New To Us

by Emily

Today was fun! I love having visitors because it forces you to explore your own town. We went to several new-to-us spots today and quite enjoyed them all.

Breakfast at Lake Effect Diner.

I’ve put off going for years but now we’ll be going back, soon. I loved seeing this on the menu –

but I actually went with a vegan choice.

Vegan Burger – “house prepared veggie burger with blend of navy beans, barley, oats, vegetables, herbs, and accented with toasted sunflower seeds.”

I ate every bite, sans bun, topped with ketchup and red onion.

I also ate several bites from my dad’s turkey sausage.

I loved that menu was loaded with vegan, vegetarian, and poultry substitute options.

Lunch was consumed at the mall. A piece of pretzel with tons of mustard.

Self-serve froyo, duh.

A little tart froyo, a lot of popping boba.

Plus an orange in the car.

Our main afternoon entertainment was wine tasting.

We went to Schulze, Niagara Landing, and A Gust of Sun and had many tasty pours.

We broke mid-tour to look at Lake Ontario.

Then finished up with a champagne toast.

Adam and I shared at several places so I think I drank a little less than last time.

We ate dinner at AcQua, which was good but not as good as it could/should have been. Bread with butter to start.

x2.

I ordered the shrimp and scallop scampi for my meal.

I gave away 80% of my scallops and packed up 80% of my pasta for Adam’s lunch but adored the giant shrimp (dipped in cocktail sauce).

Dessert was the best thing going.

I ate half each of the last four macarons.

Pistachio, maple and apple, chocolate hazelnut caramel, and strawberry with marshmallow. A delicious way to end the evening!

23Jul2012

My Last Day At Twenty-Six

by Emily

Tomorrow I begin my twenty-eighth year! Isn’t it weird how you’ve starting a year that’s older than your age?! Today was low-key but good, a great way to wrap up 26.

I started my day with a trip to the gym, sort of. I overslept, then I had to drive Adam’s car and couldn’t park in the gym lot, then the parking machine stopped taking my money halfway through… blah, blah, blah; I only had 16 minutes to work out. But I made the most of them! 16 minutes on the elliptical at random level 10, with several rounds of sprint intervals.

I had to hurry because I had a 10am appointment at the Sprint Store. Yes, again. Several new parts later, my phone is working again. Thank goodness for phone insurance.

I ate a big bag of green grapes on the drive.

And made a delicious mug of caffeine when I got home.

Strong cinnamon vanilla nut coffee (brewed with cinnamon!) with 1 Tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk.

It was amazing! But I don’t think I enjoyed myself as much as the dog, who was breakfasting on a ginormous bone.

Gah, cuteness overload!

I got called in early to work so there was no time for a sit-down lunch but I ate this pb&j LARABAR on the walk.

A pallet of boxes came in today so I spent my entire shift tagging and sorting new inventory.

The husband and dog met me after work for a walk and when I got home at 8pm I was glad to have dinner ready and in the fridge. Pasta with Daily Garnish’s Creamy Vegan Sweet Potato Sauce.

I skipped the Earth Balance, used dark raisins, and topped my serving with 1 tsp chipotle oil, but other than that I followed Emily’s lead. It ended up being a very good meal.

Plain yogurt with honey and chopped nectarine for dessert.

I’m ready for another year!

22Jul2012

The Last Three Days I’ve Been…

by Emily

…all over the place! Figuratively speaking. I don’t know where my head is but my meals have been less than impressive; lots of junk food, not a lot of veggies, and I keep forgetting to eat breakfast. Adam was preparing for an important exam and between that, getting used to working, and obsessing over some new books, I’ve felt a little crazy. It is what it is.

Friday

This was a no breakfast day. And I didn’t manage to pack lunch before work either. I ended up grabbing a mix of co-op salad bar.

Cucumber salad, farro salad, vegan pasta salad, and a few dolmas.

Plus a Sweet Leaf Sweet Tea.

When I got home I had chip and dip leftovers.

Plain low-fat yogurt with banana slices and a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk.

And a giant bowl of frosted flakes with skim milk.

I guess I didn’t have it together for dinner either.

Saturday

I ate breakfast! Cottage cheese stirred into a Liberte Coconut Yogurt.

But I packed the stupidest lunch of all time.

A Plum Kids Strawberry Lemonade Yogurt Mashup,

and a Fiber One cookie.

Supplemented with an iced Earl Grey with skim milk.

And the last of my chips and dip when I got home.

Saturday morning Adam took the biggest, 8+ hour, most important exam he’ll take in his entire life (seriously, he’s done nothing but study the past month) so we went out for a celebratory dinner with another couple that night.

I made a small plate from the communal cheese board.

And drank a (giant?!) glass of riesling.

For dinner I ordered the pesto spatzle.

I loved the idea of the innovative pesto (romaine! pistachio! mint!) but sadly didn’t enjoy the execution. You know that I can throw down with some heavy food but this dish was missing some desperately needed acid to cut through the richness. I ate a few bites and figured that my chip appetizer would keep me from starving 😉

Sunday

I started my morning with Harvest Bay Coconut Water,

and chicken salad.

Plus a shake shared with the husband.

(Thank you birthday freebie coupons!)

Mid-day I headed to yoga. 60 minute hot yoga class. Love love loved it. This was definitely the high point of the last few days.

Then we had more ice cream; I can’t resist the allure of birthday freebies.

That’s a kid’s size vanilla frozen yogurt with reeses pb cup and cookie dough.

Veggies, chicken, and macaroni were consumed on a shopping trip.

Plus a mug of cocoa at home.

It was delicious but unnecessary. As I wrote up this recap I was fairly disgusted by the amount of sugar (and chips!) I ate over the past three days.

Around 7:00 we hunkered down in the kitchen for a mega cooking session. Three dishes were on the agenda – tonight’s dinner, tomorrow’s dinner, and tuna casserole to freeze for Adam for the week I’m in Ohio. Two out of three worked out. After spending a lot of time making Janetha’s cauliflower crust pizza I covered it in marinara that turned out to be covered in mold.

Uggggh! Adam threw out our dinner and I threw a fit on the floor. I took a giant bite of marinara sauce before I spotted the mold so a lot of histrionic gagging went down.

Then a bunch of other shit happened and many hours later I ate nachos for dinner.

The end.

26Jun2012

Baby Back, Baby Back, Baby Back

by Emily

Yesterday we got our baby back!

It was exciting and eventful. Webster gets carsick but we figured he would be good for running a few errands in the car after we picked him up from boarding. Nope! As we pulled up to our final stop he projectile vomited all over the laundry Adam had in the backseat.

I hopped out and walked him the rest of the way and he felt fine by the time we got home. He wasn’t too keen on the bath that followed though.

He is adorably pitiful when wet!

Yesterday brought another homecoming as well.

Uggggggh! I’m back in retainers full-time for the next 9 weeks. It’s going to suck, but at the end I should be officially done with day-time wearing. I didn’t blog yesterday because I was eating mushy things (plus lots of pizza!).

I kept breakfast soft today too.

Coffee with Silk Vanilla Almond Milk.

And berry banana soft serf.

I food-processed 1 large frozen banana with 1/2 cup each fresh blueberries and raspberries. It was perfectly tart and sweet.

I was online while I ate. I randomly freaked out about room availability for a conference I’m attending in October and booked a motel. Between pricing, checking distances, and coordinating with friends it took up my whole morning.

I did squeeze in a “something is better than nothing” workout. 20 minutes on the elliptical at level 8 random.

Do I look professional?

The afternoon was spent on interviews for both school and job things. Cross your fingers for me please?

I scheduled my appointments with room to spare so I killed time in between at The Spot with a large cold-pressed coffee with skim milk.

For today, this was one coffee too many; I’ve felt sick to my stomach ever since.

We are leaving for vacation on Thursday so I had to buy a few travel-sized items this evening. Then I came home to an easy dinner.

Roasted green beans.

I used frozen instead of fresh this time and these weren’t very good. I ended up having to add a side of french dressing (unphotographed) for dipping.

Plus cold pizza, x2.

Pro tip- Pizza Hut has really good deals on Monday nights. Yesterday we spent $25 on four cheese pizzas. I put them in the fridge to cool and then portioned slices into freezer baggies (wrapped in foil for extra protection). Now we are stocked up on cheap frozen meals. I also bought tons of fresh berries on super-sale that are waiting to be bagged.

How often do you buy food with intent to freeze it for later? Any items that you think freeze great/not so well?

14Jun2012

So. Much. Coffee.

by Emily

The week’s almost over! Last night we did indeed walk the dog straight to snacks.

A diet pop and a York Peppermint Patty for me.

The three of us sat on the couch and watched “Solitary.” I discovered the show and watched the first season on my own and now that we’re on season 2 I’m sad to say that my opinion is going downhill. For such a big committment and such a tiny prize ($50,000 for the winner) I feel like the challenges should focus on resilience and conviction. Now that they are becoming fitness competitions I’m losing interest.

I’m not sure why Adam found it necessary to take an hour-long shower after we stayed up late watching tv, but when the alarm went off at 6:00 this morning I wanted to punch him in the face. I basically guzzled caffeine all day and then he brought me home pizza so we’re okay now!

Coffee count – #1: A medium iced coffee with french vanilla creamer for funsies.

#2/3: A small coffee with chocolate milk, x2.

#4: A Medium coffee with skim milk and three sugars.

I spent most of my day peeing and I’m still twitching. Worth it. Apparently I like my drinks sweet in the summer; I’m going to have to watch that habit.

Pre-coffee I did get in a workout. 30 minutes on the elliptical at random level 6. Plus arm strength moves on the machines.

For breakfast I had the last bit of spicy chicken and rice.

Lunch was from the dining hall again. Spicy tofu with sautéed peppers and onions plus broccoli cooked with cherry tomatoes.

I thought the food was good and most of the students I surveyed agreed with me. Part of my summer school assignment was supposed to be analyzing patient surveys about hospital tray service. I had to tweak the survey form a little bit to make it fit, but the same general ideas about food temperature and serving size applied.

When I got home in the afternoon I ate my slice of husband-delivered cheese pizza.

He only has a few more shifts at the hospital with the great cafeteria so I’ll take advantage while I can.

Our dinner casserole was assembled yesterday and all we had to do today was bake, easy peasy.

In the dish (the casserole dish!) was –

4 cups cooked brown rice
8 cups raw baby spinach
2 cups roasted broccoli
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 lb tempeh, roughly chopped
3 cups Imagine Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup
(1 cup crushed Monterey Jack Cheez-Its)

Mix. Put in a 13×9 casserole dish. Sprinkle with crushed Cheez-Its. Bake 25 minutes at 400*. Serves 6.

On my new plate.

It was closer to healthy than tasty, but it worked.

With a handful of candy-coated sunflower seeds for dessert.

Have you watched/heard of “Solitary” yet?

29May2012

Bike Then Bar

by Emily

Today was the first day of class and I still managed to get in a morning workout!

Bike Or Bar, the new spinning gym on Elmwood, offers a free trial class to all newbies. A friend and I decided to try it out with 6am spin. I was worried that the wake-up would be brutal but I was so excited that it was ok. I used to hate spinning so my expectations weren’t very high but I ended up loving it! The intervals were a lot of fun. The instructor had great energy and I enjoyed the modern music. A mega plus is that the space is set up to mimic a bar; with the dimmed lighting, strobe lights, and loud music I didn’t feel on display like I do in stark white gyms. I can’t afford another membership right now but if we had more money I would definitely go back! 60 minute spin class.

The real morning excitement was getting to pick Webster up from boarding.

The vet’s office was closed for the holiday and the apartment has felt empty without him the past two days.

Breakfast was a green pear,

and a Banana Foster Lara Bar Uber.

A quick note on the bar – this was a free blog sample. Lara Bar sent me the flavors from their new Uber line to try out.

The Uber line is supposed to be sweet and salty with big pieces of fruit and nut. It delivered! Just look at this texture –

There were lots of nuts and big chunks of chewy banana. The flavor was salty and just a little sweet and you couldn’t taste the date at all (the only thing I dislike about regular Lara Bars is the overwhelming date flavor). I can’t wait to try the other three flavors.

When we were at spin class Janessa gave me the awesome news that class didn’t start until 9 am today. We took advantage of the extra time and went to Dunkin for coffee.

I’m not really sure why the woman gave me so much milk. I got a large latte with skim milk and coconut/cinnamon syrup. ‘Twas good. And fun to have done spinning and coffee before 9am.

Summer school is going to suck. That’s all I’ll say about that for now.

For lunch I packed a turkey sandwich. Applegate Farms Smoked Turkey, French Onion Light Laughing Cow, and a Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin.

Baby carrots.

And some dark chocolate mint m&m’s.

After school I made my final trek to the Sprint Store. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned all of my visits but I’ve had to take my phone in three times over the past two weeks. This was the last time every because today I picked up my *new* phone. And since I had to come in so many times before the waived all fees and it was free!

I sat at Panera setting up my phone (my new phone! for the final time!) and ate a chocolate croissant.

It was surprisingly good. Chocolate croissants are a favorite food that I almost never eat.

When dinner time rolled around I did some hardcore wife-ing. I roasted a whole chicken!

I followed a recipe from Kitchen Counter Cooking School and it was easy as ~~pie~~ chicken. We started with a 3 lb 8 oz free-range bird. I made a mixture of butter, lemon juice, and fresh rosemary that I rubbed under and on top of the skin. Then I stuffed the inner cavity with the juiced lemons and a few bulbs of garlic. Baked at 425* for 1 hr 15 minutes with occasional basting.

It turned out wonderfully!

I ate a chicken thigh sans skin.

With sides of roasted zucchini,

and sliced carrots cooked in brown sugar and butter.

It was a winner of a dinner.

Though not that appropriate for the weather. Bring on the chilled salads and gazpacho.

Smoothies for dessert helped us to cool back down.

For two, I blended – 1.75 cups Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, .25 cup frozen blueberries, 1 large frozen banana, 3 Tbsp malted milk powder, and 1/2 Tbsp almond extract.

It was a good mix. I need to remember my almond extract more often.

See you for hump day.

20May2012

Sunday Disposition

by Emily

Welcome, weekend warriors!

No Saturday post because I spent most of the day moping around the house. Little was accomplished, though I did get the laundry done.

I got so sick of myself that I made damn sure to have fun today. And I’ve been thinking positive thoughts about the upcoming week as well. I want to make sure my last 8 days before summer school are as productive/relaxing/fun/healthy as possible.

We got this morning off to a tasty/healthy start with ~~sludge~~ smoothies to go.

Enjoyed out of repurposed jars instead of fancy stemware because we were on a family walk.

In the blend were unmeasured amounts of frozen banana, frozen blackberries, frozen spinach, and oj.

Plus a piece of rye bread with strawberry jam and Smart Balance Light when we got home.

Our new jam is the store-brand version of Crofter’s (ie organic and with no added sugar) and sadly it’s not very good.

Lunch was consumed out of hand. A slice of pizza (now you see what we did on Saturday!),

a Cara Cara orange,

and half of this package of mint m&m’s.

I’ve never been a huge m&m person but these mint ones are fantasmic. Perhaps because they are dark chocolate? They are one of the few (the only?!) desserts that actually tastes better to me in small quantities.

We walked to dinner and surreptitiously enjoyed Black Jack Colas along the way.

We went on a sushi date.

Kunis has been on our “Buffalo: Go To” list for months and I’m glad we finally gave it a shot because it was great and we’ll definitely be back.

I ordered three small plates to make up my meal. First, Wakame Salad.

Seasoned and dressed seaweed, with sesame and chili flakes. I’ve been trying to get Adam to taste seaweed salad for years and now that he finally did he’s officially obsessed (we stopped at the co-op on the way home because he was hoping to find more!). I will say that Kuni’s version was one of the best I’ve ever had. But – the photo isn’t deceiving you, it was a ridiculously small portion.

My soup course was a bowl of Udon.

Thick white flour noodles in a light broth, topped with sweetened tofu, wakame and scallions. At $3.75 this huge bowl was a steal. The sweet tofu wasn’t my favorite but the slightly sweet and sour broth was great.

Finally, a veggie roll.

It had asparagus, mushroom, and some pickled vegetable that I’m not remembering. Be forewarned – the wasabi at Kunis is fresh! I gobbed it on the way I usually do and my first bite almost killed me. It wasn’t necessarily spicy – in fact we both noticed that this wasabi put no spice on your tongue and was strangely sour – but a bunch of it stuck to the roof of my mouth and I started choking and breaking out in a cold sweat. Adam said my face was BRIGHT red!

We had a great walk home; Kuni’s is just far enough away to be fun. My dinner was good but on the smaller side and my mouth didn’t feel done so I ate a mug of cereal when we got home.

1 cup of Honey Nut Shredded Wheat with skim milk. Aaaaand, scene.

1Apr2012

Three Dessert Sunday

by Emily

The weekend is over and I didn’t catch up on any sleep, aaaahh! After our late night (cough, 4:30, cough cough) I was thrilled to wake up to a pre-made breakfast. Overnight oats in a jar.

In a pb jar with just a little peanut butter left (approximately 2 Tbsp) I combined 1/4 cup of oats, 1/4 cup Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk, and a caramel Oikos.