Tag Archives: squash

I’m Hungry and I Suck

by

My legs have been feeling pretty good, but this afternoon 2nd day hunger hit me hard!  I didn’t plan on eating while I was out of the house, so I left my camera at home to charge, but by the time I got to the grocery store at 5:30 I knew I couldn’t wait any longer.  Thank goodness for cell phone cameras and thank goodness for hot bar.

That’s my usual mix.  It’s hard to see portion sizes in the photos but that’s ~2/3 of what I usually get, it wasn’t supposed to be dinner.

I also impulse-bought this So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk from the fridge by the register.

It was pretty good.

I ate my Co-op candy bar before I went to the mall and it was fricking amazing.

That white stuff tasted like pillowy, marshmallowy nougat!  I “mmmmn’d” my whole way through.

I threw together dinner fairly quickly but it ended up being a good meal.

Salad – arugula, green bell pepper, cucumber, and poppy seed dressing.

I made this salmon patty recipe, but subbed green onions for shallots because our shallots were moldy.  <– what is happening in this house?!

Plus Adam and I split a cheddar cheese bialy.

Best part of the meal, hands down.

No one is entering my recent giveaways, boo.  I would really appreciate some feedback on why/how I suck.  There’s another one tomorrow, please let me know what I could do to make it better!

Don’t Believe The Picture

by

My restock walk ended up being a bust, I’ll have to go to the real grocery store this afternoon.  At least I got in my walk though!  And I did pick up a few goodies.

Like my favorite coffee.

And this neat looking candy from the Co-op.

I’m sure I’ll break into that soon!

I came home for lunch before I head out to the mall.

I know you won’t believe me looking at that picture, but this lunch was goo-ood!

I sautee-steamed 1 neon eggplant and 1 zucchini, then tossed with a few glugs of Worchestershire sauce and  the last of the Newman’s Own Roasted Garlic Marinara Sauce.

This kind of dish is my very favorite way to eat veggies!  Seriously, ignore the way it looks and make it yourself at home!

I’m going to watch another Missing, and then I’m off to the mall!  Don’t forget to enter my Applegate Farms giveaway!!!

Wake Me Up Buttercup

by

I’m afraid Adam thinks that if he drives me crazy from tiredness I’ll lose my mind and buy him that x-box he’s been putting on his Christmas list for years.  Not gonna happen husband! 

We haven’t been getting enough sleep and I was so tired yesterday that I took not one, but two naps!  I had big dreams (ha!) of going to bed early but Adam told me at the last minute that he had to attend an event some friends were hosting.  Then he called me every hour after 9pm to tell me that he would be coming home an hour later than his last call.  When he did finally get home we both had a terrible time sleeping, which was made worse by the fact that it was so cold he had to get up to get the comforter we thought it was time to put away.  May what?!

I could tell that I was tired as soon as I finished breakfast, and by the time Adam dropped me off at the gym I thought I was going to die.  I actually sat in the locker room for 30minutes, willing myself to move.  True story.  Once I did find the motivation, I ended up having a good workout!

I missed a few days in my training plan earlier this week so I wanted to get in both 30 minutes of cross-training and 3 miles of running.  I figured the best way to go was a circuit –

  1. 10 minute warm up on the treadmill
  2. 10 minutes on the elliptical, level 6 random
  3. run 1 mile on the treadmill
  4. 10 minutes on the elliptical
  5. run 1 mile on the treadmill
  6. 10 minutes on the elliptical
  7. run 1 mile on the treadmill
  8. 10 minute cool down on the treadmill

With transitions and stretching in between sets, that’s 1 hour and 35 minutes of cardio.

And now I’m feeling 100% more awake, I love how exercise does that!  I did keep it simple and easy for lunch though.  A Smart Ones Mini Rigatoni with Vodka Cream Sauce,

that I beefed up with some roasted yellow squash.

It ended up feeling like a pretty fancy meal.

The pasta was nothing special (though not bad!) but roasted squash is one of my favorites.

On the agenda for the rest of the afternoon is a low-key dinner with Adam, and a baking project that I’m super excited about.

Don’t forget to enter today’s giveaway!!

They Can’t All Be Winners

by

It wasn’t my most succesful day.  I had a crappy run, I didn’t do a lick of school work, I have not been drinking enough h2o, we’re up too late yet again…

Let’s look at some of the things that went right –

  • a crappy run is still a run, AND my knee doesn’t even hurt 😀
  • even though it’s late, I’m sticking to my 30-day blog everything goal
  • I’m feeling super fortunate about having the best mommy on the planet  <– fact

I started my morning with a we-suck-at-bedtime inspired Big Gulp.

That’s coffee from Wilson Farms with some Silk Vanilla Almond Milk.

I skipped the sweetener because this was supposed to be my pre-run fuel.  B-A-D, bad idea!  I stopped to pee not once, not twice, but three times during my 5 mile run!

My knee felt good when I woke up this morning (and all day yesterday) so I felt ready to tackle my training plan’s scheduled 5-miler.  The husband and I headed to Delaware Park to complete 3 laps around the ~1.75 mile loop.  My knee felt fine the entire time but my endurance was a horse of a different color.  Guys, I can’t even tell you how many times I had to stop during this run 😦  All total, I did 5.25 miles in 51 minutes.  I turned off my watch during all my breaks (I would just stop at stretch, not cover any distance) so I don’t know how long the entire start to finish time was, but I do know that each loop took me 17 minutes.  Yay for not slowing down!

And yay for still no knee pain; knock on wood!  I did ice my knee when I got home.

But ice water in a plastic baggie was a terrible idea so that didn’t last very long.  Some bags of frozen peas are on my grocery list for next week.

Somehow I decided that 5 miles at a 10-minute-mile pace was enough of a workout that I needed to sit on the couch the rest of the day.  Boo for being a loser!  Throughout the afternoon I ate popcorn – there are two mini bags in that bowl,

a Smart Ones Tuna Noodle Gratin frozen meal,

and a Skinny Cow Caramel Cone mini ice cream.

How on earth do they pack so much goodness into 170 calories?!?  That flavor was ridiculous good.

Our one accomplishment of the day was finally switching out our summer and winter wardrobes.  I’ve had that task on my to-do list for almost a month but Buffalo’s reluctance to enter spring kept it from feeling urgent.  Adam’s glad we put it off; the whole process took for-ev-a!  By the time we were done it was after 9pm and we ended up going out to dinner at Panos.

Sidenote 1 – we did not give up on our eat-in-more goal already, the meal was actually a gift for me from my mother-in-law, who clearly does not get the spirit of the holiday.  Sidenote 2 – not to worry, we’re not as clueless as we seem, we did buy both sets of moms nice gifts too.

I ordered the blackened chicken Caesar salad with roasted veggies and smoked gouda.

I shared 90% of my chicken with the husband, and dove into his fries in return.

‘Twas a great date night meal!

What was the best thing about your weekend?

Are My Hoisin The Club?!

by

Forget about what Rebecca Black says, Saturday is where it’s at!  We didn’t even do anything all that exciting today – studying, grocery shopping, easy dinner – it just was a good day.

Since I’m ridiculous about meals on the weekend I went with lunch – snack – dinner rather than breakfast – lunch – dinner.  Besides, lunch for breakfast means you get in more veggies.

Yes, that is Wegman’s hot bar.  Yes, I’m aware we have a problem.

Fruits (pineapple, berries, strawberries, watermelon),

Veggies (avocado, squash, mushrooms, carrots, brussels sprouts, broccoli),

and a mini crustless Quiche (with tomato and artichoke heart).

Adam and I split a Zone Perfect Sweet & Salty Trail Mix Bar for dessert.

The kind folks at ZP sent me some samples of their new Sweet and Salty line since they knew how much I adored their Cookie Dough stuff.  Adam and I agreed that the bar was good, but not as good as the cookie dough ones.  There was a great peanut butter flavor spread throughout it, and the bar lived up to its sweet and salty name.  I’m looking forward to trying the other variety.

In addition to being repetitive and crazy, constant hot bar isn’t cheap!  Adam has to purchase lots of random snacks and coffees this summer (he’s off for 2 months to study for a major exam and focuses better in public venues) so we need to save our pennies where we can.  I tried to do an extra good job of stocking up on groceries this week; I’d rather spend a little more money at the store and save some money not going out for random things throughout the week.

One of my have-snacks-in-the-house-stop-buying-nachos-damn-it purchases was a 10ct box of mini 100-calorie popcorns, and one of those bags ended up being my afternoon snack.

I also grabbed a (sweetened) cappuccino from Wilson Farms.

Looking back at this post, it seems like I had more than enough to eat today, but you know I couldn’t keep my hand out of the cashews while I cooked dinner!

We whipped up a simple stir fry that ended up being delicious.

The inspiration for the dish was the 2 unopened bags of spinach that were starting to go bad, but these guys were the real stars –

Step-by-step, serves 3-4.

Heat 1 Tbsp evoo in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat.  Add 10 cups of raw baby spinach.

Cover and cook until wilted.

Add 1 15 oz can baby corn, 1 15 oz can stir fry mushrooms,

5 green onions, sliced, and 2/3 cup salted cashews.

Top with 4 Tbsp Hoisin sauce and continue to cook.

In a small bowl on the side, whisk together 3 large eggs.

Make a hole in the veggie mixture and pour eggs into it.

Cook until starting to slightly scramble then toss to combine.  Continue to cook stir-fry until desire doneness is reached.

Delicious.

I topped my bowl with Sriracha,

and Adam added some baked tofu to his.

I stole a few pieces of tofu and they were so tasty I’m planning on making them again soon so I can share the recipe with you guys.

When I’m feeling unsatisfied after dinner a yogurt bowl for dessert is always the answer.

This one centered around a Dannon Light and Fit Caramel yogurt.

I almost never eat fake-sugar yogurts (if I’m not eating Greek I’m buying Stonyfield because it is humanely sourced) but this guy was pretty fantastic.  Topped with unsweetened shredded coconut, the last of the butter toffee almonds, and a few butterscotch chips.

Sweet dreams, readers!

A Random Assortment

by

Spring had sprung.  Spring sprang so hard that it wore itself out and had to go lie down.

Let’s pretend we’re chatting face-to-face, this is the expression I make when discussing Buffalo’s descent back to 50* weather –

At least it’s not hot?!

Today was actually a busy day (hence the late recap post); I attended an event this evening and helped set up a bit as well.  Since a friend was coming home with me between class and the event, I needed to get in my workout before class.  <– not a good day to oversleep.  Sometimes when you try to live a healthy life (especially when you make the unhealthy choice to stay up too late at night) you’ve got to weigh your options.  For me today, workout > breakfast.

I had a great gym session and I’m glad I squeezed it in!  My right knee was feeling a little funny so I lowered the resistance and upped my time – elliptical level 6 random, 40minutes.  Followed by a quick strength/stretch session.

When I got to campus for class – after I walked home, showered, walked back – I grabbed a Red Velvet Latte for breakfast.

Skim milk, half syrup, fully delicious!

After class I went to the health center to get my PPD read and learn the shocking news that I don’t have TB.  <– I was holding my breath.  I celebrated my health with a new yogurt find for lunch, Athenos 0% Greek with strawberry.

I love the idea of jam-on-the-side Greek yogurts, but this wasn’t my favorite.  Actually, it was super sour and unappetizing, and I threw it out after a few bites.  I’m glad I also packed a clementine which got the taste out of my mouth.

P.S. I brought in the last of the ‘Smores Cupcakes to share and they got rave reviews.

I volunteered an hour helping to set up the event – the Nutrition Club arranged for a few local dietitians to come in and speak to us tonight – and then Rachel and I headed back to my apartment to watch Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice.  Shonda Rhimes’ saptastic tv is so much better when you have another girl to sniffle with!

I’m obsessed with taking people to Wegman’s hot bar, so we headed there at 5.

The plan was for this to be dinner but I had difficulty finding enough food, so instead I filled my veggie quota as a pre-dinner snack.

I snagged a glass of punch at the reception,

and then came home for the world’s most random dinner assortment.  An apple with 2Tbsp PB,

half a cucumber,

a lemon Chobani with 1 sheet of crumbled graham crackers and a blob of marshmellow filling,

1.5 servings of tortilla chips,

and a Fun Dip for dessert.

Heck yes!

Spring Has Sprung

by

“Spring has sprung.”  That’s what Adam said during our tv interview (which our friend Brandon actually heard on the radio!) and that’s what I was saying with today’s outfit –

Actually, what I was saying with my short sleeves was “I hibernated this winter, please don’t judge my pale, flabby bat-wings.”

It was so exciting outside that I didn’t even mind adding an extra walk home so I could eat dinner before my night class.  Dinner wasn’t especially spring-y, a Smart Ones Angel Hair Marinara with yellow squash and zucchini.

I wasn’t expecting much – I sort of hate angel hair pasta – but it was actually pretty good!  I loved the squash.

Let’s be real though, I picked dinner based on the nutritional info –

I knew I needed the caloric wiggle room for dessert.

Those Magnum ice cream bars did not last long!  I scraped it off the stick and ate it with a spoon.

Delicious.

Marys, Monkeys, and Magnums

by

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

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

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

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

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

I ordered off the specials menu, the Portobello Benedict –

Hashbrowns,

fruit,

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

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

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

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

Where else can you see a man diaper a monkey?

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

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

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

with fruit for dessert.

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

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

I grabbed a box of Double Caramel Bars.

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

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

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

I also snacked on baby carrots with blue cheese,

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

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

Per usual, my changes included –

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

Even with my changes it was still pretty delicious though.

I ate my serving with some chips for scooping purposes.

Delicious.

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