Tag Archives: yogurt

Smoothie Sucker

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At least once a week I put “smoothies!” on our meal plan for breakfast.  I would say the ratio of smoothies made to smoothies listed is something like 1:10.  Why am I such a sucker for the allure of morning smoothies?!  They sound so refreshing and tasty, but I never actually have time to make one, leaving me breakfastless and cranky.

Thankfully today I packed a pretty breakfast-y lunch, so I pulled that out a few hours early.

A berry flavored Revolution Foods squeeze packet,

and a 2% Mango Chobani.

With a small coffee (that large cup is half full) with two creamers.

I loved the new fruit packet flavor (on sale at Buffalo Tops!) but I wasn’t thrilled by the new-to-me Chobani.  I was expecting to love it because Pineapple is so good, but the texture just seemed strange to me.

Speaking of fruit, we had a fun lab today – finding the ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) content of different food items.  It was an interesting lab; always nice to practice something that actually relates to my profession.  P.S. Tang has .023mg of vitamin C per mL.

I was a busy bee after lab, with work to complete, a trip to the health center, a date with the gym, and finally an impromptu lunch date with Adam.  I was at the health center for a required physical before I begin working in the hospitals during the Coordinated Program next year.  After I get a PPD test next week there will be nothing between me and clinical work!

Next up was the gym.  I’m not going to lie to you guys, this visit was hard!  I did interval sets on the treadmill, 1minute walking/3minutes jogging.  I hit 3miles just around my 9th set.  With a quick cool down for a total of 3.25miles and 35minutes.

Since I ate my lunch for breakfast, I made an impromptu lunch date with the husband.  Adam was my savior and drove my drippingly sweaty self home for a much-needed shower.  We set a timer as I got out of the car (he had to sit out in front of the house) and getting upstairs, undressed, showered, ready to go, and back downstairs took me 11minutes and 5seconds.  And I even made an outfit change!

Go speedy!

Yes, that picture is at Wegmans.  Yes, we do have a hot bar problem!

I know we should try someplace new, but we love all the options and the price is right.  I’d much rather take a bunch of little different bites than have one choice in bulk.  Today I got a random mix of tofu, chicken, and slaw,

with pretty much every kind of roasted veggie.

The veggies were fantabulous as usual, but I ended up leaving behind most of the other side; my slaw had ham in it!

It was great to spend some mid-day time with Adam, and even better to get to head back to school with some yogurt pretzels to munch on during my night class.

Having a snack definitely made the time go faster.

In no time at all we were home eating burritos.

It helped that I pre-made the filling yesterday so the burritos came together in a cinch.

We topped whole wheat tortillas with sautéed mushrooms and onions, black beans, corn relish, sliced jalopenos, and some shredded 2% sharp cheddar.

Then we pressed them in the George Foreman like what we see them do at Moe’s.

Plus a side of scoops tortilla chips with spicy salsa for authenticity.

Perhaps I should have saved this meal for May 5th?

And since I’m a bottomless pit, I’ve got a mug waiting for dessert.

I stirred hot cocoa mix into some 0% Plain Oikos, then topped with brownie crumbles and toasted coconut.  I haven’t tasted it yet, but I can pretty well guess that it’s going to be amazing.

I hope this means I’m all set up for sweet dreams!  But first, some reruns of “Iron Chef” on Hulu.

How often do you make smoothies?  How often do you purchase them out?

Chocolate Covered Strawberry

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Good morning!  Did everyone get enough beauty sleep?  We did not have any sense of urgency at bedtime so I decided to push my workout to after class and sleep in a bit instead.  Wouldn’t you know it though, at 7:30 my brain woke up and just wouldn’t quit!  At least I got a few extra minutes.

Plus, the earlier I woke up, the earlier I got to eat breakfast.

Chocolate covered strawberries for breakfast?  Yes please!

I topped a serving of Special K Red Berries with a splash of milk, a 0% strawberry Siggi, and a dollop of leftover top-secret chocolate frosting.

The texture wasn’t perfect (Siggi is a little thick for mixing), but the flavor was a perfect breakfast play on the original.

I have one class today and then it’s time to hit the gym.  My hopes for the afternoon include homework, reruns of “1-800 Missing” on Netflix Instant Watch, and more homemade nachos!

Tell me what you like, multiple choice – My favorite dipped in chocolate is:

  1. strawberries
  2. pretzels
  3. marshmallows
  4. potato chips

What Does The Gym Do For You?

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Yesterday was a disaster.

  • I ate junky, boring foods all day (and therefore there was no blog post)
  • I attended a meeting that was as pointless as it was long (and therefore I didn’t work out)
  • and I started an intense personal and professional melt-down (and therefore I didn’t study for today’s 2 important tests)

When yesterday was a disaster, skipping the gym sounds like a really great idea.  In reality, when yesterday was a disaster that’s when going to the gym is a really great idea.  My reason for having the husband take me to the gym this morning was twofold –

  1. I do my best notecard reviewing while working out.  If I’ve got to cram then I’ve got to do it in motion.
  2. Working out makes you happy.  While my endorphins don’t mean I can unthink “Today is going to be an epic fail;” they do help me to think “Today is going to suck, BUT I can make it through.”

So my notecards and I spent 30minutes, level 6 random, on the elliptical, followed by 30minutes of incline speed-walking on the treadmill.  60 low-impact cardio minutes.

Then I hurried home, took a disgustingly quick shower, and scarfed down a 0% Fage with mango and soursop for breakfast.

Coffee is also going to be needed to face this day.

What are your reasons for going to the gym?

Dreaming Day

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After it’s auspicious start, my day continued to run enjoyably.  Definitely not a Monday’s Monday!

The weather was (mostly) fine, I got an 82% on last week’s big test (lower than I’d like, but 10points higher than the last one), and there were lots of delicious eats.  Like lunch –

Into 2 Tbsp of Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter with Honey,

I dipped baby carrots,

and a Fuji apple.

Oh man, this apple!  It was beyond sweet and crunchy, best apple I’ve had yet this year!

Not quite enough food though apparently, because my stomach growled all through my second afternoon class.  I’ve got another big, important test on Wednesday and I needed to be note-taking not dreaming of dinner!  Sidenote – when I get bored in class I totally work on my meal plan for the upcoming month; there are always so many new recipes I’m excited about.

The day felt like Spring instead of Winter – finally! – but by the afternoon the wind was howling.  It was loud enough that my teacher had to pause a few times because she couldn’t talk over the nose.  Thankfully one of my friends graciously offered to drive me home, so I didn’t have to worry about blowing away.

I was blown away however (ha!), by my tasty dinner.

What better way to get in your greens than with homemade veggie nachos?

I piled corn chips with 50% reduced sharp cheddar, fresh arugula, black beans, and canned jalapeno, then baked at 450* for 10minutes.

Plus plain 0% Oikos and green salsa for dipping.

The salsa was stolen on a Moe’s run and it totally made the nachos.  I would love to find green salsa that I could purchase like a not-a-creeper, but our store only sells one kind and it is way too spicy for us.

I ended with a fun dessert, clotted cream fudge.

I don’t have a better picture because the wrapping was a little intense, but I ate half of the box, aka too many servings.  We bought this on a whim but it was great; it tasted sort of like extra soft caramels.

two questions for a good Monday

  1. What do you day-dream about?
  2. Is there a brand of (not super spicy) tomatillo salsa that you recommend?  Preferably one I could order online.

Keep on Truckin’

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Another morning, another run in with a truck, or at least that’s what it felt like!  Even though I have a huge test tomorrow, and a meeting scheduled with my department head, the snooze button was definitely pressed!  Adam caught my cold and was too sick to go to his first class so thankfully(?!) he was able to drive me to campus for my meeting later.

I’m not sure what my mega-exhaustion is about, but since I’ve got a slew of important tests between now and next Friday I’m not going to push it.  Returning to the gym would be nice, but after more than a month off, another week really doesn’t make a difference.  Instead I’ve decided to make this week all about strength and stretch moves.  A decision that led me to meet with my department head dressed like this –

I’ve always got the time/energy for at least 10minutes total a day!  Here’s what I accomplished throughout this afternoon (reps) –

After coffee, of course.

Yesterday I grabbed a cup of (unsweetened) butter toffee flavored coffee from the gas station, and this morning I mixed it with Silk Vanilla Almond Milk and maple syrup over ice.

After my housekeeping trip to campus – my schedule next semester looks crazy!  I register on Thursday so please keep your fingers crossed for me – I baked up a plate of green bean fries.

Baked green beans are where it’s at!

You’ll never believe me if you don’t try for yourself, but they’re better than french fries.

I also had a yogurt bowl.

The base was Target brand Archer Farms Fat Free Honey Almond Yogurt.

The Thick and Creamy line is just like Greek, but I wish I’d tasted before I went ahead and bought two, fake-sugar taste city.

Thankfully my toppings made up for it.

A sliced banana, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some honey roasted peanuts.

Honey roasted peanuts are basically addictive.

I had several handfuls straight from the bag.

Those handfuls didn’t stop my ever-growing hunger though.  Usually we don’t eat dinner before 8pm, but tonight I was ready at 5!  We started with salads –

Studies show that eating a salad before dinner can help you to eat less overall.

This salad was dressed delectably, in a mix of the last of the Stubbs BBQ sauce shaken with a splash of buttermilk.

Other toppings – on a baby arugula base – included dried cranberries and buttermilk blue cheese crumbles.

I think a bbq sauce salad will have to be a repeat in this week’s meal plan.

The main meal was a pretty fantastic idea as well.

Making pressed sandwiches on our George Foreman grill has been our “thing” this year, and this one included roasted asparagus!

Also 1000 island dressing, 99% lean sliced turkey, and 2oz of 50% reduced extra-sharp cheddar.

On cranberry poppy seed bread from a loaf my grandma bought us at The Bakehouse last week.

It was a pretty fantastic sandwich.

But it still didn’t quite squelch my hunger.  Enter 1/2 an Arnold’s Sandwich Thin, topped with pb, marshmallow topping, and chocolate chips for dessert.

Squelched!

And, um, I should probably be sleeping instead of blogging, so – see ya!

What is your favorite type of peanut?  (honey roasted, candied, red skin…)

Playing Catch Up

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I had big plans to go to the gym this morning, but when the alarm went off I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.  I thought I was all caught up on sleep from Saturday’s 4am fun, but clearly not.

Instead, I went back to bed and didn’t get up until 15minutes before I had to leave the house.  Clearly once I got to school coffee was a necessity.

A medium non-fat latte with sugar-free Irish creme syrup.

We got back our pre-Spring break Biochem exams today; my 85 was even more frustrating when I realized that I had circled B (correct) but written A (incorrect) for a key question.

Lunch was random but delicious.  First a Yoplait Key Lime Greek Yogurt.

Sooo thick and sweet, really tasty.  This tasted more like really thick regular yogurt than Greek yogurt (not a bad thing); the tang all came from the lime flavor.

I also had a Revolution Foods tropical fruit packet.

And during my second break I ate this roasted seaweed snack.

This was bought on a whim, but now it’s going on my permanent grocery list!  It was salty and crunchy, and the portion stretched a really long way for only 30calories.

My class didn’t get out until a little late, then Rachel came over to get some notes, and then I went to the gas station for some coffee (looking forward to iced tomorrow), and by the time I was home I was starving.  I made myself  a snack plate while I cooked dinner.

Baby carrots,

and half an everything bagel with pb and low-fat cream cheese.

I think my month of no-hunger is catching up to me, I felt like I could gnaw my arm off all evening!

Thankfully dinner came together in a snap.

Roasted asparagus,

and lobster ravioli (from our trip to Trader Joe’s) tossed in Newman’s Own Roasted Garlic marinara sauce (free via Foodbuzz Tastemakers’ Program).

This was good, but not filling enough.  Honestly the only reason I didn’t eat an after dinner snack is because I was so hungry I couldn’t decide what I wanted.

I wish I could tell you I filled my evening studying for Wednesday’s big, super important test.  But instead I took a much-needed nap.  As soon as a take a quick shower I’m back to bed to catch up on sleep!

What’s your favorite brand of Greek yogurt?

Often Blogged Activities

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We’ve reached the week’s end, but I suppose the weekend is more exciting to those of you who aren’t on spring break 😉

It’s my mom’s last day here, but we kept things low-key.  We did have fun introducing her to often blogged activities.  Like eating yogurts at home for breakfast.

I went with Greek Gods fig on the bottom.

Soooo good!  I don’t actually like figs that much, but this yogurt is my favorite.

We spent the day running all sorts of fun errands, like going to Target, buying groceries, and hitting up the post office.  We live large like that.  We did at least introduce my mom to the blog fodder that is Wegman’s hot bar.

I got bunches of veggies,

with sweet and sour chicken and a mushroom bun.

The afternoon was low-key, but come 5pm I was still starving!  My hunger has definitely returned.  I made myself a cocoa for the drive to dinner.

Dinner, by the way, was from Spicy Thai, and it was fantastic!  The three of us shared an appetizer plate to start.

Veggie egg rolls, tofu tod, tempura eggplant, and crab rangoon.  Yes, this dinner was rather fried.

For dinner Adam and I split cashew chicken,

and Pad See Eiw with tofu.

The cashew chicken was not our favorite,

but the pad see eiw was ridiculous good.

If you haven’t tried broad rice noodles yet you’re crazy!

And for dessert, we introduced my mom to the awesomeness that is mini ice-creams.

I went with Double Fudge Brownie.

All is right with the world.

Tomorrow we’ve got to head to the airport at an ungodly hour, and then we’ve got brunch plans and I’ve got a volunteering obligation.  I’ll be back another evening 🙂

Have you jumped on the single-serve ice cream bandwagon yet?

Seeing What Buffalo Has to Offer

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Another late post for another long day, yesterday that is 😉  My mom is in town until Saturday so we’ve been exploring all Buffalo has to offer.

We started our morning with a trip to Sweet_ness 7 Cafe,

a creperie.

It was our first trip, but we were totally impressed by the adorable details, comfy setting, and exciting menu.

I was pretty jazzed to see hibiscus lemonade available.

This was barely sour, and even less sweet, a near perfect lemonade by my standards. 

For breakfast the three of us split two crepes, one sweet and one savory.

The Irish Blessing, which came with a side salad, was caramelized fresh apples with brie.

The apples were literally caramelized, so sweet and chewy!

The Celtic Love Spell had Nutella and fresh whipped cream, with bananas.

Melty Nutella is pretty much the pinnacle of happiness.

The fillings were fun (obviously!), but the crepes themselves were delicious!  I don’t know much about crepes, but from what I’ve read these were perfectly made.  They had the best eggy smell!

Afterward we headed to another new (to us) and fun location – The Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

ABG has a lot of older pieces, but it is actually a gallery based around collecting contemporary work, not a museum.  It was really interesting to see the “created by” and “purchased by” dates side-by-side, many of which were less than a year apart.

There were bunches of works that I loved, but I didn’t take any pictures out of respect.  I did purchase postcards of two of my favorites from the gift shop,

and we snagged a free print that an artist was giving away to help promote his work.

I can’t wait to get that up on the wall and give this place a little class!

For lunch we went back to an old favorite, JP Bullfeathers, and were greeted with the good news of Restaurant Week.

Unfortunately we won’t be able to make it anywhere else (we tried many spots, but reservations for dinner were impossible), but Adam and I did take advantage of this menu.

I went with the Cajun Haddock Caesar Salad, with balsamic on the side subbed for the dressing.

This was my first time trying Haddock and I think I’m a fan, it’s a nice flakey white-fish without a lot of strong fishy flavor.

The specialty portions were super generous too, I could only eat half of my meal and now Adam has a nice lunch for later this week.

I did have room to try a Valomilk for dessert.

There’s an old-fashioned candy store on Elmwood and it’s sort of irresistable.

I also snacked on a Wallaby Caramel Apple Yogurt while we figured out a dinner plan.

Ultimately we decided low-key was the way to go, and headed to Moes.

I got a kids’ quesadilla with corn salsa,

and chips with queso.

My mom got a kick out of eating something I blog all the time; I think we’ll probably hit up the hot bar tomorrow too!

The rest of the evening was spent on this dorky/awesome venture, which I’ll blog more about in a few weeks.

Have a great night morning!

Is there an art museum and/or gallery in your town?  Do you prefer modern or classic art?  I’m all about modern; there was a series made with ink and soap bubbles on display today that could have held my attention all afternoon.