Sleepy Head

This morning, waking up was so, so hard to do. 

Ever notice how when you know it’s time to wake up, that’s exactly when you find the sweet spot in bed?  That perfectly warm, comfy place of blissfulness, just begging you to stay right where you are.  I had to literally drag myself out of bed and put my gym clothes on immediately to prevent crawling back under the covers.  Some mornings I wake up with boundless energy.  Other mornings, it takes some serious effort.

At least I had a delicious bowl of oats to look forward to!

• 1/4 c. each oatmeal and oatbran
• 1 c. milk + 3/4 c. water
• 1 very ripe banana (1/2 saved for top)
• 1/4 c. wheat bran
• splash of vanilla
• toppings: 1/2 banana, 2 T. Galaxy Vanilla Almond Granola, and a scoop of creamy cashew butter

Galaxy Granola is starting a whole new Fruit Not Fat Blog, with an effort to substitute fruits for…well…fat! 😀  And not only in their granolas, but also in the creative recipes that people conjure up (ie, using applesauce or bananas in place of some of the oil in muffins for example!)  They’ll be recording the good and the bad (and maybe the ugly?) results on their new blog, which I’m really looking forward to.  I think it’s going to be fun getting creative with new fruity ideas.

(p.s. ever notice how many products replace fat with sugar to make up for the lack of taste?  Yeah…well…somehow they managed to get around that problem with this granola because it’s lightly sweet *and* low in sugar *and* crunchy *and* so deliciously flavorful…totally recommend this flavor! 😀 )

Despite my sleepy morning, I was able to rev up enough motivation to get to the gym.  I have no problem skipping a workout if I’m physically tired, but this morning I was just plain lazy.  That is not a good enough excuse. 😉

Besides, a little bit of cardio and some early morning gym music can do wonders for perking me right up!

• Elliptical: 1.5 miles
• Stationary Bike: 20 minutes (covering about 8 miles…I think I had the resistance set way too hard at the beginning though—phew!)
• Artic Trainer: 10 minutes
• Treadmill: 10 minutes to walk off some leg tightness

Followed by lots and lots of icing.  😀 

 Lately my knee injury has been my main concern.  The foot problem is still there—especially when walking quickly or running (which I obviously haven’t been doing any of lately!)  But my knee bothers me even with simply walking around campus, going downhill, or even sitting.  I’m really looking forward to seeing the specialist on Monday, although I’m a bit apprehensive about the whole ordeal too.  I’m hoping I can coax my mom to come with me for some moral support. 😉

While icing up, I stirred 2 T. crushed flax into a 6-oz. container of plain yogurt (with the whey mixed in ) which I used for dunking my orange slices in.

In my opinion, sweet potatoes are a lot like lentils.  How, you ask?  They’re one of the most versatile food items and seem to go with almost any flavor combination. 😀  Sometimes I like my sweet potatoes…well…sweet, of course!  That’s where things like sunflower butter as a tater topper come in (holey moley yumminess!)

Other times I add salsa for a kick of a spice.

But one of my other favorite ways to eat a sweet potato is with balsamic vinegar!!!  Have you ever tried this?  I let it sit over night in a splash of balsamic and lemon juice, and it’s the most wonderful flavor combination.  I love, love, love it!

• 1/2 a very large sweet potato
• mixed mesculin greens
• 1/2 c. garbanzo beans (mostly added in for protein purposes 😉 )
• 2 T. walnuts
• seasonings: cumin and a dash of cayenne pepper
• dressing: splash of lemon juice and a liberal drizzle of balsamic vinegar

One of my favorite lunch concoctions. 😀

I also packed along a red anjou pear, some carrot sticks to crunch on for the ride home, and some 2% extra sharp cabot cheese and crackers for an afternoon snack.

I was absolutely starving when I arrived home, and I was pretty thankful to be cooking solo tonight. 

Whenever I’m cooking for one, I usually take the “egg route” because I love going crazy with my personal favorite veggie add-ins.  The more the merrier!  I chopped up half an onion, half a green pepper, and sauteed them for a while before adding in the scrambled eggs (1 whole egg + 2 egg whites + splash of milk + salt and pepper.)  Topped with a dollop of salsa and served with a warmed whole wheat tortilla on the side. 

There was also a sweet (dark chocolate) and salty (crunchy peanut butter) ending. 😀

+ a night snack of a bowl of Kashi Heart to Heart Blueberry Cluster cereal with milk

Thank goodness for Thursdays.  I think simply knowing that the next is Friday is what makes Thursday my favorite day of the week.

Question: What’s your favorite way to eat a sweet potato?  If I really had to choose just one, I think it comes down to sunflower seed butter.  😀  But homemade sweet potato fries are high on my list of favorites too!