They Were All The Best

by Emily

What was the best thing you ate today? If you’re a normal person you probably answered that pretty quickly. But if you’re me, every single thing you ate was “the very best thing you ate today!” If pressed, I guess I’d say the juice. But that choice wasn’t easy.

My morning started off perfectly with a 60 minute hot yoga class. I picked up a 30-day unlimited pass to Evolation Yoga on Groupon and I am so excited to get my yogi on this month. Minus one child’s pose during the camel pose, I managed to huff and puff my way through the entire hour.

It’s a good thing that working out kills my appetite for a bit, because my day got away from me and food didn’t happen until the afternoon. The husband was home from a night shift when I got back from yoga and I just couldn’t resist crawling into bed with him and the dog.

At 1:30 my friend Kim came by to pick us up and we set off for the hospital that we’ll be doing our clinical practice at this upcoming semester. We’re all getting pretty nervous and we wanted to do a walk through to set our minds at ease. I even put on my working-lady clothes so it would feel more like the real thing.

When we got home, the husband and I headed out to Ashker’s.

<– Fraggle Rock; love it!

He got a perfectly thick espresso and I got a juice!

My mother-in-law had to mail me a gift receipt and she sweetly included some fun $ with it. As you’ll see, we took full advantage of it.

Ashker’s was great about letting me go off-menu and build my own juice.

Kale + spinach + cucumber + carrot.

So dang good. Veggie juice might be the only thing on the planet I find more refreshing than diet pop!

Then we got Chinese take-out. Beef and broccoli for Adam, a ridiculously giant plate of crab rangoon for me.

Holy frick you guys, I love crab rangoon so much. Too much, in fact; I ate it at least once every other day during the first week of the new year. Now you know why I wasn’t blogging much then 😉

That plate is special too.

Pink glass, which my mom actually collects, from right here in Buffalo.

Pretty nifty.

But I could have basically eaten off of the floor,

with rangoon it’s all good.

My late afternoon was spent on Pinterest. I’ve been trolling people’s pages for weeks, it was high time for me to finally create my own account.

I made myself feel so full and disgusting with Chinese food that I thought I’d never be hungry again. But several hours later we were out running errands and suddenly I was ready to gnaw my own arm off. I made a 1 oz bag of trail mix and devoured it before I could even think about getting home to my camera.

The mix included sesame sticks, peanuts, and honey roasted sesame seeds.

And when Adam found a $10 pizza deal for any pizza with any toppings, I totally bit. And totally ate a slice in the car on the ride home! We had a nice dinner.

Romaine topped with celery, buckwheat groats, and yogurt Cesar dressing.

Pizza (3 slices total) with jalapeños and pineapple.

Totally delicious, thanks for the inspiration, Kath.

10Jan2012

Moss No More

by Emily

Hello again, long time no see! After a solid month of basically being a sloth, today was my first productive day in a long time and it felt good.

I spent four hours shadowing an RD who does nutrition counseling for some of the local public schools. Such a neat job! I got to sit in on several sessions, including one with a parent. I had a great time learning more about another new job possibility, but I have to admit that being back in a public school setting did make me miss my teaching days. Actually, lately I’ve been thinking a lot about teaching. I’m not sure where I’ll end up at this point, but I do know that I have to finish this degree before anything else happens!

I did have time to eat before I left, but when I got home Adam and I split this persimmon.

This anniversary gift was finally ripe. We scooped the flesh out with a spoon.

Very tasty, though not quite $5 tasty. I’m glad I got to try this guy as a present.

I also had a salad for greens.

A romaine base topped with peanut sauce, craisins, and buckwheat groats.

And I did a bit of nibbling while I cooked up dinner.

Tonight’s meal was a blog-inspired affair!

Olive oil crackers from Yes I Want Cake.

Sweet Chicken Chili from Iowa Girl Eats topped with a bit of parmesan.

Those girls are so good, both recipes were delicious.

I’ve made the chili many times in the past (even the beef chili from the chili sale was inspired by the recipe) and I am so glad that I decided to be brave and try the crackers. They had the perfect balance of crunch and chew!

