Two posts in one day... I'm en fuego.

By the time I got home from DC this morning, I was ravenously hungry, so I did what was simple: cereal. I had elaborate plans to make some whole wheat pancakes but it just wasn't going to happen. We had special K, Fiber One Raisin Clusters and I added some blueberries and sugar to round it out. Doesn't this just make you feel healthy looking at it?? Maybe that's just me.

Lunch was yet another BLT. It's weird I've been craving them so much lately. I tried to get some better angles of it for you... hope you can appreciate my efforts!!


I had another stint with a Greek Yogurt parfait today, too. Here it is... another picture that just makes me want to be healthy...
They say people who have an apple an hour before dinner eat significantly less at the table because the fiber from the apple fills them up. I tried this tactic but not because I wanted to be full for dinner-- I just wanted some apples. That along with hickory smoked almonds was my snack this afternoon.

I made fajitas for dinner tonight. The indoor grill pan I bought is making winter grilling a sinch! I love it! This chicken turned out so much better than baked, so I definitely recommend it to you seasonal-only grillers! I made one giant fajita (it was more like a burrito) stuffed with avocado, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, refried beans, salsa, sour cream, onions and sauteed bell peppers--yum! I had some extra peppers and a little bit of green beans on the side, too. It didn't look nice next to all the latin cuisine, so I kept it out :) I nibbled after my fajita but nothing too bad--most of the ingredients are veggies!




A small scoop o' ice cream, two pretzels with peanutbutter for dessert. I'm so sleepy right now, I think I might just go to bed. With love.

PS: A friend had a great idea to merge my blogging with maybe a new hobby--restaurant critiquing. I shouldn't even ask because I know no one is reading this but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! This could be a really fun little hobby if I stick to it.

Ohh the sun decided to come out today! Of course, the day I wake up with a bit of a headache from a little more wine than I would have bargained and all I want is a dreary sky. It's unbelievably pretty. So thanks, the weather would have been much appreciated yesterday. Oh well!

I woke up early enough to go out to breakfast with the parents on Saturday. We headed to Bruegger's Bagels in Old Town, Alexandria and I was thrilled to get my hands on a toasted bagel with the garlic herb cream cheese. So naturally, as I'm picturing bagels spinning around in my head I get up to the front of the line and order an everything bagel with cream cheese--right? Wrong. Why-oh-why didn't I listen to my gut? I got enticed by the Rio Grande Wrap-- two eggs, jalapeno cream cheese, peppers and ham all tucked into a portable sandwich. I'm wasn't disappointed with my choice, however. I ate half of it and saved the other for later (it never got eaten... I guess it wasn't that good). I had a naner and some delicious French Toast coffee too. Bruegger's coffee is, I think, God's gift to man. I had two large cups and by the time I got home I had way too much energy and had to pee every ten seconds. TMI? Hope not.

I got some workout videos to try and amp up my classes so I popped on in to try cardio kickboxing. Not too challenging but I guess I got my sweat on for a little. I wanted to go to the gym but the roads were horrible so I guess I did alright all things considered. Lunch was another wrap. Like I said, I was planning on saving the Rio Grande Wrap but when push came to shove I didn't want reheated eggs on a soggy tortilla. So, what I did instead was stuff a whole wheat wrap with lettuce, ham, avocado and a Laughing Cow light cheese. We got fresh apples from the farmers market in Old Town, so I had one on the side.

Now, things start getting tastier. My friend moved into DC so we truged from her new apartment to the near by Trader Joe's to get wine and dinner. We ended up getting everything I love: chips/salsa/tortillas/cheese/pizza/wine. Life is good. By the time we got back we were all hungry so we busted out the chips and salsa and made little frozen Spanikopidas which were fantastic. Minus the oven was horrible so it took about 30 minutes to bake them. Then we burnt the pizza--oops. Everything came out well and everything is better surrounded by good friends (and wine)


We ended up staying in until midnight drinking wine and firefly... the high school gang. It felt nostalgic for just a night.

It was grand.

Okay, so I claim to be around mature palettes; I like people who enjoy trying food. Whether it's a new ingredient, cooking style, or just completely crazy, I enjoy someone who enjoys being a foodie. This morning however all it took was two little girls to show me enjoying food is not about a mature eater with expensive and exotic taste.This morning, I babysat a 2 year old and a 5 year old and one of the funniest experiences was breakfast.

Although this next statement is unfortunately changing because of stress in the media...for the most part, kids have no care about calories. Sugar isn't the enemy, it's that tasty crystal like substance that makes mom's cookies their favorite. Cheese isn't to be used sparingly; it's the oozy gooey fun that comes out of the side of their grilled cheese. Food isn't the enemy; it's an after school snack, a bowl happiness or a cup of bubbles. Children are not obsessed with the dynamic of eating that almost everyone in this country spends hours analyzing (myself included!) You'll never see a child struggling over ordering the bacon cheeseburger versus the grilled chicken salad. You won't see a child finish the whole plate just because it's there. I love watching kids eat because it is not just about the food-- it's an EXPERIENCE.

I'll be the first to tell you I love food-- and everything about it. What I love most however, is the feeling I get when I am actually eating. Kids are different. They take in the texture of the food by holding it. They look at it, smell it, take little bites and chew slowly. The girls both had one chocolate chip cookie each which took about 15 minutes to eat. In fact, the littler one didn't even finish because eventually she decided she had better things to do than finish her cookie just because it was there. A peanutbutter sandwich became quite a mess but it was enjoyed thoroughly... as you could tell from sticky hands and lips. The older one created a (well... mess) solution to breakfast boredom. Because there was no milk, she made this hilarious concoction of plain cheerios, honey and peanutbutter on white bread. A sign of success "Dis taystes moh like dessurt dan bwekfast."

And though most would kill for the chance to enjoy dessert for breakfast, she stopped halfway through because she was done. The littler one wanted peanutbutter on bread-- hold the bread. "I juss gonna eat da peanutbutter can I haff mowe?" And it took about 20 minutes for her to observe every little pea-sized amount of peanut butter on her finger before it went into her mouth followed by giggles when I showed her the smear on her face. When she was done, she was done. There was no emotional cue to eat more-- how different from adults. I'm not saying to eat what a child eats, but maybe try to eat like a child does.

Now, I wish I could tell you I implemented my own advice today but it was just one of those days. Nothing seemed to fill me up!! I think I worked out too hard this week. So, I took the day off-- making me feel guilty for all I ate but oh well! Breakfast was early-- and no picture: a peanutbutter and fluff sandwich. I knew today was going to be rough when I come downstairs to see the other half of my banana sliced up in my MOM'S cereal! So, I had to make due without it.

After a few hours with the little ones, I was absolutely starving! I couldn't even wait for lunch so I had a big mug full of fiber one and special K with milk. This was supposed to be my pre workout snack but one problem, I forgot to work out!

I went out to lunch with a friend at Panera. Though my choices were OK nutritionally... this is a bigger lunch than I'm used to and I ate it all! The problem with places like Panera is that even the "healthy choices" are stocked full of sodium, which causes you to eat more, and crave more! I ended up getting the French Onion soup with a half BBQ chicken chopped salad with corn, black beans, tomato and a ranch dressing. I didn't use most of the dressing and took of about 1/2 of the tortilla strips. I also had the wheat side baguette (which I tried avoiding but the cashier convinced me, darn!) Oh well.. it was a good lunch followed by a better cup of Dunkin Coffee... mmm... simple pleasures.

So, much to my dismay, I was uninvited to dinner with my parents and because it was just one of those days, I wasn't surprised. I had big plans to just heat up some of the pasta we had earlier in the week and roast some cauliflower with it. I ended up eating more than 1/2 of the entire head of the veggie! I made a sub with... drumroll please... the makings of a BLT. But, no mayo! So, yeah... big surprise. I munched a lot before dinner on the pasta I was going to make so now I'm stuffed... but still wanting some ice cream... tee hee...

