Leap Day Tradition

I hope everyone had a great Leap Day! Chase and I laid in bed last night trying to decided what special things we would do for this non-existent day. We grabbed our Androids and Googled until we found something we could apply to us (there was a lot of kids games having to do with frogs…-_-) And then we found it, there is the Leap Day tradition of women proposing to men because since this day doesn’t exist, traditions don’t apply. Therefore we vowed to make our Leap Day untraditional!

I Enjoy{Hate} Being a Girl

Today I got kicked in the gut by a bully called menstruation! Seriously. All morning I was rushing to the restroom. It was not good and did not help me have a productive day at all!

For breakfast I had some Chobani 0% Greek yogurt mixed with canned pumpkin puree, the last of my homemade pumpkin butter, 1/3 cup Kashi Golean Crunch, ground flax, and some dried cherries.

It tasted delicious but now I have a huge can of pumpkin to use up before it goes bad!

An hour later I was really having a craving for real coffee. I always use one creamer and 1/2 sugar in plain drip coffee. It was perfect and kept me alert.

These two weren’t alert, however. They enjoyed a lazy day in their kitten tube. =P

I was feeling so ill I didn’t really feel like much for lunch. I had a bowl of Poor Girl Orange Soup and the last of my red grapes. Yes we really need to get some real grocery shopping done so today I spent quiet a bit of time going through ads, making lists, and looking for coupons. Chase and I are both looking forward to Thursday!

Around 5pm I was in need of something more substantial. We don’t have much “snack food” around so I decided to use a packet of Nature’s Path Optimum Cranberry Ginger Instant Oatmeal. It was hot and filling.

I quickly got the chills a bit after eating though, so I also made a hot cup of sugar-free cocoa with nutmeg. <3

At 7pm we decided it was time for dinner. I heated up some leftover tofu scramble, tossed in some golden grape tomatoes, and made some wheat toast with strawberry jam. I love breakfast foods.

After eating thought I was still unsatisfied. =/ So I made a small bowl of Chobani, blueberries, and Kashi. It was scrumptious but I hate not being connected to my hunger like I felt today.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day because I am so bored of “rest” days! I really wanted to stick to my workout plan but I could hardly sit for 15 minutes without rushing to the bathroom so I knew I wasn’t going to be about to be active for 30.

While I sat on my ass today I went through a lot of food blogs and pinned recipes I wish I could make someday. ~.^ Feel free to check out my Pinterest board!

And now because with a title like this I kind of have to:

One For the Girls

Yeah that’s right. I’m doing a whole post on this annoying little thing we all face or have once faced called menstruation. Why? Because I’m sick and tired of all these changes my body experiences every month! Plus I was a little bored and ended up doing a lot of research anyway so why not share. ^_^

This is going to be about what sort of foods we can eat  to make this time of the month just a little bit more bearable.

THE BEST FOODS TO EAT DURING MENSTRUATION

1. Foods High in Magnesium – Magnesium can help relieve the symptoms of bloating due to it’s role in assisting in normal muscle contraction. Ex. Halibut, cashews, artichokes, tofu, broccoli
2. Foods High in Manganese – It may decrease your menstrual flow. This effect may be related to manganese’s role in helping your blood clot. Ex. Wheat germ, buckwheat, beans, pineapple, bulgur
3. Foods High in Essential Fatty Acids – May be the key to avoiding menstrual cramps! Linolenic acid (Omega-3) relaxes uterine muscles and prevents contractions. Ex. fish, flax seed, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.
4. Foods High in Iron – Due to blood loss you need to replenish your red blood count to avoid anemia, a condition that can leave you lethargic, irritable, depressed and weak. Ex. Organ meats, red meat, fish, beans, molasses, dark leafy greens

While I did find information on what type of foods to avoid, I found they conflicted a lot. I think if one concentrates on what will help alleviate the problems one can ignore the ones that apparently deter us such as chocolate and dairy. I mean come on!

All and all, concentrate on eating healthy foods. Whole grains, lean proteins, vegetables, fruit, and healthy fats. Plain and simple.

Clearly, by looking what I’ve been eating, there’s no wonder I’m not having such a good time. I need to get my vegetables back!

