Tag Archives: sandwich

Weekend Woot-dates

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Did everyone have a good weekend?  I didn’t get much work done, but the food and fun categories were filled to the brim!  We are starting another take-out reduction challenge and we definitely made the most of purchased meals this weekend 😉

Saturday morning I got up and went for a run!

The gym wasn’t open yet so I did my CT10k workout out in the wild at Delaware Park.  I forgot my watch at home and ended up having to count to 150 in my head as I switched from walking to running intervals.  I’m not sure how accurate I was but it was a great way to keep my thoughts occupied.  All total I did 4 miles in 53 minutes.  The wind was out of control and it ended up being a resistance workout of sorts; it was actually super fun to keep pushing through.

I drank the 2nd half of my G2 during my run.

And then I had a big iced coffee with English toffee syrup and Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk in the car.

In the car because we were heading to Toronto!

Last month I promised Adam all-you-can-eat sushi as a reward for participating in vegan month.  We failed at vegan month (recap post to come), but I figured he still deserved his reward for trying, especially since our fails were mostly due to my fat/laziness and not his lack of committment.  My parents sent us $ for Valentine’s that perfectly covered the cost of our fun international date, so off we went.

Lunch was delicious, way too many bites to even attempt to recap.  Adam and I did a lot of sharing, but the spread below shows everything I at least tasted.  Adam had many, many, other bites that I didn’t photograph.

Yum!  I’m still a little stuffed just thinking about it.  But we did find room for dessert.

Thank goodness, because this was actually the best cup of froyo I’ve ever had.  I thought I was going to die from a happiness overload.

A small serving of tart plain yogurt topped with fruit, sprinkles, and a huuuuuuge pile of popping boba.

I was grinning wider and wider with every bite.

After our drive home and an extreme shopping session at Wegmans, I did end up with room for a late dinner.

On that plate was a buffalo chicken sub with blue cheese and an order of fries.  Devoured.

Sunday has been spent on the couch.  Adam is starting a new project this week, in addition to the general being a med student craziness, and we took full advantage of today’s free hours for cuddling and sci-fi.

I did venture outside for brunch though.  My old friend Katie was back in town for a visit!

That sort of fun calls for a Bloody Mary, extra spicy.

Finding a Sunday brunch spot without a 45 minute wait took some doing, but we ended up having a great meal at Panos.

I got the kid’s meal 1-1-1.  A sunny side up egg, a pancake, and hash browns.  Then I smothered everything in syrup.

Every bite was delicious and I seriously considered licking my plate clean!

During the afternoon I ate a bowl of Malted Heath Bar Toffee Blondie 2-Ingredient Ice Cream.

x2.  That stuff is ridiculous good.

Adam had an evening meeting so I pushed back our dinner plans and ordered Chinese.  Told you I was taking advantage of my last days with take-out!  Once our food gets here we are watching our last ever episode of Stargate: Universe and eating crab rangoons.  Yippee!

Are you a sci-fi tv fan?  Did you watch any of the Stargates?

Ombre Umami

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Today’s mood progressed gradually, slowly moving from bad to good.  It felt like I was peeling back layer after layer (probably as I was shaking off sleep!), getting more productive, more happy, more awake.  The visual I kept picturing was the new trend of ombre hair; light at the tips progressing to darker roots.

Sidenote – I’m loving my short ‘do but this look is yet another reason I’m missing short hair.  The main reason being big buns piling on the top of heads.

During the darker morning, as I slumped around the house feeling tired, I ate a big bowl of unphotographed popcorn with Earth Balance for breakfast.  I want to blame popcorn for bettering my mood, but it was probably the long nap I took after eating it.

My dreams have been crazy lately and sleep hasn’t been very restful.  But on an exciting note, I think I might be a sleeper agent as all of my nights of late have been spent as a cop, CIA operative, or other fighter of crime.  After a rejuvenating nap this morning I was ready to take on the day.  Good meals, schoolwork done, peppy attitude.

Lunch was my new favorite sandwich.  A Sandwich Thin with mustard and 3 oz of tempeh.

I had to make a quick stop at the grocery and I rounded out the meal with a few stir fry veggies.

We’re doing another take-out challenge in March and I feel like I’ve got to hit up the hot bar while I can!

Dinner doesn’t look so hot, I agree, but I promise it was delicious.

1 serving of linguine with turnip greens, topped with a drizzle of evoo and a pile of this –

The mushroom sauce ended up even better than I was expecting.  I will totally cop to licking my plate once my pasta was gone.  Yields 16 ounces –

  • 3 pints sliced white mushrooms
  • 2 Tbsp Earth Balance butter substitute
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 Tbsp evoo
  • 1 cup reduced sodium vegetable broth
  1. Melt Earth Balance in a large pan over high heat.
  2. Add mushrooms and 1/4 tsp salt to pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
  3. Drain any excess water from the mushrooms and add 1 Tbsp of evoo and the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt to the pan.  Cook an additional 10 minutes butter the mushrooms are beginning to brown*.
  4. Remove from heat and allow mushrooms to cool 2 – 3 minutes.
  5. Pour mushrooms into the bowl of your food processor.  Process 3 – 4 minutes, until smooth, streaming in vegetable broth and remaining 3 Tbsp of evoo.

Adam’s out getting our taxes done but I’m excited to see what he thinks of dinner when he gets home.  Speaking of the husband, there were more sightings this morning!  My friends in another section of clinic ran into him at the hospital today and he even got to meet one of my favorite teachers.

Now I’ve got to get back to hitting those books!  I finally started the work I’ve been ducking all week and I’d hate to lose momentum now.

What current hairstyle are you digging?

By The Clock

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Thank you, Thursday, for being fabulous in a strange and wonderful way.  I was in a good mood all day.  I was busy with easy to do tasks, I had simple but tasty meals, and little bonuses kept popping up.

8:00 – Wake up with Adam still in bed.  He had a study day before an exam and I got to start my morning making a pile with him and the dog.

9:00 – Quick meeting with my Statistics teacher.  All of the homework I’ve done so far has been correct!  Plus she let me sit in on an earlier class session to accommodate a change in clinic schedule for the afternoon.

9:20 – Eat a Cappuccino Lara Bar for breakfast.

This is my favorite flavor LB for sure.  It’s not too strongly coffeed and it’s less date-y than other flavors.

11:00 – See the husband mid-day (squee!!!) when he graciously offers to drive me to UB for the lecture I’m attending.

12:00 – Attend a 1 hour lecture on diabetes mellitus and pharmacology.  We didn’t learn much that we can actually put into clinical practice, but it was a fascinating topic.

13:00  – Stop into Jimmy Johns for a large fountain soda – diet coke with a shot of cherry coke – with ice.  Swoon.

14:00 – Lunch.

My Seven Layer Casserole was the #2 best thing to come out of last year’s vegan month (and I’m making numero uno this weekend!).  It is packed full of veggies but tastes like a big mouthful of tortilla chips.  True Story – the reason we went to Moe’s on Tuesday was so I could take home the free chips for this recipe.

16:30 – Finish the writing assignment (due this evening, whoops) that’s been buzzing around my head all month.

18:00 – Dinner in class.

Holy frick, this sandwich, holy frick.  It’s simple, just a Sandwich Thin with mustard, SmartBalance Light, and raw tempeh, but it blew my mind.  The perfect combo of flavors.

Plus a baggie of roasted green beans.

These are actually sort of embarrassing to eat in class because they are squishy and you end up having to cram them in your mouth.  I own it though.

19:30 – We get dismissed from class 30 minutes early!

20:30 – Blog.

21:00 – (planned) read magazines in bed.  <– heaven

What was the best hour of your day?

What Do You Know About A Reduced Sodium Diet?

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Hello, hello!  We’ve officially hit the weekend, woot!

Breakfast, which was eaten during class, was all about the fruit group.

A baggie of purple grapes,

and a can of coconut water from Goya.

There were pieces of coconut floating around inside and it was too good.  Major props to Goya, because even without the pulp this was the best coconut water in terms of texture and taste that I’ve ever had!  Minus coconut water drunk straight from the coconut of course.

