Author Archives: Emily

I’m Back, Baby!

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When you haven’t been feeling 100% for more than a month, or gotten to really exercise in even longer, you’re not looking for a great workout, you’re just looking to move.

Last night we stayed up way too late (and ate way too much Chinese food), and when I woke up this morning it felt like there was a bowling ball in my stomach.  But one bad turn does not deserve another, so I hopped in the car with Adam so he could drop me at the gym.

I did a 5minute warm up, 20minutes of jogging, and a 5minute cool down for a nauseating, excruciating, humiliating 30 minute treadmill workout.  I wouldn’t have traded that time for anything in the world.  I had to pause every 5 minutes to die and I only covered 2.65 miles, but I’m back, baby!

After the walk home (also glorious) and a shower, I settled in to eat my new favorite breakfast combination.

I’ve got to make sure I enjoy this a few more times before the weather gets too warm.

Amaretto cocoa,

and a minneola.

The citrus chocolate pairing is awesome.  If you haven’t tried this combo yet you totally should, but maybe with some toast.

It’s also possible that I’m feeling especially like myself because my response the realization that my breakfast only had 200(ish) calories was to eat a piece of candy.

😉

What is your favorite breakfast combination?  While your morning meal change as the weather gets warmer?

A Food Log Food Blog

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So there’s thing 1 and thing 2. Thing 1 – we just got home after our second 9+ hour car trip in two days and I’m too tired to be clever. Thing 2 – due to inclement weather (nearby tornadoes!) we spent much of the weekend without power and my pictures are pretty dark and awful. But, here’s the thing – part of the reason I write this blog is as a food diary (accountability). Sometimes I feel so silly when I’m writing a post that isn’t funny or chockfull of useful ideas or amazing recipes, but I have to remember that I do this for me too. So, feel free to skip this weekend’s recap, or settle in for a food log post.

Friday

I made Adam and myself a huge iced coffee to split on the road.

Coffee + Silk Vanilla Almond Milk + maple syrup.

I also packed a sandwich for breakfast.

Sandwich Thin + Applegate Farms organic sliced chicken + a Light Laughing Cow.

I was randomly starving five minutes later and spent the rest of the day complaining about how hungry I was. Enter an early lunch from Sheetz. Cole slaw,

and a turkey sandwich, with cheddar, honey mustard, lettuce, and tomato, on a pretzel bun.

Bletch x2! Normally I’m really impressed by Sheetz, but this time not so much.

However, Adam and I did split some Reeses Minister that were freaking life changing!

When we saw them again at another gas station we even bought some to bring home.

When we got to Virginia, before a tornado(!!) knocked out the power, there was dinner waiting for us.

Salad,

chips,

and grapes.

Then we spent the night playing cards in the dark.

Saturday

I skipped breakfast in lieu of cuddling up to my books, but made time for a last lunch.

More salad,

a small slice of cheese pizza,

three shrimp with cocktail sauce,

and strawberries and melon.

I also had a cinnamon brownie (we baked them Thursday night to bring down) and some Ruffled for dessert.

I ate my fair share of junk on Saturday unfortunately. I don’t mind digging into desserts or snacks at all, but I prefer to nosh only on unhealthy things that I love, and I feel like I sort of just grazed.

In the afternoon we did get to go out for a short but nice walk with my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and niece.

I even ran several sprints with my niece, it’s so much fun getting little kids to be active.

We went out to dinner, where multiple peanuts we cracked.

Sagebrush is a steakhouse, but fortunately there was some chicken on the menu as well.

I started with a cheddar biscuit,

and a side salad with peanut vinaigrette.

Dinner was grilled chicken,

with bbq sauce,

and broccoli.

We stopped for gas on the way home and I grabbed a (half sweetened) coffee.

I also snacked on some Easter candy,

and this plate of chips x2.

Sunday

My in-laws whipped up breakfast before we had to hit the road.

Scrambled eggs, strawberries, and half a bagel with strawberry cream cheese.

I also ate an apple with cheese in the car,

and a medium plain coffee.

We sang along with the radio, listened to recordings of Adam’s lectures, and reviewed my music reading all afternoon. Then, according to plan we pulled into Grove City at 4:45 and grabbed a late lunch/ early dinner at Primanti Brother’s.

Adam grew up eating there and I’ve seen it on the Food Network so we were pretty excited.

I ordered the turkey and provolone cheese sandwich, which came piled with Cole slaw and French fries!

The bread was boring (and abandoned halfway through), but the slaw and fries were perfectly vinegary. I’d probably never want one again, but it was fun to try.

But the fun was just beginning. There was an outlet mall across the street so Adam suggested we take advantage of the great weather (75*) and walk around a bit. First, I love to walk with the husband. Second, we snagged a Silpat on sale.

And then I literally started hyperventilating with excitement… we spotted a self-serve froyo place!!!

You guys, I can’t even tell you! I got original tart and sugar-free praline, topped with hot fudge, marshmallow, butterfinger, strawberries, and a cherry.

This is the kind of “junk” I feel 100% good about eating.

I’m pretty sure I swooped the whole rest of the drive home.

We stopped for a mini grocery run at Wegmans, and also grabbed some Chinese food (which I’m just not going to blog); our early dinner was a bit too early 😉

If you have a blog, how much of its purpose is food log vs. fun?

Cheese and Bread

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I was sooo hungry all afternoon, it was a total I-would-gnaw-my-own-arm-off-if-I-could situation.  I guess cookies don’t make good lunches??  Nah!!!  But still, my hunger was so ridiculous that it totally distracted my from my work and now I really don’t know what to do tomorrow to fix it.  Cheese and bread!*

*”Cheese and bread” is a common exclamation in St. Thomas, where I grew up.  It can express any strong emotion, frustration or surprise for example.  I guess it’s sort of analogous to the Midwestern “golly gee whiz!”

Cheese and bread is also what I ate as a snack this afternoon.

That mess that looks like a smashed turtle (eww!) is actually a Sandwich Thin with 2oz of Cabot’s 50% reduced extra sharp cheddar melted on it.

It was tasty, but clearly not enough as I attacked this gigantic spoon of peanut butter next.

Thankfully Adam got home earlier than expected and I could start prepping dinner at 5:30.

I roasted up some broccoli,

and threw this Trader Joe’s purchase into the oven as well.

The Mandarin Orange Chicken did not disappoint.

The flavor and texture were spot on for (good) Chinese take out, and each serving had only 190 calories and 1.5 grams of saturated fat (I ate ~1.5 servings).

Overall it was a satisfying dinner.  But can you ever be too satisfied for dessert?

Even when you ate dessert for lunch, the answer to that question is still no!  Especially when it’s the best candy bar on earth.  These Cadbury Crunchie bars might be my new favorite thing.

I’m not sure how tomorrow is going to play out, but we are heading to VA at some point in the morning; we’ll be down there all weekend visiting my in-laws.  Unfortunately there is no internet available to me, so I’ll probably have to do a recap when we get back.  Maybe a short phone post or two for fun?

What’s a strange but fun expression from where you grew up?

Cookie Conundrum

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I got out of Biochem lab early today, which is a good thing because this afternoon is slated to be packed.  We are driving down to Virginia tomorrow to visit my in-laws, but I’ve also got two tests next week so it’s going to be a little crazy.

I took advantage of my extra-time and added a few blocks to my walk home so I could pick up a (much-needed) Cherry Coke Zero and a cup of coffee (to be iced tomorrow).  And then I saw the cookies.

I didn’t grow up eating storebought cookies.  Ever.  I’m pretty sure I’d never even tasted a cookie that wasn’t homebaked before high school.  Even now I’m confused by the grocery cookie store aisle – why would you buy something that would be a bazillion times better if you made it yourself??!?

I have several chocolate chip cookie recipes that are quick and fabulous.  But I don’t know how to make that magical (trans fat laden) cream filling.

I caved.

I’d love to tell you that this was a bad idea, that this wasn’t satisfying, that’d have been much better off with a real foods lunch.

Bull-shit.

Do you prefer storebought or homebaked cookies?  What is your favorite kind of storebought?

Scarlet In The Face

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Boy was I red in the face about skipping a post last night!  Nah, not really 🙂  Actually we got home close to midnight and I knew I had an early morning so I made the healthy living decision to get to bed.  Sometimes I forget to prioritize sleep, which I’m sure relates to the fact that it’s a month later and I’m still coughing.

