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.

Guess who?

Good morning, bloggies! I hope you've slept well. I did my weird get up and have breakfast then go back to sleep for two hours thing. But hey, whatever works.

Last night Kalle and I met for a light dinner before the play at the Aspen Social Club. It was a swanky little place that looked fun; they have a bar with businessmen in the front so we high-tailed it to the back and had an intimate little corner to our very own.

We split a bottle of this chemin blanc:


AMAZING beet salad. Yes, it was as small as it looks, but it was actually the perfect amount. There were two different types of beets (have you ever seen a pink beet? I sure haven't), blue cheese, frisée lettuce and mint. The mint really made it.


We also split an order of polenta fries with gorgonzola sauce. I've never made polenta fries myself, but I know how popular they are in the blogosphere. They were delicious. I'll have to bake me up some of these! I'm pretty sure their version was fried, though.


We snuck some Milano cookies into the theater to see Speed the Plow.


It was great. The acting was amazing, and especially excited because it starred Elisabeth Moss. Does her name sound familiar? It should, because she is.... yes! you guessed it! Peggy on Mad Men!


This morning I woke up and made a breakfast uncookie and used up the last of the peanut butter. I forgot to prepare it and put it in the fridge overnight, but it tasted just fine without being cooked or anything..

1/2 cup oats
2 scoops yogurt
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp PB
dried fruit
1/2 banana

I'm going to the gym now (I've taken way too many days off recently) and then meeting my cousins in Union Square to go shopping. Have a great day!