Easy Breezy June Day

Ok, short post today. Well, that’s usual for me!

Breakfast was a green smoothie comprised of unsweetened almond milk, frozen banana, spinach, and flax seed.

The spinach is the grown up kind, not the baby, and I have noticed a difference. The first time I used it, my smoothie was more watery, but I also used a non-frozen banana, and added ice, so that might be it. Also the big spinach I have to wash more thoroughly because it’s gritty.

Lunch was a simple affair: leftovers! I used the leftover canned salmon, half an avocado, and 3/4 cup of black beans.

Now queue up the Beatles “All Together (Now)”….

It looks like a hot mess, but it’s pretty darn good. And simple!

When I got home, my boyfriend and I went on a nice bike ride down the levee with a destination in mind. I had a groupon for the Pita Pit on the LSU campus, so we decided on that for dinner. I got a wheat pita with garlic hummus, feta cheese, black beans, red onions, spinach, tomatoes, and sprouts.

We only stopped once on our bike ride, so I barely got any pictures. Where we live the river levee is pretty nice for bicycling, although I wish they would pave it all the way from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

Going toward LSU/New Orleans

Going toward the State Capitol/Baton Rouge

The swampy area on the Mississippi River side:

 

Like I said, we only stopped once, so there’s not a lot of difference in the pictures, but the river can be really interesting. Lots of stuff to see.

After the ride, we watched a show (Blood of Thrones?) and I drank a beer, and ate some Backyard BBQ Kettle chips.

  

All Together Now!

No Breakfast=Bad News

I didn’t eat breakfast today! This morning was all a rush, starting with me waking up late, and pounding coffee when I got to work, then just jumping into the workload. For a right before lunch I started eating an apple that wasn’t really good any more, so I abandoned it.

Lunch was leftover delicious chili! Very hearty and fulfilling. I love beer chilis, but my must-have ingredient in chili is BEANS! Don’t tell the die-hard chili cooks that insist “real” chili doesn’t have beans.

Around 5:00 I had a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Clif Bar. Not my favorite flavor, but I bought in bulk to save money! (My favorite flavors are Chocolate Mint and Carrot Cake.)

On Saturday I bought a HUGE box at Sam’s Club. I went with my dad, and we bought wine, strawberries and sweet peppers too.

When I got home from work I went on a short run. Have you ever seen someone “fake run”, like slowly jog next to someone walking? That was my running today. I felt so sloooooow. This is not a race, I am not doing speed work, but I still feel down when my legs don’t move. (Is it because I didn’t eat breakfast?) All I can think of is how proud I will be in the future of my past self (current self) for plodding through and setting the ground work for all those muscles.

Once home I had a hodge podge kind of dinner: canned salmon and half an avocado mashed together,

a cabbage slaw of sorts, with shredded cabbage, carrots, sweet peppers, olive oil, vinegar, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. I didn’t measure anything.

Also: black beans on the side.

It was tasty, although the cabbage could’ve used some salt!

Now I’m off to drink a beer and catch up on some internet reading.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It has been raining a lot here this week. I kind of like the rain, but it makes me sleepy, and messes with my outdoor exercise plans. In fact, this evening I came home and took a long nap when I should have been running. More on that later .

Breakfast was the always delicious Fage cherry topped greek yogurt, with a banana on the side.

I did not really snack today (unlike yesterday)!

Lunch was what I was supposed to eat for dinner last night: roasted brussels sprouts and macaroni and cheese. It was delightfully stinky. One of my coworkers told me that it was disgusting smelling.

I also had a club soda, which was kind of a nice treat from my usual water. We drink these like crazy at my house, especially the boyfriend.

A couple of years ago when I was trying to give up coke products, I tried drinking club soda mixed with cranberry juice, which is pretty darn tasty. Eventually I gave up the juice component all together, and we still buy club soda frequently. It’s just nice to have something different from water every now and then. To other coke fiends I would also recommend unsweetened iced tea. Also delicious, and it has caffeine!

Around 4:30 I had a clif bar in anticipation of my workout later this evening.

When I got home I had a glorious 2-3 hour nap, but woke up feeling panicked. I quickly changed and did my run outside. It was fun to run in the rain, although I was a little nervous to run down hill. You might not call them hills if you’re from any where else, but it’s a “hill” to me.

For a moment I thought I saw an alligator in the lake, but it was a nutria. He was huge!

When I got home I ate an omelet fit for a farmer or an Olympic gymnast, not an office worker. It was delicious, and not too calorie dense. Ingredients:

• 2 medium eggs (these felt tiny in my hand, I am used to large or jumbo!)
• 1 egg white
• canola oil spray
• 2 tbsp diced onion
• 1/4 cup black beans
• 1 cup broccoli, steamed
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
• salt and pepper, to taste

The onions were cooked down in the oil until softened, then I added the whisked eggs. After cooking for a few minutes on low heat, I added the beans and broccoli, and covered the pan. I added the mess to a plate and sprinkled with cheese, pepper, and tomatoes. You shouldn’t take instruction from me, because I am the worse omelet maker (as far as aesthetics, but they are tasty).

You can see on the plate where half the omelet stayed together, and the other half has become an egg mess. I am okay with that, because it all tastes the same in my mouth: delicious.

Three Fruits a Day

This morning I had…wait for it…a green smoothie!

It was the usual almond milk, spinach, frozen banana, flax seed concoction. Today however, I added chia seeds.

Verdict is still out on this one. They kind of became gelatinous which was an interesting texture to suck up through a straw. Very flan like. I see why chia is used as vegan pudding.

Morning snack was a golden nugget clementine. Sweet.

Lunch was leftover pasta with pesto and spinach. Today I added a little tuna from a can and a couple of walnut halves.

I spy a fish in the above picture. (Hint: not the tuna)

Snacks followed a couple of hours later. A small banana and a few mini chocolate covered pretzels.

When I got home I prepared dinner and then took a walk. When I got home, I didn’t want to eat the hot food, so I am eating an apple, and crackers and cheese, sipping chardonnay. Not too shabby.

Back in the Saddle Again

Blech, Mondays…

Breakfast was a green monster. Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups of spinach
• 1 frozen banana
• 1+ cup soy milk
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup plain frozen yogurt

I went to work for half a day, then went to the produce stand and got more bananas, apples, and citrus fruit. The store I went to had an ugli fruit, which  I have never seen before! I was tempted, but passed.

On the way home I stopped and got a Sonic coke. Sometimes I just want a coke. Especially when it’s boiling hot outside. For those reading from a state that doesn’t have Sonic – they are overrated.

When I got home I had 2 pieces of peanut butter toast with banana and chia seeds.

Why my interest in chia seeds? I’ve read they are a good source of fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids, among other things. Anything that will improve my hair, skin, and nails I am keen on trying.

We’ll see if I notice any good effects from eating them.

 

On Sunday my parents gave us four tomatoes from their garden, which are delicious!

The boyfriend and I ate BLTs on Sunday night, and I didn’t take a picture - I was too busy eating. Tonight I decided to take advantage of the fresh tomatoes again. Dinner was whole wheat pasta, pesto, spinach, and tomatoes.

The pesto is from Whole Foods, and it is okay. I want to make my own!

Side note: This afternoon I went running. I don’t know how many other people try and fail, try and fail many times, but I definitely have a hard time getting back on the horse. Commitment to exercise or really most things in my life are more mentally hard for me than physically. Once I have failed at something, I often don’t want to try again, and get depressed about my lack of success. Maybe I am just stubborn. Or a sloppy perfectionist? Whatever it is, it’s a terrible mental block. The more time that passes the worse it gets too. I definitely need to work on the time that it takes me to Deal With It.

Did anyone else watch Better Off Ted? That show had it’s moments. Namely, Portia deRossi and the two scientists. “That’s what we do now…we deal with things. DEAL WITH IT!”

Now I’m going to watch a movie (“Closer” with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen) and deal with drink some cabernet sauvignon.

Shopping Saturday

Today I woke up and had a green smoothie. Oh man, those are good. I’ve been making them “classic” style, with soy milk, spinach, flax seed, and frozen banana. Oh, also adding a little frozen plain yogurt. Hits the spot every time.

This afternoon I went to Whole Foods, but on the way there (not at all on the way from my house) I went to World Market for the fun of it. Turned out to be a retail therapy trip I guess, because I got a lot of loot.

The olive oil and peppercorns were needed, the rest not so much.

They had a good price on PB&Co Peanut Butter, so I snagged some Smooth Operator, and I got a jar of Marmite for fun. I also got some Columbian Supremo coffee and a lentil soup packet that I saw last Christmas but passed up.

After that bounty, I went to Whole Foods which was insanely crowded. Ugh. I got some random stuff, namely chia seeds (wow, they are expensive), falafel mix, a large container of spinach, Shiner 102 beer, almond milk, and salmon sashimi for tomorrow’s lunch.

Then I tried some marmite on toast. The bread was made by my boyfriend (a wheat) and I slathered it with butter, and tried to thinly scrape the marmite on top, like I’ve read to do. It didn’t want to cooperate. However, the Marmite was excellent. I knew I would like it though, because I love salty and umami foods. Mmmm….

I also dipped into the Peanut Butter. Oh man. World Market also had the chocolate PB, which I’m glad I didn’t buy, because that would’ve been GONE.

Time to meet Anne for coffee!

All’s Well That Ends Well

On Wednesday I ended up going to the hospital for a pain in my side that wasn’t going away. Long story short nothing was really wrong with me (like gallbladder, kidney stones, or cysts) so I went home. It is never fun to go to the emergency room, and so the next day I treated myself to some of my favorite comfort foods. Like shorbat adass, the lentil soup that I cannot for the life of me duplicate. It is creamy, smooth and so tasty. I have looked up recipes that only list lentils, broth, garlic, and onions as ingredients, but this has a flavor that I cannot put my finger on.

I also had some Food Should Taste Good Olive chips.

And of course chocolate. I love salty and sweet together, like chocolate covered pretzels, so this Sea Salt and almond dark chocolate was perfect.

Earlier this week I had made the perfect salad for lunch. Hopefully I can make more great salad lunches. Unfortunately I left a bunch of fixings at work and now it is the weekend. Maybe they will still be fresh?

The salad was comprised of spinach, tomatoes, walnuts, avocado, romano cheese, and sea salt and pepper croutons. The cheese could actually go (I can’t believe I am saying that). I bought the romano in anticipation of making caesar salad but it hasn’t happened yet. The creaminess of the avocado didn’t mix well with the sharp cheese.  

I am resting this weekend. Hopefully by Monday I will be a-ok and ready to do all the things I’ve planned to do.