Tag Archives: potato

Marys, Monkeys, and Magnums

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As the title implies, it’s been a fun day!  Also, in case the title leads to any confusion, mary = an upcoming half marathon and magnum is not referring to condoms!

Yep, I said it, I’ve got another half marathon in my sights!  I’ve been agitated ever since my 6-week illness killed my training for the Buffalo Half Marathon and I finally found one to take its place.  My goal is to run in the Presque Isle Half Marathon on July 17th.  I say goal instead of plan because I’m mindful of the fact that I have a history of injuries and pushing through pain isn’t worth the risk.  I’m going to wait until I’ve made it to at least 7 miles without incident before I put money down on entry fee.

I do however have a training plan (which I’ll share sometime soon) that had me slated for 3miles this morning.  The husband and I ran a nice loop around our neighborhood, 3miles and 30minutes.  Since I don’t have a Garmin I can’t really track my pacing, but I use MapMyRun as best I can.

When we got home I had to run through my shower since Katie was picking me up for a brunch date at Betty’s.

I’d never been before but I’ll definitely be going back to Betty’s soon, the place was adorable and the food was delicious!

I ordered off the specials menu, the Portobello Benedict –

Hashbrowns,

fruit,

and two English muffins topped with roasted Portobello mushroom, spinach, two poached eggs, and smoked gouda.

Mmmmmmn!  It shouldn’t be called a Benedict without Hollandaise (I would have gotten it on the side though so I probably shouldn’t quibble..) but this meal was not lacking for flavor.  The egg yolks melted perfectly into the bread and it was great to get some veggies into my morning.

Katie was kind enough to drive me back to school and I snagged a “mocha” (half coffee, half hot chocolate) along the way.

I don’t have classes on Tuesday but I was headed to an Anthropology-sponsored speaker on the topic of primates.  Ever since I attended the Body Farm lecture (love!) my name has been on an e-mail list and when I saw “live primates in attendance” I jumped on the opportunity!  I recruited a few friends to come with me and we all had a ton of fun –

Where else can you see a man diaper a monkey?

We’ve been putting grocery shopping off and are running out of food so Adam picked me up from the lecture for a trip to Wegmans.

I had to show off my primate pictures so we had to get hot bar for lunch.

Tons of grilled/steamed veggies with a little bit of sesame chicken,

with fruit for dessert.

Tastes like summer, the mango was definitely swoon-worthy!

While we were out, I cashed in a coupon from the Foodbuzz Tastemakers’ Program for some Magnum Ice Cream.

I grabbed a box of Double Caramel Bars.

I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to taste this for free because it’s not it’s not a product I would have bought on my own and now I might be obsessed!

Holy double layer of chocolate, Batman; this was good!  It’s (surprisingly good for vanilla) vanilla ice cream, wrapped in chocolate, wrapped in caramel, wrapped in a second chocolate shell.  The premise reminds me of this SNL skit, but the execution was perfection!

http://www.hulu.com/embed/umxmTijZLcnMhDPJjmYd5g

I also snacked on baby carrots with blue cheese,

and shared a few tastes of the husband’s new fancy cheese.

Dinner was a Cooking Light find, Quick White Bean, Asparagus and Mushroom Cassoulet.

Per usual, my changes included –

  • using baby Portobellos for half of my mushrooms
  • skipping the wine and oregano entirely
  • subbing in chicken broth for veggie broth
  • roasting the asparagus instead of boiling it
  • putting the cassoulet into the oven instead of the broiler (I don’t have a single broiler safe vessel!)

Even with my changes it was still pretty delicious though.

I ate my serving with some chips for scooping purposes.

Delicious.

Ok, this has been a very long post, time to wrap things up.  Hope everyone had a good day!

Frosted

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I’m having a blogger conundrum – I’ve made immediate plans to hang out with the husband and I want to go be with him, BUT I had a fun day I’d really like to blog about.  Let’s compromise: good content, quick and boring post.

We had some errands to run this morning before the fun, so I grabbed a 2% Pineapple Chobani to eat in the car.

I’m never going to stray with Mango again, this is sooo much better!

Then we headed to our fun activity – a cake baking/decorating class at Delish!

Delish is an adorable bakery in our neighborhood that also does cooking/baking classes upstairs.  When Groupon offered a 50% of deal a few months ago I jumped on it.  It took us a while to find a class we were both excited about, but cake decorating definitely fit the bill.

We watched the owner bake two kinds of cupcakes and two kinds of buttercream, and learned a few buttercream tips that I can’t wait to use.  We took a few tastes and in total I’d say my bites added up to one small cupcake.

Next they did some cake layering and icing demos and let us loose.  The husband was shockingly talented at writing in icing, must be those future surgeon’s hands!  We each got our own cake to layer and frost.  Mine –

Adam’s –

It was a lot of fun.  If you live in the area I’d highly recommend taking a class at Delish.

