Tag Archives: carrots

English Toffee and Cream Soda

by

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!

Dip for Dinner

by

I finished all of my schoolwork for this week, wrote an article for the Dietetics newsletter, and made a deeply delicious dinner.  Go me!

The first round of dinner felt oh-so-sophisticated, dip and crudities.

The dip was my newest recipe creation, Black and Blue Dip:

Yield: 14 ounces; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 0

  • 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 oz (or 1/2 cup) blue cheese crumbles
  • 4 Tbsp light sour cream
  • 3 Tbsp A-1 steak sauce
  1. Place beans into the food processor and pulse until mostly smooth.
  2. Add blue cheese, sour cream, and steak sauce and pulse until well-combined, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed.

The black beans and blue cheese are a fun flavor combo, the A-1 adds spice and depth, and the sour cream helps to smooth out the flavor.  Adam described this as meaty (and fun for all vegetables!) so I guess this had umami!  Each 2 oz serving had only 106 calories so this would be the perfect dip to bring to a party where you were hoping to keep things healthy.

I ate a 2 oz serving,

with baby carrots, green pepper, and celery dipped in.

Adam and I both agreed that this was a fabulous appetizer.

The second half of dinner was brinner.

I used 2 Tbsp of butter to saute 1 pint of sliced mushrooms, 1 sliced red bell pepper, and 1 Mayan onion.  We pulled out half of the cooked veggies for later use and scrambled the rest into 3 large eggs.

This dinner ended up being a little small but it’s bedtime so what can you do?  Meh.

What is your favorite thing to dip into blue cheese?  Baby carrots are good but pizza crusts are better!

Craving Meat

by

A man blogger can not live on bread popcorn alone, so I did make myself a lunch lunch around 2:30.

A toasted Bagel Thin with spinach, artichoke, hummus dip,

and a handful of baby carrots.

I also at a Rocky Road mini ice cream.

Clearly I’m on a mini ice cream kick lately.  I’m just going with it.

I had some plans for dinner – plans I tell you, plans dammit! – but then Adam called.  No he didn’t get home late this time, and I’ve decided that from now on I’m just going to cook dinner as scheduled and not wait anyway.  But when he did get home on time we would need to find the recipe for, purchase the ingredients for, and then bake coffee cakes.  For tomorrow morning.  Gosh darn it, husband!

I shouldn’t really complain though, he mostly did the cakes by himself and I got a dinner out on the town out of the deal.

We went to JP Bullfeathers, because I like their stoic looking bear statue.

After my carb-filled day I was ready for some meat. 

The Cowboy Burger from JP Bullfeathers is a turkey burger with bbq rub, melted cheddar, bbq sauce, and jalopeno poppers on top.  It came with a side of cole slaw.

The cole slaw was only ok (I ate it for the veggies) but the burger was fantastic and exactly what I was craving.  I pushed the bun to the side but otherwise it was devoured.  Meghann blogged about needing a meat fix too so maybe there was something in the water at HLS!

Sidenote – I almost never crave meat meat.  When I say I’m craving meat I typically mean turkey.  I’ve never in my life had a craving for lamb or pork.  Since I stopped eating mammals 13 years ago I crave a juicy burger once or twice a year but other than that I’m generally grossed out by the idea.

How often do you crave meat?  Are you an omnivore or a veg-head?

Birds Eye Take Two

by

Tonight for dinner we tried the second half of the Birds Eye Chef’s Favorites sample I was sent as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.  To read my thoughts on the line as a whole (convenience, nutrition, etc) please read this post.

On the left is Lightly Sauced Primavera Vegetable Risotto.

Sadly, this was the one variety I didn’t love.  The white rice/carrot/pea combo reminded me too much of fried rice and it was a bit gummy.  I should note, however, that the husband thought it was pretty good, better than the other risotto in fact.  I only ate half of my serving and he happily finished it off.  Each serving contains 180 calories, 4 grams of protein and 14% of your daily sodium.

