Flying through the week

I can't believe that it's already Thursday. Between work, the wonderful warm weather we've been having in DC, and sunshine, time is flying! No complaints from this girl.

In case you missed it, check out my thoughts on coping with food allergies at my alma mater as compared to some really innovative options at some Boston schools. It's just some food for thought :-)

I couldn't wait to dive into my first breakfast post-Pesach. It was PBJ-reffic with it's BRM and buckwheat whole grain goodness.

For lunch I had this bad boy to tackle. No, I'm not lying - that is almost a full ream of paper of nominations for a committee of which I'm a part of.

I decided to treat myself to lunch and finish up this reading someplace where I wouldn't be faced with too many distractions and background noise. I opted for a favorite Thai restaurant near work since I'd been craving it since Passover started. I got the pad thai tofu with steamed tofu and it was delicious.

That is, until my stomach started hurting as I finished up my serving (only ate about 1 and a quarter cups). Any lingering thoughts about the state of my gluten intolerance vs. celiac status flew out the window as I had the realization that I'm probably celiac and must now be extra extra careful if and when I eat out (which is sometimes the one time I'm less vigilant in my food choices).

My pain cleared up and I was ready for a snack around 5 - had a Fuji apple with cinnamon and PB drizzle.

And, in case I'm not already obsessed and boring you with these pictures, I whipped up a 3rd batch of Spring Greens Soup. This batch contained:

• spinach
• spirulina
• 2 small red potatoes
• 1/2 a large carrot, chopped
• 1/2 head of cauliflour
• broccoli

All blended together for a beautiful green color. And, it tasted pretty good, alongside a salad w/ roasted beets and a few green olives.

I went for a leisurely stroll after dinner and was quite content until about 10 when I needed to take some medicine. I'm supposed to eat something with it so I had a small piece of a new kind of bread (containing brown rice, millet, teff, and other GF whole grain goodness) with some Earth Balance and called it a night.

This morning I enjoyed another bowl of PBJ hot cereal and it's now off to work!

What are you most looking forward to this weekend?

Out of Control

The past few days have felt kind of wild to me, like no matter how much I try to plan and take control things just go the other way. My allergies have been giving me a lot of trouble, but nothing compared to my stomach. After dinner last night I developed a stomach ache which lasted until lunchtime today! It was not fun and definitely made me feel helpless as I sat at work hunched over :-/

I am starting to feel like I'm broken and just want that control back!  I also found out today that while my foot is healing, it's not progressing as much as the doctor would like. This means I'm going in for Cortisone Shot #2 later this week. I hated the first but there's nothing I can do. I need my foot to be functional!!

The one thing that I have had control over is my food. Rather than recap all of my meals, I wanted to share a list of the top Passover meals that have helped me make it through a week without carbs (minus potatoes). I cannot wait to welcome rice, beans, grains, etc. back into my diet in just a couple of hours!

Until then, these are some of my Passover favorites:

Apples and Pears with Almond Butter

Roasted veggies (beets, kale, parsnip, carrots, and brussel sprouts!)

K for P gluten free pasta (made with potato starch and potato flour)

Spring Greens Soup

Smoothies!

 

Cold vs. Allergies

I was really hoping that the allergy medication I bought on Thursday would have cured my feelings of ickyness when I woke up yesterday. Alas, after 8.5 hours, I was still feeling achy and congested.  I still chugged along as usual and made it through the work day.

I fueled up with another yogurt mess. The exact same as I've had all week - once I find a filling breakfast, I tend to stick with it.

I munched on an apple on my way to have lunch with a friend who works on campus. We ate and caught up which was really nice!  I had this plate x3 = dab of cabbage salad and 1/4 of a veggie stack with red bell pepper, carrot, portabello mushroom, and maybe some pesto? It was delicious!

 (pardon the smartphone picture)

I snacked on the last portion of my greens soup later in the afternoon.

When I got home I was really not feeling well. I took some medicine and snacked on a pear topped with cinnamon and AB.

