Equations of Sorts

It’s 9:20 and I would kill to already be in bed so I’ll keep this short and sweet.  My day went lab –> people watching on campus –> doctor’s appointment/waiting for the husband’s doctor’s appointment –>  eating junk whilst watching tv –> this super lame post.

Breakfast = green.

1cup frozen spinach, 1cup oj, 1 frozen banana.

Lunch = sandwich + spicy.

Bread, sliced turkey, spinach, Crofters superfruit spread, cheese.  Looks unassuming, but the Yancey’s Farm Buffalo Wing cheese was intense.

Plus a sliced jazz apple.

A less healthy snack.

1 small mint milkshake – minty flavor = half a milkshake in the trash.

Dinner = Moes.

Chicken Homewrecker Jr (that’s a small plate).

I swear on a Big Gulp of diet coke that I will have an actual post tomorrow.  And some good news!

Movement is Good

We’re going to pretend like I didn’t magically skip two days of posting, ok?  Ok.  Because in reality it was more like I skipped two days of life, leaving not a whole lot to post about.  My first test went pretty badly, probably because I spent Thursday watching TV and eating nachos.  And my bone scan appointment was canceled indefinitely because the hospital waited to call me until 10hours before my exam to tell me that I had to have an in-state referral.

Since my journey back into fitness could be a long time coming (now I don’t even have a doctor’s time-frame) it’s officially time for me to quit wallowing.  I can’t do any form of cardio (swimming would probably work but there’s no pool available) and I can’t strength train at my gym (I’m walking better but stairs are super painful and my gym has a ton) but that doesn’t mean I have to sit on my butt and get fat fatter.

So I stayed in bed and felt sad until the husband left at 9 this morning and then I decisively limped to the living room to set up my workout area.

20minutes later I had completed arm/ab/back/leg strength work and stretching.  I felt great to “move” again!

I was less excited about cleaning around the house, but I made myself do that before my shower too.  Then I made the husband and I a tasty brunch.

Adam is sick so I made the smoothies around his tastes.  For two – 2medium bananas, 7oz frozen peaches, 2T fat free sugar free pudding mix, 1cup oj.

I’ve got to clip some coupons and do my recipe planning while I sip my smoothie (lots of alliteration in that sentence!) and then we are headed to the grocery store.  We are hoping to head to the movies later too.  Happy Saturday!

I need your help!  Does anyone have a genius non-impact cardio suggestion that I haven’t thought of yet? 

Sandwiches, Smoothies, and Schedules

Hello again, happy Monday!  This will definitely be the longest recap post I’ve done in a while – Friday through Monday.  Physically things have been low-key but mentally there’s been lots of drama – my flight was canceled!  And since I’m in St. Thomas it could have meant getting into Buffalo on Tuesday and not having a ride and missing class.  I was freaking out a bit.  Thankfully 45minutes on the phone + my firm but calm voice got me on a different flight that leaves/gets in on pretty much the same schedule.  And now my layover is shorter and in Philly and not Charlotte.  🙂

I’m a big proponent of the firm but calm voice.  I was polite, and said multiple please and thank yous, but unwavering.  I didn’t ask whether or not I could get on another flight, I simply said “I will be leaving St. Thomas tomorrow, what can you do to help me make that happen?”  And it worked.

Anyway, back to Friday.  My mom served me a slice of cake,

which promptly got stripped of it’s icing because I don’t eat cake.

Then I moved on to greens, a small container I put together at the salad bar we stopped by.

Lettuce, beans, corn, cheese, 1 hard-boiled egg and a drizzle of light Cesar.

I also made myself some frozen coffee – coffee, ice, skim milk, and 2T sugar.

Soo much better than Starbucks could ever do.

Dinner was all about the leftovers.

Oven baked okra is kind of my favorite.

And I served up some leftover baked tofu on toasted rye with hot pepper raspberry preserves and sharp cheddar.

Friday night I did end up going out to meet some friends.  We had a good time and I had a few drinks but photo-taking was abandoned in favor of trying to keep my balance on one leg!  I don’t know how on earth I managed to stand on one leg past 2am but a fun time was had by all.

For Saturday morning breakfast my mom and I hit up one of my favorite places on earth – Barefoot Buddha.  I had fresh-made lemonade,

and a Bigfoot Bagel Sandwich.

Frittata, smoked turkey, turkey bacon, cream cheese, spicy sauce…

I love these sandwiches so much I ate them on my wedding day!  I know most brides say they are too nervous to eat but I was just nervous my friends would devour them before I got any 😀

We hung out and studied for a bit and I had a passionfruit, banana, coconut smoothie.

We laid low the rest of the day before going out to a fabulous dinner at The Cellar.  We did a lot of sharing and the lighting was low so let me apologize for the picture quality in advance.

There were way too many things I wanted off the drink menu but I finally settled on the Caribbean Champagne.

Champagne with coconut rum and key lime juice.  GREAT combination.

