HodgePodge

Long, long, long, long time no post.  I have said this before but I really did think that finishing up last semester would mean more time to blog.  It really just means more time to do other things (without documenting them, woops.)  The only thing I have been busy doing is job hunting.  I have had the same summer job for six years now so I didn't realize how tough it can be to find one.  Especially one I might enjoy!  The search continues...

On a better note, I'm signed up for the Healthy Living Summit.  I'm so excited that it's in Chicago this year.  I think it will be a really awesome opportunity to learn and meet a ton of great people.  Hopefully it will give me a kick in the rear to be a better blogger as well.

Foods lately have been a hodgepodge of stuff.  Keefer was here for almost a whole week so we made (and ate out) some great food, some of which I snapped pics of, some of which I did not.

The first morning he was here he made this awesome om with mushroom, onion, tomato and avocado.

We also made Mexican dip which was so good but we ate far too much of it in one sitting.  The rest we used on salads but it def should have lasted us longer than it did.  We layered refried beans, avocado, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, and olives.  The olives were yummy ones from the olive bar however I think I would have liked just plain canned black olives.

Our school had $5 Cubs tix on sale a while ago so we bought some.  It was my first Cubs experience and it was fun but a little too chilly.  I'll go back when it warms up a bit more.  ;)  I love the atmosphere at baseball games!  A bunch of fans enjoying the day while eating hot dogs and drinking beer...even though I skipped on the hot dog.  (Keefer was here too but somehow he snuck out of this.)

(Yes, I did rock my Tigers hat at a Cubs game....I'm new to Chi and have no Cubs gear...yet.)

After the game we headed to http://www.gooseisland.com/.  I loved the beer and the vegetarian chili was good too!  We also split the spinach artichoke dip which was super tasty!

Keefer and I are both on a student budget so we tried to find fun things to do for free/cheap in Chi.  One of the days we went to the Botanic Gardens.  It was SO huge and SO pretty.  Such a nice walk.  We stayed for a few hours and although it would have been nice to have it warmer, it was so nice to see all the plants and flowers!  

After the gardens we went to a small restaurant, Dimitri's which we though would be pricey when we walked in but it turned out to be pretty reasonable.  We both ate for around $24.

I started with a greek salad

and Keefer started with minestrone soup.  We both love minestrone so we are on the lookout for a good recipe!

I ordered a porkchop which I had been craving that came with some veggies.

Mine was good but Keefer's gyro was so much better.

Another free thing we did was hit the Lincoln Park Zoo.  For being free, we thought it was a great zoo.  We had a lot of fun!

Keith is coming again next week to stay for a bit so we are going to try to find more things to do for cheap, cheap, cheap!

Now for more hodgepodge...

I'm moving in a week so I'm not grocery shopping, just trying to eat what's in my cupboards.  It will be nice to not move so much stuff but I'm in need of more food in my fridge!

I laid out for the first time this summer, yesterday and got pretty fried so I'm off to aloe up.  My body looks like a tomato!

Tara (:

Semester 3

Ya know when I was so excited last week for school to be out??  Well, today it's a school day again.  Where does the time go??  I thought I would be blogging more when I had the weekend off but apparently not.  Ay yay yi.

I have been a slacker to the max when it comes to taking pics of food.

Blurry oatmeal with flax and banana....

x2...

gauc, smoothie and more guac.  My avocados were going to go bad so I made a giant bowl of guac and ate it over a few days.

I also made some roasted potatoes which I love.  I just chopped up a potato, tossed in olive oil, basil and garlic powder with a bit of onion and popped in the oven at 425 degrees for 30 min.  YUM!

I've had this probs x4.  Cannot get enough.

Last but not least, I'm loving these LUNA bars!!  SO tasty!

Off to the gym so I can be ready for class!

Tara (:

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 (:

Studying? No thank you.

Afternoon everyone!

I'm seriously avoiding studying as much as possible.  I just cannot get in the mood for some reason.  (I guess I'm never really in the mood to study.)  I did crank out a paper that I had to get done yesterday though while Keith was in class.  Maybe we'll venture to the library tonight.

Keith and I made awesome stir fry the other night.  It really hit the spot.  We added edamame which was good however a bit annoying trying to take it out of the shell.  We also had bamboo shoots, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, okra and chicken.  Best stir fry I've had in a while, I actually finished the rest off for lunch yesterday!

Keith has been busy working and going to class while I've been attempting to study and snacking...I love his Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal.  It was so tasty!

Today he was already at work when I made it out of bed for breakfast so I made myself the usual eggs and grabbed a banana too.

Still trying to avoid my studies I decided to go for a run today.  It was so warm outside!  Not quite as high as yesterday's 81 degrees but it sure felt like it on my run.  When I got back I snuck into Keith's care package that he got from his family and tried a TLC dark chocolate coconut bar.  I felt bad eating the whole thing so I left half for Keefer.  (:  I did however steal his whole apple and took it down with some cinnamon.

The tentative menu for tonight is veggie lasagna and I can't wait!  

Mayyyyybe I better go crack those books, maybe.  (;

Tara (:

Bittersweet Weekends

The weekends before finals are always so bittersweet.  Obviously they are wonderful because they are the weekends but there is a huge cloud hanging over my head knowing that I have to study, study and study some more.  I hadn't seen Keefer in almost a month so I decided to make my weekend a little better by studying in The Mitten with him!  It was also nice because we were done with classes and interning yesterday so I arrived last night.

On Tuesday morning I made some eggs and toast per usual however I needed a fruit too so I cut up a grapefruit.  It was SO delicious and juicy!  

After my work out I was in the mood for some fruits and veggies because my grapefruit was so good!  I munched on some carrots with roasted garlic hummus and another smoothie.  I can't get enough of those tropical fruit smoothies!

I was still a little hungry so I decided to make some roasted sweet potato wedges but unfortunately they didn't turn out as planned.  ):  I think I needed to bake them a tad longer.  I had them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes but I think 30 would have done the trick.  I hate wasting food but I hate wasting calories too so I didn't end up eating more than one :/

I was craving pasta and luckily I had some of my mom's spaghetti sauce stored in the freezer so it was a quick heat up.  Spaghetti is definitely one of those things that tastes different depending on who makes it, and I think everyone likes their moms the most.  At least I do!

After class I had a major sweet tooth so I grabbed the last skinny cow in my freezer.  Unfortunately it was a little stale so once again, I had to throw it away.  I opted for a yogurt with some cereal.

Yesterday before our final presentations I made some oatmeal.  I added flax seed, coconut, pumpkin, blueberries and whole grain drink.  It was still pretty tasty but not as filling as I'd like.  I may need to add the egg white again.  I really wish I liked pb in my oatmeal!

Last night I left right after my presentations to come here so I was pretty hungry when I arrived.  We were meeting up with some friends so we decided to make a quick meal of a tuna melt and asparagus.

I'm off to hit the books!

Tara (: