Winter squash, winter weather

Hi Kids!  How are you all on this fine Monday!  I’m feeling pretty fab myself, despite the 50 degree weather.  I thought winter was over, but apparently not…

After yesterday’s late night grub sesh I thought I wouldn’t be very hungry until later in the morning, but I woke up with the same hankering appetite as usual. 

I guess that just goes to show you, when you listen to your body (even if it tells you it wants 4 Vita Muffins with peanut butter at 11 PM), you can’t do too much damage.  I’d also like to note, I never felt stuffed or uncomfortably full at any point last night, despite the fairly obscene quantity of dessert consumed.  I’m not sure if my metabolism was just in overdrive or what, but I had to give in.  Don’t we all have those days – when no matter how much we eat, we aren’t satisfied?  At least I hope I’m not alone…

Some days I eat a meal, and literally less than 30 minutes later, my  stomach is growling!  What?!  How is that possible?  Rather than deprive myself, I just chalk it up to my crazy metabolism (and then thank the Lord that it hasn’t stalled out on me yet).  I guess I should be pleased that I still have the ability to burn off my chow sessions with a little extra cardio.

But I digress…

Coffee up the YingYang.

I was buzzed out of my MIND after this cup.  What the heck did Kyle do to the coffee this morning?!  I was seriously having an out-of-body experience, I was so jacked up on caffeine. 

I immediately had to get something else in my tummy.

Some breakfast math.  1 vanilla Chobz + plum + honeydew + cantaloupe + watermelon = creamy fruit salad

Mmmm…

This was THE BEST breakfast I’ve had in a long time, and although it seems pretty basic, it rocked my world and got my morning off to a GREAT start.  Sometimes simplicity gets a bad rap.  In all honesty, these are pretty much the same ingredients I have in the AM every day, I just decided to mix them together today. 

Remember this old friend?  Yes, I went back to my favorite sandwich for lunch.  Smart deli “turkey” – how I missed you!  I don’t know why we were apart for so long, let’s never fight again.  Spinach and hummus also made their way between the Alvarado Street bread. 

I also snacked on a few dried pineapple rings before heading to the gym.  Unlike yesterday, today’s trip was one I was REALLY excited about. 

Stats:  elliptical (levels 10 – 11) – 15 minutes (warm up)

          treadmill (6.5 – 7, incline 3.5) – 30 minutes

          elliptical (levels 11 – 12) – 45 minutes

          arms/abs/thighs – 15 minutes

This felt AMAZING!  I left the gym on cloud nine. 

Since I work most of the rest of the week, I decided to make the most of my day off. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening in the kitchen…so be prepared for some delish eats in the next few days.

To start I made KABOCHA!!  I’ve been drooling over Maggie’s kabocha meals for a while now, so I just had to make some of my own.  Talk about perfect timing now that it’s the BSI!!

I baked it in the oven and it was EASY as pie.  Minimal fuss (nonstick spray and salt) works for me!

It was done in no time, so I sprinkled on a little vegan parm and dug in.  I think I might have a new favorite squash – Y.U.M.  It was so tender and tasty.  I could definitely see this being easily incorporated into several other recipes (quinoa, couscous, vegetable roasts, salads, etc.).  Thanks for introducing me Maggie!

I also steamed some cauliflower for another blogger inspired dish.

Vegan mashed “cheesy” cauliflower. 

After I steamed the cauliflower, I let it cool a bit, and then tossed it into the blender with some unsweetened soy milk, vegan parmesan, and salt.

I ate dinner on a TV tray since Kyle is away on business.  In addition to the bowl of the mashed cauliflower, I also had a veggie burger and steamed green beans (also with vegan parm).

Anyone even seen or tried this kind of veggie/vegan burger before?

It was a new purchase for me, but I figured it would be good since it’s made by Food For Life (and they certainly hit the jackpot with the Ezekiel products). 

I gotta be honest here.  It wasn’t my favorite burger. 

Pros:  It was filling and the nutritionals are stellar, plus they don’t cost as much as other brands.

Cons:  It was a little chewy with not much texture, and the flavor wasn’t anything I’d write home about.

Look at these beauts!!  Cucarachas stuffed with carob covered raisins will never go out of style :)

I also had a few more dried pineapple rings and papaya spears…while perusing the shown cookbook which was a gift from a co-worker.  I got some good ideas for (raw) Wednesday in it!

Ok, time to pack up my eats for tomorrow.  The catch some zzzz’s.

salad challenge end

Rise and shine!  It’s coffee time. 

 

I wasn’t as sore today as I thought I’d be…in fact, aside from my hammies and glutes I was feeling pretty great.  I still decided to milk it (why not), so I scheduled a post-race massage for this evening. 

I broke the fast with a peach chobz, an apple, and dried pineapple rings while watching last night’s Brothers & Sisters and reading blogs.

 

I loved reading all your supportive comments regarding my race (and my struggle to push through the pain).  It meant a lot to me – and just knowing that I had such a support system (virtual or otherwise) was actually one of the major reasons I was able to motivate myself enough to get to the finish line!!  How weird is it that a community of people I don’t even really know have such a huge effect on me?

Whether it is finishing a half marathon, eating (mostly) wholesome balanced meals, or just rambling about my daily shenanigans, I love sharing with you all not only because it keeps me accountable, but because this blogger community is so caring and supportive.  It floors me on a daily basis. 

Ok, too much sappy crap.  Back to the eats.

 

How’s THAT for sammie!  Spinach, smart deli “turkey” and hummus on Alvarado Street bread.

Still, it didn’t really fill me up, so I had a veggie burger with hummus piled high on top.

That did the trick. 

Next up on the days to-do list: gym.  Hmm.  I figured I should give my legs a day off after yesterday’s half marathon, so since cardio was a no-go, I opted for some abs and arms and LOTS of stretching. 

Somehow I ended up on the elliptical?  I don’t know how, but it felt good to move my heavy legs, so I went with it (at a reallllllly low setting).

Back home I showered and made myself a snack before going to my massage.

Chunky sabra hummus and an apple.  I basically licked the container clean :)

By the time I got home from my rub down, my tummy was growling, so I made a repeat salad from Leng’s challenge.  Even though the challenge ended this weekend, I have enjoyed eating 1+ salads/day, and I have no desire to stop!   Brainstorming new and interesting ways to eat different vegetables?  F.U.N.  Does that make me a freak?  Maybe.  But it’s healthy, so why deny myself the pleasure.  I have always been a vegetable lover, so I never felt like my diet was deficient in the greens department, but it’s the diversity that is the best part.  My body loved it too!  So many different vitamins and minerals…I think I’m going to make a chart for a later post.

This salad is SO big, you can’t even see the mountain of spinach AND romaine underneath all the ingreds, including chopped Boca soy nuggets, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, brocc slaw, sprouts, and a POUND of avocado. 

DAYAM.

 

It took me a nice long half hour to chomp this baby down.  I love meals that take forever to eat!

After dinner the weather was so nice we decided to go for a little stroll…

On our walk, we passed lots of trailers for this movie.  So if you wanna see Jennifer Aniston (yawn) or Jason Bateman (love) come to Broadway and the 80s.

We had to make a pit stop…how cute is Kyle (mid-bite) with his Tasti-D or The Lite Choice or whatever the hell the fake yogurt crap place is called nowadays. 

I waited ‘til we got back home to put together a nice bowl of goodies for myself.

This mix of carob raisins and salty peanuts is rapidly climbing the ranks in fave desserts!

But I still needed some fruit craved sugar, so I had my third apple for the day!

 

Crunch.

sunny weekend

I LOVE warm weather.  And being that this was the first nice weekend we New Yorkers have had this season, I decided to take advantage.  Obviously, I wasn’t the only one with this brilliant idea…apparently the rest of New York was on the same wavelength.

I wish I had a photo of Central Park…the great lawn was PACKED like nothing I’ve ever seen.  Not an INCH to spare!

“Not an square to spare.” – anyone?

AM Montage: frothy java, chobz, & coconut date rolls

I went on a supah long run in the Park before lunch time, and it was grrrreat.  Sun shining, endorphins flowing = love!

According to www.mapmyrun.com I ran just over 8 miles in 53 minutes (wha!?!?).  Ummmm, not to toot my own horn but isn’t that like a 6 min/mile pace!!!  I had no idea I was THAT pumped up!

When I got home I made a monster salad (aka a HUGH JASS bowl ‘o greens).

Included in this challenger: spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts, tomato, shredded carrots, and CHICKPEAS

…and my latest purchase…

Sweet white miso paste (and some balsamic) on top.

For the record, I’m not a fan of this miso paste.  It was SO salty (and I freakin’ love salt!!), so I can hardly imagine how I’m going to use it up.  It was $12 so I don’t want to just throw it away, but at the same time, our fridge space is SO coveted, I’m torn…any suggestions?

Lunch dessert/PM snacks: apple, carob raisins, dried papaya

After some afternoon errands, I arrived home to a fun package…thanks Foodbuzz!

