Memories

It's amazing how fast everything can change. In honor of "college graduation", here are some of my favorite memories over the years.

Me and Caroline, my freshman year roomie on the first day of Rush

My first swap. The theme was TV character and movie characters. I'm Elle Woods!

Homecoming Week freshman year

O.A.R. Concert

At a football game sophomore year

Winnie the Pooh with her honey pot!

Tacky Christmas

Bid Day Party junior year

First time at Gallettes!

Spring Break junior year

Before the Penn State game

Formal senior year

HES Ambassadors

Nutrition girls take Boston

Walking around Harvard. Rebels for the day!

Love you all! You've made it an amazing four years!

Now onto the food:

Breakfast:

This morning I awoke to my my mom making Kodiak Cakes! I've got the whole fam hooked on 'em now! I topped them with PB & Co White Chocolate Wonderful, strawberries, blueberries, and maple syrup.

Lunch:

My brother got home from his exams last night, so I went to lunch with my family at Billy's Bar & Grill. I got the grilled chicken sandwich (one of their specialties) with a side of sautéed veggies.

Workout + Snack:

I ran my standard 3.2 mile loop around my neighborhood and had a sliced Fuji apple + a little PB afterwards.

Dinner:

I went to see Something Borrowed with my parents this afternoon. I thought there were a lot of differences from the book, but I still really liked it. I'd marry John Krasinski tomorrow if I could. Just sayin'. After the movie, we went to dinner at The Olive Branch.

I had a glass of Chianti and pita bread + hummus to start

My mom and I split the stuffed squash. It was filled with rice and ground beef and came with grape leaves and tabouli salad. I also stole a few of my dad's shrimp. It was delicious!

Even though I was pretty full from dinner, I still managed to make room for a Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie from Whole Foods. I ate this in the car on the way home!

Good night!

Summer Goals

Hey everyone!

Breakfast was a "yogurt mess" with Super Fruits Oikos Greek yogurt, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, 1 T chia seeds, sliced banana, strawberries, and Justin's Maple AB. It's so easy to just throw everything in a bowl and this is becoming a go-to summer breakfast for me. The best part of the whole breakfast is when you find a chunk of almond butter!

I was out doing things today, so I packed a lunch. I had AB&J Sandwich on Food for Life 7 Sprouted Grain bread (loving this bread right now!) spread with Justin's Maple AB and Stonewall Kitchen Bellini Jam. I also packed a side of fresh fruit and carrots and cherry tomatoes with Sabra Roasted Red Pepper hummus. 

I've always been a fan of these tasty little snacks, but today I joined the KIND movement.

Dinner was from Taziki's Greek Fare. I branched away from the Friday Special and had the grilled salmon with mashed potatoes and Greek salad. Salmon always makes me feel better!

Dessert was Edy's Slow Churned Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with a crushed in dark chocolate pretzel.

It has always been important to me to set goals for myself so that I have something to work towards. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." I always want to stay motivated, focused, and be the "best me" I can be. I'm sure I have more, but here are the summer goals that are at the top of my list.

Summer Goals:

1) Find a job I am truly passionate about. Even though I know my first job isn't going to be my "dream job," I want it to be meaningful and something I actually care about.

2) Pass the Registered Dietitian exam. It's been a long road with tons of science courses, driving to and from hospitals all over the state of Alabama, case studies, exit exams, making 3 inch thick binders for every rotation I've done, eating pureed hospital diets, being the "lunch lady" for a semester, and more. I knew they were all things I needed to do to get to where I want to be, and this will be the final step for me!

3) Keep up with my running schedule. Even though I'm not planning on running another half-marathon anytime soon, I still want to do some long runs over the summer. I am thinking I want to run either the Disney Half- Marathon in January or the Seaside Half-Marathon in March. Maybe both!

4) Read at least two books a month. I love reading, so this shouldn't be too much of an issue for me. Even though it's something I enjoy doing, it can still be hard to fit reading into a busy schedule.

5) Try at least two new recipes every week. I'm going to be living on my own in the real world next year, so I want to find some easy go-to recipes that I can incorporate into a busy schedule.

6) Get involved in a Bible study. I want to find a good community of like-minded people who I can be encouraged and grow with.

7) Take road trips. I'm not the best at staying in touch with people, so I hope to be able to visit my college friends as much as I can.

I'm really writing this as a reminder to myself, but sometimes it can be easy to focus on the negative and re-hash it over and over again. What's the point? It's not going to change anything. I've never been one to dwell on the past (or I at least try not to), and I try to make a conscious effort to CHOOSE POSITIVITY no matter the circumstance. It's a simple choice, and I find that I am much more joyful and content when I look at life from a positive perspective. Sometimes things happen in life that are beyond our control, and we have to make the best of them. However, I don't think we should ever forget the lessons we've learned or what it has taught us. It's not always easy, but I have so much to be thankful for, and I believe that something good can be found in all situations. 

CInco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Hope you're celebrating with some good Mexican food! If you're ever looking for a good 'rita in Tuscaloosa, check out my friend Jody's blog for the best restaurants!

I had "instant oats" for breakfast this morning. Vanilla Oikos Greek yogurt, 1/3 C raw oats, sliced banana, blueberries, and TJ's Sunflower Seed Butter. I also added a little Cascadian Farms Oats & Honey granola after I took the picture.

After breakfast, I went to the gym for a morning workout of 45 minutes on the arc trainer and 15 on the stair master. The stair master never fails to leave me drenched in sweat! I love my gym at home. There's a little café inside, and you better believe I got some coffee on my way out!

Lunch today was awesome! I had a Dr. Praeger's Veggie Burger on a Nature's Own Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin. I rounded it out with a sliced Fuji apple.

I added avocado, goat cheese, and organic ketchup to my burger. I would've added tomatoes too, but we were out!

I had a much needed hair appointment this afternoon! I just got my highlights touched up and my ends trimmed, but my hair feels so much healthier now!

While I was out, I picked up Tina Fey's new book, Bossypants. I've only read a few chapters so far, but it's freakin' hilarious! The last time a book made me laugh out loud was when I read Chelsea Handler's My Horizontal Life.

I don't know if you can really read this, but I thought the praise for the book was really funny!

Snack was a Nature Valley Dark Chocolate, Peanut, & Almond Bar.

I made a quick and easy Mexican dinner from a variation of recipe I found on Cooking Light. After searching the website, I finally decided on Peach and Brie Quesadillas. Quesadillas are my stand-by order at Mexican restaurants, and this one sounded very intriguing and came highly rated! I used whole wheat tortillas and added shrimp to the recipe. I didn't make the lime-honey dipping sauce, but I did season the shrimp with lime juice and cumin. In addition to the brie, I added some goat cheese for good measure. I had Garden of Eatin' Blue Chips and salsa on the side and completed my Mexican fiesta with a Dos Equis Amber! 

This ended up being so good and made the perfect summer meal!

Don't question the flavors-they totally worked!

Good night!

Random Musings

First of all, I loved The Tourist! And, I finished Something Borrowed. Everyone go read it before the movie comes out on Friday!

Breakfast was a veggie scramble with mushrooms, tomatoes, and goat cheese. I also had a slice of toasted Food For Life Sprouted 7 Grain Bread with Stonewall Kitchen Bellini Jam. I liked switching things up today, but I'll probably be back to my normal oatmeal, nut butter, and Greek yogurt inspired breakfasts tomorrow.

I ran errands all morning with my mom, and we ate lunch at Olexa's while we were out. I got the Almond Chicken Salad Special. The chicken salad was served over mixed greens and came with a side of fresh fruit and mini cranberry orange muffin. After lunch, we met my dad at the travel agency to discuss our upcoming trip to Paris and London. I'm getting so excited. There was talk of a Beatles tour today!

It was a pretty day and I was ready to get running again, so I went for a 3.5 mile run when I got home. Afternoon snack was a Fuji apple + Justin's Maple AB.

Dinner was my mom's lasagna with mixed greens. My mom makes really good lasagna, and I would like to point out that she used whole wheat noodles, lean ground beef, and reduced fat cheese. It's all about making simple changes. The little things add up!

You know I have to end my night on a sweet note, so I had a bowl of Edy's Slow Churned Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I mixed in a few dark chocolate pretzels for some extra crunch. Yum! I forgot how good mint chocolate chip is!

Random Thoughts:

1) I've been thinking I need to give spin class another chance. I tried spin class once in high school and hated it. I've never been back, but everyone seems to love it. I also want to start incorporating new forms of exercise in my daily routine!

2) I'm also thinking I need to give Siggi's yogurt another chance. I wasn't a huge fan when I tried it earlier this year. This is a little surprising, because everyone seems to rave about it. I love thick Greek yogurt, but this was just a little too thick for me. I had Pomegranate & Passion Fruit. Maybe I just tried the wrong flavor?

3) I want to start doing more features on my blog. I'm thinking maybe a quote of the week, goal of the week, restaurant of the week, or nutrition topic of the week. Thoughts? Ideas? What do you want to see more of?

Time for Modern Family! Good night everyone.

A New Day

So last night at about 10 PM, I was craving a...

salad??? Yeah, I'm a freak. I was actually craving squash, broccoli, and mushrooms but didn't feel like taking the time to prepare them. I just knew my body wanted veggies! My exciting late night salad was a spring mix topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, bell pepper, sunflower seeds, and Bolthouse Farms Honey Mustard Yogurt Dressing.

Breakfast was a "yogurt mess", consisting of a container of strawberry Oikos Greek yogurt, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, strawberries, blueberries, 1/2 sliced banana, and TJ's Sunflower Butter.

All mixed up!

I read Something Borrowed all morning in anticipation of the movie release on Friday! I actually read the book a few years ago, but I want it to be fresh on my mind.

Lunch was leftover broccoli and mushroom quiche from my parents' dinner last night. I also sautéed up some squash to fully satisfy my veggie craving! I finished off the meal with a dark chocolate covered pretzel.

The afternoon was spent unloading my car and unpacking my stuff. My room still looks like a disaster!

I also made homemade pita chips using my TJ's Whole Wheat Pita Bread! I sliced two pitas into wedges, drizzled with EVOO and Zoe's Greek Seasoning, and popped them into the oven for 7 minutes on 400º. They were the perfect afternoon snack and appetizer to my Mediterranean dinner! 

The finished product!

Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus was an excellent dip for my pita chips.

Dinner was Greek chicken served with onions, bell pepper, and tomatoes, roasted red potatoes, and balsamic green beans.  It was such a great home cooked meal!

Homemade coconut cake for dessert! I added some blueberries and strawberries after a few bites. My uncle gets the credit, not me!

After dinner, I went to the gym with my dad. I'm not sore anymore, and I was craving exercise. I still didn't want to do anything too strenuous, so I did a pretty easy workout of 45 minutes on the arc trainer and 15 on the bike.

I rented The Tourist from Redbox and am about to start watching it! Have a great night!

Mixed Emotions

I am officially back home in Birmingham, and I'm not really sure how I should be feeling. I am still working through all of my emotions and trying to process everything that's happened. It was nice to get away for the weekend, but now I'm back to reality and my thoughts are hitting me like a ton of bricks. I've had so much going on in my head over the past couple of days that I didn't even realize was there. This has been the weirdest week of my life. Tornadoes devastated the city I've called home for 4 years, I ran a half-marathon, Osama Bin Laden is dead, and Charlie Sheen was here and donated 1 million dollars to Tuscaloosa today. This is way too much to take in!

I'm technically a college graduate, although my graduation ceremony is cancelled. I should be happy, excited, and having the time of my life. Instead, I'm walking away from my college experience more than a little confused. I wish that I had gotten one last week with my friends and had been able to end college on a positive note. Sadly, I didn't accomplish everything on my college to-do list. It just ended so abruptly and without any closure. I have no idea what the future will hold for me. I'll be at home studying for the Registered Dietitian exam and beginning the job hunt, but I'm not exactly sure where I go from here. I am confident that everything is going to fall into place and work out the way it should, but it's still a daunting situation.

Here's where I left off yesterday:

I'm becoming a regular at Fido! This would definitely be a staple for me if I ever lived in Nashville. Yesterday, I got a Blueberry Goat Cheese Muffin and coffee to go, and ate it alongside a banana + 1/3 packet of Justin's Honey PB when I got back to the hotel room. The muffin was oh so good!

After breakfast, we finished packing and checked out. We also went to a Wal-Mart and loaded up on toiletries and baby items to donate when we got back to Tuscaloosa.

