This morning I woke up a few minutes earlier than usual, spandex-ed myself in hyperspeed, and tore out [...]]]> Evening! This post is going to be so quick, it’ll be over before it’s done.  It’s 11:45 and I’ve been home less than an hour, and am only now climbing into bed.  Old biddy strikes again!

This morning I woke up a few minutes earlier than usual, spandex-ed myself in hyperspeed, and tore out of the house for a 2 mile run before work.  I didn’t even remember my watch (or RoadID), but I know I was fast today.  When I got back, I kept the fast track going and got all ready with enough time to enjoy breakfast without leaving for work a minute late than usual.

Breakfast was a big bowl of yogurt, granola, banana + cinnamon.

Mid-morning, I snacked on a navel orange.

Lunch was over a pound of chili and cornbread.  I was full for the rest of the afternoon!

My new water container was quite a hit today… it stands up all by itself, and holds 16 oz of liquid, more than the average bottle!

Sadly, while at work I missed The Upwelling‘s interview on Fearless Radio… did anyone happen to catch it?

When the workday ended, I met my parents at Turkish Cuisine in Hell’s Kitchen for an early pre-theater dinner.  We toasted Tuesday; my mom had a glass of Chardonnay while I had Pinot Grigio.

Before my dad arrived at the restaurant, my mom and I split an order of Zucchini Cakes with tzatziki sauce.   These were so good.  Dr. Praeger, you’ve got nothing on these little fellas! We raved about them so much that my dad had to order them for himself.

We ate it with warm pita.  I wasn’t too hungry for it at the time, but don’t worry… the remaining pieces came home with me!

For my entrée, I ordered grilled salmon with salad.  The salad dressing was fantastic; it had all kinds of spices in it, like cumin and coriander!  I’ll have to try this.  I ate all of the salad but filled up about halfway through the salmon.  Dads are good at times like these.

Before the play, I popped across the street to The Lite Choice for a small cup of almond butter frozen yogurt with chocolate chips.

The play we saw was the third and final in the Orphans Home Cycle series.  It was my favorite of the three, and I was sad to see it end!  I even stayed awake for all three acts.

I’m off to dreamland.  Have a fabulous Wednesday!

Last night I tried to stay awake and watch a [...]]]> David Letterman: Help In HaitiEvening! This is going to be a quickie; it’s already after 10 and I still have to shower, read, and get a decent night’s sleep!  I’ve gotten spoiled with my early bedtime, and it’s hard for me to pass it.

Last night I tried to stay awake and watch a live steam of The Upwelling‘s show in Nashville, but I didn’t factor in the time change and fell asleep way before 2 AM.  Sorry lovebug! This morning I woke up, naturally, at 6 AM.  I was still exhausted, but decided to get out of bed and start the day.  I did a light 25 minutes of yoga, then had oatmeal in bed.

• 1/2 cup oatmeal made with 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1/2 banana
• pumpkine
• 2 chopped prunes
• almond butter
• cinnamon
• Stevia

Unfortunately as soon as I turned on CNN, I was bombarded with the news of the earthquake in Haiti.  I had actually learned of the devastation in Port-au-Prince last night, when Jen tweeted about it  (terrible that Twitter is now my primary evening news source).  David Letterman tells you how you can help:

David Letterman- Haiti Aid

It’s strange to move on to a regular food blog post after something like this, but the show must go on, as they say.  We were pretty busy at work today; I snacked on an apple in between projects (and saved the yogurt for lunch).  I think Fuji’s are my new favorite! I’ve always been a Gala girl, but I really like the tartness now.

I packed a nice big salad for lunch. 

In the mix:

• Trader Joe’s Champs-Elysée blend
• 1/3 block tempeh
• 1/3 mango
• grape tomatoes
• One Lucky Duck Rosemary Quackers
• Trader Joe’s Goddess Dressing

I ate lunch with my friend Danielle, who tried her first piece of tempeh!   I think she was won over by the texture.

The rest of the day was sort of a blur, in a go!go!go! kind of way.  I ended up having to stay later than usual and rushing out of the office at 5:45 to make a 6:00 wine-and-cheese appointment with my friend Caitlin at George and Judy’s.  Luckily I’d snacked on an orange beforehand, because my hunger was fierce!

George and Judy had a great selection of cheeses, including Cowgirl Creamery!  I had this the last time I was over, and it was just as good as I remembered.

We also had glasses of delicious red wine.

After our appetizers, Caitlin and I hustled over to The Flea Market Café just in time to make the cut off of their prix fixe deal.  For $16, you get two courses and a glass of wine. Who says you can’t eat cheaply in New York?!  We started with bread and French butter…

… and ordered the exact same thing: red wine (unpictured), mixed greens with shallot vinaigrette…

… and pistachio-crusted salmon with vegetables sautéed in lemon.  It was perfect! I ate every scrap

After dinner, we walked a couple blocks to 16 Handles, my former home away from home.  I loaded up my cup with frozen yogurt and toppings.  Tyra Banks had the same idea and seemed very excited about DIY fro-yo as well.  (She got banana, and expertly pumped the handle while looking as fabulous as ever.)

