It’s Wednesday

Honestly, I’m kind of embarrassed to let you in on today’s eats.  There is no explanation for my odd choices, the strange combinations and the obvious lack of aesthetics.  But if I was allowed to use one word—just one—to give you an excuse, this would be it: Wednesday.

I don’t know what it’s like at your house, but over here, Wednesday is the day when the refrigerator begins to closely resemble an old ghost town.  If you’re lucky,  you might find a lonely raisin sitting at the bottom of its container in the pantry.  And maybe—maybe—there’s a slice of cheese or two still left in the deli drawer of the refrigerator.  But I won’t even mention the vacant veggie drawer.  Or the freezer for that matter (I think my dad is more then ready for a restock of meat in this house!)

So there you go.  That is my excuse.  It’s Wednesday.

At least I managed to find this sitting way back in the closet:

Who knows how long it’s been there, but desparate times call for desparate measures. 

• 1/3 c. Hodgson Mill Multi Grain hot cereal
• 2 T. wheat bran
• 1 c. milk + 1/2 c. water
• 1 banana, sliced
• toppings: banana slices, 1 tsp chia seeds, 1 T. Galaxy Granola and a scoop of chunky Teddy Peanut Butter

This reminded me a lot of oat bran and was absolutely delicious.  I don’t know why I haven’t used this up before now!

Morning Snack: the very last grapefruit and the very last of the almonds

I scrambled through the fridge in search of the last remaining vegetables and managed to put together a green salad for lunch.  Even when the fridge is seeing the worse of days, there always seems to be a carrot and a bit of red onion way down at the bottom somewhere.  It’s something I can pretty much count on. So on top of the mixed greens, I sliced a carrot, diced some red onion and threw on a sprinkle of sunflower seeds for good measure.  Along with 1/2 c. garbanzo beans and the last two end slices of a German dark wheat bread, this became a decent lunch.  Not pretty.  But decent. 😉

Pink Lady!

And this final picture?  This is literally the last of everything.  The last fruit (i.e., a mango split with dad.)  The last vegetable (i.e., roasted broccoli.)  The last slice of Trader Joe’s whole wheat sourdough bread with a bit of butter.  The last two eggs with a bit of sliced mushrooms and more red onion.

Now that the fridge is completely emptied and the last raisin has been eaten, I can refill with new grocery items.  Wednesdays may be frightening, but Thursdays (aka, shopping day) offer that bit of light at the end of the tunnel. 😉

post dinner sweetness: slice of homemade whole wheat chocolate chip banana bread (same picture as yesterday but consumed before a new pic could be snapped…oops!)

And there you have it.  A peak into another one of my typical Wednesdays, when my economical, waste-not-want-not trait comes into full swing.  It’s not always pretty (and sometimes it’s scary), but I find a great satisfaction with clearing out the fridge from top to bottom.  

Question: Do you enjoy using up the very last of any remaining leftovers?  Are there any foods in your house that you refuse to run out of?  I refuse to run out of peanut butter.  This would warrant an emergency run to the grocery store. 😉

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Pampered Morning

I woke up smiling this morning. 

So did my oats.

Simple banana ‘n’ oats, topped with chia seeds, Natures Path Pumpkin Flax granola, peanut butter, coconut and two dark chocolate chips for eyes.

Twas a delicious morning.

I took my first day of vacation and ran with it.  Quite literally.  I decided to lace up my sneaks and run.  I’m not sure if it was the cold weather numbing my legs or if my knees were truly having a really good day.  Whatever the reason, I had no pain in either my knee or my foot.  It allowed me to zone off and really take in the run.  It was quite honestly the best run that I’ve had since being injured.  I relished each and every moment, wishing it would never come to an end. 

My run, of course, did come to an end.  And when it did, I felt like a new person.  If I was smiling this morning, I was positively beaming at this point.  Four miles of walking and running with no pain.  What an invigorating morning! 😀

As I was icing my knees, I filled up a ramekin with nonfat, plain yogurt and topped it off with kashi heart to heart, raisins and a sprinklin’ of coconut.  All while reading the new Cooking Light magazine.  Everything about this morning felt so indulgent…so luxurious.  I almost felt guilty, as if I should be studying…writing…reading.  Something.

When lunch time rolled around, I had “jarlsberg” on the brain.  Shooting for simplicity, I grilled up two slices of whole wheat sourdough with a thick slice of jarlsberg cheese and a smear of homemade strawberry jam for a positively delicious lunch.  One bite into this crispy, gooey sandwich, and I immediately thought to myself, “this is what France must be like.”  Hey, a girl can dream every now and then. 😉  On the side, I cut up half an apple and poured a cold glass of milk. 

I’m not normally the type of girl who can lounge all morning long without a care in the world.  In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I read a book in the afternoon hours.  But that’s exactly what I found myself doing this afternoon.  And I loved every single minute of it.  After all, if I was going to spend the day in “luxury”, I may as well go all out. 😉

I read.  And read.  And then I read some more.  I finished the book “Lunch in Paris” which I started to love during the first few chapters.  But then I found myself becoming increasingly bored!?  Her descriptions of food and life in Paris were absolutely beautiful, but I felt like the author started to lose interest in her own writing by the end of the book.  I was ready for it to finish and I sort of felt like she was too.  Of course, I know some people who absolutely loved this book, so maybe it’s all a matter of perspective?

Anyways, grocery shopping was one thing on my list that I did want to do finish today.  So I packed the other half of my apple with a few carrot sticks and trotted off to the grocery stores.

I’m sure that eventually grocery shopping may reach the feeling of being a “chore” for me, but as of right now, it’s such a joy. 😀  Some of my best food-related conversations have been in the grocery store.  Whether talking about artisan breads or the best dark chocolate.  People have their opinions and I love to hear them. 😀

I even love putting the groceries away when I get home.  I especially love that, once again, there’s food in the house. 😉  I put together a quick snack of dried plums and almonds to munch on. 

Dinner tonight was kept simple and came together in a flash.  Mom made the sauteed chicken breast, which had a light sauce of chicken broth, thyme, salt, pepper and a bit of butter.  So juicy and fresh!  I roasted up some sweet potatoes with cauliflower, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, sea salt and fresh pepper.

Super simple.  Super satisfying. 

The highlight of my day came with a gentle “tap, tap” on the door.

When a deliverer handed me a boquet of an Edible Arrangement, I handed it back to him with a reply, “Oh, I think you have the wrong house!”  He looked back at his address tag and said, “Sarah?”  I must have looked shocked, and the poor man was left standing there with the fruit.  Then my face lit up as I thanked him and read the note.

Nicole and Nate sent me this gorgeous arrangement of fruit.  I chose a strawberry as the first fruit to try and my mouth nearly exploded with the sweet juiciness.  It tasted as if it had just been picked!  The rest of the fruit was equally delicious.  My parents and I nibbled our way through, mm’ing over each different fruit.  Let’s just say this will no longer exist come tomorrow. 😉

Who knew living the life of luxury could be so exhausting?  I’m sleepy and it’s only 9 o’clock.  

Question: What is one thing that you like to do to pamper/spoil yourself? Aside from having a leisurely spent morning, I also love reading magazines outside on a sunny afternoon (preferrably with an iced coffee in hand,) long walks or bike rides, or eating breakfast in bed.  😀