what’s in my fridge?

So including my late night grocery run I did for a few basics, I’ve gone back for more because my stomach is just NOT happy! I ended up buying some Activia yogurt and Fiber One cereal to help… erm… fix things. We’ll see.

So I decided it would be interesting to show you the random food staples I got to supplement the awful offerings of the dining hall here at my summer job. I’ve been sticking to pretty much just salad. The vegetarian/vegan section is tasty, but I can’t help but think that even that is packed with preservatives and other unsavory things. So I am bringing random bits of my meals to the dining hall and supplementing.

In my “pantry” (ie, on top of the mini-fridge in the dorm room I was put in):

Fiber One cereal, Kashi crackers, wheat pitas, dark chocolate, PB, bean dip (AMAZING), and granola bars.

You’d think Frito’s bean dip would have horrible ingredients and nutrition stats, but it isn’t bad at all and is “all natural”.

Next, moving down to the mini-fridge, we have the freezer:

Dairy-free ice cream!

Saving this baby for a special occasion, like my birthday or when I feel like throwing a member of my staff through a window and need to center myself with ice cream

And finally, the fridge:

Unsweetened coconut milk, carrots, coconut water (for electrolytes), apples, kiwi fruit, Fage Greek yogurt (the BEST), and Activia for my tummy

With just a little planning ahead and the willingness to take ingredients to the dining hall, I’ve been successful! For instance, this morning I took the box of cereal, a cup of Activia, and a kiwi fruit to mix with the pineapple already at the dining hall for a big yogurt and cereal bowl to keep me full. I’m considering taking a pita to lunch and filling it with ingredients from the salad bar. They have flour tortillas there, but I much prefer a whole wheat alternative if I have one available.

Have you ever been in a situation like this? What are your fridge staples to get you through the weeks (even at home!)??

wanted: real food

Oh cafeteria food… why must you be packed with preservatives and other bad stuff?

My diet is not 100% clean. Duh. I’m not perfect. But I think that, generally, I eat good, wholesome food with minimal preservatives and lots of natural ingredients. However, the dining hall does not serve this type of food. And my tummy is hurtin’ from it.

In college I went to a school with award-winning dining and it was never an issue, especially as I got older and switched my meal plan to buying a lot of “groceries” and making things in my room. We had a lot of natural soups, frozen food, etc. available to us that were actually really high quality. I forgot what the dining hall at Spanish camp does to a counselor’s stomach.

As I write this I am actually getting a reprieve from the food: bagels. On the weekends the dining hall isn’t open for breakfast so the kids (and us) get Panera bagels, granola bars, fruit, etc. So while I’m sure that has some unsavory ingredients, it is probably better than my other options!

Wheat bagel & caramel PB

The kids get to sleep in today so I’m eating in my room and savoring every bite. I brought a few things from home, like apples, Kashi crackers, some natural granola bars, and this lovely PB. But I decided the store was needed and I grabbed some fruit, Greek yogurt, etc. while making a late night food run. Hopefully me and my stomach shall make it through the next 3 weeks. Pray for improvement, it ain’t pretty over here!

Have you ever had a similar experience where you had to deal with an atypical food selection for a few weeks?

walking, cafeteria food, and more walking

Well the good news is that, with the help of my Garmin, I can find out exactly how much mileage we walk every day. I had this job last year and never realized how much we walked!! When the kids get here (tomorrow) and we have more to do, we’re going to be covering like 3 miles a day just walking them between the dorms, cafeteria, classes, and other activities. Also it is a million degrees (high of 101 yesterday, BEFORE humidity) so we’re sweating out all our calories!

The cafeteria here certainly isn’t disgusting, but I’m already tired of it after 3 meals. Awesome. I foresee a lot of salad bar and cereal in my future. My stomach is actually really off today. Even though it is “fresh cafeteria food” it is more processed and fake than I’m used to so I think that is throwing my tummy for a loop. However, the university that hosts this immersion program I work for is pretty hipster and, therefore, has a decent selection of vegan/vegetarian alternatives. For instance, the amazing BBQ tofu I had yesterday:

BBQ tofu at the cafeteria, nice!

I also had some pretty killer vegan chili last night!!

In addition to the walking and food, the rules of the language programs stipulate that we allow the kids time to run/walk every morning to encourage physical activity in our youth. An admirable goal, really, but unfortunately the Spanish program is the 1st of 8 for EVERYTHING. This means that we’re the first to eat breakfast, and also the first to run. Our assigned running time is 5:25am. Yes, 5:25am. Breakfast at 7am sharp. Today I woke up at 6:30am and ran in the park across from the dorm (our assigned spot) and it was already blazing hot at that hour, so maybe 5:25am is a blessing is cooler weather disguise?

Off for the last day of staff prep! The kids arrive tomorrow! ¡Olé!

summer job!

Well I’m somewhere in Richmond starting my first day as Lead RA for a Spanish immersion program. I’m more like a “camp counselor” than anything, but the official title is RA. I attended in 2005 as a student where I met my current BFF/Facebook husband, Harris!

H&M, Being amazing since 2005

And I returned last year as an RA!

I swear we're normal. (This was in preparation for the inter-academy Olympics, we didn't dress like this all the time... maybe)

I loved my staff last year and this year I was hired as Lead RA, which gives me a lot more responsibility. I pretty much work directly with the director to run the program. There are 60 kids (rising juniors & seniors in high school) and 12 faculty in total (including 6 RAs and 6 teachers) and it lasts for 3.5 weeks — kids move in Saturday! It is kind of the coolest job EVER for nerds like me. Also I have huge emotional ties to the program since I met two of my best friends there (Harris’s twin brother Jeremy was also in the program!) and many other great people. And last summer I fell in love with my staff and one is coming back to work for me this year! Yay! I even got Harris & a college friend a position within the French program!! (There are programs for 8 languages, but only Spanish, French, and German are total immersion, ie NO English!)

I will be blogging but I’m not sure yet what the schedule will be and how often but please be patient and keep checking back. Hopefully I’ll have great stories of the stupid things my kids say and I’ll let you know how my fitness & eating goes as I live in a college dorm again!

my top 5 fitness investments

Happy Tuesday!!! How was the rest of my Monday, you ask? Well it involved several hours of organization and packing for my 3.5 week summer job as a “camp counselor” for a Spanish immersion program. In the midst of my organization, I finally did something I’ve been meaning to for MONTHS. I changed my “Small Box of Technological Shit” into an “Organized Container of Technology”.

Yay organized cords/gadgets!!

All of this was literally shoved haphazardly into a cardboard box with less than half the capacity of this plastic container. It was all tangled and every time I needed something, I had to go dig for it. This holds precious cargo: iPods, iPod cords, camera cords, Garmin accessories, etc. May-jah improvement.

Anyways… this morning, after digesting some PB & banana toast, my mom and I took a trip to her gym where we both did random hills on the elliptical and then did some arm weights and I did a lot of stretching. Then we came home and had a quick lunch (sweet potato with veg baked beans + other stuff) and went out shopping I got capris, finally!

So while at the gym and later while shopping I started to think about fitness investments and how sometimes it can really cost a lot to get into fitness. So I thought I’d share my top 5 investments I’ve made in fitness — and therefore, investments in myself — and justifying the cost in some cases.

Top 5 Investments in Fitness (in my life)

1. Appropriate running/athletic shoes! I roll in Asics GT-2150′s and I love them. I started running in the wrong kind of shoes and gave myself a slight foot injury, actually, so I really strongly recommend going to a running store and getting fit for the right kind of shoe. If you do a lot of cross training but don’t want to have a 2nd pair of cross-training shoes, tell the person helping you so they can help pick out a supportive running shoe that can work for other gym activities. These cost ~$100 but totally worth the moolah.

2. I have literally slept with the foam roller in my bed. Not kidding. I stupidly took a weight class 2 days before a 5k and my hamstrings hurt so bad the night before the race I slept with the roller under my legs (more for peace of mind than actual health benefits). Foam rolling my IT Band has also helped my knee’s stress fracture as stretching out the ITB helps relieve some of the pressure on my knee. This is a great way to relieve achy muscles and help you stretch out before and after a workout. A foam roller is one of the simplest, cheapest investments you can make at ~$20-25.

3. My baby: a Garmin Forerunner 305. This was a “luxury” fitness purchase but nevertheless worth it. I know there are similar systems out there, notably the popular Nike + system, but I did not have the correct footwear or iPod so it was more worth it to spend the extra money on a product where I would only need 1 item: the watch (plus the cord and wall charger, which came with it). It has been with me pretty constantly. I take it when I travel and use it every time I run outdoors. Using a GPS system has been a great tool in improving my running. I paid about ~$160 from Amazon, but it is available in many retail locations like Dick’s Sporting Goods.

4. For the ladies: buy a good sports bra. Don’t settle on the cheapos at Walmart. I got mine at a sporting goods store on sale, but it is worth a few more bucks to invest in a good one, especially if you are going to be running. I have this bra in 3 colors plus a less supportive one I use for yoga. You know what it is like to have your ladies bouncing around and it is uncomfortable. Just go out and buy 1 or 2 good ones and just keep them in good shape by washing frequently (DUH) and following care instructions. Easy peasy lemon squeezy! I paid around ~$20 for this one (that I can’t seem to find a link for…)

5. SUNSCREEN. Do I really have to say this? Shouldn’t you know? You should be wearing it already, but especially if you plan to spend some quality fitness time outdoors get some sunscreen. My mom had skin cancer and I’m as pale as a ghost (thanks, Dad, for those genes) so I use SPF 50. I don’t know what is recommended, but I recommend at least SPF 30. Do you a) want skin cancer b) want to look like a leather bag or c) all of the above? If not, rub some SPF all over. Oh, and I also recommend a “sport” variety so it doesn’t come off with your nasty sweat This one was ~$5, a bargain considering what good it does for you!

Okay so I’m off to celebrate Argentina’s victory against Greece in the World Cup bracket (¡vamos Argentina!). I lived in Argentina last summer, as well as Mexico the year before, so I’m a big fan of their teams!

back in the game

Good Monday morning! Happy first day of summer!! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and had someone special to honor for Father’s Day, be he a dad, a grandpa, or just a good guy in your life!

Yesterday I was really thinking a lot about my dad, naturally, and I really wanted to go on a run to clear my head and shake off some of my blues. But, the gym was closed so I couldn’t do any real work out, but with my knee issues I was afraid to go out. I’ve discovered that running really does help to clear my head in a way that no other cardio workout, except swimming, can do and I’ve missed that lately.

Well I gave my knee a pep talk and decided to try a run out this morning. My knee has steadily been getting better and over the past 6 weeks I’ve taken it way back, cutting milage down to 1 mile and steadily increasing. I’ve also taken a lot of time off between runs. My last run was 2 miles just over a week ago through the vineyards in France (swoon) and I could definitely tell that my knee was improving. It still hurt, but not nearly as bad as before and the pain disappeared quickly afterwards. So I psyched myself up and decided I’d try to go 2 miles again this morning and see. And let’s be honest, I was afraid I was telling myself my knee was improving when it really wasn’t.

Well I pounded out 3 slow miles on the treadmill this morning with hardly any pain!!! It twinged a few times and I readjusted my stride, but afterwards it felt FINE! I stretched and iced as a precaution, but I am just so excited to be back in the game. I was starting to freak out about training for my half marathon and afraid I would permanently disabled from running (slight overreaction?).

And the run really helped to clear my head and made me feel human again! I’d been really down about workouts and my inability to run over the past 6 weeks, so I am really happy to be feeling more like myself again and more motivated to lead a healthy, active life. Yay for a victorious Monday morning!

Of course I followed up my run with one of my favorite breakfasts. Since it is already 1000* outside, I figured a smoothie would be perfect!

Standard green smoothie (1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk, handful spinach, 1 frozen banana); wheat toast with soynut butter!

I didn’t have a huge appetite when I was making my breakfast, but an hour later I devoured a giant grapefruit and I’m getting hungry again at 11:30am!! I shall make a yummy lunch to combat this!

Have you had anything great happen on this Monday?

Father’s Day & new recipe

Today is Father’s Day and if you are so lucky as to have your father around, tell him how much you love and appreciate him. Tell him every day. I am not able to do this, and it makes my heart ache every day.

My father passed away a year and a half ago and I’m still grieving — but that is another post for another day. Today, we’ll honor my daddy and the other amazing fathers out there.

When I was just a few days old! I can't believe he ever wore socks like that (actually, I can)

Playing Barbies with me and my brother, Hunter!

On a family cruise when I was 15... sadly this didn't translate well from the scanner and we both look kind of weird. But it is my favorite picture of us!

So now that I’m crying alone in my bedroom at 8am, let’s move on to the fun stuff… PIE!

Disclaimer: My Grandma is diabetic and we’re celebrating Father’s Day at her house with my Grandpa, so I used the sugar-free/artificial sweetener varieties of some ingredients. I usually stay away from it, but let’s all be practical and realize that sometimes you have to make exceptions and a piece of pie won’t ruin you. Should you want to clean this recipe up, there is natural pudding and you could whip your own cream.

Strawberry & White Chocolate Tofu Pie

You will need:
- 1 package silken tofu
- 1 package white chocolate pudding mix
- 1 container Cool-Whip or about 3 cups of hand-whipped cream
- 1 graham cracker crust (make your own or be lazy and buy it like me!)
- ~1 cup sliced strawberries
- slivered almonds for garnish (optional; we were out, so no dice)

Step one: slice strawberries

 

Steps 2 & 3: using a whisk or hand beater, beat the block of silken tofu until smooth. THEN add the package of pudding mix & stir together. Note: The gelatin in the pudding will make it glob up and firm up very quickly, so it is important to work the tofu first!

Step 4: Fold in 1/2 container of Cool Whip/~1 1/2 cup whipped cream

Steps 5 & 6: Transfer mixture to pie crust and smooth out. Then layer sliced strawberries to cover.

Step 7: Cover with remaining Cool Whip/whipped cream and garnish with a strawberry or optional almonds!

Let this set in the refrigerator for at least an hour before eating!

There is also a chocolate variety that I made with a package of chocolate pudding and no strawberries. I garnished with some grated chocolate on top!

Chocolate Tofu Pie

We’re surprising my family & not telling anyone there is tofu in this until after they’ve tried it and (hopefully) liked it. I think my Grandpa will be the most shocked! Based on the number of spoon licks I took yesterday, I can tell you that these are kickin’ pies. A fun treat for our Father’s Day luncheon!

recovery from France

Home sweet home Bittersweet, because I miss my French family and obviously being on vacation, but it is good to be home and see my mommy, since Wednesday I’m turning around and going to Richmond for 3 weeks to work at the language academy.

Thursday was a long, but successful day. I made my train and both of my flights (flying on a standby buddy pass). I spent the night with a friend last night who picked me up from the airport — she just quit her job and decided to move to Austin with me!! Wahooo!! This morning I got back to my car and drove to my mom’s house, making a pit stop 10 minutes from my mom’s house to see my grandparents. My grandmother was in the hospital and very ill while I was gone (the severity of her illness was kept from me while I was in France, probably for my own good). She is doing better and is back at home recovering, so good vibes out to you, G’ma!!!

So now I’m recovering, too. I’m definitely taking it easy on the dairy as I can tell that a vacation of eating carbs & cheese did not do my tummy well. Not to be too graphic, but how do people in France go to the bathroom regularly (if you catch my drift)???? Not nearly enough roughage in their diet! I hardly ate any fruits and vegetables in France so I’m really craving them now. My mom and I went grocery shopping and for dinner I picked up this salad amazingness to speed up my “get my body feeling awesome again” recovery process:

Salad bar creation: spinach, romaine, chick peas, black olives, artichoke hearts, beets, pickles, onions, peppers; topped with a Boca Vegan burger & homemade dressing

So here is my France recap:
- glasses of champagne consumed: 31 (embarrassing or epic?)
- baguettes consumed: at least 3 or 4
- pastries eaten: too many to count
- photos taken: 235
- memories made: millions
- weight gained: -1 lb (seriously, I lost a pound — defying the laws of nature!)

Okay so I know weight isn’t the ONLY thing that matters and I don’t dwell on the number too much, but let’s be honest: I still have some weight to lose. The last month has been a HUGE plateau for me, so I really think that the indulgent eating I did in France kind of restarted my metabolism. I think my body may have gotten too used to caloric intake I was eating (I do not actually count calories, but you know what I mean). Some Internet research supports this hypothesis. Whatever it is, I’ll take it! During my plateau I actually put on a few pounds, so now I think this is a good jumpstart to the rest of the summer!

Not feeling jetlagged, actually, but I did have a mid-afternoon coffee just in case. I want to stay up and try and get on East Coast time. Off to watch “Twilight” with my mom — she decided she wants to see what everyone is talking about hahahahhahaha!

beer, chocolate, scandal, and goodbyes

Well my last day in France has come and gone and I’m ignoring packing my suitcase. I’m waking up in just a few hours to get on a train to Paris and then (hopefully) catch a standby flight back to America. I’d rather it not happen, but I’m starting my summer job on Wednesday so it must. Details on the job later, for now let’s concentrate on the last 2 days, shall we?

Tuesday morning started at 4:30am when we woke up and got ready for our 5:30am departure to Middelkerke, Belgium. Joëlle and Benoït had a LOT of champagne to deliver. Those Belgians love their champagne! The town is a casino town, so they do a lot of business there. A 3 hour drive turned into a 5 hour drive because of detours, accidents, and traffic along the way. But we made it!! Quick recap of Belgium: beer shopping, amazing lunch, best chocolate mousse ever, walk on the boardwalk, strongest wind I’ve ever felt outside a hurricane, the North Sea (Azkaban, anyone?), best hot chocolate ever, secret bathroom in a casino, chocolate paradise, rading a candy store, and a 3 hour, uneventful drive home.

The North Sea... Azkaban is somewhere out there!

Belgian Hot Chocolate... no words.

So the next day (today) we heard some interesting town gossip!! After working on the vines on Monday, we saw a bunch of policemen and a doctor and we thought that some old lady was having heart palpitations or something. But in a town this small (about 20 families, all of whom have something to do with the champagne industry) news travels fast and it turns out that it was a MURDER!!!! Creepy, right??? No details yet, we’re hoping to find out more tomorrow! My family knew the man, but not very well. Apparently he had gotten into drugs and other bad things, so they kind of kept their distance from him. But that is the town scuttlebutt from France.

After gossiping at breakfast, my aunt and I walked up to Aunt Catherine & Uncle Bruno’s house (sight of the French food marathon) so I could say goodbye. My Aunt Josette is staying here another week and a half — no fair! But I must say my goodbyes. After that, we journeyed into town to pick up my cousin Pauline from school as she had a half day and then we went to the grocery store so I could buy souvenirs. Everyone buys souvenirs at the grocery store, right?

After lunch, my Aunt Josette and I took a long walk around the village for some movement. And this picture happened:

Vineyard paradise (by the way, this is the backyard of the house I've been staying at.)

We walked, talked, and made it back to the house just in time to climb in the car for a little last minute sight-seeing before dinner. We went to Hautvilliers which is the location of the abby where Dom Perignon discovered champagne! He’s buried in the church there, which I saw, but I felt it more prudent to show you another beautiful landscape picture I took by climbing on top of some very tall rocks.

The Marne River and the town of Épernay (all the champagne houses & area schools)

After poking around Hautvilliers, we dropped Pauline off at dance class and we puttered around town, including the grocery store again where my cousin Marie and I bought some eclairs and ate them in the car. Normal behavior for 6pm, yes?

Finally once we got Pauline, we were literally 6 houses away from our house when we saw Aunt Astrid’s car at Mami Anne-Marie & Papi Michel’s house (my “grandparents” here and Benoït’s/Bruno’s/Astrid’s parents), so we decided to stop by and say hello and goodbye. Of course Astrid had her baby, who is constantly fussy, but she was frustrated and asked if I’d take la petite Iso for a few minutes and I worked my baby magic and she fell asleep in my arms. Back home they call me the “baby whisperer” (seriously) because I can calm any infant and make them love me. Everyone was like “Oh my gosh she loves you, she won’t stop looking at you!” If you didn’t know, I adore children and, while it will be a long time before I have my own, I definitely look forward to a BIG family!

Me and Isaure

I hate goodbyes, so we’ll skip over that part and return to the part where we walked home and ate dinner. My Aunt Joëlle made croque monsieurs for dinner, which are amazing grilled cheese and ham sandwiches. But she made mine with pineapple instead of ham and, of course, the cheese was gruyere. I don’t know what makes a croque monsieur so much better than just a grilled cheese sandwich, but trust me on this. After dinner we watched “Alice in Wonderland” with the girls and then I had to say goodbye to my cousin Pauline because she has school in the morning & I won’t see her (Marie is already on summer break, so she’s coming to the train station). Pauline cried and cried and made me tear up, so I told her to go to bed and that I’d wake up in the morning to see her again.

I still need to pack and now I’m leaving in like 7 hours, waking up in 5. Awesome. Hopefully next time we talk will be Friday on American soil as I recover from jet lag and get back to my mom’s house! Au revoir! I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about my adventures!

French food marathon

Wow, yesterday was the Boston Marathon of food (in my life, at least). My cousin Clement had his First Communion and their definition of a “dinner party” starts at noon and goes until last man standing.

I got in a run before, thankfully!!! I feel human again after some exercise! Just 2 miles (knee still bothering me, working up slowly) but my Garmin works in Europe! Coolio!

Church was boring (no offense) because I’m not Catholic (or religious, but I grew up going to church) and it was all in French that I could barely understand! The microphone was faulty and I was sitting behind a pillar, so we mostly whispered to my little cousin Milan (6) who constantly asked “Who is the man bleeding on the cross?” Explaining a higher being to a 6 year old is difficult. Oh and the church was beautiful, it has been in the town for hundreds and hundreds of years, I wish I knew the exact date!

After plenty of photos, we finally made it back to Bruno & Catherine’s house (up the hill from where I’m staying) for Clement’s luncheon. I thought that after the appetizers we’d have an entrée, a salad, and a cheese course/dessert. But boy was I wrong. I took plenty of pictures for you guys, so enjoy. Note. I didn’t photograph the appetizers (veggie platter, gruyere puffs, other delicious things).

The menu... the left is alcohol, the right is food (yeah, that many courses)!

First course (I gave all the meat to my cousins, and they gave me their veg/fruit -- a win-win situation.)

Mango & champagne flavored ice cream!

For the meat course, I partook of the spinach fritters & tomato amazingness

Cheese course! I had a piece of baguette with 3 small tastes of cheese (a goat, a soft cow, and a hard cow)

Dessert (with a bite taken out of it!)

Seriously, there was more dessert??? A traditional Croquembouche (a cake made of many, many cream puffs)

SO. MUCH. FOOD. But so, so good. I ate way too much and then tried to run/dance it off by playing with my cousins and dancing with my uncles. We were seriously at their house for 10 hours. After the 5 hour luncheon, we all sat around (drinking champagne obviously) until eventually MORE food was put out! I had some leftover cheese, some couscous salad, and some random candy the kids found in a treasure hunt. The day was so fun and I loved just hanging out. The food culture is amazing; family time is food time and there was no rushing to finish or desire to hit the road early! Absolutely lovely.

Today, we worked in the vineyard for 2 hours doing manual labor. I love physical movement in the morning! It sets the day off right! After a morning in the vines and a great lunch, we headed 30 minutes over to Reims, the big city in the area. The Cathedral of Reims is famous because almost every French king was coronated there, as well as Joan of Arc ending one of her crusades here.

The cathedral at Reims

It was a drizzly day, but we walked around town, visiting cool shops and doing an olive oil tasting!! I bought the most amazing (and expensive) French olive oil infused with basil! French olive oil is so different from Greek or Californian olive oil, it is incredibly light and flavorful!!! We also munched on some pain au chocolate and macarons (not to be confused with macaroons, which are inferior) to counteract any exercise benefits we may have gotten.

Hitting the sack NOW because we’re leaving at 5:00am tomorrow for a roadtrip to deliver champagne & visit friends in Middelkerke, Belgium!