A Few Nummy Meals

Hi lovies- hope those of you who attended the Healthy Living Summit have safely returned home.  Congratulations again, ladies on an amazing job well done!

I haven’t been in the mood to document every morself that has been going in my mouth recently, but I thought I’d give you some of my typical eats of late:

Omelettes on the weekends

Snack of dry roasted edamame, raw goat cheese, carrots, and mustard (plus many, many more handfuls of edamame- yum)

String cheeses with fruit for snacks

Last night's dinner- salad with a little bley cheese dressing, <1/2 of an avocado, delicious roasted salmon

I marinated the salmon in a mixture of every condiment in my fridge and let it sit in my fridge all afternoon. Twas delicious.

Today's lunch- whole wheat roll up with lite Laughing Cow, spinach, tomato, 1/5 block of tofu, a tablespoon or two of hummus, and lemon pepper, and a strawberry Chobani

35 grams of protein in this lunch!

And a shot of Barney Butter for dessert, just cuz

That’s all the update I have right now-  I am trying to get through a very busy couple days at work until 4pm on Wednesday when we leave for Newport   Hope you guys are having a good beginning to the week!

GLUED to my Computer

Hi!! I am so sorry I have been away for so long.  So unlike me.  It’s been a busy week, and to be totally honest, I am still getting used to upping the protein in my diet, so I’ve been slowly adjusting to not being a complete CARB-FACE.  But more importantly, the Healthy Living Summit is this weekend and I am totally glued to my computer.  I swear, it’s like watching the Oscars or something.  Unsurprisingly, the fashion is what has peaked my interest the most!  Please indulge me as I give my self-important opinions on what has inspired and pleased me:

LBD perfection

First of all, the best-dressed sisters award goes to Meghann and Kelly.  Fo sho.  You guys know I am a sucker for LBDs, and when they are done right, I absolutely drool.  Meghann’s dress totally did me in- the squared-off halter neckline is one of my very favorites, and is incredibly flattering to her beautiful upper body, and I love the way just a simple knotted belt turns a blousy dress into a beautiful silhouette.  And Kelly?  Fo sho- her dress is a classic Anna favorite- structured, tapered, belted.  If you work hard for great hips and thighs, you show them off in the classiest way possible.  And both girls chose to wear peeptoes, which, in my opinion, are a woman’s best friend second only to Spanx.  Stunning, ladies.

Simply Fabulous

Throughout the weekend, I have been particularly impressed with Tina’s amazing ability to look totally pulled-together yet totally laid back.  She dresses modestly but in well-fitting clothes that totally show off her hard-earned figure.  She looks totally appropriate yet unstuffy at all times- which, imho, is not so easy to do!  Fitted tees in solid colors, straight skirts, flattering necklines and simple cardigans are the foundations of this look, and she keeps it cool and classic with accessories like Rainbows or a single strand of beads.  Very impressive.

Striking to the umpteenth power

Heather has totally blown me away with her gorgeous red hair.  It is thick, shiny, and healthy and her haircut frames her classic features beautifully.  I also want to commend her on Thursday night’s blouse- I think fair redheads in bright pink is one of the very very best combinations, and she blew me away with that one.  Well done!

Color me fantastic

I will be the first to admit that I’m not particularly good at incorporating color into my wardrobe- more often that not, I’m just in black.  But you will never see Kath in basic black and grey- this girl knows how to color combine!  Whether she juxtaposes colors right next to each other, like this salmon pink shirt with lavander cardigan, or if she adds an unexpected punch of color in an accessory, she knows how to show the world she ain’t no boring wallflower.  I should have known she would have a keen eye for color- I mean seriously, look at her house and her blog!

I know where my loyalties lie

And of course I couldn’t help but feel extremely happy when Jenna perfectly rocked the day dress for the girls’  7 course lunch.  I will go all summer without wearing pants once, and day dresses are my answer to practically everything.  Jenna pulled it off effortlessly in her adorable grey and yellow sundress that she ever-so-chicly tossed a fuss-free denimn jacket over.  I’m a sucker for Jenna and her love of dresses.

Rock it girl

Caitlin blew me away with her choice of blouse for today.  I am crrrraazzzy about ruffles in all forms, and Caitlin looks incredibly fabulous in them.  This blouse is professional and classic, but the ruffles add femininity and fun.  Seriously, how could you not want to get to know someone wearing such a fun and pretty shirt?

Loving everything about the Summit, ladies.  I so wish I could have been there, but am looking forward to the next one!  Back to watching it LIVE….

Staying on Track

Hi!  Humpday already.  Every time I get sad about being in a stuffy office, I realize I will be here in 8 days and I get so happy:

Uh-mazing.  Now to get my head out of the clothes and tell you what I’ve been munching on- I had a lovely and restful evening last night that began with some watermelon and perfectly ripe strawberries- the perfect way to cool down after a hot walk:

I may or may not have dipped some in Truvia

Yes, I love the white parts. So crunchy.

I relaxed for a while and watched about 15 minutes of Mario Batali’s biography on the Food Network before Mike came home and the Yankees beat out Mario.  I was originally planning on having something totally simple, like a salad or fruit and yogurt, but seeing him create beautiful dishes inspired me to get a little creative.  So I sauteed some onions and garlic in a tsp. of olive oil, then I added half of a baked potato left over from Sunday night, then some frozen shrimp that I thawe din the sink.  For seasonings, I added lemon pepper, lemon juice, and capers.  After the potatoe pieces browned and the shrimp was cooked, I added a few handfuls of organic spinach and waited for it to wilt. 

I had a premade green salad in a giant tupperware that I haven’t eaten yet, so I put half the salad in a dish and spooned half of the shrimp mixture on top of it, and saved the reamining salad and shrimp combo in the tupperware for today’s lunch.  I then added some extra s and p, a drizzle of evoo, some perfectly ripe chopped tomatoes, and 1/4 of an avocado and mixed that shizz up.

Shrimp perfection

Closer

Closer

Result?  Perfection!  Everything mixed together perfectly and it was a savory, comforting, healthy, perfect meal.  I literally savored every bite.

I also had a cople of slices of organic deli turkey for dessert because that’s how I roll.

This morning’s GM still looksugly and contains the usual suspects:

3c. spinach, 1/2c. almond milk, 1/2 frozen banana, truvia, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder

Twas nummy.  For some reason, my stomach was extra empty this morning, so I had two separate snacks that kept the frumbles at bay:

A shot of Barney Butter. Yes- I just ate it plain straight from the packet. It's TOTALLY like taking a shot minus the puking part.

String cheese

My tummy is still quite hungry so I am going to break for leftovers from last night.  I have a late night tonight, so you prob won’t hear back from me until tomorrow, so have a perfect afternoon!

Protein Face

Loves- happy Tuesday.  Tomorrow is humpday, so we are practically done, right?   My week is going wonderfully- lots of good things are happening.

1.  Leaving for Newport a week from tomorrow

2.  Feeling productive and energetic at work

3.  Had a fabulous weekend with my friends and lovaa

4. The weather is less humid than it was yesterday.

Plus, I have been eating some faaabuuloussnesss.  Let’s start on Monday morning, shall we?

GM

As always, I apologize for my ugly looking green monsters.  They look awful, but I assure you, they are divine tasting.  Today I had 1/2 a banana, a full scoop of protein powder, 1/2c. almond milk, 3 c. spinach, and a ton of ice.

That protein powder scoop had 20 g of protein in it, and held me over for over 3 hours until it was snack time.

Organic grapes, string cheese

I decided to add some protein/fat to my morning snack to keep me focused and happy until lunch.  Lunch yesterday was delish:

I like rap music and sandwiches

This was a whole wheat rollup with 2 oz. tuna, a slice of rice cheese, mustard, relish, spinach, and tomato.  It rocked.

Completed with some watermelon and cottage cheese.

This meal had 38 grams of protein in it.  Yowza!  It did a pretty good job holding me over, but I think was lacking a little in the fat department, bc I got hungs a little earlier than normal and snacked on a new product I got at Costco:

Seapoint Farms Lightly Salted Dry Roasted Edamame

These dry roasted edamame are a great alternative to other nuts and are full of protein!  I had half a cup.  I know some of y’all aren’t into the soy thing, but I don’t have tons every day, so I am just not worrying about it.

I had a doctor appointment and managed to munch on some celery and an unpictured apple during transport.

Unpictured- apple

Yick.  I had to walk a mile and a half uphill to get to the Metro from work at 3:30 in the afternoon to get to this appointment.  DC is built on top of a swamp, so our summers are not just hot, they are humid and gross like you wouldn’t believe.  I was a mess by the time I got to the metro, which may have contributed to my hunger.

Some of our girlfriends were unable to make it out with us on Saturday to celebrate Veronika’s birthday, so we had an auxilary, non-alcoholic celebration at Raku last night.  I was starving by the time I got to my apartment and changed into something not drenched in sweat, so I munched on another apple on my walk to the restaurant to keep me from ordering a million sushi rolls.  It worked.  I got a side seaweed salad

Salty, sweet, slimy

And also a tuna avocado roll

I also ate everyone's pickled ginger. Yummy!

Everything was delicious.  This is one of V’s favorite restaurants, and she grew up in Singapore, so she knows her Asian food.  There was, of course, cake:

Sorry about the soy sauce in the way

We each had a couple of bites.  It was so nummy I could have had a whole slice and may or may not have influenced me today…more on that in a minute.

Loves to V.  I got home and chatted with Mike for a while and realized I was still quite hungry- truthfully, the rolls at Raku are teeny tiny and there was only about 1/2c. salad, so that wasn’t too much food.  I decided to go for some protein and fat to fill me up.

Blueberry Chobani and a string cheese

I’ve learned that going to bed hungry is always a vrey bad idea- I either stay awake because of it, or I am so hungry the next day that I feel miserable.  This snack worked wonders.  Another evening of chugging water continued, since clearly the seaweed and sushi were quite salty, but I slept very well.

This morning, I had the same GM as yesterday:

Bad picture, good drink

It is less humid today, but it felt wonderful to drink this ice cold smoothie while embarking on my three mile, uphill walk to work which invariably ends in one sweaty Anna.

I wanted to show you how I stay cool- matte jersey. I got this sucker at TJ Maxx for 20 bucks, and I wear it constantly (with tights and a turtleneck in the winter, too!). I feel so bad that I can walk around at work in something that is as cool as being naked and the poor men are stuck wearing ties. Girlpower.

I had a productive morning at work, and took a break for the same snack as yesterday:

Grapes, string cheese, bev

That bev is a 10 calorie vitamin water in the Engergy flavor, which contains a little caffeiene.  In this weather, I simply can’t stomach hot green tea and this is a delicious replacement pick-me-up.  No, I will not try to just quit caffeine all together.  Uh-UH.

Lunch was, unfortunately, unphotographed.  I ate outside with a coworker and didn’t have a chance!  Many apologies.  I had a wrap made with a whole wheat roll up, a lite Laughing Cow, 3 slices of organic turkey breast, spin, tomato, and mustard served along a peach Chobani.  Nummers.

Part 1 of my afternoon snack was celery sticks with salt and 2 90-calorie packs of Barney Butter.

Nut butters are very important in life, don't you think?

The crunch and creaminess made a great combo but I was feeling a little empty afterward.  And I was craving chocolate (probably due to having a wee bit of cake last night).  So I did this:

Droooolll

Seriously, dark chocolate is heaven.  I ate the whole thing, which is 2 servings, and don’t feel bad in the least.  I know some of you are great at having a little piece  each day, but I am not a very moderate person.  I would much rather have a big, satisfying amount once in a blue moon and totally relish the experience.  And relish I did.  PS- this sucker has 16 grams of fiber in the bar.

As you can see, I have really been protein-loading the last few days, and I am feleing much better. I’m less bloated and not nearly as miserably hungry.  Booyah.

All right lovers, tonight’s plans involve some seafood and beginning to pack for Newport.  Hope your Tuesdays are going well!

Hitting the Spot

Lovers!  Hope your weekends have been fantastic.  I have tons of things to blab about so this post is all over the place.  Please excuse the intensity of it all.

Last I left you, I had the most outrageous protein sundae of my life that turned into my dinner.  It kept me full all night long!  Before I left to go out with my girlfriends for Veronika’s birthday, I had some juicy watermelon.

Vodkaless melon

Mike was out at Hooters for the entire afternoon and evening for the Yankees game and UFC (he said he had wings, then fries, then mozzerella sticks!) with one his buddies whose birthday it was, so I was left to be ridiculous while getting ready on my own.  You best believe the rap music was blastin and I was dancing my way through the hair and makeup process.

Classic Anna last night in black minidress and silly stilettos

It was so friggin humid last night that I couldn’t wear any makeup on my face for fear it would slide off and I put my hair in a headband cause the locks were goin’ haywire.

Anna's approach to swamp weather

We had a blasty last night!  We spent most of it at this incredibly fabulous new ultralounge called The Spot, which is near my house on 18th St.  I would post the website, but there isn’t one and this is literally the only thing I could find online about it.  The Spot has been open for only two months and I am already absolutely in love with it.  For starters, the tuxedo-clad door and security men are incredibly friendly and welcoming.  We didn’t pay a cover, and even though the dress code doesn’t allow flip flops, they allowed one of my friends in who was wearing them.  Although it has the typical decor of a lounge with table services behind velvet ropes, blue mood lighting, and a VIP section, it has these amazing murals on the wall that just scream LBD to me!

Can you get any more fabulous?  Oh wait, you can.  The service is amazing.  There are tons of men in suits cleaning up any spilled messes and keeping the sleek bar impeccably shiny and dry.  Even better, the bartenders are all pretty girls wearing…

Hot pink corsets

Oh yes

You’d think pretty girls with artifically sucked-in 18-inch waists would be total bitches since one admitted to me they couldn’t breathe, but no.  The bartenders could not have been more attentive or more welcoming.  The DJ was awesome and by midnight the place was absolutely bumping.

Yes, I was totally being that girl taking a picture of the crowd.

Whatever, one fabulous thing about being with your girlfriends is you ain't got no one to impress.

Divine.  I lerved it.  We, of course had a great time dancing and enjoying some cocktails.

Happy birthday V!

Apparently this means something really vulgur but I forget what that is.

It was a late night, but totally worth it.  I woke up early anyway and enjoyed brunch with my love.

Omelette with 2 eggs and 1 egg white, a little goat cheese and sauteed veggies, and a bagel half with cc and half with Smart Balance. Plus coffee which I didn't drink.

I was starving by the time breakfast tolled around cause I hadn’t eaten since 5:30pm the day before and was up until 3:00am galavanting around Dupont Circle, so I was really excited for this meal!  Unfortunately, I totally wasn’t feeling it.  I normally put ketchup on my omelette, but didn’t want anything sweet, so I abandoned.  And the goat cheese was awful in the omelette- it melted into a kind of milky mess that just coated my veggies!  I also wasn’t feeling the coffee, which is weird because I LOVE my weekend coffee, especially after a late night.  And this is the scariest part- I didn’t enjoy my bagel that much!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m just as confused as you are.  I wasn’t hung over, and I’m not sick.  Weird!!!  I still ate the entire meal anyway because I was so hungry.

I snacked on some fabby watermelon afterwards to make up for it.

Then, I did something even better than going to a swanky club with bartenders in skimpy clothes- Veronika took me to Costco!!!!!!!  The Costco for DC is in Virginia and I don’t have a car, so there is really no convenient way for me to become a member, unfortunately.  I was so excited.

I got dressed in my Sunday finest for Veronika to prepare for the afternoon shenanigans.

So I posted this picture to share with you my very favorite shopping buddies, Envirosax, which my lovely mother purchased for me when I first moved from the burbs into DC.  They are awesome- totally durable and incredibly portable in handy.  Plus, they hold so incredibly much.

I got a sh**load of stuff at Costco for so friggin’ cheap.  OMG it was fabulous.  I die.  I’ll share it with you as the week continues!  Before heading out for some more afternoon errands, I made myself a little late looonchie.

A proteinous wrap and strawberry Chobani.

This lunch rocked my face off.  For starters, my wrap was bomb.  I used a whole wheat roll up I got at Costco by Damascus Bakery, and filled it with a lite Laughing Cow, then lots of organic spinach, then some hummus, then lemon pepper and 1/5 block tofu crumbled.

Holy yum

36 grams of protein in this lunch.  Killer!! It fueled me through the entire afternoon without any hunger pangs whatsoever.  It made me feel absolutely fabulous.

Dinner may shock some of you, but I’m over it.  Bitch gotta do what bitch gotta do, ya know?  I ate steak.  I got a gorgeous grass-fed flank steak at Safeway today and marinated it in teriyaki sauce all afternoon.  Then I flash grilled it and served it (on a bed of lettuce for me) with grilled onions (goat cheese, too on Mike’s), baked potatoes with Smart Balance, and steamed broccoli sprinkled with lemon pepper.

I eventually added some A1 and it kicked everythin' into high gear nomminess.

What a frickin’ difference protein loading has made in my life already.  I ate that entire plate and was totally 100% satisfied.  Up until a couple of days ago, I couldn’t IMAGINE only consuming half a potato or feeling good without crunching my way through a trough of raw vegetables.  And to me, this was way, way more fun to eat.

Satiety!!!

Plus, you know M loved it when his woman cooked him up a big ol’ steak and topped it with grilled onions and creamy goat cheese.  I’ve been such a happy Suzie Homemaker this weekend- Mike got me a powerful new vacuum at Tar-jay yesterday which made cleaning an absolute blast, and I got this adorable throw pillow at Marshall’s to replace a crappy one for our bed:

Is it pathetic that Marshall's is my very favorite store?

The bees are my favorite part- how very Provence.  Ok, this girl is about to wash off the day’s cleaning and shopping grime and get get herself into bed.  I have a feeling this is going to be a productive, positive, fabulous week and I want to be well-rested for all the goodness.

Oh yes, one more thing!!!!  So I have mentioned that I am totally 100% burned out at work.  I love, love, loved my vacation to Rome, but M and I only took a total of 2 days off of work for the adventure!  We decided we want to get away for a long weekend for a couple of weeks and found supercheap plane tickets (love you Southwest!) to Providence, so we figured we’d spend a long weekend in Newport, RI.  Do any of your guys live there/summer there/know of any good places to go/stay/see/eat/drink/swim?  We would love any recommendations you might have!!

Fun with Friends, Fiance, and Fish

Hello hello and happy weekend.  I hope you have done something glorious today, whether it involved just staying in bed for no reason, eating a truckdriver breakfast to nurse a hangover, or enjoying this gorgeous August weather, we all deserve some FUN!

My weekend has heretofore been impeccable!  Yesterday I snacked on a TJ’s banana chocolate chip protein muffin with a 90 calorie pack of Barney Butter for my afternoon pick me up. 

I don't even have to say how yum it was. You guys know.

The weather was gorgy and I was stoked for my fabulous dinner date with:  Fitz and Quinn!  It was so glorious to finally get together- Quinn and I had met a couple times before (last year we even lived down the street from each other in northern Georgetown!), but neither of us had ever physically met Fitz yet, and it was glorious.  It was so weird because rather than shake her hand, I just dove in and gave her a huge hug- she ain’t no new friend, we’ve been buddies for over a year!

Friends = Bliss

I had such an amazing time.  We decided to meet at Agraria, which is on the Georgetown waterfront and totally perfect for a healthy food blogger meetup; especially for Quinn, who recently saw Food, Inc., and was definitely moved by it.  Agraria’s mission is (from their website) is ” [to serve] only the highest quality products sourced through sustainable agriculture from family farmers, and the farmers of the sea.  Our chefs continuously seek out local and regional partnerships with family producers and artisan purveyors to ensure fresh, unprocessed foods and high quality ingredients in respect of the environment and the earth.”

They are big on promoting their message, as evidenced by the ethereal lettering on the walls.

The interior is evocative of farm fields with its clean lines, spacious and airy setup, warm wood, a natural rock wall, and earth tones.

The space is warm and inviting, yet simple and modern.

Of course, since the weather was so gorgeous and the best part of dining on the waterfront is the fabulous view, we chose to sit outside.  The Georgetown waterfront dining area features a cluster of (expensive) fine restaurants right on the Potomac River with encircling a promenade with effervescent fountains that anchoring it.  Diners at these upscale restaurants not only get a beautiful view of the Potomac, the Kennedy Center, the Washington Memorial, and other DC sights, but the circular setup of the restaurants around the fountains and public walkway allows for excellent people watching.

The stunning view from our table, although a Google image.

View of the promenade from the Potomac (again, not mine).

We all started off with a fabulous Italian Pinot Grigio.  Fitz chose this one, and I totally trusted her because she took a wine-tasting course in college!

It was crisp and acidic and totally refreshing.

We all got seafood, and I chose to have the swordfish.  Swordfish is very close to my heart, as I grew up in Southeastern Connecticut (ps- so did Fitz!).  Every week I would accompany my mother to the fish market and we would purchase swordfish that had been caught that morning.  We were so spoiled!

I ordered mine prepared in the "simple" fashion with lemon, salt, and pepper. It is sitting on a bed of delicious spinach and red peppers.

I secretly hoped the fish was from New England, and I asked the waiter, who said it was from Hawaii.  Boo.  The other fish of the day were other far away places- the salmon being from Scotland!  Although I am thrilled that everything they serve is responsibly raised and produced, I wish some of the fish could be a little more local.  Unfortunately, I could definitely tell that this swordfish was not the best of the best.  Swordfish is normally particularly hearty, fatty, and meaty, and my fish was, as Fitz put it “watery,” flimsy, and a little too soft.

They also put a lovely dab of pesto atop the fillet.

Despite the fish not being top quality, it was beautifully prepared.  We each shared bites of one another’s fish, and Quinn’s tuna was definitely the best- firm, meaty, and beautiful. 

Another weird aspect- the fish was typically served with the vegetable of the day and -get this- Rice-a-Roni.  I ordered double veggies because I wanted to eat my weight in bread, but the girls both got the rice, and it was legit Rice-a- Roni.  Now I thought this was supposed to be an ironic name for a sophisticated or at least gourmet rice rish, but no, it seriouslylooked like the boxed stuff you can buy for a dollar at Giant.  I assumed this was in an attempt to pay homage to middle America, since the restaurant is run by the North Dakota Farmers’ Union, but still.  Weird.

I then had a truly superb Charlottesville rose- a medium-bodied dream with a smooth, buttery finish.

I of course, asked for bread.

Duh.

It was chewy and delicious, and the butter was clearly fresh.

Obvious I had a sh**load.

We laughed and chatted it up for three whole hours.  These girls are absolutely amazing!  I feel so lucky to live in a city where I can meet people through the blog, and even luckier that I have such beautiful, wonderful women as my friends.  Quinn is just as sweet as be, and Fitz is so full-of life.  We were able to chat like we had known each other for years- uh-mazing.

Unfortunately, I had a weird night because my mouth was totally totally dry after dinner and until the next morning.  I was drinking water like crazy.  Perhaps my dish was even saltier than I realized?

My morning was delightful.  I enjoyed just lying in bed and feeling amazing for while, then had a proper proteinous breakfast of a 2 egg omelette filled with steamed spinach, a slice of toasted Alvarado St. Bakery bread, and a soy sausage.  Along with coffee with Truvia and almond milk to really make the brekkie complete.

Oh yeah, and fake butter spray on my toast. Yyyyyeeesss

I also enjoyed reading a postcard that one of my sorority sisters sent me from her vacation with her family.

Only a friend of mine....

Check out the hilarious 80’s picture with some dorky people having a pleasant and proper discussion.

I love this biotch.

I also enjoyed perusing through some silly wedding accessory catalogues.  I think I am going about this whole wedding thing wrong, now that I think about it.  I mean, who needs a multi-course dinner, and upright base, and dancing in front of the New York City skyline when you could have 

"Bride" and "Groom" polyester chairbacks

Bubble containers shaped like cowboy boots

Or enough glow jewelery to fully accessorize every guest? I mean, look at how happy the folks in this picture are!

Come to think of it, I think the superclassy tuxedos that my dad got the dogs at the dollar store would fit in just perfectly….

Stylin...

Sexy.

Ok, maybe not.  I have never seen them as angry as they were the day we put the tuxes on them and I just can’t bear the guilt.

Right.  After a leisurely morning, Mike and I set out to run some errands and then rewarded ourselves with a delicious lunch at Lauriol Plaza, which is literally 100 feet from our house.  Lauriol’s must be the hottest summer place for both food and drinks, because even on weekdays, there is normally a 2hr wait to have dinner or to get a table for drinks.  It has a chic interior, but the real charm of the restaurant is the rootop dining area and the sidewalk seating.  Absolutely perfect for people-watching on busy 18th Street, right between the gayborhood of Dupont and Adams Morgan, which is more of a “hispter” neighborhood. 

They are best known for their amazing frozen margaritas. Had it been evening, we totally would have indulged.

Of course, we started off with some fabulous chips and salsa.  I seem to have been losing my taste for all things spicy, so I mainly just stuck to chips.  They were to die for, of course.

Look at that handsome hand.

I was thinking about getting shrimp fajitas, but it was so hot I knew I needed something cool and crunchy.  So I got the Brazil salad without olives and with salmon instead of chicken- a bed of mixed greens with cucumber, zucchini, tomato, parsley, hearts of palm, and avocado slices, with their wonderful balsamic vinagrette on the side.

Hearts of palm are divine, aren't they?

Such a perfect summer meal.

Everything was absolutely fabulous- the veggies were abundant and fresh, and the salmon was cooked perfectly.  My only gripe is that they didn’t allow substitutions on the salad, and even though I ommitted the chicken in the salad, we had to pay 6 extra dollars for the salmon!!  Whatever, it was a lovely Saturday treat.

I had an strenuous afternoon of napping.  I am going out tonight, and I know that the way I fare best on later nights is with a nap in the afternoon, and I loved every second.  I worked up an appetite in my slumber, and made a snack that some of you might hate me for, but I hope more will love me for:

A Chocolate Peanut Butter Sundae

What I really wanted was a lovely bowl of carbs, but I remembered my commitment to protein and beefed it up majorly until it basically turned into a meal.  The base was 1/5 block of tofu blended with half of a banana and a 1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder, to make a pudding.  Then I crumbled a TJ’s banana chocolate protein muffin atop the pudding, and swirled on a packet of Justin’s organic.  This killer weighs in at 500 calories, 33 grams of protein, and 24 grams of heralthy fat.  Yowza.

Wow.

This is rich, and may not be an every day treat, but dang was it good.  Now I am relaxing in my jammies, catching up on all of your blogs while Mike is at Hooters (as per usual) celebrating a friend’s birthday.  Eventually I will start drinking Diet Coke and beautifying myself for a night on the town to celebrate Veronika’s birthday.  Enjoy your night lovies!

Wishing it Were a Beach Day

Wishing...

Uh- the weather outside is so incredibly gorgeous- not humid, but sunny and warm.  My favorite kind of weather.  I so wish I were donning this, drinking a margarita, and squishing sand between my toes.  I swear.

The truth is, after my lunch break, I have a whole afternoon of mindless work to do before bursting out of the doors like school’s our for summer.

Seriously.

Oh yeah, food.  So when I left you last, I had indulged in a very proteinous lunch which did a good job of satiating me.  I had a doctor’s appointment later that afternoon that I arrived early too (about 4:00) and I started getting hungry, so I went to the food area at the hospital.  My natural inclination would be to buy a granola bar and a piece of fruit, but I thought better of it, knowing my need for protein far outweighs my enjoyment of sweets.  So I purchased a 6-inch sub on whole wheat with turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard.  My nutritionist’s words exactly were “eat  a big pm snack, like a sandwich.”

Done

I looked up the calories on my sammie, and discovered they were about the same had I gotten with the granola bar and fruit.  I am sure, however, that this sandwich did much better things to my body!

Dinner was midly unusual in the spirit of my craving for vegetables.  I peeled into ribbons cucumber, carrots, onions, and jicama, and added broc slaw and tomatoes, then mixed it with some jarred sindried tomato pesto and lemon juice and called it pasta.  For extra protein, I added a can of kidney beans and divided the salad into two portions.

Yes, pasta.

Ok, it wasn’t exactly pasta but it did taste good.

What's the opposite of porn? That's what this photograph is.

Served with, of course, 2 slices sprouted barley bread from Alvarado St. Bakery and some Smart Balance.

I love A St. bread- I think it's softer than Ezekiel

I followed the evening with several handfulls of these while watching the Family Channel.

Fats!

And also had some unpictured grapes.  I went to bed full and happy.  Definitely more calories than I normally consume during a day thanks to those nuts, but it was nice to feel like I was in control all day.  This morning I woke up ready for my gm, which I switched up again:

Ew. What a terribly unappetizing photo. I AM sorry.

I forgot to freeze a banana last night for this little gem, so I decided to switch it up a little and added frozen strawberries in lieu of a naner.  Also, the usual suspects of protein powder (a full scoop!), tons of spinach, ans unsweetened Almond Breeze.  I do think frozen bananas are the best thing ever to happen to smoothies, but frozen strawberries do make s nice sibstitute.

Snacks this morning included fruit:

Organic grapes

Watermelon, unflatteringly photographed on a similar-colored plate

I was thrilled to feel somewhat calm until lunchtime, which consisted of leftover salad from last night and a banana with a packet of Justn’s organic PB. 

Boring desk shot

The salad was still nom second time around, but guess which part of the lunch was my favorite? 

All right bloggies, just a few more hours until the weekend.  Mine will be relatively low-key compared to last week’s inappropriateness, but I am still excited to relax and hang iwth the future hubs.  Also, I have a fun idnner with some fabulous lay-dies tonight- booyah.  Happy Friday!

Feeling Fine

Hi fabbies!  Uh, sorry I didn’t write yesterday.  Truthfully, I was feeling MAJORLY down in the dump-as about my insatiable hunger.  It was annoying, scary, and awful.  Luckily today, I think I finally have it all covered.  Let’s backtrack to Tuesday night:  I literally ran home as fast as my legs could carry me and made dinner before I thought I was going to cry:

I know "rich salad" is kind of an oxymoron, but this def. is one!

This baby has tons of veggies and is topped with a half a block of tempeh (I normally use 1/4 but I knew that wouldn’t cut it) that I grilled up in a skillet and some real bleu cheese dressing!!!! Aaaaaaaaah, so good.

Steamy

Followed by a bowl of brown rice mixed with Smart Balance.  Finally, finally, finally I wasn’t hungry anymore!!!

Because I ate dinner so early that night (6:30!!!!) I was rarin’ to go for breakfast yesterday morning.  I added in extra protein and fat in hopes of some form of satiety.

1 Wheetabix biscuit, 1 banana, 3 oz. Oikos, 1 packet Justin's PB

Unfortunately, it didn’t help.  That was eaten at 6:30, and again, by 8:30 I was miserable. 

This watermelon snack didn't help much.

I finally broke down and called my nutritionist, who I’ll be seeing next week.  She encouraged me to fuel myself as neccessary, because the longer you go hungry, the more it will effect you.  This is true- if I don’t eat enough one day, I am miserable the next day.  Always.  Finally, lunch came around and I dove into this:

Salad with goat cheese, hummus, lite parm dressing

And a Clif Bar

Still totally miserable.  I followed my therapists advice and had a second lunch an hour later, which was a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and swiss cheese on a baguette that I bought at the museum shop.  I know it sounds weird to have so much food in a few hours, but my nutritionist assured me that the reason I kept on getting hungry was becasue I was not really getting full.  I was so busy, I didn’t have time to snap the turkey sandwich!

