Well, we are now back from a truly perfect weekend.  It was just what I needed to relax [...]]]> I don’t know what is going on with the formatting… all of the text is aligning to the right of my photos and I can’t change it.  If you’ve had this problem, I’d appreciate your help!

Well, we are now back from a truly perfect weekend.  It was just what I needed to relax and recharge my batteries!  I hope you enjoyed yours as well.

On Friday night, we piled into the car and headed to Southampton.

When we got there, we had no obligations other than to read cozily in front of the fire.

Although it’s been 10 years since I’ve ordered a BLT at the Sip ‘n Soda, I finally discovered a solution: veggie cheeseburger-topped salad!

With a healthy side of onion rings, of course

It rained all weekend, so we decided it was perfect movie-watching weather and went to see Brooklyn’s Finest.  It’s really good, but very brutal- kind of like Training Day, part II, set in New York instead of LA.

After the movie, we grabbed comforting bowls of bottomless pasta at La Parmigiana.  This fettuccine with calamari is my new favorite.

No meal at the Parm is complete without salad and their famous dressing… it’s the only “Italian-style” dressing I’ve ever liked.

I found this clipping in Health magazine, and have been rolling out my ITB every day for a few minutes.  I really need to keep this habit up, and continue start doing more strengthening moves for my hips and legs.

After fueling up with the world’s most addicting bread (also known as Bob’s Red Mill Irish Soda Bread) and warming up to Yoga for Runners and swallowing an Aleve, I head outside to see how my legs were feeling.

My knee started to hurt after a mile, but I pushed through and ran five.  When I got home I used the foam roller on my ITB and stretched, and although my knee was still a little sore (and will probably be today as well), it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Whatever happens next Sunday, I’m going to have fun!

I restored my energy with a mug of hot chocolate, a big salad and a book.  Hit the spot!

Some of you asked why chocolate milk and hot chocolate is a good recovery drink for endurance athletes.  “Compared to plain milk, water, or most sports drinks, it has double the carbohydrate and protein content, perfect for replenishing tired muscles. Its high water content replaces fluids lost as sweat, preventing dehydration. Plus it packs a nutritional bonus of calcium, and includes just a little sodium and sugar — additives that help recovering athletes retain water and regain energy,” says Fitness magazine.   Pour me another, please!

When we got home, I unpacked, made myself a delicious dinner (grilled salmon marinated in lime juice, agave, olive oil & mustard, steamed broccoli and Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains blend) and watched Up In The Air. I didn’t have time to see all of the movies I wanted to this season, so I added them to my Netflix queue instead!

Well, I’m off to get the work week started.  Today I feel rested and ready for it!  Have a great Monday

5:01 AM WHY am I awake?!

5:08 AM May as well get up and go to the gym…

5:48 AM My brain (and calves) are not having any of [...]]]> 4:55 AM GAH! What time is it? Squint in vain trying to read clock.  Should have located glasses before removing contacts… which I remind myself every morning.

5:01 AM WHY am I awake?!

5:08 AM May as well get up and go to the gym…

5:48 AM My brain (and calves) are not having any of this.  Why did I want to run a half-marathon again?

6:20 AM Done! 6 miles in 58 minutes.  I really don’t feel like working my abs right now… okay, maybe just a few sit-ups.

6:38 AM Breakfast!

Rye Bread with SmartBeat and honey; 0% Fage with diced apple, pumpkin, peanut butter and agave.

7:05 AM Post iHerb giveaway.  (Have you entered?)

7:5 AM Is there any point in straightening my hair if it’s snowing out? Only if I don’t want to look like a broom.

8:38 AM “Ladies and gentlemen, we are being held by the dispatcher because of the train traffic ahead of us.  Please be patient.” This always happens when the weather is a little off…

8:53 AM “Ladies and gentlemen, we are being held by the dispatcher because of the train traffic ahead of us.  Please be patient.”  Key heart palpitations.

9:02 AM Made it!

9:50 AM Starving already?! Hello, orange!

10:25 AM Hungry again already?!

10:38 AM Apparently.

What, you don’t eat jerky before 11?

11:50 AM Lunch is going to be a little later than usual today… apple time.

12:30 PM Oof.  Too much fiber…

1:20 PM Trek out into the slush and rain to meet…

1:30 PM Ilena and Eileen!

Eileen treated us to lunch at FreeFoods NYC, Matthew Kenney’s midtown restaurant.  I’ve been here once before with Ilena, but it was such a treat to be able to meet for lunch in the middle of a workday!   I ordered the Chopped Mexican salad with red chili chips, avocado, black beans, jicama, chopped tomato, cilantro, white corn, goat gouda, tomato-chili dressing.

3:59 PM Tiiiired.  Hungry?  Tired. Hungry.

This is Clif’s answer to the Larabar.  It’s gluten-free, 70% organic and made with dried fruit, nuts and sea salt.  I was pretty excited when I found these in stores the other day!  Today I tried the blueberry flavor.  It has two layers: dates on the bottom, blueberries on the top.  The dates have an almost cakey texture that I loved.  I was expecting to see (and taste) big grains of sea salt, which I think would have made the bar a little more interesting.  It was still pretty good though, and I’d buy it again.

4:52 PM Canceled plans with Leslie   Darn “snowicane”!  I miss you, L!

5:12 PM Head back into the freezing rain, plunge my foot ankle-deep into a dirty, icy puddle, but get home in one piece.

5:59 PM Ari is starving, orders Thai.  I’m still pretty full from all of my snackage, but we share fresh vegetable rolls.  Rather, he takes one bite and proclaims, “I do not like these!” and I eat the rest.

6:27 PM Finish watching Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (loved, and am now in love with Marisa Tomei)… it’s only taken me five days to watch.

7:40 PM Make a batch of Annie’s mac & cheese with a can of salmon, Laughing Cow Light cheese wedge, chili flakes, salt, pepper and nooch.  Have possibly been daydreaming about this all day.  (Ari gagged when he smelled it.)

8:15 PM Break out The Lite Choice‘s Hazelnut Fudge soft serve while watching Glee.

8:27 PM There’s not that much left in the carton… I should probably go finish it.  So I do.

9:02 PM Grey’s Anatomy is a re-run   My night of vegging will now consist of lying horizontal, soothing my food baby.  Life is pretty exciting, let me tell ya!

Have a great night

This morning was take number two of 7 miles on the treadmill.  And… I did it!  I was a little groggy [...]]]> Evening and happy weekend!  Even though it was technically a short week, it feels like last Friday was ages ago.  Today was a pretty good day: busy–>productive–> relaxing.  Couldn’t really ask for more!

This morning was take number two of 7 miles on the treadmill.  And… I did it!  I was a little groggy when I woke up at 5:30, but I got myself up and dressed.  On the way out the door, I grabbed a chocolate Clif Shot Rock (sent from the company) to get me through my workout.

It was pretty good! Initially it had a little of that “protein-y” taste, but after a couple chews it started to taste more like a brownie bite or a Milk Dud.  I like that they’re not sticky; they’d be great for stuffing into the tiny pocket of my shorts for a quick energy boost during a long run.  Click here for more info.

The run itself went much better than I’d thought, and I owe that all to my choice of entertainment!  The Upwelling has been listening to Graphic Audio on the road (basically a graphic novel with sound effects), and Ari gave me chapter 1 (about 70 minutes) of Batman.  Although I read comic books and graphic novels, I expected to find this version of it kind of hokey.  I actually got really into it! My heart rate monitor wasn’t working the whole time, but my splits looked like this:

Mile 1 (warm-up): 5.8 mph@ 1% incline

Miles 2-6: 1600@6.9 mph, 800@ 6.2 mph (repeated) @ 1% incline

Mile 6-6.5: 5.8 mph@ 1% incline

Mile 6.5-7.0: 5.2-3.5 mp @ 1% incline

Total time: about 65 minutes

I made sure to get a good stretch in, and even now I don’t feel sore at all and my knees haven’t given me any trouble.  Big success!

When I got back I was pretty thirsty, so I combined a mixture of Clif Shot Electrolyte & Ester-C.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have suffered from pretty low energy for the past 6 years or so, and one of the ways that helps me manage it is to take iron supplements.  Ester-C helps absorb the iron.  It does come in a capsule form, but I bought the powder by mistake… and it tastes awful.  I usually  mix it with orange or POM juice, which are both sweet enough to mask the taste.  (I have about 1/3 of a serving every morning).  Unfortunately I must not have used enough Shot powder this morning, because it still tasted awful.  Better luck next time!

After I showered and got ready for work, I climbed back in bed with a big bowl of oatmeal and relaxed for a few minutes.

In the mix:

• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
• 1 banana
• pumpkin
• 1 dried peach half
• 1 dried prune
• 1 scoop Maranatha creamy almond butter
• cinnamon
• stevia

It held me over pretty well for a while, but I started to really feel the effects of those 7 miles at work!  I had an apple and a mini Chocolate Chip Clif bar.

For lunch, I had a big salad with leftover buffalo salmon, tomatoes, and goddess dressing.  It was actually too big for me to finish!  (A rare sentence from LVP.)  I did eat the vanilla yogurt, but I waited until I got back to my desk.

And last but not least… an orange.  The people who work next to me must think I do nothing but snack, but no one’s said anything yet!

I was really looking forward to laying low tonight, which is just what I did.

I watched The Hurt Locker and Milk while eating dinner and sipping wine… I found a fabulous batch of pasta in the fridge that my parents had made earlier this week:  pesto with potatoes, green beens, and sundried tomatoes.

Aren’t their new dishes pretty?

I added grated Manchego and a can of Trader Joe’s crab meat.  Definitely didn’t need to take my Omega-3 supplement today! (I usually take two capsules, or one if I know I’ll be eating fish or seafood.)

For dessert, I had Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream with hot fudge and coconut.  There was a second container in the freezer, so I went back for a little more, too!

Before I get into bed, I thought I would answer some of your Ask Me Anything (or “As,” as I miss-typed) questions!  I’m going to keep the form open indefinitely and will answer questions as time permits. So feel free to ask away!

have you always been slender? i’m just wondering because i used to tip the scale at 150lbs but lost 40lbs and have been maintaining for 9 years (i’m 23 now).

Luckily I was graced with a pretty fast metabolism while I was growing up, and got away with eating whatever I wanted without really doing much exercise.  It’s slowed down significantly in the past few years, so to maintain my weight and keep eating the foods I like, I do have to put some effort into it.

hi! I’ve been reading your blog a long time:) I am a huge fan of your foodie and blog I have random question..I am living in NY too. and I don’t know where to get haircut??? (i know its totally random…sorryyy) but I always thought your hair looks so good! could you give me suggestion? that salon that you are going??

Not a silly question at all!  I went to Hoshi Coupe for years; it’s a Japanese salon that’s relatively inexpensive, and you can get a pretty stylish cut for a good price.  My favorite stylist moved back to Tokyo a few years ago so I was floundering around for a while, then got a life-changing cut in May at 526, a salon that houses Bumble and Bumble.  I get it cut there every time I go back to Minnesota!  A friend recommended Bumble and Bumble in New York, and since I was so pleased with the experience in St. Paul that I tried it out here and loved it.  It’s affordable, the stylist listened to what I wanted… and you get free lattes while you get groomed!   If you’re interested, send me an e-mail and I’ll give you more details.

do you estimate/count calories in your head at all? do you know about how many you eat everyday?

No, I really don’t.  There was about a month in high school when I joined SELF magazine’s online diet club (in a moment of adolescent insecurity) and tried to track my daily intake, but it was too time consuming and I didn’t feel like making the effort for something that was just causing me more anxiety.  I’ve gotten to the point where I understand what my body needs, and although sometimes I have a hard time differentiating between boredom noshing and genuine hunger, I don’t worry about it too much.  I do know that it takes a lot of food to keep me full, which is why I like to eat some foods according to their volume (big salads) and staying power (oatmeal).

favorite show?

This is a tough one! I rarely have time to watch things in real-time, so I often stream shows online or order them from Netflix.  My favorite shows growing up were My So-Called Life and 7th Heaven; now I love Californication, Dexter, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee, Heroes, Friday Night Lights, Big Love, Mad Men… the list goes on, but I’m not caught up with any of them!

do you know how many oz are in a cup of yogurt?

It depends on the container, but 6 oz is pretty standard.

More to come! In the mean time, Averie is giving away coconut peanut butter! Does that sound good or does that sound good?

Do you count calories? Have you ever? Why or why not?

I loved my oatmeal combination so much  yesterday that I made the same thing today (minus the jar)! Oatmeal with cinnamon, stevia, pumpkin, pumpkin butter, lemon curd and chunky peanut butter. [...]]]> Right now I’m in bed, under the covers and watching Spanglish… and I have nothing to do tonight!  Life is good

I loved my oatmeal combination so much  yesterday that I made the same thing today (minus the jar)! Oatmeal with cinnamon, stevia, pumpkin, pumpkin butter, lemon curd and chunky peanut butter. Sorry to bore you, but this may make a reappearance tomorrow, too!

I was too tired to make lunch last night, so I got up a little earlier to pack it today: carrots, orange, blueberry Chobani and a big salad.

In the salad bowl:

• spinach
• small Granny Smith apple
• 1/3 block tofu
• grape tomatoes
• walnuts
• dried cranberries
• feta
• Herbs de Province salad dressing borrowed from Danielle… someone pilfered the bottle I keep in the fridge at the office!

Around 3:30 I dug into the snack drawer for something to chew on (I really need to get some gum!) and came out with a Caramel Chocolate Forze bar.

While there wasn’t a whole lot of “caramel” flavor here, it was still yummy!  It tastes like a sweet, chocolatey cookie.  It’s probably ranked #3 right now out of the flavors I’ve tried (Chocolate Peanut Butter and Chocolate Decadence are tied), but I still have on more to try.

I was zonked when I left work at 5:30 but I had two miles to run (according to my half-marathon training schedule) so I headed to the gym after work. My heart rate monitor took thirty minutes to start working… I am so close to getting a Garmin.

Mile 1-1.25:  5.8 mph

Mile 1.25-1.95:  6.5 mph

Mile 1.95-2.0:  5.8 mph

Total distance:  2.0 miles

Total distance:  20:00

Average heart rate:  165

Maximum heart rate:  189

Calories burned: 213

This was supposed to be an “easy run” at a 10:54 pace, but… on a treadmill, that felt like an eternity, and I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible! So I got a little impatient, but I think I paced myself pretty well and would have been able to carry on a conversation throughout. So, I think that’s my new definition of an “easy run”!  What is an “easy workout” for you?

Dinner was quick and easy: leftover fettuccine with mushrooms- to which I added a slice of tempeh bacon to make “vegetarian carbonara”- and steamed cauliflower with Emeril’s Original Essence, à la Miss K.

Then I had a long-lost favorite: a dessert plate!  My lovely Jess reminded me that it’s been a while since I had one, so I re-stocked my dried fruit stash.  This plate had two Medjool dates, a dried peach half, dried apricot, dried fig, prune, almond butter, and Peppermint Chocolove. Have you ever made a dessert plate? How do you make it?

Spanglish is a-callin’… I really like it!

And in honor of Groundhog Day, one year ago today: February 2, 2009!

Before I left I had a slice of [...]]]> This morning when I woke up, I was not feeling my 7 mile run.  I checked the weather: 15 degrees.  It seemed like a much better idea to just lie in bed… but I knew I’d feel better about my training plan if I did it.

Before I left I had a slice of whole wheat toast with coconut butter and raspberry jam.

It was really cold.  I finally got to the point where the wind didn’t hurt anymore, but when, after 5 miles, I popped back into the apartment for a quick pit stop to answer nature, I found that my legs were completely numb! So… it was quitting time.  I may not have gotten 7 miles in, but I made do with 5.

Breakfast was a quick bowl of savory oats; that cute lil’ egg shape is the result by whisking an egg and than microwaving it for 45 seconds.

• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
• cottage cheese
• 1 whole egg
• Frank’s Red Hot sauce
• black pepper

I also had an orange to help get me through my reading and laundry-folding…

Er… woke up two hours later. So much for that burst of energy!  I made a big salad for a quick lunch…

In the mix:

• spinach
• dulse
• tofu (1/3 block)
• tempeh bacon (2 slices)
• mushrooms
• steamed broccoli stems
• Rosemary Quackers (from One Lucky Duck)
• rice wine/olive oil/mustard vinaigrette

After lunch I made took my grocery list and went to my new favorite supermarket to stock up for the week.   I really could have spent hours in there! Unfortunately there was no time for that… when I got back home and put everything away, I plunked back down to work, snacking on a Granny Smith apple with cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne.  I like this combination! The extra zing! kept me awake this time.

It was Family Dinner night at our house tonight! (Read about our first Family Dinner here.) My contribution was a big salad with Boston lettuce, radicchio, Fuji apple slices, shaved parmesan, dried figs and parsley.

I also made plantains (sliced and sautéed in marjarine until lightly crispy)… they were so good that we all just ate them out of the pan with our fingers! (Forgot to take a photo of these, sorry.)

Ilana made fettuccine with wild mushrooms and parsley…

… and Chrsitine made a delicious strawberry and blueberry pie!  She topped our slices with dollops of Vanilla Chobani.

I’m so impressed with our Family Dinner endeavors… we already have our next date booked.   I’m on entrée duty next time… what is your favorite weeknight crowd-pleasing dinner?

Back to the grind.  Hope your week is off to a great start!

Good morning!  Sorry about my little disappearing act, but I had a late night and just wanted to hit the sheets!  I hope you had a nice day.

A couple days ago I went on a mini grocery shop to pick up a [...]]]> Ari was interviewed on Fret 12! Check out his videos

Good morning!  Sorry about my little disappearing act, but I had a late night and just wanted to hit the sheets!  I hope you had a nice day.

A couple days ago I went on a mini grocery shop to pick up a few things to hold me over until I had time to do a bigger shop.  While in the dairy aisle, I stumbled upon this Olympus Greek Yogurt.

It was pretty expensive ($2/ 6 oz), but I’d never seen it before so I gave it a try.  It was thick and very creamy, but I don’t think I’ll be buying this on a regular basis.  The Chobani yogurts were on sale for $.99, so I stocked up on those instead.

I mixed the Olympus with a banana, Trader Joe’s mini blueberry bran muffin, cinnamon and honey.

At work, I snacked on an orange.  I’m pretty sure I will turn into a navel orange one of these days; I eat so many!

Danielle and I had planned all week on going to Chop’t, a fun salad place that stands out amongst the more basic, boring salad bars in our work neighborhood.  We couldn’t remember quite where it was, though, and spent a good twenty minutes walking around in circles trying to find it!

It seemed like half the city must have had the same idea; the line was at least 30 people long. It went quickly, though, because so many people work, assembly-line style, to get people in and out as fast as possible.

I ordered the Vegetarian Powerhouse Salad (any salad can be made into a wrap), and added gouda cheese.

Each salad comes with a strip of whole wheat pita.   I dressed my salad with Rocket Fuel:  a spicy, oil-free dressing that kind of reminded me of cocktail sauce.

These salads were huge! Definite two-pounders… but we finished them!

Have you been to Chop’t or a similar salad bar? What did you think of it?

Danielle brought me two of Anne‘s Sweet Potato Cranberry Coconut Muffins.  Even though I was pretty satiated from lunch, I had to try one!

Delicious! They’re moist without being greasy, and have the perfect consistency: smooth and chunky.  I think I’ll be making these myself one of these days!

After work I went home to do a little cleaning to make the house presentable for my little red-headed friend.   Lunch held me over really well… until it didn’t.  Hunger hit me full-force, but not wanting to spoil my appetite, I just had a couple clementines.

Kalle and I went to Locale for dinner.   It was delicious as usual, but the service was so strange!  Our waiter literally came over upwards of 20 times, giving us about a minute in between each visit to ask if we were ready to order.  As a former member of the service industry I know it’s tempting to try to move a table along, but this was excessive and downright rude.  Grr!  But… we didn’t let it spoil our fun.

We started with Mario Maschio Cabernet Sauvignon…

… enjoyed foccaccia with olive oil…

… and I was so close to branching out and ordering a different dish, but in the end I had to go with the linguine with seafood.   I love it!  It was really salty this time, for some reason, though.

We shared an order of warm chocolate cake with hazelnut ice cream and berry coulis for dessert.

After we left the restaurant, we went back to the apartment and pretended we were 15 again.  The hour got late, more wine was had, and after Kalle left I went back to the fridge and had a little party with the leftover pasta I didn’t finish at dinner.  And may have made myself a Reese’s cup or two.  What’s life without a night or two like this?  Nobody can be perfect all the time.

Well, I have a full day ahead of me so I’m going to sign off.  Have a great day!

Do you have “casual Fridays” at work? Every Friday at my office, everyone wears jeans!  It really does make the environment a little more relaxed.

A very long week has drawn to a close, and even though ti’s 8:45 on a Friday night, I can’t think of a place more appealing than bed right [...]]]> Ahhhh.

Do you have “casual Fridays” at work? Every Friday at my office, everyone wears jeans!  It really does make the environment a little more relaxed.

A very long week has drawn to a close, and even though ti’s 8:45 on a Friday night, I can’t think of a place more appealing than bed right now!  I got up at 5 this morning in order to get everything done before work, and although I rode a pretty steady stream of energy all day (bless you, Mr. Coffee), I “crashed” just after dinner.  Old biddy is right!

I waited until 7 to make breakfast this morning, then mixed up the ingredients for Tina’s 3-Minute Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, substituting dried cherries.

It popped right out of the bowl without sticking at all! I topped the cookie with Greek yogurt, a banana, and agave nectar.

I was expecting this to be soft and moist like Gina‘s cookies, but this version had the texture and consistency of a real, baked cookie!  I love them both; I’ll definitely use this recipe the next time I have a cookie craving but don’t want to make a whole batch.

At work, I snacked on a Fuji apple.

My lunch was of the “kitchen sick” variety; I shopped so well when I planned my meals that there was nothing extra in the fridge.  I need to re-stock my produce tomorrow!

In the mix:

• sushi rice
• seaweed
• TJ’s Sorrento salad blend
• pineapple
• 1/3 block tempeh
• grape tomatoes
• feta cheese
• marinara sauce/ balsamic “dressing” (didn’t quite do it for me, so I borrowed some of Danielle’s Italian dressing )

I also had yogurt…

Sunflower seeds…

And a Chocolate Peanut Butter Luna Protein Bar later in the afternoon.  I loved this one, too!  Again, it doesn’t exactly taste like a Reese’s, but it’s pretty delicious.  Yep, there was a little mindless eating going on… just a case of the Fridays, I guess!

After work, Ilana and I tried to see the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA, but it was completely sold out by the time we got there.  I’ve heard similar reports from other friends who have tried to go; I think the only way to actually get in is to go when they first open in the morning.   I do hope I get to see it before it closes :-/

Dinner was quick, comforting, and straightforward: Annie’s Mac & Cheese with one small sweet potato, a can of tuna, and chili flakes.  Loaded mac & cheese never gets old!

I wanted a special- but fast- dessert, so I made a dark chocolate peanut butter cup using a mix of flaxy peanut butter and almond butter.  I kind of want another one, but I think I’ll be asleep by the time it freezes!

Tomorrow’s pretty booked, but I want to make sure I take some “me” time this weekend.  I’ve been a little stressed this week, and I need to relax and rejuvenate.  Any suggestions? The first step is getting some sleep!

Bonne nuit

Yesterday I was in a rush to get [...]]]> After all of your great advice about fitting exercise into a busy schedule and even sleeping in my gym clothes, I slept through the alarm and didn’t make it to the gym before work!  (I did get there after 5, though, so all was not lost).

Yesterday I was in a rush to get out the door; luckily breakfast was a no-brainer.  I took Ari’s rejected breakfast cookie…

… and turned it into a Breakfast Cookie Parfait! I just cut it up and layered it with nonfat plain yogurt and a little cinnamon.  It was yummy and filling; I think I may eat it this way more often!

At work, I snacked on a Fuji apple (cut into slices to minimize loud crunching).

