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| Roasted potatoes, cranberry apple chutney, baked sweet potatoes w/cinnamon & pb, chickpeas, nomad salad, kale & beans, broccoli, corn muffin, baby carrots (One of the most appetizing plates of food I've had at Val. I think it was mostly because most of the flavour spectrum was present - sweet, tarty, salty, savoury, spicy - and there was a range of textures.) |
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| Oregon chai berry muffin, strawberries (I like this new fresh fruit of the day option. Granted, they're not the sweetest strawberries but at least we have them.) |
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| Goji berry granola w/banana slices, cinnamon & rice milk, grapefruit half (And it's back to Val food, which always requires some adjustment time. The grapefruit didn't taste all that great, but I guess the fact that they're now offerred is an improvement.) |
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| Kale, pineapple & mango smoothie (drank about four sips) |
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| Rest of the iced coffee, quinoa porridge w/seaweed, dried cranberries, cinnamon, cayenne pepper & cacao nibs (The coffee was still good the next day and was quite good with my salty-sweet porridge.) |
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| Lemon ginger blast juice: lemon, ginger, parsley, cilantro, cucumber, celery, apples, arugula & habernero pepper Kale, pineapple, mango & almond flour smoothie (I believe the blast comes from the pepper, and it really can be a blast of heat. The juice has an interesting flavour wave of spicy and refreshing.) |
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| Tea, chocolate quinoa porridge w/cinnamon, cayenne pepper, silvered almonds, almond flour, cacao nibs, dried cranberries, walnut bits & a bit of tumeric (I woke up this morning and even though the temperature was 76 °F, I felt really cold and turned on the heat. Probably the only apartment with the central heat on. This breakfast also helped warm me up.) |
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| Alter-native juice: lemon, astragalus root, apple, ginger root & mineral water (My new favourite blend! This is so, so refreshing. It's almost like a more savoury lemonade but not quite; I might just be saying that because it's not tarty like lemonade but the juice has that citrus refreshing factor. Definitely something I'd get again and again. On a side note, I totally meant to go in and grab maybe one or two juices before heading to a coffee shop to study. However, my friend was working so I ended up just studying vocab at the juice bar.) |
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| Assorted veggies w/quinoa & oats mixture (I think I threw the rest of the broccoli, assorted bell peppers, brussel sprouts, asparagus and artichoke hearts into the pot but I could have forgotten a vegetable. The quinoa and oatmeal mixture was quinoa flakes, oatmeal, tumeric, ground flaxseed and almond flour. This reminds me of what I ate in high school for dinners.) |
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| Oatmeal w/ground flaxseeds, almond flour, asparagus spears, broccoli, kale, assorted bell peppers, seaweed, cinnamon & cayenne pepper (Pantry staple number one: oatmeal/quinoa. My parents can't live without rice, I can't live without oatmeal/quinoa.) |
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| Iced coffee (The closest coffee joint to my apartment; I pass this place every single time I have to go into the office but I never knew it had one of the best coffees in Philly according to several lists! They brew Counter Culture coffee, which is based in North Carolina but has several training locations, one of which is in Philly. I guess that's why a lot of coffee shops around here brew Counter Culture coffee. I've also heard that Stumptown and La Columbe are pretty prevalent as well but haven't had a chance to try them or the microbrews yet. This coffee was rather acidic, which was disappointing because it smelt great and the initial flavour burst was favourable. Maybe they didn't actually cold-brew this coffee or the beans were a lighter roast than I'm used to...) |
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| Spaghetti w/green beans, spinach corn sauce & cayenne pepper (My former flatmate left behind some spaghetti and half a jar of marinara sauce so I decided to use it. I figured green beans were angel hair pasta-esque so I just threw them in the pasta pot. The marinara sauce had a lot of garlic in it though, and I hate garlic. I might have gone a bit overboard with the corn and spinach, but I much prefer this than some garlicky tomato sauce. Also added in some almond flour and ground flaxseed to make the "tomato-based" sauce chunkier and more filling. Totally experimental, but it surprisingly worked! The sauce was actually quite creamy in the end and had a lot of complex subtle flavours.) |
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| Roasted tofu & brussel sprouts, braised veggies, avocado slices w/cayenne pepper, quinoa & oatmeal medley |
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| Roasted tofu & brussel sprouts, braised veggies, avocado slices w/cayenne pepper, quinoa & oatmeal medley (Felt like a warm and savoury breakfast today.) |
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| Frozen blueberries, frozen pineapple chunks, vanilla blueberry granola, dried cranberries, silvered almonds, walnut bits, cinnamon, ground flaxseed, pb, almond butter, dark chocolate chips, cacao nibs & flaxseed milk |
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| Corn puffs, frozen blueberries, frozen pineapple chunks, walnut bits, silvered almonds, pb, almond butter, ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, cacao nibs, vanilla blueberry granola & flaxseed milk (This was one chilly way to start a morning. Major brain freeze.) |
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| Clear a Cell juice: carrots, cucumber, dandelion, celery, spinach, raw potato, lemongrass, burdock, echinacea A-, echinacea P-, milk thistle, Oregon grape, sarsaparilla & yellow dock (The colour of this juice is wonky and I'm skeptical about raw potatoes but it tasted like diluted carrot juice. Slightly bitter, but it's not noticeable unless you're highly sensitive. Not my favourite juice in terms of taste, but it was refreshing after a run.) |
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| Quinoa, oats & flaxseed blend w/tofu veggie stir-fry & avocado slices w/cayenne pepper (Hearty, hearty breakfast. I just bought some new avocados and they're so cute! I love cute, miniature fruits and vegetables.) |
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| Corn puffs, frozen blueberries, frozen pineapple chunks, silvered almonds, walnut bits, cacao nibs, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, ground flaxseeds, dark chocolate chips & flaxseed milk |
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| Carrot juice w/chia seeds |
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| Corn puffs w/frozen blueberries, frozen pineapple chunks, silvered almonds, walnut bits, almond butter, cayenne pepper, cinnamon & flaxseed milk |
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| Kale, spinach, blueberry, pineapple, mango, ground flaxseed & flaxseed milk smoothie topped w/cacao nibs (Parched and starving after an intense cardio and Bikram yoga session. This was much, much needed. I don't know why I've been feeling so exhausted after a session lately; this has never happened before!) |
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| Quinoa & oats w/seaweed, kale, spinach, avocado, broccoli, lime & cayenne pepper (Craved something warm this morning and this was exactly it. Delicious mixture of creamy, nutty, spicy, sweet and sour. What more could I ask for?) |
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| Alkaline forest: kale, cucumber, dandelion, parsley, celery, cilantro, dill & apple (My first juice from here! I've been getting smoothies, but juices are always so much more refreshing. The apple didn't mask the taste of the veggies at all, but since I like tasting veggies in my juices, I quite liked it this way. This is a combination I'll have to remember.) |
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| Quinoa w/tofu veggie stir-fry & sweet potato chunks (I tried this without the avocado today and I think I like the flavours better. While the creaminess was lacking, I found that without the avocado, the grape tomatoes and courgette flavour profiles were expressed. The pieces of sweet potato also added some density, so this one was fulfilling pot!) |
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| Chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies (The last of my cookies! They smelt so good that I couldn't resist eating them with my daily morning cup of tea.) |
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| Matcha green tea, kale, swiss chard, spinach, pineapple, mango & flaxseed milk smoothie |
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| Yerba mate tea, quinoa black bean chips, grape tomatoes, mashed avocado w/lime & cayenne pepper |
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| Corn puffs, frozen pineapples chunks, frozen blueberries, frozen mango chunks, cacao nibs, cinnamon, ground flaxseed & almond butter w/flaxseed milk (Three out of my top five favourite fruits are in this bowl! When I was on my way to the Bay Area from Los Angeles a couple years back, I sat near this guy who "could read people". I never told him my name nor my favourite fruits, but he guessed my name within three or so guesses and all five fruits correctly on the first try! It was unbelievable but oh so very freaky. I ran out of that terminal so quickly when we arrived.) |
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| Tofu veggie lasagna w/broccoli & kale (Given that Amy's veggie lasagnas are frozen, I still can't believe how tasty they are! This is my first time trying the tofu one, but it was pretty damn good for a frozen meal. I don't know if Amy's original veggie lasagna changed though; the last time I tried one was back in high school. However, I knew the lasagna would be too salty, so I did add in extra greens, but I might have added a bit too much black pepper. Whoops.) |
