Tag Archives: carrots

Sex in the City, PeeYoo

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Adam texted me just in time today to let me know he had to stay at the lab late so I did a quick turn-around and headed to the gym.  I did the elliptical for 20minutes, on random, level 6, then had a quick stretch before hopping in the shower and heading to pick him up.

Our fun activity was a movie date to see “Sex in the City 2,” so even though I was in a rush you know I took the opportunity to throw on a big necklace and headband!

If you’re wondering why that smile is more of a grimace, it might have something to do with this –

Dinner was consumed via movie snacks.

Baby carrots,

an entire cucumber, sliced, with salt,

2 servings of spice drops,

and I also split a small popcorn with the husband.

Perhaps not chock-full of nutrients but it was a lot of fun to eat.  I didn’t think the movie was quite as enjoyable though 😦  The fashion wasn’t as fun (harem pants, really?!?) and the Muslim traditions “humor” was forced and awkward.  I enjoyed the specific storylines about each couple but on a whole it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Did you see S&TC2 yet?  What’d you think?

A Day of Firsts

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In case you missed it, June is Vegan Month.  And what better way to start off the month than with a Green Monster?

This bad boy had 1 frozen banana and 1 cup frozen spinach blended with 1 cup of calcium + vitamin d oj.

Green Monsters were my favorite discovery during my two-week vegan stint in February, and I think they are going to be instrumental in getting me through this month.

Today was also the first day of summer school.  I have an online nutrition class in July, but in June I have to be on campus from 10:30 – 12:40 M-F for Sociology.  Here we are looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed –

And then during one of my five trips to pee before class started I snapped a picture of me looking nervous.

And right I was to be nervous, this is going to be a hard month!  My professor is funny but his lecture voice is really hard to understand and the syllabus is totally unclear.  I hate when teachers want to be all loosey-goosey with the due dates; tell me what I need to read for what dates!  Plus we are not allowed to have any food or drinks in the classroom?!

I had some business to take care of on campus and by the time I got home it was after 2 and I was starving.  I grabbed the first thing I could to tide myself over.

3oz of baby carrots,

and 1oz of yellow tortilla chips.

I was so hungry I was actually getting light-headed and nauseous.  Once I calmed down a bit I made myself a frozen meal as well, Tandoor Chef Vegetable Pad Thai.

The nutritional stats on this are pretty good,

and it is delicious!

It tastes just like tasty, authentic Thai food from a restaurant.  The pasta is the right texture and it is perfectly seasoned.  Plus there are pieces of spongey fried tofu that I adore.  I give this two thumbs up and highly recommend you try it, vegan or not.

I’m actually still feeling pretty sick so I’m going to set the alarm and see if I can take a quick nap.  I have to pick up the husband from the lab later and of course I’ve got some reading to do.

What is your favorite type of frozen meals?

Hitting the Dessert

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Thanks for all the support on my weight gain post, you guys are the best!  However, not one of you commented on the Cartman tie-in, apparently your senses of humor are a little more mature than mine?

Since today was my last day of volunteering I made full use of my lunch voucher and got a slice of the awesome cafeteria pizza.

I rounded it out with veggies at home.

Kale chips,

and part of a red bell pepper and baby carrots,

dipped into some homemade 1000island dressing (1T miracle whip, 1T ketchup, 2T pickle relish).

It ended up being quite the good lunch.

And a serving of Theo Bread and Chocolate bar for dessert.

I also had a bag of Pretzel M&Ms while I worked on my recipe binder.

Once the husband got home at 7 I got dinner in the oven before heading to the gym.  Note – I did some snacking while I cooked (1handful of chips, 1/2handful of cheese, and 2spoonfuls of filling).

If I’ve said it once I’ll say it a million times (sorry!) being able to move again feels great!  I will never take fitness for granted again.  I had a few twinges in my leg today so I did keep it easy though.  25minutes on the elliptical at level 5.  Followed by 10minutes of arms/abs/stretching when I got home.

By the time I got out of the shower dinner was looking pretty darn tasty.

The recipe comes from Everyday with Rachael Ray, Chicken Salsa Verde Bake.  It is definitely NOT terribly healthy, but it’s the last thing I’ll cook before Vegan Month so I went all out for the husband.  You can click the link (recipe name) for the recipe but here were my changes –

  • I boiled the chicken instead of pan cooking it
  • I used 1.5lbs of meat and subbed in a 15oz can of black beans to fill in the rest of the protein
  • I used low-sodium beans
  • I subbed in shalots for the onion
  • I used low-fat sour cream

It’s calorie-dense, but very filling and delicious.  A good mix of creamy yet crunchy and tangy and spicy yet creamy.

I ate half a red pear alongside my portion.

Dinner = done.

Hope everyone else is having a *sweet* start to their week!

What is your favorite South Park episode?

We’re A Crock Pot Family

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I spent a lot of time today on my binder project and I’ve barely made a dent in it; I had a backlog of more than a year!

I’m super excited to get down and dirty cutting and pasting this weekend.

I spent time on other housewifey endeavours too, isn’t she beautiful?

Yes, I am finally a crockpot kitchen kind of lady!  The Cuisinart Slow Cooker CSN Stores kindly sent me to review finally came.  As I mentioned yesterday, I pre-prepped everything so all I had to do today was turn her on.  I felt so 1950’s organizing magazine clippings at the table while dinner simmered away on the countertop.

But before dinner, what about breakfast and lunch?  Breakfast was 1cup of Total with skim milk and blueberries.

And lunch was a roasted veggie bonanza.

Roasted green/wax beans are one of the husband’s favorites now and prior to last month he thought he hated them.  Behold the power of roasting!

He also ended up being a fan of the nut-butter crusted parsnip and carrot fries.

But really, who wouldn’t be?

I also snacked on a random baggie of trail mix,

and handful of dried apricots for dessert.

And then we headed out on a glorious walk!  Since my running sessions have to be so short they are a lot more enjoyable if I incorporate them into other activities.  We walked for 10minutes, ran for 7minutes, and then spent another 25 or so ambling home.  All total we covered 3.43miles.

Dinner, of course, came from the crock pot.

I figured for my first go I’d use a recipe from the booklet that came with it.  Sausage & Lentil Soup with Tortellini, makes 8cups

  • 3/4T evoo
  • 1lb chicken Italian sausage links
  • 8oz mushrooms, cleaned and quartered (we went with sliced)
  • 3/4 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and drained
  • 8oz chopped yellow onions
  • 8oz carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (skipped)
  • 3/4t basil (skipped)
  • 1 1/2t thyme (skipped)
  • 3/4oz sun-dried tomatoes, slivered (I used extra here, along with s&p to make up for the skipped spices)
  • 4 1/2cups low sodium chicken stock or broth
  • 6oz cheese-filled tortellini, refrigerated

Heat the olive oil in a Cuisinart 12inch Nonstick Skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the sausage in a single layer and brown evenly on all sides, about 10minutes.  Remove and let cool.  Add the mushrooms to the same pan and cook until brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.  When the sausage is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2inch slices.

Place the lentils in the ceramic pot of the Cuisinart Slow Cooker.  Add the chopped onions, carrots, garlic, browned mushrooms, basil, and thyme; stir to combine.  Sprinkle the mixture with the slivered sun-dried tomatoes and top with the slices sausages and any accumulated juices.  Add the chicken stock.

Cover and press the On/Off button to turn the unit on.  Set time to 3 hours and press High; once Slow Cooker switches to Warm, set time for 5 hours and press Simmer.  Slow Cooker will automatically switch to Warm when cooking time has elapsed.

Forty-five minutes before serving, reset the temperature to High – if soup is every thick, add up to 2 cups of water.  After 15minutes, add the tortellini.  Cover and cook for an additional 30minutes, until tortellini are tender and cooked. 

Nutritional information per cup:  Calories 312 (31% from fat) – carb. 30g – pro. 24g – fat 11g – sat. fat 3g – chol. 51mg – sod 1015mg – calc 96mg – fiber 6g

My thoughts?  The recipe was good, but certainly not socks rocking; my favorite part was the tortellini.  I do think the nutritional info was pretty stellar though, and I like things with leftovers.  I didn’t really understand having to go back to reset the damn thing multiple times, isn’t the whole point of a slow cooker that you can set it in the morning and walk away?  If I wasn’t a bum I wouldn’t have been able to make this.

Tomorrow I’m going to school with the husband in the morning because my bat wings have a date with the pool and the gossip-center of my brain has a lunch date with Katie 😀 

Do you have a crock pot?  Any major fails you’d like to share from it?

Choose Your Own Adventure

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Hi there!  I’m in such a fabulous mood right now that it’s like I’m dancing on a cloud!  Or rolling in a field of puppies!  Or walking on sunshine.  You can choose your own adventure metaphor.

[LOVED those books as a kid]  I’m only an itsy bitsy bit superstitious, but I’m wary enough that I’m going to have to make you wait to few days before I share the cause of my good mood with you.  The fantasticness is only about 80% complete and I’d like to make sure it’s in the bag.

Lunch was eaten in 3ish parts.  Course 1 was 5 saltines spread with fat free cream cheese and hot pepper peach preserves.

A very tasty way to use the jar indeed.  Per my fridge traffic JAM, I need to make sure I’m incorporating some fruit spread into pretty much every meal over the next month.

Course 2 was a big minneola.

She was pregnant!

Eat More Fruit Tip # 3 – Citrus is a great snack, but can be sticky and annoying to peel, especially on the go.  However, pre-peeled and put in a baggie or tupperware, it can be a great made in advance snack.

Course 3 was supposed to be roasted brussels sprouts.

Don’t they look good?

Well they weren’t; more like yetch!  I was running late at that point so I substituted a handful of baby carrots.

I was late heading to the pool, and lateness was only one of the reasons why my workout was sub-stellar.  The toe nail I injured in the half marathon was finally falling off and it was flapping (gross!) as I swam and hurt like heck!  I ended up doing 20 laps in 20 minutes.  You know what though, even a “bad” workout felt pretty darn good.

This Thursday will be my last day as a UB student which means it will also be my last opportunity to use their pool.  I don’t have access to a gym with a pool and I won’t have access to the BSC gym (they have a pool but I’m not sure yet about hours or size) until August.  I will hopefully be able to run again next week and it shouldn’t be a big issue.  I have really enjoyed my swim work outs though, discovering my pool love was the only plus to my stress fracture!  Hopefully I’ll be able to run and swim this fall.

My toe nail didn’t fare so well in the work out though; after I got dressed I officially had to lose it.  I’ll spare you the picture but I’m very squeamish about nail loss and suffice to say I was pretty sad.  The husband felt sorry for me while we ran our mystery errand and he got me a fountain soda for being such a trooper.

Fountain diet coke + a shot of cherry coke + ice + straw = one very happy Emily!

The plan for the evening is cooking dinner and eating some more fruit, I’ve still got 1cup to go!  Fruit eaten so far today: 1cup.

I’m stealing my question from Janetha – What was your favorite thing to “play” as a kid? 

My answer was so embarrassing I figured once I put it out there in her comments I should just go ahead and tell the world the ten people who read my blog.  My favorite thing was to pretend I was Laura Ingalls Wilder; I was obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie books.  Specifically I’d play Laura in the covered wagon heading West.  Well apparently I thought that covered wagons were hot……. So I’d turn off the fan, put on at least four layers of long-sleeved shirts and long skirts, and get into my bed under 2-3 quilts.  Then I’d sit there and sweat and sort through a big box of buttons.  It’s a wonder I made it to middle school!

Dessert Before Dinner

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When I talked about my great grocery buys earlier I didn’t even mention the most exciting one –

Turkey Hill Southern Lemon Pie Frozen Yogurt!  I was dying to try it but we were headed out to run more errands so I portioned 1.5servings into a go cup.

I also grabbed a big handful of baby carrots.

And thank goodness, because there was nary a veggie to be found on my dinner plate.

In the most random move on Earth, at 8:30pm we headed to I-HOP for dinner.

I ate 1.5 of my NY cheesecake pancakes, 1 of my eggs, and both slices of turkey bacon.  The husband was more than happy to polish off the rest of my meal.  I eat pancakes maybe twice a year but I’d been craving them for the last month so it was nice to fulfil the urge.

What is your favorite breakfast order (from a restaurant, no yogurt messes!); pancakes, waffles, or french toast?  If I had to choose I’d go with french toast, but I generally prefer to order eggs.

Slept Through Breakfast but Ate Brinner

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We pulled into Buffalo from NYC at 4am this morning, which meant the whole day has felt a little ‘off.’  [A trip recap is coming tomorrow, I swear!]  I got out of the car and into bed, and slept until 11 to get my 7hours.  I have a ton to do this week, and we can’t pick up groceries until Thursday, so I’ll warn in advance that my meals might be a little bit, ahem, interesting.

One of the items on our monster to-do list is switching out our summer and winter wardrobes.  That means I’m trying to wear all my fun sweaters this week before they get washed and stored.

I adore the ruffling on this one!

Although my favorite outfit detail is the little yellow crystals in the pearl necklace my mommy made me.

I needed to do lunch on the go so I grabbed an orange twist Mix1 drink.

I also snacked on a White Chocolate Chip ThinkThin bar during Anthropology.

I bought this because I read a really good review of it (Chelsea Handler, in one of the health/fitness magazines) but it didn’t really take care of my hunger.  I practically ran to buy a snack before my next class.

Hot chocolate and a carrots, celery, and ranch cup.

I had to unpack from this weekend after Chemistry so dinner didn’t happen until after 9o’clock.  I snacked on a handful of dried fruits while I worked.

And then the husband was a total superstar and took care of breakfast for dinner brinner.

He made me two sunny side up eggs,

and we split a cinnamon raisin bagel (from NY!).

I ate my bagel dry because I used it to sop up the yolks, yummy!

I was feeling a bit empty (I really didn’t eat enough today) so I made myself a little sundae.

Cyclops Greek Style Frozen Yogurt topped with Crofters Superfruit Spread and Suzanne’s Vegan Ricemellow.

Tomorrow is another crazy day, with an 8am lab, so it’ll probably be another late post.  I promise to get up a nyc recap though.

Are you good at making eggs?  I cannot do sunny side up, and it’s my favorite.  Thankfully the husband is great at it.

Achoo, Achoo!

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I’m feeling sick so I’ll keep this quick.  (I’m a poet and I don’t even know it, ha!)  My s-i-l has cats that I’m super allergic to I’ve been sneezing my head off.  So I’ve got showering, packing, and sneezing 8bazillion times still on the agenda before bed.

This morning I made a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with skim milk.

I’m not gonna lie, Adam was getting some seriously whining about my inability to make a Green Monster.  Sometimes (like all day today) the food situation with my in-laws is frustrating because I eat so differently than they do.

When Adam and I went to gas up the car around noon I spotted a ‘make-your-own’ milkshake machine and squealed with glee.

I’m not sure why these are so exciting to me but they really are.  Adam and split a mint chocolate chip.

And then we came home for a real lunch.

Celery and carrots with a little bit of ranch,

part of a Cara Cara Orange,

and a turkey sandwich.

I also had a few of these throughout the afternoon.

My m-i-l made an adorable bunny cake –

But it was box cake with can icing and there was no way that was worth the trans fat ingestion.

Dinner was a Mexican affair.

Turkey nachos,

and chicken, peppers, and black bean quesadillas.

Adam and I were in charge of making the quesadillas but I only ended up eating half of one.  I did go back for nachos seconds though.

My b-i-l made a plate with nachos just for the two of us and I was in heaven.

My favorite part of dinner was my beverage though.  Diet cola with Strawberry Crush, hell yeah!

I ate way too much crap this weekend, but I know that that streak will be continued tomorrow because we have a foodie day planned……..in New York City!!!!!

Do y’all have any idea how excited I am to back to the city?!  Oh man!  We are getting there around 11 and staying until around 7pm.  It’s obviously not the trip we had planned originally, because our favorite thing to do in NYC is walk, but we wanted to go in spite of my injury.  Even a low-key day will be a lot of fun.

We have an 8+hour drive back to Buffalo and I have classes Tuesday afternoon so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post a recap.  I hope everyone else had a great weekend.

What is your favorite US city?