Weekend Munchies

It seems that when weekends roll around I become a serious slacker when it comes to blogging.  However, a couple of my best girlfriends were here this weekend so I needed some time to relax and hang with them. What a weekend!  I didn't take pics of everything but I tried to take them when we ate out.

I started my weekend with some maple syrup oatmeal.

Friday night we were celebrating Kate's bday so we were out and about in the city.  Saturday we all had a slow start to our day due to our late night on Friday.  We had tickets to a show at night so we found a cute little restaurant around the bar.  Wishbone was a southern cooking joint.  It was pretty good however I don't know if I would go back.  They did serve rolls and cornbread before which were so good!

I decided to get a burger on brown bread.

The show we went to after dinner was Bye Bye Liver.  It was an interactive, drinking, comedy show.  It was so funny and I had a lot of great laughs.  I would definitely go again.  I think that both men and women would enjoy it although just my girlfriends and I went.  After the show I saw they had one of my FAV beers.  I ordered a Founder's Red Rye and although it wasn't as good as draft, I still loved it!

We also got hungry again later on so we ordered the spinach artichoke appetizer.  (I like having my appetizer after dinner haha.)  It was AMAZING.  I love spinach artichoke dip I just wish it was a bit healthier for me.  haha

This morning I was in a little bit of a rush to get back into the city to meet up with the girls so I made some cream of wheat, banana and agave.  Yum!

We walked around the city until we were ready for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.  I have never eaten at this famous restaurant but WOW.  My whole meal was delicious and then the cheesecake was amazing of course!  I got the four seasons pizza which had four different sections and a caesar salad.

For dessert, Kristi and I split the carrot cake cheesecake.  It was hard to decide from all the different choices but I think we made the right decision.  It was fabulous!

Like I said, what a weekend!  I had such a great time with my girlfriends but boy am I tired and I really think I'm sick.  They are preparing us for lots of snow here in Chi so I plan on staying in in my pjs, making spaghetti squash and cheering on Team USA in the hockey game!

Tara (:

Brussel Sprout Adventures

My fat wrap definitely held me over until after class.  Although when I got home I munched on more than I should have.  Although I have been staying up pretty late the last few nights so I guess I need something to hold me over until bed.  (That's what I tell myself at least.)  I decided to eat my leftover chicken cacciatore. It was good but definitely not as good as it was fresh....or perhaps the company just wsn't as good.  ;-)

I decided I wanted a veggie with this so I zapped some brussel sprouts in the microwave.  I topped them with some spray butter and Mrs. Dash and they were AWFUL.  My family didn't really like brussel sprouts growing up so we didn't eat them a lot so I decided I would look up a new recipe online.  I decided to top them with a bit of olive oil and S&P.  I cooked them at 400 degrees for about a half hour. Once again they did not turn out too well.  I did like the crispy outside but the inside was not great.  Perhaps I should have let them cook a bit longer.  I ate the crispy outsides and tossed the rest.  ):

Round 1:

Round 2:

I still needed something else so I grabbed some granola and I also had a mint skinny cow.

Finally for my last snack of the night I had an apple with cinnamon.  Whew.  I got this yummy idea from Hungry Hungry Hippie.  I haven't had this snack since I was little.

Off to watch more Olympics.  (I love Shaun White!  He is unbelievable.)

Tara (:

Fat Wrap

Again, I woke up feelin sick this morning but I do feel better than I did yesterday.  (I must feel better by tomorrow because two of my best girlfriends are coming to visit!)  I made maple syrup oatmeal and decided to try topping it with my homemade granola and some TJ's peanut butter.  It was good but I don't know if I like it that much better than plain oatmeal.  The great thing about it was that it kept me full until after my workout.  I also tried another Ellie Krieger recipe.  I made some iced coffee.

Here's what I did with the iced coffee:

• Mix 1 Tbsp of sugar with 2 Tbsp of instant coffee.
• Add 1/4 cup of boiling water until dissolved.
• Put in blender with 1c ice, 2 c skim milk, 1 banana.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  I was suppose to freeze the banana, which I think would have been better.  I also didn't add any cocoa powder which was an option.  If I made it again I would half the recipe and not include sugar.  I might also use soy milk instead.

When I hit the gym today I was going to follow my plan.  I started with a ten minute warm up walk, then I did weight training with Hannah and also did a 15 minute incline cool down.  It felt very strange not to run or do more cardio but I'm trying to get that out of my mindset of run, run, run.  My arms did feel like jello after.

Yesterday I accidentally bought two OJ's while grocery shopping.  What's wrong with me??  Anyway, must be a sign that I need to drink it to feel better.  Which I still don't know if that is true or not.  I also made a MONSTER wrap because I'm hoping it will last until I get out of class tonight.  I had a whole wheat wrap and added, turkey, spinach, swiss and blue cheese, tomato, onion, cucumber and italian dressing.  It was delicious but a little too big.

Off to shower before class, ugh.  Can't wait for this weekend!

Tara (:

Yoga--Where have you gone?

I woke up feeling sick this morning, UGH!  I had a headache and a sore throat.  I've had strep throat many times before and it doesn't feel like that thank goodness.  The good thing was I did't have to go to the hospital today and I don't have to go tomorrow.  I would hate to get anyone else sick.  

Because I didn't feel good I just kept laying in bed this morning so breakfast was more around lunch time.  I had a bowl of maple syrup oatmeal and a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.  (I guess I was really craving some carbs because I didn't eat any last night.)  Once these bagels are gone, I will NOT be buying anymore.  They are such a guilty pleasure.  I also had some orange juice (to get in my vitamin c!) and coffee.

 I had to make a grocery trip today where I spent nearly $84.  I don't have a job so I try to spend as little as possible but one thing I will not compromise on buying fruits and vegetables (which often are what rack up my bill.)  This trip didn't even include any meat or wine!

When I got home from I had some of my leftover orzo recipe.  (I still have a ton left, gosh!)  I also had a blood orange.

My school offers free yoga and I really loved it however I haven't yet attended this week.  Last week we went and it was nowhere to be found and tonight was the same thing!  It's so frustrating!  After waiting for a while, nobody showed up so I left and went to Hannah's to do some homework.  Ugh.

The homework took longer than expected so I got a late start on dinner.  (I also forgot taco seasoning so I was running around to grocery stores looking for that, ugh.)  When I got home I had tacos and chips and salsa for dinner.

These chips from TJ's were okay but nothing to write home about.  (You can see all the homework I'm covering up with my food.)

I also received a Michigan magazine today and I can't wait to read it.  It makes me miss home and get so excited for Michigan summers up north!

Off to conquer some of this homework!

Tara (:

Happy Fat Tuesday!

So unfortunately I didn't get to eat too fat on fat Tuesday.  (Or maybe fortunately, right?)  I was up and off to the hospital this morning.  Before I left I had some cream of wheat, banana and agave.  An english muffin with my new TJ's pb too.  The verdict is still out on Krema's competition. 

I alllllways forget to snap a pic of my lunch while I'm interning however today I just brought my leftover orzo recipe from last night, a fiber bar, celery sticks and a kiwi.  

The day started of rather slow while interning so I decided to pick a fellow intern's brain.  He has a previous degree in exercise physiology and is a personal trainer with a lot of experience, so he knows a lot more than I do about working out.  I told him about my recent challenge.  We talked for a long time and he went into a lot of detail but here's the summary:

• Every single time I go to the gym I do some type of cardio (usually running) and my body is getting "used" to it, therefore it is not as effective.
• Solution: 30 minutes of really pushing myself for cardio 2 days/week.  Eventually I can build up my speed and work up to 45 minutes perhaps even making it to five days a week if I have time.  However, that should be the absolute most cardio I would do and it would be very hard to find time in my schedule to do that in addition to my strength training.  These additions should take place slowly; approximately 2-3 weeks each time I want to add on.  (This isn't saying that cardio/running is not good, just that I need to switch it up a bit more.)  This is also not what I would do if I were to train for a race.
• I am not doing enough strength training during my workouts.  
• Solution:  I received a detailed work out regimen to focus on my strength training.  Each week I should increase by the number of reps or the amount of weight I'm lifting.  I do not want to get "bulky" but he assured me that this would result in fat burning and toning.  I don't think I'll be turning into a body builder any time soon.
• Stop eating carbs 3-4 hours before I go to bed.  (Note:  I did NOT say stop eating carbs all together.)
• Solution:  Stop eating carbs 3-4 hours before I go to bed!  There isn't much of a plan to this. I am always hungry when I get home from class and I am usually in the mood for cereals, bread, bagels or fruit.  ALL CARBS!  Ahhh!  I love carb containing foods and they are SO important in your body but because of how they are digested it really does make sense not to eat them before going to bed.  Tonight I tried to snack on almonds, cottage cheese and hummus with broccoli.  (Pics to follow.)  It was hard but I think I can do it.

I also would love to improve my balance.  I have TERRIBLE balance and the older I get it seems to get worse.  (I can only imagine what it will be like when I'm eighty years old!)  I can do some yoga and balance exercises on my two off days to help improve this!

Because my schedule is always changing and usually pretty busy I don't know if I can stick to this 100% but I am going to try my best and see what works for me and my lifestyle so I can feel the best about myself!

Because I didn't get home from my internship until later, I didn't have time to go work out so I caught up on a few things and made some dinner.  I had a done a Warfarin teaching today at the hospital so I was talking about leafy greens all day.  It got me craving a spinach salad.  I topped mine with onion, tomato, colby jack, dill, and my dressing was a mixture of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dill and italian dressing.  It was tasty!  I also had a plop of cottage cheese with pepper and TJ's pesto tortellini topped with tomato sauce.  I hadn't tried TJ's tortellini before and I was very pleasantly surprised.  I will definitely try the other flavors.

After class I knew I was going to make an effort not to eat carbs, hoping my bedtime was in the near future.  Instead I snacked on these!

(and a little bit of cottage cheese too.)

I'm off to bed.  Nighty night!

Tara (:

Time to Get Serious

After a wonderful but gluttonous weekend with Keefer, I woke up feeling not so great about myself and my recent eating and exercising habits.  I have been slacking not only at the gym but I've also been eating pretty much whatever my heart desires, however much it desires and whenever it desires.  I've never been one to take the number on the scale too seriously but lately it seems to be staying a little higher than normal.  I'm not saying that I'd like to lose a ton of weight but I would love to tone up, get back in shape and FEEL better about myself.  (Wouldn't everybody?)  I'm currently 145 lbs. and 5'8.5.  (Yes, I need that extra half inch.)  I'd really like to lose 4-5 lbs.  I need to think of a plan that I can stick to.  Every time I go to the gym it needs to be an A+ effort workout.  I also need to force myself to think if I'm actually hungry or if I just am going to eat because it looks/sounds good or I'm bored.  Finally I need to make my splurges few and far between.  I do NOT believe in diets so eliminating anything I love from my diet would be out of the question however cutting back on certain items wouldn't be the worst idea.  I'm going to think of a plan for me for the next few days that is attainable and sustainable.  (I'm open to suggestions!)  I will keep you updated.

Anywhoooo, this morning, at 4:30am I made Keefer some eggs over easy with toast and sent him on his way, back to The Mitten.  I went back to bed but when I woke up I was craving some of those eggs.

I hit the gym and had a pretty good work out.  I did a run/walk for 40 minutes and made it 3.47 miles.  Hopefully I can run longer and faster if I get more serious about my workouts.  I also did some strength training so I was ready for lunch when I got home.  I didn't want to eat a huge meal because I wanted to eat dinner before class so I went with a big smoothie and a PBJ on an english muffin.  I also used the last of my Krema so now I'm going to try the TJ's brand of pb.

Last week I found a recipe I wanted to try on a food blog and for the life of me I cannot remember which one.  I made it for dinner and it was pretty good but if I had to do again I would add chicken instead of beans (clearly I'm a big meat fan.) and mushrooms.  Probably more tomatoes too.  Marie suggested olives which I think would be yummy as well!

I actually had to bring this to class because I ran out of time.  Marie and I decided to leave early for class to go to Starbucks and try their new TAZO vanilla rooibos tea.  No pic but it was DELISH.  Can't wait to get another.  (I used all my self control not to order an oatmeal cookie, my favvvv.)

Anyways, here's the recipe.  I would definitely recommend it with those changes.  I'm sorry that I can't remember where I got this wonderful recipe!

• 2 cups orzo, uncooked
• 2 cups frozen spinach
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, havled
• 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1 Tbsp. dry dill
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• pepper to taste

Cook orzo and spinach in a pot, bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chickpeas, dill, grape tomatoes and goat cheese. In a seperate small bowl, whisk together olive oil, salt, lemon juice and garlic. Add oil mixture to orzo, stirring until pasta is completely coated. Serve in a bowl and enjoy!

When I got home I was actually hungry but not starving so I stayed with light snacking.  I had a kiwi and a grapefruit.  Both delicious.

I'm off to start some homework.  I'm off to the hospital again tomorrow!

Tara (:

Vday Slacker

Well I have seriously been slacking on my blogging.  I have been snapping some photos, just not posting them.  When Keith is here I don't get around the computer as much as I usually do.  

So here's what I've been eating....
...a big bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.

...grapefruit!  With a little bit of sugar on top to add to the sweetness.

... a turkey wrap in a wheat tortilla with swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and Italian dressing.  I absolutely love eating these for lunch.

...chocolate pudding with a frozen banana on top, SO tasty!

Whenever Keith comes we try to plan a new recipe or new restaurants.  When he got here on Friday night we had thai from Penny's Noodles.  It was ok pad thai but I think there are better places to get thai around here.

I've been dying to try Ann Sather.  It's a breakfast place all around Chicago.  It was DELICIOUS.  The portion sizes were huge though.  Most of the breakfasts have two sides to choose from and one side is TWO giant cinnamon rolls.  This weekend they had pink icing for Valentine's Day.  Needless to say we had a doggy bag.

Although the cinnamon rolls seemed like our actual meal it was not.  I had a Mediterranean omelet with a side of fresh fruit and Keith had Southern Decadence which was a biscuit topped with a sausage patty, poached eggs and sausage gravy.  He got a side of tomato slices.

Later on in the day we made some granola.  It was a recipe out of an Ellie Krieger cookbook.  I don't watch the Food Network much and haven't seen her show but I learned about this RD chef lately and so far LOVE her.

She has a very realistic view on eating and her RD credentials make her even better!  Last night we tried her chicken cacciatore with some broccoli on the side.  It was fabulous!  I am borrowing the cookbooks from a friend but definitely will be getting my own soon to try all the recipes.

We also mixed and matched a six pack of beer from TJ's.  It was fun to try different kinds.  Here were two of them...

We tried to make a dark chocolate fondue for dessert but it did not turn out.

Breakfast today was eggs over easy although I overcooked them a bit.

For lunch Keith made me one of my favorites, a grilled cheese with tomato.

Valentine's Day really isn't a big deal to us so we decided we would do a pizza night at Giordano's.  Hannah and Marie joined us.  It was fun!  Although they offered a heart shaped pizza, we thought it might be awkward to cut so we just stuck with the regular one.  MMM deep dish...

I'm off to soak up the last bit of my boyfriend for the next couple of weeks.

Tara (: