Tag Archives: banana

Take-home Test Tuesday

by

The husband and I (he was home from school too) had a nice lazy morning today.  Lots of kissing, no rushing, and plenty of staying in bed until 9.  I wish I could relax all day; to bad I’ve got a take-home test to tackle and my most important exam tomorrow!

I knew I needed a breakfast that was healthy, hearty (protein), and a little fun too.

Mission accomplished.

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail asking me if I’d like to try the new yogurts from Yoplait and Fiber One.  I’m pretty loyal to Greek yogurt, but when I stray Yoplait almost never lets me down (their Greek is pretty great too!).  Pretty soon, Vanilla and Strawberry arrived in the mail.

The yogurt is also available in Key Lime and Peach.  Sidenote – I will definitely be on the lookout for key lime, yum!

I was disappointed by the ingredients list (Michael Pollan would not be impressed), but definitely pleased by the nutritionals.

Since 50calories is a little low for breakfast to me, I decided to try both flavors in today’s bowl.

P.S. That meant that my breakfast based had 10grams of fiber and 6grams of protein, booyah!

Eaten atop a sliced banana, under a sprinkle of gingerbread flax granola.

Mmmmn.

I wasn’t expecting to be all that impressed with the flavors – I take my fake sugars in diet soda, thank you – but I was very pleasantly surprised.  The strawberry had big chunks of real strawberry and the vanilla was lushiously creamy.  Plus they were pretty thick, for non-Greek. 

I’d say B+.  If you usually eat plain yogurt (especially Greek) I wouldn’t make a permanent switch.  But if you are a flavored yogurt eater then these are a definite upgrade.

My morning’s also included some Wegman’s eggnog coffee with skim milk and nutmeg.

Fully caffeine buzzed, I’m off to hit the books!

What kind of yogurt do you eat?

No Complaints About the Food

by

Today was – – – tiresome?  It wasn’t a terrible day, but I certainly have a lot of complaints about it!  I woke up to the realization that I’m getting sick, I felt sick all day, we were so busy all day that I couldn’t study for Monday’s two finals, and in the midst of not studying I found out that I got a B in my Anatomy Lab…  Boo.

One thing I have no complaints about is breakfast.

Kath‘s oat smoothies are genius!  And my holiday twist was pretty darn smart too 😉  This was a leftover serving of oatmeal, 1 frozen banana, and 2/3cup Silk Soy Nog, with a healthy shake of nutmeg.

Mmm-mmn!  The nutmeg totally took it to Christmas morning.  So did these pepermint flavored Now and Laters.

And then I was out of the house for the rest of the day.  We had lots of errands and doctors appointments, all of which moved like molasses.  Adam has a birthday tomorrow (25!) and I’ve got an idiopathic bone lesion.  Fun.

Lunch from Wegman’s salad bar was a bright spot.

But since I didn’t eat “lunch” until 4pm my hunger was so out of control that this barely filled me up.

A slice of buffalo chicken pizza was soon to follow.

Not gonna lie, this slice of pizza was not cooked and I went ahead and ate it anyway.

Adam headed to a coffee spot to study after the grocery, but I knew my best course of action was to get myself into my pjs and tuck into a large bowl of vanilla bean with caramel sauce.

Yep.  I’ll be on the couch if you need me!

Moe’s Who?

by

It’s been quite a night for a Thursday, quite a night!  In addition to making a banging dinner and a revolutionary dessert, I also managed to get some school work done; booyah!

On the agenda for tonight were quick and easy quesadillas.

But you know I did some snacking first.  Adam and I split some fun – a snowman cookie from Sweet Tooth,

and a Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumpkin Beer.

Both were quite tasty; I ate a little less than half of the cookie, and a little more than half of the beer.

Wokka, wokka, wokka, wokka…..

In between sips, I sautéed up 1/2 cup each frozen corn and black beans in some tomatillo salsa.

This was delicious, and what didn’t fit on my quesadilla was eaten out of a bowl with a bit of sour cream.

I topped a tortilla with my veggie mixture and 1.5oz of sharp cheddar, folded, and gave a quick spin in a greased frying pan.

To die for!  This was cheesy and melty and salty, all while still being healthy.  I previous thought that nothing could top Moe’s, but this was definitely better!

Dessert was pretty darn good too.

That would be low-fat cottage cheese, topped with half a banana, drizzled with caramel sauce.

Sometimes I even impress myself.

Eaten whilst watching “Modern Family,” which seriously slays me with how funny it is!

What do you put on your quesadillas?

Goodness

by

I ended up not having a bowl of ice-cream last night – though I did have two handfuls of dark chocolate almonds – mostly because I was so excited about this bowl:

I’d been excited about breakfast for 12-straight hours and I was not disappointed!

I started by whipping up a double batch of stove top banana oats.

That’s 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 banana, 1 pinch salt.

After I removed tomorrow’s serving (I’ve got an oat smoothie in the works), I stirred in ~1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese.

Plated (bowled?), topped with strawberries,

and a Nutella spoon.

<– Goodness!

My ‘nana-berry-cheese-nutella oats were muy bella.

I’m loving the texture of that cottage cheese and you really can’t go wrong with nutella.

And now I’ve got a warm/full belly for my 20* walk to school!  I have a couple of meetings, my final Anatomy class, and a trip to the gym planned before my Orgo Lab shut-down at 6pm.  I made an ice-cream date with the husband, which means he’ll be picking me up; thank goodness!

When it’s snowy and icy outside do you walk or drive?  If you are normally a walker, what temperature drives you to your car?

We actually have a 2nd car now, but I didn’t purchase a parking pass for my school so instead it’s turning into a snow drift.

Deck the Halls

by

Christmas time is here…

Well, not quite, but we are watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and we decked the halls so it’s feeling pretty festive around here.

We don’t have much in the way of decorations (and we didn’t even put them all out), but even a few little touches will help you feel seasonal.

Even my breakfast felt a little special.

I made the traditional stove top oats (with 1/4 cup oats, 1cup skim milk/Silk almond milk, a pinch of salt, and 1 banana) and stirred in ~1/3 cup each canned pumpkin and low-fat cottage cheese.

Topped with some coconut “snow.”

Yummy, yummy.  Although somehow I made waaaay too much; I left almost half of it in my bowl.

We’ve got a lot of work and fun on the agenda, got to get to it!

Have you decorated for the holidays yet?

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my OhNuts! giveaway!

Rethinking the Classics

by

Forget pumpkin pie, think pumpkin cheesecake oats!

Because there’s no way any piece of pie could be better than this bowl.  (Well, key lime pie, but we are talking seasonal here!)

cooked

  • 1/4 cup oats
  • 2/3 cup liquid (50:50 mix Unsweetened Silk Almond Milk and 1% milk)
  • 1 medium banana
  • ~1/3 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 pinch salt

topped

  • 1oz cream cheese
  • 2 tsp brown sugar

Readers, even if you don’t listen to another word I say, please, please try this bowl!  You bring your liquids to a low simmer, then carefully stir in the rest of your ingredients.  Stir continuously with a wooden spoon (breaking up the banana with the back of your spoon) until most of the liquid is gone and you’ve reached the consistency you like.  Then top and give the entire bowl a 20second spin in the microwave to get the toppings nice and melty.  The banana endows this great sweetness, the sugar starts to brulee, and the cream cheese gives the perfect amount of tang.  It is life-changing.


So seriously, try it and report back!

On the agenda for today –

  • a single nutrition class (it’s a 2hr class and we scribble furiously the entire time, there was no way I was going to try to miss and make it up)
  • a group meeting to discuss a project
  • finding some last-minute additions to our nieces’ x-mas gifts
  • picking up the husband from school
  • a blog giveaway
  • packing, x2 (I told the husband I’d pack for him if he cleaned the shower)
  • a mini workout
  • dinner out

On the agenda for the holiday –

  • we drive to Ohio early Wednesday morning to have turkey with my grandparents
  • then on Friday we drive to PA for a second celebration with my in-laws
  • and Sunday we make the looooong drive home so I’m back in time for my huuuuuge Orgo test on Monday

What are your plans for Turkey Day/weekend?

Be Still, My Heart

by

I ended up not going to the gym today, I didn’t want to risk the shower.  I don’t know whether or not we can get hot water when the power is off, but I didn’t want to find out on a sweaty day 😉

I did, however, get in enough movement that I don’t feel guilty about missing the gym (Who am I kidding?  I never feel guilty, that’s how I let weeks go by between visits!).  I walked so much today that my feet actually started to hurt, and that’s a real feat for me!

  • home to school
  • school to home
  • home back to school
  • school to Wegman’s
  • Wegman’s to the Co-op
  • and finally home

My excitement over that much walking time is why I’m trying to calm my heart.  Although I’m glad it’s not too still, I needed him beating for Anatomy today!  We did EKGs in lab and it was actually a lot of fun (aka I’m a nerd).  First we checked my heart rate reclining (70beats per minute), then again after I sprinted up and down the stairs for a few minutes (113beats per minute).

Lab let out early, which is why I had time to make the mid-day trip home.  I couldn’t actually eat any lunch (I couldn’t open my fridge because of the power situation), but I did have a nice snack.

Sahale Snacks Valdosta pecans with cranberries, black pepper and orange zest.  Yum!  These tasted exactly like candied nuts, even though they have way less sugar.  I actually opened these on Tuesday and it was all I could do not to eat them all before I got a chance to blog about them!

I also had a macaroon.

I imagine those wouldn’t keep for too long, but 3 days later they are still damn good!

Food lab today was about grains and starches; my group made saffron rice pilaf, bulgur salad, and creamed toast with asparagus and eggs.  And you’ll notice none of those dishes made it onto my plate….

Hey, we did a good job, those items just weren’t my cup of tea!  I probably ate about 3/4 of what’s shown there, as I said, somethings were better than others.

After class I made my groceries trek to pick up a few items, which left me leaving the co-op at 5pm, starving.  Vegan Thai tapioca pudding to the rescue –

I’m sorry I don’t have a better picture, but I actually ate this on the walk home!  I can’t even begin to describe how good this stuff is – chewy and sticky in the most amazing way.  Be still my heart.

I also had a spoon (x2) of crunchy pb when I got home.

Served alongside a nice portion of heat; thank goodness our power is back on!

Dinner was simple simple, boxed mac and cheese gussied up with broccoli, 1oz of sharp cheddar, and a sprinkle of Sriracha.

I hate to add cheese to mac and cheese but this was a 33cent store brand box and the flavor just wasn’t cutting it.

Much better.

Now I’ve got to make like a banana and split; I have a huge presentation tomorrow morning and I’ve got to go rehearse.  Note – actually first we are returning some cans for cash and using it to buy candy….but then I’ll rehearse!

Save the Second Bowl

by

We had a great Halloween last evening, cozy and creepy, exactly as it should be.  Sitting on the couch, eating nachos, watching “Hocus Pocus;” pretty much perfect!  But I guess that holiday’s over…

Smashing pumpkins sans Billy Corgan aside, my excitement level was high this morning.  I knew in advance, breakfast was going to be good.

For the most part I tend not to follow blogland trends.  My cabinet is not stocked with chia seeds and I’ve yet to find the obsession allure of almond butter.  But when Kath describes something as “oat batter” I know it’s time to get on-board.

My smoothie contained

  • the 2nd serving of yesterday’s oats
  • 1 medium frozen banana
  • a splash of vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • ~1/2 cup skim milk

In addition to being tasty, this kept me full so long that I didn’t even want to eat lunch before I headed to class!  That’s not to say I wasn’t starving when I got home at 3:30 😉

I made myself a snack plate very quickly.

A sliced apple,

and 1.5 servings of Sahale Snacks Sing Buri Cashews.

I also ate a serving of these Pillsbury Sweet Moment Caramel Chocolate bites (free via coupon from BlogHer).

I wasn’t expecting to be a fan, but these were pretty good.  You know how sometimes cheap cakes have that granular sugar mouthfeel?  I know a lot of people find that gross, but I love it.  Anyway, these had that.

On a more serious note, I want to remind you to take care of your health.

In order to keep your boobs safe, I’ll give you a close-up of mine –

My mom sent me this “Save 2nd Base” shirt from a fundraiser she attended a few weeks back.  I sported it to school today, and I just wanted to remind my readers that you (or a loved one) should be feeling you up each month, for safety!  Just don’t try to give me a pink ribbon…

Did you get to watch Hocus Pocus this year?