Gluten Free Grazer

New Month, New Goals... New Site!!

2010-11-03T12:13:00.000-04:00

It's finally time - after 1 wonderful year of blogging, the Gluten Free Grazer is growing up and moving on!

(source)

Check out the new site: http://glutenfreegrazer.com. Make sure to adjust your readers to stay in touch.

Thank you for making my first year a success. Here's to a great second year!

Now that's a lot of fiber

2010-11-01T22:08:00.001-04:00

Happy November everyone. Did you make any goals for the month? Check out mine to see what I'm hoping to do this month.

This morning I woke up quite calm and content - a rare feeling on a Monday morning but I went with it. I whipped up a bowl of hot cereal since it was quite chilly this morning. This bowl of cereal had 1/4c almond milk, 1/4c frozen raspberries, cinnamon, a drizzle of maple syrup, 2 crushed baby pecan halves, and 1/2T of peanut butter.

The morning flew by and I snacked on a baby Fuji apple with peanut butter before I headed to my training appointment.

Over lunch I headed to the gym for my long-awaited training session which did not disappoint. Dave made me do a ton of squats, TRX moves, abs, and balance moves. My legs were feeling like jelly by the time I left!

I was hungry and more than ready for lunch when I got back to the office. I had a salad with mixed greens, beets, bell pepper, and some chickpeas with 2 pieces of veggie sushi and a cup of my broccoli soup from last night.

The afternoon flew by and before I knew it my stomach was ready for a snack and the day was almost over. I had some roasted carrot and kabocha squash plus a cheese stick and a couple of chips. I'm pretty sure that little snack pushed me over my daily intake of fiber and vegetables, hehe.

After work I made a quick stop at Trader Joe's on the way home and had my heart set on sloppy joe's for dinner.

I used this recipe from Meatless Mama which is fool-proof and delicious. I ate a serving of the sloppy joe's with a toasted English muffin. If there was any question about the amount of fiber I consumed today, this definitely put me over!

I'm curled up on the couch watching the Rangers with a small pear and cup of vanilla cinnamon tea. There's supposed to be a frost warning in the morning, WTH?! :)

Do you like cold weather? Fiber: love it or hate it?

Holy Cow, it's November?!

2010-11-01T11:34:00.000-04:00

Weren't we just celebrating the start of September and fall? Now it's November. I can hardly believe how quickly this year is flying by! Does anyone else feel this way? An even bigger shock for me was catching the sight of wreaths in the windows of a store this weekend. I guess the last 10 weeks of 2010 are quickly approaching. Yikes!

One of the great things about having a blog is being able to reference it to see what I was thinking and doing earlier in the year. It's like a journal of sorts. Anyways, early this morning I referenced my new year's resolutions from January out of curiosity. Now that it's November, how am I doing?

This is what I wrote: "I am focusing more attention on how to be a better me in a new decade - mentality, physically, socially, and personally.
While I haven't vowed to "lost 10 pounds" or "cut out all sugar in my diet" this year, I think that I've subconsciously resolved to try to move to a healthier balance and devote some brainpower to other areas of my life. It's a bit scary because I can't check those goals off on a list in the same way. But just like being able to balance well on both sides of a yoga stance, I think that focusing on this other half will help me strike an overall healthier balance in 2010."

Balance. A holistically healthy me. Health outside of fitness. And that's really what I feel like this year has been about for me so far.

So, in continuing to strive for an all around healthier me, I have put together a few goals for November. A few of them I'll be sharing now and a couple of them will stay off of the internet and personal for now ;-)

My November goals:

Run the Dallas Turkey Trot 5K in under 40 minutes
Try yoga after a 6 month hiatus and do it or pilates 1x per week
Try 3 new recipes this month
Unplug by 10:30pm on week nights
Enhance the content here on my blog and make a few exciting updates

While a lot of these are fitness related, there are others offline that are completely unrelated. I also think that unplugging will help me achieve all of my goals and make smart decisions throughout the holiday months :) Here's to a great month - I'm definitely excited for my favorite November weekend: Thanksgiving!!

What are your November goals? What would you like to see more / less of here on the Gluten Free Grazer?

Waffles, Rallies, and Halloween Wackiness

2010-10-31T21:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween y'all! I hope you've had a great weekend and fun Halloween. It amuses me at how my celebration of Halloween has changed throughout the years - I definitely celebrated more as a kid and then again in college!

Saturday was quite a fantastic day. On top of ideal fall weather I woke up with a craving for waffles. I broke out my waffle iron and my favorite pancake mix, Pamela's Baking & Pancake mix, and got to work. The batch yielded 7 waffles so I froze most of them to enjoy on days I don't feel like making waffles.

I had one waffle topped with a mix of syrup and fig jam, heated up, and some almond butter, plus an egg white and half a pear.

The Rally to Restore Sanity was set to begin at 1pm so I headed out around noon to get there. I took my time because I felt pretty indifferent about the event. A few friends convinced me I should go and see it and I'm glad I did. The crowd was pretty normal and I definitely appreciated all the witty signs.

I only stayed down on the Mall for about 15 minutes as I really don't do well in shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and I couldn't see or hear anything. I walked up to Chinatown and the Health and Fitness Expo for the Marine Corps Marathon. I got to check out some of the vendors and tried out The Stick for the first time. My calves felt like new and I can see myself purchasing this item very soon!

From there I began the walk home but got hungry a few minutes in. Enter - pit stop at... Whole Foods! Trip #4 for the week. Lunch was a salad plus black beans and Mexican rice.

I contemplated heading home then but the weather was so nice and there were a few things I wanted to check out at Target so I continued my "little" walk. By the time all was said and done I walked over 8 miles yesterday! My feet were a little achy but no pain in my stress fracture foot which is awesome!

After resting for a few hours I met Lauren for dinner at Mai Thai. We got things started with Apple-tinis, which are a Halloween tradition of sorts for me.

(from Halloween 2008, Nightmare on M Street Bar Crawl in DC)

We started with some chicken satay

And for my dinner I got the drunken noodles with chicken, easy on the sauce and oil. There is so much flavor in the cooking process and my stomach doesn't love lots of oil so these modifications ensure a tasty dish that won't upset my stomach.

From there we headed to another bar to watch the Rangers win Game 3 of the World Series and the Longhorns lose another game. I think the state of Texas missed the memo that we're supposed to have talent in football! The night ended with some amazing costume watching of the folks who participated in the DC Halloween bar crawl. I did it 2 years ago and it was a blast - last night I couldn't get over how young all the participants looked!

For all the activity of yesterday, today was quite the opposite. I slept in until 10:30 and immediately rolled out of bed and down the block to the Dupont farmers market. I picked up my usual - eggs, apples, pears, and kale, and came home. Not without snapping a picture of the gorgeous cauliflower though!

I was hungry by the time I got home and had 2 slices of Udi's whole grain toast, one with a little Earth Balance and peanut butter, one with spinach, red pepper spread, and and egg white for breakfast. I also had one of my pears.

Then it was time for a good cleaning of my apartment (I cleaned for the better part of an hour and half). Feeling much better and more organized, I had a light lunch of leftover roasted butternut squash, kidney and black beans, spinach, and 1/4c of wild rice.

I made my 5th trip of the week (seriously - an intervention may be needed!) to Whole Foods for groceries and spend the afternoon prepping food for the week.

Dinner was a bowl of freshly made broccoli soup (x2), a portion of Alexia oven fries, and half a serving of baked beans.

I'm now watching Game 4 and deciding what my sweet treat for Halloween will be. I haven't eaten a lot of candy yet but perhaps I'll find something sweet to celebrate with!

Did you go to the rally yesterday (or watch on TV)? Dress up for Halloween?

Whole Foods Anonymous

2010-10-29T23:29:00.000-04:00

Hi, my name is Sarah and I have an addiction. To Whole Foods. You see, I went there for dinner on Thursday night in between work and a birthday party. That made for my 3rd trip of the week. And then of course I will have to grocery shop over the weekend. That pulls the count to a total of 4 visits in 7 days.

Acknowledging the problem is the 1st step, right? But if I'm going to be honest, I'm not so sure I want to recover from this addiction. It's better than getting greasy, over-processed fast food. They carry hundreds of gluten free products and have excellent customer service. I also believe that investing in my diet is an investment in my overall health. I kind of have a crush on Whole Foods.

Thursday I picked up an assortment from the hot bar that included a salad of: beets, carrots, peas, corn, purple cabbage, bean salad, feta, plus some tofu, Indian chickpea dish, and rice (that didn't taste so great and therefore I didn't finish it).

Due to a beautiful heat wave that DC experienced this week, I ate on the patio and enjoyed the sunshine, warmth, and view.

I then headed back to the area where my friend's birthday party was. Yes, to take my addiction further I made a special trip for it! In my defense it was only a 6 minute walk :) It brought my mileage total for the day over 8 miles. I guess I know my foot is finally on the tail end of recovering!

I enjoyed the night, catching up with friends and sipping on a lovely dirty martini.

Then it was time to head home for Grey's and bed.

Do you have a healthy ~~addict~~ habit you just won't break because you secretly love it? Do you want to join Whole Foods Anonymous with me?

New Recipes and Fall in DC

2010-10-29T15:44:00.000-04:00

For dinner on Wednesday night I wanted risotto but I also wanted to take advantage of the precooked rice in my fridge. Enter - Lazy Risotto:

roasted butternut squash, mushrooms
1/4c kidney beans
1/2c brown rice
1/3c frozen peas
~2-3 T vegetable broth
splashes of soy sauce
garlic powder and 21 Seasoning Salute

While I still formulated my plan of attack, I got my veggies roasting in the oven. I roasted up butternut squash, baby portobella mushrooms, and brussel sprouts at *425 for about 45 minutes.

When the veggies had about 5 minutes left, I got to work on the risotto. In a small non-stick sprayed pan I added 1/2c brown rice and frozen peas and let heat for a couple of minutes. Then I added a splash of vegetable broth and spices, stirred it all up, and pulled my vegies out of the oven. I added the kidney beans, ~3/4c butternut squash and mushrooms, and more broth and soy sauce and stirred until slightly creamy. The broth did a great job of hydrating the rice and the soy sauce and spices brought everything together.

Topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. This was a winner!

A few weeks ago I found this recipe and couldn't get it out of my head. I used one half to make my own Twice Baked Acorn Squash and it was delicious. I only stuffed mine with frozen spinach, broccoli, and a bit of grated cheddar and it was delicious. I ate the whole thing, skin and all!

As promised, here are the pictures I took on my short little stroll yesterday afternoon. Fall is officially in full swing in DC!

Gluten Free Dinner Party, Part 3

2010-10-28T15:02:00.000-04:00

So I feel bad that dessert got lost from my dinner party recap. I mean, I guess I was saving the best for last... really last :) With Halloween coming up this weekend, I thought that now was as good a time as any to share a healthy dessert that is naturally gluten free and easy to prepare!

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then wash, dry, and core your apples. Have fun with your apples if you want ;)

Arrange your apples in a tray that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. This will help your apples not stick to the bottom of the tray.

Top your apples with cinnamon, raisins, agave nectar, maple syrup, and raisins. I don't have any measurements for what was used but you'll be fine eye-balling it. I know I didn't use too much syrup or nectar though.

Bake at 325 for 1 hr 20 minutes or until apples are soft and the skin is wrinkled. Tip: place these in the oven just as you are placing your meal out for your guests. They'll be done by the time you're ready for dessert!

Enjoy!

Restless Legs

2010-10-27T19:31:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the Cowboys, I was up way too late on Monday night :-/ I have kind of been struggling to have a normal sleep schedule over the past few weeks but hopefully with a more regular schedule now I can get back on track.

Yesterday I brought breakfast with me to the office this morning - hot cereal with blueberries, cinnamon, and peanut butter. No matter what alternative I find for breakfast while traveling, I always look forward to a bowl of hot cereal when I get back. Mmmm.

I had a training appointment scheduled for my lunch hour so I had a snack of an egg white on a slice of Udi's bread for a snack. Carbs and protein in my favorite form :)

When I showed up for my appointment, I discovered that my trainer (who is also a physical therapist) had been double booked. Another trainer was nice enough to meet with me still but we didn't work out as I asked for the appointment to be rescheduled at this point. I made good use of my gym time though and tackled my running workout for the day. I picked the Women's Health running plan since it builds up to running for 30 minutes straight utilizing the walk / run method. I've committed to the plan and getting back my cardio fitness which I hope to put to the test at this year's Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K!

I grabbed a salad with grilled chicken breast for lunch for protein. This salad had: romaine, spinach, spring mix, carrots, baby corn, black bean mix, roasted broccoli (from home), olives, and cucumber with a small piece of chicken on top plus 1 piece of veggie sushi.

The afternoon flew by but boy was it hard. My legs were restless after a mid-day workout and my butt did not want me sitting! I took a short stroll to enjoy the quiet skies and beautiful foliage. I'll be sharing more of my walk later this week but here's a sneak peek:

I took care of a few errands after work including canceling my old gym membership and another trip to Whole Foods. I forgot a few things on Monday and just had to go back :)

For dinner I tried out a new soup recipe from one of my favorite magazines, Vegetarian Times. This soup featured some of my favorite veggies plus buckwheat! Since I copied the recipe exactly I can't type it up but it included onion, grated carrot, corn, black beans, bell pepper, vegetable broth, bay leaf, and buckwheat.

I served up a bowl with some blue corn Food Should Taste Goods, a bit of cheese, and hot sauce. Delish.

It was a typical Tuesday night of Biggest Loser as I developed a headache while cooking. Otherwise I would have been at the High Heeled Drag Race :) My snack was a pear with cinnamon and some almond butter.

I got a good night's sleep and woke up this morning feeling refreshed. I mixed up my standard bowl of hot cereal by topping this one with some heated fig jam and maple syrup, pecans, and almond butter. My taste buds appreciated the change of pace!

The morning flew by and I enjoyed another bowl of soup with chips and a simple greens salad for lunch.

I was hungrier than usual for my afternoon snack so I had some baked beans, the rest of my salad greens, and a cheese stick.

With all the antsy feelings I had yesterday, you'd think today I'd feel the same. However, this was not the case. My legs were tired, heavy, and slow to move. I guess that's the beauty of a rest day, right?

Not sure what's on tap yet for tonight but I'm guess it will include some Rangers baseball, a new recipe, and Modern Family :)

Do you workout on a whim or do you put together a training plan? How do you deal with antsy feelings during the work day?

Reading Terminal Market - Philadelphia

2010-10-26T15:08:00.000-04:00

I had a great time walking around Reading Terminal Market this weekend. Here are some of the many photos I took while exploring!

Weekend in Philly

2010-10-25T22:18:00.001-04:00

When I was first invited to be a facilitator for a sorority training over the weekend in Philly I was excited. Not only was I thrilled about the prospect of a weekend away from DC, I also would have the chance to see sorority friends and family as the training was a partnership between my sorority and my dad's fraternity. Even better - he would be facilitating as well!

We agreed to arrive in Philly early so we had some time to explore and hang out. I left work early on Friday and took the train from DC to Philly. The ride was uneventful and I arrived on time. My dad flew into the airport and once he checked into our hotel, met me at the train station where we made our way to dinner.

Not only had Alex recommended the restaurant The Continental to me, but also Fred from her recent trip to the city. We had a great experience that surpassed our expectations!

My dad and I started off with cocktails. Can you guess whose is whose?

I had the Perfect Pear: Grey Goose la Poire, Thatcher's organic cucumber liqueur, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon, and soda; my dad got a Cosmo.

We started with a Greek salad sans onion and dressing which was delicious.

My dad wanted his entree's picture taken, which he polished off completely: Seared Tuna with Mushroom Risotto

And I had the Rad Na Thai Chicken with rice noodles, served on a bed of romaine lettuce. This bowl was huge (mixing bowl size) and I left stuffed but felt like I hadn't made a dent in the dish. I loved how the crisp romaine contrasted with the hot chicken and noodles. The dish packed some heat as well which made it taste even better!

After dinner my dad had to tame his sweet tooth with some ice cream from Scoop deVille across the street. I was too full to get anything but his ice cream looked tasty. The only thing we didn't like was that as soon as the clock struck 10pm and the shop was then closed, the staff practically kicked us out of the shop declaring they had places to be. Rude.

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and made our way to Reading Terminal Market. We loved everything we saw and took our time meandering up and down every aisle, checking out what each vendor had to offer.

We left the market and made our way to Philly's dedicated gluten free bakery, Sweet Freedom. All of their goodies looked delicious yet upon a sample, I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy anything as coconut and I do not get along.

My dad picked up a few things to bring back with him though and I was happy to visit the bakery. It reminded me a lot of Babycakes in NYC - they are gluten, dairy, egg, soy, and corn free!

We grabbed lunch at the market (Dad had pastrami, I had chicken and okra soup from Beck's Cajun Cafe which was gluten free and delicious. Their staff were really patient and accommodating as well.

