Tag Archives: food for thought

Blog Reading for Cultural Expansion

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I was not very productive today.  Just ask the homework that has to be done this weekend and the run that has to be done tomorrow!  But I cuddled with my puppy, had a good class at school, and got my teeth fixed; so the day wasn’t a total wash.

It’s possible I even started the day off in poor form.  I had to give a presentation in class today so I headed in early.  Sidenote – don’t you love my semi-professional outfit?  I felt like fall!

On my drive to school I realized (for the first time in three weeks of making the same drive) that I pass a Wilson Farms.  WF has my favorite coffee so I knew a stop was in order.  Unfortunately I just kept acting dippier.  First, I got a pumpkin spice latte when it is still apple month!  Next, I walked past at least five signs proclaiming “free 16 ounce coffees for all,” and poured, and paid for, a 20 ounce coffee.  Frick!  The cashier thought I was nuts. 

At least it was delicious.  I did half pumpkin spice coffee (unsweet) and half pumpkin spice cappuccino (sweet) and it was perfection.

And minus my caffeine shakes, our presentation went great.  The class all had to evaluate each other and Janessa and I got nothing but good reviews.  It helps when you bribe them with food!

That’s marble halvah (a sweet, sesame based treat) that we brought in to showcase as one of the foods from our Jewish Food Habits presentation.  A few people found the aftertaste to be strange, but most of the class loved it.  Halvah is one of my very favorite sweets and I ate at least two servings.

During our 10:30 break I also wandered over to the campus Freshens for a smoothie.

I ordered the Maui Mango (Mango, Strawberries, Bananas, Passion Fruit, Juice Blend & Booster) but I think they gave me the wrong cup because all I could taste was peaches.

It wasn’t very good and probably ended up only drinking about half.  I looked up the nutritional info which stated ~300 calories per smoothie, so I still can’t figure out why it was so disgustingly sweet.

Our class today was a lot of fun.  In addition to Judaism there were presentations on 7th Day Adventist, Mormon, Greek Orthodox, Native American, Alaskan, and Rastafarian food selection and restrictions.  I didn’t really learn anything new, but it was all fun info to revisit.  It’s always interesting to me how much cultural background knowledge I seem to have compared to my friends (who know all sorts of things about other subjects that I know nothing about).  I’m not sure if it’s from my interest in Anthropology or from the diverse places I’ve gotten to live.  I grew up with Rastafarians and have read a lot about Native American cultures but my exposure to Mormons has been through blog friends.  Reading blogs has definitely been a factor in introducing me to new things!

Lunch was easy and soft to chew.

I don’t eat a ton of “diet food,” but I actually really enjoy some Lean Cuisine flavors.  The Roasted Turkey is a favorite.

Confession?  The stuffing in there is actually my very favorite of all the stuffings (homemade included) I’ve ever tried!

I also took several soft bites of Biscoff straight from the jar for dessert.

After my teeth were fixed I could finally move on to foods with chew and crunch factor for dinner.

Mango, pineapple, tiny piece of watermelon.

Udon noodles, a veggie eggroll, and more veggies – including some very tasty bok choy – hidden on the bottom.

Note – when I made this plate I still thought I was running or I probably wouldn’t have gone quite so heavy on the carbs.  But then in rolled a big storm and out rolled not being a big fatty.  At least I’m excited to get tackling my to-do’s tomorrow!

Mormon, 7th Day Adventist, Native American, or Rastafarian – do you follow any bloggers who have these backgrounds?

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?

My Fellow American

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My back hurts in a bad way, but my legs are arms are super sore in a good way; I’m not sure if it was the running or the yoga, but I’ll take it!  Unfortunately my back is just sore enough that I decided to forgo all exercise today.  I sat on the couch instead.  I did make a sweet i-tunes playlist for the gym tomorrow though.

Since I wasn’t leaving the house, lunch got lame in a hurry.  Several servings of Chip’ins popcorn chips,

were used to shovel 80% of jar of salsa.

Good thing the entire jar only has 300 calories, huh?  I’m counting it as a nice big serving of veggies.

Speaking of things eaten straight from the jar, my reason for living has returned.

I mean that Adam came home early, duh.  Did you think I was talking about the Biscoff spread?  Noooooo…

I’ve eaten half the jar in spoonfuls over the last week, but thankfully I bought two jars.  Look at the price my dad and I found this stuff for at the grocery in Ohio –

Booyah!