Maybe I'll eat it like a child... slow, and with pure joy.

This morning was ROUGH. I was so tired from staying up until 11:00 last night... REALLY!? 11:00 is too late for me? At this point, yes. And, to top it off, I was starving when I woke up, and I tried to wait to eat in the morning but ended up scarfing down breakfast at 6:00 a.m.

As you can tell, I made a whole wheat wrap with a whole banana, a tbsp of peanut butter and a drizzle of honey. This kept me full for about 4 hours until my tum started grumbling. I really believe pb and banana is one of the best combinations possible.Mmm mmm. I must say though, I was more excited about my coffee this morning. I just got a new sugar free creamer. Yum.
I had a snack at around 10:00... Fage Greek yogurt, sliced strawberries, blueberries, some flax seeds and another drizzle of honey. This was a good pre-work out snack and it kept me fueled through my boot camp styled jump and pump class. After my class, I had to rush home and make a quick lunch. I finally strayed away from the BLTs. I made a small ham, avocado and mayo sammy on light style oatmeal bread with some grapes and then rushed off to my dermatologist appointment. My boot camp class must have been pretty strenuous because by the time I got home from my appointment, I was hungry (and sleepy) again! I had some hickory smoked almonds and another coffee... oops...

I took a "kick butt cardio" class tonight before dinner. I do not feel like my butt was kicked but it was a high energy class and an alright work out. I prefer to do a little more but it's getting boring in the gym so I was glad to take something. I got some good ideas from the girl... and I went to the library today so I have a ton of stuff to look at for ideas!!
Dinner was balsamic chicken with peppers served with mashed potatoes and broccoli.. yum! I loved the peppers. The chicken could have had more flavor but I guess it was advertised as healthy so I'm satisfied with it. After dinner I finished off the Edy's Butterfinger slow churn. Hopefully I won't get any hungrier tonight... keep your fingers crossed. Alright, I'm pooped... keep it gangsta.




....OOPS.... I had a diet soda, which as always, made me crave MORE food. Plus, I'm hungry. So I'll admit... I had a 1/2 of banana, tbsp of peanutbutter and fluff, 2 hershey kisses and two entertaining quartet crackers...I am still at around 2000 calories so, although this isn't ideal, I'm not ruined for the day!! Goodnight... for real this time!

For any of you foodies out there, check out this website. I think I'm in love.

More of the same today. I'm sorry I'm a creature of habit... I know that makes following my blogs a little boring from time to time. Breakfast was a TEENY bit different. I used vanilla yogurt on my waffles because we were out of Greek and cottage cheese. It was an okay substitute but it will not be my go-to. I'm excited to try the Fage yogurt on crepes... or maybe even regular pancakes. I think I will be making those soon. Can you tell I'm trying to like blueberries? I think they're great in muffins, coffee cakes, even smoothies, but on their own, I could do without. But, with all their propsed benefits (plus I like the color), I decided to force feed myself.

Lunch was more of the same. I won't even tell you in hopes you can guess what this is!

I forgot a picture of my mid-afternoon snack but it was a Kashi Crunchy bar with a tablespoon of creamy peanutbutter. Mmm... what a good choice! (Plus some Dunkin Coffee... I caved.) Alex visited a few weeks ago and we found what may be the best Dunkin ever. I get it every so often and it's so worth it. Although, I only like it when I use my own creamer. For some reason, I don't like theirs--weird, I know.

I got home from work at around 7:25 and was absolutely starving! Susie tried to have dinner ready by the time I got there but because of a recipe disappearing on the web, she had to improvise. I couldn't wait to eat so I had some Fage Greek Yogurt with honey and some flax seeds. It kept my growling stomach at bay until the main event.

Dinner was fantastic. I found this recipe on the Cooking Light website. It's a creamy rich tasting pasta dish which even has BACON in it but it's way more decadant than it's nutritional value would seem. We had asparagus on the side, so it's so far so good for eating healthy even with the parents back from vaca. I almost saved some for lunch but decided it's a better dinner than lunch...maybe this weekend?

