Healthy Living Survey

Found this survey a few days on Tina’s blog.  Looked interesting and I was searching for something to do tonight to relax before hanging up my fun shoes and slipping into my work ones for the week.  Darn Sunday nights…

1. What did you eat for breakfast?

I tried some new pancakes this morning.  I found the recipe somewhere but I didn’t write it down because it was the simplest thing ever.  Two ingredients: banana and two eggs.  My banana was kind of small so I did one whole egg and one egg white.  In retrospect I probably could have used only the one egg.  I also added some cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.

So the pancakes turned out thin.  Not really my style.  I like my pancakes thick and fluffy.  Also, because they only had egg and banana going on, they tasted kind of like awkwardly scrambled eggs.  And the didn’t cook fast enough to flip without the bottoms being a bit burned.  Oh well.  The almond butter and maple syrup kind of helped.

2. How much water do you drink a day?

I drink at least 60 ounces a day, if not 80.  Fairly sure I read somewhere that you should shoot for half your body weight in water.  Well, I’ve got that covered.  A few of these big guys and I’m done.

3. What is your current favorite workout?

I don’t know that I really have a favorite workout.  I have workouts that I do but nothing that super calls to me, you know?  At this point I’m in the middle of Stage 5 of New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROLFW) and I guess the body weight matrix at the end of each 5A workout is pretty cool.  You do a full set, then rest, then do another full set.  I think I like it because even though it makes my legs feel like jelly, I am shaving seconds off and that feels pretty awesome.

4. How many calories do you eat a day?

Right now I’m shooting for 1500 a day.  I’d like to lose some weight before graduation and this seems to be working right now.  A pound of week is the plan.  When I’m not eating to lose eight I suppose my intake is around 1900-2000 some.  (Admittedly that sounds pretty scary right now.  Makes me nervous that I’d just gain weight as fast as you know when eating all that.  Also, some days it takes a lot just to get me to eat close to 1500.  What would I do with another 400-500 calories?)

5. What are your favorite healthy snacks?

Sweet potatoes with sunbutter.  Carrots with peanut butter and/or barbeque sauce.  String cheese and apples.

6. What do you usually eat for lunch?

Gosh, that really depends.  I love leftovers, hot ones.  Mostly that’s because my clinic site right now is incredibly cold, like all the time.  I also have been known to do salads a bunch while at school.  Or sandwiches…like today’s sunbutter and banana one!

7. What is your favorite body part to strength train?

Hmmm.  That’s a good one.  If I want to feel real strong, I’ll do my legs.  If I want to feel challenged (and subsequently proud of progress), I’ll take my shoulders.  YTWLs are killer.

8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train?

Hm, off the top of my head, nothing.  But I’m also sure that I probably haven’t done enough lifting to find an exercise that I really don’t like.  Come to think of it though, I suppose I really don’t like step ups.

9. What are your “bad” food cravings?

All the “normal” stuff: cake, cookies, frosting (straight from the jar), marshmallow fluff, Ben & Jerry’s…

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?

I do.  Actually quite a few.  I take a multi; vitamins C, D, and B complex; extra virgin fish oil; zinc; potassium citrate (for my kidneys!); iodine; and one to promote healthy estrogen metabolism by the liver.  The kicker: I down them all in one gulp.  That’s how I’ve always done it.

11. How often do you eat out?

That really depends.  Lately, I haven’t been going out too much because I’ve been doing a ton of stuff for clinic and school.  However, a little over a week ago Jack and I went for froyo and just yesterday Jess and I went for lunch.  So I guess it’s probably close to once a week if you average stuff out, maybe less frequently this semester.

12. Do you eat fast food?

Not unless froyo counts as fast food!

13. Who is your biggest supporter?

I’m happy to say I don’t just have one.  I have plenty.  To name a few: my parents, Jack, my best friend Joshua.  They are all incredible and I couldn’t do half the stuff I do without them!

14. Do you have a gym membership?

No gym membership, just a fitness center at my apartment complex.  I have been really happy with that decision.  I think I’ll definitely put a complex gym on my must-have list for my next place.

