Berries for Breakfast

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Hump Day’s breakfast was again courtesy of a send-away free sample of cereal.  This time from Kashi.

I combined 1 Stonyfield Black Cherry Fat Free Yogurt, 1/2cup fresh raspberries and strawberries, and the sample box of Kashi Go Lean Crisp Toasted Berry Crumble for breakfast.

With a stewed tamarind spoon.

The cereal was my least favorite from Kashi (although still good) but the mix of flavors in the bowl was perfection.

By the way, when I got up this morning I got myself into a sports bra and some yoga pants so I am exercise-ready all day long.  I have a lot of to-dos today (some phone calls, studying for tomorrow’s final) and my plan is to break up every hour or so of work with 5-10minutes of strength training.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can start running next week, but even more important than starting is being able to keep running injury-free.  Save a few swim workouts, I’ve basically not worked out in two months, and that’s ok.  My physical therapy would have been counterproductive with my injury and I let myself get a little depressed about the whole situation. 

But if I want to be a runner instead of someone who loves running from the couch I need to get myself in shape.  Which means doing my physical therapy every day, stretching every day, and doing abs/leg strength work at least 3 times a week.  So, if you see me go  a couple of days without mentioning a work out, please remind me!

Fruit eaten so far today: 1/2cup

Ah-Mazing!

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Every single thing I’ve eaten this evening has been amazing!!!  I feel like all I’ve done the last hour is “Mmmn” and “Ahh!”

First off, dinner.

Asparagus cooked in clementine oil.  I poured the oil in a skillet over medium high heat, added the asparagus and put a lid on it.  10minutes later the asparagus was perfectly steamed and charred.

Along side bacon, ranch, and chicken mac and cheese.

No words.

The Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese was a recipe from Cooking Light.  My changes –

  • subbed in 4 slices of 99% lean turkey bacon
  • added 1T of butter, and a bit more flour as well
  • skipped the dill and the salt

Next time I think I would substitute sharp cheddar in as well, I like my cheese with a little more bite.

After dinner I realized I hadn’t hit my daily fruit goal.  So I opened the gates to heaven with the world’s best dessert.

Stonyfield Fat Free Chocolate Underground Yogurt with 1/2 a banana and 1/2cup raspberries.  The “cherry” on top?

Biscoff spoon!  I’m not sure I could be much more contented.

Eat More Fruit Tip # 4 – I’m not going to recommend eating fruit for dessert (how sad!), but fruit can be delicious incorporated into dessert.  Fresh berries on ice-cream, a banana spread with Nutella, the sky’s the limit.

We have Buffy watching on the agenda and an early bedtime.  I realized that I’ve yet to study for my Anthro final on Thursday, whoops!  So I guess that’s the plan for tomorrow.

What’s your favorite kind of mac and cheese?  It’s not something I would eat all the time, but West Indian style mac and cheese tops anything I’ve ever had stateside.  It’s not runny at all and it has a super thick crust baked on top.  Some of my favorite childhood memories involve getting mac and cheese from the grocery store deli and eating it in the car on the way home.

Fruit eaten today:  2cups

Choose Your Own Adventure

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Hi there!  I’m in such a fabulous mood right now that it’s like I’m dancing on a cloud!  Or rolling in a field of puppies!  Or walking on sunshine.  You can choose your own adventure metaphor.

[LOVED those books as a kid]  I’m only an itsy bitsy bit superstitious, but I’m wary enough that I’m going to have to make you wait to few days before I share the cause of my good mood with you.  The fantasticness is only about 80% complete and I’d like to make sure it’s in the bag.

Lunch was eaten in 3ish parts.  Course 1 was 5 saltines spread with fat free cream cheese and hot pepper peach preserves.

A very tasty way to use the jar indeed.  Per my fridge traffic JAM, I need to make sure I’m incorporating some fruit spread into pretty much every meal over the next month.

Course 2 was a big minneola.

She was pregnant!

Eat More Fruit Tip # 3 – Citrus is a great snack, but can be sticky and annoying to peel, especially on the go.  However, pre-peeled and put in a baggie or tupperware, it can be a great made in advance snack.

Course 3 was supposed to be roasted brussels sprouts.

Don’t they look good?

Well they weren’t; more like yetch!  I was running late at that point so I substituted a handful of baby carrots.

I was late heading to the pool, and lateness was only one of the reasons why my workout was sub-stellar.  The toe nail I injured in the half marathon was finally falling off and it was flapping (gross!) as I swam and hurt like heck!  I ended up doing 20 laps in 20 minutes.  You know what though, even a “bad” workout felt pretty darn good.

This Thursday will be my last day as a UB student which means it will also be my last opportunity to use their pool.  I don’t have access to a gym with a pool and I won’t have access to the BSC gym (they have a pool but I’m not sure yet about hours or size) until August.  I will hopefully be able to run again next week and it shouldn’t be a big issue.  I have really enjoyed my swim work outs though, discovering my pool love was the only plus to my stress fracture!  Hopefully I’ll be able to run and swim this fall.

My toe nail didn’t fare so well in the work out though; after I got dressed I officially had to lose it.  I’ll spare you the picture but I’m very squeamish about nail loss and suffice to say I was pretty sad.  The husband felt sorry for me while we ran our mystery errand and he got me a fountain soda for being such a trooper.

Fountain diet coke + a shot of cherry coke + ice + straw = one very happy Emily!

The plan for the evening is cooking dinner and eating some more fruit, I’ve still got 1cup to go!  Fruit eaten so far today: 1cup.

I’m stealing my question from Janetha – What was your favorite thing to “play” as a kid? 

My answer was so embarrassing I figured once I put it out there in her comments I should just go ahead and tell the world the ten people who read my blog.  My favorite thing was to pretend I was Laura Ingalls Wilder; I was obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie books.  Specifically I’d play Laura in the covered wagon heading West.  Well apparently I thought that covered wagons were hot……. So I’d turn off the fan, put on at least four layers of long-sleeved shirts and long skirts, and get into my bed under 2-3 quilts.  Then I’d sit there and sweat and sort through a big box of buttons.  It’s a wonder I made it to middle school!

What’s Your Dream Kitchen?

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What items would you place in your dream kitchen?

  •  bar furniture?
  • a beer tap?
  • a grill pan?
  • something so exciting I haven’t even thought of it yet?

I’m really not one for jealousy, but the blogworld does bring out a bit of the green monster in me.  I may be very satisfied with my own fabulous life, but I want a food processor to make banana soft serve in damnit!  And I want a juicer, but mostly I just want to move back to a city that has juice bars!

It’s funny, because I actually received some amazing things as wedding gifts – can we say bright yellow KitchenMaid stand mixer?!  I actually own a food processor already, but due to the size of our apartments most of our cool wedding gifts still live in my childhood bedroom.  Which means my parents occasionally use them (fondue party!) and I find myself getting jealous of my own stuff!

No matter the generosity of my wedding attendants, I would always want more kitchen stuff.  I pour through Crate and Barrel catalogs the way most women look at shoes.  Here are some of the things I would own in my current dream kitchen –

  • a spiralizer
  • a vitamix
  • a sodastream
  • a slow cooker
  • a juicer
  • a grill
  • a scantily dressed man to help with the dishes kidding!

Well, CSN Stores sent me an e-mail and offered to make some of my dreams come true.  I got to choose my very own dream kitchen item to review in the upcoming weeks.  Adam weighed in heavily on this decision, and he we choose to go with the slow cooker.

Enough dreaming, it’s almost noon!, time to get down to the nitty gritty.  My breakfast post is late because my morning is running late; I woke up feeling queasy and light-headed so I decided I was better off going back to bed.  The three boys who ate pizza with me all feel fine and I’m a bit more sturdy  now after breakfast so maybe I was just hungry?!?

“What did this magical elixir breakfast contain,” you ask?

Stonyfield Low-Fat Strawberry yogurt, 1/2cup fresh raspberries, and a package of All-Bran Bran Buds.

The All-Bran was actually a sample I sent away for in the mail and it was ridiculously tasty.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy some once my cereal cabinet thins out a bit.

Speaking of things that are ridiculously good….. Buy. This.

The husband has a deep obsession with Biscoff cookies (he asks for so many extra when we fly Delta that the stewardesses always think he’s adorable and I die of embarrassment) and I’m deeply obsessed with the husband, so when I found out they made Biscoff cookie spread I ordered some up.  It ended up being a gift to both of us because this stuff is amazing.  I absolutely had a spoonful before making breakfast today.

What is your favorite spread that isn’t peanut butter?  I think before yesterday I would have said Nutella, but there is no competing against Biscoff now!

Fruit eaten so far today:  1/2cup

Can’t Top This

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I didn’t eat any more fruit today, which was fine because I was already 1cup over my goal.  However, I did get in some veggies, in the form of ……. pizza!

I ate this slice x2.

Adam and I went over to a friend’s house for an impromptu movie night and the 4 of us ended up splitting a veggie – onions, black olives, green olives, banana pepper, jalapeno – pizza.

We just got home (10:30) and I still have to shower so I’ll keep this short and sweet.  I’ll try to be in bed shortly and I hope all my readers have sweet dreams!

What is your favorite pizza topping?  Mine are green olives and pineapple.

Fridge Traffic JAM

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It’s officially the first work-week of May!  Where has this year gone?!?  For that matter, where has today gone, it’s all felt a little rushed.

Adam and I both had another lackluster sleep last night 😦  Isn’t it just the worst feeling to toss and turn when you’d like to be resting up?  The morning felt like it came way too quickly and the snooze buttons were pressed several times.  I had to drive the husband to school so I could use the car to run errands, so I rushed out the door with him.  How happy am I that it’s finally throw on a sundress season?

I was a little irritated to have to go to the post office when I hadn’t even eaten breakfast but it ended up being a good thing because my parents send me an amazing package!  It was Carnival in St. Thomas last week and they sent me all sorts of goodies –

I packed the soursop jam away into cabinet before I could even look at it.  I have a problem –

Seriously, Emily?  6 open jars of fruit spreads!

However, I tore into the stewed tamarind immediately.

A few spoonfuls in I managed to stop myself and actually assemble breakfast.

Stonyfield plain fat-free yogurt with stewed tamarind and 1/2cup raspberries.

I couldn’t get over how pretty it was and the taste combination was amazing!

Eat More Fruit Tip # 1 – Instead of buying “fruit on the bottom” yogurts, make your own!  Plain fat free yogurt with berries and fruit spread stirred in has less sugar than the ones you buy at the store, and is a whole lot tastier too!

Lunch was pretty gorgeous as well.

Eat More Fruit Tip # 2 – Smoothies are a very tasty way to eat your fruits, just be sure not to add too many high-calorie/sugar additives.

I had a whole slew of annoying phone calls to make and the morning slipped away while I was on the phone.  By the time I was headed out the door I was already late so I made myself a to-go smoothie for lunch.  1 small frozen banana, 1/2cup frozen blackberries, 1cup calcium + vitamin d oj, and 1/2t xanthan gum.

The smoothie was supposed to be swim fuel but sadly that didn’t pan out.  When I got to the pool all of the lanes were full and I was too late picking up Adam to wait. 

The swim no-go is especially annoying because I don’t want to swim, I want to run, and I can do that any where.  My hopeful date to start running again is May 10th and I’m getting a little nervous because my leg still hurts.  The doctor said it would hurt up until it was healed (and then I could get moving again) but I’m so afraid that the 10th with come and go and I’ll still be stuck.  I’m so eager to run again that it physically hurts when I see other people out on a job.  I made get-well wishes on several of these today.

What would you wish on a dandelion for?

Fruit eaten so far today:  3cups

May 3rd – May 9th: Eat 2 Cups of Fruit Each Day

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I’ll be back with a breakfast/lunch post later, but I wanted to introduce my goal for this week before I headed out.

I’m challenging myself to eat a more healthy diet this month.  You can check this post for more information, but essentially I am turning to the USDA’s food pyramid for inspiration.  This week’s goal is to hit or surpass the daily recommended allowance of fruit.

Here is a chart from MyPyramid.gov with the recommended allowances –

Since I’m a woman in my 20s my goal will be to eat at least 2 cups of fruit each day this week.  I actually think that cups is a pretty arbitrary size assignment, I wish that the pyramid would be updated to include weight measurements.  Maybe when I’m an R.D.?  For now I’ll work with what I’ve got; here are some examples of what “1cup” of means for the common fruits –

The website has good tips for including more fruit into your diet, and I’ll being give my own ideas this week as well.

[All images and facts in this post sourced from http://www.mypyramid.gov]

Eat Like an Egyptian

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As I mentioned in a recent post, I’m going to try to work on cleaning up my eating a bit this month.  Not only do I have some weight to lose, but I’m hosting a foodie challenge with Allison in June and I’d like to have all my ducks in a row first.

Since I’m also officially starting my classes as a Nutrition student in June, I figured I should turn to the food pyramid for some inspiration.

Goals are always more achievable when you take specific small steps, rather than trying to tackle something big all at once.  I’d like to clean up my eating a bit, what does that mean?  I want to lose some weight.  I’d like to have more energy.  I need to make sure I’m fueling my body properly and staying healthy.  Weighty goals indeed.

So I broke down my big goal into little mini goals, one for each of the first three weeks.

  1. May 3rd – May 9th:  Eat 2 cups of fruit every day.
  2. May 10th – May 16th:  Eat 2.5 cups of vegetables every day.
  3. May 17th – May 23rd:  Eat only 250 discretionary calories per day.

I’ll do a post explaining more about the goal at the beginning of each week.  I will also do daily updates about my progress.

[All images in this post sourced from http://www.mypyramid.gov/]