Black Swan Reflections & A New Breakfast

Hey guys! Happy Monday! How goes it? My day went pretty well. The morning started off slowly and then I'm not sure where the afternoon went. It was just...gone.

Before I get into the foodie stuff of today's post, a lot of you have been asking about my impressions of Black Swan. I think that I could probably ramble (mostly incoherently) about the movie for hours, but I'll start by just saying that it was amazingly well done. From the cinematography to the costumes to the acting; it really was top notch, unbelievable. Natalie Portman was amazing and her character was achingly believable. It was probably one of the most intense movies that I have ever seen. The subject matter really begs you to think about the dangers of seeking "perfection" and how easy it is for some of us (me included) to become obsessed with it. The amazing thing is that while Portman's character is very much unstable and unwell, you never feel as if you are separated from her; as if each one of us couldn't be affected in the same way by the situations she was placed (and put herself) in. I was telling my friend when we were walking out of the theater that I felt like I was walking on egg shells. For those of you who saw it, you may be able to relate, but I was so nervous about accidentally hurting someone for some reason. Backing out of my parking spot took FOREVER! We definitely went out for drinks after to loosen up and think about other things before bed. I did have crazy, dark dreams though, regardless! Also, before you go see it, I would recommend that your company be people that you are extremely comfortable with. There are scenes in the movie that I would definitely not want to watch sitting next to my parents or boss, ha.

Ok, moving on...

Breakfast was a new creation inspired by some amazingly fresh and organic cracked wheat bread. I love cutting off big hunks of fresh bread. Mmm... Anyways, my bread hunk was toasted and then topped with half of a nanner mashed and mixed with some pb. I heated up the nanner/pb mix in the nuker for about 15 seconds and slathered it on my toasty bread. It was delicious. I had a boiled egg on the side for some extra protein. I've been trying to up the amount I'm eating to support my training! Note – I took a healthy bite before photographing. :)

For lunch, I had a yummy salad featuring leftovers from last night. I marinated some tofu and butternut squash in soy sauce, some maple syrup and red chili flakes and baked them low and slow (last night, I had them along with a veggie stir fry topped with tahini). This morning, I added my tofu and squash leftovers onto a fluffy bed of baby spinach. I added some chopped pecans and homemade honey mustard dressing, you know, for delicious staying power.

Snack today was simple and satisfying - kashi crackers with roasted red pepper hummus.

I have a soccer game tonight so I'm eating fairly lightly – a bowl of lentil soup with a mini sammich with cheddar, a bit of avocado and some mustard.

Now, I’m off to relax a bit before hitting the turf. Have a great night, friends!

Em

Guess Who…

…is nearly ready to make super cute vegan graham crackers??

And now for a rolling pin…

Enjoy your Sunday evening, friends!

Em

Road Trip? I’m In…

Hey guys! How are ya!? I hope that you’re having a great weekend. I feel SO much better than I did on Wednesday. Thanks so much for your wonderful support and comments. They made my day. I’m so thankful for you! :)

I have some catching up to do with you on my running as well as with my other goals, but, I’m a little short on time, today. You see…just as I was sitting down to my breakfast and Thursday’s episode of The Office…

I got a call (or three, they’re persistent) from my parents wondering if I’d be up for meeting them in Worcester, about halfway between here and Albany, for lunch and some wandering around. Never one to turn down a road trip, I finished breakfast, cleaned up, got out for a great run (it was actually pretty warm!), showered and hit the road just in time to meet them at noon.

We ate lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant called Sahara’s while the service left something to be desired, the food was delicious. We started with an appetizer of baba ghanoush and hummus with thin pita triangles. Both were amazing. I was partial to the baba ghanoush.

For my meal, I got a falafel pita which was great – the falafel was crispy without being dry and the pita was stuffed with lettuce, tomato, some sort of pickle and tahini. Yum.

We walked and drove around for a bit and eventually took our separate  ways back home. I’ve been doing some chores since then and just enjoyed a yummy veggie stir fry with butternut squash, onion, red bell pepper, broccoli, tofu and an egg. I used soy and chili sauce to season. Yum. Hit the spot.

Now, I’m off to see Black Swan with a friend. I’m a little bit nervous but way excited. I’m just hoping I’ll be able to get to sleep tonight. :) Have a great night, friends!

Em

Days Like This

So girls (I use girls because in the unlikely event that there is a male reading this post, you should bolt. Leave now and come back tomorrow. Trust me.)…So girls…today I had a bad day. You know, like one of those days when…

…your job sucks, you have a headache that just won’t quit, you hate your wardrobe, you are snippy (snippier?) with your innocent coworkers, you want to blast angry music to yell to, you’re not doing anything with your life, your skin is breaking out, you’re hungry all the time but feel queasy, the sky is falling, and should someone get the treadmill before you, they seriously are risking a punch to the face.

You know what kind of day I’m talking about?

And then, after all of this and finally just resolving that, well, this is your life now, this is how its going to be…

It happens.

You are suddenly aware of what all of this is about. (And hopefully, you’re not wearing white pants, or on a road trip miles from civilization, or just about to dive into the pool...)

On days like this, comfy pants and a comfier dinner are most definitely necessary. On days like this vegetables need not apply. Days like this call for pancakes with fruit spread and a drizzle of maple syrup with a couple of delicious eggs for dinner.

And most definitely some dark chocolate…

Feeding the Beast

Hey guys! Happy Monday. How did it go? Mine went super fast. Despite sub-zero temperatures, the sun was shining which always makes for a happy day for me. I think I may be fighting a cold, but I'm taking echinacea and eating lots of fruits and veggies. Have you tried taking echinacea before? Its an herb that is supposed to help your immune function. I'm not sure if its the placebo effect, but it always seems to help me keep colds at bay. :)

I've been really enjoying getting back into running. Along with the great runner's high and sense of accomplishment comes a serious hunger beast, though. I've been making sure to honor my hunger, and my cravings, and today has been especially important since I'm going to try out my first double-sport Monday (more on that in a bit).

Breakfast was a delicious bowl of oatgurt (plain oatmeal with plain greek yogurt topped with nanner, cinnamon and honey). This is such a great and filling combination. I love it.

For lunch, I packed a delicious salad. Mixed greens, bell pepper, carrot, sundried tomatoes, avocado, black beans and homemade honey mustard. I had some crackers on the side for crunch, of course. While this was really tasty, I missed something hot on this cold day. Noted for tomorrow!

My afternoon snack was fabulous...a coconut cream pie larabar. Its so good. I'm pretty sure all of my coworkers heard me oohhing and ahhhing while munching.

So, as I said before, today marks my first double-sport Monday. My friend Ashley and I decided to take some Monday night yoga classes about a week before I got invited to play indoor soccer (yep, on Monday nights also). I love both so much that I have decided to try them both. Yoga starts at 6:15 and soccer is usually later - around 8:30. I'm a little nervous about how tired I may feel but I'm also pretty excited about it.

Since I don't have much time between the time that I get home from work and yoga, I had an easy and light bowl of canned vegetable soup.
And before soccer, I plan on making a protein packed egg sammich. Hopefully it'll do the trick!!

Have a great night friends! I'll catch you on the flipside (aka tomorrow aka Tuesday!).

XOXO
Em

Cravings and Ravings

Oh hey, friends. Happy Sunday. What’s the good word? I’ve had a pretty solid weekend, I’d say. Our graduation dinner on Friday was amazing. It was so fun to see everyone (I miss my classmates!) and the food was great. We started with cheese, crackers and fruit as appetizers and then moved on to a sit down meal that was awesome.

We started out with pumpkin bisque and a wedge salad. For my veg-head entree, I was served a garbanzo bean tart which had roasted tomatoes and artichokes with potatoes and roasted veggies on the side. Dessert was an apple tart that was SOO good. It was worth feeling stuffed for.

Saturday I woke up craving french toast again. It seems like it has been my weekend go-to breakfast lately. I honored my craving and made some french toast topped with banana, cinnamon and syrup along with coffee and OJ on the side.

After digesting and doing some cleaning and packing, I made my way to the gym to tackle this week’s six miler. It was super cold out and so I chickened out on spending that long outside. The treadmill wasn’t bad but I definitely got a bit bored.

After my run and a gym shower I hit the road for an impromptu trip to visit my parents. The drive was uneventful and I munched on a veggie sub from subway and a peanut butter pretzel Mojo Clif Bar. 

Dinner was a yummy Chipotle salad followed by a few squares of TJ’s dark chocolate truffle bar. Have you ever tried this? If not, you most definitely should. Its SO delicious.

 

This morning, I woke up and took my time eating breakfast, drinking coffee, reading blogs and listening to newspaper articles (happily read to me by my parents). I had a lovely bowl of oats with pb and banana.

After a bunch of hemming and hawing and stalling, I bundled up and set out on my 3.5 mile run. It was COLD out there (about 9 degrees and snowing) but it was pretty neat to be out forging a trail in the snow. There weren’t many cars either so I had most of the roads to myself.

I made my way home and did some stretching and then filled my rumbling tumbly. I really wanted a bagel and so that’s what I had – a great sesame one toasted with cheese, brown mustard, mixed greens, cucumber, roasted red pepper, and jalapenos.  This was so tasty and most definitely hit the spot.

Now, I’m just hanging on the couch and watching the Packers game  with my parents. My mom is making chili and cornbread for dinner and I am pumped!

How has your weekend been? I hope you enjoy the rest of it! :)

Em

Running Reflections & Switched up Lunches

Hi friends! Happy Friday. How did the week go? It was such a strange one for me. It went SO quickly. I was super busy after work each day and I feel like I’ve been running the whole time. Definitely no complaints though, because I’ve been up to some really fun things (soccer, dinner out, art openings). I’ve been keeping my word to be more social and it’s been great.

I’ve also been keeping up with my half marathon training. Two weeks almost officially down. I did struggle a bit on Tuesday’s run after my soccer game on Monday. I have been feeling pretty tight – mostly my calves and hamstrings. With being so busy, I haven’t been able to do yoga this week and I think I need to be much more diligent with it to make sure that I keep limber. :) Yesterday’s run was good. I felt strong and had to keep myself from pushing the speed. We’ll see how this weekend’s six miles goes…

Hrm, so what else has been going on… I made an awesome packed lunch today. I have been getting a bit sick of sammiches and salads for lunch and decided to mix it up. Microwaved instant brown rice and black beans spiced up with salt, pepper, chili powder and lime juice served on mixed greens with half an avocado on the side and garlic chipotle salsa to top it all off. It was so good – and easy!

Tonight is the night of my MBA graduation dinner. My classmates are pretty much the coolest people around and we all wanted to do something to celebrate so we’re having a fancy smancy dinner tonight that I’m pretty pumped about. I should probably go get dolled up. What do you guys have going on this weekend?

The Thing About Pizza

…is that its super fun to make and eat with friends…

But, when you make it for yourself, you’re guaranteed every “best” piece and have tons of leftovers. :)

P.S. Soccer was so fun. Thanks for your good luck thoughts! I’ll be sure to divulge more soon. Have a great night, friends!

Weekend Happenings

Hi guys! Happy Monday and Martin Luther King Day! I was lucky enough to have the holiday off from work and I’ve had a pretty good day today. I hope that you all have enjoyed the day as well! I think I’d like to do some backtracking about the weekend.

First and perhaps foremost – Saturday night I had the pleasure of an evening out with some wonderful ladies and friends how happen to have amazing blogs. Melissa, Rhea,  Di, and Stephanie all met up at Whole Foods for an awesome dinner.

 
I had a delicious bowl of hot bar goodies – mixed greens topped with peas, sesame broccoli, beets, curry tofu, sesame tofu, a veggie cake, chana masala, and butternut squash risotto. Everything was delicious but I’d say my favorites were most definitely the butternut squash risotto and the chana masala.

After dinner, a dangerous bottle of rootbeer and lots of laughs, we made our way back out into the cold for some drinks at Yardhouse. Although there were endless beer options, I stuck with my standby – Guinness. I also learned a new use for the word squash. Don’t ask me. Ask Di. :)

Saturday started out very well with an awesome yogurt mess breakfast, involved a great three mile run outside and then went downhill between the hours of 4:30 and 7:30. Yikes. I don’t want to talk about it.

Let’s fast forward to this morning, shall we? Mmm K. I woke up slowly and had a leisurely breakfast spent reading blogs and watching Ellen. I love Ellen. Anywho, breakfast was delicious – an egg omelet with broccoli and two slices of toast; one with laughing cow blue cheese and one with tomato paste. It was quite yummy eating the toast with pieces of omelet on top. I also had some OJ on the side.

I have been doing a bunch of errands and went for a nice walk. I’m going to make whole wheat pizza for dinner and then am making my way out to play in an indoor soccer game – a friend from work’s team needed extra women and so I’m going to play with them in their last three games. Should be fun but I’m a bit nervous – its been so long since I’ve played indoor!

Wish me luck and have an amazing evening!

Em

The Half-Marathon, v.2

Hey guys! Happy Sunday. I hope that you’ve been enjoying the weekend! Mine has been pretty great so far. I woke up feeling a bit nervous yesterday…on the training schedule was my first six mile run. I can’t even tell you the last time I ran six miles and didn’t know how it would go. I managed to stay positive (giving myself some pump up words all morning), made a fun playlist and ate a delicious and nutritious breakfast -

whole wheat french toast with nanner, soy sausage, oj and coffee

And then I made my way to the gym. Its still really snowy and icy around here and so I couldn’t get myself to run outside (even though I saw three people out running on my way). I hopped on the treadmill and set myself up at a comfortable pace. Less than an hour later, I was done and felt great.

Now, I know that its not really such a big deal to run six miles, but it felt like a small victory for me for several reasons. The last time I trained for a half marathon, I was very hard on myself. I ran six days a week and never had an “easy” run. I wore myself out mentally and physically.  While its just the beginning of my training this time around, I have such a healthier mindset. I have realized how amazing it is that I am even taking this on – regardless of whatever pace or distance I complete during any specific run. I am making room for other activities that I love like yoga and strength training and bowling (ha).

At the same time, there is nothing wrong with pushing yourself and I am very excited to undertake this training and successfully run the half marathon in March. It will be difficult but so worth it.

My training plan is from Runner’s World and is as follows:

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	Rest	2 miles 5-7x1:00 AI, 2miles	Rest	4 miles + 4GP	Rest	3-4 miles	6-7 miles
2	Rest	2 miles 5-7x1:00 AI, 2miles	Rest	4 miles + 4GP	Rest	3-4 miles	6-7 miles
3	Rest	2 miles 5-2x[1:00,1:30, 2:00] AI, 2 miles	Rest	4 miles, incl.4x1:00 AI +5-6 GP	Rest	5K race	4-5 miles
4	Rest	3 miles, 3x[2:00, 2:30] AI, 2 miles	Rest	5-6 miles, incl. 4x1:30 AI + 6 GP	Rest	3-4 miles	7-8 miles
5	Rest	3 miles, 3x[2:00, 2:30] AI, 2 miles	Rest	5-6 miles, incl. 4x1:30 AI + 6 GP	Rest	3-4 miles	7-8 miles
6	Rest	3 miles, 2x2:00 AI, 2x2:30 AI, 1x3:00 AI + 6 GP, 2 miles	Rest	5-6 miles + 4 GP	Rest	10K race	4 miles
7	Rest	3 miles, 2x[2:00, 3:00, 4:00] AI, 2 miles	Rest	6 miles, incl 4x2:00 AI + 6 GP	Rest	5-6 miles	9-10 miles
8	Rest	3 miles, 2x[2:00, 3:00, 4:00] AI, 2 miles	Rest	6 miles, incl 4x2:00 AI + 6 GP	Rest	5-6 miles	9-10 miles
9	Rest	2 miles, 4x1:00 AI	Rest	2 miles easy, 4 x GP	Rest	2 miles

 

The “AI” you see on Tuesdays is short for aerobic intervals. This past Tuesday, for example (week 1), I ran 2 miles at a steady pace, and then ran at a sprint pace for 1:00 and repeated 5 times. I then finished with two more miles at a steady pace. These intervals are designed to improve stamina and speed.

The “GP” you see on Thursdays refers to gentle pickups which are designed to improve foot turnover, stamina and speed. This past Thursday, I ran four miles and then did four 100 meter pickups during which I steadily increase my pace.

I think the rest is pretty self-explanatory. As you can see, I switched up my “long run” to Saturday and am going to run 3-4 miles today. It just seemed right for a Sunday. :) Let me know if you guys have any questions or comments!

Thursday, is that you?

Hey guys! Happy Emilyday! I’ve been walking around feeling like its a Monday and have been super excited the nearly ten times I realized that it was actually Thursday! Woot! Did you have a good day?

My day started out with a solid bowl of oatmeal made with 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. I love making them the night before and then just heating them up in the morning – the oatmeal ends up super thick and delicious. I topped my bowl with some raisins, chia seeds, 1/2 a nanner and a few pecans.

The morning flew by and before I knew it, it was time for lunch. Since I couldn’t heat any food last night, I had my leftovers from Tuesday night – sauce with tempeh, bell pepper, onion and some whole wheat couscous. It tasted so good to have a hot meal on this super cold day!

 

My snack was afternoon snack was an apple larabar which was delicious. I think it may be my favorite flavor. Kind of boring, huh? Anywho…after work it was time to do my second half marathon training run – four miles followed by four 100 meter pick ups. It was tough, I’m not going to lie, but I felt great after. The hardest part was doing the pick ups after finishing my four miles. It was definitely worth it, though.

I’m going to be sharing my whole training plan with you guys over the weekend when I have a bit more time to get into it. Hopefully you’ll find it interesting – or at least be able to use it to cheer me on! :)

I was SO ready for dinner after a quick trip to the grocery store. I made an egg omelet and heated up some refried beans. I added a whole wheat tortilla, half an avocado and some salsa as well as a salad on the side. Delicious and fast!

Tonight, I’m so looking forward to relaxing. I got some chocolate vitatops at the store and can’t wait to break into one for dessert. Have a great night, my friends! Almost the weekend!

Em

Snowmageddon

Well hey, guys. What’s the good word? Today was a DAY around here. Let me tell ya. The weatherpeople were most definitely correct about this storm of ours. I even took a little video of what I woke up to this morning…

Yep, well, it kept snowing quite angrily until, oh, about a half hour ago. We probably have about two feet out there! Its crazy. We lost power around 2 but luckily my landlords have a generator and so we were able to have heat and hot water. I read and lit candles and felt altogether…grisly. (Maybe that was because I was still in my pjs when the power came back on at 6:30?) :)

Anywho, this morning I had a nice leisurely breakfast and lots of French press coffee. I was craving veggies and so roasted some frozen broccoli and made an egg and some toast.

After that I read for a couple hours - I finished Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (!!) - and decided that I was ready for some lunch. I made a veggie stir fry with low sodium soy sauce and chili sauce. On the side I had some jasmine rice. I topped it all off with a healthy dose of tahini. Just because its delicious.

And that’s the extent of my food pictures! I did manage to get a Crunch Pilates/Yoga workout in before the power went out and then continued to lounge about reading magazines and some old poetry books.

I was ready for dinner before the power came back on and so it consisted of hummus with crackers and carrots along with a plain greek yogurt with some jam mixed in. No power required and satisfying! :)

I just got back in from shoveling (round 2) and now its time to relax, hardcore. I hope that you guys have had a great day and have an even better evening!

Em

Goal Check In & Half Marathon Training Kickoff

Oh hey, guys. What’s happening? How is the week treating you? Mine is going well so far. I can’t believe that tomorrow is already Wednesday! We’re in for yet another big storm and work has already been reduced to a half day – potentially starting at noon depending on the weather. Based on the forecast (12-16 inches of snow!), I have a feeling that we won’t be going in at all. How are you guys dealing with the crazy weather? I just saw pictures of an ice-covered Georgia in the news. I hope that everyone is well!

Anywho, enough about the weather, huh? Let’s talk about my New Year’s goals a bit.

Goal number one involves “getting out of my own way” and pertains to securing my life here with friends and activities that make me happy. This goal has been going pretty well. The weekends tend to be tough. Most of my friends are “couples” and so its easy to feel like they probably already have plans or a routine, etc. You know what that sounds like, though? Getting in my own way. Hehe. I shouldn’t assume anything. But this week started off great with a fun yoga class with my friend Ashley and tonight I had plans to see Black Swan that unfortunately fell through last minute – we can reschedule, though. I have fun plans for the weekend and am feeling quite smug happy about it. :)

Goal number two involves training for New Bedford Half Marathon, which happened to kick off tonight. For the sake of not writing a novel-length post, I’m going to go over my training schedule (from Runner’s World) at another time but I’m pretty excited about it. Tonight’s treadmill run was great – a total of 5 miles – 2 miles fairly easy, 1 mile of 1 minute sprints and 1 minute recovery, and then 2 more miles fairly easy.  I felt great afterward. I think my biggest struggle here will be making sure to pace myself. I always want to race through runs and that’s not the way to go about long distance training at my current level. I need to be slow and steady!

Goal number three is to start getting back in to personal reading. Thanks to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (which admittedly started quite slowly) I’m having no trouble with this one. I’m getting nervous though because I’m nearly done. I don’t know if I should skip reading tonight so that I can read tomorrow on my snow day or what? :) I don’t think I’ll be able to get out to the library….hrmmm…such difficult decisions.

Anyways, thanks for humoring me and my progress. It helps to reflect, for sure. Of course, I have some food photos to share as well. To refuel after my maiden training run, I made some delicious homemade sauce with bell pepper, onion, tempeh, lots of basil, red pepper flake, garlic, pepper and parsley. Yum. I had it over a mélange of whole wheat pasta (rotini, shells AND spaghetti) because all three boxes were nearly empty – plus its just WAY more fun.

I’m looking forward to some dessert which will most likely look like this – dark chocolate, homemade vegan graham crackers and almond milk. Yum!

 

I hope that you guys have a wonderful evening. Stay safe and warm!

Em

Weekend of Wonders

Hey guys! Happy Sunday. How has the weekend treated ya? I know that a lot of us on the east coast were in for some snow. We didn’t get hit as badly as during the last storm (thank goodness) and its been relatively warm so its just pretty snow on the lawns and trees and clear roads, for the most part.

I’ve had a pretty solid weekend that was full of a lot of culinary firsts. Perhaps most importantly, I had my first official Dairy Queen blizzard (the irony of walking in to the DQ during a blizzard was not lost on me!). While most of you suggested blizzards with chocolate, and while I would most often say that I am a chocolate over fruit ice cream gal, I was driven to try the strawberry cheesequake blizzard.

I picked the blizzard up when I was out and about during the day and so it hung out in the freezer until dessert time. I’m pretty sure it would have been more creamy had I eaten it upon purchase, but it was still absolutely delicious. The cheesecake (quake?) pieces were amazing and there were huge chunks of strawberries instead of the sugary, syrupy sauce that I was expecting. Yum.

My second culinary adventure involves my first pomegranate. My aunt brought us one in a fruit basket over Christmas and I had been staring at it since my mom sent me home with it. Pomegranates are a little bit intimidating, am I right? Anyway, after reviewing several how-to videos (but before coffee or contacts), I did manage to extrude the seeds without incident. The whole underwater extraction method really works. I recommend it. No juice stains!

I enjoyed my pomegranate with breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday – oats with sunflower seed butter and the delicious seeds and pomegranate buckwheat pancakes with sunflower seed butter and half a nanner. Mmm…

Finally, I was feeling bake-y this afternoon and realized that I had all of the ingredients on hand for Angela’s adaptation of Ashley’s vegan graham crackers (phew, that was a mouthful). I made a few changes – I used chia egg instead of flax egg (1 tbsp of chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water). I also used only wheat flour (no white) and didn’t add the turbinado sugar to the top.

Let me tell you, guys, the smell of these babies is unbelievable. Worth it just for that. I’m so pumped to have a bunch to munch with tea and milk and whenever I may so desire. Yum. [Note, these are not pretty, my “rolling pin” involved a champagne bottle and parchment paper. My “cookie cutter” was more like a pizza cutter. But, ya know, its how they taste!]

 

What have you been up to this weekend? Any exciting meals or cooking/baking adventures??