Breakfast/ Dinner/ Exercise/ Fitness/ Lunch

Better by Far

Hey yall!

Happy to report I had a much better day than yesterday. I feel a ton better and much less spacey! I actually woke up wide awake this morning at 4:40 and I’m not sure if I fell back to sleep. Does this ever happen to anyone??! I might have dozed but I feel like I just tossed and turned for the next hour til the alarm went off. Regardless, I have had tons of energy all days so I must have done something right!

I also woke up CRAVING this breakfast! Sadly, I am now out of plain greek yogurt so I can’t have this super duper breakie again til next week.

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The combo was the same: 1 cup greek yogurt, 2/3rds cup puffins, 1 banana, 2 tbsp Udi’s and a spoonful of peanut butter. Perfect!

I packed the usual turkey and provolone sammie on fiber bread for lunch today but was super excited when I found out Adam was making these huge salads for staff lunch! So, I had a salad to go with my sandwich for a change!

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The salad included cucumbers, red onion, kalamata olives, greens, blue cheese crumbles and tomatoes. I didn’t put any dressing on mine because it needed none! Was delish as is 🙂

Here are my daily snackies:

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I ate the yogurt midmorning and had the apple with my salad and sandwich at lunch. I didn’t end up eating the rice bar or the almonds today.

Since today is a running day and we were having a later than usual dinner, I knew I needed a filling snack after work for fuel. I made yet another yogurt bowl with about 3/4th cup plain nonfat yogurt (not greek), 1/2 cup H2H, a spoonful of peanut butter and a smidge of jam.

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I’ve been eating a ton of yogurt lately and I LOVE IT! I’m definitely getting all the protein and calcium I need and I’ve read that yogurt is especially great for runners. I think I could seriously fill up my entire shopping cart at Publix with just yogurt and be fine. I’m weird.

Today was a running day (if you haven’t noticed—Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays are “running days” around here) and usually during the week I run 40 minutes (about 4 miles) and do a long run on Sunday…gradually increasing my distance each week. Today, however, I was feeling so great that when I reached the halfway point where I usually turn around, I kept on going to smoke another 5 miles!! =) I ran down the “main strip” by the beach, down the boardwalk ON the beach, through the park and down the road and then back again. My favorite part, obviously being running on the boardwalk. The breeze is amazing and it’s just so cool to run so close to the ocean. The water was rough today!

When I got back, it was 5:45 and dinner wasn’t until 7:00, so I immediately dove into some grapes for some carbs while I iced my leg. I had about two times this amount—-I ate them all so fast before I could grab my camera!

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Tonight we had a guest over for dinner and Betty cooked another fab meal….actually I think it’s my favorite thing she makes—–her mediterranean salmon. We also had a fabulous baked rice dish, homemade cornbread (!) and layered salad. I also had a glass of red wine with dinner. Since we ate later and I obviously go to bed early these days, I didn’t need dessert. The wine was my dessert I suppose!

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The salmon is really easy—-all she does is takes a huge salmon fillet and rubs store-bought pesto on it followed by fresh herbs, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and a sprinkle of feta cheese. Baked at 350 for about 20 minutes and it’s always perfect.

Today at work went A LOT BETTER than yesterday. You know sometimes when something doesn’t feel right? That was yesterday. Today, I was on a roll. Adam didn’t get in til 9:00, and by the time he had gotten in, I had already baked seven chocolate cakes:

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And baked a HUGE sheet tray full of cheesecake (to be cut up into little “cheesecake bites” for a function in a few days):

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I also made some pate a choux (the stuff that eclairs are made out of) and creme anglais. Since we have a big dinner going on tonight, I baked four more loaves of the tasty pumpkin bread:

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Here’s one of the desserts for tonight that Adam put together:

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It’s a chocolate Bavarian with chocolate hazelnut cream on top and topped with some sort of chocolate macadamia nut crunch. On the side is pistachio shortbread that I baked this afternoon. Looks pretty, huh?!

I also seeded five pomegranates!  This DEF. made me have a craving! I think they officially come into season next month and I can’t wait!

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I spent the last hour icing these mini flourless chocolate cakes. They were really starting on my last nerve though. We were using them for tonight to finish off a plated dessert with a martini glass full of white chocolate sorbet. Honestly, I really don’t like decorating cakes at all. I get SO frustrated because its so hard to make everything perfect. I think Adam knew that and he made me ice all 12 of these mini cakes so I could “get better at it”. At cake 10 I stopped talking to him. Haha. The icing actually didn’t have to be perfect for these because later, they were going to be topped with a chocolate glaze.

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Oh! And I also wanted to show yall the flour that Adam orders because I think it’s pretty cool:

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That’s right—-100% organic flour! Adam says it makes all the difference in the world in baked good and is worth paying a little more for. I just like the dinosaur on the bag I think.

Whew! What a day! I’m off to finish the last couple pages in my book and call it a night. Tomorrow is Adam’s day off so I rule the kitchen once again….haha yeah right.

Have a wonderful night!

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  • emily
    October 22, 2008 at 12:49 am

    I’m glad you were feeling a little more “on” today at work; and it’s ok, my favorite fruit is dinosaur plums because I like the picture on the label!

  • Becca A
    October 22, 2008 at 12:57 am

    I’m glad today went better for you. Sometimes it just takes a day to get back in the groove I think.

  • hk
    October 22, 2008 at 1:11 am

    Yogurt mania- looks like my day 🙂

    so glad today was better, sounds like an awesome run!!

  • polly
    October 22, 2008 at 1:30 am

    yay Jenna, so happy you had a great day. Keep that yogurt going girl, it seems to be working! Your blog is a JOY to read. I look forward to it every night. I might have to try a mess like that sometime (the yogurt bowl) Also, the cakes looked great, way to go!

    p.s. Do you think you’ll bake your own wedding cake someday?

  • jenna
    October 22, 2008 at 1:32 am

    Polly,

    No, no. I think I’ll be way too busy with everything else. I thought about it but I don’t think I would ever. I will have way too much fun at “cake tastings” and already told Adam that when I finally get married (In like 50 years haha), he can make my cake! 🙂

  • VeggieGirl
    October 22, 2008 at 2:04 am

    Hooray for feeling better!! I hope that tomorrow goes just as well 🙂

  • Kimberly
    October 22, 2008 at 2:09 am

    I’m with Adam; I think you can totally taste the difference in organic breads! That hazelnut dessert looks delectable.

    How do you find these yogurt breakfasts compare, satiety-wise, with good old Ezekiel muffins? My usual breakfast is a toasted Genesis muffin with tahini and a sliced kiwi, which fills me up but then leaves me STARVING for a snack two hours later!

  • Vegan hotplate
    October 22, 2008 at 2:10 am

    Wow, thats a lot of pomegranate seeds! It is fascinating seeing all of the cakes and pies and cookies that you are making (and sometimes forced to decorate…heh). Those ovens must be huge! I know this is weird, but I think that the dinosaur is actually a loch ness type water monster from that supposedly resides in lake Champlain in Burlington VT. I’m not positive, but I thought I would mention it.

  • Amy
    October 22, 2008 at 2:10 am

    Glad you had a better day than Monday. Usually it just takes that crappy day to get back into the swing of things–and it looks like you were fabulous today so thats great 😀 Beautiful frosting/icing job !! haha.

  • Megan
    October 22, 2008 at 2:13 am

    Glad to hear you are feeling better! That chocolate bavarian looks sinful!

  • Erin
    October 22, 2008 at 2:21 am

    Yay. Glad your day was better.
    I also heard that yogurt kills bad bacteria in your mouth so your breath isn’t the funk!

  • lauren
    October 22, 2008 at 2:27 am

    when you say that you have “a cup of yogurt”- where do you find the oikos individuals that are 8oz?? mine are always around 5.6 oz, 80 cals, and 13 g of protein… maybe things are different in california?

  • Kelsey
    October 22, 2008 at 2:37 am

    Yogurt really is the best thing on Earth! I live on it, recently with some pumpkin butter mixed in!!
    The blog world seems to be obsessed with H2H. I must try it sometime!

  • Runeatrepeat
    October 22, 2008 at 3:35 am

    I totally want to make that salmon. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  • alicia
    October 22, 2008 at 3:52 am

    Sounds like an excellent day for you. You managed to get good quality sleep, a great run and was super efficient at churning out baked goods. 🙂 I really need to run as well since I missed mine yesterday due to work. Today is gym day though so running will have to wait.

  • Sarah
    October 22, 2008 at 4:42 am

    I love pomegranites but rarely eat them because they are so darn hard to open up!
    Glad you had a great day, tomorrow half the week is already over…wow!

  • mi
    October 22, 2008 at 7:27 am

    you really do bake some amazing-looking stuff. so fantastic. that dessert adam created is stunning too!
    i wanted to drop in and say that i bought 3 of the books in your recommended reading list from the other day, and i finished the first one in 2 days – a moveable feast by hemingway. i’ve read 2 of his other books and enjoyed them, and this seemed most appropraite since my boyfriend is taking me to paris for a day as a bday present in a month! i think the book was absolutely fantastic, and full of so many thought-provoking things – i really just wanted to thank you. the other 2 i got are sarah’s key and a baker’s novel (actually i can’t remember i think it’s called something else but i think you know which one i mean) . i’ll let you know how they are! thanks again!

  • jenna
    October 22, 2008 at 10:09 am

    Lauren,

    Nope—I really am having 8 ounces of yogurt. I try to buy most of my yogurt in the pound tubs so I get two servings of it. 8 ounces of Oikos = 22 grams of protein and 130 calories. 8 oz of plain nonfat stoneyfield = 110 calories and 11 grams of protein.

  • jenna
    October 22, 2008 at 10:12 am

    Kimberly,

    Well whenever I eat an ezekiel muffin I always pair it with yogurt. If I didn’t, I would be starving 2 hours later as well! I try to incorporate yogurt in all my breakfasts (unless its oatmeal) for the extra dairy and protein factor! ALL of my breakfasts keep me full until 9:30 or so when I have a snack at work….so yes, I guess you could say I eat every 3 hours no matter what. Its just the cycle my body is on!

  • Bree
    October 22, 2008 at 12:11 pm

    Ha, Ha, Vegan hotplate is right! That is Champ the lake monster that “supposedly” resides in Lake Champlain in Vermont. Holy yogurt, but I agree with you Jenna, I too could live off the stuff, especially Greek, I am thinking of straining my own… Have a great Wednesday!

  • tsbrown
    October 22, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    Hi Jenna, love your blog. Thanks for letting us know you were doing Beth Moore’s bible study from Lifeway. I signed up yesterday and listened to the first week!

  • Beadie
    October 22, 2008 at 12:55 pm

    Glad you are feeling better!

    And yay for organic flour. My work uses mainly organics as well which I think is pretty cool.

  • Jenn
    October 22, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    hey Jenna, I loved your hair in the picture of your banner, how did you tell them you wanted it cut? my hair is very long, and i want it to my collar bone with wispy bangs, any suggestions on how to suggest that? 😀

    also, does anyone have any suggestions on how to reduce morning face puffiness? thanks!

  • Jenn
    October 22, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    oh! whats the best way to seed a pomegranate?

  • Erica
    October 22, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    Yay for the run!! Ironically, my bone scan showed yesterday that I, too, have mild shin splints from running! Interesting, huh?! I guess we have more in common that we thought!

    Oh my, that chocolate parfait thingy looks amazing! I could SO eat it right off the page! If you figure out how you could ship one to Missouri, let me know! Ha!

  • Lacey
    October 22, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    Hi Jenna!! Here’s something about yogurt from a “fuel for runners” link:
    A Bowl of Yogurt
    Constant training takes a toll on your immune system, leaving athletes susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections, but new research suggests that probiotics—the live active cultures in yogurt—may help keep you healthy. A 2008 study of 20 endurance athletes (published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine) found that taking daily probiotic capsules enhanced the activity of the athletes’ immune-boosting T-cells and cut the length of time they experienced upper respiratory tract infection symptoms by more than half. Probiotics can also help calm a queasy stomach, which is great for nervous athletes. Upshot: You’d have to eat vats of yogurt to reach the levels of probiotics the athletes in these studies consumed. Still, yogurt has a balanced mix of carbs and protein, so it’s a great post-workout recovery fuel.

    Also— YAYYY CHAMP!!! i went to college in Vermont and looooove all things related:)

  • Betsy
    October 22, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    i think i need to stop reading your blog jenna because ever time i do i feel like i need to go out and buy lots and lots of sweets! it’s getting dangerous 😉

  • runjess
    October 22, 2008 at 2:49 pm

    Were you covered in red after seeding all those pomegranantes. I sure would be.

  • Jenn
    October 22, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    ryan, are you still reading the blog? if so, do you salivate over all of jenna’s mad baking skills? 🙂

  • Kath
    October 22, 2008 at 3:20 pm

    That salmon looks divine!!

  • Mariposa
    October 22, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    ohhhh if only I could be baking all day long.. but I probably wouldn’t want to eat it after making it all day.. lol

    I stopped eating red meat for a LONG time after I quit waitressing.. something about serving up 25-30 24 oz prime ribs a night… *shudder* it was just overkill!

    Although, I did make the ice cream pies while I was working there. And that did not made me crave it any less.. figures!

  • Mel
    October 22, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    Wow, that’s a lot of yogurt, but I’m the same way, I could eat it all day everyday. Looks like your day was much better than Monday!

  • Ashley
    October 22, 2008 at 4:21 pm

    Hey Jenna (or anyone else that remembers)-

    A few months ago I remember you battling a cold so you went to Whole Foods and stocked up on some sort of Natural meds that cleared you up with away. Can you tell me what it was? I’ve been battling a really bad cold for about two weeks now and it’s just not going away and I hate the way medicine makes me feel!!!!

    Thanks all 🙂

  • Jenny
    October 22, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    Glad you had a better day with work…I could probably survive on Greek yogurt alone and be fine too, you’re not weird!

    I find that I can always run farther/longer when I at the beach, you are very lucky to be living there!

    That dinner looks superb, hope you’re having a great Wednesday!

  • Allison
    October 22, 2008 at 4:54 pm

    Seven chocolate cakes and a gigantic cheesecake all before nine am? You are Wonder Woman!

  • Catherine
    October 22, 2008 at 6:55 pm

    When I was living in Spain, my host mother who was from Granada (Spanish for pomegranite!) told me that the way they traditionally “seed” pomegranites is by slicing or tearin it open and then banging on the outer flesh with a spoon so that all the seeds fall into a bowl below and minimal juice gets on you. Man do those things stain…

  • jenna
    October 22, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    Jenn,

    Aww thank you! I actually always cut my own bangs….which is what I think I did that summer when that photo was taken. I just sweep ’em all to the side and cut down on an angle. It works best for me since I can never get them the way I want them from a hair stylist!! I seed my poms in a big bowl of cold water. I slice the fruit into four parts and put it all in the water and then, underneath the water, I pick to get all the seeds out. The seeds sink and everything else (the white parts) float to the top. This way you don’t get a speck of juice on you!!

    Ashley,

    I have to say, if you have had a “cold” for 2 weeks it sounds like you should go get an Rx from the doctor! I let a “cold” go for way too long one time and ended up in the hospital for a week because of it. You don’t want to mess around with that!! Seriously! You probably have a sinus infection, which can lead to pneumonia if not treated. I got “olive leaf extract” from whole foods last time I was sick.

  • michelle
    October 23, 2008 at 12:46 am

    Jenna, i can’t tell you how much i look forward coming to your blog!! I always get good ideas and so much of what you eat for breakfast, i now eat!!

    Today, i bought the Barbara’s cinnamon puffins. I can’t wait until tomorrow’s breakfast!!!

    Thanks Jenna!

  • Rachel
    October 23, 2008 at 5:03 pm

    Ohhh, pumpkin bread, my weakness! Be still, my heart!

    That’s awesome about the organic flour. I’m going to have to try it out. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it at the store next to the regular flour, but it sounds like it’s worth a trek to the natural foods store to pick some up. Thanks for the tip!

  • Julia
    October 23, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    Your baking photos always make my mouth water!

    I have a question. I love pomegranate juice, and I have eaten them fresh once or twice before, and they’re great! And now that they are coming into season, I would like to use them more! What are some ways to eat a pom? All I can think of is salad topping. Do you have any cool ideas? Thanks Jenna!
    Also, I thought you might find this interesting: photos from my Uncle’s Bakery in Japan…. He makes Squid Ink hot dog buns! (http://sbfitness.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/okaya-adventures/)