Breakfast

Yogurt and things – banana, shredded wheat (crumbled) almonds, and chocolate chips – it was just alright.

Lunch was on the meh side as well. We’re getting down to the bottom of this soup pot, and I’ve had it for four days straight. My taste buds are ready to move on.

I found some bagels in the lounge later on in the day, and snagged ½ a cinnamon one. It was kind of perfection.

Dinner

Meeker was making chicken when I walked in the door, so I quickly threw together some eggplant boats, and we called it a meal. To make the eggplant, I scooped out the inside, chopped it up, added celery, onion, garlic, tomato, tomato sauce, salt and pepper – sautéed for a bit, put it back in the eggplant (with some parmesan cheese) then threw it in the oven (at 400*) for about 15 minutes. Easy peasy, lemon eggplant squeezy.

In the 3^rd grade world…

We got a class pet today.

He was a roly-poly (a pillbug) that was found in the hallway. We named him Junior.

Junior was alive and in our classroom for approximately 3 minutes before some boys started playing catch with him.

On a fumble, Junior was lost on the multi-colored carpet and, unfortunately, he’s still MIA.

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!

2 mile warm up

1600m @ 7:30/mi pace

1200m @ 7:30/mi pace

800m @ 7:20/mi pace

1 mile cool down

Kicked. My. Butt. This was 10 times more difficult than it was last Saturday. I think a few factors contributed to this: (a) My last run was only 10 hours before (b) 25 mph winds (c) not much sleep. I was so dang proud of myself for finishing at my desired times that I rewarded myself with some yummy breakfast (okay, I was going to have a yummy breakfast anyway).

Into the food processor went:

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• ½ cup frozen blueberries
• 2 scoops protein powder
• ½ cup almond milk

Then I whirred it together for about 3 minutes (making sure that plenty of air was incorporated)…ice creamy heaven. Then on the way to work I further rewarded my hard work with a latte.

Mmmm. This, plus the fruity/protieny ice cream kept me full all morning. When lunchtime rolled around I had a new bar and some leftover jicama + cucumber with lemon juice.

I heart you Bumble Bar. I had never had one of these before and it was unbelievable. I want more.

Then I had a snack when my kids went to music.

Tofu salad (tofu + mustard + Tony Chachere on toast

When I got home, it was time for another snack.

Plain yogurt + crumbled vegan energy bar

This snack fueled me through dinner fixin’ – Eggplant Parmesan. First I dunked the eggplant slices in (1) whole wheat flour (2) egg + water (3) Parmesan cheese + panko breadcrumbs and then baked for 20 minutes at 400*

Then I put them in a casserole dish, topped with diced tomatoes + seasoning (mixed beforehand and simmered).

Then sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and broiled to perfection.

For dessert, I had sparkling water and POM juice.

Punky really wanted in on the action (don’t worry; she only licked the outside of the glass).

In the 3^rd grade world…

A couple of girls in my class picked these for me at recess and made my heart smile.

Meeker came home at lunch today, and I was deep into my to-do list, cleaning, folding, organizing and smiling. He promptly told me to settle down, and reminded me that I was on Spring BREAK. However, despite what it looked like (I was mid-pantry clean out when he walked in) – I AM very much enjoying the time I have to do these things. I squeezed in some yummy food and fun as well.

Breakfast was toast (from homemade bread) and butter and a HUGE glass of milk. I felt like I was 5 years old – toast and milk, yummy. I then took Punky for a nice walk, did some chores and then made an enormous salad for lunch.

Lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrot, guacamole, black bean hummus – and a leftover crumbled tortilla chip from Meeker’s lunch.

Plus ½ cup plain yogurt with ½ cup pumpkin flax granola

The day was so irresistibly warm and nice that I took Punky for another outing after lunch.

She watched me eat my lunch with this look on her face – I couldn’t say no to another walk.

For Meeker’s dinner I made him buffalo burgers and roasted cabbage wedges.

Then I left him to enjoy the above meal – while I went out with friends!

I’ve known these girls since jr. high – and we try to meet-up for dinner once a month. Tonight, we went to a place called Steuben’s in downtown Denver. It was a fun old diner type restaurant. I ordered salmon.

Plus yellow beets, brussels sprouts, polenta and braised fennel. So yum. I had never had yellow beets before, but they tasted just like the red variety. I also thought the fennel was onion until I looked at the menu online. I enjoyed every bite – I practically licked my plate clean.

I wish EVERY ONE of you had spring break. At the very least, I hope you can just take some time to settle down and enjoy life for a second today!

• Yogurt
• Walnuts
• Chia seeds
• Coconut granola
• Peanut butter

Yum city.

I had a bar mid-morning, and then ran home for a salad at lunchtime

Lettuce, avocado, steamed cauliflower, hummus

I also had a string cheese in the car on the way back to school. Dinner was another Rachel Ray creation, Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Stoup. But instead of the broccoli rabe, I used regular old broccoli.

I had this mug x2 and it was delicious! I can’t even remember the last time I ate meat, and this tasted especially good tonight.

In the 3^rd grade world…

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day (and those mischievous little leprechauns!), I played a trick on my kiddos today. When they went to PE this afternoon, I TRASHED the classroom: knocked over desks, TPed everything in sight, hung green streamers from the ceiling, threw pencils on the ground, scrawled “leprechaun notes” on the board, etc. When the kid’s returned from PE, I told them the leprechauns did it – and if they cleaned it up, they would get a little cookie and an extra recess.

To say they were thrilled would be an understatement. Teachers down the hall heard the screams and stopped by to make sure everything was okay. It was so uplifting to share in their excitement. I couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day; their enthusiasm was contagious.

First round of parent teacher conferences were tonight, and they went well! I was finished by 7pm, home by 7:30, and eating dinner by 8:00. Not bad at all. Dinner was an easy recipe inspired by the latest issue of EVERYDAY WITH RACHEL RAY – spinach and potato omelet (RR’s recipe actually called for peas and potatoes, but Meeker hates peas, so I subbed the spinach). I also added a dollop of yogurt inside to bump the creaminess and then another dollop of hummus up on top after this photo was taken (thanks for the hummus, Tona!)

Tomorrow is marathon round two: the final day of conferences, and then we just hold on until spring break! Just four more days…

Oats don’t fill me up very well. I’m almost always still hungry at the end of the bowl, and I end up wanting another meal about two hours later. Therefore, they’re not my go-to breakfast for weekdays. However – on a Sunday, they’re perfect. As was this bowl:

• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 tbs. chia seeds
• 1.5 cups water

Cooked on the stovetop for about 5 minutes. The toppings…

• ½ cup plain yogurt with cinnamon mixed in
• Coconut granola
• Sprinkling of pepitas
• 1 tbs. crunchy peanut butter

Although my belly is still a little grumbly after this bowl, I’m going to give it a few minutes before I dig into something else. Most likely, I’ll eat another breakfast after church, which I now must go get myself ready for! I’ll leave you with a picture of my adorably dramatic 5 year-old niece at dinner last night. She took my sunglasses out of my purse and struck a pose when I whipped out my camera.

Have a great Sunday.

1. Green Purple Monster

Banana, blueberries, spinach, protein powder, almond milk, peanut butter, chia seeds, 2 clementines, water

2. Leftovers for lunch

Baked tofu and broccoli slaw

3. Snacks that involve peanut butter and coconut

½ cup plain yogurt, 1 spoonful peanut butter, coconut granola

4. Exercise. I started to take Punky for a walk, but it felt so dang good to be alive and outside that I ended up         running sprints on a nearby field in the dark. It felt phenomenal. It was snowy and blowy, which leads me to #5

5. This hat

6. Roasted Veggie Dinner. This one wins as THE favorite. Hands down.

Sweet potatoes, zucchini, red onion, eggplant. Topped with a yogurt/spicy mustard/bbq sauce mix and walnuts and pepitas.

7. Cookies. I haven’t had one yet, but I’m sure it will make the list in about 5 minutes.

I made these cookies last night, but substituted the chocolate chips for chopped up chocolate truffles.

8. Straight from the 3^rd grade world…puzzles!

The teamwork with which my kiddos have been working on this puzzle all week makes my heart smile.

½ cup oats (cooked in water), 1 cumbled oatie, pumpkin flax granola, almond butter, 2-3 tbs. vanilla soy milk

So dang good. Exactly what my belly wanted.

Mid morning, I was surprised with a latte from a wonderful mom

It was a good day for a latte. Every day is a good day for a latte, really. Especially when it’s free – thanks Tona!

When lunchtime rolled around, I was ready for my big fat salad.

Look at that vibrant color! I love all things red – it’s such a warm color.

• Broccoli slaw
• Red bell pepper
• Carrots
• Salsa
• Tiny little chicken tender way in the blurry background

Then around 4:30pm – I had the most fantastic snack while grading. I started with coconut yogurt…

Then added granola and walnut butter

Oh.my.word this was delicious. That walnut butter is the best thing around.

Dinner might look familiar…

This is exactly what my lunch was – but with the subtraction of chicken, and the addition of ground turkey. Cooked in the crock pot all the live-long day. This morning, I browned the turkey, then added it to all the yummy veggies and cooked on low while I was at work. I just love coming home to a hot meal. Thank the Lord for crock pots.

In the 3^rd grade world…

Today was a pretty somber day because there was a school shooting in our area yesterday. However, I have a student who always manages to lighten the mood – no matter what the situation.

It started when a boy was telling the class that he was going to kill his brother for stealing his after-school snack (kind of funny in its own right…). A classmate who was listening to this exclaimed…

“You can’t kill your brother…you’ll have to go to jubilee!“

“Uh, jubilee…?” I asked questioningly

“Yeah, you know the place that kids under 18 go to jail”

“Oh..you mean ‘juvie’ – juvenile detention. “

I will be calling it jubilee from this point forward.

I tried something new this morning and didn’t work out before school. Gasp!
This really is a big deal for me, as I’ve been compulsively exercising before school/work for 8 years – it’s just how I wake up. But this morning, I was exhausted, and instead of pushing myself to do a less than stellar workout – I pushed the snooze button. I actually just finished my workout and it’s 8:01pm. It wasn’t as bad as I always imagined, but I still love the morning sweat sessions.

As a result of my less invigorating breakfast – I had a smaller-than-normal breakfast.

½ cup applesauce, a few tablespoons plain yogurt, a few walnuts, cinnamon

I also had a little oatmeal later in the morning – sorry no picture.

When lunchtime rolled around – I had leftover dinner from last night – acorn squash and chicken tenders

Last night I put an acorn squash in the oven at 350* for about 40 minutes. Today I microwave about half, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and garlic salt – and topped with two baked chicken tenders.

My snack revolved around chocolate.

A cup of coffee and a square of chocolate @ 5pm

Plus a z bar –

I was actually a little chocolated out after this – but it fueled me well through my PM workout. After 45 minutes of Your Best Butt – which I surprisingly liked.

I wasn’t too hungry for dinner, so I had a HEAB inspired Green Monster.

• 1 avocado
• 4 stalks celery
• A lot of spinach
• 3 cups water
• Drizzle of agave
• Shredded coconut – for topping

This was exactly what I wanted – not to sweet, tasted like veggies, and filling!

I may or may not eat something else for dinner, but for now I’m full, happy, and watching crazy girls on The Bachelor.