yogurt « Healthy and Sane

Entries Tagged as 'yogurt'

Vacation booked

March 3rd, 2010 · 20 Comments · breakfast, sandwich, snacks, sweet potato, yogurt

I followed Inna’s eating rules today and this turned out to be a great day of mindful eating. It’s amazing how just paying a little more attention to simple things adds up to so much more. I’m liking this new motivation! What else is motivating me? Our vacation in FIVE weeks! We booked a little 4-day getaway to Aruba today. I am so excited! I think it will get busy at work soon so I should be more than ready for some time in the sun at the beginning of April.

Now onto today’s eats…

BREAKFAST

TJ’s european style yogurt, pear, fresh blueberries and 1/2 blueberry muffin + coffee

The muffin chunks tasted like CAKE for breakfast! Best idea ever.

All messy… mmm

[302 calories]

MID-MORNING SNACK

The other half of the muffin + orange slices

[206 calories]

Man, it hurts me to post this ugly picture. It was crazy delicious though. I promise!

WORKOUT - abs + spin. Nice and sweaty

LUNCH

Baba ganoush, turkey, cucumbers and mustard on white whole wheat bread

A garlic pickle <3

+ baby carrots and cucumber slices

All together:

[326 calories]

I know this is obvious, but I just wanted to remind you all that cucumbers in sandwiches are awesome!!!

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

Strawberry Soyjoy I got at a conference ages ago.

[130 calories]

I liked it a lot. It kind of tasted like a strawberry cookie.

DINNER

Did I mention how much I love our new kitchen? Because I do! It’s seriously a pleasure being in it. I can’t get enough! I hope Adam can keep up with all the dish washing because I kind of want to live in the kitchen for a little while

For dinner tonight I made some sweet potato falafel by following this recipe from the Pink Apron. My pita bread totally fell apart so this was one messy meal, but it was quite tasty nonetheless. I loved how crunchy the baked falafel balls were and the subtle sweetness of the sweet potatoes added a fun twist to the traditional recipe. The tomatoes + cucumbers added a nice freshness to this meal. Unfortunately, the sauce, to be honest, was just okay. I didn’t thin it enough so it was quite thick and Adam is not a fan of parsley so I just used a bit of dried parsley instead of fresh and the sauce ended up tasting kind of like plain sour cream. Not that exciting (not Kelly’s fault since I didn’t follow her directions properly). I’d make the falafel again but probably use hummus for sauce.

[395 calories]

I just totaled up my calories for the day and realized I’m a bit low. I’m munching on a clementine and calling it a day.

See you later alligators!

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A long run all by myself, I’m growing up!

February 22nd, 2010 · 17 Comments · chicken, running, sandwich, snacks, yogurt

My running partner in crime, Molly, is out skiing this weekend. How inconsiderate of her! I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up on a run with Meghan who’s currently training for the Boston marathon, but the poor girl got injured on Monday and is taking the week off from running. For a second there I got nervous – I haven’t done a long run by myself since I met Molly. My longest run on my own was 7 miles last August. Instead of being discouraged, I decided that this was actually going to be a really good test for me. I’ve become a much stronger runner since those 7 miles. I’ve covered hundreds of miles – I could do this!!

[This ended up being a long recap - follow along at your own discretion ]

I woke up an hour and a half before my planned run and had my usual toast with Barney Butter and banana (you’ve seen it a million times, click here for a visual if you need it ). I was a bit nervous, but decided to just take it really easy. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Ok, no exactly… but it may make for a more pleasurable run. After a 1/2 mile warm-up walk (until my Garmin found the satellites) I got to it. I roughly planned out my route to make a 9 mile loop. I like running to a “destination” so there is something to look forward to. Also, this prevents me from deciding to cut the run short because I’m already so close to home. Today’s “destination” was the Jamaica Pond (in Jamaica Plain). I’ve done this run so many times and it never gets old. There are always so many runners and power walkers by the pond, no matter the weather, and I feel proud to be part of this little community.

So I took off, every time I looked down my Garmin said I was doing an 8:30-8:40 pace. I couldn’t believe it – it felt so easy! I know that usually when Molly and I run we talk the entire time. It makes the time really fly by, and we catch up on everything that’s happened in the past week. When we ran the half, we ran side by side, but didn’t talk, and our pace indeed was the pace I was running at today. I wasn’t complaining, that’s for sure! Around mile 3, I really wanted to stop and walk. Originally my plan was to run straight through – no stopping, but right around that mile 3 marker that seemed like a silly plan. So what if I stopped for just a minute? Would it really make that much of a difference? I bargained with myself and decided to take a walking break at the half-way point. Man, that’s a whole 1.5 miles away!! No, no – that’s negative thinking, I could do this!

Minutes after deciding to allow myself that walking break, I realized that I was running uphill. The second I hit flat ground, a walking break seemed like a silly idea. Now I really wanted to make it a full 9 miles without stopping, and this time I really did know I could do it. I ran around the pond twice, it’s fairly flat there and very beautiful. After the second loop, I was at 5.6 miles – the perfect time to run back home. I was smiling ear to ear at this point. OMG, I’m going to rock this run!!

By the way, I forgot to mention that this run was basically the exact same route that the BAA half follows (except I turned around 2 miles earlier). Around 7 miles or so, I was starting to slow down. My legs were starting to hurt a little. I was at the exact location that I started to really feel it during my half (it was mile 9 then). I distinctly remember Molly asking me if I wanted to walk for a minute or slow down… and I remember saying “I don’t know…” and kept running. I wanted to be stronger than that on THIS run. I pictured the point at which I thought I saw a 13 mile market (it was a 12-mile marker in fact). I wanted to get there, and I wanted to keep going. Remember, I was going to rock this run!! So I kept running and drinking water. I brought some orange slices with me for fuel, but I didn’t want them. I knew I could finish without them. I slowed down a bunch just to make sure I finished the run strong. Finishing the distance was my main goal. I didn’t care about speed. At the end, I was happy with both. I finished 9 miles in 1:22 hours – 9:08 minute average pace. I did it!!!!!! [Insert happy dance here ]

After a good stretch and a shower, I met up with Coco for a celebratory brunch. I’m going to do a recap of that in a separate post because you are probably tired from reading. Here are the rest of the day’s eats.

Organic fuji apple

Grilled chicken, avocado and cheese panini + baby carrots and grape tomatoes

I ended up dumping a bunch of salsa over the sandwich. That was an awesome addition to the panini!

TJ’s nonfat european style yogurt, chia seeds, pear slices + Zoe’s granola

A Black Dinah Chocolatiers truffle

It was the perfect Sunday!

Do you have any tips for completing long workouts?

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3 steps forward, 1 step back

February 12th, 2010 · 19 Comments · Uncategorized, breakfast, oats, sandwich, snacks, tofu, yogurt

I had a bit of a breakdown last night. I forgot how much not following through my plans messes me up! I feel like this week I made so much progress. I (for the most part) stayed within my calorie range, diligently followed my training plan (with the necessary adjustments to allow for my twisted ankle to recover) and my confidence started building. Last night a decision to skip an interval run brought me straight back to square one. I went to a yoga class during lunch as per my training schedule, but after work the couch seemed so inviting that I decided to just go home instead. Well the couch wasn’t available because we still had people working on our kitchen until 7:30, so what was supposed to be a lovely evening by myself (Adam had plans with his buddies), turned into me being “imprisoned” in my own bedroom, and then a mini-binge out of frustration. So it looks like I took 3 baby steps forward Mon-Wed this week and then a giant step back on Thursday. Urgh I still can’t decide if I want to make up last night’s run today (it was supposed to be a rest day so I would have fresh legs for a long run tomorrow). Regardless if I do or not, starting next week I’m going to modify the schedule to eliminate post-work runs. I just don’t want to go through the “talk myself into it” exercise every Thursday, you know?

Anyways, before the stupid binge (which included a bunch of pecans, a Mojo mountain mix bar, chocolate covered edamame and chips!! <– I never want those!) my eats were super delicious. Let’s review, shall we?

BREAKFAST

Overnight oats with banana slices, Kashi Golean cereal, walnuts and raisins + coffee

Looks pretty but it wasn’t that exciting. I think overnight oats are just not for me. I’d rather have yogurt straight up… or hot oats. That’s just me

[398 calories]

The perfect bite!

MID-MORNING SNACK

[168 calories]

LUNCH

I was pretty proud of this one! It was so fresh and SO delicious (thanks to the sauce). Spinach, broccoli, snow peas, shredded carrots, TJ’s organic savory baked tofu + almonds in Jenna’s spicy sesame noodle sauce (I made it ages ago).

The sauce recipe made like a gallon and the stuff is caloric so I’ve been using only a tablespoon or 2 at a time. I have been keeping the sauce in a Nalgene bottle and it was as fresh tasting yesterday as it was a year ago. Just opening the sauce bottle in the morning got me super excited about lunch! The sauce aroma is amazing – tahini + sesame oil really are a match made in heaven.

Saucy lunch…

Brownie anyone?

[all together ~ 515 calories]

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

PURE cherry cashew bar – love them!

[200 calories]

DINNER

Another amazing meal – seriously prior to my binge I was eating like a queen!! Apple chicken sausage “dog” with honey mustard, pumpkin butter and fresh pear slices + baby carrots

The star of the show… the perfect balance between sweet and savory.

Before reading food blogs (and of course writing one), I would have never thought I’d like something like this. Good thing I’m more adventurous now – it was an incredible combination of flavors!!

The only thing that got documented as I was eating my weight in food…

KITCHEN REMODEL UPDATE

Our walls and ceiling are closed!! I can actually picture what the kitchen will look like now. It’s so open – I love it! We have less than a week left for it to be done (fingers crossed)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any fun plans for Valentine’s day? I think we’re going to wake up to the oh so romantic sound of kitchen remodeling.

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Healthy meals, naughty snacks

January 26th, 2010 · 20 Comments · breakfast, oats, salad, yogurt

I was looking at pictures of my day’s worth of food just now and realizes that breakfast, lunch and dinner were model meals – healthy + balanced, and then each of my snacks was a little treat that I got to sneak in between. I’m tracking my calories and macro-nutrient intake on Sparkpeople.com and that’s why I can say that at the end it really does all balance out. I was in the range of every single category I track. Sweet!

