It’s never an easy thing to transition back into normalcy after being impacted by tragedy. What happened in Boston made for a somber couple of days, and while I’m still dealing with a heavy heart and some lingering sadness, life has to go on…
It’s funny. If it weren’t for the blog world, the tragic events of Boston wouldn’t have impacted me so profoundly. Outside of Twitter, Facebook, and Google Reader, I didn’t come across anyone who so much as mentioned Boston; and when I brought it up, many people didn’t even know. I mentioned before that I sometimes feel like I’m living in two different worlds, and the last two days really made that distinction more apparent. While the blog world mourned, the rest of my world carried on with business as usual… and I guess it’s time for the blog world to follow suit, which means that today is all about the food with WIAW. Oh, and if you have a minute, hop on over and give Jenn a few kind words – she lost one of her beloved fur babies and could use a little bit of extra love.
These are actually most of my eats from Monday – a day where my appetite was absolutely insane. I think I may have to go back to Monday’s post and add “food” to my Happy List, because daaaaaaang… the days where my stomach feels like a bottomless pit really remind me how much my mood depends on how well fed I am…
I blame snowboarding and travelling… My stomach has a tendency to wonk up when I travel, causing my appetite to swing back and forth between two extremes: stuffed and starving. I found it a little hard to eat for a big part of the weekend, which meant that I’ve been playing catch up for the past couple of days…
Breakfast…
A yogurt mess made with: plain Greek Yogurt, sliced banana, frozen blueberries, Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, cinnamon Puffins, roasted almond butter, and extra cinnamon.
Mid-Morning…
Best snack in the world: bananas and almond butter. Was missing some chocolate though…
Lunch…
Turkey and hummus sandwich on toasted whole wheat bread – random veggies on the side.
Dessert was a reasonable amount of watermelon and a chocolate chip cookie dough ball.
Afternoon…
Deliciously foamy cappuccino from Starbucks.
Enjoy Life chocolate crunch bar. This one had little bits of crispy rice cereal in it – big fan.
Dinner…
It was a breakfast for dinner kind of night… Eggy bananafied oats with chocolate-spiked cottage cheese and almond butter.
Evening…
A big bowl of popcorn drizzled with coconut oil and honey – eaten while watching Breaking Dawn part 2. And just when I thought I was done for the night, I had to go back forrrr….
… a few more licks of almond butter. There’s no way I can fall asleep when I’m hungry, and I’d rather not be up all night, thank you much.
. – . – . – .
So that basically covers it. Unpictured are the multiple handfuls of random things I snacked on throughout the whole day – cereal, fruit, chicken, Popchips… I stayed pretty much within three feet of my kitchen for the entire day, and, thankfully, managed to make it through without chewing off any limbs. I felt like I was basically eating all.the.time, which is something that would have taken a pretty big mental toll on me in the past, but doesn’t really phase me anymore.
There are days when I undereat and there are days when I eat more to compensate. This is something that would have never happened back when I used to meticulously plan my meals to make sure I was eating the same exact amount every day, but it’s a pretty common occurrence now that I no longer track my calories and macros. At first I thought it might be a problem but it all seems to balance out in the end.
Happy Wednesday, friends!
. – . – . – .
Are you a ‘handful snacker’ too? What are your favorite things to grab?
Do you go through days of undereating and compensating? Or do you try to make sure you eat the same amount daily?
What’s your favorite breakfast for dinner meal?
I can often be a “handful” snacker….trying hard to break that habit!
How long haven’t I made cookie dough balls? Way too long! On my list for the next days *yum yum*. And you now what: I’ll find your lunches always the most inspiring – I tend to overdo things when it comes to cooking, since I never know what exactly I am craving. But when I see your sandwich and salad combination I always think: that’s actually all you need.
Almond butter porn!!! I’m all out & I feel like I’m going to die.
My appetite changes depending on the day or what I’ve been doing activity-wise. I’m usually extra hungry the day after I run, and some days I don’t eat breakfast until 10 or 11am. It wasn’t always that way though – when my diet was more carb-heavy I found that I had to eat every 2-3 hrs to keep my hunger & blood sugar levels in check, but now that I eat a LOT of fat, I can go a lot longer without having to refill the tank.
Poached eggs, bacon & sweet potato hashbrowns are probably my fav breakfast for dinner – or waffles.
