Time for Quick Breads

Happy February to you all! This is the month that I will finally put the bar exam behind me. And turns out it’s also my birthday on Wednesday! I’ve ramped up the studying quite a bit so there won’t be time for much celebration, but I did go ahead and take the time to do my usual grocery trips (usually takes me 2 hours total) yesterday. I know we’ll be eating mostly frozen foods when things get really close to the test, so I figure I’ll try to cook as much as possible until then.

My fruit haul is smaller than usual this week because we’re expecting a full BUSHEL of oranges in the mail any day now so I didn’t want to go overboard. I got a pineapple, some kiwis, a bunch of bananas, a Galia melon, and a couple Granny Smith apples. I really enjoyed my papaya last week (helps with acid reflux!) so I’m trying these little Brazilian Caliman papayas this week.

My bread for this week was banana bread! Yeast breads (which is what I usually make) really aren’t that time consuming, but quick breads are certainly even faster! I tried a product called Lighter Bake in place of the oil (heard about it from a favorite nutrition book called The Starch Solution), and was really happy with how it turned out! It works MUCH better in terms of taste and texture than using just applesauce to replace your fat. My bread didn’t rise as high as it normally would, but to me that’s an okay trade-off for a bread that’s almost fat free and still tastes amazing.

I’m definitely one of those people who’s guilty of never repeating meals and recipes. I’m terrible at recording which meals we like, and I honestly just have fun finding new recipes every week. I’m always in pursuit of the more delicious. Probably to a fault. This week is no exception…all new recipes over here!

Sunday: tilapia (for Jason) /tofu (for me) in sweet and spicy sauce, whole wheat couscous, sauteed broccoli

Monday: baked chicken parm (for J), shredded kale salad (with added cheese, fruit, and bulgur for me)

Tuesday: orzo with roasted vegetables (with added shrimp for J)

Wednesday: my 26th birthday! dinner out at Soul Vegetarian

Thursday: green powerhouse pesto plate, roasted chicken (for J)

At least I’ll have some good food this week to lift my spirits after a day stuck with this:

Before I go, thank you to those who checked in earlier to make sure we were okay! As anyone in the US knows, Atlanta was sent into a total tizzy from snowy/icy conditions last week. I’m sure that people in other parts of the country are confused about why things got so bad from just a couple inches of snow, but it’s honestly a lot bigger of a problem than it sounds like from the outside. I’ve lived in the Northeast so I’m QUITE familiar with large amounts of snow and ice, and basically NONE of the precautions that other regions take in such weather were taken here. Combine that with existing transportation issues and you get disaster. Before you laugh at the silly Southerners freaking out over a dusting, remember that there was loss of life and a lot of turmoil from what happened. My mom left her house around 2 in the afternoon the day of the snow and didn’t get home until 7am the NEXT MORNING. It was a 10 mile drive. Spring will be here soon (right?)! Hope you all are staying warm wherever you live!

-Lauren