Glory Glory

It is SO muggy here in Chi!  I'm looking forward to the hot weekend ahead however it may be a little sweaty moving in the 90 degree heat.  Oh well, I will not be cleaning about the heat!  :)

Well my food supply is still shrinking and I'm not replenishing until I move on Sunday so until then, I'll just have to be creative.

Last night I threw together stir fry with broccoli, frozen peas and asparagus, garlic, chicken and onions.  It was pretty good for being thrown together with stuff around the house.

After I snacked on some strawberry yogurt with cinnamon Puffins.  The cinnamon puffins definitely go better with vanilla yogurt.

This morning I had an interview (which was successful!) so I was up early to make some cream of wheat, blueberries, flax and agave.  It was good but I was very hungry (and in need of some coffee) when I got home from the interview.  I grabbed a Bagel Thin with some cream cheese.  I am SO in love with the Bagel Thins.  It's the perfect amount of bagel for 110 calories.  I loved the everything bagels but the whole wheat ones were too.

I'm so excited I finally found a job!  I'm not sure how much I'll be paid yet but it involves nutrition assessments for meal plans, recipe development and human resources.  I'm excited and I think it will be a great experience.  Not to mention I'm so glad the job search is over...until next year when I'm looking for a full time career, eeek!

The gym at my school only has summer hours Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm so my job will keep me from making it during these times.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.  That gym is SO hot so I wouldn't mind finding a new one with AC for the summer that isn't too expensive.  Today I was completely dripping after my run!

When I got home I made a grilled cheese and tomato soup.  I missed having tomatoes on it but it was good nonetheless.

Tonight I made a hamburger with ketchup, mustard and onion.  I missed lettuce and tomato but yep, all out of those.  I also had some glorified beans.  I just put two cans of french style green beans and a can of cream of mushroom soup topped with bread crumbs at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  They are good leftover too!

I'm off to attempt to start packing (we'll see how that goes.)

Happy Friday!

Tara (:

Sign

Made it through hump day!  

This morning I was excited because Marie and Gaby had to come to my hospital for a fair on National Nutrition Month which meant I didn't have to ride the train alone.  I don't usually mind because I read a book but it is always so much more fun to talk to people.

I started with some cream of wheat with agave but knew I needed some protein so I scrambled up an egg too.

Doesn't this almost look like a scoop of vanilla ice cream?

At the hospital we did a healthy snack demo and made fruit and yogurt parfaits.  Unfortunately they ran out so I didn't get to eat one but I snacked on some of the popcorn, my carrots, PBJ and a fiber bar.  We got out a bit early so I headed to the gym.  When I got out it was 4:15 but I was SO hungry so I decided to just eat dinner.  I had leftover pasta dish from the other night with asparagus that I topped with olive oil and parmasean cheese and grilled (my fav) and some cottage cheese.

I know I would be hungry later in the night but I suppose I just couldn't wait for dinner.  

I signed the lease for my new house tonight!!  I'm moving in the end of May and can't wait!!  It will be so great not to live in a studio anymore and to have roooomies!  I'll be counting down the days til I'm out of this apt!

I finished up some homework tonight and then my tummy started grumbling.  I made a salad topped with sprouts, avocado, onion, tomato, sugar snap peas, pepper and balsamic vinaigrette and it was yummy.  Then to cure my sweet tooth I finished off the pudding I made the other night.

I can't believe a week from today I'll be going home for Easter! Time is flying by!

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 (:

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 (:

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 (:

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 (:

Food Lull

Greetings from snowy Chi!

Lately I have been in such a food lull.  It's not that I don't feel like cooking I just don't know what to cook.  Everything seems like the same ole same ole.  Yesterday morning I had the same ole same ole cream of wheat, banana and agave for breakfast.  (Although I'm not sick of this....maybe I should meet for every meal, not.)

At my internship I did have the same ole same ole lunch.  Blah Blah Blah.  Interning is going well and I feel that I'm learning a ton!   It is nice, however, to have snowdays like today!

Last night I was still dwelling on that delicious pasta from last week so I tried to remake it only this time adding broccoli and using mozzarella and colby jack for the cheese.  It was good but last time was definitely better.  I also had the leftovers for lunch today.  

I decided to celebrate with waffles this morning because of my snowday, however I was very disappointed.  My 10 grain mix was good for pancakes but not for waffles.

I couldn't think of what to make for dinner tonight and I had also already eaten up my pasta leftovers so Marie and I got Jimmy Johns.  It is a guilty pleasure of mine.  Turkey Tom and a pickle please!

While doing homework, Marie and I treated ourselves with some Dark Chocolate pretzel thins that I picked up at TJ's today.  YUM!  (Pic to come soon.)

Off to bed, nighty night!

Tara (: