Category — Breakfast

My blender is in the dishwasher this morning so there was no Green Monster for breakfast. 

I was craving some chocolate milk so I blended with my immersion blender 1 banana, 1 cup of oat milk and 2 tablespoons of Nestle Quick.

With my Chocolate shake, I made Tina’s 3 Minute Oatmeal Raisin Cookie  (I used whole wheat flour instead of white) and served it over some Stonyfield Farm Fat Free French Vanilla yogurt

I mixed all the dry ingredients last night so this morning, breakfast prep was super quick. 

2010 Carbon Fast Suggestion of the Day: Save paper today: print double-sided, or wrap your next present in color comics or a reusable paper towel use in public restrooms. 

Sadly, I did not go for a run last night when I got home – instead I got up early and hit the pavement.  I ran about 3.5 miles – honestly, it was one of those runs where you feel like you are running super fast but then look down at your Garmin and realize you are going at a snail’s pace. 

My miles were over 30 seconds slower then they were on Sunday…very frustrating.

What a difference a few hours can make – look at the temperature when I was out running and the forecasted high for this afternoon

Gah.  Oh well – I have the entire day ahead of me to be productive.

For breakfast, I enjoyed my leftover Cherry Oatmeal Bake from Sunday with a Green Monster (which I need to rename seeing as Green Monsters are associated with the Boston Red Sox – and I am not a fan…)

Carbon Fast 2010 Suggestion of the Day: Check the tire pressure of your car today or take it to a gas station where they can check it for you.  Cars with low tire pressure get lower mileage.  

The sun is shining once again and despite a horrible night’s sleep, I am determined to accomplish a lot today (including a run so please hold me to it!).  First day back at work means a lot of email catching up – plus I have a few bigger projects that I need to tackle.

I slept an hour later than I anticipated – when the alarm went off at 6:00 am I realized my lackluster sleep was not going to make that hour of work very productive.  I snoozed until 7:00 am and hope that is enough sleep to keep me going.

A parfait sounded like a perfect breakfast this morning so I started dicing up some fruit.  I found a kiwi, banana and some blueberries from my freezer. 

Layered with some Stonyfield Farm Fat Free French Vanilla yogurt and a mixture of Grape Nuts, Heartland Granola and Perky’s Crunchy Rice.

I gobbled this up in about 3 minutes flat.  So delicious.

2010 Carbon Fast Suggestion of the Day: End junk mail that wastes resources.  Stop unwanted catalogs (catalogchoice.org), credit card offers (1-888-5-optout), and other junk mail (DMAchoice.org).  Or hire a service to cancel it for you (41pounds.org).

Last night, Matt and I were discussing breakfast cause we always talk about food and realized we haven’t had Cherry Oatmeal Bake in a long time.  This morning I got up and started whipping it up!  The key to this recipe is to mix all the dry ingredients first and add them to the ramekins – then add the liquid – otherwise you get very uneven contents.

For some reason I also have to bake this for almost 45 minutes – my oven must be off.

With my Cherry Oatmeal Bake, I had the last Cara Cara orange

After breakfast I did some work (I finished outlining question 1 for my mid-term) and then decided a run was in order.

Check out the sky and the temperature…we haven’t seen weather like this in a long time

I set out with no goal in time or distance.  I ended up running 4 miles – those 4 miles were tough but heavenly at the same time.  I remembered once again why I love to run.  Mother Nature needs to keep this weather in Massachusetts for a few more weeks. 

Lunch was next on my eating agenda.  Still having tons of refried bean soup, I decided to turn it into a quesadilla.  Using a Flat Out Wrap, I layered 2 slices of reduced fat cheddar cheese with soup mixed with some extra diced tomatoes.

Into the panini maker for a few minutes  and I had one messy lunch

It was delicious though – and a great way to turn that soup into something completely different.

For dessert – because everyone needs dessert – I had one diced banana with some Stonyfield Farm Fat Free French Vanilla yogurt and some Back to Nature Chocolate granola.

Back to work for me.  I hope you get out and enjoy this beautiful day!

I think my body needs sleep.  Badly.  I took a 1 1/2 hour nap yesterday and still managed to be asleep by 11 pm last night – and I slept until 8:30 am this morning.  I am starting to feel better rested – but sleep cuts into my studying/general household responsibilities/spending time with Matt/running.  I am really struggling with finding a balance.

My professors gave us 7 possible questions for our midterm – 2 will be on our test.  This is a LARGE déjà vu for me – my comprehensive exam in grad school was very similar – except it was 14 questions.  According to my planned schedule, I should be working on question 3 – I’m on question 1. 

I hope to have question 1 finished tonight before Matt and I head out for our “date” night.  Let’s see how that goes!

For breakfast, I had another Bagel Thin with homemade veggie cream cheese

As you can see in the upper left corner, I also had a green beverage – one cup oatmilk, one banana and 1 cup of spinach. 

For lunch, I made a salad containing broccoli slaw, tomatoes and craisins.  I dressed this salad with a mixture of olive oil, champagne vinegar and a little honey.

I also had another small bowl of my Refried Bean Soup from yesterday

Back to my outline!  Matt and I are going to Whole Foods and Legal C Bar in Dedham tonight.  What should I get for dinner?

Our senior year in college, Matt and I spent almost Sunday at Bagel Chateau.  I always got the same thing: a plain bagel with light veggie cream cheese with a lemon iced tea snapple.  Truth be told, if I went back today, I would order the same thing.  Bagel Chateau always serves their bagels with chips and a pickle.  I miss Bagel Chateau terribly. 

