Foodie

My friday started out with a smoothie and steel cut oats and half a banana and pb.

To save some time since we have a busy saturday of just “saturday stuff”- I am just going to highlight a few things…

I had Steamed Brussel Sprouts with green cabbage and some goddess dressing- Let me say, this was SO delicious! I actually had another bowl of this with some cheese on top!

I made another version of blondies based off on Veggie Girl’s Fig Almond Blondies and also inspired by my not so greatest -latest version of Bourbon Blondies.

This batch came out very very tasty and very cake like. Here is the recipe I used:

** Adapted from Veggie Girl’s Fig-Almond Blondies ( click to get her recipe)

(** which she had brilliantly adapted from the Raspberry-Almond Blondies recipe from Martha Stewart’s cooking website**)

• 6 ounces nonfat greek yogurt (I used Trader Joes)
• 1/4 cup Smart Balance Oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup ( I don’t have molasses but it is in the brown sugar so I decreased the maple)
• 1.5 cups flour (I used Organic Whole Grain All Purpose Flour)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup almonds, finely-sliced
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
  
  • Milk of choice, added to the batter as needed

  Get-It-Made:

  Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly coat an 8×8 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

  In a large bowl, add in the yogurt, oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and syrup. Mix well.

  In the same bowl, add in the flour, baking soda, sliced/slivered almonds, chocolate chips, and oats. As the mixture starts to thicken up/combine, add as much of the milk as you need (I used less than 1/4 cup) so that the batter is mixable.

  Pour mixture into the pan ( I used an 8 x 8 , coated generously with nonstick cooking spray).

  Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean.

  The result:
  
  

I really liked this version but they did remind me more of coffee-cake. Still fabulously delicious, and yummy, but worth more experimenting to get to more of a blondie-texture….

Saturday Morning Breakfast:

Banana’s Foster French Toast!



I had a comment ( Thanks Dori!) about this when I made it quite some time ago, you can check it out here at Banana’s Foster Stuffed French Toast , so I remembered how good that was, and definitely was inspired to make it this morning.

Two slices with leftover egg mix scrambled. The “stuffing” is just a little Cabot Cottage cheese and cinnamon and bananas.

For “Banana’s Foster” or also on here I refer to them as “fry pan bananas”: I slice up the banana into a pan heated to medium. That is it- flip em after about 2 minutes. If the bananas are ripe enough ( not green at all, some brown spots)- Their sugars are more readily available. Thus, when you slice it into the pan- those sugars caramelize on the sides of the banana. You could of course add brown sugar and some rum to do a true “banana’s foster”. I prefer without because you get all that flavor and sweetness in a little bit healthier way.

Off to enjoy the weekend- Hope everyone has a great weekend and STAYS WARM!! It is 24* here! brrrr, but much better than -10 !

Evening and Afternoon Update!

* I forgot to put up my dinner! I steamed asparagus and brussel sprouts…

Then added a piece of lasagna on top

 

I am heading to Jeff’s sister’s- Missy Mo’s gym shortly. She is letting me use a guest pass to see if I enjoy this gym, isn’t that sweet !?!
When I got back from class and before I took Jack for a walk, I had an afternoon Snack:
Greek Nonfat Blueberry Yogurt and

Chai Bumble Bar ( I had half)

Chai Bumble Bar Review:
I LOVED the smell of this bar!! It smelled exactly like chai! I really enjoyed this one in comparison to the cherry chocolate and I would say it is a tie with the apricot for me- The sesame was not overpowering, and it was sweet but cinnamon like as well. It was just the right amount of crunch and chew and sweetness for me. 

Lunch:
I packed my lunch in my Pink Insulated Lean Cuisine lunch bag- they were specifically designed to support Breast Cancer awareness/research. I order them online every year and they are available in september- october but they go FAST! I remember the first year they came out, I didn’t get one because they ran out! this past year I ordered several and gave them as presents – half of their cost is donated to the komen foundation! They cost $9.95 ( well they did…I don’t know about upcoming years) and I had free shipping! They have expanded their designs as well! Isn’t it darling!?

I had an organic pear and an arnold sandwich thin filled with baby spinach, two slices of turkey and one slice of ham, and a chocolate.

Breakfast:

Smoothie ( vanilla designer whey protein, organic milk, frozen blueberries, 1/2 banana,frozen mango), I had the other half of banana with some peanut butter , some kiwi and pineapple and a piece of newman’s own double fiber bread.

I WAS sooooo full.. It took me awhile to actually finish this breakfast.

 

* If you have noticed this yellow dish (and I have an orange one as well), they were christmas presents and are from pottery barn. I really enjoy them because they make my pictures a little more colorful on here, and they work so nicely for Jeff and I. It makes it a better surface to eat on if we eat in the living room.. and it makes it easy to carry everything in there as well. *

Update to Last Night:

I did have dessert! I made a single serving of No Pudge Brownie Mix using nonfat greek yogurt. I added some mini chocolate chips and a little peanut butter too.

Say Hello to "Lurlota"

The moment we have all been waiting for….

She is smiling at blogland!

Say Hello to “Lurlota”… It is a new 2008 Dodge Dakota, Jeff’s old truck was a Ford Ranger and was named “laurlene”… hence you would say it like “Laurloda”..

It has 4 wheel drive, partially leather seats, heated seats, crew cab, an auxillary hook up and carrier for an mp3 player, 0 miles on it, and it is a V8 !

Red is Jeff’s favorite color and oddly enough it is the same color as his previous truck! This was purely out of coincidence since it was the only 4 x4 crew cab truck at this dealership he got it at!

In case you did not know, Jeff was in a terrible accident about a month ago. You can read more about it HERE

Everyone walked away with only minor injuries, but Jeff was t-boned on his side- causing his vehicle to be t-boned by TWO other vehicles on the passenger side ( our friend Nate was sitting there). Anyhow, his truck was completely totalled. After a long ordeal and lots of stress and worrying and financial issues- Jeff’s uncle got a fantastic deal on a truck that was at a dealership ( his aunt works there) that was going out of business.

He got this truck for about 1/2 the price it is worth due to the dealership closing and generous people all around. Thank You Uncle Jeff and Aunt Darlene!

It was dark when Jeff got home so I will take more pics tomorrow! We went out to dinner to celebrate!

PF Changs…
I have been there once before and a long time ago!
I ordered two appetizers for my dinner ..
Steamed Vegetable Dumplings and Seared Ahi Tuna.

The tuna came with a lovely mixed green salad and cucumbers- I ate all of it! The tuna was a little too rare than I would normally prefer but still delicious! Jeff ordered that sweet and sour pork, it came with bell pepper and pinapple and i had a bite of it- that was yummy as well.
The veggie dumplings were steamed and tasty as well -very filling!

and… Fortune Cookie… i just like to read the fortune
“If you put up with small annoyances you will gain great results”

Pretty good advice- And fitting- Jeff’s new truck is more than either of us would have thought would have come out of all these “annoyances” along the way, but it sure is a great result!

Lunch:

oven roasted sliced chicken, sandwich thin with mustard and a pickle, toasted kale, fresh cut veggies with some goddess dressing to dip, half a banana.

Breakfast:

Steel Cut Oats made with water, blueberries, cinnamon, banana, peanut butter…

and coffee ( no photo- it was black)

And if you made it this far… Jack thought he’d say hey to all my bloggie friends’ puppies

Any takers? No…

Aw… okay back to sleep.

Love to All of you!

Home Safe but Tuckered Out

I am home and tuckered out! Jack is too because he didn’t even want dinner – he has laid in his “bedroom” since we got home! I think it was all the attention and spoiling my parents gave him. We went on lots of walks too- and he had lots of treats. He was kinda bad only because the parents let him up on the furniture:

I must be so tired from all of that baking I have been up too … Creme De Menthe Brownies, my personal favorite is Chocolate Chip Irish Cream Pound Cake , and Mocha Swirl Light Cheesecake-

In fact, I doubt my fatigue had ANYTHING to do with the freezing, 1 hour wonderful walk this morning, 3 hour drive, 2 loads of laundry, and unpacking 8 bags of a bullet smoothie mixer my mom gave me ( thanks!!! woohoo!), leftover baked goods, clothes bought while shopping with my mom, and luggage! Right ?

Body:
Walked with my mom and Jack , 3+ miles this morning! It was very chilly compared to yesterday’s walk gees! My knee is a little sore from the run yesterday but nothing major at all really- I am gonna get a heat pack now and ice and alternate to get the blood flowing- hopefully get rid of any swelling!

Mind:
Read more in the morning but only a little bit!

Read some new blogs!! I am so excited to receive comments from readers I was unaware of! I love that people are enjoying my blog as much as I enjoy writing it! I would certainly like to add to my blogroll but I always end up closing the browser and can’t find the exact addresses again! So feel free to send me a comment so I can add you/ or you can add me etc. etc.

However, most all of my mental energy went towards my 3 hour drive on the highway with Jack! I fought off sleepiness by drinking water and singing to Jack, he is not a fan. Oh well.

Soul:

I am the type of person that feels MUCH better if I unpack immediately- otherwise the stuff lays around for a week or longer! So I got everything going right away into its place- except the laundry- however I folded AND ironed what is done! Hooray for that

Jeff is home and I am home ! Yah! He LOVES his new sweater/shirt that I assured my mom he would like! Also, two of the pairs of pants fit fantastic and he loves them! The third pair were jeans by the SAME brand, SAME size as the other two pairs- and clearly 2 inches too long!!??!?!? What the crap ? oh well, I will go see if I can get a shorter pair. I hope they aren’t too short though!

After I got back and put everything away, I caught up on this premiere week of shows I remembered to record before I left! 90210, Priviledged, and The Biggest Loser!

Dinner with Nate and Andrea! Andrea picked me up and we met the men at the restaurant! Both of us had not seen our significant others’ in four days! and… both Andrea and I ordered the same exact meal, both Jeff and Nate ordered the same exact meal too- how coincidental!?!

****** Jeff got a great deal on a BRAND NEW vehicle thanks to his uncle Jeff… it is a truck and he wanted a truck! it is 4 wheel drive and he wanted 4 wheel drive so we could take it onto the beach for camping at the ocean and it has more too! The bet part is it is brand new with a full warranty and he is getting it for what the used vehicles cost that he was considering recently! I won’t reveal too much because there are some logistics involved – he/we should be bringing it home Monday so I will reveal all the details and photos then! ****** Thank you to everyone who has been commenting, keeping up with this situation for us, and hoping along with me that things work out post accident! ( Erica , Mads, Veggie Girl, Strong and Healthy, Hangrypants and I hope I am not forgetting anyone else…)

I am so excited that Jeff’s uncle Jeff ( his namesake and practically his identical twin as far as personality goes) and aunt Darlene are visiting this weekend. This happens to work out nicely with the car deal since Jeff can ride back with them sunday and drive back his new truck! They are great fun so it will be a family oriented weekend of wine, laughter, and who knows what!

On to the food:
Breakfast:
Egg whites with hummus, Oats with Bluberries, Bananas, Pears and Peanut Butter.

Oh and if you haven’t already checked her out- Lee of For The Love of Peanut Butter – made a version of my Pumpkin French Toast for breakfast today- She loved it and I am so happy!!!! Thanks for the tag Lee!

Lunch: (sorry it wasn’t pictured I had already packed everything into the car)
Leftover pasta bake from last night …

Snack:
A small banana with peanut butter and greek nonfat yogurt. I also crumbled a bite of a Luna Sunrise Bar that I have never had before. It was yummy!

Dinner:

We went to a hot dog/greek place that has a great sandwich and salad menu! I got the Greek Salad ( iceberg, onion, tomato, greek olives, feta, beets, pita) with Grilled Chicken. Jeff ordered the special hot dog and chili fries. I did have some of the chili fries – meh – pretty good- I liked the fry part better than the chili part.

TGI almost F !

Shopping, Beach, BumbleBar Review, Non-Taco Salad…

Simple and delicious!
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup organic fat free milk (for creamier oats, I would use 1/2 cup liquid but I like mine stickier!)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup
Microwaved for about 2 minutes

I added fry pan bananas (banana sliced into a frying pan on medium heat, about 1 minute on each side) and fresh blueberries and cinnamon and all natural peanut butter.

Bumble Bar Apricot:

I was pleasantly surprised with this flavor of bumblebar! I was expecting more of an apricot flavor, however, it was more subtle. Despite that, it was till a very fruity and sweet flavor throughout! I think there was coconut shavings in it as well. You can see the flax and sesame seeds, I love to chew apart the flax seed. Your body cannot digest flax seeds whole, although they can still contribute to digestive transit. I would definitely eat this flavor again. It has only 180 calories, 4 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein.

My mom and I split this leftover section and I also had a zone bar for protein but my camera battery died. So no photo!
We spent a great day shopping and I found Jeff three pairs of pants! I hope they fit, I know he will like them before trying them on but no pants he ever get fit him the right way. He is between sizes for waist and length and he has such a hard time with pants fitting right! Keep your fingers crossed!
I also feel like I got a whole new wardrobe but I really just got a couple of great things thanks to my parents! I love being at the beach too, I just love it- the air, the view, the shops, everything.

That is sound side and unfortunately, it rained ALL day and was really foggy. Fortunately, the rain didn’t bother us!

We came home and I took jack out for a quick run then had dinner…

My mom made tacos, I had a “taco salad” minus the taco shell.

It was organic baby greens, some broccoli with hummus and taco meat ( 93% lean ground beef with taco seasoning), some tomato, cheese and kidney beans. Delicious! Thanks Mom!

We just finished Stepbrothers, My parents hadn’t seen it yet but Jeff and I rented it awhile ago. I think it was funnier the second time around.

Body:
Walking Walking Walking.. shopping.. searching through everything and trying a gazillion things on to model for my mom. We went to a ton of places but I found that things at J Crew fit me a lot better than other stores!

And also a few short runs with Jack , in the morning before we left and in the evening when we got back.

Mind:
Oh my goodness, last night before bed- I read 60 pages! I just couldn’t put it down until it got to be really late and I was dozing off. I am (still) reading the book, Eat Pray Love, and I have enjoyed every page. I have to really force myself to sit down and read just at first. Once I started reading, its like my mind never wanted to stop! This morning before breakfast I read another few pages and I am looking forward to picking up where I left off tonight before bed.

Soul:

I just said Goodnight To Jeff! ** He told me earlier today the latest news he has on a vehicle. It sounds awesome and I hope it comes through. He doesn’t want to jinx it so just pray for him and I will write about it when we know more!!!!!!**

Shopping at the beach with my mom was fantastic!

Jack is getting so spoiled, he was allowed to lay on not only the couch but my dad’s recliner chair too! He is not allowed on our furniture. My dad took him out for a walk too! Go dad! Jack pulls a ton!

Talked a lot with my mom about everything from jeans that fit, beach weddings, nutrition and what I want to do with classes and school! Phew… It’s been a great day!

See yall tomorrow!

Weird Day

Woke up not feeling right at all… I had No hunger No appetite. Beyond that . I felt like if I ate anything, it would come right back up. So I decided I would go to the gym and maybe workout these excess stress hormones from this weekend ( I didn’t get in a good cardio workout over the weekend either so I thought that might be it)…. Not it. As soon as I jumped on the elliptical I knew, it was another migraine!

Argh! Luckily I downed some excedrine migraine as soon as I got home from the gym and lots of water and then had some eats..

Body: Not so fun 30 minutes elliptical, 10 minutes on the bike- then called it quits. AS soon as I finished brunch- I meditated. Thanks for the reminder mom! I felt much much better.

1st Meal/Brunch: Salad with red pepper, snap peas, egg white. British Whole Wheat Muffin, Half with 2 egg whites and Healthy Canadian Ham ( yes it really is called that) and then the other half with half an organic banana and Naturally More Flaxseed Butter ( very similar to peanut butter).

Then it was off to campus to study !

Study Break #1 Advantage Caramel Bar. 150 kcal, 11 g protein, NO sugar alcohols, 9g fiber. The caramel was on the bottom not the top, the top layer tasted like a cookies and cream flavor… I don’t think there was any caramel in there but it made my mouth water- odd.

Study Break #2 Orange and an Odwalla Super Protein Bar ( I only had half the bar)

Mind: I spent the entire day studying for Metabolism Final on Wednesday. Then after my Study Break #2 Snack I reviewed some of the material for tonight’s exam. Final #1 of 2 FINISHED!! WOOOOOHOOOO!!! It only took me 40 minutes of the allotted 3 hours. I don’t know why it was so easy because I sure as heck didn’t feel like I remembered anything from this weekend except how happy I was Jeff and Nate were okay.

Soul:

One down One to go for the finals- We have a christmas tree decorated and its sooo cute. Its small and fat but its exactly what we were thinking. Jeff is alive. Nate is alive. I got out of my final early enough to stop at the store for some dinner items. I got home to find Jeff pulling in the driveway as well- AND… our friends asked us to go out to dinner to celebrate their lives and a friend finishing school! So I called Andrea on the way and she came out too!! Hooray I love this woman!

Off to Kanki

Weekend Photo Recap

 

Friday Lunch: Leftover Mediterranean Primavera Pasta with extra veggies (from dinner on wednesday night)

Friday Non-Dinner: English Muffin,1/2 with Peanut Butter n Pumpkin Butter ( bottom left), 1/2 with Rosemary Pork (top left), Cranberry Relish and Chobani Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt (top right) a bite of Tiramisu (bottom right)

 

Saturday Breakfast: Oatmeal (irish style oats mixed with water), lots of Cinnamon, Half a banana, peanut butter, Blueberries, Egg whites with Hot Sauce

 

Saturday Lunch: Tuna with a pickle and mustard, Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle Soup
 
(dinner out Grilled Chicken Salad)
Sunday Breakfast:
Coconut, Berries, Nonfat greek yogurt, pumpkin butter, peanut butter on top of Pumpkin mixed with egg whites, cinnamon, baking powder, and irish style oats

Sunday Dinner: SO GOOD! Some leftover rosemary pork, Annie’s mac and cheese , and TONS of frozen veggies:
Asparagus , Bell Pepper Mix , Spinach , Broccoli, Artichokes- All heated up in the microwave with a little TJ poultry seasoning and some parm cheese.
 

 

Monday Breakfast
Pumpkin Pie for 1 (sort of) and Berries! I didn’t bake it because I was hungry and lazy- I added tsp peanut butter (bottom, left) and a tsp of flax butter (bottom, right) Some pumpkin butter not even a tsp, and about 1/4 cup chobani nonfat plain yogurt ( love it- its the best texture i think)

Monday!

Body:
Heading to the gym right now (8:08am), I am prepping myself for early workouts since I will be running tomorrow morning and then thursday morning at 8 am is the 8k Turkey Trot!

Mind:
Early workout means I can spend most of the day getting my metabolism paper started!

Soul:
I have hated being unable to workout. I love movement, and exercise. It is such a big part of my life that being sick was a double negative because I was forced to rest for a week – I know it sounds silly to most people. When your body adjusts to running 10-13 miles in a workout though, NOT exercising is just as hard on top of feeling crappy.

I am planning on leaving class about 5:00-5:30 so that I can head out to my parents, however, if I have to stay for the whole class- I am not sure if I would head out at night- which will mean I head to campus to run then drive out to my parents tomorrow.

Breakfast:
I decided on this banana just to fuel my workout at first, but then realized I HATE eating two breakfasts- I won’t be hungry for lunch and then i have to eat late… etc. So I had a Thomas’ Light high fiber English muffin ( Thanks Melissa!! She gave us an extra bag of them) with pumpkin butter and Nonfat greek yogurt (plain) but I added frozen blueberries to it last night..

Happy Monday to All!!!

Halloween Breakfast Smoothie

Breakfast

I was craving another smoothie as I made it yesterday! So I added in this order:

1.5 cups Milk
2 bananas

1 big scoop protein powder

1 TB peanut butter

1 cup frozen mango

Blended on high- and split with Jeff. I would say I had a good 1/3 and gave him 2/3. I also heated up my leftover pumpkin oats from yesterday … of course since it is Halloween I threw in some orange and purple candy pumpkin sprinkles!

I did not buy candy this year mostly because we had AWFUL trick or treaters last year! At first kids were young, dressed up, a little rude but whatever. About a half hour into the treating hours, the kids started becoming teenages and hardly any were dressed in any costume… Now, I totally wanted to get free candy when I was 13+ too. I at least put on a costume- even as lame as a sheet with a hole- something you know! I asked one “You didn’t want to be anything for halloween?” and she goes “My mom told me I don’t need to dress up”…”You gonna give me candy or not?”.

My mouth dropped. Seriously, Jeff had already reached in to our plastic pumpkin and was on his way to giving it to her when he heard that. I went to shut the door on her but after Jeff had dropped the candy as she said that! I was so mad I spent like $50 on candy for that!?!?

Anyhow, so this year we decided on not giving out candy and to go out with our friends. But I look foward to doing that in the future maybe when/if we move into a “nicer” neighborhood!

Body:

Rest! Even though for whatever reason, I totally feel up to some cross training or yoga (always!). I may go to the gym just for some biking etc. after shopping with KC for halloween stuff later this afternoon.

Mind:

Right now, I need to finish the Chapter 6 presentation on Organic Inc. Then head into “work” ( figure out what to do with this timesheet problem) and this weekend I need to work on my metabolism research paper ( intermediate hyperglycemia: impaired signal? impaired mRNA transduction; what is it that leads to diabetes ( metabolically speaking)

Soul:

Let’s see, shopping… shopping WITH one of my favorite people, finishing a presentation always makes me feel great!

It’s halloween- dont let the ghouls and goblins get your soul!

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats with Banana, Cranberries, Cocunt, Flaxseed, Egg Whites,

I prepared Organic Steel Oats ( bought from Trader Joes for $2.99 for the tub! )
with water- its a 4:1 ratio so I only had 1/2 cup left of dry oats- I started 2 cups water to boil on the stove, then added the oats stirring for the first 5 minutes. Dropped the heat down and let them simmer for 20 minutes…

I took out about a serving, mixed in
1/4 cup organic pumpking (also got at Trader Joes for $2)
1/4 cage free egg whites in a carton (also from TJ for $2)
cinnamon

and…. half teaspoon baking powder ( hooray for not overdoing it!)

After microwaving that for another 1 minute- I added cocunut, organic peanut butter (its hiding under the bananas and flaxseed cereal ( Uncle’ Sams) and coconut. Layered that with sliced banana

I ate all the fruit and add-ins but only about half the oats… (in case you are interested- the total calorie count came to 390 for the whole bowl… so what I ate from it was about 290 calories)

Off to run at 8:30!!!I am closing in on this! Woohooo!

Body:
Run

Mind: Love thursday because you all must know its.. Advanced Nutrient Metabolism Day! I will continue to post my notes after classes so it keeps interesting info on the blog AND so it helps me retain information as well!

Also working on my Minority Health Presentation

Soul:

-Hopefully fit in shopping for running gear!
-Clean up the guest room for D-Hurt ( he is coming on monday for a concert monday night! He is the SWEETEST guy- he is a little older than Jeff and used to work with him but quit his chemical engineering after years to be an equipment manager for a professional baseball team! HE LOVES doing their laundry and cooking for them- and he gets paid well! He is one of the most genuine people I know)
- Get back to jacob’s mom and the agency that I can’t work… not sure how I will do this yet… but by writing about it I really got to work through my thoughts and found out what I needed to do.
Thanks for patience and suggestions when I write about issues like this!