The two-hour course got our hunger worked up so we walked across the street to Blue Monk for lunch.

Our friend Danielle is a bartender there and we’ve heard nothing but good things.

Good things that we’ll now echo, because our food was delicious!  I ordered an appetizer special, the veggie Napoleon.

Grilled zucchini and tomato, layered with house made lemon ricotta and sliced baguette.

This was light but filling.  The texture was great and you could taste the fact that the ingredients were high quality.

I also split the famous duck fat frites with Adam.

Swoon!

And snagged a few bites of his duck reuben.

It was good, but my veggies definitely stole the show.

I think I needed a bigger lunch after my small breakfast though (especially after the smell of baking cakes revved up my appetite), so I ended up making myself a snack when we got home.

1.5 oz of tortilla chips, 1.5 oz of 2% sharp cheddar, corn relish, and jalopenos.

Is there a Nachos Anonymous?!

Finally, the plan for the evening is Scrubs reruns and pizza!  I know that sounds dull to some, but this combo is so exciting to the husband and I that I actually talked about it in my wedding vows!  I can’t wait!

Have you ever taken a cooking class?

Why So Serious?

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No post yesterday, I was busy at the orthodontist getting a new retainer.  Unsurprisingly, losing my ability to snack without dealing with mouthgear or to freely sip diet coke all day put me in a sour mood.  It didn’t help that my orthodontist accidentally sliced open the side of my lip, the effect of which is twofold – 1) I look like the Joker; 2) I’m not even wearing the retainers today because I can’t open my damn mouth!

Breakfast was restricted to something I could eat with a straw –

Leftover vanilla coffee, maple syrup, Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, and lots of ice.

I couldn’t figure out what to pack for lunch, so I ended up ordering a nice flat quesadilla.

The Taco Bell workers were surprisingly accommodating and agreed to add all of their veggies (lettuce, tomato, and onions) to my cheese quesadilla.

I could only manage to eat half of it though, and even that took me 45minutes!

By the time my second nutrition class was over I was hungry and cranky.  In a not-so-nutritious move, I ended up carefully shoving chicken fingers and fries into my sore mouth.

My plan was to hit the gym between my afternoon class and Music, but a research presentation crisis took me to the library instead.  Just as well, since my greasy platter of food left me wanting to throw up anyway.

But I surprised myself by making it to the gym after my night class.  Normally my motivation wanes as the day goes on, but I knew I needed the mood-boosting effects.  It helped that he let us out of class an hour early!  I did 20 (difficult) minutes of jogging on the treadmill, followed by a quick cool down, for a total of 25minutes and 2.4miles.

When I finally got home at 9pm, I needed to spend some time in the kitchen, prepping for Adam’s lunch and tomorrow’s dinner.  I also had a few school loose ends to tie up for tomorrow, pushing this post even later.  As soon as I realized my early bedtime was shot, I begged Adam to take me to 7-11 for a diet pop, where this happened –

Cherry/Coke slushies make me giddy!

Now as soon as I hit publish I can’t wait to get showered and get in bed!

What is your slushie flavor (combo) of choice?

She Ain’t Messing With No Court Jester

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No one could accuse me of being a gold-digger.  I started dating Adam when we were still in high school.  I will stay with him through countless years of undergrad, Teach for America, medical school, residency, and grunt work before he becomes a wealthy doctor (my Jewish grandma would be so proud!).  But sometimes, like when he calls me in a tizzy, shouting “the radio says there’s a BOGO special at Medieval Times!,” I close my eyes and think “he’s going to be rich someday.”

And then I open them, and get busy buying tickets to Medieval Times and mapping out the drive to Toronto.  And I feel so lucky to get to spend 4 hours in the car with my funny, handsome husband, who also happens to be a total dork.

Seriously though, Adam has wanted to go to Medieval Times since he watched “Cable Guy,” and I was thrilled to help his dream come true.

First though, we had to clean up from the poker party and get in a grocery trip.  While we were at Wegman’s we picked up hot bar for the road.

I grabbed a random spread, including several veggies plucked from their meat dish counterparts (think chicken and mushrooms, not beef and broccoli).

In total, I ended up with kale, carrots, mushrooms, celery, broccoli, butternut squash, and green beans.

I also munched on half a leftover turkey reuben.

And then, we were at Medieval Times!

I don’t have any pictures of the show (the mood lighting was a little rough on my food photos as well), but I did take a few shots around the castle.

We had a great time walking around, although the blatant commercialism was a little frustrating; it would have been nice to see an exhibit that wasn’t trying to sell us something.

