Extra Time?

After celebrating a holiday that was both spiritually and physically demanding for half of last weekend, it was so nice to get an extra day to be productive. Especially when Someone's to-do list spans a couple of pages!

The productivity actually started yesterday for me though so I'm going to rewind just a bit. I packed breakfast to eat at the office to ensure that I could get as much done as possible. I had PB&J hot cereal with the usual mix (1/4c BRM hot cereal and kasha, 1/4c almond milk, 1/2c water, cinnamon, splash of vanilla, 1/2T chia seeds, 1t TJ's berry jam and 1/2T peanut butter).

To continue the streak I somehow "found" more extra time working while eating lunch. I had a salad with spinach, carrot, and a few almond slivers topped with Amy's Italian dressing plus the last serving of black bean soup (that's not frozen) mixed with even more spinach. I put the last couple of Food Should Taste Goods on top crumbled. I instead used lunch to pick up some essentials at Trader Joe's.

My stomach rumbled a few hours later so I picked up a filling snack on campus - 2 pc veggie sushi plus brown rice and black beans. I think lunch lacked good staying power.

I got home, inhaled a peach, and ran down to the laundry room to get that "to-do" out of the way. Mid-way through washing and drying I decided I would be treating myself to dinner out and called in an order at my favorite Thai restaurant. I placed my order and then realized I only had a small window to pick it up before laundry was done and needed to be taken upstairs. Enter - the quick workout! I ran the .3 miles each way guaranteeing I made it back home with enough time :)

Dinner was a side salad of greens plus 1.5 bowls of Pad See Eew with chicken. I had them cook it with less oil but it was still too saucy so I soaked up some of the extra. My tummy doesn't like all that oil!

Dessert was cinnamon toast and then I called it a night after catching up on some TV show pilots I missed this week.

Sleeping in never felt as good as it did this morning! I felt ready and raring to go when my eyes opened. I whipped up an egg white sandwich on Udi's whole grain bread with spinach, red pepper spread, and ~1/2T of parmesan cheese with a side of some defrosted frozen berries.

I took care of more to-dos and then set off with the goal of getting the last few items I needed to complete my apartment face lift. I am not 100% done but rather 85%. The improvements I made today were a big jump up: new comforter and new couch pillows! All that's left are things to hang on the wall and a throw blanket or two.

For lunch I was craving hummus and pizza. I took a risk and experimented a bit with my usual pizza recipe. It's just like a wrap but hot and crispy, right? First I toasted a defrosted brown rice tortilla until it was golden and crisp. Then I spread ~1.5T tomato paste on top and added some spinach and bell pepper slices. I toasted that up for about 5-7 minutes to let everything set. Then I removed the pizza, spread ~1T red pepper hummus on top and added some red pepper spread at the last minute.

This rocked and I am excited to make another one soon!

I snacked on a honey crisp apple with a bit of nut butter for dessert and then tried to watch the Longhorn game. I gave up around halftime (~6pm) and left for a power walk and errand. I walked with the couple of things I needed to return and then ran / walk back as the sun was setting. Exercise and another task completed - score!

It took a while for me to get hungry but when I did I struggled to decide on what I wanted. I had a serving of whole grain gluten free pasta cooked that I wanted to use but was craving stir fry. I ended up picking out the broccoli and chicken from last night's leftovers, adding more frozen broccoli, peas, garlic, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper, and making the leftovers seem just a tad healthier than last night. It was delicious!

Now I'm relaxing a bit before going out. I haven't been out in a while but I think it'll help me continue to feel like my old, productive self that gets a lot done in a day.

Gnight!

Do you like redecorating? What do you always leave for last? Have you ever health-ified restaurant leftovers?

Walkin on Sunshine

I have to confess that I love the 90 degree temps that are gracing DC this week. As a result I'm in a great mood and looking for excuses to spend time outside; it's quite a stark contrast to the hibernating I tend to do one the temps turn cooler!

