Cinco De Mayo!

It's Cinco De Mayo and instead of drinking margs and eating chalupas I'm studying...well not yet but I will be after this post.  I have an overstock of pics so I suppose I'll just post them all so I can get to my studying.  I am jobless for the summer as of now so I'll have more time to post after tomorrow night when my finals are DONE!  (Anyone have any job ideas?)

My fav, grilled with olive oil and parmesan

Homemade pizza with Keefer.  Pesto, tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, mushroom, onion, YUM

First experience with overnight oats.  Verdict?  Not so good.  There was pb in here and as always, I just can't get into pb in my oatmeal.  The strawberries and bananas were the best!

Best part of the salads was the avocado.  I cannot get enough of it lately!

Keefer and I made veggie lasagna but it didn't cut it for me.  I didn't like the cream sauce and I missed the tomatoness, if that's a word.

One of my new fav desserts...banana with choco syrup.  Simple and delishh.

My first LUNA bar experience and I loved it!  So good!  Can't wait to try the other flavors.

More asparagus!

Spinach, cheese, mushroom and onion omelette.  This grapefruit was SO delicious too.  Best part of breakfast!

Sushi craving at the grocery store = mistake.  I really should know better

Before I came back to Chi my parents took me on a big grocery shopping trip and I got a ton of yummy food.  I love having a stocked fridge!

Grilled cheese with tomato and MORE asparagus.  I really think I could eat asparagus at every meal.  Kinda looks like a face doesn't it??

I've been waiting to try this ice cream and luckily it was on sale.  This is 150 calories of delicious goodness.  I'm an ice cream LOVVVVER and now a Skinny Cow Ice Cream lover.  I cannot get enough!  It took all my power not to eat it all and save some.

Kinda looks like yesterday's bfast but with avocado, avocado and more avocado.  I promise there is an omelette under there somewhere!

Off to study for my LAST accounting exam.  YAHOO!

OLE!

Tara (:

Chili Flop

Hey ya'll!  My late dinner last night turned out to be kind of a fail.  I've had some chili frozen in the freezer for a while so I took it out to eat it last night and it was pretty dry.  I threw some cottage cheese on top but it just didn't taste right.  Good thing I had made a  yummy salad to go with it!  I was craving ranch dressing last night, weird!

This morning I woke up and decided to make an omelette.  I threw in two eggs, mushroom, onion and cheese and topped it with avocado.  I also had two pieces of toast and a banana.  I couldn't even finish my omelette and it held me over for hours until I ate a smoothie (which I forgot to take a pic of.)

Avocados are SO yummy!  

Before class I threw together a quick dinner. I chopped up a potato with onion and garlic and topped it with some basil.  I also dipped in ketchup which made them almost taste like hashbrowns.  MMM.  Because the weather was so nice today I ran outside and for some reason that made me feel like a piece of BBQ chicken.  Had to have some green beans too!  Unfortunately they aren't fresh green beans.  Canned green beans really stink compared to the real deal.

I had a sweet tooth when I got home from class so I put PBJ on a rice cake.  It really hit the spot!  (:

I can see myself becoming addicted to these.  

Off to relax before bed, night!

Tara (:

Presents

Ahoy from Chicago!  I made it back to The Windy City early this morning.  I left East Lansing around 7:30am which was earlier than usual but I wanted to get back with plenty of time to spare before my interview.  Last night I could NOT fall asleep.  I really think that it is one of the worst feelings laying in bed at night tossing and turning ESPECIALLY when you know you have to get up early.  Needless to say I'm EXHAUSTED today.  I got to East Lansing late Saturday night so we could hang out all day Sunday.  This is the beautiful foggy weather I left at home...

You can't even see across the lake!

Keith was gone all week volunteering on an Indian Reservation this past week for spring break and brought me back a delicious bar.  It was like buffalo jerky with cranberries, YUM!

He also got me this necklace (which I'm wearing as a bracelet) from one of the local artists.  I love it!  The charm is made from a nickel.  The deer reminds me of up north.

This morning while Keefer was still tucked in bed I was eating a bowl of frosted mini wheats.  (It was way too early to remember to take a pic.)

By the time I got back to Chi and unpacked I was hungry again so I grabbed some soup.

  It was okay but nothing great.

I didn't know how long it would take to get downtown to my interview so I left way early and got there way early.  I just walked around Michigan Ave. and wandered until my interview.  I had almost forgotten they dyed the river green!

After the interview I was starving so I headed home for some of Mom's spaghetti that she sent back with me.  I also had some green beans and cottage cheese.  

I wanted another serving because it was so good but I'm really trying to cut back on my portion sizes.

For dessert I had yogurt mixed with granola.

My eyelids are so heavy.  G'night!

Tara (:

Poor Packer

All done with classes until after spring break, YES!  Only one nutrition conference stands in my way of going home.  Tomorrow my school is hosting Chicago area dietetic interns to learn about diversity in dietetics.  Hopefully I can head home before it gets too late tomorrow.

Woke up a little early this mornin so that I could make myself this awesome omelet.  

I stuffed this omelet with tomatoes, mushroom, onion, and mozzarella.  Had some whole wheat toast on the side too.  I was also craving some OJ.

I hit the gym before class to do my weekly lifting with Hannah.  I really do think I'm getting stronger!  I also did a run/walk for 40 min which felt great.  I hate going to class sweaty but it's worth saving the gas and only driving to campus once.

When I got home I split up my chicken breast and the rest of the leftovers from last night.  On the side I had some cottage cheese.

For a snack later on I grabbed some yogurt with my homemade granola mixed in.  So tasty!

My fridge is just about empty!

After class I snacked on grapefruit.  So juicy and yummy!

I need the award for the world's worst packer.  I have NEVER been good at packing.  I imagine every possible situation in my head and end up packing a ton of outfits as a result.  I love shoes too so it's always hard to decide which ones to bring.  (Yes that is my tiny kitchenette in the background....only a couple more months in this kitchen!)

Thankfully it fit!

I'm off to bed for an early rise and long day tomorrow.  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 (:

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 (: