Tag Archives: New York

What I Ate Wednesday #48

Posted on March 7, 2012 | 7 Comments

Happy What I Ate Wednesday. I’m officially halfway through my last week of orientation, and even though I’m still getting the hang of things and getting turned around, I’m still really happy to be there. It’s been weird getting used to a new schedule, but so far so good.

Breakfast: Overnight steel-cut oats topped with applesauce and PB

Lunch: Soup and salad from the cafeteria

Snacks: eaten throughout the day…baby tomatoes, apple, banana muffin

Dinner: Spaghetti squash with avocado cream sauce, seitan, and lots of veggies

Snack: hot chocolate (aka microwaved skim milk with cocoa powder—nothing fancy) 

Sorry-recycled pic!

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten recently? 

To see more WIAW from other bloggers, visit Jenn’s blog Peas & Crayons.

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1,000th Post!

Posted on March 4, 2012 | 7 Comments

Good times in Greve, 2010

Wow, guys—this is my 1,000th Keeping It Real Food post! Where has the time gone? So much has happened since I began this blog in 2009 when I went back to school. I just wanted to say thank you so, so much for sharing the journey with me. So far so good. I continue to be surprised, humbled and amused on a daily basis : )

What are you grateful for today? 

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Saturday-Style Banana Muffins

Posted on March 3, 2012 | 6 Comments

I like Saturdays to be both easy and productive. Unless I have better plans. Today, however, thanks to a case of pinkeye, I wasn’t really feeling up to boozy brunch where I could gossip about last night’s escapades (which for me, included passing out at 10:30 while watching 30 Rock reruns on my iPad—hot) or any romantic morning walks in the mist along the river. Glasses in the rain = no bueno.

This morning, since I was up early, I caught a pilates class uptown with one of my favorite instructors and then spent the rest of the morning running errands. In the afternoon, I finished most of my oncology homework (good times), cleaned, and took a walk when it got nice out.

I wasn’t planning on doing much of anything tonight, but ended up making plans to do not much of anything with someone else who wasn’t planning on doing much. It’s good to have people in your life who still like you when you’re sporting your specs.

I made these banana muffins in a moment of “what the f*** should I do with myself now that my homework is done and the apartment is clean and I have an hour and change to spare?” I had a black banana on the counter and a lone egg in the fridge and some unsweetened applesauce on hand, so my brain went from banana bread to banana muffins. And then this recipe happened. 

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 large very ripe banana, mashed
  • 1/4 c honey
  • 1/4 c unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Extreme close-up.

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside
  3. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl.
  4. Add wet to dry until mixed. Pour batter into 6 muffin cups.
  5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes

How do you like to spend your Saturdays? Any favorite baked goods you’ve had recently? 

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First Day of School

Posted on February 27, 2012 | 6 Comments

My mother sent me this hilarious first-day-of-school picture last night. There are a lot of pictures of me and my sister dancing and goofing off like this. Remember when the first day of school was, like, a big deal worth dressing up for?

First day of school, ages 8 (me) and 6 (Julia)

Today isn’t all that different, only I have to show up in business attire. My dietetic internship starts today. For the next 11 months, I’ll be doing the clinical rotations that will qualify me to sit for the RD exam. Yikes!

First day of "school," age 26

Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll remember to fix my lab coat collar. And I’ll probably change my shirt ten seconds before I run out the door, as per usual.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Did your parents take first-day-of-school pictures when you were a kid?

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Prep

Posted on February 27, 2012 | 6 Comments

Even though I’ve known my dietetic internship start date for months, of course there were plenty of errands I only just remembered to do this weekend. Funny how that goes…

Fortunately, I was feeling much better rested than Saturday (my evening included a late dinner at a great Mexican restaurant on the Upper West Side, after which I went home and crawled into bed), so I had tons of energy. After a morning hot yoga class and a bunch of “omg how could I forget_____” errands, I got to work. Though I often take Sundays to prep food and whatnot for the week ahead, I took things to a whole other level today. I made:

  • A bunch of roasted vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, beets and eggplant 
  • Brown rice
  • Baked tofu
  • Butternut squash breakfast cookies (most are going into the freezer for emergencies) 

I’m also that nerd who puts out their clothes and packs a lunch and snacks the night before. It’s been a few months since I’ve had to do that, but it always keeps my mornings more sane. The next eleven months are going to be interesting, to say the least, but I’m excited to get started.

How do you keep your weekday mornings sane? 

 

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Pros and Cons

Posted on February 25, 2012 | 6 Comments

I come from a family of morning people. For the most part (not counting a few stretches between 2003 and 2007 where I sort of managed to act my age), I too have always been an early riser—nothing too crazy, but I consider it sleeping in if I wake up at 9 on the weekends. Hell, even 8 feels like a big deal.

As with anything, there are pros and cons to waking up early on the weekends. The cons are pretty obvious: Being tired and all the things that come with that, such as physical and mental fatigue, crankiness and post-overcompensation caffeine jitters.

There are plenty of pros, though. For example, I find working out and doing laundry in relative peace and quiet are much more enjoyable in the few hours before crowding becomes a problem. I also really like the early-morning light. It energizes me to knock whatever errands I have off my to-do list, even if I’m tired. It’s satisfying to know you can always lay down for a nap having already done stuff.

Another good thing about early mornings is breakfast. Today, after a trip to the gym, I made some apple-spice oats and poured them into a near-empty jar of Biscoff. Reading the paper, drinking coffee and listening to Car Talk on the radio (I know, I know), I was a pretty happy camper, even if I’d woken up at 6:30 after only 4 hours of sleep.

Are you an early or a late riser? What are you up to this weekend? 

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Thanks for the coupons, but…

Posted on February 23, 2012 | 5 Comments

Perhaps I’m a little bit paranoid after reading this article in the New York Times Magazine last weekend, but I have to wonder what suddenly made the Whole Foods I’ve been shopping at for four years start thinking I’m feeding a family. Is it that I started buying organic milk this year? 

Thanks for the coupons, Whole Foods, but please don’t rush me.

I don’t even know what to make of the Victoria’s Secret catalog I got recently that was addressed to the Cording Family. It must be the lacy stuff I ordered when it was on sale back in November…Ew. Now I’m a little creeped out. Time to stop thinking about it.

Do you ever get weird coupons? 

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What I Ate Wednesday #46

Posted on February 22, 2012 | 8 Comments

Good morning! How’s your week going? Did you celebrate Mardi Gras?  I think the last time I did was in middle school French class! It’s also been a while since I’ve made any morning-after Lenten-type vows, except maybe that one time in 2008 I thought about giving up alcohol, but let’s never speak of that one again, k? Still, kudos to you if you’re spending the next 40 days trying out a new good habit, whether it’s for religious reasons or just because now seems like a good time. With so many huge changes in the works, I think my goal for the next 6 weeks is to not freak the f*** out, which will hopefully benefit those around me.

Wednesday totally snuck up on me this week, thanks to the long weekend. No complaints, though. Yesterday was my last Tuesday working from home in who knows how long, so I took advantage of the extra time by doing a ton of laundry, stocking up on groceries, and cleaning the hell out of my apartment. I also ran a bunch of errands I’d been putting off.

Because I felt like I was constantly moving, my meals and snacks were mostly quick, thrown-together assortments of leftovers. Sometimes I forget just how much of a workout you get cleaning and rushing around crossing things off your to-do list. So much for that active rest day. I’ll make it up later this week…

In the spirit of What I Ate Wednesday, let’s do this thing.

Breakfast: Oats with plum and chia seeds, topped with fig butter and PB2 sauce (I’ve been won over—this stuff is kinda neat) 

Lunch: Butternut black bean chili over kale; toast w/ hummus & roasted pepper

Snack: Kefir w/ berries & cereal 

Dinner: Spaghetti squash  w/ roasted broccoli & eggplant, kale, Tofurkey sausage, marinara, and parmesan 

Snack: (unpictured) glass of white wine at writers’ group; banana w/ 1 tsp-ish of Biscoff when I got home (I tell myself the potassium will counteract the onset of a wine headache, but this may or may not be true)

As always, thanks to Jenn for hosting the link party. For more WIAW from other bloggers, visit Peas & Crayons.

Did you do anything for Mardi Gras? Giving anything up for the next 40 days? 

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Long Weekend Things

Posted on February 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

Good morning and happy Sunday. How’s your weekend going? I’m heading up to Cambridge for the night to see A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and a Prayer. I actually really like taking the bus by myself, especially if it’s a nice day, and I’m looking forward to getting some work done on the trip. Last night, I made some overnight oats, so breakfast was ready and waiting when I got back from the gym. Me being me, I also have lunch packed. 

The rest of my weekend has been full of fun New York things. Friday I met some friends at the Brooklyn Brewery, which I’d been meaning to visit for ages. I was especially taken with the maple porter. 

Some of the people in our group were taken with the cat wandering around.

"Holy shit! It's a cat! In a bar!"

I didn’t stay out too late because I had early-morning plans that involved a walk on the High Line. I hadn’t been since the summer, and it was lovely on a chilly, sunny morning when it was still quiet out. 

The rest of the day was pretty mellow, complete with mimosas, a trip to the Hells Kitchen flea market, and other good weekend-things.

Typical flea market scene

What’s been the best part of your weekend so far? 

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Progress

Posted on February 16, 2012 | 6 Comments

While I know I’m hardly the only person guilty of this, it drives me crazy sometimes that I tend to order the same thing at certain restaurants. Case in point: whenever I go to a diner, I pretty much always get an egg-white omelet with spinach and feta. Wheat toast.  True, it’s delicious and fairly healthy, but I always roll my eyes at myself for being so predictable.

Yesterday, I met a friend for lunch at the Renaissance Diner in Hells Kitchen—trying to make time for weekday lunch dates with my girls while I still have a flexible schedule! We were both craving eggs, so of course I thought about ordering my old stand-by. But I didn’t! Instead, I ordered an egg-white vegetable frittata…So okay, maybe it’s almost the exact same thing, but this had mushrooms and tomatoes and broccoli. And it was amazing. I’m a little obsessed with mushrooms right now. Progress.

Pardon the abundance of “what I ate”-type posts lately. I’ve been trying to squeeze in as much bill-paying work as I can while I still have control over my schedule. A lot of people have been asking me how I’m going to handle freelancing once I start my internship, and to be honest, I haven’t totally figured that out yet. I have a few plans in place to help keep me sane, but I know it’s going to be a bit of a balancing act, at least in the beginning.

Still, I’m excited. I’ve been working toward this since 2009, and within a year, I’ll be just about ready to add MS, RD to my business card. Even if the next year is going to be nuts, I know I’m going to learn so much and, because I can never seem to help it, end up with a lot of stories to tell.

Do you tend to order the same thing at restaurants? How do you stay sane when your schedule is crazy? 

 

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