This morning I packed breakfast to bring with me. We had an all staff meeting with breakfast served beforehand so I planned to also have a serving of fruit with my egg sandwich. 2 slices of Udi's whole grain bread, spinach, hot sauce, 1 egg white. I was really tempted to add jam but chickened out (pun unintended) at the last minute!

Because of said meeting the rest of my morning flew by and before I knew it I was hungry for lunch. That sandwich and fruit definitely didn't hold me over as well as a bowl of hot cereal. I had a salad with romaine, spinach, carrot, my last almond cracker, a drop of hummus, black bean soup (like dip), and a drop of cheddar. I also had ~1/4c brown rice with ~1/4c kidney beans, peas, and okra with some BBQ and hot sauce. Time to eat up leftovers in my fridge!

My afternoon snack was a peach with 1/3c Crunch Maple Sunrise with a light drizzle of peanut butter.

I made a last-minute plan to meet Suzy for a bit of shopping downtown and decided to do a bit of exploring on my way to the store. I strolled through Lafayette Square and took in the sights. Summer is still holding on!

I wound up at the White House farmers market and fell in love with these decorative squash!

I decided on a quick fro-yo while waiting for Suze which ended up being a great decision because shopping lasted almost 3 hours and I was so hangry by the end I metroed home instead of walking like I usually would.

Enter the quickest dinner ever: leftover steamed veggies bulked up with more frozen spinach and broccoli, tamari, a spoonful of black beans, and the half serving of soup from last night that I didn't eat. Plus an English muffin - half with hot sauce and cheese, half with Earth Balance as dessert while watching Grey's.

Sorry for the quick and rambling post - it was a long but GREAT day and I'm beyond ready to sleep!

Do you tend to do spur-of-the-moment things during the week? Is it still warm where you are or has fall officially arrived?

The Girl Who Ate A Lot

There once was a girl named Sarah who was often called the Bottomless Pit.

Growing up she would eat just about anything she was able to; some foods gave her a fit.

Now a days this girl likes to eat quite often. Especially in the morning, such as this bowl of hot cereal with berries that pretty much rules.

Through an intense morning of work and meetings would it be fuel.

A special surprise surfaced around lunchtime. The office was ordering in - imagine her surprise!

Sarah chose something sure to not make her ill: steamed asparagus and mixed veg plus a side of brown rice

(1.5 plates like this)

Then the afternoon sped up rather quickly. She packed her bags and made her way to class.

Because of her later-than-usual lunch hunger didn't hit until later. The tummy rumbling was rather crass.

She busted out a pear and a 1/3c of cereal. Thus enter episode #1 of her food loving debut.

Not to be outdone by display #2.

Accounting was made better by a huge jass kitchen sink salad with roasted veg. Not to forget the hummus and a few chips on the side.

Her new friend displayed her surprise and how large the salad really was with eyes open wide!

Sadly there are no pictures of these displays of feasting. You'll just have to imagine!

The Girl Who Ate A Lot needed a snack when she got home. A Van's GF flax waffle made the perfect treat to end Monday on a sweet note.

Now the Girl is headed for bed, where she'll giggle about being the girl who ate through both classes as the pillow meets her head.

One Day Weekend

After celebrating Yom Kippur Friday and Saturday and ending the fast with friends, I was excited to have a day to get myself together before a new week started. Sunday was going to be my one true weekend day dedicated to my to-do list. Somehow, I made a huge dent in what I needed to accomplish!

I slept less than well on Saturday night, probably from my 2 hour Saturday nap and a late dinner that stretched for a few hours. I peeled myself out of bed and spent some time at the farmers market. I picked up a few peaches, apples, and eggs. Look what else I found!

Breakfast was a leftover quarter of a bagel plus toast with an egg white and a pear.

I did homework and played catch up for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. When I took a break I realized my stomach was ready for food. Enter a simple salad plus homemade BBQ kidney beans and wild rice mixed with butternut squash and a few brussel sprouts.

The afternoon was less productive than I'd hoped. I can't seem to motivate myself to do ALL of my accounting homework at once :-/ I finally gave up and left for a walk before a group meeting in the evening. I got in ~3.25 miles in 50 minutes, had a good group project, and then picked up a couple of things at the store.

By the time I got home I was thinking about dinner but unsure of what to make. In the end I went with my favorite - roasted veg and brown rice pasta. I had carrot and okra "fries" plus a serving of pasta with tomato sauce, roasted broccoli, spinach, and a bunch of spices on top.

Dessert while doing some cleaning and tidying up was an apple topped with a couple of tablespoons of Crunchy Maple Sunrise cereal, raisin, and a drop of peanut butter.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Work and Play

Hi everyone. How was your first day back from the long weekend? Despite working from home I somehow managed to introduce a good dose of stress and "shoulds" into my home office schedule. But I actually prefer to relive yesterday first since it was such a glorious day.

When I left you all, we were heading out for a day filled with fun. GF Grazer Mom, Dad, and I headed to Wholesome Foods Bakery where we picked up a few items to try out including 2 food bars, snack mix, and almond rusks (think biscotti.)

We then did a walk / run around White Rock Lake for 1hr 40 minutes. I have to say, the first part flew by and wasn't too hot at all despite it being the heat of the day. However on our return (we couldn't walk all the way around the lake because of my foot) the heat got to me. We slowed our pace significantly and I had to pour water on my head twice to cool down. Crisis avoided though and I felt like my old (but sweaty) self when we got back to the car.

Next was a successful trip to one of my favorite Whole Foods locations, including a salad bar lunch. This beauty contained:

• spring mix
• red pepper
• Texas caviar aka black eyed peas
• edamame
• tamari tofu
• broccoli
• beets

We finally showered and rested up for a bit before I accompanied my parents to the mall. They were on the hunt for a couple of things and I never turn down the chance to go shopping. I sadly wasn't in the mood for retail therapy and my foot was hurting so I sought out chairs and other places to sit and encourage awkward conversations with stranger instead. I also snacked on a pear since it'd been a few hours since I'd eaten.

By the time we left we were all hangry and headed to Pei Wei for a quick and delicious dinner. I got the Spicy Chicken Salad, steamed and no dressing off of the gluten free menu and it didn't disappoint.

This morning I woke up to Tropical Storm Hermine and was glad to have my coffee just a room and a push of a button away. When hunger hit I reached for my bowl of overnight hot cereal that contained:

• 1/4c BRM hot cereal
• 1/4c plus a few splashes of almond milk
• 1/2c water
• 1/2c berries (raspberries and blueberries)
• cinnamon
• a drop of maple syrup
• 1/2T chia seeds

This was delicious and I topped the mix with 1/2T of peanut butter and maybe a teaspoon of my grandmother's homemade fig jam.

I've decided to give up dairy for a few days to see if it helps reduce some breakouts I've been battling in the last week. My goal today was to avoid dairy and I was successful, woohoo!

Insert lots of working from home here and I was beyond ready for lunch when I got off of a conference call. I had the rest of my salad from last night plus some Beanitos with hummus (that I didn't finish because it expired yesterday.)

I did more work before going with my dad to his personal training appointment. This 1 hour workout included kettlebells, squats, ab work, arms, chest, and more. It was nice to be pushed by a trainer though. I cooled down with 10 minutes on the elliptical.

After workout snack consisted of a few almonds and a pear.

A little while later it was dinner time! One of my requests was to take advantage of the grill while I was home and my mom delivered! We had balsamic marinated (for 2 days) flank stead, grilled mushrooms, zucchini, and bell pepper, corn on the cob, and roasted okra, which my dad requested.

After dinner my mom and I ran a few errands and now I'm headed to bed before another work day before the start of the Jewish holiday. I had a bedtime snack of a slice of Udi's [well] toasted with cinnamon and brown sugar.

It was exactly what I was craving before I head to bed - last night I couldn't fall asleep until after 1am!


What are some of the things you love to eat when at home? Do you ever have trouble falling asleep when you go home?