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By Liz, December 10, 2009 10:23 pm

Well hello there! It’s about time I wrote a post, isn’t it now?!

So what the heck has been going on since last Friday? I think a list is in order for this recap:

• Friday night I went to a fun Christmas party aaaand I got to dress up in a cute little black dress. Always fun to dress up and get all girly every once in a while!
• Saturday night involved some friends getting together to celebrate Jacob’s 22nd year of life. Some drunken Jenga was played, and I may have deejayed my awesome trance music
• Sunday was Jacob’s official birthday and we just lazed around doing nothing. Good stuff!
• And this week has involved school, work and more school. What a surprise!

Today was actually my last day off classes, with finals being the only thing I need to worry about now…till next semester that is. But I’m trying to stay in the present and enjoy the fact I’m done for now. It’s a very good feeling!

Eats have been especially yummy over here. Here are some highlights of the week:

I don’t know why I don’t eat baked sweet potatoes more often. I always make fries with ‘em. But this was sooo good! Just a baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon. Pretty heavenly!

That’s Jacob’s birthday brunch. Whole wheat waffles from scratch, eggs with spinach, pure maple syrup and orange slices. Always, always good!

There’s Jacob’s birthday dinner. I made his favorites…pigs in a blanket and spaghetti and meatballs. I added my healthy twists though. I made whole wheat biscuits and used whole wheat pasta. The meatballs weren’t exactly health food though. But they were delish! I had actually never made meatballs before. It was surprisinglyreally easy! I mixed together the ground beef, panko breadcrumbs, spices and parm. Then I shaped the meat into golf ball sized balls, browned them in a skillet with olive oil and finished the cooking process by simmering the meatballs in my homemade marinara sauce. Soooo good! Jacob was a very very happy guy. I mean, who doesn’t love having someone cook a special dinner for them on their b-day?

I think I ate this yesterday. I haven’t been eating as many salads lately and I felt I was due for some leafy greens and cruciferous veggies. And that totally is a huge dollop of homemade hummus in the middle there. This hit the spot!

All messed up with Alison’s easy peasy salad dressing…1/2 and avocado mashed with salsa.

I’ve had oatmeal almost everyday for breakfast this week. However this was my favorite, and I just happened to eat this one this very Thursday morning. This oat bowl included 1/2 cup oats cooked with 50/50 water and milk, an egg and a chopped apple. I mixed in ground flax and cinnamon after cooking and topped it all with chopped dates, pumpkin butter and peanut butter.

And…the finale of my super great week of eats…..duh duh duh dunnnnnn….

This is the sinfully delicious cup of fro-yo I indulged in tonight. Oh sooo necessary! There is frozen yogurt under there, chocolate and peanut butter to be exact.

Just to make it clear, cause it seems you can never be too clear in the blogosphere…these pictures do not reflect everything I ate this week, just some of the more interesting meals and treats.

I’ve fit in some working out this week too, but nothing too spectacular. Just some running, weight lifting, swimming and ellipticalling in no certain order. I love breaking a good sweat. I just puts a smile on my face to think about it!

Now, I’ve gotta toot my own horn here for a sec….I think I’m gonna end up with a 4.0 this semester. I’m pretty stoked! I have an A in all my classes as of today, so if finals go well, which they should, I will end up with a 4.0. I got a 4.0 last semester too, so to get another one this semester is pretty cool. Okay, *end of bragging*

Well, it’s time for me to hit the sack. I have a big day tomorrow. Working out, working, then cleaning a house. I love making money Almost as much as working out….now I just need to find a way how I can make money through working out. Dare to dream!

Nighty night!

Comments (6)

By Liz, November 20, 2009 10:07 am

Good Morning! Today is Friday, as most of you probably already know. However, this isn’t just any Friday…no…today I am leaving for my State Cross Country meet. I have to admit, I haven’t given the actual race a lot of thought. I’ve been thinking about how excited I am to be going, I’ve been thinking about seeing my family afterwards (my grandma, aunt & uncle, mom & dad and Jacob are all coming to watch) and I’m looking forward to the rest and relaxation I will enjoy once the season is over. But aside from all that…now… it is time to focus, focus, focus. I truly want to run the best race of my life, and to do that I need to get my head in the game (or race ).

So that’s what’s going on in Liz’s world.

I did eat some breakfast this morning.

Apple Crisp Oats was on the menu this morning along with a mug of green tea. Just so you guys know, I have a mug of green tea almost every single morning. I just don’t usually photograph it or mention it. Just an fyi there.

Last night I made muffins for the team…

I decided to switch up my usual Super Powerfood muffins and make a few alterations.

Changes:

1c canned plain pumpkin instead of applesauce

omit zuchinni and apples

add 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice to dry ingredients

Other than those two changes the recipe is exactly the same. I had a nibble of one last night and I think they turned out pretty bomb.

I decided to just go all and make another batch of muffins, too.

I made some banana nut muffins from this recipe. Like usual I made some changes, too.

Changes:

Made muffins instead of bread (baked for 30 min at 350 oven)

Used 1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

And that’s that! I had a nibble of this one too and again…pretty darn delish! I think the team will be pleased.

Okay…so I still have to pack up for the race and only have an hour…so it’s go time!!

Adios guys!!

Comments (5)

By Liz, November 18, 2009 9:32 pm

Howdy.

So lately I have gotten obsessed with the show Glee (on Fox Wed at 9). I just happen to be watching it right now. It’s so  funny and the song and dance numbers are great. Love love love it!

Anywho, let’s get back to the food shall we?

Breakfast was pretty darn spectacular, but when are oats ever not spectacular?

Made my oats the same as this time. I also threw some oat squares in there, too…once I ate some oats off the top…hehe. That jar was practically overflowing!

I didn’t really get hungry for lunch until 1:30 and that was waaay too late to eat lunch before practice at 2:30. So, I snacked on my after practice snack turned lunch…

I call this “Larabar decontructed.” Just some dates, peanuts and dried cranberries.

It was my last hard workout of the season and of the year today. It was pretty darn easy…just some more short and fast speedwork. 2×200m (39 sec each), 400m (1:21 min) and a 200m (39 sec). Super fast and pretty fun. I warmed up and cooled down total of 2.5 miles…so I ran almost 3.5 miles today.

After practice snack today was what I was supposed to have for lunch…leftover beef stew that Jacob made yesterday…and I totally forgot the whole picture thing. Oops!

After snacking on stew, I was soo tired. So, I decided to rest my eyes “for just a minute.” Well, that minute turned into 3 hours! It was around 8 when I woke up and dinner had to be quick and easy.

Omelets to the rescue! I did a 2 egg omelet with cheddar and spinach and I thawed out and toasted a leftover waffle from Sunday’s breakfast plus 1/2 and orange on the side for vitamin C action.

And you can’t forget the chocolate…

Someone*cough* Jacob *cough* finished my Hazelnut & Currant chocolate bar…so it was time to crack open the 85% dark chocolate. This is truly my favorite chocolate ever…ever.

I’m feeling pretty darn out of it right now. I hate it when I wake up from a nap and just feel all groggy and worthless. Eh, I have a test to study for, too. After Glee though.

Have a good Wednesday night. Next time you hear from me I’ll be heading to State meet! Can’t wait!

Comments (5)

By Liz, November 14, 2009 4:37 pm

Hey guys! Happy weekend to y’all that have it off. As usual, I am working but…I have tomorrow off. That is my first day off from everything in 3 weeks. I’m pretty stoked!

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, was actually neither a lucky or unlucky day; just run of the mill.

I just wasn’t feeling cardio at the gym and had already hit my running mileage for the week, so I started my day with 1 hour and 10 minutes of yoga ala Rodney Yee. My fave video of his is Power Yoga: Total Body, which is the video I did yesterday morning. I broke a good sweat and felt all loose and stretchy afterwards. Totally what I needed!

Breakfast was extremely amazing yesterday.I made pumpkin oats.

Cooked in the pot: 1/2 cup oats, 1/2c. milk, 1/2c. water, 1/2 a banana

Mixed in after cooking: 1/2c. canned pumpkin, 2-3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Toppings: peanut butter, pumpkin butter, chopped walnuts, Barbara’s shredded oats cereal

Apple crisp oats mooove over, there’s a new oat bowl in town. This is now my new oat addiction, for the time being.

Yesterday was actually really low-key at work and in the afternoon. Jacob and I went grocery shopping. I picked up my Project Feed Me items from last week and for this week.I got both crunchy AND creamy peanut butter, and some Betty Crocker Beef Stroganoff boxed meals. My bag full of PFM foods is getting pretty full. I can’t wait to drop off a huge bag(s) of food to the food bank when PFM is over!

Dinner last night was suuuuper tasty. I made paninis (aka fancy grilled cheese sammies )

That there is 2 slices of ezekiel bread, buttered, stuffed with brie cheese, apple slices, turkey and dried cranberries, subsequently grilled on the Foreman. Yum!

I got my veggies in with a small side salad of spring mix greens, radishes and broccoli with some Tuscan Style dressing from TJs. A nice glass of wine accompanied dinner, too. (For all you TJs shoppers, check out the new Charles Shaw, aka two buck chuck, called Nouveau. I guess it’s only around during the holidays and for 2 bucks it is one of the best cheap red wines I have ever had!)

After dinner, I hung out with all the roomies. Sometimes we are all just doing our own thing and don’t get a chance to sit down together and hang out, so last night was a real sweet treat to spend some quality time with the peeps I share a home with.

*****************

Welcome to Saturday! How was the trip from Friday? Good, I hope!

Jacob made me breakfast in bed this morning. What a guy! He didn’t make no ho-hum breakfast either. He made me 3 utterly delicious slices of french toast (using ezekiel bread). I had that slice x3. YUM! Sadly, before I knew it, it was time to get ready for work. High ho, high ho it’s off to work I go….

Lunch…A light salad, just some greens, veggies, chicken and Tuscan dressing.

Grapefruit…Yumminess…And yes, I totally licked both the container and the spoon clean. No peanut butter left behind

Well, in t-minus 30 minutes I will be off work, rushing home to prep dinner for my parents. I’m going over to their house tonight, making them pizza and cookies, while they help me fill out my application for hopefully transferring to Humboldt State. Kinda exciting!

Catch you on the flip side (Boondock Saints anyone?)…

Oh, by the way, I apologize for the icky line running through all my pictures. My camera is to blame, and I have no idea why it’s fudging up like this. Hopefully, I will get a full refund or a new camera soon! But in the meantime, just try to imagine that line is not there.

Comments (8)

By Liz, November 1, 2009 8:46 pm

I’m all in the holiday spirit over here! The beginning of November is like the gateway to the holiday season. I can’t wait till Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years, then my birthday! And they’ll all be here before I know it. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s recap this day, November 1st.

Actually, I want to recap the cookies I made last night first…

These were truly the best cookies I have made…ever! I switched my usual recipe up a little. I also used chocolate chips and some Halloween treats (reeses and snickers). Here’s the recipe:

The Best Cookies Liz Ever Made

• 6 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2c. brown sugar
• 1/4c. regular granulated white sugar
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2c. chocolate chips
• 3 reeses cups
• 5 mini snickers

Directions:Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. Melt butter in medium sized bowl. Stir in vanilla, sugars, egg and salt. The add half the flour and baking soda. Stir in candies and chocolate chips. Finish by adding the last cup of flour. Combine until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Drop onto greased pan in large spoonful (2-3 tbsp). Bake for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Just to re-iterate again, these cookies were amazing. They weren’t exactly healthy, but they were delicious…and sometimes delicious things don’t need to be healthy. I enjoyed them and savored every bite of my cookies.

Okay, now to today….

I woke up and went right on my long run. It was my last long run of this cross country season. I ran 8.5 miles in 1hr 22 min. I was proud because I ran my typical route around town a good 5 minutes faster than usual. Maybe it was all the cookies and candy . I felt great!

I wanted a super super healthy breakfast after my indulgences last night (I had a fair share of candy, in the upwards of 10 pieces!). So what better than a green monster to start my day?

Plus a slice of ezekiel toast with butter for something solid.

I worked for 4 hours today. Lunch was leftover chili and strawberries for dessert. I think you guys have seen enough pictures of chili, so I won’t bore you with that.

I had an extremely stupendous snack after work though, that is very noteworthy.

I used Tay’s idea for custard oats. I didn’t follow her recipe exactly. Here’s what I did: Cooked 1/2c. oats, 1 cup water and one egg on stovetop. Topped with cinnamon, brown sugar and 1 tbsp. of peanut butter. I am going to make these a regular appearance on here. The egg made the texture of oats so thick and custardy. Totally delish! I love the fact that the egg adds more staying power also.

Jacob and I went grocery shopping after my snackie. We loaded up on all the essentials plus a few fun things. Oh, and I didn’t forget my Project Feed Me items for last week…

I chillaxed with a glass of beer for a bit…

Then I made dinner…

I tried out a new soup recipe, black bean soup from Rachael Ray. This was supposed to be a thicker “stoup”, but it came out pretty thin. It was spicy just to the point of perfection for my tastebuds. I really liked it. I accompanied my soup with a grilled cheese sandwich made with 2 slices of ezekiet bread and pepperjack cheese.

All together:

I had the last of my jug o’beer with dinner too. This was pure comfort food at it’s best.

Dessert was a coconut bar and 3 mini Halloween candies.

I’m watching Saw right now with Jacob and Justin (one of my roomies). They’re getting drunk on sake because Justin’s truck broke down, so he’s drowing out his sorrows with alcohol…haha, I’m refraining…early morning workouts and hangovers don’t mix well.

Have a good night y’all!