Tag Archives: smoothie

Do You Remember When People Used To Blog 3x A Day?

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Do you remember when people used to blog three times a day?  Yeah … I can’t even handle once a week!  I don’t have a wrap-up, but I did manage to get 2 – 3 items from each category, and the stuff I do have to share was all awesome.  Here we go –

breakfast

1. Pumpkin pie (crisp?) in a bowl.

DSC04900I topped some TJ’s low-fat pumpkin Greek yogurt (3/4 of the container or so; the serving seems oddly large to me) with some of my Simply Sweet Granola and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

DSC04898I made my oats a little too toasty, but I was very pleased with the yogurt.

2. Pumpkin Pie Through A Straw.

DSC04934That’s right, I cracked open my first can of pumpkin!

DSC04939I’ve made this smoothie for years and it is a total winner.  The husband is usually not as into the pumpkin thing as I am and he likes this even more than I do.

3. Sundae on a Wednesday.

DSC04967This was the most dessert-y of the “dessert” breakfasts but it was still pretty healthy.

DSC04970Wallaby low-fat maple yogurt topped with Crispy Green bananas (former freebie), and melted Biscoff Spread.

snacks

1. Cinnamon Crunch Somersaults and a caramel macchiato.

DSC04997I made so many updates to my coffee (a little more of this, a little less of that) that it was basically a big cup of espresso and caramel, aka perfection.

The crunchy portion of this snack was brought to you by this generous package I received from Somersaults:

somersaultsDSC04643I received this package free of charge.  I was not provided with further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

They recently had their top flavors certified as GMO-free and expanded their retailer list to include Target and Costco and they’re trying to spread the word about their good news.  Fun snack facts – a serving of Somersaults has as much protein as a serving of almonds (with half of the fat) and they are a good source of fiber and vitamin E.  Also they are Adam’s very favorite snack!

DSC05000I thought that the Cinnamon Crunch (a new flavor this year) was great; a good blend of sweet and seedy.

2. Cinnamon Pumpkin Beer Bread.

DSC04961Just Beer Bread made with a pumpkin beer and a layer of cinnamon sugar (we used cinnamon maple sugar) on top.

DSC04959DSC04964Quite good with schmear of butter.

3. An actual sundae.

DSC04996Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla Honey Caramel Greek Frozen Yogurt with melted Biscoff Spread; I was all about the Biscoff this week.

DSC04993I bought the frozen yogurt by chance (I needed vanilla frozen yogurt for my pumpkin smoothie and this was all I could find at the store near my house) and ended up adoring it.  The flavor was so complex!

lunch

1. Sandwich success.

DSC04944I’ve been planning this sandwich combo for weeks, ever since a serendipitous trip to Trader Joe’s.

A whole wheat Bagel Thin topped with Applegate Farms roasted turkey, TJ’s pumpkin butter, and a TJ’s mini brie bite.

DSC04954DSC04952The brie and pumpkin butter mash-up was just as good as I thought it would be.

Roasted green beans on the side,

DSC04950and TJ’s Hawaiian Style BBQ Potato Chips.

DSC04946This was a fun lunch to munch through.

2. A trip to Chobani Bar in SoHo.

DSC04992A girlfriend and I took the train into the city from Queens.  We snacked on Somersaults on the way in.

DSC04980She had never tasted them before but was an instant fan.

A quick walk down Prince Street and we were at Chobani.

DSC04982DSC04983The space was very pretty, but strangely they had no seating.  We ended up finding a nice spot on a sunny stoop.

DSC04985DSC04988I ordered a half-size of toasted coconut and pineapple.  Plain yogurt topped with pineapple, toasted coconut, and Turkish hazelnuts.  It comes with light agave nectar but I asked that they leave it off.

DSC04990I was very impressed with my bowl; the pineapple was so sweet!  My friend got the same thing and I did and she liked it too.  We both agreed that we probably wouldn’t go back but that we were glad we went.

dinner

1. Mac and cheese, please.

DSC04921This combo of ingredients made for one heck of a dinner –

DSC04906While my mushrooms were browning…

DSC04910I ate some of the rest of the bbq chips,

DSC04905and opened a Pumking.

DSC04911I agree with what I’ve read online, this year’s batch wasn’t the best.  I really enjoyed it the first few minutes but after that I grew tired of the flavor.  In fact, most of the bottle ended up in my cinnamon pumpkin beer bread.  At least my dinner was good.

