The baking urge is in FULL force this week. It first hit around Saturday evening and has continued to gain strength over the past couple of days. It cannot be attributed to any one cause but we can safely conclude that my exam tomorrow is only adding to the intensity.

I’ve gotta resist the urge for now and remind myself that in 37 days, I can bake all the live long day. My oven has no idea what it has coming for it .

***

This morning after some dilly dallying I hit the pavement for a 4 mile run around campus. My left quad was actually pain-free this morning (hooray!) but I knew it wasn’t up for the roller coaster hills of the WaDuke Trail.  I ended up at the gym where I cooled down on the elliptical for 15 min. and then did some leg weights.

(the other 0.58 miles was walking before and after…approx 10 min.)

I could have kept going for another mile or two but my shins started tingling. I can’t seem to go beyond 4.0-4.5 miles lately. My shins are resisting the 5 mile mark but that’s okay. I’ll take it.

***

My appetite was virtually non-existent so I started with something small and figured I could load up on snax (my signature style).

A Millet Bread Mountain. Remember when Waffle Mountains and I had a major honeymoon stage a few months ago? I decided to bring it back using millet bread instead of a waffle.

Mountains are just an excuse to load up on the toppings really. Mine included Greek yogurt, banana, pecans and raw chocolate spread.

Side of a soft, juicy pear.

My appetite was slowly coming back and I had a steep hankering for an iced coffee. I didn’t feel like brewing a hot cup of coffee and then cooling it down so I had a Green Smoothie instead.

I used this Chocolate Kidz Superfood packet I found in my stash, which has crazy amount of fruits and veggies inside–check out the list!

Of course with chocolate, comes berries…

• 3 strawberries
• 1 Chocolate Kidz Superfood packet
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup kefir
• H2O

All in my coffee mug!

See the berries?

While admiring the sunshine from my desk, I had a handful of Dark Chocolate Covered Expresso Beans:

Dried Pineapple (I finished the bag so you don’t have to see this photo anymore ).

And a spoonful forkful of Naturally Nutty Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Seed Butter.

I’d say I made a dent .

Dinner had to be lickety split because I had to dash off to teach.

I made a quick Eggplant, Spinach, and Hummus Sandwich

And a salad with hard-boiled eggs:

I threw in some hummus for the veggies and ketchup for the eggs.

A big apple:

+ another forkful of Naturally Nutty.

I swear, I’m going to cook something this weekend. Actually cook….and bake. It’s been awhile! A grocery drought and a massive workload –> lame dinners this week.

Any suggestions for dishes/ingredients?

***

I’ll probably have another small dinner and dessert later tonight. You can assume part of it will start with an M . I’ll need some fuel to get me through a late night of studying!

37 days….so close yet so far away.

No no, I’m not jet-setting to Hawaii with my new hubby…

You’ll soon see that I had 2 slices of my beloved millet bread today. I thought about limiting myself to 1 slice per day and then decided within 3 seconds that that would be silly. It’s a healthy source of whole grains and I enjoy every single bite so why not eat to my heart’s content? If I were consuming a whole loaf per day, I would be concerned (especially for my wallet) but I’m only eating about 2-3 slices per day (yes, only)….SO I’m going to continue to fill it with millet!

I know my millet bread infatuation will soon pass. We’re just going through a honeymoon stage right now so bear with me .

***

Pre-AM workout Snack: dried pineapple while getting in some mornin’ studying for my exam on Thursday. I was alert and studying well but I also had the urge to m-o-v-e.

Workout:

65 min. elliptical and ~20 min. upper body strength training. I told myself I could stop ellipticalling at 20, 30, 40, or even 45 min. but I wanted to continue. I guess I had a lot on my mind and the People magazine in front of me was quite entertaining.

***

Post Workout: I didn’t get back from the gym until almost 1pm so I guess this can be called lunch

Strawberry Banana Kefir Green Smoothie

• 1/2 banana
• 2 strawberries
• 1/2 cup kefir
• 1 cup spinach

Side of grapefruit, strawberries and mango slices from an on-campus fruit bar.

Black and White millet bread (coconut butter and raw chocolate spread).

Another delightful combo brought to you by LLE.

Egg whites and tofu with ketchup

rAnDoM!!

***

I went to class for absolutely no reason today. The professor started to lecture and then realized 5 min. later that we already covered the material. Great. So then she passed back group papers and we were free to go. I went as far as putting on jeans, a nice shirt and even some makeup….such a waste!!

On my way back, I decided to spend the extra time strolling through the Duke gardens and enjoying nature.

I found some loud duckies sunbathing while quacking away.

And this big ol’ bird.

For dinner, I turned this salad bar salad into a veggie ‘n’ hummus platter:

—->

(Okay, so maybe I had some of the leafy greens on the side. You know I love my leaves!)

Hummus and Pita Points

Tomatoes, Eggplant, Bell Peppers, and Cauliflower

I continued to chip away at my dairy supply with a….

Kefir and Greek yogurt Bowl:

With strawberries, mangos, flax seeds…

and Kashi Puffs Cereal.

All together now.

Dessert will be some dark chocolate, dried pineapple and a slice of my hubby millet bread with a TBD spread (almond butter? coconut butter? chocolate spread? All 3?).

I’m pumped for American Idol with Miley Cyrus tonight (don’t hate!) and not so pumped for a a load of studying (do hate!).

***

Quirky Qs

1. Do you wear real clothes around the house (i.e. jeans, nice shirts) or do you stick to t-shirts and sweats? I always wear t-shirts, gym shorts and sweats when I’m in my house/apt. Always. If I dress nicely for some crazy reason, I change immediately upon entering my house/apt.

2. Have you ever gone through a honeymoon stage with a certain food? Did you limit it or feed it? Ohhhh yes. Kefir, tart frozen yogurt, Ezekiel english muffins, almond butter, Rosie’s granola bars, and the list goes on. I always try to feed it as you can see with Mr. Millet Bread. I know the passion eventually dies down .

Breakfast this morning was a red and pink affair. Actually all of today was coincidentally heavy on the red. No, It’s not Valentine’s Day but it sure looks like it, huh?

Millet bread with almond butter, cinnamon and bananas. Along with 4 strawbs lookin’ pretty.

You know it.

You also know that I have a tub of Greek yogurt and a bottle of kefir to finish off.  So I had both with some chia seeds, ground flax seeds, and strawberries.

And some 1/4 caf coffee.

I got these dishes from the other TJ’s (TJ Maxx) over winter break and almost forgot I had them! I found them in a bag right before spring break.

I got these in December when Valentine’s Day was coming up. Hence the Valentine’s Day/Hearts theme….

…AND eat good food

I got the same saying on a plate.

As well as a second plate with a sweet philosophy.

Except I eat dessert first, middle and last. You know it.

The entire morning was spent working on my paper for my entrepreneurship class. It was a struggle but I got through it with the help from some SNAX. You definitely know it!

A whopping spoonful of Naturally Nutty. Notice the jar is almost empty and it has only been a week!

Continuing the theme of hearts…part of a chocolate Heart Thrive bar.

2 hard boiled eggs (I hate one whole and one white).

More RED…a Red Delicious apple. I ended up not having the Barney Butter and actually had another slice of millet bread.

P.S. I’m NOT a fan of red delicious apples (Fuji is way better, in my opinion) but they only sell these on campus and I’ve gotta use up those food point$. You know it.

We gave group presentations in class today and I’m happy to report that ours went very well. I guess all that time meeting at the library paid off.

For dinner I whipped together a Strawberry Walnut Salad with some other red veggies (tomatoes, red peppers) as well as cauliflower and cucumbers.

I used some Gyoza Dipping Sauce for the dressing.

On the side I had 2 hard boiled egg whites and another slice of millet bread. I spread almond butter all over that thang. You know it.

Dessert=Dark Chocolate. You know it.

***

I took today off from the gym to give my muscles a rest but more so I can watch the premiere of Dancing With The Stars. You know it. My Momma is in love with this show and I guess it’s rubbing off on me….or I just wanna see Kate Gosselin’s hair in action. You know it.

Also my left quad is starting to hurt again . I think it’s from the roller coaster hills of the WaDuke trail.

Quirky Q’s

1. What is one of your favorite mantras/sayings? Two quotes that I love are “Nobody ever died of laughter” (because I laugh a lot…Live LAUGH Eat…you know it!) and “Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.’

2. What is/are your favorite reality TV show(s)? I don’t watch too many reality shows but I will occasionally tune into The Biggest Loser, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, The Next Food Network Star (oh yeah!). I used to love The Simple Life and Jon and Kate Plus 8. Okay, that’s a lot but I didn’t watch them thaaat often.

All 3 of my roommates are sleeping in a tent tonight so I have the apartment to myself!!! CRANK UP DA HEAT!!  (If you’re new to the blog…my roommates constantly have the AC running and set at 50 degrees even when it’s frigid outside).

I’m gonna watch the Olympics and hopefully get some work done. I usually end up twirling and dancing around whenever I watch figure skating and/or gymnastics so we’ll see how much work I actually get done .

<— Just like that!

Source

***

Breakfast:

Pumpkin egg white oatmeal (1/4 cup rolled oats + 1/4 cup oat bran + 1/4 cup pumpkin + 1 egg white).

Topped with bananas, pecans, and coconut.

Cup o’ joe to kick-off my exam cramming. I’ve gone back to adding cinnamon to my coffee again and it’s splendid!

Anyone else like eating with baby-sized utensils?

Munchies while studying:

I had 3 of these babies. These dried apricots weren’t kept in an air-tight container so they shrunk and got tough!

Cinna-raisin Ezekiel English Muffin w/ almond butter and banana slices:

I spent most of the morning studying but quickly got bored. I did a little walking while studying but it was wiiiiindy and chilly here so I only walked ~1 mile before heading inside.

The exam was alright. Nothing too crazy.

***

Afterwards, I completed an experiment at the Business School for $10–it took less 10 minutes! THEN I went to the gym sporting mah new sneax!!

I bought these over winter break because they were on sale but I haven’t taken them outta the box until now. My other shoes are still okay to run in but they are wearing down. I figured I could double fist (double foot) for a few months.

At the gym, I ran 2 miles in my white ‘n’ shiny sneax and then ellipticalled for 15 min. I was tiiiiired and dragging. I’m declaring tomorrow a rest day!

***

I actually prepped dinner this afternoon when I got sick of studying, so there’s still daylight in these photos.

Veggie Tofu Stir Fry using Trader Joe’s Gyoza Dipping Sauce

With a serving of Quick Pearled Barley:

I mentioned awhile ago that I’m not a white rice fan, I prefer brown rice. Heather suggested that I use pearled barley so I got this box to try. I don’t know why I didn’t think of using pearled barley earlier because I LOVE barley soups!

It was a great way to add a whole grain to my stir fry. I wanna add it to my oats tomorrow! Check out the protein and fiber!

The most interesting side salad in the world.

For dessert, I’m gonna have some fruit (didn’t have much of that today) and perhaps some protein hot chocolate. I might go hunting for some real chocolate too!

Did I mention, I’ve got the apartment to myself tonight?!?

This morning (or yesterday since it’s 2 AM!) I had a 20 min. dance party+ abs sesh in my room upon waking up. I needed to WAKE up my body. It’s hard for me to get my brain juices flowing if my bodily juices aren’t flowing as well. Juices=blood

Unless I work out, I usually try and eat breakfast within 1 hour of waking up, even if my appetite is not fired up. However, this morning I was determined to post before digging into anything. I was hoping I would blog faster if I knew there was FOOD at the end of the tunnel.

How long do you typically go before eating breakfast in the mornings? Do you typically wake up hungry or not hungry at all?

I used to never be hungry in the mornings and would always skip it simply out of convenience. It was one less thing I had to do in the morning. However, I started making breakfast a habit after reading about how important it was to fuel your brain and body. Now, I can barely go 20 min. without my tummy begging for fuel! It’s the most important meal of the day, right? Ya gotta break the fast early in the mornin’.

***

Bizzlefast.

Kefir, Greek yogurt, strawberries, pineapple, mango, and Kashi Go Lean

1/2 a pear. This d’anjou pear was ‘disco’ (I used to say ‘disco’ when I was little….short for disgusting). It was hard, dry and tasteless. I wish I had a pear tree in my backyard so I could eat juicy pears all day long.

So much GREEN in this photo.

Salmon Orange Square Snack Plate. 68 cents from Target!!

