It's The Simple Things

Good morning! As I'm sitting here eating my delicious oatmeal I've been thinking, it's the simple things like the flavor combination of banana and peanut butter... or peanut butter and chocolate for that matter!... that put a smile on my face :)  

In the bowl:

• 1/3 c oats, vanilla soy milk, and water (a little less than 1/3 c of the water, as usual)
• 1 banana
• cinnamon
• spoonful of ground flax
• ~1/4 cup pumpkin granola spinkled over the top after cooking
• spoonful of Whole Foods creamy peanut butter stirred in after cooking

Well it's supposed to be a cold one today, ugh.  I threw a couple tea bags in my bag in case I'm chilled to the bone when I get to work!  Have a great Friday!

The Longest Week EVER!

I don't know about anyone else, but this week has felt SO long.  I'm so excited that tomorrow is Friday.  As expected, I got home late from seeing Avatar last night (which I really liked, btw) then was running late this morning... so I will do a recap of Wednesday and today. 

WEDNESDAY

Lunch

I wasn't too hungry when it was time to eat lunch so I had some Garden of Eatin pita chips with Cedar's Organic Hummus.  I'm really loving this Greek Isle flavor of the pita chips!

After a lunchtime walk I decided I was actually a little bit hungry.  So I pulled out my Fig flavored Voskos greek yogurt and added some bran from Fiber One. 

Dinner

Before the movie, Hillary and I stopped at Chipotle!  I got the salad: lettuce, rice, fajita mix, black beans, pico de gallo, corn salsa, little cheese, guacamole.  I would say I ate about 2/3 of this salad.  I also had some chips and salsa.  Have you guys had the salad dressing there?  I really liked it!

THURSDAY

Breakfast

I was excited to use my pesto on my egg white sandwich.  Once again, I used the Earthgrains thin and then spread some pesto on it and added the cooked 3 egg whites. I forgot I added some colby jack until I saw it in my picture!  Plus, I added a sliced apple and had a craving for some OJ so poured a little of that, as well. 

Lunch 

Lunch today was a banana, tall soy misto from Starbucks, and PB & PB (peanut butter and pumpkin butter) sandwich on Natural Ovens Whole Grain Bread "Right Wheat". 

 The other night I received a coupon for $1.00 off a Natural Ovens product so I was kind of rushed with my decision but I decided to try this one.  For 2 slices, there are 100 calories, 5 g of fiber, and 6 g protein.  I liked the taste and I would definitely suggest this product to anyone who is looking for help with portion control because the size of the slice is slightly smaller than many other breads out there, plus with 5 g of protein and 6 g of protein it can help you feel full and satisfied.  The woman I spoke with, Wanda, said that they will be passing out coupons in many grocery stores so keep your eyes open for Natural Ovens in your local store! 

Dinner

My leftover whole wheat ravioli with pesto and zucchini and yellow squash.  The zucchini and yellow squash were soggy when I found them in my tupperware in the fridge.  I do not like that!  So I poured off the water that accumulated at the bottom and threw them in the oven around 275 for 20 min and that helped them to firm up and dry up a little.  This saved my veggies!  

As if I felt like I had to completely repeat my dinner from Tuesday night, I also had some Haagen Dazs tart frozen yogurt with blueberries and white chocolate chips.  So delicious! I'm in love with this dessert! The ice cream bowl I use is actually a bowl that is meant for ingredients or dipping.  It really helps me with portion control!

Banana Chocolate Dreams

Good morning!  I must've been dreaming of banana oats with chocolate PB last night because I woke up craving them.  I'm eating them right now and man they are hitting the spot!

In the bowl: 

• 1/3 cup oats, vanilla soy milk, and water (a little less of the water because I'm adding fruit)
• a banana
• spoonful of ground flax
• 1/4 c pumpkin granola (added after the cooking)
• spoonful of Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter by PB & Co. 

If I don't post tonight, it's because I'm seeing Avatar and I'm pretty sure I will get home kind of late! Have a good day!

Pesto is the Besto

Hello!  As you've probably guessed, I made pesto tonight.  But before I get to my dinner, let me back up to lunch.  

LUNCH

Today I went to a lunch and learn about insurance for long term care.  Because I didn't want to be snapping pictures during the presentation, I just took one picture of everything I brought. I DID NOT eat all of what is pictured! 

What I did eat from this is Garden of Eating Pita Chips (Greek Isle Flavor) with Cedars Organic Hummus (Original Flavor), and Blueberrt Voskos Greek Yogurt with actual blueberries stirred in.  I did not plan it ahead of time, but I realized I had a Greek theme going on.  I loved all the flavors of this lunch.  

Dinner

Tonight I made my own pesto here's the recipe:  

Ingredients:

• I used 8 tsp. cups of frozen basil by Dorot (but you could also use 2 cups of fresh basil)
• 1/3 cup toasted walnuts (actually I was just shy 1/3, so I topped it off with pine nuts)
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a food processor or blender, pulse  the nuts and basil together to chop it finer
2. Then add the garlic and slowly add the olive oil, blend together
3. Lastly blend the parmesan in and salt and pepper to taste

It was that easy!  After the pesto was finished, I cooked up some whole wheat cheese ravioli (Bertolli) and sauteed a zucchini and yellow squash.  The pesto was awesome on this.  I also sprinkled more parmesan on the dish and crushed red pepper. 

This was an excellent dinner and now I have one container of pesto to use this week and another that I froze for later.  I've had a sweet tooth and I was really excited about a new purchase yesterday so dessert followed. 

DESSERT

I've become a fan of tart frozen yogurt this past year so when I saw that Hagen Daaz had a new low-fat tart frozen yogurt, I was ecstatic and had to try it. I topped my small serving with blueberries and some white chocolate chips! 

It was soo yummy.  I tried a plain spoonful before adding my toppings and it was very good, as well.  The flavor is awesome and I highly recommend it!  

Another Kind of Sandwich Thin!

Good morning!  This morning I made one of my go-to breakfasts but included a new brand of thins.  Normally I use Arnold Thins, but Vivian told me about another brand that she tried called Earthgrains  100% Natural Thin Buns.  When I saw them at the store last night I had to try them.  This brand is also 100 calories, has one less gram of fiber- 4 g compared to 5g in Arnold's), but has an ingredient list that is more aligned with my new year's resolution to eat less processed food/less preservatives.  

Breakfast: 

This is a 3 egg white sandwich on an Earthgrains thin with 1 slice of muenster and a sliced Pink Lady apple on the side.  Even after toasting the thin a little too long, I still really enjoyed the taste.  All in all, this is a great product in my book!

A Case of Indulgence

Hello!  Well it sure has been one heck of a Monday!  Work was crazy, my back has been killing me, and the weather has worsened significantly!  Thankfully, I was able to partake in a fabulous dinner prepared my roomie Katie. Her parents were in town and we all know by now that this girl likes to cook for  a crowd!  When I saw the ingredients for the dinner she was going to be making, I told her she was the most ambitious cook I know.  But really, this dinner didn't take as long as I thought I would.  Katie is ambitious, but I have also realized that I may be intimidated by certain dishes that are much more easy to prepare than the general public (or at least me!) may think...i.e. homemade pasta, clams, etc.  

Tonight's menu: Fettucini with Clams!  The clams were cooked in a skillet with white wine until they opened up.  Once those were cooked, shallots and garlic were cooked in butter (I mentioned indulgence in the title didn't I?!)  Then the clams, cooked fettucini, and butter mixture were all combined with some fresh herbs (I think parsley).  Viola! It was fantastic.  How can you go wrong with butter and garic? 

The cooking of the clams: 

My plate:

I had a piece of french bread with some EVOO, salt, and pepper as well as a side salad with toasted pine nuts.  I topped my entire plate with freshly shaved parmesan, yummmm. I also went back for another small serving of pasta and clams:) I finished my meal off with 2 chocolate truffles. Very delicious!

This was a rather rich meal, but oh so good.  And like I've mentioned before, I think food is meant to be enjoyed.  Rich meals happen, that's what balance is all about.  After a rich dinner, I like to start my next day off with a really healthy, high-fiber meal!  I have something in mind so stay tuned!  Good night!  

Berries + Oats

Good morning!  Running super behind so this will be quick!  I had a variety of oatmeal I haven't had in quite some time!  Frozen berries in oatmeal!

