Sunday Lentement

Hey guys! Happy Sunday.  I hope that you’re having a good weekend so far. Mine has been quite solid.  Last night was a lot of fun.  We met up with a couple of friends for dinner in Salem (I had a delicious wasabi slaw salad with sesame broiled scallops) and then to a little cafe with music for dessert.  It was lovely.

My first banana bread came out really well.  I was a little nervous because I halved the flour and used oats instead and also added some apple sauce and reduced the sugar.  Oh yeah, and I added chocolate chips. :)

  
Brian had to leave early this morning for a 10 mile race in Amherst this morning – he did awesomely, finishing in 1 hr and 4 minutes.  I opted to sleep in and cheer him on from here.  :) I woke up naturally around 9 and took the doggie for a walk. 

Breakfast was delicious.  A 1 egg 2 egg white scramble with green bell pepper, mushrooms and tomato drizzled with ketchup and served with a light whole wheat English muffin topped with some veggie cream cheese.

I was kind of lazy after breakfast.  I did manage to do some dishes and clean up a bit though, so it wasn’t a wash.  After enough loafing around, I did the Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones video from Exercise TV.  It seemed kind of truncated – like parts were missing – but it was still a great workout.  After that, I went downstairs and ran a quick uphill mile on the treadmill.  I was definitely spent afterwards.

After a shower it was time for lunch.  I used some of the leftover linguini from Friday and sauteed some orange bell pepper, steamed some broccoli and made a peanut sauce with soy sauce, some water and red pepper flake.  It was delicious.

  This afternoon, I’m meeting a friend at Barnes and Noble to read some magazines and sip some tea.  Its a favorite past time of ours and I’m looking forward to it.  If I can get my butt in gear, I may even look into doing some shopping beforehand!

Hope you guys have a great afternoon.

Em

Staycation

Hey guys! Happy Saturday! How are ya?

Things are going well here – Brian and I went straight to his parents’ house to dogsit after work yesterday and have started a staycation of sorts.  Its really nice here and there’s a ton of fresh vegetables and fruits (thanks Bette!), plus, there are about 5 bird feeders outside the kitchen window and its hilarious watching all of the creatures (especially the acrobatic squirrels).

Yesterday my eats were quite yummy, but mostly the usual – yogurt and pb and banana wrap for breakie, leftover chili, sauteed veggies and guac for lunch, crackers with laughing cow and apple for a snack and some pasta primavera for dinner.  Dessert was a chocolate sugar free pudding cup with some chocolate chip cookie and a squirt of whipped cream on top.  Yum. Oh yeah! I also had a mocktail like Kath.  Club soda with cranberry juice, lime and a cherry.

 

View Full Album

This morning we woke slowly and got started on breakfast.  I made banana and soy milk oats with blueberries and pb on top.  So good.

I got to meet up with some running friends after breakfast for coffee which was really great.  I don’t see them enough, that’s for sure.

Lunch was a bowl of V8 broccoli soup with some added broccoli and beans.  I also had some crackers on the side.  Quite yummy.

 

We had a ton of bananas on our hands so I decided to make my first ever banana bread.  I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding some oats and chocolate chips and reducing the sugar.  I’m excited to see how it comes out.  It smells delicious.

I think this evening we are going to meet up with friends for dinner but other than that, I’m about to hit the treadmill and will probably do some reading this afternoon.  I’m loving this staycation! :)

Have a great afternoon guys!

Em

Friday? Tomorrow? I’ll take it!

Hey guys! Happy Emilyday! I almost forgot that it was even here! I’ve been such a space shot this week and I have been having the worst time keeping track of the days.  Anywho, I’m quite happy that tomorrow is Friday, aren’t you?

For breakfast this morning, I had a bowl of oats…but…neither nanners, peanut butter nor pumpkin were involved (gasp! shreik!).  I had savory oats with some scrambled egg beaters, chives, pepper, a bit of cheese and some hot sauce (ok, a lot of hot sauce). These pictures may look kind of gross, but trust me, it was delicious. :)

Lunch was quite yummy as well – a tempeh wrap with a laughing cow wedge, lettuce, bell pepper and honey mustard and an apple.

