Aja Noodle & I Forgot WIAW!

I seem to be forgetting (for the second week in a row) to take photos of my WIAW.  I will try desperately to remember throughout the rest of the day today and let you know how it goes tomorrow but I already skipped my breakfast photo.

Oatmeal with chia/flax, raisins, almond milk and cinnamon with a cup of chai tea. What a great way to start the morning after a hot shower and some yoga stretches (I may have thrown some abs in there as well).

Last night, a friend and I went out to dinner at Aja Noodle, a "newish" noodle restaurant that has adopted this new craze of asian noodle eateries.  I had never been to such a place and I cannot say that I will or will not go back.  Upon entering the restaurant I was excited and intrigued by the clean and bright atmosphere though taken aback as to how the whole thing worked.  It was a restaurant but a bit more "fast foody" than I am typically used to.  Not saying that it is necessarily a bad thing but all the same, I was a bit skeptical.

I ordered the Pad Thai (again no photo) which tasted quite good actually, for the first few minutes but then gave me wrenching stomach pains for the rest of the night--not something I was looking forward to. 

I began thinking about it and of course did some research into what exactly goes into Thai and Asian dishes.  The answer, lots of salt and sauce (soy sauce).  I also had chicken added to my entree. MSG central. Thanks for the hint Clare!

I never really pay attention to MSG but focus more on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other attitudes and preservatives.  The reasoning behind this? The types of foods my body is used to (a) do not typically have MSG and (b) labels do not always put down MSG.  One major culprit of this three letter awfulness is high-sodium based sauces, soups, meats etc.

Ah Hah! I may have found the culprit to my nighttime demise. 

I love researching and learning about the natural (or not so natural) aspects of food and what they can do to your body.  Did you know that MSG can actually affect many areas including digestion, vision, heart rate, blood pressure etc.

All the more reason to eat whole, natural and non-processed foods on a daily basis to thank and replenish your body for all that it gives you on a day to day basis!

Happy Hump Day :)

WIAW: A First of Many

I like to cook and I like to cook often.  I thought i'd make that perfectly clear in case anyone needed clarification.  I also came to the realization that I have been quite sarcastic on here lately so my apologies. But back to my love of cooking and baking and living in a college suite/ apartment that requires a $915 meal plan.  What to do, what to do.  I refuse to waste my time eating dinners or the majority of meals in campus dining halls--I just cannot do it any longer (once in a while is fine but for the sake of everyone who hears me complain about my stomach issues, I cook for myself).  

Since I do spend so much time in my lovely kitchen I think it would be fun to join the WIAW or What I Ate Wednesday band wagon,which was started by the awesome Peas and Crayons.  I don't want to begin sharing every single pretzel or rice cake that I have for a snack let alone the number of peanut butter scoops that I sneak a day but once a week I can share a bit about my daily routine.

Today seems to be a bit of an odd day to start since I ate out for lunch and only managed to snap a picture of dinner but lets go for it anyways.

For Breakfast I had two poached eggs with Ezekiel 7-grain sprouted bread and some hot sauce for a nice kick.  This was accompanied with a Tazo Organic Chai tea.

Brendan had come up to visit me so we walked around campus and by lunchtime we were both starving...almost literally.  And trust me, when I am hungry I am a mean mean person.  We ate out at one of my favorite lunch spots, Mise en Place. A bit of a yuppy name but actually quite reasonable and my turkey deli sandwich was especially tasty on this hot afternoon.

 photo credit: Beeradvocate.com

This place is great if you need a sandwich on the go even though you will wait a few minutes for them to prepare it and for $6 for a grilled sandwich I am okay waiting!

My afternoon was spent going to Beers of the World picking out some tasty fall beers that I cannot wait to try (especially the Pumpkinhead) and I oohed and Ahhed over the various ciders they offered which were all a bit too steep for my wallet.

Finally I get to dinner. Oh dinner. 

Amazing Burrito Bowl!

Into the mix went field greens and spinach, cucumber, tomato, homemade guacamole, salsa, a little brown rice and leftover bean and corn mixture that Brendan's mom made.

I was a little ambitious with this baby but it was so good I couldn't resist! Now I am stuck with a very full stomach and a ton of reading.

Hope you all enjoy your wednesday evening!