WIAW: new foods

Wow, so apparently most of you are Mac fans.  I should have guessed   I think it’s been my stubbornness that has prevented me from going the Mac route, but I’m feeling daring so I think I’ll be making a purchase this weekend!

This past week I’ve consumed quite a few new eats.  And I’m dedicating this What I Ate Wednesday to just that! 

I have been seeing the Simply bars everywhere!  (Not to be confused with Zone Perfect’s Perfectly Simple bar).  Both companies were kind enough to send me samples to try.

The stats are really amazing – 16g of protein in only 160 cals or less!  And they offer a ton of flavors.  I’ve tried the PB-chocolate and cinn-pecan so far.  The verdict? Good (not outstanding).  If it wasn’t for the fabulous protein-to-calorie ratio, I would not be that impressed.  If they were $1.50 or less and I could buy them locally, I would definitely keep them as snack/small meal on the go, but they aren’t sold in northern CA yet.  I will keep my eyes peeled.

Another bar floating around the internet?  Gnu fiber bars.  Several bloggers highlighted their fabulous deal of $7.95 for a 5-bar sampler pack with free shipping.  For that steal, I had to get some.  Besides, I couldn’t pass up trying their tasty-sounding flavors:

I’ve tried the blueberry cobbler and blondie and really enjoyed both.  They taste very natural, are pretty chewy, and all that fiber has some staying power.  I’d highly recommend.

So last weekend, I mentioned Zach and I went on date night (woohoo!).  We wanted to go to Palo Alto and were in the mood for some spice, so we tried a new (to us) restaurant, Thaiphoon, where we were able to snag a table outdoors. 

Both our meals and the app were good but…

… we left hungry!  Seriously, are we that big of piggies?  We ordered the vegetarian spring rolls, kung pao chicken, and thai basil tofu.  We easily finished our plates with no leftovers – which is a rarity for eating Thai food. 

Soooo, we did what any normal couple does and walked across the street to a new(er) wine bar called Gravity, where I promptly had a flight of sparkling wines.

I absolutely want to come back to this place – faboosh!

No date night is complete without froyo:

I’m pretty sure Zach tilted his cup that way so you wouldn’t realize he got the LARGE cup.  We both agreed that this was one of the more mediocre froyo experiences.  We’ve been here several times before and this time the froyo tasted really icy and the toppings were lacking.  Sigh.  Oh well.

What’s your favorite Thai food dish?

Have you tried Gnu or Simply bars?  Thoughts?

WIAW: Bean edition

Hey there!

Yesterday was a really off day for me.  Bean’s sleep schedule seems to be out of whack (teething?) and when I woke up in the middle of the night, I felt nauseous.  I felt fine in the AM at work, but then after eating a banana, felt extremely sick: sour stomach, light-headed, a little dizzy.  Very weird.  I had planned on canceling my personal training appointment, but lucky (?) for me, my trainer was feeling under the weather as well and wanted to reschedule. 

I came home and did a completely uncharacteristic thing.  I got into bed and laid there for nearly 1.5 hours.  I never get into bed mid-day (not even throughout my entire pregnancy).  Something was/is certainly up.

Let’s hope I feel better today

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) with Jenn, so I thought I’d do this one as what Bean has been eating (<—yes this is an excuse to share pics of Bean eating solids).

Actually I have been contemplating logging all my eats on my blog as a way of keeping myself accountable.  I’ve said this before  and haven’t followed through, so we’ll see if I actually go through with it this time.  I have shared all my eats and workouts with the bestie through email.  I know she will virtually kick my @ss if I go off track.

Anyway, so Bean’s foray into solids…

At Sawyer’s 4 month check-up our pediatrician said that he was ready for solids at any time since he could sit up in a chair and hold his head up and was eating (formula) well.  We decided to wait until after our NYC/Boston trip so we could be consistent – he turned 5 months right around then.

Bean’s first attempt was nearly 2 weeks ago with rice cereal:

Sure, he looks happy eating it, but I don’t think he loved the stuff.  I mixed 1 part rice cereal with 4 parts (thawed) breastmilk.  He made a few funny faces and spit most of it out.  I estimate we got a whopping teaspoon in him.  You can check out (a crappy iphone) video of him on youtube. 

Next we tried peas – though I want to make some of my own baby food, until we get in a good routine, I’m going to feed him store bought (organic) baby food.

Verdict on the peas?  Mmm mmm good.  He seemed to like these and gobble these down by sucking in his bottom lip and making a slight chewing motion.

My friend offered me some homemade oatmeal cereal (ground oats into a flour-like substance with a healthy dose of cinnamon).  Bean was not having this either. 

At this point, I questioned if he was actually my son. He doesn’t like oatmeal?  What???

And most recently we tried summer squash.  This is most definitely his favorite yet!

See, all done!  Love!  haha  He ate at least a tablespoon of this multiple times and opened his mouth up as the spoon was nearing, using his hand to guide my hand in. 

Just to note, we are feeing Bean one food at a time for 3 days in a row before introducing a new food to make sure there aren’t any allergies or tummy troubles. 

Next up are carrots.  And then I may start mixing some rice cereal or oatmeal with the veggies.  I’m holding out on fruit so that Bean doesn’t get a taste of something sweet and not want to go back to the veg.

Oh and total aside, but a lovely reader (Hi Lisa!) emailed me because she thought our babies were lookalikes.  The resemblance truly is uncanny.  Her little boy is about the same age and their smile is identical as are their big brown eyes and round chubby cheeks.  Adorable, really!

Logging all my eats – yay or nay?

For you new moms out there, what other veggies were a hit for your baby?  My plan is to do sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and avocado in the near future.

Have you ever met your lookalike?  Throughout school (particularly middle school), another girl and I would be mistaken for each other and sometimes in pics, we couldn’t even tell ourselves apart. I haven’t met my twin as an adult, although the bestie and I get mistaken for sisters

What I’ve been eating

Hey there!

How’s your week going?  I’m happy to say this week has been going far better than last.  I attribute it to getting back into a rhythm, Soybean sleeping better, and sunnier days.

It’s been awhile since I joined in the WIAW party by Jenn, but now is as good as time as any. 

Below are some of my eats of the last week

Quorn veggie cheeseburger. A new-to-me find from Target.  Verdict: good, not great. 

Calzone made by the hubby.  Best dinner he’s made in long time   Mine was veggie filled and he went with pepperoni.  I tried to just eat this half, but that was futile.  Paired with some Cab.

Sweet potato topped with black beans and a side of broccoli.  I’ve seen the black bean / sweet potato combo on blogs and I’m not impressed – each on its own is great, but together = meh.

Vanilla latte(s).  While I may not get my beloved Peets every day, I’m still treating myself once a week to my work’s vanilla lattes.  Not as good, but they do the trick

Not pictured item that I wish I had a photo of was my Yoppi froyo from last Friday: yellow cake batter froyo, carob chips, butterfinger, reeses PB cups, and marshmallow fluff.  So so good. 

Now that I’m back to work, I’m reining in the unhealthy eating (a bit), but still indulging as noted above

What is your indulgent item?  Mine are (frequent) (large) lattes and froyo