Monthly Archives: September 2010

Pumpkin Packed Pantry

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It’s been the near perfect sort of Saturday – fun time, food time, school time, errands.  I’m definitely a happier camper when my weekends are productive 🙂

We headed over to the in-law’s hotel at 7:00 this morning to meet up for breakfast.  Everyone was getting the buffet so I did as well, but there ended up not being a lot available for me.  Sidenote – what kind of breakfast buffet has no fruit?!?  I ended up putting together a pretty good meal though.

Drinks –

Black coffee (they only had cream) and a small pour of oj.

1 plate –

A little bit of scrambled eggs and breakfast potatoes with a half slice of french toast (syrup was hiding off to the side).

1 bowl –

A vanilla Dannon with half a serving of Frosted Flakes and strawberry jam.

Adam and his parents drove up to the funeral today but I had too much school work so I had to stay home.  My knees have been hurting (too much ellipticalling?) so I decided to skip the gym today, but I still wanted to stretch my legs out so instead I walked home from breakfast.  Glorious!  The walk was a little less than 2miles and the crisp 50* weather felt amazing.  Plus I got to walk through the farmers’ market on my way home.

I spent the morning crafting my totally embarrassing entry for Foodbuzz’s Project Food Blog.  At least I can cross having to do the subsequent challenges off my to-do list 😉  I did some school reading as well.  It actually took me forever to get started on work and I was furious with myself, but then I was so pleased once I accomplished something.

Around 2:30 I set out for Target and Wegmans.  I didn’t get home until 5:30, which means that grocery shopping took an insane amount of time.  But I found Libby’s pumpkin, so it was totally worth it!  I never really got hungry for lunch, though I did grab a medium iced coffee (with skim milk) at the store.

Normally I would try to eat a snack now to round out dinner, but we have a fun (big!) dinner planned so for today I’ll just hope things even out on their own.

Have you found canned pumpkin in your neck of the woods yet?

Foodbuzz’s Project Food Blog Challenge # 1

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Why do I want to be the next Foodbuzz Food Blog Star?  Because I love food! 

I love learning about it, talking about it, tasting it, and making it.  When I go to a restaurant my husband knows better than to ask about my day, because I want to analyze everything on the menu.  Once I’ve painstakingly made a choice I spend the rest of the meal describing every flavor and texture on my plate and begging my dining companions to “just take one bite!”

I read every food magazine I can get my hands on and sometimes I reread cookbooks like I’m visiting an old friend.

I go over my weekly meal plans on the treadmill and my workouts fly by.  I’ve thought up so many recipes as I was falling asleep that now I keep a notebook at the head of my bed.

But a lot of people love food.  I think I deserve to be the next Food Blog Star because of my unique perspective.  I may not have it all figured out yet, but I try to keep a culinary balance of health and fun.  I read some blogs because they inspire me, but I think I am a blogger that readers can relate to.  I have my cake, and eat tofu too!

I recently returned to school to study to become a Registered Dietician; I want to be able to help people eat in a way that makes them feel good.  Some of my favorite dishes to prepare are big bowls of fresh veggies.

Anything loaded with fruit is a close second, especially caramelized pineapple!

I try to eat for my health; but you can’t be healthy if you’re not happy!  What a bleak world it would be without cupcakes.

And just try to take away my diet soda!

It’s all about balance.  I hope that my blog helps my reader to find their balance, and that’s why I’d like to be the next Food Blog Star.

New Fish, Blue Fish

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For dinner tonight we took Adam’s parents to the new sushi spot that just opened on Elmwood, Blue Fin.

My camera was dying and the lighting was low, so please excuse my poor photography.  The meal was delicious; I got one healthy roll and one fun roll.

For health, I ordered a California hand roll.

Hand rolls are my favorite sushi order, I love the texture of the nori.

For fun I ordered a roll to split with Adam.  This bad boy had asparagus, cream cheese, white fish, massago, eel sauce, spicy mayo, and tempura; I believe it was called the Blue Mountain Roll.

It was a great mix of flavors and textures, but very heavy; if you are ordering sushi to be healthy please be aware that rolls with cream cheese are neither traditional nor low-calorie.  They are tasty though!  I ate three pieces.

We were given chocolate with the bill.

We took the in-laws to Delish for local ice cream after dinner.  It was too cold outside for that to appeal to me, but I did pick up an adorable mini casserole dish!

They were on sale and I’ve been wanting one forever.

My mother-in-law is amazing; she was in the kitchen all day yesterday and she brought us pounds (literally!) of tasty foods.  She actually brought so much we can’t eat it all this week!  I portioned out the chilli into baggies in one cup servings and have them on a cookie sheet in the freezer.

That’s how I deal with all soup/soft leftovers, once they are frozen they are a cinch to stack and store.

I did a little bit of school work when we got home and I snacked on a snickerdoodle from my m-i-l.

I didn’t actually eat much real food today so I probably should have skipped the cookie; I’m learning.  We’ve got breakfast plans at 7 tomorrow so I’ve got to get to bed.  Sweet dreams all.

What is your favorite sushi order?

Full of Nerves

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It’s almost 5o’clock and all I’ve eaten today is a Balance Bar, yikes! At least it was my favorite flavor.

I think I’m full of nerves – I’ve been so busy I haven’t even gotten hungry! I had class –> transfer credit arguments –> class –> class –> more dealing with transfer credits –> and finally I got to take a trip to the gym.

36 minutes on the elliptical – random, level 6 –  and I felt more relaxed. It even occurred to me mid-gym that I had not announced my CSN giveaway winner!  Comment # 5 – Nicole – shoot me an e-mail for your prize!

Now I’ve got to scurry off again; we have to go pick up the husband’s parents. A close family friend passed away last week and they are in town for the service. I’m sad about the circumstances, but it will be good to have dinner with them.

By the way – eating my 7-layer bar in bed with a magazine last night was heavenly!  In fact, it felt so luxurious that I knew I did not need to eat the whole bar to feel satisfied, so I had the husband put half of it away for later.  I’m pretty good about not picking up food that I’m not excited about, but I think this is the first time ever it’s occurred to me to stop eating while I was still enjoying something.

Have you developed the skills to stop eating while you are still enjoying or do you stuff yourself silly?

When It Rains…

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…it pours!  Today was dark, rainy, and cold, which totally set the gloom and doom scene for this frustrating day.  At one point it seemed like everything that could go wrong would.  My pants got soaked, my bag was so heavy my right arm started to fall asleep, I didn’t do well on my quiz, I’m frustrated by the cat muscle lab, I forgot my lunch…  But eventually the sun came out (metaphorically of course, it stayed grey here all day) and things started to work out.  I can easily find a silver lining in most of today’s mishaps.

When I got to campus this morning I bought a small coffee – with 2 creamers because there was no skim milk – to sip while I did my last-minute review. 

I quizzed with a friend and we both felt pretty confident.  By the time I headed into lab there were only about 5 words out of the 200 that I didn’t know – – – and 3 of them were on my version of the quiz!  Since the quiz was only 12 questions that is a lot, arrrgh.  It is frustrating to know so much of the material and still earn a poor grade.

I was pretty irritated with myself when I realized I forgot my lunch, but I ended up getting a surprisingly good lunch from Taco Bell in the food court.

I got the Ranchero Chicken Soft Tacos (it comes with 2) and they were fresh and tasty.

We had to sample what we made in Food Prep Lab today but most of the items were red meat so I ended up only taking a small bite of muffin.  I’m not sure whether or not I’ll be able to take photos in lab, but the amount of food each week will be so small it doesn’t really matter if it goes undocumented.

I attended the introductory meeting of Roteract (a service club I’m joining) and then headed to the gym.  It doesn’t matter what the weather looks like outside, a workout always makes me feel good!  I did 30 minutes on the elliptical, random, level 6; followed with a few minutes of strength/stretch.  After I carried all of my stuff home I set out with Adam for a walk to the Co-op.  I don’t think anything feels better after a gym session than stretching my legs out with a walk. 

I have a philosophy statement due tomorrow so I worked on that most of the evening.  I hate those types of assignments – half of the reason I didn’t go to graduate school was because I didn’t want to write a personal statement! – but I think I did a pretty good job in the end.  FYI on the schoolfront – I got a 100% on my extra credit presentation and my Orgo teacher called me out in class to say I did a good job on my homework notes; go me!

I had a small handful of dried hibiscus and a chocolate-covered fig when I got home.

The rest of dinner was a little bit small.

I wanted to make chips out of the local Red Russian Kale I got at the farmers’ market, but those turned out like this –

The green bean fries were much more appetizing.

Honestly, dinner was pretty much an afterthought anyways, all of my thoughts were on this –

Oh yes, a 7-Layer bar from the co-op; be still my heart. 

I’m going to take a quick shower and then eat it in bed with a magazine, Heaven!

What’s the weather been like in your area?  Summer still?  Fall-like?  Or did you have gloom and doom like me?

Study Emergen-C

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After two days in a row with less than enough sleep (certainly not because I got up at 6:30 to watch the “Covert Affairs” finale today!) I knew today was the perfect time to try the parfait recipe that came in the latest Emergen-C newsletter.

I didn’t layer, I don’t like to conform.

I also switched up the recipe a bit.  My version had Stoneyfild Low Fat French Vanilla Yogurt, an Acai Berry Emergen-C packet, cinnamon, some chopped plum, and a 1/2cup of gingerbread granola.

Honestly, this wasn’t very good 😦  The taste was way too fizzy, not something I’m looking for in my yogurt.

I’m heading to campus now and my anatomy quiz is at 9.  Once that blood bath is wrapped up – literally, because I think after the failing we are going back to our cats – I have a short break for lunch, Food Prep Lab, a club meeting, and then I finally get to go to the gym.

May your day be filled with love.

Any tricks up your sleeve that keep you from getting sick?

The Frontal Bone’s Connected to the Parietal Bone’s Connected to the Occipital Bone…

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Oh my goodness, I’ve my first Anatomy quiz in 9hours and I am not ready!  A migraine hit last night and stopped my study session cold.  I’ve got to hurry to bed so I can keep learning in the morning.

Breakfast.

Three local prune plums from the farmers’ market,

and a WW Sandwich Thin with 2T Wegman’s chunky pb and Crofter’s strawberry.

I had an advisement meeting at 11 and then I stayed on campus until I got out of lab at 8; yikes!  All of my not-in-class time got used up running back and forth to department heads and I’ve still barely broken the tip of the iceberg on my transfer credit issues!

Lunch was eaten via snackage.  A single serving of Caramel Cashew trail mix from Target.

The last of the dried apricots.

I got a small coffee (with skim milk) before lab,

and I also got my fall on with a small sample of pumpkin loaf.

We have a new TA which means we have a lot more work – we can’t work in partners any more, we spend more time reviewing procedure – but he seems really excited about Chemistry and I can tell I’m going to learn a lot.  We did recrystallizations in Orgo Lab today and there was an issue so I had to do mine twice, which practically put me in tears.  It was nice to have the walk home to clear my head.

I grabbed a Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy Cinnamon Bun yogurt as soon as I walked in the door.

And dinner was Three Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni from Lean Cuisine.

The husband was my knight in shining armor helping me review Anatomy (for the first time!) for a couple of hours this evening.  While we worked I ate a mini Java Chip Frap. Starbucks ice cream.

And now I’ve got to take the world’s quickest shower and get into bed.  I am so excited to be able to go to the gym after my quiz tomorrow!

If you took Anatomy in school, did you find it interesting or boring?  I think osteopathy is fascinating; I’d love to work as a forensic anthropologist!

Word to the Wise

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This has got to be a quick post so I can get back to studying.  Word to the wise – Weekends are for working; embroider that on a pillow for me, will ya?

I actually had to leave campus and head home soon after eating lunch, because there were no working printers (grrr).  It ended up being a good thing because I got a ton of work done for my night class and now I’m a few weeks ahead on those assignments.  Plus, I got to eat an ice cream cookie sandwich.

I headed back to campus for class, during which I gave a 15minute presentation on school foodservice management.  It was a bit embarrassing to be the first to go, but I’m glad I got it out of the way.

I’ve been getting green every time Meghann mentions her gingerbread granola so when we spotted this at the Co-op yesterday I squealed with glee.

The nutritional stats were pretty sound (store bought granola can be a fat/sugar bomb), the price was right, and gingerbread?!  I ate a serving with skim milk this evening while dinner cooked.

Sadly, the taste wasn’t quite right.  I’ll keep eating it but the flavor was much spicier and less sweeter than I was expecting.

Dinner was the last of my Naan Pizza samples from Tandoor Chef.  Roasted Eggplant.

Nutrionals and ingredients.

This time I stuck to a single serving because I was splitting with Adam.

Yet again, I was blown away by how wonderful Naan is in the pizza crust medium.  This is the exact amount of chew I want from all my crusts!  The eggplant was perfectly crunchy and not greasy at all.  Now that my samples I gone I definitely plan on purchasing more Naan Pizzas with my own money, sooo good.

We had green bean fries on the side.

I seriously never thought roasting a green bean could create such magic.  These were fresh local green beans and they were even more amazing than usual.

All together.

We are going to take a diet soda walk and then it’s to the books.  My first Anatomy quiz has 200+ bones on it and is Thursday, who else thinks I should have started studying before tonight??

Any brand recommendations for a good gingerbread granola?