That’s all for now.  It’s almost the weekend, and you know what that means…

Yesterday I got up early, packed up, had a quick breakfast and headed out.  I [...]]]> Is it wrong that it’s only 9:15 and I’m considering going to sleep as soon as I Love You, Beth Cooper (one of the silliest movies I’ve seen) is over?  When sleep calls, I’m not one to ignore it!

Yesterday I got up early, packed up, had a quick breakfast and headed out.  I toasted an Ezekiel English muffin and topped one half with a light Babybell cheese and egg whites and the other with peanut butter and raspberry jam. Fun fact: I lost my first tooth in a Babybel cheese!

I met my mom at our voting station to do my duty, then took care of some paperwork so my visa will be in order for Russia.  I still can’t believe I’ll be there in less than a month! I also can’t believe the high will be 9˚ Fahrenheit.  Brr!

Mama brought me a Jonagold to help me sign and date papers for the embassy.  It was hard work!

When that was all taken care of, we set off in search of a great coat for an even better price.  We found a good one at The North Face, but are going to keep checking around some more.  Who makes your warmest coat?

We broke for lunch at Le Pain Quotidien.  Because it’s a chain restaurant, they’re required to post the calories in all of their dishes.  Their meals are really healthy, but it’s nice to be reminded of what’s inside your food!

My mom and I split the seasonal appetizer special: red quinoa with roasted beets and butternut squash.

I only had a couple bites because my entrée was huge!  I ordered the shrimp salad with avocado, mango, and salsa.   It was mighty fine… I ate every scrap.

We were full, but not too full for dessert   We set off in search of frozen yogurt, and bumped into Ada on the way! To celebrate her 19th birthday, she’d just gone on a 13 mile run!
Ada had also just come from The Lite Choice, and told us the flavors were worth the trip.   I got a small cup with Oreos ‘N Cream and Espresso Truffle.

After our treat, I left my mom and went across town for physical therapy.  I have another appointment tomorrow to see how my therapist thinks I’m doing after my fifteen minutes on the treadmill… I’m very optimistic! In the past month, I have been to four different branches of my gym.  The one I went to yesterday was by far the biggest, but it was also the most confusing! I literally got lost in the locker room. Twice.  What do you like most about your gym?

When I got home Ari had some errands to run so I tagged along.  I brought an apple with cinnamon for the ride, and for the second time in a row, Ari ate half of it! I think I’m rubbing off on him

Since The Upwelling is going to be on the road for the next month, Ari and I decided to go out to dinner to spend a little time together to get away the craziness of packing.  He had a few things to do before we could go, and my stomach couldn’t wait.  I ripped into Josh’s bag of barbecue-flavored pretzel thins… I’m not a huge fan of bbq-flavored chips, but I could have eaten the whole bag.  I don’t know what it is about flat pretzels, but they really get me going!

Ari was craving chicken parm so we went to the diner for dinner.   Now, while I love going there for eggs, something feels a little off about eating there for a meal other than breakfast.  It turns into a more upscale restaurant, but I’m just not a fan of their post-brunch fare.  We still had a very nice time.

All dinner entrées come with soup or salad, and I went with salad.  Hello, onions! (Sorry, boyfriend.)

Nibble at the dinner roll… starting to feel those pretzels!

For my main, I ordered the pecan-crusted ahi tuna in a balsamic-fig reduction with Mediterranean orzo and cherry tomatoes.   It was good, but very filling.  Orzo is such a confusing (but delicious!) grain… it looks just like rice but I always forget it’s actually pasta! I also forget how much I like it.  I’m going to see if I can find a whole wheat variety at the grocery store.

I ate about 2/3 of this and boxed the rest up.

For dessert I had a bowl of Ben & Jerry’s Everything But The… ice cream with a warmed up Edgie brownie.  No one will ever accuse me of not knowing how to indulge!

Now that Ari’s gone for a little while, I’m going to be cooking a lot more and eating out a lot less.  We like to eat home-cooked meals when he’s home, too, but we’re on such different schedules that it’s often hard to coordinate dinner.  It’s a goal of mine to cook more frequently when we’re both around… I’m pretty sure that any dish with mushrooms in it is a safe bet

Hope you had a fabulous day. Bonne nuit

The rolled oats stash still hasn’t been replenished, and I haven’t gotten a new batch of steel-cut [...]]]> Good morning and happy Thursday! It’s going to be a good day, I can just tell   How has your week been going? What was the most surprising or thing that brought you the most happiness?

The rolled oats stash still hasn’t been replenished, and I haven’t gotten a new batch of steel-cut whipped up yet, so I had to think a little about what I wanted for breakfast yesterday.  I opened the fridge, pulled out the almond butter, and…

Oh no! Take me to a Trader Joe’s and make no stops on the way!  Well, I don’t know when I’m actually going to get to TJ’s, so I tried to leave a little nut butter on the sides to make oats-in-a-jar when the time is right.  That wasn’t enough for breakfast, though, so I pulled out a sample of Sunbutter that I’ve had lying around for a few months.

When squeezed out, it looks likes this:

One Ezekiel English muffin half had almond butter and TJ’s pumpkin butter, the other Sunbutter and raspberry jam.

The Sunbutter definitely tastes like sunflower seeds.  I think I still prefer almond and peanut butters, but this was a nice change.  I don’t know if I would buy a whole jar of this, but if I had more travel packets I would use them for on-the-go snacking.

I took all of my new vitamins with breakfast (except the melatonin, which is only for when I really can’t sleep at night).

Unfortunately I didn’t read the label carefully when I was at the store and bought the powdered Ester-C (which aids iron absorption) instead of the capsule, which means I have to drink it.  And let me tell you, this is one of the worst tastes I’ve ever known.

I worked and researched most of the morning, and broke for lunch around noon before I had to leave for physical therapy.  I made a big salad through my session:

In the mix:

• 1/2 head of romaine
• grape tomatoes
• 1 orange
• leftover roasted Brussels sprouts
• julienned carrots
• Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burger
• Trader Joe’s Three Layer Hummus
• Cayenne pepper-spiked agave- cinnamon dressing

It was a big salad! I almost couldn’t finish it, but I’m not usually one to leave greens on my plate.  I went into the city to get my H1N1 flu shot (seasonal flu shot has already sold out almost everywhere), then went across town to my physical therapy appointment.  I was early, so I popped into Tasti to get a treat and read a little.  I got a small cup of chocolate raspberry mousse:

My appointment went really well.  I really like my therapist; she’s a former marathoner and current Half-Iron Man-er, and just seems to know what she’s doing (a welcome change).  She  worked with me for over an hour, and came to the same conclusion as the first PT:  my muscles aren’t strong enough to support the kind of running I’m doing. If I want to be an endurance athlete and compete in races, my quads, glutes, calves, etc. have to be really strong.  I need to work on strength moves, increasing my flexibility (stretching, rolling out with the foam roller) and core moves every day. My knees do point in (the first PT diagnosed me with “squinting patellae”) but strengthening my quadraceps will force them back into place.  And the even better news? I can start back up again (slowly) in the next few days, and can run the 15K in December!!!

She asked if I’d be okay with running on the treadmill for a few minutes to analyze my gait, and you should have seen the way my eyes lit up.  Running? Now? Even though I hate the treadmill, I felt like I was flying.  I do pronate, and my hips do come out and come forward when they shouldn’t (which has caused tightness in my IT band that I didn’t even know about until she worked it through with her fingers), but it can all be corrected.  Woohoo!!!! I’m going back today; she wants to see me twice a week for a month or so.  Thank the lordy. If I had a job right now, I wouldn’t have this kind of flexibility!

On the ride home, I was hungry again so I snacked on a Trek Mix bar.

When I got home, I did some more searching and researching, and started to think about dinner.  It was going to take a couple hours to make, so when Ari ordered sushi for himself and Josh I politely requested my very own sweet potato roll.

Seriously, I don’t know how I didn’t know about these until now.  What would I do without Ilana and Ari? Amazing!

My own dinner was based on this recipe.   When I went to the produce store, I found a squash I’d never seen before.  It started with a G… Galaban? Galabaga? When I looked it up on this handy squash glossary, however, I discovered that it was one of the most popular squashes with bloggers: the kobucha!

These were sold already halved; each half was about 70 cents.

I changed the recipe a little bit; I halved the “pudding” recipe, only used egg whites (I don’t have whole eggs), didn’t use anise, and used red onions instead of scallions.

It took a long time to cook (about an hour and a half), but the results were worth it.

I ate one half of the squash and saved the rest for another day.  It was really satisfying, and so good that I ended up eating the skin, too! Oops.

For dessert, I smeared a pumpkin bar with peanut butter.  It wasn’t worth it: still tasted bad.  Into the trash they go!

Ari and I took Carlye‘s suggestion and watched the pilot of Psych.  We thought there would be a few more episodes on the first disc, but it was just the one! So off I go to the mailbox… must make sure there’s a Halloween movie here for Saturday!

Have a great day

P.S. Averie is giving away ProBar Fruitition bars!

[D]on’t stir…take your spoon straight down through the yogurt and pull some fruit up with the yogurt.  I at first was reluctant…but then I said “oh what the heck…”  I won’t stir my yogurt [...]]]> Shari wanted me to let you know about the correct way to eat what I’ve referred to as “fruit-on-the-bottom” Chobani:

[D]on’t stir…take your spoon straight down through the yogurt and pull some fruit up with the yogurt.  I at first was reluctant…but then I said “oh what the heck…”  I won’t stir my yogurt ever again….  It completely changes the dynamics of the yogurt.

I tried it out, plunging my spoon directly into a Blueberry Chobani.

Very smooth and very creamy!

What do you do when you can’t decide what to have for breakfast? Have it all! I threw quite a few ingredients into my bowl.

I warmed some frozen strawberries, sliced up half a banana, grabbed a handful (or two!) of Puffins, and scooped a generous spoonful of almond butter.

It mixed wonderfully with the yogurt.

The rest of the morning was spent reading in bed in total coziness, taken in the aroma of scented candles.  In the past few days I’ve taken quite a few baths and burned through a lot of candles.  It’s not so great for the environment, but I figure I’m just making up for the baths I didn’t take in the dorm bathrooms in college.  Mid-morning, I snacked on a crisp Macoun apple.

.

Caitlin came over for lunch, and I heated up some leftover Smoky Greens & Beans.  This time, I added in pieces of seitan.  The physical therapist told me that since I’m going to be trying to build up muscle and heal myself, I’m going to need eat a LOT of protein. Each serving of seitan packs a whopping 18g! This was Caitlin’s first time eating it, and I think it was a hit! We ate the stew with warmed up pieces of lavash.

After lunch, we headed to Starbucks to get coffee and read. I couldn’t remember exactly what went into a dirty hippie… where was Luke when I needed him?!  I ended up just getting a Double Grande Skim Chai.  There’s always next time!

We ended up doing more talking than studying, but it was needed! I hadn’t seen this girl in three weeks.  When I got home, I started dinner by peeling and cubing a sweet potato.  I covered the cubes in a little olive oil, salt & pepper, an baked it at 400.  About 20 minutes into the baking time, I added pressed and cubed tofu to the mix, making sure to coat the pieces in the extra oil mixture that covered the bottom of the baking dish.  10 minutes later I removed the sweet potato, and baked the tofu for 15 minutes longer.

I added the sweet potato and tofu to a bed of spinach with a white heirloom tomato, pomegranate seeds, and a little gorgonzola cheese.  Aren’t the colors lovely?

Using pear-infused vinegar, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, sea salt & pepper, I whipped up a light dressing.

This was one of the best salads I’ve had in a long time, and felt perfect for a chilly Fall night.

After dinner, I went downtown to meet Lauryn for frozen yogurt at Red Mango.   She moved to Manhattan over a month ago, but we seem to be operating under completely opposite schedules and this is the first day it worked out.   I’m so glad it did!

We both ended up ordering the pumpkin frozen yogurt (tart and creamy, and perfect for Fall!) even though it was fuh-REEZING out and were were sitting right in front of the door.  It came with free graham cracker topping, too! I’ve never been one to turn down a freebie…

We ended up talking non-stop for three hours, and literally closed the Red Mango down.  Couldn’t have asked for a better Saturday night!  I ended up getting home after 1, by which point I was already hungry again and ate a giant apple.  I didn’t go to bed until after 2… I need to find a job ASAP because this rando schedule just ain’t doing it for me.

Well, I’m off to go meet my little red-headed friend for dinner.  Hope you’re having a great night!

Yesterday morning I decided that I needed all the friends I could get to help me stay [...]]]> Good morning, all! Thank you so much for all the well-wishes.  I’m feeling 100% better now, especially after reading all of your comments!  It seems like most of you have had your share of food poisoning.  Blegh!

Yesterday morning I decided that I needed all the friends I could get to help me stay well, so Jim kept me company for breakfast.

This breakfast cookie was made with:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/2 banana
• 2 T skim milk
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 T PB2
• Toppings: cinnamon, dried craisins/raisins, pecan

I puttered around on the computer for a little too long, and by the time I was ready to go for a run, I was hungry again!  I grabbed a date on the day out the door.

This run was… not good.  It took a little while for me to get warmed up, and by the time I found my groove, I had to stop every 30 seconds or so because of the silly stitch in my side! It was in the same place as its been for the last couple weeks: above my right ribcage.  After 3.5 miles, I finally got so frustrated that I just walked the last mile home.  And I didn’t just walk… I walked at a snail’s pace.  Everyone on the street passed me, and I’m sure I looked furious about it.  When I got home, I plunked down on the computer and found this lovely Wikipedia entry explaining just what the Side Stitch is… I’m going to squelch this little bugger once and for all!

When exercising, a side stitch (also called a side ache, a side cramp, a side crampie, a side sticker or simply a stitch) is an intense stabbing pain under the lower edge of the ribcage. It is also referred to as exercise related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). This pain may be caused by the internal organs (like the liver and stomach) pulling downwards on the diaphragm, though an exact mechanism remains to be elucidated. Consistent with the suspected cause, it is more likely to occur in sports involving up and down actions – like running, jumping, swimming and equestrianism. If the pain is present only when exercising and is completely absent at rest, in an otherwise healthy person, it is benign and does not require investigation. There are a variety of published ways of alleviating the symptoms including adjusting at what point in your stride you inhale

Causes: Most of the time, side stitches occur on the right side of the body. This is due to the largest organ in the abdominal cavity, the liver, being on that side. Certain athletes also report a pain in the tip of their shoulder blade. This is believed to be because this is a referred of pain for the diaphragm via the phrenic nerve. When the side stitch is on the right published advice is to try to exhale when your left foot lands.

Prevention:

• Improve fitness
• Strengthen the diaphragm by using exercises such as those that aid respiratory rehabilitation
• Strengthen core muscles (abdominals,lower back, obliques)
• Limit consumption of food and drink two to three hours before exercising (in particular, drinks of high carbohydrage content and osmolarity (reconstituted fruit juices))
• Drink water beforehand to prevent muscle cramps
• Warm up properly
• Gradually increase exercise intensity when running
• Exhale when the left foot hits the ground, and inhale when the right foot hits the ground
• Run on soft surfaces

Curing a Side Stitch:

• Stop exercising. With the digits, push into the abdomen on the right side, and up under the rib cage. At the same time, forcefully let out a deep exhale while holding the lips closely together.
• Try belly breathing; inhale while pushing out the stomach, and on the exhale, relax the stomach muscles.
• While running, exhale when your foot strikes on the opposite side that the side stitch is located. For example, a side stitch on the right, exhale hard when your left foot strikes the ground.
• Reduce the frequency of breathing (e.g. in jogging, inhale for four steps and exhale for four steps)
• Lie down on the back and lift the knee on the side with the stitch up to the chest.
• Do not breathe too hard, shallow breathing for a few minutes at the same time maintain oxygen input levels.
• Relax the mind and do not focus on the stitch itself.
• Put pressure on the affected area, not enough to hurt, but just enough so the pain subsides

THANK YOU, Wikipedia!  I’m certainly going to try these out. As my mom said, stitches make you feel like you’re having a heart attack!

I ate my lunch in two parts. Part 1 was leftover Health Valley Corn & Vegetable soup with Bragg’s and Sriracha:

Part 2, an hour or so later, was a big salad with romaine, sprouts, carrots, hummus, a black bean burger & Annie’s Light Gingerly Vinaigrette.

After lunch, I hopped on the subway and went into the city to get some groceries.  I usually go to Trader Joe’s once a month; it was time! I had to stop at Whole Foods for a few things TJ’s didn’t have (like pumpkin… although they say it’s “seasonal”, they don’t sell it until the end of October! Sad ).

At Whole Foods, I literally bumped into a sample station with my cart for Grandy Oats, who were giving us two flavors of cashews to try: Maple Roasted & Nori Sesame.  What interesting flavors!

They were both delicious, and complemented each other nicely.

When I got home, I laid out my groceries.  Here’s what $58.98 from Trader Joe’s looks like:

And here’s what $26.45 from Whole Foods looks like.  (I didn’t realize until I got home that the “canned pumpkin” was actually “pumpkin pie mix”, but oh well! I won’t need any sweeteners this way )

When I’m shopping for recipes, I usually get everything that I can at the cheapest store (in this case, Trader Joe’s) and get specialty items where I can find them.  The prices reflect this!  Thanks for helping me with my coffee question… I ended up listening to Averie and grinding my own at Trader Joe’s. I selected the Breakfast Blend, which is both Fair Trade and Organic, and makes me feel festive drinking something especially for breakfast!

While hustling around, I had a quick snack, using the quinoa crackle I’d made from Body + Soul magazine.

I’d made this, oh, a month ago?! At least it’s getting used up! I plopped two tablespoons with 1/2 banana on top of Trader Joe’s Organic Nonfat Vanilla Greek yogurt.

After whipping up a few things in the kitchen (to be enjoyed later in the week), I headed over to Caitlin‘s gym to go to an event hosted by SELF‘s Reach Your Goal program. On the way in, we passed yet another sample station.

Katie Graham – or the “Green Smoothie Mama”- is a holistic health coach who works with the Equinox gym to ensure clients’ minds, bodies & spirits are in sync.  She gave us each a shot of her wheatgrass/mango/banana blends for us to try. It was delicious!

