Weekend With the Couch

What I’m most looking forward to once I finally finish up finals is having my weekends free. I spent most of my weekend here:


The only list of reasons I had for not studying was to exercise and to pick up eggs from the farm. How’s that for a highly eventive weekend? Ha…only two more days of this and then I’m done though. I think I can handle it. 😉

There were some good eats along the way too. On Saturday, I first did a 2-miler in these…it was perfect outside. I had on my running skort and tank top and felt like I could run forever. But I had to stick to my own rules of not doing too much, and I knew my mom and I had planned a 4-mile walk for later so I should stick to the 2-mile run. So I did…and enjoyed it immensely. 🙂


The good food came in at lunch where I gobbled up more then another serving of this shrimp pasta salad with carrot sticks and cauliflower. It was the perfect summery lunch.

And today for lunch we made steak on the grill. I’ve been more and more concerned about where we get our meat choices from. I guess you could say it’s one of those things I’m more then happy to spend a little more money on. I picked this beef sirloin steak up at whole foods. No antiobiotics…vegetarian fed…no hormones…local. I was happy with the purchase. And maybe it’s all in my head, but does it maybe even taste better?

Thumbs up from the parents! 🙂

I also had three super-size me salads spread throughout the weekend. I couldn’t get enough veggies, and this one was extra special with avocado, orange bell peppers, garbanzo’s, honey kashis, orange segments, green bell peppers, etc. It had the works and hit the spot when I needed my veggie fix. 🙂

There was also some chocolove along the way. This was the last of the bar (insert sad face here,) which just warrants another trip to whole foods very soon (insert happy face here.)

I definitely can’t say it was the most eventful weekend ever. I was glued to the couch for most of it! But I’m glad that I was at least able to run, walk and eat some good food too. Next weekend I have shopping plans and some good ol’ relaxin’ and recoopin’ from homework for sure.

Tomorrow I have my Food Microbiology final at 8 in the morning. My breakfast is sitting in the fridge (can you guess what it is?) and before I know it I’ll be driving home reminiscing on a really good class. After that I’ll be back home, cramming for my Organic Chemistry II final on Tuesday. And then it will be over!!!

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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Up and Adam?

I just realized that whenever I say “up and at ’em!” it sounds like I’m saying “Up and Adam.” I’d like to think its a new englandy thing to say, but I think it may just be another sarah’ism.

I’m wondering how late I’ll sleep, when I actually don’t have any plans, homework, or lectures to go to! My internal body clock is really always on time, even on the weekend. Sometimes thats a good thing, but not so much when I want to sleep in!

This morning I was happy to have it fully functioning though, because I wanted an early start to my day. For the next 4 days, I’ll be glued to my chair studying. Well, not entirely glued. I think working out is always essential, even if it’s just a brief walk or two throughout the day. Even a 5-10 minute stretching break is a much needed rest!

Back to breakfast. I haven’t been feeling oatmeal lately, which is really strange for me. Maybe it has something to do with the nice, sunny weather? 70 degrees is perfect for lighter fare…I think I should plan a smoothie soon! 🙂

This morning I had 2 honey oat kashi waffles, my fave flavor. I love, love these for a nice change from oats or regular ol’ toast! Although I seem to remember the brand LifeStream having a whole wheat flavor that used to be my ultimate favorite, but I can’t find them anymore? *sad* These kashi ones are almost as good though, and I topped mine with a T. of peanut butter and the other with a slice of 2% american cheese. The orange on the side was delish!

Fast forward an hour. My breakfast had no staying power!!! Strange, huh? You’d think with the fat and protein I’d have been good to go. But my appetite this morning was a crazy one. So I added in some scrambled eggs to my morning mix, along with a handful of cherry tomatoes.

An iced coffee with 1/2 c. soy came not too long after because this week of studying for finals calls for desperate measure! 😉

My mom teases me that I have my one’sies, two’sies, and three’sies in the morning. It’s true, I’m a very big morning eater. 🙂 This morning especially. I had this about an hour before going for a very fast 2-mile run. I wanted a short run that wouldn’t make me too tired to go for a walk later with mom and one that would be just enough to get me good and sweaty. Worked like a charm! 🙂

This was a tasty bowl of yogurt topped with 2 T. of the best granola ever and a small handful of raisins.

I can’t believe how warm the sun is getting! When did summer roll around? The temperature still says its spring, but the sun is screaming that its summer. Love it! All I wanted was a nice big salad, so I did a repeat of last night’s supper. How original! 🙂 This time I toasted the bread, which was a special touch, and instead of topping it with butter, I just sort of tore pieces off and used it as a base for my chicken and salsa. Yum, yum, yum…

Pear in a blanket…not to be confused with piggie in a blanket. 😉

Immediately after lunch, mom and I went for a 3-mile walk that turned into a 5-mile walk around the block! It was too nice out to turn around. Next time we do the long walk, we’re bringing some money to stop at the ice cream shop down the street. 🙂

Matthew bought this sunflower seed butter from TJ’s, and I’ve been eyeing it for the past several days now. He’s never touched my beloved almond butter, so I knew I should respect his sunflower butter too. But I was so week! Just one tablespoon maybe?

The ingredients were pretty simple…sugar was added in the form of evaporated cane juice which is what gives it that characteristic sweetness (yes, I did try a lick by this point!)

And finally I gave in and had a tablespoon of it on a banana. So sweet and delicious. It was almost desserty but salty at the same time. I think I might already be addicted? I do, admittedly, have a problem when it comes to nut butters.

And, another iced coffee. I never drink two caffeine drinks in a day, and I was going more for taste then any “pep me up” effects. I think I’m going to need to start buying decaf maybe? This one was made with my favorite mix of 1 c. coffee, 1/2 c. milk, and a tsp of sugar. Perfect every time. Especially when made with whole foods beans. 🙂

This bowl of whiteness was as boring as it looks. I kind of felt like munching on something because studying does that to a person! And I used to love munchin’ on raw cauliflower, but for some reason I’m just not that into it anymore. I should have steamed it just slightly so it was still a lil’ crunchy and added in some other veggies for color.

Holy Potato! For supper I had a nice big potato topped with about 1/2 c. black beans, salsa, cheese and 1/4 of a very overripe avocado! And then continued to grind some black pepper on top. Potatoes are one of those poor vegetables that gets such a bad rap! Don’t judge a veggie by its color, even when they’re pure white! This bad boy is still loaded with fiber (if you eat the peel!), vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin C, etc. And when you top it with the right stuff, you get a wholesome, quick and easy, nutritious meal that will keep you feeling full! 🙂

I broke into the freezer and had a frozen chocolate chip cookie with a pat of peanut butter for dessert. I love frozen cookies! 🙂

This was Matthew’s dessert. Unfortanetly I didn’t snap the picture until after he had already eaten most of it, but just picture this bowl heaping with almonds and walnuts, all doused over in molasses! Is that a guy thing? Or just a “molasses is good on everything” thing?

I’d like to say I didn’t procastinate at all today, but that just didn’t happen. I did study for about 3-1/2 hrs. on food microbiology though, and chemistry got about 1 hr. or so of my undivided attention. It being Friday night and all, the last thing I want to do is zone in on carboxylic acids and aromatic compounds! But a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. And next weekend I’ll have no plans but a shopping trip with Nicole.

Back to focusing! 🙂 Happy weekend, I’ll see you Monday! 🙂

Edited to Add My Bedtime Snack…kashi heart to heart with soy. Delish!

Exercise: 5-mile leisure walk and a very brisk 2-mile run. This is so not me, but for some reason, I’ve been enjoying these speed runs lately. I try not to do them more then once a week, but this was my second time this week. Usually I enjoy the longer, slower paced runs, where I kind of zone out. But I’m glad to see myself enjoying the speed a little. I’ve been feeling super strong and really energetic…lovin’ it!

One final down, two to go!

I had two options this morning. Either I could wake up at 5 and study for another hour before leaving for my meal management final or I could get up at 5:30, get an extra half hour of sleep, and not study. I chose the latter. 🙂

I decided to sleep a little more and have a good healthy breakfast. Sometimes those help out moreso then cramming in a little more study time!! Besides, my entire day yesterday consisted of studying and reviewing and I felt as if not much more would sink in at that point.

Breakfast was two slices of whole wheat bread from Trader Joes with 1/2 an avocado and some fresh pepper ground on top. And a glass of milk on the side. YUM…this breakfast held me over for a good 3-1/2 hrs, which is a lot to say for me. 🙂

I decided I could use a little bit of a caffeine boost for my 8’am final. This is made the regular way: 1 c. coffee, 1/2 c. milk, and 1 tsp. sugar. So good. 🙂 I also brought along a handful of almonds to have for a snack before going to whole foods for some supplies.

Lunch was a hodge-podge. My typical Thursday lunch is meant to clean out the leftovers from the fridge, and I love it. Ha…one of my favorite ways to eat is to sample a bit of everything. I finished up the salmon from yesterday, had about 1/4 c. each of cottage cheese and ricotta cheese, the rest of the kashis (which equaled a serving,) a carrot and the last of the cherry tomatoes, the last of yesterday’s quinoa, the rest of the beans (about 1/4 c.,) and a really juicy, delicious peach that I picked up at whole foods for dessert. This lunch kept me full and happy to go grocery shopping with mom. 🙂

…I also brought along a cup of hot soymilk to-go. Perfect for the rainy weather.

I was so excited to try out the new hand-held scanners that stop&shop have now! I wanted to scan everything in sight just for fun. ha…but I restrained myself. 😉 And mom was happy because it kept me entertained…ha…I felt like a little kid again. I’m just wondering how they know people are being honest with these things? Either people are incredibly honest or the stores are being very, very trusting. I don’t know. Either way, I liked the idea of seeing what my bill was coming up to, and I think it prevents a lot of mindless shopping.

I had a snack when I came home, even though I really wasn’t all too hungry. A banana with a T. of almond butter was just perfect.

I was thinking of not going exercising today since shopping and walking around campus had kept me busy. BUT, the clouds cleared up long enough to get me out the door for a brief 3-4 mile walk with mom. It felt good to move and chat and laugh. It’s funny how even a quick burst of energy can really wake a person up. 🙂

I had a nice big salad for supper with some yummy yellow bell peppers on top, along with the regular additions. I also added about 1/2-chicken breast and 1/2-c. black beans, with some fresh Trader Joe’s salsa and a tsp of olive oil. Yum…

And on the side I had a slice of whole wheat sourdough bread from whole foods. Gooey and doughy and delicious. I think it might work it’s way into tomorrow’s breakfast. 🙂

I split this grapefruit for dessert with dad…

…and this is not you dreaming. This picture was stolen from yesterday’s dessert, because I ate my peice too fast before snapping a photo! 🙂

I decided that tonight I’ll just be refreshing and not studying. My brain needs a rest in order to make a full day of hard-core studying tomorrow, so I’ll take advantage of a night off. Maybe journaling? And lounging in my pj’s for sure. 🙂

Exercise: Just a 3-4 mile walk

~Edited to Add:

My night snack of yogurt topped with 2 T. of the best granola ever and a handful of raisins. Mmm..

~~**Cutting Calorie Counting**~~

I’ve noticed a lot of people have a hard time with this. There are a ton of personal opinions and stories based on the pros and cons of it all. Personally, I think it has its time and place but isn’t meant for long term usage.

When I needed to lose my freshman-15, it came in handy to figure out what a day typically would look like and kept me accountable for keeping my portion sizes reasonable.

It also came in handy when I needed to gain weight. There were times when I just wasn’t hungry but knew that I needed to force myself. It helped me find the foods that would pack in the calories without filling me up too much.

But with maintenance? Where do people draw the line? I think once you figure out proper portion sizes, and start to get a hang of intuitive eating (learning what it feels like when you’re hungry or full) you’ll be better off without it. It can be compulsively obsessive, or make you eat more when you don’t really need it (aren’t hungry) or eat less when you could use it (some days you just need more food then others!)

Try giving up calorie counting for a while and see how you feel. If it’s too scary to go cold turkey, write down everything you ate throughout the day and tally it up at the end. Are you hungry? Did you eat when you were full and hungry and did it pan out pretty well? Did you choose healthy options most of the time? How does your calorie count look in comparison to where you were aiming for?

Do this for a while until you can go a couple days before tallying it up. Try a week next. And if you’re feeling really good about this new idea, try giving up the tallying journal for a couple days at a time. You’ll be surprised over how liberating this new way of eating can be. 🙂

I had today all planned out. Since it’s my first day of no classes (can I get a yeehaw!) I wanted to be extra productive with my time and get some hard-core studying in. I can’t believe I already have a meal management final tomorrow. When did that sneak up on me?

To start the day off right I had my first peach of the season on the side of 1.5 c. kashi heart to heart with 1 c. milk and 2 T. walnuts. I’m loving cereal for breakfast lately…

So then I studied for a bit…but there’s only so much you can read about sulfite compounds and anthocyanins and cream of tartar before you sort of drift away. Yes, yes…I know I’ll look back someday and see why it was all so very important. And for the most part I even find it interesting. But I also tend to drift when I’m reading the material, and it can be hard to stay mentally focused.

Snack was a T. pb on toast, which came about 2 hrs. after my breakfast. I love cereal, but it just never keeps me full for very long. Actually…what does keep me full for very long? ha…

How cute are these adorable little pink flowers? They spring out everywhere and remind me of myself on a really frazzled, bad hair day. 🙂 It was really nice having the study break to enjoy some butternut squash soup with cinnamon and parsley with a rosemary scone on the side. I spent some time soaking up the sunshine out on the deck. Blissful. I absolutely can not wait for summer to officially be here.

In honor of my duty and resolution to not be wasteful whenever possible, I gobbled down the rest of yesterday’s stir fry.

…and finished the very last of the fruit in the fruit drawer (helllllo grocery shopping trip) with about 1/4 c. of ricotta cheese sprinkled with cinnamon. I forgot how much I love the stuff. And it’s much less salty then cottage cheese, which makes a nice change.

I’m finding that the older I get, the more I enjoy flowers. I remember in high school, the only plants I enjoyed growing were the ones that fed me back. 😉 But flowers have a way of cheering up a space. I love ’em.

…and despite my reputation of being a plant killer, I can still appreciate them. And leave the watering and other plant-care duties to other family members. 😉

Finals have been doing this to me lately. As in caffeine. With milk and just a tsp of sugar for sweetness. Ahh…I love the stuff too much lately.

I ended up going to a nursing home to apply for a dietary aide position. My mom had told me about it this morning, and I decided that instead of battling the idea around in my head like I normally do, I’d just drive there and apply in person. Whatever happens, happens. *crossing fingers* I asked myself if I really wanted the job or if I was mentally just telling myself it “would look good on a resume.” And I came to the conclusion that it would be a great experience and would give me some insight into a different side of food preparation. We shall see what happens…:)

My snack was a packet of instant oats (not gonna waste them!) with a T. of chocolate carnation breakfast, 2 peices of chopped dried mango and a T. of peanut butter. Deliciouso…

I started to panic a little later as I realized all the information I still didn’t know for tomorrow’s final. But then I reached the conclusion that it wasn’t worth freaking out over. All I can do is study and leave it at that. Otherwise I become overly anxious to the point where nothing sinks in. And when worse comes to worse, I ask myself, “In another ten years, will it really matter?”

Supper was wonderful and spent out on the deck again–I’m loving this georgeous 72 degree, sunny weather. 🙂 We had orange marmalade salmon with quionoa and broccoli on the side. Also made a stir fry of summer squash, portabello mushrooms, onion, and zucchini by throwing in some oregano, salt, pepper, basil, and balsamic viniagrette on top. Really good!

…peice of 77% dark chocolate for dessert. I’m getting braver every time I buy a bar, trying to go a little darker then before. My next attempt will be 82%, but I think that may be where I draw the line. This one has a really nice, intense flavor.

And after another 2-mile walk, I came home to study more. But now my brain is officially fried, so I apologize if this entire post is incoherent, because my eyes are about to shut. Tomorrow is a busy morning and the final will be at 8. I have my iced coffee already made, and I hope to get in some studying as well before I go. There’s just that much information that I know I haven’t covered yet. Ugh…

Is it summer yet? 🙂

Exercise of the Day: 6 miles of walking, spaced out throughout the day…it was nice getting up off the couch from studying for just enough time to get much needed fresh air!! 🙂

MIA!!!

It’s been a while…blame it on finals and presentations and life in general! I’ve been a crazy woman these last few weeks. But I have so much to talk about, I just don’t know where to begin.

• I’ve gained some weight (133’ish), which I’m really happy with. It’s been hard to keep it on, but lately it hasn’t seemed so bad at all. I think decreasing my exercise is what’s really helping. I won’t exercise more then once a day unless it’s walking, and if that happens to happen by some chance, I’ll eat a ton more (thereby more then make up for it! haha.)
• After feeling like a human garbage disposal, I actually have discovered two foods I dislike. Clams and chicken loaf. What is chicken loaf made out of anyways? Ick…
• Finals are going to be over by next Tuesday…one week! I’m so ready for summer to start, but not ready to actually have to find a job or volunteer position. It’s not the working part I abhor, it’s the actually seeking it out that I dislike. But it’s good experience to even just be looking, and I need to remind myself of that.
• I’ve been considering starting up an actual food blog again, but I’m not sure…the decisions are still in the making. 😉
• Running has been a little inconsistent lately, but I’ve been averaging 8 miles a week, while eating 2400-2600 calories a day (sometimes more, but that’s not the general overall average.) Now that my weight is up, I plan on keeping my running the same (8-10) and not counting calories at all. Which is weird for me since I used it to help me lose my freshman weight and to gain my junior weight. haha…but I don’t believe counting calories is good for lifelong usage, so I’m excited to be stopping that. 🙂
• And now, off to finish my take home final and then study for my nutrition final, which covers everything from the temperature an egg souffle should be cooked at to food safety to how to make cheese! There’s a ton of information, and I want to remember it all, so I’m trying to keep my brain wired with an iced coffee. Ha…and later I have a walk planned with my favorite walking partner (aka, mom).

Monday is almost over! 🙂

The Experiment Continues…

…Sort of….

Ironic that on two days into my experiment, I went out running? I had only run one other time all week, but once I told myself to take a week long hiatus, I wanted nothing more then to run. So I did. And it was wonderful. 🙂

Tuesday: 3 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Saturday: a lil’ over 3

…+ walking on my off days.

This beautiful weather has been inspiring me to move. What perfect timing. 🙂

Experimenting

I’m doing a week long experiment starting now.

I’ve noticed lately that I haven’t been too interested in running. At all. What’s up with that? It’s just so unlike me, and I can’t figure out if it’s because I’m just too overworked with school, or I need a mental break, or my body is trying to tell me something. I just don’t know. So my experiment is that for a week, I’ll only run when I want to run. If I feel like walking, I’ll walk. If I feel like biking, I’ll bike.

I need to figure this out…

Breakfast on the Deck

• 2 c. kashi heart to heart
• 1 c. plain, ff yogurt
• 1/2 a banana
• handful of blackberries
• 2 T. almonds

…add this up and you equal one of my breakfast faves:

Eating breakfast outside in the warm (?) weather on the deck totally made my day. All week we’ve been stuck in the 40’s, and all of a suddenly this weekend it’s supposed to reach the upper 80’s. You can bet I’ll be out there running and taking in the sun for sure. 🙂

Meanwhile, in other plans, I have the entire weekend to spend with my sis at her apartment. We plan on renting girly movies and just relaxing. I can’t wait. 🙂

I also need to recover from a bad case of procastination syndrome. I don’t know what’s up with me lately, I just can’t seem to focus on homework. Not good since there are only 2 weeks left of classes before finals, with lots of presentations coming along this week and next. Ahh…gotta get movin’!

Enjoy the weekend!! 🙂

This is just a quick post, but I had to leave one to avoid keeping it on the Debby Downer post that I wrote yesterday.

This morning I went for the most wonderful 3-mile run. My legs feel tired and a little sore now, considering it’s been a while since I took to the streets. But it’s a good feeling, and I’m happy to say my own motivational reminders kept me going through the hills. 🙂

Stay tuned for a Day In The Life post soon!!! 😉

Gettin’ with the Groove…

I can’t figure out what’s up with my running lately. I just haven’t been in the mood at all! I’ve been walking plenty, but haven’t felt like pumping through the hills like I normally do. My poor running sneaks have been tucked away in the closet for 4 days now!

I had to remind myself of why I fell in love with running in the first place. So I came up with this list:

• Because I’m healthy and able to run and should never–ever–take that for granted.
• Because it makes me feel confident and strong.
• Because I like to be able to run up a flight of stairs without being out of breath.
• Because it’s nice to know I can always head out for a long, 1-hr. run if I need to get away for a while.
• Because it helps me think but not think at the same time.
• Because I love food. 😉

So what are your reasons for exercising? And what do you do when motivation runs low?

~~ ~~ ~~

I’m in the gaining weight phase again. If I don’t stay on top of things, my weight tends to drop slowly but surely. So I’m planning on remaining strong with strength training, a lil’ cardio, and bringing up the pounds. And when I say a ‘lil’ cardio, I’m referring to anywhere from 10-12 miles run a week. Of course, referring to this week, that would be 0 miles! ha…

Not to worry though. My motivational reminders are going to get me out the door bright and early tomorrow morning, rain or shine! Food science lab was cancelled which gives me time to fit in a nice and early morning workout. Can’t wait! 🙂