Well I’m Cold Blooded, Check It and See

“Well, I’m hot blooded, check it and see
I got a fever of a hundred and three
Come on baby, do you do more than dance?
I’m hot blooded, I’m hot blooded”

Though I love that song, I am most definitely not hot blooded. In fact, I’m just the opposite.

“Well I’m cold blooded, check it and see
I got the chills and the goose bumpies
My arm hairs stick up, no they won’t go down,
I’m cold blooded, I’m cold blooded!”

I blame my dad for passing his “I’m always cold” gene onto me.

The Cold Ones (Twilight? What?)

The two of us may be found snuggled under a blanket in 80 degree weather (with a huge bowl of chocolate marshmallow ice cream in our laps, might I add 😉 ).

My cold bloodedness was absolutely thriving at work today. Why must office buildings be so darn cold?

By the time lunch rolled around, my arm hairs had not stopped standing on end since I sat down at my desk a little before 9 a.m.

Since the lunch I packed to enjoy today was a cold one, I knew I had to get something h-o-t to warm my insides.

Enter, Starbucks!

After walking two blocks to Starbucks and nabbing a hot Tazo passion tea, I felt nice and cozy.

Starbucks Tazo Passion Tea

A warm belly made me much more excited about eating my cold lunch.

On the menu for today was a big salad that included:

• Mixed baby greens
• Grape tomatoes
• Cucumber slices
• Shredded carrots
• Red and orange peppers
• Radishes (which, come to find, I don’t really like)
• Edamame

Big Ol' Salad

Holy Veggie Overload!

I used salsa as my salad dressing of choice.

Super Silly Salsa

I also enjoyed a juicy peach on the side.

Fuzzy Peach

The Goods

Ooooh yum. I enjoyed this ten times more after downing my tea than I would have if I were cold. Eating a cold salad when you’re freezing is not appealing!

Question of the Afternoon

• What places do you think are often unreasonably hot or unreasonably cold?
  

Edamamemole (+ Q & A)

The highlight of my lunch today was a concoction I’ll call edamamemole because it reminded me of guacamole, but it was made with edamame!

To make my edamamemole, I combined ½ cup of edamame with one wedge of Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese in the food processor. After pulsing the ingredients several times, I had a bright green mushy mix that spread easily onto a Toufayan thin everything-flavored bagel.

Edamamemole

On the other half of the bagel I spread Robert Rothschild raspberry wasabi mustard for an extra kick of flavor.

Raspberry Wasabi Mustard

Raspberry Wasabi Spread

Along with my edamamemole bagelwich, I enjoyed cucumber slices and fresh strawberries.

Cucumber Slices

Fruit!

The Whole Spread

Q & A Time!

It’s that time again!

Time for another Q & A featuring questions submitted on my Q & A page and through the anonymous question form.

Let ‘er rip! 😀

What are some creative ways that you eat peanut butter?

• Peanut butter stuffed French toast
• Cinnamon peanut butter roasted chick peas
• Flourless peanut butter cookies
• Peanut butter pretzel truffles
• PB & fresh fruit sandwich
• Peanut butter protein smoothies (combine milk, a scoop of peanut butter, a frozen banana & a scoop of protein powder)
• Nutty oatmeal (Stir a spoonful of peanut butter into a hot bowl of oatmeal)

Peanut Butter Stuffed French Toast

If you were forced to choose only one condiment that you could eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Mustard.

Have you ever used a personal trainer? Would you recommend it?

I’ve only used a personal trainer one time (which you may read about here), and I absolutely loved it. It’s not a realistic expense for me at the moment and I actually enjoy putting myself through a good workout so I do not use one in my day-to-day life.

I definitely recommend making an appointment with a personal trainer if you’re new to working out or are just learning the ins and outs of strength training. A personal trainer can teach you various exercises and proper form, which may make working out less intimidating for those just getting into an exercise regimen.

What is your favorite perfume?

• Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana
• Jadore by Christian Dior
• Fantasy by Britney Spears (It smells like vanilla!)

For guys I prefer none… Just Old Spice deodorant, please! J That stuff smells magical.

Do you follow package serving size recommendations for frozen pizzas, snack foods, cereal, etc.?

No. Well, I try to, but I find the serving size on most snack foods to be teeny-tiny. I try to stay away from snacking on foods like crackers or cereal because even two servings never seem like enough for me. I prefer to snack on some of the options that I mentioned in my last Q & A.

How often do you drink… I mean more than just a drink with a meal? I find that when I drink I eat gross amounts of unhealthy food. Any tips on how to prevent this?

I do not drink all that often and found that my alcohol consumption definitely decreased as I transitioned from college to the real world (isn’t it that way for everyone? 😉 ). My last drink-fest occurred a couple of weeks ago in Chicago during my Bachelorette Party and I loved every minute of it! 😀 I can assure you that after a night of drinking all of us came home and indulged in multiple servings of chips, dip, peanut butter bars and basically any other junky foods we could get our hands on. It was like a college flash back!

Aside from my bachelorette party, I really do try to make good decisions about the foods I eat when I drink. After a night out, I am often hungry when I get home, but try to snack on food that satisfies my junk-food cravings in a healthier way, such as:

• 100-calorie packs of microwavable popcorn
• Whole wheat tortilla with cheese
• Half of an English muffin pizza
• Small plate of leftovers from dinner
• Honey-roasted peanuts

English Muffin Pizza

Have you ever read the book French Women Don’t Get Fat? If so, what did you think of it?

I’ve never read it. Sorry!

I’m trying to gain weight. Can you give me some snack ideas that are high calorie, but won’t make me feel like I’ve eaten too much?

Nuts and nut butters are a great option. It’s so easy to eat multiple portions of nuts, so those looking to gain weight can easily ingest a lot of calories without feeling overly stuffed by including nut butters or trail mixes with a lot of nuts in their diet. Smoothies are a great option as well!

What is your favorite supermarket cookie?

I love “kitchen sink” cookies that include a little bit of everything: chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, oatmeal… the works!

Did you see a change in your abs when you started getting into BodyPump?

BodyPump definitely helps tone your entire body. I naturally gain weight in the lower half of my body, and didn’t really see any major changes to my abs that I can attribute directly to BodyPump, though I definitely “feel the burn” during the abs portion of the class. My stomach looks leanest when I keep up my workouts (total-body strength training + cardio) and maintain a healthy diet.

***

Thanks again for all of your questions! If I didn’t answer your question, check my Q & A page and the links from the Ask Me Anything series.

See ya later for dinner! 😀

Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, Here I Come

Where has the time gone? Holy moly, sometimes the day just gets away from me when my to do list is jam packed.

I flew thorough lunch today and enjoyed every bite.

Another Salad Gem

I made myself a lettuceless salad that included:

• Kidney beans
• Edamame
• Sweet corn
• Cucumber
• Beets
• Water chestnuts
• Honey mustard dressing

It was pretty darn delicious!

On the side I enjoyed a cup of Chobani strawberry banana Greek yogurt. This flavor is a great one to try if you’re new to the whole Greek yogurt thang. It is sweet, flavorful and oh-so-creamy.

Strawberry Banana Chobani

Smile! 🙂

I was initially concerned that I wouldn’t be full after this lunch, but I definitely felt satisfied. Beans + edamame + Greek yogurt = filling.

I’m Such a Sucker

Those Rock ‘n’ Roll marketing people sure know what they’re doing.

Less than two weeks after running in the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon on August 1, I received an email from the Rock ‘n’ Rollers about another half marathon that was just added to the race schedule: Savannah, Georgia!

Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

Last year Ryan and I visited Savannah en route to a wedding in North Carolina and loved the city! Savannah is unbelievably adorable and we had a great time exploring the area and learning about the history of the city on a historic trolley tour.

Me & Ryan in Savannah, May 2009

Since I adore Savannah and had such a great experience with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago half, I emailed Ryan about the race.  He said it sounded like a great one and would happily come with me to Savannah to cheer me on.

That’s all I needed! I used the sch-weet coupon code for $30 off my race registration from the email I received and signed up! I’m such a sucker for coupons.

Now you know where to find me on November 5, 2011! (While I’m there you better believe I plan on hittin’ up Paula Deen’s restaurant! YUM!)

Immediately after registering, I emailed Ryan to let him know I signed up under his last name. I already received a confirmation email addressed to me with his last name on it and it feels so crazy! I can’t believe we’ll be married in 2 ½ months!

