Sorry I’m only posting once a week – I gotta get back in the routine! I’ve also been slacking with remembering to take pictures so all I have is cucumber salad. With the amount of cucumbers I have it’s all I’ve been eating!

My lunch yesterday was so simple that I can steal pictures online of what it exactly looked like:

Yes, an organic potato with Smart Balance “butter” and cherry tomatoes from the garden. I think my coworkers are starting to think I’m a bit weird. Maybe now that I have a job I should finally start doing my own food shopping again…

To supplement these delicious lunches, I’ve been having a bottle of POM juice each day that Ryan from POM Wonderful sent me to try.

At 170 calories and crazy high in antioxidants, I was excited to have a whole supply to last me for a little while. Unfortunately, it turns out I’m allergic to it! I got a rash on my stomach last weekend and it didn’t seem to be going away. Since I had been drinking a bottle a day and skipped it yesterday and wahlah, rash gone. It’s my only allergy that I’m aware of so I’m okay with it being Pom. I’m not a big juice drinker anyways and my family will be more than happy to finish my stock off for me

There is another new antioxidant drink I’ve taken a liking to that I’m not allergic to! Almond milk is so popular at my local grocery store that my Dad brought home the dark chocolate version the other day because it was all that was left.

It’s pure chocolate bliss! And compared to actually chocolate milk, it’s nutritional value is pretty good.

Tomorrow I’m hosting a birthday dinner for my Mom and brother, who are turning 50 and 27 respectively. And guess what I’m making? Eggplant Parmesan! My eggplant could definitely feed a crowd. I’m also going to make tomato sauce from scratch with all my garden tomatoes so that they don’t go bad. Now if only I could make my own cheese it’d be a completely homegrown meal. I already asked my Dad though, and he won’t let me get a cow

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Question: What would you love to be able to produce on your own? I really want to get chickens to have my own hormone/cage free eggs!

Camp ended yesterday. Woo hoo! We all celebrated, of course, with homemade cupcakes.

Complete with our camp logo in the middle My coworker Kenny is a talented baker! I never told them about my blog so I couldn’t get an up close shot but believe me, they were good!

I’ve actually been trying to cut back on sweets though, so I’ve been putting my homegrown produce to good use. We have TONS of cucumbers so cucumber salad seemed like a logical choice. I just tossed cucumber and tomatoes with some Italian dressing and sprinkled it with sunflower seeds.

With a side of grilled eggplant and bulgur, which was a last minute choice but the beauty of it is that it’s so quick to make, 5 to 10 minutes and you’re done.

While we’re talking about eggplant, let me just show you my prized crop.

A 3 pound eggplant!

My green thumb is finally working its magic Now the question is, what shall I make with it? It has to be something good!

Question: What’s your favorite eggplant recipe?

Can you  believe we’re halfway through August already? Where did the summer go?! I’ve seemed to have missed it. I’m making sure to get it my fair share of summer fruit before the cold front comes in.

And yes, I did make the river of blueberries purposely It’s fun to play with food.

I also been blending up a lot of smoothies. My favorite was a mango pineapple one. Into the blender:

• 1 mango
• 1 cup of pineapple chunks
• 1 tbsp pineapple juice
• 1 cup of ice

Throughout the hectic summer, I’ve still been making sure to be home for pizza night. Last night was whole wheat crust with kale, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

The tomatoes are from my garden. I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again: if you don’t have a garden, make one! Even if you don’t have a lot of room, you can grow at least a few plants in pots. It’s so worth it for the produce you get. This year I even grew everything organically from seed.

It’s a jungle out there. I’m most excited about my purple peppers. I don’t think I’ve ever had one before.

Alright, I’m off to start my lazy Sunday with some reading.

Have a good day!

Questions:

1. What have you read this summer?
2. Do you have a garden? If so, what do you grow? If not, why not?
3. What’s your favorite smoothie combination?

This week seems to be dragggging on. You know it’s bad when Monday felt like a Thursday! Anyways, thoughts of an upcoming week off is helping a bit. I’m hoping to make a trip to Rhode Island. The problem I’m having is I don’t know where to go because there are so many cool places there for such a small state! Anyone ever been?

Right now I’m hanging on to my last mini vacay to Lake George (ok, I’m a bit travel obsessed at the moment) last month. Lake George is a big lake in upstate NY – 32 miles long to be exact. I went there once when I was little but all I have is a picture of me in swimmies and a tarzan bathing suit. I would scan it in actually but that’d be embarrassing.

Highlight of our trip? Dinner of course! We went on a dinner cruise on the Lac Du Saint Sacrement.

It was a buffet dinner. What was weird though was that you ate before the boat even started moving. I’d rather have eaten while it’s moving but I don’t know, maybe that’s just me. As long as the food was good I couldn’t really complain!

There were rosemary potatoes, pasta with feta/olives, bread, string beans, and fish. After the cruise we walked along the lake and practiced some poses.

And, since you might have spotted my shopping bag, we of course went shopping! Little towns always have the cutest boutiques. I kept with my ‘buy dishware on vacation’ theme that I have going on and bought a Life Is Good mug.

“Do what you like. Like what you do.” It’s a motto to live by! I made sure to follow it by not passing up an ice cream offer later on.

Question:

What’s you’re favorite saying/motto to live by?

I can’t believe I’ve left you all for over a month – I’ve missed you all! Work has been encompassing pretty much my entire life but there’s only 2 weeks left of camp so soon I will have time to blog again When you have no time you realize the important things in your life. I’ve defined mine as: friends and family, eating healthy, working out, and blogging. All of which I’ve put on the backburner right now so after these 2 weeks they’re taking priority!

Gosh, I don’t know where to start. Mark and I have taken up hiking on the weekends, which I  love. I found some historic hikes in the NY NJ area here and we followed Benedict Arnold’s Revolutionary War getaway last weekend.

I’ve been bringing my own lunches to add onto my daily camp salads. Example A – a salad and homemade brown fried rice.

Example B – Bring-your-own-bowl salad, pineapple cottage cheese, and strawberries.

At home I’ve been making quick dinners – like yesterday’s tofu taco.

I also took a trip to Lake George – I’ll update you on that in my next post. “See” you soon!

Question: What are your life priorities?

Maybe they can slow down my eating since taking the time to chew your food thoroughly is supposed to be healthier. After food is served I usually don’t look up until I’m done, which has led to the nick name ‘the hoover’ by my father (embarrassing much?).

Moving on, Wednesday was my last night in the city. I’ve never worked with friendlier people and am really sad to leave, but after an important road being closed on my way in, leading to me scrambling to a farther train station at the last minute, I will not be sad to work within a 35 minute drive. And now I’ll definitely be able to get my electric car next year It goes 100 miles on a charge!

On my way into work, I managed to stop at one last place for a cupcake: Juniors. They’re actually known for their cheesecakes but I figured their cupcakes should be good too.

I was feeling white on white for some reason. Well, they also didn’t have a carrot cake option. I ate it on the train on the way home. I figured one last sugar rush would keep me awake for the ride (didn’t work).

The cupcake was good. It tasted like a cupcake should. Simple plain white cake with a light, whipped icing. Definitely too much icing but that’s nothing new in the cupcake world.

Halfway through, I started reminiscing about those yellow hostess cupcakes I used to buy in convenience stores up until college.

I guess other people really liked them too since I found that painting online. The Juniors frosting reminded me of the creme in the middle.

I also bought real food at Grand Central. I got a grilled cheddar with tomato sandwich from Dishes.

Ok, time to get to work. Have a great day!!!

Questions:

• Are you a slow or fast eater?

• What’s the craziest diet craze you’ve heard of?

So depending how long you’ve been reading, you know I get random obsessions and will eat some certain thing every single day until I’m totally sick of it. Or maybe you don’t know because I usually don’t post them more than a few times on the blog. I try to keep it interesting!

Anyways, my newest obsession is not a food but -gasp- a drink! A very Naked drink to be exact.

I like how they have the number of fruit contained in the bottle listed on the side. I always feel really healthy drinking them.

Anddd that 3/4 of a banana? Rain Forest Alliance certified! You can read more about that here.

Last but not least, the bottle used is 100% recycled and recyclable.

Now that’s a company I don’t mind giving my money to. Especially since not only are they earth conscious, but their product tastes really really good. Even the green ones!

Yes, apparently I’ve taken food photography to a new level. Who says you can’t photograph things in their natural setting? Green drinks must originate from a moss filled forest!

These are the only two flavors I’ve tried because I can’t find any others in my stores I hope they expand because blue machine (blueberry, blackberry, banana blend) sounds right up my alley!

It’s almost my last day at the Yale Club. Goodbye delicious free meals! Last time I worked I got this salmon salad. Gosh, remind me why I’m leaving again?

At my new job I have to bring my own lunch until the season starts up. Then I’ll get a free hot lunch, but I’ll probably end up bringing my own anyway because I’m sure camp food is not the healthiest. I wonder if there are any healthy food camps out there. If I were a parent I’d want my child having real food! Lets cross our fingers that that’s the kind of food my camp serves I’ve been bringing salads for lunch. Example A:

Examples B and C pretty much look exactly the same. I need more (vegetarian) lunch ideas – help!

Questions:

• Do you make purchases based on a company’s philosophy toward a certain cause? Tell me your favorite earth-conscious company!
• What’s your favorite thing to pack for lunch?

And don’t forget to enter my Get Grillin Giveaway!

Sorry for the long departure from blogging. Since I’ve been so busy working I used the time to have Mark transfer my site to another host, or something like that. Either way, it’s up and running now – hopefully for good!

I can not wait to catch up on all your posts so I’ll keep this kind of short

Since I worked 60ish hours last week, I haven’t been eating the greatest. Not bad, just not good! I’m still finishing up my 2 weeks at the Yale Club while I’m working my new job full time so its been crazy. When I get home, I don’t even feel like turning on my computer. Seriously, there’s dust on there! Never thought that would happen.

After this week I’ll be back to one job and hope to start working out again. It figures I keep a bikini body all spring and then slack off for summer! June 28 it’s 0n. I’ve set a date between me and the pavement! I really miss running.

Throughout the busy week, I somehow still managed to find time to rummage through Target’s food clearance section, which has been providing quick breakfasts and snacks.

I also was served a few quality meals. Thanks Dad!

And even one by my Mom – I love parents!

Last but not least, I’ve been making sure to get my fair share of desserts at work.

This weekend I also got a surprise in the mail..

A “Get Grilling Kit” from Lawry’s through MyBlogSpark! They have two new marinades, and both of them sound amazing.

They also both contain no HFCS, which is awesome because so many marinades/dressings contain it! I really can’t wait to try them once I get a day off. Let’s just say you’ll be seeing Sweet and Sour BBQ Tofu on here in the near future

And guess what? Lawry’s (through MyBlogSpark) is also giving me the opportunity to give one of these grilling kits away! Ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite way to use marinades.
2. Link back to this post.
3. Add me to your blogroll.

Open to American residents only and it ends on Friday so that you’ll receive it for the 4th!

As an American, I’ve been really surprised at the ESPN coverage the World Cup is getting this year. My boyfriend is the product of Italian Immigrants so his Dad has gotten him really into it. And me, I just love how it’s different countries facing off against each other so I’ll mindlessly watch. Saturday we had game day, complete with crackers, smoked salmon spread, and eggplant liver (not actually liver!).

Saturday I also managed to cook another recipe out of ED&BV. I haven’t used a cookbook this much since I got Betty Crocker Whole Grains two years ago! Instead of baked goods this time, I made her potato salad.

I used russet because that’s all I had, even though it said not to because they’ll fall apart. I just didn’t over boil them and they turned out fine. I added radishes, olives, and bell peppers at the end. It was a good alternative to mayonnaise potato salad, since you know how I hate mayo!

Yesterday was my last day at Swarovski, which was really sad. I’ve been there for 4 years! My manager wasn’t there to say goodbye, and most of the employees working were new, so it was kind of bittersweet.

I came to work straight from my new job so I ended up having to get lunch there. I’m spending way too much money on food out lately! I got Mexican because Desert Moon added tofu to their black bean rice bowls. I always want to try tofu when I see it on a menu so I can see how they cook it.

Today’s a long day, working 9am til 11pm!

Ciao

Questions:

1. Have you been watching the World Cup at all?
2. What’s your favorite cookbook?

I have news — I’ve found a full time job!

Although I really liked the job I took in April, the hours turned out being 3pm to 11pm, which meant a late train ride/car ride to finally get home at 1am. I tried it out but ultimately I knew I would never be able to do it full time. I’m grateful for the experience, for the people I’ve met, and for the desserts I’ve got to sample but I’m happy I’ll have more regular hours now – I shouldn’t have to work past 7pm (unless there’s an event) and it’s only a 35 minute drive from home. Also, it seems like it will be a challenging experience and I’ll get to do a variety of tasks. I’m nervous and excited at the same time. Let the new adventure begin!

Speaking of adventures, I ventured to another cupcake shop on Friday: Magnolia.

I’ve been going into Grand Central Station all this time and little did I know it was right under my feet! There was only three kinds of cupcakes: vanilla, chocolate, and carrot.

I went for the carrot. It got an A+ in icing! It was still too much but it was so good I ate it all. The cake was good as well – light and fluffy with chunks of pineapple throughout.

The new order of cupcakes:

1. Magnolia
2. Cinnabon
3. Crumbs

I’ll be starting my new job and continuing to finish at my other two for the next two weeks so posting might be sporadic. I hope you understand! Hopefully once I get into my regular schedule I’ll finally be able to follow a workout plan!

Questions:

1. Are you starting on any new adventures in your life?
2. Do you follow a workout plan?
   
3. What’s your favorite icing flavor – chocolate, vanilla, cream cheese, or other?