Ready to Relax

Hey everyone! I am back home and ready to relax!

Dinner:

Jeff grilled me a big ol fillet of salmon using some lite soy sauce and black pepper and olive oil ( NOO)

I sectioned it into 4 portions and he also grilled asparagus spears on the grill with some salt, pepper and the same olive oil… 

This was my first time using the NOO olive oil (it came in my package this past friday!).

It was fantastic, it really helped seal in the juice of the salmon and the chicken we also grilled. The asparagus was WONDERFUL! It is for sure my favorite vegetable.

It was so nice outside and perfect grilling weather!

I made some whole grain rice and added some garlic powder, oregano, thyme and salt and pepper.

Here is the plate again…

Between Class Snack:
Two ginger creme cookies from NOO.

Here is the info:
Sizes: 16-ounce package

Ginger O’s:
Organic Unbleached Flour, Powdered Sugar, Organic Palm Oil, Organic Molasses, Organic Sugar, Sodium Bicarbonate (leavening), Ground Ginger, Soy Lecithin (an emulsifier), Salt, Monocalcium Phosphate (leavening), Nutmeg. 

Ginger-O’s: Serving 2 cookies:
Calories 120 (calories from fat 40), Total Fat 4.5g (Saturated Fat 2g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 160mg, Total Carbohydrates 19g, (dietary fiber 0g, sugar 10g), Protein 1g 

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect because I normally am not a huge fan of ginger. I totally enjoyed these cookies though! They taste very much like two ginger snaps but more mellow in the spice department. The creme in the middle clearly reminds me of an oreo, so these were delicious! I shared the entire package with my Metabolism Class. Hi Everyone!! I hope you stop by and comment away and glad that you enjoyed the cookies!

I think the general consensus was they were delicious if you like the ginger flavor and a few have had them before and really enjoy Newman’s Own Products. Our professor met Nel Newman at a conference before and he likes the brand because they contribute their profits to charity. Thanks again Sally! 

Lunch Leftovers from last night, we almost always cook 4 servings of most things and use the other two for lunches the next day or so. I definitely never waste leftovers!

Two halves of local sweet potatoes, one purple one orange.. I know, it looks so weird! It tastes exactly like a sweet potato but the texture is just slightly more firm so I bet they would make excellent fries.  Also in there was some Kashi Curry Pilaf and chicken cooked with hot sauce.

I had some Champs Elysse ( from Trader Joes) mix on the side.

Breakfast:

Chocolate & Cherry Oats

Breakfast was old fashioned oats made with water and half a scoop of chocolate protein powder in the microwave. I added wheat germ, peanut butter, and frozen cherries to it after it was finished, which defrosted the cherries super fast. It was almost like chocolate covered cherries, but it smelled like it more than anything!

*I also had an unpictured coffee at Starbucks this morning while studying for my exam*

How was everyone’s Tuesday? What is your favorite thing to do when the weather gets nicer and you have more light in the day?

Sunday

Breakfast:
Half Grapefruit and A smoothie: vanilla protein, milk, banana, pb, blueberries

Lunch:
Salmon Burger on a Thin with thawed frozen veggies and the last sprinkling of reduced fat feta…

Snack:
Larabar

Dinner:
no photo- battery- ( i don’t think its the camera- i just take a ton of pics and forget to charge the battery!)
Grilled Chicken Breast with lots of veggies

Body:
Walk with Jack (10 minutes). He ran away yesterday when we got to Jeff’s parents- STINKER! He stunk when he decided 7 hours later to show up… Thankfully Jeff gave him a bath…

Moving all the furniture around wasn’t really all that difficult but it counts!

YogaDownload: Sort of…. I clicked the download link and it kept getting stuck !? I got the pose guide and just followed that. I was surprised at how easy it was to follow without vocal instruction. I wish it worked though- I will not give up.

Meringue and Samba practice thanks to Dancing with the Stars DVD…

Gym Cardio: 30 minutes ellipticizing…

Mind:
Read through the ADA journal for this month again. I really enjoyed an article on refined sugars- detailing exactly what the craze of agave nectar is, difference in all sugars- from maple syrup, honey, white sugar, turbinado sugar , agave etc etc. ! I will try to post a better recap of it tomorrow since I think yall would enjoy it!

Soul:
Jeff is in VA getting his brand new truck!! So excited for him, and I am so excited for us. I can’t wait to camp on the beach, cook up deliciousness with his new grill, listen to the ocean while falling asleep…

Laundry and grocery shopping and cleaning and cleaning and sweeping.

I re-arranged our living room and thus will re-arrange our bedroom as well. I haven’t decided if I liked it or not yet. One thing is my computer is in a new spot and I don’t know if Jeff will see from where he sits now- so I know at first Jeff will probably hate it- but only because he hates change like that unless he can really see the improvement. Anyway, I have the night alone to watch Golden Globes, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters… It seems as though its the calm before the storm with semester beginning this week for me. I also will attempt to “get a job” in the next couple days as well.

We have an busy January- this weekend I believe is our “spa” day and then dinner out with KC Mo and her boyfriend, Jeff’s other sister Missy Mo and her hubby Vern and Me and Jeff- The following weekend is our romantic getaway to a cabin in the mountains, the following is the last of january and we will head to my grandfather’s for his birthday and then right out to spend the weekend with our friends. I love to travel.

On the way to New Years Eve!

I know, I should have made this look much prettier but I didn’t and it was delicious nonetheless. It was pumpkin pie for one, with steel cut oats as a crust and pumpkin “filling” . I didn’t have anything else in our fridge really and no fresh fruit- so I threw frozen blueberries on top since it was too hot to eat immediately anyway.

Quick and Easy! I spent the morning putting away presents ( new hairdryer, candles, clothes, pillows etc etc!) and I went to the gym for a great workout. Stopped at the grocery store on the way home, had lunch, showered, then headed out to the bustling stores to make some returns.

Lunch:

Salad!! I LOVE VEGETABLES! My salad had romaine, raddichio, radishes, carrots, snap peas, purple (red) cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower! I added some reduced fat feta ( BOGO at Harris Teeter!) and lovely Athenos Lemon Garlic Greek Hummus (also BOGO at Harris Teeter). I had a whole wheat wrap with a salmon burger, pickle, and some goddess dressing. Delish!

Off to the stores, Bath and Body works is having their semi-annual sale and although I was considering more, I got another wallflower (Black Ameythst) and a scented oil as a gift for Momma Mo ( they are on sale for $3!!). I also stopped at Micheal’s Craft Store and picked up some clips I needed for frames I made for Jeff ( he doesn’t know exactly what they are yet!)

Jeff’s football team was playing in a bowl game this afternoon, so we are watching it now.

with Popcorn

Tonight, his brother Jonathan bought us tickets to his alum’s basketball game ( lower level!) for christmas and we are going with his brother PJ too!

Dinner: Sandwich and veggies (turkey and ham with mustard and a pickle)

Body:
Cardio at the gym: I ran a 5k in 23 minutes! It felt great aside from my toes still being weird. I have tried new shoes but now I know that it has something to do with my knee. I kept running but at a slower pace for another 2 miles. So total- 5.3 miles.
I cooled down with the elliptical for 5 minutes.

Mind:
suduko was super fast… organize house stuff now that we are back home. Next week I am planning a trip back to my parents before school starts. We also havent figured out what we are doing for New Year’s Eve yet.

Soul:

I love running. I love my new leather purse, I love the beach ( going there while I am at my parents), I love all of my christmas presents from everyone and I feel spoiled but in an enjoyable way.

The football team lost but the basketball team won.

I am also conjuring up new year’s resolutions, new blogging ideas, a romantic getaway ( one of the presents Jeff gave me) and hoping that my brother will be able to visit this week! I would LOVE to see him, that would be the most wonderful present ever.

Lunch

Chobani Blueberry
Salad with:
green beans (frozen organic heated in the microwave)
leftover Salmon (from Kanki last night)
little rice and veggies (from Kanki)
some Goddess Dressing

Half of a whole wheat wrap with some of the salmon.

Body:
Run…5 miles… 41 minutes. Woohoo!

Mind:
Studied, Studied Studied for Metabolism Exam tomorrow afternoon!

Soul:
I love running

I had so much fun doing the taste test stuff! and it was a nice break from studying, I made dinner and cleaned up the kitchen and Jeff gave Jack a bath. Because Jack ran away but came back an hour later and smelled worse than awful!

Put a new wallflower in some kind of christmas noel scent-

Did some domain searching for a new blog site. I want to be able to make sections for recipes, nutrition course info, exercise info etc.

Dinner at Kanki

Entree: Rice and Veggies… cooked in front of us…with separately cooked Salmon and Filet Mignon. ( I am allergic to shellfish so I had to have the meat cooked separately in the back, everyone else had their shrimpees cooked on that grill in front of us.)

Appetizers: Salad with Ginger Dressing and Soup ( I had about half of each) and a glass of Merlot.
The logical side of me told me I shouldn’t have gotten the wine with my migraine earlier today. The excedrine helped wonders and caffeine as well ( coffee i took with me on campus ) however, I really wanted it! And I hate to deprive myself given that I felt in the mood for it. I drank lots and lots of water too. So I am feeling much better.

It was FANTASTIC to have dinner with Jeff, Andrea, Hanz, Ed, Nick,and Dan.I love all of our friends dearly, they are just the most wonderful amazing people and I would spend everyday with them if I could.

Long day of studying ahead tomorrow. Hopefully I wake up without a migraine!

Brussel Sprouts and Bourbon Salmon

Body:

Biked 8 miles as a warm up

Then Strength Training:

Squats… 3 sets of 35 lbs

Leg Extensions… 3 sets of 10 lbs

Hamstring Curls..4 sets of 40 lbs

Chest Press…3 sets of 25 lbs

Tricep Extensions ( overhead and press-down) 4 sets of 18 lbs

Shoulders… bent over flys.. 4 sets 7.5 lb dumbells

Then Cardio: Elliptical 30 minutes (but I am going to run tomorrow!!)

Mind:
I was itching to get out of class today!! Argh! I like the professor but sometimes I feel so , well, un-challenged in my classes. I mean I understand that all these papers are tough work and everything i am doing is difficult, but during class I just feel so un-challenged. I would rather be working on my papers/presentations/projects.. you know, the good stuff!

I don’t mind now because no class for the rest of the week!

I found tons of articles for my Metabolism paper and am really focusing on getting it “over with” in these next two days , So I can take my mind off of it and focus on the other two I need to work on!

I did work on my project today for Research Methods class ( the analysis of our interview) which will be fun to finish up!

Soul:
Woooohooo!I am so excited that I got to workout, finally, oh it feels heavenly!
I can’t wait to find out which muscle groups are sore tomorrow! (in that good “oh you havent used me in a week” way)

I left class and discussed driving to my parents with my mom. I do NOT want to end up like two weeks ago, so stressed out with big projects due one after another. Driving out there tonight, working out there all day tomorrow and wednesday wouldn’t exactly be fun for my mom (although she would love the company). And…. if I didn’t get work done, then it would just build up stress on me. I like pressure, and deadlines but NOT stress.

So, my dad suggested they drive here so that they can watch my race on Thursday morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How perfect! He never is up to make the drive and they didn’t get to see me run as planned for earlier this month AND that means I can run tomorrow morning, register and get my packet, Start/Finish a good draft for my metabolism paper and be able to fully enjoy their visit wednesday/thursday.

Plus, as if it could get any better right!?, my mom was mentioning on our shopping trip last weekend how much she feels isolated in their new house out in the middle of no where really. She is so used to “big” city living , Pittsburgh, Buffalo NY, Chicago… living in agriculture central is such an adjustment! I am so happy for her if they decide to come out here so she will have a chance to stop at stores etc. for a change!

Dinner:
I bought a piece of Bourbon Salmon from Fresh Market on the way home from campus. It was for sure not the best I have had by any means, but I have had worse. It did the trick for tonight but I highly doubt I will ever get it again from Fresh Market. Once home I threw brussel sprouts ( pre-washed, in a microwaveable bag from Trader Joes) into the microwave for 3 minutes. Dropped them onto my toaster oven pan , drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper- roasted for about 10 mintes. I also cooked creamy parmesean and herb rice ( uncle ben’s all natural) as a side.
I LOVE brussel sprouts this way- I seriously could just eat the whole bag myself.

So the not so good stuff- I bought a piece of cooked rosemary pork for Jeff – since I am not a fan of pork and he is not a fan of salmon- and I found a hair in it when I got home to plate. totally not mine at all- super long and black… EW! And she overcharged me at 1.4 lbs and 8.99 a pound, it was $17 for the pork… Argh! I also noticed while at Fresh Market, there is NO organic produce- and NO local produce… How is it “Fresh”????? if everything is imported from places like italy and california it can’t possibly be fresh, and since none of it is organic- its all pumped up with hormones- How is that Fresh? I , for one, am not a happy camper about Fresh Market.

Anyone work for Fresh Market or care to chyme in on Fresh Market ?

single tear…

Dinner: I made a pizza!! I went to Trader Joes for some grocery shopping after class so that I would be stocked for next week! I made whole wheat crust ( refridgerated dough is only $1 at TJ!) and topped it with Brie and Smoked Salmon on one half, Tomato and Turkey Pepperoni and Mozzarella on the other… All sprinkled with Parm/Reggiano.
Yum Yum Yum! I had a quarter with the salmon and a quarter with the pepperoni/tomato.

Lunch:

Organic Gala Apple

Salad: Organic Spring Mix with tomato, onion, Herb Garlic Starkist Tuna, and some Annies Organic Mac n Cheese … ( I did only a half of one serving but it looks like ALOT more in my picture!)

Body:

Run! It was absolutely GORGEOUS weather I couldn’t resist ! 68 degrees, breezy, sunny!
I took the brown dog, Jack, with me on all the hills right around our neighborhood for a quick 20 minute run then we walked another 1 mile or so ( he needed to cool down!)

Strength Training: BBQ and Abs ( not too heavy though) and then Yoga !

Mind:
I have SOOO much work to do next week for classes- Big Nutrient Metabolism Exam Thursday-(glycolysis through the pentose phosphate pathway), Yogurt Presentation Tuesday, Presentation Wendesday on Increasing Childhood Obesity Rates in Northern Plains American Indian Children

I am a good way through my wednesday presentation- I need to finish that tomorrow and practice it over the weekend…

Soul:
I talked with my brother for 52 minutes!!! ( it was his birthday) I love him SOO much and miss him SOO much ( as I do my other brother and my sister too) and I wish he would move closer than 1,000 miles away. Anyhow, we talked about everything from classes, his life, my work, my running, nutrition, fitness, hurricanes, presents, holiday plans…

I haven’t seen him in over 2 years ( at my sister’s wedding!) We spent this amazing thanksgiving together when I was out of college…. I had just moved and he lived about 30 minutes from me. I drove to his new apartment and we spent hours chatting. We searched all over the city for this one restaurant that he was told was fabulous. We couldn’t find it though! We tried going to this one building but it turned out to be apartments! We were walking back to the car when we both spotted the sign for the restaurant! So we finally got there and waited for a table. It was by far the most fantastic meal ever- they had this gigantic thanksgiving buffet, you know the kind with thirty different desserts ?! Five layered tiramisu cake, five layer red velvet, etc etc pumpkin pie galore, salmon, turkey, chicken, steak, all the veggies, four different salads, baked potatoes, potato gratin, sweet potato souffle, the list goes on. It was an amazing display and amazing in taste! The best part, over any food that night, was that I shared it with him. We laughed so much my stomach hurt. I know I will never forget it and wish I had more times like that with all my family, but I was so thankful to have that thanksgiving with family, with him…

"I thought I’d try out my sea legs" …. "Lieutenant Dan, you ain’t got no legs…"

Yes I know that…
( apologies to those who have not seen it, you probably won’t understand any of this post )
Now you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows.

I dragged myself to the gym with a case of the “Blahs” but I wore my knee brace and my running -only shoes. Mama says they was magic shoes, They could take me anywhere.
So Today, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama. And that’s what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. And when I got there, I figured, since I’d gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. I might as well just turn back, keep right on going At 5 miles, I figured I would just stop but then I though I will go to 6.4 because I like 10K’s… then at 6.4 I figured I would even it out to 7 because I like the number 7. I felt like if I really wanted to, I could run for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours. I thought to myself … I’m pretty tired, I think I’ll go home now.

So I went home and made some lunch! Hope you enjoyed that, everything in italics is directly from Forrest Gump, it just seemed so appropriate !

Salmon, leftover angel hair, some goddess dressing, and tons of veggies!

• spinach
• carrot
• asparagus
• cauliflower
• red pepper
• yellow squash
• red cabbage
• snap peas
• broccoli

Jeff just called with free tickets to The State Fair!!! Its over in a few days and not really all its cracked up to be but I did want to catch the Slow Food exhibit and maybe eat a fried turkey leg or fried oreos. I hear they have fried pecan pie this year. Quite honestly, I am open to trying anything but I tend to just not want that kind of stuff. Whatever it is, I know I can just enjoy eating it since it happens once a year if that.

We’ll see if we go and I will probably not post lunch and dinner pics until later but will for sure take pics!!!

** Before I left for class I grabbed this baggie full of Kashi crackers- there was one serving in there. I actually didn’t want them but thought since I ran so much, by the time class rolls around I will be starving and not be able to pay attention so if that would be the case- I grabbed the crackers. Good thing because sure enough, fifteen minutes before class while I was reviewing from last week- I was hungry! **

HFCS

I spent SO much time shopping with KC this morning/afternoon that I got home and was really hungry for lunch. I heated up leftover pasta and sauce for Jeff and I before yardwork.

I started to pack for the beach, showered, laundry, then got ready and left for class- before I left I grabbed a balance bar and ate it on the way to class.

Manicure After Class!!

Note to self- iatria day spa did not do a very good job but it was later at night and the last appointment of the day so not sure if we should try this place again…. Dinner Finally!!!

Dinner:
Starving!! I had a salmon burger and toasted in the toaster oven. I had a whole wheat mini wrap with hummus and goat cheese and goddess dressing. I also had a big bowl of mixed veggies that was delicious!

Body: Rest day- sort of- I walked – a lot! and all the unpacking/laundry/run around/cleaning worked up a sweat! But no formal exercise today! See how heavy my mind section is!

Mind: Class was interesting! Adv. Nutrient Metabolism is always fun.
Today was glycolysis…

I will spill about high fructose metabolism ( only a tiny portion of what we went over) because it is such a buzz recently.

( you can refer back to my posts late september to refresh on saccharides)

Glucose, Galactose, Fructose all require ATP (adensosine tri-phosphate= energy!) to be broken down.

Glucose gets phosphorylated (using a phosphate from ATP) into Glucose 1-P, which uses either hexokinase or glucokinase ( gluco in the liver, hexo outside liver) to convert to Glucose-6-P…. which gets converted to Fructose-6-P ..

Fructose needs ATP to get phosphorylated as well and gets converted to Fructose 6- P via enzymes ( phosphofructokinase- PFK- the main regulator in the breakdown process) …

From here…
Fructose 6-P breaks down to glyceraldehydes ( 2 of them since its a 3 carbon molecule and glucose is a 6 carbon molecule)..

Glyceraldehydes get further broken down into carbon intermediate chains, then into pyruvate (with the help of high ATP, High alanine levels, and the pyruvate kinase enzymes). Pyruvate is the end result of glycolysis along with 2 ATP

( pyruvate can then continue to break down in mitochondria- if no oxygen is present it will convert to lactic acid…. if oxygen is present it will convert to Acetyle CoA which is the building block for fat AND cholesterol)

Unfortunately, science has shown that high fructose intakes result in high amounts of glyceraldehydes. The problem with this is that triglycerides ( glyercol with three fatty acid chains attached) are made from this via the available glycerol in glyceraldehydes.

Thus ….high fructose intake results in higher fat production. If you regularly consume a healthy diet and exercise regularly- consuming a single product or maybe a few products with HFCS isn’t really going to do anything that harmful except for potentially create a few extra triglycerides ( unless you exercise or output energy which will immediately breakdown everything to pyruvate b/c of energy demand). If your triglyceride levels are already high, you would want to stay away from HFCS. In general, you want to stay away from HCFS because the majority of products that contain it aren’t healthy products anyway- pre-packages snacks/cakes/cookies etc. arent nutritious foods.

Hope you enjoyed that! It helped me recap my class too!

Soul:
Manicure! Shoe Shopping! ( I got fabulous shoes!!!!!), Makeup shopping, Laundry, Talked to my mom about my day and my knee issues, Greys Anatomy, Going to THE BEACH!!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

wait, did i already say… WOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!

bringing the laptop and the camera stuff but not sure if our house has wireless!
see you later tomorrow!

Lunch, Cute Shirt, Silver for Sale

Lunch: Veggies, leftover brussel sprouts and mixed vegs.
half of a Flat Out Wrap Light, dabs of goddess dressing, salmon burger ( thawed in the microwave then toasted in the toaster over) and a little leftover Kashi Pilaf

New BCBG shirt I got for $3 !!! I think its for the rehearsal dinner with dress pants…haven’t decided yet… Its going to be outdoors/indoors at a beach front house (a 5 bedroom mansion that Nate rented for all of “us” to stay at…which could be like 20 people so we may stay at Jeff’s parents or at the 5 br… not sure!)

Nana gave us these cake plates.. They are plated with 22 K gold ( On the back they says “Harher Pottery Company, since 1832. Made in the USA. 22 K gold) and have old cars with their names from like 1800′s. I dont know what to do with them or if they are worth anything ( I wouldn’t want to actually eat on them if they were super valuable!)

She also gave us some of her old silver. Despite that they seem tarnished, they are “real” silver but I think the colorful spoons and some forks are actually gold (plated ?). Again, I have no idea if we can actually use them, if they are worthy of selling, how to clean them etc..
Anyone have ideas? The back of them are inscribed : “Princeton, Stainless, Japan”

She grew up in England though, so ??