So Fresh and So Clean Clean

I am feeling super sluggish this morning. Last night was the first class back for the Fall and I am tiiiiiiRed. I am currently taking Organic Chemistry II in the evenings at a nearby community college while also working full time at a law firm. It makes for a super long day but I keep telling myself that "It'll all be worth it someday". I only had about 4 weeks of a break this summer and I was so not ready to go back yet. Class runs from 7:30PM-10:30PM and my professor likes to give us our money's worth and teach up until the last second possible so I don't end up getting home until after 11:00. Since class is so late and I don't have much time to work on the blog between work and class. I'll probably be posting meals the day after especially on the days that I have class and lab. I'm sure I'll figure out a schedule and get in to a groove once the semester and the work really starts.

Breakfast in the office consisted of the other half of my muffin from the day before

 The last South Mountain Creamery yogurt that we got from the Farmer's Market a couple weeks back...

and a banana for some texture. I mashed up half of it and mixed it in and sliced up the other half and put it on top along with the pumpkin muffin crumbles.

Lunch was a combination of whatever I had in my desk and fridge.

Organic Marathon Bread from Wegmans

White nectarine

almonds

Roasted Garlic Hummus

baby carrot snack pack

I've never had white nectarines before but I saw them and decided to give them a go. They were very sweet, almost like a pear but with a mild tang of a nectarine or peach. I was worried that it wasn't going to be enough food but it was actually quite filling which I think I can attribute to the bread. The marathon bread is amazing and the ingredient list looked pretty good. It's soft and chewy and the smell is almost as good as the taste. I highly highly recommend trying it if you are close to a Wegmans. Soooo good.

Ingredients:

Water, Organic Unbleached Unbromated Flour, Flaxseed, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seed, Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Stoneground Whole Rye Flour. Contains 2% or less of the following: Yeast, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Cracked Rye, Organic Wheat Gluten, Organic Carrots, Salt, Organic Malted Barley Flour, Organic Soy Grits, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Honey, Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Apple Dices, Organic Banana Chips, Organic Sugar, Guar Gum.


I didn't take any pictures of dinner because it was just the leftovers from the Cajun Shrimp Stir-Fry. It was purdy good even for leftovers. I'm usually Terrible with eating leftovers but I've gotten so much better. I started to think about how much food I was throwing away and about how many people are starving in the world. It put things into perspective for me and really motivates me to eat what is in the house. Plus my wallet appreciates me not running to the store every day for more food.

Since class didn't start until 7:30 I had just enough time to give the pup a bath. She's been stratching like crazy so I decided to give her a good scrubbing with the flea and tick shampoo even though I couldn't actually find a single flea on her. As you can see she is quite the princess and is not a fan of getting wet.

Get me outta here

OH NOOOO

ALL CLEAN!

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?