Mungry

by Emily

I don’t know what my deal is but lately I’ve been so freaking hungry. Yesterday I was uncomfortable with hunger all day long. And I wasn’t in a dessert mood at all but we don’t have much food in the house and I ended up eating sweets all afternoon. Ugh.

I did do my best to make a healthy, filling lunch.

I sautéed ~ 1 cup of sliced okra in 1/2 Tbsp butter and a pinch of salt. Meanwhile I whisked together 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese, and 2 oz of Cabot’s 50% reduced-fat sharp cheddar. Then I scrambled my mixture in with the okra.

I didn’t know how the cottage cheese would turn out in the eggs but I ended up loving it. The end result wasn’t watery at all, just super creamy and cheesy. I now know that cottage cheese is a tasty way to add more volume and protein to my eggs.

But sadly my filling lunch wasn’t filling at all. Nothing is filling when your stomach is being a beast. I also had …

A spoonful of cookie butter, x2.

A packet of Gushers.

A Magnum Double Caramel Ice Cream Bar.

And the last ~1/2 serving of Butterfingers Bites.

Not gonna lie, I was still hungry after all that too. It was funny because I watched “Kitchen Nightmares” all afternoon and that show is a total appetite killer!

I ended up not even eating dinner because I left the house on a last-minute invite and didn’t get home until past Adam’s bedtime. A classmate’s restaurant was running a booth at a local wine event and I volunteered to help out.

I got to chat with all sorts of people and it was a lot of fun. Plus, I got a small plate of cookies and two tastes of wine out of the deal.

And my friend and I got our picture on a big local website.

I need to make some uglier friends!

My plans for today do include lunch with Holly this afternoon, should include cleaning, and must include catching up on the “Grey’s” and “Private Practice” finales.

Do you ever have insatiable bouts of hunger? And more importantly – do you say “hungry mungry?”

24Apr2012

All Hail

by Emily

It’s always nice when your routine gets shaken up. Tuesday means today was a clinic day, but the private practice rd I was placed with asked if I’d like to come in in the evening to help with a health fair and I happily agreed. A later clinic time meant I could switch up the rest of my day too. I took advantage of the time and made a traditional breakfast.

Eggs! I sautéed ~ 1/2 cup each chopped okra and spinach in 1/2 Tbsp butter, a sprinkle of salt, and a drizzle of Sriracha. Then I scrambled in 2 large eggs and a chopped cheese stick.

Plus a sliced apple on the side.

I was glad for something warm because the apartment was far from toasty. I checked the thermostat before we turned the heat back on last night and the temperature inside was 63*! My walk to school was freezing and culminated in hail as I reached the building!

The walk home was warmer since I took advantage of my switched schedule and went to the gym after stats. 40 minutes on the stationary bike at random, level 6.

I also had lunch with a friend while I was on campus. She switched out of Dietetics a few months back and I don’t get to see her as often so it was nice to hang. I grabbed a grilled tofu roll from the cafeteria sushi place.

It was a little bland; I used up all of my wasabi before I was halfway through.

When I got home I also had the last of the Sahale Snacks glazed almonds.

And this cherry cola hard candy.

I bought it at Cracker Barrel in Ohio and was worried I would love it and want more but after consumption I’m glad I only bought one. Not bad, but not the flavor I was looking for. Besides, anytime I have a hard candy I end up chomping it ten seconds in.

I’m not sure what the exact plan is for tonight but I’m hoping to get home in time to read a book. See ya later!

23Apr2012

Ten Things For A Monday

by Emily

1. Can we talk about the weather? Because seriously –

2. I definitely rocked day old smokey eye to the gym this morning.

3. Did you like how I casually mentioned that gym trip like it hasn’t been practically a month since I last worked out? I did 30 minutes on the elliptical at level 6 random. Plus a few minutes of strength and stretch moves.

4. The new 2% Coconut Siggi’s Skyr yogurts are delicious. I ate one for breakfast topped with raspberries, 1 tsp passionfruit jam, and a sprinkle of toasted coconut.

5. Even with my lackluster photography skills, breakfast was a looker.

6. I like to study standing at our mantel. Everything is better with a friend.

7. Adam laughed at me when I took home the extra pretzel stick from TGIF’s but I ate it for lunch today with roasted okra. The mustard drizzle was like icing on a cake.

8. One of our smoke alarms is running out of batteries and it beeps every 20 seconds. I appreciate the warning but the damn noise is making me consider burning the house to the ground.

9. Leftover Thai Iced Coffee Slush makes great iced coffee. I poured 1+ cup of skim milk over a leftover serving of slush for a tasty treat.

10. Adam made beef stew in the crock pot to take for lunch this week. We gave a tiny bowl of meat to the dog last night and he’s alternated between standing guard at the fridge and staring deeply into my soul ever since.

11Feb2012

Take Me Out To The Crowd

by Emily

We were lateto bed last night and now I’m late to blog. An 8:00pm grocery trip required a stop at Starbucks for soy frappuccinos.

Starbucks only caries vanilla soy milk which is annoying at times, but did make drink taste like it was fancy and vanilla flavored.

I did eat dinner last night, but I didn’t blog because I was deep in Firefly Lane for tonight’s book club. I had a great salad to start.

Romaine lettuce topped with ~ 2 Tbsp each buckwheat groats, peanuts, raisins, and Wegman’s Thai Peanut Sauce.

The Wegman’s peanut sauce was great.

Not quite as good as mine, but nicely flavored and with only 25 calories per Tbsp.

And the husband helped me out and roasted up plate of vegetables too.

Half a sweet potato and a bunch of okra, both dipped in ketchup.

And the book?

Finished. Start to finish in one evening, all 479 pages of it.

I think I made a mistake reading The Help in one sitting because now my friends don’t get the book club books to me more than a day or two ahead of time! But Firefly Lane was a story I’d want to read straight through anyway.

We had a late start this morning and basically slept through breakfast. I did have this handful of pretzels when I got up though.

And we went straight-up fancy for lunch. Roasted asparagus,

and three pieces of Ballpark Tofu.

Another recipe page that needed updating. Check it out if you like tofu, mustard, pretzels, or any combination of the above.

I also made a pie.

But you’ll have to wait until after book club for the recipe. I know I could have typed it up this afternoon, but when there’s a new Ryan Reynolds movie in town you get your butt to the theatre. Particularly when Denzel Washington is going to be staring too.

“Safehouse” was not great, but definitely good. And let’s be honest, I’d watch practically anything if it meant splitting Five Guys fries with Adam as a movie snack.

Definitely good.

Have you read Firefly Lane? Did you see “Safehouse” yet? Thoughts?

2Feb2012

The Whole Dang Day

by Emily

It looks like this might be a cranky week! I’ve just got to roll with it.

Last night’s popcorn turned into fries when I had to leave the house for the cell phone I forgot in the car.

Waffle fries do not make me cranky.

What does make me cranky, is the fact that the shoes I wore to the hospital on Tuesday shredded my feet and left me with big painful spots by each heel. When I went to put on my sneakers this morning I cried out in pain, so clearly a run was not going to work. Not only did I have to skip a much-needed workout, but I still had to drive to school at 8am so I could park. Ugh!

I parked my car for easy access to driving to the hospital this afternoon and headed to the library to do some printing. (I have some complaints about that too but I’ll keep them to myself!) Then I stopped by the bookstore for a tall, soy chai latte for the walk home.

Funky mood or not, I have to admit that vanilla soy milk definitely adds a little something extra to a chai latte. And the warmth in my belly helped me through the cold walk home.

I ate this Crispin apple while I cooked,

but that was the end of the “breakfast foods.” Instead breakfast looked like this –

I chopped up half a large eggplant and sautéed it in a little evoo and chipotle oil, then poured in some water and covered it to steam. Then I added in a big handful of chopped okra and ~ 1/2 cup of marinara sauce.

While a bit strange at 9am, the eggplant, okra, marinara skillet is one of my very favorite meals!

This afternoon I have statistics, then clinic, then my night class. Since it’s a cranky ~~day~~ week, I think I’ll be best served by leaving class at 8pm and hopping straight into a shower and bed. So I’m sharing my dinner now!

A baggie of grapes.

And a serving of last night’s stir fry.

Topped with dry roasted peanuts because we ran out of cashews.

Should be good.

If anything else sneaks into my mouth I’ll update tomorrow. See you then!

What do you do to help yourself get over it when you’re having a cranky ~~day~~ week?

11Jan2012

Mug Shots

by Emily

It was another day without a workout, but I was very productive on the seated tasks front. Plus, I snuck in a walk and a few planks, which is always better than nothing.

For breakfast I tried one of the new Chobani flavors.

0% Apple Cinnamon did not disappoint. Now I’ve just got to locate the passionfruit flavor.

Lunch was a rerun of last night’s dinner.

A bowl of chili topped with a sprinkle of parmesan,

and a side of homemade olive oil crackers.

Just as good in leftover form.

I woke up late (I’ve got to get a handle on that before school starts in 11 days!) and spent several hours working on Window Shopping Wednesday posts. Those suckers do not just write themselves; I can’t even imagine how time-consuming it would be to write a blog with actual content!

Around 2:00, I hopped into a much-needed shower and then headed off to the post office on foot. Who is that girl with the long, blonde hair?

Goodbye, old passport photo.

I finished my journey back to the apartment just in time to catch the husband coming home for a 2 hour break. We hopped in the car and ran a few errands. During our travels we split a grape cola slushie.

Slushies make me ridiculously happy. You can’t get them where I grew up and on our college trip my junior year of high school I must have bought at least one a day.

I’ve spent my evening during school work and I’ve got a magazine project lined up for when I’m done. I had to update my clinic book and professional portfolio and write several professional goals. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be, but I understand why I’ve been putting it off.

Dinner was a vegetable fest.

Veggies roasted with cooking spray and salt, dipped in tons of ketchup.

I had a small pile of okra,

and a huge pile of green beans.

Both were delicious. As I get more and more comfortable in the kitchen, roasted veggies are still the most comforting thing I know how to make.

A vegetable fest (note, fest not feast) is on the lighter side for an evening meal, but I knew that dessert was in my future.

Coffee cake in a mug!

This recipe is a 2 minute masterpiece.

Have you tasted any of the new Chobani flavors yet? What is your number 1 favorite variety of Greek yogurt?

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.

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.