Thank Goodness it's Friday

A busy day... I started with a walk around Fresh Pond with Luna, Lenny and Jen. Then, I saw a couple of clients, did some homework, and took Luna to the vet for shots.

Luna and I then went to take her friend Subo out, and stopped by to say hi to Lennym too. He wanted to come home with us and after playing ball outside they both came in for a puppy treat! Aunty Meg always has treats!!


Luna very happy with her 'bully' break!



Len man eating his 'bully' stick



Dave invited Jen & Len(ha- how cute) over for dinner.

Our dinner menu:

93% lean burgers with tomato slices and cheddar or mozz cheese
steamed artichokes
roasted garlic butter
sweet potato oven fries


Jen brought over a card table so we could eat outside. We are going to get a picnic table tomorrow ;)

The table in the backyard...it looks like summer doesn't it?


My plate and my Harpoon cider...

Almond Tin

Daily Candy, a weekly email I get on Boston Events and Diversions, had on their Weekend Guide(April 29th edition) - "Carry" an Almond Tin.

Last week, a fellow student had one of these tins, and I wrote about how cute it was and NOW we can all get out own :)


Perhaps, they should be gifts for my bridesmaids! :)

Sniffle Sniffle

I am feeling under the weather today. I thought perhaps it was a case of allergies, but alas I think this might be a bad cold. What a bummer!

I hunkered down after training this morning, and have been doing homework all day. It's been gross and rainy though, so I settled in with a nice cup of tea and got some work done. I have a bit more to go tonight, and then will work at school tomorrow in between classes. Tomorrow, is my LAST day of the semester- I can't believe it.

I still have due:
- MNT(Medical Nutrition Therapy) case
- Food Management final
- MNT final*cumulative*
- Nutrition Epi assignment on FFQ's(Food Frequency Questionnaires) and Diet Records

It's the home stretch...so this cold really has to go!


Dave very sweetly made dinner tonight-what a peach! He even grilled pizza in the rain.


Our nitrate/antibiotic free organic bacon pizza.


Dave's impressive grill marks on the pizza!


My piece of pizza with arugulaunderneath. I wasn't that hungry, so I only had a piece and half.

End of the Day

Today, while studying I was listening to the best iphone application out there, Pandora! It's a personalized internet radio station, where my favorite stations include: The Waifs, Glee(yes,the show), and Free Fallin(John Mayer's live version). Today I was listening to The Waifs station, very calm and relaxing music, and a Wailin Jennys song came on: Beautiful Dawn.I added this link to the song- Beautiful Dawn for your enjoyment! :) Though, it does speak of a broken heart...mine is just fine! :)




I needed a pick-me-up today so I got an iced skim latte with a shot of chocolate



My lunch salad turned into my pre-exam dinner ;) I had leftover turkey chili for lunch instead.



I was still hungry after my exam tonight so I had a Chobani yogurt when I got home with a handful of homemade granola on top.

I'm off to right my spin mix for class tomorrow am!

Last Tuesday of the Semester

It's my last Tuesday of the semester, and I'm school all day long! I'm in the library studying for my nutrition epidemiology final, and for break decided to post my lunch for today.

I made chickpea burgers, by default yesterday, because my rehydrated chickpeas didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. :( The burgers are delicious though, and I'll make a new batch tomorrow, and post the recipe.

Lunch today:

Sort of 'greek' salad-zukes, tomatoes, feta, carrots, parsley, and greens.



To add a little something special to my salad: I warmed up the burger, cut it, and put it in the salad. We'll see how it tastes!



Off to re-read my take home for epi, and study for the in-class exam tonight!!

St. Louis Wedding Weekend

Dave and I had a great weekend in St. Louis. It was wonderful to see so many of my college friends, and to explore a new city. We even found a brewery, Shlafly, to have lunch at on Saturday! :)






Dave, Jay and I pre-ceremony





Lilly and Michael



The college picture...



