Pear vs. Bananas, The Final Showdown

"IMPOSTER!" cries Banana, "How dare you try to pass yourself off as banana?"
"I admire you so much for your high potassium content, when you get to 9 inches long you have 4 g of fiber and you get to have 2 mgs of sodium, I don't have any!!" Plus you have your super cool cousin, Plaintatin...and I just have a million gazillion brothers and sisters!"

"Awww, its okay Pear, you are deliciously sweet and juicy. You are a good source of fiber and potassium too! I love you Pear"

"I love you Banana"

Hooray...

( but secretly, I mean cmon, if you have to imposter banana, it totally won! Plus it goes well with so many things oatmeal, toast and pb, banana pudding, banana's foster, stuffed into french toast, mixed in yogurt, blended into a smoothie.. I <3 bananas).

In the middles is a Kashi Strawberry Flax waffle, with Strawberry Chobani on top, on the side is a tsp of opb! *you down wiht opb, yah you know me, you down w/ opb, every last lady...***


( and if you have no idea what this is all about, check out my post from Monday "Pears vs. Bananas" the way I put them into the bowl made it look like the pears were hovering over the bananas, which were curled up onto the sides of the bowl like they were running away. I know how silly I am!)

Pears vs. Bananas

Breakfast:

Irish rolled oats, with a spoonful of organic pumpkin mixed it, added cinnamon, brown sugar pinch and.. pear slices and banana slices.

I love how the Pear slices are staring down the banana slices like "Whatch you think you doin in my bowl of Oats, Bananas ? Don't you know pears go better with pumpkin oats???" ..banana slice's curl up onto the side of the bowl....
I didn't want them to fight so in comes a spoonful of peanut butter to mediate...

Everyone is peacefully in my stomach now...

Saturday Tailgating

But first... a couple Halloween photosThese are some of the "hockey guys" Jeff has been friends with for such a long time. They decided to all dress up as the Village People- It was HISTERICAL! We had cars passing us and singing Y...M..C...AMy gay indian and I... I dressed up as Wilma Flinstone and yes, I really died my hair with a semi-permenant hair dye to make it red ( didn't turn out super red though). Jeff's sister (aka K-C Mo) was Betty. I have to get her pictures of us!

Onto Saturday, we had tickets to go an NHL hockey game. Jeff's dad plays in a Over 50 men's hockey leauge and his league got to play after the NHL game on the same ice! It was such a fun time! So I started out my day with a blueberry chobani filled with some Kashi cereal, and an apple and half a banana with pb.

At the tailgate, I had chips and bean dip ( this guy times 5) And there is a spread of our dip, and K-C Mo's chili (yum!)
I had a little taste in a dixie cup...

The tailgate also had peppers and onions for brats, and some chicken thighs. I had half of a chicken thigh but was really dissapointed because after taking off the skin I realized the bottom half was all bone- so I ate the equivalent of probably 1/8 of a serving of chicken.. bummer
So then inside we watched the game and of course it was cold so I grabbed a cup of coffee...

Then we watched Jeff's Dad play- the old man!

They gave out free pretzels since the NHL game was finished- so KC Mo and I split one with some (gross) honey mustard ( I actually threw away the hm after trying the bottom of this piece!)
Jeff's dad's team won! Horray!
When we got home finally at 8:30 pm, I was suprisingly not very hungry. Grazing always does that to me, I feel like I never got "enough" food but I am also not "hungry" because I had been eating all day long ( or so it seemed). I know logically I needed more protein and vegetables so I threw together a small veggie-full "omlet" with some kashi whole grain crackers.

Hello November AND one extra hour of the day!!!

Body: Rested but lots of walking around the tailgate and stadium! ( and got 10 hours of sleep!!)

Mind: After we got home I looked up some information for my presentation tuesday and read over my other group members' slides.

Soul: It was fun to play corn-hole outside and take in a professional hockey game AND watch Jeff's dad play in a professional arena. Unfortunately, my sniffles just got worse and worse as the weekend has progressed so.... Ick!!!

I am drinking lots of water, I have been resting and not working out, what else can cure me ?

Halloween Breakfast Smoothie

Breakfast

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

1.5 cups Milk
2 bananas

1 big scoop protein powder

1 TB peanut butter

1 cup frozen mango

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

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

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

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


Body:

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

Mind:

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

Soul:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Body:
Run

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

Also working on my Minority Health Presentation

Soul:

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

Battery Exhausted

Oh this title is so metaphoric!
Last night I went to Jeff's hockey game and caught up chatting with a friend on the phone before the game started AND read more of WH magazine waiting for him after they WON!!! Jeff scored the 8th goal and I totally saw it! ( sometimes i have a hard time figuring out whats going on during the game, that little puck goes so fast!)

Anyhow, I was exausted when we got home! And... the last check up on my car ( from the shady car dealers that ALWAYS mess up my car and I only keep going back so they fix what they mess up. Long story short, they told me last time my battery while not start once the weather gets colder. ??? I am now always concerned my car just won't start!


and... I went to take a picture this morning of breakfast and "Battery Exhausted" popped up on the screen. My last camera had its docking station- so when I went to upload photos I also automatically charged it. Well, this one is different- the usb directly connects to the camera but you have to disconnect the battery to charge it on the charging station.

Oh well, time to recharge for everyone I guess!

Breakfast I made another attempt at pumpkin filling with much less baking powder and a little baking soda -- ( which in Adv. Nutrient Metabolism we talked about how it helps reduce lactic acid build up in your muscles - will make a separate post about it)

Poofy Pumpkin breakfast was pretty much like yesterdays unfortunately. Fortunately it was much less "baking powdery" so a little better! So I added:

-Unsweetened Coconut flakes (reminded me of Madison at Follow My Weigh)
-Peanut Butter
-Half Banana
-Blueberries! ( i have missed them! )
-Strawberries

Hooray for improvement!

Cranberry Pumpkin "Filling"

I had a few cranberries left from my experimenting with the BSI ( I made a sauce to go with the pork and another type of bread -both i completely burned!) So.. I used them in my breakfast today as a secret secret ingredient ( I hid them in there )

Pumpkin "Filling" - Mine doesn't come out like a "cake" but it is certainly not "mush". Most of the time it comes out tasting more like the delicious inside of the pumpkin pie ( less dense though). I originally got the idea from Kath's site but change mine pretty much every time I make it! I stopped at TJ yesterday and picked up organic pumpkin ( canned for $1.99.... has anyone had a hard time finding pumpkin?) AND carton of egg whites that were cage free eggs- which I haven't been able to find !

1/4 cup organic pumpkin ( its less orange.. more brown ?)
1/2 cup cage free egg whites

whisked until well blended
sprinkled with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice

** note most people would probably want to add a sweetener of some sort- i have used tsp of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of maple syrup, packet of splenda etc... Today I didn't feel like adding any sweetener*

microwaved for 2 minutes

in go the cranberries
in goes the uncle sam's cereal ( whole wheat bran and whole flaxseeds)

mixed it all around
microwave for another 1 min +

Sliced a banana on top with a smudge of pb! (natural organic smuckers! ..ingredients: peanuts)


Body:
Run.. hopefully long and hopefully soon so I can adjust to morning runs ( I LOVE afternoon running so I have adjusted to "pre-lunch" running- which means after breakfast I blog/read/yoga/clean so that I don't run on a "Full" stomach and so when I am finished I am hungry for lunch. The problem now is that my race is at 8 am which means I have to wake up at about 6 am to get there on time and I never run that early. My plan is changing that sleep schedule over the next two weeks to waking up at 6 and running/exercising or just getting up that early! I am not concerned so much with the running 13 miles, I am more concerned with running while my body does not feel awake.

Yesterday I biked at 10 am... so today 9:30 is at least a little better! * baby steps*

Mind:
Class.. assignment on research questions, edit/draft paper due tomorrow, begin slides for presentation (tuesday class Chp. 6 of Organic Inc) , Find info on beginning slides for presentation (wednesday class- Native Am. Health- childhood obesity) , Article for Thursday class found- back up research needed-

Soul:

Not sure- yoga this week, actually accomplishing the "mind" section, the yard looks fantastic from all our work yesterday, clean the guest bedrooms, organize clothes and send out evites for clothing sale


Plus I have trainings during the mornings this week so it will be busy!

Breakfast

I mixed a half packet of Simple Harvest oatmeal, with a 1/3 cup of Uncle Sam's Cereal (whole bran flakes and flaxseeds YUM!)- added water and heated it up for 1 min 30 sec- Delicious! Half a banana, with Smucker's org. p.b! A TJ greek yogurt with some thawed blueberries

Lazy day.. all the running and walking and reading this week- I feel very tired!

Body:
Yoga -definately!

Mind:

Research

Soul:
Yoga
And I got a new magazine in the mail! Runner's World! Can't wait to have enough energy to read it.. ( going to the coffee maker now...)

*updated- Lunchtime

Hello Blog-land from Campus!

So.. Ortho ordered an MRI, he was not happy that my knee is still giving me problems . What is odd is that the last two weeks on the meds, I could run again with no problems- I posted about my Supersonic Racer Speed last week ( 7 mile run in 50 minutes and a 6.4 miler in around that too).

Yesterday, I went to "jog" to my car after biking and jabbed with pain on the first step from nowhere! So dissappointing.

Health insurance won't cover the MRI- it goes toward my deductible which is 2500 and it costs $600 out of pocket.

So the assistant is checking into other options on what to do and what will be figured out by the MRI- in most likely case- I need a surgical operation to either clear out cartiledge, or fix my knee cap. I doubt I can afford surgery, but at least 1/4 of my deductible would be paid for so ....??

After the appointment I went to the gym. I know, how ironic/hypocritical? But I felt like getting out my stress/frustration and the best way I can do that is by exercise- so

Body: Biked 11 miles, 23 minutes ( resistance level 4-11, random hill program). Elliptical 22 minutes (resistance level 3-5).. no strength training today, just some stress relieving cardio!

Mind: In the waiting area, got through several pages of Slow Food Nation...its been a Slow Read Too! I also am on campus early to do more research and read in the library, which should be rather productive.
** I got so much reading done in 30 minutes!!! Wow... super productive . Class was rather mundane- we got out early though so I could do more researching for the presentation for it! **

Soul: Dinner is already made and nail appointments for tomorrow evening. I have to pack but have a good base of what I need/want to take with me this weekend.
I also wanted to yoga everyday this week, so I plan on doing that this evening or going for a walk with Jeff. The grass needs cut too so I may do some yardwork with Jeff, the outdoor time relaxes me as well. ** yoga today- 20 minutes- Yardwork tomorrow afternoon with Jeff**


Lunch was delicious after the gym....I will have to post the pic later with dinner

I had:
TJ Steel Cut Oats, added tsp organic peanut butter, dried cranberries and pineapple ( and wished I had coconut!)... THANKS MOM FOR THE ORGANIC PEANUT BUTTER! ( its less salty but still yummy!)
Oikos Blueberry Organic Greek ( HT had $0.75 off coupons- i took a bunch which made the cost less than other greek yogurts!)
Thawed Steamed Veggies and Fresh Raw Veggies with a tsp of Garlic Hummus

Delicious! Off to coursework, see you around dinner

Steel Cut!

Paper is done! phew.. in total it took me 2 hours but I really had a harder time with this one African American Health.. I am totally past the 3 page requirement so I put it in 11 font vs 12 and 1.5spaced vs Double spaced... I just cant "simmer down" my writing - I like to finish thoughts and make it flow to the next paragraph... so oh well.

I decided NOT to eat my super fast easy lovely smoothie breakfast FIRST, but rather wait to cook and eat steel cut oats.

I exhausted myself with oats in college... I literally had no money and no car so I would just live off of oats .. oats with pb, oats w. tuna , oats w cream cheese and jelly...

I think its funny all of the bloggers that post about oat combos everyday because I feel like there are endless combinations that are so fun to experiement with. But after all my close-enough variations in college.... everyday....multiple meals/day i am serious... i am slightly weary of oats all the time now...

Nonetheless, they are delicious and super nutritious and I still appreciate all the possibilities of them. Since I had to finish my paper ( I wanted to get it out of the way and done so I could do whatever with my day).... I figured I would type while they simmered.

So I made smoothies for Jeff before he left- frozen banana, blackberries, peaches ( i think his favorites?) with protein and milk. I made proportions so that I could have a good half of my reg. size and stashed it in the freezer while the oats simmered.

Here is my breakfast:

The purple stuff is the smoothie obviousl and then i sprinkled cinnamon and added a spoonful of pb on the side... Smear style..