Three Loves and a Hate

Its small and unassuming.  It sits at the bottom of the bulk bins, hiding between the brightly colored split peas and my most favorite carob raisins.  Its become super popular amongst many of my fellow bloggers over the past few weeks.  Yes, I'm talking about oat bran.  I was extremely wary.  To me, it looked like Cream of Wheat, which I tried once, in high school, and spit it out because the texture freaked me out so much.  Now, I don't know if oat bran is really different, or if I have just evolved, but I finally bought some last week, and I had a little love affair with it this weekend.  

No special recipe, its pretty easy to figure out.  This is 1/2 cup oat bran, cooked in 1 cup soymlk (stovetop), then thrown into the food processor with 1/2 cup of strawberries and 1/4 cup water.  Threw on a container of plain Wholesoy & Co yogurt, topped it with some strawberries and a spoon of my soynut butter, and breakfast was deliciously served.  I wish I had time to eat this every day.  I can't believe how filling just 1/2 cup of this stuff is.  If you are wondering about the little grain, you should check out Heather's posts (info and calories) on it; they're completely informative and it'd be overkill for me to repost it here when she already has done such a good job.    

If you are wondering what my bran is sitting on top of, my first student teaching placement ended on Friday.  My 8th period class went all out, baked a cake, brought another cake, and made a giant card that they all signed.  It was *so* sweet.  They had a little party for me at lunch too, my mentor teacher is good friends with all the secretaries and I go "eat" with them every day (I don't eat then, they do, but I sit there).  They brought me a whole bag full of stuff from the school, as well as some lottery tickets...one of which was fake and I TOTALLY fell for it, haha. One of the women also brought a disposable camera (they still make those?), and she is going to send me the pictures of me with the kids and whatnot, but this is what I have in the meantime.   

I really loved this placement so much.  They are such a great bunch of kids, especially this class.  It is over 50% special ed, so they are so much more attentive than my other classes.  If that sounds weird, I should mention that my other classes are all Non-Regents Chemistry classes.  If you aren't from New York, that means, these are the kids who are taking the Chemistry class that doesn't require a state exam.  Stereotypically, these are some of the least motivated kids in the school.  Obviously that isn't true of all of them, but...stereotypes exist for a reason.  Almost all the kids are just good kids though.    

Anyway, I've mentioned quite a few times over the past few weeks that I haven't been posting because life has handed me a few balloons of stress.  First, the job interview, which went well, but they still haven't called.  They said they would call this week, and if they don't, I'll call them, but I have a feeling I know why they didn't.  I'm not technically certified yet; I would have to get a job first in order to get an internship certification.  Secondly, this placement that "ended"?  Yeah, I'm still there.  I'm supposed to be at a Middle School now, but my school (college, not where I'm student teaching) seriously f*ed up.  The really obnoxious part is that they won't admit it, and are blaming it on the district where I am student teaching.  I talked to the secretary to the head of the School of Ed yesterday, and she fed me SO many excuses.  I am apparently an idiot because I don't realize how much "paperwork" there is, and they don't usually work with this district because I live *so* far away, and they just can't put me with anyone who agrees, because there is so much that has to be done, and poor little me just doesn't know enough about how schools work to comprehend this.  After talking to her, I texted my mentor teacher, and he said:  "Wow, you got a lot more high maintenance since January....all the "paperwork" I had to do was answer "yes" in an email".  Not that I didn't already know they were feeding me bullshit, but I'm still kind of furious with them.  I mean...I'm paying for this.  I'm supposed to be with another teacher now.  I'm still with this guy.  Don't get me wrong, I love love love him, I adore the students, I would absolutely love to stay with him...but because I'm supposed to be moving, I haven't been doing anything all week, just waiting.   So, after I bitched out my grad school yesterday, and talked to the assistant principal today, all the science teachers in the district got an email (my mentor teacher showed it to me), asking if any Chemistry or 8th grade teachers would take a student teacher.  Seriously, this crap should have been figured out weeks ago.  So my mentor teacher (who again, is really fabulous) decided that it was time he just took control of things, and told them that if they were okay with it, I could just stay with him, and do some work with the Regents teacher next door.  

