Author Archives: Emily

Bed 1; Emily 0

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I, of course, did not get to bed quickly last night.  Seriously, Emily??  I get so frustrated with myself that I can’t seem to conquer bedtime!  I did manage to get today off on the right foot.  When Adam left for school (7:30ish) I got right out of bed and brewed some coffee.

—With Silk Almond Milk and cinnamon sugar.  This was the last of the Archer Farm Cinnamon Vanilla Nut; it was ok, but I don’t think I’ll be buying more.  The smell was fabulous but the flavor was burnt.

I spent my morning reading the position paper that I’ll be presenting in November.  FYI – position papers are papers put out by the American Dietetic Association to clarify their position on a particular issue.  Our topic is the ethics of feeding and hydration.  I already knew a lot about the Terri Schiavo case, but it was really interesting to learn more about the ethical guidelines behind very young/old patients.  I met up with my group at noon to discuss, but first I made breakfast –

I am super jazzed about that recipe; I came up with it just as I was falling asleep a few weeks ago and I think it ended up being super tasty and original.  Plus I would really, really, really like to attend the Foodbuzz Festival and this is one of the few contests where I feel like my entry actually stands a chance.

After my group meeting I had to do more transfer credit arguing, so lunch ended up being eaten in class.  A cucumber in Orgo,

And a Green SuperFood Berry Whole Food Energy Bar in Anatomy –

The bar was a free sample from Amazing Greens, and probably not something I would have purchased for myself, but it was actually really good.  At first the flavor is more “omg, are you kidding me?!” but a few bites in it turns into “hmmn, ok, pretty damn good.”  It’s sort of a grassy, nutty flavor with aftertones of fruit.  Plus for 210calories it did the trick of filling me up while I’m stuck on campus.

I typed post up in the library, and as soon as I press publish I’m going to go hunker down with some Orgo reading.  Hopefully after an hour or two of solid work I’ll feel caught up enough to go to the gym.

P.S. Voting goes until Sept. 23; if you have a second I would deeply appreciate your vote!  Or not, because I sort of feel like a creeper just asking!  🙂http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/1/view/363

Fall Fruit Panzanella, Nature’s Pride Bread Ambassador Entry

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Panzanella is an Italian creation known as “bread salad.”  The savory dish typically involves tomatoes and summer vegetables.  I decided to put my own spin on it, and created a sweeter salad to showcase some fall fruits.

This recipe is for six servings, but can easily be multiplied for a larger crowd (or divided for a single serving).  The dish is lightly sweetened and can work as a heathy dessert or component of dinner or breakfast.

Fall Fruit Panzanella, serves 6

  • 6 slices Nature’s Pride 100% Whole Wheat bread
  • 6 Tbsp chopped walnuts
  • 6 Tbsp butter or butter substitute
  • 2 cups uniformly chopped pears – I recommend Bosc, but the mild Asian would work as well
  • 2 cups uniformly chopped apples – Honeycrisp, Gala, or any non-sour variety will do
  • 6 tsp brown sugar
  • 3 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 pinches salt
  1. Lightly toast slices of bread.  Remove the crusts, and cube bread into small uniform pieces.  Each slice should yield approximately 20 cubes; it is easiest to stack the bread and cut all at once.
  2. In a skillet over medium heat, toast the chopped walnuts.  This should take 2-3 minutes; the walnuts are finished when you just start to smell them toasting.  Set aside the toasted walnuts.
  3. Reduce heat to low and melt the butter, swirling to coat the bottom of the skillet.
  4. Add chopped apples and pears to the melted butter.  Cook 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fruit has just started to soften.
  5. Add cubed bread to the fruit in the skillet.  Sprinkle in cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt and toss to coat everything evenly.
  6. Continue to cook the mixture, on low heat, for 1-2 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.
  7. Remove panzenella from skillet and top with toasted walnuts.

Note – this recipe is my entry to be a Nature’s Pride Bread Ambassador at the 2010 Foodbuzz Festival.

P.S. Voting for Project Food Blog opened today, please vote for me if you think I have what it takes – http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/1/view/363

He’s Just Like Garfield

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I did not get enough work done today!  I got behind from my “free” weekend last week and I’m still making work up, and I have 4 exams next week so things are feeling a little crazy.  But I did something so that feels good.  Progress, people!

This morning we sent the in-laws off with a hearty breakfast from Panos.

I ordered “The Fix,” which was Two eggs, scrambled with Feta, in a grilled Pita, served with homefries.  I made some adjustments – mozzarella subbed in for feta, plus broccoli and spinach.

I forgot to ask for no butter on my pita so I ended up taking a few sandwich bites and then eating the insides out.  I left a lot of my huge pile of hash browns as well.

I think we sent them off full!  I wrote my blog address down for my m-i-l so she might start stopping by (hi Barb!).

I spent the morning studying – and internet time killing 😦 – at home.  The last of the 7-layer bar was calling me.

I cut it up into little pieces for ease in eating without crumming on my Orgo book.

Around 3 the husband came home from the lab and we drove over to my campus so I could go to the gym.  My knees have been feeling off so I decided to do a nice low-impact treadmill run.

  • 5minute walking warm up
  • 20minutes jogging
  • 5minute walking cool down

I covered 2.53miles.  I finished with a super quick stretch, the gym was closing as I left!

Adam and I studied in the library for a couple of hours – although, again, I got distracted by the internet; gleesh!  I packed some plums and a Babybel Light to snack on.

I also opened this Turtle candy bar my in-laws brought me.

I ate 1.5 and gave the rest to the husband.

I should not have wasted any more time, but when we got home and Adam asked if I wanted to go for a walk my answer was “of course!”  We didn’t have any destination in mind so we ended up visiting the store kitties.

The “store kitties” are two cats that live in a clothing shop on Elmwood, the husband is obsessed with them.  They are ginormous; one has huge paws and is just a big cat, and the other is a total fatty. 

Sidenote 1 – Adam and I have been talking for weeks about baking a lasagna just so we can take a picture of it with the fat cat.  Sidenote 2 – when we lived in Park Slope there was a store puppy, a french bulldog that visited a shop 13 blocks from our apartment.  We walked those 13 blocks at least 3 times a week so we could go in and be total dog creepers.

Dinner was a cinch when we got home because my m-i-l brought us all sorts of home cooked goodness.

Rosemary chicken (just to note, I only ate one of those two pieces, I don’t think I’m a fan of chicken thighs),

with roasted potatoes.

All we had to do was pan-steam some Red Russian Kale, finished off with a bit of sesame oil.

I dipped every component in ketchup 🙂

This meal felt very hardy.

Now I’m already late for my goal bedtime and I’ve still got to shower; I’m off!

Do you have any “store animals” in your neighborhood?

Holiday Dinner

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Today was an auspicious date – National Cheeseburger Day.

Or was that Cheeburger?

Cheeburger, Cheeburger seemed like the perfect spot to celebrate such an event.  Adam and I were both a little underwhelmed by the food (and service!) quality this evening, but the menu process is a lot of fun and his parents had a really good time.

I ordered the turkey burger platter for dinner, mostly because I needed to get in some veggies in the form of a side salad.

I split with Adam and served him most of the cheese, 90% of the balsamic vinegar, and all of the croutons.  Here is what I ate –

I actually looked at the menu ahead of time this afternoon, and the husband was so proud when I ordered my milkshake without a choices anxiety attack.

That’s a half-serving shake, cinnamon bun and marshmallow flavored, with skim milk substituted in.

The burger toppings were a bit more of a struggle.  I looked like I was cramming for the SAT when the waitress came to the table, but I ended up putting together something good.  Here is the platter –

My turkey burger,

which came topped with….

cheddar cheese, peanut butter, and jalapenos!  The rest of the table couldn’t believe my order but I thought the combination was great.  The different kinds of saltiness worked together well and the creaminess of the pb kept the peppers from being too spicy.  I ate two bites with the bun before I scrapped it, but I finished every last bite of the turkey patty and toppings.

Along with the side salad the platter also came with fries, which came with a side of creamy horseradish sauce.

I planned on eating 1 or 2 and sharing the rest, but no one else wanted any and when the piece de resistance came to the table I knew I was beat.

Nothing beats french fries drenched in malt vinegar.  I ended up eating about 1/3 of them.  All in all, especially given the location, I think I kept things pretty healthy.  Could have been better, but could have been worse too.

By the way; I just did this –

Wish us luck!

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?