Stressed!

No pictures today, sorry :/
Also, it's been a super long (and somewhat stressful) day so I am a woman of very few words tonight.


Instead of my usual packed lunch, Mikey took me to California Pizza Kitchen where I got the half size of the BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad: chopped lettuce, black beans, sweet corn, jicama, cilantro, basil, crispy corn tortilla strips and Monterey Jack cheese tossed together in herb ranch dressing, topped with chopped BBQ chicken breast, diced tomatoes and green onions. I also added avocado! It was super delicious, and clocked in at a not-too-bad 699 calories.


At 5pm today I got a wonderful french pedicure (courtesy of my perfect boyfriend) at The Spa at Pro Sports Club that brought a bit of relief from my bad morning (school stuff :/). Afterwards, we stopped by his parents' house where they had dinner waiting on the table for us!
We had a small side salad with mixed greens, onion, tomato, sunflower seeds, bacon, croutons, and a low-fat Catalina dressing. It honestly sounds a lot heartier than it was; it was about the size of my hand (but really good!). We also has some wonderful, tender BBQ grilled chicken breast (boneless, skinless) of which I had 1/2 a breast. On the side there was steamed white and green asparagus and multigrain bread (I had 1 small piece with butter).
It was delicious and healthy :). I guess I was all about BBQ chicken today?
Then the desserts were brought out- cinnamon rolls from QFC and fudgy brownies. Mikey and I split a brownie and a cinnamon roll- SOOO good!


As soon as I got home, I immediately changed for the gym; nothing de-stresses me quite like a good workout :). I didn't have time for a full hour workout as usual as the gym closes at 10:30 and I didn't get there until 9:45, but I was able to get in an awesome workout on the elliptical anyway!
-45 minutes (5 miles in 41:02!! That's about 8:12 miles. Then cool down for the remaining time)
-5.35 miles total
-average heart rate 180bpm
-571 calories burned
Nothing quite cools me off like a great workout :). I'm really glad I was able to squeeze one in today.


Anyways, I just finished reading Kofka's Metamorphosis for my class tomorrow (weird book!) and now I'm off to take a bubble bath as my final de-stresser of the day!

Work it baby, then indulge :)

I'd like to point out that at this point in time, I am now only counting calories when it is convenient for me (that's why some things have calorie calculations while others do not). Otherwise, I just stress out too much wondering how many calories were in the sandwich I ordered for dinner, or the soup I had for lunch, etc. But, I do keep portion sizes in mind, and often guesstimate calorie counts for foods I'm unsure of :)


I slept through my first class (luckily only a big lecture hall) today thanks (or not!) to my lightning fast hands that have a mid of their own when the alarm goes off. I managed to make it to my 10:30am class though.
Lunch today was a delicious 1/2 sandwich (230cal) and leftover quinoa salad with chips and crackers that I packed last night.

Sandwich:

• 1 slice Orowheat Master's Best Winter Wheat (90cal)
• 1 oz. Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar (110cal)
• 2 tbsp Crofter's Superfruit in Europe (30cal)

The chips were Food Should Taste Good multigrain, and the crackers are Dr. Kracker's Sunflower Cheddar.

Yummy lunch (probably around 500-600 calories?)!

At around 7pm my tummy was a-rumbling again. I decided I really wanted to try out a raw vegan place pretty close to home called Thrive. I got the "Thrivalicious" warm grain bowl:

• Quinoa paired with Salsa, fresh seasonal veggies (which were cucumbers, zucchini, matchstick carrots, and red bell pepper), Guacamole, and Onion Cashew Cream.

The highlight was definitely the cashew cream which totally made the bowl! The guacamole was just alright, and the salsa was more like pico de gallo. It was quite good, and I would get it again, but next time probably to-go. The mood and atmosphere of the place was rather pretentious in a "I'm better than you because I lead a raw life" style. Also, it was QUITE expensive. My bowl was $12 for something I could have made at home only better (minus the heavenly cashew cream), and Mikey got a large fresh-squeezed orange juice that was a whopping $8!!!

Peak's Custard is directly next door so after I ate, we stopped in to get some tasty dessert! I got the Custard Affogato which is just a scoop of the vanilla custard topped with a shot of espresso- AMAZING! Mikey got the "Mt. Olympus" which is just a basic turtle sundae; I definitely had to steal some of the delicious caramel and pecans.

(Obviously iPhone photos, sorry for the quality :/)

Just an hour later it was time to hit up the gym! I really would have preferred to digest a bit more but the gym closes at 10:30 so I like to be out the door by 9 in order to get my full hour workout.

I had an excellent workout on the elliptical- I decided to work it pretty hard:

-60 minutes (6 miles in 53:50!!! then cool down)

-186 bpm average heart rate (high I know but I wasn't concentrating on keeping it down today

-727 calories burned

-6.46 miles total

I'm pretty proud of myself for averaging a bit under 9min/mile especially considering I was averaging about 9:20/mile after 3 miles; I really picked it up at the end!

I finally got hungry (after a super hard workout it takes me a while to feel like eating again) at around midnight and spent the next half hour walking from the pantry to the fridge trying to decide what I wanted. I noticed a lone green apple that I had snagged from the El Gaucho (just about the swankiest steakhouse ever) fruit platter we were presented when we took my sister there last week and thought that it would probably go bad soon so I needed to use it. I noticed some Tillamook sharp cheddar (not the white, the orange!) slice in the fridge and it all came together. I made a Scrambled Egg Sandwich with Sharp Cheddar and Green Apple. You have absolutely no clue how magnificent this sandwich was... as in Top 10 Sandwiches of all time material.

I (somewhat) slowly scrambled 2 large eggs (148cal) over medium-low heat with a ton of fresh ground pepper, some grey sea salt, and a nice big ol' helping of butter to make them creamy (the only way to make scrambled eggs)- maybe a tablespoon (100cal). Then I sliced up the apple and toasted 2 slices of Trader Joe's Honey & Oat Bread (180cal)- also slathered with about a teaspoon of butter each (66cal) (Hey, I never said it was a healthy sandwich!). I took one slice of toast and laid the slice of sharp cheddar (90cal) on the butter side and then topped that with the warm eggs so that the cheese began to melt. That was topped with two apple slices and then the other piece of toast- butter side in.

While the eggs were cooking, I snacked on some of the remaining apple slices (maybe 80cal in apple all together) with about a tablespoon of Nuttzo (180cal).

Best midnight meal ever (though incredible calorie dense at 800-900 calories, I think, that's okay though because I burned around 750 at the gym)!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Today, for the holiday, Mikey and I joined his parents at McCormick and Schmick's for brunch at 2pm. I was ravishingly hungry by the time we got there, and was excited to see bread on the table! I had a nice big piece of sourdough with butter. For my entree I ordered the Roasted Turkey on Whole Wheat with Cranberry Chutney Sandwich. It was incredibly delicious. The chutney was so chunky (looove texture in my food) and you could tell the cranberries were fresh. Aside from turkey and chutney, the sandwich also contained tomato, and lightly dressed greens- major yum. I opted for fresh fruit on the side instead of chips or fries (I'm proud of myself for decisions like these), and ate 1/2 of my sandwich along with the pickle spear that accompanied it, and all of the fresh melon. "Dessert" was a few dark chocolate peanut M&M's (we brought a few bags as gifts for Mikey's mom because she is obsessed with M&M's). I left feeling satisfied but not stuffed- go me! I have a tendency to overeat when dining out, but I've been pretty good about it lately.


At around 7:30 pm I decided to enjoy the other half of my sandwich from brunch with a side of mixed fruit (mango, cantaloupe, grapes, watermelon, and pineapple) and 1 ounce of Wheat Thins Multigrain Chips (I love these chips because they are super crispy, salty, slightly sweet and you get a lot for not too many calories- 120cal for 1 oz.).

Completely delish! :)

My midnight snack (meal?) tonight was a bowl of Blueberry Flax granola (from Pike's) with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. After I started eating, I threw in a few frozen blueberries for good measure ;).

Bananas make THE BEST dessert

I can't believe tomorrow is Easter! It kind of makes me sad I don't still live at home in Florida. My mom goes all out for holidays and Easter is no exception! She makes elaborate Easter baskets and awesome egg hunts, plus we die eggs and have an amazing homemade brunch with lots of family. This year Easter will be spent with my boyfriend Mikey and his parents at McCormick and Schmick's for brunch, which will be super fun I'm sure, just not the same.
Well, I didn't eat today until about 3:30 because I was being super lazy. I decided on a salad/sandwich combo.

Sandwich:

• slice Orowheat Master's Best Winter Wheat (90cal)
• 1 oz Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar (110cal)
• 2 tbsp Crofter's Superfruit in Europe (30cal)

Salad:

• big handful romaine mix (5cal)
• chickpeas (maybe 30cal worth?)
• 15g dry roasted pumpkin seeds (100cal)
• 2 tbsp dried cranberries (48cal)
• 2 tbsp Annie's Lite Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (40cal)
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper

The sandwich was sooo good! I love sharp cheeses with fruits- it's a match made in heaven for sure. The salad was also wonderful. I really adore the honey mustard dressing because it isn't super heavy.

=453 calories

At around 6:45 I decided we should go to the gym, but I wanted to eat something first so I had enough energy. I decided on a small orange (which was so amazingly sweet and juicy) (60cal) and 3 Sunflower Cheddar Dr. Kracker's (I know there are 4 in my hand, but I gave 1 to Mikey :]) (45cal)

=105 calories

I had a pretty good workout on the elliptical (obviously my cardio machine of choice):

-60 minutes + 5 minutes cool down

-746 calories burned

-183 bpm average heart rate (too high aghh!)

-6.48 miles

On the way home we stopped at the UVillage so Mikey could play on the new iPad at the Apple store (he plans on getting the 3G model coming out later this month). I decided I was in dire need of a snack + coffee so we stopped at Starbuck's where I got a grande nonfat caramel macchiato (190cal) and a Blueberry Granola Two Moms in the Raw Bar (220cal) (unfortunately I don't see the bars on their website). OMG it was the BEST granola bar I have EVER eaten- no joke. It tasted like an apple pie which is kind of weird because it was a blueberry flavor, but there were also apples and cinnamon. Additionally, these bars are raw, vegan, gluten-free, and organic. They couldn't be better for you!

=410 calories

We also stopped by Chipotle to grab dinner. I got a vegetarian salad:

• lettuce
• black beans
• fajita veggies (onions, peppers, etc.)
• pico de gallo
• corn salsa
• hot red salsa
• guacamole

=435 calories

When I got home I topped it with one of the spelt veggie burgers I made yesterday (125cal). It was super filling (probably also because of the granola bar and coffee that I had only 45 minutes beforehand) and I couldn't eat the last few bites.

=555 calories

My late night snack was banana soft serve!!! OMG you have GOT to try this; it honestly has exactly the same consistency as soft serve. It's so hard to believe that the only ingredient is banana.

Just freeze 2 bananas (191cal) and then whir them around in a food processor (I heard this doesn't work with a blender) until it reaches the right consistency.

I topped mine with about a tablespoon of cacao nibs (what is pictured is not a whole tablespoon, I added more after I started eating) (75cal) and 30g of roasted cashews (170cal)- sooo amazing!

=436 calories

1959 calories - 746 calories burned

=1213 net calories for the day

Steel-cut oats, possibly the best thing since sliced bread (plus some awesome veggie burgers)

On Fridays I only have one class this quarter, yay! It's a pretty early class too (9:30am). When I got back from school this morning (around 11am), I was in the mood for a big ol' bowl of oats- steel cut oats to be precise. Ever since I ordered a bowl of steel cut oats at TASTE last week (it had toasted hazelnuts, tart cherries, brown sugar, and warm milk, mmm!) I have been non-stop craving more. The problem was that I only had old-fashioned rolled oats at home, but last night  I went out and got some at the grocery store to satisfy my hankering.

The mix included:

• 1/4 cup steel-cut oats (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free variety) (170cal)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (10cal)
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch sea salt
• 1 tsp chia seeds (39cal)

All brought to a boil and then reduced to low for 10 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered. Then come the toppings!

Topped with:

• 1 tbsp Crofter's Superfruit Spread in Europe (30cal)
• 1 tbsp Adam's crunchy peanut butter (105cal)
• tiny splash of skim milk 

OMG, steel-cut oats are 10000X better than regular oatmeal (which is already really awesome), and totally worth the extra time. They have so much texture- super chewy, a little crunchy, all-around perfect. This was one of the best bowls of oats I've had in a while.

=354 calories

Around 5:30 I was feeling hungry again (those oats really keep me full!), so I decided to make some veggie burgers I have had on my recipe list for quite some time: Oh She Glows In a Jiffy Spelt Veggie Burgers!

They were super easy to make (despite the fact that when I took them out of the oven to flip them I dropped the baking sheet and had to throw two away :( ) and turned out sooo good! The rival these veggie burgers that I made a while ago, plus these particular ones are vegan while my recipe includes egg.

While I baked the I munched on two Dr. Kracker's in Sunflower Cheddar (30cal); these crackers are so crunchy!

I had 1 of the burgers on 2 slices of toasted Orowheat Master's Best Winter Wheat (180cal) with some GORGEOUS sliced heirloom tomatoes, sliced pickles, spinach, and sriracha- AMAZING.

=335 calories

Mikey and I went to the *gym* tonight and I had a nice workout on the elliptical:

-average heart rate: 179 bpm (I'm happy to at least keep it under 180!)

-duration: 60 minutes

-calories burned: 666 (how unlucky!)

I didn't get the mileage because my machine decided to reset about 45 minutes in- quite annoying.

I was fairly hungry upon arriving home and quickly gobbled up 4 Dr. Kracker's (60cal) and then decided I really wanted one of the veggie burgers I made earlier- yes they are that good that I needed them twice in one day. I also had a delicious bowl of soup topped with sharp cheddar.

• Arnold whole wheat sandwich thin, toasted to a crisp (100cal)
• spelt veggie burger (125cal)
• 2 tbsp hummus (50cal)
• sriracha (negligible)
• heirloom tomato slices (negligible)
• baby spinach (negligible)
• 1 cup Pacific Natural Foods Creamy Tomato Soup (100cal)
• 1 oz Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar (110cal)

=545 calories

My midnight snack (actually more like 2am snack- night owl here) was a bowl of cereal:

• 1 cup Total Blueberry Pomegranate (170cal)
• 3/4 cup fat free milk (68cal)
• 100g strawberries (32cal)

=270 calories

=1513 calories - 666 burned

=847 net calories for the day

(I realize that this isn't enough, but I just can't eat anymore today)

I'm Baaaack!

Sorry that I have been MIA for the past two weeks, but I really had zero time to blog my eats while in Florida last week. Then, my little sister came back to Seattle with us, so I wads ridiculously busy showing her the city PLUS starting my new quarter of school. Whew!
But I'm back now!
I ate sooo much rich food these past couple of weeks between the wonderful restaurants my parents took us too, and the excellent restaurants that we took Rebecca too. I am officially in rich food detox!


This quarter I have an hour or two everyday in between my morning and afternoon classes so I plan on packing my lunch nearly everyday. I'm actually really excited about this because I LOVE packing lunches, but I haven't had a reason to for years!
Last night I packed my lunch for today (which I ate at 11:30). We didn't have much in the fridge (no food in the fridge after the trip, and little time to shop with my sister here), but I was able to come up with a fun and tasty lunch! We did stop by the store once this week and I grabbed a few fresh produce ingredients that I knew I would want (baby spinach for green smoothies, a fruit platter, etc.).
I made a delicious grain salad and packed a few Food Should Taste Good Multigrain chips and BBQ popchips! as dippers! I also packed a small tupperware of mixed fruit (mango, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, and cantaloupe- just a piece of two of each).

It was a PERFECT lunch!
The grain salad (which makes 2-3 servings) included:

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (you could use millet, cous cous, or even wheatberries)
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1 itsy bitsy garlic clove, minced
• maybe 1 tbsp chopped onion
• handful baby spinach, torn
• 2 small campari tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 3-4 tbsp gorgonzola cheese crumbles
• juice of 1 lemon
• about 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Just cook the quinoa and then mix everything together! 

When I got back from class around 3pm, I was fairly hungry since my lunch was rather small (plus it had been almost 4 hours). I decided to make a green smoothie in a bowl- one of my very favorite treats!

My mix included:

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 banana
• a couple of mango slices
• a few strawberries
• 2 HUGE handfuls of spinach
• maybe a tablespoon of ground flax
• 3 ice cubes
• small original yogurt from Red Mango that I had in the freezer

I then toped it with a few tablespoons of some awesome Blueberry Flax granola that I got from Pike's, and about a teaspoon of Nuttzo.

It was SUPER filling and I couldn't quite finish all of it, but it was absolutely wonderful!!!

Dinner was a unbelievably wonderful "Yoga Hot Pot." The recipe is from Green Kitchen Stories.

I made a couple of adjustments:

-I used 2 15 oz. cans of whole peeled tomatoes PLUS 1 can filled up with water

-I used 2/3 cup of red lentils instead of 1/2 cup

-I only used 1/2 a large yellow onion

-I only used 1 tbsp fresh ginger and it was plenty

-I didn't add the fresh cilantro in while cooking, I simply sprinkled it on top of the finished dish

-I only cooked it for 20 minutes as opposed to 45 which was more than enough time

*While cooking, I munched on a few Dr. Kracker's in the Sunflower Cheddar flavor, yum!

So comforting served with a dollop of 0% Greek yogurt (yes I ate that giant mound of food, hah)! By the way, this recipe makes quite a bit, but I can;t wait to pack the leftovers in my lunches :).