Author Archives: Emily

Verdict? Amazing

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Who guessed that my exciting package was from Amazing Grass?  You would be correct!

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We decided not to open the huge jar we bought until after the move to Buffalo.

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For now I have to be excited with the sample packets that they sent.

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I did some work on the computer before dinner and I snacked on this Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy in cinnamon roll.

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Yums, I saw this flavor floating around blog world a few months ago and was so jealous.  It lived up to my expectations.

For dinner we decided to go with stir fry to help use up some ingredients from the pantry, mainly –

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I very loosly followed a recipe from a magazine, but mainly was directed by the ingredients on hand.  We started by draining, pressing, and cubing a block of extra firm tofu.  Then we shook the cubes with some cornstarch.

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Next we added some sesame seeds (the last of the seeds + some wasabi sesame seeds) to the bag.

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We used the wok to brown the tofu in a little bit of evoo.  Then we removed the tofu from the pan and replaced it with 16oz of frozen veggies.  After the veggies cooked up we poured in some stir fry sauce, about 2/3 of a cup.

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I had combined our two sauces (with a smidgeof soy sauce) before I realized that the veggie bag actually came with a sauce packet, whoops!

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Finally we added the tofu back to the pan, stirred to combine, and voila.

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My serving, topped with a little red pepper.

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After dinner I hung out in front of the tv, has anyone else gotten into Make It or Break It?  I know it’s for teenagers but I get very easily pulled in to anything with gymnastics.  Growing up on an islands it wasn’t an interest I really got to pursue but I did go to gymnastics camp the summer before 6th grade.

I made myself a super impressive plate of cookies and chocolate milk while I watched.

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The cookies were a serving each of 2 varieties of Newman’s Own Organics.

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Verdict?  Rocked my socks!  The pb cookies had a great roasted flavor to them and the chocolate chip ones were nice and crumbly.

The chocoaltemilk was skim milk with an Amazing Grass Kidz packet.

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Verdict?  Impressive, although I don’t know what the difference between regular and “kidz” will be.  It was a little grassy but I actually liked that part of the flavor.

After my snack Adam and I took a quick stroll around the ‘hood for funsies and now it’s time for bed.  Sweet dreams!

P.S.  Everyone has seen the constantcoverage of MJ’s death, but who else has seen this?!  No matter what you think of Jackson as an artist (and I 100% believe that personal failings do not take away from professional talent), I have been disgusted by the nonstop media coverage of his death.  1) He was 1 person, do we seriously not have anything more important to talk about?  2) Even if it wasn’t weird to focus on a story like this Jackson was accused of being a pedophile.  What is wrong with our country that we would glorify a man with this reputation?  What message are we sending to young viewers, let alone viewers who have suffered abuse?

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

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Hi again, Merry Monday everyone!  Post-post (that prefix use made me smile) I spent the morning helping Adam fill out some scholarship applications.  I also took care of some general business around the house room.  The thing I am most looking forward to in the move is having more than one room; sleeping, eating, and working in the same place end up making the work space feel hard to work in and the sleep space hard to sleep in.

I also did 10minutes of strength training.  I’ve decided to do Caitlin and Kath‘s 10minute challenge, so I’ll be doing (at minimum) 10minutes of strength training every day.  The fact that this 10minute set (click the link to their sites to see it) made me sweat is all the more incentive to turn it into a routine.

After my shower we rounded up some coupons and headed to the grocery store.

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Between keeping the coupons Key Foods prints at the register, getting offers through the blog, and tearing coupons from magazines, we have saved some good $ this year.  One of the hardest things about next year will be working part time (and right now I don’t even know where I will be able to find a job) and living on Adam’s med school loans, there will be a big lack of cash flow.  We have already begun to budget though, we made a list of all of our monthly expenses, though right now we can only estimate some of them.  For now, the plan is to have $200 a week (that’s $100 a piece) for food and fun.  Monthly expenses like rent, internet, etc will be paid by credit card (we always pay on time and I like the miles) and things like textbooks and prescription drugs will not be taken out of our weekly cash.  But everything else – groceries, movies, magazines – will have to come out of that $200.  Parts of it sound rough but I am looking forward to the challenge.  I will acknowledge that both of our families have very generously offered to help us with some expenses, I’m not going to begin to pretend that I know what it’s like to be a family that actually struggles.  What does your family do to budget?

After the grocery I went all fancy and utilized my Easy Mac for lunch.

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I went *extra fancy* and added 2 chopped hotdogs to it.

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Check out the impressive nutritional stats on these TJ’s Spicy Jalopeno Chicken Sausages:

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Together they made a tasty treat.

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I was feeling snazzy with my classy lunch so I used a pretty bowl.

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And I way spiced it up; it addition to jalopeno sausages I added red pepper flakes and Chipotle Tabasco, look  at that spice!

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I kept the hot party in my mouth to a dull roar by drinking milk on the side.

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It’s pink because I used my last CIB (sugar free strawberry) packet it it, who-woo I can finally open my fun package 🙂

After that husband and I went up to the city for my doctor’s appointment.  After a long waiting room visit and a quick office visit we took a long walk around Times Square.  The thing I’m most sad about with the move will be walking away from how much we get to walk here in nyc.

I have a very low-key evening planned but it does include making dinner, I’ll be back with that lata!

Back to Business

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First things first, in numerical order:

  1. I hope everyone had a fabulous July 4th!  I did not post because I spent the entire weekend in bed; as excited as I am about the big move, it is possible that the stress of having no idea what I will be doing next year is getting to me.
  2. As promised, I chose a winner for my Flogg giveaway at noon on Saturday.  I used a random integer generator to get –

The new blog looks/sounds great!

I don’t reeeeally keep an organized journal, but occassionally i tally my food and/or exercise in the margins of my notebooks. Especially when i am bored at work during meetings. I think it is helpful for really ascertaining my daily intake/outgo (outtake?).

So, Joanna, please e-mail me your address so I can send you your prize!

Now today, per usual, I am behind schedule.  Right now I am so stressed that I end up falling behind schedule, and then I’m stressed that I am behind schedule, and then that additional stress causes me to make more mistakes, and so on and so on.  I’m like the tippler from The Little Prince!  My goal for today is to remain calm.  So I’m posting the following to-do list as more of a “hope” than a “plan.”

Goals for the day

  • quickie workout
  • 3+ hours of chemistry studying
  • doctor’s appointment at 4:30 (I guess this one is just straight scheduled)
  • load of laundry
  • set up my boxes for the post-office tomorrow
  • make a nutritious dinner

I’ll let you know how it goes!

Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

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Hi there folks!  Was anyone else feeling lazy in the heat today?  I just couldn’t seem to get going, ever!  In my defense, originally, my alarm clock didn’t go off so I got a late start.  I pushed myself out the door and headed to Starbucks for a study session.

I did breakfast there since I felt bad bringing in my own food, a low fat spinach feta wrap,

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and a small Naked Green Machine juice.

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All together:

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Way to go Starbucks, I couldn’t believe how good this was!  I will certainly be going back to order this wrap again, it had great flavor and chew.  Plus I hit every food group and got a tasty meal for just 410 calories.

My study efforts were not as successful.  The table next to me (after intense eavesdropping I think it was a girl and her landlord who was also her boss) had the longest, loudest conversation!  But even after they left I couldn’t focus.  I ended up working from 10:30 – 12:00, staring into space for another half an hour, and then calling it quits.  I came how to veg out and was very happy about it 🙂

Plus I had a great lunch.

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I’ll be honest though, I started with dessert.

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After my row of Riter Sport I had roasted yellow squash,

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roasted cauliflower, and

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carrot salad (the recipe is posted here).

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Also a serving of Asiago cheese.

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I spent some serious time enjoying Bones, and I enjoyed a few too many of these salt water taffies my parents brought us from Hilton Head (they went to a wedding before visiting us) too.

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I’d like to say it stopped there, but I ended up eating a bunch of other random crap throughout the afternoon.  First I stole some of A’s chicken nuggets,

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yes they are dino shaped, and yes he is 23.  And then I ate 1/4C of peanuts.

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Finally I realized I wasn’t getting full so I made myself stop and just wait for dinner.  I think part of the problem was boredom and part was being tired.

Dinner was easy peasy:  quinoa, topped with canned seasoned mustard greens, and baked tofu.  Plus a sprinkle of goat cheese.

