On and off

Afternoon everyone!

I'm sorry it took me so long to get yesterday's pictures up- we were out and about this morning and then my internet was on-and-off for unknown reasons... now I'm finally able to blog! 

Yesterday was a gorgeous, fun-filled day. In the morning I went for a 30-minute run, then a 30-minute walk, and had a beautiful and delicious breakfast to start my day. 

0% chobani with  peach, banana, blueberries and slivered almonds 

I had this bar on the train on the way to Boston- 
Love the salty-sweet combo! I'm lucky enough to live about an hour away from Boston on the train, so tickets are only $8 and we got to leave late morning instead of early like we do for New York!

We were starving by the time we got to Boston so we went to one of my favorite eateries on Newbury street- The Otherside Cafe for lunch. The sandwich I got popped out at me on the menu it looked so delicious!
Prosciutto, fresh mozarella, roasted red peppers and onions with pesto on foccacia bread, with a side salad instead of the chips. I ate 3/4 of the sandwich and 1/2 the salad with fork dips of dressing. 

We shopped around all afternoon until taking a much-needed froyo break. It was HOT out! 

So J.P. Licks it was... 

I was disappointed they didn't have the chocolate chip cookie soft serve froyo I wanted, but I settled for oatmeal cookie hard frozen yogurt in a waffle cone instead. Hit the spot! 

We shopped some more and I got a few back-to-college basics (jeans, button down, hat, scarf) and even though we weren't terribly hungry for dinner we stopped before we headed back on the T to the train.

We ate at b.good on Newbury for healthy "fast food". I got the b.good burger:
Turkey burger, caramelized onions, garlicky greens, mushrooms and steak sauce

And the three of us shared these babies... 
Baked, not fried, sweet potato fries! I ate my fair share =)

We got home late so I hit the sack as soon as we got back. This morning I got up for another 30-minute run and 30-minute walk. Then Peko and I went up the street to the Coffee & Bagel Connection for breakfast- we got fresh bagels!
Honey wheat bagel with a smear of light cream cheese, iced coffee with skim milk 

Mid morning I grabbed some grapes to take in the car with me as we drove Peko to the bus station =(
It was a sad goodbye because I had such a great time with her these last few days (and the whole summer!!) but I am planning on taking a trip to England to go see her next spring =) 

On the way back from Providence, my dad and I stopped at Whole Foods to pick up some essentials for our trip (fruit, snacks) and we had lunch from the salad bar- a little bit of everything! 
Now I need to get a move on packing my stuff because we're leaving at 4 am tomorrow to assure we're in Canada as soon as possible!

Dinner will be an easy one, but I'll post it nonetheless. 

xo

K 

Sushi and Ice Cream

Mango on sushi and hummus on pita 

laughing with friends and beautiful photographs

Big waffle cones filled with home made ice cream 

These are a few of my favorite things... 

Today was such a great day! 

I have to keep this post short and sweet because my guest is waiting for me downstairs, but all in all we had a fab day!

I picked Peko up around noontime, and we headed back home to make a fresh and healthy lunch!

I used ingredients I had picked up at the store yesterday to make a pita sandwich: 

Hummus, Organic spinach, sprouts, mushrooms and tomatoes and Annie's honey mustard on an Ezekiel Pita with some grapes on the side 

Peko made a dipping plate she wanted me to share (isn't her presentation great? She wants to work on her presentation when shes with me but I think she's doing well already!)
We hung around and did some shopping in the afternoon (I got new Neutrogena mascara!) and then headed to my favorite sushi place, Kabuki

We started with Calamari with Oriental dipping sauces: 
Delizioso!

Then we ordered two specialty rolls to share: 

The Angry dragon
Fugi Apple with Mango and Lobster
They were both good, but the dragon FAR surpassed the apple roll! 

We were planning on dessert there, but they didn't have what we wanted, so we decided on Brickley's instead!
I got the Bing Cherry and Cookie dough in a HUGE waffle cone 
That was a small?!?!

