Playing Catch-Up

I was out of the house all day yesterday and by the time I got home, I was too exhausted to post. I haven't exercised since Saturday and I know that is why I have been so tired the last few days. It's so true what they say about exercising giving you energy. Fortunately, I have a long workout planned this afternoon. 

I forgot to take a picture of me and my cousin while she was visiting, so here's an old one. This is one of my favorite pictures of Sofia and I. This was taken last November in Florence, Italy. 

Yesterday 

I've been wanting to try swiss oats but I always forget to soak the oats overnight. Well on Monday I finally remembered to soak my oats overnight. I soaked a serving of oats with 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk, cinnamon, and raisins. I was looking forward to swiss oats in the morning but when I woke up, it was cold and all I wanted was a warm bowl of oats. I added 1/2 cup of water and half a sliced banana to the soaked oats, microwaved it for two minutes, and stirred in almond butter. I didn't get to enjoy swiss oats, but this was a tasty alternative. The soaked oats made the oatmeal super creamy. 

After breakfast, I drove my cousin to the Mexican Consulate so she could get her passport renewed. (She was born in Mexico City). She is distantly related to the head consul through her dad's side so we were able to visit with him and speed up the process. By the time we got done it was well into lunch time. 

My cousin and I both have a love for Italy since we both studied there during college. I knew the perfect place for lunch was Punch Pizza. This is one of the few pizzerias outside of Naples that is certified authentic neapolitan pizza. I love this place. The pizza is phenomenal. I never know which pizza to get because everything on the menu is great. I finally decided on a pizza bianco (no crushed tomatoes). The Cortina has mushrooms, garlic, oregano, sun-dried tomatoes, and gorgonzola. The pizza is then drizzled with olive oil. I ate 4 of the 6 slices of pizza. The crust is very thin so it's really not that much ;) I took a picture of my leftovers once I was home. I can't wait to eat the remaining slices for lunch. I really wish I could have taken one at the restaurant but I forgot in my excitement to eat. Also, while we waited for our pizza we split a half order of foccacia. Hot bread sprinkled with sea salt and rosemary, dipped in olive oil. Heaven. 

Needless to say, I was stuffed after our meal but we went to the mall so I was able to walk around a bit. Then it was time to say goodbye to Sofia, so sad. On the way home, my friend called and asked if I wanted to meet at Caribou Coffee. She's the one getting married a month from yesterday, so she's getting stressed with final details and having nightmares about the flowers not showing up. I stopped at home to change into warmer clothes (it was only 50 yesterday and no sun!). I had half an hour before meeting her so I made her a batch of "You Got Peanut butter in my Chocolate Cookies". The cookies are really quick and I knew she would love them. I made them smaller this time and came up with 20 cookies. Of course I had to try a few freshly baked ones. Thank goodness all the cookies are out of the house now. (I gave Sof the chocolate chip and chocolate pb cookies I baked on Monday to bring home to her family.) I planned on getting hot tea at Caribou but the girl at the register talked me into trying one of their new teas blended with real fruit. It sounded refreshing and I knew I was low in my fruit intake so I tried the White Tea & Peach. It was really refreshing and I felt good knowing it was real fruit. Abbey and I had a nice hour long chat. 

For dinner I had the leftover chicken sausage from Monday's lunch on a Rudi's organic roll, and salad with tomatoes and feta. 

Today

It's another chilly morning so breakfast was banana walnut oats, drizzled with a little maple syrup. Along with coffee, breakfast hit the spot. 

I have two days of normalcy before a crazy weekend getaway in Chicago. We leave Friday morning but I have a lot of things to get done before then. Have a great day!

Greetings from Duluth!

Hi all! I have been having a great weekend so far and even got to sleep in this morning.

Here's a recap of yesterday:

I did a short 2.25 mile run yesterday. I had been planning on running double that, but after my long run on Thursday night my legs were tired. I decided not to fight it and cleaned the inside of my car instead. By the time I was finished cleaning, packing and showered it was after 12. At this point I was really hungry since my breakfast was so small this morning.

Lunch was really really good. The other day at Whole Foods, I picked up a bag of healthy hemp sprouted bagels. Seeing as how much I like the bread, I've been dying to try the bagels. I toasted the bagel and spread it with hummus, chipotle sauce, spinach, and alfalfa sprouts. I also had baby carrots on the side. I LOVED this sandwich. The nuttiness and chew of the bagel combined with the creamy hummus and crunchy veggies paired very nicely.


Lunch total: 375 cals, 12g fat, 16g fiber, 46g protein

On my way out of town, I stopped at Sati Coffee for driving fuel. A large iced cold pressed coffee latte.I love cold pressed coffee, it's so good! I actually had 1.5x this because while I was talking to my friend who works there, I drank half. He refilled my cup for the drive.



Iced skim latte (1.5x): 220 cals, 1g fat, 20g protein

I got into Duluth at about 4pm. The 2 and a 1/2 hour drive was smooth and quick. The weather was nice enough for me to have the sunroof open the whole time. To me, one of the most stunning visuals is driving into Duluth. Driving up from the South, you come to the top of the hill, and see the huge harbor down below. Lake Superior is huge. It looks like the sea at some points because you can't see land on the other side.

For dinner, I had another sandwich, this time from Erberts & Gerberts. Turkey, avocado, alfalfa sprouts, tomato, and lettuce on a wheat sub. I was really hungry so on the car ride back to Chris' house I ate half the big of chips. For this reason I only ate half of my sub and saved the rest for later. I was proud of myself because the old me would have eaten it anyway, but the new me is more in tune with hunger and satiety cues.


Dinner totals (whole sandwich & chips): 613 cals, 15.5g fat, 8g fiber, 24 g protein

We met up with Chris' roommates and friends down by the waterfront at Old Chicago. I was in the mood for a Margarita but instead I chose the only beer I like: Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss. This beer isn't a light beer so it's really filling. But over the course of 5 hours I had two. They ordered a third one for me but I couldn't drink it so I told Chris to finish it off for me. When we got back to his house, I ate the other half of my sandwich.

Friday total (minus beer): 1468 cals, 37g fat, 31g fiber, 102 g protein

It was a very fun night but this morning I feel dehydrated and my head hurts. I'm already on my second big glass of ice cold water. Chris is still sleeping so we'll see what he wants to do today. I would love to walk around the waterfront and check out the race course for the half marathon I'll be running next month. Unfortunately the forecast calls for scattered clouds and a chance of rain with a high of 65.

Have a wonderful day!