Pumpkin Patch

The day started with the usual cereal (1 C) and milk (1 C). I measured again, and found that flakes take up more space than O's, so it looks like less in the bowl!

Work went pretty smoothly. Everyone is really getting into the Halloween spirit. I think I've finally planned my costume (Yep! I'm a procrastinator... but that's not my costume). I also was able to finish up a few assignments for class. One was a family tree of health and it really reiterated that I need to take care of my heart!

I was feeling tired and sluggish, so for a snack, I had a banana (1 serv) and some low-cal hot cocoa (6 oz). It definitely helped.

Then I had a turkey (1 oz) and swiss (1 oz) and lettuce (.5 C) on whole wheat (2 serv) with some mayo (1 Tbsp).

When I got home, it was time for our neighborhood pumpkin patch. I think I picked out a beauty!

I was REALLY tired though, and Kendall suggested not cooking. So we whipped up some black bean tacos! I started with two corn tortillas (1 serv) with .5 C black beans, .25 C tomato salsa and lettuce (.5 C). I sprinkled it with about a teaspoon of shredded Cheddar. I was still hungry so I went back for another tortillas with .25 C of beans and .5 C of tomatoes plus about teaspoon of cheese. Yum!

After a nice shower and firing off my homework, I'm relaxing with some chamomile and dark chocolate and watching "Modern Family." Love that show!

Back to Work

I started the day with a bowl of Special K (~1 C) and skim milk (~1 C). The morning at work wasn't too bad and I powered through until lunch. I had some hunger pangs around 11 am, but then got distracted. Lunch was turkey (1 oz.) and muenster (1 oz.) on whole wheat bread (2 serv) with lettuce (.5 serv) and some mayo (1 Tbsp). I had a pear on the side (1 serv). Halloween candy is out and I need to be careful. Today I had 4 chocolates and a SweetTart!

I had my banana this afternoon (2 serv) when I wanted another sweet item. Dinner was leftover white chili (1.5 C) with corn tortillas (1 serv) and a salad (1 C lettuce, 1 serv cucumber). I tried to make a cranberry vinaigrette.... Not the best, but not too bad! Now I'm munching on blackberries and relaxing after a nice walk and shower. Overall, a very balanced day... except those yummy candies!

10/26- Flight

So... what a wacky food day! We woke up to find Hampton graciously provides early morning travellers with a brown bagged breakfast. Thanks, Hampton Inn! They packed up a bottle of water, an apple, a Special K cereal bar and a lemon muffin. While not the most nutritious thing ever, not horrible, better than a fast food breakfast combo, and definitely a $$ saver!

Kendall and I chugged our water in the car before going through security. I ate the apple and cereal bar during take off during my first leg of the flight, and then had the muffin while the next leg was boarding. I had a coffee and a glass of tomato juice and a little oatmeal cookie on the flight. By the way, I was really impressed by Alaska Air. Both flights left early, the crew was nice, they tried to serve some local fare and the serve the can with your glass!

And that was all I had until dinner! Weirdly, I didn't get hungry. Kendall's flight was delayed, so I used the extra time to grocery shop before picking him up. Then I came home and got started on some white chili and a salad. I had two bowls of chili since I hadn't really had lunch that day. I also had 4 corn tortillas. I don't know why the salad photo is pink, but I'm keeping it because the day was so weird.

10/25 Part 2- Last Night :(

After our hike, we checked into our hotel and went to Bridgeport Brewery and Pub for dinner. I was super excited after hearing Kendall's rave reviews. I ordered a half-pint of their Winter Ale and loved it! It was dark and had a hint of citrus and spice. I later sampled a half-pint of their dark stout, Blackstrap. It's Kendall's favorite and I've gotta agree... it's good. I liked the half-pint option because I could try two flavors and only have about 1.5 beers.

We ordered the Brewpub salad and split it. Can you believe that's a small?! It had goat cheese, walnuts and apples in a vinaigrette. The creaminess and sweetness and tang were a great match. Kendall wasn't so nuts about the goat cheese.

Then we ordered the pizza with artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese and spinach. So delicious! I had about half. No room for dessert, so we headed back to the hotel and hit the hay before our 4:15 am wake up call!

Not such a bad day, though I had a lot of bread again and the muffin was fatty... I tried to rectify my veggie deficiency from the previous days and still have some yummy food. The lunch salad was about 1 C, the burger had two mushroom caps, which probably was about 2 C, plus some lettuce and tomatoes. For dinner, the salad gave about 2.5 C for 5.5 C total! I think I did a decent job and didn't feel like I was on a diet on vacation.

10/25 Part 1- Save the Salmon!

We started off the day with some OJ, coffee and a HUGE blueberry muffin at my Aunt's house. Then we hit the road back to Portland. We stopped for another cup of coffee one the road, and went straight to Kendall's boss' house. We met his lovely family and chatted for a bit, then headed east. We stopped for a bite in Edgefield. They brought out some yummy bread, so I had a slice of whole grain and a slice of sourdough. Then I ordered the portabella burger. Kendall's sandwich came with a salad, mine came with fries, so we split our sides.

Then we were on the road! We headed to the Bonneville Dam where we saw a real fish ladder. It was fascinating! And it was great to learn about ongoing efforts to save my favorite fish!

We went across the road to the Bonneville hatchery where we met Herman the Sturgeon, fed the trout and watched salmon jump! So beautiful.

Then we headed back towards Portland and stopped at Multnomah Falls. They were so gorgeous and Kendall hadn't done the mile hike to the top, so we went. It was all uphill and we were seriously huffing and puffing. But the view was totally worth it!

More to come!

10/24: Leave the Leaves!

We started the day off with some amazing coffee and yummy toast with my Aunt. Then we met up with Aunt Elsa and went walking to look at cute houses and pretty leaves. We stopped a neighborhood bakery for some more coffee and pastries. I had a delicious apple scone. It was so moist and crumbly and the apples were the perfect sweet-tart balance. Kendall got the most amazing oatmeal cookie. Then... we walked some more! After a few hours, we saw the clouds rolling in, so we stopped for some lunch at Metropolitan Market. So much to choose from! Sadly, not enough veggie options... we looked at salads but they were all big and we looked at the deli and all they had was cauliflower. We didn't want to give up our soup or our sushi, so we bought a pear. And then we didn't eat it! There were some veggies in the soup, but a negligble amount of them, and some seaweed around sushi. But everything was seriously delicious.

Aunt Elsa decided to rest and Kendall and I went out for another coffee! Then we came back and headed downtown for dinner. We meandered around and found one of Aunt Elsa's old haunts. Kendall and I split the mussels in wine sauce with fries and a Caesar salad. The server kept bring bread to sop up with wine sauce because it was sooooo good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The mussels were huge! The salad probably provided 2 C of lettuce each, so 2 servings. Otherwise, it was a pretty carb heavy day.

Seattle!

After a beautiful drive, we arrived in Seattle! First stop was Pike Place Market where we met up with our dear friend Lauren. Lauren used to work at Papparadelle's Pasta in the market and she came in quite handy as a tour guide...

We stopped by her old haunts and picked out some yummy pasta.

Then we went to the famous fish counter. Yep, they threw 'em, and we were there. But mostly, I was mesmerized by how fresh and beautiful all the fish were! If only I had a kitchen there...

We snacked our way through the market, trying some donuts, olive oil, and other yum yums. Then we went out on the street and went to Beecher's, a cheese shop. They have one the nation's top 10 macaroni and cheese dishes. We had to try. Best. Mac. EVER!

We also swung into the original Starbucks. Didn't buy anything, but it was a good point of reference. Then, we had to part ways with Lauren. So sad...

We went to my Aunt Elsa's house and went out with her and Aunt Lois to dinner a this little Thai place they know on Alki Beach. We each ordered something different and shared. So good! I loved the curries (panang tofu and yellow chicken, our standbys). The pad thai was good, but not the best I've had. The Dancing Prawn dish that Aunt Elsa had was okay, but I mostly valued it for the veggies, not the taste.

After taking in some of the view of Seattle's skyline by night, it was back to Elsa's casa for some hot tea and bed.

Fri 10/22-- On the Road

At Grant House

This time, the breakfast buffet didn't trick me! I had a full bowl of oatmeal (~2 C) with cinnamon, raisins, brown sugar and granola plus 2 Tbsp peanut butter. I had another bowl of fruit (~2 C) with some scrambled eggs mixed up with a few hashed potatoes. Then I covered the whole thing with salsa. I also had some orange juice and coffee. Certainly a bigger breakfast than usual, but we were headed out on our adventure!

We drove into Portland and looked at downtown. Then we drove up into the hills and ran into the Pittock Mansion. We didn't go in, but enjoyed all the trees. Then we stopped by the rose garden and looked at some blooms. It was raining and so cold, but we had good time!







For lunch, Kendall suggested the Grant House Restaurant in Vancouver. Part of Officer's row, the historic home was a great atmosphere to enjoy some food! We ordered the special of the day: A Greek Wrap with hummus, goat cheese and veggies, with a cup of the soup of the day, Clam Chowder. It was seriously one of the best meals I've had in recent memory! The started us with some great sourdough and herb butter. I had two slices.







Then it was off to Seattle...

Thurs 10/22-- I Would Walk 500 Miles

I started off the day with Kendall at breakfast. I met some of his new team there. I was too self-conscious to take photos, but picked up some fat-free peach yogurt, a bowl of fresh fruit (~2 C) and a cinnamon English Muffin which I smeared peanut butter on. I thought the muffin was wheat because of the brown flecks, but I was wrong. It was tasty, though! I spotted some oatmeal on another table and cursed my luck. I was super hungry and basically grabbed a starch, some protein/dairy and fruit that morning-- no browsing! The coffee was good. I had two cups of black cafe.

Kendall headed to the office and I went back to the room to veg with my coffee, free paper and cable before heading out. I waited for the traffic to die down, and then went to the lobby to ask for public transit directions to Vancouver, WA's trail along the Columbia River. They were supernice and took me in the van!

I walked about 1.5 hours, looking a leaves, people watching, enjoying the crisp air and listening to music. Then I walked into town and looked for some lunch. I stopped at Tommy O's, a Hawaiian-inspired deli in downtown Vancouver. Great menu! I really wanted soup, so I opted for the sandwich combo and had half a turkey and cranberry on their sunflower sourdough (bread was to die for) with a cup of turkey veggie soup and chips. I only had half the bag of chips, though they were tasty. It all was good!

After a satisfying lunch, I milled around downtown and popped into a few galleries. My legs were tired, so I decided to wrap it up. I walked across the land bridge to the old fort and then headed back. I showered, put my feet up and then got ready to walk the few blocks to the office to meet the rest of Kendall's team. It was so good to put faces to names!

After they wrapped up, a few of us out-of-towners went to McMenamins at the Kennedy School in Portland. They converted this old school into a restaurant, brewery, theatre, and hotel! Very cool. I had the grilled coho salmon (~6 oz... huge!) with rice (2 serv) and veggies (3 serv). They had some bread off to the side, which I ate and regretted because the rice was better and I wasn't hungry for it. I did have their dark ale, The Terminator. Dark and rich, but not too chocolately. Loved it!

Kendall and I picked up some Full Sail IPA at a local store after the group disbanded. We enjoy responsibly in our hotel room!

Wed 10/21-- Flight!

I had a little yogurt for breakfast and busied myself with straightening up the house before I left. I think I rechecked the doors five times! Then I was off to work with my luggage and lunch. I had a black bean burger on whole wheat bread and hummus, plus two pears. Yum!

I got dinner at the airport. It's so hard to find a healthy option in airports, and I didn't pack anything. My bad! I really need to make an effort to do that next time...

After walking the entire airport, I decided on a turkey salad from Schlotsky's. I had some chips on the side and dropped an Airborne into a cup and added water.

I had some water and tomato juice on the plane rides. I was so parched. I also didn't bring an empty water bottle to refill in the terminal. Dangit! I really struck out this time. I seriously gawked at the fat grams in those chips. Ouch!

My flight got in at 11 pm in Portland (1 am TX time, y'all!) and the handsomest fellow was there to pick me up! Then we were off the hotel where I promptly hit the hay.