oil…from the gland of an otter

Apparently I have to choose between saving for a wedding, and keeping up with the food blog fads.  So, in the interest of staying engaged, I’m unable to juice for breakfast. 

No, not that kind of juice.  This kind.

So I settled for the poor man’s version (aka a smoothie). 

Into the blender went: 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup OJ, 3 oz POM, applesauce cup, frozen plain tofu cubes…

and the juice of 1 orange (hand squeezed).  Nice before and after, no?

The predominant color is the almond milk and plain tofu.  Good thing the POM brightened it up a bit, otherwise it may have looked a bit like Livy’s diaper.

I had to use the most massive thing I could find to put it in (there was just too much)!  My phone is there to show you just how big it actually was.  That’s what she said x2.

BTW, how appropriate is it that the hugest thing I could find was a beer stein from my UCLA days…gotta rep the alma mater (sorry Caroline).

This held me over for a LONG time.  Like, hours.

Eventually, I did need a little java to get me going.  Topped with froth and a dash of cinnamon.

I had a few treats to try out for lunch. 

Anyone ever heard of Za’atar before?  I hadn’t, but if you’re interested you can find out more here.  Basically, it’s a staple spice used in Arabic cuisine, and is believed to make the body and mind strong.  Plus, Sabra can do no wrong in my eyes, so it was a pretty safe “gamble.” 

 

I sliced up some (3!!) apples, popped open my can of Ocean Spring’s Harvest of Heaven Mixed Veggies snacks and dug in…

I practically inhaled this flavor of hummus!  Is it just me, or did Sabra just come out with a bunch of NEW flavors?  The other day at the store there were so many types I’d never seen before, and I had a seriously hard time not buying 5 tubs at once.  The size of our fridge was the only thing that held me back. 

That’s not even the normal 7 oz container, it’s a 14 oz tub!  Practically a VAT    …told you I inhaled it!

As for the Harvest of Heaven Veggie chips, they were decent. 

Pros: They weren’t as salty as I was expecting (47 mg per serving, 2% daily value), and didn’t taste greasy or leave my fingers all oily.  Plus, the nutritionals are pretty good (NO artificial preservatives, artificial flavors, MSG, wheat, gluten, nuts, corn, or added sugar).  There are a wide variety of vegetables, too, including sweet potato, taro, okra, yam, pumpkin, carrot, and green bean – all of which actually tasted like the actual vegetable, but in a chip form.  Not too shabby.  Plus they were thick enough to hold a LOT of hummus, and that’s the only thing that really matters, right?

Cons:  Some of these vegetables weren’t exactly meant to be chips, so the flavors weren’t amazing (ie taro).  Luckily I’m quick on my toes.  Easy solution – add a pound of hummus, and voila!  Any vehicle to get hummus to my mouth faster and easier works for me. 

In the end, I liked Ocean Spring’s Harvest of Heaven Mixed Fruit chips better, but these were still good, healthy alternatives to normal chips.

A bit later I had a Strawberry Chobz and a couple of dried pineapple rings.  Then, after my multi-course lunch, I headed to the gym (finally).

Stats: 60 min on the elliptical, 15 min on the bike, 15 min arms/abs on the mat

It felt great to finally be exercising again.  Woohoo!  Unfortunately, I’m working all weekend, so it’ll be a while ‘til I can get my cardio on again, which is why I made sure I had a solid sweat sesh.

I have no idea what I was doing the rest of the day, but next thing I knew my tummy was growling…dinner time!

I had to repeat my recent “cheesy” garlic bread because it was oh-so-tasty!  2 slices of toast + vegan buttah + vegan parm + garlic salt = Mmmm…

 

In order to even out the butter to substance ratio in my food, I enjoyed the toast alongside a veggie packed salad.  In this salad was half an avocado, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, broccoli slaw, cukes, and clover sprouts on a bed of spinach.  The other half of the avocado I ate on the side (plain with a dash heaping mountain of salt). 

I could live off of avocado alone.  Seriously. 

Anyone wanna move to Mexico with me and grow an avocado tree?  We wouldn’t need much with the nice weather and a life time supply of guacamole…

After Kyle got home and ate, I was getting a little stir crazy so we decided to go for a walk.  Perfect night for a PM stroll…

 

I had a bowl of berries (above) before we headed out…and carob covered raisins with medjool dates (below) after we got back.

