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!

23Mar2013

Break Begins

by Emily

Did you know that this was my last day before spring break begins? Of course not, I didn’t tell you. In fact, I was so tired this week that I kept forgetting about it, but then I was very happy every time I remembered. We are doing something fun for break, but I’ll tell you more about that later because right now I want to get in bed.

I mixed things up and packed breakfast this morning. Stonyfield Chocolate Greek Yogurt.

I ate on the walk from my car to the hospital.

Lunch was salad leftovers. When I made our dinners last night I went ahead and made four bowls at once – his & hers lunch and dinner.

My maple vinaigrette dressing was so good.

I also packed a Cascadian Farm Oats & Honey Crunchy Granola Bar (a free sample).

And I drank a coffee with creamer in the afternoon.

I had some really interesting patients today; lots of tube feeds, which I love.

When I got home I snacked on some BBQ Smart Fries.

Looking back I feel like I ate (more than) enough food today, but I was so flipping hungry this afternoon. A friend and I had plans for dinner and I could not have been more excited when she called me to go.

First though, we walked our dogs and had a drink.

The Honeycrisp Apple Shock Top is good, but not quite as good as I was expecting.

We headed out aimlessly down Elmwood and thankfully my friend thought of the “The Place” for dinner because I probably would have wandered down to Allentown!

My foodie co-worker has been raving about The Place’s buffalo chicken mac and cheese for weeks and I knew what I was going to get before I even sat down.

I was definitely hungry – I ate almost half of that skillet full of mac and cheese!

I thought the dish was ok, not all that exciting, but Adam polished off my leftovers in a matter of minutes and declared that we have to go back immediately, so apparently it were a hit with him.

After dinner my friend and I walked back up Elmwood (it felt so nice to take a walk!) to meet the rest of our group for drinks at Mezza. I am totally kicking myself that I didn’t get a photo of all of us, but I did manage a shot of my amaretto sour.

I’m an embarrassment. And I’m pretty sure the (cute) bartender thought I was special because I ordered a diet coke for my 2nd round and he refilled my glass free-of-charge at least three times. I basically wanted to move in.

I stopped at Starbucks on the way home for something warm to drink while I wrote this post.

Tall/toffee nut/black tea/skim latte.

Adam and his friends are in the middle of a poker game in the living room but I’ve got to fold… myself into bed.

My goodnight gift to you? Shots of the dog chillaxing.

Squee!

18Mar2013

I Forgot A Title Again!

by Emily

It is problematically late, but tomorrow’s exhaustion will definitely be worth it. I spent the first half of the day cuddling in bed with husband. Literally, the first half. It was fabulous. Then we went to lunch and ran a few errands, and I spent the remainder of my day working on a giant project for my internship. I am 100% finished with it, wahoo!

Brunch from Pano’s.

Chicken slavaki wrap,

with french fries.

I ate half of each. I’d been craving french fries like crazy but the sandwich wasn’t as exciting. Not bad, but I’m just not that into chicken; the feta made it.

Iced coffee with Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and sugar.

The coffee was salted caramel flavored from Wegmans and it was yummy. I have a little bit of my cup left and I’m looking forward to it for breakfast.

A giant bowl of Lays’ Chicken and Waffle Chips.

This finalist flavor was pretty good; the flavor was definitely “chicken.” Embarrassing sidenote – I was talking with Adam about the dog and I heard “I usually just shake my bag of chips at him,” come out of my mouth. The juxtaposition of usually with my bag of chips may have been my come-to-Jesus moment about how fat I’m getting.

At least nibbling does help me focus on work; I am 80% more productive with food next to my laptop. Final snack plate.

Honeycrisp apple,

with ~1/2 serving of Alter Ego Quinoa Dark Chocolate.

The chocolate was fun. I’m excited to have Adam try some because he adores quinoa.

Dinner was a bit of a failure. I sautéed frozen carrots and Wegman’s Japanese Stir Fry mix with a packet of Naysoya Shirataki Fettuccine in canola oil, then tossed in a serving of my peanut sauce and let it get nice and crispy.