DSC04917Salads on the side.  A romaine blend dressed with a sprinkle of salt and 1 tsp each honey and olive oil.

DSC04931My salad was technically on the bottom, not the side.  I topped my greens with mac (Annie’s Shells and White Cheddar, with spinach, mushrooms, and Bela smoked sardines) and then topped my whole bowl with crumbled goat cheese.

2. Taco night.

DSC05008I recently received a package from Ortega to help me celebrate National Taco Day:

DSC04972I received this package free of charge.  I was not provided with further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

They sent along some recipes on which they collaborated with Chef Aarón Sánchez, including this vegetarian one –

taco recipeI really liked the sound of it, but you know I had to put my own spin on the recipe.

Vegetarian Black Bean Tacos, serves 3

  1. Heat evoo in a large pan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until softened and beginning to brown, 5 – 7 minutes.
  2. Add garlic and jalapeños and cook an additional 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in beans (liquid and all) and taco seasoning mix and cook an additional 10 minutes.  Mash up some of the beans with the side of your spatula while you stir.
  4. Heat taco shells according to package instructions.
  5. Stuff the bottom of each taco with spinach.  Spread the bean mixture evenly among the tacos on top of spinach.  Top tacos evenly with feta cheese.

DSC05014We loved them!  The beans were delicious, if I do say so myself.  And the taco shells were wonderful; they seemed to hold together much better than ones I’ve used in the past.

life

1. The house.

DSC04890Three full months of living here later, we finally bought shelving for the living room.

DSC04886There’s not a lot on them right now (I managed to find spaces for all of our books in the office in the interim) but it’s nice to have one less blank wall.

2. The man.

DSC05004I didn’t talk about it on the blog, but a month or so ago Webster had a cluster seizure.  It was very scary, and more importantly, it meant that we had to start medically treating his epilepsy.  He’s been on medication for more than a month now and he has been seizure-free the entire time (yay!).

DSC04882Feeling better has given him time to focus on his other interests, like sitting with his butt up in the air like a total weirdo.

What’s going on in your life?  Tell me something good from the last week?

Weekly Wrap-Up; Cheesetastic

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This week’s eats were all about the cheese and carbs {see also: several servings of unpictured pizza and popcorn}.  I’m missing many of the day-time meals but I managed to capture every single dinner for a change.

breakfast

Apple and honey french toast for Rosh Hashanah.

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I soaked a slice of Trader Joe’s sourdough in 1 large egg, a splash of milk, vanilla extract, and some cinnamon maple sugar and then cooked it in 3/4 Tbsp butter.  After my toast was frenched, I tossed a chopped Pink Lady apple in the rest of the Tbsp of butter with a little more cinnamon maple sugar.  Then I topped my french toast with my cooked apples and drizzled the whole thing with honey.

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Delish.

Tropical smoothie courtesy of the husband.

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He said Thai young coconut, frozen mango and banana, lime juice, and sweetened condensed milk all went in the blender.

On the weekend we ate eggs as a family.

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For two, I scrambled together 4 large eggs with salt, pepper, 1 slice of 2% provolone, and a big scoop of 2% cottage cheese.

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Cottage cheese is my favorite scrambled egg addition; normally it tastes very sweet to me but in eggs it is so cheesy!

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Plus toast with Strawberry Crofter’s on the side.

lunch

Leftover mac and cheese that I attempted to stir-fry.

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I reheated the mac in canola oil with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and Sriracha and then scrambled in an egg.  I’m not sure this dish really worked.

This next one looks like a “snack” picture, but I did in fact drink giant coffees for lunch two days this week.  I had several errands that ended up running long.

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The one pictured was a clover-brew of their Hawaiian blend, which was fantastic.  And yesterday I cashed in a drink freebie so I went big – venti non-fat iced latte with an extra shot of espresso and 2 shots of salted caramel(!!).

snack

Microwave mug cookie.

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Number 2 Pencil is basically a single-serve cookie genius.

Milk drink.

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This was a China Town find.  ‘Twas very thick and sweet.

ZICO latte.

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This flavor might even be better than their chocolate coconut water.

Sourdough with Smart Balance Light.

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If I’m eating bread with butter (versus jam) I almost never toast it, for some reason I prefer my buttered bread raw.