• M&Ms. My roommates have these lying around in a bowl and I keep munching on them. Mehhhh.
• Sesame Honey Almonds
• A pinch of cereal

My tummy kept rumbling during class. I blame my awkward eating/class schedule. Since Mon-Thurs I have class from 2:50-4:05, I eat breakfast/lunch between 10 and 12. Even with a snack, by the time 4pm rolls around I am HUNGRY!

I briskly walked home and got right to preparing dinner….

***

Odds ‘n’ Ends Veggie Stir Fry

I put a buncha leftover/unused odds ‘n’ ends into a pan with TJ’s Gyoza Dipping Sauce:

• ‘Shrooms
• Frozen Mixed Veggies (broc, cauli, carrots)
• Red+Green Peppers
• Tofu

Assembled into a shapely setting. My geometry teacher would’ve been so proud!!

Check out all the *triangles*!!

A triangle of salad w/ avocado and tomatoes

A triangle of the veggie stir fry

2 triangles of whole wheat bread

Atop a circle and rectangle!

After dinner I had some more of these guys (same as earlier).

I went to teach my little oboe-lings and then went to the gym to watch the Duke Basketball game vs. FSU. It ended up taking me 40 min. to get to the gym because Duke parking suckles up the wazoo. Frustration fuels physical activity though and I had a rockin’ workout. 60 min. on the elliptical and then more incline walking on the treadmill to continue watching the game.

Afterwards, I had a Caramel Nut Brownie Luna Bar which was weeeeeird. It had a funky aftertaste. I don’t think I’ll ever get it again. Chocolate Peppermint Stick flavor fo-evah.

I also had 1/2 an Ezekiel English Muffin w/ almond butter and the other half of the ‘disco’ pear. My tummy does not discriminate when I am hungry post-workout. Anything is good enough when all I need/want is calories for fuel.

This was consumed at midnight!!! I don’t like working out so late because I don’t like eating so late but I wanted to watch the basketball game at the gym. I’m pretty sure I’m going to wake up staaahhhhvin.’ At least I’ll be ready to break my fast when I wake up .

I woke up early today (okay, early for me), just to brush my teeth and tinkle. There’s been construction going on near my apartment so they turned off our water for several hours today. That’s one way to ensure you get outta bed!! There was no hitting the snooze button this morning

I’ll admit living without water for only a few hours was pretty challenging. No peeing? No washing of the hands? We use water a lot more than we realize throughout our daily lives. Of course this morning taught me a lesson to be grateful for luxuries such as running water. I rarely think about the conveniences I am so fortunate to have until they’re gone (or temporarily shut off).

I must admit not being able to pee was the hardest part. It did NOT help that I drank coffee.

***

I had a hankering for french toast upon waking. Despite the freezing temps and heavy rain there was still no oatmeal/oatbran to be craved. Maybe tomorrow.

To make the french toast bath I combined:

• 1 egg+2 egg whites
• splash of almond milk
• vanilla extract
• pumpkin pie spice

I soaked 2 slices of whole wheat bread in the bath and pan fried away.

I topped the French toast with microwaved apples, cinnamon, agave nectar, a dollop of almond butter and….

Nutritious whipped cream! (Greek yogurt)

Taste-AY. Totally hit the spot.

I’m liking these mornings without class. I can prepare a nice breakfast, answer some emails, work (chyea right), and dilly dally. I’d say so far my workouts have been half in the morning and half in the afternoon/night. It’s nice to have the option, that’s for sure.

***

I was extra hungry after just a couple of hours most likely because a) I had to wake up early to pee (only got 6 hours of sleep!) and b) I worked out intensely last night.

I tried to honor my hunger by snacking on….

Dove Peppermint Bark

Sesame Honey Almonds.

and 1/2 an apple

During class I munched on a Luna Protein Bar for some pre-workout fuel.

It worked like a charm because my workout was grrrrrreat! I was working hard yet I felt like I could go on forever. What’s up with my energy lately?

I did 60 min. on the machine below. It was seriously the only machine I could get my legs on. The gym was jam-packed!! It was fun to change things up. Then I did a full body strength routine for ~20 min.

Source

Dinner was beefed up tofued up Annie’s Whole Wheat Shells & White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

I made ~1/2 the box. I used almond milk to make the cheese sauce and added about 2 heaping spoonfuls of GREEK YOGURT!!! It added creaminess and thickness to the sauce. Try it if you ever make Annie’s in the future.

I bulked up my mac and cheese with veggies (broc, carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms) and tofu.

Topped with some parmesan cheese.

So filling. So voluminous. So taste-tay!

This was a humongo bowl!!

I would like to note that I unknowingly picked out all the veggies to eat first and then had quite a few shells to eat at the end. My former self would have picked out all the shells first .

***

I ended on my LAST bag of Tazo Passion Tea

And TJ’s Tart Froyo+kefir topped with mango and strawberry chunks. I swear knowing this is waiting for me at night is making the days that much easier

A few more sesame honey almonds may have jumped in. So good. Off to finish my food writing assignment and then gear up for recruitment tomorrow!

I forgot to tell you why I was so happy on Friday. Actually I didn’t forget, I just didn’t get a chance to sit down and reflect. It wasn’t a job offer or an SLR camera or anything really significant. Rather, for once I was hopeful and optimistic about my future. That’s enough to be excited about right? I probably should have blogged on Friday because it would have been a lot more emotional….think more !!!!s and ‘oh my gosh’s.

Anyways, I already told you about My Culinary Cultures class, which was the main reason why I was so excited about life. But I didn’t get to tell you about my professor and what happened during class.

I must admit I was a little bit intimidated at the beginning of class. I take that back. I was VERY intimidated. I’m not a great writer and the professor told us from the very beginning that the class was a writing class. A REAL writing class. Meaning, ‘that looks SO amazing’ probably won’t cut it. We started to dissect certain edibles such as cinnamon and chocolate and even spinach! Learning about writing in general is usually sort of dry for me but I loved learning about writing through food. Seriously, what a perfect class.

Anyways, the professor is hilarious and is living my dream life. She worked for many food magazines in NYC such as Food&Wine Magazine and Saveur. She worked in a bakery 3 nights a week while working at Saveur magazine to gain experience and further deepen her food writing. She’s met JULIA CHILD and BOBBY FLAY!! Among many other chefs.

During class she baked us mandlebrot, a Jewish bread similar to biscotti. We got up and went into the kitchen with her (the kitchen is stocked with KitchenAid donated appliances and cooking utensils!!!). She baked live in front of us while telling stories about herself and how she grew up cooking alongside her grandma.

While we were munching on fresh baked mandlebrot, she wanted someone to take a photo of it to put in our class cookbook.

She took the first photo, passed it along to another girl, and then asked for suggestions on how to make it look good. I suggested we take it outside on the patio/porch. She said ‘okay, give it shot.’ So I went outside. Placed the bowl of mandlebrot on the ground and plopped down like I do every day on my cement porch. I took a photo with her camera and brought it back in.

She took one look at it and exclaimed ‘wow this is wonderful. Do you take photos?’

I’m actually sort of self conscious about my photo taking abilities because I’m clueless about photography so this took me by surprise. To have someone so versed in the world of food compliment MY photo was pretty flattering. I expected a ‘looks alright, but blah blah blah.’ Nope, she said it was perfect the way I captured it. She passed the camera around the room and had everyone look at it. (SO cool!).

After class the professor and I talked about food careers for ~20 min! It was refreshing to talk to her because of her encouraging words and optimistic outlook. But beyond that, I felt like she really believed in me. She was talking about my future as if every door was wide open waiting for me. She wanted to know what I was interested in, not what makes the most money or what I’m qualified for or what looks good on paper. I feel like I finally have direction! I’m excited for my project because I get to choose one person to shadow and write a paper about. She suggested I choose a food photographer. I was thinking maybe a baker or a food stylist or a bakery owner!? Yikes! I can’t decide!!

So that’s what got me so excited last week. Nothing major (sorry if you expected something life changing). It helped that the weather was beautiful and I went on an awesome run. Oh the little things.

***

My Real Dinner

Last night I made a Tofu Veggie Stir Fry that had been brewing in my mind for a couple days.

I even got this Gyoza Dipping Sauce to use from Trader Joe’s. It’s technically a dipping sauce but the ingredients were similar to the stir fry sauce they had and this one had sesame oil (so good). It worked perfectly.

I used tofu, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, and sesame honey almonds.

A few bites in, I decided brown rice was a necessity. I don’t particularly love rice but I do like brown rice because of it’s chewier texture. Plus, I needed some carb action. By the time I was finished cooking the rice, it was dark out. –> a stove top photo!

For dessert I had another one of these amazing granola bars. These are out-of-this-world!

I also had some of this combo, which I haven’t had in awhile!

TJ’s Tart Froyo+ Kefir

Topped with Pineapple Chips, Sesame Honey Almonds, and pecans.

T’was a perfect sweet ending!

A is for Accounting

Source

I hate to start out this post with accounting jabber…but that’s how the aLpHaBeT goes. I will be chained to my accounting book from now until eternity. I apologize if I don’t get a chance to comment on your blog this week! Winter break starts this Thursday at 5pm and you can get all the comments in the world from me after that

B is for Blogger Brunch

Kath , Meg, Lacey, Sarah, Jessica, ME, Lauren, and the lovely significant others that came along! Matt graciously took the photo for us, thanks Matt! What a trooper

We met up at Mad Hatter’s Bake shop and Cafe just 2 minutes from my apartment. While I’ve only eaten there a few times, I have had their wraps and pastries from on-campus cafes. As always, I had a fabulous time catching up with my favorite Durham/Chapel Hill bloggers and meeting some new readers!

It still amazes me how many total strangers have become great friends simply through blogging.

See letters F, G, and H for what I ate

C is for Cookies (BURNT!!!)

Susan, skip to letter D!!

I baked two batches of cookies last night to bring to the blogger meet up but the bottoms got burnt I couldn’t bring myself to give away my failed baked goods so now I have a jillion burnt cookies (that still taste great)…staring at me.

I snacked on about 2 of these in total throughout the day. You know me, I can’t throw away food….so now what do I do!?

D is for Duke Basketball

After sitting in the library and tweeting/facebooking/blog reading studying for my accounting exam, I decided my time was better spent watching the Duke vs. St John’s game at the gym. We won!!

E is for Exercise

While watching the game, I ellipticalled and walked on the treadmill at an incline. I’m telling you, time does not pass any faster on exercise machines than when I’m watching Duke play. And, it’s not just dawdling around. I get so into it the game and all my energy transfers into my pedaling/walking. It makes me feel like I’m THERE. Wow, I’m a dork.

Moving on down the aLpHaBeT….

F is for Fruit

Back to brunch (I had to go in the order of the alphabet!). I got a Parfait, which consisted of organic yogurt, fresh fruit, AND….

G is for Granola

H is for Homemade….

Homemade Granola!! It was so crunchy and perfectly sweet. I gotta figure out how to get my granola crunchier!! Perhaps, by adding oil??

….and Holy Mackeral! Below is Kath’s photo using her SLR camera. Now compare it with my photo above.

See the difference, Santa?! H is for Ho Ho Ho!

I is for In 10 Minutes.

That’s how fast I made my dinner! I was so hungry after my workout and all I wanted was to get some food in my belly. I didn’t care what it was!!

I found the last of my TJ’s Seafood Blend and leftover butternut squash (from months ago) in the freezer. So I made a giant salad served with Olive Oil and Herb Dressing.

J is for Just-ate-some-carbs/dessert-but-I’m-waiting-to-show-you-what-it-is-tomorrow-because-I-don’t-want-to-reload-my-photos-for-the-3rd-time-in-10-minutes.

Wow, I’m so great at the alphabet, I wonder if I could  get a job with Sesame Street!

Source

K is for Kath+Matt!!

I big thanks to Kath and Matt for spending their Saturday morning with us aficionados/bloggers/readers. Now we have more triangle bloggers and readers to invite to future meet ups! I’m telling you, they really are as cool in real life as they seem on KERF. Oprah, if you’re reading, you know what to do! Come back to visit soon, Kath+Matt!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alrighty folks, I’ll be blogging till I’m 80 years old if I try and finish the alphabet. Z is for Zzzzzzz–something I won’t be doing if I keep these shenanigans up!!

Study time!!!

In high school, I got about 2-5 hours of sleep per night because I participated in a plethora of extracurricular activities and completed all my school work (I’m a slow one!!). The use of AIM certainly didn’t help either. I would head to bed between 1AM and 4AM and then pop back up at 6AM to get ready for school.

How I sustained this I have absolutely no stinkin’ clue. How I managed to speak coherently and make decisions is beyond me. Well, my high school self would have been so embarrassed by me today.

[source]

I got 5 hours of sleep last night (final paper writing duties) and I have been a total zombie. 5 hours was a dream come true back in the day! My eye lids are drooping as I type this and I have the attention span of an ant. I’m sucha sleep wimp now!

Since eating healthier and especially since exercising regularly, I have made it a priority to get 7-8+ hours of sleep per night. Not only am I less witchy with a B, I actually work more efficiently (that is if I’m not distracted by twitter and blog reading). I refuse to go on less than 6 hours of sleep unless I have something important to go to or a paper deadline/exam.

How much sleep do YOU get per night? Enough, I hope!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was going to repeat yesterday’s bfast but I figured I should keep things interesting so oatmeal and I don’t get bored with each other (if ya know what I mean wink wink).

I made some choco-oats w/ banana slices and walnuts.

I used the rolled oats that I got from the WFs bulk aisle and it was especially thick and sturdy for some reason. It made for a flaky oatmeal texture. It was a nice change of pace, I suppose.

I ellipticalled for another whopping 60 min. today. It passed by in a blink of an eye, mostly because I was reading Health Magazine. Also, Tiger made the news on all three of the TVs in front of me so I was making out the story through headlines and images.

Afterwards I got a 2% Chobani Pineapple that I found on campus! I’ve been wanting to try this flavor ever since they came out with it.

I added the recent combo of choice: banana slices and walnuts. They’re the new pecans and cranberries

I adore the 2% yogurt. Seriously 30 calories and 2.5g of fat extra for creamy, luscious, thick 2% yogurt is so worth it (0% plain vs. 2% plain). If you haven’t tried low-fat yogurt I encourage you to give it a shot.

After a couple bites of carrot cake I headed over to the freshman campus to table for my recruitment counselor duties. I decided ahead of time I would stay and study at the library there because there are less distractions since I don’t know anyone! And by study I mean, catch up on 8239843 blogs!!

I packed dinner to eat in the library. Totally legal at our school (thank goodness). A smoked salmon wrap that I got on campus earlier today and some festive Christmas colored vegggggies.

Our dining hall hasn’t had tofu at the salad bar lately and I need my p-p-protein!! So salmon it was.

And a California King size bed of lettuce….that I could totally SLEEP in right now I couldn’t help but tie it back in to the beginning of the post

I swear veggies are protecting me from my roomie’s swine flu. KNOCK ON WOOD!! (Just knocked the wooden table in the middle of the silent library haha totally necessary).

Okay loves, off to go study and read blogs. I have so much work cut out for me. Finals galore!!

1. I enjoy making muffins. Zucchini Pumpkin (and a lil’ leftover acorn squash) Walnut Muffins.

2. I hate wasting food so I put in all sorts of ingredients into my muffins instead of throwing them away

3. My legs do not like when I make them run. After running about a mile outside, I headed indoors for 40 min. on the elliptical.

4. I am easily influenced by infomercials. I saw an informercial for a juicer this morning during my workout. Even though I know how terribly annoying cleaning a juicer can be, I still find myself crawling back.

3. Carrot+Cucumber+Pear juice is a great way to use up almost-going-bad fruits and veggies.

4. I’m terrible at documenting random munchies: grapes, a little yogurt, another muffin, and some almond butter.

5. These leftover mashed potatoes weren’t getting eaten up and would probably go to waste. So I decided to use them to make Whole Wheat Gnocchi!

7. I didn’t add quite enough whole wheat flour to the mix and it ended up a little doughy. (I added 1 1/2 cups of WW flour and 1 egg)

8. I made the nuggets a little too big. Probably because I got tired of rolling out the [sticky] dough.

9. I would not qualify as a pasta maker. I could not figure out how to make the lined marking using a fork…so I didn’t.

10. It’s the though/taste that counts, right?

11. I love eating my food on a bed of lettuce. With some avocado, sundried tomatoes, cauliflower and U-G-L-Y gnocchi.

12. There’s nothing better than banana frozen yogurt….besides berry banana frozen yogurt that is.

I put 1 enormous frozen banana, about 1/3 cup of frozen mixed berries, and a splash of milk into the blender.

I’m driving back to school tomorrow. Back to the grindy. I’m totally NOT ready….obviously!