Balti-Bound

Tonight I am packing up to head to Baltimore for Spring Break. I am going as part of an alternative spring break program, so I will be doing a few different service projects throughout the week with eleven other students. I am very excited about this experience, everyone I know who has participated in an ASB trip has loved it. Plus, it's a great addition to my try everything once thing I'm doing this year. ;)

My sister Lindsay lived in Baltimore for bit - very cool city. Here are a few pictures from my first trip to Balti:

Blurry, but it still happened. I still regret not peeking in the mail slot. 

Inner Harbor Baltimore before my Urban Planning "job shadow."

Elvis Pancake @ Golden West Cafe in Hampden. Bacon+PB/Syrup+Bananas.

Ahh, well that was a nice jot down memory lane. Back to packing, we are leaving bright and early in the AM (actually it might not even be bright then). No worries, I've done the important things already: packed the snacks (thanks Morel's) and tried to save the food I'm leaving behind.

Spinach to the freezer. Carrots to the car.

Hope everyone has a great week!

"You know I don't like to drink my calories."

Ever since reading about drinking a smoothie-a-day on Healthy Tipping Point, they have been on my mind. I was way into smoothies last summer (and did a great job of grossing out my mom and sister in the process). Such a great way to knock out a few items in the food pyramid, especially the leafy greens. 

In today's "blend" was:

• two handfuls of spinach
• one frozen banana
• 1/3 cup of yogurt
• 2/3 cup of milk
• half a packet of Rice Protein powder (I have a thing against soy protein.)
• 1/2 teaspoon of honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground flax

Later, I pulled some "iced" coffee I mixed up yesterday out of the refrigerator. Leftover coffee and 1/4 cup of milk in the fridge? I actually have no idea if this is how iced coffee is made, Starbucks definitely does it better. I'll Google it and get back to you.

The PB that was in here before was really good! :)

In other Mitten news, next week is Spring Break here. What!? I am going on an Alternative Spring Break trip, but I'll bring back lots of munchings for you.

February Dayz

Michigan is a great place to live, but when February comes around and you go from this. . .

. . .to this. . .

. . .AND then back again in a matter of days - frustration and sinus pressure sets in.

An impromptu roommate dinner (organized completely on Facebook) seemed like the perfect way to celebrate the freshly fallen snow (see above). I offered to make a tried and true recipe from Gourmet - Spiced Beef Corn Bread Cobbler. Tonight's version was a little light on spice, I went sans measuring spoon; and heavy on the cornbread. I have always used Jiffy cornbread mix instead of mixing my own when making this. Tonight the ratio was 2:1, box of mix to pound of ground beef - but I think the better ratio is actually closer to 1.5:1.

Here are a few photos from our mini-dinner party this weekend, complete with appetizers (Sweet and Spicy Doritos), Salad Bar, BREAD, and desserts sponsored by V, P & M (not pictured). 

Ch-Ch-Changes

Hey, Blog Readers!

You and my eight followers may notice some changes on MitM. First of all, if you look to the left and right of this text you'll see a few new things from Foodbuzz (<---- foodies, go here). You may also notice that MitM itself is formatted differently - this may continue to change a bit as I play around with things.

So, bear with me through these changes (and midterms, eek!) and I'll be back with more munchings soon!

In the meantime, here is a list of blogs filling my Google Reader everyday:

• Carrots N' Cake
• Daily Garnish
• Decadent Philistines Save the World
• Eat, Live, Run 
• Happy Herbivore
• Healthy Tipping Point
• Kath Eats Real Food
• Live Laugh Eat
• No Meat Athlete
• Orangette 
• Peas and Thank You
• the edible perspective
• The Runner's Kitchen
• The Southeast Michigan Slow Food Review

. . .and there are many more. Any other blogs I need to be reading? Tell me!

Have a great week!

T/Th

It's back! I am once again moving Beyond Scrambled and eating some sort of egg (fried?). It's my new favorite Tuesday/Thursday breakfast - although I have to say it's not very photogenic (especially with it's friend, Pear-On-His-Last-Leg). 

Speaking of Tuesday/Thursday - such a love-hate relationship. I love getting almost all of my classes out of the way in one day, but hate sitting in class hungry or eating the same granola bar day after day. Plus I like to run right after class, and I prefer to be neither full nor starving for that. I'm packin' a snack today in an effort to curb the hate and go back to loving the T/Th. 

Half Marathon Training Update

Training is moving right along. I switched training plans last week to a Hal Higdon plan that seemed like it would fit my schedule a little better. I am a little apprehensive about veering too far away from a training plan at this point since I don't really know what to expect running longer distances - but sometimes it is unavoidable and Hal seems to get it. 

Sidenote to Mother Nature: No more Snowpocalypse episodes please, I am getting really tired of the treadmill. 

P.S. Check out Helen's new blog: The Bells Are Ringing!