It was heavenly.  I will be recreating it SOON.

The best part is, I finally, finally felt better!!!!  I could concentrate at least moderately.  The evening ended with another appointment that didn’t get Mike and I home until 8:30, at which point we were both starvin’ marvins.  I made myself a quick and perfect dinner:

Some leftover veggie soup from my freezer, sprouted barley bread with Smart Balance

Unpictured- a second slice of bread with SB and a handful of peanuts.  Guess what?  I felt fantastic!

This morning, I went back to my green smoothie but changed it up a little- 3/4c. almond milk, frozen banana, 2 handfuls spinach, and a whole (rather than half) scoop of protein powder.

Drank (drunk?) while walking

Luckily, those 22 grams of protein in the powder helped me feel a little more satisfied this morning, until I had 2 pre-planned snacks:

Watermelon

A hunk of raw cheese from WF

Lunch continued with the prtotein theme:

Boca burger with a slice of melted rice cheese, carrot disks, Oikos with a Justin's PB packet and a Wheetabix biscuit.

39 grams of protein in that meal.  My god. 

Lessons Learned this Week:

1.  At least for now, you can see that I am focusing on protein and fat until my appetite normalizes. 

2.  I have also realized that perhaps eating salad for 2 meals a day may not be right for me- the voluminous nature of the salad confuses my stomach, I think.  After all, veggie salads have tone of bulkf for not a ton of calories and I think that can mess with one’s satiety.  Therefore, I am putting a moratorium on salads for both lunch and dinner, and instead I will have more fun with my less crunchy friends, like cheese, Boca Burgers, and pb.

3.  My mood swings and fatigue are not normal.  Get tested for insulin resistance.  Is anyone familiar with this condition?

Sorry I don’t have too much to say- it’s a busy day!   Almost the weeeekend! xoxo

Fighting with my Tummy

Gorgies- thanks so much for your sweet comments about my hot man!  He is da bomb dot com in every sense of the word.  Hows the week progressing?  Mine’s ok.  I am definitely crossing some stuff off of my to-do list so that makes me happy. 

Now time for a little whining- my tummy is totally, 100% out of control!  Ok, so remember how I ate like a man all weekend?  I figured that was just a combination of the booze, dancing, and lack of sleep that turned me into a ravenous wolf.

So I thought…

Well, not entirely.  Yesterday my appetite was so…moderate, I ate like, half of what I normally do in a day and felt fine!  My camera ate 2 of my pictures, so I’ll show you what I had for breakfast via recycling:

1/2c. oat bran cooked in water with 1 banana and a 90 calorie pack of Barney Butter

Lunch was so light you wouldn’t believe it, but I wasn’t starving:

Boca burger with ketchup

Steamed asparagus with lemon pepper

Yeah, I know, right?  That’s like a quarter of what I normally eat.  My afternoon snack was some raw cheddar I got at Whole Foods which was to-die-for.

Yum

I munched on some unpictured watermelon while doing chores, and then had a faaaaabbbulous, raw-ish dinner. 

Every type of veggie in my fridge made into pasta with a peeler, and topped with a huge sccop of hummus, lemon pepper, lemon juice, a lil hot sauce, s and p.

Closeup of the goodness.

It tasted like a hummusy cole-slaw.  Part way through though, my mouth was on fire from the hot sauce, so I cooled it off by adding some nutritional yeast to the mix to turn it cheesy and fabulous.

Dessert was had.

Ezekiel bread with Smart Balance

And I slept like a baby.  Now I know that is definitely not enough food for one day, but I just wasn’t that hungry yesterday.  Today, on the other hand, was another story.  I knew I was going to be pretty hungry when I woke up in the am, so I decided against a green monster and soaked some oat bran in the fridge to make some heartier overnight oats.

1/2c. oat bean, 2/3c. almond milk, 3 oz. Oikos, cinnamon, banana

It was oddly less delicious than the last time I remember having it- somehow it was too sweet?  Anyway, this breakfast sat in my tummy like a brick for two hours, and then BOOM!!  I was running totally and completely on empty.  I barely made it through me emails at work before my stomach was rumbling.  So I dove into the snack I was planning for the afternoon because I knew I needed something with substance.

And we all know Larabars are quite substantial.

That lasted for maybe 2 hours, but during my 11:00 meeting, my stomach was growling.  WTF???? I was mad.  So I had lunch like half an hour earlier than normal. 

Have I mentioned that whenever I use the microwave in the storage room that no one ever goes into, I take the timie to do some ridiculous and fun stretches? Makes lunchtime so much more exciting!

Lunch was standard:

Monstrous salad with a chopped Boca Burger and parmesan dressing, nom Ezekiel English muffin.

Yes, Ezek English Muffins, I have decided, are my second favorite bread product, after New Jersey bagels of course.  Real bagels are unparalleled, but there is something so satisfying about those muffins’ chew!

I was hoping to save my blueberries for my afternoon snack, but no such luck.  I was still hungry.

Seriously?

Within three hours, my stomach was growling again and I could no longer concentrate.  So I went to the only source of food at my job- the museum shop, where I had a choice of candy, ice cream, chocolate bars, chips, or these:

Is it so hard to keep fruit or something even moderately healthy stocked? Seriously, people.

They made me ok, for like 15 minutes, but, like all processed/refined foods, in a minute, I was down for the count and ravenous again.  I couldn’t possibly eat another bit of pretzels and I wasn’t going to eat candy, and I was miserable.  So I did the only thing I could think of- we had a 2 liter bottle of Coke (regular) in our fridge leftover from an event, so I poured myself a small glass of that which helped mildly.

Mildly.

Grrr.  I hydrate, I exercise, I don’t eat crap- why does my stomach abuse me so?  Thoughts?  K, a little more work then I am going to run home and eat a serious dinner.  xoxoxo

Untitled… Because how else do you preface this kind of post?

Hi beauties! 

Before I say anything, my heart goes out to Meghann, who lost her precious angel of a puppy this weekend.  I can’t even begin to describe my heart breaking when I read about this- Abbie was Meghann’s best friend, and I just loved reading about her and seeing pictures of her adorable smile.  My puppy, Petey, is my very best friend as well, and I simply couldn’t imagine what I would do if I were to lose him.  Meghann, you are in my prayers constantly.  I am so sorry for your loss, but KNOW Abbie is in heaven loving you from afar.

Sorry I didn’t get a chance to blog yesterday- Mike came home from the airport at 2pm and I remained glued to his side until he left for work this morning.  My hottie was visiting his best friend who goes to business school at UNC.  They went to the Durham Bulls baseball game on Saturday and in the middle of the game, a backhoe just went on the field.

Hot

Note the, as Vin would put it, “missile” sized beer he is holding.  Despite having a totally epic, college-style weekend, I missed him so pathetically much that I spent the entire time between noon and two pm yesterday waiting very impatiently by the door for my love to return.

I don’t think I told you about how we met- the summer in between my freshman and sophomore years of college, my best guy friend, Josh took me to a party at Mike’s mother’s house.  Mike was going into his junior year at Notre Dame.  I had a boyfriend at the time, but the second I saw him, I was dumbfounded.  I am as loyal as a golden retriever, so I didn’t dare persue anything, but I  couldn’t help but tell everyone how hot I thought he was.  Apparently the feeling was mutual, or so Mike told Josh.  A year later, I had broken up with my college boyfriend and M and I were both home again for the summer.  He took me on our first date and it was absolutely amazing- dinner in the West Village, and then we drank Amaretto out of a paper bag while sitting in Washington Square Park.

Since we weren’t going to the same school, things sort of remained off and on for the next few years.  We always dated other people (particularly me- I ALWAYS had a boyfriend- I was such a serial monogamist!) but we stayed incredibly close and always visited each other wherever we were.  One time, Mike drove 10 hours from Notre Dame to see me at Dickinson, and I, on several occassions, took the GREYHOUND BUS  (ew) to see him at grad school at UVA!

Here we are my winter break of 2005- Mike was working for Ernst and Young in New York at the time.

Through everything, Mike was always amazing to me.  In January of 2006, I lost a very dear friend in a horrible acccident.  That night, Mike took me out, bought me beers, and listened to me sob, no questions asked.

When I graduated from college and moved to DC, Mike would drive down from New York to visit me all the time, and we knew this was the real deal.  A few months later, Mike got transferred to EY’s DC office (he has since gone into consulting) and signed on the apartment we live in today.

This is a picture of us the night he told me he was moving here.

That night, my roommate and I threw this completely epic party at our Arlington apartment, and had tons of people, including one of my exboyfriends.  Idiot got completely wasted and started throwing up/crying in the bathroom because he was so upset about M and me.  You know what Mike did?  He took care of the loser, and even got puked on.  My man is amazing.

Love, July 2008

Mike has seen me through so much.  He even leaves his fancy job that he is very dedicated to early every Wednesday to go all the way up to Bumble**** Maryland to have family therapy with me to help me with my recovery.  He is constantly encouraging, supportive, and amazing.

My entire life, I have always valued intelligence over looks in gentlemen, and to this day, I can’t believe God gave me such a perfect, studly package. 

Drool

Thanks for letting me gush.  I can’t believe I’m marrying this stud in just 6 months!!!

So I bet you’re wondering what ended up happening to me on Saturday night, huh?  Pictures speak better than words sometimes:

I took smoky eyese to a new level a la Britney c. 2004

And spent an unreasonable amount of time

Participating in my own personal jam session

Busting a move to my very favorite Disney songs

Such as "Kiss the Girl" from the Little Mermaid

And "He's a Tramp" from Lady and the Tramp

The evening ensued with the typical inappropriateness. Natalie was mad because her gentleman caller took too long to meet us at a particular venue. Until she discovered she told him the wrong bar to go to.

I kept my poker face on all the way until 4 in the morning. Classy.

Notice the lack of food in this entire post. I took a break from blogging and instead felt free to eat my weight in everything this weekend.  Staying up until 4 and 5 am and getting less than 5 hours sleep each night, combined with laying around watching TV and being hungry resulted in an inappropriate amount of food consumption.  For example, my dinner on Saturday night was 4 slices of Ezekiel bread and an entire avocado.

Oddly enough, it was all intuitive- I made sure I was hungry before I ate anything but I was one hungry girl this weekend.  So glad it’s Monday and I am back to exercise and vegetables.  It was a lovely weekend but I am thrilled to go back to normal life. 

Hope you guys still want to read my blog after this ridiculous post.  I am not a big believer in moderation (duh), and I would prefer to wax poetic about my fiance, post gratuitious pictures of myself in a dress that is basically underwear, and whine about being hungry than actually display balanced eating sometimes.

Whatev, I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.  Thanks for reading, cupcakes!