We split a cheese plate that was kind of out of this world.  The goat cheese was my favorite but the stewed plums were pretty fantastic as well.

My plate –

And at The Cellar the chef always sends out an amuse bouche.

Ahi wontons.

Plus homemade bread and butter.

For my meal I got the Vegetable Cutlet – panfried, potatoes, peas, carrots, eggplant and pickled papaya, and tiki masala sauce.

The cutlets were delicious but my favorite part of the entire meal was the eggplant wrapped papaya.  I ate one cutlet and took the other home, and I had a few bites of my dad’s tamarind mahi as well.

We were stuffed, but couldn’t not order a dessert plate to share.  It came with little forks,

because we got four little desserts!

NY cheesecake with fruit sauce and bananas foster,

cinnamon creme brulee and chocolate mousse.

Yum, yum, yum; I wished I could have had a BIG serving of the bananas foster.

Sunday morning I made a nice green monster for breakfast.

My mom and I got our nails done (green again, I’ll show you later!) and then I picked up nachos for lunch from the bar I used to work at.

Yum, but I think it’s time to be fully done with any sort of nachos for a while.

We saw a matinée of “Our Family Wedding,” during which I munched on a box of Nerds.

I would like to show you dinner but it was so dark at our table I never could get a picture.  I shared green bean fries with my parents and ate half of a tamarind turkey burger.

When I got home I had 2 maple pecan sticky blondies for dessert.

Dreena would be sad to know I deveganized these, but at least I made the recipe for my parents!

This morning (Monday) I’m hanging out at school for a bit before I head home to pack.  I brought a pineapple Chiobani for breakfast,

but that didn’t begin to cut it.

I ended up also having an egg and cheese biscuit from Wendy’s.

It is 100% time to stop eating like I’m on vacation!  Especially because I’m not sure what the workout situation with my leg is going to be like.

I had fabulous spring break but I am more than ready to get back with the husband and back on a schedule.  I get in late tonight so I won’t be posting today’s eats but hopefully Tuesday my sleeping, eating, and blogging will all be back on track!  I can tell you now though, that I have a Greek Gods honey yogurt in the freezer for a pre-packing treat!

When you get to the end of a vacation are you sad it’s over or ready to get back to business?

Playing Catch Up

Hello, hello!  As per the title of my post, I have lots to do so I’ll make this quick.

When we got home last night I munched on some turkey bacon.

I’ll never ever ever eat pork again, but turkey bacon is one of my favorite things and my mom always has it ready for me when I come home.

And I also ate a small bowl of cole slaw while we cooked dinner.

My dad (who’s a little bit picky) was doing leftovers so my mom and I made a roasted feast.

Tofu: cut a block of firm tofu into 6-7 pieces and place on a foiled, sprayed baking sheet.  Rub with maple syrup, sesame oil, salt, and red pepper.  Bake at 450* for 35minutes.

Baked okra.

And my mom made some sautéed cabbage with almonds.

Delish!

Then, for the second night in a row, I passed out fully dressed at 8pm!!!  I had been getting to bed really late and sleeping really poorly for the last few months and apparently my body is finally ready to catch up on some of that lost rest!

I even slept in (6:40) a bit this morning so I was glad I packed a breakfast sandwich last night while preparing dinner.

Although first I had a banana half so I could take Alieve on a non-empty stomach.

Eaten in the car, my sandwich was rye bread with roasted red pepper and goat cheese spread, chive cream cheese, turkey bacon, and spinach.

This was a fantabulous combo.  I thought I was fueling up for my bone scan but unfortunately once I got to the hospital I decided to cancel my appointment.  The scan was not 100% positively going to be covered by insurance and even if it was if I went out of network I’d have a $360 co-pay.  I’m using the crutches and resting my leg this week regardless so I’ll just wait until I’m back in Buffalo for the bone scan.

Equally fun was when I realized that using crutches with a button-up shirt was a bad idea.  There were at least 15men watching me struggle across the parking lot when my shirt popped open all the way down to my belly-button!!  This shirt usually goes in my conservative pile, not my Brittany pile!

Now I’ve got to spend the day catching up on Anthropology reading.  Thankfully I’ve got a lunch date planned with my mom in the middle!

What is your favorite kind of bacon?  I honestly really prefer turkey to pork but I do think that the fakin’ stuff can be pretty tasty.

Busy Busy Bee

I want to get my packing done this evening and I HAVE to squeeze in some quality time with the husband so I’ll keep this snappy.  `_< (oh yes, that was an alligator!)

I like to make to-go smoothies for breakfast on the mornings I have 8am lab.  My first proclamations were not wrong: I love Green Monsters!

This had 1 frozen banana, 1 cup oj, and 1 cup frozen spinach.  I took a better lit picture at la escuela to show of its Kermit-esque awesomeness.

I was in the bathroom because I realized I couldn’t not show you guys today’s layered look!

Love it!  Adam and Katie both asked me why I was dressed up today.