We headed back to the hotel afterward as my dad had an afternoon of meetings. I spent some quality time in the fitness center and did 4.35 miles in an hour plus some stretching.

The rest of the weekend was consumed by the all-day training and preparation. Sadly I don't have picture from it but it was a success. I love having the opportunity to interact with our undergrads!

I made it back to DC safely last night and loved that I got to spend the weekend with my dad, friends, and doing things that I love to do!

Do you like to travel with your family? Explore new cities? Do your travels often revolve around food like mine do? :)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

2010-10-21T21:27:00.000-04:00

There were a few other titles I had in mind for tonight's post:

A first time for everything
Grateful for Exercise
Say whaaaa?

But I picked the broadest title so I could fit it all in ;)

The past couple of days have been interesting, but I would say the last 20 minutes of tonight have been most enlightening. More on that in a sec...

The Good:

My new gym. Today as I was cooling down and stretching the Fitness Manager came over to check in and see how I'm liking it so far. He also followed up on a couple of things and remembered small details from our conversation on Tuesday. #win
I CAN RUN! This has been no secret but I've committed myself to getting back into running shape. Today I did my second running workout plus 2 miles on the elliptical. I'll slowly rediscover my love for endorphins. I know it!
Having positive motivation. When I was tired or wanted to cut my workout short, I reminded myself how much being on bed rest and in a boot sucked and wasn't I lucky to be able to be exercising at that moment.
Lots of good eats.
Finally meeting Alex who started her grad school program this fall. We had a great coffee date and I am so thankful she was willing to give me some tips on Philly for the weekened.
I'm heading to Philly over the weekend to help lead a sorority training. Bonus #1 - we are doing it with a partner fraternity. Bonus #2 - It's my dad's fraternity and he and I get to have some time to see the sights in Philly!!
I won't be taking accounting for the second module of the semester...
And, I've eaten a large bunch of kale in 3 days. Mmmmm :)

The Bad:

I got my Accounting final test and final course grade, hehe
I feel like I wasted my money on that class since I'll have to retake it once I'm admitted in the MBA program
The thought of that makes me nauseous
Getting that grade is laughable and liberating... but I don't think it's for a good reason... does that make sense?

The Ugly:

"Tomatoes with issues." I guess it could be worse! Or snowing...
Type-A Sarah kind of feels like a failure for not acing accounting, even though the class is a butt-kicking for 80% of the people who take it... Bye bye endorphins for the night.

I hope it doesn't seem like I'm having a huge pity party over here. I'm well aware that this stress and whatnot is optional and really a privilege in a weird way. I have a roof over my head, food in my pantry, and my health. I know many people do not even have the gift of an undergraduate college education or even of finishing high school. Yet after devoting a lot of time and energy into something to fall short feels kinda sucky. On the flip side, classes thus far have been really enlightening on a multitude of levels and I feel like I know more of what I like, what I don't, and what my real passions are.

Enough serious stuff for now, onto the food!

Breakfasts the past 2 days have been lovely bowls of hot cereal. Since I have leftover unsweetened applesauce I've been adding a small spoonful to my bowl in the morning. Yesterday's bowl had blueberries and today's had blueberries plus some diced pear. All topped with nut butter!

Lunch yesterday was one of my favorite sandwiches - a grilled "cheese" sandwich: 2 slices of Udi's whole grain bread, red pepper hummus, red pepper spread, and spinach. This combo never disappoints! I had half a serving of tomato soup plus a little salad on the side.

Today's lunch was a result of the intense meat cravings I've been having since yesterday afternoon. I had a drop of chili, beef stew, a side salad, and kale chips. An odd combo but it was filling and delicious.

Snacks have been apples with some peanut butter spread on.

Last night I had a really intense craving for meat which led me to explore my freezer in hopes of finding something buried under all my frozen veggies :) I found this little bit of leftover spaghetti and meat sauce from Maggiano's from March (because I'm Type-A and labeled it with the date) and a big salad with beets, carrots, romaine, and spinach and kale.

Tonight I had a detour to make after the gym to pick up a few things at the White House farmers market and couldn't decide what I wanted to eat. I finally got inspired: roasted veggie salad and Alexia oven fries. On a bed of spinach and romaine I had a mix of roasted veggies: 2 carrots, half an onion, some broccoli, and okra. Topped with some cheese and Amy's Italian dressing.

Last night's snack was half a pear and a toaster waffle and tonight's will be the other half a pear and maybe some toast. We'll see :)

I'm off to pack, maybe write my last paper for my leadership class, and watch Grey's.

How do you motivate yourself when exercising? Have you ever disappointed your own expectations? Do you have any tips for getting over the "not the grade I was hoping for" blues?

Gym, Cook, Pancakes (GCP)

2010-10-19T22:29:00.000-04:00

Buckle up friends, I have lots of interesting things to share with you tonight so I'm just going to get started. I hope you'll stick around for it all!

First, thank you for your well-wishes with my accounting exam. It's over after an intense 90 minutes of pure focus, problem solving, and a bit of guessing. I'm just glad that's all behind me now. I feel 10 lbs lighter without the stress of that class hanging over me! It's hard to believe it was just 24 hours ago.

Anywho, today had been great. The morning kicked off with a delicious, extra yummy bowl of hot cereal. To the standard mix of 1/4c Bob's Red Mill hot cereal and buckwheat, 1/3c almond milk, cinnamon, splash of vanilla, and 1/2c water I added 1/2T chia seeds, fig and berry jams, and 1/2T of peanut butter. Plus an egg white.

The morning flew by and it was time for lunch. I threw together a salad with roasted beets, carrots, a couple of forkfuls of adzuki beans, a slice of cheese toast, and a serving of Amy's Chunky Tomato Bisque (low sodium).

The afternoon progressed and I snacked on some grapes and then 1/4c of brown rice with broccoli and peas. Random but both were exactly what I was craving.

After work I headed out on an exciting errand. I haven't been mentioning exercise as much on the blog because truthfully, it hasn't really been happening. Between commuting and errands I average about 3.5miles of walking a day and with school and some laziness I just didn't feel like going to the gym. It probably didn't help that I can't do my good ole favorite classes either because of my stress fracture recovery. SO.... I joined a NEW GYM! This one makes a lot more sense for me because it's 2 blocks from work (I could even go for my lunch break!!) and I can attend another location on the weekends that's just a few blocks for my apartment. Super convenient, right? Especially with the cold weather coming I won't have to schlep myself in the cold across town and I have access to 2+ gyms' worth of classes. The machines are nice and new, the locker rooms clean, and I feel pretty good about this decision!

After a short treadmill workout (more on my plan later this week) I headed home and tried to think of something to cook for dinner. The folks at MyBlogSpark were kind enough to send me a box of the new Gluten Free Bisquick. I had seen word of it floating around online and was eager to try it for myself.

Despite having a fantastic pancake option that I love to this day, I was always slightly envious of the golden, fluffy pancakes my mom used to cook for her and my brother. So, at the chance to have my own gluten free version, I decided that tonight was the night for Breakfast for Dinner. I whipped out the goodies that the folks at MyBlogSpark were kind enough to send - Bisquick, a silicone spatula for easy flipping, cast iron mini-pancake pan, and a pancake pen and got to work.

You can see the size of the box compared to the small mixing bowl and applesauce I used. I made 1/3 the recipe (which is 1 serving of the mix itself) and subbed in applesauce for oil and used only egg white.

You can see how white the mix is, which was surprising and not the most thrilling discovery. However, they cooked up beautifully in the pan. All golden and pretty!

I topped one pancake with chia seeds, one with crushed pecan pieces, and one with blueberries. All topped with a small drizzle of almond butter and maple syrup.

I was excited to dive in. The first few bites were exciting, mainly because it was a new food and the cakes were light and spongey - just like the pancakes my brother used to eat. Yet, after a few bites I realized that they had 0 taste. Not a bad taste or an "off" taste, literally they tasted like nothing. I debated tossing them or finishing them and eventually the trash won. I really hate to admit that I wasted about half of this serving but I couldn't justify eating something that had no taste (aside from the toppings which were the best part) that I wouldn't normally choose to put in my body.

I guess I'm glad to know that I'm not really missing anything by not eating Bisquick. I think there are other mixes on the market that provide the same convenience with less sugar and whole ingredients, 2 things I look for in a processed gluten free product. Oh well...

I ended up eating a mixture of beans and rice alongside my kale chips and leftover egg white instead of pancakes. It was a good dinner but I feel a bit disappointed by my pancake flop.

I'm relaxing with the Biggest Loser and Parenthood before calling it a night!

Do you belong to a gym? How did you choose where to join? What are your favorite pancake mix-ins and toppings? Have you tried GF Bisquick?

I - I will Survive

2010-10-18T15:07:00.000-04:00

As evident by my channeling Gloria Gaynor, I've gone a little crazy over the past few days. I blame it on staring at this for the better part of my weekend:

Between accounting studying and a huge group project that was completed over the weekend, I'm beyond happy for this quarter of school to be wrapping up. I've learned a lot about myself over the past 2 months and am eager to make a few changes moving forward!

Friday I had a relapse in sickness which led to my continued feelings of misery and therefore lack of blog posting. Saturday was group project day followed by a delightful dinner with friends that ended with gelato. Ice cream solves problems and cures illness, didn't you know? Dinner was actually the turning point with this cold I've been battling and I've been feeling better and better since!

Yesterday morning I was up earlier than I would have preferred which at least allowed me to tackle a long to-do list, I was still feeling better, and spend a few hours preparing for my impending accounting final!

There was the standard trip to the farmers market. Has anyone seen black radishes before? These were a new-to-me sighting!

Also, check out the size of this beautiful comice pear. It was at least the size of my face! I love Toigo Orchards - they have the best pears and the nicest staff by far!

Of course I got to enjoy a special breakfast over the weekend - "oats" in a jar! My standard mix with blueberries, cinnamon, maple, and crushed pecans in an almond butter jar.

Last night I had the last of my chicken chili along with half of an acorn squash, which I ate skin and all.

Now, I'm just plugging away through the day and trying to keep prepping for this acocunting final at 7pm. I'll be more than ecstatic when it's over!!

How was your weekend?

Marking Time

2010-10-14T21:35:00.002-04:00

I never really made an official announcement on my blog last year when I began working again. I decided that work would be something I referenced but didn't discuss in depth. After all, this is a gluten free healthy living blog - I want to focus on those aspects of my life with you all. Yet today I do want to share that it's officially been a year that I've been at my job, even if I was just part-time this past fall. It's definitely been quite the year though and something I wanted to note!

On a different note, my cold is still lingering. This is pretty standard for me but I'm ready to feel 100% again. I'm all sniffles and sneezes despite the rest of me feeling better. Thanks to those of you who have sent your well wishes. I cannot report a full recovery yet but I'm hoping to soon.

To promote my recovery, I've been enjoying some good food along the way. This morning: hot cereal in a jar! I whipped up a batch of hot cereal last night so that all I had to do this morning was heat it and add it to the jar. This mix had a spoonful of mashed sweet potato, blueberries, cinnamon, and maple syrup plus about 1/2T of peanut butter left. Plus an egg white. Yum!

Because of meetings and my weird stomach I wasn't hungry for lunch until 1:45 today. First up, a little salad with spinach, romaine, and leftover roasted squash.

Next was the last of my broccoli soup. I went through the batch in 3 days flat! Must. make. more.

A couple of hours later I was feeling hungry and not in the mood for my apple so I picked up some roasted veggies, black beans, and rice...and a little dip of my spoon in my work PB jar O:-)

After work I had an exciting little field trip planned. To take advantage of DC Spa Week, I had scheduled a 1-hour massage for myself! I went to the Health Club at the Fairmont Hotel and had a fantastic experience. When I arrived I was greeted with a key to a locker that was equipped with slippers and a robe to change into. I was excited for this pampering reward!

The hour passed quickly and I felt amazing and more relaxed. My muscles appreciated the rubbing!

I wasn't in the mood for anything too exciting for dinner, I really could only look forward to a nice hot shower, my couch, an sweats. I whipped up a simple meal of a scrambled egg white, roasted green beans, toast, and baked beans.

I just sat down with more toast and a pear to watch Grey's Anatomy and then I'm calling it a night.

The masseusse warned me that I would experience an increase in my cold symptoms from having my feet and back / respiratory symptom worked on and she wasn't kidding! I've gone through 2+ liters of fluids today and have made a pretty sizable dent on a box of tissues!

Goodnight!

How long have you been at your current job? Have you ever had a massage? Love 'em or hate 'em?

Sick Day Essentials

2010-10-12T21:26:00.000-04:00

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that yesterday I was feeling less than my best. With the help of Airborne, Advil, and juice, I made it through both of my classes last night which enabled me to get information on my finals next week. However, this also meant that I was feeling pretty crappy as I dumped myself in bed.

This morning I woke up and knew there was no way I would be able to drag myself into work. The energy just wasn't there. And, despite feeling okay, my voice would have led anyone to believe that I was recovering from a tonsillectomy. I had raspy, scratchy man voice. Instead, I worked from home today which I was grateful for and am feeling at 75 - 80% which is a drastic improvement from the morning.

Here are a few of my go-to comforts when I'm feeling sick. Some are food related and others are more for taking care of my overall health.

- Odwalla Citrus-C Juice. Whether it's a mental effect or it actually helps, I only drink juice when I'm sick.

- The comforts of my couch and sweatpants

- The View

- Mugs of tea and water. Today I drank 2 Brita pitchers plus tea, juice, and coffee!

- Good clean foods. Today alone I have eaten a pear, salad, almost half a batch of soup, and baked beans, amongst other things. Is it possible to OD on veggies?!

- A good comforting soup. Today I was craving broccoli soup (broccoli has lots of Vitamin C) so I threw together this quick and easy soup for lunch (and snack, ahem...)

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2 chopped carrots
1/2 onion, chopped
3/4c frozen peas
1c frozen chopped spinach
4c frozen broccoli florets
1/4c uncooked brown rice (I used short grain)
4c vegetable broth

Chop your onion and carrots and add them to a non-stick sprayed pot. Cook over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes or until onion has begun to soften. Add in the rest of your veggies, broth, and rice, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover your pot, and let simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and allow soup to cool for a few minutes. Transfer to blender and blend until smooth.

This recipe made 6 servings (1 cup servings) that clock in at 100 calories, .3g fat, 4.72g fiber. I had ~2 servings for lunch and another one at dinner. My body wanted the warm comforts of soup! I added hot sauce and a couple of crushed tortilla chips to it for crunch which was delicious!

What are your sick day essentials? What do you crave when you're sick? Soup, veggies, carbs?

Slowly Catching On

2010-10-10T23:06:00.000-04:00

Hi there! How was your weekend? I'm sad to see another one behind us. Sadly we are not off for Columbus Day so tomorrow will be a full day of work and class!

This morning I was up earlier than I had hoped and my tummy was growling. That seems to be the Sunday trend as of late. I quieted the Hungry Monster with another fall bowl of hot cereal. This was the standard mix with a spoonful of mashed sweet potato, frozen berries, 1/2T of peanut butter and a light drizzle of syrup. Yum!

I took care of a few things and then headed out to the farmers market. I got quite the haul today: eggs, apples, pears, green beans, a small kabocha squash, and a mini Amber squash which I've never tried before.

Once home, the morning was still young so with my best effort to procrastinate homework I started the process of cleaning out my closet for fall and winter. I made it through the hanging items but still have drawers to go through most likely on Tuesday.

I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we're having in DC and combine my goal of some exercise with grocery shopping. I huffed it to a Whole Foods almost 2 miles away from my apartment which made for some great cardio. I treated myself to a hot bar lunch that included a few pieces of veggie sushi, greens, black beans, beets, carrots, tofu veggie burger, black beans and rice, and some chick peas. It was the perfect treat!

My walk home was just as glorious and I didn't mind carrying my groceries home with me.

I decided that I would make chili this afternoon so I got started on the prep work for that. Here is the recipe for my Chicken Chili, which I kind of threw together based on what I had in my fridge and freezer.

.8lb ground local, organic chicken breast
1c chopped onion (it was ~1/4 of a large onion)
2 carrots chopped
1 28oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
2T tomato paste
3/4c black bean
3/4c corn
1c chopped bell pepper slices (I used frozen)
3 cloves garlic, minced
chili powder and cumin to taste (maybe 1/2t and 1/8t respectively)
2 cups water

In an non-stick sprayed pot, cook the chicken on medium heat, breaking it up into smaller chunks and crumbles. This should take about 5 - 6 minutes. Once chicken is fully cooked through, remove from pot along with any liquid that cooked off. Respray your pot and over medium heat, cook your carrots, onions, and garlic until onion turns translucent. Add in the beans, corn, bell pepper, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, spices, and water and stir. Adjust seasoning to suit your tastes. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to a summer. Let the chili simmer over low heat, covered, for 2 hours or so, stirring occasionally. If you like a thicker chili, remove lid and let simmer for an additional 30 minutes or so.

