“Best of Life” Peanut Butter & Banana Sushi

• 1 flatout wheat wrap
• 1.5-2tbsp peanut butter (all natural Skippy for me)
• 1/2 banana

Served with:

• 1 cup skim milk
• Illy Dark Roast Coffee

The Place:

• Kitchen Table

The Food:

• 1/2 cup oatmeal (cooked in 1 cup milk), topped with approximately 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, and a light drizzle of honey
• Illy Coffee

The Place:

• Kitchen Table

What:

• Whole Wheat English Muffin toasted with tomato slices and Cabot 50% Cheddar Cheese
• Illy Coffee

Where:

My Kitchen Table

The Meal:

• Illy Dark Roast Coffee (http://www.illyusa.com/)
• Thomas’s Whole Wheat Bagel (http://thomas.bimbobakeriesusa.com/product.cfm/upc/4812125505)
• Reduced-fat Cream Cheese (Publix Brand)
• Plant City Strawberries, sliced (Only $1.97 at Publix currently!)

The holiday season is officially here! I received my first gift yesterday—a $5 gift card to Starbucks.  So, instead of my normal morning routine I hit up the Starbucks in downtown St. Pete for breakfast today.  With a whole 13 cents to spare, I bought a Venti Coffee (Unfortunately, just the standard Pike Place) and a 340 calorie “Egg-white, reduced fat turkey bacon breakfast sandwich.”

I hadn’t consumed any of Starbucks non-pastry breakfast items since moving from New York City over a year ago, but just wasn’t in the mood for any kind of overly sugary breakfast cake this morning.  The breakfast sandwich certainly wasn’t bad.  Better than McDonald’s.  Quite salty, however, probably due to the fact that these sandwiches must be stored and quickly heated up for costumers.  But the bacon wasn’t overly limp—not crispy like I’d like, but not too soggy.  And the whole wheat English Muffin was indeed an English Muffin.  And the egg whites had cheese, which you could taste.  Paired with the Venti Coffee—it wasn’t a completely disgusting or completely unhealthy breakfast option.

But is it bad that I’m secretly wishing I’d bought a chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-A? Though I’m pretty sure their chicken biscuit has a lot more fat/calories/sodium than the Starbucks breakfast sandwich.  Does it really matter?  Chicken Biscuits are fast.  Chicken Biscuits are buttery.  Chicken Biscuits are good.  Maybe I’ll save the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches for Sundays only…

Had one of the new Cedarlane Organic Breakfast Burritos (http://www.cedarlanefoods.com/p0318.htm) this morning. Contained egg whites, turkey bacon, vegetables (including potatoes and bell peppers), cheese, and (obviously) a wheat (ish) tortilla.  Not bad for a three-minute breakfast in the microwave. I added a bit of shredded cheddar cheese on top in the last 30 seconds of cooking, which made a huge difference.  Also good with a dash of Cholula Hot Sauce (http://www.cholula.com/). Does NOT, however, go well with Starbuck’s Italian Roast….

So it’s finally reached a decent temperature in Florida.  Made me realize how much I miss Autumn.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Florida. But there is something to that crisp breeze, colored leaves, and sweater weather of the North that I miss.  Fall is my favorite season.  (Granted, I didn’t like it when Fall was only two weeks long sometimes up in Massachusetts!!)  I love Fall. I love Fall foods. I love Fall fashion.  I love Fall feelings.

Fall feelings.  What are those?  You know what I mean.  The feelings of warmth, coziness, change, expectations, the peaceful hush that follows a breeze through the trees, the tingle in your hands when you step outside, the satisfying hi-ya! when you jump in a big pile of leaves.  Fall feelings.  They run the gamut. Some are nostalgic and make you a bit contemplative. Reflective.  Fall means change, which is never easy.  But fall also means so much more.  Fall means family.  Fall means study.  Fall means flavors and warmth.

So it’s no surprise that I’ve eaten my last couple of meals around heating, comforting foods.  And not a shocker that I fully plan to stop at Starbucks and get a Venti Coffee and a Pumpkin scone.  Fall has arrived in Florida (for a few days, at least) and I aim to make the most of it!

Last Night’s Dinner:

• Home-Made Broccoli Cheddar Soup (I made up the recipe, with considerable improvement over my childhood attempts at recipe-making)
• Whole Foods Whole Grain Baguette with Whole Foods unsalted butter
• Clois du Bois Chardonnay (2008)

This Morning’s Breakfast:

• Eggs scrambled in olive oil served over whole wheat toast

Now, it’s just a matter of time before I dig my teeth into an overly-sugary, but satisfying pumpkin “scone” from Starbucks. I only have them once a year.  Now’s the time!

The Meal:

• Breakfast

The Place:

• My Apartment

The Food:

• Quick Grits (made with skim milk), Earth Balance (decided butter was too rich for a workday), mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, dash of salt/pepper
• Whole Wheat English Muffin (Thomas’s)
• Venti Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend Coffee (From the Starbucks at 900 4th St N.  Sorry Kahwa, I needed more coffee in my cup and I needed it fast and EARLY!)

The Verdict:

• I made the grits with mozz/parm, intending to add spinach to them and serve over the toast.  Once I got cooking, however, I realized I wanted the cheesy grits all on their own—without any “green stuff.”  Not as healthy, but oh so tasty.  Instead of serving the grits with spinach over the English Muffin, I dipped my muffin in the grits.  Using this nifty technique (and with the aid of a spoon), I was able to have a bit of grit goodness on every bite!

My Breakfast:

• Whole Wheat Toast
• 2 tablespoons Whole Food’s fresh ground almond butter
• Sliced Strawberries
• Drizzled with honey (Though I got a little over-zealous with one squeeze and the left piece was a bit too drizzled)
• Served with Jim’s Organic Italian Roast Coffee (French Press, again… Not as bad with the sweet!)

At home after a morning run along the Bay.

The Meal:

• Egg Whites scrambled in olive oil with Parmesan/Mozzarella
• Whole Wheat Toast with Earth Balance
• French Press of Jim’s Organic Coffee Italian Roast (again, gonna have to keep drinking it until I run out…)