Preparing for snowmageddon.

Wow, everyone here is sort of going nuts about the snow.  Part of me is looking forward to an excuse to stay in all weekend-- I have a lot of reading and cleaning and movie watching that I could do!  I just hope that it's fun-ridiculous and not scary-ridiculous.


Yesterday at the hospital, you could definitely tell that everyone had the snow in the back of their minds.  It must suck to have a loved one in the hospital during a blizzard, let alone any other time.  I brought my lunch/snacks:

Salad with carrots, sunflower seeds, and TJ's champagne pear vinaigrette (awesome, by the way); raspberry Chobani; apple; Kashi; and flax pumpkin bread.

After internship I realized that I really needed to get some dog food.  I probably picked one of the most inconvenient PetSmart's to go to, in terms of location related to my apartment (I have NO sense of direction).  But I also decided that if we get snowed in and can't go food shopping that we still have food for a few dinners at home.  So instead of food shopping for a couple of meals last night, I got take-out so that food can last longer into the weekend (confused?).

I decided to pick up Egyptian Pizza.  Since we had pizza earlier this week, I got G a chicken kebob and myself the Middle East Combination Platter which came with "A lovely combination of falafel, grape leaves, hummus, foul, babaganush, tahina, egyptian house salad, feta cheese, and homemade pita bread"

Was I crazy about this?  No.  I've had much better.  Baba's was much better.  Nothing stood out.  The grape leaves were seasoned very strangely to me.  The falafel was alright.  BUT I don't want to pass total judgment until I try their pizza because their brick wood-burning oven looked and smelled amazing (I LOVE the smell of wood stoves).  So for now: Egyptian Pizza... meh.  But maybe in the future we can get along.

I made the night all better by eating a brownie, which was a lot different at room-temperature and very delicious:

I just finished working out and eating breakfast which was cinnamon swirl bread with PB.

Anyone else psyching up for this snow?  I am putting on my game face and ready to have an ultimate snow day experience.  I don't really know what that means, but I'll let you know :)

One year of CookEatReadSleep!

Hello lovely people!  Today is a special day because it is my one year blogiversary!  It's kinda crazy that I've been doing this for a year.  One year of tracking, "meeting" all of you, and weirding out my friends when I take pictures of my food :)


I'm going to have something special posted a little later, so make sure to check back!

Yesterday for lunch I had a can of Amy's Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable.

I enjoyed this soup a lot!  I didn't add any hot sauce to it like I did the other one because it already had a good amount of spice to it.  I liked that the veggies had grill marks on them, it really does taste fresh.

I also had a piece of flax pumpkin bread that I made yesterday.  It's vegan, and it has a "healthy" taste to it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I went on a voyage to Trader Joe's to get a few things that I needed/wanted.  I also got lost on the drive back, but that's a different story and really not out of the ordinary for me.  I decided to get a fun cheese while I was there and I picked out a white stilton with orange and dates.  I had some with some crackers.

This cheese is so sweet!  You really need a nice salty cracker to cut it.  Or it would be good on a salad.

For dinner I made Ina's Chicken Picatta and broccoli. 

I love this chicken, but G said it was too lemony. 

I was apparently in a baking frenzy yesterday, because I also made these Sweet and Salty Brownies.  I had one with some milk.

 

They were still pretty warm when I had mine, so I couldn't really detect the different textures.  We'll see how they are today :)

I just had a signature bowl of oatmeal for my busy day.

I got so much done yesterday, but I feel like I still have a million things to catch up on.  I'm pretty sure I'm getting snowed in again this weekend, so that will be a good time to catch up.

And to make you drool (or maybe not), check out this grilled cheesecake and cookie cake pie.  Would you ever consider making these?  I would, but I would probably feel disgusting after I ate them.

Productivity is key!

These have been a busy (but productive!) couple of days for me.  I have actually been doing my readings for classes and trying to stay up-to-date with everything.  It's so much harder now that I'm living with my boyfriend and have all of these extra chores that come with having my own apartment and a puppy.  But I'm trying!

The other night, I made these corn and shrimp quesadillas with avocado and onion salad.  The recipe was in Every Day w/ RR's February issue.

Sometimes I don't really like RR's recipes.  They have too much going on or something.  But I liked these!  I really liked all of the lime flavors.

Monday: Oatmeal.

 

Leftover soup.

Peach Chobani.  Yum!

And then what?  Another RR recipe?  Even BETTER than the other one?  Behold: Bowties, Brussels Sprouts and Candied Almonds.

I am sort of in love with this recipe.  I didn't think that it was going to be anything special, but it turned out being fantastic!  I used feta cheese and roasted the almonds myself.  Speaking of those almonds, I ate WAY too many of them all that day.  I'm hiding them from myself now.

 

Plus, my new obsession in a new flavor.  Oatmeal raisin Otterbein cookies.

I should have a Baltimore cookie party.  Which by the way, Otterbein cookies are on the list of 100 things Baltimore foodies should do!

Yesterday: Oatmeal.

 

My lunch and snacks.

Ginger terriyaki veggie cake, blueberry Chobani, pumpernickel pretzels, kiwi, carrots, apple, and cherry chocolate Kashi.

For dinner, G had really been wanting to try the new Dominos pizza.  Before dinner I had a small salad.  I got a Pacific Veggie pizza with thin crust, spinach, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and black olives with feta and provolone cheeses.  It's advertised on a parmesan crust, but I'm not sure I got that.  I also left off the roasted red peppers.

 

I had three pieces like that.  

The verdict: this was a really good pizza!  And not just for a chain restaurant.  I was really impressed with the ingredients and the textures of everything.  And go Dominos for being a little innovative!  I still have some leftovers, but I'm probably going to try to keep myself away from them today.

I also had 2 of those Otterbein cookies last night.  Addictive.

I just finished some cinnamon swirl toast with smart balance and a kiwi for breakfast.

I've been pretty good with counting my calories for the past couple of days.  I really need to be a little more strict about it until I get myself into a better place. 

Does anyone use The Daily Plate?  I am loving the changes that they have been making to the site.  I am hoping to get a new phone this month and I think the changes are going to make it really accessible on the go!  

Do you use apps or programs for every day things like eating or working out?  Which ones?  I love The Daily Plate, UrbanSpoon, Super Cook, and Calorie Count!

More Upper Crust.

As mentioned earlier, G promised that he would buy me lunch today (he needs to stop making deals with me about walking the dog).  I decided that we should go back to Upper Crust again because I really wanted to try their salads and sweet potato fries.

G got the same sub that I got last time; the Charm City Cheesesteak.  That thing is seriously good.  There were times during lunch that I wished that I had been a little more "bad".  Don't worry, I picked at it :)

I had the Strawberry Brie salad, which had spinach, strawberries, apples, walnuts, and a champagne and brie dressing.  I thought there was going to be some brie on the salad, but I guess it's just in the dressing.  Yummy, but I could make it at home.  The dressing was phenomenal, though.

And there are my sweet potato fries.  Yummy.  Too much food.  And G also had a slice of pepperoni pizza (he only ate 1/2 the sub).

Such a good restaurant!  I also had a Cadbury egg :)  One of my all time favorite candies.  Alright, now I need to start prepping dinner!  And finish that school work that's constantly looming over me.

Snowed in.

Did anyone else get a big snow yesterday?  Funny enough, my parents on the Eastern Shore got 10-12", which NEVER happens.  I'm sure the shore is in a state of shock.  We got a few inches; just enough to be annoying in my opinion.  Can you tell I'm a summer girl?


Yesterday for lunch I tried out one of the soups that Amy's recently sent me.  I haven't tried many of Amy's products besides soups, but I really need to.  I love that their ingredients are all REAL and the taste is fresh.  I always hear good things about their frozen entrees.  Yesterday I had the Hearty Spanish Rice and Red Beans.

It was really good.  Thick and spicy like a nice chili.  I did add some hot sauce to it because I like food to have a little more kick than the average person, but it really didn't need it.  Yum I can't wait to try the others.  Thanks Amy's!

I also had a pomegranate Chobani with granola.

I've had this flavor before and I love it.  All of their yogurt tastes like you added the fruit to it yourself.  You can't beat that.

Followed by a Vitabrownie.

I think I like the chocolate Vitatops more than the brownies.

For dinner, I made some chicken noodle soup with matzo balls and salad with bread.  It was a serious soup day!

I also shared a bag of popcorn with G while we watched The Hangover.  I thought that movie would be funnier.  Don't get me wrong, it was funny, but the way people were talking about it I thought it was going to be pee-your-pants hilarious.

For breakfast I made some French toast and tried to keep it pretty light.

 

Wow that's a lot of syrup.

I also tried a new Chobani: pineapple.

I think I really like the 2% ones more than the 0%.  And pineapple yogurt?  I thought it might be weird, but it was awesome!  I really hope they have these at Wegmans :)

Speaking of Wegmans, today is grocery day!  Can't wait to get through all of my chores for the weekend!  Plus, I've been promised lunch so we'll see where it ends up.

I read this post about Snow Treats yesterday and I'm wondering, do any of you guys do this?  I really want to try it, but I think I'd be afraid of acid snow or something. 

Some goodies and Pasta Plus, Laurel.

When I get behind on posting, sometimes I just want to trash the old pictures and start over again.  But I really want to show off a couple of the dinners that I missed over the past week that I am proud of :)  They were awesome.  Not neccessarily healthy, but awesome.

I made Ina's fish and baked chips.  I am not great with frying food and I don't tend to make fried food very often for health reasons, but I will DEFINITELY make this again.

G said it was "restaurant quality".  One of the best compliments that I've ever gotten :)


On Thursday, I made cheese fondue from a little kit that I got from TJ's a long while back.  We dipped veggies, apple, bread, and potatoes.

I also tried making a chocolate one, but it just didn't work out...

Yesterday I was going to pamper myself and get a manicure.  I haven't had one in forever.  I had forgotten that President Obama was in Baltimore yesterday.  They blocked off so many streets!  I ended up being in the car for an hour, and all I ended up doing was going around the block and back into m garage.  I'll get my mani soon, hopefully.  But luckily when I got home there was something waiting for me:

CHOBANI!  The nice people there sent me some samples to try out.  I am really excited about them.  There are a few flavors that I've never seen before.  I decided to try the strawberry banana one first.

I love strawberry-banana anything, and this is exactly what you want in a yogurt.  It tasted like real fruit and not like flavoring and the texture is awesome.  I haven't had Greek yogurt for a while so it's going to take a little bit of getting used to again.  I hope I can find this flavor in stores!

Last night I made dinner plans for myself and 7 of my friends to meet in Laurel at Pasta Plus. 
 I had gone there last May after my graduation with my parents and I liked it a lot.  I had originally suggested that we go to a different restaurant (mainly because I just want to try every restaurant that I can), but my other friends suggested that we go here.

The line was pretty long.  We were waiting for quite a long time before we were seated, but it didn't really bother me too much.  It was Friday night, after all, and we were a large group.  It gave me a chance to look at the menu.  I finally settled on one of the specials:

Ravioli di Zucca

homemade pumpkin ravioli sauteed in butter with sage, prosciutto, peas, and sund-dried tomatoes 

 

 

It was pretty good.  My friend Becca and I were discussing it and both had mixed feelings on the cream sauce.  Since the filling was so creamy and sweet, the sauce could have done something a little bit different to contrast that.  Some acidity maybe?  It was still yummy.  It came with a house salad and bread.  G and I also split a glass of the house merlot, which we liked a lot.  His Margarita pizza was good, too, but he said he liked the one that he got from Upper Crust better.

All in all, it's definitely one of the best restaurants in the Laurel area (trust me after living in College Park for 4 years, you try to look outside of the Rt 1 corrider).  I don't think that it's the best Italian ever, though.

The leftovers were good, too.  Plus the photo is better.

 

Wow, snow is really starting to come down outside.  So I really have no excuse for working on homework.  Stay warm!!!

The day that wasn't... and Rosina Gourmet

I was going to talk a lot in the post about my frustrations with myself over the past couple of days.  I have been snacking a little too much and a little too freely.  I do not feel like much has changed in terms of my weight loss or overall lifestyle.  In fact, I just feel sort of blah.  But I want to just leave it at that mini-vent session and just move on.  I'll leave yesterday undocumented, since I didn't take a lot of pics anyway and all I can do is just keep trying, right?


Now that that's out of my system ;)


I had some oatmeal for breakfast this morning.  I think my favorite instant oatmeal is Wegmans brand.  This is 365 and it's still pretty good.

I had a chocolate Vitatop during class (well, when I left class during break. oops.).  I got a lot of little errands done this morning and that always feels good!

I decided that I wanted to use the Groupon that I got for Rosina Gourmet today.  I had never even heard of it before I got the deal, but there's one Downtown and one in Canton.  We went to the one Downtown.  It was sort of in an office building off of Lombard Street.  There were a lot of people in suits eating in there.  They had a lot of different types of drinks and chips.  They even had a chardonnay soda!?  Rosina seemed pretty popular.  So popular that they had run out of soup!  I was planning on getting some, so I changed my order to a grilled vegetable sandwich and we took it to go.  G got a mozzarella sandwich.

This was a really yummy sandwich.  Both sandwiches were cold so we heated them up.  This had some great veggies and seasonings and wasn't too oily like some grilled veggies can be.  The bread was pretty good, too.  G really liked the mozzarella sandwich.  They weren't huge, but I couldn't have eaten a bigger one.  We split a bag of Buffalo Bleu Kettle Chips that we bought there.  I think I would go back, but I would want to try something different.



I also had a kiwi.

Have I mentioned that my puppy has been a little bit of a troublemaker lately?  This morning, I left him alone for a minute and came back to this:

He had completely torn apart his toy "Moosie" and ripped his head off.  You can even see some stuffing in his mouth there.  Oh boy.  As you can see, he still has a lot of other toys.

Thanks again to all of my readers and blog buddies.  I love your feedback and support!