Kristin

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Rhode Island, United States

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Quick snack

My stomach started rumbling, but I had a good amount of fruit today already including fresh/dried, so I wanted to save my fruit... plus it's too cold for frozen yogurt! So, I opted for a small yoplait light yogurt instead. It hit the spot, and I'm trying to be good today anyway... I have friday night plans with some friends tomorrow, lets hope I don't go too overboard... once a week indulgence is enough!



Snack calories: 100 kcal

Early Dinner

Yep, I ate at 5! I'm so used to an early dinner, I like having a moderate dinner and then a snack a few hours later.
Tonight I tried something new- these cool Salmon Packets I picked up at the store. This one was "Lemon Dill" flavor, and although they do have a good amount of sodium, they have a moderate amount of healthy fats (4.5 g from Olive oil and the salmon) and 25 g protein!



I realize it looks a little funny in the pic, but it was SOOO good!
I'm all full from just the salmon, a side salad (left over from yesterday's lunch and topped with 1 tbsp of my favorite dressing- Annie's gingerly vinigagrette, 20 kcal/1 g fat per Tbsp) and some carrots.





I'll obviously be having a snack later, this dinner was pretty small... ~335 kcal
160 kcal for the tuna, 100 for the salad, 50 for carrots, 25 for dressing (a bit more than a Tbsp)


My calorie count so far today is average though; 1345. This allows for a good sized snack when I get hungry! I'm thiking a pear and maybe some froyo =)

Oh, orgo...

Organic chemistry today was a little better than it has been. After studying a whole lot, reviewing my notes and trying problems I think I'm beginning to understand the basic concepts. Thank goodness! All that work helped out in my lab this afternoon... and I finished an hour early! So now I'm here, sipping some yummy Egyptian Licorice Yogi Tea, and I'm taking a break before some more studying later!

Food for today...
I DID get hungry immediately after Philosophy, AGAIN, even with my extra nuts.
Sooo I have determined it MUST be boredom/thirst hunger... I drank some water and lasted another 1/2 an hour, so I'll go back to my usual 10 g nuts and just remember to always have my nalgene on hand after philosophy!

This afternoon I went to Subway and grabbed lunch on the go.
I had a 6 inch "Veggie Delite" on wheat bread, with provolone cheese (2 halves) all the veggies and fat free honey mustard dressing. On the side I had apple slices and a diet coke to give me some caffiene energy for lab!



Lunch calories: ~350 kcal, 7 g fat
This was yummy and filling for a while, but only held me about 2 1/2 hours in total- not surprised, there wasn't too much to the lunch.

I had a snack in between Organic Chem and Lab... 1/4 cup Flax Granola and 6 dried apricots (Snack calories: ~170 kcal, 3 g fat)
This held me through my lab, but that was only 2 hours... if I know I'm going to have a longer lab I'll have to pack a more substantial, protein-filled snack!

I'm hungry now, but the tea should hold me until I eat around 5.

Bigger breakfast

So I'm going with a bigger breakfast this morning, in hopes it will hold me all the way through Philosophy! Then I'll eat at 11:30... (about 3 hrs from now) and have my snack in between class.

I had 1/2 a banana and then went for another quick run at the gym; 35 minutes before I came back for breakfast.
Today I went with Oatmeal again; I used 1/2 cup oats (dry) with 1 cup lowfat soy, 1 mini box raisins, the other 1/2 of my banana, a whole bunch of cinnamon, and 14 g walnuts (1/2 serving) instead of 10 today. Hopefully the extra few grams of fat will keep me satiated!




Breakfast calories: ~490 kcal

Note: WOW was I tired this morning! I realized I had put "14 oz..." of almonds! Thats a whole lot of almonds, whereas I actually only had 14 g of walnuts! Sorry! =)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Gluttonous

Sooo tonight I was bad.
Real bad.
But everyone needs their splurge days, right?
Tonight was a special occasion, my mom's birthday, so I decided to let myself indulge a little.
Ok, a LOT.
But at least I didn't go as overboard as I could have... and made sure to have a nutritious breakfast and lunch to attempt balance everything out.

After my Kinesiology class (which was AWESOME today; we're learning about stress and did some relaxation techniques at the end of class... nice!) I headed into town, where I stopped at my favorite Middle Eastern deli in SK, Pick Pockets, for some vegetarian chili! I LOVE their vegetarian chili; a small is a GREAT side and a medium fills me up as a full meal; maybe theres a lot of fat in it from oils, but I know they use a lot of olive oil (aka healthy fats) and everything else in it is good; it's all tomatoes, tomato based broth, with carrots, peppers, celery and lots of beans! I had a small (about a cup) along with a GIANT garden salad; which I drizzled with some balsamic vinegar (just a tad- maybe a Tbsp?) and only ended up finishing half of- I figure I'll eat the rest with dinner tomorrow!





I'm not sure the calorie count of this lunch; it was a lot of veggies, but there were definately oils involved so I'm going to guess around 450 kcal. (50 for salad, 100 for dressing, 300 for soup... just ballpark)

After my lunch, I was nice and full so I went to Belmont's (a nice little market in my town with GREAT produce and a nice organic section) to grab a pretty bouquet of flowers for my mom, and noticed they had Fage 0% tubs! Yay! It's almost $1 more here than other stores, unfortunately, but I haven't been able to get it recently... so I was excited for my find, so I splurged! Plus, getting the big tub is cheaper than buying the individuals!
So I grabbed one of those, my flowers and my sister, and we went and surprised my mom at the end of her work day!
She was very surprised, so I hope we made her day!

We stopped at Starbucks beforehand to grab my mom a latte; I had a tall skinny caramel latte (90 kcal) for a snack.
When we got home the splurging began!
I had a small brownie my mom baked for the kids at school today:



(About 100 kcal treat)

and then we went to dinner at The Mews!
We started by sharing a delicious, but very rich appetizer... stuffed mushrooms, my favorite!
I had one, it was STUFFED with crabmeat stuffing, and covered in yummy melty cheese. Mmm...





My dinner wasn't the best choice I could have made... but I LOVE the calzones from here, so I had to go for my favorite!
I ordered the "Bandit" calzone, and pretty much finished all of it aside from the crust (Ali nibbled on it). They make the calzones out of their homemade pizza dough and bake it in the brick oven, so it's a tiny bit healthier than your run of the mill variety, and it has a much thinner, crispier, tastier crust than any other I've tried! The bandit is FILLED with my favorites; broccoli, artichokes, cheese and gardenburger crumbles!! Yum! I dipped the whole big calzone in their amazing homemade marinara sauce, sooo delicious!
The good thing was I felt full after, but not like I overstuffed myself.



This dinner was a LOT of calories; a lot of full fat cheese, so a lot of saturated fat... a splurge for sure.

The overstuffing came after!
I bought my mom a special dessert; one of her favorites: cheesecake!
Only the best for Mom, of course, so I got her the best in the state- Gregg's cheesecake!
We got the "pinwheel" variety so she had a choice; it's amazingly creamy, totally sinful cheesecake coverered in sections of blueberry, pineapple and cherry. I love cherry the best; but I ALWAYS have cherry. SO this time I tried something new! I went for a piece of 1/2 blueberry, 1/2 pineapple. It wasn't a small slice at all, but it was good, let me tell you, and worth every bite!

The cake:



My piece:



Now I'm full for now, and ready to finish my Organic Chem notes before my long day tomorrow!

Weird Weather!

Well, this sure is some weird weather we're having in January today!
It's actually 50 degrees out, can you believe it? BUT it is soooo rainy and windy!
It started to DOWNPOUR while I was running on the track at the gym. I tried to ignore it, but the rain was hitting the windows so hard it was difficult not to think about the fact that I was going to have to venture out into it soon!
I had a great run though; I ran 6 miles at a pretty good pace- it took me 45 minutes exactly, which is good for not being in training per se.

Before I ran I repeated the good pre-run snack I tried on Monday; 1/2 a mini wheat bagel with 1/2 Tbsp PB and 1 tsp raspberry jam. Afterwards, I grabbed 1 cup 1% cottage cheese, a nectarine and the other half of the bagel/PB/jam combo.



Total breakfast calories: ~560 kcal

Not looking forward to heading out into the rain, but luccily I only have 1 class, so I can head out as soon as class is over to do a couple errands before going out to dinner tonight for mom's birthday!

If you're reading this mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! See you later tonight, have a great day at the preschool =)

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Hard work

I did some major work this afternoon!
Lots of pricing, etc... but it definately made the time go by faster!
I'm exhausted now though, so I don't want to do all the dishes and reading I know I have to... but I suppose I must. (I hate this whole being grown up thing! haha)

In the afternoon I snacked on an apple and an organic cheese stick to hold me until dinner.



Snack calories: ~180 kcal, 5 g fat

For dinner, I packed myself a Vegan Boca Burger along with 1 1/2 cups seasoned vegetables mixed with 1 cup brussels sprouts. This was a light dinner; only about 300 kcal, 8 g fat




Because of my light work dinner, I was STARVING when I came home... so I allowed myself to have a few graham sticks (1/2 a serving, 7) with my yogurt for a late night snack. It hit the spot, and now I'm ready to do some reading and dishes!



Snack calories: ~180 kcal, 2 g fat


Today was a pretty light day. Total calories only came to ~1465. THATS why I was so hungry!
Thats alright though, tomorrow's my mom's birthday so I KNOW I will be splurging substantially... out to dinner at a PUB (The Mews Tavern... sooo good!), dessert, etc. I'll have to get a nice long run in tomorrow morning!

Packed lunch

This morning's breakfast experiment wasn't as successful as I had planned; maybe I need a few more nuts or some PB to keep me more full... I got hungry towards the end of class, but had some water to hold me over until I ate at 11:30.

My packed lunch worked out PERFECT!
It was easy, delicious, and best of all- there was no one around so I could eat in peace AND take a quick pic of it before chowing down!
Plus, it is stil holding me... I'll probably be hungry in a bit and have a snack before work, but i'm good for now!

I packed a mini whole wheat pita (80 kcal) stuffed with some spinach, cucumber, and 2 tbsp tabbouleh, 2 tbsp hummus along with some carrots and a sliced pear on the side. (I love my fruit slicer!)

Pita close-up:


Full lunch:




Total lunch calories: ~350 kcal

Quick oats

This morning I got up early, had 1/2 a large banana and headed for a short (35 minute) run before I got ready.

Last Thursday my small breakfast did NOT last me through until lunch, so today I decided to try a new approach: Oats!
I LOVE oats for their tastiness, versatility, nutrition and especially STAYING POWER!
I normally prefer the texture of regular oats as opposed to "quick" oats, but for time's sake I bought a big box of Quaker 1 minute oats for the dorm... they took 4 minutes to plump up in the microwave anyways, so I'm glad I bought the quick kind!
I prepared 1/2 cup quick oats with 1 cup low fat soy milk (together 210 kcal, 5 g fat) and added 10 g walnuts, 1 mini box of raisins and the other half of my banana.

Pre-mixed:


All mixed together:



Total breakfast calories (whole banana included): ~455 kcal

Monday, January 28, 2008

Crazy day!

Today was a bit crazy, better after breakfast of course...
I ran from class to class, caught myself before I almost went to the wrong building for class! Whoops! Glad I looked at my schedule, can't miss the 1st day! =)
Exciting news about my new cottage cheese/fruit/pb&j bagel... it lasted me a whole 3 hours and I wasn't even STARVING when I began to get hungry! Awesome! I like finding filling meals =)
For a quick lunch I trekked up to the Union to grab a salad, which I piled with veggies, a few olives, about 3/4 cup edamame (which I ate about 1/2 cup of) and some balsamic vinegar. With this I had the large apple I packed.



Lunch calories: ~250 kcal, 5 g fat
This was a very small lunch- almost a snack, so of course I was hungry a couple hours later.
In between classes, I snacked on a banana oat bran KIND bar... I LOVE these bars! So tasty, and held me through my nutrition class... almost 3 hours, awesome for a bar!



Snack calories: 170 kcal, 7 g fat

When I got out of my late class a little while ago I made myself a quick dinner in the dorm of some of my fave new soup- Pacific Organic Creamy Tomato (1 cup, 100 kcal 2 g fat), with 10 Kashi Honey Sesame Crackers and 1 1/2 cups broccolli/cauliflower mix I steamed in the microwave.



Dinner calories: ~300 kcal, 5 g fat

Now I'm about to head over to Hope's Rhody Market to grab some tea and meet up with Carolyn to do some more studying for chem before tomorrow! Sooo much studying, I hope it helps me understand better!

EDIT:
I had a Yoplait nonfat yogurt for a snack at 10pm
Good night!




(Snack calories: 100 kcal)

Ahh, annoying morning...

Ever have one of those mornings where EVERYTHING annoys you, for no particular reason? Well, thats me today.
I woke up, all ready to venture out into the cold, got ready... headed to the gym. Good so far. While I was running, however... SOOO many people kept getting in my way. Runners, walkers, creepy guys watching from the sidelines... I know it's a public place so I probably shouldn't be complaining that much... but I was a bit p.o.ed... so when I got back the dorm and couldn't get ready in the light because of sleeping roommates/guests I just got MORE annoyed... Luccily, since then I have come to my senses and calmed down a bit...
Before I ran I ate 1/2 a whole wheat mini bagel with 1/2 tbsp peanut butter and 1 tsp jam.
It was an experiment to see how it held me during my run, and it turned out GREAT! I had a lot of energy, especially towards the end of my run, despite my crowding situation.
I ran for 40 minutes, walked for a few then headed back to shower.
For breakfast, I ate the other half of my mini bagel with the other 1/2 tbsp PB, and another tsp jam. I also had 1 cup 1% cottage cheese (friendship, my favorite!) and a medium sized nectarine.



Total breakfast calories (both halves of mini bagel included) ~520 kcal

I've packed some snacks for today... an apple to have with lunch (I think I'm grabbing a quick salad from the ram's den) and a KIND bar to have in between my later classes. We'll see how well that holds me until dinner when I get done with class at 7!
Sooo late...

It's a chilly morning, so I better get bundled up...
I still have a bit of time; hopefully enough to get some more studying done before Kinesiology!
Wish me luck with my first Monday of 2nd semester...

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Full day

Today was a pretty full day! Nonstop for the most part, but successful!
Figuring out tomorrow is going to be another story...
It just snowed, so hopefully it won't be too icy when I trek down to the gym to run tomorrow morning... then I have a class at 12, a short period of time to trek across campus AND grab a quick lunch, class at 2, and then class at 4-6:45.
It will be BUSY... figuring out food is def. going to be a challenge, but I'll do my best to be as healthy as possible!

Today I had my first "hot yoga" class with mom... WOW, it worked me hard! I'm sure I'll feel it in the morning, but that is not a bad thing! It was a great class.
Afterwards, I showered and was VERY hungry... must have burned a whole lot of calories!

So, my Mom and I re-feuled at my fave bagel shop, Bagelz. I was a bit bad, I went with the "everything" bagel (not whole grain) but it was delicious! I had a "veggie" bagel sandwich, which was loaded with all sorts of veggies (lettuce, tomato, pepper, onion, etc), honey mustard and provolone cheese. It was a pretty big bagel, so I'm going to estimate at about 400 kcals, maybe a bit less, with 100 kcals for the veggies/mustard and 100 more for the cheese. I also had a pickle on the side, and a propel fitness water (after working out is the only time I'll drink these).



I did some grocery shopping for the week, only needed a bit to stock up- picked up some bananas, apples, red pears, and I was happy to see- nectarines! I also grabbed a cucumber for my hummus, some yogurts and a couple of kind bars for snacks.

After shopping for groceries we stopped at Starbucks, where I got the rest of my reading done for Kinesiology (the chapter was on stress! haha) and grabbed a grande vanilla "skinny" latte (150 kcal) for my snack, and headed to work.