I finally took a picture of my ice cream! Be happy! I love this stuff-- it makes staying on track during the day do able. If you can't tell... and if you haven't been reading, I'll say it again: I'M A CREATURE OF HABIT. I like routine, schedule, and knowning what's coming next. In this regard, I'm a great diet planner... but I don't like it when things throw me off. I've been good recently. Tonight we're trying a balsamic chicken recipe which looks really good... so I'll look to that. Oh, and my 7:00 a.m. coffee in approximately 30 minutes and 20 seconds!

Ciao!

PS: Here is my Livestrong report

What a long day. It's weird that I'm done with class for the week and it's only Tuesday! I cannot (and will not) complain! I woke up leisurely at 9:30 today. It felt like heaven...I miss the days of constant sleep in. I'm so accustomed to waking up early now and to not have to felt wonderful. Breakfast was organic cornflakes, fiber one, 1% milk, strawberries and blueberries. I sprinkled a little sugar on top for some flavor to the whole thing. My boyfriend would hate this breakfast because the corn flakes get a little soggy but I thought it was lovely.

After my breakfast I headed out to brave the cold and take a run. I went about 4 miles.

Lunch was the same as yesterday basically. I get into major patterns: half an italian sub roll with 1/4 avocado, tbsp lite mayo, oscar meyer bacon, tomato and cracked black pepper with a side of grapes. I also had a coffee to get me through class. During class, I had a snack of a Kashi TLC Honey Almond Flax bar with a tablespoon of peanutbutter. Sorry for no pics!!

I am very proud of the dinner I made. I grilled chicken on my new grill pan and put some barbecue sauce on it. I made a huge salad of mixed greens, tomato, avocado, onion, egg whites, bacon and blue cheese dressing. This cobb salad was delicious and much lower calorie than one might find in a restaurant. Restaurant salads may have over 1,500 calories!!! That's horrifying when you're trying to make a healthy choice!

During class my teacher made smoothies but I opted for my less nutrition ice cream late night snack instead!!! Life is sweet.

Feel Better Dear!!! Adieu

It's been a weird Monday. In fact, I can't even believe it's still Monday. I've been up since 4:30 so I'm spent. It was strangely warm in Northern VA today. I liked it surprisingly.. enough about that. I had my jump and pump class at 6 a.m. and decided to do most of it with the class because of my indulgent weekend. An hour filled with jump rope, stairs, lifting and the bike later, I had breakfast. It looks absolutely disgusting in this picture, I apologize. It was much better than it appears-- promise! I finished off the greek yogurt and topped it with a honey crisp apple, honey, and flax seeds. Alongside of my coffee, it was a great jump start to the morning.

After my own workout, I went home and did some stuff around the house. Lunch was delicious. I made a BLT on the leftover italiano bread. Bacon, lettuce, tomato, light mayo, avocado and pepper. It was so good! I had a huge fruit salad of grapes, blueberries and strawberries alongside and another coffee a few hours down the road.

Before my night class, I had a good size snack--obviously once I find something I like I repeat it over and over until I'm sick of it and so I did-- whole wheat waffle with peanutbutter and fluff. It kept me full until dinner.

For dinner.. I took the picture but deleted it! I'm so angry! I made a really tasty chicken sausage and peppers sandwich with pepperjack cheese and a baked sweet potato on the side. It was delicious. I still have three more sub rolls to go until I'm done with them all! Ha. I need more sub ideas! Send them my way! Maybe tomorrow I'll do a chicken Parmesan sub. Or barbecue chicken.. that could be good. Whatever the case, I have to keep it interesting!

Dessert will be Edy's Loaded Butterfinger ice cream. Mmm Mmm Mmm... Bliss..

Okay, time for homework, hoorah!

Bonjour.

The weekends are a calorie-BOMB usually, and this one proved no different. In an attempt to keep it real with you, I will share the details of my over indulgent weekend filled with delicious food, wine, and relaxation.