Caitlin, her friend and I decided to go to the 30/60/90 class: it’s basically Step Aerobics using weights.  Holy moly, was this hard!  I’d already run today, so I had to channel my inner Melissa for the strength.  I did Step in college, and it was nice to get back into it again.

On the way out of the gym, we stopped by the cocktail table… they don’t usually have vodka lying around, so we decided to take advantage of the special event! I had clementine vodka with club soda.

We headed over to Caitlin’s house, where Nancy had prepared a lovely, farmer’s market fresh meal.  We started with a delicious salad (note to self: put lemon juice and parmesan in my dressing):

We also had a fabulous, whole wheat pasta with heirloom tomatoes, fresh herbs from the garden, and mozzarella.

I had 1.5 servings

No meal is complete without dessert, so Tasti D-Lite called… I got a small cup with half Peanut Butter, half German Chocolate Cake, covered with Heath Bar. Mmm. It was a Tasti Tuesday.

I collapsed into bed as soon as I got home, but couldn’t fall asleep.  Don’t you hate when you’re too tired to sleep? Oh well.  I’m off to my internship… have a lovey day!

Yesterday I used up the last of my walnut almond milk and added frozen berries, grapes, and Puffins.  Filling and delicious!

Yesterday was R-A-I-N-Y! It was [...]]]> Good evening! I hope you are thoroughly enjoying your Saturdays.  The day completely got away from me today, so this is going to be a bigger post than usual.

Yesterday I used up the last of my walnut almond milk and added frozen berries, grapes, and Puffins.  Filling and delicious!

Yesterday was R-A-I-N-Y! It was also very windy, so whatever umbrella you may have brought with you (which I did not…) was basically functionless.  I dodged the drops and met Caitlin for lunch in Union Square.  We’d planned on venturing out to someplace a little farther out of our comfort zone than Whole Foods, but it was so miserable outside that we just decided to eat at the hot bar.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with samples of Sweet Leaf iced tea.  I’d never tried this before, but I loved both the taste and their cute Grandma-themed packaging!

I loaded my salad box…

It included:

• mixed greens
• steamed kale
• roasted sweet potato
• vegan “chicken” salad
• baked tofu
• wasabi salmon salad
• Shanghai dumpling
• corn

We also were given samples of mini cupcakes for filling out a mapping survey.  Great day for free treats!

We stayed inside for quite some time, taking shelter from the storm.  I sipped on a nonfat cafe au lait with a shot of espresso to warm up:

When the rain started to let up, we ventured over to Barnes & Noble to do a little research.  On our way out, we popped into the music department and spotted The Upwelling‘s An American Stranger on display!

Caitlin snatched up the last copy, and we promptly demanded they order more.

Then I made my way home to take care of my pup’dog.

I immediately raided the fridge, and found these baby green plums.

I had a little snack of yogurt, one pear, and one green plum.

When I went through the mail, I found a package from Sarah.

She’d sweetly sent me the cup that I demanded to use every time I went to her apartment in Minnesota… it made me so happy! I hope you’re drinking plenty of tea in Russia, Sarah.

I spent the rest of the evening going through my closet and getting rid of old clothes.  I had a glass of Black Box Wines‘s Sauvignon Blanc to help me out…

I really liked this. Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite wines, and this was pretty good.  If I hadn’t poured it myself, I wouldn’t have known this wine came out of a box! Much better than the Franzia & Carlo Rossi more economical beverages of my college days.

I’d planned on cooking, but the weather was just too nasty and I wanted to stay inside and be cozy.  Instead, I ordered a bento box with shrimp shumai, sashimi, and a spicy tuna roll.

It also came with a small salad with carrot-miso dressing…

… and a hot cup of miso soup.

I was very full! But of course, when Ari called and asked me to meet him for Tasti D, I couldn’t turn him down   I got a small cup of oreo cookie peanut butter with Reese’s pieces.

Ari had to leave very early this morning to get ready for their tour, and although I had every intention of getting up with him at 8, I slept in until 11. Whoops! When I did get myself out of bed, I had a quick yogurt bowl with an apple and green plum.

I met my little red-headed friend for lunch; we went to the Manhattan Diner for California Veggie Burgers (avocado, Swiss cheese, sprouts & salsa).

The first time this came out of the kitchen, it was literally frozen cold.  The second time, it was burned to a crisp… I ate it anyway, with half of the bun.

After Ilana and I met up to pick up our race numbers  and T-shirts for tomorrow, I went to Citarella to get groceries.  Somehow I happened upon a cupcake sample station…

These homemade cupcakes are made with sour cream and buttermilk.  This was one of the richest, juiciest bites of cake I’ve had.  So good! I may just have to pick some up soon.

When I got home, unloaded my groceries and soothed my aching & blistery feet (trying out new boots the day before a race might not have been the best idea), I snacked on an apple.

