Tag Archives: banana

Pineapple Paradise

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It’s Friday! I don’t really have a work week, but the weekend is still exciting.  Today I’m trying to pretend I’m somewhere tropical and that the forecast isn’t calling for rain and snow!

I set my alarm for 5:30 this morning and went to the gym for a (terrible) run.  My calves hurt so badly, I don’t know what the problem is?!?!  I mostly did 2/1minute run/walk intervals but sometimes I doubled up the running and/or the walking.  I kept having to stop to stretch.  In the end I did 60minutes and 5.3miles.  I did lots of stretching afterwards, for a total of 655 calories.

I came home to shower, sent the husband off to school, and got started on breakfast.  This was when the tropical fantasy began……Breakfast was all about devoring Sponge Bob’s home eating pineapple.  I made an amazing smoothie.

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1 frozen banana, heaping cup fresh pineapple, splash oj.  I think maybe I prefer smoothies with some fresh (i.e. not frozen) fruit, the texture of this was great.

Alongside I had pineapple in bar from – a Pineapple Ginger bar from Boomi.

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I had been putting off eating this sample because ginger skeeves me out sometimes but it ended up being great.

The two pineapples went together quite well.

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Today should be pretty uneventful.  I have a lot of work I want to get done, but nothing is a rush.  Adam and I have super low-key plans for tonight, the highlight of which should be grocery shopping.  I hope everyone else has a good last day of the week day!

How do you like to make your smoothies?  Frozen fruit or fresh?  Ice?  Do you use any powders or packets?

Smooth Talker

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There were some dryer issues and we ended up waiting at the apartment a little longer than planned.  Not an issue though, and we enjoyed the best smoothies ever.  The secret was this Naysoya Smoothie Starter.

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How have I not bought this before?!  It gave the smoothies the perfect thickness, and had the best aftertaste.  The smoothies were more than ready for their close-up.

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For 2 portions I used –

  • 1C Naysoya Smoothie Starter, Vanilla
  • 2frozen bananas
  • 3/4C frozen strawberries
  • splash So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk

I enjoyed mine in one of our lovely new Guinness cups.

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Now, fingers crossed, we should be off in the next 10minutes.  Can’t wait to see what the wings festival entails!

What do you use to thicken your smoothies?  Usually I’m all about just liquid/frozen fruit, but this was pretty fabulous.  I never ever use protein powders.

pasTa

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I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love!  If I could run off with a smoothie without hurting Adam’s feelings I would, but more on that later…

Our errands went ok, we have to go back to the post office tomorrow but we dropped off our donations at Goodwill and got the things we needed at Target.  I also got majorly suckered into some candy –

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York Patties used to be my favorite candies and an ad in a magazine at Adam’s doctor’s office totally got me craving one – way to go former communication majors!  I also ate some of the husband’s mini truffles (x3).

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For dinner we made AnTEAoxidant Pasta (my name, recipe courtesy of an old Self magazine).  So good!

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I had my portion with a big glass of iced h2o.

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AnTEAoxident Pasta, serves 4  (I made some changes to the recipe, mostly to make it lower fat and to accommodate our lame pantry, so I’m posting the changed recipe below)

  • 6 green tea bags
  • 2.5C dry ww penne
  • 2C chopped broccoli
  • 2C chopped kale leaves
  • 1 14.5oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 3/4C fat free ricotta
  • 4t evoo
  • 1T balsamic vinegar
  • 1T chopped garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste

>Bring 6C of water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add tea bags; turn off heat and let steep for 5minutes.  Discard tea bags and bring back to a boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions.  Add in broccoli and kale in the last three minutes of cooking.

>Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, ricotta, oil, vinegar and garlic; mix well.  Drain pasta and cooked vegetables; add to bowl and toss well.

It was good, but nothing on this Earth is as good as this smoothie –

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  • 1small banana
  • 1C Goya frozen soursop pulp
  • 3/4C So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk

Holy frick it is good! 

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Soursop is so good, it is my favorite childhood taste memory.  Legend has it that soursop makes you sleepy which is the idea tonight.  We are watching more “My So-Called Life” and then I am trying to get to bed by 10.

What is your favorite childhood taste memory?  Mine is soursop juice and baked macaroni and cheese from the old grocery store back home.  When I went out shopping with my parents around lunch time my dad would buy it for me and I would eat it with my fingers in the car!

New Things

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In a major change from our apartment in Brooklyn where it was stiflingly hot, I overslept this morning because I couldn’t sleep last night because I was too cold!  I will never complain about lower temperatures though, I can always add layers, in Brooklyn I would have had to peel off my skin!

In spite of my late start I’ve managed to get most of my to-do’s for the day completed.  We did a little bit more apartment organizing (almost done!) this morning and then I ate a juicy black plum before we headed out.

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We drove up to the North Campus of UB, my campus, today to get our id cards and it accounts.  The campus is a 20minute drive away which means I will have to be careful to schedule my commute around rush hours.  My class is all at night anyway though.  We needed money for the meter so we stopped at the campus Starbucks and I got an unsweetened iced coffee with skim milk.

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On the way home we stopped by the public library.  I can get a card yet because I have no mail addressed to me (you have to show proof of residency) but I am super excited to go back, it was HUGE!  They even had a Mark Twain room 🙂

Now that we are home I’ve been doing all my school/business things on the computer and eating a late snacky lunch.  First we cut into this bad boy (my hand is there to show the size) –

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This was a Crenshaw Melon.  I couldn’t really tell the difference taste/texturewise between this an a cantaloupe but it was fun to try something new.

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Ours was a little too ripe so I ended up throwing out part of my last slice, I think we will have to use the other half for smoothies.

Next I ate a low-fat cheese stick.

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And finally this –

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This beauty was

  • Stoneyfield YoKids Banilla low fat yogurt
  • 2t fat free ricotta
  • 1small banana
  • sprinkle of cinnamon

It was so tasty it even looked enticing when stirred to mush.

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In a bit we are going for a run (the same route as yesterday to see if maybe it doesn’t conquer me this time!) and then the plan for tonight is a low key dinner.  Lates!

What new fruits or veggies have YOU tried this summer?

Alliteration, Always Awesome

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Ick, ack, yetch!  My plan for last night was snack, mini-workout, early bed time and the heat put a crimp in all three.  I was too hot for food or movement (and I guess those two sort of cancel out) and I ended up not falling asleep until after 3:30am!  Not only do we not have AC but it is actually hotter in our apartment than it is outside.  I don’t even want to think about what moving day will feel like!  My late night pushed everything back this morning but the day is starting to turn around.

I enjoyed my breakfast bowl yesterday and when I saw bbbbbBlack Cherry yogurt in the fridge I knew I’d have to make it again!

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Black, Blue, Berry, Banana Breakfast Bowl

  • Stoneyfield Fat Free Black Cherry Yogurt
  • 1 medium banana
  • ~1/4C blueberries
  • 1T wheatberries

I made today’s bowl a little smaller because I am actually meeting Adam for lunch soon!  He is out doing laundry and I am going to try to get some studying done.  We are planning on packing up our kitchen and bookshelves today and we have to finish all of our business online because we have no internet as of tomorrow morning.  Hopefully we can sneak some fun in too!

Do you prefer blueberries, blackberries, or black cherry?  I am a blackberry fan.

Blue, Berry, Banana, Breakfast Bowl

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My alliteration obsession was the driving force behind this morning’s breakfast.  Brought to you by the letter B –

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led to –

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led to –

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Yum.  This bowl contained

  • 1/2 C blueberries
  • 1/4 C wheatberries
  • Stoneyfield Fat Free Strawberry Yogurt
  • small banana

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Some facts –

*Blueberries seem to be out of season now but I was still able to have fresh ones for this bowl.  A month or so ago, when they were super cheap, I bought a few pints, washed them carefully, put them back in the fridge for a day to dry and then poured them into baggies and put them in the freezer.  Last night I just poured from the baggie into my measuring cup, put the cup in the fridge, and this morning I had thawed fresh blueberries.

*Camile asked a question about wheatberries and they are pretty new to me too so I did some research

  • A wheatberry is a wheat grain stripped of its outer hull to leave just the whole kernel
  • They can be ground up to make wheat flour or you can cook them whole for use in dishes
  • Nutrition is equivalent to that of whole wheat
  • A cup of wheatberries has about 300 calories and is packed with protein, fiber, and iron

I think they are chewy and tasty, here are a few spots you can order them –

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Today is one of the last low-key days before we have to actually start packing for the move.  I am headed down the street to do some studying, I have to mail a box to my parents, we need to update our filing system and file our CPR certification, and we are planning on heading over to the Meat Packing District for lunch.

What is the best thing on your agenda today?

Lots of Fruits

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This will be another quickie post but I have a very important PSA – Do NOT go see Bruno!  That was the worst movie I’ve seen this year.  (In my opinion) it wasn’t funny and it didn’t end up having any sort of message.  My movie snack was a winner though,

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Cookie Dough Balance Bars are always good.  I have really been making an effort to eat healthy on this trip, in spite of any negative influences – like husband and his sister splitting a large popcorn with butter – that are around me.  It’s been tricky because there isn’t much food (healthy or not) in the house but I think I’m doing ok.  I was hungry after the movie so I asked my sil to stop at a convenience store so I could get this:

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The Amazing Grass packet was from my packed snack bag but the juice and medium banana were from the store.  I would say it was a pretty solid convenience store snack – a little veggie and lots of fruits.

We are hitting the road soon, I’m not sure what the internet situation will be at the parents’ house so I might be doing a recap post when we get back here on Sunday.  Either way, I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Have you seen Bruno or Borat?  What did you think?