Cha-ching!! Hear that? That’s the sound of the $$ being deposited in my bank account after working a holiday. Time and a half, yes please! (Sadly, I have a feeling the influx of cash flow on my end is probably barely enough to cover the amount oozing out of my better half while he is living it up in Vegas…)
I gave the tropical fruit Larabar another shot (but ONLY for you Julie!) and I’m sorry to say, I still wasn’t a fan. Want the proof? I actually threw out the uneaten half. Now, I’m definitely not one to waste food OR money, so you KNOW this was serious. I just don’t think citrus and nuts are meant to party together.
Aside from the pistachios in my pretzel/raisin/nut mix and the hummus, there wasn’t much protein to be found in this lunch. So I’m thinking maybe that’s why I’ve been so hungry lately??? Any thoughts? I guess I have a pretty carb heavy diet, but those are the things that I like and that are also easily portable.
I have been trying to UP the protein lately in my PM eats (Jay Robb dessert smoothies, etc), but maybe I should be having more throughout the day, too. Then again, I don’t always have such a ravenous appetite, it’s fairly random when the insatiability hits. So, for now, I guess I’ll just keep bringing more things with me to work so I’m not without options when hunger DOES strike.
When I got off work a very hungover sleepy Kyle was back in Manhattan and ready for dinner. I suggested WF since neither one of us was feeling up to cooking (although for completely DIFFERENT reasons…).
Joyous hot foods bar 😀
I guess I have never made tempeh correctly before, because HOLY YUM, this was good. The WF employee brought it out as I was doing some pre-selection browsing (as I often do) and it was calling to me. Plus, I was the first to serve myself from it, which is always a good thing in buffet style settings. It had red onions, bell peppers, and zucchini in a really delicious (unknown and thus probably fatty) marinade. Naturally, I filled that side of the box out with baked tofu.
The other half of the box was carb-i-fied. Many a pitas were consumed with the second batch of yesterday’s tofummus.
As I said, this was a far thicker batch (because I didn’t use hardly any chickpea can “juice”) and had a more hummus like consistency.
I also couldn’t help but get my fave new seitan dish (Candle’s chimichurri), which I placed over some left-over quinoa, with a side of carrots and tofummus.
Hello protein-dense dinner. I didn’t even realize it in the moment, but I got 3 different non-meat “proteins” from WF (seitan, tempeh, and tofu). Apparently, my inner cravings have a pattern that I was never all that aware of. Ok, that’s not true, I know that I prefer lighter, fruitier fare in the AM, as opposed to the savory things, which I crave in the PM. But that’s just me…anyone else tend to crave certain types of food at different times of the day?
Drool. I HAD to have seconds 🙂
I was full and drowsy, but I couldn’t go to bed because starting at 10 PM was our fantasy football draft. [insert geek description here] I know, I know, I am SUCH a loser. But seriously, I live for this time of year. I love nothing more than Sundays in the fall, sitting on a couch watching football ALL.DAY.LONG. I just changed my ringtone to the Monday night football theme song, too. OK, tangent over.
Since I had to stay up, I decided it was the perfect time to try POM’s latest iced teas. I opted for the Pomegranate Lychee Green Tea flavor.
If you build them they have caffeine, I will come…
I can’t think of a flavor to compare this to, but I liked it. It wasn’t overly sweet, but the fruit was definitely the dominant flavor. Actually, I don’t know that I really tasted green tea that much at all. I have no clue what lychee is, or what it tastes like, but it worked with the pomegranate, so I’m on board. It also kept me awake, so that’s a good thing, too.
After we drafted what will definitely be a winning roster (Kyle and I co-manage share a team), I happily hit the sack.
The pommy swaggy fairy must have been drippin’ that stuff from the sky, all the cool girls are talking about it 🙂 Glad you enjoyed. The fairy missed my house, guess I am just not quite cool enough….yet. LOL
Sorry you labored on L.D. but hey, collect that cha-chang! and go buy yourself something fun with your loot from today’s labors.
I think I was readin Lil Veggie Patch’s blog who also had one of those WF Granola bars on there that you turned me onto….holy crap those things look good, I need to find them. I just moved from CA to AZ this weekend and hopefully the Scottsdale WF can hook me up!
I had bunches of lychees when I was in Cambodia (my only trip out of the US so far) and they taste grape-like to me. You peel the dry, red skin off and they have white flesh and then a large pit. We called them eyeballs because of their size and color!
Just curious, how close do you live to WF? I’m so jealous you go there so often for the hot bar, AND I’m jealous the boy loves to go too! My husband is pretty much anti-WF, just to drive me crazy haha
you always have the best eats! i love looking at the salads. because i’m at my desk all day i’m all for ideas on packaged things i can take to work, so the ideas are great.
i love the blog, btw!
Portable protein = definite issue… Primal Strips? 😉
<3 <3
haha, well i AM lucky that kyle loves WF as much as I do…to answer your Q, there is a WF in union square which is 3 blocks from where i work and i have to pass it to catch the subway on the way home…so theres a magnetic pull that often occurs in my post-work state of exhaustion. (sigh). also, a new WF JUST OPENED (aug 27th) on the upper west side, which is 6/7 blocks from my apt. these are very dangerous things. i love it and yet, my bank account is suffering as a result. i try to make it a treat after rough shifts at work, but sometimes i just cant help crave it day in and day out. i think i am going to start implementing a once a week limit, though.
thanks!!! you are so sweet. im glad you enjoy the salads. i certainly crave the crunch 🙂
Tofu on da salad at lunch. OH EM GEE I AM craving WFs hotbar baked tofu!!! It is TDF!!! At the WF back at home 🙁 they had thi sesame tempeh..OMG MY LIFE!!! I didn’t even think I liked tempeh until this discovery. I am crying on my loft bed thinking about it.
I loooove how you loooove football. I wannabe a football nerd with my fiance in NYC as the leafs change colors and then go get starbizzle in a scarf and walk through central park 🙂 What? A girl can dream….
LOve!
I always wondered why it was called Labor Day. My mom said it’s to give people who do a lot of labor a day off. But then I think, people always have parties on Labor Day, which means more work! Doesn’t make sense to me, but hey, I get a day off of school!
Ick, I don’t like the Tropical Lara either! Too citrus-y!
I crave sweet in the morning, salty all day, then sweet again at night. I usually eat fruit in the morning, then treat myself to some chocolate or dessert after dinner, just to balance it out 😉
Protein never fills me up, only carbs. If I eat a steak I’m ravenous ten minutes later but oatmeal – ooh happy tum!
dude Deej has the SAME ringtone! She’s had that since she got a cell phone haha and it’s hilarious. I need to get myself in a fantasy football thang but I just don’t know enough people to do it. I’ll cheer for yours haha so keep me updated who you have.
So much to say, insert longish comment.
I’m glad you gave it a re-try (the larabar) but damn girl you should have put the other half in the mailbox not the garbage box! I would have eaten it. haha enough of that.
Um YES September is a good month for a semi-blind date. You keep me posted about your schedule because obviously mine is more flexible then yours.
Thank you SO much for the wordpress advice 🙂 I’m gonna give it a whirl in the next couple of weeks. Google blogger is starting to tick me off so it may be worth the time and angriness spent. Maybe a bottle of tequila will get me through it?
The fact that you threw out the Lara pretty much seals the deal that I won’t be trying that flavor.
To answer your cravings Q: I don’t really crave different things but I try to make an effort to make sure I get a hefty dose of protein at some point in the day. I just CRAVE veggies…okay maybe it’s just a hummus craving and I try to justify eating mass quantities of it with veggie spoons 🙂
yeah…that or a lot of cereal, peanut buttah and jelly, and starbeezies 🙂
i feel so bad that i threw it out! but honestly, i think more than wasting money, i hate eating things i dont like. such a waste.
hmmm…ok, well there goes that theory. i guess ill just stick with my carb-heavy meals and just keep adding more until i am happily filled.
i guess i just chose a job that doesnt have days off, so NOT laboring isnt an option 🙁 booi always forget when holidays are when i am filling out my time schedule. oh well. i, too, love to start and end the day on sweet (read chocolate-y) notes. like coming full circle in 15 hours. yum.
awww…i am sooo sorry that you are missing the WF love. it makes my mouth drool too – and im not even dealing with the whole “absence makes the heart grow fonder” factor that you have!! just wait til fall/winter hits – youll TOTES be that scarf wearing/starbucks toting/east coaster!! xxx
yeah, except im not a puma. haha. i think ill just stick with what i know (hummus).
