What I Ate Wednesday

Although it’s December, and snow has fallen several times for my family in Colorado, here in Philippines it’s still hot, hot, HOT!!!  Which means I usually can’t bring myself to eat cooked oatmeal, no matter how high I crank up my air-con.

Smoothie bowl

So today I had a smoothie bowl.  I’ve been really into these lately!  It’s my regular green smoothie, but with a scoop of Vega protein powder and about half the amount of almond milk.  That makes it thick enough to hold up all my toppings: almond flakes, homemade cranberry orange relish (made low-sugar with chia seeds instead of all the sugar!), papaya from our very own tree, hemp seeds, & dried coconut.  It’s cold, it’s creamy, it’s beautiful… I think I’m addicted!

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In today’s workout we ran 6k at a pretty good clip.  I love this new addition to the weekly schedule- the steady pace run is so different than our normal high-intensity bootcamp.  I drank about a litre of water when we were finished, and ate this banana oat cookie with almond butter, a sliced strawberry & a sprinkle of dried coconut on my way out the door to Bible study.

Yes, we brought out the Christmas plates!
Yes, we brought out the Christmas plates!

When I got home, I was absolutely ravenous.  While I made my lunch, I ate 2 rye crackers with basil hummus without thinking to take a picture.  Then I sat down like a normal human being and had a few polenta squares with goat cheese & tomato chili jam.  These were leftover from Friday night’s party & I added fresh mint and more chili jam to pop them up a bit.

Shredded beetroot & carrot salad

I also had a big shredded beet & carrot salad, dressed with a maple orange dressing.  I threw some hemp seeds on top to add a little protein & crunch.

Christmas mall lights
The mall was hardly crowded at all- amazing!!

After lunch I felt fortified enough to brave the mall for some Christmas shopping.  This can be a bit dicey in Philippines at this time of year- you should really try to be finished by September 30 at the latest to avoid the crowds.  I’m serious.  But I did well!  Meaning I crossed at least 5 things off my list!  And kept smiling for 3 hours!!  I’m so proud of myself.

Vegan cookie sandwich

I finished just in time to wait 45 minutes at the bus stop, because apparently the kids were stuck in the crowds that I managed to avoid at the mall.  So by the time we all got home I was starving.  Again.  And even though I admonish my children “Don’t ruin your dinner!” with a late afternoon snack, I broke my own rule with this double chocolate peanut butter cookie sandwich.  It was totally worth it.

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Pasta with goat cheese & pine nuts, roasted pumpkin with chili jam, & green beans

Obviously, by the time dinner rolled around 2 hours later, I wasn’t hungry, whoops.  I couldn’t finish my food.  I pushed it around on my plate and tried to eat my vegetables.  At least!!  I scolded myself for setting a bad example for my children.  It happens sometimes!

Sara's Egyptian pita bread

But then after dinner we baked Sara’s beautiful Egyptian pita breads for her “Culture Cafe” project at school.  And who could resist those?? We all had to sample one and they were absolutely delicious.  Sometimes you just gotta break the rules!!!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

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