Nutrition From the Ground Up!

Happy second day of National Nutrition Month!  Tomorrow at my internship I have to make a display about it so I've got it on the brain.  This year is Nutrition From the Ground Up.  I think this is a really awesome theme.  It encourages growing your own fruits and vegetables which I personally haven't really done but hopefully I can this summer!  My house at home really doesn't have an area where animals can't get to them.  I never get to take pics at the hospital, obviously but maybe tomorrow I can snap a pic of our display.  

Today I forgot to snap a pic of the oatmeal I ate for breakfast but I can assure you that it was tasty.

I was so hungry this morning that I needed something else.  I had a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese.  It was good and definitely held me over longer.

I forgot to take a pic of my lunch again but it was the same ole same ole.  I did add veggies to my lunch this week though!  Mission accomplished.

Today at my internship I had to go into an isolation room.  I was a little freaked out at first but once I got used to the mask and the whole gown, glove thing it was just a pretty normal assessment.  I really feel like I am learning a lot at the hospital and am liking the experience.  It is so great getting to work with so many different people and helping them.

I got home a little later than usual today so started heating up Keefer's spag sauce that he sent home with me.  It was just as good as I remembered!

I headed out the door for my 95 question econ exam. UGH!  It was long and tough but I'm done with midterms until after spring break, YES!  

I snacked on broccoli topped with a bit of colby jack when I got home and it was so good! (No pic, I'm so forgetful!)

I also had to have a glass of wine to celebrate.  I love this wine!  Cheap and yummy from TJ's!

I'm off to bed.  Night!

Tara (:

Big Burga

You know those monster burgers that you get in restaurants that you can't even put your mouth around?  Well I made one of those tonight!  It was big and delicious!

Rewind....This morning I woke up bright and early to drive Keefer to class and head back to Chi.  I made us some eggs over easy which I forgot to snap a pic of.  The drive back was much smoother than the drive there.  I listened to the third Twilight book there and back and I'm still only half way.  I'm headed home this weekend for spring break so maybe I'll finish it then.  I was so hungry when I got back and was craving veggies with hummus.  I also had some yogurt and Puffins.

I am trying not to go grocery shopping before spring break so I was digging through my cupboards and fridge and found a Lean Cuisine.  These are always okay but nothing special.  I don't think I'll be buying again anytime soon.

I had my first midterm tonight and it went well.  I love when exams are quick.  I got out early so I could come home and make a real dinner.  My burger.  I sauteed up some kale and made a burger with mustard, ketchup, sauteed mushroom and onion, spinach, tomato and blue cheese on a Slimwich.  It was amazing!

I cannot believe I'm about to watch Jake propose to Vienna on The Bachelor.  ICK!  Okay, I really need to study.

Tara (:

A Mitten Blizzard

How did Sunday night get here so fast?  Weekends always go by fast but they seem especially speedy when I'm in The Mitten.  Friday morning I woke up before my weekly intern class to finish packing and get some things done.  I had eggs over easy and they were delicious.  I actually didn't over cook them this time!

I also packed up a lunch for class and the road.  I had a turkey wrap, fiber bar, apples with cinnamon and everything pretzels.

After class I hit the road under clear, blue, sunny, beautiful skies.  Illinois was nice, Indiana was nice, then I drove under the Pure Michigan sign and BAM!  I had to hold on tight to the steering wheel because the wind was blowing my car all over the place and the snow was creating a white out!  I've lived in MI for my whole life so I'm no stranger to driving in the snow but my freshman year of college I got in a nasty accident and have been nervous in bad weather ever since.  Anyway, I ended up sitting in park on the expressway due to an overturned semi.  I hope the driver was okay however I hope that made them realize that they CANNOT go seventy five mph when everyone else is going twenty five.  UGH!  I made it in just under six hours (usually takes me 3.5) and Keith was nice enough to have dinner waiting.  Side-note...one thing I love most about MI is the awesome Pure Michigan commercials they have.  They always remind me of being home and Up North and why I truly love The Mitten.

We had bread with dipping oil for an appetizer.

I love making my own dipping oil mixtures!  This one had olive oil, basil, oregano, garlic and pepper.  I suggested Keith try a recipe I found on FMF's blog.  It was great!  (Also great when we got home from the bar last night.)  We added a bit of cheese on the top as well.  Can't be too cheesy for us!

I was so stressed from my ride that Keefer was nice enough to go out and get me a Burger King strawberry milkshake (I'm very picky about my strawberry milkshakes and I rarely get them but this one is great!) and he also got my a grown up juice box.  YUM!  I think I inhaled the milkshake too fast to take a pic haha.

Yesterday morning Keefer had to get up and go to work so I stayed in bed for an obnoxious amount of time.  It was glorrrrrious.  When he got home he made me this yummy omelet with sausage, tomatoes, mushroom, onion and cheese.  Best om I've had in a while!

We then headed to a coffee shop to study.  One of my midterms was pushed back until after spring break so now I only have two this week woohoo!  (Can't believe I just said woohoo to two midterms, ugh.)  I grabbed a rice krispie treat (my fav) and picked out a tea for two that included vanilla and rooibus tea.  I was trying to recreate the Starbucks kind and it was good but it didn't compare.

Like I've said before, we love trying new recipes together so we thought we would try another Ellie Kreiger recipe.  I love chicken pot pie so I chose this one with phyllo dough.  It turned out to be okay but we both agreed you can't mess with the original recipe.  It's just too awesome the way it is.  We missed the crust.  

Today I had big plans to get up early and study and they didn't really happen.  We made french toast on texas toast bread, always amazing.

We were then off to the library for a good part of the day.  I felt like I was back in undergrad again and actually missed it.  Every time I'm back on the MSU campus I get so nostalgic and miss it terribly.  Especially living in my house with all my roommates!  We packed some grapes, Pringles and trail mix to hold us over.  Studying always gives me the munchies..and Keith the crazies I guess!

This mix from Costco is awesome!  Ignore the hideous econ notes underneath.

We get to use one 4x6 notecard as a "cheat sheet."  I don't think I've ever written so small.

We finally had to leave because I was starving and we had homemade pizza on the brain.  We made our pesto pizza again and this time topped with sausage (which we couldn't even really taste), mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, roasted onions and garlic, mozzarella and feta.  SO delicious.  I could eat this everyday.

For dessert Keefer made me some cinnamon sugar toast.  I used to love this when I was younger and forgot how good it was!

Off to bed.  I have an early (and hopefully less snowy) drive back to Chi tomorrow morning.

Tara (:

Rotten Potatoes

This morning I forgot to take a pic of breakfast!  Woops!  I made two eggs over easy and wheat toast though so you get the picture.  I also forgot to take pics of my snacks during class.  I had a blood orange, Pringles and a fiber bar.  I did another work out sesh with Hannah today but didn't push it as hard as I did last week because I wanted to be able to move my arms. haha  When I got home I finished off the rest of the pasta salad from last night.

I also finished off the last bit of my granola while I made some more!

I bringing this to Keefer tomorrow because he really liked it last time but I was going to read this so if he reads this before I get there, SURPRISE!  haha

While I was looking around for something to make before class I went to grab for a potato and realized they were rotten and stuck my finger right through one.  It was sooooo nasty.  One of the worst smells ever ugh!  Thennnn while I was reading my book today I noticed that THIRTY pages were missing so I had to run to the library so I wouldn't be out of a book to read in bed.  Thank goodness they had a second copy haha.  I ended up eating a bagel with cream cheese and cucumber with ranch.

After class I was ready for some food so I had chicken corn chowder soup and vanilla yogurt with Puffins.  Marie surprised me and brought down delicious sweet potato cookies.  They were SO good and I can't wait to try and make them myself.

I'm off to read some of my book with all of the pages!

Tara (:

Cookie Spills and Books

I've just finished doing homework for the last seven, yes SEVEN, hours.  The worst part is that is was for ONE class that I have a midterm in next week.  UGH!  I did do the homework with Hannah and Marie and we had a few glitches and also decided to make it a pot luck study sesh so I can't blame it all on the Prof.  (But I can blame most of it!)

I'm feeling better today but still not 100%.  Hopefully either tomorrow or at least Friday by the time I'm heading back to The Mitten I'll feel great again.  This morning was another day at the hospital so I had my usual cream of wheat, banana and agave before I left.

PS. Last night after my post I was feeling insatiable and had to have a dessert bowl with vanilla yogurt and Puffins.  So good!  These mini bowls are the best way to minimize my portion sizes.

For lunch I had the same ole same ole but I couldn't finish my orange because I was too full!

Today was my off work out day but Marie and I did walk to the public library to check out some books (I love reading on the train, it makes my commute to the hospital fly by!)  I also grabbed the third Twilight book on cd to listen to on my way to Michigan.  I am not the biggest Twilight fan but they do keep me entertained.  (I'm a 100% Harry Potter fan...aka nerd!)

I made a pasta salad with whole wheat penne, tomatoes, green onions, peas, broccoli, cheese and a little bit of Italian dressing.  (Not enough actually.)  Hannah made a salad and Marie made an awesome Mexican dip.  Studying for hours on end is the worst but making it into a mini potluck definitely lifted our spirits.

We all had a MONSTER sweet tooth so I volunteered to make some homemade chocolate chip cookies (one of my study breaks.)  It was an epic fail, sort of.  I forgot to add the butter until the very end(duh!) so the batter looked/tasted funny (I am a professional chocolate chip cookie dough taster) so we decided to make it into a cookie cake.  When I smelled something burning I looked in the oven to discover it was spilling over everywhere!

The cookie didn't end up tasting too terrible but it was more like a cake than a cookie.  We indulged nonetheless.  I have the rest wrapped up to give to my fav maintenance man tomorrow because he'll eat anything and I'm not keeping it around my apartment!

Look, I already have my vitamins laid out for tomorrow, I must be off to bed...my eyelids are struggling to stay open.

Night bloggies!

Tara (:

More Veggies Please

Sickness, sickness, GO AWAY!  I felt better this morning than I did yesterday morning but it was more of a head cold today.  I did make it to my internship but didn't see any patients so i left a bit early.  My morning fuel was cream of wheat, banana and agave.

For lunch I snapped a pic last night when i was making it so I wouldn't forget.  I had melon, an apple, a blood orange, a cheese stick, a fiber bar and a turkey sandwich.  My lunch for tomorrow looks very similar so I think I need to make a goal for next week to throw in some more veggies.  (I only had spinach on my sandwich!)

When I got home I hit the gym for my 30 min cardio day and the treadmills were full so I rode the bike.  I also did some abs and planned on doing a yoga video when I got home but it wasn't working!  

Today turned out to be kind of a four meal day so for a linner I had my leftover pizza from The Cheesecake Factory, cottage cheese and an acorn squash with butter and brown sugar.  (When I have acorn squash like this it is like a dessert, my fav!)

After class I was starving so I made an open faced tuna melt on a Slimwich!

I'm watching The Olympics and relaxing for the rest of the night.  I have three midterms next week so I better start studying tomorrow!

Night!

Tara (: