Well, the bf and I are finally here in Houston! I totally underestimated the heat and let’s just say that I am NOT going to be wearing any of the 4 pairs of jeans/pants that I packed!! The air is really humid so coming from Vancouver, I feel like I’m officially in a rainforest. But the first two days I’m here, I just have to get exam/school/banking/paper work errands dealt with. Then it’s shopping, shopping.. and more shopping!! Hopefully we’ll also be going to Galveston next week ! Oh and while the bf is here, we’re going to be putting him to work, helping me paint my new room yellow and putting together all of my IKEA furniture  

I’ll be sure to take a bazillion pictures, so just be prepared for a gigantic post!

Bye for now

Here’s yesterday’s food haul:

Breakfast was the usual Nature’s Path Optimum Cereal with strawberries, bananas & raisins.

The travel to Houston is going to be a looong one. Literally from the time we wake up til we hit the hay! First we have to take a bus from Vancouver > Bellingham Airport > flight from Bellingham to Seattle > transfer planes from Seattle to Houston. Plus there’s about two hours waiting at the airports for our plane changes. BAH! The airline food from when I flew during Christmas was the usual microwaved, packaged chicken burgers, cheese crackers, chips, chocolate bars.. just unhealthy food in general. So I’m going to prepared this time and pack my own food for the whole day! So first, made a batch of these baked oat bars from Kath’s site to have for snacks.  

The dried fruit I used was a trail mix from the bulk section of banana chips, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and cashews. Also added in some raisins & chopped walnuts. I divided them up into smaller bars just because apparantly, I like to make everything into mini-sizes

I never really had a sit-down-eat-off-a-plate lunch yesterday since my mindless snacking got me all filled up.

First had about two handfuls of banana chips while prepping everything for the oat bars..

Then a couple handfuls of trail mix.. followed by the last of the Maple Walnut Frozen Yogurt that I discovered in the back of the freezer which I already thought was supposed to be finished!! So I had the three tablespoons left straight from the container because I was too lazy to wash another bowl AND a small oat bar fresh from the oven.

I packed some light snacks to eat later at work since I didn’t have an actual lunch, so I thought I would be starving throughout the day! Fruit & Yogurt Parfait. First with a layer of cinnamon, honey & strawberries..

Topped with banana slices..

Altogether with 2 mangoes. But the trail mix I munched on kept me full for so long I didn’t even end up eating any of this (except for one mango), oh well!

After work the bf & I went to watch Get Smart. I really liked the movie minus some corny/slow moments.. but I LOVE Steve Carrell’s non-chalant humour so he made it awesome overall

Then we headed to Richmond Sushi which is this Japanese all-you-can-eat place that’s open til late night. Most people see AYCE places as a dangerous situation to put themselves in the case of over-indulging, but everything is served in appetizer portions so I just control myself by eating with my stomach and not my eyes.. so it’s not all that scary! So I had a pieces of everything basically.. california roll, bbq short ribs, veggie tempura, gyoza, spicy agedashi tofu, shrimp bomb, lemon chicken, beef teriyaki. YUM!  

Off to more studying then a gym workout later in the day. Have a good weekend everyone! 

Anyways, on to the food.. 2 nights ago I was feeling the late-night munchies so I made a Strawnana smoothie with a handful of chocolate graham bears. Finished half of the smoothie and gave the rest of it to my garborator, that is my bf

Woke up to my morning bowl of joy Nature’s Path Optimum Power Cereal with strawberries, bananas, & raisins.

Went to the gym with the bf for a good upper body workout. My new obsession lately has been reverse crunches. (Don’t ask me how to do them because I am the worst at explaining exercises!) I googled them up and I always end up feeling the soreness in my abs afterwards, love it

Yesterday’s lunch was leftover Green Bean Stir-fry and quick Scrambled Egg Whites with mushrooms, onions and topped with tomato sauce. Kinda bland but ehh I needed some protein!

I really wanted some Maple-walnut frozen yogurt for dessert but I resisted for a healthier option.. fruit & yogurt “parfait”. Nf plain yogurt on the bottom, layered with Nature’s Path Optimum Power Cereal, strawberries, walnuts, and a couple chocolate graham bears.

Later on I went out for dinner with a couple girlfriends and we went to the same Japanese restaurant that I’ve already been to twice just in the past week and a half! Choices were either sushi or Greek and I knew that I’d probably end up getting greasy calamari.. so sushi it was! And yes, I got the Veggie Combo Boat.. again. I could live on that damn boat!!

Afterwards we chilled out and just watched half of the first season of Sex and the City on dvd so we could get one of my friends (who has never watched an episode!!) into it. Shockingly.. she didn’t even enjoy it!! She said she “couldn’t get into it”. WHAT IN THE WORLD??!!

Now for today’s eats!

I think this picture can describe itself by now haha

The bf’s mom bought another caseload of mangoes so guess what I had as my mid-morning snack! This batch is sooo perfectly ripe.. I had another one later on in the afternoon

We finally have tortillas again! So I made this Mushroom Mozza Quesadilla for lunch.. sauteed some mushrooms & green onions for a couple minutes, heated and spread some tomato sauce & nf plain yogurt on a tortilla, grated some mozzarella cheese inside and folded everything together. Mushrooms + mozza = best quesadilla combo ever!!

Had this with some steamed broccoli & soy-ginger dressing on the side.

Dinner was exactly what I was craving for.. MEAT!! Having meat isn’t really a big deal to me (I’d actually pick tofu over meat if I had the choice) but I had this random craving for it today. So here’s my Beef Tenderloin & Veggie Stir-fry with zucchini, red & yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, onions all on top of wild brown rice.

Ate this while reading the bf’s new Men’s Health Magazine that came in the mail today. I love reading this even though it is directed towards men. I would get a subscription to the women’s version.. but I am just too cheap to buy magazines

To satisfy my sweet tooth.. had another fruit & yogurt parfait sans chocolate graham bears since the bag is finito Time to head back to Shoppers.. I love their new “Organics” house brand!

Night munchies kicked in a little bit later though.. What I intended to have was some maple-walnut fro yo but the bf finished the rest of it last night!! ERRR so I settled for a spoonful of pb instead

Back to non-stop studying But TGIF tomorrow! The bf and I are having a dinner + movie date night and I think we’re watching the new Steve Carrell movie, “Get Smart”. Should be good! Night everyone!

Guess what’s back for breakfast ! Oh how I’ve missed my Strawnana cereal.. Eating oatmeal the other day just wasn’t the same anymore, shocker huh? So this was my first time trying out the Nature’ Path Optimum Power that we got yesterday, pretty good if I say so myself. It’s pretty much a blend of bran flakes and Fiber One so maybe that’s why I like it so much

It was only mid-morning and I was already getting droopy-eyed while studying! So I had a homemade mini cinnamon raisin bagel with some PB thinking I just needed some fuel to keep me going. Yet somehow.. I still ended up falling asleep on my books for 2 hours! Whoopsies =/

Lunch was a bowl of leftover Mung Bean Soup. Doesn’t look too appetizing.. but I swear that it’s just one of those foods that don’t look good but taste awesome!!

Yeah, mung bean soup really isn’t all that photogenic..

And I have no idea why, but it seems like all meds that I take (Advil, Tylenol etc..) leave me feeling incredibly drowsy. They’re even meant for the daytime but my body has a weird reaction to everything so who knows =/? 

But I really needed something to help keep me energetic for work, so I had a couple of scoops of the Maple Walnut Frozen Yogurt. Topped off with a couple more walnuts and I was feeling pretty peppy after that

I also had a really small plum at work but it was pretty sour and not all that exciting

The bf’s mom made some random Green Bean Stir Fry with fish balls & tiny chicken patties for dinner. I do this too when I’m too lazy to cook, I just throw whatever is in the fridge together with some soy sauce and voila.. a meal. Never disappoints!

But I’ve never been too fond of fish balls, so I just threw one of them in my bowl to give it one more shot. And yep, now I know why.. they taste like fake, processed “fish” rolled up in a ball. Blegh not my cup of tea!  

Oh and it looks like Photobucket is having some issues so that’s why all of my other posts are picture-less. Boooo

Well I’m off to study once again. Let’s see what all of this cramming in one week will result in the day of the exam eek!

Happy HUMPDAY tomorrow!!

So I really wanted something cold for breakfast and couldn’t stand the thought of hot oatmeal on a day like today. But Kashi alone doesn’t fill me up, so I decided to make my oatmeal cold by sticking it in the fridge while I packed the bf’s and mine’s lunches.

Loved the creamy-ness of the oatmeal combined with the crunch of Kashi!

I really wanted to go for a run in the morning while it was still kind of breezy, but wanted a change of scenery. Don’t you just hate seeing the same thing all of the time while going for runs? That’s why I loathe treadmills with a passion! It gets so repetitive/boring after five minutes for me. Anyways, I decided to drive down and park my car at the beach so I could run along the shore. Well, turns out the only free parking I could get was a loooong way from the beach but I did not want to PAY to run. It is an extremely steep road heading DOWN the beach.. So I can say I got an awesome lower body workout on the way back up!

Came home for leftover bbq for lunch! Grilled chicken breast, honey-glazed carrots, yellow pepper, and zucchini. Still as good as it was yesterday  

With a bowl of mung bean soup on the side (which I ate hot even though I was already sweating from the heat!)

It’s the bf’s and I’s 22 month anniversary today. (Yeah, we still do the anniversary thing monthly) I think it’s cute ! So we went to go celebrate by eating at the same Japanese place we did the other day because it really was that good!

Miso soup and ebi sunomono to start. The ebi was actually in vinegar this time so it was all good   

Then I obviously had to get the Vegetable Combo Boat again! Green salad with miso mayo dressing, Veggie Tempura (onion, yam, sweet potato), Tofu Teriyaki on top of stirfry veggies, edamame, and a veggie roll. This is seriously my dream combo.. it has all of my favorites on here!

Afterwards, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some yogurt for smoothies and new cereal (yay!). Then I was a sucker for the bf’s persuasion to get another bucket of Chapman’s Maple-Walnut Frozen Yogurt. Ahh this stuff is beyond addicting!!

So here’s my tiny ice cream dish with about half a cup of the “fro yo” and a couple more walnut pieces I stuck on top for an extra crunch!  

Goodnight everyone! I’m off to study some more until I fall asleep on top of my book as I sign that I’m done for the night..

Sorry for another delayed post, I’ve been so busy with trying to study for the THEA exam and all of these errands that I’m trying to get done before I leave.

Yesterday’s breakfast was boresville. We hardly had any Fiber One left, no strawberries, no bananas.. NADA! So here’s my  plain jane bowl of the last of Fiber One from the bottom of the box and Kashi Go Lean Crunch with a couple raisins. Kashi just isn’t the same all by its lonesome self!

I needed to make a quickie lunch since I still had a ton of stuff to do, so I finally finished the cooked quinoa! Seems like I made that whole batch months ago! So threw in quinoa, sliced mushrooms, and some tomato sauce in a bowl, tossed it around and microwaved for a couple of minutes. Not bad for a 5 minute lunch.. But while I was munching it down, I was wishing I’d cooked it on the stove with some onions & mozzarella cheese. Yeah, so I had to imagine that’s what I was eating instead

On the side was the very last mango from our massive case. Such a sad occasion I’ve been craving chocolate all day so I also had some chocolate graham bears too.

We’re always trying to get the most use out of our new BBQ, so Father’s Day dinner was all grilled up! The bf’s dad had to miss his own dinner since he was at work though!

My plate with a chicken breast, honey-glazed carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, potatoes and a yellow pepper. I think I’m close to finally perfecting grilled veggies, a major step up from the blackened ones that I started with =/

I also had a bowl of Mung Bean Soup on the side. I forgot what the Filipino name for it is, but it’s basically a broth based soup with mung beans, spinach, and onions. Such comfort food!

How cute is that?! The bf set up the chocolate graham bears all nicely on top of a scoop of Breyers FF Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream.

I hate eating things that look so cute! It makes me feel bad as I bite their little heads off.. but they taste oh so good

Just came back from a run on the beach, the greatest thing ever. So I’m going to try to fit in more studying (booo!) and packing before I head off to work.

Ta ta!

Anyways, here’s yesterday’s food!

Breakfast was no surprise obviously.. Kashi Go Lean Crunch, Fiber One with raisins, banana, and strawberries. Cereal bowl end countdown is coming soon, now that we’re almost down to the crumbs

Went for an hour long run yesterday morning while it was still a little cloudy with a slight breeze. PERFECT running weather! Ahh and I realized that I could not survive without my ipod.. Seriously, anything by Beyonce or Rihanna gets me so hyped up that I could run the whole day, no problem. But “Everyone Nose”, N.E.R.D’s new one is up there too

I never really have a huge appetite after a run, but I was craving something refreshing so I stuck this mango in the freezer before I left. It half-froze by the time I got back, a thick mango smoothie-ish texture to it.. YUM!

Still didn’t have much of an appetite later on, so I was kind of just grazing along the whole day.

First, a tiny bowl of leftover Orange Tofu Quinoa. Except.. with no tofu!! Someone must’ve picked out the tofu pieces and ate it out of the container, way to take the best part!!

Then wanted something to crunch on while I studied.. so had a handful of Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal & 10 Chocolate Graham Bears (yes, I counted them ) along with an Iced Coffee which I ended up not even craving, so just took a couple sips before I tossed it.

The bf and two of our other friends wanted to go try out the new Japanese place in our area. So far, so good! The pictures are blegh looking since I took them with the camera on my phone.. But started off with miso soup, ebi sunomono and green tea. The ebi was kind of a disappointment though, tasted like the noodles were in water instead of vinegar? Plus they kind of cheaped out with my measely one piece of shrimp

Everything is served in boats, so I got the Vegetable Combo which my friends called “one huge salad”. They kept asking me where the meat was and I told them it’s the VEGETABLE combo. I’m not a vegetarian but people just can’t accept the fact that I actually enjoy eating my veggies

From the left is some Oranges&Grapes, Salad w/ a mayo-miso dressing, Vegetable Tempura (broccoli, yam, and one veggie still unknown..), Tofu Teriyaki on top of stir-fry veggies, Edamame, and a Veggie Roll.

Yep, I was basically in veggie HEAVEN!!  

Then we headed off to the beach to have a bonfire. Beach bonfires are the epitome of summer!

So the bfs went off to break pieces of plywood for firewood while all we do is wait in the car and take pictures Haha! (That’s me on the right, hi!)

Of course, no bonfire is complete without smores. So I had a couple made with dark chocolate. Yeah, that definitely tastes like summer to me!

Well I’m off to do the Ab Ripper dvd & some lower body stuff that I didn’t get to fit in yesterday, then hitting the gym when the bf gets back from work. Happy Father’s Day everyone!!

The same breakfast that you’ll see until the cereal box is empty.. Kashi Go Lean Crunch, Fiber One, sliced banana, strawberries, and raisins. I am not even close to being sick of this stuff yet!

Pre-gym snack was a mini cinnamon-raisin homemade bagel with some PB! Got some upper body + cardio done within an hour.

Went to the mall (yeah, I know..) again to return the sandals I bought from Old Navy the other day that turned out to be a tad too big. But JUST as I’m walking out the door, I see Costa Blanca with 50% off sale signs everywhere. So you know what that means Came out with a summer-y dress & yellow flats. I finally got around to using up the store credit I had soo.. the best part was that I spent $0 WOOHOO! 

I STILL had some leftover cooked quinoa that I prepared the other day.. seems like I have a bottomless pit of this stuff!! Surprise, surprise what was for lunch! Whipped up Orange Tofu Quinoa.. words can’t describe how perfect this dish was! I loved how the orange flavor totally popped out.

Posted this up in the Recipes section.. you won’t be disappointed, I promise!

Then I saw the last piece of Upside Down Apple Pie in the fridge.. I wasn’t dying for a piece, but I just ate it anyways just because it was there Haha, not really a good reason but I couldn’t let it go to waste

Lunch kept me full for a while, so dinner was a small bowl of mainly the veggies from the Orange Tofu Quinoa and shared half a mango with the bf.

Then I get a call to go to this Italian restaraunt, Anducci’s, for my friend’s last minute birthday dinner. Even though I had JUST finished eating, I got a small appy of Wok Chili Squid. No camera, so unfortunately.. no picture! But the description was.. “Tender pieces of squid sauteed in a sizzling wok with fresh garlic, crushed chilis, lime and bruschetta salsa.” So try to picture THAT! It wasn’t greasy at all, so A+ in my book! I also had a Strawberry Daquiri that I drank a leeetle too quickly, so I left feeling a tad light-headed. Can we say.. lightweight?!

When I got home, the bf made a concoction involving some Breyers FF Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream + Organic Chocolate Graham Bears..

= this! Topped off with a couple white chocolate chunks.. HEAVEN I tell ya!  I totally didn’t need this either, but I blame my lack of control on the alcohol

As for today, I had a pretty productive morning already. Picked up my paycheque, went to the bank, went for a nice hour long jog, and did laundry! WHEW. Now I’m off to study some math for the THEA and do some at-home lower body workouts.

Happy weekend :D! 

So I went to the mall with the intention of just paying my cell phone bill, not stopping any where else, no shopping, end of story. Well obviously.. that didn’t happen I decided I needed to get a new bag (as if I don’t already have 10 million other ones stuffed away in my closet) to use as a light carry-on for the plane.

