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 8x8 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 !

Happy Friday, Happy Friday, Happy Friday!

My -my! You readers have been giving me such great comments to respond to! I didn't want to limit my response in the comment section so I decided to just post!

Re: Heather of HangryPants
What is your school's gym like?

I wanted to mention that I already belong to a "private" gym because it is super cheap and has a huge resistance section & huge cardio section. They do not offer anything else really, so hence my search for a new gym! I do not mention my school gym because my school gym pretty much sucks. It's not awful but it has 2 elliptical machines, 1 treadmill, 2 stat bikes. The weight section is decent as are the resistance machines, but you have to sign up for a course, watch a video and take a quiz in order to use it. Isn't that awful? It is about the size of, if not smaller than, a small Starbucks. Oh and it has the STRANGEST hours! I can't even remember but one day it closes at 5, another it doesn't close until 9, some nights 7... in the mornings each day is different like 7-10 , 8-11, 9-10:30 . Then, it closes during lunch hours, re-opens for say 1-2 or 1-4 or something odd. It is just way to hard to keep track of.

My initial thought was that they didn't have enough students to work-study at the check in desk. So I emailed the powers that be and offered to work any or all hours they needed to keep it open. They said it wasn't the problem but that so many classes come in and out to use it for class. I was enraged by the un-fairness of having a sucky gym to begin with (at a school that is big on degrees in nutrition and physical fitness nonetheless) AND expecting all other students to adjust to an insane schedule. I have written a couple emails and apparently they are now working on re-modeling and adding another separate gym for students.


Re Food Guide Pyramids from class:
Unfortunately, the class will NOT dive into international food pyramids. Our professor is from Tawaiian, she mentioned other pyramids in class yesterday but I guess it was just a tease...

The course objectives:

• Practice Sanitation and safety principles in food preparation
• identify principles of food purchasing, handling and product selection
• predict scientific principles of food preparation methods
• practice accurate measuring with a variety of food compositions
• describe typical portions and predict probably cause of failures to acheive desired results
• Create palatable and attractive foods with optimal nutritional value
• Demonstrate Appropriate use and care of large and small kitchen equipment
• Determine recipe principles

( Re: Lara ) So its mostly a "cooking principles" lab plus basic class. This Food Principles class is a required, core course for an undergraduate degree in nutrition OR for the Dietetic Internship program required to obtain your Registered Dietician (R.D) licensure. Also required is a Human Nutrition course, which I took my freshman year at Penn State University, among several others. I mention these two because they are available at most schools that offer nutrition courses for anyone interested in pursuing this area more. Our book is a fantastic basic book for "Understanding Food" as it is titled. Unfortunately, it is expensive. My used copy was $137. However, if you are really interested in having a good reference it would be well worth it. The chapters are each about properties, common cooking methods, principles of each food type... i.e Chapter 3 is Meat

• Chp. 4 Poultry
• Chp. 7 Cheese
• Chp 9 Vegetables and Fruits
• Chp. 13 Quick Breads
• Chp 14 Yeast Breads
• Chp 17 Pastry
  

It goes more in depth than say, a good cookbook, about principles, chemical properties of the food and how they are a part of diet & nutrition.

Here are some interesting things from the first chapter:

Functional Food: A food or beverage that imparts a physiological benefit that enhances overall health, helps prevent or treat a disease or condition, or improves physical/mental performance.

Nutraceutical ( I knew I was spelling it wrong!) My class on Wednesdays is Vitamins, Minerals and Nutraceuticals! This definition, however, is from my Principles of Foods class text on tuesdays and thursdays.

- A bioactive compound (nutrients and non-nutrients) that has health benefits.
- I will be learning more about these so stay tuned! That definition is not very interesting!

"Food groups" were designed to visually illustrate the dietary recommendations ( for more check out www.mypyramid.gov or www.eatright.org, )
Food groups for the U.S Food Pyramid include

• fruits
• vegetables
• grains
• meat and legumes
• milk
• oils
• and there is a section (not a group) for discretionary calorie allowance

Here is a chart that I thought was a fairly easy way to understand/portion your diet to getting in the recommended food groups.

Desired Daily Calorie Range:	1600 kcal	1800 kcal
Fruits	1 1/2 cup	1 1/2 cup
Vegetables	2 cups	2 1/2 cups
Grains	5 oz.	6 oz.
Meat and Legumes	5 oz.	5 oz.
Milk	3 cups	3 cups
Oils	5 tsp	5 tsp
Discretionary Calorie Allowance	132 cal	195 cal
Repeated for Higher Calories:	2000 kcal	2600 kcal
Fruits	2 cups	2 cups
Vegetables	2 1/2 cups	3 1/2 cups
Grains	6 oz.	9 oz.
Meat and Legumes	5 1/2 oz.	6 1/2 oz
Milk	3 cups	3 cups
Oils	6 tsp	7 tsp
Discretionary Calorie Allowance	267 cal	410 cal

Hope this was interesting! That is my "Mind" section for the day!

Body:
I didn't realize that I didn't have a rest day this week, although I had "planned" for one on Tuesday. I may do some light yoga or some Dancing with The Stars Cardo DVD but we will see.

In general, my body feels ready for a workout but my mind feels sleepy a bit. The right side of my back is a little tender today, I believe from walking Jack Brown Pants and him pulling a ton and from the class yesterday- we all of a sudden started swinging are arms to the music-

I am so pumped about that gym yesterday, I really want to go back. My concern is that it is 4 x the cost of my current gym! As it rightfully should be for all the wonderful things it offers, but I don't know if I could swing that cost being in grad school and not having a "real" job (yet!). It is also difficult since I am capable of running outside (cost = $0) and doing home workouts (cost=$0). We will see...

Wednesday-Wednesday Running Mileage: 18 , Highlight of the Week: running a 6:30 mile, Running several miles at or under 7 minutes!

Mind:
See above!

Soul:
I am dropping off an application today and I hope I can find just a part time anything that would be enjoyable enough so that I can have some $$ in my bank account!

It's Friday!! Jeff time, Friend time, Lurlota time

Has anyone seen the Miracle on The Hudson news? Oh my gosh, I ate breakfast this morning and teared up! I cried out of pure joy that everyone made it out alive. That is probably one of my worst fears whenever I fly anywhere. Thank goodness, Thanks to the pilot and Thanks to God* ( or whichever Spirit or Faith you believe in).

...it comes in three's ?

Body:

2 mile walk with Jack... very chilllly and very poopy

Missy Mo's Gym... "Cardio Sculpt Class"
- It was so great of Melissa to let me use her guest pass, I thought the first half of the class was fantastic! I really got sweaty, could feel my heart pumping and it is SO hard for a class to make me do that.

-The second half was all about using weights and "strength" exercises. I really didn't like that part at all because it was like 50 reps of shoulder raises... well my shoulder was hurting after 20 and literally went to muscle failure. That is great, but I kept needed to rest for just a second because I literally couldn't lift my arm (muscles failed!). And then, I stopped sweating because my muscles hurt and I began slipping on my form while still trying to go. It was like that for legs and triceps and quads. I didn't feel like I got a great strength training workout because we were doing so many reps. And, I didn't feel like I was getting any bit of a good cardio workout because we were just raising our arm up and down or our leg up and down.

- Despite ALL of that evaluation of the class details, I had a BLAST with Melissa! This gym has sooooo many things- we left the class and there was a spinning class finishing and getting ready to start! They have yoga, pilates, and all kinds of others. A track, A pool, oh my.

- I felt like I was in heaven.


Mind:
Class today was Principles of Food- We had to read the first chapter of our text, Understanding Food, and we watched a video "food and culture". The first chapter is very basic- what is involved in food selection and the food pyramids.

The food and culture film focused on a few specific ethnic groups that have specific food customs related to their history. The Makah Indians live in Washington state right at the bay of the pacific ocean. Historically, they survived on whale. They would go "whaling" and one killer whale would be able to feed their entire village because they used so much of that one animal. They also had traditional methods of preparing to go whaling and really felt as though it was a well-earned sacrifice. The Makah gave up 90% of their land in order to have a treaty with the US government allowing them to whale. When whales were endagered because of other whalers that were in it for the glory- their treaty essentially became null and they were not allowed to hunt it anymore.
This ban was lifted for the Makah in 1999 ( I believe, or 1990 it flashed in the movie quickly) they were allowed to whale hunt again, however in 2000 they were stopped again. The government needed to conduct more research.

It was very sad to watch them actually harpoon a whale, but at the same time, they were very honorable to that one life that would provide so much food and happiness to an entire village of people. It is hard to imagine people being upset about that one whale doing so much good but NOT care about how we kill millions of cows and caged chickens in this country every day and much of them go to waste. Anyone else's thoughts?

I am hoping to post tomorrow some info about dietary guidelines, food pyramids and portions. I have to order a lab/chef coat too.

Soul:

Is anyone else getting "over" Grey's Anatomy?

Don't get me wrong, I am happy it is on this evening and will watch it of course. However, it just doesn't seem to be quite as crazy, great, funny, and sexy as it first did.

