Another Waffle Wednesday gone write right.

Van’s rule my freezer: banana, coconut, pecans & real maple.

My newest obsession.

Sparkling tea, you’ve got me.

Mom pulls through again: edamame spread.

Feed me fresh fruit and I’m a happy kid.

Greek yogurt has stolen my heart.

I’m spoiled with sushi.

The newest addition to my dishware collection. It did its job perfectly.

I’m out. Run & belated b.day brex with my girls in the a.m.

Night!

Hillary

* * *

What’s your style? I am a complete minimalist. I am constantly cleaning out my closet. Everything has a place. I despise clutter. It isn’t necessarily a good thing, but I can’t exactly help it… it runs in my family.

That’s the date I write on every single form, every single application. I write this ‘number’ a lot. It never changes. It’s 12 (13?) days past the day the doctor told my parents I would arrive, but alas… it’s the day I was born. After overstaying my welcome, I plopped into this world exactly 21 years ago today at a healthy 8 pounds 5 ounces.

My grandma holding her first granddaughter, Hillary Ann.

I have lived two full decades. I have twenty years of life experience. I appreciate every day I’ve had, and look forward to each that lies ahead. Some years have been more plump with adventure, laughter, and joy. Some years, there were bigger obstacles to climb and getting through another day seemed more of a challenge. Yet, I think it is only appropriate – on your birthday – to rejoice the positives of your life, the unique individual that you are, and who you’ve grown to be. 

“Be happy for this moment for this moment is your life.” – Omar Khayyam

* * *

Today I woke up at the early hour of 6:19am to join my favorite running gals on a 7-mile run. You’ve heard me say a time or two, I’m not a fan of sleeping in; I wasn’t about to waste my precious time in bed on my once in a lifetime 21st birthday. Up and at ‘em!

• 7-mile run around the golf course @ 7:00am. 66 minutes later… done.

• blueberry birthday pancakes. done.

In honor of my birthday twin [HAPPY 30th, TINA!], I made her recipe for Really Good Pancakes.

3 pancakes x 7 blueberries each = 21!

I smothered my pancakes in organic berries, agave, 0% plain Greek, and a dusting of lemon zest.

Delicious or Deceiving

Unfortunately, my b.day breakfast ‘cakes were not really good. In fact, I would say they were actually pretty awful – flavorless & rubbery. What went wrong? Oh well : ) I’ve still had a lovely start to my day and… I spy blue sky!

What’s the plan for the rest of my day?

Friends. Oyster Festival [details another time?]. Dinner with ma mere et mon pere. Cake. More friends. Bar hopping? More drinks… and the rest is history.

I wanted to write this post last night, but my body clock is completely different since being home; in other words, I am exhausted by 10:00pm. I slept for 12 hours last night– yikes! I guess it was resting-up for my birthday week!

Anyway, there were a lot of great eats yesterday. I enjoyed going shopping at our local co-op – it’s seriously a health nut’s heaven; I came home with two full bags of organic goodies. After unloading, I dove straight into a 2% Fage with organic blueberries, our neighbor’s raspberries ,and a drizzle of organic agave – it won a blue ribbon for “Snack of the Day”.

Next, I dove into another new find. I think this is my new favorite Chocolove flavor – love love love!

What’s your favorite?

I couldn’t resist this at the market. Ya’ll know how I love my green tea. This is was super strong, but at only 6 ounces, I guzzled it all. I could almost taste the antioxidants ; )

Catechins are powerful antioxidants in green tea that help maintain a healthy heart and neutralize cell-damaging free radicals.

I was in charge of making Sunday Family Dinner…

Appetizer

Local Herbed Boule, Local Chevre & Organic Green Grapes

Award-winning Purple Haze: the perfect mixture of lavender and fennel pollen gives this cheese a sweet flavor that plays off the acidity in the cheese for a delightful complement.

Dinner

Arugula, Gorgonzola & Walnut Whole Wheat Pasta

[original recipe @ How Sweet It Is]

In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Cook 1 lb. of whole wheat pasta of your choice until al dente. Meanwhile, in a large skillet sauté 2-3 cloves of garlic in 2-3T of olive oil. Add 3-4 c. of fresh arugula and stir until wilted. Drain pasta, add arugula mixture, a couple additional tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 c. of crumbled gorgonzola, and a couple handfuls of toasted chopped walnuts. Combine thoroughly, then finish with a sprinkling of freshly-grated hard cheese [parmesan, asiago, etc.] – enjoy! Serves 4.

We also enjoyed a colorful salad full of homegrown lettuces, organic avocado, tomato, red onion, chive flowers, orange-infused olive oil & balsamic.

My Plate

Dessert

Chocolate Strawberry Scone Cake

Just wait!

Don’t be confused. I realize it’s not Wednesday – thank goodness! – but I missed Waffle Wednesday yesterday [oh, the tragedy!], so I wanted to make up for it today. Waffles on a Thursday never hurt anyone, did they? Ya’ll, I’ve been having serious issues waking up on time lately. You see, I consider myself a very punctual person and I love my mornings [as you all know], but I can’t get my alarm to wake me up for the life of me! I’m pretty positive this has to do with the fact that I can never shut my eyes and turn off the 2 million thoughts running through my mind before midnight; thus, the oversleeping is my body trying to compensate for my late bedtimes. I’d appreciate your 2 cents…

I didn’t think it was pear season, but appearently organic d’anjou pears are growing somewhere this Spring. A beautiful breakfast is always a good way to start the day.

Low-Fat Multigrain Waffles [Van’s] + 0% Greek mixed with Agave-Honey Blend, 1/2 organic d’Anjou Pear + Almonds

…accompanied by organic Moroccan Mint Green Tea

Pears and almonds always remind me of my mom’s autumn pear crisp. I can picture sitting in front of our woodstove in a candle-lit living room with glistening raindrops decorating the windows eating a warm bowl of the soft, sweet ‘n’ spicy pears topped with crunchy oats and almonds . There isn’t anything more comforting than this thought.

* * *

Go Green!

1/2 c. unsweetened organic almond milk, 1/2 c. very cherry frozen berries, 1/2 banana, 1 c. organic baby spinach, 1/2 T ground flax

* * *

I wish I had the time and mental energy to bake more, read more, and write more, but I’ve honestly got so many other tasks to do that will have more of an immediate effect on my life than my lack of blogging. The semester’s end is just around the corner, and I do not have my summer plans set – ah!

I only have 9 more days of class + finals! Between me and the end: 1 exam, 1 project and 6 – yes 6! – final examinations. Not to mention, I’m boarding a jet 1 week from today and will be gone for the entire weekend… and studying is not on my ‘vacation’ agenda. PEDAL to the MEDAL. I’m flooring it to the finish!

(1) …to eat waffles every Wednesday and never get tired of them.

Van’s Low-Fat Multigrain Waffles topped with 0% Greek [mixed with Honey-Agave Syrup], Organic Strawberries & Almonds

(2) …to consume an entire 16 oz. container of 0% Greek in 2 days. Say hey to protein!

(3) …that salty tears turned my smartphone’s screen into a sea of rainbows and now I must wait two days to replace my 1-month-old Blackberry. Lesson learned: don’t cry on the phone.

[source]

(4) …for it to be rainy, wildly windy weather on Wednesday and by Friday, 80* clear blue skies.

(5) …to pack green hummus to take to school:

• 100% Whole Wheat Flatbread + Edamame Hummus, Tomatoes, Cucumber & Organic Greens
• 1 Organic d’Anjou Pear + 1 Slice Sharp White Cheddar
• 1/2 c. Kashi Honey Almond Flax Cereal + 4 Dried Apricots – yes, I stretched the granola bar idea a little far.

(6) …to eat a victory garden’s yield of vegetables for dinner:

More Organic Greens, Edamame, Avocado, Tomatoes, Yellow Bell, Light Feta, Raw Sunflower Seeds, Seasoned Rice Vinegar & Olive Oil + Fresh Pepper

Health in every bite!

Haha…who am I kidding, I am not normal! ; )

Hello dearest readers. So close to Friday, aren’t we? I can almost taste it. Speaking of taste, let me share with you everything edible about my Thursday. I started my day with a bowl of pear-almond oatmeal — nothing you haven’t seen me eat before. I think I’m due for some new oatmeal combos [hint hint.]

1 cup water

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 d’anjou pear

1/2 T ground flax + cinnamon

almonds + agave

I had the house to myself again this a.m., so that meant blasting T.Swift and registering for Fall classes. I know…already? That’s college for you – ya never stop. Finally, after 6 semesters of registering for classes, it’s starting to get easier. I was able to get all the classes I needed; but, unfortunately, my schedule is all over the place. There’s always some bad with the good. Here’s what will be on my academic plate for Semester #7 [16 units in all].

1. Human Physiology + lab
2. Science of Food + lab
3. Human Nutrition
4. Foodservice Administration
5. Consumer Health [online]

Before catching the bus, I threw a bar and an orange in my backpack…which would later become my lunch. I got this Honest Bar while in Sonoma over the weekend. It was a first for me. Honestly, I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be. The almond extract was extremely overpowering and left quite the aftertaste. Yet, I’ll give it texture props. I’m hoping the PB + Chocolate flavor will get a better score from the Nutrition Nut.

My food lab was cancelled today, so I went to the gym during the time I would normally be cooking with my classmates. Working out in the middle of the day felt really off; as a result, my exercises weren’t all that energetic:

indoor track run – 1.5 mi.

30 min. Arc Trainer

wimpy abs + arms

***

A little bit of different schedule today meant that I didn’t have to make dinner in a hurry, or eat at a ridiculously late hour.

I made blog-inspired sweet potatoes:

1. Peel & cut sweet potatoes.
2. Toss in a large bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, baby drizzle of maple syrup, cinnamon, ground flax and sea salt. [I measured everything with my naked eye.]
3. Bake @ 325* for 20 minutes.
4. Flip flop.
5. Bake @ 350* for 10 minutes.

TJ’s Sorrento Arugula Mix, 1/2 Avocado, Red Onion, Pumpkin Seeds, Olive Oil + Balsamic 

This was a 10 star dinner : )

***

Alright, alright…to the GIVEAWAY already. If you read my most recent post, you know that Stonyfield sent me a handful of free coupons for their organic, Oikos Greek yogurt. Well, they have generously offered to sponsor a giveway for you all so you can enjoy the greatness of Greek too!

One lucky winner will receive:

1 free 16 oz. coupon

4 free 5.3 oz. coupons

1 blue reusable grocery tote bag

How To Enter!

There are 3 ways to enter to win this great Greek gift. Each way will give you an additional entry, so you can do one, two, or all three!

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite way to eat Greek.

2. Tweet about this contest on Twitter. [include a link to this post + @HILLontherun]…and then leave another comment telling me you tweeted.

3. If you have a blog, mention the giveaway and link back to it in one of your posts…and then leave anot
her comment telling me you posted about it.

U.S. residents only please. The contest will run until Sunday, April 18 at 12:00 p.m. PST, when I’ll randomly select and announce the winner!

Hey Guys! I hope you had a really wonderful holiday [for those that celebrated]. I wasn’t one of them today. I actually spent Easter all alone studying chemistry, but don’t fear…I was not without good eats! I slept in today by accident…and I mean really slept in – 10:00am! However, it happened to be the perfect time to make myself an Easter a scrumptious Sunday brunch.

    Aren’t they purdy?

It’s just a simple pancake recipe, folks. There was nothing tricky about ‘em:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1 egg
• 2 T canola oil
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

It’s all about the accessories: 0% Greek, organic strawberries, lemon zest and agave-honey syrup – holy yum!

Immediately after eating my stack of flapjacks, I headed back into the kitchen and whipped up another recipe. It’s a twist on my family’s favorite tabouli recipe, but I used quinoa instead of bulgar.

I didn’t use exact measurements [the plus of cooking vs. baking], but here’s basically what went down:

1. Cook 1 cup organic quinoa in 2 cups water – simmer covered for ~15 minutes.
2. Fluff with a fork and let cool. Add 2 T olive oil, juice of 1 lemon and a few cloves of minced garlic.
3. Pile in 1 can organic, rinsed garbanzo beans, ~1 cup ea. chopped cucumber, tomatoes and fresh parsley. Crumble in ~1/3 cup light feta and sprinkle generously with fresh black pepper.

Quinoa seems to be all the rage in blog world at the moment, so I decided to open up this awesome book of mine and see what I could find out….

Quinoa

“An ancient grainlike product that has recently been “rediscovered in this country, quinoa is not a true grain, but it looks like one and has similar uses. It is related to leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard and spinach.”

“Quinoa’s key nutritional distinguishing factor is its high level of lysine, an amino acid necessary for the synthesis of protein, making it one of the best sources of plant protein.”

Garbanzo Beans [because I eat a lot of these, too]

“One of nature’s perfect foods, these versatile legumes, with a firm yet creamy texture and a delicate nutlike flavor, are highly nourishing. They are rich in protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, folate, iron, and zinc.”

They are “…no slouches when it comes to iron content, with 1/2 cup providing 30% of your daily iron requirement. The body’s absorption of the form on iron found in garbanzo beans can be enhanced by consuming them with a dietary source of vitamin C.”

***

With lunch – a bowl of cold quinoa salad – I had a glass of Tejava. This is such a score at Trader Joe’s -  just $1.19 for an entire liter!

Naturally after lunch I “needed” something sweet: enter a P.Nut Buttah Treat.

Don’t Miss the Caboose

After another phone chat with technical support, I am almost to the point of revealing Nutrition Nut on the Run Version 2.0! This will be my LAST post at the current site. Don’t worry, you don’t have to change a thing. You will still find me eatin’ it up @ www.nutritionnutontherun.com.

Here’s to a great week ahead. I’ll fill ya in on what I’m up to when I don’t have to cram for chem!

XO,

Hillary

Good morning…and good afternoon to my East Coasters!

I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get around to posting yesterday. It was a super-sized Monday, I tell ya. I just kept thinking about the fact that once I got through it, I would have 3 days to relax. I know what you’re thinking, it’s only Tuesday. Well, due to California’s non-existent budget, they can hardly afford to keep their CA State students in school, so I have two furloughed days [Tuesday and Thursday], set around Cesar Chavez Day – a California holiday. It is really nice to have a “weekend” during the middle of a week, but the reality of furloughs is an awful awful thing. My college tuition has skyrocketed and I am getting less instruction [~10%]. No bueno!

Anyway, after 4 classes, studying for my exam, and 1 required lecture, I forced myself to go the the gym. It was the last thing I wanted to do after a long day, but since I didn’t exercise Sunday [like I said I would], I was at least going to make an attempt at something.

I knew from the start it wasn’t going to be an Olympic workout. I felt as though I had a brick inside my small intestine [quite the picture, huh?]. I could only find enough energy for 20 minutes on the Elliptical and 20 minutes [2 x 1 mi.] running around the indoor track. My body is not programmed to exercise at 9:00pm.

I treated today as if it were the weekend: I slept in [until 8:30am], fixed myself leftover waffles and an iced coffee for breakfast before cleaning the kitchen and doing work blogging in my pajamas.

Toasted Banana Waffle with a dollop of 0% Greek, Fresh Strawberries, Almonds & Agave-Honey Syrup

Iced [decaf] cafe au lait to cut the sweetness – so refreshing!

Going to go make the most out of my weekend…

Hillary

* * *

Blogger Bulletin

Check out Anne’s fANNEtastic new tees!

Congrats to both Jenna & Tina for submitting the first drafts of their books!

Heather’s giving away free Oikos to 1 lucky winner!

It’s official…Spring 2010 has SPRUNG! It seems as though we’ve all been enjoying lovely weather lately – I sure hope it sticks around. I know that sunshine can make any day better, which is why I’m looking forward to spending the rest of the semester in sunny Chico. I can’t wait to be able to read poolside…with ‘screen and a hat, of course.

It was an unusually beautiful warm day in HumCo yesterday…warm enough to get an afternoon ice cream cone with my mama. I could not turn down a scoop of organic Honey Vanilla Lavender ice cream on such a day : )

Arcata Scoop – could you be any cuter?

The preview of Spring weather inspired my mom and I to make something light and fresh for dinner. Where else do we look for inspiration? …none other than, In Praise of Leftovers.

We made Sarah’s Moroccan Grains & Greens Salad, adjusted slightly to our own personal tastes…and with the ingredients we remembered at the grocery store.

Barley [grain], Chard [greens], Sweet Tomatoes, Sunflower Seeds, Salty Feta, Parsley, Green Onion, Olive Oil, Garlic, Dash of Dried Herbs, a Lot of Lemon

…and a few wild prawns

* * *

For some reason it feels like Sunday today, and since Sundays are designated for big, hearty breakfasts, I made waffles after my 7-mile run.

Sinless Saturday Waffles

1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 T ground flax

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups almond milk [unsweetened vanilla]

1/3 cup canola oil

1 egg

[serves two]

I forgot the 2 T of sugar, but it wasn’t missed topped with plain 0% Greek, toasted almonds, strawberries & drizzle of agave-honey ‘syrup’.

Spending my last day at home facing the reality of homework. My ServSafe certification exam is Wednesday, and I’ve yet to memorize each and every detail about foodborne illnesses. It is an important topic to me, though [unlike the bonding of organic chemical compounds]. Have you read about my E.coli experience? Perhaps I’ll elaborate on the story sometime here in the near future.

Anyway, hope you are welcoming Spring into your life today. I’m going to take a stroll downtown and get an afternoon latte.

See you soon!

Hillary

I think someone needs to splash some cold water in my face, and say, “Hello, Hillary…you do have a blog, ya know!” Sorry. I certainly have not been maintaining my blogging efforts the past few days. What can I say, the Nutrition Nut has been on the run. I feel as though I spend way too much of my time connected to the World Wide Web, and it is so refreshing to put away my camera, ignore the Internet, and live a life of normalcy – not capturing every move I make – like I did a mere five months ago.

I had a lovely and busy day yesterday away from the web. I slept in [I don't have class 'til 12:30pm on Thursdays], made a creamy bowl of banana oats, and enjoyed having the house to myself for the morning. Sunshine was seeping through my windows, I had Grooveshark Popular playing, and before I knew it, I was shaking and twisting all around my room. Heck, I probably got a better workout than any 30-minute exercise DVD could give me ; )

After an afternoon of classes, I jetted over to the gym to squeeze in a workout before having to get ready to see Colbie! My roommate snatched the last bike for the 5:00pm spin class, so I was left to pedal alone.

• 45-minute spin [16.2 mi.] — a little slow?
• 1.5-mile run — I was cruising!

We rushed home to  scarf down a few bites of food and pretty up before heading back to campus for the concert. Although a small and casual concert, Colbie Caillat was 100% uh-mazing!

Isn’t she just gorgeous?

She sang all my favorite songs flawlessly. Her tour stopped in my hometown today, so my mom and her girlfriends are going to the show tonight. Speaking of home, I am really ready to go home for a week. One week from today, and that’s where I’ll be. Let the countdown to Spring Break begin!

Finally…today: I had a repeat of Tuesday’s delicious oat combo for breakfast before sitting through my final two lectures for the week.

Surprise surprise I went the gym this afternoon — it’s becoming my 2nd home, no? Every Friday I tell myself I am going to go to yoga, but then talk myself out of it. Well, today I made it happen! My body is a tad sore from this week’s previous workouts, so I figured I could use an hour of quality stretching and strengthening. I don’t know why I don’t talk myself into going to yoga more often. I left completely at peace; it was a blissful hour of exercise and wonderful way to end the week.

***

I ate a quick lunch before heading out to run errands, and consequently it missed the camera’s eye. My grocery bag was extra light today since I like to leave my fridge clean and empty upon leaving town.

I did buy a bag of my favorite chips and dug into them while my dinner was taking a turn in the oven.

Love these!

Tonight’s meal featured the last quarter of my free butternut squash. I told my professor that the squash was used to its full potential : )

Butternut Squash + Brown Sugar, Cinnamon & Real Butter

Organic Baby Spinach, Red Onion, Pepitas & Sweet ‘n’ Tangy Balsamic

Since dinner was so healthy and all, I thought a little Friday treat was in order. Insert Starbucks ice cream and gooey Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chippers – mmm! I don’t know what’s with me and boxed food lately – bad bad bad – but it was rather nice to be able to enjoy warm cookies right after dinner without making havoc in the kitchen.

You know I couldn’t resist a miniature Starbucks carton of ice cream. There’s just no way : )

Alright, friends…now that you have a rough outline of my life since Wednesday, I’m going to go catch up on what ya’ll have been up to.

Namaste,

~ Hillary

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