Food Survey

Good news, everyone! I am going to post this survey on Sunday this week! Wahoo! I hope your Sunday has been as wonderful as mine has. I haven't done anything particularly exciting, but the Texans are winning, the weather is just beautiful, so much so that I think I might bike to the 5:00 church service tonight, and I am almost caught up on my homework. Plus, I am going to eat my very first crock pot meal tonight for dinner, and I am about to be so proud of myself, even though all it required of me to do was put the meat and vegetables into the pot. Tough stuff, cooking is.

I found a fun foodie survey via Beyond Bananas, so enjoy! I hope it doesn't make you too hungry!

Coke or Pepsi?
Neither. I have never been a soda drinker, even as a kid. That made for some awkward moments at birthday parties when parents and kids would just stare at me for asking if I could just have some water.

Lemonade or Fruit Punch?

Again, I don't really like either, but I would choose lemonade over fruit punch. I much preferred apple juice as a child, and I only liked it warm. Gross, huh?

Caramel Apple or Cotton Candy?

I am failing at this survey, because again, these are two things that I just have never really enjoyed.

Cotton Candy Friday at SRD last year

Butterfinger or Snickers?

Two of my favorite chocolate bars. I used to eat a Snickers before every single volleyball game (healthy, right?), but Butterfingers are simply delicious! I would choose Butterfingers now, but I unfortunately cannot eat them. I have stumbled upon a few homemade Butterfinger recipes - maybe I will have to adapt it and make it dairy-free.

My spirit sister made me a Snickers cake one year - I can guarantee you that it did not last too long once I received it!

Pudding or Jell-O?

I have never liked pudding, something about the texture, but I went through a Jell-O phase during high school, and while I wouldn't eat it every day, Jell-O for sure wins. Luby's jello. That is all.

Turkey or Chicken?

Chicken. One of my very favorites! There are just so many different ways to eat it.

Chicken sandwich

Chicken breast

Grilled chicken strips

American or Provolone Cheese?

Another fail on my part. Due to my lactose intolerance, I cannot eat cheese, BUT I prefer American over Provolone any day of the week.

Crackers or Cookies?

Crackers. I'm an addict.

Pretzels or Chips?

In the past I would have said pretzels, but I have recently discovered veggie, kale, and pop chips, so chips it is!

Mexican food or Japanese food?

Mexican food, all the way.

I know this is just Chipotle, but Texas has some darn good Mexican food!

Chinese food or Italian food?

Chinese food. Italian food is great, but I unfortunately cannot eat a lot of it. Plus, who can say no to lettuce wraps?

Pie or Cake?

Cake. Unless it was chocolate fudge pie, I was never a pie fan.

I especially like cake if it is in the shape of the UT Tower!

Chez-Zee cake

Ice cream or Cookies?

Ice cream, now that I have my dairy-free deliciousness. However, if frozen yogurt were an option, I'd obviously take that. BUT, I do love baking cookies, as you people have probably figured out by now!

Pasta or Pizza?

Pasta.

Soda or Juice?

This survey is hard! I don't drink either, but I do use juice in my smoothies sometimes, so I guess we will go with juice.

Chocolate Bars or Chocolate Truffles?

Chocolate bars.

Apples or Bananas?

Oh gosh! Two of my very favorites! I think I prefer eating apples straight up (during honeycrisp season, anyway), but I love using bananas when I bake. However, peanut butter and banana sandwiches are one of my favorite things ever.

Frozen bananas are such a wonderful treat

Salad or Soup?

Soup, for sure. There are just so many different kinds, and I especially love it in the winter. Salad just really doesn't do it for me, though La Madeleine does have a mean grilled chicken salad.

Chili - does that count as soup? 

Black bean soup

La Madeleine grilled chicken salad

Cauliflower or Broccoli?

Broccoli. I don't know what it is, but I just don't really enjoy eating cauliflower. However, I  l-o-v-e broccoli and I eat it almost every day!

Onion Rings or French Fries?

French fries, but I only really eat baked french fries, or Galaxy Cafe sweet potato fries. YUM!

Baked fries from Hungry's

Blizzard or McFlurry?

McFlurry, all the way. Oreo, to be specific.

Fried or Poached Eggs?

Scrambled. Or hard boiled. I seem to be having difficulty with this survey! To be fair, though, I have never had either of these types of eggs, so I might actually like them, but I just don't know. 

Crepes or Pancakes?

Pancakes. I used to eat at least ten chocolate chip pancakes every time my dad made them for breakfast. Evidently I had no self-control back then.

Hashbrowns or Roasted Potatoes?

Roasted Potatoes, but McDonald's hashbrowns are easily the best hashbrowns I have ever eaten. Hey, you gotta splurge every once in a while, right?

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Crazy Saturday Night

Sorry for my absence these past few days, school has really been picking up speed but I think I may have finally found my rhythm! Let's start with Friday, because it is the best day of the work week, in my opinion! Despite having class from 2-4pm, that is. My roommates are done with class and enjoying their weekends before I even head out the door. You win some, you lose some, right? Anyway, I stayed up pretty late (for me) on Thursday night hanging up some different decorations around our house to make it feel a bit more homey - sidenote: we got a big rug for our living area today! - so I slept in a little bit later than I would have liked to on Friday morning, but once I got up, I ate half a Kind bar, got in my car and headed to Town Lake for a 3-mile run. I figured this run would be a bit more enjoyable than my run on Tuesday because it was a bit cooler outside, and while it wasn't quite as much of a struggle, I think I'll be sticking to the treadmill until the weather starts to get cooler. Plus, I battled an extreme amount of traffic in order to get to the gym to complete three rounds of an arm workout that looked like this:

I felt that this morning when I woke up, that's for sure! After returning home from the gym, I whipped up a new-to-me breakfast: my own personal serving of banana bread baked oatmeal, boatmeal, courtesy of Chocolate Covered Katie. I have mentioned it a few times, but I am not a big oatmeal fan. It's something about the texture, and I have discovered that the only way to make myself eat it is if I put it in the oven and bake it into something better. I threw in some walnuts, a handful of raisins, and a pinch of cinnamon before throwing it into the oven for about 15 minutes. I will probably let it cook for a few more minutes next time, but I will certainly be making this again - especially when the weather starts getting cooler and a warm breakfast is in order.

I headed toward campus around 1:30 in the afternoon and at the end of my second class, I received some very exciting news: I am going to be student teaching this semester for an 8th grade Language Arts class at Lake Travis Middle School. Though this means I have a pretty long drive to make every week, I could not be more excited. I have heard some horror stories about student teaching in the middle school, and I think being at Lake Travis is going to be one great experience. Naturally, I have already stalked my teacher a little bit and I am so excited to meet her because we seem like we will get along really well: she runs marathons, has completed the MS150, loves Whole Foods and Central Market, and enjoys ordering books off of Amazon.com. Plus, she has amazing credentials and I think I am going to learn and grow so much. I can't wait!

After completing my first full week of class, I was more than ready to leave the Austin city limits for a night to spend some much-needed time with not only my Young Life team, but with the entire Northwest Austin Young Life area. At the beginning of each semester, our entire area of leaders spends some time together before the craziness of the semester, and to talk about our goals for the upcoming semester. Though we hit quite a bit of traffic, and spent a Texas summer night with no air conditioning, it was some really great time spent with my team as well as my entire area. I am so blessed to have this incredible community and I could not be more excited about this upcoming semester. I went to a soccer game last weekend and a volleyball game this past Thursday, but I am ready to see my girls on a more consistent basis. My team, despite losing a few quality members to graduation and transfers, is so awesome, and I am really looking forward to seeing different people step up and how we are going to work as a team to love on these kids.

God at work in Austin, Texas

Alex and Ellie - two of my awesome (and attractive) teammates

Dylan taking selfies while stuck in traffic

We're a fun bunch

We stopped at Chick-Fil-A for dinner on Friday night, along with about three other Young Life teams in the Austin area, and some of us helped Chick-Fil-A pull in quite the revenue, as one of my team members ordered three chicken sandwiches and two packs of nuggets. That might rival my brother and his usual order of three 12-packs of nuggets.

I personally enjoyed the grilled chicken sandwich with a side of fruit, and it was delicious. I love Chick-Fil-A but I often forget about it because there is not one close to me here in Austin, nor is there one near me in Houston. So I was pretty excited to be nommin' on this deliciousness last night!

I arrived home around 2:00 this afternoon to start on a bit of homework, and around 5:20 or so, I got in my car and headed (once again) over to Town Lake, but this time just to complete a peaceful walk around the lake. I was pretty worn out from the events of this past week, but it was too pretty of a night to spend indoors. I made a quick loop around one of my favorite Austin spots before making the short drive over to my favorite Austin establishments for dinner: Whole Foods. I got the salad bar, combining some chicken, pork, green beans, mushrooms, and grilled veggies - it sounds like an odd combination - but it was delicious. 

Focus on one point and BREATHE - Town Lake art 

I washed it down with my favorite $.89 six-serving water bottle, 

Gotta stay hydrated!

grabbed a few groceries, and headed home to enjoy this happy find:

Being lactose intolerant really isn't that bad, except for when it comes to chocolate, ice cream, and queso. The ice cream thing is tolerable because I can substitute it with frozen yogurt (duh), but sometimes all a girl needs is a little bit of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I enjoyed a small bowl of this before doing a little bit of baking and completing this blog post.

Phew, that was a long one, but I think it got me all caught up! Check back tomorrow for another Survey Sunday!

P.S. Hook 'em Horns! I am again electing to sit out the game that is happening right this second, but I have a valid excuse this time: I was pretty much out of commission from Friday at 2pm until today at 2pm, so I have some catching up and relaxing to do. A Saturday night that consists of ice cream and baking? Don't mind if I do!

One Year

Yesterday marked a very special day on fitnessandfroyo: my one year anniversary! I started this blog on September 4th, 2011, and here I am, one year later, still blogging away. I must admit, I hit a period of uncertainty in December when I put blogging on the back burner for a few weeks, but I made a New Year's resolution to write at least ten posts a month, and so far, I have stuck to it! I love writing this blog, and it means so much me to that y'all follow my adventure (though some of you like to make fun of the name!) as I grow, learn, play, make plenty of mistakes, and have a lot of fun. I meant to make a special post yesterday, but yesterday was a busy one, so I wasn't able to cross a blog post off of my to-do list. I have been pretty productive today, though, so a blogging break is perfect!

I'll do a recap of yesterday and today, just because yesterday was a pretty fun day, once I recovered from my annual "I have too much on my plate, I am not going to make it through the semester" panic attack. Seriously, it happens every semester, and I have lived to tell the tale, so though this semester is going to be a crazy one, I feel pretty confident that I am going to make it through the other side - just maybe not all in one piece. Kidding!

Anyway, after class, and a failed attempt at homework, I got in my car and headed to one of my favorite spots in Austin for a mid-afternoon run: Town Lake. I am not sure what was going through my head because it was 3:00 in the afternoon when I embarked on this endeavor, but I was in the mood for a run and I was not in the treadmill mood. As I predicted it would be, it was definitely a struggle, and I probably only ran about three miles in total, but I was afforded a great view that made this challenge worth it.

After battling traffic, I arrived home to immediately start working in the kitchen. My Young Life small group was having a progressive dessert night so that we could spend some time together and see one another's cute houses along the way. The night was a lot of fun, and everyone's houses are so cute! It was so much fun to walk through all of them and to, of course, eat the many delectable desserts.

Tuxedo Cake

I elected to try a mini banana split recipe that I found on Pinterest, that of course looked precious and totally do-able, until I actually got started and realized that it is indeed very difficult to scoop out the middle of a banana while keeping the sides intact. I abandoned my original plan of putting ice cream inside the banana, and decided I would put a mini scoop of ice cream on top of the frozen banana. My small group as well as my roommates informed me that they were a hit (who doesn't love frozen bananas?), so I definitely recommend you to check out the recipe that I got from Baker's Royale and give them a shot. They are the perfect, bite-size little dessert, that you can maybe even pass for healthy. Maybe.

(Source)

Mine don't quite look the same, but they were still tasty!

It was a wonderful night with some pretty special girls, and the perfect remedy for my self-induced stress.

I stayed up pretty late working on homework last night, but I woke up around 7:15 this morning and headed out the door to tackle a 5-mile run on the treadmill at the gym. I loosely followed this workout from Carrots 'n' Cake, and it was great. It had me moving, but not so fast that I was worn out after three miles. I am slowly trying to get back into distance shape, especially because one of my friends is trying to get me to run a half-marathon in December, so I figure some slower paces are just what I need, at least until I start building my endurance back up.

How can you not be motivated to pick up the pace when this song comes on? Call me crazy, but I still love this song!

After breakfast and a shower, I sat down at the kitchen table vowing to make today a productive day. I just need to get into a routine, and I think I am on my way to doing just that. I worked on my first paper of the semester, went to the bank, the grocery store, and Office Max, did laundry, and completed an assignment for one of my English classes, all before I had to leave for class at 1:30pm. I'd call that pretty darn productive. Plus, I got a pick-me-up this morning at the grocery store when I walked in on a mission to find some good apples and I saw this lovely sight:

If you cant' read it, it is a sign announcing the start of honeycrisp season. It's the little things, I tell you. I knew from that moment on that it was going to be a great day. I spent $13 on apples this morning and I have absolutely no regrets about it. Honeycrisp apples are the best apples in the world, and I enjoyed one after class today with a little bit of peanut butter. Perfection.

Now I am off to do a bit more homework before working on dinner. The transition from dorm to house is definitely a difficult one, but I absolutely love it, and I wouldn't trade the clubhouse for anything! Enjoy the rest of your evening, and thanks for making this blog so much fun to write! I love y'all!

Just Another Survey Sunday (Or Not)

Since today is Labor Day, and most of us don't have to go to school or work, it's practically still Sunday, right? That's what I thought! I really could have posted this yesterday, but after church, a swim, preparing meals, some reading.. that put me to sleep.. and driving out to the Lake Travis area to babysit until around midnight, I was just not feeling it. I apologize, and I hope that you will all forgive me. I promise that my next Survey Sunday will be on time.

Here is a very fun foodie survey for your reading pleasure - enjoy!

A: is for Apple, what’s your favorite variety?… Honeycrisp, for sure! When it is Honeycrisp season, my apple consumption goes way up, and I unfortunately fall off the apple-eating wagon when they go out of season.

B: is for Bread, regardless of nutrition, calories, or whole grains what is your favorite type to have a nice big piece of? Hands down the best bread I have ever had are the baguettes in Europe. I ate a toasted meat baguette every single morning for breakfast, and I miss them so much! In general, the bread over there was just out of this world!

C: is for Cereal what is your favorite kind currently (just one!)… Peanut Butter Cheerios

D: is for Doughnuts, you might not currently be eating them but what kind do you fancy?… I actually have never been a big doughnut fan, but if I ever did used to have them, donut holes were my donut of choice. Do those count? I hope so! If not, I would occasionally enjoy a Cinnamon Sugar doughnut.

E: is for Eggs, how would you like yours prepared?… Scrambled egg whites and omelets are my current favorite way to eat eggs.

F: is for Fat Free, what is your favorite fat free product?… Can't go wrong with fruits and veggies!

G: is for Groceries, where do you purchase your at?… When I am in Houston, Kroger, for sure. It is close, cheap, and has (mostly) everything I need. There is no Kroger in Austin, but there is an HEB near my house and it even has a little Central Market attached to it.

H: is for Hot Beverages, what is your favorite hot drink?… I really don't like any hot beverage (lame, I know), but I love just holding hot drinks in the winter time!

I: is for Ice Cream, pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping… Well, since I can't have ice cream anymore (lactose intolerance), I really do prefer fro-yo, but when I was able to eat ice cream, mint chocolate chip and chocolate were my two favs. I didn't need a topping on the mint chocolate chip, but rainbow morsels were my mix-in of choice when it came to chocolate ice cream.

When we are talking about frozen yogurt, any kind of fruit or nuts are my go-to toppings.

J: is for Jams or Jellies, do you eat them, and if so what kind and flavor?… I am also not a big jam or jelly person, but I do occasionally go through phases where I like putting grape jelly on toast or crackers.

K: is for Kashi, name your favorite Kashi product?… Kashi Go Lean Crunch - it tastes wonderful in yogurt!

L: is for Lunch, what was yours today?…  I started off with some taboule salad before preparing some tilapia with a side of sauteed broccoli and mushrooms.

M: is for microwave, what is your favorite microwave meal/snack?… Popcorn, for sure!

The perfect afternoon snack

N: is for nutrients, do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best?… Um, all three, please!

O: is for oil, what kind do you like to use?… Extra virgin olive oil.

P: is for protein, how do you get yours?… Any kind of meat or fish will do the trick. I also justify eating large amounts of peanut butter because I tell myself that I am just getting some extra protein. I have also recently discovered how delicious quinoa is, and I am looking forward to experimenting a bit more with that!

Q: is for Quaker, how do you like your oats?… I try and I try and I try, but I just do not like oatmeal. However, I have recently fallen in love with baked oatmeal, and that is about the only way I will eat it. I do want to try mixing some oats in with a smoothie, but I am a little unsure of how that will taste!

R: is for roasting, what is your favorite thing to roast?… I personally have never roasted anything, but I guess chicken? Vegetables? Help me out here people, I'm new to the whole cooking thing.

S: is for sandwich, what’s your favorite kind?… I  l-o-v-e  sandwiches, and almost any kind of sandwich will make me very happy. I pretty much love all deli meat, as well as a good chicken sandwich, topped with all kinds of goodies - lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, black olives, pickles, mushrooms. I used to be a very plain jane sandwich eater - ie, turkey, cheese, and mayonnaise, but now, the more the merrier!

Grilled chicken sandwich

Typical Subway sandwich

Grilled chicken sandwich from Food Heads

Salmon bagel sandwich

T: is for travel, how do you handle eating while traveling?… I'll pack a Larabar or two, an apple, a banana, some almonds - obviously, I come prepared. Mainly because I am never sure what the airplane food will be like that day, and if I am even going to be able to eat it. Lactose intolerance problems, I tell ya. My latest traveling endeavors allowed me to enjoy some pretty gourmet airplane food though, so I can't complain too much about that one.

U: is for unique, what is one of your weirdest food combos?… I am sure a lot of my food combos are weird to other people, but that I find them perfectly normal! I can pair peanut butter with just about anything, and that probably weirds some people out.

V: is for vitamins, what kind do you take?… I take Omega-3 Gummy Vitamins as well as some Gummy Calcium Vitamins. I am such an adult.

W: is for wasabi, yay or nay?… Nay.

X: is for XC Foodie, why is she so awesome?… Well, I guess it's time to hop on over and check out this blogger!

Y: is for youth, what food reminds you of your childhood?… Chicken and rice. My Granny made the best chicken and rice and it was the meal that I requested the most often. I also ate ice cream literally every day after school. Hey, enjoy it while you can!

Z: is for zucchini, how do you prepare it?… Steamed.

Enjoy your day off, if you have one!

Body Pump

I woke up this morning feeling so glad that it was Saturday. I know it has only been three days of school, but I think a combination of attending five new classes, getting thrown way too many important dates, and biking to and from class in this extreme heat has gotten to me. I slept like a rock last night, thankful for the fact that I did not have to set an alarm and that I could wake up whenever I was ready. I had plans to attend a Body Pump class at 10am, but I can never sleep much past 8am, so I knew that wouldn't be a problem. I woke up around 7:45am, so after toasting an English muffin and topping it with peanut butter, banana, and a pinch of cinnamon, I curled up on one of our many comfortable chairs and continued reading Catcher in the Rye. I don't have to have this book read for about a month, but it is so much more appealing than the other books I have to read, so I went ahead and started my day with a little Holden Caulfield and Sally Hayes. 

I headed to the gym a little before 10 and set up shop in the back of the room, since I am a Body Pump newbie and I wanted to be able to watch everyone else as opposed to having people watch me. Plus, I always gravitate toward the back of group exercise classes. I guess that will have to change if I ever plan on being a fitness instructor or personal trainer!

I was so excited to learn that my new gym offers a Body Pump class, because I have read about it on virtually every single healthy living blog that I regularly read and no one ever seems to have a negative comment, so I was pumped to try it out! Pumped, get it?

My station

Anyway, my first encounter with Body Pump was actually this past Tuesday night, but it got overshadowed by the first week of class and I am just now reporting my take on this highly-recommended class. For those of you who don't know, Body Pump is an hour-long strength and endurance class, focusing on targeting virtually every muscle group using low weights and high repetitions. Being someone who does not enjoy weight training on my own, this class is the perfect way to ensure that I am not only working out every major muscle group, but also that I am doing it correctly. Kristina has been my instructor both times that I have taken the class and she is just awesome. She pushes you to your limits, but she also encourages you, reminding you that you will be glad you didn't quit. Body Pump is quickly turning into my new favorite group exercise class, though I'm not sure anything can replace spinning with Felipe, because it gets my heart rate up and provides me with a much better strength workout than I would ever give myself. The time passes so quickly, except for when we are doing lunges - I don't think those are ever going to end! I give it two thumbs up, and I can't wait to make this class a regular part of my exercise routine!

After a 20-minute cool down on the elliptical, a quick HEB trip, a shower, and a bit of homework, I heated up a combination of black beans and cannelloni beans to enjoy with a side of refreshing fruit. I'd say it was a winning combination. Now I am off to get in a couple more hours of homework before attending a soccer game in which a few of my Wydlife girls are playing. I can't wait!

The beans just weren't as pretty as the fruit

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday and GET YOUR HORNS UP! Today brings the first Saturday of college football, and the first Longhorn football game of the 2012 season. I absolutely love watching college football on TV, but I don't quite possess the same love when it comes to actually attending the games. I find much more enjoyment in watching the game while sitting on my couch in an air-conditioned room. I know that puts some of you football-loving people to shame, and I am sure I will make it out to a few games this year, but for right now, I'll be shouting Texas Fight from the comfort of my own home. Can't beat it!

Burnt orange and boots 

Hook'em!