Tag Archives: yogurt

Blog Tips and Bagels

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We stayed up pretty late last night but thankfully having to move our cars got us up and out of the house for an early walk.

I’m still loving this weather.  Walking weather it is.  Sidenote – a major character died on Stargate: Atlantis last night (the show is off the air, we are watching on Netflix Instant Watch) and I gasped so loudly I’m pretty sure the neighbors heard!

After a post-walk shower (it is sweating weather too!) I hit the caffeine hard.

2 cups of cold coffee with English toffee syrup and Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.  I had a date with a friend so I drank my coffee en route and I helped myself to one of her homemade “energy balls” when I got there.

The balls were a Pinterested recipe with oats, pb, and coconut and they were quite tasty.

Kim invited me over to pick my brains about all things blog.  It’s weird to give advice when Eating Chalk is so tiny and unknown but there are little tips that I think I’ve got figured out.  I taught her about tagging, pages versus posts, and emailing responses to comments, among other things.  I hope I was helpful!

I needed to pick up a few groceries before my mom gets here on Friday and Kim lives one town over from me so I took the opportunity to hit up a different Wegman’s.  There was a Manhattan Bagel along the way and I stopped there too.

I’ve been craving a bagel (a good bagel!) like crazy lately and I’m glad I gave MB a chance.  My jalapeño-cheddar bagel with light garden cream cheese hit the spot.

It was super chewy and spicy.

I cooled down my mouth with a Blackberry Hibiscus Mama Chia once I reached the mecca.

The drink had more texture than flavor, but was very tasty.  My out-and-about food purchase quota for the week has been reached but it was worth it.  Besides, March Back Home March is basically ending once my mom gets here; I’m not turning down “free” food!  🙂

I hit the jackpot with the “new” Wegmans too.  I found all sorts of fun new products to try.  Like these Bissli BBQ and Smokey snacks.

They were super crunchy.  Adam and I split them but I scarfed more than my fair share.

I also ate most of these adorable things.

They were little biscuit cookies with white and milk chocolate.  So tasty!

I spent twenty minutes this afternoon agonizing over whether or not to run (sorry, husband!) but I’m having some foot problems so I decided not to.  After more than a week off (whoops!) what’s another few days when I’m having pain?  I’m not even going to attempt a workout until Sunday, but thankfully we’ll be in Ohio for the weekend and I should be able to run on the neat path near my grandparents’ house.

Not running didn’t mean I was any less hungry though.  I ate a Wegman’s low-fat coffee yogurt with honey roasted peanuts before dinner.

The peanuts were out because I was making the husband some homemade vanilla honey peanut butter.

I took a few licks too, yum!

Dinner was quick and easy.

We need some (turkey) bacon for a recipe tomorrow so I cooked up a batch tonight,

and we scrambled eggs in the same pan when the bacon was done.

Plus roasted asparagus.

It was a very savory meal.

Let’s end with a puppy picture, shall we?

Bad News Bakers

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Have you ever had a string of fails in the kitchen?

I’m starting to seriously question my baking ability.  First, there was the Guinness cupcakes fail (apparently you can’t add beer to cake batter like the diet coke cake trick).  Then this weekend I learned this – adding strawberry pie filling to peanut butter cookie dough does not make pb & j cookies.  But as I told Adam as he was scraping an entire bowl of cookie dough into the trash, if I don’t at least try then I’ll never learn.

I was hoping to have a fun smoothie recipe to share today but I learned from that too.  Instead I had to turn to leftovers for breakfast.

This casserole was a fun mix of brown rice, shredded chicken, spinach, celery, toasted pecans, and fig butter.

Plus I had fruit and yogurt on the side.   Plain Siggi’s with blackberries, yellow plucot, and maple syrup.

It was a good meal.

And it’s always good to get a healthy start after several days of popcorn!

I took an extra long walk this afternoon.  Two friends from school came over and we took Webster on several loops of the neighborhood.  One of the girls recently switched majors and it was a great to get the chance to catch up with her.  Unfortunately now I have a huge painful blister on one of my toes; I can barely walk!

When I got back I ate a big spoonful (~2 Tbsp) of my new favorite thing.

Now that Wegman’s sells Crunchy Biscoff Spread my life is complete.

Lunch looked similar to breakfast, but had a flavor profile that was all its own.

I mashed roasted butternut squash with Miracle Whip, stirred in brown rice and roasted, shredded zucchini, and topped with some chopped 50% reduced fat cheddar.

Some people live without microwaves, how do they get things melty?

Dinner was melty too, but from the oven.  I roasted a sandwich thin with turkey, more reduced fat cheddar, and six (6!!) pickle slices.

Plus a pile of roasted green beans.

It’s not the first time I’ve had that meal this month and I don’t expect it to be the last.

In spite of my foot, the weather was too nice for me to not go another short walk with the husband.  We split a Push Up from the convenience store.

It felt like being 8 again!

Adam has a late start tomorrow and I’m on spring break so we plan on watching Stargate: Atlantis late into the night.  Woot!

P.S. I was gone yesterday because I got some frustrating news at my “final” orthodontist appointment – I’m back in retainers for three weeks.  Ugh!  So yesterday I was sulking and eating soft things.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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I may have had water at the beer garden but I did manage to sneak some booze into my St. Patrick’s Day.

Iced coffee with Tres Leches Liqueur and Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.

I enjoyed my beverage on a walk with the husband and the dog.  It was warm enough to do this –

Spring has sprung!

We all made sure to get our green on today,

even Mother Earth.

It was the perfect day for a walk and apparently we weren’t the only ones who thought so because the sidewalks were packed.  Or maybe people just heard that the Co-op was giving out free carrot cake samples?

It was a fruitful day, I also snagged some samples at the grocery store.  Some peanuts, fresh squeezed blood orange juice, and a big hunk of cheese in addition to the cake.

I also had a pear,

and a 0% Oikos Greek Yogurt with Caramel on the bottom.

Awhile back I complained about the texture changes in Stonyfield yogurt and a company rep sweetly offered to send me some coupons for products I might like more.  You can assume that the next few Oikos products I mention were freebies.  This caramel Oikos was delicious and the texture was perfect, smooth and decadent.

I topped it with a handful of Heath Bar crumbles and it made a great afternoon treat.

I was pretty hungry all afternoon so we ended up making an early, easy dinner.

Tricolor six cheese tortellini with marinara sauce, and roasted sliced mushrooms and shredded zucchini.

Tasty, tasty.  I kept my portion on the small side because my evening plans include a HUGE bowl of popcorn.  Also Stargate: Atlantis.  A real party animal, that’s what I am!

What did you do for St. Patrick’s Day?

Spring Break Has Begun!

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Actually it began yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance to blog until today.  I don’t have any big spring break-y plans, but it’s always enjoyable to get some time off.  My mom is coming to visit next week for her spring break though and we are driving over to Ohio to visit my grandparents.

Yesterday morning I walked to school in just pants and a long sleeve T-shirt (spring came just in time for its break!) and ate breakfast during class.  A GoGo Squeez Apple Strawberry pouch,

and a Peanut Butter Pretzel Mojo Bar.

Both were good and the combo of salty and sweet was great.

For lunch I had a Simply Asia Spicy Mongolian Noodle Bowl.

I guess it was the morning of packaged foods?

Other than the sodium content (which is something I don’t really worry about within my diet) the nutritionals on these bowls are pretty good and they allow you to get food in a hurry when you’re hungry.  1g of saturated fat and 13g of protein in under 3 minutes?  I’ll take it!

The afternoon included an unsuccessful baking attempt.

My goal was Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey’s Buttercream for a St. Paddy’s Day treat.  But I hate chocolate cake and I really hate Bailey’s Irish Cream so it actually wasn’t too big of a loss.

Since we won’t be telefundraising over break I volunteered to work the final shift last night.  I drank a ProBugs Strawnana Split Kefir on the walk back to campus.

Work went well and at 8:30 it was officially the start of spring break!

Adam and I cashed in a meal out (and a Living Social deal) for dinner at Lagerhaus 95.

There, I drank water at a German beer house like a total loser.

We had an amazing meal and are planning on going back next week with my mom.  Adam and I split three things to maximize tastes.  We started with the Camembert Fondue – Franziskaner infused camembert wheel / crisp apple slices / crusty sesame bread.

Fondue is Adam’s and my favorite dish to share at new restaurants and this one did not disappoint.  The Camembert was served on top of sautéed sweet onions and the flavor mix was magical.

Next we had the special, a Crab cake Sandwich.  It was served with vinegary cole slaw and crisp green apples on a brioche bun.

I hate crab cakes that are full of breadcrumbs and this guy was super meaty and perfect.  The bun was almost sweet which was an interesting contrast.  It came with a trough side of clam chowder that Adam devoured.

Finally we had the Truffled Wild Mushroom Panini – Haus blend of fresh wild mushrooms / white truffle oil / cippolini onions / fresh arugula / gorgonzola / pressed on foccocia.

Everything was great,but this was the best dish of the night, hands down.  Adam doesn’t have a sense of smell and I was dying the whole meal that he couldn’t experience the scent coming off the truffled mushrooms.  The earthiness with the creamy gorgonzola – which was far creamier than any other gorgonzola I’ve tried – was great.

The panini came with a side salad that was also impressive.

There were several herbs, I couldn’t identify which ones, mixed into the lettuce and it had the most unique flavor.  The honey mustard champagne vinaigrette (unpictured) was nice too.

Overall we had an amazing experience at Lagerhaus 95 and I can’t wait to go back!

Sometimes great flavors seem to make you even hungrier for more and Adam and I stopped on the way home for a box of chocolates.

I ate half of every flavor, or two servings.  A little excessive because they weren’t even that good but I kept thinking each flavor would be better.

This morning I tried a Chobani 2% Passion Fruit Yogurt.

So good, my favorite Chobani yet!  I love passion fruit in general but this one had the perfect balance of sour and sweet.  If you’ve never eaten a passion fruit before the crunchy seeds might seem a little strange but I promise it’s worth a try.

Now I’ve got to shower and then I’m off to get my green on and make a trip to the grocery store.  Are you wearing green today?

Thank Goodness It’s Tuesday

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The title’s not sarcastic, we have a difficult assignment due this Thursday and I’m glad to still have a day standing between me and it!

My shift at work went well yesterday but when I got out at 9 I was just too tired to photograph, or blog, or think.  We do not do Daylight Saving Time where I grew up and my body still hasn’t quite gotten used to it.  Every year I am so exhausted for the weeks immediately following the time changes.

I needed a little extra help this morning too.

The vanilla flavored Doubleshot was very tasty.  I’d drink it for flavor alone if it weren’t for all the caffeine.

Solid food was good too.

I had a Siggi’s Strawberry topped with two sliced yellow plucots and a drizzle of maple syrup.

The yellow plucots were good but I think I prefer the dapple variety.  These were more tart.

When I walked to campus for stats this morning I was almost too hot in my winter coat.  And I definitely had to fan myself when I saw my score on the first exam –

Woot!

Clinic was good too.  I had my first teenage patient (I’ve been with adults and infants previously) and it was a different sort of interviewing experience.  We also met as a group for some interesting mini-discussions on anorexia nervosa and cystic fibrosis.

I was hungry and short on time after clinic so I made myself an Annie Chun’s Korean Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl.

I added a big handful of shredded carrots on top for veg.

It was good, and I very much liked the amount of heat to the sauce, but desperately in need of a crunch factor.  I have a few other flavors that I purchased on sale and I might stock up on peanuts to top them with.

Dinner was actually a blogger event.  T.G.I.Friday’s invited a bunch of local bloggers to try out their new menu.

The plates were portioned for sharing (and the light was pretty bad) so the media contact actually requested that we not take any food photographs.  Instead I’ll do a recap of what I thought of the dishes I tried when she sends me press info/high-res photos.  I will say for now that I was surprised and impressed.  It felt very strange to not be photographing though!

