Shrimptastic

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I can’t even tell you how freaking good it feels to be back to blogging.  I know I don’t always blog everything (though if I blog for a day than I include everything that goes in my mouth) but going extended periods without posting just feels strange!

I’ve got a busy week ahead – 3 tests and 2 projects by Friday – so I set my alarm for 8am to get working.  I got a little distracted by house organizing and puppy training but I got a good bit of work done too.  I was extra fueled by coffee.

Into my big mug (thanks Janetha!) went 2.5 cups of coffee, 2 Tbsp English Toffee syrup, and a big pour (~3/4 cup?) of Silk Plain Almond Milk.

Hello, dog.

I went unorthodox for breakfast because I found the last serving of bacon, corn, and shrimp chowder lurking in the back of the fridge.

Food safety regulations would have called for tossing this but it tasted great and I feel fine.

Around 12:30 I headed over to Delaware Park for a run.  Running at high-noon wasn’t my best idea but this ended up being a terrible workout in general.

  • ran 1.75 mile lap in 19:30
  • paused break for peeing and stretching (I drank a big cup of water with my big cup of coffee; slosh city)
  • “ran” 1.75 mile lap in 24:30
  • walked 1.75 mile lap in 43:30

That’s 3.5 miles in 44 minutes plus 1.75 miles more walked.  This run was pretty much a shitshow.  9 minutes into my second lap my feet went completely numb and I had to walk to avoid twisting my ankle.  Adam had tightly tied my shoes for me but loosening them didn’t help and I wasn’t off pins and needles until I actually took my shoes off.  I wanted to finish my last walking lap because I had my notecards with me to review so I ended up doing 1.75 miles barefoot.  It seemed like a good idea at the time but my gigantic, excruciating blisters indicate that it was actually a terrible idea.  Ouch!

I was at least cheered up by my shower thanks to this lavender soap my mom sent me –

When I was a kid my mother loved lilac (which smells like cat pee, by the way) but my dad and I couldn’t get it together so we’d always buy her tons of lavender-scented goodies.  I teased her for years about being an old lady but in the last year or so I’ve become completely obsessed with all things lavender.  Guess I’m the old lady.

Adam offered to help me hobble through the grocery store so I did a quick-lunch out of hand.  A black plum,

and a Sweet Tango apple.

Holy crisp and juicy, Batman!  I was so thrilled to loudly munch through a fresh apple; Sweet Tangos are divine.

We did Wegmans and the co-op and when I got home I hungrily dug into this container of Dr. McDougall’s Spicy Kung Pow Noodles.

Pretty darn good.  The was a nice amount of spice to these and it felt like a ton of food for 220 calories.

Dinner involved more shrimp and tasted better than it looked.

On the left is a small serving of Cooking Light‘s Bombay Shrimp Curry.  My changes to the recipe included using ground mustard instead of mustard seed, skipping the cilantro, and using a veggie mix with peas, corn, carrots, lima beans, and green beans.  I also skipped the rice because I had just eaten pasta.

Unfortunately, we hated it.  Adam and I both could barely choke this down.  The flavor was strangely flat and it was spicy in an unpleasant way.  Do not recommend.

I know the stuff on the right looks bad, but I promise it tasted sooooo good.

Cheesy baked eggplant!  Using this Italian eggplant I picked up at the farmers’ market last week.

For two – into my mini casserole dish went a thin layer of marinara, a layer of thinly sliced eggplant, a sprinkle of salt, a thick layer of marinara, and 2 slices of 2% provolone cheese.  Baked at 450* for 45minutes.

Gah; this was unbelievable!  The eggplant got soft enough to cut with a fork and baking the cheese intensified its flavor x100.  We are going to make this again as a main meal very soon.

For dessert I used Mixchief Jell-O Mix to make Cherry Coke Jell-O.

How fun!  It wasn’t as strong as I would have liked but I would try it again and substitute more cola for water next time.

That bowl had 2 servings but I only ate one.  To be honest I’m feeling pretty unsatisfied; I think I will most likely end up adding enough dessert to this day while I study.  I’ll update later if I do.

How often do you update your blog?  Does it feel strange to take breaks.

***Updated to add – I did have a 2nd (fiberific) dessert; 1/3 cup of All Bran Bran Buds with 2 tsp of crushed Heath bar.  No picture because the dog chewed through my camera cord.  <– ugh!

Sharing is Caring

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***Bad blogger alert!  Bad blogger alert!***  I haven’t done a full-day post since Tuesday!  I got a new (final?!) set of retainers that made solids a no-go for two days and Thursday and Friday we did lots of food sampling in class that I couldn’t photograph.  I realize my life’s not at all that interesting but there is something almost lonely about skipping posts.  Plus, my mom has called me twice this week to check that I’m not dead.

I plan on getting back the posting everything I eat as of tomorrow, 3 tests next week be damned.  For now I’ll just share the important things that you missed.

#1 – Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte Larabars are awesome.

Larabar sent me a fun package the other day to celebrate their newest flavor.

Chocolate Cherry Torte is my new favorite; it even edges out the other dessert flavors!

The date flavor was nice and mild which allowed this to taste more like dessert than a snack (sometimes I find the overwhelming datiness of Larabars to be a little gaggy).  The chunks of cherry were nice and big and they gave this a great, tart flavor.  Plus there were TONS of chocolate chips!

#2 – Biscoff x Biscoff = Heaven.

Do you remember when my friend Janessa made Oreo balls with Biscoff spread in them?  Well that gave me a terribly wonderful idea.  Her birthday was coming up (it was today actually!) so somehow I managed to patiently wait.  Biscoff Balls!

I food processed one package of Biscoff cookies, mixed the crumbs with 6 ounces of reduced fat cream cheese and ~1/3 cup Biscoff spread, and rolled the dough into balls.  They were amazing!

#3 – Time with friends makes me happy.

<– That’s Holly, my new friend from The Frozen Pineapple with whom I shared dinner last night.  She is another future RD who recently moved to the area and I’m looking forward to spending more time with her.

I also went to a comedy show with the husband and several other couples last night, and to a birthday breakfast with school friends this morning!  I didn’t snap a single picture and I’m so sad about it.  My school friends and I actually decided today that I needed to start blogging group shots when we go out so we actually have some pictures with each other!

What’s new with you?

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!

Here’s what I’m coveting this week –

1. The Pac Man cookie cutters from Fred Flare.

If you don’t want this then you don’t love the 80’s and I probably hate you (probably because that means you’re younger than I).  I’m never all that excited about cookie cutters because usually the fun shapes have to be well-frosted for you to see what they heck they are.  These seem like a simple slap of frosting would make them more recognizable.  Though if I buy these I’ll need to get some fruit shaped cutters to complete the theme.

2. Marshmallow foaming hand soap from Bath and Body Works.

The antibacterial hand soap from BBW is pretty much the only kind of hand soap we use; for the quality the price is the best I’ve found.  I love holiday themed items and marshmallow is a year-round favorite so this sounds like the perfect October splurge as soon as I make it to the mall.

3. The Marshmallow Fireside candle from Bath and Body Works.

Once I’ve got the hand soap I might as well go all the way!  I can’t even imagine how good this would make my apartment smell.

4. Pumpkin Pretzels from Stonewall Kitchen.

The goodness that is yogurt pretzels with the goodness that is pumpkin.  If two of my favorite foods had a love child it would look something like this.

5. The Air Bite Cami Tank from Volcom.

I’ve never been a surfer (though I did work in a surf shop all through high school) but Volcom is one of my favorite clothing brands.  I love the ruffle detailing on the front and how the shirt comes together in the back.  Black would be cute but purple is cuter.

What you are coveting this week?

Anchovy Enjoyment

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Why the frick am I still awake?  My Sunday tiredness has not disapated at all, in fact it seems to be getting worse, so logging 6 hours of sleep before tomorrow is such a bad idea.  Quick post, quick post.

The dog didn’t get walked (rain), my run got skipped (duh), but I did finish all of my necessary school work (yay), and dinner did get made.

Bagna Cauda Cauliflower Pasta from last month’s Everyday with Racheal Ray.  The recipe isn’t online yet so I can’t link but here is a shot of the ingredients –

My changes were –

  • only using 2 Tbsp of evoo
  • substituting regular, white garlic
  • using 10 ounces of locally made garlic parsley tagliatelle
  • using reduced fat half and half
  • adding 1 Tbsp of all purpose flour to my sauce (I think the reduced fat .5&.5 kept it from thickening properly)

Quite good, but definitley a time consuming recipe.  I can’t believe I like anchovies?! 

I had enough time to starve while we cooked so I plated myself a gigantic serving.

I waited 30 minutes to digest my heaping bowl of pasta but when I was still hungry I made myself a yogurt dessert bowl.

A Wegman’s 0% Honey Greek Yogurt topped with a sliced black plum and 2 tsp of crumbled Heath bar.

Yum; I am so glad that plums are still in season!  Locals – this Wegman’s line of Greek was great, definitely on par with Chobani.

And zzzzzzzzZ!

Must. Have. Chocolate.

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Just go ahead and call me Sleeping Beauty (though Rip Van Winkle is probably more apt), I stayed in bed 90% of Sunday and I still had a hard time getting up this morning!  A few of my friends are sick and I think I must have caught a touch of something.

I didn’t have it together in the way of food but I did manage to make myself a black tea with skim milk to drink in class #1.

I also grabbed a Revolution Foods Berry Mash Up, which was eaten in class #2,

and a mini box of Quaker Oatmeal Squares (HLS Swag), which were eaten in class #3.

Of course, when your morning gets off to a rough start the rest of your day always follows.  In addition to being hungry and sleepy all day, my professor changed the directions on an assignment I had already completed, when my group met to work on a project we found a major glitch in the software we are required to use, and I arrived home to an office full of Webster-shredded papers.  I felt like I was holding back tears all afternoon.  <– pathetic

Enter chocolate.

I received a free box of Ghirardelli Intense Dark chocolates to sample via the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and today was clearly the perfect afternoon to try them out.  I nibbled and sampled my way to a much better mood.

I know nothing about chocolate, other than the fact that it’s amazing and delicious and we learned about it from the Mayans, so I (loosely) followed the pairing guide included from Ghirardelli.

First up, 86% Cacao Midnight Reverie.

I paired this with a handful of roasted almonds.  They recommend trying it with macadamia nuts, fig spread on a baguette, gourmet marshmallows, or fruit jellies.

You could tell that this was good quality because I didn’t find it to be bitter at all.  The high cacao percentage meant that, to me, this tasted a lot like unsweetened baking chocolate.  I liked the pairing with roasted almonds because the saltiness helped to bring out the sweetness.

Next up was 72% Cacao Twilight Delight.

I paired this with some dried cranberries.  They also recommended roasted almonds, a baguette, or other dried fruits such as raisins or figs.

I like dark chocolate but apparently I’m not all that intense because I definitely prefered the 72% to the 86%.  This had a milder, sweeter taste.  I would eat the 86% in small bits but this I could probably eat a whole bar of.

Finally I tried a new flavor, Sea Salt Soiree.

I paired this with a few bbq chips.  They also recommend trying it with sweet dried cherries, candied orange peel, or stout beer.

Unsurprisingly, this flavor was my favorite.  Dark chocolate with sea salt and roasted almonds?  Forget being able to eat a whole bar in one sitting, I had a hard time not eating the whole darn thing in one bite.  The chocolate here is a little more mellow and the sea salt brings out its sweetness even more.  The texture of this was nice and crunchy and the almond pieces had a good uniformity of size.  I think even a milk chocolate fan would find this to be very enjoyable.

Thanks for the fun, Ghirardelli and Foodbuzz!

While I blogged I finished the rest of the chips.

I also thought about what I have to do this evening:

  • making our planned dinner is necessary; the recipe involves mashing, chopping, and anchovies so I need to cook it tonight when the husband is home to help!
  • finishing all of my notecards from last week is nonnegotiable
  • walking the dog can wait until I’m not so mad at him for peeing under the couch, but it has to happen this evening
  • and getting in a run is my wishful dreaming

Blood From A Stone

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I stayed up until past 1:30 last night!  I didn’t really get much work done but I did have fun eavesdropping on the boys’ funny poker smack talk.  I planned on staying in bed for 8 hours but the husband got up with the dog and lured me from under the covers with farmers’ market trips and coffee.

He made me a warm to-go mug with Silk Almond Milk and English Toffee Syrup.

We bought a few things at the market but we did some giving too.  Adam gives blood regularly and when he spotted the donation truck we popped in.  I’ve never been able to give blood because my veins are tiny and wimpy – the last two times I’ve had to have blood taken for blood panels I had veins in both arms popped!  One time I tried to give in college and the man meanly told me he wouldn’t be able to do it without a children’s needle and that I should work out more!  But guess what I did today –

Booyah, I’m finally a blood donor!  They had to (carefully) use a vein in a sort of odd placement – Adam said it was probably a branch of the cephalic vein – but I managed to produce a full pint!  I think being a donor is really important, I’d also like to donate marrow in the future, and I am so excited to finally join the ranks of big kids who give blood.

When we got home I made a fantabulously tasty cereal bowl.

A serving of Barbara’s Vanilla Almond Shredded Wheat topped with a sliced plum, a sliced plucot, and more almond milk.

This combination of flavors and textures may actually be my favorite thing ever; the types of sweetness play off of each other so well.

I did a tiny bit of work in the morning and then Adam and I had errands to run.  Our fridge was basically empty, which lead me to one of my more “creative” concoctions.

The last Tbsp of light sour cream with the last Tbsp of blue cheese crumbles, a few capers, and a dash of A-1 Steak Sauce.  Spread on top of a Bagel Thin.

I actually thought the end result wasn’t bad, but Adam was in love with it so I ended up sharing most of the bagel with him.

I also ate this big bunch of grapes.

And this 2 oz mix of yogurt covered raisins, peanuts, and pretzels.

I needed more of a lunch though because I thought I was going to pass out from hunger by the time we got home. Thankfully we had 7pm plans so there was an excuse to have an early bird’s 5 o’clock dinner.

I am pretty much done with Saigon Cafe because their “Thai spicy” is apparently my mild and bland, but we had a Groupon so I gave it one last shot.  Crisp tofu to start.

Deep fried tofu with peanut sauce, it’s hard to go wrong.

I ate four pieces of tofu with sauce.

For my meal I ordered the tofu tamarind, Thai spicy, with extra veggies.

What exactly would this dish have looked like without the extra veggies?!?

And, I’m done. Saigon Cafe does ok noodles dishes but their meals are always disappointing. I ate about half of my dish with two bites of rice and two stolen bites of Adam’s Pad Thai.

It was a double Groupon night and our main activity was Art By You.

They provide the materials and a quick lesson and you provide the talent, or not.

I went from this,

to this,

to this.

Let’s just say I’m artistically challenged! I had a great time though!

Adam thought it was fun too, and it was great to do something artsy with him.

We weren’t ready for the fun to end so now we’re cuddling on the couch and watching “That ’70’s Show.”  I’ve been hungry all day so I did dinner take 2 from Moe’s.

That’s a kid’s quesadilla with corn salsa, plus chips with queso dip.  I also snagged most of the husband’s chips too.

I’d like to say that I’m done but Adam put a frozen pizza in the oven and I’m pretty sure I’ll end up having some.  I’m putting away the camera for now though.  I’ll end with my favorite shot of the day.  Whenever we leave him alone too long Webster gets into our reusable bags like an asshole.  When we got home this evening he was stuck in one of them and wearing it like a cape.

I thought Adam and I were going to die laughing!

Have you ever donated blood?

We Didn’t Have To Make Dinner

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Can I just confess that I’m actually not thank goodnessing for Friday?  I’m not ready for the weekend yet.  I really wish it was Wednesday and I could relive Thursday but chose to do some freaking work instead of being a lazy.  Ce la vie.

For breakfast I brought the last 1/3 serving or so of leftovers from last night (pasta with peas, spinach, and nutritional yeast).

This was very pleasing to eat cold for some reason.

Plus the very last serving of dried hibiscus.

So sad, I’d give anything to live near a Trader Joe’s!

I also got to supplement with coffee; my first class teacher was an hour late this morning (flat tire) and I had time to go with a friend to the bookstore coffee shop.

With skim milk.  I post coffee pics because of the milk (I post everything with calories minus my vitamins and random nibbles…and days I don’t post at all!) but I realize that these mug shots are less interesting than the traditional kind.  I probably should have just skipped mentioning this one all together because I didn’t get to finish it before I went to the Dietetics computer lab and I threw half of it away.  Usually I eat and drink in the lab like a rebel but they mentioned it in the meeting yesterday and I was so so glad that I’d thrown mine out when a professor came in and yelled at a few classmates.

We were in the computer lab for my 2nd class but I ended up staying late and finishing an entire assignment that isn’t due for another 2 weeks!!!  I was so proud of myself.  And so glad that the husband nicely waited to pick me up.  <– he drove me to and fro today because I’m wearing a backless top in spite of the 45* morning  <– it is September and I will wear my September clothes, damnit!

Adam took the dog to the vet before he picked me up; someone is so excited about being cone and stitch-free!

That’s Webster sticking his whole head under the crack in the bathroom door!

I didn’t get home until past 3pm and I was more than ready for lunch.  Green grapes.

Plus leftover vegan Philly filling topped with a dollop of light sour cream and tons of Sriracha.

Meh.  Even with the sriracha this was bland and the texture just wasn’t right.  I ate about half before moving on to other leftovers; 2oz of bread (also from the Phillys) microwaved with Smart Balance Light.

