Last night, Ari decided he wanted a bowl of oatmeal! This is actually pretty shocking, because he’s not a huge fan of my breakfast creations (although he’s eaten Jim [...]]]> Happy Christmas Eve eve!  I still can’t believe it’s already here.  I won’t be blogging tomorrow, so please have a very merry holiday

Last night, Ari decided he wanted a bowl of oatmeal! This is actually pretty shocking, because he’s not a huge fan of my breakfast creations (although he’s eaten Jim once once or twice), favoring bagels or bacon-egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwiches instead. To each his own! Anyway, I wanted him to like his snack, so I mixed a scoop  each of pumpkin butter and Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter.   This combination got the thumbs up!

He then opened a can of pickled jalepeño peppers.  That’s my man!

This morning I made myself one of the best bowls of oats.  Seriously!

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup water
• pineapple
• dried cherries
• plain nonfat yogurt
• unsweetened shredded coconut
• agave nectar

This breakfast was tropical and festive, and reminded me of a piña colada in a bowl.  We used to go to Guadeloupe this time of year, and it reminded me of traditionally cold months spent in a warmer climate!

As I’ve mentioned, there really weren’t too many people in the office today… mostly other assistants who are holding down the fort while their supervisors are away.  I took advantage of the downtime to sort out some glitches with IT; the highlight of my day was actually when the computer technician and I spoke for almost half an hour about our favorite things to eat and cook!  All of that talk made me hungry, and after some embarrassingly tummy growls I finally went to the office kitchen to retrieve my snack: plain yogurt with pumpkin butter, almond butter and cinnamon.

I split my lunch hour into two parts to get the most out of it.  My hair is in that in-between stage where I can definitely wait another month or two to get it cut, but my bangs were starting to resemble a curtain. I’m going to a wedding next week, and thought it would be nicer for everyone if I cleaned myself up a bit.  So 20 minutes and $15 later, my bangs were neat and tidy!  I know some of you have master skills and can trim them yourselves; if you’d like to do a tutorial on this for us lesser folk, I would greatly appreciate it.

When I got back from the salon, I gobbled down my lunch while manning the phone.  I’m trying to eat up the (scant) ingredients in my fridge, so I made a salad with romaine, raw red cabbage, and two types of WF tofu (“balsamic baked” and “Sal’s special”).

Then I journeyed back outside to Westerly Natural Market for a juice run with a coworker.  He treated me to his favorite green juice, green lemonade (not 100% positive about the ingredients, but I think it was made with romaine, kale, apple, lemon and ginger).  It was so refreshing, and great to know there’s a good health food store within walking distance!  This could, of course, be dangerous for my wallet…

Someone came by my office at 4 saying we were all desperately in need of a sugar high and brought us each iced sugar cookies. These aren’t normally my style, but oh my lordy, they were good! It literally tasted like eating sweet butter.  Trust me, that’s better than it sounds.

I’d planned on going to a spin class at 5:45, but after almost 8 hours of not much action at work, we had a borderline crisis at 4:30.  So, no spin.  I was exhausted by the time I finally left the office and didn’t feel like going to the gym for any kind of exercise, so I just went home to relax.

Ari and I had nearly matching dinners: Whole Foods minestrone soup and a slice of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread with a Morningstar Farms Pizza Burger and melted cheddar. Ari was a bit of a pansy and wasn’t feeling the veggie burger love.  He did, however, ask for “hippie juice” when I offered (what I refer to Bragg’s as).  Baby steps.

We watched The Brave One while we ate dinner.  Has anyone seen it? I think it deserves a 6.5/10.  Not bad, but not great either.   I had the last of the pineapple (recycled photo) for dessert, which was still incredibly sweet and juicy.

My food has been pretty boring for the last week or so (excepting the amazing dinners out), but hopefully I’ll have a little time on my hands to whip some fun things up.  I have to work tomorrow (although we close at 3 PM) and Monday, but I’m off Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I can’t wait!

And, if you celebrate…

HAVE A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS!  Safe journeys to anyone traveling.