The show was a lot of fun though, packing with jousting and ceremony.  The best part was definitely the horses though.  And dinner was surprisingly good.  No silverware, metal plates, and huge pieces of meat –

None for me though, I actually pre-ordered the vegetarian meal (which p.s., was even tastier!).  We started with tomato bisque,

and garlic bread,

both of which were only ok.

And then my meal blew me out of the water.

Hummus with pita chips, rice pilaf, and a grilled veggie skewer (I got a fork!), all of which were delicious.

Dessert was an apple tart.

It was good, but I only took a few bites because I knew Adam and I were going to share some Canada candy on the car ride home.

Smarties make the drive go so much faster!

We were served dinner at 5, so unsurprisingly I was ready for a snack when we got home.  I snacked on spinach and artichoke dip with a serving of chips while I blogged.

I don’t think we’d ever go back (holy price tag, Batman!!), but it was a pretty fabulous day!

Have you ever been to Medieval Times?

Eeeeee!

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If I thought yesterday was exciting then I don’t even know what to call today – I WAS ACCEPTED TO THE COORDINATED PROGRAM!!! 

That’s my I’m-excited-but-also-embarassed-to-take-a-mirror-self-portrait-like-a-teenager-on-Myspace face.

I wasn’t expecting to get in, and we weren’t supposed to hear the news until later, so the shock just adds to the thrill.  I’ve been crossing my fingers and hoping for months, I’m not even sure what my plan B was going to be if I didn’t get in.  Let me explain…

In order to be a Registered Dietician (a highly regulated job title in the US) you must –

  1. take a certain set of courses
  2. complete a certain set of clinical hours/experiences
  3. pass a comprehensive exam – which you can only sit for after #1 & 2 have been completed

The Didactic program (what I’ve been in since this summer) is the typical course for most students.  You complete the courses, then apply separately for the internship, then sit for the exam.  It’s a great program, but the competition for internship spots is fierce.  In the Didactic program, I would have had 2 more years of school, followed by a year of clinical work (if I got accepted to an internship right away).

The Coordinated program is not available at most schools.  It has you complete clinical work alongside the required coursework.  You complete requirements #1 & 2 as a set, and then are ready to sit for the exam.  It is a very challenging program, but is helpful for people who learn better when pairing clinical and classroom learning.  Doing the Clinical program means you don’t have to go through the carnival ride that is finding an internship.

Additionally (and for me most important of all), in the Clinical program I will have two more years of school until I’m ready to sit for the exam.  2 years, and not 3 years.  And since Adam is done with medical school (not done done, but ready for residency done) in two years – and probably moving in 2 years – this is a very big deal for us.  Yay!

I’m thrilled that now I won’t have to live in Buffalo for a year without Adam, I’m excited about starting clinical work, and I’m proud of myself for getting in to such a competitive program.  This year was especially tough, because there were more than 40 of us applying for the 16 spots.  I’m so glad I made the cut!

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

Before we even knew there was anything to celebrate, a group of friends and I had plans to meet for breakfast at Panos before our last class before Spring break.  I got a short, nonfat latte on my walk there.

Pano’s breakfast menu is amazing; I don’t know how I don’t end up there more often.  I convinced the waitress to let me order the 1-1-1 (a kid’s meal).

1 egg (sunny side up), with hash browns,

and 1 pancake.

I couldn’t quite finish it all (about 3/4), but it was nice to have any sort of breakfast appetite for a change.

I also ordered an extra-spicy Bloody Mary.

Yes, I’m the person who orders off the kid’s menu and the drink menu.

When we got to school and got our letters, after a lot of screaming and jumping around, I somehow decided more coffee was a good idea.

A grande nonfat latte with almond roca syrup (half amount of syrup).  Can I just say, I pretty much shook and twitched my way through Biochem?!

Since we are so busy over Spring break I’m actually trying to get a lot of work done this weekend, so my friend Rachel came home with me after class for some studying and TV watching.  I can’t even tell you how fun it was to watch “Grey’s Anatomy” with another girl for a change.

I had to show her how to get back out to the main road, so I took a random stroll down Elmwood to reflect.  I ended up stopping at the Co-op for celebratory sushi.

Now I’m about to dig into a late lunch of veggie sushi with brown rice.

I can’t wait!  I also feel that ice-cream should be on the agenda at some point today….

What was the last thing you applied for that required an interview?  Are you good at interviews or do you seize up with nervousness?  Apparently I rocked mine, because I don’t feel like I’m the best candidate on paper 🙂

Exotic Culinary Exploration

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After our race this morning – and a very long recovery in the shower – we spent the rest of the day doing exotic culinary exploration.  If you want to get technical, our culinary travels took us to Jamaica, England, Korea, and Canada.  If you want to get really technical though, just Canada.

On our way out of town we had an errand at a local bakery and ended up sharing this neat cookie.

Pink always tastes good!