Back to yesterday.  My test went well.  Not as well as I would have liked, but at least this one I’m sure I passed!  Plus a test meant getting done with class early – I’m a super fast exam taker – which meant I had time to switch my music class to pass/fail (whew!) and get home to visit the husband (yay!).

I had just enough time for a bowl of freshly chopped pineapple before I had to head back to class.

My music class still feels long (at 6-8:40 it is long!), but now that I’m not terrified of what it’s doing to my GPA it feels a little less tedious.

We had to run to Walgreens across town, and I can pull up our Groupons on my phone, so we ended up going out to dinner at 9pm on a whim!

We headed to Scarlet, a cozy little spot that is actually right down the street from our old apartment.

The inside looks fun and inviting, and we always kicked ourselves for not walking over there last year, but after tasting the food it appears we didn’t miss out on much.  The meal wasn’t terrible, and there were highlights, but overall it was disappointing.  Buffalo restaurants all seem to have menus that read like New York hot spots and food that tastes like TGIFriday’s.  But it was fun to have a Wednesday night date with the husband regardless.

Before we realized everything on the menu was fried, we decided to split 4 appetizers.

Adam and I always just eat off of the same plate, so I’m not even going to attempt to show you portion sizes this post.

We started with complimentary bread with flavored butters (tomato, garlic, and honey).

Then Three Cheese Fondue,

Buffalo Shrimp,

Tempura Chicken Tikka,

and Artichoke Francaise.

The buffalo shrimp were a low-point.

The breading was thick and spongy, the sauce spicy in an overpowering way, and if you’re going to go ahead and serve these deep-fried then you might as well use blue cheese dip rather than haphazardly tossing on blue cheese like someone’s eating these with a fork.  We left the shrimp basically untouched and if all the food had been like this we probably would have left, but thankfully other things were a little better.

The chicken – the one thing we knew would be fried – was pretty good.

The peanut sauce had a nice back spice to it.

The artichokes came in a fabulously lemony butter sauce,

but again, we were expecting something that wasn’t fried.  I enjoyed the big, meaty pieces of flesh, but Adam – who usually adores artichokes – wasn’t a fan.

The high point of the meal was the fondue.

We never could identify what the three cheeses were, but this had great texture (no graininess) and paired well with the apple slices.  Adam scooped into the actual bread bowl a bit and declared it nice and doughy.

So overall not the best (or healthiest) meal, but still fun!

This morning I had to be up early to register for my Fall 2011 classes.  I got everything I wanted, yay!  Actually, I should say I got everything I needed; what I really wanted was a forensic psychology class, but it didn’t fit in my schedule.  If I had my druthers I would be able to take forensic psych and forensic anthropology, in addition to my other courses.

Life for the rest of 2011 planned out, I made a nice fruit salad for breakfast.

This was a mix of pineapple, Cara Cara orange, banana, honey, unsweetened shredded coconut, and a few honey peanuts.

The combination of flavors was great.  I almost never eat my fruit with a fork but it’s actually really satisfying.

What classes did you take just for fun in college? 

My first time around in undergrad I switched majors (communication –> education) after a year of taking almost all communication classes so I took the maximum number of credits each semester just to graduate on time.  Back then I was sad I didn’t get to take more English courses (my 2nd major).  Now that I’m back in school I took an Anthropology course just for fun, and plan on doing one again whenever it fits in my schedule.

Way Back Wednesday

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In spite of the title, I’m actually going to start with a bit of prognosticating.  Prognosticate: to predict according to present indications or signs; foretell.

If you knew what that word meant and are offended that I thought you might not, I’m sorry.  If you didn’t know what that word meant and are offended that I think it’s common knowledge, I’m sorry.

Apologies aside, what I’m trying to say is that I posted this lunch in advance.  While you’re reading, I’ll currently be eating leftover roasted green bean fries.

In a baggie for traveling ease.

Plus an eggnog flavored Nutrament.

I used to love these drinks as a kid, they are so tasty and good!  Plus they have the calories/nutrients to count as a meal, and with my big important test following lunch I need a meal I can sip.

Finally, I packed some dried kiwi and hibiscus to snack on during the break before my night class.