This recipe yields 5 1 cup servings with a great nutritional profile as well. Not to mention it's delicious!

While this was cooking I tackled accounting with an apple for brain food interspersed somewhere in there. It's amazing how I feel like I'm finally catching on to some of what I'm learning just as our final is right around the corner. Oh well... After smelling my chili for the better part of 3 hours I was ready to dig in for dinner!

I toasted up a bit of polenta to make "croutons" which I topped my chili with along with some hot sauce.

The rest of the night has been spent cleaning, homeworking, and preparing for the week.

Are you off for Columbus Day? When it comes to chili, recipe or no recipe? Beans or no beans?

Lots of Phone Time

2010-10-09T11:54:00.001-04:00

I always appreciated the phone - growing up, it let me speak with my grandparents who lived in Pittsburgh, keep in touch with family and friends, and the super long twirly cord in our kitchen was pretty fun to play with :)

(source)

When my dad got his first cell phone that was pretty cool too. Even though it was the size of a brick it was a phone! That you could use in a car!

(source)

I guess it was around the time of college and I'd long since (~2 years) had a cell phone of my own and our house had cordless phones instead of a few with fun elastic cords to play with. I started hating my phone because it was constant access. I was president of my sorority and balancing 100 other things and the thing always seemed to ring and buzz when it needed a problem fixed. The one perk was that the phone was mobile, as was I, so that I could walk while I talked and distract my body so my mind could focus on the call.

A few things have changed - like the fact I love my Blackberry but overall I still kind of hate the phone sometimes. Unless I'm walking somewhere and moving my body that doesn't always love sitting still, it's hard for me to concentrate and I get easily distracted.

Why am I telling you all of this? Between yesterday, today, and early next week I am logging some serious hours on the phone (in my "spare time") to conduct phone interviews for a leadership program I run. Don't get me wrong - I love it and it's fun to get to speak with 20 undergrads from across the country. I just hate the idea of sitting someplace quiet (my apartment) for hours at a time being on the phone and trying not to get distracted. To keep myself sane I pace the length of my studio 100s of times and clean up when I can. My brain works best when my body is moving and therefore can't distract me.

Anyone else have a love / hate relationship with the phone and mobile technology?

Last night after work and then interviews I had a few errands to run. Somewhere along the way I got the craving for: barbecue beef, Asian food, and my couch. Of course I would crave barbecue Asian food - it's my inner Texan screaming hello, and I thought long and hard about my various options to remedy those cravings until one dish at a neighborhood restaurant popped into my head.

I ordered the Korean BBQ Skirt Steak lettuce wraps from Raku and headed home for a date with my couch, Invictus, and a delicious dinner.

I added a simple spinach salad on the side, drank maybe half of this glass of wine, and somewhere along the way snacked on a pear as well.

This morning after 10 wonderful hours of sleep, I had a craving for my first true Fall bowl of hot cereal. Into the mix went:

1/4c BRM GF hot cereal and buckwheat
1/3c Whole Foods unsweetened almond milk (I might love it more than Almond Breeze!)
~1/2c water
1/2T chia seeds
cinnamon
spoonful of MASHED SWEET POTATO
pinch of frozen blueberries
maple syrup
1/2T peanut butter
a couple of crushed pecan halves

This was amazing and I expect many more breakfasts with a bit of mashed sweet potato mixed in.

Now I'm getting set for more phone interviewing along with some pacing, straightening up, and at-home activity while I do so!

What are you up to this weekend? Do you volunteer in any way?

Gluten Free Dinner Party Part 2

2010-10-07T21:51:00.000-04:00

Did you check out what was served as an appetizer?

So when contemplating what to serve for our main course, Staci and I went back and forth. We knew we wanted stuffed peppers but beyond that the options were endless and I couldn't stop my brain from creating new options! We finally settled on Italian inspired peppers that were stuffed with a lentil and rice mixture.

I prepared the lentils and brown rice the night before as to reduce the amount of prep and cooking work that would need to be done before serving. This proved to be a very wise decision!

The ingredients for the peppers, serves 9:

9 red and green bell peppers (or whatever is available)
3 cups lentils, cooked
4 cups cooked brown rice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
3 large celery stalks, diced
1.5 - 2 c shredded carrots, chopped
Italian seasoning mix (I probably used 2T)
2 cans diced tomatoes
Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a large pot sprayed with olive oil non-stick spray, lightly saute garlic and onion over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until onion begins to turn translucent. Add in celery and carrots, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing burns. When carrots begin to soften add in rice, lentils, seasoning, and diced tomatoes. Stir mixture and allow to heat through.

While your stuffing is heating on the stove, wash and dry your peppers. Cut the tops off peppers, remove the seeds and pith, and organize in a non-stick sprayed baking pan. Stuff your peppers with the lentil and rice mixture, top with cheese, and bake for about 45 minutes or until cheese is melted and peppers are softened and have some color to them on the outside.

Alongside the peppers we served roasted green beens.The prep for these was pretty easy but give yourself 10 minutes to chop the ends off the beans.

Rinse your green beans and cut the ends off of them. Arrange on an olive oil non-stick sprayed baking sheet, spray with more cooking spray, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Roast for about 20 minutes, transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!

Stay tuned for dessert - it was a hit!

Lovely Bowls of Comfort

2010-10-06T21:02:00.000-04:00

Hiya!

Dinner tonight involved a new recipe, an old favorite, and a big bowl of comfort - looks like Fall is here! The past few days have been pretty crazy and tonight after work I decided to spend some quality time in my kitchen and unwind a little bit. This gem of a recipe arrived in my inbox today and I knew that I had to make it!

I put on my favorite sweatpants, turned up some relaxing music, and tuned out the world chopping, stirring, and dicing. Before I even got started a put a small potato in the oven to bake to have alongside the bolognese which are a go-to comfort food for me.

I halved the recipe and followed it to a T, except that I used water instead of vegetable broth, skipped the almond milk, and used ~3/4T dried basil instead of fresh. It is all the comfort of a thick Italian sauce with tons of veggies, no oils, and all-around deliciousness. I added about 1/4c of lentils and BBQ sauce for some extra tang.

On my agenda for the remainder of the night: Modern Family and some homework so I don't have to tackle it all on Sunday.

The week has been flying by yet I am so very happy that tomorrow is Thursday. I've been enjoying some other comforting meals in bowls since it's been in the 50s thus far:

Hot cereal with leftover baked apple and blueberries:

Delicious salads:

Trader Joe's Reduced Sodium Red Pepper and Tomato Soup with a grilled cheese on Udi's whole grain bread:

Black beans and brown rice with spinach, okra, and carrots:

Last night I went to see Mark Bittman speak which I really enjoyed. There weren't a ton of new statistics on food that I learned but I walked away with a few friendly reminders of points I tend to forget at times:

He is encouraging people to become "less-meat-tarians" and reduce their intake of meat as today's levels of consumption will not be sustainable in even 10 years from now.
We are subsidizing all of the wrong foods. Imagine being able to shop at a subsidized farmers market and bring farm fresh, nutritious foods into your home at a lower cost!

Tomorrow it's supposed to warm back up for the week and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ecstatic for this change! Goodnight!

What are some of your favorite comfort foods?Have you ever gone to hear a food writer / advocate speak? Who was it and what did they have to say?

Gluten Free Dinner Party Part 1

2010-10-05T21:39:00.000-04:00

So the first part of the meal contained 2 easy appetizers: hummus with dippers and a fruit-filled salad!

For the former, we picked up roasted garlic hummus that was served with Tostito's blue corn chips and chopped celery. Easy and it required very little set up which is important when trying to get a meal on the table on time after work!

We were inspired to combine a lingering taste of summer with some flavors of fall into our salad. It contained:

spinach and spring mix greens
strawberries
pear
pecan pieces
feta cheese
homemade dressing with balsamic vinegar, grapeseed oil, basil, agave nectar, salt, pepper, garlic(I eyeballed amounts and adjusted to taste)

I was excited that everyone enjoyed the salad and especially the dressing. A few friends asked for the recipe which is a great compliment to the chef, always!

Stay tuned for the main course and dessert!

What are your favorite salad mix-ins?

Entertaining Gluten Free

2010-10-04T09:45:00.000-04:00

I don't usually delve into this topic too frequently but today I want to talk about entertaining gluten free. I tend to focus on this more when I visit my parents' home as my little studio apartment isn't conducive to having large groups of friends over at one time. Couple that with the fact that until the beginning of the month I didn't have a great set up for hosting people and I left the hosting to friends with bigger apartments and more seating options. Until now, that is.

While I still have lots to do with this blank wall and a few other minor updates, here is a peak at my apartment's "new do:"

New comforter and shams (I just need a purple throw blanket for across the foot of the bed):

New sofa and throw pillows:

Table for dining, homeworking, etc.:

I have also been dying to host a get-together for friends on the rooftop of my building. Sadly, while we had planned to take advantage of the great view and a deck furnished with tables, chairs, and chaise lounges the roof was closed. Boy was I glad to have my expandable table when we made that discovery on Friday! Our meal ending up being nice and cozy :)

My friend Staci and I worked on creating a menu that met everyone's dietary needs yet would be fun and festive. On the menu:

Spinach salad with strawberries, pear, pecans, and feta cheese
Stuffed bell peppers
Roasted green beans
Baked apples

Here are a few highlights from dinner on Friday. Over the week I'll be updating you with the recipes and tips I used to feed my friends a delicious meal that was naturally gluten free and vegetarian.

Enjoy!

Weekend Recap Thus Far

2010-10-03T12:36:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! How has your weekend been? Mine has been going swimmingly for the most part and I'm just now getting a chance to check in.

Friday night I hosted 8 friends for a little dinner party to celebrate the fall. T'was lovely and more to come on that this week including recipes for everything that was served!

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling not quite on my A-game after a few glasses on wine the night before. There was no time to wallow though because I had things to do and people to see.

I had a lighter breakfast of half a large pear chopped up and topped with a bit of almond butter and a little egg sandwich on Udi's whole grain bread with a light schmear of Trader Joe's roasted red pepper spread.

I then made my way to Sweet Green for a blogger meet up. Emily just moved into the area and organized this gathering of 20+ bloggers and readers in the area. I enjoyed chatting with people and making new friends! I'm always amazed by the community that is built around blogging - what an unexpected yet amazing bonus!

I was all decked out in my Texas gear in honor of our biggest rivalry game of the year. Texas was playing the University of Oklahoma and I was hoping for a beat-down...

before that though I had a bit of shopping on the agenda. In need of some fall items I found great success at the Gap.

Then, it was game time. I met up with Lauren (Fred) for our traditional lunch and game watching at Champps. I got the BBQ Chicken salad with about 100 modifications to make it gluten free and made it through half before calling it quits. I also feasted on this plate of waffle fries (x5) - I finished breakfast around 11:30 and it was 4 - 4:30 by the time I ate this. I was hangry!

Sadly Texas did not play its best and we were not victorious. There's always next year once the freshmen get their acts together... I hope...

By the time I got home I was bummed about the game and tired so I called it a night. I never really got hungry for dinner but I did snack on some leftover roasted veggies and rice.

This morning I headed out to to the farmers market first thing for a couple of things. I was out of fruit so I restocked on apples and pears. Yes, I love my Envitote and no, I don't have any regrets about looking like a hot mess on my way to the market. It's Sunday morning people!

I had a simple bowl of hot cereal with blueberries and chia seeds mixed in, topped with 1/2T peanut butter, cinnamon, and crushed almond slices. My body wanted nothing fancy this morning.

Now I'm working on blog stuff, ~~procrastin~~ getting ready to tackle some homework, and dragging my butt to the gym if it kills me. I am craving activity and am fed up with exercise falling by the wayside!

Do you go through exercise slumps? How do you pull yourself out? What's your favorite sports rivalry?

Three Confession Thursday

2010-09-30T23:28:00.000-04:00

It's been raining for almost 24 hours straight and although I woke up feeling much better after leaving work yesterday sick, I kind of wished I could have curled up on the couch all day today. Tomorrow a friend and I are hosting a Fall Feast for 6 of our friends so we grocery shopped and prepped some food. In light of spending lots of time cooking and cleaning this evening I thought I would share 3 confessions with you all.

1. It's no secret how much I truly love summer and the warmth and sunshine it brings. Imagine my surprise then when I found myself eager to done tights and [rain]boots this evening. I guess there is a perk to Fall afterall...

2. I think about Texas often. I love my Longhorns more than any professional sports team. Barbecue doesn't taste as good outside of Texas as it does anywhere in the state. It's home. And yet, when people find out I'm from Texas and inevitably say "buy you don't talk like you're from Texas" I simply reply "thank you." I get some delight in surprising East Coasters and challenging their assumption of Southern accents.

3. I'm struggling to balance my newly uber-busy schedule with life and find myself caught in many Catch 22s right now. School vs. future plans. Hot vs. cold. Exercise and health vs. perception, effort, and will. It seems like just as I started figuring stuff out I've gone and confused myself all over again. I guess that Quarter-Life crisis wasn't a one-time thing at 24...

I also wanted to thank those of you who commented on my post from Tuesday about being grateful. The past week especially has taught me that a serious of small, positive choices can really change how a day turns out. I am keeping with that habit and looking for a little bit of good in every day. So, with that...

What do you want to confess? What are you grateful for?

Grateful

2010-09-28T21:55:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of thoughts swimming through my head so I'm going to do my best to organize them clearly for ya. I definitely want to share that I had a great Tuesday for MANY reasons and I think that my thoughts will demonstrate that my great day was the result of choices I made that made me grateful.

I had a dentist appointment before work which meant getting up early after a long night of class. I whipped up my favorite cereal, choosing peanut butter and a drop of fig jam for toppings with an egg white alongside before heading to the doctor's office.

I made it into work and chugged through the morning despite battling a bit of fuzziness after lots of thinking, etc. as a result of 5 hours of class.

On my walk home for lunch I had a great phone call with my mom that helped me think through some ideas I've been mulling over. She was supportive and encouraging - I love my mom!

Lunch was a serving of split pea soup along with the last 1/4c of baked beans and a slice of Udi's whole grain bread toasted and topped with tomato paste and a schmear of hummus.

Instead of constantly checking my blackberry as I headed back into the office I deemed it a technology-free 10 minutes and thought about what I was grateful for. That might have been the big turning point in my day.

The afternoon flew by and before I knew it I was heading to my late afternoon meeting. It went well and then I headed over to the quad to witness Bid Day with my office. Bid Day is when freshmen find out which sorority they will be joining and they gather on the quad to meet those chapter members and begin their Greek Life careers. I was so happy and back in my element for this hour that I think I scared a few colleagues with my enthusiasm. It brought back so many positive memories of when I joined my sorority and made me feel proud and inspired to continue to be a part of my organization and Greek Life as a whole today. I was on Cloud 9 for the rest of the evening.

I headed to the gym after work (!!!) for an elliptical session inspired by who knows what. It didn't hurt that I wanted to have exercised some before parking it on the couch to watch the Biggest Loser though! I did 2 miles in 20 minutes not wanting to overdo it with my foot (I'd say its maybe 90% better at this point). You have to start somewhere, right?

After a quick stop in the store for a few items I headed home as the sun was setting. Instead of grumbling that sunsets are getting earlier I paused and took in the beautiful sky. Those few seconds inspired even more happiness, yay!

I played in the kichen, roasting up my first kabocha squash, a sweet potato, and kale and got dinner ready. It was time to break into a pouch of Bob's Red Mill polenta and I wanted to make sure I had some for lunches for the rest of the week.

Tonight's bowl contained broccoli, one carrot - grated, fresh grated Cabot sharp cheddar, and a serving of polenta. On the side I had kale chips and a sample of my roasted veg. You'd have thought it was November or December with all the comfort I cooked up!

Now I'm snacking on an amazingly flavorful ripe pear from the farmers market and watching the Biggest Loser. I am pleased to report that it's much, much better than the season premiere was. I have a conference call at 9:30pm that I doubt I'll complete because I am exhausted. I had quite the full day!

What are you grateful for today? Do you find that positivity and a "good day" is a conscious choice you make?

Nerdy Little Book Worm

2010-09-27T14:27:00.000-04:00

Once my crockpot was set I hunkered down and cranked out 3 hours of school work. Fun, right? I managed to soak up all of the information in one of my classes while successfully procrastinating accounting. It's becoming my mantra for the fall!

Lunch was a serving of baked beans with an English muffin - half topped with Earth Balance and half topped with tomato paste and red pepper spread.

I took a break when the timer rang to finish my soup in the blender. What did I make, you ask? Split pea soup! Since I have a baby crock pot (1.5 quarts - I got it at Target for $7!!) I halved the recipe and omitted the meat. To make up for the smokey flavor I added in paprika but otherwise I followed the recipe to a T.