For lunch, I had leftover tofu, cheezy “pasta” and an orange.

I made the “pasta” by tossing a package of angel hair Shirataki noodles with Elise’s cheeze sauce and cherry tomatoes.  I was a little skeptical about the “cheeze” at first, but I really liked the taste!  And I love having Shirataki noodles for lunch… I tend to prefer to eat heavy pastas for dinner instead of early in the day, and this was nice and light.

Anticipating my post-work sweat sesh, I snacked on a Green Superfood Chocolate Whole Food Energy Bar around 3.  The last time I ate this bar I wasn’t crazy about it, but I really like it now.  The first bite is a little odd, but then it’s smooth, rich and fruity.

At the gym I did 13 minutes on the bike, 20 minutes on the stairs, arms + abs.  Not bad for a total body workout in under an hour!

I met my parents for dinner at Regional, an Italian restaurant on the upper west side.   We started with rustic bread and garlicky bean dip…  (Still learning this camera… sorry again about the lighting!)

We shared a mixed green salad with beets and gorgonzola cheese three ways.

We also split a side of sautéed broccoli rabe.

For my entrée, I ordered spaghettini with frutti di mare.  The pasta was cooked perfectly, but the seafood was tough and overcooked.  The restaurant was pretty crowded and we’ve never had this problem before; I’ve worked in restaurants before and I understand that this happens sometimes.  I still ate almost all of it.

After dinner we walked to Tasti D Lite for frozen yogurt.  It was way too cold to eat on the walk home, but I ate my cup of peanut butter and coffee and cream with chocolate chips as soon as I warmed up.

I slept for a glorious 8 hours and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.  My mom and I made steel-cut oatmeal and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.

My bowl had:

• steel-cut oats cooked in skim milk + water
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1/3 banana
• warmed frozen strawberries
• walnuts
• cinnamon
• brown sugar

We also sampled my dad’s Turkish flagel (flat bagel) with sour cherry jam.

I went to the soup kitchen, then headed to Brooklyn to have lunch with my little red-headed friend at Kiku, the Japanese restaurant we discovered (and loved!) but couldn’t recall the name of.   We figured out that when it comes to Japanese food, you can get a FABULOUS lunch for under $10!  The same meal, while still a great deal, is at least $5 more expensive at dinner-time.

My meal came with salad + miso soup…

My Lunch Box came with California rolls, salmon teriyaki + vegetables, edamame, shumai and rice.  I took the rice home but ate everything else.

Even though we were pretty full, our playdates are never finished without a treat.  We popped in to Marquet Patisserie, an adorable bakery that transported me right back to the streets of Paris (where I studied abroad).

I had a chocolate brownie with crushed peanuts.

The late lunch + snack held me over so well that I wasn’t ready to eat dinner until after 9 o’clock.  And then I had what I can assure you, nine days yet, was The Most Random Meal of 2010:

Egg whites scrambled with a Dr. Praeger’s Tex-Mex Burger with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese…

… and shredded broccoli stalks with miso-tahini dressing (tahini, apple cider vinegar, ginger, miso paste, agave nectar, salt).  It’s better than it looks!

Inspired by all of Erin‘s pudding creations, I whipped up one of my new favorite desserts using two of my (formerly) not-so favorite products.

Tofu “pudding”

• 1/3 block silken tofu
• 1 T Chocolate PB2
• 1/3 packet stevia

Mix to combine.  Enjoy!

This was the first time I’ve actually enjoyed stevia! I don’t really like powdered sweeteners (I don’t normally take sugar in my coffee or tea, and often find sugar substitutes to be too sweet).  However, blended with the tofu and PB2.  As long as I don’t think of PB2 as a peanut butter substitute, I can enjoy it mixed in to other things.  Peanut butter is what it is, and shouldn’t be messed around with.  Just sayin’!

I also ate about 15 of these throughout the day.  It will be a sad day in the LVP household when  go out of season.

I’m watching Jackie Brown in bed and getting ready to go to sleep.  I think I’m going to pull out my mat and do a quick YogaDownload Lunar Flow.. tomorrow will be a busy day, and it always helps me relax!

Hope you had a great night