Last week, the lovely Shari graciously sent me a case full of Chobani Greek yogurt.

It has only been five days, and I’m already down [...]]]> If you’re a regular Lilveggiepatch reader, you know how much I love my yogurt.  I eat it pretty much every day, and when I can afford it, I go Greek.

Last week, the lovely Shari graciously sent me a case full of Chobani Greek yogurt.

It has only been five days, and I’m already down to my last three.  My name is Katie, and I am addicted to Greek yogurt.  I had a lot of fun eating my way through the case, and even more fun preparing this comprehensive flavor break- down for ya.

Low-Fat Pineapple

Pineapple is rich and creamy, and feels like a decadent dessert.  It reminds me of a tropical mouse my family and I used to eat at our favorite hotel restaurant in Guadeloupe, a small island in the French West indies.  This yogurt is not fat-free (each 6 oz container contains 2.5 grams of fat, 2 of which are saturated) but it is a worthy alternative to a “real” dessert, mid-day treat, or a fun breakfast.  I licked the container clean

Non-fat Peach

Peach is creamy, with lots of peach chunks.  It’s not as rich as the pineapple flavor; the difference between low-fat and non-fat seems pretty big.  It tasted a little more like regular yogurt and less like “Greek”, but it’s still good.

Non-fat Blueberry

Blueberry reminded me a bit of Dannon’s “Fruit-on-the-Bottom” yogurt (which I used to eat all the time when I was wee!). The part of the container that did not have fruit mixed in tasted a lot more like rich, creamy Greek yogurt.

Non-fat Strawberry

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Strawberry is good, but also reminds me of “Fruit-on-the-Bottom.” It didn’t taste quite so “Greek,” but I loved the strawberry chunks.

Non-fat Vanilla

You can really taste the Vanilla here! The ingredient list says “vanilla flavor“, so I don’t know if they use pure vanilla extract, but it really tastes like alcohol! It’s not too sweet, and mixes nicely with fruit and muffins.  It is also much richer and silkier than the fruit flavors.

Non-fat Plain

The Plain yogurt has a true “Greek” taste. It is incredibly rich and creamy, without being overly sour or tangy.

Bottom line: Would I buy these? The Pineapple seriously tastes like heaven on earth.  I have one left, and after that’s gone I’m going straight to the store.  I don’t buy low-fat yogurt ever (I always get fat-free), so that’s saying a lot.  In terms of the other fruit flavors, I tend to prefer to mix my own fruit in, and I think some of the “Greek” taste is lost when the fruit is stirred in during packaging.  But, as of late, I’ve had to eat a lot on-the-go, and for a busy lady like myself, a quick, nutritious and tasty snack would be highly convenient.  The Plain flavor is also really rich and delicious, and I would certainly buy it in the store.

Thanks again for your generosity, Chobani!

FYI for New York City folk: Chobani is on sale at Gourmet Garage for 2/$3.

Edited to add: the “right” way to eat “fruit-on-the-bottom” Chobani! Makes a HUGE difference, trust me.

Updated 2/8/10: Chobani Champions!

HoneyNana

Very smooth! Can taste both the banana and the honey here.  It’s not very thick; I might not know it was “Greek” yogurt if I hadn’t read the label, but it was still good.  Nice and sweet!

Chocolate

This still tastes a lot thinner than Greek yogurt; reminds me of Stonyfield’s Chocolate Underground non-fat yogurt, but stirred.  Even if it’s not thick, it’s still pretty good!

Yesterday I woke up at a normal time, and made a normal bowl of fruity oatmeal.

I [...]]]> Hello there boys and girls, and happy Friday!  How are you today?  I’m just fine, although I knocked myself a little out of whack when I overslept, and my schedule is a little funky! Oh well, no matter.

Yesterday I woke up at a normal time, and made a normal bowl of fruity oatmeal.