I know I did other stuff somewhere in the afternoon but I guess we'll just call it schoolwork since I seem to have entered a memory lapsing vortex.

Somewhere around 5 I had a snack of a pear with a drizzle of nut butter and cinnamon.

And then dinner was a salad with the last drop of black beans and Food Should Taste Goods plus a serving of soup.

I finally tackled accounting and felt quite proud and accomplished when I finished. I snacked on a toaster waffle, unwound, and finally went to bed. I didn't realize until about 10pm that I had hunkered down and got to business and forgot to leave my apartment to run other errands. Whoops!

This morning I woke up to more clouds, rain, and cooler temps. Enter - PB&J hot cereal that I packed to take into work.

And with that I'm off. Monday's my long day so I'll see you all tomorrow unless the blogging bug bites :)

Do you ever get to wrapped up in what you're doing you forget about other "to-dos"? What's your favorite slow cooker recipe? Let's get a nice, gluten free collection of recipes started!

Unexpected Twist

2010-09-26T13:24:00.000-04:00

Last night took an unexpected twist shortly after I finished blow drying my hair to go out. I got the first symptoms of a migraine :( I quickly popped an Advil, put on pajamas, and crawled into bed... at the late hour of 9:52pm. I fell asleep about 45 minutes later but woke up in the middle of the night with extreme hunger pangs. I made a mini cup of hot cereal (~1T of grains) and crawled back into bed. I finally woke up at a reasonable morning hour of 9:15am with another round of hunger pangs.

Enter - hot cereal with blueberries plus an egg white with a drop of cheese. It's cloudy and in the 60s so a hot breakfast that was quick to make was a perfect choice. The cereal is topped with 1/2T total of almond and peanut butters plus a few crushed almond slices.

From there I set out for groceries for the week from the Farmers Market and Whole Foods. I first perused the market for a bit:

Here's the haul for the week (plus there was a mini trip to Trader Joe's on Friday for a few essentials):

Farmers Market:

corn
Honeycrisp apples
eggs
Comice pears plus one Asian pear
kabocha squash (1st time trying it!)

Whole Foods:

Food for Life English muffins
kale
roasted buckwheat (kasha)
maple syrup
onion
barbecue sauce (it was $1.70 so I stocked up!)
frozen strawberries
frozen broccoli
Food Should Taste Good chips, The Works flavor
baked beans

Total: about $45
That may seem high for one person but keep in mind the gluten free barbecue sauce, syrup, and English muffins were $5 a piece. I also don't mind spending my money for some of the best tasting, local apples and pears. Store-bought just can't compete!

I procrastinated getting work done by prepping a soup for the week in the crockpot. Here's a hint:

Any guesses??

How much do you spend on groceries each week? Do you prefer buying specific types of food (local, organic, what's available, etc)?

Extra Time?

2010-09-25T21:32:00.000-04:00

After celebrating a holiday that was both spiritually and physically demanding for half of last weekend, it was so nice to get an extra day to be productive. Especially when Someone's to-do list spans a couple of pages!

The productivity actually started yesterday for me though so I'm going to rewind just a bit. I packed breakfast to eat at the office to ensure that I could get as much done as possible. I had PB&J hot cereal with the usual mix (1/4c BRM hot cereal and kasha, 1/4c almond milk, 1/2c water, cinnamon, splash of vanilla, 1/2T chia seeds, 1t TJ's berry jam and 1/2T peanut butter).

To continue the streak I somehow "found" more extra time working while eating lunch. I had a salad with spinach, carrot, and a few almond slivers topped with Amy's Italian dressing plus the last serving of black bean soup (that's not frozen) mixed with even more spinach. I put the last couple of Food Should Taste Goods on top crumbled. I instead used lunch to pick up some essentials at Trader Joe's.

My stomach rumbled a few hours later so I picked up a filling snack on campus - 2 pc veggie sushi plus brown rice and black beans. I think lunch lacked good staying power.

I got home, inhaled a peach, and ran down to the laundry room to get that "to-do" out of the way. Mid-way through washing and drying I decided I would be treating myself to dinner out and called in an order at my favorite Thai restaurant. I placed my order and then realized I only had a small window to pick it up before laundry was done and needed to be taken upstairs. Enter - the quick workout! I ran the .3 miles each way guaranteeing I made it back home with enough time :)

Dinner was a side salad of greens plus 1.5 bowls of Pad See Eew with chicken. I had them cook it with less oil but it was still too saucy so I soaked up some of the extra. My tummy doesn't like all that oil!

Dessert was cinnamon toast and then I called it a night after catching up on some TV show pilots I missed this week.

Sleeping in never felt as good as it did this morning! I felt ready and raring to go when my eyes opened. I whipped up an egg white sandwich on Udi's whole grain bread with spinach, red pepper spread, and ~1/2T of parmesan cheese with a side of some defrosted frozen berries.

I took care of more to-dos and then set off with the goal of getting the last few items I needed to complete my apartment face lift. I am not 100% done but rather 85%. The improvements I made today were a big jump up: new comforter and new couch pillows! All that's left are things to hang on the wall and a throw blanket or two.

For lunch I was craving hummus and pizza. I took a risk and experimented a bit with my usual pizza recipe. It's just like a wrap but hot and crispy, right? First I toasted a defrosted brown rice tortilla until it was golden and crisp. Then I spread ~1.5T tomato paste on top and added some spinach and bell pepper slices. I toasted that up for about 5-7 minutes to let everything set. Then I removed the pizza, spread ~1T red pepper hummus on top and added some red pepper spread at the last minute.

This rocked and I am excited to make another one soon!

I snacked on a honey crisp apple with a bit of nut butter for dessert and then tried to watch the Longhorn game. I gave up around halftime (~6pm) and left for a power walk and errand. I walked with the couple of things I needed to return and then ran / walk back as the sun was setting. Exercise and another task completed - score!

It took a while for me to get hungry but when I did I struggled to decide on what I wanted. I had a serving of whole grain gluten free pasta cooked that I wanted to use but was craving stir fry. I ended up picking out the broccoli and chicken from last night's leftovers, adding more frozen broccoli, peas, garlic, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper, and making the leftovers seem just a tad healthier than last night. It was delicious!

Now I'm relaxing a bit before going out. I haven't been out in a while but I think it'll help me continue to feel like my old, productive self that gets a lot done in a day.

Gnight!

Do you like redecorating? What do you always leave for last? Have you ever health-ified restaurant leftovers?

Walkin on Sunshine

2010-09-23T23:08:00.000-04:00

I have to confess that I love the 90 degree temps that are gracing DC this week. As a result I'm in a great mood and looking for excuses to spend time outside; it's quite a stark contrast to the hibernating I tend to do one the temps turn cooler!

This morning I packed breakfast to bring with me. We had an all staff meeting with breakfast served beforehand so I planned to also have a serving of fruit with my egg sandwich. 2 slices of Udi's whole grain bread, spinach, hot sauce, 1 egg white. I was really tempted to add jam but chickened out (pun unintended) at the last minute!

Because of said meeting the rest of my morning flew by and before I knew it I was hungry for lunch. That sandwich and fruit definitely didn't hold me over as well as a bowl of hot cereal. I had a salad with romaine, spinach, carrot, my last almond cracker, a drop of hummus, black bean soup (like dip), and a drop of cheddar. I also had ~1/4c brown rice with ~1/4c kidney beans, peas, and okra with some BBQ and hot sauce. Time to eat up leftovers in my fridge!

My afternoon snack was a peach with 1/3c Crunch Maple Sunrise with a light drizzle of peanut butter.

I made a last-minute plan to meet Suzy for a bit of shopping downtown and decided to do a bit of exploring on my way to the store. I strolled through Lafayette Square and took in the sights. Summer is still holding on!

I wound up at the White House farmers market and fell in love with these decorative squash!

I decided on a quick fro-yo while waiting for Suze which ended up being a great decision because shopping lasted almost 3 hours and I was so hangry by the end I metroed home instead of walking like I usually would.

Enter the quickest dinner ever: leftover steamed veggies bulked up with more frozen spinach and broccoli, tamari, a spoonful of black beans, and the half serving of soup from last night that I didn't eat. Plus an English muffin - half with hot sauce and cheese, half with Earth Balance as dessert while watching Grey's.

Sorry for the quick and rambling post - it was a long but GREAT day and I'm beyond ready to sleep!

Do you tend to do spur-of-the-moment things during the week? Is it still warm where you are or has fall officially arrived?

The Best Start to Fall

2010-09-22T22:50:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it's the first day of fall? Celebrating Labor Day feels like just yesterday and now we're on the tail end of September! I guess if it has to be fall already, it might as well arrive in my favorite kind of way - with temperatures in the 90s! Way to go DC :-D

This morning my body wasn't quite sure what season it truly was. I craved a bowl of hot cereal but topped it with blueberries, 1/4 of peach diced, and almond butter drizzle. Mmmm.

Work flew by as I spent most of it in meetings that left my head spinning and tummy rumbling by the time we wrapped up. Insert a thrown together lunch of sorts - taco salad! On top of a bed of romaine and spinach I added roasted carrot, broccoli, and okra (what was in my fridge) and Mexican-inspired baked beans plus a toasted corn tortilla and some Cabot lite cheddar shredded.

The beans were super easy to make: I put 1 serving kidney beans and 1/2 serving of black beans in a bowl onto which I sprinkled cumin and chili powder, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mustard and garlic powder, and a tiny pinch of brown sugar. Stir. Microwave for 1.5 minutes, stir, and pour on top of your salad. Quick and easy (TWSS).

The afternoon flew by equally as quickly and a late afternoon meeting squashed my hopes of a triumphant return to pilates class. Drat. I snacked on the remaining 3/4 of a peach plus 1/3c of cereal for a snack before my meeting to prevent any hangriness.

Instead I stopped by Whole Foods for 3 items and left with only those 3 items in mind, plus a few nibbles O:-)

I decided to put to good use a huge batch of black beans I whipped up in the crock pot earlier this week and mark the start of fall with my first batch of soup of the season: Black Bean Soup! I've been craving it and finally had the time to cook.

Ingredients:

2c black beans
2 carrots, diced
1/2c onion, chopped
1/2c frozen bell pepper strips, roughly chopped
2.5 - 3c vegetable broth
1/3 teaspoon cumin
garlic and chili powder to taste
1T soy sauce
splash of balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf
1/3 teaspoon oregano

First chop your carrot and onion. Heat a pan sprayed with non-stick spray and add your veggies. Add garlic powder and saute until soft. It may be helpful to add a couple tablespoons of water to ensure that you don't burn your veggies.

Once the onions are translucent add your beans, peppers, broth, and spices and bring to a simmer. Partially cover the pot with a lid and allow to simmer for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When veggies are tender remove pot from heat and remove the bay leaf. Once the mix has cooled down a bit pour into your blender and roughly blend until mix is somewhat pureed. I wanted my soup to have a thicker feel so I did not puree until completely smooth. I also left a ladle-ful of soup in the pot unblended. Once you've blended your bean and veg mix, add it back to the pot, stir with remaining bean mix, and enjoy.

This made 4 ~1cup servings that clock in at 150 calories, .5g fat, 9g fiber, and 8g protein.

For dinner I had 1.5 servings on top of spinach and mixed veg alongside a slicee of Udi's toast with some cheddar. Plus a few random nibbles here and there - I couldn't get full!

The rest of the night was spent doing dishes, watching the return of Modern Family, and catching up on Glee which I skipped last night in favor of Biggest Loser. However, I wish I had caught Glee live as Biggest Loser was extremely slow - they spent 1hr 55minutes picking contestants and 2 teasing you with what's coming for the season. Those 2 minutes were the best part. Disappointing. Here's to hoping the season picks up - Biggest Loser is one of my favorite shows!

Alright, bed time for me. I've been sleeping horribly and am hoping to break the streak!

What are your favorite TV shows? Have season premieres impressed or disappointed so far this week? Glee and Modern Family were amazing, BL10 disappointing, and I cannot wait for Grey's Anatomy tomorrow!!

The Girl Who Ate A Lot

2010-09-20T23:16:00.000-04:00

There once was a girl named Sarah who was often called the Bottomless Pit.

Growing up she would eat just about anything she was able to; some foods gave her a fit.

Now a days this girl likes to eat quite often. Especially in the morning, such as this bowl of hot cereal with berries that pretty much rules.

Through an intense morning of work and meetings would it be fuel.

A special surprise surfaced around lunchtime. The office was ordering in - imagine her surprise!

Sarah chose something sure to not make her ill: steamed asparagus and mixed veg plus a side of brown rice

(1.5 plates like this)

Then the afternoon sped up rather quickly. She packed her bags and made her way to class.

Because of her later-than-usual lunch hunger didn't hit until later. The tummy rumbling was rather crass.

She busted out a pear and a 1/3c of cereal. Thus enter episode #1 of her food loving debut.

Not to be outdone by display #2.

Accounting was made better by a huge jass kitchen sink salad with roasted veg. Not to forget the hummus and a few chips on the side.

Her new friend displayed her surprise and how large the salad really was with eyes open wide!

Sadly there are no pictures of these displays of feasting. You'll just have to imagine!

The Girl Who Ate A Lot needed a snack when she got home. A Van's GF flax waffle made the perfect treat to end Monday on a sweet note.

Now the Girl is headed for bed, where she'll giggle about being the girl who ate through both classes as the pillow meets her head.

One Day Weekend

2010-09-20T08:22:00.000-04:00

After celebrating Yom Kippur Friday and Saturday and ending the fast with friends, I was excited to have a day to get myself together before a new week started. Sunday was going to be my one true weekend day dedicated to my to-do list. Somehow, I made a huge dent in what I needed to accomplish!

I slept less than well on Saturday night, probably from my 2 hour Saturday nap and a late dinner that stretched for a few hours. I peeled myself out of bed and spent some time at the farmers market. I picked up a few peaches, apples, and eggs. Look what else I found!

Breakfast was a leftover quarter of a bagel plus toast with an egg white and a pear.

I did homework and played catch up for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. When I took a break I realized my stomach was ready for food. Enter a simple salad plus homemade BBQ kidney beans and wild rice mixed with butternut squash and a few brussel sprouts.

The afternoon was less productive than I'd hoped. I can't seem to motivate myself to do ALL of my accounting homework at once :-/ I finally gave up and left for a walk before a group meeting in the evening. I got in ~3.25 miles in 50 minutes, had a good group project, and then picked up a couple of things at the store.

By the time I got home I was thinking about dinner but unsure of what to make. In the end I went with my favorite - roasted veg and brown rice pasta. I had carrot and okra "fries" plus a serving of pasta with tomato sauce, roasted broccoli, spinach, and a bunch of spices on top.

Dessert while doing some cleaning and tidying up was an apple topped with a couple of tablespoons of Crunchy Maple Sunrise cereal, raisin, and a drop of peanut butter.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Preparing for the big day

2010-09-17T17:40:00.000-04:00

The nature of the Jewish holiday that begins tonight, Yom Kippur, involves a lot of preparation for those who observe the day. There's the process of reflecting upon the past year, apologizing and making amends with the people who you may have wronged / hurt / offended this year, and thinking about what to eat as the last meal before the 25 hour fast. I've been giving all of these things a lot of thought and like to think that I emerge from the High Holiday season a better, more self-aware person. This year, for the first time, I also had to think about what to eat before the holiday.

All week long I've kicked up my hydrating efforts and have been eating relatively cleanly in order to help ease any potential withdrawal symptoms. I had my last coffee on Monday, green tea Tuesday - Thursday, and nothing but water and caffeine free tea today. I didn't drink when I went out last night and made sure all of my snacks this week have had some substance and nutrients to them. OH, and I found a great recipe to inspire dinner tonight!

To continue the clean eating streak, I had a bowl of hot cereal this morning with blueberries. I had my standard mix with extra cinnamon, a splash of vanilla and maple, and ~1/3c of berries all topped with 1/2T peanut butter.

Lunch was a low-sodium, minimally seasoned stir fry that wouldn't leave me searching for extra water later today. This mix contained diced onion, bell pepper strips, broccoli, 1/2c wild rice, and baked tofu. I also had a salad and a clementine on the side for extra nutrients and filling power.

Since dinner came early tonight there wasn't really a need for a snack today. When I got home from work, the intoxicating, mouth-watering smell of my beef stew captured my attention. It motivated me to clean up, shower, and get ready with enough time to enjoy the meal.

Last night I chopped my veggies and prepped the crock pot to be cooking while I worked today. This morning I pulled the pot out of the refrigerator as soon as I woke up for it to warm up a bit before sticking it into the crock pot. I used the recipe as inspiration for my stew which contained:

1/3c diced onion
.75lbs local, grass-fed beef (cut for stir fry)
2/3 of a sweet potato, chopped (I peeled half)
3 red potatoes
garlic powder
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
bay leaf
salt, pepper, rosemary, and 21 seasoning salute
1c fat free and low sodium beef broth

With ketchup and my grandmother's homemade horseradish

Of course, I had to end the meal on a sweet note so I had a slice of Udi's whole grain bread defrosted with some honey, to make it like challah.

