WIAW: No Measuring Required.

Good morning! Once again, we’ve reached the middle of the week. Which means:

WIAW. Of course!

Breakfast

Breakfast yesterday was a two-parter.

One part savoury:

(Two eggs + a pour of egg whites)

And one one part sweet:

A mix of All Bran, Leapin’ Lemurs, and blueberries with almond coconut milk.

While I was putting this breakfast together, I couldn’t help but think about my relationship with these little buggers:

The measuring cups. A few months ago, I was counting macros/protein grams again, so I was breaking out the measuring cups. Especially with cereals, oatmeal and dairy. Even though I got off macro counting (it’s ridiculous and there’s no reason for me to do it) I was still habitually using them. A couple of weeks ago, I thought about why I was doing that, and I realized that I didn’t have an answer – because there was absolutely no good reason. I know it’s pretty typical in the HLB community (for some individuals, anyways) to count macros, carbs, all that stuff. But in ‘the real world’…that stuff doesn’t really happen. I mean, I don’t know too many people who break out the measuring cups for their cereal in the morning. I certainly don’t need to either.

So, the last couple of weeks those cups have been staying right in the drawer. And it feels much better that way

Pre/Post Workout

Today felt like a gym day. More specifically, legs day.

So the BCAAs were broken out before and after. Mmm, watermelon.

Lunch

I decided to go the snack plate route.

Shredded chicken, baby carrots, bell pepper strips, hummus, pretzels, and feta. One of those I-don’t-know-what-I-want-so-I’ll-have-everything sort of lunches. Kind of the best ones to have

And as a palate cleanser:

A Kiss, Hawaiian style

A little while after lunch, I made my way to class, where I had a presentation to deliver. So, I wore my presentation shoes:

So, I bought these shoes when I was in the first year of my undergrad. I got them on a fantastic sale – I think they were about $20. Ever since, I have deemed them my lucky presentation shoes. I’ve worn them to 98% of school-related presentations in the last…oh…six years? I guess I consider them to be a good luck charm.

At least they’re a pretty good luck charm

A Cinnamon Pecan Simply Bar was inhaled on my way to class:

Which apparently was not enough food for the afternoon, because I got home from school ready to chew my arm off.

But I settled for a spoonful of almond butter and some baby carrots:

Good enough to tide me over until dinner!

Dinner by the way, was interesting:

I made the squash and perogie stew from the March issue of Food Network magazine. The combination was a little odd so I didn’t know what to expect: the main ingredients were turkey sausage, cremini mushrooms, coleslaw mix, butternut squash and frozen perogies. It actually turned out really good though! I can’t even remember the last time I had perogies – I’m happy there’s leftovers

And after an evening of cuddling with the boy and watching Mad Men (I can’t even. I love that show. But do you know what I’m not loving? All the sideburns) I had a bedtime snack while typing this up:

A deep chocolate vitatop with Bee’s Knees peanut butter. Ending the day on a good note.

And today…I have one more presentation! Gotta love the last week of classes.

Have a good one!

<— Do you use measuring cups/spoons on a regular basis?

<— Are you superstitious? Do you have a lucky charm of some sort?

MIMM: Blog Friends and Leapin’ Lemurs.

Happy Easter Monday/April Fools day!

1. Is Easter Monday actually a holiday? I know elementary/high schools get the day off and banks are closed, but pretty much everyone else is back at work/school, right?

2. April Fools’ Day scares me a little. I’m terrible at pulling pranks, so I just try to hide and hope that no one tries anything.

But long weekends are pretty marvelous, no? I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with Mondays, but I figure it’s better to look at the positive side.

Yup, I’m jumping on the lovely Katie’s MIMM bandwagon.  I’ll save Friday for later, but I will show you some fun Saturday/Sunday things!

You know what’s marvelous? Easter chocolate.

This is why my chocolate stash will never die. As soon as I’m running low, people give me more Between Eric and I, there’s four chocolate bunnies, a chocolate rose, and a box of cereal.

My mom told me that when she saw this at the store, she had to pick up a box for me because she loved the name so much. I’ve fallen out of cereal love lately (those eggy oats have my heart right now), but this is one way to return me to my cereal loving roots. Loooove this stuff.

She also managed to find me a chocolate bunny with sprinkles in him. Seems pretty appropriate.

Chocolate bunnies in a cage. That is some good presentation, at least.

It’s pretty marvelous to have a mom-cooked Saturday breakfast!

Eggs, bacon and rye toast – one piece with butter, one with honey. I love rye bread, but I never think to buy it!

A yummy Easter dinner is marvelous:

Saturday dinner with Eric’s family: an appetizer of little veggie roll sushi things (how’s that for a description?), a full turkey dinner, and Black Forest Cake for dessert. I’m pretty sure the last time I remember eating black forest cake was about 6 years ago, but that stuff is good. Chocolate, cherries and a ton of whipped cream. Amazing.

And something that is EXTREMELY marvelous:

Blogger meet ups!

Devon was in town visiting a friend for the weekend, so of course, we made plans to meet up. I’ve been talking to Devon for a while and she’s such an awesome girl, so I was thrilled we could meet up.

When we were trying to figure out where to go for lunch, I suggested Indian – it’s been a while since I’d had it, and she’s pretty much an expert on the stuff We went to The Raja in downtown London for their Sunday lunch buffet.

I think buffets have to be my favourite approach for Indian food…there’s so many different options that I like having the opportunity to try a bunch of different dishes.

so we’ve got:

• some sort of salad/salsa stuff (I’m doing really well on the food descriptions today, aren’t I?)
• tandoori chicken (always one of my favourites)
• channa masala (chickpeas)
• sag aloo (spinach and potatoes)
• an onion bhajee
• some sort of okra dish (the first time I’ve ever eaten okra, actually. Might be picking it up again, I liked it!)
• mystery chicken (it wasn’t labeled. It was good though)
• basmati rice

When it (finally) came around, the naan bread.

I always judge an Indian restaurant based on their naan bread. My ideal naan bread is buttered but not too greasy, and stable enough that you can use it as a proper scoop. The Raja passed

Dessert round:

Fresh fruit and a gulab jamun (which are basically little fried, syrupy dough balls of delicousness)

So basically, lunch was awesome, but the company was even better! Devon and I just talked for hours about everything from blogging to travel. We have a ton in common, right down to the matching nose rings We were probably getting a bit of a stink-eye from the staff, we lingered for so long!

Fortunately for me, she’s only about an hour away so I will be making the trip up to see her again soon.

Being the awesome person that she is, she also gifted me some PureFit bars.

She recommended them on her blog a while back, but I haven’t been able to find them anywhere in my area. They look awesome – anything that’s supposed to taste like cookie dough is good in my book.

Thanks for the bars, and for an awesome lunch Devon!

I just need to take a moment to gush about how fortunate I feel that blogging has lead me to some amazing individuals that I would not have had the chance to meet (or ‘meet’) otherwise. There are some wonderful people in this community, and I’m so happy that I get to talk to you guys regularly and consider you my friends!

Oh goodness, the marvelous-ness. Have a great Monday!

<— Are there any cuisines you love but find too intimidating to cook? I love Indian food, but I’m afraid to actually attempt it from scratch. Same story with sushi!

<— Tell me something marvelous about your weekend!

WIAW: Lotsa Greens and Bargain Book Shopping.

*Note: I love how many people have weird pinkie toes. I don’t feel so alone in my freak toe-ness! :-p 

Happy first day of Spring!

Yea, I’m calling bullshit on that. Where are you warm weather?!

But I digress…

Happy WIAW! Many thanks to Jenn for her hosting duties, as per usual.

So, for once I feel like I actually followed the WIAW theme of the month. These are my eats from yesterday, and there is a surprisingly large amount of green things. At least, by my standards.

So, on with it!

Breakfast

A usual around here, my old-lady Fibre 1 with a sprinkle of coconut chia granola and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. 2 eggs + 1/4 cup egg whites on the side.

I’m pretty much the most uninventive person when it comes to breakfast. I love getting creative with dinners and the occasional lunch, but at 8:00 am apparently I’m incapable of putting together something fancy for breakfast. I’m ok with that though!

Pre\Post Workout

A scoop of Watermelon-y BCAAs pre and post workout. Yesterday was leg day, AKA: I-am-really-going-to-hate-stairs-for-the-next-two-days day. Buuut it’s still my favourite

I swung by the bookstore at my school on the way home because they were having a bargain book sale – each book was $2.50.

Woot cheap books! I picked up:

• Entertaining with Sopranos (I have no intention of hosting an Italian wedding or Christening anytime soon, but the recipes looked good)
• The Great Christmas Cookie Swap Cookbook (It is never to early to start thinking about Christmas cookies. Never)
• Suck it, wonder woman! – Olivia Munn (she’s hilarious, so I’m intrigued to read this)
• a Laura Lippman book of short stories. As much I love my epically long novels (I’m looking at you, Game of Thrones) I seriously adore a ten-page story now and then. 

Although, before I left I noticed that they had a ‘Goosebumps’ book – Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes. I kind of really wished I had picked that up. I was obsessed with those books when I was a kid. I’m pretty sure I had the first 50 or so in the series?

 

Lunch

Post gym = lunchtime.

A massaged kale salad (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and honey, then topped with salt and pepper) with chopped carrots, buffalo-marinated tofu, and a piece of Irish soda bread with a bit of butter. I’m not going to lie, I kind of feel healthier just looking at that picture (kale and tofu have that effect, apparently).

And side note – I’m not a huge bread person (I like it, but I don’t generally go out of my way for it; I prefer potatoes, pasta, oats and rice for my carbs) but I’m obsessed with that stuff. I give it a month, maybe two max before I make it again. There was definitely a small hunk of two in the afternoon that escaped pictures

Then an afternoon of school-related reading (what else is new?) and marking before class. First, a snack:

Cottage cheese, strawberry jam, peanut butter and a crumbled graham cracker. Simple and delicious.

Dinner

Second side salad of the day – I’m impressed with myself.

I had a chicken in the slow cooker all day, which I shredded when I got home from class. I cooked up half an onion, and tossed everything in buffalo sauce before shoving it into wraps.

That means I had buffalo-flavoured proteins for lunch and dinner yesterday. And I’m giving you a buffalo recipe tomorrow. Is it fair to say that I really, really like that stuff right now? (yes).

Dessert

That would be a graham cracker topped with cookie butter and chocolate chips. It was one of the smartest things I’ve done lately.

Nighttime Snack

I wasn’t too hungry last night, but just to keep me going until morning:

A few spoonfuls from my giant container of coconut Oikos. Ending the day on a good note.

Hope your Wednesday is fabulous!

<— Would you rather read a book of short stories or a long novel?

<— What book collections did you have when you were a kid? I also had pretty sizable Nancy Drew, the Baby-Sitters Club, and Sweet Valley High collections!

<— Favourite carb? It’s a tough question, I know.