This is not goodbye.. August 13, 2009

 

 

I don’t know where to start..

 

Since my last post I have taken pictures of many meals thinking I was going to write a great post at the end of the day. Each day passed by and I kept saying how I was going to do a recap. But that never happened.

 

I realized even thought I love LOVE the blogworld and reading all of your wonderful posts .. my heart is just not into writing and documenting everything everyday. It became too much pressure with my lifestyle. I felt bad if I didn’t post or didn’t get to comment on your blogs. And when school starts, I will be even busier. It is just not realistic for me right now.. what the future may hold .. who knows?!

 

For the past week or so I have felt like I have isolated myself from this community. I still read but didn’t comment or write any posts of my own. I felt like I almost had to figure out what would be best for me.

 

 

 

I don’t think I could ever stop reading others blogs because where do you find out to add spinach to your smoothies for the amazing Green Monster. I have been introduced to so many other things like almond butter, operation beautiful, greek yogurt .. and the list can go on.

 

I had the most fun writing my recipe posts and information about food. I decided to take that conclusion and run with it. As I was neglecting this blog (unfortunately) I have started creating a new blog that will work with me better.

 

I am very excited to present to you: Cooking with Julie

 

This is what I am passionate about .. cooking and learning. This page explains what the blog is about. I would love to document different recipes and things I have learned in school and from others. It’s like my own personal cookbook that I keep adding to

 

I will still be trying to lose weight and exercising of course! I have goals to run a half-marathon and a triathlon in the future. It may take me awhile but I am up for the challenge!

 

I hope you will all follow me over to my new blog. I will of course still be reading and commenting on all of your wonderful blogs

 

<3 Julie

Be back tomorrow.. August 7, 2009

 

Was all ready to post but then this was about to happen.

 

 

 

 

I am at the point of passing out right at my computer. So with the lack of energy at the moment I will be back tomorrow!

 

Sweet Dreams

A Nutty Morning August 5, 2009

 

 

This morning was weird! My phone went off because I got a text but I was so tired and out of it I thought it was my alarm! I didn’t even occur to me that it was still dark outside. So at 4:00am I started getting ready for work ..

 

I didn’t even realize until I walked downstairs to the kitchen! hahaha I was all dressed and ready .. so instead I just passed back out on the couch with my pup!

 

So when it was really time to get up I couldn’t decide what I wanted because I knew I wanted to use one of these!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Yes I bought all three yesterday! .. I am so happy one of the grocery stores is starting to catch up with the blog world and starting to have these products! They are also getting better in the yogurt-world too!

 

Why pick one when you can have all 3?!?!?

So that is exactly what I did

 

 

I toasted up two of these .. I usually don’t buy waffles but I had a coupon and they are REALLY good! .. Oh Kashi you never fail me !!

 

A little bit of each PB on these waffles .. HEAVENNNNNNNNNN!  + these awesome cherries!

Boy was I full after this! But of course I needed it for some work fuel!

 

I liked the chocolate dreams but I think I will be using it more as a dessert with fruit ..

The Cinnamon Raisin was good but a little gritty .. does anyone else feel that way?

My favorite so far is the White Chocolate Dreams

 

 

 

- Then I went straight to work 10-4

** So you know the deal-io how we NEVER get lunch at work .. wellll today my boss left for the afternoon .. and we were ALL starvinggggg! So we had a little employee lunch

I had:

• turkey sammie on rye bread with honey mustard, lettuce and tomato!
• plus a snack bag of smartfood white cheddar popcorn! (love these!)
• and i mayyyyy have stolen 2 onion rings from a friend .. oops!

 

 

Came home and all I wanted was something nice and cold .. I bought some more of these and put them in the freezer!

 

MMMm chocolate frozen yogurt

 

Then I took a serious hour power nap! I needed it! When i woke up my dad and I started dinner.

Tonights menu .. Kabobs!

 

 

I had 3 pieces of chicken, 3 shrimp, peppers, onions on mine. Plus LOTS of steamed broccoli .. (feelin’ that fiber bloat at the moment! lol) and some potatoes..

 

 

Later I am going to TGI fridays with some friends .. I know they are all going to order food and I really don’t want to. I had a great day of food. Plus I already had dinner, but I know my friends are going to give me a hard time about it .. How would you handle this situation..??

30 hours August 4, 2009

 

… yes 25 hours is how much I worked Friday-Monday. Wowzaaaaa ..! I will finally have a break from work on Wednesday .. just make it through one more day then I will be chillin’ poolside!

 

The summer is the busiest time for the catering company I work out. I cannot complain I do love the money I am making! (going straight in the bank!) But it does get exhausting.

 

********

 

Anywhooooo .. Remember this post 2 weeks ago?

 

I am going to join her in her 2 weeks of trying to revamp my “diet”

• Only drink water (and make sure to get enough of it!) + only one cup of coffee (which wont be hard to change since I don’t even drink coffee everyday anyway)
• Keep track of calories (JUST for the 2 weeks .. just to see if there is any improvement) .. I will not be posting them don’t worry
• No processed foods .. Bye to cereal, bars, vitatops, etc for the next 2 weeks ..
• Limit dairy. low fat yogurts, skim milk, soy milk, and laughing cow cheese is okay .. but only small amounts
• NO DESSERT. Just for 2 weeks be really strict with no sweets. If I want something to eat late at night.. FRUIT.
• blog everyday WITH pictures of every meal

Of course exercise regularly

 

Well Lets see here … the 2 weeks are over and things didn’t go as smoothly as I expected .. boo.

• Only drink water (and make sure to get enough of it!) + only one cup of coffee (which wont be hard to change since I don’t even drink coffee everyday anyway) – CHECK!
• Keep track of calories (JUST for the 2 weeks .. just to see if there is any improvement) .. I will not be posting them don’t worry – Nada. this lasted only a couple of days. I HATED it.
• No processed foods .. Bye to cereal, bars, vitatops, etc for the next 2 weeks .. – Almost check. I did have that granola one day .. forgot i guess .. but overall I did 98% on that.
• Limit dairy. low fat yogurts, skim milk, soy milk, and laughing cow cheese is okay .. but only small amounts – I did well on the moderation. I barely had cheese .. which is where I tend to kind of go over on portion size. But I would say- CHECK! 
• NO DESSERT. Just for 2 weeks be really strict with no sweets. If I want something to eat late at night.. FRUIT. 1/2 check? I know I said no sweets .. but would you count the chocolate yogurt? I say no .. so CHECK!
• blog everyday WITH pictures of every meal .. ahh way UN-check..

Of course exercise regularly – Sadly, Uncheck due to my broken toe

Well let’s just say that didn’t go that well .. Oh well .. But I am happy on the food part

I did weigh myself before and after and unfortunately I did not lose any weight. But at least no gain! I think the lack of exercise lately has something to do with it ..

 

**********

Food pictures!

 

Waffle PB banana sammie! This kept me full for 5 hours at work.. score!

 

These cherries are addicting! So juicy and sweet!

 

And look what came in the mail .. I won this from Ruby’s giveaway! I started reading it already. I think I will read Jillian’s book winning by losing before I follow this book .. what are your thoughts?

working hard for the money! August 1, 2009

 

 

Back to Yesterday ! …

 

Whoever thought to put Yoplait Whips in the freezer is a genius! OMG it was amazingggg! I have to go out and buy more asap! You really need to try this

 

So my snack was a yogurt .. but more like a frozen yogurt treat! I almost felt guilty because it was that good!

 

 

Dinner my Dad and I wanted to try out something!

 

I started off with a salad as we whipped up dinner!

 

We made pizza on the grill! It gave it such a smokey taste which was amazing. The down-side .. we burnt the bottom .. oh well it was still amazing!

 

I had this plus a half of a slice.

My side had:

• pizza sauce
• spinach
• mushrooms
• light sprinkle of part skim mozz cheese

My Dad added pepperoni to his side.

 

 

*******

 

Then this morning I had this breakfast for the 3rd day in a row! .. I was craving it! It is pretty filling without feeling stuffed. Perfect working fuel!

 

The wonderful breakfast cookie! + a cup of joe!

 

Now I am working from 11-???? .. i hate not knowing when I work until! But this weekend is suuuuuper busy at work. It is sportsfest weekend and we are open from 7am-1:30am both saturday and sunday. So i do not know if I will be fitting in blogging this weekend .. who knows! But I will hopefully have a recap on Sunday!

 

My weekend is going to be full with work! .. What are you doing this weekend?

Catch up! July 31, 2009

 

Oh internet.., I thought you were back for good the other day .. apparently not. So here is yesterday and today

 

I have been feeling a little down lately with all the events that have been going on. Lately I’ve been feeling like a can’t catch a break.