In the bowl: 

• 1/3 cup oats, vanilla soy milk, water
• ~1/3 cup frozen mixed berries
• drizzle of agave nectar
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• spoonful of ground flax 
• spoonful of almond butter
• 1/4 cup vanilla almond granola

I love this flavor combo and I'm not sure why it's been so long since having this!  Won't be getting into Indy until very late so there won't be a post for the rest of today! 

Mucho Avocado

Hello!  Because I feel so great still from my workout, I'm going to start out with that and then go into my food for the day!   I've been really trying to build my running endurance lately so for two Thursdays in a row now I've done a modified Ashley run. Basically its an hour long treadmill workout.  Here's today's run: 

• 0-2:30 -->           3.5 mph (warm up)
• 2:30-5:00-->      4.0 mph (walk)
• 5:00-30:00-->   6.0/6.2 mph (run...I did 6.2 for about 3/4 of this!)
• 30:00-35:00--> 4.0 mph  (walk)
• 35:00-45:00--> 6.0 mph (run)
• 45:00-48:00--> 4.0 mph (walk)
• 48:00-50:00--> 6.0 mph (run)
• 50:00-52:30--> 4.0 mph (cool down 2begins)
• 52:30-55:00-->  3.5 mph
• 55:00-57:30-->  3.0 mph
• 57:30-60:00--> 2.5 mph

Total mileage:  5.1 miles!!!! Yay!  This is huge for me!  I'm pretty sure last week was the first time I've reached 5 miles! My runs have always been in the 3-3.5 miles range, so even though this wasn't all running, this is still a big accomplishment for me.  

I also decided to stay and do some strength training with Ashley. 

• Forward lunges, 2 sets of 12, 12 lbs in each hand
• Reverse lunges, 2 sets of 12, 12 lbs in each hand
• Plie squats, 2 sets of 12, 12 lbs in each hand
• Hip adduction, 3 sets of 12, 80 lbs
• Hip abduction, 3 sets of 12, 80 lbs
• Leg press, 3 sets, 105 lbs

I'm already feeling sore!  I think I put my legs into shock :)  I'm going to Indy this weekend and I am going to try to do some cardio while I'm there, but we'll see! His new building has a little workout room so that helps the situation!

LUNCH

After a long staff meeting this morning, Beth and I decided to go and grab lunch somewhere.  I ditched my sandwich I had brought because it sounded like a great plan.  We went to Fresh Choice, which I like and hadn't been to in quite some time.  I'm sure you can guess by the post title what I had for lunch...  an avocado sandwich!  The sandwich also had provolone, sprouts, tomato, roasted red peppers, and onion.  It was very, very tasty!

I love avocado but I decided after lunch that maybe I should lay off since its been a dominant ingredient for at least 2 weeks now.  

SNACK

Today's preworkout/afternoon snack was 3/4 of my sandwich that I brought for lunch.  It was PB, PB, and Banana.  That's a peanut butter, pumpkin butter, and banana for those of you who don't remember this from before.  

DINNER

Remember my thought after lunch about laying off the avocado.  Well I forgot about this by the time dinner rolled around!  I decided to go to Whole Foods and pick up some sushi!  I was going in for brown rice spicy salmon, but then I noticed something I had never seen before!  Multi grain sushi!  Of course I had to try this!  I also cooked up some frozen edamame to go with it.  

Here's a closer look.  It almost looks purple doesn't it?  

I really liked it!  It has a nutty flavor like the brown rice, but a little stronger.  I will definitely choose it again! Anyone who likes the flavor of brown rice should for sure try this if they come across it!

OK well I have to pack for the weekend and get to bed at a decent hour!  Good night!

Power Cereal

Good morning!  Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday!  I went to see The Lovely Bones last minute and went straight to bed when I got home.  But I will give a recap after I show you my really great breakfast! 

I'm calling this Power Cereal because it is so much more than just cereal! I started with a bowl of Smart Start, added a half of a banana, the rest of my blueberries (not quite 1/4 cup), about a 1/2 oz of walnuts (I had a 1 oz bag and I put half in), and then added vanilla soymilk.  This cereal has a wide range of nutrients because of all the different food groups involved!

