Huge Anatomy test tomorrow, hurry!
Five(ish) words per line, go!
Southwest chicken flatbread sandwich, mmmn.
Corn, black beans, melty cheddar.
Baked goods food lab today.
1/3 eaten, cookies = dough balls!
Wegman’s to study, and dinner.
Lots of veggies, a little fun.
1chip per 4slides = study bribe.
Class, study, class, study, bedtime.
Thanks so much for the encouragement on my last post! Although, it seemed like many of you thought I was stressed; I was actually being matter of fact. And I matter of factly failed my test this afternoon 😉 😦
Breakfast at Starbucks ended up being a success. I got a tall, non-fat latte,
and a slice of gingerbread.
Then I brushed my teeth in the public bathroom and spit Scope in the parking lot like a total creeper 😉
My breath was fresh, but the dentist did give me the bad news that I got my first ever cavity. I knew it was coming (they’ve been “keeping an eye on” that spot for a year and a half) but I’m still a little nervous about getting drilled.
After my appointment I headed to Wegman’s for a great hot bar lunch.
An assortment of veggies plus a few pieces of sweet and sour chicken,
with fruit for dessert.
I left my car parked at Wegman’s, which meant I got to walk to school for the slaughter (Orgo exam), and then walk back to do my grocery shopping. I love walking so much, I hope this “nice” weather holds out!
When it was all said and done I ended up with a ‘you shouldn’t grocery shop hungry’ candy bar.
Delish, like honeycomb enrobed in chocolate!
I also ate a bowl of random cereals (Barbara’s Shredded Oats, plus Kashi H2H and Strawberry Flakes) with Silk Almond Milk.
I’m not sure why I was so hungry, but I’m glad I ate because I had a lot to do in the kitchen.
I’m at the point where I transfer my obsessive love from fall foods to holiday foods, and I wanted to end the season with a bang. There’s no better way to go out than P-U-M-P-K-I-N, pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin! (Can you tell I watched “Bring it On” during dinner?)
Hello there.
We made Rachael Ray’s Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage.
We subbed rigotoni for penne and vegan crumbles for sausage, but other than that we pretty much followed the recipe.
Delish!
For dessert I went with more pumpkin, (and more Rachael Ray, come to think of it) Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Muffins.
I skipped the frosting, these babies are perfect without it!
I had two.
Now I’ve got to go to bed, go, go, to bed!
Were you a cheerleader in highschool?
When Adam and I were miserable, teaching in New York, we would escape in entertainment. I genuinely believe that “Scrubs” saved our sanity (and our marriage!) during our first year. During our second year, things had gotten much easier but they were still much harder than we had ever imagined. On Sunday nights, when none of our plans for the week were complete and things felt hopeless because even after we stayed up all night writing them we’d still never get to teach the damn plans, one of us would say it – “Do you want to see what’s playing at the movies?“
Something was always playing. And if there hadn’t been I’m pretty sure we would have convinced ourselves that something from the previous week was worth rewatching. Our studio apartment was on the corner of 2nd Avenue and the movie theatre – a fabulous revamped spot with a galaxy of stars sewn into the carpet and classic movie posters lining the walls – was on the corner of 13th. Those eleven blocks, and every single store and restaurant along the way, are forever etched into my memory. No matter how we felt before the decision to see a movie, that walk always felt hopeful.
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But times have changed. Now I’m in a Dietetics program (that I quit my job career to join), and letting Adam talk me into seeing “Paranormal Activity 2” (I hate scary movies) at 9:10 on a Tuesday night is just a bad idea (a really bad idea). But that’s what I was doing yesterday!
Thankfully, today I really did get it together and I managed to take care of my to-do list. My eats were nothing if not unorthodox and I can’t help but credit that in my success at actually taking care of business. Should I have chocolate for breakfast every day?
Because that’s what I did today. I let Adam gobble up most of the homemade pb cups, but this one was special. A layer of chocolate and a layer of butterscotch, sandwiching a layer of crunchy peanut butter? Oh yeah!
Breakfast’s dessert was significantly healthier.
Yesterday I roasted this delightful orange acorn squash with a teeny bit of honey and salt.
And today all I had to do was reheat and mash with a bit of Smart Balance Light.
Sort of like mashed potatoes, but a thousand times better.
For lunch I crunched through Anatomy with a bag of baby carrots and sliced Empire apple.
Btw – after the curves I scored an 89 on the Orgo test and a 74 on Anatomy. I need to step up my Anatomy game for the remainder of the semester (I do, however, have a 96% as my Anatomy Lab current class average!).
Adam came to study with me between classes and Orgo lab and generously shared a few bites of pizza with me.
When I realized that I was actually considering punching him in the face and trying to make a break for it with the pizza I deemed it time for an early dinner.
Huuuuuge chicken burrito.
We took a quick walk around the ‘hood on the way home (glorious!), so 4 hours after my burrito I had dinner, part 2.
Low fat plain yogurt topped with 1/4 cup gingerbread granola, 2tsp maple syrup, a sliced plum, and a sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut.
I need to remember this combo in December, it felt very ‘visions of sugar plums.’
Maybe you’ve noticed my lack of gym time? My plan/goal is to smash my to-do list over the next 4 days. Whether I succeed or I fail in that endeavour, I’m returning to the gym come Monday!
Do you ever escape in entertainment? How often do you go to see a movie?
A few things need to be said to preface this post –
Breakfast (1), Cliff Spooky ‘Smores Z-Bar.
This was my first time with this flavor and I thought it was pretty great. The flavor was marshmellow-y without being too sweet. Not very filling though, which leads to (2) – a cinnamon raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese.
I also bought an iced tea. The vat of coconut cocoa iced tea had been tempting me for days so I finally caved.
Whoops! Where do I think I am, Brooklyn?! Of course this was pre-sweetened! Sometimes I forget that BSC is the mecca of all things unhealthy, and also making things that should be healthy into things that are unhealthy. You guys know that I love all foods sugar laden, but tea is one of the few things that I think should not be sweet. I took a sip and then dumped it in the trash.
Something that should be sweet is candy! Like candy corn.
During the 2hour anatomy review session I also snacked on this cucumber.
I went straight from class, to class, to a review session and by the time I was heading home at 1 I figured I should just buy lunch on the way so I could focus on my midterm. Enter nachos.
I stopped at a ‘fresh fast food’ Mexican place that we don’t usually frequent on the way home and I figured I should try an old favorite. I was pretty impressed – these were cheesey without being too cheesey (ahem, the jalapeno nachos from my year on the couch!), and packed with beans. I felt healthy(ish!) rather than sick after eating them.
Special K Red Berries with skim milk.
Picture a small vegan pecan pumpkin blondie here too; I couldn’t take a photo because I ate it during my timed online midterm.
Dinner came courtesy of Foodbuzz, as well as my recent crock pot obsession. Let me explain. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program I was sent a sample of this Pace Picante Sauce.
We’ve been loving stewed chicken in the crock pot lately, so why not salsa stewed chicken?! Soooo simple – 1lb of chicken in the crock pot, a jar of salsa dumped on top, 8hours on low, shred with 2 forks. Note – the spice level (for a medium) in this sauce is perfect, and I like the level of chunkiness. Two thumbs up.
Easy peasy, and in a few more short steps we had a fabulous dinner.
Oven roasted butternut squash and broccoli,
sautéed chopped green peppers and onions,
shredded sharp cheddar,
salsa stewed chicken,
dollop of Daisy store-brand reduced fat sour cream.
Fabulous. Made even more fabulous when finished with the addition of Terra Blues Chips.
Fabulous x 10.
What’s your go-to order for American-Mexican food? Burritos, enchilladas, or do nachos feed your soul?
I’ve got to keep this quick because of tomorrow’s big Anatomy Lab practical, so let’s cover the important things first –
1. I did not need to fret about the weather nearly as much; in fact, I was a little bit hot on my walk home!
2. How cute are these new shoes????
My mom has good taste! Although the back of my left heel got rubbed completely raw and now I’m limping 😦 (Yes, Mom, I will wear socks instead of bare feet next time!)
In between classes I snacked on this Primal Strips vegan jerky.
Orgo lab took forever, and by the time I limped home it was already 9pm. Thankfully Adam had already put my dinner in the oven. I snacked on a small plate of Halloween candies while I waited.
Yuuum. I love the light brown ones, they taste like caramel! Eaten with the funny Halloween card my grandma sent me –
Finally my dinner – an acorn squash – got done roasting in the oven.
We cooked it face down at 350* for 30minutes, then flipped and cooked another 20minutes. During the flip I filled the cavities with Newman’s Own Organic Raisins, Sahale Snacks BBQ Almonds and Tuscan Almonds (last day to enter the giveaway), and a drizzle of real maple syrup.
I also ate a Jimmy Dean turkey patty french toast sandwich thing.
The husband and I studied Anatomy while we ate, and now I’ve got to shower and get to bed!
Before I forget; all of my grades from hell week are back. Dun, dun, dun! 100 exam – 91%; 110 quiz – 80% (I’m contesting this though); Anatomy exam – 90% after the curve; Anatomy quiz – 90something% after the curve; Orgo exam – 65% (before the curve). Not terrible, but nothing to get excited about either.
Did everyone have a good weekend? I hope so! Today wasn’t really definitively good or bad for me. I didn’t do anything fun and I still didn’t get as much work as I’d hoped done – Adam picked a hell of a weekend to get a cold and be needy – but I got enough done. Plus I spent the whole day with the husband, and even when he is a whiney, snotty mess that still thrills me ❤.
Breakfast was supposed to be a serving of Van’s waffles with 1T maple syrup, cinnamon, and sliced plum.
Looks good, no? No! I don’t know why I fail at breakfast lately but something about how I heated this up made it inedible. I took three torturous bites and moved on.
I was planning on studying at The Spot today but it was inexplicably packed to the brim. I took a very irritating walk up and down Elmwood and finally Adam and I decided to go study at Wegman’s. We got salad bar for lunch and then sat in the cafe and worked.
[small bites of – curried chicken salad, chicken salad, cucumber salad, sesame and general’s chicken, lo mein, Asian green beans, wok seared veggies]
I was hungry the whole time we were there so when we left the store I bought a bag of honey mustard pretzels.
Inhaled. I also ate ~a serving of the husband’s Divine Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Bar, unphotographed.
On one hand I am irritated with myself for eating junky food all day (especially on a rest day). But on the other hand I had another “do I need this?” moment that I’m proud of. The plan all day had been to get pizza – buffalo chicken pizza with ranch, yum! – for dinner. When I finished my work at 9:30 we were heading out to get it when I realized: I ate 400calories of pretzels and 200calories worth of chocolate; I wasn’t hungry, even though pizza sounded good! Since pizza does not = fruits and veggies I should eat because they provide nutrients, I decided to skip it.
How often do you eat pizza? Is it one of your favorites, or just another meal? I always thought I wasn’t that into pizza, but then we moved to Park Slope and lived next door to the best pizzeria on the planet. We ate pizza 2-4x per week! By the time we moved it was actually embarrassing because we were in there so often 😉
My lunch today revolved around a local white acorn squash I picked up at the Co-op this weekend.
I can’t say squash, or any “osh” word, without thinking of the OshKosh B’Gosh my mother dressed me in pretty much exclusively when I was a kid. She also used to tape bows to my head when I was a baby, but that’s another story…
I wasn’t sure what to expect with the white squash, but when I cut it open it had a great ‘fall’ scent. I cut it in half and scooped out the seeds and junk and then roasted it, facedown, at 400* for 30minutes. Then I flipped it over and filled the halves with a mix of ~ 4T raisins, 3T chopped walnuts, 1/2T butter, 2t maple syrup, big shakes cinnamon. Followed by a final 20minutes at 400*. How’d it turn out?
I’m on a recipe roll! The savory and sweet balanced out perfectly and the consistency was totally comforting.
I also snacked on a handful of peanuts while I studied,
and drank a Zevia Twist with lunch.
This was the last of my Zevia samples, tear! Cola is my favorite flavor but Twist is a very close second; I hate drinks like Diet Sprite because I think they taste like chemicals but this was just citrus and refreshing.
I’m heading to school now, I’ve got a book and a half (seriously) to print off before Anatomy. Chemistry class was canceled today (yay!) but we have our first extended lab from 6-8:40pm (boo!) tonight. We’re testing melting point ranges which sounds pretty interesting at least.
Were you a brand-loyal baby? I remember a lot of Keds too.
Thank you for all your feedback on the giveaway. I really do appreciate every comment I get here on my little corner of the internet ❤
While I worked on my to-do list I this morning I also worked my way through a big pile of baby carrots.
I know people say that baby carrots are just trumped up packaging of the big guys but I really do prefer them. Babies seem much crunchier and sweeter to me.
At lunchtime I turned to the freezer. We have a pretty tight food budget this year and I try to snatch up frozen meals on sale so I tend to have a random assortment. Today I grabbed a Lobster Cheese Ravioli from Healthy Choice.
I ended up being pleasantly surprised by the quality.
The ravioli were delicious, even a little better than the Buitoni variety we tried the other day. I liked the generous portion of squash as well, my only complaint is that the marinara sauce was too watery.
Actually, I guess my other complaint is that I’m currently starving! To be fair though, 260calories held me over for a while, it’s not necessarily the meal’s fault that I’m ready to chew off my own arm. The husband is having hunger pains as well so as soon as I hit publish I’m off on a snack hunt.
Big girl carrots or baby carrots? Or carats?
P.S. Opinions on the font size?
Eating Chalk 