This will be my first time eating a Nutrament as a meal (rather than just for funsies because they’re delicious), so I’m hoping that’s enough food to get my through my looong day.

Since Wednesdays are both my long school day and a day I always pack a lunch, it makes sense to do a pre-lunch post.  Pre-posts are a little less interesting to me, so I’ve decided to spice them up with a new weekly blog series – Way Back Wednesdays.  Every Wednesday for the foreseeable future, I’m going to include a few pictures from LBL (Life Before Blogging) for your – and my! – enjoyment.

This week’s WBW, a few fun shots from our senior year of college at University of Miami (the U!).  Like a trip to the zoo on one of my parents’ visits.

Or this shot from Adam’s 21st birthday celebration.

That night was actually back home in St. Thomas, on Christmas break.

Where did you celebrate your 21st birthday?

Test, Testing

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I’ve got my big, important test today (1 of 3 in the next week) so this is going to be a super lame post. 

Mostly I wanted to share with you that 1) When my alarm went off this morning I read notecards in bed and I think this might be my new favorite study technique.

And 2) You should stop by around noon, because I’m debuting a new blog feature with lunch.

Until then, I’ve got Irish Creme Cocoa for the road,

and information to cram.

Where is your favorite spot to study?  Mine’s the treadmill, but in bed isn’t bad either!

Keep on Truckin’

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Another morning, another run in with a truck, or at least that’s what it felt like!  Even though I have a huge test tomorrow, and a meeting scheduled with my department head, the snooze button was definitely pressed!  Adam caught my cold and was too sick to go to his first class so thankfully(?!) he was able to drive me to campus for my meeting later.

I’m not sure what my mega-exhaustion is about, but since I’ve got a slew of important tests between now and next Friday I’m not going to push it.  Returning to the gym would be nice, but after more than a month off, another week really doesn’t make a difference.  Instead I’ve decided to make this week all about strength and stretch moves.  A decision that led me to meet with my department head dressed like this –

I’ve always got the time/energy for at least 10minutes total a day!  Here’s what I accomplished throughout this afternoon (reps) –

After coffee, of course.

Yesterday I grabbed a cup of (unsweetened) butter toffee flavored coffee from the gas station, and this morning I mixed it with Silk Vanilla Almond Milk and maple syrup over ice.

After my housekeeping trip to campus – my schedule next semester looks crazy!  I register on Thursday so please keep your fingers crossed for me – I baked up a plate of green bean fries.

Baked green beans are where it’s at!

You’ll never believe me if you don’t try for yourself, but they’re better than french fries.

I also had a yogurt bowl.

The base was Target brand Archer Farms Fat Free Honey Almond Yogurt.

The Thick and Creamy line is just like Greek, but I wish I’d tasted before I went ahead and bought two, fake-sugar taste city.

Thankfully my toppings made up for it.

A sliced banana, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some honey roasted peanuts.

Honey roasted peanuts are basically addictive.

I had several handfuls straight from the bag.

Those handfuls didn’t stop my ever-growing hunger though.  Usually we don’t eat dinner before 8pm, but tonight I was ready at 5!  We started with salads –

Studies show that eating a salad before dinner can help you to eat less overall.

This salad was dressed delectably, in a mix of the last of the Stubbs BBQ sauce shaken with a splash of buttermilk.

Other toppings – on a baby arugula base – included dried cranberries and buttermilk blue cheese crumbles.

I think a bbq sauce salad will have to be a repeat in this week’s meal plan.

The main meal was a pretty fantastic idea as well.

Making pressed sandwiches on our George Foreman grill has been our “thing” this year, and this one included roasted asparagus!

Also 1000 island dressing, 99% lean sliced turkey, and 2oz of 50% reduced extra-sharp cheddar.

On cranberry poppy seed bread from a loaf my grandma bought us at The Bakehouse last week.

It was a pretty fantastic sandwich.

But it still didn’t quite squelch my hunger.  Enter 1/2 an Arnold’s Sandwich Thin, topped with pb, marshmallow topping, and chocolate chips for dessert.

Squelched!

And, um, I should probably be sleeping instead of blogging, so – see ya!

What is your favorite type of peanut?  (honey roasted, candied, red skin…)