Hungry Tiger

If you know what the title of this post means, I’m sorry.  Ha Ha.

But that’s what I felt like (again) today.  I had 4 meals (not snacks, meals) AFTER dinner alone.

OK, so back to the beginning…

Hump day started off with an early morning wake up call.  Someone’s gotta save lives.

To get me going, I went with a Trilogy Kombucha.  This is my FAVE flavor by far.  Mmmm…

I had packed my lunch before, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

I bought a big ‘ol container of “tropical” trail mix to tide me over.  Even though I’m still on the fence with certain nuts, I know they can hold my appetite, so I think it’s a great go-to when my appetite is hungry tiger hippie status.

What exactly qualifies a mix as tropical?  Brazil nuts?  Papaya?  I don’t know, it seemed pretty standard as far as dried fruit/nut mixes go…but whatever, beggars can’t be choosers. 

I polished the entire thing off, as well as my whole packed lunch by 1 pm.  FYI, the “new” super protein odwalla bars are the merely smaller versions of the former ones (with a new wrapper).

Business/Economics 101 says fool the customers into thinking something is new and improved with a flashy new packaging, while simultaneously saving money by charging the same price for a smaller version of the product.  Hmmmm…not a fan of this policy, but I can’t deny my love for odwalla is still going strong.

Anyways, I scrounged this up…vegan options are minimal at the hospital, but if you know the right people (wink wink), you can move mountains…ok, ok, I discharged a patient on a veggie diet before lunch came, and they still brought her tray.  The hospital is WAY too cheap to donate ANYthing to the starving nurses fund – believe me, I’ve tried!!

Sorry about the not-so-hot blackberry photo…

I stopped here (AGAIN) on my way home from work, to get my Kombucha fix.  Don’t be deceived by the hole-in-the-wall appearance.  This place has all the products that Whole Foods has, MINUS the massive lines.  Is two Kombuchas a day too many?

Anyways, when I got home, I had to eat something right away to prevent myself from chewing my arm off.

Roasted red pepper Sabra on Alvarado Street bread, plus apple slices for max dipping pleasure.

Kyle was already home and munching on these…

…so I couldn’t help but have a few (hundred) handfuls.

DARN IT! 

The good news: Newman’s Own does cookies right.

The bad news: I hadn’t even eaten a proper dinner and I managed to down well over half of the bag. 

To get some decent (not processed) calories in, I made an avocado mash containing an ENTIRE avo, shredded carrots, and clover sprouts…which I then piled on top of 2 slices of Alvarado Street bread.  On the side, I had the last of my home-made seitan.

After dinner I went dessert crazy.  First up, dates stuffed with carob chips.

Then, I had a big bowl full of strawberries with stevia and cinnamon sprinkled on top, and more carob chips tossed in after.

But the treats didn’t stop there.  And I’m glad they didn’t because as a result, I discovered an amazing new dessert!  Dried mango with PEANUT BUTTER!  It reminded me of PB+J with the sweetness of the dried mango and the crunchy nutty peanut butter.  YUM.

As if that weren’t tasty enough.

…it evolved into something even BETTER (clearly carob chips go with everything).

After a few more of these, I called it a night.  Hungry tigers have to go to bed eventually.

Memorial Day Bite-lettes

Monday holiday!  Hooray!

It took this many cups of coffee to get me moving this morning…

Ok, I realize this looks a bit like a scene from Intervention (before the person has recognized they have a problem).  BUT, in my defense, it was for both me and Kyle, and I often make extra (for PM iced coffees), so don’t judge.

I frothed it up of course!

My breakfast wasn’t exactly traditional, but boy was it TASTY!

