Exams are upon us

The end of the week is nearing quickly; and I’m getting nervous for impending exams!
Yesterday afternoon I grabbed an apple from the coffee cart at the library because I got hungry before snack time, and then I had my greens bar (scroll down for review!) before class.

It held me throughout class, until I got home and made dinner.
I based dinner off of a favorite recipe from Cooking Light- cavatappi with asiago, white beans and spinach, but substituted linguine for the pasta, peas and broccoli for the green veggie, (I sure did get my greens in yesterday!) and added some grilled chicken for some extra protein.

I actually went back for a little more, because this plate didn’t fill me!
For dessert, I had a small square of Italian chocolate.

This morning, I decided to wake up early and go for a run around Nick’s neighborhood. He lives right near a state beach, so I decided to head along the beach and see where I ended up. I ended up running all along the water, through Galilee, the port where the Block Island Ferry, and my uncle’s bay tour boat, The Southland docks, back up the beach, and around the neighborhood for a bit. It was an awesome run, and I kept a steady pace the entire time. I feel like I was meant to run moderate, steady long runs- sprint runs just stress me out. Half marathon, here I come!

Stats:
Time: 45:23
Miles: ??
Average heart rate: 167
Max heart rate: 201 (my actual estimated max hr!)
Calories: 337 (pretty darn decent for someone so small!)

Before my run, I had half this clif bar:

Awesome bar. Jenna was right, tastes just like a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie!

After running and showering, I made breakfast. I used up the last bit of Flaxplus granola, which I mixed with a 0% chobani cup and a sliced banana for a messy, but tasty combination.

My morning was spent at the Kinesiology building at school; in the exercise lab working on some skills for the practical, with my lab partner Jess. After today, I feel a lot better about the practical. Hopefully I'll remember everything!

We felt like we got a lot accomplished, and Jess had to go to work so we parted and I made my way to Bagelz (free WiFi!), where I am currently, to get some studying done. I grabbed an ice coffee with a bit of milk and sugar free coconut syrup as my chemical crap-treat of the day:


I brought a packed lunch with me today in an effort to save money; I still plan on grabbing breakfast for tomorrow here before I leave though ;)
For lunch, I packed a ham Sammie with 2 slices organic honey ham, a light laughing cow, spinach and spicy mustard on an Arnold’s sandwich thin. I packed a huge sliced carrot and some grapes on the side.

I also packed the other half of my clif bar from this morning, because I have no idea how long I’ll be here!

Alright, I’ve got to get crackin’ so I can be home in time to help the boy pack, and then his formal is later on tonight.

I’ll leave you guys with a review, have a great Thursday!

Review:
AmazingGrass Green Superfoods bar

At first bite, the first thing that popped into my mind was, this tastes, well…green..

And the color on the inside of the chocolatey exterior was similarly plant-hued. Being such an avid lover of all things green, I was surprised at my initial reaction. Me? The formal vegetarian? Who considers broccoli one of her top 10 foods? Turned off by the color green?

Knowing it was just so darn good for me, I decided to give it a second try. I took another bite. And another.

Suddenly, it dawned on me…. it was good! A distinct “greens” taste, yes, but the seeds scattered throughout made for a nice crunch, and the chocolate exterior made the plant filled bar seem almost decadent.

And the nutrition facts? Phenomenol, the say the least. Very energy dense; with 230 calories, but also nutrient dense which is the most important. Raw, Vegan, and packed with healthy fats, protein, vitamins, minerals and the works- there’s no denying this is good for you!

So the verdict? I’d eat it again! Not as a treat, that’s for sure- but as a nutritious snack? Definitely.

At last

The day has arrived! Wednesday this week is not serving as “hump day”… It’s Friday for me!
My last day of classes is here!

In fact, I only have ONE MORE class of my sophomore year! Then exams, and I’m done!

I’m so excited for the summer to begin, this semester has been a tough one!

Food-wise, I’ve liked mixing it up and trying some new things the last couple of days.
To start, the dinner I had last night, the Ethnic Gourmet Thai Lemongrass Basil Chicken, was FABULOUS! It was spicy, but not too spicy, incredibly flavorful, the chicken was moist and so was the rice.

Really, one of the best frozen dinners I’ve ever had. I love Ethnic Gourmet! I’ve only tried a few of their meals, but I’ve been satisfied with them all, so I’m excited to try more in the future!

When I got home I attempted to cut up a very ripe mango, but it was too squishy and unappealing to post the little bit I ate (maybe ½ cups worth?).

This morning, I started the day off with another bowl of cereal. I love a big bowl of cereal in the morning, while reading blogs to start my day! This morning was 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean with 1 cup low fat soy milk and a sliced banana. I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more bowls of cereal as it continues to get warmer!

I went to the gym in the morning; I’m still trying to stick with my M/W/F cardio/strength routine, and get into running the rest of the days of the week, hopefully starting tomorrow. I did my usual 35 minutes on the elliptical and 35 minutes doing upper body strength. I switched up the order of my routine a bit, which made it seem to go by a lot faster!

For lunch I packed another wheat wrap with delicious healthy fats- sweet red pepper hummus and avocado, and nutrient filled spinach. On the side I had some red grapes.

For snacks, I packed a babybel cheese I had after my workout, and a new Greens superfood bar I saw on Jenna’s blog and knew I had to try when I spotted it at Whole Foods. I’ll post my review later!

Just one more class and I am DONE!! I’ll post again tomorrow- my schedule for the rest of the week is a little funny- tomorrow I’m meeting my friend Jess, my lab partner for my Kinesiology class, at the Kin building to practice for the practical, and then I plan on studying for a few hours, and then dinner will be out- Nick has his formal, which I am accompanying him to.
Then Friday is moving day for Nick, so I’m helping him out with that, and then the weekend will be filled with lots of studying for my 4 exams next week!!

I’m off to get some work done, have a great hump day!

Counting down the days

Happy Tuesday!

Sorry about the lack of detailed posts; I’m sure those of you in college understand around exam time it gets pretty hard to manage a lot at once; but I’ll do my best to post as many pictures and provide you with as much interesting material as I can come up with through this stress!

The four hours between classes yesterday seemed to go by at lightening speed. It was all nonstop work until I realized I had to move my car quick or I wouldn’t make it to class on time. Luckily class went by pretty fast; I got some good feedback on my Literary Journalism Food Safety piece, that I’ll try and post here soon.

I stopped at Belmont’s on the way home for some fresh fish to have for dinner. I used a recipe for Maple Lemon Glazed Salmon from Cooking Light, that I served over whole wheat couscous (love the bulk bin at WF!) with some snow peas on the side. I crave these in the spring and summer- I just love the crunch and the sweet taste!
We dined al fresco because it was SO nice and warm, and still sunny!

Dinner was great; Nick and I relaxed for a while and then we decided to dig into these fun treats I found-

The nutritional stats are great for a treat, there are a couple ingredients I don’t like too much but like I said, they’re a treat.

I’d rather eat small, portion controlled treats like this than go on all out binges on the weekend, so this is exactly what I’m looking for to do that on my path to getting back on the healthy track!

Somehow I got off to a late start this morning- so I had to rush to get my lunch together and forgot to fill my water bottle! Guess I’ll have to fill it with ‘school water’, ha.

I packed the usual Tuesday breakfast- my last at-school breakfast of the year!
A 0% chobani, some TJ’s trail mix and a banana. I also packed a Maple nut clif bar, which I had ½ of pre-workout and I’ll have ½ this afternoon.

I did a quick 30 minutes on the stat bike and 20 minutes of strength before showering and heading to school, so I could begin to write this blog entry before my LAST Kin 325 class, and my last Physiology class!! Crazy, I’m already at the point of “last classes”!!!

I packed a filling lunch to hold me through my next crazy study session- an organic honey ham sandwich with mustard, light laughing cow and spinach on an Arnold’s sandwich thin. On the side I packed some sliced carrots and grapes.

To have with my ½ clif bar this afternoon I packed an apple.

EDITED TO ADD:
I also had a tall coffee with nonfat milk in the library for a caffeine boost while studying!

For dinner, I packed this new meal-

Which I’m very excited to try, because I love Thai food, and with 380 calories and 9 g of fat for the whole meal, it is a great portion size and should hold me throughout the night!

Off to class… have a great Tuesday!

Don't stress

Like I mentioned before, I wrote this blog earlier this weekend with the intention of finishing it up and posting it on Sunday afternoon. After hearing the news of Jenna’s tragedy, I felt funny posting this, because reading it, while the feelings are both very true and emotionally close to my heart, sometimes all it takes is hearing about something absolutely tragic someone else is going through, to make you realize what a blessing your life has been, and what an amazing life you are surrounded with. I shouldn’t be constantly worried about eating a little too much, or writing about it- I am surrounded by the most amazing people, family and friends (you included), I should be thankful for what I have, not complaining about little things like eating a few extra raisinets. Life is just too short.

Monday is here again!
Another weekend come and gone, but the end of this one marks the beginning of my last three days of classes!

Saturday

Saturday afternoon I took a fun trip to Whole Foods with my mom and sister. I picked up some essentials- soy milk, rice and couscous from the bulk bins, some fruit, avocados(!), hummus, some bars- and some not-so-essentials; like 2/$4 baked Kettle chips and a new eco-friendly sling bag-

We ate lunch at the salad bar, which I was so excited about- it’s been far too long! I piled up half my bowl with a big bunch of greens topped with various raw veggies, and I drizzled it with a tiny bit of coconut dressing. The dressing was great- I couldn’t find it in the store though! =(
I piled the other half with a bunch of various salads- I don’t know what was what at this point, but I remember a fabulous buffalo chicken salad, brown rice and edamame salad, ginger quinoa salad, vegan chicken salad, and a bunch of different tofu and tempeh pieces (including my favorite sesame tofu!) I loved having a bite of everything, and it filled me all afternoon!

I snacked on a small baggie of grapes I stole from my parents’ house in the afternoon on my way to pick up my friend Evie.

We got our hair done, and I didn’t get much of a trim because I’m trying to grow my hair out, but I got a touchup on my color and some hilights, which I think look great, my hairstylist Nicole does a wonderful job =)

We were pretty hungry when we got back to my house later that evening, so I set out to make us dinner- tacos with lean beef (cooked with diced onions and taco seasonings), baked beans, reduced fat Mexican cheese, salsa and sour cream. I had two-

and I was still hungry so I downed one more.

and I was perfectly full. BUT then Danielle came home and brought out the coldstone cupcakes-

I also had a bit of candy throughout the night.

The night was a fun Saturday night with friends- but it was yet another wakeup call- I realized my trigger for eating so horrible sometimes, and I’ve got to say it’s social- when I’m having fun with my friends I think, why not eat bad? They are, I’ll get back to eating healthy the next day!
But then I hang out with them again, and end up eating too much again. I need to learn to say NO, something I used to be able to do, but seemed to lose when I gained some weight and my friends praised me for eating more and not restricting myself too much. Well, not too much has become not at all, and theres where my problem lies. I love food. But I love good food. Food that tastes great, and makes you feel just as great.
Junk food doesn’t make me feel great. So why do I eat it?
Exactly. I have no idea. So I shouldn’t be eating it. Because I have no reason to. I’d rather fill up on healthy, delicious foods with smarter, less frequent treat choices. Because I love my body, and I love being healthy, and my body deserves to be treated well =)

Plus, after the race yesterday, I realized how much I really want to BE back in training.

I said it before, but I’m saying it again, for real this time- I WANT to be back in training. I want to get back to eating clean, LESS JUNK, more whole, clean, foods. I’ve talked to Nick about it, he understands that I want to start running more and clean up my diet, and he’s been amazingly understanding about it. I want to eat less big, filling meals, and more smaller, lighter meal. Now I just have to see if he’ll eat grilled tofu, haha.

Since my schedule is lightening up soon, I will be able to post more in depth about my training, how I’m feeling throughout, and how my diet is affecting it. Hopefully it will help some of you runners with your training struggles as well!

It’s an ongoing battle, but I think when I’m finally done with all the stress of school, and now that I’ve officially decided I AM back in training, it will all even out- and I appreciate all of your wonderful support throughout!

Sunday

Sunday I woke up bright and early, a bit tired from staying up so late the night before, but I hopped right out of bed, got changed and made myself a filling breakfast before work. I had another Better Whey yogurt- my favorite one yet, the Vanilla flavor! I topped it with ½ cup Nature’s Path flax granola and a sliced banana.

I also grabbed a French vanilla iced coffee with skim milk (no sweetener) at Dunkin Donuts on the way to work.

This held me until I dug into my packed food- some of Mom’s famous minestrone soup I love so much, along with grapes for lunch, and for snacks a Thinkthin bar I split between mid-morning and mid afternoon.

It was a beautiful day out; actually reaching upwards of 90 degrees, so after a long day of work, I relaxed at my parents’ house on their new deck, in my bikini, with my laptop so I could read some blogs and do some school work. I relaxed for a couple of hours, my mom brought me home a cup of Del’s frozen lemonade-

And I had a handful of delicious fresh strawberries as well, unpictured.

Nick decided he wanted to go skimboarding after sailing (They finished second this weekend!) so he headed to the beach, and I went home and hung out with Danielle for a while before making dinner.

I made one of my favorite simple, tasty, healthy meals- it really only has 5 ingredients, not including spices: chicken, brown rice, broccoli, cream of chicken soup and cheese.
Here’s the simple recipe:

Creamy Chicken Casserole for two

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, thin sliced
2.5 cups fresh broccoli spears
1 cup uncooked brown rice
reduced fat shredded cheese (I used cheddar and montery jack)
98% fat free cream of chicken soup
oregano
garlic powder
onion powder
black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Start two pots of water to boil
Add rice in 1 pot, cook as package directs
Season chicken with spices, place on skillet coated in cooking spray and cook a few minutes on each side, until just cooked
Meanwhile, chop broccoli and blanch in boiling water for 1-2 minutes
Drain broccoli and set aside.
Remove chicken from pan, coarsely chop
Remove rice from pan, add to casserole dish (8x8 works best, I used a slightly longer one because my 8x8 was dirty)
Add in chicken, broccoli, half can of soup and half can of water and stir
Add more soup to desired creaminess
Top with reduced fat cheeses
Bake in oven for 10 minutes uncovered until cheeses are melted
Divide in two and enjoy!

I LOVED that I had a huge plate of food, that I could eat happily knowing it was all healthy, but still delicious.


That was all I needed that night; no desserts for me.

Monday
This morning I woke up to another bright and sunny day.
I made myself my lunch, and got together breakfast before heading to the gym.

Breakfast was simple again; 1 cup of Kashi GoLean and 1 sliced banana in 1 cup skim milk.

Perfect fuel for my 35/35 cardio & upper body strength workout.

For lunch, I packed a delicious vegan wrap- 1 whole wheat wrap-itz tortilla smeared with ~3tbsp sweet red pepper hummus, a handful of fresh spinach and 1/3 of an avocado. Love those healthy fats!

I had some grapes on the side, and it was the perfect filling lunch.

For snacks I packed a babybel light I had after the gym, and an apple and a honey Chobani to have before class.

I have SO much work to do today, it’s insane! But I’m confident I’ll get it done during the day, because I have a nice healthy dinner planned for this evening and then I’d like to relax! Can’t get too stressed out for exams, that’s for sure.

I'll blog tomorrow

I have a blog half written already, but I'll post it tomorrow because I just heard the news about Jenna's younger brother, John, and I am so incredibly heart broken for her, I'm going to take a day off from blogging in honor of John and hope you all keep Jenna and her family in your thoughts and prayers. He sounded like an incredible young man, I'm sure he's in a better place now.

Racing to the finish

Morning everyone!

This is going to have to be a super quick post, with pictures promised for later on because I have a busy day planned ahead of me so I’ve got to get going!!

Yesterday afternoon I spent some time studying in the library, and then decided it was far too gorgeous out to stay cooped up with my books, so I packed up, took the beautiful 10 minute walk down to my car, attempted to get a couple beach buddies together, but everyone was busy, so I decided to take the next hour or so to do some walking up and down main street. I stopped at the Alternative Food Co-op and grabbed an organic Pink Lady apple to have on my way to the store-

I finished off my afternoon with my planned grocery shopping, and then headed back to Nick’s to order dinner and get some of my stuff together for the race the following morning. I made a fun playlist on my Ipod for the race while I waited for dinner- Crazy Burger!

I ordered something I’ve been wanting to try for a long time, The Goofy Gorgonzola Burger. Although it was definitely good and I ate every bite, it wasn’t amazing like I had expected- or contain the creamy onion-gorgonzola dressing” the menu boasted. Ah, well, you win some, you lose some, and this one was still pretty good and the sweet potato fries dipped in Crazy Burger ketchup weren’t too shabby either.

Then, we decided to go out for frozen yogurt. It was delicious, home made Brickley’s froyo, and I had my favorite- Black Raspberry chip with chocolate sprinkles.

Amazing, and I finished my small- then I started thinking, this may not have been the best night-before-race meal…

This morning I woke up and had my pre-race snack- I like to fuel up so I’m not hungry, but I don’t want a lot in my stomach. So I usually go for a good mix of carbs for fuel with a little protein and fat to hold me over. I had a banana nut clif bar, and started on my pre-race fluid intake.
Since my race is short, it’s not SUPER important to worry about night-before or pre-race meals, but I still like to play sports nutritionist ;)

The race went well, it was definitely challenging for my first 5k of the season. I made it in 24:03, WAY faster than my goal, and I was 57th overall, 5th in my age group. I did not expect to make a 7:45 pace, that’s for sure! I know I pushed myself a little too hard in the beginning though, and I want to back off a little for the next race, because, as I mentioned, distance is my ultimate goal! And I think I’ve found the perfect goal race- more on that later!

As soon as the race finished I guzzled a VitaminWater 10, and had 4 pieces of orange while waiting for my mom to finish.

She made it in less the 44 minutes (walking!), Great job Mom!!

After the race was over, there was a FREE breakfast buffet for all the participants, so of course we had to partake =)
I had a tiny bit of everything- French toast with a bit of syrup, scrambled eggs and bacon. I only ate 1 piece of bacon, but I ate the rest- I was quite the hungry girl after all that running! Although these aren’t my usual healthy breakfast eats, it was well worth it, and I was proud of myself for keeping portions in check.

Now I’m off to:
-shower
-groceries/lunch at whole foods
-errands
-pick up my friend Evie
-get our hair done
-hang out (plans?) in the afternoon
-make a big Mexican dinner!

I’ll post more later, have a fabulous Saturday everyone!

Cookies and Reviews

Friday is here!
Anyone else excited?

The other night, Nick turns to me and says, “Could you make cookies sometime? I’ve really been wanting cookies.” Of course, I told him. What kind did he want? “I dunno. Oatmeal sumthin’,” was his reply.
‘Oatmeal somethin’?!?! I’ll give you oatmeal somethin’!

I haven’t had time to make them for a couple days, so I spent the time I wasn’t baking deciding what that ‘something’ would be. Then it hit me… somethings are better than somethin’! So I used a basic no-mixer oatmeal recipe I modified a couple weeks ago, and added a few Kristin twists to present you with…

Nick’s Oatmeal Somethin’ Cookies
Or, simply, Hungry Boyfriend Cookies.

All you need for these are a few simple ingredients, some creativity and a man (or woman!) in your life with quite the appetite for cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1.5 cups oats
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup dried fruit of your choice (I went with raisins because I had them on hand- cherries or craisins would be fabulous, I’m sure!)
¼-1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
¼-1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used dark!)

Directions:
Melt 1 stick of butter
Pour over ½ cup brown sugar and ½ cup white sugar
Add egg, beaten, and vanilla
Stir to combine
In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices
Add dry to wet
Stir in oats, dried fruit, nuts and chocolate chips
Bake 11-13 minutes, let cool 10 before moving

Makes 24-26 medium cookies

These are delicious, a definite crowd pleaser. My only complaint? Without a mixer, a WHOLE stick of melted butter is needed to get the desired consistency. Maybe if I get a mixer for my birthday I’ll toy with some less fatty recipes!

Yesterday afternoon was go, go, go!
After a few hours of studying, I grabbed a red delicious apple from the coffee cart, and had that as well as the other half of my clif bar as a snack.

I got to my parents house to do a few things, and had yet another weak moment- a few kisses


And a small handful of sour patch kids someone (most likely my sister) left next to the computer and I mindlessly snacked on while printing some homework.

No more crap! What is it with me these last couple of days? All I’ve wanted is SUGAR!
Can’t go overboard tomorrow though, Saturday is my race! So I’ll be sure to be better then. REMIND ME processed=gross!!

Anyways, I took a ‘quick’ trip to Marshalls on the way home and somehow ended up with a new hat, and toiletry bag for the gym. Fun!

I got to Nick’s house and immediately set out to make one of our favorite dinners, Jenna’s chicken enchiladas. These things are seriously amazing! I know the recipe by heart now, I've made it so many times. I had one 'chilada, with a whole bunch of steamed zucchini, squash and red bell pepper.


