Welcome to Summer.
This Memorial Day weekend I traveled to Little Compton Rhode Island to kick of the summer season with my family! It couldn’t have been a nicer weekend and I sincerely hope that all of you enjoyed yourselves as well wherever that may have been!
Sunday morning began with an early (before breakfast!) run. I don’t normally exercise on an empty stomach since I have heard that this can be counter productive. I did manage to get in a half a banana and a little bit of soy nut butter (not pictured) before hitting the pavement. This held me over nicely and made the run enjoyable, not unbearable like it can be when you are really hungry! I think the quality of my run also had something to do with the beautiful scenery and my brand new Mizuno’s! I love the new color and can’t believe that I lasted this long!
I also felt pretty powerful with my new bondi band. Knowing that I have run 26.2 miles successfully powers me through a 7 mile run no problem!
My cousin Meg and I both ran 7 miles (a new PDR for her!) and were loving life when we returned. I managed to run mine in 1:00 exactly which puts me at about a 8:50ish pace which I was pretty proud of.
Needless to say I was ready for breakfast by the time I had stretched out and cooled down a bit. I didn’t want a big one because my appetite is always more suppressed having just run a longer distance. So what better than a big glass of ice water and a tub of Pineapple Chobani topped with my Mom’s homemade granola?
I guess it can only be made better being eaten with a snoopy spoon that brings me right back to my childhood! I always dig this out of the back of the silverware drawer when I am at my Nana’s. It’s kind of tradition. 
After breakfast, we all changed and readied ourselves for the beach. Lunches were packed, sunscreen was applied and the car was stuffed full!
The whole crew made it including my Nana who just had a knee replacement last month! I was so impressed with her progress and pleased that she was able to be a part of such a gorgeous beach day, since she is not one to sit at home and loves the beach just as much as I do!
Once we set up shop, it was time for utter relaxation. Nothing better than this in my opinion. I even managed to go swimming (stayed in for about 15 minutes, in the surf!) which makes coming back to a warm towel that much more enjoyable.
Of course lunch was a high point of the day and the highlight of my lunch should have been these Food Should Taste Good chips. You see I received a box, a HUGE box, of all the different varieties last week and have been planning to mention them on the blog ever since. I had yet to try the multi-grain and so decided to incorporate this small bag into my lunch. My Mom and I had agreed to split them but she ate lunch first and kind of forgot to portion her chips out and instead ate all but one and half chips! I can say that the one chip I did eat tasted amazing and I am glad that I have many more bags to go through. This company has it figured out. Real ingredient, awesome flavors and a truthful product name. These are definitely my “go-to” chip. That being said, in all fairness I did bring the chips for my Mom to sample so I guess it’s alright that she enjoyed them.
It’s also completely excusable because she gave me half of her homemade potato salad to bulk up my spinach and chicken salad.
The potato salad was from Cooking Light and was different than other varieties in that it didn’t contain a mayonnaise based dressing. I believe it was simply rice wine vinegar, a little oil and some herbs that made the flavor pop! The potatoes really soaked up the flavors and after reading an article in Women’s Health that highlighted cold potatoes as a “hunger buster” (due to the special kind of starch they contain which resists certain digestive enzymes), I think I will be incorporating a lot more potato salads this summer.
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Added to the mix were some cornichons, you can never go wrong with a pickle!
And as a special treat, the first local strawberries of the season. Oh yea, this is what a strawberry is supposed to taste like!
After a long day in the sun we returned home to get ready for an evening of festivities. I quenched my thirst with some Iced Tea that we had made up earlier in the morning.
I have found a new love for homemade iced tea. It’s so easy, customizable and cheap! Why not?
After showers, croquet was set up and enjoyed by many.
While I normally love a game of croquet, I was busy getting things laid out for the celebration about to ensue. My cousin Charlie is graduating from high school next weekend and we had planned an extra special gathering in his honor. I brought some Fromage Blanc produced by the Foxboro Cheese Co. purchased at the Copley Farmer’s Market. The flavor was lemon honey and while I was nervous that it might be too mild for my family who tends to like bold flavors, everyone raved about it. Success!
I served it with TJ’s water crackers. At 90 cents a box, they’re a pretty good deal and I happen to have a real affinity for simple water crackers.
The other noteworthy purchase of the night was actually bought in the village of Little Compton at Wilbur’s General Store. We went in search of “Diet Tonic Water” because we had a craving for Gin and Tonics but honestly none of us really wanted any artificial sweeteners in our tonic. I was so happy when I found this four pack of “Naturally Light” Indian Tonic Water. The bottle contains 40 calories and has just a lesser amount of fruit sugar added to it. Sounds good to me!
Added to a little shot of gin, a squirt of lemon and lime juice, some ice and you have the perfect summer beverage!
Cool and crisp.
The theme for the night was “cook-out”. Pretty typical Memorial Day fare. However, we added my Mom’s freshly made hamburger buns.
All the fixings including Nana’s famous Coleslaw, baked beans, and my aunt Beth’s corn and black bean salad which had fresh basil added to it. Yum. This salad made me excited for corn on the cob!
And local beef from Bethel! I decided to have a half a burger since I wasn’t starving and wanted to enjoy the other sides. Beans of any variety happen to be one of my favorites.
Just as the sun was setting we brought out the Texas Sheet Cake and sang a Happy Graduation (to the tune of Happy Birthday) song to my cousin. The perfect conclusion to a well executed meal.
This morning we awoke bright early to another gorgeous day. Sadly we all had to go home today but we had one last goal and that was to take a ride in my Dad’s new (to him) boat!
I started out up front where my Mom and Meg are pictured here but soon retreated back with my Dad since I was scared by how fast we were going! I love going fast but I am just not used to such a powerful boat yet. My Dad was quick to say we weren’t even at full power yet…yikes!
To say my Dad was happy would be a complete understatement. He has been waiting his whole life to have an awesome boat and was completely in his element! So happy for him!
We’ve always had older boats (like picture 1960’s style) that were fun when they worked but generally un-reliable. I think this summer we’ll be taking lots of boat trips so get ready for more appearances by “The Black Tern”.
After taking the boat out and packing up the car, it was sadly time to return to the city. I poured myself a bit of iced tea into the tonic bottle and corked it off for the ride home. While I was sad to see the weekend come to an end, I am so excited for the rest of the summer. I can’t believe tomorrow is June 1st (Happy Birthday Darin!); nice to think we still have it all in front of us!
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 ride up…
I made it to South Station with plenty of time to buy my bus ticket, find something to bring with me for dinner and get in line to make sure I had a good spot on the bus! I had a PURE bar while I was waiting to get on the bus. This flavor was the Cherry Cashew which I think is my favorite of the ones I have tried. I would rather have a PURE bar than a Lara bar any day. I think this is because PURE bars seem less dense and less nutty? Even though they hold very similar ingredients I have never been able to get into the Lara bars.
I started to crave something other than water while I was eating this and set out to find some iced tea. Unfortunately there were no Dunkin Donuts at the bus terminal so I had to settle for unsweetened original iced tea from Honey Dew. It wasn’t bad although it would have been better with a lemon which they were out of!
The star of my bus ride was actually my D’Angelo’s sandwich which I picked up on a whim just before we loaded. It was a pita pocket with turkey breast, lettuce, tomato, pickles and honey mustard. I was particularly impressed with the turkey because it wasn’t the “slimy” deli kind it was more like roast turkey that you would eat on Thanksgiving. Come to think of it, a little cranberry sauce would have really sealed the deal on this one but the honey mustard was sufficient in adding enough zing without adding calories.
Not pictured are the complimentary pretzels and water that they handed out mid way through the trip in Portland. I also treated myself to a small bag of Swedish Fish from the vending machine since I was seriously craving something sweet after my sandwich and hadn’t had time to pack something from home.
