Category Archives: sorority

Trip to Charlottesville

Posted on January 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

When I set the goal for myself to travel to someplace I’d never been before this year, I never expected I’d accomplish it before January was over! On Saturday night, I met my sorority’s National President and the lead advisor for our new chapter starting at UVA and we departed for Charlottesville.

The drive down was pretty quick. We stopped at an Outback Steakhouse for dinner which delighted me because I knew they had a gluten free menu. I got the grilled chicken with veggies and a side salad which was delicious. We stayed at the Cavalier Inn which was your standard hotel.

Yesterday was quite the whirlwind day. We made our trip to southern Virginia to participate in the first day of formal sorority recruitment. There were 12 rounds of girls that would be coming to learn about our group’s special recruitment in a few short weeks and it was our job to share information on our organization, the recruitment, and chat with the potential new members. (did all that Greek life talk make sense?)

We ate breakfast at the hotel and I was extremely glad I’d packed an Udi’s cinnamon raisin bagel to eat. I had some yogurt on the side and was glad the meal held me over from 8am til almost 2pm! There were of course a few nibbles on cheddar rice cakes and an apple.

We picked up lunch on our short break. Everyone else got Subway sandwiches (no GF option) so I got a salad from Baja Bean Co. that was just across the shopping center. The salad had lettuce, tomatoes, fajita veggies, beans, and some rice and was amazing!  After lunch I got to go check out a few other sororities and my legs, despite standing up all day, were thrilled to move and provide me with some fresh air and mountain scenery.

The day wound down and we headed to dinner with our whole group (others joined us in Charlottesville) before the drive back to DC. We went to Boylan Heights which I’d read about on Kath‘s blog. It was kind of cool to eat someplace I’d read about :)

I ordered my custom burger bowl a la scantron which was really fun. It also eliminated tons of modifying and special requests which I like to avoid as much as possible when dining with people I don’t know so well.

I got a burger bowl topped with black bean and corn salsa, roasted red peppers, and mushrooms with BBQ on the side. It also came with choice of fries and I opted for sweet potato when I should have got the amazing tater tots that others got. I maybe ate 1/3 of the fries and most of my burger bowl. It was perfect!

This morning I enjoyed another day off and actually woke up much earlier than I expected. With extra time in my routine, I took advantage of a lazy morning playing catch up. I had an egg white and red pepper spread on an English muffin with some frozen blueberries and a spoonful of yogurt.

Around noon I headed to the grocery store where I discovered that all of DC was making chili today and therefore they were sold out of beans. I managed to get everything else though and they were sampling some vegetable sushi which I partook in! When I got home I added some broccoli to a cup of tomato soup and then kept being productive.

I finally headed back out to the gym for a workout which felt good after 4.5 hours in the car from my little road trip. I snacked on half of a grapefruit and some pistachios while I cooked dinner.

I utilized leftover beans for some impromptu BBQ beans with a baby baked (a la microwave) potato and some homemade broccoli soup. I topped the soup with a bit of crumbled cheddar cheese which was the perfect topper.

Now I’m watching Greek and then it’s time for a short work week, woohoo!!

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Posted in breakfast, dinner, lunch, sorority, travel, weekend

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Crunched for Time

Posted on November 22, 2010 | 1 Comment

To kick off Thanksgiving week, I am beyond grateful that I have a 2 day work week! This little break couldn’t come at a better time and I can’t wait to be home with family and friends for one of my favorite holidays!

Until then though I’m trying to cram a lot of things into my schedule. I even resorted to a day-by-day To-Do list to get it all done! Tasks on the list include:

  • packing
  • cleaning out the fridge
  • cleaning up my kitchen
  • running a few errands
  • perhaps the gym? (errands will definitely keep me moving)
  • charge electronics

Yesterday the day kind of seemed to get away from me. Having a commitment right in the middle of the afternoon (and getting home 1 hour later than expected )prevented me from getting the things done that I needed to. When I woke up I had another bowl of pomegranite blueberry hot cereal after sleeping throughyoga in until 10:30am. My body was tired!

I spent the next few hours organizing, cleaning and dusting, and then getting myself ready for an afternoon trip to College Park, MD. I ate a small lunch before heading out the door of leftover spicy veggies and hummus and red pepper sandwich on a slice of Udi’s. Thank goodness I ate this around 1:45pm because I wouldn’t end up eating again until 6:15! :-/

I spent my afternoon at the newly renovated house of the Maryland chapter of my sorority. They had invited all of the area board members to see the updated house which is gorgeous! It brought back wonderful memories of my own time living in a sorority house and also made me appreciate living outside of one now :)

They had snacks for us which included cake, cookies, and more cookies so I just had some tea and chatted with the friendly chapter officers and fellow board members. By the time I walked in the door my stomach was growling and I was ready to eat.

I had a quick chicken fried rice utilizing some of the contents in my fridge. I heated up some frozen broccoli, peppers, corn, and peas and added in ~2oz cooked chicken breast, 1/4c brown rice, and an egg white. It was seasoned with soy and teriyaki sauce, garlic, and hot sauce and eaten alongside a spinach salad with beets.

The rest of the night was spent taking care of some tasks and getting ready for the short week. I also decided to whip up a mini batch of biscuits using some GF Bisquick. I know I said it once but I’ll say it again, this mix is pretty bland and has no taste compared to the smaller company, whole grain baking products. The biscuit also left a weird texture and feeling in my mouth, similar to that feeling after eating cooking spinach. I’m officially done with Bisquick for good!

This morning I whipped up a quick bowl of blueberry hot cereal and am hoping to work efficiently throughout the day to get everything done. I would love to avoid an extremely late night tonight!

How long is your workweek this week? Do you have a usual pre-travel routine?

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Posted in breakfast, dinner, healthy, product review, routine, sorority, travel, weekend

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Weekend in Review

Posted on November 14, 2010 | 1 Comment

Hi there! How was your weekend? Mine was full of tons of things except for sleep but I’m hoping to make up for that shortly :)

This weekend was the kickoff training weekend for a leadership program that I run for my sorority. I recruited and selected 10 outstanding women who came from across the country to the DC suburbs for a weekend of fun and training.

I got myself ready for the weekend with a great breakfast on Friday morning. I had an egg sandwich with one egg white and wilted spinach on Udi’s whole grain toast with Trader Joe’s roasted red pepper spread, parmesan cheese, and hot sauce. There was a small Comice pear as well.

I picked up lunch from an old favorite – Java Green. I got the deluxe bibimbap bowl with brown rice and a plethora of veggies. Topped with gluten free hot sauce, this bowl was energizing and filling. I couldn’t eat but half of my rice!

I then made my way out to Virginia and kicked off the weekend with an intro session, ice breakers, and a pretty unexciting meal of a chicken breast with steamed green beans and part of a plain baked potato.

We resumed our sessions at 8am on Saturday morning and worked up until 6pm! There were a few little breaks including lunch and snack time but when you’re teaching and training the day runs together into one long session!

A highlight of the weekend was dinner last night at Big Bowl. They had a gluten free menu which excited me to no end and took being gluten free very seriously. That’s exactly what I like to see! Our server also did a fantastic job of making suggestions, answering questions, and being wonderfully patient.

The team got pot stickers and we also ordered the gluten free vegetable summer rolls which were light, crisp, and flavorful. I believe there were apples inside!

For my entree I got the chicken and broccoli in a garlic ginger sauce with brown rice. When I originally requested that my dish be cooked with less oil, our server offered to cook it with no oil instead if I wanted. I died and went to heaven. The serving was so big that I ate a little less than half, with maybe 1/3 of the rice, eating both leftovers for dinner tonight and there’s still a good cup of brown rice or so leftover!

When I got home this afternoon, I wasn’t sure how to use my few hours of weekend at first. I ultimately decided to quickly unpack and head to Whole Foods for groceries. On my way out the door I picked up a package that came yesterday and boy was I glad that I did.

I have quite the love affair with Udi’s products and last week declared how bad a [non]competitors product was on Twitter. The lovely folks at Udi’s swooped in and surprised me with the best, most exciting care package I’ve received in a while!!

I excitedly tore into the box with my empty grocery backpack still on my shoulders. The bread took priority over Whole Foods in the moment. Inside I discovered Udi’s soon-to-be-released new products: whole grain bagels, cinnamon raisin bread, and cinnamon raisin bagels. PLUS a loaf of my favorite whole grain bread.

I tore into the cinnamon raisin loaf immediately and am pleased to report that this is quite tasty (and not so bad for you!)! I’ve had 2 slices since I got home this afternoon and give it the Gluten Free Grazer seal of approval. There are tons of raisins and the perfect amount of cinnamon. My apartment smells heavenly now!

I did make it to the grocery store AND to the gym after sitting for 40 hours and too many potato chips. I did ~3 miles on the elliptical, lifted some weights, and then walked around my neighborhood for a good 30 minutes or so afterward while on the phone with my mom. I seem to finally be bitten by the exercise bug. After dinner and more raisin toast I got to using my new toy – The Stick to treat my leg muscles.

Now friends, it’s bed time. I didn’t sleep very much the last 2 nights and have been running on adrenaline!

What’s your favorite bread? Do you volunteer? Where? How was your weekend?

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Posted in product review, restaurants, social networking, sorority, Uncategorized, weekend

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Weekend in Philly

Posted on October 25, 2010 | 3 Comments

When I was first invited to be a facilitator for a sorority training over the weekend in Philly I was excited. Not only was I thrilled about the prospect of a weekend away from DC, I also would have the chance to see sorority friends and family as the training was a partnership between my sorority and my dad’s fraternity. Even better – he would be facilitating as well!

We agreed to arrive in Philly early so we had some time to explore and hang out. I left work early on Friday and took the train from DC to Philly. The ride was uneventful and I arrived on time. My dad flew into the airport and once he checked into our hotel, met me at the train station where we made our way to dinner.

Not only had Alex recommended the restaurant The Continental to me, but also Fred from her recent trip to the city. We had a great experience that surpassed our expectations!

 

My dad and I started off with cocktails. Can you guess whose is whose?

I had the Perfect Pear: Grey Goose la Poire, Thatcher’s organic cucumber liqueur, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon, and soda; my dad got a Cosmo.

We started with a Greek salad sans onion and dressing which was delicious.

My dad wanted his entree’s picture taken, which he polished off completely: Seared Tuna with Mushroom Risotto

And I had the Rad Na Thai Chicken with rice noodles, served on a bed of romaine lettuce. This bowl was huge (mixing bowl size) and I left stuffed but felt like I hadn’t made a dent in the dish. I loved how the crisp romaine contrasted with the hot chicken and noodles. The dish packed some heat as well which made it taste even better!

After dinner my dad had to tame his sweet tooth with some ice cream from Scoop deVille across the street. I was too full to get anything but his ice cream looked tasty. The only thing we didn’t like was that as soon as the clock struck 10pm and the shop was then closed, the staff practically kicked us out of the shop declaring they had places to be. Rude.

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and made our way to Reading Terminal Market. We loved everything we saw and took our time meandering up and down every aisle, checking out what each vendor had to offer.

We left the market and made our way to Philly’s dedicated gluten free bakery, Sweet Freedom. All of their goodies looked delicious yet upon a sample, I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything as coconut and I do not get along.

My dad picked up a few things to bring back with him though and I was happy to visit the bakery. It reminded me a lot of Babycakes in NYC – they are gluten, dairy, egg, soy, and corn free!

We grabbed lunch at the market (Dad had pastrami, I had chicken and okra soup from Beck’s Cajun Cafe which was gluten free and delicious. Their staff were really patient and accommodating as well.

We headed back to the hotel afterward as my dad had an afternoon of meetings. I spent some quality time in the fitness center and did 4.35 miles in an hour plus some stretching.

The rest of the weekend was consumed by the all-day training and preparation. Sadly I don’t have picture from it but it was a success. I love having the opportunity to interact with our undergrads!

I made it back to DC safely last night and loved that I got to spend the weekend with my dad, friends, and doing things that I love to do!

Do you like to travel with your family? Explore new cities? Do your travels often revolve around food like mine do? :)

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Posted in family, gluten-free, sorority, travel