Grandma's Eggs

Perhaps the best thing about not having to rush off in the morning is getting to enjoy a nice relaxing breakfast.  This morning I decided on eggs over easy and whole wheat toast.  This always makes me think of my grandma because she would make it every single time that I would sleep over.  Mine still are never as good as hers.  Why is that?

I had to go to school for a while today so I snacked on an orange, an apple and a Fiber One bar.  When I got home I had some everything pretzels from TJ's.  They are delicious!  (And addicting, so be careful!)

I wasn't too hungry for dinner because of my excessive pretzel snacking but I did end up eating so I wouldn't get hungry in class.  I had tilapia, brown rice and a spinach salad with cheese, a tomato, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a dash of dill.  It was a good salad but not great.

After class I snacked on a grapefruit.  They are so yummy!

Off to relax so I can go to a nutrition care process seminar tomorrow, ay yay yay....

Tara (:

House Hunters

Busy bodies mean not much time to blog!

My breakfast yesterday and today were exactly the same.  Cream of wheat with agave.  Although today I did add an english muffin to try and hold me over a bit longer.

Today was just the same packed lunch as last week minus the turkey sandwich, plus beef vegetable soup.  Nothing too exciting when I'm trying to cram lunch into a busy day.

I love pasta but sometimes I get bored with it so I just add whatever my heart desires.  This sometimes means great new meals or total disasters.  Yesterday was a success!  I sauteed mushroom, onion and garlic in olive oil and added it to whole wheat rotini.  I also threw in a bit of Italian Trio Cheese and a couple tomatoes.  It was so good and easy!

All day I've been struggling with a bad back so I was just not in the mood to cook.  I headed up to Trader Joe's to pick up some goodies including this spinch pesto pizza.  It was good but I'm not sure I would get it again.

I think we found a house to live in next year so I'm super pumped.  YAY!

I'm exhausted and I still have some other homework to take care of so goodnight!

Tara (:

Good Til the Last Drop

And another week begins...

Last night I had....yep you guessed it, more stir fry!  It's nice making large portions especially if they heat up well because they are easy to zap but I don't like eating the same thing over and over.

After dinner I snacked on a handful of chocolate chips and some homemade granola from Marie while watching the Grammy's.  (I love Pink and Lady Gaga!)  I have to try her granola recipe because it was so good!

This morning I made an omelette with spinach, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and cheese.  I also had a whole wheat english muffin.  I planned on eating a grapefruit with it but got too full.

For a pre-gym snack I had two small apples with peanut butter.  Such a good, classic snack.

And finallllly, I finished off the last bit of my stir fry for dinner.

I also made some roasted potatoes.  I just chopped up red skin potatoes and topped with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and dill, stuck them in the oven at 350 degrees for a half hour.  So easy.

Now it's time to pack my lunch for the hospital tomorrow.  See ya later!

Tara (:

Linner

Sleeping in on the weekends feels sooooo good!  Yesterday I slept in and woke up to a gumbling tummy.  It's been a while since I've had an omelette so that's what I decided on.  I had two eggs with spinach, tomato, onion, mushroom and cheese.  I also had two slices of whole wheat toast.  OJ and coffee too!

Because I ate such a late breakfast I waited for a while to hit the gym and then had a linner when I got back.  (Lunch + dinner)  I made a turkey wrap in a spinach tortilla with tomato, spring mix, cheese and italian dressing.  I also made some roasted zucchini just like I had made the yellow squash the day before.  YUM!

I knew I would be hungry later because I ate early so I had a cup of antelope chili and an apple, pear salad last night when I was out!  (No pic, woops)  The chili was good but not exceptional however the salad was great!

This morning I had oatmeal, banana and agave.

Time for the gym!

Tara (:

Surprise Flowers

Today was one of our occasional Chicago area intern meetings.  We learned all about resume writing, interviewing and dealing with the media.  It was fun and informative for the most part.  The resume writing was especially helpful I thought.

Before I headed out for the day I made some cream of wheat with banana and agave.  Really hoping I don't get sick of this anytime soon because it is soo good!

At the conference I was starving by the time lunch hit and I think I overate.  None of the foods I chose from the cafeteria were too exceptional either.  Bummer.  I chose half a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich (def not as good as mine haha), chicken soup and taco salad.

I snacked on a Fiber One bar towards the end of day so I wouldn't over-indulge in the next meal too.  By the time I got home it felt so good to get into my comfys.  The VERY BEST part of the day was what I came home to find at my apartment.

Keith sent me sunflowers (my fav) in a cute purple bucket (my fav color) with a wonderful note.  What can I say, I'm a lucky girl (:

I was SO tempted to order a pizza for dinner because I was craving it but I told myself I had to have some self control so I decided to make stir fry and roasted yellow squash.  Both turned out great!  Look how steamy...

For the roasted squash I:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Cut into thin slices
• Brush with olive oil
• Add chopped garlic to the top
• Season with pepper and Mrs. Dash

Delicious!  Can't wait to try with my zucchini tomorrow.

For the stir fry I was trying to be economical but creative so here's what I added:

• Frozen broccoli
• Frozen zucchini
• Frozen peas
• Frozen cut okra (first time using and loved it!)
• Frozen asparagus
• Fresh tomato
• Fresh mushrooms
• Grilled chicken breast
• Olive oil
• Soy sauce

I love using frozen vegetables because they are often packed with the same nutrients as fresh veggies without the price.  They also don't have the sodium of canned veggies.  I didn't measure anything which is sometimes the best way to cook I think.  (Just being careful with the oil and soy sauce.)  I wish I would have added a million more mushrooms but overall it was a great meal.  I have enough left over for an army so hopefully I don't get sick of eating it this weekend.  I paired my dinner with a glass of white wine and skim milk of course!

For dessert I had a piece of Grandma's oatmeal bread.  Hit the spot.

Now it's time to catch up on my sleep.  I don't have an alarm set for tomorrow...what a wonderful feeling!

Nighty night

Tara (:

Productive Thursdays

A busy day with interning and such yesterday made for a lack of pics and a relaxing night with the other interns.  The only thing I snapped a pic of yesterday was my breakfast of cream of wheat, banana and agave.  Coffee too of course.

The rest of the day was pretty much the same lunch as the day before and guacamole for dinner.  Definitely nothing to write home about.  I really think I am going to like interning at the hospital.  I think that I will learn so much there and I already am!

Because I don't have to intern on Thursdays I promised that today would be a very productive day...and it has been!  I finished all my homework.  It feels so good to be caught up on work.  Today I woke up and made myself some coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

I followed that up with some Awake Tazo Tea!

In the midst of doing homework, homework and more homework I grabbed some lunch.  I love grapefruit.  I think I would put them in my top ten fav foods.  I do wish they were easier to eat on the go.

You can see I tried to make a smiley with my grapefruit knife.  Cheesy I know.  I like grapefruit knives so much better than grapefruit spoons.  But perhaps the best part of grapefruit?? Squeezing the fresh juice out at the end.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I also wanted a bit of protein to hold me over so I snacked on some hummus and carrots.  I like this hummus quartet from TJ's but I think it's probably more worth it to just buy the garlic flavor because that's my fav.  Also, I'm not a fan of the red pepper hummus so I gave all of it to Keefer.

Now I'm off to the gym hopefully to be back in time to prepare a decent dinner.

Ta ta for now!

Tara (:

One Post Wonder

Although I love making multiple posts in a day, I rarely have time for it and it seems like it won't be getting any easier.  Today was my first day at the hospital and it was great!  I got a tour of the joint and then got to learn their charting system and do some case studies on patients.  I really think it's going to be a valuable learning experience and put me that much closer to passing the RD exam!

Of course I started my coffee pot...back to Folgers. (RIP chicory coffee, you will be missed.)  I also had cream of wheat, bananas and agave which I'm totally addicted to.  It is so good but the only problem is I don't get enough protein in for breakfast.  I would love to eat eggs everyday but I know that's not the best and I'm not always in for peanut butter in the morning.  I know there are many options but none of them seem to hit the spot in the morning.  Hmmmm......thoughts?

On the train I just relaxed and read a good book.  It really makes the time fly by.  Before I knew it, I had arrived and was hungry (I know, I know...need the protein.)  So I snacked on some apple cinnamon mini rice cakes.  (Again, no protein.)  These actually held me over until it was lunch time.  I packed my lunch last night, which I always do so I'm not rushed in the morning.

We got out a little bit early so I hit the gym.  I'm thinking that spring will be here before you know it so I really need to crack down on my running and working out.  (Plus, I'm trying to talk Ma and Pa into a spring break FL trip....bathing suit body??)

By the time I got home from the gym I didn't have much time before class and I was starvin marvin so I heated up leftover tacos.  MMMMmmmm.

After class I am always craving a little something so I made a smoothie with my frozen fruit, a banana and some blueberries.  YUM!  I also had a piece of my gma's oatmeal bread.

I'm going to finish watching The Bachelor (I'm loving this season) then catch some zzz.

Tara (: