Category Archives: shopping

Treadmall not Treadmill

Posted on November 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Thankfully there was no intense Thanksgiving “hangover” when I woke up this morning. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits still. And it appears that Cody might be the most exhausted out of everyone!

I mentioned making breakfast and my dad requested one of whatever I was having. Of course I had to whip up hot cereal! For 2 servings:

  • 1/2c Bob’s Red Mill gluten free hot cereal
  • 2/3c almond milk
  • 1c plus a few splashes of water
  • 1T chia seeds
  • cinnamon
  • generous 1/2c fresh blueberries

I brought the milk and water to boil and then stirred in the cereal and turned down the heat. After a few minutes of stirring I added in the chia seeds and cinnamon. A couple of minutes later I added the berries and a bit more water to make the cereal creamier and stirred until the berries softened and the grains thickened up.

I topped both bowls with a drizzle of peanut butter and a spoonful of leftover cranberry sauce (that has pecans and mandarin oranges in it). Mmmm – this bowl was great and my dad was pretty impressed with the flavors!

We then headed out to do some Black Friday shopping. We don’t do the hardcore 4am wake up calls but for the last couple of years we’ve found our way to the mall to take advantage of some sales. My dad suggested a day off from the gym and I concurred, saying we’d get our exercise from walking the mall. Not one to miss a beat, he replied he’d rather be on a treadmill than doing the treadMALL thing but he got dragged along anyways :)

I made a to-go bowl of leftovers: brussels, cauliflower, acorn squash, cornbread stuffing and a drop of cranberry sauce.

After a few hours of walking the mall and popping into 2 other stores we wrapped up our adventure at Whole Foods. While picking up a few items we also got a little hot bar snack since we were hungry once again. I got kale, golden beets, some lentil salad with onion and cranberries, and some black beans.

Cody and I just got back from a walk and it might be nap and TV time for a bit with the fam :)

Do you get excited for Black Friday? What do you do instead if you avoid the malls?

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Posted in lunch, shopping, Uncategorized, vacation

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Walkin on Sunshine

Posted on September 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

I have to confess that I love the 90 degree temps that are gracing DC this week. As a result I’m in a great mood and looking for excuses to spend time outside; it’s quite a stark contrast to the hibernating I tend to do one the temps turn cooler!

This morning I packed breakfast to bring with me. We had an all staff meeting with breakfast served beforehand so I planned to also have a serving of fruit with my egg sandwich. 2 slices of Udi’s whole grain bread, spinach, hot sauce, 1 egg white. I was really tempted to add jam but chickened out (pun unintended) at the last minute!

Because of said meeting the rest of my morning flew by and before I knew it I was hungry for lunch. That sandwich and fruit definitely didn’t hold me over as well as a bowl of hot cereal. I had a salad with romaine, spinach, carrot, my last almond cracker, a drop of hummus, black bean soup (like dip), and a drop of cheddar. I also had ~1/4c brown rice with ~1/4c kidney beans, peas, and okra with some BBQ and hot sauce. Time to eat up leftovers in my fridge!

My afternoon snack was a peach with 1/3c Crunch Maple Sunrise with a light drizzle of peanut butter.

I made a last-minute plan to meet Suzy for a bit of shopping downtown and decided to do a bit of exploring on my way to the store. I strolled through Lafayette Square and took in the sights. Summer is still holding on!

I wound up at the White House farmers market and fell in love with these decorative squash!

I decided on a quick fro-yo while waiting for Suze which ended up being a great decision because shopping lasted almost 3 hours and I was so hangry by the end I metroed home instead of walking like I usually would.

Enter the quickest dinner ever: leftover steamed veggies bulked up with more frozen spinach and broccoli, tamari, a spoonful of black beans, and the half serving of soup from last night that I didn’t eat. Plus an English muffin – half with hot sauce and cheese, half with Earth Balance as dessert while watching Grey’s.

Sorry for the quick and rambling post – it was a long but GREAT day and I’m beyond ready to sleep!

Do you tend to do spur-of-the-moment things during the week? Is it still warm where you are or has fall officially arrived?

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Posted in breakfast, dinner, lunch, shopping, staying on track

Trying to stay "good"

Posted on December 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

Things are good and well on Day 3 of vacation. I will devote some time later to a more complete update but here’s a few highlights from yesterday:

  • shopping at the University Coop. I purchased some great UT spirit wear, including this, this, this, and these!! I got a bit carried away but I guess I’m entitled since my alma mater is going to the National Championship this year :-)
  • a Central Market salad
  • seeing 2 great friends from college for a night of fun, food, and a bit of shopping!! Love you guys!

In other news, my motivation to workout has completely gone down the drain since Monday night. I’m trying to make smart food choices and avoid the traps all over my house (aka lots of chocolate, snacks, and the Chex mix from Thanksgiving – another batch, not the leftovers) but I can’t help but have a few nibbles. BUT, the sun is coming out and I’m about to head to the gym and lunch with my dad, so hopefully that will remind me that I like being active. I definitely want to keep on the bandwagon despite being on vacation!

What’s your best motivation to go be active? Favorite food to have when you visit home?

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Posted in dinner, family, friends, shopping, staying on track, vacation, workouts

Is it Friday yet?

Posted on December 11, 2009 | Leave a comment

Whew, the past 2 days have been a whirlwind. A 12hr workday and a crazy sleep schedule will do that though. I’m hoping to get to bed soon and try to get back on a somewhat normal schedule so here’s a brief recap with eats throughout.

Yesterday morning began around 10am with an egg white and BRM hot cereal with raisins, 1/4c frozen blueberries, and 1/2tbsp PB. I used the rest of my morning to take care of errands and chores before heading in to work in the afternoon.

I spent the first part of my time at work preparing for that night’s program I was a part of. Work hosts an annual student event where staff and faculty feed students a late-night breakfast and there are a host of activities happening as well. This year’s theme was “back to elementary school” and there was finger painting, games, Rock Band, and my event – Are you Smarter than a Professor, amongst other activities. For lunch I had a Greek yogurt with a chopped Gala apple and a few almonds mixed in. This meal, while light, kept me surprisingly full through the afternoon.

Before heading out to run another errand, I had a clementine quickly. I don’t normally buy these, but always enjoy this yummy little treat. I convinced myself that a box of these “darling clementines” will last a while and are worth the investment. It’s also nice to have some variety in the fruits I’m eating.

I had dinner while I was out running errands – another meal at Noodles! This time I had a small bangkok curry, heavy on the veggies, light on the noodles, with a chicken breast. I only managed to eat half so I brought the rest with me to fuel me through a late night of work.

I was preparing for, facilitating, and cleaning up for this event from 7pm until 1:30am when I got home. I was proud I didn’t snack on much besides the 2nd half of my dinner and an 1/8c of raisins! By the time I got home, I had a bit of cereal, showered and crashed, it was close to 2:30am! oy…

I woke up around noon today and wasn’t hungry at all. Wishing I could go back to sleep, I instead dragged myself to work. I had a pear while getting ready to help me wake up a bit. My appetite returned mid-afternoon and I had 1/4c lentils, 1/4c brown rice with a cup of my roasted veggies, topped w/ some parm and hot sauce. Yum!

I had another clementine before meeting up with a new friend from my old job for tea. From there, I met up with Dallas friends for dinner at an Asian restaurant called Cafe Asia. I was starving when we sat down and was excited about my Gway Tio with vegetables. No picture, sorry – I was too hungry. Much like my dinner last night, I ate all my veggies and skipped most of the noodles.

Tonight I relaxed, watched last night’s episode of Glee, and finished up the rest of this Greek yogurt (about 2 tbsp) with a chopped apple, a light drizzle of AB, and some cereal.

Off to bed for this one. I’m exhausted. I think that the ridiculously cold weather that descended upon DC this afternoon may have something to do with my desire to crawl into bed! I’m excited to get back into the gym after a 2-day hiatus and finally take care of some life tasks after a week full of work!

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Posted in apples, breakfast, dinner, friends, Greek, lunch, shopping, sleep, winter, work