I used:

• 1/2 cup of oats
• 1/2 cup water
• TJ’s Mangolicious blend
• 1 peach
• 1 scoop of peanut butter

After a little computer work, I accompanied the boy to the diner where he enjoyed a nice egg sandwich.  Then I hopped on the train and went to visit my poodle.  When I got there, I was greeted by many goodies!  I found the Zevia sodas (and cute T-shirt) I won from a contest Missy hosted…

A NuNaturals stevia sampler I won from Averie‘s contest…

POM Wonderful‘s new Kiwi and Nectarine flavored pomegranate juice…

A variety of Greek yogurts from Chobani…

And, best of all, gourmet Brownie Points brownies from Liz!

Pretty good mail day, dontcha think?!

I incorporated both new items and tasty leftovers into a fabulous lunch, starting with Daddy-o’s spicy corn chowder…

Gliding Calm tofu with brown rice, mango chutney & peanut sauce…

Low-Fat Pineapple Chobani, which I LOVED (review to follow)…

…. And Ginger Ale Zevia. Full review to come as well, but I did not like this at all.

While I ate, I read some more sad news about the demise of Gourmet magazine.

A little later, snacked on an apple to hold me over on a mid-distance run.

I tried to warm up slowly, run 3 fast miles, and cool down with one more mile.  It was hard to pace myself without knowing for sure how fast I was going.  When I got home, I was pretty pleased with my statistics; seems like I did pace myself pretty well.

Total distance: 4.54 miles

Total time: 43:41

Maximum heart rate: 181 (91%)

Average heart rate: 166 (84%)

Calories burned: 455

I finished up a baggie of baby carrots while packing up and getting ready… these are the perfect quick snack, except when you have bad allergies.  Sneezing while chomping on carrots makes for a HUGE mess.

I hurried back home just in time to have dinner with Ilana. We heated up leftover cassoulet and steamed some broccoli.  Ilana was finally introduced to the hippie juice, and I think she liked it!

After dinner, we dug into Liz‘s brownies while we watched Grey’s Anatomy and Project Runway.

There were a lot of flavors, and I wanted to taste them all…

These were so freaking good.  The hit of the night seemed to be Cookies & Cream… it tasted just like the middle of an Oreo!  I can’t wait to dig into the rest of them.  Holy yum, Liz!

I stayed up kind of late, and ended up eating another giant apple before bed.

Off to go meet some lovelies for dinner! What are you up to this weekend? I have my 10K on Sunday, but that’s about it! Have a great night

I packed these for work, but there didn’t end up being too much for me to do in the office so I went home early and just ate the dried fruit.

My mom and I had planned on having dinner together at De Santos, but since I got off work early we decided to [...]]]>

I packed these for work, but there didn’t end up being too much for me to do in the office so I went home early and just ate the dried fruit.

My mom and I had planned on having dinner together at De Santos, but since I got off work early we decided to make it a lunch date instead. But wait! This was not just any lunch.

We wandered into L’Ecole, the restaurant inside the French Culinary Institute.  It’s staffed and run by the school’s students, who, while enrolled in classes, are simultaneously working at the restaurant to prepare and present delicious meals.

I didn’t want to spoil my appetite with bread, but my mom said it was delicious!  After we ordered the prix fixe lunch deal (which is a real NYC steal), we were brought amuse boûches of smoked trout and chive puffs.

The whole menu was creative and interesting, so we wanted to share everything.  We started with the yellowtail tartare with lemongrass, coconut & wonton citrus salad:

Crab consommé with shiitake mushrooms and lemon jam with the most unbelievable crab broth… the broth was brought out in a teapot and poured over the crab and mushrooms.  Presentation is so important!

Sautéed sea scallops with oyster mushrooms & coconut curry sauce… these were my favorite:

Grilled halibut with béarnaise sauce and summer salad:

Oof, it was a lot of food.  It was all so delicious that we pounced on every scrap and practically licked the plates clean.  And then, of course, came dessert…

Hazelnut and plum Napoleon… it was out of this world.  From the sweet hazelnut cream to the crunchy, nutty layers… I could eat this every day.

Peach tarte tatin with crème fraîche ice cream:

It was all so good, and such an unexpected meal to have at lunchtime! We loved it.  I went home in a bit of a food coma that only daytime television could revive me from.  Finally, I roused myself from the bed and, after much deliberation, decided to go for a run.  I was still upset about Monday’s run, so I decided to take every precaution.

I started out with Yoga For Runners to stretch and warm my muscles.  I debated going for my long run, but ended up playing it safe and running 2 miles in 19:40.  Not bad. No failure! When I got back, I did Level 3 of 8-minute abs.  Although I’d been tempted to call an informal “rest day”, I ended up getting a total-body workout! Not bad, not bad at all

After having a heavy, five-star lunch, I was in the mood for something very simple for dinner.  It ended up looking a lot like breakfast!  I had an Ezekiel muffin (last one ) with almond butter, jam & honey, baby carrots, and a strawberry Oikos. I ate in bed while watching Nights in Rodanthe (uh…) , which was nice, but… although I am very, very proud of Ari, I miss my boo very much.

“Dessert” was an orange, eaten in rapt excitement as I watched the season premiere of Gossip Girl online.  Did anyone recognize Joanna Garcia from Reba?

Around the blogosphere:

Is your mom more hip than you? Mine is! I didn’t even know about the Foodbuzznominations that are going on until she told me! Head on over to vote for your favorite bloggies.

Have a great day!

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?

Yesterday I experimented a little with my breakfast.  I [...]]]> Good morning, ladies and gentleman! I am SO excited for today.  It’s Friday, I slept in, I have the next three days off work, and my little red-headed friend has come home!!! It’s going to be a great weekend.  What do you have planned?

Yesterday I experimented a little with my breakfast.  I had a lot of leftover rice in the fridge that I wanted to get rid of… I often make too much of things like grans and beans, and they end up going bad. Anyway, I decided to try making a breakfast cookie with rice!

• 1/3 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 banana
• 2 T skim milk
• 1 T PB2
• toppings: cinnamon, dried apricots, dried cherries, 1 walnut

This was actually pretty good! It ended up being a lot creamier than the cookies made with oats.  I would definitely make it again… don’t you love coming up with new uses for leftovers?

I ended up making it to my yoga class just in time, with only enough time to stash my stuff in a locker.  I did a 60 minute Vinyasa flow… I was definitely rusty, but it felt great to get back into it again.  The class was a little unconventional… the instructor played lots of music, like L7 and Ella Fitzgerald.  I really want to start taking more yoga classes.  This may be a steep goal for me, in terms of time, but I would love to be able to go to a class at least once a week. Yogadownload.com is great, but a class is such a different experience.

I was pretty hungry after class, so I picked up an apple at a fruit stand on the street.

After I showered and made myself presentable, I met Caitlin for lunch at Chelsea Market. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I’d never been there before! It’s a big arcade-style collection of specialty food shops, cafés and bakeries; each place, like the Ronnybrook Milk Bar, is very “New York” in its nature.  After we looked around at everything (a terrible thing to do when you’re hungry!) we settled on Amy’s Bread.

I’d been to their Hell’s Kitchen location before, and my dad used to pick up their olive and chocolate twists on the way home from work, but it had been a while.  Everything looked incredible!

It was hard to decide what I wanted, but I ended up going with a salad. This had romaine, avocado, cannelini beans, roasted tomato and zucchini, toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and a lemon vinaigrette.

It came with an olive roll.

It was a perfect lunch.

When we finished, we set off in search of dessert.  Hooray for Thursday Treat Day!  First, we went to Eleni’s, a picture-perfect cookie and cupcake shop.

Their cookies looked too pretty to eat…

… and their cupcakes were GORGEOUS. (See those Obama cookies?!)

I decided that one dessert was not enough for me, so I got one of their “Petit Sin” brownie bites with walnuts.  Caitlin got a beautiful chocolate cupcake with white buttercream…  they made a funny picture next to each other!

It must have been fate that we ended up at Eleni’s, because they were selling a Manhattan Cupcake sampler pack

Next up, we went to Fat Witch Bakery for brownie samples.

Caitlin has raved about these brownies for years, so I was really excited to try them! They were pretty good, but I think my Eleni’s bite was a little better.  And I’m going to be a bit of a snob here and say that the brownies my mom and I make are pretty hard to beat!

My next and final dessert stop was at L’Arte del Gelato.

I was really full at this point, but thought that I should have gelato. Riddle me that!

I got a cup with 1/2 peach sorbetto and 1/2 chocolate hazelnut. This was amazing! The peach sorbetto was fat-free, and so full of flavor.

We finally left Chelsea Market and walked up to the High Line to move a little and check out the new site which just opened on June 9.

We’re going to picnic up here next time.

Can’t you just see Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda lounging on these chic chaises?

Eventually I had to leave for work, so I walked across town to the East Side to the restaurant. While there, I snacked on a Maple Nut Clif Bar.  Love these!

The restaurant was pretty slow last night… I was  able to leave at 9, though.  I made a decent amount of money for the time I was there, and got to watch Project Runway! Do you watch the show? What did you think? Do you have any favorite designers so far?

I took my dinner to go last night. Ramon made me a mixed green salad with walnuts, beets, Italian tuna (!), oranges, and Bufala mozzarella.  I added a little hummus to it at home… it may sound strange, but tuna + hummus is a great combination!

I made a BIG yogurt bowl for dessert with nonfat plain, a peach from the Farmer’s Market, peanut butter and cinnamon.

I ate a little more than usual yesterday and was pretty much in a constant state of full-ness since lunch.  I still woke up hungry for breakfast this morning, though!

Hope your Friday is off to a great start. Have a lovely day!

Yesterday when I woke up, the AC [...]]]> Good evening, friends! I hope your Thursday (er, now Friday morning) was glorious.  So sorry about disappearing this morning, but Ari left for a tour and I figured that spending the time with him was more important than blogging or exercising.  That’s the way the cookie crumbles!

Yesterday when I woke up, the AC was on full-blast so I made a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Ari, who is still recovering from his wisdom tooth surgery, enjoyed a bowl himself. I even got him to try it with peanut butter! (I used Skippy for him, though… he’s not into “that healthy stuff”.)

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 banana
• 1 plum
• cinnamon
• agave
• 1 tsp PB

After lounging around for a bit, I took my booty to the gym for some strength and cardio work.  The HRM was being a sourpuss, so I don’t have any stats for ya.

I met up with a friend I haven’t been able to see for a while for lunch at Whole Foods.  It was great to catch up (and gorge on the hot and cold bars !

• spinach
• seaweed salad
• baked tofu
• barbeque tofu
• super greens salad
• vegan dumpling
• jicama mango salad
• farro mint salad (LOVE)
• broccoli
• sweet potato

Deeelish!

After I left my friend, I was starting to dread going to work so I stopped in at One Lucky Duck for a little pick-me-up.

It started raining so the photo didn’t turn out very well, but this is their sacher torte.  It was veeery rich and fudgey, as a sacher torte should be.  It was good, but I think I should have gone with my instincts and had one of the treats Liz suggested a while ago.

Work was okay… busy, busy, busy! It sure made up for the night before.  Ari was in the neighborhood, so he picked me up and brought me a pretty flower.  What a nice boy.

I took my dinner to go so I could leave earlier.  Ramon must have sensed my salad sadness, so he hid a little Italian tuna underneath the romaine.  I also added a little Parmesan and hummus.

I had a juicy white peach for dessert and made a big mess.  Summer fruit ain’t made for the neat folk!

That’s all for now, these eyes of mine are tired and I have to get ready for BOSTON! I can’t wait.

If you’re on the West Coast, keep your eyes out for The Upwelling! They may just be coming to an arena near you.

