Chocolate-covered breakfast

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But before we get to my real breakfast, pre-breakfast was a small sliced apple with sprinkles of cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom:

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I bagged the apple and snacked on it during the subway ride to meet Kate for our five-mile-run that started at her apartment and then went over the Brooklyn Bridge and back. If you’ve never walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, you’re missing out because it’s a beautiful stroll. Running across the bridge, however, is like running up a mountain against hurricane-force gales. Despite the wind’s malicious plans for us, we made it through :-). Stats: 56 minutes, 448 calories, average heart rate 146, max 170.

My post-run breakfast was inspired by the chocolate-covered vegan/katie and the case of jocalat larabars she is giving away (and the chance to earn three extra entries for using one of her recipes ;-)). I combined three of Katie’s breakfast grain procedures in one scrumptious breakfast: banana bread in a bowl, brownie batter oatmeal, and the blended grains technique. I started with a smaller portion of banana oatmeal than Katie calls for in her recipe, so I also blended in 1/2 cup fresh pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup yogurt, a tsp-sized peanut butter ring-around-the-edge, and a sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut to sufficiently fill my bowl:
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img_4804I had my chocolate-covered brownie batter banana bread in a bowl blended oatmeal (what a mouthful!) alongside soymilky chocolate caramel enchantment chai (my last bag of it :-() and a glass of water.

The breakfast definitely deserves a big YUMMMMMMM! The CCV’s techniques added delicious flavor complexity and a perfectly creamy texture to the bowl. Thanks for the ideas, Katie!

In addition to the CCV giveaway mentioned above, you should also head over to Just Sweet Enough to get a look at the yummy snacks Nicole has up for grabs in honor of her 50th post! AND, Simply Fabulous is giving away Trek bars!

I’m off to maybe get something done today. Hopefully I can find the muscle strength I need to crack open one of my textbooks!

Do you prefer smooth food or chunky food?

Only food can make me move

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Well, I finally dragged myself off of the couch last night and got around to some food, food of course being the only thing that could have made me move any sort of muscle. I threw together a random smattering of things to make some approximation of a salad:

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The bowl had sauteed mushrooms, onions, and asparagus; a chopped sun-dried tomato; an egg yolk (leftover from something my roommate Tara made with egg whites earlier in the week); a bit of chicken (leftover from someone’s lunch at work); fresh cilantro and spicy red and green sauces (leftover from the taco my coworker Nydia gave me earlier in the week); chopped cucumber, fat free feta, dried basil and oregano, freshly ground black pepper, and drizzles of truffle oil and balsamic vinegar.

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Then, while slaying a pumpkin, I snacked on some more things, including some golean crunch clusters with a drop of soymilk, the teeny ends of a sweet potato I had just baked, more centerpiece conversation hearts, and bits of pumpkin flesh/skin/seeds as they were ready to taste:

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Because it was Friday night, I had more peanut butter frozen yogurt just like I made it on Thursday. This time, I topped the fro-yo with sauteed apple and banana. Loooooove that carmelized fruit:

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After finishing the night with fro-yo, I finished it a little more thoroughly with hazelnut chocolate:

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And then, it was time for bed. Tara gave me a fresh pair of earplugs, and they were amazing again! I hadn’t realized how much power the others had lost, but the difference was like night and day … literally, haaaaaaaa.

Also, go visit Lucky Taste Buds! if you’re in the market for free Barney Butter (and who isn’t??).

Exhaling

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Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh, it’s the weekend :-D.

I was up before the crack of dawn this morning for my arms on the step + stairmaster workout — it was 44 degrees by 5:15 am, so I didn’t even need all my extra layers, yay! Stats: 1 hour and 11 minutes, 446 calories, average heart rate 130, max heart rate 165.

Today’s oatmeal blend was the same as yesterday’s: 3/4 cup banana bread crockpot oats, 1/2 cup yogurt, unsweetened shredded coconut, nutmeg, and a tsp of pb:

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Alongside the oats, I had half a broiled grapefruit. If you’ve never tried a broiled grapefruit, you should. I love grapefruits the way they are, but I know lots of people find them a little too sour — and broiling ups the sweetness factor by a million. My motivation for broiling this half grapefruit actually came from the fact that it has been sitting in the fridge where one of my roommates left it nearly a month ago, and I noticed today that it had started to sprout a little bit of fuzz. I knew she’d throw it out anyway, so I rinsed off the fuzz and stuck it in the oven to burn off anything that might kill me. It turned out deliciously:

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Plus soymilky black tea and water:

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I ate my yogurt right before my 2-hour supervision meeting at 10. The mix included 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup fruit salad left from Wednesday’s meeting, cinnamon, cardamom, and a sprinkle of golean crunch:

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img_4755I also had a very special treat waiting for me at the office today: habichuelas con dulce! On Wednesday, Vianni made mention of this phrase, and my ears perked up. “Sweet beans? Beans with sugar? What is habichuelas con dulce??” All the ladies in the office started conferring, and it was decided that Belkis would bring some in for me to sample (notice the two whole cups of sample to the right) since her mom is visiting from the Dominican Republic and cooking up a storm. Habichuelas con dulce is a Dominican dessert drink traditionally prepared for Ash Wednesday. Belkis gave me a brief rundown of the procedure: the drink basically consists of kidney beans blended with milk, sugar, cinnamon, and more. Belkis’ mom also added raisins and batata after the blend, so there was fun textural variety, too.

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I had one cup cold at 11:57 as my lunch appetizer and one cup warm as my lunch dessert at 2:36 :-D. It was a cup of heaven really — kind of like eggnog on steroids!

Sandwiched (time-wise, not literally!) between my habichuelas con dulce, I had more fun with coworker food. The last cup of Nitza’s soup (it got me through 3 meals!):

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And the perfect soup accompaniment: steamed veggies and grilled chicken! Apparently, Mildred and Myrna were thinking of me yesterday — when I wasn’t even AT work — and actually saved their lunch leftovers so I could have them today! The chicken had been so deliciously marinated, and the veggies were some of my favorite to eat steamed: broccoli, carrots, and chayote:

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Myrna and I ran our parents’ group from 1-2:30, and I snacked on a few of our group snacks throughout: some slices of apple and orange … and about 3/4 cup of apple jacks (errr, because I needed more sugar). When was the last time you had apple jacks? I was probably 6 and probably snuck them at some friend’s house when my mom wasn’t looking!

I raced out of the group at 2:30 to get ready for my 3pm visit … but the mom ended up rescheduling for next week! It took me a minute to adjust my plan mentally, and I instinctively ate two massive lollipops (plus two small unpictured hard candies) in the ensuing brain blip:

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I quickly recovered with a new plan (and my second cup of habichuelas dulces) and set to work. At 4, I broke for carrots and 1.5 tbsp hummus:

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At 5, yo salí de la oficina!

I’ve got a group presentation to work on this weekend and a whole slew of errands and tasks to complete … but right now I’m taking a break, thinking about eating dinner, and relaxing on the couch with some Seinfeld. It’s been too long, Jerry! There’ll be time enough for work tomorrow … or there probably won’t be, but I need a little breather! What’s on your weekend list?

Dinner in phases

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My meal schedule tends to evolve based on when and where I come into contact with food! While walking home from the subway station yesterday afternoon around 3:30, for example, I stopped into Union Market (purely for the samples, of course) and came upon dinner part 1, which I brought home and arranged prettily on a plate with decaf soymilky sweet coconut thai chai:

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Findings included the sampler cup of antipasti, cheddar chunks on baby toast squares (I actually had 3 of these), and 3 cookies:

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The cookies deserve a closer look:

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Sandwich cookies are my favorite!

I also had a package waiting for me when I got home. (Is there anything as satisfying as interesting mail?) It was the Country Bob’s sauce I won from Allison at Green Dog Wine:

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I have big plans for this sauce and a block of tofu. Just wait!

Dinner part 2 was 3/4 cup of the delicious soup that my coworker Nitza made for me along with my last 3 slices of kale-crust pizza (:-( so sad to see it go):

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Hearty chunks of health:

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Kale-crust pizza, I hope we meet again soon:

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Dinner part 3 happened a couple hours later and was inspired by Heather who was inspired by Sarah to make peanut butter frozen yogurt. I followed Sarah’s procedure with 1/2 cup yogurt, 1 tsp peanut butter, and a drop of vanilla. But I couldn’t stop, so I also mixed in 1/3 mashed banana, 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, and sprinkle of cinnamon and cardamom. I froze it for 20 minutes, stirred, and froze it for 20 more. Voila!

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I considered sprinkling chocolate pieces over the top but decided against it in light of my cookie spree earlier in the afternoon. I had more fruit salad (also with cinnamon and cardamom) on the side instead:

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Perfect way to end the night!

Also, congrats to Lindsay at For the Love of Oats on her one-year blogiversary!! To celebrate, she has some pretty exciting (and lucrative!) contests lined up, so go check it out!

I’ll be back after work with today’s food … followed by a serious movement to catch up on sleep!

Do you prefer to eat all at once or in pieces?

Limbs of lead

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I woke up with a growling tummy this morning. How is that possible after all I ate yesterday? Empty calories will do it every time, I suppose. I had a giant spoonful (about 1/4 cup) of fruit salad from yesterday’s produce leftovers before heading out for my run around 7.

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I kept the run short — about 2.5 miles — because my legs still feel like lead from the re-introduction of a different strength workout (scroll down to find the “Reach Your Goal 2008 Workout” video here) on Tuesday morning, and I wanted to leave enough time for a thorough stretch with yogadownload’s Gentle Hatha #1. This run was so tedious — my hamstrings just refused to warm up. And I don’t know if my HRM was acting up or if my heart was really going wild at some point along the way, but look at how high it went! Stats: 28 minutes, 212 calories, average heart rate 143, max 216. Coming back in for the yoga (and for breakfast) was a big relief.

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I heated 3/4 cup banana bread crockpot oats and added 1/2 cup yogurt, sprinkles of nutmeg and coconut, and a spoonful of peanut butter.

I had the oats with my soymilky black tea and a flower because I was trying to channel the breakfast romance that Miss Banana Cabana conjurs every morning with her breakfast arrangements:

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(But I don’t think my arrangement had quite the same effect as hers, somehow.)

I was in the mood for more of a mess, so I splattered the pb from my spoon all over the oats to shake things up:

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Speaking of crockpot oats, Abbie at Foods That Fit is working on putting together a blogger cookbook! Imagine: all the recipes that you want to try from all over the internet compiled neatly in one simple location. Check out her cookbook post (that just happens to include my recipe for crockpot oats in the sample photo :-D) for more details about how you can contribute AND get your hands on a copy for free!

I left at 10 to head up to Hunter for the day. I usually have class on Thursdays, but it was cancelled today for Common Day. Hunter does this a few times every year with lectures and workshops on a single theme (today’s theme was racism) from 11am to 7pm. Ummmm, 11am to 7pm?? The other girls in my program and I lasted until 2. Hopefully they still let us graduate .

Before leaving the apartment this morning, I threw together a bunch of random things that I hoped would get me through the afternoon. (If I’m not eating during lectures, I usually end up sleeping.) At 11, I had a snack baggie with carrots from yesterday and a tbsp of peanut butter:

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At 12, I had my last two stuffed kale leaves:

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At 12:07, I had 1/2 cup yogurt with chopped banana, chopped pear, cardamom, nutmeg, and a sprinkle of kashi golean crunch:

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At 12:16, I had another cup of fruit salad:

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I was trying to pace myself, but the minutes were passing at the speed of years, and I had nothing to distract me from my bag o’ food and minimal hunger pangs. I took a little break from eating and then had my first-ever Kraft LiveActive bar at 12:52:

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The bar was fine — it was very berry-y and chocolate-y and tasted like a candy bar — but I doubt I’d buy these again. I only got them in the first place because I had a coupon, and I’d really rather have a piece of real food than a bar any day! But, I can’t deny that bars are good in a pinch, never go bad, and have decent mouth-entertainment value … for about 49 seconds.

After the bar, I took a 15 minute nap in my chair. Until I realized the speaker was calling on a girl directly behind me and the entire auditorium had swiveled in my direction. Awesome. That woke me up for the last 10 minutes. Falling asleep was hard work and made me hungry, so I dug around for my one remaining snack:

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Like I said, we busted out of there as soon as the talk was over at 2 (no small breakout groups for us!) … and again, I hope they’ll still let us graduate! I’m now home and resting my aching hamstrings. I really do feel like I’ve been dragging solid blocks of lead around all day. Maybe that’s why I’m so tired.

[Another giveaway alert: Chocolate-Covered Vegan Katie has some incomprehensibly amazing loot up for grabs. You really should not miss this one!]

Have you ever skipped out on something “mandatory” because you just couldn’t take it anymore?