Foodie Pen Pals May!

May 31, 2012 8 Comments

Since I loved the package I got last month, I added my name to the Foodie Pen Pal list for May!

The Lean Green Bean
I sent a quinoa filled package over to Heather at Ohayo Bento and received an awesome batch of goodies from Melissa at Our Geeky Life. Without further ado, here is my Foodie Pen Pal Reveal!

Where do I even begin? I was spoiled this month big time!

The Strawberry Fig Syrup is absolutely delish. I have been using it to top my waffles for breakfast in the morning and it an awesome replacement for Maple Syrup. The bottle also says you can top ice cream with it as a dessert which I need to try!

I haven’t had the chance to try these two out, but how amazing does a big bowl of veggie soup with cornbread on the side sound? I need to make this for dinner, and soon!

  • Mini granolas – perfect to take on the go
  • Emergency chocolate. Need I say more?
  • Zest Party Mix – I loved the flavor, Munchkin loved the pretzels.
  • Marshmallow Twists
  • Ricotta and Spinach Tortellini
  • Orange Spice Black Tea – seriously yummy!

Thank you Melissa for the awesome package!

I have already signed up to participate in next month’s swap, so stay tuned for more Foodie Pen Pal goodness! If you’d like to participate, please send an email to Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.comand  include the following information:

-Your full name
-Your email address
-Your blog name/address (if you’ve got one)
-Your twitter handle (if applicable)
-If your from the US or Canada

She will need to hear from you by June 4th as pairings will be emailed on June 5th!

Have a great Thursday!

Have you ever participated in a blog swap? What’s you favorite spicy snack?

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Late Day WIAW

May 30, 2012 3 Comments

This post is brought to you by the wonderful people at Time Warner cable. There was a service outage at my house this morning, so we had no TV, Internet or phone, hence the post at 5pm. Anyway, this week is flying by! It’s already Wednesday so it’s time for some WIAW action!

I started off my day with a veggie scramble. Two eggs, orange peppers, spinach and baby bok choy with a side of whole wheat toast. I also had a cup of mandatory iced coffee along side.

Lunch didn’t happen until after I got home from work. I had two slices of leftover grilled pizza with a pepper on the side. I am also in love with my new summery plate, which matches the tray from yesterday’s post!

Munchkin was pooped from spending the day with his aunt so he napped his butt off while I made dinner. It was so quiet and peaceful in the kitchen without him trying to help! Since it was incredibly hot out yesterday, I made a pretty light dinner. I don’t have much of an appetite when it’s almost 90 out and as soon as you step foot out of the house you’re covered in sweat. Dinner was Asparagus Soup and a salad.

The soup is super simple to make and the salad consisted of spinach, romaine lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, orange and green peppers and olives. I topped mine off with some honey mustard dressing. Every time I make Asparagus Soup, I say I have to make a double batch to have leftovers next time, but it never happens. Next time I have too, it’s too good not to have leftovers!

After dinner we headed right back out the door and to pick up my cousins to go air conditioner shopping. The poor girls have been suffering all weekend in the heat! ACs were selling like hot cakes. We stopped at Costco first and they were sold out of the size they needed. We managed to snag the LAST one at Best Buy for a decent price. And even then some guy made a stink because he said he was looking at it when Tommy took it off the shelf. You snooze you loose!

We got back to their place and Tommy installed it for them right before it started thunder storming like crazy. Perfect timing! I love evening summer thunderstorms. There’s something comforting about watching a storm rolling in.

We came back home and had a late night snack before heading for bed. I have a bowl of Love Grown Sweet Cranberry Pecan with some almond milk.

Thus completes my day of eats! Tommy and I are going out for dinner to one of out fav places tonight, so stay tuned for some food goodness!

What’s the best thing you ate today? What’s your favorite late night snack?

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Memorial Day Bikes and BBQ

May 29, 2012 5 Comments

This Memorial Day is going to go down in the book as one of the best in a loong time. Even though we slept in, we were able to pack a lot of fun into the day. We used Trails.com to look for a bike trail and around noon, we packed up the car and drove out to Long Island to Belmont Lake State Park. None of us had been to this park before, so we were really excited to try out the trails.

The trails took us around the lake itself and through the woods. In the end, we did 5.2 miles in a little less than an hour.

Munchkin had an awesome time and did not mind the bumps and having to be carried over some parts of the trail.

He did love yelling quack quack at the ducks, which I was later informed were actually geese. Whoops, I grew up in the city, so you can’t blame me for not knowing! ;)

The trail also had strength training points scattered throughout it, so we stopped to try the monkey bars and the dip bars. I am proud to say that I was able to get halfway across the monkey bars. Tommy’s little bro said that he will have me doing pullups by the end of the summer and I am holding him to it!

Even though it was in the high 80s, the trail was shady and kept us cool. We really didn’t feel the heat until we returned to the parking lot.

Have I mentioned how much I love Munchkin’s bike seat. It is soo much better than the kind that goes on the back of the bike and I am sad because I know that by next summer he will be too big for it. :(

After our bike ride, we stopped at The Pit Stop for lunch. Tommy had seen the Pit Stop on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network and we’ve been trying to go there ever since.

I ordered the Spaghetti Squash which is one of the thing Guy Fieri tried while there and it was pretty darn good. They ever share the recipe on their website, so if you can’t get there to try it, you can recreate it at home!

Munchkin got a bit tuckered out after our ride and napped on the way back.

Since the weather was perfect in the afternoon, we decided to grill for dinner. We made two grilled pizzas, corn on the cob and baby bok choy in a soy sauce sauce.

I am also in love with my new tray from Target. So summery and fun.

Mushroom and pepper with mozzarella cheese.

Buffalo chicken and blue cheese.

Baby bok choy.

Corn of the cob which turned out great because we grilled it without peeling. It really makes a world of a difference. We ate it without any butter or salt. Yum!

Hope you had a great Holiday Weekend!

What did you do on Memorial Day? What’s your fav BBQ dish?

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Memorial Day Smorgasburg

May 28, 2012 4 Comments

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you are having a great first weekend of summer and enjoying this amazing weather. My weekend started out great at the Farmer’s Market. Tommy and I have been trying to get out butts there for weeks and we finally made it.

We strolled through the place and picked up lettuce, spinach, bok choy, heirloom tomatoes, beets, carrots and strawberries. We’ve eaten almost all of it already too. Nothing like fresh fruits and veggies!

After stocking up on produce, we headed over to the Williamsburg waterfront to wait for the Smorgasburg to open. It had been a while since we had been to the area and we were surprised to find that there was a whole new park built there, complete with amazing city views.

Munchkin had an awesome time climbing the rocks and looking for non-existent fish in the water. We did see ducks though!

Once Smorgasburg opened, we headed inside to see what deliciousness we could find for lunch. Smorgasburg happens every Saturday rain or shine from 11 AM to 6 PM and is a huge food festival where over 100 vendors come to set up shop and sell you their delicious food.

We did a loop around the whole place to see what was there before we made our decision on what to eat. We started out with Arnold Palmer Slushies from Kelvin Natural Slush Co.

Refreshing and delicious!

For our lunch, we chose different paths. Tommy went Greek and got a Spinach Pie from Anthi’s Greek Specialties.

I got a falafel, but not just your standard chickpea ball falafel. As soon as we walked in I saw Saucy By Nature, I knew  it was going to be my lunch.

I chose a whole Spiced Marrakech Falafel.

And I only have one word for it… AMAZING!

We were planning on getting dessert too, but we really did not have any room in our bellies for it. There’s always next time and we are already planning our next trip there!

How did you spend your holiday weekend?

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Kettlebell Booty and Thighs

May 25, 2012 4 Comments

I put my new kettlebell to good use last night and worked my bootay and thighs. I got an email in the afternoon from the Tone It Up Girls with a thigh workout and it got me thinking.  I decided to look up some kettlebell moves to work my thighs and booty because who doesn’t want awesome looking legs for dress and shorts season. 25 sweaty minutes later, my workout looked a little something like this:

I am hoping that my legs don’t fall off when I go for my run this afternoon because I was feeling the burn after this!

