Early Morning
Posted: March 14, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: almond butter, burrito bowl, preserves, puzzle, rice, salad, toast, veggies, workout 26 Comments »I think God is preparing me for those midnight feedings and diaper changes.
I woke up at 2:30 this morning – unable to go back to sleep. At 3:00am, I finally decided to get up and go work out. There’s no time like the present, right?
Warm-Up: 2 rounds of: walk 200 m, 5 air squats, 10 good mornings, 10 shoulder press
5 rounds
10 wall ball #12 lbs
10 pull ups
Remember wall balls? My favorite!
Then, at 4am, I got back in bed and (hooray!) fell back asleep until about 5:30.
Breakfast
ww toast, almond butter, and raspberry preserves
I made this almond butter using roasted almonds instead of raw like I normally do…it is deeelicious x100.
Lunch
Spinach, cucumber, artichoke hearts, roasted almonds
Dressing: olive oil, ketchup, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, paprika – sounds weird, tasted good.
I also had a couple of apples and a grapefruit like I do every day.
Dinner
Veggie burrito bowls: Texmati brown rice, roasted broccoli stalks, carrots, zucchini, kabocha squash, and guac
In the 3rd grade world…
My kiddos are puzzle monsters. They get to work on them if they finish their work early, or as a reward. They probably finish a puzzle a week – and they’re not easy – I’m always impressed.
I loved this particular one because it looked delicious.
Pajama Day
Posted: January 10, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: apple, broccoli, chili, clean house, cocoa powder, oatmeal, orange, rice, snow day, tofu 27 Comments »Snow day, snow day, snowww daaaay!!
When my alarm went off this morning, I rolled over, asked Meeker for his iphone, and went directly to my school district’s website to check for closures. I wasn’t expecting it, just hoping, and HOORAY, all schools in the district were closed for the day! So I rolled over and went back to sleep for two hours.
There’s really no better feeling.
When I did get out of bed, I made myself some oatmeal.
½ cup oats cooked in water, almond butter, chia seeds, Love Grown granola, and…
The magic ingredient. I got this stuff from my parents for my birthday and it is gooood.
Then I spent four hours cleaning my house. I was so happy to have the time to scrub floors, put away laundry, and clean out closets. It was the perfect snowy day activity.
Then I sat down to lunch in my nice, neat casa.
Broccoli, rice, tofu and teriyaki sauce
Then I plopped down on the couch and watched Mr. Bauer do his thing for a while – a cup of tea by my side.
(Oh, and I didn’t get out of my pajamas all day. Even while I worked out in my living room.)
Fruit Snacks…
X2
And for dinner – while my studly Meeker was shoveling our driveway – I whipped up a pot of chili.
I started with a salad.
Lettuce, cucumbers, celery, carrots
And then on to the chili.
(Yup, same bowl. Didn’t even rinse it out.)
To make the chili: ground turkey, black beans, pinto beans, 1 garlic clove, 2 cans tomatoes, 2 cans tomato sauce, ½ onion, green bell pepper, 2 cups water, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes – cooked on low heat for two hours.
I think every weekend should be three days long…I feel so much more relaxed and ready to face the work week tomorrow!
Is it snowy where you are?
What’s your favorite stay-in-the-house activity?
Ocho Nueve
Posted: August 30, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: almond milk, avocado, BBQ, fruit cereal, garlic, hummus, pesto, rice, sweet potato 31 Comments »Hey pals! How was your Monday? Mine was just about as good as smooth as you could hope for. My kids were CHATTY, but otherwise, not too bad. I started with a walk with Punky, and some push-ups and sit-ups. An easy way to ease into this week.
Then breakfast.
Fruit cereal with a little extra crunch
My first time trying these little nuggets – I liked them!
1 peach, 1 banana, pecans, the above cereal and my favorite almond milk
Mmm, the bowl was so dang good. I felt like I was eating cold pie for breakfast – insanely delicious.
I also wanted to share with you guys the latest addition to my classroom…
I was so tired of being starving all day long – that I made myself a snack drawer. Dried fruit, nuts, bars, and tea. It worked perfectly. When I started getting that gnawing in-between-meal-hunger (which is usually at 10:30 and then again at 4pm) – I just reached into my snack drawer and had a little handful of food. It worked like a dream – I didn’t feel famished all day. I’m kind of sad it took me so long to think of it.
For my real lunch
Sweet potato with hummus +bbq sauce+ avocado
Sweet potatoes for lunch are perfect – they fill me up so well, but don’t ever make me too full.
On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some basil for my dinner.
Garlicky Pesto Rice
I combined these ingredients:
- Fresh green beans (cut into 1 inch pieces)
- Canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 3.5 cups water
- 1 tbs. Roasted Garlic Seasoning
- 1 cup brown rice
And simmered until the rice was tender. Then I made a basil pesto with:
- 1 cup walnuts
- ¼ cup evoo
- 1 cup packed basil
- Salt
into the food processor. Then combined the two! It was so easy – and it made the creamiest, most flavorful rice. But warning: it was really rich. I couldn’t finish my bowl, but it was darn good.
In the 3rd grade world…
My kiddos had Spanish today – which the teacher comes to our classrooms for. Thus, I get to hear oodles of silly songs in español, and get to listen to them butchering and stumbling through all sorts of Spanish words/phrases. It’s really cute.
Today, when the Spanish teacher was leaving, she told the class: Hasta Luego! (which means “until later” or “see you later”) and one little boy in my class proudly waved his hand and shouted:
Ocho Nueve!! (which means “Eight Nine”) – it was precious.
Hunger Crazed
Posted: August 11, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: banana, burger, cabbage, cinnamon, powerbar, rice, roasted potatoes, veggies 21 Comments »I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday night! Time flies when you have a job…
I started this morning with some strength training, a shower, and breakfast eaten en route to work.
Brown rice, soy milk, cinnamon, sweetener + ½ a banana
I was going for a rice pudding type of thing, but this wasn’t really that good. Honestly, the best part was the bananas. Remember when I hated bananas? Plus, I was hungry about 30 seconds later…it made for a long morning. But I love my pink bowl – it matched my outfit today!
On the way out the door.
Lunch
Veggies. Don’t worry, this wasn’t all – I ate a powerbar while I was at recess duty.
When I came home at 6pm, I was crazed with hunger, and thought this snack was a good idea.
Canned green beans with sunflower and pumpkin seeds
After I ate this, I literally said aloud: What was I thinking? It’s not that it tasted awful, just odd. Oh well, it fueled me enough to make a proper dinner.
Sautéed cabbage, roasted potatoes and a beef burger – yes, I ate it all with chopsticks and it was deeelicious. By far the most satisfying meal of the day.
In the 3rd grade world…
A girl after my own heart.
Draw a picture of your favorite place in your community. Baskin Robbins. Yesssss.
Happy Birthday Big Bro
Posted: August 10, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: green monster, rice, sole fish, veggies 21 Comments »I started Tuesday out with a refreshing run with Punky before the sun came up. Then refueled with a green monster for breakfast.
Smoothie in the first rays of the morning sun. B-e-a-utiful. In this mix: 1 cup frozen spinach, ½ cup frozen peaches, ½ cup frozen blueberries, 1 scoop protein powder, 2 cups water, 1 tsp. xanthan gum (for thickness)
Lunch
More veggies and rice. Today’s assortment was brown rice, edamame, green beans, corn and honey mustard dressing.
Dinner
Grilled eggplant and green beans
Grilled sole – Meeker’s flipping tongs got in the way. We don’t eat much fish, and as it turns out, it’s not really meant to be flipped. We kind of destroyed it, but intact or not, it tasted good.
On another note, today is my oldest brother’s birthday! Happy birthday, Riv!
My brother, me and my niece
In the 3rd grade world…
I had recess duty today.
When I have recess duty, and a kiddo needs to use the restroom, I hand the student my lanyard with my keys and always jokingly say:
Don’t drop them in the toilet!!
So, when this happened today, said student looked at me like I was an alien. I shrugged it off, and figured he just didn’t get the joke.
However when I got the keys back upon his return – they were soaking wet. Drenched. I’m not sure if he misunderstood me and thought I instructed him to dip the keys in the toilet, or if he accidentally dropped them in there, but one thing is for sure – my keys had been submerged in water. I immediately threw away my lanyard, got a new one, and sprayed my keys with bleach water. This is not the type of thing that one wants to take chances with.
I’ve got my lunch packed up…
Posted: August 9, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: cabbage, classroom, fruit, omelet, powerbar, rice, stir-fry, sunbutter, veggies 35 Comments »Today went so well! My kiddos are incredibly sweet, and I can’t wait to get to know them better. We’re off to a great start in the 3rd grade world.
I started off with some strength training and a new (to me) breakfast…
Sweet omelet!
I filled it with frozen fruit (that I had thawed in the microwave), then slathered sunbutter on top. It kept me full all the way until lunch time (5 hours!). I was very wary of this combo, but was pleasantly surprised. It tasted like a crepe.
Lunch
veggies (edamame, carrots, corn) + rice, power bar, a mini green machine smoothie
It was also very yummy, and perfectly filling.
I know powerbars get kind of a bad rap – but I actually really enjoy the taste!
It’s kind of like a thin, sticky brownie.
Snack
I have this theory that peanut M&Ms are perfect food. They’ve got antioxidants (chocolate), protein and healthy fat (peanuts), and just enough sugar to get you through the afternoon. See? Health food.
Dinner
Sorry, I’ve eaten a version of this for 3 nights in a row. It’s just so cheap and delicious!
½ cup brown rice, 2 cups sautéed cabbage, sunflower seeds, an egg, and asian bbq sauce…
Mmm, I don’t know if I’ll ever get sick of brown rice and vegetables. The varieties are endless! Plus, having cooked brown rice on hand is pretty much the best thing ever. I have another four cups on the stove as I type this.
In the 3rd grade world…
I thought I would show my newer readers a picture of where all the action happens.
Now you can picture all of the shenanigans, and me eating lunch at the little desk in the corner. Get ready for another full year of fun!
Extrovert
Posted: August 4, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: agave, almonds, dates, meatballs, pasta, rice, sunbutter, tuna 26 Comments »I totally forgot how much energy I get from being around people all day!! I am just buzzing right now…bzzzz. I am a true extrovert.
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 3rd 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.
The Last Hurrah
Posted: August 3, 2010 Filed under: Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: agave, beans, carrot, coconut, first day of school, rice, salsa, tuna 28 Comments »Today was my last day of summer vacation. Waaaah! Actually, I’m halfway excited about it. Summer went too fast, but the beginning of the school year is always so exciting – the new kiddos, freshly sharpened pencils, school supplies, clean desks – a fresh start!
In other news, we are (more than) a little tight on our budget this week, so my eats were pretty darn boring. We can’t squeeze in a grocery trip until next week, so I’m making a lot of pantry meals this week.
After taking Punky on a long walk, breakfast was an unphotographed bowl of brown rice with agave drizzled on top – I assure you that will be my breakfast more than a few times in the upcoming week – so you will see it.
Lunch
Tuna salad (1 small can of tuna + spicy mustard + pickles) eaten with a carrot. The last carrot in the house.
Then I gnawed on some coconut for satiation purposes.
I don’t know of a way to get the flesh off the coconut without just chewing on it (which I am totally okay with). Any tips??
After lunch I went to the gym and lifted heavy things for about an hour, ran some errands, then came home, drank a protein shake…
1 scoop Sun Warrior protein powder, 1 cup mixed frozen fruit, 2 cups water
And painted my toenails pink!
Hmm, they look red. Trust me – they are neon pink. A good color for the start of the school year.
Dinner was a favorite cheapy.
Rice, pinto beans, and salsa – all sprinkled with garlic powder
And that’s it! Nothing too crazy for the last day of summer vacation, but it was nice just to putter around and get stuff done. I’m going to get in bed early tonight in hopes to start the school year out well rested!
Questions:
Did you like the ‘first day of school’ as a kid? I loved it – I’ve always been a sucker for new organization and office supplies. Plus, you got to see all of your friends!
What’s your favorite cheap meal? Rice and beans is probably mine. I bet the above bowl cost less than $1 if I broke it down into servings!
Christmas Crack
Posted: December 15, 2009 Filed under: Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: carrots, chicken, christmas snacks, crock pot, I Love Lucy, onion, rice 16 Comments »
This was given to me today by an extremely thoughtful parent in my class. I’m so blessed to work with such kind and supportive families this year.
- 2 cups rice krispies
- 2 cups corn flakes
- 2 cups white choc. chips
- 1-2 cups choc chips
- 2-3 cups Gluten Free pretzels
It is gluten free because her kiddo can’t have the stuff, but you could (obviously) make it with regular pretzels.
I had more than a couple handfuls of this stuff throughout the day.
When I returned home, Meeker had followed my vague instructions for chicken and rice in the crockpot. I forgot to leave the amount of rice…so we had a treasure hunt to find the chicken buried way in there – it was like a foodie adventure. Darn tasty, too. Leftover rice is just a bonus!
Onion, carrots, chicken breasts, rice and water. Everything but the rice was cooked on low for about 5 hours. The rice was added (along with more water) in the last hour of cooking.
Anyone ever seen the Job Switching episode of I Love Lucy? Our dinner reminded me of that.
Fred and Ricky decide to make arroz con pollo (Ricky is Cuban, after all) and cook a pound of rice per person, which expands and makes a mess all over the kitchen. Hilarious.
This is my favorite TV show of all time.
***
In other news, my birthday buddy Holly is trying to raise money to build a well in Cambodia. Please click on the link to help her cause…she is so close to making it happen!
Also, Janetha is having an awesome giveaway, check it out.
Whew!
Posted: November 2, 2009 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, dessert, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: black beans, pomegranate, pretzels, rice, salad, savory oats 14 Comments »Nothing like jumping back into reality with both feet. It was an exhausting and wild day in 3rd grade. But it felt good to be back in the groove.
Breakfast was leftover savory oats (only about 4 spoonfuls), to which I added 2 egg whites, 1 full egg, salsa and ¼ of an avocado.
I tell you, savory oats are my new obsession. I never thought I would hear myself say that.
So dang.
Then, for lunch, I photographed hippie style while I was packing it up last night.
And all together, now…
I ate ¾ of this – and saved the forze shake for another day. I also snagged a piece of pan de los muertos from the teacher’s lounge while picking up my mail.
When I got home, I was hungry enough to eat my arm – so I snacked on these addicting crisps while I prepared din-din.
I surprised myself with my willpower and foresight – and measured out a serving before I dug in – only 110 calories for a big ‘ol cereal bowl full. Good snack if you ask me.
I was feeling so hangry, that I hit up Heather for a quick recipe: Black Beans and Rice with Pumpkin Vinaigrette. Too easy and sooooooo delicious.
And my bowl…
I’m so excited that I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
True to form, I followed up with dessert.
Two of Meeker’s favorite – straight out of the freezer. I swear that these cookies are like medicine. They – without fail – make me feel phenomenal. They always settle my stomach (which is usually mad at me for not feeding it all afternoon, and then bombarding it when I get home) and make me feel comfortably full. I’m in love.
Hope your Mondays are wrapping up nicely – hasta mañana.
