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Lately

My Lately posts came in as the top favorite kind of post in my survey (although you are definitely an audience divided!), so I don’t want to change them too much, but my goal moving forward is to provide a little more of the “me” behind my choices. Some weeks will undoubtedly be wordier than others as ideas and thoughts pop up, but I’ll do my best to write more of the why behind : )

Breakfasts

I am struggling to find the right balance between filling up for the day at breakfast and being too full during my 9am workout. I’ve had a couple of athletic conditioning classes that left me feeling like I had a blender in my belly.

My favorite breakfast of the week was this one: a slice of cinnamon swirl bread, 2 scrambled eggs and half a banana. Generally eggs + toast sit really well in my stomach (oatmeal not as well!). I left off the nut butter from this banana because my toast was a big hunk and I figured this breakfast had enough fat, but surprisingly I was hungrier than normal for lunch.

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This big bowl of oatmeal did not do me well at the gym later that morning. Mazen slept a little later than usual so we ate later, and oatmeal really fills me up. It’s the reason it was my go-to breakfast for so many years – it sits heavy in there! Topped with some Love Grown granola and Naturally Nutty Mocha Almond Butter, it was a full meal. Surprise, surprise though – wasn’t hungry till noon!

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I don’t recall my workout association with this oats-in-a-jar breakfast, but nevertheless, it was yummy!

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Workouts

Monday – Fitness Fusion class. We spent most of our time on the bike and ended with some 80s leg lifts and things in the studio next door.

Tuesday – Training with Erin (30 minutes) and a short 20 minutes of cardio before I ducked out to join my friends in the pool. I’ve also been driving to the gym since the weather has been so cold so I’m missing out on those extra 2 miles of walking.

Wednesday – Athletic conditioning! Lots of running and stairs. A great class with some strength mixed in.

Thursday – A 4-ish mile run/walk with the stroller outside in the morning and a 2-ish mile walk in the afternoon.

Friday – Training with Erin (30 minutes) and some stairmastering. (20 minutes)

Saturday – Off for my trip to Nola but a fair amount of walking (I’m publishing this a week after I’m writing it!)

Sunday – Off for my trip home. Zero walking. Only airplane sitting!

Lunches

My lunches have been all over the place – leftovers, random salads or just nibbles that equal a lunch. Too often I eat them standing up at the counter because I’m starving after my workout and shower, and Mazen needs me to change something about his lunch too much to sit down. Lunch used to be such a treat to take a break from my day, but I find these days I’m just itching to get it over with! Such a shame. I could wait until M naps to eat, but then I’d miss out on more important things (like writing this post) so it is what is for now.

This bowl is packed with leftovers – rice, chicken, cheese and some cinnamon chip bread (whole wheat at least!)

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My favorite lunches are soup + toast these days as evidenced by these two, one topped with avocado and one topped with cheese!

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Here’s some leftover tofu green curry from a Cook Smarts dinner! Filled in with rice for carbs and hot sauce for flavor. This bowl didn’t fill me up as much. For some reason I find bread so much more filling than rice or other starches for lunch.

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Dinners

I strayed from Cook Smarts one week and was full of regrets! One night I had planned to make a dish that was supposed to take two hours and didn’t realize that until 6pm. Oops! Instead we made salads with leftovers: chicken, sweet potatoes, cheese and a roll half. Still good, but not on the agenda.

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I did pull from the Cook Smarts vault and found this pasta dish with chickpeas, noodles and kale.

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Mazen liked the noodles and sauce.

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And another night we had the Cook Smarts tofu green curry, which was good but on the watery side for some reason. Probably my mistake.

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Mazen liked it because he loves broccoli!!

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Another salad dinner – because I probably dropped the ball again but I don’t quite remember. This is why meal planning has become so important to me! We used to throw together dinners all the time, but now we’re really enjoying a different and new recipe each night. This salad had cooked zucchini, more leftover chicken and crumbled cheese over baby spinach. At least I had the thought to make a salad dressing from scratch! Our latest favorite is a mix of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and a dill-flavored mustard that adds so much zest.

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Last week was a bit hectic and crazy and I’m hoping this next week is on the calmer side : )

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Even if you had a crazy week, you meals still look awesome! I have never thought about topping my soup with avocado, sometimes my soups can by on the lower end in fat and thus I feel hungry soon after. I am going to try this the next time to see if it fills me up more!

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  3. Having kids in the picture definitely creates a give and take. Something has to give and if for now it’s lunches, well, that’s fine. Thanks for sharing the why behind some of your choices–I found it interesting to read.

