grocery outlet.

A 'gross out' as my dad calls it just opened up here in Fremont. While I wouldn't do all my shopping there.. you can luck out sometimes which is why I like to stop in now & then. This is my bounty from today!

Barenaked cereal: $1.99
Snickers marathon energy bars: $2.99
3# bananas: $1.99
Mixed greens: $1.79
Crystal light lemonade packs: $0.99
Roasted red pepper hummus: $1.99
Chicken sausages: $2.99

Plus I had a $3 off coupon of my whole purchase. Not too shabby!

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breakfast: vitatop with tsp peanut butter cream cheese (TJs - delish!) & coffee

lunch: 2 pieces bbq chicken musubi from ohana hawaiian bbq (rice, chicken & seaweed)

dinner: "bangers & mash" using the chicken sausages i bought earlier, frozen mashed potatoes from TJ's (SO EASY - you microwave the 'medallions', then mash them with a fork. no additional seasoning needed. get them! NOW!), and caramelized onion gravy (recipe here), and i surrounded the plate with a mixture of steamed peas, corn and carrots. yummy!
late night snack: 1/2 guinness, hummus & pretzel crisps, handful chex muddy buddies (i also got these at grocery outlet for kris' friends.. good thing they'll be gone by tomorrow or i'd be in trouble)

mid-week madness. kinda. not really

i'm still lacking fruits and vegetables in my diet.. but i think i made some good choices this week. we'll see (fyi.. i've lost 3 pounds since i started blogging again - did i tell you? hehehe)

breakfast:
deep chocolate vitatop (yummmmm)
coffee
lunch:
1/2 marinated tofu sandwich from cafe intermezzo
dinner:
salad from intermezzo (romaine, alfalfa sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons & poppy seed dressing)
1/2 cowboy cookie (see below)
movie snack (we watched up in the air. SO GOOD!):
1 glass wine
1/3 bag popcorn

fyi.. i loooooooooooooooooove intermezzo. we happened to be in berkeley today for the first portion of clinicals, so i had to stop in. it's just a soup/salad spot.. but omg. their sandwiches are incredible, and the poppy seed dressing puts the salad over the top!!! if you're ever in berkeley, you have to check them out.

here's a picture of cowboy cookies i gave with a baby shower gift a while back... substituting light blue and green m&ms for the regular. she loved them so much she contacted me for the recipe later.. thank you bakerella!!

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fast forward to thursday. St. Patty's!

breakfast:

string cheese

nonfat dark chocolate mocha freddo from peet's (270 cals)

lunch:

'reduced guilt' primavera pizza from TJ's

15 m&ms

dinner: (see pics below)

beef & guinness stew

irish soda bread

1 can guinness

i went out today to look for a dress to wear to lisa's sister's wedding this weekend and found one that i LOVE, especially because i'll be able to rock it this summer with some gladiator sandals.. i'll have to post a picture of my 'adjustments' to dress it up for the wedding:

floral shirtdress from the i heart ronson collection at jcpenney.
apparently it's popular, because it's sold out online!
glad i found it in the store!

after i got home from shopping i got to work on dinner.. being that corned beef and cabbage is my all time favorite meal, you would think i would have made that for St. Patrick's day.. but I love this stew.. and it's much better for you and filling in smaller quantities. instead of potatoes like you would expect, it uses carrots, parsnips and turnip. kris couldn't tell the difference. plus.. i got to buy vegetables that the checker at the supermarket didn't know the codes for. fun! ^_^ 

here's my before and after pics:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

ugh.. allergies.

every damn time the weather changes.. i swear. without fail my allergies haunt me. and, good for me, i have allergy-induced asthma.. so you can guess what else happens. to get through the day it takes a whole lot of zyrtec, claritin, benedryl, albuterol and one other steroid inhaler. ugh. i haaaaate it.

anywho.. today was LEFTOVERS day!!! how exciting!

breakfast:
coffee
multigrain cheerios w/ almond milk

lunch:
1 piece leftover cheese pizza from sunday

dinner:
leftover pork, potatoes and haricots verts from yesterday
carrot sticks
15 almond joy pieces (omg. these were amazing - glad they came from my friend.. or else i would have eaten the whole bag!)

snack (on the way home from my clinical rotation.. in the car. lol):
gala apple
2 peanut butter cookies
handful granola

now that i popped a benedryl i'm sure i'll be asleep any minute now.. after i finish my homework.. maybe. for your viewing pleasure.. pics from my phone of my weekend endeavors:

it's monday, and i can't stop eating.

soooo tired today. still getting used to daylight savings i guess. plus, it's a certain TOM.. so i was completely RAVENOUS all freakin' day!!!

breakfast:
coffee
to-go oatmeal bar
apple
tiramisu cake pop (thanks so my classmate who works at the 'bucks)

lunch:
chicken wrap (tortilla, chicken lunch-meat, ranch dressing from yesterday, crumbled blue cheese, lettuce & tomatoes)
carrot sticks
tomato-basil hummus

snack (this was throughout the duration of my afternoon when i couldn't stay out of the kitchen):
3 fresh mozzarella balls
pretzel crisps
2 peanut butter cookies
snack bag cheese-its

dinner:
bacon-wrapped pork loin
potatoes and haricots verts (TJ's frozen side)
1 glass wine

"our daily red" organic, sulfite free wine

here are the changes i made to the pork recipe: i used a 1.5 lb pork loin (maybe smaller.. i don't quite remember), 3 slices bacon, frozen pre-chopped onion, dried rosemary, omitted the raisins, and doubled the sauce. i seared it in my cast-iron skillet and threw it in the oven straight from the stove. it ended up taking about 45 minutes, and i basted it with the sauce every 10 minutes or so. hi, i'm a bacon-wrapped pork loin, and i'm amazing:

after you let it rest for about 10 minutes, slice it into medallions. serve with pan sauce drizzled over top. YUM!

daylight savings...

ugh.. losing an hour TOTALLY sucks.. i'm super tired right now. didn't do much today.. some homework, a lot of cleaning (my oven is SPARKLING!).. and visited my parents for a bit.

breakfast:
leftover sugar free mocha from yesterday

lunch:
deluxe turkey dog from wienerschnitzel (260 calories, 11g fat)
chocolate cake scraps from the little mermaid cake i made yesterday

dinner:
salad w/ homemade ranch dressing
homemade pizza
small box raisins

dessert:
1 peanut butter cookie
15 m&ms (yes, i counted)

i made the dressing because i have leftover buttermilk from my baking extravaganza yesterday.. i switched the sour cream to greek yogurt, omitted the chives, and used all dried herbs. really yummy! the pizza used trader joe's herbed pizza dough (my favorite of the 3), newman's own tomato pesto pasta sauce, sliced fresh mozzarella, shaved parmesan cheese & fresh basil. super yummy. if you haven't experimented with pizza dough yet, DO it! so cheap, easy and fun to create your own pizza!

and the weekend begins...

i'm running on very little sleep right now. because of my scatterbrainedness (i'm coining that word).. i forgot i was babysitting the boys today, and i have a cake/cupcakes to decorate...

breakfast:
coffee
fiber plus bar
apple

lunch:
cobb salad (using chopped up leftover chicken saltimbocca)
        mixed greens, carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes,
        blue cheese crumbles, french fried onions, tuscan italian dressing
peanut butter cookie

dinner (applebee's)
2 mozzarella sticks
chicken & shrimp entree
long island iced tea

applebee's has really great options for eating healthy.. but i was limited because kris wanted to do the "2 for $20" deal. it breaks down to a lot, but the entree had the best stats of my options.. mozzarella sticks: 235 cals, 11.5 g fat, entree: 760 cals, 45 g fat (i ate about 2/3 of it). eh.. next time i'll fight for my right to choose.
_______________________________________
fast forward to today (saturday).. and i wasn't much better... i spent my morning baking/decorating a cake and cupcakes for a little mermaid birthday party, so all i had in the AM was a sugar free mocha my mom brought me... until we went to our friend's daughter's birthday party at 3pm. note: my 'scoops' are on average 1/2 cup.. i'm pretty good at estimating (the baker in me i guess).

