Yesterday I woke up thirsty, so rather than whipping up a batch of sticky oatmeal, I had a bowl of cold cereal with plenty of milk. I used Kashi GoLean, GoLean Crunch, Kaia granola, a banana and skim.
It would be dishonest if I kept the fact that I watched half a season of The United States of Tara in bed yesterday morning. Have any of you seen it? I really like it! Ari isn’t completely sold yet (but he did keep clicking to the next episode).
When lunch time rolled around, I was really excited to use my new Trader Joe’s find: Goat Milk Brie! Two of my favorite cheeses rolled into one. Thank you, Joe, for anticipating my every want.
I nuked egg whites and a wedge of the cheese in the microwave and cooked it for 45 seconds, adding 10-second intervals until the whites were no longer runny. Then I plopped it atop a big bed of spinach + cabbage dressed with rice wine vinegar + sesame oil with baby carrots, salt, pepper, + pepper flakes.
For dessert, I had the better part of a pound of strawberries. The strawberries have been delicious this season! We’re all out now, so I have to get to the store stat before the rest of the city realizes this.
Ari and I both had some computer work to do, so we packed up our party and took it to a nearby coffee shop for a couple hours. While there, I snacked on a Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut bar…
… before dropping my computer off at home and going to the gym. To be honest, there was a reason it was 5:00 before I finally strolled in. Even though I’d put on my workout clothes early in the morning (which I always do as incentive to sweat), I kept coming up with excuses for not going. When I’d exhausted them all, I realized I actually wanted to spend the time alone with nothing weighing down on me.
I tried a new routine today, playing around with the order I worked my muscle groups out in. I warmed up with 10 minutes on the treadmill (6.0-8.5 mph, 0.5-1.5% incline), then did arms, then abs, and then went back to cardio for 30 minutes of the bike the interval setting at level 14. I was a sweaty mess, and it felt great! Excuse the overshare, but I can’t remember the last time I was literally dripping sweat like that.
When I was squeaky clean again, I made us a mighty fine dinner, if I do say so myself.
101 Cookbooks’ Lemony Chickpea Stir-Fry (substituting collard greens for kale)…
… and Israeli Couscous with Asparagus, Peas and Sugar Snaps leftover from the weekend.
Both were light, easy and delicious, and I will certainly make them again. Ari always requests I make the Tomatoey Spiced Chickpeas for dinner; it was nice to find a new yummy chickpea dish so we don’t get sick of the other.
For dessert, I made Gena’s Chia Chai Pudding for myself…
… and a peanut butter cup for Ari. I ended up needing a bit more sweetness for the pudding I added a sprinkle of stevia in addition to the dates, added frozen bananas, and stuck it in the freezer for half an hour or so. Pretty good!
I sipped on half a glass of Three Buck Chuck while watching half of Crazy Heart, before finally calling it a night.
It is certainly starting to feel like summer: long lazy days, humid evenings that stay light until nearly 9… in order to keep my sanity, I have to find ways to fill these summer days by getting out of the house, seeing people, doing things. There’s a lot on the agenda for today, so I’m going to hop to it!
Reader question: I received a question about my favorite kind of almond butter. I always have two favorite types of each nut butter: salty and sweet. For the salty, I like the kind you crank out at the grocery store that only uses almonds and salt. For the sweet, I love Maranatha’s no-stir creamy almond butter. For some reason while I love chunky peanut butter, I prefer the almond to be creamy!
Ack! I’m praying that your stiffness is gone soon – hang in there!!
You had a bit of a Freudian slip at the end with the “chunky prefer butter,” hahaha
Hope you feel better… if it’s any “incentive,” Spa Week specials all around the city mean you can get a 60-minute massage for $50!
<3 <3
I agree, strawberries are really good this season. I also need to go and buy some as well!
I don’t think I’m reacting well to the weather. I feel weaker. But I find myself loving summer nightlife because it’s slightly cooler and there are so many interesting people out at night . . .
As for agenda filling, maybe check out Central Park Summer Stage?
Whoa, that is one pretty egg puff! And Three Buck Chuck is the BEST…it was my go-to drink over Memorial Day weekend
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thats so weird.. ive experienced that many times.. if i have a dream like that where i feel really weighed down i usually wake up sore! i wonder if my muscles somehow activate when im sleeping hmmm
peanut butter cups are so fun to make. lucky Ari got one of ‘em !
ugh, I hate when I wake up feeling like that!
I’m super sore after hiking Monday morning – the past two mornings, I’ve felt like I’m 90 years old getting out of bed.
That cheese sounds amazing!
I also prefer creamy almond butter but can’t really do the sweet stuff…TJ’s raw creamy is my favorite. United States of Tara is so good in my opinion too, but it is a little hard for my sister to handle…Nurse Jackie is good too because there are some really funny characters.
The chickpeas and israeli couscous dinner looks amazing!
I’ll take your dinner, wine and movie please! Love the PEAS!
Have a great Wednesday, lovely Katie!
Yep– I have to force myself out of the house in the summer too. Otherwise, I’ll just lazzzze the day away, and before I know it, it will be July!
I loved Crazyheart! I hope you liked it!
stiff necks are the worst thing ever.
i love US of Tara! my roommates and i have been watching it from the beginning of season 1, but now i’m behind. i adore toni collette. you should also watch always sunny in philadelphia, it’s the funniest show i’ve ever seen (more so than 30 rock!)
US of Tara is one of my favorite shows!!! Just wait til you get to season 2…it gets SOOO good!
Hope your stiffness goes away soon!
what a fun day
seriously it sounds like the perfect mix of everything!
there’s honestly nothing in the world like a good workout that makes you feel motivated to do other things like whip up a killer dinner? haha i’m checking out this stir fry as we speak! or as i type
get that massage today girl!!!
ive seen a few united states of tara eps, and like ari, im on the fence. im utterly OBSESSED with nurse jackie though. love it love it love it. too bad i dont have sho, so i have to get them on itunes. anyways, i wanted to let you know, the upwelling has been a mayj help in the roadtripping department, so tell ari we are ready for a new cd. and maybe a concert in the bay area.
YES for three buck chuck. and TJ’s makes it with the best of them!
i could totally use a post-1/2 marathon back rub too. if ari hops to it soon, please send him my way?
and i totally feel you on the summer thing – muggy nights, people out for happy hour, late night runs – summer IS here!!!!
happy humpday lady
goat milk brie? trader joe is clearly genius. i had some three buck chuck myself last night, which is another part of his brilliance.
long, humid summer evenings in the sun really may be the best part of summer. although, i think i can find a new thing to love about summer pretty much every day.
OOH can’t wait to hear how Crazy Heart was. I have a lot of movies to catch up on.
Three Buck Chuck, always a cost-effective midweek strategy:)
Is that cheese as amazing as it sounds? Looks awesome. THANK YOU for mentioning the 101 Cookbooks in your comment to me (and here)- I kept thinking it was a book, but have just spent 20 minutes bookmarking recipes. Yay!
Enjoy your backrub!
We are like TV soul sisters!! I commented before about The Office (…and maybe Lost? I dunno if you talked about Lost) and Secret Diary of a Callgirl… and now I have to tell you that I love US of Tara TOO! It is so addicting. I love their family! As many really eff-ed up problems as they have they are so loving and progressive!!
I’ve never tried microwaving eggs – do they turn out nearly the same as in a skillet? I usually use the microwave to heat up leftovers rather than cooking foods, because they never seem to taste the same.
OK, I need that cheese, like NOW!! And some Chuck while your at it. It’s not the best wine I’ve ever had, but for goodness sake its $3!!! SOLD!!!
Wow, I wish I would have seen that cheese when I was at TJ’s on Monday. Next time!
I really like the chia pudding, but I have found that I like to add stevia as well for sweetness. I have also added mashed banana which is also very good!
Glad you are enjoying these wonderful summer days!
OMG. I have never seen such a cheese. I MUST pick that up when I go to TJ’s next!! And hmmmm… peanut butter cups look like a wonderful option for dessert. I must go do that as well!
I’m totally with you on how amazing strawberries have been this season. Ripe, red, and delicious. I can’t wait for my local farmer’s market to start showing up with their own little green crates of them!
I hate the state of Pennsylvania and it’s stupid liquor laws. 3 Buck Chuck sounds like a perfect way to end a hot summer night.