Lilveggiepatch » chard

These Glutes of Mine

lilveggiepatch — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:10:06 +0000

Good morning and happy Friday! Are everyone’s Halloween plans cemented? I’d love to hear what you’re all doing! Dressing up? Going to a party? Last year my roommate and I had a party, and even though I hopped around on crutches the whole time, it was a lot of fun! The year before was my first year having real trick-or-treaters, and it was so much fun! I lived on “Halloween Street,” and over 700 kids came by that night. We had to make multiple trips to the grocery store, and even gave away some of our own treats! I grew up living in an apartment, and while some kids do go trick-or-treating in apartment buildings (I used to go to a really big building, and always came home with a lot of candy!), ours never had too many kids so no one came by.

Yesterday when I woke up I was craving cereal. Cold and filling, I made a big bowl with Kashi GoLean, Smart Start, granola, a banana, and skim milk.

I didn’t have too much time to waste in the morning because I had physical therapy at 1:30, but I got some things done. I broke for a quick and easy lunch: leftover Roasted Corn Pudding in Kabocha Squash, a grapefruit, and Trader Joe’s Nonfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt. It was a little random, but it hit the spot.

My appointment went well! Allison gave me a few exercises that I can do on my own while I’m in bed, and as a result, my side glutes have been so sore the past two days! The foam roller feels unbelievable. She wants me to wait until next week to try running; in the meantime I can use the elliptical (which I am brainwashing myself into “liking”). My next appointment isn’t until Tuesday, so I have some time to work on the moves.

I snacked on a Honey Cashew YouBar on the way to the gym from PT. There will be a formal review of these products coming in the next few days, but until then, you can use the code Lilveggiepatch for a 5% discount at checkout.

At the gym, I stretched, climbed onto the Cross Ramp, cranked up the Gaga, and pounded away for 30 minutes. I like the Cross Ramp more than the elliptical because, judging from the statistics on my heart rate monitor, it’s almost as “efficient” as running and about twice as efficient as the recumbent bike. I cheated a little and started my cool down after 27 minutes… it’s entirely psychological, but I really hate staying on that thing after my time is up! I went uptown, showered, and rolled out on my dad’s foam roller. I’m going to be near Paragon today so I’ll pick up my own; Allison wants me to use it not only to loosen my muscles but for balancing ab exercises.

I snacked on a Jonagold apple from the orchard upstate… I used the honeybear for scaling purposes. Hugely delicious!

My mom and I went to a reading last night at The Center for Fiction (formerly known as The Mercantile Library). It’s a really nice space; the first floor is a great bookstore, and the second houses a membership library and readings. If it wasn’t so out of the way, I would certainly join! I love going to the library; as soon as I finish the book I’m reading now, I’m going to check out some new titles at the NYPL. Now, if only there were a lending library for clothes…

My dad made us a delicious dinner last night based around salmon steaks he picked up at Bouley Market. The fish is the same that is served in his restaurants, but he sells it to go at a really great price. Good to know! Maybe I can upgrade from my Trader Joe’s frozen salmon patties…

We snacked on crudités…

And ate avocado halves with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt & pepper…

Cajun-rubbed salmon, steamed swiss chard & brown rice…

… and drank big mugs of milk.

We had a dessert tasting with LaLoo Black Mission Fig Goat Milk ice cream and Bouley‘s fresh Rhubarb Sorbet. They complemented each other perfectly.

When I got home, Ari and I watched part of I’m Not There. Has anyone else seen it? It came out while I was in France, and I’ve never seen the whole thing all the way through. A lot of my favorites starred in the film, which I’d support even if it weren’t about Bob Dylan.

Well, I’m off to squeeze in glute-rolling some gym time before I meet George for lunch. Have a great day!

Pumpkin Salads & Ice Cream In Bed

lilveggiepatch — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:06:50 +0000

Bonne samedi, mes amis! How are you all? Is your weekend off to a nice start? I know I make it a terrible habit of disappearing on the first day Ari’s back, but I’m here now.

Hmm, so… Thursday’s breakfast was based around YouBar‘s The Best Trail Mix.

I plopped half the bag on top of a big mound of pumpkin and an even bigger mound of steel-cut oats, and covered it all with cinnamon and agave nectar.

It felt quite festive.

This was the morning that I had my bone density test (the results of which were called in to my orthopedist… who did not return my call and share the findings with me before the weekend but that’s okay). I had an apple when I got out of the hospital…

… came home, read InStyle took care of some chores, and went back to sleep for a few hours. When I woke up, so did a hungry beast. I was inspired by the previous day’s salad dressing adventures, so I played around in the kitchen a little bit.

Behold: Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette!

Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette

Serves 1

2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon white miso paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
sprinkle of cinnamon
sprinkle of nutmeg
squirt of fresh lemon juice

This was delicious. I vow to never have a boring salad again!

Into the salad itself went:

1/3 block tempeh
1 apple
red onion
carrots
red chard
pumpkin-miso dressing

I followed it up with a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Greek Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt.

After a few hours of job searching, I snacked on a piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with peanut butter and raspberry jam.

Other than walking and cleaning, I have done almost nothing physical in almost two weeks. It’s slowly driving me crazy. Emily alerted me to these workout videos you can watch instantly on Netflix (if you have an account), which is great. Unfortunately, my will power is not. I did about 10 minutes of this yoga class, then made dinner and went to the airport to pick Ari up. Blegh.

I’m going to wager that my dinner is not going to ignite any food jealousy. I had no idea what I wanted for dinner except that I had to have an Ezekiel English muffin. On one half I had a TJ’s Masala Burger with mustard, on the other egg whites with salt, pepper & ketchup. Boring, but got the job done.

We found the band at the airport, piled all the gear in the car and squeezed in like sardines. Everyone was a little jet-lagged, so we just watched a short movie and In Treatment. While doing so, I had another piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with almond butter and jam and a small glass of Merlot.

We slept in a bit yesterday, although I woke up a good hour before the boy. This is usually the case even when he hasn’t just come back from a tour in Europe. No matter! I made myself a bowl of brown oatmeal: steel-cut oats with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, brown sugar and peanut butter.

By the time Ari woke up and decided he wanted chicken parm for breakfast, I was ready for lunch. I made a salad that was almost a repeat of the day before’s, but why mess with a good thing?

In the mix:

red chard
carrots
1/2 avocado
1/3 brick tempeh
1 pear
red onions
pumpkin-miso dressing

I also had a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Nonfat Honey Greek Yogurt.

We went into the city and took care of a bunch of errands, including chopping what Erin refers to as Ari’s “alterna-hair.” We stopped by my old restaurant for a glass of wine before going to dinner at Friend House, one of Ari’s favorite sushi restaurants. Something happened to my camera and it would only take really blurry (and incredibly frustrating) photos.

I ordered the sashimi entrée… I promise that’s what’s in the picture!

It came with miso soup.

We went down to the Lower East Side for some Upwelling work, got caught in the rain, and practically ran all the way home. After showering away the acid rain, we settled in for the night with our cartons of Ben & Jerry.

I went for Light Phish Food (but demanded asked nicely for the peanut butter cups in Ari’s Everything But The…), and did my best to put it down after I plowed through 1/4 of the carton. I guess I have a little bit of will-power.

What are your plans for the weekend?