I brought my friend Kim with me and we ate ’til we were stuffed and a had a lot of fun.  It was nice getting to meet some of the other local bloggers.

I came home from the event planning on working but instead I’m hurrying to bed.  Adam baked up a ton of food to pack for his lunches this week (eggplant, zucchini, tomatillos, mushrooms, rice, and a bunch of seasonings and sauces) and the apartment is permeated with a smell that’s making me ill.  It actually smells delicious, but the sensory overload has given me nausea and a headache.  Tomorrow will be insanely busy but hopefully oder-free!

After Lunch Mints

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It’s Friday!  My sleep total for the last 2 days is still only at about 8 hours but somehow I managed to make it to the gym this morning.  I didn’t get up quite on time, but I made it. I did have to cut my workout a bit short to make it back to campus on time for class, but I figured it was better than skipping it entirely (<– what would have happened if I had tried to wait and go after class).

8 sets of 3 minutes running / 2 minutes walking.  42 minutes and 3.5 miles with cool down.

I had to skip breakfast too, but it was worth it.  Besides, I was busy doing important things like shrouding myself in pinks and purples instead of drying my hair.

When I did finally get “breakfast” at noon I stuck with the color theme.

Those two chopped plucots are perched on a bowl of Wegman’s Low-fat Honey Yogurt.

The gratuitous dog picture means I approve!  The yogurt’s texture was creamy and good and the flavor was pure honey.

The bowl was delicious.

Lunch was better though.  I bet you know what I had.

2 Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes.

Ah-mazing.  I hope with all of my heart that y’all will try that recipe at home.

I also had a salad.  Romaine topped with peanut sauce, green onions, shredded carrots, and dry roasted peanuts.

The green onions were a fun addition.

Dessert happened too.

This recipe wasn’t on my baking roster, but it was a necessary last-minute addition.  My friend Kim unwrapped a piece of gum in class today and at first I thought the wrapper was an Andes Mint.  That was it.

I made a half recipe of our favorite brownies with Andes mints layered in the middle.  I had three smallish ones.

Amazing as well.

And I wasn’t done in the kitchen yet.  I’m going to be out of the house all day tomorrow so I whipped up lunch in advance.

A random mishmash of unmeasured amounts of – spaghetti, linguine, shredded chicken, skim milk, medium buffalo sauce, reduced fat cream cheese, mozzarella, cheddar, blue cheese, spinach, brocoli, and peas.  I had a few bites and it was very good; I’m looking forward to lunch tomorrow.

I’m also looking forward to bed!  I’m still not really tired, but I can tell that sleep is going to feel good.  The plan for dinner is a frozen meal and a beer and then I hope to turn in early.

Pick your poison – Junior Mints, York Patties, or Andes?

Has Been And Will Be

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Howdy!  It has been – and will be – a long day, so I’ll keep this quick.

My morning started with a trip to the gym.  My CT10k plan called for 11 sets of 3 minutes running / 2 minutes walking, but today was my worst workout ever so I had to mix it up a bit.  My calves were soooooo tight.  I ran and walked super slowly and stopped practically every 5 minutes to stretch but my legs just wouldn’t feel right.  I ended up doing 6 sets of 3/2, followed by 30 minutes of slow walking with my notecards, and then another 6 sets of 3/2.  90 minutes and 6.7 miles in total.  And after my walk home my legs now feel completely better; weird!

I drank a grape G2 while I was at the gym.

Technically this was a drink purchase but I’m not going to count it.  I was feeling very light-headed so calories were a necessity and not just a desire for something other than water.  I am going to buy a few larger (read cheaper unit cost) G2s next time I’m at the store though.

I ate lunch on my walk to school, or at least attempted to.  First, a delightfully crunchy pink lady apple.

Next, I packed a B’More Skyr Vanilla Smoothie.

I had such high hopes – the packaging was neat and I adore Siggi’s skyr yogurts – but alas, stevia.  Yuck, I wish I had looked at the ingredient list more carefully.  I had to throw the drink out after just two sips.  Then I spent the rest of the afternoon bemoaning our no-take-out challenge; I didn’t have anything else to eat and I was starving!

I stayed strong though, and even managed to focus intently for my test.  I’m never really sure, but I think this one went much better than the last few.  Fingers crossed.

And in even better news, the husband got out early from the hospital in time to drive me home from school.  Thus bringing me to food 90% more quickly.

Those are cola gummis I got in Toronto and they were fabulous.  I have the rest of my stash packed for lunch tomorrow and I just can’t wait.

I also made an extraordinary sandwich.

A Sandwich Thin topped with Applegate Farms roasted turkey, sharp cheddar, and tons of sliced sweet pickles.

Mmmmmmmn!  When I was in middle school I’d occasionally pack pickle and cheddar sandwiches for lunch and they are still rocking my socks today.

My delicious sandwich was eaten on the go.  It was warm enough this afternoon to walk Webster sans coats!

We still have more freezing days ahead of us, but it was nice to get a little taste of spring.

Dinner was an oldie but a goodie.

Easy Peasy Peanut Noodles, with an updated recipe page.

Plus the last serving of Malted Heath Bar Toffee Blondie 2 Ingredient Ice Cream for dessert.

I’m pretty sad to see it go.

We’ll call dinner carbo-loading for the marathon night ahead of me.  The things I have to get done for tomorrow list includes studying for my first stats test, three homework assignments for clinical, and a major assignment for management.  And the number things on the list I’m done with is – zero.  Whoops!  Guess I needed to do some work last weekend.

I’m not sure when (or if!) I’ll get to bed but I foresee some midnight snacking in my future.  Sweet dreams to the rest of you!

Thai Chicken Pizza

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Is anyone else wishing it was Thursday?  Actually, I’m wishing it was still Monday!  I have a lot (a lot, a lot, a lot) of big school stuff going on this week and I’m so not ready.  I spent too much of my morning worrying and not enough of it working.  Such is life; and I finally got over feeling overwhelmed and got some serious work done this evening.

Breakfast was berrytastic.

Greek Gods Honey Strawberry Greek Yogurt topped with blackberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.

I underestimated how sweet the fresh berries would be (not sour at all!) and this bowl ended up being a little too sugary.  The full-fat Greek Yogurt is sweeter than the 0% varieties too.  But the new-to-me flavor receives two thumbs up.

I also made myself something hot for the walk to school.

A double-brewed (2 bags tea to 1 cup water) mug of Tea Republic’s red velvet tea with sugar and plain almond milk.

We had a mock Statistics test today before our first real test on Thursday and it went pretty well.  We are allowed to bring a “cheat sheet” in so I’m not too worried.  I do have to actually make the sheet though!

When I got home I found a package of homemade goodies from my mother-in-law.

I helped myself to many white chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles.

And for lunch I helped myself to one of the husband’s tupperwares.

I made him spaghetti with turnip greens, brocoli, and tomato sauce for lunches this week.  I gussied up my stolen bowl by reheating it in a skillet with evoo and an egg.

The crunchy, almost burnt bits are my favorite.  And not to worry, I packed Adam a sandwich for tomorrow.

Speak of the devil my hero, when Adam got home this afternoon he made me a big bowl of airpopped ‘corn.

I haaaate cleaning the airpopper and Adam is so sweet to me about regularly dealing with it.  As long as you leave off the butter, popcorn makes the best study snack.

Dinner was inspired by my favorite chain restaurant meal.

California Pizza Kitchen’s Thai Chicken Pizza.  The Thai Chicken Salad is my favorite but the pizza’s a close second.

For our version we topped a store-bought crust with –

  • Wegman’s peanut sauce
  • shredded chicken
  • chopped green onions
  • leftover carrots from the Bahn Mi
  • 2% reduced fat mozzarella
  • cocktail peanuts
  • sesame oil (rubbed into the crust)

It was fantastic!  I could only finish one of my slices though; apparently half a pizza was a little too much!  But I ate all of my roasted zucchini.

Other than green beans (the long-term reigning favorite), zucchini is this year’s favorite vegetable for roasting.

What is your favorite chain restaurant?