What I Ate Wednesday: Beat the Heat

Hey Guys!
It's time for WIAW(What I ate Wednesday) again!  Thanks Jenn, over at Peas and Crayons for hosting!




I love the theme for this months WIAW because July really is all about fun, fitness, and food.  I even made a summer bucket list to make sure I can squeeze in as much fun fitness and food as possible!

I named this WIAW "Beat the Heat" because it's been so hot, and it really changes how I cook and eat.  I know some people say they have no appetite in the hot weather, but I definitely do not feel that way.  I have an appetite year round!  All food here was consumed on Tuesday, July 17th.

7:30 am Oatmeal with Peanut Butter (forgot to snap a pic so here's a nice picture of clouds!)

9 am 1 medium iced coffee from Dunkin'.
Today I finally caved and got an iced coffee.  I've been getting a hot coffee everyday! What is wrong with me?  Since today was 95 degrees, I decided that an iced coffee would be more enjoyable.  And it was definitly the right choice.
Side note:  Does anyone else say "Ice" coffee or "Ice" tea instead of Iced?  I usually say "Ice," but some people have corrected me. 

10:30 Morning Snack: Banana

12:00 Lunch- I usually like to pack my lunch, but I've been super lazy due to the heat.
I got a Southwest Tuna Wrap at Au Bon Pain, and it was delicious!  Only $6.  Tracy and I ate outside in the sweltering heat by the food court. 

2:15pm Chobani Yogurt with Cinnamon and Blueberries (not pictured)  This might be my favorite afternoon snack of all time.

Work Out:
I've been following a half marathon training plan, and today's scheduled run was 3 miles.  I braved the heat and got out there.  I was going to go to the gym to do my run, but lately I just don't like the treadmill.  I ran at about 5pm, when it was 94 degrees.  I was a sweaty mess by the time I got back, but it was so worth it.  I felt pretty proud of myself for not wimping out.

This week I have a 4 mile run on Thursday, a 2 mile run on Friday and an 8 mile run on Sunday.

6pm Dinner:  Pulled BBQ Chicken with summer squash. CJ had the day off so he set up the crockpot and made some BBQ pulled chicken.  It was so yummy, and pretty easy to make.  Just set it and forget it! 
We also sauteed some summer squash for our veggie on the side. :)  It was a nice easy meal that didn't require too much time in the kitchen.

8pm Dessert:
We made smoothies  Nothing like a nice, refreshing smoothie to end the day! 

Hope you all have a great Wednesday!


P.S. Tonight I'm going to a Boston Food Blogger's Dinner at Maggiano's in the North End.  I'm really excited because this will be my first time meeting the members of Boston Food Bloggers.  If you are a food blogger in the area, there are still some tickets available!  I can't wait to tell you guys all about it.

Ocean Kayaking, Sushi, & Oysters

Hello!
Today I went ocean kayaking at Lynch Park with my good friend Meaghan.  I haven't been ocean kayaking in a very long time, so I was really excited to go.  Even though it was overcast, it was still really hot out, and the breeze from the ocean plus the water splashing on us from the paddles kept us nice and cool.

I planned to take my camera, but the rental guy strongly recommended leaving it behind since it isn't waterproof.  He asked "do you really need to take it?"  And I was like ""YES! I need it!"  I'm a blogger! Why don't people understand?  You can't take a camera away from a blogger.

I realized he was right, and I probably would ruin it, so I left it with him.  I did manage to get a picture of the paddles before our excursion.

We got a double kayak for an hour and a half.  When we asked how we were supposed to know when our time was up (we had no phones or watches) the rental guy told us to ask someone on the beach. We didn't end up doing that, and just went back in when we thought we had been out long enough, and we ended up coming in a half hour early! Oh well! 

Kayaking is really good exercise.  It was a great arm workout for me.  I decided to look up how many calories are burned in one hour of kayaking.

"According to the American Council on Exercise, a 125-lb. person burns 283 calories per hour of kayaking while a 150-lb. person burns 340, a 175-lb. person burns 397 calories and a 200-lb. person burns 454 calories. Higher body weight requires increased energy expenditure for activity." Source

I also learned that kayaking burns less calories than running at 5.5 mph for one hour (obvious), burns more calories than cycling at 5.5 mph for 1 hour, and burns the same amount of calories as playing softball for 1 hour.  Interesting...

When we came back ashore, we walked around Lynch park. I had never been there before, so I had no idea how pretty it is.   Meaghan showed me the Rose Garden, where she said lots of people take pictures for proms and weddings there.  It was stunning! My pictures don't do it justice at all.

After burning all those calories kayaking, we decided to replace them with a nice lunch.  We went to Hale St Tavern, Oyster, and Sushi Bar. I was intrigued by this strange combination.  Do Oysters go with Sushi?

 Meg is brave and ordered 5 oysters.  I'm too much of a chicken to try them. I can barely eat mussels without getting freaked out, so I'm definitely not ready for oysters.  They do look really fun to eat though!  Maybe I'll add trying an oyster to my summer bucket list (that doesn't exist yet...).

 We shared an order of edamame.  Yum!  You can never go wrong with edamame  It's so tasty.

I also ordered the Hawaii Sushi roll.  It was unreal.  I'm a weirdo and only like cooked sushi, so this one was right up my alley.  It had coconut shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and topped with pineapple salsa.  It was really good.  It was one of those dishes that you don't want to end.  

A lovely day with a lovely friend.  :)

Have a wonderful night everyone!

What I Ate Wednesday: My First One!

Wooohooo I'm jumping on the "What I ate Wednesday" bandwagon!

Let me explain what "What I Ate Wednesday" is for those of you who read my blog, but aren't a part of the blog world (I'm talking to you, Mom):

Jen, from Peas and Crayons, hosts WIAW each week (Thanks, Jen!).  Basically, it's a big food diary sharing party, where bloggers from all over the blogoshpere post what they eat for an entire day.  If you don't get it, that's ok, just enjoy a day in the life of my tummy.:)  It's fun to share what I eat all day, because most of the time, I only post my dinner recipes.  

Everything I ate for this WIAW is from Tuesday, June 26, 2012.

Breakfast:
I usually eat breakfast when I get to work.  I bring in a little baggie of oatmeal and microwave it, then I add a big melty scoop of peanut butter.  It's delicious, and my coworkers always comment on how good it smells.  

8:30 am
3/4 Cup oatmeal
1 tbsp Teddy's Peanut Butter
Water

I didn't end up eating the orange, but I thought it made my breakfast look a little less sad.

9 am: 1 DD medium French Vanilla coffee- regular

Coffee can dramatically improve your morning in ~4 seconds.  Here is proof:

Just look at that pure joy on Tracy's face.

11 am:   I felt my tummy rumbling around 11 so I munched on some trail mix. 

Trail mix: raw almonds, raisins, and sunflower seeds

12:15pm
Around noon Tracy and I walked over to the MIT food court to eat lunch.  We love eating lunch here because it gets us out of the office for a little while.  I made a salad that morning, and filled it with lots of healthy veggies, and some cheese and meat to give it a little more substance.

Salad:
Green Leaf Lettuce
Napa Cabbage
Tomato (<--- I think I might be starting to like them!)
Cucumber
Carrots
Green Bell peppers
Shredded Low-Fat Mozzarella
Deli Turkey

Water &1 Clementine

2:30pm

At 2:30, I got hungry for my afternoon snack.  I brought in a tub of Chobani nonfat plain greek yogurt and added a little cinnamon for some added flavor.  It was satisfying and filling.

4pm 
2 Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate nuggets with almonds.  
Gotta have my little afternoon delight. :)

7pm
I made tofu stir fry, with steamed vegetables and roasted ginger turnips

I had to use our turnips before they went bad, so I chopped them up, tossed them in olive oil, sprinkled them with ginger, and popped them in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.  I don't usually eat turnips outside of Thanksgiving dinner, so it was nice to try them this time of year. 

After the turnips were roasted, I chopped up some tofu, sauteed it, and then threw it in a pan with rice, veggies, and soy sauce.  It was a delicious and filling dinner.

After dinner I had 1/2 a brownie from Busy Bee Bakery, the best bakery ever!

Happy Wednesday Everybody!  Hope you have a tasty and nutritious day!

June Date: Golfing Adventures

A few months ago, CJ and I started a monthly date tradition.

The Guidelines

• We alternate months planning the date
• It has to be a surprise for the person not planning it
• It doesn't have to be a typical date like "dinner and a movie" (thinking outside the box is encouraged)

June was my month to plan the date, so I decided to take CJ golfing.  This was a little tricky because CJ's golf clubs were at his parents house so I had to go pick them up without CJ knowing about it.  Luckily his younger brother helped coordinate a time for me to come get them.  It all worked out perfectly.

When I told him we were going golfing he was really excited.  One of his friend's gave him a cigar for our housewarming party so he wanted to smoke it while we golfed.  Typical male.

I took the day off of work because I have so much vacation time that I have to use by September 30th.  It was nice to be able to spend a weekday with him.  I don't really ever get to do that.

Since CJ just got a raise at work, I woke up a little bit early to bake him a loaf of banana bread before he woke up.  I planned on spelling out "congrats" on top of the loaf with chocolate chips, but I ran out of room at "congrat"  I had to put the "s" next to the loaf instead of on it.  Oh well.  It's the thought that counts, right?
After breakfast, we headed to a nearby golf course.  I had never been golfing before, so I had to learn all the basics.  CJ, who is naturally good at everything, was trying to teach me but I was having difficulties (per usual) .  It was embarrassing because I kept "whiffing" the ball.  Even though I wasn't that good I still had a lot of fun hanging out with my main man.

After 9 holes of golf, we worked up an appetite so we went to Polcari's.

Lunch got off to a rough start.  The waitress sprayed olive oil with hot pepper into her eye as she poured it.  Right as she was going to go wipe it out, CJ knocked his water over and it spilled all over my shorts.  A few minutes later she came over and told us she was going home and someone else was taking over our table!  I guess we were too much to handle!

After that, everything went back to normal and we had a nice lunch.  I ordered a garden salad and the eggplant rollatini.  Cj got the Chicken Parm. 

Can't wait to eat the leftovers!

An Alcohol-free St. Paddy's Day!

Hi Guys! Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope yours is filled with a lot more green beer than mine will be.....

This morning I met my friend Shiloh for a walk around Lake Quannapowitt.  The lake is about 3 miles around, so it's a very popular spot for walkers and runners, and they have a weekly 5k fun run that I've been wanting to do forever.

The sky was over cast and even though the temperature was 49 degrees, we felt pretty cold.  It was just a gloomy yucky day.

I did manage to take some nice pictures of the scenery like this pretty weeping willow tree.

After some nice girl-talking and walking we headed to Creation's Cafe for lunch.  I ordered a Tuna melt with cheddar and drank a Nantucket Nectar Apple Juice.

It was just perfect.  Yum!

After lunch, I stopped at my gym to use the foam roller on my calves and hamstrings (which are still killing me from tabata!).  I felt like a loser just coming in to use the foam roller for 5 minutes, maybe I should invest in one of my own!

For dinner, CJ and I are making Beef Stroganoff.  We've attempted to make it a few times, but it's never come out the way we want it to, but maybe this time it will.  I made a special trip to the supermarket to pick up red bell peppers and mushrooms.  We're using this recipe.

Verdict:  It tasted ok, but it looks like dog food...maybe we just don't like beef stroganoff after all....

Tonight I'm heading to a friend's party for a little while.  I'm not planning on drinking because I have the 5k tomorrow morning.  I know a 5k isn't that long or hard but I do not want to be hungover for it!
Remember how I said I had to do it alone, but CJ was going to be there for moral support/photography?  Well, now he has to work so I'm really going to be 100% alone!  Wahhhhh..
Wish me luck!

Why You Should Drink Chocolate Milk After a Tough Workout

Hey!

I’ve been pretty productive today.  My biggest accomplishment so far has been running nine miles.  My training plan suggested running 8 miles, but since I was feeling pretty good and the race is in two weeks, I decided to do nine.  It took me 1 hour and 29 minutes (9:58 pace).

 

At mile 6, I took an energy gel since I was starting to lose steam.  I think it helped.  It did make me really thirsty since it’s so sweet, but that was the only negative thing I noticed.  At nine miles, I started my cool down.  I walked a little bit, then stretched my legs.  Afterwards, I iced my knees because they were a little stiff.  And by ice, I mean frozen corn and peas. :)

Did you notice that my Nike plus report is green now?  That's because I made it to the green level! That means I have ran 162 miles with Nike Plus, and 104 of them I ran in 2012.  That seems like pretty big news to me!

To refuel after the run, I made a turkey and cheese sandwich with carrot sticks and a side of cottage cheese.   

I love toasted bread!

I mixed up a big glass of chocolate milk to drink.  When I was in college, I took a sports nutrition class and I remember learning that chocolate milk is the perfect thing to drink after a workout.  The ratio of carbs, protein, and fat, is just what your body needs to start recovery.

Fitness magazine says, “Compared to plain milk, water, or most sports drinks, [chocolate milk] has double the carbohydrate and protein content, perfect for replenishing tired muscles. Its high water content replaces fluids lost as sweat, preventing dehydration. Plus it packs a nutritional bonus of calcium, and includes just a little sodium and sugar -- additives that help recovering athletes retain water and regain energy." Source

As an added bonus, it’s delicious, and it really brings me back to my childhood when I used to chug chocolate milk like it was nobody’s business.

In unrelated news, I just bought myself a 5 quart cast iron pot and I plan on making some bread in it.  I just made the dough and now it needs to rise for 18 hours since I’m trying out a “no

knead” method.  I’ll post about that tomorrow!

One thing I wish I did more often...

Is Pack my lunch the night before!  It's a great way to plan a healthy meal, and save money.

I love having a salad for lunch, but If I’m short on time, I just throw a sandwich together.  If we have lunch meats, I usually make a turkey, provolone, and hummus sandwich on whole wheat bread.

If I do have time, I make a huge salad packed with every vegetable I can find.  

This is the salad I made last night:

Mixed greens

Cucumber

Carrots

Olives

Broccoli

Chick peas

Feta

And I added Grapes, because I’m weird.

Yes, there's lettuce under there

Since I barely have time to make a lunch, I never have time to make breakfast at home.  Usually I throw some oats in a bag and bring along a tiny Tupperware of chunky peanut butter to mix in.  I make this at work and eat it at my desk.    

And I’m usually on the verge of passing out by the time I get to work.

Fact:  I need to eat often or I feel like I’m going to faint. 

Fact:  I have never actually fainted from not eating.

Fact: I have never actually fainted for any reason, but I did come close one time when I stayed in the sauna too long.

This morning since I woke up 10 minutes earlier than normal, I had time to make some eggs.  I made a egg sandwich on an English muffin with reduced fat cheddar and Frank’s(of course).

I take two eggs and scramble them in a bowl, then I pour it onto the pan and try to shape into something that would fit on an English muffin.  Most of the time I fail and end up with a giant flat omlette-looking thing.  Today was no exception.

This kept me full for a looooong time.

For lunch I had the salad, which was very filling, but I had a hankering for something sweet after.  I got a chocolate chip cookie from Au Bon Pain.  Yum!

Have you heard of the Traffic light or  Stoplight system of eating?  It's a rating system where foods fit into different categories like Red, Yellow, or Green.  It's a great system for kids.  Green means go, eat all you want foods like veggies.  Red is fatty or sugary foods to eat in moderation.  I've started using this system in my life.  Today, for instance, I had a cookie after lunch, and that was my one "red" food for the day.

 I had to work late today, because I left in the afternoon for a Dr’s appointment.  I’m starting Immunotherapy for my bee sting allergy.  I’ll tell you the whole story another time.

I didn’t get home from work until almost 7pm.  Luckily my parents had a plate made up for me waiting in the microwave.  Ahh... the perks of living at home.

It was baked fish, rice, mixed veggies, and asparagus.  Now there’s a vegetable I haven’t had in a while.

I was planning to go on a nice long run tonight, but the rain has put a damper on that (I’m not that hard core).  Looks like I’ll be spending some QT with the ol’ hamster wheel.