Maribeth, a blog reader, told me about Thomas’s new Bagel Thins so I picked some up yesterday. 

Realizing how long it has been since I had a bagel, I decided to give them a try…but I needed my veggie cream cheese. 

On my way to work, I was trying to come up with a way to replicate Bagel Chateau’s Veggie Cream cheese.  I thought about adding Veggie Soup mix but then I realized something simpler.  Broccoli Slaw. 

Last night, I took out some light cream cheese to soften

In my mini food processor, I put a small handful of broccoli slaw and gave it a whirl

I added about 1/2 that container of cream cheese and processed again to combine

I wanted it to sit over night to give the flavors a chance to meld. 

Today’s breakfast did not disappoint

It was no Bagel Chateau, but my Veggie Cream Cheese was pretty darn good.  I sprinkled some scallions on top for a little oniony flavor. 

These Bagel Thins aren’t too bad – maybe a little thicker than a deli flat but still a nice substitution for a bagel.  I will say, if you are looking for a doughy bagel, this is not for you. 

Something I will definitely make again – and will probably have again for breakfast tomorrow because I have so much cream cheese left over. 

2010 Carbon Fast Suggestion of the Day: Pick up at least one piece of litter on the ground when you are out walking today, and dispose of it properly. 

Matt is home until about noon and then he is going into work for the afternoon.  We are going to do some cleaning – I’ve got the bathrooms and he’s cleaning the kitchen. 

Then, its school work time!

I was up at 6 am to get some reading done – I didn’t finish my “assigned reading” for yesterday.  I am now 3 pages short but consider that close enough…

Before getting in the shower, I prepared some Baked Banana Oatmeal but today I added some blueberries which were sitting on my counter defrosting. 

If I did this again (which I will), I will add a little less water.  The blueberries added a little “juice” which made the dish a little watery. 

The blueberries made this taste like a blueberry pie – nice and sweet…plus a few extra antioxidants don’t hurt.

2010 Carbon Fast Suggestion of the Day:  Consider composting your food wastes.  Put the nutrients from food waste back into the soil, not into a landfill.  Learn more about composter options for indoors and outdoors from this article.

Cream of Wheat Wednesday has been brought back in the form of Pink Soup again.  I made this similar bowl back in February – I thought I would have it again on this dark and dreary day. 

First, in the blender went:

• POM Wonderful Juice
• Frozen Berries (Blackberries, Raspberries and Strawberries)
• Banana
• Drizzle of honey

I then prepared the Cream of Wheat as normal (3/4 cup water and 3 tablespoons COW). 

I combined the smoothie and cooked Cream of Wheat and then warmed them together.  Enjoyed with a sprinkle of Back to Nature Chocolate Granola. 

Carbon Fast 2010 Suggestion of the Day:  Be aware of how much food you discard this week.  Look for opportunities to avoid wasting food by planning well and eating leftovers. 

My car is headed into the shop this morning to get a new windshield – I had a fight with a piece of something on the highway.  Unfortunately piece of something won and my windshield is wearing the battle scars. 

Last night for dinner, I had a vegetarian burrito.  This morning, I had an egg and cheese burrito.

In my scrambled breakfast burrito was some egg whites, one egg (didn’t have enough whites), salsa and one slice of reduced fat cheddar cheese; all rolled up in a Light Flat Out Wrap.

I am stuffed now.  I realize that I didn’t really consume any fruits or veggies with my breakfast so I plan on getting 1/2 a grapefruit at school.

Carbon Fast 2010 Suggestion of the Day: Turn off lights you’re not using.  Shut off lights as you leave a room.  You can put reminders on your switchplates or install motion sensors that turn off lights automatically. 

I have a meeting from 11 am – 1 pm today; the goal is to leave work around 2 pm and head to the library to get as much reading done as I can for class tonight – I had over 230 pages to read for this week! 

How did it become March 1st?!?

I got home from my retreat yesterday around 2 pm – after a shower and a 2 hour nap, I was feeling more “normal.”  I then spent the rest of my day/evening working on a paper due tomorrow…rough draft is done.

I slept a little later this morning – well only because I had intended to get up for a run but after looking out my window to see snow and sleet, I decided my bed was a better place. 

Last night I was thinking long and hard about why I run…sure I run for exercise but really what gets me going is the ability to shut my brain off.  For some reason, running is the only time I can think about nothing – I stare at houses and cars and look for animals – and forget about to-do lists and projects and cleaning…

Running on a treadmill does not do that for me – in fact, I HATE running on a treadmill.  I do not enjoy it and spend the time thinking about the things I am trying to avoid.  Running on a treadmill kills my love for running itself. 

I need to get back into an exercise routine, but I need to perhaps focus on the Core Fusion DVDs, crunches, planks, and strengthening exercises to make running easier.  Hopefully this weather will clear itself up soon and perhaps the sun will come out…

Sorry – that was a bit longer than I anticipated!

On to my breakfast eats – Cereal

In the bowl went Kashi Island Vanilla, Quaker Oatmeal Squares and Kamut Puffs – plus a sliced banana.

Because I missed yesterday…here are two:

2/28 Carbon Fast 2010 Suggestion of the Day:  Run your washing machine only with full loads.  Turn the knob on your washing machine to “cold/cold,” and leave it there.  Washing your clothes in cold water gets them just as clean as washing in hot water, but uses half the energy.

3/1 Carbon Fast 2010 Suggestion of the Day:  Speak Out!  Ask our leaders to take action on climate change today.  (Dosomething.org, stopglobalwarming.org)