Posted in Uncategorized on March 27, 2011| 1 Comment »
The winner of the Progresso soup giveaway is:
Cori!!
Congrats lady. Email me our info at taydortott@gmail.com 
I really wanted to post tonight, but I’m exhausted. I worked 21 hours this weekend (weekend…what weekend?). I’m enjoying some of these:
And dreaming of sleep. Goodnight!!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Giveaway, soup on March 25, 2011| 14 Comments »
A while ago, I received a great package in the mail from the great folks at My Blog Spark! (Please note that Progresso provided all the below products through My Blog Spark).
In the package I received:
I was excited to try out some new Progresso flavors! I usually stick to my tried and true favorites (such as Southwest Vegetable, Lentil, or Garden Vegetable). I’m usually not a huge fan of chicken noodle soups, but let met tell you – this one hit the spot. (Especially after a night celebrating the roommates birthday 
). The Zesty Santa Fe Chicken was a nice change from my usual Southwest Vegetable, and I’ll be looking to buy this one in the future. (I gave my roommate the Clam Chowder and Beef Pot Roast since I don’t eat those flavors. She said they were tasty!).
I like these light soups because I prefer soup to be a side dish in addition to something else. Soup doesn’t do much to fill me up for long period of time. But sometimes I love a warm bowl of soup!
I was also stoked to receive a yoga mat/carrying case, especially since I’ve been attending classes at the gym more often.
Interested in your own Progresso Soup Package? All you have to do is:
You have until Sunday March 27 at 8:00 pm (Pacific time since I’m California representin’). And I’ll announce the winner that night!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to use my yoga mat at the strength training class I’ve been enjoying lately at my gym 
Thank you Progresso and MyBlogSpark for providing these goodies!
PS: I’m watching a SNL rerun right now, and this skit is on:
Classic. Happy Friday 
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Breakfast Foods, Out to eat, Pancakes, Panera, Salad on March 24, 2011| 9 Comments »
I couldn’t decide on a title today. Some of my options were:
You see, I opened this jar of jam the other night and at first thought something was wrong. It was so….chunky!! And then at first taste, I tasted vague hint of alcohol. Bummer 
The jam must be bad.
I took another bite. Yes. Definitely some alcohol. Then I noticed the name.
Awww champagne. Yes, now that makes sense. And the chunks? My friends, that was just the overload of blueberries. So amazed. And So delicious. I am obsessed.
I mixed it with some cream cheese to top my protein pancakes with.
Pancakes made with:
Delicious, but these pancakes were so moist, they took FOR-EV-ER (Sandlot anyone??) to cook.
And the next morning I decided to make a sweet crepe. Egg white omelet filled with the blueberry jam + cream cheese mixture. With 2 1 1/2 Morningstar sausage patties on the side. I might’ve been feeling nibbly.
It’s been rainy here. Very. Very. Rainy.
And now I’m at Panera blogging away. I got off work early, and felt the need to come somewhere productive to blog.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t turn down the “.99 cent pastry with any meal + drink purchase.” Darn.
I longingly eye this Cobblestone pasty roll thing every time I’ve been to Panera.
Honestly? It looks good. But isn’t great. It basically tastes like cinnamon raisin bread with a tiny bit of frosting drizzle. I was expecting more of a cinnamon roll type of flavor. I nibbled on half before my meal came.
Chicken Fuji Apple salad + black bean soup + whole grain baguette.
Considering the fact that I snacked a lot at work this morning, I am now stuffed. Drinking carbonated soda doesn’t help either 
Panera take three was a bit more of a success than my past visits. Although my baguette was a bit on the burnt side. Here’s my ranking so far (based on what I’ve gotten here within the 3 visits since it opened):
1. Fuji apple salad
2. BBQ chopped salad
3. Thai chicken salad
1. Chicken noodle soup
2. Black bean soup
3. Vegetable pesto soup
There salads are just so…..skimpy!! Definitely needs more to it. But the baguette still ranks #1 in my heart. I love it.
I have to say once on vacation I got a turkey sandwich on their cinnamon raisin bread. Sounds odd. But it was amaze. Sweet + savory peeps. Do it.
What’s your favorite pastry?
I’m not a big pastry person. Okay, that’s kind of lying. They taste delicious. But I can easily turn them down. I definitely like sweet, doughy, frosting covered things. Or an ooey gooey caramely baked good. I’m not a fan of flaky things (think croissants or scones).