What do you do to help yourself out during that time of the month?

I try not to stress myself out by being less strict on exercise and diet ideals. Sometimes you just need a day off!

Poor Girl

Sorry about the wordless post yesterday. To be honest, I just had a really bad day that I didn’t want to talk about. Due to this overly emotional and tiring day I ended up sleeping until noon today! When I finally got up, I knew I didn’t want anything sweet for breakfast due to an overdose of emotionally eaten cookies last night.

Luckily I’ve had this box of Tofu Scrambler since back in my vegan days! It’s just a spice and dehydrated vegetable mix so it was still good. To be honest, I was hoping it had bigger pieces of veggies in it since I don’t have any. Sadly it was basically ground up spices, and yes I prefer eggs to it.

I ended up having a tofu scramble sandwich with some cheddar cheese, ketchup, and grapes. It was yummy but I’m really not big on savory breakfasts.

After eating, I still felt very meh from yesterday so I crawled right back into bed. So what do you do to get yourself out of an emotional slump? Call your sister of course! One long phone call with my sister, Whitney, had me lacing up my shoes and hitting the gym. And boy did my 30 minute treadmill interval training feel good! I forget sometimes how much getting in a good hard sweat increases my mood.

Once I was all showered and ready for my day (around 2pm!) I snacked on some of my favorite trail mix. I really thought it was all I would need till dinner. Little did I know…

An hour or so later I really needed something more substantial and Chase got me craving PB&J toast with ground flax and banana. Yum yum!

Later we snacked on some low-fat popcorn too. I had some because my body still was craving salt but I wasn’t hungry.

Vinni really enjoyed hanging out with us today. We watched a lot of Mission Menu on Hulu and just tried to be okay with our lives. I did call the doctor’s office where I had my interview last week to see if they had made a decision but alas no dice yet.

For dinner I used up the only veggies we had left in the house. (Yes I’ve been trying to avoid them) In fact I used two ingredients I don’t really like: carrots and lentils! I present to you:

Poor Girl’s Orange Soup

• 4 cups Vegetable Broth
• 1 cup Orange Lentils
• 2 cups cut up Baby Carrots
• Spice with TJ’s 21 Spice Salute

It tasted surprisingly good! I am actually pretty proud of how well it turned out. ^_^ I ate a bowl with some Social Snackers and the last of our white cheddar cheese. (We did end up walking to the store and grabbing $4 worth of vegetables to get me by until Thursday (March))

While we were at the store, Chase bought some Drumsticks! Of course, he nicely gave me one and I devoured it. ^_^

I also ate another serving of TJ’s Nuts About Raspberries and Chocolate trail mix and a few unpictured Tootsie Rolls. I don’t know why but I got super super hungry tonight. Might be because my Poor Girl’s soup actually isn’t that filling or because my hunger level always changes around this time of the month (if you know what I mean..).

Have any good money-saving tips?

One good money-saving tip I have is to get it for free if you can! I try to do that by entering giveaways online! For example. Danica is hosting an Eggland’s Best Giveaway right now! Free eggs? Yes Please.

Wordless Sunday

Strength Training

Here’s to a better week <3

Soothing

I did it! I officially went an entire week completely nut-free! ^_^ So there, Chase. That being said I was very excited to incorporate nuts into my breakfast this  morning!

Chobani 0% Greek yogurt, a glob of banana peanut butter (finally done with this, really didn’t care for the brand), Kashi Golean Crunch, ground flax, TJ’s Nuts About Chocolate and Raspberries Trail Mix, and a banana! Yum yum yum.

I love nuts but I am now going to try and be nut-free every other day. It really makes me vary what I eat plus nuts are just so expensive!

After breakfast, thanks to Chase’s supportive “Get out of bed!” I headed to the fitness center to get in a 30 minute interval treadmill workout at 1.5 incline. I decided to push my strength training to tomorrow since I’ve already taken 2 days off. It was a hard workout but I left feeling energized and proud.

Around 1:30pm I was very ready for lunch. I ate the last of my BBQ sauce, pineapple, and onion Domino’s pizza with some mandarin oranges. Where’s the veggies? Well to be honest, I’m out. >.< I really need to get to the store!

The pizza didn’t quiet fill me up so I went with something I’ve been wanting for over a week! Yes, more Nuts About Chocolate and Raspberries trail mix! For the record, I really only like it on it’s own. It’s incredible flavor gets lost in both oats and yogurt.

Today I really didn’t do much. Mainly browsed the internet and continually smashed my face against the last level in my Buffy xBox game. >.< I am terrible at jumping and keep falling to my doom.

Eventually, I got so frustrated at it there was only one thing I wanted to do: bake. Baking always helps me release my frustrations. I find it very soothing!

Since we moved, I have not had any real flour or sugar in the house. Mainly because I don’t feel like I should waste money on it yet and because it’s actually been pretty good on my diet not to have sweets so easily available! I did have all the ingredients for this Gluten-Free White Chocolate Chip recipe though!

Sadly, they didn’t turn out so well because I used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour which the author of the recipe specifically says not to. Hey it’s all I have!

The cookies came out very runny, oily and fragile. I still managed to eat two though…and then felt very sick because damn white chocolate is sweet!

At 7:30pm I was feeling better and really needing some hearty food. We have very little in our fridge right now but I still managed to make a very filling meal. Whole wheat spaghetti noodles topped with spaghetti sauce made with leftover taco “meat”, canned sauce, and frozen veggies.  I ended up having more than pictured because there wasn’t enough left over worth saving so I added about another third to my bowl. >.< Too much!

While I’m writing this I’m watching A Taste of Asian on Hulu and man I want to go back to Japan! There are so many foods I didn’t get to try!

What do you do to calm yourself down?

Feeble

So…I think I may be coming down with something. Today, any time I was standing up I started to get a headache. When I wasn’t standing, my head just felt sore all over. =/ You know when you feel like your shaking with each beat of your heart? In other words, I was not well today.

I still rolled out of bed at 8:30am with my alarm, since my stomach was starving!

I really wanted something to warm me up so I went with a really simple oatmeal! My fun new trick: using tea water to cook the oats in! This one was made with Sugar Cooke Sleigh Ride tea so the oats had a nice “sugar cookie” taste to them! I really wanted to see how the flavor stood out so I kept my toppings simple as well with a banana and dried cherries.

Warmed and filled-up I slipped back in to bed…and was out like a light until 1pm!! O.O It’s accurate to say I didn’t think a workout was going to be fit in today.

Again, when I awoke, I was starving! I scarfed down two pieces of Domino’s pizza and some red grapes. I also finished this gigantic book, A Dance With Dragons today! Can’t wait for the next one in the series, but it better not take another 7 years to write!

While I read I did do some snacking today. For some reason I felt like my body really needed salt, so I devoured a lot of TJ’s Reduced Guilt tortilla chips. Noo clue why I keep buying this trigger food of mine. >.< I swear I’m done! I also had 1/2 a can of Vanilla Coke (I never drink soda!! I just really wanted to stay awake), and some Jelly Belly’s.

Due to this snacking I wasn’t hungry for dinner until after 8:30pm. This Thai food was even better the next day! I had it a top some brown rice and enjoyed every bite. The mushrooms were my favorite part!

Chase and I caught up on some of TV shows tonight, The Office, 30 Rock, and New girl. While we watched we finished off my mini Raspberries in Dark Chocolate Chocolove bar. Two squares each! Mmmm

I wasn’t chocolated out though so I also had a mug of sugar-free hot cocoa.

I really hope I’m feeling better tomorrow. I do intend to still get in my strength training workout!

How do you handle being sick?

Game Night

Woo, had a really fun eventful night last night so sorry that this post is a little late. Chase and I are trying to be social but this involves time and money!

Yesterday started with the very last of my Chobani 2% Greek yogurt, Kashi Golean Crunch, fresh blueberries, and honey. I kept it simple because I really wanted to savor the creaminess of the yogurt. I’m actually going to miss 2%!

Oh, did I mention my headache got really really bad the night before? So bad, the pain kept me up until Chase begged me to take some ibuprofen. =/ I hate taking pills. I’m glad I did though or I would never have gotten to sleep.