I was acutely aware of Boston too, many older residents around me were but most young people seemed totally ignorant- I always feel a little removed sometimes from a lot of other youth whose main ambition seems to be drinking and partying- two things that aren’t my style really 😉 My body seems to intuitively need a certain amount of food- so if there are days where i don’t get thaty my body lets me know awfully quickly it needs more the following one for sure. I seem to require a lot of food too, I don’t exercise but I’m highly strung and really can’t function well unless properly fuelled! And i love really creamy scrambled eggs and toast for brinner with fried rosemary and lots of cheese Xo Sophia
Oh girl, I’m the same way with needing a lot of food. Even though I don’t do any exercise aside from walking, my anxiety/stress are so much more difficult to manage if I don’t have enough food in me.
Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite things in life! I had an omelet and toast last night 🙂 I love cereal. And crepes, And pancakes. Oh, the list goes on…..
Your photos always make everything look so delicious, even something as simple as a turkey and hummus sandwhich. I’m definitely a hand snacker….from strawberries, to crackers, to cereal.
I’m SUCH a snacker. I never let myself do that before either, but now there are days where I just have to give in. Our bodies are different every day, and require different things to function at their highest level. Trying to fit ourselves into a mold where we eat the same things and amounts just goes against our nature! Everything looks so yummy. I’m craving some breakfast for dinner now!
I never used to let myself randomly snack either, and it’s hard to look back at those times and think about how often I forced myself to go hungry 😕
I started undereating when I began working full-time. I’d snack all day in college from family sized bags of pretzels or goldfish, and so i was never hungry. I’d usually eat a nutrigrain bar for breakfast, and as for lunch, I’ve never been a sandwich person and only recently started coming around to salads. So when i started working i’d bring like 3 nutrigrain bars to get me through the day then gorge when i came home. and when i felt sluggish and slow alllll day I knew exactly why. so bad. i’ve started making more effort but there’s still days where i’m lazy and/or forgot to pack breakfast/lunch, but i don’t want to spend money because i’m poor. so it’s a constant battle. but getting there 🙂
Favorite brinner meal would have to be eggs! I’m obsessed with making Mexicalli eggs (cheese, avocado, cilantro, peppers, onions, and a little taco sauce or salsa). And I am a handful snacker too. I grab a lot of nuts and make my own trail mix 🙂
oh how i have missed popcorn! i am a big handful snacker person and its my weakness esp after work. I am trying to get better though :
(
That sounds like a great combo with the popcorn! I”m definitely a handful snacker. I like eating plain nut butter too. I guess you could call me a spoon snacker too 😉
Thanks Amanda.. I know it’ll get easier as time goes by. gah. It helps to have the love and support of bloggy besties like you though, that’s for freaking sure.
And I’m with you on my moods refelecting my hunger. Going to bed hungry? oh no! My stomach doesn’t allow it either! It is quite demanding 😉
Huge hugs, hun. In a couple days it’ll be 6 years since I lost one of my dogs to cancer, and while it’s definitely easier to deal with at this point, it still stings. Furry friends = family.
I love pancakes of oatmeal for dinner. I always crave something comforting, hearty, and warm 🙂 I’ve shared with you my addiction to snacking and aside from constant handfuls of grapes… I’d say cereal or a bar is my go-to snacking food. I haven’t bought popcorn in a while but I have a feeling I might have to go get it because you made me have a craving kick. There is a huge difference between blogging/”real” world. If I brought it up to someone yesterday or heard someone talking about it, it was a lot different than the harsh feelings spread throughout the blogging world. Sometimes I wish I was surrounded by those who blogged because I was rather annoyed with the way people were responding to the news.
I noticed that about the Boston Marathon coverage too! It was all over the blogosphere and Twitter but no one at work has mentioned it. It really affected me and I find it so strange that more aren’t focused on the tragedy.
Yum yum! Everything looks really good 🙂 I undereat some days but not on purpose; my body naturally ends up telling me when I need some more so end up compensating on other days too haha 🙂
You’ve got me craving some popcorn now too haha..looks so good and so moreish!
I need to try that breakfast of yours – it looks delicious and filling. YUM!
And my [somewhat] newfound motto is to eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. I’m still having a hard time with the stop when I’m full part but for the most part it works. I understand this isn’t for everyone but I find that our bodies are actually smarter than we give them credit for. All we have to do is listen!
