I am ALL out of sorts.
Yesterday (?) I went to bed around noon thinking I’d sleep til 5 and then get ready to head back in to work. How’d that work out??
Yeah. Not so much.
I ended up watching the latest episode of Glee (check out the creepy scene I paused it on) after tossing and turning in bed. It’s hard to sleep when it’s light out and my body is all jacked up on caffeine. I realize a mega caffeine Starbucks order wasn’t the wisest choice after being awake for 24 consecutive hours, but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants stomach wants what the stomach wants.
I also had a few glasses of Silk nog, which is insanely good. It’s my latest seasonal obsession. I have mixed feelings about eggnog. Obviously I don’t drink the real version, but even the soy alternative is only drinkable in small doses. It’s so thick and creamy, but after one glass feel like I’ve had enough for a week. I always end up going back the next day though. It’s probably best they only sell it in the smaller cartons. Are you a fan of nog?
Later on, I tried a sample of this chocolate sent to me by Tiff. She is so sweet!
I’d never heard of theo, but I’m assuming this Nutcracker Toffee Dark Chocolate is a seasonal product. It is both organic and fair trade (and local for her)…and got me in the Christmas spirit.
Oh, and did I mention it’s vegan and delicious. Thanks Tiff! I even managed to practice self control and have only a small(ish) portion.
I did manage to get to bed after this, but woke up after a mere 2 hours of shut eye. Pathetic and frustrating.
Not only did I wake up extremely groggy and confused, but I also had a ravaging appetite. Side note: I just wrote “ravishing” and almost convinced myself that was a normal adjective for hunger. Sleep deprived much?
So I’m not going to try and choose a label for this meal. I had no concept of time throughout this day…I tried to just eat when I was hungry without worrying myself with maintaining “normal” meal times.
I had this between 10 am and 4 pm and that’s about as specific as I can be.
Cedarlane is starting to carry more and more vegan prepared foods at Whole Foods and this scrambled tofu dish caught my eye a few days ago, so it has been waiting for a lazy meal moment. That moment had obviously arrived.
Along with the scrambled ‘fu I had an Ezekiel english muffin with Artisana cashini butter and some veggies.
I’d say it turned out pretty well rounded for a deliriously coordinated meal. Cedarlane has some good frozen and processed products, but I hadn’t really tried any of their fresh (to-go) pre-packaged eats. It was a bit more oily than a scramble I’d make myself and had pretty mild seasoning, but had good flavor and I’d buy it again. The cashini was clearly the star of the show, though.
I tried to go back to sleep after this, but was (again) totally unsuccessful. Ugh. Out of sheer boredom I did Level 3 of The Shred, which left me feeling normal again. Nothing like a good sweat session to get my body back in balance.
I showered, and next thing I knew it was time to pack up food and head back to the hospital.
Before I left I had the most delicious overnight (overday?) oats. Inspired by Starbucks’ cranberry bliss bars and soy nog (I’m on a mega seasonal kick, huh?), I made a sweet oat combination that you should all try immediately.
It started with rolled oats, soy nog and ch-ch-ch-chia seeds.
Then I added NuNaturals vanilla stevia with cinnamon on top.
Next I sprinkled some shredded coconut from my vat of Tropical Traditions (giveaway coming soon)!
Finally I stirred in some dried cherries and left it for a few hours in the fridge to gel.
I ate it right before heading in to the j-o-bizzle. It was perfect. Like a holiday cookie in a bowl tupperware.
And as I knew it would, it held me over for hours.
Coco-Cherry Bliss Oats
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/4 cup soy nog + water (to thin to desired consistency)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 drop vanilla stevia (or vanilla extract + stevia to taste)
- 2 tbsp dried cherries
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut
- 1 serving chia seeds (~1 tbsp)
I had other eats for the night, too, including a quinoa dish and a kale dish.
The first dish had quinoa, raw organic cashini butter, chopped apples, roasted butternut squash.
Love.
The second dish was a kale salad (which I softened by massaging it in hot water) marinated with a Asian peanut dressing that I made up.
Asian peanutty dressing
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup peanut flour (You could easily sub in peanut butter)
- 2 tbsp Bragg’s liquid aminos
- 1/8 cup water
- optional: 1 tsp agave with a few drops of lemon juice
Check out all that delicious sauce that collected at the bottom. I slurped it all up like a dainty princess hungry hungry hippie.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go try and sort out who I am and what I’m doing with my life right now.
