Woman in Real Life

The last couple of weeks have been very busy and eating on the run isn't always the healthiest kind of eating. Add to that a few rum and cokes and my irritable bowel is...well, irritated. So I've been trying to eat well this week - less sugars, less breads and more veggies. My overall plan is to ensure that everything I eat has nutritional value.

Prior to our trip to Niagara Falls this weekend, though, there wasn't much food in the house. As I complained this past Friday on Instagram, I had some trouble putting together breakfast and lunch. Come Friday, there's often no fresh fruit in the house and very few groceries in general. But breakfast was pretty good anyway. I topped some Nature's Path instant flax oatmeal with ground flaxseed, pecans, dried cranberries and almond milk.

Yesterday morning when I took Jolene to the park, the entire park was covered in snow topped with a layer of ice. I slipped and fell...sort of...I caught myself on my hands partway down. The point of this story is that I'm tired of winter. Saying it just makes me feel better.

You know what else makes me feel better in winter? Vegetarian chili. It's warm and comforting. And quick to make. I made it for dinner one night this week and served it on top of quinoa for added protein.

Happy hump day! We are looking at a very pleasant week here weather-wise, with warmish, sunny days all through the weekend. Good news.

I am starting off What I Ate Wednesday this week with a look at one of our after-school fruit platters. The kids enjoy these. They gobble down fruit they might not otherwise eat on their own. Plus, I eat fruit I might not otherwise eat on my own.

I remember when grocery shopping used to be fun. I still like to browse, read ingredients lists and pick out new products to try, but I have so much stuff to get now that it's a little overwhelming. I have to please four picky people (including myself), think about what to make for dinner, devise ways to get the kids to eat healthy snacks and figure out what to pack for those dreaded school lunches.

Once the kids were off to school today, I stopped by No Frills just to pick up some fruit for lunches and snacks. Close to $200 and a full trunk later, I drove home thinking now I have to get all this stuff out of the car and put away. For motivation I put a Beastie Boys cd in the stereo. I figured they could keep me moving if anybody could. Anyway, that's done, the Beastie Boys are still running in the background, and it's time to move on to What I Ate Wednesday and a look back at some food highlights from the past week.

I chowed down on a whole bunch of these vegan Triple C Bars, above. They are completely addictive. Just ask my mom - she made some herself the other day, and she rarely ever bakes anymore. She just had to have them!