mistake of not only infusing my tea with lemon, but also eating the entire lemon slice... Surely you recall that I love lemons and do eat them whole... My poor teeth, however, paid the price... I couldn't chew anything non-soft for the rest of the day... So that gorgeous salad you see right there... only the soft veggies (tomatoes and beets) were consumed... Instead, I had to rely on additional servings of the other dishes, which I didn't mind because they were delicious... Fried potatoes with mushroom, more sauteed veggies, and a teeny tiny pork cutlet (pasture raised!)

Late night snacking featured fresh pineapple - my favorite tropical fruit! Teeth were still sensitive, but I suffered through it. The pineapple was so worth it. :)

Happy Friday Night!

Tell me: Do you have any exciting travels, get-togethers, eats or treats planned for the weekend? Tomorrow night I'm going to a gymnastics meet with my friends from school!

On the road to Vermont!

I'm currently on the road to Vermont! I'm so excited for this little getaway. There is nothing more beautiful than Mother Nature. The mountains. The snow. The sunshine. The fresh winter weather. I love it all.

So while I'm on the road, I thought I would post an update for today's eats!

Remember my kefir overnight oats?? We discovered Lifeway's Blueberry Kefir at Costco and it's wonderful! Still tangy and tart - which I love - but the blueberry flavor sweetens it up a little.

Overnight: 1/2 cup kefir + 1 tsp chia + 1 tbsp water.
Morning: Topped with 1 tbsp raw instant oats and crushed almond cranberry brown rice crisps.
Result: Yummm!

I also had an orange and coffee, duh!
During morning lecture, I snacked on carrot and celery. Hope I didn't annoy anyone with my crunching!
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Lunch was protein-licious!

Going along with my attempts to increase my protein intake, I decided to combine the best of both worlds in this protein muffin - Chelsey's pumpkin protein muffin + Mama Pea's banana protein pancakes!

I followed Chelsey's recipe but substituted mashed banana for pumpkin puree and added a pinch of salt... The result? Veronica's banana protein muffin! :)

I'm so making these again! There is nothing better than a single serving recipe that uses simple real ingredients and requires no cooking. Especially on a busy day like today.

No mixed salad for lunch today! Instead, I decided to give these Indian lentils a try! Another one of my finds from Costco. :)

It was a little on the salty side for me and definitely soupy, but I was overall happy and full (probably because I ate 2 servings, but that also means a whopping 14g of protein! Plus about 20g from the muffin!)
Oh! And did I mention I made these little fellas? I love Averie's sweet treats and have had my eyes on her peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough for way too long!

As you know by now, I'm the queen of substitutions when it comes to cooking... I used almond butter instead of peanut butter, halved the amount of brown sugar, and didn't use any of the white sugar the original recipe called for. And it was exactly the kind of sweet treats I was looking for! N taste tested and agreed! Thanks N!
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After napping and packing, I made myself a baked sweet potato and a cup of coffee to stay awake during our 5-hour road trip.

It's now almost 9pm and we still haven't had dinner :( I am munching on a KIND bar to get rid of the talking in my stomach... Rest stop, can you please be here already? me needs food now.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Please enter the Chobani giveaway if you haven't yet!

Catching up {Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Cakelettes}

Hello hello! So sorry for going MIA - this always happens on exam days! Such days always end up with me catching up on sleeping and eating... at very bizarre hours. But here is a quick and pictureful summery! {An exciting recipe awaits you at the bottom of the post!}


Lunch featured "shi" - fresh cabbage soup (very simple! The vegetable broth is flavored with stewed tomatoes). Second entree included buckwheat kasha, turkey meatball in caramelized onion and tomato sauce, and more of yesterday's zucchini spread! After I napped, I had some coffee with yesterday's pierog. Yum!
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My family looooves horseradish! I'd say it's like Russian wasabi. And today I made fresh horseradish! I puréed the horseradish root, and then added apple cider vinegar, salt and sugar.

Surprisingly, this didn't have the "kick" that we are used to. It was much more mild, but still really good! I decided to replace the usual balsamic vinegar in my salad with horseradish, and it tasted divine! And so, horseradish-topped salad with spinach raviolis and tzatziki were served for dinner!
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I have a very busy and exciting weekend ahead. First I'm visiting M, and then I'm off to DC with friends from school for AMA Lobby Day!

To celebrate Valentine's Day a little early, I decided to bake M a treat. He has a sweet tooth. I love to bake. It works. :)

I had no idea what to make, so I did what I always do during moments of indecision - I looked around to see what I actually had to bake with... Aha! Two very ripe bananas! Check. Almond butter? Check. Chocolate chips!!! Absolutely! With my dear friend, Foodgawker, I stumbled upon Christina's blog, Scientifically Sweet featuring Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Lava Muffins. [Being a science nerd, it's not surprising that I also love the science of baking and cooking. So naturally, I was so excited to read through Christina's posts. She seems so cool!]. How can I not trust a food scientist's recipe that looks oh so scrumptious?!

With a few minor substitutions, I set out to recreate these beauties!


Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Cakelettes, adopted from Scientifically Sweet

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour


• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour


• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder


• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


• 1/4 tsp ground clove


• 1/8 tsp nutmeg


• 2 large ripe bananas


• 1/3 cup cottage cheese


• 1 large egg


• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar


• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil


• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract


• 1/3 cup pure semi-sweet chocolate chips


• 3-4 tbsp creamy almond butter

Directions:

Preheat over to 350F. Grease and flower the pan.

In a large bowl, sift together both flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, clover, and nutmeg. Add back the bran left int he sieve from the whole wheat flour.

In a separate bowl, blend the cottage cheese until smooth (the original recipe called for sour cream, which I didn't have, so this was my solution) and add in the bananas. Blend together. Whisk in the egg, sugar, coconut oil and vanilla until well blended.

Add the flour mixture and fold gently until just combined. A few streaks of flour should still remain. Fold in chocolate chips.

Instead of the traditional 12-muffin pan, I used the William-Sonoma Bouquet Cakelette Pan. It makes 6 but larger cakelettes, I thought would be great for Valentine's Day so that M and I could share our cakelette instead of eating separately :)

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with the batter. Spoon about 3/4 tsp of almond butter into the center of each cup. Evenly divide the remaining batter on top to cover the almond butter.

Bake until the muffin tops spring back when touched gently (about 20 min for normal size muffins... 30 min for my cakelettes!) Let cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.



I split one cakelette with my family, and we all agreed that indeed their texture was more cake-like than muffin-like, the banana and the chocolate were very prominent, and overall very very good!
Alrighty! Off I go! I'll try to post a weekend recap of all my eats & treats on Monday! :)
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Very orange {Lunch}

...No, don't worry, I didn't overdose on carrots this time! :)

More bright colors in today's lunch, going along with today's theme! There is no such thing as too much sunshine in one's life. Grandma made Borscht. We pulled out some leftovers. I made everything else. We shared and enjoyed each other's company. :)

The lunch consisted of many small, savory bites. I felt like I was taste-testing and rotating from one side dish, to the next! But the pâté/chutney/paste/spread/dip??? I haven't given it an official name in English, and am not sure if it already exists.

Red Pepper & Zucchini pâté/chutney/paste/spread/dip:

• 1/4 yellow onion, diced


• 1 carrot, shredded


• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped


• 2 medium zucchinis, chopped


• salt to taste


• oil for sauteing

Instructions: Use a large pan or separate small ones to sauté each vegetable separately. I used one big one (no need to wash four pans!). Start by sautéing the onion. Once clear and yellow, move to the side/periphery of the pan, and add shredded carrots. Add more oil if necessary to prevent burning. Once done, mix carrots and onion, and again push to the side. Now add the red pepper, and repeat the process. And, same thing goes for the zucchini. Finally, mix all the sautéed vegetables, and cook until they've become soft. Transfer to a blender (or a bowl if you are using a hand blender), and blend! Season with salt to taste. A teaspoon of nutritional yeast also blends well with the flavor of this dish.

I like to spread it on a piece of toast :)

Today's taste-testing included roasted sweet potatoe slices, 1/2 veggie patty, left-over plov, and bread with the zucchini spread. I see lots of orange! :)

An afternoon snack was a new combo that I will definitely have again... Crumbled up Deep Chocolate VitaTop with cottage cheese. I am trying to increase my protein intake, and this snack surely meets the protein need with 16g of protein (30% DV)!! And, yes, a cup of coffee... or two cups rather... But it's half-caf-half-decaf!

Not surprisingly, I later had an orange for a snack... And actually, that wasn't intentional! :) It looked so beautiful - like a flower - I had to take a shot of it. Of course, I did. :) #foodbloggerobsession

Goopy? {Lunch}

What if I told you that the goopy brown stuff in this bowl is the same as this soup?

It sure is! Mushroom soup (made with potatoes and barley) was blended into this - still a little chunky - puree! So smooth and delicious.

On the side, roasted sweet potato slices and oven-baked stir-fry veggies.

Simple. Filling. Delicious. Nutritious!

It's Borscht Day! {#Vegan Borscht}

Yup! It's yet another homemade soup day celebration en mi casa! It's Borscht Day! Can I proclaim it an official holiday? This soup totally deserves the recognition!

Here is my grandma's recipe for our vegan Borscht. This is as basic as it gets! My grandma doesn't use measurements, so for now, I'll just describe the process, and will eventually figure out just how much of everything you need!

Start my sauteeing onion, shredded beet, and shredded carrot. Add a pinch of salt. When almost done (based on tenderness of the veggies), stir in a spoonful of tomato paste.

In the meantime, prepare the broth. Our standard homemade vegetable broth has leek, celery, celery root, dill, parsley,and onion. Add seasonings and spices of choice (i.e. salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning mix).

Add the beet mixture to the broth. Finally, add chopped up cabbage, and allow to cook until cabbage softens. Don't cover the pot while the soup cooks!

Toward the end, add a few peppercorns and bay leaves. Once cooked, turn off the flame or reduce to low, cover and allow to stand for ~10min. And enjoy!

The Russian way is to top the borscht with a spoonful of sour cream (We use tzatziki or Greek yogurt).

And so, today's lunch featured borscht, sautéed cabbage with sweet potato slices (two leftovers combined into one!) and some pasta with Parmesan!

An afternoon snack included decaf coffee and wasa crisp bread with hummus (with a dash of pepper and garlic powder)! I was craving salty today! 

I foresee a fruit or nuts being consumed before dinner. :)

Hope your Monday is going well!

The wheels go round and round {potato & bean soup}

Did you know that today is National Homemade Soup Day?! Looks like my family celebrates this holiday nearly everyday, and today was no different!

[P.S. I love John-Bryan's blog, Foodimentary! It's a reminder for us to celebrate and appreciate the art and science of food - cooking, eating, and sharing. every. single. day.]

Lunch was a mixture of the old and the new. New = potato & bean vegetable soup. It reminds me a whole lot of minestrone soup, but instead of pasta we add potato. Old = Shuba salad (herring potato salad we made yestereday).

Post-run (another 4-miler - woo-hoo!), I had white toast with caviar (fancy shmancy, I know, but if we don't eat it, it'll go bad! Or, at least that's the excuse my grandma used to convince me when we sat down for afternoon cup of coffee!)

And here is another peak at the beautiful dishes Stepanka shared with me. The bowl you saw this morning, but look at this adorable plate!

I love the bicycle! 

I think it's an excellent reason not to have breakfast-in-a-bowl tomorrow... Hmmm what shall it be? Pancakes? Toast? We shall see :)

And here is a recap for today's run.

Unfortunately, my foot started hurting half-way through the run... And I can't believe it took me this long to realize the problem!... I need new sneakers!!! DUH! I've had my Reebok flex since August...

And this is where you can really help me. I need sneaker recommendations! The key for me is to have cushioning in the front of the shoe. I don't heel strike, so having cushioned heels does nothing for me. My mid foot and forefoot could really use the soft landing however!

Also, I recently heard about compression tights and am really interested! My shins and knees could surely use them! Has anyone ever tried compression wear?

Please leave a comment or email me with any advice! Many thanks in advance!

Hope your day is going well!

Crazy for 'shrooms

If I had to pick one of my grandma's soups to be my favorite, it would be one tough decision. Born and raised in Russia where lunch is the biggest meal of the day consisting of three entrees (soup, main plate, and drink), I've certainly had my fair share of soups! My grandma's soups are always vegetable based and fill me up!

My favorite would have to be her mushroom soup, immediately followed by her borscht!



Today's lunch was perfect.

First course: Mushroom soup.

Second course: Salad with roasted sweet potato (I recently learned that if you slice the sweet potatot in 1/4" thick slices, it takes just 20 min in the oven!)

Third course: My favorite fruity tea - Teavana's "Weight To Go".

Do you have any sweet potato recipes to share? It's my new healthy foodie obsession.