Apples All Around; Long Week Wrap-Up

We have been enjoying the heck out of my apple picking haul.  There were a few days last week when I ate an apple with all three meals!  Too bad my husband’s a doctor, I don’t want to keep him away!

I haven’t blogged a recap since last Sunday so I’ve got quite a bit to share…

breakfast

An apple and a latte.

DSC03049

Round 2; this was homemade cold-brew with Hint of Honey Almond Breeze.

DSC03084

Then the next day I did skim milk and maple syrup.  Also delicious.

DSC03112

An almond croissant with more coffee.

DSC03140

Latte from David’s Tea while we walked around Park Slope.

DSC03160

Cream of Earl Grey is the best.

lunch

Sandwich and salad day.  I think this is the largest lunch I’ve ever packed.  A pumpkin spice English muffin (<– oooh!) with pumpkin butter, roasted turkey, and sharp cheddar.

DSC03041

Spinach salad with blue cheese, dried blueberries, sweet and spicy pecans, and honey mustard dressing.

DSC03046

Oatmeal and an apple.

DSC03059

I’ve decided that I hate that line of Quaker instant oatmeals but it was already waiting in my pantry so I gussied it up with chia seeds, butterscotch chips, and dried cranberries.

Pumpkin yogurt bowl.

DSC03093

Pumpkin Chobani with TJ’s Pumpkin O’s amd butterscotch peanut butter.  Plus an apple, of course, though that was actually a SweeTango from a grocery trip before I had my orchard haul.

Cafeteria day.

DSC03126

Salad bar and baked onion rings.

Sunday brunch at Talde.  There was pickled ginger in my Bloody Mary.

DSC03163

We also shared a French Press of Illy.

DSC03165

Fried avocado bao to share.

DSC03168

And Korean chicken wings with waffles for me.

DSC03169

With coconut brown butter, yum!

snack

An orange selection.

DSC03055

Sweet stuff.

DSC03051DSC03115

Pumpkin Noosa with butterscotch peanut butter.

DSC03088

Duh.

DSC03123

TJ’s Cookies and Cream Butter.  <– ahhhhhhhh

DSC03118

This jar lasted Adam and me less than a week!

dinner

A roasty fall meal.

DSC03068

Squash with cinnamon and smoked paprika.  This was our first try roasting kombucha and it was good, though not quite worth the hype in my opinion.

DSC03073

Asparagus sautéed with Bone Sucking mustard sauce and sliced almonds.

DSC03077

And a big slice of my cheesy eggplant bake.

DSC03080

We made this version in a pie dish and with mozzarella instead of provolone but it still ended up being delicious.

DSC03066

With Naked Flock pumpkin cider to share.

DSC03062

My co-worker brought me back the cider from the orchard where she went apple picking!

Leftovers night.  Eggplant bake side-by-side with tuna casserole, topped with additional cheese and crushed Cheez-its.

DSC03100

I know that looks like a giant bowl of melted cheese, but I swear the layer underneath was mostly veg.  Plus we did salads for some green.  Spinach, chopped carrots, and edamame with sesame soy ginger vinaigrette.

DSC03097

And a totes amaze apple cocktail.

DSC03104DSC03106

Honeycrisp cider with Apple Pie Moonshine.  I also did a splash of Goldschläger.

Chipotle.  Let’s be real, we got rice bowls two nights in a row.

DSC03129

We shared some pumpkin brews to keep things fall-ish.

DSC03134

Soup’s up.

DSC03144

The TJ’s pumpkin soup was too thin and basically inedible.

DSC03149

But my sides were awesome.  Three cheese grilled cheese = sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and blue cheese on wheat bread.

DSC03157

And sliced apple.  I’m sure you’re not surprised that I ended up dipping my slices in melted cookies and cream butter.

DSC03150

Mac and greens (and cheese!).

DSC03175

Standby spinach salad – with dried blueberries, blue cheese, lavender salt, evoo, and honey – on the bottom.

DSC03178

And mac and cheese – Pirate’s Booty aged white cheddar mac with tons of spinach, extra cheese, and Sriracha – on top.

DSC03179

Adam hates when I pile things on top of one another but mac and salad go together really well.  You should try it!

What was the best fall flavor you had this past week?

Apple Picking; Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend I got to cross something major off of my fall bucket list – apple picking!

DSC02988DSC02998

I drove upstate to Lawrence Farms with some girlfriends and we came home with pounds and pounds of tasty apples.

DSC02981DSC02986DSC02989

I also snagged Adam and I two pumpkins for carving next weekend.

DSC02999

Check out my gorgeous haul (this is only a portion of it, the rest went into the fridge) –

DSC03010

So far, my favorite variety is the Candy Crisp.

DSC03015

Yum!  We had a ton of fun and I definitely want to repeat this activity next fall.

I don’t have much to share for this post, just three things.  I’m a bit under the weather and I spent almost all of Sunday tucked in bed.

Breakfast on the go.

DSC03036

A smoothie  – water and meat from a Thai young coconut with canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, frozen banana, and maple syrup – and a Clif Maple Nut bar that I shared with the husband.  The bar was much better than the smoothie, which did not emulsify at all.

Getting in my green before a dinner of orange hues.

DSC03020

Spinach salad with sweet and spicy pecans, dried blueberries, and buttermilk blue cheese, dressed with honey, evoo, and lavender salt.

DSC03025

The oil came home from Italy with a friend and it was fantastic.

DSC03019

Our main course was tuna casserole that I made and froze awhile back, so I don’t totally remember what was in it.  Definitely tuna, barley, spinach, green onions, peas, water chestnuts, roasted garlic and mushroom condensed soup, cheese, and crushed Cheez-Its on top.

DSC03033

Plus carnival squash that we roasted with salt, smoked brown sugar, liquid smoke, and maple syrup.

DSC03028

Dinner was delicious.  Sweet and smoky squash with cheesy casserole?  You can’t really go wrong!

Best bite of the week goes to dessert from Ample Hills.

DSC03002DSC03005

I got a kids’ cup of pistachio and honey and the flavors went together perfectly.

Hopefully I am over the hump with my sickness now.  The temperatures are finally dropping here and I really don’t want a cold to go with the cold!

DSC03008

My Giant Post Disappeared, OMG

Uggggggggh! Welp the title kind of says it all. I spent more than an hour last night recapping all of the fabulous eats from last week and the post has disappeared. I’m dying, dying!

Photo-dump style, here are a few key players…

Amazing fruit salad with blueberries, strawberries, banana,  orange, and toasted coconut.

DSC02784

DSC02767

Pumpkin yogurts for lunch.

DSC02803DSC02835

Plus two cafeteria winners.

20141008_14005620141007_121314

First pumpkin smoothie.

DSC02853

So much good candy, including trail mix with pb pretzels, raisins, and candy corn m&m’s.

DSC02796

DSC02771DSC02789

DSC02793

Duh.

DSC02877DSC02873DSC02863

The best pumpkin brew of the season so far.

DSC02812

A salad bar lunch date at Whole Foods.

DSC02861

Smorgasburg eats! Duck buns and other good but not as good buns (peanut chicken for me and pork belly for Adam) smothered in amazing chilli sauce.

DSC02886

DSC02889

Plus an awesome good batch ice cream sandwich of coffee ic, caramel, and espresso beans on salted brown butter cookies.

DSC02883

A fantastically “fall” meal that Adam said made him feel like a forest troll. Shredded brussels sprouts sautéed with turkey bacon, roasted butternut squash, baby spinach, shredded chicken, barley, sweet and spicy pecans, honey mustard dressing, and pomegranate.

DSC02843DSC02846

Delicious Greek Tofu Pie that I promise to retype the recipe for tonight.

DSC02908DSC02903

That is most of it. I hate computers!

Weekly Wrap-Up; Coffee Crazy

Soooo, that title probably could have worked for any week this year, huh?  What can I say, the addiction is not lessening.  I will totally cop to the fact that I allot more of my budget to coffees than clothing or shoes {priorities}.

DSC02458I have a good mix of meals to share today, including several that I definitely want to make again soon!  I could not wake up enough in the mornings for any breakfast shots, but overall I caught a good amount of the week on film…

lunch

Fantastically thick and creamy yogurt.  Coffee Fage Fruyo with a Honeycrisp and an AriZona Oak Reserve Tea.

