Of course, it was Mac N Cheese

I’m not sure why, but this morning I woke up wiped out and starving. I think the endless headaches, ear and jaw pain are really starting to catch up to me. I started the day with a bowl of hot grains (wheatberries, oats, and bulgur) topped with ground flax seed, a banana and some almond butter. I ate the entire bowl and still felt like I could eat more but in the essence of time, I headed to work instead.

oats, no milk

Work started out pretty easy and I was working at a pretty comfortable pace. By 9, I felt starved again and knew that the staff lunch was coming soon. I normally try to wait until the end of it to go get my lunch but today, I was first in line at 10:30! It was roasted chicken, bacon green beans and, of course, the best looking mac and cheese I had ever laid my eyes on. I skipped the mac n cheese to stay dairy free but I did have some of the chicken and the beans along with a slice of toasted wheat bread. I ate most of the chicken, the beans minus the bacon and all of the bread.

staff lunch

An hour later, I was hungry again and I knew it would be my last chance to eat anything until dinner so I had the banana that had been sitting on my desk for a couple days. It was perfectly ripe, the kind of ripe that makes you say out loud how good the banana is! After my banana, I had 3 meeting scheduled. The first started at 12 and it ran over causing me to have to cancel the 2:00 meeting. And it ran over still to the point that I had to end it when my 2:45 meeting arrived on site. Needless to say, it was a hectic afternoon. I ended up leaving work about 45 minutes late and by then I was starving again.

I called the dear husband and asked him to help me with the prep which made dinner go by much faster. I made baked salmon with greek seasoning, whole wheat couscous and the dear husband put together a salad. This was one of my go to meals when I was on weightwatchers. And tonight, I remembered why. It is fast, tasty and healthy all rolled up in one meal.

fast, healthy and delicous

After dinner, I caught up on blogland via google reader (don’t you just love it?) and then settled in with my new book, Small Changes, Big Results by Ellie Kreiger. The book is a 12 week program to make small changes over time for a healthier lifestyle. It addresses three important factors, food, exercise and emotional well being all of which I could use some help. Unfortunaley, I fell asleep before I could even get through the first week, so more on that tomorrow. When I woke up a couple hours later, I was starving, my stomach was growling so loud I think the dear husband could hear it. I had a small bowl of hazelnut biscotti cereal with soymilk and then headed to bed.

QOTD: Do you have a harder time staying on track with eating right and exercising when you aren’t feeling great?

Goodbye Dairy?

Yesterday started out pretty rough. I had tossed and turned all night accompanied by bad dreams. The combo made getting out of bed really hard. But, I did eventually rise and make my way through the day. I started with a bowl of hot cereal made up of wheatberries, oats, bulgur and ground flax seed. I topped it with a banana and some white chocolate dreams. I think this is one of my favorite combos. I passed on the glass of milk this morning because I think it makes me too full but come to find out, maybe I was having a premonition.

hot grain cereal

I had asked my dear friend Monica for suggestions about alleviate allergy symptoms naturally and she suggested nettle leaf tea and eliminating dairy. I was resistant to the idea of eliminating dairy at first but after some more research and asking around, I decided that I would bid farewell to my friend dairy for at least a couple weeks. I am going to start by working to eliminate milk, cheese and yogurt and will work my way into things that require more intense label reading. So, this is going to be a process and I hope I can keep at it.

Work was pretty good, the weather was nice and cool and every one was gearing up for what was expected to be a busy day. Around 11, I was hungry and didn’t want to miss my chance for a free lunch so I headed downstairs to have some staff lunch. It was soup and salad day again, which made my day. I made a salad with lettuce, tomato, cukes, carrots, chicken and balsamic dressing along with a small cup of sesame noodle soup. I also had a slice of toasted whole wheat bread.

soup and salad

After lunch, I decided to have a little goodbye celebration with the rest of the milk chocolate bar from Monday.  I think I need to really dig deep and figure out what these chocolate cravings are about. I have a feeling that I am feeling rebellious because I have been having alot of diet thoughts again. A battle that I hope I don’t have to face forever.

In the late afternoon, I had a meeting that lasted the rest of the day. I had no idea it was going to take that long or I would have had a snack. The dear husband and I had a meeting with our insurance rep after work and dinner was a ways away. Needless to say, by the time it was dinner time, I was starving. To make things fast and easy, we went to Panera. My first dairy free dining out experience. I ordered the honey dijon chicken sandwich with no cheese and a half a strawberry poppy seed salad. For the salad, I asked for balsamic vinaigrette on the side because the dressing that comes with it has splenda in it. I ate the half sandwich and a couple bites of the salad and I was finished. I really liked the honey dijon dressing on the sandwich, it was tangy and sharp.

salad and sandwich

After dinner, we headed to the grocery store to pick up some non dairy items for me to use the rest of the week. I got all sorts of things that I am excited to try, you all will see more on that in the days to come. Once we settled in at home, I had a small bowl of turtle twirl soy ice cream. It was actually rally good! The chocolate crunch bites were extra tasty! After the bowl of ice cream, it was time to hit the hay.

soy ice cream

QOTD: How do you deal with dietary restrictions when dining out?

Two Lattes, Two Cookies

Wouldn’t it be ironic if I woke up at 5:15 naturally on a Saturday when I struggle to do it during the work week? Well, that is what happened yesterday. At 5:15, my eyes flew open and I was ready for the day.  I had a pre-workout snack, which is a new thing for me (the working out and the pre workout snack). I had a small glass of low fat chocolate milk before I hopped on the treadmill. I think it really helped me stay more alert during the workout and I felt great afterwards. So, thanks to Jenna for inspiring me to have one. I did a 32 minute (one sex and the city episode) walk/run on the treadmill. I keep toying with the idea of running again and so I gave it a go. I am very much out of shape so I walked 3 minutes and ran 2 for most of the workout. I did just walk for the last 8 minutes or so. The workout was great and it felt good knowing that it was over and done with for the day.

pre workout snack

After a quick shower and some blogging, I made breakfast. I reheated some of my wheatberry, oat and bulgur concoction and topped it with a very ripe peach and some PB & Co. white chocolate wonderful. I guess the workout decreased my appetite because I wasn’t able to even come close to finishing my already small portion.  

breakfast

Once breakfast was finished and the dear husband was back from his marathon training, we hit the road. The siding guys are still working on our house and the banging is unbearable so we didn’t want to stick around. Our first stop was Target for a Starbucks. From the moment we gave our order we knew this was going to be an interesting experience. There were gobs of people standing around waiting for their drinks and the line was out of control. After settling into a chair to wait, we saw why. The girl making the drinks was WAY overwhelmed and the dude taking the orders was new and had to keep interrupting her.  After about 15 minutes, we got our drinks. Mine was wrong. I was delivered a tall vanilla latte with an extra shot. Since I didn’t want to cause further chaos, I took the drink thinking that the extra shot wouldn’t make that much of a difference. I was wrong, it tasted like mud so I sat it in the cup holder and pouted.

latte # 1

We were headed to the area of town that I lived when dear husband and I met one another. It is about 45 minutes away from home so when we passed a little coffee shop on the way I was delighted. We pulled in and I was sure that this would make up for the bad Starbucks. I am not usually this high maintenance but it really was a bad drink. I ordered a small vanilla latte with skim milk. I got the latte to the car and it was way too sweet for me. This was turning out to be a bad latte day. Since I still had the mud sitting in the console, I decided to mix the two lattes together and it actually turned out really good. Too bad it cost me two stops and $10.

latte # 2

Once we got to my old stomping grounds, we did a little shopping and reminiscing. For lunch, we went to one our favorite places from when we were dating. Ginger Red which is an Asian Fusion place that has awesome food, a cool atmosphere and brown rice. 🙂 I started out with some hot jasmine tea and Thai lettuce wraps. The lettuce wraps were fantastic, they had a nice curry flavor that wasn’t too strong.

jasmine tea

lettuce wraps

For lunch I ordered a Vietnamese summer roll and hunan shrimp with brown rice. The hunan shrimp came with a soup so I asked for hot and sour. The summer roll was excellent, the peanut sauce they serve it with is the best combo of sweet and sour.

summer roll

The soup was pretty typical hot and sour soup and since I hadn’t really planned to eat soup, I only had a bite or two.

hot and sour soup

After soup, our entrees came. My Hunan Shrimp was perfectly cooked but the sauce was a bit milder than I had expected.  It was a lunch size portion and I still only finished about 1/3 of it.  I also had a bite or two of the dear husbands fried rice. For dessert, we split a fortunes cookie. Overall, our lunch was fantastic and brought back great memories from days gone by.

hunan shrimp with brown rice

fortune cookie

Lunch was followed by a trip to the local health food store. I really only needed some oats and some oat flour but we came across some local tofu (!!) that I had to have as well. We also bought some Ezekiel sprouted burger buns and a preserve toothbrush. While there, we had a sample of a vegan chocolate chip cookie made with tofu. It was pretty tasty, the texture was kinda of dry but they have been because they were siting out in the sample tray. It was my first time with a vegan baked good and overall, I wouldn’t have know it was vegan if the sign hadn’t said so.

vegan cookie

After the health food store, we headed home to see if we had a message about my car. We had been waiting all day for a call and thought maybe they called our house instead of our cell. When we got home, there was no message so we gave them a call and they said that it still wasn’t ready. Finally, around 4:30 they called to say it was done. We headed out to pick it up and then we went to Lowe’s for new porch lights.

Once we got back home, we made a light dinner. Spinach and spring mix salad with cukes, dried cranberries, goat cheese and almond slices. I topped mine with a little garlic seasoned rice vinegar and had a whole wheat yeast roll on the side. It was a nice dinner and not too heavy after a long day of running around.

a light summer dinner

After dinner, I read a little of “When Food is Love” by Geneen Roth and finally headed off to bed. It had been a nice Saturday but I was really tired!

QOTD: Do you prefer to get your work out done in the morning or in the evening? Why?

It’s a celebration

Every morning for the past few mornings, I have been trying to wake up at 5:00 am in order to hit the treadmill before work. And for the past few mornings, I just haven’t been able to do it. It’s like my exercise mojo has been lost….again. So, instead of starting my day with exercise, I started it with a bowl of hot grain cereal, wheatberries, oats and bulgur. I added some local blackberries and some almond butter. Boy, I am really liking these blackberries! I had a small glass of milk along side to wash down my vitamins and medicine.

mmm...blackberries

After breakfast, I headed to work for another fun filled day in golf world. Things have really slowed down for us, thank goodness, so I am trying to get all caught up before we pick back up in September. I stayed busy for a good part of the morning and was able to get a lot of things done. Around 10, I had a banana and then around 11:30, I went out to pick up celebration sushi. Yesterday was my one year anniversary with golf world and T and I will use any ole excuse to eat sushi. We each got a kryptonite roll and shared some dumpling soup. This is the best sushi, ever. We don’t eat it often because it is really spendy but today we were celebrating.

dumpling soup

celebration sushi!

 

I worked a little late because I had a therapy session and didn’t really have time to go home first. Therapy was awesome, I hadn’t had such an intense session in a long time. We talked about how I am starting to feel rebellion against not eating until full anymore. She wondered if maybe I am sabotaging my own happiness by holding myself back from attaining my goal. I have lived a hard and interesting life and have finally found happiness in my present circumstances, all except my weight. She and I both wonder what is holding me back from really getting to where I want to be. I’ve got lots of work to do to find out.

After therapy, I came home to snobby joes and salad. Dear husband had pulled the snobby joe sauce from the freezer and heated it up in the microwave. We had them in whole wheat wraps with mozzarella cheese and grainy mustard. I actually think it was better this time than last! This recipe is a keeper for sure!

A couple hours after dinner, I was hungry again. It truly amazes what a difference smaller meals makes in my hunger level. I had a bowl of the chocolate hazelnut biscotti cereal again, it was so tasty. And for those wondering, this cereal comes from Target. It is the Archers Farms brand and there is a whole section of fun cereals made my them. They are nutrionally sound, whole grains, ingredients you recognize and have something for everyone.

yum!

Shortly after the cereal, I headed off to bed. I needed my beauty sleep!

A Long Week Comes to an End

Finally, it was Friday. This week was filled with ups and down but I made it! I woke up in the morning with my eye on the goal: Make it to 4pm. I started the day with my typical breakfast of oats, wheatberries, bulgur and ground flax seed topped with a nectarine and almond butter. I was feeling extra hungry so I added a little extra of the almond butter. It always surprised me that the nectarine and the almond butter go together but they really do.

breakfast

Once I got to work, I had a ton to do before T got there. It was “statement” day which means we have to send out our 500 member statements. And this operation, my friends, it totally manual. It takes a better part of the day even with two people doing it. Needless to say, it is one of my least favorite tasks. By lunch, they were off to print, which I thought was perfect timing. It was stir fry day, yay! The stir fry had little pieces of beef, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, peppers and onions. It was served with white rice, which I took a little of. I had planned to bring one of those brown rice cups from home but in my mad dash to leave I forgot. I topped my stir fry with a little rooster sauce to give it a kick and it was great.

stir fry

After lunch, the folding and stuffing began. It took up most of the afternoon and by 3:30, I was hungry again. I had a kashi chocolate peanut crunch bar that I really enjoyed. I think it is a toss up between this one and the chocolate caramel one. Both are very tasty and make a nice quick snack.

crunchy

Finally, after the statements were out the door and the other month end tasks were complete, I was on my way home. I had a long stressful week and I just wanted to go home and relax. We decided to have pizza for dinner so when I got home, I popped in an archers farm pepperoni extra thin crust pizza. The dear husband made some nice salads with tomatoes, cukes and mixed greens dressed with olive oil and vinegar. After I ate my first piece, I decided to wait 10 minutes to see if I really needed a second piece. By the time it passed, I was over pizza.

pizza

We decided to rent a movie on demand which is one of our favorite things to do on a Friday night. We rented Definitely Maybe and I made some famous popcorn. The movie was pretty good, I think. It was a little drawn out and kind of predictable but overall it was cute. After the movie, we settled into bed for some tv and off to sleep I went. Saturday was just around the corner.

famous popcorn

Just Two Years Ago

Oh, what a relief yesterday was. I woke up feeling much better than I had in days and I was determined to keep it that way. I started out with some wheatberries, oats and bulgur mixed with flax seed and then topped with a banana and some PB & Co. white chocolate dreams PB. The PB was good but it didn’t really taste like white chocolate, it kinda tasted like Jiff. It has been years since I had eaten PB that wasn’t all natural so maybe that influenced what I thought. It was really really sweet but it went nicely with my hot cereal and banana. I also had a glass of milk to wash it all down.

kinda like jiff

When I got to work, things were in full swing. I had a huge day ahead of me, I had been feeling very behind as a number of special projects were bogging down my daily work. I knew that I could get myself caught up if I really stayed off of the internetfocused. While being knee deep in work, I received a lovely bouquet of flowers for the dear husband. We had met each other just two years ago, the happiest years of my life.

happy anniversary

Shortly after I got the flowers, it was lunch time. I ordered the lunch special. It was a lovely seared pepper ahi tuna salad with ponzu dressing. I also had a slice of whole wheat bread on the side. The combo was very filling, I was actually only able to finish about half of the salad. It was a shame to see that second piece tuna go to waste but better for it to go to waste than to my waist.

peppered ahi tuna salad

good carbs

 

Shortly after lunch, I had one of my homemade cinnamon lattes, it really it the spot and got me through a long afternoon. I ended up staying late again but the result of all my hard work was being able to leave without a long to do list on my brain. To celebrate our “dating two years married 4 months” anniversary, we met for sushi. We started with edamame and then some calamari.

edamame

calamari

 

After the appetizers, we ordered three rolls for the two of us. We got a volcano roll, a lobster roll and a calamari with spicy tuna roll. All of it was awesome. We haven’t really had the time lately to get out to sushi as much as we like, the chef even asked where we had been. So, this was nice treat and a great way to celebrate.

volcano roll

calamari with spicy tuna roll

lobster roll

spicy mayo for the side

 

Once we were home from dinner, I had a madjool date to cure my sweet tooth. I had never had a date before so this was a new experience. I’m not sure if I liked it or not, on some bites I thought I did and others I wasn’t sure. I need to figure out a good use for them other than eating them straight. Ideas are welcome, of course.

a date, the food kind

Around 9ish, I felt was seemed like stomach growling. I didn’t think it could be hunger but it was persistent. Finally, I decided that it must be hunger so I made dear husband and I a treat. A grilled chocolate dreams PB and cherry jam sandwich of 100% whole wheat bread. I had my half along with a glass of milk. It was fantastic!! The PB was warm and melty and the jam was still jam like but started to blend with the PB. Oh, it was a good little bedtime treat.

how good does that look?

