This morning was pretty productive… I churned [...]]]> For some reason, it’s always the songs I don’t really like that end up getting stuck in my head for days on end, to the point where I end up wanting them to come on the radio. Exhibit A: every song by the Black Eyed Peas.

This morning was pretty productive… I churned out a short paper (after tomorrow’s class I am done with French class FOREVER) and had a killer workout at the gym.

While making lunch, I was snacking so much that I finally just had some Tofurkey so there would be some lunch left to eat.

At the gym, I did 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, 35 minutes (6.5 miles) on the bike, and 1/2 mile on the treadmill. It’s been three or four weeks since I’ve run, and honestly I’ve been a little scared of doing it recently because I’m worried I’ll go back to hating it. The five minutes were effective: I can still do it, and I got to see the end of Boyz n the Hood I also did arms/back and abs.

Total time: 1 hour 32 minutes

Maximum heart rate: 178 (89%)

Average heart rate: 132 (66%)

Calories burned: 652

I brought a big salad of romaine, zucchini, tomatoes, green bell pepper, hummus, feta, and a Morningstar Farms Grillers Vegan burger that I heated up in the gym microwave. I brought Annie’s Lite Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (surprise!) but the hummus got all mixed through in transit so I only ended up using a little for the last bit.

Before I left the house, I microwaved a diced apple with cinnamon and mixed it into nonfat plain yogurt with a little honey. Delish, even if it wasn’t warm.

My friend was working at the front desk at the gym and gave me one of these Persian rolled cookies.  It’s made with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and other spices… pretty darn tasty.

I was so full from lunch (which was only a little over an hour ago!) but I think I’m going to have a Super-Charge Me cookie or something.  We’ll see!

Hope you’re enjoying the last of your weekend

This afternoon after class (we had a guest lecturer about the role of French museums in globalization… very interesting), I had an apple.  I [...]]]> Is it Friday yet? No? Didn’t think so.  I’m probably going to be extremely tiresome and ask that every day until it actually is Friday, but please bear with me.

This afternoon after class (we had a guest lecturer about the role of French museums in globalization… very interesting), I had an apple.  I was walking down the stairs, so forgive the horrible picture! (To preserve the integrity of the blog I refrained from taking a photo of a new apple when I got home.)

While making dinner, I snacked on some pickles which I discovered in the back of the fridge.  Pickles (especially these generic green-as-can-be pickles) seem to never go bad.

I tried out two new recipes tonight.  Both were very quick, and very tasty!

A couple weeks ago Kath posted a great tutorial on homemade bean burgers.  I have a bunch of black beans in the fridge that I need to use up, and I LOVE black bean burgers whenever I have them.  The great thing about Kath’s recipe is that you can season your burger any way you want, and use almost any type of bean.

I used the last of my Annie’s BBQ sauce (less than 1 tsp) and some roasted red peppers as my “mix-ins.” It could look prettier…

It ended up looking very “burger”-like, though! Quite a relief.

I served it on an Arnold’s Sandwich Thin topped with extra sharp white cheddar, spinach, and lots of ketchup.

This was so good. I’m so glad I know how to make my own burgers now! There might be a repeat in the near future…

New recipe #2:

Quick Spring Pea Soup

Adapted from this recipe in April 2009 Bon Appétit

Serves 2-3

• 1 cup frozen peas, divided in half
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• pinch chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp ground sage powder
• nonfat plain yogurt

Sauté garlic and onion in oil until onion is tender, about 4 minutes. Add in chili flakes and cook for one more minute.  Add half the frozen peas (1/2 cup), vegetable broth, and spices; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool a couple minutes, then transfer to blender (in batches) and purée. (It kind of looks like a Green Monster, don’t you think?)

Meanwhile, heat remaining peas in microwave. Season hot soup with pepper and ladle into bowls. Garnish with whole peas and yogurt, and additional chili flakes if desired.

Very Spring meal.

During class tonight, we did used Reese’s Pieces to help us understand climate. (Yes, this is one of those science classes for liberal arts majors/seniors who need their science requirement to graduate.) The yellow Pieces represent 18-O, and the brown 16-O. Don’t ask me tomorrow what that means.

I had far more than what is pictured.  What can I say, Reese’s are crack to me.

That wasn’t enough dessert for me, so I had some dried fruit and almond butter (less than usual- about 1/2 tsp) when I got home.

Tomorrow is going to be an even longer day than today, so I’m off to bed.  Hope your Monday has been fantastic! Bonne nuit

This morning, my mom made us some scrambled eggs.  This is her go-to sick food, lazy dinner, out-of-groceries food, etc.  I can never get my eggs to taste like hers… because not only does she [...]]]> Happy Sunday!  We still have a few hours of the weekend left, so I hope your morale is stellar.

This morning, my mom made us some scrambled eggs.  This is her go-to sick food, lazy dinner, out-of-groceries food, etc.  I can never get my eggs to taste like hers… because not only does she use butter (I don’t even know if we have any in the fridge here) but she has that inimitable mother’s touch.  (Hi Mom!)

Baguette with jam/ marjarine and fruit  (x 2):

The Veggiepatch clan does not mess around with breakfast.  Look at all the different types of jellies and honeys!

We decided to go see Rachel Getting Married (because I goofed up the theaters… we’d meant to see Milk!) and went to Starbucks and Breadsmith to kill some time before the movie.  I got a tall coffee (which my mom accidentally poured whole milk into… I’m still alive) and split a mini chocolate babka roll.

We wandered into a cooking store, where they were sampling all different kinds of olive oils and vinegars. I had a little piece of bread with a v-e-r-y flavorful EVOO.

Then my dad got a call from the airline saying their flight had been canceled due to weather… he managed to get them on another flight but it was leaving three hours earlier so we had to skip the movie and go straight to the airport.  Sad, but I’m glad they got on the flight… they just are not lucky at all with flying this weekend!

I came home to this box from Diana over at POM Wonderful.  I LOVE this stuff, and I’m very excited to incorporate it into some recipes. Thank you, POM!

I unloaded all my groceries while deciding what to have for lunch.

Dairy & Protein

Grains & Carbs... the English muffins were on sale so I ended up with three packages!

Nuts, figs, canned things & other miscellaneous goodies.

Fresh produce!

I made a salad with romaine, grape tomatoes, onion, a Dr. Praeger’s California veggie burger (dinner is going to be something “California”-themed from Veganomicon, to give you a hint!) and a Laughing Cow Light wedge.

A juicy navel orange (it is so nice to have fruit again!):

With some Annie’s Woodstock dressing for dipping.

It’s always hard to get back on track after a vacation(ish), but this was a pretty filling lunch.  I toasted the burger like I saw Sarah do with a patty and Miss Gliding Calm do with tempeh… great idea, but it doesn’t work so well with these soft burgers! It was almost a disaster, but only a tiny piece crumbled to the bottom of the toaster.  I have to make sure I remember it’s in there the next time I use it!

My friends I was with in Paris and I decided to have a Sisterhood of the Traveling ______ type thing so we can keep and touch and think about each other, even when things get crazy and we may not have time to talk on the phone.  I got a sweater in the mail (modeled by Jack, my favorite green monster) from my friend Lindsay today… can’t wait to see what adventures I have in it!

Well, the long weekend is coming to a close and it’s back to reality (there goes gravity! Yes, I’ve seen 8 Mile about 5 times, big dork that I am) and school life. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the day!

I ran a nice two miles on the treadmill after breakfast. It’s getting [...]]]> Good morning, beauties! I hope you have all had a w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l sleep.  Other than massacring my legs (I scratch while sleeping… weird, huh?) I slept pretty well, thank you!  Let’s backtrack to yesterday, though, while my fuzzy brain can still remember.

I ran a nice two miles on the treadmill after breakfast. It’s getting easier and easier, and one of these days I’m going to step it up to 3 miles (crazy talk, I know!), which I haven’t done since my injury.  I alternated between an easy jog at 5.6 and some 6.5 sprints. These were fun! It was also my first experience with Giada on TV, so that made it a lot more fun.

After my run, I did the exercise cards from this month’s SELF.

These are great for a total-body workout that doesn’t require any equipment! The “models” are also wearing my sneakers, so I felt pretty special.

Total time: 46:17

Maximum heart rate: 197 (99%)

Average heart rate: 155 (78%)

Calories burned: 444

My mid-morning snack was a Gala apple and some almonds.

We went to Black’s Ford for lunch. I love this place, but they’re not open on Sundays which is when I usually see my grandparents. What a treat!

They perfectly foamed my skim cappuccino.

I was going to be virtuous and get a soup and salad, but the black bean burger sounded really good and the chef told me it was delicious. Have to trust the chef! It was covered in jack and cheddar cheeses. I only ate half the bun and a couple chips.

After lunch, my dad and I decided to get my grocery shopping out of the way so my mom wouldn’t have to do it when she got here.  I had some cheese samples (x 2):

Half of this salmon sample (it wasn’t very good):

We found this big bag of dates for only $3.75!  They were a little dry, but still tasty.  I wonder if I could plump them up in water or something…

I’ve been looking forward to dinner at Heidi’s all week, and it did NOT disappoint.

I sipped on a glass of chianti throughout the meal… see, I can change! I don’t have to be a white wine kind of girl all the time.

The bread was simple, but excellently salted which really makes all the difference. Scrumdiddlyumtious.

To start, I ordered the Smoked Rhode Island diver scallops on a garlic palette with mustard seed vinaigrette.  Sweet Lordy, but I could have just ate these all night!

This is a little clearer… the palette was creamy and almost cheesy and really made the dish.

For my entrée, I (and half the table) ordered the Steamed Scottish salmon with snow crab stuffing, a passion fruit reduction, sage foam and purple potato puree. Heaven.

I ate about 60% because I was saving room for this queen: It’s called, appropriately, Pure Chocolate: Chocolate sorbet with a sliver of chocolate cake and chocolate sauce.

I’m not usually a sorbet fan but this was truly unbelievable.  It was so rich, and clearly made with the finest quality chocolate.

My poor mama’s flight was delayed THREE hours, so she didn’t get in until 2 AM. My dad and I went to see a movie while we waited (The Reader… loved). When we got out, the theater was closing and we noticed a sad bag of popcorn all bagged up.  The concession stand clerk let us have it; we thought it would make my mom happy after her flight from hell.

Santa's coming back to town, kids!

I had an apple when I got home before bed.

Time for breakfast! I might sacrifice my workout for family time today… some things are more important than others.  Have a wonderful Saturday!

I’ve never actually seen that video before, but the song came into my head when I looked outside and saw how cold and gray it was. Oh, the 90s were so futuristic!

As delicious as it was, my luscious bowl of oats did not hold me over at ALL. First I had [...]]]> [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeQF5OlSg7Q]

I’ve never actually seen that video before, but the song came into my head when I looked outside and saw how cold and gray it was. Oh, the 90s were so futuristic!

As delicious as it was, my luscious bowl of oats did not hold me over at ALL. First I had some carrots…

Then a graham cracker with almond butter (hard to eat while painting your nails, you know?).

Then I decided just to give in and have lunch. I wanted to try my other new salad dressing:

Honey mustard is one of my FAVORITES, which is kind of a recent development, actually. I always get the fat-free dressing on my subs when I go to Subway on car trips. Yum-a-licious.

Anyway, I used it to dip my Morningstar Farms (Grillers Prime) and spinach into. This was also my first go with the Monarchy ketchup: it tastes so much more tomato-y than Heinz. There are a lot of herbs in the bottle, so it’s a little like pasta sauce… but as a ketchup. Pretty freaking good.

I also had a mini TJ whole wheat bagel with hummus.

I went to class with my gym clothes on, and even raced back home because I forgot my ID. But… too tired for a major workout so I’m just going to do a lovely Yoga Download on our beautiful and [relatively] clean floor. I think I made the right choice.

I don’t think we’re watching a movie in Geocinema tonight, so this is going to be one long 3-hour science class for my poor Humanities brain. Humbug.

Have a great night!

Edited to add: There are so many giveaways this month! Check out Strawberry Shortstuff for a chance to win some yummy bars. Mmm, bars.

Yesterday my will to get up and out of the house was dragging, so I had a little help from Mr. Chocolate.  He’s a good friend like that.

The gym [...]]]> Guten morgen, bloggers!  I just talked to Ari, who is in Germany right now.  Pretty cool, huh? I wish I could be there so badly!

Yesterday my will to get up and out of the house was dragging, so I had a little help from Mr. Chocolate.  He’s a good friend like that.

The gym had to wait a little because, since it was the first day the water wouldn’t freeze right off, there was a huge line at the car wash.   It might have been my first time going to a car wash all by myself.  Just might.

My workout at the gym was pretty good, but nice and easy.  I didn’t bring the little attachment that clips onto the strap for my HRM, so I don’t have exact stats, but roughly:

20:00 stairs

1.15 mile run, @ 5 mph (12:00 mile)

ab series

Total calories burned: 350 (ish)

I came home and had a banana (Andy Warhol anyone?)