DSC02460Plus a red pear and a turkey jerky stick that I snacked on later.

Salad from the cafeteria.

lunchRomaine topped with red onion, kidney beans, shredded cheddar, black olives, and too much blue cheese dressing.  Plus bbq chips on the side.

Apple themed oats.

DSC02509Apple & Cinnamon Quaker (which was gummy and not good) with a banana-applesauce and the last of my caramel apple candies.

Brunch.  Scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, and a chocolate croissant.

DSC02526I was randomly extra hungry on Thursday morning so I went down to the cafeteria for a late breakfast.  I ended up getting slammed with follow-ups all afternoon and having to skip lunch, and serendipitously my late breakfast kept me from chewing off my own arm.

snacks

Gotta start with the coffee line-up!  From worst to best.  Starbucks Hazelnut Doubleshot was very meh.

DSC02512But I was quite excited to spot this new item at Konditori –

DSC02517I was a little sick of it by the end, but the coconut cream did a great job of keeping things creamy.  Nonetheless, the winner = Blue Bottle.

DSC02467These little milk boxes kill me and this was wonderfully creamy, sweet, and roasty.

Adam has a weird obsession with Au Bon Pain and he sweetly brought me home one of the pumpkin bunt cakes he’s been loving recently.

DSC02487I’m just not a huge cake person, but I loved getting a surprise treat.

The last of the Talenti Sea Salt Caramel Gelato, topped with some melted (chunky/flax/chia)peanut butter from TJ.

DSC02494I’m glad I tried this with the end of the container or I would have gone back and made more!  Best combo ever.  Adam’s a little wary of the chunky pb but even he thought this was good.

Leftover slice of mushroom and olive pizza.

DSC02468Clover honey straw.  <– please note: I wouldn’t normally eat this straight like a total sugar freak, but it split open while I was trying to pack it in a lunch

DSC02497Coffee yogurt.

DSC02529The strangest pairing of the week was also the best.

DSC02498DSC02500Nonni’s Banana Dark Chocolate Almond Thins spread with Port Sault cheese were delicious.

dinner

A fantabulously fall salad.

DSC02479This was so flipping yummy that we ended up making it two nights in a row.

DSC02482Baby arugula and spinach blend topped with maple balsamic, pea shoots, Port Sault cheese, pomegranate arils, sweet and spicy hazelnuts [baked with canola oil, honey, cayenne pepper, and salt] , and roasted delicata squash [with coconut oil, cinnamon, and curry powder].

DSC02485The pizza on the side was this mushroom and black truffle flatbread from Trader Joe’s.

DSC02474All-in-all, a great meal.

Wednesday night I went out in Williamsburg for a friend’s birthday.

DSC02515No photos because I am socially awkward enough without the food photography, trust me.

And last night I threw together some fancied up macaroni.

DSC02536DSC02533Annie’s Shells and Cheddar with TJ’s smoked herring and some chopped up pea shoots.

DSC02534Pea shoots do not belong in pasta, but Adam seemed to like it.  I smothered my bowl in smoked brown sugar and Sriracha.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Wrap-Up; Last Days Of Summer

I don’t know how it got to be mid-August already, but we are doing everything we can to make the most of our last days of summer.  This weekend we grilled, ate too many bowls of ice cream, and even got our toes wet going stand up paddle boarding!

SUP has been on my bucket list for years and I am so thrilled I finally got to try it out.  I loved it!  Amazingly, given my general level of grace and athleticism (level: zero), I didn’t fall once.

20140816_16123720140816_161423(0)

We had an absolute blast and the hour flew by.  SUP is definitely something I want to do again.  I can see how on-board yoga would be a ton of fun too.

Here are some of our sunny eats…

lunch

A pink grapefruit bonanza Friday at work.  Chobani 2% Pink Grapefruit Yogurt with two sliced red plums and Polar Pink Grapefruit Seltzer on the side.

DSC01740

I ran out of time in the morning to also pack an afternoon snack and, duh, this wasn’t enough food.  Enter candy at my desk.

DSC01750

I’m not a big black licorice person either, but I don’t know how anyone dislikes Good & Plenty.

A strangely satisfying sandwich.

DSC01789

I put two split hot dogs on a Bagel Thin (toasted with butter) with shredded light three-cheese blend and balsamic ketchup and this throw-together-the-last-of-the-fridge-contents-before-grocery-shopping sandwich ended up rocking my face off.

snacks

Friday’s at-work breakfast.  <– I wake up too late for breakfast most weekend days so I couldn’t make this a category

DSC01743

An Amazing Grass Chocolate Superfood packet (from Urthbox) with vanilla soy milk and a Pink Crisps apple.

I was all about the coffee this weekend.  I ended up calling Adam on the ride home from work practically crying while I stared at a McDonald’s coffee advertisement.  This home-brewed Starbucks espresso blend with fat-free sweetened condensed milk hit the spot.

DSC01754

I did go to McDonald’s for a $1 iced coffee the next morning though.  Meh.  These guys were much better.

DSC01785DSC01793

All shared with the husband, who is another raging java addict.

It is fair to say that I was also all about the ice cream.

DSC01763

I’m retty damn excited about that Horchata spiced Blue Moon as well!  I had Strawberry Biscoff Sour Cream Gelato over warm double-chocolate sour cream brownies two nights in a row.

DSC01767DSC01784

The brownies were just the Baker’s One Bowl recipe with a heaping cup each chocolate chips and low-fat sour cream stirred into the batter once it was mixed up.

To end the weekend, on Sunday we went big before we went home, with Pat Bing Soo from Tous le Jours.

DSC01843

Now I get why people rave about TlJ, that bowl was Adam’s favorite shaved ice yet.  Milk and strawberry shaved ices topped with scm, vanilla ice cream, red bean, watermelon, mocha, strawberry, kiwi, and mango.  Everything was delicious but we could barely make a dent in that monster!

dinner

Friday, we ate the last of our veggie, turkey, and marinara pasta bowls.

DSC01761DSC01757

This meal is really a better fit for fall and you will definitely be seeing it again in the months to come.

On Saturday, we grilled.

DSC01776DSC01768

Adam did an awesome job making dinner and then the three of us ate our meals outside (the boys also had steak).

DSC01773

My plate had grilled asparagus, zucchini, and turkey hot dogs, oven-roasted corn on the cob, a few sautéed mushrooms (topping for the steak), and Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce for dipping.

DSC01780

We marinated the asparagus in A-1 citrus marinade and tossed the squash in evoo before grilling.  Everything came out fantastically.  I can’t believe we lived in this apartment for more than a year before we fired up our grill!

And on Sunday, we went out in the city.  Haru unveiled a new Times Square Location and a new seasonal cocktail this summer and they invited me in to check them both out.

DSC01806

The restaurant is down a side street and out of the tourist foot traffic of Times Square and the location is quite pretty.

DSC01804

The lighting was terrrrrrrible for photos – too yellow for my crappy camera and nonexistent photog skills – but good for eating, and the tables were nicely lit at 7pm.  I hate eating a meal in the dark.  The music was unobtrusive – mellow and pretty quiet.  I hate dark rooms and loud noises because I basically like to dine like an 80-year-old.

Adam ordered hot sake and said it gave him a nice warm feeling.

DSC01817

I am not a sake girl, but I stuck my tongue in and did have to agree that it was smooth.

I, of course, went with the seasonal cocktail – The Red Lotus.

red lotus

If you scroll down to the bottom of this post, I have the recipe to share with you!

DSC01808

Yum!  The drink was not too sweet but it felt nice and juicy.  It went down very easily.  I adore lychees and am always sad that you don’t see them on more menus but now that I have the recipe I can make this drink at home.

Adam started with the miso soup.

DSC01821

He said it was what you would expect.

And we shared an order of the appetizer special – Lobster Gyoza.

DSC01825

Holy lobster meat, Batman Aquaman!  The dumplings were bursting with lobster – this dish is a steal for just $10.  The gyoza were a good size and they were easy to bite; I hate struggling with stringy foods and chopsticks.  The flavors were very straightforward, which let the lobster shine.

