And We’re Off!

Today was officially my first day off (from both school and work) since January 20th!  42 days straight!!!  I didn’t even work full shifts for most of those days but it was still nice to have 24 hours all to myself for a change.

We didn’t do anything all that exciting with our newfound free-time but it still felt pretty damn nice.  We did a major grocery trip, started watching Battlestar Galactica (please tell me that the episodes are faster paced than the movie?!), and Adam currently has the guys over for poker.

Breakfast was a bowl of peanut butter and bananas, squared.

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2% Banana Chobani Greek Yogurt topped with a sliced banana, 1 tsp of melted peanut butter and 1 crumbled Cascadian Farm Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bar.

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So flipping good.

Lunch was even better.

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I took enough Pho home last night for Adam and I to both have lunch with the leftovers.  I beefed mine up with some roasted broccoli and a soft-boiled egg.  Plus more Sriracha, of course.

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The entire bowl was delicious and the egg yolk melting into the broth was so amazing that it almost made me cry.

For dessert we shared this plate of samples.

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Oh Nuts! offered to send me their Passover Cake & Cookie Sampler and I happily accepted.

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Neither of us liked the brownie piece (too dry) but we thought that the jam in the sandwich cookie and raspberry jelly roll was nice.  By the by, everything was gluten-free and kosher.

I also had an Adora calcium disk.

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I am going to try to remember to take one every day for the next while, but I probably won’t blog about it again.

Dinner ended up being a (giant!) container of hot bar.

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A little bit of mac and cheese and brussels sprouts and a bunch of chicken.  Apparently I was in the mood for protein.

I made the poker players some Mac and Three Cheese Cups but they were gone before I could snag one.  That’s a good sign!

What’s your longest run without a day off?

Coconut Chocolate Lavender

Howdy!  I have not been following my sleep schedule – – at all – – but I can say that today was quite productive.  Every item on my list is now to-done!

The dog has been getting in and out of bed all night long recently and between that and my usually fitful sleep, mornings have felt very difficult this week.  I barely had time to make it to work today so I had to take breakfast with me on the walk.  This Wegman’s Bean and Cheese Burrito was good but not great.

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Something about the flavor and texture made me long for a beverage, and I ended up exploding pinto beans all down the front of my winter coat.

I ate a Honeycrisp apple mid-morning.

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Then I spent the rest of my day holed up in the basement like a retail hermit.  We got in tons of tons of shipments on Monday and I opened and priced 99% of them today.

I never did have time for lunch at work (I kept my packed food in the fridge for an easy lunch tomorrow!) and I ended up doing double dinners.  First was Wegman’s hot bar on a mini-date with the husband.

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Wok-seared veggies,

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and chicken dumplings and chicken salad.

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Adam and I are obsessed with the dumplings’ dipping sauce and the combination of the sauce stirred into my chicken salad was the bomb.com.  <– legit, it tasted so good that was the first expression that popped into my head!

I also ate a big bag of Easter candies from the bulk bins and gave myself a stomach-ache.

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A little pain was worth it, the sugar rush totally helped me through the remainder of my internship journaling.  Minus breaks for making food and eating food, I chugged away for the remainder of the evening.

Our home dinner was vegetable fried rice.

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In the wok (for 2) –

  • 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
  • ~1 heaping cup peas
  • ~1 heaping cup roasted broccoli
  • ~1.5 cups leftover brown rice
  • 1 Tbsp tamari
  • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Sriracha
  • 3 large eggs

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The dish had the potential to be great, but it was way too salty.  It’s been awhile since I’ve used fish sauce and I forgot what a sodium-punch it packs.  I ate a little less than 2/3 of my plate.

Dessert was a giant, delicious cookie.

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Coconut Chocolate Lavender Cookies = this recipe for single serve cookies plus 1 tsp minced culinary lavender and chopped Sweetriot 70% dark kickin’ coconut chocolate subbed in for chocolate chips.

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We were both big fans of the big cookies and big taste.

The winner of my Hey Shuga! giveaway is:

contest winner

(#1) Jenny, shoot me an e-mail with your mailing address.

Asian Carbs

The title describes every single thing I ate today!  At least I managed to cover a good spread of the continent – Thailand, Japan, and India.

Adam wasn’t excited enough about my Pad Kee Mao leftovers, so I ate them myself for breakfast.

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Amazing.  Broad rice noodles (when cooked in a Thai dish and super spicy) are my favorite food.

I rounded out the meal with a spoon of peanut butter.

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I left a little bit behind for the dog and he was on Cloud 9.

Lunch was spicy avocado Inari.

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Yes, contrary to popular Adam’s belief, that orange stuff in mayonnaise-based.  But when you husband sweetly delivers you lunch at work you don’t turn it down just because you’re doing a silly challenge.

We used a groupon at India Gate for dinner.

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I got Chana Bhatura.

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I ate half of my chickpeas, with rice.  And 1.5+ of my fried dough.  I tried to eat less but half the times Adam went to take a bite I ended up snatching it away from him!

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The flavor was very similar to the Johnny Cake I grew up eating and I was having a total taste memory.

Adam is in bed (he got under the covers at 8:45!) and I should be there too but I have a mental problem that keeps me from making healthy sleep decisions so instead I’ll probably get some dessert and watch Law and Order: SVU.

P.S. I picked a winner for my Slow Cooker Desserts giveaway – (#1)

winner

Cori, e-mail me with your mailing address so I can get your prize sent out!

The First Of The Last

{Technically speaking} today was the first day of my last semester of undergrad!  Yays!  Instead of the hospital, I spent my day on campus for orientation.  It was also the first day of my night class.

Orientation was definitely not as exciting as my days at the hospital.  Cue medium non-fat latte.

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Caffeine gave me the jitters though; I should have just waited for the adrenaline to kick in once we learned how busy this semester is going to be!  On top of full-time internship hours there are many projects to be done.  I’m the only person in my program who is taking a non-major class (my night class is a history to fulfill my final graduation requirement) this semester and balancing everything is going to be pretty nerve-wracking.

I spent my lunch break running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get all of my campus tasks done (applying for graduation, registering my history class as pass/fail, buying books).  When I did finally get to my sandwich it was worth the wait.

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Sandwich thin with 2 slices of turkey, tons of pickled jalopeño, 50% reduced-fat sharp cheddar, and mango jelly (made by my aunt’s mother-in-law from St. Thomian mangos!!).

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Plus a package of sesame seaweed,

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and a 100-calorie milk chocolate bar.

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I was starving when I got home and I snacked on a Tbsp of peanut butter,

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and a cup of tea with skim milk and sugar.

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You guys are geniuses – I actually heated the water (3 minutes versus 90 seconds in the microwave) and my tea was much stronger!  I still didn’t love this cup but I think the tea itself was to blame (a pumpkin chai sample).

I did an easy, early dinner before I had to head back to campus for my history class.  Leftover roasted brocoli with marinara sauce.

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And a Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake meal.

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I also snacked on these milk coffee candies during class.

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He let us out early for our first day and so far I have no complaints.

Well, just one complaint – why the heck didn’t I get in bed already?!

3 > 2

I am working my way through a migraine and I want to hurry to bed with a magazine.  An episode of “30 Rock” may or may not happen first though…

Yesterday was the worst day of the year (hardy har; see what I did there? it’s not really hyperbole because there have only been three days).  I was cranky and out-of-control-hungry all day long and the only things I managed to do were stuff my face and sulk.  I vowed that the 3rd would be better than the 2nd, and even with my migraine today was a good day.  Woop.

I did start with a good breakfast.

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1 serving of Cascadian Farm Berry Cobbler Granola topped with 2 handfuls of blueberries and blackberries, a sprinkle of toasted coconut, and Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.

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This is the breakfast that’s grrrrrrreat!

I brought my 2nd aloe drink from Aloic to work with me.

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Super refreshing.

For lunch I packed some old beans.  They were jolly good.  <– are you slapping your knee yet?  3/4 cup black-eyed peas with a big handful of chopped green pepper, a small handful of smoked almonds, and 1 oz-ish chopped Kerrygold vintage cheddar; seasoned with salt and a few dashes of green Tabasco.

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The mix of flavors and textures in this quick salad was so tasty and satisfying.  Definitely a dish I need to recreate when I’m packing lunches for my big girl job for the rest of the year my life.

*no photograph available* I ate at least 10 mini candy canes during my shift and gave myself the worst sore throat.  It was a slow day and I didn’t get much sleep so sugar was the only way I could stay awake.  Terrible.

And I’m just now realizing that the massive sugar intake is probably what led to my migraine.  Goddamnit.

I was already starting to feel off when I headed home from work so I picked up a slice of Buffalo chicken pizza for dinner.

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With blue cheese, plus a mound of baby carrots from home.

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I really could have split that giant slice with Adam (that is in fact 1 Zetti’s slice cut in half, not two normal-size slices) but he’s not here and I have no self-control so I ate the whole thing!

I’m also going to eat this packet of Artisana Cacao Bliss for dessert.

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I’ll have to let you know how it is in the morning.  I tried to heat it up a little and took things too far so now I’m waiting for it to resolidify.

Hope everyone has a good night!

It’s Begining To Look A Lot Like Christmas

We are four days away and it is starting to snow!  We might have a white Christmas after all.  Also, the world didn’t end today; yay.

Sorry I missed a post last night (after going on and on about how I was “back,” natch) but I was still running errands as the clock neared midnight.  Two crazy days in a row are over and I’m ready to recap.

Thursday’s brunch included two of my best savory recipes.

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A Nacho Turkey Burger topped with some Citrus Guacamole.

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We even toasted our buns (in a hot skillet with a bit of Smart Balance Light) so the meal felt extra fancy.

I also had a deeelicious drink; 1 cup each Chameleon Cold Brew coffee and eggnog.

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I know it’s cold out for iced coffee but I couldn’t resist the chance to pair my favorite coffee with my favorite winter flavor.

I worked 9+ hours and was sooooooo hungry when I got off.  I would have loved to go straight home for dinner but we had errands to run so I ended up getting Moe’s instead.

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But who would complain about Moe’s?

I got a naked burrito (aka a cheaper rice bowl) with rice, black beans, sautéed onions, green peppers, and mushrooms, lettuce, corn salsa, cilantro, guacamole, and sour cream.

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Plus chips with queso.

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I ate all of the queso, 2/3 of the chips, and 3/4 of the bowl.

When we finally made it home (more than 12 hours after I left!) there were presents from both sets of parents.

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My mom sent us homemade toffee.

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It was the perfect bedtime snack.

Friday I started with a salad.  Romaine topped with 1.5 chopped turkey burgers, shredded cheese, a dollop of guacamole, buckwheat groats, and honey mustard dressing (I accidentally used way too much dressing and it was kind of gross, boo).

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Also half a honeycrisp with 1 Tbsp each peanut butter and Biscoff spread, melted.

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And I drank a Guava Rockstar Punched at work.

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<– yum

I have the best bosses on earth and they surprised us with pizza for dinner mid-shift!  It was too exciting.  I had a a veggie slice and a buffalo chicken slice.

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Mr. Pizza has the best crust in Buffalo.

And I won this candy bar.

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When I got home I made myself eat fruits and veggies first though.  A handful of baby carrots.

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An ambrosia apple.

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And finally my tasty snack.

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1 serving of Green and Black’s Toffee Milk Chocolate Bar,

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and a cup of eggnog mixed with Silk Soy Nog.

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Topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Finally, some general updates –

  1. My hair – I’m still leaving the tub purple after every shower and my new hair is a bit lighter than the original photo I showed you guys.  I will have to have Adam snap a picture the next time I’m home during good light.
  2. Christmas – we are not going to visit any family, boo.  But Adam and I are going to have our first ever Christmas with just the two of us; it’s time that our little family started to develop some of our own traditions!

If you celebrate, where are you spending Christmas this year?  Do you and your significant other have any of your own holiday traditions?

Cook Book, Cookies, Chicago Fire

It’s felt like forever since I’ve blogged.  Thankfully (ha!) I was starving all day and ate a ton of food so I have lots to post about.

First things first – I need to announce the cook book giveaway winner.

Congrats Turn Towards the Sun, shoot me an e-mail (emilyhwaxATgmail.com) with your mailing address!

Breakfast was consumed during class but photographed in Adam’s car.  I waited until 6 am to will myself out of bed to finish writing a paper and was running behind.  Actually, I would have been fine but then I had to cuddle the dog before I took my shower and I ended up needed Adam to drop me off.  Thanks, husband!

A Wegman’s low-fat pumpkin pie yogurt that I was very impressed with.  The texture was perfect and the taste was so good I’ll consider continuing to eat this flavor in December!

An Iced Oatmeal Cookie Z-Bar (FNCE sample).

The 2nd half of this Chuao Honeycomb Bar.

Adam continued to be the nicest husband ever, and he walked the dog to pick me up after classes.  I love those boys so much!

I also love leftover pizza for lunch.

1 cheese slice,

with carrots and blue cheese dressing.

Plus batter bites for dessert.

I’m going to share the recipe tomorrow and here is my endorsement: I ate four and a half cookies today!!

Work went well.  We extended our hours for the holiday season which means my shifts are all an hour(+) longer but it wasn’t too painful.  I drank a cup of (Keurig) hot chocolate while at work but didn’t photograph it for obvious reasons.

Dinner was a serving of Seven Layer Casserole.

The recipe’s vegan but you don’t need a challenge to try it; it’s delicious!

Apparently that all wasn’t enough food because I also ate a bag of SmartPop while I caught up on “Chicago Fire.”

Are you watching Chicago Fire?  Thoughts??

TV Dinner

I think this is my easiest week thus far this school year.  I actually watched tv this evening!  I know that I really should have been working, but at least for this week it’s not the end of the world that I didn’t.

I was starving this morning and ended up eating all of my breakfast and my lunch within the first ten minutes of class.  Müller Passion Fruit Peach Früt Up Yogurt.

A Clif Grape Fruit Rope (FNCE sample).

And a Jalopeño Popper Burger on a Sandwich Thin with pumpkin spice cream cheese.

This was such a good sandwich combination.

I had a long morning of classes and then a doctor’s appointment – with a super long wait – in the afternoon.  Thankfully my appointment took me near Gin Gin, the restaurant with bubble tea that a customer raved about at work last weekend.

It was worth raving about!  The used two kinds of boba, regular and popping!

The bubbles were in a red bean milk tea, and that was delicious too.  I’m glad I took a chance on something different.

I came home with food too.

Hot and sour soup,

and Mongolian chicken (with carrots, cabbage, and a spicy sauce) with white rice.

I ate about half of each and then Adam ate the rest.

Plus ice cream (about a serving) straight from the pint.

With a side of “Private Practice,” “Castle,” and “Royal Pains.”  ‘Twas a good night!