Early Morning Chef

This morning I was up bright and early in hopes of a snow day.

 

No such luck.

 

Instead of pancakes and hot coffee on the couch, I decided to go with a quick shower and getting my lunch together.

 

Since we ate out a lot this weekend, we really don’t have any leftovers or lunch stuff for me to bring. I had to get a little creative.

 

I saw spaghetti squash.

I saw leftover mashed potatoes.

Could it work?

 

Yeah!

I first squeezed out the cooked spaghetti squash for any extra water. (Click here to learn how to cook one in the microwave easily.)

 

I mixed the squeezed squash with about 1/4 of a cup of leftover mashed potatoes, 1 egg, salt, pepper and a dash of garlic powder.

 

Sautéed on medium for about 5 min per side and voila!

 

Along side I packed a greek yogurt, an apple, a few leftover zucchini fries, a string cheese, and a banana.

 

For breakfast I broke into the stash.

Peanut Flour Spread on a bagel thin with some honey

Love starting the day with a little suga! And how cute is that bear?

Off to school in a few. I’m sure my students are just as bummed about spending the day inside instead of at home in the snow.

 

Oh well. At least I have some form of pancake to eat today.

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Meltdown

So I pretty much just had a meltdown at Trader Joe’s.

Normal, right?

 

Well here’s the deal. The past few times I was at TJ’s I didn’t see peanut flour on the shelf. I had enough so I didn’t worry about it too much or bother asking anyone about it.

 

Today, when it wasn’t there AGAIN, I asked.

 

It was almost like a scene from ER as the TJ’s employee told me she’d be right back and disappeared behind the swinging double doors in search of an answer.

source

Deep in my stomach I knew it wouldn’t be good. And I was right.

 

My beloved peanut flour has been discontinued. Apparently due to low sales. WHAT?!?! Do people understand how wonderful this stuff is? How will I go on?!?! I really did ask those questions to the employee. I kid you not.

If you see it at your stores, maybe shoot me an email at FoodIRL@gmail.com and perhaps we can arrange a shipment. (Yes I’m serious).

 

In other news. I am proud to say that I ventured outdoors for a run today. I did a little over 5 miles in about 55 minutes. I walked some, and just took it easy since the terrain was slushy,snowy and a little icy.

 

The day after a blizzard might not be the best for running, but at the same time, it was awesome to be outside when everything is so beautiful and quiet.

 

Here are some tips for running in snowy conditions from someone who is experiencing their first winter running season:

• Dress appropriately. Just because it’s snowy out, doesn’t mean it’s 3 degrees. Don’t dress for skiing, dress for running. You don’t want to overheat. You will warm up.
• Be flexible. Your route and/or distance just might not workout. Be open to running less mileage or even more if you need to go farther to escape bad terrain.
• Run in the road instead of on trails if possible. Seemed to me that the roads were clearer, less patchy, and easier to navigate. Take all of the normal precautions for running in the street. Run facing on coming cars, if you’re wearing headphones make sure you can still hear the traffic, and you know most of this stuff, right?
• Be careful, always tell someone where you are running and walk or stop if conditions are bad. It’s only cool running in crazy weather when you come back alive and uninjured.

I’m off to go cry into my remaining peanut flour and start planning a tribute post.

 

What are your tips for exercising/running outdoors in the winter?

Do you prefer running in the cold or heat?

How are we going to live without peanut flour?

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Guilt Free Fun

The best thing about a snow day is that I feel no guilt for being inside doing nothing.

Usually when I take a day off of work for being sick or a personal day I feel some sense of responsibility for what is going on at work.

 

And often if I’m sick, the second I call off of work, I start to feel better and then feel bad that I didn’t suck it up and go in.

 

In my new career as a teacher (student teacher for now), the feeling is different. If it’s a snow day, there is no other choice I could have made but to stay home. Also, there is no "work" being done at the "office". It is closed. As a result, I can relax guilt-free

 

Another guilt free pleasure I indulged in today was Chocolate Peanut Butter Pancakes. Why didn’t I think of this before?

I followed my trusty Peanut Flour Pancakes recipe, and added a heaping tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, and an extra splenda packet for sweetness.

 

On top I put a dollop of cool whip which I spread all over the pancakes and it made them taste pretty freakin amazing.

 

On the agenda today is some shoveling, a little tidying around the house, and maybe an outdoor run if I can find somewhere that is shoveled enough to do it.

 

Do you feel guilty when you take the day off of work?

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Shovel Pump

I was bummed to find out this morning that we didn’t have a school closing our delay despite the rapidly accumulating snow outside my window.

 

I was even more bummed as I white-knuckled it all the way there. I don’t think I took a breath until I pulled into the unplowed parking lot. I couldn’t believe how bad the roads were. But, I made it.

 

Fortunately, around 10am the school decided they would send the kids home early.

 

My original workout plan for today was to run 5 miles outside, but it doesn’t look like that is happening.

So I’m about to take on a different workout. Can you guess what it is?

I think they should create a new class at the gym. An outdoor one where we shovel the gym parking lot. It could be called Shovel Pump. Seriously, this is such a workout!

 

If the snow continues to be stopped for a while I miiiiight go to the gym for a little workout too.

 

But then again I might just opt for hot cocoa on the couch. Tough choice.

 

Do you have snow where you are?

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