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.

whatevah, I do what I want

Because yesterday’s post prompted such passionate and wonderful comments (I love you guys!!!), I’d like to post my response, just in case some people don’t check follow up answers in the comment section.  This is just such a great discussion matter…

First off, can I just say how PROUD I am of the responses I have gotten on this issue, not just as a (self proclaimed) foodie, but as a female in general!

You all are absolutely right, it can be a slippery slope from checking portion sizes to obsessively counting each and every calorie – especially for the OCD, type-A people out there (hello, takes one to know one)!  And since I am truly happy with my body, I have no interest in changing the way approach eating.  I LOVE food and enjoy everything from cooking and creating new meals to setting up camp in my frequent food ruts (downing tubs of hummus day after day after day).  I have found a nice (mostly) balanced way of living, with splurges that I don’t berate myself for, and wholesome food that gives me the energy I need to remain as active as I love being.

In the end I love food way too much to let something like the serving size deemed appropriate by the government dictate how I choose to get my grub on!

OK, now back to your regularly scheduled programming Friday’s food…

 

Java & greek yogurt/fruity mix (apple + plum + pear).

This brekkie is getting too predictable!  I’m gonna have to switch it up soon. 

I went to the gym and had a mild elliptical sesh, followed by some arms and stretching – then I adios-ed to enjoy the sunshine!

I read and crossword-ed (it’s a word!) on the rooftop (lathered in sunscreen, I assure you)…and eventually came back down for lunch.

I made another batch of seitan, this time with a few adjustments (more veggie broth).  So this cutlet was nice and juicy, easy to cut, and perrrrrrfect.  I had it with the rest of the edamummus on the side.

Here’s the pre-cooked seitan (as I kneaded the f%^& out of it)…

…and here it is pre (above) and post (below) oven lovin’.

I know it looks weird, but seriously guys, it’s SO easy to make, and tastes yum (x 6).

I also had some hummus-y bread.  Do I need a reason?

Later I had the weirdest shaped apple ever.

For dinner I had a philly cheese steak…welllllll, with a few adjustments.

Seitan cutlets, veggie slice “cheese”, and Alvarado street bread.  Very Elise.

YUM!

Desserttttt…cranbran VitaTop with some EB and fresh fruit.

Work weekend, enjoy the sun for me kiddos!

Love the nine-oh

The sun came out of hibernation today!  It was glorious.  I forgot what it felt like to have 90 degree rays beaming down on me. 

Soak it up baby, soak it up.

I should mention Wed night after I posted I had toasted Alvarado Street bread with peanut butter and carob chips. 

I’m not usually a late night eater (at least I try to avoid it) but this new purchase had to be tested.  It passed.  Waaaaay passed.

So all Thursday long, I thought it was Friday.  I keep getting confused on the days of the week.  Probs because Kyle gets back and we have the Shins concert, so it felt like a Friday all day, but I work this weekend.  Not excited about THAT one.   

Oh well, I’ll tackle that hurtle when I get there.  Today, on the other hand, I had off, but I still got up early to be semi-productive. 

I cleaned.  I cooked.  I cyber-stalked read all your blogs. 

Obviously the above coffee and Vita Muffin were consumed prior to those chores. 

CranBran is my favorite Vita…although with the amount of EB I dump on them, the flavors are probably not even that discernable.

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately, is my portions.  To be honest, I never really pay any attention to the sizes of things I eat as compared to the actual serving sizes…I tend to fill my plate, regardless of the quantity of food that it takes to do that.

Maybe it is one of those things I don’t really want to know.  Ignorance is bliss, right?  But I am curious.  The other day at work the endocrine team brought trays with cut-outs of the recommended portions for diabetic patients, and just seeing how SMALL the allotted portions were piqued my interest.

I always clear my plate, and often go back for seconds (sometimes photographing it, sometimes not).  But seeing the amount of food that was considered one serving of carbs, was a eye opener!  I have never in my life measured the amount of the block of tofu that I ate, or the number of chickpeas that I added to my meal.  I have a feeling it would be a complete shock to see what the prescribed standard is.  I probably eat 4 servings of peanut butter in what I would consider 1 serving. 

Any opinions?  I don’t want the mundane task of counting calories to mess with my mind. 

But I wonder if I knew exactly how much is considered one “portion,” would that alter the quantity I served myself?  And ultimately, the amount consumed?

Anyways, I DO know I had several portions of fruit as snacks throughout the AM.

 

Fruit galore. 

I just craved fruit, what can I say?  Must be the summer weather! 

I decided an outside run was in order, so I got my corre corre on in Central Park.  I did a reverse loop (the exact 10K I ran last weekend), which ended up being 7.66 miles door to door as per MapMyRun.  I did take a little detour on accident and tacked on an additional 1/2 mile on Central Park South, but I still completed it in 55 minutes. 

My mouth was parched so I gulped some H2O down once I was home, and then headed to the gym to do some weights and stretch.  Somehow I ended up on the elliptical for 30 minutes, too. 

I got home and got presentable looking for the concert.

I snacked on apple slices dipped in (my one-and-only) hummus, and popped open a bag of Newman’s Own Soy Crisps.  Even though it was 4:30, I knew I wouldn’t get to eat until pretty late after we got back from the concert, so I ate the entire bag, and finished the Sabra, too, just for good measure.  Portion whaaaat?

Sorry for the weird distorted photos?

I had these as I headed out the door, too…

The Shins were FAB-U-LOUS!!  I love them, so I was expecting an amazing show, and they did me proud.  It was their last performance of the tour, so they went balls-to-the-wall. 

We got home pretty late, but I knew I needed to eat before passing out.

Step 1: Get nutty – apply copious amounts of PB to the tortilla

Step 2: Don’t be stingy with the extras (carob chips)

Step 3:  Lick any residual from the spoon

Step 4:  Enjoyyyyy

Step 5: **Caution, this is not for the faint of heart**  Repeat steps 1-4 with medjool dates :D

Ciao bellas!

In the words of Stephanie Tanner…

“How Rude!”

The day started off like any other – up and at ‘em with the sun.  I even got up 10 minutes early to do a quickie “rise & shine” yoga (gracias a Exercise TV on demand).  I usually don’t do this for fear of waking up Kyle at 5 am – but since he’s away, I decided to take advantage. 

It felt grrrrrreat!  Even though it was little more than stretching, it definitely got me energized. 

Blood flowing.

Ready for work.

Then things got weird.  Not with me.  Fortunately, the drama on the unit today was NOT nursing related.  The aides on the other hand, were really at each others’ throats!!  I thought there was going to be a throw down – Chris Brown style…there were threats and behind-the-back evil stares, and it was cuhraaazy.  Of course I stayed well out of it, but seriously, what the eff, this is a HOSPITAL people! 

It was MORTIFYING. 

I felt so embarrassed to just be associated with these people.  How unprofessional and inappropriate to argue in front of patients, and in an ICU setting no less!  Horrible.

I was this close (fingers, like, next to each other) to saying something…and for a non-confrontational person, who believes in putting patients first at ALL costs (which includes keeping one’s composure in front of them regardless of how much you are provoked), that’s saying something.

Anyways, it was eventually resolved…after I apologized to my patients profusely for the ridiculous display by my co-workers.

In honor of raw Wednesday, my lunch was full of fresh produce…ok, not FULL of, but there was a lot.

Should “raw” day just be called “avocado” day instead?

I guess the apple is the only actual raw snack.  Dried fruit doesn’t count huh?  Too bad dehydrated fruit isn’t NEARLY as tasty…

I stopped at WF on the way home.  I know I shouldn’t have, but I only spent $10 so it’s ok.

I picked up some tofu balls :)

 

Which I dipped in my home-made edamummus (edamame + hummus) and regular hummus…along with a massive plate ‘o veggies.

Brocc, carrots, shroomies, and green beans.

I heart veggies, and so in honor of my lover pie K (who is in my heart now, even more than usual) I went with the mushroom/hummus combo that she is ever-so-fond-of.

Here’s a little food porn, in case you forgot how amazing these babies were…inside and out.

I also decided salted healthy fats were necessary.  I told you Wednesdays should be called avocado days.

Later, I had to go back for round 2 of hummus (if this is surprising to you, wake up, it’s meeeeee).

 

I’m kicking myself for not making it sooner, it’s that good!!  That’s GOLD Jerry, GOLD!  (Seinfeld anyone?)

As soon as dinner was done, I was already looking forward to dessert.  You would be too if you had gotten the most amazing vegan mousse ever!

Whole Foods could charge an arm and a leg demand my firstborn child for this and I’d still buy it. 

I dipped the fruit in it, and when that was gone, I went to town with a spoon.

:(

Guess what tomorrow is?!

a) no work

b) The Shins concert

c) a + b

Give up?  It’s c!!!!!!!  All good news in my book.

green MASH(ine)

Let’s get down to it.  Woke up at 4:45, hopped on the subway, fueled up at the ‘bucks, and started my day.

Do I really need to explain these?  My work day eats are so boring and repetitive.

 

I’ll admit, it’s a little heavy on the dried fruit…but my fiancé is in the Jerz for a conference, so…you know…(wink wink)

I had lots of coffee, too.  It was v. necessary since I was yawning at a rate of 7 times/minute.

The day was pretty chill…there were no cases today, and my other patients were all post-op day 4 or longer, so it was smooth sailing.

I got home a little after 8…and I was hungry hungry.

Left to right:  Ocean Spring Harvest to Heaven mixed veggie chips (NOM), steamed broccoli, shroomies, petite carrots, and the most delicious hummus EVAH!!!

To rewind a bit…as I alluded to yesterday, I did a bit of cooking spent the day in the kitchen creating some fun new treats for the week.

Into the blender went 2 c. chickpeas, 1/2 c. edamame, 1/4 c. olive oil, 1/2 c. unsweetened plain soymilk, and a dash of salt.

WoW! 

I know it looks like something Sarah might find in Livy’s diaper, but try to look past that…(note: this is the second time the LovIN kids’ poop has been referenced in my blog…I may need to re-vamp my eating habits, or, at the very least, my presentation). 

Whatever.  My mom taught me you should never judge a book by it’s cover, so until you try it, you can’t knock it.

And trust me, you won't knock it after you try it.  This is a HOLY YUM worthy recipe, furreal.

I dipped each and every vegetable in the lovely green mash, and I even managed to polish off the entire second half of the veggie chips with it, too.  Mmmm…green MASH :)

Dessert was in the fresh AND dried variety! 

Bedtime!  Back to the grind manana!