Onward and Upward

Today was a great way to round out the weekend. After the structure and excitement of yesterday's adventure, it was time to get down to business and get myself ready for the week. Plus some relaxing is a requirement!

Despite giving myself permission to sleep in, I was awake around 8:45 with a stomach ready for breakfast. About 15 minutes later I bribed myself out of bed and got to work on "overnight" hot cereal. Once the bowl was cooling in the fridge I dashed off to the farmers market.

I was definitely torn between summer and fall with my selections: corn, peaches, Asian pears, honeycrisp apples, and eggs.

A few samples helped tide me over for the short trip but I was ready to eat! I had a muesli inspired bowl of hot cereal with apple, a few grapes, and maple syrup added to my standard mix. Of course, it was topped with the obligatory 1/2T peanut butter.

I decided to get my homework for class tomorrow out of the way and headed to the roof. I enjoyed the sunshine and got through all of my reading and then I could relax with a clear conscience for the rest of the day!

I headed to Whole Foods for my shopping for the week. Of course my stomach was more than ready for lunch once I got half way through my list. Hot bar saves the day! In this beauty was:

• spring mix
• beets
• carrots
• radishes
• Peruvian rice with corn
• Cuban black beans
• BBQ collard greens
• dashes of feta and cheddar cheeses

Plus, look what I found! Snyder's gluten free pretzels! I had heard about these being on the shelves but hadn't seen them yet. The bag was $2.99 and was pretty full so I would say it's a good bargain. The nutritional stats are decent as well: 20 pretzels per serving, 120 calories, 2g fiber, egg, dairy, and casein free. They are extra crunchy and really delicious!

This afternoon I was quite the handywoman and chef. I moved my old couch down to my building's dumpster all by myself. It was a great leg and cardio work out! Plus I put the slipcover onto my new couch, vacuumed, rearranged some things, and tidied up. OH and cleaned the bathroom! Whew. I refueled with a pear with a spoonful of yogurt and cinnamon.

I did food prep for the week. I baked some chicken breasts seasoned with 21 Seasoning Salute and made a batch of these amazing baked beans. Jenna - you rock! I really enjoyed making my own baked beans and probably saved $0.75 by not buying them canned (and I get an extra serving). Not a bad trade off.

While the beans were baking I started with a salad that contained romaine, spinach, carrot, pickle, one of the crackers I made last night, and Annie's Italian dressing.

Then I had cheese toast on Udi's whole grain bread with a serving of baked beans. These are sooo good. I added extra ground mustard and hot sauce - that's more of the flavor my grandmother's beans have. These were a great, close second! I also used 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil plus non-stick spray instead of 1/2T.

The night's been full of Emmy watching, blog stuff, washing dishes, and prepping for the week. I can't believe I start classes tomorrow.

Onward and upward!!