Staying Alive, Staying Alive

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Let’s not talk about last night.  Dinner was a disaster, studying was a disaster, bedtime was a disaster.  Let’s not talk about this morning either.  No breakfast, no answers to the test questions, no remembering that my car was parked on the wrong side of the street and that deciding to walk would earn me a ticket.

Let’s just start this post at 11; that’s when the eats for today started anyway.  I spent the hour between my test and class in the food lab, planning for the Chili Sale.  We are selling on Tuesday and cooking all day Sunday so my group had to go think logistics.  We’ve got a specific plan for what all 18 classmates will be doing in the kitchen for 6 hours on Sunday, but I’m pretty sure it’s still going to be a shit-show.

Today’s food lab was the fat substitute group.  Normally I don’t snap pictures because I’m too busy taste-testing but there were a few things I couldn’t eat today so I had the time to photograph.  We tried regular and reduced fat samples of potato chips,

pudding,

and shredded mozzarella.

I could totally tell the difference between the original and modifieds!  Appearance, texture, and flavorwise.

After lab I got some real lunch (and breakfast!) at the campus bookstore.

Del Monte Tropical Medly fruit cup for vitamin C.

Plus this go picnic snack pack.  It contained crackers with hummus,

and roasted edamame, a fruit and nut blend, and a small square of dark chocolate (all of which were fantastic).

This ended up being a very filling lunch, though 520 calories is low to cover two meals.

I was stuck on campus until 2 so I got a little bit of studying done.  After our crazy chili week we have two super difficult weeks of testing and assignments and I’m hoping to be a little better prepared.  And speaking of being prepared … I am recertified in CPR!  That was what my committment at 2 was, BSC offers classes to students for free.  2 hours of chest compressions felt like quite a workout!  I can’t think of a better motivation to start hitting the gym than the fact that I might be too fat and out of shape to save a life.

This weekend is going to be super busy (I’m spending Saturday and Sunday on campus) so when I got home I did some preemptive cleaning and got ready for our weekly grocery trip.  Plus I put dinner into the crock pot.

I refueled around 7 with a Honeycrisp apple.

Plus half a Wolaver’s Pumpkin Ale, split with the husband.

We weren’t fans sadly, neither of us finished our half.  The first sip was heavenly but every subsequent taste felt a little more bitter.  I washed my mouth out with a cordial.

And then we were off to the store.

Thankfully dinner was preparing itself at home because we were HUNgry like Attila by the time we got home.

And this meal was gooood!

Roasted green beans.

Tofu “fish” cakes from More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow.

And a hunk of Piccolo bread from Wegman’s bakery.

Some notes on the bread – a) it was perfect; chewy yet airy; b) I dipped it in olive oil but couldn’t get a good photograph; and c) another (smaller) hunk was also hungrily eaten in the car on the way home!

Are you CPR certified?

Fruit In My Purse, In My Chocolate

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I should NOT be blogging right now but I needed a study break!  Tomorrow is going to suck; I’ll leave it at that.

Breakfast was grabbed quickly but ended up being good.  A Revolution Foods Organic Berry MashUp.

I’ve seen some chatter on the internet about how lame it is for grown women to eat “baby food” but all I have to say to that is – sorry you don’t know what’s good?  These are delicious and if you can find another way for me to stick a half cup of berries straight into my purse, I’m all ears.

Plus a sample box of Cascadian Farms Dark Chocolate Almond Granola from HLS.

This was so crunchy and tasty that I actually snapped a picture on my phone to remind myself to buy more!

Since you can already see my warm jacket peeking out from those pictures I’ll admit defeat and show you bundled up look –

It was in the low 30’s today, there could have been snow!  There’s even another shirt on under that top layer (which was Adam’s!).

Not to worry, no one could see that I was wearing stripes + stripes + plaid, that layer was purely for bundling.

Towards the end of our 4-hour class our instructor took us on a field trip across campus to see some of the research posters being presented by faculty from across the disciplines.  We got out of class early and they had food, score!

Fruit,

veg (that brown stuff is a hummus based sauce),

bit of pasta salad and a turkey sandwich with chipotle mayo.

The photos make everything look a bit bigger than it was in real life, this was a smallish lunch.  Good thing I supplemented it with Combos.

I’m having a Combos thing this week, so sue me.

The hours of 12 – 3 were spent hard at studying with some friends in a computer lab.

So. Much. Material!!!

Cherry cordials when I got home.

If this evening goes like I think it’s going to I suspect this will not be the only dessert I have today…

It’s About The Week

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Since Tuesday was completely devoid of veggies I made sure to fit some into every single meal today!  My life is still so all over the place and some days I don’t even come close to eating the healthiest diet.  I try to make up for those days by getting in extra nutrients on the days where I can.  Healthy living is more how your week looks than any one day in isolation.

For breakfast I got in a massive dose of Potassium and Vitamin K, aka pumpkin.

Into the blender went:

  • 1 medium banana
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 cup Plain Fat-free Stonyfield yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup

I ended up with a massive smoothie!

Lunch was all about Folate, or chick peas.

I topped a leftover half serving of channa marsala with some mango chutney.

I also snacked on this baggie of Combos during my last class.

I didn’t say every food choice was about nutrition, some things you eat just for fun!

Dinner was all about Lycopene (and some others), with baked eggplant in tomato sauce.

This dish was so darn good, even as leftovers!  A billion times better than it looks, that’s for sure.  I’m going to publish the recipe soon as part of a Foodbuzz sample post, it deserves some love.

The other half of dinner was mini rigatoni with sharp cheddar and evoo.

This bowl was delicious and I definitely went back for a full serving of seconds!  Plus a few big handfuls of unphotographed kettle chips; we had some reeeeeeally frustrating things happen at school today and I might have been stress nibbling a bit.

When you eat for health do you tend to look at things day by day or take more of a weekly approach?

Window Shopping Wednesdays

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I am not much of a shopper, much to my mother’s chagrin.  The woman can spend days at the mall, while I start to feel itchy after just a few hours.  It’s not that I’m not materialistic, I totally am, it’s just that the thought of adding more stuff to my life makes it hard to breathe.  But I like the idea of things.  So I’m an avid window shopper.  I browse catalogs I’ll never buy from and hold my breathe when I pass the window at J.Crew.  So while I’m stuck at school all day Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog.  Let’s window shop!

This week let’s look at Halloween stuff!

1. Halloween Appetizer Plates from William-Sonoma.

Hot cute would these be with a spiderweb cupcake on top?  I’ll be honest that the spider one creeps me out a little bit, but the bat is adorable.

2. Skeleton hand salad servers from Target.

These are freaking ridiculous, they might actually be my favorite thing on the list.  Some day when we have a house and are living our real life instead of our college life I plan on throwing lots of theme parties.  Target actually has a ton of cute spooky stuff this year, which means my wallet and I are keeping our distance until the holidays are over!

3. Essie nail polish in wicked.

Ghouls and goblins alike think this inky purple is fierce.

4. The world’s cutest Halloween costume.

My little hot dog dog needs this!  Adam and I actually planned on buying this but a school project has mucked up our Halloween plans so we’ll have to wait until next year.  😦

5. The Curiosity Appetizer Plates from Pottery Barn.

These are themed but don’t feel childish.  I love that they used an Edgar Allen Poe raven, though “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a lot scarier than that poem.

Are you dressing up this Halloween?  What’s your costume?  Do you dress up your pets?

With A Cherry On Top

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Man, oh man!  I was at school for 12+ hours today.  2 of my meals came out of vending machines.  0 of my photos are attractive.  Basically if you look at the numbers this post is going to suck. 

Breakfast from three angles, none of which are pretty.

Basically I put Plain Silk Almond Milk, chia seeds, and a chopped nectarine into a jar in the fridge and let the mixture thicken overnight.  It was pretty good.  I’ve got a fun idea for a chia seed recipes that I’ve had running through my head for the past week.

When I ate in class I topped the mixture with this granola sample from HLS.

I also packed an Oldwalla Dark Chocolate Chip Walnut Fiber Bar, also from HLS.

This tasted good but breakfast did not hold me over at all.  Midway through our 4 hour class I ran to the vending machine and bought these peanut butter crackers.

If I had known what lunch and dinner were going to look like I probably would have done something different.

Class got out at noon and I had an advising appointment at 1:30 and a club event at 6:30 so I figured I’d stay on campus and study and go to the gym.  Not only did I not ever get to the gym, I’m still 10 pages of notes away from being done with my notecards!  Somehow everyone in my class is shocked by how much material is going to be on Friday’s exam!

Honey Mustard Pretzels and Peanut M&Ms, vending machine dinner of champions.

And when I got to the event this evening I made myself a small plate of snacks.

Our club advisor actually got us all together to watch a movie for funsies.  She picked “The Gods Must Be Crazy II” which I ended up loving.  It was cute, touching, and 80’s humor funny.  Plus part of the storyline centered around the San/Bushmen of the Kalahari and I’m obsessed with them.

When I dragged myself back to my car (12 hours later!) I discovered a ticket on my windshield!  It was for my expired car registration (another really frustrating story) which pisses me off because I don’t see why the campus police have authority over anything other than parking permit issues.  I’m going to argue it tomorrow but I came home in a sour mood.

And then Adam met me at the door with candy!!!!!

I mentioned this weekend that I’m one of the few people who really likes cherry cordials and he surprised me with a box of them.

So good.  He’s the best.

I may not have made it to the gym but when we took the dog on a quick walk I sprinted a few blocks with him, so I’m going to call it good.  At least I made a little use of the sports bra I’ve been rocking all day!

Have you ever seen “The Gods Must Be Crazy?”

Cherry cordials; love ’em or hate ’em?

The Best Thing Ever

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Some household things snuck up on me and I don’t have much time to blog dinner.  It was a good one though.

First course – Caesar salads.

Romaine lettuce base, Caesar dressing, and groats and “croutons.”

The dressing was Wegman’s Yogurt Caesar and it was great.

Nice nutritonal stats for a (creamy!) Caesar dressing too.

Entrée – Cheesy Tomato Eggplant Bake.

Think Eggplant Parm but quicker and much healthier.  I layered thinly sliced eggplant and marinara sauce into a casserole dish and baked at 450* for 30 minutes.  Then topped the dish with slices of 2% provolone and put back into the oven for a final 30 minutes.

It was wicked good; super cheesy and hearty.

Dinner, while good, was not the “best thing ever” though.  That title goes to my afternoon snack, which was delightfully low-brow.

A slice of Wegman’s Country White Bread, slathered in butter.  I saw Adam eating a slice of the white bread this afternoon and suddenly I wanted it more than I’ve ever wanted anything.  I spread on some butter (onto cold bread) and was in absolute Heaven.  I’m actually not sure I’ve ever been more satisfied by another food.  In fact, the husband told me I was creeping him out because I was enjoying it so much!

What was the last simple thing you blissed out over?

A Chick And Her Dog

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It’s 4pm and I’m still just as excited about my afternoon off as I was this morning!  I’ve haven’t been quite as productive as I’d like, but I’ve gotten far more done than I would have if I’d gotten home at 2pm.  It’s a bit hard to focus when the dog is doing THIS –

Studying got a little easier when he settled onto the couch and was no longer traipsing about on the table.

And my focus got an exponential boost when he settled in my lap for a nap, making it impossible for me to hop out of the chair and get distracted by something across the room.

Plus, I turned off the heat when I got home and it’s 64* in the house so a warm puppy in my lap felt heavenly.

On the food front I’ve been far more successful.  Dinner is half prepped and look at what I made myself for lunch –

Channa Masala!  Apparently we really are on an Indian kick.

I used Jenna’s (Eat, Live, Run) recipe and tried to follow it closely except for a few changes –

  • I didn’t have most of the spices so I used went with 1 tsp garam marsala, 1 tsp sweet curry, and 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • I used an extra Tbsp of butter
  • I skipped the ginger
  • I used extra tomato paste
  • I doubled the lemon juice

Oh, and I burnt the daylights out of the sauce instead of pincing.  Frick!  But I trudged forward with my blackened tomato paste and the end dish turned out pretty tasty, if not carcinogenic.

I topped my serving with fat-free plain yogurt and some mango chutney.

Delish.  I’d like to try the “real” dish at India Gate soon to see how my version compares.

I also snacked on a serving of kettle chips while I cooked.

Is there anything better than chip foldsies?

Christmas In October

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My day took a sharp left turn mid-morning, but let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

When you have a lazy day Sunday and a test on Wednesday that makes for a busy Monday.  I got up with the husband and was showered and sitting with notecards by 5:30am.  I took a breakfast break around 6 because if I’m going to study before dawn I’m going to eat a nice meal, dammit.

And boy was this a nice meal.

I reheated some chopped, roasted zucchini in a skillet with a bit of black truffle oil, then scrambled in some garlic dill double cream chevre and 2 large eggs.

These eggs practically blew my mind!  Adam is the one who’s obsessed with truffle oil but I am absolutely loving it in scrambled eggs.

Plus two Republic of Tea Red Velvet Chocolate tea bags were steeped in some skim milk.

I actually find this tea to be pretty tasteless and sad (outside of the pink color!) but doubling up and using milk instead of water seemed to help.  My mom bought me the tea as an expensive gift last time she visited and I’m not going to waste it.

I drove to school in the rain and was feeling pretty glum about the upcoming week, especially when I remembered that we had a quiz in class #2.  But then our first class started and suddenly the clouds parted with all sorts of good news –

  • our Wednesday test was moved to Friday
  • our professor had to call in sick so both of my afternoon classes for today were cancelled

Bam; total mood turn around!  I swear you guys, I was so giddy it felt like Christmas morning.

I couldn’t even begin to take a photograph that captures how happy I am to be at home right now.  Though I will memorialize my final thin t-shirt with sandals look; it’s supposed to be snow weather on Thursday.

With my found time I’m going to try to make two nice meals for today and get caught up with my work for this week.  I’ll see y’all in a bit for a lunch at home!