Lunch

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June 14, 2008

Grilled Turnip and Radish Salad

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Lunch | Tags: , , , |
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A storm is thundering outside right now, but rain hasn’t started yet – this is my favorite type of weather – just before a storm!!  Any second now, the rain will crack and just soak everything. Yum! :)   For lunch today, I finally had enough energy to cook something – hooray!  I decided on a salad because we have tons of CSA greens to use up.  The basis of the salad was all sorts of greens: spinach, lettuce, braising mix; and for on top I mixed 10g walnuts, 1 oz feta, and my own mix of grilled turnips and radishes.  You can find the (very simple) directions for the salad on the ‘Salad Concoctions’ page.  So here was the finished product:

This salad was so filling I couldn’t finish it!  I ate all of the greens, walnuts, and feta, and left about 25% of the turnips and radishes.  It was really tasty though, there were a bunch of different tangy and sweet flavors in there that were really satisfying.  Lunch was 409 calories, 44g carbs, 24g fat, and 10g protein.

Even though I’m calling this lunch, I probably will only have a snack later on tonight.  After all, it’s almost 5 PM already!  P was talking about going to the movies, so maybe we’ll do that.  It would be nice to get out of the house!

 

June 13, 2008

Tastless Lunch

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Lunch | Tags: , , , |
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I know this lunch must have tasted good, but I am so swollen and congested today that I can’t really taste anything. The textures were really great, though – so I guess that’s the best I can do right now. :( I made a sandwich on toasted Euro rye bread with the last black bean burger from Veganomicon; a Light Laughing Cow wedge, some delicious CSA spinach, and some great mustard. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: mustards, sauces, jams and jellies are worth their weight in gold. They’re totally worth the extra $$ for something great. So here’s my sandwich:

I also had a coconut bar:

I took a little bite out of the corner. :)   Lunch was 519 calories, 90g carbs, 6g fat, and 30g protein.

I did end up going up on the roof, but after 15 min, I started feeling really sickly.  Maybe the sun was draining my energy?  Have a great Friday afternoon, guys!

 

June 12, 2008

Lazy Days

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch | Tags: , , , |
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Hey guys,

Yesterday was the first day since I started the blog that I’ve gone an entire day without posting.  I kept meaning to, but I was tired all day long and I figured I shouldn’t push myself to do things because I think I ’should’ or because I ‘have’ to. I read this article in Body + Soul yesterday about perfectionism and how women put all these unnecessary, self-imposed requirements on themselves that only cause harm in the long run.  I know I won’t lose my readers due to one day of no posting, so why shouldn’t I skip it so I can rest?  The world won’t end, and life will go on.

Yesterday I spent the day dozing and lying around on the couch, as per the norm this week.  I started off the day with a bowl of banana creme muesli, made with 1/2c oatmeal, 1/2c nonfat vanilla yogurt, large banana, and a tbsp of flax:

A little while after that I had a cup of nonfat cottage cheese plus 2/3c of Pumpkin Spice Granola (softened, so I could eat it):

Then I got a treat in the form of more get well gifts!  Balloons from my parents (replacement balloons from the original ones the company accidentally sent which said ‘Happy Birthday!’:

Plus a gift basket from my co-workers:

So sweet of them!

A little bit later I had a PB & J on some whole wheat chollah:

And later, I had some mint fro yo:

When P came home, he brought M&M’s, gummy worms, and jelly beans – grr!  I had my share of each of those.

This morning, I started out with snacking on some M&M’s, I’m afraid to admit!  But for lunch, I got one of the veggie wraps from Bully’s:

I’ve eaten half of this so far.  Plus I got fruit dish which I’ve had a few bites from, and these french fries, which I’ve had about 10 of:

I like my fries crispy, and these are more doughy.  Not great.

So that’s what I’ve been up to (plus a few random scoops of coconut sorbet thrown in there)!  Eating junk and watching alot of tv.  I’m starting to get a little restless..I think I need to cool it with the junk, and start back with my usual eating.  Filling my body full of junk when it’s sick is the opposite of what I need to do.  I’ve just been giving into comfort foods a little too much.

Today is CSA day, so P’s leaving work early to pick that up.  Expect to see a new bounty tonight!

 

June 9, 2008

Greetings from My Couch!

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Dinner, Lunch | Tags: , , , , |
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Surgery went excellent!  Thank you all for your kind words.  Seriously, the best possible outcome I could have asked for: medium-mild pain, and huge results already.  Let me backtrack:

I did not sleep well at all last night!  I kept waking up on the hour, completely restless.  Worked to my advantage in the end because I was really afraid I would sleep through my call time – but of course, waking up at 7:30 was no problem.  A quick shower and final apt inventory later, we hopped in a cab to the hospital.

P and I got to the hospital at 8:30 on the dot, where I did some paperwork and they told me my surgery was scheduled for 10:30.  At 9 AM, they took me back to pre-op, with a kiss from a worried Peter.  There I changed into the most unflattering sack ever.  Luckily I got a bathrobe, which gave it some shape, and I folded up the sleeves as well – hey, I’m 23!  Let’s not add insult to injury.  :)

By 10:15, I started to get antsy.  I had finished every halfway decent magazine in the pre-op waiting room, and I could feel the adrenalin coursing through my body.  I started to pace, which led to jumping jacks, wall push-ups, grapevines, jogging in place, knee kicks, and finally stretching, breathing and meditation.  If you had told me 6 months ago that my biggest source of comfort in a stressful event was EXERCISE, I wouldn’t have believed you.  But it really made me feel better – just to get some energy out.  Despite the looks it got me. :)

They finally called me at 10:50 to talk to the surgeon and the anesthesiologist.  I was on the table by 11:10.  Tears ensued.

The next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room.  I rated my pain on a scale of 1-10 as a 6 – so not too bad! (And I am not one to downplay pain or suffer in silence, as my mother would say.)  I felt like I had been punched in the nose, and my mouth was painfully dry.  After 2 hours of dozing in out of Percoset and Demerol induced sleep, I was discharged.  A quick cab ride and four painful flights of stairs later, I arrived at my new home: the couch.

P was kind enough to been in touch with my parents all day through texts and calls, as well as preparing and tracking all my foods and meds.  He is, as my mom said today, ‘a mother’s dream’.  At the hospital, I had 1c cranberry juice (unpictured).  After settling on the couch, I had 125g oolong tea (unpictured).  About an hour later I had a green tea and a coconut popsicle:

About an hour and a half later I had about 3/4ths of this peach smoothie, ordered in from Bully’s:

And an hour after that, I had 1/3c of light mint chip frozen yogurt (unpictured).

P left to go to the gym, and made a skillful dinner of Annie’s organic mac and cheese when he came
home:

I ate about 1/3rd of this.

As far as results, my nose is definitely swollen, but no black eyes or packing needed!  But it’s visibly straighter and I have more breathing ability in my right side than I’ve had in years – and it’s only going to get better!  Despite being exausted and definitely unanimated – I’m doing alot better than anyone thought I would be at this point.  I’m taking Tylenol with Codeine and and antibiotic, as well as two different nose sprays.  Plus, I heard from the doctor that I can’t excercise for 10 days.  Boo.

Plan for tomorrow is more rest/recovery.  Hopefully the bleeding will stop soon.  Night!

 

June 5, 2008

100th Post!

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Lunch | Tags: , , |
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This is my 100th post! Woohoo!  Thank you to all my lovely readers and commenters.  As I told a reader who emailed me recently, this blog as been such a blessing in my life.  Thank you all for being a part of it! :D   Sorry, I’m a cheeseball!

Today is New Product Day, apparently!  After my new cereal discovery this morning (love) I wanted to try more new stuff for lunch.  I ran some errands this afternoon (bank, post office, etc) and found myself outside of the Organic Market!  You know what that means!

After perusing the isles for a while, I decided to try an Amy’s Burrito.  I’ve always wanted to give them a whirl, but was nervous about a whole frozen/microwave thing – I thought they would taste fake.  I tried the Black Bean and Veggies Burrito:

Which turned out like this:

This was sooo tasty and filling!  Great nutritional and ingredients lists too!  Definitely a huge success.  Along with I had some nonfat cottage cheese and street raspberries.  They had blueberries, but these raspberries were speaking to me.

Don’t those raspberries look INCREDIBLE??? Too beautiful to pass up!

All together:

Lunch was 464 calories, 61g carbs, 10g fat, and 35g protein.

While I was at the Organic Market, I picked up a little treat for myself!  It’s kind of humid today, and only going to get more hot (summer in the city, you know).  So I grabbed a box of the Coconut bars to have in the office as an occasional afternoon treat for myself.

I was skeptical and almost didn’t get them, but then I thought, ‘come on, why not, granny?’  OH.MY.GOODNESS.  These things are heaven on a stick.  Literally.  They are soooooooo good.  The best coconut flavor and a really good nutritional.  I never used to care much about coconut, but in the past 4 months I have just gone coconut CRAZY.  After I let my stomach settle, I had a bar:

If you look closely in the picture, you can see that about 75% of the bar is actually made up of real shredded coconut.  So delicious.  Such a find!  Snack was 90 calories, 16g carbs, 4g fat, and 0g protein.

This afternoon the plan is to pick up my first CSA bounty!  :)   I’ll be sure to snap a photo for you guys.  Then hit the gym.  I think I’m alone for dinner tonight – hopefully I’ll be inspired my new fruits and veggies to make a delicious dinner!

 

June 4, 2008

It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Lunch

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Lunch | Tags: |
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Boy, lunch was unintentionally caloric today.  It was delicious though, so it’s okay.  This afternoon I ran a couple errands that I had been postponing but in the spirit of just do it, I just did them. :)   Post office, birthday present shopping, etc, etc.  On my way back to the office, I dropped into Europa Cafe to pick up lunch.  I picked out the lemon tuna wrap: no mayo, but with capers, tomatoes, celery – sounded like something I would make at home:

I was doubley pleased to see that they had the nutritional info legibly and accessibly posted on the website.  Only fitting, seeing as this wrap was doubley caloric!  I was shocked!  Almost 700 calories for this tiny little guy, boo.  After snooping around the site, I see that I should have gotten a pressed sandwich: a much more reasonable 300-400 cal.  Le sigh.  Live and learn.  I’ll know for next time.

I also had some nonfat cottage cheese and blueberries, swoon.

All together, my super heavy lunch:

Lunch was 873 calories, 93g carbs, 21g fat, and 76g protein!!

This baby better power me up all afternoon and evening.  After work, I’m heading uptown to my apt (as opposed to P’s apt) to get my mail and do some stuff around there.  Then I’m meeting up with the birthday girl, Eva, and some friends to go see the Sex and the City Movie!! Swoon!  I can’t wait!  This will be the first of many viewings, I’m sure.  P won’t admit it, but he wants to see it too, so I’m going to have to “drag” him there this weekend.  Did you guys here they’ve greenlit a Sex and the City Movie 2?? Swoon again!  Bye guys!

 

June 3, 2008

Around Town Afternoon

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Lunch | Tags: , , , , |
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Jeesh, I think I walked almost 3 miles this afternoon! I had to go get a blood test for my upcoming surgery. I found a lab a few blocks away and headed there during lunch. Well, when I got to the location, there was no lab to be found! Then I looked closer at the address and realized it was on the EAST side, not the WEST side. I guess since I’m always on the west side, I just assumed it was over here. To make matters worse, it was really east. Like as east as you can go. But since I needed the test results ASAP, I had no choice but to walk there and back. Ah well. A little walking never hurt anyone. I knew lunch was going to be scattered, so before I left I had my sandwich: chickpea cutlet with laughing cow wedge, mustard, and spinach on rye bread:

Yum, so good. My last cutlet this batch. :(

I had a new Luna bar while walking, Berry Almond:

This was good, but stained my fingers, boo. Lunch was 544 calories, 74g carbs, 14g fat, and 30g protein.