On a more serious note (and there are few things more serious than Biscoff spread), I want to share a video that was sent to me from the site My Fellow American.  Here is a snippet from the e-mail Elizabeth sent me about the site and its purpose

As you know, America has always been a melting pot, but in the post-9/11 world the environment can be downright hostile. Recent mosque protests and congressional hearings on American Muslims are all unfortunate examples of a rising tide of fear. This climate of suspicion towards our fellow Americans compromises the great values that our country was founded upon.  We’ve put together a 2 minute film in response that I believe you and the readers of Eating Chalk will be interested in sharing, watching, and discussing.

As a former resident of Brooklyn (and a permanent New Yorker in my heart), I obviously have strong feelings about the tragedy that took place on September 11th.  However, I try to let the good part of my heart guide me through the world, not the hurt parts.  I find it discouraging that some Americans allow the actions of a select few to taint their perception of an entire religious culture.  You can’t fight hate with more hate.  I think the short video compiled by My Fellow American makes that point eloquently.

Everyday Health My Calorie Counter; Book Review and Giveaway

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Do you count calories to maintain your weight?

I don’t count calories per se, but I am aware of them.  On super busy days I loosely keep track to make sure I eat at least 1,200.  I aim for my meals to have no less than 200 but no more than 600 as a general rule.  And as a future dietitian I think it’s important that I’m aware of how many calories common foods are packing.

So when Everyday Health e-mailed me about reviewing their new book, My Calorie Counter, I jumped on the opportunity.

My Calorie Counter is essentially a database of nutritional information.  I would not recommend this book for someone with no interest in tracking calories, but there is a nice section of information about nutrition and weight loss in the beginning of the book.  I liked that all of the advice in this section is correct and up-to-date (at least as far as what I’ve learned) and doesn’t rely on any fad diet mentality.  The book can be helpful all on its own, but is meant to be paired with Everyday Health’s online tools.

What I Liked –

  • The book is divided into three sections – common foods, store brands, and restaurants.
  • The restaurant section included a vast range of eateries, including nutritional information for Cheesecake Factory, which is notoriously difficult to locate online.
  • The book is small (about the slice of a slice of bread) and light enough to be easily slipped into a purse or briefcase.
  • The font is easy to read and information is shared in a graph that is easy to follow.
  • In addition to calories and total fat; saturated fat, sodium, carbs, fiber, and protein are also included.  (ie, this book can also be useful to diabetics or people watching their sodium intake)
  • As I stated above, the advice in the front of the book is up-to-date and easy to understand and would be helpful for any lay-person.
  • The book does not necessarily apply only to weight loss and dieting, but would be useful for someone looking to maintain a healthy diet.

What I Didn’t Like –

  • “Common Foods” is divided into veggies, fruits, grains, etc, but it would be easier to find what you are looking for if those divisions were marked on the top of the pages.
  • I wish that trans fat values were also included, as this is one of key things I always check for on nutrition labels.

Everyday Health is also giving me the opportunity to share with my readers.  I am giving away two copies of My Calorie Counter.  To enter to win – leave a comment on this post.  You have until midnight, Friday July 8th to enter.

What I Wouldn’t Eat

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I did indeed walk to the Co-op this afternoon, they often have Friday sales and I wanted to get in on that action.  I tried to restrain myself though since I have high hopes that I’ll get to visit a Whole Foods on vacation!

I tend to be a little suspicious of Co-op produce since they’ve given me fruit flies in the past (and especially because my spongy plums were bought there) so I ended up buying a Naked Juice to get my fruits for the day.

Adam and I split this Power C Machine 50:50.

As I walked around the co-op my internal thought process went something like this –

Cookie?  Coookie.  I really wish I had a cookie.  A cookie would be crumbly and delicious.  I could buy a cookie from the co-op bakery.  No, I could go to Wilson Farms and get a sandwich cookie with the delicious icing!  No, I could drive to Wegmans for a toffee white chocolate cookie!

If you’re wondering, I ended up not getting the cookie.  Janetha (whose blog always makes me laugh and makes me think) asked this question the other day – “what’s on your [foods I’d love to eat if calories didn’t matter but don’t eat all that often because they do] list?”  After some thought, I realized that my answer was nothing.  For the last year or so I’ve eaten pretty much every single thing I’ve wanted, every day. 

It sounds fun, and it was, but food can be more fun in moderation.  Plus, being in better shape would also be fun.  I’m still going to eat ice cream/cookies/nachos/other holy-yum-ness (especially on next week’s vacation that I’ve already deemed “froyo tour 2011!”), but maybe I’ll stop eating that stuff every single time I want it.

All that rant was to say, instead of buying a cookie I made myself a yogurt dessert bowl.

A small bowl of 0% Plain Fage with honey, shredded coconut, and a few Nestle morsels.

It was delicious and I’m pretty sure I enjoyed it even more than I would have enjoyed the cookie.

We ate leftovers for dinner.

A healthy balance of carbs and protein that will hopefully help Adam power through his test tomorrow.  Plus, roasted zucchini just tastes good!

If there was a magic universe where calories and nutrients really didn’t matter and you could eat totally by taste, I would still eat roasted veggies!

Sometimes we eat things just because they are good for us; if calories and nutrients didn’t matter – what foods would you STOP eating?

Thankfully I love fruits and veggies so much that I can’t think of a single item to put on that list!  There are times when there’s a veggie that isn’t cooked perfectly and I eat it just because it’s a veggie, but in general fruits and veggies are some of my favorite foods.

Eating Like A Sick Person

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For the last 48hours I’ve been eating like a sick person.  And that’s exactly the way I feel – sick, sick, sick!  This is terrible news for my exercise announcement that was supposed to occur tomorrow, and even worse news for my huge test on Wednesday.  Thankfully the husband has been taking good care of me, including picking me sick people food to eat.

Yesterday I had rainbow sherbet.

This bowl x2.

And organic chicken noodle soup.

Unphotographed but eaten in this space was a spoonful of marshmallow topping.  It coated my throat and for one whole minute I felt good!

I also had an onion bun with Smart Balance Light.

And a Coke for dinner.

I much prefer the taste of diet, but I don’t mind the flavor of regular coke.  The reason I never drink regular is because when I’m sick it makes my throat feel 2x better and I’m afraid if I drink it on random days it will lose its elixer-like quality for me!

After I fitful night I got up this morning and took a (soooo needed) shower, before the husband settled me down on the couch with some mac and cheese.

When he got back from the lab he handed me another glass of Coke.

And for dinner he managed to make me some normal people food.

In my box of samples from Applegate Farms were two kinds of sausages, turkey and pork.

You guys know I don’t eat mammals for personal reasons, but did you know that the husband does?  Sidenote – not often though, and I’m super proud for how much he’s basically quit eating red meat since we met. 

I generally don’t mind, but the one type of meat I wish he wouldn’t eat was pork.  I love pigs.  Love them.  I plan on having two as pets and I’ve already got their names picked out.  In fact, I told the husband before we married to be sure he would be ok with having pet pigs once we could afford them, because if not that was a deal-breaker for me.  So obviously, I wish he wouldn’t chow down on our future pets.  But the husband is a grown man, and he gets to choose his own diet.  He doesn’t eat it often, and out of deference for me he only eats pork when we are sure it is ethically sourced.  I’m good with that plan.  Thankfully, Applegate Farms makes products we can both agree on (Applegate Farm’s promise to their consumers).

I had scrambled eggs,

and 1.5 servings of Savory Turkey Breakfast Sausage.

My sausages had just a bit of spice and good chew.  The one meat meat product I miss from when I was a kid is sausage and these came pretty close to what I’ve been searching for.  I also added some (unphotographed) maple syrup to my plate for dipping.

Adam ate the same meal, but with slightly more food, and pork instead of turkey.

He said the pork sausages were spicier than the turkey but still good.  He liked the consistency of the texture a lot.

I’m going to eat a final bowl of sherbet, go to bed early and cross my fingers I feel better in the morning!

What animals don’t you eat, and why?

Nog Makes It Nice

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I love egg nog.  Like, a lot.  If I wasn’t so obsessed with keeping holidays within their “slots” I’d probably drink it year round.  But then there’s also that whole ‘fitting into my pants’ issue.  Which is what makes this product so amazing.

Silk Soy Nog.  95% as tasty as the original, and the nutritional stats are 95% better than the original.

It is so fabulously tasty, and healthfully low-fat that it even works well as a breakfast staple.  Overnight oats anyone?

Soy nog overnight oats are so good that I’ve basically stopped eating regular o.n.o. the rest of the year!

Yesterday evening I stirred together 1/3cup oatmeal and 2/3cup Silk Soy Nog and put them in the fridge overnight.  This morning I stirred in 1 Low Fat Vanilla Stonyfield and a dash of nutmeg.  Topped with holiday sprinkles, of course!

Packed into a go-cup for the car.

I ate in transit so I could cram for my test once I got to school.  I think I did pretty well, ~B, there were a few questions on there that we had not covered at all in class so that was frustrating.

My schedule today was class – break – meetings – break – evening class.  I used my first break to study for my upcoming Anatomy practical.  Fueled by Reese’s Pieces.

ET made me do it!  I ate about half of this bag, or approximately 1.5servings.

Just in case you aren’t sure that I’m a dork, I have to show you that I was taking my notes with a peppermint scented red and green striped pen –

‘Tis the season!

My meeting concerned the application process for the program I’m applying to (due the first week of the spring semester) and gave me major anxiety.  I have a lot to do over Christmas break.

My plan for the second break was to get a veggie sub and study for Orgo.  Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that “a little bbq sauce, please” was code for “please dip my entire sandwich in sauce, thereby making it impossible to eat and work at the same time.”

That messy monster contained green pepper, red onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, pepperjack, and bbq sauce.

Sidenote on the sandwich – what I really wanted was an enchilada burrito from Taco Bell.  I hate most fast food but, not gonna lie, I sort of love Taco Bell.  But I recently realized that just because Taco Bell isn’t McDonalds (eww), doesn’t mean that their chickens are any tortured.  If I only buy “humane” meat to cook at home then I shouldn’t eat “evil” meat just because I’m not at home.  Obviously there are road trips and restaurants and other people’s houses, but I should probably be done with Taco Bell 😦

My night class went quickly, and then I came home to a quick but random dinner.

Actually, we were both starving, so while we cooked the husband and I split a quicksadilla (that’s a tortilla with sharp cheddar microwaved in it).

When I was at my grandparent’s house for Turkey Day, they served the tastiest brussels sprout dish.  I wrote down the recipe – by Cat Cora for a magazine – to make again when we got home.

3 lbs brussels sprouts
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 Tbsp lemon juice
4 Tbsp capers

Prepare brussels sprouts by peeling off the outside leaves and cutting off the steam.  Using a paring knife, mark the core where the stem was with an X.  Cut the sprouts in half.
In a 4-qt saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil.  Season with 1 Tbsp salt.  Blanch sprouts for 10minutes or until fork-tender.
In a 10-inch saute pan, brown the butter and add sprouts.  Cook over medium-high heat until caramelized, 10minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the capers and lemon juice.  Season with remaining salt.
Serves 8.  Per serving: 130calories, 5g protein…

I have to warn you about my entrée – it tasted better than it looked.

There was a serving each left of kugel and hoppin’ john…

…so I put them together!

The sweet and spicy mix was actually very tasty.

I’m almost definitely going to have a repeat of last night’s dessert (vanilla ice-cream with strawberries and homemade caramel sauce) but I have a few assignments to tackle so I’m going to say “goodbye” to blogland now and switch into work-mode.  See you in the am!

***Via random integer generator, the winner of my OhNuts! giveaway is #8 –

Yvonne, please e-mail me (emilyhwaxATgmail.com) so I can get you your prize!

Random Sampling

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There are two things you need to know about today going into this post – 1. It was an all over the place day; 2. It was chockfull of samples. Edited to add – whoops, make that three things – 3. I’m in a terrible, corny joke mood!  

Before I start I want to address the samples.  “Hello, Samples, how are you?”  Ok, ok, bad joke!  I just wanted to say that I respect my readers (you guys!) and try to give you the content you deserve (bad jokes aside), and I hope that this blog never feels like a commercial.  That said; I think part of my job as a food blogger – especially a healthy food blogger who also relies on a high volume of packaged foods – is to try, discuss, and introduce new and tasty products.  I hope you know that I would never sugarcoat a product that contains too much sugar (hyuck, hyuck), and that I always share my true opinion.  If I seem like I really like something, it’s because I do, not because I’m trying to impress a company.  And if it seems like I really, really like something, it’s because I’m kind of overeager and I’m pretty much always jazzed about something! 😀

All of that is to say that I started my morning with a sample.

