Sampling Sunday

The husband didn’t feel like P90X today, so I decided to run instead.  I managed 3.5 miles at a slow pace; not bad for post-alcohol.  Post-run I made lunch:

Cereal (what else?) – 1 cup Kashi Go Lean, 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s O’s, 1 cup 1% kefir, and 1/2 oz almonds…

….and some fresh pineapple.  I planned on this being my entire lunch, but I was still hungry 30 minutes later.

I decided a Banana Smoothie would hit the spot.  It contained 1 scoop Unjury unflavored protein powder, 4 oz unsweetened Almond Breeze, frozen medium banana, and 1/2 packet of PureVia (leftover free samples).  It tasted like ice cream with the added stevia!

Obviously (if  you read my earlier post), my afternoon was spent baking zucchini bread/muffins.  I had 1/2 of the following muffin and might have licked a spoonful of batter.

I also made some dark chocolate chip oatmeal cookies for Wednesday’s bible study group.

I let these cook for too long, so the bottoms burnt…boo.  I couldn’t resist trying one, so I took this one with the ooey-gooey Ghirardelli:

Burnt bottoms aside, it was delish!

The cookies used the last of my oats, so I made a trip to Healthy Home Market for some bulk bin goodies – wheatberries, oat bran, rolled oats, and cashews.  I wanted to try my hand at some homemade cashew butter:

6 oz cashew pieces into the mini food processor

5 minutes later

10 minutes later

I thought my poor processor was going to overheat, but it’s still alive.  I sampled a Tbsp to make sure it was edible – and oooh buddy, it’s edible alright!  Can’t wait to use this stuff over the next week!  After all my “samplings” this afternoon, I decided my 30 minute run wasn’t going to cut it.  I hopped on the elliptical for 45 minutes and then showered.  By 7, I still wasn’t hungry but didn’t want delay dinner much longer.  I settled on another banana smoothie (unpictured, since it’s the exact same as earlier) and a plate of leftover grilled tinfoil veggies with Parmesan cheese:

YUM YUM – the Parmesan makes this dish!

Now it’s time for some relaxing with the husband.  Hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th weekend!

Big Daddy’s Burger Bar

My snacks from last night:

a small peach…

…and 4 oz of skim milk

I was still hungry as I was trying to fall asleep, so I had a cheese stick around 11 as well (unpictured).

Now another Monday draws to a close…it’s been a jam-packed day on too little sleep.  I went to bed last night at 10:30 but didn’t fall asleep until well after midnight.  This insomnia thing has got to improve!  I didn’t have to be at work until 9am, so I mentally cancelled my workout last night and reset my alarm for 8.  Luckily, I awoke at 7:15 and decided I would feel better if I worked out – I did a quick 30 minutes on the elliptical followed by breakfast:

A slice of my veggie-rific egg substitute casserole (see recipe page) from the freezer…

…and overnight oatmeal (1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt, 1/4 cup almond breeze, 1/3 cup oatmeal) topped with 1/2 oz almonds and a drizzle of agave nectar.   The egg casserole wasn’t as good this time around – it was pretty watery, but it was quick and easy so I can’t complain.  The combo lasted me until lunch around 12:30.  I brought a leftover burger from last night, but decided I would save that for tomorrow’s lunch since I had plans to go out for burgers at dinner.  Instead I had the following:

…cucumbers from the farmer’s market (you can definitely tell the difference in taste!), carrots, and a slice of rye with 2 Tbsp fresh ground almond butter & a drizzle of agave nectar.  I ended the meal with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt topped with a bit of the strawberry glaze I made last night.

Looks sort of gross, but it was tasty!

After lunch, Renee (one of the other RDs at my office) and I went for a 30 minute walk.  So refreshing!  Lunch lasted me until 4, and then I decided it was time for a snack.

This one’s self-explanatory

Dinner was girls’ night out with Renee and Arielle – we went to Big Daddy’s Burger Bar.  The names implies grease pit, so I was shocked at the selection of healthier fare.  There was a huge selection of burgers and “fixins” along with entree salads; you could even create your own salad, which I decided was my best bet.  I chose the buffalo burger on a bed of romaine lettuce, mushrooms, chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and pecans/balsamic vinaigrette on the side.

I am proud to say I took my first food picture in public! Granted it’s not too odd in front of an RD and fitness trainer, but it’s a start, right?

This was my first experience with bison and after this tasty burger, I’m a fan!  I finished all of the burger, most of the salad, 1/2 the nuts, and 1/4 of the dressing (which was really thick for a vinaigrette)…

I wasn’t that hungry after dinner, but still wanted something sweet to end the night…

1/2 cup each Peanut Butter Bumpers and Kashi Mighty Bites with skim milk

Going to catch up on reading blogs, and then it’s off to bed.  Nighty nite!

Cleaning Marathon!

I ate lunch around 1:30 – a combo of leftovers that needed to be eaten up:

Romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, tomato & cucumber from the Farmer’s Market, small apple, hard-boiled egg, and about 2 oz of chicken breast with TJ’s balsamic vinaigrette.  I tried to eat the chicken, but it just didn’t taste good so I pushed it aside – I think I’m getting to that burn out point with chicken breast.

Added a cheese stick at the end since I was a little shy on protein.

After lunch, I worked out for an hour and change – finished 45 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes of core strength training and 5 minutes of arms.  I’m excited because Jim wants to buy the P90X DVD series; it will be nice to do something different for a change.  I think it should be here in a week or so!

Post-workout I tried out the apple butter from Earthfare:

whole wheat bread with fresh ground almond butter and apple butter – YUM!

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning – 2 or 3 hours worth!  I swept & mopped the kitchen/bathroom floors (first time in a month for mopping!), swept the den/foyer, vacuumed the bedroom, dusted, and finished two or three loads of laundry.  I used the vacuum attachment to hit all the hidden spots  in our bedroom- I even moved the bed to get the baseboards.  I now  realize why my allergies are worse at night – total dust/feather party back there!  A clean house makes me feel so productive and happy – does cleaning bring anyone else joy or am I the only weirdo out there? I asked Jim to mop the den/foyer, but we’ll see if that happens…

While cleaning, I munched on a few carrots here and there (unpictured) to tide me over until dinner.  We grilled cheeseburgers (96/4 ground beef with 2% colby jack) for Father’s Day – Jim isn’t a father in the technical sense, but we treat Kenan like a child so I got him a card anyways.  I tried to make potato wedges, but I think we didn’t grill them long enough because they turned out crunchy!

I had one of the potato slices and chucked the rest.  Good thing I had a big-old salad to fill up:

romaine, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber and TJ’s reduced fat cilantro dressing

Dessert was grilled peaches with a homemade strawberry glaze:

I didn’t measure any of the ingredients so these are estimates:  2 big handfuls of frozen strawberries, dash ground cinnamon, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 tsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp Earth Balance margarine.

Everything blended together in the food processor:

I had a bite straight – it tasted like sorbet!

I filled each peach half with the glaze and then Jim used a rack on grill for about 10 minutes.

The finished product – they were delish!

Dinner was followed by clean-up and then lunch prep for the next few days.  I finished the night with a bowl of cereal:

1/2 cup each Peanut Butter Bumpers, Kashi Mighty Bites, and skim milk

Okay, better go call my Dad and wish him a Happy Father’s Day.  He’s in Atlanta with my mother and her parents for the weekend; otherwise, I would have made a trip home.  We’re going flying next Sunday, so I’ll have to give him a late hug then.

Macro Setting is Awesome!!!!

As you can tell, I’m a little excited about the macro setting on my camera.  I can’t believe how much better the food pictures came out! See for yourself:

I can actually see the individual flecks of tuna…

…and the specks on my apple peels!

These would have been so blurry before!  Obviously, lunch was a serving Kashi Original Grain crackers, a small apple, and a can of chunk light tuna.  I added about a Tbsp of reduced fat mayo and TJ’s sweet pickle relish to the tuna.  It feels weird not eating vegetables at lunch, but I’m out of fresh stuff and didn’t feel like frozen or canned.

Grocery shopping isn’t going to happen today – I got caught up doing some laundry and dishes before my workout, and I only have an hour before I have to start getting ready for the wedding.  Today’s workout included 45 minutes on my elliptical and one round of the Carolina 200 core routine.  Still trying to go easy on my shin splints; I’m hoping I can start running again by Monday.

Monday Eats

Physical Activity:  Woke up earlier today so I could fit in some strength training before work – spent 20 minutes with upper body weights and then one round of the Carolina workout from my husband.  I had planned on running after work, but it is roasting outside today!  I’ll probably stay indoors with my elliptical (and DVR’d episodes of So You Think You Can Dance) instead.

Breakfast

- Veggie-rific Egg Substitute Casserole

- Overnight Oatmeal Base topped with Kashi Go Lean Crunch & fresh blueberries

I was super pleased with the casserole – plain eggs get old after awhile, plus I enjoy knowing I’ve already eaten vegetables by 8am.    The only down side was that I didn’t microwave it long enough, so the middle bites were a bit cold.

The oatmeal mixture was excellent.  I love the crunchy sweetness of the Kashi, and it’s so much lower calorie than granola.

This combo kept me full until lunch, which is a great thing since I ran over with a few patients today and didn’t have time for a snack.

Lunch

- 1/2 can chunk light tuna with 1/2 Tbsp light mayo

- Creamy Low Fat Cole Slaw

- baby carrots

- cheese stick

- Kashi Original 7 Grain crackers

- kiwi

I’m pumped about my new plate from Target – I got sick of eating my lunch out of  Rubbermaid containers and plastic baggies.  It’s amazing how much more satisfying a meal can be when it’s plated in a decorative manner!

Afternoon Snack:  1 Tbsp freshly ground almond butter on 1 slice sunflower nut bread

You’ll have to use your imagination on this one – still getting used to this whole picture-taking thing and completely forgot.  I didn’t get around to this until 5pm, so really it was more of an appetizer.

Dinner

I have random leftovers in the fridge right now that need to be used – fresh pizza sauce from Earthfare, cooked red kidney beans/black beans, polenta, turkey breast.  Decided the four of those together didn’t sound very appetizer, but I was able to come up with something for two of the four:

Turkey & Pasta Pizzaz – I’m not going to post this on the recipe page because it’s a bit odd…unless other people like weird combos, too.

- 2 oz whole wheat pasta

- 1/2 can diced tomatoes

- about 1/4 cup pizza sauce

- handful frozen asparagus

- 3 oz turkey breast

Boil pasta in salted water.  While pasta is boiled, saute frozen asparagus in skillet sprayed with Pam.  Add tomatoes, pizza sauce, and turkey breast once asparagus has thawed.  Drain pasta; mix all ingredients.

I topped the dish with some grated Parmesan.  This would have been really pizza-ish with turkey pepperoni instead of turkey breast and some mozzarella cheese as well.

My eyes were bigger than my stomach – I left some of the pasta so I could have room for fresh pineapple!

Okay, off for my date with the elliptical…