Shortly after our snack, we headed off to bed. I went to sleep very thankful for a peaceful, productive and happy day.

A Chocolate Bar Will Not Fix It

Boy, what a hard few days. Yesterday, I woke up with puffy swollen eyes from all the tears, a massive headache and the general desire to sleep all day. But, I knew that wouldn’t really help anything so I got up and proceeded with my day. For breakfast I had wheatberries, oat and bulgur mixed with flax seed and topped with a banana and some PB & Co chocolate dreams. That stuff should be illegal, really. I also had a glass of milk to wash it all down.

should be illegal oatmeal

Once I got to work, I got the advice from the blogospehere and a message board that I frequent to contact the animal control about Callie. I called and left a message and as of yet, I still have not heard back. Once I had the Callie news off my chest, I got to work on a busy busy day. Golf World is a madhouse these days and my desk is loaded with work. That is good though, plenty to keep my mind off of all the negative things going on.

Around 11, I had to run out and do some errands for work and I planned to pick up lunch. My stomach had been growling for a while, I decided to go ahead and have a snack. I had a Kashi Crunch bar, the chocolate and caramel one. While I was eating it, I was thinking that it was actually a form of emotional eating. Sure I was hungry, but hunger is tolerable and lunch was right around the corner. And with all the bad stuff going on, the hunger just didn’t feel tolerable. I was tired of being uncomfortable. I did enjoy the Kashi bar, in fact, I bought more while I was out. This makes up for the Kashi roll experience, for sure.

now that is good

While out, I picked up lunch for T and I. I got brown rice tuna dynamite roll and a fresh veggie spring roll. Because I had eaten the Kashi bar, I wasn’t really that hungry and for the first time in history, I didn’t finish it all. I gave the rest the the chef intern in the kitchen, he seemed very happy to receive my gift of sushi.

brown rice tuna dynomite roll

fresh veggie spring roll

 

After lunch, the afternoon sped by, so much so that I knew I would have to stay late. I started to get hungry again and knew that I wouldn’t be home until really late so I decided to have some greek yogurt with blackberries. I had really intended to have that as my morning snack but that never really happened. I was pretty tasty though I thought the berries could have been a smidge sweeter.

greek yogurt and blackberries

Once I finally left work, I arranged for dear husband to prepare dinner. I had planned to make stuffed shells but my hunger wasn’t waiting that long. So, we had an archers farms BBQ chicken extra thin crust pizza. It has chicken, BBQ sauce, onions and cheese, a really tasty combo. Along side we had spinach and baby romaine salads with rice vinegar. It all really did the trick, it was indulgent but not too over the top.

BBQ chicken pizza

After dinner, I was exhausted, I had been running on four hours of sleep and it was really catching up to me. And along with that, I am getting over a sinus infections so my body really just wanted to rest. We watched a little tv and I think I was out by 8. A long hard day had finally come to an end.

Goodbye Callie

I tell you, sometimes I wonder why life throws so many curve balls all at one time. Yesterday was a really hard day emotionally. I started out with a heavy heart about how work would feel. I didn’t want to get out of bed and I wondered how many days in row I could call in sick without being fired. I did finally get up and get ready to go. For breakfast I had my typical, hot grain cereal with wheatberries, oats and bulgur topped with almond butter and a banana. One the side I had a glass of milk.

breakfast

Once at work, the emotions really started flying. The Pro and I had a really long talk about Paul’s death and the unfortunate circumstances behind it. Though the club was closed, a few employees rambled in throughout the day to find out any updates about the arrangements for him. Once T got to work, the mood lightenend a bit as she is a laugher and her laugh is infectous. It was a nice change from the somber mood of the early morning.

Around 10:30, The Pro said he would go out to Firebird’s and pick up some lunch. Since I knew that meant it would be late before lunch arrived, I had a stoneyfield farms low fat strawberry yogurt. It really hit the spot and held me over until the lunch came.

this should hold me over

I ordered the same thing I always order from Firebird’s, a grilled salmon salad. The salad has roasted pecans, tomatoes and jicama and it comes with a cilantro lime vinaigrette. It is so tasty and even without any whole grains, it is really filling. The Pro also “surprised” us with lattes so right after lunch I had most of a grande soy latte from Starbucks. I had a raging headache and that really helped ease it up some.

lunch

latte

 

The afternoon flew by and before I knew it, it was time to go. By the time I left, I had an outrageous headache again and was really ready to be home. When I got home, I made spinach salads and whole wheat mini shells with turkey tomato sauce. I had the sauce in the freezer so this meal went together in less than 15 minutes.

quick dinner

After dinner, we went out to run some errands and came home to some disappointing news. There were signs all over the neighborhood indicating someone had lost a pregnant calico cat with a distinctive stripe down her nose. We knew right away that the missing cat was our Callie. We had adopted her just a week prior and at the time felt sure she was a stray. She did not have a collar and she hung around for months. Once we decided that she was a stray, we started feeding her and she, of course, started to hang around more. She was in our yard constantly and we didn’t want her to be homeless anymore. So, we took her to the vet and brought her in to join our other two precious kitties.

We called the number on the flyer and got a voicemail and left a message letting them know we had her. The whole evening was so sad. I made some popcorn hoping to find some comfort, I know food wasn’t the answer but I was so tired of crying.

comfort food?

Around 9:30, we went to bed only to be woken at 10:30 by the ringing phone. Dear husband answered, it was Callie’s “owner”. Within a few minutes, the doorbell rang. I answered the door because I wanted answers. I wanted to know why she was always so hungry and if they intended to give her an actual home. Sadly, the man was very confrontational and he had two dirty crying children with him. He approached me as if he wanted to fight a couple of times, I threatened to call the police but he wasn’t backing down. He and I clearly have different positions on proper animal care. He was aware that she was pregnant and that she didn’t have a collar. He also admitted that “everyone” in the neighborhood feeds her. They had gone on vacation and when they returned she was missing. In the end, I gave him the cat as he was threatening me and I was very scared, he was only feet from my face and I didn’t know what else to do.

Once Callie left, I was angry and sad. I am so worried about the fate of her and her little babies. I don’t know if I have any rights at all. Though I did tell him if she comes back, I do plan to take her in again. I cried alot and finally fell asleep around 2 am. I didn’t see her this morning, I hope she is OK.

The Great Kitty Rescue (Part 2)

What a day it was yesterday! The morning started out fine, even though I was worried about our kitty friend. I had my typical breakfast with a twist. I had the oats, bulgur, wheatberries and flax seed but I had some PB & CO dark chocolate dreams peanut butter and raspberries on top! It was pretty tasty. I can see myself getting really hooked on that peanut butter.

a new twist on breakfast

When I got to work, everyone was in a panic; the internet was down. I reset the server, router and modem and nothing changed so I had to call our provider. The ensured me they would be out before noon to fix the problem. Besides all of the inquiries about the internet, I was able to really get alot of work done. We were joking that The Pro had cut the lines to see in productivity increased. Around mid morning, I felt pretty hungry so I had a Target brand granola bar. I don’t have any pics because I left my camera at home (bad food blogger!). And for lunch I wanted to escape the madness so I offered to go pickup sushi. I had a shrimp dynomyte roll, a fresh veggie spring roll and couple bites of waldorf salad.

After lunch, I was able to get all my little piles of work caught up and head out on time. I went to my second bikram yoga class. This time, I was able to do more and the heat was more tolerable. The rivers of sweat pouring out of my arms, legs and head didn’t shock me as much. I made it through all of the standing poses without resting but some of the floor poses made me dizzy. One thing I noticed was that I would feel that way mostly after drinking water. Next time, I am going to try my best to avoid drinking during the class. For kicks, I wore my heart rate monitor watch and I burned almost 650 calories which is pretty impressive. When I left, I felt really good but exhausted.

