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Food Friends-y

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Potlucks define the relationship between food and fellowship.  A group of people that gets together, each one bringing food to share with the others, spending time with one another and food is at the centre of it all.  Better than a dinner party or a fancy restaurant meal, a potluck means everyone brings a favourite dish or something they know others will love, pile up their plates with a ton of different foods, and digs in while hanging out with people they (hopefully) love.

Is there anything better for someone who loves food and friends?  I think not.

Lunch today was, obviously, a delicious potluck.  Unfortunately, something I ate didn’t make friends with my digestive system, but that’s okay because whatever it was, was worth eating. :)

I Eat

So the potluck was Sunday lunch, and yesterday’s lunch was more eating with friends at AYCE sushi.  No photos of that smorgasbord, or the potluck, because sometimes I get too busy chatting with peeps that I forget to take food pics.

I wouldn’t dare forget to photograph my lovely breakfasts, though. :)

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This was the last of my (1/2 c.) oat bran, with 1 c. water + 1/2 c. almond milk + 1/2 nan + cinnamon + banana nut granola + cinnamon + almond butter.

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Mmm, GF waffles + yogurt + trail mix + cinnamon.  And a dried out egg on the side.

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Today’s oatmeal was prettiest.  The usual nan base with raspberries + slivered almonds + pumpkin seeds + peanut butter on top.

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And a whole lot of sunshine was served alongside this one.  Delish.

Supper on Friday was a beige meal.  It was craving colour, and I didn’t deliver.

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Baked seasoned chicken + leftover mashed tater + baked onions + zucchini.  The chicken breast was huge so I only ate half, and saved the other half for the Sunday night stir fry.

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These green disks were the best part.

Supper last night?  Oatmeal!  It was a mini bowl from the microwave and was hideous looking and deserved no photo.  Yep, that bad.

Supper tonight was a pretty normal stir fry.  Some chicken + onion + broccs + toms on top of basmati rice made for a quick supper.

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I love broccs these days… the little green trees of tasty.

I Move

Friday – I hit the gym after work and did a quick treadmill warm up and then triceps + shoulders with free weights.  It felt a bit half-hearted, but my arms are a bit sore two days later, so maybe I did more than I realized?  One can hope.

Saturday – I shopped until I dropped.  Shopping all morning is a lot of walking!  Carrying heavy bags makes it harder, too. ;)  I was pooped when I got home and promptly planted myself on the couch for the night.

Sunday – Out for a run just shy of 11k this afternoon.  I was really tired after the potluck, but after a snack of an apple + tea, I decided to gear up and get out the door.  I’m amazed at how much your head plays into running.  My head was in it, and I could zone out for good chunks of it just thinking about recent conversations, future goals, the week ahead and dream vacations.  It ended up being my longest run in a few weeks.  My legs are tired in a very good way.

Ahh, tomorrow is Monday.  Mondays always fly by, I find.  Back to the routine… but before that, I have a tea + blog reading evening ahead of me. 

Hope you had a great weekend!

Adi 

Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Oatmeal, Running | 6 Comments »

Mushaboom

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Tomorrow is Friday.  Where did the week go?!  I love when that happens.  Disappearing weeks should be mandatory for all federal government employees.  And for everybody.

I Eat

Oats in a jar should also be a mandatory breakfast every single Wednesday.  Too bad the lighting wasn’t agreeing with my camera – most of the shots didn’t turn out.

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Believe me when I say this jar was loaded with oat bran and t-mix toppings.  Of course, there was a ridiculous amount of peanut butter consumed, too.  I think that might just be the secret to having a good hump day: eat excessive nut butter.

Today’s oats were way more photogenic.  They must have seen ANTM last night.

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This was 1/2 c. oat bran + 1/2 c. almond milk + 1 c. water + 1/2 nan + cinnamon + almond slices + pumpkin seeds + flax + peanut butter + cinnamon.

I love you.

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The infamous Crate and Barrel spoon that shows up in oat bowls around the blogosphere is great because it’s small, which makes Oat Devourers slow down the devouring process.  However, it lacks a sharp edge.  That means I can’t scrape every last ounce of yum out of my bowl, which leads me to consider licking the bowl. 

This, friends, is one of the joys of being a single girl and eating breakfast in solitude. ;)

Last night’s supper was kind of lacking in, I don’t know, a lot.  I took a chicken breast and covered it with some dijon + rosemary + salt n pepa and baked it, paired it with some mashed taters (eeee! yum) and steamed carrots, and declared it dinner.

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And no, this is not a full sized dinner plate – I like the taters, but not that much.

The rest of the chicken + tato leftovers were lunch at work today.

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Up close and personal with the rosemary.

I turned into a munch face after and snacked the night away!  It’s that darn Bear Naked Banana Nut granola.  Killing me slowly.

Tonight’s supper could easily win me number one spot in the most pathetic looking plate category for the food photography awards.

But it tasted awesome!

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There was no way to make this look nice.  Maybe if I stood the toast upright and drew a face on it with ketchup, it would have been an improvement.

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Inside the double egg omelette was mushies + spinach + green onion.  Normally I throw the shrooms in raw, but tonight I cooked them a bit first and it made a big difference.  Way tastier, much more mushaboom.

I Move

Wednesday – I savoured my rest day and did nothing. :) Well, I walked to work, but that was it.

Thursday – Walked to work, ran on the treadmill after work.  Have you ever tried a new cardio machine and because you’re not used to it, find it hard to get a sense of balance?  I’ve tried two different treadmills at the office gym, and for both of them, it takes me the first third of my time to stop feeling like I’m going to fall off the side.  I was actually running and holding onto the machine with one hand for a few minutes.  It’s the strangest feeling… please don’t tell me I’m the only one!

Alright, time to get ready for Friday.  I’m sensing a good weekend on the horizon… partly because two foodie favourites are coming – potluck and sushi.  No weekend can be bad when it includes both those! 

Have a good one, and thanks for stopping by Oatonomy. :)

Adi

Posted in Breakfast, Gym, Oatmeal, Running, Walk | 7 Comments »

Perv Patrol

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

When duty calls, I answer it!  Remember the Pantless Wonder I blogged about a couple of months ago?  You know, the guy who jumped out of the trees with no pants on and scared me to death while I was biking?

Well friends, there was another spotting.  This time, it wasn’t so innocent.  No way was he going to continue to get away with his ick-ness, so I called the Po to catch him!  I’ve never called 911 before, and I admit, it was exciting.  I was at the bus stop making the call, when Merv the Perv saw me on my cell phone, and then ran back into the trees.  Maybe he’ll be on the run now – I’m hoping so, because if I see him again, I’m going to start throwing rocks at the guy. 

Finally, Test Results

On another note, it was 5 weeks ago that I had the endoscopy test done to see if the doctor could find out what’s wrong with my tummy.  After a ton of paperwork mishaps, miscommunication, lost faxes and lab result reports, I found out today… nothing. 

The biopsy results showed nothing.

I’m not going to get down about this – I wasn’t confident there would be any news.  It just means it’s time to try some other alternatives.  I’ve tried the conventional medicine route, I’ve also seen two naturopaths.  My next attempt at getting to the root of my tummy troubles might be the most unconventional yet – but I’ll be blogging about that in the future.

To all of you who wrote me with kind words and supportive emails, thank you so much.  It means a lot to know there are awesome girls out there I’ve never even met who share their stories, pieces of their lives, with a “stranger”, to lift her spirits.  You guys are great.

I Eat

Let’s move on to happier, more delicious things!  How about some breakfast pictures…

Hard to say which is prettier, the flowers or the oats.

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Just some regular nan-based oats + almond milk + trail mix + peanut butter.

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I added a bit of pumpkin into this bowl, and topped it with soy nuts + pumpkin seeds.  The usual almond milk + cinnamon + pumpkin spice made the cut, as did a big slop of almond butter.

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Work lunches haven’t been exciting, at all.  Salads and canned soup, mostly.  A couple biscuits, fruit, veggies, nuts.  Same old, same old.

… I’m a tofu convert!  I’ve eaten it three nights in a row and can confidently say, I dig it.

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Last night, I added tofu to some stir fry leftovers, but heated the veggies and tofu in a pan with sesame oil + soy sauce.  It gave the soy blocks some flavour.  Good stuff!  There was brown rice buried under there.

Tonight was more leftovers, the roasted veggies + tofu from the weekend, with some maple syrup + olive oil + sea salt that seasoned it all. 

This was a good snack last night – some orange + chewy granola squares.  They’re hiding.

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I’ve also eaten too many dates.  Same old story! ;)

I Move

Monday – After work, and after my perv reporting duties with Mr. Police Officer ended, I went for a 6k run.  It was windy which I don’t like, especially when I’m running, but it felt good to get outside and sweat.  Working in an office has increased my appreciation for exercising 1000%.

Tuesday – I did hot yoga tonight and it was an intense class.  There were some challenging moments, and at one point I had to collect myself in child’s pose, but mostly, I worked through the challenge and felt relaxed but energized afterwards.  The room was hotter than last week, and that was a good thing.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, a rotten day of the week.  How am I going to make it a good day?  Oats for breakfast, a very busy day tomorrow at work, lunch out with colleagues, and a rest day from exercise.

How will you make your Wednesday great?  I hope it’s a breezy one!

Adi

Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Health, Oatmeal, Running, Snack, Yoga | 7 Comments »

Pumpoat Cakes And Other Unusual Eats

Monday, October 19th, 2009

For a weekend that started out with a fever, nausea and a wonky head, it ended up a good one!

I Eat Sushi

One of the highlights was AYCE sushi at a restaurant I had yet to visit, Totoya.  They only offer AYCE on Friday and Saturday, and it’s no throw-the-paper-at-the-server-as-fast-as-you-can-so-you-can-get-sushi-quickly kind of place.  Instead, the server comes to your table with a big box, and in each box there are two kinds of rolls.  You tell her how many pieces you would like, and she puts them on your plate.

This is awesome because it feels fancy. 

This is not awesome because another person very much witnesses how much sushi I can pack away.  This is not a good thing, as only close friends should have to see such a show. ;)

Anyway, if you’re in the market (literally, it’s in the Byward Market downtown, Ottawa) for a new sushi experience, check this place out.  For standard maki rolls, they were really tasty.

I Eat Other Things

Scanning through my pictures of breakfasts, I realized they weren’t the norm.  How’s this for a Friday?

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An egg + spinach sammy and some orange hunks.  I really wasn’t feeling the oats.  You know those days when you just feel… like you need a change?  Luckily for me, this never goes beyond changes in breakfast.  Gigantic life changes don’t normally hit me in the shower like a change in the breakfast menu does.

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On Saturday, another strange breakfast made an appearance – but by strange, I mean best-ever.

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What is this?  Pumpoat Pancakes! 

Here’s the how-to, somewhat based on Kath’s oatmeal pancake recipe: mix generous 1/3 c. oats + 1/3 c. pumpkin + 1 egg + pinch salt + pumpkin pie spice + sprinkle pumpkin seeds + 1/2 tsp-ish baking powder.  Drop chunks of batter onto a greased pan – I did about 3 weird shaped blobs.  Flatten them with a spoon so they’re, well, flatter.

Flip them before they start burning.

When they’re done, you’ll know.  Trust me, you just will.  It’s around the time when you’re considering eating them straight off the pan because your kitchen smells delicious and your stomach is rumbling.

I topped mine with heated blackberry jam and then later added maple syrup.

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These tasted good, despite feeling rotten.  Now, desperate times call for desperate measures – I bailed on a group hike and went back to bed for a couple more hours.  You know the drill… “listen to your body.”  Seemed to work… I feel pretty normal now.

Today, back to the yoush.  (That’s phonetically typed – say it out loud and that’s the short form for “usual”.  If I typed “us” that just wouldn’t make sense.  Oui?)

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This was  1/2 c. oat bran + 1 c. water + 1/2 c. almond milk + 1/2 nan + cinnamon + raisins + granola + peanut butter.

Some other eats of the weekend…

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Reason #26151 why I’m not a vegetarian – Mom’s spaghetti sauce.

And here’s tonight’s supper that fits with the unusual eats theme today:

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It’s unusual because it contains this:

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Generally, perfect blocks are reserved for game winning Tetris pieces or Jello jigglers.  I don’t associate them with supper.  But, I busted out the pack of tofu after talking to a friend about the mysterious protein source last night… which reminds me…

Interruption!  A photo of last night’s dinner is missing, as I was out on the town for some girly fun at Shanghai, a restaurant in Ottawa that serves up Chinese food, karaoke and one faaaaab-ulous character affectionately named Chinadoll.  I had the bean curd soup which wasn’t very good and surely wasn’t worth the 12 bucks, but, I had an awesome time anyway!

Interruption over!

I took little potatoes + brussels sprouts + onion + carrots + tofu and tossed it in extra virgin olive oil + sea salt + maple syrup and roasted it at 400F for about an hour.  The syrup is key and I like to eat blocks now.  Talk about cheap protein!  I ate this with a gluten-free biscuit.

I Move

Friday – because it was so nice out, I decided to run after work.  I did a nice 5k and worked up an appetite for the gluttony I know as sushi.

Saturday – illness + exercise = more illness.  No sweating for me, except from fever breakage.

