Weekly eats!

Hi there!

So, sometimes I get questions about what I eat or how I can even eat as much as I do!

Well, for starters, my muscles are HUNGRY! And, once I get back to running, I’m might even need to ADD a little. I’ll be RUNGRY. *tee hee*

It’s weird – some of the people I work with at my day job have these huge misconceptions about my diet. Some think I’m vegan (make vegan muffins ONCE for a colleague who actually IS vegan and suddenly, they’re glaring at me when I’m heating up chicken or meat sauce or whatever in the kitchen), others think I’m only organic (which is not too far off base but I’m not quite there yet), and some think I never eat sweets or junk food. Um, hello, have you even MET me?

Anyway, I decided it might be a good idea to do a weekly eats post for a couple of reasons: one – to give you an idea of what I really eat outside of all those healthy recipes I like to create and/or share; two – to show you that I actually do eat what I’ve prepped on Sundays; and three– to kinda keep track of what I’m doing so maybe I can figure out what’s been bugging my tummy lately.

It’s not an allergy, I’m fairly certain. There’s just something with my diet that, well, makes my tummy a little disagreeable at times. Or mostly every day. I will spare you the gory details. You’re welcome. J Back when I was running, I attributed it to the dreaded “runner’s tummy.” But, um, yeah, haven’t been doing that running thing for like 9 weeks now so you think that would have righted itself. It hasn’t. *sigh*

Additionally, I don’t have a gall bladder so I have to be really careful about the fat I consume – both good and bad. I could literally eat nut butters all day long but that’s not really a good thing for me to do. No matter how much I want to. Makes my tummy angry in a whole different way. Ugh. So, I have to be smart and not eat too much nut butter and avocado on the same day. Where’s the fun in that? Gah! Separately, in my own private journal, I’m keeping track of how my tummy reacts to the foods I’ve eaten. Again, you’re welcome.  🙂

Breakfasts:

Monday – 2 egg white omelet with mozzarella cheese, 2 Al Fresco maple apple chicken sausages, 1 sliced tomato (from the Farmer’s Market!), 2 pieces bakery Brioche toast with grass-fed butter and low-sugar grape jam and orange juice

Tuesday – oatmeal with cinnamon, honey, chia seeds, almond butter, banana and blueberries & orange juice

Wednesday – 2 egg white omelet with mozzarella cheese, 2 maple apple chicken sausages, 1 sliced tomato, 2 pieces bakery Brioche toast with avocado mash (sorta) and orange juice

Thursday – same as Tuesday – oatmeal with cinnamon, honey, chia seeds, almond butter, banana and blueberries & orange juice

Friday – see Tuesday and Thursday. Nope, not boring at all.

Morning snacks:

Monday – Banana oatmeal bread, pecan butter, strawberries

Tuesday – Chobani nonfat plain Greek yogurt with ¾ cup Kashi Toasted Berry Crumble and strawberries

Wednesday – Banana oatmeal bread, almond butter, banana

Thursday – Chobani nonfat plain Greek yogurt with ¼ cup Love Crunch granola. Totally BUMMED that I forgot my strawberries!!

Friday – Chobani peach Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup Love Crunch granola, and blueberries. I don’t normally do flavored yogurt because of the extra added sugar but something made me want to try it. It wasn’t bad. I still prefer the plain.

Lunches:

Monday – roast chicken, roasted sweet potato, ½ avocado, 2 mini cucumbers

Tuesday – Ginormous salad with roast chicken, ½ cup black beans, mini bell peppers, sliced cucumber, and feta cheese.

Wednesday – roasted sweet potato topped with roast chicken and ½ cup black beans, red bell pepper, and sliced cucumbers and a Clementine for dessert

Thursday – sandwich – roast chicken on Bakery Brioche bread slathered with hummus and topped with mozzarella cheese, field greens, farmer’s market tomato and cucumber, some baby bell peppers, Boulder Canyon Avocado Oil kettle cooked chips, and a clementine for dessert. 🙂

Friday – sandwich – pretty much the same as yesterday except the bread is homemade whole wheat (thank you bread machine!), red bell pepper strips, blue corn tortilla chips and Wholly Guacamole.

PM snacks:

Monday – Laughing Cow cheese, pretzel chips, seedless red grapes

Tuesday – Bacon jerky and 2 Clementines

Wednesday – Bacon jerky and red seedless grapes

Thursday – Carob Chip Perfect Bar – HOLY. YUM!

Friday – my office closed early so I went to the 4pm CrossFit class. Snack is in the next category.

