If At First You Don’t Succeed

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I’m 0-for-2 in my efforts to hit the gym before school.  On Monday I had those weird nightmares and I wasn’t well-rested.  Last night I got in bed at 10:30 (it should have been closer to 9:30) and then the dog woke me up at 3am and I couldn’t fall back to sleep.  I turned off the alarm this morning but I was more determined than ever to make this work.  I’m not working out tomorrow and Thursday’s plan is a longer session, but I’m going to give it all I’ve got on Friday morning.  I guess I’m in the second stage of if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  For now, I’m going to make an effort to go to bed early the next two nights to prepare.

At least staying at home gave me time to make a healthy breakfast.

For two servings, I blended 2 cups of frozen strawberries, 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder, 1 cup of unsweetened So Delicious coconut milk, and 1 cup of green tea.

The addition of the green tea gave our smoothies a totally unique flavor.  I like what the protein powder does for the texture (and the protein content, duh!) but I don’t love how chalky it makes things taste.  Any suggestions?

I drank my smoothie on the walk to campus but halfway through my 4 hour class I was devouring half a tin of Altoids.  I think I’ll need to bring a snack for my extra long classes from now own.

Fueled by Altoids, I headed to the gym after class.  45 minutes on the elliptical at random, level 6.  I put in the time on the elliptical but I didn’t really put in the effort, my brain and body were both ready for lunch!  At least I finished my session with some quick strength and stretching moves.

I’d like to say I ate as soon as I stopped sweating, but sadly the dog crushed my soul by eating his pee pad first.  Between the walk home, discipline, and taking a shower, I didn’t actually sit down to lunch until almost 4pm!

At least it was worth the wait.  The same combo as Sunday night, a serving of bbq kale and beans topped with tons of Parmesan, Sriracha, and a dollop of 0% Plain Fage.

For dessert I tried this can of horchata de leche I found at the grocery store.

The taste nice and cinnamony but I did miss the chew factor of regular horchata.

I’m off to take the monster on a walk and build back up my appetite for our tasty dinner.

When do you usually workout?

How to do use protein powder to make it less chalky?

Thai in a Tizzy

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I did take the dog (who was batshit crazy all afternoon) on that walk as planned. I also super productively knocked out some preemptive to dos. But then, in a moment of extreme efficiency, I was knocked out by a sudden migraine. Thankfully I took medicine quickly enough that I was fine in an hour, but my dinner motivation was squelched.

Good thing we had lots to celebrate – some personal good news, a new school year for me, and the start of a new rotation for Adam – it was the perfect night for Thai food.

My friend Kate said that Orchid Thai was her favorite Thai in Buffalo so I put it on the top of my list. Way to go Katie, this was one of my best meals in Buffalo.

We shared an order of the vegetarian spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce to start.

For my dinner I order the tofu Pad Kee Mao, extra veggies and Thai spicy.

O.M.G! Lots of good veggies; plump, chewy broad rice noodles; and I finally (finally!) found a spot in Buffalo that understands the meaning of”4-star spicy.”

I ate half of my meal and was basically quivering with delight. I can’t wait to dig into my leftovers for lunch this week!

Since it was a celebration and all, we ordered dessert. Coconut and taro custard.

This was good, but I guess we don’t love the egginess to custard, this was a little too savory for desert to me. Nonetheless we ate 2/3 of it.

Please excuse the blurry pictures because the lighting was low, but I promise that our plates looked as appetizing as they tasted. Buffalo foodies, Orchid Thai gets two thumbs up from me!

Back to School Like Rodney Dangerfield

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Today was my first day back in school and it looks like my semester is off to a good start.  Thank goodness too because I was so nervous yesterday that I actually had a teacher nightmare last night!  In my dream I must have quit my program because I had just accepted a job as a teacher.  It was my first day at the new school and I realized that I didn’t have any lesson plans done!!!  I was also freaking out about what to wear (apparently my school had some sort of strange all red dress code) and the whole thing was just fraught with tension.  Thankfully my real day of school as a student went much more smoothly.

I drank some Candy Cane Lane tea with skim milk on my walk to school.

I was a little nervous about giving myself enough time to walk to class so I did breakfast in my first class.

The Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar flavor is so good.  I ate half of the bar and I’m saving the rest for later; my stomach just wasn’t hungry that early in the morning.

I had another class and then a break just in time for lunch.  I am going to post my class schedule but I’m waiting until next week so I’m sure it’s correct.  Lunch was simple but tasty.  Leftover bbq kale and beans, topped with Tofurky kielbasa.

Plus a GoGo Squeeze applesauce packet and a packet of raisins.

This good combination held me over through one more class and a trip to the gym.

My goal for this semester is actually to go to the gym before my classes (which start at 8 M-F) but I figured I’d try that out a night I actually got some good sleep.  My 2pm session on the treadmill went fine though.

I did a 2 minute warm up followed by a “run” that ended up requiring a LOT of walking.  I’d prefer to take fewer breaks but considering that I basically took the summer off exercise I’m happy with any level of fitness.  Including my warm up and all of my walking breaks, I ran 4 miles in 44 minutes 40 seconds.

Now I’m home for the day and I need to go take Webster on a walk.  He was such a big boy on his first day all alone!

Mood Food

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Today’s eats were a little strange, which made them perfect mood food since I feel a little strange.  I’m an odd mix of nerves and excitement about heading back to school tomorrow.  I’m thrilled about getting back on a schedule but I’m worried that I’m planning on working on too many goals (being a better student, getting on a workout schedule, cooking more often).  I don’t want to set myself up to fail by trying to do/change too much.

I spent my morning setting up the office for school and worked right through breakfast.  Side note – trying to figure out which notes to save for registration exam studying is brutal.  I’m not sure whether I’m throwing away things I need or saving so much that it will be overwhelming.

I didn’t want to head to the grocery on a completely empty stomach so I stirred a scoop of protein powder into a glass of skim milk.

It wasn’t very good (it tasted about as good as it looks), apparently I only like our protein powder after it’s been through the blender.

I did get myself a small but delicious salad from the hot bar too.

A spring mix lettuce base with tarragon vinaigrette, topped with a scoop of corn and kidney bean salad,

a scoop of veggie lo mein,

and a tiny piece of smoked salmon and brie.

The whole combo was super tasty, I think I may need to do salad at the hot bar more often.  I really want to like smoked (basically raw) salmon and usually I’m too afraid but today I loved it.

When I got home Adam and I took a quick walk through the Elmwood Art Festival.  We were naughty and snuck in our own beverages.

The Woodchuck Limited Release Winter Hard Cider is wonderful.  It tastes more like a vanilla-scented apple juice than something boozey.  Also when I went to the site to link for you guys I discovered that they make a pumpkin variety!  <– must find

I knew dinner was going to be on the small side, so I made myself a tasty yogurt bowl to supplement when we got home.

Low-fat coffee yogurt with 1oz of honey roasted peanuts and a drizzle of honey.

One of those combos from when I was a kid that I still love.

We didn’t have any set plans for dinner, but I did want to make a batch of Jenna’s Sweet and Spicy BBQ Beans to have for lunches this week.

I used 2+ cups worth of extra kale and it came out fabulously.  This recipe – which really is sweet and spicy – gives the best chew.

We decided to make the beans the bulk of dinner.

Such a good plan!  I topped my serving with shredded Parmesan, more Sriracha, and a dollop of 0% Plain Fage.

Dee-lish!  I sort of ate around the cheese to save it for the end and I was swooning by my last bite.

To round out my meal with carbs I turned to popcorn.

1 serving, topped with melted butter and cinnamon sugar.  I can’t think of a better way to face a new school year than popcorn.

Who else is heading back to school this year?

You Want S’more Puppy Pictures

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What a beeee-U-tea-full day for a walk!

I met blog reader/friend Katy for a walk down Bird Island Pier.  We walked for an hour and a half and covered somewhere around 4 miles.  We even got to go under the Peace Bridge!

So fun; I highly recommend heading out there if you’re in Buffalo.

Afterwards I came home for a quick walk with my boys; my tootsies are a little tired now!  Before I met up with Katy this afternoon I opened up this bag of Lays Garden Tomato and Basil chips from my HLS swag bag.

I love the Caroline BBQ variety that is part of the same line but I wasn’t really a fan of this flavor, too much tomato.  I knew I could get something better later so I abandoned the bag 5 chips in.  I’m glad I waited because my stomach started growling after my walks, but too early for dinner, and I split a slice of buffalo chicken pizza with Adam.

The picture is just of my half a slice, by the way; Zetti’s gives you a sort of ridiculous good deal with their ginormous slices.

I did have a swag bag win this afternoon too though, I drank this Lavender Mint Water during our walk.

Yum!  I couldn’t really taste the lavender but there was the slightest hint of mint (not overwhelming at all)  and it was amazing.

Insert several hours of blog browsing (me) and napping (husband) and then it was time for dinner.

Kielbasa, sautéed cabbage, hash browned potatoes; it’s like my Polish ancestors were right at the table with us!

First I cooked sliced Tofurkey Kielbasa Polish-Style Meatless Sausage in a skillet until it was nice and toasty,

then I used the same skillet to saute some cole slaw mix with a little bit of butter and apple cider vinegar,

then finally I sautéed some sliced potatoes (which I precooked a bit in the microwave first) with garlic, onions, and a lotta bit of butter.

This meal was so hearty and satisfying. 

The combo was maybe a little strange for a summer night, but I will have to bookmark this post for the long winter. 

more puppy pictures

I think Webster is a great name for a little brown dachshund – particularly when we get him a Frenchie friend named Miriam in the future – but lately Adam’s been saying we should have called Webs S’more.  He has a chocolate-brown back, a graham cracker tan belly, and this spot on his chest that we call his marshmallow.

Adorable!

Fit For A Dog

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Going back a few hours…  We did go get Webster that toy.

Actually we got him a few, but we started with Mouse who he loves.

Dinner wasn’t quite as easy.  Adam and I had things to do and it got later and later until suddenly it was just late.  We set out in search of sustenance but got sidetracked at Blue Monk, where one of our good friend bartends.  She was in, and she was on break, and they did have Brooklyn Brewery’s Concoction on draft, and we could get it for free….

And before you knew it, it was really late and dinner was bought at Jim’s Steak Out at 1 am.

That plate was a 6inch buffalo chicken sub with a side of fries.  Exactly the kind of food you should just go to bed without eating and exactly the kind of food that is perfect for 1 am dinners.

I tried to stay in bed as late as I could this morning, but that basically meant getting up to do something for Webster every 10 minutes from 7 – 9. 

That’s his ears-back look.  When I did get up, I made myself some Lean Cuisine Thai-Style Chicken Spring Rolls.

They were good, but not life changing obviously.  I liked the chew and the veggies but I needed a lot more spice.

I ate the entire box (2 servings) for 400 calories, which – with the addition of roasted green beans – made for a perfect brunch.

I also had a yellow plucot, I think it was called a dapple, for dessert.

This was my first time trying the yellow variety but I loved it.  I couldn’t taste the difference between this and other plucots, but it was sweeter than regular plums are.  I’ve got to cop to the fact that I let Webster eat a few bites of plucot while I was still eating it; apparently I’m that dog owner.  But you know what, dogs’ mouths are only disgusting because they eat their own poop and we don’t let him do that!

The Elmwood Art Festival is happening today but Adam’s at the hospital all day so I’m going to wait it out until tomorrow.  I do have plans for a long walk with a friend this afternoon though.

What’s your stance on dog mouths?  Share some food, lick your face, or stay the hell away?

Tasty Combos

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My lunch today was made of a tasty combination.

I actually assembled this meal at the co-op hot bar last night, but then squirreled it away in the fridge when we opted to go out to dinner instead.

Kale salad and pea salad,

almond chicken salad and Waldorf chicken salad.

Tasty combos indeed.

That was the smaller box though so it wasn’t quite as much food as it looked.  I had two hummus cookies on the side.

I also ate this protein bar from my HLS swag bag.

Jillian blogged about hers and made me jealous. I thought it was pretty amazing too; very nice balance of sweet and salty!

While I was lunching Webster was also munching, on my cell phone, camera, magazine, and laptop cord to name a few things. 

It looks like my agenda for the rest of the day needs to include *taking a long dog walk, filling a prescription, making dinner, dealing with some emails, and *buying a new chew toy!

Lemon Cookie Smoothie

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Good morning!

<– that’s my pucker face.  Two thoughts – 1) Dear God, no wonder Adam never wants to kiss me; 2) Don’t you want to know why I’m making my pucker face at you guys?

This is a pucker post because it’s all about the lemons, baby.

Thanks, Natalie Dee.  I disagree though, lemons are fantabulous.

Lemon chicken, lemonade, lemons in tea, lemon sorbet, lemon cookies… but especially lemon cookie smoothies.

Oh yeah, I went there.  And I’m so glad I did.

Who here knows about Kath Eats’ Dough Boy Smoothies?  Well once upon a time, a reader of hers asked about making a lemon cookie smoothie.  I didn’t know anything with the idea then, but I thought “hmmmn, that could be amazing,” so I bookmarked the page.

It was amazing, dear readers, it was, it was.

This had just enough sweetness and lemon sourness to be amazing instead of gross.  And just enough of a chew to make you think “cookie crumbles!” texturally.

Lemon Cookie Smoothie, serves 1

  • 1 medium frozen banana
  • 1 serving Oat Revolution cinnamon bun oatmeal, cooked  (you could substitute 1/2 cup cooked oats with a bit of cinnamon)
  • 1 6oz container of Non-fat Lemon Chobani Greek Yogurt
  • zest of 1 medium lemon
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk  (any vegan milk substitute would be fine here but I find that cows’ milk gets too frothy in smoothies)

Blenderize.  Sip.  Swoon.