Larabars to the rescue

Day 2 of the Unprocessed Foods Challenge and going strong! Breakfast was easy again with my trusty oatmeal. Today I added almond butter (I'm not usually too picky about which brand I get, but the Maranatha crunchy almond butter is almost sinfully delicious and has turned me into a believer), raspberries, and shredded coconut. And coffee + soy. In my Cool Moose mug, which I use pretty much everyday.

I made lunch to bring with me to the IBM office, where I try to go when I'm working from home. I am a lot more productive at the office than at my apartment, where I am constantly tempted by my devious friends, Netflix and DVR. In an attempt to avoid garnering (further) unwanted attention from my fellow IBMers (I'm already barking like a large dog from this season's Freya Cough), I chose to photograph my lunch and snacks at home before I left this morning.

Lunch:
- organic arugula salad with roasted beets, avocado, leftover happy chicken, red onion, a few sweet potato "fries", and pine nuts that I toasted in a dry pan this morning. Tossed with EVOO and balsamic vinegar
- leftover polenta (just ground corn meal and oil!)

Close-up of my salad... it looked a lot prettier before I shook it up with the dressing... oops.

I roasted those beets over the weekend with a little EVOO and salt. You just throw it into the oven on a baking sheet for 25 mins at 425*. I like to roast lots of vegetables at once and then stick them in the fridge to have for the week. Potatoes don't stay well, but beets do! To quote Doug Funnie, "Beets are nature's candy, dontcha know?"

Snacks (for this afternoon):
- watermelon chunks and 3 fresh figs
- peanut butter cookie LARABAR! one of the best flavors ever (if only I could ever locate the PB&J one again... le sigh :( )

I think Larabars are probably going to be my sweet-tooth savior this week:

Can you see that? It says "Unprocessed" right on the wrapper! This is where the whole unprocessed thing bugs me... My Larabar is mass-produced, packaged, and shipped all over the place, but it's technically ok for this diet, whereas a slice of bread really isn't? Just seems a little hypocritical.

Last night I hard-boiled a couple of eggs for salads this week, but I passed on having one today because I will probably be having eggs for dinner at tonight's EXCEPTION NIGHT! I know, I know, it's been 36 hours, but we have been planning on going to dinner at Permanent Brunch for WEEKS. Challenge or no challenge, I am not passing up on this place. And since the chances of finding unprocessed food at a restaurant with an artisanal bacon bar seem slim to none, Alex and I agreed to take tonight off. Pictures to come :)