This morning I had some things to do before work so I woke up at 5, headed to [...]]]> Thanks so much for your words of encouragement about the running situation… as of now, I’m still planning to run the half-marathon on the 21st, but I’m going to take it one day at a time.

This morning I had some things to do before work so I woke up at 5, headed to the gym for 30 minutes on the elliptical, and came home to git ‘er done.  I had a delicious breakfast cookie waiting for me when I got home; I made a similar mixture last week and it was so good that I had to try it again!

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/2 mashed banana
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• splash skim milk
• 1 tbsp chocolate PB2
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• toppings: goji berries, Greek yogurt, pumpkin, dried fig, agave

I brought an orange and apple to work… I’m always paranoid about my apples being too noisy, so today I sliced it beforehand.  Did the trick!

I also had a slice of Gluten Free Bran bread… I love more each time I have some! This recipe is a keeper.

My lunch salad did a good job of cleaning out the fridge…

In the mix:

• mixed greens
• steamed broccoli
• celery
• grape tomatoes
• goji berries
• dried cranberries
• TJ’s Vegetable Marsala burger (I missed these!)
• Goddess dressing (mixed in at work)

Danielle had bought a package of Lemon Poppyseed Heart Thrive bars and wasn’t a fan, so she gave me the remaining bar.   I love these!  They were great snacks when I was in Russia, and just as good today.

Dinner required little planning, but worked out perfectly.

I made SELF’s Creamy Lemon Shrimp, halving the recipe and making a few substitutions:

• Greek yogurt in place of plain yogurt/ sour cream
• celery in place of chives
• agave in place of sugar
• spinach in place of arugula

It may not look so pretty, but I really enjoyed this!  It was healthy, voluminous, and filled me right up.

I packed half for lunch tomorrow; I love when I don’t have to think about what to prepare for the next day.

Dessert was Banana Soft Serve with a melted square of Bakers chocolate.

A superoon may have also sneaked its way in

Off to watch Gossip Girl!  It’s a lovely, lazy night.  Have a great one.

I woke up at 8:30 this morning feeling refreshed and rested, ready to get the day started.  I waited a little to eat breakfast, [...]]]> Evening! Hope you’ve all greatly enjoyed your Mondays.  Mine wasn’t too shabby: got some housework done, some workwork done, and am even enjoying a few minutes of Marley & Me.

I woke up at 8:30 this morning feeling refreshed and rested, ready to get the day started.  I waited a little to eat breakfast, then made the new classic combo:

• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 banana
• pumpkin
• pumpkin butter
• lemon curd
• chunky peanut butter
• cinnamon
• stevia

Mmm! I don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of this one.

After breakfast I took myself to a nearby coffee shop; I sipped on a skim dirty chai (chai latte with espresso) for a couple hours while I read.  The chai was a little too sweet; they made it from powder instead of the liquid mix and it just didn’t taste right.  Only Luke can make them the way I like ‘em.

I went home to make lunch, and decided I wanted a hard-boiled egg.  This is pretty rare for me: I’m very picky about my eggs, and if the insides are green- or worse, gray- I won’t eat them.  But the main reason I don’t boil eggs very often is that I can never remember how.  Embarrassing, I know… a girl who cooks all the time and doesn’t even know how to boil an egg! Today, I conquered the elusive hard-boiled egg.  On the off-chance that someone else out there doesn’t know how to do this seemingly simple thing, I’ll walk you through it!

How To Hard-Boil An Egg

Step 1.  Place your egg(s) in a small pot and cover with cold water.  The water should reach about an inch higher than the egg.

Step 2. Bring water to a boil over medium heat.  As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook about 8 minutes.

Step 3. Drain water and rinse eggs with cold water to cool them off and stop them from cooking.

Step 4. Peel! The longer you wait to peel the shell, the harder it is.  There’s nothing more tedious than picking off millions of pieces of shell!

Voila! Perfectly cooked eggs

One egg went right into my salad, the other will be saved for later in the week.

In the mix:

• mixed greens
• cooked white asparagus
• 1 tomato
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• pumpkin seeds
• goji berries, soaked
• feta
• chili flakes
• dressing: agave, dijon mustard, olive oil, rice wine vinegar
• yes, that’s cinnamon you see! It was an accident, but a tasty one at that!

After lunch I took went to the grocery store and got everything on my list.

Ever since I started meal planning, I’m so much more efficient when I shop.  I spend less money, and spend less time wandering aimlessly through the aisles.  Plus, when I get home I know exactly what I have to do to get dinner on the table!

Before you shop for groceries, clothes, household items, etc., do you make a list? Do you stick to it?

I was a hungry beast while I worked, and snacked on a Chocolate Peanut Butter Forze Bar and a navel orange.

Around 5 I started to get a little stir-crazy so I brought my work to the gym and pedaled away on the bike for 30 minutes, climbed stairs for 10, worked my arms and abs. (I wore my heart-rate monitor but it wasn’t working so I don’t have the stats today, sorry!)

Dinner was a no-brainer: Coconut Barley Pilaf with Shrimp, steamed green beans, and a small sweet potato with Smart Beat, cinnamon and agave.

For dessert I had the last of the Mint Galactica ice cream with a square of melted dark chocolate and 1/2 banana.

I also couldn’t resist one of Gina‘s macaroons… they’re too good to go uneaten

Back to Marley & Me I go.. Ari’s away for the week so I’m going to go try to make my way through some of the Netflix picks he isn’t so keen on.  Have a great night!

On Christmas morning, we headed into the living room to open presents, drink [...]]]> Another Christmas has come and gone, but for the first time that I can remember, I’m not experiencing that “let down” feeling one day, even two days after that’s similar to what I felt my first day home from sleepaway camp.

On Christmas morning, we headed into the living room to open presents, drink tea and coffee, and chat.

I was completely shocked to open a package and find…

the new Canon PowerShot s90!  I’d been debating on whether I wanted to get an SLR or a smaller camera; I wanted an SLR for the quality, but didn’t want the hassle of carrying around another bag all the time.  Well, this camera has the quality of the SLR, and it automatically adjusts to the appropriate setting, be it portrait or macro.

Eager to try out my new toy, I wasted no time by snapping photos of our special Christmas-morning breakfast: banana pancakes!

I wanted some protein…

…so I topped my three pancakes with plain Oikos Greek yogurt and real maple syrup.

It was quite a festive morning.

We hung around the house for a little while (Ari read me the first 20 pages of the camera manual), then headed out to the movie theater to see Sherlock Holmes.  We always see movies on Christmas Day, and tend to go to the big blockbusters.  The rest of New York City seemed to have the same idea as us; the line was so long it snaked up three flights of stairs!  Luckily, my parents got there early and were in the front of the line.  We tease my mom for wanting to get to movies, restaurants, and airports early, but sometimes she’s right

Meanwhile, Ari and I stopped at a deli to get lunch.

My spinach salad had beets, mandarin oranges, carrots, curried shrimp cucumbers, blue cheese and honey mustard dressing on the side.

We also snacked on chestnuts my dad had roasted in the morning…

… and sneaked some homemade, unbuttered (but generously salted!) popcorn in… all of a sudden, I can’t get enough salty snacks!

The movie was really good (as was the eye candy); although I fell asleep for the first hour.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me- you really can’t take me anywhere! The theater was pretty warm, though.  It was pouring rain when we left the theater, so we hurried home to leftovers and a warm apartment.

We had pumpkin/sweet potato/coconut soup…

… pasta using slow-roasted tomatoes for sauce (delicious)…

… and a palate-cleansing fennel-and-navel-orange salad.

We gobbled up the last of the bûche de Noël for dessert, of course!

The magic of the holidays doesn’t seem to be dissipating, no matter how old I get or how “adult” my life may seem to be.  It’s not about gifts or fancy dinners, but a time to share with my family and those I love.

I hope you had a happy, healthy and safe holiday.  Until next year…

Read about last year’s Christmas at the LVP household!

This morning [...]]]> Evening! How was your Monday? Mine was lovely, but very long.  I’m about ready to roll over and go to sleep… then wake up and do it all again!  This is working life, I guess. I actually really like having a routine, I just wish there were  more hours in the day.

This morning I was a little rushed to get things ready (and left a few dirty dishes in the sink for Ari… whoops).  We’re still really low on groceries; I’ve gotten some little things here and there, but haven’t done a big shop.  I think I’ll probably wait until after the holidays, though.  Anyway, I wanted to make a pumpkin cake, but I really didn’t have enough pumpkin.  And thus, the pumpkin-banana cake was born! I just mixed up a banana, pumpkin, pumpkin butter and egg whites together and microwaved them for 3 minutes.  I topped the mixture with plain yogurt, lemon curd and flaxy peanut butter, and mixed that all up, too. Mm-mm good!

