Weekly Wrap-Up; A Trip To Ohio

by Emily

Last week was quite a good one for me. I passed my Registration Exam and then flew to Ohio to visit my grandma. Good times all around! It was also a busy week, so please excuse the many gaps in my reporting (for example, my grandma served me dessert at least twice a day, every day of my visit and I think I managed to snap a photo of just one sweet bite).

Dietetics students – feel free to leave a comment/shoot me an e-mail if you’d like some more details on the studying process for the exam. Otherwise, here we go…

Breakfasts

{1} A tropical smoothie.

I blended up frozen mano chunks, oj, and Müller low-fat Greek yogurt with honeyed apricot.

{2} Berry topped cereal.

Kashi Honey Puffs and Nature’s Path Bran flakes with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, blueberries, nectarine, and a sprinkle of sugar.

{3} Yogurt bowl day one.

Chobani 2% Apricot Greek Yogurt topped with sliced banana and red plum. Not only did a find a few good, new flavors of yogurt while in Ohio, but these plums were the best (read: juicy without being drippy and nice and sweet) I’ve ever had. The apricot flavored Chobani was nice as well.

{4} Yogurt bowl day two.

Liberté Peach and Passionfruit Non-fat Greek Yogurt topped with more fantastic red plum. Liberté makes Greek yogurt now?! My heart practically leapt out of my chest.

Lunches

Lots of meals out in this category, much fun was had.

{1} California Pizza Kitchen, Queens.

Adam, ever the traditionalist, shared a slice of his Roasted Garlic and Chicken Pizza with me. The pizza was yummy, but I went with a salad.

CPK’s Thai Crunch Salad is a thing of wonders, the edamame, peanuts, and wonton strips give it great crunch. And that giant plate was a half portion! Adam and I both ate some at lunch and then there was enough leftover for him to eat the next day as well. This meal was actually eaten the day before my exam. The husband quizzed me a bit over our meal but largely I took things easy that day; either you know it or you don’t!

{2} Bareburger, then 16 Handles, Long Island.

After I passed my exam, a very sleepy husband took me out to celebrate. He worked all night, then came home and drove me to my test, so it was perfect to go somewhere that loved bears for lunch (my nickname for him is Bear).

Bareburger is a NY chain that focuses on organic, humanely sourced foods. Their meat options include wild boar, elk, and ostrich! I went “boring” with a turkey burger.

The Maui Wowie (sans bun) was far from boring; it was topped with smoked mozzarella, turkey bacon, grilled pineapple, fried onions, fire-roasted red pepper, and buttermilk ranch.

It was freaking delicious and we want to go back again {and again, and again!}.

You can’t celebrate without froyo.

We went to 16 Handles afterward and rocked my face off. The topping options were out of this world.

I got pecan praline yogurt (!!!) topped with Coney Island Crunch trail mix and bananas foster banana chips! Re-dic-u-lous.

{3} Bakehouse, then Jenni’s Splendid Ice Cream, Troy.

Bakehouse is a fantastic bakery and cafe in Ohio. My grandma took me there the minute I stepped off the plan and we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch.

I had a cup of gazpacho,

and we split a Vegetarian Sandwich.

Cheesy-good was definitely the theme of this visit.

We digested by walking around and looking at Troy’s newest sculpture installations.

They were sooooo realistic, my grandma definitely tricked me a few times into thinking we were heading towards real people.

Then we went for Winan’s for dessert because…

they sell little containers of Jeni’s ice cream!

The black coffee flavor was perfection. I’ve been reading rave reviews of Jeni’s in magazines and blogs for years and now I totally get the hype.

{4} First Watch, Dayton.

I had never heard of First Watch – a breakfast/lunch only spot – before but they served up quite a fine half salad/half sandwich combo for lunch.

The Santa Fe Salad was nice and spicy (and also flipping loaded with chicken, no one person would possibly want that much on one salad),

and any place that serves turkey reubans along the traditionals wins my heart.

{5} My grandma’s kitchen, finally a home-cooked lunch.

A bit of avocado, a cob of my spicy, cheesy baked corn,

and chicken salad.

Nana’s chicken salad – made with mayo, sliced grapes, and toasted pecans – is one of my all-time favorite dishes.

Drinks and Snacks

{1} Mango Hi-Chew.

I am just too glad to be back in the city where there are Hi-Chews at every corner store. Mango was nice and juicy, but I won’t be satisfied until I find the yogurt flavor I used to love.

{2} Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snack.