After dinner I cuddled up to this bag of popcorn.

And now the kitchen is officially closed for the night and my retainers are in. I’m off to paint my nails!

How many different types of jobs have you held? If you’re a career-switcher, do you ever miss your old gig?

My list at this point includes editor, retail worker/cashier, ice cream scooper, waitress, note-taker, and teacher.

29Dec2011

Wednesday – Thursday, Still On The Move

by Emily

Hello again from another location, this time Ohio. Once we get home from here we have a day trip to Toronto and then I’m staying put until the end of break!

Wednesday

Yesterday was Adam’s and my 4-year wedding anniversary, aka our 9-year anniversary of being together!!! It’s crazy to think that we’ve shared so much of our lives. Sappy sidenote – I am grateful every day that I get to spend with my husband. I am so thankful that the man I love is handsome and funny in addition to being intelligent and kind. </sap>

I had an early morning orthodontist appointment and we had to do a grocery restock and then we reunited with another man I love.

I sort of want to get those pictures framed.

Adam and I spent our anniversary doing our favorite things – namely tons of eating good food and cuddling on the couch watching good tv. A big, made from scratch breakfast felt downright gourmet.

For the eggs, we went to the deli and requested two, 1/4 inch-thick slices of honey roasted turkey.

We chopped them up and sautéed them in a bit of butter, then scrambled in 4 large eggs.

Out of control delicious. I quit eating most meat (mammals) before I had gotten to try everything and I suspect that I would really enjoy ham.

We also had hash browns made with white potatoes, onion, red bell pepper, 2 Tbsp of butter, and 2 tsp of chipotle oil.

Adam bought me some fourth year gifts for our anniversary.

A book with a sweet inscription, persimmons for fruit and rugelach for flour (substituted for flour because we were going out-of-town).

I’ve been picking up the persimmons and deciding that they were too expensive to splurge on for weeks at the grocery, so they were such a nice surprise. We split part of one persimmon but decided that it wasn’t ripe enough yet.

Adam was careful to buy squishy ones because once in the city, before we knew better, we tried to eat an unripe persimmon and about died when all the moisture was sucked from our mouths! This one had a good flavor but was still a little cotton-mouthy. So we washed it away with rugelach.

The snack was perfect to bring us into lunch.

I had an Applegate Farms Turkey Bologna sandwich on half a cheddar jalapeno bialey with a little bit of Miracle Whip.

Plus a huge pile of roasted green beans.

Adam hates jalapeno but knew I’d like that bialey more than the others and I gave him the half with more cheese, so we both compromised in the name of love.

It would have been easy and fun to go out for a romantic dinner, so I’m extra proud of us that we stayed home and cooked together instead.

I started by steam-sauteing 3 chopped zucchini in a bit of chicken stock. Then I finished them off with 1 Tbsp of evoo and this packet of Garlic Gold I got in my HLS swag.

I was expecting to adore the Garlic Gold after all the love it got in the healthy living blog community, but we found it to be pretty “meh.”

We set the cooked zucchini aside and while Adam boiled 3 servings of pasta I made a roux with 2 Tbsp of butter, 2 Tbsp of flour, and 1 Tbsp of milk. Into that, I whisked 1 cup of skim milk and 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Once the sauce came together all we had to do was toss it with the cooked squash and pasta.

We topped our bowls with a bit of panko and more cheese.

Dinner was great, definitely as good as anything we would have gotten in a restaurant. This was on the healthy side, but now I am absolutely going to make a similar sauce and use it in oozey, gooey mac and cheese.

We stayed up later than planned watching “That 70’s Show,” which was good for anniversary fun but bad for me working out this morning. I can’t do anything active here in Ohio and I’m worried that all my vacation workout momentum will be for naught.

Thursday

Today was a day of many meals. Due in parts to time of the month and restlessness from 7 hours in the car. And we got junky food too; a healthy living blog no-no but an unavoidable part of existing in the real world.

Chicken biscuit from Chick-fill-a.

The leftover serving of dinner.

A juicy pear.

Animal crackers split with Adam (70/30 his favor).

Mid-way we got to stop for froyo.

I got eggnog and toffee mocha yogurts, topped with candy bar pieces and some marshmallow topping.

Alas both of my flavors were too spicy and I ended up throwing most of mine away. It was a sad day indeed.

But hundreds of miles later we found a Sonic and I ordered a diet coke with strawberry that totally made up for it.

Adam and I also split fries and chicken tenders.

Good thing my grandma served a lateish dinner, huh?

Webster was a perfect angel for 95% of the drive.

We even got to take him in to meet my grandpa this afternoon. I like it when all the men in my life are well-acquainted.

Per usual, my grandma made a great dinner.

Side salad,

cooked spinach with feta and cherry tomatoes,

truffle mac and cheese to make up for Adam not having any on Christmas,

and italian breaded chicken,

which I only could eat a few bites of because I felt like food was coming out of my ears.

After dinner, Nana and Adam worked on a 750-piece puzzle while I wrote this monster post. I hate all these super long posts I’ve been writing lately! I know none of my readers are interesting in scrolling for hours, but since I use my blog as a journal I don’t want to skip days that are so great. I promise to get back to a less annoying schedule once I’m home for good.

27Dec2011

St. Thomas to Buffalo

by Emily

Monday

Yesterday was the perfect last day on island.

I got to see some of my favorite people and eat some of my favorite things.

I tried to eat this honey fig Oikos for breakfast.

The flavor seemed like something I would love but one bite in I was twisting up my face in disgust. Why so sour?!?

Instead I ate some leftover crack pie.

And an old-fashioned strawberry candy for good measure.

My unorthodox breakfast didn’t matter, because I had something good coming for lunch.

Chicken patty!

Pattys (pronounced like pate) are fried dough stuffed with spiced meat.

Amazing. The dough is chewy and the filling (usually beef or saltfish, but sometimes salmon or even veggies) is always tender and perfectly seasoned.

My parents and I spent the afternoon walking around downtown with my visiting aunt, uncle, and cousins. Important note – some of the best foods from my childhood are found in town and I spent the rest of the day eating myself silly.

The #1 best thing I had all vacation was this glass of soursop (guanabana) juice.

I never find soursop in the states but it will always be my favorite fruit. It’s sweet and almost creamy.

A while later I bought a fraco with milk (shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk).

I went with tamarind and passionfruit, more local flavors.

I only could handle half of it but that’s really all you need.

And for my final drink of the afternoon we cracked open a jellynut (aka a green coconut).

The water was more sour than I prefer, but I grabbed a long spoon and scraped out all of the sweet flesh.

That evening my parents and I headed back into town so we could eat dinner at Gladys’ Cafe.

I started with a slice of bread with butter.

And a bowl of callaloo (a thick soup made with spinach and okra).

My meal was the special plate, and it was exactly what I was craving.

Mac and cheese,

cole slaw,

rice and beans,

fried plantains,

and stewed chicken.

I could get past the bones to eat much chicken, but I stirred my rice and beans into the sauce and was in heaven.

We ended our evening with a glorious walk down the waterfront.

For nighttime entertainment I headed back to my high school friends’ apartment.

Vodka/something, x2.

Several old friends were there and I was so glad to get to see everyone. Adrien found his old year book which was perfect and hysterical. They were Adam’s grade, so no pictures of me, but I did see a few great ones of the husband!

Tuesday

Today I had to head back to Buffalo; which did at least mean a rendezvous with Adam.

The food situation today was pretty bad. That’s what 13+ hours in the airport will do!

In the St. Thomas airport I ate a johnny-cake with cheese.

On flight 1 I read this book.

In the Miami airport I wandered.

And got drawn in by this sign –

I actually ended up buying a very healthy sandwich.

As well as a very decadent sounding slice of cake.

The dulce de leche did not disappoint!

When I wasn’t eating on flight 2, I was reading.

After a quick scamper through Chicago I was on flight 3 starting my third book.

