The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good:

A #1 – Look at how fast my new sneaks look

Same Asics 2140s, new color scheme

Soo snazzy!  Take a look inside!

Oooooh! Ahhhhh!

B #2 – I was contacted by Mariel from Honest Foods today.  She saw my comment on another blog about how I was disappointed my local store stopped carrying Honest bars – and she’s going to help bring them back!  Yahoo!!  Thanks so much Mariel!!  I hope you’re successful!

The Bad:

My foot was achin’ (!!!) today, so the hubs benched me for our planned 10 miler.  I know, I know – it’s for the best – but I’m just getting nervous.  Guess this week will be more of a taper than I thought.  Bah.

The Ugly:

Proof positive that a food blogger doesn’t always eat super nutritiously and/or creatively.  And sometimes – I go on strike against veggies for no apparent reason (’cause I love ‘em!).  Here we go!

Off to a good start.

I piled on the flax this morning.  Oh!  And that’s a new granola – Chappaqua Crunch.  We chose it because it’s more local to us than our beloved Galaxy granola (not quite as good – but good enough).  I feel good that it didn’t have to travel all the way across the country to get to me.

My coworkers & I had planned to catch up over lunch after a class we took… but we got out super duper early!  We decided to head on over to Panera to catch up on all the latest. 

Pumpkin muffin top & a non fat chai latte

Had to be social & get something – even though I wasn’t particularly hungry.    Both items were delicious.  I heart pumpkin season!

No suprise that I ended up not being super hungry come lunch time.  I snagged some of these guys that Artie’s been taunting me with for awhile now

A college favorite!

Bagel Bites (souped up with garlic & Italian seasoning).  I haven’t eaten these in a dog’s age… but I sure do love ‘em!

We ran a few errands & I brought something to crunch on for the ride…

An apple a day...

And I couldn’t help but to dig in to something we got on sale at the grocery store…

Pretty, but not super sweet. I miss berry season!

Dinner was quick & easy, an oldie but goodie:  mini tostadas!!

I’m siiiiinging in the rain!

Actually, napping in the rain is more like it.    Hope the weather’s better tomorrow for my last long run before the 1/2.

Something horrible happened this morning… NO HOT WATER.  Grrrr.  I’m pretty sure I was frozen from the inside.  Oats were definitely in order… and bonus – I had the perfect bowl waiting for me. 

Bananas & berries. Best combo EVA.

Warmed the soul & filled my belly.

Consequently, lunch was kinda thrown together last minute (since I used the time I had planned to pack to make my (much needed) oatmeal).  SLACKER.  Pardon the gross picture -

Random little salad.

Salad was romaine, grape tomato, artichoke, banana peppers & a Gardenburger drizzled with honey mustard.  It worked.  I saved my apple for a little while later since I had some random jaw pain during my break (OMG, 29 and falling apart at the seams!)

Rainy day requirement: comfort food.  You know what that means to me!

Mini bowl of cereal.

Oatmeal overload?  Never!!  Oatmeal Squares with sliced almonds & blueberries in skim milk. 

Next, I spent some time recruiting teammates for my latest adventure: a relay version of the Manchester Marathon.  Not sure what leg I’ll be running yet – but I’ll be sure to keep you posted.  I think the boys are going to fight over the longest run.  Figures! 

Eventually, I shuffled (yeah, the foot’s still hurtin’) over to the kitchen to make dinner.  I could’ve had anything since I’m flying solo – but I kept it simple.

McDonald's?

No way!  That’s fast food – Elizabeth style.  I tried a new variety of whole wheat “all natural” english muffin (Michael’s I think??)… it was good!  My “mcmuffin” had egg, swiss, fakin’ bacon, hot sauce & ketchup.  Yup – I’m firmly in the eggs need ketchup camp.  I think it’s a regional thing.  Do you use ketchup on eggs?  Anyway – I was craving OJ but sadly, we had none so chocolate soy milk it was.

What are y’all up to this week?  Me, I’ll be counting the hours until VACATION!!  I’m sooo looking forward to some time away.  And we have some fun stuff planned – so be sure to keep reading! 

xo Elizabeth

Leftover City

I’m tired & a little cranky tonight.  My foot hurts  – despite sportin’ my magical healing Danskos all day.  Artie gave me a lovely foot rub though. 

Quick recap of the eats… starting with my favorite meal of the day!

My favorite travel mug... CLAM UP!

I noshed on the mixed nuts while packing up for the day… I woke up HANGRY.

Lunch was leftovers take 1:

Snobby joe, snob snobby joe....

On a whole wheat english muffin with spinach (makes every sandwich better!).  As pictured, I also enjoyed a Colby Jack cheese stick & the star of lunch… a locally grown Cortland apple.  Yay fall! 

I was feeling blah when I got home – so I partook in random snacking… TLCs and this -

less than delectable peach.

I ate maybe 1/2?  Meh.  Followed by a much appreciated nap & phone call to the ‘rents.

Neither Artie or I felt like much for dinner – so it was FFYOA night (a Boutin household tradition).  I heated up some leftover fajitas (but didn’t feel like boring you with another picture of ‘em)

The evening will be spent curled up on the couch - shopping online for a fun running shirt.  The front runners so far are: “Slow is the new fast” and “Race day strategy: Start slow and then back off”.  Hey, what can I say…. I’m built for comfort – not speed! 

I love shirts that have funny sayings on them… what are some of your favorites?

Time for some ice cream therapy for the foot!

Until next time…

xo Elizabeth

LU-CY… I’m HO-ME!

Anyone still checking in?? Maybe not… what do I expect when I up and leave you like that?! My apologies… I hope you can forgive me.

But I’m settling back into my normal routine & that means I’m back on the blog wagon. What’ve y’all been up to the past couple of weeks? I’ll give you a sneak peak into the fun I’ve been having…

Andy got hitched!

This is my work crew - don’t they clean up nice??  Big change from our usual scrub look.  We got the newlyweds the world’s BEST gift (ever!!)… a 3 pitcher margarita machine!!  Still waiting for our invitation to come over & test it out…

Happy birthday Clara!

I also got to meet my new little “niece” – this iPhone snapshot doesn’t do her justice… she’s a complete princess!  Congrats Jen & Mike! 

Strike a pose, Flash Boutin!

Of course I had to  cheer Artie & the lovely Ms. Britt (from Runnerbelle Eats) on as they ran far & fast for the Reach The Beach 24 hour relay.  I’m proud of them… their team had a strong showing (& more importantly… a heck of a fun time in the process).  Britt posted a thorough recap on her blogaroo… so go check it out! 

Speaking of running… it’s crunch time for my very first 1/2 marathon.  I’ve been struggling this week with a foot injury, but my motto is keep on truckin’.  Giving up is NOT an option.  Today’s 8 mile run along the beach was a success… I loaded up on Ibuprofen before hand - that helped.    We also swung into our local running store & got me a fresh pair of sneaks.  Honestly, my current pair are in pretty good shape – but given the foot pain, I figure I better pull out all the stops.

OK – on to the eats… this IS a food journaling blog afterall!  Breakfast was my current favorite…

Yogurt berry granola blend.

Featuring Stonyfield Pomegranate Berry yogurt & the last of my Galaxy Granola.  Always satisfying.

Lunch was decided after I saw an awesome coupon for BOGO bagelwiches @ our favorite local bagel joint. 

Toasty seasame WW bagel with organic hummus, tomatos & sprouts.

Soooo good.  When Artie used to work at the ambulance, I used to join him & his partner regularly for lunch on Fridays @ the Bagelry .  May have to re-institute that tradition – I’ve missed it!  And don’t think I didn’t steal most of Artie’s pickle too. 

I already talked about the run – so I’ll skip ahead to the post run snackaroo…

His & Hers Laras... oceanside!

Afterwards… we swung over to our favorite local farmstand (Teeces in Durham) to pick up some veggies for dinner.  We FINALLY got to see Food Inc. last night (are we the last ones on the planet or what?) and one of the things Artie & I want to improve upon is supporting our local argriculture.  So this was a small step towards that.

If your curious about my thoughts about the movie – let me know.  I know it’s been reviewed to death across the blogosphere already, so I’ll spare you for now.  BUT – I think it’s important for everyone to see (so watch it ASAP!)

We also impluse bought a small piece of apple cake (to share) from the farm (it smells divine!), but I’m saving my half for a pre-bed dessert.

Dinner featured lots of farm fresh goodness in the form of fajitas!

LOADED!

Don’t tell me you haven’t tried the yogurt/sour cream switch yet…. what are you waiting for?  It’s amazing!!  I reccomend plain Oikos.

So again, I apologize for my extended hiatus – but it’s good to be back.    Tell me about one thing you’ve done this week that’s made you feel proud.

xo Elizabeth

Don’t you…. forget about me!

Training for a 1/2 marathon is hard work.  Throw in an out of control yoga obsession & you’ll have yourself an exhausted Elizabeth.

I’m beat. 

I’ll get back to regular posting shortly.  In the meantime - I’ll share 2 of my more unique meals over the past couple of days.  (There’s been a lot of green monsters, cereal, yogurt & PB toast too, of course!)

You’ve seen it all over the blogosphere…

Nectarine & ricotta sammie

I used our homemade flax & sunflower seed bread and did NOT sweeten the ricotta… just used it straight up.  This was an interesting combination for me… I’d eat it again, but I wasn’t WOWED the way I thought I’d be.

And since we had yummy bread in the house…

Yet another version of huevos rancheros!

This pretty much ruled.    There’s a little cheddar & some avacado burried under there.  I used the microwave poaching method from katheats.com for the egg… so easy!  Come to think of it… I may do a rerun of this very very soon.  Soooo delicious!

I’m super in love with my yoga studio.  I’ve been using this week to try out all sorts of classes & meet a lot of the instructors.  Every class has been unique & wonderful in it’s own way.  It has been so good for my soul.    If any of you locals ever want to join me… let me know!

I’m starting to feel like all I do is run (I can’t imagine how people train for a full marathon).  I bought Artie & I a little running related treat today to keep us motivated.  You’ll just have to wait & see what it is!   Are you the type of person who rewards yourself for working hard, or a job well done?  I hope so… because each & every one of you is worth it!

Until I blog again…

xoxo Elizabeth

Two for Tuesday

Hola mi amigos!

Como estas?  Estoy bien!    I’m getting ready to hit the hay – but couldn’t leave you hanging yet again.  Quick recap…

Today I munched on some almonds during my AM commute.  Breakfast was simple & stabilizing:

Yum.

Strawberry Stonyfield, sliced banana, Galaxy Granola & flax.  Just what the doctor ordered.

I also packed a simply satisfying lunch:

Voila.

Microwaved sweet potato (poke some holes with a fork, wrap in a moistened paper towel, microwave for 5-10 minutes depending on your tater’s size) topped with cottage cheese & pepper with a side of leftover asparagus.  Kristin had asked me what cottage cheese is like – anyone have a good explaination for her?  I know I usually enjoy it with pepper, chives, cukes and/or tomato, but lots of folks like it with fruit (peaches, pineapple, whatever) or simply plain!

I enjoyed a pre run snack…

Teeny, tiny granny smith apple with a sea of almond butter.

OK, it was really only a tablespoon – but it just spread out weird.    A quick 2 mile run followed by my first Ashtanga yoga class made me hungry!  Artie was on dinner patrol  (love you!)…

Asparagus take 2.

This asparagus was perfection – fresh, steamed & delish.  I never get tired of asparagus!!  The meal was rounded out with an Alexia whole grain dinner roll (with a pat of buttah) & seasoned Morningstar “chicken” strips.

My sweet tooth reared it’s ugly head & I partook in an old time favorite…

Ben, Jerry... I've missed you!

Enjoyed in only the best way… on the couch… out of the carton… in my pjs… while watching 90210.    I don’t often eat real ice cream (aka not fro yo/low fat/etc) anymore… it was a treat for sure!

PS – Like a crazy person, I’ve signed up for another 1/2 marathon.  It’s in November.  Who am I & where is Elizabeth??

Any yogis out there practice Ashtanga?  I could use some encouragement… class was HARD.  I’m up for the challenge… but some of those poses are pretty wild. 

OK – bedtime for me!!

xo Elizabeth

Laboring on Labor Day

Hi people -

If you had the day off today – I hate you I hope you enjoyed it.    Some of us had the lovely opportunity to work… at least it was time & a half!

My Labor Day gift to you all is sparing you from looking at another picture of a bowl of cereal.    Not because I didn’t have one (don’t be silly!), but somehow, it managed to escape my camera.  Breakfast was a delightful bowl of Go Lean & Cheerios with blueberries & banana (in vanilla soy milk).

Remember how I left packing lunch until this morning?  Well – I was still rather uninspired at 5:30 in the morning.  But I found a Chobani that was on it’s eat or toss day (& some strawberries that were rapidly approaching the same fate).  So this is what I came up with:

One of my favorite salad combos!

A bed of spinach topped with mandarin oranges, strawberries, feta & almonds.  Kinda summery, but so flavorful.  I topped the peach Chobani with just a little Galaxy Granola.

After lunch – I recieved a fabulous gift!

Blurry because I was in a hurry to start eating

Thanks Mrs. T!  Best. brownies. ever.  They were left over from her cookout & I had to eat it on the sly since there weren’t enough for everyone.  I was busted though & brutally interrogated about where it came from… but I didn’t cave under pressure!

I was on sugar high for awhile afterwards… but apparently chocolate = good brain food because I plowed through some “homework” for an ACLS class like… well… it was my job.  Ha. 

I decided that going to work was enough exercise for the holiday & enjoyed a rest day.  But it’s back to the grind tomorrow for sure!

Artie & I had trouble getting our act together for dinner – so I settled my growling stomach with a little appetizer.

Grapes & TLCs? Does life get any better?

 Ultimately – neither of us felt like cooking so we headed on over to our favorite restaurant – Margarita’s! We nibbled on these:

Fresh & spicy.

Black bean enchiladas with pineapple salsa!

Sooooo delicious!  I haven’t had these in a dog’s age – but I think that just made me love them more! 

My kind of Sunday

Hi there!

I was tired yesterday after coming home from our friend’s house so I skipped posting.  I didn’t eat anything too noteworthy & a lot of it went unphotographed – so use your imagination.  If you’re picturing cereal, nectarines & a veggie burger, you’re on to me. 

The BIG excitement was my return to yoga.  I’m so happy to be practicing… yes practicing.  I need lots of work!  Running has made my already TIGHT hamstrings that much tighter.  Yoga feels awesome! 

So – on to today.  I kicked my “high protein 1st thing in the morning” experiment to the curb to enjoy the thing I was craving most…

Greeeen monstah, baby!

While I definitely can see benefit to the protein plan… I love to start my day with fruit.  (sorry Kristin!)  A bagel & PB without a banana??  That’s crazy talk.  So I don’t think my experiment will become a way of life.  I’m glad I tried it though – and you may see early morning protein fixes every now & again.

Moving on… next up was yoga.  A nice & easy class – with only two students!!  I liked the teacher’s style – she really focused on giving us tips on form to get the most benefit from each pose.

After class, I headed over to the Gap Outlet (fave!) to load up on yoga pants (& other essentials.  Hello – I had a coupon!).  I was particularly missing the hubs (working), so I even bought him a few things. 

I had trouble figuring out what to have for lunch.    Just about ready to throw in the towel & make a ginorm salad when I saw leftover pesto begging to be eaten.  Hehe.  I created a similar bowl to the other day – this time substituting steamed asparagus for the grilled squash.

Sha-zam!

 It may not photograph pretty – but it sure is tasty.  Nom nom nom. 

Fortunately – it was a beautiful day to enjoy the great outdoors because I had a 5 mile run to get over with complete.    I ran my usual loop around campus/Durham which allowed me to to check in with my darling husband over at the firehouse.  But… before I got there – I came across a car accident.  It had just happened – so I ended up beating the FD there.  Take that boys!    Not that I stopped or anything (things were very much under control) – I just like to give ‘em a hard time.

The rest of my afternoon was spent doing some much needed lounging (I wasn’t feeling so hot after my run) & eventually snacking…

Cinni-apple!

You know, we always get all sorts of varieties of apples, but at the end of the day, there’s nothing better than a granny smith.   

Breakfast. I wanted breakfast.

Good thing we froze an extra waffle the last time I required waffles for dinner.    I drizzled those triangles with maple syrup and dunked them in my yogurt bowl.  Because I could.  I know you’re jealous.  (the yogurt bowl contained plain Oikos, a tiny bit of Galaxy Granola and the obvious berries)  Delish. 

Friday rewind

Hi friends!

Hope everyone has something fun planned for the holiday weekend!  Ours started out pretty awesome – but first, I had to get through another day at work.

Starting with breks:

Guess which one of these things I ate as an appetizer?

I’ve missed Kashi Go Lean… glad to have it back in my kitchen. 

Artie met me for lunch – I was HANGRY!  So happy I had packed one of my favorites!!

Look how beautiful this is!

