Weekly Wrap-Up; Lonely Island

Let’s be honest – being married to a surgical resident sucks.  Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of Adam that he’s such a smartypants and I love that he gets the opportunity to do something meaningful that excites him, but if I had my druthers I think we would both be beach bums working together at a part-time job somewhere.

We don’t have any time now.  After 11 years together (and 6 years of marriage) we somehow still really like each other so living as two ships passing in the night, as I said, sucks.

It’s not great for blog content either.  Adam was on night shifts all this week and I was home alone which meant I ate cereal and/or popcorn most days.  Not a ton of healthy living to share!  And it didn’t help that when I pulled up my photos  to write this post half of them were horrendous and were promptly deleted.  Here is what I do have to share…

Work lunch 1.

DSC07843

Fresh mango,

DSC07846

and a Passion Fruit Noosa.

DSC07848

This was the first time I had ever tried passion fruit not in juice form.  I liked the crunchy seeds!

Work lunch 2.

DSC07892

Peach Noosa,

DSC07894

topped with fresh blueberries,

DSC07898

and Linwood Ground Flax Seed with Cocoa, Strawberries,  and Blueberries.

DSC07896

The flax was part of a box of samples I recently received to review.

DSC07873

It was quite good; you couldn’t taste the berries but it had a nice hint of chocolate.  I keep meaning to bring flax back into my life so the samples came at a great time.

Pink smoothie.

DSC07837

Chocolate peppermint soy milk with frozen strawberries.  Adam is obsessed with this combination.  The only plus to nights is that he is home with me in the morning for breakfast.

Zing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar.

DSC07901

This didn’t have the best texture but it did a great job of keeping me full.

Gummi Koalas.

DSC07903

These are Adam’s favorites but they couldn’t hold a candle to my new obsession with Haribo Juicy Bears.

Blissinger’s Dulce de Leche with Sea Salt bar.

DSC07869

Yuck!  Way too salty.  I’m hoping that the husband ends up liking it because it was quite expensive and I could only eat one square.

Santa Fe Salsa Somersaults.

DSC07839

This one I have no complaints about 🙂

Oven baked fries.

DSC07888

With evoo, truffle salt, and dried rosemary from my grandma’s garden.

Iowa Girl Eats’ Chicken Chili topped with extra-sharp cheddar, low-fat sour cream, and pickled jalopeños.

DSC07864

I skipped the brown sugar, doubled the onion, and added some liquid smoke.  Adam loooooved this, and he says he hates chili.

Leftover chili stuffed in a baked potato.

DSC07855

With more cheese, sour cream, and jalopeños, and roasted broccoli on the side(s).  This was cheesy amazing.  We need to make baked potatoes more often.

Do you feel like you get enough time with your significant other or does work get in the way?

Weekly Wrap-Up; Feeling Fizzy

Hey there!  The weather has not warmed up yet (though we are promised a week of mid-30’s to come!) but, as predicted, I am in a much better mood* than I was during my last wrap-up.  My dietitan side wants to attribute my good feelings to getting in more produce this week!

*I am probably going to exclaim that “____________ was soooooo good!” a million times in this post and I feel the need to disclaim that this is not just my bubbly persona, I had lots of really tasty things this week.

Breakfast

Half of a Gnu Fiber Love Blondie Bar and a skim black tea latte.

DSC07596

DSC07599I went with tea only because I had a coupon but I ended up thinking that it was quite nice.  The bar on the other, was very meh.

A short skim latte.

DSC07673I almost never drink hot coffee but in the moment it sounded good.  Probably because I was still thinking about how nice the foam was with my tea.

A fantabulous smoothie.

DSC07711

Frozen blueberries, a frozen banana, Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, 2 Tbsp Vanilla Bean and Espresso Barney Butter, and a Coco Café Coconut Water Café Latte.  The coffee + almond combo was perfection.

Lunch

Lunch 1.

DSC07571

Strawberry Rhubarb Noosa Yogurt (pssst, all Noosa shown in this post are former freebies).

DSC07578

I had never tried rhubarb before this but if it tastes in pie like it does in this yogurt then I’m sure I’d be a fan.  Plus baby carrots and green pepper with Bolthouse Farms Blue Cheese Yogurt Dressing for dipping.

DSC07575

And a Pink Grapefruit Cascade Ice Water.

DSC07580

Oh gosh, the pink grapefruit, sooooo good.  I don’t even usually like grapefruit but this knocked my socks off.  This bottle was part of a very sweet box Cascade Ice Waters sent me this week.

DSC07562

Being a fan of all thing fizzy, I knew I would like them, but I’ve been shocked by just how good they are.  I enjoy all of the flavors I’ve tried so far a bunch.

Lunch 2.

DSC07621

A Mango Noosa with some toasted coconut on top.

DSC07624

An Asian Pear and a banana fudge cereal bar (warmed, for the win!).

DSC07629

And a Lemonade Cascade Ice Water.

DSC07632

Super refreshing.  These drinks don’t taste “diet” at all.  <– usually my complaint with beverages other than diet coke.

Lunch 3.

DSC07646

More veggies with dip.

DSC07650

A mineola.

DSC07653

And leftovers.

DSC07657

…from a dinner you’ll see in a sec.

Dinner

Here’s that dinner I was talking about.  A poorly-lit date to Namaste that I’m going to share anyway because it was the best Indian food we’ve ever had.

DSC07606

We went with a Groupon that let us get a bunch of courses.  Including wine.

DSC07609

Riesling wasn’t actually the best pairing with my spicy food but I shared with Adam and he shared sips of his mango lassi with me.

Our Shrimp Bhuna appetizer was ridiculous.  The sauce was amazing.

DSC07611

Dinner was great too.

DSC07614

I a pile of Okra Masala next to rice that I topped with some of Adam’s Chicken Shahi Korma.

DSC07616

Delicious.  My dish was perfectly spiced.  This was the best okra I’ve ever had and you know I love okra.

Plus they brought us creamy rice pudding for dessert.

DSC07619

Namaste, we will be back! {again, and again, and again}

A quick and easy dinner at home.

DSC07636

Herring salad – canned, smoked herring mashed with Miracle Whip, dijon, and pickle relish.

DSC07638

Orange honey cabbage – shredded cabbage and chopped celery sautéed in evoo and then cooked with a sauce made of orange juice, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and corn starch.

DSC07641

Plus dried clementines so that my plate didn’t look like it belonged to someone edentulous.

DSC07644

I wasn’t feeling any of my piles, sadly, but Adam loved this meal.

The last dinner I have to share was a loser too.

DSC07693

I topped leftover creamy mushroom casserole with truffle salt and a sunny side up egg but my favorite flavors weren’t enough to make up for the lackluster casserole underneath.  We shared this cutting board of pineapple as an appetizer and that wasn’t great either.

DSC07677

Maybe I’m actually being picky this week?

Snack

Adam and I tried the new Butterfinger Cups.

DSC07600

DSC07603Not fans; they were actually too spot on, the flavors were so recognizable as Butterfingers and Reese’s Cups that it was weird to be eating them mashed together.

Peppermint divinity candy, on the other hand, is always good.

DSC07715

Thanks for sending it, parents!  P.S. Fellow NYCers – if you come across divinity candy somewhere in our fair city please let me know!

Margaritas!

DSC07683

Made with Cascade Ice Margarita Sparkling Cocktail Mixer, a splash of orange juice, fresh lime, and tequila.

DSC07680

I don’t even like margaritas (I drink them from one bar only, always with Herradura) and I thought these were out of control.

DSC07690

I haven’t seen the Cascade Ice cocktail mixes at my store but I am buying more of this as soon as I can find it.

Homemade ice cream that was a total success.

DSC07671

Amazingly, I managed to make the best coffee ice cream we’ve ever had.

Coffee Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, serves 4 – 6

  • 1 and 1/2 cups fat-free half and half
  • heaping 1/4 cup coffee grounds
  • 12 oz can evaporated low-fat milk
  • 1/3 cup and 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1 Tbsp vodka
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup crushed Oreos  (we used Mega Stuffed by any kind works)
  1. Place coffee grounds and half and half into the base of your French press.  Stir.  Cover (do not insert the press at this point) and store in the fridge overnight, at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.
  2. Press grounds and pour coffee-infused half and half into a medium saucepan.
  3. Whisk evaporated milk, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, vanilla bean paste, and vodka into half and half.  Heat mixture until tiny bubbles begin to form around the edges of the pan, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Remove pan from heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
  4. While the milk mixture cools, whisk 1/4 cup sugar into egg yolks in a large bowl.
  5. Slowly stream the milk into the eggs, whisking constantly.  Be sure to temper the eggs by starting with a very small amount of the hot liquid and gradually adding more.
  6. Return mixture to pan and cook another 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
  7. Place pan into a large bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally, until cool, 20 – 30 minutes.
  8. Pour cooled base into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  9. Transfer finished ice cream to a large storage container and fold in crushed Oreos.  Serve immediately or freeze.

DSC07658

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Three Day Weekend Wrap-Up

My first long weekend as a worker bee was fabulous.  Friday through Monday were packed with fun (and food!).  Adam and I managed to spend a ton of time together.  <– heavenly  Here’s some of what we ate…

breakfasts

Breakfast in Park Slope with Adam and a girlfriend.

DSC07434I got poached eggs with toast, hash browns, turkey bacon, and a mimosa.

DSC07435Sadly our meals were all slightly burned and boring.  Win some lose some.  The iced coffee we got from Cafe Dada afterwards was a total win.

DSC07440They have almond milk on their milk bar!

Speaking of almond milk, that’s what I put in my homemade iced coffee, cold pressed for the win.

DSC07491Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.  Plus some maple syrup.

DSC07493And almond milk went in my cereal too – Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes with bunches of blueberries.

DSC07494That cereal has stayed my favorite for months.

Another day another coffee.  This time with a banana and fudge cereal bar.

DSC07475The bar was de-lish.  I am eagerly looking forward to microwaving one and eating it warm.

lunches

Friday’s lunch at the office.

DSC07417Leftover mac with sardines and broccoli.

DSC07423And a Wallaby low-fat Greek yogurt with strawberry.

DSC07420Hot bar date at Whole Foods in SoHo.

DSC07505I choose 2 vegan dumplings, a scoop of macaroni and cheese, and made a salad with mixed greens, balsamic, olives, and blue cheese.

Plus Adam and I split a Raspberry Chia Kombucha.

DSC07509dinners

It’s been crazy cold in our area recently and we’ve both been craving soup.  So I whipped up an Asian-inspired batch of the hot stuff.  With a creamy soft-boiled egg cracked on top.

DSC07464It was so good I even recorded the recipe.

DSC07460Asian-Inspired Soup; serves 2

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 fresh jalepeños, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onions
  • 5 oz bok choy, sliced lengthwise in quarters
  • 1/4 tsp all spice
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch each salt and pepper
  • 3 cups broth
  • 3 oz stir-fry noodles
  • {Optional toppings} Sriracha, sliced green onions, soft-boiled eggs
  1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add jalepeños, green onions, and bok choy to oil and cook until softened, 3 – 5 minutes.
  2. Add all spice, cloves, cinnamon, salt and pepper to vegetables and stir to combine.
  3. Add broth to pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
  4. When the broth has reached a boil, add noodles to pot and reduce heat to bring the soup to a simmer.  Continue to simmer until noodles are softened, 3 – 5 minutes.
  5. Serve and top as desired.

DSC07467Another night we went all fancy (sort of) with polenta (sort of) stacks.

DSC07477Layers 1, 3, and 5 were sliced polenta baked with dried basil and mozzarella.  Layers 2 and 4 were lean ground turkey sautéed with evoo, thinly sliced garlic, thinly sliced turkey pepperoni, and marinara sauce.

DSC07484The pepperoni totally made it.  Roasted broccoli on the side.

DSC07481And the last night of the weekend we did take-out from Yesterday’s Diner.

DSC07514Adam and I split a turkey burger with mozzarella and french fries.  We love their turkey burgers.  And it helps that they send a juicy pickle and blue cheese dressing for dipping.

snackage

This section is full of love!  Like this snack plate of super sharp cheese with Honeycrisp apple.

DSC07431Haribo Juicy Gold Bears became my favorite gummi.

DSC07446DSC07442The texture is perfect – chewy and firm with no teeth sticking – and they are sooooo juicy.

The rest of the treats are all mint based, since I’m having a total love affair with the frosty flavor lately.  The best froyo ever.

DSC07470Mint with chocolate crunch, yogurt chips, and hot fudge.

A fabulous first trip to Emack and Bolio’s with Adam.

DSC07498He got ice cream that he deemed the best he’s ever had and I went with a scoop of grasshopper pie frozen yogurt.

DSC07501We also got a chocolate egg cream that was the best we’ve ever had.  We want to go back immediately.

Finally, a vegan mint cream cookie sandwich from Babycakes.

DSC07511Are you a mint fanatic too or is it too toothpastey for you?

Weekly Wrap-Up; One Day Late

Usually I get these posts up by Friday, but that implies that I was moderately functional on Thursday night.  This week, I was not.  In spite of being insanely tired all week (I got into a bad sleep habit pattern that snowballed), I did do pretty well on the food front – breakfasts most days, fancy-feeling dinners, the works.

work

Speaking of work…  It’s going well.  I feel like I am fully settled into my position.  I am definitely missing the inpatient setting a lot, but I do feel like I’m getting to make a positive impact.  Part of the reason I’m so passionate about pediatrics (my long-term career goals center around nutrition support  and pediatrics) is because nutrition is so crucial during periods of growth.  Well, working with prenatal patients means I’m counseling adults who are growing{babies!}.  My clinic sees a great variety of clients; among other things, I’ve gotten to deal with anemia, diabetes, hyperemesis gravidarum, and pica.  I’m still waiting on vegan diets, eating disorders, and maternal pku.

On a less serious note, I decided to stop Fashion Fridays.  I’m just not that fashionable.  And I’m really not that good with my camera, which meant I was taking blurry pictures that weren’t highlighting the cool details that make me love my outfits.  I doubt anyone but my mom will miss this feature, but I just wanted to explain why it was going away.

breakfast

Coconut Macaroon Larabar and a short non-fat salted caramel hot chocolate.

DSC07179DSC07195Breakfast from the cafeteria.

DSC07228Kashi Caramelized Onion Hummus Crisps and an apple.  I enjoyed both.

Non-fat iced caramel flan latte.

DSC07243This wasn’t as exciting as I wanted it to be.  I asked for no whipped cream and they skipped my caramel drizzle too.

Two servings of S’mores Krave cereal with blackberries and unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

DSC07281I didn’t like the original version of this cereal when I tried it last year but the s’mores kind is quite tasty.  And for a “sugar cereal” it’s not even terrible, with 10 g of sugar per serving.

lunch

Monday.

DSC071830% Fage with mango and soursoup,

DSC07189a super juicy pear,

DSC07188dried clementines,

DSC07191and Duane Reade milk chocolate with toffee and sea salt.

DSC07193Tuesday, I ran out of time to pack.

DSC07220A Chicken and Greens Cesar from Starbucks.  I loved the use of kale in here, I didn’t know a Cesar could feel so healthy.

DSC07225And a Strawberry Apple Crusher from TJ.

DSC07221Wednesday.

DSC07230Hickory smoked tuna with crackers,

DSC07234and salted milk chocolate and a pear for dessert.

DSC07238For Thursday, a jar of fresh pineapple.

DSC07259A sandwich of Applegate Farms roasted turkey, dijon, and light jarlsberg on an everything ciabatta flatbread,

DSC07256and some sesame roasted seaweed.

DSC07263My coworkers were very curious about the seaweed; two of them even were brave enough to taste it, not that they ended up being big fans.

I didn’t have my camera yesterday, but I bought a slice of veggie pizza from the cafeteria for lunch.  And, um, I also bought a doughnut for breakfast.  I almost never eat doughnuts (I didn’t grow up with them) but I had randomly reeeeeeeeally been craving one so it was serendipitous that the cafeteria had cinnamon twists on the morning I couldn’t pack breakfast.

dinner

A fancy night.

DSC07206We topped salmon with meyer lemon and this Dark Horse Smoked Brown Sugar before baking.  We hardly ever make fresh fish at home and this was such a treat!  The texture of properly baked salmon is swoon-worthy.

DSC07197DSC07211With a side of roasted broccoli,

DSC07213and potatoes – mashed with butter, goat cheese, and tons of dijon mustard.

DSC07216It was a great meal.

A tired night – I was too sleepy on Tuesday to even bother with dinner.  Refer down to the “snacks” list below 🙂

A sandwich night.

DSC07276Smokey tofu sandwiches were a total win.

DSC07265We topped ciabatta flatbread with smokey tofu, light muenster cheese, and turkey bacon.  The tofu was baked with a sauce I threw together – ketchup, maple syrup, and liquid smoke – and it turned out great.

DSC07268DSC07273Plus green beans.

DSC07271A restaurant night.

DSC07287Those are the complimentary yam chips that Laverne sets out, by the way, and they are fantastic.

For my meal, I ordered the Drunken Noodles with shrimp, extra spicy.

DSC07291Oh boy, did they ever deliver on spice!  The noodles were exactly to my liking, which is to say, almost unbearably hot!  Adam took a tiny taste and was not happy.  Thai iced tea helped me to cool down a bit.

DSC07289And after dinner we went out for giant cups of froyo.  Sadly, the evening took a sharp turn downhill from there.  I made myself a much bigger froyo than I usually do, loaded up with all sorts of toppings, including, apparently, something that didn’t agree with me.  Even if you’ve never thrown up after eating the spiciest meal of your life you can probably still picture it.  I basically rolled around on the floor and screamed.  <– sorry, husband!

snack

When I sent Adam to “the fancy store” to pick up salmon, he came home with this 26 month aged Beemster Dutch cheese as a surprise.

DSC07199Do you see those salt crystals?!  Love.  We didn’t even use crackers, just ate big chunks all week long.

Vivaloe Watermelon Aloe.  Surprisingly, Adam liked this even more than I did.

DSC07241We both have been missing the variety of boba we could get in bubble tea in Buffalo and the chunks of aloe are a nice substitute.

Onto the chocolate portion of our show… My last Alter Eco Velvet Truffle.

DSC07285I’m amazed these lasted so long in the house (they are outstanding), but it seemed like we just kept on bringing home new treats.

Like the Lime Splash Lindt bar that I obviously had to buy because, hello, it’s new.

DSC07293Two thumbs up.  And I know that the cover photo makes him look like a creeper, but I’m currently loving Grant Achatz’s memoir, Life, On The Line.

Finally, my (sugared up) take on Something Swanky’s Single Serve Skinny Brownie Batter.

DSC072445.3 oz vanilla Greek yogurt + 1 Tbsp brown sugar + 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar + 1 and 1/2 Tbsp almond meal + 1 Tbsp Dutch cocoa powder = brain exploding goodness!

Weekly Wrap-Up; Merry Christmas

I hope all of my Christmas-celebrating readers had a merry week!  We celebrated one day early, but had a lovely Christmas all the same.  Our best one ever, maybe!  Lots of nibbles are missing from this post (candy! Chinese food!), but here are the basics from the week –

Fashion Friday

Short week celebration flair.

DSC06696DSC06701DSC06704Christmas Eve.

DSC06719‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the office…

DSC06908Breakfast and Lunch

An on-theme Luna Bar.

DSC067162% Fage with Honey, an apple, and a leftover ABP chocolate peppermint shortbread.  I also bought a piece of pizza from the cafeteria but I didn’t have my camera with me.

DSC06706DSC06710DSC06714DSC06708Leftover pizza that was in my mouth before it could make it to the plate.  x3

DSC06782The last of the 0% plain Chobani with sliced banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup.

DSC06906An apple, Chinese candy, and a tasty turkey sandwich of Applegate Farms smoked turkey, light Jarlsberg, and dijon on a bagel thin.

DSC06871DSC06867DSC06869DSC06864Snacks Galore

The husband and I shared a Peppermint Dazzler.

DSC06724Also adorably tiny chocolate Santas.

DSC06860This halvah came in my stocking (thanks, mom!).

DSC06784Dinner

Adam worked all day on Christmas but we both had half days on the 24th so we celebrated a day early!  Honestly the best gift of all was getting to spend a weekday afternoon with my husband.

But our new tradition of (homemade) pizza for Christmas Eve dinner was pretty great too!

DSC06749We tried our hand at 2 ingredient pizza dough.

DSC06736Topped with marinara, tons of sautéed mushrooms and green onions, and freshly grated gouda.

DSC06744DSC06755I’m always a fan of sautéed mushrooms (and gouda!) but the dough was out of this world.  I quickly declared this the 2nd best pizza I’ve ever had and the best meal of the month.

With our pizza we drank big glasses of eggnog,

DSC06730DSC06727DSC06732and split a Shiner Cheer.

DSC06757The beer was so peachy good.

Opening presents was a ton of fun.  Our families were too good to us.

DSC06740We’re terrible at waiting so we exchanged anniversary presents (ours is this Saturday) that night as well.  The modern 6th wedding anniversary present is candy – the traditional is iron – so that’s what we gave each other.  Adam’s snack shelf has ruthlessly encroached onto coffee territory.

DSC06771For Webster we spent $20 replacing an old favorite, Pig.

DSC06759New Pig was rated 8/10 on the durability scale.  He lasted less than 3 minutes.

pigThe dog is a monster.

I was home on Christmas, so I spent hours in the kitchen making homemade tomato sauce.  Served on pesto tortelloni from TJ’s.

DSC06893I don’t know quite what went wrong, other than too much onion and crushed red pepper, but I basically made homemade salsa.

DSC06897This was not a success.

Dinner for last night was supposed to be more “pasta sauce,” but I just could not bring myself to eat it again.  Instead we got Thai take-out; Pad See Ew and Cashew Shrimp.

DSC06913DSC06910Much better.

What is your Christmas dinner tradition?

Weekly Wrap-Up; Burritos And A Birthday

I’m (almost) through my 2nd week!  How long do you think I’ll have to be back at work before I stop counting?  My guess is at least a month.

About the title… The birthday was Adam’s.  My husband turned 28 on Wednesday so for the next 6 months I’ll stop being the older woman.

adam4That picture is from BDL; i.e the years Before Doctor Life.  He is on a very busy rotation now so unfortunately we didn’t have time for anything too festive.  He got a disgusting amount of Taco Bell and we watched “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

The burritos were from Red’s All Natural.

reds all naturalThey recently sent me some free-product coupons so that I could try out the goods.  All Red’s products are 100% all-natural, preservative-free and made with antibiotic-free and hormone-free meat and rBGH-free cheese.  I love the company’s philosophy and practices and I liked the burritos too (though admittedly not quite as much as their ideals).

So far I’ve tried two varieties.  I microwaved one burrito and baked the other.  The nuked one was a little mushy, but not at all chewy like some lower-quality tortillas tend to get in the microwave.  The one I baked got perfectly crispy and nice.  Both had good ingredient combinations but sadly I found the flavors to be a bit one-note.  It is also worth pointing out that the burritos are giant, more than 500 calories each which is a lot for one meal component.  However, they are also very, very filling – I shared both of mine with Adam because I could not finish.  If you have someone to split with they are a great option but if you are purchasing them to eat alone just be mindful.  <– they also have 5 oz burritos available in some varieties!

Overall, I am giving the two I tried a positive review (just not glowing).  I am looking forward to trying some of the other varieties and I will definitely be sharing them on the blog when I do.

Fashion Friday

A new polka dot dress, from the Gap.

DSC06344I tilted my head funny in the picture, but I actually got several compliments on my bun piled high on my head.

DSC06398I usually don’t button my cardigans, but I liked it here.

DSC06448Another new dress.  It’s cuter in person than in the picture.  The husband loved it and bought it for me with some of his birthday money ❤

DSC06422The Gap sales rack has been very kind to me this season.  Even with my newbies, however, I’ve pretty much gone through my entire closet in the two weeks, so we’ll see how long “Fashion Friday” continues to last.

Breakfast

Cookie Dough Balance Bar.

DSC06363I think they changed the recipe again.  It’s not quite as glorious as my old memories, but a big improvement over the really gross ones I was finding a year or so ago.

Giant coffee.

DSC06424I was cashing in on a freebie so I went all out.  Venti, non-fat, iced latte with 2 shots each gingerbread, white chocolate, and (extra) espresso.

Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar.

DSC06445I never eat this flavor because it feels so seasonal, but it is one of the best.  The mint is nice and cool.

Lunch

Monday.  Looks like breakfast but was actually lunch.  Quaker Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal.

DSC06340And the big apple a big apple.

DSC06341I’ve got to buy more oat go-cups; this was super portable and easy to just fill up with hot water in the cafeteria.

Tuesday.

DSC06357Pizza with mushrooms and black olives.

DSC06360And grapes.

DSC06361These grapes are HUGE.  They’re a seedless “holiday” variety.

Wednesday.

DSC06390More leftovers.

DSC06397Tangerines.

DSC06393I promise, that cabbage was so much better than it looks.

Thursday.

DSC06432More grapes.

DSC06430And an everything bagel thin with leftover smoked tofu and light havarti.

DSC06425I left this “raw” and the thins are definitely much, much better when toasted.

Snacks

Just like last week, picture lots of lunch assembly bites.  This first one was an after dinner treat though.  Looks like a root beer float…

DSC06374But actually it’s Vanilla Porter with French vanilla ice cream.

DSC06371I was pretty proud of this idea but it probably would have been a little better in milkshake form with a mix of beer and milk.

An Andes tree.

DSC06347This was weirdly exciting.  I’ve really been craving mint lately.

These gorgonzola cracker crisps have been a favorite for munching.

DSC06402I love how big the serving size is here.

Dinner

Best dinner of the week, hands down.

DSC06381Soy Boy organic Smoked Tofu that I sautéed in evoo.

DSC06384With shredded (frozen) cabbage that we cooked in canola oil with salty peanuts and fresh edamame.  We dumped in a bunch of miso orange dressing at the end and let it reduce, and the whole thing was heavenly.

DSC06387I never seem to repeat meals any more but I do really want to make this again.

Salad and a burrito.

DSC06413Romaine with groats and maple tarragon dressing.

DSC06416Red’s Turkey Burrito.

DSC06410DSC06418This was the one I microwaved.

Cereal night on Adam’s birthday.

DSC06436Two servings of Love Crunch Gingerbread Granola with vanilla almond milk and sliced banana.

DSC06439Plus a big glass of eggnog during “The Grinch.”

DSC06443This meal was missing vegetables, but that just didn’t feel festive!  Thankfully this was the day I had my veggie-heavy lunch.

Chicken Burrito.

DSC06451Apparently that was the only picture I have from last night?!  I meant to eat it with salad but ended up having cheese and crackers instead.

Do you have any exciting plans for this upcoming weekend?

Weekly Wrap-Up; I Survived!

I survived my first week of full-time work!  Well, almost; I’ve still got to get through today.  And I am very excited to hit the couch as soon as I get home.  TV, how I’ve missed you!  {Random Note – “Mom” on CBS?  So flipping good.  I laugh out loud over and over again.  Also “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” randomly got really good too.  It seemed like a train wreck at first but they’ve pulled it together; it’s another llol situation.}

I do plan on sharing a bit more about work as time goes on.  And I’ll definitely post a picture of my office (I have an office!) once I get it all set-up.  I have some work outfits at the start of this post though, and I’ll try to keep that going.

Last week’s eats were fairly boring, but I’m proud of how (relatively) healthy I managed to keep things.  And I even captured 95% of what went in my mouth on film.  What you don’t see is the snacking I did before dinner every night while I packed my lunch.  Also there was coffee.  So, so much coffee.

fashion friday

New navy, polka dot top from the Loft.

DSC06235I didn’t realize how similar day 2’s look was to day 1.

DSC06265My mom got me this mint cardigan on her trip to Amsterdam.

DSC06286I wish my pictures were clearer so you could see details like this fun neckline.

DSC06318And Friday’s look will get looped to next week.

breakfast

As of now I’m eating on my train ride so things have to be portable.  Sticky Bun Larabar Uber.

DSC06224Still not my favorite flavor, but I liked it better than the first time I tried it.

Pecan Pie Clif Bar.

DSC06252Such a fun seasonal flavor.  I really hated the gingerbread and spiced pumpkin ones, but this was delicious.

Super smoothie.

DSC06308Frozen strawberries with plain Greek yogurt and chocolate peppermint soy milk.  Adam and I love this blend.

lunch

Lots of repetition here but I changed up little details to keep things interesting.  Turkey sandwich round 1.

DSC06204A Sandwich Thin with Applegate Smoked Turkey, Crofter’s Grape, and a TJ’s goat cheese medallion.

DSC06206With a cameo apple.

DSC06208And a baggie of Angie’s Iced Gingerbread Kettle Corn.

DSC06212The husband and I both love this popcorn; not too sweet or spicy.  It’s not on their website but I found my bag at Target.

Butternut squash round 1.

DSC06241Roasted butternut squash with chopped spinach and craisins with WF’s Korean BBQ Sauce on top.

DSC06242On the side,

DSC06247DSC06248another cameo apple and a baggie of Salty Pepper Somersaults.

Turkey sandwich round 2.  This time with a slice of light havarti, banana peppers, and a bit of Miracle Whip.

DSC06267Plus a pair of tangerines.

DSC06271And Twix Gingerbread.

DSC06274This meal was the week’s winning lunch.

Butternut squash round 2.

DSC06290With TJ’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette in place of bbq sauce.

DSC06292And a side of tasty mango.

DSC06294The flavors here were good but this meal was a little too mushy overall.

dinner

These are all single girl dinners; I was on my own every night this week.  Adam had a week straight of night shifts and with my new schedule we literally saw each other for less than 30 minutes a day.  I miss him!

Soup night.

DSC06257My box of pumpkin soup from TJ’s was terrible.

DSC06259It was weirdly sweet and I ended up throwing out the majority of my bowl.  My side made up for it though.

DSC06262The last of the tortilla chips with fancy cheese microwaved on top.

Sandwich night.

DSC06278My sandwich was a little burnt, but oh-so-good.  I mashed together a can of Smoked Trout with Miracle Whip and smoked paprika and then put it between two pieces of gingerbread swirl bread with a slice of light havarti and cooked the whole thing in a pan with a little butter.

DSC06280With a giant pile of kale chips on the side.

DSC06285The smokey-sweet combo on my sandwich was amazing.

Egg night.

DSC06300Two eggs scrambled with evoo, frozen roasted corn, chopped jalopeño, sugar, and Sriracha.

DSC06307Another kale pile.

DSC06303With popcorn.

DSC06296For the whole grains, of course.

Fun night.  Yesterday I met up with a friend who works in Park Slope for dinner.  I had some time to kill before she got off so I walked a ton (my feet are still killing me!) and got the best cup of frozen yogurt.

DSC06312Eggnog and praline yogurts with pralines, toffee, and malt balls.  Fan-freaking-tastic!

Then we went to Song for Thai food.

DSC06315My “Spicy Noodles” weren’t spicy at all, but they were nice and chewy and I came home with leftovers for lunch.  It was great to see a friend on a “school night.”

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my coffee giveaway.  You’ve got until 2 pm Saturday to comment.

Weekly Wrap-Up; How Is It Mid-November?!

I keep thinking “I can’t believe it’s October!” but actually we are in the middle of November.  This year is flying!

This week makes another wrap-up that is pretty light on content/photos.  We are in the middle of yet another big life change and I’ve been all over the place.  All over the place, figuratively speaking.  Literally I’ve been in the apartment.  On the couch.  Eating.  Have I mentioned that none of my pants fit?

Here’s some of what I’ve been eating (and eating, and eating)…

I discovered that my leftover salted caramel cream cheese macaron filling makes a pretty awesome fruit dip.

DSC05754I even gave it its own recipe page.

DSC05764With green apple.

DSC05766And since there was clearly more dip than apple, I also dunked in some TJ everything crackers.

DSC05768So good.  There was a lot of this snack this week.  Another day I topped the caramel with a dollop of my cinnamon maple pecan butter.

DSC05779Spoonful by spoonful, the pecan butter container is getting pretty empty!

I loved this chocolate raspberry breakfast.

DSC05792TJ European Style Low-fat Chocolate Yogurt topped with fresh raspberries, a scoop of Cascadian Farm Dark Chocolate Almond Granola and a spoonful of cinnamon maple pecan butter.

DSC05799And cold (we were out of ice) coffee with skim milk on the side.

DSC05797I planned on using SCM in my coffee but it exploded everywhere when I heated it in the microwave.  Just as well because the chocolate yogurt was pretty sweet.  I was impressed with the yogurt, I’ll have to check out some other varieties of their European style.

I’m going through some of my old recipes to reshoot the photos, and this week I made my pesto pasta casserole.

DSC05747That picture’s not too great though, is it?  And I used a bottle of pesto from Trader Joe’s that we both hated and it basically ruined the dish.  Boo.  But on the positive side, I think this was the very first TJ product that we didn’t love.

Another old (old blog!) favorite, turkey cheese crisps.

DSC05723Classed up with crumbled blue cheese and a drizzle of honey when they came out of the oven.

DSC05724The honey was sent to me from Golden Blossom Honey.  {This product was sent to me free of charge.  I was not provided further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.}

DSC05703The GBH is a 100% American-made product with a signature patented blend composed of extra-white clover, sage buckwheat, and orange blossom.

DSC05727My blue cheese and honey crisps were definitely a better dish than the original.  The honey earned two thumbs up from me; the flavor was unique, but not savory the way I find some orange blossom honeys to be.

Our fridge is very bare, and I finally ate the frozen meal I bought the day we moved in, a Kashi Mayan Harvest BakePlantains, roasted sweet potato, black beans and kale with a spicy ancho sauce served over 7 Whole Grains & Sesame Pilaf, amaranth and polenta topped with a pumpkin seed garnish.

DSC05811This is on my top-5 list for frozen entrees, both flavor and texture are great.  Not quite large enough for dinner for me though.  I planned on eating it with this truebar,

DSC05804but it was disgusting so instead I ate a slice of seedy bread with Smart Balance Light and smoked gouda.

DSC05807Much better!  Though I was still feeling snacky after dinner and ended up eating a bag of Smart Fries as well.

DSC05812I love those.  I need to get to a 7-11 asap so I can buy more.

One night we got take-out from Jessie’s.

DSC05786My fries with blue cheese for dipping were the best part, but my sandwich was pretty good too.

DSC05790They have a fun group of Turkey Day inspired specials right now!  My sandwich was turkey with stuffing and cranberry dressing on top.  I want to go get the salad special soon, it has cornbread stuffing croutons.

The best sandwich of the week was one I made myself.

DSC05772A slice of TJ seedy bread (one cut in half since this bread is much larger than the kinds I usually eat) with Applegate Farms smoked turkey, cream cheese, blue cheese, grape Crofter’s, and banana peppers.

DSC05775So many good flavors.  Having banana peppers in the house for sandwiches has been fun.

Number 1 food of the week?

DSC05783Lavender and Salted Caramel Macarons.  Obviously.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!