Summertime

S is for Summer and smoothies!

It is so fun to experiment in the kitchen with a variety of ingredients to create a delicious and healthy smoothie. 

This week for What I Ate Wednesday, it was exciting to put the good ol' blender to use after being away from home for a couple of weeks. 

Today, the day started at 5 am. I went for a run ( not going to lie...my deepest fear was that a deer was going to get me). Prepared smoothie for later breakfast and drove to 6:30 daily Mass.

Breakfast around 7:30  am

Power Smoothie: coffee, yogurt, coconut milk, half frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, chia seeds, and stevia.

Morning snack

Yellow peppers and carrots dipped in my mom's famous Huancaina sauce.

 Lunch

Papaya smoothie and fiesta salad (cucumber, walnuts, strawberry, blueberry, mozz. cheese, chopped greens, & hummus dressing)

 Attempted snack.

I went to the store and found this box of flavored white chocolate raspberry snacks on sale for 99 cents. I thought it was a good deal for a nutrient source snack that was also gluten free. Personally, they tasted gross.

 Cannot go wrong with cookies! Snack #2

Nut-Thins and cookie butter = yum yum.

 I do not think I have ever recorded a full day of WIAW meals, this time as well.

I snacked on Tostitos hint of Lime chips and then prepared another smoothie with frozen strawberries and blueberries.

I went on a walk, and now I am here finishing some work.
My goal this week is to wake up in time to go running before going to daily Mass. So far, so good!

Whole Grain Crunch

The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.

 – St. Gianna

Defining beauty

Sleepy face. Spending time with my niece.

I realized that accomplishing the 'sensible snacking' challenge is harder when I am away from home. 

Breakfast cereal + soymilk + bananas

Snack

Lunch (this + hummus + ice cream)

Dinner: Pollo a la Braza + yuca

Special Thanks To: the Diaz family for being so kind to welcome me to their home for the day. 

A day to remember. Afternoon Mass, dinner at a Peruvian restaurant, and a night walk/run in the National Mall. 

WIAW #1

Now Playing: Dueno de Mi Corazon by Jaci Velasquez
__________________
Founded by Pease and Crayons. June is the month of 'sensible snacking'






"Along with a post full of your daily eats, tell us about your snack attacks and how you practice sensible snacking.  Feel free to tell us all about your favorite snacks, make some snacking goals for yourself, come up with a new spin on an old favorite, and even tell us how you sneak extra fruits and veggies into your snacking routine."

-Pease and Crayons

Well... today I had this for breakfast:

Toast a la crunch

Toasted rye bread, pb + jelly, greek yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, and pecans.

7 am 

 then for a mid morning snack, I had this:

Cheesy n' Crunch

Sliced mozzarella and baby carrots

and for lunch:

Spinach Banana Smoothie 

Inspired by Itty Bits of Balance.
Spinach, almond milk, frozen banana, sugar, ice.
Oats and pecans for topping.

the end.

Okay, not the end. I just forgot to document the rest. I am such a newby at this. Hopefully next week, it will be better.

For the record, I had a cheese and ham wrap later (hint of mustard and 'spanish' mayo added), follow by vanilla ice cream (shhh), and soon my family and I will have lasagna.

I really enjoy checking other blogs who participate with "WIAW" because they share not only good looking food, but healthy and creative as well. So far, the things I have tried have been delicious.

As I participate with "WIAW", I hope to change my junk-food college habits to better alternatives. Not to be taken as a strict diet, but rather to change the usual eating habits to choosing food that will rather help my health. 

I hope that in some way the posts can help my readers too. Foodies for life :)

Yellow Balloon-Amy

Home and Food

Now playing: Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Lion King Version) by Stellar Kart

Flying Home
The midwest is so beautiful. From the view of an airplane, one can see the green land and yellowish/brown crops.

Traveling home from the the suburbs of DC, after almost 6 months, made the flight more special.

Urban and rural areas are so unique.

If "Home is where the heart is." then my home is in two states. :]

Dessert
I went to Walmart last week. In the frozen section they had a 'clearance' isle. I found two items that were each a dollar!

Chocolate Vitatops (4/box) and So Delicious Organic Coconut Ice Cream (1 pint).

I hope they keep the isle. I seem to find all these food blogs using items like these two, but it is so expensive to buy sometimes.

Lunch
Papa a la Hancaina is a Peruvian dish made of yellow potatoes and the Huancaina sauce that is pour on top.

We had leftovers at home, so I added in chopped vegetables. I chopped a cooked potato and poured the sauce as the dressing.

This sauce had red pepper, salt cracker, 'queso fresco', 'aji amarillo', milk, and salt. I think that is all.

Love,

Ahhh  me

Compilation of photographs [1]

[1] Places

Now Playing: Photographs & Memories. by Jason Reeves

Campus

View from above

Photos from university day

New York City

Little apple in the big apple. 

Manhattan.

 Chicago 

Taken from 95th floor in the Hancock building.

The famous bean.

The Chapel

Sunday Mass

University special with the president. "Last lecture".

Columbia University

Add caption

Lecture on microchips and history of ipods.

Washington D.C.

Chinatown

Near the White House

Intramural Fields

Futbol

Co-ed team for International week. Representing Vatican City.

Fe

"And I can't understand, all that You allow. I just can't see the reason, but my life is in Your hands."

 "...when my world is shattered and it seems all hope is gone
Yet I will praise You Lord."