(And don’t forget to send me your FAQs )

My boss has a subscription to Harry and David’s Fruit of the Month club, and [...]]]> Happy Tuesday, chickadees! I hope you’ve had a fabulous day.  My day was nice and easy.  I’ve come to really appreciate the short hours I have when I get home, though! I try to stretch them to their fullest.

My boss has a subscription to Harry and David’s Fruit of the Month club, and this December she received a pineapple!  She didn’t want it and was worried it would rot if she left it in the kitchen, so I got it! Lucky me.  I LOVE pineapple, but never buy it for myself.

I woke up this morning not really knowing what I wanted, so I looked in the pantry and came out with a packet of Tera’s Whey Bourban Vanilla protein powder.

I mixed half a packet in with some plain yogurt, then topped the mixture with granola, pineapple and a drizzle of almond butter.

I’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out what time I need to leave to get to work and still be a few minutes early, so I leave myself with enough time to relax and enjoy a leisurely breakfast.  No one else is up in the house at this time, and it’s nice to have a little time to myself.

At work, I snacked on a pretzel, crunchiness be damned.

I started to get hungry at 12, but knew I would be starving if I ate all of my lunch that early.  So I just ate my side of molasses-roasted Brussels sprouts, and saved the rest for later.

When I was ready to eat the rest about an hour later, I had a salad with romaine, Whole Foods’ tempeh with roasted peppers, and tabouleh from Hummus Place.

…and more pineapple.  Such a treat!

I started to get hungry again around 4, so I snacked on a mini Chocolate Brownie Clif bar.

At the urging of both of my parents, I packed my gym bag last night and brought it to work with me.  At 5:00, I was not only ready to work out but excited to do so! It felt so good to work up a sweat after sitting still for 8 hours.  As soon as I changed clothes, I hopped on the treadmill and ran 3 miles.

Mile 1: warm-up at 5.8 mph, 0.5% incline

Mile 2: intervals at speeds between 6.1 and 7.0 mph, 0.5% incline

Mile 3: intervals at speeds between 5.8 and 6.3 mph, 0.5% incline

Mile 3.0-3.3: walking at 4.0 mph, 3.5% incline

I’m going to have to get used to running on the treadmill as long as the ground is icy outside.  I love the snow, but I have to admit: I’m a little jealous of our Floridian friends who can run outside through the year!  It was a little harder for me to stay focused today because I haven’t been able to find my iPod since my last long run before the 15K (when I borrowed Ari’s).  If I don’t find it soon, I think I’m going to have to use one of my paychecks to buy a new one… I don’t listen to it while walking around anymore (although I used to be plugged into my headphones all the time outside of the house!), but music is crucial when I exercise.  We’ll see.

When I got home from the gym, I was so hungry I thought I would eat my own hand.  Luckily, I’d been thinking about dinner all day so it took no time to imagine and prepare!  I just heated up leftover seafood linguine and last night’s branzino, seasoned my dish with chili flakes, and I was ready to go.

For dessert, I had one of each of my homemade holiday treats (which my coworkers loved, by the way): pumpkin molasses cookie, sugar cookie (dusted with cinnamon sugar), Hershey kiss-stuffed chocolate cookie, Aztec chocolate bark.

Now I’m in bed, sipping a mug of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea, watching the end of Saving Silverman.  Sleep is imminent!

Melissa awarded me with this Beautiful Blogger award.

As the rules dictate, here are 7 random facts about me!

1. I really like the show Golden Girls, but I can never decide who my favorite is! I think it’s Rose (Betty White), but they all play off each other so well.

2. I can’t wink or snap my fingers.  (I may have mentioned this one before!)

3. I really want a pug or a French bulldog.  Ari also wants me to write down that I am not allowed to have one.

4. I’ve seen the movie Reality Bites more than 20 times.

5.  I hate being on speakerphone. HATE. DO NOT EVEN TRY,

6. If you watch A Positive Rage, the documentary about the Hold Steady, you will see me front row center in the audience at the show at First Avenue in Minneapolis!

7. The first rated R movie I ever saw was Greedy, with Michael J. Fox.

That’s it! Pretty random. Thanks for the award, Melissa.  Everyone else: feel free to list your on 7 facts! I love reading them

Night!

I seem [...]]]> Hey hey-yo! How are you? How was your Wednesday? I can’t believe that one week from tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  I usually try to wake up early enough to catch some of the parade, then my mom and I make our famous sticky buns.  Do you have traditions you keep up every year?

I seem to have unleashed the oatmeal beast within me yesterday, because that was just what I wanted this morning.

In the bowl:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• frozen berries
• frozen pineapple
• flaxy peanut butter
• cinnamon
• agave

The rest of the morning was spent preparing for an interview.  I went into the city an hour and a half early so, subway problems or not, there’d be no chance of being late.  I had so much spare time that I went into a deli to go over my notes and read some Canadian snail mail.  To secure a seat, I bought some fruit salad.

The interview went well, I think; I was given an assignment to complete for Friday, so I went straight home to get started.  I needed some brain fuel, so I made a quick salad:

Our house guest came into the kitchen while I was assembling it, took one look at the bowl, and said, “Are you really going to eat all of that salad?! You must have a really fast metabolism!”  It was a salad of great girth, I’ll give him that. But of course I ate every scrap

In the mix:

• spinach
• grape tomatoes
• 1 grapefruit
• 1/2 avocado
• leftover salmon
• dressing made with rice vinegar, sesame oil, sesame seeds & chili flakes

The Lindt store on 5th  was handing out holiday truffles on the street today, so I snatched one up and had it for dessert.

My body must have needed sleep because I nodded right off after lunch! Today is the fourth consecutive day I’ve gotten up significantly earlier than I’m used to, and the rest of the week will be no different.  Hopefully in the next few weeks there will be more early mornings and regular hours, if you catch my drift! When I woke up, I made some coffee and snacked on these Jalepeño Honey Mustard Pretzel Sticks from Kay’s Naturals.

These are my favorite of the Kay’s products I’ve tried; they’re satisfying, and didn’t leave me with horrible garlic breath the way the protein chips did.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent working.  When it was getting close to dinner time, I simmered and marinated some tempeh using the recipe for Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh from Veganomicon.

After about an hour, I plopped the tempeh onto the George Foreman, the apartment-dweller’s best friend.  Aren’t grill marks satisfying?

I proceded to make one of the best sandwiches on earth: The LVP Reuben.

A reuben sandwich is traditionally made with corned beef, Swiss cheese, saurkraut, and creamy salad dressing.  I don’t remember eating one even when I did eat meat, but my version is much more appealing to me.  It’s based on one of my all-time favorite sandwiches: grilled cheddar with Granny Smith apple slices on Peppridge Farm Cinnamon Raisin Swirl bread.  Tonight, I went a step further…

Grilled cheddar with Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh, Gala apple slices and baby spinach on Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel bread.  My tum is grumbling at the memory.  I also had a bowl of Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Leek Soup, garnished with cinnamon, nutmeg, shredded coconut and parsley.

Dinner for 1, at home, does not have to be boring.

Luckily I had the foresight to plan my dessert early in the day; I had two bananas sitting in the freezer and  waiting  to be processed into Chocolate Banana Soft Serve.  Three words: Move over, Stögo! I topped mine with roasted almonds and walnuts.

It was rich, creamy, and far better than anything packaged I’ve bought recently.  You better believe I licked up every last trace of “batter.”

I can’t wait to play around with this! There are so many options based on what’s in the pantry alone.

After dinner I finished my reading, and just as I was about to e-mail my notes to myself (I type everything out on my Blackberry… it’s an odd habit), the memo deleted itself.  I searched IT message boards, asked people I knew with Blackberries if there was any way to retrieve data that wasn’t backed up on a computer… nothing.  Seven hours of work has been LOST.   So… tomorrow will be another early morning.  It’s not the end of the world.

Bonne nuit

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

d

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!

The night before last, I’d planned a really unique breakfast as I was lying [...]]]> Good morning and happy Wednesday! I can’t believe the week has flown by so fast… and I’m that much closer to being 22.  I think I’ve turned a little anti-birthday, but maybe not.  How do you feel about your birthday?

