Tag Archives: yogurt

In The Navy, Yes You Can Sail The Seven Seas

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October is here!

Now that it’s finally Pumpkin Month, you know that I had to start my morning off with another Wilson Farm’s pumpkin spice latte.

50% regular, 50% sweetened, 100% pumpkin-y deliciousness.

Actually, I started my morning with a fruitless trip to the BAC.  At an event last weekend (which I didn’t blog about) several friends and I all won “$450” to the Buffalo Athletic Center.  We didn’t get our hopes up too high, and sure enough, when we took the tour this morning we learned that what we won was the privilege of buying a $19/month membership.  No thanks!

The morning wasn’t a total wash though because Janessa happened to mention that she was heading to the unmarked stand at the farmers’ market, which is actually a Great Harvest.  What, what?!

Score!  I picked up a bag of granola and a loaf of sourdough.  Adam and I tore off big hunks of sourdough right in the car for breakfast.

Doughy and sour and delicious.

We were in the car because we were on our way to cash in Groupons at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park.

The weather was cold and drizzly but we trudged onward because our Groupons were set to expire soon.

I’m so glad we stuck it out; we had such a great time!

Buffalo people/visitors – be sure to plan a visit.  The self-guided tour led through (and up and down!) a missile cruiser, a destroyer, and a sub.  Adam’s parents both served in the military (his dad was in the Navy) and we loved feeling extra close to them.  You felt like you were walking though history and several exhibits made me tear up a bit with pride in being an American.  Plus squeezing through the small doors and going up and down ladders felt like a pretty good workout!

When we got home I made lunch with my new GH goodies.

A side salad of romaine with a bit of fat-free dressing and buckwheat groats.

A toasted slice of sourdough with Crofter’s Grape and a microwaved egg.

And a half cup of Wegman’s 0% Plain Greek Yogurt topped with sliced black plum and apricot, and a quarter cup of granola.

Yums!

We have plans with friends this evening so I’ve got to hit the books.  When I didn’t blog yesterday I wasn’t working either!  There are a few things happening in my department that I’m pretty upset about and I just needed to give myself the afternoon to be mad.  Mid-sulk, I came to the realization that being negative won’t help the situation any and the best thing I can do is to suck it up and keep positive.

Do you know anyone who has served their country?

Anchovy Enjoyment

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Why the frick am I still awake?  My Sunday tiredness has not disapated at all, in fact it seems to be getting worse, so logging 6 hours of sleep before tomorrow is such a bad idea.  Quick post, quick post.

The dog didn’t get walked (rain), my run got skipped (duh), but I did finish all of my necessary school work (yay), and dinner did get made.

Bagna Cauda Cauliflower Pasta from last month’s Everyday with Racheal Ray.  The recipe isn’t online yet so I can’t link but here is a shot of the ingredients –

My changes were –

  • only using 2 Tbsp of evoo
  • substituting regular, white garlic
  • using 10 ounces of locally made garlic parsley tagliatelle
  • using reduced fat half and half
  • adding 1 Tbsp of all purpose flour to my sauce (I think the reduced fat .5&.5 kept it from thickening properly)

Quite good, but definitley a time consuming recipe.  I can’t believe I like anchovies?! 

I had enough time to starve while we cooked so I plated myself a gigantic serving.

I waited 30 minutes to digest my heaping bowl of pasta but when I was still hungry I made myself a yogurt dessert bowl.

A Wegman’s 0% Honey Greek Yogurt topped with a sliced black plum and 2 tsp of crumbled Heath bar.

Yum; I am so glad that plums are still in season!  Locals – this Wegman’s line of Greek was great, definitely on par with Chobani.

And zzzzzzzzZ!

Co-Co-Ca-Razy

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My breakfast this morning was chockfull of coconut.

I realize that these aren’t the prettiest pictures but a certain dog wouldn’t keep his nose out of my bowl.  That’s a Liberte Coconut Yogurt with 1 Tbsp of Bear Naked granola and 1 Tbsp of shredded, unsweetened coconut.

The Liberte yogurt is sooooo sweet and thick.  I’m coo-coo for coconut!

Speaking of crazy, check out the to-do lists I made on todoist last night.

This semester is not going to be kind to my sleep schedule and working out goals.

As long as we’re looking ahead, here’s what I plan on having for lunch – a serving of baby carrots,

a mini box of raisins,

a big baggie of grapes,

a serving of Quaker Maple Oatmeal Squares (HLS swag),

and a string cheese.

I imagine these will all be eaten by the end of the day.

I’ll be home around 5, but you should stop by the blog at noon for a shopping post!

Spiders and Schweddy Balls

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Success!  I started my day with success.  In spite of not getting to bed quite on time last night I successfully managed my first morning workout today!  I was worried things were getting off track when the world’s largest spider was on my car door (seriously) but I kept it together.  Sure killing the spider calling Adam and crying did eat into my time a bit, but I still got in a good workout.

35 minutes on the elliptical; random level 6.  Followed by a super quick strength/stretch session.  <– what that means to me, by the way, is generally 50 crunches, 40 other abs moves, 3 sets of toe touching, and a 1-minute plank ending with a downward dog.

I left the gym at 6:57 and had time to drive home, shower/dress, get my stuff together, drive back to school, park, and walk to class for 8 am.  The gym opens at 6am so if the spiders leave me alone I can get in a decent workout most mornings.

This morning, “get my stuff together” included making a giant iced coffee.

4 cups of cold coffee, 2 Tbsp English Toffee Syrup, and a big splash of Silk Plain Almond Milk. 

The almond milk takes coffee to whole new level; it is sooo thick!  (twss)

I also packed myself some plums to munch on during my 4-hour class.

1 black plum and 1 dapple plucot; sliced for easy mid-class eating.

My breakfast held me over until noon, especially because I find coffee to be very filling, but I did make lunch a three-parter when I got home.

Course 1 was chicken salad.

I tossed together shredded chicken, a few grapes, and 2 Tbsp 0% Plain Fage, 1 Tbsp sour cream, and 1.5 Tbsp pickle relish.

I don’t mind mayo but it’s fun to branch out; the greek yogurt sour cream combo did a great job as a binder.

I also ate a serving of these chips but my camera was dead so no picture.

Course 2 was a green apple with peanut butter.

That unappetizing looking stuff is actually Peanut Butter Company’s Dark Chocolate Dreams.

I used to love PB&Co when I lived in the city and I was super excited to find a 170-calorie pack in my book store.

And the awesome looking plate actually came home from my grandma’s house last weekend.

My great-great-grandmother painted these by hand!

My peanut butter sparked my sweet tooth because my final course was dessert.

I made myself a small serving of Ben and Jerry’s Schweddy Balls ice cream with 2 tsp of Heath crumbles on top.

I would probably like this ice cream even if it tasted like cardboard because the reference to one of SNL’s best skits is just too good!  Thankfully it’s also delicious; the rum flavor is nice and mellow and the malt balls are still crunchy.

What’s your all-time favorite SNL sketch?  I think mine might be Baldwin’s other win, “Canteen Boy.”

English Toffee and Cream Soda

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I drove to campus this morning which was exciting because it meant that my iced coffee was actually still iced when I reached class.

Adam brewed me coffee last night and I stashed it in the fridge in a glass jar; all I’ll have to do in the mornings is add ice and skim milk.  This cup was extra exciting because I also added 1 Tbsp of English Toffee syrup.

I’m going to go ahead and deem this best purchase ever.  I don’t drink coffee all that regularly but whenever I’m in the mood I’m tempted to purchase it out because it seems more exciting.  Now that I’ve got my favorite flavor of syrup at home I can stick to only “buying” coffee from home.  <– minus the obligatory seasonal stops at Starbucks for pumpkin spice and gingerbread, of course!

I ate my breakfast during my first class.  My final new class by the way, it’s Medical Terminology and I’m pretty jazzed about it.  I think everything dealing with Greek and Latin roots is fun.

An Orange Creamy Crawler Lifeway Probugs Organic Kefir.

Mmmmmn!  I bought these before when I was living in the city but it took me a while to find them in Buffalo.  This flavor was creamy and almost fizzy; it tasted like an orange cream soda!

I also tried the lemon meringue crunch Balance Bar.  Whenever I rave over the cookie dough BB people always recommend this flavor so I wanted to try it out.

Good, but sorry, not even close to cookie dough.

My second (and last) class on Fridays is a food lab which means Friday’s lunch will often be supplemented by class assignments, weee.  We let out early today which means I had time to do some work in the computer lab and go to the post office before I had to go home and get Webster.

He is such a good walker!  If he would just stop ripping up the pee pads we’d be in business.  The two of us made a .66 mile loop around Elmwood.  I’m not sure I’ll take him on many more mid-day walks, he was hot, hot, hot.  I walked barefoot for a bit to make sure his feet were ok but when I picked him up to carry the last few blocks he was like a little oven!

Midday walks aren’t great for me either because they mean I have to wait for lunch.

Since it was 2pm and I was starving I tried out the new Asian Entrée line from Dr. McDougall that I bought on sale at Wegmans last night.

I loved that the container only had one serving size because similar products have two 500 calorie servings stuffed inside and it drives me crazy (and this was a ton of noodles for 200 calories).

I also loved that I could recognize every last ingredient.

But it didn’t taste like Pad Thai.

The dish wasn’t bad (6.5/10) but it wasn’t quite the flavor I was hoping for.

I also had baby carrots on the side,

and a sliced yellow plucot.

The noodles may not have been Pad Thai but the plucot was exactly the flavor I was looking for.  If you haven’t tried a plucot (or pluot) yet this summer be sure to get your hands on one.

