Working in the City & My Eats

More specifically, how working in the city has effected my eating habits.
It’s been a little over 4 months since I started my new job in downtown Boston.  I am still really enjoying my new location and being right in the thick of things downtown.  I love being around all those people at 7:30am while we are all heading into work.  Especially now with all the Christmas decor!


Even though my commute is longer, it doesn’t feel that long because I’m not the one driving.  Although I must say the commuter rail is WAY more comfortable than the bus, but I still switch it up to keep things interesting and so I don’t have to pay $4 to park at the commuter rail every day.
With all that said, one of the biggest changes to my “lifestyle” that I’ve noticed is that I find myself buying coffee, breakfast, and lunch MUCH more than I used to. 

At first it was the novelty of it all.  I have so many different options for coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, and quick lunch spots!  Almost anything I am craving can be fulfilled…that my friends is dangerous.
  
(iced coffee from Olga’s Kafe…they have TONS of brewed flavors!)
Not to mention expensive!! 

The novelty has pretty much worn off, but there are other factors weighing in here:

• Public transportation:  My mornings now have time limits.  I may just need an extra 5 or 10 min to pack my lunch but if I’m trying to catch a train, my time is up! 
• The more I pack, the more I have to carry.  Not a huge deal, but it is nice when I don’t have a second bag with me. 
• Juggling a coffee mug along with my purse + work bag.  I have a good travel mug with a good seal, but it’s nice to have 2 hands to work with especially when I’m running from the train to the T and have to get my pass out. 
• Cravings.  Ever go to eat your packed lunch and it just NOT what you want.  It’s way too easy to just take a 5min walk and get a salad/sandwich/pizza/soup…etc. 

(Gyro from Zo…this place is one of my favorites, good thing it’s still a 0.5 mile walk!)

• It tastes better when someone else makes it.  SUCH a cop out, but for some reason lately I’ve been BUYING oatmeal!  OATMEAL!  Simple oatmeal, and enjoying every bite.  Really no excuse for this one.

So, those of you out there that take public transportation to work…any tips?? 
I’m getting better at the coffee thing, plus I actually like the office coffee (we got Snicker-doodle flavor in so that makes me happy!), but those damn cappuccinos at the Thinking Cup are just SO good.  I tend to make that my once-a-week treat.

I’m thinking the coffee trend is becoming my lunch trend too.  Now that I’ve tried many of the lunch places near by, I’ve found the few I like most (and actually there aren’t that many…a lot of places are just “ok”).  So I’m hoping I’ll get to a once-a-week schedule for buying lunch. 

(chickpea fritter from Clover Food Lab, amazing, $5, and filling!)
I never thought I’d be one of those people who buys lunch so often, but I get it…CONVENIENCE!! 
 
Bon Me!
It wouldn’t be so bad if, say, we weren’t spending as much on groceries, but I don’t see that happening either.  I need to find that balance because, on the plus side there are some VERY affordable lunch options in the city…I’m talking $5-$6 for a lunch that fills me up!  I’m almost glad Whole Foods isn’t close by…now THAT would be a money hole for me!!  (I tend go crazy on the salad/hot bar).

(bbq pork & brown rice bowl from Bon Me)
I hope this whole post isn’t coming off as one big complaint ;)  I’m just more amazed at how much of an effect something like a new job in a new location can have on ones “usual” habits! 

I’m also looking for help!  Tips!  Ideas!!  Meal planning would really help this out as well, and frankly I’ve never been good at meal planning! 
Favorite lunches to pack??  Favorite dinners during a busy week?  Preferably ones with leftovers?? 
I haven’t even started on the effects the new job has had on my workout schedule!  That’s a post in it’s own, but I’ll let you know I did just start Crossfit!  I went to my first intro workout Saturday morning and had my first regular workout tonight!  So far so good…and SO sore.  ;)  I’ll give a recap as soon as I go a few more times. 

Now it’s time for bed…I don’t want my sleep schedule to go s**t too ;) 
Goodnight friends!

Working in the City

I can’t believe I’ve already been at my new job for 2 weeks!! 

I’m sure the novelty will pass someday, but for now I just love commuting into Boston everyday :)  For now I’m just going to pretend it’s still this fun and easy when 2 feet of snow fall overnight…yeah.

(yes I took a photo at the commuter rail station my first day haha)

It felt like the first day of school, which I always loved.  Mostly because I’d have my new first day of school outfit! 

Things have NOT changed.  First day outfit! 

Also BIG bonus for having a full length mirror in the bathroom at work!

• Dress:  Target!  Has a cute exposed zipper in the back too.
• Gold belt:  Gap
• Nude peep toe shoes: Rampage from Macy’s

At my last job we were all in this big open space so everyone could see each other, and clearly not conducive to sneak in a picture of breakfast or lunch.

But now I have some privacy!  :)

So far these past 2 weeks I’ve been enjoying big bowls of:

• plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• fresh fruit
• honey drizzle
• sliced almonds
• and/or granola

Or the same, but with homemade berry sauce

(taken at home before I left obviously)

Love Breakfast.

I’ve also been scoping out new-to-me coffee shops in the area!

My first discovery (and apparently they just won Best of Boston) was Thinking Cup!

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this will be my spot for espresso drinks!  Although they had some great iced coffee too.  I saw someone in there with a cappuccino and it was beautiful!

Still too hot out though for me to switch to hot coffee!

They also have treats…

 

The mini cupcakes are especially perfect for an afternoon pick me up!

(mini Boston cream pie cupcakes…AMAZING!)

I also found a place called Olga’s that has TONS of iced coffee flavors (brewed flavors, not flavor shots…I HATE flavor shots!)

That was banana hazelnut…can’t wait to try them all :)

And for fun…Outfit Day 2

• grayish-green cropped pants:  Banana Republic
• pinkish floral top: Nordstrom
• cream cardigan: Banana
• brown heels: Libby Edelman from Lord & Taylor

Happy Saturday!  Time for the beach!!

A Grilled Pizza Success!

Happy Thursday friends!

If you’re in the New England area, my guess is that you too are waking up to some GORGEOUS weather!  Last night was the first night this week without AC, and it’s even a bit cool waking up.

I even decided to make myself a hot cappuccino this morning.  A nice change from the iced versions I’ve been enjoying all week…

Iced cap with the rest of a container of 0% Fage + banana + raspberries + cereal + homemade blueberry sauce.

And…

FOAMY iced cap with a protein pancake topped with PB + AB, with bananas + raspberries.

I love how the cappuccino still has the espresso settled on the bottom and, then some milk mixed in, and foam on top…triple layered!

My workouts this week have all been DANCE! 
I love when that happens!

I know I’ve mentioned before, but I am in my friend’s dance company this summer.  It’s mostly contemporary, which is new for me, and so far I am loving it!  The show is Sept 9 & 10 in Milford, NH and it will be awesome!  If anyone’s interested just let me know ;)

Dance also makes me the most sore out of any exercise I’ve ever done…and the best part is that you don’t feel like your “working out'”.  But really, somehow the part of my body from my armpit down to my ribcage is SO SORE, its a struggle to just lift my arms!  It’s weird when you’re sore in a new place…I still don’t understand how it happened.

I had rehearsal Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday…each for 3 hours.  Then 3 more hours this coming Sunday.  At least I won’t feel bad if I don’t get any other workouts in!

Wow, talk about sidetracked…the star of this post is PIZZA!

I’ve always wanted to be able to make pizza on the grill.  However, I have only had many failed attempts. 

The worst was a few years ago when I was living with my bff in Somerville.  We tried on a charcoal grill that was clearly WAY to hot.  The dough just immediately charred the second it went on.  Fail.

Then my issue seemed to be flipping the dough.  See, you have to put the plain dough on first, cook one side, then flip, add toppings, and finish cooking. 

What I need is a huge spatula or maybe just a metal pizza peel.  Either way, the other night things actually went fairly well!

Grilled Steak + Caramelized Onion + Gorgonzola Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust

First the dough.  I used Sabrina’s recipe, only I used WHITE whole wheat flour instead of regular whole wheat flour.

I think I like using regular yeast better than instant.  I actually used this Hodgson Mill Active Dry yeast that is specially designed for whole grain flours!

I turned her dough recipe into 3 dough balls, 2 to be frozen for later use.

Other ingredients:

• Pizza dough of your choice
• Steak – either leftover, or we bought thin sliced steak, grilled it quickly before, then cut into pizza topping sized bites
• caramelized onions (the faster method)
• 1/2 medium onion (yellow or white) sliced thin
• Cook in 1T olive oil + 1 tsp butter over low/med-low heat
• cook, stirring occasionally and watch temp so onions do NOT brown.
• about 8 min later, add 1 tsp sugar
• cook for another 5 min, or until they seem ready and delicious to you :)
• part skim mozzarella
• gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• chopped fresh rosemary
• olive oil

I didn’t really give quantities, because everyone likes more or less toppings on their pizza!

1. Heat your grill to med-med high (I have a gas grill, so I’m not sure the best method for other types)
2. Roll out your dough, place it on a pan to bring to the grill, and brush one side with olive oil
3. Get all your toppings ready, and set them up right by your grill…you need to move fast once the dough is flipped.
4. Now, place dough OIL SIDE DOWN on grill, and turn down the heat to low/med low.  You’re grill will still be hot enough from the heat up to cook the dough just as fast.
5. Now quickly brush the other exposed side of the dough with olive oil.
6. About 1min or so later, or once the dough starts to get golden on the bottom…FLIP!  This took team work with Brian and I to make sure the dough flipped.
7. Now quickly top your pizza!!  Brian and I just grabbed toppings and went to town as fast as we could.
8. Get that lid back down to make sure the cheese melts!
9. Our pizza only took a few more minutes at this point.  Keep checking it so the dough doesn't burn!

We were SO excited that it was working!!

and in no time, we had fresh pizza!

Still not the prettiest thing in the world, but SO delicious.

We also had some grilled zucchini and summer squash (firsts from our garden!).

um, yeah we easily devoured that whole pizza :)  It really wasn’t as big as it looks.

I LOVE LOVED this pizza.  The toppings were so flavorful.  I think next time I’d double the caramelized onions…because really they were the best part. 

The dough was delicious as well.

We both couldn’t get over how good this was!  And now we’re no longer afraid of grilling pizza!

Have you ever grilled pizza??  Any tips?? 

Time to take my little Pup-cake for a walk!

Plans for the weekend??

• I have my friends baby shower Saturday
• Dance on Sunday!

Brunching + “mom’s” Coffee Cake

How was everyone’s weekends?? Sadly it’s Monday, but the good news is that it’s almost over and it makes me happy looking at beautiful food pics from the weekend!

Saturday, surprisingly, I had nothing to do. I was so excited! Unfortunately I guess I thrive on a tight schedule and ended up feeling like I wasted a day, but it was still a nice day.

Especially because it started with this

I decided to get my butt to Hot Yoga on Saturday morning, but opted for the not-quite-so-early 9:00AM class (as opposed to the 7:15). This gave me time to get up, eat, and digest.

Oats:

• 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup milk
• pinch salt
• 1/2 banana
• Topped with:
• 1/3 of Natures Valley PB granola bar, crumbled
• fresh strawberries
• coconut
• regular PB
• White Chocolate Wonderful PB

I can’t get enough of that “cleaned” feeling you get after sweating the week out in a hot room. I was happy I decided to eat breakfast first too, because I was still hungry when I returned home!

Quick pita with hummus, spinach, and hot sauce to take the edge off.

And this guy for something sweet with my cappuccino

Then is was time to bake!

Sunday, my friend had some people over for a relaxing brunch. She was taking care of the main courses, so I thought a quick bread or muffin would be great to snack on before we sit down to eat!

I immediately thought of “my mom’s” sour cream coffee cake! It’s DELICIOUS! It’s always a crowd pleaser and requested at many family gatherings. So when I asked for the recipe, I was slightly surprised (but I guess not really) that she directed me to Miss Betty Crocker!

Totally one of those situations where like your Grandmother’s “famous” cookies are just the recipe on the back of the box of whatever…

Either way, I was happy it was online, although there are KEY changes to the recipe that make is My MOM’s!

Mom’s Changes:

• Use the whole container (16oz) of Sour Cream instead of just the 1.5 cups called for
• No glaze
• ADD Chocolate chips in the filling/topping! BEST PART EVER!

Of course I took it one step further and made it “healthier”, and I’m just going to call it exactly what it is:

Greek Yogurt Coffee Cake
(adapted from Betty Crocker)

Coffee Cake:

• 1.5 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1.5 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
• 1.5 tsp Baking Soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 6T butter, softened
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup apple sauce
• 2 cups Non-fat plain Greek Yogurt (such as Chobani)

Filling:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts**
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips**

*I didn't measure out my chocolate chips or walnuts, but just sprinkled them on each layer so I had a nice distribution (see photos), feel free to increase nuts and chocolate as needed :)

Heat Oven to 350. I greased 1 large loaf pan and 1 mini loaf pan, or you can use a bunt pan like mom.

In a small bowl mix filling ingredients together, set aside. I was making a mini-loaf, nut free, for my friend to I just mixed the cinnamon and brown sugar and added the chocolate chips and nuts separately later.

In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat sugar, eggs, butter, and vanilla on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in apple sauce, beat on low. Add in flour mixture alternately with Greek Yogurt, beating on low speed until combined.

Add half of the batter to your pan, then sprinkle with half the filling. Repeat.

Bake for 50min-1 hr. The mini loaf took 30-35min.

Cool for 10 min before removing from pan, then cool another 10 minutes.

At this point you’ll be so overcome by the smell that you’ll have to decide to “present” the coffee cake to guests in slices so that you can cut into it RIGHT away :)

Brunch was fabulous as you can see…

Is that not the most gorgeous fruit and cheese platter ever!??

Mmmmm Cheese

And pastries! Danish Pastry House of course!

Have you ever had a kumquat!? I never had!! You just pop the whole thing in your mouth, peel and all! Its an orange the size of a cherry tomato and bursts in your mouth the same way! SO GOOD!

The main course was…

Spinach, feta frittata!

Roasted potatoes, onions, carrots, and chicken sausage. So simple yet SO good!!

And French Toast Strata (with cream cheese)… holy mother of brunch! SO freaking good!!!

Needless to say I was full :)

p.s. my shoulders are still so sore from yoga! Must get back into it!!

What’s your favorite dish to bring/make for Brunch??