We had pizza night tonight in our house, and it was quite the success!  Yes, you can have your pizza and eat it too ... even with food allergies and sensitives. 

My personal pizza included eggplant, spinach, yellow squash, and fresh basil. 

Before:

And after:

Next time I need to double up on the spinach though.  I knew it would cook down I just didn't realize how much.

Still, it was quite tasty and completely satisfied that pizza craving!

Ryan's pizza was of course more traditional.  Cheese and sauce and lots of spices.  Good old-fashioned pizza.

He said his pizza was delicious too ...

That's his yummy creation he enjoyed ... but times two!  I'm jealous men can eat so much ;-)

And now that it's dark out I can finally hit the pavement ... though unfortunately I'd much rather be hitting the pillow!  Don' get me wrong I'm eager to run, but this whole having to wait for the sun to go down so it's cool enough bit is messing with my daily routine and bed time!  I know, I know ... it's just a heat wave passing through.  I can suck it up and let summer get in it's last hurrah. 

Enjoy your evenings, and see you in the AM =)

My game plan worked.   Today I was much better prepared to deal with my changing hunger, and I had lots of healthy eats to choose from.  I even left the office with snacks leftover!  You see, one of the downfalls of my position is that I float between two buildings, so while I do have a desk at one of the buildings, I'm not really there enough to keep healthy snacks stashed for situations like yesterday.  Though just a little extra packing and planning in the mornings should combat that just fine. 

As planned, a couple hours after getting into work I snacked on a yogurt with pumpkin seeds,

and some dates.  Truthfully I probably could have gone without the dates and should have just given the yogurt a bit to digest, because I ate them quickly and then felt a little too full afterward.  Live and learn ... must pace self even when very hungry!

For lunch I ate a sandwich composed of last night's BBQ chicken, just as anticipated. 

It was good, though the bread and breading were kind of crumbly.  Still a nice change of pace from the usual PB or cold cuts/hummus sandwich.  I had some baby carrots on the side ... Always a bonus to start getting veggies in early in the day!

Now I'm home and it's approximately one hundred degrees.  At this rate I'll be going on my run at 1AM!  It's okay though, I'll just get to appreciate the couch for a little bit =)

So today I'm going into work with a much better game plan:  Eat more food; bring more food.  Simple enough!

This morning I was a little disappointed when I sat down with my breakfast and realized I toasted up regular waffles instead of the blueberry ones I was craving.  It was still delicious though so it all worked out.

I'm also going to have a yogurt with pumpkin seeds, but I'm about to grab that and go as I'm running a little behind schedule today!

Enjoy your day ... stay cool!!

Fortunately tonight's food affairs were much less eventful than the day's. 

When I got home from work I quickly prepared chicken to marinate while I did some kettlebell exercises.  I really cannot wait until the fall weather is here so I can go outside and exercise any time of the day!

For dinner we ate some barbecue-marinated, breaded chicken tenders with broc and chicken rice (Ryan is a huge fan of chicken rice =)

The chicken was actually really, really tasty, and I look forward to eating it tomorrow in a sandwich for lunch. 

Somehow this night has passed me by and it's almost time for bed.  I am beat, and this heat is not helping.  I can do without humidity for the rest of this season! 

Oh ...

Yeah ... ya know.

Let me preface this entry by saying; cashews saved my life.

But let's back track a moment so you can see how the story unfolds...

It all started right when I got to work and realized I was still hungry.  That didn't alarm me too much, as I had packed an "emergency" banana in case I got hungry after lunch.  So fine, an e-banana in the AM is no big deal.

         (I realize that's a very sad looking banana, but having been stored in the refrigerator it was still good!)

It was a little after this banana that my suspicions started to rise, as I was still feeling kind of hungry.  I continued on with my work, but around 11 came to the realization that it'd be impossible for me to make it to 1:30  lunch.  I stopped by my office and ate the apple I intended to have with lunch ... 

... and it really didn't do much.  At this point I was concerned because it was only about noon, and all I had to eat for the rest of the day was my little sandwich!  Unfortunately a major downside to my many dietary restrictions is my inability to buy food on the spur of the moment, as I have to assume most conventional foods have dairy and gluten.  But I convinced myself I could at least buy a banana in the cafeteria to eat along with my sandwich, and while that would be two in one day, it would help fill me up some more. 

However ... I ended up eating my sandwich at my desk about 40 minutes before I was supposed to go meet my coworkers in the cafeteria.  I just couldn't wait!

         The sandwich was good, but I knew I'd be in trouble if I didn't eat something else before going home.

So when I got down to the cafeteria I'm sure you could understand my disappointment when they were out of bananas!  I had no plan, no back up snacks (which you should always carry!), and 2 major dietary restrictions standing in my way.

As a last resort I wandered over to the vending machine and scanned the rows of cheese crackers, yogurt granola bars, and chocolate laden treats.  And then I saw it ... hiding in the lower left corner ...

The cashews that saved my life.

It was the perfect spontaneous snack; filling, protein packed, and relatively healthy.  Thank goodness! 

I think I've learned my lesson though ... back up snacks on hand always, and pack more food!  Apparently my increase in activity has my metabolism soaring through the roof!

See ya back for dinner!

So I would say it was quite the successful weekend being on call ... considering I was even able to forget I was on call a handful of times!  It was a super quiet weekend and that's just what I was hoping for.

This morning I had to wake up an hour earlier than I'm used to because I'm working different hours this week, but I'm finding that as long as I get at least the minimum hours of recommended sleep, being a little sleepier in the morning is worth the extra time I have to relax, eat, sip on my coffee, and blog =)

I decided to start again this morning with a waffle and berries,

and a yogurt with pumpkin seeds.

I decided to keep the waffle down to one for today because I ate a bunch of dates last night right before bed, and being up earlier my body wasn't quite looking for too much food yet. 

Hope you all have quick and painless work weeks!  A three-day weekend awaits us!

Man, I am beat!  I feel like I've been up since yesterday!  Working Saturday always messes with my body clock.  Fortunately I have a three day weekend next weekend to make-up for this one-day weekend.  I might be dragging my feet a little this week, but at least there's a bonus day to look forward to =)

So the moment the sun went down it felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees and I was finally able to run!  It was nice, short, and to the point.  I really do appreciate the neighborhood I live in; the street layout is practically designed for runs and there's so much nature to admire along the way.

Just a few minutes ago I snacked on some dates straight out of the tub as a post-run/bedtime snack. 

I almost wasn't going to eat anything because I'm going to bed so soon and I'll be up for an early breakfast, but the tummy started rumbling and a) I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep on an empty stomach and b) I knew it'd be much kinder to my body to eat something for nourishment after exertion.

Now I feel much better and am counting down the minutes to laying my head down on my pillow =)  Good night!

For some reason all day today I was hardcore craving beef, which is pretty odd for me considering I don't have the desire to eat it often.  Maybe my iron was a little low  ... or  my vitamin B 's?  Either way, I was in search for a delicious ground beef concoction, and after searching the internet I basically combined a few different recipes that caught my eye.

I realize that the dinner plate I used may or may not give you a seizure, so I apologize and please  proceed with caution.

Basically it's a stir fry of ground beef, red pepper, onion, garlic, canned pumpkin, and spices.  It was definitely a warm and filling meal that totally hit the spot.  Although, I sense this is one of those entrees that will taste better the day after preparing once all of the flavors have had a chance to meld ... Ryan didn't eat any tonight because he wasn't hungry (though he kindly sampled it for me), so he'll get to eat it tomorrow and see if it's even tastier!

Anyway ... I'm still waiting for the weather to cool off even the slightest bit so I can run.  Until then, Ryan and I are heading out to Wild By Nature to pick up some gluten-free/dairy-free staples =)

I feel like this has been a very long day.

It's been quite the lazy Sunday so far ... just sort of lounging around the house.  Thankfully the beeper's only gone off once this weekend since I left work yesterday  (Fingers crossed that was the last of it!)

I did end up needing to eat again about an hour after breakfast ... I'm just so darn hungry today!  I smeared some peanut butter over a banana and sliced it up to eat with a fork.

I was going for the carb + protein combo to stave off hunger.  It tasted yummy too, so that works.

Soon after, Ryan sleepily wandered out into the living room ... muttered something about funfetti pancakes ... went back into the bedroom, and fell back asleep.  So in the mean time, I decided to create some for him.  We had a box of Pillsbury Funfetti Cupcake mix in the house (as everyone should), so I used that and modified the recipe a little bit to better mimic pancake mix consistency.  The first three pancakes were "practice" ... but after that I figured out the right cooking process.  I should have taken a picture!  Ryan said they were really good.  I mean it's funfetti, how could they not be?!
 
My continuation of non-activity left me ravenous again ... of course .. so I ate:

It's almost getting embarrassing now ... and also some rice cakes with salsa and hummus.

I realize this is all very random, but I couldn't quite figure out what I wanted to eat.  So instead I snacked. 

I do intend to head out to the food store shortly ... I just want to first figure out what I'm cooking for dinner so I know exactly what to pick up.

PS  This heat wave is ridic.  I guess I'll be going on that run closer to 8!

In my opinion there is nothing like the peace and tranquility of an early Sunday morning, when it seems not much else than me and the sun are up.  It always gives me such an optimistic vibe ... like the whole day is mine to do whatever I desire with.

There are some things on the back burner that I'd like to get done between now and a few upcoming weeks, but as far as today, the only thing I definitely need to check off the list is a short run and a  a quick stop at the grocery store.  Seeing how I didn't run early this morning, I'm thinking that's going to have to be put on hold until the evening ... It looks like a hot one is brewing out there!

After relaxing a bit, I whipped up a tasty breakfast of waffles and fresh berries. 

And a yogurt with pumpkin seeds.

I'm actually still hungry, which is a little odd because I think I just ate a substantial amount of food ... but maybe I'll give it a little bit and grab a banana or something if I still feel like I need to eat. 

Have a great day!  Get out and enjoy the sun!