One week...

…until summer! The biggest thing getting me through finals is the fact that in one week, I’ll be posting from my big red comfy couch, with a kitchen full of cookware and functioning appliances at my disposal. You know you’re a food blogger when the kitchen space is the thing that most excites you about going home!

I started to feel way better today, which put me in a great mood all day! I set my alarm for my last early workout of the semester in the hopes that I’d feel better, and woke up with my cold symptoms way better. I had a pre-workout snack of a banana with Maranatha PB before heading out to the gym! It’s been over a week since I’d been there last, and even though it was a refreshing break, I was happy to be back. I did an easy half hour on the elliptical so I wouldn’t be wheezing, followed by three reps of 12 in the 12-machine circuit. (I used to be horrible about wiping down machines after I used them, but in the last few months I’ve wised up and carry a few of the sanitizing wipes with me to every station!)

Post-workout breakfast was a new cereal: Nature’s Path Optimum Slim (stupid name, especially since it’s nutritionally identical to the other Optimum cereals), with blueberries, almond milk and cinnamon:

After eating, I headed to my first final. It went really well! I treated myself to the usual Thursday Power-Fu sammie, with a side of seaweed salad and some fresh pineapple and an apple from home:

On the way home from my afternoon lecture, the blustering wind blew what turned out to be a tiny BUG into my eye. I spent over an hour attempting to flush it out with eye drops, water and tears, and finally laid down in bed with my eyes closed, hoping a catnap would resolve the problem. Thankfully, when I woke up half an hour later, I managed to rub a GNAT out of my eye. Gross. Nothing the rest of my Endangered Species dark chocolate and a few dips in the sunbutter jar couldn’t cure:

I was weirdly un-hungry for the remainder of the afternoon, so when the hunger set in at 4:30 I just went ahead and made my salad beast for dinner:

Romaine, tomato, roasted yellow squash and tempeh smothered in humnut sauce

Dessert was an unpictured apple with sunflower seed butter, plus some of April’s protein cookie dough:

2T Nutribiotic Chocolate rice protein powder, 1t cocoa powder, splash of almond milk

Post dinner I got a baking urge, but didn’t want to purchase more ingredients before going home. When I realized I had all the ingredients on hand for Averie’s peanut butter chocolate chip protein bars, I got started right away! I followed the directions almost exactly, simply subbing dry roasted peanuts for the dried fruit, and a broken Lindt 85% bar for the chocolate chips.

I sampled one as soon as they were chilled enough, obviously…perfection J

Tonight I’m taking it easy and catching up on The Hills and The City. I’ve got a fun last weekend in NYC planned, including dinner at the Candle Café tomorrow with a friend, and a formal at Mike’s school on Saturday night. Happy Friday loves!

Do you wipe down gym machines after using them? Be honest! Like I said, I used to be really bad about this :/

Any fun weekend plans? The weather is finally getting nice, so hopefully you all get to spend time outside!

I've got the fever

Race fever, that is! I just signed up for my second half marathon, the ODDyssey Half Marathon in Philadelphia on May 29! I loved the feeling of accomplishment I had after Sunday’s race, and I want to try again in (hopefully) more ideal running conditions. Plus, I’ll have way more flexibility to train once I get home in a week, so I’m excited to see if I can beat my last time (my official time for Sunday’s race was 1:59:22). I also registered my mom and I for a women’s 5k on Mother’s Day, just for fun J

I woke up this morning with a much less stuffy nose, but a wonderful sore throat in its place. Breakfast was a bowl of Fiber One with a sliced banana and almond milk:

Cardio was still out of the question given my difficulty breathing like a normal person, but I was itching for some movement, so I went to a yoga class at my gym. Nothing too intense, but it felt good to really stretch out my legs. I’m not much of a yoga girl, but every once in awhile it’s nice to relax with. I made sure to disinfect the heck out of my mat afterwards, don’t worry!

My lunch was a favorite- OIAJ!

½ c oats, 1 c almond milk, 1 scoop NutriBiotic chocolate rice protein powder, 2 T chia seeds, 2 T flax seeds, mashed banana and the remnants of WCW (~2-3 T?)

Never disappoints. I also had some carrots with hummus and an apple. Afternoon snacks:

Roasted sunflower seeds and a Luna Peanut Butter Cookie bar

I had a bit of a disagreement with a substitute teacher in one of my classes this afternoon. I won’t go into it, but suffice to say that I hate when professors expound potentially insulting theories just because they can. It takes a lot to ruffle my feathers, especially when it comes to authority figures, but it was one of the few times I’ve actually been offended by what a teacher has to say. I tried not to let it bother me, since it’s just a sub and I’ll probably never see her again!

Dinner was packed with veggies- I was craving them!

 

Lettuce, tomato and humnut sauce on a Tumaro’s honey wheat wrap; extra tomato plus nutritional yeast topped broc on the side

I also picked up a container of organic strawberries on the way home. They were amazingly huge and juicy (TWSS), and so sweet that I didn’t bother to add chocolate sauce! I still managed to get my chocolate quota in with some Endangered Species dark chocolate with blueberries, though:

 

Fruit + chocolate is the perfect distraction from finals studying…which I must get back to…now. Bonne nuit, mes belles!

Yoga…thoughts? I know the blogworld is full of yoginis and cardio lovers alike, so tell me why you love it/could do without it!

Snuffleupagus

Ever since I was a little kid, Mr. Snuffleupagus pops into my head every time I blow my nose. I have no idea when this association began, but let’s just say I’ve thought of Snuffy a lot today!

After a fitful night’s sleep, I woke up at my usual time and had a bowl of Kashi GoLean, Fiber One, fresh blackberries and almond milk:

I had every intention of going to class today, but the thought of sitting there for an hour blowing my nose and feeling like a human bacterium was not appealing. I emailed my teacher telling her I was sick and went back to bed for two glorious hours *insert ironic foreshadowing here*.

The nap did me a world of good! I made a salad beast for lunch.

In the Tupperware: butter lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green olives, original flavor Sunshine patty, topped with humnut (3T each water, nutritional yeast and hummus)

 

Fruit smiley and the last of my Baker’s chocolate for dessert.

After lunch, I headed over to my afternoon lecture. 400 person hall = plenty of room to spread out with my ginger tea and tissues. Afternoon snackage ensued:

 
Clif and clementines, plus a few peanut butter fingers

I’d made plans this weekend to meet Jillian for a Cosi dinner date tonight, and after feeling progressively better all day, decided not to cancel. I had my usual hummus and veggie sandwich on their white flatbread, with baby carrots on the side (recycled pic):

Afterwards, we were both feeling like a sweet treat, so we headed over to 16 Handles for some fro-yo. It was during this walk that I very awkwardly passed the teacher whose class I missed this morning. Typical…of course, the one day I’m not in class is the one day I happen to see that teacher among the 2 million people on the island of Manhattan. Awesome. At least I only have one class left?

Good thing I had some self-serve frozen dessert to help erase the incident from my memory:

Mango Tango and kiwi-strawberry flavors, topped with fresh strawberries and carob chips

Much better. I’ve spent the rest of the night studying for a quiz in my Paris class, while eating White Chocolate Wonderful from the jar…I know I’m not alone when I say that I can’t wait for this semester to be over! Hope you all have terrific hump days!

Who was your favorite character on Sesame Street? I was a Grover girl J

Any stories of awkward run-ins to make me feel better? I know the professor probably doesn’t even care, but I’m a classic brown-noser!

Catching cold

Well, it seems as though yesterday’s wet and chilly half caught up with me today. I’m currently installed in bed with tea, tissues and a box of cereal, hoping that a good night’s sleep and plenty of fluids will make this head cold pass quickly!

I woke up feeling fine, just a tad sniffly. Breakfast was a bowl of Fiber One and Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise with fresh raspberries and Almond Dream.

Despite having stretched yesterday afternoon, my legs were feeling pretty stiff. Mike suggested I get moving a little, so I took a brisk two-mile power walk around the West Village before it started raining. I spent a good half hour stretching when I got back, and it was around that time that my head started pounding and my nose got progressively stuffier. By the time lunch rolled around, my appetite was nonexistent, so I made something small, dense and nutrient-rich.

 

PB&J with Maranatha peanut butter and Bonne Maman apricot preserves on French Meadow Bakery Women’s bread, along with a Fuji and two clementines

Since one of my afternoon classes had already been cancelled, I made the executive decision to skip my second in order to finish working on a paper and take a nap. Sleep was a great incentive for getting work done! I snacked on a bowl of strawberries and bananas with chocolate rice protein sauce before napping for an hour:

Strawberries and bananas topped with 2T NutriBiotic chocolate rice protein and 1T cocoa powder mixed with a splash of water

I couldn’t skip my last lab, so I snacked on a Tumaro’s honey wheat tortilla with Tribe hummus before braving the rain.

I wasn’t too hungry after lab, but I knew that after yesterday’s run I needed to eat! Dinner was quick and easy:

Steamed broc with nutritional yeast

Amy’s Kitchen split pea soup with more nooch mixed in, topped with pepper and hot sauce (I’ve come to the conclusion that soup is the least photogenic food in existence)

I also had another Fuji with some PB&Co. White Chocolate Wonderful, as well as a block of Baker’s dark chocolate:

Love this stuff. I bought the box of eight individually wrapped squares for about $4.50, but it’s definitely just as delicious as some of the more expensive brands!

Finally, I wanted to post the TWLOHA photos a few of you sent me in celebration of last Wednesday’s To Write Love on Her Arms day!

Ana from An Active Adventure

Jaclyn from JustJac

Lisa from HealthNuttxo

Mine!

Thank you so much for participating, girls! For more information on TWLOHA, check it out here. They have a great mission statement, and it’s so easy to spread the word!

Anyone have any good cold remedies? I swear by lots of sleep, but I think eating well also helps speed up recovery!

What’s your favorite brand of chocolate? When price is no object, I love Godiva, Lindt, Dagoba!

Candle 79 and my first half marathon!

Whew! Can it really be Sunday night already? The past 24 hours have been quite packed, and as much as I’d like to slow down for a moment, I know there won’t be much relaxing in the next 11 days. Time for the finals push!

Yesterday afternoon I headed uptown to meet my parents at their hotel. My dad brought up one of the packages that had arrived at home since Easter, which turned out to be some samples the nice people at Kardea sent me to try. My mom and I dug right in and split the cranberry almond flavor:

 

It was yummy! My mom absolutely LOVED it, and while it wasn’t the best bar I’ve ever tasted, it was still pretty tasty. I liked the texture most; it was dense and sticky, kind of like caramel. It was a very melt-in-your-mouth kind of bar, and though the ingredients list wasn’t as good as a Larabar, they weren’t bad either. It was something I’d buy again if I needed a snack in a pinch! I’m excited to try the other flavors. Thanks, Kardea!

Last night’s dinner at Candle 79 was incredible, to say the least. I’d loved the restaurant the first time I visited on my birthday, and my second visit was just as amazing. I know not everyone shared my opinion, but I think it’s the best vegan restaurant in New York!

While my parents split a bottle of organic wine, I chose a Green Goddess juice instead, No need to dehydrate myself before the race! It was a perfect blend of mixed greens, apple, lemon and ginger; I could definitely taste the greens, but the apple gave it just enough sweetness, as well.

To start, we got a complimentary tasting of the chef’s Arancini, a vegan take on the traditional Italian pork and rice balls:

These were made with tempeh, rice and Daia cheese, topped with some kind of tomato sauce. My dad was obsessed, and I couldn’t blame him!

We ordered two appetizers for the four of us to share: Angel’s nachos, and the special of the day, which was some kind of oyster mushroom fritter with pesto sauce.

Corn chips, cheddar and mozzarella, tomatoes, refried pinto beans, chili-grilled seitan, guacamole, salsa, tofu sour cream, romaine lettuce

Oyster mushroom fritters

We all know I passed on the fritters, because of my slightly ridiculous hatred for mushrooms, but I absolutely owned the nachos. How could I resist? I loved that they added chunks of seitan to the mix- most vegetarian nachos are kind of lackluster without the meat!

For my entrée, I chose the Mediterranean Tempeh Cake:

With truffled new potatoes, seasonal vegetables, preserved lemons, artichoke & olive salad

Holy yum. Tempeh is definitely my favorite vegetarian “meat replacement,” and this was the best I’ve ever had it prepared. It was creamy and flavorful; my dad kept commenting on how he couldn’t believe there was no butter or dairy in any of the dishes! I don’t think he’d ever believed me when I insisted that vegan food could be just as good as mainstream dishes.

The other entrees were a hit as well:

My mom’s ravioli filled with spinach and tofu ricotta cheese

My dad’s seitan piccata, with creamed spinach, grilled potato cake, oyster mushrooms, lemon-caper sauce

Mike’s pecan-crusted seitan with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus

Despite already being full, we each ordered a dessert as well. I broke with my normal chocolate obsession to order the strawberry-rhubarb pie, since it’s my favorite flavor!

With phyllo pastry, almond crumble, vanilla ice cream, berry coulis

Unsurprisingly, it was also delicious. Strawberry-rhubarb pie is one of my favorite warm-weather foods, so it was a great springtime dessert. I also sampled my mom’s Mexican chocolate brownie (which I ordered last time), and my dad’s chocolate-peanut butter bliss (which Mike also got). Overall, it was an absolutely excellent meal…I told my parents that Candle 79 is my favorite restaurant. Any place that can convince omnivores to enjoy vegan food is amazing in my book!

Mike and Me

I spent the night at my parents’ hotel in midtown so I would be closer to the race. Before I went to bed I made sure to get everything ready to go for the morning!

I woke up and had my usual bowl of cereal, which I’d brought from my apartment:

Kashi GoLean, sliced banana and Almond Dream almond milk

Funny sidenote about the bowl and spoon: when I was getting ready for bed, I realized that I didn’t have any utensils to eat my breakfast with. My dad went in search of some, but since the hotel’s restaurant was already closed, all he could find were some dirty ones left on a table. He brought them back anyway, and we washed them in the sink! Kinda gross, but I think I’ll live J

Unfortunately, as soon as I looked out the window, my spirits were dampened a bit (har har). The forecast had been predicting rain all week, but I’d held out hope that it would be wrong…

47°F and pouring? Not so much. We got to the race, and I was freezing within minutes. I tried to ignore the chill and focus on the race!

I forgot a raincoat, so I had to use my dad’s, circa 1990. Stylin’. I also look like I’m about to fall asleep.

I started off slowly, mostly due to the huge crowd at the beginning, then sped up a bit and kept a pretty consistent pace until mile 9, when I started to tire out a little. I managed to pick up the pace a bit towards the end though, and in the last .1 miles, caught a glimpse of the timer above the finish line counting up from 1:59:51. I absolutely sprinted out the last few yards, and crossed the finish line at 2:00:00 exactly. I’m still waiting on the official time to be posted, but I was excited to finish within two hours!

Butt shot- I’m in the light blue sweatshirt and black shorts

The first thing I did after finishing was to chug four cups of water, grab a bagel and a banana, and whip off my freezing and soaked sweatshirt and t-shirt. Mike generously offered me his fleece so I wouldn’t freeze. I gobbled down the banana and half the bagel before chucking it- I love bagels, but this one tasted like cardboard. After a warm shower to thaw out, we had a late breakfast at my parents’ hotel:

Three mini chocolate croissants (one of my favorite childhood foods!)

Fresh fruit salad with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple

This afternoon, I would have loved nothing more than to curl up in bed and spend the afternoon drinking tea, napping, and watching The Hills marathon. Unfortunately, that evil little thing called school is still hanging around for the next two and a half weeks, so I got to work writing a French paper.

Strawberries with homemade chocolate sauce

Almost the entire five-serving bag of trail mix. This stuff is like crack, and when I’m hungry, there’s no stopping the addiction!

Despite the snack action, I was hungry again by five. I made the beastliest salad I’ve ever had:

 

Lettuce, two tomatoes, a cucumber, baby carrots, sliced green olives, half a block of baked Lightlife tofu, humnut sauce and salsa, all atop an Ezekiel tortilla

Apple with unpictured Maranatha PB for dipping

Baker’s dark chocolate block

Now it’s off to an evening church service, and then back to the grind…this week is going to be another rough one. Only 11 days until I’m officially done for the summer! Enjoy your Mondays!

Have you ever been to a vegan restaurant? What did you think of your experience there? Like I said, everything at Candle 79 was flawless in my opinion, but I’ve definitely had some “just okay” vegan meals.