Me Eat Food

by Emily

We are 36ish hours away from finding out where we are going to live for the next 5ish years, so clearly I can’t think about anything else. I’m not even going to try to make this coherent. Food good. Me eat food.

I skipped breakfast and packed too light of a lunch and my poor planning for the first half of the day left me starving for the 2nd half. Whoops. At least my protein-light mid-day meal was tasty. Leftover turkey egg cup filling (sautéed mushrooms with green onion and shredded cheese),

which I topped with some sweet seaweed snack.

It was a good combination. Plus 70% dark chocolate.

On a positive note – I aced my quiz. 101%!

I show you dinner first, since most of my food consumption was in snack form.

Cheese tortellini (about 1.5 servings) with green pepper, Kerrygold Skellig cheese (a sweet cheddar), and Tarragon vinaigrette.

Before dinner I had… A pear.

Jalopeño poppers and bread and butter pickles,

a handful of chips x2,

and a slice of turkey.

And after dinner I had more chips and cheese.

I was going to have a cookie too but then I got distracted looking at apartments …. in 5 different cities.

12Mar2013

Shades Of White

by Emily

My 2nd day as a soon-to-be surgeon’s wife was good but busy. I have a gigantic quiz tomorrow and we have to score at least a 90% on it to remain in our program. <– yikes!

No breakfast again. I do have some bars in my cabinet but the mornings are my busiest hours and I don’t remember to eat and even if I did I wouldn’t have the time. Instead I just really enjoy my lunch.

On today’s menu – a (2 Tbsp of) chunky peanut butter and (2 slices of) turkey bacon sandwich (Thin).

A green pear.

And a package of seaweed snacks.

I also grabbed a coffee.

A mix of regular and decaf with hazelnut creamer. I started adding a scoop of ice to my cups – after watching a classmate do it the other day and being impressed with her genius – and it makes my coffees so much more enjoyable. I definitely prefer my “hot” beverages luke-warm.

In the afternoon I snacked on a scoop of 1% cottage cheese with half of a Liberte coconut yogurt and a sprinkle of shredded coconut.

I realize the picture doesn’t really show any of that though; my camera doesn’t do shades of white.

<– Sidenote: I’ve decided that my first foray into fiction is going to be a book titled 50 Shades of White, the pendulum swing from 50 Shades of Grey. It will be 500 pages of a waspy couple having missionary-style sex and peeing with the door closed. You’d read that, right? 😀

Other afternoon snacks included a handful of tortilla chips,

and a stolen square of Adam’s Godiva Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Bar.

I wanted to snack after dinner too, but it’s better that I didn’t because I already ate enough today. Sometimes nibbling helps me focus on studying but our pantry is looking ruff…

Don’t worry, our dinner was better than that joke.

I had a handful of Terra Thai Basil Curry Vegetable Chips.

A pile of roasted green beans.

And 2 turkey egg cups.

{Inspired by this recipe} We put two slices of turkey inside each of our muffin tin cups / filled the bottoms of chopped sautéed mushrooms and green onions and shredded cheese / topped each cup with an egg / then baked for 30ish minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.

I spent the rest of the evening cramming and I’ve got to get back to it. Tomorrow’s quiz is on the macro- and micronutrient values for the serving sizes per food group for a diabetic and renal diet. Lots and lots of numbers to know; we can’t all lay around on the job…!

11Mar2013

Almost Spring And Almost Celebrating

by Emily

Today has been just fantastic, one of those days that reminds me how happy I am with my life. I felt totally blessed.

First, lunch. I was too busy for breakfast but I did have a nice noon-time meal. Dannon Oikos Cafe Latte Greek Yogurt. So smooth and creamy, and the flavor was better than any other coffee yogurt I’ve ever had.

Cascadian Farm Crunchy Oats & Honey Granola Bar.

GoGo Squeez Cinnamon Applesauce.

’twas a good lunch.

But the news I got just before lunch was even better – Adam is going to be a surgeon! Ok, so it wasn’t surprising news, but it was good to have things confirmed. Today is the first half of Match Day and on Friday we’ll learn where (and if) we’re going to move. So exciting! I opened the e-mail and burst into tears, right there on the Neuro floor. Apparently I’ve been a little bit stressed. But I can’t stress enough, how proud I am of my husband!!!

I got home before him this afternoon so I got him a few congratulation gifts.

I may have stolen a few bites. 2 dumplings,

and 2 big bites of frosting.

Yum!

And I got more good news this evening – my night class was canceled! This meant I had free time to celebrate the real news with Adam. The past two days have basically been Spring so we took a long walk up Elmwood, in sandals natch.

My taste buds are even more ready for Spring than my feet. We wanted to get take-out so we could go home and watch “The Nanny” and I had the hardest time choosing food because I had to have something fresh. I couldn’t stand the thought of cheddar, popcorn or runny eggs, my usual favorites!

I ended up getting a green juice for our walk.

And bringing a salad from Ashker’s home.

I added banana peppers, tomatoes, and kalmata olives to the Roasted Turkey, Apple, Walnut Salad; which also came with spring mix, feta, craisins, and Vidalia onion dressing. It was exactly what I’d been craving.

Dessert was something amazing.

I’ve been stalking local freezers for weeks and I squealed with joy when I finally spotted Ben and Jerry’s Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt last night.

Three things you should know:

I adore both lemon and lavender in dessert
I have a legit problem with Ben and Jerry’s ice creams
I recently decided that Liz Lemon is my spirit tv character

I had 1.5 servings and loved every bite.

Buffalo people – I found my pint at the Elmwood Tops.

Have a great night!

10Mar2013

Briefly

by Emily

I’ll admit it – this rotation is exhausting! I stayed in bed past noon. Then went to Gramma Mora’s for lunch with a Groupon.

“Seafood” nachos to start. <– not good, at all.

Cheese enchilada.

A handful of chocolate pretzels.

Caramel and cheddar popcorn mix with Adam during Oz. <– movie was not good, at all.

More Bluefin. Spicy crunchy crab and tempura sweet potato.

Don’t forget to turn forward your clocks!

9Mar2013

2nd Friday

by Emily

I did manage to pack breakfast today – eating before I leave the house is never gonna happen – but I got so into my patients that I totally forgot to eat it. The services I’m currently on are fascinating: Neurology Step-Down and the Surgical ICU.

At least lunch looked a lot like breakfast. A Quaker Apple Walnut Oatmeal

topped with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

That combo is out of this world.

I ended up staying almost an hour late this afternoon because I took on another patient at the last minute. Thankfully I was able to head out for fun as soon as I got home. By the by, I know I mentioned working out today, but my right foot issue has flared up badly and if I’m honest with myself it’s probably at least another week or two before I’ll be back on a treadmill. Boo!

Yes, it is the first Friday of this rotation, but during the second Friday of every month the art gallery on my campus hosts a free event for the public. There is art – well, some art and lots of “art” – and nibbles.

I’m not sure what that red sauce was but it sure was tasty, my veggies were even better than my cheese.

I ate this piece of Easter candy before I headed out for the evening.

I met up with some friends for drinks before we headed to the gallery.

Couldn’t resist getting another McKenzie’s cider.

After the museum, a friend and I headed to Blue Fin to get some sushi specials for dinner.

An asparagus roll and a spicy crunchy crab roll, all for $10 including tip and tax!

What’s the best deal on sushi in your town?

7Mar2013

An Alarming Morning

by Emily

So… My alarm didn’t go off this morning. I woke up naturally, 5 minutes after I was supposed to have been taking my coat off at the hospital.

Eeeeek! It was a stressful morning. And I may not have brushed my teeth yet today (don’t worry, I chugged mouthwash!) but I did have a good shift at the hospital. I worked on some really interesting patients and managed to get all of my work done on time, in spite of my late start. <– real talk though, I was only a little bit late; I’m basically a master at speedy dressing. I even looked sort of cute!

