Thursday, July 29, 2010

Professor Plum in the Office with the Almonds

I had a conference call right at 9AM this morning so I packed breakfast last night to go. The old standby. Plain 0% Chobani mixed with Bob's Red Mill Muesli and topped with a heaping pile of blueberries. Unfortunately by the time I remembered to take a picture it looked like this:

I was hungry and gobbled it right up at the start of the phone call that I just wasn't thinking! Well it's not like a picture of it hasn't been on here a bunch of times already. As usual I had a cup of coffee with Truvia and a splash of skim milk.

Today marks the point where I have exactly one week left at NuVal. I really can't believe I've been there 11 weeks already. Time sure flies. I've been working on a NuVal bingo game for a little while and today I spent hours tediously fixing it up. I swear my face was mushed up against the computer screen making sure things were lined up correctly and were the same sizes LOL. It was still a good day though. Full of laughs that is for sure ;)

Lunch was an experiment. I love trying new recipes but sometimes they just don't turn out great. I'm sure that happens to you to right? Well I tried making this Quinoa with Mango except the mango was way too ripe and was complete mush. I mixed it in anyway along with cucumber and a bunch of spices. I was expecting something really tasty but when I ate it, it was actually quite bland.  Oh well - you win some you lose some. I also had some leftover broccoli with feta on the side.

Before I left I snacked on Professor Plum. :) and some almonds.

I have no idea what I did with the rest of the afternoon/evening. I don't think I accomplished anything....Weird.

Dinner was rice and beans again but I didn't want to have the same thing I just had the other day so I modifed what was already there (*Note- my boyfriend's mom usually makes dinner, but I do like to make my own sometimes) So I took the salmon and beans she had made and threw them into a whole wheat tortilla with some cheese. Voila a quesadilla. I also chopped up some tomato and onion with some cilantro to top it with. It was a super filling din din.



I am so ready for the weekend!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Would a Post by Any Other Name Sound as Sweet?

I came up with a million different possible title's for today's post but of course forgot them by now. Oh well.

Breakfast was a hearty bowl of oats. I love how they fill me up all morning long.
  • 1/4 cup steel cut oats
  • 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup water
  • cinnamon & nutmeg
  • a big helping of blueberries
  • a sprinkle of crushed walnuts

As you could tell by my previous post, I was a little frustrated at work today but I got over it. Does anybody else get annoyed at people like that too?

Like my lunchbox? I like leopard print :)

Lunch was a sandwich thin with Teddie unsalted smooth peanut butter and honey, 1/2 a cuc and 5 cherry tomatoes with garlic hummus for dippage.



Later in the afternoon I had a hardboiled egg (that's what the H is for!) followed by a couple scoops of my boss's Tex Mex Tabbouleh. It was delish of course! One scoop was made with bulgur and one was quinoa (for those with celiac disease or who just like quinoa!).




When I got home I also tried grilling a peach on the George Foreman. It's the only grill we have but it didn't turn out that well hehe.

Good news....I finally started my final paper! I've got a week to write 10-15 pages. I think I can do it :)

Dinner was haddock with dill and lemon with a small side of whole wheat spaghetti mixed with sugar snap peas and tomato sauce plus a little parmesan.


After dinner I took a walk ~ 2 miles. It was still 80 degrees at 8 at night. I can't wait for it to cool down just a bit. 70's would be much better.

I only have just over a week left at NuVal *sad face* It was great while it lasted. Look for my guest post about NuVal over at preventionrd.com tomorrow!

My Blood Pressure Just Spiked

I have to rant and I have to do it now.

So I'm at work right now.  Yesterday the Wall Street Journal had an article that mentioned NuVal and there were some negative comments on it.  I was a little surprised by this so today I wanted to check out what other people were saying either in reaction to the article or to NuVal in general. Was I in for a surprise......

There are a lot of people spreading negativity about NuVal! And it's not even just that. I read some amazing things from people who think they are experts in nutrition yet they seem to have no educational background remotely close - for example one person is a writer and a comedian who routinely blogs about health issues. Has he done his research on the things he writes about? I understand it's a free country and everyone has a right to their own opinion but it's just not right now spread misleading and blatantly false information to others.

So do your research before giving advice to someone. And don't try to be a doctor or dietitian or anyone that you are not.

Okay I have to get back to work now. Thanks for listening...reading...you know what I mean.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Calling All Procrastinators

Hello, my name is Christina and I'm a Procrastinator. I have no motivation to write my final paper.


Today was a weird meal day. It was more like a bunch of snacks day. Here I'll show you.

Coffee with Truvia and Skim Milk, 2 Lemon Chia Seed Muffins, Granny Smith Apple

3 cleaned up carrots

Garlic Hummus for dippage

Plain 0% Chobani and a kiwi - pre mixture

After mixture....not gonna lie. I didn't like the combination. And yes I left the fuzzy wuzzy skin on for some fiber boost!

A few almonds

Broccoli (a little overcooked so it lost its brightness), brown rice and black beans

Unpictured Plum
I also put the new jug on the water cooler all by myself today without spilling any! woohoo!


And I threw in a quick 20 minute strength training workout at home because the heat and humidity is back. That means I was too much of a wimp to go out for a little run.

I also want to say a big F-U to the internet and this computer. I really can't wait to get mine back. I can't function with this crap and it's making me very cranky.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Lake George Weekend

Ahh Friday. The day of rain. I got up early to have breakfast before the long drive ahead. Steel cuts oats made with skim milk and water, topped with walnuts and raisins.




We headed downtown to drop my computer off at the Sony store before jumping on the highway for 4 hours. I packed food for the road. I sandwich and an apple for Raf since he didn’t eat breakfast. A plain 0% Chobani and an apple for me. I also brought along my lemon chia seed muffins and almond butter.



It rained until evening so we didn’t do much when we arrived. Once it was clear we headed to my brother’s campsite for burgers and smores. Somewhere there is an awfully incriminating photo of me shoving a smore in my face and holding the bowl of supplies. I swear I only ate 2 :)
The next morning we went out to breakfast. I had one super buttery scrambled egg (I didn’t realize it would be like that!) and rye toast (specifically asked for no butter thank goodness). Coffee was also consumed. There was no fruit on the menu (gasp!) so we went to the nearby farmer’s market afterwards where I grabbed an apple.




Saturday afternoon was the lunch cruise for my grandparent’s 50th anniversary. The Saint Sacrament was a huge boat that went up and down Lake George. The ride itself was fun but the food was lousy. I dished out a huge portion of salad with fruit salad, pasta, cod, and chicken. After a couple bites of everything the only thing I could actually finish was my piece of fish. Dessert on the other hand was delicious. I ate half of the apple turnover and half the slice of my grandparent’s anniversary cake.







Later for dinner we went to Smokey Joe’s BBQ. I give this place 2 thumbs up. I got a garden salad with grilled chicken and balsamic vinaigrette and a side of sweet potato fries that came with some awesome melba sauce.



After such a day full of food it wasn’t quite finished. We walked to an ice cream place down the road where I ordered a kiddie cone. Raspberry Chocolate twist with toasted coconut. Totally delicious, as you may tell from my sly smile.


Say hello to Ava - my cousin's baby. Isn't she a cutie?


Sunday was our last day there. I only had a banana for breakfast so after the beach I was totally ready for lunch. I had a southwestern chicken wrap and sweet potato fries. I love sweet potato fries  A round of mini golf followed, then it was time to head home.


The ride home wasn’t the healthiest. It involved a Starbucks doubleshot, oreos, starburst, and mcdonalds. Oy.
All in all it was a great weekend. I love getting to spend time with my family. How was your weekend?

Catching Up

I've got a loner laptop since mine is off getting the fan repaired (yay!) and internet that goes in and out as it pleases, so give I'll be trying my best to catch up with a post or two about my weekend in Lake George. Just wanted to let you know I'm back though!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia

Okay so I did not realize just how much longer steel cut oats take compared to rolled oats. I ended up being late for work this morning.....

Breakfast: 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1 1/2 cups skim milk (next time I've got to split this with water), cinnamon, 1 tbsp almond butter, a sprinkle of chia seeds, and a sprinkle of raisins.


Lunch: a big ol salad with arugula, spinach, carrots, black bean and corn salsa and leftover salmon with yogurt sauce.




Snack: a big ol' Fuji apple


After work I came home and made Lemon Chia Seed Muffins! I looked at several recipes and made some tweaks. Recipes make 12 small muffins.
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup plain applesauce
  • 1 egg + 2 whites
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup chia seeds 
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry and then fold in chia seeds. Pour batter into sprayed muffin pan. Bake 12-15 minutes at 375 degrees.


 I ate one of course. I had to test it, ya know?

After baking I made dinner too. I was dreaming of this meal last night. Whole wheat penne with mushrooms, grape tomatoes, and spinach, topped with feta. Yum yum.



I also packed us food for our road trip tomorrow. 4 hour drive to Lake George! I'm also dropping my computer off at the Sony store to get the fan fixed. So I'll be MIA til Sunday. Have a great weekend everybody!