Bread In Chocolate, Mystery Burgers, And Thickened Pepsi

by Emily

I have got to stop falling asleep without blogging! Some days (many days) are crazy and boring and I skip posting. Other days are crazy and delicious and make me want to blog. But two crazy and delicious days in a row makes for one loooooong recap!

Monday

Breakfast was all about the FNCE samples. Gross was the Strawberry Del Monte Squeezable fruit.

There was a flavor there that I just didn’t care for. Almost savory?!

Great was the Jamba Juice Fruit-i-licious Probiotic Trail Mix (I ate the whole bag, or 2 servings).

It had tons of fruit and nuts and just enough chocolate to be fun.

I planned on making dinner before I went to work so I made a quick trip to the store on my way home from school. Coffee with skim milk to warm me up when I got home.

Archer Farms’ Cinnamon Vanilla Nut is the best flavor I’ve ever gotten from Target.

My lunch snack was a sweet tasting plate.

A sliced banana with crunchy honey pb,

and half of a Theo Bread and Chocolate Bar.

I love this bar! Normally 70% would be a little dark for me but the saltiness of the bread really brings out the sweet in the chocolate.

I also ate a 100-calorie bag of kettle corn.

I managed to get dinner made, but not with much time to spare; I ate on the walk to work!

Roasted green beans,

and a turkey burger on a bun with sharp cheddar and Miracle Whip.

I’m going to stay cryptic and just say “burger” because this recipe was so tasty that it warrants its own separate post tomorrow. I know most people scan these long recaps and I do NOT want this burger recipe to get lost!

After work, I ate a slice of turkey while I packed Adam’s lunch.

And that was it. It was quite lucky that I ate dinner for lunch because otherwise I would have gone to bed hungry.

I got my flu shot Sunday morning. PSA – Flu shots save lives. Even if you aren’t worried about the flu, you should get the shot because it helps protect the people around you. That said, I am having a major adverse reaction to my flu shot!

I couldn’t get a picture that really shows anything (it is surprisingly tricky to photograph your upper arm), but imagine a giant, raised, red area around my injection site. It itches like crazy and is making me insane. Adam didn’t see my reaction until Monday night but as soon as he did he fed me an allergy med and put me in bed.

Tuesday

When I say that Adam “put me in bed” on Monday night, it is worth mentioning that he let me pass out teeth unbrushed, jeans still on, and alarm clock unset! I managed to make it to school on time but I was very confused this morning!

There wasn’t much time for breakfast so I grabbed a Chocolate Zico Coconut Water,

and an Odwalla Chocolate Almond Coconut Chewy Nut Bar (a FNCE sample).

Dee-lish-us! The bar immediately moved to my “top five bars” list (now that Balance Bars aren’t good there is a major hole to fill!). It tasted like real food, really tasty real food.

We were on campus today so I also got to cash in a free coffee card at the book store.

3 shots of espresso with tons of vanilla sugar and skim milk. And then I twitched wildly for the rest of the day…

Instead of clinical practice at the hospital, today we had an intensive lecture on enteral and parenteral nutrition – i.e. feeding through a tube into the GI tract or through a vein. It is insanely complicated but at least I think the calculations are a ton of fun. I’m certainly not the smartest person in our program (not by a long shot!) but when we do any sort of math I’m usually the first person in the room to finish. Who knew as I struggled through 9th grade pre-calculus that I’d grow up to get all tingly over formulas?!

Another fun part of the day? A rep from Nestle came in and showed us some different products. We got to taste thickened water and thickened diet pepsi (honey consistency) –

Their commercial thickener is just xantham gum – like I used to use in my smoothies! – plus a few preservatives.

Also fun was the longer lunch period that let my friends and me go to Wegman’s.

I hadn’t packed food so this was very serendipitous.

Buffalo chicken chowder,

and a green veggie brown rice sushi roll with spicy mayo on the side for dipping.

Between buffalo sauce soup, spicy mayo dipping, and the wasabi that I slathered on top of my sushi, this lunch left me sweating!

I stole a fun sized candy bar from my friend for dessert.

Ignore my sandals, and note that I bundled up today for Fall.

Fall is here exhibit b – tea with skim milk and cinnamon sugar.

Fall is here exhibit c – the apple crumble candle I burned while I studied.

Fall is here exhibit isn’t she done with this gag yet?! – an apple crumble yogurt bowl.

This is another dish I plan on making often. A 0% Plain Greek yogurt topped with cooked apple (a chopped Sweet Tango microwaved for 2 minutes with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 2 tsp agave) and crumble (KIND Oats and Honey Clusters granola, a FNCE sample).

The rest of dinner was a random assortment of snacks while I studied. A chocolate chip cookie dough mini Larabar (FNCE sample).

A mini tortilla with 2 slices of Applegate Farms Honey Maple Turkey and melted sharp cheddar.

Cold, leftover green beans for veggie needs.

And a 100-calorie bag of kettle corn.

As I said, looooong! Like hot-dog-dog long.

Have you ever had an adverse reaction to the flu shot?

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.

9Sep2012

One Meal Sunday

by Emily

We are a third of the way through September; holy frick! Today was not a relaxing Sunday, but I would still qualify it as a good one.

I was afraid that soreness from last night’s rocking climbing would impede my 60 minute hot yoga class this morning, but it was actually one of my best practices. Staying in bed late this morning to get a full 8 hours definitely helped. My unlimited pass expires in a week and I am devastated about it. Though I’m excited to spend the next month getting back to cardio and running.

After my calming class the rest of the morning was crazy. So crazy, in fact, that I didn’t have time for breakfast or lunch before work. My first meal of the day ended up being at 6pm. At least my growling stomach was prettily shrouded?

Thanks for the new dress, Mommy! p.s. I have no idea what is happening with my face in that picture, I swear to God my left check isn’t swollen in real life.

I worked until 4:30 and had a meeting for school at 7:30 so Adam and I got dinner at Spicy Thai in between. We’d been before and found it to be ok, not the best Thai in Buffalo but not the worst either, so when a Groupon popped up we jumped on it. Sadly today’s meal was not all that good and I don’t think we’ll be going back again. <– I don’t have a ton of time to post right now so I’m just going to leave it at that.

Crab rangoon to start.

We tried to split two dishes,

but I hated Adam’s cashew chicken and only ate four mushrooms’ worth.

I found my Pad See Eiw with extra vegetables to be too sweet but the noodles had good texture and I ate about 75% of the dish, including every last speck of green.

We had black sticky rice with coconut pudding for dessert.

That dish was actually very tasty and we were quite glad we tried it even after our meals were disappointing.

My meeting was at The Spot and I ordered a coffee with skim milk and four sugars.

Our MNT teacher has graciously offered to meet each Sunday to go over questions since the class material is pretty tricky.

That’s all she wrote!

7Sep2012

Midnight’s Dinner

by Emily

I had a lot to say about today, but now it’s clear – like, blogging at 1 am on a school night clear – that I’ll have to keep it quick. It’s funny how the longest days have the shortest posts!

I slept through yoga (boo!) but also got to then sleep in a bit (yay!) because I had the morning at home. Our clinical experiences this semester are divided up into three sections, two are in the hospitals and the final rotation is community, i.e. basically almost everything an RD does outside of the hospital. I’m in community first. During this rotation we have site placements some days and “free time” other days to work on a very long list of community-oriented assignments. Among other things, we have to complete a case study on creating a wellness program and pick a nutrition topic on which to generate a variety of informational media. Long story short, one of the required mediums is a bulletin board in the Dietetics’ building hallway. Today I worked on the case study and the bulletin board.

But first I ate breakfast.

3 servings (I was finishing the box) of Cinnamon Pecan Special K with Blue Diamond Coconut/Almond Milk and chopped plum and nectarine.

It was a hungry morning; before I left the house I also ate a handful of honey roasted peanuts,

and leftovers.

The last Reuben Stuffed Turkey Burger on the last onion roll with 1000 island dressing.

At 11:30 I walked to meet a friend and we spent the next 7 straight hours at school working on the case study. It is now complete. Phew!

We did take a quick break in the afternoon for sushi.

My veggie sushi was pretty bland without wasabi (I swear it was in every package except the one I picked up!) but you couldn’t beat the price.

We spent the rest of the evening running around between three stores to find the supplies for our bulletin boards. Why, oh why doesn’t Buffalo have a teacher supply store?!

My friend dropped me off just before 9pm and I trudged (my heavy laptop was still in my bag) down Elmwood to buy Adam a candy bar as a reward for his long day. Oh yeah, he still wasn’t home.

