My Morning
Posted: August 23, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: green monster, morning, smoothie, spinach 28 Comments »
Beverages and Bread
Posted: June 21, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: almond butter, bread, coffee, green monster, grill, juice, juicer, polenta, spinach, summer 25 Comments »Looking back at my meals today – I realized that most of my food choices fell into two categories – beverages or bread.
Breakfast
I used my juicer to juice one sweet potato, two green apples, and three carrots. Then followed it up with coffee.
Adrienne, Punky and I went for a walk after this – and when we got back, it was already lunchtime. I was hot and wanted something cool.
Enter: another beverage. One scoop protein powder, one cup rice milk, one banana, three handfuls of spinach, three handfuls of ice cubes
Then I toasted some bread, and pulled out the enormous bag of roasted/salted almonds that I got on sale yesterday, and made some almond butter.
Just dump the almonds in a food processor and turn on high until it looks like almond butter!
Mmmm, lick. I probably ate two cups of this stuff while transferring it to the jar and cleaning out the food processor. Then I took more and spread it on a toasted hot dog bun that I had scooped out.
almond butter and agave boat
Around mid-afternoon, I was struck with the urge to break out the bread machine and make a loaf. The house smelled heavenly while it cooked for two hours, and the second it was done, I pulled it out (burned my fingers) and slathered a big slice with earth balance margarine.
Is there anything better than freshly baked bread? I think not.
Dinner
I followed this recipe exactly, and the results were fantastic. A good excuse to grill on the first day of summer!
Made my life easier.
The (vegetarian) grill master.
Insanely easy and so dang delicious.
Alongside, to celebrate the first day of summer (and round out my day of beverages)…
Ahhh, summer is here!!
How did you celebrate the first day of summer?
…like a pig.
Posted: April 26, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: apple, bagel, cheese, cookie dough smoothie, fireflies, peanut butter, spinach, strawberries, tortilla 28 Comments »In writing class today, my 3rd graders learned about similes and metaphors. They wanted example after example of these concepts, and for some reason, all of my illustrations had to do with food. The simile that made them howl with laughter was the one that rang true for me today…
Mrs. Unger eats like a pig.
Pre-workout breakfast: juice and a slice of toast.
Post-workout breakfast:
I was a sleepy sloth this morning, so I decided to have some real coffee when I got to work. My first cup of caffeinated coffee in 10 months.
Mistake. This left me as jittery as a coke addict. I think I’ll have to ease myself back into caffeine after Baby Cakes arrives.
Mid-morning snack: apple and almonds
Lunch #1
apple + tortilla with peanut butter and spinach – don’t knock it until you try it.
Lunch #2
Spread on a toasted ww bagel
Plus some fruity goodness…
I just walked in the door from school, and so far I’ve hoovered a leftover spring roll, a bowl of grape nuts, and I’m sure there is more snacking to be done tonight. I’m still as hungry as a bear.
I’ve lost my will to cook, but definitely not my will to eat.
In the 3rd grade world…
Because my departure from school is impending, and I’ll most likely miss the spring concert, my kiddos begged the music teacher to accompany them as they sang their end of year song to me today.
So, they serenaded me with Fireflies – and I bawled like a baby.
Sure, it was probably hormone induced, but I was a wreck just thinking about leaving my little nine-year-old-nuggets for the year. Any day could be my last day… and that is kind of exciting, and kind of heartbreaking.
I give ice cream to 9 year olds, and then send them home.
Posted: April 21, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: bagel, cookie dough, oats, sandwwich, spinach 20 Comments »I couldn’t sleep again last night, so I got up at 3am and did level one of Jillian’s 30 Day Shred. I hadn’t done this workout since my first trimester, and I forgot that it was difficult. But…it did the trick, and I was back in bed, sleeping by 4:30. I swear, exercise (and an un-photographed bowl of cheerios) is the best cure for insomnia.
When I got out of bed a little later, I had breakfast all ready to go.
It looks boring, however it was anything but. HEAB’s cookie dough smoothie – I can’t believe that raw oats, milk, and nutritional yeast can taste this much like actual cookie dough. You must try it…it’s incredible. So doughy and satisfying.
Lunch – was the same thing it’s been for what seems like months.
It’s delicious every time I eat it – toasted bagel, cream cheese with green onions, spinach
Snack
Some leftover kettle corn and a grapefruit.
And Dinner was a lime fruit bar. Poor Meeker – I promise I’ll start cooking again soon!
In the 3rd grade world…
We filled our marble jar again!
I let my class choose and vote on how they wanted to celebrate their good behavior – half the class wanted ice cream, and half the class wanted extra recess, so we meshed the two together and had 30 minutes of recess followed by some ice cream.
They were so excited – I wish I could show you the smiles on their sweet little faces.
The Very Hungry Teacher
Posted: April 19, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: bagel, cereal, popsicle, rain poetry, snacks, spinach, The very hungry caterpillar 14 Comments »After a particularly exhausting workout this morning, I turned into the Very Hungry Caterpillar Pregnant Teacher.
First, I drank one spinach protein shake.
1 scoop protein powder, 1 cup coconut milk, 3 handfuls of spinach, 12 ice cubes
Then, I had two of my favorite things.
Basically grape nuts
More coconut milk
For snack, I ate my way through three things: two apples and half of a toasted cinnamon bagel.
When lunchtime rolled around, I had a superb four item lunch.
toasted bagel + spinach + cream cheese + green onions
My fifth meal was a very green popsicle.
Punky was jealous.
For meal number six, I ate my way through some protein packed pepperjack mac ‘n cheese!
Ingredients:
- ½ box pasta shells
- ½ block silken tofu
- 1 tbs. Dijon mustard
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 3 cups spinach
- salt and pepper
Boil the pasta. In the meantime, blend the tofu, mustard, salt, and pepper. When the pasta is finished, drain, return to pan, and add tofu mixture. Then stir in the cheese and spinach.
In the 3rd grade world…
I had my class write poems about rain today. It was rainy, and you know the old adage: April showers bring May flowers!
They wrote their poetry on a picture of an umbrella, and I hung them from the ceiling.
Rain makes me sad
It reminds me of Jr.
He was mostly in a ball
I would throw him up as a ball
I miss him
Messy
Posted: April 7, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: blackberries, chicken, coconut milk, grape nuts, green monster, messy, snacks, spinach 27 Comments »Happy best-day-of-the-week to you! Hope your Thursdays went (are going) swimmingly!
Breakfast
Grape Nuts (love!) with coconut milk and blackberries
Lunch/Snacks
I just snacked all day long – didn’t ever really sit down for lunch. In that cute little apple bag…
Carrots and celery. That were dipped into peanut butter.
When I got home from work, I really wanted a milkshake from Sonic – but I decided to make my own healthier version.
Green Monster to the rescue!
- 1 cup milk
- 1 scoop cookies ‘n cream protein powder
- 10 ice cubes
- 3 good handfuls of spinach
It was so tasty – and it dominated my milkshake craving (okay, it was pretty much a milkshake).
As I was happily lapping up the last drops out of the blender, this happened…
Big ol’ drop of green monster on my monstrous belly. This has been happening a lot lately.
Dinner
I cooked chicken on skewers, and put it on some spinach and cucumbers with lemon.
To make the chicken:
I marinated the chicken in some white wine, olive oil, and red pepper flakes for a few hours. Then dipped it in a mixture of oats, corn flakes, and parmesan cheese that I pulverized in my food processor. When the chicken was coated, I threaded it onto skewers and broiled it for about 15 minutes (turning frequently) until it was cooked.
In the 3rd grade world…
Some of my students offered to “oraganize” my classroom library for me today. I was thrilled that they offered, and when I went to see the finished product, this is what I found.
They pulled all the books off of the shelves, then abandoned the project.
Off to eat ice cream…
Posted: April 6, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, leftover lunches | Tags: dairy queen, green monster, leftovers, mandrin orange, pasta, spinach, tomatoes 16 Comments »Eeeee! We (almost) made it to Thursday! I feel like the last two days of the week are manageable, now. We had another power outage at school this afternoon – and it was a chaotic last hour of the day. I’m glad to be home.
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 3rd 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.)
We like pop.
Posted: March 30, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: bagel, buffalo, cereal, chili, cucumber, grape nuts, ice cream, michael jackson, raspberries, spinach 18 Comments »Happy Wednesday!
grape nuts, shredded wheat, and raspberries
Isn’t that the cheeriest bowl of cereal? I thought so – and it tasted like a bowl of sunshine, too.
My lunch was the same thing it’s been each day since Monday. And it tastes good every time.
ww bagel toasted with mustard, spinach, and cucumbers
I got home from work, and remembered that I had the best husband in the world. He cleaned the bathroom (my least favorite chore) and made a crock pot full of buffalo chili for dinner.
I only had a little bit because it was so spicy that I was worried I might go into early labor. Not kidding…it blew my head off.
But it all worked out in the end because it was the perfect excuse to have a wineglass full of cookies ‘n cream ice cream to cool off my mouth.
Worked like a charm.
In the 3rd grade world…
We are studying US monuments and memorials in social studies. I had my kiddos design their own monument to honor a person or event in their life.
Most kids created a monument to honor a family member (or a dog), but this one was imaginative and made me laugh.
We honor Michael Jackson because we like pop. We also honor him because his songs are good.
Then the boys explained that this would be a wall (pink stairs on either side) with MJ’s famous black hat sitting on the top.
Let’s go bowling.
Posted: March 29, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: bagel, banana, bowling, chicken, cucumber, cuties, grape nuts, spinach, strawberry 15 Comments »Thanks for all of your sleeping suggestions! It looks like I need to get myself some sort of pregnancy pillow to snuggle with until my little bundle of joy arrives. I didn’t even know such a thing existed until last night!
The good news is that I slept soundly (with a few bathroom trips) until about 4am – which is a huge improvement! After a better night’s sleep, I had a killer workout and then…
Breakfast
I’m kind of having a love affair with grape nuts, lately. The addition of strawberries, banana, and coconut milk was stellar as well.
Lunch
Same as yesterday. Bagel toasted with mustard, spinach, and cucumber. Plus 3 cuties.
Dinner
photo courtesy of How Sweet Eats
I came home and saw that we had some chicken thawed and ready to go. Originally, I was just going to grill it and call it a day – but I’m so glad I didn’t. I stumbled across Jessica’s Crispy Chicken Skewers – and miraculously had all of the ingredients on hand. They were deeelicious – like everything she makes.
In the 3rd grade world…
While grading a reading test this afternoon, I came across this funny misspelling.
What would happen to Earth if the sun were closer?
If the sun was any closer to Earth we would all bowl.
(He meant “boil” – but I have to say, I’d rather go bowling)
Nonnie Knows Best
Posted: March 28, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, dessert, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: apple, asparagus, bagel, brownie, buffalo brisket, cereal, clif bar, cucumber, cuties, nonnie, salad, spinach 27 Comments »I’ve got to figure out how to sleep at night. I had another 2:30am workout last night because I couldn’t sleep…blech. At least I got it out of the way, right?
(Any mamas out there have tips on sleeping through the night when you have a 5lb. squiggly basketball attached to your belly?)
Breakfast
Grape nuts, frosted mini wheats, banana, coconut milk
Lunch
Toasted bagel with cucumber, spinach, and mustard
Snack Drawer
I had never had that type of Clif Bar before – but it was yummy. The only Clif Bar I’ve met and didn’t like was blueberry. Ick.
Dinner
asparagus, buffalo brisket, and salad
I called my grandma last night and asked her how to make brisket. She told me to put it in a covered pan with liquid smoke and worcestershire sauce, and cook it at 225* for 8 hours. And when your 90 year old Nonnie tells you that’s how you cook brisket – you don’t question her.
It was perfect.
Dessert
cakey brownie and a dollop of cool whip
In the 3rd grade world…
This is actually from last Thursday (St. Patrick’s Day), but I felt so lousy last week, that I’m just NOW getting around to posting about what the LEPRECHAUNS did to our classroom!
Those sneaky little buggers. (Surprisingly, they only dumped out the really messy desks – imagine that??)
Luckily, they left a treat for those students who helped clean up…
8 year olds will do just about anything for a peppermint patty.
