flog for thursday.

input:
breakfast - two kinds of cereal with soy milk. and coffee, of course.
snack - an Apple Cinnamon energy ball and some almonds
lunch - there were no leftovers to bring since we didn't make dinner last night, so once again I brought quinoa with raw veggies. Once again hastily prepared before running out the door.
snack - apple

There was only a little bit left of the Morning Crisp, so I added the Panda Puffs. Reminds me of Angry Chicken's cereal graveyard. T-man does this all the time, but I usually stick to one type of cereal in a bowl... granola.

output:
walked to work.
step & scupt class at 12 pm.

I'm posting this early, because T-man and I are leaving for Michigan tonight. I probably won't post over the weekend. Have a good one!

the secret project.

I am happy to report that I am just about halfway finished the secret knitting project. Yay! Hopefully it's all downhill from here... and I mean "downhill" as in coasting quickly to the finish, not "downhill" as in bad quality. Hm, I picked the wrong cliche.

I'll try to get some knitting done this weekend. T-man and I are heading to MI to visit the family.

flog for wednesday.

input:
breakfast - coffee, dry cereal (no milk! but it wasn't too bad)
snack - 2 Apple Cinnamon energy balls from the Thrive Diet
lunch - quinoa with chopped cucumber, red pepper and carrot, Italian dressing and topped with a spinach patty
post-work party - bruschetta and onion rings... which ended up being my dinner! yikes.

output:
walked to work, even though it was ccccccold!
yoga class

My lunch was hastily prepared this morning but it turned out well. I made quinoa on the weekend for the Apple Cinnamon bars, so I put some of that in a container and chopped up the veggies to go on top. Normally I don't have time in the morning to fix lunch, so I was stressed but
didn't want to buy lunch from the cafeteria at work.

flog for tuesday.

input:
breakfast - PB&J on toast, coffee
morning snack - almonds
lunch - pasta with pesto, ricotta, broccoli & sundried tomatoes (leftovers from Sunday night)
before class - black bean soup and a cornbread muffin
snack between class and troupe practice (a.k.a. dinner) - Greek fries (fries with feta cheese and Greek dressing)

output:
walked to work
bellydance class at 6 pm
OLST practice 8-10 pm


Tuesday nights are going to be busy - I have dance class at 6 pm and then troupe practice from 8-10 pm. I rush home from work, try to eat a little something and head out to class - I'm home for about 15 minutes. There's half an hour between class and troupe so I have time to grab something, but my options are limited. Well, not really, there are a few different places to get food within a few blocks and if E. is driving to class we can always stop somewhere on the way. I'm just really preoccupied with food!

something old, something new.

Some videos for your amusement...

Amar Gamal






Taheya Carioca





More of Ms. Carioca

whoops.

I missed a few days of food blogging (to be known as "flogging" from now on) and now I'm off-schedule with posting. Will try to get some treats for you online tomorrow - I have a free day with few obligations!

food log for tuesday.

input
breakfast - smoothie with banana, blueberries, watermelon, rice milk and hemp protein
snack - almonds
lunch - veg moussaka (salty, starchy comfort food)
snack - bagel with margarine and more of the fruit smoothie
dinner - finished the leftover moussaka

output
walked to work
bellydance class at 6 pm

food log for monday.

input
breakfast: coffee
mid-morning: raw almonds
lunch: burrito with rice, salsa and beans - whatever was leftover from the nachos
snack: more almonds and an apple
early dinner: half a slice of pizza from Amato's
late dinner: vegetable moussaka

output
yoga class at 1 pm
bellydancing at 6 pm

food log for sunday.

brekkie - half of a Thai life burger from Fresh (I still call it Juice for Life)
lots of coffee and an Advil
late lunch - spring rolls, rice noodles and veggies from a Vietnamese place that my mom likes. She ordered the Pho but of course there is not a vegetarian version.
snack - Teriyaki potato chips, which taste like BBQ and salt & vinegar flavours mixed together, and a couple of "test" perogies
later snack - chips and salsa

Not great, but not as bad as I thought.

knitting update.