1 scoop pancit
2 pieces lumpia
1 grilled chicken leg
1 scoop rice
chicken & vegetable curry
2 chopped pork lettuce wraps
1 piece chocolate cake

the amusing part of my day was eating the cake, because the talented young woman kristine who made it is the one who gave me the chocolate cake recipe that i use for all my orders: http://bestmoistchocolatecakerecipe.com/. when i bake it, i don't really want any, but i HAD to try kristine's! it was amazing. i can see why people rave about it when i use it.. lol. and it's so friggin easy! the only chocolate cake recipe you'll ever need.

and that's all i ate today... my stomach is punishing me now. note to self: don't skip breakfast and then load up on greasy filipino food... but oh.. so good.

day off..

thursdays are my day off.. so they're usually spent not doing anything. considering i did some studying, finished 2 assignments AND ran errands makes me feel accomplished. so what if i woke up at 10:30 to start my day?

breakfast:
greek yogurt w/ raspberry preserves
pretzel crisps w/ hummus

snack:
16oz "skinny" mocha @ starbucks
tiramisu cake pop (it was FREE!)

missed lunch because i was studying at starbucks then running errands...

dinner:
mixed green salad w/ TJ's tuscan italian dressing
steaks with port reduction and blue cheese
confetti rice pilaf with flaxseed
sauteed mushrooms

late night:
glass port wine (well.. i had to use the leftovers somehow... ^_^)

can you say YUM?! because dinner was amaaaaazing. for the reduction on the steak, i used raspberry preserves instead of jellied cranberry and omitted the broth (i'm sorry, but who opens up a can of broth for a couple spoonfulls?) i wasn't sure how the rice pilaf would be.. it was my first time experimenting with flaxseed. but it was so good! the only thing i changed was that i used brown basmati rice. i will definitely be making it again!

now i'm off to find more things to make with flaxseed! exciting!

encouraging day...

i have to say, even during the tough times, i pretty much enjoy every moment of nursing school. it's something i'm truly passionate about, and the material is so interesting and applicable to patient care. i had a great moment with my clinical instructor today where he pulled me aside to tell me how much he believes i should pursue a master's degree as soon as i'm done with the program. i believe what he said was "i've seen A LOT of students in my time, and i can tell how bright you are. you ask insightful questions and definitely have what it takes to continue your education and be excellent in either administration or as a nurse practitioner". my head only grew about 3 sizes during our 10 minute conversation... the boost in self confidence i experienced really made the rest of my day great - i sang karaoke with the psych patients and got up the gut to have conversations with a couple of the severe psychotic and schizophrenic patients...

soooo, what did i eat? lol.

breakfast:
TJ's honey crunches & oats and almond breeze
coffee w/ creamer

snack:
trail mix bar

dinner:
annie chun's udon bowl w/ added tofu
carrot sticks
tomato basil hummus (my FAVORITE from TJ's)
4 pieces lumpia

late night snack:
pretzel crisps
tomato basil hummus
peanut butter cookie

notes on food for the day: if you haven't tried the tomato basil hummus from trader joe's yet - DO IT! i used to not like hummus, until i tried this one. it's amazing - SO good that i could lick the container. the pretzel crisps are a calorie bargain - 23 pretzels for 110 calories! seriously, lumpia - it was in the break room at the hospital.. i couldn't resist. but i DID resist everything else in there.. cake, pan de sal, empenadas, and potato salad.. YAY ME! lol.

back to clinicals...

after i was sent home from my rotation both days last week for being sick, i got used to being home all day.. but today i had to return, and it was a long one. i was extremely lethargic all day - even though i got plenty of sleep! i guess i probably do need some more exercise and better nutrition in my life.. if for nothing else than to provide me with the right energy to get through my long patient-care and study days... here's what i did wrong.. maybe:

breakfast:
cup honey crunches & oats (TJ version) w/ almond milk
coffee w/ 3 Tbsp creamer

snack:
fiber plus bar

late lunch:
leftover chicken saltimbocca and pasta from yesterday
carrot sticks
chocolate biscotti

light dinner:
apricot 0% greek yogurt
popcorn (orville redenbacker's natural)

here's the problem with clinical days. because i know i'll be up late, i sleep in (until 10am today), so i eat breakfast around 11am. i leave the house to be at the hospital by 1pm, and we don't get a dinner break until 5:30pm.. so essentially this is my 'lunch'. then, of course, i'm hungry again when i'm on my way home at 9pm and since i know i won't be in bed until late by the time i get home an get settled, i eat a snack on my drive (yogurt and popcorn in this case)... so overall.. a weird day/screwy schedule. i don't think i'm properly fueling myself.. on a more positive note, can i take a moment to say how much i ADORE trader joe's version of honey bunches of oats??? (much less sugar and still just as delicious!).. and, of course, my almond breeze unsweetened vanilla. i mean, 40 calories for 1 whole cup?!? you can't beat that.

addendum: i just remembered that i ate a scoop of ice cream before i left the house at noon. worth it.

gym!

so today kris and i talked about signing up for planet fitness in fremont. the problem with gyms is that they are UBER expensive.. but fortunately this one is not. for $20 a month, you get a membership, plus you can bring a guest each time you go. so basically, you get 2 memberships for the price of 1, as long as the second person goes with the member. i'm hoping that going with someone will get me to go more. we'll see! also, there's no contract.. so we can quit whenever if we feel like we're wasting money. on to today's menu:

breakfast:
coffee w/ 3 Tbsp creamer
odwalla bar

lunch:
panko-crusted fish  & potato wedges (from the campus restaurant - yum!)
fiber plus antioxidant bar

snack:
tortilla with refried beans, shredded pork, tomatoes & lettuce

dinner:
lemony chicken saltimbocca
angel hair pasta w/pesto
green beans

late-night snack:
apple

tip of the day: the fiber plus antioxidant coconut caramel fudge bars taste JUST LIKE girl scout samoa cookies (or are they called something else now?). regardless, if you want to fulfill that craving - these will do the trick!

weekend 1

if you thought friday night was bad.. you might want to avert your eyes for my weekend food choices. my excuse is that it was my step-dad's 50th birthday, and we had celebrations both days. but let's be honest, i've never been able to resist weekend food temptations.. they're my 'free days'.. HA!

saturday:
-crepes with ricotta filling and molasses drizzle, cup of tomato soup, and MULTIPLE mimosas
-approx. 10 pieces of sushi (the kind without mayo - go me!), a couple spoonfuls of artichoke dip with pita chips, a few spoons of hummus with veggies, 3 pieces bruschetta, 3 or 4 glasses wine.. i can't remember. lol. 1/2 piece carrot cake
-late night snack of 1 piece flatbread pizza

sunday:
-approx 15 pita chips w/ hummus, caesar salad w/ shredded pork, 1/2 tamale, 1/2 piece cake, 1 scoop chocolate ice cream
-10 tortilla chips w/ guacamole, handful potato chips, lemon drop martini

i guess the fact that i didn't drink quite as much on sunday is encouraging... but obviously on saturday i had a problem. i think i might cry if i counted the calories from the amount of champagne/wine i consumed. but it's SOOOOO good! also, i probably would have eaten the cake even if i didn't make it.. but because i did... of course i HAD to eat it!

bonus: the carrot cake was DELISH, and the rainbow cake turned out SO CUTE! after a massive fight with the frosting i finally got it right. swiss meringue buttercream is tough, but it tastes so yummy. anywho.. i took a picture of the carrot cake on the outside, but not the inside.. which is too bad.

here's the photo of the birthday boy with his rainbow cake (courtesy of my mom's phone):

it's friday!

i had an exam this morning, so my day started with my customary mocha from Suju's in an attempt to get my brain rockin' and rollin. i did okay.. it's done now. so i came hope to get going on david's birthday cake and in the process of pulling out the food pro to shred carrots, i cut the crap out of my finger. needless to say, it has made the rest of my day exceedingly more difficult than it could have been. hopefully it heals without needing stitches...

breakfast:
12 oz nonfat mocha
odwalla trail mix bar

lunch:
15 tortilla chips
3 mozzarella balls, chopped
1/4 cup pico de gallo

snack:
10 teddy grahams
2 tbsp chocolate chips

dinner:
pan-fried tilapia (dredged in whole wheat flour mixed with mccormick's lemon pepper seasoning, fried in a spoonful of olive oil)
ann-marie's chinese "chicken" salad (recipe below)

i was just about to go to sleep when i remembered this...
friday night munchies:
small bit of salad at olive garden
pomegranate martini
1 piece digiorno pizza
honest tea

Chinese "chicken" salad:
this is a party fave that came from my mom's best friend ann-marie. i'm putting it down as written, but for the same amount of veggies, i cut the dressing in half and it's PLENTY. when making it for just myself and kris, i half the dressing again as well as the rest of the ingredients, add shredded carrots and omit the almonds. i also 'fry' the ramen noodles with some pam, just enough to get the powder to stick.. rather than adding extra butter, and i use grapeseed oil (more heart healthy) for the 'salad oil'.

16oz bag shredded cabbage (or you can shred your own- 1 large head cabbage)
6 green onions - chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 pkgs. Chicken Top Ramen
1 to 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup butter

Melt butter in large pan, add sesame oil, and chicken flavor packet from Top Ramen
Crush Top Ramen and add to pan...brown and set aside to cool.

Dressing - mix together and chill
1/2 cup salad oil
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp.each-salt & pepper

Right before serving, Mix shredded cabbage, almonds, onions, ramen noodles and dressing.
Toss & Serve!

day 3

so i'm still uber siiiiiiiiiiiiick... and spent the entire day home, studying at the kitchen table. these are the days when it's tough not to CONSTANTLY snack, being that i'm sitting in the kitchen all day.. the food calling out to me. "eat me! eat me!" so here we go:

breakfast:
coffee w/ 2tbsp creamer
0% greek yogurt w/ 1Tbsp raspberry preserves
1/2 cup hemp plus granola

snack:
4 ritz crackers (again.. i have a problem)

lunch:
pita bbq chicken pizza (see below)
2 shortbread cookies

dinner:
grilled cheese sandwich (on whole wheat sourdough, using reduced fat shredded cheese)
1 cup tomato bisque
leftover "superfood" smoothie from yesterday

as you can see, my fruit/vegetable intake has been drastically low since i started this... that is for a few reasons: i haven't been to the produce stand in over a week, i've been sick and home-ridden (i was sent home from clinicals both days this week), and i have an exam tomorrow. excuses, excuses.. but i think i've done okay. goal for next week: INCREASE VEGGIE INTAKE. the fact that i had spirulina powder in my superfood yesterday and today makes me feel a little better...

pita bbq pork pizza:
1 pita
2 Tbsp bbq sauce
1/4 cup shredded lite mozzarella cheese
3oz shredded pork (or chicken)
chopped red onion

top pita with ingredients in order, and broil in oven (or toaster oven) on medium for 5-6 minutes... or until cheese is melted.

day 2

i'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!
i have to say, i spent a lot of time thinking about how i promised to blog my menu again... so i think it helped. kind of.

breakfast:
vegan cinnamon roll from Cinnaholic (it was uh-mazing.. and i don't even feel bad)

lunch:
homemade superfood (recipe below.. kinda)
1 cup multigrain cheerios
handful hemp plus granola

snack:
4 ritz crackers (i forced myself to stop)

dinner:
barbacua salad from chipotle
10 tortilla chips

not too shabby... in the morning i actually did make myself coffee, but was feeling so crappy that i didn't drink it. and.. note: when i ate the cheerios and granola, what i REALLY wanted was a big fat bowl of cookies. but i held back, and was really proud of myself.

I HEART SUPERFOOD!!!! my superfood smoothie didn't turn out quite as well as i would have hoped.. but i think that's because my ratios were off. i needed more OJ and less frozen fruit. it was kinda watery-tasting.

2 cups mixed frozen fruit (i used a blend of strawberries, banana, mango, & papaya)
1 cup OJ
1 1/2 teaspoon spirulina powder (this is what makes the odwalla superfood green!)

put fruit and juice in blender, and gradually add spirulina powder while blending is going. i was worried it would clump, so i mixed it with some juice and poured it in. i'll adjust my ratio next time, but overall this was my attempt to stop spending $3 for the odwalla drinks at the store.

hasta manana!

menu.

so here i am, attempting to get my brain to concentrate on community vs. public health.. and all i can think about is my belly hanging over my pajama bottoms. i try to eat healthy for the most part, but i think my problem is quantity.. and sweets. okay, maybe i'm not as healthy as i thought lol. being that it's the first of the month (anyone else here bone thugs in their head right now??), i've decided to attempt to blog my daily menu every day to try and keep myself accountable for what i'm eating.

hey.. maybe i'll even fit some physical exercise in here and there...

breakfast:
coffee w/ 3tbsp peppermint mocha creamer
mcdonalds oatmeal

snack:
1 cup 1% chocolate milk w/ chocolate chip cookie

lunch:
2 eggrolls

dinner:
wonton soup w/ added tofu
1/3 pork vietnamese sandwich

dessert:
2 pieces mochi

try not to judge.. i didn't start my day planning to blab to the world about my healthy food choices (can you hear the sarcasm??). man i feel super gross now. i seriously spend the middle part of my day fueled by sugar and deep fried deliciousness. wow. the only bonus points i can give myself are to the fact that i did actually measure my creamer and milk out of habit. go me!

here's to day 2!