I trudged back home, completed another assignment, and finally Adam called at 11pm to tell me that he was home but he had contact dermatitis from the scrub soap and we needed to go to the pharmacy. Yay.

When we did finally get home we had to go right back out so the dog could take a very late, much-needed walk. Sidenote – All the people without dogs and husbands were out partying because it’s Thursday and I joked with the dog about how he was out on the town. I told him he was ….. wait for it ….. a dogutante. <– I’m hysterically funny and also maybe a little punch-drunk with tiredness.

During our ridiculous walk I purchased a Subway sandwich which I ate while I completed yet another assignment and wrote this post.

6-inch turkey with lettuce, tomato, green pepper, red onion, pickles, cucumber, and a tiny bit of creamy chipotle sauce.

Post’s done, time for bed!

P.S. Gratuitous dog pictures –

3Sep2012

Burgers and Boba

by Emily

I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day. We got the holiday off, which meant I had time to go on a date with the husband and catch up on school-work.

I started my day with a 0% lemon Oikos.

I was so thrilled to see the new Oikos flavors on our shelves! This was smooth and creamy with just a bit of tart flavor. I have the pineapple variety waiting for me in the fridge as well.

Plus the last of my Chameleon Cold Brew with skim milk and ice.

I’m not sure if it’s because I used a bigger ratio of coffee:milk today or if it’s an effect of the bottle sitting open for a week, but today’s cup was more bitter than my previous ones. Nonetheless, I’m still very sad to see the coffee go. I’ve marked it on the 9/23 week’s list in advance to celebrate the end of my retainers.

When we walked around the park a few weeks back, both Adam and I had a major hankering for a zoo trip. After running an errand this morning, we decided we should take advantage of the husband’s rare day off and go for it.

We were disconcerted by the wrap-around-three-blocks line,

but quickly got over it when we found out that Tops was offering special $1 admission for the day.

Score! They were hosting a few games on the premises as well and I won this cup of Mike and Ike’s.

I ate half during our visit and think that the sugar helped me make it through the heat.

We saw so many animals!

My favorite reptile is the Dab Lizard and I was thrilled to catch a glimpse of one today.

Do you have a favorite reptile.

I packed a big bottle of water in my purse but rocking jeans was a big mistake; I was dripping the minute we stepped out of the car.

Since a mid-day shower was required anyway, I tried my hand at this 4-minute workout –

Holy crap! I was basically dying by the end. The husband and I have decided to do it 3x/week. 4-minutes is always doable.

Lunch was sushi from Wegman’s.

Pssst, Buffalo peeps, this another item with money off from the student coupon packet.

This afternoon, I finally did something with these purchases from our trip to Toronto’s Koreatown.

Taro milk tea + rainbow boba = mmmmmmn!

It was too much fun (and a cross-off on a birthday list goal!) to have made these items from scratch.

I spent most of my evening hard at work, but did find time to make a great dinner.

Roasted green beans,

and a Reuben Stuffed Turkey Burger.

I ate mine on an onion roll with extra sauerkraut, Swiss, and 1000 island dressing.

Reuben Stuffed Turkey Burgers, serves 6

lb 94% fat-free ground turkey meat
1 cup sauerkraut, squeezed to remove as much liquid as possible
1 large egg
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1.5 tsp dried caraway seeds
3 (1 oz)-slices Swiss cheese
2 Tbsp thousand island dressing

Slice cheese into quarters; you should end up with twelve 1inch x 1inch squares.
Place meat, sauerkraut, egg, breadcrumbs, and caraway seeds in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix until well combined.
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, divide the meat mixture evenly into twelve 1/4-cup portions. Flatten six of the portions into patties.
Place 1 tsp thousand island dressing and two cheese squares in the center of each flattened patty. Top with remaining portions, pressing on the edges to “seal” the patties.
Place a greased grill-pan over medium-high heat. Cook burgers until browned and fully cooked through; 5-8 minutes on each side.

I’m off to join Adam and Webster on a walk!

Are you a reuben sandwich fan?

13Aug2012

Canoe-dle

by Emily

As the start of my 2nd to last week before school begins, I say “hello, Monday” very reluctantly. My day got off to an odd start because I spent an hour searching for a food truck whose Twitter stream had lied to me. I really want to cross that off of my birthday list before the summer ends.

