Instead of getting the regular cheese slices from across the street, she suggested that we order from a new place that had opened up a few blocks away. When we pulled up the menu for Vinnie’s, I was sold. Their menu is packed with unconventional, yet delicious sounding specialty pizzas, like Mac Attack (mac and cheese topped slice) and Greenpoint’s Finest (pizza topped with potato and cheese pierogi). They also have a ton of vegan options, which I’d like to try in the future. We decided on a pizza that wasn’t a total carb bomb, but still delicious, the Black Bean Avocado.

The crust was perfectly crisp and the black beans tasted great as the base for the pizza. I didn’t miss the traditional tomato sauce at all.

And yes, we are classy ladies who ate straight out of the box. I think it would be super easy to recreate this pizza at home using my pizza stone or on the grill!

It’s time for a quick run before I dive into my last paper! The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend, so I want to get it done quick, and celebrate!

Have a great weekend.

Any plans this weekend? What’s your favorite slice?

The post Black Bean Avocado Pizza appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Enough on the law school mumbo jumbo, let’s get to the good stuff..the eats! Happy WIAW everyone!

Waffles have become my go to breakfast lately. If you haven’t noticed in the past couple of WIAWs. They are good, versatile and one of the things that I know Munchkin will eat with a smile. Yesterday’s waffle was a Van’s Whole Wheat topped with Justin’s Hazelnut Butter and a banana. I may or may not have drizzled some maple syrup on top after the picture was taken.

Court was the first thing on my list yesterday and of course I forgot to bring quarters to feed the Muni-meter. The meter is supposed to take credit/debit cards also, but I have yet to encounter one that does so without giving me an error message. Since I needed quarters and only had a $20, I decided to buy myself some juice and get change at the same time. I picked up this little gem…

and let me tell you, big mistake on my part. I didn’t bother reading the label (or looking at it apparently, how did I miss the lemon and raspberry picture?) and thought I had gotten a bottle of grapefruit juice. Fail. This was probably one of the worst juices I’ve tried in a long time. It horrible artificial sugar taste and I didn’t take more that two sips of it before it went into the trash. Lesson of the Day: Read labels!

I was lazy and didn’t feel like packing lunch and didn’t feel like spending money to buy lunch either. Instead, I snacked on a Clif MoJo bar and a cup of coffee and held off on lunch until I got home around 3:30. I loved the coconut flakes in this bar!

Lunch/Dunch/Linner consisted of a rogal with butter and a side of orange. A rogal is the Polish version of a croissant and tastes a bit different than its French counterpart. Wikipedia just informed me that rogal is actually translated to Kifli. I grew up eating this delish crescents for breakfast and lunch and I still love em!

I threw together a stir-fry for dinner. Nothing to exciting – chicken, asparagus, red bell pepper, shallots, garlic

and zucchini. I served it over orzo and it made for a yummy, filling dinner.

My post dinner snack was apple donuts! Apple donuts are actually just apples with the center cored out, but doesn’t calling it a donut make it seem yummier…maybe.

Munchkin enjoyed his apple donut topped with some Fruit Loops. He was very intent on getting them perfect before eating. Silly guy – it all ends up in the same place anyway!

That’s all I have for today! If you’ve made it this far with your fingers still crossed, thank you!

Have an awesome Wednesday!

What’s the best thing you ate today? What’s a childhood food that you still love?

The post Fingers Crossed WIAW appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Even though I wasn’t feeling too hot yesterday, I had to spend most of the day out of the office. Since, I completely missed lunch time and left my lunch in the office, I made up for it with fro yo. Fro yo is considered a healthy lunch, right? I think I hit all the major food groups – rainbow sprinkles, cookie dough and strawberries. Not only was it a well balanced meal, it also helped my cold.

A friend of mine who was studying microbiology once informed me that even though everyone tends to go for hot tea and soup to help fight off a cold, cold things are just as effective

as hot ones in killing the bacteria that may be causing your cold. So fro yo = best cold medicine.

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Since I missed out on my workout Tuesday night, I pushed myself to get it done last night. Even though I wasn’t feeling 100% it felt good to push through the workout and I felt pretty darn good afterwards. Workout B of the Best Body Bootcamp was circuit style and took me through 10 different moves for 40 seconds with 20 second rests in between.I downloaded the Seconds app to keep track my workout and I found it really effective.

The app counts down three seconds before the start end of each circuit, so you know when to peel your sweaty self off the floor and into position for the next move. The free version is exactly like the one you have to pay for, except it doesn’t have an option to save your workouts.

I really found it crazy that I actually worked out last night. I used to be the person who used any excuse possible to skip a workout, but now I try to push myself no matter what. There’s a theory that says it takes a person 21 day to form a habit, and it seems to be true in my case. I’ve been doing to Bootcamp for a bit over a month and my workouts have become a regular part of my day. I love it!

Time for me to run. I need to get my little man up and ready for his appointment. Wish us luck!

What are your go to foods when you’re feeling under the weather? If you work out regularly, how did you start the habit?

The post The Best Medicine appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Before I knew it, it was lunch time. Since you’re not allowed to eat on the subway and that’s where I was stuck for a while, I pulled out another goodie from my Foodie Blog Swap.

This little bar has 12g of protein and really helped my hunger. It was pretty yummy, but the texture was a little chalky. Either way, it did the trick.

The Department of State just happens to be a few blocks from where Tommy works, so after I dropped off my documents, I met up with him for a few minutes. Tommy is working on a really biiig job site. It was amazing to watch the steel workers walking around on the beams like it was nothing.

Tommy had been telling me about a smoothie cart that he goes to in the mornings, so being the awesome guy he is, he bought me a smoothie. It was a smoothie kind of day yesterday!

I don’t remember what was in it expect mango and orange juice, but I do remember that it was number 31 on the list. You’re welcome for that piece of knowledge. With smoothie in hand, I said goodbye to Tommy, picked up my documents and headed back to the office. I broke the law again my drinking my smoothie in the train. I was such a rebel yesterday.

When I got back to the office, I had the other snack I had packed – Wasa crackers and Dark Chocolate Dreams PB.

I love the

little packets of this stuff!

After work was school, but that’s not all that interesting, so lets fast forward to 10 PM when i finally got around to doing Workout B of the Best Body Bootcamp. Workout B consisted of 5 sets of full body supersets. I love the variety in the workouts, I feel like Tina could keep sending us workouts forever and I would never get into a workout slump doing them. I do think I need heavier weights, because some of the arm workouts felt a little too easy with my five pounders. I doubled up my weights to bring it up to 10, but it was a little difficult to hold two weights in one hand and keep proper form. I’m excited to do the workout next week, but with heavier weights.

It’s time to get going. I need to be out the door in 20 minutes. Yikes!

Whats your favorite kind of smoothie?

The post Smoothie Kind of Day appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I was supposed to meet with on of our clients and his lawyer to talk about prepping him for trial, but instead we were that we would be meeting with the other side to negotiate a settlement. Talk about making an already stressful event, even more stressful! Luckily, everything went off without a hitch, except for the part where I got a ticket – my first ticket ever! A copped pulled me over for making an illegal turn that wasn’t actually illegal. You can bet that I’m going to fight it – I know I’m right! And not to mention that the cop was a total jerk and wouldn’t even make eye contact with me. I found that kind of rude.

Anywho, I have no eats to share because I basically ate nothing yesterday. I had some cereal for breakfast and packed a lunch, but I left it in the office and never got to go back to the office before having to go to school for my midterm. On my way to school I grabbed a bagel from the corner deli where pickins are very slim. I also bought an iced coffee when I got to school which I proceeded to spill all over the floor two minutes before the test started. I was a hot mess yesterday!

After my midterm, I was ready to shut off my brain so I decided to read some articles and see what I had missed after my day. I found an article in the New York Times Fitness and Nutrition section that put a big smile on my face. Dessert At Breakfast May Help Dieters! Basically there was a study in which 144 obese people, ages 20 to 65, were put on  low-carb and low calorie diets. The only difference between the two groups was that one group was allowed to eat dessert for breakfast – cookies, cake, ice cream. Get this..the dessert group lost 13 more pounds on average than the control group.

So instead of this….

maybe I’ll start my days with this from now on!

Probably not!

Even though the article was interesting, it comes down to the fact that you cannot deprive yourself of anything because it will not work out well in the end. Now pass me a cupcake!

Have a great Thursday!

Have you ever gotten a ticket? Dessert for breakfast – yay or nay?

The post My First Ticket appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

It’s also a good way to get a year’s supply of gloves..just sayin’ ladies!

Anywho, it is Wednesday, so that means it’s time so share yesterday’s eats!

My day started with Eggs in a Basket. I thought up this breakfast during class the night before. Does anyone else daydream about what they’re going to eat next or am I the only wierdo? I ate breakfast while helping Munchkin “talk” to his cousins in Poland over skype. It’s so funny to see two little guys waving to each other through the computer.