I’ve been lusting over this Vera Bradley tote for a while but they don’t ship to Canada BOOO! So I was on a mission to find a similar cotton bag.. First picked up this one from Off the Wall on sale for $10! Down side is that it doesn’t have any shoulder straps or zippers. But with my will power.. I can never pass up a sale!

Ended up kicking myself later as I found the perfect bag at Winners. Too bad the one I just bought was a final sale. Don’t you hate it when that happens??

Then I stopped by Old Navy to check out their new stuff.. dangerous, I tell ya. I left with 2 gladiator sandals in black & brown (couldn’t make up my mind!) and a bikini top on sale.

Okay.. I’m officially promising myself.. NO MORE SHOPPING until I go to Houston. I can last two more weeks, I think..

Mid-morning snack was a homemade cinnamon-raisin bagel with PB&B, green tea, all along with an Advil because I was feeling those “womanly cramps” errr!

I fell asleep by accident while watching tv but luckily I woke up just in time to eat a quick lunch before heading off to work!

Had the last of the leftover Chicken & Tomato Quinoa, a small piece of porkchop, and some sliced cucumber with soy-ginger dressing to dip.

Enjoyed about half a cup of some Chapman’s Maple Walnut Frozen Yogurt because it just felt like one of those days that I had to treat myself! This has GOT to be the best flavor ever created..

I also had a mango later on in the day but forgot to snap a picture. Oh well, you guys will be seeing tons of them anyways we have a whole caseload at the house (which I’m predicting is not going to last very long..)

The bf’s mom made spaghetti for dinner but I wasn’t in a very pasta-y mood so I just had the spaghetti sauce over quinoa. Quinoa is so good with everything! I still have quite a bit leftover so I might try it out as something sweet for breakfast. Had a corn on the cob on the side as well as some random apple slices that I didn’t end up finishing.

I’m off to go study some math for the THEA test that I have to take when I get to Houston. Way to wreck the anticipation for a vacation huh?

See you all tomorrow !  

I haven’t had a Straw-nana smoothie in a while.. so brought it in my cereal bowl Kashi Go Lean Crunch, Fiber One, Nature’s Path FlaxPlus Multigrain with a sliced strawberry, half a banana and a couple raisins thrown in. I loved this combo! Well then, guess what’s for breakfast tomorrow..

Tried out some of the Stash Goji Berry Green Tea we picked up the other day. Really fruity with a twist to it, I’m going to try it iced tomorrow with some honey to sweeten it up a bit more!

Gym workout again today. That reminds me that I’m going to have to find a new gym when I move to Houston.. Ahh it’s going to be hard for me to part with my rec center that I’ve grown to love

There wasn’t much in the fridge to make lunch, so we went to our favorite Japanese restaraunt for my all-time favorite meal

Started off with some green tea, miso soup, and a salad with miso-ginger dressing. There’s something about house salads at Japanese places.. it’s so simple but ridiculously tasty!

I was going to try out a different roll, but the lunch special was 2 cali rolls with a soup & salad for only $5! Whatta deal. The California rolls are so well made here. The crab (even though it’s artificial) is always so fresh tasting, not too much mayo, they don’t overload the rice, and the rice is never “mushy”.. perfection!! The bf and I have been to countless Japanese places, so I can spot a nasty Cali roll from a block away   

A peppermint to end my meal! Although I’m notorious for stealing a couple more mints from the bowl when the waitress turns away (yenno, just to keep in case of “emergencies”) The bf always shakes his head in embarrassment afterwards..

When we got home I finally got around to making those Cinnamon Raisin Bagels! It took a little longer this time around since I made 18 mini-bagels instead.

Here are my little babies all finished with cinnamon & ground flaxseed sprinkled on top.

They’re about the size of the palm of my hand, so it’s pretty much perfect with a smear of almond butter for a snack or pre-workout bite.

Bagels fresh out of the oven are seriously the most comforting ever! Had mine with a little almond butter as planned

And another iced coffee! Damnit I’m addicted! But caffeine doesn’t have any effect on me whatsoever. I remember in high school I’d drink mug after mug so I could stay up all night and cram.. but I’d be dead asleep five minutes later! Haha

I didn’t have a huge appetite for dinner since that bagel held me over for a quite awhile. So I just shared a plate of Shrimp & Zucchini Stir-Fry with the bf, but didn’t have any of the rice.

The bf’s mom came home with a huuuuuge box of mangoes!!! I was extremely ecstatic about this.. (my tropical fruit addiction!!)

2 weeks til my vacay and 2 days til the weekend! We can make it!!