Was it hard for you to pull yourself out of bed this morning? Yeah, me too. If it’s any consolation, you only have to wake up two more times this workweek. Unless you work on the weekends — then, I feel bad for you.
Jenn has something fun planned for February — Love Your Veggies Month! I certainly do love my veggies, as you will see by my food today. I think I went a tad bit over. Meh, oh well!
Breakfast — 6:00 AM
Breakfast was a little bit “different” for me yesterday — and it’s going to take some getting used to. I’ve bid adieu to my first love — peanut butter. ::sigh:: One of the things my acupuncturist told me to avoid was peanuts (more on the things he told me later), so almond butter it is.
- 1/3 cup oats
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 banana, whisked in
- 1 tbsp. chocolate protein powder
- 1/2 cup blueberries (they’re in there!)
- cinnamon
- almond butter
And then I had a tall (the horror!!!!) coffee with soy that I picked up on the way home from the gym. Another thing I’m weaning out is coffee. Sad sad news friends. The only thing that made this good was how cute Starbuck’s Valentine’s Day cups are!
Snack — 9:30 AM
At the end of my plan period, I snacked on one fried egg topped with some nutritional yeast. I ate it cold. Weird?
Lunch — 11:30 AM
Lunch was sooooooo good — so good I think I just might have it again today (read: I am!). I made a huge pot of Loaded Cabbage Soup on Sunday for dinner on Monday and lunch throughout the week. It is our favorite soup around here, and it never disappoints!
On the side, I had a piece of my gluten free sandwich bread (topped with a shmear of hummus) and a 2% passion fruit Chobani.
Snack — 3:30 PM
Entering data after school made me hungry! Did you know that you will still need to know what the median is in real life? Mmmhm, you will — especially if you are a teacher (and well, teaching it to your students).
I snacked on some raisins and almonds on the drive home so help fuel me up for a cold walk with my nutzo dog Charlie.
Dinner — 6:15 PM
I had the very best of intentions to make a new recipe tonight. I had been scheming it for a few nights — however, when it came time to make dinner all I could think about was vegetables. TONS of vegetables! Who am I to deny that craving?
what is with the weird lighting?
I made myself a salad and topped it with balsamic, nutritional yeast, and hummus. I also roasted up a huge sweet potato and had some leftover roasted veggies — all topped with at least a cup of ketchup, of course.
Don’t worry — that new dinner recipe will come soon. It’s going to be a good one!
Snack — 8:00 PM
Same old snack as last week — it sure doesn’t disappoint though! I had a pumpkin protein muffin with some Greek yogurt and half an apple.. aaaand an almond butter spoon.
And that about wraps things up around here! Have a great Wednesday everyone!
Question: Are you good about following your cravings?
{ 102 comments… read them below or add one }
I try to give into my cravings if them seem legitimate. Sometimes I crave tofu or eggs, and I think it is my body’s way of telling me I need more protein. However, when I am craving a cupcake or a slab of chocolate, I tend to give it a little more thought before indulging. And I have to say, that egg with nutritional yeast on it looks delicious - even cold.
I feel the same way - I usually give into my cravings a lot more when I know they’re healthy choices!
I remember reading you need to eat quite high fat to keep your weight up-I’m so the same. I’m trying to gain weight and I find it amazing how much fat (healthy of corse) I can eat.
Have you got any tips for keeping and gaining? I find high carbs don’t agree with me sadly!
I used to be addicted to peanut butter-trust me before you know it almond butter will be your favourite! Tried cashew-it is like heaven!
X
I like the taste, but I hate how drippy it is!
For someone who just started supplementing her diet with protein powder, I have been craving Sunwarrior like it’s my job…and I certainly am “giving into” them! It’s a win-win, in my opinion! I have to say- I thought my stomach could handle ridiculous amounts of fiber but I think yours puts mine to shame
!
I love Sunwarrior! It’s so creamy tasting
I agree!
Chelsey,
Have you tried juicing? I juice in the morning and it helps take away my need for coffee. All the antoxidants and nutrients from the fruits and veggies wake me right up! I have been trying to ween off coffee and unless I have a dreadful nights I find I don’t need it as much
I haven’t tried juicing! Sounds like something I could look into! I am such a coffee craver though - I love the taste!
I want a LOVE cup! Today may be the day I go to starbucks to get one!
Happy Wednesday love! <3
Do it! It made my day!
I was thisclose to calling in to work and saying I was sick with exhaustion. I’m just wiped - getting out of bed was the worst! Maybe I’ll make it up to myself with a drink in the new adorable starbucks cups
I am right there with you!
No more coffee!! Is it the caffeine? Will you be able to drink decaf?
Those sweet potatoes look soooooo good and browned. Since we’re talking cravings, I think that’s what I’m craving…and what I’ll prob have for dinner tonight! I’d say I roll with my cravings…
no coffee at all - it’s the caffeine and the chemicals in the coffee - i’ll touch on it tomorrow!
Thanks for being so forthcoming and honest with your challenges and openness to acupuncture. I just wanted to share that I have a friend that went through years of trying for a baby and even had surgery to clean out her uterus (they thought she had endometriosis). Nothing worked. She found an acupuncturist who developed a fertility-centered acupuncture treatment that spanned over a few months. Before her treatment was over she was pregnant! I’m so glad to hear that you are exploring less evasive ways to improve your fertility.
On a food-related note since you are staying away from peanuts, have you tried Justin’s chocolate almond or chocolate hazelnut butter? It makes the transition from peanut butter a bit more tolerable.
Love your blog!
Liz
Yahoo! Thanks for the encouraging story Liz! I have tried their Hazelnut butter - it’s to die for!
i LOVE the v-day cups!! posted about that I’n my WIAW post as well
so sorry you’re having to wean off of all the good stuff — worth it in the end!
I agree - it will be!
My Nonna has been making her cabbage soup forever! It is sooooo good I can’t get it into my mouth quick enough. Sometimes when she has leftovers I just eat it cold…that is just amazing it is. Super simple, right? Geez I love grandmothers. Anyway, I will have to try your recipe, never added green beans before…sounds like a plan! I eat my cabbage soup with a little Parmesan cheese on top. Yum!
I was not happy about cutting out coffee and peanut butter;-) I feel for you… I have a feeling they will tell me the same thing. The things us ‘healthy’ people do to get even healthier.
I always satisfy my cravings, its better than over-indulging later in the day/week. Good thing I crave vegi’s quite a bit.
I’m pretty lucky, b/c with being Sped, on Wednesdays we don’t teach, but it’s our day to test students and we have meetings. Thursday we have Staff development and PM PT conferences, and Friday we have a comp day with no school!
I think I would have a hard time giving up my coffee. I have my 2 cups in the morning when I get to school, and I hate to say it, but I look forward to it!
Wow - what a week you have!
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who combines eggs and nutritional yeast…. cold! So good! Nice post with some really good eats
Why are you taking coffee out?? I’ve done this to “test” if it was causing fatigue. Interested in why your trying it! Have a good day!
Tomorrow’s post is about that!
NO MORE peanut butter….EVER!?!?! That is so tragic!!! Are you allergic!?
haha no not allergic - i’m touching on it more in tomorrow’ post!
I am usually pretty good about following cravings! Happy WIAW
I’m good about giving into cravings because I usually end up eating way more of other things trying to make up for it. Although no giving into sugar cravings now, I’m working really hard to cut out sugar!
You’re doing awesome!
What great looking eats, especially lunch! And I’m sorry about the peanut butter. A life without pb… well… I won’t rub in it.
im TOO good about following my cravings. i just had a peanut butter cookie and its 545 am. i had it before my coffee even. i knew if i didnt have it id be thinking about it all day though.
ps i work this weekend
ps - I am so sorry.
i eat cold eggs all the time with nut yeast. plus a drizzle of ketchup
I forgot the ketchup - darnit!
ohh girl, so sad to hear about having to say goodbye to your (and my!) beloved peanut butter…. but at least there is still almond butter. it’s ALMOST just as good.
and you’re right, the new starbucks valentine’s day cups are cute! i haven’t seen those yet. i think that’s an excuse to go to starbucks…
I do have to work all weekend. I definitely feel bad for myself:) your meals definitely fit into Jens veggie theme. I love te Starbucks valentines day cups. Is it weird I debated rinsing mine out and keeping it lol?
