WIAW Before Thanksgiving Edition

Thank goodness it is Wednesday! I am taking my Rheumatology exam this morning, hopping in my car, and hoping to beat the traffic as I head home for Thanksgiving! We are breaking the rules and having our feast on Friday this year in order to share my sister with her boyfriend’s family. That is okay with me though – more time for Mom and I to hang out and cook together! Can’t wait to share pictures from our holiday table, but until then, here are some of my simpler meals of late! Check out Peas and Crayons for more meal inspiration, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Breakfast: 8:30am

I’m trying to think outside of the box when it comes to my oatmeal creations. If you can hide carrots in cake and make it taste delicious, then surely you can make carrot cake oatmeal, right? For my first attempt, this wasn’t all bad! I stirred in a grated carrot with some ground flax, cinnamon and a tiny bit of brown sugar. At the end, I added a spoonful of cream cheese and a few raisins. The first bite was not sweet enough, so I added in 1/3 of a banana as well. It was good, but not worthy of having cake in its title. Next time I make it, I am going to try more banana, less carrot, and less cream cheese! I think that should do the trick…

Mid-morning run: 11:30

Running first thing in the morning means temps in the 30’s and strong winds off the harbor. Waiting until mid-day makes running outside much more pleasant! It also nicely breaks up my study day and helps me be more productive with my morning, knowing that I have a fast 3 miles in the brisk Boston autumn to look forward to.

Lunch: 1pm

Veggies in my oatmeal, so fruit on my sandwich! I spread some homemade cranberry sauce on a leftover piece of whole wheat baguette, and then layered half of a sliced pear and a bit of brie cheese. This combo was great, and will definitely be reappearing as I have some Thanksgiving leftovers! I really wanted to make this a panini, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach bread, and the sandwich wouldn’t stay together. That’s okay, an open-faced sandwich is just as yummy!

Afternoon snack: 3pm

The only way to get through a long day of studying is with good music, period breaks to stretch your legs, and good snacks! I really wanted my last pear, but it wasn’t ripe enough yet! Instead, I settled for an extra vegan black bean brownie. Since more chocolate is always a hard choice, right? ;) I munched on a few handfuls of peanuts as I studied and listened to my church’s new Christmas CD, which is available for streaming here! I may or may not have been listening to this and a few other Christmas CDs on repeat for the past few days… If you like what you hear, it’s also available for purchase on iTunes!

Dinner: 7pm

A friend and I began making dinner together the night before every exam at the beginning of the year as a way to relax, fit in a brief review, and mentally prepare ourselves for the upcoming exam. Somehow, we ended up making stir fry before two exams in a row, and that ended up sticking as a new pre-exam tradition! Not that I really think that stir fry really affects my exam score… This was the best one yet, in my opinion. We sautéed an onion, a stalk of Brussels sprouts, a tiny head of red cabbage, some mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, and carrots in a vegetarian stir fry sauce, served over rice. We have a system: I’m the veggie master, my friend makes the chicken (for the guys), and his roommate makes the rice. That’s what I call teamwork! I enjoyed my small plate with a glass of red wine, and a few nibbles of chocolate for dessert!

Question: What are your Thanksgiving plans? Are you doing any of the cooking?