I hate getting blood taken, but this was pretty painless – I was in and out! On the walk back, I got a treat:

Looking back, this was kind of hard on my stomach. I would have been better off with an iced tea or iced water even!

The plan for this afternoon is to clean my fridge! The first CSA bounty arrives on Thurs and I have a way overpacked and overcrowded fridge, with lots of expired products, I’m sure. My new goal is to be more cautious about using what I have and not superfluously buying groceries! Plus gym and a snack – I’m due for some fruits and veggies. TTFN!

 

June 2, 2008

Granny’s Gettin Crazy

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Lunch | Tags: , |
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Even though I love my routine, after such an exciting weekend, I wasn’t ready to completely go back to normal. As I headed out of the office this afternoon, I knew I wanted a salad and fruit/cottage cheese combo – but with a twist. PS. Today is GORGEOUS outside – I should be up on my roof sunbathing right now with a stack of magazines. Le sigh.

I ran some errands (bank, Organic Market, drugstore) then thought about lunch. I was originally going to go to Guy and Gallard, but then I remembered that the Whole Foods salad bar was much better. So I headed over there. I had intended on getting a salad with fresh veggies, but then I saw all the delicious looking salad medleys they had. So I had a taste of all of them on a bed of spinach and carrots:

There’s a little of everything in there: grilled veggies, orzo, quinoa, squash, black beans, cauliflower, feta, and more. It was so great to taste all the different flavors. So satisfying. By the time I got to the little deli to pick up a mini cottage cheese container, it was so late in the day that they only had 4% milkfat or 1% with pineapple! Booooo. Well, after pouting for a while and contemplating forgoing cottage cheese altogether, I thought ‘come on, granny! what’s so wrong with pineapple and cottage cheese?’ So I got it. It actually tasted really good with the blueberries I picked up at Whole Foods – a little artificially-tasting, but still good.

All together:

Yum. Lunch was estimated at 571 calories, 61g carbs, 2g fat, and 30g protein.

Plan for this afternoon is to hit up the gym first thing, pick up the laundry and then relax! I’ve been feeling the baking bug lately, so maybe I’ll do that. Have a great afternoon guys!

 

June 1, 2008

Ellen’s Goodbye BBQ, Columbia University Reunion, Day 2, and Parental Brunch

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Brunch, Dinner, Lunch | Tags: , , , , , |
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Whoo – get ready for a long post!

P and I headed out to Brooklyn on Saturday for Ellen’s Goodbye BBQ.  Unfortunately, it was raining and mucky all morning – so we had to move the party inside.  Everyone wanted to be on the blog – so there are quite a few cameos in this post.  Here’s was the initial spread:

More food came later.  What was paricularly interesting was the make-your-own strawberry shortcake spread:

Neat idea right? Plus homemade sangria, made by Brooke’s boyfriend Kyle (the thumbs-up in the picture):

Later, our friend Melissa brought a really delicious bean and avocado salad

The only thing was there were way too many sweet items, and not enough savory ones!  Everyone loves dessert!  Here was my plate: bean and avocado salad plus grapes.

