Happy Halloween!  I hope you are all having a wonderful night, whether you’re at a party, parade, or staying at home watching movies.  Ari and I decided to do the latter, although we’ve been sitting in our costumes all day waiting for Trick-or-Treaters!

Yesterday I started the day with my first (ever!) batch of [...]]]>

Happy Halloween!  I hope you are all having a wonderful night, whether you’re at a party, parade, or staying at home watching movies.  Ari and I decided to do the latter, although we’ve been sitting in our costumes all day waiting for Trick-or-Treaters!

Yesterday I started the day with my first (ever!) batch of Oats in a Jar.

I added 1/2 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of water to the almond butter jar and microwaved it for one minute.

I topped it with 1/2 banana, 2 chopped prunes, 3 walnuts, a little skim milk and brown sugar. It was delicious! I may or may not have rescued an empty jar of peanut butter from the trash so I can make this again…

My mom gave me an idea about how to solve the Ester-C powder problem… try mixing it in something else! I put a scoop into a little bit of plain yogurt.

It’s still really disgusting, and I had to down a cup of coffee right away after I ate it.  But… it did the trick, and it went down a lot faster than if I’d had to drink it.  I’m out of yogurt, though, so I’ll have to find some more creative ways to eat this.

I wanted to get an early start to my day, so I said goodbye to the hair this guy and headed to the gym.

Time was limited, so I just did some arms, abs, PT stretches (which I will post at the end for Melissa) and 18 minutes on the elliptical.  Short and sweet.   Afterward, I met George for lunch at Pizza Gruppo.  Always one for deals, I ordered the salad + 1/2 sandwich special.  The salad was bigger than I’d expected, and came with mushrooms!

My panini came with goat cheese, pesto, and roasted vegetables. It was really good! I haven’t had a sandwich I didn’t make myself in a looong time.

After lunch I stopped by Paragon to pick up a foam roller.  There was so much pre-marathon mania going on… very exciting to be around!  When I got home, I sprinkled 1/4 packet of YouBar‘s YouShake Blended Bliss into the last of my yogurt.

I also split an apple with cinnamon with Ari (who proudly told me he had green juice for lunch!) while we ran some Halloweenie-errands.

For some reason I was snackier than usual, so I had some chunks of energy while getting ready to meet my little redheaded friend for dinner.

Kalle and I found a Japanese restaurant with a great dinner special.  It’s so easy to spend a lot of money when ordering sushi, so the specials are imperative.  I ordered the Sashimi+Roll combination, which came with miso soup and salad.

The sweet potato roll was delicious… and my second in one week!

The sashimi was beautifully presented.

It came with two pieces of cucumber-wrapped fish… what a great alternative to rice!

The special also came with shrimp shumai and edamame.

Kalle’s rolls were also creatively presented and looked delicious.

After dinner, we went back to her apartment to talk and drink Malbec out of black goblets.  I broke the cork in half, but managed to get it out of the bottle! Looks like my waitressing skills are falling by the wayside…

I got home pretty late and didn’t end up going to bed until almost 3… the night was definitely worth it, though.

And now, onto the physical therapy!

One exercise that I’ve been working on with my PT is called the clamshell, which strengthens quads.  Lying on my side in bed or on the floor, I stack my knees at a 90 degree angle.  Clenching my glutes and quads, I slowly raise one knee while keeping my feet together.  I repeat this twenty times, then switch to my other side.  Repeat series.

Another exercise that strengthens quads and calves is done by sitting on a chair or on the edge of the bed.  Extend one leg straight out and flex glutes, quads, calves and toes.  Twist leg to the side, then back to center.  Repeat until leg is fatigued, and switch legs.

Around the blogs: Jungwha is giving away a Sodastream!

Happy Halloween from the Upwelling and LVP… have a great night!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S03bPXh4FFI]

Hmm, so… Thursday’s breakfast was based around YouBar‘s The Best Trail Mix.

I plopped half the bag on top [...]]]> Bonne samedi, mes amis! How are you all? Is your weekend off to a nice start? I know I make it a terrible habit of disappearing on the first day Ari’s back, but I’m here now.

