My new peanut butter was calling my name from the pantry.

How could I incorporate it into my breakfast?

I decided to make eggs-in-a-basket (or “toad-in-the-hole”, as my grandmother calls it) which I’ve seen all over the blogs recently.  I used Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread and cut a hole in the middle with my water bottle.  The “hole” was the perfect size to to test the peanut butter out on.

I melted a slice of Jarlsberg cheese on another piece of bread, and put a little pumpkin butter on top of the flax hole.

I love getting as many tastes as possible out of a meal!

After waiting a couple hours to digest, I laced up my sneakers, stretched, loaded my ipod with a new playlist (thanks to Maya for turning me on to this site) and hit the pavement.  This was my third run in a month, and I wanted to make it count.  I ran slowly but easily, and before I knew it I was bake at home with 4.5 miles under my belt.  I wasn’t even out of breath!  To be honest, I was worried I would have lost my stamina and wouldn’t even be able to make it half that far.  This is a good sign

I went into the city to meet my mom at Macy’s to go coat shopping.  It was exhausting.  Although I’d brought kale chips and an apple, we didn’t end up eating until 3:30.

If there’s one thing I know about my mother’s side of the family, it’s that we get c-r-a-n-k-y when we get hungry.  Au Bon Pain was the only option for us at Macy’s (the rest of the fast food joints didn’t have any vegetarian options), and I quickly made a salad with spinach, artichoke hearts, green beans, roasted red peppers, tuna and Thai peanut dressing.

The only memorable aspect of this salad was how quickly I ate it.  My mom got us a bag of mini chocolate chip cookies, and I had one somewhere in the lingerie department while searching for Hollywood Tape.

Three stores and one successful purchase later, we fond ourselves sitting at the old wood bar in DiFiore Marquet.  This was only my second time coming here, but it’s one of my favorite spots in the city.  It’s charming and quirky, quiet, inexpensive, and the staff is so knowledgeable about their wine list.

Last time we went, I tried my first glass of Vouvray.  This time, I went for the Alsatian Pinot Gris (I get this whenever I see it on a menu), and my mom got the Torrontes, which is a fruity white similar to a Pinot Grigio.

The Pinot Gris is on the left, the Torrontes on the right.

On our way home, we made a pit stop at The Donut Pub.

My mom and George both think these are the best donuts in the city.

My mom and I did a taste-test with a glazed and a sugar ring (I had tiny bites of each); glazed won.  I got a marble cake donut hole for myself.

I don’t even remember the last time I had a donut!  Oh wait… it was almost exactly a year ago!

We finally did get home, where we met my dad for a takeout pasta dinner from La Parmigiana in Southampton.  We started with salad… I thought all “Italian” dressings would taste like this when I was younger, and was sadly disappointed when I learned this was not the case.

Their pasta is hard to beat.  I had a plate with half linguine with clams, half linguine with broccoli rabe and sundried tomatoes.   I gobbled up all of the former, but had had my fill and didn’t quite finish the broccoli rabe pasta.

My mom and I split a Criterion apple that my parents picked last weekend…

… and, later, I had three chocolate snowballs.  They were even better the second day!

I’ve been having a lot of trouble sleeping recently… rather I normally have a hard time falling asleep, but have been enjoying a nice respite from that and have been nodding off quite easily.  No sleep aids required!  The last few nights, however, it’s been hard for me to fall and stay asleep, so that by the time morning comes around it just seems like a mean joke.  Needless to say, my breakfasts have had to be pretty darn good to make up for it.

These Berry Mango bran muffins from Trader Joe’s came recommended by both Lauryn and Caroline, and I knew I had to try them.  I’m not a huge muffin lover, but bran is a whole ‘nother story.  Love it!

I popped half a muffin in the oven to warm it up, and while it was toasting got out the container of almond butter my parents had picked up for me at the Co-Op.

Beat that, Maranatha!

I slathered some on my muffin, and used the nut-buttery-spoon to scoop my banana/cinnamon/honey-filled Oikos.  How’s that for a complete breakfast?

My physical therapy appointment was scheduled for 11, and although I left with plenty of time to spare, my subway line is all messed up and is skipping my stop due to track work.  So I had to ride all the way to the end of the line and back down again, and by the time I got off at the appropriate stop only had five minutes to spare.  I ran all the way there with a shoddy umbrella, dodging raindrops and praying my waterlogged Chucks wouldn’t trip me up.  I didn’t fall, but was still five minutes late.  Not a problem… I still got quite the workout in.

My left thigh was been really sore for the past few days… I don’t know if it’s because of the exercises I’ve been doing or just freak tightness, but my therapist worked it out for a good ten minutes.  I also did some calf, core and quad work on the Proform (which I am really feeling today!), then got iced down and strapped with electrodes.  Who knew therapy could be so fun?

I packed my lunch to take with me to eat in transit:

In the mix:

• mixed greens
• grape tomatoes
• frozen pineapple
• broccoli slaw
• Dr. Praeger’s California veggie burger (like other Dr. P. burgers, this is very mushy and doesn’t have a real “burger” texture. I really like the taste and chunks of veggies, though)
• kale chip “dressing”/hummus

Because it was cold and rainy out, there wasn’t really anywhere to sit and enjoy a leisurely lunch.  So I ate LVP-style: standing up and shoveling food into my mouth in the middle of the sidewalk.

Also had a Pink Lady apple… wonder if there is a T-Bird variety apple as well?

After I finished my dignified lunch, I walked across town and went up to meet Greg at Starbucks.  I got the coupon in the mail for my free birthday drink (if you have a Starbucks card, register it!), which I used for a Grande Skim Dirty Hippie (Chai with two shots of espresso).

Two sample trays came by while we were chatting: Peppermint Mocha and Crème Brulée.

I remember when I used to get so excited for Peppermint Mocha-season… now I found this – and the crème brulée- way too sweet.  The only sweet coffee drinks I like are Chai lattes and the occasional Mocha or Frappuccino; I tend to stick to lightly sweetened cappuccinos and black coffee.

The rest of the afternoon was spent running errands (found the perfect pair of jeans on sale).  I was in four different areas of the city in under four hours, and let me tell you: it gives you an appetite! It was the kind of day where I felt hungry all the time.   I dug into my bag and found this Tropical Fruit Grain-Ola bar that Bear Naked sent me as a sample and ate it on the subway.

Review: This was way too sweet for me, and the ingredients list (and 18g of sugars) explains it.  Why does the fruit need to be dried with sugar on top of the additional tapioca syrup, honey and maple syrup that gets thrown into the mix? It was also very, very greasy.

Would I buy this? Thanks, but no thanks.

When I got home, I started making this recipe for Coconut Barley Pilaf.

My dad had made it a few weeks ago and recommended it to me, so I decided to give it a go.  I substituted shrimp for chicken, light coconut milk for regular, and chili flakes for jalepeño.

I didn’t know how many people would be around for dinner so I made the full recipe… we’ll just have a lot of leftovers!

I really liked this. The sweet barley, salty cashews, chewy shrimp and fresh mint were in such harmony!  I would definitely make this again (although I think I can get another 3 meals out of this batch).  Ari didn’t like it as much… he prefers chickpeas and mushrooms.

We also had some Sauvignon Blanc…

… and I finished off the snowballs.  Nom.

We’re off to Connecticut for a wedding this weekend.  What are your plans?

I still felt fine during breakfast, and had a smoothie-in-a-bowl: nonfat yogurt, 1 banana, frozen berries, and 1 scoop of peanut butter with a sprinkle of GoLean. I haven’t had a homemade smoothie in a while, and this was very refreshing.

As I was getting breakfast ready, I noticed a minor crisis: I am finally nearing the end of my Folger’s stash.

Ari and I are the only coffee-drinkers in our household, and since he’s been gone the majority of the last two months, I’ve pretty much consumed this entire tub myself! Oops.  I’m going to try and pick up some new grounds today.  What is your favorite kind of brew-at-home coffee? I’d love your suggestions!

After adequately caffenating myself, I promptly went back to sleep.  When I woke up, I had an apple and got back to work.  Someone once told me that apples and lemons can act as stimulants, so if you don’t want to overdose on coffee, you can snack on these instead.  Has anyone else heard this?

Since I’d gotten up at 6:45 to read, I was more than ready for lunch by the time 11:00 rolled around.  I did my best to wait until 11:30, then tore into my leftover seafood linguine.  I don’t usually like to eat such heavy meals for lunch, but I didn’t want the seafood to go bad.

This put me right to sleep.  Two naps in one day?! I should have known something was off… when I woke up, I had a bowl of nonfat yogurt, mixed berries, and bee pollen. If I didn’t have to worry about expense, I’d probably go through a quart of yogurt a day!

The trouble started a little later.  I was doubled over in pain, incredibly nauseous, and… I’ll spare you the details, but I spent the rest of the day in the same spot in bed, too sick to sleep.  Luckily I was able to find someone to cover for me at the restaurant, because there was no way I was up to serving people food.  I don’t think the Department of Health would have wanted me to, either! I don’t know if it was the seafood (which I’d ordered on Sunday without thinking) or the bee pollen (I’ve suspected that it might be upsetting my stomach), but I think it had to have been something I ate that made me sick.

I somehow stumbled out of bed and around the corner to the drugstore to pick up a thermometer.  No fever: 95.4, then 96.2 (I always have a really low temperature).  In place of my usual go-to sick beverage, I sipped on a bottle of POMx Pomegranate Lychee Green Tea.

I also ate about half a box of Saltines; there’s nothing quite like enriched flour and high fructose corn syrup when you’re not feeling well.

I lazed around like a lump for the rest of the night, watching Gigantic and Gossip Girl.  Forcing myself out of bed, I heated up half a can of Health Valley Corn & Vegetable soup (with Bragg’s and hot sauce).

I also had an Ezekiel English muffin (re-stocked my stash and the world makes sense again) with almond butter, black currant jam & honey.

For dessert, I had a Skinny Cow caramel-flavored Skinny Dipper.  I really do not like these anymore; they taste too artificial and I think I overdid it in college. However, there are a few left in the freezer and I don’t want to be wasteful just throw them out.

Looking back, the only clue that I wasn’t feeling my best was the lack of vegetables in my diet.  No matter how sick I am, I almost never lose my appetite!

I’m feeling 100% better this morning.  My boss at my internship asked me to come in tomorrow instead of today, so I’ll have a chance to rest up completely.  Later tonight, I’m going in to a fun event with Caitlin that I know you would all love!

Around the blogs: Missy is giving away some Zevia!

Have a great day

Makes 1.5 servings

• 3 oz spinach fettuccine
• 1/2 of a 5 oz can whole clams in clam juice
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 lemon
• grape tomatoes, as many as desired
• 1 tsp (or to taste) crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large, salted & oiled pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: heat pan, add a splash of oil, and cook garlic for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.  Add a little clam juice and all of the lemon juice.  And clams and red pepper and raise heat, stirring constantly once bubbles begin to form.  Add tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low. Clams should be heated through and the tomato skins should be starting to shrivel. Remove from heat. Drain pasta and add directly to pan with reserved sauce.  Toss with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

I also had a few leaves of steamed kale:

Some GIANT carrots and cukes:

It was a very green dinner. A little too green, actually; I didn’t end up finishing the cucumbers.  Just too much!

I washed everything down with a little kale water…

… and ate, at the foot of the [unmade] bed, while I got some work done.

For dessert, I had my usual plate: dried fruit, almond butter, and two squares of Israeli chocolate.

The chocolate was made with Pop Rocks, and left my mouth pop!-ing all night! I loved it.

During one of my shifts last week, I shared the new Tropical Fruit Tart Larabar with some of the waiters.

Philip’s take: Mmm! Tastes like a Piña Colada.

Cornelius’ take: Not extremely sweet, and I like that.

Blerta’s take: Sour. It’s got a weird taste.

My Pros: Definite coconut taste, which I’ve been loving recently.

My Cons: It has 7g of saturated fat, which I don’t love.  The orange flavor is also a little too strong for me, and reminded me a bit of cleaning products.

Would I buy this again? Probably not. I prefer the more subtle Lara flavors.

Thanks again, Larabar!

Have a great Tuesday, guys.  And in case I don’t see you: good afternoon, good evening and good night