Friday Favorites: Pizza + Shoes + TLC Shows

Oh, hi. I meant to check in on Wednesday but I didn’t get a chance. At the last-minute Tuesday night, we went to the Islanders game which left me tired come Wednesday morning to finish a post.

Here I am though, and it’s Friday! Not only is it Friday, but it’s also Friday before Hanukkah (begins at sundown Sunday night) AND the Friday before the holiday break.

Let’s talk about some favorites from the week, starting with pizza.

I made the most delicious pizza bagel the other night for dinner. This pizza bagel, (made with a whole wheat pizza bagel might I add), hit the spot so perfectly. I like to keep whole wheat bagels in the freezer specifically for my pizza bagels. Pizza bagels are such a perfect meal at any time, so easy and satisfying.

I actually haven’t had my favorite whole wheat margarita slice from Mario’s in a few weeks. I’m not even sure when I fell out of the habit of going to Mario’s but maybe I will stop in there later today for my favorite slice.

I did have this whole wheat pizza from Joanne’s. I’ve always loved Joanne’s so any time that I’m over there, I try to stop in for a slice.

And this margarita pizza, which you may have already seen on my Instagram. I had this for dinner last week in the city at Bar Italia and loved every bite.

Here’s something we don’t speak about too often anymore — peanut butter. Remember when I used to eat a lot of peanut butter? Now, I just add a bit to my morning oatmeal and then forget about it again until the next morning.

However, it’s worth mentioning that I randomly grabbed this former favorite peanut butter of mine at Trader Joe’s earlier this week. Did Trader Joe’s not have this peanut butter in stock for a while? Or, did I just not pay attention for the last two years or so, as I vaguely remember that I stopped eating this peanut butter after a stomach virus. Either way, I bought it earlier this week when I suddenly noticed it and still like it. It’s nice to change-up the types of peanut butter every once in a while.

Brooks Levitate 3

I was so happy to be a part of the Brooks wear test program but I couldn’t mention it until the shoes were released! I received the Brooks Levitate 3 to wear-test over the summer. Ever since then, I’ve been wearing them as my go-to running shoe. I really like the responsive cushioning yet still feeling like there’s a touch of firmness that I don’t get from my Adidas Energy Boosts. Suddenly, my Boosts were feeling too soft for me so the Levitate’s are a really nice addition to my running shoe rotation. They feel nice on the tops of my feet (which used to be a real issue for me with running shoes) and I find that I forget about my feet when running which is totally key. I can wear them on the treadmill or outdoors without issue. The Brooks Launch is still a favorite of mine, too.

In other shoe news, I bought a new pair of UGG boots. Ok in full disclosure, I went to the mall to get my mom a Hanukkah gift but left with boots for myself instead.

The UGG Classic Cardy II Knit Boots in gray are likely going to be my new favorite. I love the fit and comfort of these knit boots. You can wear them up the leg like in the below picture or cuff them over. Both sides feature the buttons. I needed something super cute and comfortable to throw on every day, and I wanted gray. These UGG’s fit the requirements, so long as it’s not snowing or raining.

And finally, let’s chat about TLC shows.

I’m still watching 90 Day Fiance (although I can’t even keep up with how many couples we are looking at right now).

One of these days I will finally run into the Long Island Medium — anyone else watching this show? I totally believe in these things and cannot believe how local she is (or how I haven’t run into her at Bloomingdale’s yet as I always hear of other people seeing her there).

Yet somehow, if it’s possible to be even more local than the Long Island Medium, is the cast of the new show, Unpolished. Um, they are literally so local that I cannot even believe I am watching national television. I loved the show within minutes of watching it, too. Very easy to get into! Maybe I will need to stop in for a fun manicure in place of my basic Essie polish choices. 🙂

Have a great weekend!

The Foods I Haven’t Been Eating

 

Instead of discussing what I have been eating lately, how about we talk about what I haven’t been eating?

I came up with this idea because I thought it would make for a more interesting post than sharing the same salads over and over again. However, it actually took me a few minutes to really think about the foods I haven’t been eating since I am such a creature of habit!

Although, there have been a few minor tweaks to what I eat on a regular basis. Maybe not so much in the last little while, but certainly over the years since starting my blog in 2013.

If you are a long time reader, maybe you remember that my post-run oatmeal always included greek yogurt.

Plain greek yogurt (usually Stonyfield) mixed with oatmeal, berries, and peanut butter was my thing!

I totally stopped eating greek yogurt almost three years ago now. Wow, how time flies!

^ I also stopped eating the Trader Joe’s peanut butter with flax seeds that you see in this picture!  

Why I stopped eating greek yogurt:  I had a bad virus (summer 2015) which left me with stomach pain for a few weeks depending upon the foods that I ate. During that time, I gave up greek yogurt completely and then never went back.

Is it smart to skip greek yogurt when the protein, calcium, and probiotics are really healthy for me, especially as a meatless eater? Probably not but I dropped it and now lost my taste for it. I haven’t tried to eat greek yogurt in a while but the last time I made the attempt, I didn’t like it. I know that it would probably take me a few meals to adjust back to the taste and then I would be fine but bleh, I don’t want to bother.

Who remembers my peanut butter pantry stocked with PB2 and Peanut Butter and Co. peanut butter?

I went through my phases with PB2 over the last few years and right now, I’m totally off it. Not only is PB2 pricey, it’s not exactly as satisfying as real peanut butter.

Sure, PB2 has its benefits and I always liked it stirred into my pre-run bowl of oatmeal. It had a good texture for certain recipes and worked well in smoothies. However, I don’t need to spend the money on it. More often than not, because of the lack of fat content in the PB2, I was left unsatisfied and craving another serving. I do much better just eating real peanut butter and I think I save money too!

Speaking of saving money, I stopped buying Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butter over a year ago (or maybe two years ago?). It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s that I couldn’t get it so easily or for a decent price on a regular basis. I switched over to Trader Joe’s Organic Crunchy (salted) peanut butter and really haven’t looked back.

Three-Ingredient Pancake:

Gosh how I LOVED my recipe for the three ingredient pancake! However, I can’t eat the pancake as often as I would like so now I don’t even think to eat it at all.

The three ingredient pancake involves eggs and eating eggs on a regular basis totally correlates with the months that I suffer from severe menstrual cramps. I realize this sounds crazy but as you may know, what you eat 100% relates to how you feel. Food can affect our hormone levels which definitely affects the menstrual cycle. There are even menstrual cycle diets to follow not only for cycle regulation but for pain management too!

How good does this pancake look though? I loved it with blueberries and peanut butter on top.

While my cycle has always been more regular than a person on a pill (aside from when I dealt with amenorrhea) I did grow up experiencing horrendous menstrual cramps. The kind of pain (with vomiting and fainting) that would rule my life until after my son was born. Having a baby definitely helped to minimize how bad the pain was for me (as did switching to a meatless diet!) EXCEPT during the months that I ate eggs on a regular basis. It’s actually amazing how different my pain levels can be based upon what I eat. The pain I experienced during the months that I was eating more eggs was so recognizably different and bad that it’s just not worth it to me. There are plenty of other foods to eat that don’t make me feel bad!

Are there any foods that you used to eat but now realize you haven’t had in a while?

 

Friday Favorites! (April 2017)

 

I’ve been all excited for today’s Friday Favorites post!

I have a few things I am really loving right now and couldn’t wait to discuss.

First, remember when I shared this Pure Barre t-shirt photo in a previous Friday Favorites post? It wasn’t available online but I found it at my local Pure Barre studio!

lululemon Lost In Pace Shirt

I went to lululemon recently to finally try on the Lost in Pace shirt.

The looser cut is awesome and so comfortable while running.

I don’t love to run in a tank top in the summer because of the added sun exposure so this Lost in Pace shirt will be perfect when it’s hot outside and the sun is really strong.

Just make sure you try the Lost in Pace shirt on before buying though as it runs big. I sized down from the size I normally wear in the Run Swiftly shirts.

lululemon Hottie Hot Shorts

I am obsessed with the hottie hot shorts for so many reasons. The leg room is great, there’s a zipper pocket for my key and the waistband is crazy comfortable. It feels like I am wearing nothing while I run which is really important to me. I don’t want to feel my shorts moving while I run. In terms of sizing, I took the longer length and a size up for the shorts as compared to my lululemon size in pants. I didn’t even try on my usual size as I knew I wanted a little extra room for my legs so that the material wouldn’t bother me while running.

Abercrombie

For a while there I was starting to think that I was getting too old for Abercombie as their selection over the last couple of years had stopped interesting me. This year however, they are back with some great stuff!

I mentioned this off the shoulder dress last week. I tried it on in the store and loved it. I also bought this dress and these boyfriend jean shorts. The good news is that everything right now is 50% off both in stores and online! I am bringing my receipt back for a price adjustment!

Favorite Flavor Combo

I am obsessed all over again with this French toast coffee and peanut butter flavor combination!

Trust me when I say that drinking a cup of Green Mountain Golden French Toast coffee alongside a toasted English muffin with peanut butter is just the best. Please try it. It’s like a bite of heaven first thing in the morning.

Gotta Love Us New Yorkers

This article 15 Struggles of Having Friends From Long Island could not be more accurate and hysterical! Please read it if you have been reading my blog for a while. I am convinced you will recognize a lot of what I say since I am your friend from Long Island. 🙂

Have a great holiday weekend!

[bctt tweet=”Lots of Friday Favorites today! @pure_barre #lululemon #peanutbutter #greenmountain #coffee #Abercrombie #fridayfavorites #running” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

This post may contain affiliate links. Thanks for your support!

If you like running in shorts, which are your favorite?

Do you have a favorite coffee flavor or do you drink original blends?

3 things you have planned for this weekend?

 

What I Ate Wednesday (3.22.17)

 

Lots of food to discuss today for What I Ate Wednesday!

Breakfast:

I had my usual pre-run small bowl of oatmeal with banana early in the morning. After my run, I wanted a slice of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread with peanut butter and jelly.

Trader Joe’s was out of the organic crunchy salted peanut butter last week. Instead of throwing a fit, I just  bought a jar of creamy peanut butter for the first time in a long time.

I think I like it! I’ve been on a crunchy peanut butter kick for about ten years now so this is totally different for me! I mixed the two peanut butters together on my toast. It was a nice combination.

Lunch:

Lunch was made out of leftover brown rice along with roasted broccoli, chick peas and one of the new broccoli & cauliflower vegetable patties from Trader Joe’s.

I liked this vegetable patty much more this time around because I let it cook longer which made it crispy. It needs to be crispy in order to be good!

Dinner:

I didn’t get a picture of my son’s plate but he tried the carrots & peas vegetable patty. At first he wouldn’t admit it so he said it wasn’t good but then he ate the whole thing. When I asked again, he said it was okay which means he liked it.

Dinner for me was the usual experience of not sure what I want so let’s throw everything together (roasted sweet potatoes, leftover chick peas, broccoli and avocado added after the picture).

I eat a lot of broccoli in case you noticed not because I love broccoli but because I hardly buy a variety of vegetables anymore. It usually goes like this — Okay, Trader Joe’s has frozen broccoli this week? Let’s buy a few bags and call it a day.

Dessert:

You may have seen on Instagram that I have been all excited about Amanda‘s new cookbook, Easy Flourless Muffins, Bars & Cookies!

I am super proud of Amanda for working so hard to make this cookbook happen. In some ways I feel extra close to this book as I was there to support her throughout the process. Even though we have yet to meet in person, Amanda is one of my closest of friends for over three years now!

My son and I couldn’t wait to try her recipes and of course, we went with the chocolate chip cookies first.

These simple chocolate chip cookies, which are flourless and gluten-free, are amazing. We could not stop eating these cookies when they came out of the oven. Like really, I had to take the plate away from both of us.

Amanda’s recipe for these chocolate chip cookies fascinated me a bit. I could not get over how spot on the texture was  and how they puffed up so pretty without the flour. Although they contain nut butter, I wouldn’t even classify them as tasting like a peanut butter cookie. I used peanut butter in place of the almond butter.

I highly recommend Amanda’s new cookbook for so many reasons (the pictures are amazing and the pages flip so nicely) but mainly because I like having an actual book of recipes in my hands over just reading recipes online.

It’s fun to whip out the cookbook to browse and see which recipes spark your interest and then have the recipe right in front of you without the need to look at technology. I don’t know, that’s just how I always liked to bake.

[bctt tweet=”What I Ate Wednesday! #WIAW #cookies #glutenfree #traderjoes #peanutbutter @runwithspoons #vegetarian” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

* I was not asked to review Amanda’s new cookbook and all opinions/recommendations are my own.

Which type of nut butter do you like best? Crunchy or creamy?

Do you still like to use an actual cookbook in the kitchen?

Which vegetables do you buy the most when you go food shopping?

What I Ate Wednesday (3.15.17)

I burned a pot of oatmeal yesterday. Please don’t ask me how I managed to burn the oatmeal. I was sitting in the kitchen the entire time the oatmeal was cooking on the stove! I guess that I didn’t pay attention to my ratio of oats to water, not that I ever really do.  All I know is that burned oatmeal is NOT good. I had to throw it all out and start over!

Breakfast:

I walked over to the gym in the snow/ice/sleet blizzard of a storm and then came home for some oatmeal in a jar. School was closed so it was nice to do things on a later schedule. Lately I find myself unable to get out of bed as easily as I used to!

When was the last time I used an almost empty peanut butter jar for my oatmeal? I can’t even remember.

Lunch:

I really wasn’t hungry for lunch which happens to me sometimes. Peanut butter and jelly with banana on toasted cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread is always good though.

Dinner:

Roasted broccoli, sweet potatoes, leftover brown rice and chick peas became dinner topped with parmesan cheese. I don’t make meals like this as often as I used to but I really should. It’s so easy and a great way to eat your vegetables.

Dessert:

I really like handfuls of chocolate chips as a snack. 🙂

Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating today for WIAW!

[bctt tweet=”What I Ate Wednesday #WIAW #oatmeal  #peanutbutter #chocolatechips” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

If it snowed by you yesterday, how much snow did you get?

Do you like your oatmeal in a jar? What do you add to it?

What’s for lunch today?

 

Favorite Breakfast & One-Pan Dinner (WIAW)

 

In my head this week was going to go slow but look, it’s already Wednesday!

Here’s a peak at what I ate yesterday…

Breakfast:

This former favorite breakfast of mine of an English muffin with peanut butter has been working really well for me once again so I am continuing to go with it even if it means there is little to no oatmeal in my world right now.

In fact, just the thought of oatmeal most mornings makes my stomach feel like lead.

An English muffin with peanut butter, half before I run with more banana than peanut butter and then half after I run with more peanut butter than banana, just satisfies me throughout the morning so much better than oatmeal these days without weighing me down.

I didn’t even know that oatmeal was making me feel weighed down until I stopped eating it. Before my long run on Saturday I even switched away from oatmeal to the English muffin with peanut butter plus banana and I felt great.

The only time I think I will still eat oatmeal right now will be AFTER my long run. That’s a habit/routine I am not ready to change. Although who knows, maybe I will.

Lunch:

This is what I call a pile of healthy food on a plate. Roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli and mashed chick peas and avocado on the bottom. I feel like I have been eating out a lot so I start to naturally crave a plate like this.

I had baby carrots at some point in the afternoon while working. I don’t really like baby carrots but I ate a few anyway before putting the bag back in the fridge because again, I don’t really like them.

Dinner:

My dinner was not as exciting as my son’s dinner. I saw this recipe for one-pan rosemary roasted chicken and potatoes and just had to make it for him!

Look it’s really a one-pan meal!

I wish you could smell it, the aroma in my house was delicious!

While I couldn’t taste the chicken, I had some of the potatoes which were covered in the marinade that was a mix of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and rosemary. The recipe called for chicken thighs which I would think made this dish even more tasty than chicken breasts.

The flavor of this super easy meal is out of this world so I drizzled the same mixture over my own plate of Japanese sweet potatoes and broccoli < – basically same meal as I had for lunch because it’s all I really wanted tonight.

I will definitely be using this marinade combination again for sure.

Dessert:

I am in a major dessert rut when eating at home. Lately I do a lot of unpictured good dessert eating when I am out (chocolate mousse cake Monday night, a molten lava cake Friday night etc.) but when home, I don’t know what I want.

Last night I had raisins. Just raisins. See what I mean? I don’t know what I want to eat.

So I just scrolled up to spellcheck what I have written and I notice no oatmeal or apples in my What I Ate Wednesday post.. Is this really my blog?

[bctt tweet=”What I Ate Yesterday! #WIAW #peanutbutter #potatoes #eats #fitfluential” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating today!

What have you been eating lately as a nighttime snack?

How often do you change up your pre or post run meals?

What’s on the workout agenda for today?

 

Switching Up My Breakfast (WIAW)

Would you believe me if I told that I haven’t had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast since Saturday?

I know! How crazy is this?

I woke up on Sunday craving my former breakfast obsession of an English muffin with peanut butter and I haven’t looked back since.

Do I miss oatmeal? Um, not really? I am way too happy right now with biting into a toasted English muffin with melty peanut butter on top, especially when I alternate it with sips of coffee.

The tricky part revolves around running though. So far I have been fine with an English muffin and peanut butter when I don’t run or on mornings when I run easy but yesterday I ran a little longer and faster which may have left me hungrier.

Also, the real test would be on Saturday for my long run; that pre and post run oatmeal is fairly key to my routine although perhaps I just think it is because I am a routine kind of person.

Perhaps I am analyzing my English muffin with peanut butter a bit too much but today is What I Ate Wednesday which means I am allowed to ramble on about food.

Let’s take a look at what I ate on Monday.

Breakfast:

Since I always need to eat something before I run, I have been having half of the English muffin with peanut butter before my run and then the other half after I run, both with a cup of coffee. And water, I always drink a ton of water.

I am loving the whole wheat cinnamon raisin English muffins from Trader Joe’s but also have the regular whole wheat English muffins in the house so I will probably alternate both packages.

So this combination worked for me on Monday because I ran an easy 5 miles BUT yesterday I ran 7 miles with a harder effort which had me realize two things:

The peanut butter repeated on me ever so slightly. It was more of an aftertaste that I noticed at the end of my run.

Even though I added diced apple with yesterday’s English muffin and peanut butter after my run, I found myself hungrier two hours later whereas Sunday and Monday I was completely satisfied. Don’t get me wrong though – I was satisfied after eating, but not for a prolonged period of time which makes things tricky because I didn’t want to eat anything more when I was actually eating breakfast.

What I may decide to do is alternate my mornings with my usual bowls of oatmeal on harder run days and English muffins on easier run days to see how that works for me. Best of both breakfast worlds, don’t you think?

Lunch:

Since I ran less on Monday, I was absolutely full and satisfied from breakfast for a few hours which was great for working through a busy morning. I made an omelet with roasted sweet potatoes for lunch right before I got on another conference call.

If you have been paying attention, I stopped eating sweet potatoes almost two months ago after that late September stomach bug because they reminded me of butternut squash which I will NEVER eat again. I gave a small sweet potato a try though on Monday. It was okay but the taste still sort of haunts me.

Dinner:

Ah, my favorite weeknight meal! Roasted potato wedges with melted mozzarella cheese plus a side of Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup. Oh and some broccoli because I need to remember to eat vegetables sometimes.

If you try my favorite dinner combination, make sure you dip the roasted potato wedges in the tomato soup!

Dessert:

My son did his best to take home as much candy from the candy table at the party Saturday night as possible. I went straight for the Hershey’s Bars in his bag since those are my favorite.

I usually prefer dark chocolate but a plain Hershey’s Bar is just so good!

I had several mini Hershey’s bars and then broke a few up with a diced apple.

Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating today!

[bctt tweet=”switching up breakfast! #wiaw #breakfast #peanutbutter #runner #oatmeal #englishmuffin #traderjoes” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Are you super routine with what you eat for breakfast?

Do you prefer toast or an English muffin?

Favorite type of potato? How do you like to cook it?

 

So Much To Say! (TOL)

I feel like I have so much to say in so many directions today that I need to organize my random thoughts in order to keep this post coherent.

Before I say another word, I must follow up my disordered eating post from Tuesday with this wonderful post from Kylie at Imma Eat That: Tips to start living a non-diet life.

She always offers a gentle yet no-nonsense approach to learning how to give up the diet mentality, helping readers to understand how basic it can be to do so without counting calories. I know it can take time to change your mindset but if it’s something you are determined to do, I recommend reading her blog on a regular basis.

Running:

The weather this week has been super nice and almost close to what we can consider cool. I think it’s been in the 60’s (or maybe close to 70) in the morning which makes me happy when I am running.

Although, yesterday I chose a gym workout instead of running! I like adding a cross-training day in place of an easy run lately. I may keep it up during my half marathon training which starts next week.

My only issue at the moment is that I clearly need a new pair of cross-training/easy run/recovery run running shoes. My Saucony Rides, which I have been wearing on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Friday’s since March, are feeling totally burned out.

I actually started to type that I bought these running shoes in April but after checking the dates on the photos of the shoes here on the blog, they are from March! Woah, these are way passed finished for me.

My Saucony Rides still look just like this picture. All shiny and new but the cushion, padding and soles are finished.

I don’t want to spend money right now on running shoes! But they are necessary and important so I guess I have no choice.

Mallomars:

Mallomars are back in stores! You know the deal with Mallomars, right? They are only available in stores from September through March because back in the old days, the chocolate coating would melt if they tried to ship them on trucks during the warmer weather.

I read this article which explained 10 things I didn’t already know about Mallomars. It said that although Mallomars can of course be shipped today year round through the use of refrigerated trucks, they just don’t do it simply to cause the traditional seasonal hype!

I always get all excited like a kid when I see the Mallomars displays popping back up in the grocery stores. I picked up a box the other day while in Shop Rite.

Peanut Butter:

Has anyone else noticed that the red capped jar of peanut butter at Trader Joe’s is missing from store shelves lately? You know, the crunchy chia seed and flax peanut butter? Where did it go?

Blog Issues:

I don’t even want to talk about it! Like I do want to talk about it but I am so beyond frustrated that I just can’t. You shouldn’t see the issues on your end which is the bright spot in this mess of a situation. I have become so tech savvy in the last 48 hours but I still can’t resolve the search engine problems.

I have stumped my new web host as well as the tech support people I have helping me. This is not okay. Not okay at all. Slowly losing my mind over here. But I don’t want to talk about it.

A month from today:

Today is September 15 which means a month from today is October 15, my son’s Bar Mitzvah.

Speechless.

Just so you know, the kids are given their Mitzvah dates four years in advance so this date has been on the calendar for a long time. I used to joke with people that they need to save the date when 2016 seemed so far away and now here we are.

#TBT for today: Where does the time go? I still see my baby looking like this and it was almost ten years ago.

Today is the Bar Mitzvah RSVP due date. I have a ton of things still to do including many meetings, many payments, ordering the favors, setting the day-of timeline, finding heels for the Friday night service…should I continue?

I also keep rereading this post that I wrote several months ago entitled Letting It Go to remind myself to do just that.

As the Bar Mitzvah approaches, so does facing the reason for my divorce for the first time in my life.

Lately I have thought about not doing so and taking steps to keep me from having to do so but the negative energy associated with that scenario is draining and almost worse than just dealing with things head on.

This is probably one of the hardest things I will have to do so far in my life (no exaggeration) and while I think it’s completely unfair that it has to happen on one of the most special days in our lives, I am a stronger person now as compared to when my divorce first went down so it will be okay.

Right? Right.

Maybe I will start watching The First Wives Club again from now until the Bar Mitzvah. I know I have said this before but seeing this movie when I was 18 is nothing compared to watching it now. In the movie, Bette Midler has her son’s Bar Mitzvah during her divorce and I can totally relate to certain aspects of her situation.  It cracks me up for sure which helps me to make light of my own situation.

Actually, sort of related, has anyone else been watching 90 Day Fiance on TLC? Am I the only one tuning in to this nonsense as if it’s quality television? If you watch it, please tell me who your favorites are from last season and now this season!

I’ve removed the twitter share thing that is usually listed at this point in my post as well as a few other features on my blog at the moment thinking maybe they are conflicting in the background. Just letting you know. 🙂

Do you like Mallomars?

Anyone else have Yoast telling them that there’s a search engine problem on their site all of a sudden?

Do you watch any of the TLC reality shows?

What I Ate Wednesday September 14, 2016

 

You have no idea how this site has tested my patience over the last ten days! Each time I think things are running smoothly and back to normal, something else pops up.

I am so over dealing with the technology side of this blog that I have even settled for some of my older posts, including Monday’s post, to include photos that aren’t displaying correctly.

As important as this blog is to me, there’s only so much energy one can devote to certain situations that a few photos out-of-place isn’t the end of the world. However, the fact that search engines have stopped indexing my site (I know, I am speaking another language) is leaving me enraged and ready to explode.

Just so you know.

Let’s talk about what I ate yesterday!

Breakfast:

Just the usual early morning coffee with oatmeal and banana. I take the oatmeal straight out of the refrigerator as I usually have a few servings already made for the week.

I heated up half of this bowl of oatmeal with half of the banana mashed in along with the coffee. I also had water, I drink a lot of water when I wake up in the morning.

A couple of hours later, after getting my son off to school and running eight miles, I had the rest of the oatmeal mixed with berries, Skoop and peanut butter in this almost empty peanut butter jar.

It’s a good thing I like eating my oatmeal out of these empty jars since my dishwasher is still broken! I am currently waiting for the new dishwasher to arrive so let’s just say it’s been a long week mixed with plenty of paper plates and empty jars to avoid using my regular dishes as much as possible.

Also, that spoon you see is another one from my son’s baby spoon collection. A Big Bird spoon!

Lunch:

So last week I experienced a bunch of hungry days and now this week my appetite is sort of missing.

Actually it’s not really missing, it’s just not raging.

I had zero idea what I wanted to eat for lunch and I wasn’t even that hungry or craving anything in particular. I almost had another bowl of oatmeal as lunch but then I noticed the butternut squash that I bought the other day staring at me from the kitchen counter so I decided to finally do something with it.

I roasted some of the butternut squash with brussels sprouts and asparagus but I still really didn’t know what I was having for lunch.

Like, what was I having with this plate of roasted vegetables?

Somehow I ended up toasting a slice of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread and using it to make a small egg sandwich. I think it even hit the spot.

Just remembering now as I type this that I had a few apple slices with peanut butter after lunch while listening to a webinar for work < – no picture.

Dinner:

I made eggplant cacciatore last night as part of our Recipe Challenge!

We will chat it about it more on Friday but it was delicious. I also added some roasted butternut squash to the recipe since I had it cut up already from lunch.

Dessert:

No matter how I try to come up with different nighttime snacks, I still gravitate back to my favorite apple, peanut butter and chocolate chips.

And yes, I went back for more peanut butter and extra chocolate chips. A few times, because that’s how I roll. If you have no idea what I am talking about, check out yesterday’s post on the topic of disordered eating and stuff like that.

Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating today too and if you haven’t entered my $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway, head over to that post! It’s a good one – Quick & Easy Plant-Based Stir Fry Recipe using Success Rice. 🙂

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Anyone else having blog issues lately? Is Yoast telling you that search engines can’t index your site?!

Who went back for more chocolate chips last night?

What’s for lunch today? Do you know yet?

A Pathetic Peanut Butter Sandwich (Disordered Eating Chat)

Today’s post will discuss disordered eating, amenorrhea and things like that. If this is not a topic for you to be reading right now, I will see you tomorrow for What I Ate Wednesday. 🙂

In Sunday’s post, I mentioned that I recalled eating a peanut butter sandwich with an apple on September 11, 2001 as I watched the news coverage of the horrific day unfold.

I have been thinking about that peanut butter sandwich a lot lately.

I am sure you don’t remember but I dealt with amenorrhea during the year of my engagement leading up to my wedding in 2001. I had just gotten my period back a couple of months prior to September 11.

My metabolism was all screwed up from months of not eating enough. I really didn’t know back then that there was a thing called not eating enough. I thought it was either you don’t eat at all (anorexia) or you eat too much. Anything in between would be healthy and correct but I slowly learned that wasn’t the case.

To be honest, it started to feel like no matter what I ate, I was going to gain weight from my slowed metabolism. Was that in my head or was it reality? I think a little bit of both.

