Holy Mole

Dinner tonight was, as my dad called it, "an experiment." I actually disagree with him there- it was a complicated recipe that turned out exactly how it was supposed to, and I enjoyed it. I just don't think I tested it on the right audience.
I'm getting ahead of myself:

Breakfast-- A piece of peanut butter and banana toast
Yogurt and cottage cheese with blueberries and grapenuts, and a drizzle more peanut butter (that was what I wanted this morning!)
And biology.
Tuesdays are the hardest days because I have no free periods and ALL my classes. Psychologically I always feel I need a snack, but I knew I had eaten a lot at breakfast, so I didn't have anything.
Lunch was leftover gumbo, Kashi crackers, an apple, and a Zensoy pudding.

The weather was awful: rainy, gray, and freezing, but I knew I had to run outside. If I did another damn elliptical workout I would kill myself... so I went with my friend Josey. It was a good pace for me, but also let me push myself. Instead of running on the lakefront, where it would be too windy, we ran south. While we were running, it started hailing... it stung a lot. I also jumped in a really deep puddle and got soaked. We didn't stop at all to stretch, so while the run wasn't THAT long, it felt longer because it was continuous. I felt GREAT when it was over: I was actually sweating (I don't sweat that much usually), and I could feel it in my legs. I'd say it was only 4 or 5 miles, but I definitely burned a fair amount of calories because I was starving when I got home.
I think my snack probably spoiled my dinner... in fact, I don't know if I should have had this for my snack anyway, since I had it for breakfast. I had more cottage cheese and cereal... but I figure I'll eventually get sick of it, so it won't really be an overload. I had it with some cinnamon Puffins, slivered almonds, and a tangerine on the side. But I waited after finishing and I was still hungry, so I had some more... I felt perfectly satisfied, but even when we ate at around 8:00, I wasn't THAT hungry. The recipe I made was COMPLICATED.

It was kind of Mexican-Indonesian-Vegan fusion: I made the mole from the Flexitarian Table with the tempeh. The mole itself had so much in it: dried poblanos, chiles packed in adobo, onions, almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, raisins, pumpkin seeds, cumin, cinnamon, and MEXICAN CHOCOLATE, which I so very conveniently had on hand.
This was complicated because everything had to be added in stages, soaked in water, and then blended. I also had to panfry the tempeh, simmer it, simmer the mole, add the mole to the tempeh, and simmer some more. I garnished it with lime wedges and cilantro.
I also made some brown basmati rice and my dad stir-fried some kale, which pretty much disintegrated, he cooked it so long. It was also way too salty, but he couldn't taste it at all! Should I be worried about this?

As for the mole, it was SO RICH... I guess I shouldn't be surprised... this was one of the more protein-packed meals ever. Plus, there were all those nuts in it, not to mention the CHOCOLATE. The flavors were so complicated: the chocolate came through, but all the different spices and nuts were also apparent. As my dad also put it, "it looks like mud." But what can I say... he's never really had Mexican food... I haven't either, really. I think my mom might have appreciated it more. But I couldn't even finish what was on my plate... so incredibly filling.

Dessert: a pear to cleanse the palate

GUMBO

MM, dinner tonight was fantastic, if I do say so myself. I have a ton of work to do, and it was even more horrible outside, and somehow I hurt my lower back really badly in yoga, so no workout today. Speaking of my back, it really hurts to bend. Suggestions?
Breakfast: I haven't had a grilled sandwich in ages! I had one on my delicious new whole grain sandwich bread with crunchy PB, half a banana, and some pumpkin butter. I also had cottage cheese and yogurt with blueberries and a little honey. This was really filling, so I didn't need a morning snack at all!
Lunch was very light, but kept me full for a while. Just leftover miso soup (with a crumb of rice) and an apple. I didn't end up eating the ZBar or the soy pudding.
I COULD KILL MYSELF. I know the PSAT doesn't mean anything, but somehow I made the idiotic mistake of leaving out the entire last page of the reading comprehension, which is what I'm good at. I know I could have raised my score a lot by those points, which I probably would have gotten :( It's the math where I have trouble. I just find it really frustrating.
I had a light snack of Kashi crackers, hummus, and a carrot.
Plus a chai tea latte

Dinner was very easy and delicious! I decided to make gumbo! I had already bought the okra and everything... I realized we didn't have green peppers, but it didn't really matter. I didn't want to make it too heavy with a real roux, because that also takes a long time, but while I was cooking the rest of it I made a mini roux with 2 tbsp of flour and 2 tsbp of olive oil, and I think with the addition of okra, it really thickened it a lot.
Into the pot went onions, scallions, celery, garlic, mushrooms, okra, salmon sausage, shrimp, tomatoes, seasoning, and some greens at the very end.

We ate this with white basmati rice because you have to have it with that. I only had a few spoonfuls... I prefer to eat gumbo on its own. My dad isn't a huge fan of the salmon sausages, but I loved all the textures. He had thirds, which made me feel accomplished, especially because I didn't use a recipe :)
We also had the last of my salad from Whole Foods, which was kind of soggy.

Dessert: a pear