That is the word as of right now, they haven't gotten back to him yet.  I felt like such a tease coming back yesterday after these kids threw me a party.  Not that they haven't all been really happy to see me, but I just felt like an idiot.  On the bright side, I may get to stay with them for another 7-ish weeks, and they're finally going to have a test on the stuff I taught them, and I do want to see how they'll do.  

I guess that might not really sound like a lot to be stressed about, but I was really upset about leaving, felt an idiot coming back, and that coupled with getting called back about that job, with the added stress of having to find a job in general...its just been a little overwhelming, and my diet has seriously suffered.  Let's just say that my "fat" pants officially fit me today.  The sad thing is, I've still been going to the gym every day, I've just been eating way too much peanut butter.  I know, I said I was going to stop buying it, and I have, but now I just reach for the crap my mom buys (Skippy, I know, it barely even tastes good).  I tried the Better n' PB, and that stuff is nasty.  Sorry, I know some of you like it, but I can't even force it down with melted carob chips.  Anyway, maybe by confessing that I'll be able to back off.  We'll see.  I haven't weighed this much since I was in college, its kind of depressing.  I know "its not about the number on the scale", but again...the fat pants fit.  On the bright side of THAT, it gives me another wardrobe option.   

If you decided to read that, thank you for updating yourself on my life, it was really nice of you :)  I'm trying to plan out the rest of this week's diet very meticulously, I have an easier time sticking to things that way.  Hopefully it'll also make me cook more and I'll have some more to post about.   

If you missed it...

3 Loves:  mentor teacher, students, oat bran

1 Hate:  my college

Love to all of you too!

Go Green

For St. Patrick's Day, of course.  

Honestly, I've never been a big fan of St. Patty's Day.  I'm completely Italian, and I know that "everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day", but even when I was younger, I never really bought it.  My mom loves it, green bagels, Irish Soda Bread, etc.  My husband is half Irish too, but its just not my thing.  Even in college when it was just another excuse to drink a lot...I mean, I never needed an excuse for that (yes, my college experience was like that...maybe why I had an extra 30lbs to lose by my junior year).  

Anyway, the fact that my breakfast tomorrow will be "green" is a happy coincidence.  I ran out of breakfast cookies today, and was trying to make use of the stuff left in my refrigerator...like spinach.  Into a breakfast cookie it went.

Green (I swear, I know they don't look that green) Breakfast Cookies

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup protein powder

1 cup flax meal

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp coconut oil

6 tbsp maple syrup and/or agave nectar, or any combination of the two

2 tbsp applesauce

1 tbsp molasses

2-4 tbsp water

1 cup spinach

  

The process, if you haven't memorized it by now, is pretty simple.  In a big bowl, mix the first four ingredients.  In a smaller bowl, liquify the coconut oil.  Add that, plus the rest of the ingredients (sweetener through spinach) into a blender/food processor/whatever (I use my magic bullet, super convenient for jobs like this), and blend.  Add the wet to the dry, mix, and form into 8 cookies.  

Serves 4

Nutrition Information:  433.8 Calories;  17.9g Total Fat;  6.3g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  48.1 g Carbohydrates;  11.3g Fiber;  26.6g Protein

As always, the nutrition information largely depends on the protein powder you use. 

These are so good.  I love that green stuff tastes so good.  I know a lot of you are into the green smoothie, which isn't my thing, but its just such a cool concept..greens for breakfast! 

You can easily raw-i-fy these too.  Replace the rolled oats with another cup of flax meal.  The protein powder can either be hemp protein, or you can also use the flax meal for that too.  I'm sure molasses isn't raw, you could use more maple syrup or agave for that.  The molasses is just good for hardening it for the "put in your pocket" factor.  You could use any pureed fruit instead of the applesauce.  

For all of you who DO enjoy the tomorrow's lovely Irish holiday, I hope it treats you well!  Tomorrow should be an easy day for me.  We're so close to the city, so everyone is going to the parade instead of school.  In other news though, life has been stressful, which is why I haven't been posting much.  I'll talk about it more later on, but I've been at least trying to keep up with you guys!  

There's A Lot

There's a lot to talk about today.  I'll try to do it mostly through pictures.  

First though, I wasn't around and didn't do anything too special (food-wise) this weekend because I had an interview today and I was freaking out/preparing for it.  It went well, we'll see if they call back next week.  Anyone have any tips on a follow up?  Send a thank you email, a thank you note, etc?  For teaching positions you usually interview, then give a demo lesson, and the lesson is what comes next, if anything comes next.  

Anyway, food last week was good.  Nothing exciting, but I didn't have peanut butter for dinner even one night :)  

Monday I tried some of Yves' Canadian Bacon.  I have an confession....I have always loved Taylor Ham.  Even when I was in college and too lazy to cook much of anything, I would almost always buy it when I did get to the grocery store.  So, I bought this in hopes of igniting some old memories.

Verdict?  Its good!  No, it doesn't taste like Taylor Ham, but it doesn't taste like Canadian Bacon either...it does taste good though.  If you're wondering, its mainly made of wheat gluten....which means the protein is pretty high:  3 slices = 80 calories and 13g protein.  I approve.  Of course, I had to have it with some tofu scramble!  

Wednesday is the night I made dinner, and I decided to finally break out Skinny Bitch in the Kitch.  I've had it for awhile, but the only things I had ever made was the marinated tofu feta (which is awesome, by the way).  I bought some Field Roast Italian Sausages on my way home from work, and we had Roasted Sausage, Peppers, and Onions with Polenta.  This was one of the best recipes I've made from a cookbook in awhile.  The sausage was too spicy for mom, but my brother and I both really liked it. 

 

If you aren't familiar with Field Roast, they primarily make what they call "Grain Meats".  Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has mentioned them on her podcast Vegetarian Food for Thought many times, so I felt comfortable buying them and feeding them to omnivores.  Sausage is just a mess of gross meat by-product anyway, you can barely even tell it isn't meat, except it isn't gross and fatty.  

A few months ago I bought The Yoga Cookbook.  This is a lacto-vegetarian book, although most of it is vegan, and if the recipe does contain dairy, there is usually a vegan substitute suggestion. I bought it kind of on a whim, and it was purely because of one recipe that looked really good.  I don't remember its name, but its essentially sauteed fennel with white beans and curry powder, topped with the sauteed zucchini ribbons with parsley.  

I made it this past weekend, and it was pretty good, although nothing groundbreaking.  My brother and I both had it, and we were both huge fans of the butter beans!  Neither of us had ever had them before, and I was wary of these gigantic beans, but they were so soft and yummy, and my brother says, kind of like potatoes (he loves potatoes).

I have been feeling very very lazy, so I picked up this Spicy Peanut Bake coating by A Taste of Thai this past weekend after yoga.  I planned on using it for tofu.  It did not work.  I'm not sure why.  It kind of melted off.  It still tasted good, and it stuck to the top side, but it wasn't as crispy crunchy as I had hoped.  Baked tofu is good no matter what though, (50 minutes on 400 degrees is perfection) I served it with some roasted asparagus, and some brown rice.

I'm so happy I have some brown rice.  This probably sound gross, but I love having leftover brown rice, because I heat it up and mix it with hummus.  Good?  YES.  Okay, it is a little weird, actually, but I still really like it.  I forced some down before my interview today because I didn't want my belly rumbling.

Wait wait, I'm not done.  Product time.  I have some fun stuff this week.  

First, perfect pasta.  I kid you not, this is a ridiculous product.  Same calories as regular serving of pasta (200 calories), but 23 grams of protein.  23 GRAMS OF PROTEIN?  

It is made from non-GMO soybeans, so its gluten free, and it tastes really good, actually.  It has a bit of a chewy bite to it, and I would recommend a more Asian type noodle dish, rather than an Italian pasta dish, but its really good.  I had a half serving (which is pretty large), with the leftovers of the White beans etc etc.

I also got to try the Chocolate Coconut Raw Organic bar.

If the package looks like its empty...it totally is.  Hi, um, this is awesome.  Actually, it probably ties with the Chocolatey Chip Raw Organic bar, which I've talked about before.  I'd say this one is perfect to have instead of a candy bar really.  I had it at the movies.  I'd mainly consider this a superfluous snack back because the protein in this bar is lower, 230 calories and 5g protein.  It is soo very good though.  

I got some other fun stuff today.  For some reason, even though the interview went well, I was feeling kind of down afterwards.  I think because I have to wait to hear back from them until next week.  That's a long time to wait.  So, I went to Whole Foods.  First off, I'm not a big Whole Foods fan.  I much prefer my less commercial health food stores, mainly because I think they cater much more to vegetarians and vegans.  Whole Foods is just all about happy food.  And they don't want to upset their customers who want their happy food, by providing options that may make them think about their meat.  I just don't really agree with their philosophy.  Granted, I'd rather have people buying organic produce, but this Whole Foods, especially, I believe others are different...they didn't even really have any tofu options at their salad bar (there was one, an ugly tofu "egg" salad).  This is very lame.  I ended up getting some soup, which was good.  

Everything else I ended up getting was kind of...well, not the healthiest.  That was all I wanted.  I *did* talk myself into putting down the vegan donut holes (yes, there was a small section of vegan cookies/donuts/scones, etc), but I don't think I bought anything really good for you.  Okay, so a lot of it was dried fruit, but...you should know me by now, I try to focus more on protein products, sugary fruit doesn't exactly cut it as "healthy food" for me.    

Sweetriot, I don't know if you are familiar with this company, but they rock.  They feature local artists on their packaging, they use recyclable reusable material, and their cacao and cocoa is fair trade from Latin America.  

I bought an unBar (it stands for "unofficial bar of the world, according to their website...weird), but its already been consumed.  It was delicious.  Mine had 70% dark chocolate, with crunchy bits of cacao nibs, and a plump raisin in each bite.  

Really yummy, and only 180 calories for what felt like a pretty big chunk of chocolate.  

I also bought what seems to be their signature product, dark chocolate covered cacao nibs in flavor 65 (meaning 65% dark chocolate, they also have flavor 5o and flavor 70).  These containers are so cool.  The artwork is really awesome, and even if you go crazy, the whole tin is only 140 calories, making each "peace" only 1-2 calories.

  

They're totally yummy.  Perfect when you just need a chocolate fix, not a whole bar.

I also bought some Chili-Lime flavored mango...YUM.  And its raw!  

I don't think there is anything better than dried mango.  It is by far my most favorite dried fruit.  And flavored?  It really just doesn't get better.  

I did get some bulk oat bran, and some pistachios, so that wasn't too bad.  Then I also got some dried cherries because I love them, and I was feeling disappointed.  

Hopefully I have no reason to be disappointed, but I can tell you that if I don't get called back, I'll be opening this bag.  

Ike & Sam's Kickin' Cayenne Kettle Corn.  For some reason, I know some people don't like kettle corn, and if you are one of those people...I think you're crazy.  But then, I (obviously) love sweet things.    

This stuff is totally fantastic.  It is a pretty sweet snack, but its got the perfect spicy kick that lingers on your lips.  

Last, I am so excited about this:  Cinnamon Sugar Soynut Butter.

Whenever I see soynut butter, I'm surprised that it doesn't have more protein.  Well, this was more what I expected:  200 calories and 10g of protein.  Its pretty yummy too.  It doesn't have whatever kind of addictive drug they put in peanut butter.  Plus, its a small jar, so I'll eat it slower (yes, I play mind games with myself).      

So, like I said, I know its a lot, but I don't think any of it was too difficult to digest (haha, food blog pun).  Who knows if I'll have anything else to post this week.  So far the plan is fairly loose, so who knows.  

Have a good one, everybody!  I'll let you know if I get called back or not.  

Carrot Cake for Breakfast

Its breakfast time here.  I have some time before I need to leave today, and I am eagerly awaiting my drive to school because I can't wait to eat this morning.  

I've made breakfast cookies before (check out the Banana Walnut variation too), but these are extra special...Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies!  It took a few tries to get them right and they are so. freaking. good.  Perfectly amount of spice, not too sweet, with that irresistible cream cheese icing slathered on top of them...perfect.  Plus, who doesn't like cake for breakfast? 

Of course, they have to follow my breakfast rules:  high in protein, high in fat, and won't crumble or get frosting on my pocket.  Such a delicious cookie does exist. 

Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies

15 baby carrots, shredded (food processor gets that done quick)

1/2 cup pecan halves (or walnuts)

1/2 cup flax meal

1/4 cup raisins

1 cup protein powder

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp maple syrup

3 tbsp agave nectar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp salt 

2-4 tbps water (until you get desired texture, I think I used 2)

4 tbsp trans fat free Tofutti

1 tbsp agave nectar

Easy as anything.  Melt the coconut oil and mix it with all wet ingredients, adding only two tbsp of water.  Mix together the carrots and all the dry ingredients.  Add the wet to the dry.  If more water is needed, add now.  Form into 8 cookies.  They will be fairly large.  

Mix the tofutti with the remaining tbsp of agave nectar until smooth.  Dollop 1/2 tsp of frosting on each cookie, and spread out to "frost" it.  Your best bet now is to put them on a cookie sheet or cutting board and let them sit in the refrigerator overnight.  

Thats it.  Very easy, very tasty, very filling (keeps me going for four hours), very good for breakfast.  

Serves 4

Nutrition Information:  550 Calories;  26.0g Total Fat;  8.2g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  60.6g Carbohydrates;  10.4g Fiber;  25.8g Protein.  

Enjoy the day everyone!

Best Month Ever

If you aren't aware yet, I am here to let you know that March is the best month ever.  If you are wondering why, I am kind of upset that no one took the time to stalk me and figure out when my birthday is.  

Okay, I'm not really upset (thank you, for not stalking me, actually), but my birthday IS this month, and it IS a big deal.  I think I get so excited about it because its at the very very end, so I anticipate it all month.  In reality, I never do anything that great for my birthday, but this year, I am most likely heading down to Baltimore/DC (again, not very exciting), but I am also going to be leaving for Hawaii again less than a week after!  And when I come back, I'll be bringing my husband with me.  Not bad, right?  

Anyway, I know that March technically started yesterday, but this is the first day of the week, so its the first important day.  And for me, March started out with a snow day.  This was kind of upsetting.  First, I only have two weeks left at the school I am student teaching at, and I just lost a day.  Second, I was supposed to be observed today, and I was up late last night actually writing a lesson plan.  

The day off had its perks though.  First, I didn't do any of my work for class tonight, so I got that all done.  Second, my supervisor can come tomorrow, so I didn't make up the fancy lesson plan for naught.  Third, at least since its a Monday, it was a scheduled day off from the gym.  Fourth, I got to actually cook some food.  So much that I can't even fit it in one post.  

Vegan Green "Eggs" and...Oats

I went into the fridge this morning, and all I could find was a broccoli.  Okay, I like broccoli, but I REALLY wanted some tofu scramble.  I could just use broccoli and onions I guess.  But then, I found green onions.  Then, I found a half a green pepper.  Then, I decided I'd throw in some of this really beautiful chard that I bought...oh...two weeks ago? (Debbie Meyers Green Bags are a lifesaver)  Add that to 1/4 block of tofu, make it sweet and spicy, and you've got one good green breakfast.  

I had some chocolate oats with strawberries on the side.  It was just some soymilk, cocoa powder, and butter toffee flavored stevia.  Good way to start off the day off.

Now, I know I said I was going on a baking hiatus, but Celine knocked me back to my senses.  I don't think anything makes me happier than a creatively healthy baked good.  Enter her Chickpea Blondies that she posted about this weekend.  

Baking with beans is just the best idea ever.  I've made cookies with lentils, and I'm sure that many of you have tried black bean brownies (I have not...and I'm not sure why), but since I had never had a blondie before, ever, I had to try them immediately. 

I made two changes, I used seedless blackberry jam, and I used protein powder instead of flour (its only two tablespoons, it doesn't make a big difference).  

She says they serve 8, but mine wanted to be cut into 12.  

Serves 12

Nutrition Information:  157.4 Calories;  4.2g Total Fat;  0.5g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  25.3g Carbohydrates;  2.9g Fiber;  4.7g Protein 

 Its the kind of day where you have more than one dessert (because I said so), so I made some Pumpkin & Banana Protein Ice Cream.  

Protein powder, frozen pumpkin, frozen bananas, coconut oil, pumpkin pie spice, some carob chips and soymilk.  Pretty similar to my usual method, except I used way more frozen fruit/pumpkin this time, so I used more soymilk.  This was way more than I was anticipating, and was pretty filling too.  It should be, oil, protein, fruit, whew. 

More food love tomorrow (or the next day, or whenever I get another free hour)!

Spring?

My body decided that it was spring this week, and I started running again in full force.  I'm still kind of slow, and the first week of running after not having gone for awhile can feel like this:  

But hopefully soon, I will be as fast as him:  

Haha, seriously though, I can already tell I'll get it back pretty quick this year.

At the very least, maybe I'll be running like this:  

  

Speaking of working out, its been awhile since I updated on my workout.  First, I hated the workout I knew I was going to hate.  Then I said I was going to do a 5x5, and I got frustrated with that because of the people at my gym.  There are a couple of power lifters there, who happen to be there at the same time that I am there, right after school, and I get dirty looks, really dirty looks, if I am "taking up" "their" equipment.  If you are thinking "well screw them", so did I, at first.  Then I realized that it was making me really angry, and was making me not want to go to the gym, so I did two things.  First, a big step for me, I cut back to only lifting twice a week.  Second, I made up a program using equipment that isn't as popular or there are a lot of, and exercises using only your body, .  

Day 1:  Chest and Legs

Part 1

Superset

Leg Press 

1x10

1x8      

1x6      

1x4

Dips

1x4     

1x6

1x8

1x10

Superset

Bulgarian Squats 

1x4

1x6

1x8

1x10

Barbell Chest Press

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x4

*Part 1 supersets alternate number of reps each week.  So, next week, I will start with a set of 4 for the leg press, and 10 for dips.

Part 2

Superset

Pushups

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x6

Hamstring Raises

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Jacknives

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Part 3

Tricep Rope Extensions

3x10

Day 2:  Back and Shoulders

Part 1

Superset

Deadlifts

1x4

1x6

1x8

1x10

Lateral Raises

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x4

Superset

Cable Rows

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x4

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 

1x4

1x6

1x8

1x10

*Part 1 supersets alternate number of reps each week.  So, next week, I will start with a set of 4 for the leg press, and 10 for dips.

Part 2

Superset

Weighted Hyperextensions

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Upright Rows

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Roman Chair Leg Raises

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Part 3

Bicep Curls 

3x10 

               

Geez, can you tell I just wrote a lesson plan?  I set them up the exact same way, Part 1, Part 2, etc.  

Anyway, altogether, my workouts for the week have been going like this:  

Sunday - Yoga

Monday - OFF

Tuesday - Lifting: Day 1

Wednesday - Run

Thursday - Yoga & Run

Friday - Lifting:  Day 2

Saturday - Run & Yoga

This has been going really well so far.  I like the lifting workouts because the supersets make it go quickly so that my heart rate stays up and I get a little sweaty, especially Part 3.  Part 4 is mainly just a finisher, my arms are worked pretty well by that point.  I'm so glad to be actually running again too.  I've been doing just over 10 miles a week.  My goal is still to do a 10K run.  I mean, I can already run a 10K, I just want to participate in one...I haven't gotten a new race t-shirt in awhile!  

Enjoy the week everyone!  If you're a runner, or any kind of fitness enthusiast, or would like to be either, I'm leaving you with a few quotes to get you all excited for outdoor exercise in nice weather.  Get out there and get moving!  Its good for your mind, its good for your body, and anything that you can do is the best thing you can do for yourself:  

"Running is a big question mark that's there each 

and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a 

wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" 

- Peter Maher

"Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. 

The answer is usually: 'Yes'."

-Paul Tergat

"The miracle isn't that I finished. 

The miracle is that I had the courage to start." 

-John Bingham