Breakfast: Started this rainy day with a green smoothie. It’s been a few days since my last one and I have missed them! This tasted so delicious. In the blender: frozen spinach, banana, blueberries, mango, and water. Yum.

Wednesday night, I went to a neat event. Chloe Coscarelli, the vegan chef who won the FoodNetwork’s Cupcake Wars, has a new cookbook–Chloe’s Kitchen– and was doing a signing near my house.

I was mostly vegan a few years ago, but even now that I eat meat often (and dairy occasionally), I still really like vegan meals. But I need EASY vegan meals and that’s what attracted me to Chloe’s book– it’s just that! Simple, tasty vegan meals.

Chloe was really sweet in person. She seemed a little nervous at the signing but answered a few questions, mostly about her favorite vegan SF restaurants.

sorry for the big head in the way, no good angle here

She also talked about how difficult it was to write a cookbook– her friends thought she just cooked in her pjs all day, but honestly, it was a ton of work– so many trials and errors with each recipe, late into the night, figuring out exact amounts. I believe her!

She signed books

And another event perk– There were sparkly cupcakes (vegan and g-free, of course!)

I flipped through the book at home. Some good looking recipes. Like these:

She says that whenever she makes these cinammon rolls she keeps breaking up peice after peice....until pretty soon she's eaten half the pan!

Vegan meatballs

And I think Charlie would like this:

Anyways, so the cookbook is now on my shelf. Hope to make a recipe next week.

It’s always fun to meet the chef/author in person. Puts a personal touch to the recipes when you actually make them.

In other news, here was my non-vegan lunch. Sprouted bread with avocado and smoked salmon. Totally easy to make at work and filling.

Happy Friday!!

Any good cookbooks sitting on your shelves?
For those of you who aren’t vegan– do you still make vegan recipes?

G’morning!!

Breakfast: Another rainy morning breakfast. A big cup of coffee and whole wheat sunflower seed bread with homemade walnut butter and strawberry jam. I found the walnut butter hiding in the back of the fridge- I had totally forgotten about it. Hit the spot!

While sipping my coffee, I read yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article on “Colleagues Who Can Make You Fat.” It’s all about the food temptaions and peer pressure at the office.

Let me preface this by saying that this doesn’t happen at my office. I work with all women and everyone is very exercise/health conscious…..and no one really brings in any foods to share, so it’s not an issue.

BUT, I’ve def worked in offices where it has been, so can still relate a lot.

The article says there are many kinds of co-workers who “can make you fat” or just interfere with your healthy lifestyle. They include:

• The lady who guilts you into eating something she baked or brought in. “You MUST eat it, I baked it with my special recipe!” she says and then stands at your desk until you take a bite. Really you want to say, “Umm, sorry, but I’m not hungry!”
• The baked goods birthday/celebration treats where you feel like you “have to” partake or it’s rude. When I worked in a large office, this happened at least once a week. Sometimes it was fun to have a treat but other days, I just wasn’t hungry and would rather have had something healthier. A slice of cake at 2pm just makes me sleepy anyways.
• Office meetings that are surrounded around a meal aka, the lunch meeting “catered” by the greasy pizza place or the early breakfast meeting with nothing but danishes (and whoever is running the mtg always acts like they are so nice to have ordered greasy food for you as a “treat”). This wasn’t in the article, but just my thoughts.
• The person who comments on what you’re eating, “You’re eating salad again? How boring!” Or “Eww you like tofu? That’s disgusting.”

According to thethe article, “some 29% of people on diets say colleagues pressure them to eat more, make fun of their diets or order them restaurant food they know isn’t on their diets.” Geez, that’s annoying!

All my friends who work at Google, where’s there’s AMAZING free food all day long (pretty much everything you can think of to eat, it’s there) call it the “Google 15” and say that everyone gains 15 pounds within the first few months of work.  I’ve been to lunch there and I’m so not surprised people gain weight…..with free trail mix, candy, cereals, hot cocoa, pizza, etc, I would totally get used to several “work break” visits to the cafeteria everyday.

I’ve def had co-workers in the past who comment on my food and roll their eyes if I pull out a salad. It’s really obnoxious and frankly, none of their business. Work environments are such an interesting balance– you’re with these people 40+ hours per week…..yet, some of them you may not have ever chosen to have in your life.

I’m lucky now that I work in a small and friendly office where this isn’t really an issue. Otherwise, I really feel like it’s high school peer-pressure all grown up. I’m sure most of us can just roll our eyes at this silly comments, not take it personally, and get used to not eating every baked good that sits in the staff room unless we’re actually hungry, but this article still brings up something interesting. We’ve all indulged at the office, not necessarily because we’ve wanted to, but because we felt like we had to (or just because it was “there.”) At least noticing it can help before it makes you “fat.”

Afternoon snack: Plums! Ate this at my desk. No one commented, haha. Are plums back in season? Hope soo….

What’s it like in your office? Are there baked goods or treats all the time? Do you like it or do you feel like it makes eating healthy harder? Are your co-workers exercise/health conscious?

Happy Wednesday! Blogging from an overcast and pouring rain day in SF. We need the rain like no one’s business, but it’s like Mother Nature stored up everything all season until this week and just let it all out finally! But rain= cheaper tastier produce, so no real complaints from me.

And now, time for What I Ate Wednesday, Thanks Jenn!

These are my eats from Monday. It was a weird all-over-the-place kind of day. I was getting over being sick and I had jury duty, which made my schedule far from usual. But some days are like that, so here ya go:

My morning started at 7am with a great swim in the pool. I got my own lane (everyone must have slept in because of the time change). Sweet!

8am- Breakfast. Random breakfast: Coffee with soy milk, a banana, and a handful of walnuts. Omega-3s and potassium to start the day? yes, please.

Check out the sticker, "I'm chiquita banana....." Love it!

I was on “call-back status” for jury duty, so I spent the morning working from home (in yoga pants sprawled out on the couch). I was totally expecting not to have to go in, so when the 11:30am recorded message told me that I had to “report” by 12:30 to the courthouse FORTY FIVE minutes from my house, I was way unprepared. Poor Charlie was woken up from a nap and dragged out of the house to “daycare” with me, lol. Aww, the life of a dog.

11:30am- Lunch. This was pretty early for lunch, but I wanted to eat before leaving for jury duty, so I just threw leftovers together. It sorta looked more like dinner (?). 2 chicken legs (with liquid aminos), kale (from the farmer’s market), and leftover roasted eggplant. I ate the kale in the car. Messy.

3pm- After serving my patriotic duty as a juror (thank goodness I didn’t get chosen), I went outside for a snack. Almonds (more nuts? yes of course), an apple, and an honest tea. It was my first time with the tea. It’s ok. Anyone love it?

Isn’t the courthouse pretty? Jury duty was actually not so bad– the whole process is really interesting and like one big history lesson (i’m a nerd, i love u.s. history stuff).

I did a few errands after leaving the courthouse before going home to get some more work done.

6pm- Dinner. Even with the daylight savings change, I’m still hungry early. By 6, I was more than ready to eat. Brussel sprouts and quinoa mixed with pinto beans and nutritional yeast. I got more than my fair share of nutritional yeast that day.

Snack: Later that night, I ate (unpictured) 2 pieces of toast and 2 handfuls of raisins. Raisins do not stand a chance against me. I can’t get enough. Too bad cause they are full of cals.
I got plenty of fats and protein, but I was still pretty hungry in the end of the day. Need to work on better balance, I suppose.

Have you ever been selected to be on a jury?
How often can you work from home?
Do you eat meals in the car ever?

Janetha at Meals and Moves did a great a to z this week and thought I’d play too.   It’s a rainy, rainy Tuesday morning here so posting some fun me facts was just what I felt like.

So here goes……

A is for age:  Wouldn’t it be great to be 5 again and spend all day singing songs, doing art projects, and playing on the swings.   That’s not the age I am, but the one I’d like to be today

B is for breakfast today: Cereal!  This is a rarity, I don’t usually have cereal for breakfast but it hit the spot this morning.  Special K with a banana and almond milk.

C is for currently craving:  This.  Will you make it for me, please?

D is for dinner tonight: Not sure yet, but it will def involve a sweet potato cause that’s my other “currently craving.”  I’m getting a glass of wine with a friend tonight, but will have to wait to eat dinner until I’m home since we’re not eating out this month.

E is for favorite type of exercise: Swimming.  Love.  It clears my head and my whole body feels great afterwards.  Not to mention, swimming means a post-workout dip in the hot tub, which is soo nice.

F is for an irrational fear: The bridge collapsing while I’m driving over it.  Ever since that bridge collapsed in Minnesota a few years ago, I hold my breath when we drive over one here, convinced it might collapse.  Totally irrational.

G is for gross food: Blue cheese.  Disgusting. I can’t even eat anything that has touched blue cheese.  So gross.

H is for hometown: A subburb near San Francisco.

I is for something important: Family.  Puppy.  Spending time outside.  Appreciating the simple things in life.

J is for current favorite jam:  “Stronger (what doesn’t kill you)” by Kelly Clarkson.  I can’t help but feel more positive when I hear it.

K is for kids: Yes, eventually.  But just one for now, my loveable pup, Charlie.  He has a blog too…

L is for current location: I’m at work, sitting at my desk.  Hate admitting that, as I should probs be doing something other than blogging…..

M is for the most recent way you spent money:  A tall coffee from Starbucks, sipped on my commute to work.

N is for something you need:  A haircut.  Hello split ends.

O is for occupation:  Manage a nonprofit program that helps homeless kids.  On weekends, I’m a juggler (aka, juggle doggie, friends, family, exercise, etc).  I’ve had a few other professions (politics, teaching, etc) so we’ll see what other occupations I’ll eventually add to my list.

P is for pet peeve:  This is really random, but lately it’s my pet peeve when I see people feeding stale bread to the ducks.  I know you MEAN well, but come on people, it makes then sick! And then they poop all over and it’s just disgusting.

Q is for a quote: I’m obsessed with quotes, so there’s no way I can pick a favorite.  My mom sent me this one recently:  “Friends are like bras.  Close to your heart and there for support.”  Lol

R is for random fact about you: I wear flip flops just about all the time (unless I’m at work….but even then I sometimes keep them on).  It’s not that I mind other shoes, it’s just that I like the feeling of my toes being free and they are so comfy.  I’ll probably regret this later in life, but until then, flip flops are my shoe of choice.  It’s rainy today and I still haven’t put my other “work” shoes on yet….

S is for favorite healthy snack: Almonds and raisins.  Though I usually eat too many, so they probably can’t be considered healthy anymore.

T is for favorite treat: Chocolate ice cream.  In a cone, of course.

U is for something that makes you unique:  Freckles!  Maybe you can’t tell from my pics, but I have a lot of “angel kisses” as my mom used to call them.

V is for favorite vegetable: Broccoli.  Roasted, steamed, stirfryed, anyway you cook it up, just give it to me!

W is for today’s workout: 30 minutes on the treadmill this morning….while watching a Bethenny Ever After rerun (she’s getting to be a bit of a diva, don’t you think?).

X is for X-rays you’ve had: None, no broken bones (knock on wood).  I did get a cat scan once….I’m a little bit of a hypochondriac and was convinced my headache was a brain tumor.  I’m fine, of course, lol.

Y is for yesterday’s highlight:  I went shopping and found some cute shirts on sale.  Morning swim.  Cuddle on the couch with J.

Z is for your time zone: Pacific.  We’re just waking up when you guys are well on your day.

Ok, your turn!  Pick a letter and tell me something about YOU

Happy Monday! Anyone else have a rough time waking up this morning? Sheesh, the alarm at 6:30 felt ridiculously early, I hit it off and then passed out for another HOUR. Haha. But the still-light evenings are well worth it.

This weekend, I had a mini-flu so I mostly layed-low, but I did make it out to the neighborhood Farmer’s Market.

Greeted with the first booth, overflowing with flowers. I love tulips...and tulip season makes me so happy

It was overcast and felt like it was about to rain, but that didn’t stop a big crowd from coming out.

There’s something so fun about buying produce from the sellers. And I am always curious to see what the latest in-season produce will be.

Freshly made apple juice. Um, yum!

First strawberries of the season.

Purple cauliflower.

That’s what I call a sample table! Check out the options.

After a good hour exploring all the booths, I left with bags full of veggies. Will hopefully be no veggie shortage in my house this week!

My only complaint (and yes, of course I have one) is that it really wasn’t any less expensive than if I went to the grocery store. In fact, I think it ended up being MORE expensive. For example, I bought one bunch of kale, about 10 brussel sprouts, and 3 mini cucumbers….and she charged me a whopping $7! Now that I think about it, I think she miscalculated? Whatever it was, that was much more than if I was at an organic market. Oh well. Gas prices are up, so maybe farmers market prices are up as a result?

Do you have a nearby Farmers Market? Is it year-round? How often do you go?

And now for my weekday exercise set-up. I haven’t done this before, but think I need to.

Monday: Swim 30 minutes, walk 1 hour, situps/stretches
Tuesday: Walk 2 hours (in 3 increments)
Wednesday: Run 30 minutes (5k?) morning, walk 1 hour (after work)
Thursday: Walk 2 hours
Friday: Swim 30 minutes, stretches/sit-ups
Sat/Sun: In Tahoe, so probably nothing except for a few walks and maybe some skiing.

Do you do a weekly exercise plan?

While I’m home sick (silly winter flu that’s going around), here’s what I’m missing up in Tahoe:

Cinnamon treats, Peppermint hot cocoa, and another spiked hot cocoa with caramel baileys and vanilla vodka….and plenty of marshmallows, of course.

Can we say JEALOUS!! Yum!!

I got that text while I was sipping on boring hot tea…they better save me some for next weekend!

Instead, this weekend I’m sticking to multiple green smoothies, plenty of vitamin c filled mangoes, reruns of West Wing, and exercise only in the form of dog walks. Not really so bad, I got “fun with friends time” in there too so having some fun in between naps.

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

Last night, Jared and I went for a date night at Straw, a carnival-themed restaurant that opened in SF a few months ago.

Jared actually took his co-workers there on Wednesday too for a surprise lunch. They had a blast! He brought them party favors like slinkys and whoopie cushions to keep the theme going. I have a feeling that whoopie cushion is going to get a lot of use in their office!

But, we happened to be in the area the next night, so thought we should go in for Cotton Candy Cocktails and Funnel Cake. Who doesn’t like carnival food and atmosphere, right? The place is great!

We sat in the tilt-a-whirl seats (loved that ride as a kid!)

Their menu is full of things like corn dogs, tater tots, mac & cheese, cotton candy, etc. But it has a gourmet spin to it….and there’s also quite a few salads and “healthy” things on the menu too.

Not everything’s healthy….on Wed, Jared got the “Ringmaster Burger,” which was a burger in between two donuts. He said it was delicious.

Since we’re not eating meals out this month, we opted to just get drinks and dessert (yes, dessert before dinner…..and yes, those two things are allowed in the loophole of our “eating-in” plan).

My blueberry cotton candy. Pure sugar. Yum

I got the Blueberry Cotton Candy (of course!) and Jared got the Funnel Cake (with 3 dipping sauces).

The wait staff was really friendly and it wasn’t crowded yet, so we had a good time.

Fedding me cotton candy

Dum Dums, all for me, please

Then, we went to see the Headless Lady.

Just kidding, I wish! That was just a photo in their bathroom.

Do you like carnivals? Favorite rides?
Any fun themed restaurants near you?
How often do you do date-night?

Have you added a mango to your green smoothie yet?

Well if not, then YOU MUST

They add a tropical, sweet, deliciousness.

Trader Joes sells great frozen mangoes and it couldn’t be easier. I think Whole Foods sells them too. Who knows, maybe even Safeway?

This smoothie was THICK, let me tell ya.

My great morning……..

I went for a 3 mile run, made some coffee, blended up my smoothie…..and then, crawled back into bed to drink it while I read Sophie Kinsella’s new book, “She’s Got Your Number.” She’s such a good, easy read relaxing author. It was really cozy…..

Awww, cozy good morning. And somehow, I wasn't even late to work.

So, besides that they taste yummy, WHY EAT MANGOES you’re wondering?

Well, did you know:

• Mangoes are the world’s number one fruit and are now (finally?) gaining popularity in the US
• There are dozens of types of mangoes and they are the state fruit of India.
• Mangoes are an excellent source of vitamins A & C– A ripe mango gives you THREE times the recommended daily intake.
• Australian mangoes provide more Beta Carotene than any other fruit.
• Mangoes also have a ton of potassium and some B-6 vitamins.

And the real reason (in my opinion), they taste delicious!

Do you like mangoes? Do you put them in your green smoothies? What else do you add them to?

Somehow, I was way ahead of myself when I called last week’s WIAW post #9….when it was actually #7, so fixing that this week, Whoops. Thanks again for hosting, Jenn!

This was a day of good eats. I’m still trying for mostly green, mostly whole, mostly easy-to-make-on-a-busy-workday foods.

Also, for both March and April, I’m in a pact to not eat out at all (except when I’m out of town) to save some $$$. We’re not taking cabs either– it’s crazy how you can blow $20 in an 8 minute cab ride sometimes. Anyways, we’ll see how it goes….

So, back to my day…..

7am: Quick 30 minutes on the elliptical and some stretching. I was a little tight from skiing this past weekend, so it was good to stretch out.

7:45am: Quick breakfast smiley face. Just what I felt like. Bananas are just so delicious sometimes.

Smile

10:30am: Homemade trailmix made up of my favorite almond, raisin, choc chip combo, plus a date mix.

12noon- Lunch. Kale salad, my fave. With tofu and leftover roasted eggplant.

i heart kale

3pm- Big, red apple. Eaten while getting some fresh air.

Check out how windy it was!

Can you tell how hard it's blowing? maybe not. Anyways, I managed to walk by this Starbucks without stopping....go me!

Dinner at 6:30pm: Millet (yum! long time no see), a big salad with beets and red pepper, and some leftover ground turkey. All of this was sprinkled with nutritional yeast and a little himalyan sea salt, of course.

Filling, coloroful, and tasty

Evening walk with a friend in the fog and wind. We almost made it to the bridge, but turned around because we thought we were going to get run over– It was so dark out, we kept having to dodge runners and bikers, lol.

Glass of wine to end the evening. Ahhhhh, nice!

I think my eat-in challenge this month is all about this:

sorry for no photo credit, can't remember where i got this

Note to self– Grocery shop and buy good food!

How often do you eat out? How often do you take cabs?
What’d you eat for breakfast this morning?

This is the most delicious frozen chocolate milk drink ever.  I don’t know what to call it, but it’s almost like a healthy milkshake.

And some days, you just need a little chocolate.

Um, YUM.

Trust me, the photo doesn’t do it justice.  It’s way more delicious than it looks.

Chocolate Milk Shake……the non-ice-cream-healthy kind!

3/4 cup chocolate milk (you can use chocolate almond, soy, or regular)
1 small frozen banana
4 ice cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla
Drizzle of chocolate syrup

Just stick it all in your blender and mix away!

Coat the glass with the chocolate syrup before you pour in the icy, mixed yumminess. (i forgot the syrup in these pics, just fyi)

_________________________________________________________________________________

Can that be any easier?

Try it!  Let me know what you think!