2 Year Anniversary {Giveaway}

Oh my goodness! Blueberries and Oats is now 2 whole freaking years old! I can’t believe time has passed that quickly. It feel like just yesterday I was taking photos of yogurt messes in my Dad’s dinning room before running off to general chemistry lectures.

These years have sailed by!

Well for my the first anniversary, I wrote you all a nice post on saying goodbye to dieting and learning to eat intuitively. Go read that again for some insight. ~.^ This year I just wanna give you guys stuff!

I kept finding more and more things I wanted to have in my anniversary giveaway so in the end it’s just a hodge podge of different things! Excited?

Just to be difficult, you have to click to see what you can win! Ha!

1 Year Anniversary {Giveaway}

Alright we all know I totally missed Blueberries and Oats first year anniversary last month on May 17th. Well I figured celebrating it exactly one more later wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world!

First off I wanted to thank you all for reading. You all really help me stay true to this healthy way of living and accept where I need help. Sure I write this blog for me, but knowing someone else is reading it gives me that extra push to strive to be better.

Reader, Heidi, posed a great question to me last month:

Question for you, how do you feel about your decision about not using Weight Watchers as a way of keeping yourself in check in regards to food? I think I have told you before sometimes I would love to just eat intuitively but I am so scared I will just put all my weight back on. It’s been a 2 1/2 years I have been a life time member and sometimes I feel like it’s so consuming.. What are your thoughts?

I completely agree with Heidi that Weight Watchers is all encompassing. When you’re doing it, you’re thinking about it all the time. What am I going to have for breakfast/lunch/dinner? If I go out with my friends what am I going to order to stay within my points? It’s very planning heavy. And, for me, that was exactly what I needed to lose weight.

Of course after ending Weight Watcher’s, I worried about putting on weight and obsessed about weighing myself every week for awhile. I kept a journal, planned out every meal, and started taking amateur photos. I even tried calorie counting apps like Lose It! and kept worrying over what I was putting in my body each and every moment of every day. It became truly obsessive and detrimental to my mental health.

I also struggled with figuring out what I should be eating. On Weight Watcher’s I ate a lot of Lean Cuisines, 100 Calorie Packs, and sugar-free products. Junk that that I wouldn’t even touch today! So clearly the transition was a little rough.

Luckily the thing that broke my constant obsession with food and weight was being thrown into the crazy and lonely world of Japan. I’m not sure how things would have turned out had I not taken that three month long imprisonment there. There, I had to let go of my control since I did not get to choose my meals always. However, it also made me quiet a snacking fiend since I never knew when I was going to actually get something I could eat. I stayed at my goal weight while eating candy, coffee drinks, and rice.

Once State-side, I eased back into eating real food by reading healthy living blogs such as Carrots N Cake and Kath Eats Real Food and mimicked what they ate. I got ideas about food groups, portion sizes, and even the understanding that moderation is what’s key.

Of course, due to a new found snacking habit from Japan, I ended up putting some weight back on. I ended up getting back on Weight Watcher’s a second time to shed a little gain. I just needed it to remind me of what my plate should look like. That said, after I said goodbye a second time to Weight Watcher’s I’ve never looked back.

The key for me is this blog. I keep myself accountable by showing it all to you and going over each and ever photo of food each night. I know when I’ve been eating too much or when I’ve let my physical activities slide. And I know what I need to do to change that. =)

I don’t weight myself anymore because I would let that number define how I felt about myself. I may not be the super slim girl I came off Weight Watcher’s as but I know I’m a lot stronger and healthier than before.

Eating intuitively was hard at first. I was afraid I’d make the wrong choices. But I found once I told myself I could eat anything, all I really wanted was the real food. I’m a picky eater now. If it’s not amazing I don’t eat it. It it doesn’t meet my standards, I don’t eat it. You may surprise yourself and find that the old foods you used to crave (fries, fast food, ice cream, trail mix, mounts of pasta, etc.), don’t have that power over you anymore.

So if  you find yourself food obsessed I definitely recommend giving intuitive eating a try. You will probably surprise yourself.

Now on to the anniversary giveaway!

I’ll be sending one lucky reader a little package filled with some of my favorite things!

• Cookie Butter
• Nuts About Raspberries & Chocolate Trek Mix
• Starbucks VIA Iced Caramel Coffee
• Good Luck Kitty Cellphone Charm

I wish I could give away more but I had to remind myself I can’t blow all my grocery budget on this! I promise next year it will be bigger, better and on time!

So to enter please just leave a comment on this post. One entry per person, no fancy stuff! Winner will be drawn randomly on Friday, June 22nd.

Thanks for reading!

NEW Stonyfield Organic Activia Giveaway Winners

Alright, so I re-drew the four winners who did not contact me since the first announcement and left me no email to get in contact with them! I’m very sorry I didn’t state in the giveaway that you must leave your email address. =/ How else are you going to be notified people!

Here are the four new winners:

• Cody
• Caryn S
• Krista Mk
• Susan Smoaks

And good job all of you for leaving your email addresses! I will be emailing you shortly!

Stonyfield Activia Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated! Using random.org here are the five winners:

• Susan Ladd *
• Emmov *
• Jennifer lleras
• Debra F *
• Willitara *

If you have an astrix by your name, and that’s everyone but Jennifer, please email me with your contact information (name and address) since you left no email address for me to get ahold of you!

My email is: rawakimoto@gmail.com

If I have not heard from you by Tuesday August 9th I will have to draw new winners!

Again, thank you to everyone who entered!

Stonyfield Organic Activia Review & Giveaway

When Stonyfield contacted me and asked if I wanted to try their new Organic Activia, my answer was hell yes! I love yogurt, most of all Stonyfield and I’ve had issues in the past with keeping myself regular. This yogurt had my name all over it!

Now it was supposed to be a two-week challenge to see how you feel, but with summer vacation finally starting for me I realized I wouldn’t be home for two weeks straight to do this! Instead I ate them daily (sometimes 2x!) for about a week.

Stonyfield Organic Activia is the first organic yogurt with the exclusive probiotic culture Bifidus Regularis® (Bifidobacterium Lactis DN 173-010), which can help naturally regulate the digestive system when eaten daily for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

So how did I feel?

Not going to lie, I didn’t really notice a difference in my regularity mainly due to already being pretty regular and already eating large amounts of yogurt! But I will say that my stomach didn’t feel as sick as often as I normally do! And that’s saying something. ~.^ I’d love to hear how other bloggers felt who took this challenge and were able to do it for the 2 weeks in a row!

So how did they taste?

Like all Stonyfield products, Organic Activia is made from certified organic milk and other organic ingredients produced without the use of toxic persistent pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones.  It’s also made with no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners!

The Organic Vanilla was thin (but not runny!) and had a nice smooth silky texture, and a very light and wonderful subtle flavor. The vanilla wasn’t over powering but still was clearly not plain!

The Organic Strawberry seemed to be a little bit thicker but not by much. It was smooth and creamy and unlike a lot of other flavored yogurts I’ve tasted did not taste artificial at all (due to there being nothing artificial!). Normally I don’t care too much for flavored yogurts due to them being way too sweet but this one had a very subtle sweetness that was soo very refreshing.

Surprisingly, I think the Strawberry was my favorite! Both yogurts were great on their own or mixed with fruit or cereal.

Giveaway!

You too can take this 2 week challenge by entering my Stonyfield Organic Activia giveaway! FIVE winners will receive a coupon pack (for two weeks of free yogurt!*) for when Stonyfield Organic Activia hits the store shelves!

*In order to comply with state regulations, these coupons for FREE Stonyfield Organic Activia will not apply in CA, ID, LA, MN, NV, NJ, ND & TN.  If you live in one of those states, let me know and I will have them send you a small booklet of $1 off (per pack) coupons instead.

So how do you enter?

It’s easy! There are four ways to enter. Pick one, or even all four just be sure to leave a comment for each way!

1. Tell me your all time favorite yogurt!
2. Add me to your blogroll
3. Mention this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter!
4. Become a new email subscriber or join my RSS feed. (on the right hand side of Home page)

That’s FOUR chances to win and FIVE winners! Odds are definitely with you. ~.^ Be sure to leave a comment for each!