We ate lunch at Calypso Cafe. I got the Beans and Three, which came with black beans, spiced sweet potatoes, cole slaw, and rice. It was a very satisfying meal!

The black beans and sweet potatoes topped with coconut were especially delicious.

We just had to get some Pinkberry before we left Nashville! As if I haven't eaten enough ice cream in the past few days! But hey, it's not every weekend you run a half-marathon and get to go to Pinkberry! I got the lychee yogurt (It tastes like lime and was very refreshing.) with strawberries, blueberries, toasted almonds, mochi, and whipped cream. Delish!

When we got back to Tuscaloosa, we donated all of the items we bought earlier in the day and went on a  3 mile walk around campus. It was nice to get some fresh air after being in the car all day.

Dinner wasn't anything fancy. Domino's was delivered to the sorority house, so I helped myself to two slices of cheese pizza. I also had a Fuji apple to round out the meal and a little dark chocolate before bed.

Just spent the rest of the evening watching TV and taking it easy. I don't think I realized how exhausted my body was!

Apparently not, because I slept until 11 AM this morning! When I woke up, I ate a PB&B on 2 slices of Nine Grain GH bread with Barney Butter and sliced banana.

I packed up my tiny little room all afternoon and was kinda sad to say goodbye! Throughout the day, I snacked on a Kind Bar, a Fuji apple, and Archer Farms Cranberry Nut trail mix. I also made one last trip to Chloe's Cup to get my favorite specialty coffee drink. The Amaretto consists of steamed skim milk, espresso, almond, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Dinner was a Cajun Turkey Wrap from Momma Goldberg's, and I ate it in the car. It was simple, but so good. I think the fact that they steam their sandwiches makes all the difference in the world!

Sorry for no pictures today, but they just weren't that pretty!

I would like to thank everyone who has been reading my blog over the past couple of months! I know a lot of what I ate wasn't really all that exciting and didn't always have the best presentation of food (i.e. plastic bowls and utensils and paper plates). However, I do think it was realistic and was my best attempt at finding a healthy balance without having access to a personal kitchen. Sometimes the food I ate was not always what I would personally choose for myself, but I always tried to "healthify" the meals that were provided for me. I think that will always be a part of life, and it was a valuable experience. Now that I have moved out of my sorority house and will be living at home, I will be cooking more and trying new creative recipes. I've really had so much fun with this blog, and it means so much that you are reading!

Whiskey Kitchen

Yesterday we ate lunch at Fido. I ordered the Village Burrito, which was filled with baby spinach, portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and feta. I wanted to order something I wouldn't typically order, and it hit the spot! Afterwards, we went shopping at what I now know is Hillsboro Village. I made the mistake of referring to it as "the Vanderbilt strip" when asking a couple for directions. They looked at me like I was crazy. Woops! Guess that's an Alabama thing!

I took off the sour cream and added organic ketchup to my potatoes.

I found a book of birthday and name fortunes in a store we went in. Here's what my birthday and name say about me:

I'll take it!

We were craving something sweet, so we found a French bakery called Provence Breads & Cafe. I got a Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie and a coffee.

We also went to Trader Joe's yesterday! I didn't take a picture but I stocked up on high fiber cereal, Nature's Path Organic Flax Plus Multibran cereal, sunflower butter, Brazil nuts, and whole wheat pita bread.

One of Mary Alice's friends from high school who goes to Sewanee came into town last night and met us for dinner at Whiskey Kitchen. It was a very popular, trendy restaurant, and we waited for a table for over 2 1/2 hours! While we waited on the patio, we each selected a beer and ordered an appetizer of Tennessee Whiskey Yam Fries.

I chose a local beer called Yazoo Pale Ale.

These were so delicious!

Once we finally sat down to order, we split a bottle of Gnarly Head Red Zinfandel between the three of us. I ordered the Chicken Tacos for my main meal. They were good, but they definitely had a kick!

We were going to order dessert but nothing really stood out to us. Pinkberry was really calling our name, but by the time we finished dinner at 11 PM, we knew it would be closed. You can't ever really go wrong with a Toffee Coffee Twisted Frosty though!

We're probably going to Fido again for breakfast today and will be heading back to Tuscaloosa later this afternoon. Pinkberry may also be in the plans, since we weren't able to get it last night!

Have a great day!