I only had a short time for dinner at work, so I had a big packet of lemon pepper tuna (5 oz, 150 kcal) with a baggie of baby carrots (10, 50 kcal) and a cup of brussels sprouts (50 kcal). This was obviously not a substantial dinner, but it held me over, and I had a snack when I got home- a big pear!



Mmm, the power of preparation...

I just made the most amazing swiss oats for breakfast this morning... Yum!
I prepared them last night just before bed, and when I got up this morning I just added a Fage 0%, a large banana and a tsp of honey and they were DELICIOUS! Perfect! =)
It was a BIG breakfast, but hopefully that means it will fill me through hot yoga, up until I go out to lunch with Mom.
I think we might be going to my favorite Bagel place... Bagelz!
I love their bagel sandwiches. HUGE, but I'll need the energy for work tonight!

Breakfast calories were a whole bunch today; 150 for the oats, 130 for the banana, 20 for the honey, 100 for cherries, 65 for nuts, 20 for milk, 80 for the yogurt. Altogether this comes to ~565 kcals.

Making them (last night):



Before chowing down:



Off to do dishes and then HOT YOGA with mom!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

27 dresses

So I just spent my evening at the movies, seeing the new "27 Dresses" (Starring the lovely Katherine Heigl... love her!) with my mom. Some college kids might think of this as a "boring" or "dull" way to spend a saturday night. I could be out PARTYING or "getting shitty"! Yea, nope. I actually had a really nice time. =)
The movie was cute- DEFINATELY a chick flick, but you need those every once in a while, I think.
Plus, I like hanging out with my mom! She's a pretty cool lady, we have fun! Maybe I "shouldn't" have fun hanging out with my mom, but i do, shoot me. I think I got over the rebellious "hate my mom" phase junior year of high school. Got pretty old, and you get treated to the movies when you don't hate your mom =)
Well, I think Miss Debbi got herself a nice enough section in my blog for tonight, onto the food!

This afternoon I took a break from my chem work (33 problems... 4 sections each...ahhhhh!)
To grab a quick afternoon snack, 10 big carrot sticks and 2 tbsp hummus... ~100 kcal, and totally held me over until dinner! Awesome, the power of chickpeas!



For dinner before we left, I headed to the dining hall... curious and ready to experiment! Ok, nothing too crazy. I just noticed they had "Barilla Multigrain Pasta w/ Marinara" on the menu, as both a healthy and vegetarian choice. I figured why not give it a try?
Well, I wasn't disappointed per say, but it wasn't as good as I could have made it! I ended up grabbing WAY too much pasta... probably 2 1/2 cups worth... and only ended up eating about 3/4 of my bowl. I sprinkled some parmesean cheese on the top of this (about a teaspoon) and then had a BIG cup of spinach on the side!
Skipped dessert... I was really good tonight- I was full when I got to the movies, so no snacks for me!
I did pick my mom and I up my new fave sodas to have as a treat though (Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Chocolate!) and that was good for me!

No pics of dinner, I was planning on sneaking a few shots but I got invited to eat with some friends, so that was much better than eating alone with my camera! hehe
Dinner was a bunch of pasta, but whole grain so not too bad... I'll say about 400 calories for the big portion, with 100 for sauce, 30 for parmesean and 70 for the big cup of spinach... 600 kcal for my big dinner.

When I came home I was hungry, so I grabbed myself one of the "Wallaby" yogurts I had in the fridge... this time I went with "Bartlett Pear". These yogurts are interesting in flavor, but a little bit too liquidy for my taste. I think I'll only buy them on occasion then... when I'm looking for a new flavor every now and then. I like splurging on my Fage, anyways!
I'm always looking to try new yogurts, though... any suggestions for good organic yogurts/flavors??
Come on, I've got to have SOME readers!

With my yogurt, I finished the rest of the blueberries I had in the fridge... they were good for today, but they were DEFINATELY on their way out, almost shriveling, so I'm glad I ate 'em up. There was about 1/2 cup worth left, maybe a bit more but who's counting fruit?

Now that I'm back at the room, I think I'm going to relax a bit, maybe read some food blogs, get my oats ready for the morning (I'll need fuel for my hot yoga class!) and then settle in to bed for an early Saturday night. Next weekend will be more exciting for sure, but I like starting the semester off relaxed!



This snack was ~170 kcal.

Total calories for the day... ~1820 kcals (right where I should be to gain)

Brunch

I had a very nice "brunch" with Tyler; it was more "lunch" time for me, but I had a yummy breakfast!
I went with an egg white omelet, and asked for ALL the veggies- no meat (obviously) or cheese. It was yummy and the perfect size, probably 2-4 whites with tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and peppers.
I also had about a cup of green grapes and 6 fresh strawberrries. Yum!
I'm sure I'll be hungry for a snack in a bit, but right now I am ready to get to work on some chemistry for the afternoon!
Wish me luck!

Not sure what I'm doing tonight now... movies maybe??
Any suggestions?

Breakfast at home

This morning, I wanted a substantial breakfast to last me through my workout and until brunch this afternoon.
I went with a defrosted whole wheat mini bagel square topped with 1 tbsp natural peanut butter, 1/2 tbsp jam. On the side I had 1/2 my grapefruit from the other day, as well as 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese.
Altogether, this breakfast was about 500 kcal, 13 g fat.



Now I'm going to workout, and then head back to campus!

Disaster doesn't even begin to describe... 1/25/08

Well, yesterday was stressful.
I don't think I've flipped out that much in a very long time.

I had a seriously complicated lunch situation, to start off my afternoon.
Everyone must have mid-afternoon classes on Fridays, because by the time I made it to the dining hall around 1 after my Kinesiology class the lunch line was out the door! I sighed, considered my options- I could have eaten my dinner then, and grabbed a salad from belmont later... but then I would be paying an absurd amount of money for a mediocre salad that might not even fill me. Moneys tight,so I decided against that option. I waited in line for a bit, and realized I was so hungry I was shaking...I NEVER let that happen. So, I popped into the corner store (I can use my "dining dollars" on my meal plan there) to assess their options... not much for vegetarians, mostly snacks. BUT I spotted their section with Amy's organic meals... I love Amy's organic products, so I grabbed an organic burrito, quickly scanned the ingrediants and decided that would be a good quick option for a pretty healthy lunch. 300 calories, 9 g fat (a bit much, but only 2 of which were saturated), whole grain wrap, rice, beans, cheese, peppers. Plus a good amount of protein- 11 g. I purchased this and an apple, and just as I was happily munching on my quick grab (it was delicious), I realized the line had subsided... there was NO ONE LEFT! I decided to take a quick visit to the salad bar for a nice big salad of veggies with balsamic vinegar for a side; and save my apple for later. It was actually a really nice change for a meal, at least I knew what I was putting in my body (unlike most of the dining hall options...). I don't usually like microwave meals on a regular basis, but on an occasion they're a good quick fix- I like Amy's Organic, Kashi meals, and Seeds of Change. This was a good "emergency" choice!
Unfortunately, my balance system told me with all those grains in the morning and at lunch I should probably skip them at dinner... so I didn't have my mini pita with dinner, but I replaced it with fruit so it was fine!





Total lunch calories were about 400.

After lunch, I made the windy trip to my car after lunch, and headed to Starbucks to study before work.
After an hour of reading my chemistry (ahhh IUPAC nomenclature!) I munched on my apple and had a tall "skinny" cinnamon dolce latte (Only 90 kcal!) Snack calories were about 190; I went to work for 4.

At work, I began to get REALLY nervous about how cold it was inside AND out... so I wasn't feeling well the entire night.
I ate my whole dinner; 2 cups of mixed veggies with some fresh spinach wilted in, A vegan burger and a large red anjou pear. (Total dinner calories ~350 kcal)



This held me over a few hours, but I was hungry on the way home.
Getting home was when disaster struck.
I had a LOT of bags... 4 in total, plus I was attempting to juggle my cellphone/clutch so I had my ID out... and they were HEAVY. Plus, I had gifts I didn't want to break in one.
So, I was NOT in the mood or the condition to walk all the way back to my dorm (about .5 mile walk) in teen-degree weather.
So, nervous, cold and shaking, I waited at the bus stop for the campus shuttle.
I was early- by a few minutes, so I waited. And waited. Time passed. I was freezing, and starting to get seriously upset. 12 minutes passed, and I called my mom... freaking out. THE BUS NEVER CAME!
Needless to say, I was hysterical because I was ALREADY nervous and upset when I got to the bus stop... plus the cold and the weight of all my bags walking back...
Ok,I realize I'm rambling and complaining.
But to me, the cold is the WORST. I'm a wimp, and not afraid to admit it.
I was so upset, my mom got worried, and actually came to campus.
I felt bad she came to "save me"... but at the same time I was very glad.
I needed to get AWAY.
So, now I'm here- back at home. I had a good night's sleep last night, now I'm going to use the family treadmill for a run, work on some strength as planned, and head back to campus for brunch with Tyler.

Hopefully today will be better than yesterday; I'm staying on campus to do some studying, maybe going out later... and then Sunday I have a hot yoga class planned with mom in the morning, then I work at night so I guess I'll have to figure out THAT when the time comes.

I know this was a long post; I'll post pics when I get back to my room, and my next post will be my breakfast post!

Edit: Whoops! I forgot to blog my late-night snack. I had an "apple turnover" nonfat yogurt (6 oz, 100 kcals) and a small warmed chocolate chip cookie with my tea. Helped warm up my body and was just what I needed after all that stress! Sometimes a small treat just does the trick... as long as you don't go overboard, I think that it is just fine! =)

Friday, January 25, 2008

Another nice morning

Woke up, had half a clif bar (I REALLY like these for energy for my morning runs... they work very well! BUT today it made my stomach feel a bit weird... not sure why. I'm going to experiment with a few different pre-workout snacks and see what works best for me and my tummy!)
and trekked down to the gym in 17 degree weather! Ahhh it was soo cold. But worth it; I got a great 40 minute run in, on the indoor track. I was considering hopping on a machine, but the small room was packed and I figured I would get a bit claustrophobic. Not trying to make excuses; I already have tomorrow set for a quick run, some machine and some STRENGTH which I am long overdue for!
Then, on Sunday I'm trying "Hot Yoga" with my Mom. Should be an experiance!

I've gotta say, I'm loving these wednesdays and fridays. I came home from the gym, showered, had a nice big breakfast and now I'm ready to get a bit of work done, and my stuff set for the day before my class at 12! I still have an hour before I have to REALLY get ready... nice!
I DO have a lot of chem to work on, but I'm leaving campus right after lunch for a Starbucks trip to get some studying in before the weekend/work.
No plans yet this weekend, we'll see what happens!

For breakfast, I was craving cereal again...I went with 1 1/2 cups Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Flax with 1 cup low-fat soy milk and a big banana. Altogether this was about 500 calories, 9 g fat.
Plus the 1/2 clif bar, makes a big 620 kcal breakfast... needed for fuel though, I'll have a more moderate dinner at work tonight, so it should all even out.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Night in

Crazy day out, so I decided to spend the night in the dorm...
I'm really not a fan of dining hall dinners anyway, so I made myself a nice little meal with stuff I had in the dorm!

I had a gardenburger veggie burger (orgininal, 100 kcal, 3.5 g fat) on a whole wheat mini bagel (love these, perfect size!- 120 kcal, 1 g fat) with 1 slice reduced fat provolone (50 kcal, 3.5 g fat), some spinach leaves (10 kcal) and a bit of ketchup and djon mustard (15 kcal) VERY delicious!

On the side, I had a serving of baby carrots (not pictured, I munched while cooking my burger!, 40 kcal) and 1 cup pacific organic tomato soup (only 100 kcal, 2 g fat). I LOVE this soup, it's sooo yummy, and is a great low-cal source of veggies/dairy!





Total meal calories: ~450 kcal
This meal filled me for a good few hours, and I just snacked on a big apple (I sliced it using my awesome apple corer) sprinkled with cinnamon after doing my homework/dishes.



I've still got a bit of organizing/reading to do... I have the whole weekend for what's left but I want a head start so maybe I can make some plans this weekend!

On a side school-note: I just talked to my friend Carolyn, and thankfully (she's amazing) we're going to attempt to work together, with the other chem professor, to get through this class... Hopefully with a bit of extra help and a study buddy it won't be so bad!
I hope...

Good night for now =)

Whew... good to be back.

I have never been so happy to be back in my dorm, alone, to relax... just for a bit.
I have a LOT of work to do.

If today is any indication of how my Thursdays are going to be for the rest of the semester, I should officially declare thursdays "sleep day" and just not even go to class.
No, that would be bad. I'll go to class... but seriously, today was probably the most boring day of classes I have ever been to.
I got up early, ate 1/2 a banana for energy and went for a quick run, about 30 minutes, before getting ready and eating my breakfast.

I experimented with the satiating ability of greek yogurt +berries+almonds... it sure was yummy (1 0% fage, 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/4 cup almonds for 300 kcal) plus the other 1/2 of my banana (total ~120 kcal, big banana) and filling, but not for long.
I was very hungry by the time I went for lunch at 11... of course I was early getting there so I had to wait...




For lunch I devoured my favorite wrap from International Pockets... the baked falafel! It had hot sauce, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, banana peppers, tabbouleh, hummus, tahini, yogurt sauce, and some feta (plus the falafel) but I had the guy only use a bit (probably 2 tbsp) of each of the sauces and just a sprinkling of feta, so it wouldn't be overboard. It was so.freaking.good. I ended up taking off 1/2 the wrap (there were two layers) because I didn't need all the refined carbs (it's a white wrap... I should see if I can order it on whole wheat, I know they have them!) But I finished every last bite!
This is a hefty sandwich, HUGE as you can see, but it kept me full through my horribly boring chemistry class. A good amount of calories here... probably upwards of 700, but I need my fuel on Thursdays... I do a good bit of walking!





Chemistry is going to be horrible, I can already tell. The professor is awful, doesn't explain anything, speaks unclearly, his notes don't make sense and he doesn't even keep them up long enough to copy. Basically, I figure I'll be teaching myself.
The lab wasn't much better, but hopefully it will clarify some of the confusing points in class. My T.A. is nice, but he talks- a lot. Sooo... my safety lab, that took about 30 minutes last semester took two hours this semester. I'm predicting a longgggg Thursday from now on. =(
I guess I'll just have to stay on my toes! I'm VERY nervous about organic chem, it is NOT my strong point, but I'm planning on working hard at it... my goal is to get a solid grade, not just squeek by... this is a challenge, I know.

My only other problem for today was my lunch held me through chem... but I got RAVENOUS in the middle of chem lab! I had packed an apple in case I wanted it, but I wasn't feeling too hungry in between classes so I figured I'd be fine. Nope! Definately have to plan ahead next time and bring a snack to hold me over.

Right now I'm taking a break from the madness to have a nice big mug of sweet cinnamon spice tea to recover... from the day and the cold (it was snowing when I walked back!) then I'm in for a full night of studying, dishes... fun stuff! hehe

Time for an early dinner, like I said... I'm hungry!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Calm & Collected... for now.

I'm having a bit of trouble uploading pictures...
I've been attempting them, I promise! They're just sidekick photos, but they're a bit of a picture of what I'm eating =)

I had a late lunch, so I wasn't planning on a snack in the afternoon; but I got super hungry around 3:30/3:45, so I grabbed 6 apricots (1.5 oz, 100 kcals) to hold me until dinner with Danielle and Tyler at 5:15!

I had a great dinner! The company was the best part; I haven't seen Tyler in over a month, so it was great to catch up! And I haven't seen Miss Tira in a few days as well, so it's always good to see her =)

Dinner was yummy, and I tried to make it pretty healthy. I had 1 piece of lemon-pepper fish, which was lightly breaded, drizzled with some fresh lemon. I want to say this was probably only a 3-4 oz piece, because it was large but very thin. Maybe 200 kcals for this in total?
Along with this I grabbed a baked sweet potato, which was HUGE so I only ate half- about another 200 kcals. I also had about
.75 to 1 cup of "canton stir fry vegetables"... which I believe were fried in oil... but they were a "healthy" option... maybe 200 kcals, because it was veggies.
I'm estimating this dinner to be about 600 kcals. Not too bad, for dining hall food... and pretty balanced!
I didn't feel so full afterwards though, I always eat too little when I eat dinner at the hall, for fear of unknown fat and calories... not good! I'm definately going to have to save dining hall eating for special occasions.

After dinner, I got a special ride to Yoga from my AMAZING mother... Seriously, I don't know how to explain how awesome she's been. She knows I get nervous walking in the dark, and she agreed to bring me to Yoga tonight, and she even waited for me when the class went 15 minutes over! I can't thank her enough, the tea I brought her tonight just will not suffice. I guess I've gotta get her a damn good present for her birthday next wednesday =)

Needless to say, yoga was incredible- as always. I absolutely love Kundalini with Margaret... she's amazing, and I felt like I got both a really good workout, and a great relaxation... all in 90 minutes.
I can't wait to go again in 2 weeks! (Mom's birthday is next Wednesday, so I'll be stuffing my face at The Mews during class! hehe)

I came home, snacked on a Wallaby Yogurt- Pineapple coconut (sorry, yoga makes me ravenous... no picture here!) for 130 kcal, and now I'm going to settle down to bed... I've got a busy busy day tomorrow!

Early run, breakfast, Class 9:30-10:45, lunch afterwards, and then Chem 12:30-1:45, Chem lab 2-4:45... 4 hours of chemistry in a row! Yikes! How will I make it?? haha

Goodnight...


(Total days calories... totally estimated ~1925 kcal... A lot for someone my size, but I am en route to gaining a few pounds so I'm in a good range. (Goal for this month/next month... until I gain 5lbs is between 1800 and 2200 calories per day. Usually it's between 1600 and 1700.)

Light and filling lunch

So I survived my first Kinesiology class! It only took me about 8 minutes to get there, a lot less time than I had planned... so, like a nerd, I was the first one to class... almost 20 minutes early! hehe
Oh, well- I text messaged my mom and waited for everyone else to arrive.
It seems like it's going to be a really good class. The professor is great, she's really friendly and seems genuinely interested in teaching Kinesiology! The work doesn't look hard at all; it's all basic health concepts. I'm a little nervous about the 3 group presentations we have to do- but I guess as long as I prepare well for them I should be fine. Plus, we only have 3 exams and 4 quizzes the entire course. Not too bad!

After class, I walked to Hope (the dining hall) to grab a late lunch. My favorite part of Hope is their great salad bar... sooo many selections, it's hard to choose! Most of it's healthy too, I just try to steer clear of creamy dressings and mayonaise filled sides (such as the coleslaw they had out today... yuck)
I started with mixed spring greens, and loaded on the veggies: grape tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots... I also topped it with about 1/2 cup kidney beans and between 1.5 and 2 oz of feta cheese (estimated) for some protein. I know this was "real" feta... so I'm glad i only grabbed a little, but I decided to just top my salad with some balsamic vinegar instead of dressing to reduce the fat there; so it should even out.
I also had the BIGGEST BANANA I have ever seen in my life... seriously, it had to be 12 inches long. I'm talking a BIG banana. Nice and ripe, very yummy!
Altogether, I'm guessing the veggies were about 150 kcal, the vinegar 10 kcal, beans 100 kcal, and cheese another 150 kcal. The banana was huge; I'm figuring 130 kcal.
Total lunch calories: ~540 kcal

This was a big lunch for a salad; but filling, hopefully it will hold me the afternoon... I'm having dinner at 5 with Danielle before yoga!


I DID manage a picture of this meal!
Not very clear, because I figured whipping out a camera in the middle of the dining hall would be a bit awkward... so I discretely used my cell phone and got a quick shot.
It hasn't sent to my email yet though, I'll post it as soon as I recieve it! =)

Oh, and I wanted to show you guys this: I normally try to only have soda in small amounts a few times a week or less (only diet)... but I could not resist this when I found it... Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Chocolate! Sooo yummy,it really did taste like cherry chocolate! Nice for a once-in-a-while sweet treat to keep your mouth/tummy satisfied between meals... thats what I used it for!

Relaxing morning

Let me tell you, if every one of my Wednesday mornings are THIS relaxing, it is not going to be hard to get used to!
I woke up at 7:30, drank some water and took my vitamins, and snacked on 1/2 clif bar (~110 kcal, 3 g fat) before heading to the gym at 8 for a nice run. I ran around the track for 40 minutes, and then walked one lap (1/6 mile) and used my walk back as a cooldown. It was a great workout! I usually like to include some sort of an incline to my runs, but the track is MUCH better than the boring treadmill, and the walk down to Mackall field house is only 3 minutes (I timed it!) so even in the cold it's not too much of a trek.
I figure on days I'm not doing yoga I'll probably hop on either the ellipical or the bike as well, to mix up my cardio, or maybe some weights as well. I like this morning workout idea!

When I came back, I showered and am pretty much ready for the day... even though I still don't have class for another hour and a half! It's a bit of a hike across campus though (brrr...) so I'll leave early.
For breakfast I went with a college staple- no, not ramen, cereal!
I had 1 1/2 cups of Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Flax (my new fave! It has a good amount of calories and fat, but it's all HEALTHY... completely whole grain, the almond and the flax add healthy fats, and the honey makes it sweet! Plus, it has 9 grams of protein!) ~300 kcal, 7 g fat
I had this with 1 cup Low-fat VitaSoy (60 kcal, 2 g fat) and a yummy red anjou pear. (85 kcal)



My whole breakfast, clif bar included, was ~555 kcal, 12 g fat
A lot, but it will keep me going for the morning I hope!

I also tried something new today- Folgers Coffee Singles. I have never tried "instant" coffee before, and I must admit, as a coffee lover I was a bit skeptical. This stuff wasn't too bad though! It's good for cool mornings when I want my warm caffeine fix without having to walk across campus in the opposite direction to get it! I did brew it for much longer than it said to though; I like my coffee STRONG! =)

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Busy Busy!

Well, today was definately the busiest out of all of my vacation days. Moving back in!
I spent the day moving, shopping, unpacking, moving more... I even managed a short run in the morning (35 minutes) and I worked 5 hours at night!

Unfortuately, it's already about midnight and I had planned to go to bed at 11 to get up early and run.
Oh, well... I'm still going to hit the gym!

Today I only took photos of breakfast, (I was running around like CRAZY!) I'm super-exhausted right now so I'll have to post them asap... but heres a quick run-down of my food for the day...

Breakfast- I made my mom and I my favorite Old-fashioned stove oats with Banana, walnuts and peanut butter- About 470 calories.




Lunch- I grabbed a quick yummy lunch of one GardenBurger Meatless Riblet, 2 cups of warm broccolli and an apple.
I LOVE these things- filling, tons of protein, and only 4.5 grams of fat, none saturated! Awesome for a meatless product. A bit more sugar than I would like... probably because of the BBQ sauce, but very tasty!
(Lunch: ~400 kcal)

While unpacking I snacked on 1/2 cup whipped cottage cheese with about 1/3 cup blackberries. (Snack: ~140 kcal)

For dinner at work, I had just over 2 cups of lentil soup (Progresso 99% fat free low sodium) with a serving (15) of kashi 7 grain crackers and 1/4 a bell pepper, sliced. (Dinner: ~525 kcal)
This didn't fill me too long though.... I was VERY hungry by the time I got home from work!
I snacked on 1/2 cup Fage 0% greek yogurt with 2 tbsp POM seeds. (Snack: ~80 kcal)

Total calories for my crazy day: ~1615 kcals

Monday, January 21, 2008

International!

I traveled around the world with my meals today!

Lunch was absolutely fantastic, I'm SO glad we stopped at Kabob & Curry!
I was very hungry when I got there (no whole grains at breakfast, protein only holds me so long...) so I ended up finishing my ENTIRE wrap! It was very delicious though, and not too big so I thought it was fine. Plus, the ingrediants were healthy!
I ordered the chickpea & portabella mushroom wrap, which was a spinach wrap that had some cheese, peppers, onions, lettuce and tomato in it as well. The chickpeas and mushrooms were in a very yummy, spicy sauce, which didn't seem too fatty, but you never know. It was served with a minty yogurt-cucumber sauce on the side, which I only drizzled a bit on the top of each half of the wrap before I devoured them! You don't need a lot for that zing!



It's hard to estimate this meal because I'm not sure how much cheese was in their or the contents of the sauce, and the size of the wrap. I want to say about 200 for the wrap, 100 for the veggies, 200 for the cheese, 100 for the chickpeas and maybe another 150 for the sauce. That makes it a hefty 750 kcal- so I might be overestimating, maybe not.

My mom and sister seemed to enjoy their meals as well, they both ordered the mango chicken which looked (and smelled) fantastic!

On the way home from shopping we grabbed tea at Tealuxe- I had butterscotch caramel (yum!) and I snacked on an apple in the car.

We made a couple more stops before we got home, so I was starving for dinner. Luccily, I chose a pretty simple recipe- Otsu by Heidi Swanson, which is Soba noodles with tofu in a sesame ginger sauce, with some stir fry veggies on the side.
I stir fried the veggies in a bit of olive oil spray and let them simmer in low sodium vegetable broth for some taste.

I knew 2 oz of pasta wouldn't cut it for dinner tonight, so I had 2.5 ounces of soba noodles (japanese buckwheat noodles) with 3.5 tablespoons of the sauce (which contained some lemon/zest, ginger, cayenne pepper, olive and sesame oils, rice vinegar and soy sauce), 3 oz of tofu, along with about 3/4 cup of the noodles.



Dinner calories: ~600 kcal
It was a good light meal for yoga (which was great tonight, I'm sad I won't be able to go Mondays any more because of classes), but I was pretty hungry after!
Sooo I made my fam a nice yummy dessert of baked pears (baked with 1 tsp brown sugar and a bunch of cinnamon) and 1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt.



Dessert calories: ~200 kcal

Total calories for the day were about 2,015. Woah! Thats a whole bunch, but it's good for me.
I know I need to up my calories even more to gain weight... but I'm at such a good balance it's so hard to send that off-kilter, on purpose nonetheless! But what has to be done has to be done. I know I need to be at a good BMI going into training for running in a couple months, so I'll be eating more this semester, not feeling guilty (it WILL be healthy stuff for the most part!) and gaining some healthy weight, then going back to my equilibrium.