 

I printed this picture out and it is hanging up in my room to see when I wake up. Just a reminder to take one day at a time. Life is a bumpy road and there are ups and downs.

 

 

 

Yesterday:

 

This was a great breakfast!

 

The lovely breakfast cookie:

• 1/2 oats
• 2 spoonfuls applesauce
• 1 tbsp PB
  On top:
• another tbsp PB
• sliced banana

Paired with some coffee and good ole H2O

 

Thanks for your suggestions of other exercises I could possibly do until my toe heals. After breakfast digested and some saved by the bell watched I did some Jillian’s No More Trouble Zones. I had to modify some of the moves like the lunges and stuff bc the pressure on my toe HURT.

 

Lunch rolled around after a bunch of errands and some grocery shopping.

 

• Arnold’s sandwich thin with turkey, cheese, and a squirt of mustard.

(I’ve noticed that I have unintentionally have not been eating meat as much. It just isn’t that appealing to me anymore and I did not really enjoy my sandwich .. *dont take this as I am going to become vegetarian haha*)

 

 

But this decadent treat paired with my lunch was like a dessert!

 

I picked up these goodies

 

Bear Naked Heavenly Chocolate Granola

 

And Stonyfield Chocolate Underground yogurt!

 

 

This was soooo amazing. I loved the yogurt and the granola. It was such a chocolately treat! You guys have to try this yogurt! Love ya Stonyfield

 

Snacked on some grapes while I cleaned up my room!

 

 

Then ya know suzy homemaker over here whipped up this for dinner!

 

• seared scallops with lemon orzo
• asparagus
• garlic bread

 

Recipe coming soon!!

 

 

Today:

 

Yeahhhh this breakfast cookie was that good and had it again this morning. (and also recycled the picture!)

 

 

Then I went to the gym in hopes to do some sort of cardio.. I missed it. I taped up my little toe and put a bunch of cushion around it.

 

I had a great workout but my toe is killing me now .. ooops!

• 39 minutes on the bike (levels 10-14) = 14 miles total
• arc trainer 10 minutes

So I guess during the bike I lost feeling in my foot .. and stupid me was like “ohhh no it doesn’t even hurt!” The arc trainer left my toe throbbing and I got off only 10 minutes.

 

But I came home iced it and made this lovely lunch.

• Veggie Burger
  - Arnold Thin
  - Boca veggie burger
  - spinach
  - yellow pepper
  - onion
  - spinach
  - pepper jack cheese
• Nectarine (which was kind of gritty)

 

 

Then I got a phone call from school saying I got the internship I wanted for the Fall trimester!!! I am SOOOO excited

 

Things are looking brighter

It’s hard to (blank) when … July 29, 2009

 

 

 

It’s hard to (blog) when you don’t internet…

 

There have been really bad thunderstorms this past week and hot one wire and I haven’t had consistent internet until today! I’ve had it for like 10 minutes hear and there so I have been reading some of your blogs recently. Just feels great to be back!

 

It’s hard to (run/workout) when you have a broken toe…

 

Remember my little running hiatus? Well I was so ready to get back to running. My legs felt nice and rested but not tight because I did go on long walks everyday. I did a great solid 3 miles on Saturday. (I know may not seem like a lot. but after not running for a week I thought I was not even going to make it past 2 miles.) Anyway I was even so happy bc I ran without my iPod which NEVER happens.. but it died and in the past I would have used that as an excuse. But I finished! It was totally different running without my iPod .. anyone else feel that way?

 

Thennnnnnnnn,…..

 

Sunday morning my phone rang (and it was my mom calling from Italy) and I ran up the stairs and my toe jammed the corner of the stairs and all i heard was CRACK. ouch. My toe is all colors purple and blue. And it hurts to walk on it. UGHHHHHHHHHHHH …. i guess taking off some more time with running? And work is a pain in the @#! I am like hobbling around the whole time.. they don’t even care .. Gr

 

Has anyone ever broken their toe? How long does it take to heal? .. and is there other exercise I can do in the meantime? .. help!

 

 

It’s hard to (function) on 3 hours of sleep…

 

So the past week of work have been totally crazy .. I’ve been working 9ish hours almost everyday and after I have been going out with my friends and then crashing at 4 am .. my body needs some sleep! I’ve noticed I become very “snippy” when I am over tired. Something can instantly make me mad.. and THAT actually makes me mad because that is not the kind of person I am.

 

*******

Done ranting

 

So since all this mumbo jumbo has been happening .. I haven’t taken pictures of food because I had no idea when I would be posting next.. But I did take a picture of this!