I've been working on my secret project, which is a gift that is a month overdue already and will hopefully be finished by Christmas! I finally feel like I'm making progress on it. Unfortunately, no pics until it's been gifted, even though the recipient most likely does not check this site. :)

I've been dying to cast on something new, but so far I've been good... must get the gift done! Then I can reward myself with a new project.

food log for saturday.

input
breakfast - apple
lunch - leftover pizza
dinner - a feast from Fresh (Juice for Life): spinach salad with crispy tofu (yum), Kathmandu wrap and sweet potato fries

output
Vinyasa yoga class, 10-11:30 am. It kicked my butt.
Working at the Food & Wine show from 1-6 pm, on my feet, smiling and talking to strangers... now that's a workout! I totally crashed out after dinner.

food log for thursday.

input
breakfast - granola with rice milk
lunch - leftover pasta from last night's dinner
snack - SmartFood (not so smart) and a smoothie
dinner - nachos with black and pinto beans, peppers, onions, cheese and salsa

pre-melting of the cheese
that's a heckuvalot of cheese!

output
step & sculpt class - I'm so proud of myself for picking up the step choreography "grapevine over the top, mambo cha cha, stomp cha cha cha." It's quite confusing! The woman beside me was off-beat the entire class, which threw me off a little, but mostly I was sad that she didn't have any rhythm. That would suck!

after the cheese was melted
mmmmm nachos

duncan smells.


My shoelace came untied as I was walking to work this morning, and I stopped at this bench to tie it. The graffiti on the bench made me laugh, so I snapped a photo.

food log for wednesday.



input
breakfast - granola with rice milk.
snack - roasted peanuts
lunch - basmati rice with masala veggies
snack - smoothie with banana, O.J., raspberries, hemp protein powder and rice milk
dinner - cheese and spinach ravioli with leek, corn and spinach pesto, topped with toasted walnuts

output
yoga class, walking to work and walking to do errands

how to write a thank you note.

Another great post. I am really enjoying this blog!

The thank you note in 5 steps - Working on Me

a system for keeping in touch.

I stumbled upon these two blog posts which outline a system to stay on top of keeping in touch with friends, family and business contacts (especially good for the latter, but I need it for the former two).

"People drift apart for many reasons. It’s perfectly understandable not to call or make an effort for people you don’t really like, but why do we let people we respect and whose company we enjoy slip away from us? The main reasons are apathy and lethargy; we don’t care enough, and we’re too lazy. Paradoxically, the more secure we feel about a person’s friendship, the less effort we’ll take in staying in touch when distance divides us."

Having a "system" to stay in touch with friends seems a little excessive, but I'm not knocking it - I need a system! Oftentimes I think about calling or emailing someone, but then I forget and when I do talk to them I feel guilty for leaving it so long. Even going through this process would be helpful:

"...you’ll first need to sit down and list all the people you want to stay in touch with. When you’ve done that, decide for each person how often you think contact would be appropriate."

Read the full post here: A system to keep in touch with people - Working on Me

He also has some advice for making that first call: Keeping in touch - emergency repair - Working on Me

Found via Ian's Messy Desk.

I'd rather be knitting.

Work is slow and will get slower as Christmas approaches. I'm starting to browse knit blogs again and seeing that people have sweaters, finished sweaters, sweaters that probably didn't take them a year to make! Sigh.

I need to post more photos!
Just text is rather dry. I'll see what I can do.

food log for tuesday.

input:
breakfast - the usual, granola with rice milk
snack - raw almonds
lunch - more leftovers: dal and masala veggies over rice
snack - almonds, and some potato chips
dinner - masala vegetables with a pita

I'm really tired of the curry dal and masala vegetables at this point. I've been eating the same thing for days! There is still a lot left over - time to pack it up in the freezer.

output:
Great workout today -
15 min. on the treadmill: 2 min. warm up, 3 min. running/1 min. walking x3, cool down
(that's not much running but it's a step up from what I was doing)
weights: I increased my weight level so that I was actually working. No more "easy workouts", it's time to build muscle.
Bellydance class: lots of shimmy walk and three quarter shimmy. Roula worked on my 2nd chakra/lower back and loosened up some energy.

food log for monday.

input:
breakfast - granola with rice milk
snack - some raw almonds
lunch - masala vegetables (cauli, potatoes, carrots and peas with PC tikka masala sauce) and curry dal over brown basmati rice (leftovers from the weekend)
snack - I gulped down part of a smoothie made with bananas, blueberries, O.J., rice milk and hemp protein powder before class (also leftover from the weekend)
dinner - 2 Tofurkey sandwiches on sprouted grain bread with romaine, mustard, Veganaise and one had cheese
before bed - a handful of chips.... so bad!

output:
I walked to work in the morning, went to yoga class at lunch, then bellydance class in the evening.

The lunchtime yoga class now feels really short after taking 75-90 min. classes at the other studio. Savasana is 2 minutes long. And the gym is really chilly, I had forgotten about that. :(

Having a smoothie pre-mixed in the fridge was really handy. I am rushed to eat something between work and dance class - I'm hungry, but I have only 10 minutes to get ready and out the door.

raw cookies/energy balls.

You can find the original recipe for my energy balls (original name: Raw Oatmeal Cacao Nib Cookies) on the GreenChefs site. I made a ton of substitutions: almonds instead of macadamia nuts, chocolate chips instead of cacao nibs, rice syrup instead of agave. And I don't form them into cookies - I use my handy dandy 1 oz. scoop to form them into balls.

There are probably a ton of "energy ball" recipes out there... I remember looking for one a few years ago and dismissing them because they called for dates. Oh I was so naive! I probably wouldn't eat a date on its own, but they are so yummy in other recipes.

A big shout-out to Wendy, who first turned me on to the idea of energy balls years ago. Thanks!

food log for Thursday.

brekkie: coffee and granola with rice milk
mid-morning: energy ball
lunch: leftover pasta casserole
pre-dinner: tortilla chips with cheese and salsa
dinner: more pasta casserole

I went to the gym at lunchtime and did my favourite "step & sculpt" class (half cardio step class, half weights). It was fun! But I felt rather jelly-like afterward. I'm not too sore today... yet... I soaked in the tub last night with epsom salts, so hopefully that helps!

I realized that I've been eating mostly vegan this week. And I wasn't even trying! But then I had nachos with cheese. And it was yummy.

food log for wednesday.

breakfast - granola with rice milk, and coffee
mid-morning - banana and an energy ball
lunch - leftover potatoes and kale and baked beans
dinner - pasta casserole with leeks, butternut squash and tofu "cream" (recipe from an old Vegetarian Times)

Lunch was a throw-together-something-what's-in-the-fridge kind of affair today. We ate leftovers for dinner the night before and thus didn't cook. Surprisingly, my lunch was quite tasty! Maybe it's because I was staaaaaarving. I went to yoga class and ate lunch late, around 2:30 pm.

food log for tuesday.

breakfast - granola with rice milk, and coffee of course
mid-morning - banana
lunch - leftover pasta with TVP meatballs and tomato sauce
snack - energy ball before dance class
dinner - more leftover pasta

I went to the gym for the first time in 6 months. I did 10 minutes on the treadmill, just a warm up really. Then some light weights: squats, lunges, lat pulldowns, delts, chest press, biceps & triceps. I didn't want to overdo it on my first day back! I also had bellydancing class in the evening, which was really fun and I feel super motivated.

food log for monday.

breakfast - coffee and my own homemade granola
mid-morning - energy ball made from dates & almonds... will post a link
lunch - potatoes and kale (leftover from last night's dinner)
dinner - big spinach salad and fettuccine with TVP meatballs (Vegan Vittles Better Burger recipe) and tomato sauce with zucchini and green peppers

I got up early! Ate breakfast! Walked to work! Yay me.

i'm baaaaaaaaack!

Here I am, back at the mothership... going through a million voice mail messages since no one picked them up while I was gone. Ugh.