So you know how I said that I love my early mornings? Well, while it’s true for the most part, there’s one thing that I’m definitely not too crazy about, and that’s the fact that they turn me into a snacking fiend. Now, you guys know I’m a big snacker in general, but waking up at the crack of dawn makes me an even bigger one – I’m talking constant munchies over here. And not only that, but it messes up my whole eating schedule too… Lunch at 10? Dinner at 4? You bet I’d be down for that!
I do try to keep my grazing in check and stick to a more-or-less normal schedule with my meals, though. That doesn’t mean I’m always successful, but hey… at least I put in an honest effort 😉 So, for today’s WIAW, I thought it would be fun to share the not-so-fun aspect of being a [ridiculously early] early bird who’s constantly searching for worms. Aaaaand go! Wait… did I seriously just compare my eats to slimy invertebrates? Nice, Amanda… real nice.
Anyways, I usually eat breakfast anywhere from 6:30 – 7, but there’s no way I’d be able to go from the time I wake up (~4:30) to then without feeling like I was going to gnaw my arm off. Enter pre-breakfast snacking (aka: breakfast #1).
Usually fruit. Today, a nectarine somewhere around 5 AM.
After that, I go about my morning routine, and eventually sit down to breakfast around 7.
Eggy oats layered with plain Greek yogurt and topped with almond butter, honey, and cinnamon. Can’t get enough of the AB/honey combo lately.
That’ll usually get my mind off food for a few hours so that I can get some work done, but I start getting a little snacky around 9…
Liberte vanilla Greek yogurt // Cinnamon Puffins and almonds.
And, of course, coffee gets to be kind of a must at this point as well…
Starbucks Pike roast with a shot of vanilla and a splash of milk.
Is it just me, or does any kind of writing/studying/computing make you incredibly snacky as well? I spent the better part of the morning drowning in paperwork – and maybe it was a boredom thing – but I just couldn’t shake the feeling of constantly wanting to munch on something. Eventually I gave in and started snacking on lunch around 11…
Baked chicken breast on a bed of greens and tomatoes/cucumbers/baby carrots.
Ketchup Popchips.
Golden delicious apple with Barney Butter cocoa + coconut almond butter (which is AMAZING).
Homegrown tomatoes that I picked from my parents’ garden. They’re so good that I’ve literally been poppin’ em like berries. I was going to say cherries, but it seemed a little inappropriate.
…. and kept snacking ’till about 2. Remember how I mentioned that lunch is my least favourite meal of the day so I usually just snack through the afternoon instead? Definitely still the case… But hey, as long as it works and gets me through work, I’m not going to complain. Being stuck inside when it’s absolutely gorgeous out, on the other hand? I’m not against complaining about that one.
Luckily there was still plenty of day left by the time I finished working for me to run home, grab a quick snack [around 4]..
Frozen banana chunks with a spoonful of Justin’s vanilla almond butter.
… and run out the door for a nice walk in the river valley…
Blissful. Unfortunately, the calm and serenity that I managed to accrue on my walk was jarred out of me when I was getting ready to head back and realized that… I didn’t have my keys – I lost them somewhere.
Insert minor freak out here 😯 😯 😯
I retraced my steps as best I could, but to no avail – my keys were gone. Seeing as I couldn’t even get into my building without my hub, I called my mom to come rescue me and sat outside to wait. Luckily, one of my neighbours happened to be walking out, so I managed to sneak my way past the front door and figured I’d go loiter around my front door instead. Well guess what I found on the way there?..
My keys… in the hallway… literally 10 feet from my door. Needless to say, I was more than a little relieved, but still shaken up. I don’t like the thought of my keys being out there for anyone to find (because, you know, they’re immediately going to know where I live and come steal my stuff), so my nerves were a little shot. It was well past dinner at this point but I was not feeling food. I know a lot of people turn to food when they get stressed out, but it’s always been the opposite for me – when I get stressed, I completely lose my desire to eat.
Thankfully, time heals all wounds shot nerves, and I eventually recovered enough to want dinner [around 7]. What I didn’t want was to do any sort of cooking, so I threw a frozen pizza into the oven and called it good…
Amy’s Italiano pizza.
I’m actually surprised that I didn’t resort to having a yogurt mess or cereal bowl for dinner… But I was craving something savoury… and if I’m being completely honest here, I should probably tell you that I haven’t had breakfast for dinner in well over a month. Believe me, I’m just as shocked as you are. But before you go worrying about me being a victim to body snatchers, be comforted by the fact that I’ve still been ending most of my nights with breakfast before bed [around 8:30]… because I know I always am.
A yogurt mess made with Plain Greek yogurt, sliced banana, homemade applesauce, Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, almond butter, and cinnamon.
Happy Wednesday, friends! 😀 Hope it’s a good tasty one!
. – . – . – .
Do you have a tendency to eat when you’re bored or stressed?
Have you ever lost your keys?
When was the last time you had breakfast for dinner?
Your eats look so so yummy! What camera do you use? Your pictures are always so crystal clear!
Thanks Robyn! I use a Canon EOS7D.
Omg, I am such an emotional eater! Depressed, anxious, angry, bored, sleepy…I swear I turn into a human garbage disposal! And I almost always reach for sweet/breakfast-y type foods when I’m in that mode. Last week, I pretty much polished off two boxes of cereal, a thing of trail mix, and an obscene amount of nut butter! I’ve been working for a while to shift my thoughts and look to other things besides food to cope with my emotions, but sometimes they just get the best of me. I think the hardest part is trying to get back in touch with my hunger cues after days of emotional eating…and getting a handle on the craving for sweets/simple carbs.
I’ve never lost my keys, but I HAVE lost my debit card three times…every time but one, I found it after calling and having it cancelled, but one time I’m pretty sure I dropped it at the mall while I was shopping. As soon as I realized I didn’t have it, I BOLTED out the door and drove straight to the bank! Scary moment indeed!
Ack! Losing my debit card would probably scare me a lot more than losing my keys. I misplaced mine in another wallet once and ended up freaking out. And ugh… relearning how to eat normally after any period of emotional eating or restriction can be -so- hard. I still have days where I struggle with it too, but it’s definitely possible to start figuring things out. You’ll get there!
I caught the tomato joke you dirty birdie, and I loved it.
We have very similar morning routines, you and I. My day almost always starts with a piece of fruit, either whole or blended with other fruit. It progresses to second breakfast which is a granola/yogurt bowl. Lunch is generally a small salad (at least lately) followed by an afternoon of snacking, baby tomatoes included.
I know losing your keys, even temporarily, must have been stressful, although you at least got to take a gorgeous hike beforehand. That scenery is amazing. The pizza’s not bad either. Some nights just call for pizza; I’d say this was one of them.
I was totally afraid you were about to get bitten by a snake! The pizza looks to die for! Going to have to search for it the next time I’m at the store!
If my brain is working hard, so is my metabolism. Gotta fuel that noggin’!
Frozen banana slices + nut butter are my favorite! I definitely find myself snacking when I’m tired and bored. The rest of your eats look great though
I eat like you do… just a few hours later! Haha!
Glad you found your keys. That’s a terrible feeling when you think they’re gone!
Ketchup Popchips?! Say what?! I want!!! I’ve never seen that flavor here in the US before.
I agree with you on any sort of typing, reading, writing… makes me hungry. I get SO darn hungry whenever I’m studying. I turn into an even snackier beast (if that’s possible). 😉
I’m pretty sure that flavour is exclusive to Canada… and I have to say that it’s kind of nice to have something that you guys don’t for once 😀
i see you’re back to oatmeal?! yay for you!!
and that almond butter with coconut looks AHMAZING.
at first i thought your keys were a snake and almost freaked! glad you got them back. and snacks, yes, i eat at 10:30 am sometimes. then lunch again at 2 and then well.. more snacking.
EXACTLY THE SAME hunger style when I wake up earlier than usual. I never really feel satisfied at all throughout the day, regardless of what I eat. Also, I hear you on the snacking due to hunger or boredom- now that I’m back to my final semester and studying again, I find myself constantly needing to snack on something or keep my mouth busy!
I haven’t had breakfast for dinner in ages, although I had dinner for breakfast the other day- I had spaghetti squash about to go off so I mixed it with basil pesto and a tub of cottage cheese…was strange but good for the a.m!
I can’t even remember the last time I had something savoury for breakfast… but I hear variety is the spice of life 😉
Oof, I would be more than shaken up if I lost my keys! Glad you found ’em though.
And breakfast before bed is regular occurrence for me 🙂 Breakfast before sleep, breakfast after sleep. It’s pretty fabulous.