I ended up getting lunch at the hot bar, which was probably cheaper and certainly healthier.

Chana Masala,

veggies,

more veggies with a little tofu,

and the large space was supposed to be fruit but I got flustered and forgot.

In a crowd I’m wonderfully decisive but when I’m alone I tend to get overwhelmed by too many choices.

I had a small iced coffee with skim milk while I shopped.

I’ve officially begun hoarding pumpkin things – I’ve got three cans of puree and three beers! – even though I know I won’t touch them until October.

When I got home I broke into an exciting purchase.

Luigi’s Birthday Cake Italian Ice.

Amazingly, it was a little too sweet for me and I only ate half. I’ll have to see what I do with the rest of the cups.

At 5 o’clock I did manage to cross something off of my list, a friend and I cashed in a Groupon and went canoeing!

We went out on a two-hour ride and managed to keep up our paddling the whole time. We even got to spot several deer.

It was fun to get some nature time. Over all we did really well, though there was one very shallow area that we got stuck on in both directions. On the way back I actually had to put my feet out of the canoe and give us a push!! I can’t wait to see how my arms feel tomorrow.

Right now my biceps feel good, but I am pretty darn tired. Like, dinner sounded like an impossible feat, tired. Instead of cooking, I ate this spicy salmon brown rice roll for dinner.

And I’m going to fall into bed the minute I press publish. Good night!

5Aug2012

Cootie Catcher Sunday

by Emily

Today was all about family fun time. My uncle, aunt, and cousin (and her adorable children!!) came over for the day to visit.

I had a great time playing with the two little girls. Not even gonna lie, I loved getting a chance to color again.

And I even remembered how to make cootie catchers.

When can I have babies?!

I stayed up late knitting and slept through breakfast but I was ready for lunch.

I made an amazing grilled cheese out of rye bread, provolone, pimento cheese, and thick-sliced turkey.

Plus fruit salad on the side.

Chocolate for dessert.

Our last dinner continued the streak of tasty meals.

Salad with green goddess dressing,

and a serve-yourself main dish. I put brown rice, celery, onion, cherry tomato, pineapple, coconut, cheese, and chicken gravy on my plate.

With a light Arnold Palmer to drink.

We ended our last evening with a final hour bike ride.

It was the best ride yet because we spotted deer –

We saw the fawn nurse! Too cool. I wish you had been there to see them, Adam!

Tomorrow we drive back to Buffalo and early the next morning my parents fly home. I’m planning in advance on not blogging tomorrow. You can assume I’ll drink a giant diet pop and eat chips if I can find some good ones. See you in Buffalo.

4Aug2012

TJ, Totally Jazzed

by Emily

The past few days have been a ton of fun. I’ve done a lot of eating!

Yesterday morning I got started on one of my 27 things.

I knit a few things as a kid and it seemed to come back to me pretty quickly. My grandma has had to help with a couple of disasters though.

I had yogurt for breakfast and moved on to another kind of yogurt for lunch.

Self-serve for the win. I did a mix of desserty flavors topped with all of the chocolate, peanut butter, and caramel things.

‘Twas good, but whenever I go crazy decadent I always realize that I like my plain tart with fruit and boba the best.

Our Friday activity was The Greene. We went for shopping, walking, and people watching. And eating. We got Turkish for dinner at Pasha Grill.

They gave us delicious bread with sun-dried tomato oil for dipping. My piece, x2.

I should have held off on the basket because I ended up needing bread with my dinner as well.

I ordered the cold appetizer sampler as my entrée. [clockwise]

Hummus – pureed chick peas with a hint of garlic, tahini, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil.
Pilaki – pinto beans with carrots, green peppers, and diced potatoes in a light tomato and olive oil sauce.
Tabuli – cracked wheat tossed with tomatoes, sweet onions, fresh peppers, parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil.
Haydari – thickened homemade yogurt with fresh dill, mint, garlic, and walnut.
Eggplant with tomato sauce.
Babaganush – smoked eggplant puree flavored with tahini, olive oil, and garlic.
Ezme – finely chopped tomatoes, onions, walnuts, and hot peppers, mixed in olive oil and herbs.
Dolmasi – grape leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts, raisins, and flavorful herbs.