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Cottage Cheese, Lunch, Out to eat, Salad on March 18, 2011| 7 Comments »
I wish I had a picture of my outfit from St. Patty’s Day. Think knee high green & black striped socks, skirt, green shirt, green eyeshadow, and a very classy headband which I threw away last night on my walk home (hey – it was annoying. And I was trying to walk and eat a slice of pizza at the same time).
I wish I was young and my stomach could handle alcohol (says the 23 year old). I have lots of acid reflux/stomach/heart burn problems (I wouldn’t be surprised if I have an ulcer of some sort). And lately alcohol has done quite the number on my stomach the next day. I mean awful awful hangover. The type of hangover you’d expect to get if you had one of The Hangover type of nights. Except I didn’t.
(Source)
I wish I remembered to take pictures of all my eats yesterday. I started the day out intending to.
My morning started at 5:20 am with coffee. Yummmmmm.
And then a class at the gym I’ve been enjoying recently. It’s called “Power” and it consists of a complete full body strength workout. I like it because it uses the bar (which I wouldn’t use on my own). And specific body parts at targeted each song (biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, squats, lunges, abs, etc).
I dislike it because I still feel like I need more upper body strength work afterwards. About half is devoted to lower body work as well, which I don’t necessarily want to do every class. Especially because of my foot/ankle pain.
Then came home for some cottage cheese + pumpkin + cinnamon action. With strawberry jam.
Another cottage cheese container down. I’m obsessed. (Remember this is Costco sized. AKA 11 servings of the goodness in there. Massive)
Very photogenic snack at work – a small bit of Fage. I seem to enjoy eating out of containers.
And coffee + a biscuit. A baby teething biscuit to be exact. But they are DELICIOUS. (Not gonna lie)
I wish I had more time to make a better looking lunch. But in reality, I had 15 minutes.
Veggie patty topped with Laughing Cow cheese & Trader Joe’s awesome sweet & spicy mustard.
And some Hot & Sour soup from Costco. Really good soup that I could eat the whole container of. Except each serving has like 30-40% of the DV sodium. I don’t really care about my sodium at all, but it is SALTY.
Yummy chunks. But they do kind of gross me out in a way. Reminds me of squid?
And then the picture taking went downhill….I tried!
I wish I could say I love Panera. But every time I go there I end up somewhat disappointed.
I got the BBQ Chicken Salad and Pesto Vegetable Soup (although I tasted nor saw no pesto??). They gave me a spoon and knife (why knife?), but no fork!
I’m not a butter fan at all, but was really craving it on my bread today. The baguette was definitely the best part of the meal.
I wish my ankle was back to normal. It’s so frustrating 
Hopefully physical therapy performs wonders since everything else seems to be making it worse.
Attractive taping to help my arch.
Nice close-up of my slightly hairy and goose bumpy legs. Post-going out next morning messy room in the background. Classy.
What did you do to celebrate St. Patrick’s day? Anything? Green food? Green costumes? Green beer?
I had my first green beer last night!
What are your favorites to get at Panera?
I do like the Fuji Apple salad. The Thai salad was kind of sparse last time. And their sandwiches I’ve gotten have been kind of sparse too (many more better delis around here). Recommendations for something spectacular??
Posted in Uncategorized on March 16, 2011| 7 Comments »
Hey peeps! So here’s the dealio. My meals have been boring = no desire to take pictures = no meals to blog about.
I went out of town for a few days to visit my family and didn’t go on my computer ONCE (how wonderful!!).
Last week I ran off of 9 hours of sleep all weekend (yes, total) + about 5-6 hours of sleep the rest of the weeks (each night separately. Total 5-6 hours would be insane).
What I’m trying to say is, sorry I haven’t been around much.
Sucks, I haven’t even posted since before the Second Largest Diet Resolution Day after New Years Lent, so you all don’t even know what I gave up this year. AKA you don’t know the suffering I’ve gone though the past week.
Exhibit A:
Oh shucks, I totally went searching for that picture, thinking it was a nut butter jar I was getting to first base with. Whatever, just imagine it’s peanut/almond/cashew/sunflower seed/whatever other delicious nut butter I’m not allowed to have for 40 days and 40 nights.
Seriously folks. I gave up nut butter. I know I’m about 7days late to the ballgame, but here are some of my thoughts on Lent:
While I was trying to decide what to do this year, I was considering soda, nut butters, and sweets. Woah there Nelly. That’s a bit overboard.
Nut butter? Check. I eat tons of nut butter. I went through a jar of almond butter in 4 days prior to Lent (which probably helped me make my decision). Yes, I know I am giving up something healthy for me. But honestly, I eat beyond the healthy range of nut butter. And besides, the original point of Lent is to suffer (I know, how bad does that sound, right?). And I’m still allowed plain nuts – so I can get my fix that way.
Soda? Hmmm, I really wasn’t feeling the drive and desire to give this up. I should have. But I decided just to give it up at work, where I have my biggest problem with it (think unlimited access to the soda fountain. I go through 2-4 refills of a 32 oz cup daily. Just at work. Sick!!). So it’s off limits while working.
Sweets? Woooooah Nelly!! You’re going a bit overboard, Taylor. But I’ve literally baked probably 4-5 batches of cookies & brownies in the past month and gone crazy on them. Maybe it’s time to take a step back and just give up baked goods. I considered it. Then I had a slice of King’s Cake (basically a cinnamon roll frosted bread thing) at work on Ash Wednesday (the start of Lent). Forgetting it was now Lent. And then the baked goods thing ended right there. Heh.
So after this whole long rant/explanation thing I’ve got goin’ on, what I’m trying to say is for the next 40 days and 40 nights, you won’t see:
1. Nut butters
2. Soda while at work
on the blog. Not that you ever saw my soda at work, but you get the point. And you might still see nut butters, but you won’t see me consume them.
Such as the fact that I for some reason felt compelled to still buy not 1 and not 2, but three nut butters while at home this weekend.
Justin’s was on sale at Whole Foods and I couldn’t turn it down:
I found this baby at another new store at home (Fresh & Easy) and couldn’t turn it down:
And this was the last one on the shelf at Target and I was scared they were getting rid of them. Plus it was on sale. And I couldn’t turn it down:
Side-note, speaking of Target peanut butters, I noticed they have new ones out (this almond butter, peanut butter with flaxseed, almond cashew & peanut butter). Yumm-o! BUT my beloved Cranberry Vanilla PB was no where in sight! I do fear that they replaced the cranberry vanilla with these new nut butters. Such a sad sad day. That was definitely my favorite PB of all time.
Such great control I have, huh? Well I obviously need something to break into at midnight on Easter morning.
In other food related news, I’ve been on a huge cottage cheese kick lately. And went through this bad boy in less than a week. Think more like 5 days.
Costco-sized cottage cheese, you ain’t got nothin’ on me.
Posted in Uncategorized on March 2, 2011| 4 Comments »
So I just mentioned in my previous post that I’m watching When in Rome.
I’m now at the end of the movie and must ask:
Seriously….who the HELL would ever climb into a fountain in their wedding dress?????
To yell at a statue, no less. At least just yell at it from the sidelines. Please.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Salad on March 2, 2011| 5 Comments »
You guys are all, to put it simply….AMAZING. I know I’ve mentioned “eating problems” or “how I used to be strict with food” on the blog before, but I’ve never outright told the entire story, like I did on my last post. I was self conscious about doing it, and also self-conscious about posting photos.
But you all gave me such encouraging comments and support. And to that – I say thank you 
Just to be clear, I am no longer at the 145 weight range that I mentioned I got up to. I’m now hovering around 160, which is why I’m currently in weight loss mode to get back down to my healthy and happy 140’s range where I feel healthy, look healthy, and most my clothes still fit 
If you haven’t taken advantage of this Buy 1 Get 1 free Chipotle coupon….DO IT!! I went with my roommate the other night, and then used another coupon today.
Looks like I found some skin in my guac. At least I know it’s not fake!
Mmmm. Salad beast with black beans, chicken, pico de gallo, salsa, & guac. + sour cream on the side so I could drizzle it on.
Here’s the dealio. I usually never get the chicken. Because I love the guac so much, I also get veggie (since it comes with guac for free). But since I was getting two salads, and saving one for later, I got one chicken, one veggie, and decided to put the guac on the chicken today.
Then I found myself picking out some of the veggies out of the veggie bowl which was meant for lunch tomorrow. And before I knew it, that salad was gone too.
So yes. I pretty much just ate 2 Chipotle salads in one sitting. Ain’t no shame! The veggie bowl was literally only salad, veggie & salsa…oh and some beans. But I was obviously hungry
I’ve seen it around other blogs, and I’ve been wanting to do it myself. So here are the ABCs of TaydorTott!
A: Age – 23.
B: Bed size – twin. I know I know. Everyone I know has a full or double or whatever they’re called. But I don’t have money for that right now, and my parents never bought me a full sized mattress/bed frame previously.
C: Chore you hate – bathroom. Worst thing ever. I’ll clean the kitchen. Do laundry. Wash dishes. But no bathroom please!
D: Dogs – Only had one growing up, and we got her when I was in 7th grade. So I didn’t really “grow up” with a dog. And have never been a huge animal person.
But Zimmer, I did love you! (Yes I had a pet duck. Two, in fact. And they were petrified of our dog. But when one died, the other one attached onto our dog. I swear she thought she was a dog).
E: Essential start to my day – Coffee.
F: Favorite color – pink & orange. I really like pink & brown too. And it must be hot pink. I love coral as well. The pinkish shade of coral, not orangey.
I was in love with my room in high school. Unfortunately, I didn’t decorate it like this until May of senior year. And I got to enjoy it for about 2 months before college.
G: Gold or silver? silver or white gold.
H: Height – 5’6 3/4. But I’ve always said 5’7”. I swear at the doctors they used to tell me I was 5’7 and then all of a sudden I was 5’6 3/4. One time I was even 5’6 1/2. I’m not okay with that and I say they measured me wrong on those occasions.
I: Instruments you play – I took piano lessons for maybe 2-3 years. I took flute for one band class day and then quit.
J: Job title – technically I’m a Catering Associate. But really I’m a dietary aide, I’m just not sure why the company calls them that. And a nanny.
K: Kids – someday someday. Although nannying almost full time for difficult children really makes you think twice about it.
L: Live – Central coast California.
M: Mom’s name – Kerrey
N: Nicknames – Tay, Tay Tay, T…nothing too creative.
O: Overnight hospital stays – none. Never been to the hospital actually. Knock on wood. And if I did have to, I now know what food to order after working in one!
P: Pet peeve – oy. People leaving on their blinkers/forgetting to turn them off after switching lanes. Dishes piled in the sink. When people leave dishes in the sink to soak (which is fine!) and then forget that it’s their dish to wash so it stays there. People not recycling.
Q: Quote from a movie – “Baxter. You know I don’t speak Spanish!” and “Get in my bellay!!!” (Name those movies)
R: Righty or lefty – righty
S: Siblings – I have 4. 3 sisters, 1 brother. I’m sure you’ve seen them around….the blog.
T: Time you wake up – around 7:00 on weekdays when I work. 5:00 on weekends when I work. And around 9-9:30 when I’m able to sleep in.
U: Underwear – ummmmm this is a bit personal, no? Although I accidently pressed the “Underline button” when I started to type this letter which I thought was ironic since it’s the letter U. And underline = U. And….yeah.
V: Vegetables you dislike? Hmmm not sure. Not a big fan of raw veggies. Or sauteed spinach. I’ve tried kale chips and wasn’t a fan (ready for the hate from blogworld now!)
W: What makes you run late – obviously being slow. And relaxing too much in the morning.
X: X-rays? I’ve had a couple on my toes when I broke the. Two of my knee when they were trying to figure out that problem. And teeth obviously.
Y: Yummy food you make – my famous cookies!! Brownies, desserts in general people seem to like. I’m not joking about those cookies either. I made them for my roommate’s birthday a couple weeks ago. One of her friends literally sat there and ate 15-20 during the night. I’m serious.
Z: Zoo animal favorite – POLAR BEARS of course.
And now I’m dancing around my family room singing ABC 123!!
Okay that’s a lie. I’m actually icing my ankle and watching When in Rome (not by choice – I swear it’s the only thing on).
What are some ABC’s about you? Pick some and tell me
My name is Taylor (Tay) and my blog is just about the life of a recent graduate who's interested in food, health, fitness & FUN! I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions, comments or suggestions feel free to contact me:
taydortott@gmail.com
Taydor Tott 