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!