My, my how the tables have turned...

I took a walk to one of my favorite DC grocery stores this morning, where I had a very interesting experience. But, more on that later.

The weekend has been great so far. It kicked off with a Shabbat dinner on Friday night with students from a trip to Israel that I staffed last summer. My fabulous co-staff did all of the cooking (gluten free even!) and it was wonderful to see some of my students after 9 months!

I started having some pain in my left foot on Friday and when I coupled that with a couple of other pains I was having, hoped that I would awake on Saturday feeling refreshed. I slept in until 11:30am, something I haven't done in a really long time, and wasn't feeling much better.

I was pretty hungry when I woke up and snacked on a pear and a few grapes before meeting up with some lovely ladies for brunch!  We went to Scion in Dupont and had a fantastic experience! All of our food came out fresh and despite many modifications and variations of omelettes, everything came out hot, perfect, and delicious!

(Hi Shelby!)

They also have a fresh fruit buffet containing grapes, pineapple, kiwi, papaya, melon, and bananas that we all enjoyed while waiting on our entrees. The fruit was fresh and always well-stocked.

I had an egg white omelet with black beans (which I had never thought of adding to eggs before - yum!), spinach, mushrooms, and bell peppers with potatoes. I was expecting home fries and was pleasantly surprised to have these crisp, tasty chips instead. Everything was really delicious!

 

 

My friend Jamie was celebrating her 1 year anniversary with her bf who currently lives out of the country, and a friend purchased flowers for her on his behalf. Our waitress and the manager kept asking what we were celebrating, and when we explained the reason for the flowers, surprised us with a heart-shaped passion fruit strawberry cake. It was such a nice gesture!

We all loved our brunch experience at Scion and I know that I'm really excited about going back for dinner (they have a gluten free menu too)!

The rest of the afternoon was spent running a few errands. By the time I got home, my foot was really hurting and I was feeling icky in general so I canceled my plans for the night. I had the leftover 1/2c of black bean soup and combined some leftovers to make a comforting broccoli rice casserole. In the mix:

• 1/3c cooked brown rice
• ~1c broccoli and cauliflower
• garlic powder
• 3/4c veggie broth
• ~1/4c 2% Mexican blend cheese

In a small pot, warm the veggie broth and add in the rice, broccoli, and cauliflower. Let simmer and add the garlic powder. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until most of the broth has been absorbed. Put mixture into a small oven-safe dish, top with cheese and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

This really hit the spot and was perfectly comforting! I spent the night watching the Olympics and munching away on a piece of toast, more frozen grapes, and a bit of cereal. I was feeling snacky!

Today I was feeling a bit better so I decided to walk to the farmers market and then to the grocery store to pick up a few things that aren't carried at my usual stores.

After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma and focusing on eating whole foods (most of the time) I actually found myself overwhelmed by the store today. Perhaps it's because I'm still not feeling 100% but I couldn't help but see a lot of the products being sold as filler foods as opposed to more simple, healthier choices. No wonder some people find choosing healthier foods to be intimidating. If I didn't know what to look for the store would be even more overwhelming! I used to crave some specific foods, but after months of trading them in for more simple, natural versions, I wasn't even tempted to add them to my cart today. I left the store with less than I had intended to buy and am excited to hit up Whole Foods and TJs this week!

Lunch was a serving of baked tofu with a new barbeque sauce and a salad with almonds, brussels, butternut squash, a few Mary's Gone Crackers and honey mustard dressing.

 

 

I'm currently cooking up a few things for the week and icing my foot. I hope it feels better soon!