Setting the tone

Good Saturday to you all! I am having a terrific day already. I got up early and hit the gym for Body Pump, which I have missed dearly. I actually thought class was cancelled again, but Emily showed up and saved the day.

I love kicking off the weekend with a sweaty workout. It just sets the tone. After working out I hit up Target to get some laundry detergent and they had Pineapple Chobani. If that’s not a surefire sign that it’s going to be a good weekend, I don’t know what is.

Let’s zip through yesterday though, since it was a pretty decent day as well. I didn’t get any pictures of Friday Breakfast, because we had to head straight into a meeting and eat there. It was pretty standard though – egg casserole. I actually think breakfast casseroles might be in my Top 20 Fave Foods, but that list is ever-changing.

Lunch was leftover Chickpea Pesto Pasta.

chickpea pesto pasta

It was alright. I didn’t really have enough leftover pesto to make that dish a winner though. Next time I’ll know better.

Later on I snacked on some watermelon.

watermelon

After work I went on a walk downtown with my SIL. It was crazy hot out so we walked through the underground tunnels. One hallway was all kinds of trippy and made us feel like we were on drugs. I felt the need to take a picture.

trippy hall

After walking I FINALLY got to go to the grocery store. I kept myself in check and didn’t buy too much, but it felt good to have a semi-full fridge once again. I took advantage of my co-op and grocery store goodies and made a beast of a salad.

beasty salad

The salad had organic greens, organic tomatoes, roasted organic broccoli, roasted corn off the cob, sliced radishes and feta cheese. Dare I say it was the best salad I’ve made in 2010? Summer veggies make all the difference.

salad

I continued the tradition of being fairly lame and staying in for the night. If I go out on Fridays then I don’t wake up for Body Pump. Plus, I’m always worn out by Friday. Still, a little lame but oh well.

I just finished eating a breakfast that was the opposite of lame. It was a badass breakfast.

epic breakfast

I had Eggs in a Basket for the first time ever.

eggs in a basket

I don’t know why it took me so long to try this. I loved it. I also had a Pineapple Chobani. It had to happen.

pineapple chobani

To top it all off I had some of my co-op cherries.

cherries

Now I’m just sitting on the patio, blogging and enjoying the gorgeous summer weather. The remainder of the day will likely be spent by the pool.

Life is good.

My first co-op experience

I would like to make a public declaration this morning:

I think protein oats are the gaggiest food on the planet.

I’ve tried to like them, but they turn my stomach every time. Never again will I waste good oatmeal and good protein powder by combining them. Blech.

protein oats

Because I didn’t eat my breakfast yesterday and had no food backups at work, I was positively hangry by the time lunch rolled around.

I learned from the ever brilliant Lisa that yesterday was National Egg Day, and never one to turn down a food holiday – I celebrated with an egg burrito.

egg burrito

I also satisfied a week-long craving of having a chocolate shake. A friend mentioned having one on Sunday, and I’ve been wanting one ever since.

I’m a firm believer that the only way to get rid of a craving is to satisfy it. I had a small shake and ate it with a spoon. No more craving!

chocolate shake

Work kind of dragged by yesterday. I’ve been having a lovely bout of insomnia this week and I felt like I was going to pass out at my desk all day.

The only thing that got me through it was the anticipation of picking up my first ever co-op share after work!

co-op goodies

I went with a lesser known co-op in Edmond (email me for more info, they don’t have a website) because they don’t have a membership fee. You just pay a flat rate each time you want to order a share, and everything is supposedly organic (although I’m not sure that’s true).

I was pretty impressed with the haul! My sister-in-law and I split the share because I didn’t think I’d be able to eat it all myself before stuff started going bad.

co-op goodies

This is all the stuff we had to split in half. You’ve got carrots, green grapes, half a huge zucchini, cherries, and half a cantalope.

co-op beets

And beets! I’m in love with beets right now, but I’ve never cooked them myself. I’m more than a little scared of the mess, but excited to eat them.

co-op broccoli

I got to have all the broccoli because my SIL can’t have it. That’s a lot of broccoli. I have an idea for it though.

farm fresh eggs

I also ordered a dozen farm fresh, organic eggs. I’m kind of scared of these too for some reason, but I’m sure they’ll be good.

co-op tomatoes and avocado

There were also tomatoes and an avocado. As well as some strawberries and peaches, which I didn’t get a solo shot of and blueberries that I let my SIL have because I’m not a huge lover of blueberries. Oh, and a container of organic spring greens.

I have a lot of eatin’ to do!

After I put away my goodies, I realized that it had been 8 hours since I’d had my last meal. Yikes! Good thing my SIL had sent me home with some lentil curry to have for dinner.

lentils

The curry featured eggplant, zucchini and lentils and it was delicious. She told me to top it with feta, so I obliged.

For dessert I had my cantalope half filled with some strawberries.

cantaloup with strawberries

Like summer in a bowl. I was in heaven.

I had planned on going to Body Pump last night as well, but it was cancelled. Honestly, that was kind of a blessing in disguise. My body was angry yesterday.

Sleep deprivation can really take a toll on a person very quickly. Also, my left foot has been hurting lately and I think I needed to take a day off of vigorous exercise. I did 40 minutes of random OnDemand workouts, but nothing too challenging.

I still didn’t sleep well last night, but I don’t feel as worn out today as I did yesterday so I think the break served me well. Hopefully this weekend I can catch up on some zzz’s.

One thing that makes me fairly certain that I wasn’t built for the 8 to 5 lifestyle is how poorly I sleep during the week.

I go to bed at 10 and don’t fall asleep until well after midnight. And when I do sleep it’s kind of that lucid sleep where I never actually feel like I’m asleep, if that makes any sense. So I wake up the next morning feeling like death.

During the weekends, when the pressure to conform to a certain sleep schedule is off, I sleep like a baby. It’s weird.

Just thought I’d share that because I know a lot of people deal with insomnia, and it sucks. I feel ya.

Have you ever joined a co-op or a CSA program? Did you like it?

Any tips on how to make protein oatmeal less disgusting?

Lycopene Toxicity?

So apparently I’m in a food rut. I don’t know when it came to be that I ate tomato-based products at every meal, but it has happened. I don’t really see a problem with it though, because tomatoes are delicious and nutritious. I’m hoping that there’s no such thing as a lycopene toxicity!

I have to preface the display of the following pictures by saying that some friends randomly stopped by the apartment last night, and distracted me from my usual semi-decent photography. I apologize in advance.

For dinner last night a made a pizza, containing two tomatoey items – tomato sauce and tomatoes in the flesh.

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The pizza was topped with olives and green peps in addition to the tomato love, and of course lots o’ cheese! Geez, I’m so embarassed to post that picture. But the pizza was delicious, I assure you!

I also had a teeny bit of some veggie soup that TAYLOR COOKED – also containing tomatoes.

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Taylor rarely cooks, but she should do so more often because this soup was great! She underestimates her skills!

While my friends were over detailing their exciting lives (I have become the boring friend who works 8 to 5 and rarely misbehaves, so it’s always fun to hear their adventures) I assembled a vegetarian chili to have for dinner tomorrow. Oh yes, there were definitely lots of tomato products up in there.

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Yeah, it just looks like a big ol’ pot of tomato, but I assure you there are lots of beans and onions and spices in there too. I’ll have a better pic of it tonight. I’m happy I thought to make this ahead, because I hate having to eat so late after my yoga classes. Plus, chili gets better after sitting for a day. I can’t wait to eat it!

Lights… Camera… Action???

I have been informed that I am going to have to do a screen test for a DVD my company is producing for the government. Ummm… I don’t remember putting “actress” down on my resume.

My boss told me that I was auditioning for the part, and I informed him that to audition that would mean that I wanted to be an actress, lol. He said that I could just be a stand-in for now, but I think that might be a trick.

I’m a little scared to walk into the hallway for fear I’ll be noticed and asked to begin my acting debut, but I guess the only thing I can do about it is be a good sport and not think about it too much.

I was in drama in high school, but something about being in front of a camera crew with my boss and other coworkers around is highly unnerving!

In Other News

I officially registered for the Fitbloggin ’10 Conference in Baltimore! Caitlin will be there as a speaker and I know of a few other bloggers that are going. Plus it’s close to my man friend! I’m so excited! And you should go too!

The lovely Madison is having a wonderful 100th post giveaway! If you’ve seen her blog, you know she is an amazing baker. Enter the giveaway for a chance to win some baked goods from the lady herself!

Oh, and because it didn’t fit into the post anywhere else – I did work out last night. I walked to the gym, did 45 minutes on the elliptical, and ran home. ‘Twas delightful!