HodgePodge

Long, long, long, long time no post.  I have said this before but I really did think that finishing up last semester would mean more time to blog.  It really just means more time to do other things (without documenting them, woops.)  The only thing I have been busy doing is job hunting.  I have had the same summer job for six years now so I didn't realize how tough it can be to find one.  Especially one I might enjoy!  The search continues...

On a better note, I'm signed up for the Healthy Living Summit.  I'm so excited that it's in Chicago this year.  I think it will be a really awesome opportunity to learn and meet a ton of great people.  Hopefully it will give me a kick in the rear to be a better blogger as well.

Foods lately have been a hodgepodge of stuff.  Keefer was here for almost a whole week so we made (and ate out) some great food, some of which I snapped pics of, some of which I did not.

The first morning he was here he made this awesome om with mushroom, onion, tomato and avocado.

We also made Mexican dip which was so good but we ate far too much of it in one sitting.  The rest we used on salads but it def should have lasted us longer than it did.  We layered refried beans, avocado, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, and olives.  The olives were yummy ones from the olive bar however I think I would have liked just plain canned black olives.

Our school had $5 Cubs tix on sale a while ago so we bought some.  It was my first Cubs experience and it was fun but a little too chilly.  I'll go back when it warms up a bit more.  ;)  I love the atmosphere at baseball games!  A bunch of fans enjoying the day while eating hot dogs and drinking beer...even though I skipped on the hot dog.  (Keefer was here too but somehow he snuck out of this.)

(Yes, I did rock my Tigers hat at a Cubs game....I'm new to Chi and have no Cubs gear...yet.)

After the game we headed to http://www.gooseisland.com/.  I loved the beer and the vegetarian chili was good too!  We also split the spinach artichoke dip which was super tasty!

Keefer and I are both on a student budget so we tried to find fun things to do for free/cheap in Chi.  One of the days we went to the Botanic Gardens.  It was SO huge and SO pretty.  Such a nice walk.  We stayed for a few hours and although it would have been nice to have it warmer, it was so nice to see all the plants and flowers!  

After the gardens we went to a small restaurant, Dimitri's which we though would be pricey when we walked in but it turned out to be pretty reasonable.  We both ate for around $24.

I started with a greek salad

and Keefer started with minestrone soup.  We both love minestrone so we are on the lookout for a good recipe!

I ordered a porkchop which I had been craving that came with some veggies.

Mine was good but Keefer's gyro was so much better.

Another free thing we did was hit the Lincoln Park Zoo.  For being free, we thought it was a great zoo.  We had a lot of fun!

Keith is coming again next week to stay for a bit so we are going to try to find more things to do for cheap, cheap, cheap!

Now for more hodgepodge...

I'm moving in a week so I'm not grocery shopping, just trying to eat what's in my cupboards.  It will be nice to not move so much stuff but I'm in need of more food in my fridge!

I laid out for the first time this summer, yesterday and got pretty fried so I'm off to aloe up.  My body looks like a tomato!

Tara (:

Long Time No Post...

I've had a major lack in posting lately and because crunch time is upon me with final projects coming up I need to get crackin.  I thought I would sum up my food choices lately with some pics so I can get workin.

In no particular order...

Off to write a ten page paper, ugh!

Tara (:

Where Oh Where

...did the weekend go.  I feel like that every Sunday night but this weekend flew by especially quick!

I didn't snap many photos this weekend but my breakfasts included a few eggs...

...a couple oatmeal/flax seed/banana

...and the best part...STRAWBERRIES!  They were so yummy!

I snacked on some pretzel thins.

Lunched on an awesome turkey sandwich!  Loved the avocado on it!

and ate my Dad's awesome pea soup for dinner!

I just went to see The Last Song which was pretty good but now I pushed my dinner back too much and am so hungry!  Gotta go cook something up!

Tara (:

Oh the Weather Outside...

...is delightful!  I love sunny days.  The forecast shows that it is only suppose to get nicer too, yes!  I'm waking up to head back to Michigan tomorrow so I'm glad the weather will be nice for the drive.  

I couldn't fall asleep until 4:30am last night, ugh!  I hate nights like that.  Needless to say I'm pretty tired.

Last night I made some stir fry.  It turned out pretty good but it was very green.  I needed some other colors too.  I also had intentions of putting chicken in there but when I peeked in my freezer I was out!  Oh no!  It was good nonetheless.

I had just enough to bring the leftovers for lunch today.  The okra in this was definitely my fav!

I also made some of CNC's sweet potato oatmeal raisin cookies.  They are so delicious.  I was going to bring them to Keefer so I tried not to sneak too many.   ;)

For breakfast this morning I made some old fashioned oats with dried cranberries, agave and flaxseed.  I think the flaxseed really helped to hold me over until lunch.

I didn't have time to hit the gym when I got home from the hospital but it was too early for dinner so I heated up some broccoli with mozzarella and made a smoothie with raspberries, blueberries, oj and spinach!

The smoothie was good but I love bananas in mine.

Dinner was a salad and chicken noodle soup.  I'm trying to use up what I have before I go home for the weekend.

This soup does not look very good.  It actually is tasty but very salty too.

Michigan, here I come!

Tara (:

PB Problemo

Phew, I made it through Tuesday.  They are my longest days because I have interning all day and then class.  It feels like a mini accomplishment when they are over.

Yesterday when Keefer left I gobbled up the rest of my dad's beef veggie stew.  YUM!

After the gym I ran to Johnny's to get their italian ice.  It is SO good and such a treat.  I just need to find out the nutrition facts.  I'm sure there is a fair share of sugar in there but the best part about it is that it's not TOO sweet.

I also snuck a piece of Gramma's oatmeal bread.

Before class I heated up my leftovers from the other night.  Roasted veggies and roasted chicken.  MMM

I grabbed some yogurt with my granola added to it for dessert.

This morning I had to wake up a bit early so that I could register for summer and fall classes (which means I'll only be registering for classes ONE more time, YAY!)  It was so nice to drink my coffee and relax instead of rush.  I added pb to my oatmeal this morning for some protein but for some reason I just CANNOT get into pb in the morning.  Weird, I know.  I also topped it with a nanner.

I snapped a pic of my lunch last night while packing and then dumb me left out my turkey sanwich.  Needless to say, I threw it away this morning and made a quick pbj.

Today I met with a patient at the hospital who was a type 2 diabetic in poor condition and he REFUSED to talk to me saying that he would not change any of his habits.  I know we all have habits that are hard to break but it's really sad that some people let it harm themselves.

I had lots to do after my internship and before class so I stopped at Subway for a turkey sub loaded up with veggies and some broccoli cheddar soup.  No pic, woops.

Dessert was chocolate and a smoothie tonight.  YUM!  My smoothie was a banana, OJ, whole grain drink, yogurt and an apple.  The apple was a weird texture but yummy.

(Blurry pic, eek)

Off to bed, night!

Tara (:

It's a Beautiful Mornin

Today I felt as if I had never left!  Because I got almost no sleep two nights ago, last night I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.  It felt so great to sleep so well.  This morning my alarm went off and the sun was shining!  I don't know about you, but for me it's so much easier to get up when the sun is peeking through my curtains.

Can't wait until there are leaves on these trees!

I started my morning with a bowl of old fashion oats, flax seed, whole grain drink from TJs, banana and agave.  YUM!

My lunch at the hospital was a little better today because I put sprouts on my turkey sandwich.  I LOVE sprouts and always have so I'm not sure why I don't always keep them in my fridge.  They made my sandwich 100x better!

After my day at the hospital I could not force myself to go back inside to the gym so I went for a run outside.  I didn't work out much last week at home and I can DEFINITELY tell.  I need to get back at it. I came home and did a Yoga Download session which I really liked.  I was also craving a smoothie so I threw a banana, frozen raspberries, cherry vanilla yogurt, OJ and flax seed into the blender.  I thought the flax seed would make it seem a bit more substantial but it was NOT good.  I will NOT be adding flax seed to my smoothies again.

My dad also sent me back with some of his homemade vegetable beef soup and it was DEEEELISH.  Homemade soups are SO much better than the canned.  I must say it's nice to be back and still eating mom and dad's cookin.

I packed a snack for class and made this yummy tea.

I knew I would be hungry after class so I tried to minimize the amount of soup I had so I could make this awesome salad topped with sprouts, olives, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, blue cheese, pepper and italian vinaigrette.

I still had a sweet tooth so I made a slimwich with pb and chocolate chips.

No interning tomorrow for St. Patty's Day but unfortunately I'll be studying for a midterm on Thursday ugh.  I am going to head downtown to go for a run by the lake with Jenna tomorrow if the weather holds up.

Night!

Tara (: