stumped August 18, 2008

i seriously could not think of any kind of title, clever or otherwise, for this post. and i swear it’s not because i had a cocktail.

this is an appletini. (but before i forget, on the way to the lounge i had a z-bar.) i should have gotten a cosmo. oh well, next time i’ll know. and there WILL be a next time. the place we went to was fabulous. my sister wants me to help plan her birthday celebration there. we’ll see…

dad ordered a three-tomato mozzarella pizza to start and i had a slice.

we also ordered a cheese platter with fruit and crackers for the table(s). i had two crackers, two slices of pear and three slices of apple to help me sample each of the different cheeses. i had more gouda than any other kind.

then my parents informed me that i wasn’t invited to dinner so i had another piece of pizza.

and these figs stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto. there’s something about the fig-prosciutto combination i find irresistible. i had to share though so i only had two.

at my parents’ house after i left the bar/lounge i had dessert because i was craving something sweet. a cinnamon rice pudding cup and some chocolate soymilk.

then i went to whole foods FINALLY! i got a bunch of food and went out of my budget but some of the items i bought won’t have to be replaced weekly so hopefully next week will be cheaper.

craving a balance August 13, 2008

i’ve decided that i definitely need to workout more, even more than i already do, because i just like food too much. i enjoy eating and i’d rather not put so many limitations on what i can and should eat. i like working out and the bottom line is i need to create more time to be active so i can start enjoying my life in a body i can be proud of. what brings this on is the discovery that i don’t have a waist and it’s high time that i get one. now that i’m done philosophizing (sp?) i can present breakfast.

same as yesterday, i started out with half a chopped cantaloupe. only today’s isn’t blurry

and followed it up with 1c. of kashi h2h with pecans and a small chopped banana in 1/2c. of soymilk

i ate at around 830 and started getting hungry again at around 1030 (!!) but i chugged water and staved off the real hunger until just now, 1215-ish.

cold breakfast August 12, 2008

yesterday my body temp was way up and i think it was because i had hot hot oats for breakfast. so today i had half a cantaloupe (that i chopped up last night in my motivational kitchen frenzy)

it had been in the fridge so it was nice and chilly. and blurry, too, apparently. to supplement i had 1 heaping cup of kashi h2h with a dash of apple oh’s and a small sliced banana in 3/4c. of soymilk

i had all that around 830 and exactly 3 hours later at 1130 i had this cherry pie larabar

and i’m trying not to be hungry again ’til 130 because it just seems like a good time to eat lunch. i packed a can of amy’s lentil vegetable soup and some true north pistachio crackers. lentils usually keep me full for a long time so we’ll see what happens because i already ate the only snack i brought.

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.

weekend August 11, 2008

another short weekend ends rather unceremoniously. i’ll start where i left off saturday. that lunch i had really filled me up and kept me completely un-hungry for way too long. it was 830 before i felt anything. so i had a heaping bowl of kashi h2h with pecans and blueberries in soymilk

i was full, no lies. but that was when i started to get hormonal and crave-y. the sweetness of the cereal made me want to forget it immediately. so i cracked open two things: a can of amy’s spicy organic chili with tofu AND a bottle of riesling that has been sitting in my fridge since february. i suppose i was waiting to open it for a special occasion that never came along or perhaps to wait to drink it with someone special who also never came along. instead of holding out, i decided to just start drinking it with myself because i bought it at a wine tasting in california so i knew nobody else would even enjoy it as much as i could. it was the perfect olympic-watching companion.

here’s the first glass along with the bottle

glass #2

glass #3

it’s a good thing i took pictures because i thought that was the last one. but my camera doesn’t lie and there was a fourth glass pictured like so:

who knew watching the olympics would be so much fun on a saturday night? i got to watch michael phelps win his first gold medal and completely smash the world record that he set himself… that’s why i love athletes and like to pretend i am one.

after all the wine i really wanted something cheesy, of course. but it was not to be. i toasted an english muffin and called it a night. luckily i didn’t get the spins while i was trying to fall asleep and also managed not to wake up with a headache. i still have about 1/3 of the bottle left which should be gone in no time.

back in the game August 1, 2008

breakfast was loaded with carbs but i tried to leave sugar out of it as much as possible. not sure i did a very good job of that but i’m feeling very full still so i guess only time will tell…

it was a little over 1c. of cereal (about 3/4c. of pumpkin raisin crunch and a heaping 1/4c. of apple oh’s) and 1/2c. of soymilk with 1 lifestream organic maple cinnamon waffle smeared with almond butter and 1 piece of cranberry walnut bread, toasted.

i felt full but not super-uncomfortably so after eating all this food. looking at it in writing makes me want to work on balancing the nutrients for future mornings. i might have to go back to kashi go lean because it’s the best, even though it tastes kinda like cardboard. maybe i can make it palatable with pecans and agave nectar. i’ll have to try that soon…

food July 31, 2008

what i actually ate today, since that is the real purpose of this blog: cereal with soymilk for breakfast; soy yogurt, blackberries, toasted sunflower bagel and soy latte for second breakfast; amy’s vegan burrito for late lunch. dinner is TBD.

i’ve decided to dabble in veganism. today i’m experimenting with it to see if it improves my digestion. so far it has. yesterday i was bloated after having cheese with my veggie sandwich and a kosher all-beef hot dog for dinner with frozen yogurt for dessert. today my stomach feels good so i’m gonna go with this kick as long as i can make it last and as long as it keeps my tummy happy.

you’ve heard it here first, i WILL go to jazzercise today. what a way to keep myself accountable, all i do is hit publish! i thought about skipping it but i really should go at least for the cardio. i won’t feel bad for skipping the strength portion though because i’m SO sore from bootcamp yesterday. my biceps are still burnin’.

in other related news, i begin the process to become a jazzercise instructor this saturday. woot. if anybody asks, i’m a fitness instructor…

a restocked fridge is a happy fridge June 4, 2008

after getting in my long hard sweaty workout and sampling the larabar i felt strong enough to hit up the grocery store on my way home. i needed some basics and i swear, i stuck to them. no picture of the groceries but one of the highlights was the 99 cent cantaloupe! i didn’t have enough time this morning to chop it open but maybe i’ll do it when i get home tonight, although that’s also unlikely. let’s be honest, i’m not really motivated to do anything when i get home after a long day and tonight is going to be a late one. i have spin (hour-long spin, not half-hour prep for boot camp spin) ’til 630 then i have to book it across town to be late (it’s ok, i cleared it with the director) for my volunteer meeting that was set to start at 6 and will run until 8. then i need to stop at my parent’s house (it’s in the same part of town as where the meeting is) to see the baby because he’s been sick and i haven’t had a chance to go over there.
so anyway, i restocked my fridge with my favorite food staples and came up with this for breakfast:

which was also great because it was good on-the-go and i had to be here early today. it’s a flax waffle and a cherry smoothie made with light vanilla soymilk and flax oil. theme for breakfast was flax, clearly.
but backtracking a little bit, dinner was a pita pocket with avocado and two chicken slices with a drizzle of mom’s salsa. perfect and only 221 calories.

i didn’t need any more than that after the snack attack!
p.s. i burned about 662 calories working out according to myfitnesspal.com

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…