The beautiful cake



Our dinner salad(greens, feta, tomatoes and pine nuts)



Salmon/ Beef tenderloin with veggies and potatoes)



Our post ceremony photo-op




What a great weekend- thank you to Lilly and Michael! Now, I'm off to study nutrition epi ALL day long...

Day 1- St Louis

Our first day in St. Louie, and it's been jam packed!


We are staying at a Drury Inn. They are great hotels. We've got a workout room, breakfast in the am, and an afternoon snack with wine/beer! I feel like nothing is free, but then again we took Southwest here today, and we didn't pay for our bags, snacks, drinks, and our flight was on time!

We had a great day checking out MO. We went to Adriana's in The Hill for lunch.




I got tuna salad(tuna, veggies and vinegar dressing) with a salad on the side



We then took a walk down to see the Cardinals stadium...



And saw The Arch! We might go there tomorrow before the wedding.



My sweetie and I at the rehearsal dinner




Lilly and Michael had a wonderful rehearsal dinner with bbq and bluegrass!!


My plate




We even had Ted Drewes custard for dessert- delish!!

Earth Day

I made a wonderful Earth Day salad:egg whites, feta, carrots, avocado and arugula.

It was delicious!




I wanted to have an entirely 'meatfree' day but I didn't want to waste food, how not 'green' is that. ;-)

So we had...turkey burgers and asparagus made on the grill, with roasted sweet potatoes and garlic.



Dave and I are off to St. Louis for my friend Lilly's wedding tomorrow!! I promise to takes lots of pictures.

Wednesday's Food

Yesterday FLEW by- I trained til noon and then raced home to let the pup out, take her for a walk, and then crank out some work.


Dave very sweetly brought home lunch from the Greek place near his work- Acetuna!


My salad with HUGE amounts of chicken on top!! It was filled with peppers, tomatoes, olives, feta, onions and greens and really hit the spot on such a warm day!



I made haddock tacos last night!

My plate



Before bed I decided to dress Luna up in on of my 'many' striped shirts, I LOVE strips!! She looks foolish, but it was good for a post homework laugh!



Happy EARTH Day today! I made a 'cobb-like' salad for lunch- very green and earthly!:)

Long day

Phew, what a day- a REALLY hard exam, a presentation, and I am now making a spin mix for my am class.

I had some delcious food to help me through my day including: my power lunch.

It included: quinoa, carrots, feta, balsamic dressing and argula



A friend, had this cute "23 a day' almond box tonight in class. I'm going to need one of these- they are so cute and easy to carry around! :)

Protein Pancakes

I don't have much time to write... I must get back to my studies ;(

BUT, I made protein pancakes to start my day off right this morning.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of lowfat cottage cheese(I used the whipped variety)
3 egg whites
1/4 cup of oat flour(gluten free) OR 1/3 cup of oats(food processed)
1/8 tsp. of baking powder AND baking soda
shake of salt(less than 1/8 tsp)
optional: cinnamon(1/2 tsp) and vanilla(1/2 tsp)
1 tsp. of canola oil

Throw all the ingredients into a bowl and stir until mixed. Preheat pan to medium heat and then add canola oil to pan, to coat. Cook the pancakes about 2-4 minutes on each side, until slightly brown on each side. Enjoy alone, or with fresh fruit that has been heated slightly(raspberries and blackberries are delicious on top!).



Back to the books I go...

A brunch, a dinner and some studying

A wonderful filled day with brunch AND dinner plans with my MNT studying thrown in the middle.


We had brunch at Liz and Matt's this morning- it was so great to catch up!

My wonderful plate- veggie omelet, some fruit and a piece of nitrate free bacon-delish!


Dave's plate o' bacon :) The boy loves his bacon!


Liz and Matt gave us a wonderful engagement(love that blue box!)


James, their little munchkin, trying to reach the sink to wash his hands- so cute!




In between meal dates I worked on studying all nutrition therapy, patho and etiology for the upper & lower GI, bariatic surgery, cancer, diabetes, and the liver and pancreas...good I mean fantastic reading and memorizing. Literally, about 100 pages of notes! Dave was so helpful thought, and took Luna to her puppy play dates, was my study cheerleader all day long!

Tonight we went to Beccah and Bryan's for dinner!

Beccah's tablescape PRE candlelighting


Her tablescape 'candles lit'


Our apps for the evening: olives, hummus, rice crackers, cheese and apples for apps



Dinner:
Grilled steak
Roasted red and sweet potatoes
Arugula salad
Chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches(gluten free)
Pistachio bark

I need to STOP using my iphone to take pictures because again the dinner pics did NOT turn out... time to go back to the digital camera! Sorry about that!

Hit the Books(Granola Bar recipe)

It was wet, it was cold, but I had a great time chalking the route for the "Almost 5k" this morning. Dave was such a trooper for coming, and even got third overall!

Our table with my granola bars for a 'post race' snack





The granola bars were a hit, so I decided to make another batch this afternoon, as a study break. I literally studied ALL day! I am pooped and ready to hit the hay, and do it ALL over again tomorrow and Monday! I've got another MNT(Medical Nutrition Therapy) exam, and a epi presentation on Tuesday- good times! :)

But, back to those granola bars first!


The 'cooled' bars...someone must have stolen a piece...who was that? ME! :)



Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups of oats(gluten free, if you need it)
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 to 3/4 cups of walnut pieces
1/2 cup of honey( I used a little more than 1/3 cup)
2/3 cup of brown sugar
4 tbsp. of canola oil
1/2 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of chopped dates
parchment paper(NOT WAX paper)

Preheat oven to 350. Toast oats, walnuts, and sunflower seeds for 10-14 minutes, until nuts taste toasted. While oat mixture is toasting, place dried fruit in a large bowl, and set aside. Next, place sugar, honey and canola oil in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. When oats are done, place them with the fruit in the large bowl, then cover with the saucepan 'glue.' BE CAREFUL it's HOT!! Mix well, and place on a cookie sheet or a sheet cake pan lined with parchement paper. Spread out evenly, then fold over the sides of the parchement or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD. Wait for up to 2-3hours until the bar is cool. Then, cut and store! Great on the go snack!

Fish Tacos

We had a FANTASTIC dinner last night. I made tilapia(fish)tacos. They were sooo good and easy I think we are going to add them to a weekly dinner spot. :)

I coated the tilapia in chili powder, salt and pepper, about 1 tsp. of 'rooster' sauce, and about 1 tbsp. of brown rice flour. I then sauteed the fish in about 1 tsp(really that's it) of olive oil. They flaked because I was using the wrong utensil, but I liked the flaking! I think I will be more careful next time though. :)



Pictures of our tacos...(fish, guac, cilantro, red pepper slice, and some cheddar...






I'm off this morning to volunteer for my school's Nutrition Liaison 'Almost 5k' in the rain...

Glee is BACK!!!

Glee is back...enough said!! What a great study break!


Breakfast this morning: Protein Oat Pancakes. They are delicious, nutritious and very filling! I will post pictures and the recipe tomorrow.

Grilled Gluten Free Pizza

Julia, old family friend, came to dinner tonight! I decided to try out a new method for gluten free pizza, grilling! We used Bob's gluten free pizza mix, and cooked the dough on a pizza stone FIRST for 7 minutes, so it wouldn't stick to the grill(genius!) Then, transferred the dough to the charcoal grill for another 6-8 minutes.

Dave 'manning' his grill



The best grilled pizza ever



My plate pizza, broccoli and Julia's family yogurt curry dipping sauce(for the broccoli). I had to try it!


The curry sauce:
1/4 cup of lowfat plain yogurt
1 tsp of curry powder
1/4 tsp of salt