No - mainly because I thought about the same thing!
Oh, no! I can’t imagine giving up peanut butter. If you need any information about peanuts or peanut butter nutrition, including the research!, please let me know. Good luck with the acupuncture!!
Just with in the past few months I’ve had to pretty much cut coffee out- for health reasons. It is *so* hard to wake up at 5:15 to work out and then get to teaching by 7:50 without coffee AND then make it through the day. I feel your pain. When I drank chia seeds, it helped though. But, I had to quit drinnking them too.
That cup is sooooo cute!
You’re telling me girl!
I am pretty good about following my cravings, but I typically have a meal plan due to grocery shopping so what I am craving may not be available!
I am an expert at following cravings… if I want it, I make it happen!
That Loaded Cabbage Soup sounds delish! Does it smell? It would be perfect to take for lunch, but I don’t want to be the smelly kid at work!!
It does NOT smell!
It’s awesome how many veggies you’re eating! I’m looking forward to hearing what your acupuncturist recommended; he sounds a bit like my naturopath in his recommendations!
Wait, no more PEANUT BUTTER!? Is it just while you are doing fertility treatments or is it forever and something everyone should look into? I’ve heard that since it is technically a legume which, if eaten too much, can affect nutrient absorption. Does that have anything to do with it? I love peanut butter and tried to make the switch to almond butter a couple months ago, but it just doesn’t do it for me
Yup - for that reason. I’m talking about it in tomorrow’s post!
Most natural practitioners, naturopaths, accupuncturists, etc. will tell you to avoid peanuts b/c of the aflatoxins. Mine told me the same thing years ago, but I believe that after you heal a bit, you’ll be able to get back to it and work it back in one day
That’s exactly what he told me! I’m just doing it throughout the course of the acupuncture treatments - we’ll se ehow it goes!
The passionfruit chobani is my favorite!!
If I’m craving something bad like sweets or chocolate I usually drink a cup of hot tea. 9 times out of 10 it kills the craving!
As long as I eat well most of the time, I usually will give in to a craving. If I’m trying to uber-healthy, then I might try a chocolate chai tea to see if that can satisfy my sweet tooth. Lately I’ve been craving huge salads smothered in dijon (very strange considering my usual cravings are chocolate, salt and wine
- it’s safe to say I give in to that craving all the time!!!
Yum! That salad sounds great!
I definitely go for my craving…. Lately they’ve been a couple handfuls of chocolate chips every night and lots of peanut butter throughout the day. They just call my name!
All those veggies look amazing, I could get down with those cravings too
You SHOULD be following those cravings, pregnant lady!
I’m now wondering why you’re off coffee? Can’t wait for the acupuncturist post!
I couldn’t give up peanut butter! Because it’s the only nut butter I like (besides almond butter which I can’t have, boo!)
I have found that if I ignore my cravings for too long I go a little crazy. So I’m pretty good at giving in
There was a period where I chose not to listen to any cravings in an attempt to change my weight, muscle definition and overall performance. Bad choice… bad choice. Now I’ve spent the last 3 months trying to re-connect. I used to be SO good at listening to my intuition and am amazed at how long it’s taken to get back to it. Good for you for just following and listening… it’s the BEST skill to have!!
That must have been so frustrating taking such a huge step backwards!
Hey! I would have a hard time giving up my peanut butter- definitly one of my addictions! I started a new clean eating blog, myhealthyaddictions.wordpress.com- check it out when you get a chance!
Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!
I will check it out!
Oh no I would not be able to function, no coffee or peanut butter?! Probably my two favorite things! ha Hold strong girl!
That muffin looks delicious! Just looked at the recipe, I’m going to have to try this one out sometime! Thanks for sharing!
Those ARE two of my favorite things. It’s so sad.
one fried egg topped with some nutritional yeast. Cold. Weird?
No. Delicious. My everyday uniform.
I’m really curious about the foods your acupuncturist said to avoid! I eat peanut butter almost every day… :/
It’s coming at you tomorrow! Keepin mind it’s for a fertility program!
pilates!
katherinedibello (at) gmail (dot) com
I haven’t seen those cups yet. Now I am really excited for my usual Monday Starbuck’s treat. YAY!
You have more self control than I do to wait until Monday!
yikes no peanut butter poor you!!! I love my veggies roasted.
Not forever!
I love the new starbucks cups, they are so cute! Lately I’ve been craving hot chocolate…like every night. So I make a healthier version but sometimes a cup of nestle just sounds so much better.
Just found your blog and am loving looking through all the recipes! Have recently begun eating no added sugar and eating only “real foods”.
I cannot thank you enough for having so many oatmeal combinations!! I have been eating the comes-in-a-packet oatmeal my whole life, and cannot live without my oats. However, when I started trying to make it out of plain oats and add my own toppings…well, it was not good. but you’ve saved my oatmeal for me!!!
Welcome, Megan! I could never live without my oatmeal either!
Cold eggs? What an interesting snack choice. I may need to give it a shot!
I love your clever meals!
It was mainly because I wasn’t near a microwave.
But it was good nonetheless!
Your breakfasts are always the BEST!
My stomach agrees!
yummm! and hmm minimize pb huh cant wait to hear that reason bc im horrible wen it comes to pb! hope everythings going good with the acupuncture! probably a emotional thing to go through my sis had the same problems and did that and has 2 crazy 18month olds now! so i believe it works:-)!
The soup looks yummy! Checking out recipe. I love making soup and often throw whatever looks good in the pantry at the time. LOL.
In fact, the day looks yummy. Gotta love the Cho, too (having a Cho giveaway right now).
Hi,
Just wanted to share my experience, that I used to run distance, maybe like 5-6 miles a day (so not even a ton), and I ate very “healthfully”, similar to you, and I stopped getting my period for 9 months. Even if other women can run a lot of mileage and still get their periods, it doesn’t mean we ALL can. Everyone is different. No one would have ever said I looked too thin, just healthy and fit.
I think I probably got it back during a time I was on a break from running, because sometimes for 3 months or something, I’d stop, if I was in an off-season from the sports I played (so on top of running, I also went to practice daily!). If I were you, I’d just stop for a long period of time. Give your body a rest. If you start to feel flabby, just do some mild weight lifting at the gym, but stop the cardio completely and give your body a break. A woman’s body wasn’t meant to run everyday WHILE trying to get pregnant…think about it back in the caveman days….would having to run that much to survive been healthy for the baby?
I know you are getting good fats, and I know you have certain foods you need to avoid, but I would try to just go nuts with some “unhealthy” things. One time, a chiropractor told me to drastically increase my fat, so I went nuts and had greasy pizza. Sometimes we need greasy foods. I am only giving my advice because I did loose my period for 9 months, and I was someone a doctor would consider healthy. Once I ate a little crazier and exercised less, things seemed to normalize.
For example, Amy’s brand makes a great gluten-free Rice Mac n Cheese microwave dinner. I would have those as snacks….just give yourself some diversity from what you are eating, while you stop running too. You can always go back to it later. Good luck!
Thanks for all the advice - as well as the advice down below. I do love a good microwave dinner from time to time! I’m planning on giving myself some time away from cardio. I’m one month out from any type of heart rate inducing cardio activity (and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I miss it.)
Awesome eats girl! I love your nighttime snack
I’m usually pretty good about addressing cravings, but sometimes I just can’t pinpoint what I’m in the mood for haha
One more thought is that I’d emphasize the cheese, or maybe some sausage. It looks like you don’t get much saturated fat. Even though it is linked to heart disease in *excess*, the fact is that people have been consuming it throughout time (back to the caveman thing). I believe saturated fat is a component of fertility. If you look into the Weston A. Price organization, they talk a lot about the roles of some of these under-appreciated foods, and how you can’t cut them out completely.
Think about it again in caveman times….would it have been efficient for a person to have to eat every 3 hours to have energy? No! The time it takes to gather those lower-calorie foods would not be worth the energy/fullness you get. So if you find yourself having to eat 5-6 times a day to stay satisfied, you probably need denser meals. I learned that too. When I wasn’t getting my period, I was having to eat throughout the day to keep functioning. I don’t think my meals were dense enough, esp for the amount of running I was doing! So I would definitely eat some fatty meats and cheeses daily, maybe some fish oil too as a supplement, just to get some more animal and saturated fats. You will notice you don’t have to eat as often, too. Eating often is a good strategy for people that are overweight and need to loose weight, but you aren’t in that category!
Thanks for the advice - it is definitely well received. I am, however, a vegetarian.
Oh sorry about that! I read your blog from time-to-time and really like it, but that must have slipped my mind. I would def. go with cheeses and full-fat dairy though, if you can. Like a glass of whole milk a day. Grilled cheese sandwiches, fried in butter. I know it sounds crazy, but doing that definitely helped me. All the guidelines we hear about nutrition are targeted towards unhealthy people, like how to get people out of the “you are eating yourself to death” zone….so when things go wrong with us “very healthy” people, it’s like doctor’s don’t know how to respond, because they aren’t used to seeing people like us who run and never eat processed food. I think it throws them off. Sorry I am talking so much!
It is strange, because I started following your blog because it reminds me of how I used to be when I was super active….those were good and fun years….but then when I read your recent post about the acupuncture, it made me remember all the issues I had with the absent period! And I put two-and-two together, that I not only was like you, but I didn’t have a period either! Sheesh. Anyways, best of luck.
MMMM, all your eats look sooo delicious! I am pretty good about listening to my cravings. If I want something, I’ll have it. Luckily, my cravings are usually for healthy foods, so it not always that big of a deal. On special occasions or on weekend, I do tend to splurge more on desserts and sweet treats!
I love veggies too…although I don’t really “crave” them
I was told to give up peanuts too! However, I’m really loving the almond butter. You can buy huge jars of Maranatha creamy almond butter at Costco! Sooooo good.
I’m actually fulfilling my craving this evening, with some leftover red velvet cake from the Superbowl. I try to treat myself 2-3 times a week whether it be wine, sweets, or a delicious dinner. Life is too short to not fulfill your cravings.
No…more…peanut butter?! I can’t even imagine. Thankfully there are tons of delicious substitutes out there. How interesting that PB may be one of the culprits! I’ll be interested to hear what other information you got.
I’m working on weening myself off of caffeine right now as well. I’m down to one cup of coffee a day and, while I do miss my daily cup o’ joe, I’m feeling amazing without it!
LOVE the massive veggie dinner. <3
Did you acupuncturist mention cutting out soy? I’ve read a lot of things about soy affecting hormone levels.
Have you tried cashew butter? I like it even better than peanut!
did you top the bread with hummus and then the cho or just cho on the side? haha b/c i’m now dreamily imagining what it would taste like to have both on that delish looking bread. haha!
happy wiaw!!!
Oh no! That sucks about the PB.
Now you’ll know what it feels like to be me! Haha.
I apparently suck at giving into my cravings. I’ve been craving smoked salmon for weeks and I still haven’t bought any. Although it’s the $10 price tag for 150 g that’s the main thing that’s stopping me.
Your eats look fantabulous as always!!!
Oh no.. no PB? At least you can almond butter. And I did NOT know Starbucks has Valentine’s cups. What? This post just cost me $5 because I’m going to have to go now. I just have to say I love how balanced all your meals are.
Sorry you have to wean out coffee too. 
Yeah i definitely follow my cravings. If i don’t i just eat until I finally eat what I’m craving lol! I always tend to crave something sweet after dinner, and normally have something small to satisfy. Like you it usually has a bit of protein to keep me full as well
I feel for you with the coffee and PB. But I have confidence in you! Best of luck!
Oh that stink that you can’t eat peanut butter, but almond butter is also delicious. Have you tried cashew butter? It tastes like cookie dough!
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