My morning was a little nerve-wracking because I had a class presentation, but at least since I don’t mind public speaking all I really had to worry about was knowing my stuff.  Just in case though, I rocked the Cameron from “House” look to make myself feel more confident.

It worked; everyone told us we did a great job!  Not to toot my own horn totally to toot my own horn, but when I was in the library after class another student came up and told me that our presentation was the best in-class presentation she’d ever seen.  Woot!

Our topic was the reduced sodium (2g) diet.  Our teacher played the patient and a fellow student and I had to give her the diet education.  I had a whole analogy about your viens being your pipes and your heart being your pump that I thought was pretty compelling (toot, toot).  I can’t share the entire handout that I made, but here are some of my tips that I thought you guys might be interested in –

When Can You Reduce Sodium On Your Own?

  • In the kitchen –
    • Experiment with new spices and herbs for extra flavor.  Don’t buy pre-made seasonings though as most contain sodium.
    • Make your own soup instead of buying canned.  If you do buy canned look for a low sodium variety and/or dilute each serving with water.
    • Replace canned vegetables with fresh or frozen varieties.
    • Replace soy sauce with balsamic vinegar.
    • Make your own microwavable entrees by making large batches of meals and freezing single portions in freezer-safe containers.
    • Use a homemade hummus in place of cheesy or cream-based sauces.
    • At the table –
      • Say goodbye to the salt shaker, sprinkle fresh lemon juice over chicken, fish, or vegetables instead.
      • Replace a glass of milk with water or unsweetened iced tea.
      • Replace condiments that are high in sodium with homemade salsa.
      • Top your salad with chunks of avocado instead of bacon bits.  While you’re at it, replace store-bought dressings with oil and vinegar.
      • Instead of a slice of cheese, spread a Tbsp of tahini (sesame paste) on your sandwich.
      • For crunch, snack on baby carrots instead of potato chips.
      • Sprinkle your popcorn with cinnamon or chili powder instead of salt.

After class I spent an agonizing hour in the library finding an article for an upcoming paper, then had to hurry home to make it to 1:30pm yoga.  I stopped at Subway for a quick lunch along the way.

I did some Googling in the library and everything on my veggie delight was confirmed to be vegan.  On roasted garlic bread – lettuce, tomato, green pepper, red onion, banana pepper, extra pickles, and sweet onion sauce.  All for $2.50, woot!

Plus a piece of dark chocolate.

Lunch was good, even when shoveled in in under 10 minutes.

And I made it to yoga on time.  60 minutes of hot yoga had me feeling good.  But it wasn’t my best practice, I definitely prefer the 90 minute class because it gives me time to really warm up.  Plus, running through each pose twice means I have double the chance of actually doing each pose!  My 30-day pass expires this weekend and I’m pretty devestated.

I’ve been hanging out instead of showering since I got home, but hopefully my partner in crime doesn’t mind that I’m smelly.

Do you pay attention to how much sodium you consume?

Let It All Out

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Question first – What is currently stressing you out?  Think about it and really let it out in the comments, you’ll feel (a little) better!

I want to apologize for the on-again-off-again blogging schedule of late.  I also want to be honest with you guys about the fact that I’m having a hard time.  There’s not necessarily one big thing that’s bothering me, but there are a lot of little things that are adding up.  I am 80% sure that I believe in fate, and I am 110% that I believe that any seemingly negative thing you go through leads you to a better place.  But it’s still hard not to get a little freaked out by all the questions I have about the future.

Where will we have to move for Adam’s residency?  What if Adam doesn’t get a residency?  What if Adam’s chosen career means he’s away all the time and I’m lonely?  Should we have kids?  When should we have kids?  Should I get pregnant next year so if that I don’t get a job right away when we move I’ll get to be home with the kid until it’s all sorted out?  Should I wait to have kids until I’m established in my job?  How do women with full-time jobs breast feed?  How do you make an impression at your job if you excuse yourself every hour to pump and are also already 28 years old and starting out in a brand new field?  What if I can’t find a job?  What if the career path I’m on isn’t the one I want?  What do I want to do with my life?

And to be honest, the above questions are only a snapshot of all the things I’ve been worrying about.  It’s hard not to feel a little defeated when I can’t do anything proactive (at the moment) to answer those questions.  Sometimes you just have to have hope/faith/optimism and wait it out.

Sometimes – like last night – you have to eat a veggie sub and a bucket of french fries and sit on the couch watching old episodes of “Family Guy.”  But then the next morning you have to do your hair and put on your comfy-yet-sexy shoes.

So that’s what I did!

And in my comfy-yet-sexy shoes, I drove to school early and made my way through a big stack of school work.  I haven’t stopped working since, and bit by bit, I haven’t stopped feeling a little better, a little more in control.

The theme for my meals today was – late.  Breakfast was at 10, lunch was at 5, and dinner was at 9.  My late breakfast was eaten in the computer lab while I worked.

Holy frick I love reusing containers so much  I over-served Adam’s lunches for this week so that reused cheese container held a half serving he’d left behind.  In the mix was penne pasta, roasted zucchini and yellow squash, sautéed mushrooms, spinach, diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, and a drizzle of olive oil.

It was yumtastic; I’ve been a good wife this week!

Also helping me get back my happy, clinic went really well this afternoon.  We are starting to do SOAP notes and learning more about what RDs actually do helps a lot to relieve my anxiety.  Plus, I screened patient who agreed to do another round of diabetic diet education.  I can’t really say much about clinic (thanks HIPPA), but so far all of my patients have been really nice.

When we got back to campus it was time for late lunch.

Not cottage cheese*, another reusable.  *I may not have been eating a very healthy diet lately but I have been sticking to the vegan challenge at least.  And no soda for another 3 days either.

In the container were leftovers from Monday’s dinner; brown rice, roasted broccoli, and Asian Orange Tofu Bake.

Continuing the citrus theme, I had a navel orange.

And a piece of dark chocolate for dessert.

When we got out of class at 8 I drove a friend home and then hurried to make dinner.

Purple grapes.

And a Sandwich Thin with mustard, roasted garlic hummus, and 4 oz of raw tempeh.

I wasn’t expecting much but this sandwich was goo-ood.

This post took me awhile to write, but it felt good to put it all out there.  Thanks for “listening,” seriously.  I’ve got a low-sodium diet education presentation tomorrow and I’m still riding a productivity high so I’ll probably burn the midnight oil today.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Cloud 6ish

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Holy crap!  It’s late at night and we just got some terrible money news so this post is going to have to be quick before it devolves into the blogging equivalent of sobbing.  Not pretty.

Statistics was fine, as of right now it seems like I can understand the concepts.  The hospital was fine, though we do have a lot of work to do.  My evening class was more anxiety ridden than fine; among other assignments we will have to create a 6-week staffing schedule for an imaginary clinic, figure out the budget for that clinic, and create an imaginary business plan.  Yikes!

We had an hour break between clinic and evening class when I could eat my packed lunch.  A turkey bagel sandwich.

That’s a toasted whole wheat multi-grain bagel topped with strawberry cream cheese and 2 slices of Applegate Farm’s roasted sliced turkey.

A baggie of roasted green beans.

And 4 gummi cola bottles.

The gummies were amazing, but I bought them in Toronto so it’ll be awhile before I can get more.

When I got home from class I ate a Voskos 0% Honey Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt.

This was amazing.  Seriously.  The texture was pillowy like a cloud!  I do love other Greek yogurts but this was totally different and yet equally amazing.  If the sour cream-like texture of Fage bothers you, then I highly recommend trying out Voskos.

Which Greek yogurt variety/brand do you recommend for good texture?

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

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Physical activity is a funny thing.  I went to a 60 minute hot yoga class today.  I was dreading it all morning, and sure enough, when I got there it sucked.  I felt like I was going to pass out the entire time and spent most of the class in child’s pose.  It was my worst practice to date.  But by the time I was done, I was so happy that I went.

When I got home from the yoga class that was both frightful and fantastic, I made a smoothie for breakfast.

1 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese, 1 frozen banana, 7 oz frozen soursop pulp, and nutmeg (for garnish).

The flavor wasn’t quite right but the texture was luscious.

And nutmeg on creamy drinks, especially piña coladas!, is the best.

Adam and I ran a few errands in the snow and then it was time for a double-decker lunch.

On a hamburger bun with schmear of sour cream, 2 nacho turkey burgers topped with 1 oz of melted sharp cheddar.

It was totally swoon-worthy.  The burgers are nice and juicy but have this great chew from the chips too.

I’m glad I made the patties small and stackable.

For dessert, Adam and I each had a mug cake.

I followed the basic recipe, with the inclusion of a handful of chocolate chips.

Dinner was one of my older recipes that I decided to revisit.

Green Tuna Enchiladas!  I updated the recipe page too.

I had two enchiladas and some roasted brocoli on my plate.

It was a good, green meal.

But I wasn’t feeling satisfied.  In fact, I’ve had a gnawing hunger all day, and I know it’s not thirst in hunger’s clothing because this pitcher and I have been fast friends all day.

That h2o is spiked with limes and sugar cane, fyi.

So I honored my hunger and  finished up my dinner with some leftover beans and rice with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Now I’m done.

What do you do when you’re hungry when you “shouldn’t be?”

Not Yo Mama’s Turkey Burgers

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Three posts in one day?!?  I’m on a roll!  And since I didn’t have it together to eat before late afternoon, this is actually everything I ate today.  Sidenote – my #2 goal for the next 30 days is to blog every single day/eat.  My #1 goal?  Involves my ass and the gym.

Since I waited too long to eat I was absolutely starving.  I ended up eating a 6-inch tuna sub, with vinegar and red onions, while I cooked dinner.

It was tasty, and it kept me from gnawing my own arm off.

Dinner was a good’un.  Quick, delicious, and it involved two brand-spanking-new recipes.

Emily- and husband-approved.

New recipe 1 was Nacho Turkey Burgers, makes 8 small burgers

  • 1 lb 94% fat-free ground turkey
  • 1 large egg
  • 60 grams crushed tortilla chips
  • 1/4 cup medium, chunky style salsa
  • 3/4 cup Mexican shredded cheese blend
  • 1 tsp evoo
  • 8 hamburger buns
  • guacamole (optional)
  • sliced cheddar (optional)
  • hot sauce (optional)
  1. In a large bowl, combine turkey, egg, chips, salsa, and cheese until a homogenous mixture is achieved.  Use your hands to shape into 8 equal-sized patties.
  2. Heat evoo in a grill-pan over medium-high heat.  Working in small enough batches as to not overcrowd the pan add patties to pan.
  3. Cook burgers until browned and fully cooked through; 5-8 minutes on each side.
  4. Serve cooked burgers and top as desired.

New recipe 2 was served atop the burgers, Citrus Guacamole.

  • 2 medium-sized ripe avocados
  • 1 tomatillo, minced
  • 1 small lemon, juiced
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  1. Place avocados in a medium bowl and mash with a fork, leaving some chunks.
  2. Stir in tomatillo, lemon juice, and salt.  Serve immediately.

Both recipes ended up turning out really well!

I love it when my kitchen experiments work out.

I had one nacho turkey burger, on a bun with citrus guacamole,

a serving of rice and beans (just rice with a can of black beans stirred in during the final minutes of cooking) topped with another dollop of guac,

and some roasted asparagus.

The citrus-salt theme was carried nicely throughout the entire meal.

For dessert I nibbled on a few chocolate covered pretzels.

We’re currently making our way through the “Aliens” movies, so “Aliens, 2” was our dinner entertainment.  Webster thought it was thrilling.

He’s such a cutie.

So, about that hair cut.  A month or so ago, this exchange took place on Yes I Want Cake –

Katie got her cut soon after, and it looked fantastic.  I’d just given to Locks of Love, but after some time enjoying my new hair, I was ready.  What do you think?

I love it!