Froyo.

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Another snack that was on repeat this week.

dinner

You already saw our vegan mac and cheese.

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Served with roasted green bean fries for our green.

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We ate our fries right off of the baking sheet, like animals.  We don’t have a dishwasher and plates are annoying to wash, damn it.

Salad and casserole night.

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Adam said that my Cheesy Eggplant Bake is my best recipe, and that’s really saying something because I even cut back on the cheese this time.

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Served with side salads.

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Romaine lettuce blend, hemp hearts, cucumber, TJ’s peanut dressing, and Iberico cheese.

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The dressing did NOT go with the rest of the salad but it was all we had.

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The cheese was from this TJ’s pack that fancied up our whole week.

Kale nachos.

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A kale chip base topped with broccoli, roasted corn, and melted cheese.

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This was one of my better ideas.

Pizza on a quesadilla.

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Inspired by Jenna’s idea, but particularly this comment.

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I made quesadillas with flour tortillas and TJ’s reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend.  Then topped them with Tj’s fat-free refried beans, ground turkey (99% fat-free, cooked with taco seasoning), sliced orange bell pepper, and manchego cheese.

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With roasted kale on the side.

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I told you this was a cheesy week!

fun

We put up a photo wall.

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An assortment of pictures from college (round 1) to now, “framed” with washi tape.

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It may not be perfect, but we love it.  And it was so nice to add a pop of color to our drab living room.

We saw a racoon in our parking lot.

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This may be the first little bandit I’ve actually seen in person, which is funny because I’m completely obsessed with them.

We went on a three-hour bike ride in Central Park.

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Bike riding in the park may just be my favorite activity.  I’ve chosen it for my birthday several times now.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Weekly Wrap-Up; A Trip To Ohio

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Last week was quite a good one for me.  I passed my Registration Exam and then flew to Ohio to visit my grandma.  Good times all around!  It was also a busy week, so please excuse the many gaps in my reporting (for example, my grandma served me dessert at least twice a day, every day of my visit and I think I managed to snap a photo of just one sweet bite).

Dietetics students – feel free to leave a comment/shoot me an e-mail if you’d like some more details on the studying process for the exam.  Otherwise, here we go…

Breakfasts

{1} A tropical smoothie.

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I blended up frozen mano chunks, oj, and Müller low-fat Greek yogurt with honeyed apricot.

{2} Berry topped cereal.

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Kashi Honey Puffs and Nature’s Path Bran flakes with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, blueberries, nectarine, and a sprinkle of sugar.

{3} Yogurt bowl day one.

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Chobani 2% Apricot Greek Yogurt topped with sliced banana and red plum.  Not only did a find a few good, new flavors of yogurt while in Ohio, but these plums were the best (read: juicy without being drippy and nice and sweet) I’ve ever had.  The apricot flavored Chobani was nice as well.

{4} Yogurt bowl day two.

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 Liberté Peach and Passionfruit Non-fat Greek Yogurt topped with more fantastic red plum.  Liberté makes Greek yogurt now?!  My heart practically leapt out of my chest.

Lunches

Lots of meals out in this category, much fun was had.

{1} California Pizza Kitchen, Queens.

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Adam, ever the traditionalist, shared a slice of his Roasted Garlic and Chicken Pizza with me.  The pizza was yummy, but I went with a salad.

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CPK’s Thai Crunch Salad is a thing of wonders, the edamame, peanuts, and wonton strips give it great crunch.  And that giant plate was a half portion!  Adam and I both ate some at lunch and then there was enough leftover for him to eat the next day as well.  This meal was actually eaten the day before my exam.  The husband quizzed me a bit over our meal but largely I took things easy that day; either you know it or you don’t!

{2} Bareburger, then 16 Handles, Long Island.

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After I passed my exam, a very sleepy husband took me out to celebrate.  He worked all night, then came home and drove me to my test, so it was perfect to go somewhere that loved bears for lunch (my nickname for him is Bear).

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Bareburger is a NY chain that focuses on organic, humanely sourced foods.  Their meat options include wild boar, elk, and ostrich!  I went “boring” with a turkey burger.

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The Maui Wowie (sans bun) was far from boring; it was topped with smoked mozzarella, turkey bacon, grilled pineapple, fried onions, fire-roasted red pepper, and buttermilk ranch.