When I awoke I did feel a lot better, but the outside of my head still felt a little sore. I was still worried I may be getting sick or that this was a sign my body needed some downtime so I decided to take it easy and skip my workout.

Lunch was had in pieces, and started with me munching on these Tia Zesty Ranch chips. They don’t taste exactly like Doritos but they are a nice natural alternative. It’s nice that nothing tastes artificial.

My main course was two slices of Domino’s pizza and a Caesar salad with shaved parmesan. <3

For dessert, Chase and I shared these red grapes.

At 4pm, Chase and I braved the Downtown Seattle traffic and went and visited Chase’s old friends Andrew and Mia. They leave right in the heart of downtown! We were a little jealous of how many different things they have around them, but Kirkland just makes more sense for me to get to school.

When we arrived we headed out to a fancy grocery store and got some candy. I got this British candy bar called a Crunchie which was honeycomb covered in milk chocolate. I shared it with Chase but I ate most of it. It actually did help me feel better. ~.^

At 6pm, we walked to Tup Tim Thai for some tofu! I have been really craving some fried tofu lately. I know I could learn to make it at home, but I keep it restaurant only for a reason. Reason: I would eat it way too often!!

I ended up getting sautéed fried tofu with fresh basil, chili and garlic sauce. To be honest, I wasn’t too hungry so I just ate this very small portion pictured with white rice and a glass of their house red wine. The wine was surprisingly good!

The tofu was alright, not the fried “General Tao”  like tofu I was looking for but still very tasty. Chase thought his garlic chicken was just okay as well and none of the food came out at the same time. However, the most memorable thing about this place was our server, Nat. I think he may be the owner since he’s on lots of pictures on the wall, but he was a great server! Very funny and liked to do tricks.

Fed, we headed to the main event of the evening:

Thursday All-You-Can-Play Night at Gameworks! From 7pm-1am, you have unlimited play for only $10! Yes, we went to a giant arcade and played for 5 hours.

There was a bit of Dance Dance Revolution (dancing game on mats).

We also saved L.A. from terrorists with our trust machine guns. (This is my don’t mess with me look…)

And of course there were fighting games (which I am terrible at). It was a fun to be somewhere other than our apartment and doing something with Chase that he loves to do. Me? I get kind of bored at arcades. >.< They just don’t hold my interest for too long but I still had a great time last night.

On the drive home around 11:30pm, I was so hungry I chowed down on a white chocolate dipped orange biscotti I bought earlier. I should have just turned on the light and taken a picture but I really didn’t want to distract Chase from the road! I shared a few bites with Chase, but this delicious and much waited for baked good was mine!

Anyway, back to the daily grind. See you tonight!

What do you think of arcades?

Depleted

Today was a rough day. No, I hardly did anything but the entire day my body just felt so depleted of energy I could hardly keep my eyes open. =/ I’ve been feeling this a lot lately. I’ve had a headache the entire time too. I’ve been downing water, but nothings been helping.

I woke up and hazily went about putting breakfast together. Half Nature’s Path Acai Apple granola half Kashi Golean Crunch, flax, blueberries, and banana. It was really refreshing and I didn’t quiet feel like crap yet.

And just to give you all a snapshot of what goes on while I eat: Ophelia and Vincent sit smooshed together in the window by my desk, watching, and waiting in anticipation of getting to lick the bowl when I’m done.

Even feeling a little funky, I still managed to get in a really hardcore, sweaty 30 minute interval treadmill workout. In a moment of determination (or stupidity) I decided to increase the incline from 1 to 3. I only lasted half the workout at that though. It was just so hard I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish so I brought it down to 1.5. I left feeling completely beat.

Lunch didn’t really didn’t energize me either. I made yet another taco salad with romaine lettuce, “meat”, olives, TJ’s Papaya Mango Salsa, and a dollop of Chobani Plain 2% as a healthier sour cream. On the side I had more tortilla chips and a half cup of Chobani with fresh blueberries and honey.

To be honest, I hated the salad. I am so tired of this taco “meat”. It’s just not tasting any good! I tried to eat most of it but ended up tossing about half. I ate the sides with pleasure though. I am really digging Chobani right now!

Chase was gone the entire day at a training-session for a prospective job, so the babies and I spent most of the day like this:

It was actually really hard. I had to actively keep myself awake. My eyelids would just start dropping and I’d loose track of where I was on the page. =(

Eventually I tried an afternoon snack to awaken me. A little skim milk, Kashi Golean, and blueberries. <3 It was delicious, but it hardly did the trick.

I gave up trying to read, crawled into bed, and watched mindless TV like D.C. Cupcakes. Terrible, contrived “reality” show about a cupcake business. Don’t bother watching it.

Around 5:30pm I decided to give fresh air a try and went on a walk to hopefully meet Chase on his walk home. Well lucky me, I did, right past the Trader Joe’s, and we made it back home before it started to rain!

He was pretty beat and I was so weary we agreed that we could afford cheap and fast Domino’s delivery. It arrived only 15 minutes after ordering!

Dinner: Caesar salad with shaved parmesan, two slices BBQ sauce/pineapple/onion pizza, and 5 of these little Parmesan Bites. They are like mini round breadsticks. I know they are terrible for you, but they tasted damn good! Our pizza smorgasbord hit the spot.

After eating we got a little goofy while watching Law and Order.

Chase got this Valentine’s card from his mum and we decided Ophelia would look just like it if she just smiled instead of having her sad lovesick eyes. We tried to get her to give us a smile, but she ended up just looking pissed.

There! All better.

What do you do to re-energize yourself?

Productive

Ever have one of those days where you just feel really good about everything you’ve done? No regrets? I hope so! Because they feel great!

My day started out with an awesome bowl of 2% Chobani Greek yogurt, Kashi Golean Crunch, ground flax, wheatberries, dried cherries, and a spoonful of homemade pumpkin butter. Holy yum! My pumpkin butter is almost gone but I am definitely making it again next Fall.

After breakfast I dressed up nicely, put my best foot forward, and made some major “new life in WA” progress.

1. Registered for my microbiology class at Cascadia. I just need to pay the tuition and then I start at the end of March!

2. Had a great interview! I left feeling good. I don’t care whether I get the job or not (it’s not a perfect fit) but I am so relieved to know that I can do it! I can be friendly and talk about myself if I need to! Don’t get me wrong, I would love the job, but what I really needed was the confidence. And now I have it.

Once back home I hit the streets and walked to Trader Joe’s to grab some much needed loot. I stuck with the essentials though I did find a lot of things I want to someday try. >.< Must.Resist!

The main thing being this bag of TJ’s Organic Reduced Guilt Tortilla Chips! Only $1.99 a bag seems like a good deal to me!

Thoughts? Not bad. Can only taste that they are 40% less fat by the need of more salt. I like my chips salty so sue me. >.> I definitely liked them better than the blue corns ones.

Lunch was around 2:30pm when I threw together a taco salad with the rest of the arugula, some new romaine, taco “meat”, shredded Mexican cheese, green chilies, and black olives. On the side I had some chips and grapes.

The salad was mixing something…I think I need to get a real salsa.

Around 5 I had a hankering to celebrate Fat Tuesday! Sadly the only “treat” we have is Kashi Golean Crunch, blueberries, and skim milk! It was still delicious but I still really wanted a freaking cupcake.

Eventually Chase and I went to the store to find something amazing. Unfortunately, with me avoiding nuts this week, and both of us being super picky, we left empty handed. =( There was just no sweets we could agree on.

Probably for the best since I wasn’t technically hungry. Just needy! When we got back I headed to the fitness center to get my workout in: 35 minutes stationary biking.

While I was working out some creep came over (we were the only two in the small place) and started talking to me. I don’t know if his spiel was a really bad pick-up line or if the guy was trying to convert me to his cult but I did not like it. From now on I’m not working out at night alone. I’ve seen too much Law and Order: Special Victims Unit!

Around 8pm, it was dinner time! I made another “Subway Meatball Marinara” (pure heaven) and some sautéed Brussels sprouts with shaved parmesan. Delicious and filling!!

For dessert I had a Hello Kitty mug full of sugar-free hot cocoa. <3

See? No regrets!

Did you eat something splurge-worthy for Fat Tuesday?