Flat Out with almond butter, spinach, carrots & craisins.  Yum!!  I shared my side dish with the hubs.

Since he's the red grape lover in this house.

Suprisingly, this didn’t hold me over terribly well.  I was practically counting the seconds until I could dig into my afternoon snack.

Toppings = granola, flax & blueberries

People were jealous of how fresh my snack was. 

Since summer is winding down – Artie, Greg & I wanted to be sure to pay at least one final visit to our favorite deck… Poco’s!  If the rumors are true, and it really IS their last year… well, I don’t even want to think about it.  I told the boys to suprise me with a drink & they know me so well…

I heart Patron!

We decided to pick up & move on over the the Portsmouth Brewery for dinner.  Since I planned on enjoying a second cold beverage… I settled on a pick-y type of meal.  It’s how I roll since I’m totally the snacky type when I have more than one drink. 

See my Star Island Single hanging out in the background?

Gotta love a restaurant that serves hummus & baba ganoush!    I had a great time hanging out with my boys – as usual!

Oh, and there was a rather large portion of TLCs consumed after we got home.  Don’t hate. 

What’s on your agenda this weelend?

xo Elizabeth

Oopsie daisy!

I’m sooo not technologically inclined.  How I get blogs posts up most of the time is beyond me.

Ok, so hi.  How are you all? 

My day started with a little protein boost – as per my current M.O.

1/2 a mini bagel with crunchy PB

Toasted of course – for maximum melt factor.

Next up, I turned yesterday’s uneaten snack in to today’s lovely breakfast…

Long story about the styrofoam bowl. Not very green of me.

What you see is a Stonyfield Superfruit (pom, raspberry & acai) yogurt topped with 1/2 a crumbled (acai raspberry) applesauce muffin & some banana slices.  Not to worry – I most definitely ate the rest of the muffin & banana on the side.    Props to me for avoiding the chatty drug rep for the 2nd day running… today he brought DD’s muffins & I heard there were chocolate chip ones.  :-/  I maintain that my muffin was better!

Lunch was a B-E-A utiful salad… I had a great iPhone picture which I somehow deleted??  At least I have some less glamorous shots I took while packing up last night… you don’t want to miss this one!

Heaven!

A bed of spinach topped with chopped pink lady apple, walnuts, red grapes, and goat cheese.  OMG.  Drool. I served it up with some pita triangles & of course, the usual black cherry seltzer.  Sooo refreshing!

I *required* a chocolate fix today & fortunately my friend (& follow chocoholic) had some dark chocolate M&Ms stashed away in her locker.  Sold. 

Not the best running fuel (shocking, I know).  I went on a 4 mile run shortly afterwards & felt blah the whole way through.  My legs were heavy & I had a stitch in each side for the majority of my jaunt.  I finished though – & that’s always my one & only goal.  (OK – “don’t die” is a goal too )

I knew dinner was going to be delayed because of an appointment, so after a quick shower – I packed up a snack to take with me…

Berries to go-go.

And dinner – what a treat!!  I had been planning a fridge clearing kind of bowl since last night – but I had no idea just how awesome it would turn out!!!

A picture that doesn't do justice...

Layered in the heap: brown basmati rice, grilled summer squash & zucchini, garbanzo beans, chopped tomatos, an It’s All Good naked “chicken” cutlet tossed in a hefty serving of homemade pesto.  Dreamy.  It’s seriously all about the pesto. 

I’m pretty sure I’ll have a little snack later – but I’m not sure what yet.  I’m super happy with my eats today.  Very fulfilling!

Big news on the exercise front… I’m going back to yoga!!  I’m out of practice – but I’ve thought long & hard about it & can’t wait to start up again.  I’ve been tossing the idea around for awhile, but since the gym is just so darn cheap (it’s affiliated with the hospital where I work) – it’s hard to leave. 

However, I’ve come to realize that I don’t love the gym.  I go because I know it’s good for me, but it usually feels like a chore.  Yoga is something I can get excited about.  It’s worth the extra expense to keep me interested.  I think it will compliment my running nicely.  My goal will be to get to 3 classes/week.

I hate to abandon my trainer though – Nathaniel has been good to me!  But it’s not “good bye” I’m sure… rather “see you later”???  Or something like that!  I’ll feel a tiny bit guilty though… it’s like I’m cheating on him!

Do you switch up your exercise routine very often?

xo Elizabeth