a WIAW freak out

This is going to be short and sweet, unlike I had originally planned.

…my roommate and I just realized, 7 days before we have to decide to re-sign our lease, that Tague did the wrong math (kinda humorous, at least LOL) and our rent is actually going up MUCH more than we thought. Needless to say, these little girls are having major anxiety and googling like mad women. Sidenote: Any help is HUGEEELLLYYY welcomed and I promise to give you lots treats in return. Craigslist ain’t cuttin’ it this time.

Breakfast – bagel Wednesday!

whole wheat everything

with a much needed caramel soy iced coffee

Lunch – salad beast with spinach, strawberries, goat cheese, walnuts, and balsalmic dressing.

I actually made my salad early this morning before I saw Gina’s status! woop. great minds think alike

I had it with a couple of these chips I just became obsessed with. UM, one day and the bag is almost gone!?!

Snacks – way too many unpictured starbursts & jolley ranchers, double oops! I actually forgot to eat my banana an hour before the gym because of it. triple oops.

Dinner after a sweaty ab class – a semi-mexican hodge podge; peppers, onions, black beans, corn mushrooms, zucchini, squash, cheese, and TJ’s cilantro dressing.

Dessert – more freak outs and maybe some wine.

for better or for worse?

Some things in life are better left unsaid (or in my case, unknown.) For example, the number of calories in Shake Shack. (Yes, the Shake Shack seen 37 times in Something Borrowed.) My life was a little better (or worse – you choose) before I knew how many calories and grams of fat are in this beautiful fried, cheese stuffed, mushroom burger.

Before I looked up the nutritional information, I was living in beautiful, cheesy, ignorant, bliss. I think I died a little on the inside when I saw that number. (Posted here if you’re interested.) Regardless, I no longer eat the ‘Shroom Burger like the addict I used to be. Every few months, maybe. Definitely no longer every other week. (Oops, did I really admit that? )

Regardless, when I got the the Mint app for my iPhone – I had no idea what I was getting into. Two weeks ago I spent my time properly categorizing all my expenses and truthfully – it scared me and I realized maybe some of these things work better with a “set it and forget” kind of mind set, but one thing that rung true was how much money I was spending on food. I committed to trying to pack a few times a week a few months ago, but two weeks ago – after my night of Mint terror – I decided to go cold turkey. (I’d say no pun intended as that’s a popular lunch meat, but alas I am still a vegetarian. )

Last week, I had quite a few lunches to be excited about; like this new salad kit I found at Whole Foods. (I did add some fresh strawberries to the mix.) How perfect? Much cheaper than purchasing a salad out with spinach to spare for the week.

I also stayed home all week – YEP, skipped the Happy Hour and dinner’s out. Gasp!

What did I realize?

By Thursday I killed my only friend for the week. (Had him on the stove while I was cooking brussel sprouts. Very sad. He is in a better basil place now.)

So, this week is all about the balance. I’m still completely committed to bringing my lunch all week – it’s one of the easiest ways to start saving money, but decided a cheap outdoor happy hour and after work human interaction never hurt nobody. (My roomie & I kept missing each other due to both working late!) Sometimes happiness is worth a few extra bucks, and the beauty of happy hours is that they actually do end in time to make yourself dinner if you stay true to that hour part of the compound word.

– From Friday’s Happy Hour, spent at Little Town. Four beer tastes of local New York brews and a pint of your favorite for $12.

can you guess who won my heart for the pint?

(+++ Little Town is currently on the Scout Mob App! 50% off, hooray, even better!)

My only other solution is for someone to get me this little guy. I fell in love with him on the streets of Soho Saturday.

Now that’s a face I’d stay home for.

out of the box

Today’s lunch was not packed and in front of a computer screen, but was had outside the office. Phewwww. Sometimes its so nice to get away from my desk for sanity’s sake. I actually had leftover mushroom risotto I could have brought, but in the end it’s worth it sometimes. (BTW, recipe coming soon, so check back !!!)

Schinpper’s made an appearance again with my co-worker slash high school friend. I got the Santa Fe salad – which is SO hard to do at Schnipper’s. You watch the mac and cheese, fries, and grilled cheese go by just staring at you saying eat me.

fresh ta death

It was really, really good, though!! I didn’t even miss the mac & cheese once I was eating. *GASP* And as a little treat, Krista & I split a chocolate peanut butter milkshake.

Side Note: Schnipper’s has the best light. I think I’m in love. It’s ALL windows. So dreamy when it’s sunny.

Short post tonight because happy friday ya’ll! (As the Jamie/Taylor Swift in me would say.) This girl is off to all you can eat sushi!! (Of course I’ll share that later, too )

how I got my greens

Yesterday, I honored St. Patrick himself by…

Eating an entire avocado + some spinach in a pita for lunch:

And for dinner, eating a gigantic slice of spinach & artichoke pizza:

I snagged the first slice out of a freshhhh pie. Yippie!

Happiest girl on earth when eating this pizza.

Happy Friday!!! If you go to Forever21.com today – 100% of what you spend goes to relief efforts in Japan. Pretty darn cool since it’s time to stock up on Spring clothes anyway. Also – everyone wish Jamie luck on her 8k – sick or not, she’d still kick my butt so I know she’ll do awesome!

stuffed sweet potatoes?

Last night I had this savory stuffed sweet potatoes recipe from Pure Foods on the brain. (pssst… it’s on Martha’s website )

However, I apparently don’t know what a sweet potato looks like. I popped it in the oven for 50 mins, let it cool, and then when I cut it open, my doubts were confirmed as I realized the cold hard truth and at that moment I knew it could not be a sweet potato. After extensive googling, I figured out it was a sweet yam. Regardless, it was still good

I subbed spinach for kale, mushrooms & some pepper jack cheese for tofu, and thyme for rosemary. Oh, and chives for onions if that even counts.

After 50 looooonnnnggg minutes, I was able to take it out of the oven, cut off the top, scoop out the insides, and stuff it.

yums

I honestly don’t know the nutritional differences between sweet potatoes and sweet yam’s. (Couldn’t find it!!) But the sweet yam was pretty darn good – just entirely different than a sweet potato. I love eating my dinner in a little pocket.

ariel view

Today’s lunch was easy because its Bagel Wednesday! At work they have bagels for us every week on the lovely hump day. I hated cream cheese prior to working here so when I decided to try the chive/veggie it was a huge deal and I’ve never looked back. I’m addicted. Go big or go home on bagel day! I snagged my favorite bagel today – whole wheat everything.

nyc bagels do not disappoint

Therefore, my own personal Wednesday tradition is salad for lunch. An easy pack! I made it this morning after my run.

confessions of my lunch box

Sometimes my lunch box gets lonely because  I forget to use it and instead buy from the zillions of places this city has to offer. In an attempt to save some dolla dolla’s and fill my little lunch box with some fun – I’ve made it another goal to PACK MORE & BUY LESS. I was running out of excuses anyway since I am up super duper early. I’m trying to go from 1-2 times a week if I have left overs to 4-5 days. eeee!!!

My lunch box in case you are wondering:

pssst, hi jamie & phillies pencil holder.

Hey… it’s perfect – snaps at the top & everything!

Last night when I made dinner, I purposely cooked extra veggies (portabello and zucchini) and added some yellow bell peppers at the end. Not too much additional work at all

vegggiies

This morning, after a 2 mile run (following a beginner 5k training schedule, more on that later!!) – I prepped everything else. I added spinach and chives, then jack cheese to my veggie container and salsa to another container.

I just packed an entire pack of pitas because it’s easier for me that way.

I inadvertantly bought the same kind as J

A FitSugar article on the benefits of lemons inspired me to also pack half a lemon for my water throughout the day. SUCCESS – I got in so much more agua + reaped the benefits of lemons !!! Hooray

When lunchtime rolled around, I made my veggie pita!!!! Heated the veggies, toasted the pita, then added the cheese, spinach, chives, cooked veggies, and salsa inside.

Super spicy with the combo of hot salsa + jack cheese, but I’m a lover of all things hot and it’s only a plus that it helps speed your metabolism.

I packed some blue chips to munch on, as well.. which helped with the heat.

I’d definitely recommend putting this all together at work (or wherever you are ) as I dislike soggy sandwiches. …But does anyone actually like them anyway?!

For my snack, I had a sweet treat from a dessert truck outside our office that my co-worker was kind enough to share with me. Some kind of walnut cookie bar. SO GOOD.

PS, Does this officially mean I have tried street food? I may turn into this…

silly picture of me from this weekend's adventures.