Of Possible Interest:

• Confession: I Gain a Few Pounds Every Summer (dailySpark.com) <–I’m quoted in this article! 😀
• How Long Does it Take to Fall Out of Shape? (FitSugar.com)
• Healthiest Fast Food Breakfasts (CookingLight.com)

Questions of the Afternoon

• Are you a coupon clipper?
• Do emails containing coupons or promotional codes sucker you in?

Preventing Late Night Snacking

Hallelujah for healthy food!

At Long Last: A Healthy Lunch

Though I thoroughly enjoyed more than one ten yummy indulgences this past weekend, my  body is happy to be back to being fueled by nutritious food rather than the inordinate amounts of cheese  found on a slice of deep dish pizza.(Seriously, how good is deep dish pizza? Love that stuff.)

Today’s lunch included a mixed veggie salad comprised of:

• Sliced grape tomatoes
• 3/4 c. Seapoint Farms shelled edamame
• 1/2 c. sweet corn
• 3/4 slice green pepper
• 3 tbsp. roasted red pepper hummus

Colorful + Nutritious

"Hummus, Hummus, I Got the Hummus!" -Phoebe Buffay

On the side I enjoyed a large plum and a stick of Sargento Colby-Jack cheese.

Plumtastic!

Oh vitamins and healthy food, how I’ve missed you! 😀

Now on to some not-so-healthy food discussion…

Preventing the Late Night Snack Attack

We’ve all done it. We’ve all felt sleepy and knew it was time for bed, but instead meandered into the kitchen only to indulge in a late night snack attack.

My late night snacking was at an all-time high this past weekend. When we arrived home after a night of partying it up bachelorette party-style, my friends and I all found ourselves knee-deep in tortilla chips, salsa, Baked Lays and French onion dip.

Before the Attack of the Tortilla Chips

The next morning, we all asked ourselves the same question: Why?

Why did we feel the need to gorge on copious amounts of chips and dip like we’d never get a chance to eat them again?

I’m going to go ahead and chalk the chips and dip feast from this weekend up to the post-drinking munchies that many of us remember from college (Hello, Taco Bell at 2 a.m.!), but in our day-to-day lives, many of us still struggle with late night snacking.

I used to be a huge late-night snacker. I would almost always eat a pretty hefty snack before bed. Eventually I realized I was doing this out of boredom and habit, not out of hunger.

I began to implement several different tactics to help combat my evening snack attacks which really helped me steer clear of the kitchen right before bed:

• Drink a Hot Beverage: This one really helped me a lot! I often wanted to eat something while watching TV or hanging out with Ryan after dinner and found that sipping a cup of light hot chocolate or hot tea really helped keep my hands busy and took a while to consume, allowing for my snacky feelings to subside.

• Plan to Snack: When I realized a lot of my late-night snacks were sweet, I began to plan to consume a sweet healthy late-night snack, like a cup of honey Greek yogurt, low-fat pudding, a square of dark chocolate, or a Dove Ice Cream Miniature to satisfy my sweet tooth in a less-indulgent way.

• Evaluate Your Hunger: Have healthy snacks on hand just in case you are actually hungry before bed. Here are some ideas for healthy bed-time snacks:

1. Apple with peanut butter
2. Whole wheat crackers with cheese
3. Cup of chocolate milk
4. Greek yogurt with a sprinkling of nuts
5. Small bowl of oatmeal
6. Handful of healthy trail mix (peanuts, chocolate chips, raisins, whole grain cereal)

• Entertain Yourself: Once I realized that I wasn’t actually hungry 95 percent of the time I was reaching for a late-night snack, I came up with a game plan to keep myself entertained and out of the kitchen. I created a list of activities that I literally posted on my fridge of things to do when I wanted to snack, but wasn’t really hungry:

1. Read a book or magazine
2. Paint my nails
3. Play with or pet my dog
4. Cuddle up with Ryan
5. Go for a walk with Ryan and Sadie
6. Do a 10-minute “quick clean” of the apartment
7. Update my iPod

Question of the Afternoon

• Do you snack late at night?
• What are your tricks for staying out of the kitchen after dinner?
• What are your favorite healthy late night snacks?