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The tofu I drained, pressed, thinly sliced, rubbed with rice vinegar, rubbed with maple syrup, sprinkled with jerk seasoning, and cooked at 475 for 20minutes.

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I made another cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and no sugar added CIB (this time in vanilla) to drink with dinner.

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I got a very very exciting package in the mail the other day (can you guess what it is?) and I refuse to open it until my CIB is gone.

Husband and I are planning on going out for dessert later but I’ll post about that in the morning.  This summer is not going to be successful until I start following a bedtime!  Peace.

Don’t forget about my Flogg giveaway!  It ends tomorrow at noon and you can enter by commenting at this post.

Good News

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We got some good news this morning which means I am finally ready to share my news with you guys – we got accepted for an apartment in Buffalo, New York.  We are moving to Buffalo (to an actual apartment, not a studio, yays!) on August 1st.  Adam is going to be attending medical school at Buffalo University.  I am going to be taking science prereqs, hopefully, and looking into RD and PA programs for fall of 2010.  I am still not sure what my work situation will be, but I am trying not to stress.  We are so excited.

Anyways, I will be spending July doing lots and lots of studying to prepare.  After breakfast this morning I headed down to Starbucks to get my study on.

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I drank a grande nonfat ice caramel machiatto while I worked.  P.S. I always order these (although I don’t order them often) with 1/2 the pumps of vanilla so they aren’t sooooo sweet. 

I worked from 10:30 – 2:30 when it was time to go to the doctor’s office.  I had a yearly check up but I ended up having to wait for 1.5hours in the waiting room!!!  It was ok though, I got to do more reading in my Chemistry for Dummies book.

When I got home it was after 5 and I quickly got sucked in to 3hours of Bones.  I know it’s bad, but I am obsessed.  I was doing some random snacking, including 2 unphotograhed servings of Newman’s Own Organics Spelt Pretzels, so I knew I needed my make myself an actual plate.

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Green grapes, 1serving of TJ’s sliced Asiago, and some baby carrot butts from a salad I made for tomorrow.

Around 8:30 the husband and I set out for a quick run.  We did two miles again (sticking with my training schedule).  I had to walk the last three blocks because my right ankle hurt but I think that was because it was slippery from rain so I’m not too worried.

When I got home I wasn’t feeling all that hungry, I guess my snack plate became dinner, so I made this.

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Unsweetened vanilla almond milk with chocolate no sugar added CIB was a much better mix,

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I gulped this down.

I have to shower and then I’m going to snuggle up with Adam in bed to continue to discuss some move logistics.  Nighty night.

Where all have you lived?  Buffalo will be my 4th city, I was born in St. Thomas, went to college in Miami, and worked in NYC for the last two years.

1, 2, 3

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Good morning!  I need to start by going back to last night.  My husband love me very much, and is ok with the fact that he is my 3rd love.  So he delivered the first two to me last night.

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Devoured.  Also last night, I assembled these ingredients.

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Nonfat plain Fage, 1/4C oatmeal, 1T ground flax, a few unsweetened dried blueberries, and a sliced plum equaled this bowl of muesli this morning.

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The flavors were good but it was very thick, I don’t think I can do both flax and oats.

As soon as this post is up and I am dressed I am heading out to do some studying, see ya later!

What do you love?

I Didn’t Have to Go to School Today

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The title doesn’t really relate to anything, I’m just still excited about it 🙂

My parents really wore us out, we stayed in bed until 11am getting our sleep on!  When I did finally wake up I had a killer headache that knocked me back into bed for most of the day.  When I did finally get up we had no food so breakfast/lunch was this –

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I ate one row of this Riter Sport bar.

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I took care of some business and did some cleaning and then Adam and I headed to Trader Joe’s to fix the food situation.  I needed to eat something so I made a cup of this before I left.

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Vanilla hempmilk and No Sugar Added Strawberry CIB are a bad combo, lesson learned.

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I choked it down (with a fish oil pill) but I did not enjoy it.

We had a great time at Trader Joe’s but it took forever.  We went to Staples first so I could redeem a coupon and then we did some serious aisle wandering.  I was starving by the time we got home.  I ate this Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy Yogurt in cherry cobbler.

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Yums!  This is a 100calorie product that I am 100% behind.  I found this on a big sale the other day so expect to see a lot of them!  I also ate a serving of this TJ’s sliced Asiago cheese.