Hmm, so… Thursday’s breakfast was based around YouBar‘s The Best Trail Mix.

I plopped half the bag on top of a big mound of pumpkin and an even bigger mound of steel-cut oats, and covered it all with cinnamon and agave nectar.

It felt quite festive.

This was the morning that I had my bone density test (the results of which were called in to my orthopedist… who did not return my call and share the findings with me before the weekend but that’s okay).  I had an apple when I got out of the hospital…

… came home, read InStyle took care of some chores, and went back to sleep for a few hours.  When I woke up, so did a hungry beast. I was inspired by the previous day’s salad dressing adventures, so I played around in the kitchen a little bit.

Behold: Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette!

Pumpkin- Miso Vinaigrette

Serves 1

• 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• squirt of fresh lemon juice

This was delicious. I vow to never have a boring salad again!

Into the salad itself went:

• 1/3 block tempeh
• 1 apple
• red onion
• carrots
• red chard
• pumpkin-miso dressing

I followed it up with a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Greek Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt.

After a few hours of job searching, I snacked on a piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with peanut butter and raspberry jam.

Other than walking and cleaning, I have done almost nothing physical in almost two weeks.  It’s slowly driving me crazy.  Emily alerted me to these workout videos you can watch instantly on Netflix (if you have an account), which is great. Unfortunately, my will power is not.  I did about 10 minutes of this yoga class, then made dinner and went to the airport to pick Ari up.  Blegh.

I’m going to wager that my dinner is not going to ignite any food jealousy.   I had no idea what I wanted for dinner except that I had to have an Ezekiel English muffin.  On one half I had a TJ’s Masala Burger with mustard, on the other egg whites with salt, pepper & ketchup. Boring, but got the job done.

We found the band at the airport, piled all the gear in the car and squeezed in like sardines.  Everyone was a little jet-lagged, so we just watched a short movie and In Treatment.  While doing so, I had another piece of Pumpkin-Banana-Date Tea Loaf with almond butter and jam and a small glass of Merlot.

We slept in a bit yesterday, although I woke up a good hour before the boy.  This is usually the case even when he hasn’t just come back from a tour in Europe.  No matter! I made myself a bowl of brown oatmeal: steel-cut oats with 1/2 banana, cinnamon, brown sugar and peanut butter.

By the time Ari woke up and decided he wanted chicken parm for breakfast, I was ready for lunch.  I made a salad that was almost a repeat of the day before’s, but why mess with a good thing?

In the mix:

• red chard
• carrots
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/3 brick tempeh
• 1 pear
• red onions
• pumpkin-miso dressing

I also had a cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Nonfat Honey Greek Yogurt.

We went into the city and took care of a bunch of errands, including chopping what Erin refers to as Ari’s “alterna-hair.” We stopped by my old restaurant for a glass of wine before going to dinner at Friend House, one of Ari’s favorite sushi restaurants.  Something happened to my camera and it would only take really blurry (and incredibly frustrating) photos.

I ordered the sashimi entrée… I promise that’s what’s in the picture!

It came with miso soup.

We went down to the Lower East Side for some Upwelling work, got caught in the rain, and practically ran all the way home.  After showering away the acid rain, we settled in for the night with our cartons of Ben & Jerry.

I went for Light Phish Food (but demanded asked nicely for the peanut butter cups in Ari’s Everything But The…), and did my best to put it down after I plowed through 1/4 of the carton.  I guess I have a little bit of will-power.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Yesterday, as I mentioned, I slept [...]]]> Good morning and happy Wednesday! How is your day going so far? Mine’s going just fine, although I can’t figure out how it’s already 10:30! The same thing happened last night: I got home at 7:30, had dinner, and all of the sudden it was after midnight.  Crazy!

Yesterday, as I mentioned, I slept through the alarm.  My training plan had 2 easy miles scheduled in for the day, and since I had to intern and go to an event in the evening, there was really no other time to go.  So I threw on my exercise clothes and raced – slowly, of course- out the door, jamming along to the Gaga.

Total distance: 1.96 miles

Total time: 20:54

Maximum heart rate: 176 (89%)

Average heart rate: 166 (84%)

Calories burned: 216

When I was back and showered I was already running late, so made a quick breakfast of plain Chobani with 1/2 banana, and a piece of whole wheat toast with the rest of the banana, honey and cinnamon.

