I didn’t have much time at the gym this afternoon, but I really wanted to hit the treadmill and try out my new kicks.  I must have pretty standard feet because these Asics felt as comfortable as any other sneakers I’ve ever worn.  Nice and light, with plenty of cushion and ankle support.

I knew I only had 20 minutes of treadmill time.  I walked for 1 minute, ran 2 miles at an 8:57 pace, and then walked until I hit the 20 minute mark.  I used the foam roller for a few minutes before hitting the shower and then going back to work.

I’ve made it my goal to wear 2 dresses/work week because I have lots of dresses that haven’t been worn.  Instead I wear cords over and over again.  I made this dress winter appropriate by pairing it with the usual black tights, and also a dark purple cardigan.

I snacked on a few ginger cookies and a Clementine.

I made another Sloppy Joe for dinner, this time with spinach and pickles.

Jared made the biggest plate of rice I’ve ever seen.  He mixed it with the last of the leftover meat sauce and called it dinner.  Hmmm, whatever floats your boat I guess. 

I made a dessert platter.  1/2 of chocolate/coconut/blondie/whatever these bars are called and a Chocolate Fig Vitamuffin topped with berries.

We went grocery shopping for only the 2nd time in 2010.  I’m really bad about sticking to a food shopping schedule.  I had the taste for some Sauvignon Blanc so we included a bottle in our shopping.

We tried out Jared’s wine chiller.  When the Sauv Blanc reached the ideal 45 degrees, the chiller told us, “cheers,” and it was time for a glass.  It really was the perfect temperature!

I didn’t end up doing a Core Fusion workout because I was too tired from putting groceries away.  Instead, I spent the night relaxing, watching a show about hoarding on TLC, and hanging out with Jared and Miles.  Hope you all had good nights too!

I ate a Banana Nut VitaMuffin before I left for work.  I was really hungry and needed something to hold me over until my Chobani taste test.

I tried the raspberry flavor first.  I’m a huge fan of anything berry flavored so this was an easy decision.

The verdict?

Delicious.  The raspberry flavor isn’t quite as sweet as the strawberry, which was nice.  I love the thick creamy texture that Chobani’s Greek yogurt always has.  I didn’t add anything to the yogurt and just enjoyed the simple, sweet yet tart raspberry flavor.

Yeah, I was clearly satisfied with this new flavor!  Yum!  Thank you Chobani for allowing me to sample your new flavors…I still haven’t been able to find the pomegranate or pineapple flavors at any of my grocery stores.

Here are some of the main differences between Greek Yogurt and Standard Yogurt:

• Greek yogurt has more protein (almost double the amount found in standard yogurt)
• Greek yogurt is lower in carbs
• Greek yogurt is lower in sugar (Less carbs and less sugar tends to make Greek yogurt a better choice for diabetics)
• Greek yogurt has a thicker and creamier texture (this texture makes Greek yogurt better for making dips and sauces)
• Sometimes Greek yogurt can contain less calcium than standard yogurt (Greek yogurt is triple strained so this can remove some of the calcium)
• Regular Greek yogurt may be higher in fat and calories than regular yogurt

I hope everyone is ready for the weekend.  Apparently Miles had a busy week and he’s planning to use this weekend to rest and recover.

*Do you prefer Greek yogurt or regular yogurt?*

Before being snowed in, we felt the need to get OUT.  Mark, Jared, and I headed to South Boston to meet a group of friends who were completing an Ugly Holiday Sweater bar crawl.  Southie is SO Irish; I saw this lovely Shamrock in the cement as soon as we hopped out of the cab.

Colin,bar crawl leader, gave us schedules when we arrived at Tom English’s Cottage.

Colin conducting the “Sweater Off” where we all voted for our favorite ugly sweater.

I loved that when I asked for a wine list, the bar tender just poured a glass of this unknown white.  Okkkk, haha.  Tom English’s Cottage was full of a lot of interesting Southie locals!

Mark sported an ugly sweater vest, but was lacking in holiday spirit.

We went to Playwr;ght next.  I loved the atmosphere and the legit wine list.  I had a glass of Malbec while I talked to one of the bar crawlers about making my own wine.  I think I really want to try it.  There’s plenty of space in our basement for me to set up shop.

We walked to the L Street Tavern and I had a Blue Moon.  It started to snow HARD while we were there so we didn’t stay too long.  Everyone headed to Murphy’s Law, but we hopped in a cab and headed back to the South End.  Watched some of SNL and then crashed!

I had a blueberry VitaMuffin and a smoothie for breakfast.  The smoothie blend contained

• 6 ice cubes
• 1 cup of frozen berries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup of cranberry/raspberry juice

Our backyard has been transformed into a winter wonderland!

Snow everywhere!

For a dog who hates the rain, Miles really loves the snow.

He shuffled around the deck and carved out a little path for himself.

Then he decided he’d leave the safety of the deck and hop into the yard.

Miles looks like a bunny in the snow because he has to hop to get from place to place.

I’m watching the Pats/Bills game now…and planning to take my bunny-dog for a walk later this afternoon and then shovel around my car.

