What I Ate Before I Left

Usually, the day before I depart for “home leave” (the kids’ & my 6-week summer vacation in the US,) I run around like a chicken with my head cut off, eat whatever falls out of the fridge, don’t work out, and stay up way too late doing last-minute things.  This year has been different for some reason.  Maybe I’m finally grown-up enough to realise it’s not great to get on the plane already exhausted before a 28-hour trip…

Red lady papaya

So today I woke up when it was already light outside, which is pretty amazing in itself!  I had my usual coffee but NO banana oat cookie!  I promise you I haven’t abandoned them… just entertaining other things for awhile.  I ate a huge plate of fresh papaya.  I’m the only one in my family who likes it, so I’m trying my best to get through this whole one before I leave.

Green smoothie

That filled me up enough to do a good workout.  Bootcamp is officially over for the season, so I’m doing my own training for now.  Today’s exercise was a long walk with Turbo and a heavy weight session focussed on legs.  I don’t care if I’m sore tomorrow… all I’m gonna do is sit in my airplane seat and watch 8 movies in a row…

Pumpkin overnight oats

After my workout I was plenty hungry, so I had my green smoothie amped up with spirulina and hemp seeds, along with a jar of pumpkin overnight oats.  I stirred in a big spoonful of sunflower butter to add protein & healthy fats.  I’ve found that my stomach space isn’t as big as it used to be when I was in my 20’s & 30’s, so sometimes I add high-calorie foods after a workout just to replenish my energy without taking up too much volume.

Salad with quinoa & baked tofu

The kids & I pretty much finished up the at-home packing before noon, so we went out to do our last-minute errands: haircut, bookstore, etc.  The kids got take-out burgers for lunch on the way home, & of course Mama insisted on going home to finish off the rest of the lettuce so it wouldn’t go bad… yeah, just my excuse for not having to eat a take-out burger… they know me well.  I did have this gorgeous salad with quinoa, baked tofu, leftover kale chips, dried cranberries, & pumpkin seeds, and a few Finn crisp rye crackers on the side.

Veggie burger & oven fries

Since lunch was so late, we blew through the afternoon without snacks- highly unusual for all of us!  So we were hungry for dinner: I made some quick veggie burgers out of lots of leftovers in my fridge… black beans, white bean basil dip, the rest of the quinoa, a pack of fresh mushrooms, & some sun-dried tomatoes.  They were good, but they need a bit of work before I give you the recipe!  We also had some oven fries alongside.

Father's Day cake

And dessert… always dessert… oh it was heavenly!  Mark’s Father’s Day cake was rich, dense, chocolatey, and neither vegan nor gluten-free.  Worth every calorie.

See you from the other side, friends!

2 thoughts on “What I Ate Before I Left”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *