After working a few days in a row, I just wanted to sleep in ‘til noon today. Unfortunately, my circadian rhythm wasn’t in on the game plan. I was up and getting my caffeine on by 8.
A few days ago, this lovely package arrived from NuNaturals, so I was thrilled to have a massive fake sugar free NuStevia filled cuppa-joe.
As usual, I brewed and frothed…
Then, I added 3 drops of Vanilla Stevia to the Caffe Froth, and 1 packet of NuStevia white powder to the coffee.
Perfection. No bitter after-taste. Not too sweet. Plus, I only needed a tiny bit (and I like my coffee sweet). To be honest, I like this brand better than the Stevia in the Raw brand, but it’s also more $$, so do what you will with that information.
Along with my coffee, I toasted a Blueberry VitaMuffin, which MAY have gotten dunked in the Pomegranate greek yog. My chobz/vita combo was like the poor man’s parfait. K, please come to NYC and show me how it’s done.
Mmm, toasty. I did some crossword-ing, cyber stalking blog reading, View watching, etc. Miraculously, my sore throat was gone – yeah! But my back was acting up big time. I rarely address my back issues on the blog, because it’s a chronic thing…so I’m used to ignoring my pain. Lately, however, it’s been so bad that I can’t deny it’s presence. A few times, I have nearly gone to the ER because I’m in agony and no position provides relief. But what are they going to do? Give me painkillers (that I won’t take). I’ve been pondering the idea of seeing a chiropractor, but I’m a little nervous about it (and I have no clue if they would even take my insurance). So for now, I think I’m going to switch from my massive shoulder bag to a backpack. Hideous – yes. But, hopefully the absence of pain will make up for the absence of style. I digress…
Juicy, watery, melon. It was a big a$$ bowl. Luffff.
I was sloshing around after all that liquid. After my kidneys did their thang and filtered out the Kombucha swamp water, I headed to the gym. Remember what that is? Hmmmm…vaguely.
I ran 6 miles on the treadmill, then another 2 on the elliptical. Endorphin-high, how I missed you!! After the cardio sesh, I spent some serious time stretching on the mat, with a few ab exercises thrown in for good measure.
Post gym, post shower, snack-age occurred in the form of pitettes, and hummus. I swirled the roasted red pepper flavor into the OG for a fabby duo.
Then I moved on to veggies. Broccoli/cauliflower and humm-daddy.
Since it was still early in the PM, I headed out to tackle some things on my to-do list. Hours later, I returned home ready for dinner. I was supposed to go out with friends tonight, but one of them had to cancel, so I tried to scrape together something with the random contents of my fridge.
Step 1: grate zucchini, add brocc slaw
Step 2: top with hummus
Step 3: add dried cranz
Step 4: mix, stir, and grub
I opted for a carb-a-licious ending to the meal, too.
No more pitettes left (tear).
After Kyle got home and ate dinner, we went for a stroll up to the Columbia campus. I’d never been up there before, and it was so nice! As ridiculous as it seems (maybe it’s just me being naive), I’ve always felt a little nervous about going up to that area, but it was awesome. I discovered a book store that trades in old books for store credit, a few restaurants to try out, a cool bar with live jazz, and the most breath-taking church (Columbia’s St. John the Divine). Who knew all this was right up the street? Living on the UWS, when I go out, I always head downtown…(except that one time when Kyle wanted to see the Seinfeld restaurant), but now I’m committed to exploring more in different directions. Next up, the northern part of Riverside Park.
We got back, watched Sunday’s Entourage episode. Who else can’t stand E’s new girl? I want Sloan back!
I snacked on red bell peppers and carrots. Post photo-op, the hummus came out to join in on the fun. And it was fun.
Have you ever lived somewhere before, and never really explored the area? I tend to stick the familiar until I have visitors in town…then I do touristy things that I would never do otherwise. I really should be exploring more neighborhoods while I’m here in NYC. They are all so unique and interesting!
I feel you on the back pain … I’ve tried different types of bags, putting less things in it, whatever, nothing helps. Still hurts! My back / neck / shoulders cry out in protest if i so much as THINK of picking up a bag. Eek. It won’t hurt to check if a chiropractor takes your insurance, though… no need to be in pain if you don’t have to!
<3 <3
You got it girl! I’ll pack my Kahlua cups and get to work 😉
Chiropractor’s scare the crap out of me! It could be because of my future line of work but something about getting bent and snapped into different directions isn’t kosher.
Anywayyyyy even though I’m literally sitting here eating hummus as I read this, I want more! Even though I’ve lived in Detroit (sort of) since I was born, I’ve only been downtown once or twice.
I’m glad you slept in, lady. You deserve it!
That hummus slaw looks AMAZING.
Come visit me in Queens!
I love those little pitettes! So cute and fun to shovel VERY large amounts of hummus into the mouth with.
Sorry to hear about your back pain, that really sucks! The backpack should help quite a bit. Do you ever get massages?
you’re making hummus look way too good right now! i have some stevia made by nunaturals, but i haven’t been able to find stevia in the raw anywhere. i really want to give it a try (even though you say you like nunaturals better, hah.) where were you able to find it?
-JB
http://cardiovegsular.wordpress.com
Delicious eats! I love all the NuNaturals stuff!
stevia in the raw is in the more mainstream grocery stores, whereas nunaturals is in the smaller health foods stores.
You and that hummus, haha 😉
Oh yes, there’s SO many places around here that I have yet to explore.
i know! it’s a sickness…haha. i think im personally responsible for keeping sabra’s stock up.
Oh man sucks about the back! Hopefully ditching the handbag helps a little! I need to explore all of NY more. It is harder for me since I live in Queens but there is so much I haven’t seen yet!
Chiropracters ARE scary. I just picture creepy guys like cracking backs. BUT for a fun tidbit if you want discounted things like chiropracters, eye glasses, etc.. if you go on your insurance plans website and go to member services they have a discount page where certian places offer you discounts just because you have that plan. So you could check it out for chiropracters and what not.
nothing to explore on LI. beaches, bowling alleys, boring. haha actually every summer I say I’m gonna “do wine country” and drive right through it to my summer cottage and never ever stop. whatevs. I <3 the city anyway
stevia in the raw = gross. nunaturals = YUM.
p.s. football season approaching.
and we need a dinner date soon.
<—creep with double comment? haha
yessssss…im about 2 weeks away from changing my ring tone to the monday night football song 🙂 if only pure had a big screen tv…haha.
football dinner date is a must!
I stumbled upon you via the foodie blog roll. Nice blog. I’m always interested in people’s reviews of stevia products. I’ve never tried it because I remember that when I first heard about it a couple years ago people warned of its licorish-like flavor which I dont appreciate. Glad to know this brand is a little bit more mellow.
You should see someone about your back. Not a chiropractor. See your gen prac and then have him/her refer you to a specialist. Please. I wish I had.
You should also see someone about that hummus problem 😉
Chris and I agree that E’s girlfriend just looks horribly unhealthy and 12.
I am the same way–I can’t “sleep in”…grrrr. At least you made it til 8! I am usually up by 6:30, no matter what 🙁
Holy crap! That is quite the haul from the stevia people! Yay for free products, huh?! Man, I need to get me a blog…hahaha.
Isn’t the area surrounding Columbia nice?! Not nearly as scary as I had once thought! I love finding “new” things to do and explore in your own city!
Courtney
Do you like living/working in NYC? I’m starting a 3 year nursing program this fall and love visiting NY – I’m from the Boston area – so I’ve been considering moving there when I finish school (provided I can find a job). 🙂
Oh, and I’ve gone to a chiropractor before. My guy is great and takes most insurance plans so I figure a lot of them must take insurance. It may seem odd to go to one but they can help a lot!
ew. i hate licorice, so if its any consolation to you – this brand tastes nothing like it! i really like nunatural’s stevia…ive tried a fair amount of them, and this is definitely the best ive had.
i LOVE working and living in nyc. in terms of starting your nursing career here, i don’t think you could ask for a better place to learn. i am constantly seeing new things, and even though i’m in the same unit – we still get medical patients due to hospital spill over…i couldn’t ask for a better environment to cultivate everything i learned in school. that said, jobs are hard to get no matter what city you are in…
I’m glad you enjoyed my school’s campus! I love the area because it’s so quaint and there are a ton of good restaurants:)
I agree, K’s parfaits are works of art…that I have yet to master.
Sorry about your back pain, that does NOT sound like fun 🙁
UGH I HATE E’s new girl…Love me some Sloan, and this girl seriously looks like she’s twelve!!
RIGHT!!! Kyle is like, why is he dating a 4 year old? Blah.
Hummus Slaw?! That’s it…tomorrow I’m stocking up on hummus. So good.
Ooo and I just got that stevia package in the mail too! I’m reviewing it tonight =)
I’m a new reader and love your blog!
Random tip: I have a master’s in ergonomics, and I get the heavy purse/back pain question all the time! From an ergo standpoint, you may want to try a bag with wide double straps to distribute the weight. In the gym, lat pulls can also help.
Good luck!
thank you!! i will definitely try both those tips.
Pingback: Over 4 inches (twss) « hungry hungry hippie
ha i dig backpacks! i think they are stylish and waaay more convenient. haha. i cant believe how cool it used to be to hang your backpack off one shoulder back in grade school.. how non functional was that? hmmm i hope you figure the problem out though, i would for sure try the chiro, i am a firm believer in them. i just ate my way through a bag of those mini pitas too! they are so perfect~i would pop them in the toaster before eating. i gotta get some more. i always get excited when i find new adventures and spots in my own town~it is pretty rad!
Thanks! I’m glad to hear you are loving it. 🙂 I still have a few years to go but I’ll be applying to NY hospitals once I’m done.
I know this post is a few days old but I am just getting around to massive catch up reading…LOVE the coffee/vanilla stevia/frothing thing. I have no intention of giving up coffee, I love the stuff and proudly admit to it! Anyway, I may try the froth n stevia trick. That sounds yummy! But I dont have a frother. And I dont have vanilla stevia. Gotta work on those.
i recommend both! youll never regret buying the caffe froth…seriously. my parents had one first and after i used theirs once i hated my own froth-less coffee and ordered the thing online the next day