Staying dry

Happy Monday everyone!

Unfortunately it's another less-than-stellar day out today... again I'm dressed for spring and it's just dreary and rainy out =(.
On top of the foul weather, I managed to leave my camera cord at home, so I have lots of great food to report, but I'll have to upload the pictures when I'm back at the parents' tomorrow.

Yesterday afternoon I DID get my butt, and eyes away from my computer desk to do some school work. While I was studying I snacked on a new flavor of Rachel's cottage cheese- roasted red pepper, and an apple. I was a bit nervous about the new flavor because I wasn't sure if I'd like the savory combo, but I was pleasantly surprised. The roasted red pepper went great with the cottage cheese, and the snack held me over all afternoon. I also spent some time making lunch for today and dinner for Tuesday, which I'll describe soon!

I grabbed a couple fresh items from the grocery store before heading down to Nick's house, where I made a big Italian dinner for Nick, Danielle and myself. I found a recipe for Lightened up Penne alla Vodka in the latest issue of Health magazine. It calls for low-fat milk instead of cream and whole wheat pasta to make it a lot more healthy than the original, but just as delicious!

This was SPICY! It calls for 1 1/2 tbsp of red pepper flakes, and I used just less than 1 tbsp and our mouths were on fire! In a good way, though =)

I went back for another small portion but only ate 1/2 of this.

While the pasta and sauce were cooking I made an appetizer to start- Prosciutto e Melone! A very classic italian antipasto, I tried my first (tiny) bite of prosciutto, which is salted, cured and thinly sliced italian ham in Italy and was hooked. It is MUCH lighter than pancetta, and a couple slices has a whole lot of flavor!

I had two pieces of cantelope wrapped in 1 whole slice of prosciutto (for reference, 2 slices is 60 kcals, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated).

Later that evening after a "I'm hungry but I don't want to get up" argument with the boy (I lost, he's lazier)... we shared a big bowl of fresh pineapple for dessert.

This morning I woke up and tried a new oat creation- chocolate protein oats! This bowl was jam packed full of hearty, protein and nutrient rich mix ins- 1/2 cup 7-grain oats cooked with 1/2 cup nonfat soy milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 scoop chocolate designer whey protein, 1 big sliced banana and a spoonful of almond butter.

Absolutely delectable- this is definitely one to be repeated in the near future!

For lunch I packed this creation I cooked up yesterday afternoon- 1 box of lentil rice pilaf (which is lentils, rice, and seasonings) with 1 can of drained diced tomatoes and 1/2 can marinated, drained and roughly chopped artichoke hearts.
It made 2.5 servings, ~400 kcals each.

I had some today with some huge juicy grapes on the side.

For snacks I packed a light string cheese, a 0% honey chobani and an apple.

I went to the gym in the morning- nothing new, my usual elliptical/strength routine. I did try a new hill setting on the elliptical and blasted 12 more kcals than usual (not much but I noticed the difference!), it was lighter hills because my shins are still killing but I went a lot faster!

I've got to get back to work, but this evening I am very excited for a fresh dinner, which I will be posting tomorrow afternoon! If you're in New England, stay dry- and everyone else, have a great Monday!