I’m hoping to make it to the gym this afternoon but I’ve got some studying to do first that takes priority.  Hopefully I won’t take a cue from Webster and I’ll be able to keep my eyes open!

Pie for Breakfast

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I want to tell you about how I’m doing on my bedtime goals, but you just want to hear more about that title.  I’ll be quick, I promise; and then I’ll get to the good stuff.

bedtime

Baby steps on this goal, baby steps are needed.  I got in bed at 10 (which isn’t great) and up at 6 (which isn’t horrible).  Since I’m not going to the gym until this afternoon I technically don’t need to be up early.  But since I wasn’t doing homework or watching exciting tv I didn’t need to be up late.  <– I love how I’m calling 10 late now; I was up until at least 1am watching “Charmed” all this summer!

pie breakfast

I know that this don’t look like pie,

but it sure tastes like it!  And for those of you who count calories but want to make this (you are going to make this at home?), I calculated and came up with 270 as an upper estimate.

Key lime?  Creamy?  “Creme Fraiche?” Crunchy graham cracker crumbs?  Check, check, check, and check.

And it took me about 3 minutes to get into a bowl this morning.

Plate bowl the yogurt.  Whisk together sour cream and sugar in a separate bowl.  Crumble graham crackers on top of yogurt.  Top with sour cream.

This breakfast doesn’t have all that high of a calorie or protein content (13 grams, I checked that too) but hopefully it will help to carry me through me long day.  For those of you who asked, Mom, here is my school schedule for this semester –

I realize I only have one class today so that’s technically not long, but 4 hours in one room does feel pretty brutal!  My day is mostly long though because I’m attempting a longer run at the gym this afternoon.  Wish me luck!

Two Things

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My alarm went off and 5:50 this morning and … I got up!  This morning was a little easier because of two things –

  1. The husband was already out of bed.
  2. I knew I didn’t have to go to the gym, I could eat breakfast and read blogs instead!

Of course, with Webster around I didn’t get to do much any blog reading but I did get to eat breakfast.

A yogurt bowl.

I’m still not really hungry this early in the day so I kept my yogurt bowl small.  A half serving of 0% Fage with a drizzle of maple syrup, a chopped yellow plucot, and a half serving of Bear Naked granola.

Plus some red velvet tea with skim milk.

I’m not sure about this flavor yet (I love the color!) but I’d like to try it with a little sweetened non-dairy milk.

Have a great day! P.S. I have a fun post series coming up; look for it around noon.

Mood Food

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Today’s eats were a little strange, which made them perfect mood food since I feel a little strange.  I’m an odd mix of nerves and excitement about heading back to school tomorrow.  I’m thrilled about getting back on a schedule but I’m worried that I’m planning on working on too many goals (being a better student, getting on a workout schedule, cooking more often).  I don’t want to set myself up to fail by trying to do/change too much.

I spent my morning setting up the office for school and worked right through breakfast.  Side note – trying to figure out which notes to save for registration exam studying is brutal.  I’m not sure whether I’m throwing away things I need or saving so much that it will be overwhelming.

I didn’t want to head to the grocery on a completely empty stomach so I stirred a scoop of protein powder into a glass of skim milk.

It wasn’t very good (it tasted about as good as it looks), apparently I only like our protein powder after it’s been through the blender.

I did get myself a small but delicious salad from the hot bar too.

A spring mix lettuce base with tarragon vinaigrette, topped with a scoop of corn and kidney bean salad,

a scoop of veggie lo mein,

and a tiny piece of smoked salmon and brie.

The whole combo was super tasty, I think I may need to do salad at the hot bar more often.  I really want to like smoked (basically raw) salmon and usually I’m too afraid but today I loved it.

When I got home Adam and I took a quick walk through the Elmwood Art Festival.  We were naughty and snuck in our own beverages.

The Woodchuck Limited Release Winter Hard Cider is wonderful.  It tastes more like a vanilla-scented apple juice than something boozey.  Also when I went to the site to link for you guys I discovered that they make a pumpkin variety!  <– must find

I knew dinner was going to be on the small side, so I made myself a tasty yogurt bowl to supplement when we got home.

Low-fat coffee yogurt with 1oz of honey roasted peanuts and a drizzle of honey.

One of those combos from when I was a kid that I still love.

We didn’t have any set plans for dinner, but I did want to make a batch of Jenna’s Sweet and Spicy BBQ Beans to have for lunches this week.

I used 2+ cups worth of extra kale and it came out fabulously.  This recipe – which really is sweet and spicy – gives the best chew.

We decided to make the beans the bulk of dinner.

Such a good plan!  I topped my serving with shredded Parmesan, more Sriracha, and a dollop of 0% Plain Fage.

Dee-lish!  I sort of ate around the cheese to save it for the end and I was swooning by my last bite.

To round out my meal with carbs I turned to popcorn.

1 serving, topped with melted butter and cinnamon sugar.  I can’t think of a better way to face a new school year than popcorn.

Who else is heading back to school this year?