Exciting News and Road Trip Recap

Aug 17, 2010

Hi bloggies, longtime no see!! A lot has happened in the past week. For starters I traveled across the country after leaving you hanging about my great news:

I have an interview for a full time position with the company I interned with this past summer!!!!! It’s for my dream position; something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do because it doesn’t align 100% with my major. There will be a learning curve if I get the job, but I am sooooo excited to officially have the date set!!!! The interviews are the the 26th and I will be flying up to Atlanta on the 25th (also my birthday!) for the evening social. I am just a traveling fiend this summer!!

Speaking of traveling, I got in last night around 10pm from the three day drive from New York to Texas.

My dad flew to meet me last Thursday evening and we started the drive early Saturday morning. We finally stopped 10 hours later in Lexington, Virginia. My dads buddy went to school at Washington and Lee University, so we took some pictures for him.

After mulling around the gorgeous campus and quaint town, we settled for dinner at the local bar that was suggested to us by my dads friend.

I ordered a glass of wine and the only vegetarian option on the menu; a steamed veggie pita.

We left the hotel at 6:30 Sunday morning hoping to get an excellent view of the sunrise on the Blue Ridge Parkway. However, it was so foggy that we were hardly able to see 50ft in front of the car at some points. This made for a slooooow trip down the winding roads of Virginia. We did get out a few times for some photos.

We finally got off the ‘scenic’ route and made some progress. There was also a much needed Starbucks stop. I got a coffee with soymilk and their ‘Perfect’ oatmeal.

After making some headway, we got on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Tennessee. This is a 460 mile road that follows the Natchez, Chickasaw and Choctaw Indian trails from Tennessee to Alabama and tells the story of their culture.

The parkway was b-e-a-u-tiful! It was like we were driving down the fairway of a golf course with no one else on it.

We stopped for a quick hike. I actually ran on this because I was getting antsy from sitting, lol.

Lunch was an AB&B (almond butter and banana) sandwich with celery and carrots.

About every 5 miles there was a marker for various historical events. We stopped at some random interesting ones, including the gravesite of Meriwether Lewis and a tobacco farm.

We also drove down a one-lane Indian path. Of course it was not this wide for their cars them and we lucked out with gravel roads :)

We only drove 70 miles down the Trace, but I definitely got a history lesson out of this adventure!!

We finally stopped at 10pm in Savanah, Tennessee for a fast meal before hitting the hay.

I got the Veggie Delight with egg whites (which typically come one their breakfast sandwiches).

Yesterday we put the petal to the metal and knocked out the last 13 hours of the trip. Breakfast was another AB&B sandwich. However, the time crunch didn’t stop me from finding a healthy lunch. We stopped at Whole Foods in Little Rock, Arkansas where I got a the Green Goddess juice and some much needed veggies for lunch.

As a healthy vegetarian, it’s sometimes hard to find options on the road. I always use urbanspoon.com (browse by vegetarian) and happycow.com to find restaurants in the cities I will be visiting. I also make sure to always bring my own snacks. There were many un-pictured grab-n-go granola bars, mixed nuts and fruit for snacking.

I and my butt am so happy to finally be out of the car after that long trip!! I’m off to unload the car and go to yoga with my dad and step-mom.

I hope your having a terrific Tuesday!!

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Glorious Granola Bars

Aug 1, 2010

I woke up feeling rejuvenated after getting 8 hours of sleep for the first time in five days and motivated myself to go on a run.

Pre-run fuel was a toasted piece of whole-wheat bread with AB (plus a few scoops straight out of the jar):

Today I jammed out to Reggaeton on Pandora while I ran. Having good music keeps me motivated.

Distance: 5 miles
Duration: 41:39
Mile 1: 8:56
Mile 2: 8:40
Mile 3: 8:15
Mile 4: 8:09
Mile 5: 7:38

Whoa baby!!! Look at that last mile!!!

The trail I run on has mile markers so I’m able to determine the time with a stop watch on my iPhone. Yes, I’ve been running with my iPhone…not very runner-like, I know. I’m in definite need of a Garmin 305 and iPod, but books are next up on the list of things to purchase.

After my run, I turned off the lights in my room and did Yoga for Runners from yogadownload.com. It was so relaxing. The flow stretched the muscles that are prone to tension and injury. My hip flexors and ankles were happy after the 25 minute session :)

Post-run fuel was a green monster with 1/2 frozen banana, 2 cups spinach, 1 C. vanilla soy milk, greek yogurt and oat bran cereal.


I then proceeded to do what I do every sunday; make granola bars. Almost every sunday for the past year I’ve made these for grab-n-go snacks for the busy week. They are super easy, delicious and healthy.

Grab-n-Go Granola Bars

Yield: 8 Bars

1.5 cup oats (not instant)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup dried Fruit* (raisins, dried cranberries, diced dried dates, dried apricots or any mixture thereof)
2 egg whites (see note below for vegan version)
1 cup soy milk
1.5 T. ground flax seed
1 T. unsweetened dried coconut
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Mix dry ingredients
  3. Mix wet ingredients
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients
  5. Liberally spray 8 x 8 pan with non-stick cooking spray
  6. Bake for 35 minutes

Note: 1 egg = 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp warm water. mixed and set aside for 5 minutes. I’ve used this method many times and it works very well.

*I used raisins today because that I what I had. Dates would have been my first choice and apricots my third choice.

For convenience, I bag them separately and put them in the fridge to grab-n-go as I please. Heat them up in the microwave for 15 seconds after pulling them out of the fridge. They will have the consistency between that of an oatmeal cookie and muffin.

In pictures:

Another thing I do every sunday….

…enjoy a glorious homemade granola bar.

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Say Cheese

Jul 30, 2010

Bonjour!

Thanks for all your support on my work presentation yesterday. It went really well!!!

I started off my morning with a green monster. It had 2 C. spinach, ½  frozen banana, ½ C. strawberries and ¾ C. of soymilk (plus extra strawberries for garnish). I also made an onion egg white puff.

Just combine 3 egg whites in a bowl, 1 T. chopped onion and mozzarella veggie cheese shreds. Microwave for 45 seconds, scramble and microwave for an additional 45 seconds or until there is no liquid in the bowl. Scoop it into a plate and add cayenne and black pepper. The onion adds a pleasant sweet taste.

A reader recently asked what type of veggie cheese I use. My favorite veggie cheese is from Galaxy Nutritional Foods. I started using their products when I first transitioned to a vegetarian diet and have been hooked ever since. I’m not a vegan, but use veggie cheese when available. I noticed that my sinuses cleared up as soon as I stopped eating milk products. I typically only use the products for my “fast meals” because they tend to be a little pricey.

The Veggie Shreds are great for dishes like lasagna or pizza and the Veggie Slices are great for sandwiches or wraps. They also have Parmesan ‘cheese’ that I add to pasta.

For variety, I alternate between the cheddar and mozzarella Slices for my weekly sandwiches. The Veggie line is soy based and free of trans and saturated fats. Their Rice line offers a soy-free ‘cheese’. The Rice block Cheddar is heavenly. You can also cut the block into bite-sized pieces and serve along side fruit and crackers as an appetizer.

Of all their products I’ve tried, the taste has been dead on. You can find them in the produce section of your grocery store. And no, I’m not being paid for this ‘advertisement’ :)

I ran home during lunch hour and made this:

Whole-wheat wrap with lentils, veggie cheese, bell pepper and spinach.

*******

Yesterday after work we took one of the roomies out to celebrate the final day of his internship. I ordered a “mocktail” just to confuse the bar tender. Kath would be proud! I asked for orange juice with club soda. It was perfect and refreshing for a nice afternoon on the river.

This was guzzled down because I still had to drive 45 minutes to Latin Dance class. After class, a few of us enjoyed dinner at a local café before heading to Latin night at a local club hotel. I ordered a veggie sandwhich. Nothing special. (beware of bad iPhone picture)

We are really coming along in the dancing department and are definitely starting to look more like this…

…well, we think so anyway! ;)

Tonight is a Maroon 5 concert and tomorrow the roomie and I are heading to Boston for a day trip!! Here is what we have planned so far:

  • Sam Adam’s Brewery
  • Faneuil Hall Marketplace
  • Freedom Trail (which includes Paul Revere’s house, the Bunker Hill Monument, the Old North Church, Boston Commons and the Boston Massacre Site)
  • Fenway Park
  • Cheers Bar & Restaurant
  • Duck tour (possibly)

It’s a lot to do in one day, but we are experts. Can you guess which sites are for who?

Have you been to Boston before? What was your favorite thing to see?

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