I’ve been busy busy busy working this week…and even though I haven’t exercised for even half a second (blah), it’s all worth it because I get to spend the weekend with some fantastic friends.
My packed lunches have been incredible if I do say so myself. Satisfying my every want and need – sweet, savory, crunchy, creamy – you name it, I packed it.
It’s all about options people.
The main ingredients in these Heart Thrive cookies were oats, brown rice syrup, brown rice flour, rice bran, natural fruit juices, and lots of dried fruit (cranberries, plums, apples, pears). But what I tasted above all else was the orange peel. It was definitely the dominant flavor, even above the cranberries. Now. While I don’t love citrus, I do like the combo of orange and cranberry. The “cookies” reminded me of my favorite bagel flavor from Noah’s (which is now discontinued). However, I do take issue when such a strong flavor presence exists without it’s name in the title. This should definitely be called orange cranberry, because it was a bit of a shock to my system. As I was sipping coffee, the last taste I was expecting was orange peel. Maybe for those who enjoy citrus, this isn’t a big deal, but wasn’t in the mood. Naturally I finished both, because even though they weren’t what I expected, they were still good. But just in case the Heart Thrive people are reading this, maybe a rename is in order.
Like the other Heart Thrive cookie I reviewed, this one was more bar-like than cookie-like, with a very dense and oaty taste.
Knowing the Heart Thrives wouldn’t satisfy my sweet tooth, I packet a true dessert as well. Holy. Vegan. Moly. This vegan fudge has such a subtle coconut flavor but is mostly pure delicious chocolate…with a cranberry coconut accent. Now THAT’S how I like my cranberries 😉
My crunch was in the form of a salad beast with spinach, apples, bell peppers, and raisins.
And as usual, hummus, carrots, pretzels, and an apple rounded out my work food.
When I got home, I was completely exhausted. I had no motivation to cook and I ignored every pre-made dinner option I had prepared over the weekend. So frustrating. I really want to (need to) figure out a way to satisfy myself after work without succumbing to my crappy cravings.
This week, it seemed like when I got home from work I wanted nothing more than garbage. And while I don’t like depriving myself of what I truly want, if there’s no nutritional value in it, I have a hard time not feeling guilty after eating certain things.
This is what I had (times 3…maybe more…I lost count).
I’m being honest here, this didn’t please me. I pride myself on my Type-A-plan-ahead nature, and yet, I still raided the pantry upon stepping foot in the apartment (despite having stocked the fridge with tupperware upon tupperware full of quinoa, brown rice, roasted veggies, and fresh produce). I may be a bit hard on myself, given my first 12 hour shift since May (!!) was on Monday, and it’s that time of the month (TMI?), but still. I want to be proactive in getting to the root of the issue because I don’t want to make this a habit.
Another thing that I’m mindful of (maybe overly so?), is that returning to work also marks a significant change in my workout routine. These past few months have been especially great for me fitness-wise. I’ve have nothing but ample time to work out – doing whatever I want, however often I want, and whenever I want. Returning to nursing, while long anticipated, is still a change that I know I’ll have to adjust to…
Being a perfectionist, I’d love to have an easy breezy transition without any disruption to my healthy lifestyle. But, I suspect that might be a bit unrealistic. As far as expectations go, I’m going to try and be practical, and approach my new schedule like the scientist biology geek that I am.
What do you do to solve a problem? Find and fix the cause.
So before I jump to any conclusions, or make any grand statements about big changes in store for myself, first and foremost I’m going to give myself some time to try a few things. Clearly one week of work is not enough time to determine if this is a true trend or if I’m just in one of my carb craving phases. Lord knows, I have weeks on end that I can’t get enough produce, so it may just be a quickie food rut.
And I’ll work from there…
I am making a conscious effort here (and writing this post is a good healthy reminder) to cut myself some slack. Nobody goes from one job to the next effortlessly, and going from no job at all is an even more drastic change…right? I wish I had a timeline. I wish I had it all plotted out. But life is dynamic, not static, and you have to roll with it.
Please note, the fact that I’m coming home and eating crap has nothing to do with my hunger. I don’t arrive home starving because look at everything I bring to work!
On this particular day, my pre-packed eats included oats-in-a-jar.
I’m not especially passionate about OIAJ and here’s why. I like planning out my bites. I want to make sure my last bite of oats has everything in it to be “the perfect” bite (meaning a little bit of everything). Eating out of a jar is great because it ensures not a drippity drop of nutbutter is wasted, but it makes it hard to see your food. Clearly this makes my ingredient-to-bite distribution a bit more difficult to assess. I’m such a freak.
This peanut butter jar had oats, almond milk, chia seeds, raisins, coconut flakes, and NuNaturals vanilla stevia.
For lunch I had a huge tupperware of quinoa, squash, spinach and dried cranberries.
I know you can’t tell the true size of things in these photos, but this dish contained about half a pumpkin’s worth of squash and at least 1 cup of quinoa. I also poured nooch on top. Mmmm…Such a great combo. I think quinoa, squash, and dried fruit is one of the best food trifectas around. Add in spinach, and it goes from above average to stellar. I freakin’ love spinach – just call me Popeye!
My snacks included the usual bars, apples, and carrots…plus the roasted pumpkin seeds yielded from the pumpkin I used in my lunch.
These seeds were roasted for 20ish minutes with cooking spray, salt and pepper. Simple and delicious.
The Mango Maca flavor PranaBar was as good as I expected, but probably not my favorite flavor. It had more nut chunks than the other Supercharger PranaBars. I don’t have anything negative to say about this flavor, but I have come to hold these bars to higher standards than other brands. Straight up, they are just the best around.
On that note, I’m off to pack for San Francisco! So excited to meet everyone 🙂
I love how you incude sweet, savory, cunchy, creamy so that you’re left satisfied! I always fail to do this but it would be so smart because I’m always craving something I didn’t pack. I hope I remember this!
My eating has felt ‘off’ this week too. I don’t think you over-analyze your eating habits, I think other people don’t care enough.
I’m glad to see you aren’t doing anything drastic because, like you said, life changes and we have to learn to adapt. I am hoping my food issues resolve themselves as well and when the dust settles everything returns to normal.
Have fun in San Fransisco! I’m sure it will be tons of fun. I wish I was going but that is just the sacrifice I make being a student lol.
It’s funny- whenever I undergo a life change, I take the opposite approach, becoming really anal about my food. I still eat enough, but I’m far less inclined to eat crap…probably a control thing I need to work on. I eat more junk when I’m bored in general. Interesting how different each person is!! I feel like you’ll figure our your routine naturally as soon as you’re on more of a schedule.
EEK SO EXCITED TO MEET YOU IN SAN FRAN!!
Lew and I just made our fist stop on the way to the foodbuzz festival. We dropped our twins off at the grandparents and are now on the way to Nashville fly out in the morning. We look forward to meeting you in San Fransisco.
Ashlee
@ashandlewplus2
so excited to meet you too!!!!!
I cant wait to meet you!!!!
Thanks for the feedback…it’s nice to bounce my thoughts off on others who can relate 🙂 I’ll keep you in the loop, and let me know if you discover any earth shattering techniques/advice yourself 😀
my workout routine was amazing this summer after i graduated college – i had 3 months off to just relax. now i’m working 9-12 hr days not including the 1-3 hrs of commute depending where my client is. i tend to be hard on myself too, or ‘perfectionist’, but thinking black and white is never a good thing in my opinion when it comes to health/sanity 😉
LOVE your lunches! they always look so tasty. especially the chocolate! only thing missing is… kombucha lol
can i tell you how excited i am for you that you have a vegan friend now!
and whaaaaaaat you have a date with janeth and emily! i’m so jeal 🙂 have fun girrrrrrrrl
i have yet to make oiaj. i dont know why, but something holds me back haha
have fun this weekend!
I didnt know you and Janetha were roomies. (she just posted it…blame her for spreading the news LOL) Now two of my fave homegirls are under one roof. That will be easy!
I get in Friday late afternoon and can’t wait to have drinks and hugs and laughs with you!!!!!!
As for transitioning to a new job and eating a few more carbs or less plants than usual, ummm, to be expected, who cares, totally cut yourself some slack. And did I mention, it’s time to start drinking and get the weekend going!!!!
🙂
no, no, no! please, no guilt. you’re a big inspiration for me about NOT feeling guilty. and hey — crackers, nuts, and tea isn’t a large fry, shake, and burger. i feel you though — this week my eats and work outs have been off a little. i credit aunt flo. but i know my body will even out because it always does. if one week goes “awry” the next week all i want to do is eat every veggie i see and move, move, move. just keep doin’ yo thang, girl. keep that head up high 🙂
aaand okayokayokay and i am SO excited you’ll be in san francisco (my cityyy!). if you get a chance (that is, if you have yet to eat there!) i highly suggest eating at cafe gratitude. it’s on the corner of harrison and 20th (i thiiink. don’t quote me!). or millenium. both vegan, both delicious (a BIT pricey though. but worth it!)
HAVE FUN!!!
MMMmmmmMMmm, your blog always makes me insanely hungrrrrry!
Have you experienced the lids on the easy lunchboxes to easily fall off? I wonder if I’ll buy some, but they say on their site that the lids are loose to make it easier for kids 🙂
On the philosophical side, ever read Andy Deering – The Best Life Money Can’t Buy?
He has some awesome ways to teach us how to go with the flow, and be more aware of how we are spending our time – without stress, and not being so darn hard on ourselves. I highly recommend it!
Have a sparkling flyng-pigs-and-knitting-cows-day!
Supahh hugs from Norway <3
i know what you mean about having options on the packed foods front. i’m practically living out of my lunchbox and my car on monday through thursday between work and class and basketball.
<3 heart thrive! they're soooo good. they hold me over much longer than larabars and clif.
annnnnnnd i couldn't agree more about the oats in a jar…especially because i feel like i lose the peanut butter flavor! i mean, sure it's in there, but i like to get a good taste of it and sometimes i feel like the flavor gets lost a bit in the oats.
xo. happy friday!
Oh my gosh, I’m so with you. I’ve just finished a long set of night shifts and I’ve come home from each shift and ALL I want is cookies. I don’t want anything healthy, just cookies. Like you, I’m a planner and I hate it when this happens. My workout schedule has also fallen by the wayside. It’s been almost one month since I last had a good workout but I have no motivation when I’m working crazy shifts (and in the ED). If you find any answers for fitting in workouts and easing the junk food binges/cravings I’d love to hear about them! Are you back in cardiology or working in a different area?
Hope you have an awesome weekend! 🙂 xxx
YOU are the prana bar lover I was trying to remember in my last post!! I tried one and loved it:)
And I had major trouble adjusting to working, especially getting in runs. It frustrates me SO MUCH to not run when I want to or have time limits. But it’ll work!!
Totally respect that you weren’t feelign like yourself re: food this week, but I have to say that all of the eats look terrific to me, hon 🙂
Definitely give yourself transition time, and don’t be afraid of the fact that things are fluid. When I was in ED recovery I dreaded interruptions to my perfect little habits and daily routines (fitness and food) like the plague. I’m so happy that I’m at a point in life where I can roll with punches. If the last few years have taught me anything, it’s that the pressures of career transition, working 2 jobs, and falling in love (and thus entering into weekend travel EVERY weekend for the foreseeable future) won’t allow me much consistency. And yet I maintain health regardless 🙂
So will you — and so DO you! Anyway, if you were pmsing this week, no wonder you wanted carbs and more carbs 🙂
mm, i know that feeling :/ by nature, i’m someone who likes to plan ahead, exercise and have energy to do all that, but if i’m super busy, i can’t always do as much as i’d like. i get really frustrated, but i just comfort myself in knowing that i really am trying my best in doing what i can. siiiigghh.
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