Details: Open to US residents only. Ends August 5th, 2011!

EDIT: This post was scheduled to post on Friday while I was flying to Cali! I am so sorry I didn’t check to make sure it had that night! >.< WordPress, I hate you!

I received 2 free weeks worth supply of yogurt for free from Stonyfield Farm, and the coupons are provided for free as well.

One Day More

Any Les Mis fans out there? Les Misérables happens to be one of my all time favorite musicals but I still haven’t seen it on stage! Well that’s a lie, I did see a high school production one of my great friend, Sarah, was in, but I’m sure it pales in comparison to the real thing!

Yes “One Day More” is stuck in my head due to their being one day more of summer semester and then it’ll be my long awaited summer vacation!

No time to slack (just yet..) today was all business.

It started with me waking up and getting my workout in! Yep, no breakfast just sweat. I did 30 minutes stationary biking and 20 minutes 30 Day Shred. Boy are my muscles tired. I think all the swimming this week really took it out of me. I felt slow and somewhat weak. =/

Afterwards I was sooo ready for breakfast.

Fage Greek Yogurt mixed with flax and topped with 1/2 cup Kashi Golean Crunch, one whole plum, dried blueberries, toasted almonds, and sunflower seed butter. Surprisingly I didn’t really like this meal. Maybe it was because I totally scarfed it down to due needing to head out to meet Steph, but once I was finished my stomach felt very very uncomfortably full and bloated.

Steph is watching over my Betta fish, Odysseus, over the weekend since we (Chase and I) will be in California. I had to get him to her house and let me just say it is pretty difficult to deliver a fish on your own! I got a crotch full of water…

Next we headed to The Break Espresso to get in some solid hours of studying!

I ordered a 12 oz. nonfat latte. It was a lot but we were there for a long time so I was able to finish it.

Around 1pm I was starving and broke into my lunch. Roasted beets and what was leftover of my Harvest Grain Salad.

Plus a Strawberry Stonyfield Organic Activia. <3

After another few hours of studying, the baked goods they were baking in-house smelled really good. I seriously considered buying one. Their baked goods are not only delectable, but HUGE!

Instead though, I was a good girl and ate my plum!

On my drive home I was very hungry and craving a Good Food Store Baked Tofu Wrap.

So I stopped and got one! I ate the WHOLE thing and the rest of my roasted beets! Holy smokes it was filling. I almost stopped at half but part of me just wanted to keep eating.

I also ate a chocolate chip cookie with it. >.>

Much later I ate a few spoonfuls of Stonyfield After Dark Chocolate frozen yogurt while I did, you guessed it, even more studying. –_- I am sooo ready to be done.

My suitcase is packed and I will be jumping on a plain to CA as soon as I get out of my final exam! I will be trying to keep posting daily while I’m there, so please keep checking back here!

Announcements:

- Friend’s For Weightloss is hosting an Uncle Sam’s Cereal Giveaway so be sure to enter!

- My very first giveaway will be coming up tomorrow, so keep checking back here!

What’s your favorite musical?

23 & Feeling It!

Ahh Friday! I survived another week of chemistry and only have one more to go! This wasn’t just any Friday though, it was my 23rd birthday! I woke up as usual and went about my morning business. Once in the kitchen, I was about to perfect my Blueberry Tofu Smoothie when I pulled out the last of my silken tofu to find it had started to mold! Gross!

Having already dumped other stuff in the blender I went ahead and made a smoothie anyway. It contained: skim milk, frozen blueberries, flax, banana, ice. It was yummy but nothing special. On the side I had a nice slice of Breakfast Blast bread! I love this stuff. .

This meal held me over through all of lecture and my very last workshop and through 45 minutes of lap swimming! It felt so good to ensure I had my workout done with for today since if any day seemed like a day to skimp it would be my birthday. ~.^

Ate lunch at Hastings to ensure I did my homework for the evening! Last night I threw together a whole bunch of leftover veggies and a wee bit of grains. Roasted beets, steamed collard greens with maple syrup, sautéed zucchini and yellow squash, and the very last of the Harvest Grain Salad. This was super filling and kind of left me wishing I’d had less heavy vegetables. I also indulged in a large Peach Iced Tea and a few hours later, my daily apple.

I was excited to get home today because I had one great birthday present waiting for me!

Stonyfield’s had sent me a supply of their new Organic Activia to review and hold a giveaway for you all! More details and review to come by then end of next week (hopefully)!

I decided to try one right away as a snack. I cracked open the Vanilla flavor and enjoyed it’s creaminess. I ended up adding a little Kashi Golean Crunch at the end! Then I hung out with my sister and waited for my “party” ^_^ I also checked out my “garden”.

Remember Chase and I’s Great Plant-off? His is on the left mine’s on the right. Yep…I think I’m winning! Ha!

Look how cute this very first Japanese eggplant is! It’s sooooo tiny!

And my cherry tomatoes are popping up all over! But none of them are red yet! Hmph. I want to eat them!

After dressing up and doing Win’s hair, we were ready to head out!

The Mustard Seed is one of my favorite restaurants in town! Mainly because it has my favorite salad.

Win convinced me to try a Cosmopolitan for a drink. Turns out I am definitely not a cosmo girl. Unfortunately I hate wasting money so I drank it anyway. I’m such a light weight it had me quiet tipsy.

For dinner my favorite salad was in order! Teriyaki Tofu Salad with a hard roll! Divine! I ate most of it.

I had 5 other guests and all of them seemed determined to make me try more drinks. >.< So I ended up with a Top Shelf Margarita. I could hardly drink it though, so I managed only about half before I was able to pawn it off on someone else. I’m just not a big drinker!

For dessert I shared this Poppy seed rum cake with Chase! It was sooo good but we only got through half together. Their dessert portions are just sooo over sized.

I also had a few bites of Win’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie. Wow. Talk about decadent! Seriously I think if they made mini ones (and I’m talking mini), I think they’d sell more.

After dinner I really wanted to call it a night, head home, open some presents and just be my lame old homebody self. But my sister and my friend Jessi would not have it! So we ended up heading downtown to the Tamarack Brew Pub and Bar.

I did a shot of tequila with lime and salt with the girls and then sipped on a glass of shiraz for the rest of the night (only managed enough half of it though..). Man I wish I’d just stuck to drinking wine the entire night. My stomach is just too old for hard liquor! Sometimes I am such a push-over. =/

When I finally got home, I definitely needed something in my belly to soak up the various kinds of alcohol. So I made some Ian’s Sweet Potato fries with a little dijionaise to dip it in. Yummy! It was perfect.

I got a whole bunch of nice gifts today which I will be sharing over time. =) One of them, however, is the movie Tangled! Has anyone else seen this? It’s soo cute. A lot of the time children’s movie’s bug me with their preachiness, but this one is so adorable. You should definitely check it out!

Tomorrow morning (super early) I am driving with my mother and Whitney to Idaho to stay with my grandpa for the weekend. I probably won’t be able to post tomorrow but I will hopefully have a full recap on Sunday!

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Oh! By the way, Shannon’s Kitchen Creations is having a Wholly Guacamole Giveaway! Pop over there and enter to win a huge cooler of this delicious guacamole!

What’s you drink?

Devoured!

I woke up at my regular wake up time, 7am, without an alarm clock today! Instead of trying to fight it, I got out of bed and went about getting ready for today. My mood was really melancholy because last night my dad informed that he was going to put our old dog, Spot, down this morning. He’s about 15 years old and has been going downhill for awhile.

Well, when he went out to feed the dogs their breakfast Spot seemed to be doing a lot better this morning. He decided that as long as he was feeling good he wouldn’t do it. So we averted that crisis for now. =)

If you could, please pray for Spot to either improve or go quickly and without pain. <3

Anyways, for breakfast I toasted a nice slice of Breakfast Blast, covered it in almond butter, flax, and banana and washed it down with a nice cold glass of skim milk.

I love how much this breakfast satisfies me, yet doesn’t make me feel like I may pop like oatmeal sometimes does.

I had some of my most hardcore trigger food today! Yes I’m talking about..

Treasure Trove Trail Mix! I snacked on it a few times throughout the day but this time I ate with purpose because…

We biked the Hiawatha trail! This trail runs between the Montana and Idah border and is simply lovely. About 20 miles all together!

My dad was particularly excited to be outside with Chase and I. He’s used to us being pretty indoor people while he’s a fisher/hunter/hiker crazy outdoors type!

We grabbed our passes for the day and hit the trail!

This 9.9 mile trail has 8 railroad tunnels on it! The first one, the St. Paul, is the longest clocking in at 8771 ft. of pure darkness! It’s kind of scary but luckily we had good lights. We did witness a woman fall and dislocate her shoulder though. =/

My dad’s favorite part of the tunnel is the divide between Idaho and Montana. He’s been wanting a picture of it and him for years. ^_^ He’s such a cutie.

This tunnel was freezing cold, about 35 degrees Fahrenheit, so I was very happy to see sunlight at the end.

Chase and I. I don’t know why he never looks happy in our photographs together!

The day was goregous and perfect for being outside. It was a very easy ride, not hardcore at all, but I was just happy to have my man outside and exercising! He’s such a couch potato.

There were adorable chipmunks everywhere! I love chipmunks! I almost named Spot “Alvin” when we got him but my dad didn’t want to shout “ALVVVINNNNN” from the porch.

See that little line crossing the mountain in the back? That’s a trestle and we crossed 7 of them in total!

I don’t like crossing them since I am totally afraid of heights!

I did my best though! >.<

Around 6 miles down we stopped and had lunch. I’d packed a Fakin’ Bacon Tempeh sandwich on a Thoma’s Everything Bagel Thin with Sargento Reduced Fat Swiss, spinach, and a small spread of garlic scape pesto. Also devoured a bag of Sea Salt and Vinegar Popchips! It totally hit the spot.

((Speaking of Popchips, Danica of Danica’s Daily is hosting a Popchips Giveaway! Go enter for your chance to win a free case!))

And then finally after 9.9 miles, we turned around and went the 9.9 miles back up! It wasn’t too hard since it’s only a 2% incline on the up, but it really took it out of Chase and my dad. I ended up leaving them while I powered up the mountain.

I waited for them before ever tunnel though since my light wasn’t that great and the dark tunnels are scary! So I had lots of waiting time.

Check out this terrible tan line I’ve been trying to fix! In my swim suit it looks like I’m wearing thigh highs! >.<

5 hours in total on the bikes, 20 miles covered. It was such a gorgeous outing I’m so glad we did it. =)

On the hour and half drive back to Missoula I ate my daily apple!

Upon arrival at home we jumped in the shower to wash off all the various sprays used today and the sweat and then we all piled back in the car to go to….

Red Robin! I don’t come here often because I have to be really really hungry for it. Well today I was!

I came with no game plan (they have very nice interactive nutritional information on their site though), and just ordered what sounded good! I ended up with the Pub Burger but swapped out the beef for a Vegan Boca Burger and the bun for a lettuce wrap.

While we waited for food I downed this Freckled Lemonade. <3 Lemonade just sounded soo very wonderful.

Then the food arrived and we ate! This burger was only so so. I was glad the wet lettuce wrap washed off most of the “ranch dressing” and was a little disappointed with the ale-braised onions and mushrooms not being outstanding. Plus the lettuce wrap completely failed so I ended up eating it with a fork and knife.

Devoured! Somehow I tucked it all away (including fries!)! Yes very impressive I know. =P I’m very glad I don’t dine here often. ~.^

Well now we are all just taking it easy watching TV while I bake the dessert I’m bringing for the BBQ tomorrow and the D&D night after. More details tomorrow once I have some finished products!

Hope you all have a great night!

Warning: Overload!

Wow. So I was in bed and asleep by around 10:30pm last night! I didn’t wake up until my alarm at 7am! That’s 8.5 hours of awesome sleep. I loved it. Wish I could do it every night but now chemistry is coming and biting me in the ass for my early bed time. Instead of the regular one lesson a night we have two lessons tonight! O.O Plus still working on a lab report that’s seriously punching me in the face repeatedly.

…I’m not stressing! ^_^ Let’s look at food instead.

I intended to have a nice big bowl of crockpot steel-cut oats this morning, but it was soo hot I decided for a nice cold bowl of yogurt instead. This one was delicious with Fage 0% Greek Yogurt, strawberry rhubarb compote, banana, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, dried tart cherries, toasted almonds and a drizzle of almond butter. Delicious!

I didn’t end up eating my pre-workout snack today, because I just wasn’t hungry. Steph bailed on swimming today but I still stuck to my plan. ^_^ In fact, since today was the official half way point in the summer semester, I decided we needed to step up our workouts for the last 5 weeks. And by step up, I meant add 5 more minutes. ~.^

45 minutes of Lap Swimming and a shower later, I was at Hastings munching on some snacks while I waited for Chase to get off work and go to lunch with me. My poor man was up around 6 this morning to get to an early shift!

Daily apple? Check.

2 point baggie of peanuts intended to be pre-workout snack? Devoured.

Finally, he was off and we decided to walk to the mall (it was lovely out!) and go to Noodle Express. I brought along my packed lunch because I was undecided if I wanted tofu and rice or not.

In the end, I decided to eat my packed lunch and treat us to Dairy Queen after. ^_^

Finally finished off the very last of my wheat berry salad (seriously delicious recipe. I will make it again) mixed in with a ton of raw broccoli, some cherries, and a little smoked cheddar for some omph. I am so glad I added the cheese because it seriously took it to another level.

Once we were through we sauntered on down to DQ and I got my favorite, a cherry Dilly Bar. ^^ I love the cherry flavor but I hate that they melt so fast! I like to take my time and enjoy ice cream, but these bars make me gobble it at the end. While we walked back to Hastings I tried not to get it everywhere. Chase had the brilliant idea of me just getting a cherry dipped small cone next time….I need to remember that!

(While we had lunch we missed the sudden summer shower!)

Once home I tried to ignore the snacking urge. To keep busy Chase and I finally planted our “flower paper” we received at Sara’s Wedding as a party favor.

You just plant them and they supposedly grow wildflowers! We are having a “Plant-off” to see who can grows there’s the fastest. I don’t have high hopes of me winning. I have a black-thumb.

(Chase is on the left I’m on the right)

Speaking of plants, I peeked at my cherry tomato plant today.

Look! There’s something growing!! I am sooo excited to have my own tomatoes…I just hope it makes it!

Back inside…I got snackish. I don’t know why I just can’t control myself between the hours of 3-5pm! I had the Pirate’s Booty above x3!

Due to my snackage, which was luckily pretty much only one serving (1oz) of Pirate’s Booty, I wasn’t hungry for dinner until about 7pm. So it gave me time to roast some beets. ^_^ I think they may be my favorite vegetable next to Brussels sprouts.

For dinner I had a spinach salad topped with roasted golden beets, feta, golden raisins, and a splash of vinaigrette (from the Crunchy Greens and Apple Salad). And a serving of “Chicken”, Blackberry, and Barley Toss with a small side of beet greens my dad cooked up.

All of it was heavenly.

 

Costco finally had Kashi Golean Crunch back in stock so I knew I had to have some! 0% Strawberry Chobani with some on top. I may or may not have eaten a few handfuls too. >.< I need to go buy a big not-see-through canister to put the cereal in. The clear bag just sitting there is too tempting! I think I will hit up Target tomorrow after my lunch date!

I just keep reminding myself that it’s almost Friday. I am getting just so burnt out due to summer session. I think I really need to use the weekend to worry less about acids and bases and have more fun.

Weekend Plans:

• Friday Lunch Date w/Jessi
• Saturday Farmer’s Market w/Karlie – Bike there?
• Target Shopping sometime in there!
• Clean off deck table so I can work on chemistry outside
• Clean Ody’s tank…
• Lab reports..
• Study for 2nd exam on Tuesday…

Hmm the fun sort of died at the end. –_-

Friend’s For Weight Loss is holding a Biggest Loser Giveaway! Check it out and win some awesome books!

Back to chemistry…

TGIF

Ahh Friday!! I have this knot in my neck that is slowly, slowly releasing itself due to the happiness that is Friday.

Does anyone remember TGIF television programming on ABC? Man I loved that as a kid. Really not healthy for me (both physically and emotionally), but my dad would always buy me frozen pizza on Friday’s so I could sit at home (by myself, since my family were not recluses…) and enjoy TGIF. I loved it.

First off, my exam went extremely well. I’d be surprised if I didn’t get an A. It’s amazing how pleasant a test can be when they test you on what they taught you! (Unlike my previous chemistry class…)

Anyway, let’s start with food.

Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Mess

• 1 cup Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup Kashi Golean Crunch
• 1 Tbsp toasted Almonds
• 1 Tbsp dried tart Cherries
• 1 handful pitted Cherries
• 1 small Banana

= 1 happy camper! I loved this. It tasted great but it also had enough protein in it that I stayed full!

I’ve never had vanilla Greek yogurt before, and it was pleasant enough, but I prefer the tartness of plain.

After breakfast and my exam, I had a little time to kill before the Lap Swim opened at 11am. So I took some pictures of the beautiful day! The past three days have been nothing but rain, so it really lifted my spirits to be out in this.

I have to admit, I got so bored waiting I ate my pre-workout snack even though I wasn’t hungry. =/

I still don’t really care for these. I hate how figs leave a grittiness in your teeth while you eat them. >.< I just don’t like sand, thanks!

Steph and I got in an awesome 40 minute Lap Swim though, so I like to think I used that unneeded fuel for a good use.

So, where did I head when Steph and I parted ways?

You guessed it! Hasting’s Hardback Café! I had a coffee date scheduled for later, so I figured why not sit there and get some good work done on my lab report.

I also ate my lunch while I waited. Wheat Berry Salad with a Quorn Naked Chick’n Cutlet, Coconut ginger carrots, and a side of cherries!

It was so filling, I couldn’t eat all the cherries!

One my “date” arrived, my ex-coworker and good friend Tyler, I sipped on a iced nonfat latte.

Starbucks is way better. That’s my only gripe with this place for studying!! >.< I hate their coffee! Guess I will just have to stick to tea. I wanted to try their iced tea but figured if I was going to use points I should get in a milk serving. Lesson learned.

While Ty and I chatted for a few hours, I got a little hungry and dug into my daily apple. Again, I couldn’t finish it!

And right after my stomach started to have pangs just like yesterday. I think I am going to take a good scrub brush to these apples. There must be something on them that is killing my tummy.

Near 5pm I found Chase in his department and begged him to do something with me this lovely Friday evening. I wanted to go out to eat but he really wanted to BBQ at home. We compromised. We would BBQ at home and then…he’d take me to a movie! Deal.

Boca Vegan Burger on a Thomas Everything Bagel Thin with a slice of Kraft nonfat cheese, pickles, and ketchup. <3 Seriously, tastes like a Happy Meal but better. On the side I finished off the coconut-ginger carrots and grilled tomatoes.

Those carrots were good but make sure when you make them you have a lot of people to share them with. Otherwise, carrots get old real fast. I don’t want to eat another carrot again for awhile. –_-

After eating, it was time for…

Kung Fu Panda 2! (It was pretty darn cute but not as good as the 1st one as always)

I went prepared with a serving of Pirate’s Booty.

I also started munching on the movie popcorn Chase got, and then quickly popped some gum in my mouth. This saved me probably a million points but I did eat about 2 cups.

I knew I wasn’t hungry, it was totally just mindless eating. >.<

Well, even though I did use a few activity points today, I don’t’ feel like I over indulged. I never felt stuffed and I never craved sweets (like I do when I’m depriving myself). So overall, a successful day!

Giveaway Alert: Danica @ Danica’s Daily is giving away a whole case of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! I for one would love to win them and gift them to my sweetheart. <3 Well..I’d probably at least eat one for myself. ~.^