The husband went with the sushi for dinner.  2 tuna / whitefish / yellowtail / albacore tuna /shrimp / tobiko / and a tuna roll.  (I count an extra piece but I’m not sure what it was.)

DSC01832

His fish was fresh and flavorful.  Adam said the size, texture, and temperature were all good.  Usually you see yellow caviar instead of red so he was very excited about his tobiko roll.

I did the vegetarian sushi.

DSC01834

Avocado / eggplant / shitake mushroom / tofu / asparagus / oshinko / inari / and an avocado cucumber roll.

DSC01840

My plate looks simple, but this was the best veggie sushi I’ve had in years.  The rice was nicely seasoned and the vegetables were all cooked beautifully.  The mushroom had an almost smoky flavor and that bite of eggplant was the best tasting vegetable I’ve had at a restaurant this year!

All in all, we both agreed that the menu was straightforward but on point.  Haru isn’t doing anything unique – there weren’t any specialty rolls that thrilled us – they are doing the basics incredibly well.  We’ll be back!

Please note – I dined at Haru free of charge.  I was not provided with further compensation for this post.  As always, all opinions are my own.

The Red Lotus Seasonal Cocktail, for 1

  • 2 oz. peach vodka
  • 1 oz. cranberry juice
  • 3 lychees
  • 1 lime wedge
  • 1 lychee for garnish

Muddle lychees and shake with vodka, juice and syrup.  Squeeze in some lime, drop the wedge in and shake, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish the drink with lychee for soothing effect.

DSC01811

Friday Favorites

DSC01731

Here are the things that rocked my face off this week…

1:  Easy, giant, veggie-laden pasta bowls.

DSC01720

Hearty and healthy is always a good combination – pasta / zucchini roasted with truffle salt / 2 pints of browned mushrooms / ground turkey sautéed with spices and chopped green peppers / red sauce

DSC01722

I could not even believe how buttery the roasted squash ended up tasting.  Zucchini may just be my new favorite pasta addition, after soft-boiled eggs, of course.

2:  Roasted Red Pepper Falafel and Moroccan Red Lentil Cakes from Veggie Patch.

DSC01659

Please note – these products were sent to me free of charge to review.  I was not provided with additional compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

I had not tried VP products prior to their media team reaching out to me, but now I am looking forward to buying more on my own.  Both products had about 7 grams of protein per ~200 calorie serving and were nice and filling as the “meat” to a meal.  We thought that red pepper was a zippy take on falafel and we very impressed with the texture of the red lentil cakes – the carrots studded throughout were neither soggy nor crunchy and they provided a nice note of sweetness.

DSC01643

Fittingly, we ate the goodies on top of Greek salads two days in a row.

DSC01652DSC01692

All Veggie Patch products are free of GMOs and trans fats.

3:  Pumpkin Yoghurt from Noosa.

DSC01707

OMG!!  I know, I know, Pumpkin Month is still 7 weeks away, but this flavor is a Target-exclusive and I could not run the risk of it disappearing.  p.s. if any New Yorkers spot the new coconut flavor, please tell me immediately so I can go buy it.

DSC01712

The ingredients list includes cream cheese and cinnamon, which is probably why this tastes like flipping cheesecake.

4: 4-Ingredient Strawberry Biscoff Sour Cream Gelato.

DSC01736

Gah!  I made Lady and Pups’ Self-Made Sour Cream Gelato and swirled in cooked strawberries and Crunchy Biscoff before putting it in the freezer.

DSC01725

There’s no going back.  This stuff is too easy; the base is literally just sour cream and sweetened condensed milk that you stir together.  FYI – I used low-fat sour cream and fat-free SCM and encountered zero textural issues.

5: Blue Moon Cinnamon Horchata Ale.

DSC01714

Just, are you kidding me?!  Add this to the list of short beers that I can happily finish a full bottle of myself.  It was the perfect balance of cinnamon sweet to, you know, beer.  And when I went to the website to link I discovered that they have a Caramel Apple variety and my heart actually skipped a beat.  How do I get my hands on that???

