Yesterday morning I woke up bright and early to squeeze in a good breakfast, work out, and finish packing for San Jose.
Before I started reading blogs and was inspired to eat more creatively, I would often eat the same thing day after day, meal after meal. When I was student teaching my kids could guess what was in my lunch box (soup and raw veggies). In grad school I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a pear for weeks on end. When I was teaching (fo-real) it was usually warm Grapenuts cereal with milk and fruit.
A lot of people have never tried Grapenuts cereal warmed (from the weird looks I got in the teacher’s lounge), but I thought, and still think, it is really good. It’s something oatmeal lovers could appreciate and it was the inspiration for Friday morning’s breakfast.
If I can eat warm Grapenuts, can I also eat warm Uncle Sam cereal? Why yes I can.
I mixed and then heated 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup Uncle Sam’s cereal with 1/2 sliced banana in the microwave. I topped with 1/2 cup Chobani Greek yogurt, ~1 Tbsp. almond butter, a drizzle of honey, and some dried berries.
This was really delicious and a great alternative if you want something warm and filling, but you don’t want to wait for oatmeal to cook.
One thing I would change: I think I added a little too much almond milk. Next time I’ll try a different ratio like 1/2 cup cereal: 1/3 cup almond milk.
After breakfast settled, I ran 7 miles on the treadmill (it was still dark when I started so I opted to stay inside) on hill mode, level three. My time was about 62 minutes. Another negative aspect of running on the treadmill: the ones in our condo’s gym will only let you run for 60 minutes so when you need to run longer, you have to start over and you lose a little time waiting for the treadmill to pick up speed after stopping. Even still, I thought my time was pretty decent.
After a quick shower, frantic packing ensued. I almost lost my head when I realized that my small suitcase was not going to close over five days worth of clothes and shoes. Luckily, Brad screwed my head back on and went downstairs to the storage unit on the first floor to retrieve our larger suitcase.
I packed a quick lunch to eat in the car while Brad drove me to the airport.
I packed this exact same sandwich from a few days ago, so you get the same exact photo. I also packed two carrots and a pomegranate Chobani. I managed to get down 1/2 my sandwich, one carrot, and the yogurt, sharing a bit with Brad.
I don’t eat pomegranate that much, but I really liked this flavor. Brad was perplexed by the chewy seeds, since he had no idea what he was eating, until I explained they were pomegranate seeds. Maybe I should try buying an actual pomegranate. It was pretty tasty in the yogurt. I imagine you could put them in oatmeal, over salads, or maybe something even more creative.
Once I got to the airport I had just enough time to blog and swing by Starbuck$. I ordered a green tea latte. As soon as I voiced my order the women beside me who was gathering her change, turned around, smiled at me, and said “That’s what I always order!”. It’s funny the things strangers bond over.
It was supposed to be unsweetened, but it was most definitely sweet. I wasn’t in the mood to complain so I just drank it anyway, until I reached the end where it got way too sweet. I trashed the last few sips.
I felt like a weirdo getting out my camera for plane food photos, so I just didn’t. I ate the rest of my sandwich and last carrot around 2:30 pm. Then at 5 pm I pulled out a bag of pistachios and ate about half, plus three clementines. I can’t stand plane food, although I succumb to it once in a while. I always try to pack something to eat so I don’t feel gross or hungry during long flights.
During the flight I read Skinny Bitch in it’s entirety and all I have to say for now is WOW. Skinny Bitch is (I’m stealing this from a review I read once) a vegan manifesto disguised as a diet book.
And for the second time (on my way to the exact same conference!) I have cried on a plane in front of perfect strangers. I now have no problem crying in public, obviously. Last year, crying ensued at the end of In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, which is about the Mirabal sisters, who basically help start a revolution in the Dominican Republic. Trust me, I’m not giving anything away by saying “I cried”. You know it’s going to end badly on the first page.
This time, the tears were for a much different reason. I’m still gathering my thoughts on this book and there are definitely things that I don’t like about it, like the senseless profanity and belittlement of people who practice unhealthy behaviors. BUT, the message in isolation is pretty profound and I can understand how one might be moved to make major life changes after reading this book.
So why the tears? You’ll never understand unless you actually go read the chapter that has direct quotes from employees of slaughter houses. Yes, we all know that animals die to make meat and yes, we all know that slaughter houses may or may not use exclusively human practices. But, have you ever thought about what inhumane practice actually mean? Well, Skinny Bitch puts it out there in black and white. I don’t think I could ever repeat what I read verbally or in writing, but this book made it clear that inhumane practice basically means torture. I really don’t believe that anyone who has or has ever shared a bond with an animal, could read this chapter and not have an emotional reaction to it.
And that’s all I have to say about that…for now.