Sunday funday hike

We hiked today! 2.5 miles, basically entirely uphill. We were climbinnnn'! I could not make the very last stretch of hills. My face was so hot and I was saturated in sweat, but it felt amazing - even as we walked the paved trail back to the car. I'm looking forward to hiking and climbing more and more. That kind of exercise really excites me. I do not like treadmills, I do not like indoor cardio. But I feel really great after today, and hope to do this almost biweekly. Hopefully by winter, I will be joining Climb Nashville, an indoor rock climbing gym. With a membership you also have access to unlimited yoga and strength training classes. I've been paying a shitload of attention to what I'm eating lately, and now with all of this physical activity, I'm seriously feeling SO good. So positive! And ready to take on the week.

Juicy

Another Free People perk is that it's a minute away from the Whole Foods Andrew works at. After my shift this afternoon, I stopped in to visit and got myself some fresh juice. Cucumber, kale, chard and lemon. Next time, I may throw some apple in there for sweetness, but this very green drink made me feel so good.

What I ate

I can't resist chocolate chip cookies. Or any cookies, really. With a tall glass of milk, it's just the most perfect night time snack.

After a particularly blah day, I treated myself to sushi for one. I deserved it, and I felt super great afterward because I wasn't embarrassed or anxious to be eating by myself. I went to Hoshi in Stony Brook and ordered a crunchy spicy tuna roll and a Philadelphia roll. Both delicious, though next time I'm going to think outside of the bento box and order something completely new to me. Gotta keep expanding those horizons.
Because Andrew and I live together, and he's a star employee at the Whole Foods in our neck of the woods, I get a discount card! I went on a mini shopping trip the other night for some coconut oil and pumpkin seeds and such. Saw these babies sitting on the very top shelf of their section and brought them down to my cart. Fall is fast approaching, and I think these bars might become my healthy alternative to all of the pies and pumpkin cream cheese muffins and pumpkin breads that are going to start making their way to coffee shops (that is not to say that I won't be sampling all of those treats.. pumpkin time is the most wonderful time of the year). Delicious.
Another Whole Foods treasure is Guayaki yerba maté. I've been weaning myself off of caffeine, but yerba maté contains a naturally occurring, "clean" caffeine, so I figured it'd be okay to cheat a little bit with this. The bottled kind wakes me up, but for some reason these cans make me feel euphoric for at least an hour. Weird? Maybe. Awesome? Yes.

Okay check this out:
- 365 brand Oats & Flax instant oatmeal
- Fresh cut strawberries
- 1/2 tbsp. coconut oil
- Sliced almonds
- Sunflower kernels

I brought all of the ingredients to work with me and mixed em up at lunch. Definitely fueled me with enough energy to make it through the rest of the work day and then some. Super food!

I've found myself making open face tomato sandwiches for the past few days. I did this all the time when I was a kid because of Harriet the Spy. She really opened my eyes to a lot, but especially this great simple snack.

Rainy day dinner

I picked up a can of Trader Joe's organic vegan split pea soup just to have as a quick meal, but it turned out to be the best split pea soup I've ever had. Two thumbs way up.

food docs

A+ documentary. Made me really want to drive through Colorado, but more importantly to start juicing. I've been resistant because they're sort of pricey and really messy, but after watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, I want to juice every fruit and vegetable I see. Maybe I'll even attempt a fast. We'll see! Stay tuned for The Day I Buy A Juicer. And watch this documentary if you have access to Netflix!

another kale recipe and some pretty things

this weekend i made kale chips, thanks to a suggestion by my friend lee ann. the entire process took under a half hour and the outcome was crunchy, salty deliciousness (that's good for you!).

here's how:

preheat your oven to 300°
mix 1 tbsp. into about 6 oz. of washed and dried kale (bite size pieces with the hard stems removed)
the recipe i was given called for sea salt, but now i'm reading up on recipes that involve vinegar and/or herbs and spices. i'll be experimenting more next time, which could very well be tomorrow because kale chips are so easy and fun to make.
spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. i used wax paper as lining for easier clean-up.
bake for TWENTY MINUTES. not one minute longer, or you'll be using kale flakes to feed your fish.
and there you have it!
i promise, this snack is perfectly legal and will not help music sound any better or treat glaucoma.

here is the adorable funfetti cake that andrew's mama and sister baked for baby giovanna's first birthday. due to unfortunate work scheduling, i was unable to help with the actual baking of this cake (baking is my favorite). however, i shed some creative light (the round cake for the crown to rest on, all me) and my idea was greatly appreciated. they did a great job, this cake was a hit! especially by giovanna.
this is the way any princess should eat her birthday cake.

last night, andrew and i went to our friend max's to hang out with these people,
we ate hot dogs and alcoholic whipped cream. it was cool.

after work today, my sister and i had a coffee & thrift date. today's findings were a brown leather/gold guess watch, a j.crew dress that's going to transition well from summer wardrobe to fall wardrobe, a banana republic cardigan for $1.50!, some slate gray silk shirt, and two really ugly framed needlepoint patterns because i'm a sucker for stuff like that.
the day that i can afford an authentic norman rockwell will be a good one.
finally, after coming home for five minutes, i decided to take the point and shoot camera andrew recently found for me to the flowerfield at the avalon preserve. the field is so beautiful this time of year and it was really nice just to be out walking and clearing my head. maybe i'm a loner, but these are my favorite times. here are some photos i took with my phone, and then that's it i promise!
bye!

cafe of the day

today, my friend jill and i caught up over an early dinner at our favorite place to eat together, which is feelgoods cafe. jill moved to north carolina after attending school there and we haven't seen each other (or eaten here) in over two years. the entire experience was fantastic, as friends and food usually are.

what i've always loved about feelgoods is this "create your own" menu. you get to choose the whole grain, protein, veggies and all natural dressings to make your own one of a kind meal. they offer plenty of specialty items on a giant menu board, but i've always taken this route because it's way more fun.
something new that they've added since my last visit is this full blown veggie burger bar. i photographed four flavors, but there were probably fourteen. you can buy them in bulk as they freeze really well. my create your own order included a standard veggie burger, but the really nice girl at the counter let me choose one of these! AND she also gave me 15% off because i "liked" their facebook page as i was paying. they have a laptop and everything set up so you can do this. i'm telling you, this place is great.
if you're not already sold, here's my meal. i wish i could eat this three times a day, every day.
what i got: whole grain panini, pumpkin chickpea burger (oh my god), spring greens, artichoke, avocado & goat cheese with vidalia onion and cilantro vinaigrette. hands down absolutely 100% incredible. i'm already craving another one.

so all in all i had a really great dinner with my friend jill. we caught up on a bunch of stuff and it was really nice to see her. we made plans to meet again the next time i visit my parents in north carolina and i'm really pumped on that.

feelgoods is located on 412 north country road
saint james, NY 11780

check out the website to learn about their menu and other services they offer ($8 meal plans!), as well as what they're all about. which is promoting a wholesome, healthy, delicious lifestyle. love them.

oh, and definitely give them a like on facebook to save on your order!

kale!

today i want to talk about kale, which is my most favorite vegetable. and lucky for me, kale is considered the most nutritious vegetable in the entire world. kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K and vitamin C (and is okay on the calcium front, too!). kale contains special good-for-you chemicals which are rumored to boost DNA repair in cells and block the growth of cancer cells. so really, what's not to like? because it grows so close to the ground, raw kale can have a really earthy, almost bitter taste. but if you pretend you're a healthy, cancer-free rabbit who is chock full of vitamins, kale tastes like the most awesome thing you've ever eaten. my favorite way to prepare kale is to steam it (and throw some fun stuff into it). this cuts out most of the bitterness, leaving you with pure kale deliciousness. conveniently, i made some for dinner! here's how that went:

in a saucepan on medium heat, combine 2 tbsp. olive oil with one cup water

stir in that kale! cover

watch as your kale turns a beautiful bright green, turn down to low heat, still stirring occasionally

i'm a hungry girl, so i can't eat ONLY greens for dinner. tonight i decided to recreate a jamaican jerk tofu scramble with brown rice that i invented a few weeks ago.

you can add salt, pepper, really whatever you'd like to your kale. i'm into garlic.

meanwhile, in another pan..

i'm not going to pretend like i am an expert on making tofu dishes, because i most certainly am not. i know that it basically adopts the flavor of whatever you cook it with. so i drained the block of tofu, squeezed out excess moisture, and really just scrambled it in a non-stick pan. poured jamaican jerk marinade over the tofu to taste, added carrots and chickpeas (my favorite legume), stirred. and then stirred in brown rice.
not the most attractive dish, but the flavor and health benefits certainly makes up for that.
and there's dinner!

my boyfriend just told me he liked it, which makes me feel good because although he won't admit it, he's picky. i made so much that i even have enough to take to work with me tomorrow for lunch.

this kale appreciation post has been brought to you by trader joe's, and the vitamin K. hope you love it as much as i do! because it's really really good for you and healthy people make me happy.

in other news..
breakfast
boyfriend
bike fun

xo