When I got in the car, I called dear husband. He had taken our new kitty friend to the vet and I wanted the scoop. And guess what. She is well, no kitty diseases but she is also pregnant. Yes, thats right, pregnant. The vet warned us that our male cat may have trouble getting along with her and that he may kill the babies! If anyone has any advice on how we can avoid this, I would really appreciate it. So, this is the best pic I could get of her, she would stay still long enough for me to get a good shot. She looks kinda wild but she really is cute!

not the best pic but she is still cute

When I got home, I heated up some snobby joe’s that I had cooked on the weekend and topped them with provolone cheese and yellow mustard. I wrapped it all up in a whole wheat wrap and served it with salad topped with oil and vinegar. It was good, tasted like a bean buritto. The dear husband really enjoyed them as well.

snobby joes

After dinner, I had a major sweet tooth so I had a bowl of oatmeal chocolate hazelnut biscotti ceral (from Target) with some milk. It really hit the spot but I wasn’t able to finish the bowl. Shortly after the cereal, I was off to bed, it had been a really long day!

a sweet treat

The Great Kitty Rescue (part 1)

Sorry for the delay in getting the posted, I haven’t had internet access all day! Seriously, it sucked.

 

Yesterday was not as hectic as Monday, I got up on time and the morning went by smoothly. I was able to get ready without rushing and eat without having to shovel it in. I had my typical breakfast, wheatberries, oats, bulgur and flax seed topped with a nectarine and some almond butter along with a glass of milk. I really liked the nectarine, boy I will miss these summer fruits once the weather turns colder.

mmm...summer fruit

 

I had a full day at work, my inbox was literally overflowing and I had a meeting that was expected to last all afternoon. I worked on one of my website project most of the morning only to discover at 11 that I hadn’t had a snack at all and I was hungry! I went downstairs to get some water and scope out the lunch situation. And to my delight, the staff lunch was chicken and veggie stir fry with teriyaki sauce and rice. I filled my plate with chicken, veggies and sauce but only took about ¼ cup of the rice. I also had a stonyfield farm low fat strawberry yogurt. It was all pretty tasty, for a staff lunch, I was impressed.

 

this is staff lunch?

 

Before my meeting started, I was able to at least get my inbox sorted and I enjoyed my homemade cinnamon latte. To avoid stirfrycoffee breath, I popped a starlight mint that I grabbed out of the mixed grill.

 

fresh

 

As expected the meeting took most of the afternoon and by 3:30 I was really hungry. My guess is the lack of whole grains at lunch. Since I knew I was planning a quick and easy dinner, I decided to hold off on a snack.

 

Once I got home, I made some whole wheat mini shell pasta with stir fry veggie mix, fresh Hanover tomatoes and garlic. Once it was all cooked, added in some crushed red pepper and crumbled goat cheese. I added a little of the pasta water to make it saucy and then topped with a few more crumbles of the goat cheese. It was pretty tasty but I think I overdid the crushed red pepper.

 

is there anything better than goat cheese?

We had planned that after dinner we were going to rescue a little kitty that has been hanging around our house. We started feeding her and of course she started coming by more regularly. We were worried she might belong to someone else or that she may have kittens somewhere but once we started feeding her, she never left the yard. So, we decided we were going to rescue and adopt her. We called the vet and they told us to make an appointment and to rescue her just before it came. The appointment was set and we had it all planned out.

 

Well, the bad news is that when we got home from work she was not around. We searched the neighborhood, called for her and asked around. She was no where to be found. We finally gave up around 8:45 and I made us some of my famous popcorn for dessert. It is air popped yellow corn and while it is coming out of the popper, I drizzle it with walnut oil. Once popped, I sprinkle on some salt and granular fructose and shake it all around. It is such a nice balance between salty and sweet and the crunching really helped calm our nerves about the missing kitty. Shortly after popcorn, we headed off to bed.

 

famous popcorn

 

I didn’t see the kitty this morning before leaving  but the good news is that dear husband did and he got her! YAY for kitty rescues!! I promise to post pictures of her as soon as I can.