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.

Working and grazing

(At the crack of AM) breakfast:

Coffee.  Froth.  CranBran Vitatop.  Off to work.

Snack:  Newman’s Own Organic Honey Wheat Pretzels

I ate these all day long, and finished the whole bag myself.  Addicting, for sure.  I rarely buy pretz because of this very phenomenon.  I especially loved this honey wheat flavor, though, because it has the perfect combination of salty and sweet – way better than regular pretzels.  The huge salt crystals kinda ripped up the roof of my mouth though.  I think that’s my issue though, not Newman’s Own. 

I swear I’ve gained 5 lbs from this Newman’s Own shipment in the last 2 days.  Time to slow my roll.

We had no food in the apt, so I was forced to go to WF for lunch:

Aside from the greens (buried below), the salad was topped with garbanzo beans, pasta pearls, beets, golden raisins, ‘shrooms, hummus, carrots, cukes, and other stuff I can’t remember. 

Ammmmazing.  Worth every penny.

Super lame raw snacks.  I know.  But like I said, empty fridge.

On the subway ride home I snacked on my fave Clif bar.

Time for my Wednesday raw meal!

The most important ingredient of all!

I had such success with this meal on Monday, I had to repeat it.  I mashed the avocado in with shredded carrots, clover sprouts, and broccoli slaw.

This time I used endive leaves to scoop up the avocado mash. 

SO tasty! 

I realize this wasn’t the most creative raw meal, but seriously you guys, our apartment is as barren as Madonna, so finding anything to make was a real stretch. 

Ok, I have to be honest here.  I was really surprised at how few raw ideas I had…actually to be fair, I had several ideas that I had to nix because they weren’t raw.  I kept wanting to use beans!  I never realized how processed my diet is.  I did notice an improvement in the way I ate during Leng’s salad challenge, but aside from salads, I generally don’t get very creative with produce. 

This is why the food blog community is so great.  Where would I be without Jenna and Gena pushing me outside my comfort zone?  Basically, I’m really excited to see what everyone else prepares on Wednesdays so I can get some good ideas for next time around.

I promise I’ll do better in future Operation Raw Wednesday (ORW).

My dessert was raw-ish (Gena’s definition).  I had toasted Alvarado St. bread with my second BB packet.  Wow.  This is way better than peanut butter FOR SURE.  I couldn’t really tell when I ate it with the apple slices, but with bread it’s definitely my preference!  How weird that I don’t like almonds, but love almond butter.  Mmmm.  Let’s just say, it totally lived up to all the hype.

Before I go to bed, I want to share a conversation I had with my mom tonight on google talk…

***back story: my mom and I were reminiscing about one of my stupid school projects from elementary school (writing a book)

[mom]: Instead of the story, you should have written a song called "If I Were a Boy" and made a lot of money.

[me]: huh? what ARE you talking about?

[mom]: Beyonce's song.  I LOVE that song.

[me]: OH.MY.GOD.  never thought id see the day...hahaha

[mom]: Go on Youtube and listen to Rin on the Rox sing that song in their bathroom.  They're so cute.  They like the acoustics of their bathroom and have put several songs on Youtube.  Hey, I'm SO hip.  Ha!

[me]: hahaha  im dying right now!!  i never would have thought youd be so up on the scene though.  you are one hip momma :)

[mom]: Thanks!

Ummmm…how hilarious is my mom?  At first her comment was SO out of the blue.  I mean, who randomly tells their daughter she should have written a song wishing she were a boy?  I was very confused.  But once I realized what she was talking about I was cracking up (keep in mind this is the same person who can’t even figure out how to retrieve a text or voice message on her cell phone)…

Oh, I had some orange slices, too.

Aight – night.

5/5

Happy Cinco de Mayo bloggies!

Five is my fave number, so I have always loved this date, add in Mexican food, and I’m partying like it’s my birthday!

Today was a ridic.  I couldn’t take pics of everything I ate. 

Cliff’s notes: wedding, food, wedding, food, wedding, food, wedding

The day started off rough.  I had frothing issues. 

 

**Side note: I didn’t know there was a difference in Stevia derived sweeteners (Truvia, Rebiana, PureVia, SweetLeaf, etc.), but after one of Gena’s posts, I looked on the back of my NuStevia box and was a little concerned to find the ever dreaded “natural flavors” on the list of ingredients.  So here’s my new and improved Stevia Extract In The Raw…

The only ingredients in here are Dextrose and Rebiana (Stevia Extract). 

I woke up knowing EXACTLY what I wanted – so that’s what I had.  English muffin with PB and an apple.

Right now you guys are probably doing google reader double takes, thinking you accidentally switched over to K’s blog, but it’s still me.  I just decided on a little ABC action this morning because, well, K’s so dang cool, I wanna be just like her (if you think I’m being sarcastic, you’re wrong, I actually am obsessed with the girl)!

I dipped the berries into the chocolate silken tofu pudding love in a bowl.

Even though that berries/pudding dessert was around lunch time, I made this real lunch later on. 

I’m all about the english muffins lately, and since sabra hummus goes with EVERYthing, I tossed some Newman’s Own organic dried cranberries on top for extra texture and a tangy kick.

For the 4th day in a row, I chose cookies over the gym.  Hermits are worth it.  I do feel like a sloth, but I think I’ll get back into my exercise routine next week…I have a lot of work coming up, and I really don’t have any motivation in this dreary weather to trek to the gym.  Plus, I want to get the location of the wedding ceremony and reception set…which is a far more annoying and difficult task than I thought it would be. 

        Iced coffee break.                 Strawbeezies.

I ruined my appetite for dinner :(  So stoopid.

I made a salad with mostly greens (spring lettuce, carrots, cauliflower and Newman’s Own organic dried cranberries) with a few chik’n strips on top.

To be honest, the salad was great, but I just wasn’t hungry, so about half way through I called it quits.  So not like me!?

Oddly enough, less than an hour later, I was hungry.

Smart Balance light, vegan parm, and garlic salt on toasted Alvarado Street bread …

JUST like cheesy garlic bread.

I probably should have called it quits here, I mean I didn’t do ANYthing remotely active today, I certainly expended no kcals.  But, as usual, I gave in to my late night cravings. 

Dates with PB (times 3).  Mmmm…

Random wedding question:  I have a few ideas for songs to walk down the aisle to (Here comes the bride, Pachelbel's Canon in D, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, It’s Tearing up my Heart, etc.), but if you kids have any other ideas, please send ‘em my way!  Something tells me Kyle’s going to veto the Nsync suggestion.

Wait, is this a food blog?….or wedding research site?  Who says you can’t have your egg-free, dairy-free vegan cake and eat it too?!

VeggieGirl, how are your multi-tier baking skills?  Do you see where I’m going with this…hahaha!!!

fact: I love Newman’s Own

Last night I got the best surprise.  After 10+ hours of traveling I was so excited to find a HUGE package waiting for me (TWSS).

Holy So.Much.Stuff.

 

Newman’s Own hooked it UP!!  Can you even believe all these goodies fit in a box.  This is my heaven.

I hardly knew where to begin!  Even though it was well past midnight I had to try something (duh).  I think it’s pretty obv what I wanted, since K has been making my mouth water for days…HERMITS!

Stats for the original flavor: Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Raisins, Organic Molasses, Organic Sugar, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Oats, Organic Figs, Raisin Paste, Spices, Leavening (Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate), Salt, Rice Bran Extract

I love that these are SO tasty and at the same time, all the ingredients are organic and wholesome.  No HFCS, no weird chemicals that I don’t recognize…all organic, pure and natural.  They reminded me of my Mom’s homemade molasses cookies, which I haven’t had in AGES.  I could have eaten the entire box in one sitting.  Thank god it was so late, because being super tired was the only thing that prevented me from doing so!

Original: Serving Size: 1 cookie (22g), Calories per Serving: 80, Calories from fat: 15, Total Fat: 1.5g (saturated fat: 1gm), Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 65mg, Total Carbohydrates: 16g (dietary fiber less than 1g, sugars: 10g), Protein: 1g

THANKS a ton to Nell and Pa, along with Sally and Peggy for sending these treats my way.  I was a huge fan of this company before, for reasons even beyond their great food products (did you know that since 1982, Paul Newman and the Newman’s Own Foundation have donated more than $250 million dollars to  educational and charitable organizations worldwide). 

Anyways, it should be no surprise that I also wanted these cookies for breakfast.  So in addition to my AM java loading, I nibbled on some hermits (ok, I inhaled ‘em).  A true lady never discloses the real numbers, right?  Nah, I keep it real with all y’all, I had 4.

In my defense: Rain + Monday = Need cookies

To continue my morning trend of ridiculous food choices, I had some medjool dates stuffed with carob raisins with carob almonds on the side. 

I’m pretty sure this is what leads to what we nurses refer to as a diabetic coma. 

…so while waiting for my impending (and undoubtedly imminent) hyperglycemic attack, I decided to veg on the couch with the ladies of The View while shopping for Mother Day gifts (for my momz AND my future-momz-in-law). 

Some days I just want sweets.  Period.  No point in fighting it. 

In honor of Sarah, I opted out of exercising and didn’t shower or change out of my pajamas ALL DAY.  LovIN my tummy?  Prob not after today, but I’ll get back into my normal routine tomorrow.  You have my word…I can’t continue to shovel down kcals the way I like to sans gym time or I’ll end up with a Hugh Jass fo’ sheez.

I still craved sugar, so in an effort to get in some natural CHOs (chem nerds?) I made a massive fruit plate filled with apples, melon, kiwi, pineapple, grapes, and oranges. 

Meals be damned.  I may have crumbled a hermit into this vanilla greek yogurt snackeroo.

I definitely passed out for an hour or so after this.  As we all know, what goes up, must come down, and after my massive AM sugar high, I crashed hard!

Zzzzzz.

I woke up confused and groggy.  I wasn’t hungry at all, so I did some reading and (more) wedding crap.

OMJC! 

So rich they make the Donald jealous.  I savored each calorie in pure delight…I drooled a bit too, but that was from Joel, not the medjool/PB bombs.

 

Dinner was entirely unnecessary because I was in no way hungry, but I thought I should try to salvage what was left of the day by incorporating some greens and protein into my PM eats.

I scooped out half an avo into a bowl, added in some sprouts and shredded carrots, and mashed until it was all mixed up.

Then I piled it high on top of a toasted english muffin…

…with sliced up seitan cutlets on the side…HOLY YUM!!!

Fave meal alert!!  This was a filling dish.  The crunch of the carrots and sprouts combined with the creaminess of the avocado were freaking DE-lish!!

Still, dessert was a clear choice. 

Hermits!!

I’m already well over half-way through the box…eek!

Newman’s Own might be my downfall.  It’s so good, though.

Who would believe me if I said I didn’t finish the whole thing?  Nobody?  I thought so.  You know me well.

I was so full, Kyle had to roll me to bed.