H…O…T!!!
I woke up this morning knowing it was going to be an absolute scorcher out. Normally on these types of days I would literally RUN to the nearest body of water and try to keep cool. Since it was Tuesday, and Tuesday is my day at the Re-Vision Urban Farm, I ran to the farm and worked the fields in the heat! For breakfast I focused on fueling myself up so that I wouldn’t get hungry during my time at the farm. Of course I incorporated a giant Green Monster smoothie into my breakfast (what better when the weather is sooo hot?) but on the side I had something a little different than normal.
Yesterday I picked up a bag of these TJ’s Ciabatta Rolls for our dinner. I had one left over and decided to toast it and spread a small amount of Organic Whipped Light Cream Cheese and Homemade Strawberry Jam! Cream Cheese and Jam is one of my all time favorite combos and brings me right back to childhood. The strawberry jam (Thanks Mom!) also made me feel so summery this morning (as if I didn’t feel it enough already with the 90 degree heat!). This breakfast was FILLING but in a good way! 
I have been back at the farm for a few weeks now and I was so happy that today we actually got out of here…
And got our hands dirty out here!
I don’t think I could have handled working IN the green house today. Instead I spent the morning working with a wonderful group of volunteers from the University of Maryland.They helped out immensely and we got a really hard job done in no time! We basically created 10 beds for growing Tomatoes. These beds had to be measured, dug, weeded, fertilized, raked, irrigated, and finally covered with plastic. Here’s a bit of the process:
We all made sure to stay really hydrated and took breaks in the shade from time to time.
Again, it was so nice to have such a great “community” feel at the farm today. Even though these individuals were from far away they had the same ideas about the state of our food, issues around hunger and access to good food, and in general a positive work ethic! It was a wonderful morning. Around 12:00 I grabbed this apple from my bag. It tasted a little bit like hot apple pie to me (minus the crust) because it had literally been baking in the sun! Ooops! Still good though.
My run this morning to the farm was trying so I knew that by mid-day running home would be brutal. I started out ambitious and quickly realized that it would be smarter and safer to take the bus!
Thank goodness for Charlie cards!!! I always make sure to have mine on long runs, just in case!
When I arrived home, I took the quickest shower possible (I was covered with dirt from the farm!) and made myself a big lunch! All the components were superstars but I just had to highlight these Dr. Kracker Crackers because I can’t believe how awesome the stats are!
Besides the great ingredients and health components, the taste is incredible. Seriously, they are worth every bit of the $4.39!
With the heat I was craving lots of vegetables and cold food. I think I was also in need of salt because I was totally into this pickle! However, when I am NOT into pickles? 
The plate was made up of a pickle, Ful Medammes, Grape Tomatoes, Carrots, Watermelon, Dr. Kracker Cracker, homemade broco-slaw and a few mozzarella pearls. These are by far my favorite types of lunches, all the different tastes and textures keep my mouth so happy!
While I was sitting staring at my beautiful new herbs on my window sill I felt that I just had to add a little bit of fresh mint to my watermelon. I didn’t eat it but just the smell made the whole dish that much more enjoyable.
Tomorrow I am happy to report that Meg C. and I are heading OUT of the city and will be spending the day on the South Shore at the beach!!! I can’t wait. Summer is here!
New Bites and Old Sites
Hellooooo…It has been way too long since I have blogged and I am really starting to miss it! I had a bit of a busy stretch there with school work but now that I have successfully finished my two science classes, and am ready to start my Nutrition program in July, I think I can commit to some more regular blogging…at least I am hoping too!
Lately I have been more mindful with my eating habits. I have been trying to cut out the “bored” snacking and the late night sweet treats that I usually indulge in while at work. So far it has been two weeks and I have to say that I enjoy the “in control” feeling and the fact that my pants are a little looser is just an added bonus! I haven’t really changed what I am eating but more how, when and why I am eating it. I am really listening to my body and fueling it with what it is craving and not eating when I am not actually hungry. Sounds pretty easy but as many of you know it’s easier said than done! With that said, here are some new treats that are making their way into my daily repertoire.
While the Green Monsters aren’t really “new” (I’ve been drinking them for about a 2 months now) they are worth mentioning since they have been a miraculous addition to my diet. Seriously, they keep me full for hours (when paired with some sort of grain and protein on the side) and are exactly what I begin to crave as the weather warms up. I really like the idea of getting a big serving of veggies first thing in the morning and the looks I get from my housemates as I wash out my green blender are just priceless! They’re also just so pretty to look at, maybe that’s just because my favorite color does happen to be green!
If you’re interested, here’s my “go-to” recipe:
- 2 cups or giant handfuls of baby or full leaf spinach (whatever I have on hand)
- 1 large banana (not frozen)
- 8 chunks or so of TJ’s Frozen Mango
- 1 cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk (the 40 calorie one)
The result is pure bliss in my opinion. I have also learned that the longer you blend, the better. I used to leave lots of chunks of spinach in there because I was just too inpatient but realized that it’s so much tastier fully blended. Drinking out of a beer glass at 8:00 a.m. never felt so right!
As I said, I almost always pair my G.M. with a bit of toast or something. I recently discovered these Vita Top Muffins that I had been reading about FOREVER and was very pleased with the product. I have a thing for Corn Muffins and while I could make my own healthy version I just never do. I am certainly not going to eat the huge, bakery style ones so I was hopeful that these might fit the bill. They certainly didn’t disappoint. I popped it in the toaster for a minute or two and then spread a thin layer of Peanut Butter on top and a dollop of jam right in the center for added appeal. I am not going to lie, it was kind of like eating a cupcake with peanut butter frosting! Not really, but you get the idea.
While a breakfast cupcake is very enticing, some mornings you just aren’t craving sweet. This morning was one of those mornings. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that yesterday I found a new food and was dying to try it. While at a Farmer’s Market in downtown Boston, I picked up a tub of this Egyptian dip.
Having never heard of it before, I googled Ful Medammes and found that it’s traditionally eaten at breakfast time in Egypt. Here is a list of the ingredients:
And the nutrition facts:
As you can see it has similar components to hummus but instead of chick peas, fava beans are used. The calories and fat are lower than hummus and the fiber and protein higher. To me the taste was quite hummus-y but less creamy and a bit more like Baba Ganoush without the smoky eggplant flavor. I ate mine with half a pita from the same company.
Trust me, this is worth a try and probably could be recreated at home quite easily. However, I do love supporting local businesses so I may just have to go back to the Farmer’s Market next Thursday. It was a nice change of pace from my normal breakfast.
A little savory dipping action…
After my Egyptian breakfast, I set out to Cambridge for a much needed hair appointment. Since I am not often in Cambridge, I decided to take a walk down memory lane (literally), and walked through my old neighborhood and around my College campus.
I haven’t been back since I graduated four years ago! It was strange to see all the changes but also fun to think about all the awesome memories. As you may expect a lot of my memories are food related so I took some pictures of my favorite places during my college years:
Don’t judge a restaurant by it’s exterior! This place has the best Veggie Burger Sub! It comes with homemade pesto and tons of fresh veggies and is served on a crusty baguette. So simple but so good!
Many Colorado Chicken Burrito’s were consumed here. I can still remember how the tortilla sticks to the roof of your mouth, loved it!
And of course Cambridge Common:
We kind of discovered this place senior year (when we were all legal) and I have yet to find better sweet potato fries (C.C. serves the round kind)! Also I can’t forget the Brownie Sundae that would normally appear at our table after a few rounds. Oooops!
Oh college. Somehow, I resisted the urge to get a sandwich or burrito and ended my walk in Harvard Square. I was parched by this point and stopped into Tea Luxe to see what Iced Tea they were offering. To my delight they had a coconut one on tap! To be more specific this tea was called Royal Coconut and is described as: “Pouchong tea with fresh Coconut flavor”. I don’t know if I was just really thirsty or if this truly was one of the best Iced Teas I have ever had, I think the later, but in any case this stuff was heaven on earth.
I am such an iced tea lover! I couldn’t even think of putting a sweetener in this one either, it was so subtly sweet yet robust on it’s own!
Surprisingly I wasn’t hungry for lunch today so I didn’t eat anything other than a Kashi Bar (not pictured). And after hot yoga, my appetite was only slightly there. I kept dinner on the light side but made sure to include plenty of healthy ingredients!
Smoked salmon piled high on a slice of Rye toast, a smear of organic light whipped cream cheese, baby spinach and topped off with a dill pickle slice. I have a serious love for smoked salmon and was pleased to find it highlighted in my latest Runner’s World.
“These fish (Wild Alaskan Salmon) are rich in protein, vitamin D, and inflammation-reducing omega-3’s.”
I knew this before, but sometimes it helps to see it in print and recommended to you as a runner!
For a little added nutrition and crunch, I piled some carrots and grape tomatoes that were just a little wrinkly!
So congrats if your still reading! I apologize for the monster post but I just had so much to share today! Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!
The Best Kind of Day
Today was just one of those days. Not one of those bad days, but instead one of the best days I have had in awhile! It started off on the right food with a healthy, filling and mouth satisfying breakfast. In the past few weeks I have been experimenting with Green Monsters and while I love the taste and the way they make me feel, I haven’t had much luck with the color looking particularly green. This is probably because I am adding Amazing Grass Chocolate Powder and most of the time frozen berries. This tends to create a somewhat muddy greenish color, not that appealing but they do taste “amazing”. Anyway, today I felt inspired to blog so I tried a new recipe.
This particular combo created a gorgeous shade of green and a knock-out flavor! In my blender I put a huge handful of baby spinach, a handful of frozen mango chunks (TJ’s), 1 cup of unsweetened Almond milk, and 1 small ripe banana. Yum. It even matched my Haley House t-shirt I had on. Pardon the hair, I literally JUST rolled out of bed.
Since I like a little something extra with my shake in the morning, and because I had plans for a run with Meg C. later on, I made some peanut butter toast.
This bread was recommended to me by my cousin and I have to agree it’s the best I’ve tasted in awhile. It’s from TJ’s surprise surprise, and it only has 80 calories per slice and 4 grams of fiber! It’s called Soft Multigrain Rustico Bread. Look for it. Perfectly toasted, with a smear of peanut butter and a sprinkling of craisins and golden raisins, this breakfast was again, the best I’ve had in awhile.
After my amazing breakfast, I did some homework, tidied the apartment and finally got geared up for my run. Meg met me at my apartment around 11 and we hit the trail from there. She’s training for a half Marathon in May and this was one of the days she had scheduled to run between 4-5 miles. I had done a little calculating ahead of time and planned out one of my favorite routes that took us along the Riverway to Leverett Pond and finally to Jamaica Pond. We ran a hard 4.5 miles which is why I don’t have any pictures to show you from the actual run. However, here is the proof on Meg’s fancy Garmin that we actually ran it. Hint…hint…anyone who wants to buy me a stellar birthday present, I would be more than happy with one of these babies (Darin!). 
Our run just happened to end at one of my favorite markets ever, City Feed. After perusing the store, we realized we weren’t in the mood for any of their sandwiches and would rather piece together a meal to share on our picnic. At that point I was really craving nothing more than a coconut water. I miss these and decided to treat myself to one.
Meg had the same idea about getting a “fun drink” and grabbed a Honest Tea.
Perhaps the best find of the day though, in my opinion, came from this aisle.
Tortilla chips are one of those foods that I absolutely love but tend to overeat and because the good tasting ones usually have 6 or 7 grams of fat and around 150 calories per serving, this isn’t a great thing. This is why I was so pumped when I found this bag!
These Garden of Eatin’ chips only have 120 calories, 2 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber per serving! The even better part is that they don’t taste like they have such awesome stats; they’re full of flavor, nice and salty and are miles beyond the old “Baked Tostitos” I used to eat all the time. We paired the chips with a Mediterranean Lentil Salad and some super creamy lemon hummus.
Here’s our view and picnic spread.
THE BEST BITE!
With the bright sun beating down on us we rested and refueled. We then walked about two miles back to my apartment, changed, and headed out to do a little shopping. We ended up not buying much of anything but it was still fun to look. After an afternoon snack stop at Berry Freeze (forgot my camera for the shopping trip!) we parted ways and I got myself ready for work. Honestly, it was a fabulous way to spend a gorgeous wednesday and I feel lucky to have a friend that has random days off during the week! I am thinking there will be many more runs/picnics/beach outings this summer. I can’t wait. Oh and since I owe you a dessert picture for spacing it on my Berry Freeze, how bout I share my newest love from TJ’s?
This is a picture of my dessert from yesterday. The ingredient list is crazy on these, and by that I mean crazy short. 6 ingredients (one of which is Beet Sugar!) and all recognizeable. At 30 calories per stick, I don’t think I have found anything that can even compare calorie wise but in the taste department these feel super indulgent and buttery even though they’re dairy free! How DO they do it?
