One plate wonder

This morning I finally tried Ezekiel bread. I liked the fact that it was flourless and that it contained so many good grains.

Wheat, barley, millet, lentils, soybeans, spelt…all health superstars.

4 g protein/slice and 3g fiber…sounds good to me.

The verdict: definitely good, but I’m not sure if I love it. I try to get my breakfast calories around 450-500 so I can “jumpstart” my day, so I wanted two slices of this 80 cal bread to go along with my 200 cal PB (2 Tbsp) and 100 cal ‘naner (460 cal total). Being that I could only use a scoop of PB on each slice, the toast got a little dry in the outer bites. Not a big deal, but the bread I was using before was this bread from Whole Foods that was 160 cal a slice, about the same fiber and protein…and I got a lot more PB per bite. After I finish the loaf of Ezekiel I have a feeling I’ll switch back.

After my morning classes I stopped into Think for some coffee with a couple friends. The iced coffee was OFF today! It tasted a little watery, but delish nonetheless.

When I finally got home I was starving and needed a quick fix. I heated up my fave Amy’s pizza…which I got on sale ($3.99 at WF this weekend!).

I feel pretty good about these ingredients.

A little low in fiber, but high in protein.

I ate this…(with lots of crushed red on top)

…while watching this…

I call this meal a one plate wonder because after I finished the pizza, I mixed some salad onto the same dish! Easy clean-up!

A classic finish.

See you later!

Chana masala

Afternoon recap:

I left for my meeting this afternoon, and for about ten minutes…

…it got sunny outside!

I immediately knew what I needed — iced coffee from Think. I love iced coffee and cannot wait for iced coffee season to begin. A peak of sun after the crap rain this morning + 55 degrees = perfect iced coffee moment.

Can you tell I love Think?

Think makes delicious sandwiches and treats. My favorites are the tomato & mozzarella or granny smith apple and brie sandwiches as well as the brownies.

^One of the major reasons I will shell out $3 for a medium iced coffee from Think!

Perfection.

This cracked me up. Typical after a windy rainstorm in NYC — lots of ruined umbrellas in the trash.

And finally…dinner! Tonight’s recipe: chana masala. A little back story: For the past few months, some of my friends and I have been on an Indian food kick. We started going to this restaurant in Little India on 6th Street this fall, and now, at least once a week (if not more), I get a craving for Indian. We have been to the restaurant so many times now that the staff knows us and exactly what we order each time (vegetable samosas, chicken tikka masala, naan)…kind of funny but embarrassing at the same time. In an effort to ease my wallet, I have been trying to make Indian food on my own, but it always tastes bland or just…not right. One day I stocked up on a bunch of Indian spices and tried making a lentil soup/dal of sorts. I have made it a few times and it’s decent, but tonight, I knew I needed to try something new.

Here’s what you need:

Spices –

Dried cilantro, coriander, tumeric, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, garam masala.

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and tomato paste (ideally I would have used tomato puree but I didn’t have any…I mixed the paste along with some water and it was fine).

I hate the smell of the stuff canned beans are soaked in, so I rinse them really well. Canned beans are so much more convenient than soaking beans overnight, so I deal. Bleh.

Here’s what you do:
If the chickpeas are canned, rinse and drain them. Throw everything in a pot (do all the spices to taste) and let it simmer away for 20 minutes! I served mine over some brown rice.

I love Whole Foods frozen brown rice because it’s cooks up so quickly and is great for single-serving portions.

Finished product along with some veggies:

This was seriously fast and delicious. The meal took no preparation and barely any clean up at all. It was also extremely cheap. The can of beans and tomato paste cost less than $1 each. The rice is a little pricey ($3-4?) but it’s so convenient and worth it (I also only used half the bag of rice). I can probably get three meals out of this recipe. The best part is that it actually tasted like masala sauce! I am very excited about that. I only ended up eating about 3/4 of the chickpeas and rice because it was so filling.

A snack of grapes and green tea is probably in my future. I have a lot of reading to catch up on — I am already slacking off one week into the semester!