Monster post!

I'll try to keep it as short as possible by replacing a lot of talk with pictures. You know what they say - a picture is worth a thousand words!

Random shots from the past few days (not everything - obvs):
This sucker was ginormus. I microwaved it a little before trying to cut it for roasting - hence the steamy picture.

Kabocha, asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, and peppers - all of my favorite foods in one giant roasting fest.

Kabocha wrap = lunchtime heaven

A variety of overnight oatbran goodness. You can't really see the oatbran for the most part. Oh well.

I walked about 4 miles to find this sucker. Downtown St Paul is pretty much closed after 5 on Saturdays, except for a few select (non-veghead friendly) restaurants. Erberts and Gerberts, you saved me.

Okay, so those are some of the eats. Wildly exciting? No. Sorry about that!

And now, my time at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival:

Esperanza Spalding: if you like jazz, CHECK HER OUT! Amazing.

Friday was fairly uneventful (except for my short time at the jazz fest - it started to STORM, so my friend and I left early). Yesterday, though, I woke up and decided to continue my neverending quest for a cute, brown or grey cardigan sweater. Seriously - this has been going on for. ev. er. So... I google mapped the route to the mall (walking), and proceeded to hammer out the 5.1 miles. :) I spent some time at the mall, did NOT find a sweater (just a super cute dress! Pictures soon, I promise).

So I thought "Okay, where to now?". Target, of course! Now, there is a Target much closer to Mac that I normally go to, but there is a bigger one out near the mall. However, although the store is only a quarter mile away from the mall in actual distance, in order to walk there, it takes another 2 miles. Unless of course I wanted to run across some of the busiest highways/streets in the city. No thanks.

So I get to Target. No luck. Sigh. I caught the bus home, took a 40 minute 'nap' (never quite fell asleep), and then got back on the bus to go to the Mississippi Market - a coop. I was running low on almond milk, so I figured, why not? There's one pretty close to me, but I wanted to go the bigger one, just to have some fun. I went there with the intention of then catching the bus to downtown for the Jazz Festival, but right when I got out, I saw the bus driving away... so then I though "I'll walk to St Paul - why not?". So I did.

And then I sort of got a little lost. I ended up wandering around for a couple more miles, and then I found the right park. Main problem? I ended up on a street that is below actual downtown, by the river. I had a nice walk though! By the time I got to the park, I was pretty hangry, and I looked for some dinner. You would think that SOMEONE would be serving vegetarian food of some sort at a festival like that. Nope. Everything was deepfried meats, grilled meat, or roasted meat. So I went on a food quest.

The problem? St Paul is really more of a business center (think M-F, 9-5) than Minneapolis, so very few places were open. Even the Walgreens was closed! I wandered another mile or two, trying to find something, anything to eat, when I saw a Subway - yesssss. I headed in that direction, to find that Subway, too, was closed. However, right across the street was Erberts and Gerberts! I had never heard of them, but they looked like somewhere I could get something veggieful to eat. The had two vegetarian options - but both of them had cheese on them, and by now, all of you know about my lactose intolerance (minus yogurt, thank goodness). I ordered a veggie sub sin queso ni mayo, and the guy was super nice and gave me some 'extras' for free! Red peppers, dijon mustard instead of yellow, and cukes. Maybe it was because this gal was starvin' but this sammie rocked my world.

I went back to the jazz fest, listened to some amazing jazz, eventually met up with a buddy of mine (who, ironically just walked past the coffee shop I'm blogging in), and proceeded to listen to more jazz. Esperanza Spalding - Go. Listen. Now.

I caught the bus home, and proceeded to pass out. Today hasn't been much - I caught up in Google Reader while munching (not really a real breakfast, just things here and there), had brunch with my friend, and now here I am. I don't have much planned for today. Okay, that's not true. I have nothing planned for today. So I think I'll just hang out and read my books on Ireland. You know, in preperation for the fall. (Super excited!).

Review time:

Clif PB&J Dipped Mojo:

Mmkay. I won this from the lovely Heather's giveaway, and I was very excited to try it - as you all know I love Clif (maybe a little too much, if that is possible!). I was Shocked when I opened it to find a bright purple bar with a white dip coating! Even some of the more ... outrageous Luna flavors are naturally colored.

I took one bite, and was pretty satisfied though - it didn't taste exactly like a pb&j sammie, but it did taste good. I thought it was little sweet, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth (barring fruit and Diet heroine Dr. Pepper and crack Coke, of course). The nutritionals were definitely on the desert side of things, with 11 g of fat, so I don't see myself buying this often, but as a treat? Why not!
ll:

Clif Chai Tea Luna:

If you like your Chai tea nice and strong (none of the wimpy, sweet, watered down stuff for me), you will love this - yes, it is sweet, but the spices are nice and strong. I loved it. I wish I had a real pic to show you, because you can actually see the little specs of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves. It even has black tea in the ingredient list! Clif - you are a genius. Again.

In the past month, all of my opinions of Luna bars have shifted. I remember writing about how the texture freaked me out, and the flavors were rather ... blaaaahhh. I now love the crunchy yet chewy texture, and the great nutrition each bar provides. Yes, I do prefer the non-chocolate ones, but hey. I am now a Luna Lover.

Kashi Roll Chocolate Turtle:

You all know I'm a huge Kashi, just as much as Clif. I had seen these a long time ago, but never grabbed on as the little picture kind of scared me and a certain, irrational part of me (you all know who Ed is). But when my friend Anna told me she liked them, I grabbed one to look at and discovered that they aren't scary at all! And in fact, they are pretty darn delish. They are heavier than some of the other bars, packed with protien and fiber, and generally wonderful. I had one as a midmorning snack this week, and it kept me satisfied of quite a while. As in, I wasn't even that hungry for lunch! If Kashi was a person, I would give them a hug.


A reminder about my 'giveaway!': Email me your addresses! I've only received
about 3 lovely people's info, and if you want a card, I need yours too! International people welcome - its only 98 cents to send. ;)

Love you all,

Emma