Things started out okay on Saturday. Breakfast was Fiber One Raisin Clusters with almonds for healthy fat and 1% milk. I went to a kick boxing class and got a minimal work out. It was actually a lot easier than I would have liked but I guess it's better than nothing. I had a huge sweet tooth this weekend... you'll see... so for lunch, I wanted peanutbutter and fluff. Of course, we had no bread, so I had to improvise. I used a whole grain eggo waffle and topped it with the PB & F and put it in the toaster oven. The waffle crisped up nicely, the PB oozed through the whole thing and the marshmallow got golden brown. It felt like such a treat. I had a pear too... and I think some coffee in there.



Okay it looks a little burnt but whatever. Here is the climax of my food weekend. Amie and I went into Georgetown for a cupcake and some coffee. WOW. You have to try these babies. It is unbelieveable how good they are. We split a red velvet and a vanilla with chocolate frosting. You know I'm a chocolate junkie but the red velvet was so incredibly delicious. We both got coffee and enjoyed them in the privacy of my car. It felt very much like overeaters anonymous but it was so worth every last calorie. Interestingly enough, the whole Georgetown Cupcake store was over crowded and we were stuck in front of some type-A personality...witch. She was trying to direct traffic in there and here is one of her direct quotes... "SOMEONE (referring to Amie and I) has to be a little more proactive in this clusterf**k. REALLY lady? She was in work out attire and I'm guessing by how tiny she was that the cupcake might be all she was eating that day, so I guess the moodiness could be explained. It's incredible to see how angry people can get in a setting that just gave me such joy. Ha. Sad. But so true. Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures because I was in love with the place.







After the major euphoric sugar high, and a few hours later, I needed some fruit so I made a little salad of grapes, blueberries and strawberries.



For dinner,Amie's dad made lamb burgers on the grill. I've never had them before but they were delicious. He actually grilled an onion right into the patty and I think it was served on 100 calorie Arnold sandwich thins with some rosemary red skin potatoes. Of course, Amie's mom made these round tempting dark chocolate chip cookies so I had half of one... and then the other half, oops! Sorry... I'm no inspiration to anyone. Unless, that is, if you want to let your hair down and live a little!




We went out in Georgetown and split a bottle of wine between a group of us. I loved the veramonte sauvignon blanc wine we had. Only about a glass for me because I was driving so at least I didn't take in TOO TOO many empty calories. By 2 a.m. however, I was starving and got home and starting nibbling. I HATE HATE HATE this habit. If only I snapped a picture I could have stopped myself but I ended up eating a handful of pretzels, couple crackers with peanutbutter, a slice of SALAMI (yeah, I know?) and a laughing cow cheese triangle. This seems innocent enough but it's a horrible habit and still left me unsatisfied. Oh well... Sunday's a new day!



Speaking of Sunday. Here's my food. For breakfast I had some whole grain waffles topped with the Oikos Greek Yogurt, sugar free syrup and blackberries. I had a small decaf coffee and then headed out the door. Amie and I met my good friend Matt in D.C. for lunch at this little hole in the wall restaurant. I ordered a reuben sandwich and ate half of it with a garden salad and a few of Amie's fries. I'm saving the other half for dinner tonight. I got it with the Russian dressing ON THE SIDE because 1. saves a bunch of calories and 2. saves my delightful sandwich from getting soggy. The lovely afternoon ended with a coffee from Starbucks and a lot of grad school homework. This is my break. Isn't it sad that I get enjoyment out of telling you what I eat? It's a nice escape.



Anyway, as usual, I missed my healthy snacks so a few hours into the after noon I find myself eating an apple with honey and some almonds.




Like I said, dinner will be the other half of my sandwich and some baked potato fries. I'm looking forward to it... maybe I'll take a picture for you.


It was good... very good. I had a mini snack attack after dinner but I'll be back on track as of tomorrow, promise! Got to get to my goal.
Au revoir.