Tag Archives: yogurt

What I Wouldn’t Eat

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I did indeed walk to the Co-op this afternoon, they often have Friday sales and I wanted to get in on that action.  I tried to restrain myself though since I have high hopes that I’ll get to visit a Whole Foods on vacation!

I tend to be a little suspicious of Co-op produce since they’ve given me fruit flies in the past (and especially because my spongy plums were bought there) so I ended up buying a Naked Juice to get my fruits for the day.

Adam and I split this Power C Machine 50:50.

As I walked around the co-op my internal thought process went something like this –

Cookie?  Coookie.  I really wish I had a cookie.  A cookie would be crumbly and delicious.  I could buy a cookie from the co-op bakery.  No, I could go to Wilson Farms and get a sandwich cookie with the delicious icing!  No, I could drive to Wegmans for a toffee white chocolate cookie!

If you’re wondering, I ended up not getting the cookie.  Janetha (whose blog always makes me laugh and makes me think) asked this question the other day – “what’s on your [foods I’d love to eat if calories didn’t matter but don’t eat all that often because they do] list?”  After some thought, I realized that my answer was nothing.  For the last year or so I’ve eaten pretty much every single thing I’ve wanted, every day. 

It sounds fun, and it was, but food can be more fun in moderation.  Plus, being in better shape would also be fun.  I’m still going to eat ice cream/cookies/nachos/other holy-yum-ness (especially on next week’s vacation that I’ve already deemed “froyo tour 2011!”), but maybe I’ll stop eating that stuff every single time I want it.

All that rant was to say, instead of buying a cookie I made myself a yogurt dessert bowl.

A small bowl of 0% Plain Fage with honey, shredded coconut, and a few Nestle morsels.

It was delicious and I’m pretty sure I enjoyed it even more than I would have enjoyed the cookie.

We ate leftovers for dinner.

A healthy balance of carbs and protein that will hopefully help Adam power through his test tomorrow.  Plus, roasted zucchini just tastes good!

If there was a magic universe where calories and nutrients really didn’t matter and you could eat totally by taste, I would still eat roasted veggies!

Sometimes we eat things just because they are good for us; if calories and nutrients didn’t matter – what foods would you STOP eating?

Thankfully I love fruits and veggies so much that I can’t think of a single item to put on that list!  There are times when there’s a veggie that isn’t cooked perfectly and I eat it just because it’s a veggie, but in general fruits and veggies are some of my favorite foods.

Baby Tonight, I Got A Question For You

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Hi, readers friends!  This morning afternoon I have a few simple requests to ask of you:

  1. Don’t ask me how work went on Saturday night, or why I haven’t posted since then.  (terrible, I’ve been sulking)
  2. Don’t ask me what time I went to bed the last two nights. (5am)
  3. Especially don’t ask me what I’ve been doing that kept me up so late.  (“Food Network Star” reruns)
  4. Name that song!  (from the post title)

My final request is more of a strong suggestion – make this recipe for pumpkin muffins!

These guys are so crumbly and moist!  They are especially delicious when crumbled over 0% Fage (with blackberries and 1.5 tsp maple syrup).

This is quickly becoming my favorite breakfast.  It helps that the combo contains all of my favorites.  Let’s play a quick game, tell me what your favorite is (I’ve bolded my choices) –

  • strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries
  • Fage or Chobani
  • honey or maple syrup
  • blueberry muffins, bran muffins, or pumpkin muffins

Buffalo Buzz

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Yes I would rather be eating Ben and Jerry’s Bonaroo Buzz, but the frozen coffees I made Adam and myself this morning were a nice substitute!

For two (large) coffees into the blender went:

  • 8 ice cubes
  • 12 oz of coffee (cinnanut blend from Wegman’s)
  • 6 oz of Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk
  • 3 Tbsp white sugar

I imagine that a Vitamix would turn this into velvet, but my $40 blender made something pretty great too.  I’ve been craving fair-style frozen lemonade all Spring and this had a similar texture.

I volunteered to pick up an extra day shift at work today so I needed a breakfast that would carry me through 10:30-4:30 carrying trays up and down stairs.

Greek yogurt is always the answer to a breakfast that will carry me through.

0% Plain Fage topped with 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup, a crumbled pumpkin muffin, and a big handful of blackberries.

I originally bought the berries for a a baked pomegranate chicken dish (which turned into bbq chicken sandwiches and is currently sitting in my crock pot) but I’m so glad I ate them raw because they are sweet and delicious!  Buffalo readers – Wegman’s on Amherst has these babies at $4 for 2 pints right now.

What’s your favorite summer fruit?  My answer will be plums (or pluots, mmmmmn!) if I ever find them in season!

Driving Dilemma

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We love our neighborhood – a quiet side street off of Elmwood, the “cool” strip in Buffalo – but the parking situation here is a bummer.  There’s not a lot of parking space to begin with and then the city further restricts residents by only allowing use of one side of the street from 9-5 on weekdays.  In the end it’s really not something I can complain about though because we generally end up parking 2 blocks away from our apartment at most and often snag spots right out front.  What I can complain about (and do at length) is the fact that parking switches from left MTW to right RF.  Which means that if you wake up at 8:50 thinking that it’s Wednesday when it’s actually Thursday you’re out $30.  $60 if you have two cars to worry about.

During the school year – when Adam and I have long-houred internships at different hospitals – having two cars will be a godsend.  But in the summer – when we barely drive the one car, let alone two – it’s all we can do to remember to move the cars and they become a big, costly annoyance.  I try to put “move the cars!!!” in my day planner but since I often don’t check my planner until after 9am this has proved less than helpful.  What has proved effective lately though is coupling the task moving the cars with another activity.  If there’s one thing I’ll never forgot to look forward to it’s a date with Adam!

For example, this morning we set our alarms for 8:20 8:40 8:50 and moved the cars before setting out on a walk to get coffee.

We ended up with no tickets, plus (half sweet) coffee as a bonus!

I waited to enjoy my hot coffee until I got home to the ac, and paired it with the rest of my breakfast spread.

A crisp, local apple,

and Greek Gods Fig yogurt.

Yum x 100!  If you still haven’t tried Greek Gods then you totally need to get on that.

Coffee always makes me super full, which helped lunch to get pushed back later and later into the afternoon.  When a coworker called at noon I ended up picking up an extra daytime shift at work tomorrow which meant we needed to switch around some of our lunch and dinner meal plans.  The end result of all this is that it was 2:30, I hadn’t eaten lunch, and I needed to go to the store before I could make dinner.

I’d been craving garlic eggplant all morning – actually I’ve been craving that dish ever since I saw it on the table across from ours at Tokyo Shanghai – so I told myself that if Wegman’s had it on their hot bar then I’d buy lunch there.  I haven’t seen garlic eggplant at Wegman’s in months, but apparently crossing your fingers works!

I got a big scoop of garlic eggplant alongside veggies picked out from various containers,

and a few big pieces of sweet and sour chicken.

So fun to find exactly what I was craving right on that day; usually I whine to the husband about tastes I’m looking forward to for days!

No matter how satisfying and tasty though, waiting too long for lunch always means I’m hungrier all afternoon.  We had a good array of snacks to pick from; baby carrots with blue cheese,

a white chocolate and toffee cookie from Wegman’s cookie bar,

and when I made another batch of pumpkin muffins I ate a mini muffin with Smart Balance Light.

I’m glad I didn’t snack too much because dinner was amazing.

The dinner idea that I just couldn’t wait for was tuna salad Reubens.

We made tuna salad with 1000 Island Dressing and pickle relish, then pressed sandwiches with sauerkraut and 2% Swiss cheese.

We picked up a loaf of blue cheese and cracked pepper bread from Wegman’s bakery today and it totally took the sandwiches over the top.

With roasted broccoli,

and ears of fresh corn.

This dinner was so worth making the kitchen hot and steamy! 

How many cars does your household own?  How often do you drive to your final destination (as opposed to walking or using public transportation)?

They Were The Best Of Plans, They Were The Worst Of Plans

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I had such good intentions today and they all turned against me!  In spite of all my good ideas and plans nothing seemed to work out today.

Even though today is a rest day, I planned on heading to the gym this morning to make up for last week.  Great idea EXCEPT that I made it to the locked gym door before I remembered that it was Memorial Day.  I ended up walking home and doing 15 minutes of strength and stretch moves.

I was working the day shift today, so I planned on making a fun, protein-full breakfast before I headed out.

I whisked together 1/2 cup of 0% Fage with half a packet of cocoa mix,

and topped it with peanut butter banana soft serve (1.5 frozen bananas, food processed with 2 Tbsp Smuckers Natural PB with Honey and a splash of skim milk).

The combo was beyond delicious.

It would have been the perfect, filling meal EXCEPT I realized at the last minute that I had work at 10:30, not 11:00, and had to give the last 1/3 of my breakfast to Adam as I ran out the door.

I planned on bringing home the bacon (figuratively) from work today EXCEPT that no one knew we were open on the holiday and I only served two tables before I got sent home early.

Let’s hope I can pull off dinner without a hitch!

Workin’ Girl

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Yikes, my first real shift at work left me pretty tired!  Hopefully this job will force me to get my sleep schedule in order.

I had to skip another day at the gym and I haven’t been getting very good sleep lately so I spent most of the day napping, summer vacation-style.  That would have been all good except that I realized an hour before I had to head to work that eating would be good.  I did my very best to squeeze enough my needed calories and food groups.

First up, a protein packed yogurt bowl.

This guy was a fun, filling mix.

  • 1 sliced banana
  • 1/2 cup 0% Fage
  • 2 Tbsp raisins
  • 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 2.5 Tbsp Smuckers Natural PB with Honey

 The combination was great; I think I’m going to start adding raisins to all my yogurt bowls.

I also made a veggie plate.

Roasted brussels sprouts,

and roasted potatoes drizzled with truffle oil.

Thankfully I found that this held me through all 7 hours at work.  It helped that I was too busy to get hungry too.

I’m probably going to be working 4 night shifts a week and I’ll be doing a late, huge lunch on those days.  Hopefully, like tonight, I won’t be hungry for dinner when I get off work and I’ll be able to simply blog, shower, and get to bed.  I’m looking forward to seeing how it all works out.

Shower and sleep time!  P.S.  The giveaway winners are –

It Got Away

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Hello, hello!  I swear that I didn’t skip my post/giveaway this morning because I was sulking; the day just got away from me!  First things first though, thank you so much to all of you who offered me advice in the last post.  I blog for me (and my mom and grandma!), but I also blog for you guys, and I always want to do my best.

I mentioned that the day got away from me, and if I’m honest, it started getting away from me last night.  When Adam got in bed at 10pm I so wanted to be the type of person who got in with him and got a good night sleep.  But that’s not who I am.  I’m the type of person that stays up until 2am watching Missing.  I’m also the type of person who eats the last banana split cupcake at 2am.

That’s just me.

I actually woke up raring to go this morning (probably nerves) but I ended up skipping my planned 4-miler anyways because my knee feels funky again.  I’m hoping to double up on cardio tomorrow to make up for the lost day, fingers crossed!

Today was my first training day at work and since I was going to be busy through lunch I knew I needed a big, hearty breakfast.

Yum and yum.

I sautéed a crumbled salmon patty with three tablespoons of spicy corn relish and when I started to get a good char I scrambled in two eggs and ~ 1oz of extra sharp cheddar.

I’m in love with this dish.  I haven’t eaten the corn relish “raw” yet, but it is so darn good in eggs.

I also ate a 0% Fage with soursop.

Which, thankfully, pushed me to enough food to get me through the lunch rush.

— Insert 11 – 2:30 training at the newest restaurant on Elmwood. —

When I got home I had time to split this taffy candy with Adam,

before we had to head to his dentist appointment.  <– ironic, right?

I obviously didn’t have to go, but I’m co-dependent, so I ignored my growling belly and hopped in the car.  I brought a chocolate dipped coconut Luna Bar,

but I had to split it with Adam because it’s too darn good not to share.  Tastes just like a Girl Scout Samosa, I swear!

Unfortunately, I let myself get waaaay too hungry and my food choices have gone a little downhill.  I got a good balance of veggies and protein in my Wegman’s hot bar,

but I shoveled it into my face the minute we got back to the car!

I also bought a pecan pie bar from the Co-op.

I can’t even tell you how much self-control it took not to eat this in the car too.

And now (as soon as I hit publish) I’m going to eat some popcorn.  Boo-yah.  Clearly I need a more effective way of dealing with lunches on work days.

Just for funsies; what are some of your favorite blogs to follow?

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?