That Sandwich Looks Awesome

My study session went much better this morning. I woke up 15 minutes earlier, showered and got ready lightening fast, ate breakfast while checking my email, and had a whole hour and a half to study for the NASM. I got through about 2/3 of a chapter (reading and taking notes). I'm actually starting to feel a little better about the exam. The first 3 chapters blast science right at you, which is especially overwhelming if you haven't taken any sort of science course since freshman year of college. However, once I made it to chapters 4 and 5, I can see how the later chapters simply build off what you learned in the first few chapters. It all ties together quite nicely. Let's just hope this pleothra of information sticks in my brain!

Breakfast

I made the most wonderful breakfast panini this morning-- even Mal commented on its awesomeness! :) Inside 2 pieces of whole wheat bread:

• 1 tbsp of low-fat ricotta mixed with 1 tsp of cinnimon
• 1 sliced banana
• 1.5 tbsp of almond butter (sadly, not Barney Butter)
  
• 5 chopped dates
• 2 tsp sliced almonds
  

Grilled perfection...


While I studied, I sipped on an iced iced with vanilla hemp milk.


Question of the Day

How do you manage your time (planner, blackberry, online tool, etc.)? What is your best time management tip/trick?

Me: I am a paper planner girl-- have been since the 6th grade with my assignment book. I'd like to transition to an online planner, but I just can't seem to do it. I often think of things that I need to do mid-commute when I don't have access to a computer. Writing something down in my paper planner then typing it into an online tool is double the work. Maybe an iphone would help? :)

My best trick: Do the little tasks first! I feel much more accomplished crossing things off my list (even if they are small) and it builds momentum to tackle the bigger projects.

Hello, Choreography!

So, I've been taking step aerobics classes for more than a decade now. I don't practice regularly, but I consider myself rather skilled in the art of step aerobics. Tonight, I decided to take the "advanced" step class at Healthworks. Honestly, I thought I would easily navigate the "advance-ness" of it, but this class was a different animal! The actual choreography wasn't that tough, but the instructor whizzed right through the routines, stringing 5 or 6 together to make a much longer routine, but without much review at all. The rest of the class had no problem keeping up, but, for some reason, my brain couldn't remember the moves that fast! I must have looked like such a fool bouncing around and making up moves as I went along. I definitely got a good workout-- it just didn't look pretty! :) 

After an hour of advanced step aerobics, I took a 15-minute abs class offered by the Fitness Specialist on duty. I figured it would be beneficial to see how the class is run since I'll be running it myself pretty soon! Oh boy! 

After a quick shower at the gym and a long commute home, I was famished! My Larabar did a great job holding me over, but my stomach started to seriously grumble about 20 minutes from home. As soon as I walked in the front door of my apartment, I immediately started munching on baby carrots while I put together a big-ass salad for dinner. Tonight's salad included romaine, grape tomatoes, green pepper, baby carrots, and topped with Claire's relish and leftover pasta from dinner last night. It filled me right up! 

Our previously-frozen wedding cake is still sitting in our fridge from last week, so I decided to have a small piece tonight. I pretty much love ALL cake, but this cake is definitely on it's final day. The cake was a tad stale and the frosting had lost its creaminess. :(

I'm planning another early morning study session tomorrow, so it's just about time for bed. Good night, folks! 

Coconut Surprise

This day is flying by! Not that I am complaining. Let's just hope the rest of the week passes this quickly!

I ate breakfast earlier than usual this morning (6:30 instead of after 7:00), and my stomach made sure to let me know! I munched on a pear mid-morning to hold me over until lunch.


Lunch Meeting

I had a lunchtime meeting today. A number of faculty attended the meeting as well, so we got spoiled with the meal. My plate: Grilled lemon salmon with braised cabbage and leeks and coconut brown rice. The shredded coconut mixed with the rice was such a nice surprise. I never thought of combining the two-- they're wonderful together!


My lunch dessert was a leftover Cocoa Brownie. I'm not sure how I feel about these now-- today's brownie was rather bland and blah. Next time I make these: more cocoa powder and chocolate chips!


As a gift from a student, our office received a big box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates. Mmmmmm. Of course, I had to try one, so I selected a dark chocolate truffle, which was divine. I'm thinking about trying a coconut truffle as well! :)


PM Snack

I'm taking a step aerobics class at the gym after work, so I've planned a late afternoon snack to fuel me through my workout and to dinner. Proposed snack: Ginger Snap Larabar (aka the best bar eva!)


I Heart Snacks

You guys all know how I love snacks! I love eating, so frequent snacking keeps me happy, energized, and satisfied between meals (so I don't overeat). I thought I'd share some helpful snacking links with you all, including a previous post of healthy snack ideas that Carrots N Cake readers put together a few months ago.

Reader Snack Ideas

Drop 10 Pounds by Snacking

Pre-Dinner Snacks

Happy snacking! :)

And The Winners Are...

Good morning, blog world! So, my studying went okay this morning. I woke up at 6:00, showered, got dressed, made and ate breakfast. By then, however, it was almost 7:00, which only left about 45 minutes for me to study. I guess it's better than nothing, but I didn't feel like I accomplished much. I'm going to get up a little earlier tomorrow morning (and get ready faster!), so hopefully that will give me more time to hit the books. I'm still struggling to get back into student mode!

Breakfast this morning was a big bowl of oatmeal mixed with oat bran, mushy banana slices, ground flaxseed meal, and walnuts. It was super filing! I barely finished the last few bites, but it was delicious!


Once I arrived in the office, I made myself a mug of coffee with vanilla soy milk and agave nectar. (I already drank a few sips before snapping this photo.)



Barney Butter Giveaway

What a hard decision!!! You guys submitted so many amazing poems-- 47 entries in all! There was quite a lot of competition! To keep the judging as fair as possible, Mal and I divided the selection responsibilities between the two of us. I read through all of the poems and picked my top 10. I then passed the final decision onto Mr. Mal. From those 10 entries, he narrow it down to 5 winners, which are posted below!

Barney Butter Giveaway Winners!!!

All Contest Entries

WINNERS please email me your mailing address and your prize selection. You can either chose to receive a jar of Barney Butter (chunky or smooth style) or three individual packet strips of Barney Butter (which are the smooth style). Both are great options!

THANKS to everyone who entered the Barney Butter Giveaway! It was so fun! I hope you guys enjoyed the experience as much I did! Hopefully, there will be more contests down the road! :)


Question of the Day

I read this post on the Weighting Game the other day about food blogs and orthorexia. It's definitely a topic that I have thought about since I started to participate in the food blog world myself. In my opinion, some food bloggers probably do have some sort of eating disorder, but I think that the majority of food bloggers have a healthy relationship with food and want to help others by showing this balance in their lives. Of course, I'm sure that I haven't considered all sides of this issue, and I would love to hear what you guys have to say. It's an interesting topic, and if you would like to weigh-in on it, please do so!

Tough Decisions

Mal and I are having such a tough time picking the Barney Butter Giveaway winners!! You guys are quite the poets... and I bet ya didn't even know it! (Sorry, had to.) I will reveal the winners bright and early tomorrow morning. Five lucky readers will receive their own stash of Barney Butter. I'm already excited for them! :) 

Dinner tonight was a pasta dish made with broccoli, lemon, garlic, and parmesan cheese. I was really in the mood for pasta this evening, and just threw together this dish based on what was in our fridge. I'm happy to report that the meal turned out well! 

Measurements:

Serves 2-3

1.5 cups dry pasta 

1 tsp olive oil

tbsp chicken low-sodium chicken broth

1 large garlic clove (minced)

1.25 cups steamed broccoli

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

With the lemon-garlic-parmesan pasta dish, I also had a salad with romaine, grape tomatoes, carrots, and almond slices, drizzled with peanut sauce. 

Dinner from above with a glass of ice water with lemon slices...

Dates Return!

I used to have quite the obsession with dates (the food), but after trying medjool dates, I haven't been able to go back to the conventional Dole dates. Medjool dates are 10 times more delicious-- they're like candy! However, I had a serious craving for dates when we went food shopping the other night, so I decided to just buy some Dole Pitted Dates. (Sadly, our grocery store doesn't sell the wonderful and amazing medjool dates.) 

I stuffed tonight's dates with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Such a good snack! I've missed it!

My dessert was 3 dates stuff with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Yum! 

I'm changing it up with my workouts this week. I've decided to reserve my schedule-- workout after work and study in the mornings before work. We'll see how it works. I need to change it up every once in awhile-- keep things interesting.

Sunday night movie time! :) Good night! 

Sad Day in Barney Butter Land

I used up the last bit of my final jar of Barney Butter on my lunch this afternoon. How depressing-- my stash went so quickly! I need to get my hands on a new jar ASAP! 

I just finished eating lunch about 15 minutes ago. I was trucking through my studying all morning, so I didn't stop for a break until my stomach started to growl around 1:45 pm. Today's lunch was 2 toasted Van's waffles with Barney Butter and banana slices as well as a Cocoa Brownie for a little treat.

Breakfast

We invited Josh and Danielle over for breakfast this morning. Mr. Mal cooked us all bagel sandwiches with egg, bacon, and Muenster cheese. They were wonderful-- warm, cheesy, and greasy. After all of the drinking that I did last night, I appreciated the greasiness! :)

I also drank an iced coffee with vanilla hemp milk while getting some work done. 

Back to the books! (I'm so not used to being a student again. My brain doesn't work like it used to!) 

Long Day Recap

Yesterday started bright and early at 6:00 am, went non-stop, and then ended early at 10:00 pm. By the time it was 9:00 pm last night, I wanted to be in bed. The day (and multiple beers) exhausted me. 

My first real shift at HW was fun! The hours flew by (unlike my desk job) and I learned a ton! The Assistant Fitness Director and I went through about half of the training "check list" (aka everything I need to know before they set me free on the fitness floor). The most exciting part of my training yesterday was learning about all of the fitness appointments that I will be offering to members, including a 15-minute abs class, various orientations (free weight, flexibility, cardio, Nautilis circuit) as well as how to conduct a Fitness Assessment. All things that I am jazzed about! :) 

I finished up at the gym around noon, and I was STARVING! I immediately dug into my emergency snack stash for an apple. I chowed it on my way to Fenway. 

Mal and I decided to grab a quick lunch at Bruegger's before the game. I ordered a jalapeno-cheddar bagel with plain cream cheese, tomato slices, and cucumbers. The jalapeno-cheddar bagel was amazing-- a combo of my favorites: jalapenos, cheese, and carbs. Heaven. 

Cross-section...

M&T at Fenway... the Sox lost pretty bad to Toronto. Meh.

Yesterday afternoon was perfect for drinking beers at Fenway... but when isn't it a perfect day for drinking beers at Fenway!? :)

Here's beer #2... I drank 3 of these at the park, plus a few sips of one of Mal's. 

After the game, we met up with an all-star cast at Jillian's for drinks, snacks, and games. My sister, her friend, Liz, Josh, and Danielle were all at the Sox game too, so we decided to meet up afterwards. We played a lot of ping pong at Jillian's, including a round-robin tournament. 

Here's my sis and Danielle playing... 

At Jillian's, I drank a Blue Moon. It came with a lemon slice, which I immediately took out. Ewwww!

We ordered a few apps for the group while at Jillian's-- Buffalo Chicken Wrap, Spinach-Artichoke Dip with pita slices...

and French Fries. I had a few bites of each. Four beers + lower inhibitions = junk food munchies! 

After Jillian's, we headed to South Boston for my sister's engagement party, which was very laid-back and relaxing. We hung out on the roof deck, chatted, and BBQed. I wasn't that hungry, but I figured I should eat something to "soak up" all of the beer in my stomach. I decided on a grilled veggie burger with relish. I also had a few bites of taco salad. 

We ended our Saturday night early-- I was in bed by 10:00, which was fantastic because I got lots of sleep (10 hours). The sleep was much-needed, mostly because I have so much to do today, including tons and tons of studying and judging the Barney Butter poems! :) Be back this afternoon with a double breakfast and lunch post.