My lunch was totally unplanned. I knew that I would be out of the office all day, so for the first time since I started working, I didn’t pack lunch. My bag was full of files and cases, and I didn’t have any room to spare. Luckily, just a block from the Brooklyn Court House, I found a Chipotle. I got a burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, chicken, corn, tomatoes, lettuce and guac. Totally hit the spot. I love Chipotle!

When I got home from work, I wasn’t very hungry since I had a big lunch. I enjoyed a grapefruit which I thought was an orange, as a snack. Good either way.

One some time passed, I started getting a bit hungry so I rummaged through the fridge and found leftovers for dinner! I had the last Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Pepper with a side of berries and a nectarine.

During my class, I had a craving for something sweet. I have to admit that I am a bit addicted to this cereal and am glad that I finished it off last night. It tastes amazing, but isn’t exactly great for you. I also enjoyed a cup of green tea to finish off the night.

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Wish me luck because I’ve got quite a day ahead of me. First off, I am meeting with a client today to serve as his translator while his lawyer preps him for trial. It’s my first time translating for something like this, so I’m a bit nervous. And as if the excitement at work wasn’t enough, I have a midterm this evening. Yikes!

Have a great Leap Day!

Do you know of any Leap Day traditions? What’s the best thing you ate yesterday?

The post Leap Day WIAW appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

and because he is a total sweetheart. As soon as I got in and the girls I work with saw my sicky face, they told me I should go home and rest. Since it was a holiday, no one would be going to court and there wouldn’t be much for us to do anyway.

So I called Tommy, asked him to turn around and home I went. It was great to spend the day with Munchkin. We started the day off with some photoboothing.

Please excuse my sicky facedness, but I thought we looked cute.

Then we ate some soup my dad bought us from the Polish deli. Mushroom noodle is what’s up!

Watched the Spongebob Movie on Nickelodeon.

And when Munchkin knocked out for his nap, I took the time to get ready for school.

I made myself a PB and banana quesadilla to take to school as a snack. Everytime I make a quesadilla, I can’t help but think of Napoleon Dynamite – Make yourself a dang case-a-dill-a Napoleon!

I stopped by Tommy’s on the way to school to drop off some meds for him because it seems like he is the next lucky person to be sicky and he just happened to be making chicken parm and he gave me some to go! He breaded the chicken in panko and baked it before topping with fresh mozzarella and sauce – so yummy!

Having to go to school for four hours seemed a lot easier when I didn’t have to spend 6 hours at work right before it.

Luckily, all I need to get through today is work because I have my online class which I can attend in my PJs and in bed if I please. I can say that I’m mostly better, except for my cough and pain in my lungs. Climbing the stairs out of the subway yesterday made me feel like my lungs were on fire – not fun. Hopefully, this will all pass soon enough and I’ll be back to myself!

Have a great Tuesday!

What’s your favorite ‘not-so-sick’ day activity?

The post Unexpected Day Off appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I ate lunch literally on the go. As in, in my car, on the highway, stuck in ridiculous traffic. I got sent to court for the first time yesterday and it was an interesting experience. I was told to expect my blood pressure to be raised by the less than pleasent clerks I would be speaking to and that’s exactly what happened. Anywho, for lunch I had an Apple Cinnamon Chobani, banana and a protein bar. Unfortunately, I scarfed down the banana and bar before taking a picture, but here’s a photo of the back of my yogurt and steering wheel.

I got to come home to eat dinner today because I only had my online class in the evening. I knew I wanted to have leftover tomato sauce and turkey meatballs for dinner, but instead of cooking up pasta to go with it, I decided to finally try the Tofu Shiritake noodle I bought a while ago.

I don’t know what to say about the noodles other than they were different. I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the smell, but that didn’t bother me at all.  I rinsed the crap out of the noodles before putting them in the microwave for a minute and topping them with tomato sauce and turkey meatballs. They taste almost exactly like regular pasta, but the texture was really strange. When you first try it, it tastes just like pasta, but once you start chewing, it starts to feel weird. I’m thinking that maybe if I try the angelhair version of the noodles, it’ll help me get over the texture issue becase they are thinner. For now, the verdict is I’m willing to give it another shot.

During my online class, I got my snack on. I started out healthy with blueberries, but Tommy brought out The Better Chips and I couldn’t resist. I wanted to snack on them with hummus, but I was too lazy to walk to the kitchen. Let’s just say I was so immersed in my class that I couldn’t leave the computer, that sounds a little better.