Eeeeek! So glad you found your keys, girl! I don’t blame ya for having a minor freak out. 🙂 And I totally feel you on the waking up early=snacking all the time. Since Selah keeps me up at odd hours and I usuallly OFFICIALLY wake up at 6-7 am, I feel snacky all day but I try to get a lot of substance in my snacks so I don’t have to keep eating. 😀 And uhhhh I really need to go get AB soon, just ran out! You’re making me hungry again, haha.
I tend to snack when I am bored, like if I’m watching TV, but I try to stop doing that by knitting or hopping on the elliptical – I don’t eat when I am stressed
When I get anxious stressed – feel like I’m going to cry or go into panic mode, I lose all inklings of an appetite. Food makes me nauseous. But when I am bored/work stressed, I could eat and eat and eat and never stop! It’s so weird how that happens. I’m so glad you found your keys, even if it is a little nerve-wracking that they were right by your doorway. This is probably silly but since a set of our keys are in a lock box since we haven’t officially closed on our condo yet, I have been checking all of my closets and hiding places (under the bed, etc.) when I get home. I’m afraid some creeper is going to be hanging out in my condo! I think Kyle is worried (he bought me a baseball bat to keep by the bed, haha) which is where my fear is coming from. ANYWAYS – long comment but I’m glad you were able to finally enjoy a nice dinner after a stressful key incident 🙂
First thing I did when I got home was check to see that no one was creeping in my closets 😆 It’s kind of comforting to see that I’m not the only one.
I’m always eating, so it’s nothing new to me 😉 Sometimes I have to open the gym (at 5 am!) and those days mean I am literally eating all.day.long. More time awake though, means more need for fuel! I just rollll with it!
We love breakfast for dinner. I am all about some making some whole wheat waffles, mashing a banana and adding some chia seeds. I swear its awesome.
Breakfast for dinner, brinner, is one of my favorites. I eat breakfast burritos often for dinner. The cocoa and coconut spread sounds amazing!! I had a similar experience happen to me only with a locked door. My parents and sisters were gone on vacation and I come home to find the door to the house locked and somehow convinced myself the key in the hiding spot was the wrong one. Needless to say after an hour of being dramatic and freaking out I then decided to try the key I had…it worked. (smacks forehead)
I definitely notice that I am more snacky if I wake up earlier. For me, it’s typically hunger that keeps me reaching for food, versus boredom, but only if I wake up early. If I wake up late and eat a late breakfast all I do is snack for the heck of it!
The keys incident sounds just terrifying. I’m glad it all ended up working out.
oooh i have never lost my keys but i know that “OMG sinking icky tummy freaking out” feeling from thinking you lost something well! usually its my phone or visa card. and Amy’s pizzas are the only ones i eat- they are the only GF ones available here locally so when i splurge on them, (spendy!) its so worth it 🙂 and i eat breakfast for dinner probably half the week…. at least! my favorites are protein pancakes or giant cauliflower “oat” bowls with lots of chia fruit jam. actually chocolate coconut protein pancakes was last night late night dinner!
Eating when bored? I’m definitely guilty [though why say guilty?] of that and it’s been the worst when I started my internship last week and there was nothing to do the first days. Keeping my fingers crossed it’ll get busier soon because too much time equals constant snacking equals feeling greedy. In fact, I’d say boredom eating combined with not being able to fit in exercise is still one of my biggest struggles.
I’d have to share that getting up later and thereby extending my eating schedule until way late at night isn’t ideal, either. It’s embarrassing to admit how little sleep this lend to with still having to get up earlier than I used to for work still. I keep telling myself I’ll adapt ;).
Oh, by the way: thanks for hinting me to eating frozen bananas right away instead of turning them into softserve. Less dishes to clean? I’m a fan – an d just snacked on some upon returning from work.
It’d be easier to tell you the last time I didn’t have breakfast for dinner :): at my sister’s wedding. Now how to get a catered buffet like that for dinner every night …
Not wanting to have to clean my blender was actually the main reason I started snacking on frozen bananas in the first place 😆 And that dinner from your sister’s wedding looked SO good – I wouldn’t mind that kind of daily catering either!
My husband has a horrid habit of leaving keys in our vehicles. We live in a small town with hardly any crime at all (let alone car theft), but I still worry about people getting into our house or someone taking the car. :-/