Ilana came over and I made a cozy and comforting dinner for us.  We started with a mixed green salad with leftover carrot-miso dressing.

The star of the meal was Bon Appétit‘s Multi-Grain Penne with Hazelnut Pesto, Green Beans, and Parmesan.

I added a little more lemon juice than the recipe called for for a little extra zing, and I think it worked.

We dined in bed like queens, and enjoyed a glass of Black Box Sauvignon Blanc.

Ilana’s review: It’s not sweet. Very refreshing, but that might just be ’cause it’s cold.  Not my favorite, but not bad.  Would I buy it? I think so.  It’s growing on me.

We’re still in bed, watching The Devil Wears Prada.  The race starts at 9:20 tomorrow, so we have to get to bed early!  I’ve been mulling over this dilemma all day: I don’t have an armband for my iPod (it’s such an old model that they don’t make them for it), but I also want to run with my camera.  The ultimate question: to double-fist or not to double-fist? Is it a terrible idea to run with both hands full? I need your help!

Many thanks to Erin, who awarded me this award.  Thanks, Erin!

I’m very, very behind on your blogs, but I will catch up as soon as possible.  Love you mucho and have a great rest of the weekend!

Yesterday flew by in a blur… I’m glad I document my moments with photos, or I’d never remember [...]]]> Good evening and happy Labor Day weekend! Please excuse the delayed post… I overslept a wee bit this morning and my whole day has been thrown out of whack! No matter… change is good

Yesterday flew by in a blur… I’m glad I document my moments with photos, or I’d never remember what happened from day-to-day! For breakfast, I had a giant fruit bowl with 1/2 mango, 1 peach, raw almond milk and a sprinkle of GoLean! Crunch.  Heaven!

I love this breakfast because while it’s filling, it doesn’t leave me with that belly-busting-bloaded feeling.  It was substantial enough to power me through a 4.5 mile run… yep, you read that right! I took the same route as last time,  ran easily but didn’t stop, and listened to some of Beck’s covers of the Velvet Underground & Nico which my friend passed along to me.  I still can’t believe I can run long enough to listen to an album in its entirety… I am woman, hear me ROAR! But, again, I’m trying to be extra-careful with my legs this time around, and I don’t want to do too much too soon.  Learned that the hard way.

Total time: 45 minutes

Total distance: 4.5 miles

When I got back, I entered my data into my new training log.  I’m keeping track of sleep, miles (run), cross-training, strength training, yoga, ab work, and stretching.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to figure out what’s right for me this way.  I’m factoring in things like sleep and stretching to document how they affect my progress, and to make sure I don’t overstrain my body.

Sweaty beast that I was, I chugged the last of the carrot juice.

Lunch was a massive salad that filled up an entire 9-inch Pyrex bowl.

In the mix:

• 1 heart of romaine
• 2 chopped beets
• sprouts
• Ginger Tofu Peanut Salad
• Annie’s Light Gingerly Dressing

While I was getting ready for work, I munched on an apple and dreamt about France…  I need to go back as soon as possible.

I brought a baggie of dried fruit to work… and so did my friend Alexandra! Great minds think alike.  Many of the staff at the restaurant are Muslim and observing Ramadan, so at 7:30, after having fasted all day, they break to feast.  On their dessert plate are all kinds of fantastic sweet treats, including… walnut-stuffed dates! Who knew?! Siyab let me eat one.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to turn into a date-head one of these days

I also drank a packet of Greens Plus Original Superfood.  I mixed it with seltzer, and again drank half and re-filled the rest with club soda.  It has a very strong taste, but I like it… I just need a bigger glass!

Work was fine… not too much drama, which is always cause for celebration.  An exciting coincidence also happened last night… a few weeks ago, when Liz and I went to Bonobo’s, the owner and I were sure that we recognized each other from somewhere.  Well, turns out he and his girlfriend are regulars at the restaurant! I’ve waited on them oodles of times, but I guess we just didn’t recognize each other out of context.  I’m glad he reminded me! I explained my nori-wrapping woes (although I think I’m getting a little better), and he offered to give me some pointers the next time I go in there.  Small world!

Dinner was FABULOUS.  Ramon is on vacation for the next month, so Gregorio took his place.  I think he was trying to outdo Ramon, and made me a salad with mixed greens, apples, beets, avocado, walnuts, and GRILLED SHRIMP.  Mario also gave me a hefty slice of Bufala… I really couldn’t have requested a better meal.

Ari was in the neighborhood when I got off work, so we met up for some fro-yo. I loaded my cup with nonfat cheesecake, tart, and green tea tart; I topped it all with strawberries, blueberries, a blackberry, mochi, and coconut.