Dinner was a big salad with romaine, spinach, arugula, chickpeas, a Morningstar Farms Griller’s Prime burger, and a laughing cow.

With light sundried tomato vinaigrette for dipping:

Wine and grapes (I’m so classy):

And a heated up Chocolate Chip Z bar for dessert.

So, why is it that late at night, when my defenses are down, I CRAVE carbs?  In high school, cereal was my go-to late night snack, and I guess that just got ingrained into my brain that once it’s late and I’m tired, it’s time to gorge on cereal.  Which is exactly what I did. Twice. Two bowls of Fiber One/ Oatmeal Squares/ Mueslix with skim milk.  Ugh! Tomorrow is another day, tomorrow is another day…

I thought about just having a yogurt or something for breakfast, but took what I know is the smarter road and had a breakfast cookie. I’ll just make sure I get in a lot of fruits and veggies throughout the day.

Well, I’m off to shower and then go have brunch with my grandparents.  Enjoy the last day of the weekend!

My oatmeal held me through all my errands and beyond  (I’ve now driven to school and back three times).  I wasn’t entirely hungry [...]]]> The Long John, that is.  I pulled on my Under Armour under my skirt today to combat the 5˚ weather, and voila! Who says style has to suffer in the cold?

My oatmeal held me through all my errands and beyond  (I’ve now driven to school and back three times).  I wasn’t entirely hungry when I ate lunch, but it was either eat at 1:30 or wait until 4.  I don’t need my stomach to grumble on the first day of class!

I made a simple salad and used my new cutting board to do the chopping.  Its lemon cuteness brightened my day!

In here was a big handful of arugula, two roma tomatoes, some onion (too much!),  a Dr. Praeger’s California veggie burger, and a wedge of Laughing Cow Light.

Some light sundried tomato vinaigrette for dipping:

My psyillium supplement arrived while I was gone, so I had one for lunch.  You probably think I’m crazy for swallowing so many pills… and my iron count is low (which may be causing my fatigue) so I’ll have to add one more to the stash!

I can finally quell my jealousy at all of your TJ’s Greek yogurt!

I liked it a lot.  It was sweet, but not too sweet and the honey flavor was subtle and not overwhelming.  It would have been delicious with berries and nuts.

I got a lot of mail while I was gone…

And samples of Quaker’s True Delight bars!

Today was sort of like Christmas; Carlye brought me some chocolate from Russia. I can’t wait to try them, especially the kind that is just FOR MEN. Ha.

The class I went to today looks like it’ll be pretty interesting.  It’s about French contemporary art in the 60s, concentrating on May 1968.  (What makes it particularly exciting is that the professor decided to have our Monday and Wednesday classes be 1-1/2 hours instead of 1 and no class on Friday, meaning… long weekend! Trips!)

I just had a Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut (that’s a mouthful!) True Delights bar.

Ingredients:

WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, CORN SYRUP, MACADAMIA NUTS, CRISP RICE (RICE FLOUR, SUGAR, MALT EXTRACT, SALT), DRIED BANANAS, BROWN SUGAR, OLIGOFRUCTOSE, HONEY, DRIED COCONUT, GLYCERIN, INVERT SUGAR, SUNFLOWER OIL, COCONUT OIL, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, FRUCTOSE.

CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF SEA SALT, SORBITOL, SUGAR, WATER, SOY LECITHIN, DEXTROSE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CARAMEL COLOR, VANILLA EXTRACT, SALT, NATURAL MIXED TOCOPHEROLS (ANTIOXIDANT), MALTODEXTRIN, WHEY, SODIUM CASEINATE

Nutrition Info:

Calories: 140, Fat Calories: 45

Total fat: 5g, 2g saturated

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 95mg

Carbohydrates: 23g

Protein: 2g

This bar had a lot of tastes (as its name suggests) but they were all distinct and tasty.  The bananas were particularly good; they reminded me of the banana ice cream I used to love to eat in the summer in Long Island.  I’ve already expressed my distaste for macadamia nuts, but there were only a couple and they actually positively added to the texture and taste.  All in all, very good bar! I’d buy this again.

It’s so nice to be back to regular posting.  I get a little overwhelmed when I have to do a whole day’s worth of eats, and this helps structure my day and meals a little better.

Now that it’s been up for a few days, what are your thoughts about the new blog? What works and what doesn’t?  It still feels really new, and I’m just starting to get used to WordPress, so any suggestions you have for making it better would help a lot.  Thanks!

Have a great rest of the day!