Lunch at Curly's; Brancake Blogging Interview

Meet Natalia. She's my friend.

We were roommates senior year at Boston College. Her salsa dance group beat out my hip-hop dance group for first place at that year's showdown. I forgive her. :)

We had lunch at Curly's Vegetarian Lunch, and it was lovely and breezy-warm today in the city. Combined with some tasty, healthy food, glorious times were had by all.

I had one of today's Blueplate specials, which was "carnitas," aka mushrooms along with chili, brown rice and a salad with avocado. It was served with corn tortillas to make wraps.

It was one of those meals where the first taste hits your mouth and you know you ordered the exact right thing for that moment. My love affair with mushrooms only deepens by the day, so to have these deliciously seasoned and crispy caps as the star of my plate was welcome indeed.

Backing up a bit, I wasn't able to resist the idea of another oat brancake for breakfast this morning. Since I've posted brancakes here a couple times already, I wasn't going to repeat it yet again, but today's variation was so tasty that I had to give it the due 15 minutes of fame.

Branana Cake

• 1/3 cup oat bran (regular rolled oats would work too)
• 1/4 cup liquid egg whites
• 1/2 ripe banana, mushed
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• lotsa cinnamon

The above ingredients get stirred together to make a batter then poured into a pancake shape in a small skillet warmed to medium-high with cooking spray. Flip when the underside is dry and cook until done through.

For the topping, I mushed up the other half of the banana and microwaved it for 15 seconds, after which I stirred in a hefty tablespoonful of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter until it was nearly smooth and combined. The little white flecks are just some coconut for visual effect.

And to round out the meal, I made a smoothie from Amazing Grass's Superfood drink mix, blended with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and ice. Check out the benefits, yo. Dang.

• Contains our blend of Amazing Grass Organic cereal grasses and organic alfalfa.
• Loaded with a complete spectrum of the three major Green SuperFoods; Cereal Grasses, Alfalfa and Micro-Algae.
• More organic whole-leaf greens per gram than any other Green SuperFood – Not from Juice!
• Contains no Soy Lecithin fillers
• Naturally balanced powerhouse of Anti-oxidants, B-Vitamins, Beta Carotene, Bioflavonoids, Lycopene, Folic Acid, Dietary Fiber, Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD), and Omega 3, 6 & 9 Essential Fatty Acids.
• Complete “Live Food” with beneficial enzymes, carotenoids and phytonutrients (plant pigments) that help fight free-radical damage, aging and tumor causing mutations.
• Contains probiotics- the friendly microorganisms that promote healthier digestion and regular elimination.
• Contains prebiotics- selectively promotes the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria.
• Alkaline green plant foods balance acidic pH levels.
• Naturally detoxifies and boosts your immune system.
• Contains essential fatty acids (EFA’s) that help keep skin soft, elastic, and youthful.
• No Synthetic, Isolated or Fractionated Vitamins & Minerals.


And now for something completely different. :P

Ashley tagged me to complete a little bloggy chain project, so here it be:

Rules:

1. Once you are tagged post a picture of where you blog.

2. Feel free to tell us a little about your space, or explain certain items in more detail. Or not.

3. Link back to the original post.

4. Tag five other bloggers to show their blogspots.

This is the desk in my bedroom, so I guess it's pretty self-explanatory! It's also where I often eat dinner while catching up on Lost/Ugly Betty/random nonsensery and where I do my makeup (hence the cosmetic mirror alongside the laptop).

Now for the questions:

What are you wearing right now?

Black sweatpants and my Disney World "Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas" monorail t-shirt.

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading?

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (AWESOME).

Do you nap a lot?

Nah, only if I risk narcolepsy by not doing so.

Who was the last person you hugged?

Natalia! (See above.)

What’s your current obsession/addiction?

Fresh juice and reading about raw foodism.

What’s for dinner?

Gena's Guacamole and my gazpacho.

What was the last thing you bought?

Ingredients for guacamole and gazpacho at Whole Foods.

What are you listening to right now?

"Yeah!" - Usher (still good!)

If you could have a superpower what would it be?

Teleportation. It would be way more awesome if tonight's guacamole actually came from Mexico.

What is your favorite weather and why?

Incidentally, pretty much just as it is now in NYC: 75ish, partly cloudy, mostly awesome.

What time do you usually wake up

6:15-6:30am, so I can work out before going to the office.

What is your most challenging goal right now?

Balancing personal and career interests.

Favorite pair of shoes that you keep going back to over and over again even though you have a zillion others?

Busted-looking brown moccasins from Old Navy. There's a decorative bit missing and the left one squeaks when I walk, but I can't seem to cut the cord.

Name one thing you can’t live without?

The boyf.

What time is bed time?

11:30pm

If there was one place you could be right now where would it be?

My kitchen, making dinner. OK bye.

Tag! You're it:

• Sarah
• Emily
• Missy
• Dori
• Vani

Here's hoping you weren't already tagged for this! If not, double love. :)