My wedding was approaching and I lived in fear of my dress not zipping up on my wedding day.

Looking back, I don’t even understand why I felt the dress wouldn’t zip. It’s not like I ever gain weight in my middle and the dress was a princess ball gown – why wouldn’t the zipper zip up my back? Of course it would.

But I didn’t see that then.

All I saw was that my period came back and I was gaining weight.

My body was sort of freaking out, adding hormones and shape to areas that didn’t have shape for a few years. This wasn’t a bad thing! I was healthy and growing back curves — curves are a good thing!

Although, as great as having shape is, no one wants to feel their body growing or behaving in a way that they can’t control.

And that peanut butter sandwich? It was made completely with a fake, poor excuse for peanut butter.

One of those low-calorie, low taste peanut butters that comes in a jar claiming to be better than peanut butter but isn’t even close to as good as peanut butter. I ate this peanut butter sandwich in my attempt to still eat less without feeling like I was eating less even though eating less didn’t work.

I am pretty sure, now that I sit here and think about it, that peanut butter sandwich was also made on low-calorie bread. You know, that low-calorie bread where the slices are so thin that two slices are really like one slice? Do they still make that type of bread?

The Towers were crumbling yet I was eating this fake pathetic peanut butter sandwich thinking I was on track with a perfect day of eating.

Like any other day during that time period, I attempted the same perfect eating until the after dinner hours would roll around and I devoured every box of cereal in the pantry.

You think you can eat less than you need and get by with the low-calorie nonsense and maybe you can but it only lasts for so long. At some point your metabolism shuts down and your appetite increases to make up for the dumb things your brain tries to allow you to do. It’s such a terrible cycle that I hope to never get caught up in again.

15 years later and my period still arrives like clockwork.

I run longer now and faster now than I ever could have imagined back when I was 23 years old. I haven’t weighed myself in years but if I had to guess, my size is in line with where I was at when I was considered unhealthy but now I am healthier and stronger.

Isn’t it funny how that works? We think our bodies need US to keep things under control when the reality is, we need to stop trying to control things and just let our insides do their thing. They are going to anyway.

If we don’t eat enough, our system will slow things down to conserve energy rather than let us get too sickly thin. If we stop focusing so much on trying to control every morsel that goes into our mouths, we will find a balance that works for both the brain and the rest of our body too.

I have a fancy dress to zip up in a few weeks (for my son’s Bar Mitzvah) and I am not afraid that it won’t zip.

I eat real peanut butter and never allow myself to go hungry. As a runner, I don’t even know if it’s possible to run and not eat when hungry. How do people do that? How does one ignore the runner’s appetite?

By the way, this is my new favorite peanut butter. Why didn’t you tell me to try the 365 brand of peanut butter?

This is not to say that I don’t struggle sometimes in the evening with the food in the pantry because that would be a lie. Sometimes, even after I have eaten plenty of calories and fat all day long, I am still looking for snacks (specifically chocolate chips these days) and I have finally come to realize that this is just part of my life.

I am old enough and wise enough now to know that there’s no such thing as a perfect day of eating and at the age of 38, I have also learned that there’s no such thing as me not wanting to eat extra snacks sometimes in the evening even if I am not hungry.

And that’s okay. It’s me.

I don’t need to analyze my issues, determine if I am supposed to cut sugar (that’s insanity) or question why or what I am doing wrong that I like extra chocolate at night on a random Tuesday.

I think that this pathetic peanut butter sandwich that I ate while innocent people were dying and battling for their lives on September 11 serves as a reminder that 15 years ago, I was way too focused on what I ate.

I don’t want to live my life like that.

I don’t want to look back over the years and remember focusing on food. It just seems like a terrible way to live.

Posts of Interest:

Achieving a Balanced Attitude Towards Your Weight  – My key points for keeping yourself in check

Body Image Chat – Realizing that clothing doesn’t need to be a struggle.

Finding Balance Between Our Diets & Workouts – How many calories should you be eating?

Between Our Diets & Workouts Part 2 – Follow up to part one of this great series

 

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Which peanut butter is your favorite?

Do you think that sometimes you think too much about food? Or, did you have a time in your life when you did?

Do you find yourself eating snacks at night even though you probably aren’t hungry?