It's that time again...

Heya kiddos. How is your day going? Mine has been very strange, mostly because I got up at 9, ate, then went back to sleep until 1. Glorious, but you know how I do.

I had a big bowl of cereal, with two handfuls of All Bran Flakes and two handfuls of Smart Start. I sliced an entire banana (halfway down the road to mushy, also glorious) on top and bathed it in skim. Who says cereal has to be boring?


I had an apple when I woke up...


... and grabbed some dried fruit (date, fig, prune, apricot, candied ginger) on my way out the door to go to the gym.


Got a small coffee with skim milk to take on my ride into the city.


My workout today was not so great (but they can't all be, right?). Since I'm going out to dinner tonight, I'd planned on having a wonderful, 600+ calorie busting session, but that just wasn't in the cards today. I did 35 minutes on the bike, then moved on to the stairs and started to feel sick to my stomach. I hope I'm not coming down with something!

To make up for the lack of greenness in yesterday's eats (just chives and cilantro... bad news) I went to the Whole Foods salad bar. I got some spinach, baked tofu, "chicken" salad (I love this stuff), lemon baked tempeh, broccoli and jicama mango cucumber salad. I squirted on a little creamy avocado dressing (the name itself is enough to make Ari vomit) to give it a little oomf.


I didn't want to have something too heavy, because my parents and I are going to the Tribeca Grill for Restaurant Week. This is the first time since having the blog that Restaurant Week has occurred, but it's pretty much my favorite time (well, times, since it now comes thrice) a year. Assuming you act fast, you can get a three course lunch or dinner at the city's best restaurants for $24.09 or $35.00, respectively. Woo-FREAKING-hoo! By the time I called, our first choices were already booked, but I got us reservations for 7:30 tonight. I'm excited to try something new. It's also co-owned by Robert De Niro, so it'll be interesting to see what his tastes are like (I have a feeling this isn't exactly Italian mobster food).

Have a lovely Wednesday night!

His & Hers

Guess who's who? This was our cleaning getup; we scoured the house from top to bottom.

I had an apple-icious snack around 6. This wasn't the best apple, but it did the trick.


Have you ever had rotten tofu? I hadn't until today, and let me tell you, it is one of the foulest tastes I have ever had. It was supposed to make up the bulk of my sandwich, but instead I made another of my weirdo concoctions: hummus, Laughing Cow Light, and cilantro on rye bread. I also had a sweet potato with marjarine (my B&B disappeared) and maple syrup, but I zapped the potato for too long and it was a bit dry. Oh well.



I had a Hot'n Healthy bar (Chocolate Chip) a few hours later for dessert. Gosh, I love these things.


Waitress is on TV and Ari and I are watching. He's never seen it before, but it's putting us both in the mood for pie!

Night night :-)

A quick one while he's away...

... in the shower, that is. I'm going to make this speedy... I'm getting a late start on my day and already slept through my yoga class. Boo.

Last night I had an apple before I went to bed.


Special treat at the diner: I've been eying these chocolate chip banana pancakes for over a year. Yes, you red that right.


Today Ari surprised me by ordering them for himself (sans banana).


Pretty good job, dontcha think?


Have a great day!

You Noodlehead

Hi there! I almost typed "good morning" and then "good afternoon"... I'm a little out of it; I flopped into bed for a nap early this afternoon and just now woke up. Blegh.

Even though I was unbelievably full last night, I had an apple before bed. Sometimes when I've eaten too much I do that because I think it will de-bloat me... does anyone else ever try that?


I've felt a little off all day. I think it started this morning, when we slept in until ten and then headed over to diner for some munchies.


I got a huuuuge bowl of oatmeal... this is much bigger than it looks! I'd say the bowl held about two cups. I got pecans and blueberries on the side.


About 1/3 of the way through, I started getting full. I love oatmeal so much that I just kept eating and ended up feeling overstuffed.


When I got downtown to go to the gym the food was not even close to being settled, so I wandered around Barnes & Noble in a daze for a little.

My workout today was horrible... I wasn't feeling great, and I just didn't want to be there working out. I did 20 minutes on the stairmaster, and I'm surprised I even made it that long. I tried to do the machines, but after my first arm list I looked in the mirror and said out loud to myself, "I can't do this today."

I felt claustrophobic all day, even when I was outdoors, like I couldn't get enough air. I'm not sure what that's about...

When I got home, I had leftover "chicken noodle soup" (broth, chik'n, shirataki noodles). I was so excited when I discovered that I could make "healthy ramen" (yes, I do actually like the taste of ramen, I'm not ashamed to admit it)!


I also had an Ezekiel muffin with almond butter and mango butter.


With vitamins and Emergen-C:


And a huge apple:


I still don't feel so hot, and we're going out to my favorite Japanese restaurant so I hope I feel better soon enough to fully enjoy it.

Have a lovely Friday night!

Whirlwind of activity

Pfew! What a day. I didn't even do all that much, but commuting from place to place (today I was in three different burroughs!) that really wipes me out. I went all the way uptown today just to get a couple hours of mid-day shut-eye... you gotta do what you gotta do.

This morning I made a breakfast cookie out of steel cut oats, which was a first for me. It was definitely a lot chewier, and I think they work better as overnight oats or plain ole stovetop (which reminds me, I don't even remember the last time I made oatmeal on the stove!), but it still tasted yummy and filled me up. I topped it with a craisin/currant version of Ari's band's logo. Bring on the cheese.

1/2 cup steel cut oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 banana
2 big scoops nonfat plain yogurt
craisins/ currants

I made a little pit stop at Wallgreens on the way to the gym for some much needed supplies. (Yes, Lucky is a necessity, thank you very much.)


I took Caroline's advice and bought some Tiger Balm to rub into my sore spots. I had an awful experience in 6th grade when I applied Bengay to my stomach (for kicks, I guess?) and was promptly told by one of my classmates that I smelled like a peppermint. My abs have been pretty uncomfortable for the last few days, so I tested a small amount of TB on my stomach. It wasn't too painful, so I just slathered it on my tummy.

I'm still getting to know my HRM, so here are the stats I do have:

Stairmaster: 20:00 minutes
Bike: 20:00 minutes
About 440 calories burned... I might have to take my notebook with me again until I get the watch figured out.

Usual ab series, minus leg lifts (abs need a little rest)

I had an apple on the way out. If I'm gonna take pictures in the gym, I might as well set the stage!


I went to Whole Foods to pick up some things. I got three new bars (Gnu, ThinkThin & Amazing Grass Organic Superfood), Unsweetened Almond Breeze, Ezekiel Sprouted 7 Grain English Mufins, a dark chocolate bar, and my usual bar variety. Whole Foods always has coupons for bars, so be sure to pick the coupon booklet up at the front of the store! I was distressed to discover that their Union Square locations does not have a bulk foods bar. What's up with that, WF?


I decided to try something that's been in our fridge for a very long time:


I used it to cover one half of my English muffin. On the other half, I had a whole can of [dolphin safe] tuna mixed with the juice of half a lemon, two tsp of Fage, craisins and grapes; dijon mustard, and lettuce. Yum! (Tuna salad does not photograph so well...) I'd planned on having butternut squash fries, but alas, the squash was no longer. Instead, I had a sweet potato with B&B and brown sugar. Not much of a sacrifice, I have to say... I think I could eat these guys every day.


With almond milk (I added vanilla extract to it and it tasted like coconut...?) and my long-lost vitamins:


I had a date and a prune for dessert, each stuffed with peanut butter and a chocolate chip.


This evening, I went to see The Cherry Orchard with my parents at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in Fort Green.


We went to an Austrian Bistro called Thomas Beisl for dinner, which was conveniently right across the street. I started with a glass of Grüner Veltliner.


Blurry bread plate that tastes better than it looks... soft and salty! I had a slice with a little butter.


My parents and I split an appetizer sampler of different Austrian salads: beet, potato, cucumber, and lentil.


For my entrée, I had oven-baked salmon (they couldn't grill, steam or poach it) with sautéed greens and parmesan polenta. It was delicious. I'd actually been planning on making a polenta dish that I saw in SELF later this week, so I guess I'll hold off on that! I had half the salmon, all the greens and 2/3 of the polenta. I don't know why, but I was full after only a few bites. I kept on eating, but I'm glad I didn't force myself to eat the whole thing.


I needed a little coffee to make sure I wouldn't fall asleep during the play, which has been known to happen with me....


For dessert, we all split an apple cranberry oatmeal crumble with vanilla ice cream. It was divine. I'll have to remember to use toasted oats as a topping!


The play was really, really good. The cast was stellar (Ethan Hawke, Rebecca Hall, Richard Easton, Sinéad Cusack, etc.) and the story (Chekov) was great. The theater itself was really neat, too, and I snuck a look at the café menu and that looks good, too!

I'm off to douse myself in Tiger Balm goodness hit the hay. Oh, and I also just had a pickle and a light Baby Bell cheese. No photo... it all happened so fast!

Bonne nuit, mes amis.

Peanut Butter & Thai

Hello bloginas and bloginos (I know there's at least one of you...)! I hope you have all had fabulous Tuesdays. I love being able to blog more than once a day; I feel much less overwhelmed when I don't have to upload 38 pictures at once!

I lazed around the house for awhile today (I loved reading what you all do to get comfy when you come home... I thought the jewelry/jeans thing was just me!) and finally decided around 2 to head out to the gym. Before I left I had a banana, which I nestled in a sweater so that he could be cozy, too.


Today was my first day using my beautiful new heart rate monitor. I'm still learning about how to use it, so bear with me while I figure it out... my stats are kind of incomplete today but I'll do my best.

Stairmaster- 20:00 minutes
Elliptical (I think that's what it was... it was kind of this free-form flying contraption)- 7:00 minutes (the machine turned off when I went to get water)
Bike- 15:00 minutes

Calories burned: 449

I also did my usual arm series (4 machines, 3 sets of 10). My abs are in so much pain because of my new yoga habit, so I decided to give them a rest and only did 60 crunches. I spent the rest of the time using the roller... I could roll around on that thing forever! Nothing feels better than stretching out sore muscles.

I decided to have breakfast for lunch (if that's what you can call it at 4:30) and had a delicious (if not aesthetically pleasing) bowl of peanut butter and jelly super protein oats.

1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 big scoops nonfat plain yogurt
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp blackberry jam
dried currents

This was a great combination (sadly I cannot take the credit for pairing peanut butter and jelly). I wonder what it would taste like hot... and cooked, for that matter!

I went shopping for dinner in Chinatown tonight. Let me tell you, if it wasn't so out of the way I would go there every day! They have great produce, and everything is so cheap! I got all of this for under $20. (Those long purple things are Chinese eggplants.)


Dinner tonight was from Moosewood Cookbook: New Classics. You've probably already figured out how much my family and I love Moosewood recipes. They never fail to disappoint! I would love to go to their restaurant, but I'm not sure when I'll find myself in Ithaca.


Stage 1: some tofu, red bell pepper, and snow peas.



Stage 2: Add some rice noodles, a little egg, some hot chili paste, rice vinegar and soy sauce...


Lime garnish, bean sprouts, a little lime, fresh peanuts and TA DA! Pad Thai.


This was one of the only times we've all gotten to sit down and eat together, and it was pretty nice.

Look at that crazy eye!


Finished my meal off with a Grolsch and a golden delicious apple. Interesting combination.


And then, because the night couldn't end without a little chocolate (trend of the week!) I had a vanilla Skinny Dipper. Yum. I'm also reading one of the best books I've read this year... well, the only book I've read this year, but of 2008 as well! I'm only halfway through, but I hope to get another nice big chunk read before Ari finishes working for the night.


Have a great night!

(I just banged my knee into the corner of the bed... the other one is already bruised AND bloody, since, after 10+ years of shaving, I still always nick my legs with a razor! Maybe in 10 more I'll grow out of that...)

Rice and tofu, anyone?

Good evening, my fine non-feathered friends! I hope you've all had lovely days. Mine was quite nice, thank you, although it seemed to pass by so quickly! I think that probably has to do with going back to bed immediately after breakfast. I haven't even been up for 12 hours, but I feel so tired! Strange how that works.

I made it to the gym in time for Vinyasa yoga. Just like the last time (which was Anurasa) it was ridiculously hard for me to do and I found myself looking at the clock every five minutes. There were a lot of poses I had to come out of early because my muscles just couldn't take it. I'm not going to give up, though... I know it will get easier.

On the way to meet Ari after the gym, I ate leftover Gliding Calm tofu, steamed green beans, and Lundberg brown rice blend. Good news: even cold, this tofu is delicious!


I had a Gala apple when I got home while I went through my cookbooks and the new cooking magazines to see what I wanted to make for dinner.


I decided on the mushroom soup from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything...


And the Panang Tofu Curry from the February issue of Bon Appétit in the article on how to cook green in 2009.


The curry was a delicious blend of coconut peanut buttery goodness with a little spice.


The soup was fast, easy and vegan. It would be great as a pasta sauce, or as a topping on fish or chicken (or even steak, for those so inclined). I was cooking everything at once, and I accidentally put some of the tofu into the soup. Whoops! It tasted good, though!


We served the curry over brown rice.


A little cilantro garnish for the soup added some nice color.


I had a glass of white wine, but I only ended up drinking about half of it.


We had some Edy's Slow Churned Rich & Creamy Vanilla Bean ice cream for dessert...


... but what's ice cream without chocolate sauce? I also added some pecans.


I'm watching Prime Suspect (the tv show, not the movie) while Ari finishes up some work. I do love my crime dramas! I have a feeling I'll be dozing off soon, though. Bonne nuit!