Operation Clean Out the Fridge

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When every storage container is half-full of veggies and the fridge needs to be cleaned out to make room for a three week Kid-a-palooza, the only logical solution is a BIG FAT SALAD.

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Today Porty’s kids descend upon the apartmenthold (like household, but not) and I need to make room for kid-friendly, delectable culinary delights, such as: as Dino Nuggets, Tater Tots, Eggos, and Ramen. I’m secretly excited for the tots.

In other words, my kale and broccoli stash needed to be downsized so I threw everything only a plate and hoped for the best…and it was pretty gosh darn good!

Canned salmon from Trader Joe’s, a pile of steamed broccoli, kale saute’d in a smidgen of olive oil and maybe a half cup of veggie broth, grated Romano cheese, and BLUEBERRIES!

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The berries were the winner.

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Side note: I had no idea that imported Romano is made with sheep’s milk. I also didn’t know that dinos had nuggets.

My new love

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Did I mention that I’ve adopted a new found love of melons? And pineapple? And keeping fruit around the house?

Truth be told, I’m a veggie girl. I’d way rather have a heaping pile of greens or squash to play with than fruit. It’s a sweets issue. Give me salt any day. The sugary stuff? Meh. I can generally do without it.

But these summertime fruits have made me change my tune!

I even figured out how to make one of these fancy schmancy pineapple doo-hickys work!

IT WORKS!
 It’s a good thing Porty likes the sweet stuff. Otherwise I don’t know how I’d get through all of this fruit by myself. Actually, a whole petite watermelon has proved too much even for the two of us.

I guess there’s worse troubles to have. Now, where’d I put my pineapple doo-hicky?

Breaking the fast

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Somewhere in between the Fall of 2011 and today, I discovered two valuable lessons:

1. Breakfast is extraordinarily important.

2. There is absolutely no task that can be more important that regular personal care.

Let me back up and explain a little about how I came to this overwhelmingly obvious realization.

I’ve always been the type of person to ignore meal numero uno. Just a couple cups of coffee and maybe a spoonful of yogurt and I was good to go. Sometimes all the way through lunch. Or even dinner. Yeah, that’s right.

From about January through April I was basically living off of a steady stream of coffee and wine. Every. Day. This is absolutely not an exaggeration. Then, somewhere in between the anxious jitters and overall blah-ness, I realized I was not doing myself any favors at all. I felt like crap. I had zero energy. Nothing ever sounded good anymore. But I’d somehow convinced myself that the world would stop turning if I took some time out to, you know, eat.

So I started a new personal tradition. Breakfast. If I wasn’t going to feed myself during the day while I was at work, I’d at least start the day off with some balance. And what a difference! It’s been about 3 months of eating a regular, 250ish calorie breakfast each day and I’m definitely feeling more alert throughout the morning, less hungry all day long, generally happier all day.

This has been a typical breakfast: Eggs on sprouted grain toast with avocado (this one was also topped with some paprika). Maybe dollup of Greek yogurt for a little extra protein.

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A year ago I would never have thought that I’d have had to sit myself down and say “you need to eat! You need to get up out of your chair and away from your desk! You need fill your water bottle and leave work at a reasonable hour!”

Everything takes practice, I suppose. Even normal life!

Soup soothes the impatient soul

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No one would ever accuse me of being particularly patient. I want what I want, when I want it, which is usually NOW. But today has been full of reminders that the big changes in life are usually worth waiting for.

Porty and I are in the process of looking for an apartment. Really, are there many tasks in life more daunting than house-hunting? The searching, the calling and emailing, the not hearing back, the hearing back, the arranging viewings, the incredible disappointment when you realize that 550 square feet is really damn small.

Along with the ups and downs hunting, I’ve been sort of emotionally distancing myself from our current apartment…it just doesn’t feel like home anymore. I may not know when I will cease to live here, but it’s sooner rather than later. The impatient girl inside of me has already moved out, mentally.

Sort of like when you know you need to break up with someone. Consciously or subconsciously, you build some distance. It makes saying goodbye easier when the time comes. And I’ve been living in my current residence for nearly three years. That’s a big breakup.

That said, I’ve been pretty flat, pretty blah, and very anxious. Coupled with a mini-cold in my midweek, the past few days have resulted in little exercise and unnecessary snacking. I’ve had to do my fair share in “recovery” for my…shall we say…caloric damage.

But not to fret. Today has been a great recharge Sunday. I went to a group Pilates class with a Twitter friend (more on that later) and I’m trying my best to reframe this move from a gigantic, looming poop storm to a real potential to discover a great new living situation. While I don’t know WHEN it will happen, I do know that it will happen in it’s own time. Rather than my time. Dang it.

I’m also watching football which makes me think of the fall weather which makes me think of comfort food (that won’t break the caloric bank). I couldn’t decide on a salad or soup for lunch so I combined the two.

Tomato soup
With every “last chance” food in the fridge
Like steamed broccoli, jalapenos, brown rice, and kidney beans.
And garnished with goat cheese. Because I love it.
Cheers to patience.

Cheese in my bed

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The single, best part about my other half working late? I can take pictures of stinky cheese on the bed.
 What? Not everyone puts Pecorino Romano on their bed because that’s where the best light be?
The tub of grated Romano is for me and the block is for my Nonna. Compared to Parmesan, Romano has a…flowery flavor. Sweet, but in a fruity sort of way. And it’s not as dry as Parmesan. These beauties are fresh from the Italian Deli, Mona Lisa’s. Buonissimo!

The SECOND best part of my other half working late is that I only have to cook for myself which means hodge-podge pasta night! Apparently, he’s eating Five Guys. Assjacket.
Saute’d mushroom in olive oil with, heirloom tomato, kidney beans, spinach, basil, and pepper. Topped off with a few tsps of grated Romano for the salt factor. Fun fact, this article in HuffPo a few days ago lists “filling your plate with veggies” as a helpful mind trick for portion control at meals. This has definitely been my number one strategy for at least the past two years. My veggie of choice is spinach because it’s filling, easy to work with, full of fiber and pretty.
 Dinner has to be pretty.

I’m not sure the article said anything specific about using Keroppi spoons for portioning out Romano cheese, but it can’t hurt.

Cheers to bulking up with spinach!