Back-up Plan

After a little break from the blog world and a long weekend in Clemson, SC for a wedding I'm back. I started paying more attention to the other blogs that I read and did some research on Health Blog Helper but even after that I've decided to just go for it and let this blog just be what it's going to be. I have to admit that I'm still not entirely sure what my focus is going to be but I'm sure it will evolve with time.

I'm a planner. I like to know what's ahead of me and I like to be equipped with the tools that I'll need when I get there. The problem with plans are that they don't always work out the way that you imagine. My original plan for this week was to write out a meal plan and a workout schedule for the week while flying back from Charlotte on Sunday and then go grocery shopping to get the ingredients that I need for said meals before the Sunday night HBO shows start at 9:00. Good plan in theory but the main flaw in my plan was that I don't travel well and had to take Dramamine before getting on the plane. I wanted to make sure that the airsick bag stayed in the back of the seat in front of me, however, the problem with taking Dramamine is that it knocks me OUT. So instead of writing out the plan I slept through the whole plan ride and then slept it off with a nap when I got home. Between the weekend festivities, sleeping in a hotel bed, and feeling sleepy from the Dramamine there was no way I was going to leave my bed for the rest of the night. Things don't always go as planned so sometimes you need a back up plan. New plan: Start fresh on Monday.

I'm very lucky because my office is located in Hunt Valley which is home to Maryland's only Wegmans (for now). As you will learn throughout my posts, I am completely obsessed with this store but that's a whole other post for a different day.  I decided to wake up early and make a quick run to the store before work. I just wanted to get breakfast and some staples and snacks to keep at my desk for the week. I ended up with the following in the bag:

• Oikos Greek Yogurt, Vanilla
• white nectarines
• bananas
• whole wheat pumpkin muffin (from the bakery)
• Wegman's marathon bread (bakery)
• a few Larabars
• coffee and creamer for the office
• soy milk (3 pack of individual boxes)
• coconut water
• baby carrots
• garlic hummus (from the mediteranean bar)
• Nature's Market Salad (pre-made from the prepared foods section)

Not too bad for 15 minutes and only a rough plan in my head of what I wanted to eat.

Breakfast Breakdown:

• Oikos
• 1/2 whole wheat pumpkin muffin
• 1/2 banana
• Tbsp. Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (because it was in my desk)
• Wegmans Swiss Almond Mocha coffee w/ a splash of half and half (I'm still working my way off of the cream...one day)

The mix was delish! In college I would literally eat Nutella straight out of the jar but holy sugar. Sweets are a big weakness of mine but not for breakfast. Justin's is similar to the other stuff but for 14 grams less of sugar per serving I'm sold. I'm loving the texture and same yummy taste but with a more pronounced hazelnut flavor.

Lunch was a little less satisfying. This salad was a prime example of why you should read labels carefully. Due to my lack of a plan and rush for time I saw tofu and chickpeas on the container and went with it.  Upon closer examination I was able to see everything that was piled in the heap.

The Concoction:

• field greens
• romaine lettuce
• carrots
• red cabbage
• grape tomatoes
• feta cheese
• tofu
• chickpea/edamame blend
• broccoli
• kalamata olives
• sunflower seeds
• cashews
• almonds
• Curry yogurt dressing

After eating most of the salad I finally discovered that at the very bottom of the label in tiny letters it stated: 660 calories including 140 for the dressing. I could have had a McDonald's hamburger for less calories than this meal and to be honest I like each of the ingredients individually but together there was too much going on for my taste. I had planned on having a slice of the Marathon bread on the side but I was super stuffed by the time I finished the salad so I decided to skip it because I knew I wanted to have a snack before the gym and I still had dinner to figure into the count for the day.

The guy and I planned to meet at the gym after work and after work for him means after 6:00. (which gives me about 2 hours to lose motivation to go) After some e-mailing back and forth we both decided to have Cajun Shrimp with Peppers for dinner and instead of the brown rice, which the recipe suggested, we decided to have a side of salad. Since this was his first day of Medifast he needed to have a lean (the shrimp) and a green (the salad). So I went back to Wegman's after work, grabbed the ingredients for this meal and another one for later in the week. Went home and walked the pup. Mixed up the spices and prepped the shrimp and by the time I was finished it was time for our date at the gym. If I don't sit down I'm good. If I hit the couch and sit for too long. It's over so this means no blogging after work on late gym days. I WILL get sucked in.

I had a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar as a quick snack before the gym and then hit the cardio:

-18 minutes on the elliptical in the cardio theatre

-8 minutes on the treadmill until I decided that I really dislike the treadmill

-25 minutes on the bike

quick stretch and then the tummy was growling which meant time for dinner!

Cajun Shrimp Stir-Fry (from Clean Eating Magazine)

Ingredients:

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tbsp Cajun spice seasoning (see below)

2 tsp canola oil, divided

2 green peppers, cut into strips

2 red peppers, cut into strips

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup white wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

Cajun Spice Mix: (I pretty much made this up as I went and I didn't measure but the rough estimates were as follows)

3 tbsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp black pepper

2 tbsp white pepper

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Toss shrimp with Cajun spices and set aside
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in skillet and saute peppers for six minutes over medium high heat
3. Turn down heat and add garlic
4. Remove peppers and garlic from pan and set aside
5. Add remaining oil and shrimp and cook for approximately 3 minutes
6. Add white wine (I used whatever I had open in the fridge), lemon juice, pepper and garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

The recipe called for hot sauce but the spice mix seemed to be just hot enough so we left that out and we served it with a side of salad instead of brown rice. It was pretty perfect for a quick late dinner and we had left overs for tonight. Speaking of, tonight is the first night of Fall classes for me. I'm taking the second part of Organic Chemistry so the schedule should be getting even more hectic in weeks to come. Wish me luck!

What meals do you grab on the fly? What do you do when things don't always go as planned?

Stay Tuned...

It has been 4 days since I've published a post. I don't want you to think that I've given up so easily so I wanted give an update as to what I've been up to. I started this blog without knowing much about blogging or how to manage my time for blogging so before I officially begin this endeavor I've decided to take some time to educate myself about the blog world and make some changes and updates to my page.

If anybody has any tips for a newbie health/food blogger I welcome any advice or wisdom you would like to send my way!

Dripping Wet

The only picture I took all day was of breakfast because the newbie blogger than I am forgot to charge up the battery to the camera. Rookie mistake but I promise I'll get better.

I decided to break down and have some coffee this morning especially since I remembered to bring my mugs back into work. I absolutely hate using styrofoam cups, especially for hot liquids. I mean I understand that they are cheap to buy for the office but I think that they are just terrible little environmental demons. They release chemicals into the liquids and foods that they contain and they are produced from petroleum and I'm sure I don't have to explain what the problem is with that. So I'm glad that I was able to remember so I didn't have to resort to using the darn things. I decided to use the rest of the Oikos Vanilla and topped it with another with peach and some chopped up almonds. Yuuuummy. I'm really getting into the white peaches instead of the normal yellow.

Lunch was the exact same that I had yesterday so I didn't feel the need to take a picture. I had turkey, avocado, and red pepper hots on a whole wheat pita with a side of veggies. I used the last of the food that I bought for the office so I'm going to need to wake up early for another trip to Wegmans in the AM. Oh darn ;) I'm always looking for an excuse to take a trip there and since there is still zero edible food in the house it looks like I'm getting up early. Ugh.

Tonight was the first night actually working out with the trainer. We did a total body workout so that she could get a baseline to see what I could lift and what I could do. Let me tell ya, I found muscles that I forgot I had. I'm definitely going to feel it tomorrow but that's why I know that I had a good workout. I was a sweaty sweaty dripping disaster but it felt great to push it hard. I can't wait to see what she has planned for me next.

Dinner ended up being out with friends to a favorite hang out in Canton, JD's Smokehouse. The BF wanted to go out for beer and wings. It was a challenge trying to find something semi-healthy that I could eat but I went with the turkey burger with mushrooms and a side salad with a vinaigrette. The salad ended up being smothered in Parmesan cheese and was on iceberg lettuce, bleh. It wasn't the healthiest salad but it was better than the seasoned fries that usually come with the burgers. I held back and didn't have any alcohol. Instead I drank a lot of water and had an unsweetened iced tea with a slice of lemon. I felt like I needed to rehydrate after the gym and alcohol would NOT help with that.

Welp I'm off to bed because I'm starting to get droopy eyes. Sorry for the lack of photos but I'll try to make up for it tomorrow. BTW tomorrow is FRIDAY :) Until then...

Restaurant Week

Welcome to my first post on Blogger! I recently signed up to have a personal trainer at my gym and as a part of my program she suggested that I use an internet site to assist in counting calories. I had heard that SparkPeople was a good site so I decided to give it a try. Three days in and I'm feeling pretty good and feel like I'm learning a lot from the site. I've been reading food/healthy eating/nutrition blogs for months now and have wanted to try writing my own, if only as an outlet to talk about my experiences and to journal my path to a healthier lifestyle. SparkPeople has an extensive blog community but I feel like blogger has more of a format that I'm looking for. I started about 2 posts on SparkPeople which you can read here:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_summary.asp?id=JSKAQ7

So without further ado,here goes nothing...

Yesterday began with breakfast at my desk. Nothing too exciting until dinner, but I'll get to that.

Breakfast
Wegman's Green Tea Jasmine (in a styrofoam cup...gasp!)

Pre-cut Mango chunks

Oikos Greek Yogurt, Vanilla topped with Nature's Path Acai' Apple Granola w/Pomegranate (half of which I had to throw out

Total Calories= ~259


Lunch:

Turkey Breast on Wegman's Whole Wheat pita with sliced avocado and red pepper hots for some flava

Sugar snap peas, cherry tomatos, and baby carrots

Total calories= ~384

As a snack between lunch and dinner I had white peach from a local farm. It was sweet, juicy, and perfectly ripe. I wait all year for peach season so you will probably see peaches in my diet until I can't find good local ones anymore. I wanted to keep the snacking light because I knew what ahead of me for dinner. I decided to skip the gym for the night to try to conquer the leaning tower of laundry that has formed in the bedroom and so I would have enough time to get ready for dinner...

This week is Baltimore's Summer Restaurant Week!!! (http://www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com/)

I love restaurant week. It is a week in the summer when many of the restaurants in and around the Baltimore area offer a pre-fixed three-course dinner menu for only $35.10. It gives you a chance to sample of the great menue This year the BF and his roomie plus one picked Brewer's Art located on Charles Street in Mount Vernon. Brewer's Art is known for their house brews and their eclectic seasonal menu. The building is actually an old converted town home equipped with high ceilings,intricate molding, and boiserie wooden panelling on the walls. The guys tried to picture themselves living in the place as their home, smoking cigars in the study and drinking scotch, while I cook and do laundry! Gotta love em

Needless to say the setting was an experience in itself but onto the good stuff...beer! Brewer's Art is well known for their brews, one in particular is Ressurection, but since we currently have a few cans of this fine brew in the refrigerator I decided to go with Sublimation which was so delicious that I forgot to take a picture until it was almost gone.

Description from the menu:
This blonde abbey-style ale is named for the physical process of turning solids into spirits. A semi-sweet nectar with just a hint of herbal bitterness.

It was sweet, mildly hoppy, and perfect because I just learned about sublimation in my Chemistry class this Spring. It was very fitting.

To start I had the grilled local peaches (more peaches!) over top of a bed of butter lettuce, topped with pecans, and a tarragon vanilla-vinegarette

You'll have to excuse the dim lighting while I get over my fear of taking pictures with a flash in the middle of a restaurant.

For my entree I got the Pan Roasted Halibut accompanied by Tasso-corn macque choux (pronounced mock shoe), roasted potatoes, salsa verde, and tomato compote. On the side was a bunch of spicy arugula. After googling macque choux I learned that it is a traditional dish of southern Lousiana very similar to a ratatouille. It was quite delicious.

I also had a bite of the BF's Steak Frites. The garlic rosemary fries are to diiiiiie for. I would come back just for a plate of these babies.

Dessert was a duo of a chocolate torte and tres leches cake and guess what was on top...a peach slice!

I was one happy lady but pretty much gave up counting calories after this meal. Oh well. It's not the end of the world and it was totally worth it. Good thing I meet with the trainer tonight!