Tag Archives: plum

Buffalo Mini Meet-Up

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Buffalo has finally arrived to hot hot summer weather (ie we hit the high 80’s today) and it was the perfect afternoon for a sundae.

I ate exactly one serving of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and was pleasantly surprised by how large the serving was (when I’m not eating it by the container, ice cream is one of the things I use my food scale for).  My bowl was super bulked up by the additions of chocolate syrup, a tiny crumble of coffee cake, and a nice juicy plucot.

I’m loving the summer produce today, this was the first plucot I didn’t taste and toss this year!

This evening was spent at my first blogger meet up!

L to R – Katy (a reader), me, and Katie (a reader and IRL friend).  A few people had to bail at the last minute so it was a pretty teeny “meet up” but the small group meant we could have a real conversation, yay!  Of course I was lame and akward and I’m sure I could have used the buffer of a crowd, but I had a great time.

We went to Saigon Cafe since they can work with meat-eaters and veggies alike. Katy ordered the summer roll appetizer and shared a piece with me.

And I ordered the Pad See Eiw special – extra veggies, level 5 spicy – for my dinner.

Extra veggies meant tons of squash which was delicous, and this actually had a bit of spice to it (though no where near as much as I’d like).

Good food, good conversation, good meet-up!

Katy and Katie both had long walks home so I went with them.  We stopped at the Co-op like good healthy living blog readers should.  I went home with Katie to try on her Lululemon Ta-Ta Tamer.  I loved it (yay!), but determined that my boobs are ginormous (yay?).

Just A Few Tweaks

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Today’s morning resembled yesterday’s, with just a few tweaks.

Instead of ellipticizing for my workout, I sat on the couch and watched “Food Network Star.”  What?  I’m planning on squeezing some activity in later.

Instead of sliced bananas with my Chobani Champions Honey-Nana and GH granola, I used plucots.

In my new Anthropolgie bowl, love!

And instead of one health-care appointment, I’ve got three.  My day will be spent at the orthodontist’s office, and then the student health center (I need medical clearance to participate in a study one of my professors is running), and then the dermatologist for a skin check.

I won’t be home until late this afternoon, but YOU should stop by the blog around 1 for a how-to post on tipping.

Breakfast, Preview, Lucky YOU

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An Early Breakfast

I am so not prepared for today’s exam that breakfast felt more like ‘last meal,’ but it’s a long day and I want to be well-fueled.  I don’t tend to eat much cereal but it is quick and tasty fuel.

1 serving of Barbara’s Vanilla Almond Shredded Oats and 1/2 serving Special K Red Berries with a chopped plum (with plain Silk Almond Milk).

A Lunch Preview

After my exam I’ve got two meetings that will keep me on campus until at least 2:30, so I thought I’d show you my eats early rather than late.

Today’s lunch is a milder form of yesterday’s Monte Cristo.

Arnold’s WW Sandwich Thin, topped with Crofter’s Strawberry Spread, and 1.5oz Cabot 50% Reduced White Cheddar.

I am so jazzed about my sandwich combo that apparently it put me in a jam mood, because I also packed a 2% Fage with Strawberry.

Finally, a serving of Terra Exotic Harvest Sea Salt Chips.

I’m not gonna lie, I gobbled up at least a serving of these chips while I packed my lunch.  I should not have accepted this free sample because as soon as this bag runs out I’m going to blow my whole budget buying more!

This new variety has carrots, blue potatoes, and kabocha squash.  All the Terra chips are extra thick in a way that is so fabulous, and this bag is the perfect variety of salty yet sweet.  They let the veggies’ flavors shine through, but you definitely feel like you are eating chips.  I’m in love….

Lucky for You

….which is good news for you, because I’m doing a giveaway!

Terra heard my raving about the Blues variety and offered to let me share the love with my readers (you guys!).  5 lucky winners will receive a coupon for $$-off a bag of heaven Terra Chips.  To enter –

  1. Leave a comment on this post before noon on Friday (11/12).
  2. For a 2nd entry, link back to this post from your blog and leave another comment letting me know you’ve done so.
  3. For a 3rd entry, link back to this post from Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you’ve done so.

And, just to be nice, you could wish me luck on my test today!  😉

Squashing My To-Do List

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When Adam and I were miserable, teaching in New York, we would escape in entertainment.  I genuinely believe that “Scrubs” saved our sanity (and our marriage!) during our first year.  During our second year, things had gotten much easier but they were still much harder than we had ever imagined.  On Sunday nights, when none of our plans for the week were complete and things felt hopeless because even after we stayed up all night writing them we’d still never get to teach the damn plans, one of us would say it – “Do you want to see what’s playing at the movies?“

Something was always playing.  And if there hadn’t been I’m pretty sure we would have convinced ourselves that something from the previous week was worth rewatching.  Our studio apartment was on the corner of 2nd Avenue and the movie theatre – a fabulous revamped spot with a galaxy of stars sewn into the carpet and classic movie posters lining the walls – was on the corner of 13th.  Those eleven blocks, and every single store and restaurant along the way, are forever etched into my memory.  No matter how we felt before the decision to see a movie, that walk always felt hopeful.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

But times have changed.  Now I’m in a Dietetics program (that I quit my job career to join), and letting Adam talk me into seeing “Paranormal Activity 2” (I hate scary movies) at 9:10 on a Tuesday night is just a bad idea (a really bad idea).  But that’s what I was doing yesterday!

