Greens, greens, and ice cream

Hey y'alllllll,

TGIAF (even though I'll be in lab a lot over the weekend)! Yesterday was a crazy day. The day started quite disasterously but then turned out pretty darn good.

I woke with a soooore throat (waah) but determined to overcome a cold before it starts I fueled up on a oats w/ fruit, zinc, and Emergen-C:




^^Pink Lemonade Emergen-C is BOMB. I think the other ones (rasp. and strawb) taste kinda funk. This guy however, tastes jussssst right. PS, how creapy does that sound???


In labski, I have spent the last three weeks working on a molecular cloning experiment. Cloning means rearranging the "letters" of DNA to produce something meaningful (a gene). DNA is comparable to an instruction manual, but written in DNA code (Four letters: A,T,C,G). Therefore, I've spent the last few weeks rearranging these letters to produce a specific sequence. Imagine, an instruction manual was scrambled. It would be worthless. When the words are in the correct order however, you can read it and (for example) put together a chair. DNA is similar, when the letters are arranged in the right order, a gene may be "expressed" and a functional protuct (in my case an antibody) is made.

So you may be wondering, how do you go from DNA --> Antibody??? This was yesterday's experiment. I performed what is known in scienceland as a "transfection". The purpose of this exp. is to get the DNA (i.e. the directions) into cells (the builders) so the cell can read the DNA and generate antibody that I can collect.

This was all dandy until the apparatus I use for the transfection (worth $1,000) crashed to the floor and shattered into a ka-trillion pieces, because the paper bag it was stored in broke.


I was able to finish the experiment but it never feels good breaking something worth more than you make in a week! When that catastrophe was over I headed to lunch to lift my spirits. I was greatly looking forward to this monster salad I made the night before:

^Spinach, tempeh, 1 piece laughing cow cheese, tomatoes, grapes, cucumbers, sprouts and balsamic vinaigrette.

This was my second time having Tempeh. Have you tried it? It's basically a rolled combo of soy and grains. This time I marinated it overnight in balsamic and topped it over ma salad. Next time I'd like to try grilling it. Any tips/suggestions??????

I returned to lab in better spirits knowing if I got through the day I'd reward myself with a Bikram Yoga class. Throughout the day I completed another what seemed like 324904839 experiments (more like 4) and snacked on this new guy:




^^ Raw Organic Food Bar (Chocolate coconut). Holy AMAZING.


After lab I headed straight to you guessed it, Bikram.


Ahhh, it's incredible how 90 mins in a 106 degree room can soothe your soul. I also may or may not have purchased a monthly unlimited pass ;-)


When I returned home Kels (sistah) and I were in salad monster mood again. Orrr too lazy/starving to wait and cook. I made this monster:




^^Romaine, spinach, tofu, chic peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, garnished with veggie flax seed chips and red chili pepper

I topped that bad boy with red pepper hummus (rather than the usual salad dressing):


And it was BOMB. New obsession coming on?? Salad + hummus!

After dinner, we watched Talladega Nights (Will Ferrel). LOVE that movie. I swear when I watch his movies again and again, I still find new lines I missed the time before. I also decided to break out my new bag of xanthan gum!

ATTN: Calling all xanthan users! Send me tips/recipes/links, on your uses for this magical stuff.

Xanthan gum is an all-natural thickening agent added to a variety of foods. I bought it as a powder and used it to make ice cream last night:



^Ice, strawberries, splash soy milk, stevia, 1 tbsp. xanthan gum
THAT'S IT! MAGIC! Obsession #2.....?


Alright well I'm heading back to play with ma cells (preparing leukemia cells for tomorrow's experiment testing out a new drug I'm working with). Then to spinning.

 
And of course, watching Real Housewives! Have a great night :-)


QUESTION: Do you consider any foods magical??? Kinda, too good to be true?




xx
Lauren