This meal tasted exactly like the roast my mom makes before every Yom Kippur and was the perfect way to go into the holiday.

I won't be blogging again until tomorrow night or Sunday so I hope you kick off the weekend right!

What traditional foods do you make to remind you of home? What meals are associated with specific days for you?

It's all about cravings

2010-09-16T19:30:00.000-04:00

Today I let my stomach guide my meals as I had some cravings that popped up as I considered what to eat throughout the day. I guess after a fast week of thinking about so many things it was nice to not have to make extra decisions :) Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday though!

Breakfast this morning was a hot bowl of cereal. Last night I just didn't have the time to prep overnight hot cereal but it suited the pleasant morning we had. This bowl contained:

1/4c Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty GF Hot Cereal and buckwheat
1/4c unsweetened almond milk
1/2c water
1/2T chia seeds
1/2T almond butter
1/4 apple, diced
~1/4c frozen blueberries
a few crushed almond slices
cinnamon
splash of vanilla

It was the perfect fuel for my morning at the office. I made my way home for lunch and for about the hour before and my entire walk home, I couldn't think of anything else besides tomato sauce. Weird, but I went with it. I whipped up a thin crust pizza on a Food for Life brown rice tortilla. I toasted the tortilla first before topping it with tomato sauce mixed with wilted greens, basil, oregano, and garlic powder. Hit. The. Spot. Plus a small salad on the side.

That lunch kept me full for a good 3.5 hours which was great and kept my mind focused on my work at hand. I had a small snack towards the end of the day of the remaining 3/4 of an apple drizzled with some TJ's peanut butter.

I had a couple of errands to run after work and then spent some quality time in the kitchen. I cooked lunch for tomorrow and prepped a special dinner for tomorrow night before the holiday begins. Here's a hint of what's to come:

It's been raining since the late afternoon and that coupled with the lack of natural light and more cool temps had me craving some fall and winter comfort foods for dinner. I had the last serving of the TJ's black bean soup with 1/2c of black beans mixed in and topped with a pinch of cheese. On the side I had a baby red potato, 1/4 of a sweet potato (both leftover from tomorrow's dinner prep) and some steamed broccoli with a clementine for dessert.

Now I'm heading out to celebrate my friend Suzy's 24th birthday! Here's to a bit of fun on a dreary Thursday night!

This and That

2010-09-15T22:08:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've felt motivated to blog and I wanted to pop in to say hello and catch you guys up on the past few days. It's been quite hectic with no signs of slowing down. So much so that it's only 9:45pm as I write this and I feel like I'm an hour past my bedtime! So, without further ado...

Things I'm loving right now:

Sunshine and temps in the 80s making it absolutely beautiful outside
This picture of my dog, Cody. It's sadly one of the few pictures I took while I was at home

Butternut squash and brussel sprouts (roasting these up has saved me a ton of time in prepping meals this week!)

Getting good grades on the 2 quizzes of grad school I've had so far
A journaling workshop I went to last night with a couple of friends. It focused on the purpose of a journal in the context of reflection before Yom Kippur and also made me realize that my blog is a form of a journal to me
the Envitote that I won on Marci's blog. It conveniently folds up and has a sturdy bottom that survived a walk home from the grocery store! The strap adjusts as well so someone short like me can still wear it comfortably

Salads and the vegan black bean soup I picked up at Trader Joe's

A lovely dinner at Commissary and spa night (with a free 15min massage = perfection) with Fred

Things I'm Thinking About:

"I was, I am, I will be" which was the prompt of our journaling exercise last night
I really need to readjust myself to my former time management habits. I'm struggling with my to-do list at the moment
My relationship with social media - it's a bit more overwhelming on top of required homework that it used to.
Wanting time to clean up my apartment (10 minute speed cleans are saving my life at the moment)
BED TIME!!

What are you loving right now? What's on your mind?

Starting September off on the Right Foot

2010-09-13T15:59:00.000-04:00

I'm sort late in posting this but with the start of the Jewish New Year comes the opportunity to reflect on the past year, my goals since January, the new year, and finishing 2010 strong :)

In August I had aimed to:

Redesign my workout schedule for where I'm at in my injury recovery. Commit to strength training 2x a week, pilates, and start adding back in biking, walking, and ellipticalling which I was able to do in June pain-free. I know I can do it and feel better. I just need to remind myself I love making this a top priority in my life.
Identify what's behind my night time snacking.
Put the finishing touches on decorating my apartment in preparation for my return to school. I will need a set-up that allows me to do work with comfort and ease in my apartment. Writing papers on an uncomfortable couch or sans a tabletop just won't cut it.
SIGN UP FOR THE GMAT
Savor the final real month of Summer. It's no secret this is my favorite season and I intend to squeeze every warm, wonderful moment I can out of this month B-)

I feel like overall I made good progress, especially in the preparing for grad school, redecorating my apartment (pictures will come soon, I promise!), enjoying summer, and figuring out the night time snacking thing.

For September I have been focusing on:

Getting back on the exercise bandwagon with regularity.Exercising in August was consistent at the beginning of the month and on vacation, and then was sporadic for the rest.I really crave routine and used to love my old exercise schedule. While I don't want to force myself into something, I want to find some exercise I can do with my recovering foot on a regular basis. Plain ole lifting at the gym has gotten kind of boring and I'm focusing on easing my way back into running!!
Stay on top of my grad school work without stressing myself out too much.
Do 3 things that I've never done before. It can be in DC, Dallas, or wherever but before I hibernate like a bear for winter I want to savor amazing weather, friends, and the city in which I live.
Complete the apartment decorating project. I just have 3 things left to do so it's time to get it done.

I hope you can stand my being slightly MIA as of late. I had a great trip home and wanted to be fully present for it and with the holidays there wasn't much time for blogging. Now, I'm trying to get back on track and create a normal schedule for my life!

I'm Not Lost

2010-09-11T13:10:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! Sorry for being M.I.A this week. I took a little hiatus for Rosh haShana and am off enjoying my last day in Dallas.

I'll be back tonight or tomorrow with a recap of my time at home.

In the meantime, enjoy your weekend. Also, let's pause for a quick moment to remember 9 / 11 and those who lost their lives on that day as well as those who fight for our country's freedom!

Work and Play

2010-09-08T00:37:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone. How was your first day back from the long weekend? Despite working from home I somehow managed to introduce a good dose of stress and "shoulds" into my home office schedule. But I actually prefer to relive yesterday first since it was such a glorious day.

When I left you all, we were heading out for a day filled with fun. GF Grazer Mom, Dad, and I headed to Wholesome Foods Bakery where we picked up a few items to try out including 2 food bars, snack mix, and almond rusks (think biscotti.)

We then did a walk / run around White Rock Lake for 1hr 40 minutes. I have to say, the first part flew by and wasn't too hot at all despite it being the heat of the day. However on our return (we couldn't walk all the way around the lake because of my foot) the heat got to me. We slowed our pace significantly and I had to pour water on my head twice to cool down. Crisis avoided though and I felt like my old (but sweaty) self when we got back to the car.

Next was a successful trip to one of my favorite Whole Foods locations, including a salad bar lunch. This beauty contained:

spring mix
red pepper
Texas caviar aka black eyed peas
edamame
tamari tofu
broccoli
beets

We finally showered and rested up for a bit before I accompanied my parents to the mall. They were on the hunt for a couple of things and I never turn down the chance to go shopping. I sadly wasn't in the mood for retail therapy and my foot was hurting so I sought out chairs and other places to sit and encourage awkward conversations with stranger instead. I also snacked on a pear since it'd been a few hours since I'd eaten.

By the time we left we were all hangry and headed to Pei Wei for a quick and delicious dinner. I got the Spicy Chicken Salad, steamed and no dressing off of the gluten free menu and it didn't disappoint.

This morning I woke up to Tropical Storm Hermine and was glad to have my coffee just a room and a push of a button away. When hunger hit I reached for my bowl of overnight hot cereal that contained:

1/4c BRM hot cereal
1/4c plus a few splashes of almond milk
1/2c water
1/2c berries (raspberries and blueberries)
cinnamon
a drop of maple syrup
1/2T chia seeds

This was delicious and I topped the mix with 1/2T of peanut butter and maybe a teaspoon of my grandmother's homemade fig jam.

I've decided to give up dairy for a few days to see if it helps reduce some breakouts I've been battling in the last week. My goal today was to avoid dairy and I was successful, woohoo!

Insert lots of working from home here and I was beyond ready for lunch when I got off of a conference call. I had the rest of my salad from last night plus some Beanitos with hummus (that I didn't finish because it expired yesterday.)

I did more work before going with my dad to his personal training appointment. This 1 hour workout included kettlebells, squats, ab work, arms, chest, and more. It was nice to be pushed by a trainer though. I cooled down with 10 minutes on the elliptical.

After workout snack consisted of a few almonds and a pear.

A little while later it was dinner time! One of my requests was to take advantage of the grill while I was home and my mom delivered! We had balsamic marinated (for 2 days) flank stead, grilled mushrooms, zucchini, and bell pepper, corn on the cob, and roasted okra, which my dad requested.

After dinner my mom and I ran a few errands and now I'm headed to bed before another work day before the start of the Jewish holiday. I had a bedtime snack of a slice of Udi's [well] toasted with cinnamon and brown sugar.

It was exactly what I was craving before I head to bed - last night I couldn't fall asleep until after 1am!

What are some of the things you love to eat when at home? Do you ever have trouble falling asleep when you go home?

Texas, Texas Yeehaw!

2010-09-06T12:24:00.000-04:00

That is a University of Texas cheer, not how we really speak down here in Dallas ;)

I woke up this morning at home after a day of travel and kicking off the 2nd half of my weekend with family and some fun.

Before going to bed I whipped up a batch of overnight hot cereal but had to make some substitutions given what was in the pantry and fridge before our big Whole Foods adventure later this afternoon. In the mix:

1/4c Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty GF Hot cereal
3/4c water
2 spoonfuls of Greek yogurt (stirred in after cooking hot cereal)
1/2T chia seeds
1/4t vanilla rice protein powder (didn't love it but gave it a shot)
1/3c fresh blueberries
1t homemade fig jam
1/2T almond butter

Rewinding back to Saturday night, I snacked on my last peach and a baby Asian pear while watching Texas beat Rice. It was not our best win but it was a W none the less.

To finish project Empty the Fridge I mixed my last serving of Cuban black beans with some frozen and defrosted broccoli, spinach, and bell pepper. Plus a corn tortilla that I baked into chips.

I went out Saturday nigh to celebrate a friend's birthday but made it home at a reasonable hour to prepare for my day of travel.

Yesterday I woke up about an hour before my alarm was set to go off. Instead of wasting time around my apartment I got my butt out the door for a quick 2 mile walk / run to loosen my legs up from Saturday's 6.25 miler and before I sat all day on airplanes. The weather was perfect and I even felt a bit of a chill at first - there was 0 humidity which was great but I'm still not ready for fall.

I had an egg sandwich for breakfast with 2 egg whites, some spinach, and hot sauce and red pepper spread on 2 slices of Udi's whole grain bread.

Enter some more chores, a Super Shuttle ride and airport stuff and I was ready for lunch a few hours later. After finding success in August, I decided to revisit the restaurant where you can create your own salad. I had one made with romaine, broccoli, carrots, sun-dried tomatoes, and banana peppers plus a small pinch of parmesan. The woman was confused as to why I didn't want a mound of cheese on top of my salad but I was completely happy with my 3 little pieces.

I also picked up a Mango all fruit smoothie for the plane.

Enter an uneventful (those are the best kind) plane ride and 3 financial accounting-induced cat naps and I made it to St. Louis with one short plane ride to go. I picked up some 'local' all natural Wisconsin string cheese to eat with an Asian pear and the last of some Gorilla Munch cereal.

I finally arrived in Dallas a few hours later and headed to dinner with the family. We picked a place called Fireside Pies which I was at first reluctant to visit. They had GF crust but the last time I ate GF pizza out it ended very badly.

Our experience at Fireside Pies was nothing short of amazing. Both the manager and our server were informed of my dad and I eating gluten free and were extremely accommodating. They answered every question we had, were patient with modifications and clarifications regarding ingredients, and everything arrived hot and perfectly as we had ordered it. This meal was top-notch based on our wait staff experience alone!

My dad and I shared a chopped salad, sans prosciutto and dressing on the side which I dominated a good 2/3 of. We also shared the Texas Beef Sausage pizza on GF crust. My 2 slices were sans cheese. I had 1.5. Delicious - the sausage was hands down the best part.

From there my family had a hankering for self-serve fro yo and who am I to say no ;) My grandparents also met us as they were eager to see their granddaughter :) I was pretty full so I just got a drop of tangerine / orange sorbet with a few berries on top.

We got home and played rummicube and then called it a night. Today we are doing a few of the following:

visiting a new gluten free bakery that opened up
6 mile walk around White Rock Lake
Whole Foods!! And yes, I really do have an unhealthy obsession
Labor Day shopping
grilling out at home

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

2 Part Weekend

2010-09-04T16:00:00.000-04:00

Hi guys! Are you enjoying the long weekend? I know I am, even if some grad school stress is getting to me. I definitely don't like the feeling of knowing there's always something I should be doing for class. Ick.

I pushed those feelings aside though and have enjoyed my day so far. I was up earlier than I had hoped for but in the end was glad to get some extra productivity time. When I was finally hungry I grabbed my bowl of overnight hot cereal with some raspberries mixed in and topped with 1/2T peanut butter and had it alongside an egg white.

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning, organizing, and starting to pack for my trip tomorrow. I'm sooo excited to be heading to Dallas. I haven't been home since April. It's also nice because tomorrow marks the start of a second (and slightly longer!) weekend.

I finally got myself out the door for another walk / run. I gave myself 2 days in between running attempts as to not put too much stress on my foot. Because of Hurricane Earl, we have beautiful weather in DC - it was only 79 degrees when I headed out around 1pm. 93 minutes and 6.25 miles later, I was feeling much less stressed!

Lunch was quickly thrown together and made use of the last few fresh vegetables in my fridge. I had leftover Greek salad, extra romaine, leftover white beans (~1/3c), a dolma, and a grilled cheese on a piece of Udi's with red pepper spread and spicy feta (also leftover).

It's now time for Texas football - HOOK 'EM HORNS!!

I gotta rest up for a birthday party tonight!

What college team do you root for??

Food for Thought

2010-09-02T23:12:00.001-04:00

One of the things I love about my friends is our ability to engage each other in real, honest, and thought provoking conversations. Of course there's fun thrown in there too. Yet I always find myself appreciative of the opportunity to challenge my assumptions and become a better person.

After reading this Mama's post about how a movie enforced her decisions to not eat animals (among other things - it's a good read!) my wheels started spinning. Add to that a new-to-me thought about the eggs I purchased at the farmers market and have been eating this week and all of the food learning I've engaged in over the past three years. At dinner tonight I shared my thoughts and reactions with my friend and we moved on to more fun topics. Later another topic came up that prompted this thought: Is it enough to make ethical decisions solely about food or solely in interactions with colleagues in the workplace, etc.? If not (which I believe it's not),where do you put your foot down?

Without going into the conversation we had let's just say that my mind is deep in thought about letting some things slide when one takes such a strong, ethical stand on so many aspects of life. I've added a new dimension to my previous assumptions and am trying to decide how I feel.

What do you think? Can some parts of life be more ethical than others? Do your friends ever provide good food-for-thought?

On to the eats! This morning I got to enjoy my second oats in a jar this week. Am I lucky or what?? This time the jar was crunchy almond butter with flax (~1/2T) with the standard mix with blueberries and cinnamon. Delish! I always get so sad when I finish this breakfast because I know I have a ways to go before the next one gets to be enjoyed.

The morning flew by and before I knew it, lunch time had arrived! I had a salad with roasted veggies and chicken breast with some grapes on the side.

Then things got interesting. Mid-afternoon a colleague on my floor walked through and told us we needed to evacuate the building because of a gas leak. I grabbed all of my things and headed out the door. We first stood across the street and then moved to the end of the block when emergency response blocked off the entire street and Haz Mat arrived. It was quite intense! We camped out in another meeting and my stomach grumbled as it was snack time. I managed to pick up this salad with veggies and a few chips with hummus to hold me over.

Shortly thereafter we were given the all clear to enter our building. It turns out that someone turned on the boiler on the roof after it had been off for a while. They didn't think to warm it up first or open windows and it emitted high levels of CO2. Luckily everyone was ok and we finished out the work day.