We went home and I, unfortunately, subjected Ari to a pretty horrible movie that left us both feeling weird, even though we turned it off after it was half over. Blegh.  Better luck next time!

We are hopefully taking a day-trip tomorrow; we need to go somewhere we can get to by bus or by train.  I really hope it works out! We could both use a little fresh air.  What are your plans for the long-weekend?

Breakfast yesterday was mighty fine: an Ezekiel English muffin [...]]]> Good morning and happy Saturday! I hope you’ve had a fabulous Friday night, and your weekend is off to a great start.  I let myself sleep in again today, giving myself a whopping 9.5 hours of sleep! I could get used to this

Breakfast yesterday was mighty fine: an Ezekiel English muffin with almond butter, 1/2 banana, cinnamon and honey. I also had a carton of O.N.E. coconut water that I found on sale, and some wake-me-up-it’s-Friday! coffee.

I must not have washed my hands well enough before putting in my contacts, because the cinnamon from my breakfast really burned me up!

I didn’t learn my lesson, though, and snacked on an apple with more cinnamon sprinkled on top a few hours later

I’d planned on spending a couple hours at the gym, but somehow the hours got away from me and it was already 2:00 by the time I suited up.  I really wasn’t in the mood for a run, and turned back around after five minutes.  I guess the Fates must have been telling me not to force myself to exercise, because it started pouring on my walk back home. Sometimes I just have to let myself not work our when I’m not feeling it.

Lunch was something I’ve been craving all week: Gina‘s Raw Pad Thai With Spicy Almond Butter Sauce. In place of the cucumber, I added some shredded carrots. It was delicious! Sweet, spicy, and filling.

Speaking of Gina, she recently revamped the look of Fitnessista, and is having some problems with Google Reader.  Please re-subscribe to Gina’s site so you can keep up with her amazing recipes, cute puppers, and sweet husband!

I also had a container of Liquiteria’s Royal Flush:  Pineapple, pear, aloe & ginger juice with their liver-kidney detox blend. This was delicious! Lightly sweet, with that ginger kick that I love so much.

The story behind this juice? A customer at the restaurant, after hearing me rave (a little longingly ) about Liquiteria, produced one from his tote bag and gave it to me! Who says New Yorkers are unfriendly?

After lunch, I did some housework then dodged raindrops as I hustled into the city to meet my little red-headed friend and our friend Danny for dinner.  We went to Lantern, a Thai restaurant I found when looking up BYOB restaurants in the Union Square area.  This ended up not being the case, but we still had a nice time.  (Clearly, I did not know this photo was being taken…)

The three of us decided to split everything.  We started with an appetizer trio (L-R): Golden chive patties made with rice flour in a sweet black soy dipping sauce; summer rolls with baby spinach, rice noodles, carrot, celery and a peanut-plum dipping sauce; and Lantern’s Angel- shrimp wrapped with crispy rice noodles in a honey-chili sauce.  Kalle and I let Danny have the bear’s portion of all of these… growing boys need their nutrients!

We split two entrées: Pad Thai with shrimp…

… and Massaman Curry (a peanut-y soup with chunks of potato and onion) with tofu.

I enjoyed each dish with a little steamed rice, and it was just the right amount of food for me.

We left the restaurant and headed to Brooklyn to check out Kalle’s new apartment and drink the bottle of wine I’d brought. Notice the frame on the left by Danny’s arm… it’s a picture of Kalle and me on prom night. MAYBE, if I’m feeling feisty, I’ll post some of those pictures later.

The wine we shared was a bottle of Orovales 2007 Rioja, a gift from my friend Howard. Here’s what Howard says about the wine: “The Orovales Rioja 2007 is pure Tempranillo, expertly crafted by Manuel Ruiz Pedreira. It was aged in American oak for 6 months. The 2007 vintage was a challenging one with difficult weather conditions; however, even though yields were down, quality was high with lovely concentrated fruit. The wine is a smooth, vanilla-scented, oak-aged red. The wine is near maturity but can be laid down for 1 to 2 years. It has medium tannin and should be had at 64 degrees Fahrenheit. It pairs well with beef, cheese and tomato-based pastas.”

We enjoyed the wine “solo”, but quickly went out to Yogo Monster for some frozen yogurt.  Wine must be had with dessert! I had a cup of Original Tart and Raspberry (both fat free), topped with coconut and fresh raspberries.  Nom!

Since Ari’s still away, I decided to spend the night at my parents’ house.  When I got there, even though it was after midnight and I was pretty full, I made myself a bowl of Puffins with a sprinkle of Mueslix, topped with blueberries.  I don’t know what it is, but in high school and college whenever I got home after a late night, I always had a bowl of cereal when I got home. I guess you just don’t mess with tradition.

I watched a little TV and fell asleep in a pool of mail and magazines.  Yes, I am a sloth sometimes