But before the workout ever happened, I enjoyed a dinner made by my lovely boyfriend. He made yummy sauteed chicken breast with perfectly seasoned red potatoes. Since he was making dinner, I decided to make dessert – chocolate parfaits. I had high hopes that these babies would look as good as they tasted, but that just wasn’t the case. All of the layers kind of smushed together and it looked a little unappetizing. I layered chocolate pudding, fresh cut strawberries and crushed chocolate graham crackers in some tall beer glasses. Looked okay, tasted deeelish!

Can I also mention how in love I am with my new running crop pants. I picked up the Under Armour Shatter II Capri Pants last week at Century 21 for only $30 and I am in love.

I was used to running in plain old leggings, but these really make a world of a difference. I am going to be in Century 21 this weekend because I need to pick up some hangers for my closet cleaning project and I am really considering picking up another pair. I am also in love with Under Armour’s Victory Tank – it really keeps you cool and dry, even in the horrible humidity we’ve been having in NYC.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

What’s a dessert that you love, but doesn’t look great? Any plans for the holiday weekend?

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Yankees v. Royals

May 24, 2012 2 Comments

Around noon yesterday, I got a phone call from Tommy asking if I wanted to go to the Yankee game becuase someone at work was giving out tickets. Even though the weather wasn’t looking great, I was super excited to go. I had never been to a Yankee game before, let along a Yankee game in the brand new stadium that opened up last year.

The new stadium is really nice, and I feel the Yankees did a really good job with building a new park and playground in the place of the old stadium. There’s even a sweet looking track which I wouldn’t mind running.

We decided to drive to the stadium and ended up getting there super early because there was no traffic. When we got to our seats, the grounds workers were still fixing the field which I thought was really cool.

We took a walk around the stadium to get some drinks and snacks. I was surprised by all of the different food options they have now. We went the typical baseball game route with beer, I got a Blue Moon, peanuts and pretzels.

Next time we go to a game, I am getting the nachos because they looks amazing. The guy in front of us got them twice and they look like real restaurant nachos with slasa, guac, and real melted cheese.

The game was a lot fun. The Yankees were playing the Kansas City Royals and won 8-3. I am obviously their good luck charm.

My goal going into the game was to do the wave, and we did it twice!

The weather held out for the whole game and we ever got to see a gorgeous purple and pink sunset.

Tommy and I were also hoping to get on the Kiss Cam (We’re corny I know) but they didn’t have one at all! There’s always next time!

Have an awesome Thursday! Did this week fly by or what!

What’s your favorite baseball team? What snacks do you get when you go to a game?

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Longest Run WIAW

May 23, 2012 11 Comments

This weekend was a bit of a whirlwind, full of unexpected surprises, but awesome in the end. I spent the first half completing my last paper so summer began around midnight on Sunday. While writing away on Saturday, I got a phone call from my cousin Monika in Canada asking if it would be okay if she stayed with us for the weekend. Even though the circumstances of her visit were not great, she came to town for a funeral, it was still great to have her around for the weekend.

But, the weekend is looong gone so lets get to the eats!

I woke up craving eggs, which seems to be a theme for my breakfasts as of late, so I threw together a yummy breakfast sammich. Toasted bagel thin, one egg over easy, two slices prosciutto and a slice of American cheese.

I got my Girl Scout cookies (finally!) on Monday. Samoas go amazing with a morning cup of coffee.

The water situation at work was still undesirable today aka no water. So instead of making coffee we usually do, we went on a coffee field trip to Dunkin Donuts. Medium iced coffee, skim milk, no suga!

Lunch was another yummy pizza from Vinnie’s – the Florentine. Garlic sauteed spinach, diced tomatoes, mozzarella and feta cheese on a crispy crust. Pizza perfection!

When I got home, I was exhausted. I didn’t feel like cooking so I made a sandwich – turkey, cheese, spring mix and American cheese on whole wheat bread. I didn’t get a picture before inhaling it, but it wasn’t all that interesting to look at anyway. After my “dinner” Munchkin and I headed outdoors to enjoy the sun that had come out.

We broke out the chalk and had an awesome time.

I also learned that black yoga pants + chalk don’t go together all that great.

My post chalk snack was an orange and a grapefruit. I love me some citrus fruit!

Munchkin knocked out shortly after our time outside, so I decided to go for a run.

I am super proud of myself because I ran for a total of 11 minutes without stopping.  I’ve been following my couch to 10k program, but about halfway through I decided to see how far I could run without stopping, and surprisingly, it was all the way home! I was so excited.

After re-hydrating, I enjoyed an apple as a late night snack while watching the Dancing with the Stars finale and #fitblog-ing.

Am I the only one who is sad Kathryn didn’t win? She was an amazing dancer and so freaking cute!

That ends my day of eats! Have a great Wednesday!

What’s the best thing you ate today?

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Wordless Weekend

May 21, 2012 3 Comments

Hope yours was great!

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Black Bean Avocado Pizza

May 18, 2012 2 Comments

I’m usually a brown-bagger when it comes to lunch at work, but since I kind of overslept yesterday (turns out a toddler isn’t always a reliable alarm clock) I ran out the door lunchless. Once lunchtime rolled around and my belly started rumbling, I threw out a suggestion of pizza for lunch, and my coworker quickly agreed. Who doesn’t love pizza?

Instead of getting the regular cheese slices from across the street, she suggested that we order from a new place that had opened up a few blocks away. When we pulled up the menu for Vinnie’s, I was sold. Their menu is packed with unconventional, yet delicious sounding specialty pizzas, like Mac Attack (mac and cheese topped slice) and Greenpoint’s Finest (pizza topped with potato and cheese pierogi). They also have a ton of vegan options, which I’d like to try in the future. We decided on a pizza that wasn’t a total carb bomb, but still delicious, the Black Bean Avocado.

 

The crust was perfectly crisp and the black beans tasted great as the base for the pizza. I didn’t miss the traditional tomato sauce at all.

And yes, we are classy ladies who ate straight out of the box. ;) I think it would be super easy to recreate this pizza at home using my pizza stone or on the grill!

It’s time for a quick run before I dive into my last paper! The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend, so I want to get it done quick, and celebrate!

Have a great weekend.

Any plans this weekend? What’s your favorite slice?

Vinnies Pizzeria on Urbanspoon

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A Smaller Size!

May 17, 2012 11 Comments

So have you noticed the shnazzy new badge over on the left hand side of the page?

That’s right kids, I am your newest FitFluential Ambassador and I couldn’t be happier about it!

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I took the day off yesterday to rest and relax before driving back into schoolwork to finish my last paper. When my mom suggested that we go shopping, I couldn’t turn her down. We did some damage at Loft and I left with a new dress, two new skirts, shorts and a new top. My mom also had a bunch of coupons so we saved over $100 on our purchases.

I am also very proud to say that all of the things that I bought yesterday are a dress size down from what I usually wear, and they all fit great! I was so happy trying on the clothes and I can’t wait to wear them!

After Loft, we stopped at TJMaxx where I purchased my first ever kettlebell! And it only cost me $16. Win!

Now it might not be the prettiest kettlebell (am I the only one who thinks kettlebells are pretty?) but it does the job and it does it well. I did a really random kettlebell workout when I got home, basically just to try out different moves and see how this thing works, and I am feeling a bit of soreness this morning. When I get a good workout put together, I will definitely share!

I also got a book that I ordered a while back, in the mail this week. I’ve been interested in juicing since Tommy and I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, but I never really knew what combos went well with each other and what juices were good for what. This little book has a ton of great recipes that I can’t wait to try out! Keep an eye out for some juice recipes as well!

Have a great Thursday! We are so close to the weekend I can smell it. ;)

What’s your favorite juice combo? What’s your go-to fitness accessory?

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