Chewy bread makes me happy; Adam and I have both been craving pizza with good crusts all week.

We made plans with friends to come over for dinner last week, but Adam told me at 5 o’clock that the boys were also coming over for poker later so we had to do an emergency run to the store.  I was getting pretty hungry so I was thrilled to be handed a Wegman’s sushi sample.

I also snagged cookies; a whole wheat butterscotch drop and a cinnamon nut rugelach.

This was actually my first time trying rugelach and now I’m smitten; it was so chewy! 

Patrick and Michelle came over this evening but THEY cooked for US!  They brought over supplies and equipment; it was so much fun to watch some legit steaming take place in my kitchen.

They ended up putting together a great meal.

Sticky rice,

steamed shrimp and some stir-fried veggies,

and steamed tilapia with a spicy black bean sauce.

The fish was like butter; so creamy and good.  Thank you so much guys!

My only contribution to the meal was dessert,

but Patrick ate at least 3 S’more Oat Balls so I think I did good.  I stuck to one but I will note that I brought some in to my school friends this morning and they all gave good reviews as well.

The boys are (loudly) playing poker in the living room so I’m going to stay up and try to get some work done before my busy weekend begins.  I just spent 45 minutes catching up on the phone with my parents too.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Oh, Balls

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Oh.  Hello there.  Are you here to hear me talk about my balls?  Well calm down, I’m getting to that.  I do have some exciting ball news but there was lots of excitement today.

Like my discovery of my new favorite smoothie of all time.

I know it doesn’t look like much but this new combination was freaking amazing.  I put 1 cup of lemonade and 2 Tbsp of chia seeds in my blender and left them to soak.  Five minutes later I added 1 cup of frozen strawberries and then blended like crazy.  Here’s an outside picture so you can really see the color –

Un-be-leave-a-bull!  The chia seeds mostly blended but still left a nice chew and their nuttiness was the perfect foil to the sweet and sour of the strawberry lemonade.

Even better, my smoothie actually held my stomach through my 4 hour class.  I attribute this to the chia seeds.  My 2 Tbsp of chia seeds gave my smoothie an extra 140 calories, 5 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of polyunsaturated fats (mostly omega-3s).  source

That’s not to say I wasn’t ready for lunch though.  We had a “welcome back” department lunch today, complete with food.

I took a slice of mushroom pizza,

a few fresh veggies,

and some amazingly fresh strawberries and watermelon.

I also grabbed a 2nd slice later on.

In other lunch news I finally had an apple month win!

This caramel apple iced coffee from my school’s coffee shop totally hit the spot.  I did only drink half of that monster (I thought I was ordering a small) but I definitely made sure to get every last lick of caramel out of my cup.

Fully fueled, I headed to the gym for a L-O-O-O-N-G spells long workout.  I had a time goal and a length goal and I ended up hitting my time goal long before my length one; ie I took too many walking breaks and was slow!  I did a looong warm up and looong cool down with walk/run intervals in between that ended up being a lot of walking. 

In the end I covered 9 miles in 1 hour and 53 minutes.  As slow as you can move and still call it running but the distance at least is nothing to sneeze at.  P.S. I’m having some issues with the bones in my right foot but my legs feel great; yay!

Alright already, let’s talk about the balls.

S’mores Oat Balls.  Click here for the recipe link.  I swear to God this recipe was inspired by the S’mores Quaker Chew Bars and not my desire to say the word balls repeatedly after eating and rewatching Schweddy Balls.

The recipe was simple but the end result was delicious yet subtle.  Part s’more, part oat, totally acceptable for breakfast!  I resisted any nibbling while I assembled but I did eat two balls as soon as they were formed.

Make them at home, I promise you’ll love my balls.

Since we ate dessert first dinner needed to be a 15 minute affair.

I prepared 2 servings of spirals pasta, stirring frozen spinach and peas into the mix in the last few minutes of boiling.  Then I made Emily’s Nutritional Yeast Sauce and tossed everything together.

Yum, I thought the nutritional yeast was really good; though that could have been my love for peas with pasta talking.  Head over to The Daily Garnish (recipe link) to see all the benefits of nutritional yeast, but suffice to say dinner was healthy.

Adam has a test tomorrow and I have a really hard time sleeping when he’s not in bed (the upcoming surgical rotation should be fun!) so I’m going to stay up with him.  Studying, blog reading, perhaps a shower; who knows what I’ll get done.

P.S. I used the word “balls” 10 times in this post.  Sorry, Nana!