The night before last, I’d planned a really unique breakfast as I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep.  When I woke up, though, I was doubting my creative abilities and sent a frantic Tweet asking for some breakfast suggestions.  A few minutes later, though, I went with my gut, and am I glad I did! I present you with: The Fall Smoothie.

This is made with:

• homemade raw almond milk
• 1 banana
• 1/3- 1/2 cup puréed butternut squash
• nutmeg
• cinnamon
• granola for garnish

Uh-MA-zing! If you make this and don’t have almond milk you’ve made yourself, I suggest throwing in a few whole almonds for thickness and added flavor.

As usual, I puttered around for a few hours before I was ready to go for a run.  To hold myself over, I snacked on the last piece of butternut squash banana bread with a smear of peanut butter:

The run itself was uneventful, but I did have some lovely new music to keep me going.

Total distance: 4.5 miles

Total time: 43:46

Maximum heart rate: 186 (93%)

Average heart rate: 172 (86%)

Calories burned: 494

Lunch was exactly the same as dinner (hence the re-used photo). Blegh. Soup is finally all eaten up, though!

I made a pineapple spritzer using the juice that was left in the can and a little seltzer.

Both the run and lunch were starting to put me to sleep, so I brewed up some “Magic Feeling” tea that I got in Berlin (only in Germany, eh?).

I felt a little too magical, because I conked out for the next two hours.  Whoops!  When I woke up, I was ready to get cookin’.  I snacked on three chunks of energy to get me moving again…

I’ve had the ingredients to make Veganomicon‘s Corn and Edamame-Sesame Salad for a while now, and at the very last minute I decided to add some diced grape tomatoes to the mix as well.

I also whipped up SELF‘s White Bean Consommé with Almond Milk, and halved the recipe so I wouldn’t have another soup sitch like last week!

It was lacking a little something, so I “remixed” it with alfalfa sprouts, chili flakes and Bragg‘s.  Much better!

For dessert, I tried out my last new flavor of Vitamuffin, Deep Chocolate.

I crumbled it on top of a container of Trader Joe’s nonfat Organic Vanilla Greek Yogurt, and topped the whole thing with homemade almond milk. I don’t know if I’ve expressed how much I enjoy this yogurt before, but it’s amazing!  You can actually see the specs of vanilla bean.

Well I’ve literally got to run out the door so I’m not late for my internship.  Have a great Wednesday!

Breakfast yesterday was excellent.  I love to taste as [...]]]> Good afternoon, all! I hope your mornings have gone splendidly.  Mine was excellent, and I’ve already got a lot accomplished.  Like some other bloggers, I have some big news to share… not nearly as exciting as theirs, but it’s what’s best for me.  Read on!

Breakfast yesterday was excellent.  I love to taste as many things as possible, so I had my meal was both savory and sweet. I heated up an Ezekiel English muffin and topped one half with a mustard, a poached egg, and asiago cheese.  The other half had almond butter and TJ’s pumpkin butter… I think I’m going to have to stock up on this stuff!  Mmm.

While I got ready for work, I popped a loaf of butternut squash banana bread into the oven that I’d prepped the night before.  I was completely taken with Liz‘s version of this, but I was too impatient to wait for the recipe! (Rumor is that she will post it tomorrow.) Instead, I used Veganomicon‘s recipe for Lower Fat Banana Bread and mixed in half a can of Organic Butternut Squash Purée (available at Trader Joe’s).  I brought half a loaf to m boss at work, saved some for the house, and took a slice with me that I picked at throughout the day.  This baby is dense! For some reason, the squash seems to bring out the bread’s spices more than regular banana bread. My boss later sent me an email describing it as “BANANA FUDGE!” It was so good.

The day before, I’d made another Veganomicon recipe (move over, Isa!) to get me through the week: Ancho-Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple.

While I didn’t make my own chili powder (I subbed in 1 tsp chili flakes) or blend half of the lentils (I prefer my soups chunky), this was divine.

I grilled up some canned pineapple slices on the George Foreman…

To make them transportable, I put two slices and a wedge of lime into a baggie.

There wasn’t too much for me to do at the office yesterday, so I left a little bit after 12.  On my way out, I noshed on two vegan carob/nut/agave “chunks of energy” that I picked up last week at the health food store.  I didn’t know if I would like them so I only got a few, but they were so good! I bought 7/$1.33, so the price is more than right.

Although I’d lugged my heavy gym bag through two boroughs, two trains and a long walk, I decided to just head uptown to my parents’ house.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve done this before!  But I’d missed my yoga class, and I was too sore from a run and cardio class to work out any other way.

When I got home, I assembled my soup.  Jim‘s got a little competition! Meet Paula.

The grilled pineapple was such a fresh twist on an old classic like lentil soup.

I loved it! I’m going to try to experiment more with sweet + savory from now on.

A little later, I snacked on a cup of Fage 0% (thanks for stocking this, Mom & Dad!) with an apple and cinnamon. Truly one of the greatest munchies around.

I decided to stay and have dinner with my parents… as my mom reminded me, I can’t remember the last time we all ate together.

Don’t you love Fall centerpieces?

Dinner was a joint effort: my dad made a fabulous Asian-inspired swordfish with basmati rice, and my mom made her famous brown sugar Brussels sprouts (just sauté cooked Brussels in butter and brown sugar).

For dessert, we split three Whole Foods petit fours three ways…

We also had squares of Côte d’Or’s dark chocolate with pistachios and sesame that my dad brought back from France.

This chocolate can be found in pretty much any supermarket and bodega in France, but don’t let that fool you! It’s AMAZING.  The chocolate is rich and smooth, and filled with the most interesting ingredients.  It’s my uncle’s favorite chocolate ever (and he’s a serious chocoholic), and my friends and I ate it all.the.time when we were in Paris.  Look how thick it is!

When I got back to my apartment, I crashed into bed, stretched my aching bones, relaxed and watched The Secret Lives of Dentists.  Has anyone seen this? What did you think? I love Hope Davis, and Campbell Scott always makes me think of Singles!

So, onto my news. I’ve tried to leave my work life at work, but, as you probably know, I work in a restaurant as a waitress.  I’ve worked at this particular place for the past three summers, starting in May after my sophmore year of college.  That first summer was probably the best: I felt exhilarated after finishing half of college, I met some really great people (through the restaurant), and Ari and I started dating.  Last year was fun as well; I’d just come back from a great semester in Paris and I was beginning to feel more like an adult.  This year, however, after having graduated, has been more of a reality check.  I wasn’t in school anymore, and this wasn’t just a “summer job.”  Because of the recession, business has been incredibly slow and I had nights where I came home with literally $1.   Customers treated me with unbelievable rudeness; there were two instances when I had to call the police.  I was working crazy hours and not getting any rest, crying myself to sleep more than I’d like to remember. (Ari has been so, so great throughout all of this; without him, I never would have been able to hold out this long.) I was expending all of my energy on a job that made me utterly miserable.  I haven’t been able to do what I love because I haven’t even had time to think about what that might be.  And, as silly as it sounds, I don’t want to turn still be working there when I turn 22.

So, last week, I informed the restaurant that I would be leaving the following week…. today is my last day. On the one hand, I feel bad about leaving the people that I’ve come to really enjoy spending time with.  On the other, I’d rather spend time with them in a stress-free setting.  This is what’s best for me.  It’s scary, because while I’m searching for a “real” job, I won’t be earning any income.  Lucky for me, my parents are amazing and are going to help out a little bit.  I will definitely be budgeting like a madwoman and putting my all into finding a job.  I don’t expect to find my dream job right away, but I know I have to get out of the service industry.  I have so much respect for the millions of people who work in service, retail, and manual labor.  I just can’t do it anymore.

On another happy note, I finally tracked down the Fuze Heroes For Hope photo Ilana and I took at the 5K Race For the Cure.

Off to go make my last day my best.  Have a great Thursday

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

Yesterday morning, some of us met at 7:30 for a run. We [...]]]> Good morning and happy Monday! By now, I’m sure you’ve all read numerous recaps of the 2009 Healthy Living Summit… I know I have! It’s interesting to see everyone’s take on it, because, like us bloggers, no two experiences are the same.

Yesterday morning, some of us met at 7:30 for a run. We hadn’t had coffee, but look at all those smiling faces! (Thanks to Caitlin for letting me bogart her pictrures )

I joined the 3 mile group, and enjoyed great conversation (pug or German Shepherd?) with like-minded ladies.

We ended up going about 3.5 miles, and I know I could have gone on longer. Having someone (or 10 someones!) to run with makes all the difference.  Do I see a race in my future?

Total time: 33:36 minutes

Maximum heart rate: 192 (96%)
Average heart rate: 172 (86%)

Calories burned: 380

After the run we had over an hour until breakfast, and I needed something for my tum.  Coffee!  I spent an embarrassingly long time trying to find the filters…

… only to discover they were “tea bag” style, and the filters were the coffee. Doh.

The group reassembled and went to Finagle A Bagle for lunch.

Talk about maximum efficiency! The bagels shoot out, assembly-line style…

They are then sliced by a giant spinning blade.

There were so many interesting bagel choices! French Toast, Honey Grain, Stuffed Vegetable…

The line was long, but we were all in an out in no time.  That’s progress, baby, progress.

We found a grassy knoll to sit on and enjoyed our breakfast outside, enjoying the last minutes of the Healthy Living Summit.

It took me a little while to set up my breakfast (I can be a little high-maintenance about that, if you haven’t noticed : On a toasted honey grain bagel, I spread light cream cheese on half, and Barney Butter with honey on the other half.

I also made sure to get some fruit in.

I was in a little bit of a rush to make the 12 PM checkout, but I managed to grab Heather to take a sunglass-twin photo. Why spend good money on fancy shades when you can get sexy ones like these at Target?

I hustled back to the hotel, grabbed my stuff, and hobbled out.  When I got to the station, I surveyed all of the food choices.  Not great, but I did manage to find a Greek Salad at D’Angelo’s.

I wasn’t a fan of the creamy dressing it came with… a relief, because I knew it would also stink up the bus. (I removed the onions for that very reason!)

There was an absurd amount of feta and olives, and I left a lot behind.

I also munched on an apple while reading my copy of Body + Soul from the swag bag. There are some great recipes in there that I can’t wait to try!

The ride from Boston –> New York is almost five hours, so I needed another snack. I went back to the swag bag for a Fruition bar, made by the makers of Pro Bar.

Here’s an idea of the size of the bar, using my camera case:

Pros: There’s a definite strawberry flavor here.  It’s very soft and grainy, so you don’t have to work too hard to eat it like some other sports bars out there. It reminds me of something I ate as a kid during snack time at school (which is reinforced by the sticky fingers you will get upon eating this). I like its snack size; you don’t have to make the 400 calorie commitment that you do for a regular Pro Bar. It also has very pretty packaging!

Cons: It’s a little too soft for me. I wish it would either be firmer like a Larabar, or crunchier like a granola here. There are oats in here, after all, so it shouldn’t be so soggy!

Bottom line: Would I buy this? Maybe. I want to try the other flavors of Fruition; I’ve heard rumors of Blueberry, which sounds pretty good. I don’t know how widely available they are yet (I’ve never seen them in stores), but keep your eyes open!

I shlepped about 100 pounds home from Chinatown and just wanted a comforting meal.  I made my old standby comfort food:

Gliding Calm tofu; a sweet potato with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar; steamed kale with rice wine vinegar; brown rice. This meal really feels like the equivalent of a big bear hug.

Do you have any comfort foods or meals you turn over and over?

I enjoyed dinner with a small glass of Villa Farnia di Farnese’s 2008 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that my friend Howard gave me.

Frank Bruni describes this as a “good, solid, dependable wine;”  a staple in Italian restaurants.  It is medium tannin, smooth, and has the taste of black fruit.

I enjoyed the wine while watching Revolutionary Road and munching on one of Jenna‘s chocolate chip biscotti.

Er, make that two biscotti. I didn’t want the first one to be lonely!

Another great day. The Summit was a blast.  I had so much fun meeting over one hundred women who love to do some of the same things I do! Who’d a thought, in high school, that that would be possible?

It’s back to the grind, unfortunately, and I have a lot of reading to do. Hope your week is off to a great start!