My seaweed consumption has gone way down now that I’m not packing lunches for school so this was a nice treat.

{3} Maple-Glazed Pecan and Sea Salt KIND Bar.

My bar consumption is also on the decline, but this flavor was by far the best KIND bar I’ve ever had.

{4} Bourganel’s Nougat Beer.

A friend took me to Bierkfraft – an awesome bar/beer merchant in Park Slope – to celebrate my new credentials and we discovered our new favorite thing.

I grabbed this Bourganel Beer Nougat on a whim (always try to drink booze that tastes like dessert, that’s my motto) and it was out of control. Normally I leave a lot behind when I drink a beer, but this bottle was drained before it could even get warm. My friend adored it as well; we ended up buying a second bottle to split after our first round!

{5} Kahlua Ready-to-Drink White Russian.

I have looked for these bottles all summer after spotting one in a magazine and I finally hit pay dirt in Ohio!

Dinners

{1} Sushi.

The night before my exam, I got take-out from A-Chiban. Mango-inari, fish tempura, and a veggie roll.

The mango was slimy and terrible, but everything else was good.

{2} Spicy.

Spicy, cajun shrimp over angel hair,

with tossed salad and citrus green beans.

{3} Casserole.

Cucumber and tomato salad, cornmeal-breaded baked summer squash,

and creamy chicken casserole.

Among the ingredient list for the casserole were swiss cheese, white wine, and stuffing. My grandma is an amazing cook.

{4} Plane food.

My kiku apple was crunchy and sweet, and the leftover chicken salad served on cranberry poppy-seed bread made for an amazing sandwich.

My sandwich was on the small side, but not to worry, I bought chips (um, and pizza) at the airport!

Do you have a favorite dish that a certain family member will always prepare for you?

23Mar2013

South Carolina

by Emily

After a long day of travel, we are in Charleston! Our spring break matched up with my parents’ so we met up for a few days of fun. I’ve never been to Charleston before and I am very excited to explore.

Our flight wasn’t until 4 pm so we had a nice easy morning to pack and say goodbye to the dog. I made a sweet bowl for breakfast.

0% plain Greek yogurt, 1% large curd cottage cheese, sliced plum, fresh blackberries, and maple syrup.

We were a bit rushed in the afternoon (you know I waited until the last second to get ready!) so I saved lunch for the airport. Cherry tomatoes and baby carrots dipped in Greek yogurt asiago artichoke dip.

Plus cheese popchips shared with the husband.

And the last serving of quinoa dark chocolate for dessert.

Our flights were stupid (I hate Delta) and we ended up with a lengthy layover in Atlanta. We took advantage of the time and took a nice looooong walk. The movement was great, but then unfortunately I cut it too close to buy food-food.

Cheetos and a peanut butter strawberry KIND bar (and free pretzels), dinner of champions.

And now we’re here. Wheee!

16Feb2013

Kool And The Gang

by Emily

Q: Do you know what these two things have in common?

A: I used the Kool Aid to (re)dye my hair!

I never captured it in a photo, but over the last week or so I lost 90% of my purple and was left with a lot of white/grey streaks. Since I don’t have an appointment to go back to brown for another two weeks, this wasn’t exactly a good thing. So last night the husband helped me sit with my head in a bowl of concentrated Kool Aid.

It was windy today!

I’ve still got some white but overall it looks much better. We’ll have to see how long the color lasts. I used to dye my highlights with Kool Aid in high school and I remember getting at least a couple of weeks out of it.

The hair photos were taken on my way to work. I woke up this morning feeling a bit under the weather; I had a fever and I was super achy all over. Adam fed me an aspirin and I stayed in bed until the last possible second. I’m feeling much better now {knock on wood}. And thankfully I was only working a partial shift.

I skipped breakfast for bed and was very excited about food when I got home this afternoon.

1/3 cup of Nature’s Path Coconut Chia Granola with Naked Vanilla Oat Milk and tons of chopped dapple plum and nectarine.

Plus lots of tea. A cup of Revolution Tea Lavender Earl Grey,

and a cup of chai with 1 tsp honey an hour or so later.

I carried the lavender theme over to my snack as well.

My mom got these floral candies from a student whose parents are from Japan.

My dad says they all taste like peach, but I swear the ones I tried had subtle differences.

We spent a long-ish time on errands this evening and I got a small plate of hot bar to keep from getting too cranky.

Maple cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes plus sautéed veggies and 3 pieces of General Tso tofu. It’s been ages since we’ve roasted sweet potato fries and we definitely need to make them again soon.

Dinner didn’t take very long to prepare once we got home, but it sure was good.

I had 1.5 servings of Wegman’s Don’t Be a Chicken Meatless Nuggets dipped in honey.

They were great, far more enjoyable than I ever find chicken nuggets to be.

I made use a hot spinach salad for our veggie component.

(recipe to follow) We loved it. The spinach was super creamy and there was such a good mix of textures.

Dinner didn’t really fill me up though, and I ate some Smart Fries while I wrote this post.

Much better.

Hot Spinach Salad, serves 2

1 Tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter
1 pint white mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 pinches salt
3 heaping cups raw baby spinach
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup smoked almonds
1 Tbsp evoo
2 heaping Tbsp vegan sour cream

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown mushrooms with butter and salt.
Add spinach to mushrooms, tossing until greens are completely wilted.
Add remaining ingredients to pan and cook 1 more minute, stirring regularly.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Have you ever dyed your hair with Kool Aid?

3Feb2013

na na na na na na na na BANANA

by Emily

It’s time for another two-day post. Shhhhhh, don’t tell my mom!

The past 48 hours have been full of Bananas, but nary a vegetable has been seen. Things haven’t technically been that busy, but it’s hard to post when you basically die into bed.

My last post left off at lunch. After I finished up at the hospital for the day, I came home to decorate my cupcakes for book club.

Book club may have been hit hard by sickness and weather advisories this week, but that didn’t mean that the three of us who still got together didn’t deserve banana split cupcakes!

Banana Split Cupcakes, makes 12

Yield: 12 cupcakes; Prep Time: 30 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 large bananas, well mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup melted butter
1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
12 Tbsp hot fudge sauce
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
5 oz vanilla bean ice cream, fully melted
maraschino cherries
rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Line a cupcake tray with 12 paper liners.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
In a large bowl combine mashed banana, white sugar, egg, and melted butter. Stir to combine, then fold in flour mixture and mix just until smooth. Fold in walnuts.
Fill each cupcake liner halfway with batter. Spoon 1 Tbsp fudge sauce into each cup. Top with remaining batter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow cupcakes to completely cool before icing.
While cupcakes are cooling, use an electric mixer to beat together softened butter, powdered sugar, and melted ice-cream. (This icing will keep best if stored in the fridge rather than at room temperature).
Ice cupcakes then top with cherries and sprinkles as desired.

I know I’ve posted the recipe before but since almost nobody reads my blog, nobody has made the cupcakes yet. And that is really unfortunate because they are one of the best things I’ve ever made. I may not write a popular blog but I can write a damn good recipe!

I actually ended up eating my serving the minute it was decorated.

Then while my friends ate cupcakes I munched on BBQ Smart Fries.

But first we grabbed a quick and easy dinner at Wegman’s.

I got spicy crawfish chips,

and a brown rice California roll with a side of spicy mayo.

Then the three of us came back to my place for cupcakes (and Smart Fries!) and a movie. We watched “The Perfect Family” on Netflix and all loved it. Emily Deschanel was great as always and the entire film was surprisingly funny and smart.

I send my friends home with all of the cupcakes (except for two saved for Adam who was out-of-town the past few days) and when my sweet tooth called a few hours later I made an amazing yogurt banana split. An Almond Coco Loco Chobani Flip topped with sliced banana, hot fudge sauce, a big scoop of ice cream frosting, and a cherry on top.

Maybe the best bowl of “ice cream” I’ve ever had. The combination of tastes was amazing, and you better believe I ate another big scoop of frosting straight from the container! This Flip was a billion times better than the key lime one; the coconut yogurt was perfection.

I only had to work a half shift today so once Adam got home we got to spend the entire day hanging out. He’s traveled a lot this year and I’ve really missed him. Speaking of which, I’m going to rush through Saturday’s (pathetic) eats so I can get back to snuggling.

Pomegranate Black Tea KeVita. Have you entered my giveaway yet?

Mac and cheese from the co-op hot bar.

2% Chobani Banana topped with sliced plums.

Buffalo chicken pizza with blue cheese and baby carrots.

And a giant bowl of popcorn with melted butter.

My popcorn bowl was actually too big for me and I couldn’t finish it…. who am I???

P.S. This is what’s happening beside me right now –

27Jan2013

Cookie Sunday

by Emily

Cookie Sunday, could that be a thing now please? I had two today. But everything else was healthy. Now that we are trying to not be fat-fat-fatties we gotta keep things balanced.

Breakfast bowl.

The final serving of KIND maple granola (booo! We need more asap!) with chopped peach and plum and Lifeway coconut chia kefir.

Tortellini salad from the co-op.

I split a cookie with Adam at the grocery store.

Yes, we were back at the store, I’m unable to do my shopping in any less than twenty trips a week.

Dinner was great.

Buffalo chicken nuggets (I have a recipe for you below) with blue cheese for dipping,

sautéed mushrooms,

and roasted broccoli.

I made us cookies for dessert.

no. 2 pencil’s single serve cookies (recipe actual makes 2 cookies) are genius, but I crunched the numbers and they have 360 calories each – not an everyday treat. But they were perfect for Cookie Sunday. <– is it a thing yet?

Buffalo Chicken Nuggets, serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup buffalo wing sauce
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cornstarch
2-3 Tbsp oil

Put chicken pieces into a Tupperware and cover with buffalo sauce. Marinate at least 4 hours.
Combine cornmeal and cornstarch in a large ziplock baggie. Add marinated chicken, seal bag, and shake until chicken is evenly coated.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large pan over medium heat, add remaining oil to the pan as needed.
Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, place chicken in pan, cover, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through.
Transfer cooked chicken to a plate covered with paper towels to rest before serving.

5Oct2012

I’m Packed, With Pizza

by Emily

In less than 12 hours, I’ll be headed to Philly! Guess I should be getting in bed, huh? Between clinic, packing, and baking what felt like a million things, it was a busy day.

Food at the hospital. GoGo Squeez cinnamon applesauce packet and a vanilla Stinger waffle.

1 serving of Vanilla Almond Special K with Tempt vanilla hemp milk, chopped plum and nectarine, and 1.5 Tbsp chunky honey peanut butter.

Taste-test #1; look for the recipe on Monday.

Here’s a hint –

Taste-test #2; look for the post on Tuesday.

Taste-test #3; my Buttered Rum Raisin Cookies.

Actually, I “tested” two cookies. Adam and I have decided that these cookies are the best I’ve ever made! My friends and I are staying with a high school friend of mine for a night before the conference starts and I’m saying “thank you” with a big box of cookies.

Grocery store sample.

Adam and I split this plate of carbs and veggies (lasagna, mac and cheese, kale, tofu, and broccoli).

I ended up mostly sticking with the greens. I realized two bites in that the “vegetarian lasagna” was loaded with pork!!!! So sad; but on the plus side we got our food comped so Adam ate for free.

I tried again with pizza plate for dinner.

Veggie slice, buffalo chicken roll up, baby carrots, and blue cheese for dipping.

When was the least time you ate something you didn’t mean to?

28Sep2012

All I Need Is Popcorn

by Emily

I had to work this afternoon but I did manage to get in some nutrients first. Cereal and milk (cereal and milk, cereal and milk!) for a late breakfast.

That’s 1 serving each Vanilla Almond Special K and All Bran Bran Buds with sliced plum and nectarine and Tempt Vanilla Hemp Milk.

I did co-op hot bar for a late lunch.

A tiny bit of bbq seitan, 1 stuffed grape leave, and 2 kinds of massaged kale salads.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, fruits and vegetables are so good!!

That’s not to say that I’m not still excited about junk. Like this caramel apple cookie from the giant box my mother-in-law sent.

Or some of the Chocolove Salted Peanut Milk Chocolate Bar I bought for Adam.

Holy frick; guys, this tasted just like Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut chocolate bars from my childhood. I loved it and definitely plan on buying more.

Something else I’m excited about? I got to leave work early! I pretty much look like a** and my bosses told me to go home early and get some sleep. Instead of sleeping I’m staying up late to watch tv, but the extra time with the husband and dog feels precious.

Dinner was an Asian-style feast.

This baked sweet and sour chicken with sweet and sour sauce from Wegman’s,

roasted broccoli,

and Adam and I split a serving of Annie Chun’s Sprouted Brown Sticky Rice.

Everything was delicious! The chicken recipe is a keeper (not exactly healthy but much healthier than the traditional) and the rice acheived perfect texture in 90 seconds.

My thoughts on tv? Bones was touching, Grey’s was ridiculously sad, and New Girl seems like it is going to be awesome. All that’s left to do is pop a bowl of ‘corn.

16Sep2012

Crazy Week Was Crazy

by Emily

Phew, am I glad that’s over! Ha! Not really; this week was crazy but the year is bound to only get crazier. And I didn’t even have that much going on with school last week. I did, however, work every single free day. Also, the husband’s residency applications went out today. <– giant stressball

Here’s what’s been going on:

I haven’t blogged since Wednesday
I didn’t work out a single time last week (insert major sad face here)
I didn’t do ~~any~~ enough school-work
I worked my butt of at work-work
I put in a lot of hours helping the husband to finalize his application and edit his personal statement
I had to videotape myself giving the husband a nutrition education (it was hilarious)
I didn’t eat anywhere near enough the past few days and I’ve been out of control cranky
I went to the co-op and stocked up on organic ramen so I never have to skip so many meals again (I was truly that busy)

I don’t have time to do a proper recap but I have taken a photo of every food item that’s passed my lips so I am damn well going to blog them!

Thursday

My clinical group toured the food bank as part of our community rotation. I car-pooled with a friend and we used a BOGO coupon for iced coffees with skim milk along the way.

We discovered that Got Milk’s Magic Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Straws turn iced coffee into something magical.

So flipping good!

We spent the 2nd half of our food bank visit sorting tomatoes. It was nice to help out but I had to squelch some major throwing urges.

Lunch was plain yogurt with 2 Tbsp flax and chopped plum and nectarine.

Dinner was Jenna’s Baked Polenta with Mushrooms, Gorgonzola Cheese, and Tomato Sauce.

I made a bunch of changes but the basic recipe was still hers. My updates –

made 4 servings
1 cup of polenta (cooked without butter)
2 pints mushrooms (sautéed in 1 Tbsp butter 1st)
1.5 cups marinara
1 cup gorgonzola
cooked 20 minutes

It was really, really good!

Friday

I ate a strange lunch-breakfast in class. A 2 slices of Applegate Farms turkey on a Sandwich Thin with yellow mustard and 2% colby sandwich.

Roasted seaweed.

An apple.

And apple month candy.

This didn’t fill me up at all and I ate lunch an hour later. And by ate I mean shoved into my face in under two minutes. A Wegman’s Low-fat Honey Yogurt.

A Fiber One cookie.

And a Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter squeeze packet.

That Justin’s isn’t even like Nutella, it is frosting!!

Baked polenta leftovers for dinner.

Plus leftover pizza dipped in 1000 island dressing an hour later because I was still hungry.

Saturday

…was ridiculous. 0% Chocolate Oikos.

A plum.

A Honey Low-fat Yogurt with Banana Chobani Flip.

This product is so new that it’s not even on their website but I sure hope they keep making it. The mashed banana was strangely delicious.

However – I ate all three of those items at work. And then I didn’t eat anything else all day. My day went – get up. work, work, work. edit Adam’s applications. bed. He may have slept on the couch.

Sunday

Two breakfasts to make up for yesterday’s lack of calories. 1 serving of Special K Vanilla Almond in Blue Diamond’s almond/coconut milk blend.

Chopped plum and apricot on top of a strawberry 0% Oikos.

Nature’s Path Apple Pie Crunch Plus Chia Bar.

I only bought this because I was having an Apple Month frenzy, but I actually loved it. The bars were crunchy without being too crumbly and the apple spice flavor was subtle. Plus, 3 grams each protein and fiber.

I bought a Raaw Passion Fruit Wheatgrass drink at work.

I used to love Jamba’s oj and wheatgrass shots with a passion (ha!) and I adore passion fruit so this was the perfect thing for me. If the co-op keeps stocking them I will certainly buy one again.

Adam handed me three gummi mice this afternoon. (His nickname for me is Mouse.)

We had to videotape our interview when I got home from work and it ate up most of the afternoon. More time was spent giggling than recording!

We split take-out from Vasilis Express for dinner.

A Chicken Souvlaki Wrap,

plus Greek Fries, aka fries smothered in Greek dressing and feta.

When we went to pick up our food we spotted this –

And we had ice cream before dinner (Turkey Hill Double Dunker).

It was mocha ice cream with crunchy cookie and cookie dough and it was ridiculous.

I had my class review at The Spot this evening so I had another iced coffee with skim milk and a magic straw. I didn’t manage to photograph but I imagine most of you can use your imaginations.

The end?

This post was terrible. Much too long, poorly written, and exceptionally boring. I apologize for making you read my food diary. The end.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: plum

Weekly Wrap-Up; A Trip To Ohio

Breakfasts

Lunches

Drinks and Snacks

Dinners

South Carolina

Kool And The Gang

na na na na na na na na BANANA

Cookie Sunday

I’m Packed, With Pizza

All I Need Is Popcorn

Crazy Week Was Crazy

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday