WIAW: Smoothie Love

Happy Wednesday! Hope your week is going wonderfully...

So, here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast:

Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with Sunbutter, sliced banana, cinnamon, and a drizzle of agave nectar.

Morning Workout:

4 mile run on the treadmill at 7.0 mph + 1 mile walk

Lunch:

This was such a good lunch. I mixed a can of Trader Joe's solid white tuna with plain Greek yogurt and Dijon mustard (Do this! It's so much healthier and more delicious than mayo.) and served it over a bed of romaine with carrots and bell peppers. I added a little Whole Foods No Oil Avocado Vinaigrette dressing that I bought at Whole Foods last week, but I really could have done without the dressing. I also had some grapes on the side. So fresh and filling!

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

I made a Green Monster for the first time in forever. I need to make these more. Possibly the easiest way to get fruit, veggie, and dairy servings all in one!

I tried to be artistic and get some green in the background.

In the Mix:

• 1 C strawberries
• 1 T ground flaxseed
• 3 T strawberry Greek yogurt
• 1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 C kale
• ice

Dinner:

Veggie quesadilla on a Multi Grain FlatOut wrap with reduced fat Mexican cheese, sautéed squash, zucchini, and mushrooms, corn, and black beans. Yum!

Of course, I had to end the night with a few squares of dark chocolate (and hot tea).

Off to my 3.5 hour stats class (I dread it all week)- it's going to be a long night...

Quick Trip

As I mentioned in my last post, I went on a very quick trip to Atlanta this weekend. My family decided to go to Atlanta to shop for the Heart Ball next weekend, and I couldn't miss out on the fun! I got to Atlanta on Saturday afternoon and had more than enough time to find a dress.

Later in the night, we went to dinner at Twist, a very hip/modern restaurant located in Phipps Plaza. One of my friends who lives in Atlanta had been before and told me to order the Harissa Spiked Lamb Burgers with hummus, pita, and tzatziki sauce off the tapas menu. I went with her suggestion and paired them with the Twist Chopped House Salad- iceberg, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, chickpeas, egg, chopped peanuts, and red wine vinaigrette. Everything was delicious!

My brother ordered the fried calamari appetizer for the table, which ended up being an excellent choice.

I also stole a few bites off my dad's vegetable plate.

After dinner, Mary Alice picked me up from the hotel and we went to the Treehouse, a cozy little bar tucked away in a Buckhead neighborhood. It was the perfect chill venue for a beer (I ordered a Sweetwater 420) and a good conversation. So fun to get to see her!

I headed back early the next morning to make it back in time for work. I ate a great breakfast at the hotel before leaving. Oatmeal with raisins and walnuts, Stonyfield low-fat strawberry yogurt, and fresh fruit.

In total, I was there for less than 24 hours, but it was so worth it! Hope you had a fun weekend too!

Cafe De Paris

Hey everyone!

Here's a recap from the week:

I went to the NEEDTOBREATHE concert on Monday night. It was amazing! I also loved the opening artist, Ben Rector, and am now in love with this song.

I've barely documented anything I've eaten this week, but it hasn't been anything you haven't already seen before. Oatmeal, Greek yogurt, cereal, bananas, apples, whole-wheat pasta, chicken salad, veggie burgers, scrambled eggs, roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, etc.

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

1/2 C oats prepped with water and 1/4 C strawberry Greek yogurt stirred in, 1 T ground flax, cinnamon, sliced banana, blueberries.

 Quinoa, scrambled eggs, sautéed kale, corn, and sun dried tomato goat cheese. It was really good and looked a lot better before I mixed everything up.

Here's what my workout schedule looked like...

Weekly Workouts:
Monday: 30 mins arc trainer + weights
Tuesday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: 5 mile run
Thursday: Spin class (1 hour) + weights + yoga
Friday: 4.2 miles on the treadmill + 10 minute cool down walk
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 7 miles

Now onto the fun stuff...

Last night, Will and I went to dinner at Cafe De Paris, which ended up being one of the best meals I've had in a long time!

It wasn't crowded at all, which was actually a nice change of pace, and we got excellent service.
We even received a complimentary starter from the chef, the Grits Fritter Platter- grits mixed with sautéed veggies, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried.

For our entrées, we ordered 2 out of 3 things our waitress recommended. I went with the French Cajun Spicy Shrimp- grilled shrimp marinated in Cajun creole spices, and Will ordered the Herb De Provence Roasted Lamb- marinated lamb with herbs de Provence then roasted in the evening. Each entrée came with the choice of two sides. I decided on the veggie rice and sautéed vegetables (tomatoes, zucchini, red pepper, onion), and Will went with the sautéed potatoes and sautéed veggies. Everything was so well-seasoned and it was a really good portion size for the price. I hate it when you have to pay a fortune at fancy restaurants for barely any food.

Everything was so good, we concluded that we had to get dessert. We split the White Chocolate Lava Cake. It came with chocolate ice cream, which balanced everything out perfectly.

After dinner, we went to The Wine Loft, since I liked it so much last weekend! They had a jazz band playing this time, which was so nice. It was a great night

Now I'm off to Atlanta for a very brief trip. Hope you have a great weekend!

What Dietitians Actually Do

This is so great. Everything about this is incredibly true!

1. Every time we're at a restaurant, one of my friends will preface their order with "I know this is so unhealthy" or "Don't judge what I'm eating." Sure, I probably wouldn't order things like chicken fingers and beer cheese dip, but most of the time, I really don't care what you're eating. I'm not a food cop. And even I was, I wouldn't dare steal someone's ice cream cone!

2. I don't know mom, do you think I'm a total hippie and cook with lots of herbs and plants? Maybe this is one is kind of true. Whole Foods is my happy place, I adore yoga, eat veggie burgers on the reg, and love trying weird, healthy foods.

3. Once I mention that I'm a dietitian, people get super uncomfortable and usually respond by saying "I know I'm overweight right now." "I just started this new diet and have been eating healthier." "I've really been trying to lose weight." We're not out to shame people and make them feel guilty for being overweight. Yeah, obesity is a huge problem in America, but the goal is to empower people to make healthy lifestyle changes, not make them feel bad about themselves. There are so many factors that go into being overweight/obese, beyond poor eating habits and low physical activity levels. If losing weight were as simple as "calories in vs. calories out", there wouldn't be an obesity epidemic.

4. This refers to clinical nutrition and is probably the most frustrating of them all. Being a dietitian automatically associates you with food. Therefore, doctors and patients alike just assume that you're the one that prepares the food. I would be a very rich girl if I had a dollar for every time someone complained to me about how much they hated hospital food. In reality, dietitians do much loftier things such as writing tubefeeding and TPN orders, calculating energy needs, prescribing diets, providing medical nutrition therapy for various disease states, etc. Sometimes doctors ignore every single recommendation you make and do whatever they want. Yes doctors are smart, but they've also only taken one nutrition course during their entire time at med school. Just saying.

5. I have a blog, so obviously I like to think I eat lots of delicious nutrient-dense foods all day long.

6. So true. I indulge in dark chocolate on a daily basis. Sometimes I make random trips to get cupcakes and frozen yogurt all by myself. No shame. Basically, most dietitians look for any and every excuse to eat really good food.

Wedding Shower Weekend

I had such a fun weekend with all my favorites!

Had a great time at the shower getting to see all the lovely ladies I had pretty much every class with in college. One of my favorite things about my major was how close everyone got, especially when we all started the Coordinated Program. Loved catching up with everyone and seeing where we all are in life now.

Amie and Ruth- the two bride to be's!

The whole group.

Of course, there was some good food at the shower!

Brown sugar and chocolate chip pound cake (made by the amazing baker, Dara!), chex mix, chicken salad in phyllo cups, chocolate covered strawberries, and pistachio macaroons.

After the shower was over, Mary Alice and Dara came back over to my apartment where we had a two hour heart to heart before dinner. I've missed these girls so much!

My partners in crime.

There we are in Boston. Can't believe that was over a year ago!

Our other friend Killette met up with us for dinner. We tried to go to Chez Fonfon, but when we found out there was a 1 1/2 hour wait, we decided to go elsewhere. We walked around the corner to a Mexican restaurant called Fuego where there wasn't a wait. I ordered the Portabello Mushroom Quesadilla-garlic roasted portabello mushrooms, Mexican cheese, and caramelized onions. I might have just been really hungry, but it totally hit the spot.

After dinner, we headed to The Wine Loft, which is pretty much my new favorite place. I felt so posh and sophisticated as we sat on a spacious couch, sipped our wine, and listened to Frank Sinatra in the background. We split a bottle of the Cagnina de Romagna, a rich sweet red with black cherry and cola flavors. It was unlike any wine I've ever had before, but I really enjoyed it. Our next stop was Steel where we met up with some more people. It was fun trying out two new places in one night.

Before everyone headed out on Sunday, we went to brunch at Chez Lulu. We tried Over Easy and Another Broken Egg first, but they were all too crowded. We didn't have very much luck with restaurants this weekend, but it worked out- Chez Lulu is adorable, and we were able to get in our French restaurant after all. I ordered one of the brunch specials, Eggs Florentine- baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms served over French bread with roasted garlic cheddar grits and applesauce on the side. It was just what I wanted.

I've got a busy day ahead and and lots to get accomplished before the NEEDTOBREATHE concert tonight. Hope you have a great week!

Rock Climbing, a Clean Room, and Homemade Chex Mix

Hey everyone! Here are some highlights from the past couple of days....

Thursday:

• I went rock climbing with Catheryne at First Avenue Rocks. I've been wanting to try this place out for a long time and am always up for doing something new and different, so I was thrilled when she asked me to go with her. It was a lot of fun! It was pretty challenging and works all kinds of muscles I'm not used to working. My upper body is so sore, especially my back and shoulders! I would definitely want to go back.

• I ate leftover baked chicken parmesan and vegetables for two meals.

Meal 1 with leftover ratatouille.

Meal 2 with roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

Friday:

• I went to an early morning spin class and then stayed for one of my beloved yoga classes (it was wonderful as always) at the Mountain Brook YMCA. I always look forward to spin class days. It's such a good workout!

• I discovered a new Chobani flavor that I don't like. I made my usual Greek yogurt bowl with the Passionfruit flavor, and it just wasn't good. I still have one more in my refrigerator that I need to eat, but I will not be buying this again!

• I met my friend Jody for lunch at Makarios, a Mediterranean restaurant close to UAB's campus. I ordered the Chicken Ghallaba- sautéed chicken, vegetables, and rice rolled in a pita. It was a cool place. Jody and I have decided to be adventurous and try out many more lunch spots downtown.

• I went to dinner at The Fish Market with Will and his dad who is in town for the weekend. I ordered the grilled salmon and a side Greek salad. I didn't take a picture, but it was really good!

Saturday

• I went on a 6 mile run with Laura this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I was so glad to have someone accompany me!

• I had a post-run smoothie from Smoothie King! This is the Muscle Punch Smoothie- strawberries, bananas, soy protein, non fat milk, vanilla, wheat germ, and nutritional yeast. I made it "skinny" by asking for it without the turbinado and honey. It was delish.

• I cleaned my room in anticipation of Mary Alice's arrival. My room never looks like this.

Look mom, aren't you proud?

• I'm about to leave for a wedding shower! Here is the homemade chex mix I am providing.

4 C Cascadian Farms Multigrain Chex, 2 C Multigrain Cheerios, 1 C Reduced Fat Cheez Its, 1 C Pretzels,  1 C cashews, almonds, walnuts, and pecans seasoned with 1 tsp. Cavender's Greek seasoning, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 2 T worcestershire sauce, 2 T Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and 6 T Smart Balance butter. So maybe a little healthier than your average chex mix!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Workout Fails + a Delicious Veggie Burger

So yesterday, I had the same breakfast as the day before. Chobani Blood Orange Greek yogurt with all the usuals.

Lunch was scrambled eggs mixed with leftover ratatouille vegetables. Eggs= easy, cheap protein source. Therefore, I eat them all the time.

After lunch, I proceeded to eat 5 huge chocolate covered strawberries that my mom made me for Valentine's Day. At first I was all "Wow Kristen, way to practice good portion control." And then I thought about it and came to the conclusion that it was mostly just fruit (healthy antioxidants!) and less chocolate than I would've eaten in a normal day anyway. No biggie. I was still really snacky all afternoon and ate lots of Oatmeal Squares, almonds, and raisins in addition.

Workout Fail #1:
I ran 4 miles yesterday and hated every second of it. My legs were heavy and I felt like I was barely moving. I was surprised to see that I was only 30 seconds slower than my 4 mile run last Wednesday. Probably because I sped up for the last .5 miles after some super creep started yelling after me, "Baby, can I run witchu? Shoot, gurrrrllllllll." Needless to say, I got the heck away from him.

Workout Fail #2:
My stats class was cancelled last night, so I went to the UAB Rec Center for an extra credit yoga class for my mental health/stress management class instead. Extra credit for yoga? Sweet. Sign me up every day. Wrong. This was the absolute worst yoga class I've ever been to in my life. When I walked in, I was so confused as to why the instructor was wearing Umbro shorts, why everyone in the class was grabbing two yoga mats, and why the instructor still hadn't turned out the lights. I don't really know how to describe it, but it was a weird class. It wasn't relaxing or even pleasant at all. It was all kinds of miserable, and yoga is not supposed to be like that. I've taken many kinds of yoga classes with different instructors and styles and loved them all, so I don't know why this one was so terrible. One good thing I learned: Imogen Heap is fantastic yoga music.

This song was the only good part of the class.

After class was over, I met my mom at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. My dad has been out of town a lot recently, so we've been rendezvousing quite frequently for meals. We both ordered the Skinnylicious Veggie Burger, which was amazingly delicious. I think the waiter thought we were extra healthy or something because he only brought us brown bread- fine by me! The veggie burger was made with brown rice, farro, black beans, beets, and onions. It was served on an amazing toasted bun and came with a green salad on the side. It kind of had the consistency of sloppy joe's and was even better with ketchup. I've also decided that The Cheesecake Factory reminds me of dining on a cruise ship. Anyone else with me?

<3 veggie burgers.

School=really stressful right now, and I have so much to do before Monday! I can't seem to focus though, and I'll find any excuse to procrastinate (washing my sheets, making homemade chex mix, reading blogs, watching last night's episode of Modern Family, rock climbing, etc)

I am so excited for this weekend because Mary Alice is coming to stay with me and we are going to a wedding shower on Saturday for two of our friends from nutrition class in college! Can't wait to see everyone!

WIAW: Valentine's Edition

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's yesterday!

I started out my day with a bowl of Blood Orange Chobani (best flavor ever!), Oatmeal Squares, cinnamon, sliced banana, blueberries, and SunButter. Love my Greek yogurt so much it's been hard to branch out to other breakfasts!

Morning workout included a yoga class and a 30 minute run on the treadmill. I am so sore from the Body Pump class I took on Monday so yoga was definitely needed. I usually hate running on the treadmill but it was cold and rainy, so it was my only option.

I had the day off so I got my hair done and then met my mom for a lunch date at Urban Cookhouse. I ordered the Pepper Patch Salad (black beans, corn, red onion, tomatoes, and jalepeno vinaigrette) with lime marinated steak. Sometimes I really crave steak, and I love ordering it at places who get meat from local sources. This salad was so so good! Urban Cookhouse never lets me down.

Yay hair cuts.

I spent the rest of the day running errands and working on a paper until it was time for V-Day dinner at Will's house.

We had a French-inspired menu- I actually stole the idea from Catheryne when she cooked for us on Friday night. We had grilled chicken with Stone's Hollow Sun Dried Tomato and Basil Goat Cheese Spread (this is amazing stuff), ratatouille vegetables (zucchini, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, red pepper, and portabello mushrooms topped with mozzarella and parmesan), spring mix with toasted walnuts, parmesan, and homemade dijon vinaigrette. Oh, and a French baguette with more goat cheese spread.

I would post recipes, but as you may have come to realize through reading my blog, I rarely ever use recipes. I just eyeball things and throw random ingredients together, but I'm usually pretty pleased with how things turn out.

We drank a really good wine with dinner. I have no idea what it was but it was only $10 at Whole Foods, so you can't beat that!

We ate dinner in 3 parts.

Course 1:

Salad and bread.

Course 2:

Grilled chicken topped with goat cheese spread and ratatouille vegetables.

Course 3:

Gabriella's Raspberry Nutella Pie. 

This is one recipe I actually did follow, and I highly recommend it. It was so easy to make and felt like a gourmet dessert! I switched things up a little by using an Oreo pie crust and adding blueberries to the recipe. The chocolate graham cracker crusts I was supposed to use had 2 grams of trans fat per serving, and I just could not feel good about making something that's been proven to be so harmful to our health! Good news: the Oreo pie crusts do not contain trans fat! I also used reduced fat cream cheese and cool whip to make things a little healthier.

So best part of the day: Will surprised me with tickets to the NEEDTOBREATHE concert, which was completely sold out!! They are coming to the Alabama Theatre on Monday night!

Overall, a delicious meal and great Valentine's Day!

Perfect Pre-Run Fuel

I've always had such a hard time deciding what to eat as a snack before a run. I hate being hungry when I run, but I also hate being too full. I've also made the mistake of eating too much fiber before a run. That's never a good idea.

Dates + peanut butter fits the bill of being perfect energy-boosting fuel that doesn't make me feel too heavy or upset my stomach. It sounds sort of weird, but it works for me. And it's delish!

Here's how my runs last week went down...

Tuesday: 3.02 miles in 27:45
Wednesday: 4 miles in 36:13
Thursday: 3.02 miles in 27:39
Sunday: 5.03 miles in 46:38

I think my average pace ranges somewhere from 8:45-9:15.

I was supposed to do my long run on Saturday but was just not feeling it. I didn't feel too great, so I laid in bed all morning and went to a yoga class instead. It was a good call.

Food from the Weekend:

Dinner Friday night at my friend Catheryne's house. We had grilled chicken with sun dried tomato & basil goat cheese spread, whole wheat fusili with sun dried tomatoes and parmesan, and salad with gorgonzola and walnuts. Yum!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Toast with PB & Co White Chocolate Wonderful, sliced banana, raisins, cinnamon, and agave nectar. Amazing. It's like dessert but all real foods!!

Cheesy scrambled eggs with salsa and veggies. Obvs.

Saturday night dinner at 26. I ordered the special of the day, Cobia with brown butter braised Brussels sprouts, roasted red peppers, wild mushrooms, and tomato bacon sauce. This place is quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants!

Post-run dinner on Sunday. Whole Foods Hot Bar!!! Lemon rosemary chicken, macaroni and cheese, sautéed kale, butternut squash, and asparagus with mushrooms and red peppers. I had been craving macaroni and cheese all weekend, so it totally hit the spot!

This week's workouts....

Monday: Body Pump + 30 minutes elliptical
Tuesday: 3 miles + yoga
Wednesday: 4 miles + yoga
Thursday: 3 miles + weights
Friday: Spin class (1 hour)
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: off

Hope you have a great week!