I would totally have bought that Nutcracker Toffee chocolate if I had the chance. I am a sucker for seasonal products, and I don’t care.
I think I’d go crazy if I was on a schedule like that- how do you keep sane!
I like pumpkin eggnog, but not really regular eggnog- although it’s beginning to grow on me:)
I’ve been wondering this for a while and after seeing your picture of your oats–and reading that it keeps you full for hours–I just have to ask: are rolled oats different from instant/quick-cooking oats? For some reason, my quick-cooking oats never hold off my hunger for more than an hour or two, so I’m curious if there’s a noticeable difference between them and rolled out. Yours look delicious!
That dressing sounds like…really good. And your pics look amazing lately! 🙂
I have that cashini stuff! still trying to get used to it.. its kind of funky to me!
I have to say, you’re taking some pretty good looking pics while being half out of your head! Haha!
Just one more shift to go, right? If you’re like me, you’ll just be getting the hang of it and then it’s time to switch back to days!
I like eggnog…or maybe I think I do. Usually one or two cups per season is all I can stand. I guess it’s just the richness/thickness of it.
I def have to try your overnight (day) oats!
Haha, oddly enough, Seth and I watched that episode last night, and we both agreed that the picture in Rachel’s locker is super creepy.
Girlfriend I feel for you – after 6 months of working in NICU on shift work I had to find myself an 8:30-4:30 RN job – it messed with my body SO much 🙂 Not to discourage you though – just try your best to sleep when you can 🙂 xoxo
I have been going weeks w/ 4 hrs of sleep. 20 awake, 4 down. Repeat. It pretty much sucks and I am one day away from changing it up…and cannot wait!!!
All your food looks delish! the oats +nog, the tofu from cedarlane, the theo, mmm, good!
I’m so not a nog person. Anything thick and creamy kind of grosses me out…even vanilla milkshakes are kind of nasty to me.
That tofu salad reminds me of the Healthy Korner pita pockets they sell in NYC. One of my favorite pre-made foods ever!!
Your quinoa dishes always looks amazing!!! I love quinoa 🙂
thats exactly how i feel. creamy white foods really have a gag factor. vegan mayo is one of those foods that i have approx. once a year. we keep it in the fridge just in case kyle wants it on a sammie. hes not vegan, but he cant tell the difference between that and real mayo. i LOOOOVE the healthy korner pita pockets. honestly i get so jealous everytime you have them, haha. its one of the only foods that i truly CANNOT find here in CA. 🙁
i know! i saw that you had been baking at some crazy hour (like one am) and i was thinking that girl is loco!!! does skylar have a normal sleeping routine? or do you have to be on mommy duty so much that you dont have any averie time. i could do it for a few days, but certainly not weeks. i think my body would break down…
hahaha. great :S im working it out, but im glad you were smart enough to know that your body wasnt cool with the sched and found an alternative that works for you.
hahaha, they are a way cute couple in spite of rachel’s obnoxiousness.
why thank you very much! 🙂 now that i have figured out the white balance (thanks to YOU), my PM shots arent looking so yellowed. im still experimenting so please feel free to drop any tips in the comments section. ps ill email you back in a sec
really!?! oh man, im SO in love. tahini is definitely a dominant flavor, which does take some getting used to, but its soooo thick and creamy. yummmmm.
im glad my camera work is up to par. perhaps my delusional self is a better photog than my sane self?
and thats totally how i feel about eggnog. its great for one cup and then i feel like ive OD-ed on it. its probably best that its only available seasonally.
so here’s my view on it (not based on scientific fact or research – purely my biology/physiology background and the knowledge of how my own body’s metabolism works). rolled oats are whole and not cut up or anything. they are larger and unlike instant or quick cooking oats, the body has to work more to digest them. i think anytime there are more steps for the GI tract to break a food down (complex whole grains being the prime example), they hold my appetite over longer. they are texturally more appealing to me too, because they are big and not as mash-like. i know others swear by steel cut oats, too, which are great for you, but even they have been cut up a bit already so that doesn’t hold me over as well as whole rolled oats. hope that helps!!!
my sanity is questionable. haha. pumpkin eggnog sounds amazing.
you and i have that in common 🙂
I’ve never had eggnog — the thought of egg in a drink weirds me out — but after seeing so much on blogs (and vegan versions) I might have to give it a try!
Hope you can get your sleep schedule to work out!
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asian peanutty dressing recipe = bookmarked.
also, the fact that you paused on the creepiest scene in glee makes me happy. and how much do you love tiff? i love her.
happy day lady 🙂