Sauce was great. Veggies were great. “Noodles” were slimy and terrible. I ate ~half then gave a bite to Adam who promptly spit his chewed-up mouthful back in my bowl.

It ~~was bedtime two hours ago~~ is time for bed!

10Mar2013

Briefly

by Emily

I’ll admit it – this rotation is exhausting! I stayed in bed past noon. Then went to Gramma Mora’s for lunch with a Groupon.

“Seafood” nachos to start. <– not good, at all.

Cheese enchilada.

A handful of chocolate pretzels.

Caramel and cheddar popcorn mix with Adam during Oz. <– movie was not good, at all.

More Bluefin. Spicy crunchy crab and tempura sweet potato.

Don’t forget to turn forward your clocks!

6Mar2013

Loaded

by Emily

I’ve made it halfway through the first week of this rotation and I only sort of want to nap for a million years. The teachers have warned us for years that this is the placement that makes everyone get in bed at 9 pm. I’m crazy, so I’m still staying up ’til midnight, but I’m definitely tired!

I’ve been eating breakfast at the hospital but I need to figure out a new system because the cost of bars is going to add up. This one was a free sample at least.

And tasty too. Cascadian Farm Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bar.

Lunch was more black-eyed pea salad (beans, green pepper, cheese, smoked almonds).

The Talenti gelato pint made an awesome leftovers container; gotta love that screw-on lid.

Plus a pear.

I skipped the dark chocolate today because I knew we were planning a big dinner.

Of course, then I decided to get a milkshake on the way home.

You have to do a yearly Shamrock Shake! This was so good.

I also had a bagel thin with smoked salmon cream cheese when I got home.

I’ve been so hungry today, I want to say it was yesterday’s workout but let’s be real, I only did 4 miles.

Dinner was fantastic; loaded baked potatoes for the win.

Toppings included turkey bacon, mushrooms cooked in turkey bacon drippings, Smart Balance Light, shredded cheese, and green onions.

We were both practically licking our plates.

And I had a Toasted Onion Sea Snax while we watched The Nanny.

Love that show! We’ve got two more episodes to go and then I’ve got to get to bed. Good night!

25Feb2013

Day One Of Thirty? {Again}

by Emily

Complaints first – The chance for 8-hours of sleep passed before I even started this post. All of my end of internship assignments are due on Friday and I’m freaking out. I ate two snacks after dinner and I am still flipping hungry.

Complaints aside, it wasn’t a bad day. We got lots (and lots) of shipments at work so I was nice and busy.

The morning started with smoothies.

For two: 1 Thai young coconut, ~1 cup frozen blue/blackberries, 1 medium frozen banana, and 2 Tbsp Hey Shuga! <– don’t forget, you still have another ~hour to enter my giveaway!

I didn’t have a lot of time for lunch so I kept it simple. A Garuka Bar (from my yumvelope).

The sweet peanut butter coating was addictively good; I planned on snacking on it throughout a task but every time I tried to walk away I took another bite instead!

I also had a Fage 0% Greek Yogurt with Cinnamon Apple Raisins.

The flavor isn’t listed on the Fage website and I’ve only seen it at Target. The apple compote was good, but nothing can really compare to the pure decadence of the honey and strawberry flavors.

I only had an hour between work and night class so Adam and I cashed in a coupon for Subway for dinner.

6 inch turkey with lettuce, tomato, green pepper, banana pepper, red onion, and honey mustard on Italian herb and cheese bread.

I knew my sandwich wouldn’t quite fill me up and I shared this peanut butter spoon with Webster when I got home.

Then I also had a plate of baby carrots with the last of some smoked gouda spread.

And a bag of Smart Fries.

I ended up dipping my “fries” in yellow mustard. And then I had a big glass of water; methinks I’m a bit dehydrated!

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 –

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: potato

South Carolina

Break Begins

I Forgot A Title Again!

Briefly

Loaded

Day One Of Thirty? {Again}

Kool And The Gang

na na na na na na na na BANANA