Crazy Hair Day
Posted: September 30, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: english muffin, honeycrisp apple, kabocha squash, pumkin latte 24 Comments »My eyelids are getting heavy, so I’m going to make this quick.
Breakfast
I had a bowl of shredded wheat at 6am, and then this coffee on my way to school.
soy latte with a shot of pumpkin
Leftover kabocha + some popcorn (in the background)
These honeycrisp apples are insane – I’ve never had anything so crisp and juicy.
I just bought 8 more at the grocery store yesterday – I cannot get enough. In fact, for my snack at home, I had another…
English muffin with apple slices and cheddar cheese – put under the broiler for a few minutes – plus the rest of the delicious apple.
After this snack I went for a nice long walk – I love fall afternoons. I get to see pee wee football at the park, the leaves changing, and lots of people out with the doggies. So refreshing.
After the walk, we went out for pizza with my in-laws, who are leaving tomorrow for a 2 week trip to China! I didn’t take pictures because it was dark – but I had a slice of veggie pizza and a salad. Yumm-meee.
In the 3rd grade world…
Today was crazy hair/mismatched clothes day. Talk about crazy students. Holy moly. It didn’t help that I looked like a fool all day, too…
Unicorn-like pony tail, plaid shirt, and cow print slippers.
Silliness.
A story
Posted: September 29, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized 17 Comments »Whoopsies! I left my camera at school today. My food consisted of bread, green monster,
pb & agave sandwich, popcorn, and these turkey roll-ups for dinner. (I’m sure I ate more than that, I just can’t really think of it all at this point.)
In the 3rd grade world…
When I read this story the first time, I was sitting at my desk laughing so hard one of my kids asked if I was crying. There is nothing particularly humorous about it, I just found it charming, and I wanted to share it with you all.
A boy named Bobby was visiting Egypt. It was a hot day. Now you might think Oh! Egypt is always hot! But it was hotter than usual because…..it was raining fireballs! Meanwhile, in Paris, it’s snowing hard. In the meantime, Japan is flooding with water. Then, suddenly, Bobby turns into a superhero. He also finds a partner named Finn. Then, all of a sudden the horrible stormy weather stops! After his visit in Egypt, Bobby becomes a gym teacher.
I love bread, apples and squash
Posted: September 28, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: agave, apple, bread, kabocha, peanut butter, toast 30 Comments »I just want you guys to know I’ve had a resurgent love affair with bread. I swear to you – I’ve eaten more bread in the last 4 days than I have in the last 4 months combined. It used to hurt my tummy, but last Saturday, I ordered and ate a butter croissant. I felt good all day after eating it – and I haven’t looked back. Thank goodness.
With that knowledge…breakfast!
One piece of buttered toast, one piece of cinnamon toast with stevia instead of sugar
Then for lunch…more bread.
The best apple I’ve ever eaten (an organic honeycrisp) and a peanut butter + agave sandwich
Snack
another apple + peanut butter
And for dinner…my first kabocha of the fall!
Kabocha squash, cut up, drizzled with evoo, sprinkled with salt and roasted @ 450* for 40 minutes – I had about 5x this amount, it’s so dang good. So dang.
In the 3rd grade world…
This is spirit week at my school – which means each day the kids get to dress up in a fun way. Today was “dress like a teacher day” – which meant that the teachers had to dress like the students.
Yup, I took this in the bathroom before I left school today. My kiddos wear uniforms, so I went to the Salvation Army last night and found this little ensemble for only $7 – then borrowed all the silly bandz from my students. I had fun dressing like an 8 year old today.
B-b-b-boring
Posted: September 27, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized 17 Comments »I have to apologize in advance because my eating today was dull. No creativity, no inspiration. Today, food was just fuel.
Breakfast
veggie scramble – 2 eggs, red pepper, green pepper, red onion and a slice of bacon
Lunch
Whoops, I cut off the name of the soup – it was split pea. And the light in sodium variety was b-l-a-n-d. I actually added salt.
This was the best thing I ate all day – a crunchy apple that I bought at a farmer’s market this weekend.
Dinner (here’s where my creativity really dwindles)
Tuna salad in a mini whole wheat pita. To make the tuna: 1 can white albacore, 1 pickle, 2 tbs. pickle juice, spicy mustard, lemon pepper, salt
In the 3rd grade world…
When I read my title (b-b-b-boring), it reminded me of something I do in class on a weekly basis.
When we write stories, and my students leave out a lot of detail, or repeat the same words over-and-over-and-over again – I read it, and throw it on the floor while yelling…
b-b-b-boring!!
Now, you might think that’s cruel and very insensitive. From an outsider’s perspective, I would agree. However – my kiddos LOVE it. First of all, they know I’m being funny. Secondly, they think it’s hilarious that I would throw their papers on the floor, and they rush over to collect them and make the necessary changes. It’s the best “editing motivator” I have found.
Vibrant Vail
Posted: September 26, 2010 Filed under: Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: changing leaves, colorado, vail, veggie sandwich 27 Comments »I promise I’ll share the first half of my weekend, but first, I wanted to show you all my Sunday. Meeker suggested we drive up to Vail, CO to see the changing fall leaves.
The colors were breathtakingly vibrant – especially against the blue sky.
Hanging on snow fences…hard to believe that these slopes are covered in snow for most of the year.
Plus, Vail is just a really cool little village.
These trees were cut in half and made into benches…
Riding a bear.
Obviously there was some food…
From the Big Bear Bistro – The Tree Hugger Sandwich: hummus, arugula, sprouts, roasted red peppers, and caramelized onions with maple cider vinaigrette
I ate half for lunch, and just finished off the 2nd half for dinner about 30 minutes ago. It was a delicious monster.
And a deliciously colorful day!
Do the leaves change color where you live?
Love Fest
Posted: September 26, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized 9 Comments »Just returned from a 36 hour love fest with the girls in my family. A lot of eating, laughing, shopping, and quoting You’ve Got Mail. Full update to come…
Dynamite Dinner
Posted: September 22, 2010 Filed under: Delish Dinners | Tags: couscous, egg, mustard, soy sauce, veggies 24 Comments »This dinner kind of happened by accident when I came home tonight. I started with just the cous-cous, but then realized some veggies would be nice. When I had finished that, I envisioned an egg on top of the whole mess – and voila, a dynamite dinner.
Oh yeah, I put a spicy mustard + soy sauce mix over the top.
Not too shabby.
In the 3rd grade world…
I was listening to one of my students read aloud today when we came across the name “Al” – as in short for “Albert”. But when my student came to this name, he said “A.1.” – as in the steak sauce. I let it slide, and figured he was just hungry. But when he did it a 2nd time, I stopped him and said…
What is the character’s name?
He again replied, A.1.
I asked, Have you ever heard anyone called by that name in real life?
And he replied, Yeah, my neighbor’s name is A.1.
Smooth Sailing
Posted: September 21, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: apple, hummus, leftover pasta, puffins, smoothie, veggies, yogurt 20 Comments »No complaints about today – everything has been pretty smooth sailing this week. And that’s a great thing.
Breakfast
Eaten at school. A baggie full of Puffins, and Fage Greek Yogurt with honey. The honey was kind of hard, so I ended up just eating the yogurt plain, and snacking on the cereal throughout the morning.
Lunch
Leftovers from last night
Quinoa pasta, zucchini + red onion + spinach sauce (And a timer set for 16 minutes in the background. Fact: 16 minutes is longer than I had to eat lunch today). I don’t know if it was because I was so hungry, but this pasta was the best tasting thing I’d had in weeks. So stinking good.
Snack was 2 apples + peanut butter, eaten mid-teaching. I also had a bag of popcorn sometime today. I’m a snacker.
Dinner
Veggies + hummus
Orange juice + raspberries + banana + ice
I keep meaning to bring one of my student’s essays home to share with you all, but I’ve forgotten two days in a row – darn it! I’ll try my hardest to bring it to tomorrow. It’s worth waiting for.
What is your favorite meal of the day? I’ve always said breakfast, but lately, breakfast has been feeling like a hassle. Weird?
Are you watching The Biggest Loser tonight?? I’m so excited, I am going to watch it as soon as I hit publish!
Double the Food
Posted: September 20, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized 20 Comments »Breakfast
It’s been a while since I’d had greek yog for breakfast. I’ve missed it. I added peanut butter and agave to this little guy.
Lunch
Big fat salad
Mesculin greens, kidney beans, acorn squash, carrots, dill, parsley, balsamic vinegar + evoo
Snack
Jessica’s homemade cinnamon maple applesauce
– Unbelievable. Ten minutes to squishy apple bliss. Go make it.
Dinner
Quinoa pasta with zucchini + spinach + red onion sauce
Meeker is the sauce master in our house. I can never season it right, so I added the veggies and tomato sauce, and then he made it taste yummy. Sometimes it takes two.
And sometimes I eat way more than I photograph, like today. I snacked all.day.long. Some things that didn’t make an appearance on camera:
- 2-3 handfuls of dry puffins
- 2 apples + peanut butter
- Bag of popcorn
- Handful of peanut M&Ms
My kids were giving me a hard time about eating throughout the whole day (really, they just wanted in on the popcorn action), and I told them I was at least double their size, so I needed to eat double the food. They bought it.
Also, thank you so much for your unbelievably kind comments on my teaching post. I feel so loved and appreciated. Your words meant so much, and I love you all!
Salmon Salad
Posted: September 19, 2010 Filed under: Delish Dinners | Tags: bronco's game, salmon salad 18 Comments »When I woke up this morning, I had no intentions of spending the game at a football game – but that is what ended up happening. I actually planned on using the day to grade, clean and prepare for next week. But things happen. Sister-in-laws talk you into doing things sometimes. And more often than not, you’re glad you gave-in to the pressure.
The only problem with my spontaneous day was that when I headed to the game, I had only eaten a bowl of cereal. Then I spent the rest of the day riding public transportation, sitting in the sun, and screaming for the Broncos (who won!), and by the time we got home at 6pm, I was more than hungry. Waaaay more than hungry.
Luckily, I had dinner already planned. I found this recipe from the culinary school at Baltimore International College about a month ago, and tonight was the night.
Both Meeker and I agreed, it was absolutely delicious. And it only took about 15 minutes from start to finish, which was excellent news for my starving belly.
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets or steaks, 3 to 5 ounces each
2 ounces hazelnut oil
1 teaspoon dill, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon Italian parsley, chopped
3 cup mesclun salad mix
1⁄2 red pepper, julienne slice
1/8 cup red onion, sliced
1⁄4 cup sun-dried tomato, re-hydrated and julienne slice
1/8 cup salad croutons
1 tablespoon pine nuts, roasted
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1.) Combine fresh herbs and hazelnut oil and pour over salmon
2.) Pan sear or grill salmon until tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Keep warm.
3.) Combine extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
4.) Add salad ingredients and toss.
5.) Divide salad onto 2 chilled dinner plates.
6.) Place salmon on top of salad and serve.
