Tag Archives: chia

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

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This is a “Do as I say, not as I do” post.  The past 48 hours have been… strange.  I feel like crap mentally and physically and I’ve been eating crap.  I’ve been weirdly, intensely thirsty all day; like I want to pour a milkshake down my throat all day long (which I basically did!).  I get sort of depressed every fall about missing teaching and I might be panicking a bit about the start of my last year of school.  So I’ve been eating only crap and lots of crap.  Lots of crap because apparently crappy food isn’t all that filling.  Do we think I said crap enough times for this post month?

as I say –

  1. Don’t drink your calories.
  2. It’s okay to have a treat, but probably not more than 3 1 a day.
  3. Skipping breakfast might set you up to make bad choices the rest of the day.
  4. Sometimes you should eat fruits and veggies just for the nutrients, even if you’re not feeling them at the moment.
  5. It’s ok to feel hungry sometimes.

as I do –

Friday’s “breakfast” was wasabi trail mix, ~5 oz worth in total.

And two pieces of the amazing sea salt caramel my parents brought from Canada.

Lunch was a quick run to the co-op hot bar during work.

Chicken salads and veggie salads.

The kale was the best (take note, Emily!)

I did another try at a caramel macchiato in the afternoon, this time at The Spot.

Does that look like an iced caramel macchiato?  No.  And it was disgusting anyway; there were at least 5 inches of straight foam.  I took three sips and dumped the rest down the sink.

I didn’t eat enough during the day and that is where the bad dinner decisions started.  Adam had to pick me up from work so we could run errands across town that took forever, I started to have a tantrum, and somehow we ended up at Arby’s for small Jamocha shakes.

Um, and also mozzarella sticks.

I hate mozzarella sticks.  But these were actually pretty good.

I’ll start Saturday’s recap by saying this – Friday was healthy in comparison.  But at least I finally had a sweet coffee win.

I gave up on caramelmacchiatos and moved on to a tall white mocha coconut frappucinno.

For lunch at work I packed a plain 0% Greek yogurt with a honey stick,

and a Fiber One chocolate chip cookie.

I also bought a Synergy Grape Chia Kombucha.

And on the way home I had this, because two milkshakes a day is totally normal and healthy.

Seriously though, this was actually a good decision because it was outstanding.  This sign has been calling to me for days –

“Emmmmmmily.  ‘Greek iced coffee milkshaaaaaake.’  You’re not even sure what that means but you need it.”

But I still didn’t eat any real food and I ended up eating half of this candy bar while we were on a never-ending trip to Target.

I did eat a real food dinner, but it is dark and stormy (honestly it is, I’m not trying to be cute) and my pictures were disgusting.  Go ahead and try to imagine a plate of chicken nuggets and baby carrots.  I’m also 90% sure that you should imagine some popcorn in the near future too.

Who’s up for fruits and veggies on *Monday?  Me!  (*Note – I would say tomorrow but tomorrow my in-laws are coming to take us out for bbq for my belated birthday lunch and lets be real.)

Summer Weekend Excitement

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Tomorrow’s the last day of summer school!  It’s also the weekend, as well as the start of 8 weekends in a row of fun/important things.  Starting with this weekend –

  1. We are driving to Ohio to see our niece in a dance recital and stay in Adam’s brother’s new house.
  2. We are flying to the Outer Banks for a vacation with my in-laws.
  3. I’m going on a wine tour with a group of friends.
  4. The Italian Festival is happening.
  5. Adam is taking a really big, important exam.  (And then I celebrate my 27th birthday a few days later.)
  6. My parents are coming to visit.
  7. I’ll be in Ohio visiting my grandma with my parents.
  8. We will be celebrating the 1-year anniversary of Webster’s Buyday.

It’s going to be an amazing summer!  I just have to get through one more day of school first.  I can’t really complain about today though, as we did two fun things.

Early things.  I had to be at my friend’s apartment to carpool at 7:30.  I tried to make a smoothie for an easy breakfast but it didn’t quite work out.

I blended 1.5 cups Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, and 1.5 cups frozen strawberries.  Sounds good right?  Not even close.  The texture was there but the smoothie just tasted like watered down milk.  I ended up throwing it out after a few sips.

We started early because our class was taking a tour of the Clinton Bailey Farmers’ Market.

Our next fun activity took us to the kitchen lab.  We practice quantity cooking and made ourselves lunch!

There were more than two dishes but this was all that appealed to me.  Pasta with garlic and spinach,

and a really amazing salad with strawberries, blue cheese, and candied pecans.

Plus sweet tea with lemon and orange to drink.

One group made several batches of cookies and there’s no ac so it was boiling in that kitchen.

When I got home in the afternoon I made myself a glorious snack.

A sliced Gala with 2 heaping Tbsp melted Biscoff Spread.

I shared a few bites of apple with the dog but the only one licking the Biscoff bowl was me!

I tried to take Webster on a walk/run but the husband was at home so it didn’t work.  I adore that dog but sometimes his obsession with the husband is a drag.  If we walk him together he’s perfect.  If Adam is at school and I walk him he’s perfect.  But if Adam is at home and the dog knows Adam is at home, if I try to walk him he sits and tugs as we head away from the house and pulls me off of my feet when we head back.  Ugh.

I got so irritated with the dog the I ended up dropping him back home and going off angrily for a run.  A run-run.

1 mile-ish running + 3 minutes walking + 1 mile-ish running.  2.4 miles and 24:30 minutes.

I am pretty damn proud of maintaining a 10 minute mile pace in spite of the walking, but I am so not ready for run-running.  This basically killed me.  I need to stick with my run/walking plan for a while longer (and more consistently!).

Afterward I walked a bit more.. to the Co-op for a Blue Monkey Coconut Water.

I was soaked by the end of my run and this seemed like the best way to rehydrate.  Plus it was tasty.

Adam and I split a mango.

I’ve officially decided that mangos make my “top three” list for favorite fruits.  I also like cookie dough.

I took 2 – 3 cookies’ worth of nibbles while baking tonight.  I’m making Mini (aka regular cookie-sized) S’mores Monster Cookies.  Not the best dinner, but it worked; I got plenty of veggies at lunch.

Any excitement on your agenda for the summer?

The Semester Is Winding Down

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The semester is winding down.  Classes finished today and I’ve got a week of exams standing between me and summer.  Of course, I only have two weeks of freedom before summer school starts, but I’ll take what I can get.

I’ve been having the hardest time getting out of bed in the morning and today was not the day that broke the streak.  I’ll need to treat my two free weeks like a bedtime boot camp or I’m going to be hurting during summer school.  I ran out of time to workout so instead I drove the dog with me while I parked the car and then walked him home from school.

It was nice to take him somewhere new, though I wish he would have found a better place to do his business than the middle of the quad!

I did a quick outfit change at home and then I was walking back to school, breakfast in hand.

This smoothie combo is a winner!  1.5 Tbsp chia seeds, 1 cup of lemonade, and 1 cup of frozen strawberries.

Frozen strawberry lemonade can’t be beat and the chia seeds give it a nice hit of omega-3s.

I had less time this morning because my statistics teacher let me come in early to check over the homework.  All of my assignments are now in (a week early) and I finished today’s practice test and checked my answers (all correct!) before class was half over so I’m feeling good for the final.

Lunch was eaten in the car on the way to my last clinic observation of the semester.  Bagelwiches are a nice, one-handed item.

I had a Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin with jalapeño cream cheese and Applegate Farms’ Smoked Turkey.

Plus an Empire apple.

My last day of clinic went great.  I did another outpatient observation and I’m pretty much convinced I want to do outpatient when I grow up.  I love the amount of interaction RDs get with their outpatient clients!  While I was there we saw three patients, two type 2 diabetics and a GI issue.  Getting an hour (+) with each of them was great; it seems like they all took a lot away from their appointments.

My last night class went well and suddenly, I was free!  I didn’t have much time to workout; once I made it home and changed I could only get one loop around the block before it got dark.  It was just was well though, I’m not sure I had a 2nd loop in me!  1.2 miles in 10:55.  <– that’s more than a minute faster than any of my previous times!!

Dinner was easy peasy leftovers.

Bow tie pasta and roasted zucchini with peasy pesto, drizzled with 1 Tbsp evoo.

I’ve never been so glad to see a bowl of pasta in my life.  The only thing I’m more excited about is getting my head on a pillow.

Blog Tips and Bagels

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We stayed up pretty late last night but thankfully having to move our cars got us up and out of the house for an early walk.

I’m still loving this weather.  Walking weather it is.  Sidenote – a major character died on Stargate: Atlantis last night (the show is off the air, we are watching on Netflix Instant Watch) and I gasped so loudly I’m pretty sure the neighbors heard!

After a post-walk shower (it is sweating weather too!) I hit the caffeine hard.

2 cups of cold coffee with English toffee syrup and Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.  I had a date with a friend so I drank my coffee en route and I helped myself to one of her homemade “energy balls” when I got there.

The balls were a Pinterested recipe with oats, pb, and coconut and they were quite tasty.

Kim invited me over to pick my brains about all things blog.  It’s weird to give advice when Eating Chalk is so tiny and unknown but there are little tips that I think I’ve got figured out.  I taught her about tagging, pages versus posts, and emailing responses to comments, among other things.  I hope I was helpful!

I needed to pick up a few groceries before my mom gets here on Friday and Kim lives one town over from me so I took the opportunity to hit up a different Wegman’s.  There was a Manhattan Bagel along the way and I stopped there too.

I’ve been craving a bagel (a good bagel!) like crazy lately and I’m glad I gave MB a chance.  My jalapeño-cheddar bagel with light garden cream cheese hit the spot.

It was super chewy and spicy.

I cooled down my mouth with a Blackberry Hibiscus Mama Chia once I reached the mecca.

The drink had more texture than flavor, but was very tasty.  My out-and-about food purchase quota for the week has been reached but it was worth it.  Besides, March Back Home March is basically ending once my mom gets here; I’m not turning down “free” food!  🙂

I hit the jackpot with the “new” Wegmans too.  I found all sorts of fun new products to try.  Like these Bissli BBQ and Smokey snacks.

They were super crunchy.  Adam and I split them but I scarfed more than my fair share.

I also ate most of these adorable things.

They were little biscuit cookies with white and milk chocolate.  So tasty!

I spent twenty minutes this afternoon agonizing over whether or not to run (sorry, husband!) but I’m having some foot problems so I decided not to.  After more than a week off (whoops!) what’s another few days when I’m having pain?  I’m not even going to attempt a workout until Sunday, but thankfully we’ll be in Ohio for the weekend and I should be able to run on the neat path near my grandparents’ house.

Not running didn’t mean I was any less hungry though.  I ate a Wegman’s low-fat coffee yogurt with honey roasted peanuts before dinner.

The peanuts were out because I was making the husband some homemade vanilla honey peanut butter.

I took a few licks too, yum!

Dinner was quick and easy.

We need some (turkey) bacon for a recipe tomorrow so I cooked up a batch tonight,

and we scrambled eggs in the same pan when the bacon was done.

Plus roasted asparagus.

It was a very savory meal.

Let’s end with a puppy picture, shall we?

See If They’ve Got Any Chocolate Bananas, Foster

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Did everyone have a fun Friday?  I slept through most of mine, hence the Saturday recap post.

I woke up a little bit late(r than desired) yesterday so I headed to straight to the gym.  CT10k 1.3 called for 10 sets of 2 minutes running, 3 minutes walking.  50 minutes and 3.9 miles.  My workout was great, but I cut the time a little too close.  I had to literally jog – ugg boots, purse, push-up bra and all – part of the way back to school to make it to class on time!

I’m glad I made it, we had a great guest lecturer; a local RD who is certified as a Diabetes Educator.  Once you’ve been an RD for couple of years there are all sorts of specialty certifications you can pursue.  I think one in weight loss counseling could be fun.

When the guest lecturer was gone, I managed to eat breakfast during some student presentations.  Leftovers for the win.

The Seven Layer Casserole just gets better and better!  I also had a Goya Soursop Nectar.

Soursop (aka guanabana) is my favorite fruit; it is too exciting that my Wegman’s recently expanded its Goya line.  A guy friend in class joked that I’ve been a Goya groupie lately, (this was only my 2nd item but I think they are memorable because they’re a little outside the norm for class snacking) but it’s the closest thing to what I grew up with.

I stayed at school for a bit to work after class to work in the Dietetics computer lab.  I have to complete a three-day diet analysis as part of my portfolio and I needed to use a program that is only available on the computers at school.  I think maybe my eats during Vegan Month are a little too obscure for the program though; I had to make my best guesses at product substitutes and the program told me that my average intake for the last three days was 978 kcal/day.  I don’t think so!

For lunch, I opened up this So Delicious Greek Style Plain Yogurt.

No.  Just no.  I knew it was a gamble when I bought it but I took the risk because I’ve adored everything else I’ve tried from So Delicious.  Sadly the yogurt was exactly as I’d feared – straight up chemical.  The texture wasn’t terrible but the taste was like licking a counter in chem lab.

Instead I ate the two plucots that were supposed to top my yogurt out of hand.

I almost shed a tear of happiness at the taste of these.  They were still a little bit too sour, but that means that plucot season is right around the corner.

For the rest of lunch I paced frantically waited patiently for my oven timer to ring.

Bananas Foster Bars!!!  If Seven Layer Casserole was #2, these bars are the #1 best thing from last year’s Vegan Month.  I ate three.

I’m not gonna lie and say that my stomach didn’t hurt, but I’m also not gonna lie and say it wasn’t totally worth it.

But since I ate ~700 calories worth of cookies I did keep dinner on the lighter side.  Or I was going to anyway.  The plan was soup, but apparently my hour-long nap – at noon, on the floor – wasn’t doing it because I fell into bed at 8:30 last night!  Yay catch-up sleep.

This morning Adam and I headed straight out on errands.  Probably not my best idea to skip breakfast when I slept through dinner, but I was a woman on a mission.  I got so hungry that I convinced myself that spending $3 on a Synergy Grape Chia Kombucha wasn’t a waste of money.

But it really wasn’t a waste of money because it was delicious!  I loved chewing through it and the flavor reminded me of a grape Laffy Taffy.  Adam and I shared it and even he was a fan by the end.

Our other share wasn’t quite as healthy.

Five Guys fries make my soul sing.  Seriously.  I’ve made a bigger effort this past week to eat less crap, but we’re doing a different challenge in March that necessitates shoveling in FGF now.

Lunch was healthy and tasty.

I love storing leftovers in tupperware because when you are combining you can shake things together to get a really good mix.  This time I shook barley, roasted broccoli, roasted butternut squash, and Wegman’s Thai Peanut Sauce.  Topped with a few cocktail peanuts.

Delicious.  We’ve been trying new things from the Co-op’s bulk bins lately and it’s been fun branching out.

I made myself a really delicious dinner.

But I only got to eat two bites.  All of the sudden, Webster – in the worst show of behavior I’ve ever seen from him – shoved his entire face into my bowl!  Hello, mess; goodbye, dinner.

[Updated Sunday Morning To Add]

The boys came over to play poker, he got even more crazy, and I got so irritated I ended up just going to bed.  So now I need to find a nice big breakfast.

Stupid dog.

Question of the day, from my post title – Name that movie!

Peachy Keen

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Hello, hello!  We’ve reached Friday without me grabbing a diet coke and/or ice cream cone out of a stranger’s hand, I call that a successful week!  Yesterday went well, I did indeed get in bed early – I stayed up pretty late finishing the 10th Temperance Brennan book, but at least I was in bed.

This morning’s breakfast was peachy keen.

But I miss my cottage cheese, this bowl was so hot!  (Hence the foggy photos.)

My scorching spoonfuls contained –

  • 3/4 cup (frozen, thawed) peaches
  • 2/3 cup water and 1/3 cup Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
  • 1/3 cup oats
  • ~2 tsp chia seeds
  • a liberal sprinkle of brown sugar

It was delicious, though I do admit that I’m greatly looking forward to trying a peaches with cottage cheese oatmeal bowl when this month is over!

I’d love it if more of you guys would go back and tell me something about yourself!

I. C. U. P.

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Today has been (and is going to be, it’s only 2:00 for gosh sake) a good day.  But this morning did not have the most promising start.  More embarrassing than promising really.

I had planned to go to an 8am yoga class but as I flip-flopped around the idea in bed it got later and later.  At 7:40 I decided I did want to go, which meant I had to scurry to make it on time.  I got dressed, gathered my stuff, and was halfway down the block when it hit me … I hadn’t gone to the bathroom!  I knew that I could neither a) use the bathroom at the studio and still make it to class before the cut-off time, nor b) hold it for the next hour+.  So I sadly went home.  It sucks to miss a planned day within my unlimited month, but even a Groupon’s not worth risking having an accident on the floor like a dog during my downward dogs!

Since the school gym doesn’t open until 10am on weekends I had to replan my day a bit, but I think it all worked out.  I went home (and peed!), did the dishes, made my grocery list, and ate a wonderful breakfast.

This oatmeal bowl had the best mix of textures.

I brought 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup skim milk, and 1 small thinly sliced banana to a simmer in a small pot.  Then I added 1/4 cup oats, a pinch of salt, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, and 2 Tbsp raisins and stirred, stirred, stirred.  When the oats were cooked I took the pot off of the heat and stirred in 1/4 cup reduced-fat cottage cheese.

It  was delicious.  Though you can barely call it oatmeal, of the bowl’s ~ 375 calories only 75 calories actually came from oats!

After breakfast I finally got to workout.  A bit later than planned though because this was happening in my lap and I couldn’t bear to move him.

I actually waited so long (11:30) that I ended up getting hungry again.

That’s 3/4 of a Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte LaraBar topped with a schmear of Justin’s Maple Almond Butter.

Once I digested for the 2nd time, I set out for the gym on foot.

Trudging through the snow was basically a workout in and of itself, but I did 40 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6 too.

My multiple layers and shoe changes made the whole process take forever.  Now that I’m finally home, I’m putting off the grocery store for later so that I can get some lunch!

Do you have to use the bathroom the minute you wake up or can you hold it?  I normally can wait, so I get up and deal with the dog before I even think about the bathroom, but holding it through a yoga class would have been too much for me.

We Don’t Need No Stinking Plates

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We’ve been warned about inclement weather and woken up to 40+ degree days so many times this winter that lately when the forecast calls for snow, I just chuckle. 

Dear Weather Gods – I am so sorry I scoffed.  Please make it stop.

This morning I woke up to this –

I also woke up to this,

but that is beside the point.

Actually, I woke up to pitch black because when the husband left the house at 4:30 a.m. I got up with him.  Well, not got up necessarily, but woke up and pulled my laptop into bed with me.  I spent an hour or so doing computer work things, an hour or so doing computer fun things, and finally an hour or so finishing sleeping (we got in bed after midnight!).

When I woke up for good at 8:40 I took one look at the window and decided to skip the gym for the day.  Unfortunately, by the time I realized that I had to go outside and move my car it was too late to change into workout gear without getting a ticket.  But it was just as well in the end because when I drove past school the main road that leads to the gym was totally untouched by both snow plows and tire tracks.  Since I had to circle the block to repark my car I took a quick detour to Wegmans and came back with goodies.

I’ve had an intense craving for creamy drinks lately; my fingers are crossed that it’s not a sign that I’m getting sick!

Speaking of which, has anyone tried the International Delight Iced Coffee yet?

I’ve been obsessing over it for days but I can’t bring myself to shell out 5 bucks without knowing if it’s good.

Breakfast was waiting in the fridge for me at home.

What do you do with an almost empty jar of Biscoff?

Quietly weep until you buy more make overnight oats.

Last night I combined 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup skim milk, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, and 1 dash cinnamon with the last 1 Tbsp or so of Biscoff left in the jar.

Before serving this morning I stuck it in the microwave for 30 seconds and the Biscoff got all perfect and melty.

My drink was also served in a jar.

I chilled the coffee, then put it in a big jar with the So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk and 2 tsp of sugar, and shook shook shook.  Plus ice and a straw.

I’m thinking shaken coffee might be my “thing” until this creamy beverage craving is licked.

In another meal without a plate, lunch was consumed straight from my mini casserole dish.

Into the dish, baked at 450 degrees Farenheit for 30 minutes, went layers of –

  • 1 sliced zucchini
  • 1/2 cup marinara sauce
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

It was similar to my cheesy eggplant bake, but this got a little bit watery.

Still good though.

I’m hoping to continue my productive streak with work on school stuff and my binders project, but with new episodes of Grey’s and Bones available we’ll see how it goes!