Whine and Cheese

This was not my most sucessful Tuesday, I’ll keep this quick because I’m in a pretty bad mood.

Sooooooooo, my tasty oats this morning?  Two issues – 1. They apparently had no staying power, I was starving by 10am.  2. The 1/3 of yogurt is from the same container as last week’s 1/3 a cup in overnight oats.  It was a single serving cup of Dannon, which I placed inside a tupperware after I opened it.  I wondered about that decision this morning, but I figured it would all be ok.  Yeah, so not ok!  My stomach hurt so bad I thought I was going to die and I ended up going home after my first class.  Boo!

Between starving and sick I did squeeze in lunch at the school cafeteria.

It was a pretty lame lunch, sometimes food court situations are really overwhelming for me.  The excess of choices tend to induce mini panic attacks and short of that I choose quickly, randomly, and poorly.  Thus a sandwich that was neither healthy nor what I was craving.

Chicken salad on a spinach wrap with shredded lettuce, jalopenos, black olives, and blue cheese dressing.  I also had a side of pickles,

and some so-so chips I only ate due to extreme hunger.

Post lunch but before class I also grabbed a tall white hot chocolate.

In retrospect that wasn’t the best choice; I had it made with skim instead of whole milk but it was still too much sugar.  Which doesn’t mean that once I was curled up wimpering on the couch I didn’t eat this brownie.  😉

Or two servings of these guys, straight from the bag, not a good idea.

Given that chips are not that healthy of an appetizer choice I tried to keep dinner light.

The other half of my minneola and a kiwi bowl,

leftovers of the tastiest collards on earth,

mini pita with melted blue brie.

I promise to be in a better mood tomorrow!  But not a morning mood, I have my first chem lab tomorrow and it start at 8am, I clearly won’t be blogging until lunch.  Night.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!

Dinner

I hope you entered my giveaway, because I’m be fawning over Cedar’s some more in this post!  Speaking of giveaways, here’s a healthy one.  I was super excited about this dinner, I’ve been planning my Mediterranean Fest for a week!

All of the individual components were fabulous, and they melded together perfectly.

Mini whole wheat pita from Wegmans.  A serving size was 2 for 110 calories but one was more than enough.  I loved how doughy these were.

Collards.  The absolute star of the dish!

I steamed a 16oz bag of frozen collard greens then mixed it with 1/3 cup toasted walnuts,a drizzle of  maple syrup, and 3.5oz of chopped blue brie cheese.  The flavors went together so perfectly, I was in heaven with every bite!  The cheese was from Saga, something I’ve wanted to try forever and I’m glad I did.

Falafel.

I used half of the box, mixed with H2O, but decided to ignore the package directions and bake instead of fry.  After 25minutes in a 350* oven they were perfect.  Tasty as they were, the falafels were a bit dense, I ended up only eating 2 of 3.

Cedar’s Garlic Tzatzika for dipping.

Everything went together so well, the mix of textures and tastes was kind of a dinner thrill.  Plus, after all the junk I ate this weekend it feels really good to eat something good.

After dinner it was time for my final to do: the gym.  37minutes on the treadmill; it was good to add to my training log.

What is your favorite kind of cheese?  I tie between blue and brie so the Saga blend was perfection for me!

P.S. Eating Bird Food is also doing a giveaway.

A Few of My Favorite Things

School went well today; I know it’s only the 2nd week but I’m really enjoying everything I’m learning in my classes so far.

I ate a Kind Mango Macadamia Bar during Chemistry to refuel.

I think my macadamias-make-me-happy faces were freaking out my neighbors 🙂

When I got home all I wanted to do was veg – ya know, read a few blogs 😉 – but I headed to the gym anyways and was glad I did.  I almost always regret skipping the gym but I’m always happy when I go.

I did a similar treadmill workout to yesterday, followed by my pt exercises for a grand total of 55minutes and 540calories.

After a quick shower it was time for dinner.  Yesterday Tina asked readers to name their 10favorite foods.  I could come up with my list pretty easily, but when I looked at tonight’s dinner plan later I realized I had forgotten one of my very favorite things – Jalopeno and Cheddar Nachos!!!  Here is my updated list:

1. baby carrots
2. roasted brussels sprouts
3. Pad See Eiw (Thai, broad rice noodles)
4. diet soda
5. soursop juice
6. black and white milk shakes
7. nachos!
8. baked sweet potato fries
9. popcorn
10. buffalo chicken sandwiches

And now you already know what dinner was –

And they were delicious!  I topped 2oz of blue corn chips with black beans, jalopenos, and 1/2cup of 2% sharp cheddar cheese.  Baked at 450* for 10minutes, which ended up being a bit too long.

They were awesome, but since that size and cheesiness level was almost 600calories I shudder to think how much damage I do with restaurant nachos.

What are your top 10 favorite foods?

Soup & Sandwich

I barely managed to skim my magazines – this months “Cooking Light” has about 8bazillion recipes that I want to make – before I fell straight into a long nap!  I’ve felt nauseous and just icky ever since yesterday.  However, when the husband came home and offered to make lunch I was more than ready!

I had a soup from to Amy’s to sample so I based the rest of my meal around that.

I eat 99.9% of my meals on the couch so I took advantage of eating at the table with my leg up by using the new placemats my mom gave me for Christmas –

Adam did a fabulous job on lunch – Jonagold apple slices,

grilled cheese with cheddar and pickle relish,

and Amy’s Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque.

Yums.  The portion shown is the whole can but I handed the bowl off to Adam half way.  It was a very tasty combo.

I’m not sure what the rest of the day will bring.  I would like to do some stretching and I have a very tricky shower ahead of me.  “See” you for dinner!

By the way, the contest winner was actually # 1 – Brandi, who writes and eats with her left hand but cuts and throws with her right!

Bring on the Produce, Tomorrow

I caught a bit of a cold during my long airport day and I knew as soon as I woke up this morning that today would be less than productive.  What a correct prediction, not much work occurred but there was a lot of this

I also made a point of eating the crappiest foods known to man all day.  Actually, that’s an objective term, no part of my sensibilities will allow me to call these ‘breakfast staples’ crap.

Oh yes I did stir good Green and Black organic cocoa powder into Ricemellow CremeAnd I only had a teeny bit left so I made/ate it in the container.

Consider this my twist on blogworld’s oats in a jar.  Actually, this ‘meal’ had less than 100calories and rocked my socks, so I consider it pretty damn successful.

You can’t follow up cocoa fluff in a container with fruits or veggies so I ate the other half of my cheddar and jalopeno bialy next.

And then I had a big bowl of brocoli and strawberries.

Oh, whoops, I guess that’s popcorn!  Who thinks that this was my favorite product review yet??

I needed some color so in came the jumbo Smarties.

At this point is anyone surprised that dinner was nachos?

From the bar downstairs, these were smothered in black beans, tomatoes, chicken, and spicy spicy jalopenos.  Yums.  But it did put me over the edge.  Bring on the produce tomorrow!

Monday Night – Tuesday Night

Yikes, this is going to be a looooong recap.  And that’s if I keep the details breif!  We’ve had lots and lots of good food and fun the last couple days.

After my last post we drove out to Ashley’s to get chicken patties.  They were beyond delicious, but my camera seems to have eaten the picture, whoops!  Then my parents, Adam and I went out to The Point to explore a bit.  We sat and watched the waves hit the rocks and it was wonderfully serene.

For dinner we went to Lotus, my favorite restaurant on St. Thomas.  We took my parents along, even though it was our anniversary dinner!

First we stopped at Fungi’s for a beer,

and then we went to Lotus.  We did lots and lots of sharing and it was a pretty fabulous meal.  Uptown Wonton Soup chicken/cilantro/crispy shallots/white truffle oil.

We got some amazing rolls to share – 1. Joe’s Stoned Crab sea scallop/jicama/scallion/topped with sesame seeds and hot sesame oil.

2. Shaggy Dog tempura shrimp/scallion/avacado/topped with spicy kanikami crab mix/sweet amai yuzu drizzle.

3. Soho House smoked salmon/spicy blue crab/asian slaw/scallion cream cheese/entire roll tempura/spicy yum yum and amai yuza glaze.

Here are all of my servings –

I also had a few small bites of my parents Green Apple Pad Thai,

and a few bites of Adam’s Muy Thai Tofu.

For dessert we I got the Blond Brulee white choclate ginger mousse/crisp banana brulee.

I let everyone else take a small taste but mostly I dominated this, I was swooning!

When we got home I also had a small slice of my dad’s Lindt Sea Salt bar.

We got up beyond early Tuesday morning to join my aunt’s family over in St. John.  Due to our lack of planning and 7:30 ferry time breakfast ended up being less than stellar –

No matter, it’s hard to be hungry when these guys are staring into your car!

My family picked us up and we drove to Ram’s Head Bay for a day at the beach and a hike.  The hike was 1.6miles each way and absolutly amazing.  These are only a tenth of my fabulous pictures.

The hike was very, very hilly and quite a workout.  I drank water on the way and had a few big swigs of Adam’s soda and a cheese cracker when we got back.

Then I spent hours shell collecting.

Before we took a second shorter hike over to Drunk Bay.  The beach is covered with rock sculptures people have made over the years.

Adam added a unicorn before we left.

I was burnt to a crisp at this point – in spite multiple applications of 70spf – so we headed to Skinny Legs for lunch.

My Painkiller was nasty so I ended up leaving most of it.

But my sandwich hit the spot.  I got the grilled cheese with tomato and onion and asked them to add as many veggies as possible.

Devoured.  Then we went back to their rental house for showers and naps.  And more cheese crackers.

My parents came over in the evening and we got take out from “The Chicken Man.”

Plantains,

coleslaw,

small piece of white meat,

fries with amazing bbq sauce.

Mmmn.

My portions were pretty small and I definitly ended up getting nachoes once we got back to St. Thomas!

Finally, just so you know I am “skipping” the last two days of December.  I have a long flying day tomorrow and don’t want to start my new year with an “old” recap.

Monday – Tuesday Afternoon

Hello from sunny St. Thomas!  This will be the first of many recap posts since I only have computer access when I go to work with my mommy (my parents don’t have internet).

Things started up yesterday at 3:45am!! when we made our way to the airport.  The one benefit to leaving at that hour is we got to see the festive skyline in complete darkness.

Our flying day wasn’t so bad, we had 2 stops but at least everything went smoothly.  On stop #1 Adam bought Taco Bell at 8am!  I had one slice of his chicken quesadilla.

Our next flight was our long flight so I saved my eating for it.  I’m not gonna lie, I thought I was super clever to back a baggie of salad and a small container of Sabra Babaganuosh.

Yums, I think this is about as healthy as plane eats can get!

I also packed some sliced yellow bell pepper, cucumber, and Kerrygold cheese.

And I supplemented with a few buys from the airport store.  Dried bananas and cherries.

The price and nutrional stats on these were both pretty solid.

Any finally this 100 calorie pack of mini meranges.

They were super tasty and adorable.

I only ate about 3/4 of the pack though, for 100calories it was a LOT of food!

Our 2nd stop was Puerto Rico, which meant we had to take a teeny tiny Cesna Prop to get to St. Thomas.

I actually flew a plane that was just a little smaller for my last birthday so it was pretty fun; we were happy to be home though!

While we unpacked I ate a Dove Peppermint Bark candy.

And then we headed out to dinner at my parents’ favorite pizza spot.  It was dark, so you can assume the food was about 90% better than the pictures look.  Adam and I started by splitting a ceasar salad.

And then we all shared pizzas.  I ordered my half with – spinach, artichoke, pineapple, mushroom and no cheese.

Second piece.

Yums.

I was glad I went no cheese because I had room for a tasty snack when I got home.

Kona coffee with skim milk,

and two small pieces of 7-layer bar (Hello Dollies for you Southerners).

And……..bed!

This morning was supposed to start with a run but I was just to exhausted, I need to get myself on a proper sleep schedule this vacation!  I ended up waking up around 9 for breakfast.

Pom Chiobani and half a sliced banana.

We spent the day running errands with my parents; my family throws a huge Christmas Eve party so there was lots of shopping to do.  Here’s what I snacked on throughout the day –

An apple,

and a seasonal gingerbread Cliff Bar.

I also grabbed this package of trail mix as we headed out to school.

Now Adam and I are headed down to the school field for this morning’s belated run.  The next few days will be a whirl of baking and presents so hopefully we can fit in a little bit of fitness!  See you soon!

What’s the strangest plane food you’ve packed?

Study Central

It’s study central around here; my final is at 8am this Saturday and I’ll be cramming my butt off until then!

Last night we finished watching Waitress and I decided I was in love – what a great movie!  It was super quirky, and made me crave pie like crazy, but I really enjoyed it.  I don’t know if it was the movie or what, but this movie I was having the craziest dreams!  In one I was a Greek man hitting on my sister-in-law and in another they made “Bones” into an awesome movie.  I hate to get up in the middle of a dream so we ended up sleeping in way too late.  After running some errands it was noon by the time we got our study on.

We spent the day (12 – 9, yes 9hours) at the Spot, so most of my meals came from there.  Brunch =

A diet coke and the ever adored Mike’s Sandwich.  An everything bagel with egg, cream cheese, and provolone.  Yums.

A few hours later it was time for a snack.

Oh yes, that is a ‘Smores Bar.  I’m obsessed with pretty much anything ‘smores related, but other than ‘smores pie this might be the best thing ever!  It was soooo chewy and tasty, it took me more than an hour to eat.

With my sweet I also had some China Breakfast tea.

It was a nice rich black tea, I ended up dipping the diffuser into more hot water for a second cup.

Hours later still – my friend Caroline was there at this point – I had my new favorite thing.  “Santa’s Little Helper”

Skim milk cappuccino with dark chocolate, peppermint, and green foam.  Ack!

Too exciting!

In spite of all the sugar I was super hungry when I got home.  I heated up a carton of Dr. McDougall’s Black Bean Soup for dinner.

While I waited we tried some new cheese, Kerrygold Aged Cheddar with Irish Whiskey.

This was my favorite Kerrygold variety yet, so nice and creamy.  I melted some on top of of two small slices of french bread as a side.

And I topped my soup with low fat plain yogurt and some Sriracha, so yum.

All together –

It was a good meal.

Adam is watching Dutch, and I’m getting sucked in, but hopefully I’ll be in bed soon.  I have pt at 8am tomorrow, and a few errands to run, but the rest of the day should be study study study.  Do be on the lookout for a giveaway tomorrow around lunch time though.