I forgot to mention how effing amazing these BITE-LETTES were last night.  I would DEFINITELY recommend them.  I could barely control myself from eating the entire tub all at once!  They are like mini-oatmeal raisin cookies – and since they are ”wholesome” and vegan, I don’t feel bad about inhaling them like they would spontaneously combust mission impossible style if I didn’t…

These cookies will self destruct in 5 seconds…

A little later I had a more complete meal to start the day off right.  ‘T'was divine :)

Since the weather was BEYOND fabeezy, Kyle and I decided to get our stroll on (whole life challenge – check).  After a few hours of adequately soaking up the sun multiplying our freckles, we returned to our hot stuffy apartment (AC time? I think so).  This east coast weather is very baffling to me.  I know I whine about it all the time, but it’s just so weird how one week it can be in the 30s and next thing I know, I’m sweating bullets in my paper thin scrubs…I mean, I haven’t even had time to put my umbrella away!  Probably because I’ll need it again a week from now…

But before this tangent gets outta hand, let’s get back to the food stuff.

Lunch.

A few more falafel balls, WF tofu, chickpeas, and carrot “noodles.”  YUM!  I really love carrots.  And they are pretty sweet when shredded; a great pairing for savory WF goodies.

I had a few more bite-lettes with silk for lunch dessert. 

After lunch we went to pick up a new suit Kyle had on hold.  We meandered through Riverside Park on the way downtown (I packed a few pineapple rings for the road). 

Could this plastic bag BE any more recycled?  The foggy look is SO hot right now…

Seriously, it’s a good thing we moved apartments a couple of months ago, otherwise I would still be hanging on to bags from 2007, all in the name of being green. 

I was dragging when we got back home – enter iced coffee :)

And now, completely random and off topic…

Two things you may or may not have realized about me (1) I do not have naturally straight hair and (2) I am pretty freakin’ lazy when it comes to putting effort into my appearance (my platinum blonde Los Angeles days are far behind me, and not missed in the least). 

So, that said, I may have discovered how I can use my inner slacker and still come out ahead. 

This is 4 day old unwashed hair.  Gross, you say?  Maybe. 

I mean, sure, some of the details of my job aren’t so glamorous…(use your imagination), but I didn’t have any contact precaution patients over the weekend, I didn’t exercise or work up a sweat, AND (not that I have to justify this to anyone but myself) I was out late with co-workers on Saturday night, so I just didn’t get a chance to shower.  And yet, each day I woke up with straighter and straighter hair, which is pretty amazing for not even lifting a brush in over 72 hours!!!  I may be onto something here…

Are you guys AM or PM shower people?  I’m a night time girl for sure.  Especially on days I work, I like rinsing the “nasty” off after a long day, while minimizing my routine in the morning.  But then, I guess going to bed with wet hair explains why it takes me extra long to get ready in the AM – since I have an afro to tame when I wake. 

Back to the food.

I’ll admit, the main motivating factor in going to the gym today, was the shower after. 

C’mon Elise, it’s been 3 days, suck it up and run so you can get clean.

I elliptical-ed for 60 minutes while zoning out to Kanye and the likes. 

When I got home I threw some quinoa on the stove before hopping into the shower…

When they were done, I tossed in some garbanzos…

This is an idiot-proof meal.  So easy.  So delicious. 

I ate most of it plain, but then decided to make a salad, too, so I added some into the salad.

Spring lettuce, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, quinoa, garbanzos, and raisins.

Mmmm….

After dinner I decided to get down with Jon and Kate + 8.  Kyle and I did 6 loads of laundry, too.  It’s a good thing all I wear is scrubs and work out clothes (both of which I have in endless supply).

For deezer, I had a few more oatmeal raisin bite-lettes, carobs chips and medjools dates.

OK, I finished them.  How could I leave those last few though.  They were lonely, and I heard them calling my name…

PS I responded to all your comments at the end of my last post. 

PPS Win a blog make-over!!  Zesty is a computer whiz.

Weekend warrior

I’ll admit, I wasn’t thrilled when I found out my weekend to work fell on Memorial Day weekend, BUT, as it turned out, Saturday and Sunday weren’t too bad (considering I felt like the only person in Manhattan that had to work).  I guess that’s the effect warm weather has on me. 

The unit felt beyond empty this weekend.  As in, I did 4 crosswords, as well as started and finished a new book.  Don’t worry, I managed to save a few lives somewhere in there, too…

Anyways, I did pretty well with Maggie’s whole life challenge on Saturday.

1. I started the day with a 10 minute rise & shine yoga, which I am realizing should really become a permanent part of my routine on work days because it really does wake me up.

2. I walked to and from work, the subway, and the restaurant where I had dinner.

3. I had a *new* meal for dinner – ok, I went out to dinner, but I think it works.

4. There was zero post dinner snackage (I wasn’t exactly hungry after our 9 pm dinner)…so by the time I got home, I just went to bed.

5. My lunch greens were certainly organic.

6. Ummm…I had spinach in my salad?  Ok, ok, I’ll work on the green smoothies and oats.  Even though I’ll never be as talented as Heather in that department!

Saturday’s work time chow chow.

I also went a little bar crazy on my lunch break on Saturday…

Anyone else notice the NEW packaging of Odwalla’s SuperProtein flavor?  I think it’s the same, but I bought one of the old and one of the new to compare, and the nutritionals are different!!!  I’ll let you know if the taste is the same.

No pictures of Sat dinner because I went out with a bunch of co-workers who don’t know about HHH :)

Sunday wasn’t as fabulous challenge-wise.

I still had a great lunch, though. 

I swear, you aren’t doing a double take of Saturday’s eats, I’m just lacking creativity.  Sorry!  Please note the new Dulce de Leche Luna bar addition though. 

Another (new) thing I’ve been doing in this weekend’s salads is shredding carrots with a peeler (I’m so crafty).

AND I made the garbanzo beans from their dried form…so much cheaper, and wayyyyyy better.  Seriously, I was a bit skeptical about giving it a go initially…so for all of you in the same boat, who are questioning the hype about making your own beans…BELIEVE it!!!

Can you believe this……..turned into this!

 

Granted it took practically all Friday afternoon, but they are SO much cheaper.  I was amazed at how much they grew, thank goodness I used a big enough pot!  I kept having to add more and more water, I thought it was going to overflow at the end.  I basically just let it simmer on a really low setting for a few hours, and voila – home made beans for a week day!

Anyways, Sunday was just as slow at work, but I was DEAD tired from staying out so late Sat night (note to self: don’t go out with co-workers who don’t have to work the next day)…I definitely couldn’t drag myself out of bed early enough to do any rise & shine yoga. 

As far as the other aspects of the challenge are concerned, I walked a bit, but didn’t exactly hold up my end of the bargain for #3-6.  Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.

Dinner was a hodge-podge because I was starvin marvin by the time I walked through the door.

My doll-face fiancé had stocked the fridge with “Elise” items from WF, which allowed for a quick ‘n easy plate assembly.

Falafel love, tofu love, chickpea love.  LOVE!!!

Now that’s amore!

I MAY have had a couple rows of these too :)

As I lazed on the couch, catching up on my second favorite Housewives, I wished I had more dessert…

As if on queue, my knight in shining armor Kyle pulls out these babies!!!

Whaaaa!!!  Have I mentioned how FAB-U-LOUS Kyle is?!?

Ok, gotta catch up on my shut eye now, night night bloggie loves.

ICU…and I raise you!

Welllll…this weekend was pretty intense. 

I worked. 

I saved lives. 

Literally.

I try not to go into too much detail about my job (a) because of the whole patient privacy thing and (b) because I have a feeling it’s not very thrilling to read about.  But sometimes I wish I could share all the crazy things I see and do on a daily basis because, well, it’s a big part of my life.  Or at least a part.

Anyways, as I’ve mentioned before, I work in the cardiopulmonary critical care unit (CPCU), which is the step down unit for the surgical intensive care unit (SICU).  Basically I get patients after any open heart surgery (bypass, valve replacement, pericardial windows, etc.) and occasionally lung surgery, too.

Since the CPCU and the SICU work together, occasionally I’ll get sent to work in the SICU, which is what happened on Saturday.

My patient was on the verge of flat lining the entire shift…you can’t IMAGINE the kind of stress that can have on a person. 

It can be a little scary.  A whole lotta crap went down…but the only part that matters is that my patient is doing well now (and knowing it’s because of me isn’t too shabby either). 

Bring it on ICU!  (just kidding, please don’t, the stress of Saturday cost me 4 years of my life)

On Sunday I transferred my patient upstairs to the CPCU since she was a bit more stable.  I was glad to be getting back in my comfort zone.  Home base – yessss! 

Oh, and did I mention I got an additional patient on Sunday, too.  Heaven forbid my stress level enter a manageable range…

I left work each day in such an exhausted state…all I wanted to do was a swan dive into a pile of pillows pass the eff out. 

ANYWAYS, sorry about the rambling…I’ll get back to the real reason you read…let’s start with Saturday’s eats

Coffee & coconut date rolls – the breakfast of champions?  For sure.

Pre-packed lunch. 

Ensalada grande:  spinach, carrots, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, clover sprouts, dried cranberries, and more seaweed/sesame salad.

Courtney, I promise I’ll post more on the seaweed/sesame salad later!

More snacks: Newman’s Own dried organic apples, Berries GoMega odwalla bar, apple, and Ocean Spring Mixed Fruit crisps

Check out the cute starfruit!  By the way, anyone know what a jackfruit is?  Because I had some for lunch.

The best part of the day was when Kyle surprised me after work!!!  And guess where we went for dinner?

Whole Foods!!!! 

The baked tofu is one of my fave hot bar items, and you can’t go wrong with chickpeas…the wild rice/edamame/carrot mix was a new one for me and I LOVED it.  As usual, WF delivered.  My dinner was perfectly fulfilling and satiating.  Mmmm…

Later on I had some dessert, which wasn’t my best creation.

It was almost worthy of a “Heat the Salmon Butt” title.  But I did finish it, so I guess that says something.  I thought this was the vanilla flavor, so imagine my surprise after I mixed it all up and took a bite. Plain greek yogurt with PB and carob covered raisins? 

Fortunately, peanut butter masks anything and everything enough to delight my taste buds (and carob raisins clearly didn’t hurt either).

So I licked the cup clean :)

As for Sunday’s eats…I packed a similar lunch the night before.

The only difference between this salad and Saturday’s was the addition of baked tofu (the 3 leftover chunks from WF).

Estrogen?  Check!

The 2 remaining dried apple rings in the bag, an apricot Clif bar, an apple, and some ridiculously overpriced grapes.

Here’s an action shot of my salad half way through…

I love mixing my salads up in tuperware. 

Shake, shake.  Shake, shake, a shake it!

If you are looking at my lunch and thinking…that’s not very much food.  Well, you’re right.  I was starvin’ marvin by 4 pm – scavenging the unit for random eats.  The search was somewhat fruitless, as you would expect of a Jewish Kosher hospital (under construction on a Sunday no less).  Ugh.  I had 23 glasses of apple juice instead.  Awesome.

I nearly passed out on the subway ride home…which is why I was SO thrilled when I got home to this!

Look what greeted me when I walked in the door!  Kyle gets MVP for the weekend.  Meeting me downtown for a Whole Foods surprise dinner on Sat and BBQing vegan eats for me on Sun…I hit the jackpot with this one!

Look at him all proud of his skillz.  Cue master K! 

I love BBQ corn!  He also made mushroom/bell pepper skewers and LightLife smart tenders (plus 2 un-pictured chicken breasts for himself). 

I think I tried this brand of smart tenders long ago and wasn’t a huge fan, but this was a new flavor (Lemon Pepper) and wasn’t too bad. 

As I mentioned whined about earlier, I was hangry by the time I got home, so I immediately made up a plate.

I added 3 tender strips and a kebob to a handful of spinach and corn.

Hit. The. Spot.

Here’s plate numero dos, with a multi-v vitaminwater on the side.

Anyone tried these new lower calorie vitamin waters?  This was the first time I tried one and I’m still a little unsure how I feel (I’ve never tried any of the original vitamin water flavors either).  I noticed rebiana (the stevia extract) on the ingredient list, but I think it’s in the form of Truvia (the one with “natural sweeteners”).  Hmm…

 

Dessert was huge fruity melon mix and a pair of hermits.

So chewy and delicious!

After watching three horrendous hours of Celeb Apprentice killing my last few functioning brain cells, it was bed time.  Thank goodness I have Monday off!  I have so much catching up to do!