March 07, 2013

Some recent favorites

I woke up at 2:00 this morning, feeling wide awake--ridiculous. But I finally managed to fall back asleep until a decent hour to get out of bed, at 5:30. I don't like to get up even that early, because my kids sleep as lightly as I do, and they're always awake within minutes of my getting out of bed. But since I was up, I decided to get my run done on the treadmill before getting the kids ready for school.

I only had four miles on the schedule, so I hopped on the treadmill and watched another episode of Sons of Anarchy while I ran.

Since the episodes are about 45 minutes long, I just slowed to a walk to finish out the episode. When I was done, got the boys ready for school. The morning passed by really quickly that way! Next time I'm lying in bed feeling wide awake, I may just end up getting up and running.

I got ready to go out to lunch with Jessica, and headed to Kroger to meet her. From there, I drove to La Pita. It was a fun lunch! Last year at this time, we would go to La Pita just about every week while we were marathon training--I can't believe it's been a year already. Today, we were laughing about how terrible we are for each other, because we both love to eat--so after our long runs, we'd go to La Pita or Whole Foods for baked goods ;)  No wonder I gained so much weight then.

I got my usual at La Pita (I've actually never ordered anything else)--lunch portion chicken kabob, rice pilaf, hummus, garlic sauce, pita bread, and salad. I estimated what I ate to be 18 PointsPlus. Not bad at all for some really yummy food!

It's been a while since I've posted a "things I've been loving lately" list, so I figured I'd do that today. These are all things I've been mentioning lately, so they won't come as a surprise, I'm sure, but here goes...

1) Frozen grapes. I've been obsessed with grapes for a long time now, but I just recently started freezing them. I love that they take longer to eat, so I don't have to eat so much; also, I don't feel like I have to eat them all before they go bad (not that it's ever been a problem before...).





2) Cinnamon Roasted Almonds. These are from Wal-Mart, but I'm sure any brand will do. These are sweet and crunchy, and very satisfying for a snack. Usually 1/2 ounce is satisfying enough, which surprises me. Usually, I can eat nuts by the bucketful, but if I take my time with these, I'm happy with 1/2-1 ounce.

3) My ActiveLink. No surprise here! I've been earning so many activity PointsPlus with it, which is perfect, because I love to eat ;) 

4) The White Chocolate Macadamia Nut CLIF Bars. I've always liked CLIF bars, but never really LOVED them until trying this flavor. It's so good!


5) Sons of Anarchy. I'm only on the first season, but I'm glad that there are several seasons to keep me occupied on the treadmill for a while!
source

6) David's Tea. I'm SO glad that Ellen introduced me to this tea, because it puts all other teas I've tried to shame. I've even unsubscribed from Teavana's e-mails, because the only tea I'll be ordering now is from David's. They have amazing dessert teas that taste exactly like what they are described as--I adore the Red Velvet Cake, and the Toasted Marshmallow. Oh, and the Movie Night. Let's just say all of them. I love all of them!

7) This nifty little gizmo by Nordic Ware that I use to cook my eggs. I eat eggs almost every single day for lunch--a whole egg, plus 3 T. egg whites, plus a slice of cheese and 2 Tbsp. of crumbled bacon. I used to make it omelet-style until I found this little cooker at Wal-Mart for a few bucks and picked it up on a whim. You use this to cook eggs in the microwave. I know that people make scrambled eggs in mugs all time, a la Hungry Girl, but cleaning the mug afterward was a bitch! The egg was always stuck on there really good.

You don't even have to spray this little thing with cooking spray. You just scramble the egg right inside it--then I add my bacon, and nuke it for 1 minute. I flip it over and put it back in for 15 seconds. It turns out to be a big, puffy egg pillow, the perfect size of an English muffin, if you make a sandwich out of it (I like to eat it by itself, topped with cheese, and with an English muffin on the side). It doesn't stick to the container, and clean-up is super easy. I can prep and cook my eggs faster than my English muffin gets done toasting!


27 comments:

  1. Why do I always forget to freeze grapes? I got some duds and I had a feeling the rest were going to get pitched by Saturday but not if I freeze 'em! You just saved me some money! Score! :)

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  2. I love frozen grapes. I may have to pick up some grapes just for that purpose.

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  3. Katie, I am going to order some of those teas and was just wondering if you noticed any kind of sleeplessness or anxiety from the caffeine content. I am sensitive to caffeine like you and usually black tea does not bother me. I just want to be able to drink these at night without worry (I think you normally have them in the morning?). I know they have some herbal/low-caffeine teas, but I really want to try the dessert flavors!

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    1. If you go to the David's tea website, they give you the caffine content and a lot of them are low. My mom can't have caffine so I was checking them out for her. Buttered Rum is my favorite!

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    2. Rachel, I am extremely sensitive to caffeine (I can't even handle decaf coffee anymore because of the small amount of caffeine in it!), but this tea doesn't bother me at all. I drink 16 oz. at a time, usually morning and afternoon (sometimes at night, too) and I've never had a problem with feeling the jitters that coffee gives me. But Amy is right, David's Tea labels the levels of caffeine--the dessert ones I have are either level 1 or 2 (low to moderate).

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    3. That is great to hear, and thank you for your response! All the ones I am looking at are either low or moderate caffeine as well. Now just to decide if I want the dessert sampler or to pick out several different ones. :)

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  4. Wondering what you usually eat for breakfast/before lunch time? Trying to get back on the wagon again! Love reading your Blog, Katie!!!

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    1. I eat the same breakfast nearly every day--oatmeal with peanut butter, caramel, chocolate chips, and coconut :)

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  5. I love the white chocolate macadamia nut Clif bars, too! Have you tried the Coconut chocolate chip ones? Those are my favorites.

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    1. Yes, that was my favorite flavor until I tried the White Chocolate Macadamia. I also loved their seasonal peppermint one... was so sad when they were gone!

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    2. I loved the peppermint ones, too!

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  6. I love the egg cooker! I use it almost every day!

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  7. Frozen grapes are awesome! I call them little grape slushies. Just wait until it's summer and sweltering outside-they will cool you down pretty quickly!

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  8. Two of my favorite things too, the frozen grapes and Clif bars. I like that flavor but my favorite is the Peanut Toffee Buzz!

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  9. I've tried frozen grapes and I didn't love them. I may try them again though. I'm so happy to see that egg cooking thing...I have got to go and find one!

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  10. I have one of those egg cookers. I used to use it every day, but eventually I found a new favorite meal that didn't involve eggs so I stopped using it. I am going to have to pull it back out when I get home. I had forgotten all about it!

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  11. Sons of Anarchy... what a good show.. Since you are only on Season 1 you are in for a treat- it gets better each season.. I bought the first 3 seasons at Walmart during a sale for 10 each and hubs and I blew through them.. We have watched through season 4 now and have to figure out how to watch 5 then we are up to date.. I wanna be Katie Segal when I grow up! HA

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  12. I meant to tell you about freezing grapes- that was a trick of Richard Simmons' back in the day!

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  13. That egg things looks neat. And yes, cleaning egg off of anything after cooking it in the microwave is awful!

    The Kidless Kronicles

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  14. I'm obsessed with Sons of Anarchy, too! I never thought it'd be a show I'd get into, but my friend said the same when she suggested it. It actually took me 3 episodes to get into, but now I went to get through all of the seasons!

    I've been dying to try that tea that the two of you have mentioned, too! I'm glad you brought it up again.

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  15. Love the egg cooker. Now I'm on a new mission to find one at my Walmart.. Love your blog by the way... Added you to my bloglist!!!

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  16. Thanks a lot, Katie...I just spent $54 on tea and tea supplies. Maybe I'll make up for that when I start shopping for clothes at Goodwill. You are very influential. :)

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  17. HUH. I never saw that egg cooker before. I should look for one, too - I love eggs and am trying to eat more of them for high protein breakfasts.

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  18. Frozen blueberries are pretty good too :).

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  19. Katie can you tell us exactly how the active link works?

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  20. I was wondering about the tea. I drink tea all the time but always use a tea bag. What would you suggest a person buy to start using loose leaf tea. Thanks so much for your help and advice. There are so many different things on the market and I just want the basics.

    Sue

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    1. I wrote all about it here: http://www.runsforcookies.com/2012/11/indulgence.html

      I was very intimidated to switch to loose tea, but I'm SO GLAD I did!

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