Ice Cream

Ice Cream Inquiry

May 11, 2010 by Hillary 15 Comments

I’m currently sitting at my desk eating a mug-full of Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream with Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips. I tried to ignore my after-dinner sweet tooth, but I couldn’t quiet my mind from screaming for ice cream; alas, I made an emergency trip to the nearest store to settle my craving.

Picture me in the ice cream isle for a solid five minutes. Ice cream flavors are a big decision obviously. I skimmed over the Skinny Cow and other wannabes and went straight to the real stuff. It was a battle between B & J and H.Dazs. After writing an entire speech about Ben and Jerry’s, I can’t help but want to support an environmentally-friendly company. However, comparing the rather long ingredient list of a tub of B & J’s ice cream to the single syllables on its rival created competition. I chose the less-ethical Haagen Dazs over the happy cows tonight =/

What is more important to you: simple ingredients or supporting a company that treats their employees tremendously and does all it can to take care of the environment?

Five ingredients, or twenty… ice cream makes any day better : )

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Before I indulged, I licked my dinner plate clean of tofu and vegetables. I didn’t have any of my go-to teriyaki sauce to use for my stir-fry, so that meant I was making my own marinade.

Simply Soy, Sesame & Almond Butter Tofu

soy sauce

toasted sesame oil

almond butter

honey

garlic

sesame seeds

I used my chef’s eye as my measuring device tonight, so I apologize for the vague recipe: Mix ingredients together in a small bowl until the almond butter is incorporated. Chop a cube of firm, organic tofu into bite-sized squares and place into a lightly oiled baking pan. Pour marinade over tofu chunks and bake @ 350* for 30-40 minutes.

In the meantime, cook a pot of brown jasmine rice and stir-fry organic broccoli and carrots in a sizzling wok. When the tofu is golden brown, the rice toasty, and the veggies tender yet crisp, pile into a bowl and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Then eat up!

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I said I had a lot to fill you in on, didn’t I? Alright, one thing at a time:

1. I am not moving [sigh of relief!]. It turned out that my roommate and I have decided to stay in our current apartment and fill the third bedroom. Phew…one less stress/expense to ~~cross of my list~~.

2. I am officially an intern at College Lifestyles! I will be writing weekly posts all summer long about nutrition and healthy living. I promise to keep you updated with my new endeavor, but the next couple of weeks are for getting organized as I finish up the semester.

3. My dang cold [?] from last Sunday is still lingering on, but I couldn’t go any longer without physical exercise and my eye-candy at the gym. Here are my workouts from yesterday and today for your thrilling entertainment:

Muscle Monday

indoor track run [1.5 mi.]
30-minutes spin [10.5 mi.]
15-minute treadmill walk @ 4.0 [5 minutes each @ incline 6.0, 8.0, 10.0]
conditioning!

Running Tuesday

indoor track run [0.5 mi]
30-minute treadmill run

4 min. @ 6.2 — 2.0 incline

6 min. @ 6.6

10 min. @ 4.2 — 6.0 incline

4 min. @ 6.6

6 min. @ 6.2 — 2.0 incline

10-minutes recumbant bike
conditioning!

Hope ya’ll are having a great start to your week. I’m loving that tomorrow’s already Waffle Wednesday… but wait, I’m still without waffles – shucks!

XOXO,

Hillary

Simply Sweet Signs of Spring

March 20, 2010 by Hillary 7 Comments

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

A Balancing Act

March 14, 2010 by Hillary 7 Comments

Hi there. Did ya’ll make the most out of your extra hour of daylight today? Despite waking up to cold, grey skies, it was a beautiful day around here. Now that I think of it, it was probably perfect racing conditions. I’m bummed I had to forgo my 10-mile “milk run”, but do not regret my decision one bit. Today was a very memorable day for me. I haven’t been to many funerals in my life – thankfully – so I wasn’t entirely “prepared” on what to expect at today’s event; though, I don’t know if it’s possible for anyone to be entirely “prepared” for such an occasion. Life rolls that way. Some spring forward…while others are unfortunately left behind. As difficult as it was to see the most genuine family say goodbye to their wife and mother, I am glad I was able to be there to show my love and support to a family that has been in my life from my itty bitty days. Though sadness is inevitable, I am going to hold my head high with a smile…as she always did. She was “all about that”.

* * *

Eats

When you have grilled tofu & raw veggies for lunch…

…eat a pint of locally handmade, organic ice cream for dinner!

It’s all about balance : )

I went for coffee and chocolate almond…could you have guessed? Arcata Scoop, you are reason #362 why I love Humboldt County.

Time to put these crying eyes to bed…

Hillary

Let The Countdown Begin

March 5, 2010 by Hillary 15 Comments

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

Pancakes > Pills

February 6, 2010 by Hillary Leave a Comment

Morning!

To much of my dismay, I’m still in my pajamas, my bed is unmade, and I have done nothing notably productive. I’m not one to sleep in. I like to wake up early and get my day going, especially on the weekends. However, my body felt otherwise this morning. Last night, my roommate and I went to see Dear John. Coincidently, there’s a Ben & Jerry’s right by the theater, so we treated ourselves to a Friday ice cream before the movie. I chose Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz for two reasons: 1) I wanted to stay awake during the 10:00pm showing, and 2) coffee + chocolate is one of my favorite combos! Let’s just say the highly caffeinated scoop gave me an extra 3 hour buzz…resulting in a 3:00am bedtime. I let my body get its rest, but when I woke up I felt horrible – sore & stuffy. I remained in bed for the next 30 minutes until my body told me it was time for breakfast. I knew the perfect medicine for a slow Saturday….banana pancakes (recipe)!

…plus a cup of Echinacea Complete Care Tea

***

Back to Ben & Jerry’s. There was no way I was leaving the scoop shop without these:

Ya’ll know I love dark chocolate, and for those of you that really know me, you know I have a thing for all things PEACE. I wrote and gave a speech all about Ben & Jerry’s recently – their friendship, business history, products, etc. – and loved what I found in my research. It is an uh-mazing company. See for yourself.

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