At work I snacked on a Mocha-walla bar; I wasn’t exactly hungry, but it was a little slow in the office because of the holidays so I think I just ate out of boredom.  These bars always make me think of my friend K!  This was pretty good… not my favorite, but I’d probably buy it again.  I like the chunks of chocolate!

I stopped at Whole Foods yesterday to pick up some things (mostly protein) that I can mix into salads for fast and easy lunches to bring to work.  I’ll be honest: I’m not too proud that I haven’t been able to cook as much as I’d hoped, but I think I’ll get a better hang of it once I’ve settled in a little better.

My salad today had spinach, edamame salad, cabbage slaw, corn salad and sesame-baked tofu.

I ate with a friend from work, who stopped at Pret-à-Manger for her lunch.  While there, I picked up a container of antioxidant vinaigrette to dress my salad with because it was made with blueberries!  The sales clerk didn’t even charge me for it.  Tis the season for kindness and generosity

Back at work, I snacked on an apple and did some research.  Yep, I get paid to read! I love my job

One of my coworkers made my day when he not only brought me a copy of Sarma Melngailis’ Living Raw Food (which I have been lusting after for months), but a raw coco-nutty treat as well! It had raisins, seeds, coconut, and all sorts of good things. I think it’s high time my food processor was put to work to make some of these goodies.

When I left work, I high-tailed it to the West Village to meet my parents, George, Judy and Anita for Judy’s birthday dinner at Il Mulino.  Almost as soon as we sat down, we were given an amuse boûche of marinated tomatoes, mussels and fried zucchini.

We were each also given hunks of parmesan (which I may or may not have brought home with me)…

…and a bread basket for the table with the most delicious smoked chili oil-soaked strips of crusty bread.

The ladies ordered Manhattans…

… and we toasted Judy.

My dad and I split two appetizers: fresh calamari sautéed in a spicy herbed tomato sauce…

… and black squid-ink linguini with scallops, shrimp and calamari.  I only had a few bites of this (although it was quite delicious)… I wanted to save room!

For my entrée, I ordered the branzino special.  This was the most tender sea bass I’ve ever eaten: light, fluffy, and oh-so delicate.  It really only needed a bit of lemon!

After Jud blew out her candle…

we split three desserts six ways:  The best flourless chocolate cake I’ve had in my life, with the best whipped cream I’ve had in my life.  Seriously.

The sweetest fresh strawberries with cinnamon sabayon…

…and ricotta-mascarpone cheesecake.

We were also brought out glasses of grappa, and toasted again.  (I only had a sip, and gave the rest to George.)

Happy Birthday, Judy!

It was a wonderful night.

This morning I took a break from oatmeal and made Sarah’s pumpkin cakes.  Instead of adding sweetener and spices, I used a scoop of pumpkin butter!

I [...]]]> Evening! Hope you had a slam-dunk kind of day.  Mine was long and full, and I am more than ready to curl up and relax for the night!

This morning I took a break from oatmeal and made Sarah’s pumpkin cakes.  Instead of adding sweetener and spices, I used a scoop of pumpkin butter!

I topped the “cake” with a generous portion of plain Chobani and a scoop each of lemon curd and flaxy peanut butter.  Delicious combination! Just like Lemon Meringue Pumpkin Pie.

The subways were running smoothly and I got off the train with enough time to stop by my mom’s hair salon to say hello.  It was a nice way to start the day!

I worked all through the morning, breaking only to unwrap my Raisin Spice Heart Thrive cake.

I decided to take my lunch at my desk and catch up on some emails.  While it’s cold outside, I have a feeling I’ll do this a lot!

I had leftover tofu nabe and rice and a cup of Stonyfield Chocolate Underground yogurt.  Saved the apple for my afternoon snack  Last night, I put a handful of frozen shrimp into a Ziplock bag and refrigerated it.  By the time lunchtime rolled around, it was ready to eat!

It made a great addition to my soup!

Remember my new trick of drinking coffee in the early afternoon?  Well, today we were out of cups!  I’d brought my coffee to work this morning as well, but couldn’t get the top of the thermos off.  So, this girl was running on ZERO caffeine!  Not ideal.

I had to stop by HR today, and while there took a Mary-Jane to spike my energy.  (That egg-shaped thing is my new Eos chapstick… isn’t it cute? It moisturizes pretty well, too!)

There was a minor crisis as I was getting ready to leave the office, but we solved it and left by 5:30.  It was a rare night when Ari was free for dinner, so we went out for Thai.  We shared an order shrimp spring rolls as an appetizer… I don’t usually like fried spring rolls, but these were actually pretty good.

For my entrée, I ordered the “Healthy Ginger”: vegetables and shrimp sautéed in a fresh ginger sauce.  I half with brown rice, and packed up the rest to take home.  This was my third time having shrimp in one day!  Wonder if I could get a job at Bubba Gump?

Ari was happy with his dinner, too… he usually gets Pad See Ew.

I had a dessert plate (dried prunes, figs, almond butter and chocolate) while Ari did a little more work.  I missed these. They always hit the spot!

Off to bed!  There is a teensy chance I’ll get up and run in the morning, but it’s pretty unlikely.  I can’t wait until I’m a little more settled into work and can figure out how I’m going to manage my exercise routine… I need those endorphins!  Any tips?

Have a great night

Last night, after we got back from the wedding, I hunkered down to do some reading and prepare for my interviews.  All of that brain stimulation must have shot my metabolism into [...]]]> Good evening, Upper East Siders!  How are you? I’m taking a little work break to blog and catch up on my Gossip.

Last night, after we got back from the wedding, I hunkered down to do some reading and prepare for my interviews.  All of that brain stimulation must have shot my metabolism into overdrive, because only a couples hours after dinner,  my tum was a-grumblin’ something fierce! I thought I might just be thirsty, but that didn’t seem to be it.  Finally, I put down my book and headed into the kitchen to make a bowl of Kashi GoLean and Smart Start. Problem solved!

This morning, I woke up bright and early to see Ari off.  As I mentioned, he’s going Vigilante through December, and had to leave at 7:30 this morning.  I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind was already up and ready to go.  I had to be at physical therapy at 10 anyway, so I just got up and made breakfast.

Taking Jess‘s advice, I heated up half of a Trader Joe’s Berry Mango Bran Muffin, crumbled it up, and tossed in on top of 0% Fage with some warmed frozen berries and a scoop of flaxy PB.  I really like this peanut butter, by the way.   It’s both crackly and crunchy and adds great texture!

Quite the mess!

My therapy session went well… I still have a lot of tightness in pretty much each muscle in my legs, so I have to keep working on that.  Repeat after me: yoga, rolling and stretching, okay!  When I got back, I briefly chatted with the guest who is staying with us, made myself an apple-cinnamon snack, and retreated to my room to be interviewed (via phone) with the HR department for the company I’m interviewing with.

It shaped up to be one of those days where I was constantly hungry, so I made something as soon as the clock showed that it was even remotely close to lunchtime.  Ellie reminded me yesterday about the beauty of the crack wrap, so I made one with a whole wheat wrap, three-layer hummus, and a slice of Jarlsberg cheese.

I ate it with half a can of Progresso’s Fat Free Lentil soup.   This isn’t the tastiest of the canned variety, but I had a hankering for soup.  I’ll definitely be making my own in the near future!

Finished up the meal with a piece of salt water taffy for a sweet end.

I’ve been searching in vain for the seasonal Celestial Seasonings teas (like Sugar Cookie and Gingerbread)… any New Yorkers know where I can track it down?  I settled on a cup of Sweet Coconut Thai Chai, which was a good substitute…

…but it knocked me right out!  Ari caught me snoozing at 5PM when he woke me up with a phone call.  Whoops! I snacked on some carrots to perk me back up…

… then did Yoga Download‘s Hip Opening Flow #2.  I have trouble practicing yoga for more than 20 minutes when I’m not in class… does anyone have tips for staying in the moment? Turning off my phone would probably be a good start!

I heated up some leftover Coconut Barley Pilaf and made a quick salad with kale, broccoli slaw, grape tomatoes, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar.

Honestly, as much as I love my fancy salad dressings, I could probably make a sesame vinaigrette every night and be happy.  It’s simple, but so delicious.  I don’t even use measurements or mix anything together… the vinegar and oil just get drizzled on.

I made another quick dessert, starting with a tri-flavored chocolate sauce using Pure Dark cardamom chocolate, semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips.

I added a few drops of water, microwaved the bowl for 35 seconds, then mixed in some Brown Sugar ice cream.

And thus concludes another day’s passing without having spent a single extra dollar on food.  I’m going to have to buy some fresh produce soon, as we’re running low on fruit and vegetables, but otherwise the kitchen is pretty stocked.  It’s a satisfying feeling.

Back to work… it’s going to be a late night.  Bonne nuit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope you had a fabulous day. Bonne nuit