This weekend was not my finest in terms of scheduling. With back to back night shifts, day time yoga classes, and the desire to squeeze in a run when the sun came out from hiding, there was hardly any time for sleeping.
Ambitious? Or ridiculous?
Either way, I snacked much more than I composed real meals because my body was so out of whack with all the time adjustments. Awake all night, asleep all morning, awake all afternoon…sometimes it’s just too confusing for my poor GI system.
I wound up finding a solution in small plates of nibbles. And frequent ones at that.
Before leaving for work on Saturday I had a huuuuge bowl of cereal.
This is my new favorite. Nature’s Path Heritage High Fiber Flakes.
So so so good. It’s got the best crunch and a perfect hearty bran flavor. Love it.
This bowl has Gabriela written all over it. :) In addition to this banana/blueberry combination, I tried it in a parfait form, too.
What started as a simple bowl of berries (strawbz and bloobz), wound up getting topped with plain greek yogurt and shredded coconut…and was it ever a delish creation!
Then to work I went.
I brought a salad with red quinoa, spinach, and roasted root veggies with me to work.
Look who actually put together a decent meal! Go me.
I also had some snack-a-doodles (spelt pretzels, dark chocolate covered almonds, and raw almonds), plus dried mango, a home-made chewy dried fruit and nut bar, and two apples.
Pink ladies have been inching closer and closer to edging out galas in my apple ranking. Their crispy tartness is addictive. Also addictive? Newman’s Own spelt pretzels. Sadly, the salt makes me feel bloated and yuck. Try as I might to moderate my intake, I end up either eating so many that I have a 6 months preggo side profile, or feeling deprived. I should just not buy them and avoid the problem all together, but (clearly) Whole Foods impulse buys are my Achilles heel.
When I got home from work on Sunday morning Kyle was already awake. Wahoo! I like when others are suffering up at the crack of dawn with me. Kidding. Ish?
The weather was actually rainy (the nerve!) so we both cozied up to some coffee.
To clarify, I actually showered before even sipping a drop of caffeine. I’m way too much of a germaphobe to do anything after work without first cleansing the hospital ick off my bod. I am truly incapable of skipping this step, regardless of how starving or tired I am. OCD alert.
Later, feeling perfectly content in my PJs, I made myself a massive bowl of oats with blueberries, walnuts, and shredded coconut.
While the oats cooked on the stove, I found myself mindlessly digging my hands into the walnuts over and over again.
I’m just guessing here, but I think I ate over a cup of nuts before my breakfast was even ready.
Once my bowl was perfectly photographed, we decided to watch a movie (Sunshine Cleaning). But as you’d expect after pulling an all nighter, I promptly dozed off.
I woke back up just before noon and made myself another snack plate. I always wake up from naps STARVING. Regardless of how much I ate before nodding off. I think this is a fairly common phenomenon – at least among others I’ve mentioned it to. Weird.
Post snackage, I managed to eke out a Jillian workout. It was rather pathetic, but at least I tried.
Then it was time for more snacking.
This plate times 62. More or less.
Eventually it was time for work, again.
I had a pre-shift meal (peanut butter pita & cinnamon pear) and then packed up the same old same old.
Snooze-fest salad (but at least it tasted good). It helped that I topped it off with a heaping spoonful of hummus. On the side were pistachios, a home-made fruit and nut chewy bar and a pink lady. I actually packed another two galas too. All three were eaten in the wee morning hours. 🙂
After leaving work Monday morning I treated myself to a soy misto. Today’s agenda will hopefully include some shut eye.
Before I sign off, though, I want to discuss a new project. As I mentioned in the post title, I have a neat challenge for the coming month. I’m going to call it…
Alphebruary
It’s nothing crazy, just a fun little idea to change up my eats. Feel free to join in if you want! Here’s the plan:
For each day of the month I will be working through the alphabet and trying a new food starting with each letter.
February 1st = A
February 2nd = B
And so on…
The idea is to try something new, not to simply eat an apple and a banana and call it a day. I want to get creative! Amaranth, bulgar, etc.
