Hey all – Sorry for the lack of blogging. Between midterms and traveling to Vegas for my 21st the last week has been insane! As finals wrap up and I have more free time this summer (woo hoo!) BB will be up and going on a regular basis! And thanks to my wonderful friend, Lesley Borger, for tagging me in her recent post. Check out her blog- lesley living life- when you have a chance – her and her husband are so cute and always have the yummiest looking meals!
Archive for April, 2009
Posted in 
Tea Time
April 14th, 2009 
admin Time is quite limited once again this week as I am trying to get caught back up with school. My parents came to Boulder from Nebraska to celebrate my birthday with me. It was great. We went to dinner at restaurant called the Sunflower (one of my favorites in Boulder). Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of our wonderful meals. Then my sister, cousin, mom and I all went to a nice lounge so I could enjoy the wonderful privileges of being 21.
Sorry about the poor image quality I took these in a hurry!
But since I spent all weekend playing and not doing work I am paying for it! I have an anatomy exam thursday and I need to spend every minute studying. But I wanted to share a quick favorite of mine….and what helps fuel me during my study hours! TEA!! This Samurai Mate Chai tea is so flavorful and contains 100% same caffeine as coffee. The desciption says “A sip of this sweetly robust straight up Mate blend awakens the Samurai within” Nothing wrong with waking up your inner Samurai… hehe. While some people may not necessarily want all the caffeine… I unfortunately drink it on a regular basis to help keep me going when I study for long periods…. and I like it more than coffee.
What is Maté?
“Maté is a wild shrub from Argentina that makes a delicious, flavorful tea. Maté tea contains a stimulant similar to caffeine, although without the jitteriness or addictive tendencies. Reports show that the blends of natural chemicals present in Maté react differently on the central nervous system, as compared to just caffeine or guarana.” (Teavana’s Website)
Check out Teavana’s website – where I buy this tea and other awesome accessories. They have so much to choose from- going into their store is a new experience every time. My latest purchase was their “Perfect Teamaker” which has been awesome for steeping up a quick cup of tea in the morning. Well as much as I would like to write some more, I need to use my time efficiently this morning because the rest of today is full of class. Have a lovely Tuesday 
I love this thing!
Parasites and Truffle Fries
April 9th, 2009 admin Hello All — I have finally reached a brief point of freedom! Woo Hoo! Time to post
First off I want to mention some important news that I received this week from my gastroenterology doctor! A little background….I have been suffering from off an on abdominal pain and just overall weird stomach issues since the around my freshman year of college til now. For the longest time we thought it was possibly food allergies and so I did multiple elimination diets to see if there were any culprits … whelp that just resulted in serious mixed results. One moment we thought it was dairy and then the next that it was the soy— frustrating.
I went to three different doctors before finally being referred to the gastroenterologists…. about 3 months of testing later I got a call on Tuesday saying I have a PARASITE! While its not too big of deal, it is treated simply with antibiotics, I am just in awe that this is what has been causing it all. I am super excited to finally have an answer – and relieved that it wasn’t Crohn’s or Celiac Disease. So yay to killing the parasites and being able to eat without worry!
My fun food for the week was trying out a new restaurant here in Boulder called larkburger. Ryan and I went for a quick bite to catch up because we both have been so busy with school. I was excited to try this place out because I had noticed it for some time now. It was an awfully trendy and fun atmosphere – very modern and simplistic. I liked the design and the menu was pretty simple but had twists, what caught my eye was that they had fries with truffle oil! I ordered the Amy Burger (basically a portabello mushroom burger) with Truffle and Parmesan Fries. All in all I thought the food was good – a burger and fry joint with a twist. It definitely hit the spot after a long day of studying. I looked up some more information and they are very eco friendly and serve all natural ingredients with no preservatives or additives. Thumbs up to that. If you are interested in more specifics check out their website. 
Finally on to the important part of today’s post. SUPER FOODS! I have read numerous articles and books about the importance of incorporating these foods into your daily diet and thought it would be a good recap to talk about what are good sources. For starters I will list the top superfoods I try to incorporate into my diet on a regular basis:
- Blueberries
- Soy
- Spinach
- Tea
- Oats
- Walnuts
- Beans
- Dark Chocolate (hehe)
- Acai
While the list goes on for all the different kinds of superfoods that are out there… these are just a few I find myself eating on a regular basis. In time I hope to expand this list as I begin to learn how to incorporate a better variety in my diet.
Does anyone ever feel like they get stuck in a routine of eating the same things over and over? If so, how do you change it up?
Because I definitely do – and not that it is always a bad thing – I just feel there are so many good foods out there that I don’t want to miss out! SO what is important about super foods and what makes them “super?” These foods are either high in antioxidants, fiber, essential fatty acids or possibly all three - for foods like Acai.