Most of you in the Blog World like to celebrate Cookie Friday.  So I thought I’d change things up just a little bit and observe Cake Friday.  Okk, well Clif Bar cake anyway.

Here’s the before photo of my taco salad.

Shake, shake, shake…  And after!  Spinach, cucumbers, corn, sprouts, ground turkey, cheddar cheese, Ranch dressing, and salsa!

I went to the gym not long after eating so I knew running was out of the question.  I used the Cybex for 20 minutes of good cardio and then did some knee ups using that “chair w/ no seat” machine at the gym so I was holding myself up with my forearms and really working my belly muscles.  I sat in the sauna for 12 minutes and then my gym time was done.

I needed more sweet treats to make it through my Friday.  I broke into the goodie bag I grabbed from Mint Julep last night.

This Dove chocolate included a holiday tip from Martha Stewart!

I really enjoyed the Peppermint Hershey Kisses and ate 3…though 2 escaped being photographed.

Late afternoon and I was about to peel my Clementine until I found some chocolate goodness in the kitchen.

When I got home from work, I helped Miles get into the Christmas spirit.

I’m trying to wait to eat dinner and I needed a snack.  More chocolate!  At least this VitaMuffin was only 100 calories, and trust me, it was MUCH more delicious than the brownie!

So are you still dying to know why I had a photo shoot this morning???

I am being featured in an interview on the blog Food Fitness Fashion and I needed to submit a photo.  I had a lot of fun answering Ali’s questions…thanks again for asking me to participate!

I made the most amazing sandwich!  An Arnold Thin with ground turkey (yup, leftover from last night’s tacos), cucumbers, cheese, and sprouts.  As soon as I took the last bite, I wished I had made a 2nd one.  I also tried my first bag of chips from Food Should Taste Good.  Thank you to their co-op Emily for shipping the samples to me.  (Go Huskies!)

I started with the Potato and Chive flavor because it was the one I was least excited about.  Get it eaten and over with?  Haha.  I was actually pretty impressed with the flavor of these chips.  They really did taste like potatoes.  The unique flavor was one that I could appreciate without over eating.  Plus it seemed to go well with my sandwich.  Important to note that these bad boys are gluten free.  I always think of Shannon when I find foods without gluten.

I had a cranberry VitaMuffin for a snack.  Look at all of those berries!

I went to the gym at 1pm, ready to work.  I decided to hit the treadmill for some interval running.  I walked for 2 minutes, ran for 2 minutes, walked for 1 minute, ran for 2 minutes, walked for 1 minute, and then ran for 2 minutes.  I repeated this pattern a second time and then walked for 5 minutes to cool down.  Wow, what a great workout!  Each time I ran, I made sure I picked a speed that out me under a 9 minute mile.  Then I walked at 4 mph to recover.

Changing the speed so often kept me distracted.  Plus I was never totally exhausted so I was able to finish strong.  I’m going to plan out another interval workout and do this again!  I used the foam roller and sat in the sauna for 10 minutes before heading back to work.

I snacked on 2 Clementines.  Yay for Vitamin C!

Then I snacked on a Mojo Dipped fruit and nut bar.  Really sweet plus a vanilla yogurty coating = perfection.

I used more of the taco leftovers to make a taco salad.  Same ingredients as last night, but a much bigger serving size.

I had to run an errand and knew the salad wouldn’t be enough to keep me full for the entire evening.  Especially since I had to power walk around Back Bay.

I had a small bowl of Annie’s macaroni and cheese.  Since I got rained on while running the errand, I just wanted some warm comfort food.

My evening is being dedicated to the Glee fall finale.  I look forward to an hour of music every Wednesday night so I’m going to miss this while it’s off the air.  At least I have a few other shows that I really enjoy, and Lost will begin it’s final season in 2 months.  I may also do my Whittle My Middle workout.  I began the challenge a week late and I’ve been slacking.

I had a container of vanilla Chobani, lots of granola, and a spoonful of pumpkin butter.  Tasty!

I wore green diamond patterned tights to work today.  Patterned tights add some interesting texture to an outfit and they’re more fun than the plain black tights I usually wear.

I snacked on an apple berry VitaMuffin.  When I was picking out a flavor to bring to work, I remembered that ChocolatePickle said this was one of her favorites!

I wanted to redeem myself after yesterday’s embarrassing cardio session.  I ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then walked for 5.  I’m saving my strength workout for commercial breaks during Glee.  I used the foam roller and then sat in the sauna for 15 minutes.

I definitely didn’t pack enough food today.  I had to buy a cup of lentil soup.  I’d never tried this flavor before, and I was pleasantly surprised.  The soup smelled great and had a savory flavor.

We went to Foodies Urban Market to get some groceries.  Foodies is one block from our apartment, but it doesn’t have a big selection.  But it did have 3 seasonal flavors of Cliff Bars!  While I’ve seen a few flavors mentioned on other blogs, these 3 were ones I hadn’t read about before.  I’m looking forward to sampling!

I took a risk and made brussel sprouts with dinner tonight.  I bought a bag of frozen sprouts and microwaved them for 5 minutes.  Then I tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano.  I baked the brussel sprouts at about 250 while the fulsilli was cooking.

Dinner:  Mixed greens with garlic and herb vinaigrette, fusilli with red sauce and Parmesan cheese, and brussel sprouts along with a glass of table wine we brought home from the tiny town of Chadurie in France.

I decided that the best way to review the Amazing Grass products is to try different methods of consumption.  It would be silly to mix each and every packet into a smoothie.  I’d lose out on the flavor and texture.  This morning I poured the berry flavored Green Super Food packet into my shaker along with 10 oz of orange juice.

Shake shake shake…  Shake shake shake!

I was nervous to taste this.  I’d only had a very small sample of Amazing Grass before so I was scared having to drink this entire shaker of green sludge might be too much.  I was pleasantly surprised!  While I could taste the grassiness, the tang from the orange juice gave this a nice flavor.  It was a little thick at the end but I had no problem drinking it.  I haven’t felt the health benefits just yet.  One packet probably isn’t enough.  But it did keep me full for a while!

I had a Banana Nut VitaMuffin when I got to work.  This is my least favorite flavor.  It wasn’t bad, but just a little bland compared to all of the other delicious options.

Corn VitaMuffin with Justin’s Maple Almond Butter…OMG holy goodness!  I only bought a 99 cent packet of the AB, but I should just splurge and get a jar.

A peek inside my Cream Cheese and Pumpkin Butter sandwich.  It was ok.  In sandwich form, I prefer cream cheese and jelly.

All of a sudden, my stomach felt really off.  I thought I was hungry so I made a bowl of Pacfic’s Organic Tomato Soup.  It was creamy and delicious.  I wish I had a grilled cheese for dunking.

I decided to eat a Clif White Chocolate Macadamia Nut bar for dessert.  One small bowl of soup just doesn’t cut it as a complete meal.

Sexy little thing!

Unfortunately my stomach was still being weird so I didn’t get to appreciate the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut goodness.  I’ll have to snack on one of these again another day.

I’m supposed to do cardio but I think I’m going to skip it today. Even though my stomach is starting to feel less weird (sorry for the lack of a better descriptive word), I want to play it safe.  SO many people have been sick lately.  Honestly, I went to bed around 11:15 pm, slept until 7:30 am, and drank a coffee….and I still feel like I could really use a nap.  Not a good sign?   I’m sure I’ll be ok, but for now I’m in sort of a “mehhhh” mood.

I was really thirsty when I rolled out of bed. So a smoothie was the obvious breakfast choice!

• 4 ice cubes
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1 container of peach yogurt
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tablespoon of blueberry flax seed

I finally made a smoothie that was liquid enough to enjoy drinking!  The peach yogurt added the perfect amount of sweetness.  Aside from causing multiple Ice Cream Headaches, this smoothie was awesome.

I snacked on a Blueberry Bran (VitaTop) VitaMuffin when I got to work.  I’ve been singing Vitalicious’ praises for a while now.  Everything I’ve eaten of theirs is just so good!

I had leftover acorn squash and stuffing for lunch.  Still so proud of myself for the recipe I created; I wouldn’t change a thing!

Since most of the squash had been scraped out, I had pita chips and my last wedge of Laughing Cow cheese as a side dish.

Ok so this wasn’t the most delicious cupcake I’ve ever eaten….but come on, it was a mini cupcake and I would’ve been crazy to say no!

I made use of a summer sundress cuz Boston was treated with another day of nice weather.

At the gym over my lunch break, I did my scheduled workout:  I accomplished 30 minutes of cardio by running on the treadmill for 30 minutes, well 25 minutes running at a 9:05 pace and then 5 minutes walking.  Then I stretched and did abdominal exercises including crunches and planks.  I also threw in 20 Superman lifts to work my lower back.

FYI…There is NO Whittard of Chelsea on Newbury Street.  Jared and I looked for it at for 170 Newbury, but further google searching revealed that it had been closed.  So each and every cup of tea using my Whittard of Chelsea tea bags will be treasured.  I’m sure I could look into ordering online, but I hate shipping charges!

I was really hungry so I snacked on a Bear Naked fruit and nut bar.

There was a little package sitting on my doorstep when I got home.  Thank you to truvia for sending me more packets of sweetener.  I’m going to bring this box to work for tea.

Facial to unclog those pores!  If Operation Beautiful is looking for a cover model for the book, I’ll gladly submit a head shot!

Jared was in charge of dinner, but it took forever for him to get home from work.  I had a Chocolate Fig flavored VitaMuffin to hold me over.  I had been turned off by this flavor mainly because I don’t know what figs taste like.  Well, this tasted like chocolate to me.  I can’t complain about that!  I really love VitaMuffins after they’ve been heated in the microwave.

Typical boyfriend dinner:  Pasta with artichokes.  He claims he’s a “one trick pony” but I think he could whip up some new recipes if he really tried.

Everything tastes “betta” with a little bit of feta!  I didn’t think the pasta had much flavor, but once I added feta cheese, it was tasty.  I ate the entire bowl in record time.