Monday, June 16, 2008

Flying Saucer Snack Attack

Like a broken record, I am still swamped. Besides conquering chemistry, a huge struggle for me has been bringing brain sustaining food with me to school on the days I am there for over 8 hours, that doesn't bore me. I like sandwiches and all but I certainly couldn't eat one everyday like Jared does, so I have been racking my brain as to what I could make that will ward off hunger and keep my taste buds happy. Part of the problem is that I forget to pack my lunch/snacks the night before and food in the morning just isn't very appetizing to me. Another issue is that what I do manage to pack isn't anything I am in the mood for later on. By the time I'm on campus and hungry, it's too late. So, besides boring sandwiches, I have been bringing apples, carrot sticks and sometimes chips or pretzels. For someone who enjoys food, this is not cutting it. I seriously don't know how parents pack a lunch for their kids everyday (or just about everyday)!!!

Anyways, my friend Ashley (Vegan Invasion), made an awesome cheese ball for the ICE pre-party a couple of Friday's ago that I have been thinking about ever since. It is seriously as good, if not better, than the original cheese ball it is based on . . . You know, the incredibly dense cream cheese and cheddar ball covered in nuts? I didn't have one set recipe but made this version from several recipes I found online. My version was simply Tofutti cream cheese, shredded vegan cheddar block (Galaxy Nutritional Foods), Earth Balance, nutritional yeast, vegan Worcestershire sauce, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, granulated garlic, cayenne pepper, liquid smoke (the key ingredient!), dried chives and a finely chopped green onion mixed until fluffy and smooth with an electric hand mixer. I had trouble forming it into a ball, so it became a spread with a top layer of roasted chopped almonds. I'm not sure how long it will last once Jared gets home, but my plan is to pack this up for lunch this week with some crackers, in addition to my carrot sticks and apple. Thanks for the idea Ashley!

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p.s.- I LOVE this picture of my nephew, Gabriel, because he looks how my brain feels every night before I go to sleep.
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18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gabriel is such a cutie!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Ahh, I do hope that you feel less swamped soon :0( Good luck with the rest of your studies!!

Gabriel is precious! :0)

aTxVegn said...

What a cutie!

Unknown said...

Gabriel is ADORABLE!!! What a cutie!

Aww, thanks for the kind words about my cheeseball! It was super hard to form into a ball, so a spread is an excellent idea and your ingredients sound GREAT!

Steffi said...

I love the expression on Gabriel's face. whom was he looking at like that?

Erin said...

Hehehe, Gabriel does look brain-drained. And your cheese spread sounds delicious!

Anonymous said...

Yes, we must be on the same wavelength; That expression perfectly describes the current state of my brain.

Ha, vegan cheese balls? Truly anything is possible!

jessy said...

ohhhh - that cheese spread sounds gooooooood! and Gabriel's expression made me laugh out loud. that's so awesome!

Rural Vegan said...

I love cheeseballs, I don't care if they're not healthy! I made one for Xmas dinner last year and it was the hit of the meal. Go Tofutti!

Hope you can catch your breath soon!

Jess said...

How cute is that picture of Gabriel?! Wow.

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I just got caught up on your blog. :) It sounds like you're doing an amazing job studying and keeping your head in the books. I hope you find time to have some fun amid all the work, but I know how hard that can be when school is so grueling. Your patients are going to be so fortunate to have you once you graduate!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Sorry classes are still keeping you busy. Sometimes I'm unmotivated to plan my lunches and I always regret it, cuz it means I usually eat something not too good for me.

The cheese spread sounds delicious!

My head feels like that right now too :-)

Sam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sam said...

Hang in there! I would love to tell you that it gets easier, however, it doesn't. At least not for awhile... ;-) You should check out The Vegan Lunchbox by Jen McCann. She has an amazing cookbook about all sorts of fun lunches that she packed for her son. That would give you some awesome ideas!

Veggie said...

I couldn't eat sandwiches everyday for lunch either. I know what you mean too about not being in the mood for (whatever you packed for lunch) later in the day, so I don't know how to solve that problem.

Do you have access to a microwave? That would help alot.

-granola bars, or lara bars, and the like are always a handy snack.
-take a smoothie for your breakfast.
-salads; bean salad, cucumber and tomato slices in a vinaigrette.

Here's a link to a whole bunch of ideas:
http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/lunch-ideas.htm

Katy said...

What a cute picture of your nephew!!!

The Voracious Vegan said...

Ice-cream social, count me in!
The cheese spread is such a great idea and I love the cute little baby! What smoochable cheeks!

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