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Chunky Monkey DeLites
Yesterday morning I dropped my mom off at the airport at 5:20am. She always picks the earliest flight so I was prepared for the dark drive. Since the airport is so close to my work and I don’t have strict hours, I decided to just start my workday at 6:00am. I had a thermos full of coffee and actually opted for no music instead of my usual morning country. The office was practically empty and so quiet, it was kind of nice. I did hit a wall around 1pm and fueled up with some apple slices and peanut butter. I had a gym workout that night that I wanted to be energized for! It’s always a little more difficult for me to run in the evening than first thing in the morning. That’s why this morning I planned a 5:00am treadmill session, logging 5.85 miles during the morning news before the sun came up.
On my lunch hour, I drove one block to the mall to walk a lap and stop at GNC for my favorite Quest bars. (Always nice to give the eyeballs a break from the computer and move the legs!) This little guy (I just assume it’s a boy) was sitting so patiently in the truck next to me, I wanted to hug him! So I just took a picture instead. So serious :)
Dinner was a quick salad that we threw together with leftovers, made fancy with avocado and feta and blueberries.
But I’m really here to share dessert!
Chunky Monkey Ben & Jerry’s is tempting but I had more than my fair share of ice cream in the last couple of weeks of school. The compromise: frozen banana slices with PB Fit and mini chocolate chips.
PB Fit and other similar powdered peanut butters dehydrate the peanut by squeezing out the oils, thus removing about 90% of the fat content. Yes, fats from nuts are healthy and I enjoy regular nut butters regularly! But sometimes when using peanut butter for dessert or extra treat, it is helpful to reduce the calorie and fat content. Plus I genuinely like the flavor and the texture of the powdered pb. I used one large ripe banana, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter powder mixed with 1.5 tablespoon of water, and 2 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips; this dessert is 2 servings at approximately 160 calories each.
I sliced the bananas and laid them out on a plate, mixed together the peanut butter powder and water and measured out the chocolate chips. I put a little dab of peanut butter on each banana slice and sprinkled a couple of chips on each. Then I popped the plate in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes until the bananas were slightly frozen. *Best enjoyed with an episode of Grey’s Anatomy while I try to play catch up with my Hulu account. (When I logged in for the first time in a while last week, I had over 70 episodes in my queue! Someone missed the entire season of the Voice #sadday)
Since I had to walk to the store after dinner to buy the bananas, the 2 mile trek nearly cancelled out the calories from the treat. Victory! I’m a little tired from the past couple of 4:20am wake up calls and I have another one coming tomorrow so I’m turning in early tonight. Goodnight!
Mandatory Moment of Nostalgia from a Graduating Senior: Part II
Bet ya didn’t see this one coming, huh? ;)
(Yesterday morning, I kicked off the week with a look back at my four years as a student at Northern Arizona University and all of the shenanigans that filled my freshman year. If you missed it, you can go ahead and catch up here: Mandatory Moment of Nostalgia from a Graduating Senior: Part I)
Sophomore year began drastically different than the previous. Freshman year of college, I was giddy with the excitement of possibilities that come from moving to a new state and not knowing a single person. The summer before sophomore year, I began the medical process of correcting the venous malformation on the left side of my face. The initial surgeries were much more extensive than my parents and I had envisioned. Because of some complications with the nerves as well as just the sheer magnitude of dealing with blood vessels, I was not able to train or compete in cross country. The sport that I loved, and a major contributing factor to my decision to attend NAU, was temporarily out of the question and I looked for an alternative activity to fill my time (and my energy).
And thus, a blog was born. I launched Strong Like My Coffee in July 2012, with very little technical experience and no real long-term vision. But here we are today, so something must have worked out. Let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?
2012: Sophomore Year:
During the beginning of sophomore year, this blog became my project. I took pictures of my avocado toast and my running shoes and learned how to edit pictures. I was required to attend cross country practices but I could not participate and that is the truest form of heartbreak that I have ever experienced. Even my pumpkin was a runner.
One of the biggest blessings of sophomore year was my roommate, Fernanda! When I decided to live in the on-campus suites, I selected random roommate and crossed my fingers. We bonded immediately over episodes of Pretty Little Liars and the rest of the year was like a big sleepover after that! We had movie marathons, cooked dinners, and scheduled classes together. She had littered our room with balloons for my birthday and made the sweetest care package ever for my winter surgery in New York.
Unlike the Freshman Year post, I can share some highlight blog posts that I wrote as a sophomore. Bear with me on some of these….I’d only been blogging for a few months. Even though I’m still pretty amateur at it, I’d like to think I’ve grown a little ;)
Straight-Grubbin: that time we took a free trip down to Sedona because neither of us had cars on campus, nevermind the fact that it included a few hours of manual labor ;)
Well of course there is the epic Mt. Humphries (mis)adventure which was probably the beginning of the end of my love with snow at that point.
Another college-y night with a “London Olympics” themed Ping Pong Party with (Coach) Jack Daniels. (<– Confession: I LOL’d re-reading that post)
I took a beloved overnight Amtrak ride home for a weekend in February to spend A Day in LA. I will never, never miss taking the train home.
And after a serious setback after my surgeries, I trained harder than ever to qualify for the conference championships for outdoor track and field. My 5k in California qualified me for the 10k in Portland, OR where we concluded sophomore year with a serious celebration: Conference Championships
Funny College Moment: (well, it’s funny now.) One night, I was on a first date with a guy that I kind of liked. We ended up staying up pretty late, talking, eating ice cream and watching movies (PG, I promise haha). I had my phone on silent (um good date etiquette rule #1). When I didn’t answer any of my mom’s texts, she called me. When I didn’t answer or return her phone calls, she called Fernanda, worried, asking her to go find me. (Hi, mom! Love you!) Fernanda called Kerri and the two literally went on a search party for me. They got our RA involved. Ahhhh she’ll never live that helicopter moment down.
And the rest is a blur, much like freshman year.
BTO overtook Yogurt U as our #1 froyo shop hangout spot and I probably consumed about 84 pounds of frozen yogurt (mostly toppings, duh.)
I dyed my hair brown. (May have cried about it.)
Nicholas Sparks came to our school for a guest lecture about the inspiration behind all of his successful books.
My healthy lifestyles class required that we participate in one extra curricular event from a list of pre-approved options and I picked Over-Eaters Anonymous. At the time, I was a track athlete running 60 miles a week and whipping up spinach-packed protein smoothies in my dorm room….it was an awkward experience to say the least. (Though I could probably use that class during the peak of finals week now though ;) )
And just like that, we were juniors. So I’ll see you back again tomorrow, same time/same place? You bring the coffee. :)
XOXO Kenz
