03.31 - Pitiful Child

My mom works nearby, so I decided to walk over and visit her for lunch. We had a nice time talking and sharing coffee and a blueberry scone. As I was just about to leave, she handed me a small baggie of sauteed green beens and half of an orange (not a whole one, but a dried-out half).

How exactly am I supposed to interpret that . . .?

03.24 - Bread Lover

I've realized that one of my biggest weaknesses is bread. It's nearly impossible for me to walk by a bakery and not want to stop in for some fresh rolls or loaves of bread. I get so happy when restaurants serve free bread before a meal. Even walking by Subway in the morning gets me all riled up. Sad, I know. What confuses me, though, is where this love originated. I mean, I was raised on rice, for goodness sake. I was the girl who went to school with dried pieces of rice stuck to her shirt sleeves. Don't get me wrong-- I love the smell of freshly made rice steam wafting through the air as much as any asian, but for some reason, it doesn't make me as excited as the smell of freshly baked bread. I mean, put fresh bread together with salty butter, and it's over.

With that said, there was a whole tray of pumpernickel, sesame seed, and whole grain rolls randomly sitting in the kitchen yesterday with a bowl of individual butter packets right next to it. I nearly had a heart attack, I was so happy. As stealthily as I could, I smuggled five rolls into a paper napkin, stuffed six packets of butter into my pocket, and walked excitedly back to my desk. Near the end of it, my desk looked like this:

That was my lunch yesterday, and I have to say it was pretty darn wonderful.

The only one thing that ruined it, though, was realizing that my coworker had clearly witnessed me squishing pieces upon pieces of bread into those insufferably small butter packets. :\

03.22 - Incredible Fruits and Veggies

In the past two months, I've really tried to incorporate more fruits and veggies into mine and I's at-home meals. Before, I would eat fruits and veggies about 1-3 times a week. Now I have fruits and veggies about 1-3 times a day. That's certainly a significant change, but I never thought it would make that much of difference until I started dropping pounds like crazy without once setting foot in a gym. Now, I'm 12 pounds lighter than I was two months ago.

Everywhere I go, people comment about how much weight I've lost or how saggy my pants are-- and when they ask what happened, I just shrug and say, "I eat a lot of fruits and veggies." Ha. It's strange, right? I've always heard that fruits and veggies are good for you, but I never realized how good.

But now I know firsthand that:

- they're rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals
- they make you feel just as full as, if not more than, the fatty stuff
- they give you a high amount of energy with significantly fewer calories
- they make you go to the bathroom daily (as opposed to once or twice a week...)
- they help prevent and reduce the risk of diseases
- and they increase weight loss by 3x in those who simply eat low-fat foods

My favorites as of late are:

- spinach
- romaine lettuce
- mustard or collard greens
- kale
- broccoli
- green beans
- red and yellow peppers
- tomatoes
- oranges
- blueberries
- pomegranates

Now that I have the fruits and veggies down, all I need to do is start working out again. While losing weight is great, being flabby and bony is not. :\ Here goes  . . .

03.16 - Pretty Petite Treats

Starbucks had a "Tribute Days" promotion from March 10-12 to ring in their 40th year. With any drink purchased between 2 to 5 p.m., you would get a petite dessert of your choice. The choices were: birthday cake pop, carrot mini cupcake, lemon sweet square, peanut butter mini cupcake, red velvet whoopie pie, rocky road cake pop, salted caramel sweet square, and tiramisu cake pop.

I had my tastebuds set on the red velvet whoopie pie. Unfortunately, when I made it out to a Starbucks on March 12th at 4:50 p.m. and put in an order for two drinks, all that was left were a few of the cupcakes. The Starbucks associate threw two of those babies in a bag and handed them over to me, and while they were quite yummy, my craving for the whoopie pie remained.

So I decided to make a Starbucks whoopie pie run earlier today-- and I was happy not only to find that there were plenty of petite treats available but also that they pack them in adorable little boxes! They must have held out on those during Tribute Days, but who could blame them. I carried my pretty, precious cargo back to the office and sat at my desk, savoring my red velvet whoopie pie with small bites. It was delicious-- soft, moist, packed with flavor, and generously filled with whipped cream cheese frosting. Mmm mmm good. I just wish they didn't come so small. Under 200 calories blue blundred blalories.

Next visit: salted caramel sweet square

03.04 - BOGO Chipotle

I like Chipotle. There's just something about that freshly grilled chicken or steak (or, every now and then, that flavorful spicy shredded barbacoa) mixed together with cilantro-lime rice, melty cheese, a dash of black beans, a handful of romaine, and pico de gallo all lovingly held together by a warm, subtly salty, chewy flour tortilla. Yum.

So imagine my excitement when I walked into the break room last Friday and found a buy one-get one Chipotle coupon on the kitchen counter. I immediately dragged my coworkers to get some for lunch that day, and we saved $12. I went again on Sunday after church with a bunch of friends, and the ten of us together saved $30. Two of my cousins went last week, and they saved a combined $12. Another two of my friends went this week, and they saved $6. My brother went yesterday and saved $6. And I had Chipotle with my mom for lunch today, and we saved an additional $6. So, all in all, throughout this past week, I am pleased to say that my family, friends, and I saved $72.

Both impressive and shocking. Impressive because that's a lot of free Chipotle, and shocking because one burrito contains about 800-1200 calories. :\ Still, free Chipotle doesn't happen often, and I do have to say it was fun while it lasted. The promo ends today. If you want to get yours before it's over, visit http://www.facebook.com/americasnextgreatrestaurant?v=app_10442206389 and watch the 90-second video for this new reality restaurant show that's coming out. Then print the coupon and eat your poor heart out. :)