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?

Mrs. Unger eats like a pig.

Pre-workout breakfast: juice and a slice of toast.

Post-workout breakfast:

Cookie dough smoothie

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 3^rd 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.

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 3^rd 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.

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 3^rd 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

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.

So dang.

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 3^rd 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.

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.)

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 3^rd 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.

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 3^rd 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)

(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 3^rd 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.