Belly respect

Usually, I try to hold out on eating until the very very end of class because I want my lunch to carry me through until I can get home — especially if I have to stay at school a little bit later. Today, however, I knew I’d be leaving right at 1pm and coming home for a run. I’ve been reading Intuitive Eating, and I decided to take the authors’ advice and “honor my hunger” even though it came earlier than normal.

I started at 11:15 with 2 tbsp homemade guac and my last 2 Kavli crispy thin crackers:

img_5613

I waited a few, but the hunger was still around. I broke into part two at 11:30. It might make you gag even though it was delicious, so skip on ahead if odd food combos make you ill. Last night, I scrambled an egg yolk left from making the basil-spice meringue kisses with a sweet ‘n’ spicy black bean-salmon patty and frozen peas! I also mixed in half of a chopped apple and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

img_5609

I ate it cold in class … because I was in class. It was strangely satisfying, and I wanted more when I finished. But there was no more!

And 15 minutes later, I was onto the yogurt — same mix as yesterday with chopped pear, chopped banana, nutmeg, and golean crunch:

img_5611

At 12:02, I honored my real dessert craving with a chocolate heart:

img_5612

Normally, having an entire hour left of class with no food to keep me busy would make me restless to no end, but I felt so comfortable that I was able to be more focused on the discussion than I usually am. I think I will start honoring my hunger when it happens more often :-D.

When I got home at 2, I stovetop-popped a single serving bag (rescued from work!) of microwave kettle corn and sprinkled it with cinnamon and cayenne:

img_5644

Mmmmmm, kettle corn is amazing.

I had a couple bites of yogurt and granola while packing lunch for tomorrow, and then I decided to get some errands taken care off on this rare free afternoon.  I ran the long way to the grocery store — approx 4 miles out of the way around the park, to be exact. This run was perfect — it was mid-40s, sunny, not a cloud in sight, and I just enjoyed the weather and being out among the living in the middle of the day! I spent most of the run thinking up ideas for this week’s BSI: Strawberries, and I ended up going way faster than normal. I’m so glad I changed my mind about forcing a run this morning when I knew I hadn’t had enough sleep! Stats: 4.28 miles, 42 minutes, 367 calories, average heart rate 157, max 173.

Groceries included a gallon of milk, 3 lbs apples, strawberries, asparagus, brussels sprouts, avocado:

img_5648

Grocery Total: $15.57

I’ve been having a lazy afternoon/evening of cooking and baking (nibbling all the way of course), and I’ll be getting around to some dinner eventually … along with an on-time bedtime, wooooooooooot 😀

How did you honor your hunger today?

I figured it out!

Ahh, this post is going to take me forEVER! I’ve had such a variety of nibbles today. Somehow, eating other people’s food never gets old 😛

I had my yogurt at around 10 this morning during our department meeting. In addition to 1/2 cup plain yogurt, the mix included chopped pear (wrinkled and rescued from roommate who got it for free with an order of sushi!), chopped banana (from Belkis yesterday), nutmeg, and 1 tbsp or so of golean crunch:

img_5611

I was already hungry again when the meeting ended at 11:30, so I dove right into my cup of fresh pineapple — topped with about 1/4 cup of my supervisor Heather’s leftover Nature’s Path granola that didn’t fit in her yogurt during the meeting:

img_5562

We broke for lunch around 12:30. I had the last cup of my spinach-chickpea dal:

img_5570

Plus about two cups of the grilled chicken salad that Myrna couldn’t finish:

img_5571img_5575

Dessert was a Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate square from Rosalie:

img_5577

Afternoon snack #1 was two teeny pieces of pineapple cake that Belkis made:

img_5580img_5584

Belkis was very excited to share her cake because she just learned how to bake (she’s a master chef of bean-based Dominican dishes as you may recall, though). She made the cake all by herself from a boxed mix and was super proud that it worked and tasted good. She was especially pleased to see me licking the foil:

img_5581

And then a mom came through the office selling candy to raise money for her kids’ school. I did not buy any, but plenty of my coworkers did. Inginia bought a snickers bar and sliced off this little piece for me:

img_5586

I know it looks enormous, but it really was less than an inch long …

When I got hungry again around 3, I had this 1/2 cup of veggies left over from Mildred’s lunch:
img_5587

img_5594

I went out for a great visit immediately post-veggies. I’m doing a video project with one family that involves videotaping the parents interacting with the 7-month-old baby in 10-minute segments for us to watch all together later. They had so much fun being movie stars!

When I got back at 4:15, I had my final-ish work snack of 3 Kavli crispy thin crackers spread with 1/2 mashed banana (also left from Mildred’s lunch) and 1/4 cup chocolate mousse:

img_5593

(Dad, I’m sorry it’s so brown!!! But chocolate tastes too good to eliminate based on color alone 😀 )

Also, I think Brach’s candy should start paying me, because all of this found its way from Belkis’ candy jar to my mouth at some point today. Chocolate mint, ice blue mint, cinnamon, star mint, and orange center hard candies:

img_5566img_55781

img_55901img_5591

img_5597

Dinner started early tonight. Mildred and I picked up Pura on our way out of the office, and Pura happened to mention that they had just celebrated Kathy’s birthday … and had leftover rellenos! Mildred and I both snapped to attention when we heard that, so Pura set us up.

We each had a slice of rellenos maduros (sweet plantain relleno stuffed with ground meat, yummmmm!):

img_5598

And split this slice of rellenos de papa (potato relleno stuffed with ground meat):

img_5601

On the walk to my apartment from the subway, I stopped into the gourmet market for 3 miniscule sample cubes of cheese, samples of marinated mushrooms, and an entire ginger-lemon cookie’s worth of sample pieces:

img_5602

And, waiting for me when I got home, I found more samples (what a day, right??). New tea flavors are so exhilarating:

img_5605

I proceeded to make myself dinner #1273 which consisted of 2/3 of a sliced apple toppped with cinnamon and 2 tbsp chocolate mousse:

img_5617

I can’t get enough of that mousse!

I may have also eaten a little chunk of chocolate while preparing (spoiler alert!) tomorrow’s breakfast, and I definitely nibbled on all the components of tomorrow’s lunch as I got that ready, too. My belly is so content!

Oh, I almost forgot! I figured out what went wrong with the basil-spice meringue kisses the other day! They collapsed because I did not add any cream of tartar, duh. I decided not to use it at the last minute when the whites whipped up so fast and sturdily, but I think the “mix-ins” were too heavy to keep the meringues afloat while they baked. I tried it again tonight with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, and they held their form! I sampled one right out of the oven:

img_5625

Perfect! I’ll get the recipe up a bit later. Of course, the BSI: Basil ship has sailed (and very deliciously, I might add, thanks to Brandi’s basil-strawberry scones), but I still have time to get in my entry for the Eggland’s Best Egg Recipe competition! 😀

Phew, are you sick of reading about all my food yet??

It would be so amazing if I could go to bed right now, but alas, I have to go pretend to read an article for tomorrow’s class enough to write a passable summary of it, blech. I’m planning on an 11pm bedtime so I can get up at 7 for a run before I have to leave. And the clock starts ticking NOW!

** If you could use a little comfort in your life, click here for a chance to win it!**

B ‘n B

Yup, I’m fully blogging in bed right now — in my pjs, under the covers, teeth brushed, mouth guard in place, contacts out, glasses on, earplugs in, and ready to pass out as soon as I hit publish. Can’t wait 😀

But let’s do a little review of the day first, shall we? I walked into the office at 9:20, and the first thing Belkis said was, “Sarah, there’s bread in there.” [Gestures to conference room right next to my desk.] And bread there was!

picture-166

Belkis had brought in a whole loaf of bakery-fresh Dominican bread. The thought of saying no never crossed my mind. I cut off a big slab, about an inch thick, and dipped it in my milky earl grey tea. I think that might be a little weird. I dunk everything — cookies, crackers, bread. How do you feel about soggy carbs?

After my big slab o’ bread, I went back for the end pieces:

picture-168

I’m not crazy about the heels of regular sandwich loaves, but they’re always my favorite part of any kind of fresh bread or baked good … brownies from the edge of the pan, yum!

After that loaf-fest, I didn’t really get hungry again until about 2pm! As an appetizer, I had two of these little balls that Inginia (of the pumpkin kibbi fame) brought in. She slaved away all weekend making them for a party and wanted to share the wealth:

picture-169

This is also from some Middle-Eastern dish, and I’m not sure of the exact ingredients. I think Inginia is going to bring me the recipe, but in the meantime, they were basically fried bulgur dumplings with some ground meat and seasonings inside:

picture-172

Very tasty! Once I get the recipe, I’ll see how I can go about healthifying them — I think they’d also be delicious baked.

Lunch was a cup of spinach-chickpea dal:

picture-174

And a one-cup mix with 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 pumpkin gingerbread crockpot oats:

picture-180

(I sprinkled some of Jessica’s Honey Bunches of Oats on top for visual variety.)

Around 3:00 I had my packed cup of fresh pineapple (same deal with the cereal):

picture-183

And then I heard some paper rustling suspiciously. I followed the sound with my eyes and saw this:

picture-177

That’s Nydia and Jose bent in deep contemplation over a pile of Valentine’s chocolate!

picture-178

I took one of the pink hearts for later 😀

Around 3:45, I had three Kavli crispy thin crackers with 1/3 cup homemade guacamole (1/3 mashed avocado, 2 tbsp salsa, juice from 1/4 lime):

picture-187

And the guacamole necessitated a mint (my first of the day!):

picture-189

I went into a session a little after 4, and when I got back to my desk after, this sight greeted me:

img_5533

Yes, two potatoes mysteriously showed up on my desk. Apparently, I am now the designated recipient for anonymous food drops (but I’m not complaining!). Potato donor, reveal yourself!! Even though potatoes are the one food that I seriously dislike (this rule does not apply to sweet potatoes, obvi), I am clearly the best person to take on the task of finding them a new home. At this moment, I imagine the potatoes are journeying into the depths of Brooklyn with Gina … and I have full confidence in Gina’s ability to use them appropriately!

Because I was planning on running club at 6:30, I decided to have an early 5pm dinner at work. Especially since the club no longer gives free food after (grrrrrr!), I have found that this dinner-first arrangement works well (at least it has worked well all two times that I’ve done it, haha) to keep me energized through the run and not wanting to gnaw my arm off after. The dinner I packed for tonight was 1/3 wheat bagel with 1/4 cup pumpkin-pb spread (1 T peanut butter, 3 T pumpkin) and two black bean-salmon patties:

img_5534

I toasted the whole thing in the work toaster oven, and it was so delicious and saucy, mmm:

img_5539

Dessert was a given: the Dove chocolate heart from Nydia:

img_5540

I followed that advice and had another mint as I walked out the door :P.

Gina, Kate, and I met at 6:30 for running club and did 4 sort of stop-and-go miles in Central Park, including a loop around the reservoir, one of the most beautiful places to run in the city at night! But Kate and I were talking after about how these running club runs just seem to drag for ages. We ran over 9 miles on Saturday with minimal struggling, but 4 miles at running club always does us in! I wonder if it has to do with the time of day …. Anyway, stats for the run: 49 minutes, 357 calories, average heart rate 140, max 156.

In the subway station post-run, I broke out the breadstick and marinara sauce that Jessica and Nydia brought back for me from Pizza Hut because they couldn’t finish it at lunch. Kate, Gina, and I split the bounty between the three of us after Kate and Gina hand-modeled the goods for me:

img_5541

I had my final snack of the night when I got home: 1/4 of a broiled banana (the banana also came from Belkis today) topped with 1/4 cup chocolate mousse and a tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds:

img_5542

While I was washing dishes and before I was able to drag my mouth to the toothbrush, I may have also peeled off one whipped cream-soaked cookie from Brigitte’s remaining log of birthday cake and eaten one or two pieces of Lindt hazelnut chocolate …

News of the Day:

1. Heather, the queen of raw chocolate-avocado mousse herself, is definitely NOT giving away anything you’d want to try to win here.

2. Neither is Itzy here.

3. There’s a new BSI contest this week, and it’s a good one! Get more info here.

4. I was reading the January issue of Self while I was on the elliptical this morning, and I found a little blurb in there about the dangers of resting your laptop computer directly on your lap — I think it mentioned causing irritation to your thighs and emitting radiation that can lead to cancer (like everything does) and suggested using some sort of lap tray between your legs and the computer. (As I type this, of course, my laptop is directly on my lap.) Does this worry you? Where do you rest your laptop? Do you put something between your legs and the computer?

5. And remember the most important question of all: How do you feel about soggy carbs?

6. There’s a 99.999% chance I’m sleeping as you read this.

Stories of inflation

Hahaha, wordpress just advertised that I could make this blog “narrativeofincrease.com” for only $15. I guess they’re big into synonyms?

The first hunger pangs hit around 10:30, so I had a cup of freshly cut pineapple:

picture-133

Don’t worry — that’s not mold on the pineapple. Just some bits of skin (?) that I didn’t quite cut off!

And I also had this bite of a raspberrry entenmann’s danish that was left from a meeting:

picture-134

I know it looks enormous in that picture, but it was only about an inch or so long. I also had all of the icing crumbs out of the box once the danish itself had disappeared (thankfully, someone else took care of eliminating the remaining danish before I had a chance to) …

We ended up cancelling the parents’ group today because of torrential rain, thereby putting me a meal short for the day since I usually eat lunch with the group. The same thing that happened last Monday because of the snow! Dear weather: Please stop messing with my lunch plans and food budget. Thanks.