According to Dr. Perricone, who promotes the anti-inflammatory lifestyle, says that if you incorporate superfoods into your daily lifestyle it will help improve your health in multiple ways. Such as:
- Prevent or reduce inflammation
- Help regulate metabolism and burn body fat
- Lower total cholesterol
- Lower blood pressure
- Help protect against heart disease
- Help protect against cancer
- Help protect organs from toxins
- Promote digestive health
My favorite superfood is Acai (pronounced ah-si-ee) I have a wonderful Acai smoothie recipe that I just love. If you have never had Acai I recommend trying it out. These Sambazon packets are awesome for experimenting with smoothies.
** 1 or 2 – depending on how much Acai flavor you want – Sambazon Original Acai Packet(s)
** 1/2 cup of frozen mango
** 1 medium sized banana
** 1 cup of vanilla rice milk or almond milk or guava juice
** 1 tbsp of ground flax seed
** Sometimes I will add frozen raspberries or blueberries and even add more mango than a 1/2 cup. This recipe is totally up to experimentation. Throw in a few ice cubes if it is too runny to thicken it up.
After I blend, I usually top it off with 1/4 cup of organic hemp granola or Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs and a little bit of honey and eat it with a spoon! I stole this idea from a place in Boulder called RUSH. They have tons of smoothie bowl combinations and so when I get creative I try to make them at home
Rush is a perfect model for what smoothie joints should be like! Keep it natural. A little tid bit about RUSH: “Our philosophy is to provide healthy, high-quality products that will give you a “natural rush.” We believe in purity of ingredients; that’s why we DO NOT use artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, sherbet or sorbet in our products.” SO if you are ever in Boulder CO check them out!
Have a wonderful Friday and weekend!
I am excited because I will be turning 21 on Saturday — yay to birthdays!
Tags: School Owns Me
April 6th, 2009 admin 
study materials overflowing on the kitchen table
BLEHHH!
I can’t help but to apologize for my slow posts and gradual tidbits of work I have been doing to the blog – I want this to come together – and it will – I just need to get through this set of midterms! School literally owns my life and some days I contemplate changing my major to graduate earlier. I have tinkered with the idea of psychology, sociology and even religious studies, but then I come to realization that I have no idea what I would do with a degree of that manor. So here I am working towards an Integrative Physiology degree…someone please tell me that I am making the right choice.
I walk home from campus and see other students laying around, soaking up rays in a field outside CU’s library and I am jealous. I check my email and get at least two to three road bike ride offers a day from other girls on the cycling team – but I typically can’t go. No, no – my life gravitates towards the books. Ryan goes through this as well – and I would say it is much worse for him pursuing an engineering degree.
So as much I as do not want this post to be negative and complainy, I needed to vent. Every day we inch closer to summer – closer to freedom
I will get through this. Most of us do.
I have made a wonderful list of topics for upcoming posts. Later this week I will posting about super foods. Have a wonderful Monday.
Boulder Bite is….?
April 4th, 2009 Andrea Heeellloo!
(in a Mrs. Doubtfire tone – and if you have not seen that movie – please do!)You are reading the first post for the new blog BOULder Bite and I am very excited you made it here. This blog has been a project I have been dreaming of starting for some time now, and it has finally come together. Woo hoo!
BOULDer Bite is…. _______ ? I have not come up with an adjective yet to describe my blog. Hmm hopefully I can think of one soon! Any suggestions?
To start things off I will give you an introduction to what I feel this blogs main purpose will serve:
I want Boulder Bite (BB) to be focused on how to incorporate healthy (or healthier!) habits into our daily lifestyles. I want to discuss everything from food, recipes, fitness, goals, and new, bold health/wellness ideas. I am so drawn towards educating and informing people about how important it is to care for your body! Our bodies are precious! Goals I have set for this site will be for me to share my personal steps towards a healthier life, to inform about healthy findings and lastly to hear opinions and LEARN from others.
A little bit about me:
I am a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder… hence the blog title Boulder Bite! hehe … I wanted to put a little play on words and that’s the best I could come up with. I am in my third year studying Integrative Physiology – with plans to apply to Physician Assistant school in a couple years. I am passionate about health and wellness and love to read books about nutrition, cook up new recipes and work out.
While school gets most of my time right now – I want to have a place to branch out and discuss what I really love (and hope to have a career in someday!) therefore I made Boulder Bite. Living in Boulder has opened my world to unique foods, people and athletics. The lifestyle here is very active and there is a strong push towards healthful and midful living. I could not ask to live in a better place than here at this time in my life! I will be posting again shortly with a few more details about my life and why I have devoloped such a love for health…but for now… I can hear my physics book calling my name!
Please note that all the previous posts are from a former blog that journaled our Spring Break trip across Western Colorado to Moab Utah. My boyfriends name is Ryan Ognibene – check out his site for more information about him and his racing.