Pre-CrossFit eats

Monday – Think Thin Brownie Crunch High Protein Bar

Tuesday – GoMacro Protein Paradise cashew caramel bar

Wednesday – GoMacro Protein Purity sunflower butter + chocolate bar

Thursday – no CrossFit today so no pre-CrossFit eats

Friday – Think Thin Brownie Crunch High Protein Bar

Dinners:

Monday – Gilbert’s Beef & Blue Sausage, leftover roasted acorn squash & Asian pear

Tuesday – a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal with some blueberries. #dontjudgeme

Wednesday – 2 slices Pizza Hut ham and pineapple pizza (hey, it was waiting for me when I got home!), a piece of pumpkin pie, and a bourbon. Yes, a bourbon.

Thursday – 2 taco boats: Ortega Fiesta Flats taco shells, black beans, farmer’s market ground beef with taco seasoning, cheddar cheese, field greens, fresh farmer’s market tomato, and sliced avocado. Green beans on the side. Om nom nom!

Friday – Gilbert’s “The Froman” beef frank with spicy mustard and sweet relish and Maple Bacon kettle chips

The weekend kinda got away from me what with our social life and food prep and all so I didn’t document anything. Next week, I promise!!

Although, I’m definitely not as strict and focused on the weekends.

Talk to me: Do you tend to eat the same things every day? What do you like to eat after a workout?

– jennifer

A caged kitty, do I need new shoes?, and the best meat sauce you’ll ever eat.

Hello, hello!

Another Tuesday, another caged kitty.

This time it’s Molly’s turn. She’s going in for her annual exam and teeth cleaning! She’s really not that excited about it. She pretty much cussed me out the whole way. She’s a potty mouth.

Breakfast this morning was the apple cinnamon version of overnight refrigerator oatmeal.

I add blueberries and some chopped walnuts to give it a little extra oomph. Oh, and fyi – frozen blueberries are still REALLY cold even after they’ve defrosted enough to eat. Just in case you didn’t already know.

So, last night, I noticed that the top of my right foot was a little swollen.  Yes, that’s the same foot with the plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, and ankle tendonitis.

I know.  I need a new foot.

You’ll be happy to know that my plantar fasciitis and heel spurs are no longer bothering my and I’m pretty certain my tendonitis flare-up is pretty much a flare-down at this point. But, what is up with the top of my foot?! I didn’t drop anything on it and I don’t remember banging it on anything.

Could it be my shoes?

Could ALL of the problems I’ve had of late be a result of my running shoes?

I used to wear the Saucony ProGrid Ride 5 and then I started to go to a more minimal shoe. There was nothing wrong with the Rides, btw. I just wanted to try to get away from a heel strike – seemingly for the benefit of my running! I first bought the Skechers GoRun to alternate with my Rides to slowly work my way into more of a mid-foot strike. That seemed to go well so I decided to get the Skechers Go Run 2 and I changed my Rides to the Saucony Kinvara 3.

I should say that I LOVE both pairs of those shoes. They are SO COMFORTABLE and I don’t have any toe box issues. I apparently spread my piggies a LOT when I run and if there isn’t enough room, I get toe cramps. Not. Fun. Both the Go Run 2s and the Kinvaras have PLENTY of room in the toe box. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they both just look awesome, too.

Hmmm…clearly I prefer to take pictures of the Skechers while they are on my feet

But, was I ready for a drop from 8mm to 4mm? It doesn’t seem like much. I mean, a 4 mm difference is about the width of a CD case. Really? It’s a little mind-boggling to think that something so small could cause problems so huge.

I had various issues before. I’m a marathon runner – I’m DESTINED to have issues. But, they’ve really cropped up since I made the switch. And honestly, I never would have even considered it if my running buddy wasn’t also having issues and she recently bought a pair of slightly minimal shoes and she actually wondered aloud if it was the shoes. Now, the question is, do I press on with the shoes that I have and hope that my body “falls into proper form” or do I go back to the Rides?

Oh, so I made the most AMAZING meat sauce last night. I found the recipe over at PaleOMG. Let me tell you something.

O. M. G.

Stop licking the screen. This is mine. Make your own. (click the photo for the recipe)

This is now my go-to meat sauce. Thank you, Juli!

I put it over sweet potato waffle fries.

Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful

I know. Strange. Don’t judge me.

So. Flippin. Good.

You can put it on what you want.

I didn’t change a single thing about the recipe.

Juli wins.

Questions

1. Does your cat like going to the vet?

2. Have you made the switch to a more minimal running shoe? Did you have any issues or injuries as a result?

3. Why are you not already shopping for the ingredients for that meat sauce?

– jennifer