Tag Archives: vegan

I’m Hungry and I Suck

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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!

Thank You, Friends Up North

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First things first, the winners of today’s giveaway were Jenny and Monica –

Congrats guys, get me your mailing addresses and I’ll send out your coupons.  Everyone else (and Jenny and Monica too, you can enter more than once if you’re feeling extra lucky), don’t forget that another giveaway chance will be posted tomorrow morning.

I feel a little strange writing this post because today felt a little strange.  We haven’t been getting enough sleep and I feel like I’ve been walking through a haze.  I’ve been insanely hungry and I’m sure it’s tied to my lack of sleep.  Though let’s pretend that I’m hungry from my good habits instead of my bad ones, like my workout this morning!

I had 40 minutes of cardio on the agenda so I hopped on the elliptical – level 6 random – for 40 minutes.  I worked up quite a sweat, but my pace was super slow and I knew that I wasn’t really pushing myself so I added 25 minutes on the stationary bike.  I had absolutely no idea what I was doing with the fancy tv-style settings, but I was dripping when I finished so I must have done something right.  As I was getting off the bike, I spotted a fun looking game setting that I’m eager to try out next week.

By the time I got home I was hun-ga-re!  Enter my newest dream team.

I topped a 1 cup serving of Quaker Golden Maple Oatmeal Squares with a serving of Amande strawberry flavored almond milk yogurt and 2 Tbsp of crunchy peanut butter.

I probably won’t buy this yogurt again, the texture was definitely a little “fake” and I’m not too keen on non-Greek flavored yogurts anyways, but I do highly recommend it for any vegans looking for a yogurt fix.  I sent my pb through a spin in the microwave to get it all melty and it became very swoon-worthy.

Unfortunately I didn’t eat “breakfast” until I got home and showered from working out and it was near noon.  My insane hunger coupled with the weird meal times meant I ended up grazing all day.

I had a perfect, crunchy pear.

Two onion rolls with Smart Balance Light.

And a packet of cinnamon roll Oat Revolution with brown sugar, a splash of skim milk, and a big handful of raisins.

Around 2 I did stop stuffing my face long enough to get gussied and leave the apartment – it’s time to find a summer job!  My long stroll up and down Elmwood (in a suit, with a packet of resumes) wasn’t fruitful yet, but at least it got me back off the couch.  I have a couple of prospects I’m feeling hopeful about, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed because the next step will be looking for jobs that aren’t walking distance from the apartment.

Adam picked me up towards the end of my walk home and we split a mini turtle Blizzard.

Then we came home and made a pile.  <– watch “Where the Wild Things Are,” you’ll thank me

I was flying solo for dinner so I went simple.

A leftover Reuben Stuffed Turkey Burger,

with a big plate of baby carrots to get in some veggies.

Notes – 1. I added a slice of cheese to that burger right after I snapped the photo.  2. My hand has been sneaking into the tin of cashews all evening but there’s no pictoral evidence.  3. Those burgers are really good!

And with that, I’m off to watch “Missing” on Netflix Instant Watch.   I rediscovered it recently and it’s rocking my socks.  Is there anything Canadian tv can’t do??!  I also loved “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” “Braceface,” “Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy,” “That’s So Wierd,” and “In a Heartbeat.”  <– loooove

Did you watch any of those shows back in the day?

Working (Against Me)

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Hello, again!  I realize I’ve been a blogging slacker, but I’m ready to recommit.  Just like I committed to a workout this morning.

I had a lot of things working against me for this run –

  • I’ve been eating nothing but junk the past few days
  • I have not been hydrating properly at all
  • I haven’t been getting enough sleep
  • I just came from the orthodontist and I got on the treadmill feeling like someone had kicked me in the teeth
  • I skipped two training days and hadn’t worked out since Friday!

It’s a good thing that I think even a terrible run is a good run, because it did end up being a terrible run!  And with all the things (listed above) working against me, ironically what ended up killing me was my tight calf muscles!  I don’t even know what was happening with my legs but the best way I can describe it is that my calf muscles felt like rubber bands that were about to snap.  It took me 20 minutes before I felt even remotely warmed up.

Before I got on the treadmill I did adress the fueling issue.  I slammed a tangerine PowerBar Gel,

and bought myself a grape G2 and a water.

All total I stayed on the treadmill for an hour, doing some running and mostly walking.  1 hour, for 5 miles on the nose.

I’ve been in such a crabby mood the last few days and even though my workout was terrible it totally lifted my mood!  Mother Nature was looking out for my happiness too –

After a quick errand and a crucial shower, I was ready for lunch.  My teeth, in brand new retainers, were not feeling as ready as my belly though.  I ended up doing fries and ice cream, healthy living blog style.

A big pile of oven-roasted green bean fries.

Cooked 30minutes at 450* with a bit of salt and cooking spray.

And a bowl of banana soft serve.

I food processed 1.5 frozen bananas, a splash of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, and 2 Tbsp of Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter with Honey.

Both items ended up being de-lish-us!  Hopefully they will help me fuel through my afternoon, since I’ve got a monster to-do list to tackle:

  • fold/put away my laundry
  • fold Adam’s laundry
  • finish putting away my school stuff
  • clean the bathroom
  • clean the kitchen
  • get set up for job hunting tomorrow
  • send some blog e-mails
  • backup my files from this school year
  • schedule some doctors’ appointments
  • fix my nail polish
  • start reading a new book
  • make dinner

What’s on your to-do list today?

I’ll Mail Your Package

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You guys won’t even believe it; when I got to the post office it was closed!!!  Apparently the 1:30 closing time listed online referred to the p.o. boxes, the actual office had closed before I even left the house.  Just as I felt steam about to come out of my ears a postal worker told me about another location with longer hours.  The post office where I finally had success is actually much closer to my house, so it was a win in the end.

While I was out and about I snacked on a blueberry muffin Lara Bar,

the rest of my Arizona,

and .1 lbs of yogurt pretzels.

My stomach was growling and as I hungrily grocery shopped all I could think of was eating french fries and catching up on Grey’s.  So when I got home, that’s what I did.

If you consider my cheesy show choices, it’s almost like those were cheese fries…hyuck, hyuck.

Adam and I tried to eat this peppermint candy my mom sent us from Carnival food fair,

but we waited too long and sadly it was all squishy.

We took a nice walk around Elmwood in the evening, and worked up an appetite for dinner.

That’s tuna salad with lots of red onion,

and half a slice of buffalo chicken pizza with blue cheese dressing.

Perfect food for watching Bones, which made me cry, p.s.

With a serving of Raisin Bran Extra for dessert.

See you tomorrow for a long(ish) run!

Seis de Mayo!

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Okay, okay, so I’m a day late on my May 5th post.  Normally I hate to do long-overdue recap posts, but since my new 30 day goal is to post everything, here it is.  Quick sidenote – mad props to everyone who engages in drogging (aka drunk blogging); I wanted to share this yesterday but it was just not an option 😉

My classmates I add were touched by serendipity yesterday, when Cinco de Mayo and our last day of classes fell on the same day.  After a very long last day of classes (9:25 in the morning to 7 at night) we were able to head out for some much-needed celebration.

First, the morning.  Our last day of lab included drawer check out and a final exam.  I had a little extra time in the morning to study since I had to skip my workout (boo!), and I think I did pretty well on the exam.  I didn’t have it together for breakfast, but I did grab a medium iced coffee with skim milk from Starbucks.

And it was so good I forgot to take a picture until I was down to my last sips; clearly I needed coffee!

Our last lab let out pretty early, and we were left with a six-hour break before our final evening class.  No problem, I took my friend Rachel on a mini tour of Elmwood!  We ambled down the street from school, stopping to visit a friend at work and hit up the Spot for a study session.  I grabbed some brown rice veggie sushi from the co-op for lunch.

And actually stopped at the co-op on the way back to school for dinner as well.

During my night class I noshed on Thai cucumber and peanut salad,

and some vegan pasta salad.

Suddenly we were taking our last quiz of the semester, packing up, and we were done with our first year of school!!!  I mean, there are finals next week, but still exciting.

Cinco de Mayo plans were supposed to include a holiday appropriate trip to Cozumel Bar, but a $10 cover later we ended up at JP Bullfeathers.

That was a Jack and ginger ale, but it tasted more like dirty water.  Weak drinks aside, JP Bullfeathers ended up being a perfect spot for our end of school celebration; not too packed for good conversation, but busy enough to still be fun.

We ended up sitting at a table and ordering some food as well.

My friend Janessa and I split the turkey and gorgonzola pannini,

which was delicious.  Turkey sandwiches seem to be my go-to restaurant order.

And how to do go out on Cinco de Mayo without margaritas?!

What’s the Spanish word for sloshed?  Let’s just say I’m glad I could walk less than a minute and be home!

I did stay up to share some dessert, of course.

That’s a caramelized macadamia nut and chocolate mousse tart that Adam brought home.

Now on to today.  In true college-girl fashion, I managed to stay in bed well past 1pm!!  It helps to have the bladder of a camel and a four-day break before finals begin.  🙂

Adam and made the executive decision that we needed a day together, so we took down a full season of Scrub’s recaps and an entire pizza.

