Nutrition Nut on the Run

Monday Life of Your Aspiring Nutritonista

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Know what? I didn’t exercise today. Fancy that! You know what I did do…

    • Physio lecture.
    • Library study sesh.
    • Phsysio lab.
    • Starbucks study sesh.
    • Human Nutrition exam.
    • Science of Food lecture.
    • Sit in the warm sunshine while waiting for the bus.
    • Collapse on my bed –> 45 min. nap.
    • Nutrition & Food Science Assoc. meeting
    • Eat a bowl of beans.

Productive Monday – check. I may not have exercised my muscles heavily today, but I exercised my brain to exhaustion. I’ve got another packed day tomorrow, but overall this week isn’t as insane as was the previous. I’m clear of exams until…

Speaking of exams, I thought since I am a Nutrition major, and this blog supposedly focuses on nutritious eating, I thought I would share a few things that I learn in class from time to time. Sound good?

So, here’s a quiz for you:
1. What are the recommendations for percent of total calories from carbohydrate, protein, fat?
2. How many calories of energy/gram do each of the following provide: carbohydrate, protein, fat?
3. What is the leading cause of death in the U.S. today?

I’ll provide the answers in my next post : )

Today’s tasty start to the day:

~1/2 c. 0% Greek, 1/4 c. cereal, 1/4 c. homemade granola, 1/2 peach, 1/2 tsp. coconut

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Artificial v. Natural [light].

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Later, loves!

Hillary, your nutty nutritionista

Race Update:

I told ya’ll I’d update you with my official time from my weekend race. Well, the times were finally posted, but excuse me… I am not “Age: 33”. I called the event coordinator to make this known, and am now anxiously waiting for the corrected results [there were some other mishaps, too].

At this point…

Time: 1:18:49 – slightly slower than my watch

Place: 51/143 – small race!

Achy Breaky Heart

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I guess I used up all of my weekend productivity motivation yesterday because today I had close to none. I rolled outta bed at 8:30am – that’s sleeping in! – and ‘made’ cereal for breakfast… a pathetic Sunday morning meal.

Oh, but it was still pretty… and pretty tasty.

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  • Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls
  • homemade granola – still tasting fresh
  • 1/2 banana + 1/2 organic farmers’ market peach
  • organic 1% milk

I wanted to workout this morning, but didn’t know what form of exercise I wanted to do after my long run yesterday. While I thought about it, I gave Little Blue a thorough bubble bath + vacuum [hey, that’s exercise – right!?], as well as caught up on my 3 loads of laundry from last weekend.

Still undecided about exercise, I ate.

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Plain 0% Greek + 2 fresh figs + walnuts & honey – mmmm!

After lunch and a couple hours at the computer doing homework, I was hit with the Sunday Slump. There wasn’t an ounce of energy to be found in my body. My throat hurt. I needed sleep. I knew then that fitting in an evening workout was out of the picture [hence the achy breaky heart]. My body was not game for raising its heart rate, so I laid on my feather bed until my eyelids began to drift closed. Can you see where this is going? Don’t underestimate the power of  Sunday afternoon siesta. It wasn’t long, but it was just what my body requested. Half an hour later, I was mildly refreshed and ready to… eat.

Still not feeling 100%, I took the easy way out with dinner.

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A handful of gold.

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… and one of my favorite, college-style comfort foods ever: Annie’s Mac & Cheese with a dab of real buttah, peas and creamy avocado.

New roommate: “What are you going to do with that avocado"?

Me: “Oh, ya know… just put it in my macaroni and cheese with peas.”

Very odd combo, but tasty to me! : )

Going to work on my never-ending pile of assignments, and then hopefully turn in to bed early. I have not been getting enough zzz’s and it’s starting to take a toll on me. I can’t let a lack of sleep prevent me from possibly having one of my greatest training seasons yet. I want to be exercising at least 5x/week, and that has not always been happening =/

Run. Eat. Study. Sleep. Repeat.

Good night!

Adora What You Do

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Howdy! I’m not as wordy as I was last night, so for those readers that appreciate less wordage, this is for you.

Breakfast.

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Free Raisin Bran courtesy of HLS, Granola, 1/2 Organic Peach, Organic 1% Milk

Hot mornings call for cold cereal.

* * *

Today wasn’t as intense as yesterday in terms of my class load. I had one class this morning, and one later this afternoon, both of which were dismissed early.

My planned pre-heat, early morning run was slept through, so I hit up the gym after my lab. I love The Resort, so I’m not complaining.

  • 1 mi. indoor track run @ 9:03.
  • strength training.
  • 1/2 mi. indoor track run – intervals.
  • strength training.
  • 20-minute treadmill run.

4 minutes @ 6.8 / 1 minute @ 8.0 [repeat 2x] – 0 incline

4 minutes @ 6.8 / 1 minute @ 8.0 [repeat 2x] – 1.0 incline

  • 1/2 mi. indoor track run.
  • strength training.

Total Milage: 4.36 miles

My roommate and I did a killer 3-minute plank set tonight that I want to incorporate into my regular routine. Ab exercises are my least favorite, but what’s 3 minutes?

We both zoomed home and threw our dinners on the stove: turkey burger for her, veggie burger for me… Dr. Praeger’s always.

 

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Burger + Pesto, Chevre, Roasted Bell Peppers, Organic Farmers’ Market Arugula & Lettuce all wrapped UP in a Sprouted Wheat Tortilla – oh my!

 

After scraping my plate clean, I had a hankering for dessert; I quickly realized I had depleted my sweet reserve. I debated making a trip to the organic fro yo shop, but then I was reminded that I still had a couple of chocolate calcium supplements, also courtesy of my HLS swag. Two Adora + lots of ice water was all I needed – I’m stuffed. I’ve got to learn to wait out my ‘hunger’ for a bit before diving into dessert… such a tough habit to break.

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1 Milk. 1 Dark.

Each Adora disk contains:

  • 500 mg of calcium
  • 250 IU of Vitamin D3
  • 40 mg of magnesium
  • 30 calories. 2-3 g of sugar. 3 g of carbohydrates.

 

This lady has some reading to do. Gotta start off the semester right.

Toodles!

Hillary

Adora What You Do Q’s:

Did you enjoy your major in college? If you could go back to school, what would you want to study? How important do you think it is to have a job/career related to your degree? What’s your dream job?

Early Bird Special

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Caution: sleepless blogger on board. May result in frequent grammar errors and confused thoughts.

 

Yes, it’s true. It’s only 6:30am, I’ve already eaten breakfast, and am about ready to hit up the gym. This is what happens when your body is trapped in a 80* hot box all night with a growling tummy, achy back, and busy mind running through its six-paged to-do list. Worst night of sleep… ever!

I have no idea how much sleeping actually occurred last night, but it wasn’t enough. I was tossing and turning constantly just wanting it to be morning… so I could eat! At 6:00am, I was fed up with trying to sleep, and bounced into the kitchen to throw together a cold bowl of cereal. I have a feeling the cold cereal cravings are going to last a while longer [especially now that I’m stocked with granola].

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  • 2/3 c. Oaty Bites
  • 1/3 c. homemade granola
  • 1/3 c. Humboldt b-berries
  • 2/3 c. 2% milk
 

Here’s how the granola making went down Monday:

  • 12 c. organic rolled oats – I scored a sale @ $0.79/lb!
  • 2 c. chopped walnuts
  • 2 c. pumpkin seeds
  • 1 c. sunflower seeds
  • 1 c. unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 c. ground flax
  • 1 T cinnamon

  • 1 c. canola oil
  • 1/2 c. agave
  • 1/4 c. honey
  • 2 T vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients in a very large bowl. Mix together wet ingredients in a small bowl. Pour wet over dry. Mix thoroughly. Spread evenly into glass baking dishes or rimmed baking sheets. Bake @ 350* for 28-30 minutes, stirring every 10. Remove from oven and immediately spread granola out on paper towels to cool quickly. When completely dry, store in an airtight container.

 

Wish me luck getting through my monster to-do list today. I have a good feeling a nap and iced coffee will be needed to succeed.

Happy Humpity Hump Day!

Hillary

Are you an early riser/morning person? I loveee the morning; it’s my favorite part of the day. I am glad I’m getting a early start today… just wish I had gotten in a few more quality zzz’s.

Tour de Trinidad

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I went on another beautiful bike ride with my dad today. It was a step up from our previous ride. We rode to the quaint, coastal town of Trinidad. It was a foggy Friday morning here on the North Coast, which meant for a cool ride. The sky wasn’t that gorgeous blue that it was last time around, but instead, its typical whitish-grey.

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After climbing the hills to Trinidad for its spectacular view of the waves, we were greeted by this:

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The thick, perspiring fog was smothering the ocean, and it didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. No whale watching today. We strapped up our helmets again and off we went…

Tour de Trinidad

  • Distance: 33.2 miles
  • Time: 2:41:28
  • Average Speed: 12.3mph
  • Top Speed: 23.5mph

Pre-ride fuel.

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  • 2/3 c. Nature’s Path Oaty Bites
  • 1/3 c. Nature’s Path Agave Plus Granola
  • 2/3 c. Humboldt Creamery 0% Milk
  • 1/3 c. of our neighbor’s a-mazing blueberries
  • 1/2 banana

I’ve been on a cold cereal kick. Must be this incredibly hot summer weather, hah! ; )

Post-ride fuel.

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PB & [raspberry] J on organic sprouted wheat flax bread + 1 juicy peach… then there was an apricot and another half of banana. CARBS!

Dinner. I think my Humboldt sushi craving is officially cured.

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Mango + cilantro in sushi… who would’ve thought!?

Marathon Training Plan post tomorrow!!

Hope you’ve had a relaxing Friday night : )

Hillary

Question of the Day:

Do you like bike riding? My heart belongs to running, but I have certainly been enjoying giving my body a ‘rest’ with these refreshing rides.

Are you watching the Tour de France? The TV is turned on at the crack of dawn in this household for the month of July just to follow the yellow jersey. My dad owns a bike shop. Enough said.

Home Away From Home

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Hey there! If you’re at all curious as to why posting didn’t occur yesterday, it was because my roommates and I cancelled our cable/Internet service, so I was essentially disconnected from the outside world the latter half of the day. When I told my mom that we had cancelled our cable, she couldn’t believe the words she heard. “How are you going to blog!?”, she exclaimed. Haha… oh Mother, it’s temporary – duh. I could not imagine not having constant Internet access. It’s probably not a bad thing that I can’t hop onto the world wide web at the click of a finger for a few days, seeing as I spend an ungodly amount of time in front my screen. There are actually other activities to do in life, such as go see a chick flick with your roomie. Letters to Juliet was adorable, no? I promise you though, hooking up the Internet is at the top of my list of things to do when I return.

Return? Yes, I may have made a spontaneous trip today to Sonoma County [hi, Jenna!] for the holiday weekend. It’s sort of nice not having any obligations; I can just get in my car and go. The normal 3-hour drive took closer to four with the holiday traffic, but it wasn’t too terrible as I had some car snacks to nibble on during the stop and go.

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Crunchy Flax PB + 1/2 Banana on Quinoa – I’m obsessed – Wheat Bread [all courtesy of TJ’s]

Organic Carrot + Cuc Stix

Little Blue got me safely to my grandparent’s house – with 200+ miles added to her odometer – where my mom had happened to arrive just a few minutes earlier. It was so good to see family – I’m quite the homebody. We chit-chatted it up for a bit before I broke out my computer to connect to the wireless Internet. I was having withdrawals already. Then we enjoyed hearty homemade vegetable soup, a splendid salad, and locally-made multigrain bread for dinner – mmm.

I provided the dessert for tonight:

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I’ve had a serious itch to bake lately. Yesterday afternoon I whipped up a batch of Congo Bars. I called up my mom for the ‘blueprint’ of our traditional recipe, and then added my own style to the sweet batter.

Chewy Congo Bars

Dry.

  • 2 c. whole wheat flour + 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 c. unsweetened coconut
  • 1 T baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt

Wet.

  • 2/3 c. unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 c. brown sugar
  • 1 c. granulated sugar

plus…

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 T pure vanilla

Additional.

  • 1 c. toasted, chopped almonds [toast @ 350* for 10 minutes]
  • 1/2 c. each Guittard extra dark & milk chocolate chips

You know the deal: Mix together dry ingredients. Set aside. Mix butter and sugars together. Add eggs + vanilla to butter mixture. Combine thoroughly. Pour into dry mixture. Mix just to combine. Fold in additional ingredients [nuts + chips]. Reduce oven to 325*. Spray baking dish with chlorofluorocarbon-free canola oil, plop batter into pan evenly and bake for ~30 minutes — until golden brown + a pretty ‘cake’ tester is free of goop. Let sit, then cut into gigantic bars. Take a plate with you to a picnic or the park, and I guarantee you’ll make a few new friends.

* * *

Speaking of yesterday…

Breakfast

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1 c. TJ’s High Fiber O’s + 1 T walnuts + 1 tsp. unsweetened coconut + 1 small organic peach + 3/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

I wouldn’t mind being a fish in this bowl ; )

Dinner

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Organic Baby Spinach, Organic Strawberries, Red Onion, Avocado, Chevre, Honey, Olive Oil, Balsamic + Fresh Black Pepper

BTW, this is last photo shoot on my u.g.l.y. [but clean] carpet. It can make the most delicious eats look entirely unappetizing. My apologies. I’m “pulling a Jenna” at the moment living sans furniture. 

Rumor has it I’m making waffles for my grandparents in the mornin’. Mama Hill must catch some zzz’s before she has to get back to the kitchen. Night!

* * *

Do you have a “home away from home”?

What are your holiday weekend plans?

Do you go nuts, too, without Internet?

Move It in March

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Happy MARCH!

Wow, Spring is just around the corner…20 days away, in fact! I think Spring is actually my least favorite of the four seasons, but if it means I am getting closer to completing another semester of college and never having to open my Organic Chemistry book again, then it couldn’t come sooner.

I always love it when the first day of month falls on a Monday because I use it as a marker to set new goals for myself. I already have a list of 10 goals I am aiming to accomplish in 2010, but I figured adding an extra challenge couldn’t hurt.

For the month of March, I want to challenge myself to MOVE as much as possible! I know I am already pretty good at fitting in my physical activity, but I think there is room for more. I’m young, healthy, and injury-free…why not? I will be recording my workouts – including the distance & duration – on my Running Page. Feel free to join me by moving your muscles more this month too!

My Monday schedule is tight – leaving very little time to exercise – but I did want to publicize that I had a glorious 50-minute run in the sunshine yesterday afternoon. I must get moving; after all, my race is two weeks away!

***

Monday’s Munches

Breakfast was cold cereal.

Raisin Bran, Humboldt Honey Granola, Banana & Organic Almond Milk in every bite!

Today’s school snacks reminded me of a Harry & David Box:

raw veggies + dried apricots & dark chocolate almonds + 1/2 of a d’anjou pear

Annie’s Whole Wheat Shells (a first for me) & White Cheddar…with peas and real buttah.

Organic Romaine, Avocado, Cucumber, Carrot, Red Onion & Low-Fat Parmesan Ranch

It was a perfect medley. I’m a fan of the whole wheat pasta, too : )

[No, I didn’t eat in bed in case you were curious. It was just for photography sake.]

***

Alright, well I bet 96% of you can guess where I’m rushing off to next: The Bachelor Finale – hello! Hope your month began on a bright note!

Hasta la proxima,

~ Hillary

If you missed the memo, my recipe is featured on Green Monster Movement!

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