And before I knew it, I was home with the husband.

We stopped at Moe’s on the way home to pick up a quick and healthy dinner.

After my carb-filled ~~day~~ week I requested that they go light on the rice and cheese. Topped with cilantro, green pepper, onion, mushrooms, and corn salsa.

Off to unpack I go! P.S. It’s our fourth wedding anniversary tomorrow!

26Dec2011

Merry Christmas In St. Thomas

by Emily

I hope everyone is continuing to have happy holiday season! I know that booze and beaches don’t feel very winter-holiday festive to most of my readers, but to me they feel like home. We’ve done lots of traditional food and family this year too. If Adam had been home this would have been my perfect Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Saturday morning, after my run, we met up with my aunt and cousins (the visiting set) for breakfast at Barefoot Buddha. I got an iced coffee with Silk soy milk.

Barefoot Buddha is my favorite restaurant in St. Thomas (I ate the Bigfoot Bagel Sandwich on the morning of my wedding!) and our meal did not disappoint. My mom and I split two sandwiches so we could get lots of flavor.

The wrap special had tons of veggies, sesame tofu, and a peanut sauce.

And the Bigfoot Bagel Sandwich had egg, turkey, turkey bacon, cream cheese, and a chipotle aioli.

Yum and yum.

The day was spent on holiday preparations and I ate a handful of carrots at one point for some crunchy energy.

Then it was time to celebrate.

My family has thrown a big (tequila shot flowing) Christmas Eve party for as long as I can remember and it felt a little strange not to have one this year. But the visiting family came over for dinner and then a big group met for drinks at the Island Time Pub and it was nice in a new way.

We had Hanukkah dinner leftovers for dinner.

Salad,

a little bit each of pineapple chili salmon and sour cream dill salmon,

and more potato latkes.

I also had a 7-layer bar and a small slice of “crack pie” before we headed out.

Then I had a great time getting to drink and chat with a bunch of family and friends. O-bomb shot,

black and coke,

jack and ginger.

Funny, I did not end up running Christmas morning 🙂

Christmas

Christmas with my parents was perfect, though Adam was very missed.

Great minds think alike – my mother and I ended up buying each other the same doxie pen!

While we unwrapped I had a coffee with eggnog,

and a cherry cordial straight from my stocking.

Then our visiting family came over for breakfast.

Turkey sausage,

egg and cheese casserole,

half a mini bagel with cream cheese,

and a piece of 7-layer bar.

Plus a piece of sour candy cane my cousins brought me later.

Then Christmas afternoon was spent on the water.

Fun fact – here is a (far away) shot of the beach where Adam and I got married!

A Christmas tradition is to spend the day in “Christmas Cove.” There were 40+ boats all connected together but I never did get a good shot.

The crystal light-vodka-whatever I was handed may have had something to do with that.

Is there anything more perfect than Christmas at the beach?

After we washed off the salt, everyone went to my (St. Thomas based) aunt and uncle’s house for Christmas dinner.

Before we headed over I made myself a plate of apple slices and latkes,

but the combination of booze and sun must have hit me hard because I hit the fruit and cheese spread like there was no tomorrow.

Everyone was (lovingly) teasing me about the blog so I did manage to take a picture of every single (9!) cracker/cheese bite!

But I did keep my dinner plate simple. One thing for health and one thing for fun.

A big pile of salad,

and a big pile of truffle mac and cheese.

The husband is going to be so very jealous; last year he finished off three plates of that macaroni!

After a long-long day we just had to squeeze in one more piece of festivity, so my mom and female cousins and I went out for girly embarrassing drinks.

That’s a virgin pina colada, and even sans alcohol it was a little too much for me. Merry Christmas indeed!

Monday

Today is my last day on island, so I made sure to get an early start. My amazing mother drove me to school before 8 so I could get in final run on the field. ~1 +ish mile ran. I forgot my sunscreen so I kept it short. Now as soon as I get some party pictures e-mailed I’m off to soak up as much family time as I can.

Do you Christmas/Hanukkah traditions include any beach time?

