Grieving my Health

I tossed and turned all Sunday night, probably because of my long nap, and as a result did not wake up at 5 am as planned. I woke up with just enough time to get ready, eat breakfast and make it out the door on time. For breakfast, I had a bowl of shredded wheat with a banana, walnuts, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg. I like the addition of the nutmeg, it added a little warmth.

Work was hectic and I got hungry early. I ate a colby jack cheese stick

and five prunes. This was my first time having prunes but for some reason I really wanted to try them when I saw the jar at Whole Foods. I was pleasantly surprised, they are nice and sweet!

I had some errands to run for work and had a handful of NUTrition nuts on my way out to stave off hunger.

While I was out, I picked up lunch at Firebird’s for The Pro, T and myself. I ordered the grilled salmon with plain baked potato

and a house salad. It was a great lunch and the salad was really good even though I have been feeling the salads lately.

The afternoon breezed by and before I knew it, it was snack time. I had greek yogurt with lemon curd and cherries. It was awesome, the cherry and lemon really complimented each other.

Shortly thereafter, I left work and received a phone call from the pharmacy to let me know that the replacement drug for the one I tried to get the other day would be $150!  I, of course, told them not to fill it and promptly called my insurance company. Apparently, my employer has reduced our coverage to keep the same rates. And since the insurance is completely company paid, they don’t have to let us know these things.

So, I stewed the entire way home and ended up in binge mode once I got home. I are ALOT of bread while I cooked dinner and then ate the dinner. For dinner I made open faced turkey meatball subs. The reason they were open faced is because I ate all of the tops.

After dinner, I ate three of the lacey cookies I bought from TJ’s.

I felt sick afterwrds. I was miserable and went to bed. I didn’t realize until this morning what sent me into a binge. I’m not sure if you have been following my medical problems but some of them are related to my job. I take allergy meds because of my grass allergy. An allergy that I didn’t know I had until I worked here because the only grass I am allergic to is the kind that covers 668 acres of the golf course. I have seasonal affective disorder which is complicated by working in a office that is the attic with no windows. I never had symptoms until my first fall/winter here. And now, I can’t afford the medication I have been taking for my chronic acid relux which is also the only medication that has worked. I have tried them all and the though of having to pay so much for it all of a sudden is sickening. Some might say I am blessed to have a job but at this point, it feels like a curse.

Thought Provoker: What would be your breaking point of job induced health related issues? I think I might be reacing mine.

It’s What I Love About Sunday’s

I slept in a little yesterday, I didn’t wake up until the late hour of 6:30. For breakfast, I was really cravings buttered toast with eggs so I channeled my inner Jordan and makes eggs in a basket. I brushed two slices of TJ’s high fiber whole wheat bread with a little melted smart balance and then cut a hole in each piece with a glass. I put them into the pan and then cracked an egg into each hole and sprinkled on a little salt and pepper.

While they cooked, I munched on a bowl of grapes.

This breakfast really hit the spot, I am thinking you will be seeing this one many times in the future. Thanks, Jordan! After breakfast, the dear husband and I hit the road for a quick dose of sunlight. We walked around our neighborhood bundled up in our hat and gloves, it was chilly! Our walk was followed by laundry and then lunch. For lunch, I made whole wheat couscous topped with a morning star farms fake chicken patty and topped it all off with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

For dessert, we shared this lovely chocolate croissant from Whole Foods.

Lunch was followed by a little more laundry and some food prep for the week ahead. While I was cooking, I took a little break and had two of these little chocolate meringues from TJ”s. I really really liked these, I was surprised by how chocolaty the flavor was! Once my prep was done, I took a nice long nap. This IS what I love about Sundays!

For dinner, I made a little dish I dreamed up in my head while looking at our choice of ingredients.

BBQ Apples and Pork Chops

2 servings

2 bone in pork chops

1 tbsp olive oil

salt, pepper, Penzy’s BBQ 3000 (or any other BBQ seasoning)

1 small apple, core removed and thinly sliced

1/4 of a small red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup BBQ Sauce

Preheat the oven to 350*. Coat the chops in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and BBQ Seasoning. Place chops in a baking dish and cover each with half of the the onion and apple. Drizzle each chop with 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce. Cover the dish and bake for 45 minutes then remove the cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Serve with additional BBQ sauce for dipping.

I made baked sweet potatoes topped with smart balance and cinnamon to go along side our chops. This was a perfect easy fall dinner. For dessert, we had the last of the peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal bars with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and then drizzled with chocolate sauce. These bars are so tasty, I can not wait to make them again and again.

Thought Provoker: Do you think it is important to have a low key day to regroup and prepare for the upcoming week? I feel lost throughout the weekend if I haven’t done my prepwork.