happy monday August 18, 2008

since when am i happy on a monday? since i have confirmed the suspicion i’ve had since friday that i’m getting a new job! so happy monday it is.

happy monday’s breakfast oats had double water because i ran out of soymilk but they still had a banana because i stole one from mom’s house last night, even in my painful partially blind stupor. i topped this last-of-my-oats bowl with the rest of my pecans (i have GOT to shop for food today, it’s down to the wire worse than ever before) and a soy-yo maple icing. i made it good today because i didn’t feel like gagging when i tasted it. it also added the creamy element that was missing from lack of soymilk.

delicious. happy monday’s lunch was the rest of the leftover amy’s lentil vegetable soup. i wasn’t going to eat this at all because i so thoroughly dis-enjoyed it last time but i added parmesan cheese (one of the only things left in the fridge) and half an avocado (more contraband from mom’s house). it was pretty tasty after the additives, i think i even liked it.

on the side i had 4 saltines and water. it was all i needed, this bowl filled me right up.

but then i remembered the snapea crisps so i had the rest to polish off lunch.

i had originally planned on working out as usual (today it would be spin) but my mom just called to invite me to happy hour to celebrate her birthday today! of course i’d rather go to that. suddenly i’m very happy i dragged myself out of bed yesterday to squeeze in an atypical sunday workout…

hurry August 16, 2008

this will be a hurried post because i don’t want to be late to my mom’s birthday party and i haven’t posted since yesterday lunch because i’ve been super busy. the pictures are taking forever to load so i’m gonna write everything up and then just put the pictures in at the end.

i had a z bar pre-workout and my workout was good. it was real good, i’m still sore. lots of awesome guided strength training. after working out i headed home to freshen up and pack my bag for the night so i could sleep at my parent’s house since the wine bar i was going to is closer to their place. i stopped over there to eat dinner with them before i went to meet the girls for wine. i snacked on a small handful of honey wheat pretzels before dinner was ready. then i had a small serving of the chicken and vegetables with black beans my sister made for everyone. at the bar i started with a glass of white, an Argentinian Torrontes. then we ordered some bruschetta, of which i had two halves. one of prosciutto, brie and fig and one of salami, manchego and pesto. i washed that down with a Malbec Rose. and then we shared a tuxedo chocolate cake for dessert. the girls really wanted to be on my blog so they posed for me

this morning i wasn’t hungry before my workout so i jazzercised without a snack. i got back to my place and made banana oats the same way as yesterday to fuel me for yoga. then i went to yoga!

after yoga i had pb&j on wasa crackers. and the rest of my h2h with soy yogurt and agave nectar with almond slivers. and just now i had the rest of my cucumber, sliced, with tomato quarters and lemon-yogurt hummus. and that’s all i’ve eaten since my last post…

pics!

down to the wire August 15, 2008

it’s a good thing i get paid today because i have no food left except some spinach and tomatoes. i used my last english muffin for the pb&j i packed for lunch and i plan to have the aforementioned produce to make my last salad later today, probably after i workout. today i’m going to a new strength training class! i’m excited to add it to the rotation if it’s good because i had been seriously lacking a challenging friday workout.

this morning i made banana oats the usual way. after i served them in the bowl and topped them with the pecans and a handful of h2h, did the dishes and took some laundry out of the dryer while watching the today show so i could give the oatmeal a chance to cool off a little. i always get really eager to eat them and then i burn my tongue. not today!

i also drizzled it with a smidge of sugar-free maple before eating. this breakfast is doing it’s job, i didn’t get any hunger pangs until almost 1 (i ate at around 10). so i had my snack of true north peanut crunches.

they were pretty good but a little too sugary to be a regular snack. and right now i’m about to dip into the pb&j. so i don’t have to make another immediate post i won’t bother taking a picture. consider it logged. *update: i also added a serving of snapea crisps to round out lunch.

back to the mundane August 11, 2008

monday so far: oatmeal for breakfast, described in detail in the sunday morning post

the rest of the amy’s chili with two wasa crackers and an izze juice for lunch about 3 hours later

it was so good with the added crunch from the wasa i tracked down these saltines to finish it off

i ate around 1230 and it’s 3 now and i’m not hungry. i brought some salad fixings that were supposed to be part of lunch but i got full. i suspect i’ll be craving those veggies in half an hour.

sunday morning August 11, 2008

that happens to be the title of my favorite maroon 5 song. but it wasn’t raining yesterday so the lyrics don’t seem super appropriate here. anyway, sunday morning i made the best bowl of oats ever

- 1/3c. oats
- 1/3c. soymilk
- 1/3c. water
- small banana
- vanilla & cinnamon
topped with:
- 1oz. toasted walnuts
- blueberries
- maple so-yo icing

all of the flavors together were outstanding. the banana i used was very small but there weren’t enough oats to sustain it so the next time i made it (this morning, monday) i used 1/2c. of oats. i skipped the “icing” today, too, because it was too weird tasting. i am not a fan of soy yogurt unfortunately. yogurt is something i crave so it might make cameo appearances from time to time but i will continue to avoid eating it for the most part. today i also put the blueberries in while the oats were cooking instead of as a topping. both ways were good, i guess it’ll just depend on how ambitious i’m feeling any given morning.

another reason to have had 1/2c. of oats was the satiety factor. i was hungry again sunday after about 2 and a half hours. so i had the frozen kashi entree i got at whole foods, black bean and mango

i really hate onions but i ate them as part of this entree and it was ok. i couldn’t taste them mixed in with all the other flavors. but from now on i will only buy this if i’m desperate for something quick and easy because of that.

after i ate that, i decided i wanted some kashi h2h. just because. i love that cereal so much it is super dangerous to have it just sitting there when i could be eating it. i’m working on resisting…

and i’ve already confessed to sunday night so this post is over.

a new day August 8, 2008

despite last night’s failures, today is a new day. i can make new choices and just do the best i can do. i started off with banana oats. it was 1/2 a banana, 1/3c. of oats, 1/3c. of water and 1/3c. of soymilk with vanilla and cinnamon. it tasted pretty heavenly because i hadn’t had this combination in a loooong time due to lack of bananas.

then i had a juicy nectarine

and now i’m about to have the larabar i keep in my purse in case of snack emergencies because i’m already hungry and i don’t think lunch is going to be before 1 today.

banana-walnut oats June 3, 2008

i made the old staple because i woke up early and had the time.

they were extra creamy because i used half-and-half. (it’s the only dairy i have in the fridge right now! i’m in desperate need of a trip to the market.) i used a cup of liquid as usual but only 1/4c. of it was half-and-half. i need to use it up before it goes bad. i also thawed out my last frozen banana and added that. they were super rich and creamy and i didn’t do too bad on the calorie count, either. 385… huzzah!

just keep swimming May 29, 2008

before i get to the swimming i must confess that i had mint medley tea before i went to bed last night

it soothed my tummy that wasn’t very happy with me for some reason, maybe it was the wine i had with dinner…
another confession to make about yesterday (just for accountability), i had a bite of the zucchini walnut muffin i got for mom from starbucks when i had the coffee. it looked really good so i had to steal a morsel from the top, just to make sure. it was. but i was already digesting it before i remembered to take a picture, oops.
ok, NOW on to today. this morning i woke up bright and early to go swim laps at the aquatic center near where i live. i thoroughly enjoyed it! i woke up without too much trouble and seemed adequately prepared (i have a lock i was able to use to lock up my purse, a big towel, a sporty swimsuit and havaianas) except no goggles. i really really need some if i am going to keep swimming because my eyeballs still hurt and it feels like i am looking at everything through frosted glass. other than that, i did pretty well. i managed to swim 30 freestyle laps in 25 minutes for 246 calories burned before i even started my day! for the record, i tried to swim a few butterfly and breaststroke laps but i couldn’t even get across one length of the pool doing the butterfly :/
i am really rusty but with practice and awareness of my technique it should get easier as the summer wears on. i’m going to have to switch pools so i can continue making it a morning swim but luckily there is another one close by i can easily transfer to. i’m excited to throw something else into my fitness mix because it’s already waking up my muscles! my arms especially are talking to me right now, i love it!
APPLE WALNUT OATS
when i got home from the pool i had lots of time so i made oats-on-the-stove. today, because i didn’t have any ripe bananas to throw in, i used double milk (1c.) with my usual 1/2c. of oats to make them creamier. first i chopped up a green apple and tossed it with cinnamon and splenda. after “baking” the bite-sized pieces for a minute in the microwave, i added them to the oats just as they were starting to thicken on the stove. i toasted 1oz. of walnuts (about 2tbsp.) for a minute in the microwave as usual and topped the bowl with them. the result was a lot like oat-y apple pie, yum!

the bowl of oatmeal, including all the fixings, was 345 calories of deliciousness. if i am ever craving apple pie i will at least consider having this instead
i mean, look at that appley goodness:

it was pretty filling but i ate it really early so by the time i was showered and dressed and ready for work, i had a teeny pang of hunger. so i had a mini-smoothie, same as yesterdays but with half the ingredients. i guess i can’t start my day officially until i have some banana in me.

i had it to go
that added 103 calories to breakfast for a grand total of 448.

trail mix oats May 26, 2008

this morning has been substantially better. i went hiking with mom for an hour and then on a walk/bike/ jog through the neighborhood with the rest of the family a little later for about 20 minutes. the weather is absolutely perfect. it pains me to be inside blogging right now because today is going to be the last day of spring weather for the rest of the summer
in my great outdoor workout i burned 430 calories! not bad, it was a good time.
pre-workout i had a banana with a tablespoon of almond butter for a sustaining 191 calories.

i got home to my parents house and made me and mom some oatmeal with vanilla soymilk. i topped mine with organic unsalted trail mix for a total of 340 calories.

oh yeah, right after the hike mom and i went for coffee at our favorite local coffeehouse. i had a small soy latte with sugar-free syrup for about 90 calories.

i think i’m all caught up now, i’m getting hungry so i’m about to eat some leftover whole wheat pasta salad with pesto sauce. yeah that sounds good, i’ll be back on to blog it soon!

easy like sunday morning May 25, 2008

i was so good this morning, my dad made pancakes and i didn’t eat any! the best part was, i didn’t actually want any! this is a victory for me. i did start making my oatmeal before he put even one flapjack on the griddle (and i stole the only banana) so i was already looking forward to my oats. same as yesterday, delicious and satisfying.

i also had coffee with soymilk and one packet of splenda.

all together 486 calories.

all in all, a great morning. went to church with the fam (the weather is gorgeous today!) and didn’t get home til about an hour ago. we’re going to a memorial day barbecue at my uncle’s house later so i had something to hold me over, a whole wheat tortilla to dip into pesto sauce from paradise bakery. so yummy.

i had already dug in before i remembered to take a pic, hence the ripped tortilla. then i had a homemade cupcake one of my sister’s friends bakes that was delicious! snack calories totaled 371.

that’s been all the food for today, no sunday brunch… but i will be partaking at the barbecue. i’m taking boca burgers for my uncle to grill for me and my mom is making a batch of her pasta salad with whole wheat rotini so i can eat that, too
it should be good, i’m super psyched to see how i can make the barbecue foods work! i’ll keep you posted…