So my planned dinner became my lunch instead. I ate the last of Rooms’ black bean salad from Saturday’s lunch (mixed with avocado and salsa — great idea, Gina!) with five broken tortilla chips from Wednesday’s lunch:

picture-139

Second course was a mix of 1/2 cup of yogurt and 1/2 cup of my leftover pumpkin gingerbread crockpot oats from last week:

picture-142

My 2pm visit wasn’t home when I called to confirm at 1:40, so I went back into the conference room to keep lunching with the ladies. The continued lunching involved three Kavli crispy thins with 1/2 tbsp office pb (I meant to bring guac for these but forgot!):

picture-147

After that, I had mint #3 (of 5 total) for the day in order to keep my mouth busy:

picture-149

I was expecting to go into a counseling session at 3:30, so I had another cup of pineapple (also left from the morning meeting) around 3:15 to carry me through:

picture-152

But my client never came! My tummy was feeling a little empty still (maybe not enough fat/protein in my lunch?), so Jessica poured a box of Honey Bunches of Oats down my throat handed me a box of Honey Bunches of Oats. I had about 1 1/2 cups:

picture-154

picture-155

I left work at 5 to head down for my class — and my group presentation! We presented for the first hour of class (when I normally eat my dinner), so I was pretty hungry when we finished (but yay, we finished!). As I mentioned before, the group lunch cancellation bumped dinner into the lunch slot, so my actual dinner was more of a haphazard affair.

Manchego cheese samples from the market as my appetizer:

img_5477

(Yes, those are cookie crumbs coating the cheese samples . I do all of my sample-grabbing with the same skilled fist …)

My dinner main course was half of a giant raisin-nut muffin (also left from the morning meeting at work) with 1 tbsp office pb (in an attempt to impart some nutritional value) and cookie-crumb samples:

img_5473

The peanut butter is all bubbly because I microwaved the muffin and toppings for 90 seconds in the school cafeteria to get it melty. But since I couldn’t eat it while I was presenting, it lost the warm and gooey immediately-post-microwave effect and gained the hard and crunchy microwaved-an-hour-ago effect. I still enjoyed it, though. It felt like a giant cookie.

Dessert was another one of these guys:

img_5479Like I’ve said before, bars are good in a pinch, but not something I need to incorporate into regular grocery rotation.

I was hungry again 10 minutes later (no surprise there with all the empty carbs and sugar), so I ate the other half of the muffin.

Obviously, I overdid it with the added sugar. I suppose I kind of overdo it most days, but due to the limited food options today, the sugar overage was actually planned. Tomorrow’s food is going to be much heavier on healthy fats and proteins to make up for it (or at least that’s true of the lunch I packed …).

When I got home from class around 9, I quickly got all of tomorrow’s food ready (nibbling at it as I packed) and then had a small treat to coat my belly with health and reassure it that it was well-nourished for the long night (of sleep) ahead. A half cup of plain heated pumpkin topped with a spoonful of chocolate mousse:

img_5481

Ahh, that mousse is SO good. And my belly is now SO happy.

So … thoughts? Does “Narrative of Increase” strike a chord with you? 😛

Sleep tight!

Scrappy afternoon

Ayyy, I spent all day yesterday doing homework for my group presentation tonight. As I worked, I snacked. Homework and snacks are a match made in heaven. Am I right, or am I right?

I transferred Brigitte’s no-bake-cookies-and-cream birthday cake from its foil tin to covered tupperwares to allow for easier stacking. And then I licked the tin and the foil:

img_5415

And I also had this little end of the 2nd to last log of cake because it “didn’t fit” in the tupperware:

img_5421

I munched on a fresh pineapple core while chopping (and nibbling on) the rest:

img_5418

I made crockpot oats for the week and “sampled” some of the ingredients that you see here while I prepped, because have you ever been able to resist of pile of chopped dates and toasted almonds just sitting in front of you? Didn’t think so.

img_5417

After all of that food-prep snacking, dinner ended up being a pretty light (and late) affair. I had about 1/2 cup of this week’s oatmeal concoction (details to come in my next post) piping hot and straight out of the crockpot, topped with some Heather-inspired chocolate mousse and 1 tbsp vanilla-almond granola:

img_5432

To make the mousse, I combined about 2/3 cup cooked whole wheat couscous (left over from roommate Tara’s lunches last week) with 1/2 an avocado, 1 tsp maple cream, 2 tbsp soymilk, and 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder:

img_5423

And because I couldn’t stop and I’m a volume fiend, I also added 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup healthy cream cheese icing, and 1/4 cup pumpkin. Post-immersion blending:

img_5426

Hmm, looks suspiciously like chocolate frosting, right? These proportions made about 1 1/4 cups of mousse. I half-froze 1/4 cup, and that’s what I used to top my hot dinner oats. It was like an ice cream brownie sundae … except not on a brownie.

Anyway, the mousse was delicious, and I am now the world’s biggest fan of this avocado trick. Thanks, Heather!

Do you eat while you cook?