We were half way through our route when I realized that it couldn’t be more than 50 degrees outside. Luckily, I had the foresight to put a hat on my little bald baby, but her poor little hands were freezing (Punky was fine in her enormously thick coat).

When we got home (after I had wrapped Baby A snugly in a blanket) I decided to make dinner. At 8:30am.

This is the kind of dish you want to devour after a cold walk in the wind.

Or after apple picking on a chilly day.

Or immediately following a hayride.

Or before you go trick-or-treating on a nippy evening.

Basically, you need to make and eat this dish during the fall.

Butternut Bacon Pasta

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 box whole wheat pasta
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• parmesan cheese (for serving)

Peel and dice the butternut squash. Combine with olive oil and roast at 450* for 45 – 60 minutes, until tender and browned. Meanwhile, sauté the red onion and bacon pieces. Set aside.

Cook the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Once the squash is done, combine 1 cup of the pieces with the coconut milk and the reserved cooking liquid. Blend on high until a thick sauce is formed.

Combine all ingredients, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

I stood over the stove shoveling bite after bite of this into my mouth when it was finished. I guess that’s what happens when you fill the house with smells of roasting butternut squash and bacon before you’ve had breakfast.

Meeker has lost 9 pounds since the beginning of the month (almost a pound a day, yikes!). And that’s only because he says that there are no options when you’re a vegetarian and he might as well just not eat.

I keep reminding him that this was his idea. (and that his reasoning is completely illogical)

So I’ve been trying to make heartier meals this weekend, I don’t want him to waste away to nothing.

This pasta dish just screamed summertime – and we both liked it a lot. The creamy corn “sauce” was sweet – so I obviously loved it.

Angel Hair with Summer Succotash

Adapted from Bon Appétit | July 2009

8 ounces whole wheat angel hair pasta

2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 3 to 4 ears), divided

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sugar snap peas

1 handful grape tomatoes

1/2 cup sliced fresh basil

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Place 1/2 cup cooking liquid in blender. Add 1/2 cup corn; blend until smooth. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add peas and remaining 2 cups corn. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cover; cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add pasta, tomatoes, basil, 3/4 cup cheese, and corn puree. Toss until heated through and sauce coats pasta, adding more cooking liquid if dry, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

If you’re Meeker (or you’ve lost 9 pounds this month) this makes 1 serving. If you’re anyone else, you can probably squeeze 3-4 servings out of it.

Breakfast

I refueled after my workout with a green monster:

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup coconut milk (I use the So Delicious brand)
• ½ cup water
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 10ish ice cubes

Lunch

The dinner that I made last night, but didn’t eat. Leftovers are nice.

Also, yesterday I told a co-worker that I had never had a mandarin orange before – so she brought me two today!

Looks like a cutie…

…and tasted pretty much like a cutie, but with a bit more tang. I loved it.

I also packed (and ate) a bowl of grape nuts with coconut milk for a snack later in the afternoon. Can’t get enough grape nuts lately.

Dinner

I based dinner on a recipe from my Colorado Classique cookbook – and was pleasantly surprised. I usually don’t like pasta dishes, but this one had enough veggies to make it yummy.

I changed it a little based on supplies we had on hand, but basically it was ww pasta tossed with sautéed chicken, a bag of spinach, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, and cider vinegar. Yum city.

And now, if you’ll excuse me – I’m off to eat some ice cream. Meeker just found this coupon in the mail and insisted that we go. If I have to…

In the 3^rd grade world…

Yesterday, I noticed a little girl getting frustrated with the boy she sat next to. I think he has a crush on her, and he’s constantly bugging/teasing her. So – I moved the desks. Today, I got this email from the little girl:

dear mrs.unger
thank you for moving me! that means so much to me!
love kennedy
p.s. i have a surprise for you!
I didn’t change anything, it was written in that size font. Hilariously adorable.

(Also, I got a little insight as to what purple jinx is – but the whole concept is still a little confusing. I’ve got to do some more research before I can explain it to you all adequately.)

My first day of school went well! We didn’t have kids today (they come Monday), but we spent the day getting familiarized with our new igoogle system which I am in complete nerd-love with. We pretty much went paperless this year, and I’m giddy about all the organizational possibilities.

