Tag Archives: gardenburger

Goodbye for Now

This is it, last post before I’m in ArUbA! We’re (my parents and the boyfriend) leaving at 7am for the airport and should arrive around 3:30pm. Woo hoo!

First things first, food!

Before work, I stopped at the boyfriend’s house to make sure he was packing and couldn’t resist trying an apricot from the fruit basket. I’ve only ever tried them dried. Basically tastes the same!

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Lunch at Swarovski today was my last portabella gardenburger on an Arnold sandwich thin, topped with cucumbers and spinach.

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On the side I had baby carrots and bell peppers with roasted red pepper hummus.

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This was my first time trying Sabra hummus. I was impressed!

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So I totally forgot to bring a plate and had to microwave my burger on a piece of cardboard and eat the veggies out of the plastic. Please don’t mind the not-pretty setup! I was roughin’ it.

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Later in the day I tried my first Gnu bar, orange cranberry. The bar’s texture was great and perfectly chewy but the orange flavor was just too overwhelming for my taste. I’d definitely buy a different flavor of the bar though, it had potential!

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Dinner was whatever I could use up in the fridge before we depart.

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Roasted peppers, onions, and spinach on Arnold sandwich thin with hummus. It was freezing in my house so I also had a bowl of vegetable soup and a large mug of tea on the side.Nothing fancy, just some progresso I found in the cabinet.

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Here’s the vegetable ‘wich up close and some extra roasted veggies on the side.

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Dessert was vanilla yogurt with blueberries and sliced almonds…

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And half of this walnut brownie from my Aunt’s bakery.

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So proud of myself for stopping at half. I’m a sucker for brownies! They never taste as good as when I make them myself from the brownie mix box though.

Now for some vacation talk..

Since my knee has been hurting me quite a bit for the past week, I’m going to try to make this vacation week a rest week from intense workouts. I think this is a good idea since I plan on starting my triathlon training when I return. Hopefully a week off is just what my body needs! Anyways, I’m sure I’ll be getting more exercise than usual on the island by just walking, swimming, and biking daily, unlike my life in the suburbs where you can’t get anywhere without a car.

I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I’m a pretty hardcore calorie counter right now but have been trying to stop. It would be very hard to count in Aruba since I’ll be mostly eating out and have no access to a computer. It’s going to be tough but I’m going to attempt to just eat normally this week without thinking about calories. Wish me luck!

I’m going away from today until next Saturday. I hope to be able to get a few posts in here or there as long as there’s an internet cafe. If not, I’ll have a lot to show you guys when I get back! Have a great week, I look forward to reading about it on your blogs when I return :) I’ll miss you!

Missing

Hey there.

Quick Note

Sorry for my absence but my cat disappeared yesterday and I went out searching for him after work. He’s indoor/outdoor, which basically means we let him do whatever he wants. If he wants to go out he can, if he wants to stay inside he can. He went out Sunday and hasn’t come home since, which is very unusual, since he always comes home at night. There has been times in the past where he’s wandered into someone’s garage and gotten locked in so I have my fingers crossed. He’s a tough cookie (he’s been arrested bu the Police, seriously, but I’ll save that story for another day) so I’m being an optimist for now! I’m worried though… :(

Food

Lunch yesterday was eaten while at work so sorry again for a repeat of the Portabella Gardenburger.

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They sure are good though! I also continued with my newly found salad love and had one on the side with peppers, olives, celery, and cucumbers.

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I made it to work early since I thought it’d be much busier than it actually was (I guess the recession is taking its toll!) and left way early in case of traffic. With my extra time I decided to stop at the Williams Sonoma outlet. I picked up a new placemat at 70% off! I think my manager thought me a little crazy when I whipped out my new placemat on break and started taking pictures.

sdc11442The coffee in the background is not mine, just part of someone’s breakroom mess!

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I also had a Fiber One bar with lunch. It doesn’t compare to my recent Luna/Lara bar obsession but I will say that it helped keep me full for a good long time with it’s 9 grams of fiber.

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After I got off work at 7pm and finished my failed attempt at locating my cat, I made dinner. I had put tofu in a ziplock in the fridge with this marinade yesterday morning:

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I baked it at 350 basically just until it was hot since I was pretty hungry. To be truthful, it wasn’t too good. I like my tofu frozen first since the texture gets much better that way, in my opinion. This was all jiggly.

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On the side I had yellow rice that my parents made earlier and some broccoli from the freezer. Next time I’m making sure to buy broccoli florets only. The whole bag was basically stems – I hate that!

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Dessert was an Apple Pie Larabar. I found this at Walmart on Sunday and totally wish I bought more now. Larabars seem to get better with each new flavor I try! I loved the Apple Pie. It might even beat out the Cherry Pie flavor I raved about.

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This morning’s breakfast was a Dutch Baby. I felt like getting a little creative in the kitchen since cooking helps keep my mind off other things (like missing kitties). Do you find cooking to be a stress reliever?

I used a recipe found here from Recipezaar (love this site) and made a few changes, such as substituting half the butter with applesauce and using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose.

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I split it with my Dad.

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sdc11462Fitness

This morning I spent a good long time on the stationary bike. Yesterday’s rest day was just want my body needed and I felt great and refreshed today. I could have stayed on much longer if I didn’t have to get ready for work. Afterward I fit in a quick arm workout. The stats:

1 hour 8 minutes total

395 calories burned

Avg HR 131

Trivia Tuesday

In honor of my recent cravings for ice cream,I give you this week’s trivia question:

When and where was the ice cream cone invented?

a) 1789 in Paris

b) 1896 in New York

c) 1906 in Prague

d) 1918 in St. Louis

Be back later with the answer and a product review. Good luck with getting back into the swing of things after a long weekend!

Donuts & Do Nots

Good morning!

I didn’t get out of work last night until 10pm! I did end up having the same exact dinner last night that I had for lunch the other day, to the T. Gardenburger with sprouts and Arnold sandwich thin and strawberries with cottage cheese on the side. Someone had brought in a box of Dunkin Donuts but I refrained. I’m getting pretty good at that! The tactic of just reminding myself that I can get myself a donut whenever I want is really working. I didn’t have to have one right then and there. Back in the day I’d be chomping on them like I was never going to see a donut again. I’m glad I’m not working today though, my manager is bringing in cupcakes! That’s a whole different ballgame…

I was so  tired after work I just went home and passed out. This morning’s breakfast was good ol’ oats.

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In the mix:

  • 1/4 c. steel cut oats
  • 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. almond milk
  • 1/2 small banana
  • 1 small apple
  • flax
  • pecans
  • cinnamon
  • cinnamon raisin pb

Good breakfast = good day ahead!

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Today’s the Christening party for my niece so I’m about to go help set up with my Mom. The party’s at 1 so I doubt I’ll be able to get a workout in before then but hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze one in afterward. I hate having to workout late, I know I’ll be thinking about it all day now! See you later for a recap :)

What are you plans for this weekend?

By the way, there’s a Vitatop giveaway over at Soap & Chocolate. I splurged one time I ordered these and they’re so good. Actually maybe you shouldn’t enter… more chances for me!