Spring & Smiles in Sonoma

Hi! Happy Weekend, ya’ll! I am have a wonderful time in Sonoma County; I’ve sure missed my “second home”. Before leaving my apartment yesterday, I packed a few snacks to bring along:

• Carrots & Cucumber
• ~1/3 Chocolove Bar
• Almond Butter
• 2 AllieBars
• Green Tea
• Oats + Oat Bran + Cinnamon

Travel Tip: Pack your own hot cereal for a cheap, easy & healthy breakfast.

My 3-hour drive was easy and beautiful. When I got into town, I decided to stretch my legs by taking a stroll around my old college campus while getting a little Vitamin D on my cheeks. It’s Spring Break for the university, so it was awkwardly quiet – there wasn’t a sole in sight.

My old stomping pad: Beaujolais Village [we are in wine country, after all].

The newest student housing – Tuscany Village – is  very plush.

Spring is blooming!

For diner, two of my original roommates [from freshman year] and I went out to eat at Monti’s Rotisserie & Bar. I had the Baby Beet Salad with Spice Hazelnuts & Humboldt Fog [yay, home!] Goat Cheese. I’m a fan of beets!

Goal #1: Smile more : )   

Afterwards, Tasha [left] took us to an adorable fro yo shop – Ghirardelli chocolate with almonds for me please.

There was a lot of much-needed laughing last night. I’ve missed my gals!

***

After sleeping in this morning, I went for a short 36 minute run and then made breakfast with my oats [above]. I picked up a banana at the store when I got into town, and T had ground flax & soy milk – perfect!

Oats + Oat Bran + 1/2 Banana [cooked] + Cinnamon & Flax + Almond Butter & Soy Milk

We picked up hot soy lattes at Starbucks [1 star to go before I’m a Gold Member!] before hitting up a few stores: Target, REI & Cost Plus.

Although I should really be studying for my Monday exam, my mind is in “vacation mode”. I am headed to my aunt and uncle’s in a bit for Sunday Saturday family dinner. I’m looking forward to meeting their Swedish exchange student and having a home cooked meal…I wonder what the theme is is tonight : ) While going to school in Sonoma, I would go to Family Dinner every Sunday. It was a blessing to have the comfort of family just a few minutes away. I definitely miss that.

Enjoy your evening!

Hillary

Real Food Reigns Supreme

Evening Readers!

Hope you had a refreshing Saturday. I sure did. I whizzed through my to-do list, and somehow skimmed over my homework ; ) After our last “chat”, I got to baking — my favorite way to procrastinate. I asked my mom to send me her recipe for Cappuccino Chip Muffins that I’ve grown up on. She started making these in 1992! This is the first time I’ve actually made them; they are super simple and definitely a crowd pleaser.

espresso

semisweet chocolate morsels

a hint of cinnamon

I most certainly ate not one, but two warm muffins & a homemade iced latte for an afternoon snack…you betcha! Not long after, I was back in the kitchen attacking the monster of a butternut squash that I brought home in my backpack Thursday. This is what it turned into:

Not bad, eh? It was scrumptious with a capital S.

I roasted the squash with olive oil, real maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt & pepper at 400* for approximately 30 minutes, until the edges were caramelized and the house was saturated with sweet air. Then baby spinach was washed, creamy avocado was chopped, chevre was crumbled, and pepitas were sprinkled on top…a drizzle of balsamic was the finishing touch. I definitely need to thank my teacher for this one.

Overall, I had a very scrumptious Saturday! I am so thankful to be able to fill my belly with nutritious and delicious eats. I really, really am.

Check It Out: My Green Monster recipe is featured on Green Monster Movement. Thanks, Angela!

Take it easy,

~ Hillary

No Dairy. No Produce. No Chocolate!

Howdy ho, neighbor!

I really don’t have anything exciting to talk about tonight [no news is good news, right?], but I thought I would pop in for a quick hello.

I think my Statistics exam went swimmingly today. I’ll have to wait to find out if that’s really true. Food Lab…not much to say about that either. Today’s topic of study was food preservation, so we made jams and pressure-processed carrots, etc. I did come home with a butternut squash in my backpack. Haha, gotta love free veggies!

On another random note, today’s eats were scattered across the flavor map. My grocery stash is so low, it’s ridiculous. Ya’ll know I go grocery shopping weekly, so I guess I had an extra-large appetite this week. I swear I’ve got nothing: no dairy, no produce, no chocolate! Tomorrow = Friday = Grocery Shopping Day! I think my cart is going to overflow =]

Example #1 of my fridge scrounging:

Whole Wheat Toast with Chevre, Fresh Basil & Tomato

Example #2:

Apricot Almond Element Bar

I’ve only got 3 left! I ate this after my exam around 1:00pm and it held me over through my workout until 7:30pm! That’s a substantial snack!

I was really energized after class (thanks, Element Bar), and excited to put on my new Nike Dri-Fit top and get spinning!

Heart-Pumping Cardio

• 18-mile ride [48 minutes spinning]
• erg [12 minutes rowing]

Arms

• 2 x 12 lat pull-down @ 40 lbs.
• 2 x 12 seated row @ 40 lbs.
• 2 x 12 tricep extension @ 10 lbs.

Abs

• 3 x 12 side dips @ 10 lbs. [each side]
• 3 x 20 stability ball crunches
• 2 x 10 “knee-to-chest rollers”
• + 20 squats @ 10 lbs.

Alright, I must shut up now and get crackin’ on the chem homework!

Night,

Hillary

Work It Out

Hi Lovely Readers! I was happy to read that so many of you were excited about the little tale this morning. I got the melted jam idea from another blog, but now can’t remember which.

After finishing my morning post, I made myself a latte – or technically a cafe au lait (with 1% milk) – and a sprinkling of raw sugar…mmm. I’m going strong with my Coffee Challenge and have decided to extend my goal until this Friday (rather than Monday). I have a tough school week ahead of me, and thought if I can avoid buying coffee until Friday, then I can reward myself with a treat!

Foam a la Aerolatte

***

Lounging around in my pajamas all morning meant a late lunch…but when I got around to it, this is what it consisted of:

Frijoles Negros, Salsa y Avocado + Agua

Dos Kiwis

***

After studying up for my Elementary Foods exam, I got antsy to exercise. My muscles are still extremely sore from the past 4 days of exercise, but I wanted to work out some of the lactic acid build-up. Nothing hardcore:

Cardio

• 1 mile track [alternate jog/walk every 2 laps]
• 20 minutes: ARC Trainer
• 1 mile track [alternate jog/walk every 2 laps]

Abs

• 2 x 20 stability ball crunches
• 2 x 20 reverse crunches
• 2 x 10 side crunches
• 2 x 10 stability ball “knee-to-chest rollers”

Stretch!

***

Dinner was rustic and E-Z!

– organic polenta (sauteed in olive oil), marinara, chevre & tear of fresh basil –

Alright…time to study my fruits and veggies for Wednesday’s Elementary Foods EXAM.

Enjoy your night,

~ Hillary

Blogger Blues

Hey. Sorry for the lack of commitment to my blog lately. The groceries get slim at the end of the week and I tend to lose my motivation to capture my repetitive eats. A bowl of cereal can only be so exciting, ya know? The “spring” sunshine this week was totally a tease. It’s back to grey weather here, with a chance of rain. School is getting more difficult each and every week, and the stress levels are rising. Clearly, I’m having one of those funky Fridays. Reading through my daily blogroll today, I got the sense that stress is in the air. It seems as though a lot of us bloggers have had a rough week. I guess I’ve got the blogger blues =/

On a more positive note…I am really glad I’m feeling better physically and have been able to exercise the past 3 days! I went to the gym last night and did the most random workout. Switching up your routine is the key because I was sweaty, beet red, and woke up with sore muscles this morning – success!

Run – 1 mile

Arms:

• 2 x 10 tricep dips
• 2 x 10 lat pulldowns @ 40 lbs.
• 2 x 10 seated rows @ 40 lbs.
• 4 x 10 bicep curls @ 10 lbs.
• 2 x 10 overhead presses @ 10 lbs.

Run – 1/2 mile

Cardio Burst:

• 100 jumping jacks
• 2 x 10 push-ups
• 40 squats
• 8 x 10 “block knee-chest raises”

Run – 1/2 mile

Abs:

• 3 x 20 stability ball crunches
• 10 stability ball “plank knee-to-chest rollers”
• 10 side crunches each side

[repeat 2 + 3]

• 20 side dips each side @ 10 lbs.

Stretch!

After class today, I met my roommate at the gym for another workout session:

• 1.5 miles – Run
• 30 minutes – Butts ‘n’ Gutts class
• 15 minutes – Spin …on the coolest spin bike ever! I’m not kidding, I am in love. I was able to hook up my iPod and view my playlists, etc. on the huge screen. There is a TV option, of course, and it has a personal fan. It’s quite the machine!

Speaking of exercise, when I was talking to my mom on the phone last night, she mentioned the Foggy Bottom Milk Run, a local race near my hometown. It just so happens that it is conveniently during Spring Break this year. I don’t think I’ve done the race since 2006, so I was stoked. I went online and signed myself right up, making the early registration date by 1 day! I’ve only run the 4.1-mile distance before, but I decided to go all out and register for the 10-miler — why not? Guess I better start running…

***

I had pizza for dinner tonight. For most college students that means calling up Pizza Hut to deliver an extra-large meaty combo (with a side of bread sticks – ick), but for the Nutrition Nut it means:

wheat crust – $1.29 @ TJ’s

pesto

tomatoes

red onion

broccolini

chevre

…and a chiffonade of fresh basil

Overall: The dough took longer to cook…therefore turning the chiffonade of fresh basil into crispy basil…and it lacked in the flavor department, but I enjoyed making it – that counts as something, right? FYI, I took 38 pictures of my dang pizza and wasn’t pleased with any of them. Ugh, picture perfectionist. This is the best I can do tonight, folks.

I just took out my frustrations on the chocolate chip bag. I must ban chocolate chips from kitchen – seriously.

***

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

Love,

Hillary

Recess Is Over

Hey there. Hope your weekend was a good one. I’m still in denial that today was my last day of freedom from homework until mid-May! My 5-week-long recess is over.

After a relaxing, quiet morning unpacking & organizing, I made myself a Green Monster for lunch before heading to campus to play at the indoor playground (also known as the g.y.m.).

1/2 banana, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 cup fresh spinach

+ 1/4 cup Humboldt Honey Granola

There was a bunch of new “jungle gym” equipment, including 10-15 more cardio machines – there is certainly plenty for all us gym monkeys to play with.

Today’s play date included:

Cardio

• 30 minutes Elliptical (10 minutes each at incline 5, 10 & 15 @ resistance 5)
• 1.5 miles interval running around indoor track

Conditioning

• 20 lat pulldowns @ 40lbs.
• 20 seated rows @ 40lbs.
• 20 glute presses (each leg) @ 40lbs.
• 2 x 15 squats @ 15lbs.
• 45 bicep curls @ 15lbs.
• 15 “pull weights to chin” @ 15lbs.
• 15 tricep dips

Sweaty and pink-cheeked, I went to Target for my “odds & ends shopping”, and resisted stopping by Starbucks for a warm pick-me-up. Instead, I saved a few extra dollars and made myself a soy cafe au lait in my own kitchen, courtesy of my new Aerolatte milk frother. If you’re curious, a cafe au lait (or misto at Starbucks) is made with coffee, while a latte is made with espresso. Unfortunately, I do not have an espresso maker; hence the not as gourmet beverage.

***

I had an early dinner tonight of leftover pesto pasta:

I can sense there will most likely be some snacking later tonight. Not too late though…it’s a school night! ; )

~ Hillary

Cooking Crazy

It must have been the cleanse because I haven’t been able to keep myself out of the grocery store or kitchen all day! All I want to do is cook : )

My mom requested that I make her a batch of her favorite Apricot Oat Bars while I am home. No problemo! After making this recipe several times, I can basically spit it out in my sleep. Oats and apricots were destined to be together, wouldn’t you agree?

Almonds would also be equally delicious!

My friend Daisy came over for the afternoon. We put the bars together as we gabbed and drank Tazo Calm Tea.

Oaty, nutty, chewy & slightly sweet – gotta love these.

I only had a nibble – I am still staying on the “lighter side” – and then delivered the batch of warm bars to my mom at work.

Post Script. Did ya’ll notice how I made progress on Goal #10? “Bake more often and for others”.

***

I have a bunch of lemons left over from the cleanse, so I thought I’d put them to use for dinner tonight. I ended up only using one…any amazing (healthy) lemon recipes out there?

Simple Spinach Salad with Avocado & Red Onion

(Raspberries would have been ideal in this salad, but I can’t get myself to spend $6 on half a pint!)

Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Asparagus, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice & Zest, Toasted Pine Nuts & Parmesan

Light as pasta can be!

…plus a piece of toasted local bread with local chive chevre – yum!

Tomorrow’s Friday! Who’s excited? My grandparents and friend Hannah are visiting this weekend from out of town – yippee!

Peace,

~ Hillary

Let it Snow!

It’s snowing!

Ha…well, not outside…but do you like the addition of falling snow on the blog? I couldn’t help myself – just one more reminder of the holiday season. (The snow follows your cursor – too fun!)

Anyway, I survived another cold, cold day out there. The mittens resurfaced from the bottom of my closet today – they were much needed!

My eats were on the random side. I did end up having leftover tofu for lunch (as promised) in the form of a wrap, there was also some yogurt with the other half of pear, and I believe some dark chocolate was consumed too.

I wasn’t terribly hungry for dinner tonight, so a simple bowl of beans it was. [I do apologize for the boring meals – I am a college student after all – and uncreative, monotonous photographs.]

whole black beans, avocado, pico de gallo & chevre with organic yellow corn tortilla chips

Almost time for my Tuesday night ritual (you must know what that is by now)…

Take care,

~ Hillary

Shape Your Life

You probably thought I would be sick of squash by now, as I went a bit crazy in November eating squash at practically every meal, but don’t think I am tired of ’em yet. I (carefully) cut open another acorn squash tonight and put it in the oven to steam (I bake it in water first). I planned on having a load of lettuce on the side, but when I went to pull the salad spinner out of the fridge, I found a soft sea of ugly greens. So…my side of salad went straight to the trash.

After searching for other items to pair with my squash, I decided I would survive if I didn’t make a “complete” meal for dinner. I topped the succulent squash with real butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds & chevre (more of the same). FYI, I could have skipped the seeds.

I’m not going to obsess over the fact that my dinner lacked a variety of color because acorn squash is loaded with beta-carotene (yellow–orange–red pigment) which has several health benefits.

Earlier today I picked up a few things at Target, including this:

Giada De Laurentiis is my idol!

Ever since my Food Network obsession began back in the 8th/9th grade, I have been infatuated by this amazing woman. I was so happy to see her on the cover of Shape. Isn’t she gorgeous? One of her 5 kitchen essentials listed in the article: Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips. “A handful of these at night really satisfies my sweet tooth.” This totally made me smile : )

Anyway, friends…hope you’re off somewhere enjoying your Friday night. Haven’t decided if I’m staying in or going out, but I do know that there will be dessert in my future…

~ Hillary

Soy Power

Hey there,

Happy (almost) Friday! I get really excited when I think about only having 1 week of classes remaining for the semester – woohoo!

Today got off to a great start with this delicious bowl of pumpkin oats. I used to think that pumpkin shouldn’t be allowed post-Thanksgiving, but it’s just too hard to resist.

• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup organic pumpkin puree
• 1/2 banana
• 1 T walnuts
• 1/2 T brown sugar
• cinnamon

After determining the number of microorganisms in unwashed fruit and unpasteurized juice in biology lab, I walked to Starbucks to catch-up on my reading for my next class. I sipped on a lovely half-caf soy latte. The soy coated my tummy for a little while, but I needed to put something more substantial in my mouth before my next set of afternoon classes. I decided on a Pluto’s salad: mixed greens, roasted fennel, beets, oranges, red onion, pumpkin seeds & a balsamic vinaigrette + 1 piece of focaccia bread.

[My camera missed the memo this morning before heading out the door – sorry!]

On my walk back to campus, I stopped inside a store downtown that I’d been admiring, but had yet to visit – Zucchini & Vine. Making a quick tour around the premises, I came across a deli case displaying the most beautiful chocolates. Just at the time of my discovery, one of the sales clerk exclaims, “You look like you’re seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time”. I immediately replied, “Well, I do love chocolate!” She continued to ask me if I liked dark chocolate…duh…and offered me a tasting of some special chocolate chips that were stationed on top of the case. How did she know that just minutes before I was day-dreaming about a piece of chocolate to polish off my lunch? Ha…too funny!

Unfortunately the salad wasn’t substantial enough, so between round 2 and 3 of classes I put a little spring back into my step with one of these:

Uh-mazing!

• 8 oz. chocolate soy milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 6 dark chocolate espresso beans

Normally I do not exercise Tuesdays & Thursdays because my schedule is packed with academics, but either the double dose of espresso and/or soy protein was screaming at me to let out some E (energy)!

When my fourth and final class ended, I briskly walked on over to the gym, slipped into my running shoes and shorts and sprinted 1.5 miles around the track, followed by 15-30 minutes of weights, and another 1.5 miles around the track – feeling good!

Dinner was simple. I didn’t want anything too heavy since the clock was nearing 8:00pm. I warmed up some TJ’s Butternut Squash soup with chevre and pumpkin seeds:

and to go along…

O.M.G…This was the first time I’ve had these tortilla chips (crackers?), and they are awesome. Give ’em a try!

Well, there ya have it…my day in a nutshell.

To healthy eating,

~ Hillary

P.S. That chocolate bar no longer exists…what did I tell ya? : )