Night dollfaces

Whew, talk about a bum day.  It felt like a weekend in college: stumble out of bed, scarf down breakfast, and go back to sleep for a few hours.  Yep, insomnia has returned.  Neither Sleepytime nor Sweet Dreams teas has been working, so I’ve had to turn to more medicinal remedies… those aren’t [...]]]>

Whew, talk about a bum day.  It felt like a weekend in college: stumble out of bed, scarf down breakfast, and go back to sleep for a few hours.  Yep, insomnia has returned.  Neither Sleepytime nor Sweet Dreams teas has been working, so I’ve had to turn to more medicinal remedies… those aren’t working so well either.  Ari’s teeth are still really bothering him, so we watched Band of Outsiders and waited for sleep to come.  Hopefully tonight, since I got a run in, it’ll be a little easier.

Breakfast was a cookie I made a couple days ago, but it still tasted good!

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 T chocolate PB2
• 2 T almond milk
• toppings: cinnamon, 1/2 peach

I woke up around 12:30 or 1, disoriented and a little miffed I’d let myself sleep so long because today is my only day off until next Wednesday, and I’m pretty sure I have to work that night.  Anyway, I didn’t know what I was in the mood for (we’re in a bit of a grocery slump), so I made the exact same thing I had for dinner last night: a heated wrap with a Morningstar Farms Mushroom Lovers Burger, spinach, hummus, pepper jack and salsa. If it ain’t broke…

I also had an apple while watching some more True Blood:

After lounging around in my gym clothes for several hours, I pushed my booty out the door for a run. The mapping is a little confusing for the route I take, but I think it’s about 2 miles or so.  Elise mentioned that Jillian Michaels has free weekly podcasts, so I downloaded one and listened to it on my run.  Having never watched The Biggest Loser, “Shred”-ed, or asked myself, “WWJD?” , this was my first JM experience.

I think I liked it! I didn’t get through the whole podcast, but so far I have learned one important thing: Do not consume caffeine after 3 PM. Period. Even though I just had an iced tea yesterday at 5, I was so wired and had a terrible time falling asleep last night.  In high school, I would literally drink four thermoses full of black coffee throughout the school day (don’t ask me why), but I guess my tolerance for caffeine has been severely broken down.  By keeping you awake at night, you not only miss out on sleep (obviously) but your cells don’t have time to rejuvenate.

After my run, I did 8-minute abs, level 2.  After almost 6 months, I still pant through the bicycle crunches.  I hate them! Is there an exercise move that you dread every time?

Total time: 31:49 minutes

Maximum heart rate: 198 (100%)

Average heart rate: 170 (85%)

Calories burned: 357

For some reason, I was absolutely ravenous for the rest of the day.  I snacked on a banana with almond butter around 4:30, but by 6 I was starving again.

I was starting to get some serious cabin fever from being in the house all day, so I went into the city to meet my mom for dinner. Unfortunately, she’s had a pretty bad migraine all day and had to leave to go home.  My meal was too hot to be put in a take-out container, so I quickly ate and brought my mom her food.

I ordered tofu nabe and a piece of salmon sashimi:

I forgot to put use “udon” (big, thick Japanese noodles) into my order, but the brothy soup was still good on its own.  The dish was huge, and the bottom was covered with about a pound of cabbage.  I probably ate half.

When I went home, I grabbed some dried fruit and nuts from the pantry that my parents got at the Co-Op for me for home #2:

Charley also needed a walk (and a haircut… that makes two of us), so we strolled around the park for a little.

On the way back over the bridge, I met up with Greg for some Tasti D.  I got a small cup with half peanut butter, half dutch chocolate, and peanut butter chips.  Artificial or not, I missed this stuff.

On our walk, we happened upon this gem of sidewalk art.  Pretty snazzy, hmm?

Now I’m back home, cozy in bed, watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the 754th time and hoping my mind will be wiped clear for just one night so I can get some sleep.  I’m working a lot the next few days, so this rest would be greatly appreciated!

In unrelated news…

Check out Ari! The Upwelling is featured on Seventeen.com’s Band Spotlight.

Have a great night. Bonne nuit