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It was freaking delicious and we want to go back again {and again, and again!}.

You can’t celebrate without froyo.

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We went to 16 Handles afterward and rocked my face off.  The topping options were out of this world.

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I got pecan praline yogurt (!!!) topped with Coney Island Crunch trail mix and bananas foster banana chips!  Re-dic-u-lous.

{3} Bakehouse, then Jenni’s Splendid Ice Cream, Troy.

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Bakehouse is a fantastic bakery and cafe in Ohio.  My grandma took me there the minute I stepped off the plan and we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch.

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I had a cup of gazpacho,

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and we split a Vegetarian Sandwich.

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Cheesy-good was definitely the theme of this visit.

We digested by walking around and looking at Troy’s newest sculpture installations.

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They were sooooo realistic, my grandma definitely tricked me a few times into thinking we were heading towards real people.

Then we went for Winan’s for dessert because…

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they sell little containers of Jeni’s ice cream!

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The black coffee flavor was perfection.  I’ve been reading rave reviews of Jeni’s in magazines and blogs for years and now I totally get the hype.

{4} First Watch, Dayton.

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I had never heard of First Watch – a breakfast/lunch only spot – before but they served up quite a fine half salad/half sandwich combo for lunch.

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The Santa Fe Salad was nice and spicy (and also flipping loaded with chicken, no one person would possibly want that much on one salad),

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and any place that serves turkey reubans along the traditionals wins my heart.

{5} My grandma’s kitchen, finally a home-cooked lunch.

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A bit of avocado, a cob of my spicy, cheesy baked corn,

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and chicken salad.

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Nana’s chicken salad – made with mayo, sliced grapes, and toasted pecans – is one of my all-time favorite dishes.

Drinks and Snacks

{1} Mango Hi-Chew.

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I am just too glad to be back in the city where there are Hi-Chews at every corner store.  Mango was nice and juicy, but I won’t be satisfied until I find the yogurt flavor I used to love.

{2} Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snack.

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My seaweed consumption has gone way down now that I’m not packing lunches for school so this was a nice treat.

{3} Maple-Glazed Pecan and Sea Salt KIND Bar.

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My bar consumption is also on the decline, but this flavor was by far the best KIND bar I’ve ever had.

{4} Bourganel’s Nougat Beer.

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A friend took me to Bierkfraft – an awesome bar/beer merchant in Park Slope – to celebrate my new credentials and we discovered our new favorite thing.

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I grabbed this Bourganel Beer Nougat on a whim (always try to drink booze that tastes like dessert, that’s my motto) and it was out of control.  Normally I leave a lot behind when I drink a beer, but this bottle was drained before it could even get warm.  My friend adored it as well; we ended up buying a second bottle to split after our first round!

{5} Kahlua Ready-to-Drink White Russian.

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I have looked for these bottles all summer after spotting one in a magazine and I finally hit pay dirt in Ohio!

Dinners

{1} Sushi.

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The night before my exam, I got take-out from A-Chiban.  Mango-inari, fish tempura, and a veggie roll.

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The mango was slimy and terrible, but everything else was good.

{2} Spicy.

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Spicy, cajun shrimp over angel hair,

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with tossed salad and citrus green beans.

{3} Casserole.

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Cucumber and tomato salad, cornmeal-breaded baked summer squash,

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and creamy chicken casserole.

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Among the ingredient list for the casserole were swiss cheese, white wine, and stuffing.  My grandma is an amazing cook.

{4} Plane food.

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My kiku apple was crunchy and sweet, and the leftover chicken salad served on cranberry poppy-seed bread made for an amazing sandwich.

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My sandwich was on the small side, but not to worry, I bought chips (um, and pizza) at the airport!

Do you have a favorite dish that a certain family member will always prepare for you?

Choco-Cherry Love

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I’ve been skipping breakfast on most of the early mornings of my internship without incident, but today I ran into issues.  After a week of eating breakfast – giant, glorious, egg studded breakfasts – my body rebelled at today’s sudden fast.  I spent the first hour of my morning light-headed and nauseous, crossing my fingers that I wouldn’t pass out while reading charts.  Yuck.

All that is to say, I drank a regular sugar Pepsi for breakfast (I felt better almost immediately!), after breaking out in a very embarrassing cold sweat while talking with a doctor.  No photo because I was in a hurry to get back to work.

Lunch was nutritionally lame as well; I ran out of time to pack food this morning.

pizza pizza

At least the hospital cafeteria has good pizza.

When I got home this afternoon I made myself a Choco-Cherry Smoothie.

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1 heaping cup frozen sweet dark cherries // 1.5 heaping Tbsp Navita’s chocolate Protein Smoothie Mixer // 1 Tbsp U-Bet chocolate syrup // ~1 cup Silk Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk.

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It had so much potential but sadly my smoothie had absolutely no flavor.  It was basically ice water!  I’m not sure where I went wrong, but I drank the whole thing any way to get in the nutrients.

I spent my afternoon working on my thesis for the history class I’m taking this semester.  I am not enjoying having to write an actual paper; it’s been awhile!  I am hoping to plug away over the next two weeks though and get it done a little bit early so I can get it off of my mind.

I ate baby carrots with blue cheese while I worked.

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The perfect snack.

I spent the evening in night class.  We talked about the Holocaust today, which felt like a throw-back to my first time in college.  Did you know – when I thought about getting my Masters in English I planned on writing my thesis on Holocaust literature?

Then I hurried home to squeeze in a few episodes of “Battlestar Galactica.”  I enjoyed a sliced banana with peanut butter while I wrote this post.

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I’ve decided I’d rather paint my nails – a gorgeous, sparkly pink! – than eat a grown-up dinner, so that’s all she wrote.

Can you skip meals or does it make you too queasy?

Day One Of Thirty? {Again}

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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.

smoothie

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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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And a bag of Smart Fries.

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!

And A Class To Go Before I Sleep

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My mom texted to check on me after I didn’t post last night, but I promise I wasn’t snowed in/buried alive/on a bender – I’ve just been busy!  Monday wasn’t quite as crazy as Sunday, but I am getting this post up early before night class so I have some tiny chance of painting my nails this evening.  If I miss another holiday colors polish opportunity I will be so sad.

Sunday I ate this Tandoor Chef Vegetable Pad Thai for breakfast.

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Not traditional “morning food,” but one of the best frozen entrées ever.  It is a little calorie-dense at 490kcal a package, but the texture and flavor makes it taste like a splurge and not a sad frozen dinner.

I tried to take a cup of my latest impulse purchase to work with me, but ended up passing Adam my glass after one sip.

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I love Silk’s almond milks but I think I am just not a soy milk girl; this had such a strong aftertaste to me.  Thankfully the husband enjoys it so our carton won’t go to waste.

Adam and Webster picked me up from work, and we got this box from the co-op hot bar on the way home.

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Vegan “cheesy” pasta and 3 stuffed grape leaves, shared 70-30 my favor.

We also split this Opal apple.

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It is fun to try new varieties, but we probably won’t get this one again for the increased price versus “regular” apples.

I was tired from work, and really didn’t want to go to the gym, so I bribed myself with this Justin’s Chocolate Almond Butter packet.

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That stuff is just chocolate frosting, I swear!

At the gym, I finished my first week of CT10k workouts.  4 minutes walking/1 minute running, x 8.  Except I shouldn’t listen to Fiona Apple while I run because I’m obsessed; I ended up running for 10 minutes straight in the middle of my workout.

Dinner was all over the place, but the components were all good.  A handful of baby carrots.

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Pizza crusts stolen from the husband.

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A bit of Chocolove Currants and Almonds in Dark Chocolate.

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Who knew I loved currants?  They definitely helped break up the intensity of the bar.

Finally, we made tasty smoothies.

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Thai young coconut, frozen banana, frozen blueberries, and a bit of brown sugar.

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Adam has recently decided that he is obsessed with Thai young coconuts, so expect to see more of these.  Especially since our coconut was so exciting – it was pink!

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Apparently it’s a common variation relating to the varied levels of phenol found in the coconuts.

Today I grabbed a Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar for breakfast.

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I attended a workshop on TPN in the morning so I got to eat in the hospital rather than my car, which was nice.

Lunch was another tasty black-eyed pea salad.

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Black eyed peas with bread and butter corn, green pepper, smoked almonds, and green Tabasco.  I made a big batch so my lunch for the next two days is already packed.

With a serving of the dark chocolate for dessert.

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And when I got home I ate a pear.

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I took care of a few things for school when I got home from the hospital, and sudddenly I was starving.

