Mish Mash

Good morning! I had another weird night of sleep last night but woke up feeling a million times better. I hope everyone else is fighting off their flus... don't forget to get your shots if you haven't already!

Before I went to the gym, I had a Kashi trail mix bar.


I had a pretty good workout today, although after 20 minutes on the bike I was tempted to stop. I just put down my book, put my headphones (I am sorely in need of a new pair... the left earbud doesn't work and the wires are exposed...) on and powered through 15 more minutes.

Bike
36:00 minutes
6.64 miles
306 calories burned

Machines
pulldown- 3 x 10 @ 30 lbs
chest press- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
shoulder press- 3 x 10 @ 10 lbs
row/rear deltoid- 1 x 10 @ 10 lbs, 2 x 10 @ 15 lbs

usual ab series, + 2 30 second plank holds (I think I'm going to stat adding these to my daily routine)

I'm going to my prof's house today for brunch, so I only made half a smoothie today.

2.5 scoops Greek yogurt
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 clementine
handful frozen cranberries

This strange combination (I don't really have any fruit in the house) was surprisingly tasty. I guess citrus/cranberry go together a lot, I just never thought to put them into a smoothie.

Someone else is bringing potatoes to the pot-luck, so rather than have a starch overload I decided to bake muffins and bring salad fixings.

Women's Health had an article few months back about muffins that do your body good (instead of confirming the old story that "Krispy Kreme donuts have less fat than a blueberry muffin). I made the good-for-your heart Apple-Cinnamon Oat Bran muffin, with a few adaptations. Here's my version of the recipe:

Apple-Cinnamon Oat Bran Muffins

1/2 cup oat bran (Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (Bob's Red Mill
1/4 cup ground flax seed (Bob's Red Mill)
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, whisk together bran, flour, flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and oil until smooth. Stir in applesauce and sugar. Combine mixtures and fold in pecans.

Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin tin. Bake for about 20 muffins, or until muffin tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool and enjoy!




As you can see, these aren't exactly fluffy muffins. On the Women's Health website, a lot of the testers said that their muffins didn't puff up. Hopefully they'll still taste good... I'll tell you how they are after the brunch.

Have a great day, and Happy Monday!

Photofest! Halloween goes on... Pt. 2

Katey and I went to the Dakota for our friend Andrew's CD release party. His band, Loe & Nasty's, played for about an hour and a half in a really swanky place. It was a lot of fun; half my school was packed into this little jazz club!



I was pretty full from all the snacks I had at the Halloween party, but I knew I should eat some "real" food, especially since I was going to be out late.



I served it on top of 4 oz of spring baby greens. I like this combination! I got the idea from Women's Health.



Katey and I (and the rest of our table) got some Pinot Noir.


I also had a "Minnesota martini", which didn't end up being very photogenic (and I didn't finish anyway). I was very appreciative of the extra hour I got this morning; because of the daylight savings time shift, I didn't end up going to bed until what felt like 3 (2).


I'm having lunch with my grandparents at their club, but I needed some kind of breakfast. I had a smoothie with Carnation Instant Breakfast (chocolate, sugar- free) with a banana, skim milk and PB.




And a piece of protein bread with B&B and blueberry jam.


I'm going to get back in bed and watch a little Greek until I have to leave for Wayzata. Happy Sunday!

All Hallow's Eve

Happy Halloween! This was definitely a tie with Christmas for my favorite holidays when I was little. One of my oldest friends, Ilena, and I would go trick-or-treating in this ENORMOUS apartment building in New York and get so much loot. And it always worked out perfectly, because she doesn't like peanut butter and I hate malt balls, so we'd always trade Reese's and Whoppers. I always get a little nostalgic around this time, because, up until college, we spent every Halloween together.

I was craving a smoothie this morning, but I didn't have anything to turn it orange! (Like, er, an orange. Oh! I could have used pumpkin! Maybe I'll dot that tomorrow.)




1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1 scoop vanilla Dessert protein powder
5 frozen strawberries
1/4 cup frozen cranberries
1 banana (2/3 blended, 1/3 as topping)
1 tsp flax
1 1/2 tsp PB



I had the silliest dream this morning between snoozes: I was modeling a dress in a fashion show very similar to something Felicity- the-American-Girl would wear. I was getting ready before the show in hair and makeup, and as the makeup artist was rubbing cream on my face I started to wake up... but I still felt her hand! But no... it was Betty Ford's paw. Ha ha ha. Pretty scary!

Have a spooky day!

Rainy days

It's pretty gross out here today. I'm kind of worried I'll fall, but I'm sure I'll be fine. I couldn't decide what I wanted for breakfast this morning, but I finally decided on a protein smoothie. I like eating them with a spoon for some reason...





1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 banana (half blended, half sliced on top

5 frozen strawberries

1 tsp flax

1 tsp peanut butter

1/4 cup muesli

walnuts (crushed on top)



Busy day today... midterm in the afternoon, then Michelle Obama's coming to campaign in our gym. It'll probably be impossible to get a seat, especially since I get out of class at the last possible minute. Maybe I can get a handicapped seat...

Up and at 'em

I've been craving a smoothie for a while, but since I usually get up earlier than Jalene it wouldn't be very nice to wake her up with the blender. Today was the perfect day (although outside it is cold, gray and rainy and I'm going to stay cozy and warm in here as long as possible), and I whipped up a killer if I do say so myself.



4 tbsp plain nonfat yogurt

1 scoop vanilla Dessert protein powder

1 tsp flax seeds

1 tsp peanut butter

1 banana (1/2 blended in and 1/2 sliced on top)

1/2 cup frozen cranberries

1/4 cup muesli

4 walnuts, crushed on top


So good! I can't even taste protein powder, and that aftertaste is the reason why I don't make smoothies more often. It packed over 30 grams of protein, which i a great way to start the day.

I'm off to the Tria center to go to the acute injury clinic to get an ex-ray of my leg and find out what the heck is going on! (Sorry, S. Pal took over my brain for a second there.)