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  5. I think I’d struggle with the workout and breakfast timing as well! I usually workout super early and then eat breakfast once I get to work, however there’s about an hour and a half between so I’ll have something small to tide me over. Maybe have a smaller breakfast and a post workout snack?

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  6. It’s interesting to hear about your pre-workout breakfasts! Oddly enough, oatmeal with banana is my favorite thing to eat before a long run. I guess everyone handles food a bit differently, and I’m sure it depends on the type of workout as well. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. just wanted to ask if you make half a cup of oats for your breakfast because for me, oats are not as filling as eggs and toast. I make almost half a cup of dried oats per serving.
    Maybe everyone is different about these things.

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    • I use 1/3 a cup but I add nut butter (always) and sometimes a topping like granola and make it with milk and sometimes cottage cheese so it hits all the food groups and keeps me more full than 1/2 cup oats made with water and fruit alone

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  8. This lately post feels so much more involved in your life and blog than the old ones. In my opinion its a huge improvement, although I’m sure its a bit more work.

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    • I love this post, too. It reminds me of when you used to post three times a day. Love pics and info. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. How about restructuring your morning meal a little now that you are working out in the mornings? You could have something light before the workout (and by light I mean easy to digest.. not heavy).. like a smoothie. And then after the workout have a smaller portion of your regular breakfast foods. You could make baked oatmeal in advance, boil some eggs… or make overnight oats in the summer. Something that you can just pull out and eat without needing to spend time on preparing it.
    That will also buy you more time before you get hungry for lunch.. and you could have a more relaxed one while your son naps.
    Just some ideas… 🙂

    Your food looks amazing.. so fresh and colourful! 🙂

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  15. First off, I gave up bread for lent. OMG!!! I’m drooling over that cinnamon bread. It’s been at least a week of lent not just 1 day right?

    I had been thinking of meal planning a lot lately to get on a budget. But before I try that, I’m going to try meal planning via pinterest. I’ve pinned so many recipes from there that I should be alb ego cook a different meal for the next, oh say…. 30 years. But at least the kids are getting used to me not cooking like I used to.

    Now off to find something for lunch, as I try to remove any memories of how good a pb&j taste on wonder bread classic white bread!

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  16. I don’t know if this appeals to you, but when I go to a 9am workout class I usually have half of breakfast and half after. I’m not too hungry or full for class, and I look forward to refueling after!

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  21. I used to struggle with the pre-workout breakfast too. I’ve since moved my workouts to 5am with a small snack before and breakfast after. I’m home right when my kids are getting up for school and my workout is done for the day. I love it!! My gym has a 5:30 class option M-F including yoga on MWF. If your gym has early classes, I’d recommend trying this option! I’m not sure if it works with Matt’s bakery schedule though?

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  23. what type of cup is Mazen using with his dinner? We’ve been using the safe sippy cup which looks similar but have been having some leaking issues. Thanks!

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  26. Ditto on the mom lunch rush. It’s not often relaxing with a 2.5 yr old and 8 month old, but I feel like its important for us to eat together as a family. I can usually make it fun, but I sure don’t get to savor making or eating my food. Just one of the tradeoffs of life with littles, right?

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  27. Kath, I would love some advice. I’ve always had a problem with gauging how much to eat at dinner…Am I supposed to be a little hungry when I go to bed? I find I can’t sleep if I’m hungry or i’ll wakeup all night. at the same time, I over eat a lot and am not hungry in the morning for breakfast and I am trying to lose weight…only have 10 vanity pounds to lose but have struggled for years and gaining recently with winter blues…any help you can offer is appreciated.

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    • I don’t think you should go to bed hungry, but “not full” would be a good goal. I’d try to work on shifting your meals around so that they are evenly space out in terms of size, macronutrients and time of day.

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  29. I WISH my son still liked broccoli!! (He was a GREAT eater but is now going through a phase…he won’t eat anything, lol!). Ihave become that mom that has to hide veggies in his food (although I don’t really agrees with that motto and try not to do it often!) He “helped” me make a huge batch of this the other day; http://www.bitesforbabies.com/recipes/broccoli-mac-n-cheese-bake/ and even though he KNEW there was broccoli in it, he still devoured it (so did his little sis!). I’m sure Mazen would love it 😉

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  31. Loved this post!!
    Maybe your lunches with bread just have more fats vs the lunch with rice (cheese and avocado vs lower fat tofu curry)…..? I know of my lunch doesn’t include a good portion of fats (usually avocado or nuts) I start looking for a snack sooner than usual.
    Do you have any desserts or snacks?? Not that you have to take pics of every last thing, just hoping you have a random treat sometimes !

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