Cruel to be kind

OH I am a cruel, cruel woman!

After last Carter’s escapades last night, I decided I had to ban The Beautiful One from my room, just for the one night:

It was so difficult..especially when I heard him crying and scrabbling at my door at 11.45pm…or when I woke up to find him curled up in a little ball outside my door in the morning!! Poor baby! But, which is more important – Carter’s happiness, or my sleep? Carter’s happiness My sleep, obviously 😛

Sadly, I woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning, despite the more peaceful night 😦 Partly due to my skankyass virus, and partly due to the skankyass weather – aka, extremely strong wind and grey clouds! NOT good for my 4mile run!

I ate an apple, wheat germ and a rice cake, and then set off (somewhat sniffily)

8.58

9.05

8.49

8.51

The 2nd mile was hell! I was out of the shelter from the trees, and was running directly into the [really reaally strong] wind…HORRIBLE! I just wanted to cry 😦 I mean seriously, it was so windy and loud I couldn’t even hear my music! Suffice to say I was relieved to finish…

I had a scrummy breakfast waiting for me as a reward – overnight oats 😀

1/2 c. oats

1/2c. milk + a bit

1/2 c. yogurt

1/2 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp Vega chocolate smoothie mix

I warmed the bowl up (I was cold) by a bit of microwave/Aga action, and mixed in melted hot banana:

On the side – freshly picked blackberries and a tiny bit of cereal, with almonds on top:

So, so lovely 🙂

I was going to have a lunge lesson on Chika after breakfast (to honour Horsey Humpday, obvs), but I just couldn’t face it 😦 Nothing against Chika (I luff her!), but I was just in one of those terribly sad moods 😦 my mum helped by a) giving me a huge hug, b) telling me she felt exactly the same when she was sick last week, and c) offering to lunge Chika for me. She’s the best!!!

I cheered myself up by going to Waitrose for the weekly shop (and then getting angry when the strong wind blew half my bags over, in front of a car, whilst I was walking with the trolley, resulting in my scrabbling to pick up loose garlic, an aubergine and some cereal, whilst an angry driver looked on), before coming home for a yummy lunch.

I attacked my crazy squash that’s been in hiding for a while!

I roasted it alongside some bbq-salt seasoned carrot fries, parsnip and broccoli. Along with all that, I mashed up 1/2 c. red kidney beans with hummus:

And spread it on a slice o’ toast:

A fig accompaniment:

Simply fabulous! Hummus is always a win IMHO 😀 As is the square of 85% Lindt which may or may not have been consumed too….

In the arvo, I spent an age and a half reading through a huge thick psychology research paper in prep for my dissertation (as fun as it sounds), as well as picking 491g of blackberries:

Hurrah!

I also had an unpictured snack of a fresh fig and a 1/4c. cereal <- I wasn’t hungry, but I’m worried (seeing as I never get hungry for snacks) that my metabolism will become snail-like, so I thought a lil somethin’ somethin’ would do me good 😀

Currently, I’m baking oatmeal bars for my mum 😀 Packed with oats, hazelnuts, buckwheat, raisins, dried figs, apricots, pecans and hazelnuts! Quite the mix. Then I shall move onto dinner…

Dinner – last night, it was sooo ace!

Buckwheat & lentils:

Basil tofu:

Roast veggies – broccoli, squash, parsnip.

 

I mixed the buckwheat/lentils with tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, stock and mixed herbs, and when it was done cooking, I stirred in the broccoli and parsnip:

Oohhh it was THE scrummiest meal in a loooooong time!! Seriously, like proper wow. I actually plan on having a total repeat of it tomorrow 😀 And hopefully I’ll be able to slow down and enjoy it a bit more – I had to eat fast cos I was going to my BFF’s house 🙂

My bestie and I had such a nice time 🙂 We just talked, non-stop! LIke, no background noise or TV..just talking 🙂 And a lot (A LOT) of facebook stalking too….grubby skinny lanky 17yr old boys who used to go to our school are now handsome buff mature 20yr old men! I can’t believe how much people change in 3yrs!

It makes me really, really want to go to a reunion in like, 10yrs…I’m hoping my healthy living will mean that I’ll have a (slightly orange, due to all the squash) glow and be fit and bouncy, whilst 99% of people I used to know will be puffed with one too many McDonalds and look 10yrs older than they are….am I being cruel? Maybe. But high school was NOT enjoyable for me, and I sure know the reason why. I’m allowed to dream!!!

Anyway, uh, I seem to have rambled somewhat….I’ll shut up now 😛

Question – have you ever been to a school reunion? What was it like? Orrr if you haven’t, would you want to go to one?

Did you like high school? I was sooo miserable there…my ED started during my last 2yrs there, and I think that place and the people had a lot to do with why 😦

Hmm…let’s finish with a happy note! A bad joke maybe?

Why was the chicken happy?

Everything was egg-cellent….ha!

Hmph.

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Sleep, Interrupted

Boy did I have a messed up sleep last night!

• Cat jumped on me, woke up.
• Bathroom break, got up.
• Cat jumped on me, woke up.
• Couldn’t breathe due to virus/cold, woke up.
• Cat jumped on me, woke up.
• Had a dream I had a ma-hoosive argument with my mum, woke up crying (!!)
• Cat jumped on me, woke up.

Twas an interesting night, albeit not a peaceful one I’m amazed I had the energy to do anything today to be honest! Especially since I woke up feeling somewhat crummy, due to the virus my mum gave me. In a way, it’s a good thing though – cos it means I had it on Sunday, which may explain my struggles at the end of the 16miler!! Hurrah 😀

Anyway.

Dinner last night was not particularly imaginative. In fact, it was a repeat of Saturday’s dinner:

Kamut tagliatelle with a peanut butter/soy sauce/tofu sauce, with aubergine, parsnip and kabocha – Simple, but delicious!

I was hit by a major chocolate craving in the evening though, which only one thing could solve –

Oh yes, LINDT 85%!! I can’t believe how long it’s been since I had some…it was SO good. The chocolate to end all chocolate cravings..yeh, it hit that spot 100%. I went to bed happy 😀

——-

Tuuuesday, I hate Tuesdays.

I had an apple pre DVD workout (just under an hour), and then had a breakfast date with myself 🙂 In the mix:

• 1 c. cereal
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. yogurt
• strawberries
• 1 tbsp hemp seed
• 1 frozen banana
• aunt grown swiss chard

Topped with dates, Grape Nuts and homemade plum jam, with a side of blackberries:

Note the splinters of cacao…yes, my cacao block has been finished 😥

Yum!

The morning was spent picking some blackberries (I had a competition with myself to see who could fit the most blackberries in my mouth. Shockingly, I won :p), riding, sneezing and tidying. Quite the wild one right!? That’s how I roll 😀

Lunch was good though – I was feeling INSPIRED!!!! So much so, I created a recipe 😀

Sweet Potato….ok, I’m stuck – are they fritters? Cakes? Or barjis (sp?)? Help! Anyway –

• 1 grated sweet potato (about 150g ish)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp or so onion powder
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp flour (I used wholemeal spelt flour)
• a splash of soy sauce
• 1/2 an apple (a small one), grated

Mix:

Shape into pattie type things:

Fry over a lowish heat for…like….15mins? 20? You’ll know 🙂

The mix is pretty delicate at first, but the longer it cooks, the better it holds together 😀 So when it’s super easy to flip, you’ll know you’re almost there!!

Before you see ze fineeshed product, the rest of lunch!

Barbeque Style Beans

• 1/2 c. red kidney beans
• tomato puree
• apple cider vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• molasses
• smoked garlic

All mixed up:

Then microwaved to warm through. BUT! We’re not there yet 😛

I also roasted the other half of the apple with cinnamon, agave and parsnip, and served everything together with grilled aubergine and a fresh fig (phew):

The more I photo something, the more I liked it 😛

The final, wonderful, mouthful…

Oohh yayayayayaya!!!!!

The sweet potato stuff was so wonderfully good! I LOVED it! The texture and the taste was fah-bulous! I’m proud of myself 😀 (though I don’t want to toot my own trumpet here). I recommend you make it, rather strongly. Really.

After all that excitement, the rest of the afternoon kinda disappeared into oblivion, but it did consist of a square of Lindt:

And an apple 🙂

And Heat magazine, and reading for my dissertation this year…oh the joy.

And more tidying.

And mucking out :s

Sadly, I have to finish my post somewhat abruptly now – I’m off to see one of my besties tonight, who has been working in a land far, far away (aka Leeds) for the past 6 weeks. This is my last chance to see her before she flits off bak to uni, so I better go rush and make some dinner 😀

Y’all have a good evening!

Question: Did anyone watch Jamie’s Food Revolution last night? It was the one that was on in the US ages ago, but has only just been shown here. What did you think? i loved it, but ohmygosh kids are fed *CRAP* in schools!!! I don’t know the outcome, but I really hope he succeeds – I ❤ Jamie 🙂

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