Monday!

Body:

I had my first official Golf Lesson!
Jeff got me 3 golf lessons with a PGA Pro as a present quite a bit ago, but I had been running, or rehabing my knee , working, in classes, etc.  So I finally got to attend my first lesson and man, are my arms and back tired! I started playing for real with Jeff the first year, shortly after we met. It turns out, I am pretty good but not consistent nor have I played the game enough to really understand why!

Today I learned some great tips and things to work on at home but overall the Pro was impressed with the power and speed of my swing and that I had such good form right away. I am so pumped up for going golfing this friday, saturday and sunday with Jeff’s Aunt and Uncle !!  I have my second lesson this thursday and am saving a lesson for the future!

Yoga: I also did a lovely 30 minute yoga session with my DVD and some moves from the Detox Flow on yogadownloads.com.  Stretching was exactly what my muscles needed!
 
Mind:
Fixed my situation for summer class! I met with the financial aid people and got the $$ package set for taking Microbiology this summer for the first six week session! I missed classes so I will have to work my butt off to catch up but it will be better now than while doing my thesis!

I emailed the professor about catching up but he hasn’t yet got back to me.

I also emailed a classmate about any work her boss-lady Dietician may have or know of. Keep your fingers crossed!

I have been slowly catching up with commenting and all the blogs I love to read- so thanks for keepin up with me! I really wanted to say Thank You to my new friend Sarah and Moran of The Running Addict, Lara of Thinspired, and Erica of Itzy’s Kitchen-  You have all been incredibly helpful to me and I can’t thank you enough for being such wonderful people!

Soul:
I am so happy about the summer class and getting financial aid for it! Phew!  Big weight off my chest there!

I finally got to take golf lessons I had been meaning to and I am proud of myself for staying positive with this whole job thing.

Oh and its the finale of Dancing with The Stars AND The series premier of The Bachelorette. I am addicted to nonsense TV shows but I think after all the studying and all the exercise I do, it helps me zone out which I need sometimes!!!

Eats:

 
Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal
I made it with ground flax, steel cut quick oats, water, organic raisins and a little protein powder for staying power. Also of course, a Tb of peanut butter. PB is just such a delicious contrast to the oats. 

Pineapple on the side- did you know that it is supposed to help with joints? I have been trying to eat more of it lately for that purpose ( and its easy because its delicious!).

Lunch:

Chobani Strawberry, Half a banana with pb, the last of my ricotta mixed with grape jelly.

Snack
 
Orange and a mini turkey sandwich on whole wheat.

Dinner:

Jeff grilled steaks that were on special this week at Harris Teeter. I baked two locally grown sweet potatoes and threw together a quick white sauce with a little horseradish, melted brie, and baby bella mushrooms for on top of the steak. We threw together salads of organic baby greens, shreds of zuchinni, locally grown sprouts, and some more shrooms.

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?

Sweet Potato, Chicken, Brussel Sprouts and Healthy Fried Onion Rings

I know, you are probably thinking, healthy fried onion rings ?

Well, I consider them healthy. Here’s how:

Batter ( in separate bowl):
2 Tablespoons Nonfat Greek Yogurt
2 Tablespoons Egg Beaters ( no cholesterol!)
Mix very well to a batter consistency

Breading (in separate bowl):
equal parts yellow cornmeal and flour- For one small onion ( me and Jeff), I used about 1/3 cup of cornmeal and 1/3 cup Organic Whole Grain AP Flour.
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Dash of Parm Cheese

Prep:
Heat 1 tablespoon smart balance oil in pan on medium. Slice onions into rings. Separate Rings. Dip and shake em in the batter…

then dip and cover them in the breading bowl…

Drop em in the hot pan! A few minutes on each side.

I microwaved brussel sprouts, then popped em in the toaster oven. While all of this was going on, I was browning chicken breasts in a pan and then microwaved a sweet potato for 5 minutes in the microwave.

I topped the potato with Nonfat greek yogurt because the chicken serving looked too small (I prefer to eat a lot of lean protein )

So that was dinner for four/two. I made four chicken breasts (two for lunch tomorrow for each of us and enough onions and brussel sprouts too)!

Body:
Dancing with the stars Latin Cardio: I did 3 of the 4 dances and the toning/strength section.
Gym: Elliptical 45 minutes.

Mind:
I played suduko, read some of my never ending wonderful book, and had to comprehend the dance steps! I am getting better every time!

Soul:
Shopping! Well, sort of. I returned something to the store and bought Jeff a sweater and shirt I had been eyeing up, they were now on sale even more than before. He likes them!

I really enjoy and miss dancing. I am still looking for a new gym with classes, but also trying to sort out finances etc.

I like grocery shopping too, usually spending money bothers me a ton. For groceries though, I almost always feel better knowing I am buying healthy things that will give me energy.

We tried to book our romantic getaway trip but the website didn’t let us through. So try try again tomorrow.

Happy Eve of New Years Eve!! Does anyone have exciting plans? W

-we still haven’t made any definite plans.

Clean

Update* Body:
Run.. 36 minutes. knee still weird, not painful , weird. That is the only reason why I would still run is because its not “painful”. Just strange

Lunch:

Repeat from last night because it was SO GOOD! YUM YUM YUM.
Salad, the other half of the chicken, sweet potato and apple, toasted kale with s & p. A little goddess dressing. Perfection.

The house still doesn’t “look” super clean, but I swear I am exhausted from everything. It smells clean, and its much better than before. Here is a run down:

Accomplishments:

• Got rid of about $600 + worth of clothing. Now that estimate is what it cost when I bought them…. now all of this is probably worth about $200. Not pictured is a pile I am sending to my sister, and also a big ol pile of clothes that I will see if any of my friends want. Ah… it feels so good to get rid of stuff!
  
• Swept all the floors ( always gives me a problem with my Asthma)
• Mopped the Kitchen, and Bathroom
• Pledged the living room, hall, bedroom floors.
• Did 4 loads of laundry (and counting)
• Dusted
• Cleaned the kitchen (counters, stove, microwave, sink)
• Cleaned bathroom, shower, sink, toliet etc.
• Re arranged my closet
• Put away all my summer clothing despite yesterday’s high of 63 .. and..
• Re arranged my “room” ( our third guest bedroom is my wardrobe
  dressing area and since the semester began, it just kept getting messier and messier. It feels SO nice!)
• Gym- run 4 miles +
• Returned DVD, I rented Fred Claus. I thought it was pretty funny but it didn’t get good reviews I guess.

sigh, my feet are exhausted

I did not feel like standing up to cook anything. So I got this South Beach Living frozen pizza for one a week or two ago on sale. I think these taste pretty darn good and they have the right amount of protein for me. I used to make frozen dinners ALL the time because my brother didn’t really want me cooking (:-P Matt!) … I think he feared I would burn the apartment down… well anyway, what I enjoy about them is they are portioned , you know exact calorie count in your “entire meal” without counting/adding up etc. *Note to self post about weight loss programs**
There are definitely things I do not love about frozen dinners: sodium, added preservatives, chemicals, fat, taste, quality. I just prefer the taste, protein, and veggie contents of South Beach stuff. Anyway, I was in the mood for pizza but needed/wanted a protein rich dinner.

The Box:

There it is with the last of the salad mix

And the night is not over… We are heading out to celebrate our friend’s birthday after Jeff gets back ( should be any minute). HAPPY WEEKEND TO ALL!

Dessert: No pudge with half organic banana, pb, extra nonfat greek yogurt, and a splash of reisling

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM

Dinner:

Okay I impressed myself with this one… It was dinner for one tonight ( I miss you Jeff) so I used Fresh Express Very Veggie Salad mix as a base ( romaine, carrots, radish, snow pea, cabbage). I microwaved a sweet potato for about minutes. I knew I wanted chicken so I cooked a piece with a little dash of teriayki. While it cooked I put the Kale into the toaster oven with s & p. I peeled the sweet potato, added half a chopped apple, cinnamon, a dash of maple syrup shook it all up and microwaved it for another 1 minute.

Base: Salad Mix

Around the edges: Kale ( locally grown! Put into the toaster oven on a piece of tin foil, sprinkled with salt and cracked black pepper)

On top of that:
Half Sweet Potato (microwaved, peeled) chopped and then I added
Half an apple, Cinnamon and a dash of maple syrup
Teriayki Chicken Breast

SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! and great for Two person dinner- it was super fast and I used half a potato and half an apple- so easily could be for two!

First Dessert: ( I ate dinner kind of early so I figure I will have a snack during Grey’s or Ugly Betty)
I keep seeing these Medjool Dates on blogs and at the store. I think they look like roaches. I couldn’t believe that they were as good as everyone keeps having them for dessert so I had to try it for myself. This little guy was organic and cost about 0.25 cents and TASTED like a caramel fruit. I really liked it.

‘

New Day

Pumpkin Smiley Oats

Organic Banana Mouth

Peanut Butter Teeth

Crystallized Ginger Nose

Nonfat Greek Yogurt Eyeballs

Pumpkin Butter Eyes

Lunch was skipped since I ate this oatmeal at 10:30 and more so because Jeff dropped me off on-campus to study then he picked me up when I finished (dinner time). It could have been worse but I will say that I hate skipping meals more than anything because it throws off my whole hunger levels/schedule.

Body:
No cardio today. After dinner , I did much needed Yoga for 40 minutes and some strength at home: BBQ ( back, biceps, quads) and abs… planks, side to sides, figure 8′s ( I will hopefully get to explaining those exercises soon when I finish finals)

Mind:
Studied all the sections for Research Methods Exam but I feel like I don’t remember any of it! Blah! I switched to Metabolism studying (Kreb’s cycle, Oxidative Phosphorylation, Lipids)… Then called it a day.

Soul:

I just keep hugging Jeff, happy that the accident wasn’t worse. We were supposed to get the xmas tree yesterday so Jeff came up with a great idea to pick out a tree today on the way to campus and decorate later tonight.

So that is exactly what we did, there is the farmer’s market trees.

Jeff even surprised me by picking up Organic Eggnog for our “tree decorating night” while I was studying! Isn’t that so sweet! I thought it would be great to bake some cookies to go with the tree and eggnog, So I baked Jeff’s Mom’s Neiman Marcus Cookies and Nana’s Chocolate Windows ( hi Nana!). See Below for the details on the Neiman Marcus. The window cookies have to chill overnight, so I will post them tomorrow. Dinner before dessert right…

Dinner:
I did a spin on some menu items from this restaurant a fellow blogger went to the other night- Heather at HangryPants

I pan seared pork chops in the pan with some items I had in my fridge: red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, texas pete hot sauce and a dash of worchestire. Nutritionally this adds a few milligrams of sodium but adds no fat. If you were watching your blood pressure I would suggest cutting out the worchestire, and added fat is not necessarily a bad thing just not my personal preference. So its give/take and I personally think it reminds me of “Carolina BBQ Pork”…

I threw some mushrooms in the pan with a little splash of bourbon ( Jeff and I are both fans of bourbon) and tomato sauce. I added in that same pan some thawed frozen asparagus spears. After the pork was finished, I sliced Organic Polenta in that pan and let it heat up “real good” and I also sliced up a half of a sweet potato ( previously cooked in the microwave last night) in there as well.

I layered everything I could because all the flavors top down is sweet potato, polenta, asparagus, pork, mushrooms. Jeff was shocked I was eating it all together. This seems like a perfect example of how eating deliciously does not have to include lots of fat! I actually added NO fat ( no butter or oil at all!).

Now on to the cookies:
Jeff’s mom makes these at christmas and they are DELICIOUS! I made changes as I always do to this recipe but not too many because I would hate to have a less than stellar comparison.

Out of The Oven

Inside

Very Happy with the final product- I think I ate about 8… okay I really had 3 plus a little mini one

Organic Eggnog and the cookies

Jack and our perfectly decorated charlie brown tree, we are contemplating a name for it.

Dinner for Two times Two!

Dinner:
Fake Meat! Morningstar farms grillers crumbles, curried sweet potato slices, sauteed onion, asparagus spears This is how I made it- I put the asparagus spears ( 12 made one serving for 25 calories, so I put in three servings total) on bottom dressed in olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning, added on top the thawed Morningstar Crumbles, Added the chopped onion. While I was doing that, I had sliced two sweet potatoes- tossed them in curry powder, salt, brown sugar, coriander ( all minimal just so each had a bit of seasoning) – then microwaved the potato for about 5 minutes.

I layered them on top to make it more like a vegan “shepards pie”- and put it in the toaster oven for 25 minutes at 350.
Perfect for two!

While it baked I decided to go ahead and do dinner for tomorrow night since I was in the mood – get it out of the way while I want to right? Homemade meat sauce ( Jennie -O ground turkey and Jennie-O turkey sausage).
As you can see below… in the tupperware I put two servings of gr. turkey, and three sausages.. then I put the rest in baggies for the freezer for another meal. I find it would be better utilization, since we can grill the sausages for sandwhiches one night and could do all kinds of things with the gr turkey (meatballs, tacos, burgers…) . I sauteed a medium onion with three or four small garlic cloves, added dried basil and dried oregano, a little olive oil, threw in some Sherry …

Then I addded the turkey in small chunks like meatballs into the onion garlic mix… let them cook then added the sausage in the same way.
After this I added a can of crushed tomatoes in basil ( the big can)… and you will have to wait till tomorrow to see the dinner!

Jeff’s little sister came over to borrow clothes and we ended up talking for four hours!! We have SO much in common! We are getting our nails done on thursday and shopping for shoes- total girls!

Today’s Wrap Up

Body:
Elliptical 22 minutes, Bike 9 miles in 19 minutes, Walked Jack for 20 minutes (up hill both ways haha), Yoga 30 minutes… yoga felt amazing today!

Strength: Abs, Quads, Back and Biceps

Mind:
Read some of SFN, and some of Organic Inc… suduko as usual!

Soul:
Talked with KC, Yoga, Yoga Yoga! , Cleaned and Organized my room- and did four loads of laundry… so coincidental because KC came over to borrow clothes! Cooked Two dinners!

Ready for another day and a doctor’s appointment for my knee! fingers crossed everyone

Curl Up and …goodbye thursday

So after the vet and before dinner all I felt like doing was curling up and reading. I hardly ever have felt like that but I think it may have been the cloudy day or all the running around I did today! As soon as I started reading, I felt like baking ( another cloudy day fav). So I decided to read another 10 pages then cook!

Dinner:
Baked Chicken Breast

Baked Sweet Potato

“fried” Zuchinni

Delicious!

Since I had to bake the chicken and the potato, I decided to bake banana bread tonight too (utilize the energy on the oven heating up etc).

I used Veganomicon’s recipe but changed it because I didn’t have applesauce or molasses. I also hate washing dishes, so I try to just make it all in the loaf dish I use.

One Dish Veganomicon’s “ Low Fat Banana Bread”
Makes 1 loaf
3 very ripe bananas ( I can never wait until they are ripe enough)
1/4 cup organic no-sugar-added applesauce or today I used ¼ egg beaters b/c I had no applesauce
1/8 cup Smart Balance Oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups flour (I used white whole wheat and AP combo)
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350. In loaf pan, pour 1/8 cup Oil and coat the pan by swirling. Peel bananas into dish and smash bananas til smooth ( I like it chunky) with a fork. Add the sugar, applesauce (or egg or yogurt), and syrup and stir well.
2. Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix until just combined (don’t overmix this).
3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown

The “one dish” way hasn’t failed me yet but if you feel like doing it “right” i.e with the extra dishes, you can do wet ingredients in one bowl, dry in the other then mix em all together in a bowl, then put it in the dish.

Body:
35 minutes elliptical

Mind: Read more of Slow Food Nation (SFN).. its all about the slow food movement, increasing sustainability, knowing where you food comes from, how it arrives to you, “good, clean, fair” …

Soul: I finally got to the Farmer’s Market, and finally took Jack to the Vet, and finally got to reading some of SFN AND baked banana bread and made a delicious dinner.

Lillies!

The teleseminar was “very good” . We had to rate it afterwards and the only thing better than our agreement of “very good” was a rate of “excellent”. It was hard to (hear) understand because it wasn’t in person, it was via telephone/internet. Some new things I learned about other than the DASH diet, AHA diet guidelines for high cholesterol patients I didn’t know is —-that if you are at risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) you should not take additional Folate/ B-Vitamins ( the study used groups taking only multivitamin, a group took folic acid, a group only taking a B-complex, and a group taking both. They found that all the groups taking the extra supplements (Folic acid, B, Both) had increased “Cardiac Events” How interesting!

Lunch: I had some fresh veggies (snap peas, carrots, broc.), 1 1/4 serving of grilled chicken, and a whole wheat wrap with some feta . I didn’t have much time before the seminar, so I grabbed a half of a protein bar but didnt get hungry!

Accomplishments:

-Got to campus security and got my Parking Pass

-At the Teleseminar, I met two new classmates! The first (julie) is from CA and has her masters in Neuroscience! I laughed and said My bachelors is in Neuroscience!! Its not super common!
The other (Marcy) moved down here after her family did from PA (just like I did!)

-I walked with Julie out of the seminar and good thing because she let me in on the planner books they gave out at orientation before the dinner monday. We walked over to the nutrition building and my advisor gave me a bag with a notebook, planner, pen, CD, and a decal for my car! I LOVE free stuff!

- After that I walked over to the campus gym, did 40 minutes on the elliptical and biked for 2 miles to cool down!

-When Jeff got home from work- he had a suprise for me! Flowers! Oriental Lillies (my fav) and a bottle of wine… Montelpuciano D Brusso… ( thats the grape i believe- a friend of ours got it and we loved it!) HOW SWEET!! I love when he does that… it almost made me cry because it was so nice.

Dinner:
I made :
-Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks rubbed them with a little oil, seared for 3 minutes, then flipped for 1..

-Curried sweet potatoes: I used two sweet potatoes and made thin slices, tosses in smart balance light, some corinader and curry powder. Microwaved for 5 minutes, then put in a 350 oven for 10+ minutes.

-sauteed zuchinni… I fried a little of it too for Jeff and because its yummy… I used chobani greek yogurt as a batter, then dipped the zuchinnis in cornmeal, then put in a light coating of smart balance oil ( the recipe calls for two inches which I just think is a waste! I hardly ever use ANY!)

We are watching a movie now! Mr. Woodcock… never heard of it..