What's in a Name...or Post Title

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My yard. 

A.k.a, the Gillianasana photography-practice site.

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Couldn't decide.

All my mother. I bake, she gardens. Hobbies are important.

Especially when they become your career! Yesterday I zipped down to Providence, Rhode Island to check out the Johnson & Wales culinary school campus. It hopped to the forefront of my list when I read about their Culinary Nutrition program and decided it was definitely worth a visit. It was indeed, and I got a lot of really good information and now have way too much thinking to do. I'm going on a college tour road trip with my brother (a senior-to-be in high school) and madre this coming week, and on the way back we are stopping in Hyde Park, New York to check out the holy land  CIA - Culinary Institute of America. It's the big one, where you go to be in the food industry. It scares me. 

That said, tomorrow we leave for Philadelphia and will be on the road until Friday night! I am bringing my mini laptop and will hope and pray to find hotels with wireless access or computers - but just in case I can't, I promise I WILL return! With pics. LOTS of pics. I'm looking at this trip as a good time to practice my [food]photography skillllllz. 

Speaking of which...breakfast anyone?

Melon is one of those foods I could (and often do) eat every day and never get sick of it. Especially this kind:

Tuscan melon!

It is a lot like canteloupe, only smaller and I find a little sweeter and stronger in taste.I had this in, where else, Florence, and fell in love. Look for those indented lines in the rind. It's amazing.

Blueberry Acai Dannon Light & Fit

Yes, another new flavor I was powerless to try. I actually really liked this - I could actually taste the acai and it blended wonderfully with the sweet blueberry! It's kind of a hard flavor to pinpoint, but I find it a little tart and a little sweet at once, a bit like pomegranate. The only issue, other than the ingredient list, is the awful fake-sugar aftertaste. WAY too sweet. I wish it had just been sweetened with real fruit! Oh well, I 'll just have to do it myself.

Nothing like a waffle on a Saturday morning (er...afternoon...)

AB-squared: apple butter + almond butter. A perfect combo.

Did some shopping at Old Navy. Ugh, shopping. I can never find exactly what I want. BUT, I did get a pretty cute dress 50% off because one of the straps was broken! Sewing won't even be necessary. LOVE that!

I came ravenous. Nothing a smoothie can't fix - especially when it involves this:

Amazing Grass's Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion protein powder.

I used half the packet + 1 c. frozen mango + 1 c. almond milk + splash vanilla. I should have added a little extra cocoa powder, but didn't.

Aglow with healthy goodness!

I didn't love the Amazing Meal - it was a little too spirulina-y for me. But I didn't hate it either, and liked it with the mango very much. Of course, I like pretty much anything with mango....Either way, as far as Amazing Grass goes, the Kidz Wildberry and Original Superfood powders are in the lead.

The liquid health theme continued with this:

I got it on sale at WFs last week. As usual with Kombucha, I have no idea what to make of this! What I love about it is the complexity of the flavor - it changes every second it's on your tongue and definitely keeps me interested. This one went from berry-sweet to flowery and then very pine-y. I probably wouldn't but it again, but it was a fun try. I wish the Honest brand would go on sale again!

Because my mother, brother and I hit the road tomorrow, we had to have Father's Day a little early.

Dinner on the patio!

Including:

My grandmother's salad: romaine, tomatoes, avocado, red onion in red wine vinegar+olive oil and S+P.

Grilled eggplant, marinated in balsamic + olive oil. Melt-in-your-mouth amazing. Probably one of my favorite things.

Roasted taters

Fresh pasta in a vegetarian sauce for me, lamb for the fam. [Don't worry, I had some tempeh for protein ealier!]

And my present to the man of the day:

Chianti, straight off the boat plane.

YUM!!

Tippy agreed.

For dessert, I whipped up some peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies (Dad's fave)  using the Supercharge Me cookies recipe:

The first batch was gone before the second even left the oven. I think they liked them. 

Dessert also included this newbie:

Chobani Champions honeynana!

It's not thick at all; it's basically like regular yogurt, but I suppose that could very well be more appealing to kids which I assume are the target consumers here (although I know plenty of "grown-up kids" who would be attracted by the cartoony design). The flavor is great though! Unlike the chocolate, the cane sugar taste blends  in very well. It reminded me of a yogurt I ate all the time when I was little, but I can't remember exactly which one - I think it was Yoplait Custard-Style Vanilla. SO good. Gotta love nostalgia foods :)

Time to go pack, pack, pack! 

~Namaste!~

P.S. Remember that surprise I mentioned? Check out the sidebar --- I'm a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher!!! Dancing most definitely ensued when I got the email. I love Foodbuzz, and my absolute favorite blogs are all a part of its awesome community, so I'm super excited and proud to be too. Share the foodie love!

Pescatarian: Pesky or Pleasant?

Today was one of those efficient, get-things-done-days. I just love those.

