Marking Time

I never really made an official announcement on my blog last year when I began working again. I decided that work would be something I referenced but didn't discuss in depth. After all, this is a gluten free healthy living blog - I want to focus on those aspects of my life with you all. Yet today I do want to share that it's officially been a year that I've been at my job, even if I was just part-time this past fall. It's definitely been quite the year though and something I wanted to note!

On a different note, my cold is still lingering. This is pretty standard for me but I'm ready to feel 100% again. I'm all sniffles and sneezes despite the rest of me feeling better. Thanks to those of you who have sent your well wishes. I cannot report a full recovery yet but I'm hoping to soon.

To promote my recovery, I've been enjoying some good food along the way. This morning: hot cereal in a jar! I whipped up a batch of hot cereal last night so that all I had to do this morning was heat it and add it to the jar. This mix had a spoonful of mashed sweet potato, blueberries, cinnamon, and maple syrup plus about 1/2T of peanut butter left. Plus an egg white. Yum!

Because of meetings and my weird stomach I wasn't hungry for lunch until 1:45 today. First up, a little salad with spinach, romaine, and leftover roasted squash.

Next was the last of my broccoli soup. I went through the batch in 3 days flat! Must. make. more.

A couple of hours later I was feeling hungry and not in the mood for my apple so I picked up some roasted veggies, black beans, and rice...and a little dip of my spoon in my work PB jar O:-)

After work I had an exciting little field trip planned. To take advantage of DC Spa Week,  I had scheduled a 1-hour massage for myself! I went to the Health Club at the Fairmont Hotel and had a fantastic experience. When I arrived I was greeted with a key to a locker that was equipped with slippers and a robe to change into. I was excited for this pampering reward!

The hour passed quickly and I felt amazing and more relaxed. My muscles appreciated the rubbing!

I wasn't in the mood for anything too exciting for dinner, I really could only look forward to a nice hot shower, my couch, an sweats. I whipped up a simple meal of a scrambled egg white, roasted green beans, toast, and baked beans.

I just sat down with more toast and a pear to watch Grey's Anatomy and then I'm calling it a night.

The masseusse warned me that I would experience an increase in my cold symptoms from having my feet and back / respiratory symptom worked on and she wasn't kidding! I've gone through 2+ liters of fluids today and have made a pretty sizable dent on a box of tissues!

Goodnight!

How long have you been at your current job? Have you ever had a massage? Love 'em or hate 'em?

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?

Solid Little Monday

Hi there! How was your Monday?  It was a pretty good one for me. The heat seemed to be absent from DC and it was so nice to be outside!!

I kicked the morning off with my standard egg white and a bowl of overnight hot cereal. To the standard mix (1/4c BRM and buckwheat, 1/4 c unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, 1/2 c water, 1/2T chia seeds, cinnamon) I added a tiny pinch of brown sugar, a quarter of a peach diced, some blueberries, and a small drop of fig jam. It was topped with 1/2T of peanut butter. I just couldn't decide between summer and fall!

I am planning a huge event at work that's on Thursday so this week will be quite busy at the office. I'm definitely not complaining though because I find myself more productive when I have a lot to do. I guess I like the pressure.

I managed to carve out time to walk home for lunch which was a great way to stretch my legs and enjoy the weather. Alongside a serving of baked beans I had a salad of arugula and romaine topped with a carrot, pickle, and sauteed zucchini and tomatoes (leftovers). I crumbled a Food Should Taste Good chip on top for crunch and used my ever-addicting Amy's Italian dressing to finish it off.

There was a special treat waiting for me in the office today. One of my co-workers likes to bake and decided to try a gluten free cake so that I could have some too. It was such a nice gesture!! And, look how pretty it is! Yellow cake with vanilla butter cream frosting. I had most of one slice and enjoyed every bite. Other co-workers loved it to and commented that they were excited to get to try something GF!

My regular snack a few hours later was a few spoonfuls of Greek yogurt topped with a third of a peach (same one from breakfast, part of it went bad so I salvaged it!) and a few more blueberries.

When I got home I also had a cracker topped with salsa while waiting for my friend. It pays to be the "healthy" one in our group because I get requests to go walking with friends after work. Even though I did some walking during the day I was game for an impromptu catch-up session. Suzy and I walked 2.5 miles in about 40ish minutes which was a great way to unwind and unplug from the day. Even more so because I left my phone home.

It was definitely time for dinner when I got home. I threw together the quickest thing I could think of: pasta and roasted veggies. I had 2/3 a serving of pasta with a quarter cup of chickpeas, some tomato sauce, and roasted broccoli, green beans, and cauliflower. I added some crushed red pepper for some kick. Perfect healthy and easy meal!

I was hungry again after doing the dishes so I had more roasted veg and a peach for dessert. I am excited for the season finale of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. I love my summer trashy tv :-)

Has a co-worker ever brought in a treat with you in mind?

What's your go-to quick and easy meal? I have a few but pasta and veggies meant more leftovers for later this week!

Any favorite summer trashy TV shows?

Can't It Just Be Vacation Yet?

This is one girl that can't wait for Thursday night and kicking off her vacation in Miami. After not traveling since the end of June, I'm more than ready for a change of scenery. Of course, it helps that I'll be poolside with my family and friends B-)

Before I get there though I had to get through work today plus 2 more days. Luckily, I had a busy day to distract me today and it looks like the trend will continue until I leave.

Did you check out my post on Self Confidence and Loving Your Body?

This morning I was craving a simple egg white sandwich. 2 pieces of toast, hot sauce, a sprinkle of 2% cheese, and an egg white. Plus some berries, diced mango, and pecan crumbled on top.

Enter morning meeting. I was more than ready for lunch at 12:30. I enjoyed this salad with spinach, grilled chicken breast, roasted veggies (onion, green beans, broccoli), and beets. I had BBQ sauce on the side for dipping. And a few pecans on the side.

I was super hungry again (it's been a theme this week. Is there something I'm missing?!) a few hours later and had 2 beautiful baby plums from this weekend's adventure plus 2 crackers with red pepper spread on top. Also, this is my favorite picture from berry picking. I'm really happy about my blackberries.

I headed to the gym after work and squeezed in a quick work out:

• 6 minute (1.15 miles) warm up on the bike
• Incline bicep curl
• Bench Press
• Alternating shoulder press
• Hammer Curl
• Bench crunches
• Dips
• Supine chest fly
• (I'm forgetting a move or two)
• 4 minute (.6 miles) cool down on the bike

Thank you Fitnessista for the Summer Shape Up workouts. I especially felt it today when I increased my weights and took only very short rests in between each move.

On my walk home I knew exactly what I wanted for dinner. Despite skipping the grocery store for a major shop I did pick up some fresh local okra. I've been craving it lately. Enter - okra fries!

And since I had a beautiful tomato from the farm, I made a special little sandwich. On a lightly toasted English muffin I drizzled a bit of balsamic reduction, sliced baby mozzarella cheese, and then layered tomato slices, basil, more cheese and balsamic reduction. I toasted it again to melt the cheese. Holy yum this was delicious! And fresh! Mmmmm! The tomato tasted like a tomato should and I savored each bite.

My building had an ice cream social tonight so I snagged some Ben & Jerry's lemon sorbet which I got topped with baby gummy bears. I had half of the sorbet topped with a few berries and called it a night.

Time to clean the dishes, read, and go to bed!

Slacker Blogger

I kind of feel like a slacker for not blogging since Wednesday night. I missed you guys but hopefully you understand - life has been busy :)

Thursday and Friday at work were busy and relatively uneventful. It seems like things have picked up for a few weeks now and will stay that way for a while. Thursday I was a bottomless pit though - I think the effects of Body Pump finally hit. And I could walk like a normal human being again!!

Breakfast on both days looked similar - overnight hot cereal. Thursday's bowl had blueberries and was topped with peanut butter and yesterday's was cherries with almond butter.

Mid-morning I snacked on another little piece of my carrot cake Larabar

Thursday's lunch was an ultimate veggie wrap. Onto a brown rice tortilla I added roasted red pepper hummus, red pepper spread, spinach, carrot, roasted broccoli and green beans, and beets. The beets were the star ingredient with just enough sweetness to tie everything together. I also had a carrot.

Thursday's snack #1 was a peach from the farmers market. Snack #2 before Body Pump (!!) was toasted with some 2% cheese on top.

Body Pump was great again and while I wasn't completely recovered from the first class, I wasn't as sore after the second one. I was really happy about that!

Dinner wasn't too exciting and a while later I started feeling crummy and was craving a bowl of hot cereal. This simple bowl just had a serving of the Bob's Red Mill GF hot cereal, chia, almond milk and water, Earth Balance, and almond butter on top.

Friday I woke up still feeling bad yet went into work to discover that one of our student workers had shared his bug with me. How thoughtful :)  I had a meeting and a few things to take care of but around 1pm I decided I needed to take myself home and could be equally as productive from my couch.

I chugged a lot of water all day long as well, in hopes that I wasn't sick but dehydrated. Unfortunately I don't think that was the problem. I was finally hungry for lunch and craved a warm bowl of comfort and tomatoes. I was out of soup so I cooked up a serving of brown rice pasta and tossed it with some sauce thickened with tomato paste and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Snack an hour later included a pear and then a cracker with hummus on top. Then I had another snack of the last few tablespoons of baked beans. I became quite the bottomless pit!

Last night was pretty uneventful and I was happy to get to bed.

Today I woke up around 10:15am and was feeling much, much better. I'm glad to have kicked that bug quickly since I normally hang on to any sickness for a while. Sleep always helps, I'm sure :)

I ate an open-faced egg sandwich on a Food for Life english muffin. I put hot sauce, red pepper spread, and spinach on each half and then added my egg white. Perfect Saturday breakfast :)

I then spent 3 hours, no joke, deep cleaning my apartment from top to bottom. My apartment may not be big but I dusted and cleaned everything on the shelves as well as the shelves themselves. I'm loving the sparkling clean feeling! It also seemed like a great way to beat the 100 degree day (110 with the heat index... and humidity) and I'm happy to report I'm cool as a cucumber.

Lunch was kale chips and roasted veg plus another veggie wrap (sans beets) that I made for lunch yesterday but didn't end up eating.

Not sure what's on tap for the rest of the day but I can assure you it'll be something cool.

How's your weekend going?