 

I had to try the new trend.. come on peer pressure .. EVERYBODY’S DOING IT! hahah

 

So this little gem was almost out. My family and I reallllllly enjoyed this and it went .. FAST! So I guess I will have to restock asap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well I am off to go see the Ugly Truth! .. It looks really funny! Missed you guys !!

Eggplant Info July 24, 2009

 

 

So remember when I made that baked eggplant parmesan? Well I received a couple of questions about it and I did a little research about eggplants that I found interesting. I found the information from cookinglight.com

 

I found it very interesting and learned new things from the article! Hope this can clear up some eggplant questions.

 

 

Learn: A cousin to tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes, the eggplant derives its name from the first varieties to reach the West, which were white, round, and egg-sized. While colors range from creamy white to green, the shiny, vivid purple eggplant is probably most recognizable. Shapes also vary. Some are small and spherical; others are long, narrow, and curved like a banana; still others are large and bottle-shaped.

 

 

Taste: Eggplant is a meaty vegetable with firm, spongelike flesh and a mild, slightly bitter flavor. Male eggplants have fewer seeds and tend to be less bitter. Determine the sex by looking at the indentation on the bottom―if deep and shaped like a dash, it’s female; if shallow and round, it’s male.

(*This one I found very interesting because many of you had questions on bitterness of eggplant*)

Buy: Although available year-round, eggplants are best and most abundant from July to October. Look for firm eggplants that feel heavy for their size and have smooth, shiny skins. The stem should be bright green, and the skin should spring back when pressed. Avoid eggplants with soft spots, discolorations, and scarring or wrinkling of the skin.

 

 

Use: Wash in cool water, cut off the stem and bottom ends with a stainless steel knife (carbon steel can discolor the flesh), then slice or dice the eggplant according to your recipe’s direction. While eggplant skin is edible, some varieties, especially white and very large purple ones, can have tough skins that may require peeling.

 

 

Store: Eggplants are best stored in a cool, dry place (50° is ideal) for one to two days. For longer storage, place whole, unwashed -eggplants in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer of your fridge.

Just pictures! July 23, 2009

 

 

Just some pictures today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plus an hour long walk with the pups

Unintentional running Hiatus July 22, 2009

 

 

Julie + running = just not happening this week.

 

Yesterday I was still feeling sick and just so tired.

I had high hopes for today but..

I woke up at 5 to let the pups out and it was POURING. Not just a little sprinkle to run through. POURING.

 

My last run was on Saturday which feels like forever ago. I’ve decided to take this week off from running. I think I have been putting to much pressure on myself with running and times and distances and I forgot that running is fun!

 

I think my legs need a running break anyways. My right knee is a little swollen and my left calf is super tight. So just for this week I am taking full advantage of dog sitting the pups and taking them on long walks

 

Breakie at 6:30 .. These dogs rise and shine no matter what.

 

• wrap
• 1 banana
• white chocolate pb & co

 

Then the rest of the nanner with pb on that too.

 

Then I sat by the phone until exactly 9:30 to call for a phone interview for my co-op next fall for school. I think it went well Now, I am just waiting for a call back!

 

Lunch:

• the LAST of my leftovers of the eggplant (I thought yesterdays was.. But i forgot I had packed this at the dogsitting house)
• nectarine

 

Then worked 12-5. Tomorrow I have the day off wooooo

 

When I got home the pups were going crazyyy! I took them for a nice long walk. When we walk I power walk to get in a good exercise .. so it’s not like a stroll. I sweat a lot haha.

• 30 minute power walk with the dogs

 

Dinner:

PIZZA AND FRIES

• 1 sweet potato
• wheat wrap with tomato sauce and cheese.

 

The wrap got kind of soggy. Not nearly as close to REAL version of pizza and fries. But it did the trick

 

 

 

I don’t know if it’s because:

a) I haven’t been running this week
b) I am really trying to stick out these strict 2 weeks
c) it’s that time of the month

 

But I am my appetite had been smaller than usual. On days I run I get hungry a LOT faster.

 

But the con of not running is I feel a lot more tired during the day. I love that energy boost it gives you. Then I sleep like a rock at night.

 

SOrry just some thoughts/rambling. I am just trying to figuring out how to succeed to my goals.

 

Hope everyone had a great night. I am hitting the sack early and hopefully going to get a good nights sleep. Those have not been happening lately.