I came home, snacked on an apple with cinnamon and some PB and took care of a bunch of things before meeting said friend from the start of my post for dinner.

I had a Groupon to a Greek restaurant named Zorba's that I've been excited to use. Tonight was the night. I had actually been tweeting with them about the addition of gluten free beer and Greg, one of the managers (?) had offered to buy me my 1st beer when I came in.

I met Greg who was very nice and helped guide me through the menu of what was safe to order and what was not. He made sure the cooks knew that my order was gluten free as well so that there wouldn't be any contamination issues or anything. He also stayed true to his word and served me up my first beer! I was clueless and poured it straight into the glass only to be laughed and yelled at by my friend to tilt the glass. I'm a total newbie! I had some of it over the course of the night but it's definitely a very acquired taste. I thought it was like bitter, fizzy water O:-)

Friend and I split the Fire Roasted Feta which I got with sliced veggies instead of pita bread.

My entree was the Fasolia Plakee which had white beans baked with onions, tomatoes, parsley and other herbs, served with Greek salad, a house-made roll and two dolmathes. Instead of the roll I got double salad which was a perfect substitution!

And for dessert, rice pudding which is a favorite indulgent dessert.

I ate a small portion of the feta, half of my entree, and just a few bites of the pudding and left perfectly full and happy. It was another great meal at Zorba's (it's one of my family's favorite places to go in DC) and of course, great conversation with a great friend.

It's time to get to bed - just one more day stands in between me and the weekend. I can't wait! G'night!

It's Been a Long Time Coming

2010-09-02T10:19:00.000-04:00

When I laid on my couch, unable to walk because of a sesamoid stress fracture in my left foot, I started losing hope that I may never get better and not be able to run. A few months later I got the ok to start back on the elliptical and in a few weeks, try running.

3 weeks after my doctor's ok was last night. I had meetings all day which prevented me from walking home for lunch, getting in some additional mileage and exercise. I couldn't sit still all day. I fidgeted and twitched all morning long. I shook my legs throughout a 2 hour meeting, annoying the person sitting next to me. I made up my mind that when I got home I was going for a walk.

I put on my running shorts, grabbed my charged iPod sitting on a shelf, and laced up my sneakers tight enough to hold my feet in position. I qued up my favorite cardio music and walked out the door. I had decided that I was strong enough to venture out on a route that I haven't visited since my injury.

Running this path was like rejoining a community. I must have seen hundreds of bikers, joggers, runners, and walkers. All of them reminded me that DC has an active community of which I love being a part of. That trait is one of the things that drew me to Washington, DC is the first place. I was back. I have walked this path and run this path and today no one could tell I was recovering from an injury. I was just another exerciser.

I had avoided this path when I started doing my recovery walks because in my mind that route was something of strength and what my athletic self used to do. I quickly pushed aside those thought and set out on my way. I told myself I should try to run. "Slow and steady wins the race" played throughout my head to remind me to take it really slow. I felt like I had a second brain in my left foot, ready to alert me at a moments notice if anything felt wrong. That brain never shouted at me!!

I ran twice in the first part of that path and felt like shouting from the rooftops. My body felt strong. My legs, albeit a little different looking than in February, carried me confidently on my way. My lungs were up for the challenge and damn it, I was flying (running?) high.

I continued walking with a few spurts of running here and there. My path led me down to the National Mall via the back of the Lincoln Memorial. I couldn't help but think about how often I'd been down there before but that it'd been a long long time. I decided to walk to the front of Lincoln and subconsciously my arm reached for the pause button. I took a couple of minutes to marvel at the beauty of the mall - the Washington Monument with the Capital behind it. Lincoln with the sun setting behind him. The green trees lining a place that offered hope and inspired many. And then I walked to the dirt path along the reflecting pool and ran some more. Sans music - I wanted to hear crunch of my feet on the soft(er) dirt path, my breath, the birds, and savor it all.

Savor it I did. When I reached the World War II Memorial I really felt like I had found a piece of myself. Screw yoga, I was in a zen state of mind and nothing was going to change that.

I completed my walk / run with a few more bouts of running and made my way home. I listened to my head when it told me I should save some gas for the next time, that I shouldn't overdo it now. This was just my first time back and I didn't need to set myself back. And I stretched to make sure I ended the 4.5 mile run the way I should.

A sense of a runner's high has returned to me and I have a feeling I'll be on Cloud 9 for a few days. I felt like I left some frustration and angst regarding my injury on the pavement and it feels so good.

There were a lot more revelations I had on this run. It was my own little therapy session and a great one at that.

I reconnected with a part of me I was beginning to think had left. I am a different person though. I ran. And I realized:

I am resilient in the face of challenges. I have succeeded in the past and I will succeed again in the future. I don't doubt my own ability. I am stronger than I was in February and in so many ways. I love living an active life. I am appreciative of what my body can do, think, and say. And I appreciate all of the support and encouragement from family, friends, and blends as I continue to recover from my injury. Here's to more pain-free recovery runs!

Like My Mom

2010-09-01T22:03:00.000-04:00

As a kid I really loved the fact that my parents' birthdays were just 1 week apart. It made for fun celebrations 2 weekends in a row! My mom is 51 weeks older than my dad and it was fun to point out (which my brother and I did repeatedly) that they were the same age for a week every year. :)

Despite being a Daddy's Girl, there is no denying that I am my mother's daughter. After all, when she was 22, she picked up and moved across the country to Dallas to escape the cold weather in Pittsburgh. She liked it so much she stayed, met my dad, and the rest is history. I tease her that I did the same thing, moving from Dallas to DC, but I'm not sold on this whole cold weather thing for the rest of my life! I guess moving, independence, and hating cold are genetic :)

My mom always made sure my brother and I had a good breakfast before we headed off to school. That habit has definitely stuck although I rarely eat dinner leftovers for breakfast anymore (before the invention of decent gluten free breakfast options)! I kick-started my day with my favorite bowl of overnight cereal: 1/4c BRM hot cereal plus buckwheat groats, 1/4c almond milk, 1/2c water, 1/2T chia seeds, cinnamon, blueberries and raspberries, crushed almond slivers, and 1/2T of peanut butter. Solid start to my day!

Those who know me will tell you that I'm not afraid to speak my mind or stick up for myself, my family, and my friends. I learned this from my mom who is the best advocate anyone could have. She's a fighter, in more ways than one, and I'm glad she's got my back.

When I got the crazy idea to walk 39.3 miles to raise awareness for breast cancer in honor of my mom surviving the disease, my mom encouraged me and decided to join me in the adventure. Despite training in 2 separate cities, she joined me in DC and together we completed a marathon and a half in 36 hours! Take that breast cancer! That weekend was memorable in so many ways and I'm glad we shared the experience together. I learned what when something gets you down you stand up and fight for what you want and don't take no for an answer.

When I'm home, my mom and I love going to lunch. It's a fun break in the workday and gives us a chance to eat where we like (and not worry about the boys in the family) and catch up on things. Even though we didn't lunch together, I enjoyed a packed lunch during a meeting. I had a huge salad with lettuce, romaine, roasted veg, 2oz grilled chicken, and Annie's lite Italian dressing. I also had some vegan herb crackers I made over the weekend.

I am often not surprised at all that I found an interest in food blogging and cooking. Growing up, my mom cooked almost every night and we had dinner together as a family. Some of the dinners were quicker than others, but we had healthy options and spent time as a family sharing our days and talking about other fun things.

My mom is an amazing cook. I start looking forward to our Thanksgiving meal weeks in advance because I can't wait to have those special, homemade dishes! This is a woman who lovingly makes ravioli, gnocchi, tomato sauce, and more from scratch to spoil the ones she loves. I get my knack for cooking throughout winter to warm the house from her and we both love to experiment in the kitchen.

I snacked on a peach mid-afternoon and then headed home and had a second snack of toast, half with cheese and half with nut butter. I needed some fuel for my 4.5 walk / run!

Dinner tonight was a salad plus a serving of pasta with tomato sauce and some roasted veggies. I had to honor my Italian side, after all, I get all that from my mom's side of the family.

Now I'm relaxing and getting ready for the week to wrap up. I snacked on some fruit and am ready to call it a night. But first,

Happy birthday Mom!! I hope you've had a fantastic day!

Please Don't Go

2010-08-31T23:59:00.000-04:00

I seriously think I'm in denial that September has begun. I know that a lot of people are ready and eager for fall. I get it, that yearning for the favorite feelings and comforts of one's favorite season. I guess it's just like I yearn for summer every February when I'm buried under snow. Summer, please please please don't go yet. I'm just not ready to say goodbye. I guess lucky for me, DC temps will be in the 90s all week and then I'm going home where you don't say the word fall until at least October. Whew, seasonal affected disorder crisis averted for now!

So as promised, here are my thoughts on class last night. I am taking a total of 4 classes this semester but the business school divides the semester into two modules. I will juggle no more than 2 classes at a time this way, thankfully. I'm starting with Organizations & Leadership and Financial Accounting. Both were pretty interesting and I really appreciated my OL professor talking about the benefits of a business education. He tried to assure us we were doing a good thing by beginning our grad school careers.

I apparently decided to torture myself by scheduling my 2 classes back-to-back on a Monday from 4:30 - 9:40. At least I'll then be done for the week yet I have a feeling I'll need the rest of the week to recover. Monday night I practically fell into bed and yesterday I had big issues getting my brain to work. I wanted time to organize and process everything I learned! I guess that's part of this adjustment period though and I at least am interested in going back to class in 2 weeks (we're off on Labor Day, woohoo!) instead of quitting so I'm taking it as a grad school victory!

I was really happy that my brain decided to wake up after lunch yesterday. I'm guessing the huge salad helped restore my mind and body. Perhaps I'll have to switch up my morning routine and refuel differently after a 12+ work and class day.

All in all, it was a good start to my grad school experience even if it means that summer is on the brink of fading away.

Are you currently enrolled in graduate school? How do you handle work and school? Do you find yourself eating differently so that you stay alert and clear-minded?

MBA Monday

2010-08-30T22:01:00.000-04:00

In honor of the fact I was on campus for over 12 hours, I've declared today a Minimal Monday. I hope you can understand :) I'll be back to recap my first day of classes more fully tomorrow but here's the minimal details of Monday for your viewing pleasure.

Favorite breakfast, eaten at work.

Romaine, spinach, carrot, pickle, chicken, lentils. Plus half a serving Snyder's pretzels with red pepper spread.

My co-worker baked cakes in honor of the 1st day of classes. 1 for everyone and 1 gluten free cake for me. She used white cake mix from Gluten Free Pantry with chocolate frosting. It was amazing and I of course forgot to take a picture. I also teased her that she's trying to fatten me up :) Cake does make good fuel for your first ever graduate school class, in case you were wondering.

Dinner eaten outside to thaw out in between classes. I had a peach plus a wrap: Food for Life tortilla, 1/4c mashed chickpeas, tomato paste, red pepper spread, spinach.

I'm on my couch and doubt I'll stay awake for the Real Housewives of NJ reunion but I'm sure going to try. That mindless drama is exactly what my swimming, jello-y mind needs of after a super long day.

How was your Monday? If you're in school, does your brain swim at the end of the day? Oy...

Onward and Upward

2010-08-29T22:01:00.000-04:00

Today was a great way to round out the weekend. After the structure and excitement of yesterday's adventure, it was time to get down to business and get myself ready for the week. Plus some relaxing is a requirement!

Despite giving myself permission to sleep in, I was awake around 8:45 with a stomach ready for breakfast. About 15 minutes later I bribed myself out of bed and got to work on "overnight" hot cereal. Once the bowl was cooling in the fridge I dashed off to the farmers market.

I was definitely torn between summer and fall with my selections: corn, peaches, Asian pears, honeycrisp apples, and eggs.

A few samples helped tide me over for the short trip but I was ready to eat! I had a muesli inspired bowl of hot cereal with apple, a few grapes, and maple syrup added to my standard mix. Of course, it was topped with the obligatory 1/2T peanut butter.

I decided to get my homework for class tomorrow out of the way and headed to the roof. I enjoyed the sunshine and got through all of my reading and then I could relax with a clear conscience for the rest of the day!

I headed to Whole Foods for my shopping for the week. Of course my stomach was more than ready for lunch once I got half way through my list. Hot bar saves the day! In this beauty was:

spring mix
beets
carrots
radishes
Peruvian rice with corn
Cuban black beans
BBQ collard greens
dashes of feta and cheddar cheeses

Plus, look what I found! Snyder's gluten free pretzels! I had heard about these being on the shelves but hadn't seen them yet. The bag was $2.99 and was pretty full so I would say it's a good bargain. The nutritional stats are decent as well: 20 pretzels per serving, 120 calories, 2g fiber, egg, dairy, and casein free. They are extra crunchy and really delicious!

This afternoon I was quite the handywoman and chef. I moved my old couch down to my building's dumpster all by myself. It was a great leg and cardio work out! Plus I put the slipcover onto my new couch, vacuumed, rearranged some things, and tidied up. OH and cleaned the bathroom! Whew. I refueled with a pear with a spoonful of yogurt and cinnamon.

I did food prep for the week. I baked some chicken breasts seasoned with 21 Seasoning Salute and made a batch of these amazing baked beans. Jenna - you rock! I really enjoyed making my own baked beans and probably saved $0.75 by not buying them canned (and I get an extra serving). Not a bad trade off.

While the beans were baking I started with a salad that contained romaine, spinach, carrot, pickle, one of the crackers I made last night, and Annie's Italian dressing.

Then I had cheese toast on Udi's whole grain bread with a serving of baked beans. These are sooo good. I added extra ground mustard and hot sauce - that's more of the flavor my grandmother's beans have. These were a great, close second! I also used 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil plus non-stick spray instead of 1/2T.

The night's been full of Emmy watching, blog stuff, washing dishes, and prepping for the week. I can't believe I start classes tomorrow.

Onward and upward!!

Say Yes to the Dress

2010-08-28T18:50:00.000-04:00

I knew that all of those nights of watching TLC's Say Yes to the Dress would pay off one day! Today I got to spend time with my friend Bethany, 2 other bridesmaids, and Bethany's future mother-in-law shopping for dresses. Our mission was to find a bridal dress as well as the bridesmaid dress we will be wearing come Memorial Day Weekend 2011.

My wake up call was earlier than a usual Saturday's but I bounded out of bed and got ready for the day. I knew that fuel would be important as no one likes a hangry bridesmaid so I whipped up something quick, filling, and delicious. I had an egg sandwich with one egg white, red pepper spread, spinach, and a bit of Cabot 50% sharp cheddar on a Food for Life gluten free English muffin.

We met at Bethany's which meant a quick Metro ride over to her part of town. However today there was a huge Tea Party rally on the National Mall which added a lot of stress, fantastic people watching, and aggravation to an otherwise pleasant Saturday morning. I finally made it though and it was time to shop!

I'm excited to say that Bethany found her dress. It was truly a great moment and I loved being part of the dress shopping. While I won't show you what she chose, I can promise you it's nothing remotely close to this:

We were ravenous by the time we left the store and decided on the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I was in the company of a few other hangry folks so we were in no mood to debate where to eat. We started with the chips and guacamole and I had a few.

I loved my main course - the Fresh Vegetable Salad with the cheese and dressing on the side. I ate about 3/4 of the salad and was perfectly content.

Then it was on the bridesmaid dress shopping, round 2. We have narrowed it down to 2 options and now are waiting for the Maid of Honor to try on her dress so we can decide. She lives in South Dakota so she couldn't join us today.

After our shopping I had a quick errand to run and was hungry again. I popped into Whole Foods for a little snack of carrots, peas and corn topped with a bit of black bean soup and feta cheese plus Moroccan chick pea salad. It totally hit the spot.

Its 6:30 and I just got home a bit ago. I don't think it'll be too exciting of a night. Everyone seems pretty tuckered out and this lady has some business homework to do before Monday!

Lessons Learned from Office Supplies

2010-08-27T10:43:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday I went to Staples to pick up a couple of back-to-school items. No big deal, right? I love school supplies and getting organized, so an office supply store is one of my favorite places to go. In junior high and high school I couldn't wait to bring my newly penned, master list to the store. I love the crisp new paper, a blank start, and that fresh feeling of being organized and on top of your shtuff.

Mega Nerd Me should have been ecstatic for an excuse to go to the store then. Right? Well, let's just say I walked out of the store with a few nail marks on my hands from tight fists as I tried to calm myself down. (Would that be a sign of a panic attack??)

I was looking for a paper planner, because that's how I've always tracked school work. I want to be able to cross off grad school assignments and keep work appointments separate. I found something that'll work, but it's not the same as the one I got every year of junior high, high school, and college.