I clearly didn’t eat breakfast, but I did manage to grab my packed lunch out of the fridge. More black-eyed pea salad.

A new variety of apple.

And a half serving of dark chocolate.

I had a little more chocolate after work too, in the form of a caramel marshmallow egg.

The Cadbury eggs have nothing on this guy.

Dinner ended up being a slice of buffalo chicken pizza (that’s actually a half slice, I split with Adam) with baby carrots and blue cheese.

So good. This was actually just supposed to be a snack but I never could motivate myself back up off the couch again. I guess that means today’s workout will have to be a Friday affair.

When was the last time your alarm let you down?

6Mar2013

Loaded

by Emily

I’ve made it halfway through the first week of this rotation and I only sort of want to nap for a million years. The teachers have warned us for years that this is the placement that makes everyone get in bed at 9 pm. I’m crazy, so I’m still staying up ’til midnight, but I’m definitely tired!

I’ve been eating breakfast at the hospital but I need to figure out a new system because the cost of bars is going to add up. This one was a free sample at least.

And tasty too. Cascadian Farm Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bar.

Lunch was more black-eyed pea salad (beans, green pepper, cheese, smoked almonds).

The Talenti gelato pint made an awesome leftovers container; gotta love that screw-on lid.

Plus a pear.

I skipped the dark chocolate today because I knew we were planning a big dinner.

Of course, then I decided to get a milkshake on the way home.

You have to do a yearly Shamrock Shake! This was so good.

I also had a bagel thin with smoked salmon cream cheese when I got home.

I’ve been so hungry today, I want to say it was yesterday’s workout but let’s be real, I only did 4 miles.

Dinner was fantastic; loaded baked potatoes for the win.

Toppings included turkey bacon, mushrooms cooked in turkey bacon drippings, Smart Balance Light, shredded cheese, and green onions.

We were both practically licking our plates.

And I had a Toasted Onion Sea Snax while we watched The Nanny.

Love that show! We’ve got two more episodes to go and then I’ve got to get to bed. Good night!

5Mar2013

Cider House Run

by Emily

Let me apologize in advance for what is sure to be a post riddled with typos. I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises. I’m two days in and I’m going to have to agree with my friends who were in the previous rotation – this placement is exhausting.

Breakfast was a Pirouette Cinnamon Pecan Barre.

This bar was in my Yumvelope shipment. The ingredient list is great – dates, walnuts, pecans, agave nectar, hemp seed, rolled oats, hemp protein, ground flax-seed,brown rice protein, vanilla, cinnamon, sea salt, peanuts – but I wasn’t a big fan of the final flavor; too much date.

Plus hospital coffee with 2% milk.

We get free soda and coffee at this hospital so expect to see a lot of caffeine breaks!

Lunch was an easy assortment. A Pear Chobani.

A Honeycrisp apple.

And 70% dark chocolate.

I also packed this blue algae nut butter packet but I threw it out one lick in.

Much too gaggy.

At the end of the day, Adam texted me that he and a friend were at a bar near our house so I met them for a quick drink.

The McKenzie’s Seasonal Reserve Hard Cider was great. It had notes of cinnamon that were quite tasty.

I headed straight from Cole’s to meet my friend for a gym visit. I’m back to the Couch to 10k plan, right where I left off, though obviously I’ve got to stick with it this time. 2 minutes of running/3 minutes of walking, x 10. I am fat, I am out of shape, I was still a little drunk – my workout was so flipping hard!

In spite of my extreme tiredness and Adam’s messing up our meal plan by eating while I was at the gym, I managed to cobble together a good dinner. I was worried about not having enough to eat, but I think I ultimately went a bit overboard!

My favorite black-eyed pea salad,

green beans with shredded parmesan,

and 1.5 servings of Wegman’s vegan “chicken” nuggets with sweet and sour sauce.

Everything was delicious. Those nuggets are awesome.

Have you ever done the inebriated workout?