As predicted, I was h-h-hungry this morning. I think my late-night workout continued to burn throughout the night. Despite being hungry enough to eat anything, I wanted to make something special this morning. You know…change things up a bit. Yes, I could eat kefir + Greek yogurt bowls all the live long day (check out the tutorial if you missed it!) but I had a hankering for pancakes.

I referred to my recipe for Multigrain Butternut Squash Banana Pancakes but used OAT BRAN instead of GROUND OATS. Oh and I added a lil’ kefir . I simply couldn’t resist.

Butternut Banana Oat Bran Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1 egg white
• 1/8 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup butternut squash
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TBSP kefir (!!!)
• 1/4 cup water or milk
• Stevia
• Banana slices
• Toppings

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (except banana slices)

2. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into skillet

3. Gently press banana slices into pancake

4. Flip

5. Top pancakes with whatever you want!

My toppings included….

Almond butter and Agave Nectar Drizzle

Apple slices.

Whipped Cream Greek Yogurt and cinnamon.

I think I hit every food group with this breakfast.   IHOP’s got nothin’ on me!!

***

After walking + reading (simultaneously) for ~30 min., I popped a squat at this picnic table to sip some half-caf coffee and read/write for class.

I had to take advantage of the sun + 60 degree warmth because it’s supposed to SNOW on Saturday!!! Whaaaat!?

After class, I went to the WaDuke Trail for a 5K run. I was SO JAZZED UP for this run because I had been looking forward to it since I checked the weather last weekend. The weather did not disappoint me but my legs did. UFFF my legs were dragging. I tried to take it easy on the crazy roller coaster hills to avoid injury, but even so, I was not feeling the endorphins.

So I decided I would hit the elliptical to finish out my workout. After 10 min. I made the crazy/awesome decision to go to a CARDIO DANCE class at our gym.

Despite being POOPED to the max, it was SO MUCH FUN!! I was a sweaty beast afterwards. It did not feel like a workout at all. Just fun aerobics-style dancing. I was honestly surprised my legs survived the hour long class!

(before the class, I had a handful of dried sugary fruit)

***
The pancakes I made for breakfast held me over for sooo many hours. I snacked on some almonds throughout the morning and together they kept me going and going.

For dinner, I decided I would continue my breakfast craze…

An omelet (1 egg+2 egg whites) w/ mushrooms, broccoli and BRIE cheese!

I’m still chipping away at these mini bries I got from Costco back in October!! See? That’s exactly why I love these tubs. I can never finish a whole huge wedge. These are perfect because I can have fresh brie at my own pace.

I was too optimistic about stuffing my omelet with veggies so it ended up being uncloseable

That’s okay because now you get a peak at the inside!

Panini-pressed sweet potato discs with ketchup.

Salsa w/ avocado chunks.

Panini-smushed toast.

All together now.

I have a scary amount of work due tomorrow morning. Gotta get crackin’!! I’ll probably have a green monster w/ Kashi Go Lean soon since my stomach is already calling for food. I blame cardio dance

I’m excited for my Culinary Cultures class tomorrow!! We’re making something exotic, I hear. Okay WORK TIME!!!

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!

Whew!! It’s been another looooong day, and it’s gonna be an even longer night. I had quite a roller coaster day and a roller coaster RUN. Here are the deets:

Breakfast was another Waffle Mountain!

Today I used a baked Honey Crisp apple!! I agree with everyone out there–these are SO good. I wanted so badly to eat this baby RAW! Instead, I had to bake it with pumpkin pie spice and some maple syrup.

On top of the mountain was pecans and yogurt. Garnished with some banana slices.

Yummy in my tummy.

Roller Coaster Run

After Golf I went on a run w/ Garmy! I ran on the WaDuke (Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club) 5K trail. It’s a trail around the golf course in the forest that is THE HILLIEST TRAIL EVER!!! It felt like riding a roller coaster, I kid you not. Too bad I was on my legs and not sitting in a roller coaster seat.

I ran 3.1 miles and walked about a mile to warm up and cool down. And definitely walked down some of those hills so that my shins wouldn’t crack in half. I ran back to the gym to do 10 min. on the elliptical and a 30 min. full body strength training routine. It felt really good to pump some iron!!

My average heart rate was 158 on my run. It peaked at around 185!!!! I love knowing this information. Seriously, like Susan commented, my life will never be the same.

***The distance on the Garmin is pretty accurate and boy do I run a lot faster than I thought!! I used to think that my runs outside were super duper slow (compared to the treadmill) but I was totally wrong. My pace is still a crawl compared to more seasoned runners but I’ll get there eventually!!

Life Coaching

Afterwards, I was walking by my dietitian’s life coach’s office (at the gym) to say hi and we ended up chatting for about 30 min. She always seems to make sense out of everything that is going on in my little noggin’. She gave me some reasons that would explain my recent anxiety. It’s funny how she knows more about what’s going on in my head than I do myself! It was great to talk to her again and check in.

I was definitely a blabbery post-run chatterbox!!! I had endorphins and runners’ high up the WAZOO.

I ate some mango, pineapple, and grapes post-workout and post-chat. My appetite was no where to be found! Gah!

I had to dash off to my sorority’s Yogurt Eating Contest to support Breast Cancer Education and Awareness (our philanthropy). We are collecting the Yoplait pink lids and we have a yogurt eating contest on the Main Quad every year just for kicks I’ll post photos and even a video (if I can figure that out) later.

For dinner, I made a Goat Cheese, Cranberry, and Tofu Panini and a Salsa Salad!

I know you wanted to see what was inside!!! So here we are:

Left= goat cheese and TJ’s Cranberry Apple Butter

Right= Spring Mix Lettuce and pan-fried tofu (marinated in some Pom Wonderful and EVOO).

I don’t know if it was because I was Starvin’ Marvin or what but this sammie was out of this world!

I also had some kefir + froyo + banana + pecans + dried cranberries. I actually have this combo every day (several times per day) I just don’t photograph it

Now I’m at the Business School Library to do some SHEDLOADS (as they say in the UK) of work!!! I’ve packed an orange and fig+almond butter to keep me goin’!!

SIGH!!! Did ya make it through this post alive!? I’m barely breathing over here!! I’m a little bit behind on my emails, my apologies. I’ll get back to you all though…hang in there!

It’s gonna be a BUSY BUSY BUSY weekend with the rents at the NC State Fair and the Duke Basketball Game!! They come tomorrow–WOO HOO!!! You know I won’t leave you out though

Another unproductive day. I’m going to have to ban myself from the gym and the oven if I can’t get my shiz together! I woke up and did accounting homework for about an hour while munching on a pre-workout snack.

I ate half the muffin, half the Z-Bar and an Aprican Almond Butter Bite.

After working out, I had the other halves My workout was the only productive thing I’ve done the whole day….as usual.

• Walked 25 min. to the gym
• Ellipticalled for 50 min.
• Quick lift sesh for 15 min.
• Walked 25 min. back

I didn’t get back to my apartment until almost 4 PM! I didn’t wake up until 10 AM (yikes!) so it was actually like my ‘lunch time.’
I’ve had the following ingredients in my fridge for the past couple of weeks that NEEDED to be rescued (eaten up):

• avocado
• onion
• mini peppers
• apple
• carrots

I never ever ever throw away food so I decided to get creative! I made a salad with goat cheese, avocado, mini peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce.

With an eggplant, avocado + goat cheese panini.

Amaaaazing!

The rest of the night was just a series of random [healthy] eats.

Strawberries and banana slices with a couple bites of tart frozen yogurt and almond milk.

Wheat berry Salad w/ goat cheese, avocado, mini peppers, and onions.

More leftovers….1/2 an apple and 3 carrot sticks! I’m allergic to these raw so I decided to bake ‘em up! The oven and I are joined at the hip, I swear.

Baked carrot ‘fries’ w/ a wad of pumpkin butter…

Baked apple chunks w/ pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup

While photographing my food, the UPS guy came!!! He asked, ‘Are you taking pictures of your FOOD!?’ To which I responded, ‘Yep! I’m bloggin’ about it!’

He probably thought I was psychotic…no worries. Anyways, he tossed me this package (literally, no joke). We live on the 2nd floor and he asked if I wanted to catch the package….

IF HE ONLY KNEW WHAT WAS INSIDE!!!

….you’ll have to wait too!!!

…name that movie!!

I had a great workout yesterday on an empty stomach. I really don’t know where in the world my energy came from. I walked the 20 min. to the gym (no parking on weekdays allowed for low-lifes like me!) ellipticalled for 50 min. Afterwards, I randomly decided to do a 35 min. full body strength training workout using mostly dumbbells, body weight, and a few machines. Lastly, I walked the 20 min. back to my apartment. WHEW!

I finally decided to crack open my vintage can o’ pumpkin! I got 3 of these on clearance last year from Target after Thanksgiving. I’m so glad I saved one because of the pumpkin shortage this year….is that still in effect?

I decided to make the easiest microwave pumpkin pie that I definitely ate several times a week last fall/winter. I got the inspiration from one of Kath’s recipes way long ago!

• 1/2 cup of pumpkin
• 1 egg white
• pumpkin pie spice
• stevia

Mix well with a fork and microwave for 2-3 minutes!

Voila!! I topped it with yogurt and pecans this time for a faux cream cheese frosting!

When hunger finally struck, I had TJ’s European Style yogurt with Kashi Puffs, bananas, strawberries, pecans, and dried cranberries.

Little Bear wanted you to see that there really was yogurt hiding underneath!!

Also, it was a dreary day so my bed was the ONLY place I could get any decent lighting.

Warning: it was quite a snackie day! I don’t have classes on Mondays, so I don’t have to eat around any classes or meetings–I can just snack away!

I had a Pecan Pumpkin Butter Cookie…more like a bite/chew/patty.

Next up, I decided on a veggie snack plate. I tried to make it as pretty as those of Gliding Calm’s.

Getting in my rainbow Like my sheets?

I also had a Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar throughout the night. I had little nudges of it at a time. That’s the last of these Clif Bars. Now that I’ve tried the Fall flavors, I need to take a break!

Half a cranberry+brie+almond butter BANINI. Look at the little banana butt stickin’ out!! This combo was perty good if I do say so myself

I decided to butcher my butternut squash too! Can you tell I was totally procrastinating work?!?!

Anyways, cutting him open almost led to some fingers getting cut off in the process….and a process it WAS.

I ate about 1/4 of the squashie and then had another snack: Brie, almond butter, cranberry, butternut squashadilla! Not the greatest photo but definitely the greatest tasting!!

I honestly can’t get over this combo. Get ready for more to come!

Needless to say, my tummy was pleasantly happy from all those little snacks! It was not the most productive day on the work front. I just can’t seem to buckle down until it’s seriously crunch time. Not good. Not good.

Today’s a pretty crazy day full of classes and Initiation for my sorority, which will take 2+++ hours!!!

Quirky Qs

1) What is your favorite combo of flavors? Currently mine is brie+cranberry sauce….reminds me of T-DAY!

2) Do you prefer to eat 3 square meals or many snacks? It depends on my schedule for the day. If I’m lounging around the house (by lounging I mean hard at work!!), I like to snack away. If I’ve got a busy day, I like to eat larger meals so keep me satiated. I HATE being hungry in class and not being able to do anything about it!!

*Last call for the Oikos Giveaway!  Midnight tonight!

Have a fab day!

My ability to eat went out the window today after a visit to the dentist!! I went in for a check-up/cleaning and the 2 cavities I had from last time were still there. My dentist always says ‘we’ll take care of it next time’ as if they’ll go away (?!?). But today, he finally had the time to fill them so I said a reluctant ‘okay’ as I surrendered my life ability to eat.

I got not one but TWO horrendously painful shots of novocaine, one on EACH side of my upper gums. He went a little bit low so my entire tongue was numb and I could barely talk. I definitely had a lisp and started drooling when I was talking on the phone to my BFF, Katherine. Attraaaaactive!!

Before getting my poor little toothies drilled I had a Multigrain Butternut Squash Banana Pancake Breakfast for one! Say that 5 times fast!!!

My pancakes basking in the morning sunshine

I made the pancake batter from scratch using these ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Rolled oats (ground to a flour consistency)
• 1 Egg white
• 1/6 cup of Whole wheat pastry flour (the mysterious bag in the photo)
• 1/2 cup Butternut squash puree (leftover from muffin making)
• 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Water (didn’t have milk!)
• Stevia

I used my Magic Bullet to grind the rolled oats (YES, I brought this guy home with me for the weekend. Very necessary.)

The batter! I could have popped this in the microwave for some oat bran-like porridge….

But I didn’t.

TA DA!!!

I topped the 4 pancakes (can you spot the 4th pancake!?!?) with pumpkin butter, agave nectar, almond butter drizzle, and some berries for perty-ness!!