Dinner was pretty lame, but I’m in a hurry trying to get to school so I can finish some reading before class.

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And lame doesn’t mean it didn’t taste good!

A box of Health is Wealth Asian Spring Rolls,

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with a dipping sauce of chunky peanut butter and Smart Balance Light.

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Mmmmmmn!

P.S. – You can still win!  Comment on this post before midnight for a chance to win a copy of the “Petite Treats” cookbook.

Breakfast In A Jar And Dinner On The Lam

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Adding in exercise is making blogging very tricky this week.  When you leave for the gym at 9pm, all you want to do when you get home is sleep.  Especially if you have to run errands at Target on your way home from the gym.  Especially if you were too busy all evening to eat dinner.

I started my day with packet of Spiru-Tein S’mores protein powder shaken with 1 cup of Naked Vanilla Oat Milk.

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I was pretty amazed that the powder was vegan (minus honey which I’m not worrying about for the Vegan 20 Day Challenge).  It wasn’t the best tasting thing I’ve ever had, but I was impressed with how thick it got.  I shook it up in a recycled jar, making this a very easy to-go breakfast.

I’m having a good week at the hospital; it’s starting to feel like I’m hitting my stride.  If there is one thing I’ve learned so far from this rotation it’s this – I knew absolutely nothing about pediatric nutrition.

Lunch was a pear.

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A yummy sandwich of 5 grain tempeh on a Sandwich Thin with yellow mustard and Smart Balance Light.

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And the other half of my rice milk chocolate bar.

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When Adam got home this afternoon he helped me crack open this guy…

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I may have had to eat over my work, but I still had a great afternoon snack.

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Adam and I shared the Thai young coconut in smoothie form.

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With frozen banana, peach, and blueberries too.

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And fancy bread with Smart Balance Light on the side.

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I’m glad I had a big snack, because journaling took so long that I never had time to make dinner.

I did make it to the gym though.  30 minutes on the elliptical at level 6 random.  Certainly not the most intense workout ever, but a far cry better than what I wanted to do (sit on the couch).

And now all I want to do is go to bed!

Peachy Bean

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Since I didn’t have time for breakfast yesterday, I made myself get up even earlier today.  6:40, ouch!  <– yes, I know for most people that’s not actually early

Rounds start earlier today though so I need to leave the house earlier than yesterday too.  Make breakfast, eat breakfast, post breakfast, leave earlier?… I’ll keep this quick!

A smoothie for breakfast.

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Into the blender (for 2):

Like peach pie.  Sort of.  If peach pie had too much protein powder in it and tasted like chemicals.

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I forced most of it down so I won’t be hungry all morning.

what i’ll be having for lunch…

Today’s lunch is going to be amazing, I’m sure of it.  I’m bringing back my new favorite salad.  There is healthy stuff on the bottom, I swear.

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Black eyed peas + chopped green pepper + chopped Kerrygold Vintage Dubliner + smoked almonds + green Tabasco.

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Clifford the Big Red Pear.

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Milk and dark toffee candy.  More on that in a minute.

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I’ll see you after I finish my 2nd day of dietetic internship!

p.s. My word-play in the title is making me want to experiment with putting fresh peaches into barbecue baked beans.

back to the candy…

The toffees were actually part of a sample from SurprisesByMail.com.  Note – I received the sample free of charge to review.  All opinions are my own.

Here was the info I received from the company:

SurprisesByMail.com offers a variety of gift boxes filled with your choice of goodies, a perfect gift for anyone this Valentine’s Day, from mom to a significant other. Pick out your Valentine’s favorite treats; from sweets, to chocolates, fudge, baked goods, nuts, dried fruit, pretzels and more. Boxes can be customized even further with personal messages and images. Available in four affordable box options.

And here is what I got:

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Two different boxes, one with dark chocolate nonpareils and another with a candy assortment (milk and dark chocolate covered Oreos, toffees, caramels, and some buckeyes).

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Pros: the packaging was cute and fun, both candies felt high-quality and were very tasty, and the site has a good variety of options that are fairly priced.

Cons:  though it is cute, the multiple layers of packaging are pretty wasteful; I wish that the service was a bit greener.

Have you ever gotten any mailer gifts?  My mom got me two subscriptions for Christmas; one to Birchbox (loving it!) and other to a natural snacks company.