On the right is Lightly Sauced Roasted Red Potatoes and Green Beans with a Parmesan Olive Oil Sauce.

I was a bigger fan of this one.  The potatoes were neither mushy nor too firm and the sauce was good without being heaving.  120 calories, 3 grams of protein, and 12% of your daily sodium per serving.

To enlarge our meal Adam and I also split a thing of spicy lump crab roll.

The sushi from Wegmans is shockingly good.

My facial appointment went well this afternoon; definitely not something I would pay a full price for but fun to use a Groupon on.  I’m pretty sure the lotion she used with end up making me break out but the shoulder massage was greatly appreciated.

I had to stop by the co-op this afternoon and I was so hungry I ended up buying a small box of hot bar and inhaling it on the walk home.

Adam confirmed my suspicions that walking whilst eating does make you a fatty but it was totally worth it.  I got waldorf chicken salad and a few tortellini.

I’m going to wrap this post up now because (surprise, surprise) I still haven’t packed.  I’ve got to go figure out what I’m going to wear this weekend!

Are you going to the Healthy Living Summit?  If you see me there pretty please say hello; I’m terrible with faces and I’m afraid I’m just going to be stuck in a corner by myself!

This Is A Morning

by

I said I’d blog in the morning, I just didn’t say which morning.

As promised, Adam came home Saturday night with a feast.

We split some waffle fries,

and I ate half of this spicy bean enchillada.

In the morning we took a long walk (he pooped!),

and picked up an iced tea from Starbucks.

Then came home and made breakfast.

I had turkey bacon,

two eggs with spicy corn relish scrambled in,

and a Bagel Thin with Smart Balance Lite and Crofters Organic Grape Spread.

My plan for the afternoon was supposed to be a 3 mile run.  But then this happened –

So then this happened –

Webster makes spending the afternoon at home so much more exciting.  As do brownies.

These S’mores Brownies are definitely in the top ten list of things I’ve baked!

I think I actually like them better than traditional s’mores!

We did take a few walks, which turned into mud baths, which turned into Webster’s first real bath.  Eeee, wet dachshunds are so cute; I will have to remember to take a picture next time.

I had dinner/drinks plans at 8:00 which felt late so I did some afternoon snacking.  Baby carrots dipped in blue cheese dressing.

Half a matzoh sheet with extra sharp cheddar melted on top.

A mug of Candy Cane Lane with skim milk.

And 1 serving of Trolli Soda Poppers.

The snacking did the trick and before I knew it I was at Bar Louie with my friends.  I know it’s sort of a breakfast drink, but the extra spicy bloody mary was calling my name.

It was spicy and delicious, but I was a little put off by the freaking sandwich Bar Louie stuck in the top of it –

I don’t eat meat!  I did eat a small plate of the appetizers we shared.

I’m so happy that I ended up with such a great group in my year for Dietetics.  I didn’t get home until after 12 and I will admit to feeling a bit cranky this morning.

I’m starving and I assume Webster’s chewing on my bookshelves to tell me that he’s bored, so we’re off to take a long walk.  This will be my first day home alone with the puppy, wish me luck!

I Made Coq Au Vin!

by

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!

Pizza Powered

by

As planned, we ordered a pie from Just Pizza last night and it was fabulous.

We got a Laura’s Old Fashioned – “The way our Mother used to make it. Made with Extra Thick Dough, a special Sweet Pizza Sauce (fresh sliced Onions in the sauce), Mozzarella & Romano Cheese, topped with Mushrooms.”

Not so fabulous was the way I felt after eating 5 slices this size.

Fat, ill, and irritated with myself for noting getting up an eating a salad.  On the plus side though, it’s sort of like Adam and I were carbo-loading for our run this morning!  If nothing else, our glycogen stores were nice and prepared.

Actually we were prepped all around, this is the run I got to test out my new shoes on.

I’m 90% sure I like them, but I’m going to run in them once more to be sure since my most recent pair sucked so badly.

I also tested out my new favorite shirt;

handmade by ME at last week’s tie dye party.

I think it’s pretty darn cute.

It was a good run to feel cute on, because I was mostly feeling like a jackass that I haven’t worked out all summer.  My planned 3.5 miles were tough.  We had two 1.75 mile loops around Delaware Park and I’m just glad I finished.  I had to take a few walking breaks, but I made sure to run for a least five minutes each time and walk for no more than 2 minutes at a time.  3.5 miles in 40 minutes and 20 seconds.  Followed by a 10 minute walk.

The rest of the agenda was shower ~ ice ~ grocery ~ clean the dirty apartment ~ dinner.  Thankfully our grocery trip was made much more exciting by our plan to sit in the cafe for a few hours so Adam could study.  I got cozy reading Nancy.

Sidenote – I am completely and utterly obsessed with the Nancy Drew books.

And got exciting lunch from the hot bar.

In an effort to save a bit of money, we also supplemented with salads from home.

In the end my meal ended up being arugula topped with carrots, 2 Tbsp of wheat germ, 1/4 cup of roasted chick peas, and 2 Tbsp of tarragon vinaigrette.

Plus roasted veggies, chili garlic eggplant, and veggies picked out of the cashew chicken,

and a few pieces of pineapple and berries.

Delish.  I read my first Nancy and munched and was in absolute bliss.

Unfortunately, the grocery took longer than anticipated and once I added in a last-minute walk to the co-op and the task of packing Adam’s lunches, I plain ran out of time to clean the house.  Tomorrow.  And at least I’m a good wife.

Adam has one rice bowl for each day of the work week.  And I took a good many nibbles that escaped the camera while I cooked.

I also made dinner.

Polenta that turned into a fairly intimidating, but tasty solid,

and huevos rancheros inspired tacos.

I scrambled 5 eggs (with skim milk, salt, and pepper) into sautéed chopped onions and green pepper, and then stuffed them into blue corn taco shells with a bit of sharp cheddar.  I served Adam and myself 3/5 and 2/5 accordingly.

Dessert was 2/3 to 1/3 in my favor though.

A gigantic cowboy cookie I picked up at the co-op.

My entire right side of my body has ached ever since yesterday’s tennis game, so I’m going to go curl up with a book.

Easy Eats

by

I accomplished so much yesterday that today was actually a bit boring.  I’ll take it though.  And I’ll definitely take the fact that I had to skip today’s workout because my abs were so sore from yesterday’s 90 minute hot yoga session.  Whoop!

Breakfast was easy and summer-y.

1.5 servings of cinnamon Puffins, .5 serving of oats and honey Bear Naked Granola (which is like a Tbsp, seriously?!), chopped plum and white apricot, and skim milk.

For a mid-morning snack I measured out 2 servings of the peanut brittle popcorn my in-laws gave me for my birthday.

This stuff might be dangerous.

Lunch looked borning.

But looks can be deciving.  That’s not pb & j.

That’s a mini kaiser roll topped with Nutty Guys honey roasted peanut butter, crushed up honey wheat pretzels, and a drizzle of honey.

And what goes with a peanut butter (pretzel, honey) sandwich better than milk?

In my fabulous new glass from Anthropologie.

Milk also goes well with cookies.

But those aren’t for me (though I did eat a few cookie’s worth of dough!), I baked them up for The Great Fundraising Act.

Instead of cookies, Adam and I snacked on hummus this afternoon.

Not just any hummus though, Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus that I got to try for free as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers’ Program.

Usually I’m too cheap to buy hummus because you can make it easily at home, but I think it’s time to update my policy!  Adam and I both thought this was delicious; creamy with a great roasted flavor.  The pine nut was a great new twist, though Adam thought it wasn’t as zesty as the garlic variety we used to buy.  Plus at 80 calories per 2 Tbsp serving it’s a nutritional steal.

I ate my serving(s) with some baby carrots.

Keeping up the easy eats theme of the day, dinner was leftovers.

I piled the steamed collard greens, millet, and baingan bharta into one bowl, topped with tons of Sriracha.

Easy, like your mother.  Ba dum ching!