I was with Katie because we had a lunch date today!  I packed us a lovely spread from home to save a little $.

 Turkey and 2% provolone sandwiches with hot pepper peach preserves.

And caramel Oikos with blueberries.

We ate at the Wegman’s coffee bar area and Katie bought me a lovely Nutty Irish (hazelnut and Irish cream syrups) skim milk latte.

After lunch we walked around the store a bit and I managed to get some gifts for the friends I’m seeing tomorrow that I’m quite excited about.

On the way home we split this package of Newman’s Own Peppermint Cups.

Meh.  They aren’t bad I guess but I much prefer Yorks.

Adam had a suture clinic from 5 – 8 so he dropped me off at the Spot to do some studying.  I am completely caught up for Chemistry, yay!  I got dinner there, a Mike’s cheese and egg bagel sandwich.

Plus a skim iced latte.

Still on the agenda for tonight?

  • pack everything but my chargers into my suitcase
  • separate the laundry
  • paint my toe nails and shave my legs, eek!
  • cuddle with the husband and try not to cry about 12 days apart

Gotta get cracking!

*****Updated to add – packing is never fun.  Which is probably why this seemed like such a good idea –

Shamrock Shake!  😀

Dreena Burton, I Love You

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!  Can we talk about the fricking Maple Pecan Sticky Blondies?!?!?!

I only had 1/2 as much of the pecan topping as the recipe called for – the best part – and they were delicious.  When I make them again with the full amount I’m pretty sure my head is going to explode.  They are chewy, and almost spongy, the topping is the world’s best mix of sweet and salty and the molasses adds a fabulous layer of complexity.  I had two.

And the minute I woke up this morning, before brushing my teeth, and even before I peed, I ate another one!  Buy Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan.  Do it NOW.  Make these blondies.  If you are worried about the “strange” ingredients don’t be.  I subbed out the ‘regular’ stuff for half of the ingredients in the recipe and it worked out fine.

Gah!  I’m still kind of not over it, but I can’t talk about blondies all day, you want to hear about breakfast. 

Last night I mixed up 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup plain skim soy milk, 1/4 cup soy vanilla yogurt, and 1T maple syrup.  I am not a soy yogurt fan but it was leftover from the blondies.

This morning I topped the bowl of with a sliced banana and a spoonful of pb.

Pretty tasty.

I have class this afternoon and leftovers are on the dinner agenda, overall it looks like a low-key day.  By the way – I’ve decided NOT to run before my race.  I am not going to be able to increase my fitness in 10days, but I can give my leg a chance to rest up and heal.

Blondies or brownies, which are your favorite?  To me brownies = ick, blondies = yum.  I will say though, that ALL of my favorite blondies have been vegan.

I Love Green Monsters So Much I Want to Marry Them

I’ll get back to the title in a moment.  First, did you read my last post?  It explains all about the situation with my half marathon.  Please do read it, I would love some input from my wise readers.

This morning I stretched breakfast and lunch out and together across 3 small snack-meals.  First things first, a lemon poppyseed cookie.

Then a small bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch with plain skim soy milk.

Finally, my new love – I made my first green monster!

I blended 1 frozen banana with a squeeze of honey, 1cup frozen spinach, and 1cup oj.  Holy yum!  This was tangy and healthy and awesome.

I’ve got to run now to go pick up Adam on my way to school.  He needs the car but he is going to sit in on Anthro with me this afternoon first and I am so excited!  I’m probably going to be late at school waiting for Adam and we have some may-jor cleaning planned for this evening so don’t get to anxious for an evening post 🙂

Have you tried gms yet?  What do you think?

Deers Eat Oats, and Does Eat Oats, But Little Lambs Eat Ivy

The boys stayed up past 4am last night playing video games and for some reason I thought it’d be a great idea to sit up with them.  Nooooooooooo.

Somehow I managed to drag myself out of bed for breakfast around 10.  I packed a packed of Apple and Cinnamon quick oats from home.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this (Adam got the packet in a med school care package).  I wouldn’t go with added sugars and finer cut oats on a daily basis, but as a convenience item it was pretty tasty.

I also had a tropical fruit cup I found at the store last night.

There wasn’t a lot of fresh fruit available, we went at closing time, but the nutritional stats on this were pretty good.

Lunch was another marriage of home food and in-law food.  The banana and almond butter packet from home,

on a hamburger bun.

Yums.  I think this is a snack I will be repeating at home!

It’s nap time around the house now, but this afternoon we are going bowling!  I had hoped to get in a run while we were here but my left leg hurts so bad I can barely walk, what the hell is the deal?!?  Post-bowling we are going out to dinner, and I think the family consensus is Mexican, so we’ll have to see how many vegan choices I have.  See you in a while, crocodiles!

How do you make your oatmeal?  Microwave, stove top, quick oats, packets, overnight???  I do Old Fashioned Oats, but in the microwave or soaked overnight.