It’s been a good day! You would barely know that I have three exams tomorrow … 😉
Our trip to the Buffalo Centre went well. We couldn’t see much due to privacy concerns, but it was really interesting to see the menu selection system and learn a bit more about how appropriate intake for eating disorder patients is determined. Among other things, the RD mentioned that most patients won’t gain weight unless they are taking in at least 2,000 calories a day.
I ate a late lunch (thanks mom!) while I looked at some notes.
A few pieces of sweet and sour chicken,
and veggies picked from a chicken dish.
I got a lot of work done this afternoon and I definitely have to give credit to my student partner –
Dinner was a shrimp roll.
Plus fruit as an apple with Justin’s Maple Walnut Butter.
It’s finally time for my favorite treat of the season –
Silk Soy Nog seriously makes me so happy! It tastes just like (actually, better than!) regular egg nog but only has 90 calories for half a cup and no saturated fat.
The Silk Nog actually showed up at the grocery store back in early November, and it’s possible I had went into crisis-mode because I thought that meant it would be gone before it was seasonally appropriate. Thankfully Silk products have a long shelf-life, so Adam bought me two cartons just to get me to stop whimpering!
I like Silk Nog straight from the carton, in coffee, and in overnight oats, but today’s smoothie might have been it’s best use yet.
For 1, blend –
1 medium frozen banana
1/2 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp malted milk powder
1/2 cup Silk Soy Nog
Topped with seasonal sprinkles for funsies.
It was thick, and sweet, and Christmas-y, and perfect.
I had a late breakfast because I spent my morning at the dentist. My teeth are perfect and now they feel nice and squeaky clean. On of our friends is a hygienist at the practice so it was more like catching up with a friend (literally!) than a scary appointment. I’m not sure what will happen with lunch because I’m actually leaving the house this minute to pick up a school friend. We are heading over the Buffalo Centre for the Treatment of Eating Disorders to get in some observation hours. I’ll see you this evening!
And I’m just glad that I’m no longer the older woman.
No blogging yesterday because I spent the day sleeping, eating, working or playing. <– there was too much of the first two and not enough of the second
My first final of the semester (at 7:40 am!) did not go well. But I shook it off, literally, with a trip to the gym. 30 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6. I took my notes on the elliptical with me and my afternoon test went much better.
The food situation was pretty weak today. In fact, it was nonexistent. I was too busy fighting with the husband to pack lunch this morning (someone was cranky and it wasn’t him) and I didn’t want to spend the money to buy food on campus. Adam and I desperately needed to go to the grocery store so I had him pick me up from school, but that meant waiting on campus until after 5pm.
Since we both hadn’t eaten all day we ended up deciding to split a small plate at Wegmans.
I ate 2 dumplings and most of the veggies and Adam had the rest.
And I was extra glad that I got something into my stomach because it took forever and a day for us to figure out dinner after that. Finally, hours later, I sat down to a big plate of black bean nachos.
It’s been months since my full-on nacho addiction and I think they’ve officially broken their hold over me. Not to say I didn’t enjoy downing that entire plate, but I think I’m good going another 6 months before I have more.
It’s Adam’s birthday so I’m going to keep this post quick and cursory. Well, it’s sort of his birthday. But not really. I’ll explain in a minute.
This morning was about as lazy as it gets. I stayed in bed until past noon and it was glorious. Then Adam and I headed out for a late lunch at Mangoz, a new Jamaican place in our neighborhood.
We split a plate of stewed chicken with plantains and beans and rice.
It was amazing. The best Caribbean food either of us has had since leaving home.
And they had pink Ting.
We’ll be back.
My one accomplishment today was a quick trip to the gym. 30 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6. And I did some studying while I worked out. Followed by a super quick stretch/strength session.
But that was sort of where the productivity ended. We decided to spend the day doing fun stuff (in celebration of Adam turning 26 tomorrow). Adam opened all of his presents a day early.
And I even made an effort to fix my hair.
We went to the mall so Adam could use a gift certificate at Dicks, and cashed in a coupon for Aunt Annie’s as well.