Yes, it was an indulgence. But I did very well all day long so a bit of a treat can't hurt, and it's still my vacation until the 30th anyway- as long as I keep with moderation I should be ok =)

Packing and prepping

Good Afternoon! 

I'm posting now because I probably won't have another chance until late or tomorrow... I still have a bunch to do before camp, and I have my cousins' graduation later this evening. 

So onto my food. 

Last night was a lot of this: 

and this: 

and yes, I will be the first to admit that I have not been eating 100% healthy lately. I mean, what happened to Green & Healthy, anyway? 

Well, to be honest, life happened. I had a great first week eating super clean, and then Nick came, and I splurged some, and then this entire week was so frenetic obsessing over eating healthy was the last thing I wanted to do. 

I've tried to keep a balanced diet, being at it has had a lot of sweets & treats, I've been making sure I at least get in some healthy lean protein, whole grains and lots of fruits & vegetables.

So at least I'm getting my nutrients in, and I feel that is the most important thing of all. 

As for Camp... well... 

I'm not exactly sure how my diet is going to be. And exercise will not be structured as I wish it could be. But I signed up for this! I knew this when I applied, and it's all a part of the experience for me.  

I do have some at-camp eating and exercise goals... 

• drink enough water 
• make sure i get my fruits & vegetables 
• keep portions in check 
• eat the healthiest way, whenever possible 
• try to get in whole grains
• stay ACTIVE whenever I can; playing games, swimming, etc 

And thats as far as I'll go. I think this way, I can stay as healthy and happy as possible without being obsessive about the food, seeing as I can not control what is served to me!

I will not be blogging or photographing my food while at camp. I'll be in the middle of the woods! But I WILL be blogging on the weekend, so I'll give you an update on how camp's going, how I am and of course, how the food is!

I'll post my eats for today later. Now I have to jet- lots of errands and exercise to do!

Classic Newport Meal

Evening everyone!

Tonight was a lot of fun, Nick's parents bought us dinner and we had a great seafood meal right near the water!

During the afternoon I took a trip to Natural Foods for some organic produce, then came back home and had a green apple and one chocolate chip cookie I baked for Nick's family for an afternoon snack.

Nick's parents, sister and sister's boyfriend came by to see the apartment around 4, Nick got some artwork, so now the room will look a lot nicer! We had some drinks and chatted for a while, then walked down to dinner.

We ate at The Black Pearl, which is known for it's fabulous seafood! We forgot the camera, but I will assure you everything was fantastic! We started by sharing oysters (I had two) and mussels (I had about 8), and I had a few bites of Nick's creamy clam chowder.
For my entree, I ordered the grilled shrimp, which came with 5 plump shrimp, which I ate all of aside from a bite I shared with Nick, french fries which I ate about 5-10 of (they were worth it!) and green beans, which I had half of (they were definitely sauteed in butter!)

After all of this I felt full, but not stuffed. We decided to have coffee and dessert, so Nick and I shared a slice of Key Lime Pie, which was honestly one of the BEST pieces of Key Lime Pie I have ever had! It was rice and creamy with a fresh lime taste, garnished with lime zest. It was incredible. We ate about 3/4 between the two of us, and we were stuffed!

After dinner, we headed to the arcade for a few minutes and had a lot of fun playing games and winning tickets! Nick and I combined ours and got a ridiculous light up bouncy ball, which Nick proceeded to play with on the way home. Lots of fun =)
We walked home, and now we're back at the apartment, relaxing for the night. Tomorrow we're going out with Nick's family again, so I'll post when I can!

Dinner at Mama's

Mama Luisa's that is!

Nick and I spent the afternoon shopping, and then baking dessert for my mom, part of it at least.

Then I drove to 'gansett to meet up with my dad and sister, and we met my mom and Nick back in Newport and headed to Thames for dinner at one of my favorite Italian restaurants.

We started with some bread and olive oil-

and then ordered some antipasti- a plate full of fresh cured meats and cheeses and marinated vegetables, plus some caprese salad. Here's my portion, plus a couple more bites of cheese and a sundried tomato.

I ordered exactly what I did last time for my entree- Picatine Vitello, with a lemon white wine sauce and capers.

It was excellent, and the zucchini on the side was awesome! I gave away two bites, and ate 3/4 of the rest myself. I also had a bite of my mom's baked sole and Nick's gnocci. Both were also fantastic!

Full but not too stuffed, we ventured to the beach to enjoy the fun treat I made- Ice Cream cone cupcakes with chocolate/vanilla swirl frozen yogurt and sprinkles on top! I used the recipe from the package for rich vanilla cupcakes, and the "cone" mold was from Crate and Barrel- another present for my mom for mother's day. The food was delicious, and my mom seemed to enjoy herself so it was a good night!


I have tomorrow off, so it's Day 1 of my Naturally Thin challenge and I'll have a lot of stuff up on the blog pertaining to that! Now, it's time to relax.. and maybe a few more bites froyo ;)

Employed

So as I was sitting in front of the tube watching Shark Week with Danielle and Nick, downing a bowl of neopolitan ice cream topped with crumbled cookies and a drizzle of hershey’s syrup, after just munching on an array of Easter candy with Danielle, I decided maybe I took the ‘celebratory treat’ a little too far.

At least I did have something to celebrate!
Let’s backtrack. After my quick afternoon blog, I changed into my new sleek black slacks and headed down to my car, and over the bridge to Newport for my first job interview (yes, I am 19 years old and I have never been to an actual job interview). It was a beautiful day, so the ride was gorgeous, I really am so in love with Newport!

The interview went well, and although it is only a part time position, and I am working as Banquet staff (no kitchen this time), it’s a JOB!! So over the summer I will be working at a Yacht club on and off, hopefully pulling in some big bucks so I can shop at Natural Foods, which I discovered not 5 minutes away from my future apartment!!

So on top of just getting a job, I discovered heaven-in-a-store right afterwards. I swear I almost peed my pants when I walked inside. The prices are NOT bad, it’s small, but bigger than the two natural stores in my town, and they serve amazing prepared sandwiches, salads and coffee (perfect on the way to work!!)

I bought myself a coconut water to celebrate my employment-

(and a new bar I’ll be trying today!) I had to restrain myself from buying the whole store, really. I loved it!

I snacked on the other half of my clif bar on the way home, stopped by the parents’ to get some forms for my employment packet, and back to Nick’s house where I did some studying and hung out with Danielle before making dinner.

For dinner I made one of my alltime favorite comfort foods- meatball subs. I used ½ lb lean beef, ½ cup Italian style breadcrumbs, ¼ cup grated parmesan, 1 egg, salt, pepper, oregano and a clove of garlic to make the meatballs. I cooked them in some evoo, added about 1 cup tomato & basil pasta sauce, and plopped them in freshly made sub rolls from the bakery at S&S, with a little bit of reduced fat Italian cheese on top. AMAZING.
Of course I needed some veggie action, so I steamed some broccoli and cauliflower florets to have on the side.

As much as I enjoy all of the extravagant dishes I make time to time, nothing beats a good meatball sub

As I mentioned, I had some Easter candy (m&ms, whopper eggs), chilled out with the best friend and the boyfriend (we like educational TV, we’re kind of nerds), and had a relaxing night. Nick wanted to go to a party at his friend’s house, and I was reluctant about going at first because I was super tired, but we went and I ended up having a fun time, and I saw an old friend, so it was a good night.
This morning it was HARD to get up, because we were out until almost 1:30. I had intended to make myself a breakfast cookie last night, but at 1 in the morning I sort of forgot (I think the only thing going through my head was “Bed. Bed. Bed.”). So I made myself a big bowl of protein packed oats instead.

½ cup oats, cooked in ½ cup nonfat soymilk, ½ cup water, ½ scoop chocolate protein powder, a sliced banana and a spoonful of almond butter.
Mmm, always hits the spot.

My lunchbox was very empty today-

Some grapes, to have with lunch, a cheese stick I ate mid morning and a Raw Foods bar I’m really excited to try for a snack later.

Nope, not on some crazy crash diet- my lunch was courtesy of Subway today!
I ordered a footlong, so I could have ½ today, ½ tomorrow for lunch. And $6 for 2 meals is quite the deal! I had a ham and turkey with provolone on honey oat, with ALL the veggies (extra banana peppers) and fat free honey mustard. Mmm!


Today I ate my lunch with a bunch of 2-and-3 year olds, at my mom’s preschool! I observed for a project I’m doing for my writing class, I’ll fill you in soon- it was very interesting to say the least!
I also had a little treat my mom gave me- ½ a fresh baked cookie from the ‘teacher’s room’!

Dinner tonight is Mexican, can you guess what I’ll be having??

P.S. Anyone else JUST realize Panera has free WiFi? I discovered this a couple weeks ago. I've been camping out in their funky chairs a couple times a week when I don't feel like going to the parents' to blog!!

Flying by

Ciao bloggies!

My tuesday is flying by, how's yours?
I think it's all the work I've been doing- I just spent another 1.5 hours on my Kin lab, which I pretty much finished- making a total of 5.5 hours I've worked on it! Phew, at least I only have a few more things to touch up and it's DONE!
Only 1 more exam, 1 case study, 1 book review, 1 project, 1 portfoilo... The end of the semester is going to be the end of me, I'm sure of it... grr...

Gosh, seems like all I've been doing is complaining about school!
I don't really have a one-track mind... I think about food too!

Last night for dinner I pulled together a quick, but super tasty meal- Fresh Cajun Shrimp over brown rice with snow peas (I finally found a veggie both Nick and I love!!)
I marinated the shrimp in some lime juice and covered them in some cajun seasoning, then seared them for ~3 minutes per side in a little butter (the real stuff- a little goes a long way!). I boiled the rice, steamed the peas and before I knew it dinner was ready in less than 20 minutes!

Nick and I did some grocery shopping- it was supposed to be for him, but of course I left with a mango and an asian pear for sweet treats =)

Speaking of sweets, I had to have dessert- leftover healthified Carrot Cake from easter!


I ate this while Nick and I watched Yes, Man, the new Jim Carrey movie I've wanted to see. I love Jim Carrey, and of course he didn't fail to make me laugh! Oh, and for the record, Matt came upstairs and handed me a stuffed green olive, which I also ate. yum!

After a good night's rest, I woke up bright and early this morning- I'm happy to get back into my morning Tuesday/Thursday workouts, I have so much more time in the afternoons!
I did 30 minutes on the stat bike and 25 minutes doing leg/ab work. For a short workout, it felt great!

I had 1/2 a maple clif bar on the way to the gym, and I plan on eating the other half later if I need another snack! I love this flavor! For breakfast on the go, I packed a 0% chobani, a ginger granola packet (love these) and a HUGE banana.

It was tasty, but definitely didn't hold me as long as my usual trail mix does- my stomach was growling in Physio, so I snacked on a few mini pretzels I had in my bag.

I was still hungry when lunchtime rolled around- I packed a turkey sammie on an Arnold's sandwich thin with spicy brown mustard and a light laughing cow. Good, but I forgot lettuce this week and I missed the crunch! Should have picked some up last night, ah well. On the side I had a crisp golden delicious and some leftover snow peas.

I work tonight, so I'm about to head there in a bit- I packed a new flavor of Rachel's cottage cheese to try

and if I need something else, the rest of my clif bar.

For dinner I packed a huge bowl of Mom's bean soup she made last week (sorry for the blurriness!)


And I'm planning on some fresh fruit for dessert. And maybe some Easter candy ;)

Tomorrow's another busy day, I can't wait to get over the hump- I have a job interview on Thursday, I have so much nervous excitement about it!
Have a great Tuesday, 'see' you tomorrow!

Sunnier

Well, my day went from wet to wetter yesterday- the rain picked up, the campus flooded and I got splashed by a car on my way to my last class. So needless to say my last class was pretty uncomfortable.

Luckily, I had something to look forward to when I got home- fresh Alaskan salmon filets, which were on sale at Stop and Shop this week. I cooked Nick and I each a 4-oz filet with an orange balsamic glaze. I salt and peppered them, then sauteed them on each side for about 3 minutes before taking them off and cooking the glaze- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, a spash of orange juice and 1 tsp of honey, for just a few minutes until it thickens, and then adding the filets back for ~1 minute on each side. I poured a little extra glaze on top as well. On the side I made some fresh steamed broccoli (also on sale!) and some quinoa.

It was a great dinner overall, I was so glad to have fresh fish again!
After dinner Nick and I headed to the north end with the intention to go see the puppies at the store up the street from my house (no, no puppies for us in the near future), and going to Brickley's for some home made ice cream. Well, we had fun looking at the puppies (I'm attached to this cute black pug, he wants a much crazier dog!) but Brickley's was CLOSED... so we had to settle for Coldstone.

I went a lot smaller this time- this is a Like it of cheesecake with graham cracker crust and oreo- The Pie that Loved me!

This morning I slept in again because I didn't want to exercise before my Kinesiology lab. I had my usual Tuesday breakfast at home- trail mix and greek yogurt, a banana and some earl gray tea.

For lunch I intended on packing a honey ham sandwich, but there were only 2 slices of honey ham left! So I 'stole' a slice of Nick's roast beef and had a honey ham/roast beef/mustard/laughing cow sammie on a whole wheat sandwich bun. On the side I also had some grapes.

For snacks I packed a Think Thin bar, which I ate half of before my Physiology class, and a Rachel's cottage cheese I plan on having after the gym.

Sorry for the quick post, but I have a whole lot of studying to do before I can get the gym, and then I work 4-9!

For dinner at work I packed the rest of my Lentil Pilaf (which is also vegan, by the way!) and a huge sliced carrot.

That's all for now, hope you all have a great Tuesday- I'm so glad today is sunnier!

Party people

Good morning bloggies!

I have some very disappointing news...

my knees hurt.

What?!?! I have been a runner for years now and my knees have NEVER hurt after a run! Blame the curse of genetics... my dad has knee problems (of course he says he feels great today!) plus I'm sure all those months of running at a pretty low weight took a toll on my joints as well. My shins hurt too, but I've had shin splints on an off since I was 14 so that's no surprise. Instead of going on my second run of the weekend I'm going for a walk with my mom. I hope my knees (and shins!) feel better soon =/

Anyway, I'm sure you all want to know how the party went last night! Turns out it wasn't a surprise party because the birthday girl found out, but it was still a good time!
I made some cupcakes and one of Kelly (Eric's sister, the birthday girl)'s friends helped me decorate...

Can you tell her favorite color is green?
There were LOTS of snacks...



I had a few slices of party pizza, 1 wing (not too good, didn't go back for more) a couple handfuls of mini cookies, and a cupcake...

I did eat a lot, and I have to say I don't feel too great. I am very ready to get back into eating healthy again, it IS entirely possible to get sick of junk food!! Gimme some fruits and veggies, stat!

Last night was a lot of fun, but I am ready for my R&R Sunday for sure.
Nick stayed over here at the 'rents so he could get some sleep before his regatta (he leaves early in the morning and I'm SURE the party was an all-nighter, we skipped out early) so I was up pretty early as well.

I made myself a cereal bowl- 1/2 cup Kashi U, 1/2 cup Flaxplus granola, 1 big banana sliced and 1/2 cup nonfat soy milk. Filled me up well, and I can't wait to go for that walk with my mom in a bit!

I'll be posting again this afternoon, and then it's back to my usual afternoon posting. Have a great morning everyone!

Planning

Happy Tuesday!
Once feared because of their busyness and length, Tuesdays have now become my own personal "hump day". Once tuesdays are over, it's all downhill for me! No work until Sunday, so I get the rest of the week to study and get work done.
But Tuesdays next semester are going to be even more crazy!!
I just made my schedule up, and because I will be living in Newport (surprised anyone?), I tried to make my classes more in the morning/afternoon rather than night classes, because I hate driving over the bridge in the dark during rush hour! Luckily only one of my classes goes past 1pm!

Here's my schedule for next semester-
Monday-
9-9:50- Food Science
11-11:50- History of the US from 1917-1940 (I find the WWII fascinating!)
Tuesday- (ready for it?)
8-9:15- Exercise physiology
9:30-10:45- Nutrtion in the Lifecycle
11-12:15- Biochemistry
12:30-1:30 BIG LUNCH!
2-4:45- Food Science Lab
(phew!)
Wednesday-
9-9:50- Food Science
11-11:50- History
Thursday-
8-9:15- Exercise Physio
9:30-10:45- Lifecycle Nutrition
11-12:15- Biochem
(done!)
Friday-
11-11:50- History
(and that's it!)

I've never done 3 classes in a row before, but it can't be too much worse than 2, right? And Tuesdays WILL be crazy, but I'm used to going from 6am-9pm nonstop now, so it shouldn't be too bad!

Enough school talk.
Food is more important!

Breakfast for dinner worked out well.

Kind of.



Yes, Kristin, the chef-to-be forgot to spray the waffle pan. Crucial mistake. So instead of 2 waffles each, we had ~1.25.
Whoops...

They were still tasty! Nick helped out by making us each 2 eggs sunny side up (look at the bright yellow yolk!) Which I topped with some sea salt & fresh ground black pepper, 2 slices of reduced sodium bacon and a few tater tots! I drizzled the "waffles" with some syrup and dug in!

I have no idea how I finished this plate. And yes, I noticed there were no veggies or fruits on this plate (do the taters count? hehe) But it was choc full of vitamins from the egg yolks, protein from the whites and bacon, whole grains, and a lot of flavor! So I let it slide, just this once ;)

For dessert, Danielle made home made cookies so I had to have one! Yummm!!

I started to have a second... then decided I shouldn't have it, so I gave it to Nick and he complains, "you're going to make me fat!"... he still ate it ;).

I also sliced up the 1/2 a pineapple I bought at Whole Foods the other day and had a big juicy bowl before bed.

This morning I woke up and got my stuff together faster than usual, I made my sandwich last night because everyone else was and I felt left out (I'm such a follower)... I was leary it wouldn't hold up, but it did!

This is a honey ham (3 slices) sammie on a whole wheat sandwich bun with spicy brown mustard, a light laughing cow wedge and some boston lettuce.

For breakfast I packed the usual- a 0% chobani, some TJ's trail mix and a banana, as well as 1/2 my clif bar before the gym.

I did cardio (stat bike) + legs at the gym today.
Classes flew by, I was SO ready for lunch & class scheduling after Physio! I was nervous I wouldn't have enough time to blog, but I got my scheduling and notes done early so I had a little time for y'all =)

I packed some snacks- a nectarine I went to have before lunch... but when I bit into it I realized it was BAD! How did I not see that when I took the picture?!?! Must have been asleep. I promptly bought an orange to have instead at school and had that with my sammie for lunch. I also packed a Rachel's cottage cheese to have as a snack before work.

For dinner tonight, I'm trying the new Amy's soup the blog world has been raving about... I'm very excited so I'll give you my take tomorrow! I sliced a big carrot for some extra veggies too.


That's all for now, folks- I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, when its really humpday!