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!

Bringing the edge back to vegetarianism?

Good evening! Thanks so much for your patience and understanding yesterday... sometimes blogging hiatuses (hiati?) are necessary for mental health, ya know what I mean? I'm still going to blog yesterday's eats, so here we go!

Enjoyed some subway java on my way into the city yesterday:


I thought I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday, but it was actually today. Whoops! I wish I could say that was the fist time I'd done that, but I would be fibbing. So, since I was in the neighborhood, I walked over to Bloomingdales to check out the sales and ended up staying there for over 2 hours! Since I put off lunch while shopping, I did the unthinkable: scarfed down sushi in the dressing room. I'm a classy lady, what can I say?


My mom and I went to Forty Carrots for a snack. According to Mama D, it was the first place in Manhattan to serve frozen yogurt. Pretty cool, but why was this the first time I indulged? I don't know if you can tell the scale of the yogurt from this photo, but apparently it was a "small." Friends, this thing was easily over a pint of ice cream! I could barely finish half of it. It was good, but too much sweetness!

The two flavors are Caribbean Coffee and Mango.


I hauled booty to the gym and had a great workout.


30:00 minutes bike
20:00 minutes stairmaster

arm machines

ab series

Totals:
Time: 1 hour 19 minutes
Maximum heart rate: 182
Average heart rate: 142
Calories burned: 635


I picked up one of these Primal Strips at Whole Foods the other day, and ate one in the locker room for instant energy.

Thai Peanut Primal Strip:

Ingredients: Non-GMO vital gluten (wheat protein), water, unrefined evaporated cane juice, naturally brewed soy sauce (water, non-GMO soybeans, wheat, sea salt), expeller pressed canola oil, peanut butter, vinegar, fresh Thai basil, sea salt, natural vegetarian spices. No MSG.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 74
Total Fat: 2g, 1g saturated
Carbohydrates: 8g
Protein: 10g

Well, I certainly felt "primal" ripping into the strip in public and shredding it with my teeth. Some bits of it got stuck in there, but that might not necessarily be a bad thing... who wouldn't want to save a little taste for later, without having to worry about self-restraint? It had a nice smoky flavor, and at 74 calories and 10g of protein, need I say more? It's a great snack, and a great way to fuel up on protein. I'd definitely try these again, and there are quite a few flavors to choose from.

Stewart had a dinner party at his house, so I high-tailed it over from the gym. He'd set up a nice appetizer spread: eggplant dip, chips, veggies, nuts.



Look at all that eggplant-y goodness!


My mom made Lemon-Pepper Parmesan Crackers from the May 1993 issue of Gourmet. They were delicious, especially when smeared with eggplant.


I had quite a few chips, crackers and veggie sticks, just so I could have more of that dip.

I had a glass of Chardonnay (and another with dinner):


Stewart made the best cod (no joke) I've ever had, marinated in soy and covered with bok choy. I have to remember to ask for the recipe...


My dad brought two onion loaves from the Fannie Farmer Bread Book.


We also had Japanese rice salad with tofu:


Gingered butternut squash:



And last but not least... dessert! Cranberry walnut clafoutis (très français):


Apple raisin walnut cake. YUM.


Stewart found a great way to clean the floor: with his feet.


Winding down with clemmies and dark chocolate:


I slacked a little on the groceries this week, and when found neither yogurt or milk in the fridge I decided to have one of my favorite Queens treats (I haven't seen these anywhere else in the city): an oat & raisin bagel with low-fat cream cheese. De-lish!


Good ole $1.10 coffee:


I had a banana on my way out of the doctor's office:


The drops that the eye doctor put in to dilate my pupils did not sit well with me today. I was disoriented, my eyes were very sensitive, and (sorry to be graphic) I thought I was going to throw up. I wandered around for awhile, debating whether or not I should go to the gym, but the thought of getting up on a machine was nauseating. So, I chose the smarter road and went home to relax.

A while ago I saw Jenna make an egg/broth soup when she wasn't feeling well. I don't remember exactly how she made it, but I tried one of my own.


2 cups water
1 whole egg, beaten
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon base
fresh lemon juice
chives (or any other fresh herb)
pepper

Heat water on stove and stir in Better Than Bouillon. When water is just about to boil, remove pot from heat and stir in egg. Season with lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon), chives and pepper. Slurp and enjoy!

It was a lot of soup, but was very tasty and comforting. The egg/chive combo reminded me of the scrambled eggs my mom used to make me when I was sick... classic.

I also had some papaya with Fage 0%, crushed walnuts and honey drizzled on. Perfection.


I met Ari at Starbucks and got a Tall London Fog tea latte. It tastes just like Earl Gray tea, but I think I like the Vanilla Rooibos tea latte bettter.


Off to put on my penguin PJs and do some housework. Hope you had a wonderful day! Do you feel different now that we officially have a new president? Relief? Anything at all?

Good afternoon, bloggies! I'm so sorry I couldn't get it together to blog yesterday... I got off work at midnight and my brain was just not in a technological mindset by the time I got home.

So, back to two nights ago: the later I stay up, the more likely it is that I will need more food. Simple math, eh? I ended up finishing my Josie's salad the same night!


I tossed it with some Annie's Lite Gingerly Vinaigrette, and it really complemented the salad nicely.


I woke up pretty late yesterday, so all I did was get dressed, hop a subway into the City, and meet my mom for lunch at Seven's Turkish Grill. We ordered exactly the same thing as last time, with the exception that I had a couple cups of Turkish tea.


This lentil soup with lemon is so delicious. I'm going to try to track down the recipe. Extra lemon squirts are key!


The "bomb-diggity" bread... still bomb.


These spreads were just as good as we remembered, with the exception that they were really cold, like they'd been stuck in the fridge overnight and hadn't had a proper chance to thaw out. That didn't stop us, though... we munched along merrily.


Mama D and I spent a lovely day shopping around, and ended with a nice manicure. I got my nails painted with Damsel In A Dress... cute, huh?

I had a banana and an Apricot Clif Bar right before I went to work, around 4:45.

Sadly, those snacks didn't hold me over through my 7.5 hour shift, and I started looking at the clock and reading the menu at 8:30. I had some restaurant nibbles: a couple nachos, a clementine, a lot of club soda with lime...

When I finally got to eat (in the car, at 12:15) I pretty much inhaled my dinner. Because it was my second to last night, I wanted to have the first meal I had there (I'm sentimental like that): steamed shrimp dumplings (sorry about the photo, it was taken in transit):


... and goat cheese salad. This really comes with a full bed of lettuce with cabbage and tomato, and two other goat cheese crostinis, but I was so hungry that I was almost finished before I remembered to take a photo.


My dad dropped me off at the diner (what a nice daddy) where I had a little wine with Ari. I came home and had a mint Skinny Dipper (finally, Sarah!). Yes, it's a little too green, but it is mighty tasty.


Last night I made overnight oats to have for breakfast this morning. It has been a while, OO, and I'm glad to have you back!


1/2 cup steel-cut oats
1/2 cup water
1 small container 0% Fage
1 banana
cinnamon
1 T maple syrup

I'm off now to organize my day. Enjoy the rest of your weekends!

Busy Bumble... and a product review

We stayed up very late watching All About Eve last night... what a great movie. Ari was quite taken with young Miss Norma Jean! I got a boxed set of Bette Davis movies for Christmas, and we're working our way through them.

I was feeling pretty snacky by the time I got home last night. I really wanted an orange, but we didn't have any, so I settled for the next best thing... an Orange Cranberry Gnu bar.


This morning (er, 12:30 PM) I had a big bowl of oats.


3/4 cup oats (made with skim milk)
1 tsp peanut butter
1 banana
1 tsp maple syrup
sprinkle of pecans
sprinkle of chocolate chips

I went to the gym and had a decent workout:

20:00 minutes stairmaster
16:00 minutes bike

ab series
stretching

total: 50:34 minutes
maximum heart rate: 174
average heart rate: 143
calories burned: 4- -?

I try to avoid eating a nutrition bar right after exercising, but since I slept so late and I'm eating dinner our at 7:30, I settled.

Product Review: Amazing Grass Organic GreenSuperFood


Ingredients: Organic dates, organic agave nectar , Amazing Grass Green Superfood (organic wheatgrass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella, organic broccoli, organic açai, organic maca, organic carrots, organic beet, raspberry, organic rosehips, pineapple, green tea, organic flax lignans, L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, organic peppermint), organic cashews, organic almond butter, organic rice crisps, organic almonds, organic sunflower seeds, organic dried cranberries, organic pumpkin seeds, organic dried coconut, organic vanilla extract


Nutrition Facts:
230 calories
8g fat, 1.5 g saturated
36 grams carbohydrates
5 grams protein


I liked this bar. Although the color was slightly off-putting (dark brown/greenish), I've definitely eaten more questionable things before. It had the texture of a Larabar, and tasted both earthy and sweet. The calories and fat are a little high considering the only moderate level of protein, but I would probably buy it again.

I came home and had a Sunkist navel orange:


And made the recipe I've gotten the most mileage out of: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Squares (and cleaned the bowl, thank you!).


I'll have a treat for you later tonight... stay posted!

Gives you hell...

Sorry, but that song has been in my head all day. Moving on...

Another late morning! I don't know what's up with our sleep schedules, but it is funking me up. I had a lunch date in the early afternoon, so I just grabbed a banana and a coffee on my way out. This was not my finest coffee-making day... it tasted so watery!


I met Kalle for lunch and we went to our usual, Tomo, and had our oh-so-yum bento boxes. I had a bowl of miso soup (which also tasted watery! I poured in some soy sauce...) and a cup of hot tea.


Clockwise from leeft to right: tempura, California roll, brown rice, seaweed/ soybeans, tofu teriyaki.


I had one of my figgy bars on the street:


Kalle and I went back to my house and played with nail polish and watched silly TV, just like the goold ole days.


I rushed down to the gym for a quickie.

20:00 minutes on the stairs
arm machines
ab series

42:32 minutes total
maximum heart rate: 180
average heart rate: 142

I rushed over to dinner at Eatery, where I met my parents and Stewart.


The waiter brought out some kind of sweet and crunchy rice crisps. I forgot my wallet at home tonight, which meant no ID so no vino for me!


We split the shrimp spring rolls with grilled banana, Japanese eggplant and black sesame dipping sauce.


For my entrée, I ordered a salad with black tea crusted salmon, smoked tofu, grilled pineapple, organic mixed greens and avocado-jalepeño vinaigrette on the side.


I had a triangle of whole wheat pita. Bad contrast!


We were going to a play tonight, so I got a cup of coffee as a preventative method... it failed and I snoozed through the entire first act (Pal Joey is a musical, I might add, so sleeping should have been difficult...).


We shared a bar of this dark chocolate four ways.


I snuck two clementines on the way out of the theater.


I have a very exciting day day planned for tomorrow, so I want to get enough shut-eye so I can fully enjoy it to the max. Bonne nuit!

Edited to add: Head on over to Oh She Glows for a chance to win some delicious Honest Foods products!