As I walked out of the store I reflected on my experience and what I had just learned about myself:

I really like organization and having the tools to help me live that way
I am kind of stubborn. I was reluctant at first to purchase the item I did because it wasn't what I used to have. It's fine, I'm 25 and totally expected for a product I stopped buying in 2006 to still be around 4 years later...
I really hate change. After 3 years of just being a young professional (which often felt like school and wasn't perfect) I'm taking on more, self-imposed responsibility in the form of classes towards an MBA. That means new schedule, new higher education technology, and remembering my old school habits.
College was amazing and I do not want to relive it. I have the attitude towards my time as an undergrad of "been there, done that, most amazing experience, moving on." That may sound trite and I can assure you that I learned and grew more than I ever would have expected to, but that's not what grad school is about for me. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I want to get out of grad school.
I'm hugely afraid to fail or not be as successful as I was as an undergrad.
Aside from refining a business plan I've begun to draw up, I kind of want to learn some new stuff, but I'm not all that convinced about this whole little endeavour. My degree is kind of a means to an end, with some letters to add to my resume to give me authority to run said business. I guess that's enough of a goal?
My yoga breathing hasn't gone away even though I can't practice full-out yoga as I continue to let my foot heal. I'm 99.9999% sure those breathing techniques are the only reason why I survived my mini panic attack on Aisle 9 of Office Supply Central.
Items are fully refundable with a receipt. And by that I mean, if I try classes and don't like it, I won't apply to the program. If I do, I'll keep it and we'll forget all about this silly little fit of fear.
I can and will conquer my fears. Stepping in the door and focusing is the 1st step towards doing so. Staying calm will also be extremely important.

You know the ice breaker where everyone shares their favorite office supply? Or item on their desk? My 2 answers to those questions are always: my planner because it keeps me organized, lets me plan my life, and I get to add some color to it; and Silly Putty which has inhabited my desk ever since I started working a full-time job. It's fun, pliable, helps release tension and nervous energy, and reminds me of being a kid. I feel like those 2 items perfectly describe where I'm at and the journey I'm about to embark upon over the coming months.

Do you hate change as much as I do? Are you facing any fears?

And since I can't not ask it: what's your favorite office supply or item on your desk?? :-)

Daddy's Girl

2010-08-25T21:48:00.000-04:00

August 25th has always been an important day in my life. Usually because that's around the time that school started (or in college definitely did start) and it's also my dad's birthday! It makes it easy to remember :)

All day long I couldn't help but think about all the ways in which I'm a daddy's girl. I've long taken pride in that title and anyone who knows us (including my own mother) will admit that it's the truth. What can I say, we're 2 peas in a pod!

A few years ago my dad cut out gluten from his diet. He was convinced it was the culprit behind a couple of decade's worth of stomach issues. I was excited because I got to share all of the great gluten free products I'd discovered with him.

One of those products was Bob's Red Mill Mighty Gluten Free Hot Cereal. That my friends is the official name of the hot cereal I've come to eat during every season. When I'm home, my dad requests that I make him a bowl for breakfast too. Today's standard bowl with Asian pear, black berries, and 1/2T peanut butter was eaten at work, along with an egg white.

I worked diligently throughout the morning and because appreciative of my organization skills. Those too are things I learned from my dad and have even taken to the Nth degree. We are Type-A people who love to-do lists, organization, order, writing things down, and more. I swear we're fun!

Lunch was a delicious and random mix: arugula and romaine with carrot, a serving of baby lentils, a pickle, and Amy's Italian dressing. I also had the end piece of my Udi's loaf (something my dad and grandfather love b/c it's extra crispy!) with roasted red pepper spread and a sprinkle of parm.

I headed back to the office, glad to have walked out some of my jitters. I have always been the kid / college student / young professional that squirms in her seat, prefers to stand, and doesn't ever like to sit still; it's another trait inherited from Phil.

In between squirming and standing in meetings, I managed a few snacks. The first was steamed veggies left over from a lunch and the second was 1/4c of Greek yogurt with a peach drizzled in peanut butter.

After wrapping things up for the day I set out on a couple of errands. 1) Staples and 2) Whole Foods. Those 2 places always seem to be errands Dad and I enjoy running (see above). Others always included walking through Macy's early on Saturday mornings helping my dad match ties and shirts (once upon a time I loved to wake up super early), bike rides and long walks, and many more.

Staples was an adventure in and of itself and Whole Foods was nothing out of the ordinary.

Out of character for me, I wasn't too hungry for dinner so I threw together a repeat bowl of pasta from the other night. 2/3 of a serving of pasta, 1/4c chickpeas, roasted veg, tomato sauce, and a bit of parmesan.

I'm now listening to jazz and Broadway (2 kinds of music Phil loves), doing lots of blog writing because there's lots on my mind, fidgeting, and doing some volunteer work for the sorority. The last item is something I've definitely learned from my dad - the value of giving back to something important, making a commitment, and having fun. The program I run is based on something my dad runs for his fraternity (which I helped design).

Not such a bad night. I mean, who doesn't love celebrating one of their parents, even if they're out having more fun on a Wednesday than you are?! :-D

Happy birthday to a wise, loving, fun Dad that's taught me so many things in my 25 years!!

The Root of it All

2010-08-24T21:53:00.001-04:00

It seems like just yesterday I wrote about my August goals and now it's almost September. Is 2010 flying by quickly for anyone else?! I've found myself extremely torn between summer and fall. I absolutely don't want summer to end at all and am savoring the sunshine but it's hard to notice that I'm craving more roasted veggies, apples, and sweet potatoes.

As I've been increasing my outside [walking] time, I've gotten some extra time for thinking, which has led me to uncover the root behind my habits of nighttime snacking. An odd place to make a discovery but I'll go with it.

My medical history has been no secret on this blog. I was diagnosed with my allergies around the age of 6 but continued to struggle to get healthy for many years later. When I was in the 4th grade I started a new school which helped with many things but also meant I had to make new friends and explain why I ate differently and was absent so much for doctors tests, visits, and more. At one point in that year, my doctor ordered me to do a 2 week liquid diet to try to uncover other food allergies and stomach issues that I might have had that were perpetuating my symptoms.

You might be thinking "smoothies galore" or "master cleanse?" but it was actually much worse. A pallet of "juice boxes" arrived of this drink called Neocate. I think we went with the tropical flavor but they were so bad it wouldn't have mattered much. I was supposed to have ~ 3 (maybe more?) cartons a day as meal replacements. I think the first day I maybe stomached one of those, mixed with Kool Aid, and lots of water. Let's just say that no one in my family likes to remember that stretch of time where I was truly hangry. That drink was beyond foul. It also was the only 2 week stretch of my life where the allergen levels in my blood were relatively non-existent and where a "normal kid's" were. Go figure. I also had 3 of the 7 conditions the drink "tests" for prior to starting this experiment.

I remember that at night when no one was around, I would sneak food. I remember only going for safe foods. I was so hungry I had to just eat something. I felt better almost instantly, eating real food. I'd love to say that was the only time I ate something I shouldn't have growing up, but it wasn't. Before I had true Celiac Disease, and as a kid, carefully avoiding gluten or other allergens didn't matter to me as much as it does now.

I grew out of that phase and don't purposefully cheat now because I know the repercussions of my actions. But as a hungry 4th grader, that habit first popped up, literally for nourishment. Now, I think my night time grazing is something I do mindlessly, to procrastinate going to sleep or occupy my time, or to look for comfort.

It was a goal of mine to uncover why I've been snacking a lot at night and I figured it might be helpful to share more of my story. I've been turning off the tv much earlier, getting to bed at more of a reasonable hour, but still managing my cereal. I guess it's good the month isn't over yet so that I can still work on this goal!!

Have you ever had to do a horrible medical test?

On to lighter, more fun things - the food! Breakfast this morning was a new overnight hot cereal concoction. I mixed in a tiny Asian pear plus a few blueberries. This morning I topped it with a few more berries, crushed almond pieces, and 1/2T peanut butter. Plus an egg white.

My big event is on Thursday which means that today was once again very busy. It's scary how productive I am when I have a lot more things going on! Lunch was a salad almost identical to yesterday's, minus the beans, plus the last of my Hot Pot soup from Thursday.

I took a snack break late in the afternoon - another juicy peach. It was delicious but didn't hold me over for very long.

Today was laundry day and I got started as soon as I walked in the door. After putting clothes in the wash I had an "appetizer" of cauliflower soup topped with a light sprinkle of parmesan and hot sauce.

A couple of hours later, once laundry was folded and put away, I sat down to my real dinner. I had a serving of baked beans, roasted veggies, and a slice of Udi's whole grain toast with parmesan and basil. Yum!

There were a few more things to do after dinner and I enjoyed a dessert of 1/4c Greek yogurt (popped into the freezer for ~25 minutes = delicious!!) with a few blueberries and crushed Puffins.

Time to wrap up and unplug for the night!

Solid Little Monday

2010-08-23T22:20:00.000-04:00

Hi there! How was your Monday? It was a pretty good one for me. The heat seemed to be absent from DC and it was so nice to be outside!!

I kicked the morning off with my standard egg white and a bowl of overnight hot cereal. To the standard mix (1/4c BRM and buckwheat, 1/4 c unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, 1/2 c water, 1/2T chia seeds, cinnamon) I added a tiny pinch of brown sugar, a quarter of a peach diced, some blueberries, and a small drop of fig jam. It was topped with 1/2T of peanut butter. I just couldn't decide between summer and fall!

I am planning a huge event at work that's on Thursday so this week will be quite busy at the office. I'm definitely not complaining though because I find myself more productive when I have a lot to do. I guess I like the pressure.

I managed to carve out time to walk home for lunch which was a great way to stretch my legs and enjoy the weather. Alongside a serving of baked beans I had a salad of arugula and romaine topped with a carrot, pickle, and sauteed zucchini and tomatoes (leftovers). I crumbled a Food Should Taste Good chip on top for crunch and used my ever-addicting Amy's Italian dressing to finish it off.

There was a special treat waiting for me in the office today. One of my co-workers likes to bake and decided to try a gluten free cake so that I could have some too. It was such a nice gesture!! And, look how pretty it is! Yellow cake with vanilla butter cream frosting. I had most of one slice and enjoyed every bite. Other co-workers loved it to and commented that they were excited to get to try something GF!

My regular snack a few hours later was a few spoonfuls of Greek yogurt topped with a third of a peach (same one from breakfast, part of it went bad so I salvaged it!) and a few more blueberries.

When I got home I also had a cracker topped with salsa while waiting for my friend. It pays to be the "healthy" one in our group because I get requests to go walking with friends after work. Even though I did some walking during the day I was game for an impromptu catch-up session. Suzy and I walked 2.5 miles in about 40ish minutes which was a great way to unwind and unplug from the day. Even more so because I left my phone home.

It was definitely time for dinner when I got home. I threw together the quickest thing I could think of: pasta and roasted veggies. I had 2/3 a serving of pasta with a quarter cup of chickpeas, some tomato sauce, and roasted broccoli, green beans, and cauliflower. I added some crushed red pepper for some kick. Perfect healthy and easy meal!

I was hungry again after doing the dishes so I had more roasted veg and a peach for dessert. I am excited for the season finale of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. I love my summer trashy tv :-)

Has a co-worker ever brought in a treat with you in mind?

What's your go-to quick and easy meal? I have a few but pasta and veggies meant more leftovers for later this week!

Any favorite summer trashy TV shows?

Lazy x2

2010-08-22T21:32:00.000-04:00

Hi guys. How was the rest of your Sunday? Mine was glorious. I tackled most of my to-do list and only skipped the things that involved spending money O:-)

I tackled a few chores around my apartment and then headed off to the gym. I did 33 minutes (an increase... AND 0 FOOT PAIN!!) which was right at 3 miles. Then I lifted a little bit.

For lunch I was craving a big salad. Enter: arugula (which I seem to enjoy more than I did at the start of the summer), romaine, generous quarter cup of black beans, one chopped carrot, 2 homemade pickles, all topped with Amy's Lite Italian dressing which is like crack. I've been putting it on everything. I also had some Food Should Taste Goods topped with hummus and tomato paste.

I spent the late afternoon / evening cooking for the week. I roasted up these babies along with some cauliflower and a sweet potato. Look at how big some of them were (TWSS)!

I also whipped up some "Creamy" Cauliflower soup.

half a head of cauliflower, steamed
2 cloves garlic, minced
one carrot, diced
1/4c cooked rice
21 seasoning salute (or other spice(s) of your choice)
~2c vegetable broth

Clean, chop, and steam your cauliflower. In a non-stick sprayed soup pot, saute the garlic and carrot until softened. Add rice, cauliflower, and broth. Bring to a low boil, stirring. When ingredients have come together take off the heat and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Carefully transfer mixture to a blender, removing the stopper so the steam can escape. Blend until mixture is pureed.

This batch made about 4 1 cup servings that clocked in around 50 calories and 3g fiber each.

With some cooking for the week out of the way, I took the easy way out for dinner. I tasted a serving of my cauliflower soup to which I added a splash of Amy's Italian dressing, hot sauce, parm, and a crumbled Food Should Taste Good.

I also had some okra fries and the small roasted sweet potato. I also had half of a tamale I found in my freezer. It'd been there for a while and I ate around a few "off" tasting parts.

Dessert was a small serving of GF hot cereal with some brown sugar and PB = ultimate comfort. There's also been lots of relaxing on my couch!

Off to enjoy the last few hours of Sunday. Good night!

Lazy Sunday

2010-08-22T13:11:00.000-04:00

I've said it once and I'll say it again. I love lazy weekends! Having no firm plans in place has been refreshing after a hectic couple of weeks. My brain has appreciated the down time and being able to do some planning and assessing. Yes, that's how I spent a good chunk of my Saturday.

I slept in til 11:00am again this morning and it was glorious. Since I wasn't hungry yet I decided to make my way over to the farmers market, if only because I wanted to see some of my summer favorites again before summer ends.

I treated myself to some beautiful okra (purple and green!) and Asian pears. I believe that just this week I announced the longing I've had for a good, in-season pear despite not wanting Fall to arrive.

Brunch was my last donut peach and a baby pear along with an egg sandwich on Udi's whole grain bread. While savoring this sandwich I realized my favorite part of the bread - the crust. It has such a deep flavor with good crunch. Plus there's a bit of flour on it that reminds me of regular bread I've watched people eat for years. When I made a grilled hummus sandwich it took on that grilled texture, soaking up a bit of oil for extra flavor. It's the crust that really makes this bread what it is.

With that, I'm off to tackle some errands. On tap:

shopping for throw pillows
gym for the elliptical and weights
washing dishes
cooking prep for the week
maybe seeing Eat, Pray, Love?
get organized for the week

How will you spend your Sunday?

Got My Feet Propped Up

2010-08-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

Sorry for my great disappearing act yesterday. My eyes were so heavy that I crashed before 11pm. I took it as a victory though because I listened to my body instead of grazing mindlessly trying to stay awake and think clearly!

Yesterday was all about foods from the farm (aka my CSA box.) It all started with blackberries and cherry halves stirred into my standard mix of overnight GF hot cereal. I topped it with 1/2T of almond butter and packed it up to take to work.

The only non-farm related meal was lunch. A group of colleague and I went to a restaurant called Nooshi as a going away for one of the girls. She'll be going to Cameroon through the Peace Corps and we wanted to celebrate this next step in her life. We started with some edamame and I had a few pods. For my entree I got the Vegetarian Hot Pot which was a pot of vegetable soup with cellophane noodles, tofu, and veggies. I asked for extra veggies too. I maybe ate a third of this but it was delicious!!

Afternoon snack was a CSA white peach. Plus a bit later I broke into these guys after a week of pickling in my fridge :-D They are amazing!!

And I finally made it to the gym for some elliptical time! I have been feeling guilty about not going to the gym because I'm supposed to be "testing" my foot. Last night's workout felt better than Sunday's but it's shocking how slow I feel compared to my pacing in February! I did 2.25 miles in 23 minutes. It felt sooooo good to sweat. I think that workout plus walking errands really tired me out!

I had a couple of other errands to run and then it was dinner time. I had a bunch of things to use up in my fridge. Enter - BBQ Turkey Tacos!

First I diced and sauteed half a small onion and 2 cloves of garlic in some non-stick spray on the stove top. Then I added 4 chopped tomatoes and the large zucchini, diced, and sauteed with oregano and basil.

When the veg shortened a bit I set it aside and in the same pan, heated up a serving of chopped turkey and quarter cup of black beans. I added back about a cup of the sauteed veggies plus BBQ sauce and stirred it all up.

Served on 2 corn tortillas (that I ate about 1.5 of).

Dessert a while later was half of a large farm apple "baked" in the microwave. I sprinkled it with some cinnamon, syrup, peanut butter, and a few crushed Puffins.

This morning's breakfast was a muesli style bowl of overnight hot cereal. In the standard mix I added 1/4 of the same apple, diced, a few blueberries and topped it with 1/2T of peanut and almond butter.

Lunch was a salad with arugula, romaine, carrot, bell pepper, and pickle plus a turkey sandwich with red pepper spread, spinach on a toasted piece of Udi's whole grain bread.