Thanks for all your sweet happy anniversary wishes! I can’t believe it’s been 3 years…crazy stuff. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen Meeker today (except for early morning before I went for a nice long run in the cool, beautiful morning air.) But I did see a lot of friends today, and Meeker and I will get to hang out this weekend – something to look forward to.

Breakfast

This yummy bowl was 1 cup cooked brown rice, 2 chopped medjool dates, a handful of chopped almonds, cinnamon, and agave. It was one of the best cheap breakfasts I’ve ever had. I will undoubtedly eat it for breakfast again tomorrow.

Lunch

Embarrassing, really. I found a can of tuna buried way in the back of the pantry, mixed it with some beans and spicy mustard and called it lunch. I can’t wait for payday….

I also had some (more) dates with sunbutter from Tona!! (Remember Tona, the awesome foodie mom from my class last year who showered me with yummy things?!)

She left about 100 of these packets at the school office for me, and this was delicious squeezed over the dates. Definitely the highlight of my lunch.

For dinner, I had guests! My two childhood best friends (sisters) came over and brought a sweet little baby for me to meet.

Caitlyn, Christine, and her 2 month old adorable nugget (Elise) hung out for about 3 hours, and I made dinner along the way. Seriously, being around people who I love gives me so much oomph! I’m just a smiling ball of energy right now.

Pasta with turkey meatballs, and zucchini/spinach sauce.

(The return of) In the 3^rd grade world…

I am up to my eyeballs in things to label – nametags, job assignment sticks, attendance sticks, file folder tabs, it never ends! Yeah for sharpies! I’m kind of obsessed with my mulit-colored 30 pack.

Today, I set an arbitrary goal to run 2 miles/sub 14:00. This might not sound awesome to a lot of you speedy runners out there, but I’ve never been fast. Okay, I used to be fast in high school. I used to run 5K races under 22 minutes, but it’s been six years since then, and I’ve just gotten slower. So this arbitrary goal was something to work up to. Today, I thought I would run the two mile loop around my neighborhood as a starting point. The run was hard, like…really hard, and granted it was hilly and windy, but my time was 22:05…uh, what?? ELEVEN minute miles?? Are you kidding me!!? I felt like I was running really fast! After walking in the door, I had a full on break down. I mean lying on the living room floor balling like a toddler. I was crying about what a worthless person I was. I felt slow, fat and unhappy. Literally, like a contestant on The Biggest Loser.

After a 15 minute temper tantrum, I decided to re-map my route…in an effort to make myself feel better. I was thinking (hoping) the hills were more substantial than they felt. What I discovered was even more encouraging than hills. My route was actually 2.65 miles. Which means my time was around 8:18 per mile. Not awesome, but definitely not something to merit a fifteen minute crying fest on the living room floor.

So, there you have it. I’m a crazy person. I’ll keep you updated on my sub 14:00 goal, but until then, I feel like I have an equally important goal… not let stupid things affect me so tremendously.

Other than this slightly psychotic episode, my day was relatively smooth. For breakfast, I had a yummy near-empty peanut butter jar full of greek yogurt, chia seeds, and shredded wheat.

Then, while I was teaching a lesson on fractions, a mom snuck into my class and slipped this beauty into my hand. Little did she know, I had just spilled my morning mug of coffee all over my desk not 5 minutes before. (Thank you so much Jen!!)

During lunch, I had recess duty, which was gloriously sunny, and then I quickly ate leftover veggie pasta and a ham/cheese roll up.

I went grocery shopping after school, snacked on a few pretzels, went on aforementioned life crushing run, and made meatloaf for dinner the man of the house. I had a few bites, and then ate what I really wanted…carrots and hummus.

In the 3^rd grade world…

I know you are all eagerly awaiting an update on the penguin story, but the verdict is still out. We received no confirmation email from mom, and when I inquired as to how the penguin was doing this morning, the boy beckoned me closer and whispered in my ear…

“It’s complicated”

Eeesh it was tough getting up this morning, no? Well, I guess if you didn’t have a whirlwind spring break trip like I did, it might not have been so bad. I was seriously dragging this morning, but the day was surprisingly quick and painless.

Foooood…

Oats, kabocha, pepitas, chia seeds, pumpkin flax granola, cashew butter

Salad, kabocha, peas, roasted cabbage, balsamic vinegar

Yogurt covered raisins

String cheese rolled in deli sliced ham

Green stuff: asparagus, broccoli, spinach, garlic

Tomato sauce added and scooped on top of a little bit of pasta

¼ cup peanut butter cup trail mix

In the 3^rd grade world…

A little boy walked up to me during math today and said:

Mrs. Unger, do you want to know the best part of my spring break?

I replied: “Of course! What was it?”

My uncle went to Antarctica and found a sick penguin and brought it back to me, and now I have a pet penguin!

Okay, so with lot kiddos, I would have dismissed this as a silly lie, and gone on with the day. However, a few things caused me to question the validity of this story. First, this boy’s knowledge of scientific facts far exceeds my own. He knows more about nebulas, reptiles, and our solar system than I know about cake. Secondly, he doesn’t lie. As a teacher, you know who lies and who doesn’t, and this student is factual and truthful. So I questioned him about his pet penguin for a good five minutes. He stuck to his guns. Apparently, his family bought out the salmon supply at our local grocery store. They also bought 100 cans of canned sardines for the little Antarctic bird. Finally, I straight up asked him: Are you lying to me??

He assured me he was not.

I’m very intrigued. This turned into the topic of conversation after school with my fellow teachers, and we ended up emailing his mom for confirmation because we were just so darn interested.

What do you think…could a 3^rd grade boy from Colorado really have a pet penguin??

Egg whites, spinach, salsa

Hot water and banana bread

Lunch(s)

Baby Carrots and hummus

Leftover pasta

Cabbage/broccoli slaw

Snack(s)

Dinner (just one, so far)

Yogurt Mess – plain yogurt, applesauce, walnuts, an Oatie, cinnamon squares, almond butter

I woke up with no patience today – and my students pushed me beyond my limits. Teaching 8 year olds to be kind and compassionate to each other is a tough job – especially when one goes to work feeling neither kind nor compassionate. I’m a good faker – but I came home drained. After a long phone conversation with my Daddy and a prayerful 30 minutes in a hot bath, I flushed 4 lbs. of ice down the toilet in hopes of a snow day tomorrow.

Lunch was an enormous salad – that kept me full for 4.5 hours.

Bottom to top: raw cabbage, steamed carrots and broccoli, hummus, and spicy mustard.

I also added a gardenburger before chowing down.

Around 3:00, my class celebrated a birthday with Krispy Kremes – I had one delicious bite.

At around 4:00, my lunch started wearing off, and I snacked a bit.

Chocolate Brownie Z Bar + a pink lady

Then, at 5:00, a co-worker and I chatted about the wonders of The Magic Bullet – and now I’m fully convinced that I need one. (That and spiralizer. FYI for anyone one out there taking notes on what to get me when my birthday/Christmas rolls around next year).

Dinner was a new recipe – Rigattone with Vodka sauce…uh, minus the vodka.

Perfecto!

I’m not much of a drinker, so going to the liquor store for vodka (which I only needed a splash of) seemed like a silly waste of time and money. The sauce was delicious without it.

I’m also not fanatic about pasta, it makes me sleepy. However, I bulked it up with some spinach to try to ward off the drowsy after effects.

Highlight from the 3^rd grade world…

This flower, along with a note that said: I promise to be a good Noodle, and never ever get in trouble again.

Highlight from the non-third grade world…

This hat from Kelsey! I won a giveaway a few days ago, and I came home to this incredibly warm, snuggly surprise! I haven’t taken the hat off…too bad I can’t wear it at school.

Check out www.YukonHats.com if you want one of these bad boys for yourself.

With that, me and my blue hat are off to get a little tidbit for dessert…I’m thinking dark chocolate tonight…

What kitchen gadget do you recommend or really want to try out? I have three that I really want: a magic bullet, a spiralizer, and a milk frother.

I started my day with some coffee out of my favorite mug. I also had 2 (really tiny…like the size of my fist) pumpkin pancakes and one slice of Ezekiel toast with…

Maria’s Homemade Microwave Pumpkin Butter

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 1/4 cup water
  
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
  
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 1/2 cups (15 oz) canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling mix)
  

1. Combine everything except pumpkin in microwave-safe bowl. Mix well, and microwave on high for three minutes.
   
2. Remove from microwave (Carefully!) and stir really well.
   
3. Stir in pumpkin well, and microwave on high 5 minutes.
   
4. Remove from microwave (Even more carefully!), stir, and let cool.
   

The pumpkin butter totally made this breakfast. That and the Dr. Seuss mug.

I snacked on some Fig Newman’s at 10ish, and then…look how boring my lunch was:

Tuna with celery and a pita.

I did get a very nice gift from a mom…

I took this to not only show you my amazing free loot, but also to show my fantastically seasonal desktop.

Again, thank you Tona for perking up my less than exciting lunch!!

I also snacked on carrots and peanut butter while grading some math tests after school.

I had to make up for the mediocrity that was my food for the day – so I actually pulled out a cookbook for dinner! It’s been a while…

I heart this cookbook. So many of these recipes only require 5-6 ingredients, and they are healthy to boot. It’s produced by the Mennonite community – and I got it as a birthday gift from this girl last year. What a gal…

I also had some discount pasta that had been in the pantry for far too long.

A low-carb variety. It was really good when thrown into this mix…

I cooked ground beef, onions, and mushrooms – then added water and tomato paste. I cooked the noodles in the mess.

The result:

Topped with walnuts. The whole thing was a winner.

For “dessert” I had cheetahs!!

Eaten out the of the pasta bowl. They got all tomato-y and gooshy. I’m so satisfied.

***

As the title of this post suggests…there is some bad news. But also some good! I’ll get the bad out of the way.

My Dad called yesterday to tell me that my parents had to put my childhood dog to sleep yesterday. Hannah (aka. Hannie Bannie) was 15 years old – and was my first (and still BEST) running partner. She lived a very full life, and was such a happy and energetic dog. She loved me so much that when I was in Jr. High, she would jump the 6 foot fence in our yard, run to my school, and (somehow!) get inside, and find me in the hallways. I was always SO embarrassed to have to take my DOG to the office and call my mom to pick her up. This happened more than once.

In the summer, she would follow me to the pool, and jump in the deep end and swim around with me. What a loyal creature.

I thought I was finished crying when I went to school this morning, but then someone said something about dogs, and I burst into tears. The good thing about working with 8 year olds is that they are always sympathetic when tears appear, and they unquestioningly understand sadness over a pet.

You will be missed, Hannie Bannie.

***

And because I don’t want to end on that sad note, and I DID say I had good news…

I finally got my butt in gear and got my Foodbuzz papers faxed in! They had been sitting on my kitchen table for well over a month.

Yes, I am now a proud Foodbuzz Featured Publisher – it’s about time.

***

Edited to add: Join Chocolate Covered Katie’s giveaway! She is also doing some pretty awesome things with Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness. Aaaand she has a cool name.

I came home for lunch and quickly whipped up this fantastically delicious salad.

Romain, 1 corn cut off the cob, 1 shredded carrot, 1/2 avocado, 1 Boca Burger.

I added ~ tbs. good ole ranch dressing after the photo

Plus, I had this cup o’ plenty before I scooted back to school:

I like eating trail mix out of a measuring cup or else I will eat the whole bag and make myself sick.

On another note, I took an “after school job” of sorts (I just have to sit in the school office and answer the phones and open the doors (elementary school security) from 4-6. So, now I am at school from 7am-6pm. Which makes for a pretty long day.

When I got home I – naturally – was starving. I tried to squelch the hunger with a cup of vanilla soy milk, which is one of my favorite things on Earth. So nutty tasting and sweet all in one refreshing glass. While sipping on my v-soy milk, I made some veggie pasta.

I love chopping. It is such a stress-reliever for me.

(Look at the big doggie ears by my right hand. Hah. Punky is always lookin’ for handouts.)

Those veggies turned into this

There are whole wheat noodles on the bottom of the bowl.

Topped with some pepper jack cheese.

I like to make this dish when there are a lot of veggies in the drawer. It is more of a method than a recipe:

• boil the pasta of choice (we had whole wheat rigatoni in the pantry)
• chop the veggies of choice (I used green beans, zucchini, carrots, bell pepper, onions/garlic)
• saute the veggies in some evoo
• add sauce to veggies (today’s was a store bought tomato/basil)
• season with salt and pepper
• combine with pasta

It was a good batch. However – for some reason I got full after just barely making it through the veggies. There are a lot of leftovers though, so I will get to try again tomorrow at lunch.

I am off to make game boards for Math Bingo tomorrow – oh my job is fun.