Since parts of Canada are only a 30 minute drive away, we occasionally get Groupon offers for places ‘up north.’  When one came up for a Jamaican spot, my homesickness forced me to bite.  And thus we headed to Kool Katz.

It was a low-key spot and the wait staff was so friendly.  We ordered a random sampling of familiar dishes.  I went with a veggie pattie (fried dough stuffed with seasoned veggies),

And a jerk shrimp skewer appetizer (jerk = a fantastic spice rub).

I also shared bites of Adam’s curried chicken with beans and rice and tostones (fried plantains).

Everything was tasty, but honestly the best dish at the table was this side of cole slaw.

It was tart instead of creamy and full of juicy pieces of citrus fruit.  Best cole slaw I’ve ever had!  Overall the meal was good, but it didn’t fill the urge we were looking to satisfy.  Different places around the Caribbean often serve the same types of dish, but Jamaican style is just not the same as St. Thomian.

While we were in Canada we took advantage of some great views of Niagara Falls, as well as proximity to exotic candies.

While we hung out this afternoon I polished off the Cadbury Pep Bar (England).

The Pep Bars are basically York Patties, but better!

This evening we met up with a big group of friends at Koreana for some tradition Korean fare.

I ordered a spicy chicken dish that came with sticky rice.

It was ok, but the spice level wasn’t as intense as I was looking for and I ended up leaving half of it on the plate.  Thankfully the company was amazing as always.

When I got home I supplemented my dinner with some baked fries.

Now I’m done.  It was nice to be hungry after yesterday’s incurable bout of satiety 😉

Have you ever eaten Jamaican food?  Korean food?

Dunchfast

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Dunchfast = this post covers breakfast, with dinner snack (yesterday’s) and lunch (coming later today) thrown in as well.

Yesterday after dinner, I enjoyed a snack while I studied for today’s metabolic pathways quiz.

That’s a half serving of Fiber One Caramel Delight Cereal, with soy milk and a few vegan marshmallows.

After I prattled on about being recharged from my lazy weekend, I had another terrible night’s sleep!  Probably part studying until after midnight and part being so cold that I actually got up at 2am to add another layer.

Breakfast needed to be good.

It was goooood,

and pink!

On the stove top, I cooked 1/4 cup of oats with 1 cup of water and 2/3 cup (frozen, defrosted) strawberries.  In the last few minutes I stirred in 1.5 Tbsp chia seeds, and I topped my finished bowl with 1 Tbsp each chunky peanut butter and maple syrup.

I’m not sure I’d try fresh strawberries in oatmeal, but the mushy texture of frozen ones is perfect.  Strawberries add this great tangy and sweet back-flavor.  Just be carefull; they hold a lot of heat so your bowl stays really hot!

I’m heading to school early to look over past quizzes before my first big nutrition test this week.  Since lunch is pre-packed, I thought I might as well pre-post!  A serving of leftover Tempeh Hashbrown Casserole,

with a juicy D’Anjou pear.

Just for fun – apples or pears?  Peanuts or almonds?  Broccoli or cauliflower?

I’m apples, peanuts, cauliflower 🙂

Flurry

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It feels like I’ve lost my blogging mojo lately; I’ve just been so wiped out with tiredness that I’ve got a case of writer’s block.  I get my worst sleep when I’m tired (thus compounding the problem) and so the last week has been a little blurry.  Last night was supposed to be my salvation but the downstairs neighbor’s dog barked long into the night.  <– I hate them.

Part of my blogger’s block is related to the fact that we are over Vegan Month.  O-V-E-R.  It’s not a “I want nachos and pizza” kind of thing, more a “I would feel healthier eating a turkey sandwich and scrambled eggs right now.”  It feels like lately we’ve been eating junk, or nothing.  I’m going to do a full recap at the month’s end but we consider the challenge both a success and a fail.

Today’s vegan eats, even though I didn’t actually have the energy to eat until after 3pm, were a success.

From the Co-op hot bar I had sweet tofu and grape leaves,

sesame rice with raisins and corn and kidney bean salad,

and red curry tofu and seitan hash.

I also had a Lemon Steaz,

and some potato chips.

Dinner came amid a flurry of cooking.

Tempeh Hashbrown Casserole from Eat, Drink, and Be, Vegan; subbed red onions for green onions and added tons of extra paprika –

Vegetarian Country Captain from “Cooking Light;” subbed raisins for currants, skipped the almonds, skip the rice, hold the cream –

The two dishes came together nicely, yin and yang of sorts.

I loved the sweet and savory mix, and pairing the veggies with potatoes instead of rice was great, because I hate rice.

Final note – I love the word flurry, don’t you?  Similarly, whenever my BioChem teacher uses the word slurry – a thick suspension solids in a liquid – it makes me hungry.

What are some random words that you like just because?  Mine are whimsical, twitter (before it was Twitter), bubble, and temperance.