It’s 2am and I just got home; I’ll just give the important notes.
* Webster is doing fine, he came home with an antibiotic and an order not to worry
* I looooved The Help. I may not have eaten or changed out of my smelly shirt this afternoon, but I read it in its entirety today
* My friends make really amazing food for book club
* I had 3-4 chocolate saltines and 5-6 chips with the most amazing crab dip
* I had two Arnold Palmers made with this!
{This post was started last night.}
One three-hour review session probably wasn’t enough, but at least I don’t think I failed today’s exam. And I handed in my paper too so now it’s two down, one to go for this week; phew! I did make one really silly (really embarrassing!) mistake that is going to cost me a lot of points. I was thinking adult DRIs for CHO but fixating on percentages for CHO in the DASH diet and ended up saying that older adults require only 55-65 grams of carbohydrates each day! <– Carbs are the primary energy source for brain function and the RDA is 130 grams/day!
I think I needed more coffee.
That’s ice, Godiva Pumpkin Spice Coffee, Plain Silk Almond Milk, and a big splash of English Toffee Syrup. I tasted before sweetening and sadly I don’t think I like the Godiva Pumpkin Spice Coffee outside of pumpkin latte oatmeal. Too much spice for me. I brought the rest of the bag in to my friend Kim and she’s going to report back.
Here was the rest of breakfast.
A 2% Fage with Strawberry.
And a Berries GoMega Superfood Bar that Odwalla sent me to try.
I didn’t care for the bar and only ended up eating two small bites. My negative review is for a positive reason though – this tasted like a berry muffin! It’s just that I don’t like muffins all that much. I shared with a friend who confirmed my muffin assessment. We did admire that it provided 25% percent daily value of your Folate and Calcium and 50% daily value for Vitamin E for only 210 calories. If you are a muffin person I recommend it.
Lunch was a bagel sandwich that I recommend to everyone.
Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin + Applegate Farms Honey Maple Turkey + reduced fat pumpkin cream cheese (mine is from Einstein’s Bagel Bros) = Yum!
I’ll be honest and admit that this could have used a slice of cheese, but other than that it was pure perfection.
I brought in the rest of the Ghirardelli dark chocolate (a Foodbuzz sample) to share with the girls as study fuel.
One piece was enough for me.
And before I knew it – mostly because I was thinking too hard to look at the clock – my exam was done and one final class stood between me and freedom!
In this case, freedom meant beer.
Adam and I split this Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale 40/60 his favor. Tasting note – not bad, but not really pumpkin-y either.
And I drank this Dogfish Head Punkin Ale all by myself.
I really did taste pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. And beer! This is my favorite pumpkin brew so far this season (2nd would be Shock Top’s pumpkin).
Notes – I hadn’t had much to eat, I was tired, I’m a lightweight. Those notes are important because what I did next was get drunk and go to bed at 8:30 pm! Haha, I’m sure I needed the sleep.
I’m feeling well-rested now, which is awesome because I’ve got to do some serious learning for tomorrow’s exam. Hope everyone is having a good week!
I spent basically the whole day napping with the dog and the husband. It was epic.
Just like next week will be an epic fail as I try to work around all the stuff I didn’t do.
I swear the cold just makes me go into hibernation. My appetite was all over the place too. We started our “morning” with hunks of sourdough dipped in herbed olive oil.
Off all the things my body could have demanded at 45* degrees in October, next came ice cream.
I topped Ben and Jerry’s Cinnamon Roll ice cream with hot fudge and Heath crumbles.
When we did make our way out of the cave it was to go to the movies. 50/50 was great; very touching and funny. I love Seth Rogan in everything he does but it was nice to get to see him play a new role.
We also made a weekly trip to Wegmans. They were out of eggplant entirely which through our meal plan for a loop, but I think we worked it out. We didn’t get any hot bar (more on that tomorrow) but I did buy 50cents worth of Halloween candy.
50cents for $100 worth of happiness. I live for theme things.
Following the theme, Adam and I split a pumpkin beer when we got home.
Shock Top’s Pumpkin Wheat was wonderful. Not bitter at all like some pumpkin beers I’ve tried. I think I actually liked this variety better than traditional Shock Top.
For dinner we made this tofu quiche.
Same recipe as last time, though I did leave out the milk this go-round.
It was quite good; very cheesy. A good hibernation food.
How did you celebrate the start of October?
Apparently my body didn’t get enough sleep or food the other day because it demanded more of both in large quantities. Good thing it’s the weekend and I had time to indulge in both.
Adam and I actually got out of bed at 8 am this morning but when the dog got back into bed we thought we’d cuddle with him, just for a minute. 4 hours later it was noon and we were waking up for lunch.
Adam made chicken salad my favorite way; shredded chicken with grapes, walnuts, and Miracle Whip.
Grapes totally make chicken salad. But apparently this didn’t fuel us that well because we totally went back to sleep until 2:30!
When we got up and set out on errands I was starving. We stopped at Tim Hortons on the way to Goodwill for a caramel apple cider. On Friday I was bemoaning the pumpkin options I can’t try until Pumpkin Month (aka October) and my friend Kim convinced me that September should be all about apples. Another theme? I’ll take that challenge!
That happy face was before I actually tasted the cider sadly, yuck city. It tasted like it was made with fake apple flavoring.
I chucked my cider after 1 sip but I did eat 2/3 of this filled maple doughnut.
This was a very out-of-character thing for me to eat but I was low on options and we were running late for our afternoon activity.
The Bison Ballpark Brew Bash is a craft beer tasting event whose proceeds benefit Cystic Fibrosis research.
We got our tickets 50% off with Groupon so it wasn’t a big deal that I didn’t end up drinking that much. I ended up taking a few sips of a few things and calling it a day.
Buffalo Brew Pub’s Oktoberfest.
I don’t really remember this one; not bad but not my style. I drank ~1oz.
Ithica Beer Co’s Smoked Porter.
Eek, not my thing at all; one sip was enough for me! The smoked flavor was almost meaty, I imagine drinking a full one of these would feel like eating a meal.
Rohrbach’s Brewing Company’s Vanilla Porter.
For a porter the flavor was nice and light and I liked the vanilla scent. ~1.5oz.
Post Road’s Pumpkin Ale.
Ewwww. The smell of this was good but it was way too sour for me, I was sad that I even took one sip.
Six Point Brewery’s Sweet Action Cream Ale.
Yum! This had a great light fizz and almost orange-y undertones. I drank 95% of my pour happily.
Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale.
Now this is what pumpkin brews should taste like! The smell was pumpkin pie and the taste was pure pumpkin. I am definitely going to be on the lookout for a bottle of this before October Pumpkin Month.
I ended the day with Heineken Light.
I know most people who drink craft beer would call this a low note, but don’t hate, I love Heineken Light. The flavor is mild enough that it’s sort of like drinking water, but the brewery is quality enough that it’s not like drinking dirty water (my thoughts on Bud, Miller, and Blue Lights).
The most exciting taste of the day was this soft pretzel – covered with mustard – that I split with the husband.
We took the train to the event but ended up walking back to our car in Allentown afterwards. When we lived in Allentown I used to walk down to The Spot all the time and it was great to do some Delaware ambling again.
Adam and I were both still starving when we got home and we weren’t quite sure what to do with our evening. Thankfully our friends Patrick and Michelle had just headed to dinner and invited us to come along. We ended up at Gin Gin for Chinese food. They had bobba!
I got a taro milk tea with tapioca.
I got the chicken and eggplant in garlic sauce with rice.
I also took several bites of the table’s order of bok choy.
The food was good but my meal was pretty heavy so I started feeling sick before I felt full. I ate about half of my food and boxed the rest up for Adam’s lunch this week.
Finishing out my day with dessert, I split these Panda Yummies with Adam,
and ate a mini sundae whilst watching “That ’70’s Show” and blogging.
Today’s been fun, hopefully tomorrow will be productive!
Today’s eats were a little strange, which made them perfect mood food since I feel a little strange. I’m an odd mix of nerves and excitement about heading back to school tomorrow. I’m thrilled about getting back on a schedule but I’m worried that I’m planning on working on too many goals (being a better student, getting on a workout schedule, cooking more often). I don’t want to set myself up to fail by trying to do/change too much.
I spent my morning setting up the office for school and worked right through breakfast. Side note – trying to figure out which notes to save for registration exam studying is brutal. I’m not sure whether I’m throwing away things I need or saving so much that it will be overwhelming.
I didn’t want to head to the grocery on a completely empty stomach so I stirred a scoop of protein powder into a glass of skim milk.
It wasn’t very good (it tasted about as good as it looks), apparently I only like our protein powder after it’s been through the blender.
I did get myself a small but delicious salad from the hot bar too.
A spring mix lettuce base with tarragon vinaigrette, topped with a scoop of corn and kidney bean salad,
a scoop of veggie lo mein,
and a tiny piece of smoked salmon and brie.
The whole combo was super tasty, I think I may need to do salad at the hot bar more often. I really want to like smoked (basically raw) salmon and usually I’m too afraid but today I loved it.
When I got home Adam and I took a quick walk through the Elmwood Art Festival. We were naughty and snuck in our own beverages.
The Woodchuck Limited Release Winter Hard Cider is wonderful. It tastes more like a vanilla-scented apple juice than something boozey. Also when I went to the site to link for you guys I discovered that they make a pumpkin variety! <– must find
I knew dinner was going to be on the small side, so I made myself a tasty yogurt bowl to supplement when we got home.
Low-fat coffee yogurt with 1oz of honey roasted peanuts and a drizzle of honey.
One of those combos from when I was a kid that I still love.
We didn’t have any set plans for dinner, but I did want to make a batch of Jenna’s Sweet and Spicy BBQ Beans to have for lunches this week.
I used 2+ cups worth of extra kale and it came out fabulously. This recipe – which really is sweet and spicy – gives the best chew.
We decided to make the beans the bulk of dinner.
Such a good plan! I topped my serving with shredded Parmesan, more Sriracha, and a dollop of 0% Plain Fage.
Dee-lish! I sort of ate around the cheese to save it for the end and I was swooning by my last bite.
To round out my meal with carbs I turned to popcorn.
1 serving, topped with melted butter and cinnamon sugar. I can’t think of a better way to face a new school year than popcorn.
Who else is heading back to school this year?
Going back a few hours… We did go get Webster that toy.
Actually we got him a few, but we started with Mouse who he loves.
Dinner wasn’t quite as easy. Adam and I had things to do and it got later and later until suddenly it was just late. We set out in search of sustenance but got sidetracked at Blue Monk, where one of our good friend bartends. She was in, and she was on break, and they did have Brooklyn Brewery’s Concoction on draft, and we could get it for free….
And before you knew it, it was really late and dinner was bought at Jim’s Steak Out at 1 am.
That plate was a 6inch buffalo chicken sub with a side of fries. Exactly the kind of food you should just go to bed without eating and exactly the kind of food that is perfect for 1 am dinners.
I tried to stay in bed as late as I could this morning, but that basically meant getting up to do something for Webster every 10 minutes from 7 – 9.
That’s his ears-back look. When I did get up, I made myself some Lean Cuisine Thai-Style Chicken Spring Rolls.
They were good, but not life changing obviously. I liked the chew and the veggies but I needed a lot more spice.
I ate the entire box (2 servings) for 400 calories, which – with the addition of roasted green beans – made for a perfect brunch.
I also had a yellow plucot, I think it was called a dapple, for dessert.
This was my first time trying the yellow variety but I loved it. I couldn’t taste the difference between this and other plucots, but it was sweeter than regular plums are. I’ve got to cop to the fact that I let Webster eat a few bites of plucot while I was still eating it; apparently I’m that dog owner. But you know what, dogs’ mouths are only disgusting because they eat their own poop and we don’t let him do that!
The Elmwood Art Festival is happening today but Adam’s at the hospital all day so I’m going to wait it out until tomorrow. I do have plans for a long walk with a friend this afternoon though.
What’s your stance on dog mouths? Share some food, lick your face, or stay the hell away?
This post is going to be huge, so there are a few facts I want to establish before I begin –
* The Healthy Living Summit (HLS) was fabulous and I had a wonderfully fun time. However, since I didn’t have internet all weekend this is going to be a monster post and I’m not going to include as many details as I’d like.
* I met and hung out with some amazing people. So many, in fact, that I think it makes the most sense for me not to link back to anyone.
* I snapped a photo of every piece of food that went into my mouth but I wasn’t so good on people or places; I was too busy enjoying those things to photograph them.
So, this happened exactly halfway between Buffalo and Philly –
Usually a picture of a flat tire would be followed by many four letter words but the only one I could think of was l-u-c-k. My trip to Philly was greasy, two hours longer than planned and completely exhausting, but I actually started crying because I felt so grateful. The things I am thankful for –
Isn’t the world amazing? Before the whole debacle I drank a guava Rockstar for breakfast,
and afterwards I shakily ate the half turkey sandwich with cheese and cranberry mayo that I packed from the Co-op.
And I made it (with aching forearms) to Philly with time to shower and change before the HLS cocktail party.
The drinks, provided by Drink Chia, were super tasty.
This cocktail was a mix (I believe) of Drink Chia, strawberries, and vodka. It tasted sort of like a bubble tea with mini bobba!
The food was pretty good as well.
I had a corn and crab fritter, a piece of pretzel crusted chicken, a few small bites, plus another piece of the chicken.
Everything was tasty but there wasn’t quite enough sustenance for dinner so a few of us ended up in the hotel restaurant for a late night snack.
I went with the s’mores mousse shooter.
Plus I scarfed up one of the Lindt truffles they brought with the bill.
It was a sweet end to the first day.
The next morning (Saturday) we were up bright and early for breakfast. Cereal with skim milk,
an Oikos drinkable yogurt with a juicy plum – sidenote, I feel like I had food dripping down my face this whole weekend! –
and a much-needed coffee.
Around this point I realized I probably should be snapping more pictures like a good blogger.
Though I did snag a shot of me with two of my roomies.
I didn’t love the Quaker Smashbar provided on the snack break so I only ate half of it.
But I did love the RD Quaker provided as the key-note speaker. She wrote a book on being a flexatarian and I loved her points about embracing plants more than avoiding meats. In fact, all of the sessions were pretty darn informative and inspirational.
Before I knew it, it was time for lunch.
Side salad for greens,
quinoa salad, which had some sort of acid component that took it over the top,
and half a tofu sandwich on Great Harvest bread, squeal!
For dessert I grabbed a milk chocolate crunch Attune probiotic bar.
I had no idea these would be so delicious! I was very excited to see some coupons in my swag bag.
After the sessions we went to do some city exploring.
Here are all my roomates,
and here is the Liberty Bell.
I’m glad we sight-saw in the way that we did, because our travels took us to Farmacia for dinner.
Yum, seriously just yum x 1000. The wait staff was so sweet and accommodating of our 12-person party, the space was adorable, and the food was delicious.
I was ravenous and I think my heart actually skipped a beat when this bread and herbed butter were brought to the table.
I ate this slice times two.
Since it was a vacation I went with a John Daly to drink.
Sweet tea vodka and fresh squeezed lemonade, yes please! A few people sipped my drink and we all agreed it was the best Arnold Palmer ever.
And then came the food. Which was basically ridiculous.
I ordered the sweet corn and risotto croquettes. Which came with garden veggie ratatouille,
and sautéed spinach that blew my mind. It must have been the butter sauce that was floating on my plate.
The spinach was the best thing I ate all weekend, but the croquettes were perfect too; crunchy and creamy all at the same time. I ate 1.5 croquettes and all of my veggies and was basically in heaven.
You know I have to get self-serve froyo if I’m in a new city.
I got peanut butter, cream cheese (!!), and tart, topped with all the berries, caramel sauce, and sprinkles.
Fueled by sugar, a group of us stayed up until practically 3am! Normally a 3 am bedtime and 8 am Sunday workout would feel brutal, but I think I was too excited to be tired. I don’t have any pictures, but I did participate in the HLS 5k. A huge group walked/ran around the city including the Rocky steps.
When we got back it was time for oatmeal.
Topped with flax, cinnamon, and walnuts.
I also had about a billion mugs of Tazo Earl Grey tea with skim milk.
I am completely obsessed (I stole a few packets from breakfast!) and need to buy this asap.
After the festivities wrapped, a group of us did some more exploring around Philly.
This is what happens when you give bloggers a group photo-op –
For lunch we sought out Philly cheese steaks. I found success at the Basic 4 Vegetarian Snack Bar.
This monster was vegan, but there is basically no way that the traditional meat sandwich could be better.
I left a lot of the bread, but gobbled up the “meat” which was crunchy in the most pleasing way. Such a great way to end the weekend!
Around 2 I made my final goodbyes and headed out. Though I did stop at Whole Foods for an Argo Tea Mojitea for the road.
It was very tasty, but my next two drinks were much more telling. A grande white mocha coconut frappuccino with 2 extra shots of espresso.
And a huge diet pop with a splash of cherry coke.
Can you say exhausted?! But I made it home in one piece and had a wonderful weekend to boot!
Did you attend HLS? What’d you think?
Tonight, we dined in the future! Well sort of, we tried the new Chef’s Favorites line from Birds Eye that won’t hit stores until September. I was sent an exclusive free trial to sample as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.
Initial thought – I think this line is a wonderful idea. Each bag contains two servings and cooks in the microwave in approximately 5 minutes. The veggies are flash frozen and the ingredients are mostly natural, 99% just like a home-cooked meal. The meals cook right in the bag, so you don’t have to dirty any dishes or really do anything. Two bags come together to make a nice meal (with a protein ideally) in approximately 10 minutes, and those 10 minutes are basically hands-off. All of which is to say, if you have a few of these in your freezer there’s no way to say “I’m too tired for dinner, let’s get take-out.”
On the left is the Lightly Sauced Mushroom and Green Bean Risotto.
It contained a few iffy ingredients (xanthan gum, modified food starch, maltodextrin) but overall was like what I’d make at home. The taste was pretty similar to what I’d make on my own (after way more work!) too. Not the best risotto of all time, but very creamy and with a good ratio of rice to veggies. Each serving had 170 calories, 5 grams of protein, and only 18% of your allotted sodium.
On the right is Lightly Sauced Creamed Spinach.
This was nice and creamy though the spinach did have a little bitterness. Each serving contained 90 calories, 3 grams of protein, and only 14% of your allotted sodium.
Together, this made a tasty meal.
Wins all around, I say.
The calories in dinner were pretty light though (~270), so I supplemented with beer.
Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager is in my top five for favorite beers.
We also had j-e-l-l-o for dessert.
This afternoon I made up a box of pina colada jello with half water and half club soda for some fizz.
‘Twas good.
Two final notes: 1 – We are currently half way through “Blue Valentine” and I’m loving it. All this point I can’t decide if it’s really hopeful or really sad, maybe both. 2 – Webster’s godmother asked for a picture that shows how big he is –