Food for My Brain Bonus:  Streaming the old seasons of the American version of “The Office” on Netflix.  I realize that I am several years late, but now I’m obsessed.  I started watching last weekend and I’m up to season 5, if that tells you anything!  It is horrifically awkward – I suffer from severe secondhand embarrassment and had to watch the entire first season with squinched eyes, through my fingertips – but also incredibly funny and sweet.

How much do I envy you – have you gotten your hands on a caramel apple beer yet?

Weekly Wrap-Up; Greek Week

“Greek Week” because half of the eats in this post are Greek yogurt and the other half are dinners infused with Greek flavors.  It was a repetitious, but quite tasty, week.

No weekend post because I did all of my birthday excitement a week ahead of schedule.  Adam had a giant, two-day test this week so we’ve been keeping things low-key.  Unfortunately, I’ve also been feeling a bit under the weather.  I actually stayed home from work on Monday with a migraine.

This week I kept my meals a bit smaller and planned in more snacks.  This schedule worked well for me and is one I will probably continue next week too.  The random snacks mostly came from my UrthBox {UB}, another new thing that I’m a fan of.

Minus many, many unpictured troughs of coffee or popcorn, here are most of my bites for the past week…

breakfasts/lunches

Coffee and cherries.

DSC01527

Coffee, Strawberry/Blueberry/Banana SMOOCH {UB}, and a Don’t Go Nuts Gorilla Power Bar.

DSC01536

The bar was insane, it tasted like freaking coffee cake!

Chobani 4% plain with maple syrup and chopped red plum and dapple plucot.

DSC01480

I tried the yogurt because it was a limited edition but I think I’m definitely a 0 – 2% girl; fuller fat dairy always tastes a little sour to me.

Fairway soursop yogurt with blueberries and roasted coconut and a Jax soursop coconut water.

DSC01533

Another new item, Chobani Banana Maple with Steel Cut Oats plus blueberries.

DSC01524

Not a fan.  I was expecting everything to be blended into a homogenous product but this was (strangely thin) yogurt with random clumps of soggy oats.

At least pink grapefruit – with more plum and plucot – is always delicious.

DSC01487

On the only non-yogurt day, I made myself a “taco salad” from the cafeteria.  Romaine with black olives, red peppers, cheddar and pepperjack cheese cubes, avocado, and tons of salsa.

20140729_132047

Yeah, no.  The avocado was frozen (why on earth would you ever freeze avocado??!) and what I assumed to be salsa was actually roasted red pepper.  Yuck city.

snacks

Chameleon Cold Brew is (briefly) back in our life!  We carted a bottle home from Whole Foods in Philadelphia.

DSC01497

Served iced with chocolate and skim milk.

DSC01502

CCB is my favorite cold brew ever.  <– I looked up the website to link  toin this post and saw that they now make mocha and vanilla varieties and I’m basically dying

Thai coconut curry popcorn {UB}.

DSC01473

Crème Brulee hard candies from Chinatown.

DSC01520

So good.  They have a roasty, coffee-like flavor that is wonderful.

TJ’s turkey jerky with Mary’s Gone Crackers Everything Pretzels.

DSC01484

Those pretzels are downright addictive, perfectly salty with great crunch.

dinners

Easy, vegan pasta bowls.

DSC01465

Whole-wheat rotini with broccoli, roasted zucchini, and tons of marinara sauce.

Greek nachos!  I baked pita chips topped with three-cheese blend, crumbled fat-free feta, tomato, red, onion, and chickpeas that I tossed with lemon juice, evoo, and oregano.

DSC01490

This meal was easy but super fun.

DSC01496

And we took the leftovers on a picnic to Corona Park the next day.

DSC01517DSC01515DSC01506DSC01503

We tossed together the leftover red onion, tomato, chickpeas, and cheese with TJ’s Greek dressing, capers, cucumber, and spinach to make a tasty Greek salad.

DSC01513

Everything was yummy and we had a wonderful time on our picnic, but we did totally end up going to Panera for food later that evening!

Spicy shrimp pasta bowls.

DSC01541

This recipe was one of my favorites growing up, but I don’t think mine tasted as good as my mom’s does.

DSC01549

***Whoops! If anyone decides to try this recipe – I meant to write 4 SERVINGS not cups of pasta.

You just toss everything together in a baking dish, cook, and serve on top of noodles with a little parmesan.  I also tossed a bunch of chopped spinach in with our bowls.

DSC01547

Adam loved it, thanks, Mom!

When was the last time you went on a picnic?

Weekly Wrap-Up; Birthday Weather

It was a big week here, we had a birthday and a serendipitous, surprise visit!  I turned 29 yesterday; that sounds old, old, old.  I may not have a house or a baby, but I have a husband and a dog who I love beyond words so that feels pretty good for almost-30.

We didn’t have time for a real grocery trip after our Philadelphia weekend and we relied a ton on packaged and purchased food.  Here are some highlights…

breakfast

Coffee (I’m still doing the 1/2&1/2!) and a Blackberry Bliss Mama Chia.

DSC01401I probably wouldn’t have bought the chia on my own – it came in my UrthBox – but I ended up really liking it.

KIND Bar.

DSC01433Madagascar Vanilla Almond.

Birthday freebie coffee!  I love that Starbucks does that.  You’ll notice that I stuck with my birthday tradition of doing tacky, glittery nails.

DSC01447Venti iced skim latte with an extra shot of espresso, 2 shots of white mocha, and caramel drizzle.  I was buzzing.

And this doesn’t go here but speaking of sugar, I’m not sure I ate enough candy this week…

DSC01422DSC01407lunch

Oatmeal (with Cacao Bliss) and freeze-dried apples.

DSC01398That fruit is so flipping good.

Cereal and yogurt.

DSC01404Total on Chobani 2% Pink Grapefruit.  I was equally impressed with the yogurt the 2nd time around.

Lots of packed snacks during a 4 hour afternoon meeting.  I ate a salad beforehand, and also required lots of coffee.

DSC01426Chocolate-covered gummy bears, applesauce, and Everything Pretzels from Mary’s Gone Crackers.  The pretzels were from a bag that the company sent me to try.

DSC01423Delicious!  I thought these were much better than the sea salt flavor I tried before, which wasn’t bad either.  These were just like eating a very crunchy everything bagel.  And still made with whole grains including brown rice, quinoa, amaranth and millet, and seeds including flax, sesame and chia, just like the original flavor.

My dietetics co-workers brought in lunch for my birthday!  They are pretty much the sweetest.

IMG_20140722_113456IMG_20140722_114820Salad with a great, thick balsamic glaze, homemade spinach and feta pastries, and chocolate zucchini cake for dessert.  Everything was delicious; I tried to bring leftovers home for Adam and I ended up eating them all on the train!

dinner

Half salad and sandwich deal from Panera.

DSC01408I did the Thai chicken salad and the Thai chicken flatbread and was impressed with neither.

DSC01413DSC01418The sauce was too sour and the apple on the side was sadly the best part of the meal.

DSC01416Thankfully, things get much more festive from here.

On Wednesday, my parents were traveling to Ohio to visit my grandmother.  They were flying on miles so they had a long day with lots of connections, including a 3-hour layover at LaGuardia.  When the got off the plane in NY, they learned that inclement weather had grounded their final flight, and then would be stuck until the next morning.  Silver lining – they stayed at my house for the night and we got to visit and go out to birthday dinner!!!!

It ended up being the best “bad news” ever.  We teased them that they jinxed themselves by complaining about not making it out for Indian food during their June visit, so of course we had to take them for Indian food.

DSC01440It was too dark for pictures, but we shared several appetizers and a bunch of dishes and all left full and happy.  Everything was amazing and our waiter was the sweetest man.  Namaste is great.  We even found froyo nearby with birthday cake flavor.

DSC01445I topped my “cake” with marshmallow, strawberry pie filling, and a million sprinkles.

And I actually ended up having froyo last night on my real birthday was well.

DSC01450Frozen yogurt > cake!

For my birthday dinner we did takeout from Bare Burger.

DSC01455Turkey with ketchup mustard, spinach, tomato, a fried egg, and tons of pickles.

DSC01458We ate burgers and giant diet cokes while we watched Longmire and it was a great way to celebrate 🙂