I finished an application for a job I really, really want with my study abroad program. The experience is the pay, but I see that as invaluable right now, and I think I'd really enjoy and be good at it...fingers crossed!

Today was also a mix of new & old. The new:

Justin's Honey Almond Butter. The packs were on sale at WFs, so I figured, why not?

Trial #1:

1/2 Tbs on toasted sprouted bread with a bit of cinnamon + cinnamon apple jelly, and

Trial #2:

Pre-gym snack of 1 Tbs on a cracker.

The verdict? Well, I'd like to know where the honey was supposed to come in, I didn't taste it at all. I suspect it's one of those "you'd notice if it wasn't there" type of things. Still, it tasted like, um, almond butter. It had a bit of grit to it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I found it just lacking in flavor. Especially when compared to Barney Butter & Maranatha! Maybe it had to do with the packet - like it wasn't mixed enough? I got a Honey Peanut Butter packet too, so we shall see...

Newbie 2:

Nonfat Strawberry Chobani.

Sideways spoon test:

Fail. In more ways than one.

I really wasn't going to bother reviewing this - I figured, it's just another flavored Chobani, how different could it be? But it WAS! And not in a good way. The texture was not at all thick and almost a little gritty (?) - it was like eating regular yogurt. Maybe I got a bad cup or something, but I found it totally different from my Raspberry & Pomegranate experiences. The flavor was alright, but I was expecting something a little more worthy of its 1.50 price tag.

And the old:

Chips and dip, a la Gillianasana. For the chips, I used a very complex recipe: I took a cucumber out of the fridge and chopped it. I know...I'll go to great lengths for my chips. In all seriousness, cucumber & hummus is probably one of my top five go-to snacks. It's just a perfect combination - especially when it's garlic hummus!

My mom found this brand at WFs and since I've come home, I'm in looove:

This is probably the best garlic hummus I've ever had. It's so fresh and...well, garlicky!! And I don't think it's much more expensive than other brands, either. If you are a hummus lover and find this, definitely try it!!! It packs a serious flavor punch.

After a trip the gym with mia mama, we returned home to my dad - and a $25 gift card to Legal Seafoods. Legals is a major go-to restaurant in my family, because the quality of the food is unfailingly incredible. In fact, two years ago we started a new Christmas tradition: after opening presents, we go to an afternoon matinee movie and the an early dinner at Legal's. Recently a HUGE new mall was built in our town (where my beloved Whole Foods is - you have NO idea how excited I was) and with it came a biga$$ new Showcase Cinemas and a Legals. If and when I have to name a favorite restaurant (when we're talking the U.S. - otherwise I'd obviously name, um, all of Italy), I turn to Legal's. The seafood is always super fresh and they have these rolls that I little dream about. Golden and crunchy on the outside, doughy and sweet on the inside. And now, the one in my town serves them with this amazing herbed white bean dip that I absolutely must figure out how to duplicate. 

Anyway, the wait was a little long and I was stAHving, and after demolishing a roll, it hit me...I forgot LULU!! This is the 2nd time I have forgotten my camera going to a restaurant. SO annoying - and when my beautifully presented plate arrived, I almost cried. It may be silly, but 1) I know if i freak out about it enough, I will be much less likely to forget it next time, and 2) going to restaurants is one of my favorite things ever, and it's SO nice to share pictures of some professional, beautiful food every so often!

So, I will try to recreate it for you.

I ordered a medium-rare yellowfin tuna steak that looked much like this:

Photo Credit

 +

A chickpea ragout that looked an awful lot like this:

Photo Credit

It. was. AMAZING. Classic Legal, every bite was delicious. Seriously, this chickpea ragout blew me away. Whatever flavors the chickpeas were cooked in totally brought out their naturally buttery flavor and smooth texture and I was in legume heaven. It also was supposed to come with an arugula-pistachio salad in a blood-orange vinaigrette, but I saw a pitiful amount of arugula on my plate. The amazingness of the chickpeas and the tuna definitely made up for it, but the arugula was part of the reason I ordered it, so I was a little letdown. But as always, can't go wrong with Legals. Thank goodness my body is still ok with eating fish!

And on that note - I have mentioned it before, but I have noticed recently that the idea of eating animal meat is completely grossing me out. The mere thought of a piece of steak kills my appetite and chicken is making me gag. I am absolutely fascinated by it; I tend to eat mostly vegetarian anyway, just out of preference - I very rarely crave protein in general so the vegetarian options usually end up sounding more appealing - but I have never experienced this kind of innate disgust. Two years ago I gave up red meat for a year and found it incredibly simple and hardly noticed it, and confirmed what I already knew, that I just don't like red meat much anyway. But with my eating disorder in mind I'm careful about putting any foods "off limits", so I never felt the need to label myself. But BAM! Here I am. I'm toying with the idea of trying pescatarianism for a while, just to see what happens. Either way, I'm glad that I'm honoring my body by listening to it. Now I just need to work on listening when it's telling me to take the spoon out of the ice cream carton...

~Namaste~

Eat, Drink, and Watch Parades

HAPPY FLAG DAY!!!

Every June 14th, my little hometown has a parade. It's always a fun day. I was in the parade for 8 years, first with my dance teacher's studio, then for 5 with marching band. And now, I'm just happy to be the alumna who sits on the sidewalk and watches, glass of vino in hand :)

A blend from Montepulciano. I wish I had been able to go there - a little hill town in Siena - if nothing else for the wine. Next time!!!

Also had a little salad and...

Olives. I miss Italy.

What I really love about Flag Day is that when you walk around, you notice that everyone is just happy.  Kids are gearing up to collect as much candy as their ziplocs will hold, adults are chatting over grilling burgers and dogs, teenagers are maneuvering multiple conversations between friends and cell phones. And it's the same every year. There is something to be said for tradition. 

I was obsessed with getting something from these guys when I was little. That blow-up Pink Power Ranger balloon was a must-have in 5-year-old Gillianasana land.

Check out the dog on the leash tied to her pants!! Loved it :)

I was one of them. RepreSENT. [The crazy looking kid in the back right would be my brother. Oh, he makes me proud.]

What's a parade without marching clowns?

More doggies!

Yes, that is a stuffed dog on a gigantic fire hydrant. You see why I like this parade.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just rewind back to Saturday every Monday?

Let's do it.

Starting with b-fast:

Melon + RASPBERRY Chobani!!

I'd heard good things, and decided to pony up thr $1.50 to try it. Good choice.

This was YUMMY! I really loved it. As with most Chobanis, the "fruit on the bottom" is more like jam and mixes perfectly without being cavity-inducing or fake-tasting. Yogurt-vana.

Again, most flavored Chobanis don't stand against the sideways spoon test:

But it's still thick enough to be a respectable Greek yogurt, and the flavor makes up for it. I definitely recommend it.

I also had one of my banana bread-turned-muffins:

Very tasty. Quite spicy - I like to add a lot of different spices and see what happens. Here I think it works!

Family friends came over for dinner and my mom put together some seriously delicious pasta:

Trofie al caprese!

Fresh pasta + grape tomatoes, halved + fresh cubed mozzarella + lots of fresh basil. She just dressed it in an olive oil+ balsamic vin dressing. It was wonderful, and so easy. A perfect summer dish!

I made more vegan chocolate-almond cookies for dessert, as per request of mia mama:

But I chose to devour this little guy instead:

A cannolli from our little Italian deli, Tutto Italiano. The best this side of the Atlantic.

It also inspired a new recipe idea I'm pretty excited about....oh, the suspense!!

On Sunday, I played working girl and helped a personal chef my mom knows who owns her own catering/chef company. She's pretty much a one-woman show, and it's quite impressive! Being curious about this kind of job, I asked if I could be her assistant - sous-chef, if you will - for a day and she kindly obliged :)

A big day calls for a big breakfast! Since I had to get up pretty early, I turned to an old standy-by: overnite oats.

Before bed. into the bowl went:

1/2 c. oats

1.2 c. almond milk

1 T ground flax

10 cherries, sliced up

cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa

The next morning, after a 30 second spin in the microwave to take off the chill, I cracked open a fresh Fage container and scooped 1/3c. on top:

Oats > ice cream sundae anyday!

All mixed up ;)

I think a combination of a tad too much cinnamon + sleepy tastebuds made this not as tasty as expected, but it had pontential. And kept me happy for a good 3-4 hours, which is quite a feat for me!

My morning was spent chopping veggies for salad, mixing up broccoli slaw, and shucking corn. A LOT of corn. It's all good, I just pretended I was Pocahontas. I know what you're wondering and yes, I can paint with all the colors of wind.

The event was a graduation party at a rather ritzy house. It was a really helpful, educational experience for me and while I'm not sure it's a trade that's calling my name, I did enjoy it. It was, however, a looooong day of chopping, stirring and standing. After passing out on the couch briefly when I came home, the only dinner that really appealed to me was in liquid form.

Green Monster it was!

Featuring this:

With almond milk, banana, cherries, a big handful of spinach and a splash of vanilla:

I was surprised at how much I liked the original flavor! It was a little grassy, but it added a nice flavor. My only worry would be that I would get tired of the same flavor in smoothie after smoothie. 

Do any of you use powders in smoothies? Do you use multiple kinds to switch it up, or do you have a solid standby that keeps you happy? 

In other product-related news, I've found a new waffle love!

Nature's Path has really got the crispy-on-the-outside/soft and dough-on-the-inside thing down. And while I will admit there is not even the slightest hint of pomegranate flavor, the flavor it does have is delicious! Whole grain-y and sweet, almost honey-y. Exactly as it should be.

Man, I love toaster waffles. A lot.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow AM, so I better hop off to bed.

Any other World Cup watchers out there? I'm hardcore Italia, all the way. Looks like it's gonna be a tough cup to win!

~Namaste~