Tag Archives: bar

Uncomfortably Full

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I love long weekends! And long weekends with trips are especially fun. It was great to visit with my grandparents, I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like.

Before we hit the road this morning we ate a final fancy breakfast.

Chicken sausage,

egg casserole leftovers, which I ate cold to my husband and grandma’s duress,

and a banana.

We were not as well provisioned for this trip as we were on Saturday. I did the best I could but still arrived home hungry. A low-fat string cheese,

and a Muscle Milk Light bar.

Yeeetch! I took two bites and decided I’d rather go hungry. At least with the dog we stop more often and I grabbed what I really wanted a bit later, candy.

I’ve been badly wanting Twizzlers for a few weeks and after a serving that craving was satisfied.

Webster slept most of our journey which meant I had time to finish the book I started on the drive over.

Hands of My Father is a memoir about a hearing boy’s childhood with two deaf parents. New addition to my top list of book favorites! I had to hold my breath to keep from crying at least once a chapter and I laughed just as often. The setting of a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn post Depression lent itself to some good stories.

When we did get home I spent my evening making chili.  And weighing chili, and pricing servings…

This was for a class assignment, and it was beef to boot so I couldn’t even taste it!  Instead Adam and I got take out for dinner.

Tuna melt on sourdough (no butter on the bread) with cheddar cheese and a side of fries.

Plus a slice of carrot cake.

Umm, plus the last two chocolates.

Can we so uncomfortably full?

English Toffee and Cream Soda

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I drove to campus this morning which was exciting because it meant that my iced coffee was actually still iced when I reached class.

Adam brewed me coffee last night and I stashed it in the fridge in a glass jar; all I’ll have to do in the mornings is add ice and skim milk.  This cup was extra exciting because I also added 1 Tbsp of English Toffee syrup.

I’m going to go ahead and deem this best purchase ever.  I don’t drink coffee all that regularly but whenever I’m in the mood I’m tempted to purchase it out because it seems more exciting.  Now that I’ve got my favorite flavor of syrup at home I can stick to only “buying” coffee from home.  <– minus the obligatory seasonal stops at Starbucks for pumpkin spice and gingerbread, of course!

I ate my breakfast during my first class.  My final new class by the way, it’s Medical Terminology and I’m pretty jazzed about it.  I think everything dealing with Greek and Latin roots is fun.

An Orange Creamy Crawler Lifeway Probugs Organic Kefir.

Mmmmmn!  I bought these before when I was living in the city but it took me a while to find them in Buffalo.  This flavor was creamy and almost fizzy; it tasted like an orange cream soda!

I also tried the lemon meringue crunch Balance Bar.  Whenever I rave over the cookie dough BB people always recommend this flavor so I wanted to try it out.

Good, but sorry, not even close to cookie dough.

My second (and last) class on Fridays is a food lab which means Friday’s lunch will often be supplemented by class assignments, weee.  We let out early today which means I had time to do some work in the computer lab and go to the post office before I had to go home and get Webster.

He is such a good walker!  If he would just stop ripping up the pee pads we’d be in business.  The two of us made a .66 mile loop around Elmwood.  I’m not sure I’ll take him on many more mid-day walks, he was hot, hot, hot.  I walked barefoot for a bit to make sure his feet were ok but when I picked him up to carry the last few blocks he was like a little oven!

Midday walks aren’t great for me either because they mean I have to wait for lunch.

Since it was 2pm and I was starving I tried out the new Asian Entrée line from Dr. McDougall that I bought on sale at Wegmans last night.

I loved that the container only had one serving size because similar products have two 500 calorie servings stuffed inside and it drives me crazy (and this was a ton of noodles for 200 calories).

I also loved that I could recognize every last ingredient.

But it didn’t taste like Pad Thai.

The dish wasn’t bad (6.5/10) but it wasn’t quite the flavor I was hoping for.

I also had baby carrots on the side,

and a sliced yellow plucot.

The noodles may not have been Pad Thai but the plucot was exactly the flavor I was looking for.  If you haven’t tried a plucot (or pluot) yet this summer be sure to get your hands on one.

I’m hoping to make it to the gym this afternoon but I’ve got some studying to do first that takes priority.  Hopefully I won’t take a cue from Webster and I’ll be able to keep my eyes open!

Back to School Like Rodney Dangerfield

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Today was my first day back in school and it looks like my semester is off to a good start.  Thank goodness too because I was so nervous yesterday that I actually had a teacher nightmare last night!  In my dream I must have quit my program because I had just accepted a job as a teacher.  It was my first day at the new school and I realized that I didn’t have any lesson plans done!!!  I was also freaking out about what to wear (apparently my school had some sort of strange all red dress code) and the whole thing was just fraught with tension.  Thankfully my real day of school as a student went much more smoothly.

I drank some Candy Cane Lane tea with skim milk on my walk to school.

I was a little nervous about giving myself enough time to walk to class so I did breakfast in my first class.

The Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar flavor is so good.  I ate half of the bar and I’m saving the rest for later; my stomach just wasn’t hungry that early in the morning.

I had another class and then a break just in time for lunch.  I am going to post my class schedule but I’m waiting until next week so I’m sure it’s correct.  Lunch was simple but tasty.  Leftover bbq kale and beans, topped with Tofurky kielbasa.

Plus a GoGo Squeeze applesauce packet and a packet of raisins.

This good combination held me over through one more class and a trip to the gym.

My goal for this semester is actually to go to the gym before my classes (which start at 8 M-F) but I figured I’d try that out a night I actually got some good sleep.  My 2pm session on the treadmill went fine though.

I did a 2 minute warm up followed by a “run” that ended up requiring a LOT of walking.  I’d prefer to take fewer breaks but considering that I basically took the summer off exercise I’m happy with any level of fitness.  Including my warm up and all of my walking breaks, I ran 4 miles in 44 minutes 40 seconds.

Now I’m home for the day and I need to go take Webster on a walk.  He was such a big boy on his first day all alone!

Tasty Combos

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My lunch today was made of a tasty combination.

I actually assembled this meal at the co-op hot bar last night, but then squirreled it away in the fridge when we opted to go out to dinner instead.

Kale salad and pea salad,

almond chicken salad and Waldorf chicken salad.

Tasty combos indeed.

That was the smaller box though so it wasn’t quite as much food as it looked.  I had two hummus cookies on the side.

I also ate this protein bar from my HLS swag bag.

Jillian blogged about hers and made me jealous. I thought it was pretty amazing too; very nice balance of sweet and salty!

While I was lunching Webster was also munching, on my cell phone, camera, magazine, and laptop cord to name a few things. 

It looks like my agenda for the rest of the day needs to include *taking a long dog walk, filling a prescription, making dinner, dealing with some emails, and *buying a new chew toy!

I Made Coq Au Vin!

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What a day; I’ve been a busy bee since literally the minute I got out of bed!  I realize I didn’t do anything major – and most of you have jobs – but lots of little things added up and I feel accomplished and exhausted.  I don’t loving doing one long post a day but that will probably have to be the schedule once school starts anyway.

I had a scary doctor’s appointment across town this morning which meant I got to drive along the water.

I also got to eat breakfast in the car, in the form of an 18 Rabbits Cheeky Cherry Chocolate Granola Bar.

This was awesome; the perfect amount of chew with a little bit of tang from the cherries and a little bit of sweet from the chocolate.  Plus for 240 calories this was very filling.  I know I live for Cookie Dough Balance Bars and Chocolate Coconut Covered Lara Bars, but when it comes to straight up granola bars 18 Rabbits takes the cake oat.

My doctor’s appointment wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t as scary as it could have been.  I had a bump on my hand that needed a biopsy so 2 needles, 1 scalpel, and a band-aid later I was done.

It hurts a bit, but felt a little better once I could get home and pretty it up.

Did you know we only have children’s band-aids in our apartment?  I’m going to hit up a drug store tomorrow but Adam’s going to have to wash my hair tonight because those cuties are not water-tight.

On the way home I stopped at the gym to complete a workout session for the study I’m participating in.  We fuel with three different drinks and then walk on the treadmill for and hour at our heart rate range and take some notes on exertion levels.  Today I fueled with this 24 oz mystery beverage that I believe was water and apple juice.

I walked on the treadmill at a 5% incline for an hour and 2.9 miles.

I had to hurry to shower when I got home because I was meeting friends, but I was heading back to the gym after lunch.  It was the perfect time to try out the Champion tank every blogger’s been raving about.

I picked this up at Target the other day and I’m in love.  You know I’m all about the blouse-tank.

This may be my new favorite top for play and workouts; it was so comfy.  Plus, two different homeless guys stopped me to tell me I looked hot, so I’m giving this two thumbs up.

For lunch I met up with a few school friends at Coles.  It was so great getting a chance to catch up with a few people I haven’t seen all summer.  I ordered off of the specials menu.

A sandwich of grilled salmon in a sweet glaze with pickled veggies, and french fries.

This was okay, but the sauce was oddly sweet.  The best part was actually the spicy mayo which wasn’t even mentioned on the menu.  I ate about 2/3 of everything.

After lunch I headed back to the gym for my real workout: a running session on the treadmill.  It was pretty hard (being fat isn’t fun!) but I made myself stick to the same goal as Sunday of minimum 5 minutes running, maximum 2 minutes walking.  I did 4 miles in 42 minutes, 22 seconds.  Seven miles in one day probably wasn’t my best idea though, my back is killing me.

I was starving when I got home and dinner took for-ev-a so I ate a few snacks while I cooked.  Watermelon chunks stolen straight from the big container.

And two servings of Trolli Soda Poppers.

P.S. These aren’t bad, but they’re no gummi cola bottles.

1.5 hours later – seriously – it was time for dinner.  I made Coq au Vin!

Casey (who I had an obsessive girl crush on) made this during Top Chef and I’ve wanted to try it ever since.  I used Cooking Light’s Easy Coq au Vin recipe and my only changes were subbing in turkey bacon and using chicken breast instead of thighs and drums.

This was very good, but I’m not sure it was quite good enough to excuse the long cooking time; we’ll have to see how it does as leftovers.  At least the multiple sessions of simmering gave me time to handle my to-do’s around the house.

For my greens I made a tasty side salad.

A romaine base with Newman’s Own Light Cesar, roasted edamame, and roasted buckwheat groats.

The groats might be too savory for yogurt but I think they’re my new favorite salad topper.

I’d like to say I’m going to bed now but Adam’s still not home and I can’t wash my own hair.  But since my husband’s been at the hospital for upwards of 12 hours I guess it’s hard to complain about my day!

You’re Getting Sleepy…

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Being a medical student’s wife is going to be tricky!  I was awake with Adam past 2am and he got me up before 8 this morning, and this is actually his easy schedule.  When we were in undergrad I’d go to bed in the middle of the night and then bound out of bed hours before Adam had his first class and feel fine.  Now he’s the one who’s unphased and I feel like I’m dying.  I’m not sure when I started needing so much more sleep but I have to assume to that it’s linked to how much better of shape I was in back then compared to now.  If that’s not motivation to step up my healthy habits then I’m not sure what is!

That said, today was definitely a “summer day” of eating.  I didn’t want to go back to sleep this morning (I’m working on getting a school-appropriate schedule going) but I didn’t want to get up either.  Reading Nancy Drew in bed was the perfect compromise!  I stayed in bed until literally the last second before I needed to leave for a meeting on campus so I ended up eating a Chocolate Covered Coconut Lara Bar on the walk for breakfast.

After my meeting I spent the rest of they running (most fruitless) errands.  I’ll be honest, I haven’t really left the house much this summer and I don’t think I realized how fricking hot it’s been outside?!!  I actually took a mid-afternoon break and saw “Friends with Benefits – alone, for the 2nd time – because I wanted to curl up in the dark with ac and a big diet coke!

Once I was back on mission I ended up at Target with the Ben and Jerry’s flavor I’ve been lusting after staring me in the face.  And they had it in a single-serve mini.  But I had more errands to run and the car was, of course, too hot.  What to do, what to do?  I bought it and ate it right in the car.

Best decision ever.

I’d like to think it was the ice cream that powered me through a much-needed apartment cleaning session this afternoon.  But it was probably the bowl of H2O-melon I had waiting to cool me off.

This wasn’t the best melon but even only ok ones are still pretty great.

I also made myself a 200 calorie bowl of popcorn; because I’m realizing that I don’t need to always eat popcorn by the bucket but I find that the 100 calorie bags just piss me off.

I topped my ‘corn with some melted butter and a few tsps of sugar for a lazy girl’s kettle corn.

I had grander plans for dinner, but when I realized I’d misread the cooking time by more than an hour we decided to go with Thursday’s planned meal instead.  Easy peasy mac and cheesy.

Adam and I split a box of Annie’s Organic Classic Macaroni and Cheese with frozen broccoli tossed in during the last few minutes of cooking.  I topped my portion liberally with Sriracha.

Spicy!  I was super hungry when we sat down to eat and I knew that kicking up the heat would help this meal to be more satisfying.  Now all I’ve got to do is get Adam in bed!

How many hours of sleep do you need to feel your best?  How many hours do you actually get?

The Great Fundraising Act – Get Your Bid On

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I know yesterday was an important day (my 26th birthday, ha) but today’s date was the one starred on my calendar.  It’s time for the bidding to begin on The Great Fundraising Act.  If you haven’t heard, TGFA was started by Janetha at Meals and Moves to help raise money for Susan, a fellow blogger, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  It’s an amazing cause, set up for one awesome blogger by another, and there are lots of great deals available.  Please head over to the live auction today to check it out.

I’m doing my part by baking up a batch of sugar cookie balls.

If you’d like a chance to try my balls for yourself, you can bid here until 10:40 EST today!

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I made a couple of mistakes this morning, as is fitting for a Monday.  I made a mistake when I hit my snooze button because it made me late.  I made a mistake when I slammed this white chocolate macadamia Luna Bar on the walk to yoga because it made me nauseas.

Good flavor though.

I made a mistake when I thought the 9:30 class this morning was my typical warm yoga because what I was really rushing to was the (harder, hotter, longer) 90 minute, 105* class.

That wasn’t really a mistake though, more like a helpful push from the universe.  I was too afraid to try the hot yoga class on my own, but once I was there I loved it.  I probably spent a third of the class in child’s pose but I still got in a great workout.  I’m not going to give up the warm 60 minute class entirely, but I will be back.

After yoga I had to shower and clean the house, but then I finally sat down for lunch.

I dressed my leftovers from yesterday’s salad with Newman’s Own Light Caesar.

The beets made everything a little pink, but since I kept the dressing off until today my salad was still nice and crispy.

On the side I enjoyed some local cherries in a new birthday gift bowl.

This lunch and breakfast set was on the small side for me but after I run some errands I’ve got my eye on an afternoon baking project and I’m sure I’ll make up the calories.

Horribly Hilarious

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Just as needed, today was much more low-key than the first two days of my parents’ visit.  Adam was at school all day so my mom and dad and I did some shopping, ate take-out at home, and saw a movie.  It was just what the doctor my sore feet and back ordered.

For breakfast I ate the newest Clif Bar, Coconut Chocolate Chip.

I doesn’t taste like a samosa like the chocolate dipped coconut Luna Bar, but it was still pretty darn tasty.  Just enough sweet to be fun but not sickening.

My parents and I were at the mall for-ev-er, and I ended up making a lunch snack out of samples from the kitchen supply store.

Normally I’d be upset about not getting a more substantial lunch (or breakfast!), but I knew I had the filling meal coming for dinner.

Can you beat Moe’s rice bowls?  I submit that you cannot.  Rice, blacks beans, sautéed mushrooms and green peppers, corn salsa, lettuce, cheese, and cilantro.

Also amazing were the (serving’s worth of) chips I grabbed from the communal bag.

I loved getting to introduce my dad to Moe’s, you just can’t help but love it.

You can totally help but love this Eat More candy bar I bought in Canada this weekend.

I’m not even going to say what that looks like.

I took two (icky) bites and passed it off to the rest of the family to try.  Just as well, I was much more excited about my movie candy.

Gummi cola bottles!  To be accurate, gummi cola bottles, cherry gummi cola bottles, and sour gummi cola bottles; multiple varieties for the win!

The movie was also a good idea, we saw “Horrible Bosses” and all four of us loved it!  John Francis Dailey (Dr. Sweets of “Bones”) is a great actor but he can co-write one hell of a screenplay too.  The movie was dirty and guffaw-inducing, just my style.

Have you ever had a horrible boss? You didn’t kill them did you?!