Wedding Day!

Hello all! I just had finished getting my hair done (I'll post pics next time), so I have some time to kill before heading to the church for pictures. I have had so much fun in the past few days! As soon as I got out of my (4-hour) anatomy lab on Thursday, I've been mingling with family and friends non-stop. I got a chance to talk to my grandmother (the dietitian), and we had a good conversation about the importance of nutrition in everyday health. I am such a health dork!

Here's what I've been chewing lately:

Wednesday
I made an excellent smoothie out of frozen cherries, cherry Spirutein, nonfat organic plain yogurt, and granola (of course). I found that increasing the amount of frozen fruit and decreasing the amount of yogurt makes my smoothies even tastier!
Thursday
After a quick run and a shower, I needed a lickety-split breakfast before heading to my 10 AM class. I settled on a simple bowl of Kashi GoLean with almond milk and some plain soy yogurt with fresh blueberries.
I packed my lunch to enjoy between classes. I ended up eating it outside on a bench while on campus. Great way to eat a meal! I packed an almond butter sandwich on whole wheat, roasted soy nuts, crudites, and a small apple. Don't you just love the lunch containers?! The bag that they go in is mocha/Carribbean blue.

For dinner we had a few relatives over for Stouffer's lasagna and salad. I decided to make a variation by combining tofu, broccoli, Classico pasta sauce, garlic, basil, and whole wheat rotini.
The shake for the evening consisted of banana, banana Spirutein, and peanut butter.
Friday
Before my run yesterday, I noticed a gorgeous bowl of cherries sitting on the counter--I just had to take a picture! Having a blog is makes me notice beautiful food now...Anyway, for breakfast I had some of those cherries along with some of that multigrain hot cereal and sliced almonds. I added a dash of cinnamon too.
We had a bridesmaid's luncheon yesterday at which they served chicken salad, fruit, quesadillas, and ice cream. Luckily, the chicken salad was served in an avocado half, so I ate most of that and the fruit. I was still hungry when I came home so I made a hummus sandwich with a slab of tofu too and a big spinach salad.
We had the rehearsal dinner last night, and I had a baked potato with various veggies. I had an emergency Clif Nectar bar that I ate halfway through the evening. The other offerings were steak and shrimp, if you're curious. Sorry no pics!

I will try to take some pictures of the copious amounts of food at the reception tonight. I'll leave you with a picture of my sisters and me with a few relatives at the luncheon yesterday.

Weird Wednesday

Today's schedule was a bit atypical for me. First, I didn't get to run because it's too darn hot, so I used the stationary bike instead. Then, I went with my mom and sister to get a pedicure and (my first ever!) manicure for the wedding. This small errand took close to two hours! The salon was crazy today! Nonetheless, I am quite satisfied with my newly polished nails, if only for the name of the shade--"Tarts 'n Hearts." Afterward, I grabbed a quick lunch before heading to class. I am so not used to having classes again. Bummer.

I have some cool new foods to show you today, so here goes:

Monday
Strawberry shake ended the day well. This one had organic nonfat plain yogurt, frozen strawberries, strawberry Spirutein, and my favorite granola. Good way to get some vitamin C and fiber, with a little sweetness:)
Tuesday
I was in a rush on Tuesday morning for my 10:20 nutrition class, so I grabbed the first items that appeared in my field of vision: a new canister of Quaker multigrain hot cereal and a Nutiva HempShake mix. The two foods don't really "go" together, but both were delicious and satisfying--no tummy growls in class! I cooked the cereal with unsweetened applesauce and cinnamon; I prepared the shake with almond milk and a few ice cubes. (Next time I'll omit the ice cubes). The shake tasted like a more "nutty" Instant Breakfast drink.
Lunch was a very spontaneous in that I just threw some things in the skillet that needed to be used up. The result was a lentil dish cooked with ginger, tomato sauce, cumin, and garlic. I had an Ezekiel pita on the side, along with a salad and some pistachios.
For dinner, I tried an Amy's Bistro Burger for the first time. I put it on whole grain bread with mashed avocado--perfect combination!! I also had a lot of squash and onions (and I wonder why I turn orange...). Sliced tomato and salad completed the meal.
Wednesday
This was an excellent breakfast: mini whole wheat bagel with TJ's almond butter and plain soy yogurt with blueberries.
After I got my nails done, I prepared a lunch that required minimal chopping, etc--don't want to mess the manicure:) I made a stir-fry out of broccoli, tofu, water chestnuts, soy sauce, and ginger. I also had some whole grain rice cakes and a pear.
Dinner was another quick meal, so I opted for an old stand-by: pita and hummus. The rest consisted of: steamed brussels sprouts, a side salad, and a cherry pomegranate Nectar bar.
Well, I have to pack my lunch, pick out my outfits for tomorrow, and do some reading. Plus, I want to hang out with my sister in these her last days as a Yoder girl:( Happy Wednesday!

Weekend Wrap Up

I had a full and enjoyable weekend. I kicked it off right by heading to the farmers' market with my mom on Saturday morning. We got some hefty tomatoes, mixed squash (including patty-pan!), rainbow chard, and oregano and mint plants (Sorry, no pictures!). Later, I went to the university gym with my sister and her husband (we are all attending the same university for our various degrees). I also went to a health food store with my dad that night, where I got a new flavor of Spirutein (Chai Latte), some roasted red pepper hummus, Ezekiel bread, and a few other goodies. Overall, Saturday could be summarized as a health nut's dream:)

Sunday was my mom's big day, of course, and our celebration was a success. We went over to the soon-to-be newlyweds' house for dinner, presents, and ice cream cake. Although my sister hasn't moved in yet, she has managed to get it looking picture-perfect. It seriously looks like a page out of Pottery Barn--Kudos, Katie! To cement her status as a domestic goddess, Katie made her favorite dish: macaroni and cheese. I didn't have any, but it was a beautiful dish that was enjoyed by all who indulged in it. I'll post pics of my plate later in this post, but for now here are a few of the family. No two people ever seem to be looking at the camera at the same time, but such is life:) My brother-in-law Ryan wanted his picture to be on the blog--he's the one staring into an abyss next to the cake.


Rewind: here's what I've been eating, starting with Friday night.

Friday
My evening smoothies have been a lot more healthful lately, mostly because I discovered that adding fruit makes them quite delicious. I'm not a big fan of fruit with chocolate (other than bananas), so I have kept them strictly fruity. Friday's included raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. You know the rest.
Saturday
Before heading out to the farmers' market on Saturday, I had a quick breakfast of whole wheat toast with sunflower seed butter and watermelon. This kept me full for a while.
Lunch consisted of some oven-roasted Tofurky I found in the freezer stuffed into an Ezekielpita with mushrooms and lettuce. I had a yummy salad on the side with chunks of avocado.
For dinner, I made my own lentil dip out of lentils, lemon juice, mushrooms, sauteed onion, fresh oregano, and garlic; I used whole wheat Pitettes as dippers. I had sliced tomatoes (from the farmers' market) with basil and a side salad as well.
The evening smoothie was blue all over, with blueberry Spirutein, frozen blueberries, nonfat organic plain yogurt, and granola--in a blue cup, of course.
Sunday
For lunch on Sunday, I finally tried kale chips! I got some strange looks from the fam when I whipped this one up. "You're eating what?!" I prepared mine with garlic salt and some steak seasoning (how ironic is that?). They were perfectly crunchy--thanks for the recipe, Kath! I enjoyed these as a side dish to homemade lentil-tomato soup, whole wheat toast, and a pear.

As I mentioned above, we were over at Katie's house for dinner. Since the family would be having steak, I picked up some Helen's Kitchen Tofu Steaks. My dad saw these featured on the Today Show on Saturday morning, and directed me to their website. These were a winner! Next time I might try one with marinara sauce though. I also had some of my sister's salad, which had romaine, feta, pecans, and strawberries. I elected to eat mostly strawberries and PECANS, however. I love that combination. We ordered a frozen yogurt cake from TCBY for my mom, as per her request. It was chocolate vanilla crunch flavor, I believe. I hadn't planned on having any, but my mom served me a sliver, so I ate it to make her happy. I was expecting it to be delicious, but it was actually kind of meh. I still managed to polish it off though:)

Monday
Today was another parfait day for breakfast. This one had plain soy yogurt, crumbled Weetabix, and mixed berries. Sunshine makes it taste even better.
Before heading to class, I had a roasted red pepper hummus sandwich and a salad with broccoli, cherry tomatoes, spinach, and walnuts. I spritzed the salad with balsamic vinegar (I keep it in a small spray bottle called a Misto). I also had some apple slices.
Tonight's dinner was inspired by what the family was having: paninis! My mom bought some frozen chicken-mozzarella flatbread paninis at Sam's the other day, so I decided to make my own version. Mine had farmers' market zucchini, organic mozzarella, and a Quorn cutlet in a whole wheat tortilla. I had some freezer burned green beans, a side salad, and a handful of cashews to balance the meal.
Whew! Marathon post again--sorry. If you're still reading (or even if you're not), have a great evening!