Since it was pouring and I really needed my walking break, I decided to go to the gym for a half hour and use the treadmill around 1:30.  It was a really nice break to work up a bit of a sweat on the incline (we have showers) and read my book. 

When I got back, I was mucho rumbly in the tumbly and so broke out my snack.  It was satisfying and quite fun because really, what's better than dipping a knife recklessly into a peanut butter jar? I managed to keep it under control and had some banana with my peanut butter. :)

After work, I was craving some yoga and so I broke out my old Rodney Yee dvd and did the half hour power yoga for strength class.  It was awesome – I almost forgot how challenging it is!

Post yoga, it was dinnah time.  I broke out a can of TJ’s veggie chili (you may remember Brian’s iteration of it), made some brown rice, and sauteed some bell pepper and onion.  We’re going to be staying at Brian’s parents’ house for about a week to dogsit while they’re on vacation, so I had to do some major veggie clean out.  I mixed the can of chili with the rice (to spread out the chili wealth to lunch tomorrow) and served it on some lettuce topped with the sauteed veggies and some fresh quac.  It was really good…and you know how I feel about leftovers! :)

 
After some clean up and digestion, I did some random ab work.  I think I was mostly inspired by Melissa of Crunches for Cupcakes who seems to work in crunches here and there. It felt good and was fun while watching the Celtics!

Dessert was delicious.  I picked up some pineapple chobani (sooo goood!) the other day and I pre-mixed it with some kashi honey puffs and let it sit in the fridge for about a half hour.  It got all thick and delicious and I even kicked it up a notch with some organic chocolate chips. Yums.

Now I’m sipping on some tea and trying not to get creeped out by the insane wind and rain going on outside right now. Yikes!

If you haven’t yet, please visit Melissa Nibbles to read about her amazing decision and her meaningful giveaway.  She’s pretty darn awesome.

Have a great night friends – I leave you with my song of the day.

The High Road

Hey guys. Happy Tuesday! I hope that you had a good one! I went to work expecting some mayjah snow, but it has yet to start! I’m quickly losing my faith in our weathermen around here! The snow is definitely a pain, and I think I’m ready for spring, but there is something about a big storm that I get excited about.  Maybe the hopes for a snow day? :)

Today I had back to back meetings really early and so, yup, you guessed it – I packed some baked oatmeal. Today’s version had pumpkin and a frozen nanner mixed into the oats.  It was super good.  Especially with peanut butter frosting.

 

Lunch was a bowl of TJ’s lentil soup (which is delicious, by the way), with some wasa crisps. 

Snack numero uno was a minneola with some green tea.

And snack numero dos was the last of my kashi chocolate raspberry bars – can I get a heck yes!? I tried to soften the granola bottom by nuking it for about 10 seconds and it definitely did the trick.  I had to eat it with a fork but the warmness was pretty appealing. 

 

After work, I got a good workout in.  I’m SO sore from Tabata Monday and so I kept it to some cardio.  I ran an easy mile on the treadmill in about 9 minutes and then hit the arc trainer for 30 minutes.  It was quite enjoyable.

After a quick trip to the grocery store, I got to dinner making.  I ended up with steamed broccoli slaw (sorry for the repeat, Mom!) tossed with sauteed tempeh, bell pepper and bbq sauce along with a side of steamed sweet tater rounds. I put a bit of hot sauce and some shredded cheese on top of the slaw and it was deeelish.

 
I’m planning on having a super relaxing night and hopefully getting to bed early.  I still don’t feel like I’ve caught up from skiing!

Have you guys heard this yet? The Shins are awesome and Danger Mouse is awesome and this song is… awesome.

Sleepy Head

Hey guys! How goes it? Did you have a good Monday? Mine was trying at times.  I was having the hardest time staying focused because my head was so foggy and tired. I made it though, and skiing was DEFINTELY worth it!

For breakfast this morning, I had a delicious treat – baked banana oatmeal ala Tina. It came out so well and was really easy.  I loved being able to nuke it for a tiny bit this morning and then top it with pb --sans worried hovering around the microwave to prevent my oats from spilling over. I really recommend trying this!

 
Lunch was leftover chinese food from last night.  We were so hungry and didn’t have the energy to make food so we picked it up on the way home.  I ordered steamed broccoli and shrimp.  Unfortunately, they were out of brown rice, but I dealt with the white rice. It was quite yummy with some soy sauce. :)

Snack was broken in two.  I had my blue corn chips and salsa way earlier than expected – I was starving! 

 

Snack number two was a boiled egg. 

I was STILL hungry before Tabata Monday so I had a wasa cracker with a bit of pb on top.  It did the trick and I’m so glad I had it.  Tabata was brutal today! We were all huffing and puffing.  Its such a great workout in such a short time! I walked on the treadmill for about 15 minutes to try and cool down after and then we hit the road home.

Dinner was simple and fast – veggie burgers, broccoli and spinach.  I pimped my Dr. Praeger burger with some Swiss cheese, avocado, honey mustard, and hot sauce all on a sandwich thin.

We just finished some Rock Band and are now watching the Olympics.  You can bet your cute bottom that I have the kettle going and I’m going to enjoy some tea and Greek yogurt for dessert. :)

Have a great night, friends.

Em

Tabata Monday 4.0

Hi Pies! Happy Monday! Let's just say that after such an exciting (and early) day of skiing yesterday, this has not been one of my most perky days. I've been daydreaming about comfy pants, the couch, and my book since 10AM. :)

Anywho, Brian just sent me this week's Tabata workout so here it is!

1. Plank “Jumping Jacks”
2. Full Body Squat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWU3dSCJ6nc
3. Wall Sits while passing the medicine ball
4. Cone Drill to be Determined (usually, our cone drills involve running between a square of four cones)

This is the last workout of the month, so I'll probably stop posting them unless you guys are interested. The Tabata Monday looks as if it will live on past February for our work crew. :)

Have a great afternoon and I'll "see" ya tonight.

Em

Ski Bums

Hey guys! Happy Sunday! I hope that you had an amazing weekend! Brian and I went skiing super early today (we left at 6:30 AM!) at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire.  It was the perfect day and was absolutely beautiful.  I’m not sure how I’m still awake, or if I’ll be able to walk tomorrow, but I thought I would post a quick hello and a promise for food pictures tomorrow! Have a great night!

Low Key Saturday

Hi Friends.  Happy Saturday! I’ve had a really relaxing one so far.  I’m free of school work this weekend and am loving the mental break! I woke up fairly early this morning – around 8:30 and made an easy breakfast.  Even though you can’t tell, this was TJ’s plain greek yogurt mixed with pumpkin and topped with some crunchy pb, nanner, pb puffins and some honey.  It was yumtastic.

After digesting and watching way too much Teen Mom on MTV (it definitely hooks you in!), I did some yoga from Exercise TV.  The new yoga slim series (I think that’s what its called) is brutal! So many chatarungas.  I made it through though, and loved it, naturally.

After yoga, I quickly got some warmer clothes on and went for a walk.  I took my phone with me and had a long conversation with my Dad.  I miss my parents a bunch! It was nice, though, to have some distraction while I got my walk in.

I was a starvin marvin upon my return and made a delicious stir fry for lunch with bell pepper, broccoli, spinach and tempeh.  I had some brown rice on the side and topped it off with Thai chile sauce.  Yum.

Now, the afternoon is wide open.  Not sure what the plan is but it may involve some reading and napping.   Ah, the perfect weekend day. :)

I hope you guys are having  a great one as well!

Em

Friday and Photos

Hey guys! Happy Friday! Thanks so much for your great comments on Brian's post. I'm happy that he was able to take over for me and he did a great job. Its funny because I always come home from school and am venting about whatever work I had to do and then I get around to asking about the Wednesday race and am usually told..."Well, I came in first." I think if I came in first I'd be looking for a book deal and guest spot on Oprah. Ah well, thus is the life of a ridiculously fast runner.

I hope that you're having great days! Mine has been somewhat slow but I've managed to get a good amount of work done and have eaten wonderfully. Surprising? :)

Breakfast was a bowl of oats made with soymilk, topped with nanner and some crumbles of True North Apple Cinnamon Nut Clusters, oh yeah, and honey. It was simple but really tasty.



For lunch, I packed a yummy combo of red quinoa, broccoli, bell pepper and a boiled egg. Today, I topped it with some chipotle hummus and mixed it all together. It was really tasty.



Snack was a whole wheat sammich thin topped with pb and apricot preserves. I had both halves the same way, but spread the lovin' throughout the afternoon. Yum.



Not sure what the plan is for tonight. I have to go pick up my skis which are freshly waxed and sharpened (look out Lindsey Vonn!) other than that, its a clean slate. What are you guys up to this weekend?

Oh yeah! Before I go, I wanted to share my brother's blog - he's getting into photography so if you're interested in pictures (and pretty cool ones at that - even without my big sister bias), you should check it out! For skills.For photos.For fun.

Guest Postin'

Hey Everyone ("lovelies" as Em would say)...

This is Brian, Emily's boyfriend, doing a guest post tonight. While Em is off giving a final presentation for her class tonight, I thought it would be fun to introduce myself.

I brought my camera to work today to take pictures of my meals, but when I went to take a picture of my lunch I found out that the battery was dead. Clearly, this blog stuff is off to a great start...

The quick run-down is that I had some Peanut Butter Puffins this morning before leaving work, a Trader Joe's Organic Honey Greek Yogurt with a banana for a mid-morning snack. For lunch, I had a nice big salad with lots of beans and a small cup of lentil soup. That is pretty much a standard lunch for me. The cafe at work has a really good salad bar and usually has a vegetarian soup.

After work, I flew home and got ready to go to a local 5K that takes place every Wednesday around the lake in town. I normally do track workouts on Tuesday nights at Tufts University and then have an easier night on Wednesdays, but because of a snow storm last night I couldn't make the drive in for the workout. So I just got a few miles in on the treadmill last night and saved myself for tonight.

Lately, I've been really excited about running. I couldn't run for about a year because I broke my leg a while back. When I was first starting up again it was painful, but now things feel great and I'm just really happy to be back at it. Also, the book I'm reading Born to Run has me even more excited about it. I suggest you check it out.

So tonight, I got home early enough to run to the race (about 2 miles). I didn't have a ton of time, so I had to run at a decent clip on the way there. When I got to the start, I had about enough time to sign up, pin my number on, and get to the start.

I felt pretty good. I ran hard, but tried to focus on having good form, and finished in 18:30. After, I hung around for a few minutes and then ran the two miles back home (passing up the opportunity to eat pizza and do karaoke at a dive bar with a bunch of strangers).

I was pretty much starving when I got home, so I opted for the simple dinner of a can of Trader Joe's Organic Vegetarian Chili, with some leftover rice, steamed broccoli and cheese mixed in. Yum.

In Emily fashion, I'll leave you with a bit of music. Here is the Yeah Yeah Yeah's covering one of my favorite Sonic Youth songs, Diamond Sea

Curlodrome?

Hi Friends! Happy Tuesday! Its a snowy one here today.  After last week’s “storm,” I was a little skeptical of the weatherman, but he was right – this afternoon brought a good amount of the white stuff.  And here I was being lulled into false hopes of spring because of the longer days, a lack of snow and birdies chirping! I suppose it is only February though!

Breakfast today was quite delicious – a bowl of pumpkin oats with nanner, some honey and some crushed pecans.  Really yummy.

Lunch, as mentioned last night, was leftover southwestern polenta.  It was just as good today!

 

For snack, I had one of my Valentine’s Day Larabars – Cashew Cookie is perhaps my favorite of all time.  So good.

  

After work, it was off to the gym.  I ran 1 mile on the treadmill mixing up the speed and incline throughout and then did 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Its been a while and I found it pretty tough! I was sweating bullets.  The best part was definitely being able to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle at the same time. :)

For dinner tonight, I made a stir fry with bell pepper, onion, broccoli, sweet tater, a couple of eggs and Trader Joe’s Thai sauce.  Over some basmati rice, it was yumtastic.

 
Since dinner, I’ve been doing some major vegging and watched a bit of Curling.  It seems like such a cool sport, yet I have no idea what’s going on.  Any Curlers out there? Can you go “curling” like you go bowling? I’d love to try it out.

I think I’m going to go raid the larabar chocolate stash…its calling my name…

Southwestern Polenta

Hey guys! Happy Monday! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend and a great Valentine’s Day.  I’m really a believer in finding love (in every form) in everyday life, but I do enjoy a day dedicated to it.  Brian and I ended up taking a drive to Portsmouth NH and it did not disappoint, as usual.  Its such a cool little town.  There were a whole bunch of people out and walking around.

We wanted to go to the Portsmouth Brew Pub for lunch, but ended up at The Friendly Toast instead, which was a very happy coincidence. The restaurant is decorated with all sorts of amazing cast offs from the 50’s – tin figurines, signs selling levi’s jeans, strange pet paintings, an old cardboard box that belonged to 24 Baby Ruths (“the original salted nut bar with caramel”).  It was super cool. 

The menu was great – so many options and breakfast all day.  There were several vegetarian and vegan choices that all sounded amazing.  I ended up going with the Mediterranean salad with falafel and tahini dressing.  It was delicious! 

Brian got one of the specials which was a mash bowl (he subbed sweet potato fries for the mash) with black bean burger, bbq sauce, cheese, corn, and two huge slices of their homemade bread – he got jalapeno cheddar.  I tried some, and it was amazing! :)

Anywho, I just had to gush about the restaurant.  I can’t wait to go back.

To keep this from being a novel, I’ll get to today.  I started out with a plain TJ’s greek yogurt bowl with some pb puffins, peanut butter and nanner.   With snow-person coffee, of course. So good.

Lunch was a stir fry of sorts that I made last night – brown rice with broccoli slaw, snap peas, broccoli, carrots and cabbage topped with tempeh and some hot sauce.  Hit the spot.

I was super hungry today, I didn’t last long until I broke into some cottage cheese.  It was really cold and delicious – just plain.  Am I a weirdo?

 

Second snack was a Kashi bar.  One more left.  This one was even more dry.  I think this has the potential to be really good, but needs more work.  Kashi, are you listening?

I was super hungry before heading to the gym for Tabata Monday 3.0 and so I had a half scoop of chocolate protein powder mixed with some water and a splash of soy milk.  Did the trick!

Tabata Monday was great today – pretty tough, indeed! I normally do some walking or ellipticalling afterwards but my body was not going to have that today.  Brian and I just called it a day!

I was thinking about dinner all day – Brian picked up some polenta from Trader Joe’s and I decided to make a spicy southwestern dinner.  I sauteed some bell pepper and onion and added a can of black beans and a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles and cilantro lime sauce.

In a separate pan, I heated up the sliced polenta – about a half an inch thick – in some olive oil.  Once done, I plated the polenta, spooned the bean mixture over top, and then added some avocado and black pepper.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but this was delicious! Yum.  I even have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :)

Dessert tonight will probably be a few chocolates. I’ll have to pick them out from between the Larabars.  Such a tough life. :)

For making it this far, I want to share this song with you.  I may have listened to it at least five times today.

Have a great night guys!

Em