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Next we headed out for an easy run.  We did 2miles around the ‘hood.  My goal for June is to get back into running.  Here is my training schedule – I will do 3-4 runs per week

  • week 1 – 2miles
  • week2 – 3miles
  • week3 – 3.5miles
  • week4 – 4miles
  • week5 – 4.5miles

I have really bad joints so I’m forcing myself to really take it easy and be careful with them.

When we got home we got right down to dinner.  I ate a serving of these Newman’s Own Organics Spelt Pretzels.

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These are so tasty, they are my favorite type of pretzel.

Dinner was quick, easy, and delicious.  We threw together these ingredients in under 15minutes.

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We cooked the mac following the box directions and added 1.5C of frozen artichoke hearts in the last 3minutes.  After draining the pasta we stirred in the cheese powder and 1can of boneless skinless tuna.  I ignored the directions at that point, skipping the milk entirely and subbing evoo for butter. 

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Finally I topped my serving with 1.5T seasoned bread crumbs, 1T goat cheese, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

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This was so satisfying and delicious, I even made a recipe page for it!

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After a much-needed shower, it will be time for bed.  I have an early morning planned for tomorrow so I’ll see you then 🙂

What is your favorite thing to add to mac and cheese?  We always do canned tuna or salmon and some sort of veggie.

The Wright Stuff

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Today was my parents’ last day visiting us and we packed as much in as possible!  I love how my family vacations, we try to see (and taste!) everything.  While today involved more indulging I would say that for a vacation day I did a pretty good job of balancing things out.  It’s seemed like we’ve had a lot of celebrations lately and it’s hard to know where to draw the line with fun foods.  Today was the right balance of fun without going overboard.

This morning Adam and I walked over to the train to meet my parents (they took a cab from the hotel because we’ve walked them a little too much!).  I did a train version of pb and j for breakfast.

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Peanut Butter Cookie Lara Bar with a Stoneyfield Lowfat Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie.  This was a great combo but a little too satisfying, I shared half of the drink with the husband.

Our first activity ending up being the most fun we’ve had this whole visit – a 2 hour bike ride through Central Park!  I’m not going to lie, I don’t really know how to ride a bike!  Growing up on an island it wasn’t possible very often and the last time I was on a bike at all was at least five years ago.  We had a wobbly start but I sucked it up and did my best and after 15minutes or so I was loving it!

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We moved pretty quickly so we saw a lot in the 2 hours.  Our most fun stop was at the Hans Christen Andersen “Ugly Duckling” statue.

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My mom is a librarian so she was right at home 🙂

After we dropped off the bikes Adam and I were starving so we hit up the other Subway.

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I got a 6inch turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, banana peppers, and chipotle sauce.  Yum.

After that we did some major city exploring.  We went to the Guggenheim Museum which was tons of fun.  My favorite artists were Van Gogh and Degas, but we also learned a lot of interesting facts about Frank Lloyd Wright (the architect who designed the museum).  We used the free audio tour and it really added to my enjoyment.

After that we went to St. John’s Cathedral.  Gorgeous!  While we were inside it started pouringso we ended up waiting out the storm for more than 30minutes.  During our wait the church was suddenly filled with what looked like peasants who used a time machine – they were extras from “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (with Nicholas Cage!) that was filming nearby!

When the rain finally calmed down a bit we got only midly soaked getting to dinner.  Our destination was the Pacific Grill in South Street Seaport.  I was starving again by the time we got to dinner and I attacked this bread with butter.

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I ordered a diet coke to drink but Adam and my dad got a bucket of beer and I helped myself to one.

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For my meal I went traditional with fish and chips.

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This was tasty but way too heavy; I gave my dad 1 (of 3) of the fish sticks and shared my fries with Adam.

Afterwards we went back to my parents’ room to say goodbye.  We hung out for a bit just chillaxing (I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a quick nap).  I ate some Goldfish crackers from my parents’ plane trip before my nap.

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Around 11 we said our final goodbyes and walked home.  It would be sad but we are seeing them again soon.  And I will see you again soon, in the morning!

A heads up, fun things on the summer agenda –

  1. Family reunion with Adam’s family in Virgina at his parents’ new home
  2. 1week visit to St. Thomas to see my parents
  3. Moving (to a soon to be announced location!)