Faux-tastic Pumpkin Cheesecake and more

Goodnight world! Oh wait that’s for the end of the post :)

Today started off with something I haven’t had in a while – MUSHROOMS! I sauteed some up and threw them into an omelet (1 egg + 1 white) with goat cheese. On the side I had a toasted sandwich thin with cinnamon. And an unpictured glass of OJ.

Work. Work. Work. All day long. I managed to get 3 out of the 4 assignments done today that I needed. My 4th one is almost finished and is due tomorrow. At the end of this week I will be completely done with my Nutrition, Fitness, and Wellness class! That’s one load off my shoulders.

Now for the bad news. Remember that interview I went to a few weeks back? Well it was for a spring internship position at MEDA (Massachusetts Eating Disorder Association) and I didn’t get it. :( I’m really sad about this because I thought that it would be a really great way to volunteer. I don’t think I interview very well and that just sucks.

I do have some more good news though! Today I ran 3.2 miles! Of course some walking was inserted there but it was definitely an accomplishment for me. I don’t like having to wait at crosswalks though. I don’t have a fancy Garmin or anything to time myself with so I just look at the clock before I leave and when I get back. It would be nice to have an accurate way to time myself but I’ll just have to try it out when I’m home and I’m in the country where I don’t have to wait for cars :)

Pre-run snackage: Kiwi and a small apple

I waited a little while for dinner and then had a bit of a mish mosh of things. Butternut squash soup which I added my leftover “stuffing” from my southwestern stuffed acorn squash. Basically just black beans, onion, and tomato.

Followed by tuna salad because I was craving it. Another thing I hadn’t eaten in awhile. I made it with 1 packet of chunk light tuna (less mercury than albacore and no BPA in the packets instead of the cans), 1 chopped celery stalk, a couple tbsp chopped onion, and about 2 tbsp plain 0% Chobani. On the side I had a couple Wasa rye crispbreads.

Now for what you’ve all been waiting for – the faux cheesecake. I remembered seeing a while back a faux cheesecake recipe from Bethenny Frankel so I just tried to remember it and made my version.

• 1/4 cup part skim ricotta (we have a bunch leftover since Raf’s mom made lasagna)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin
• splash of vanilla
• pinch of pumpkin pie spice
• squirt of honey

Mix it all up. Then add a big scoop to a graham cracker square and put a couple pieces of walnut on top. Voila – pumpkin cheesecake!

I put my leftover mixture in the fridge to have more tomorrow :)

Did anyone watch any of the Christmas specials that were on tonight? It was a hard choice but I decided on Rudolph!

Now Goodnight – and I mean it this time!

PS- Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!

Post-Thanksgiving Catch Up & A Giveaway

Well it certainly has been a while hasn’t it? I didn’t take pictures during Thanksgiving because I simply forgot in the bustle of people. Actually, I haven’t really taken many food pictures at all lately. I just felt like relaxing, ya know what I mean?

I spent this Thanksgiving with Raf’s family since we alternate now. We had a nice day up in New Hampshire at his grandparent’s house. It was a good thing I ate breakfast that day though because we didn’t eat until about 3pm and I was starving! I had oatmeal which usually last’s me about 4 hours and well, 4 hours had come and gone by then :)

Pumpkin Oatmeal w/ Teddie p.b.

Friday was leftovers day! I shredded some of the turkey and mixed it with spicy mustard. Add a slice of cheese and slap it on a sandwich thin.

I also tried something new on Friday. I’m not really a beer drinker but since we were out I found something that sounded appealing to me.

Pomegranate Raspberry!

I did fit in some veggies too :)

And I spent most of yesterday puppy sitting. Not exactly an exciting Thanksgiving vacation but that’s okay. I was not looking forward to more school today though. I just have to remind myself – only 2 weeks left of the semester!

I’m in Christmas mood now so I just want to listen to Christmas music and bake cookies. School always has to get in the way!

Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving :) Who else is in the Christmas spirit?!

Now for the giveaway! The lovely folks at Food Should Taste Good have offered to sponsor a giveaway! Some information from them:

“In case you aren’t familiar with our product our all natural tortilla chips are made from real, simple ingredients. All of our chip varieties are free of cholesterol, preservatives and trans fat, and do not use genetically modified ingredients (GMOs).  They are also certified Kosher and Gluten Free, lower in sodium, and are a good source of dietary fiber.  The chips are available in ten varieties: Multigrain, Sweet Potato, Olive, Jalapeño, The Works!, Chocolate, Lime, Yellow Corn, Blue Corn and Cheddar. If you’re looking for anymore additional information about our company, our website (www.foodshouldtastegood.com) offers nutritional information, a store locator, answers to FAQ’s, as well as a $1-off coupon!”

One winner will receive a sample box (5 bags of chips) of the flavors of your choice! To enter: leave a comment about which flavor you would most like to try! Good luck! This giveaway will run until December 3rd at noon!

Ready. Set. Cook.

It’s almost Thanksgiving :)

Yesterday and today I had some simple eats to prepare myself for tomorrow.

Tuesday

It was also unusually warm yesterday (~60 degree F) so when I went for my run in the early evening, a million bugs flew in my face. It was gross and unexpected.

I also lined up a puppy sitting job for next Sunday. Woohoo for pet sitting :)

Wednesday

Ran my 1.5 again today except this time it was freezing! My brother suggested I get ear warmers and told me I better be running 3 miles by next week. I feel the love haha.

More time spent in the kitchen today. I started off making

homemade cranberry sauce

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup water

dash or more of cinnamon

dash of ginger

a bit of orange zest

12 oz bag cranberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 –3/4 cup crushed pineapple

1/3 cup honey

Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil. Add cranberries and reduce heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes or so. Take off heat and add pineapple and honey. Let cool.

  Jarred and ready to go.

Then I made

Pumpkin Bread using the recipe from Eggland’s Best!

Ingredients:
7 1/2 oz. canned pumpkin
2 large Eggland's Best eggs
1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce  I used un-sweetened
1/3 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9×5 loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mix pumpkin puree, eggs, applesauce, water, and sugar.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. When dry ingredients are evenly mixed, mix into the wet ingredients while stirring.
Stir only until no more dry ingredients can be seen, but take care not to over mix. Pour batter into pans.
Bake until a knife in the center comes out barely wettened, or about 50 minutes.
Let sit in pan for 10 minutes and then remove.

Yield: Makes 12 servings

Nutritional Facts

1 Serving: Calories 123; Fat 1g (8.3% calories from fat); Protein 3g; Carbohydrate 26g; Dietary Fiber 3g; Cholesterol 35mg; Sodium 354mg.

Forgot pictures during the process. But you know how it goes.

My actual meals for today were kind of repetitive until dinner.

Green Monster contents: 1 cup skim milk, 1/2 frozen banana, ~ 2 cups spinach, ~1/4 cup pumpkin butter

Then I made this delicious guy since I was in the kitchen anyway:

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

Cut open and remove seeds from acorn squash. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. During this time saute up some diced onion and tomatoes (as much as you want or that you think will fit in your squash) with garlic, cumin, and coriander. Add some (rinsed and drained) black beans. Again just add as much as you want of the ingredients. Stuff mixture in squash and cook for about 5 more minutes. You could add some cheese and make it all melty gooey. I on the other hand opted for slices of avocado on the side of mine.

This was such a delicious meal. Something I would definitely make again!

Just realized I missed the first 10 minutes of the Biggest Loser special! Goodnight Everyone!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Second Deadly Sin

I only have one thing to present to you from my weekend of gluttony.

Now we weren’t able to finish it (which is definitely a good thing) but I stuffed myself at multiple meals this weekend and just felt awful every time. Why did I do that to myself? A couple others recently have been posting about recommitting to their healthy lifestyle and I knew exactly what they were talking about. Monday comes around and I see the light.  The questions remains: Will I be able to continue with this recommitment to health with Thanksgiving looming? I hope so.

Nonetheless today turned out to be productive. Though my eating was again abysmal, but in a different way. I couldn’t wake up and therefore left the house without eating in order to make it to my meeting on time. By 5 pm, I was running on the fumes of a large Caramel Macchiato (yes large because it was from my school coffee shop), ~1/2 cup of cantaloupe, and a mini kit-kat. I did however have 2 successful meetings, got some medical records faxed, requested transcripts, hit up the post office and bank, and checked in on the cats I’m kitty sitting. All in a days work. No wait, my day wasn’t over. I still had homework and a virtual meeting. Okay now done.

I tried to fit in some healthy eats.

Leftover salmon, cauliflower, and yellow squash. OJ

Plain 0% Chobani w/ a heap of homemade pumpkin butter

I may or may not have devoured a bunch of tostones too.

And I tried a persimmon. It was a Fuyu? Didn’t like it.

I haven’t run since Friday. I plan on tackling that tomorrow since my day should *fingers crossed* be less hectic.

How are you planning on dealing with the feast that is Thanksgiving? Indulge or moderation?

Who said food can’t be both healthy and delicious?

First off, thank you thank you thank you for all your support regarding the 5k. I am super duper excited for this and you guys pump me up even more!

So I don’t know what it is but I’ve been really enjoying my eats lately. Like I seriously say “mmmmm” while eating! hehe

Bowl o’ Berries, sandwich thin w/ Teddie’s unsalted p.b. on one half and homemade pumpkin butter on the other, + coffee

I was pretty crampy yesterday but I heard that exercise is actually good for cramps so I went out for a run anyway. Another 1.5 miles down. Then I tried out another expo grab for lunch.

Green Monster (1/2 banana, 2 handfuls steamed spinach, 4 tbsp pumpkin yogurt, 1 cup skim milk, 1 packet GNC Lean Shake Swiss Chocolate Flavor)

It tasted alright. A little too chocolately though so I probably would have preferred to split the pack into 2 servings. Also the biggest thing I didn’t like was that there was partially hydrogenated soybean oil in the ingredient list. What kind of “diet” meal adds trans fat? Makes no sense to me. Safe to say I won’t be suggesting this to anyone or buying it myself.

Oh bad lighting, how I loathe you. However I do not loathe: sauteed asparagus w/ garlic, tilapia, and whole wheat spaghetti :)

Yesterday also involved school and our monthly Nutrition Liaison meeting. Followed of course by Grey’s and Private Practice. Thursday night is for crying ya know!

This morning’s breakfast was also delicious.

Another Bowl o’ Berries, Coffee, and Pumpkin Yogurt & Oats

You can’t really see it but there are old fashioned oats hiding in there!

Lots to do today. Happy Friday! Any fun plans for the weekend?

I’m Addicted to the Kitchen

Since I spent so many long hours yesterday doing school work, today I spent a good chunk of time in the kitchen. Oh it was lovely. But first let me tell you all my exciting news! I will be doing my first (and second) 5k in December! My first will be in Michigan on Dec. 11 while I’m out visiting a potential internship program and my family who live out there. It’s called Run Like the Dickens and I will be running it with my aunt, uncle, and cousin! My second will be in Albany on Dec. 18. It’s called Albany Last Run and it goes through the holiday lights in the park. I’m sure it will be beautiful and I’m running that one with another cousin and my brother! I’m so excited :) I ran 1.5 miles yesterday and today to start preparing. ~3 weeks and counting…… Check out my pretty new running shirt that I got at TJ Maxx last weekend:

So what have I been up to in the kitchen you ask? Well yesterday I actually whipped up a big batch of pumpkin yogurt and some homemade pumpkin butter. I had some pumpkin butter on toast last night. Yum. And used some pumpkin yogurt on oatmeal this morning. Yum.

Today I decided on two delicious recipes from other bloggers that I just couldn’t pass up. “Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup” from Kristy and “Cranberry Apple Bread” from Courtney (I also used her homemade pumpkin butter recipe up above.) I did however switch up the all purpose flour to whole wheat.

What a delicious and fulfilling day :)

I also spent some time at Simmons Radio Station learning the ins and outs because next semester I will be starting a Nutrition Talk Show! I will have a ton on my plate though so I’ve recruited some people and hopefully will get a few more so we can alternate hosting duties each week. I just have so many things that I want to do! If only I could make days more than 24 hours…… or be able to run on no sleep, that would be interesting.

Happy Hump Day!

Any tips on getting ready for my 5k(s)?

No Time

I’m stressed to the max right now and really shouldn’t even be spending time writing up a post but it’s been a while and I miss my blog. And I’m really behind on reading others blogs too but I just don’t have the time right now with impending assignments due.

Friday dinner: Mac n’ Cheese, Fish, and Asparagus. Delicious.

Saturday: OIAJ kind of morning.

Spent the day with my mom at the spa getting massages and then shopping! Then it was off to game night with my brothers and sisters-in-law. Chili for dinner. We played siblings vs others for catch phrase. My brothers and I dominated. Then we played a couple rounds of Uno and I never won.

Back to Boston on Sunday. Saw Skyline with Raf before he headed back to school.

Monday – the start of a crazy week. At some point I had a delicious fruit salad of kiwi and apple.

I spent most of the day volunteering for Fitness Forward and then I went to class at night. We snacked on various “cultural foods” that classmates brought which was nice.

Today I had my first microwaved scrambled egg because I had no pan to cook them in. It was fast and tasted fine. Not great but hey that’s what you get for using a microwave.

I spent my morning volunteering with Fitness Forward again. This time I remembered some pictures. Here are the posters we use to teach the kids.

Back to work now!