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Filtering by Tag: oikos

packin' it up

Andrea

Good evening!  I had a very long day again today, but it started with a RUN!  That's right, I was in bed last night by 11:10pm and up at 6:05am...whippee! My hubb and I ran 3 miles.  It felt great to be out stretching my legs as the sun was rising and I got a little thrill each time today when I remembered that I had ALREADY worked out.  Love that!  I really need to make this whole morning run thing part of my regular routine...  Its especially helpful during these busy weeks at the office when the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is work out. Exercise:  3-mile run [-318 cal] So I knew that today would be a long day, and I packed up plenty of food to sustain me through breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It wound up being an intuitive eating day, I just snacked my way through whenever I found a spare moment. Breakfast:  1/2 cup Fage 0% with 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup TJ's pumpkin spice granola and 2 chopped figs. [256 cal] 090211-b1 For lunch I made my hubb a couple of mexi-wraps because we were out of lunch meat (his typical packed lunch of choice).  They looked SO good that I decided to make one for myself too. Lunch:  mexi-wrap made with whole wheat tortilla, spinach, salsa, black beans, frozen corn, black olives, red bell pepper, 1 tbsp monterrey jack cheese and green onions [246 cal] 090211-l1 090211-l2 Snacks:  I packed grapes and a pear, but wound up saving my pear for later.  I did go on a walk to the coffee shop with my hubb and gave in to a gluten-free chocolate biscotti - it was just one of those kind of days. [grapes = 110 cal, biscotti = 280 (a went with the highest calorie count I found on myfooddiary...it was a big biscotti)] 090211-s1 For dinner I packed myself some leftover lentil chili on top of a bed of spinach.  When I heated the dish it made the spinach all wilty...it was so good in the chili!  So good that I think I'll consider actually adding spinach directly to the chili next time I make it. Dinner:  leftover chili on spinach [365 cal] 090211-d5 When I finally got home I was craving some dessert  My pear made a reappearance...in a snackie dessert bowl! Dessert:  6oz Oikos honey-flavored yogurt, 1 sliced pear and 3 lemon snaps, crumbled [341 cal] 090211-d1 See what I mean?  It was such a snackie, intuitive day full of little 250 cal - 350 cal meals.  I actually really liked it, and my numbers aren't too bad either. Daily Totals:
  • calories consumed = 1598
  • calories expelled = 318
  • net calories = 1280
Alright, I'm going to go catch up with my hubb and shoot for an 11pm bed time again.  Maybe I'll do some yoga in the morning, since I missed tonight's class again!!!  Darn project deadlines.  I'm sorry I haven't answered any comments yesterday or today...I'll get there soon, promise.  I miss reading all of your blogs, too!  Hopefully I can catch up soon.  Oh!  I did catch in my reader that Meghann is having a contest to give away an awesome sports bra!!!  Be sure to check it out, or not, so that I have a better chance of winning!  :) Can I win if I'm family?!? G'night!
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quick eats and cranberry ketchup!

Andrea

Hello fellow bloggies!  Can you believe we're so close to Christmas!?!  Yikes!  Another quick recap...  Breakfast:  1/2 cup plain Oikos with 1/2 cup TJ's pumpkin spice granola and one sliced banana. 081217-b1 Morning Snack:  Breakfast didn't stick with me 'till lunch time, so I dug a chocolate chip Clif ZBar out of my drawer at the office and ate 1/2. Lunch:  Whole wheat pita stuffed with TJ's edamame hummus, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, alfalfa sprouts and broccoli slaw, along with a cup of TJ's Veggie Lentil soup. 081217-l1 Afternoon Snack:  The other 1/2 of my ZBar and a Minneola Tangelo...yummy.  :) 081217-s21 Dinner:  Veggies and tofu simmered in TJ's Korma Sauce on top of jasmine rice with a side of steamed broccoli. 081217-d4 This sauce was really good.  The hubb and I love Indian cuisine so I was excited to find this sauce at Trader Joe's last week... 081217-d1 We pan-fried the tofu similarly to this method, but cut into smaller pieces and without the glaze at the end.  Once the tofu is brown on both sides, we added chopped onion and carrot and let it all saute together for 5-7 minutes. 081217-d2 When the onion and carrots were soft, we added a can of drained chickpeas and the jar of Korma sauce. 081217-d31 On top of jasmine rice it was sooooooo tasty.  :) Dessert:  One beautiful peanut butter filled date. 081217-d5 And I worked on some Christmas gifts!!!  I finally made the Cranberry Ketchup that Erin has been raving about...she sent me the recipe a few weeks ago and tonight I finally had a chance to make it up! Let me tell you all....It. Is. Awesome.  I plan to eat it on everything for the next few weeks.  I was planning to actually can the ketchup to preserve it for months, but started reading up on canning and became worried that I might give my loved ones botulism by incorrectly preserving their Christmas gift.  So, instead, the ketchup will be given to a select few of our Charlottesville friends with a friendly tag reminding them to keep it refrigerated and use it within 3 weeks...  :) cran-1 081217-cran-2 Are any of you making Christmas gifts this year?  
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simple eats

Andrea

What a day.  My brain is completely fried after an exhausting + frustrating 9 hours in the office.  I'm so glad that the hubb and I got up and ran this morning, there is no way I would have felt up to it tonight!  We ran a lovely 2 miles, with 1/4 mile warm-up and cool-down, for a total of 2-1/2 miles.  We're finally sticking with the weekly mileage in the training program so there will be a bigger difference between our long Saturday runs and our mid-week training runs.  We are bumping to 4 days of running per week too, up from 3, which I'm excited about!  I did pop my favorite power yoga dvd in the player for 45 minutes of strength training after work, followed by 15 minutes of crunches.   Here's a quick daily eats recap: Breakfast:  An Ezekiel cinnamon raisin muffin with 1 tbsp almond butter and a banana. 081216-b1 Lunch:  A whole wheat pita stuffed with 2 tbsp TJ's edamame hummus (YUM!), broccoli slaw, yellow bell pepper and cucumber, along with an Oikos blueberry yogurt.  This was my first blueberry Oikos experience...I literally got THE LAST OIKOS on the shelf at Harris Teeter.  Below the empty shelf was a sign that explained that they wouldn't be stocking Oikos for a short period due to a manufacturing problem.  I guess I owe my Whole Foods a blog apology for ranting about them last week...   :P  Anyway, the blueberry was pretty tasty but I really miss my honey flavor!!! 081216-l1 081216-l2 Snack:  A 12oz skim latte from my favorite coffee shop downtown and 1/2 a honeycrisp apple.  This apple was really disappointing as all my store-bought apples have been lately, I guess the season is finally over...  :( 081216-s1 Dinner:  Baked chicken, roasted veggies  (brussels, potatoes + golden beets) and Near East Whole Grain Blends (chicken + garlic). 081216-d1 081216-d2 Dessert:  Definitely breaking back into the chocolate covered strawberries in a little bit... I'm off to do more Christmas prep...we'll be in Florida in 1 week!!!  Yay!!!
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weekend eats recap + awards!

Andrea

Its Monday already?!?!?  Its amazing how quickly the weekends go by when you have so much to accomplish before the holidays.  :(  I have a weekend eats recap for you, and also a couple of exciting news tidibits! A big THANK YOU!!! to Ashley over at Sweet + Natural for liking my BSI recipe enough to proclaim it winner of BSI: PEPPERMINT!!!  I'm so excited, and thrilled at the great response I've had to the recipe!  I hope you all try the scones and let me know what you think.  Its easy to un-holiday them by replacing the eggnog with buttermilk and the peppermint with any toppings of your choice.  Some of my faves are dried cranberry + dark chocolate and orange zest, orange extract + cranberry...yum! Another big THANK YOU to Maggie over at Say Yes To Salad for the "I Love Your Blog" Award!  I'm completely touched, she is so sweet!!! iloveyourblog I've just recently discovered Maggie's blog and am enjoying getting to know it.  She has some fabulous recipes...go check her out!  I'd like to pass the award on to Jennifer at Running With Food.  Jenn also has some fabulous recipes to share, along with beautiful pictures, great stories and a HILARIOUS sense of humor!!!  Her posts always have me giggling...  I love your blog Jenn!!!  :) And last, thank you for all of the sweet comments regarding my new header look!  It was a lot of fun to design my own and tweak the css code, but time consuming!  So I'm glad that you've noticed and that you like the design, it makes it feel worth the effort!  :) Ok, weekend eats recap: Saturday Breakfast:  Red Currant Pancakes with 1/2  of a sliced honeycrisp apple. 081213-b10 Saturday Lunch / Snack:  Medjool Date with PB, 3/4 cup plain Oikos with 1/4 cup TJ's Pumpkin Spice Granola and a sprinkling of currants.  Breakfast was late so I just kinda snacked my way through the afternoon.  I also had a handful of TJ's multigrain tortilla chips... Several of you comment that you've never had currants before!  Just a warning, they are tart so if you're not a fan of tang you may want to try them before you add them to anything. 081213-l1 081213-l2 Saturday Dinner:  Take-out Thai...yum!  I ordered Pad Thai with Tofu and veggie spring rolls with spicy pineapple sauce. 081213-d2 081213-d1 Saturday Dessert:  1/2 a Peppermint Eggnog Scone. bsi-132 Sunday Breakfast:  Scrambled egg whites with sauteed pepper and onion, and two leftover Red Currant Pancakes.  This didn't turn out to be what I wanted so I just picked through about 1/2 the scrambled eggs...I ate both of my pancakes though!  :) 081214-b1 Sunday Lunch #1:  Leftover Pad Thai 081214-l1 The hubb and I were on different lunch schedules, and somehow we got out of the house to run errands without him eating anything.  A couple of hours in he was starving, and I was craving veggies since I hadn't had many over the previous 24 hours.  So we stopped at a little pizza place for his first lunch (calzone) and my second... Sunday Lunch #2:  Garden Salad with Bean Salad on top. Sunday Dinner:  So not healthy in any way...  Mexican Dip with Multigrain Tortilla Chips. 081214-d1 081214-d32 This is a classic favorite of ours.  The tradition started with my college roommate and I, we'd pile refried beans, salsa and shredded cheese together in a casserole dish and bake it for 20 minutes before dipping tortilla chips in while watching movies.  The hubb and I have experimented some and never have the same dip twice.  This one consisted of refried black beans, taco seasoning, sour cream, salsa, onion, orange bell pepper, corn, and cheddar cheese.  Sooooo good, yet so bad...  The good news is that this is the first time in the six weeks since I've been writing this blog that you have seen this dish.  We used to eat is once a week...seriously. Sunday Dessert:  A Peppermint Eggnog Scone. bsi-91 We went to the grocery store today, but I won't bore you with all the details.  We did get this fabulous treat though... 081214-brussels-1 Brussels Sprouts on their stalk!!!  I've never seen them in the store like this before. We tried growing them in our garden this year but because we don't spray, the bugs got to them before they could mature.  Aren't they fabulous!?!?! 081214-brussels-3 081214-brussels-2 Sadly I missed yoga yesterday because we were running errands.  I hate missing yoga, but will have to try to make up for it this week.  I'm going to try to keep my posts short and sweet because our evenings are jam-packed with Christmas prep, so this will probably be the last long post for awhile...I'm sure you won't mind because we're ALL busy!  :)
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leftovers and no-bakes!

Andrea

Happy Wednesday!  Can you believe Thanksgiving was already one week ago?!?  Crazy.  I hope you have all had a fabulous day.  Thank you all for the great comments today and for being so supportive of my blog and decision to try one post a day...I think it will be better to keep the food diary consolidated into a summary each night.  I'll give it a trial period and see how it goes!  :)  I'm sorry I haven't been responding to comments...I need to play catch-up!!! My day was pretty busy, but not as busy as it really needed to be.  I've got a big meeting on Tuesday in Raleigh for my project, and just 2 weeks until a big big big deadline.  I'm not feeling the pressure yet which scares me...I'm afraid its going to mean some REALLY late nights at the end of this two weeks.  :(  I did have a fabulous run after work though! Brian and I went to UVA campus for a lovely 2 mile run.  It felt SO GOOD!!!  Brian's legs are much longer than mine so he gets ahead of me but is sweet enough to slow down and let me catch up.  We don't talk much, which I'm actually starting to like because it gives me time to get lost in my own thoughts.  I'm just so excited that running is becoming enjoyable for me again and that so far I seem to be steering clear of injury!  WooHoo!  I can't wait to keep increasing my mileage and run the New Year's Day 5k, it'll be here before I know it! On to food... Breakfast: Slice of Maple Banana Cornbread (still moist after 4 days!!!) with 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 cup of vanilla Oikos and my persimmon. 081203-b1 081203-b2 081203-b3 This was my first persimmon, and I was surprised at how sweet/mild the flavor was. I was expecting it to be much more tart. The flesh is very similar to a mango, and the skin (in my opinion) is inedible. I enjoyed it, but wound up picking it out of the yogurt to eat on its own. The yogurt overpowered the mild taste of the fruit. Lunch: I made a quick lima bean and corn salad (inspired from a Self recipe this summer...) and tossed it on a bed of spinach.
  • 3/4 cup frozen lima beans, thawed
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
This was such a yummy combo, the dressing from the salad coated the spinach leaves perfectly. 081203-l1 081203-l2 Snack:  Pink Lady Apple (of course!) and the other 1/2 of my Cinnamon Roll Larabar. 081203-s2 Dinner:  Leftover Healthified Baked Ziti and a spinach salad.  Look at that monster piece Brian cut me!  Its actually only 1.5 servings, and I managed to eat most of it...! 081203-d1 My salad tonight had fresh spinach, hearts of palm, red bell pepper, celery, almonds and light ranch dressing.  Yum! 081203-d2 Dessert:  I made cookies!!!  I've been in such a baking mood lately...  This is another of Brian's favorite recipes from his grandmother.  I did make a few modifications...I just can't help myself!!!  These cookies are so great and simple because they require NO BAKING!!!  They are completely similar to Gina's breakfast cookies but not quite as healthy...  I thought about adding banana to these but I just don't know that they would hold up well enough to actually be little bite-size cookies.  Plus, I didn't want to derail Brian too much...  :)  Anyway, they are still hardening (but seem to be taking awhile...hopefully my modifications didn't screw them up!!!) so I will snap some pictures tonight and post the recipe tomorrow if they turn out ok.  And if not, I'll post Brian's grandmothers original recipe because I KNOW they are delicious!!! Here they are hardening... 081203-d3 Oh little chocolate-y, peanut butter-y, oatmeal-y bites of goodness I could eat all of you!!!! What is your favorite family recipe?
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1 day to go...

Andrea

Its the day before Thanksgiving!!!!!  Are you all as excited as I am?!?!  With only one work day between me and some amazing smoked turkey, I think its time for a bit of reflection about what we have to be thankful for... Its a bit of a long story, but I promise to get to a point. Last night I had a great chat with my momma.  We’re going to be apart for Thanksgiving this year, which is hard for both of us, so we were chatting about plans, menus, family etc.  I was telling her about the blogging community and how impressed I am with all of you that are participating in the Thanksgiving Challenge.  My mom and stepdad are big foodies, so they completely understand big grocery bills and mine and Brian’s unwillingness to compromise on the kinds of food that we eat.  We don’t want to compromise, but we still feel guilty about how much money we spend.  This year, my parents decided to help somebody less fortunate than all of us to have a happy Thanksgiving. My grandfather is living in a nursing facility near my parents’ home.  My mom is so grateful to the nursing staff for everything they have done for him, and she and my stepdad decided that this year they wanted to do something to give back.  She talked to the director to find out if there was anybody working at the center that was having a hard time and could maybe use a bit of help this year.  The director called her back with the name of an 18 year old woman working in the kitchen at the center for $7.50/hour.  The woman’s mother recently had a stroke and was unable to work, and her father had recently lost his job in this economic downturn.  At 18 years old, making $7.50/hour, this young woman is the only provider for she, her mother and her father.  My mom went to Publix and got a gift certificate large enough to cover everything the young woman would need to provide Thanksgiving dinner to her family.  When the director presented the young woman with the gift, she burst into tears and said “Now we can have a Thanksgiving.  The only food we have in the house is peanut butter”. After hearing this story I was reminded again of how generous and thoughtful my mother is and how lucky I am to have her as an influence in my life.  It really got me thinking about how we can make small sacrifices in our own lives and make a huge difference in someone else’s.  For me, the ultimate show of thanks is to be able to help someone less fortunate than yourself.  Brian and I are scheming about ways to do just that in December, so stay tuned... On to training: During my lunch hour yesterday I went to the running shop to talk to my 10-miler training program coach.  He is amazing, and took about 45 minutes out of his very busy day to talk with me about the issues I am having with my left foot and right knee.  He examined my shoes, took the insoles out of the shoes and examined them, examined the calluses on my feet (ew!) and had me test out several pairs of new shoes.  Because my current shoes only have about 150 miles on them and are still in good shape, he decided to have me try some inserts in them to help determine whether or not I needed more or less support in my shoe.  He wanted me to go for a test run and come back to the shop on Friday to report in.  So, after work Brian and I drove over to UVA campus to go for a run.  I love running around campus, its so pretty and well-lit and active, and the terrain is perfect.  We did almost 2 miles, and it felt fantastic!!!  My foot did hurt a bit and I made a bunch of mental notes to talk to my coach about, but other than the foot everything was great.  It was one of those fabulous runs where everything seems to click and you feel smooth and strong and like you could keep going for miles.  I loved it.   On to food: Dinner:  Brian made veggie chili!!!  Oh how I love chili. 081125-d11 He used:
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 5 carrots
  • 5 celery stalks
  • 1 onion
  • 1 can cannellini beans
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes
And his special chili seasoning (we make it all at once, and use about 1/2 per pot of chili.  the rest is stored in an airtight container in our spice cabinet).
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
  • 1 tablespoon dried, minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
We served it over brown rice curly-cue pasta.  There are many things in life that make me happy, and curly-cue pasta is definitely one of them. 081125-d2 Dessert:  One beautiful medjool date.  Yum. 081125-d3 Breakfast Today:  Oikos vanilla yogurt with fresh raspberries.  This was my first time trying the vanilla, I like that its not too sweet.  Honey is still my fave though.  I also had a slice of pumpkin cranberry bread with almond butter. 081126-b1 Lunch Today:  Trying to make room in the fridge, although this didn’t help too much.  I made a salad with broccoli slaw, cucumber, orange bell pepper and the last of my roasted red pepper hummus, about 4 tbsp.  I’m also going to heat up some Amy’s Vegetable Soup...I was bummed I didn’t have any bean soups for some protein.  :( 081126-l1 081126-l2 Snack Today:  Another piece of pumpkin cranberry bread with almond butter.  I’m pleased to announce that this bread is still wonderfully moist and yummy 4 days later! 081126-s1 Turkey Day Peek!!! I braved Whole Foods yesterday on my lunch hour (or lunch 2.5 hours as it wound up being...) to pick up the fresh ingredients we need for our meal.  On the menu...Roasted Veggies!!!  I love roasted veggies, can't get enough of them.  This is always the dish that Brian and I offer to make at holidays because it ensures that there will be plenty of veggies on our plates.  This year we will have
  • beets
  • brussels sprouts
  • carrots
  • onions
  • asparagus
  • broccoli
  • parsnips
  • grape tomatoes
turkey-day-veggies I can't wait.  What are you all making for Thanksgiving this year? Happy Wednesday!
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2 days to go...

Andrea

Good Morning!  Another busy day ahead...I panicked yesterday when I realized that when I get back from Thanksgiving "break" (I have both Thursday and Friday off...woohoo!) it would be December 1st!  My goodness, where did November go?!?  I have a big coordination meeting for my biggest project in the office on December 9th, which doesn't leave me much time to accomplish the thousands of things that need to get done.  So, I'm trying to cram as much in as I can before leaving Wednesday evening... I'm using my lunch break today to run errands, first to the running shop for new shoes (!!!), then to the vet to get dog food, and finally to Whole Foods to try and beat the after-work Thanksgiving shopping crowd. On to food... Breakfast: Bowl of Oats!  So good, this morning I mixed 1 cup prepared rolled oats, 1 banana all mushed up, 1 tbsp ground flax seeds, 1 tbsp almond butter and 1/4 cup pom seeds.  This was the first time for me to add nut butter to my oats and my goodness, I have been missing out!!!  It was a little higher in calories than I like for breakfast, but I ate about an hour earlier than normal and I'm still totally full three hours later...yay!   081125-b1 Lunch:  Another whole wheat pita stuffed with 2 tbsp roasted red pepper hummus, broccoli slaw and cucumber slices, along with my leftover tomato saffron soup. 081125-l1 081125-l2 Snack:  Since lunch is a little light in the protein area I decided on a honey Oikos with a pink lady. 081125-s1 I hope everybody has a fabulous day!  Wish me luck with my foot/shoes...hopefully I'll have new shoes to try out on my run tonight and a pain-free foot!  :)
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quickity quick recap

Andrea

I'm so sad that I missed my morning Blog post!  :(  My day started with a faulty alarm which resulted in me getting up 45 minutes later than I was supposed to.  Brian had custody of the camera (and thus the memory card) for a site visit this morning so I wasn't able to download my pics until afternoon, and by then I was completely swamped at work.  So, my apologies.  I'll give a quick recap because, again, I have lots of T-Day prep to do tonight! Breakfast: Oikos plain yogurt with fresh raspberries, slice of pumpkin cranberry bread with almond butter. Look familiar?!?! 081124-b1 081124-b21 Lunch: Whole wheat pita stuffed with 2 tbsp roasted red pepper hummus, broccoli slaw and cucumber slices, and an Amy's Lentil Soup. 081124-l1 Snacks:  Pink Lady apple and 1/2 a Clif Mojo PB Pretzel bar. 081106-s11 081118-s13 081124-s2 Dinner: Baked sweet potato with edamame, corn and broccoli (and 1/2 tbsp earth balance buttery spread). 081124-d1 Exercise:  There was none.  Today was a run day but I didn't have a chance to go to the running shop on my lunch break and I really didn't want to risk hurting my foot anymore.  Tomorrow the running shop is my priority and hopefully I will be on the road tomorrow night!  So, running around like a crazy woman doing chores and helping B with projects for a few hours will have to count... Turkey Day Peek!!! Last year Brian found this amazing stuffing recipe on FoodNetwork.com, Country Bread and Sage Dressing. It was so incredible, I wish I had pictures but amazingly enough I don't.  Luckily, we've decided to recreate the magic and serve it at T-Day 2008...so, stay tuned!  My favorite part is that it has hot Italian sausage in it, which adds a wonderful spicy flavor.  We are using our favorite sausage ever from Babes in the Wood, which I've written about before so I won't bore you again with their cool sustainable and humane methods.   Ok, sorry that was short and not nearly as exciting as last night's peek... Have a great night!
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baby. got. back.

Andrea

I attended my first spin class tonight....oh. my. goodness.  It was one of the best workouts I've had!  The instructor (my friend) is amazing, the workout was fabulous, the music was perfect.  I mean, this was my first spin class, but tell me who wouldn't love a class that ended with rolling hills to the sound of "Baby Got Back"?!?  Perfect. Backtrack:  My eating schedule was all off today.  I think its because I got up early for my doctor appointment and wound up eating about 60-90 minutes earlier than normal.  Or maybe the breakfast cookie didn't fill me up enough...guess I'll just have to test another of those beauties out to see! I snacked on my banana around 10:30, but was still starving so ate my pita at 11:45.  1/2 of the pita was soggy so I wound up just eating the filling out of that half.  The tuna salad and broccoli slaw went perfectly together... 081120-l3 I was meeting Christine for a walk at 12:30 and didn't want to fill up too much, so I saved my apple and Oikos for after our exercise.  If I haven't mentioned it before, pink lady apple slices dipped in plain Oikos is divine.  :) 081110-s21 Christine and I walked 3 hilly miles in about 50 minutes.  I enjoyed having chatty girlfriend time even more than getting out for exercise during lunch...it was a perfect break in my day. For a snack about 1 hour before spin I ate a chocolate chip Z Bar. 081120-s2 My spin class was right after work, and when I got home Brian had dinner nearly ready!  Yummy fresh veggie stir fry on jasmine rice.  It was the perfect light meal for after my workout, and so beautiful! 081120-d2 081120-d1 081120-d3 He used:
  • broccoli
  • red bell pepper
  • carrots
  • mushrooms
  • onion
  • celery
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp spicy szechuan sauce
  • scallions and sesame seeds on top
I ate about 1/3 of it, on top of 3/4 cup white jasmine rice.  Paired with a small glass of wine. 081120-d5 And for dessert a Kozy Shack rice pudding cup with frozen blueberries on top. 081120-d6 It was a great day.  I love big activity days because I'm not as concerned with what I consume, and I've learned to still portion things appropriately and not go overboard.  It is a very satisfying feeling.  :) I'm still looking for some good upper body workout dvd's...anybody have any suggestions?  I'd like something to combine with my running, yoga and occasional spin class... Have a great night!
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bye bye moles...

Andrea

I started off my morning with a trip to the dermatologist to have a couple of moles removed.  Yuck.  My doctor is great and a couple of my little spots were suspicious to her so she decided they should go.  I trust her, so off they went.  Two on my back, one on my thigh.  I'm kinda sad about the one on my thigh...I was very familiar with it because it was so visible to me.  And now there will be an ugly scar in its place, unfortunately below my shorts line.  :(  Is it weird that I was slightly attached to my moles?  Hmmmm.....   Okay, a little backtrack.  Last night I was in such a snackie mood (as evidenced by last night's post) and had a bit of a sweet tooth attack after dinner.  I satisfied it with a cup of unsweetened applesauce and some Annie's Honey Grahams on top.  Yummy.  I just love these little Bunnies!!! 081119-d4 I also decided that I wanted to try a Fitnessista Breakfast Cookie because I've been intrigued by them on Jenna's posts lately.  So last night I mixed together:
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla soy protein powder
  • 1 tbsp PB&Co Dark Chocolate Dreams
  • 1/8 cup Silk plain soy milk
  • 1/2 mashed banana
  • 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
I mashed it all out on a plate and stuck it in the fridge overnight.  When I woke up I had a chewy breakfast cookie waiting for me! 081120-b1 081120-b2 It was basically my typical oats bowl with the addition of the Dark Chocolate PB all mashed out into cookie form.  It didn't get as hard as I expected, I wasn't able to pick it up and eat it.  But I guess that makes sense with the banana in it.  I was excited about this new breakfast creation for a couple of reasons.  1) Who doesn't love a cookie for breakfast?!?  2) One of Brian's favorite things is his grandmother's No-Bake Cookies, which are very similar to this but they stick together better and get a little harder.  And they are completely unhealthy.  I see this as a jumping off point to "healthify" a classic favorite... For lunch I stuffed 1/3 of my leftover tuna salad into a whole wheat pita, along with some broccoli slaw. 081120-l2 Paired with a plain Oikos and a Pink Lady... 081120-l1 And for a snack I have my leftover banana from yesterday and a Clif Z-Bar. 081120-s1 I have lots of exercise planned for today!  I'm meeting my friend Christine for a 45 minute hilly walk at lunchtime.  And tonight I am going to my first Spin Class!!!  A friend of mine teaches at the University's gym, and even though I'm not a member anymore since I'm not a student, she can get me into the class for just $5!  I'm super-excited.  I've been reading about everybody else's spin classes and what great workouts they are, so I can't wait to try one myself!  I'll report in tonight. I hope everybody has a fantastic day!  Almost Friday!!!
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snow + award = happy day!

Andrea

Good Tuesday morning!  I woke up to discover 2 lovely things happened while I was sleeping... #1...It snowed last night!!!  Only a little dusting but it was still such a nice surprise.  Looking outside my office window now I see that it has all melted already...oh well.  #2...The lovely and talented Ashley at Sweet + Natural awarded me with the prestigious Superior Scribbler Award!  Isn't she a sweetie?  I love Ashley's blog because she delivers useful information and incredible recipes with a wonderfully witty style and gorgeous photography.  I can't wait to try more of her delectable recipes, if only I could get a handle on this new blogging obsession of mine that seems to be taking up all of my evening time...!  :) award I now give you the rules. 1. Post the award on your blog. 2. Link to me for giving it to you. 3. Link the originating post here. 4. Pass it on to three deserving people - I’m keeping Ashley's rule to continue the rebellion... 5. Post these rules for your recipients. So, here goes. 1. Allison at Green Dog Wine.   I love Allison's blog because she shares great recipes, has the cutest puppy, is at a very similar place in her life as me (we're even the same age!) and has a fabulous blog name encompassing her favorite things, which just so happen to be some of my favorites as well so I feel a slight kinship with her...  :) 2. Monica at SmarterFitter.  Monica is so clever.  She shares wonderful information and beautiful recipes and is a fabulous writer.  Plus, her blog is so ambitious with TONS of useful information.  And, she lives in the U.K.  I'm only a little jealous...  :) 3. Erica at Itzy's Kitchen.  Erica has great, quick recipes...especially her breads!  I am always looking for healthy, fast bread options and I find myself constantly turning to her blog for ideas.  Plus, she makes simply pleasing dinners that would be satisfying for both me and my husband, which is no small feat. Congrats Ladies! Enjoy!!! On to some food... Breakfast: One 5.3oz container of plain Oikos with a handful of fresh raspberries and sprinkling of sliced almonds on top.  I mashed the raspberries up so the juice colored the yogurt pink...tasty and pretty at the same time.  :)  Also, I've pictured a Luna Sunrise Apple Cinnamon bar and a banana, but I decided to save the banana for a snack since I am now REALLY full and over-calculated my breakfast calories. 081118-b12 081118-b2 Lunch: Another veggie wrap and apple combo, exactly the same as yesterday.  :)  Its a quick, filling lunch and I really enjoyed the added boost the black beans gave me.  Plus, I have WW tortillas in my fridge that I must use up.  Don't be surprised if you see another of these beauties on tomorrow's post. 081118-l1 081118-l21 Snack: Clif Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel bar.  This is my first Mojo bar experience so expect a product review later! 081118-s1 I'd like to introduce you to my little helper this morning, Mia.  She likes to stick close to the kitchen in the morning in case a little piece of turkey or cheese falls from the sky while Brian is making his sandwiches... mia Ok, I work 'till 6 tonight then have a 1-1/2 hour yoga class this evening, so it will be another late post tonight.  I revved up the crock pot this morning though for a batch of my black bean soup, so I'll be posting a new recipe tonight.  Woohoo!  Have a fabulous Tuesday!  :)
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almost there...

Andrea

Good morning! I'm going to try to keep this quick so I can get back to work.  Deadline is tomorrow at noon so life should return to normal then...hopefully!  :) Last night Brian and I went to watch our friend defend her title at CLAW, the Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers.  We had just enough time after work to run home to feed the dogs, but not ourselves.  So, we stopped at our favorite pizza place on the Downtown Mall, Christian's Pizza (no website, sorry!).  I wanted to get one of their vegan slices so as to be a bit more healthy by eliminating cheese and adding a whole wheat crust, but they were all out of the pre-made vegan slices.  So, I settled for a classic fresh tomato, mozzerella and basil...it was delicious.  :)  I had one slice, but these are some huge pizza slices so it was perfectly filling. 081111-d1 When we got home we decided to watch a movie and I was in a sweet/snackie mood.  I decided to try out the Annie's Bunny Grahams and...let me tell you...I was very impressed!  (sorry for the blurry...) 081111-s3 I love these little bunnies!!!!!  First off, they are adorable.  Second, they have amazing flavor and Third, they are perfectly, deliciously crunchy.  I paired a serving of them with a sliced pink lady apple.  A very satisfying sweet/snackie experience. 081111-s2 Ok, now for today.  And I'm sorry again for being so quick... Breakfast: Ezekiel cinnamon raisin muffin (1/2) with almond butter and banana slices on top, paired with a cup of plain Oikos and the rest of the banana slices. 081112-b3 These Ezekiel sprouted wheat muffins are great.  I'm still not totally sold on the plain sprouted wheat bread, but the cinn raisin muffins and the onion sesame bagels are really tasty. 081112-b11 And I've been using Whole Foods brand almond butter, but I'm not totally sold on it yet.  I'm really trying to love almond butter, but this brand isn't doing it for me.  Do any of you have a favorite almond butter brand? 081112-b2 Lunch:  What is becoming my "I don't know what to make for lunch" lunch...the veggie wrap.  Its just so tasty and it never fails to satisfy me so its a great go-to lunch when I'm not feeling creative in the morning. 081112-l1 Ingredients:
  • whole wheat tortilla
  • 2 tbsp roasted garlic hummus
  • baby greens
  • red bell pepper
  • cucumber
  • banana peppers
  • alfalfa sprouts
Paired, of course, with a pink lady apple.  :) 081112-l2 And for a snack I have yesterday's Larabar stashed in a drawer at my office.  The salad filled me up so much that I ate just 2/3's for lunch, had my apple and hour or two later, and the rest of my salad a couple of hours after that. 081111-s11 And thats my day!  Tonight Brian and I are going to a friend's house for the premier of Top Chef!!!!!!!! We have a tradition of cooking with a theme on Top Chef nights, sometimes it is a key ingredient (think BSI contest).  I think I may try to come up with a recipe for the BSI contest this week using sweet potato and try it out on everybody... I'll report in later.  I was so inspired by Meghann's recipe this week, if you haven't seen it yet you should check it out. Have a fabulous Wednesday!
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