BREAKFAST

I tried to start the morning with some overnight oats, except later in the day I realized that what I prepared last night was just yogurt with oats… you need milk for overnight oats. Hey, it still tasted pretty yummy!

In the mix – 1/3 c rolled oats, 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt, Zoe’s granola, fresh mango, 1 medjool date and walnut pieces. Sweet and tart – delicious.

[422 calories with coffee]

MID-MORNING SNACK

Fresh banana bread (from the office)

[~200 calories?]

LUNCH

Mixed greens, grape tomatoes, 1/4 avocado, pinto beans + meat from 1.5 chicken drumsticks, dressed in 1T of Annie’s balsamic vinaigrette

So much delicious healthy fat – the avocado + pinto beans were super creamy and the chicken tasted extra buttery (no butter there, just dark meat which I rarely eat).

[306 calories]

WORKOUT

I ran outside today!! I received an email from my sister today telling me she ran outside at 6 am this morning. I was so impressed that I decided to go for a run outside myself… and I even found a buddy to go with me. A girl that works at my gym is training for a half marathon right now. We snuck out of work mid-day for a 40 minute run. I didn’t start my garmin right away, but I think we held an 8:30 minute pace (it was hard!!!) and ran for about 4.5 miles. The cooldown walk never felt so good (even though it was freezing and windy out)!!

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

Blueberry mango cranberry bran muffin

[220 calories]

DINNER

Late night at work calls for super easy dinners – this is V8 tomato soup + a toast with organic cheddar

The soup was a little sweet on its own, but the cheddar toasts balanced it out really well.

Mmm, who doesn’t love grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup? This soup even had other hidden veggies (like zucchini). Love that!

[349 calories]

[100 calories] – This cookie is nothing special.

POST-WORK SNACK

A few spoonfuls of pomegranate seeds… I love how they burst in your mouth!

Total calories consumed: 1622 + pomegranate seeds (can’t find their nutritionals right now)

How do you balance out your meals + snacks? Do you include dessert with a meal or eat it as a snack (if at all)? I usually prefer sweeter snacks over savory ones, but once in a while I crave pickles or hummus.

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Busy weekend ahead

January 15th, 2010 · 29 Comments · breakfast, pizza, sandwich, snacks, yogurt

It’s Friday!!!!!!!!!! Yeah! (I’m doing a happy dance right now, sitting on the couch. ) It’s been a long week and I’m ready for the long weekend to begin. On the agenda:

Go to work today (man, work really cramps my style)
Go on a date with my husband tonight – he chose the restaurant for tonight. It’s a secret (I know it’s in the North End, though, so I’m guessing Italian food)
Bootcamp with my sister and Molly Sat morning (Molly just got engaged and I can’t wait to see her ring and hear all the details about the proposal. Congrats, Molly!!!!!!!! )
A truffle workshop with my sister. We’ll be learning all about chocolate and then will be making our own chocolate truffles. Pretty cool, right?
Shopping with sister (and parents?)
Choosing countertops for our kitchen (the one we previously picked was above our budget. Boo!!)
Filming a video tour of our condo (stay tuned)
Emptying our kitchen for construction to begin
Meeting contractor on Monday morning to start construction of our kitchen!!!!!

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. I wish I could skip #1 and dive straight into the rest of it

BREAKFAST

Oikos, kiwi, grapes, Zoe’s granola, Kashi autumn promise, walnuts, shredded coconut

Btw, I mentioned the poor quality of my pictures recently and realized aside from bad lighting, my camera is too old (it’s only a year old but I abuse this baby quite a bit). I’m going to buy a new one today. These pictures were taken with a tripod and they’re still blurry.

TREAT OF THE DAY

Coffee cake at work. Unfortunately this did not prevent me from wanting more treats later on. I tried to be reasonable but at the end the chocolate cravings won. More adjustments to my plan to come next week.

WORKOUT

I had the most amazing yoga practice today. I know the class is good but I’m still blown away every time. The instructor, Nathan, just transforms you into a different world. After 75 minutes of practice, I almost teared up during shavasana. It was just really moving. Thank god I didn’t skip it for the sake of a sweatier run (which I’m craving – doing that today!).

LUNCH

Open faced salami, laughing cow, roasted pepper baguette sandwich + a pickle and baby carrots

MID-AFTERNOON SNACKS

DINNER

Tortilla pizzas – so healthy and delicious! I made 1 pizza with leftover steak and mushrooms + 1/2 with kalamata olives. Very yummy

I’m not going to lie – more chocolate was consumed after dinner. Adam tried to reason with me, and it almost worked. We “closed” the kitchen and cuddled up on the couch to watch Entourage. Unfortunately, about mid-way through the first episode (we watched 3!) I just couldn’t take it – I got up and grabbed chocolate. I ate 4 large squares again. I’m a serious addict. It’s ok, I will figure this out. With determination and motivation, great things can happen.