Who missed my mega dried fruit desserts?  I did!  I did!!

Work tomorrow, so I’m off to hit the hay.  Happy weekend to the rest of you :)

Thursday

I thought it was Friday all day…so confused. 

Whatever, Thursday means The Office, so it’s all good.

5 AM.  Frothed me some coffee…and then I was off to work!

Since I was running crazy late, I had this little baby on the way to work.  For the record, I do NOT enjoy eating on the subway, especially when I’m drenched from my rainy mad dash to the station.

 

As usual, I made my lunch the night before to bring to work, which included a hugh jass salad of spinach, brocc slaw, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, sprouts, dried cranz (Newman’s Own – holla!) and seaweed/sesame salad. 

Other yummies: Berries GoMega odwalla bar, apple, and Newman’s Own dried apples.

Notice a few newbies?  I thought I’d mix it up on you guys!

Newman’s Own organic dried apples are SO good.  Obviously I’m not shy about my love for dried fruit…and up until this point, dried apples weren’t exactly in my fave five.  But dates, pineapples, figs, and papaya spears should def watch their back(s). 

By the way, you may have noticed something missing from these last two posts…(Starbucks)

Yes, I successfully made it through my ENTIRE 12+ hour shift today without giving in to the seductive siren’s sweet sweet song. 

Just as I got off work, Kyle called. 

Since I told him yesterday to force me to go to the gym after work, no matter how much I begged and pleaded otherwise, or tried to weasel my way out of it...he wasn’t allowed to cave!  I needed to exercise.  It’s been over a WEEK people, clearly outside help is necessary!! 

Sure enough, in my exhausted state, I begged him to let me off the hook.  And like the wonderful fiancé he is, he didn’t give in!  I knew there was a reason…never mind.

Fortunately, the rain had stopped and the skies were semi clear, so we decided to take advantage and ran along Riverside Drive.  I think it was only 3.5 – 4 miles, but still, it felt GREAT.  I haven’t really exercised since the half marathon, and it’s weird (sad) to not have a reason to train.  Anyone else experienced this post-race let down phase?

By the time I got home I was hangry.  I cut up some butternut squash and coated them in cinnamon, salt, and a touch of stevia.  

While they were in the oven, I hopped in the shower, and by the time I got out, the most wonderful aroma had filled the apartment. 

Mmmm…

 

BN squash is the best comfort food.  In addition to the squash, I had a mah-jay ensalada mista.  The only reason it could be considered a salad is because there was raw spinach in it.  The main component was a dish I made on the side with shirataki noodles and steamed soy-tein with clover sprouts and spinach. 

I’m a big fan of clover sprouts.  I bought them instead of alfalfa sprouts a few weeks ago, and I haven’t looked back since.  The seed part crunches way more, and I love it.  The only downside is the shelf-life seems a bit shorter.  Still at the rate I go through ‘em, it’s not really an issue.  I add them to EVERYthing. 

 

I tossed the noodle/soy-tein mix in with more spinach, carrots, broccoli slaw, and voila!  Perfection.  I had a POM wonderful with my din-din, too.  I’m hooked on these. 

While watching The Office I polished off the last of my hermits   :(  Good thing I still have the cinnamon ones!

I guess that run really got my appetite going…

Bowl of fruity goodness.

Apples, kiwi, and berries galore (including strawbeezies, raspies, blackbizzles, and bluebz). 

Off to catch some zzzzzs. 

E-Claire out.

More west coastin’

I just couldn’t pack it all into one post (it was getting obscene).  So now I’m trying to pick out the very best of the best to share.

 

Athenos hummus is G-O-O-D, good!

Hummus and avocado = that’s AMORE!

 

NOM NOM.

As for wedding and late night partying…most of those pics are too R rated for blogging ;)

Here are a few, though.

The fam (L to R: youngest sis, middle sis, dad, mom, me)

The girlies (above AND below).

 

Hooray for LA-LA-land friends!!

I tried to hit up all my fave spots from my college dayz, so in addition to my 539,026,148 trips to Whole Foods and Starbucks, we also went to PF Changs for dinner, followed by some Santa Monica bar hopping along the promenade…

And what would be a trip to Westwood without my other restaurant love, Damon & Pythias (I STILL have their number in my phone).  Sadly, the one and only Coral Tree Cafe was under construction (boo!) so we went to Literati Cafe instead. 