Buitoni’s new flavor FLAAAAAVE.

Since there is dairy in the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, Kyle was the official taste-tester.  Look at him, chopping garlic like Chef Boyardi Emeril.

We already had marinara sauce and pesto (also Buitoni), so the prep was minimal…

Review: Well, does the fact that there are no pictures of the finished product speak for itself?

He loved it, and he doesn’t even like mushrooms, so that should speak volumes.  Also, the quantity was perfect, since it didn’t feel heavy like some pasta dishes do, while still filling him up.  Well done, Buitoni, this will definitely be a repeat-er.

As for my (vegan) dinner, I went with simple.  I was lazy, and after my PM mega-nosh-fest, I wasn’t even that hungry.

LightLife veggie burger with steamed brocc and hummus.

The hummus love didn’t stop there though…I polished that container RIGHT off (obvi) – this time with a toasted english muffin.

OK, I really should have stopped after this, I was full…but I had a race Sunday morning, so clearly I had to carbo load the night before, right? 

(and by carbo load, I mean, nut butter load)

Ummmm…sure?

Soynut butter on a ww/flax tortilla. 

But the bomb weekend eats didn’t stop there.  Sunday was even more fun – including a 4M race and a rooftop BBQ!

I woke up bright and early (7:45), threw on my running gear, and headed off to central park.  I jogged to the starting line (East 68th area)…which was a nice 2 mile warm up, and found that I was somehow placed in the 9:30 min/mile pacing group.  WTF?!? 

Saturday I did 8 miles at a 6+ minute/mile pace, so this was bad news bears.

I tried to inch up a bit, but we all know what a type A rule abiding girl I am, so I basically stayed in my group.  BIG MISTAKE.  HUGE.  I was dyyyyyying as the race started…even after we finally made our way to the starting line, I still couldn’t move for the first mile.  I actually considered just ditching the race it was so bad.  By the second mile I could finally swing my arms, so I slowly began passing people, which is what I continued for the rest of the race…I think my first mile took 14 minutes, and the rest were 6ers.  It was kinda annoying.

Next time (?) I will make sure I’m not in that pace group. 

Kyle met me at the finish line and stole my bagel (just kidding, I got it for him).  And look what I saw on the way home!!!  ANOTHER sabra truck.  Ummmm, are they stalking me?!?  I made Kyle take a picture of me with the truck :)

Shower.  Coffee.  Coffee.  Coffee.

I spent the rest of the day trying to fight off the zzzz’s.  SO tired.

Smart Balance light on ww bread. 

Honestly, I think the main reason I like races is because they make me feel like I can re-fuel, guilt free.  Anyone else with me on this one?

Oranges x2 and dried pineapples x2

For lunch I went with another massive salad creation.  This is the kind of challenge I like!

For the main protein, I heated up some Boca “chik’n” nuggets.

 

Boca “chik’n” tenders, 1/2 avocado, sprouts, shredded carrots, broccoli slaw, and 1/2 tomato on a (hidden) bed of spinach.

 

I really really really loved this one.  Avo and chopped chik’n nuggets are SO good together.  I am LOVING all my salad creations, and I owe it all to Leng for this wonderful challenge, which inspired me to be more creative with my salads.  I’m so excited I have another whole week left!!!

Laundry.  TV.  Snack.  TV.  Snack.

BBQ!!!

Looks like everyone else wanted in on the action.  Our apartment has a rooftop with several communal BBQs, and it was THE happenin’ spot, without a doubt.

The sunset view from our rooftop (and the Jerz/Hudson river).

I haven’t had the most successful cooking experiments with tempeh…but I’m not one to give up so quickly (especially when the rest of the food blog world is so darn obsessed).  So I went with LightLife’s three grain flavor instead of the one I tried last time (soy), and marinated it with some good ‘ol Country Bob’s all purpose sauce.

After the two BIG chunks soaked up the marinade…

…we popped this baby open…and brought it up to enjoy while Kyle the ‘cue master did his thang on the grill.  The breasts were for the boys and my tempeh was in the tin foil.

The finished products:

Chicken.

Tempeh.

Corn.

My portion (corn on the cob x2, tempeh steaks x2, & squared slices of Alvarado street bread x2 with hummus)…NOM!!

This meal hit the spot…I LOVE BBQing, and I hope this is the first of one million summer bbqs to come.

Kyle and I enjoyed made sarcastic comments throughout the Miss USA pageant while sipping on wine. 

After dessert, which was 2 apples sliced up (1 McIntosh and 1 Gala), we hit the sack. 

Sorry this post was so insanely long!!