Tag Archives: peach

Toasted Marshmallow Cheesecake Oatmeal (For Dinner)

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My book and beers were great last night but I woke up in a funk.  Adam and I both just didn’t want to get out of bed.  I snoozed for so long that suddenly there wasn’t enough time to both go to the gym and make the fun breakfast I was looking forward to.  I knew I had to get it together before my bad mood ruined the whole day so I tried to pinpoint what was making me cranky – I was cold, I was tired, I was hungry.

Time to problem-solve!  I decided I would make a mug of hot chocolate (calories, warmth, caffeine), go to the gym (endorphins), and eat my fun breakfast for dinner (anticipation).

The cocoa was pretty weak but my workout felt rewarding.  10 minutes on the treadmill (1 mile) and 20 minutes at level 6 random on the stationary bike (7 miles).

I had to hurry, but somehow my hair air-dried perfectly today!

Often one side curls under while the other flips up so this felt very fortuitous since I had to look nice for clinic.

For breakfast I cashed in the last of my Ashker’s smoothie Groupon on the walk to school.

I got a Lemon Zinger sans ginger; aka a carrot, peach, mango, and lemon smoothie.  It was great!

Lunch included more carrots so it’s a good thing I’m a fan.

Also a Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin with two slices of Applegate Farm’s Smoked Turkey and a wedge of Light French Onion Laughing Cow.

And a 120-calorie pack of Skinny Cow Dreamy Clusters.

These were on super-sale so I took a chance and I ended up quite liking them.  The serving was small but the caramel was nice and I liked the bit of crunch.

But I probably should have packed an additional item for lunch because I was inhaling this 100-calorie bag of kettle corn the minute I walked in the door at the end of the day.

My clinical hours today were at a Diabetic Education Course.  The RD let me teach the portion on reading nutrition labels.  She said I seemed knowledgable and confident which is awesome because on the inside I was screaming my head off!  I’m considering becoming a certified diabetes educator (cde) some day so it was neat to get a taste of the experience.

I had to get through night class and then I finally had my much-anticipated breakfast dinner.  What combination was I so excited about?

Toasted Marshmallow Cheesecake Oats!

So flipping good.

cooked: 3/4 cup skim milk, pinch salt, 1/4 cup oats

stirred in: 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese (cheesecake), 4 toasted marshmallows (marshmallow!)

topped: 1 Tbsp melted Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter (crust)

The toasted marshmallows stirred into the mix and the bowl was like a giant, toasty, marshmallow!

When I originally planned this meal for breakfast I wanted to make sure it was nutritionally ready to get me through the day so I plugged the ingredients into an online calculator –

Not bad, not bad at all; especially for something that tasted like dessert.

What is your favorite decadent breakfast?

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!

Yay, Buffet!

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It was a good weekend end.  It’s been great having my brother-in-law in town for a quick visit.  I managed to have a good balance of work/schoolwork/and fun today too.

We started our morning with smoothies.

1.5 cups of mango puree, 1.5 Tbsp honey, 1.5 cups frozen peaches, and 1 container of Stonyfield Mango and Honey Low-fat Yogurt; split three ways.

This was the last of the mango puree but I definitely plan on purchasing more soon.

My smoothie made me shiver, so I made a cup of tea to warm up with.

2 bags of red velvet tea steeped in skim milk.  It was tasty, but the dog snuck his snout in halfway through so I had to abandon it.  I moved on to pizza leftovers instead.

Atop notecard making.  Holy crap do I ever still have a lot to do before Wednesday’s exam!

I did take a mid-day study break to go to Brawler’s Deli with the boys for lunch.  Their portion sizes are ridiculous; check out this half of Adam’s sandwich!?!

My meal was healthier, but equally big.

A side salad with a bit of balsamic and spicy mustard on top,

a cup of gouda beer soup,

and Adam’s side of cole slaw.

I ate all of the cole slaw, 3/4 of the salad, and 2/3 of the soup, when the game reached halftime and the Pearl Street Staff set out a huge (free!) buffet.  Score!

I took some fruit, carrots, and spinach and buffalo chicken dips with chips.  All tasty.

After my brother-in-law left, Adam and I spent the afternoon hanging out until I had to go to work.  Dinner had to be simple since my shift started at 6, mac and cheese leftover from last week.

Plus some amazing cookies (recipe’s coming tomorrow) when I got home.

Also plus 2 servings (?!) of Lindt truffles that were eaten on the couch and out of reach of the camera.  Whoops.

It’s going to be a busy week, I’ve got to get to bed!

Smoothie, Sandwich, Stir Fry

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Y’all will not even believe what I did this morning … Started my day with a trip to the gym!  It wasn’t a long visit – 25 minutes on the elliptical, level 6 random – but after my month+ hiatus it felt good to be back.  Now I need to hurry to bed so there’s a possibility of me making it back to the gym tomorrow!

I didn’t have much time when I got home, but between showering and peeling the dog off of my boots I managed to make Adam and myself tasty smoothies.

The secret ingredient was MANGO.

I’ve been eyeing that can of sweetened mango pulp at Wegmans for months.  I’d been resisting, but once I remembered that we had some frozen peaches to use up I finally bit.  For two servings I blended –

  • 1 cup mango pulp
  • ~ 1 cup frozen peaches
  • ~ 1 cup Stonyfield Plain Fat-free Yogurt
  • ~ 1 Tbsp honey

They were delicious.

I wish breakfast had been a bit more filling though, because lunch was a long time coming.  I had to get through three classes and a group meeting first.  Since I decided to stay on campus until my shift at work I ended up having to buy food in the bookstore coffee shop.

I know that sandwich looks divine, but I sort of hated it.  I ordered the (pre-made, then toasted) turkey with cheddar and chipotle mayo and regretted it every bite.  There was way too much turkey, way too much cheese, and the cheese had a gross plastic texture.

I ate 2/3 of it, sadly.  Normally, my rule is that I do not eat anything that I don’t a) love or b) need for nutrients; but I was stuck, starving, and not about to drop down more cash for something else.

I should have just gone home anyways because between tiredness and hunger I didn’t get a damn thing done.  I actually curled up with my backpack and took a nap; shhhhh!

After a good shift at work, I came home to stir fry veggies for dinner.

No pasta or egg this time, just veggies, since my massive sandwich gave me a dose of carbs and protein.

The vegetables are always my favorite part anyways.  (Have you tried my riceless stir-fried rice?)

What should I make with the rest of my mango pulp?

No Take-out ‘Tober

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Bedtime was closer to midnight than my planned 9pm.  I suck.  But to be fair, it’s hard to motivate on the couch when you’re sitting next to this –

I’ve got a lot to do today (like all the stuff I didn’t do this weekend) so I made myself a heaping bowl of breakfast.

That’s 1/2 cup Wegman’s 0% Plain Greek Yogurt with 2 servings of GH Galaxy granola and some peach and red plum.

Lunch preview – Today I’ve packed a big Sweet Tango apple,

and a leftover serving of tofu quiche.

Both should be delicious.

Speaking of future foods; I have an announcement for this month…

No Take-out ‘Tober

For the sake of our waistlines and wallets, Adam and I are making October a take-out free month.

In the past year or so we’ve become way too reliant on buying food out and bringing it home.  Wegman’s hot bar, anyone?  It’s always expensive, and never healthy.  Of course there are times when eating pizza on the couch is amazing and necessary, but it shouldn’t be a weekly habit.  I really enjoy cooking at home and 90% of what I make is cheaper than what we would purchase out.  Obviously restaurant meals can be expensive and caloric too, but they come with atmosphere and experience.  We’ve decided it’s time to rein our take-out habit in.

For the month of October –

  • Wegman’s hot bar is off-limits.  Period.
  • No take-out of any kind may be purchased.
  • Restaurant meals are ok as long as they are eaten in the setting.
  • We don’t have to starve if there’s no food at home, but what we can go out and purchase is bread, turkey, and cheese; not pre-made Buffalo chicken sandwiches!

Does anyone want to join us for No Take-out ‘Tober?  Let me know in the comments if you (and your family) want to take part!

Wegman’s Jackpot

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We didn’t get in bed until past 11pm and the dog snuggled me awake 10 different times during the night but somehow I did manage to get in a 6am gym session.  Woo-hoo!  30 minutes on the elliptical at level 5.  My feet kill and I was moving pretty slowly, but I got some movement in and spent some time reviewing my notecards.

When I got home I grabbed a coffee for the road but didn’t bother taking a picture because the dog ate my camera cord.  Coffee, English Toffee syrup, Silk Plain Almond Milk.  I think y’all know what that looks likes.  Instead, here is a picture of Webster the Destructor –

I had a nice break between class 1 and 2 because my test only took half of the alloted time.  The test went well, probably not an A but definitely not an F.  We’ve had mostly multiple choice questions for the past year so I need to get used to the short answer, matching, etc. format.

I ate my breakfast on the break (I uploaded my photos after I packed lunch last night).  Mini box of raisins,

serving of Love Grown Granola (HLS swag),

and a Trader Joe’s applesauce packet.

I ended up going ahead and eating my lunch during the same break (phone pic).  I packed a frozen serving of leftover kale and beans which I plated and stuck in the campus bookstore microwave. 

There was a bit of tofurkey sausage and parmesan on the bottom too.  Even frozen and defrosted the bbq kale and beans were still delicious!  I’m sad this is all gone and plan to make another batch soon.

Eating lunch at 10am left me pretty hungry come my second break but I distracted myself with some computer time.  <– I even started writing this post!

After school I had to run to Bagel Jays to pick up some halvah for a school presentation later this week.  They were all out, but the cashier did have a suggestion of where I could find more.  And an epic journey to the Wegmans 25-minutes away with an international section ensued.  In the end that hour was completely worth it though; I ended up finding all sorts of goodies that I haven’t spotted elsewhere in Buffalo!

Adam and I have been searching for everything matzoh every since we left Miami!  And I was excited to eat a snack find right away.

Pizza flavored snacks (chips? crackers?) from Bissli.

Adam and I split the package and we both loved them.  The flavor was pretty mild but the texture was unlike any snack I’ve ever had, very hard and crunchy!  When I turn my epic Wegman’s journey into a monthly event I will definitly be buying more Bissli products.

I also drank a Wegman’s diet root beer and pretty much died and went to heaven.

Sidenote -I don’t show you all of the diet soda I drink (I’d never get off the computer!), just the interesting ones.  Diet cola is my favorite thing on Earth but other sugar-free sodas tend to make me gag.  I’d sooner dehydrate than put Diet Sprite in my mouth.  But this root beer was amazing; perfect balance of sweet and spice, no aftertaste.  This actually was the best root beer I’ve ever had, diet or regular, period.

We ate our snacks on the road because we were out searching for a camera cord replacement.  Many (many) stops later we finally had success.  By the time I had the ability to photograph dinner Adam and I were completely demoralized.  He actually called my mom and begged to charge dinner!  She’s the best lady ever, so out we went.  And wouldn’t you know it, we wandered into restaurant week.

How serendipitous!

My pictures of dinner are all terrible.  I’m hoping it was the lighting because if I need to buy a new camera right after I sprang for a new cord I might just cry.

Course 1 was soup;

a jalapeno cheddar corn potato chowder.

This had a nice spice to it but was too rich for my taste.

For my entrée I ordered the tortellini ratatouille.

That’s not it.  I was two bites in I was complaining about the lack of veggies when I came to a startling realization – this was the tortellini Bolognese.  Pros – my entire pre fixe meal was comped.  Cons – I ate a cow!!?!

Our waiter was apologetic about the mishap and soon enough I had my ratatouille.

Much better, this had tons of veggies.  I ate 2/3 of my meal and brought the leftovers home for a happy husband.  He ordered steak with a Stilton crust and was thrilled.

For dessert I ordered peach cobbler with Grand Marnier and chantilly cream.

I never really consider the cobbler but this was a lot of fun to eat.  I finished all of the peaches and cream and 3/4 of the cobbler.

Not so fun is the fact that my stomach started hurting halfway through dinner.  It was bad enough that the pain was making me sweat (though not bad enough that I’ll skip dessert, apparently!).  The issue was probably the creamy soup, but I’m going to blame the beef!

Are there any foods you don’t eat?  When was the last time one slipped into your meal?  Veggies – how do you react when you accidentally consume some flesh?

Peachy Keen

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How’s your week been?  Everything peachy keen?  That’s my favorite throwback expression, by the way; “peachy keen” makes me think of yellow ribbons and two straws in a glass Coke bottle.

Things have not been so peachy around here; nothing major, but our internet has been all wonky and frustrating.  Plus I’ve been feeling wonky and frustrated, which is why I’m not bothering to recap the days I’ve missed posting.  I’ve been spending way too much time on the couch and adopting the sleep schedule of a vampire.

[source]

Even though my night was like a date with Angel (if only!!), I forced my eyes open at 8:30 this morning.  If I want to break the cycle I need to get out of bed earlier in the morning.  And if I want to get out of bed earlier in the morning I need to have a good breakfast on the agenda.

Wake-y, wake-y, eggs and bac-y peaches and cream smoothie!

Into the blender went 1 cup of frozen peaches, 1 cup of Stonyfield Fat Free Plain Yogurt, 1 cup of So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk, and a packet of vanilla protein powder.

Not exactly peaches and cream, but nothing to sneeze at either.

Grog Not Groggy

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After my run this morning I joined my parents for an hour and a half bike ride.  I burnt the crap out of my forearms yesterday so I ended up biking in 85* weather in this –

Worth it.  We rode all around the path and over some gorgeous bridges.  I so wish I’d had my camera but I couldn’t figure out a place to put it.

We came home for a refreshing breakfast.

0% Plain Greek Gods Yogurt with a strawberry honey straw, blueberries, peach, and Great Harvest granola.

I have maybe a half serving of granola left and my heart is breaking.

Getting lunch was not my strong suit today and I will admit that I was a little cranky this afternoon.  We did do some fun things though, like explore a neat farmer’s market.

I grabbed an iced coffee from a stand at the market.

But traded iced in for hot as soon as I saw this –

Grog style coffee?!  With a little skim milk.

I swear it did taste like buttered rum!

We also traveled to the mecca.

I bought sushi (spicy and regular brown rice California rolls) for lunch but I only ate three pieces.

Yucky City, way too much (mushy) rice.  If I had been closer to the store I would have returned it but I was eating on the car ride home.

I split these Sunkist gems with my dad for dessert.

Yum City.

My grumbling tummy was very happy when dinner was served.

Side salad with peas, radishes, spicy ranch, and dill cheese curds.

Corn on the cob so tasty it blew the corn I bought in Buffalo out of the water.

And quesadilla with sautéed onions and peppers, turkey sausage, shredded chicken, and colby and sharp cheddar cheese.

With a small turtle blizzard for dessert.

I’ve been pretty well fed this vacation.  Nonetheless, I can’t wait to go home to my husband tomorrow and hear about his first week back at school!

When in Random

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I’ve been all over the map today so this post is going to seem a little random.  I didn’t get much any schoolwork done but I did have a lot of fun – lunch at the Co-op with Katie, hanging out with the husband, and a trip with a group of friends to the Buffalo Wing Festival.  It’s sort of essential that I get a good night’s sleep and rock out my work tomorrow so I’ll keep this quick.  Bare minimum description in 3, 2, 1…

This small banana chocolate bar was 33cents at the grocery store.

It was super light and tasted like airy banana cream pie.

Co-op hot bar lunch (for reference, this was the small box, about the size of a novel).

Buffalo-style tempeh,

cashew noodles,

a stuffed grape leaf,

and some pasta with delicious homemade ricotta and marinara.

I also bought the best Hello Dolly (7-layer bar) I’ve ever freaking tasted!

The wing festival was super crowded and really poorly organized (boo) but we had a good time hanging out with the other couples at least.  I only got to sample a few wings, Hawaiian, smoked, and Guinness bbq.

You can assume I ate about half of that; when it gets to close to the bone I get squeamish and Adam finishes them for me.

Crackers with smoked gouda spread, split with the husband.

Yogurt mix bowl – Vanilla 0% Siggi, a chopped peach, cinnamon chips, and tons of cinnamon.

For dinner we cooked up some pizza.

Tandoor Chef caught wind of how obsessed I am with their Pad Thai and graciously sent me some Naan Pizza samples.  I was more than happy to do a review, I think Tandoor Chef products are amazing!  A lot of their offerings are vegan, it is by far the most authentic “ethnic” food I can get in Buffalo, and everything tastes so fresh you have to check the box to remember that it was frozen!  Tonight we tried the Margherita Naan Pizza,

and the Cilantro Pesto Naan Pizza.

Check out the nutritional stats –

Reasonable amount of sodium and saturated fat for a good dose of protein.  I think that a full pizza (as opposed to a half) is a more realistic serving size though.  That makes it a little calorie-dense, but since the ingredient list is just “real” food it’s ok.

Adam and I each tried half of each flavor (he ate some of my crusts though).

Even though our crazy oven caused us to burn them we were still big fans.  The tomatoes on the Margherita tasted fresh and juicy and the cilantro pesto had a great spice kick to it.

I’m getting in bed now, but I’ll probably play Word Feud with Adam for a bit before sleeping.  Good night!

What’s your take on hot wings?

Movement is Good

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We’re going to pretend like I didn’t magically skip two days of posting, ok?  Ok.  Because in reality it was more like I skipped two days of life, leaving not a whole lot to post about.  My first test went pretty badly, probably because I spent Thursday watching TV and eating nachos.  And my bone scan appointment was canceled indefinitely because the hospital waited to call me until 10hours before my exam to tell me that I had to have an in-state referral.

Since my journey back into fitness could be a long time coming (now I don’t even have a doctor’s time-frame) it’s officially time for me to quit wallowing.  I can’t do any form of cardio (swimming would probably work but there’s no pool available) and I can’t strength train at my gym (I’m walking better but stairs are super painful and my gym has a ton) but that doesn’t mean I have to sit on my butt and get fat fatter.

So I stayed in bed and felt sad until the husband left at 9 this morning and then I decisively limped to the living room to set up my workout area.

20minutes later I had completed arm/ab/back/leg strength work and stretching.  I felt great to “move” again!

I was less excited about cleaning around the house, but I made myself do that before my shower too.  Then I made the husband and I a tasty brunch.

Adam is sick so I made the smoothies around his tastes.  For two – 2medium bananas, 7oz frozen peaches, 2T fat free sugar free pudding mix, 1cup oj.

I’ve got to clip some coupons and do my recipe planning while I sip my smoothie (lots of alliteration in that sentence!) and then we are headed to the grocery store.  We are hoping to head to the movies later too.  Happy Saturday!

I need your help!  Does anyone have a genius non-impact cardio suggestion that I haven’t thought of yet?