Super Bowl Sunday!

If you’re like me, I don’t care at all about the game, but I do care quite a bit about the Super Bowl food! On the menu for tonight: buffalo chicken dip, ham and cheese calzones, and beer! Super Bowl parties always seem to have lots of food that is “unhealthy” for your body, but, at the same time, so very “healthy” for your soul! Can’t wait!

In preparation for tonight’s caloriefest, I started my morning with a healthy breakfast of scrambled eggs, sliced tomato with ground pepper, and piece of whole wheat toast. 

My eggs are actually a blend of 1 regular egg mixed with 1/3 cup of liquid egg whites, which is why the color looks so light. 

Oh, and, of course, my morning included coffee with agave nectar and oat milk. 

I also have a trip to the Y on the agenda for this morning. I’m thinking about going for a long run on the treadmill. Gotta get a head-start on those buffalo chicken dip calories!

Breakfast was an easy decision today. Nope, not oats! Last night, I had brainstormed a cheesy asparagus egg white omelette, so when I work up this morning, I was excited to try it out! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup liquid egg whites
• 4-5 spears of steamed asparagus, chopped
• 1 (heaping) tbsp cottage cheese
• Swiss cheese to taste

This photo makes my omelette look teeny-tiny (weird angle, perhaps?), but it was super filling and is sitting in my stomach like a rock now! 

Also with breaky, iced coffee with chocolate soy milk and agave nectar.

Coffee drinkers: I’m tellin’ ya, you gotta try chocolate soy milk in your coffee. It’s so incredibly sweet and creamy! My iced coffee is almost like a coffee milkshake this morning!

For sweet treats, I had a dark chocolate Adora disk and a handful of Zoe’s granola.

No matter how hard I try, I just need something sweet after every meal. I swear this habit is genetically programmed into me!

I’m off to do wedding stuff with my sister this afternoon. All of her bridesmaids are coming to get measured for their dresses, and my sis is making her final decision on the style. I think she is leaning toward a long, dark plum, v-neck style dress for us. Sounds pretty, right? I’ll try to snap a pic this afternoon! 

Vote for My Pizza

My Autumn Maple Bacon Pizza is still trailing the leader, but the 3rd and 4th place pizzas are catching up now! GAH! Please remember to vote: http://boboli.gwbakeries.com/football/enter.cfm

I felt like I needed to jazz-up my oats this morning. I wanted something new and different, but also hearty and filling. I mentally inventoried the ingredients in our cupboards and refrigerator, and what I came up with was liquid egg whites!

When the blog first started, I used to add egg whites to my oatmeal every morning for some extra protein and staying-power. I’m not sure why I nixed this addition, but I’m glad it’s back!

In the mix:

• 1/3 cup dry oats
• 1/4 cup liquid egg whites
• 1/2 cup Zoe’s granola
• 1 cup vanilla soy milk
• 2 scoops of Barney Butter

I’d love to hear what you guys add to your oats. What are your favorite oatmeal ingredients and add-ins?

Treadmill Rut

The other day, I received a question from a reader about my treadmill runs; I thought I should share my response on the blog.

Q: “How do you run on the treadmill for so long and not get bored? I would get bored so easily!”

A: I rarely get bored on the treadmill. To keep me interested while running/walking, a few things come to mind…

• Have a plan: I almost always utilize some sort of cardio workout to guide my treadmlll run. I use fitness magazine workouts all of the time. Of course, running/walking workouts work best, but other cardio workouts work well, too. Some of my favorites: 
  • 45-Minute Treadmill Workout
  • Not a Boring Treadmill Workout
  • 3-Mile Challenge
  • 30-Minute Treadmill Run
  • Fitness NYC’s 3′s and 5′s Treadmill Challenge

  
  

• Interval workouts! Similar to above, change-up speeds and inclines to keep it interesting! Interval workouts also increase your caloric burn!




• Play games: You can assign a distance, time, intensity, or speed to just about anything. For instance:
  • Try rolling a dice before heading to the gym; the number you roll is the number of miles you run/walk.
  • Base your run/walk duration on the time you arrive at the gym or begin your workout. For example, if you start exercising at 5:47 PM, your workout will be 52 minutes (5+47). (Of course, this game doesn’t always work, but it’s fun when it does!)
  • If you have access to a TV while on the treadmill, pick up the pace during commercials with music, a jingle, or theme song.

    
    

• Schedule your workout around your favorite TV show: Set a specific time to hop on the treadmill to watch your favorite TV drama or sitcom. Television shows work great because they are 30 or 60 minutes– the perfect amount of time for a treadmill workout! 

  
  

Thanks to my lovely readers (thanks, guys!), Mal and I enjoyed a FANTASTIC Sunday brunch at Eatery. It really was the perfect way to end our trip and fill our stomachs for the long bus ride home to Boston!

Before we even ordered coffee, our waiter delivered two complimentary pieces of banana bread to our table. What service!

The banana bread was topped with powered sugar and a fudge-y crisscross pattern, which made it very dessert-like. The banana bread was also extremely moist, so it basically tasted like banana cake.

Hot coffee was an incredible compliment to the banana bread! I hadn’t even ordered brunch yet, and I was already in heaven! (Haha, that was so cheesy!)
Eatery’s menu had lots of delicious-sounding options, but my decision was easy once I saw this gem: Green Eggs and Ham on Croissant with Egg Whites, Goat Cheese, Honey Roasted Ham, Basil Pesto, and Baby Greens Salad. Holy yum!!!

The baby greens salad had cherry tomatoes and shredded carrots mixed in and was dressed with a light and tangy vinaigrette. I only had a few bites, but it was delicious and very fresh!
The green eggs and ham on a croissant was outstanding! Honestly, it was a meal to remember! The egg whites were combined with a “paste” made of goat cheese and basil pesto. It was so good! I ate almost the entire sandwich! And let me tell you, it was one big croissant sandwich!

My Eatery brunch easily held me over until dinnertime!

This post concluded our excellent NYC adventure. I hope you guys enjoyed reading about it!

More from NYC

• Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill
• Morrell Wine Bar & Cafe and Sightseeing
• Wine & Roses
• City Oatmeal
• Greetings from the Bolt Bus

…using Mal’s computer!

The plan for this morning is to visit Apple, ask all of my questions, and hopefully, return home with a brand, spanking new laptop of my very own! (Let’s just hope I’m ready to spend that type of money today! Yikes!) 

New breakfast obsession: BBQ Double Cheese Egg Sandwich. 

On two Arnold’s Sandwich Thins (love these!), I put BBQ sauce and feta on one side and cheddar cheese on the other, then toasted both pieces in our toaster oven for a few minutes. 

Then, I made an egg white patty in the microwave and put it in between the two Sandwich Thins. So fickin’ delicious!!! 

And, of course, iced coffee…

I’m off to Apple! Wish me luck!!!!

Question of the Day 

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you? 

No, political debate here! I’m debating on what to do with my evening. I am supposed to go see UVM (Mal’s alma mater) play BC (my alma mater) in hockey, but I’m just not feeling it. I think I’d much rather chill on the couch with a glass of red wine and a chick flick… buuut I know it would be fun to go out with friends and cheer on BC/cheer against UVM. I’m already in my PJs and feeling pretty relaxed, but I could easily motivate myself to go out. What would you do?

After my workout this morning, I made a fresh pot of coffee and sipped on 2 sweet and creamy mugs while watching day-time TV. I love being home during the day to watch my favorites: Ellen, Martha, and Regis and Kelly!  

Lunch was a buffalo-cheddar-egg white sandwich on Arnold Select Sandwich Thins, which are AWESOME! They’re sandwich-size, but thinner than regular bread and more “sturdy” than pita bread or a wrap. They’re basically a big, flat English muffin, but much more appropriate for a sandwich. I tried the mutli-grain variety, which I enjoyed a lot. It tasted fresh, natural, and a tad grainy. The Sandwich Thins are also low in calories (100 calories) and high in fiber (5 grams). I’m a HUGE fan of these guys! Thanks, Arnold, for sending me some samples!

My egg-white “patty” was made with liquid egg whites using this easy and quick method. I added some sharp cheddar and buffalo sauce to make a wicked good sandwich! 

As always, I wanted something sweet after lunch. I toasted half of a Sandwich Thin and topped with TJ’s pumpkin butter and peanut butter and chocolate chips. The peanut butter and chocolate chips melted shortly after this photo was snapped to make it an even more decadent dessert. Yum!

Around 2:00, I munched on a Shelburne Farm-picked apple. 

A couple of hours after eating my apple, I was hungry again. I decided on a sweet and savory snack: prunes with sharp cheddar. The combined flavor was fantastic in the same bite! Attention readers: new favorite snack!

More Debating

My friend, Becca, sent me an email this morning telling me that she registered to run the Hyannis Half Marathon. I have never run a half marathon, but I’ve wanted to for awhile now. It’s a big goal for me. I’m a “decent” runner, but I’ve never run more than 7 or 8 miles at once. I realize that I can work my way up to 13.1 miles if I train properly, buuuut the race is in February… on the Cape! I really don’t like winter much and I hate being cold. I’d love to do this half marathon with Becca, but I’m not sure how I’d handle the cold weather… plus training indoors on a treadmill doesn’t sound like a good time to me. Has anyone ever trained for an event like this? I have a little while to decide, but I also want to give myself more than enough time to train. I have awful hip and back problems, so in order not to injure myself, I need plenty of training time.