how much?

Picked up my car after work last night. Damage: $2,458.18 - Are you kidding me? UGHHHH!!

The night got better though, because I had a sleepover with hpants.

It started with some boxed Chablis and TV while we waited for the spaghetti squash and eggplant "creation" to cook. This is hpants' version of an eggplant parmesan, but much healthier. She slices eggplant and layers it in a casserole dish with spinach, tomato sauce, mushrooms and fresh mozzarella. I personally think it's better than the regular fried stuff, and over the spaghetti squash, it's delightful! For dessert we snacked on some oatmeal macaroons and PB/Fig cookies that she had made earlier in the week. Yum. We got cozy and watched Grey's and Project Runway and then went straight to bed. Her guest bed swallowed me and I slept really well! hpants gave me a fat free coffee yogurt with a ripe banana for breakfast. I actually really loved the combination, so I'll be purchasing the coffee yogurt in the future. And because hpants and B usually get to work earlier, I stopped to get a grande soy misto (in a red cup).

It's Friday and pay day :)

What did I eat today?

B: Fat free coffee yogurt with a ripe banana and a grande soy misto

L: Dr. Praeger's veggie burger on whole wheat bagel, organic golden delicious

S: Clementine, Back to Nature Granola to Go: Wild Blueberry Walnut with Flax Seed

Yes, I ate it out of the bag with a spoon.
So pretty and juicy!

D: Spinach topped with chili and carrot latkes with a little salsa :)

Dessert: I shouldn't have eaten dessert, because I was stuffed...but I ate a mini yogurt bowl with gojis, cranberries, almonds, walnuts, apple butter and agave with a cup of Decaf coconut chai. Woa...overload.

Goals for tonight:

- Finish this blog...

- Get insurance stuff taken care of at my parents house

- Go to the gym and get my booty on the treadmill

- Eat some dinner and catch up on this week's tv

- Clean/Organize apartment

- Talk to zboy while he's on a train to Canada

Agenda for this weekend:

- Bootcamp at 9:30 on Saturday morning

- Vegetarian Fall Soups (part two) at L'Academie de Cuisine from 1:30 to 4pm

- Pre-Thanksgiving at DLF's apartment - I think I'm making the gravy again ;)

- Possibly attend yoga on Sunday morning at 10:15

- Buy groceries for both our Wednesday and Thursday family Thanksgivings (I'm making some veggie dishes, cranberry sauce and dessert)

Jimmy Dean?

I finally made it home tonight (Wednesday) after having been at my parents since Sunday. I really need my car back...

After work:

Parents picked me up and we got Chipotle (second time in this week).

I picked up my comforter at the drycleaners.

It took me two trips from my parents car to get all my stuff (including yummy clementines from mom) upstairs.


I brought all my laundry home and sorted it on my bed...but haven't put it away yet.

Cut up two onions and two jalapenos. Sauteed those with some EVOO, chili packet, garlic and salt. Used my immersion blender to turn two cans of whole tomatoes into tomato sauce. Threw that all in the skillet for a few minutes. Drained a can of light kidney beans and black beans. Added those to the bottom of my crockpot and put the tomato mixture on top. Then added some frozen peas and corn. It's still hanging out on low. That will be my lunch tomorrow.

Chili today, hot tamale.

Then I peeled a bunch of adult carrots, so they're ready to eat, juice or roast. While I had my 5lb. bag out, I figured I'd juice some and store the juice with some lemon juice in the fridge.


Every time I juice carrots, there is so much pulp leftover and I hate throwing it away...so I thought, I know you can make potato latkes, but what about carrot? So I googled away and found this recipe for Gingered Carrot Latkes. I figured I'd try it. I used my carton of egg whites equivalent to 3 eggs and used my jar of chopped ginger that I keep in the fridge. I fried them up and had to taste one. HOLY COW! They were #1 Delicious and #2 they tasted exactly like a Jimmy Dean sausage. Not that I really remember what that tastes like...but that's what popped into my head. AWESOME and easy recipe! Soooo exciting :)

To me, you're perfect.

(Ok, so that's from Love Actually, but I think it's totally acceptable to say that to a freakin' delicious carrot latke).

I need to do some form of exercise since it's 10pm and I didn't go to the gym...again. Ugh, tubby tubby.

9 more days until z comes home. Not that I'm counting...

baby, you can drive my car.

This post is from Tuesday, but I was having some technical difficulties:

Yesterday, I had a 7am dentist appointment and they gave me a flouride treatment. That meant I couldn't have any hot liquid for six hours! Ugh...no hot coffee for me! The morning dragged on and I ate two bananas for breakfast. After lunch, I knew that caffeine was necessary so I used my free Starbucks Via packet and made iced coffee with a little chemical powder Splenda. Not half bad actually.

While driving home from work last night my temperature gauge started beeping and flashing red. Not a good sign....so I had to pull into a gas station to diagnose the problem (aka, talk to my dad). I bought a 20 dollar bottle of coolant to put in my car, but as soon as I started to take the cap off, all this red stuff started leaking out of the bottom! My poor Sadie girl was bleeding! I knew it wasn't good...but I filled up the coolant tank anyway. The light didn't go off when I turned the car back on, so I tried to drive home. I had to pull over two miles later. There was a flashing light, some smoke...and something was burning. My dad called a tow truck and picked me up. We went to Chipotle for dinner and to Whole Foods for some bananas and coffee. Hopefully my car will be fixed someday...ugh! z said I could borrow his car, but then my parents let me borrow theirs. I have felt so off this week!


Today:
B: Dad made me some stovetop oatmeal. I had mine with half a melted banana, Peanut Butter and Apple Butter! After this, mom took me out for a grande soy misto :)

L: Wilted spinach with a little soy sauce, one fresh tomato and a Dr. Praeger's California veggie burger

S: Hodge podge granola (mini airplane pretzels, almonds, blueberry granola and banana chips)

D: Roasted carrots, green beans, coleslaw, toasted roll and wilted spinach.

Dessert: Popcorn with melted chocolate chips!

Playing Catch-Up (as usual):

--Made some Banana-Aalmond bread, inspired by Cait . I used vanilla Oikos instead of plain, almonds instead of walnuts and I sprinkled a good amount of cinnamon on top before baking. I saved a piece for myself, hpants and z. It turned out really well!


z came over for dinner last Thursday and I really wanted to make him dinner. Everything turned out really good!

We had:
- Roasted acorn squash (EVOO, S&P),
- Roasted, fresh green beans (EVOO, S&P)
- Spinach salad with dried cranberries, a honeycrisp apple and Drew's Honey Dijon dressing
- Fresh baked whole wheat bread from WF
- One piece of natural pork from WF for z (cooked in a skillet with EVOO and S&P)
- Winter Hook Winter Ale

My plate.
z's plate.

--Went to Eighteenth Street Lounge on Friday...and had an interesting time with my girlfriends ;)

--I made myself a soy misto at home in the morning and had to take a picture because I love my AeroLatte frother :)

glamorous. ooh frothy, frothy.

--Saturday was my little brother's 21st birthday! Yikes. We went to Mongolian Grill in Bethesda. I love family and extended family dinners! I had a salad (times two) with spinach, lots of random veggies, cottage cheese, mandarin oranges, pineapple, uncooked tofu and a delightful sesame ginger sauce. I also ate 1 1/2 funfetti cupcakes that my mom brought! We really had a lot of fun!

After dinner, I headed to z's. He let me watch TWO episodes of Cats 101 on Animal Planet! He must really love me haha! We went to bed around 11:30 because we were both falling asleep on the couch.

We got out of bed around 9:15 thinking it was much later. We walked up to the farmer's market and picked up a cranberry, orange, applesauce loaf for breakfast. z brought me coffee on the couch where I was enjoying "my" blanket and the new Food and Wine magazine. While I was lounging, he cut a few slices of the bread and put it in the oven to get toasty! He also cut a grapefruit and sectioned my half for me :) After breakfast and the Washington Post, z suggested that we go to Roosevelt Island. We parked in Rosslyn and walked over the bridge. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. The weather was just gorgeous! We walked around the entire island and saw A LOT of puppies :) Then we sat down to look at the Teddy statue while munching on a golden delicious and some lemon-lime Gatorade (best flavor ever). I saw someone holding an iced coffee while we were walking back to the car...and I had to have one. Good thing my nice boyfriend had his wallet. He bought me a small Cosi iced coffee with soy :) When we got home we watched some football and I took a delicious nap while he packed (sniff, sniff). He's going to be gone for two weeks and I'm going to miss him a lot.

"Conservation means development as much as it does protection" - Teddy

Hi, Mr. Dragonfly!

Just keep swimming!
Absolutely gorgeous!

Sunday was one of the best days I've had...maybe ever <3

I always feel like blogging during the week is too much work, especially since I get BLOCKED every time I try to update. But I realized if I just used my BB for most pictures (compromising quality, of course) and emailed myself, then most of the work would be done and I'd just have to copy, paste and publish. We'll see how long this lasts...


B: Repeat of Saturday's pumpkin-banana toast and some coffee with Silk Creamer.

MMS: Honeycrisp and gala apples with some H2O.

L: Mixed greens salad with the last of the marinated tofu, and wheat berry salad with homemade vinaigrette (peanut oil, rice vinegar, ginger, red pepper flakes, cilantro, and low-sodium soy sauce)

AS: Fat-free Peach yogurt, half a banana nut bread Clif bar (these are so gross and I'm so glad there aren't many left)

Pre-Bootcamp S: Other half of the banana nut bread Clif bar, carrots and hummus.

I came prepared today so I wasn't starving after work and so I wouldn't have a belly full of food during my workout.

Hopefully I'll have time to grab something else to eat after the gym. My awesome boyfriend read my mind (not my blog) last night and asked if I wanted to have a Steelers sleepover at his house tonight. I guess he missed me... :) I can't wait.


Go Steelers!

where's my crepe?

I met my high school girlfriends for brunch today at Napoleon Bistro. It was such a beautiful day in DC today. I took the bus and a short walk to get there. I ordered a spicy bloody mary while we looked at the menu. The top of the brunch menu said "Local and Sustainable" which was great :)


LBoogie and I decided to order two things and split them. She ordered the "Montmartre" crepe that had wild mushrooms, scallions, herbed goat and gruyere cheese. I ordered the "Mallorca" sandwich that had grilled eggplant, zucchini, caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes, marinated goat cheese and olive tapenade on a yummy, chewy bread. It came with a tomato, cucumber salad that was really fresh. Splitting it was a really good idea.

I had a headache, so I treated it with multiple cups of coffee and water (in cool red glasses). After we all finished, someone decided to get a dessert crepe that we could all have a few bites of...I was happy to help. We ordered the "Last Tango" which had Nutella, strawberries, whipped cream, and berry melba sauce. It was SOOOO delicious! MMMM!

Because it was so beautiful out, a few of us decided to walk the 2+ miles back to my place so they could see my apartment. We looked at a few pictures and then I said I'd drive them back to their cars. I knew I needed apples, so I stopped by Whole Foods which was on the way home.

I got some Honeycrisp Apples, 365 salsa, light coconut milk, an acorn squash, spinach, and mint chocolate Newman-O's.

Look how gigantic this Honeycrisp is!!!

I ate a quick salad with greens, marinated tofu, cottage cheese and honey mustard for dinner and needed a small dessert. So I broke out my new monkey mug for some chai and three O's. Perfect way to end a great day in the city!

Just caught up on the Office and put up my new shower curtain. It's time to unload the dishwasher, vacuum, and get ready for the week.

I missed my boyfriend alot this weekend. Maybe he'll let me watch the Steelers at his place tomorrow night...I hope he's not too tired! <3


peace and love from an apartment near chinatown.

fit for a monkey.

I went to bed around 1am because I forgot to ask for a decaf soy misto (1 pump-kin) on my mother-daughter date. Oh well...I am proud to say that I still went to the 9:30 bootcamp class this morning.

I got up around 8:45, ate a granola bar and drank some water.
Then I changed into my gym clothes and jogged the 4 blocks to the gym. I hadn't done the Saturday class before, and just don't think I'm a morning workout person...I didn't feel like I had my normal bootcamp energy. I still worked hard and got in a great workout.

I was obviously hungry when I got home, so I toasted two whole wheat Arnold Sandwich Thins, spread them with my homemade pumpkin (low fat) cream cheese and topped it with a whole banana (monkey, monkey) and cinnamon. Wow...this was awesome.

Somehow I was still a tad hungry, so I decided to use up the whole eggs that I had in the fridge. I hardly ever have a carton, but had to get them for the cupcakes I made on Halloween. I used one whole egg and 4 egg whites, a splash of unsweetened soy, ground pepper and hot sauce in the scrambled egg mix. It was a lot of eggs, so I only ate half.


They were good, but I think I'll stick to my carton of egg whites...


On another note, look at my new kitchen rug! Isn't it cute? I needed a new one because I had a little kitchen floor/gravity mishap with a gigantic bottle of olive oil.

Side One.

Side Two.

While I was shopping with my mommy, I also got a new black pea coat, the new placemats and monkey holiday mug you see above, a non-leather work belt (finally), and some of these goodies from the new grocery section at Target:
Peanut Butter & Co Cinnamon Raisin Swirl: I had this on an apple last night; YUM!
Smuckers Organic Strawberry Perserves: I wanted to find the one with real fruit, no HFCS, and Organic doesn't hurt! Ingredients: Organic Sugar, Organic Strawberries, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid.
Arnold Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins: First time buying them and they are amazing. Even better toasted, and I rarely like things toasted! I'm never buying real bread again...

• 100 Calories, 5g Fiber, 1g Fat, 0g Trans Fat
  
• Cholesterol Free, no HFCS, Whole Grains

Decaf Sweet Coconut Thai Chai Tea: Really comforting. The smell is lovely and the flavor is just spicy enough. I'm having a mug right now!


That's all for now. It's almost Noon...I guess I should go do something with my day, though I think I feel a nap coming in the future.

Hunger Anger

I realized something today: I am a hunger hater. I get mad every time my stomach tells me it is hungry. I mean no one likes to be hungry, I know this...but I get seriously mad when I feel the slightest bit hungry. It's usually because I think I've eaten too many calories, or I just finished eating not too long ago, or there's nothing but junk to eat. I understand that your body needs fuel and needs calories and needs fats, so why do I get so upset when I'm hungry.

Oh, because I am absolutely terrified of gaining weight.

I try not to be psycho about it, since I know I go to the gym and eat really healthy, but the fear is still there.

For example:

Today's consumption:

B: Bowl of O's and unsweetened soymilk

Mid Morning Snack: Gala apple, water, two sips of gross coffee

Lunch: Leftover salad with romaine, artichokes, red and green peppers, onion, mushroom, kalamatas, and some balsamic dressing

*I thought the salad was huge, but was still really hungry after I finished it, so had to come back to my desk and eat my snack*

Lunch, part two: Fat-free peach yogurt and a Chocolate Chip ZBar

Afternoon Snack: Nothing because I ate it for lunch :(

I look at that and realize it's not really that much food and yet I won't eat a mini-Butterfinger because I'm paranoid. I have Bootcamp tonight which is super intense and I really NEED fuel...but stupid me felt like if I brought more food, I'd eat it. DUH, YOU NEED TO EAT! Stupid.

I need to stop by Whole Foods for more unsweetened soymilk, so maybe I'll take a look at the ridiculously expensive, yet ridiculously delicious salad bar.

Anyway, I just need to make smart choices about what I eat and not freak out about providing my body what it needs.

Update:
So after I wrote this, I went to WF and picked up apples, bananas, unsweetened soy, veggie burgers and cottage cheese (all things on my list). I also stopped at the salad bar and picked up some tofu, tempeh and veggies...but before I closed the lid, I stupidly glanced at the hot bar and the mac and cheese called out to me...so I got a mini spoonful. Ugh. I ate the mac and cheese right away followed by all the veggies, and left some tofu/tempeh for my lunch tomorrow.

When I got home, I proceeded to eat a leftover chocolate cupcake from Halloween. This is why I probably should have had another snack.

Lesson: Be better prepared to fight hunger with SUFFICIENT lunches and SMART snacks.

The end.