Sunday’s commute back down the I-5 was, well, whatever. It’s done, so there’s not much to say about it. I had packed many food options for the road since I was convinced it was going to take us 8 hours. In the end, we arrived by 2 pm.
I’m pretty sure I was meant to be a Brit because in my book, 2 pm is – without fail – afternoon tea time (not to be confused with high tea, which in fact is dinner-time tea). In any event, I had an almond milky Tazo chai tea with a pair of hippie-roons.
Prince William clearly has no idea what he’s missing out on 😉
I only have two hippie-roons left. One for me, one for the future King of England. [Read: two for me]
I pretty much did nothingness for the rest of the afternoon because my head was still throbbing, but by 4 pm, I managed to get my butt off the couch for a 20 minute jog in the chilly fall air.
As I prepped dinner I snacked.
Sugary fingers? Whatever could this mean?
Yup. Candied ginger. Obsessed.
40 minutes on 375 allowed time for salad making.
Salad: Spinach, carrots, bell peppers
Dressing: Artisana raw organic cashini butter, Bragg’s liquid aminos, agave
This is such a unique and flavorful nut butter blend. It tastes like it should be sinful, but it’s raw, 100% organic, and full of fantastically nutritious and pure ingredients. I am savoring each and every lick because it’s that good.
Finally my sweet potato fries were done.
And dinner was served.
Dessert almost escaped the camera. Remember these treats? I still have a few vegan cranberry coconut fudge cups left. 
My sweet tooth wasn’t satisfied so I had another dessert. Dried cranberries, almonds, and carob chips. Salty and sweet – check and check.
In other words: OMGsoDeliciousThankyouVerymuch.
I tried to stay up a little later on Sunday and sleep in a little extra on Monday because I’m gearing my body up for a night shift on Tuesday. Synching my schedule is harder than I thought, though.
It didn’t work very well as I was up and attacking the coffee maker by 8 am. I fancied my java up with some cocoa-infused froth. Fabulous.
Apple and oats? Nope. Look closer.
Quinoa with peanut butter. No more. No less.
Kinda held me over longer than usual. It was 2 pm before my stomach requested more comida. At which point I obliged with a twist on breakfast’s meal.
First, I chopped up both a D’ Anjou pear and a Golden Delicious apple. Next, I heaped on 1 cup of quinoa. Finally I drizzled peanut butter on top.
Yeah boi.
Afternoon fizzies were all I needed to get me geared up for a jug on the beach.
30 minutes got me to Ocean Ave with two trips up and down “the stairs” and back home again. Schweaty.
After showering, I holed up in the kitchen, prepping food for the next week. I was baking, roasting, and cooking up a storm. Only pausing for sips of tea and hand washing.
Recipes are coming your way…
Given how much time I spent with my head in the oven, you’d think I would’ve at least made something for dinner. But no.
Amy’s to the rescue.
I chopped up some carrots to add in the organic vegan chili because I don’t really like have such veg-less meals.
Sim-sim-simmah.
Chili will never be photogenic. Plain and simple, it’s deliciousness is the reason I crave it, because visually it’s not remotely appetizing.
Cornbread on the other hand, is both tasty AND purty.
After seeing a few posts featuring cornbread and chili around in the blog-world, I had them both on my mind all day.
So dinner was a no brainer.
Don’t let this photo deceive you. I had 12 cornbread muffins in total, plus a second bowl of chili.
One can has two servings. So ridiculous. If I ever have half a can of soup, somebody slap me.
This dinner produced a mega fiber baby.
I still wanted dessert though. After just a few hours my metabolism was ready for more…hello sweet and salty…cashews, carob chips, and dried cranberries.
Alrighty. Time to get some caffeine in my system. I definitely need it if I’m going to try and synch my sleep schedule for Tuesday’s night shift. Wish me luck!
If anyone else has done night shifts before, feel free to chime in with some tips. I’m starting a 3 day stretch of them…
I prefer mate tea to coffee for night shifts. I feel like the energy I get is less jittery.
Oh so much to say… here we go:
I recently struck gold (read: sold old stuff on ebay), and i can now afford groceries again at my home away from home (WF). As i was contemplating what to purchase tomorrow, i thought of the best answer: sift through HHH’s recent eats! Now i am 19 items into my list, wondering what else i can sell on ebay to supplement my fresh, organic produce addiction. Yes, addiction. When i lose the ability to pay my student loans, i will thank you for inspiring me to cook every single recipe on your website, and eat 13 tiny cornbread muffins in your honor… Hopefully once i complete grad school, my expensive habit won’t seem like such a big deal… Until than, i am willing to go without hot water, cable, and a mobile phone in order to keep cookin’ what you cookin’… 🙂
Btw, the “stairs” are such a crazy workout, i love them! Have you ever seen the weighted gloves Nike makes? I wear them when i do stair workouts to shadow box at the same time. You might get made fun of, but it gets your shoulders and lats in amazing shape, quick!
For me, I feel like I can never sleep before my first night shift but after that my body gets used to sleeping a bit in the morning before my next shift. I used to drink sugar free redbull, but since at the time I had an hour or more commute home after my night shifts I experienced a wonderful crash while driving. I stick with coffee and tea, and have found that very cold water also does a good job of waking me up. I rotate to nights so I don’t feel like I have the eating down yet, as I seem to snack randomly before I actually eat my real breakfast. Good luck!
My advice is to skip all of the coffee during your shift (I know, how tragic!) but it really makes all the difference. Try to keep your eating light during the shift and when you get out. That way you won’t feel weighed down and you’ll be able to sleep when you get home. Good luck!! I did 3 in a row last weekend and it sucked.
I would probably die working a night shift. Not an evening/late night person AT ALL. Sorry for the lack of help, haha 🙂
Quinoa + PB? YUM. Need to get on that stat!!
I, too, love quinoa with PB! And I love runs on the beach but sadly I cannot do that here.. ok, I can run along Lake Michigan but it’s not QUITE the same.
Most of all, I love that you eat 12 cornbread muffins because it makes me feel like there is nothing wrong with me for doing that, haha 🙂
I don’t think I could ever do night shifts. When I was briefly considering a job in broadcast journalism, there was a time when I was going to have to go to work at 2 am. I’ve since explored other career options…
hahah i usually have a second dessert too:) bowls of chocolate chips mixed with either cereal or tortilla chips? Is that strange?
chocolate chips and tortilla chips? hmm. well, it certainly SOUNDS weird, but im not one to poo-poo odd combos. maybe ill give it a shot!!?
I have a 2:00pm tea-and-snack break, too! Otherwise there are just too many hours between lunch and dinner.
I work 7p-7a full time as an ICU nurse, so I feel ya :). The first night of a rotation is the hardest to prepare for. I will either stay up late (i.e. 0100-0300) the night before and sleep as late as I can, or go to bed at a normal time and try to get in a nap between 1400-1600. My biggest lifesavers have been buying an eye mask, lowering the thermostat, and turning on my fan before going to sleep after a shift. The eye mask is pretty much non-negotiable, in my view. As far as the actual shifts themselves, grabbing a high-energy snack at 2100 and eating lunch between 0100 and 0200 has worked for me. The worst nights are the slow ones–0300 is generally when I just want to curl up into a ball and sleep! A quick break doing a few flights of stairs or going outside for a moment helps. The fatigue usually disappears by 0400 as the end-of-shift labs and general craziness start. I apologize for rambling. I will say that my fellow night-shifters are some of the most amazing colleagues I’ve worked with! Best of luck!
This post is making me want Cashini all the more–sounds like a lovely base for dressing!
I want all of your food! I guess it would come as no surprise that the sweets especially call to this preggo, though. 😉
And tea time is a must. It’s in the middle of my little M’s nap and I love relaxing with a cup of tea and a small treat.
holy balls i want those cornbread muffins! ive had SUCCCCCCCH a cornbread craving lately!
also quinoa + peanut butter = pure amazingness. you are quite the top chef lately.
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I SERIOUSLY need to make those hippie-roons! They look soooo good!
I frequently take night shifts at the hospital where I work as a CAT scan tech. Good money and I’m the youngest in my dept so it’s easier for me to “bounce back” afterwards.
After much trial and error, this plan is what works best for me:
The night before I have to start working nights, I stay up as late as I can (which is usually only around 11pm–I’m such an old granny). Then I wake up around 6 and try to fill my day with errands, cleaning, working out…you know, stuff to make you tired. Oh and NO coffee! It’s sometimes hard, but it’s the only way! 😉 I usually lay down for a nap around 2 or 3pm and get up around 5:30pm and start getting ready for work that starts at 7pm. Now is where I RUN to the kitchen to get my life force…um, I mean coffee!
After my shift ends, I usually wind up in bed about 8am and I sleep till whenever I wake up (no alarm) which is usually around 11. I get up, have a few hours to myself and then start the cycle again with a nap about 2 or 3pm!
Wow. Ok, this is a different approach that I may have to try. I’m really not good at napping (I wake up all groggy and confused) so l may have a hard time with that, but I think it’s definitely eorth a try since you seem to have it down. That no coffee thing is gonna be BRUTAL!!
I want a bite of that quinoa with pb! YUM!!