RECAP OF WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: 

I had coffee, glass of OJ, and an egg white sandwich with avocado and muenster cheese.  

Lunch: 

Leftovers from the night before (Peas, Parmesan, and Pasta).  I brought a yogurt but was too full to eat it!

Snack: 

I had to bring some pants in to get hemmed and couldn't resist the Starbucks that was right next store.  I had a tall skim chai latte.  Yumm.  Right when I was leaving work I had an Honest Bar- I think the flavor was honey almond? Now I can't remember! 

Dinner:

Sorry for the blurry picture! This is hummus, avocado, and muenster on an arnold thin.  I knew I was going to have to get popcorn at the movie so I just had a small sandwich, which for some reason I didn't even finish!  3 of us shared a popcorn, which is the way to do it! 

I had planned my post last night to be "Working Out Is Not Working Out" because I had a two attempts at a workout yesterday and it just didn't happen.  The first was spinning class, but I brilliantly forgot to put my shoes in my gym bag! Then I went home and after some putzing around decided I would do some yoga.  Well my wrist was hurting from sleeping on it weird and I was just not into it so I quit after 5 min! I hope to have better luck tonight at the gym!

Peas, Parmesan, and Pasta

Tonight's dinner is one of my favorite easy dinners of all time!  I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand so its one I often make when I need to go to the grocery store, which I do need to do. I'm trying to hold out on grocery shopping until I get back from the weekend.  

Here's the masterpiece: 

All I do is: 

1. Boil the water. 
2. While the water is boiling, I chop up the garlic pretty finely. 
3. Once I throw in the pasta (any variety will do, I used whole wheat spirals tonight), I cook the garlic on really low heat in olive oil the entire time the pasta is cooking.  I usually throw some crushed red pepper, salt and pepper in too towards the end.  
4. When the pasta is about 2-3 minutes from being done, I put in the frozen peas (But think! This could be any frozen vegetable! The possibilities are endless!)
5. Once its done, I drain the pasta then combine it with the oil and garlic and add parmesan.  

This is a simple recipe that could go so many numbers of way- different sauce, different veggies, etc.  

WORKOUT

I'm going to try to be better about including my workouts on my blog.  Today I was on a tight schedule to I did 15 min of cardio and 30 min of upper body strength exercises.  Someone once suggested if you are in a time crunch, its better to skimp on the cardio rather than the strength because you can make up for some of it in your day by taking the stairs, going on a walk at lunch, or parking farther away, you get the point!  That stuck with me! 

• 2 sets of bicep curls with reverse lunges, 12 lbs in each hand
• 2 sets Jillian Michael's squat with arm press move, 12 lbs
• 2 set of overhead arm extensions, 12 lbs
• 3 sets of chest press machine, 50 lbs
• 3 sets of lat pull downs, 75 lbs
• 3 sets of rows, 50 lbs
• 15 min on the machine that is like a bouncy elliptical. I have no idea what it's called!?

Bad Weekend Blogger!

Hello!  I'm so sorry about being MIA.  I've come to the conclusion that I am just a bad weekend blogger.  Friday night, like many Friday nights for me, I was just so exhausted!  All I could do is plop myself in front of the TV and relax.  The rest of the weekend was FILLED with errands, plus events surrounding one of my very best friend's graduation from law school.  CONGRATS GINA! 

Anyways, here is my breakfast this morning: 

In the bowl:

• 1/3 cup oats, vanilla soy milk, and water (actually a little less than 1/3 cup of water because I added fruit)
• banana
• spoonful of ground flax seed
• spoonful of almond butter
• topped with a heavy handful of vanilla almond granola

It had been a while since having banana oats so I was really excited about breakfast this morning! Well I'm going to get ready for work! 

Birthday Fiesta

Last night my family came over for dinner.  Since it was my birthday and we made tacos, naturally it can be called a Birthday Fiesta! It was so nice to just have everyone over instead of going out to dinner.  I feel like I'm on a "food overload" with the holidays and then all the celebrating this week.  Don't get me wrong, it's been great!  I'm just looking forward to some normal, everyday eating for a little while!

While my mom and I got dinner together, everyone snacked on some chips, salsa, and guacamole. 

*Sorry, couldn't get this to rotate!  I'll try later to fix it!

