I didn’t mean to miss a post yesterday but it just sort of happened. The weekend was crazy which made Monday even crazier for me in terms of catching up that I just didn’t have time to finish up the running post I was working on for yesterday.
Here I am now though! And it’s already Wednesday!
But I am in a mood. A food mood.
Lately I am just so tired of my usual meals. I don’t know for sure what it is that I want to eat, I just know that what I am cooking and eating, most of the time, just isn’t IT.
Maybe it’s the season. I don’t want to cook. I don’t want to plan, prepare or prep. I don’t even want to food shop. I don’t want to think about my next meal or what I am going to cook for my son (there’s nothing I can make right now that meets his expectations anyway, except the chicken parm I told you about recently).
I can’t even look at apples with peanut butter right now. I tried the other night, really I did, but it wasn’t what I wanted!
I have decided to go with the flow of my food mood feelings right now, even if it means eating out a bit more during the week, giving up peanut butter or stopping to pick up random bags of M&M’s three days in a row. If I don’t try to remedy my food mood, I know I will be unhappy and unsatisfied which is just not a nice combination, especially as I am entering my PMS days.
Steer clear. Just saying.
Breakfast:
The usual pre-run oatmeal with coffee.
After my run, I worked on finishing the fruit that was left from my Edible Arrangement along with some more oatmeal because oatmeal is one of the few foods not annoying me at the moment.
The birthday card from my parents came with lots of gift cards including one for Dunkin Donuts which is perfect because I am liking iced coffee at the moment.
Lunch:
I thought about going to Red Mango but had too much work to do so I settled for making some sort of stir fry which involved a steam bag of frozen vegetables.
Are you familiar with my favorite steam bag frozen vegetable mix – the one with the broccoli, carrots, snap peas and water chestnuts? I cooked it in my cast iron skillet instead of the microwave and cracked some eggs and egg whites into the pan too thinking the protein would maybe help my cranky food mood.
On top of brown rice (one of those Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice pouches) with spinach and avocado plus Island Soyaki for flavor.
Dinner:
I thought my son had a little league game but then the email reminder arrived saying in big bold letters, “WEDNESDAY’S GAME” so there went my theory.
I am not complaining though because no game meant time to go out for dinner courtesy of another gift card.
I was so happy not to cook!
Thankfully my favorite salad from The Cheesecake Factory is still my favorite salad. It’s been 16 years since I have ordered something different at The Cheesecake Factory!
Dessert:
We didn’t have dessert at The Cheesecake Factory because I still had some leftovers of the chocolate covered fruits from my birthday Edible Arrangement.
Here we have a chocolate covered apple slice, chocolate covered strawberries and the chocolate covered pineapple disguised as a cupcake.
I plated it up but obviously I had WAY more than this. Who would stop at only these three pieces when you have a container filled with chocolate covered fruit goodies? My only issue, the pineapple burns the roof of my mouth.
Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating today!
Do you ever get in a food mood?
Which foods are always your favorites?
What do you order at The Cheesecake Factory?
The Cookie ChRUNicles 
I definitely get in moods where all my usual meals and snacks just don’t sound good anymore. I try new meals and then get frustrated when they don’t come out good or take too long to cook. Also, I find it annoying when I have to follow a recipe which is why I prefer to make stuff that I am familiar with. So once I go through all that I am usually ready to get back to my usual food!
ha! I am hoping that trying some different things and eating out more will get me back to wanting my usual food! and I hate recipes. I just like them for inspiration and then I do my own thing.
That fruit salad looks amazing! So colorful:)
it was delicious!
I am so jealous of all the fruit! I would love an Edible Arrangement. That pineapple cupcake is adorable. I actually always get the jambalaya pasta at Cheesecake Factory. My order also hasn’t changed since I was 16 lol.
everyone has their standing cheesecake factory order!
Those pineapple are just too cute. I am kind of all over the place right now, with food and with life, lol. I’m just up down and all around! I need to find something new and exciting!
if you find something new and exciting, let me know! just make sure it isn’t jerky, i am still laughing from that Instagram comment!
I love when you post that salad! Used to be my favorite at CF. I hear you on the cooking/food shopping. Specifically food shopping is annoying me lately way more than ever. What gives?
my favorite salad for sure. sometimes i make it at home, i just have to get another bag of frozen onion rings next time i am at whole foods since trader joe’s stopped carrying them and i have zero patience right now to make my own
Happy Birthday meredith! That chocolate covered pineapple is the cutest idea ever. I know that frozen mixed veggie bag well – there’s always one in my freezer 🙂
thank you! isn’t that the best frozen veggie mix?!
I get in food moods occasionally and oatmeal is usually the only exempt food. Usually these moods happen when it’s hot outside also and I don’t want to cook.
I want it all!!! haha that salad from the Cheesecake factory looks pretty epic! And obviously I wouldn’t be able to pass on those desserts. YUM!
I LOVE Cheesecake Factory but almost never go since there isn’t one near us. I used to always get their Santa Fe salad. Now I want Cheesecake Factory.
Oh man, Edible Arrangements are amazing. Also, Cheesecake Factory makes the BEST salad. To be fair, I’ve only had one, and like you I never deviate. I ordered something different ONCE (for allergy reasons) and regretted it immediately.
I’ve been having the same kind of issues with getting bored of foods lately, and the only things that ever sound good are oatmeal or chocolate smoothies 😆 It’s funny but oats are the one thing I seem to never get sick of.
I am in a major food mood. I have a new job in outside sales so I am not home or in an office most if not all days of the week which is hard because I am used to packing lunches with my old job. So now I need easy on the go meals or eating out. When I get home all I am in the mood for is a sweet potato, ground turkey/chicken, green beans, spinach and broccoli in a pan. It is easy, quick, filling, and healthy. Problem is that I haven’t had any motivation to get creative, buy new ingredients, and cook something new. I guess it will take some time to adjust. Breakfasts are always the same, lots of fruit and a quest bar, and snacks have been huge honey crisp apples with pb or dark chocolate almonds.
Oh boy, I totally resonate with you on being in different food moods, and I think sometimes our bodies just want different things. I have a theory that it all balances out, but I’m not a professional. 🙂 That salad from the Cheesecake factory looks like a salad lover’s dream, and that was definitely a perk to game night. Oh, and I hope you had a super happy wonderful birthday! An Edible Arrangement would be one of the best birthday presents.
We don’t have Cheesecake Factory up here. SO SAD. The chocolate covered fruit looks amazing. Pineapple burns my mouth too! I’m just exiting the PMS irritability stage and it was exceptionally bad this month. BAD.
I think I’ve sort of been in a “food mood” as well lately that’s led me to the opposite conclusion of you – I want more time to cook and experiment in the kitchen and I feel like it’s not been possible since I’ve been out of town and doing things on weekends and the weekdays are full up of my full time job, running and starting marathon training, blogging, and such.
I adore the pineapple cupcake and feel slighted I didn’t have those in my last edible arrangement. Oh well, guess I’ll need to get another. 🙂
These days I eat whatever is easy or someone brings me.
that cupcake is so cute! I totally get in food moods, especially now that I’ve been trying to eat more mindfully/intuitively. I’m trying to eat what I want, but what the heck do I want? Usually it ends up with me eating the most random foods ever. The other day I ate a bowl of refried beans for dinner.
I go through the same thing with food–it’s like I just get tired of eating everything and nothing sounds good even when I’m really hungry. Often what happens is that I just end up throwing together random vegetables, beans, etc. because I don’t feel like cooking. It usually comes out OK, but sometimes it still isn’t what I wanted!
I feel like I get into weird food moods every time the season changes. One thing I’ve never gotten sick of though is peanut butter 🙂
Ugh, I hate when I can’t figure out what I’m in the mood for!! When that happens, I usually end up eating a bunch of random unsatisfying stuff.
isn’t it the worst?
I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of my green smoothies with protein powder and fresh fruit. I love drinking one after a workout. I have somehow never ordered a salad from The Cheesecake Factory and yours looks amazing! I love giant salads from restaurants. And I remember once when I had an edible arrangement the chocolate covered pineapple was my favorite, so cute it’s disguised as a cupcake.
next time you go to cheesecake, try a salad! they are so big and delicious
I’ve kind of been in a food mood lately. Like breakfast is my favorite thing ever, but lately the idea of making anything in the mornings is just so unappealing, so it was frozen Eggos this morning. Even my oatmeal hasn’t been tasting as wonderful (tears). I almost always like eggs and English muffins so I’ve been eating a lot of those lately!
i guess it’s nice to know we all struggle with this from time to time!
Oh my goodness, that salad looks awesome! Will have to get that next time I go to cheesechake factory.