Snack was some leftover veggies at work. I was excited to run a couple of errands after work but why for the life of me I thought it was smart to go to Target after work and during back-to-school weekend is beyond me. I got what I needed though so it was a successful trip!

It'd been a few hours since I'd eaten and was quite hungry when I got home. I whipped up the quickest thing I could think of - veggie fried rice! Plus another side salad.

I now have my feet propped up, am about to watch a movie, and unwind after a long, crazy, tiring week!

What are you up to this weekend??

Dining Out - Always an Adventure

2010-08-18T21:54:00.000-04:00

**Disclaimer: I'm really not that hard to eat out with. I swear. You just have to have an understanding that for gluten free folks (and those with other allergies) dining out at restaurants asking questions, modifying dishes, and being extremely careful is how we make sure that we stay healthy and safe. (I've bolded some of my tips for eating out at restaurants with allergies)**

Tonight I had plans with a few friends to enjoy Restaurant Week here in DC. I've actually never participated in the foodie holiday before as many of the restaurants don't allow diners to modify the special menu, I've been traveling for work, or simply didn't have time.

Tonight was different. My friends and I picked a new-ish restaurant, Zentan, because of the wide array of options on the menu. I even took a look online a few days ahead of time and was excited for the special Restaurant Week menu.

Before I ordered, I let my server know that I had some few allergies and explained what they were. No big deal. He seemed like he understood. My friends are used to it and to be honest, even if they weren't, I would still do it to ensure that I didn't go home sick which has happened before. The waiter wrote down my allergies and my order and assured me everything would be safe and delicious. So far so good.

My first course - watermelon salad with feta, mint, and black pepper vinaigrette was presented beautifully. I've never had this combination before tonight and was quite excited.

This did not disappoint. The sweetness of the watermelon balanced perfectly with the salty feta and savory vinaigrette. The sprigs of mint lightened the whole dish more that I thought possible. I ate slowly and savored each and every bite. I ate half to save room for the rest of my meal.

I got the Curry Chicken as my main dish. It was served with polenta, tomato jam, pineapple, and almonds. I double checked how the chicken was cooked and was assured it was fine.

And then after a first bite, the chicken was too crispy to not be breaded. Unfortunately, this incident was the beginning of a downward spiral of our experience. I called the waiter over and explained the situation and encouraged my friends to enjoy their meals while they were hot. One friend did not receive her wine pairing she had ordered (and it didn't come until dessert silverware was placed on the table) but everyone was loving their food. I sat and watched.

After seeing that my friends had finished their meals, I lost my appetite. I was too hungry and too annoyed and hurt that I wouldn't be able to eat with my friends. 5-7 minutes after deciding then and there to cancel the rest of my order they brought out my entree as my friends' dishes were being cleared. I sent it back.

For dessert they had arranged a bowl of berries for me which was nice. But at this point, I'd had fruit for an afternoon snack, watermelon in my appetizer, and now more berries. I was beyond disappointed, even if they were fresh and flavorful.

Luckily, things turned up when the maitre d' arrived at our table per my request. Just as I began to calmly explain the situation our waiter, who there were other issues with, began speaking on my behalf, in front of me and his boss, to explain what my problem had been. Mmmkay... Let's just say that set me over the edge.Finally I was able to speak and somehow managed to calmly explain everything that had been a problem and the maitre d' did everything a good manager should do in this situation. He heard every word, apologized (which at this point, was all I wanted to hear since I was hungry and planning my uber late dinner in my mind), and immediately worked to correct the situation.

Because of him, my experience was salvaged and I would consider going back to Zentan. The truth was that everything my friends and I ate was presented beautifully, tasted amazing, and was meant to be a true dining experience. It was unfortunately soured by our waiter who made quite a few snafus tonight, beyond my individual experience. And I felt left out because I didn't eat what I had been excited about.

The maitre d' insisted I bring dinner home and I chose the Empress Chicken Sir Fry sans soy sauce. I portioned some out when I got home but put it back in the container after just one bite. I wanted nothing to do with that experience but for it to fade. Instead I nursed my disappointment with a small mug of hot cereal with my leftover berries mixed in and topped with peanut butter.

Not quite the Restaurant Week experience I was hoping for but it was great to see my friends and enjoy time together. I would maybe go back to Zentan to try a few dishes - the management truly made sure that we all left happy. I will not be back tomorrow, but one day. For now I have to let the dining adventure fade from my memory because there's nothing worse than not enjoying a meal because you had to look out for your health because of allergies while everyone else has a tasty experience.

Other than that it was a great day, despite the rain in DC!!

Are you known as the difficult diner amongst your friends and family? Have you ever left a meal at a restaurant disappointed because you couldn't eat / had a bad allergy-related experience?

Confessions from GFG

2010-08-17T22:13:00.000-04:00

Hi Guys,

How's it going? I guess I'm in somewhat of a letter-writing mood hence the slightly awkward greeting :) I guess Tuesdays aren't so bad when you get to see old friends, have new furniture delivered, and make progress on your to-do list, right?

I went a little MIA the past couple of days and to be honest, I just kind of needed to unplug. Not to mention that yesterday I was home sick and while I could have entertained myself online I decided to give myself a sick day from the computer too. It was glorious :)

Here's a few other confessions for you:

I still enjoy breakfast, even if it's the same thing over and over. I guess I only notice because I post it on here for you all (hot BRM cereal mix with buckwheat, 1/4c almond milk, 1/2c water, 1/2T chia, splash of vanilla, cinnamon with blueberries and topped with 1/2T peanut butter)

A lot of my friends and family don't know about the blog. Hence, I don't take pictures at some meals, like lunch today when I caught up with 2 participants from a trip that I led to Israel 2 years ago. Marshall (in the red) biked from San Fransisco to DC (~50-85 mi a day) to raise money for people with disabilities.

(I had a garden salad with grilled chicken)

I also don't photograph and post everything I eat. For example, this afternoon's nibbles on some leftovers in the office.

Homesickness and stress rarely find their way onto the blog. I like to keep a positive outlook on life and don't like griping for all the world to see.

I'm really really bad at actually studying for the GMAT. I look at the book. That counts, right?

As much as I love local and in-season foods, I sometimes just want to eat some of my favorite fruits and veggies. The downside - I'm painfully aware of how pears don't taste as good in the summer as they do in the fall and winter and chili won't make me feel my best when I head back out into a hot, humid summer night.

I'm really only excited about taking classes because of the prospect of meeting some new people. I was always the nerdy kid that did puzzles and math for fun and loved reading. I loved school but was happy to graduate college and move on. We'll see how this little adventure goes.

Fruit and nut butter is such a satisfying snack. Peach and baby plum with almond butter: case and point.

I hate wasting food and concocted this lovely little dish for dinner. I have yet to make a significant dent in my CSA box from last week and decided to use some veggies for a fresh dinner - stuffed peppers!

I sauteed a clove of garlic, diced onion, 4 diced tomatoes, 1/4c brown rice, and 1/4c black beans with oregano and basil. It simmered for a bit to make a saucy mixture while the oven preheated.

I chopped the tops off of a bell pepper and sweet Italian pepper. Using a spoon, I stuffed the peppers with the mixture and then baked in the oven, covered, for about 20 minutes. I uncovered the peppers, added some parmesan cheese, and let it cook for another 3 minutes or so until the cheese was melted. Voila!

Right after this picture I cut up the pepper and added hot sauce and a drop of Italian salad dressing. Both complemented the light, summery flavors of the pepper!

I snacked on a toaster waffle and another baby plum while doing some computer work.

Confession - my apartment and computer and black holes. I can't ever seem to leave once I come home to them. Even to the gym. I feel like that needs to change.

Alright, it's time to power down, change my sheets, and go to bed. This gluten free girl is tired and has big plans for tomorrow.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

2010-08-15T00:06:00.000-04:00

The past 2 days have been great. I'm definitely enjoying my weekend so far. I can't help but wish I was in Chicago for the Healthy Living Summit - perhaps next year I'll attend and have the chance to learn more about the healthy living blog community and connect with some of my favorite bloggers! Until then though...

Yesterday morning began with another bowl of overnight GF hot cereal. It's hard to think that I didn't like the cereal prepared this way when I first tried it! I have been enjoying a shorter morning food prep routine but am excited for hot, fresh hot cereal in a few months. This bowl was a repeat of this week's blueberry vanilla cereal and was just as good.

The morning flew by at work and I took advantage of weather in the 70s(!!) and came home for lunch. Since I started reading her blog, Angela often seems to combine tomato paste and hummus, sometimes on crackers and other times for a sandwich. That combo sounded good to I made my own.

Using 2 slices of Udi's whole grain bread (defrosted but not yet toasted) I spread 1 generous tablespoon of tomato paste on 1 piece of bread and 1 T roasted red pepper hummus on the other. I added some spinach as well.

I cooked this in a non-stick sprayed pan on the stove, pressing down to wilt the spinach a bit.

Holy. Yum. This tasted like a guilt-free, non-greasy grilled cheese! Absolutely delicious! The bread toasted so nicely and the flavors really complimented each other. I had carrot sticks with red pepper spread, another little cracker with the spread and a half cup of green grapes to round out lunch.

My snack just before leaving work was 1/4c 0% Greek yogurt with a chopped peach fresh from my CSA box.

Last night I went to Suzy's for a make-your-own-pizza dinner night. We started off with some vino.

And we took turns making our own pies. Suzy picked up an Udi's GF pizza crust for me to use and I was excited to try this product.

I topped 3/4 of my pizza with tomato sauce, low-fat mozzarella, broccoli, olives, mushrooms, torn basil, garlic, and artichoke hearts. I also made 1/4 of the pie with pineapple - something I've never tried before!

This picture is my pie fresh out of the oven. The crust cooked nicely and had a good crunch to it, which is something I really enjoy! I ate half (1 crust serving) and snacked on some of the raw veggies leftover. I was stuffed!

It was a fun night with friends, complete with a bit of a flour incident!

This morning I slept in until 11am and only got up because my stomach was growling. I was craving a special treat - an Udi's bagel! Udi's - I'm on quite a kick. Any new products you want me to test? I seem to be making my way through all of your products!! They are indeed delicious.

I had half plain with a bit of almond butter and Earth Balance and half with red pepper spread and an egg white with spinach.

I took advantage of the cool sunshine and did some reading and organizing on my roof. I <3 laying out - it's one of my favorite summer activities!

Lunch time came soon enough after I cleaned and prepared some items I'm selling on Craigslist. I am finally planning to make some progress in decorating my apartment and making it feel like an adult lives here!

I had the final leftover enchilada with 1/4c kidney beans plus an un-pictured pear with peanut butter.

I went to Target with some friends and purchased a few necessities plus a bookshelf. There was a stop at Dairy Queen on the way back and I got a small order of fries. I maybe ate half and shared the rest. I just wanted something to nibble on.

When I got home I got to work building my bookshelf. Because of some DIY measuring, etc. for nailing the backing to the frame structure and other things, I was glad I had that snack. It took me about an hour to build the bookshelf, clean up, and move stuff to it. By 8:30 I was hungry again and ready for dinner.

I had a serving and a half of baked beans plus roasted carrots, summer squash, and onion. Dessert was a few grapes and a toaster waffle.

It's time for bed. Tomorrow I am going to the gym and hitting the road for a little day trip.

What activities scream summer to you? Do you love decorating or hate it? It always takes me a long time to figure out what I want to do but once that's done, I'm excited for the change in scenery!

CSA Day

2010-08-12T21:43:00.001-04:00

I had my first experience with picking up a CSA (community shared agriculture) share today, but more on that in a second.

This morning I was woken up by intense thunder, lightening, and rain that sounded like they were right over my building. My apartment was almost as dark as it is at night! Since I was up a few minutes before my alarm I laid in bed and relaxed to the sound of the storm.

Breakfast was simple as I still wasn't feeling 100% when I woke up. 2 slices of Udi's whole grain bread, toasted. One piece topped with berry jam, the other half with 1/2T of peanut butter, and an egg white. Simple yet filling. This simple meal kept my stomach from growling until 12:15!

I was craving soup for lunch and decided to treat myself to lunch out. I went to Java Green and got the Green Soup with kale, spinach, kimchi, edamame, jobchai and kelp noodles, in a spirulina broth.

This was exactly what I was craving. I Ate all of the broth in this big container plus the veg and about a third of the noodles.

Afternoon snack was a juicy peach plus some samples at Whole Foods when I picked up a few things.

At the end of the day I had my second to last (hopefully) foot doctor appointment. He wants me to start "pushing" my injury more, testing out what I can handle. I'm going to start with the elliptical and if in a week or two it feels good to do some slow jogging intervals on the treadmill. I just hope my foot holds up! At the end of the conversation the doctor remarked he wanted to "get me back in shape" to which I snapped back that I didn't think I looked out of shape at all. He clarified by saying back to prime cardio shape like I was before my injury but I was still pretty put off by his comment. Oh well - here's to getting to do some of my favorite exercise again!

This evening I went to pick up my CSA share for the week. Some friends are out of town and I got their produce this week. I was impressed with the freshness, color, and variety in this week's pick-up. I got:

basil
2 summer squash
garlic
small and large onion
6 yellow peaches, 2 white peaches
4 donut peaches
2 bell peppers
2 cucumbers
1 Italian hot pepper and 1 sweet pepper
8 tomatoes
5 plums

My fridge smells so good from the huge bunch of basil and I can't wait to enjoy all of this delicious food!

To make room in the fridge, I had leftovers for dinner: a vegetable enchilada with spinach salad and roasted broccoli. For dessert I had 1/2c frozen blueberries, a donut peach, and bite of rice milk ice cream with a bit of nut butter.

I've spent the night taking care of a few things, cleaning up my kitchen, and whipping up a batch of these pickles with one of my CSA cucumbers. I of course had to sample the cuke for quality control and was blown away. It tastes just like I remember cucumbers tasting - fresh and that deep, light refreshing taste! I can't wait to see how these turn out. Instead of 2T dill, I used 1.5T dill with 1/2T combined of Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning salute and red pepper flakes for some heat.

What new fruit or vegetable have you tried this year? I'd never had a donut peach until tonight! Has a doctor ever said anything a little "off" to you? How'd you take it? I am over it but still think he was out of line...

Food Fad and a Fever

2010-08-11T21:26:00.001-04:00

Happy Wednesday folks. It felt like a Tuesday to me but I guess that's the beauty of ending vacation on a Monday ;) I'm definitely not complaining since it means we are that much closer to the weekend!

Over my breakfast of an egg white and overnight hot cereal (1/4c BRM and buckwheat, 1/4c unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 1/2c water, drop of vanilla and maple syrup, blueberries, 1/2T almond butter) I watched the Today Show per usual.

To my surprise they did a story on being gluten free and I naturally got excited. Unfortunately, my excitement dwindled to frustration and talking back to my TV as the story discussed a gluten free diet (way one eats vs a weight loss diet). You see, this story was all about celebrities who are choosing to go gluten free and touting it as a way to lose weight. Now, I will be the first to admit that I've benefited from an increase in awareness of a gluten free diet as new products, restaurants, and bakeries have entered the market. Yet, so many of their claims painted this way of eating as a trendy way to slim down.

After 2:30 Natalie Morales finally mentioned that over 3 million Americans suffer from Celiac disease and I had a glimmer of hope. I also appreciated that a physician did mention that many gluten free products are in fact higher in calories, fat, and sugars than glutenous products. Thank you Dr. Raj for expressing your disagreement with this!! I've found this to be the case as well which is why it is so important for folks transitioning to a gluten free diet to incorporate fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and other natural foods (like dairy if you aren't allergic) into a gluten free diet. Like main-stream eaters, relying heavily on processed products will leave your shorts a bit snug.

Take a look for yourself though. What do you think of this clip? Perhaps this just hit on a pet peeve of mine regarding gluten free eating...

The morning flew by and I packed up my lunch to bring to a meeting with me. I had the leftover enchilada stuffing with spinach, 1/4c brown rice, 1/4c kidney beans, and enchilada sauce on top.

In between my 2nd and 3rd meeting I snacked on baby carrots and that's about when my day headed downhill. During my last meeting of the day, I started feeling achy, chilled, and beyond tired. I made it through the meeting and was happy to head home from it to try to sort myself out.

I got hungry during the meeting but couldn't eat so I decided that food would really help me. I had my leftover Chinese vegetables

and when I was still hungry 10 minutes later decided to just make it dinner time. Over the course of a couple of hours I grazed on:

Amy's split pea soup with a pinch of rice mixed in

Udi's whole grain toast with red pepper spread and cheese

Frozen blueberries with half a serving of rice milk chocolate chip ice cream

It's only 9:30pm but it's looking like bedtime for me. I took my temperature a little bit ago and I have a fever of 100.1. Here's to hoping I feel better when I wake up!!