WIAW – Crumbs Closed Plus Lots Of Salads

I am very sorry if you didn’t receive yesterday’s post via email. I still don’t know why exactly the glitch happened but even if I was given an explanation, it would probably be in some technical language that I wouldn’t understand enough to explain to you anyway.

Before we get on with today’s post, the answer is YES, I am well aware that Crumbs Bake Shop has suddenly closed all locations.

I am honored to have received so many notifications from basically every person I know with links to the news reports, tags on facebook and other social media shout outs.

It is quite possible the downfall of Crumbs was due to the demise in my cupcake craving back in 2012.

I loved the Fudge Brownie one, I really did, and I loved the chocolate Fudge Chip and the Boston Crème (ohh the Boston Crème).

But I just kind of got over it so my few times a week Crumbs visits came to a screeching halt.

I am glad to have had my final Crumbs cupcake on Mother’s Day.

If Red Mango should ever go out of business, it would probably mean I got over my parfait habit but I just don’t see that happening so I guess we won’t see Red Mango suddenly shutting the doors. At least I hope not. I may now live in fear of this.

Let’s talk about food. And coffee. I bought a new coffee flavor.

I was drawn to this flavor mainly because the thought of S’mores excited my tastebuds. I can’t say for sure that my cup of coffee tasted as though I was drinking marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers but the smell made me happy and knowing the name was S’mores tricked me into thinking it was a really good choice.

Sort of like picking nail polish.

I take polish selecting super seriously and like to find not just a pretty color but a polish name that fits my mood.

You should know I always avoided the color Starter Wife because I was afraid I would jinx myself by wearing it yet I still ended up divorced. Such a shame to think I went so long without wearing a pretty shade of pink.

Anyway, pre-run breakfast over the last few days has been different.

My appetite changes without warning. I was waking up in the middle of the night late last week starving which led me into the kitchen around 2:00 am for frozen banana chunks (don’t judge me or my choices) to all of a sudden not as starving in the morning before and even after my runs.

And along with the decrease in starvingness came the craving for the crunch of a super toasted English muffin instead of oatmeal.

Just half of a whole wheat English muffin topped with mashed peanut butter and banana, jelly and blueberries is the perfect amount for me to eat right before a run.

I like that I can eat this literally twenty minutes before heading outside and not feeling as though I ate at all.

I don’t know why I find this half an English muffin more satisfying than a slice of my favorite cinnamon raisin Ezekiel toast but sometimes things go unexplained.

After my runs I haven’t felt like greek yogurt so I have been repeating the English muffin and peanut butter thing with lots of fruit.

My protein may be a bit lacking these last couple of days for properly balanced muscle recovery but I am not perfect and I have been adding chia seeds to the English muffins so I can at least get credit for that, right?

And if you are curious as to how all those pints of blueberries are doing, I am plowing right through them.

I love that I hoard yogurt store spoons and I really love blueberries (or really any fruit) with peanut butter. I snack on this combo all day long.

So in my attempt to stop food shopping so often, I have been making due with what I have on hand for lunch.

As I said on instagram the other day, I have a knack of creating healthy, tasty and satisfying lunches with minimal ingredients.

Chick peas, leftover brown rice medley, plum tomatoes, cucumbers, asparagus, peppers and lots of avocado.

Another great salad creation of mine involved sweet potatoes in place of the rice.

I highly recommend you roast a bunch of sweet potato wedges in advance and keep them in the refrigerator as an easy snack, side dish or salad ingredient.

I know I spoke yesterday all about saving money on groceries to support my summer weekend dining out habit and briefly mentioned our new weeknight meal planning but sometimes you just have no choice but to go out for dinner.

The other night, my son had an orthodontist appointment after camp. The orthodontist’s office isn’t all that close to home and the timing of the appointment combined with how cranky I get when hungry plus the traffic left us with no choice but to stop somewhere for dinner.

My son requested Whole Foods for the food bar. I hate to say no to the food bar but for the same price, I knew we could treat ourselves to The Cheesecake Factory where we would get more food on our plates plus a pleasant restaurant dining experience.

I have let you in on my Cheesecake Factory money-saving tip in the past but in case you are new or forgot, I will tell you again.

Just don’t tell them I told you to do this…

The trick for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory is to order your salad (or other dish on the menu but I don’t know why anyone would order anything other than the barbecue ranch salad) right before 5:00 pm.

Technically, you still qualify for the lunch menu pricing but your server will figure you are there for dinner and bring you the larger-sized dinner portion.

You will eat it and love it and then when the bill comes and they charge you the full dinner price, you ever so kindly and innocently inform them that you thought by ordering before 5:00 pm (which the time on the bill will clearly show – 4:52 pm to be exact for us the other night), you were ordering from the lunch menu.

Bill adjusted. Dinner for the price of lunch.

You’re welcome.

Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating this week!

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Are you sad about Crumbs closing? Which cupcake was your favorite?

Do you pay attention to the names of the nail polishes?

If you wake up hungry in the middle of the night, what do you eat?

Favorite salad ingredients lately?