There didn’t end up being too much for me to do at work, so I was able to leave after lunch.  My mom also had a little time in the morning before her flight to Paris, so she met me in the Village and we had a nice lunch at Doma.

I found this cafe on my first day of back in June, then couldn’t find it again until yesterday. I have a pretty terrible sense of direction.  I wanted a salad but couldn’t decide which one, and at the last minute decided to go for the soup + 1/2 sandwich combo.

The soup was black bean (I removed the white and creamy sour cream):

I chose a grilled gruyère sandwich to feel a little more française.

Everything was good, but the sandwich was a little tough and I left craving veggies.

After lunch, we strolled around and somehow found ourselves in front of a pet store.  I took this to taunt Ari with send to Ari…

No, a pup did not come home with me.  It was sad, but it would be sadder if I couldn’t afford to feed it.  Anyway, Mama and I moseyed along until we hit The Light Choice.  We both got what we agreed was the best Tasti-type flavor yet: Almond Joy! It tasted just like Gena‘s Raw Almond milk, but frozen.

We also stopped and picked up two late-birthday presents: a new gym bag (I’ll post pictures of my old one later… it was gross) and new running shoes. My mom finally had to leave to go to the airport (I really had to twist her arm ) and I went home.

My friend Howard invited me to a cocktail party and kitchen demonstration at Smallbone of Devizes, an upscale kitchen boutique on the Upper East Side.  I knew there would be a lot of good food and I didn’t want to be ravenous when I got there, so I had an apple before I left.

The party was hosted by Architectural Digest and catered by Daniel, one of the fanciest (and tastiest) restaurants in New York.  Everything was amazing, and I really wish I could have documented it for you! Unfortunately, AD was covering the whole thing and wouldn’t allow outside photography.  Trust me when I say that my fingers were itching to whip out my camera and snap photos of the chef poaching partridge breast in Napa cabbage leaves.  I may not eat those myself, but I can appreciate the skill it takes to prepare such a lovely dish. Two glasses of wine later I left and went home to eat dinner.

My knee was really hurting so I didn’t want to schlep all the way out to the grocery store; instead I stopped at Gourmet Garage and picked up some sashimi.

I also had a few bites of cold pasta.

Although I’d already had a treat once today and enjoyed two glasses of wine, I’d been thinking about dessert all day.  I really wanted to contribute to Julie‘s tribute to Gourmet magazine, so I made myself an individual portion of the magazine’s Caramelized Banana Splits with Hot Chocolate Sauce, from their 2009 “Quick Kitchen” booklet.

I adjusted the recipe to be a little more LVP-friendly, substituting Brummel & Brown for butter, skim milk for heavy cream, and La Loo’s Mission Fig Goat Milk Ice Cream for regular old vanilla.

This ice cream, by the way, is unbelievable.

The Banana Split was amazing: the bananas were perfectly caramelized, the toasted nuts gave the smooth chocolate a spectacular crunch!, and the fig ice cream was a wonderful surprise that complemented each different flavor.

We still have the November issue of Gourmet to look forward to, but I can’t imagine a holiday season without their Christmas cookie special.  I’m sure Gourmet‘s demise is going to open all kinds of doors in the world of food media, but it’s going to take a lot of getting used to.  I foresee poring over back-issues from the 1970s in my future…

Except for the lack of vegetables consumed, it was a pretty great day.  I did, however, spend the last few hours with my knee bound up like this…

…icing on and off.  When I went outside to walk Charley, I felt like I could barely walk.  A man, who was clearly on his first few days of crutches, passed me on the street.  I will admit, I’m a little discouraged.  I’m really hoping this isn’t serious, because I am just starting to feel like a real athlete, and that maybe the 2010 NYC Marathon is a goal within reach.  We’ll see.  I’m going to take it slow; I’ll try using the bike at the gym today and see how that feels.

Do you push through an injury or go straight to the doctor?

Have a great day!

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

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

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

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

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

I loaded my salad box…

It included:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

… and a hot cup of miso soup.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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