Then I had to have a cookie, of course

Or two… ;)

(these were really small, for the record)

Onto today…
I am happy to report it is a BEAUTIFUL, sunny day here in RI!

Yesterday, I received an exciting new package at my parents’ house- Better Whey sent me three of their awesome yogurts to try!
With less than 150 calories per 6-oz container, 0.5 grams of fat, a whopping 17 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, 30 grams less sugar than regular yogurt, and packed with probiotics, one cup is a nutritional powerhouse!

Sounds good to me! This morning I tried the plain variety with 1 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal and a sliced banana.

Ok, not the most photogenic. But I have to say, it tasted great! Rich and creamy, I love thicker yogurts so this was perfect to mix with cereal. It wasn’t too sour, but it wasn’t too sweet either. It held me over for hours, I hardly needed my snack 3.5 hours later, so I would say I’ll definitely be looking out for these in stores! Thanks Better Whey!!

For lunch, I’m running out of food at the house, so I packed what I could scrounge up- an AB&J Sammie, featuring 1 tbsp 365 creamy Almond butter, and 1 tbsp Bonne Maman raspberry preserves on an Arnold’s sandwich thin, along with some carrots and a Rachel’s cottage cheese on the side.

This was nice and filling, I hope it holds me over like I want it to- I packed a new Pure bar, which I had half of this morning before class, and I’m saving the other half to have with some fruit this afternoon.

I really liked this flavor, much better than the chocolate chip one, which is unusual because I’m a huge chocolate fan!

Dinner is takeout again, it’s been a fun Friday night tradition we’ve got going and we’re having one of my alltime favorites again tonight!! I’ll give a full dinner and race recap tomorrow when I return!!

Just as crazy

Wednesday is past, and the end of the week is upon us! So far, it has been just as busy as expected, and it turns out this weekend will be just as crazy! I can’t wait for it all to slow down, I am about to burn out!

Last night after class I met up with my dad, and our shopping trip took much longer than expected, so I had to rush to grab a couple of groceries, rush back to my parents’ house, where I had a weak moment and gobbled up a couple of handfuls of leftover Whopper’s Eggs from Easter while I was gathering my stuff, and then rushed back to Nick’s to make dinner.

Luckily, the meal was fairly simple, I took the easy way with the rice- trying out Uncle Ben’s new Whole Grain Medleys, so it only took 2 minutes to cook the rice and I could spend the rest of my time on the barbeque rubbed pork chops and steamed green beans. I used center cut bone-in pork chops, and a variety of spices from a recipe in Cooking Light to prepare the pork, which came out moist and amazing. Honestly didn’t take much time at all, and even though there was something like 10 spices, I had them all on hand. I would make this one again for sure! Nick loves pork so he was more than happy I made it.

No dessert last night, dinner filled me up and I think my early evening mini-binge was enough sweets for the night.

I got a good night’s rest, and today I woke up early to head to the gym. I did 30 minutes on the stat bike and 25 minutes of lower body.

Before I left I had ½ a chocolate chip clif bar, and I’ll probably have the other half later for a snack. I packed the usual banana, 0% chobani and trail mix for breakfast on the go.


For lunch, I used the last of my turkey for a Sammie with a light laughing cow, spicy brown mustard and 2 slices all natural turkey on a whole wheat sandwich thin. I had some quite orange sides- a big orange and some carrots. I’ve definitely got my Vitamin C and A all set for the day!

I’ve got some studying to do this afternoon, and then I’m going BACK to the parents’ house to do a couple things I didn’t have time for last night, make dinner (an old favorite!) and get some stuff done at the house. Whew, busy busy busy.

Have a great Thursday! My last full week of classes is ALMOST over! Are any of you almost done as well?

Happy Earth day!

I just looked at the date, and besides being Earth day, gosh, can any of you believe April is already almost through? It’s just starting to feel like spring to me here, too! Nick’s graduation is around the corner, and so is starting my new job, my cousin’s graduation from high school, and THE SUMMER!! Crazy, really, how fast it went by this year.

Enough musing on the time.

As I mentioned yesterday, I had forgotten to pack my dinner for work. So I stopped at the market next to the store and grabbed a frozen meal to take in with me. I had planned on Amy’s, but they didn’t have any new and exciting I wanted to try, or anything I thought would hold me for 3 hours.

So I settled on this Kashi meal-

It was o.k. The flavor was alright, but there wasn’t too much of it. The chicken was moist and tasty, as were the grains, but the veggies were lacking as well. Would I buy it again? Probably not. But it did hold me for 3 hours.

Back home, I had an Asian pear for a snack-

And a little white chocolate bunny may be missing his ear ;)

This morning, breakfast was an old favorite- cereal! Although I love my oats, I don’t feel like I NEED a hot breakfast when I’m home in the morning, so I turned to my cold standby- Kashi Go Lean. I like the honey, almond, flax the best- but this one is good as well! I had 1 cup of cereal with 1 sliced banana and a cup of skim milk. (With a mug of Earl Grey!)


It was the perfect combo of carbs+protein to keep me full and fueled throughout my workout this morning, which lasted about 70 minutes- 35 on the elliptical and 35 doing upper body resistance training.

For lunch at school, I packed tuna just like I had it when I was a kid- it sounds gross, but really, the combo is great- light mayo and relish. I used about 1 tbsp of each mixed with 1 5-oz can to make it nice and creamy, but tangy at the same time. I wrapped it up in a whole grain Wrap-itz and had some carrots on the side.


[I was still hungry after I ate this, so I also grabbed an orange from the coffee cart to have alongside.]

For snacks, I packed a Pure bar and an apple- I had half the Pure bar before class, and although I liked the flavor a lot, I think Larabars are still my fave. I’m saving the other half and the apple for before my last class.

I’m slowly chipping away at my last couple of projects- a book review and my final portfolio for Writing.

After class I’m doing some shopping with my Dad for the boy’s graduation present (shh don’t tell him). For some reason I feel like I need a guy there. Ha.

Then I’m making a nice simple dinner to end my Wednesday.

Second to last

Well, my crazy Tuesday is here again… although I’m pretty happy it’s only my second-to-last ‘crazy Tuesday’!! Next week I have my last, and then it’s exam time, so it may be a little frenetic, but nothing like the gym-school-study-work-study thing I’ve been doing!

Any of you have one day of the week that’s just insane??

Yesterday went smoothly, at least. My writing class got out a bit early, and although I got caught in the rain, again, (it was my fault because I left my umbrella in my car!) when I got to Nick’s the house smelled delicious with the aroma of rice and beans. I offered to help a little (cutting and such), but Nick pretty much did it all. I decided: Jambalaya is definitely my favorite thing Nick makes!! I actually went back for seconds it was so good.

The jambalaya contained- sticky rice, salsa, sundried tomato chicken sausages, shrimp sautéed in buttah (the only really unhealthy addition), black beans and a TON of spices (cumin, chili powder, cayenne, red pepper flakes, green tabasco sauce).

Seconds:

It was spicy, but not too spicy. Totally hit the spot! And it was nice not having to do anything after a long day =)

For dessert, Danielle offered me a Coldstone Cupcake she had in the freezer- and I was happy to try one! Thinking in terms of moderation, I shared it with the boy because I KNEW I could have finished it myself, but Coldstone, although a fabulous treat, is known for being quite indulgent. We went with the double chocolate variety- it was awesome. Except Nick got mad at me because I insisted on having half of the oreo (it was ‘his side’). Hehe

This morning I woke up bright and early, well, not so bright- it’s still a pretty dreary, rainy day. I packed up my breakfast- half a clif bar to have on the way, and then a 0% plain chobani, some trail mix and a banana for after the gym.

I did bike & legs at the gym today, an efficient 50 minute workout.

I had an exam this morning in Kinesiology, my last one of the semester. The exam went better than expected, considering the last exam was absolutely killer.
Afterwards, I headed to physio, and survived another lecture before retreating to the library for lunch and (surprise surprise) MORE studying.

For lunch I packed my usual Sammie combo, turkey and light laughing cow with spicy brown mustard on and Arnold’s sandwich thin. Baby carrots and an apple for sides.

For a snack before work I packed a Rachel’s cottage cheese, in my favorite sweet flavor- orange pomegranate.

For dinner tonight I packed… nothing! It TOTALLY slipped my mind I was working this evening when I packed my lunch, so I have no dinner yet… I plan on getting an Amy’s meal at Belmont before I head in (poor me, haha). I’ll report back tomorrow.

Back to studying, have a great Tuesday- we’re almost halfway through the week!