Yesterday afternoon I went to the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. I didn’t take any photos though and I wasn’t that excited about it. Probably because I’m not a vegetarian. Most of the stuff was just supplements and “healthified” sweets.
Then it was time for Halloween celebrations! It started off with the tastiest buffalo chicken calzone :)
Hope everyone is having a fun and fabulous Halloween weekend!
More specifically I should say my battery died today but after a little recharge we were back in action ;)
Today involved baking and cooking. Both of which turned out pretty good.
First, french toast topped with a mix of plain 0% Chobani and canned pumpkin plus a sprinkle of chia seeds.
Then that’s when the camera died. So no mid-baking pictures. However, what I made was fantabulous! Pumpkin Ginger Muffins! I found the recipe on Tina’s blog. While I did consume one right after I didn’t get a picture of what they looked like until much later.
Voila!
I made them huge compared how I usually make muffins :)
Then dinner was walnut and herb crusted mahi mahi, pasta w/ sauce, steamed green beans, and a side salad topped with pomegranate arils!
I also managed to bust out some work on survey stuff for school, do loads of dishes and laundry. Productive day I guess.
Now I’m just waiting for Raf to get home for the weekend……..
Tuesday night was horrible! I woke up just about every 2 hours with severe stomach pain. By the time I got up with my alarm I was exhausted and nauseas. I’m not sure what was up but I took it easy that day. Didn’t run. Took a nap midday. Laid low. At some semi-comforting food.
By night time I decided I needed some sort of workout so I did some strength training for 30 minutes and called it a day.
I also watched ANTM last night. Esther (the girl from Boston) got kicked off. I’m not sad about it LOL. My faves are Kayla and Jane. Do you watch ANTM?
Last night I only woke up once with a stomach pain and it wasn’t as bad. I was so tired, I still didn’t run. Somebody give me a swift kick to the butt. However, I’m feeling fine now!
I could eat oatmeal all day. Really.
In thesis class tonight we started going over how to write up our IRB proposal. For those that don’t know, the IRB is the Institutional Review Board. They have to approve your proposed research before you are allowed to begin it. It’s all about the safety and privacy of the study participants really. We have about a month before we have to submit our proposals! Eek! Then hopefully in January we start data collection :)
Now that I’m home dinner still isn’t made up in my mind. Raf’s mom already cleaned up the kitchen and I don’t want to dirty it up so I will have to grab something easy.
So you probably don’t remember but back in August I bought 3 of Michael Pollan’s books: The Botany of Desire, In Defense of Food, and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. The first one I started was The Botany of Desire.
BORING! I couldn’t even finish it. It’s just been sitting around since August. Any opinions of those who read it?
However I decided to proceed to the next one, In Defense of Food. It took me two months but I finally finished it.
This one was much better. I did get a little bit offended by some of the stuff he was saying about nutrition researchers but overall he gives some logical advice. If you haven’t heard it already: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. Apparently this was brought to attention in the Omnivore’s Dilemma and I read them out of order. Oh well! So it’s not going to make me go out there and only eat food that is organic and from a farmer’s market but it does make you think about things. Anyway, it’s a book I would recommend for those foodies out there who haven’t read it yet. Again, any opinions from those who’ve read it?
I’m off to finish watching Grey’s now ;) Goodnight!
I can’t believe how beautiful it was today! It’s going to be 70 tomorrow too before the cold weather swoops back in! I took advantage and went for a quick 1.5 mile jog. Tomorrow I’m planning 3. Now that I’ve told you, I have to do it :)
Not too much to report for the past 2 couple of days. I liked Paranormal Activity 2 just as much as the first one but Raf didn’t think it was as good. Too each their own I guess.
Yesterday I didn’t eat anything too special. So I won’t bore you with much of it.
Elissa, one of my classmates, also brought apple muffins to class last night so I got to enjoy that! But I wasn’t expecting to need my camera so I didn’t get a pic.
I made some pretty good food today if I do say so myself. For lunch , I stir fried broccoli, carrots, and red bell pepper in a splash of soy sauce, orange zest, and ginger. The orange zest really made it. I was too lazy to make anything else to go with it, but it was a pretty decent amount of veggies anyway.
Peapod came today so we had just gotten some asparagus. LOVE IT! I sauteed some of that and mixed it in with whole wheat penne, chopped walnuts, olive oil, and feta. Yum Yum! Although I was thinking for next time a balsamic reduction would be fabulous for this. What do you think?
And for dessert – or should I say my next mini meal? I very cinnamon-y dish of plain 0% Chobani and a sliced apple. Gotta love my cinnamon too :)
For today’s education component I’ve decided to include some information from my Exercise Assessment class. This week we’ve been discussing the principles of training. There are 4 main principles that determine the effectiveness of a resistance training program. These are progression, regularity, overload, and specificity. The principle of progression means that over time exercise sessions should become more difficult. Regularity is somewhat self-explanatory. It means that resistance training should be performed regularly a couple times a week and to avoid inconsistent training or periods of extended inactivity. The principle of overload means that the exercise should be changed in terms of intensity, duration, or frequency over time. Lastly, the principle of specificity refers to the adaptation of specific muscles and that every muscle must be trained in order to gain strength or endurance. (Howley and Franks. Fitness Professional’s Handbook. 2007)
Honestly, when it comes to resistance training, I’ve got to say I don’t have any sort of regimen. I just sort of do it whenever. I’m definitely not following the principle of regularity here with my inconsistent training. Check that off as something I have to work on.
Tomorrow is Hump day. Besides homework and fitting in a run, I have no plans! How boring. Anyone else seriously looking forward to this weekend? I definitely am. I went ahead and got the Lady Gaga costume (eek!). Should be interesting to see that is received by everyone LOL
This weekend has been a lot of fun despite spending all of Friday afternoon and night doing homework.
Some highlights of Friday involved playing with my food:
I took a break from running on Friday….. and Saturday…….. and Sunday hehehe. I’ll get back to it tomorrow :)
As part of my “educational component” I want to include more of in the blog, I decided I will include some of my research from my literature review in today’s post. Don’t pay attention to the citations. I must say that upon discovering this information, I wasn’t very surprised. I mean, who in the family really does the grocery shopping most of the time anyway?
“The purpose of the NLEA was to educate consumers enabling healthier food choices.1,11 However in 1996, two years after the nutrition labels were mandatory, 70% of those surveyed found the Nutrition Facts Panel difficult to understand.12, 13 Recent 2006 research indicates that approximately 61.5% of U.S. adults used the NFP. The majority of label users are well-educated, high-income women.”
I slept wayyy too much and wasted Saturday morning. I regret it every weekend yet it continues. But as long as it’s only happening on the weekends.
I also finally made my dream Green Monster. Spinach, banana. pumpkin, peanut butter. Good stuff. I freaked out Raf and his siblings with this thing LOL
Saturday night we had plans to go see a comedian for a friend’s birthday. We went to see Bob Marley. You may know him as one of the cops from the Boondock Saints. “Where you going? Nowhere!” He was hilarious. The title of this post is from the start of one of his jokes ;)
Afterwards we headed down the street to another friend’s apartment to hang out, wait for people,then head out to a bar for some DANCING!
and an unpictured SCHMIRNOFF as my sis in law would say hehe
Fun night with friends :)
Slept through breakfast as usual. Man my weekends are not very morning friendly. We did manage to sit down for lunch as a fam today though.
Homework and football coincided as per usual for a Sunday. A slice of pepperoni pizza was also imbibed.
Soon we will be heading out to see Paranormal Activity 2. Yeah who goes to the movies on a Sunday night? Well some people had to work last night and couldn’t go out so we made extra plans for today. Like a said, friend-filled weekend!
What fun things did you do this weekend? Have you ever seen a stand-up comedian?
I had wicked insomnia again last night. Confirmation of the menstrual insomnia – complete. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, refer back to my previous posts 1, 2, and 3.
Well today was a busy day to say the least. My morning consisted of prying myself out of bed, eating breakfast, baking cookies, working out, then showering and getting ready to go to school all afternoon. Why did I bake cookies you ask? Well I wanted to bring a sweet treat to our Nutrition Liaison meeting so I made Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies! Some of the pumpkin was used for my oatmeal too. Oh that reminds me, I wrote a letter to oatmeal and thought I should share:
Dear Oatmeal,
Oh how I’ve missed your ooey gooeyness, creamy mushyness. Let’s not be apart for so long next time.
Love, Christina
Yeah I was excited for oatmeal for breakfast. It really has been a while.
And here’s the cookies too! At this point I think it’s unnecessary to share a recipe. I mean how many more pumpkin cookies recipes do we need that are basically all the same?
So my workout was a kick booty strength routine followed by yoga from OnDemand. You see I need to kick it up a notch because I’m seriously contemplating getting this halloween costume:
Yeah it’s Lady Gaga’s performance outfit from the 2009 VMA’s. Halloween is next weekend and I didn’t realize I needed a costume until yesterday (plans were just made!) So I’m going to the halloween store tomorrow to see what they have, otherwise I might be ordering that with expedited shipping. What do you think about it?
ANYWAY, I had mucho meetings and such this afternoon at school so I made sure to grab some lunch first. We don’t have any bananas so I tried to make a green monster without one. It wasn’t great let me tell you. With only skim milk, spinach, and strawberries, I only drank half of it. Then quickly followed it up with some soup minus half the sodium laden broth.
Then it was off to school: First meeting with my thesis partner, then the Nutrition Liaison meeting, and then class. Whew.
Good thing I had this little girl to come home to:
My bestie from college (and my big!) Eva sent her for my birthday. We both love the little mermaid :) And I collect Precious Moments!
I also brought a snack along for the long afternoon (plus 1 leftover cookie!)
And before I forget. Thank you to Meg for picking me as one of the sunshine award winners! I’m so honored :)
Now I’m passing it along.
1) Rachel, Forays in the Kitchen – I’m so glad that I met you. You are such a kind and smart woman! I’m honored to have been your intern :)
2) Gracie, Girl Meets Life – I’ve love that you’ve expanded your blog to include more makeup and fashion pieces! Always a great read!
3) Bethany, More Fruit Please – Prince. Need I say more?!
4) Chelsea, One Healthy Munchkin – Everything you eat always looks so tasty! Food inspiration right there :)
5) Nicole, PreventionRD – Always a new recipe and sometimes we’re even graced with Lily’s presence! What can I say I’m a sucker for pets hehe
6) Meredith, Pursuing Balance – Thank you for revealing the life of a dietetic intern!
7) Jean, Roasted Roots and Pumpkin Spice – You always leave such great comments! Plus our birthdays are really close together :)
8) Kailey, SnackFace – Your confidence is contagious! Thanks for sharing the wealth :)
9) Megan, The Oatmeal Diaries – I may not be an undergrad anymore but I love the stories you share about college life!
10) Katie, Yes I Want Cake – I can’t help but smile and laugh at your “in the 3rd grade world” stories
11) Dorry, Living With Healthy Hunger – Your life is just amazing! Everyone should go back and check out her posts the trip to Europe.
12) Ellen, Fired N Fabulous – A post for any topic you could imagine. Plus mingling with celebs ;)
The Guidelines:
1. Save the image above and post it to your own blog
2. Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers
3. Link the nominees
4. Let nominees know they have won this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person you received this award from.
My brother also suggested I include more educational material on the blog so I’ll try to include that more in the future. Who cares about just reading my day to day life anyway!? Might as well provide some useful info while I’m at it. Just for input, would you be interested in that?
I’m off for a quick jog since it’s late but I want to get one in. Then I have no idea what I’m having for dinner but it will be accompanied by homework for sure.
Grey’s tonight woohoo!
First let me say “Hello Beautiful”
I’ve been craving pomegranates like crazy since reading about them on Julie’s blog. I dug into one as soon as we got grocery’s last night.
I should also say “Hello Beautiful” to this
because it’s National Love Your Body Day! I love my body because it carried me through a 5k jog/walk tonight with no knee issues. After performing some flexibility tests on myself for my Exercise Assessment class I decided I really need to incorporate that into my routine so I made sure to stretch for about 20 minutes after my jog. Feeling great right now!
Late this morning I had an interview with Fitness Forward to volunteer with there Drive 2 Fitness school wellness initiative. Unfortunately I couldn’t really commit to the time they were looking for so instead of being a “Wellness Leader” I’m most likely only going to help out with the kick-off events. No biggie I guess. Before I went there I ate an apple and a handful of mixed nuts.
I had the weirdest cravings for lunch when I got home and they didn’t go together at all. So while I roasted some butternut squash in the oven (craving 1) I scrambled up some eggs with spinach and feta (craving 2). Obviously ate them separately, like 10 minutes apart haha.
I wasn’t hungry when I got back from my jog but I am now. What do I want for such a late dinner? Hmmmmm decisions decisions.
Well I had to wait for blogger to be functioning again so in the meantime I ate this! Plain 0% Chobani, 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Muesli + an extra 1/4 cup old fashioned oats, 4 sliced strawberries with bad lighting.
What do you love about your body?
A slice of french toast topped with grilled banana, plain 0% Chobani mixed w/ almond extract and slivered almonds (absolutely delicious!)
Stromboli
Mom’s homemade Chicken and Rice Soup
Tomato, Mozz, EVOO, Balsamic & Dried Basil (no fresh!)
Awesome Pumpkin Pancakes (recipe to appear at some point)
1/2 Turkey sandwich, mac & cheese, potato chips (yeah I had a stomach ache after)