15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

I am an eight hours a night kind of lady.  I seriously don’t function on less than seven but eight really leaves me feeling satisfied and capable of doing my early morning workouts.  Thanks to my iHome, I even have the stats to prove that beautiful eight hour record.

16. Do you have a “cheat” day?

I don’t know that I would call them that.  It sounds so illicit. I know that I have days where I might eat more than my 1500 but I still try and stay within the amount of calories I’m allotted for the week (1500 x 7).  Part of that is out of fear of gaining weight, part of that is out of fear of losing control, and probably part is because I’m afraid of blowing all of my progress.  Its hard sometimes because I seriously love food (obviously if you’ve been around this blog for any length of time you get that) and being anxious about it on those days that I eat more than I typically do is really annoying and discouraging.  Some day I hope to be free of that anxiety, somehow.

17. Do you drink alcohol?

Sure.  I love wine and an occasional beer (like the bourbon one from a cool Tavern across town).  Amaretto is great and 43 is seriously some of the best stuff on the planet.  For as much as that sounds like, I have maybe a three drinks a month.  Except when I’m home, then it is a glass of wine every night with dinner.  =D

18. Do you have a workout buddy?

No workout buddy most days.  Not many people around this apartment complex brave the 5:45am cold gym.  I have been known to work out with Jack when we’re together, one of my classmates when we were at the national conference together, Joshua when he’s around, and even my momma (we do pilates together at her normal studio).

19. What is the best thing that has changed your life since coming to a healthy lifestyle?

Gosh, I don’t really know how to answer that question.  I suppose becoming the most fit I have ever been would be the best thing.  I played sports in high school and such but I have never had this much muscle on me or worked out this often, this consistently.  I like that sense of dedication, that commitment, that control.  I dare say that spreads throughout other parts of my life.

20. What was the last healthy thing you did?

In the grand scheme of things, I’d say that last healthy thing I did was decided to regain control of my eating habits after the past few months of craziness and holidays.  If we’re talking something a bit more acute, I’d say making myself a pretty balanced three bowl dinner was pretty healthy.  One bowl for salad: spinach, lemon pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.  One bowl for mashed sweet potato with cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of Stevia and salt.  One bowl for leftover chana masala. 

{Splurges}

I was going through my Google Reader this evening and I came across Healthy Diva’s post from earlier today and I thought I was go with it.  It’s all about splurge-worthy things based on this article here.  The original listed the following seven things as those you should spend your money on:

1. Kitchen renovation – I would like to never have to renovate at all by just nipping this in the bud and designing my perfect kitchen from the start…but I guess that’s a splurge in and of itself.
2. Apple stock – Haha, right. I’m kind of a PC girl but I do have an iTouch that I love.
3. Non stop flight – Connecting flights aren’t awful but there is totally something to be said for getting on and getting off once each.  I will say though that if paying less for the flight (aka it’s not direct) means I get an extra day in paradise, or where ever the destination, I’m okay with that.
4. Digital SLR camera – Oh this would be cool!
5. American Express premier rewards gold card – I’m actually pretty content with my credit card, thank you.
6. Cartier watch – No thanks, I am very happy with my beautiful Bulova big-girl watch.
7. Prix Fixe Fine Dining –  Fancy food? Heck yes, please count me in, eight times over.

Now, here are seven things I think are worth my money…if I had any to actually splurge with.

1. Kitchen supplies – I really want a Kitchenaid stand mixer and some other cool gadgets.  Basically, my mother has to keep telling me not to buy these things for myself because I  won’t have anything to put on my wedding registry.
2. Food – Whether this is another dinner out at BRU, a package of Gardenburgers for my freezer, or an afternoon froyo run with my classmates or city friends, I would love to have enough money to not worry about going out or buying exactly what I want at the store.
3. Vacations – Jack and I went to Jamaica for New Years between 2010 and 2011.  It was incredible and we had a wonderful time.  We were so rejuvenated by the end.  And I’m not even saying the vacation needs to be long and tropical, it can literally just be hanging out with my parents or my family or Jack’s family for some time away from school and stuff.  Days off are priceless.
4. Clinic clothes – When you’re seeing patients daily and you have to look all nice and put together, having nice clothes that you feel comfortable in are a must have.  I totally want to expand my wardrobe so I have more options.
5. Massages – I get these in conjunction with my chiropractor appointments and I could not be happier about it.  It’s awesome to get a good loosening after all the workouts and backpack carrying.  I feel like a different woman when I wake up at the end of my 60 minutes.
6. Genetic counseling board exam – Yes, this is a splurge. It’s literally >$1300 to take it once. That’s right, once. And you could potentially fail it and have to take it again. We students need to pass it to practice after graduation so for me it’s a splurge, a necessary splurge, because I can’t be what I want to be without kicking its butt!
7. Health insurance – I know this seems boring but given my horrible kidney issues I can’t take chances.  I would feel so much better knowing I’m covered and that I’m not going to have to maybe put my health on the backburner because of money.  No one should have to make that kind of decision.  (P.S. While I say I would splurge on this, I confess that being on my parent’s health insurance right now is a TOTAL Godsend. Thanks mom and dad.)

So, after reading the article and my picks, what are your splurge-worthy picks??  What in your life would you gladly spend your hard earned money on?  Speaking of hard earned money though, today I baked for the family I work for.  It was 90 degrees outside and I had two ovens going as I made a quadruple, yes X4, batch of chocolate chip cookies, a double batch of pinwheel cookie dough to chill, a double batch of cheese nips made with goat’s milk cheddar, and finally a double batch of Udi’s copycat gluten-free bread.  I was on a roll…and I was really warm.  I must say though, it’s a really fun gig I was super lucky to get.  I enjoy it and the family is just too cute and sweet and polite for words.  The little boy that I make all the baked goods for thanked me twice today.  How adorable!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After a whirlwind weekend of housewarming parties, giant, powerful, moving 3000+ people Episcopal eucharists (essentially the largest on the world that only occurs once every three years),

BRU Burger Bar dinners with visiting classmates,

crazy calorie-burning Insanity workouts,

and boyfriend made Sunday morning pancakes,

I’m off to bed for the night.  Some nice long hours of sleep will be appreciated for sure.  Sleep tight group and we’ll catch each other after the work week kicks off.  G’night!

Questions: What’s your go-to weekend breakfast food?
What’s the largest church service you have ever attended?

Foodie Penpal Reveal

The day is finally here!  It’s time to check out the goodness I received as a result of being part of the Foodie Penpal program.  I was one lucky lady, if I do say so myself!

While I sent a box of goodies to Gerry at Foodness Gracious, my penpal was a fellow blogger named Dany over at Dany Gets Fit.  She is such a doll and really listened to my requests.  Actually, I didn’t really even have to make requests because Dany was so on top of everything. She asked me all sorts of questions and was incredibly enthusiastic.  A real joy, I tell you.  Anyways, I received my package in mid April and I was so pumped.

I sliced open the top and look at the peanut and fruit extravaganza I encountered!

I first pulled out two boxes of fruit leathers: blueberry and pomegranate.  These will be awesome for quick snacks at school, so much so that I’m actually thinking about stashing these above my desk for later afternoon tummy rumbles.

I next grabbed the peanutty bar from Annie’s and again, I’m thinking these may go to school with me for those long medical report writing sessions that need a boost.  Next up and perhaps the most exciting was the huge tub of peanut butter with flax seed.  After I took the flax seed plunge earlier this month, I was incredibly happy to see this in the box.  I rarely buy “specialty” nut butters because they’re more expensive than regular/natural JIF so it’s a lovely treat to have something different.

Ironically I had just opened another big jar of my normal peanut butter the day before my box came.  With that open alongside jars of cookie butter, Nutella, and walnut butter I decided to make myself wait for a bit before cracking this flax delight open.  It’s going to take some willpower!

I wasn’t done yet though!  There were two other nut butter packets hiding in the pink and orange Easter grass.  I have heard stellar things about Justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter (even that it has Nutella beat!) so I cannot wait to get that in my belly!  You can’t go wrong with honey peanut butter either.  It’s delightfully rich.

In short, this was a jackpot box.  I’m so glad I participated.  I will say it was a bit on the expensive side what with buying all the food and then mailing it so I’m not sure that I can do it every month but it’s a cool thing to do maybe three or four times a year.  I think it’s a neat way to get some fun stuff I would not otherwise buy.  Plus, who doesn’t love getting a big box of food?  It’s like a random present for no reason at all!

So if the above was enough to whet your appetite, let me tell you a bit about the Foodie Penpals program put on by Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean so you can see if it is something you want to do.  Here we go: It is open to both bloggers and readers.  People get matched up with another participant at the beginning of the month (the 5th) and then are responsible for getting in touch with their penpal and figuring out what they like.  Then comes the shopping.  There is $15 limit on goodies and they can be store bought or homemade.  Each box that you send must include something written like a note, a recipe, etc.  Everyone agrees to send their boxes by the middle of the month, the 15th to be exact, and then you write a reveal blog post to be put up on the 30th of the month.  It’s that simple.

Questions: What was your favorite part of my box?
Does Foodie Penpals sound like something you would want to be a part of?

B to the R to the U

I had a lovely Friday today.  It started off with a bowl of banana pecan coconut oatmeal bakes all torn up (to ensure maximal distribution of heat while microwaving) and topped with peanut butter maple glaze and flax seed.

This lovely breakfast kept me full through 8am class where we talked about recurrence risk and those factors that influence it like incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity.  It was an interesting discussion and a bit low pressure because we knew a bunch of it already.  The discussion then moved to 22q11.2 deletion syndrome which is also called velocardiofacial syndrome or DiGeorge syndrome.

After clinic I was getting a bit hungry since it was around 11a and I hadn’t eaten since 7:30a earlier in the day.  I snacked on devoured homemade guacamole, grapes, sharp cheddar cheese, crackers, and dried papaya.  I also had some carrots and taco dip.  The star of the late morning snackage though was definitely one of the doctor’s incredible two layer cheesecake with a coconut graham crust.  I had one piece of that bad boy and had to walk my butt back to the student room before I demolished the entire thing.

Back at the student room I was incredibly productive!  I got my faxing done of checkout forms and test results.  I got my reports written and edited.  I also got a super duper start on my project proposal due in May.  I headed back to my apartment with the prospect of dinner at BRU with Mary and family on the horizon.  At home I hopped on the treadmill and did 3.25 miles.  It felt really good to run especially after yesterday’s workout craziness.  I did 15 minutes of abs (1/2 a Jillian Michaels workout) followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical and a kick butt round of weights.

Basically I did a threesome of lower, upper, and abs followed by a 15 sec cardio interval working my way through the whole post it.  Took me about fifteen minutes and I felt sufficiently worked.  However, that meant that pretty much all I was up for was a run today.  Thankfully it was a good one and fairly pain free.  When I got off the treadmill I quickly showered and got dressed to meet Mary.

We walked to BRU (obviously one of my favorite places to eat as you can tell by this post and this one and a third time here!) and met her mom and dad.  We wasted no time getting waters for the table and a plate of chicken bites with chipotle BBQ for an appetizer to share.

I was really pleased with the chipotle flavor and the light crispiness of the bites.  I ordered the BRU burger, which I had the first time I ever went, with the house made veggie patty instead of the beef.  That decision wasn’t really based on a vegetarian kick or anything because there was still bacon on the burger and I had already had chicken.  It was really a flavor thing.  I really like the combo on mushroom and chick peas plus it’s lighter than a beef patty.  I got onion rings on the side because let’s face it, they’re delicious.

In the long run though I think I would have liked Mary’s idea better: get a small salad to go with the burger.  She got a salad with bacon, tomato, guacamole, egg, red onion, cucumber, croutons, and gorgonzola.  I admit I was eyeing it from across the table.  =D  When our cleaned plates were cleared we ordered a white chocolate peach bread pudding for the table.

It was really yummy except for the fact that the nuts on top had allspice and cayenne on them and I wasn’t aware so when I got a big mouthful of them it hit the back of my throat hard and I kind of coughed a bit.  We ate around the nuts from then on.  Believe me, we didn’t miss them what with ice cream and cobbler and all.  In the end the whole dinner was wonderful and the food was surpassed only by the conversation.  I enjoyed the entire thing and it was a great way to end my week.  When I got back home I spent the evening doing more work on my project proposal.

In the midst of everything, I came across a crazy sentence I wrote during apparently a “spacey” moment at school today.

What was I doing??  That was totally supposed to read survey “distribution”…  Oh well, easy fix, but it really made me laugh.  In addition to my proposal I also finished my psychosocial case assessment due on Wednesday.  Now that that is done I can officially put all my energy toward studying for the Cytogenetics exam on Thursday. Well, after I hang out at Thunder Over Louisville tomorrow.  After all, a girl needs a break right?

On some cute final notes, I received an adorable piece of mail from my mom the other day.  It held two pages of all things orange.  Mom say it in a magazine and thought of me so she sent it my way.  It made me smile.

Also, guess what came on Wednesday!!!  My Foodie Penpal box.  Now I can’t show you what’s in it yet but I figured I would start building the anticipation.  Believe me, it’s got some great stuff inside.

Finally, before bed, let’s do some foreign language shall we?

Friday French –>

NEW ONEPhrase: Qu'est-ce que vous obtenez sur votre test?
Translation: What did you get on your test?
Story: This sort of statement is certainly good to know around finals time, right?  Also, it’s just a nice question to be able to ask.  I think it shows interest in peoples’ lives and it demonstrates that you remember their schedule and trials.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all she wrote.  I’m off to bed so that tomorrow I’ll be up and at ‘em to hang out with friends at Thunder.  It’s about to be a fun day!  I’m really looking forward to the biggest fireworks show on the planet.  Have a lovely weekend group.  Can you believe it is already almost the end of April?!?

Questions: What are your weekend plans?
Do you ever sub in veggie patties for beef ones at a restaurant?

The Hunger Monster

What a Friday!

I counseled for real, with visual aids and everything.

I whipped up some scrumptious cookies (which I can’t share yet because they’re on their way to Gerry over at Foodness Gracious as part of Foodie Penpals!!) and made my whole apartment smell delicious.

The day started with a German chocolate shake based on this recipe.  I was more than hungry for it by the time I started sipping but sadly it was more icy than creamy.  However, the flavor was pretty spot on.  Still, I don’t think it was really want I was wanting.  It filled me up but left me slightly underwhelmed.

Whoops, it would seem I spilled…

Thankfully my experience counseling this morning made up for my breakfast.  I felt so cool being the one “in charge”, the one with the answers.  Of course, I didn’t have the answer to the most important question: Why?  No one has that answer and that is always a tough one.  It’s pretty rough too to have to tell a parent that there is this extra DNA but not be able to tell them exactly what it’s going to do, what it actually means.

Learning about holoprosencephaly (a brain defect produced when the forebrain fails to differentiate into its proper lobes) and subsequent hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) took up the rest of my morning and when I got back to the student room I was starved so I busted out a cinnamon raisin English muffin and slathered it in Nutella after toasting it.  I also had an apple on the side.

In retrospect I should have had peanut butter instead of Nutella because I desperately needed more protein for lunch.  Not that the Nutella wasn’t great, it was, but I really needed staying power.  Not two hours later I was super hungry again so I had some string cheese that I found in the student room fridge from when I brought it a couple days ago.  I didn’t snap a picture because I was in a hurry to get to post-clinic conference.  After catching the shuttle home I was again famished so I had a random bowl of wheat puffs with almond milk and a date stuffed with walnut butter.

These snacks kept me going through my internet perusing and eventual workout.  I did 18 minutes on the elliptical followed by 20 minutes on the upright stationary bike.  I came back to the apartment sweaty and did half a Jillian Michaels workout while the oven was preheating.  I had already kneaded some pizza dough so by the time I finished crunching it out the dough was all ready to go.  I pressed it out; slathered it in BBQ sauce, onion chunks, TVP reconstituted with soy sauce/Worchestershire sauce/liquid smoke, Mexican cheese, and southwestern ranch dressing.

Being honest, I ate this cheesy goodness on the floor while watching episodes of One Tree Hill on Netflix.  It was a great dinner.  While I had been waiting on the pizza to cook I had nibbled on six or seven asparagus spears leftover from Easter lunch this past weekend.  Yummy!

The rest of my evening was spent doing laundry in the basement, watching more OTH, and baking up deliciousness.  Fairly sure I consumed at least a cookie’s worth of dough…maybe more.  *tehe*  Great night though now I’m tired and I’m going to hit the sheets so I can wake up, work out, and then go to brunch with a friend.  Sounds like fun to me!  Oh, and look what came in the mail today!  I love save-the-dates!

Friday French –>

NEW ONESPhrase: Qu'avez-vous fait aujourd'hui?Translation: What did you do today?
Story: It’s kind of silly that I didn’t learn this one sooner, right?  I feel like this is a pretty well used phrase when catching up with Jack via text or g-chat after a long day.  Might as well use another language to spice up the normal right?

Questions: Do you like asparagus better hot or cold?
How many save-the-dates do you already have on your fridge?

Chia Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Here it is ladies and gentlemen: my Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap post!

Let’s start with the other wonderful goodies I got from three lovely ladies across the country, shall we?  First dozen I received was from Krissy over at Krissy’s Creations.  She made some scrumptious Black Forest Chocolate Cocoa Crinkles.  She also gets extra points for super cute wrapping! =D

The next batch was from Hilary at Baking Bad.  She included appropriately themed Reindeer Crunch Cookies.  They were really tasty.

My final 12 cookies arrived from Bunny and Madison at The Dessert Pocket.  They sent me a dozen Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies.  I was awfully excited when I took a bite out of my first one and found an awesome peanut butter center.

I loved all the cookies I received.
Thanks ladies!
You are all wonderful.

Now, for my contribution to this wonderful bake fest I decided to create my own recipe.  On the day I decided to do this I was really feeling cookie bars so I came up with a chocolate chip cookie bar recipe with a healthy twist: chia gel in place of any butter, oil, or other baking fat.  Check out the recipe –>

Chia Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
A DNA and Dessert original recipe.

A delectable cookie bar with a healthy punch from chia seeds.  Makes one 9x13 pan, about 40 two-bite bars.

Ingredients:
1 cup chia gel (1 cup water mixed thoroughly with 5 tsp chia seeds)
⅔ cup white sugar
⅔ cup brown sugar
4 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips

If you don’t have chia gel just lying around the fridge, combine the chia and water, shake/mix, and let sit for 30 minutes then proceed!

How to:
1. Combine the chia gel, sugars, egg whites, and vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add the dry mix to the wet slurry. Mix well.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Chill the dough for 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
7. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and coat lightly with cooking spray.
8. Pour batter into pan and evenly spread.
9. Bake for 20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes.
11. Using foil, lift the bars out of the pan and allow complete cooling before cutting into bar/square shaped pieces.
12. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

I ended up sending three dozen out to Carrie at Bakeaholic Mama, Courtney at Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life, and Jill at Home Sweet Hopkins.  I used vintage tins and then sent them through the USPS and I was actually told today that apparently the tin that arrived at one of the above blogger’s houses looked like it had been hit by a MAC truck but the cookie bars were fine on the inside.  Whew!

This event was really a cool thing to be a part of.  Not only did it spread holiday cheer but it made the country seem just a tad smaller, the food blogging community seem just a bit tighter, and my desserts a whole lot tastier!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!