New Breakfast Challenge: I’ll be trying a new breakfast every day for a week, starting tomorrow.
Really, it shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, a bowl of hot oats + overnight oats + breakfast cookie = 3 separate breakfasts right there. Which leaves me in charge of using creativity on the other 4. If you have some “must-try” breakfast suggestions, I’m all ears. 😀
This new goal is due to the following picture:
What can I say? I know what I like, and I like what I know. Variety finds its way into my life through my dinners, where I become adventerous with different ideas and ingredients. But breakfast maintains a certain routine. Not that it’s a bad thing. But this is a food blog, after all, and its just begging me to mix things up a little. 😉
Once I ate the delightful bowl of oats, I packed up and headed to the beach!!!
I have been craving this sort of day all summer long. I headed off into a gloriously sunny day, stopping only once to pick up an iced coffee with skim milk from dunkin donuts. 😀
The drive is super long to get to the beach, but it needs to happen at least once a year (hopefully more!) As soon as I hopped out of the car, I immediately caught a whiff of the salty sea air and felt the cool ocean breeze, realizing that my summer vacation can now be called “complete.” The beach cravings have been 100% fulfilled. 😀
My mom–a true beach lover like myself–and I set up a cozy little spot not far off from the water. We brought a ton of water along too. I can never drink enough H2O when I’m at the beach!
Today was such a relaxing, spontaneous type of day. It felt like a mini vacation! 😀 First we took a long walk down the beach, sloshing through the water and taking in the early morning sun (under sunscreen of course… 😉 ) When we returned feeling hot and sweaty, the water lured the both of us right in. The water felt unusually warm and the waves were huge. What a blast! 😀 It felt so good to be in a big “pool” of water after the heat wave we’ve been going through!
Once out of the water, I was starving and pulled out the goods! 😀 I packed some kashi crackers, hummus, and carrot & celery sticks. The perfect summer snack.
Mom and I took advantage of the fact we were by the ocean by including more walks + more swimming + a lil’ beachside book reading. 😀 Can you believe I’m still reading “My Sister’s Keeper?” Now that I’m getting back into it though, I can’t put it down. So I’m pretty sure it will be complete by next week…I’ll keep you posted. 😉
All the activities made me hungry for lunch, which included 2 sliced kiwis and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich:
- 2 slices Trader Joe’s whole wheat bread
- 2 T. crunchy peanut butter
- 2 tsp. homemade blueberry jam
Plus lots and lots of water and just a sprinkle of sand on the side. 😉
The time just flew by! I couldn’t believe it was already 2 o’clock by the time we decided to head out, and I took one last breath of salty air as I headed back towards the car. It was a perfect summer day. 😀
On the drive home, we stopped by some of the touristy shops. I came pretty close to buying a new pair of sunglasses, but I’m holding off until I find that “perfect pair” that’s screaming with personality and style. 😉 When we entered one of the locak bakery shops, mom treated me to an iced soy latte with sugar free chocolate syrup, which was the perfect treat for the ride home. Two coffees in one day? It really does feel like a vacation. 😉
I pulled out an afternoon snack from the cooler on the drive home: plain yogurt, container of frozen & dethawed blueberries, and a baggie of Natures Path granola…
The chunks of fresh, summer picked blueberries made for a lovely, fruit on the bottom styled yogurt. 😀
Our final stretching break before arriving home included a red pear.
All the fresh air and fun left me famished for dinner! Thank goodness there were a ton of leftovers in the fridge from the last few days. I helped myself to a nice big portion of yesterday’s lentil salad with some tomato slices on the side. It tasted even better tonight, with the lentils and beans soaking up the flavors. 😀
Then I packed a bag of puffins and headed out to go see…
…Julie & Julia!
It was such a sweet, inspiring movie. I think foodies and bloggers alike will love it. 😀 I left the movies wanting two things: brie cheese and the Joy of Cooking cookbook…both would be fab. 😀
This full day has left me drained and tuckered out, but in a good way. 😀 I plan on including a morning run tomorrow as long as the thunderstorms don’t hit us early. Oh, and by the way, I can’t believe it’s already Hump Day tomorrow…where does the week go???
And last, but not least, is anyone going to join me with a Breakfast Challenge of trying some new breakfast for the week? It’s sort of short notice, so don’t feel as if you have to start tomorrow. 😉 But experimenting with some new foods that can keep you full while tasting great might be fun! Who knows, you might find something you truly love and start a whole new trend in the blog world. 😉
Running To Slow Things Down 