Tag Archives | food

Few Things Friday + Giveaway Winner

By on May 3, 2013 in food

1. The winner of the Bestowed Box is #21- Cathy!

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Congratulations Cathy! Please send me an email at jennifer@knackfornutrition.com with your address so I can get your box on the way!

2. Moving right along… TGIF!! I don’t know how things are going on your end but I seriously thought the weekend would never get here. it was one of those weeks that just dragged on and on you know? I feel really behind on things in my life and look forward to having the weekend to catch up and slow down a bit.  

3. Ashley gifted me a bunch of spare Vitatops she had laying around her freezer and I can’t stop eating them.

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This is my first go-around with the carrot cake flavor as I am more of a chocolate kind of girl but the wheels are already turning as to how I am going to incorporate these into some delicious, low-calorie desserts!

4. I kind of glazed over this week, doing the bare minimum to get by. Therefore meals have been easy, quick, and transportable.

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Not my best work but I do what I can. The yogurt, granola, banana concoction has done a great job of keeping my hunger at bay all morning long. Too bad I ran out yesterday because I could really go for some right about now!

With that, I am off for what promises to be a busy day!

Question: What is your favorite flavor Vitatop and/or muffin? I am a classic blueberry kind of girl!

Comments { 1 }

WTF Wednesday: Caffeinated Gum

By on May 1, 2013 in food

Have you guys heard the latest and greatest way to get your caffeine fix? GUM. I know these types of products have been around for a while but it wasn’t until Brian Williams told me all about it last night that my attention was peaked. When this guy talks, you listen.

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I digress…so caffeinated gum has recently caught the eye of the FDA as more and more companies have developed products that provide an extra jolt. The abundance of products that are easily accessible is apparently the point at which regulation needs to come into play. The government agency will be investigating the affects of caffeine on teens and kids specifically.

Seeing as a single piece of gum can have as much as 1/2 cup of coffee I can definitely see where the concern lies. It is so easy to become dependent on such an accessible source of energy.

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It seems like caffeine is added to just about everything and anything these days. From energy bars to chocolate you can’t help but wonder if we are stretched too thin and reliant on fake sources of energy for a boost. Personally, I see this as the more glaring issue. I am not sure it is the government’s place to regulate what individual’s (kids included) do or do not eat.

Personally, I try to limit my caffeine intake as I see a direct correlation to my ability to fall asleep. But I know others are not so sensitive to a coffee and soda. I am interested to hear your take on this news story.

Questions: Where do you stand? Would you ever purchase caffeinated gum and/or other caffeinated products? Should the FDA get involved?

*Images are from Google

Comments { 1 }

Work Week Preparations

By on April 15, 2013 in Broccoli, food, food preparation, grocery shopping, Pittsburgh, productivity, snacks, veggies, Wegmans, work

After a quick weekend trip to Pittsburgh, PA to visit my sister another work week has begun.

Our trip was great. I do so love doing the family bonding and I even managed to sneak in a spin class, pancakes, and sushi!

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These are a few of my favorite things.

Sunday morning we hit the road bright and early. There was much to do in the way of weekly preparations before Monday morning rolled around so I was antsy to get going.

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We stopped at the glorious Wegman’s in Columbia, MD for groceries before picking up my favorite furry friend from his weekend away from the parents.

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This is Gatsby not amused by my snuggling.

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This is Gatsby not amused by traffic.

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And this is Gatsby not amused that I showed back up at his house because I forgot something only to start taking pictures of him again. Let’s zoom in on that face…

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What a love muffin.

Sunday evening I did a bunch of meal and snack planning for the short work week ahead. I am headed to a wedding on Friday so I only needed four of everything this week.

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My version of fruit snacks.

I bought a rotisserie chicken that is going to serve as protein for the week which made meal prep a breeze.

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Salads on salads on salads. I love it!

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Additionally, I made my own trail mix to keep in my desk for when the munchies inevitably strike.

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I do so love having all my meals ready to go at the beginning of the week. It makes for a healthier, cheaper workweek.

Question: What is your favorite work lunch?

Comments { 4 }

Leftovers and Little Old Ladies

By on April 9, 2013 in D.C., food, rest day, Washington, weather, workout

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping at my window Monday morning. It was lovely. The sun was streaming through my open window, I just had a lovely 10 hour sleep and the day held so much promise. Cheery thoughts, no?

That doesn’t happen often with another workweek looming ahead but it is hard to be sour when the weather is so beautiful. I woke up a few minutes early to do some yoga since I knew my body was going to hurt from the race. Boy was I right. I can tell the weak-spots in my legs and will be working to incorporate new exercises into my strength training routine. Beyond my legs, I also seem to have a very stiff back. This is due either to the exercises I did on Saturday morning or my bad posture.

Sitting all day certainly does not help the stiff situation so I made a conscious effort to take lots of walking breaks and get out of the office during lunch.

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Along the way I saw the cutest little old ladies carrying their grocery bags home. My friend and I joked that we could be just like them one day, so I snapped a picture. It’s not weird if you take pictures of strangers because you think they are cute, right?

For lunch I incorporated Sunday night’s dinner into leftovers.

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I made a steak salad with organic power greens from Trader Joe’s, steak, asparagus, and tomato. It was delicious paired with a few pieces of the fresh baguette I picked up at the market on Saturday.

After work I had a nice little dinner on the balcony.

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It is truly amazing what the proper lighting can do for food photos. Dinner included Trader Joe’s lentil chips, 1/4 avocado with sea salt, hummus + salsa, carrots, and 1/2 vegetarian chili. It was the perfect combination of crunchy and satisfying.

Afterward my roommate and I went on a nice long walk on the Mt. Vernon trail and caught up on each other’s lives. With big changes on the horizon we are making a sincere effort to hang out as much as possible. The night reminded me of the lazy days of summer and kind of felt like a weekend. It was so nice to step away from the grind and do something different!

Questions: How do you take advantage of beautiful weather? What was the best thing you ate yesterday?

Comments { 6 }

E Update, Cake, and The President!

By on April 1, 2013 in blogger mention, D.C., food, Syracuse Basketball

- Does anyone keep up with their exercise Es? It has been the one consistent thing that has motivated me to get myself to the gym through the long winter months.

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I find myself thinking about how many times per week I will need to work out in order to beat last months number.

March shaped up well with 18 Es, which put February’s 14 to shame. Next month I am going for 20! :)

- The weekend was so perfect I never wanted it to end. Saturday was spent running, baking, and watching basketball. What more can you ask for? I made my plus one his mom’s famous chocolate cake and it turned out great!

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There is nothing healthy about it but the sweet memories it provides my guy make it worth every decadent calorie.

Later that day we headed to the Verizon Center to watch Syracuse win a spot in the final four! It was such an exciting game not only because we were seeing it live but because I saw the President!

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Seriously one of the coolest things ever. The Syracuse Chancellor was in the box with him too. His presence definitely made it a bit more difficult to focus on the game because how often do you see the leader of the free world! :)

After the game we went for fancy steak dinner in our Syracuse gear. We were completely underdressed but I was so excited that we won I didn’t even care!

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I think I could eat that for every single meal.   

- The Cherry Blossom 10 miler is next weekend so I am trying to be smart about my workouts. I’m thinking lots of yoga, a little running to make sure my legs know what’s up, and plenty of clean eating.

- We are having an Easter Lunch at work today (much like the Passover potluck last week) so I spent Sunday evening making Skinny Taste’s Coconut Macaroons. It was my first try!

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How do you think I did?

Questions: How many times a week do you exercise? Who is the biggest celebrity you have ever seen?

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How to pack lunch in 10 minutes or less

By on March 21, 2013 in D.C., food, food preparation, work

I am a lazy girl when it comes to packing lunches when leftovers are not involved.

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I know I probably could put in a bit more effort but why o why bother when it is possible to pack food for the whole day in less then 10 minutes? The key is making sure you have all the right ingredients at hand to effortlessly pull together a meal and snacks. I try to think ahead at the grocery store over the weekend and buy things that are healthy and quick.

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Let’s start with the mid-morning snack. I tend to crave carbohydrates later in the day so I make a point to always buy a carton of greek yogurt that I can portion out into tupperware. I find it is more cost effective than the individual containers and way less added sugar is involved. :)

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The most nutritious and easy to throw together lunches are salads. One part leafy veg, one part healthy fat, and one part protein and you have a meal! I always bring some sort of carbohydrate to pair with my salad and often times extra veggies since I am a volume eater.

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For the afternoon hours I normally raid my snack stash which includes plenty of clementines and other assortments of fresh fruit, rice cakes with almond butter, or a Clif Kids bar. Having healthy options on hand is a must for avoiding the constant stream of candy and carbs that seems to fill our office.

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That’s it! A full day of food packed and ready to go in under ten minutes. I actually times myself last night after I got home from work and this took me 9 minutes to throw together! Budget friendly and quick is the name of the game!

Question: What is your favorite quick lunch?

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