Sunday – feeling better, I was craving fresh air.  Do you ever feel that way, after you’ve been cooped up inside, that the only thing that will make you feel great is getting outside?  And then when you’re out there, you never want to go back inside?  That was today.  I did a slow, relaxed but awesome 8k run along the canal.  I didn’t push myself, took walking breaks – and even a washroom break at my old school campus (yucky to be back on campus).  Note to self: do not drink a pot of tea before running.  I carried water with me for the first time, and although holding a sloshing water bottle was annoying at first, switching it between hands was starting to feel, I don’t know, methodical, by the end.  It was a super run (I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve said that – and I’m referring to the hand of a person who only has three fingers).

Time to kiss the weekend goodbye and get ready for another week.  Luckily, the weekend always shows up at the same time every week, so it won’t be long until it’s back again… right?

Adi

Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Oatmeal, Recipe, Running | 8 Comments »

Turkey Traditions

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

*20-Day Total Health Challenge recap below!*

Certain traditions are meant to be repeated – that’s really the point of a tradition.  At my house, after big holiday meals, it’s tradition that I end up on the couch, holding my stomach saying …

“Ohhhhh.  I ate too much.”

I’m not about to break a tradition, so this year, the same thing happened…  except, oddly enough, it was after leftover day.  Can you blame me?  My mom loaded up my plate (thanks momma!):

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This was a sugar-free, gluten-free Thanksgiving weekend and it was awesome.  Even the cranberry sauce was sugar-free.

I Eat

Instead of detailing all the eats of this long weekend, here’s a photo mess of some favourite eats…

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Now that was a good bowl of oats – they’re buried under cranberry sauce + chewy granola crumbles. 

I Move

I can’t say I did much all weekend!  I was too busy hanging out with my family. :)  I did get in one treadmill session (oddly, I’m not despising the treadmill these days) and I spent some time walking around here with my mom and sister…

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The apple orchard!  We picked empire apples + jonagold apples and I haven’t stopped eating them since we picked them.  I brought some back to Ottawa with me. :)

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Apple picking is a fall favourite.  We had beautiful weather, and it was just fun to be back at that orchard.

20-Day Total Health Challenge

This weekend, my 20-Day Total Health Challenge came to an end.  What did I learn?  What did I achieve?

  • Some habits come more easily than others.  Some goals started to  become habits (moisturizing after the shower, flossing daily, eating dinner at the table) and others continue to be a challenge (drinking enough water, stopping mindless eating).
  • It’s always possible to incorporate more movement into the day.  Can’t fit in thirty minutes to exercise?  Take the stairs at work, take a ten minute walk break at lunch, and do some triceps dips off the couch when you get home.  It all adds up.  Try to lose the exercise-happens-in-the-gym-or-on-my-running-route mentality and you’ll do yourself a favour!  It sure helped me during the challenge.
  • A couple of days, I achieved all my goals.  Most days I didn’t.  A couple of days I hardly achieved any.  Striving for perfection is not healthy and perfection isn’t achievable – live your life, my friends!  If you miss a workout, that’s okay.  If you miss two, that’s okay.  If you spend your Thanksgiving weekend skipping your workouts so you can spend it eating lots of turkey with people you love, that’s the best of all.
  • Small goals can be a great way to move towards a bigger one.  Sounds obvious, right?  Getting more sleep, turning off the TV sooner, eating more protein at lunch… they’re small things that have added up to me feeling healthier in the last few weeks. 
  • My total health is affected tremendously by things going on with my emotional, spiritual life.  I’m sure this is the case for some of you out there – and if not, you’re fortunate!  After a conversation with a close friend that hit me like a ton of bricks, I connected those dots more clearly than ever before.  This is a new focus for me, and will be something I need to work on.  It’s likely not something I’ll blog about, but it’s a big one.

The challenge allowed me to track health variables that can often be overlooked.  Health is about more than vegetables and lifting weights.  I plan on embarking on other mini challenges in the future because I appreciated what the 20-Day Total Health Challenge taught me about tracking small goals and seeing how they add up to an overall feeling of wellness.  Simple stuff, yes.  Still important.

And on another note, one of my fur babies wanted to practice smiling with her eyes (ANTM, anyone?):

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The Week Ahead

It’s back to work tomorrow, back to regular life and regular routines.  I love long weekends and love being at home, but I also love a normal schedule.  So tomorrow is back to a yummy packed lunch, hot yoga after work and an easy supper.  Sounds like a good day to me.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend, whether it was a long one or not, and that you have good health – and lots of other things – to be thankful for!

Adi

Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Health, Lunch, Oatmeal, Running | 9 Comments »

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