Too much drinky drinky…HOW did I survive college?!?  More importantly, how did I even get passing grades!?!

I feel like a grandma now.  I can’t keep up with the young kids, with their boozin’ and twitter crap. 

Anyways, I still managed to drink and dance the week away…and before I knew it, I was back in NYC, shivering on the LIRR platform, wondering when I became a grown up when spring would arrive on the East coast.

At least I had some of my old friends waiting for me when I got home :)

HOW did I live without dried figs and carob raisins for so long?  Now THAT is truly a miracle.

Still, my dried fruit sugar high was NO match for my drooping eyelids.  Round one: bed.

I can’t believe I have to work save lives tomorrow.  Pray for me my patients (they’ll need it) – just kidding!!!

Things are missing...

Discovery!! Hot water and a shot of POM = yummmmmm!

I woke up with a grrrrowling stomach, so I knew I had to have something before I hit the subway. But I'm not a fan of eating first thing in the morning (my tum tum doesn't handle it well for some reason), so this warm POM water was a great discovery - might become a ritual, because it got me perked right up (AND it's caffeine free).

Naturally I still stopped at the 'bucks on the way to work for the real deal.

I packed my lunch the night before again, but my baked tofu collection was running on empty. So, in addition to the one lonely slab of 'fu, I added some slices of smart deli "turkey."

Unfortunately, the "turkey" was still frozen when I made it last night...

But it was good and ready by lunch time.

The rest of my eats: apple, odwalla, figs and carob raisins

Work was nice and slow. I only had 2 patients, but I discharged one in the early afternoon, so I only had one patient the rest of the day. The economy is affecting EVERYone...2 more hospitals closed today...scary!

I wanted to show you my weekly food prepping (when I work multiple days in a row, I know I won't have time to make good meals by the time I get home). By making tons of base salads, I save time at night, since I'm SO exhausted and lazy by the time I get home...this weekend I made a TON of quinoa and veggies and got a huge bag of spinach, shredded carrots and broccoli slaw.

It can be a chore, but it is SO worth it when I get home and don't have to stare in the fridge for 3 hours trying to figure out what's quickest/easiest. Let's face it, when hunger strikes at the end of the day, I end up just shoveling bread dipped in hummus down my throat because I'm too tired to think.

Tonight's big ass salad included brocc slaw, carrots, and quinoa along with a pile of veggies.

With Sabra of COURSE!

Also. check out what came in the mail today!!

Woo-hoo! I was waiting for this one. Since it is ALL the rave right now in the blog world, I'm glad to finally get my hands on it, to try it for myself.

I added a few splashes of Country Bob's to jazz up the salad. A little goes a long way with that stuff, it has a nice kick to it. I can't wait to try it as a marinade for tofu. Obviously I still wanted hummus in my salad, too, though.

After all the greenery, I def needed some nut butter! Chocolate soynut butter on apple slices - oh yes I did.

Every time I go to close the jar I end of taking another spoonful just to lick off...nutbutter lolly pops, anyone?

I still wanted my dessert plate later on though.

This plate was made 100 times better because half way through, I got a call from my boss. They were overstaffed for the next day I was supposed to work, and since I worked the previous 2 days, I get Friday off (and still get paid)!! Sweeeeeet.

In giveaway news, check out Foods That Fit to win some yummy eats!

Did I mention how excited I am for the NYC blogger meet up?! I can't make it to first one (going back to CA for a bachelorette weekend), so I was THRILLED when the fabulous Melissa organized another one on the 22nd. Woo hoo!

UNFORTUNATELY (and this is where the blog's title comes in) my computer issues are not over. I had to restore my poor HP back to factory settings...which means that I lost A TON of stuff :(

While I'm glad it's working, I am so so so bummed that all my music is gone. I redownloaded iTunes, but I have no playlists, my stored gift card $ is gone, and my the music folder is empty. I redownloaded Skype, but my saved $ is gone. I still can't get the Microsoft Office products because I got the code when I was in college. The good news is, thanks to Picasa and Google Documents, most of my important documents and photos were backed up online. I am so glad I didn't lose all my pictures because that's what I was worried about the most.

Still, moral of the story BACK YO SHIZ UP!!!!! If you haven't already make good old fashioned cds with all your pics, music, and documents - because they are SO hard to replace once your computer crashes. Ugh. I now have to start back at square one making exercise mixes as well as playlists for my upcoming races.