With a side of glowing honey dew and papaya!

All together now:

.

.

.

Then came the death of my mouth for a span of 5 hours. I got out of the dentist’s office expecting to be starving but had absolutely no appetite. My mouth was in so. much. pain. and I was dizzy and had a massive migraine (?) It felt like I had surgery or something!! I couldn’t OPEN my mouth. It was that bad.

So I chatted mumbled with my parents while waiting for the pain to subside. I had some (unpictured) kefir chia pudding that I coincidentally made last night. My mouth (and stomach) liked that one! I’ll make it again for y’all to see.

I went downstairs and ellipticalled for 60 min. while watching [Hey Y'all] Paula Deen add 2 sticks of butter and a cup of sugar to everything she made. I also watched Bring it On All or Nothing. Some things should just go un-blogged

I came home and made myself a salad but my teeth were still a bit raw from earlier. So I made a massive Green Monster instead. Virtually the same thing just in liquid form right?!?

• Frozen spinach
• Frozen berries
• Greens+ Superfood Mix
• Kefir
• Stevia

I also baked up the rest of the sweet potato fries with a light coating of EVOO and ate them with some organic ketchup I found in the fridge.

Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm!! Nice and soft for my toothies!

I snacked on some papaya and honey dew while writing this up. My hunger is definitely catching up now that my gums aren’t screaming at me. I think I’m gonna go venture off to find some more grub!

.

.

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Quirky Qs

1) Have you ever had a super-painful dental experience? What did you eat? I had head gear and braces back in the day so I had my fair share of soup and yogurt only WEEKS.

2) What’s your favorite pancake flavor/recipe? What are your favorite add-ins? The pancakes I made today were definitely high on my list!

~~~~~~~~~~

I’m off to go prepare my BSI post!!! Coco chose me to be the next host!! I’m super excited for this…stay tuned for the secret ingredient.

NON-STOP!!!!

Labor Day Driving

I had a smooth drive back minus the pouring rain. Before leaving home, I played tennis with my Daddy and Bro for about 1 1/2 hours. My backhand was on and my forehand was not. It’s usually the other way around! I had a smoked salmon salad w/ half of a whole wheat wrap and handfuls of TJ’s Fiberful before hittin’ the road…again.

Look at this beauty I passed on I-95!

Back to the Grind

This morning I had 8:30 am class, it was far too early to be hungry and I was running late (of course) so I made oatmeal to eat in class. I put it in a to-go thermos so I wouldn’t look like a fool with a bowl in class .

In the mix: 1/2 cup oats, 1 egg white, pumpkin pie spice, stevia, pecans, raisins, chocolate biscotti crumbs, spoonful of almond butter. Some people looked over at what I was eating–probably because I put a teensy bit too much pumpkin pie spice and it was smellin’ like Thanksgiving!

Golf Class

We started our 3-day putting contest in Golf class today. My rather impatient personality is completely hindering my putting abilities. I’m ready to whack at some balls!!

$$$

Afterwards I shoveled a slice of Ezekiel Bread with almond butter and 1/2 cup of TJ’s 0% Greek Yogurt. No time for photos because I had to race off to the business school to do an experiment. I made $30 in 30 minutes!!! I had to shock myself 15 times during an Alaskan wildlife video, which totally scared me at first but it felt like a tap on the wrist.  Easy enough!

Fitness

I was definitely underfed but I needed to have an empty stomach to run without shooting cramps. It’s always a debate between running totally famished or running with extremely painful cramps aka not running at all. Do any of you have this dilemma too?

After my 3rd class I went to the gym and ran 2 miles, ellipticalled for 30 minutes, and did some ab work. Can elliptical be used as a verb? It’s like saying ‘I treadmilled.’ Our gym got new treadmills last week and I was a sad sad girl. The treadmills we had were my absolute favorite kind!!

However I used one of the new ones today and it wasn’t too bad. They were relatively quiet and the landing was soft...my shins felt pretty good! It helped that the US Open was on a huge TV 5 feet from my face.

Eating…Finally!!

Afterwards I was totally famished–I could barely walk to the 25 min. back to my apartment without keeling over. I made a quick smoothie w/ frozen spinach, strawberries, mango, almond milk, Greek yogurt, and Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Juice.

I totally used my teddy bear to block the mess on my desk

Mad Hatter’s (a bakery/cafe/restaurant in Durham) food was available at an on campus eatery so I got not 1 but 2 items to eat for dinner. I couldn’t decide which one so I got both and ate half of each!

Fried Goat Cheese Salad: Organic mixed greens, cucumber, tomato, red onion, fried goat cheese and almonds, citrus vinaigrette. I’ve been on a total goat cheese kick lately. I like it better than feta cheese (gasp!).

Peppercorn Crusted Tuna Wrap: Seared medium-rare tuna, organic baby spinach, tomato, citrus vinaigrette, all natural tomato basil tortilla

It was gobbled lightning fast! I was too hungry to eat mindfully!

The fried goat cheese wasn’t anything special. I think it was because I had it cold? The wrap however did not disappoint (it never ever does). The tuna was perfectomundo and check out the stack of spinach in that thing!! Mmmmmmm!!

Okay I’ve got not 1 but 2 meetings tonight. I’m the new delegate for our sorority which means I just added 2+ hours of meetings to my weekly schedule. I get to meet up with delegates from the other sororities to discuss things and report back–pretty cool!!

Gotta run gotta run gotta run…story of my LIFE!!

I’ve got a bunch of random super cool things to show and tell you about today.

Last week, Melissa commented, ‘Your oats look delicious. I tried egg whites in my oats once, but I don’t think I did it correctly because they didn’t seem to want to cook. Do you have a recipe?’ Well, I finally had some for breakfast today (the weather is getting cooler!) so I thought I’d do a mini-tutorial at the same time.

I prefer mixing in egg whites/egg beaters into my oats because it gives it a super creamy texture and sneaks in a good dose of protein.

Eggy Oats

1. Start by mixing in the egg white(s) with the uncooked oats in your [super-tall-so-nothing-spills over] bowl. This is the trick to getting the eggs evenly mixed-in so you don’t end up with egg white lumps.

2. I typically use the ratio of 1 egg white (or egg beater equivalent) to 1/4 cup of dry oats. So 2 egg whites for a 1/2 cup serving.

3. Make sure the egg white(s) evenly coat the oats. You can even let them sit for a couple minutes to let the oats soften up. *If you are making stove-top oats, I would mix the egg white(s) and oats before turning on the heat.

4. Next, add water/milk, mix, and microwave for 3-6 minutes on a medium power level. Stand by the microwave to make sure there is no eruption (aka the oats overspilling)!  It has happened to me one too many times!!

5. Mix in the goodies!! Today was pumpkin pie spice, stevia, crumbled TJ’s Carrot Ginger Muffin (I know, I know), TJs Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti, a couple raisins, and a small spoonful of almond butter.

I brewed some coffee to take with me to class.

After Financial Accounting and Golf I had me a Komboucha Green Monster….be afraid, be very afraid…

In the mix:

-1 teeny tiny banana

-1/2 cup of honey dew chunks

-1/4 cup almond milk (the last of the carton)

-1 cup of frozen spinach

-1/2 cup of Guava Goddess Komboucha. Yes, I’m STILL working on my first bottle. I’m a total wuss. It gives me tummy aches…anyone else??

-1/4 cup of Pom Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice

Whew! Talk about a random mix of ingredients! Yet it still looks the same

I thought I’d show you the beautiful roses I got from a boy…

...NOT! They were leftover from our sorority meeting on Tuesday. Did I getcha!? The funny part was that I was wearing a white dress (for our meeting) and I had to wait 20 min. at the bus stop. Everyone thought I was super special/getting married. Nope. No cigar.

I took some more photos of the Gardens on my way back to the apartment. I take a different route to and from West (main) campus every day. I’m trying to soak it all in because I cannot go anywhere near the Gardens in the Spring without my allergies going crazy!

I took a 20 minute power nap 2 hour LONG nap…guh these naps cannot keep happening!! I blame my boring reading

For din din I had a Spinach Wrap filled with portobello mushrooms, feta cheese, spinach and grilled veggies (zucchini squash, red peppers, tomatoes).

On top of the FREE bag I got from Whole Foods the other day just for being a student!! They had 3 colors/designs and I picked this one with the cute giraffes kissing (?)….oh wait I think that’s mommy and child.

Okay I’m off to the gym now…super late thanks to my long nap. If you haven’t been counting down the days already I thought I’d gently remind you that it’s Friday tomorrow!!!