Macaroni and Boston and Cheese

I need to post more. On-campus recruiting at Penn has been in full swing, and I have a ton of pictures to unload for you all. I was actually in Boston last weekend for some final round interviews and had a ton of fun taking in the sights (and napping in the hotel room). Since I had a long day of travel, it was totally fair to room service a decadent dinner, no? I didn't want to be too sluggish, so I grabbed two appetizers, a simple spinach salad and some seriously rich FRIED MACARONI BALLS. 

I kind of enjoyed the salad more (spinach, cranberries, feta, raspberry vinaigrette), because after macaroni ball #3, I was starting to feel all that butter and cream. But of course I kept eating because I can only muster so much willpower after hours of interviews. No matter- my hotel, which was in the beautiful Back Bay area, provided running maps, so I grabbed a morning run in early before my next round of interviews. 

Sweaty and happy on the Charles River!

By the time I got back to Philly, I was exhausted, but was still having some serious macaroni and cheese cravings! Since the deep fried, cheese-filled stuff was not sustainable, I made a healthier version using butternut squash in place of some cheese and ate it with some grilled chicken and green beans. As someone who tends to not enjoy whatever gross low-fat mac and cheese, this stuff is the tops. Creamy, cheesy, and a bit of sweetness from the squash. And even better, only a few ingredients. Thank you Women's Health!

Get the recipe after the jump...

Green Tea Noodles with Bok Choy

First official post!

Today was not a pretty day in Philly, 53 degrees and raining. This is perfect weather for spending the entire day alternating between Pinterest, Hulu, and fake cleaning in my bedroom, but alas, I had to work from 9am-1pm, thereby losing 4 perfectly good hours of procrastination.  Frittered away most of the afternoon, finally got some reading finished, and now it's time to use dinner as a study break. But due to the fact that I wasted so much of the day (and it's on-campus recruiting time as well), it's hard to not rely on pre-packaged food.

But I am A. on that work-study income and B. craving something fresh and green, even if the weather says otherwise. So although ravioli from scratch and 3 hour farmers market visits are not wise this week, I'm trying to remain true to my commitment to not eat crap and to keep trying new foods! Up this evening are soba noodles, a Japanese noodle made of buckwheat and wheat flour. Nutritionally, they seem pretty on point with most wheat pastas. However, I lucked out and was able to find Cha Soba at my grocery store, which have added green tea powder!

Delicious. The taste definitely isn't strong, just very fresh with a great texture! I used my noodles in a really quick stir fry with some bok choy, fake beef, and a light dressing that didn't obscure the lightnessof the dish. I actually love good fake beef, even though I'm not even a vegetarian. It's super healthy, heats up quickly, and more convenient than dealing with raw meat. All in all, super easy- it took less than 25 minutes from prep to the first bite!

Cha Soba Noodles with Vegan Beef & Sesame Sauce
(for 1)