Pages

Showing posts with label challah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label challah. Show all posts

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Montuednesday?

Hear ye, hear ye, I now announce the coming of a new day of the week: Montuednesday.  On this day, all bloggers catch up on the astonishing amount of time they have skipped over.  It comes after Wednesday and before Thursday, and no one really knows how it got there... oooooh.

OK, fine, I know how it got there... I got lazy.  But here we go!

Monday
Easiest to catch up on because almost nothing happened! Monday was Yom Kippur, as all 7 of my followers know, so I didn't eat.  My family is pretty lax about the whole fasting thing, but I think we did a solid 21 hours.  The past few years I've had more trouble with the fast, and instead of reading or watching TV after services, I just sleep.  Not because I want to, but because I can't really muster up the energy to do anything else.  I came up with a few things I'd like to change this year re: friends, interests, and my career, but I don't know if that's really repenting.  It's kind of more like resolving.

We went to our family friends' house to break the fast, and I really don't think I went overboard, despite being VERY hungry.  I had some of my mom's noodle kugel (!), salad, a bagel with lox, tomato, onion and cream cheese, some fresh potato salad, a baby scoop of tuna, and some homemade apple sauce.  I ate slowly, though, and really wasn't stuffed by the end.  I had a whole day's worth of food to catch up on!  I kept looking around patiently, wondering when the coffee would appear, and panicked for a moment wondering if maybe there wasn't going to be any, but eventually it came out with dessert.  PHEW.  I guess our host is not the same addict that my mom and I are.  For dessert I had some fruit salad, more applesauce, and a tiny sliver of a danish ring because I was saving myself for chocolate babka at home!  YUM.  I did have the babka when we got home, and also some almonds, because I was still hungry!  Not munchy -- hungry.  Somehow.

Tuesday
I decided to stick around in Larchmont for an extra day and eat my mom's food spend time with the family. I actually really enjoy being at home, and could have stayed longer, but it's better for me to be in the city during the work week, even if I'm not going to the office every day.  I also get pretty lazy about working out when I'm at home because I don't have a gym to go to, and I don't always feel like running.  (It's hilly there!)  So I end up coming up with excuses and feeling very sedentary.

I worked from home on Tuesday, and had some pretty basic meals... oatmeal in the AM, turkey sandwich on raisin challah <3 with TJ's Butternut squash soup for lunch with Mom.  I LOVE challah.  Just take a look at this beauty!



Carb fest! 



Leftover from Monday -- I took two home (1 sesame, 1 everything -- my two favorites) and froze them for later deliciousness.

Since I had spent a few days lingering idly around the house, I offered to help prepare dinner for the family: Taco Tuesday!  A family tradition. Well, day of the week doesn't matter, but it is a classic for us. I think I have a mental block against making these for myself because it's a "family thing," but I should really do it.  It's nice to have healthified Mexican food once in a while, as opposed to the cheesy, oversized stuff.  I made this avocado/tomato salad:




1 avocado
1 plum tomato + some grape tomatoes
2 tbsp red onion
salt
pepper
2 tsp lime juice

Really easy and a nice alternative to guacamole.  The rest of our toppings include refried beans, ground beef or turkey, salsa, reduced fat cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and plain yogurt or light sour cream.

Wednesday
Back to real life.

I copied Kath (ew, sorry, that's kind of an icky post) for breakfast, and put my oatmeal/oat bran in an almost empty PB jar to help "clean" it out :)  That PB was good, but a little sweet/fake tasting for me.  Obviously not too bad, since I had no trouble finishing the jar...



I still want to check out the PB restaurant in the Village!  I hope it can stand up to my favorite PB&J stand next to gate A8 at DTW Airport.  Ah, the memories.



I went into the office, where my friends at the front security desk were very happy to see me.  I have to check in everyday because I don't have a real badge.  Sometimes they joke around with me, but I can never tell when they're serious and when they're joking, so I usually start off my mornings with an awkward giggle and run off to the elevator.  Awkwardness is not necessary before 9am.  They talk to each other in Spanish and I always try to listen, but they kind of mumble so it's too hard for me to hear.  My hope is to one day overhear something and say, "You know, I can understand you."  I can't imagine they're saying anything super interesting.  Probably, "Why is she always sweating when she gets here?"

(FYI it's because I walk briskly!  And the subway station is really warm!  And I'm carrying a 15 pound computer bag!)

I did not pack enough food for myself, and I was starving by the time I left work around 6.  It was actually a normal amount of food (small tuna sandwich, my sauteed veggie mix + lentils + fresh basil, chocolate Stonyfield yogurt), but my metabolism was going nuts.  I think it's leftover hunger from the fast.  Or maybe it was my morning workout?  Ugh, it was DARK when I left for the gym.  Dark!  At 6:30am!  Daylight Savings Time???  Where are youuuu? I have to say, working out in the morning is NOT my favorite, but it is definitely the best way to do everything I want to do and still be able to have a social life after work.  But if it's gonna be dark out when I leave, I just might switch back to evenings this winter...

Thankfully dinner only involved reheating leftovers from Sunday night.




Perhaps not the most photogenic meal, but sooo good.  Asparagus, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, of course, and a Moroccan chicken dish with prunes and almonds.  Oh, but mine doesn't have almonds.  Oops, I forgot, Mom! I don't care how "grandma" they are, prunes are amazing.  I mean... "dried plums".  I ate a little too quickly because I was hungry and on a time crunch, but this was just as delicious the 2nd time around.  Thanks, Mom!

Other notes
Leslie, you won the wheat challenge! That mustard has wheat in it!  So unnecessary.  Good thing I'm done with that diet, because that happens to be my favorite honey mustard.  Only partly because it's in a squirty bottle and I don't need a knife.  Leslie, when my blog starts getting commercially sponsored, I will send you a dairy-free sample of something.

A CHALLENGE!  Let's see if I can get up to the double digits in followers... if you're reading and not following, please follow!  I will feel good.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Work From Home Day!

My goodness, catching up on the blog front is NOT easy.

A quick recap of my Friday working from home:

7:00 Wake up
7:45 Gym (finally did some leg work... I'm usually too lazy to bother because I like my legs already, but people have told me it's good to build the muscle so as not to injure yourself)
9:15 Breakfast -- oats, blueberries, almond butter (I added a little of my MojaMix ala Katie to my usual oats for funsies. It looked like the bowl below before I added the rest of my fun...)



10:00 Email
10:30 Blog reading
11:00 Out for an appt
1:00 Lunch -- can of Healthy Valley 3 Bean Chili with plain Greek yogurt and Mary's Gone Crackers (gluten free, baby!) + a side of The Office.



2:00 Gossip Girl + some work
3:00 Call doctor
3:30 Respond to an email, eat a plum
4:00 Shower (yup, I sat around dirty all day)
5:00 Yogurt snack
6:00 Train to Larchmont!

As you can see, I accomplished many things. Ok, I'm exaggerating, I did more work than that, but it was definitely a slow day, as Consultant Fridays often are.

I was kind of out of food and managed to improvise lunch, thanks to the magic of canned foods. I always like to keep soups and veggie burgers on hand for Fridays when I get home after being away all week. Eggs would be a good one too, but I don't always have those. Anyway, I was very grateful to come home to a delicious mommy-made meal: matzo ball soup, brisket, mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows (MY FAVORITE! She still does it for me and my brother as if we were kids...), asparagus, broccoli, raisin challah, and chocolate babka! SO good.

I was trying to eat gluten free this week as an experiment fueled by feeling good last week -- and realizing the only main thing I cut out was wheat (and chocolate). However, that obviously didn't work. Like I was going to pass up challah and babka for some unproven theory? Pshhhh, no way. Sooo, trying again starting today. Shana Tova!