Caroline Dines

When I began this blog back in August, I wanted to blog every day and talk about everything I ate. I was successful for a few months but quickly realized that this format was starting to bore me and therefore it was likely boring my readers. Recently I have realized that blogging was becoming more of a chore than a joy and I have taken a step back to think about what I want from this blog and what I am willing to put into it. While I took a break, telling myself that I didn’t have to take pictures or make interesting looking meals, I found myself wanting to take pictures of certain meals and blogging in my head.  I still find it fun to photograph food and want to share my “note-worthy” eats with the Food Blogging community. I started to think about my posts and how I could keep blogging fun.

My decision to change my posting schedule was also influenced by a recent acceptance into Graduate School! I am very excited to say that I am going to be starting a Masters in Applied Nutrition program at Northeastern University this coming Monday. I hadn’t mentioned anything on here before for fear that I wouldn’t get in, but while I was home on vacation I received a very important letter stating that I had been accepted! I will be taking 2 classes to begin with, Eating Disorders in Children and Adults and Medical Nutrition Therapy, while continuing to work at my current job. This program will prepare me to work in the field of nutrition at the community level (it does not prepare me to become an R.D.) which is exactly what I picture myself doing. I will be specializing in Eating Disorders and Obesity which excites me beyond belief. It has been a dream of mine to enter this program and finally it is happening!

I am anticipating a lot less free time and until I get the hang of being a student again, blogging could take a back seat completely. My goal is to keep the blog going with “highlight posts” instead of daily updates. So without further ado I bring you my favorite dishes and creations from the past couple of days.

A simple spinach salad with pan grilled chicken, peppers, hardboiled eggs, carrots, tomato, cashews, dried cranberries and pickles. I topped it all off with Trader Joe’s Balsamic Vinegar; tart and tangy!

Spicy black bean soup (TJ’s) and Ak-Mak crackers with Organic Hummus. I sometimes forget how much I love canned soup. This can has been sitting on my pantry cart forever and was time to be used!

Dipping these cracker planks with creamy hummus into the spicy soup was the best part.

Speaking of spicy, I happened upon a jar of “The Heat Is On” Peanut Butter & Co peanut butter at Christmas Tree Shops the other day and just had to have it. First of all I remembered seeing it on Broccoli Hut’s blog multiple times and secondly it was only $2.99! I paired it up with some BBQ sauce that has been lurking in the fridge for ages and was pleasantly surprised at how the sweet and spicy flavors came together.

I used my brand new Cuisinart Food Prep (mini size) to create my version of Peanut Butter BBQ Tofu. I had tried this before but was eager to use the correct flavor of peanut butter. I used the following ingredients:

Sweet and Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce

• generous scoop of “The Heat Is On” Peanut Butter
• 3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce
• 2 tablespoons of organic ketchup
• 3 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon of Ginger People ginger juice

All of these measurements are approximate. You basically can’t go wrong just make the sauce as sweet, spicy, thick or thin as you like!

I marinated the sliced and pressed tofu for a few hours before baking it at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Alongside the tofu in a separate dish I roasted a medley of vegetables which included baby sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I used the remaining sauce over the vegetables and tofu. FABULOUS!!!

One of my New Years resolutions was to stop eating after dinner which is particularly hard when you work until 10:00 p.m. and are surrounded by unhealthy yet tempting food. I am proud to say that since Sunday when I came back to work I have not eaten ANYTHING unhealthy out of the house kitchen and have been sticking to my rule of not eating after dinner. I think the key to this has been the addition of a nightly cup (or three) of Decaffeinated Good Earth Tea.  The flavor of this tea is rich with cinnamon and keeps my mouth and brain happy while I am busy at work.

I will admit that I also have been having a square of dark chocolate each night with my cup of tea instead of eating all the baked treats from the house kitchen. It’s funny how a simple change like this can make you feel so in control and back on track without giving up sugary treats completely. I still reserve the right to eat the occasional piece of cake or brownie if it is totally appealing but the mindless munching has to stop!

Breakfast has been a variation of the same thing each morning. I have been loving my TJ’s Complete oatmeal packets which I have been making with water (no milk in the house still!). This mix was absolutely delicious and contained the following: Blue Diamond Almond Butter, a mix of dried cranberries and raisins, coconut, and small drizzle of cranberry apple butter. Mmmmm……I wake up craving this now.

I was back at the Haley House yesterday which felt great. They had some “day old” wraps that were not for sale any longer but still perfectly good. I snagged a half of the roast chicken whole wheat wrap. It was simply chicken, lettuce, tomato and a little bit of mayo but boy was it heavenly.

While at the Haley House today I was speaking with a member of the live-in community there who was drinking an interesting looking tea. He told me that it was “Kombucha” which I had heard of before but had never tried and knew little about. He actually makes it himself and told me the entire process which sounds a little unappetizing since it involves fungus and letting the fungus “ferment” the tea for a week. He said that you can make it with green or black tea and add any kind of fruit juice to make it differently flavored. He offered me a taste, and since I never want to turn any new food down before trying it, I gave it a sip. The result: I loved it! It tasted a lot like hard apple cider to me, a little fizzy with a strong yeasty smell. He gave me a small bottle to bring home and I had another glass before heading into work. Apparently Kombucha is pro-biotic and has a positive effect on the digestive system. Have any of you made your own or tried a bottled brand of this tea?

This morning I decided to try oatmeal again. I had been off it for a while now since it wasn’t exciting me but for some reason the cold weather and snow outside has made me re-think my breakfast options. I picked up some “Complete Oatmeal” packets from Trader Joe’s yesterday and decided to add a little extra goodness: ground flax seed.

I stirred in this amount of cashew butter after the oats had been heated with unsweetened almond milk.

To make it festive I added coconut, dried cranberries and a half a sliced banana. Oh, and a little sprinkle of cinnamon too! It was a delightful breakfast to say the least.

I spent the morning cleaning, packing and getting organized. I also decided to whip up a batch of “Roasted Chickpeas”

• 1 can of chickpeas drained, washed and patted dry
• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
• dash of salt and pepper
• dash of garlic powder

Bake at 450 for 30 minutes until crispy.

I added my freshly toasted chickpeas to a bed of spinach, carrot nubs, roasted red pepper dip, one slice of light havarti cheese and balsamic vinegar. An uber healthy salad plate!

These chickpeas were rock solid! They reminded me a lot of hummus (duh, hummus is made from chickpeas), more so than plain chickpeas because of the roasting action I do believe. A great snack too, I popped a few in before my salad!

After lunch, I bundled up and walked to the store. Along the way I listened to my latest Pandora station: Alvin and the Chipmunks Holiday!

I love my walk to the store.

I was on a mission to make Chex Mix and had it in my head that I wanted to make it as healthy as possible but still have a good flavor. The key for this batch was still using butter, but just not as much. I used the best butter I know of: Kate’s from Maine!

I had thoughts of getting different ingredients to boost the nutritional content but in the end I stuck with the old standbys: three varieties of chex, dry roasted lightly salted peanuts, and pretzel sticks.

The only ingredient that deviated from the original recipe was a dash or two of ginger people sauce. I think that this made a huge difference in the flavor because it meant that I didn’t need to use as much butter!

I ended up using about 4 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, and a good shake of Virgin Islands Salt Mix (you could use Seasoned Salt, just don’t use the kind with MSG!). This baked for about an hour at 250 degrees. I checked it every 10-15 minutes though. They say you can make it in the microwave but that just didn’t seem right to me!

I was quite happy with the final product but feel as though I could have used more worcestshire sauce. Maybe I am just used to the one my Dad used to make with lots of sauce so that all the pieces were sticking together. Mine is very mildly flavored but I am happy that it doesn’t have all the loads of butter that a normal batch would contain. I may “rebake” it tomorrow with a bit more sauce. Although, Darin gave it the big thumbs up so maybe I’ll just let it be. Besides it does look pretty in it’s holiday tin!

Dinner was a medly of Trader Joe’s frozen goodies. I was inspired to try the Vegetable Gyoza after reading about Kat’s success with them. Once I was in this section of the freezer I just had to try the chicken and vegetable dumplings and the lemongrass chicken rolls. All of these were a fabulous alternative to take out in my opinion and because they were steamed in the microwave they remained very healthy with no added oil!

I heated up some edamame for color and nutrition and made a light dipping sauce of soy, ginger, agave, and rice wine vinegar. The best part is that I have this exact meal (times two) in the freezer ready to go! Darin and I only ate half of each box which turned out to be plenty for both of us.

About an hour after dinner I found myself searching for something sweet, I happened upon this luscious looking Ghiradelli square and figured it better than the alternatives. I am trying to be super accountable before the Holiday because I KNOW there will be lot’s of tempting dishes once I am on break!

We awoke this morning to find that winter was about to hit Boston hard. A huge storm was making its way up the east coast and was predicted to hit us by 9 p.m. tonight. We are slated to get anywhere from 7-15 inches of snow over the course of the storm which should end mid-day tomorrow.You can imagine the excitement/panic that was going through my mind. On the one hand I am so excited to be getting snow in Boston but since it is the last weekend before Christmas and we have LOTS to do still, there was no time to be wasted! I made us each some cinnamon sugar toast which I drank with a mug of candy cane green tea. This breakfast reminded me of being a kid, every now and then you need that! Also, we didn’t have ANYTHING else in the house so toast was it!

After finalizing our list, we set out to the stores. The malls were crazy of course but we managed to get some things accomplished. The first thing on our list was eating lunch out! I wanted to get a few things “in the bag” first but Darin was hungry and I was easily talked into starting our trip off with a meal. We stopped by Chili Duck on Boylston Street which we had both been to before, but not in a long time. It was a very spur of the moment decision but I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. Chili Duck is located in the basement and so has no windows but ends up feeling rather spacious and cozy due to the decor and mirrors on one side of the wall. I was so bummed when I realized that I forgot my memory card inside my computer at home! I had to rely on my iphone which isn’t as high quality but got the job done I guess.

While looking around, I caught sight of a “specials” board which was advertising “Jungle Curry: A healthy curry made without Coconut Milk”. I was immediately intrigued and knew that I had found a healthy alternative to my typical noodle dish or heavy curry concoction. I was not disappointed with my meal when it came out, in fact I was overwhelmed when they lit the whole thing on fire! It was quite exciting and just added to the enjoyment of it all.

The curry flavor was not very strong since I asked for it to be mildly spiced. Basically the dish was a light broth with strips of chicken, bamboo shoots, peppers, basil, ginger, and other veggies. I ate mine over rice. It ended up turning into more of a soup than anything but I was happy I opted for something light and healthy. I left the restaurant feeling vibrant rather than like I wanted to take a nap!

After we were all “fueled up” we hit the Prudential and Copley Malls. We split up for awhile since Darin had shopping to do for yours truly. Since I was all done with my shopping I browsed and people watched. It didn’t take him all that long (he must have had a plan!) and before I knew it we were walking back home. Since it had warmed up a bit, we opted to walk rather than taking the train. Later on this evening we poured ourselves some wine (with ice, it was warm!).

And had some crackers and cheese. These are the TJ’s Triscuit variety (reduced guilt) and they are delicious with a slice of light havarti.

Since lunch was really dinner and the food is sparse around here, I decided to make myself a little hot dog n’ beans dish. Baked beans are one of my favorite foods that I don’t eat that much anymore because of all the sugar. I treated myself tonight though…oh I am so wild, eating baked beans and hot dogs!

The hot dogs I used were the following:

Just a dollop of mustard on each “dog bite”.

By the way, it would be wrong of me not to mention the fun night out I had with Meg C. We ended up going to The Border Cafe in Harvard Square (Veggie Planet will happen at some point but last night it was just too crowded!). We enjoyed drinks and…

…salsa and chips hot from the oven!

I had a great time talking with her about everything under the sun. It’s so fun when you find someone that you really click with! I can’t wait for our next outing and hope to include Kristine from Purple Pinky Toes and Meg’s sister Anna from Blue Plate Special who will be home from Kenya!

…would you have snow, ice, rain and lightning all on the same day! I had high hopes for a real winter storm this morning but soon after it started snowing here in Boston, it changed over to a “wintry mix” and then to just plain old rain! I battled my way to the Haley House despite the poor conditions and was happy to walk into a warm storefront and fix myself a cup of Chai Tea. With my tea I enjoyed a Lemon Scone (made with half whole wheat flour!). I hadn’t been hungry this morning when I woke up so eating breakfast at 10 a.m. worked well.

Even though I wasn’t “hungry” I was super curious to try the newest pizza on offer. I made a quick sign to try and entice customers into buying!

I have never tasted such a pizza before and was completely won over. The base was of course whole wheat and from there the layering began with carmelized onions, then to sweet potato disks, and finally big globs of goat cheese! The pizza dough was also noticeably seasoned with fresh rosemary which added a lovely aroma and taste. I was surprised that I didn’t sell one piece. Even with these delicious looking samples sitting out (people did try the samples and said they liked it but then ordered a wrap or soup!) Maybe people are weirded out by goat cheese and sweet poatatoes. The whole time I was thinking if only I had some of my fellow foodies around, they would buy the whole pie!

I mean just look at this for a beautiful combination!

Despite the poor pizza sales, I had an awesome shift. I enjoyed myself by turning the radio station to Christmas music and taking in the scents of this Holiday Candle. It felt very cozy with “the weather outside so frightful”.

I had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon which went well, I had my first ever “blood work” to check my cholesterol (I guess your supposed to start doing this every five years in your twenties?). I absolutely hate needles and was so proud of myself that I didn’t come up with an excuse as to why I couldn’t get it done today. I was brave and let them take two vials of blood from my arm! Yikes! Beforehand, the doctor asked me lots of questions (she is a new Primary) about my diet. She wanted to know what kind of food I eat, whether I drink soda, etc. I almost said, “Can I just show you my food blog?”. After the appointment I arrived home and promptly devoured an entire grapefruit. I have had some serious citrus fruit cravings lately and this was exactly the afternoon snack I had been waiting for.

I followed the fruit up with three slices of provolone cheese. Love it.

Dinner was inspired by The Broccoli Hut’s recipe for Peanut Butter BBQ Tofu. I had a block of tofu in the fridge and wanted to do something kind of different with it. Whenever I think of tofu I immediately think about The Broccoli Hut so off I went to search her recipes. I was so excited when I found this because I love BBQ sauce and any kind of nut butter! I used Cashew Butter instead of Peanut Butter and added a dash of the hot sauce I received from the farm this past summer. An utterly delightful combination of ingredients if I do say so myself. I baked the cubed tofu at 400 for a good long time (45 min?) and also baked some broccoli and carrots with a little dash of the sauce over the top, alongside the tofu.  The end result was a bowl of sweet, spicy and nutty heaven! Hey, even Darin ate it, and he doesn’t typically go for tofu!

The best pieces were the slightly crispy ones. Sometimes you would get a big chunk of cashew butter since it didn’t get mixed as thoroughly as it should have. Although I don’t really see this as a problem. Cashew Butter Chunks = Scrumptious!

And since all the gingerbread cookies are gone, I had a small candy cane for dessert. Not half bad.

This weekend I drove with my parents south to Little Compton, Rhode Island. My Grandmother lives here and it is one of my favorite places on earth to visit; a tiny town set right on the ocean. Little C. is filled with beautiful houses, stonewalls, farm land, and of course beautiful beaches; it’s really hard to beat. It was just a bonus that the weather was perfect all weekend. I took this upon our arrival, and I will warn you now I was a little camera happy this weekend since everything was so photogenic.

Soon after we unloaded the car and said hello to my Nana and Uncle Rob (aka Napoleon, ), it was time to eat! Lucky for me my Mom had thought ahead and packed a delicious homemade soup; Coconut Carrot Ginger to be precise. She also brought some of her own Kalamata Bread. It was super satisfying lunch.

We did a few projects around the house (my Mom and I washed a few windows and my Dad and uncle did the majority of the work) and then relaxed in the sun with some reading material. I was very interested to read how Massachusetts W.I.C. program is being revamped for the better! Awesome news.

I hate to say it but I may have fallen asleep in the sun. Pretty much my favorite past time . I managed to wake myself up before 5:00 though, since I knew I wanted to be around for
“happy hour”. We picked up these seasonal Mike’s at the best small grocery store in the world, Lees Market in Westport, MA. I really love my seasonal beverages.

We wanted to keep it low key for dinner, so ordered out from our favorite (and the only pizza place in town), A-1. They make a great pie I have to say. Nana, Mom and I ordered the veggie (sans broccoli, just can’t handle it on pizza!).  Each slice was loaded with onions, garlic, peppers, black olives etc. This was truly a great veggie pizza in my opinion.

On the side, a totally local salad was thrown together with ingredients from our good friend, Liz’s farm. And since it was a Saturday night with family gathered, I kicked back and ate some reduced fat Cape Cod Potato Chips with my slices.

Dessert was not to be missed either. About a 1/4 cup Cappucino Crunch Fro Yo with a homemade biscotti on the side. The biscotti was chocolate chip flavored with a hint of coffee so the two worked very nicely together.

Sunday morning we awoke to another glorious day. I had to showcase one of the many orchid plants that my Nana has growing by her front window. She has the greenest thumb out of anyone I know.

Another score from Lee’s Market was this rare tea. OMG go find it if you’re a coconut lover!

I love White tea, I think even more than Green tea to be honest. I’ve heard it’s just as good if not better anti-oxidant wise and the flavor is just a bit more subtle which I like. I tried to persuade people to sit outside and eat breakfast but I had no takers. At least I was able to take my pics in some gorgeous sunlight with a beautiful back drop!

Breakfast was local Rhode Island Red eggs (again from Liz’s chickens), Kalamata toast, and Applegate Farms bacon (cooked in the oven, great method by the way!). I think the picture speaks for itself.

About 4 cups of tea and a dozen conversations later, my Mom and I took a walk. Along the way I couldn’t help myself.

The boardwalk looking ever so empty on this November day.

Some Bittersweet. Invasive? Yes, but still pretty to look at.

The “mouse house” (as we like to call it) across the path looking a little worse for wear.  

Bright red winter berry splashed across a bright blue sky.

A rough sea and Great Rock.

And some berries that I cannot name but were too vivid to pass by.

We worked up a little appetite on our walk/stroll and decided to break into a pomegranate before hitting the road. I have never “done” one of these before and I am so glad that I watched my Mom because it’s so easy!

It’s kind of a fun project and the end result is just delicious! I think ours was a little under-ripe but it still tasted phenomenal.

I was so sad to have to get back in the car only 26 hours after our arrival but I know I’ll be back sooner than later. I did a little yoga just before leaving to take it all in. This was my first time doing yoga outside and it was an incredible experience. I loved feeling the grass beneath my palms in downward dog and setting my gaze on the ocean was just a little bit better than looking dead into someone else’s sweaty back! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend, I have some serious blog reading ahead of me.

As some of you may know I love cake. It  doesn’t matter if it’s store bought, homemade, ice cream, chocolate, golden, whatever; I’ll eat it. I am nearing the end of day 5 on my “Sugar Free Week” and was hit with the ultimate test of will power tonight: not one but TWO kinds of delicious looking cake. The first cake was brought in this morning on a plate with my name written on it (literally). Our housekeeper here wanted to share the leftovers from her son’s 1st birthday this past Saturday. I had been invited to the party but wasn’t able to attend and had sent a cute present over for him anyway. She let me know that the cake was waiting for me in the office when I saw her this morning at 7:30 a.m.! Needless to say, this guy has been in my mind all day long (I had to at least look at it this morning!).

So when I came into work tonight you know I had one thing on my mind, that cake. I had a plan though to dispose of it (I hate to throw things out, but, out of sight is out of mind) as soon as possible. My co-worker also had a piece with her name on it and she tried a bite just to get a taste and said that it had coconut in it. Damn. I love coconut! She also said that the frosting wasn’t anything special so that made me feel better since the frosting can be my favorite part. I quieted my cravings down by cooking up a shrimp stir-fry.

I used the Trader Joe’s shrimp and veggies in a bag. It comes with garlic pepper seasoning that you can add at the end but no sauce. I decided tonight to make my own sauce using the following:

• soy sauce
• agave (just a squirt)
• ginger juice (Ginger People brand)
• crushed garlic
• rice wine vinegar

Turned out fabulous. I just kind of eyeballed it and was pleased with the result. After cooking the shrimp and adding the veggies I threw the sauce over the top and sprinkled the garlic pepper seasoning on as well. I added extra broccoli to “beef” it up as well. The result was great. Simple, clean and classic.

As I was cooking, I realized that our Monday night dessert had been delivered by our loyal volunteer and was sitting just a few feet away. Oh god. Golden cake with chocolate frosting and pretty sprinkles on top. Be still my heart. This was made from scratch too, she’s a pro. Anyway, I managed (so far) to avoid this one and the one pictured before. I will admit I had one little swip of frosting from the chocolate as I was lifting off the top to serve a family (it got on my hand!) and I had one tiny nibble of the coconut birthday cake before it was “deep sixed”. I have to be honest on here, I feel too badly if I am not! It’s not that I’ll never eat birthday cake again it’s just that I made a promise to myself to try one week without eating any processed sugary stuff so I am sticking with it. Some of you may be saying, “just eat a small piece” or “go ahead and eat the cake you ran 8 miles!” but it’s bigger than that right now. If I eat a piece tonight, I’ll eat a piece tomorrow and the next night and so on. I have to make a somewhat drastic cut back in order to really get “back on track” and distinguishing what is “worth it” vs. “not worth it”. I have to be more picky with my sweets, be a sweet snob if you will. I am hoping that completing this week will really help give me perspective on my sugar intake.

I racked my brain for a “healthy” natural sugar dessert that I could make and came up with what’s pictured below. I took some frozen berries and microwaved them for 30 seconds. I then added some blueberry museli from TJ’s to the top, sprinkled a few slivered almonds and poured about 1/3 of a cup of almond breeze over the whole thing. The result? Damn good. I don’t know if it “satisfied” my cake craving but it certainly helped fill me up and gave me a little bit of a sugar fix.

Wow.  For being so discouraged last night, I had a truly awesome day all around. I should have known it was going to be great when I opened the fridge to find that I had finally made my way through the Almond Butter jar enough so I could eat my yogurt mess IN it just like Kath! Little did I know she was doing the same thing this morning with her oats

The jar was everything I expected and more. The added bonus for me, who doesn’t have a kitchen sink (in my apartment) is that I didn’t have to wash any dish! I was also very fond of the way I always had the proper amount of almond butter. What a genius idea! I have a baby sized Barney Butter which I think I am going to open tomorrow (from the Healthy Living Summit Swag bag). I have just been waiting for this one to be gone and now I can proudly say it is! Enjoyed to the last scrape!

After breakfast, I packed up and hopped on the T in order to get to the Haley House Bakery/Cafe for my second week of volunteering.

Here is the outside of the Haley House. It’s located on a beautiful, quiet street in Boston’s South End neighborhood. The first floor of the brownstone houses the bakery/cafe, the kitchen and the common area where members of the house’s live in community serve meals to the homeless and elders in the area.

The second two floors are for the 5-7 community members who sign on to live here for a year or more with-out pay. They manage the bakery/cafe and help faciliate the many group meetings that come through here each week. The house serves 40,000 meals per year (breakfasts for the homeless men and senior luncheons) they also have a food pantry, and offer permanent affordable housing in the area for eligible indiviudals.

One of the coolest services they offer happens at the Roxbury location. Local vegetarian chef, Didi Emmons, had the idea to teach indiviuals who are transitioning from drug addictions, homelessness, or incarcerations, how to cook healthy and nutritious food. This program gives people the tools to find a job in the food industry and at the same time helps build their self esteem and self respect. One of her quotes in a local paper was “This is social work, it just happens to be in the form of a restaurant”. How awesome is that? For someone like myself with a social work background and a passion for food I couldn’t imagine a better place to spend my Tuesdays.

Here is the small store front where I sit behind the counter.

And here is the kitchen and community area that is connected to the store front. Today about 20 senior citizens from the neighborhood came through the cafe stopping to buy a coffee and a scone from me, and then made themselves comfortable here.

As I “worked” I drooled over the cupcakes. Check out the toasted coconut on top!

And the beautiful Muffins (some of which are vegan)!

On the way home I stopped into the Copley Square Farmer’s market for some dinner supplies. Gorgeous skys and an interesting contrast in architectural styles.

Here’s my loot!

By the time I got home I was starving and had to throw down a quick lunch before my Physical Therapy appointment. Left overs did the trick with a tall glass of Iced Green Tea to quench my thirst. 

And just for fun here I am modeling my new Haley House t-shirt with their logo proudly displayed! Love it

Physical therapy was awesome! Did you expect me to say that?! I was diagnosed with Piriformis syndrome (just as I had suspected) but told that it is an easy ailment to treat and I will most likely be cleared to run the Tufts 10k! I am going to go in for some ultrasound and heat therapy for the next week and half, do some stretches at home and take a few more days off from running but after that I should be good to go. Apparently the muscle is just strained and needs to relax.  What a relief. After such a busy day I was exhausted by the time I began my real job but eating this HUGE salad gave me the energy I needed to get through the night. The salad contained the following which (veggies from the Farmer’s Market):

• green lettuce
• scallions
• red pepper
• tomato
• cucumber
• wonton crisps (in the house kitchen, didn’t buy myself)
• chicken
• CASHEW GINGER DRESSING left over from the other night.

Yummmm. The dressing made the salad but I think the veggies helped a lot too. It was a great combination of flavors with a lot of crisp and crunch.