Tag Archives: cheese

Yesterday

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Hello, there.  I wrote this last night and intended to post but Webster was being a psycho and it got too late.  It’s a good thing he looked like this for several hours this afternoon or I might have smothered him.

Since I didn’t eat very much on Monday, I woke up yesterday starving.  I turned to the tuna noodle casserole Adam made while I was away.

Good job, husband! 

This was tasty and it filled me right up so I could work on my Sabra/Foodbuzz contest post.

Many nibbles were taken during the creation of those recipes.

But I still had time for lunch when all was said and done.

A toasted Bagel Thin with spinach and artichoke hummus dip,

plus a bowl of watermelon chunks.

For dessert I made myself 2 s’mores in the broiler.
It’s a lot easier to ignore the fact that your puppy is puking up the carpet he devoured when you’re eating a toasted marshmallow.

I also ate a serving of Raisin Bran Plus later in the afternoon.

This was supposed to be fuel for a free yoga class but since it was canceled at the last minute this ended up just replenishing my saddle bags.

For dinner Adam and I split these nachos.

I specifically said “whole black beans please, no refried beans” but for some reason these were loaded with both.

I still ate my full share though so I guess I shouldn’t complain.

Moving to the present… I just got home from an orthodontist appointment and most definitely ate these cookies on my drive home.

They did impressions and I just can’t stand having that gross chemical flavor in my mouth!

Now I’m off to find some real food.  I’m also headed to school to run a session with some incoming freshmen.  Have a great Hump Day!

Sweetness

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It is important to note – 2 hours changing a tire + 2 long drives in pouring rain + 2 late nights staying up talking in your hotel + 3 anxiety inducing days of talking to new people = a very tired Emily.  I like to call other people out when they’re being bat shit crazy, so I’m going to cop to the fact that I had a total meltdown this evening.  Lots of sulking and several tears later, I think I’ll try to keep this post quick.

I knew my monster recap was going to take a little time so I got up bright and early (7:40) with Adam to get working.  I had brunch plans with friends at 11 and I didn’t want to eat breakfast so I made myself a mug of Starbucks hot chocolate (stolen from HLS breakfast).

I finished my post just in time for a final meet up with friends before we head back to school.

Sweetness_7 Cafe is only .9 miles from our apartment so I decided to walk and bring the little dude with me.

This was the first time Kim or Anna have seen Webster and of course he totally stole their hearts.  Sweetness_7 was very sweet about letting me have the puppy on their porch and I was so glad I brought him.  Though it was a little hard to eat with him squirming in my lap.

For lunch I ordered the # 6 without mayo.

A turkey, mozzarella, tomato and caramelized onion panini,

with a simple greens side salad.

I usually forget to add it at home but there was salt on my salad and that definitely elevated it.  My sandwich was good too, nice and melty.  My stomach was feeling funny though (I think from being so tired!) so I ate exactly half and brought the rest home to Adam.

It’s so cool out it is actually cold, so I got to order a hot drink.

I asked for black tea with steamed skim milk and when the barista said “like a London fog?” I just nodded.  Upon close sipping it seemed as if the drink had been sweetened (though steamed milk does taste sweet?!) so now I need to Google London Fog.

Apropos of nothing, I’m going to show you my outfit because I think my new dress is so cute.

This was a J.Crew sale birthday score and the bubble hem makes my heart happy.

I spent my afternoon running errands and getting more and more exhausted.  I tried to hit the ground running from my trip and took care of the bank, post office, tailor, and grocery.  I was starving from my small lunch so I picked up hot bar around 5:30.

Ratatouille plus a few random veggies,

and broccoli macaroni and cheese that was totally swoon worthy.

The broccoli was cooked into the sauce and there was cheese nestled in its nooks and crannies!

Just as the meltdown began I also ate all of the toppings off of this mini sundae.

And end scene on my self-control.  We did manage to take Webster on another long walk, but dinner never happened because I just couldn’t deal with it.  I’m not sure if Adam was hungry or not but I think he’d rather just not deal with me.  And on that note, I’d be silly not to hop into bed!

Do you know what a “London Fog” is?

Healthy Living Summit 2011 Mega Recap

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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.

Okey doke, let’s start from the beginning…

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 –

  • It rained 70% of my trip but not a drop fell during the two hours I was standing on the side of the road changing my tire.
  • My tire blew on a small side road and not when I was going 70 mph on the highway.
  • I was able to take off the nuts and jack up the car all by myself, and if the tire hadn’t been completely rusted to the axle I probably could have done the entire thing myself like a total badass.
  • The nicest man on earth not only stopped to help me out, but drove back to his house for the sledgehammer it took to get my tire off.
  • The nice man gave me directions to his nice friends’ body shop, where they replaced my tire and fixed me up for only $20.

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?

This Is A Morning

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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!

Family and Froyo

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As you can probably guess from the title, we had a good Saturday. Of course Saturday got off to a ruff start when our neighbor’s dog parked from 1-2 am. No not a peep from Webster, he doesn’t bark, seriously. He did get us up at 4:30 for a quick pee walk though; good thing he’s so cute!

When we got up for real around 8 we took Webster on longer, 50 minute (round trip) walk to the lake.

He got a break in the middle while I tackled these –

I can tell you that there are 41 steps there because I counted while I ran up and down them. Actually, I walked down and sprinted up for 15 minutes of cardio, gasp, gasp! Good thing I had such a nice view.

I made some sludge for breakfast.

1 frozen banana, ~ 3/4 cup frozen spinach, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, and ~ 1 cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk.

The flavor combo was good but the spinach didn’t blend all the way and I don’t like chewable smoothies! Sort of like chewable vitamins, which I swallowed whole for months before my parents realized I could switch to big girl vitamins.

After a quick shower we got on the road to Ohio for our niece’s sixth birthday party. Adam’s entire family made it for the festivities and I’m so grateful that our friends agreed to puppy-sit for the day so we could go.

Also exciting? They have froyo in their town!!!

I got ~ 1/2 cup of cake batter and dulce de leche swirl, topped with butterfinger, skore, coconut, sprinkles, and hot fudge.

Gah, froyo, we need you in Buffalo!

Sidenote – remember how I said I wish I was more preppy?  This outfit is like what would happen if that ambition threw up all over me.

It’s hard to top self-serve, but we had a wonderful time at the party. We don’t get to see Adam’s family (or mine) as much as we’d like.

I lunched on party food.

Fruit salad with tasty mango,

part of a turkey sandwich with l, t, m, and c (mayo and cheese),

and a small slice of pizza.

After presents and singing, we also had cake.

I split that piece with the husband; cake – Adam, icing – Emily.

A loooooong (not really, but it sure felt like it!) car ride later and we were kissing Webster.  He actually hasn’t pooped since we picked him up yesterday and I’m getting sort of worried.  He has one more day to drop some kids off at the pool before I’m calling the emergency vet.

It was after 9:30 when we got home and I might have had a bit of a mini meltdown about how hungry I was.  The situation was not helped by our exhausted puppy making us feel too guilty to use the microwave.  The situation was helped greatly by Adam’s announcement that his mom slipped him money for dinner.  He’s out picking up a feast while I blog.  Recap to come in the morning.

Does your town have self-serve froyo?

Pizza Powered

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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.

What You Should Be Watching This Summer

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Good morning!  Did anyone else have pizza for breakfast this morning too?

Well, I had a version of my pizza eggs.  I sautéed a few tablespoons of black olives in a bit of butter, then scrambled in 2 eggs, 1 oz of Cabot 50% reduced fat white cheddar, and 1/4 cup of marinara sauce.

These were ridiculous good.  The olives made the eggs almost meaty and the dish as a whole really does taste like pizza.  Actually, it tastes even better than pizza!

I had a mug of Candy Cane Lane as well.  I added a splash of skim milk after I snapped this shot.

Not quite the iced tea I’ve been pining after, but still good.  Using two tea bags in 1.5 cups of water seemed to give me the perfect flavor, though my tea bags are pretty old.

It was a lovely meal, enjoyed while catching up on tv.

I don’t have cable (we watch online, most everything is available on Hulu) so when the internet gave me problems earlier this week I was cut off from my entertainment.

What You Should Be Watching This Summer

Even without cable, I think my summer spent unemployed and on the couch makes me uniquely qualified to recommend some summer programming to you guys.  Here are the summer shows I can’t get enough of:

Rizzoli and Isles

Starring Angie Harmon as a police detective and Sasha Alexander as her medical examiner.  Think Dr. Sayron from “Bones” with Catherine Willows from “CSI.”  This show, while a bit cheesy at times, is totally addictive.  It probably helps that both police detective and medical examiner have both been on my “maybe jobs” list for years.

Covert Affairs

Piper Perabo (of “Coyote Wild” fame) stars as a new CIA agent.  Think Booth from “Bones” but in the competing agency and with a vagina.  Plus Christopher Gorham plays a very (very, very) cute agent who happens to be blind.

Rookie Blue

Another cop show, but this time the focus is on the rookies.  I know it sounds like it’s been done before, but this version is pretty darn funny.  I originally started watching because one of the main characters was the star of “Stick It” (what?), but the plot line is funny and sweet enough that I’ve kept with it.

Yes I have a thing for cop dramas, why do you ask?

What shows can’t you get enough of this summer?

Stick The Finish

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I stuck the finish!  I continued my first day in weeks as a healthy, productive human being by whipping up a tasty, nutritious dinner.  Back off, Martha.

Earlier in the afternoon Adam and I took a quick walk down Elmwood.  We were both feeling twitchy and needed a chance to stretch our legs.  Walking was good for our extra energy, and splitting a Java Twix Bar was good for our souls.

It’s been years since I’ve eaten a traditional Twix, but man this was good.  The coffee undertones totally made it.

When we got home it was time to slave over a hot stove whirring food processor.  Just kidding, this recipe came together in a flash.  Meet your new go-to pesto:

Healthy Spinach Pesto, yields 11 ounces

  • 8 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  1. Working in small batches, pulse spinach and oil in a food processor until.  Be sure to process until smooth, don’t stop when you’ve reached the grass cuttings consistency.
  2. Add parmesan and pine nuts and continue to process until well-combined.
  3. Can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

I love pesto, but store-bought varieties are anything but low-calorie and basil is so darn expensive that it’s not exactly cheap to make at home.  I’ve been curious about trying a spinach based pesto for a while and I think this totally worked.  The flavor is rich and nutty and not at all “healthy.”  Tastes can be deceiving though, here are the nutrition stats I calculated for a 1 oz serving –

I wanted to test the recipe in a dish I already knew was good so I turned to my Pesto Pasta Casserole.

I doubled the recipe, and switched penne for spirals but other than I stuck with the original.

And it’s official, we love this new pesto!

If when you make it yourself I recommend trying out my Pesto Pasta Casserole too.  It’s about the simplest recipe ever – just bake together pasta, pesto, arugula, and mushrooms – and it tastes delicious.  Make it, make it, make it!

What’s your favorite way to eat pesto?  I’m a big fan of cheeseless pizza with pesto and chicken.