I totally forgot to take a picture of all the taco toppings!  But here are my tacos: 

In the tacos you'll find: 

• black beans
• tomatoes
• guacamole
• shredded cheese
• lettuce

I was still feeling slightly full from lunch so I only had two tacos and barely any chips and salsa. Tacos was a great idea for my family since we have picky eaters, meat eaters, and vegetarians.  Everyone could just put whatever they wanted in their own taco.  We also had some desserts, but I forgot to take a photo.  Like I said, I was so full so I only had a couple bites, the desserts ranged from funfetti cookies to Mexican pastries. 

The day after: Breakfast

I was really craving a really simple breakfast this morning.  So I had Smart Start Cereal and a glass of OJ.  And of course I have my coffee by my side all morning!

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday so special this year!  I really appreciate it!!! 

Celebration Weekend: Part 2

OK I decided to try and get this recap up finally before my family gets here tonight!  Saturday night I celebrated my birthday with friends at the 44th Ward Dinner Party.  I have been to this place before, if you recall.  It's the grilled cheese place!  I loved it the first time I went so I decided to go back for a birthday dinner.  

Despite the extremely long wait for the food (and them being out of mac and cheese!), it was a really great time!  I'm so thankful for all my friends that came out to celebrate with me! 

Here are some photos of the lovely group!

I ordered The Vic, which is the sandwich Ashley got last time we went together.  I've pretty much been thinking about this sandwich since the moment I tasted her her's.  It comes with portabello, roasted red pepper, onion, pesto, and goat cheese on a ciabatta roll.  It was tasty, but a little on the crunchy side.  

They also brought out their grilled cheesecake, which was fantastic.  Apparently they pan fry cheesecake then put it between two slices of bread and grill it.  Awesome creation! A bunch of us shared it!  

All in all, I really like 44th Ward, however, I have to say that it is definitely better when you go with a small group.  I don't think they handle big parties well at all.  

The next morning, we slept in a little then went to meet up with my mom and sisters for brunch.  To be exact, it was me, Chris, my mom, Chelsea, Hillary, and Brian.  We went to The Bagel, which is this Jewish deli place.  It's good, I wasn't really in the mood for it at the time though.  

We snacked on the bread basket, they have really great challah. 

I got Matza Brei and an everything bagel.  I mostly concentrated on the bagel with cream cheese and just ate some of my matza brei.  

My mom also gave me a funfetti birthday cake to take with me since she didn't think she was going to be able to come for dinner tonight. Funfetti is a tradition in my family.  We have it on everyone's bday!  

Chris, Emily, and I had some on Sunday night!  A great way to cap off the weekend!

I'm 26 Today!

I've had such a great birthday so far thanks to my friends, family, and coworkers!  It's 5:30 and I'm pooped already!  I still have one more meal to go though!  

Breakfast

I started my 26th year with an egg white sandwich on whole wheat bread with sliced tomato and a piece of muenster cheese.  I also had some vanilla soy, too.  Delish!  A very yummy start!

A friend and new coworker (Hi Beth!) has been giving me a ride to work since we live one block away from each other and she's training with me at my site.  Well she surprised me with some chocolate chip cookies (my fave!) this morning, too! Another good start to the day! Of course I had one right away. 

Lunch

My coworkers are so darn sweet!  So around noon, Vivian told me there was a client who was asking to speak to a supervisor. So of course I went to meet her in the lobby and asked her what I could do as she kept walking towards the elevator (which is also right by the kitchen door!) until finally the kitchen door opened up and I heard "surprise!" yelled.  

I saw this... 

then this...

and I ate this...

Boca burger with avocado, provolone, tomato, grilled onions, and lettuce; a slice of cheddar; amazing roasted brussel sprouts; toasted ravioli; and strawberries.  Raspberry juice with seltzer water to drink. 

and then this!....

Two small pieces of cake (I know they look kinda big in this small bowl- good trick, huh!).  One was chocolate with chocolate and the other some kind of strawberry shortcake and vanilla ice cream.

It was sooo yummy!  And I was stuffed to the brim all afternoon (still kind of right now, too!) Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and food and treats!!!  My family is coming over for a birthday fiesta so I'm going to get ready for that!