Tuesday's Gone

What a day.  G-man wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home a half a day this morning to give him some extra cuddle time and help him feel a little better...there's nothing a little snuggle with mom and a nebulizer won't fix, right?  He was feeling a little better when I went to work at noon, and Chris said that the kids were fighting by 4, which is a good sign that things are on the upswing.

Chris and I both had class tonight.  I'm in Accounting for Business right now.   Try to contain your jealousy, since it's just as much fun as it sounds.  As I said last week, Tuesday's are going to be pretty easy days, at least meal wise, since we aren't really here to cook anything.  

Breakfast started out with some oatmeal.  Normally, I am not a huge fan of cooked oatmeal.  Something about it's weird, gloppy, gelatinous texture squigs me out.  However, thanks to a recommendation from my friend CJ, I tried some quick cook steel cut oatmeal from Trader Joe's, and for the first time in my life, I can actually say that I would eat oatmeal for breakfast.  There's two great things about this oatmeal: 1.) it's actually good, and 2.)  it's available both in a dry quick cook form AND in a frozen pre-made package (my personal favorite).

Now is where we start to get a little technical with details, though.  There are some things that I absolutely believe that taste-wise, should not be skimped on.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm all for generic noodles, flour, and a lot of basic ingredients.  However, spices and herbs and sauces add SO much to dishes, and I've found that most of the generic forms of these don't do the flavors justice.  I will try to post links to the products I've found specifically that I like, and I think that if you try some of them, you will like them.  If not, well, damn the luck.  :)

Back to oatmeal.  I added a teaspoon of organic brown sugar from Trader Joe's (SO good!  Only 15 calories and 4 carbs, too!!), sprinkled my favorite cinnamon (you can literally eat this cinnamon out of the bag), and topped with some dried berries (again from Trader Joe's).  I usually go pretty light on the berries, since calorically, they are pretty dense.   ( I realize I just made huge plugs for Trader Joe's.  I seriously heart that place.  If you've been, you understand why.  If you haven't, it's like organic Aldi's.  It is truly a foodie's paradise.)  Without further ado, I give you my breakfast (and, let's see who else can write three full paragraphs about a bowl of instant oats.) 

For lunch, I've been craving a big green leafy salad, so that's what I made.  I used a Spring Mix lettuce and Baby Spinach. I added some Chili-Lime chicken that we had frozen, and some three alarm cheese (I get this at Sam's Club.  If you like spice, and you like cheese, you should get some too.) I made my own dressing, so that it had more of a southwest flavor.  I mixed a little sour cream, fiesta ranch seasoning, and taco sauce together.  Delish.  I added some cottage cheese for a little extra protein, and because I really just like cottage cheese.

Next came dinner for class.  Convenience is of the up most importance, since I have to take it to work with me first and then to class, so sandwiches are generally going to be the go to of choice.  This time, I went a little crazy and instead used a whole-wheat lavish wrap.  (whoa, I know.) A little chipotle mayo (mayo mixed with chipotles in adobe sauce), some more three alarm cheese, Party Time Ham (this is about the only kind of ham that I will eat, but more on that later), and more fresh baby spinach all rolled up in a neat little package.  Yum.

All in all, a healthy day.  Oh, I forgot to mention a little trick I've learned with blocks of cheese.  A vegetable peeler works GREAT in getting really thin slices to use for sandwiches, etc.  Plus, you end up using a lot less cheese since it is sliced so thin, but still get the flavor over the whole area.  All the flavor, less fat.  Sounds like a good deal to me!

I just want to say again that I really do appreciate all the emails and words of encouragement as we tackle this project.  I told my friend Kim today that this may very well be my personal Armageddon, but at least if it is, I will go out doing something I truly love doing.

Cheers, my friends!