oooo, thanks for the info! now im going to be on the hunt for those little red eye balls 🙂
she had been eyeing them for a while, and my reviews sealed the deal 😉 im SO excited with this new WF near my apt. but its also been kinda detrimental to my wallet. good thing i worked labor day!!! the bullet helped get me excited about trying new recipes again though. new appliances = love.
what a day full of yummy foods! seriously, it might be sad, but good food can really turn my day around if its not going so great haha
ah fantasy football drafts, how the Brit knows nothing about it, hence my jealousy of your draft con Kile. Who’s your QB?
and p.s. when I go to the asian market next, I’ll browse the fruit isle and if I see some lychee, I’ll ship and package some for ya. =P
peyton! we also have bush :-/
Time and a half make working holidays SO worth it!
I wouldn’t worry too much about the protein issue…there is actually protein in everything, including veggies, so depending on how BIG your lunch salads are (it is hard to tell from photos!), you are getting at least a little protein there too. I will e-mail you some of my geeky nutrition resources 🙂 if you want…
Lychees are really interesting! You can easily find them in China Town, I am sure, or at any Asian market (that is where I find mine)–they are fun to eat because you have to get through a hard shell…it is a good way to slow down and really savor them since it takes a while to get to them! Hahaha–I have a tendency to stuff my face sometimes, so it is good for ME, anyway 🙂
Courtney
I definitely only want fruity/sweet things for breakfast. Also wasn’t thrilled with the tropical Lara…though I might be biased because I don’t like citrus. I thought it would be more pineapple/coconutty 🙁 ‘Twas a sad moment.
I need major protein if I stand a chance of not chewing my arm off during the day. I am cooking some tofu right now 😀
Kyle must think you’re the best fiancee ever. Fantasy football draft? Really? I thought I knew you. I really did. 🙂
I’d like to say its because deep down I’m a jock… But really I know its because I’m a nerd.
LOL I love that you do fantasy football! I had a fantasy hockey team for a while in college but ended up trading all my players to other guys’ teams. I was lazy. 🙂
I go in and out of phases where I’m hardly hungry but then can’t seem to eat enough. I think it’s natural. We be the female types n all, ya know what I mean. I say roll with it! The problem is if you’re like me and tend eat according to routine rather than hunger. I’m getting better at it but it’s like every day I want a snack at 4pm whether or not I’m hungry! Boo.
Yeah. I def agree. Since I have very little say in when I take my lunch break it can be really frustrating. Its whenever my patients are stable and I can work it out with the other nurse and her patients’ stability…sometimes I can’t go for my lunch break until 2 pm. So by then I’ve either eaten my own arm or all my packed “snacks”…but then sometimes I forced to go earlier than I’d like and I have to eat then even if I’m not hungry bc that’s my time slot. Sigh. Oh well. I guess there are worse things to stress over…
chaching! yayer. dude i see so many different opinions of the tarty lara, i wish it was sold around here so i could make my own opinion but i have a feeling i am going to agree with you. tarty nuts? no thanks. haha, the boyf is all about fantasy football! i stay far away from it…
Ha ha haaa…you sound like my dad! 🙂 He lovessss his salty foods at night, whereas I love to end with something sweeter, usually. I go for the salty during meals and afternoon snackage….like my newman’s spelt pretzels + laughing cow (and more DRIED MANGO on the sideee) snack I just had!
My dad will go all day and just eat whenever he gets the chance (the life of a doctor….you know the drill!!!), but then when the 11 o clock munchies roll around he’ll email me about some double decker veggie burger he had just whipped up. At least he does it in style! Whole wheat ezekial buns, tofu burgers and lots of organic ketchup and mustard. The man knows where it’s at??!?! OR his other fave (that I know you’ll appreciate)…..heated up corn tortillas with lots of HUMMUS and salsa inside!!
Whoa! Sorry for the tangent. Love you. Now I need to get to class! !!
Your pops needs to cook me some grub!! Ok so what kind of MD is he? He also had that company you were doing summer stuff for right?
I signed up to RSS on this blog. Will you post more about this subject?
to what are you referring? this is a very old post…the amounts of protein in my diet as it relates to my fullness? id be glad to answer any question you have. oh, and welcome 🙂 thanks for reading!