We split this pretzel, slathered in mustard.
The husband’s choice for birthday dinner was Indian food. I got a fig lassi.
And we split a paneer pakora (fried cheese) for an appetizer.
I got the vegetable Korma, with extra okra, for dinner.
I demolished it. I made three plates, and ate every last drop (literally!).
I made myself a little bit ill, but that didn’t stop me from drinking 90% of this coffee milkshake I “shared” with Adam.
Whoops. And now we’re gleefully watching tv.
It’s been a good day, even if it’s not my birthday (or the husband’s!).
Did everyone have a good Friday night? Mine was fun but late-ish (hence the morning post).
I spent yesterday afternoon hanging out; pretending to work but mostly laughing my head off over the latest “South Park” and “New Girl” episodes. Have you seen “The New Girl” yet? Have you seen it more than once? I saw the pilot and vowed never to return but when a recent episode touted Justin Long I made an exception. And then I went back and watched all of the episodes I missed. Awkward first episode, hysterical first season.
Afternoon snacks included popcorn,
a Biscoff spread spoon,
and a piece of this Theo Gingerbread Spice Bar.
I didn’t care for the raw ginger taste of this that much, but the husband (whose taste is a bit stunted due to his missing sense of smell) was a fan.
My late lunch and Adam’s early dinner was easy, peasy, cheesy, and a bit disappointing.
We gussied up boxed mac ‘n cheese with roasted zucchini, tons of peas, a little bit of butter, and a dollop of reduced-fat cream cheese.
But the peas – which we usually love – totally consumed all of the other flavors. Every bite tasted like pea! And the cheese factor was completely lacking.
My evening adventures included a stop at the planetarium.
Adam and I went early this year to a Broadway light show that wasn’t really our speed, though we could tell that most of the other patrons were loving it. The director happened to come across my unenthusiastic post online and asked if I’d like a few free tickets so I could see another show that I might enjoy more.
So last night Anna, Janessa, and I slapped on our 3-D glasses and went to see the Laser Holiday Show.
This time I knew most of the songs and could sing along (in my head!) and I had a great time. We all agreed that it was a great way to kick off the holiday season.
Note – I was given the tickets as an unsatisfied customer working with a passionate program director, NOT as a blogger expected to give a review.
Our next stop was the holiday party one of our professors hosted to celebrate the end of the semester.
I was designated driving so I stuck with two glasses of the amazing punch.
Our teacher is a great cook and she made us dinner. I started with two cheesy-artichoke phyllo dough things.
And here’s my dinner plate –
Some green beans, an eggplant dish, and a chicken dish my professor told me is similar to Chicken Makhani.
Plus cheesecake for dessert.
Mmmmmmmmn!
Then I drove my friends home, made a snowy trek down Elmwood to the bar I thought Adam and his friends were at, came home to find him sound asleep with his phone turned off, and dove into my warm bed around 12:30.
I was really hoping we’d have a bit longer before this happened –
But the snow did hold off until December 9th, so I guess we’re pretty lucky.
I parked my (snow-covered) car on the wrong side of the street last night in the hopes that having to get up to move it would get me to the gym. And it did! I hopped on the treadmill and did 10 minutes walking – 10 running – 5 walking – 5 running – 5 walking. 2.7 miles and 35 minutes total. Followed by a short strength and stretch session on the mats.
After the gym I had to make an emergency trip to the store (we are out of soda and I’ve got 5 exams to study for!) and I came home to one of the biggest messes the dog’s ever created. It’s possible I sat on the floor and cried. But then I picked myself up (cleaned up) and ate two oatmeal cookies while I waited for my oatmeal to cook.
I should have just waited though, because this was one of the best bowls of oatmeal I’ve ever made.
Cooked: 1 cup water, 1 medium banana, 1 pinch salt, 1/3 cup oats
Stirred in: 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
Topped: 1 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, 1 tsp light brown sugar
There was more dairy than oats in this oatmeal! And it was perfect. Like a slice of banana cheesecake, except not sickingly sweet and rich (just sweet and rich enough!).
It’s been a back-and-forth sort of day. My travels included –
home to school
school to the WNY Food bank (in a friend’s car)
WNYFB to the Broadway Market (carpool)
Broadway Market back to school (carpool)
school to the post office
post office to Wegmans
Wegmans to Batavia!
Batavia back home
home back to school
and finally school back to home
Whew! Way too many miles for my poor little gas tank.
For our last class of the semester, my coordinated program group took a field trip. We donated the money we earned from the Chili Sale to the Food Bank of Western New York, so we went there today to take a tour and give them our check in person. The tour was fascinating; a staggering amount of food (1.5 – 2 million pounds) is moved through the food bank each month.
I ate this Stonyfield yogurt drink on my first drive to school,
and these grapes during the drive to the food bank.
One of my classmates bought a fig cookie from one of the stands a shared a bite with me.
Shockingly for me, I actually found this to be too sweet. But the sprinkles were fun.
When we got back to school I had time to print of the last of my notes for final exams before I was off on errands. I stopped at Wegman’s at 12:30 for a 15-minute lunch.
Food, that wasn’t very good.
I had two different types of brussels sprouts and both were basically raw. Plus the German Potato Salad (on the right) ended up being more cheese than potatoes. I’m not saying it wasn’t tasty, but I am saying it wasn’t healthy.
And a coffee with skim milk and two sugars that I dumped down the front of my shirt while driving on the highway.
I’ve had better lunches.
I was driving out to Batavia – 50 minutes each way – for a job interview. They won’t know for a few weeks and a lot of other (more qualified) people have applied, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
My long drive was made exponentially more pleasant thanks the new-to-me Ingrid Michaelson CD my friend Kim burned for me.
I loved it! The sound reminded me a lot of Regina Spektor’s 2nd album, Far. And there were several songs that I had previously enjoyed but not recognized as Michaelson’s. Her song “Snowfall” has been my favorite Christmas (or anytime!) song since I heard it on Bones last year.
How gorgeous is that?
I had enough time before my final event to run home to take a quick shower and make Adam and I the world’s fluffiest smoothie.
For two – combine 1 cup skim milk, 3/4 cup h2o, 3 Tbsp malted milk powder, and 1 scoop chocolate whey protein. Blend for far too long and you get chocolate malted air.
That big glass literally felt like nothing was in it, but at least it tasted good! And my 150 calorie serving was surprisingly filling. Oh the power of protein.
I was back on campus because my friend Janessa and I volunteered to run a nutrition table at the relaxation fair our college was putting on.
We were there two hours and were very pleased to see many students take an interest in our table.
I snagged a popcorn bag from a neighboring snack table,
which sparked the craving for this snack when I got home.
I’ve actually been munching my way through the bag while I typed this post! Plus two unphotographed cookies that snuck in after I hooked up the camera.
Are you an Ingrid Michaelson fan? How about Regina Spektor?
Looking for a recipe to add to your holiday rotation?
This recipe is coming a few days late, but I couldn’t skip it because these cookies are just too good! Adam has declared them the best oatmeal cookies he’s ever had and I ate at least 7 of them as they came out of the oven.
The mix of flavors is perfect, the texture is spot on, and the dried cranberries just feel fancier than raisins. Brag much, Emily? Yes, but I promise that these cookies are worth tooting my own horn.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Prepare ungreased baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place cranberry pecans in a small bowl and use the bottom of a sturdy, plastic cup to crush them into smaller pieces. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Working in small batches but taking care not to overmix, beat dry mixture into wet.
Stir oats, pecans, dried cranberries, and chocolate chips into the dough.
Drop Tbsp sized balls in even rows on baking sheets. Bake for 13 – 15 minutes. Cookies will not really brown, but you are looking for there to no longer be any areas that appear raw.
Cool on trays for 2-3 minutes then remove to cool completely.
*Full disclosure – the cranberry pecans were provided by Oh! Nuts as a free sample.
Eating Chalk 