I also split a cupcake with Peter:

Plus I tried a make-your-own strawberry shortcake, with my goofball friend Brooke in the background:

And here’s me with Ellen (I swear I don’t usually look this tall):

Our friends Rita and Bryan came and brought guacamole and Vegan ‘E’ cookies.  Here’s Rita and Ellen with the cookies:

I had one of these ‘E’ cookies. :)

On to our next activity! We headed up to Columbia campus for a cocktail and dinner, plus dancing and starlight reception.  Here was the main tent:

After we checked in, we went over to Peter’s class’s tent.  Here’s a shot of the inside of the tent:

And the tables:

I started out with a glass of white wine.  Here’s a shot of the bottle:

With my wine, I had 5 fruit kababs:

After some schmoozing and reminiscing (for Peter), we sat down to dinner.  Here’s my first plate, salad with blue cheese, plus a little latke:

With dinner, I had a cocktail: a whiskey sour.  I used to love these in college – they were definitely my drink of choice.

Then I went back for a second plate of salad and latke. :) The salad was sooo good, and the other options (fish, chicken, steak, etc) looked a little heavy – I knew my sweet tooth was going to get the best of me later (which it did!).

For dessert, I had a cherry cobbler:

This was really good – I split another one of these with P. :)

Then at the starlight reception, I had a glass of champagne and snacked on a bunch of chocolate desserts they had out.  YUM!  Of course I had to sample every type – amazing.  Then Peter and I danced like maniacs!  There was a live band playing old hits, and everyone was getting down!  I love live bands – they’re so festive!  It’s especially fun to see all the older people getting down and funky.  Soo sweet.  I definitely burned 300-500 calories easy.

So, to close the Columbia festivities, here’s the Columbia lion, the school mascot.  I think P really had fun being nostalgic and seeing old friends, so it was definitely a success.

P and I crashed at about 1 AM, and my parents called at 10:30 AM with a brunch invitation.  My parents, who live in Virginia, were up in NYC for my dad’s 35th Columbia Reunion and for their 30th wedding anniversary, which is this week as well!  The plan was to meet them up at a old Columbia hangout, the Hungarian Pastry Shop, at noon.

I knew I needed a AM workout after my day off yesterday, not to mention the extravagant dessert parade.  I booked it to the gym to get in a quick workout.  I did the stepmill and the treadmill with weights at full force!  Cardio smorgas = 427 calories burned. I wasn’t hungry when I woke up (never a good sign), but I knew I needed something in my stomach, so I had a banana before I left:

Pre Workout Snack was 125 calories, 32g carbs, 1g fat, and 1g protein.

We were a little late for brunch (whoops), but my parents had stopped for gelato, so I don’t think they minded!  P and my parents picked out pastries and then we headed to another Columbia haunt, The Heights, for brunch.  My mom and I started off with mimosas:

For an entree, I had the portabello mushroom with goat cheese and veggies sandwich, without bread, plus a huge salad of mesculun greens:

I only had a few forkfuls of the balsamic dressing.  Plus I had a complementary fruit cup:

Brunch was good, and it was great to see my parents!  P and my dad talked about Columbia the whole time, of course. :)   Brunch was estimated at 400 calories.

This afternoon the plan is to CHILL OUT.  We definitely need a rest after this weekend.  We also have another event for tonight.  Busy, busy, busy!

 

May 30, 2008

Wrap It Up, I’ll Take It

Posted by winningfriendswithsalad under Lunch | Tags: , |
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Hey guys, today for lunch Peter and I decided to order in.  I’m feeling alot better than I did this morning, so I’m hoping to have a super productive afternoon.  I wanted to try another wrap, so we ordered in from Bully’s. This wrap wasn’t as good as last time, but it was still really tasty.  This was grilled veggies on a spinach wrap with Fontina cheese:

I would have liked this better if it had less cheese and more veggies.  Plus I got some fruit:

Really good.  Then, on the spur of the moment, I decided I wanted a chocolate from the box:

I’m estimating lunch at 700 calories. Plan for the afternoon is to hit the gym in about an hour, then run some errands, speed clean the apt, and (if I have time) bake something to bring to my friend Ellen’s BBQ tomorrow.  All before we have to be in midtown at 6.  Whew.  Better get cracking!

 

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