I really do feel quite at home when I am in a gym like Melissa's today. I just love fitness and exercise and especially seeing others pumped up to do the same.
No class tomorrow! woohoo...

It come's in 3's... okay #1 Jeff's car was t-boned and totalled... #2 the other day- someone backed up into Melissa's van (his sister)- AND... #3 I found out today that Jeff's brother-in-law, melissa's husband was stopped at a light and the guy driving behind him wasn't paying attention, never stopped and slammed right into the back of him!?! The kiddos were in the vehicle but luckily- EVERYONE is alright thank goodness. Geez...

It's almost friday people! Any weekend plans?

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.

What I ate to help me through Day 2...

Breakfast:
I took water and protein powder and quick cook steel cut oats and mixed them all together - microwaved for about 3 minutes? . I added frozen blueberries and cinnamon and peanut butter! We were out of bananas and milk this morning so I knew I had to head to the store!

I wasn't quite sure how well it would turn out because I am not up to speed with cooking properties of protein powder, which is typically not cooked. I do know how it can clump and not work out well- but this was fantastic!

Post Fantastic Run Fuel:
A slice of pizza ( I had made this the other day and gave it to Jeff for lunches etc.) there was this guy left so I had him with a salad: cabbage, baby spinach, arugula, goddess dressing, cabot cottage cheese...

I also sliced up that lovely pineapple with a kiwi. It was incredibly juicy and sweet and tropical. I almost felt like I was in Hawaii or something...


So I ate all of this lunch while I prepared dinner....

Eggplant Bolognese Lasagna!

I cooked 8 lasagna noodles as directed while browning 93% lean ground beef ( and one buffalo chicken sausage I had froze, thawed, and de-cased). When the noodles and meat were done, i put the meat in an empty pot and filled in with a jar of hunts pasta sauce ( garlic and herb) , a jar of TJ Marinara, and a jar of Bolognese sauce...

In the now empty meat pan, I sauteed eggplant slices with a little smart balance oil. I put sauce in the bottom of a 9x13, layered one layer of noodles, sprinkled with a little parm cheese then eggplant slices then covered with a layer of the tomato meat sauce, then sprinkled with shredded mozzarella and globbed with cabot cottage cheese.

I repeated with a layer of noodles and sprinkling of cheese

eggplant slices

tomato meat sauce

mozzarella shredded...

Dinner: 1/12th ! with a little extra sauce!

I am so glad I made the big pot of sauce I did- I love having extra sauce available and now I can use it for pasta later this week OR it freezes so nicely that I can just freeze portions for whenever!

I am in the mood for dessert- especially with the run this morning! I was surprised that although class was longer than expected, I was NOT hungry at all until I got home. I will probably bring a snack on wednesdays from now on though, esp since the class is 3 hours long!

Did you all have a wonderful wednesday?

I definitely feel like I did! Sometimes I get so excited about life in general just thinking about what my future holds ( like an engagement, a wedding, getting my degree, getting my certification, finding a great job, having babies, fixing up my home etc etc ) , even if it may not all happen the way I think or when, it is just uplifting to think about for me.

Day 2 of spring semester is over!

Body:
6 mile run! G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S!
I actually stopped at each mile so that I could remember the times to put on here-
Mile1- 9:03 ( I walked for the first bit to warm up)

Mile2- 7:35 min

Mile3-7:47 min

Mile4-7:01 min

Mile 5-6:31 min

Mile 6- 6:58 min

Total time was for 6 miles was 45 minutes something...

Mind:
Vitamins, Minerals and Nutricuticals Class is 4-7 not 4-6 ... phew.. Oh and get this, it was SO coincidental with today's earlier post- We covered the beginnings of free radicals, essentially the reasons you need Antioxidants!

One that was interesting, a lipid peroxyl radical, attacks healthy unsaturated fats that are in cell membranes. I also learned way more than I realized about just how much we produce free radicals, it was astounding! During lots of aerobic exercise ( like running 6 miles :-( ) .. our bodies take all that extra oxygen available and convert lots to free radicals! The good news, our bodies have nutrient mechanisms set up to fight free radicals! those mechanisms include the electron transport chain- which utilizes oxygen to create water and energy. Most recently discussed are the antioxidants found in foods AND in supplements that can really help stop these guys from damaging our cells, increasing our risk for disease like cancer. I will try to do a lengthier post this week or in one week after we do more on free radicals.

It reminded me of a comment on some blog I read , the commenter said how you should not eat polyunsaturated fat. That is absolutely NOT true- I assume this person either had no clue what they were talking about or maybe they heard some mis-information about those free radicals attacking the polyunsaturated fats BUT it is the free radicals that are the problem! Polyunsaturated Fats have more than two (hence poly) double bonds (unsaturated) in their chain - which means it is bent in structure- which means it does good things in your body because of the bent, flexible structure. Omega 3's, Fish Oils, are only a few polyunsaturated fats that help with inflammation, cell structure and functioning, heart and brain function... Anyway- when we discussed the lipid peroxyl radical it reminded me of that! I don't remember the blog- but I liked the writer!

Soul:
I made a lasagna

I had my school fax the loan people my info so they stop charging me and overdrafting my account!

I made it to Trader Joes for a big ol grocery stop...

Jeff is the sweetest ever! Superboyfriend does it again. The lady booked us a suite in the resort's lodge- but Jeff and I wanted a cabin to ourselves. Well- he arranged it ever so quickly AND he also emailed me a software thing for helping me with finances AND he sent me an email with the subject "heart u" AND we might be going on a ski trip too with all our friends- How wonderful!

back to the grocery store
Photo #1

Cage Free Eggs
Organic 1% Milk
Salad Mix
Cabbage
Brussel Sprouts
Two TJ Nonfat Greek Yogurt
Two Blueberry Greek Yogurts

Photo #2

Bag of Organic D'Anjou Pears (only $3)
Bag of Organic Kiwi (only $2)
Fresh Hawaiian Pineapple
Organic Bananas
Organic Fuji Apple
Frozen pineapple tidbits x2
frozen strawberries
Frozen organic blueberries
frozen mango
Frozen broccoli
Frozen bell pepper
Pork Tenderloin with Garlic and Peppercorn
Goddess Dressing
Cabot Cottage Cheese
Two packs of whole wheat pizza dough
Two jars of TJ marinara
Jar of Bolognese Sauce

My total bill was $65 !!! I think I did pretty good because this will last me quite sometime with all the things I have already built up in our pantry etc.!

I intentionally grabbed lots of fresh fruit so that I could take them with me to campus, and lots of frozen fruit for lovely smoothies!

Hump Day!

I thought I would post a little more in depth about my food choices from yesterday...Not in a bad way at all, but I wanted to analyze my thought process al ittle bit more. So since I already posted the photos from yesterday, you can read below!

Zone Bar: Chocolate Almond Raisin
This guy is 210 calories. 7 g total fat. 3.5 Saturated. 21 g of carbohydrates. 1g of fiber. 15 g protein. 100% of daily value for Vitamin C...
What I like:
It has 14g of protein!
The taste! whole almonds, and raisins - yum!
It is easy to eat
It is easy to pack, carry, etc.
They are cheap and readily available! I can get a box of 6 for about $4 at grocery stores, target, walmart etc.
It has a great added value of vitamins and minerals.

What I don't like:
The Saturated Fat is 3.5g. For me, I try hard to not let me saturated fat go over 20 g/ day for health reasons. I usually am way under but many "Americans" consume way more than is healthy.

The chocolate can taste a little funny - like if you were to eat chocolate chips then eat the bar- you would notice the difference. I am pretty confident this is from the palm kernel oil ( a saturated fat) in the coating- but overall I personally don't mind ever so often if its convienent to grab this.

I don't advocate this as a "proper meal". I enjoy the fullness of the protein and the taste of this bar. However, I always prefer whole foods, prepared well over packaged things. I knew that I would need to eat before my usual time (12:30-1 ish) since I ate breakfast at about 7:30, So I made my choices based on function. It was easy to take to campus with me and easy to eat out of the wrapper and it wasn't big enough to fill me as a meal, however, I was eating earlier than usual so I wasn't quite as hungry as usual either. I would have totally paired fresh fruit with it however I just ran out ( going to the store today!).

The small calorie count is why I brought the small sandwich as well- I figured it would be good to have that in case I couldn't get a long enough break to go to the campus cafe and it had protein and whole grains and fiber! (We have a mini fridge in our grad room in our class building- so I can at least store little things like that in there ).

The future-dietician in me:
Would have taken a greek nonfat yogurt with a fresh fruit like an apple and maybe some crackers or fresh veggies- If I had not run out of all that!

*Campbells Chicken and Vegetable Soup:
What I like:
the vegetables: carrots, roasted red pepper, onion, cabbage, roasted corn
the overall ingredients: no artificial
It was almost a little spicy but I think in an okay way
It had a great 4 g of fiber and only 3 g sugar

What I don't like:
I dont like potato in soups and didn't see it on the can, oh well.
It only had 3 bites of chicken!
Sodium was 480 mg. In general, you should consume about 2,400 mg of sodium a day and this whole can provides 960mg... so it's not exactly low sodium but its better than some cans, worse than some others.

The future-dietician in me:
Added frozen vegetables before cooking it, and the kale, and added a protein source and whole grain ( the sammy). Unfortunately, now realizing the high sodium, I wouldn't get it again! But I bought two while at the store- so you will most likely see the other sometime.

* they advertise how it is naturally lower in sodium because of sea salt. It is true that they used it and made it lower in sodium than other varieties of their brand- however- it doesn't mean that it is a "low sodium" food!
*on their website you can find info about thse new "Select Harvest Healthy Request" Soups- one info said it had 1010 mg of cholesterol... That is a typo!!! I was concerned because my father has high cholesterol, and that would be insane! I also knew that couldn't be because it only had a couple bites of chicken. It has 10mg.

Kale:
I tried Kale after seeing it in the grocery store so often and on other blogs. I really like how cheap it is as well! It took me a few tries to enjoy the taste of it though! I rinse it well with mildly soapy water and dry it out well. Rip it apart ( that's fun!) and throw it onto my toaster oven pan. Sprinkle with salt (f.y.i I use a Lite Sodium Salt in a blue container ) and pepper and toast on high for a couple minutes. I use my sense of smell to know if its done- so sorry I can't report a specific heat/time! I think you should try it because :

It is a cruciferous veggie like cauliflour, cabbage, broccolli...

It offers "glucosinolates" which get broken down by the body and turned into other difficult-to-pronounce "Isothiocyanates". I hope I didn't lose you because these "isothiocyanate" guys inhibit the development of chemically induced cancer in .. .the lung, the liver, the stomach, the esophagus, the small intestine, the colon and the mammary glands of ANIMAL MODELS!


Did we just find the cure for cancer? haha.. well, maybe one day soon.


Okay- hope you all enjoyed that!

The plan for today:

Trader Joes: need frozen fruit, fresh fruit like organic bananas, yogurt, milk... and on the way home I will stop to get staples like aluminum foil, face lotion etc.

Stop at the branch of the bank to get a stop payment /dispute form so that they can erase the overdraft charge.

Stop at financial aid on campus to have them fax to the loan company for deferment of that loan ( which I already have but whatever)

Stop at potential job place an drop off application

Gym... love me a good run

Class 4- 6 : Vitamins, Minerals and Nutricuticels (spelling?)


Busy busy...happy hump day!

Breakfast Lunch Lunch Dinner

So should I start at the beginning or end? .. hmmm I think I will start with dinner and finish with breakfast...

Dinner:
Chicken Veggie Soup + Sammy + Kale
I did enjoy this can of soup- although I don't care for potatoes in my soup unless it is potato soup and there was barely any chicken- this soup was tasty especially for a can variety.


On the side some toasted kale and a sammy... Look at how huge this ONE leaf of Kale is!?

Toasted that with my sandwich on Newmans Own Double Fiber Bread- I had turkey with mustard and used two slices of toast. Unfortunately, the top slice got completely burned so I just had one slice. Good thing because I was SO full from the soup!


Lunch #2 - Sandwich thin with chicken (deli slices)...

Lunch #1 before class Zone Chocolate Almond Raisin- While I prefer to eat whole foods rather than bars, This protein packed guy is just so tasty to me! It has whole almonds and raisins inside and covered in chocolate.


Breakfast:
Steel Cut Oats with banana and pb and a mini smoothie ( love the mini cup!). The smoothie had lots of wild organic blueberries, ground flax (yah!) and vanilla protein powder, and organic milk.

Back FROM School...

"back to school... back to school.. to prove to (the world) I'm not a ...foool...." Oh I am nervous but excited and anxious all at the same time for semester to start again! I have found some wonderful opportunities this past month and I am sorting it all out asap!

My class schedule right now is: Perspectives in Nutrition, Principles of Food, 2nd Half of Nutrient Metabolism, and Vitamins, Minerals and Nutricuticals!


Body:
Gym trip-
Strength: Back, Biceps and Quads
Cardio: ten minute walk on the treadmill, 25 minutes on the elliptical , 5 minutes stairs

Got back from class and took Jack for another 1 mile walk ( up hill, down hill, up hill, down hill) . We went yesterday too and the day before. I am trying to be a better puppy-mommy ( even though he runs away from us all the time). I swear, I wish we could have gotten him from his past owners way before they ever hurt him. Apparently he was so mistreated and has a little "running away" habit from whoever had him before Jeff. When Jeff got Jack, he nearly died a week later due to some kind of medical problems most likely from his mistreatment. Its sooooo sad how people mistreat doggies out there- I mean just give them to the SPCA or someone who wants to take care of them! okay- anyways- jack has lots of toys and lots of treats and lots of love here now!

Mind:
Class! as you can see its a full day of courses! Luckily, today was nice and easy to get back into things. My second class let out super early so I made a gym trip, and my third class got canceled ( profs kid is sick- not too seriously though).

I got my first two subscriptions to Southern Living! Thanks to Nana for a wonderful christmas present!

I am reading them now but unfortunately after dealing with an overdraft charge of $35 for a charge to my account that was not authorized! This is the second time this has happened with the account and I am ready to CLOSE IT! FYI Its a wachovia account- my other account only charges a 50 cent overdraft fee--- thats it - not 35 like wachovia!
I was fuming... but i talked to the company that charged me and they are canceling the payment and the bank is putting a stop payment - and I made sure the guy said he wasn't going to charge me for stop payment. I should have gotten it in writing.


Phew... okay blood pressure is going back down as i type.

Soul:
back to school... back to school... easy day but it was fantastic to see all my classmates again!

I went to check a place out for a job and they are "always accepting applications"... not that it means they will hire me but I got one and will turn it in tomorrow.

Made plans to meet Jeff's sister at the gym thursday evening! Woohoo! Should be fun!

I am going to make a list right now of the things that make me feel happy and grateful today because after the bank fiasco I am a little tiffed and need it.. here goes..

1.southern living magazine ...2 of them

2. looked into ACSM certification for fitness... I have been interested in doing this for 8 years... yes 8 years, my first year at Penn State University (Main Campus)- they offered this great discount for certification- and I didn't do it and I slightly "regretted" it but knew it would always be around as an option. Well , I am sick of waiting. I would love to teach aerobics classes, I remember leading warm up and practices and dance routines as captain in cheerleading and loved it, plus I LOVE aerobic exercise so motivating people to do it along with me would be a blast. I could even start a network for this nutrition career I am heading into!

3. Jeff has a new truck... phew! Our mountain getaway is booked! I can't freakin wait- a suite with a hot tub, fireplace, and within 20 minutes of wine country- aaaahhhh

4. I dealt with the fiasco of the bank. Alot of times when stuff like that happens, it made me feel so crappy and depressed and instead of letting it get to me - I dealt with it- I called the bank I called the people that charged me and its not immediately fixed but I dealt with it.

5. I chatted via email with my sister- Hi Christal! I love you! - I will get to see her in a few weekends for my grandfather's birthday, along with my cousin, and aunt. We will also be going to Asheville, NC that same weekend to visit our friends ( their wedding is in Vermont this August, they came here to fry turkeys a few months ago)...

6. School makes me feel like an efficient person- I am super excited for Principles of Food- We learn all the proper knife techniques, baking, leavening agents, cooking terminology and functions, recipes, sanitation, food preparation etc etc. Isn't that AWESOME!?

7. I am going to make lasagna with eggplant this week...

8. YOGA!

okay I think I feel better... time to tap into my breathe with a little rodney yee.

Namaste

Good Morning!

I hope I got to everyone on my blogroll this morning. I went to bed thinking about how much I love the blogging community and I wanted to wish everyone a good morning! Sorry if I annoyed you with commenting a gazillion times!

I read this post yesterday about people not asking to add others to their blogroll and that you should be "earning" a spot and I can't get it out of my head. It really bugged me- although the post was fantastic, and I enjoy the writer as well.

I just feel like one little part was ridiculous and silly and seemed so "high school drama" ish. I like adding other blogs to my blogroll not just because I want to market my blog. I may find a blog through a link and really enjoy it- and I want to be able to REMEMBER the exact link- So I usually ask to add the blog or "add each other" so that its mutual.

There are so many wonderful blogs out there, food and otherwise, For the Love of Oats, For the Love of Peanut Butter, Cookie Madness, Cookie Mouse, Cookie Pie, Eat n Run, Eat Live Run, Run with a Recipe, Running with Food, See Bride Run, She Runs She Eats, Sleep Eat Run, and don't get me started on the wonderful Vegan blogs... ( i just picked a few)

The point of listing those though, is to get across that joining a community is not easy. Those names are very similar- and it takes reading them often to get a good grasp on how different and wonderful they are. But, How can you keep reading them if you don't keep a link to their blog when there are TONS of blogs out there to keep straight at first?

I realize it is hardwork and you can't just expect to be adored by all. However, I have a true passion for blogging, for nutrition, for my career path and for running and exercise. This is why I write my blog and if I can market it along the way and inspire others- that would just be phenomenal. If I find another blog and want to add them or them add me, it is because I want to keep reading and growing along with them, Why is it so (gasp) rude,to ask to keep up with that blog by adding them?

When entering this blogland, I wanted to read each and every one of these blogs- likewise, I would love to have a huge readership to mine because I have a passion for my blog. The post I read made me feel bad about myself! I can't believe writing made me feel bad about myself. I felt like I was a "rude" blogger- or "not cool" enough to be in foodie blogland.

I have no clue if this was intended by the post. I don't go around adding people willy nilly just to increase my blog readership. However, I don't think it is my place to demand others to "earn their spot". I think that my blog, and their blog and commenting will do that on its own.  It is up to me to create a wonderful blog with fantastic posts, and if that inspires others to read and comment- Wonderful! If you are writing a great blog and have a passion for what you want to say, I consider that "worthy" of being added. If you just joined the community and want to learn more, you are worthy. If you just want to add me because you saw the blog and liked it , well I am honored they liked it and stopped in, and You are worthy.

How do yall feel about this?

Don't let anyone make you feel bad or make you feel like your blog is not worthy!

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!

Tagged! Four favorite...

My lovely, dear blogging friend Madison of  Follow My Weigh  tagged me for this little post...I do love to share stuff so here goes:

4 Favorite memories from 2008

1. Beach trips all summer

2. Starting graduate school

3. Jeff's 30th birthday, fly fishing on the Deschutes River then his bro's wedding

4. Running 8 miles in 58 minutes!!

4 favorite movies in 2008 (we dont go to movies often at all) :

1. Sex and The city- wait was that in 2008 or 2007 ?

2. Dark Knight

3. White Christmas , original with bing crosby -FANTASTIC!

4.

4 favorite foods in 2008:

1. Nonfat Greek Yogurt, especially Chobani arrival in august!

2. Pumpkin Pie Breakfast For One

3. Smoothies

4. Banana and Peanut Butter

4 places I loved in 2008

1. Bend, Oregon

2. Chicago, IL

3. Wrightsville Beach, NC

4. Buffalo, NY

4 events I loved in 2008 (This reminds me of the next question and the 1st):

1.  Andrea and Nate's Wedding/ beach trip

2. Kristen and Bruno's Wedding/ trip to Niagra Falls NY!

3. Swayze and Jessie's Wedding / Fantastic trip to Oregon for Jeff's 30th Bday!

4. Trip to Chicago for my aunt's , grandma's, and cousin's Birthday!

 

4 things I liked in 2008:

1.  Leaving work!

2.  I started blogging in August

3. Jeff's 30th Birthday trip to Oregon included fly fishing and random driving to the timberline lodge, deschutes brewery, and his brother's wedding topped off the trip!

4. I started graduate school for nutrition, finally!

 

4  Things I am Looking Forward to in 2009

1. Romantic Getaway to the mountains in a few weeks
2. Running - 1/2 Marathon for sure in November but I haven't picked a full marathon yet. I was advised (orthopaedic) to just keep running and building distance and do it when I'm ready- instead of getting ready to run on a certain date.
3. Friend's Weddings: Kate and Teddy in Vermont, Corie and Kevin in Pittsburgh, Meredith and Greg here....
4. Any surprises that may happen

Four People I tag (and more) :

Julz of Simple and Divine

M* of Strong AND Healthy

Aussirish of Healthy for Myself

Lee of SeeLeeLive

Erica of Itsy's Kitchen

Maron of The Running Addict

and last but not least Sweet and Fit

* I just couldn't manage only 4! I want to know so much about EVERYONE!  

:-P

Night-time eating is still a No-no

Body:
The plan for today is a great sweaty run. My knee was very sore last night as were my toes. Its odd because it has felt so great lately. Anyway, I am shooting for just a good 3.2 but we will see. If it bothers me, I'll be doing something else.


** And the plan worked! I did a fantastic 3.2 and once I got over the harsh first mile, I decided I would go to 4. I ran at 9.2 mph for 6 minutes and had a steady pace of 8.0 for the last two miles! This guy looked at me in aw... he smiled and shook his head like "damn i can't keep up with you" and I looked back like "oh no you can't! :-D" . Only looks- I would never say that in real life! I also did 15 minutes on the elliptical to cool down. **

I'd tried downloading another yogadownload. It got stuck at 12%... arrrggh- Does anyone else have this problem?

Mind:
An article on Sugar is Posted! Click Here to check it out..

I had to write about another (mini) article too...

Nightime Eating STILL a NO-NO

In The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a study in October 2008 examined the self-directed food choices of 67 men and 50 women. These healthy, non-diabetic adults spent 3 consecutive days and nights in a metabolic section of a hospital. The subjects ate a "standard" diet of 20% protein, 50% carbohydrates, and 30% fat during the day. Subjects ate freely after 6 pm, with food selection time being recorded.

36% of the sample were considered "night-time eaters" consuming significantly more calories than non-nighttime eaters. Their conclusion: nighttime eating was common and predicted weight gain. Research continues to be determined regarding abnormal sleep patterns leading nighttime wakefullness.

I think this is very interesting because it appears that those eating later at night slowed their metabolism, and gained weight. While I feel that if you are 100% truly hungry ( some of us just don't get home from work/school until 8 pm or later) - you should eat by all means regardless of time. But that is only if you need to eat, many people snack late at night while watching shows or out of boredom or anxiety or depression, and this clearly leads to packing on the pounds.
I can't wait to find more research in the future on this!

Soul:

I feel like a new baby is coming home from the hospital today- Jeff is signing and driving home his brand new truck now!


***I will update with another post of food photos and Truck photos later today!!***

Happy Monday to All! Happy Spring Semester to all starting with me this week as well!

Sweet!...Sugar and Antioxidants

Just a little blurb on sugar formation and antioxidants I thought everyone would find interesting if you don't already know! Most refined sugar is produced from the sugar cane plant in tropical and subtropical locations, some can come from the sugar beet.

Turbinado Sugar:
The sugar cane plant has concentrated amounts of Sucrose in the stalk, which is harvested for sugar production. When the cane is crushed, the sucrose-rich juice is clarified and boiled to a thick syrup then allowed to crystallize into what we know as Turbinado Sugar.


Refined White "Table" Sugar:
That Turbinado sugar is then refined by removing color and nonsugar components. Molasses is a byproduct of this refinement.

Brown Sugar:
The turbinado sugar is refined just as above white sugar is. Then, the molasses (3.5% and 6.5% for light and dark brown sugar) is added back to the refined white.

The good thing about the refined white turned into brown sugar: Molasses has a high antioxidant level compared to white sugar on its own. So when its added back to it, you have higher antioxidant levels in the brown sugar even though it was refined.

Maple Syrup:

Maple Syrup is produced from the clear sap of the (maple) tree, which is boiled and concentrated to yield what is known as Maple Syrup. Maple Syrup contains mostly sugar, but also contains vitamins and minerals such as notable amounts of calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and thiamin ( thiamin is a B-vitamin essential for energy!) Maple syrup also contains phenolic compounds, aka antioxidants.

Honey:
Honey is a produced by bees from the nectar of flowers that is partially digested and regurgitated into the hive and stored in the honeycomb, where evaporation concentrates the sugars. Most honey available in the US is refined and comes from the clover. However, since the nectar source varies the antioxidant level varies as well in honey.

Agave Nectar:
This has a very low antioxidant level, which is surprising given the recent craze for it. It is produced from the sap of a desert succulent, the heart of the agave plant. The filtered juice from the hearts is heated or enzymatically treated to hydrolyze the complex carbohydrates ( mainly fructans) to sugars, filtered, then concentrated to a syrup. It gains its popularity now despite being low in antioxidants like white sugar, because it has a low glycemic index. It is still being researched for containing non-antioxidant nutrients, trace elements, and phytochemicals.

Date Sugar:
This is made by grinding dried dates into a coarse powder. It possess the nutrient profile of dates, with fiber, minerals, and vitamins. It's use may be limited because it does not dissolve in liquids and contains 30-50% nonsugar components that may interfere with the physical properties needed in baking.

Why should we care about antioxidants ?
Antioxidant rich foods (a few include pomegranates, blueberries, berries and nuts) can reduce the risk of developing oxidative stress-related disease ( i.e cancer and heart disease).

This information was from The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, January 2009 issue. The article is titled Total Antioxidant Content of Alternatives to Refined Sugar, p. 64- 71.

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.

Saturday Food Recap

Sat. Breakfast:

Smoothie ( vanilla protein, half banana, blueberries, organic milk)

Lunch:
Arnold Sandwhich Thin , Grilled Chicken Breast with BBQ sauce, Toasted Kale

Snacks:

Peanuts

Drinks:
2 glasses of Pinot Grigio over the course of the evening ( 5 - 9)



That little speck above the glass is ... THE MOON! I am serious! I took this on the outdoor porch and the moon was spectacular. Unfortunately, none of my other shots of it came out. Isn't that funny it came through the screened window!?

Dinner:
Ribs, mashed potato casserole, pinto beans, caesar salad

* I poured super hot hot sauce on the beans and mashed potatoes--- It was okay at first but I couldn't finish either because my mouth was burning! lesson learned ...

Dessert: Chocolate Chip Irish Cream pound cake...