Thankfully, today I really did get it together and I managed to take care of my to-do list.  My eats were nothing if not unorthodox and I can’t help but credit that in my success at actually taking care of business.  Should I have chocolate for breakfast every day?

Because that’s what I did today.  I let Adam gobble up most of the homemade pb cups, but this one was special.  A layer of chocolate and a layer of butterscotch, sandwiching a layer of crunchy peanut butter?  Oh yeah!

Breakfast’s dessert was significantly healthier.

Yesterday I roasted this delightful orange acorn squash with a teeny bit of honey and salt.

And today all I had to do was reheat and mash with a bit of Smart Balance Light.

Sort of like mashed potatoes, but a thousand times better.

For lunch I crunched through Anatomy with a bag of baby carrots and sliced Empire apple.

Btw – after the curves I scored an 89 on the Orgo test and a 74 on Anatomy.  I need to step up my Anatomy game for the remainder of the semester (I do, however, have a 96% as my Anatomy Lab current class average!).

Adam came to study with me between classes and Orgo lab and generously shared a few bites of pizza with me.

When I realized that I was actually considering punching him in the face and trying to make a break for it with the pizza I deemed it time for an early dinner.

Huuuuuge chicken burrito.

We took a quick walk around the ‘hood on the way home (glorious!), so 4 hours after my burrito I had dinner, part 2.

Low fat plain yogurt topped with 1/4 cup gingerbread granola, 2tsp maple syrup, a sliced plum, and a sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut.

I need to remember this combo in December, it felt very ‘visions of sugar plums.’

Maybe you’ve noticed my lack of gym time?  My plan/goal is to smash my to-do list over the next 4 days.  Whether I succeed or I fail in that endeavour, I’m returning to the gym come Monday!

Do you ever escape in entertainment?  How often do you go to see a movie?

It’s All About Your Perception

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This morning there was an issue with the alarms – Adam actually slept through his first class! – so the big breakfast I had planned couldn’t happen.  We were in such a rush leaving the house it was not until I sat down in the car that I realized I hadn’t washed my face, brushed my teeth, or put on make-up!!!  Thank goodness I managed to grab this PB Cookie Lara Bar for breakfast.

When I got to Anatomy Lab it seemed like bad-news-bombs were just dropping all over the place –

  • we have a homework assignment, and my group’s is due even though the apparatus we were given was broken
  • I only scored a 75% on last week’s quiz
  • we now have a quiz next week (that brings my quiz/exam total for next week up to 5!)

But you know what?  My morning was better than their’s –

It’s all about perception; when things seem bad you’ve got to put them into perspective before you get upset.  By the way – yes, we did a frog lab; yes, it was awful.  I wasn’t bothered by the cats at all but Mr. Hops made me pretty sad.

In my break between labs I did some Orgo reading and ate lunch.  Plums (why did I buy so many of these?!),

and another turkey/Laughing Cow/Sandwich Thin.

Today’s Food Lab experiment was fat cookery.  My group had to prepare deep-fried Pakoda (Indian-style veggie tempura), pan-fried catfish, and fried bread (to experiment with the effects of the quality of the cooking oil).  The small room got pretty crazy with five groups frying, the smell was out of control!  I had to take three (small) bites of fried bread so I could write up my lab report and it was pretty nauseating.  I just took a tiny plate of food at the end.

Next week we are doing fruit, and I am much more excited to sample then!

I actually felt pretty sick just from that small amount of fried food, but I knew that the gym would make me feel better.  30minutes on the elliptical, random, level 6.  I kept my workout short because I was feeling awkward about just how bad I smelled!  My hair and skin are like smell sponges; when I worked at Cold Stone in high school the smell of waffle cones would waft off of me for days!

I took a shower as soon as I walked home (and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed!).  Then Adam and I took a quick fountain diet soda walk and got started on dinner.  I was actually so hungry after our walk that I ate this mini bag of kettle korn while we cooked.

Dinner was three simple steps.  Prepare some quinoa.

Pan-steam eggplant and spinach.

Make a quick curry sauce out of 0% Plain Stonyfield, curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and brown sugar.

Serve and consume.

Adam thought this was going to be gross and he ended up pleasantly surprised, and I thought it would be wonderful and ended up underwhelmed.  It’s all about perception!

Have you ever been so tired (or rushed!) that you forgot to brush your teeth?

He’s Just Like Garfield

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I did not get enough work done today!  I got behind from my “free” weekend last week and I’m still making work up, and I have 4 exams next week so things are feeling a little crazy.  But I did something so that feels good.  Progress, people!

This morning we sent the in-laws off with a hearty breakfast from Panos.

I ordered “The Fix,” which was Two eggs, scrambled with Feta, in a grilled Pita, served with homefries.  I made some adjustments – mozzarella subbed in for feta, plus broccoli and spinach.

I forgot to ask for no butter on my pita so I ended up taking a few sandwich bites and then eating the insides out.  I left a lot of my huge pile of hash browns as well.

I think we sent them off full!  I wrote my blog address down for my m-i-l so she might start stopping by (hi Barb!).

I spent the morning studying – and internet time killing 😦 – at home.  The last of the 7-layer bar was calling me.

I cut it up into little pieces for ease in eating without crumming on my Orgo book.

Around 3 the husband came home from the lab and we drove over to my campus so I could go to the gym.  My knees have been feeling off so I decided to do a nice low-impact treadmill run.

  • 5minute walking warm up
  • 20minutes jogging
  • 5minute walking cool down

I covered 2.53miles.  I finished with a super quick stretch, the gym was closing as I left!

Adam and I studied in the library for a couple of hours – although, again, I got distracted by the internet; gleesh!  I packed some plums and a Babybel Light to snack on.

I also opened this Turtle candy bar my in-laws brought me.

I ate 1.5 and gave the rest to the husband.

I should not have wasted any more time, but when we got home and Adam asked if I wanted to go for a walk my answer was “of course!”  We didn’t have any destination in mind so we ended up visiting the store kitties.

The “store kitties” are two cats that live in a clothing shop on Elmwood, the husband is obsessed with them.  They are ginormous; one has huge paws and is just a big cat, and the other is a total fatty. 

Sidenote 1 – Adam and I have been talking for weeks about baking a lasagna just so we can take a picture of it with the fat cat.  Sidenote 2 – when we lived in Park Slope there was a store puppy, a french bulldog that visited a shop 13 blocks from our apartment.  We walked those 13 blocks at least 3 times a week so we could go in and be total dog creepers.

Dinner was a cinch when we got home because my m-i-l brought us all sorts of home cooked goodness.

Rosemary chicken (just to note, I only ate one of those two pieces, I don’t think I’m a fan of chicken thighs),

with roasted potatoes.

All we had to do was pan-steam some Red Russian Kale, finished off with a bit of sesame oil.

I dipped every component in ketchup 🙂

This meal felt very hardy.

Now I’m already late for my goal bedtime and I’ve still got to shower; I’m off!

Do you have any “store animals” in your neighborhood?

Study Emergen-C

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After two days in a row with less than enough sleep (certainly not because I got up at 6:30 to watch the “Covert Affairs” finale today!) I knew today was the perfect time to try the parfait recipe that came in the latest Emergen-C newsletter.

I didn’t layer, I don’t like to conform.

I also switched up the recipe a bit.  My version had Stoneyfild Low Fat French Vanilla Yogurt, an Acai Berry Emergen-C packet, cinnamon, some chopped plum, and a 1/2cup of gingerbread granola.

Honestly, this wasn’t very good 😦  The taste was way too fizzy, not something I’m looking for in my yogurt.

I’m heading to campus now and my anatomy quiz is at 9.  Once that blood bath is wrapped up – literally, because I think after the failing we are going back to our cats – I have a short break for lunch, Food Prep Lab, a club meeting, and then I finally get to go to the gym.

May your day be filled with love.

Any tricks up your sleeve that keep you from getting sick?

The Frontal Bone’s Connected to the Parietal Bone’s Connected to the Occipital Bone…

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Oh my goodness, I’ve my first Anatomy quiz in 9hours and I am not ready!  A migraine hit last night and stopped my study session cold.  I’ve got to hurry to bed so I can keep learning in the morning.

Breakfast.

Three local prune plums from the farmers’ market,

and a WW Sandwich Thin with 2T Wegman’s chunky pb and Crofter’s strawberry.

I had an advisement meeting at 11 and then I stayed on campus until I got out of lab at 8; yikes!  All of my not-in-class time got used up running back and forth to department heads and I’ve still barely broken the tip of the iceberg on my transfer credit issues!

Lunch was eaten via snackage.  A single serving of Caramel Cashew trail mix from Target.

The last of the dried apricots.

I got a small coffee (with skim milk) before lab,

and I also got my fall on with a small sample of pumpkin loaf.

We have a new TA which means we have a lot more work – we can’t work in partners any more, we spend more time reviewing procedure – but he seems really excited about Chemistry and I can tell I’m going to learn a lot.  We did recrystallizations in Orgo Lab today and there was an issue so I had to do mine twice, which practically put me in tears.  It was nice to have the walk home to clear my head.

I grabbed a Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy Cinnamon Bun yogurt as soon as I walked in the door.

And dinner was Three Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni from Lean Cuisine.

The husband was my knight in shining armor helping me review Anatomy (for the first time!) for a couple of hours this evening.  While we worked I ate a mini Java Chip Frap. Starbucks ice cream.

And now I’ve got to take the world’s quickest shower and get into bed.  I am so excited to be able to go to the gym after my quiz tomorrow!

If you took Anatomy in school, did you find it interesting or boring?  I think osteopathy is fascinating; I’d love to work as a forensic anthropologist!