Dinner was a weird mixture of: salad, carrot and parsnip fries, and a macaroni and cheese with 1/2c of Passover pasta, parsley and basil, and ~1/8c parmesan. It was warm and comforting, oh so good.  I little bit later I had about a cup of veggie broth with a bit more pasta.

I then called it a night. 11 hours of sleep later, with dreams including running a 10k, losing my right sneaker (the only one I can currently wear bc of the cast), and being at a Bar Mitzvah, I'm still feeling pretty ick. My guess is that this is a virus or cold and I'm trying to get in my liquids!

Breakfast was an egg white with provolone cheese and hot sauce and an apple and berries with cinnamon.

Not too much on the agenda for the day - just trying to feel better!

Thank Goodness it's Almost the Weekend

Tuesday and Wednesday at home just seemed to fly by. The only thing that really put a damper on things were my allergies - I felt like I had a cold both days :-/

I flew back to DC yesterday afternoon, threw together a quick egg white omelet and went to bed. Sadly, I couldn't fall asleep for 3 hours so needless to say when I woke up this morning, I was more than tired.

I had a yogurt bowl with 1/3c Greek yogurt, pear, 1/4c berries (blueberry and strawberry) all topped with cinnamon and 1/2T almond butter. (had the same Wednesday at home)

I stayed pretty full for the morning at work and then hunger attacked my around 11:15. My stomach needed food then and there! By the time I could escape to pick up a salad, it was 11:45 and I didn't eat til noon. I was one hangry girl. I had a monster salad with spinach and romaine, beets, bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, artichoke hearts, and balsamic vinegar.

That held me over for a couple of hours and then I picked up a plain baked potato, which I topped with salt, pepper, a bit of cheese, and hot sauce.

Ran to the grocery stores after work - my fridge was pretty bare! I did manage to eat a pear w/ AB and some potato chips in between since I was hungry again.

For dinner tonight, I whipped up a Spring Greens Soup, inspired by this recipe. I sliced and roasted my mushrooms for the topper (along w/ a bit of parm) and added a large stalk of kale and tsp of spirulina. I also subbed in vegetable broth instead of chicken. It was really tasty! Light, fresh, and filling. The leftovers will be a great lunch for tomorrow!

Alongside the soup I had a salad and a roasted sweet potato.

I just finished roasting some carrots and parsnips to have on hand and am pooped.

Hopefully I'll stay awake for Grey's Anatomy and then it's early to bed for me. Hooray for Friday being so close!

Food Fun

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Whole Foods stores in Texas are better than any of the other stores across the country that I've been to. This is especially true for the brand new store in Dallas that I visited yesterday. They had so many unique things interspersed throughout the store - we walked around for over an hour before getting lunch!

I was also extremely impressed with their gluten free options in the store. There was a dedicated GF freezer with breads and other treats, an entire aisle of gluten free products, and in the pasta aisle, a designated gluten free section that was clearly marked as such. I could just imagine doing my weekly shopping here and how much easier it would be!

Lunch was a huge salad with spinach, kale, artichoke hearts, cabbage, a dolma, and beets. I also sampled some barbeque from the smokehouse in the store - I only ate a few bite each of the chopped beef and beef short rib. My body just isn't used to eating as much meat anymore.

I ran a few errands with my dad after and then went to get fitted for my bridesmaid dress for an upcoming wedding in June.

Then it was off to our first Passover Seder at my grand - parents' house. The tables were set with plates of charoset, radish (bitter herbs) and parsley (karpas).

The seder plate and matzah cover

And dinner. I love my grandmother's cooking - it's a special treat. I only ate about half of everything on my plate: brisket, cornish hen breast, squash mix, broccoli, and potatoes.

I had a small dessert of some berries and a little almond cookie (gf!) and was stuffed.

Had my coffee this morning and a yogurt mess of a pear, 1/2c berries, 1/3c Greek yogurt mixed with a tsp of raspberry preserves, cinnamon and almond butter.  I waited til I was really hungry to eat and am now feeling super stuffed. That's one thing that's tough about the holidays - balancing normal eating with the special treats. Hopefully tonight I'll balance better.

Have a great day!