2009 October | Healthy and Sane

A break is right around the corner

October 27th, 2009

Adam and I booked an impromptu mini-vacation last night! Tomorrow I really hope to finish the report I’ve been working on (the last for this month… of course I have more stuff next month) and I feel burnt out! These long days have been killing me but I hope they are behind me (at least in the short term). I found out that I get Veteran’s Day off at work, which is on a Wednesday this year, so I’m taking Monday and Tuesday vacation and we’re going to Texas!!! Oh, did I mention we’re going next Friday?!! I am overdue for a vacation – this is beyond exciting!!!!

Ok, so here is where I need your help. We chose to go to Austin and San Antonio because we’ve never been and it’s going to be warm (and it’s relatively cheap). The problem is – we know nothing about these 2 cities!! What are you supposed to do there? Are there any amazing restaurants that just can’t be missed? I already know we’re going to the largest Whole Foods in the country – that, in my view, cannot be missed! Help!

Thank you all for your comments on my previous post about making exercise a priority. I woke up this morning with a food hangover and just wanted to stay in my pj’s and eat all day. The food hangover/stomachache continued through the morning, and I almost skipped the gym and went to the Paradise Bakery instead Do you ever get in this kind of rut when you skip a workout and eat too much, and all of a sudden that’s all that you want to keep doing? This happens to me, and it’s not because I like it – the opposite actually. I feel gross and I guess I feel continuing this seems appropriate. So I almost chose to continue the mad cycle. Instead I remembered my own words (and your comments) and made sure to make it on time to a crazy hardcore abs + bootcamp class. Ask, Coco, we were both dying in the class… in a good way I loved every minute of it and was just glowing for the rest of the afternoon! I love you, exercise!!

BREAKFAST

Banana oats with raisins and trail mix (cranberries, white choc chips, almonds and pecans)

MID-MORNING SNACK

100 calorie pack of almonds and walnuts

This is my new find. It’s really perfect for me because um, apparently someone (hint: me ) has been eating more than 100 calories’ worth of nuts lately. Yeah, portion control is good!

LUNCH

Turkey, avocado and fresh mozzarella on whole wheat toast + snap peas and grapes. Yum!

SNACKS

A low fat rocky road cookie I received in a package today from 24carrot. Thank you!!!

This cookie is GIANT… I really can’t believe it’s only 170 calories. No really, I think they are lying on that nutritional label!

The cookie got damaged in the mail and was very crumbly, but the crumbles were SO good! It was like a brownie (yes, a healthy brownie but a yummy one) with lots of nuts and mini marshmallows. I loved the nuts. I’d buy this cookie for sure if I could trust those nutritionals. 24carrot sent me 3 other cookies, all the same size and from the same company (I think), and 2 of them said they were 2 servings and 2 said they were 1 serving – and all were roughly the same amount of calories/serving. Hmm. If it is indeed only 170 cals, this is possibly my new favorite healthy dessert! Edited to add: I looked at the other 2 cookies and they’re full fat, which would explain the discrepancy. I think I need to invest in a box of these babies

Another new find – Smart Food chocolate cookie caramel pecan popcorn clusters

These were quite delicious. If you love sweet popcorn, you will love these… and the ingredients are 100% natural. Excellent. I’d still pick a baked good (or the above cookie) for a snack any day, but this is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth without consuming a lot of calories (this bag was 130).

DINNER

I left early today (6:45 pm!) which meant I could make dinner at home! Whoa, that’s a new concept these days. This Mediterranean inspired wrap pizza ended up being the highlight of today’s eats (except for the cookie… that was good too… ok, a tie it is)! This is a whole wheat tortilla with 2T sabra hummus, lite shredded cheese, roasted red peppers, goat cheese and zaatar. All ingredients except for zaatar are from TJ’s. Toast the wrap for a bit before adding the toppings, then toast the rest until it’s at your preferred level of crispiness. Voila!

Made me and my belly beyond happy

Perfectly crispy… and disappearing fast

Great eats today! Oh I just remembered, I’m going on vacation… I’m going on vacation!!!! If you’ve been or live in Austin or San Antonio, don’t be shy, comment here and share with us the cities’ gems!

V8 soup giveaway here.

Making exercise a priority during a busy week

October 27th, 2009

I know, I know, I’ve been complaining about long hours at work for what seems like ages, but that’s the reality of my life these days. Yesterday was another 12 hour day, and there are a few more of those in my future. I’m hoping to be done with this project by tomorrow. Fingers crossed. My old habits of reaching for food in time of stress are coming back. I just don’t have time to deal with them right now, but what I have made sure is to make exercise a priority even during a busy work week (month?). Exercise clears my head, it keeps me energized, it keeps me healthy, and what I learned is that the work will still be there when I come back and that hour away from the office is an hour well spent! I even tried a few new classes at the gym! Here is last week:

Sunday: easy 5.25 mile run
Monday: rope’n (bootcamp with jump rope)
Tuesday: Zumba + abs
Wednesday: gorgeous 4 mile run outside
Thursday: yoga
Friday: spin class
Saturday: muscle + abs with Ali
Sunday: 7 mile run with the Healthy and Sane social running group

I was having so much fun with my workouts, I actually realized only on Sunday night that I worked out 8 days in a row (although there were a few easier workout days there like Tuesday and Thursday). I decided to take a rest day yesterday (Monday), which definitely made for a longer day in the office and extra munching. I need to get my sweat on during the day, or else I’m just not myself. It’s important to keep reminding myself this, otherwise it’s too easy to fall into the “I’m too busy” trap.

Here are yesterday’s eats. There were also nuts, frozen yogurt, and cider donuts consumed late at night.

BREAKFAST

2 frozen waffles with Barney Butter and 1/2 banana

MID-MORNING SNACK

An asian pear from a co-worker’s yard. How cute is this guy?!

LUNCH

Mixed greens, grape tomatoes, mom’s roasted red peppers, grilled chicken and mushrooms.

SNACKS

Dancing Deer Baking Co caramel pecan brownie with tea

Best brownie EVER! Fudgy and soft… mmmmmmmm

This made me smile

2 Rivita crackers with light laughing cow cheese and grapes

DINNER

Tangy stir fried vegetables with tofu that I made here and froze the leftovers for a night like last night. Before: frozen solid…

After: yummy homemade Asian meal

Dessert: Kellogg’s sweet & salty granola bar

Lots of junk ingredients in this guy but it was in my desk drawer and I needed more food. Despite an atrocious ingredients list, this was quite yummy

Like I said, more unphotographed food was consumed later in the night but that’s life. Do you make exercise a priority during a busy week, or choose to spend that time getting your work done?

2 more days to enter the V8 soup giveaway!

New fitness friends

October 25th, 2009

Hi bloggies! How was your weekend? Mine was full of fitness fun

Saturday started by meeting a reader, Allison, who teaches lots of fitness classes at the Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs. I decided to attend her muscle and abs class at the center in Brighton. After chatting for about 10 minutes before the class, we got to business The class was really a blast. Allison knew everyone’s name and mentioned Jillian Michaels, new tv shows, while kicking our butts with moves I’ve never seen before. We used every gadget you can think of, and just kept moving. Awesome! Allison also introduced me to the class as her special blogger friend. If some of you Brighton BHAC girls are in fact reading this post, say hello in the comments section!

Allison and I after a super sweaty class:

I actually decided to take a break from taking pictures of my food for the day, so Saturday eats will have to be my little secret Let’s get to Sunday!

I woke up super excited for my first Healthy and Sane social running group meet-up! I fueled up with some dessert for breakfast: When Pigs Fly chocolate bread with chunky Barney Butter + coffee. Not a bad way to start the day, that’s for sure

Our first social run was awesome! There were just 4 of us running today, which made for easy navigation. We ran across the Mass Ave bridge towards Cambridge, looped by the Museum of Science, then ran to Fenway and back to the Back Bay. I ran 7 miles and didn’t even realize it! I was too busy having fun!! We held about a 9:30 minute pace (I think, I actually reset my garmin by mistake without checking) and all felt great! I got to meet and get to know Shannon from Lessons to Learn, and hang out with my Boston girls, Shannon (from Tri to Cook) and Molly of course. Great fun! I feel so lucky to have met so many cool people because of my blog! If you like running and live in Boston, you should join us. I can almost guarantee a good time

Oh, look what Shannon brought for me…

Baked mini cider donuts!!! Yum! But we’ll get to that later… onto…

LUNCH

1 cup of V8 Vegetable Blend soup with the bud of the olive bread.

I tried the soup by itself this time, without adding anything else, and it was delicious! Mmm, chunky delicious veggie soup (a few more days left to enter the V8 soup giveaway!)…

+ yummy olive bread. I think I’ve eaten my weight in bread over the past few days. It’s too good!

+ Dessert: mini baked cider donut

These tasted like delicious mini muffins – lots of cinnamon and spices. The perfect fall treat! My parents in law came over and got to enjoy them as well. They were a hit for sure! Check out Tri to Cook in a few days for the recipe

OTHER SNACKS

There were lots of snacks because I’m never hungry after a run, which made for a small lunch and a ravenous Elina later in the day

One of the last apples from the apple picking trip:

Mini peach pie slice with Stonyfield nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt:

Yellowtail cabernet sauvignon:

This is a pretty nice wine, especially for the price. Brings back memories of buying giant bottles of Yellowtail wine with my sister and polishing them off way to0 quickly in our NY apartment. Good times! :lol

DINNER

Dinner ended up being such an amazing fall treat! I wanted to make something with wonton wrappers we had on hand, and came across this recipe in Cooking Light for sweet potato ravioli with lemon-sage brown butter. This was my first time making ravioli… pretty fun! The wonton wrappers are a great shortcut to making the pasta dough, and these really did taste like real ravioli. I was a proud ravioli mama