Other than my diet soda addiction, I tend to shy away from “diet” products, so when Zone Perfect contacted me I figured it would be for a product that I should turn down because I wouldn’t purchase it on my own.  Then I realized that the products were cookie dough protein bars and all bets were off!  The bars came in a cookie jar (too cute!) –

And the packaging was adorable.

I decided to start with the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor; could it stack up to Balance Cookie Dough Bars (my very favorite product of all time)?

Yes!  I’m not going to diss BCDB’s by moving them to 2nd place (not a chance), but I’m pretty sure these firmly tie for my new favorite!  The flavor was mild but the texture was exactly like cookie dough.  The fact that there were chocolate chunks (instead of chocolate coating) made the experience seem 100% real.  I sort of felt like a naughty baker all through breakfast!  Are they healthy?  The short answer is, it depends.  Obviously all protein bars have more chemicals (and saturated fat) than a plate of waffles or scrambled eggs.  But tastewise this would make eggs its b***h.  If you don’t currently eat protein bars, I wouldn’t suggest throwing out your real food to buy these.  But if you do, then stock up immediately because these are amazing.  Note – I’m only taking CCCD here, I’ll let you know when I try the other flavors.

The reason I was eating an on-the-go breakfast in the first place is because I had to be at school at before 8am to meet with a teacher.  Afterwards I did some final studying and then I headed off to the big scary Anatomy Lab practical exam.  Phew, glad that’s over!  I dont’ think I got an A, but I did alright; and I’m very proud of how much I learned.

In between classes I did more errand running related to my transfer credits.  Please cross your fingers for me that it’s all sorted out soon.  I also finished a big chunk of work for a project, freeing up my afternoon.

Today’s Food Lab is one we’ve all been looking forward to for weeks – fruit!

There were triffles, crumbles, crisps, and an awesome variety of fresh fruits (papaya, mango, horn melon..).  My group made applesauce; it was delicious and I’m hoping to remake it at home soon.

I ran a few errands around Elmwood this afternoon and then Adam set off to multiple mail locations.  I got a fun box from Sahale Snacks that you’ll be seeing soon.  Also, Random Integer Generator picked #9,

congrats Monica!  E-mail me (emilyhwaxATgmail.com) with your address and phone # so I can get you your prize.

I also got a fun mystery box!  When I was at BlogHer I had a long talk with the Terra Chips guys about how much I loved Blue, and I was thrilled to find this in the mail today!

Thanks Terra Chips!  We immediately tore the bag open and I had this handful x 3.

They are just regular potato chips but they taste so amazing!  The chips are extra thick and crunchy and the husband and I are both obsessed with them.

Next we headed to the mall where I confirmed the death of my i-pod, tear.  It wasn’t all bad though, I did have a coupon (I am on the mailing list to basically everything) for Aunt Annie’s Pretzels.

Jalapeno and Cheddar Pretzel?  Yes, please!

Cheesey and spicy and awesome and about a billionth of the calories of the jalapeno cheddar nachos I scarfed all last year (I looked it up, the pretzel has 300calories).  I ate a little bit more than half.

Finally, we made the evening a full-fledged date and headed to the movies.

We’ve been dying to see “Easy A” for weeks and I’m so glad we caught it while it was still in the theatres!  If you get a chance, see it!  The movie was funny and touching at the same time and the music and casting were awesome.  The dialogue was amazing and Adam and I pretty much want to grow up to be the main character’s parents.

I crunched my way through the movie with some prepacked snacks; a Gala apple,

and a cucumber.

We rounded out the date with a walk around the neighborhood when we got home.  Two things – 1) I am so glad I married someone who loves to walk with me; 2) I am so ready to go to the gym tomorrow!

When we got home I finished up dinner with a final sample of the day.

Special K Red Berries cereal now has more fiber, and I was sent a sample as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers’ Program.  Nutritional – 

I poured myself a heaping 1cup serving with skim milk.

Fab-u-lous!  I dont’ know why I don’t eat cereal more often, I’m always in love with it when I do.  It’s been a long time since I’ve bought Special K, but I’m putting it back on my  grocery list.  The flakes were just sweet enough and they kept their crunch, even through a long soak while I unpacked my binder.  Plus (especially for 110calories!) I found that a serving really filled me up.

In summary – 1) Today was a lot of fun; 2) I think this post just goes to show that it is possible to eat a healthy diet….in a hurry…..while still having a lot of fun (although my veggie consumption today was pretty sad!).

Have you seen “Easy A” yet?  (No, why the heck not?!)  What’d you think?