A Nice Break

Hello there! First of all thanks for all the congrats and comments on my first turkey trot race – it was so much fun, and I love all the support! I hope all who had some time off this week enjoyed your mini-breaks – I definitely did.  Which of course included a number of foodie things

I flew home wednesday morning so I would have a little more time to spend with the family.  Skipping two classes was totally worth it.  I didn’t wake up in time for breakfast before I left, so I just grabbed something quick at the airport.

I tried to pick something that would satisfy my morning sweet tooth and keep me full for a few hours.  Yogurt + luna bar + (unpictured) apple did the trick.

Back home, I was reunited with the last of my vanilla bean cashew coconut butter:

Now now more left

After a few days of family and tons of delicious food, my mom and I went to pilates class friday morning.  I have seriously missed free classes at my gym at home – especially this pilates class!  Afterwards, I made us a giant, kale-stuffed omelet.

It’s hard to judge scale, but that is a full-sized dinner plate.  Served with my homemade tomatillo salsa, and a slice of Whole foods seeded bread, later slathered with fig jam.

Later, some other family came into town, and we went out for lunch and coffee.  What would thanksgiving weekend be without a (soy) pumpkin spiced latte?  I was even happier when I saw this guy in my latte…

That’s some pretty awesome latte art, from Savor the Flavor, a local coffee house (in Lincoln Park, Chicago).  Better than Starbucks any day.

That night we all (parents, sister, aunt & uncle, cousin) went out to see a show at Improv Olympic.  But first, we went to dinner at Socca (yes, named after the chickpea flatbread!).  The restaurant calls itself a neighborhood French/Italian style bistro – definitely fitting.  I wasn’t incredibly hungry for dinner at that hour (5:30pm?), so I just ordered a pizzette.

“The Smoge” pizzette – cheeseless, with red sauce, curry roasted chickpeas, and steamed spinach. Exactly my cup of tea!  I ended up only eat a little less than half of the crust in favor of finishing the toppings. Delicious!

Yesterday (saturday) was my last day in town.  I went to the gym for a quick upper body strength workout, got my hair trimmed, and finished up my time with a delicious lunch at Native Foods Cafe.

I ordered the same sesame kale macro bowl as before – it was just too good! I didn’t love the desserts last time but I had not had a chance to try the chocolate love pie since they had run out last time.

Still nothing special.  I feel like I could make a better version of this pie.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Now I’m back at my dorm, doing a little cooking for the week, and working on the homework that I didn’t even touch while I was at home!  Lots to do, lots to do.

Oh, you think I forgot? Nope!  The winner of the Fig Food Soup Giveaway is….

Tara!  Email me – eatlearndiscover[at]gmail[dot]com – with your address, and I’ll have Fig Food send you those coupons.

If you live away from home, what are some things you like to do when you visit?