Today is another day of work and school for me. Yay! I cannot wait until the day I finish school and never have to return. I can’t wait to start a normal life, where I’m at work and home when most people are. I keep repeating two more years to myself, the time will fly…I hope. But as to not end this post on a negative note, I wanted to share a little something that I read in this month’s Self magazine that made me feel at peace and like I can accomplish anything!

You can go father!!

What’s the best thing you ate today? What is one snack you can’t resist?

The post Using Up the Leftovers WIAW appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

In my efforts to devise a system of eating basically all my meals, but breakfast , away from home two days a week, I picked up some new thangs at the supermarket to try out. So far, so good!

I finally got my hands on the new Chobani flavors. I’ve only tried Blood Orange so far, and I think it’s safe to say its the best flavored Greek yogurt I’ve tried, to date. I still have Apple Cinnamon and Passion Fruit waiting for me in the fridge, so this may statement might change very soon.

The supermarket in PA was majorly lacking in the granola/protein bar section. I really wanted some more Cliff Z Bars, but since they didn’t have them, I settled for these. I’m usually not a fan of whole peanuts in bars, but this combined with the chocolate is actually pretty darn tasty.

I’ve tried just about every flavor of hummus out there and I can say the Spinach and Artichoke is the best one out there. I pack some in my tiniest container and snack on carrots with hummus in the afternoon.

After our New Year’s trip to the Poconos, I’ve fallen in love with Oatnut bread. It a tiny, tiny bit on the sweet side, but not too sweet to make a turkey, cheese and spinach sandwich, which is what I’ve been doing. I haven’t eaten sandwiches for lunch since freshman year of high school, but so far I’ve looked forward to my sandwich everyday.

I can also happily report that my new bottle has passed the test. I refilled it about 3 times at work and twice and school which means that I drank well over 100 ounces of water. Not too shabby. The only thing I am disappointed about is that they actually come in pretty colors like purple and green (my two favs), but the supermarket only had the blue ones. Yea, I’m that girl.

I forgot to add these bad boys in the original post, but they are too good to not share! The Better Chip chips are made with all natural ingredients, non GMO corn, 40% of each chip is made of fresh veggies which gives the chip its flavor and instead of piling on artificial flavors, they only season with real spices.. They were giving out samples of these chips with hummus at the supermarket and as soon as I tried them I knew I had to buy them. They have a nice kick to em too.

Since today is my shorter day at work and I only have my online class in the evening, I’m planning on doing some cooking tonight. Stay tuned for a yummy (figers-crossed) recipe coming your way manana!

Have a great Tuesday!

Do you usually pack your meals for school/work or buy? What’s your last great supermarket find?

The post Supermarket Finds appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Yesterday, Munchkin and I were up super early to get to his 2 year old checkup at the pediatrician. He was a great little guy and got not only two stickers from the nurse, but a picture book from the doctor. She said it was a pleasure to start her morning with him as her first patient. Munchkin is now 3 feet tall and 36.6 pounds – he is well above the average size for a two year old, and is actually closer in height and weight to the average 4 year old. I find that a bit crazy, but I was always the tallest kid in my class growing up, so I guess he’s following in my footsteps.

I haven’t had much time to cook this week and I really, really miss it. When I woke up this morning, I peeked into the fridge and found it completely empty. Since we are going to PA for the weekend, I didn’t want to do any grocery shopping, so dinner was a quick fix of frozen foods.

The Trader Joe’s Veggie fried rice is one of my favorite frozen items from the store. I picked up the dumplings at the Asian market because Munchkin grabbed them out of a fridge. Good choice for sure!

Now that I’ve gotten my work schedule, I’m trying to plan how to get everything I need to get done, done. Since I don’t have to be at work until 10, I am hoping that I can wake up around 7:30 in the morning to get a quick workout in before work, since after isn’t really an option. I’m also hoping to get all my homework done on the weekends to leave me with plenty of time blog in the evenings after Munchkin goes to bed. Cross your fingers for me, because I’m going to need to it to get into this new swing of things. I’m not gonna lie, it hasn’t been easy for me to leave for work in the mornings. There have been tears shed everyday so far, and most of them were from me, not Munchkin. I know it’ll get easier as time goes by, but it sure isn’t easy just yet!

Time to finish up packing and hit the road!

Have a great weekend!

What are your plans for the weekend? What’s you favorite quick dinner item?

The post Dinner Quickie appeared first on Frolic Through Life.