21Dec2011

STT; Tuesday Afternoon – Wednesday Afternoon

by Emily

Tuesday

Yesterday afternoon I ran some errands with my mom during her break. Including getting me a small square of macaroni and cheese for lunch.

West Indian style mac ‘n cheese is baked with cheese on top. It’s fantastic, obviously.

Then I went downtown to run errands with my dad. For this trip I made myself an iced coffee.

With skim milk and 1 Tbsp of gingerbread syrup.

During the afternoon I snacked on carrots,

and chocolate.

Then I made an effort not to be a total loaf this vacation and made dinner.

My parents are wimps so I had to sub two cans of tuna fish for sardines, but other than that I followed my recipe for Sardine Mushroom Tomato Sauce.

With roasted squash and okra on the side.

I never could find good okra in Buffalo this fall, I can’t even tell you how excited I was to spot it here.

I spent the evening baking with my mom, but since my retainers were in no nibbling occurred.

And to my Jewish readers – Happy Hanukkah!

Wednesday

I started this morning with some stewed tamarind.

Tamarind has this unique, tangy yet earthy taste. It has lots of seeds so whether you are eating it stewed or straight from the pod you have to be careful. The best way to eat it is to swish a bite around your mouth (without chewing!) and then spit out the seeds when the flesh is gone. Looking very ladylike I’m sure.

I also ate a leftover serving of whole wheat penne with 1.5 tsp of olive oil, a shake of salt, and a sprinkle of parmesan.

Plus two 7-layer bars,

and more chocolate.

I didn’t realize until I stated writing this post, but I’ve kind of eaten nothing but pasta and chocolate for the past 24 hours!! I’m heading to the gym this afternoon and I guess I’ll make veggies a priority for dinner!

Now I’m back at school, trying to catch up on e-mails and eating this Greek Gods honey Greek yogurt.

P.S. No Window Shopping Wednesday this week. With all the wishlist posts floating around it just felt a little tired. I’ll be back with it after Christmas, next week.

Have you ever tried tamarind? If you’ve eaten any authentic Thai the answer is probably yes, it’s often used in Pad Thai.

14Dec2011

I Wish I Was In Hawaii

by Emily

It’s been a good day! You would barely know that I have three exams tomorrow … 😉

Our trip to the Buffalo Centre went well. We couldn’t see much due to privacy concerns, but it was really interesting to see the menu selection system and learn a bit more about how appropriate intake for eating disorder patients is determined. Among other things, the RD mentioned that most patients won’t gain weight unless they are taking in at least 2,000 calories a day.

I ate a late lunch (thanks mom!) while I looked at some notes.

A few pieces of sweet and sour chicken,

and veggies picked from a chicken dish.

I got a lot of work done this afternoon and I definitely have to give credit to my student partner –

Dinner was a shrimp roll.

Plus fruit as an apple with Justin’s Maple Walnut Butter.

And veggies in the tasty form of Hawaiian Inspired Greens.

Click here for a link to the recipe, it’s a good’un.

I ate my dinner way to early in the evening and ended up doing some (unneccessary) snacking as the night wore on. Popcorn,

and a few pieces of Almond Rocca.

Think smart thoughts for me tomorrow?

11Dec2011

Not My Birthday

by Emily

It’s Adam’s birthday so I’m going to keep this post quick and cursory. Well, it’s sort of his birthday. But not really. I’ll explain in a minute.

This morning was about as lazy as it gets. I stayed in bed until past noon and it was glorious. Then Adam and I headed out for a late lunch at Mangoz, a new Jamaican place in our neighborhood.

We split a plate of stewed chicken with plantains and beans and rice.

It was amazing. The best Caribbean food either of us has had since leaving home.

And they had pink Ting.

We’ll be back.

My one accomplishment today was a quick trip to the gym. 30 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6. And I did some studying while I worked out. Followed by a super quick stretch/strength session.

But that was sort of where the productivity ended. We decided to spend the day doing fun stuff (in celebration of Adam turning 26 tomorrow). Adam opened all of his presents a day early.