Yes! I love that motto 😀 I wish more people would trust their bodies and give them the credit they deserve, because they really are pretty smart when it comes to the whole living thing 😉
I totally know what you mean about living in 2 separate worlds and I also tried to go about my normal life, which was not easy. My stomach gets wonky when I travel and it always takes me a day or two to get back to normal, usually eating things I know are easy on it!
Handfuls of stuff are the best, hands down ;). Chocolate chips, puffed amaranth/rice, granola are common contenders around here. Just to throw some vegetables in: baby carrots or mushrooms dunked in salsa are good, too. Especially regarding my current “salty tooth”.
The question about over- and undereating is something I’m currently pondering on my trial to eat more intuitively. Take yesterday, for example, when I was a lot less hungry than usually. Still, I tried to reach a certain amount of calories to make sure I wouldn’t be ravenous today. That’s kind of stupid because I don’t even enjoy the food as much anymore OR even end up eating more than I initially meant to because … I don’t actually know why. It’s like eating over a certain point of comfortable satiety made me go overboard. Not sure about that one yet …
I definitely have days where I undereat and overeat the next day to compensate. It still causes some anxiety for me, but it’s so much easier to deal with now that I’m at a healthier state both physically and mentally.
And I still have yet to try breakfast for dinner… sounds appealing, but I’m one of those people that thinks savory food for breakfast is weird because I’m used to more sweet breakfasts, so a sweet dinner is somewhat strange to me too 😛 Although I do like strawberry crepes for dinner… have those sometimes and they’re sooo good. But that’s more like dessert for dinner 😉
I remember you always mentioning that you thought it was strange 😛 But I definitely recommend you give it a try sometimes! Savory breakfasts are strange for me too, but given my huge sweet tooth, sweet dinners don’t seem to be a problem.
I too heard more about Boston and people’s feelings on blogs than I did at work or from my friends… Also, I never have thought about putting honey on popcorn! I recently discovered coconut oil and popcorn and how amazing it is, but HONEY …time for popcorn tonight!
fav snacks: fresh fruit sliced thin with greek yogurt “dip”, home made asian dip with celery, jello! my current favorite breakfast for dinner meal is a cubed, roast sweet potato with TVP oats cooked with egg whites, cinnamon, agave and a generous dusting of special dark cocoa powder (Hershey’s- the only way to go!) its just warm & comforting & filling & YUM
I love your honesty & freshness in your blog posts!
Jello! Oh man it’s been way too long since I’ve eaten that wonderfully wiggly stuff. And you’re right – that dinner sounds so comforting.
I really really need watermelon in my life. I am too lost for words on Boston, I feel it is that much harder to put my thoughts into words these past few days
I’m definitely a snacker. Dry cereal is one of my favorites! It’s just so addicting!
I can’t wait until watermelon season is back full blown so that the price of those suckers go down. I love watermelon! I definitely go through up and down days, usually dictated by my appetite or my schedule. I used to be a handful snacker, but I found that it is definitely not for me (although I don’t find anything wrong with the idea of it, however it leaves me unsatisfied). Popcorn is my favorite weekend snack lately. Unfortunately it’s not a very easy snack to take and pop at work haha. 🙂
P.S – Out of curiosity: how do you pop your popcorn?
Oh, and for the popcorn – I air pop them. I have a little popcorn maker and just buy the unpopped kernels and toss them into the machine.
I find that handful snacking doesn’t do that much for me when it comes to satisfying my hunger either, but sometimes I have no idea what I’m craving so my snacking ends up being all over the place. Oops…
It’s crazy to think that some people don’t even know what happened! Although, I live in Boston and that’s probably why it seems so out there. After all, the coverage has been on TV here 24/7 since it happened, and almost all of the status updates from friends on facebook have been about the event. .
This month, I’ve been trying to listen to my body’s hunger signals rather than eat on a schedule (as I tend to do). I found I’ve been happier and more satisfied when I’m listening to my body and not stressing about when/what I’m going to eat next. Some days I have undereaten, some days I have overeaten, but I’m happy and I feel good!
Favorite breakfast is either oatmeal with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and strawberries, or any sort of yogurt bowl.
I’ve been finding lately that it’s so much easier to just roll with it…if I have a day or two where my appetite is less than normal, my body will make up for it. I had that one day last week actually – I just could not get full. But it was after a few days of less-than-stellar appetite, so it didn’t bother me. My body knows what it’s doing.
i’m not the biggest snacker ever, but lately I can’t stay away from pretzels. So good. Although your mention of popchips makes me want to find some of those too…
Favourite breakfast-for-dinner: pancakes and either eggs or bacon. Although, your yogurt messes make a pretty fabulous dinner too!
And one more note (I love how I have a tendency to leave you massive comments) I might have to try that popcorn combo. Like ASAP.
You need to pick up Popchips, and I need to pick up pretzels. I keep meaning to but always end up forgetting. Bah! And -definitely- try honey on popcorn! But just make sure to add salt – the sweet and salty combo is to die for.
I’m a huge snacker, I try to plan out my snacks but there are usually quite a few handfuls of nuts, trail mix, sweet potato wedges that somehow get added in.
I can definitely relate to this post! There are days when I just want to eat everything and others where I don’t have much of an appetite. I think it’s just my body trying to balance things out. 🙂
I have those days when I feel like I too live IN my Kitchen ALLL day long. PLease dont eat a limb though 🙂 Almond butter is becoming a staple in my house and right now I am out of that and peanut butter and I need to make a grocery run asap before I go crazy! Your eggy oats for dinner sound amazing and I love the term chocolate spiked cottage cheese. Delicious!
All that food looks so delicious. At one point in my life I tried to stick to a very exact menu each day, but inevitably life would happen and it would stress me out when I couldn’t stick to it, so I stopped doing that. Nowadays, my intake each day varies quite a bit, and i’m comfortable with that. I think it all comes out even in the end. My favorite breakfast for dinner item is an omelet. i may or may not have an unhealthy obsession with eggs.
I’m a big snacker throughout the day too. Crackers are a big one for me! I can down a whole bag without even realizing.
That is so true about living in two different worlds. I do feel more impacted by this tragedy because of the blogging community. We watch a lot of the news so I am usually in touch with hearing the victims stories but people around me haven’t mentioned it once.
I love cereal for dinner. Quick, easy, and comforting. Although your oats did look perfect for dinner!
chocolate-spiked cottage cheese – YUMM!! I love that. I mostly whip mine up with cocoa powder it tastes like yogurt and cream….bliss.
Nuts or eggs or berries are my favorite snacks – and som spoons of almond butter here and there always happen.
My favorite brinner are pancakes or a oatmess – best with banana, coconut flakes and cinnamon. Wait, I think I have to plan this in real soon!!
YUM eats as always…breakfast twice a day with a turkey sandwich, foamy capp, chocolate and lots of nut butter thrown in sounds right up my alley ;)! Especially recently I have noticed my eating to be all over the place- days where I eat less than normal tend to result in overly hungry days right after. While the latter would have scared me in the past, I kinda embrace it…like you said it all balances out in the end. And the more I listen to my hunger cues, the more comfortable I get doing it and unsurprisingly, the less important food ends up being.
Favorite breakfast meal would be a toss up between eggs and toast or the beloved yogurt mess!
The fact that food is becoming less and less the center of my life is my favorite part of it as well 🙂
Mmm toasted turkey sandwiches! I know what I am having for lunch tomorrow. I hate getting into bed and then get a random craving for something. If I don’t go downstairs and eat whatever it is, I cant sleep! Pathetic really haha.
Honey on popcorn? I need to try that out. Healthified kettlecorn-ish 🙂
It’s super good, especially if you add salt! The sweet and salty combo is just to die for.
As we discussed earlier, my stomach has also been facing some turmoil! Not sure if it has to do with my sleeping patterns, stress. I’ve got to get down to it 😉
I’ve been relying on Breakfast all day basically. It’s the only thing that cures those stomach woes for me.
All your eats sound familiar, since I’ve been eating the same things 🙂
Isn’t almond butter from the jar the best ever. I’ve been obsessed with putting it on some dark chocolate with sea salt. Amazing.
Have a lovely day!!xo
Yum! I’m so happy you are in a different place now. I won’t lie… it’s nice and I kinda like it here 🙂
I’m a big fan myself… I think I’ll set up permanent residence 😉
Woah girl, are we living the same life? Traveling messed with my stomach SO badly this weekend, I could barely stomach anything the entire time I was gone (talked about it today, actually). But when I got home, my appetite was raring and ready to go and since then I’ve been playing catch up. Like you, it would have freaked me out in the past but it’s part of that mindful eating I’m supposed to be working on 😉