And since February has 28 days, I have a couple of days of leeway in case things get off. Fun right? So who’s in?
Feel free to link back if you join. You can do one letter or all, I don’t care, and at the end of the month (or maybe week by week) I will recap. It’s a perfect excuse to try that new item you’ve been to scared to get around to. No more putting it off. So start brainstorming what you want to try because February 1st is tomorrow and that means ALPHEBRUARY is kicking off!
This could be a nice help 🙂
I love Nature’s Path products. That cereal sounds divine.
Love love love love love that idea!!! I just wish I could get my hands on untried foods for every letter of the alphabet…
<3 <3
Elise,
I have never commented on your blog before, but I feel compelled now…because Heritage Flakes are my FAVORITE cereal!!! I’ve been eating them literally every day for 5 years now. I go through a box or two a week.
🙂
Sumi
i LOVE the alphabet idea!! so cute!! and snack days are freakin the BEST
Alphebruary sounds like an awesome idea! 🙂
they are SOOO good. my bag is almost gone already.
omg I love your idea for aphelbruary!! all your eats look so, so yummy! I love snack dominated days! Oh, and you are Sooooo not a germaphobe taking a shower before doing anything after leaving the office…I would so be the same way, infact, just visiting the hospital for whatever reason makes me feel so gross I need to shower immediately!
I LOVE your salads. I’m obsessed with Quinoa and Butternut squash so it has 2 of my must haves 🙂 Good Idea with the Alphebruary! I can’t wait!
I have a question. How have you been cutting down of caffiene? I know that I’m back up to an unacceptable level, but I’m find it very difficult, especially with the chilly weather. Any tips?
pretzels and chocolate. fantastic snack combo.
oh man i LOVE pink ladies. i have honestly never been much of a gala fan. if honeycrisps are out of season, i get pink ladies, especialy because they’re so cheap at TJs (or whole foods).
i also love nature’s path cereals too, especially heritage flakes and smart bran.
I love that cereal! I usually mix it with another more sugary one to sort of *balance* it out 😀 Although 5 bowls later, balance is really pretty irrelevant…
Bravo for making it through the weekend- i was in your old stomping grounds and it was cold and snowy and laaaame ;D Not really it was awesome, minus the weather!!
xoxooxx
You have been one busy lady 🙂 Love red quinoa, I would have loved your lunch salad!
i just bought a beast sized container of bloobs from costco because gabriela’s bowl of cereal is forever making me drool haha
Coincidentally, I am trying buckwheat (again) tomorrow or the day after (I’ve already cooked it). The smell is so repulsive to me – like ammonia or rubbing alcohol, but I’m trying to find a way to make it palatable.
(Glutino makes an excellent salt-free gluten-free pretzels. They rock!)
you’re right – that blueberry dish reminds me of gabriela!
I LOOOVE those pretzels. I once had the entire bag in one sitting and the salt burned the roof of my mouth so badly, I couldnt taste anything for a few days. Worth it.
O I totally know how you feel about showering after the hospital! its not OCD, its simple sanitation.
I want to jump on that alpheburary or however you spell it! Clever idea! dont know what I’ll eat for “x” though….
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Beautiful pictures!
thank you!!
xanthan gum?
update from sevilla:
I HAVE LOCATED THE HUMMUS.
there is a fresh produce market. rabbits were hanging from the ceiling but I semi-ignored that because the butternut squash was calling my name
there ARE veg restaurants. i have yet to try any because i’m on a meal plan in the residencia that i’m staying in. however, tonight’s dinner was potatoes (in oil) and white rice so i’m THINKING I may need to explore some more options.
ps-jealous of your quinoa.
What a cute idea! Sounds like fun!
I’m not a fan of salty foods so I was super excited the last time I went to WF’s and found some unsalted ones. I’m a bit of an apple snob…usually if it’s not a honeycrisp, I’m not interested, but the Pink Lady ones are pretty good! Have you ever had a Jazz? They’re amazing!
I am a snackaholic on my night shifts too! I swear my body doesn’t know what is going on!
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Mmm! I hope it’s bulgar!! Yummm :]
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