That’s a bruschetta pizza topped with extra green olives, the best pizza topper ever.

The half a pizza pretty much covered all my food groups (what?! dairy, grains, veggies…) but I did sneak in one more veggie with a slice of carrot cake from the co-op.

A few facts – Carrot cake does to count as a veggie.  I think I need to be done with the co-op for a few days.  It was a glorious day with my husband.

Did you do anything to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  What are you looking forward to this weekend?

I’m Feeling Wicked

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Congrats to those of you who guessed it; last night Adam and I saw “Wicked” at Shea’s Performing Arts Center!

I’ve seen the show once before in NYC and I have to admit that the Buffalo rendition totally exceeded my expectations!

Gregory Maguire is one of my favorite authors, and Wicked is actually my all-time favorite book.  I tend to read mostly memoirs and non-fiction, but Maguire’s adult fairy tales are totally my jam!  I don’t love all of the changes that the play makes to the story, but the added hilarity definitely allow me to overlook them.  Adam loved the show as well, which was the most exciting thing at all for me.

We bought ourselves a champagne before the show started,

and nibbled on some Smarties during intermission.

It was a glorious date night, thanks Mom and Dad!

This morning’s breakfast was centered around trying out a new vegan yogurt find, Amande is made from cultured almond milk.

I tried the coconut flavor today, atop a sliced banana and topped with a dollop of Smuckers Natural PB with Honey and a sprinkle of shredded coconut.

I didn’t love love the yogurt (nothing can top the tang and thickness of Greek), but I thought it was the best vegan alternative I’ve ever tried.  I wouldn’t buy it regularly, but I am looking forward to trying the strawberry flavor in my fridge.  The bowl was pretty good,

though I have to admit, I was missing my usual crunchy/sweet nut addition.

I had to head to school a bit early because I was meeting with a professor about a project and I needed to go grovel at the financial aid office as well.  Part of the reason I have been feeling wicked is because I have NOT been keeping on top of my work!  <– more on that in a minute

Lunch was all about the leftovers; a piece of corn bread,

and a serving of steamed spinach,

topped with maple turkey sloppy joes.

The “sauce” mixed with the spinach was divine; I’m never eating ‘joes on a bun again!

I also snagged a few bites of free cotton candy from the student union.

Boo-yah for free spun sugar!

I mentioned feeling wicked above, and I think I put that shame to good use.  After classes ended today I headed to the dietetics lab (computers and silence) with a friend and hunkered down there until after 8pm!  I finished a ton of work and I’m on such a roll that I’m planning on making it a late night of studying.  The goal is a 12-1am bedtime alternating 30minutes of tv with 45+ minutes of studying. 

We grabbed lattes – medium, non-fat, half pumps of almond rocca syrup –

before the study session but dinner never really happened.  My stomach has been feeling off all day, hurting and bloated, so nothing ever sounded appealing.  I’ll probably grab a snack at some point this evening and I’ll just blog about it in the morning.

Have you ever seen (or read) Wicked?  What’s your favorite Broadway show?

Why So Serious?

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No post yesterday, I was busy at the orthodontist getting a new retainer.  Unsurprisingly, losing my ability to snack without dealing with mouthgear or to freely sip diet coke all day put me in a sour mood.  It didn’t help that my orthodontist accidentally sliced open the side of my lip, the effect of which is twofold – 1) I look like the Joker; 2) I’m not even wearing the retainers today because I can’t open my damn mouth!

Breakfast was restricted to something I could eat with a straw –

Leftover vanilla coffee, maple syrup, Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, and lots of ice.

I couldn’t figure out what to pack for lunch, so I ended up ordering a nice flat quesadilla.

The Taco Bell workers were surprisingly accommodating and agreed to add all of their veggies (lettuce, tomato, and onions) to my cheese quesadilla.

I could only manage to eat half of it though, and even that took me 45minutes!

By the time my second nutrition class was over I was hungry and cranky.  In a not-so-nutritious move, I ended up carefully shoving chicken fingers and fries into my sore mouth.

My plan was to hit the gym between my afternoon class and Music, but a research presentation crisis took me to the library instead.  Just as well, since my greasy platter of food left me wanting to throw up anyway.

But I surprised myself by making it to the gym after my night class.  Normally my motivation wanes as the day goes on, but I knew I needed the mood-boosting effects.  It helped that he let us out of class an hour early!  I did 20 (difficult) minutes of jogging on the treadmill, followed by a quick cool down, for a total of 25minutes and 2.4miles.

When I finally got home at 9pm, I needed to spend some time in the kitchen, prepping for Adam’s lunch and tomorrow’s dinner.  I also had a few school loose ends to tie up for tomorrow, pushing this post even later.  As soon as I realized my early bedtime was shot, I begged Adam to take me to 7-11 for a diet pop, where this happened –

Cherry/Coke slushies make me giddy!

Now as soon as I hit publish I can’t wait to get showered and get in bed!

What is your slushie flavor (combo) of choice?

A Food Log Food Blog

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So there’s thing 1 and thing 2. Thing 1 – we just got home after our second 9+ hour car trip in two days and I’m too tired to be clever. Thing 2 – due to inclement weather (nearby tornadoes!) we spent much of the weekend without power and my pictures are pretty dark and awful. But, here’s the thing – part of the reason I write this blog is as a food diary (accountability). Sometimes I feel so silly when I’m writing a post that isn’t funny or chockfull of useful ideas or amazing recipes, but I have to remember that I do this for me too. So, feel free to skip this weekend’s recap, or settle in for a food log post.

Friday

I made Adam and myself a huge iced coffee to split on the road.

Coffee + Silk Vanilla Almond Milk + maple syrup.

I also packed a sandwich for breakfast.

Sandwich Thin + Applegate Farms organic sliced chicken + a Light Laughing Cow.

I was randomly starving five minutes later and spent the rest of the day complaining about how hungry I was. Enter an early lunch from Sheetz. Cole slaw,

and a turkey sandwich, with cheddar, honey mustard, lettuce, and tomato, on a pretzel bun.

Bletch x2! Normally I’m really impressed by Sheetz, but this time not so much.

However, Adam and I did split some Reeses Minister that were freaking life changing!

When we saw them again at another gas station we even bought some to bring home.

When we got to Virginia, before a tornado(!!) knocked out the power, there was dinner waiting for us.

Salad,

chips,

and grapes.

Then we spent the night playing cards in the dark.

Saturday

I skipped breakfast in lieu of cuddling up to my books, but made time for a last lunch.

More salad,

a small slice of cheese pizza,

three shrimp with cocktail sauce,

and strawberries and melon.

I also had a cinnamon brownie (we baked them Thursday night to bring down) and some Ruffled for dessert.

I ate my fair share of junk on Saturday unfortunately. I don’t mind digging into desserts or snacks at all, but I prefer to nosh only on unhealthy things that I love, and I feel like I sort of just grazed.

In the afternoon we did get to go out for a short but nice walk with my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and niece.

I even ran several sprints with my niece, it’s so much fun getting little kids to be active.

We went out to dinner, where multiple peanuts we cracked.

Sagebrush is a steakhouse, but fortunately there was some chicken on the menu as well.

I started with a cheddar biscuit,

and a side salad with peanut vinaigrette.

Dinner was grilled chicken,

with bbq sauce,

and broccoli.

We stopped for gas on the way home and I grabbed a (half sweetened) coffee.

I also snacked on some Easter candy,

and this plate of chips x2.

Sunday

My in-laws whipped up breakfast before we had to hit the road.

Scrambled eggs, strawberries, and half a bagel with strawberry cream cheese.

I also ate an apple with cheese in the car,

and a medium plain coffee.

We sang along with the radio, listened to recordings of Adam’s lectures, and reviewed my music reading all afternoon. Then, according to plan we pulled into Grove City at 4:45 and grabbed a late lunch/ early dinner at Primanti Brother’s.

Adam grew up eating there and I’ve seen it on the Food Network so we were pretty excited.

I ordered the turkey and provolone cheese sandwich, which came piled with Cole slaw and French fries!

The bread was boring (and abandoned halfway through), but the slaw and fries were perfectly vinegary. I’d probably never want one again, but it was fun to try.

But the fun was just beginning. There was an outlet mall across the street so Adam suggested we take advantage of the great weather (75*) and walk around a bit. First, I love to walk with the husband. Second, we snagged a Silpat on sale.

And then I literally started hyperventilating with excitement… we spotted a self-serve froyo place!!!

You guys, I can’t even tell you! I got original tart and sugar-free praline, topped with hot fudge, marshmallow, butterfinger, strawberries, and a cherry.

This is the kind of “junk” I feel 100% good about eating.

I’m pretty sure I swooped the whole rest of the drive home.

We stopped for a mini grocery run at Wegmans, and also grabbed some Chinese food (which I’m just not going to blog); our early dinner was a bit too early 😉

If you have a blog, how much of its purpose is food log vs. fun?